STAFFORD, Va. — Mountain View High School junior Elias Copeland was surprised in class with the news that he earned a $40,000 BigFuture Scholarship from College Board, recognizing students who take steps to plan their futures after high school.
Copeland’s parents, coaches, teachers, and district administrators attended the surprise event. Superintendent Daniel Smith praised Copeland for his initiative, saying the award is proof that planning ahead pays off.
STAFFORD, Va. — Stafford County’s newest high school now has a name, mascot, and colors. The School Board voted this week to name the county’s sixth high school Hartwood High School, with the Stallion as its mascot and black, silver, and gold as its colors.
Hartwood High is scheduled to open in the fall of 2026. Construction is already underway, designed to add classroom space and modern facilities for academics, athletics, arts, and career training. The school is being built to ease crowding and serve Stafford’s fast-growing population.
STAFFORD COUNTY — Stafford County leaders are weighing whether to impose stricter rules on data centers, as residents and advocacy groups warn the industry’s rapid expansion is already too close to neighborhoods, schools, and sensitive environmental areas.
On Tuesday, August 26, the Board of Supervisors held a meeting to review proposed updates to the county’s zoning ordinance and comprehensive plan. The changes come just two years after Stafford first adopted rules regulating the booming industry.
STAFFORD Va. — Stafford supervisors will meet today to decide how far the county should go in tightening rules for data centers, after weeks of public outcry and sharp division on the board.
The Board of Supervisors will hold a 5 p.m. work session focused exclusively on data centers. The discussion follows an overflow hearing earlier this month where residents warned of health and environmental threats from the projects, while supervisors split over how strict to make new rules.
A Richmond man hallucinating on Interstate 95 bit a deputy after running into traffic late Friday night, police said. The suspect, 30-year-old Adrian Chiodo, admitted to taking multiple drugs and mistook a deputy for someone wearing “a rubber deer mask,” they add. He was charged with Assault on Law Enforcement, Public Intoxication, and several other offenses and held on a $5,000 bond.
Also this past weekend, a woman rear-ended a car multiple times in the Chick-Fil-A drive-thru and later turned herself in. She’s now charged with Hit and Run and Assault and Battery.
STAFFORD, Va. – If your pup loves the water, mark your calendar—Drool in the Pool is back for two days of splashy fun in Stafford County.
The folks at Stafford Parks just told Potomac Local News they’re opening the pools to dogs (and their humans) on Saturday and Sunday, September 6–7. Bring your furry friend, a towel, and a swimsuit for a morning of canine cannonballs and belly flops.
STAFFORD, Va. – Two Stafford schools were briefly placed on lockdown Monday afternoon after a report of a suspicious person on Parkway Boulevard.
According to the Stafford County Sheriff’s Office, deputies responded to the area and secured both Park Ridge Elementary School and North Stafford High School, which together serve nearly 3,000 students, “out of an abundance of caution.” Park Ridge Elementary enrolls about 910 students, while North Stafford High School has about 1,995 students.
This fall, Stafford’s voters will choose their representatives for the School Board and Board of Supervisors for Garrisonville, Hartwood, Falmouth, and Aquia. George Washington, Rockhill, and Griffis-Widewater are up for election in 2027.
