Stafford County Archives - The Virginia Star

Express Lanes to Open Along Virginia I-95 Corridor

August 16, 2023August 15, 2023 The Center Square

A ribbon cutting this week will commemorate something that Stafford County residents and D.C.-area commuters have long awaited – sometimes impatiently, while cursing out their car windows: The opening of approximately 10 miles of express lanes along the infamously congested I-95 corridor.

The District of Columbia was ranked the eighth-worst American city for traffic in U.S. News & World Report’s 2022 rankings and has ranked second-worst in the past. And the southbound stretch of I-95 is chief among D.C. roads notorious for gridlocks and traffic delays, according to the National Capital Region Transportation Board.

Stafford County Board of Supervisors Denounces Critical Race Theory

September 22, 2021September 21, 2021 Eric Burk

The Stafford County Board of Supervisors (BOS) voted six to zero with one absent to pass a resolution denouncing the use of Critical Race Theory, the 1619 Project, and requiring students to identify preferred pronouns. The resolution also warns that the BOS will review all school board appropriation requests and block any that fund those items.

“BE IT RESOLVED by the Stafford County Board of Supervisors on this the 21st day of September, 2021, that it be and hereby does denounce the teaching of the 1619 Project and critical race theory (CRT) and related principles in Stafford County Public Schools; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Board does not support students of Stafford County Public Schools being required to identify their chosen pronouns,” the resolution as passed states.

Western Virginia, Southside Lost Population from 2010 to 2020 According to 2020 Census Data

August 13, 2021August 13, 2021 Eric Burk

The U.S. Census Bureau released 2020 Census data on August 12; a key takeaway from the data is that metro areas across the U.S. are growing, but many counties are seeing their population decrease.

“Many counties within metro areas saw growth, especially those in the south and west. However, as we’ve been seeing in our annual population estimates, our nation is growing slower than it used to,” Census Bureau Senior Demographer Marc Perry said in a press release.

Stafford County, Virginia Uses Federal Grant to Provide Restaurant Vouchers to SNAP Recipients

December 30, 2020December 29, 2020 Eric Burk

Stafford County is sending some extra cash to its 3,900 Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP) recipients in the form of $150 worth of restaurant vouchers to one of 100 local restaurants. County Board of Supervisors Chair Meg Bohmke said the nearly $800,000 program is the first part of the Stafford Cares initiative, a series of programs aimed at helping the county recover physically, mentally, and financially from COVID-19.

Confederate Flag Along I-95 Removed for Highway Construction Project

October 30, 2020October 29, 2020 Jacob Taylor

The Virginia Flaggers have removed their large Confederate flag from its prominent location in Stafford County along Interstate 95 after the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) acquired the land for construction of the Rappahannock River Crossing project.

Measuring at 20-feet tall and 30-feet wide, the controversial flag flew attached to its 80-foot pole since May 2014, nearly six and a half years, and was almost impossible to miss from both sides of the highway.

Is Stafford County the New Flint?

September 12, 2020September 11, 2020 Eric Burk

Traces of COVID-19 are present in 18 percent of samples at a sewage plant in northern Stafford County, up from 9 percent in May, according to The Free-Lance Star.