Originals

It’s 50 degrees outside and the sun is shining brilliantly. Fat, yellow Daffodil heads are nodding in a little whisper of breeze. The last remnants of the most recent snow are dripping off the roof and traveling melodically through the downspouts to share water with the Crocus, Tulips and Hellebores that are rising from their sleepy winter mulch beds.

I’m feeling it! I don’t want to write about overcrowded schools or politicians who may not be meeting my expectations. I can’t find it in my head or my heart to opine about builders, developers, roads or transportation. I consider writing about my miserable experience being stuck in traffic last week and missing a luncheon with the League of Women Voters of Virginia, but it’s just impossible to focus on the sad, the bad, or the mad stuff!


News

On Sunday March 30, Minnieville Animal Hospital and the Prince William County Humane Society will be hosting an open house from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. at the animal hospital in Woodbridge.

Veterinarians and technicians will be on hand to help owners with low cost grooming services as well as microchipping and rabies vaccines during the open house. Animals from the humane society will also be there for anyone who might want to adopt a pet. All of the money raised during the open house will go to the P.A.W.S. program at the humane society which covers medical care for homeless pets to make them adoptable.


News

· Good morning Prince William – Volunteers are needed on Sunday April 6th from 9am-noon for the spring cleaning of the Merrimac Farm Stone House in Nokesville. It’s the perfect way to get your hands a little dirty by sprucing up the gardens, yard and visitor center. Please call Kim or Karen at (703) 490-5200 for more info.

· Birmingham Green needs chess boards and pieces for the men’s group. Please email Zach at [email protected] if you can help.


Event

Join me during this National Craft Open Studios weekend, a celebration of Amrican craft organized by the American Craft Council (ACC). Come visit my studio July 18-19th, 11am-5pm at 10449 Metropolitan Ave, Kensington, MD. Please drop in, see how my work is created, tour my studio and try your hand at hammering some metal.


Press Release

On Monday, March 31, 2014 the Occoquan District Supervisor’s Office will host a Public Meeting on the Issues of Wildlife and Deer Management in Prince William County.

The meeting is open to the public and will feature presentations from the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries (DGIF) and Charles Smith, former Natural Resource Management and Protection Branch Manager for Fairfax County Park Authority and a member of the Prince William Wildflower Society and Prince William Conservation Alliance. Following the presentations, there will be an opportunity for a Q&A session.


Press Release

The Philadelphia Tavern, located at 9413 Main Street in Historic Downtown Manassas celebrated its 15th year in business February 27th.

Original founder Carl Joseph, previous owner Tim Holland and current owners Mark and Kari Leporatti welcomed friends to celebrate the milestone! It was fun for regular customers who have supported the Tavern over the 15 years to see the previous owners as guest bartenders.


Press Release

The Rotary Club of Lake Ridge Virginia will be hosting its 17th annual Celebrity Luncheon on April 23rd at Bistro L’Hermitage in Occoquan to raise money for local and international charities.

The popular fundraiser features local elected officials and community leaders as waiters and waitresses, with a catch. “While everyone can enjoy a delicious lunch from our favorite upscale restaurant, they may find they are missing silverware, napkins and water, “ explained Lance Frye, Lake Ridge Rotary’s President-elect, who is heading up the event. “In order to receive their glass of water, for example, our guests will be expected to tip the celebrities. So once you give your celebrity server a buck, you get your water. It is a fun way to raise money in addition to the ticket price.


News

Voting is now underway for the elections in Prince William County’s towns: Dumfries, Haymarket, Occoquan and Quantico.

Voters may go to the Prince William County Office of Elections in Manassas from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., to a voting satellite office at a DMV location on Caton Hill Road in Woodbridge, between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. to cast their votes.


Press Release

 Novant Health Haymarket Medical Center opened its doors earlier this morning for care and services. The new four-story, 60-bed community hospital will serve the growing and diverse northern Virginia community. The 221,000-square-foot facility, designed to transform healthcare, houses a full complement of services, including emergency care, surgery, cancer care, women’s and children’s services, including maternity care, imaging, cardiac diagnostics, interventional radiology and critical care. Haymarket Medical Center strengthens Novant Health’s integrated healthcare network in northern Virginia complimenting its other acute care facility – Novant Health Prince William Medical Center, located in Manassas, Virginia.

Haymarket Medical Center, Novant Health’s fifteenth medical center and first prototypical hospital design, features all-private patient rooms with ample space to accommodate family and visitors. All rooms are equipped with computers for bedside documentation – thoughtfully designed to enable nurses to spend more time at the patient’s bedside. Patients are encouraged to play a role in their care with conversation and verification of information. The first floor has a 20-room emergency department, cardiac diagnostics, interventional radiology, a patient care unit, a café, a gift shop, conference rooms, an interfaith room of reflection, financial counseling and guest services. The second floor hosts surgical services with four state-of-the-art operating rooms and one procedure room on one end and women’s and children’s care on the other end with a labor and delivery unit, two dedicated cesarean section operating rooms, a well-baby nursery and postpartum unit. Again, thoughtfully designed to create efficiency for anesthesia services. The critical care unit, medical/surgical unit, inpatient rehabilitation and pharmacy are located on the third floor.


Press Release

Stafford’s 350th Blue Ribbon Anniversary Committee and the North Stafford Rotary Club are finalizing plans for the May 3 Founders Day “Presented by The Free Lance-Star Media Companies” event, and invite the public to a special meeting to learn about the activities planned for that weekend including the traffic safety plan.

The meeting will take place on Thursday, April 3, 2014, at 7:00 p.m. in the lower level conference room at the Stafford Hospital, 101 Hospital Center Boulevard, Stafford, VA 22554.