TIGERS’ PERFECT SEASON: The Brentsville girls basketball team keep winning. Sports, Page 8
December 26, 2018 | Vol. 17, No. 52 | 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.
Task force recommends fixes for old schools By Jill Palermo
Times Staff Writer
mance tour in the Deep South in 1962 accompanied by his white, wise-cracking, Bronx-born Italian-American driver, Tony “Lip” Vallelonga. The two used the real-life Green Book, subtitled “The Negro Traveler’s Guide to Travel and Vacations,” to find restaurants, lodgings and businesses that served African-Americans.
They’ll never get indoor swimming pools or floor-to-ceiling windows. But making Prince William’s oldest middle and high schools more “equitable” with the county’s latest models is possible but would come with a hefty price tag. That was the message Don Richardson delivered to the school board earlier this month after wrapping up two years of work as head of the school division’s “infrastructure task force.” The school board assembled the group in 2016 in response to parents and community members who noted significant differences between the county’s older and newer schools, -such as Patriot High School, which was built in 2011, and Colgan, which opened in 2016 -- and those built 40 years ago or more. The school board tasked the group with assessing how the older schools fell short of the county’s current facilities standards. The group was also asked to prioritize upgrades that might make older schools more conducive to learning and teaching. Richardson is a former school board member who represented the Gainesville District. The group spent the first year assessing the county’s 60 elementary schools. This past year, they toured the county’s older middle and high schools, 14 of which were built between 1963 and 1981. Richardson delivered the group’s recommendations to the school board Dec. 12. The group gave the highest-priority rankings to safety and security improvements, followed by those that would “enhance instructional performance” for the most students, Richardson said. Accordingly, their top recommendation was to complete safety and security improvements to the schools within the next two years. Due to concerns about making sensitive specifics public, the recommended
See GREEN BOOK, page 4
See TASK FORCE, page 3
From the pages of the ‘Green Book’ PHOTOS BY VICKY MOON
Robert Walker, 85, maintains his father’s barber business now at 23 S. 3rd St., which was listed in the Green Book. At right, copy of the 1954 Green Book.
Movie spotlights businesses in the segregated South By Vicky Moon
Contributing Writer
Robert Walker runs a Warrenton barber shop his father, George B. Walker, opened in 1938. In their earlier years, some men would drive all the way from Manassas to get a cut and a shave. They came mostly after work, “because there was no place for them to get a haircut,” he said. The shop
was open until 7 p.m. and remains so now to accommodate commuters. Back in 1954, Walker’s Barber Shop was one of a handful of businesses in Northern Virginia listed in the “Green Book,” now a hit movie with Golden Globe and Oscar-buzz. “Green Book” is a true story of Dr. Don Shirley, an eccentric and talented black concert pianist based in New York City who set out on a perforINSIDE Calendar.............................................12 Classified............................................13 Lifestyle..............................................10 Obituaries...........................................12
Opinion.................................................6 Puzzle Page..........................................7 Real Estate..........................................11 Sports...................................................8
86 WARRENTON, VA
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Prince William Times | www.princewilliamtimes.com | December 26, 2018
Supervisor John Jenkins hospitalized with ‘severe pneumonia’ Prince William County’s longest serving supervisor is battling “severe pneumonia” at Inova Fairfax Hospital, according to a statement released by his family Dec. 18. Supervisor John Jenkins, a Democrat representing the Neabsco District, has been absent from meetings of the county board since Oct. 31, when he underwent total knee replacement surgery on his left knee. Jenkins, 79, experienced “post-operative complications” and remained in the hospital until he was subsequently moved to a local health and rehabilitation center, where he began “sub-acute rehabilitation for his knee,” according to the statement. While at the rehabilitation center, Jenkins developed pneumonia and was recently transported to Inova Fairfax Hospital “where he remains at this time to aggressively treat his illness,” the statement said. Potomac Local, an online news outlet, was the first to report Dec. 17 that Jenkins was suffering from pneumonia and had been admitted to the intensive
care unit. The statement did not say Jenkins was in intensive care, but only that he remains hospitalized. Prince William County spokesman Jason Grant said Dec. 17 he had no information to share about Jenkin’s condition except that he was recovering from knee surgery and had suffered complications. Grant released the statement Dec. 18 via email at the request of Jenkin’s family, the statement said. Attempts to reach Ernestine Jenkins, the supervisor’s wife and the longtime leader in the Dale City Civics Association, were not successful. The statement was released out of an “outpouring of concern” about Jenkin’s condition, the statement said. “Our family is truly grateful for the care, support and kindness of the medical staff and caregivers and for the outpouring of prayers and concern from all of our many family members, friends and thousands of supporters who know and love him,” it continued.
