I-95 Paving Operations
I-95 Northbound at Exit 126 (Route 1/Massaponax) Double Lane Closures and Exit 126B Ramp Closure.
Sunday – Friday, 9 p.m. – 4:30 a.m. On Sunday evening, I-95 northbound will be reduced to a single lane starting at 10 p.m. near the interchange for milling and paving. Also starting at 10 p.m., the I-95 northbound off-ramp to Route 1 southbound will be closed until 4:30 a.m. Message boards will be posted prior to Exit 118/Thornburg to notify travelers; Exit ramp to Route 1 northbound at Exit 126A will remain open during this work zone.
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LAKE RIDGE — As we interview the third-party independent candidates for Prince William County Board of Supervisors At-large Chairman, candidate Don Scoggins says he’s no newcomer.
And he’s right. This is Scoggins’ second campaign for the Board of County Supervisors. He ran a Primary race for Occoquan District Supervisor in 2014 and lost to current Occoquan Supervisor Ruth Anderson.
Scoggins has stayed active in the community, and he can regularly be spotted at Prince William Committee of 100 meetings, as well as public hearings and community forums at the county government center.
In 2014, he told Potomac Local that he had been a staunch Republican for 50 years and that “would never change.” Last August, it did, and Scoggins made headlines for his very public divorce from the GOP.
Today, he says the current Republican candidate for At-large Chairman John Gray is reverting to scare tactics to get people to vote for him.
Here’s a sample of Gray’s latest email asking for campaign donations:
“If an MS-13 gang member is booked in a Prince William jail, Ann Wheeler and the local Democrats will release them back onto our streets putting your family in danger.”
Gray has largely ignored Scoggins, who’s been in the At-large Chairman’s race since January, and has chosen to focus on his Democratic challenger Ann Wheeler.
Wheeler has not a position on illegal immigration — a federal issue — but she does say that, if elected, she plans to find out how much local money is being spent on the 287g program administered but the county sheriff’s office.
Under the program, if someone is arrested and is suspected of being in the U.S. illegally, they’re turned over to federal officials. “I don’t think we should be spending local tax dollars on something that is a federal responsibility,” said Wheeler.
On the immigration issue, Scoggins says illegal immigrants who are arrested locally should be turned over the federal authorities, but they should not be profiled or stopped by police simply because a local officer suspects them of being here illegally.
Scoggins, a Vietnam Veteran worked for the Washington, D.C. city government as an urban planner. He later worked at The Department of Housing and Urban Development and the General Services Administration before he retired in 2014.
MANASSAS -- (Press Release) On June 11, 2019, at approximately 7:13 p.m., officers of the Manassas City Police Department responded to the intersection of Nokesville Road and Technology Drive for a hit and run.
The victim told police he was crossing in the crosswalk at Technology Dr when he was struck by a vehicle and the vehicle did not stop.
The suspect vehicle is described as an older model blue Toyota sedan driven by a Hispanic female in her 30s or 40s. The victim sustained minor injuries.
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PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY — Before there was the talk of a $200 million parks and recreation bond, there was a study.
The Prince William County Parks and Recreation Department contracted with ECT Institute of Olathe, Kansas which produced a nearly 600 – page report on unmet needs in county parks.
The most wanted need as cited by the survey’s 2,400 respondents: a network of walking trails that actually connect to each other, that they can use to get them to the places they want to go.
We’ve seen this two years ago with a study of the Neabsco Greenway, a system of trails in the Mapledale and Lindendale areas of Dale City. Cited as part of a study on who to revitalize areas along Dale Boulevard, the Neabsco Greenway would create a pedestrian backway that could take people from Andrew Leitch Waterworks Park to Center Plaza Giant without ever having to walk on busy Dale Boulevard.
After walking trails, the other nine-most requested amenities were:
- Natural wildlife habitats
- Indoor fitness and exercise facilities
- Large regional parks
- Picnic shelters
- Playgrounds
- Batting cages and fishing areas
- Historic properties (i.e.: Ben Lomond House, Rippon Lodge)
- Indoor swimming pool/leisure pool
- Off-leash dog park
The 10 least requested parks amenities:
- Rugby fields
- Cricket fields
- Lacrosse fields
- Outdoor volleyball courts
- Skateboard park
- Inline skating park
- Pickleball
- Indoor basketball courts
- Outdoor Amphitheater
- Indoor basketball courts
In addition to mailing surveys to 16,000 homes in the county, parks officials held two separate public meetings to gain input from residents on what they wanted from their parks and recreation department.
Potomac Local reported on the second and final meeting held in January.
Brent Heavner, the county’s parks and recreation department spokesman, said the data collected from this survey was used to create the list of projects now under consideration by the Board of County Supervisors for a $200 million bond that would pay for some of these projects.
