(Press Release) On December 17 at 6:39 a.m., investigators from the Prince William police Crash Investigation Unit responded to the area of Linton Hall and Whitney roads in Gainesville to investigate a crash involving a pedestrian.

The investigation revealed that the driver of a 2016 Chevrolet Silverado was traveling southbound on Linton Hall Rd approaching the intersection with Whitney Road when the vehicle struck a pedestrian.

The pedestrian, identified as a 34-year-old man, was crossing Linton Hall Rd from a nearby service station to Gateway Center Plaza in a designated crosswalk. The striking vehicle was determined to have had the right-of-way with a green signal while the pedestrian signal indicated not to cross.

The pedestrian was transported to an area hospital where he died as a result of his injuries. The striking vehicle remained on the scene. No other injuries were reported.

The deceased pedestrian was identified as Korey Nicholas ALDRICH, 34, of Haymarket?. The driver of the 2016 Chevrolet Silverado was identified as a 62-year-old man of Gainesville.

OmniRide today will double the number of buses is has providing service between Gainesville,  Pentagon, and L’Enfant Plaza in Washington, D.C.

The added bus service will depart from the new commuter lot at University Boulevard at Route 29 and Interstate 66 in Gainesville with nine trips, starting at 4:53 a.m. through 7:33 a.m. The buses will serve stops at the Pentagon, 7th and streets in SW Washington, D.C., and M and 9 Streets at Navy Yard.

The route number will change from G200 to 612. In the afternoon, a total of 17 trips will be offered on the route from 12:14 to 7:38 p.m. All but six trips serve University Boulevard Commuter Lot, and all fares are half-price during construction on the I- 66 E-ZPass Express Lanes.

The opening of new E-ZPass toll lanes on I-395 has made it easier for buses to get in and out of the Pentagon bus bay and back onto the highway and into Washington, D.C., allowing for the expanded service at L’Enfant, said OmniRide Executive Director Bob Schneider. Traffic patterns near the bus bay were reconfigured favoring transit buses, he added.

The added service at the University lot will take the pressure off the overcrowded Cushing Road lot, off Balls Ford Road, said Schneider. Today’s changes come on the same day as OmniRide is rolling out its biggest systemwide service change ever, retooling not only commuter routes but also OmniRide local routes (formerly known as OmniLink).

The University lot opened in October as part of the I-66 E-ZPass lanes project. Schneider told members of the OmniRide Commission on Dec. 5 that he has seen the early signs of a slugging system begin to take the route from the lot.

Slugging — the informal system of ride-sharing that allows drivers with three or more occupants in their cars to use the E-ZPass lanes for free, and a mainstay along the I-95 corridor since the 1970s — is new to the I-66 corridor.

Newly expanded OmniRide bus service in Stafford — the first time OmniRide has ever served a jurisdiction outside Prince William, Manassas, and Manassas Park since its inception in the late 1980s — is taking off.

Routes 543 and 942, from the Staffordboro Commuter lot in North Stafford to Washington, D.C. and the Pentagon, respectively, are running at about 50% capacity. The service is about four weeks old.

“We’re very happy about that,” said Schneider. Fares on these routes are free through Dec. 31.

Peter Candland, Prince William County’s Gainesville District Supervisor, was one of two Republicans to hold their county seats on Tuesday.

• He’ll join Brentsville District Supervisor Jeanine Lawson who is also returning to the dias in January, as both handily beat out their Democratic challengers.
• Ruth Anderson, of the Occoquan District, couldn’t fend off her Democratic opponent Kenny Boddye and lost to him by a razor-thin 328 votes.
• He’ll now be in the minority on the Board, which will now have three Republicans on it (down from five) after Republican Yesli Vega also won on Tuesday.

This marks Candland’s third term on the Board of County Supervisors and, by now, he’s got the battle scars to prove it.

