Games canceled because of heat

The high heat has forced the cancellation of all adult and youth softball practices and games at Stafford County parks this afternoon.

The cancellation comes as temperatures in Stafford County climbed near the century mark Thursday afternoon.

The National Weather Service also placed the county under a severe thunderstorm watch, stating that an isolated tornado could develop somewhere in the region before 8 p.m.

Area under thunderstorm watch

Most of the region, from Fredericksburg and Stafford County and most of Maryland has been placed under a Severe Thunderstorm Watch by the National Weather Service until 8 p.m.

Some of the storms could become severe, and the weather service has also warned of the possibility of an isolated tornado.

At 2:30 p.m. Thursday, a line of storms could be seen on radar developing west of Winchester.

Temperatures throughout the day have been climbing into the high 90s, approaching the triple digits in some places.

Friday will be a slightly cooler day, with a forecasted highs in the low 90s, according to the weather serivce.

Power outages follow severe storms

UPDATE: Nearly 4,000 customers remained without power as of 11 p.m. The outages were located east of U.S. 1 in Stafford County.

Power officials said they would be restored by 3 a.m.

The number of reported outages grew Tuesday night following a round of severe storms that moved through eastern Prince William and North Stafford about 8 p.m.
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More than 1,300 customers are without power in North Stafford following a round of summer storms that just moved through the area Tuesday night.

The outages are in the Garrisonville, Aquia and Widewater areas of the county, according to Dominion Virginia Power. Crews are working now to restore power.

Area under severe thunderstorm warning

Lightning is flashing in the sky and thunder is crashing overhead in Woodbridge, as the Potomac communities – from eastern Prince William to North Stafford – are under a Severe Thunderstorm Warning.

The storm is capable of producing quarter-sized hail and winds up to 60 mph, according to the National Weather Service.

The storm has tracked out of the west, from Fauquier County to the Potomac River. 

It comes tonight after the region grappled with temperatures in the mid 90s on Tuesday.

The Virginia Department of Health encourages everyone to drink lots of water and to stay indoors, preferably in air conditioning, for as long as possible.

Temperatures are expected to remain hot throughout the rest of the week, according to the weather service.

Stafford’s courthouse complex is expanding

The old rescue station is coming down and a new courthouse annex is going up.

Stafford County officials will spend $3 million to build new offices that will house its Commonwealth Attorney and Court Services organizations, where a 30-year-old department of fire and rescue building that used to house a rescue squad now stands on the grounds of the county’s administrative center and courthouse.

With the new two-story, 11,000 square foot building, the county expects to save a considerable amount of money in rent costs it incurs from leasing multiple offices across from the courthouse, said Stafford County Administrator Anthony Romanello.

“What we’ve done is been able to reduce our costs in the long term by not paying lease costs by building this new building, and it’s really a function of taking advantage of the great construction climate we’re in,” said Romanello.

Last week, county supervisors decided to solicit bids for the project, which will be paid for with bonds the county sold in 2008. Romanello said $3.3 million in bond money was supposed to go to expanding the courthouse, but now will go to the construction of this new building.

The rescue squad that used to occupy the building has moved to a new firehouse that opened on nearby Courthouse Road.

The new offices could open in early 2012.

There was some talk about converting the old building, but officials decided it would be more cost effective to build a new structure after seeing that a new roof, new walls to enclose the garage bays, canopies, exterior doors, and an elevator was needed to make the building compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act, according to county documents.

“There is the possibility of hidden defects and non-conforming construction methods that could escalate the cost substantially,” county documents showed.

Video: Freedom trail dedicated at Falmouth

When the Union soldiers arrived Stafford County in 1862 more than 10,000 slaves from Fredericksburg and the surrounding area saw their chance to escape, starting on the Trail to Freedom.

Many crossed the Rappahannock River, near where the Port of Falmouth Park sits today, and that’s where county leaders and historians on Saturday dedicated two new plaques that tell the story of the slaves' run to freedom.

The ceremony focused on 24-year-old John Washington, who in 1862 heard the music of the Union camps on the Stafford side of the river, and then crossed it and made his escape from slavery. Now residents can read his story printed on plaques at both the Port of Falmouth Park and across the river in Fredericksburg.

