Obituaries

Dinora Del Carmen Sanchez De Mejia, also known simply as Dinora Mejia, 60, of Woodbridge, Virginia passed away in the afternoon of Sunday January 10th, 2021 at Sentara Northern Virginia Medical Center in Woodbridge, Virginia. She died due to complications caused by COVID-19. She became infected with the coronavirus sometime in the week of December 10th, 2020 and had a confirmed positive test that same week. On December 16th, 2020, she had to go to the hospital. Although the hospital was not allowing any visitors, they did allow her to have her cell phone. Therefore, family and friends called her, texted her, and did video calls with her as much as she could tolerate. The coronavirus made her extremely weak and out of breath therefore she could only have brief conversations. In those brief exchanges she did on her phone, family and friends expressed how much they cared for her, how much they loved her, how much they were praying for her, and how much they wanted her to come back home. The hospital also allowed for drinks to be brought to her and so her family would deliver her the juices and smoothies that she asked for. She was able to talk with family and friends and drink the juices and smoothies family and friends delivered for her until she became too weak to talk and too weak to eat and drink. Although family and friends could not be by her side, she left this world knowing without any doubt how much she was loved and how much she was going to be missed.

Dinora was born Friday April 15th, 1960 in Canton Nueva Concepcion in the town of Chirilagua of San Miguel department in the country of El Salvador. She was born to Natividad Sanchez, her mother, and Santos Lara, her father. She grew up in the town of Zapatagua which was a rural town near Chirilagua. Dinora would live most of her childhood in Zapatagua before she was sent to the United States, still in her teens.


Obituaries

 

Claudia Dinora Ordonez, 41, of Woodbridge Virginia, passed away in the afternoon of Tuesday January 12th, 2021 at Sentara Northern Virginia Medical Center in Woodbridge, Virginia. She died due to the pneumonia caused by COVID-19. She became infected by the coronavirus sometime in the week of December 10th, 2020. On December 14th, 2020 she had to go to the hospital. The hospital at the time was not allowing any visitors. However, they allowed her to have her cell phone. Therefore, family and friends called her, texted her, and did video calls with her as much as she was able to tolerate. Though she could not have family and friends at her side during her final days like in times before the pandemic, she received many messages of love, hope, and encouragement. She left this world knowing how much she was loved and how much she was going to be missed.


News

The Stafford County Historical Society is pleased to announce that it has voted to formally merge with the Stafford Museum and Cultural Center.  The merging of Stafford’s two preeminent historical/cultural organizations will strengthen efforts to build a museum and cultural center.

Since 1965 the Historical Society has been working towards building a museum that will showcase Stafford’s rich and abundant history to all county residents and visitors alike.  Whether it’s dinosaur tracks, Civil War encampments, sandstone quarries, colonial-era iron manufacturing, or mechanical flight, Stafford’s story is one that needs to be told, appreciated, and celebrated.


News

The Stafford County Board of Supervisors dissolved its relationship with the Rock Hill Volunteer Fire Department  Rescue Squad due to a lack of membership.

The department had provided fire and rescue services in the Rock Hill area since 1976. However, over the last three months, the department has been unable to function due to the "non-participation of at least 20 effective members," according to information provided during a recent Stafford County Board of Supervisors meeting.

Today, the Stafford County Board of Supervisors will vote on a plan to lease the old department's building, at 2133 Garrisonville Road, for $1 a year for 1o years. Meanwhile, paid career fire and rescue staff members from the Stafford County Government will fill the space once occupied by volunteers.

Under a lease between the county and the members of the volunteer fire rescue squad corporation, the taxpayers will foot the bill for all insurance and utilities on the building. They'll also be on the hook for $300,000 in needed building repairs.

The Rock Hill Volunteer Rescue Squad Fire Company, located about a mile from the station, is still in operation.

The Rock Hill Volunteer Fire Department is the second volunteer company to be dissolved in recent weeks. Rock Hill rescue joins the Stafford Volunteer Rescue Squad which has been defunct since 2018 but has now been officially shut down.  While the department's volunteers are gone, a crew of paid career staff now occupied the building.

*This post has been corrected. 

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