• He’s often been the lone conservative voice on the Board County Supervisors — even during the Board’s 6-2 Republican majority.
• “I’ve led many of the 1-7 votes on the board,” Candland told me. “My first attempt at giving more funding to the schools died in a 1-7 vote, but we worked through it, and it eventually passed.”
• The Board finally voted in favor of giving an additional $1 million in funding to build new classrooms, effectively reducing the number of students per class.
• He’s pushed to eliminate the automatic transfer agreement where, since 1986, the schools received more than half of county’s budget — no questions asked.
• Candland has said that the schools should be funded, sometimes with more money, based on need, not a flat percentage.

He, Lawson, and Woodbridge District Supervisor Frank Principi in recent months have pushed to preserve the Rural Crescent by opposing running water and sewer pipes to the tract of land between Quantico Marine Corps Base and Manassas National Battlefield.

• That, they say, would spur development, which would bring the need for new roads and infrastructure, schools, public safety buildings, etc.
• Voters in the Gainesville, Brentsville, Coles districts — which contain must of the county remaining rural land — rejected Democratic rule for those respective Board of Supervisors seats and voted for Republicans.
• “I don’t see the Rural Crescent as a Democrat or Republican issue,” said Candland. “Our constituents want to protect the rural area.”

Just before the election, an effort led by Candland, Lawson, and Principi, to halt further action on changing development rules failed.

• Members of the current Board, as well as the new board to take its seat in January to include Neabsco District Supervisor Victor Angry, urged patience.
• Proposed changes to the development rules inside the Rural Crescent are still being reviewed by members of the county’s Planning Commission, which will make a recommendation to the full Board of County Supervisors.
• Those changes include allowing for the construction of cluster subdivisions and adding water and sewer in the rural area.

Candland won handily, beating his opponent Danny Funderburk by 15 points.

• He says he heard from multiple Democrats who crossed party lines to cast their ballots for him.
• “Prince William County residents want leaders they can trust and will work for them, not special interest [land developers], and that’s what I’m going to do,” he said.

BonChon will open its new Korean and American style restaurant in Gainesville.

• Company officials had originally planned to open this month, but now tell Potomac Local the opening won’t happen until the end of 2019.
• No specific date was given.

When the restaurant does open, manager Peter An said customers will want to try the dish most customers like the most.

“People fall in love with our double-fried Korean BBQ chicken,” said Ann. It also features Bibimbap, which is a combination of quinoa, white rice, veggies, and fried eggs.

• BonChon’s also offers boneless chicken for $8.95. There’s also BonChon fried rice which comes with plain chicken, Bulgogi, seafood, and Kimchi bacon for $8.95.

A little bit of history: The founder of BonChon, Jinduk Seh, opened his first BonChon restaurant in Busan, a coastal city of South Korea in 2002.

• He named BonChon “my hometown” to honor the family and foods of this culture.
• The restaurant gained popularity and migrated to the U.S.
• The first restaurant opened was in Fort Lee, N.J. in 2006.
• BonChon has 94 locations across the U.S.

BonChon’s Gainesville location will be new location is located at 7344 Atlas Walk Way, at the Virginia Gateway Plaza.

The restaurant also has locations in Fredericksburg, Manassas, and Woodbridge.

Three Prince William County Supervisors today introduced a plan that will be addressed at its regular 7:30 p.m. on October 15.

• It’s something they hinted at on Sept. 16.

Per the plan announced at a rare press conference, any action on developing in the Rural Crescent — 117,000 acres of land between Quantico Marine Corps Base and Manassas National Battlefield Park — would be suspended.

• Supervisors Jeanine Lawson, Peter Candland, and Frank Principi introduced the plan.
• It’s a bi-partisan effort of two Republicans and a Democrat, respectively.

It comes after the county’s Planning Office released its recommendations for how to proceed in the Rural Crescent.

• They include introducing water and sewer lines into the area for the future development of new higher-density, residential “cluster” developments.
• And a transfer of development rights (TDR) program that would allow landowners in the Rural Crescent the option to sell their right to a build on their land to another housing developer.
• That developer then could take those development rights and build on any one of three locations inside the Rural Crescent.
• It’s a far cry from an older proposal that would have sent TDR rights for development on Route 1, in the county’s more urbanized Woodbridge District.
• Many of the recommendations stem from a study of the Rural Crescent, ordered by the Board of County Supervisors in 2012, that’s been collecting dust since 2014.

