IT’S GO TIME: Region play is underway in softball, baseball, soccer and lacrosse. Pages 9-10
May 22, 2019 | Vol. 18, No. 21 | www.princewilliamtimes.com | 50¢ Covering Prince William County and surrounding communities, including Gainesville, Haymarket, Dumfries, Occoquan, Quantico and the cities of Manassas and Manassas Park.
Manassas tax bills rising to fund schools, new projects By Jill Palermo
Times Staff Writer
City of Manassas homeowners will pay between $210 and $257 more in real estate taxes next year, but the city will also spend more on its schools and begin key capital improvement projects, including the construction of a new police and fire station. In a party-line, 4-to-2 vote, the Manassas City Council approved
Monday a $244 million budget for fiscal year 2020. The council raised the real-estate tax rate 2 cents, from $1.46 to $1.48 per $100 in assessed valuation. Councilmembers voting in favor of the budget were Vice Mayor Ken Elston, Michelle Davis-Younger, Pam Sebesky and Mark Wolfe, all Democrats. Voting against the budget were Councilmembers Ian Lovejoy and Theresa Coates-Ellis, both
Republicans. Manassas Mayor Hal Parrish, also a Republican, cannot vote on the budget. The new tax rate as well as a 5 percent hike in residential assessments will generate an extra $3.3 million in real estate tax revenue in the general fund, which will support a 1 percent increase in city services, a 3 percent increase in school division funding and 9 percent increase in the costs
of services the city shares with Prince William County, according Manassas budget documents. The average annual real-estate tax bills in the City of Manassas are projected to be $5,401 for owners of single-family homes; $3,447 for owners of townhomes; and $2,945 for owners of condominiums, according to budget documents. See MANASSAS TAX, page 5
Memorial Day milestone On his 100th birthday, WWII vet remembers 32-year military career By John Toler
Associate Editor
Respect for America’s “greatest generation” runs deep, especially for succeeding generations with strong military family connections. This is especially true for local real estate broker Becky Miller, who regards the life of her grandfather, retired U. S. Army Lt. Col. Charles T. “Tom” Cox, as exemplary. Born May 26, 1919, Col. Cox will celebrate his 100th birthday on Memorial Day weekend. His military career, from 1935 to 1967, spanned World War II, the Korean War and the Cold War, ending with the Vietnam War. “My grandfather has spent his whole life serving others,” notes Miller. “We can’t imagine the changes he has witnessed – a young kid going overseas in the 1940s, going from farm fields to battlefields.” Cox, who now lives in Heritage Hunt in Gainesville, began his military career in 1935, when he joined the North Carolina National Guard. He served with Battery A of the 113th Field Artillery, based in Greenville, North Carolina. He was underage when he enlisted – only 16 – and lied about his age to get in. “It was during the Depression and being paid 75 cents a drill was big money back then,” he recalled. “I thoroughly enjoyed being a guardsman.” Discharged from the National
Guard in 1939, Cox was recalled in September 1940 when his unit was mobilized. He notes that his records at National Guard headquarters in Raleigh didn’t show that he had been discharged. He had to sell his service station business in Greenville and spent the next year in training. Sent to camp at Fort Jackson, South Carolina, Cox rose quickly through the ranks, completing his training as a sergeant. With the U.S. entry into World War II, his enlistment was extended by President Roosevelt for “…the duration plus six months.” Later qualifying for Army Officer Candidate School, Cox earned his commission as a second lieutenant in 1942 and was assigned to Battery B of the 25th Field Artillery.
Cox retired again after a civilian career and has lived at Heritage Hunt in Gainesville for the past nine years.
Lt. Col. Tom Cox (right) retired from the U.S. Army in 1967. Among his decorations was the Legion of Merit, presented by Lt. Gen. H. C. Donnelly, head of the DASA.
Caribbean assignment
Cox’s first post was in Puerto Rico, where a U.S. force was preparing to invade one of the islands in the Caribbean held by the French, who were by then under the control of the German-controlled Vichy government. “My battalion commander gave me the job of seeing how to f loat a 2 ½-ton truck across a river in Puerto Rico,” said Cox. Using large tarps stuffed with palm branches for f lotation, the experiment was a success. But then the French capitulated, and the invasion was called off. See MEMORIAL DAY, page 2 INSIDE Calendar.............................................12 Classified............................................16 Communities......................................11 Obituaries...........................................15
PHOTOS COURTESY OF TOM COX
Pvt. Tom Cox, front row, fourth from left, with fellow members of Battery A, 113th Field Artillery, North Carolina National Guard, before World War II. Cox stayed in contact with members of his original unit throughout his 32-year Army career. Opinion.................................................6 Puzzle Page..........................................8 Real Estate..........................................14 Sports...................................................9
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FROM PAGE 1
Prince William Times | www.princewilliamtimes.com | May 22, 2019
On his 100th birthday, WWII vet remembers 32-year military career MEMORIAL DAY, from page 1
“We were strafed by German aircraft and there were incoming shells, but we were fortunate,” said Cox. “We had some men who were wounded, but they all survived.”
