Issuu

Colgan rising junior Samuel Fuller, 17, is a promising competitive cyclist. Page 15

July 11, 2018 | Serving Haymarket, Gainesville and Western Prince William County | Vol. 17, No. 28 | www.PrinceWilliamTimes.com | 50¢

Manassas area park eyed for 62nd elementary school By Jill Palermo

Rosemount Lewis school site meeting

Times Staff Writer

The Prince William County school division is again considering an existing park as a possible home for a new elementary school. The school division caused a stir in early 2016 when it proposed building a new elementary school on existing parkland adjacent to the Chinn Aquatics and Fitness Center in Lake Ridge. Following an outcry from local residents, the school division shifted the school site to privately owned land in the same area along Prince William Parkway. That school is now under construction and will become the county’s 61st elementary school when it opens in fall 2019. The ever-growing school division remains in

Date: Thursday, July 19 Time: 7-9 p.m. Location: Stonewall Jackson High School. School division officials will discuss a proposal to build the county’s 62nd elementary school at Rosemount Lewis Neighborhood Park. The 924-student school is slated to open in 2022. need of several school sites, however, and is now considering two parcels in the area of Rosemount Lewis Neighborhood Park, located near the intersection of Crestwood Drive and Ashton Avenue in the Manassas area of Prince William County. The park is set back in the trees amid a neighborhood of older townhomes behind Manassas Mall.

See SCHOOL, page 9

STAFF PHOTO Rosemount Lewis Neighborhood Park is tucked among the trees at the end of Crestwood Drive, in an area of older townhomes behind Manassas Mall.

‘I hope they don’t leave’: Fans lament P-Nats plan to move By Jonathan Hunley Times Staff Writer

10,000 turn out for Dale City July 4 parade An estimated 10,000 attended the annual Dale City 4th of July Parade. Now in its 47th year, the parade included 141 entries encompassing about 3,000 participants. The parade is organized by the Dale City Civic Association. Left, Mia Faith Pettiway, 2, takes in the sights and sounds. Full story, award winners and additional photos, pages 6-7 PHOTOS BY DELIA ENGSTROM

Potomac Nationals fans say they’re sad and disappointed but not necessarily surprised by recent news that Prince William’s hometown minor league baseball team could be moving to a proposed new stadium in Fredericksburg. Perhaps Meghan Phillips, who was among the crowd at the team’s July 4 game against the Salem Red Sox, summed it up best. Said the 20-year-old Bristow resident: “We’re a little bummed about that.” Or maybe it was David Slezak, who lives in Woodbridge. “It’s sad,” he said. Slezak said the team contributed to the county having a small-town feel despite it being a bustling suburb of Washington, D.C. Now, part of that small-town feel could be gone. Jack Clifford, 68, lives within walking distance of the P-Nats home field, G. Richard Pfitzner Stadium, and said he enjoys watching the team play. “It’s a nice night out to walk across the street and go to the game,” he said.

See P-NATS, page 2 INSIDE Calendars...........................................16 Classified............................................21 Lifestyle..............................................16 Opinion...............................................13

Public Safety.........................................3 Puzzles...............................................14 Real Estate..........................................19 Sports.................................................15

86 WARRENTON, VA

FROM PAGE 1

Gainesville/Prince William Times | www.princewilliamtimes.com | July 11, 2018

‘I hope they don’t leave’: Fans lament P-Nats plan to move P-NATS from page 1 But if he had to drive to Fredericksburg to see the team, Clifford said he might as well make the trip to Washington to see the major-league franchise. “Maybe it will increase the Nationals’ attendance” if people do that, he joked. Mel Borden said he lives about five minutes away from Pfitzner and goes to at least two games a year. He said he too would probably go to games in Fredericksburg if the team moves there, but not as frequently. “It’s really a shame, too,” the 58-year-old said of the potential move.

Will they go?

