Burn ‘expert’ convicted of perjury
By Patrick Wilson
Media General News Service
MANASSAS — Gary S. Stocco, the New Jersey man accused of lying about his credentials during court testimony in Prince William County, entered guilty pleas on Thursday to felony charges of perjury and obtaining money through false pretenses.
Stocco, former executive director of the National Burn Victim Foundation in Basking Ridge, N.J., had been awaiting trial Nov. 14. The pleas were part of an agreement with prosecutors, who compiled a mountain of evidence against Stocco.
Stocco, 33, of West Orange, N.J., will be held at the Prince William-Manassas regional jail until his sentencing on Jan. 11. [more] |
Creatively collecting canned cranberries
Photo by David S. Holloway
Manassas Journal Messenger
Osbourn High School FBLA student Cassandra Baldwin, 14, right, admires her handy work on the side of a food collection box, while classmate Ruth Arroyo, 14, sketches out her addition to the design. The girls, both freshmen, were only a small part of the over 400 students that particpated in decorating the boxes, which will be placed in the school’s homerooms next week to collect food to be donated to the SERVE food drive. |
Manassas Park plans town center
By Keith McMillan
Manassas Journal Messenger
MANASSAS PARK — One year to the day after residents, business owners and city leaders concluded a weekend planning process to develop a “town center” concept, Manassas Park may take the first step towards implementing it.
The City Council on Monday will consider signing a contract for a regional company to draw up a master plan for the area, closely defining what will eventually end up across from City Hall on Manassas Drive.
“I think that the development of the town center is an important part of the city’s history,” said City Manager David Reynal. “Hopefully, it will become a focal point that will draw the community together.” [more] |
Civil War vet’s grave desecrated
By Kevin Killen
Manassas Journal Messenger
Manassas City police are looking for the person or persons who dug up and may have taken the remains of a Civil War veteran interred at the Manassas City Confederate Cemetery on Center Street.
Police said the grave was desecrated sometime between Monday and Wednesday. However, they strongly suspect that it happened Tuesday, Halloween night.
Manassas City police said they responded to a call from a city employee who had found several headstones removed, and upon arriving at the cemetery, found one grave, which was about five feet deep, that had been opened. [more] |
Quantico kicks off the Marine Corps’ 225 birthday
By Caryn Goebel
Media General News Service
QUANTICO MARINE CORPS BASE — Taps, a 21-gun salute and the echoes of “Ooo-rah” filled Quantico’s Butler Stadium Thursday as Marines kicked off the service’s 225th birthday in colorful tradition.
The Marine Corps Combat Development Command at Quantico held its Birthday Pageant, honoring past and present Marines for their dedication.
“Those who have gone before us — who’ve sweated and strained, froze and fought, sacrificed and died,” Lt. Gen. Bruce B. Knutson, Jr., commanding general of Marine Corps Combat Development Command, said. “Not to remember those is to be unfaithful.” [more] |
11th district race has national implications
Davis has a firm hold on 11th District
By Chris Newman
Manassas Journal Messenger
It was with boyish excitement that U.S. Rep. Tom Davis (R-11th) made his way through a Republican election night party last year as the results from Virginia polls were reported in.
Davis, 51, as chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee pumped nearly $1 million into last year’s General Assembly races out of which Republicans won a majority in both houses for the first time since the Civil War.
Cellular phone in hand, and victory for Republicans in sight, Davis seemed most interested in how the voting districts went and how voter demographics played out, rather than just victory. [more]
Corrigan gives choice against Davis
By Chris Newman
Manassas Journal Messenger
Two years ago Mike Corrigan decided he should run for the 11th District seat after his son Paul, just turning 18, said he wasn’t going to vote since U.S. Rep. Tom Davis (R-11th) was running unopposed. Why vote when there isn’t a choice?
So when Fairfax County Supervisor Gerald Connolly, the only elected Democrat to consider challenging Davis, backed off running this year after sizing the run as too risky, Corrigan stepped in.
It’s important to have a choice, he said: Voters should be able to vote for someone besides Davis, who Corrigan, 54, says plays a moderate tune but has leanings toward conservative groups and is too interested in national affairs to be in touch with the district. [more]
McBrides’s the underdog in the 11th district race
By Alfred M. Biddlecomb
Media General News Service
Robert McBride just shakes his head these days when he hears politicians discuss what to do with the federal government’s budget surplus.
“I can’t believe that Al Gore and George W. Bush can spend so much time wrangling over that issue without saying where that money came from,” said McBride, a Libertarian candidate for Congress. “It becomes known as ‘the loot,’ and no one wants to return it to the taxpayers, rich or poor, who gave up that money to begin with.”
The government’s ability to spend nearly every penny it raises through a complicated tax code is one of the reasons McBride says he is running for the 11th District Congressional seat held by Republican Tom Davis. [more]
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Lynda Robb still determined as campaign nears end
By Tiffany Schwabb
Manassas Journal Mesenger
 She arrived with her driver and running a bit later than expected.
Lynda Robb is focused, though. She opted to skip a rally in Richmond to sit down for an interview where she could talk a little one-on-one about the rigors of the campaign trail and her view of the action.
Robb, 56, has an unwavering spirit and bright brown eyes focusing on the final moments of her husband’s Senate re-election bid, not to mention a schedule packed to the brim with interviews, rallies and public appearances.
“We’re out asking people to vote for us,” she said simply during an interview Thursday. [more]
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Character education program raises questions
By Kevin Killen
Manassas Journal Messenger
Character education is a relatively new concept in public schools, but something school officials agree is needed. However, a proposal before the Prince William County school board Wednesday night about the initiative left some board members questioning its strength.
First mandated by the Virginia General Assembly last July, character education requires school boards to establish within their existing programs a character education program in their schools.
The character education program is to be built around the traits of trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring and citizenship. [more] |
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