Cat Johnson, a Stafford tattoo model, artist, and owner of Dark Horse Tattoos, at 395 Garrisonville Road, has competed for weeks to win Inked Magazine Covergirl 2023, along with 102,000 other tattooed models scattered across the country and worldwide.
Johnson, whose stage name is Cat Irezumi, has been in first during the previous six rounds and placed second in the semifinals.
She is an experienced model with an impressive full body tattoo by celebrity tattoo artists Chris Garver (former star of Miami Ink and guest judge on Ink Masters ) and Rose Hardy (former guest judge on Ink Masters and star on Tattoo Redo).
The 2023 Inked cover girl will win $25,000, experience a photoshoot with celebrity photographer Christopher Kolk and receive a two-day tattoo session with Ryan Ashley, who was the first woman to win reality TV’s Ink Masters tattoo competition.
Voting is open, and family, friends, and fans can vote once every 24 hours for free. Avid supporters of Miss Johnson can also donate to a great cause MusiCares, while casting paid votes for her to advance. MusiCares supports musicians in need of mental healthcare.
The 2022-23 school year marked the first time a student representative sat on the Stafford County School Board.
The county followed a growing trend around the region where school boards allow student body members to sit alongside elected officials and share their opinions and insight on matters facing the governing body.
As the school year winds down, PLN wanted to know more about Stafford’s first-ever student school board representative, Katherine Buckman, and her alternate, Maraki Solomon.
Here’s our email interview.
PLN: Why did you want to be a school board rep, as it hasn’t been offered to students until recently?
Buckman: Although the position of school board rep was new to Stafford this year, I was familiar with the concept simply from hearing about it in other nearby counties. When the application for the position was first released, I could not tell you how excited I was. Ever since participating in my middle school’s county debate team in the 7th grade, I have been hooked on the idea of pursuing a formal education and career in an area of law or politics. I love public speaking and advocacy, especially when I am able to use my voice to promote change.
Solomon: I thought that it seemed interesting, and I wanted to be more involved with my community. Read More
“Love Island USA,” a TV show currently the Peacock streaming service, is currently casting for its upcoming season, which will stream this summer.
The show seeks a new group of singles to participate in the competition, where islanders will take up residence in a villa in hopes of finding love and winning a $100,000 prize.
Manassas resident Kat Gibson became a contestant on Love Island USA in 2022 when she joined during the third week of the competition. Gibson featured for two weeks before being left without a partner, which forced her off the island. Gibson is still waiting for her soulmate, a show producer tells PLN.
Living in isolation from the outside world in a sprawling villa, islanders “couple up” with one another and compete together in a series of games and challenges. Any Islander who remains single after each re-coupling ceremony risks elimination and being dumped from the island. Viewers are also given the opportunity to play along, voting for their favorite islanders and influencing the action in the villa.
The Love Island USA casting team is searching for relatable people who represent all parts of the country, from big cities to small towns. The team is looking for down-to-earth, charismatic ‘singles-next-door’ who may have never considered going on a dating show before but are open to giving it a shot.
Love Island USA hopefuls must answer over 80 questions about social media presence, names, and pronouns. Applicants must be over the age of 18.
Visit loveislandusa.castingcrane.com to apply. The show was named Peacock’s most-streamed Original Unscripted Series when it debuted on the platform in the summer of 2022.
In April 2023, the Manassas City Police Department will host a Rape Aggression Defense (R.A.D.) class.
Instructors aim to teach women self-defense tactics, techniques, and strategies that can help them protect against rape or sexual assault.
Attendees will master these skills through lectures, discussions, and physical demonstrations., according to a press release.
The class will be administered by certified instructors who are held to the national standard for self-defense.
This class will be a two-day program held on April 15 and 16 from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Although there is a maximum of 15 attendees, there will also be a waiting list.
Register online. For the safety of all attendees, the location of the class is only disclosed after registration.
Manassas had 20 reported rapes in 2021.
In partnership with businesses, and secondary and post-secondary schools, the funding will focus on planning and implementing Intern Expos, hosting workforce and intern workshops, and supporting workforce volunteers and Chamber staff in their efforts within the workforce development arena. The funding will be matched with in-kind and cash contributions from local partners and the FXBG Chamber.
The grant funding is a workforce development implementation grant spanning over a two-year grant cycle representing GO Virginia’s Region 6. The grant outcomes will result in up to 100 work-based learning connections and internships across our region annually, focusing on GO Virginia’s targeted industries.
“An empowered and enriched workforce is the foundation of our region’s success. This GO Virginia funding will allow the FXBG Chamber’s Workforce NOW program, our business community, and our students to come together to build upon our workforce. Our goal is to create higher awareness and accessibility of intern/extern/apprenticeship (work-based learning) opportunities for businesses to host and students to participate in, leading to higher paying, good quality jobs for all residents of GO Virginia Region 6,” said Carley Walker, vice president of programs and events at the Fredericksburg Regional Chamber of Commerce.
In February, the chamber held its annual Intern Expo at the Fredericksburg Expo Center, where more than 500 students from area high schools and colleges attended.
