January 23, 2019 | Vol. 18, No. 3 | 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.
New boundaries for elementary schools approved 16 Prince William schools affected by ‘compromise plan’ By Jill Palermo
Times Staff Writer
Under a compromise redistricting plan approved last week, fewer kids than anticipated will have to switch elementary schools in eastern Prince William County next year, but the area will retain about 20 portable classroom trailers spread among six
schools. Still, that’s down from the 61 trailers being used by schools in Occoquan, Lake Ridge, Woodbridge and Dale City this year. That reduction was enough to satisfy most of the Prince William County School Board members who voted 7 to 1 to approve the new boundaries Wednesday, Jan. 16. The new boundaries affect portions of the following eastern Prince William elementary schools: Antietam, Belmont, Featherstone, Kerrydale, Kilby, Lake Ridge, Marumsco Hills, Minnieville, Occoquan, Old Bridge, Penn, Potomac View, Rockledge, Springwoods,
Vaughan, and Westridge. The new attendance areas were drawn because county will open a new elementary school in August on Prince William Parkway near Chinn Library. The county also recently completed multi-classroom additions at Antietam, Lake Ridge, Springwoods, Leesylvania, and Minnieville elementary schools. The new construction is intended to relieve some of the worst overcrowding at the elementary school level in the county. In total, the new building adds about 95 classrooms of space in the
eastern Prince William elementary schools at a cost of about $200 million, according to Superintendent Steven Walts. Only School Board member Willie Deutsch (Coles) voted against the plan. Before the vote, Deutsch said he is concerned by the “wasted utilization” in the new boundary plan, meaning some schools would end up below capacity while others remain overcrowded. Deutsch also said he believes the board has an obligation to taxpayers to maximize the county’s investment in new schools and school additions. See REDISTRICTING, page 4
Shutdown survival
Nonprofits, neighbors help furloughed feds By Karen Chaffraix and Jill Palermo Times Staff Writers
As the partial government shutdown stretched into a record-breaking fifth week, federal workers braced for yet another missed paycheck. In response, nonprofits, community leaders and groups of likeminded neighbors sprang into action to try to help. One example: A group called “Montclair Moms” emerged from its Facebook page to gather last weekend at member Heather Page’s house. They collected food from neighbors and compiled meal kits for furloughed federal workers, U.S. Coast Guard families and whoever else in their area might be affected by the shutdown. The idea was hatched after the group’s initial project last week, an impromptu potluck supper. The potluck was casual, done mostly for fun. But as the shutdown dragged on, the situation quickly took on a sense of urgency, Page said. “People started saying things like, ‘Hey, I’ve never been to a food bank before. How do I do it?’” Page said of messages left on the closed group’s Facebook page, which has more than 1,000 followers. That’s when a few in the group came up with the idea for a shutdown supper drive. They collected pasta, sauce, peanut butter and jelly, bread and other items to pack into grocery bags and took donations to buy freshly-made pizzas from a few area shops. About 30 pizzas were donated from Domino’s, Papa John’s and Pizza Hut. The group then spread the word about a drive-thru pickup line in Page’s cul-de-sac. Affected neighbors were invited to drive by to pick up pizzas and a bag
TIMES STAFF PHOTO // JILL PALERMO
Shutdown supper drive: Brody Page, of Montclair, helps pack bags of groceries during a recent food drive for furloughed federal workers organized by his mom, Heather Page, for the “Montclair Moms.” of groceries Sunday afternoon. About 45 families partook, said group member Emma Young. “We can’t pay all the mortgages and gas for everyone, but children won’t go hungry on our watch, and the money that would’ve been spent on food can go to those things,” Young said. “It is seemingly small but makes a big difference.” “We came together as women to do something,” added Page. “We’re feeding our neighbors and stocking people’s shelves.”