The only recommendation from the study the three leaders’ support — a Purchase of Development Rights (PDR) program.

• Here, taxpayer monies would be used to purchase property inside the rural area.
• The land would be placed in a conversation easement and could not be developed.
• The property owner would still keep the land for farming use only.

“It’s absurd to me, the notion that in order to preserve the Rural Crescent, we must develop it,” said Lawson, about the county’s recommendation for adding water and sewer for cluster developments.

Supervisors accused home builders of working to lessen or remove building restrictions in the Rural Crescent since it was created in 1998.

• Under the current rules, landowners can sell to developers who will build new homes — one per 10-acre lot.
• Those who call for preserving the rural area say that it will be an undue burden on taxpayers to fund the construction of new roads, schools, fire stations etc. to accommodate the new growth.

“It’s time to draw a line in the sand and stop all of this out-of-control development,” said Candland.

Principi lost a June Primary Election to fellow Democrat Margaret Franklin, who is now the Democratic nominee for Woodbridge Supervisor’s seat.

• He told Potomac Local today he plans to become a “citizen activist” to promote the urbanization of Woodbridge, especially near its the Virginia Railway Express station at the intersection of Routes 1 and 123.
• He would not confirm what multiple sources told us in August — that he would mount a write-in campaign against Franklin.
• Principi on Sept. 16 cast doubt on Franklin’s desire to preserve the Rural Crescent, calling her political positions “to the extreme left of me.”
• Franklin maintains she’s working to build consensus on how to best preserve the Rural Cresent.

Lawson and Candland are running contested races on November 5 to keep their respective seats in Brentsville and Gainesville.

HAYMARKET — The Battlefield High School (BHS) Bobcat varsity football team of Haymarket will kick off its first annual Military Appreciation Football Game on Friday, Sept. 27 at 7 p.m.

This event, presented by BHS Athletic Booster Club and sponsored by Honor Brewing Co. of Manassas, will take place at Battlefield High School at 15000 Graduation Drive.

The game will showcase a special military game jersey, honoring the WWII M18 Hellcat tank of the U.S. Army’s 4th Armory Division, which was the most effective U.S. tank destroyer of World War II.

The event will also honor active and retired military members attending the game as special guests and feature pre-game tailgate entertainment from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.

This entertainment includes country singers, the Feehan Brothers (who are former BHS football players), a rock-climbing wall, games and food from Honor BBQ of Manassas.

Game tickets are $6 per person at the gate.

All-you-can-eat barbecue tickets are $10 if purchased online or $15 at the gate.

Programs will be sold at the game and online for $20.

Rock-climbing wall and games are free.

To purchase tickets or get more information, go online.

The pre-game tailgate events, sponsored by Homestead Realty of Haymarket, will open with entertainment from local country singers.

Also performing are former BHS football players Connor and Brendan Feehan of The Feehan Brothers band. The Feehan brothers’ father served in the U.S. Army during Desert Storm and their great-grandfather served in WWII.

BHS will honor all active and retired military service members and provide special recognition on the field for WWII veterans, including Senior Master Sergeant Harry F. Miller, USAF (Ret.) from the WWII DC Chapter.

At 16 years old, Miller served in WWII as a tank crewman in the 740th Tank Battalion, as well as in the Korean and Vietnam Wars. He resides in Washington, D.C.

During the half-time show, Homes for Heroes will present a new home, built in Virginia Beach, to U.S. Navy Lt. Patrick Ferguson.

Ferguson sustained several physical and psychological injuries as a result from many training operations and deployments.

He was awarded two Combat Action Ribbons, the Iraq Campaign Medal with Bronze Star, two Joint Service Commendation Medals, five Navy/Marine Corps Achievement Medals and the National Defense Service Medal.

