WOODBRIDGE, Va. -- A 17-year-old male is charged with attempted murder tonight after a fire broke out in Woodbridge.
Here’s the latest from Prince William Fire and Rescue Department:
On Sunday, July 27th at approximately 4:30 a.m., fire and rescue units responded to a reported structure fire located at 13700 block of Marbury Lane in Woodbridge.
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MANASSAS, Va. -- City Hall in Manassas now has a new name.
Residents alongside city leaders Sunday night dedicated the government center in honor of former Mayor Marvin Gillum. A new plaque with Gillum’s name was unveiled Sunday night under Harris Pavilion in Downtown Manassas.
Gillum was famous for coning the phrase “community for a lifetime” when describing his hometown. City officials say a formal request for the name change was made back in January and was unanimously approved by the city.
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We’ve lived in our home for 24 years. We redesigned it, rearranged it, and built an addition on it. We moved the kitchen from a tiny hot room upstairs to a large room downstairs that we created out of the two lower level bedrooms. We extended and widened the driveway, built a garage, replaced the roof, and installed new windows and siding over that span of time.
We re-built our home a little by little, remodeling by removing walls and ceilings, installing new wiring, plumbing and insulation as we went. Every piece of woodwork is hand stained, as is every door. We learned to garden. We learned as we went sometimes out of necessity like when water seeped into the family room and I (not we!) dug down to the footers. I learned to parge on that project, wedged in a narrow trench between the driveway and the house.
We installed glass block in a bathroom, tiled floors and counter tops. We installed hardwood floors and poured a concrete path in the garden. We cut down willows that buckled the path and then dug out the stumps by hand. Our yard transformed from 1/3 acre with 7 trees to an oasis with a pond, a path, several seating areas, a couple of small bridges and lots of flowers and shrubs.
Along the way I began working to improve my neighborhood. I started with a small project by adding a flower bed to the monument sign. That single neighborhood improvement escalated during the height of the foreclosure crisis, when my husband and I mowed the grass for seven vacant homes, plus two adopted locations and one elderly neighbor.
In 2010, my friends and I masterminded a great project: We replaced the old tired bushes, overgrown and filled with poison ivy with a rose garden at the Dale City Commuter Lot. For three years I spearheaded a project called “Neighborhood Pride Week” Volunteers spent a week shoveling up sand, edging sidewalks, sweeping, cutting back overgrown bushes and trees, digging grass out of walks and curbs and gutters. We planted a dozen rose bushes at the Dale City Library.
Through all of this, my husband and I invested in tools and equipment to make our work faster and better. At one point, we had four gas powered edging machines! I’m happy to report we’ve only two left…unless you count the stick edger, then we still have three.
We’re slowing down now. We still maintain two Adopt a Spot locations, we still do community maintenance in our neighborhood. We still take care of the roses at the commuter lot and we organize and participate in cleanups, but I’m hoping those days of hoisting 75 pound contractor bags filled with sand and dirt removed from the curbs are over.
Now, I want to know who is stepping up to the plate next.  I’ll be glad to help you organize, plan, staff, and source, but I don’t think I’m up for any more high temperature, dust cloud producing, noisy jobs.
I’ll still work all day…just put me in the shade!
We’ve lived in our home for 24 years. We redesigned it, rearranged it, and built an addition on it. We moved the kitchen from a tiny hot room upstairs to a large room downstairs that we created out of the two lower level bedrooms. We extended and widened the driveway, built a garage, replaced the roof, and installed new windows and siding over that span of time.
We re-built our home a little by little, remodeling by removing walls and ceilings, installing new wiring, plumbing and insulation as we went. Every piece of woodwork is hand stained, as is every door. We learned to garden. We learned as we went sometimes out of necessity like when water seeped into the family room and I (not we!) dug down to the footers. I learned to parge on that project, wedged in a narrow trench between the driveway and the house.
We installed glass block in a bathroom, tiled floors and counter tops. We installed hardwood floors and poured a concrete path in the garden. We cut down willows that buckled the path and then dug out the stumps by hand. Our yard transformed from 1/3 acre with 7 trees to an oasis with a pond, a path, several seating areas, a couple of small bridges and lots of flowers and shrubs.
Along the way I began working to improve my neighborhood. I started with a small project by adding a flower bed to the monument sign. That single neighborhood improvement escalated during the height of the foreclosure crisis, when my husband and I mowed the grass for seven vacant homes, plus two adopted locations and one elderly neighbor.
