Prince William County press release: The project to widen Balls Ford Road between Doane Drive and Ashton Avenue to a four-lane, divided roadway is now officially complete. The county’s Department of Transportation held a ribbon-cutting ceremony in the parking lot of the General Shale Brick Company last week with county staff, as well as local, regional and state officials, contractors and visitors in attendance.

The 1.2-mile improvement, located in the Gainesville Magisterial District, includes not only the widening of the roadway, but also a 16-foot-wide grass median, a 10-foot-wide shared-use path and a 5-foot-wide concrete sidewalk along the south and north side of the road respectively.

Prince William County Gainesville District Supervisor Bob Weir thanked the staff and all involved in building and completing the $64-million project.  “Glad you brought it in on time and under budget … congratulations,” Weir said.

Prince William County Department of Transportation Director Rick Canizales spoke of the work being done throughout the area to help move the county toward its strategic goal of easing congestion and improving mobility. “I’m very excited about this project, about another ribbon cutting here in Prince William County, another ribbon cutting here out on the west end. We just had one a few months back on the other side of this bridge… that great interchange out there. Well, this is the adjacent site,” said Canizales.

Completing the stretch of road that runs parallel to Interstate 66 will also improve commerce in the industrial area the road serves. The I-66 Express Mobility Partners contributed roughly $48 million in concessionaire funding toward the project.

“The Authority did recommend $48 million in concessionaire funds that was a part of the Transform I-66 Outside the Beltway Project,” said Northern Virginia Transportation Authority (NVTA) Chief Executive Officer Monica Backmon. “We were extremely pleased to be in a position to do so. It kind of rounds out the improvements that we put on University Boulevard extension, Prince William Parkway at University and the OmniRide Western Maintenance Facility. We reduce congestion. We move people, and that has an economic impact component to it, but it also means that people are spending less time commuting so that they can do other things.”

Canizales spoke of the cooperation between NVTA and the county. “Our partnerships that we have together …  make these great, regional, local and statewide improvements that we need, not only to move people within the county, but to move commerce, to move bike and ped[estrian] for better safety along the corridor,” Canizales said.

Virginia Department of Transportation Area Construction Engineer Velji Desai also spoke of the cooperation with the county. “In Northern Virginia, we have a great partnership with all the counties, including Prince William. We really enjoy working with the county,” Desai said.

Currently, the county’s transportation capital improvement program exceeds $1.3 billion and consists of various multimodal projects, from sidewalk and traffic safety projects to major interchanges and road widening projects.

Watch the BUZZ video about the event!

For more information about transportation and mobility projects in the county, visit pwcva.gov/transportation.

Town of Occoquan Mayor E-Newsletter: Join us on Wednesday, April 24, 2024, at 2:00 p.m., for the dedication of the Town of Occoquan’s LOVEworks sign in River Mill Park (415 Mill Street, Occoquan), designed by artist Darby Leondra. This event is free and open to the public.

Commemorating Earth Day from Prince William Forest Park today, President Biden announced a series of wide-reaching climate initiatives designed to expand nationwide access to solar energy and create a federal jobs program known as the American Climate Corps.

The president was joined by the Secretary of the Interior, the Environmental Protection Agency administrator, the AmeriCorps CEO, and members of Congress to announce $7 billion in grants through the EPA’s “Solar for All” grant competition, which provides funding to states, municipalities, and nonprofits to deliver residential solar power to 900,000 households in low-income and disadvantaged communities.

Additionally, the president announced the start of the American Climate Corps, a federal jobs initiative to hire 20,000 Americans to build clean energy and climate resiliency projects around the country. The American Climate Corps is modeled after the Civilian Conservation Corps, a workforce initiative started by then-President Franklin D. Roosevelt following the Great Depression in 1933. The Civilian Conservation Corps developed and built the Prince William Forest Park in Triangle.

“It’s fitting to be here in Prince William Forest Park … [the Civilian Conservation Corps] put Americans to work to conserve our country’s natural resources. Thousands of young Americans built this park, providing jobs, recreation, hope and healing at the time,” the president said. “We know today, we face another kind of existential threat that requires equally bold and clear action.”

