Va. city threatens to cut water for households with unpaid bills

By The Associated Press
July 27, 2020 | 8:35 AM

LYNCHBURG, Va. — Officials in the Virginia city of Lynchburg are threatening to turn off water for more than 1,000 households that are behind on their water bills.

The Lynchburg News & Advance reported Sunday that the city has paused water-service cutoffs in March because of the coronavirus pandemic. Officials wanted to make sure people could wash their hands to fight the virus’s spread.

But Lynchburg Chief Finance Officer Donna Witt said the city is now preparing to “slowly and methodically” resume water cutoffs as soon as September. Customers collectively owe about $200,000 to the city.

Mayor MaryJane Dolan said she’s not comfortable with shutoffs, but added she doesn’t know what alternative there is.

School bus emergency? Fairfax County students have a plan to handle it

By Heather Gustafson
August 21, 2026 | 10:05 PM

This story is part of WTOP’s 2026 Back to School coverage. The wheels on the bus will soon be going round and round again in Fairfax County, Virginia, and some of its young riders are learning what to do if there’s an emergency on the way to school. The annual Safety Patrol Training Camp, hosted by Fairfax County Public Schools' Office of Transportation Services, combined hands-on exercises with classroom lessons to teach students how to keep calm during emergencies on buses. The training can feel remarkably realistic, with overturned school buses on their side or completely upside down in the middle of the county bus depot. Other buses, right side up, fill with smoke that is water-based but mimics the intensity of a bus overheating.

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