YOUR ATHLETICISM WAS AMAZING: A list of all-region performers is on Sports, Page 8-9
January 2, 2019 | Vol. 18, No. 1 | www.PrinceWilliamTimes.com | 50¢ Covering Prince William County and surrounding communities, including Gainesville, Haymarket, Dumfries, Occoquan, Quantico and the cities of Manassas and Manassas Park.
A look back at a stormy 2018 By Jill Palermo
Times Staff Writer
Stormy weather and stormier politics dominated the headlines in Prince William County in 2018. Local residents endured the rainiest year since 1889 and coped with not one but two federal government shutdowns. County voters went to the polls three times in 2018: for the May 1 town elections, for the June 12 primaries and for the Nov. 6 general election that saw the Democrats take over
the House of Representatives for the first time since 2011. Locally, former School Board Chairman Ryan Sawyers resigned early. Corey Stewart, who holds the county’s top elected post, lost his bid for the U.S. Senate to incumbent Sen. Tim Kaine (D) who won by 16 points statewide and by nearly 32 points in Prince William. Here’s a rundown of the other stories that made the front page in 2018: In January, more than 250
Manassas residents of the East End trailer park were saved from eviction when Catholics for Housing announced an agreement to purchase the Va. 28 park from its previous owner, who had failed for decades to make needed repairs to its private sewer system. Also in January, Prince William state Dels. Haya Ayala, D-51st; Elizabeth Guzman, PHOTO COURTESY LORI BAUCKMAN-MOORE D-31st; and Danica Roem, th Almost no was water left in the tidal Potomac River near D-13 , made history as the Tim’s Rivershore Restaurant and Crabhouse on Friday, March 2. See STORMY, Page 5
More county schools offer free dinner to students By Karen Chaffraix Times Staff Writer
PHOTO BY DELIA ENGSTROM
Rippon Middle School students line up for a free dinner on the afternoon of Wednesday, Dec. 12. INSIDE Calendar.............................................12 Classified............................................13 Lifestyle..............................................10 Obituaries...........................................12
“This is the last call for bus 101. This is the last call for bus 101.” It is 3 p.m. on a Wednesday afternoon in the cafeteria at Rippon Middle School in Woodbridge. While the loudspeaker steers youngsters toward their buses home, several hundred pour in for their third meal of the day at school. They start breakfast at about 7:50 a.m. Lunches are served from 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.; and now, if they want, dinner at 3 p.m. Whether staying for activities, doing homework or just stopping in to eat before walking home, the food here is homemade, the kids love it, and thanks to a relatively new federal government program, it’s free to students any school that qualifies. “I’m comfortable saying that at least half of our schools qualify for the dinner program,” said Adam Russo, director of the school division’s Office of School Food and Nutrition Services, as he watched Rippon students select their dinner items. Russo, a former restaurant owner and father of three, has led the school meals program for the past 18 months. He moved to the area from Norfolk and has a business degree from Longwood University. Schools are eligible for the free dinner program if at least 50 percent of their students qualify for free or reduced-price meals. The cost of the dinner meals – including staffing – is fully reimbursed by the federal government. See DINNER, page 4
Opinion.................................................7 Puzzle Page..........................................6 Real Estate..........................................11 Sports...................................................8
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Prince William Times | www.princewilliamtimes.com | January 2, 2019
From loose livestock to cell phones Prince William’s 911 call center celebrates 50 years Staff report
