Press Release

Effective immediately, hospitals and health care systems lift the masking recommendation for patients and families entering area hospitals, freestanding emergency departments, urgent care centers, and branch clinics, including those seeking outpatient services at hospitals. This recommendation has been in place since December 23, 2014, when flu reached the highest level noted by public health. This measure was put in place to help limit the spread of flu during a time when the vaccine was a poor match the circulating strains.

According to the latest public health reports, seasonal flu activity has declined to regional levels in Virginia and North Carolina. With flu no longer at the highest level, health systems lift the masking recommendation for patients and families.

Students at Grace E. Metz Middle School will take part in a program on Friday, March 13th at 6:30 p.m. to celebrate Black History Month.  The theme of the program is, “Remembering Our Past, Inspiring Our Future.”

“The program is a great opportunity for our students to engage in learning about African American History,” said Eneida Thomas, who is the 7th grade Assistant Principal at Metz. “Also, it is a great opportunity for the community to see our wonderful students in action.”

With Interstate 95 and primary roads clear in the Fredericksburg District, crews are concentrating this evening on plowing and treating subdivision streets and low-volume secondary roads.

Conditions on secondary roads in the Fredericksburg area, Northern Neck, and western Middle Peninsula are improving, but motorists should be prepared for areas of trace ice and snow.  

On Saturday, February 7, 2015, the National Coalition of 100 Black Women, Prince William County Chapter Inc., in collaboration with the Society of Women Engineers hosted a very productive workshop entitled, “Girls Go To Techbridge”.

The purpose of the event was to inspire and expose young girls’ grades sixth through eighth to STEM – Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. This was an awesome event for our girls.

Residents in the immediate vicinity of Marine Corps Base Quantico may experience an increase in noise as an affect from ground/aircraft training or range clearance operations during the week of March 7-13 .

Motorists are encouraged to delay travel until later today if possible as Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) crews work to break up and remove packed down ice and snow from primary roads in the Fredericksburg area and Northern Neck.   

VDOT is using a mix of sand, salt and liquid calcium chloride to combat leftover snow that is frozen to the pavement. Liquid calcium chloride is used to assist with ice melt when temperatures are below 27 degrees. 

Today, the 495 and 95 Express Lanes announced Drive to Donate, a program designed to give back to local fire and rescue organizations that put their lives on the line to keep the communities surrounding the Express Lanes safe – both on and off of the road.  The Express Lanes will donate the value of all tolls collected on Saturday, March 21, 2015 to Fairfax County Fire and Rescue, Prince William County Fire and Rescue and Stafford County Fire and Rescue.  To participate and give back to area first responders, all drivers need to do is drive on the Express Lanes with an E-ZPass^® properly mounted in their vehicle on March 21.

“As safety is a top priority on the Express Lanes, we want to give back and support those who keep us safe each and every day,” said Jennifer Aument, North American Group General Manager, Transurban.  “We strive to be a good neighbor and long-term partner to our customers and the community, and we believe in supporting those who impact our lives for the better.  We hope drivers choose to travel on the 495 and 95 Express Lanes on March 21 to help us support those who keep us safe on and off the roads.”

The opening day of camping season in Virginia State Parks is changing. Campgrounds will open Friday, March 6.

“In years past, we opened campgrounds on March 1, regardless of the day of the week,” said State Parks Director Craig Seaver. “To better serve our visitors, we will open on the first Friday in March this year and in the future.”

Stafford County Schools will celebrate Dr. Seuss’ birthday on Monday, March 2, 2015, by welcoming volunteers in our schools to participate in the Read Across America campaign. 

An annual event at Rocky Run Elementary School includes inviting a number of community members and central office administrators to the school to read to the classrooms.  This year, Superintendent Bruce Benson will read to Mrs. Caswell’s class at 12:30 p.m.  Other administrators scheduled to read at Rocky Run Elementary include:  Assistant Superintendents Lance Wolff and Scott Horan, and staff members, Karen Duffy, Sarah Crain, Angela Hall, Tanya Green and Quinton Sullivan.