FOREST PARK FOOTBALL PREVIEW: Bruins look to build on last year’s hot finish. PAGE 13
August 10, 2023 | Vol. 22, No. 32 | 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.
County schools face 300 teacher vacancies ahead of new year By Anya Sczerzenie Times Staff Writer
With less than two weeks until the first day of school, Prince William County schools have about 300 open certified teaching positions, nearly a third of which are for special education teachers. The school division’s website listed hundreds of job openings as of Aug. 8, including jobs for teachers, substitutes, cafeteria workers and administrative staff. Of the openings, 148 — or around 28% — are for special education teachers. Specifically, teachers for students with autism or intellectual disabil-
ities; early childhood special education teachers; and temporary special education teachers are among the most needed. Under the last category, the school division is again looking to fill positions under a program that allows school divisions to hire people without a teaching certificate as long as they have a bachelor’s degree, the equivalent of one year of experience working with children and agree to work toward certification. The positions are dubbed “teaching professionals on temporary assignment” or TPOTAs. Meghan Silas, a school division spokeswoman, said the shortage is due to several factors, including more students who are eligible for special
education this year and the addition of 75 new teaching assistant positions, some of which are for special education. “We have seen an increase in students eligible for Early Childhood Special Education services, which requires the division to add new programs,” Silas wrote in an email. Special education teaching positions can be stressful and demanding and are typically hard to fill in Virginia and across the country. The specialty has the largest shortage in Virginia and 47 other states, according to research by the University of Virginia. See VACANCIES, page 5
Businesses fight new power lines for Innovation Park Data center demand drives need for more power By Shannon Clark
POWER STRUGGLE: Ryan Gutman, president of Planet Direct, is among Innovation Park area business owners who are objecting to Dominion Energy’s plan to string highvoltage transmission lines across Innovation Park.
Times Staff Writer
Dominion Energy needs more transmission lines to keep up with the power demands of Prince William County’s growing number of data centers. But the utility’s latest project has some area business owners frustrated because it proposes a huge overhead transmission line cutting through the county’s Innovation Park. The county’s premier corporate park, with 2 Silos Brewery on one end and the FBI’s Northern Virginia headquarters on the other, has been developed by Prince William County and keeps strict rules for its commercial occupants. For one thing, distribution power lines feeding Innovation Park tenants must be buried. Also, companies are asked to upgrade their buildings to meet the park’s standards. Ryan Gutman, president of Planet Direct, says allowing giant overhead transmission lines to cut through the park seems to contradict those aesthetic goals. “Having these transmission lines is going to have a severe impact, in my opinion, on people’s desire to work at Planet Direct, both existing and potential incoming employees,” Gutman said. Planet Direct, which produces direct mail advertising, has 160 employees and has been operating out of Innovation Park since 2021. According to Dominion’s plans for its Hornbaker Road transmission line project, the business is facing the prospect of new transmission lines running either
PHOTO BY JOHN CALHOUN
COURTESY PHOTO
A hammerhead worm on Bull Run Preserve manager Joe Villari’s finger in June 2020 (Note: Don’t try this at home.)
Slimy, toxic and invasive but nothing new Hammerhead worms have been slithering through the region for years By Hunter Savery Times Staff Writer
behind or in front of its building. As proposed, the 1.5-mile line would stretch from an existing transmission tower near the Freedom Center on George Mason University’s Manassas campus, down Freedom Center Boulevard, across University Boulevard and Prince William Parkway and then across Innovation Park. The lines would then cross Discovery Boulevard and Hornbaker Road, ending at a proposed Horn-
baker switching station behind two data centers on Hornbaker Road, according to Dominion maps. The lines could also cut in front of 2 Silos Brewery and would run along the back of the Regency apartment complex, which is located between Target on Va. 28 and two data centers along Hornbaker Road.
Hammerhead worms are toxic, slimy and invasive. They grow over a foot long and, if cut in half, will grow into two completely new worms. Worst of all, they’re already in local backyards. But experts say there’s no reason for panic. Hammerhead worms are a genus of predatory flatworms that originated in the tropical climates of Southeast Asia but have been slowly slithering their way up America’s East Coast.
See POWER, page 2
See WORMS, page 9
Manassas Museum reopens after $6.7 million expansion, page 3
School board candidate switches parties, accepts GOP endorsement, page 5
88 DULLES, VA