“Many slaves from Fauquier, King George and other surrounding areas crossed the river to find their way to freedom, said Jane Conner, with the Stafford County Historical Society. “Near here, at Aquia Landing on the Potomac, is what really was the gateway to freedom.”

You can learn more about the trail at the Fredericksburg Visitor Center on Caroline Street. Raising awareness about the trail is a joint project between Stafford County, Fredericksburg and the National Park Service.

 

Photos by Mary Davidson

Neighborhoods can set parking rules

Parking restrictions in Stafford may get tighter.

The Stafford County Board of Supervisors this week unanimously voted to allow the leaders of homeowners associations in the county to petition the board as to which types of boats, commercial and recreational vehicles that are allowed to be park on their streets.

Though no neighborhood has filed a petition yet, once they do, a public hearing will be scheduled before the board and then the supervisors will have the final say when it comes to implementing a parking restriction, according to Stafford County Attorney Joseph Howard.

Stafford Sheriff Charles E. Jett said if the Board approves a parking restriction his deputies would enforce it during their regular traffic duties.

The Board chose to allow subdivisions to set their own rules instead of issuing a county-wide policy.

Woman denies man directions, attacked

A woman was attacked while walking in her neighborhood by a garbage man, police say.


The 46-year-old female victim was in the area Bobwhite Drive, near Hope Road in Stafford, when a green trash truck pulled up next to her. A man got out, approached her and asked if she knew what street he was on, said Stafford Sheriff’s Major David Decatur.

The woman pointed to the posted street signs, and then he asked her to look at his map. When she said no and walked away, the man grabbed her from behind and knocked her to the ground, said Decatur. The woman then bit him, and while she was on the ground a car passed by and the man fled to his truck and drove off, said Decatur.

After the attack, police said the woman was missing her shoe. They did not say if she was injured.

A short time later, a sheriff’s deputy received a call on his cell phone about a truck similar to the one reported in the attack, spotted about a mile away on Jason Lane, said Decatur.

Police stopped the truck on, which was now on Antietam Loop, and then arrested 20-year-old Demetrice Deonte Ferguson, of Fredericksburg, charging him with abduction with the intent to defile, said Decatur.

Police say the truck Ferguson was is registered to Davis Disposal in Fredericksburg.

Slave trail exhibit to be unveiled in Stafford

Residents on Saturday came come to see the same trail 10,000 slaves in Stafford County used in attempts to escape to freedom nearly 150 years ago.

A ceremony unveiling a new exhibit called "The Crossing," which marks the trail, will be held 10 a.m. at Port Falmouth Park in in Stafford County.

Dr. James Bryant from Shenandoah University and Rep. Rob Wittman, R-Va. 1st will be on hand for the exhibit dedication, said Stafford County spokeswoman Cathy Riddle.

The first exhibits will feature reading panels on both sides of the Rappahannock River, in Stafford and Fredericksburg, marking the spot where Fredericksburg slave John Washington took his first steps to freedom, Riddle added.

Amtrak to run VRE trains for two weeks longer

Amtrak workers will continue to operate Virginia Railway Express trains until July 9 under a new agreement.

The new employees for Keolis Rail Services of America, a French Company, were supposed to take over VRE operations June 28. But training has taken longer than anticipated, and that has prompted VRE’s CEO Dale Zehner to ask Amtrak for the two-week extension.

“You should know this is not my first choice,” said Zehner in a letter to VRE riders. “Keolis is expected to be ready to operate much of, if not all of the VRE service by June 28, and VRE prefers what is known as a “soft start” or “staggered start” of service on June 28, with the Fredericksburg line operated by Keolis and the Manassas line operated by Amtrak.”

The extension is not expected to affect service on either the Manassas or Fredericksburg line.

VRE awarded at $85 million, 5-year-opearations contract to Keolis last fall. Amtrak lost the bid to the company, which has never operated in the U.S.

Amtrak has been contracted to operate and maintain VRE trains since the service began in 1992.

Gunfire injures North Stafford commuter

A man on his way to work Tuesday was injured after a gun blast shattered his car window.

