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This one is in the parking lot near the Firestone tire shop but most of the parking lots are privately owned so they are not VDOT’s or the City’s responsibility.

The cold temperatures in February took their toll on area roads, and now the drivers are playing dodgeball with the potholes. When dodging isn’t successful, there can be a flat tire, a bent rim, or even worse for area drivers.

Daniel Martinez writes up the repair tickets all day at Power Tire on LaFayette Boulevard in Fredericksburg.

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The original paint job will stay.

The paint job on an antique ambulance that roams the streets of Fredericksburg hints that a story behind this truck is waiting to be told. Was it part of the British Royal Air Force stationed in Lossiemouth, Scotland? Was it connected to Prince Harry?

Did it see time in the Falkland Islands war in the early 1980s?

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After graduating from MWU, Maggie Clegg moved across the U.S. before deciding that Fredericksburg is home.

Many newly graduated college alumni like the familiarity of the college town, so they stick around after they get the degree for one reason or another. It’s still known as ‘home,’ making escaping hard.

“I love this area,” said Katie Ambrosini, a senior at the University of Mary Washington who is graduating in a few weeks with an English degree and currently works at a nearby Starbucks. I want to try to get a full-time job if I can,” she said, putting her degree to work.

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Multiple agencies gathered at Walker-Grant Middle School in Fredericksburg for a semiannual exercise on Friday, March 7, but the doors were closed to keep plans from reaching the wrong eyes.

“It was a matter of security,” said Jack McGovern, the exercise director with the Fredericksburg Fire Department. “That was spelled out for media,” he added.

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Peter Mealy and his wife Laurie Rose Griffith play at Tapa Rio in Fredericksburg for Valentine's Day Eve.

In mid-February, Peter Mealy headed to the Walker Grant Middle School PTA meeting in Fredericksburg to speak about his latest venture teaching guitar to students after school at Walker Grant and hopefully enlarging the program in one form or another.

Mealy is a well-known musician around Fredericksburg, and if he can use the guitar in a positive fashion then so can students who learn it in middle or high school. “Then they have a skill for life,” he said, stressing that it’s not going to cost the school system a huge chunk of money for something that might deliver a huge chunk of benefits for the students. 

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Big Fat Daddy with Meri Schaefer, Brian Curtiss, and John David Coppola with the peace sign. [Photo: Mike Salmon]
To set the mood for Valentine's night, rockers of two local bands jammed the stage at Madigan's in Occoquan to hammer out tunes for all the lovebirds or the singles keeping their eyes peeled for their special someone. While we’re not sure if anyone found "the one," the music was a constant for everyone in the party mood.

This combination of musicians is called "Big Fat Doug Belford Experience," they rocked out a healthy list of covers for the appreciative crowd. The band was a combo of three members of a band called “Big Fat Daddy,” featuring Meri Schaefer, Brian Curtiss, John David Coppola on bass, and three others from Doug Belford Experience, which featured Doug Belford, Meri Schaefer, and Brian Curtiss. Meri Schaefer and Brian Curtiss play in both bands.

Sure, some of the songs are well-known covers from the heyday of rock and roll, but people dig those songs anyway. A beer or two feeds that love the staples in their rock list, including “Maneater” from Hall and Oates, “Psycho Killer” by the Talking Heads, and “Cinnamon Girl” by Neil Young. The tempo of the night stretched far and wide.

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Fredericksburg is taking another step forward to become a more walkable community with the recent start of construction off LaFayette Boulevard, which is part of the city’s Twin Lake Drive and Kensington Pedestrian Connector project.

This $2.4 million project includes extending a 10-foot wide paved shared-use path along the north side of Lafayette Boulevard between Twin Lake Drive and St. Paul Street in the City of Fredericksburg. The path will be accessible, with ramps and crosswalks built where the route intersects with Twin Lakes Drive, Springwood Drive, Kensington Place, and St. Paul Street.

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Mr. Rooter opens a new plumbing office in Fredericksburg [Photo: Fredericksburg Chamber of Commerce]
When the toilet gets clogged, or the pipe springs a leak, it might be time to call Mr. Rooter, the newest plumbing place in Fredericksburg, to fix the problem.

Officials gathered on Thursday, January 30, 2025, to cut the ribbon on the new Westwood Center office just east of I-95.

“When we started Mr. Rooter here in Fredericksburg, we set out to create not just another plumbing service, but a local business that our community can trust — whether it is for routine plumbing repair, an emergency fix, or a major installation,” said Gilbert Mwenedata, owner of Mr. Rooter Plumbing of Fredericksburg. “We’re proud to be part of this wonderful community, and we look forward to building lasting relationships with our neighbors, customers, and other local businesses,” he said.

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The initial surprise at the door. [Photo: Mike Salmon]
It was a typical morning at the Hansen household in Spotsylvania County until a black SUV pulled up. Howie Guja from Publishers Clearing House jumped out with an oversized check and bottle of champagne destined for Shelly Hansen, the sweepstakes’ newest winner. 

“I saw on the Ring doorbell, a guy with a big check and flowers,” said Shelly’s daughter Vicky. They are now $10,000 richer.

Shelly entered the Publishers Clearing House a few times before and won small prizes but continued to enter their drawing. This time it paid off – hefty, $10,000. However, PCH has given away bigger prizes in the past and continues to have drawings in the millions. 

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On Caroline Street, the pear drop was a big event.

For 11 years, Fredericksburg marked the new year by dropping a six-foot paper mâché pear from a spot above Caroline Street.

The drop-off platform was a building or the raised ladders of a fire truck. Still, it was a celebratory moment that the partiers in Fredericksburg celebrated at midnight on December 31.

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