SPORTS: The Prince William Swim League has over 3,800 swimmers and 24 teams. PAGE 11.
July 21, 2022 | Vol. 21, No. 29 | www.princewilliamtimes.com | $1.00 Covering Prince William County and surrounding communities, including Gainesville, Haymarket, Dumfries, Occoquan, Quantico and the cities of Manassas and Manassas Park.
Children play for the first time in the splash pad outside Manassas Park’s new city hall at the center of its Park Central Plaza during a July 16 ribboncutting event. PHOTO BY CHER MUZYK
‘Park Central Plaza’ opens in Manassas Park New city hall, public library, splash pad to follow soon By Cher Muzyk
Times Staff Writer
PHOTO BY JOHN CALHOUN
Supervisors Margaret Franklin, D-Woodbridge, second from left, and Board of Supervisors Chair Ann Wheeler, second from right, pull off a sticker to reveal the road’s new name in Prince William County: Richmond Highway.
Jefferson Davis Highway renamed in Prince William By Jill Palermo
Times Staff Writer
Jefferson Davis Highway is finally history in Prince William County. On Saturday, July 16, the county’s five Democratic supervisors, as well as several Democratic state delegates representing parts of the county, gathered in the River Oaks shopping center for a ceremony marking the road’s new name. Board of Supervisors Chair Ann Wheeler, D-At Large, joined Supervisor Margaret Franklin, D-Woodbridge, in pulling a sticker with Davis’s name from a mock street sign set up for the event to reveal the new moniker: Richmond Highway. The origin of Jefferson Davis Highway
dates to 1913, when the United Daughters of the Confederacy unveiled plans for a coast-to-coast highway named for Davis, who served as president of the Confederacy. During a series of formal remarks, Wheeler and others said the change was welcome albeit overdue. The county board voted unanimously in September 2020 to change the name of the road to Richmond Highway but delayed the official switch until 2022 to allow time for county staff to reach out to the more than 300 businesses affected by the change. Despite the logistical hurdles, the change was necessary, Wheeler said. See HIGHWAY, page 7
Upgrades planned at local parks thanks to COVID-19 relief funds, page 4
In the works since 2018, Manassas Park’s newly constructed Park Central Plaza – an open-air, public square with seating – was officially opened to the public with a ribbon-cutting ceremony Saturday, July 16. The city is still putting the final touches on the new city hall, library and splash pad, which it anticipates will all open in late August. Condominiums, a Jirani coffee shop, restaurants, a movie theater and new parking structure will fill out the new downtown over the next two years. See PARK, page 5
County picks home for new mental health ‘crisis receiving center’ By Jill Palermo
Times Staff Writer
Over the past two years, the empty superstore was a mass COVID-19 vaccination clinic. Sometime in 2024, it will open as Prince William County’s first “crisis receiving center,” a facility that aims to provide a wide range of mental health services and supports to anyone who needs them. The empty building
‘Fridays at 5’ outdoor concerts kick off July 22, page 9
88 DULLES, VA
It’s all about people . . . and always will be. www.vnb.com
known as “the old Gander Mountain store,” located near Potomac Mills in Woodbridge, will house the long-awaited facility, which is hoped to be a game changer in the way mental health services are delivered in Prince William County, officials announced in a Tuesday, July 19, press conference at the county’s James J. McCoart administration building. See CENTER, page 2