The 37-year-old victim was driving his car through the Stafford Marketplace shopping center about 4:30 a.m., trying to avoid traffic on Va. 610, when he heard a loud blast in the area of T.J. Maxx and Lowes, said Stafford Sheriff’s spokesman Bill Kennedy.

After the blast, the man saw that his rear car widow had shattered, and then noticed a hole in his windshield and a tear in the driver's side head rest, said Kennedy.

Looking for a hospital, the injured victim then drove to the entrance of the Aquia Harbor neighborhood where the gate attendant called 911, said Kennedy.

Once police and rescue crews arrived, the man was taken to a hospital and treated for his injuries. Investigators are not certain if the man was injured by flying debris or by a bullet fragment, said Kennedy.

The victim was not able to provide a description of the gunman.

Before the shot rang out, the man was headed to Interstate 95 for his usual commute to Northern Virginia, police said.

Anyone with information about the shooting is encouraged to call the Stafford County Sheriff’s Office at 540-568-4000.

Stafford to address RV, truck parking

Stafford County supervisors again today will take up the topic of parking commercial and recreational vehicles on neighborhood streets.

Last month, county leaders favored an ordinance that allows homeowners associations to set their own rules when it comes to what types of recreational and commercial vehicles are allowed to park in their neighborhoods, deciding against an ordinance that would dictate parking countywide.

If the board passes the new ordinance at today’s meeting, the leaders of homeowners associations could obtain a petition from the county which would tell the sheriff’s department what types of watercraft, boat trailers, motor homes, camping trailers and commercial vehicles are allowed to park on their streets, county documents show.

A violation of those rules would be punishable up to a $35 fine.

The Stafford County Board of Supervisors meets today at 1 p.m., at the county's adminisration center off U.S. 1.

Plan to use taxes to build HOT lanes explored

Taxpayers could get a bill for the cost to build High Occupancy Toll lanes on Interstates 95 and 395.


Virginia Secretary of Transportation Sean T. Connaughton said his office is reviewing plans which explore the financial viability of converting HOV lanes between Dumfries and the Pentagon to toll lanes, and then extending then south to Stafford and Spotsylvania counties.

Part of those plans, presented by the Virginia Department of Transportation at Connaughton's request, include slapping taxpayers with a portion of the construction costs for the proposed lanes.

Another scenario has two private firms, Texas-based Fluor, Inc. and Australia’s Transurban, which would operate, maintain and profit from the lanes for up to 80 years, harboring all of the construction costs, said Connaughton.

VDOT’s plans could become public in the next few weeks, after they are reviewed the Federal Highway Administration, said Connaughton.

The renewed interest in building the lanes follows a combined $20,000 donation from Fluor, Inc. and Transurban to the Virginia GOP last month, according to the Virginia Public Access Project.

After giving $25,000 to Virginia Gov. Robert F. McDonnell during his 2009 campaign, Fluor, Inc. also donated $15,000 to McDonnell’s inaugural committee in January, according to VPAP.

In addition to donating to R. Creigh Deed’s gubernatorial campaign last year, Fluor, Inc. has donated $13,500 to state Democrats so far in 2010, VPAP showed.

The I-95 / 395 HOT lanes project was put on hold in August when VDOT said Fluor Inc. and Transurban couldn’t come up with enough private investors for the project.

Then Arlington County sued state and federal officials claiming that required environmental impact studies needed before the lanes could be built were not done, and that the lanes would adversely affect residents who live along I-95.

Arlington leaders last fall courted Prince William County officials about joining their suit, but they declined after reading the suit’s allegations that only rich, white suburbanites from Stafford and Spotsylvania counties would benefit from the new lanes.

Night paving this week in Stafford

Construction crews will be out in force this week working to pave portions of Interstate 95, between the North Stafford and Courthouse Road in Stafford County.

The work will begin each night after rush hour, and comes as part of the Virginia Department of Transportation works to maintain the highway, the state transportation agency stated.

The paving will take place at various spots between Stafford and Caroline counties, and up to three lanes of the highway could be closed at times.

Drivers who have used Va. 610 in North Stafford in the past week have probably seen night construction crews already working near the highway.