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Westminster is not just a pooch pageant
Secret agents got their skills in our backyard
13 Colonial Forge grapplers take team title
FEBRUARY 26, 2016
VOLUME 27, NUMBER 50
VIEWPOINTS, PAGE 4 | PUZZLES, PAGE 11 | CLASSIFIEDS, PAGES 14, 15
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Historical marker to remember Anthony Burns ANTHONY BURNS
JILL PALERMO
Stafford County Sun
nthony Burns’ first years of life were as a slave in Stafford County. Having an apparent aptitude, he rose to a certain position at the Falmouth Union Church, even becoming known as a slave preacher. But the shackles of slavery were too confining for Burns, and he managed to escape bondage by stowing away on a ship bound for Boston. He lived there, briefly, as a free man. Burns’ fate – and that of the nation -changed forever when he was arrested just a few months later and held under the Fugitive Slave Act, prompting massive and sometimes violent protests in Massachusetts. Burns was returned to slavery, but his story didn’t end there. His supporters bought Burns’
freedom from a North Carolina slaveholder, allowing Burns to study at the historically progressive Oberlin College in Ohio and become a preacher. Tragically, Burns died from tuberculosis at the young age of 28. Burns is nationally known because his story marked a turning point in U.S. history. As a young slave yearning for freedom, he stood in the center of roiling tensions between the North and the South that soon led to Southern secession and the Civil War. What is perhaps less well known, particularly among transient Northern Virginians, is that Burns’ story began in Stafford County. Now, a new historical marker, planned near the entrance of the Historic Port of Falmouth, aims to change that, appropriately enough, during Black History Month. County and state officials are planning a ceremony Feb. 26 to unveil the new marker, which shares Burns’ story and his important place in history. The Virginia Department of Historic Resources chose to honor Burns’ memory with help from the federally funded Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century. The purpose of the act is to diversify the historical marker program by
recognizing the contributions of women, Native Americans and African Americans, said Randy Jones, a spokesman for the state Department of Historic Resources. Jennifer Loux, a historian with the marker program, said Burns’ story helps explain the country’s march toward armed conflict. “Abolitionists’ unsuccessful attempt to rescue Burns increased anti-slavery sentiment in the North,” Loux said. “At the same time, many white Southerners became more and more convinced that Northerners’ opposition to the Fugitive Slave Act posed a serious threat to their property rights in slaves.” The Stafford County School Board honored Burns’ memory by naming the county’s 17th elementary school for him in 2006. Nancy Coll, principal of Anthony Burns Elementary, are slated to attend the ceremony along with E. Edward “Chip” Mann, chairman of Virginia’s Board of Historic Resources, and Robert “Bob” Thomas, Jr., chairman of the Stafford County Board of Supervisors. “We have such a rich history in Stafford County, so many historic figures were either born here or came through at some point,” Thomas said. “The new marker is another way to tell that story.”
INSIDENOVA.COM
Super Tuesday ahead
Virginia voters head to the polls on Tuesday, March 1, casting ballots as part of the “Super Tuesday” presidential primary. Thought the choice of candidates, especially for the Republican Party nomination, has diminished over the past several primary elections in other states, the names of the dropouts are still listed on the Virginia ballots. For the Democratic Party, voters have a choice between Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders. Martin O’Malley is listed on the ballot, though he suspended his campaign. On the GOP ballot, voters will find the following names, in order determined by random drawing by the Virginia State Board of Elections: • Jim Gilmore • Marco Rubio • Chris Christie • Lindsey Graham • Jeb Bush • Ben Carson • Rick Santorum • Rand Paul • John Kasich and • Mike Huckabee • Carly Fiorina. • Ted Cruz • Donald Trump The following have suspended their campaigns: • Chris Christie, • Lindsey Graham • Jeb Bush and • Rand Paul • Rick Santorum. • Mike Huckabee, • Jim Gilmore Voting will take place at regular precincts, which will be open from PRIMARY PAGE 13 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. Because
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