On Dec. 2, 1968, Prince William County's 911 system went live with a single call-taker who also served as the county’s lone dispatcher. A lot has changed in 50 years. According to an account given to the county’s Office of Public Safety Communications by former fire and rescue Lt. Bill Yowell, when 911 first started it was only for fire and rescue service and it was called the “fire alarm” office. At that time, the sheriff’s office and town police departments took emergency calls through regular seven-digit telephone numbers. In 1968 or1969, the first 911 office was on the second floor of the Old Bennett School on Lee Avenue in Manassas. In the early 1980s, the office was moved to what was then known as the “Bennett Annex” – a small, white building behind the school. The annex was remodeled with paneling on the walls and yellow shag carpeting to keep the noise down. “There were differing opinions as to whether that worked,” Yowell wrote in his account. In 1985, the office moved to the McCoart Administration Building where it remained until 1988 when it moved next door to the George T. Owens building, which is named after Prince William County’s first police chief. Sheila L. Ragan, the operations manager of the Office of Public Safety Communications, said that population growth and technology in the county have been the biggest drivers of change since she was hired in 1987. When Ragan first came on, the call center handled fewer calls and sometimes the calls had to do with what would be considered oddities today. “Everything on the west end of the county used to be farms. We used to get calls about cows running in the roads. We had names of farmers, and we’d call them and ask, ‘Hey, are you missing any cows. Are you missing any horses?’” While the patrols in the western end of the county were called for cows and horses, chickens were the big issue in the eastern end of the county, said Georgia Garrett, who has been with emergency communications for 35 years. “Down in Triangle, we would have chickens in the road. We had some in Dale City, too. People won't believe it, but we did,” she said. Population growth also meant county residents were out later, which produced more phone calls, Ragan said. “It used to be at nighttime, everyone went to bed … and we had less calls. The mall would close. Stores would close. Everything would be closed at a certain
ISSN 1050-7655, USPS 188280 Published every Wednesday by Piedmont Media LLC How to reach us ADDRESS: 41 Culpeper Street Warrenton, Virginia 20186 PHONE: 540-347-4222 FAX: 540-349-8676 HOURS: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays, 24-hour answering service Publisher Catherine M. Nelson, 540-300-4780 cnelson@fauquier.com NEWSROOM Managing Editor Jill Palermo, 540-351-0431 jpalermo@fauquier.com Web/Copy Editor Amanda Heincer, 540-878-2418 aheincer@fauquier.com
Community Editor Anita Sherman, 540-351-1635 asherman@fauquier.com Associate Editor John Toler, 540-351-0487 jtoler@fauquier.com Staff Writers James Ivancic, 540-878-2414 jivancic@fauquier.com Karen Chaffraix, kchaffraix@fauquier.com Sports Editor Peter Brewington, 540-351-1169 pbrewington@fauquier.com Sports Staff Writer Jeff Malmgren, 540-874-2250 jmalmgren@fauquier.com GNISITREVDA Ad Manager Kathy Mills Godfrey 540-351-1162 kgodfrey@fauquier.com tnatlusnoC selaS defiissalC Jeanne Cobert, 540-878-2491 jcobert@fauquier.com Chairman Emeritus George R. Thompson
Prince William County began its 911 system 50 years ago. time. Now the calls are steady 24/7,” she said. Technology has changed, too. Even after the advent of computers, things were still done with equipment that was a hybrid of analog and digital, Ragan said. “Your computer had a roll of paper in the back. You would enter the information then you would tear the paper off and take it to the radio, and that’s how they dispatched,” she said. “Someone had to read the paper on all of the calls.” Now, the calls go directly to dispatchers, Ragan said. People used to call 911 only on landlines. Today, more and more calls are coming in on cellphones. When cellphones first came into use, it was hard to narrow down a caller’s location if To place Classified and Employment ads: Call 540351-1664 or fax 540-3498676, 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: $39.95 per year within the United States. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: Fauquier Times, 41 Culpeper St., Warrenton, VA 20186. Periodicals postage paid at Warrenton, Va. and at additional mailing offices
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they didn't have an address, Ragan said. Now the call takers can identify the callers’ wireless carriers and find their general locations with Google maps and narrow things down from there. “We can ask, ‘What's around you?’ and we can identify buildings and find their location by zooming in on the maps,” she said. “Before, we were pulling out the map books and trying to look at a map, which takes a little longer. It's a lot better now than it was then.” While a lot has changed over the past 50 years, there is one thing that has remained the same, said Eddie Reyes, director of the Public Safety Communications Center. “The call-takers and people who work in the 911 call center are dedicated and passionate about helping people in the community,” he said.