Biden said the effects of climate change were wide-reaching across the globe, and that last year’s Earth Day was the hottest Earth Day on record. In announcing the “Solar for All” program, Biden said that energy costs are some of the biggest costs for low and moderate-income families. The program will save households more than $350 million in electricity costs annually – or approximately $400 per household – according to a White House statement.

“‘Solar for All’ will give us more breathing room and cleaner breathing room,” Biden said. “It’s going to also create 200,000 good paying and union jobs over the five years in communities that need it the most.”

In addressing jobs, the president said the American Climate Corps would “bring out the best in young people to do what’s best for America.” Americans can apply to join the Corps through a newly launched website, climatecorps.gov, which will feature 2,000 positions in 36 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico, and are hosted by organizations specializing in clean energy, conservation, and climate resilience.

“You’ll get paid to fight climate change, learning how to install those solar panels, fight wildfires, rebuild wetlands and weatherize homes, and so much more that will protect the environment and build a clean energy economy,” Biden said.

According to a White House statement, Corps members will have access to an apprenticeship program from the North American Building Trades Unions’ nonprofit partner, TradesFutures. The statement also said 13 states have already launched statewide Climate Corps programs and will work with the American Climate Corps to provide increased opportunities and projects to combat climate change.

Derrick Anderson, a Republican congressional candidate for Virginia’s 7th Congressional District, countered the president’s assertions and said his energy policies benefit other countries rather than Americans.

“Joe Biden’s energy policies are benefitting China — with our taxpayer dollars —while Americans are hurt badly. Biden is helping the same country that’s buying up land near our military installations and is sending military-aged males over our porous border,” Anderson said. “Biden should be apologizing to Virginians, not giving speeches. When I’m in Congress, I’ll do everything I can to reverse Biden’s mess.”

The president will participate in additional events this week to commemorate Earth Week and highlight his administration’s actions against climate change, according to The White House statement.

Today’s visit marks the second to Prince William County in 2024. He kicked off his campaign with Vice President Kamala Harris in January at the Hylton Performing Arts Center. President Barack Obama visited Prince William County in 2012, marking the last time a Democrat running for the White House visited the county, once regarded as a must-stop bellwether for national elections for candidates of both the Democratic and Republican parties.

Obama held a campaign rally at Richard G. Pfitzner Stadium, formerly the home of the Fredericksburg Nationals (Potomac Nationals), where he arrived via helicopter.

Editor’s note: Potomac Local News covered this story remotely and was not provided with advance notice of the president’s visit.

Kevin Sandell is a freelance reporter for Potomac Local News.

In a letter addressed to the Chair and the Supervisors of Prince William County, Commonwealth’s Attorney Amy Ashworth outlined her intention to withhold prosecution of certain misdemeanor charges, effective May 1, 2024, if county leaders don’t give her more employees.

According to the letter, the Prince William County Prosecutor’s Office is operating with 26 fewer positions than required.  A recent time study showed the office has a deficit of seven attorneys and 19 administrative staff, Ashworth wrote.

On April 18, 2024, supervisors voted in a straw poll and decided to fund an additional four attorneys and four administrative staff for Ashworth’s office. Ashworth asked for 16 new people and asserted that the office cannot sustain its current level of service and must take steps to reduce the caseload. As it stands, Ashworth is set to receive $13 million from the county government to operate her office for the coming fiscal year, starting July 1, 2024. The figure does not include funding from Manassas and Manassas Park cities, for which Ashworth also prosecutes criminal cases.

In response to the straw poll, Ashworth wrote supervisors and listed a series of Class 1 and 2 misdemeanors to which she may no longer assign a prosecutor, including petit larceny, shoplifting, narcotic charges, underage alcohol offenses, disorderly conduct, obstruction of justice, escapes, obscenity, false identification and false report to police, destruction of property, trespassing, reckless driving (unless fatal), and all traffic and operator license misdemeanors.