Active duty military members from all military branches will also be on-hand to answer questions, discuss career opportunities, and display military vehicles.

“This area is home to many veterans and military families, and many of our BHS students have had parents that have served or are currently serving in the military,” said Matt Jones, Battlefield High School Athletics Booster president. “We’re thrilled with all the community support and participation from our BHS families who helped us show our gratitude to the military.”

The BHS Bobcats will play Freedom High School’s varsity football team of Woodbridge.

WOODBRIDGE — Tough Mudder’s first event at Silver Lake Park in Prince William County may have been its last.

Gainesville District Supervisor Peter Candland asked county staff to explore what it would take to issue a land easement to prevent future athletic events like the Tough Mudder event that occurred two weeks ago.

Should the easement be enacted, instead of events that draw thousands of people to the park, activities at Silver Lake would be limited to walking and hiking. The park would then be akin to the protected Crows Nest Natural Preserve in Stafford County.

The Tough Mudder organization has an agreement with Prince William County to hold its “Tough Mudder Classic” event at the park for the next five years. The pop-up fitness event features a 10-mile run with obstacle courses in a party-like atmosphere, according to the organization’s website.

The first and only “Tough Mudder Classic” event to be held at Silver Lake Park near Haymarket was held June 1 and 2 and attracted 9,400 people to the region, according to Prince William County Parks, Recreation, and Tourism Director Seth Handler Voss. Attracting Tough Mudder to the county is part of the county’s effort to increase tourism to the region, he added.

The event generated $1.25 million in sales for local businesses, $10,894 in local sales taxes, and nearly $15,000 for hotel taxes in the county, Handler Voss estimates.

“If the facts and figures show that this [event] had a positive economic impact, we should continue the relationship…” said Prince William Chamber of Commerce Director of Government Relations Ross Snare told the County Board of Supervisors.

Others who participated in the event also said they appreciated having the Tough Mudder in their own backyard. Gainesville District Supervisor Peter Candland, who participated in the event with his daughter, He called the event “uplifting,” and one that provides people with a “great sense of accomplishment.”

But his praise for Tough Mudder stopped there. When Handler Voss warned Board of Supervisors that the Tough Mudder organization needs to know by the end of this month whether or not it will be welcomed back to Silver Lake, Candland said: “Tell them to prepare to find another location.”

Candland took issue with the more than 1,200 square feet of the 230-acre park that was excavated to install the obstacle course for the event. “It’s going to take months to get it back to the way it looked before the event only to turn around and tear it up again,” Candland added.

He asked Handler Voss to work with the Tough Mudder organization to find another public or private park in the county to host its event next year. Handler Voss said there may not be another suitable site, and added the organization enjoyed being at Silver Lake.

Silver Lake was proffered to Prince William County by a land developer in 2006. It opened as a public park three years later.

Photo: Seth Handler Voss addresses the Prince William Board of County Supervisors.

HAYMARKET — When it was announced last year that Tough Mudder Classic was coming to Prince William County, it was heralded as a win for sports tourism.

The popular 10-mile obstacle course run will take place this weekend at Silver Lake Regional Park in near Haymarket. It’s expected to attract hundreds of participants, dubbed “mudders,” and generate up to $2.5 million in consumer spending in Prince William County — mostly through people booking hotel rooms, shopping in area stores, and eating in area restaurants.

The setting — Silver Lake, with 230 acres of rolling meadows, pine forest, and 23-acre lake — is what’s known as a passive-use park. Fishing is allowed, but gas-powered boats and electric motors are banned.

Since it became a county park 10 years ago, Silver Lake, hiking, picnics, paddle boating, and canoeing have all been welcomed activities at the park.

In recent days, as the Tough Mudder Classic draws near, some have cried foul over the use of the park for the extreme sports event.

The Prince William Conservation Alliance says the Tough Mudder Classic, and events like it, do not belong at Silver Lake. It’s calling for local leaders to place the park into a conservation easement that would prevent future events like this, making the park more akin to the Crows Nest Nature Preserve in Stafford County.