In 2010, my friends and I masterminded a great project: We replaced the old tired bushes, overgrown and filled with poison ivy with a rose garden at the Dale City Commuter Lot. For three years I spearheaded a project called “Neighborhood Pride Week” Volunteers spent a week shoveling up sand, edging sidewalks, sweeping, cutting back overgrown bushes and trees, digging grass out of walks and curbs and gutters. We planted a dozen rose bushes at the Dale City Library.
Through all of this, my husband and I invested in tools and equipment to make our work faster and better. At one point, we had four gas powered edging machines! I’m happy to report we’ve only two left…unless you count the stick edger, then we still have three.
We’re slowing down now. We still maintain two Adopt a Spot locations, we still do community maintenance in our neighborhood. We still take care of the roses at the commuter lot and we organize and participate in cleanups, but I’m hoping those days of hoisting 75 pound contractor bags filled with sand and dirt removed from the curbs are over.
Now, I want to know who is stepping up to the plate next.  I’ll be glad to help you organize, plan, staff, and source, but I don’t think I’m up for any more high temperature, dust cloud producing, noisy jobs.
I’ll still work all day…just put me in the shade!
• Good morning Prince William – Coming August 12-14! It is National Health Center Week and the Greater Prince William Community Health Center will hold its 6th annual celebration under the tents at Ridgewood Health Center between 8am and 2pm. Volunteers are needed to help. Please call Richard at 703-680-7950 Ext. 3107.
• The ladies of the Prince William Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated will host their third annual Crab Feast Fundraiser on Saturday, August 16 from 3 to 8 p.m. at the VFW in Dale City. The price is $65 and includes all you can eat crabs and a plentiful buffet with fried flounder, Wing Dings, corn-on-the-cob, Red Bliss potatoes, baked beans, Cole slaw, green salad, dinner rolls and corn bread. Tickets are available on line at www.pwcacdst.org.
• Saved Hands Foundation offers a number of services to homeless individuals in Woodbridge. Volunteers are needed to teach Microsoft Office during traditional business hours. They also need a grant writer to help solicit resources to help their clients and a Human Resources Director to manage resources services, policies, and programs. Learn more by visiting them on the web at www.SavedHandsFoundation.org and click on Volunteer Opportunities. Come be part of this expanding team – please call Pamela at (703) 895-6681 to learn more.
• Hey students, get a jump on those community service hours for school! SERVE in Manassas has a need for volunteers age 16 and up who can help serve dinner to shelter residents on weeknights. Timeframe is 4:30pm to 6:30pm, and training is provided. You will help set-up the serving line, serve the meal, and help with cleanup.
• Another great youth opportunity – make your summer count! The Manassas Department of Family Services has a special request of food donations for homeless individuals. These folks do not have the ability to cook or prepare meals as we do at home so items needed include tuna and chicken in pouches, pop-top fruits, cup of soup where you pour the hot water over and let it sit, trail mixes, hand wipes and other fun things you come across in the grocery store. Please drop off your donations at Family Services- 9324 West Street Manassas during traditional business hours of 8:30-4:30pm.
• The American Red Cross is looking for volunteers to provide administrative support to their leadership councils and special events. Duties include database management, communication with donors and typical administrative tasks. Minimum age is 18 and this position promises to be very helpful to your resume. Please call Pamela at (703) 584-8444 to learn more.
• Give the gift of literacy to Prince William area adults! If you would like to help adults reach their life goals through improved literacy skills, contact Literacy Volunteers of America – they will train you to become a certified adult literacy tutor! The next training workshop is September 20, 2014 (8:45am to 4pm) and October 4, 2014 (9am to noon). Attendance both days is required. Contact them at 703-67-5702 or [email protected]. To visit them on the web: www.lvapw.org.
• Capital Caring is starting a new program and is need of artists and regular, amazing people with time to share to bring wonder of creating something beautiful to their patients. Contact Rachael at 703-957-1785 or [email protected].
• BEACON Adult Literacy needs volunteers to work with ESL adult learners. No prior experience is needed as you will be given all the tools needed to make a successful partnership with your student. The next training is August 23rd. Please call Caroline at (703) 368-7491 to learn more.
