HAYMARKET — Jersey Mike’s Subs, known for its fresh sliced-and-grilled subs, will open in Haymarket on Aug. 14.

Franchise owner Chris Brown will hold a grand opening and free sub fundraiser from Wednesday, Aug. 14 to Sunday, Aug. 18 to support Haymarket Regional Food Pantry.

The new restaurant, located at 6424 Trading Square, is circulating 7,500 coupons throughout the community offering a free regular sub for a minimum $2 contribution to the Haymarket Regional Food Pantry. Customers must have a coupon to be eligible.

“We want to raise awareness along with funds to highlight the contribution the food pantry makes throughout northern Virginia,” said Brown.

Brown is an exemplary Jersey Mike’s franchise owner who shares the company’s commitment to quality products and exceptional customer service, and who are dedicated to giving back to the local community.

Since 2010, Jersey Mike’s locations throughout the country have raised more than $41 million for local charities and have distributed more than 2 million free sub sandwiches to help numerous causes.

In 2019, the company’s 9th Annual Jersey Mike’s Month of Giving in March raised more than $7.3 million for more than 200 charities throughout the country.

Started in 1956, Jersey Mike’s now has 2,000 restaurants open and under development nationwide.

Jersey Mike’s was named the country’s Fastest-growing Sandwich Chain in the 2019 Nation’s Restaurant News Top 200 and #1 Most Admired Fast-casual Brand in QSR’s 2019 Reader’s Choice Awards.

The restaurant’s hours are 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., seven days a week.

Photo: Jersey Mike’s Facebook page

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.

MANASSAS — (Press Release) Out of an abundance of caution, Health Districts in Northern Virginia are informing people who were at various locations listed below during the specified time frames, that they may have been exposed to a person with measles.

Northern Virginia area health officials are mounting a coordinated effort to identify people who may have been exposed. Listed below are the dates, times, and locations of the potential exposure sites associated with the confirmed case of measles:

• Dulles International Airport in Terminal A and Baggage Claim level on Sunday, June 2, from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m.
• Novant Health UVA Health System Haymarket Medical Center, 15225 Heathcote Boulevard, Haymarket, VA in the emergency department on Sunday, June 2 at 11 p.m. through early Monday, June 3 at 4:30 a.m.
• Inova Fair Oaks Hospital, 3600 Joseph Siewick Drive, Fairfax, VA in the emergency department, including the waiting area, on Tuesday, June 4 from 3 to 5:30 p.m.

Measles is a highly contagious illness that is spread through coughing, sneezing, and contact with droplets from the nose, mouth or throat of an infected individual. Measles symptoms usually appear in two stages. In the first stage, most people have a fever of greater than 101 degrees, runny nose, watery red eyes and a cough.

The second stage begins around the third to seventh day when a rash begins to appear on the face and spreads over the entire body. Based on the date of exposure, we have determined that if you were infected with measles, you may develop symptoms as late as June 25, 2019.

What should you do if you were at one of the above locations at the time specified?

• If you have received two doses of a measles containing vaccine (either the measles, mumps and rubella [MMR] vaccine or a measles only vaccine which is available in other countries) you are protected and do not need to take any action.
• If you have received only one dose of a measles containing vaccine, you are very likely to be protected and your risk of being infected with measles from any of these exposures is very low.  However, to achieve complete immunity, contact your health care provider about getting a second vaccine dose.
• If you have never received a measles containing vaccine nor had a documented case of measles, you may be at risk of getting measles from this exposure.  Contact your local health department or health care provider for advice on possible intervention to decrease your risk of becoming infected or other precautions you need to take.  If you notice the symptoms of measles, stay home and away from others and immediately call your primary health care provider or health department to discuss further care. Call aheadbefore going to the office or the emergency room and tell them that you were exposed to measles.

Measles is easily preventable through a safe and effective MMR vaccine. The best protection against future measles cases is the vaccination of all susceptible persons. Two doses are recommended for most individuals with the first dose given at age 12-15 months and the second prior to kindergarten entry (age 4-6 years).

Measles is common in many parts of the world, including popular tourist destinations. All persons who will be traveling internationally should be evaluated for measles immunity and vaccinated as needed. Infants too young to be vaccinated should consider avoiding travel to areas with measles until they can be vaccinated.

Residents with additional questions about this measles investigation can call 571-233-7314. For more information on measles, visit www.vdh.virginia.gov/epidemiology/epidemiology-fact-sheets/measles-rubeola/.

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.

MANASSAS – Novant Health UVA Health System has announced that Douglas J. Markert, MD, will serve as Chief Clinical Officer for its Prince William Medical Center and Haymarket Medical Center.

Previously, Dr. Markert served as chief interventional radiologist for the University of Virginia Community Division in Manassas. In holding this position, Dr. Markert has nearly 20 years of experience performing minimally invasive image-guided surgical techniques to treat a wide range of vascular conditions.

