HONORING HONORE: Potomac High hosts hoops event for former star. SPORTS, PAGE 12
December 22, 2022 | Vol. 21, No. 51 | 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.
The gift of clothing all year long
Nonprofit ‘Boxes of Basics’ outfitted 1,000 local kids in need this year
Boxes of Basics founder and executive director Sarah Tyndall with Brian Johnson, pastor of Haymarket Church. The nonprofit, based in Old Town Manassas, provided 1,000 kids with full, seasonal wardrobes this year.
By Sondra Anzalone Contributing Writer
’Tis the season for giving, not just of gifts, but of time and support for the community. Giving is a yearround pursuit for Boxes of Basics, a newer Manassas-area nonprofit focused on ensuring local children have full, seasonal wardrobes of good, quality clothing. Founder and executive director Sarah Tyndall, of Bristow, started Boxes of Basics in her basement in 2018. The organization has since moved into a home in Old Town Manassas where volunteers work daily to hand select new and slightly used clothing items for individual children who are referred by local schools, social service agencies, churches and other trusted third parties. After items are gathered, volunteers carefully wrap each outfit in white paper and compile them in sturdy white boxes.
PHOTOS BY SONDRA ANZALONE
Donated items selected for each child are wrapped and decorated with cute labels for delivery. Each box includes a book, dental-care kit and personal note. “When a child receives their Box of Basics, we want them to feel like they are opening a gift!” Tyndall said. See BOXES OF BASICS, page 2
Prince William hikes police pay 17% starting Jan. 1 By Jill Palermo
Times Staff Writer
Faced with both hiring and retention challenges, the Prince William Board of County Supervisors voted last week to boost police officers’ starting salaries to $62,000 and raise annual pay across the department by 17% — the largest onetime increase in at least a decade if not longer. The supervisors also approved hiring bonuses ranging from $3,000 to $10,000 for the county’s hardest-to-fill positions, with the $10,000 bonuses slated for police officers, “technician I” firefighters and nurse practitioners. The raises, which take effect on Jan. 1, 2023, were the result of a “directive” the supervisors gave to Acting County Executive Elijah Johnson
in October in response to pleas from local police officers and some of their spouses who spoke during recent meetings to call attention to the department’s lagging pay. Among other things, they said rising vacancies have led to mandatory overtime and other challenges. Police Chief Peter Newsham told the Prince William County School Board last month he did not have enough police officers to provide each county middle and high school with its own school resource officer, as the supervisors intended when they beefed up SRO staffing in 2018. As a result, while all Prince William high schools have their own SRO, most Prince William middle schools share theirs with other schools. See POLICE, page 4
Teachers union plans January election for collective bargaining, page 3
Making New Year’s resolutions? PWC libraries can help, page 8
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It’s all about people . . . and always will be. www.vnb.com
Prince William County police respond to an incident in Woodbridge. PHOTO BY JOHN CALHOUN