SHARKS ON THE BASEPATHS: The Colgan baseball team is previewed on page 9
March 20, 2019 | Vol. 18, No. 12 | www.PrinceWilliamTimes.com | 50¢ Covering Prince William County and surrounding communities, including Gainesville, Haymarket, Dumfries, Occoquan, Quantico and the cities of Manassas and Manassas Park.
Rooms paid in cash, secretive guests Police teach local hotel workers to spot human trafficking By Karen Chaffraix Times Staff Writer
For local hotel owners and workers, it is no longer enough to make the beds and clean the bathrooms. Management, maids and clerks must keep their eyes open for signs of human trafficking, a scourge involving mostly young women exploited as commercial sex workers
now surfacing throughout Virginia, including in Prince William County and Manassas. The Hampton Inn near Interstate 66 in Manassas was the scene of the latest effort to educate the public about human trafficking. On a recent Monday morning, 40 hotel managers and employees gathered to hear from Prince William County police officers who specialize in the crime of trafficking.
Suspect human trafficking? Contact:
Hampton Inn’s General Manager Jennifer Decker organized the event. “The only way to stop this is to bring awareness to it,” she said. Attendees came from Dumfries, Manassas, Woodbridge and Gainesville. Neighboring Fauquier County was represented by a contingent from the events venue, Airlie, outside Warrenton.
Prince William County Police: 703-792-6500 Manassas Park Police: 703-361-1136 City of Manassas Police: 703-257-8000 National Human Trafficking Hotline: 888-373-7888
See TRAFFICKING, page 4
Prince William School Board poised to give itself a raise By Jill Palermo
Times Staff Writer
The Prince William School Board is poised to more than double its salary next year, boosting annual pay from $12,000 to $26,520 for members elected from each of the county’s seven magisterial districts and from $13,100 to $28,520 for its at-large chairman. The raises won’t be official until the Prince William County Board of Supervisors approves the school division budget in April, and they won’t take effect until the new school board is sworn in on Jan. 1, 2020. But the current board took a non-binding “straw poll” vote during a budget work session Wednesday, March 13, to effectively approve the raises, which are included in the $1.1 billion operating fund budget Superintendent Steven Walts proposed for
Freedom H.S. ‘Soul Squad’ marches in NYC St. Patrick’s Day Parade
PHOTO BY JASON MUN: GROUPPHOTOS.COM
Members of Freedom High School’s “Soul Squad” Marching Band marched in the 258th Annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade in New York City Saturday, March 16. Pictured are Michael Moore, the band’s drum major, center; Jennifer Alvarado, left, and dancer Christa DiCardi-Nelson, partially pictured in back.
See SCHOOL BOARD, page 4
INSIDE Calendar.............................................12 Classified............................................16 Lifestyle..............................................11 Obituaries...........................................15
Opinion.................................................6 Puzzle Page..........................................8 Real Estate..........................................14 Sports...................................................9
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