COURTESY PHOTO
Supervisor John Jenkins, D-Neabsco, at the Fourth of July parade this past summer.
“The family respectfully requests privacy while Supervisor Jenkins recovers.”
GoFundMe page set up for Occoquan man killed in plane crash Staff Reports An Occoquan man killed in an ultralight-plane crash outside Shannon Airport in Spotsylvania County Friday left behind his wife and 8-month-old son. On a GoFundMe page his wife, Catherine Villada, set up this week, she wrote that Leonardo Ospina Villada "was the best part of our lives." On the fundraising site, Catherine Villada said she will use donations to the page to fund an education fund for the couple's son, Oliver.
Catherine Villada wrote that her husband "appreciated the value of education more than most, having moved to the U.S. when he was 18 years old not speaking any English and going all the way to getting his engineering degree last year." "We hope this will be a fitting tribute to him," she wrote on the page, which had raised $21,853 as of Monday Dec. 24. Leonardo Ospina Villada, 34, died when the plane he was piloting crashed at 7:40 a.m. on Friday, Dec. 14.
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The plane, a fixed-wing, single-engine aircraft, banked to the left shortly after taking off and was caught by the wind, “which forced the plane to crash into the ground,” according to Corinne Geller, spokeswoman for the Virginia State Police. The pilot was the only occupant of the plane when it crashed. He was transported to Mary Washington Hospital in Fredericksburg, where he succumbed to his injuries, Geller said in an email. In addition to the state police, both the Federal Aviation Adminis-
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COURTESY PHOTO
Leonardo Ospina Villada with his infant son.
tration and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the crash, Geller said. Madrano, 24, of Manassas, who died at the scene, Probus said in a news release. The driver and a passenger in the front seat, whose names have not been released, were entrapped and had to be extricated, Probus said. The driver and two passengers were flown to a local hospital with serious injuries. A fourth passenger was transported to another local hospital with serious injuries, Probus said. The other passengers, who were not identified by name, included a 19-yearold man from Manassas; a 20-year-old man from Manassas Park; and a 24-yearold woman from Manassas Park. Only the driver was wearing a seatbelt at the time of the crash. Speed was a factor but it is not yet known if alcohol or drugs were also involved factors.
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 Jonathan Hunley, 540-351-0431 jhunley@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
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Prince William Times | www.princewilliamtimes.com | December 26, 2018
State fines PAC $500 civil penalty
These signs, proclaiming “Republicans for Stanley Bender,” were spotted at several Prince William County polling places on Election Day.
Election officials say paperwork was incomplete By Karen Chaffraix
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passive campaign, spending no campaign funds, received 9.5 percent of the vote. On Nov. 16, Bill Card, chairman of the Prince William County Republican Committee, mailed a formal letter of complaint to the State Board of Elections calling for an investigation into the Republicans for Stanley Bender, calling it “illegal” PAC. Card’s letter – copied to the Prince William Commonwealth Attorney Paul Ebert and General Registrar Michele L. White – stated: “On November 6, Mr. Wiggin’s (sic) PAC placed several campaign signs at each of the polling places in Prince William County with its name in large letters for the obvious purpose of encouraging Republican voters to support Mr. Bender rather than the candidate endorsed by the Prince William County Republican Committee.” Calling the deed a “surprise election day strategy,” Card’s letter said the PAC violated Virginia law by using the candidate’s name without his permission and failing to file a list of expenditures. The complaint included an affidavit signed by Bender stating: “I have provided no authorization…or received any notice…regarding the use of my name in the name of any political action committee.” Prince William County Com-
monwealth’s Attorney Paul Ebert has since referred the matter to a Loudoun County prosecutor for a criminal investigation, which is not yet complete. Addressing the Board of Elections in Richmond, Card, accompanied by more than a dozen fellow committee members, said: “Right here in Prince William County, we have voter fraud conspiracy. This is a larger conspiracy than a misfiling date.” As he spoke, Card held up one of the “Republicans for Stanley Bender” signs followed by three more from campaigns he said go back to 2013. He showed a record of a $480 donation to Lateef’s campaign. He showed a Facebook photograph showing Wiggins at the Lateef victory party last month. After several more committee members implored immediate relief of some kind, State Board of Elections Chairman James Alcorn thanked Card and said, “Until now, the board had no information about the background to this complaint.” Alcorn explained the board’s authority is limited to imposing a fine for an improper PAC application, noting criminal prosecution is in the domain of the commonwealth attorney. Alcorn then announced the board
would assess a $500 penalty. “Because the application was never completed, despite our request for further documentation, and those facts are not going to change,” Alcorn said. Wiggins had filed part of a “statement of organization” with the Virginia Department of Elections to launch the PAC but he failed to respond to a request for additional documentation, the state board found. “I understand the limitations of the board,” Card said in the hallway after the meeting. “But this is just the beginning, not the end,” he said, referring to the ongoing criminal probe. Wiggins could not immediately be reached for comment Friday. He has so far declined to return numerous requests for comment since the Nov. 6 election. Reach Karen Chaffraix at kchaffraix@Fauquier.com.