Cox’s unit returned to the U.S. for more training. As the Allies prepared for Operation Overlord – the assault on Hitler’s “AtInto Germany lantic Wall” and the lib“We were The most critical fighteration of Europe – Cox’s ing took place during a bunch of unit was sent overseas as the Battle of the Bulge, a separate unit on board stragglers fought between Dec. 16, the Queen Elizabeth. living off the 1944, and Jan. 25, 1945. During the confusion Cox’s unit was attached land.” of the massive movement Tom Cox to the 8th Division and of men and materiel, found themselves in the Cox’s unit was off-loaded Hurtgen Forest, outside of Aachen, at sea, and taken by barge to Scot- Germany. land and loaded onto a train to En“We were at the top hinge [of the gland. They were taken to France as Allied forces] and we were firing the D-Day invasion, already inland, to the east for days,” Cox recalled. was raging. But where was all of “Then all of a sudden, we were firing their equipment? southeast, and eventually just south, Their howitzers and other assets as the Bulge expanded.” were still in England with the advance The biggest threats were infilparty, and it would be almost two tration by German soldiers dressed weeks before the unit was rejoined in American uniforms, and the fact with their equipment. Until it arrived, that they never knew where enemy they had to wait on the beach. fire was coming from. “We were a bunch of stragglers “There were a lot of nights you didn’t living off the land,” said Cox. sleep, due to the constant firing, and it Finally equipped to fight, the 25th was extremely cold and muddy,” said was assigned to the 9th Army Group Cox. “One of the worst times was when and sent to the most northern sector we were stuck in the Hurtgen Forest. of the American forces. They were When their incoming rounds struck the shifted from corps to corps, support- treetops, we had more casualties from ing British and American divisions splinters than anything else.” Booby traps placed by the enemy along the front lines, sent to the hot were constant. Abandoning their jeep spots and continuously in combat.
As the 25th Field Artillery rolled through Germany toward Berlin, Cox witnessed much destruction, including the bombed-out remains of the old castle at Julik. During the occupation that followed, Cox was placed in charge of several small German towns. Community Editor Anita Sherman, 540-351-1635 asherman@fauquier.com ISSN 1050-7655, USPS 188280 Published every Wednesday by Piedmont Media LLC
Associate Editor John Toler, 540-351-0487 jtoler@fauquier.com
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PHOTOS COURTESY OF TOM COX
Cox was with the 936th Field Artillery, a battery from Arkansas, when they fired their 100,000th 155-mm howitzer round at the enemy. A cartoon artist visiting with the USO painted Bugs Bunny and the comic message, “What’s Up Doc?” on the shell at left before it was fired. on the road when a German fighter attacked them, Cox and his driver found themselves in a field covered with trip wires and booby traps. “It took us half-a-minute to get out there, and a half-hour to carefully make it back,” he recalled. The Allies pushed the Germans back, and Cox’s battery was attached to a forward unit of the 83rd Division, keeping up with a mechanized unit and crossing the Elbe River. They halted just short of Berlin as the war ended. The occupation of Germany provided many memories. After his unit withdrew back into the countryside, Cox was made the commandant of several small villages. While in Zell, he befriended a former German officer who had a sick child. Securing medical attention for her from his unit, the two former adversaries became lifelong friends. The German died a few years ago, but Cox still stays in touch with his daughter. His tour of duty over, Cox returned to the U.S., where he was commissioned an officer in the regular Army. He was sent to Italy, serving with the 88th Division in Trieste. What followed were tours back in the states where he served as an instructor and completed the Advanced Artillery Course at Fort Sill.
