News

A house explosion on Hopkins Branch Way in Stafford County was reported last night by the Stafford County Fire and Rescue Department.

Units responded to the call of the explosion, and there are indications that a gas leak may have been the cause. No injuries were reported.

Snow is back in the forecast is back for us tonight. While Stafford County is not currently under a winter storm watch, nearby Loudoun County and counties in Maryland are under a winter storm  watch, with a projection of more than five inches of snow to begin tonight.

There is a possibility for wintry conditions in Stafford, with a mixture of rain and snow, although little snow accumulation is expected.

Mary Washington Healthcare, owners of Stafford Hospital, will say goodbye to President and Chief Executive Officer Fred Rankin, who will be retiring in December this year.

Rankin joined Mary Washington Healthcare as president of Mary Washington Hospital in 1992. He was promoted in 1995 to president and chief executive officer of the not-for-profit MWHC regional system of healthcare facilities and wellness centers, which now includes 100-bed Stafford Hospital as well as 437-bed Mary Washington Hospital.

A line of cars waiting to pull into the White Horse Auto Wash on U.S. 1 in Woodbridge backed out onto the street at 3:30 p.m. Friday.

The busy business already had several vehicles being cleaned while more customers waited patiently to get their rides hosed down with soap and water.

As part of the Fans Don’t Let Fans Drunk Drive Campaign, the Stafford County Sheriff’s Office will be increasing patrols throughout the county for Super Bowl Sunday festivities on Sunday.

More information from a Stafford County Sherriff’s Office release:

STAFFORD, Va.– The Before ‘n’ After Café on Wapole Street in Stafford has expanded into the county’s newest housing community Embrey Mill.

The eatery has opened its doors at Embrey Mill’s new community center, Embrey House, and will provide a full menu of appetizers, club sandwiches, Panini sandwiches, as well as fried foods like French fries, and fried macaroni and cheese. This is the second location for Before ‘n’ After Café which opened its first location in the Shops at Amyclae three years ago.

Brentsville jail renovations complete —Building stabilization, archeological work and masonry restoration are complete at the historic Brentsville Jail. [Insidenova.com]

The State of NoVa still growing fast, Loudoun now Virginia’s third largest county — New population estimates for Virginia were released Tuesday by the University of Virginia’s Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service, and they show that in the last three years, while Virginia’s population rose 3.2 percent, Northern Virginia’s population nearly doubled that. [Washington Post]