Task force recommends fixes for old schools
Brentsville and Osbourn Park. The committee also recommended turf fields for Osbourn Park, Gar-Field and Brentsville, as they have not yet been slated for such improvements. “All of the things we recommend are worth doing, if you have the ability to do so,” Richardson said. School board members thanked the group for their work and asked school division staff for a report of
how the improvements might be worked into the 10-year capital improvement plan. “Everyone notices the difference” between the older and newer schools, said School board member Gil Trenum. “Now it’s up to the board to figure out how to fit these in.” Reach Jill Palermo at jpalermo@ fauquier.com
Times Staff Writer
The Virginia Board of Elections voted unanimously Dec. 21 to assess a $500 civil fine against Harry Wiggins, former chairman of the Prince William County Democratic Committee, in connection with campaign activity local Republicans say was intended to affect the outcome of last month’s special election for the school board’s top post. Red signs reading “Republicans for Stanley Bender,” placed at 34 polling places, were intended to confuse voters with misinformation about which candidate the GOP endorsed in the nonpartisan race, the Prince William County Republican Committee said. The group filed a formal complaint with the state board in response. There were three contenders for school board chairman in the Nov. 6 contest: Dr. Babur Lateef, who had been serving as interim chair, who was endorsed by local Democrats; School Board member Alyson Satterwhite (Gainesville), who was endorsed by the GOP committee; and Stanley Bender, who did not run with a party endorsement. Lateef won the election with more than 47 percent of the vote. Satterwhite garnered about 41 percent, while Bender, who ran a largely
TASK FORCE, from page 5 improvements were not publicly discussed and text referring to them in an accompanying report was redacted. Next on the priority list were “system” improvements – upgrades to the building’s heating-and-air-conditioning, plumbing, electrical and wi-
fi infrastructure. Such improvements are expensive – estimated at between $18 and $37 million per school -but would have the greatest impact on the overall school environment, Richardson said. Next came new auxiliary gyms for Woodbridge and Gar-Field high schools and specific upgrades for
Priority schools
The school division’s infrastructure task force recommended upgrades to Prince William’s six oldest high schools and eight oldest middle schools:
High schools:
Middle schools:
• Brentsville (1965) • Gar-Field (1972) • Stonewall Jackson (1973) • Woodbridge (1974) • Osbourn Park (1975) • Potomac H.S. (1981) (construction date)
• Graham Park M.S. (1963) • Parkside (1963) • Fred Lynn (1964) • Stonewall (1964) • Woodbridge (1964) • Rippon (1967) • Pennington Traditional (1969) • Hampton (1970)
Task force’s priority list for older schools: • Complete security upgrades in two years. • Upgrade HVAC, electrical, plumbing, intercom systems -- $18-37 million/school • Build new auxiliary gyms at Woodbridge, Gar-Field H.S. -- $4.5 million/school • CTE facility at Brentsville H.S. -- $500,000 - $1 million • Renovate “core area” at Osbourn Park, Stonewall Jackson -- $2.5 million/each • Turf fields at Osbourn Park, Gar-Field, Brentsville -- $1.8 million/each • Replace worn out, ineffective classroom furniture • Provide whiteboards per principal request -- $5,000/each
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