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MANASSAS – Novant Health UVA Health System’s Prince William Medical Center and Haymarket Medical Center were both awarded ‘A’ safety grades.

These grades were determined by The Leapfrog Group, a national nonprofit committed to improving health care quality and safety, during their spring 2019 Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade.

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HAYMARKET – Tough Mudder Classic, an eight to 10-mile obstacle course adventure, is coming to Haymarket’s Silver Lake Park for the weekend of June 1 and 2.

According to Amanda Evertz, a Tough Mudder PR representative, the Silver Lake property was chosen because it has a varied terrain including open areas and woods trails.  It’s also a scenic property with a geographic location well-suited to the event.  Depending on the mud, it’s expected to be an exciting course.

Classic is also packed with more obstacles than ever (25 to be exact). They’ve added 10 new or updated obstacles on every single course. The goal is for participants to test their physical and mental limits and cross the finish line stronger than when they started.

11,000 people are currently anticipated to be on site for the event.  The cost for Saturday is $169 and Sunday is $119. However, according to Evertz, there is currently a 25% discount available online.

Tough Mudder also offers a 5K (launched unofficially last year) which is supposed to be a good starting point for people not ready to run the full course or who don’t have time to train for the June 1 event. The 5K is untimed, so there’s no pressure, no judgement, and no need to train.

These events are teamwork-focused and obstacle-crammed. They also have a Mudder Village for participants to kick back with live entertainment, games and challenges, local food, free beer, and camaraderie. Anyone interested can find out more about Mudder Village here.

Photo: Tough Mudder Facebook

HAYMARKET — On May 16, a second man sought in connection to the 2018 fatal overdose of a Dustin Colburn Lueker, 25, of Haymarket man, was arrested.

Jacob Carl Belotti turned himself in police without incident.

Chukukemeka Musa Chukuka, 32, was also indicted in connection to this investigation and remains incarcerated.

Police said Chukuka and Belotti supplied the victim with heroin combined with suspected Fentanyl at a residence located in the 2400 block of Youngs Drive in Haymarket on February 24, 2018.

Soon after consuming the narcotic, the victim showed signs of an adverse reaction and later died, said Prince William police spokesman Jonathan Perok.

The incident was jointly investigated by detectives from the Narcotics Task Force and the Homicide Unit. At the conclusion of the investigation, and upon receiving the final autopsy report from the Medical Examiner’s Office, the case was presented to the Grand Jury resulting in the issuance of the indictments.

Chukuka was already incarcerated at the Fairfax County Detention Center on unrelated charges.

HAYMARKET – Drivers along Route 15 should expect traffic disruptions as rumble strips are installed on both Wednesday and Thursday night.

Northbound and southbound Route 15 (James Madison Highway) between Route 234 (Sudley Road) and Route 701 (Logmill Road) will have overnight lane closures May 15 and May 16 in order to install a rumble strip along the shoulders, according to the Virginia Department of Transportation.

The single-lane closures will be along a two-mile segment of Route 15 on both Wednesday and Thursday night between 10 p.m. each night and 5 a.m. the following morning.

Drivers should expect delays and, if possible, use alternate routes. Drivers are also asked not to pass the moving equipment until directed by flaggers.

HAYMARKET – Haymarket will honor those who work in public service with their 2nd annual “Field of Flags” ceremony.

The Gainesville Haymarket Rotary Club and the Town of Haymarket are joining together to host the Flags for Heroes and Families weekend commemoration from June 14 through June 16 at the Town of Haymarket Park, located at 14710 Washington Street.

A community ceremony will celebrate this year’s Field of Flags on June 15 at 9 a.m. Individual flags may be sponsored to honor a veteran, firefighter, police officer, teacher or anyone in public service. Sponsorships support Semper K9, a non-profit that provides service dogs to combat veterans. The public ceremony is free and open to the public.

This year’s event will include: Haymarket Baptist Preschool children’s choir, Boy Scout troop 1882, and the National Anthem will be sung by locally renowned performer Jarreau Williams of Xen Live Entertainment. Local dignitaries will be present to recognize heroes as well the Haymarket mayor and town council and the Haymarket police department.

The Haymarket police monitor the flags overnight and provide support during the event. The flags will be erected on Friday, June 14 and taken down June 16, with the flags lit overnight.

Each flag is adorned with a tag containing the honoree’s name, branch of service, or type of service, and who is honoring them. At the end of the ceremony, those who purchased recognition for their hero can attach a placard to a flag of their choosing.

“Whether military, law enforcement, teachers, firefighters, a family member or neighbor, we invite you to honor a hero in your life by sponsoring a flag,” said Terri Aufmuth, president-elect of the Gainesville Haymarket Rotary Clubs. “Proceeds from this event will benefit a local non-profit, Semper K9—they are changing the lives our military veterans every day.”