| Top News |
AOL to build another center in Prince William
By Caryn Goebel
Media General News Service
America Online will make a second appearance in Prince William County.
The Dulles-based Internet giant will build another technology center in Prince William County on a 37-acre site on Linton Hall Road, investing more than $555 million in the project.
The Prince William Board of County Supervisors adopted four resolutions Monday to assist AOL in building their 240,000-square-foot center, less than five miles from the U.S. 29 intersection.
As part of its incentive for AOL to build within Prince William County, the supervisors agreed to reduce the computer tax rate from $1.50 per $100 of assessed value to $1.25, beginning in fiscal 2002. [more]
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Autumn Atmospheres
Photo by David S. Holloway
Manassas Journal Messenger
The evening sun sets over Manassas as a lone customer walks back to his car after picking up his order from Kline’s Drive-In. The restaurant, which has been around since the 1950’s has been known as Kline’s for the past 35 years. Owner James Croushorn recently changed the store to its winter schedule, and it now closes at 9 p.m. on weekdays, but still stays open until 10 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.
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Construction company fined over accident at school
By Kevin Killen
Manassas Journal Messenger
Horton Ltd., the Sterling construction company whose workers were injured in a fall while working on Cougar elementary school in Manassas Park in April, has been cited for two counts of willful safety violations, according to the Virginia Department of Labor and Industry.
Five Horton employees were injured April 12 in a roof collapse during a wind storm.
One of the workers fell more than 40 feet and suffered a broken pelvis, ribs and a punctured liver.
All five men were taken to area hospitals where they were treated for their injuries and released.
The company was cited Oct. 5 by the Virginia Department of Labor and Industry for state code violations, and was fined over $35,000. [more] |
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West Nile virus not detected, county takes precautions
By Joseph J. McCallister
Manassas Journal Messenger
While Prince William County officials have seen no evidence of the potentially fatal West Nile virus in the county, they are still taking precautions against the mosquito-borne infection, which could eventually work its way to Prince William if not curbed.
The county Department of Public Works is working with the Virginia Department of Health to control the spread of West Nile by spraying for the mosquitoes that carry it and by sending captured mosquitoes to labs to be tested for the virus.
Deb Oliver, spokeswoman for Public Works, said Prince William County has a well-established mosquito and gypsy-moth spraying program that dates back to 1966. [more] |
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Teacher who brings gun to school loses dispute against school board
By Patrick Wilson
Media General News Service
A teacher whose contract was not renewed because she brought a loaded gun to school has lost her dispute against the Prince William School Board over the process they used to release her.
Deena Esteban, 43, a former art teacher at Marumsco Hills Elementary School in Woodbridge, filed a complaint in U.S. District Court after her contract was not renewed. She claimed the School Board violated her rights by requiring that her selectee on a fact-finding panel be employed by the county schools.
U.S. District Court Judge Gerald Bruce Lee dismissed her claim Oct. 13, granting summary judgment for the Prince William School Board.
Esteban, of Woodbridge, brought a loaded handgun to school March 6. Another teacher found it in a bag, unattended. Esteban said she forgot the gun was in her bag, police have said. [more] |
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Where have all the flowers gone?
By Lucy Chumbley
Manassas Journal Messenger
 It’s not just the golfers who are worn out in the aftermath of the Presidents Cup.
A small, dedicated squad of unsung heroes have worked tirelessly through the week to keep the Robert Trent Jones Golf Club looking fit for a President or, at least, Tiger Woods.
Each morning during the tournament, five to 10 staff from The Flower Gallery, 8351 Sudley Road, Manassas, arrived at the club at the crack of dawn.
They were there to tend to the 600 floral centerpieces adorning tables in all the restaurants and private clubs.
“They water all the plants and go over all the flowers,” said owner Doug Buroughs. “If there’s a bad rose, a bad lily, they replace it.” [more]
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Park Rangers gather in Manassas to hone their craft
By Bennie Scarton Jr.