The Prince William Board of County Supervisors is set to approve its entire FY 2025 budget tomorrow.

“The bottom line is that this office was not properly staffed and funded for decades as the County grew up around us,” Ashworth wrote in an email to Potomac Local. “The time study was able to finally give us a clear staffing standard across the state for all prosecutor’s offices.”

Ashworth, a Democrat, was re-elected to office in November 2023 and is in the first year of her second four-year term.

“The Commonwealth of Virginia does not fund prosecution of misdemeanor cases – only felonies. In smaller jurisdictions, it is easier for the prosecutor to just handle all the misdemeanors as well. However, other large jurisdictions do not handle all of the misdemeanors as [Prince William County] does,” Ashworth adds.

Acknowledging the impact of this decision, Ashworth emphasized the need to focus limited resources on misdemeanors deemed most critical, such as DUI, weapon offenses, and violent crime.

Ashworth’s threats to cut prosecutorial services garnered a quick response from supervisors.

“She claims her predecessor understaffed his office. I don’t recall anyone claiming Paul Ebert [Ashworth’s predecessor] didn’t prosecute enough. The question is efficiency. If Fairfax can do more with less, why can’t she?” asked Gainesville District Supervisor Bob Wier.

During a presentation earlier this month, Ashworth told the Board of County Supervisors that of her 54 office employees, 29 were prosecutors when she took over from her predecessor Paul Ebert, Virginia’s longest-serving prosecutor from 1968 until his retirement in 2019. Since that time dozens of full-time positions have been added to the Commonwealth Attorney’s office, resulting in nearly 80 employees.

“By supporting eight new positions in FY25, in addition to fulfilling the three-year staffing plan introduced by Ms. Ashworth in 2021, I am confident that this Board has provided the Office of the Commonwealth’s Attorney with the necessary resources to fulfill its prosecutorial duties to our residents,” said Occoquan District Supervisor Kenny Boddye. “These new positions will make our Commonwealth’s Attorney office the largest in Virginia, eclipsing even the staffing levels of Fairfax County, which serves more than two times as many residents.”

Since she took over, the Board of County Supervisors has increased funding for her office by $6.4 million and added 32 employees. This represents a cumulative percentage increase of about 93.5% over five years. All the while, Ashworth is pursuing fewer cases than her predecessor, choosing to indict 75 felonies on average per month compared to the 350-per-month average Ebert pursued.

Despite Ashworth having successfully lobbied to increase her office budget to the largest it has ever been in county history, she has the fewest average prosecutions of her predecessors. Meanwhile, the county’s murder rate has doubled, and violent crime increased by 70% since 2019.

In a letter to constituents, Coles District Supervisor Yesli Vega called Ashworth’s letter a “dangerous temper tantrum” describing it as “a stain on the Commonwealth’s Attorney’s office and unbecoming of an elected official.” She also questioned how a 2% increase in caseload could represent a $2 million budget request.

Both Weir and Vega pointed to neighboring Fairfax County, which cut misdemeanor prosecutions and has subsequently seen a rise in overall crime, with Vega rhetorically asking, “How has that worked out for them?”

In addition to the potential for increased crime in Prince William, the change would also increase the workload of Prince William County Police officers. In her letter, Ashworth clarified that while her office will no longer prosecute these offenses, the burden of prosecution will shift to the arresting police officer, who must handle traditional prosecutor duties such as subpoenaing witnesses, answering discovery, and presenting evidence in court.

“There will be an additional burden on the department in that we will need to train officers on how to do the legal courtroom work traditionally done by the Commonwealth Attorney’s Office,” said Prince William County Police Chief Peter Newsham. “This will also likely result in officers spending more time in court and less time in the community.”

Newsham added that there likely would be a “negative impact on conviction rates during the learning curve.” adding, “Our officers are committed, dedicated, and professional, but they are not lawyers.”

“I don’t think this board responds well to threats and Prince William County does not have an unlimited source of revenue,” Weir added when asked if Ashworth’s threats would lead to him consider changing his vote. “We’re growing the government at a level that is unsustainable given the revenues.”