Korean War and beyond
The Korean War was at a stalemate when Cox was sent there, serving as operations officer for a 155mm artillery unit in the far western part of Korea. They supported a British unit positioned next to them, and due to the static nature of the war, they didn’t move around much. Artillery duels with the North Koreans and firing in support of the British troops were routine, as was
the bitter winter cold, which was hard on both men and equipment. Somehow, his battery completed their tour without taking casualties. Over the next 14 years, Cox held a number of positions in Army headquarters, with duties ranging from overseas tours and instruction to working with the U. S. Air Force and the Defense Atomic Support Agency on atomic warhead artillery shells then in development. “Only one of those atomic shells was ever fired, and it was done by a battery of the 25th at a range in New Mexico,” he recalled. As the U.S. entered the war in Vietnam, Cox volunteered to serve in combat there. However, due to the extent of his security clearances, he was told he would only have a secure job behind a desk in Saigon. This was not what he wanted, so in 1967, he retired at the rank of lieutenant colonel. Returning to civilian life, Cox worked for the Southland Corporation, and served for many years as an usher at the First Baptist Church in Springfield. He moved to Heritage Hunt in Gainesville in 2010. Cox views his military service as central to his life – the training and education he received, his many and varied experiences, and the camaraderie with fellow soldiers he enjoyed. For many years, the 132 members of Cox’s National Guard unit that was mobilized in 1940 held reunions. He notes that last year, there were three who still survived, and today he is the only one – a thought to reflect upon for Memorial Day 2019. Contact John Toler at jtoler@fauquier.com
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Prince William Times | www.princewilliamtimes.com | May 22, 2019
Two charged with felony murder after fatal overdose By Jill Palermo
Times Staff Writer
A Prince William grand jury has handed down a rare felony murder charge to two men in connection with the fatal overdose of a 25-year-old Haymarket man JACOB BELOTTI in 2018. The grand jury returned multiple indictments Monday, May 6, in connection with the death of Dustin Colburn Lueker, 25, of Haymarket, who suffered a fatal overdose sometime after taking a narcotic laced with suspected fentanyl on Feb. 24, 2018, according to Sgt. Jonathan Perok, spokesman for the Prince William County Police Department. Direct indictments were issued for two men: Chukukemeka Musa Chukuka, 32, of no fixed address, and Jacob Carl Belotti, 24, of Twin City, Georgia. Both are charged with felony murder, distribution of a controlled substance and conspiracy to violate the Drug Control Act, in connection with Lueker’s death. Chukuka was already incarcerated at in Fairfax County. Belotti turned himself into police without incident on Friday, May 17, according to police. The police investigation into Lueker’s death revealed the two men “supplied the victim with a scheduled narcotic combined with suspected fentanyl” at a residence in the 2400 block of Youngs Drive in Haymarket on Feb. 24, 2018, according to a Prince William County police press release.
Commonwealth’s Attorney Paul Ebert said a felony murder charge is “very seldomly” made in the case of fatal overdoses under current law, which requires police to closely link the substance that caused the fatal overdose to a suspect who supplied it. “It’s possible to do it, but we don’t do it very often,” Ebert said Thursday, shortly after the indictment was announced. In this case, Ebert said, “the evidence is sufficient to justify the charge.” Ebert said it is more difficult to charge felony homicide in connection with a fatal drug overdose when the person who supplied the drugs is not present at the time of the overdose death. Ebert would not disclose, however, if Chukuka and Belotti were with Lueker when he died. Virginia lawmakers debated earlier this year the issue of whether drug dealers or others should be charged with felony homicide if the drugs they supply are linked to fatal overdoses. The General Assembly passed House Bill 2528, dubbed “Amanda’s Law,” which would have allowed anyone who made, distributed or gave a Schedule I or II drug to a person who died from its effects to be charged with felony homicide. Del. Tim Hugo, R-40th, whose district includes part of Prince William County, introduced the bill. Gov. Ralph Northam (D) vetoed the bill on Thursday, May 2, saying it would “[go] beyond drug dealers and … punish individuals who are themselves struggling with addiction.” The bill would have made it easier than existing law to charge dealers with fatal overdoses, Ebert said.
Police: Minnieland employee charged with felony child abuse An employee of The Merit School at Minnieland Academy in Gainesville has been charged with felony child abuse in connection with reports that a baby girl was struck by a caregiver there, according to police. The Prince William County Police Department began an investigation Friday, May 3, into reports that a 9-month-old baby girl had been struck “multiple times” by an employee at the daycare, located at 7101 Heritage Village Plaza in Gainesville, according to Officer Renee Carr, police department spokeswoman. The child did not sustain injuries, Carr said. The investigation was prompted by a report from daycare staff to the Virginia Department of Child Protective Services, according to a statement from Minnieland Academy Vice President Tim Leopold released late Monday afternoon. “In the course of routine monitoring at one of our Gainesville locations, we identified a potential
problem with a teacher’s interactions with a child. Because of our diligence in protecting children, we self-reported the infor- FARAH IFTIKHAR mation to both Child Protective Services and our state licensing regulator,” Leopold’s statement said. “Together with these agencies, we partnered with local law enforcement to initiate a full investigation.” Following the police investigation, Minnieland employee Farah Iftikhar, 38, of Haymarket, was arrested on Thursday, May 16, and charged with cruelty to children and assault and battery in connection with the incident, Carr said. Iftikhar has been terminated from her position with the school, according to Mark Hubbard, a Minnieland spokesman.
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