Obituaries

Otella Maria Creegan, age 74, Passed away on June 6th, 2021, In Dumfries Virginia. She is preceded in death by her late husband Michael L. Creegan Sr. She is survived by sons Michael L Creegan Jr., James Francis Creegan II, and Anthony Patrick Shawn Creegan, Granddaughter Courtney Leigh Creegan, Sister Toni Krumbein, and brother Luigi Hiuet.


News

A representative from the Virginia State Senate is just back from a trip to Arizona, where she toured the largest forensic audit of the November 3, 2020, General Election. 

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Event

Join the New Dominion Choraliers put on a concert to honor the 250th Anniversary of the USA! The music in this choral concert captures the heart and soul of the American spirit through patriotic tunes and songs from the heartland. Joining the chorus are dancers from Dance Etc. School of the Arts and accompaniment from the talented members of Legacy Brass.

This family friendly and FREE event is perfect for young and old. Kids, parents, and grandparents will be familiar with many of the songs in this inspirational program. There are two opportunities to attend: Saturday, May 2 at 7:30 pm or Sunday, May 3 at 3:30 p.m.


News

The Stafford County Board of Supervisors has authorized repair work to be done at two Stafford wastewater treatment plants, one located in the Aquia District, in the northern portion of the county, and the other at Little Fall Run Treatment plant in the George Washington District, near Fredericksburg.

Both plants have had issues with distressed concrete due to the stormwater sewage filtration systems that treat and sanitize sewer runoff. Two filtration systems at the Aquia plant and another at the Little Fall Run plant have issues with concrete distress which includes cracks in the concrete surface. 

The Aquia plant handles an average water flow of six million gallons per day while the Little Fall Run plant's average amount is three-and-a-half million gallons each day.

The county has retained the services of Denmark-based consultancy group Ramboll Engineering to design the repairs of the filtration systems which will address the issues of cracks, surface damage, and joint repairs. The company that will carry out the actual repair work, Wisconsin-based Creative Maintenance Solutions LLC, will be nearly $470,000 for their labor out of the County's Public Works Utilities Enterprise Fund.

Creative Maintenance will use an epoxy-based composite product that has been found to be successful at addressing issues of concrete repair. The composite is created by United Kingdom-based company Belzona and can withstand pressures of over 10,000 pounds per square inch.

Another company, the Nokesville-based Keystone Waterproofing & Restoration, was also in the running for the repair contract but was underbid by Creative Maintenance. Creative made a bid of nearly $469,000 while Keystone's was higher at $657,800.

The repair projects at the wastewater treatment plants are being planned to occur in a way that will limit any interruption to the operations of both plants.

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News

Should the tiny town of Occoquan allow a five-story building to be constructed on the riverfront?

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News

Attempted Abduction – On June 10 at 10:48PM, officers responded to a residence located in the 1900 block of Heatherbrook Ct. in Woodbridge (22192) to investigate an attempted abduction. The victim, an 11-year- old girl, reported to police that she heard a knocking at her second story window and opened the window to look out. As she was leaning out of the window looking around, an unknown male wrapped his arms around her and both parties fell to the deck below. The victim immediately got up and ran to the front of the house where she notified a family member about the incident. The suspect was observed running away from the home. No injuries were reported. While canvassing, a witness reported to police that during the incident timeframe, he observed an unknown, possibly teenaged male outside of the victim’s second story window talking to someone inside the room. The only suspect description was a male with a medium build and approximately 5’6”.

Shooting Investigation – On June 12 at 5:17AM, officers responded to the intersection of Georgetown Rd. and Jefferson Davis Hwy. in Woodbridge (22191) to investigate a shooting. The victim, a 19-year-old man, reported to police that he was stopped at the above intersection when an unknown man approached his vehicle. During the encounter, the suspect knocked on the driver’s window and demanded the victim get out of the car. The victim did not respond and began to drive away when the suspect fired a round striking the victim. The victim drove to a local hospital with non-life threatening injuries. The only suspect description was a male, possibly wearing a gray sweatshirt.


Features

"Scarlett Awakening" is something of an anomaly in the coronavirus pandemic.

While the situation has forced bands and musicians to adapt or die, one would be forgiven if they didn’t believe something in the music world could be born from the situation that birthed the band.

Formed in the Summer of 2020, the band plays a blend of classic rock ‘n roll that is inspired by bands such as Creedence Clearwater Revival, Chris Isaak, and Fleetwood Mac just to name a few. Pamela Meyer, the band's lead singer, is what makes Scarlett stand out from others.

While John Jewell and Scott Kordella on guitars, Albert Dodson on harmonica, Rigg Wagner on drums, and Jim Scrofani on bass, all have years of experience, the dynamic is a little different since female vocals in rock are rare. Of course, there are examples such as Heart, Joan Jett, Pat Benetar, and others that have made their mark, but those examples stand out due to the rareness of a lead female vocalist in the genre.

“We decided to go in a different direction with Pam,” says Jewell. “We’re always updating the setlist, looking for songs in her range that a female could sing.”

The band has been finding success in the shows they’ve played even in a world constricted by the pandemic. This is not a surprise to Meyer. As she put it, “women love watching other women in a band.”

Scarlett Awakening is a dream come true for Meyer, who works as an artist and as a bartender in Fredericksburg. She had never played in a band prior to Scarlett and her entrance into that world was helped by Jewell who discovered Meyer through a video of her singing given to him by a mutual friend. Soon after, Jewell invited Meyer to join him for a rehearsal at Rigg Wagner’s studio.

By July, the band had enough songs under their belt to start playing live, which made the dream for Meyer a reality.

“Meeting these incredible musicians and then letting someone as green as I join in is a dream come true. Before I was just singing in the car, the shower, at school, in choir, in the theater.”

Scarlett has had to make adjustments due to the pandemic, while it’s given them time to learn and gel with each other they’ve also had to adhere to the protocols of the time. Keeping a distance from themselves and from their audience while trying to reach out to them in song.

“Things are a little different, but the masks come off behind the instruments and the people in the audience were ready to get out and hear some live music,” said Wagner.

The future looks bright for Scarlett Awakening, they’re currently working on original songs for which Pam has a vault full of lyrics. The band is also booked solid through October, so as the pandemic begins to wind down the crowds for Scarlett Awakening will continue to grow.

Scarlett Awakening will next play at the Tucked Away Brewery in Manassas on Saturday, June 19 from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.