The Board of County Supervisors meets at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 23, 2024, at the McCoart County Government Building, 1 County Complex Court in Woodbridge. The meeting is open to the public and will be streamed online.

Alan Gloss is a freelance reporter for Potomac Local News.

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At a presentation hosted by the Prince William County Committee of 100, the community gathered to explore the potential utilization of Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) as a viable energy source for the Northern Virginia region.

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Prince William fire and rescue units responded to a residential fire on Merrily Way on April 22, and a fire at Loch Lomond Elementary School on April 20, 2024. No injuries were reported in either incident.

Prince William County Fire and Rescue:

House Fire
Monday, April 22, 2024
4:16 AM

Earlier this morning fire and rescue units were dispatched to the 15500 blk of Merrily Way (22193) for a reported house fire. Crews arrived with heavy fire and smoke showing on the rear side of the single-family home. Due to the quick actions of a neighbor and a police officer, the occupants were safely out of the home when crews arrived. The neighbor attempted to wake the occupants up by using a car horn, arriving shortly afterwards, a Prince William County Police Officer, knocking feverishly on the front door alerted the occupants. The police officer then assisted the family out of the building. The structure sustained moderate damage. No injuries were reported. The Building Official determined the home to be unsafe to occupy, displacing 2 adults and 1 child. The Fire Marshal’s Office determined the fire started outside the home and spread into the structure. The fire was ignited by improper discarded smoking materials.

 

School Fire
Saturday, April 20, 2024
9:07 AM

This morning fire and rescue units were dispatched to Loch Lomond Elementary School (7900 blk Augusta Road) for a report of smoke coming from one of the school’s trailers. Crews arrived with smoke showing from a trailer. Extinguishment quickly followed. No injuries were reported. The classroom trailer was not being used for instructional purposes but rather for general storage. There will be no disruption to school activities. School officials were on the scene. The Fire Marshal’s Office determined the fire was ignited by an electrical failure within a wall structure.

President Biden is scheduled to deliver a speech today at Prince William Forest Park. The event, to commemorate Earth Day, will commence at 2:45 p.m. Those interested can watch the speech online.

A portion of the 13,000-acre recreational area near Quantico Marine Corps Base is closed to visitors to accommodate them.

The closure and restrictions imposed on the park are in response to a request from the United States Secret Service to ensure a secure staging area and perimeter with adequate standoff distance to safeguard the President during his visit, federal documents state. These temporary measures are also aimed at enabling the Secret Service to conduct security sweeps of the area, secure the landing zone for the President’s arrival, and ensure public safety.

The National Park Service, assessing the situation, deems the closure necessary to protect visitors during the Secret Service’s operations considering the nature of their activities. Although the National Park Service explored the possibility of an alternate or smaller area, the Secret Service determined that lesser restrictive measures or an alternate location would not suffice based on their security assessment.

This visit marks President Biden’s second to Prince William County in 2024. He kicked off his campaign with Vice President Kamala Harris in January at the Hylton Performing Arts Center. President Obama’s visit to Prince William County in 2012 marked the last time a Democrat running for the White House visited the area, once regarded as a bellwether for national elections. Obama held a campaign rally at Richard G. Pfitzner Stadium, formerly the home of the Fredericksburg Nationals (Potomac Nationals), where he arrived via helicopter.

The Prince William County Criminal Justice Academy’s Basic Recruit Session #56 Graduation was marked by personal connections and unwavering dedication to public service.

County Supervisor Victor Angry of the Neabsco District recounted the journey of Officer Carla Coleman, his goddaughter, who had been a part of his wife’s daycare since she was five years old.

“Carla is homegrown. She’s now going to be protecting the community, staying in the area, and protecting the community that she loves. I think that is a success story that she loves her community so much.” Despite his initial surprise at her decision to join the Army National Guard and subsequently become a police officer, he celebrated her success and commitment to serving her local community.

