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Aquia Harbour officer receives service award
Colonial Forge grad takes on coaching spot
Crossfit athletes raise funds for fallen officer
APRIL 1, 2016
VOLUME 28, NUMBER 3
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VIEWPOINTS, PAGE 4 | PUZZLES, PAGE 12 | CLASSIFIEDS, PAGES 14, 15
INSIDENOVA.COM
Phase one of state park on horizon TRACY BELL
Stafford County Sun
A new tableau at the National Museum of the Marine Corps depicts Marines heading for cover as they exit a Vietnam-era Sikorsky UH-34D helicopter during Operation Starlite in 1965. Active duty Marines and a corpsman were used as models to create the cast figures for the new tableau. New galleries will be open next year through 2020. SUBMITTED
National Museum of the Marine Corps reopens
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he National Museum for the Marine Corps reopened April 1 with two new tableaux, after being closed for nearly three months. The addition of several exhibits necessitated the closure, according to a news release. Visitors will see a recently restored World War II SBD Dauntless dive bomber and a Vietnam-era Sikorsky UH-34D
helicopter, which were installed during the closure. The Dauntless now hangs from the soaring glass of the Museum’s central gallery, while the UH-34D is positioned in a ground-level display recreating a scene of Marines disembarking under enemy fire. “Every Marine who walks through our doors deserves to see a piece of their story told in the museum,” said Lin Ezell,
director of the museum. “The addition of these historic aircraft furthers the museum’s efforts to more completely represent the entire history of the Marine Corps.” The re-opening is a significant benchmark in the campaign to complete the museum. The Marine Corps Heritage Foundation broke ground on the construction of the museMUSEUM um’s final phase last March. PAGE 13 An additional 117,000
The Virginia General Assembly agreed to a bond bill that gives the go-ahead for the first phase of construction at Widewater State Park in North Stafford. The approval jumpstarts the park’s development; however, it stops short of fully developing the park — for now. According to the Department of Conservation and Recreation, phase one will cost about $11.5 million and the first phase of construction will take about 18 months. “The park received another $4 million to add to the original $7.5 million funding,” said Stafford County Supervisor Jack Cavalier, R-Griffis-Widewater. “That should be enough to complete phase one, which includes public access to the river in the form of a boat launch and fishing pier, as well as other items.” The other plans for the first phase include a visitors’ center, picnic spots, restrooms, road work, a 1-mile trail and a canoe launch. In all, it will cost $43 million to develop the area at Widewater State Park. The state bought the property in 2006, with an adopted plan set in 2008 to develop the 1,100-acre site. The land sits along the Potomac River, and its development is set to include multiple phases. Democratic Sen. Scott Surovell, of Fairfax, represents a district that includes part of Stafford. “I am pleased that with an improving state budget, we were able to PARK PAGE 13 get phase one construction
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