P-Nats fans won’t have to worry about making the trek to Fredericksburg until at least the 2020 season, which is the earliest the team could move to a new $35 million stadium there if everything falls into place. The P-Nats, a minor-league affiliate of the Washington Nationals, announced June 26 the team could soon enter into exclusive negotiations for a stadium outside the sprawling Central Park shopping center off State Route 3 and Bragg Road. The Fredericksburg City Council

was scheduled to vote Tuesday, July 10, on whether to enter into a 120day study period with the team. The vote took place after the deadline for this publication. Under the proposed deal, the P-Nats would own and finance the stadium, but Fredericksburg would pledge annual payments of $1.05 million toward the facility’s debt service. Fredericksburg officials say they can recoup some of their annual contribution with about $700,000 in new taxes and revenue generated by renting out the stadium to outside entities.

The Farm at Sunnyside - fresh, organic vegetables Lothars’ Gourmet - artisanal meats The Gardens of Khmet - fresh produce Bread & Water - artisanal bread products Waterford Run Farm - jams Abija Blue - home & garden luxuries Loose Leaf Tea Company - custom tea blends Silver Spun Rabbit - silver jewelry Sea of Serendipity - bath products The Turning Point - turned wood products Hill Girl Crafts - wire wrappings Maureen Days - copper jewelry Woolf Lavender Farm - hyrosols & botanicals A Cooking Demonstration by The Inn’s Kitchen! Tempura Summer Vegetables with Vietnamese Dipping Sauce

Talks on new Woodbridge stadium fizzled

Although not always called the P-Nats or affiliated with the Washington Nationals, the team has played at its current field since 1984. The P-Nats’ owners have known since the early 2000s they would need to move the team to a new facility because the aging Pfitzner Stadium, with its open bleacher seating and limited amenities, no longer meets Major League baseball’s standards for its Minor League affiliates. The team had been negotiating with Prince William County officials since about 2003 on a plan to construct a new stadium at Stonebridge at Potomac Town Center. But those talks were long delayed by the team’s effort to find a naming sponsor for the stadium and then ended altogether last summer. The team and the Prince William Board of Supervisors were discussing a plan to build a new county-owned stadium for the team behind the Wegmans grocery store. The idea was to finance the facility with public industrial development bonds. The P-Nats pledged to pay the estimated $2.7 million in annual debt-service, while the county promised to spend about $7 million to prepare the site for construction

and another $5 million for needed road improvements. The plan failed to win support from a majority of supervisors, however, and the talks fizzled in July 2017. Some fans at the July 4 game said they’d heard about the new plan for a stadium in Fredericksburg and would likely drive to see some games there. Jeff Oakley, who lives in Lorton, also said he would make the trek, but probably not as often as he comes to Pfitzner. The 58-year-old said he is sad to see news of the potential departure, understands the situation from the team’s perspective. “Looks like that might be a good thing for them,” he said. Randy Miller was attending his first P-Nats home game this year. He said he hadn’t heard about the pending deal in Fredericksburg, but he knew it was possible the team could move elsewhere. As a taxpayer, he said he didn’t support the proposed deal for a Prince William-owned stadium. He also said he would go to games in Fredericksburg if that arrangement works out. Still, the 62-year-old added: “I hope they don’t leave.” Reach Jonathan Hunley at jhunley@fauquier.com

Community Editor Anita Sherman, 540.351.1635 asherman@fauquier.com Staff Writers ISSN 1050-7655, USPS 188280 Amanda Heincer, 540-878-2418 aheincer@fauquier.com Published every Wednesday by Piedmont Media LLC James Ivancic, 540-878-2414 jivancic@fauquier.com How to reach us Leland Schwartz, 540-351-0488 ADDRESS: lschwartz@fauquier.com 41 Culpeper Street Warrenton, Virginia 20186 Jonathan Hunley PHONE: 540-347-4222 jhunley@fauquier.com FAX: 540-349-8676 HOURS: 8 a.m. 5 p.m. weekdays, Sports Editor 24-hour answering service Peter Brewington, 540-351-1169 pbrewington@fauquier.com Publisher Catherine M. Nelson, Sports Staff Writer 540-300-4780 Jeff Malmgren, 540-874-2250 cnelson@fauquier.com jmalmgren@fauquier.com NEWSROOM ADVERTISING Editor in Chief Ad Manager Chris Six, 540-212-6331 Kathy Mills Godfrey 540-351-1162 csix@fauquier.com kgodfrey@fauquier.com Managing Editor Classified Sales Consulatants Jill Palermo,540-351-0431 Jeanne Cobert, 540-878-2491 jpalermo@fauquier.com jcobert@fauquier.com Associate Editor Evelyn Cobert, 540-878-2492 John Toler, 540-351-0487 jtoler@fauquier.com ecobert@fauquier.com