Feds considering unemployment, food banks
Of course, federal workers like David Larrimore, of Lake Ridge, said he never imagined going so long without a paycheck because of a government shutdown. Larrimore, an IT professional with a federal agency and father of three, has been
INSIDE Calendar.............................................15 Classified............................................20 Lifestyle..............................................13 Obituaries...........................................19
through three previous shutdowns, but none have lasted as long as this one. “After February 1, we don’t know what we are going to do other than loans from either a bank or family,” Larrimore said Friday. “We are not shopping at all, other than for food, and we are buying cheap starches. Food banks are the last resort for us.” Larrimore said that while there’s money to pay some of their January bills, they’ve sent letters of explanation to their creditors, and friends and family have dropped off food and gift cards. Larrimore is considered essential, so he is working with no pay. He refrained from describing what he would like to say to those responsible for the shutdown, but added, “There are a lot of phenomenal people who work for the federal See SHUTDOWN, page 4
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PHOTO PAGE
Prince William Times | www.princewilliamtimes.com | January 23, 2019
‘Small things in great ways’: 29th annual MLK Jr. Day celebration On what would have been his 90th birthday, hundreds of Prince William County residents gathered in the Hylton Memorial Chapel Monday for the 29th Annual Martin Luther King Jr. Youth Oratorical Contest. Student speakers were asked to reflect on a famous quote of the late civil rights leader: “If you cannot to great things, do small things in a great way.” Six middle and high school finalists took on the task with rousing speeches noting the ways students and everyday citizens can find the courage to do the right thing in small ways, actions that almost always
have a much larger effect. Zoree Jones, who won the high school prize for best speech delivered at the competition, recalled the accomplishments of the Birmingham Children’s Crusade, whose young members were sprayed with powerful water hoses, hit with batons, threatened by police dogs, jailed and expelled from school for peaceably demonstrating against segregation in that city in 1963. “Today, they teach us that no one is too young, no one is too powerless and no step is too small to make a difference,” Jones said. Jones was also a high school winner in 2018.
TIMES STAFF PHOTOS/JILL PALERMO
The Martin Luther King Community Choir led by I. Lawrence Coleman
MLK Jr. Day event committee members Lillie Jessie, the Occoquan District representative on the Prince William County School Board, and Joann Bagnerise, right, address the crowd.
Alex Kelly, of Stonewall Jackson High School, won the prize for best high school speech given before the judges in the finalist competition Jan. 8.
Dorian Lockamy, of Lake Ridge Middle School, was awarded the prize for best middle school speech delivered at the MLK Jr. Youth Oratorical Competition.
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Miriam Basaran, of Gainesville Middle School, was awarded the prize for best speech delivered before the judges in the finalist competition Jan. 8.
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Zoree Jones, of Patriot High School, won the award for the best high school speech delivered at the MLK Jr. Youth Oratorical Competition.
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Prince William Times | www.princewilliamtimes.com | January 23, 2019
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McPike bill would stay foreclosures, evictions for federal employees, contractors By Jill Palermo
Times Staff Writer
As the partial government shutdown enters its fifth week, state Sen. Jeremy McPike is offering a bill to protect Virginia’s federal workers and contractors from losing their homes. McPike, D-29th, entered a bill Friday to place a 30-day stay on eviction or foreclosure proceedings for renters or homeowners who are federal employees, independent contractors or employees of companies under contract with the federal government. Saturday afternoon, Sen. Scott Surovell, D-36th, whose district includes parts of Fairfax, Prince William and Stafford counties, said he would co-sponsor the bill. The measure applies only to workers who aren’t getting paid as a result of the government shutdown, which began Saturday, Dec. 22. McPike said the effort is intended to relieve some of the financial pressure from Virginia families affected by the shutdown, especially those who have
two income-earners employed by the government or an affected contractor. Contractors, especially, are a focus of the bill as they are less likely than federal workers to Sen. Jeremy McPike receive back pay once the shutdown ends, whenever that might be. The bill’s protections, however, would continue after the shutdown ends, which would give people time to get back on their feet, McPike said in an interview Saturday. The bill has a sunset date of Sept. 30, 2019. “We’re going to be feeling the impact of the shutdown for months and months,” McPike said. “There’s going to be a domino effect.” McPike said the idea came as a result of talking to constituents affected by the shutdown and looking for ways the Virginia state legislature could help.
“We knew we needed some measure in place to help mitigate the effects for the families who are facing this,” he said. To help families hurting now, the measure would need to go into effect almost immediately. To do so, the bill must pass with an “emergency clause,” which requires a four-fifths vote in both state houses. That’s 32 votes of support in the 40-member state Senate and 80 in the 100-member House of Delegates. McPike said other state lawmakers haven’t yet had time to sign onto the bill as co-patrons, but many have expressed interest, including his fellow Democratic members of the Prince William delegation. Del. Danica Roem, D-13th, said she would support the bill. "I would sure hope it would pass uncontested," she said in a text message. "I couldn't imagine voting against legislation like that." It’s not clear whether the effort will be met with strong support of Republican state lawmakers, whose votes would be needed for it to pass.
