Schools

Police investigating ‘mob’ attack at local high school

By ARLnow.com
Police at Washington-Liberty High School in Sept. 2022 (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

(Updated at 4:45 p.m.) A “mob” of seven boys is facing serious charges after allegedly attacking another teen at Washington-Liberty High School.

The fight happened around 3:15 p.m. — five minutes after school dismissal — on Tuesday but police were not called until an hour later. A tipster tells ARLnow that it took place inside the school.

The victim went to a hospital on his own, with a non-life-threatening laceration, according to Arlington County police. ACPD is seeking “Malicious Wounding by Mob” charges against the attackers.

Washington-Liberty’s principal sent the following email to families about the incident this afternoon.

Dear W-L Community,

During dismissal yesterday at approximately 3:15 p.m., several W-L students were involved in a significant verbal and physical altercation with another student. Our staff responded to break up the group of students and contacted law enforcement.  We have been in communication with the families of the students involved and have applied appropriate disciplinary consequences.

The initial police report is provided below. Washington-Liberty is collaborating with the ACPD on its investigation and continues to talk with other students not directly involved who may have additional information.

MALICIOUS WOUNDING BY MOB (late), 2024-01090125, 1300 block of N. Stafford Street. At approximately 4:19 p.m. on January 9, police were dispatched to the late report of an assault. Upon arrival, it was determined at approximately 3:15 p.m., a verbal dispute occurred between a group of juveniles, during which the juvenile male victim was allegedly assaulted by a group of approximately seven juvenile male suspects. The victim sustained a laceration and self-reported to an area hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. Petitions are pending for the juvenile suspects for Malicious Wounding by Mob.  

We take these incidents very seriously and will continue to take all necessary steps to keep students and staff safe. These actions do not reflect our core values and beliefs at Washington-Liberty and under no circumstances do we condone this type of behavior. Please talk to your student about the consequences of their actions if they get involved in an altercation like this.

I apologize for the delay in updating the broader W-L community regarding this incident, as my immediate focus was on communicating with the students and families directly involved and cooperating with the ACPD on its investigation.

If you have any questions or further information about this incident, please contact me 703-228-6202.

ARLnow asked police about a motive for the attack and whether it was captured on video.

“A verbal dispute preceded the assault and the circumstances of the incident remain under investigation,” said ACPD spokeswoman Alli Shorb. “During the course of the preliminary investigation, evidence was recovered. To ensure the integrity of the investigation and prosecution, there are no additional details to provide at this time.”

News

County seeks public input as Gulf Branch restoration project design nears completion

By Jo DeVoe
1/6

In 2025, Arlington County will embark on a major project to rehabilitate the Gulf Branch stream.

Planning for the project began in 2019. The project was paused during the pandemic due to budget constraints but remained in focus due to the stream’s poor conditions today.

“Gulf Branch is a high-priority stream resilience project because of active erosion, infrastructure concerns and habitat degradation,” the county said.

After a two-year pause, Arlington resumed design work and had 60% complete designs by last October. Now, the county’s Dept. of Environmental Services is seeking feedback on the designs.

Final design work, permit acquisition and procurement are all expected to happen this this year. Construction would then start in 2025.

Arlington County aims to combat future erosion and ensure the stream can handle surges of water during storms. The extent of erosion today can be seen in a county video, below, walking through the most recent project updates.

As part of the project, the stream corridor will be replanted and stone and log structures and step pools will be added behind the Glebe Park tennis courts and near Broyhill Forest Park and the Gulf Branch Nature Center.

Also near Broyhill Forest Park and the nature center, stream beds will be raised to bury exposed sanitary sewer pipes. This is intended to prevent sewage from seeping into the stream and stave off emergency repairs, according to a project webpage.

Excess sediment will be reduced to meet regulatory requirements for what flows into the Potomac River and the Chesapeake Bay, the website said. The work also includes habitat enhancements for the local wildlife and increased public access to the stream.

During earlier feedback periods, some community members urged DES to take a more proactive approach to tackling erosion, according to an online survey. In response, the county says it expanded the project scope to include a dry stream bed that is west of the Nature Center, running the width of Glebe Road Park.

Additionally, residents were concerned about noise and equipment traffic during construction. To limit these impacts, the county decided to create separate temporary construction entrances to the main stem of Gulf Branch — from Broyhill Forest Park and Military Road — according to DES spokeswoman Katie O’Brien.

DES says it also heard from several people concerned about runoff closer to the stream’s source. In response, it proposed four “green street” rain garden projects in the watershed, downstream of Military Road.

The locations are as follows:

  • The N. Piedmont Street cul-de-sac
  • The corner of 36th Road N. and N. Nelson Street
  • The corner of N. Nelson Street and N. Oakland Street
  • 36th Road N. near the stairs to the Gulf Branch trail

The county began meeting with people neighboring the proposed green street projects in the fall of 2022 and has since continued that engagement as well as design work.

Construction on the green street projects is expected to begin in mid-2024.

Sponsored

Halls Hill native recalls making history with Civil Rights-era lawsuit over voting in Arlington

By Scott McCaffrey

As a 23-year-old voter in still-segregated 1960s Virginia, Portia Haskins was convinced she had followed all the rules in order to cast a ballot in Arlington.

Election officials disagreed, saying she had failed to pay the appropriate poll tax still required in the Old Dominion, maintained in part to disenfranchise Black voters.