Chairman Emeritus George R. Thompson To place Classified and Employment ads: Call 540-351-1664 or fax 540-349-8676, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday — Friday or email fauquierclassifieds@fauquier. com SUBSCRIPTIONS Call 540-347-4222 Help with your subscription? Call 540-878-2413 or email CirculationFT@fauquier.com Missed your paper? Call 540-347-4222, 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Thursdays Subscription: $69.68 per year within the United States. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: Fauquier Times, 39 Culpeper St., Warrenton, VA 20186. Periodicals postage paid at Warrenton, Va. and at additional mailing offices

PUBLIC SAFETY

Gainesville/Prince William Times | www.princewilliamtimes.com | July 11, 2018

KKK flyers turn up in Prince William, Fauquier

Police: Distribution appears random By James Ivancic Times Staff Writer

White supremacy groups seeking recruits and instilling fear were busy again this weekend in Fauquier and Prince William counties and the Town of Warrenton. Law enforcement agencies said they received multiple reports of white supremacy messages left in residential neighborhoods. Prince William County police investigated instances of pamphlets containing hate propaganda found at the ends of multiple driveways in the Gainesville and Bristow areas. “A caller reported to police that they had located a bag that contained birdseed and pamphlets that appeared to be recruiting material for the Ku Klux Klan,” Prince William County police spokesman Nathan J. Probus reported in a press release. The distribution appeared random rather than targeting anyone specific. Probus said the bags were seemingly left on driveways sometime during the overnight hours of Saturday into Sunday in the Gainesville area along several residential streets off Lee Highway (U.S. 29) between Carver Road and Old Carolina Road. Similar bags were also located in the new Bristow Village neighbor-

hood in the Bristow area. The bags were weighed down with birdseed and possibly thrown from a vehicle, Probus said. No property was damaged. A similar incident occurred in April 28 in the 4500 block of Forestburg Lane in Triangle. Both incidents remain under investigation. In Warrenton, more than 60 flyers were left in eight or more locations on the north and west sides of Warrenton over the weekend, Warrenton Interim Police Chief Daniel Boring said. The flyers were left in individual bags and tossed in residential areas. A similar distribution occurred last November. Residents on Norfolk Drive, Foxcroft Road, Evans Road and Fauquier Road were among those reporting the flyers, Boring said. “At this point we’re looking into it. We’re also sharing with other agencies,” the interim chief said. “Beyond that I don’t want to say anything.” Sgt. James Hartman of the Fauquier County Sheriff’s Office said that many racist flyers were collected over the weekend but said the office has decided not to publicize the incidents. “FCSO is not issuing a release as

Some recipients of the KKK literature posted pictures on Facebook to report the flyers’ distribution.

it only serves to give this group exposure, which is exactly what they want,” Hartman said. He said flyers were reported on Free State Road in Marshall and Hazelwood Court, Mosby Drive and Meetze Road in Warrenton. Hartman said the flyers were likely distributed by the same group that left them on area driveways last November.

Hartman said the Fauquier sheriff’s office is sharing information with other police agencies. “They are all over the region and in the Shenandoah Valley,” Hartman said of the flyers. “To be frank, there is no violation here other than littering,” Hartman said. “But it is disturbing.” Reach James Ivancic at jivancic@ fauquier.com