“With a Tough Mudder event scheduled for June 1, it’s clear the [Prince William Board of County Supervisors] 2009 commitment does not guarantee good stewardship of Silver Lake. What can we do? First, we need to recognize both the value of the park’s environmental and community resources and the need to protect those resources.

Placing Silver Lake into a conservation easement is a forward-thinking way to accomplish this goal. A conservation easement is a legal agreement between a landowner and a land trust (or government) that permanently restricts certain uses of the land to protect its conservation values. The land trust that holds the easement is obligated to protect the objectives of the easement.

It’s heartening to see so many people speaking up to protect natural areas at Silver Lake.”

— Prince William Conservation Allaince statement

Members of the alliance hope elected officials hear their call and take action following the Tough Mudder event. But those same officials will also be listening to an anticipated presentation from staff members at the county’s parks and recreation department about a potential grant the Tough Mudder organization could receive from county taxpayers.

They’ll also be reviewing the numbers and will present to county leaders a cost-benefit analysis, to see just how much business the event brought into the county.

“Following the event, they may be eligible for a sports tourism incentive grant. This is a performance-based grant based on [hotel tax] revenue generated directly by the event which, in this case, could be between $15,000 and $35,000.

We anticipate between $1.6 and $2.5 million in direct consumer spending within Prince William County associated with this event.

Sports tourism events may be eligible for such incentives when they directly impact the tourism and travel industry of Prince William County through marketing and hosting events that attract a substantial volume of our-of-area participants. They also must agree to promote only Prince William County-based hotels in association with the event, provide data verifying from where registrants visited, agree to co-marketing Prince William County as a tourism destination, and agree to the responsibility for insurance.

Incentives are performance-based and can only be paid after the event following from verification of attendance and hotel nights generated.”

— Brent Heavner, Prince William County Parks and Recreation Department spokesman

Four small trees at the park have been cut down for the Tough Mudder event. The organization is required to restore the park to its previous state following the conclusion of the event.

“The only exception to this may occur in instances where improvements were made to the existing trail system within the park, and staff determines these should remain for future public use,” added Heavner.

Silver Lake Regional Park is located at 16198 Silver Lake Road near Haymarket.

GAINESVILLE — On Saturday, June 1, Rockwood Sports Bar is celebrating its one-year anniversary with a BBQ Bash from noon to 11 p.m.

The event will take place at the Rockwood Sports Bar at 7505 Iron Bar Lane, Gainesville (20155).

The Gainesville sports bar plan on having specials, including fresh-squeezed crushes, beach bucket cocktails, sangria, raffles, and a cornhole tournament on Rockwood’s new outdoor sports patio. DJ Rushhour will provide live entertainment.

Rockwood’s dog-friendly sports patio space is furnished with artificial turf and outfitted with long picnic-style tables and includes outdoor games such as bocce, giant Jenga, Connect Four, and cornhole.

Rockwood is open Monday through Friday from 5 p.m. to 2 a.m. On Saturdays and Sundays, they’re open from 12 p.m. to 2 a.m. for brunch and dinner.

GAINESVILLE – The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) is holding a public information meeting Thursday, May 23.

This meeting will discuss potential safety enhancements being studied for drivers and pedestrians along two miles of Rollins Ford Road between Vint Hill Road (Route 215) and Linton Hall Road (Route 619).

The concepts being studied include:

• Additional pedestrian signage at existing crosswalks
• Partial lane reduction
• Intersection roundabouts
• Restricted crossing U-turns

Stop by between 6:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. at Glenkirk Elementary School, 8584 Sedge Wren Drive, Gainesville (20155) to learn more about the concepts being studied and to provide your input.

VDOT staff will be available to answer questions. A short presentation will begin at 7 p.m.

Provide comments at the meeting, or send them to VDOT by May 28. Email or mail comments to Mr. Rahul Trivedi, P.E., Virginia Department of Transportation, 4975 Alliance Drive, Fairfax, VA 22030.