Linda Cheeks of Prince Wiliam County has been named the Foster Parent of the Year by the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments, which oversees 10 local jurisdictions of foster parents.

Cheeks has been a foster parent since 2010 and can’t even count the amount of children she’s had under her care since then; typically, she takes in one to two children at a time and prefers to care for teenagers. She said, in a news release from Prince William County, that she sees her foster children as family.


ç The store dropped Donuts from the name, calling it only “Dunkin’.”

On June 29th, franchisee Masul Haque cut the ribbon in partnership with the Dunkin’ Joy in Childhood Foundation. He also presented a $500 check to The Haymarket Regional Food Pantry (HRFP) with a $500 grant. The first 100 people in line received coffee for a year.


On Monday, 19-year-old Latrelle Troddy of Woodbridge was arrested following an investigation into a destruction of property incident on June 27, according to a Prince William County Police Department report sent on Tuesday afternoon. His court date is pending and he secured $2,000 for bond.

More from Prince William Police:


Two men and three juveniles were arrested Monday following an investigation into a June 29 incident at a Woodbridge home according to a Prince William County Police Department incident report sent Tuesday afternoon. Iverson Galindo Valle, Roger Donaldo Aguilar-Diaz, two 17-year-old males, and one 16-year-old male were identified and subsequently arrested. Galindo Valle and Aguilar-Diaz are being held without bond and the 16-year-old is being held at the juvenile detention center. All court dates are pending

More from the Prince William County Police:


George Mason University’s Potomac Science Center in Woodbridge is raising funds for a new dock and a boat to enhance its environmental research and education efforts. Dr. Chris Jones, the academic director of the Potomac Environmental Research and Education Center, discussed the initiative at The Health of Our Waterways Gala event on June 28, 2024, held at the science center in Belmont Bay.

The new dock will enable students and researchers to access the Potomac River for hands-on learning experiences. Dr. Jones emphasized the importance of fieldwork, stating, “Rather than just giving lectures or showing videos about sampling and studying aquatic organisms in their habitat, we go out and collect them, experience them, make measurements in the field, and demonstrate the concepts that they’ve learned in lab and lecture in the real world.”


Led by Occoquan Mayor Earnie Porta, the ceremony included remarks by Representative Abigail Spanberger, read by a staff member, in addition to a tribute by Tamika Joy Harris-Russell, a descendant of Ogle Harris. Members of the Harris family were also invited to share stories and memories.

“Ogle Harris and his extended family were a cornerstone of Occoquan’s commercial and social community, and at the heart of the town’s African-American community, for the first 75 years or more of the 20th century,” said Mayor Porta. “It was an honor and pleasure to be able to recognize them for their contributions to our history,” he continued.


Balmore Ortiz Guardado, 36, of Dale City, will spend at least 35 years in prison after Prince William County Circuit Court Judge Kimberly A. Irving sentenced him to a life sentence. Guardado was charged with drugging and raping women and girls.

From Prince William County Commonwealth Attorney Amy Ashworth’s office:


The Prince William County Police Department is partnering with the National Association of State Boating Law Administrators and the United States Coast Guard over the July Fourth weekend to combat boating under the influence.

According to a press release, the county will actively participate in Operation Dry Water, a year-round campaign focused on awareness and enforcement of boating under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs. Since the upcoming Fourth of July has a heightened public presence on the water, law enforcement agencies will prioritize educating boaters about safe practices.


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