The GOP has a two-seat majority in both houses. Requests seeking comment from Del. Kirk Cox, the GOP speaker of the House of Delegates, as well as GOP lawmakers representing parts of Prince William County were not immediately answered Saturday morning. Prince William County is represented in Richmond by eight state delegates and five state senators. Of the 13, three are Republicans: Sens. Dick Black (13th) and Richard Stuart (28th) and Del. Tim Hugo (40th). It's not uncommon for bills to pass with a super-majority, but generally they are noncontroversial resolutions or other time-sensitive measures, such as when Virginia laws are changed to conform with changes in federal law. McPike said he hoped the issue would not be seen through a partisan lens. "If you're not receiving a paycheck that shouldn't be a Republican or Democratic thing," he said. Reach Jill Palermo at jpalermo@ fauquier.com
GOP senators kill bill to raise minimum wage in a party-line vote By Maryum Elnasseh Capital News Service
RICHMOND – A Senate bill that would have raised Virginia’s minimum wage is dead – much to the dismay of more than two dozen advocates who braved the cold to rally for the bill Monday morning. Introduced by Sen. Rosalyn Dance, D-16th, of Petersburg, SB 1200 would have increased the minimum wage to $10 on July 1 and eventually to $15 in July 2021. It was defeated Monday afternoon in a 19-21 party-line vote, with all Republicans voting against the bill and Democrats voting in favor. Among state senators representing parts of Prince William County, Sens. George Barker, D-39th, Jeremy McPike, D-29th and Scott Surovell, D-36th, all voted in favor of the bill while state Sens. Richard Stuart, R-28th, and Richard Black, R-13th, voted against it. “It’s been 10 years since Virginia workers received an increase in wages,” Dance said. “Meanwhile, the
Activists rally in support of raising the minimum wage Monday morning despite the bitterly cold temperatures. PHOTO CREDIT CAPITAL NEWS SERVICE.
price of everyday goods continues to go up. In 2009, the average price for a gallon of gas in America was $1.78 – today, it’s $2.41.” There are 30 states with a minimum wage higher than Virginia’s $7.25, which is the federal minimum wage. Speaking in opposition of the bill, Sens. Mark Obenshain, R-26th, of Rockingham, and Thomas Norment, R-3rd, of James City, argued that SB 1200 would hurt businesses and working Virginians. Norment voted last week in the Committee on Commerce and Labor to advance the bill but voted against it Monday. He said raising the minimum wage to $12 would cost Virginia 24,000 jobs. “If we raise the minimum wage in the manner described in this bill, those jobs, opportunities and learning experiences are gonna disappear,” Obenshain said. “And we’re not gonna be able to provide that to the kids graduating from high school, people entering the workforce. We’re gonna hurt an awful lot of businesses that depend on providing those opportunities to those
just entering the workforce.” Countering Obenshain’s view, McPike said there is a misconception that the majority of workers who earn less than $15 an hour are teenagers working part-time jobs. “In fact, many of these workers are adults working full time, trying to earn enough to support their families and their futures,” McPike said. “Without the opportunity to earn a living wage, these workers have to work two and three jobs to make ends meet. That means time away from their kids.” According to the Economic Policy Institute, the average age of workers who would be affected by a minimum wage increase is 35 years old. McPike was one of 10 Democratic senators who spoke in favor of the bill, sharing stories of their constituents who are unable to meet their needs, as well as research conducted on states with higher minimum wages.
Sen. Richard Saslaw, D-35th, of Fairfax, said that a recent study shows that Arizona raised its minimum wage but did not lose any jobs. Before the Senate convened Monday afternoon to vote on the bill, constituents rallied outside the Capitol in support of HB 1200. Organized by the labor union SEIU Virginia 512 and the organization New Virginia Majority, the rally drew more than two dozen people. “You can’t survive on 7.25,” the group chanted, as senators passed by to enter the Capitol. There are several other bills this session that would also increase the minimum wage, but only one would raise it to $15 and not until 2023. HB 1850 would raise the minimum wage to $9 on July 1 and eventually to $15 in 2023. HB 2157 would raise the minimum wage to $10.10 in 2020 and SB 1017 would raise the minimum wage to $8 on July 1 and eventually to $11.25 in 2022.
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