Haskins took the county, and state, to court. She won, with her case ultimately being folded into the landmark 1966 Harper v. Virginia Board of Elections decision of the U.S. Supreme Court.

Haskins was an unusual legal combatant, committed to seeking unity.

“I’m the type of person who wants to bring everyone together,” the Halls Hill native said at a weekend presentation sponsored by the county library system and hosted by the Black Heritage Museum of Arlington.

After her efforts to vote were rejected at the local level, Haskins enlisted support from the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) to challenge the ruling. She traveled several times to the U.S. District Court in Richmond, then watched as the case and others like it moved to the Supreme Court.

Her reaction at the final outcome? “I was so happy,” she said.

The 6-3 ruling in Harper v. Virginia Board of Elections effectively outlawed requiring poll taxes for state elections in those few states, like Virginia, that retained them. The poll-tax requirement for federal elections had been eliminated with ratification of the 24th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution in 1964.

Lessons from the struggle are still valuable today, said Haskins, now 83.

“Everybody has to come together and fight” when they see injustice, she said. “You have to get together.”

Historical photo of Portia Haskins (via Black Heritage Museum of Arlington)

Haskins is among the Arlingtonians profiled in the “From Barriers to Ballots,” an exhibition marking the 60th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Several versions of the exhibition are on display across Northern Virginia, with one at Central Library running through Nov. 4.

The Arlington Historical Society partnered on the exhibition, and was excited about the Haskins presentation, former president David Pearson said.

“She is someone we really wanted to learn about,” he said, pointing to a renewed effort to “really get out the stories of the complete history of Arlington.”

Haskins has been a member of Mount Salvation Baptist Church near the Glebewood neighborhood since 1951, and in the community she has promoted “the spirit of community and empowerment,” said Scott Taylor, president of the Black Heritage Museum.

Haskins lamented that much of the history of the civil-rights movement is being lost in the public consciousness.

“We went through a lot, but people today don’t know,” she said. Young people in particular, she said, “don’t care because they don’t know.”

Her request to today’s youth? “Let everybody know how you feel” and use the ballot box to create change.

“Voting is important. That’s what everybody really needs to do,” Haskins said.

Traffic

Video: Crash at Clarendon intersection knocks out traffic signal

By ARLnow.com
Just before the crash at 10th Street N. and N. Highland Street (video via Safetyvid)

The traffic signal at the intersection of 10th Street N. and N. Highland Street in Clarendon is out after a crash.

The crash happened around 11:30 a.m. and was caught on camera.

The video, above, appears to show a driver on 10th Street running the red light and getting t-boned by a driver on Highland. So far, there’s no word on injuries, though firefighters and medics quickly arrived on scene from nearby Fire Station No. 4.

N. Highland Street is closed and the traffic light is out, according to an Arlington Alert message. The video shows the light staying on red while flashing yellow after the crash, potentially as the result of ground-level signal equipment being damaged.

Events

Washington-Liberty HS to serve as community service hub during MLK Day

By James Jarvis
MLK Day of Service 2023 Volunteer Arlington W-L High School (via Volunteer Arlington/Facebook)

An Arlington high school is once again gearing up to become a hub for community service activities on Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

On Monday, Jan. 15, from 8:30 a.m. until noon, Washington-Liberty High School will host various in-person volunteer opportunities, such as a donation scavenger hunt, SNAP ambassador training and the assembly of winter hygiene and safety kits, organized by nearly a dozen local nonprofits.

In addition to in-person projects at the school, there will be several virtual and off-site options, including restoring Potomac Overlook Regional Park, the Long Bridge Connector Trail clean-up and Culpepper Garden clean-up.

Organized by Volunteer Arlington, a collaboration between the Leadership Center for Excellence and Arlington County, the MLK Day of Service event — now in its seventh year — aims to promote civic engagement during the federal holiday, per the organization’s website.

The event was held online for several years during the pandemic, but shifted back to an in-person setting at Washington-Liberty High School last year.

Participants are encouraged to sign up in advance through Volunteer Arlington’s website, with registration available until tomorrow — Thursday, Jan. 11. However, walk-ins are also welcome, with check-in starting at 8:30 a.m.

The first 750 volunteers to sign up also get a free shirt.

Post check-in, participants will be ushered into an opening ceremony at 9 a.m. Following the ceremony, volunteers will proceed to their chosen service projects. Volunteers opting for off-site projects will need to arrange for their own transportation to each location.

While the event officially concludes at noon, some projects may go over.

The following opportunities are currently accepting volunteers, per the website.

Photo via Volunteer Arlington/Facebook

Announcement

Fall Art Classes and More at Art House 7!

By Art House 7

Embark on an artistic adventure this Fall with Art House 7! Our Fall I Session boasts a rich selection of art classes, spanning from arts and crafts to modern embroidery. Age is no limit, as we welcome both the young and the young-at-heart, offering something for everyone from age 2 through adults.

With class durations ranging from 3 to 7 weeks and a diverse array of mediums, you can customize your creative journey to suit your schedule and artistic aspirations. Join us to master classics like drawing and oil painting or venture into exciting options like ceramic sculpture and gouache watercolor. Embrace your creativity, whether through old favorites or new experiences.

Go to Fall Art Classes and More at Art House 7! Read more
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