INSIDE:
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4 Our columnist to sing before Redskins game
Colonial Forge sports alums back in play
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Barrett dangerous on the net
VOLUME 27, NUMBER 35
VIEWPOINTS, PAGE 4 | PUZZLES, PAGE 10 | CLASSIFIEDS, PAGE 11
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‘We have to remember’ ADELE UPHAUS-CONNER
T
Northern Virginia Media Services
he rains of recent days ceased for a ceremony that marks the end to the war to end all wars, at Quantico National Cemetery. Held on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month — when, in 1918, World War I finally ended — the Veterans Day ceremony honors past and present veterans of America’s military services. Held this year at a different location due to the rains, the audience was made up of veterans of all services, as well as family and friends. Many were from Stafford and Prince William, but others travelled to Quantico from farther away. “Our parents and many friends are buried here,” said one of two sisters from Washington, D.C., who declined to give their names. “It’s a peaceful location.” They said they prefer the Veterans Day ceremony at Quantico to the one at Arlington National Cemetery because it is “more family oriented and more respectful.” “I think people have forgotten what this day is about,” one of the sisters said. “It’s not about sales.” Donald Ritenour, a retired Marine who served for 25 years, and his wife Debbie, both of Prince William, were attending the ceremony for the first time. Debbie was a school teacher who always worked on Veterans Day, and Donald used to come to her school that day to give presentations about patriotism and the Marine Corps. “I’m retired now and it’s nice that we can come to this ceremony finally,” Debbie said. “My husband is a proud Marine — he’ll always be a Marine.” Some of the leather-jacketed and heavily bearded members of the audience were part of the Northern Virginia Chapter of the Combat Veterans Motorcycle Association. They come to the Veterans Day and Memorial Day ceremonies at Quantico National Cemetery every year. “We have a motto of ‘vets helping vets,’” said chapter commander Ross Woodley,
Get the dog out of his comfort zone
NOVEMBER 13, 2015
INSIDENOVA.COM
Board greenlights Moncure TRACY BELL
Stafford County Sun
Retired Marine Col. Frank W. Harris delivers ‘A Toast to the Flag’ during Veterans Day ceremonies at Quantico National Cemetery on Wednesday. ALEKS DOLZENKO| STAFFORD COUNTY SUN
of Stafford, who goes by the riding name “Bird.” “We try to raise awareness of vets’ issues.” He said their chapter recently raised $35,000 to help veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. “For us, today has a special meaning,” he said. “All of our members are combatcertified veterans. We’re here to remember those guys who aren’t here anymore and build camaraderie with those who are.” The Frey family, from Dumfries, was at the ceremony representing almost all the branches of military service. Fred Frey is a retired Marine, his daughter Elizabeth Frey Delaney is in the Air Force, and her husband, Edward Delaney, was in the Navy.
“We had a mixed marriage,” Elizabeth Delaney joked. Edward died two years ago at the age of 52 and is buried at Quantico National Cemetery. “We’re here just to honor everyone who has ever served our country all the way back,” her mother, Gloria Frey, said. The ceremony began shortly after 11 a.m. following a musical prelude by the Quantico Marine Corps Band. Ron Bantom, chairman of the Potomac Region Veterans Council, which sponsored the ceremony, gave the call to order, in which he spoke of the special camaraderie shared by members of the armed forces. VETERANS “This is the greatest PAGE 3 fraternity the world has
The Stafford County School Board took another step Tuesday toward the planned rebuild of a two-story Moncure Elementary School in 2018. The board voted to approve elementaryschool educational specifications that would allow the two-floor plan, updating the previous design approved in 2009. The board then voted to move ahead with a design plan option for Moncure, choosing a design-bid-build method — one of three options previously discussed. The vote also affects rebuild plans for Ferry Farm Elementary School in 2020, according to the school board. School board member Dana Reinboldt, Griffis-Widewater District, said that it’s very important to her that Moncure be a beautiful new school. “I have been fighting for this new school for the past 12 years,” she said. “This is a wonderful opportunity. ...” Reinboldt said that the current Moncure has been around nearly 60 years. The options that the school board approved will include increased square footage per student from 93 to 109, more space for special education programs and collaborative learning for each grade level, as well as enhanced community use of the school through recreational areas. The school board also: ■ heard a presentation from the Virginia Department of Transportation about bus safety. In Virginia, not stopping for a school bus with its stop sign out could result in a reckless driving felony or misdemeanor, fines and six points on the offender’s license. Eighteen points in one year gets a license suspended and it can take 11 years for MONCURE PAGE 13 the points to be removed,