The Fredericksburg Nationals announced Eric Bach as the new play-by-play voice of the FredNats.
Bach replaces Joey Zanaboni, who left for a position in Major League Soccer last month. Bach will call all 132 games on the FredNats Baseball Network and all home games on MiLB TV and the free Bally Sports App. He will also head up the team’s media relations efforts.
“The Fredericksburg Nationals are thrilled to welcome Eric Bach as our lead broadcaster and voice for the 2023 season,” said Nick Hall, Executive Vice President and General Manager. “We are looking forward to him showcasing his talent and energy, which will bring our games to life both locally and beyond. Our fans can tune in to Eric Bach’s dynamic play-by-play commentary on the free Bally Sports app, along with MiLB TV.”
“I couldn’t be more excited to return to Fredericksburg for the 2023 season,” Bach said. “I’m so thankful to Nick Hall, Robbie Perry, and the Silber Family for trusting me to take the reins of the FredNats broadcast and bring it to new heights. I can’t wait to re-engage with a community and fan base that I fell in love with in 2022. This season should be a memorable one both on the field and in the booth in Fredericksburg, and I’m grateful to be a part of it.”
A native of Coldwater, Mich., Bach returns to Fredericksburg for a second season in the booth after serving as the Broadcasting and Media Relations Assistant during the 2022 season, where he was a part of the broadcast that led all of Single-A and High-A in MiLB TV unique viewership. 2023 marks Bach’s third season in baseball.
Bach graduated from Michigan State University in 2021 and served as the voice of the Spartans on WDBM, the award-winning MSU student radio station. He won seven Michigan Association of Broadcasters awards for play-by-play while in college and began his baseball career in the summer collegiate Coastal Plain League in 2021 with the Morehead City Marlins before joining the FredNats in 2022.
FredNat fans can listen to Eric Bach on the FredNats Baseball Network, MiLB TV and the free Bally Sports App on Opening Day at Virginia Credit Union Stadium on Friday, April 7 when the FredNats take on the Lynchburg Hillcats.
The Stafford County Sheriff’s Office gave me a tour of its facilities and a view of how each division creates one functioning department.
Captain Ray Davis gave this tour. He was very kind in explaining the job from the ground up to the higher levels of admin.
When you hear law enforcement, you might first think about the deputy in the police car working the street. However, dispatchers, which serve as law enforcement’s front line, can become so stressed that they are given access to a quiet room during their shifts. A lot of coordination between dispatchers and law enforcement officers goes into making sure people can get the help they need.
Some of the rooms were not accessible for this tour. However, each office within the building held teams of people separated by division. Each floor corresponded with different levels.
Deputies were stationed on the bottom floor, where they could quickly go out and respond, while the administration offices sat on the top floor. The Stafford County Sheriff’s Office has existed since at least 1634. However, one thing that is always changing around them is the community and the different types of personalities that they all have to interact with.
First responders have to stay flexible, but there are many easy ways to make their job easier, said Davis.
In order to be helpful to your 911 dispatcher or anyone who is coming to help you in case of an emergency, make sure to gather information such as location, type of emergency, and the total number of people involved, said Davis. Helping dispatchers and deputies in times of emergency or crisis speeds up the process.
Toward the end of the facility tour, Davis mentioned a website where important information for first responders could be stored. Visit smart911.com and see if adding information will help in a crisis.
The Stafford County Sheriff’s Office is hiring 911 dispatchers called communications officers. The office produced a video to show the job, which has a $46,755 annual starting pay.
A rebuild of Hartwood Elementary School will take a backseat to constructing the 18th elementary school in Stafford County.
Stafford County’s Board of Supervisors voted to move the construction of Stafford County’s 18th elementary school to 2023 and delay rebuilding Hartwood Elementary School until 2027.
After voting to defer the unfinished business to the end of the closed session, the Board voted 6-1 to begin constructing the county’s newest elementary school in 2023.
Hartwood District Supervisor Darrell English was the dissenting vote. English supported a rebuild for the school in his district, one of the last in the county that uses a septic system.
The new school will sit in the southern section of the county, though the school division has not announced the site of the new school. The school division says a needed 19th elementary school would be built in the middle of the county, likely in the Embrey Mill area.
As supervisors work with the county school division to meet its need for $343 million in new funding for new schools, Anne E. Moncure Elementary School has sat vacant since the Summer of 2019.
After Moncure Elementary School was replaced by a newer building roughly a mile away, the property became mostly vacant except for occasional use by local law enforcement for training.
Today, the county is considering selling the land to a developer who would raze the school and build townhomes.
Stafford County Nutrition Services will work in collaboration with Giant Foods to supply families with groceries in anticipation of spring break. Distribution will take place at Colonial Forge High School from 3:30 to 6 p.m. on Friday, March 10. While all families are welcome to this event, supplies are limited.
Nutrition Services in conjunction with Giant Foods will supply families with groceries for spring break. Open to all.
Distribution will take place at Colonial Forge High School March 10th from 3:30 pm to 6:00 pm while supplies last.@SCPSchools pic.twitter.com/xVTjegVC6i
— Stafford School Nutrition (@scpsnutrition) March 1, 2023