• Transitional Housing BARN needs adult volunteers to help sort and organize donations for their monthly yard sales. Come join the team that works during the week between 8am-2pm. They also need volunteers the second Saturday of each month to set up from 6am-8:30 am and then take down late morning. This is perfect for all the early birds out there and then you can get your round of golf in. Please call Tammy at (703) 369-1325 for more info.
• If you are looking for other opportunities, please don’t forget to call my wonderful team at Volunteer Prince William. Coleen can help you with the Retired and Senior Volunteer (RSVP) opportunities at (703) 369-5292 ext. 207, Shelley can help with any individual or group project and send you weekly updates if you’d like. Shelley is at (703) 369-5292 ext. 201, and Bonnie can help you with opportunities available in Disaster Preparedness at (703) 369-5292 ext. 202. Please visit our newly re-vamped website at www.volunteerprincewilliam.org. Thanks so much for all you do in our community.
STAFFORD, Va. -- The person once in charge of dispensing medicine at Stafford Hospital now faces charges after a federal grand jury indicted her.
Here’s more in a press release from the U.S. Eastern District of Virginia:
Nibedita Mohanty, 56, of Stafford, Virginia, was indicted on one count of participating in a drug trafficking conspiracy to distribute and dispense controlled substances; one count of distributing and dispensing a controlled substance resulting in the death of a patient; two counts of distributing and dispensing controlled substances resulting in serious bodily injury (nonfatal overdoses); thirty-eight counts of distributing and dispensing controlled substances; two counts of aiding and abetting health care fraud; and one count of aiding and abetting money laundering.
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PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY, Va. -- Some unaccompanied minors have had a home at Youth for Tomorrow since June 2012.
Two weeks ago, Prince William County government officials wanted to learn just how many facilities in the county, in addition to Youth for Tomorrow, accept federal money to house illegal immigrant minors. The order came after Board of Supervisors Chairman Corey Stewart announced he would once again file a Freedom of Information Act request with the U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement for information on the whereabouts of illegal aliens arrested in the county and turned over to federal authorities.
The private organization founded by former Redskins Head Coach Joe Gibbs and run by former U.S. Undersecretary of Education Dr. Gary Jones is located in Bristow. The facility receives federal money that allows them to take in children who are in the U.S. illegally without a parent or guardian, or those who have been trafficked into the country illegally.
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OCCOQUAN, Va. — The Blue Arbor CafĂ© has spent 10 years in Occoquan, and after all of that time the restaurant has never used an oven.
“It’s all soups, salads, and sandwiches,” said owner Steve Power. “We don’t even have a flattop grill or microwave.”
As part of their anniversary celebration, the eatery will roll back prices of all of their sandwiches this weekend to what they cost 10 years ago – $7.50, including a side dish. That’s a $1.75 less than what they cost today.
And there will be music, too, from The Prince William Youth Orchestra, The Back Alley Blues, Mike Soule, and Ray Sheehan. And giveaways from small businesses in Occoquan, including an introductory scuba lesson from Patriot Scuba.
The tiny town has been a good home to the restaurant, and is home to a score of friendly shop owners.
“It’s kind of isolated from the rest of the sprawl and crawl of the rest of the area. It feels like a family here… all of the merchants are friendly and there is no fighting or competition happening amongst us,” said Powers.
He has, however, outgrown his small restaurant space and would someday like to expand to serve more customers.
“We can seat 28 people inside but if there is inclement weather we can’t keep up with the amount of people who want to eat here,” he said.
While Powers admits it’s a nice problem to have, he says he’d rather have a space that could accommodate about 70 guests.
As we approach the doldrums of summer, some food pantries in our area are looking for increased donations of specific staple food items.
Things like rice, pasta sauce and canned fruit are being asked for by those who run the ACTS Food Pantry in Dumfries.
ACTS spokeswoman Tara Jennings-May told us the following in an email:
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DUMFRIES, Va. -- An argument between a man and a woman led to a dog and puppy stabbed to death, and another puppy seriously injured.
Here's more in a press release:
Felony Animal Cruelty | Domestic Assault & Battery – On July 21st at 8:45AM, officers responded to a residence located in the 17700 block of Confederate Ct in the Town of Dumfries (22026) to investigate a domestic with weapons. Officers arrived at the home and identified both parties. The victim, a 29 year old woman of Dumfries, reported to police that she and the accused, a known acquaintance, were involved in a verbal altercation which escalated.