For Angry, public safety and law enforcement were deeply intertwined with personal connections and a sense of homegrown responsibility. He emphasized the importance of officers like Coleman, who understand the community they serve on a personal level, fostering trust and cooperation among residents.

Reflecting on previous debates about defunding the police, Angry expressed his opposition to any defunding.

“That’s a dead idea, I never really liked that term ‘defund’ anyway,” Angry said.

He highlighted the diverse and demanding nature of police work, emphasizing the importance of supporting officers in their mission to maintain public safety. “Our officers, are doing a lot. And I think 9-1-1 has turned more into a 4-1-1 line where people call the police for things officers should not be dealing with,” said Angry. “We need to be smarter about how we route calls to our over-stretched officers.”

Officer Carla Coleman, inspired by her positive experiences with law enforcement, spoke passionately about her decision to join the Prince William County Police Department. She emphasized the strong sense of community and family within the department, particularly praising the impact of School Resource Officers like First Sergeant Jensen, who had played a significant role in her life. “First Sergeant Jensen had a huge impact on me, and that’s the impact every Prince William County officer in the SRO (School Resource Officer) role has in schools. They just made me feel like I was in a family environment. And that’s the best part for me.”

“I Couldn’t be more proud,” County Police Chief Peter Newsham said of his son, newly minted Sheriffs Deputy Nicholas Newsham. The county has both a police department that patrols the streets, and a sheriff’s office that serves court papers and protects the judicial center in Manassas.

Deputy Newsham shared his pride in following in his father’s footsteps and joining the Sheriff’s Office. Despite the weight of his family legacy, he expressed gratitude for the support of his fellow recruits and instructors, who had made his journey a fulfilling and rewarding experience despite his famous name.

Sheriff Glen Hill, welcoming Deputy Newsham into his department, emphasized the importance of comprehensive training programs that prepare officers for the challenges they may encounter on the job. He underscored the need for continuous learning and adaptation in law enforcement, ensuring officers are equipped to handle diverse situations with professionalism and confidence.

“The scenario based training presented in the academy are things these officers may encounter. They improve their skills, but also improve their confidence in handling each unique case,” said Hill. “I’ve been a law enforcement officer for a long time, and the basic things I learned were the same. The training we prepared for, sometimes we prepare for the worst, but also, at the same time, you learn how to control yourself when you’re in those situations, and it makes you both a better person and a better officer.”

County Supervisor Yesli Vega of the Coles District, a county reserve sheriff’s deputy, was the keynote speaker. She emphasized the importance of maintaining integrity in policing.

She decried efforts to defund the police, highlighting the sacrifices made by officers and their families in service of public safety.

“When you vilify folks who are willing to put their life on the line in service of others, you create an environment that’s both hostile and dangerous. When I hear ‘defund the police’ I hear two things: these brave and honorable men and women are not supported, and public safety is not a priority. It greatly disheartens me, and I’m sure many others, who sacrifice not only time from their families but risk their lives to serve and protect their community,” said Vega.

In her address to the graduating class, Vega urged the new officers to uphold the values of integrity and service as they embark on their careers.

“Our young people are challenged, I think more than many of us have ever experienced. Technology, social media, and cameras being everywhere – our kids are consistently faced with an immense amount of pressure. Integrity is just one character trait of many that embody police officers. We live in a world where people, especially the media, like to paint a picture that is not necessarily the whole picture of police,” said Vega. “One thing I wanted these graduates to understand is that if you have integrity in everything you do, at the end of the day you know you’re making good decisions and can live with yourself, no matter what others say.”

She underscored the significance of their role in building trust and cooperation within the community, emphasizing the importance of supporting law enforcement officers in their mission to protect and serve.

The graduation ceremony took place Wednesday, April 17, 2024, at the Grace Life Church, 3560 Linton Hall Road, in Bristow. A total of 17 Prince William County Police Officers and 2 Prince William County Sheriff’s Deputies were in the class.

The starting annual salary for a county police officer is $62,000, while a starting sheriff’s deputy will make $57,500.

Alan Gloss is a freelance reporter for Potomac Local News.

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