The largest of the projects is an $84 million indoor track and sports facility that would be built somewhere along Interstate 95 in Lake Ridge. When the proposed hydraulic track is not in use, the facility could be used for high school graduations and other events, county parks chief Seth Handler-Voss told Supervisors.
Here’s a link to the full ECT Institute report.
This month, it’ll be up to the Board of County Supervisors to petition the Circuit Court place the $200 million parks bond and a separate $400 million roads bond to the November ballot. Then, if it makes it here, voters will have the final say as to whether or not leaders can borrow money to build the new park’s amenities.
While the roads bond seems to be a popular idea with elected officials, the parks bond isn’t. Unlike the roads bond that could be used to unlock matching state and federal funds, there is no similar option for parks, so the county would be on the hook for repaying the full $200 million.
The parks and recreation need survey was completed before there was any discussion of a potential $200 million parks bond. The idea has been widely pushed by the outgoing Corey Stewart, Board Chairman At-large who is not seeking reelection.
QUANTICO — A bus carrying 40 people was involved in a crash on Interstate 95 south.
The bus was one of at least five vehicles involved in the crash at the 147.5-milepost, near the rear entrance of Quantico Marine Corps Base.
No one on the bus was injured, however, a woman inside a second car involved in the crash is being flown to a hospital,” said Stafford County Fire and Rescue Chief Joseph Cardello. She suffered injuries that appear to be life-threatening.
The woman was rear-ended in the collision, however, it’s not known if the bus collided with her vehicle.
All lanes of I-95 were closed shortly after the crash, about 10:30 a.m. Officials said they didn’t know when the roadway would be reopened.
Check this post for updates on the developing story.
Update
All lanes of Interstate 95 south were reported to be reopened at 11:24 a.m.
PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY — Muneer Baig is running for Prince William Board of County Supervisors Chairman At-large.
The independent is the second third entry to the race this year. He follows independent Don Scoggins who entred teh race in May.
Baig will kick off his campaign at an event this weekend.
He’s the owner of a small technology firm SYSUSA located on Sudley Road near Manassas. He’s also served on the Prince William County Public Schools Career and Technical Advisory Board, which focuses on providing students the resources they need to pursue technical education and, ultimately, a career.
“If you want to solve any problem, you have to have an educated workforce,” said Baig.
As Chairman, he said he’d use his political might to speak with the owners of corporations, to get educate them about the 90,000 students in the school system, with hopes to entice them to create internships for students inside their companies.
Baig, 52, admits he doesn’t have existing relationships with these companies now but adds his experiences on the CTE advisory board would help serve him well.
Big also says he is aware that the Board of County Supervisors has little, if any say, over how the school division is managed. That’s up to the County School Board. He says he doesn’t want a seat on that board, but as BOCS Chairman, he’d make sure the schools have what they need to provide a quality education for students.
On transportation and land use, Baig says officials need to bring Metro to Woodbridge, and that the county’s Rural Crescent (rural land from Quantico Marine Corps Base to Manassas National Battlefield Park) should be protected, respectively.
Baig’s campaign kickoff event will take place Saturday, June 15, from 3 to 6 p.m. at 6925 Cole Timothy Court near Manassas.
The candidate is the father of six children with ages ranging from 18 months to 19 years old. He’s married to his wife of 21 years, he said.
Baig immigrated from his home country of India in 1992 for the opportunity to build a business. While he takes pride in being featured in former Vice President Joe Biden’s online blog last year, Baig said he’s not affiliated with either political party.
“I don’t feel like either party is getting anything done,” he said.
As for the two major political parties, Ann Wheeler is the Democrat seeking the Chairman At-large seat, while John Gray is the Republican candidate.
Corey Stewart has served as Chairman for the past 15 years and opted not to seek re-election.
Voters will head to the polls on November 5.
PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY — On this Flag Day Friday, June 14, Supervisor Jeanine Lawson’s office has some new colors on the wall.
Members of the Freedom Museum in the Manassas Regional Airport joined members of the Stonewall Jackson Senior High School Air Force JROTC, who all presented the Brentsville District Supervisor with not only a U.S. flag for her office, but also flags from every branch of the U.S. military.
The flags were placed into a specially made holder that now sits in the entryway to the Supervisors office at 9440 Innovation Drive, near the Science and Technology Campus of George Mason University.
The ceremony was held one week ago.
“We chose this day for a couple of different reasons. We all know that next Friday is Flag Day, and yesterday was the 75th anniversary of D-Day,” Lawson said on June 7. “I’ve got a lot of patriotic feelings going on in our heart right now.”
Lawson serves on the Freedom Museum’s Board of Directors.
