News | ALXnow - Part 771

Fire department pay battle heats up as firefighters say staffing issues put public safety at risk

Published August 31, 2021 at 4:05PM

Fire Department recruits training on Feb. 14, 2020. (Staff photo by James Cullum)

The dispersal of the heavy rescue squad was the breaking point for the Alexandria Fire Department, a representative of the local union said.

Jeremy McClayton, organizer for the International Association of Firefighters Local 2141, said the unit — which handles construction site emergencies, operates the jaws of life in car crashes, and performs flooding rescues — was dispersed to fill gaps in staffing across the department. For a fire department seeing a widespread exodus and forced overtime, it was a step too far.

Parents concerned in opening days as ACPS works on construction projects at Mount Vernon Community School

By James Cullum

Published August 31, 2021 at 2:15PM

Inside Mount Vernon Community School. (staff photo by James Cullum)

It hasn’t been a perfect opening at Mount Vernon Community School, and Alexandria City Public Schools says it’s a work in progress.

The school system says that school bus routes have been fixed — after a few students were put on the wrong buses — and that hot meals have resumed during lunchtime.

West End school purchase headed to Planning Commission review

By Vernon Miles

Published August 31, 2021 at 1:00PM

Swing space at 1703 N. Beauregard Street, via Google Maps

Three years after Ferdinand T. Day Elementary School opened in a former West End office (1701 N Beauregard Street), Alexandria City Public Schools (ACPS) is moving forward with plans to purchase the rest of the office block for eventual conversion into school space.

ACPS is headed to the Planning Commission on Thursday, Sept. 9, to review plans to purchase the office building for conversion into an educational space. What exactly that will entail, though, still remains to be determined. In the short-term, the building could be used as swing space for schools undergoing modernization, but could eventually become its own 600 student school.

Alexandria sees cases rise in August and warns of COVID-19 in schools

By James Cullum

Published August 31, 2021 at 10:45AM | Updated August 31, 2021 at 11:42AM

With COVID-19 numbers sharply rising in Alexandria, the city is advising parents to expect cases at schools and daycares.

So far this month, 14 cases have been reported in Alexandria City Public Schools.

Man swallows two bags of drugs and runs from police in Old Town

By James Cullum

Published August 31, 2021 at 9:55AM

Alexandria Police in Old Town. (Staff photo by James Cullum)

A 35-year-old Alexandria man is being held without bond after swallowing two bags of drugs and running away from police on foot through Old Town North.

The incident occurred on Wednesday, August 11, at around 9:15 p.m. Police were called regarding a bronze Toyota Camry with severe damage was “excessively changing lanes” before parking near the Harris Teeter at N. Saint Asaph Street and Madison Street.

Morning Notes

By James Cullum

Published August 31, 2021 at 5:00AM

Yates Pizza Palace has been under development at 3000 Duke Street for years. (staff photo by James Cullum)

Remnants of Hurricane Ida headed for Alexandria — “Tuesday will be cloudy with only reaching the mid-80s. Scattered thunderstorms will start Tuesday evening and will become more widespread into Wednesday dropping an estimated two to six inches of rain. Alexandria city officials will be handing out sandbags to residents Tuesday morning ahead of the storm.” [Alexandria Living]

City Hall lit blue for Opioid Awareness Day — “Wonder why City Hall was lit up last night? It’s lit up teal through September 1 in recognition of #InternationalOverdoseAwarenessDay! The City is also giving out free Narcan and fentanyl test strips–find out more at alexandriava.gov/123920.” [Twitter]

ACPS Superintendent Hutchings asks community to hit the brakes on email campaigns

By Vernon Miles

Published August 30, 2021 at 3:40PM

Superintendent Gregory Hutchings, Jr. has one request for the community at large: Lay off the email campaigns.

Rather than individual emails with a question or a comment, Hutchings said his office and others in ACPS staff have been bombarded recently with copy-and-pasted emails. It’s become enough of an issue that Hutchings said at a School Board work session last week that the level of crowding in school staff emails has sometimes caused issues with missed communications.

Alexandria man on run from police for more than a year after theft from gym in Carlyle

By James Cullum

Published August 30, 2021 at 2:15PM

An Alexandria police cruiser (staff photo by James Cullum)

A male suspected of breaking into a locker at a gym in the Carlyle area and going on a spending spree has been on the run for more than a year-and-a-half.

The incident at OneLife Fitness occurred on December 1, 2019. The victim told police that he locked his belongings with a Swiss turnstile lock, and returned 40 minutes later to find the lock gone and the locker empty. Among the items stolen were a $100 duffel bag, a sterling silver money clip, cash, credit cards, his driver’s license, and car and house keys, according to police.

Mae’s Market & Cafe opens in Old Town

By James Cullum

Published August 30, 2021 at 1:00PM

Mae’s Market & Cafe is open for business at the sprawling Atrium Building in Old Town.

The coffee shop/all-day food market opened last week in space formally occupied by Society Fare. The Atrium Building was built in 1978 and is undergoing an upgrade with other new tenants, including ALX Community.

Historic Black cemetery under threat of being washed away in Old Town

By Vernon Miles

Published August 30, 2021 at 10:45AM

Douglass Memorial Cemetery following flood damages in 2021 (photo courtesy Michael Johnson)

Michael Johnson’s grandfather, Albert, died two months before Michael was born and is buried somewhere in Douglass Memorial Cemetery. Where he is exactly buried is unclear, since Albert’s gravestone and several others have been lost as recent flooding threatens to wash away a historic Black cemetery.

The cemetery has been a burial site for Black Alexandrians since 1827 and was named after Frederick Douglass after the abolitionist leader died in 1895. Records who that around 2,000 people were buried in the cemetery until burials stopped in 1974.

No injuries or arrests after shots fired on Duke Street

By James Cullum

Published August 30, 2021 at 9:45AM

Alexandria Police cruiser (staff photo by James Cullum)

No one was injured or arrested after shots were fired early Sunday evening (August 29) in the 4600 block of Duke Street in the West End.

The incident occurred at around 5:30 p.m. near the Shoppes at Fox Chase and the 4600 Duke Street Condominiums. A helicopter assisted in the search for the suspect.