DREAM COME TRUE After playing together in high school and college, Tim Settle and Greg Stroman are now Washington Redskins teammates. Sports, Page 11
May 16, 2018 | Serving Haymarket, Gainesville and Western Prince William County | Vol. 17, No. 20 | www.PrinceWilliamTimes.com | 50¢
PHOTO BY RANDY LITZINGER
Prince William County Supervisor Pete Candland, R-Gainesville, speaks during a town hall meeting at Ronald Reagan Middle School Monday, May 14, to discuss teacher complaints in county schools. School Board member Alyson Satterwhite (Gainesville), right front, participated in the event.
Candland to superintendent: ‘Find a new job’ By Jonathan Hunley
would be to find a new job,” said Candland, R-Gainesville. Candland made the comment at a public meeting he held at Reagan Middle School Monday, May 14, in the wake of controversy at the school over former Principal Alfie Turner, who has been accused of bullying and overbearing tactics by
Times Staff Writer
Prince William Superintendent Steven Walts should no longer lead the county schools, Prince William County Supervisor Pete Candland said Monday night. “My first directive to Dr. Walts
current and former teachers. And since announcing he would have a meeting, Candland said he’s learned there are similar problems at other schools. So he said after the meeting that the system has gotten “so far offtrack,” that new leadership is needed in the county schools.
“This has really been eye-opening for me,” said Candland, who as a member of the Prince William Board of Supervisors does not directly oversee Walts’ employment or his contract. Mac Haddow, known as a political associate and supporter of Candland’s, See SUPERINTENDENT, Page 4
Plan to dredge Neabsco Creek moving forward By Jonathan Hunley
igate by motorized watercraft. In March, the U.S. Coast Guard abruptly removed the two navigational buoys they normally drop at the mouth of the creek at this time of year. The channel must be 5 feet deep to be considered safe for boat travel, so the move has been likened to
Times Staff Writer
A public-private partnership to dredge Neabsco Creek is moving forward. The creek needs to be dredged because the U.S. Coast Guard recently declared it too shallow to safely nav-
INSIDE Calendar....................................ONLINE Classifieds...........................................15 News....................................................2 Opinion.................................................9
closing the creek, which affects 12 businesses and about 50 jobs. The creek is home to three privately-owned marinas that house about 1,000 recreational boats as well as a water-rescue boat belonging to a Prince William County volSee NEABSCO CREEK, Page 4 Obituaries.............................................6 Puzzle Page........................................10 Real Estate..........................................13 Sports.................................................11
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NEWS
Gainesville/Prince William Times | www.princewilliamtimes.com | May 16, 2018
4th Annual Suicide Awareness Walk Students from Forest Park High School in Woodbridge held their 4th annual Suicide Awareness Walk Saturday, May 12. Hundreds of students and families came out, all in support of removing the stigma associated with mental illness and suicide. The walk is an annual project of teacher Shannon Geraghty’s AP U.S. Government class, most of whom are seniors. The group walked from For-
est Park High School to C.D. Hylton High School, a 6-mile path students marked with numerous handmade signs with facts about suicide and notes of encouragement, including: “Suicide is not a remedy,” and “Your story is not over.” Suicide is the third-leading cause of death among students ages 15 to 24 ALL PHOTOS BY MIKE BEATY. Participants walk from Forest Park H.S. to C.D. Hylton High School as part of Saturday’s 4th Annual Suicide Awareness Week.
The walk is organized by FPHS teacher Shannon Geraghty’s and her AP U.S. Government students. Geraghty was recognized this year with a community service award from the Virginia Education Association.
Hundreds of students and community members participated in Forest Park High School’s 4th Annual Suicide Awareness Walk Saturday, May 12.
