Annual Prince William County Fair

Prince William County Fair
10624 Dumfries Road, Manassas
Tel.: 703-368-0173
Web site: http://www.pwcfair.com/
The 59th Annual Prince William County Fair returns with fun-for-all including; concerts, rides, games, and for the whole family. Tickets get you admission, halftime entertainment, unique exhibits and interesting displays, barn shows, and grandstand events. Ride tickets must be purchased separately.

Admission: $7 for ages 7-59; $5 for ages 3-6; $5 for 60+; children under 2 free.
Dollar Day will be Wednesday, Aug. 13. Admission and rides are only $1 each!

Young Students Benefit from Storytime Reading

This article starts off innocently enough talking about how important teaching kids how to read is, but then the author, Tri-Ed Tutoring, rolls out a list of many of the reading programs available at nearby libraries. It’s a great resource listing days and times programs are available. Nice work and thanks Tri-Ed!
Pre-School and Young Elementary Students benefit from Storytime Reading

The Elusive High Speed Internet

Verizon had been sending us invitations to sign up for their high speed internet connection for months and I hadn’t called to inquire whether the service was available to our home in years so I decided to give it another try….

The guy, Paul, who got my call was great. I enjoyed hearing about his life atop a mountain up in Pennsylvania. Sounded similar to our life less the 10,000 cars passing by every day.

I explained to Paul several times that we had tried before only to discover that despite what his computer was telling him that the service was actually not available at our house. He assured me it was so I went ahead and signed up. Cautiously I told Kathy that we might be in luck, that Verizon was coming the following Wednesday to install high speed internet for a fraction of what we pay DirecWay for our satellite connection. I remained skeptical and didn’t have my hopes very high, but when the package arrived with all of the gadgetry to hook us up it appeared we might finally be on the internet highway at last.

Finally, the call came. Late Tuesday just hours before we were prepared to celebrate our arrival into the modern era Verizon called and left an AUTOMATED message telling us that the service was NOT available at our house! Aarrgghh! Being a male, the fact that what I had told Paul at Verizon was correct, helped to ease the pain of learning once again that our not-so-high speed internet connection would have to do for another while.

The Latest Strange Happenings

In the 20 years we’ve lived here on Gum Spring Road some strange things have happened and last night was no different!

Jamming away on my keyboard at about 11 pm last night when Kathy comes down to tell me a man had showed up in our driveway. My immediate thought was that someone had been in an accident or run out of gas so I proceeded to head upstairs to sort out the situation and help them out. At about the same time there was a knock on our front door.

Expecting to see the “man” my wife was referring to I was surprised to see a Loudoun County Police Officer. He proceeded to explain that a car had lost control a few hundred feet north of our house and had flipped over. Strange thing was… there wasn’t anyone in the car!

At about that time our 17.6429867 year old son came outside to explain the situation….

He had been out front talking with a girl friend when a man walked up our driveway asking if he could borrow our phone to call his mom for a ride home. Being the good samaritan that I’ve raised him to be, he was happy to help “AJ” out. He called AJ’s mom and then decided since he wasn’t going very far to offer AJ a ride to the local 7-Eleven in South Riding. (!!!!!!!)

Of course, I’m learning all of this as the Officer was hearing this. So apparently AJ lost control of his car coming around the sharp curve, flipped the car over, staggered down the road, and calmly walked up our driveway. Our son, fearless as most teen boys are, ended up driving this lucky guy, AJ, to safety and freedom from possible arrest.

I asked the police officer to help explain to my son why he should NOT have done this, but his words seemed as ineffective as mine. Our 17.6429957 year old just isn’t much of a listener unless the voice is female and between the ages of 16 and 18.

I’m glad AJ survived a very nasty accident. I’m not glad my son didn’t come inside and get me before putting himself in potential danger. And I’m VERY glad no one was traveling the opposite direction on Gum Spring when AJ lost control of his car and came across the Northbound lane!

Drive safe please.

Crime Reports Now Available in Loudoun

I’m proud of our Loudoun County Sheriff’s office! Like most every government they’ve made their “bureaucracy -brained” mistakes, but the Sheriff’s office has just wowed this resident! Loudoun has become the first county in Virginia to take advantage of a great new resource that let’s the average folk (non-average folks are welcome too!) keep track of all crimes reported on a daily basis (if desired) within the immediate area surrounding their homes, or anywhere else that local law enforcement is participating for that matter.

It’s as easy to use as Mapquest so anyone with an internet connection can take advantage of this powerful tool. Here’s how it works:

1. You register on CrimeReports.com (it’s FREE thanks to us taxpayers!)
2. Enter in your address
3. Select the radius around your home that you want crime reports for (5 miles or less)
4. Select the type of crimes you want reported (not sure why you wouldn’t want them all)
5. You can even choose to identify the home addresses of convicted sex offenders
6. Hit save and that’s it!