‘Outpouring’ of support for family of Dumfries dad killed in a car wreck The death of a young Dumfries father has prompted an outpouring of support and donations from the Prince William County community. A GoFundMe page set up for Ryan Easterly, 28, of Montclair, raised more than $41,000 in just more than nine hours Thursday. Easterly died at the hospital after his car struck the back of a dump truck on Ox Road at about 6:17 a.m. Wednesday, Dec. 26. He leaves behind his wife, Madelyn, a teacher at Pattie Elementary School, a 2-year-old son and a new baby who is due in March, the GoFundMe page said.
“We want to raise money to help Madelyn and their family any way we can with whatever they may need during this heartbreaking time,” the page said. Ryan has a twin brother, Tyler, and a younger sister, Morgan. He graduated from Potomac High School and studied at Ferrum College. Ryan played baseball in both high school and college. Doug and Kelly Easterly are Ryan’s parents. Kelly Easterly has served for many years as a chief of staff for Prince William County Supervisor John Jenkins, D-Neabsco. In an email, Kelly Easterly said her family has been touched by the many messages of sympathy they’ve received today from Ryan’s many friends. “The outpouring about Ryan and how much people loved him is overwhelming to my family,” she wrote.
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Prince William Times | www.princewilliamtimes.com | January 2, 2019
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Second Democrat announces run for Occoquan supervisor seat By Jill Palermo
Times Staff Writer
Aaron Edmond says he’s running for the Prince William Board of Supervisors to improve funding for schools, increase the local stock of affordable housing and better serve the county’s most vulnerable veterans. It’s a big to-do list for 25-year-old resident who moved to the county in 2013. But Edmond says he’s been getting big things done since he served as a student representative on his Somerset, New Jersey, school board and then enlisted in the Navy Reserves after graduating from high school at 18. Now a yeoman petty officer first class, Edmond said he’s achieved a rank in seven years that usually takes 10. He was also selected to for a special team that helped organize President Donald Trump’s inauguration in 2017. Edmond works full-time as a senior executive assistant at Vista Technology Services Inc.; serves in a reserve intelligence unit for the Chief of Naval Operation Information Warfare Unit and is pursuing a bachelor’s degree in public administration from George Mason University. He’s also a recent graduate of the University of Virginia’s Sorensen Institute for Political Leadership and recently served as vice president of the Occoquan District Democratic Committee. Edmond said he realizes he’s younger than most candidates, but believes he has the experience and the drive to represent the Occoquan District on the board of supervisors. “No matter how old you are, if you are qualified for office and you have the experience and you can engage the community, you definitely should run for office,” he said.
Aaron Edmond Edmond is the second Democrat to announce a run for the Occoquan District seat, which is currently held by Supervisor Ruth Anderson, a Republican and retired Air Force nurse. Anderson intends to seek re-election and currently does not have a primary challenger. Kenny Boddye, also a Democrat, announced his candidacy for the seat in October. Boddye, 31, is a business development manager for an insurance company, a California native and a graduate of Georgetown University.
Edmond said he was inspired to get into politics by former President Barack Obama. He volunteered heavily for Hillary Clinton’s campaign in Prince William County, but then was selected by the Navy to help coordinate Trump’s inauguration. He said the assignment was an opportunity to “put country over politics.” Regarding local issues, Edmond said he disagrees with Anderson’s position about school trailers. Anderson has said she’s not ready to support a $143 million plan to rid the county of its more than 200 classroom trailers because she doesn’t see a need to do so. Edmond said the trailers risk students’ safety and security and are an example of the county not living up to its promise to provide “a world-class education” for all students. “I think it goes back to, if we’re going to provide our students a world-class education, we need to make sure we’re funding our school system,” Edmond said. Edmond’s also concerned about lagging teacher pay and losing teachers to better-paying school divisions, including Arlington, Fairfax and Alexandria. Regarding housing, Edmond would like to see the county invest in a county housing trust fund that might be used to help people on the verge of homelessness keep from getting evicted. Regarding veterans, Edmond said the county should help ensure that older vets or those who don’t drive have a means of getting to medical appointments at Fort Belvoir. “We have our vets missing doctor’s appointments” because of a lack of transportation, Edmond said. “We had our vets serving our country. We need to do a better job serving them.” Reach Jill Palermo at jpalermo@fauquier.com
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