Manassas Journal Messenger
 Twenty National Park rangers from across the United States will be in Manassas for the next two weeks attending a workshop on how to better communicate with visitors on history interpretation in their federal parks.
The group spent the first day Monday visiting Manassas National Battlefield Park and the Manassas Museum. Today, they will journey into Washington, D.C. to visit the Smithsonian Institute and later in the week the U. S. Capitol, following with visits to Civil War battlefields in the area.
“We want the rangers to learn the best possible ways of how rangers can hold the interest of the visitors … and the best way to do that is to get out and visit sites where history has been interpreted,” said Bob Sutton, superintendent of Manassas National Battlefield Park.
At the museum conference room, Dave Purschwitz, museum technician, dressed up in his Confederate garb and gave a 15-minute presentation to the rangers on how the museum gets its message across. [more]
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Triangle zoning case begins
Expert criticizes county’s traffic estimates
By Alfred M. Biddlecomb
Manassas Journal Messenger
Attorneys for two landowners suing Prince William County went on the offensive in circuit court Monday, questioning the tactics officials took when rezoning nearly 500 acres near Triangle to restrict development.
A traffic expert testifying for the plaintiffs said county planners overestimated traffic counts prior to the Board of County Supervisors decision to down zone the property.
County supervisors rezoned the land south of Graham Park Shores in 1998 to reduce the building capacity of the property from four homes per acre to one home per acre. [more]
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15-year-old survives shooting
By Kate Bissel
Media General News Service
A 15-year-old girl who was shot in Woodbridge late Saturday night was in fair condition Monday, police said.
The girl, who is from Alexandria, was flown to Inova Fairfax Hospital after an 18-year-old man fired shots into a crowd of people, striking her in the back and shoulder.
Germaine Anthony Moten, 18, of Falls Church, and Marquel Edmonson, 20, of Alexandria, were charged with malicious wounding and use of a firearm in the commission of a felony for the shooting, which occurred about 10:30 p.m. near the intersection of Georgetown Road and Wythe Court. [more]
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| Sports |
 Owls go up in flames
Emmanuel Christian’s volleyball team is going through an adjustment phase.
That might be a strange statement, since the Flames have already started play in the Delaney Athletic Conference Tournament. Emmanuel won its first game Monday afternoon, beating Wakefield Country Day in three sets 15-7, 15-4, 15-8. [more]
Subway Series is a novelty
Despite the most serious outbreak of hemorrhagic disease (HD) in more than a decade, deer populations in Virginia remain stable and healthy overall. If Mother Nature cooperates, it should be another highly productive hunting season. [more]
Walbert nets two for Emmanuel
 Emmanuel Christian coach John Meyer remembers what it was like being a goalkeeper in a blowout win.
He doesn’t remember ever getting the chance to move up and score in one, however.
That’s why Meyer gave senior keeper B.J. Walbert the opportunity to move up and he more than delivered with two second-half goals in an 11-0 win for the Flames in the first round of the Delaney Athletic Conference tournament on Monday. [more]
The Great Outdoors
Despite the most serious outbreak of hemorrhagic disease (HD) in more than a decade, deer populations in Virginia remain stable and healthy overall. If Mother Nature cooperates, it should be another highly productive hunting season. [more]
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| Opinion |
| Faceoff: Is it excuseable for Congress to miss its October 1 deadline for adopting a new federal budget?
Budget delay needed, but move is risky
There’s a strong economy, and the extra budget dollars have allowed Capitol Hill lawmakers additional leeway in funding projects like the Woodrow Wilson Bridge. So many members of Congress have plenty of reasons to have missed their Oct. 1 budget adoption deadline.
Voters should punish errant lawmakers
Congress should have wrapped up its budget work on time by Oct. 1. It has failed to do so, and election-year politics is no excuse. We pay these fine public servants to do a job, and if they can’t adopt a budget on time, they aren’t fine public servants. [more] |
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