Issue 150

Friday, February 2, 2023

Prince William County

Dear Neighbors,

According to the Farmer's Almanac this year, today marks the middle of Winter. According to Punxsutawney Phil yesterday, we are in for six more weeks of Winter. According to our weather forecast, this weekend's temperatures will be extremely cold.

Bottomline, we are going to have to wait awhile for warmer weather. That said, while it may not be as quickly as some would like, the change of seasons will happen. So until then, bundle up, maybe have a cup of hot cocoa, and please check on those who are more vulnerable to the cold.

In Service,

Chair Ann Wheeler

Sunday, January 28, Chair Wheeler attended the MLK Drum Major Award Ceremony hosted by the PWC Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. (PWCAC-DST), in affiliation with the PWC Arts Council at Gainesville High School. The event recognized winners and participants of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Youth Oratorical Competition and Program (Chair's Calendar and County Kudos issue 148).

The 4th to 12th grade student winners of the visual arts competition were also recognized and their pieces will be on display in the Open Space Arts Gallery, located at Stonebridge at Potomac Town Center, during the month of February for Black History Month. While at the event Chair Wheeler personally congratulated Featured Speaker Award winner Arhaan Gautam (left photo), a sixth grader at Pennington Traditional School, and connected with Sheila Mitchell (right photo), Chair, MLK Committee, PWCAC-DST.

Monday, January 30, Chair Wheeler was invited, along with other officials in the 7th Congressional District, to attend Congresswoman Abigail Spanberger's (top left photo) Legislative Update Meeting. Topics included community project funding, federal legislative priorities, district outreach, and constituent services. Additionally, Congresswoman Spanberger graciously gave the group a private tour (right photo) of the U.S. Capital.

Wednesday, February 1, Chair Wheeler attended a Public Safety Town Hall hosted by Potomac Magisterial District Supervisor Andrea Bailey at the Potomac Shores Middle School. PWC Deputy County Executive of Public Safety Dan Alexander (far left photo) (County News issue 98), Town of Dumfries Mayor Derrick Wood (second from left photo), PWC Police Department personnel (second from right photo), and Town of Quantico Mayor Kevin Brown (far right photo) participated in the Town Hall.

NVRC is working with PWC, the Commonwealth, the Virginia Institute for Marine Sciences, and multinational infrastructure consulting firm AECOM to use the REPI funding to identify natural infrastructure solutions for the flooding and shoreline erosion concerns. The design solutions fill be used to apply for Defense Community Infrastructure Program funding later this year.

Thursday, February 9, at 7:00 pm, the Prince William Committee of 100 is hosting a candidate forum for this month's Gainesville Magisterial District Special Election (County News issue 149). The forum will be held at Battlefield High School in Haymarket. Bruce Potter, publisher of InsideNova, will moderate the event with candidates Kerensa G. Sumers (D) and Robert B. "Bob" Weir (R).

The Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH®) national Black History Month theme for 2023 is 'Black Resistance' and focuses on examining how African Americans have fought oppression from America's earliest days. Throughout history, this resistance has come in many forms, culminating as a continuous movement created to obtain freedom and equality. It has been fought in the courts of public opinion, courts of law, and on the battlefield.

Throughout February, ASALH® is hosting a virtual festival full of a wide variety of events celebrating Black History Month. Check out the schedule and register to attend here. You can also purchase tickets through ASALH® to the Wednesday, February 22, virtual Marquee Event: A Conversation with Lonnie G. Bunch and the Saturday, February 25, Shirley Chisholm Play - Campaign '72 at the THEARC Theatre in Washington, D.C.

Thursday, February 16, 11:00 am to 12:00 pm, the PWC Black History Committee is hosting its annual Black History Month celebration at the Dr. A.J. Ferlazzo building, located at 15941 Donald Curtis Dr in Woodbridge.

Saturday, February 4, 11:00 am to 4:00 pm, join local historians at the free Barnes House Open House to explore exhibits highlighting the site's diverse history and amazing story of historic preservation. Built in 1797, the Barnes House was an average PWC residence, but the people who lived there were anything but typical. First used as a tavern, in 1899 Eppa Barnes bought the house where he was born into slavery. Donations are welcome.

Saturday, February 18, 10:00 am to 12:00 pm, and 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm,

Tastes of Home: African American Culture and American Cuisine at the Ben Lomond Historic Site. Participants will prepare and taste African and Southern dishes in the site's historic slave quarter. Please wear appropriate shoes and clothing for the weather. Open to ages 13 and older, the program cost is $10 and advanced registration is required.

Saturday, February 18, 10:00 am to 1:00 pm, Who Were They? The Enslaved People of Rippon Lodge tours will focus on the primary documentation found for both the colonial and early Victorian eras. Space is limited, the program cost is $10, and advanced registration is required.

Thursday, February 23, 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm, the Prince William Historic Preservation Lecture Series: The Preserve: Reconstructing an African American Neighborhood in the Bull Run Mountains will be held at the Old Manassas Courthouse. Historian and archaeologist Patrick O’Neill will share his research on local African American communities in the Bull Run Mountains. Suggested donation is $5.

Saturday and Sunday, February 25 and 26, 11:00 am to 4:00 pm, the reconstructed 19th century Lucasville School will host a free Open House and discussion about schools after the Civil War. Four years before, African Americans had been barred from learning to read and write by Virginia law. During reconstruction, schools would open for the instruction of all who wished to attend. These early schools faced many obstacles, from irregular funding, teacher shortages, political threats, and even open violence. Donations are welcome.

PWC's unique and extensive African American history is shared through many of our historic sites and communities. You can explore the history, arts, culture, and contributions of Black Americans along PWC's extensive African American History Trail, as well through its African American Heritage map. 

PWC Department of Public Works received the Project of the Year Award in the “Environment Less than $5 Million” category from the American Public Works Association Mid-Atlantic Chapter for the Neabsco Creek's Bandalong (Chair's Calendar issue 92). The Bandalong floats in the creek during storm events and catches floatable litter that would otherwise scatter into the 300-acre Neabsco estuary, which is part of the PWC Parks, Recreation and Tourism system. In 2021, Micron Technologies Inc. donated $300,000 (Environmental News issue 57) to PWC, which the BOCS appropriated to the Department of Public Works to fund the Bandalong's manufacture, installation, and a year of operation and maintenance.