I received my first alert this morning and I’m happy to say that there were only three crimes reported since I registered yesterday within 5 miles of the midway point on Gum Spring Road: Two thefts and one assault all reported up in the big city of South Riding.

Here’s a short blurb from Crime Report’s Website about why they brought this crime reporting tool to life:

“CrimeReports.com was created to help law enforcement agencies put crime data in the hands of those who care about it most—citizens. While crime statistics in a specific city may be available, they may not be accessible. CrimeReports.com standardizes the way law enforcement agencies communicate crime data to the public, down to the specific neighborhood or block they live on.”

Route 29 South in Prince William County to Close Aug 8-11

Southbound Route 29 in western Prince William County will be closed to traffic on three separate weekends over the next six weeks while the Virginia Department of Transportation installs a new deck on the bridge over Broad Run at Buckland. The bridge is located about a half-mile south of Route 15, near the Fauquier County border.  Motorists can expect the detour to add 20 to 30 minutes to their travel time. Traffic on northbound Route 29 is not affected by the bridge work.

The first closure will be from 9 pm Friday, Aug 8 until 5 am Monday Aug 11th.  Weekend detours are also scheduled for Aug 22-25 and Sept 5-8.

For more details and maps visit this DOT page: Route 29 Closed

Free Physicals for New Loudoun School Children

The Loudoun Community Health Center will be offering free school physicals Aug 9-16, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., for children entering Pre-K and Kindergarten, as well as students who are newly entering the Loudoun County School System for the first time. The physicals will be given at the Loudoun Community Health Center, 3rd floor, 224A Cornwall Street, NW, in Leesburg. Children will be seen on a first-come-first-served basis. No appointments are necessary. Volunteers from the Junior League will be giving away free backpacks filled with new school supplies to the children.

The Loudoun Community Health Center is a nonprofit, charitable clinic that provides primary health care to anyone in need, regardless of your ability to pay, whether you have insurance or not. Services are typically provided on a sliding fee scale based on income and family size.

To make a charitable donation online, go to www.LoudounCHC.org. For more information, call 703-443-2000.

Stone Ridge August Summer Concert Series

B2B The Jimmy Buffett Tribute Band – - August 17th 6-8 pm

If you like Jimmy Buffett you’ll love B2B, The Jimmy Buffett Tribute Band! Their MySpace site has some music for you to check ‘em out: B2B on MySpace

If you enjoy the video below of Jimmy Buffett performing Margaritaville then you’ll enjoy B2B!

Summer Concert Series in South Riding

A preview of the remaining concerts at the South Riding Summer Concert Series.

The Dixie Power Trio – August 8th

The Dixie Power Trio is a four-piece group dedicated to the music and sounds of Louisiana.  They perform a gumbo of different styles including zydeco, Cajun, New Orleans jazz, funk, street parade, and rock.  The songs are a mix of Louisiana-flavored originals and covers.

More Than Me – August 15th

There’s “more” to this group than there is to most other bands. While, on the surface, their material and personas may convey a party-like good time and easy-going attitude, underneath lies a seriousness and dedication to making songs that are at the top of their ability. And it’s quite evident that the foursome known as MORE THAN ME embody an undeniable talent and accessibility that is a rare commodity in today’s music world. Based out of Buffalo, N.Y., the band’s Power Pop/Rock/Reggae sound allows them the freedom to play a wide variety of venues: from the most intimate acoustic coffee house, to clubs packed with hundreds of excited listeners, to 10,000 person festivals. Voted “Best Original Rock Band” by the WNY Peoples Choice Awards.

Miles Steibel – August 22nd
Miles Steibel and his band will have you groovin’ to his unique blend of smooth jazz and world rock, playing original music and terrific arrangements of classic hits.  As heard on smooth jazz stations nationally his music will entertain you with hummable melodies and a spirited rhythm section. As a musician and band leader, Miles Stiebel is one of the most requested entertainers for social, corporate, political and special events in the Washington, DC area as well as along the East Coast. He has played for State and Presidential Inaugural Galas, performing for events for President Bush, President Clinton, Nancy Pelosi, John McCain, Rudy Giuliani, Bob Dole, and Colin Powell.

Jah Works – August 29th
The foundation of Jah Works is based on a love and respect for Jamaican music and culture. It is the sentiment which gave birth to Jah Works and has become the thread which has kept them together for 11 years and counting. While their music is clearly more “reggae” than any other style, as natives they’ve always added their own flavor to the mix.

Crimes Reported Week of July 21st

What is this place coming to?? Catch these crooks and hang ‘em high is what I say!

• A video game player, a few games, and some clothing(?) were stolen from a vehicle in South Riding.
• Twenty gallons were stolen from a landscaping business on Gum Spring Road in Arcola.
• A GPS and tools were stolen from a car parked on Riding Plaza in South Riding.
• A notebook computer was stolen from a car parked at the intersection of Gum Spring Road and Braddock Road.

« Previous Page — Next Page »