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Brent Freeze, left, who launched a nonprofit in memory of his daughter, Payton Freeze, a Battlefield High School student who took her life in 2016, talks with Prince William School Board member Justin Wilk (Potomac), right, and Wilk’s son Dominic. Community Editor Anita Sherman, 540.351.1635 asherman@fauquier.com Staff Writers ISSN 1050-7655, USPS 188280 Amanda Heincer, 540-878-2418 Published every Wednesday by aheincer@fauquier.com 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
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NEWS / PUBLIC SAFETY
Gainesville/Prince William Times | www.princewilliamtimes.com | May 16, 2018
Ebert mum on Dems’ request to ditch bail bonds By Jonathan Hunley Times Staff Writer
Four of Prince William County’s Democratic state lawmakers are asking the county’s top prosecutor to end the cash bail-bond system, citing the cost of pre-trial incarceration to taxpayers and a system that keeps poor people in jail while those with financial means post bonds for their release. But so far, Commonwealth’s Attorney Paul Ebert, also a Democrat, has neither responded to the lawmakers’ request nor to calls for comment from this publication. Dels. Jennifer Carroll Foy, D-2nd; Danica Roem, D-13th; Elizabeth Guzman, D-31st; and Lee Carter, D-50th, recently sent a letter to Ebert, asking him to follow the lead of his counterpart in Richmond in not seeking bail bonds for criminal defendants. Bonds are set for certain defendants to make sure they show up for trial, but the delegates believe that if defendants aren’t a flight risk or a danger to themselves or others, they shouldn’t be forced to pay to maintain their freedom. Instead, the lawmakers asked Ebert to create a pretrial release system based only on public safety and flight risk. If someone isn’t a danger or a flight risk,
he should be released before trial. If he is, he should be held. “The money piece should be eliminated,” Foy said in an interview. Foy is a public defender in Arlington, but she was a magistrate judge in Richmond for about three years. As such, she’s participated in hundreds, if not thousands, of bail hearings. And she’s seen people struggle to pay bail or have to stay in jail before trial because they couldn’t pay. In the letter to Ebert, the delegates wrote that the current system of cash bail denies many Americans the presumption of innocence. “Not only does cash bail have a disproportionately negative impact on low-income individuals and people of color, the current system does little to improve public safety and straddles localities with a significant financial burden,” they wrote. According to the Pretrial Justice Institute, it costs taxpayers about $75 a day to hold a person in jail pretrial, the delegates wrote, compared to just $7 a day to supervise someone in the community before trial. The system also affects the accused, they wrote. “Even a single day of pretrial incarceration can impose high costs on
an accused person, including family strain and loss in income, employment and education,” they wrote. And eliminating cash bail wouldn’t mean that those accused of serious violent crimes would be out on the streets, as they’re not eligible for bond in Virginia. “They already can’t get out,” Foy said in the interview. The delegates noted in their letter that other prosecutors are reforming their bail systems. In Philadelphia, for example, District Attorney Larry Krasner recently announced that city prosecutors would not seek cash bail for 25 types of misdemeanors and for some non-violent felonies. And Richmond Commonwealth’s Attorney Michael Herring instructed prosecutors to make an assessment of a defendant’s risk to the community and recommend to a judge his or her release without bond with pretrial conditions if the defendant does not pose an unacceptable risk. “We believe that Prince William County residents would benefit by changing the cash bail policy in a similar way to these prosecutors across the country,” the delegates wrote. Reach Jonathan Hunley at jhunley@fauquier.com.
Five displaced by Haymarket and Dumfries fires on Sunday.
Colgan student named National Merit Scholarship winner Grace Yeboah-Kodie, a senior at Charles J. Colgan Sr. High School, is among about 2,500 high school seniors to receive a $2,500 scholarship in the 2018 National Merit program. She was named in September as a National Merit Scholarship Semifinalist. Yeboah-Kodie earned the Merit Scholar title on the basis of her abilities, accomplishments, and personal attributes considered important for success in rigorous college studies. She qualified for the honor through her outstanding score on the Preliminary SAT/ National Merit Scholarship Qualifying test. In addition, her scholarship application included an essay and information about her participation and leadership in school and community activities. She was chosen from among 15,000 finalists.
Motorcyclist killed in Manassas
Prince William County fire and rescue crews responded to two large house fires Sunday, fire and rescue officials said. First, at 9:12 a.m. Sunday, May 13, fire and rescue units were called to the 4000 block of La Mauricie Loop, in the Dumfries area, for a reported townhouse fire, Prince William County fire and rescue officials said in a news release. Before the fire department arrived, a Prince William County police officer entered the home to help the occupant safely leave the building, the news release. CREDIT??? The occupant was awakened by the This single-family home on the 6800 block of Noyes Avenue in the Haymarket area fire and tried to extinguish it, but was was “totally destroyed” by a fire reported at 11:51 p.m. Sunday, May 13. There unsuccessful, the news release said. The occupant was taken to an area were no injuries. medical facility with non-life-threat- were called to a house fire on the An occupant of the house discovered ening injuries. The police officer was 6800 block of Noyes Avenue in the the fire on the rear deck and alerted the also treated at a local hospital for Haymarket area, fire and rescue offi- other occupants, who all safely left the non-life-threatening injuries and was cials said in a news release. home. There were no injuries. released, the news release said. When they arrived, the single-famThe home “was totally deThe fire marshal’s office determined ily home was “fully involved” and stroyed” and four other homes were that a portable electric fan next to the victim’s bed ignited the fire. The home the blaze was threatening four other “damaged from radiant heat,” the news release said. A family of four was posted as unsafe to occupy and the structures, the news release said. A second alarm was dispatched was displaced by the fire. Red Cross was called to help the resi“based on the volume of fire and the The fire marshal’s office is still dedent, the news release said. Then, at 11:51 p.m. Sunday, units exposure buildings,” fire officials said. termining the cause of the fire.
A 25-year-old Manassas man was killed Friday night when he crashed his motorcycle into two parked vehicles in the West Gate area, according to Prince William County police. About 7:18 p.m. Friday, May 11, officers with the crash investigation unit responded to the area of Portsmouth Road and Deward Court, off Lomond Drive, to investigate a crash involving a motorcycle, according to a police press release. The investigation revealed that the operator of a 2015 Kawasaki Ninja 650 motorcycle was traveling west on Portsmouth Road, just west of Deward Court, when he lost control of the motorcycle and struck two parked vehicles. The motorcyclist was identified as Luis Enrique Chirino Rodriguez, 25, of Manassas. He was wearing a helmet at the time of the crash and was pronounced dead at the hospital, the press release said. The cause of the crash is still under investigation.
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