Neighborhood Notes

Tax hike incoming for Manassas homeowners
Manassas residents can expect to pay about 7% more on their real estate tax bills after the City Council passed a $512 million budget.
Read more from InsideNoVa and see our full coverage

Woodbridge woman charged after deadly crash
A 32-year-old woman faces involuntary manslaughter charges following a January crash on Minnieville Road that killed a 64-year-old man.
Get the full story on the charges and investigation


News

PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY, Va. – Prince William County leaders are facing mounting pressure to address noise generated by data centers, as residents—many from the Great Oak subdivision—delivered passionate testimony during the Board of County Supervisors meeting on Tuesday, June 10.

The board’s discussion centered on a long-delayed draft noise ordinance aimed at controlling the low-frequency hum emitted by industrial cooling systems at massive data facilities, including nearby Amazon Web Services (AWS) sites.


News

STAFFORD, Va. – Residents living near a proposed data center site in Stafford County are raising alarms about logging activity they say violates local zoning laws, environmental protections, and community trust.

The controversy, first reported by FXBG Advance, centers on a parcel of land associated with the GWV data center project, owned by Augustine South Associates, LLC. Residents say the developer began clear-cutting trees on a portion of the 1,042-acre site beginning June 4, 2025—despite zoning that prohibits forestry activity and a proffer mandating tree preservation buffers.


Features

TRIANGLE, Va. – A rusted WWII-era tank gun barrel, likely left behind by the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) during secretive wartime training exercises, has been recovered from a remote section of Prince William Forest Park.

Interpretive Park Ranger Melissa Weih said the discovery was made in an archaeological site deep in the woods, in an area once used by the OSS — the forerunner to today’s CIA — during World War II. While the exact location is being kept confidential to protect the historical site, Weih confirmed it’s a low-traffic, off-trail part of the park where old training grounds still exist.


Stafford

Stafford County’s drinking water met or exceeded all state and federal health standards in 2024, according to the county’s latest Water Quality Report.

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Podcast

Join us for an in-depth, inspiring conversation with Mayor Derrick Wood of the Town of Dumfries, Virginia’s oldest continuously chartered town. Hosted by Uriah Kiser, publisher of Potomac Local News, this live podcast dives deep into the major transformations reshaping the town—making it a destination rather than a drive-through.


Obituaries

Sharon L. Bassarab (Age 80)

Sharon Louise Henderson Bassarab, 80 of Orchard Park, entered into rest on Tuesday, May 27, 2025 in her home. She was born on October 8, 1944 in Houston, Texas to the late James and Shirley Ward Henderson. Beloved wife of the late Joseph James Bassarab; devoted mother of Laurisa (Mark) Goergen and the late Erik Graybill; stepmother of Joanne Smith and James Bassarab and one daughter-in-law, Kristy Graybill; cherished grandmother of Andrea Goergen, David Goergen, Katrina Goergen, Vanessa Goergen, Hayden Graybill, Tiffany (Mark) Bowers, Daniel (Robyn) Hayzlett, Joshua (Aaris) Hayzlett, Connor Smith, Jenifer (Jonathon) Griffith, Hanah Bassarab, and Emma Bassarab; adored great grandmother of Devon Goergen, Makenzie Bowers, Logan Bowers, Makayla Hayzlett, Madison Hayzlett, Haley Hayzlett, Hannah Hayzlett, Kyleigh Hayzlett, Evie Griffin, Allie Griffin, Gabriel Griffin, and Michael Griffin; dear sister of Linda (Stephen) Jenkins, Candy Henderson, and Kim Henderson and three sisters-in-law, Margaret (Frank) Grabiec, Wilma (Peter) Stevens and Linda (Walter) Bassarab; also loved by numerous nieces and nephews.


Prince William

HAYMARKET, Va. – The Haymarket-Gainesville Kiwanis Club has proposed installing a Little Free Library in the town park near the bulletin board, a plan shared during the Haymarket Town Council work session on May 27, 2025.

Carl Davis and Terry Flight, representing the Kiwanis Club, introduced the idea to councilmembers as part of the club’s mission to support literacy and education in the community. “We’re just starting and we want to start with Haymarket,” said Flight, noting that the club is just two and a half years old. “Our focus is on children and families, health and nutrition, education and literacy, and youth leadership development.”


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