Every Saturday should be Small Business Saturday. Now it is.
Please support small businesses in our communities. Here’s how you can help today.
- “Sunset Cruises of Stafford (3003 Voyage Drive, Stafford) Valentine’s Day boat cruises on Aquia Creek! 2/10 and 2/14. Grab your sweetheart and join us for a 1-hour boat cruise aboard our decorated and heated 26′ pontoon houseboat on Aquia Creek! Complimentary red rose, champagne toast, and chocolates included- $100. Email [email protected] for more info.”
- Possum-bilities (211 William St, Fredericksburg) Come in and meet an ambassador possum every Saturday from 12-6 pm and shop products from over 80 small businesses under one roof!”
- “Corgi Clay Art Center (15 Tech Parkway Suite 101, Stafford) Our exciting clay art classes are starting this week, and you don’t want to miss out on the fun. Whether you’re a beginner or a seasoned pro, our expert instructors will guide you through the fascinating world of clay art.”
- “AubScents Bath & Body (10432 Balls Ford Rd Suite 300 Manassas) Looking for the perfect stocking stuffer but on a budget. AubScents Bath & Body has all natural bath bombs for $7.25 grab yours today”
- “My Dog Listens LLC (9107 Industry Dr. Suite S., Manassas Park) My Dog Listens is a veteran-owned and operated dog training company. Basic/advanced obedience and behavioral modification services at an affordable price.”
- “Veterans Growing America (15001 Potomac Town Place Woodbridge) Save 10% off all vendor packages until the end of January with code: ShopBaby”
Small business owners: Submit a FREE, effective way to get your message to our 28,000 weekly readers here on Small Business Saturdays.
Your submission should be short and sweet; include your business name, address, and link to your website.
Click this link to submit your Small Business Saturdays Notes. Submit by 5 p.m. Wednesday.
I spent the first week of the New Year laying to rest my grandmother, who lived to be 87 years old. Joyce McNeal, of Bluefield, W.Va., passed just before Christmas, leaving behind a small family, including two grandsons who fondly remember summers in the West Virginia mountains and small-town hospitality.
I got to experience some of that small-town hospitality when I visited Bluefield this week when I stayed at the Baker’s Hill Inn, a 110-year-old home turned into a bed and breakfast by Lisa Sydnor. It was my first stay at a bed and breakfast.
A former cop bitten by the entrepreneurial bug, Sydnor opened the inn 10 years ago, transforming the three-level home’s bedrooms, dining, and living areas into a pristine getaway from everyday life.
The rooms each have large beds and bathrooms and look out over what was once one of the busiest cities in the U.S. — a place on the Virginia/West Virginia border where coal miners and railroaders traveled to spend their cash in rows of department stores that blossomed about the same time the house was built, through the 1960s.
Today, the inn sits in south Bluefield, where other homes built by millionaires are still well kept. In contrast, many department store buildings in the city’s downtown area are marked for demolition.
Since Covid, Sydnor says there’s been a renewed interest in the city, many of whom are Californians who work anywhere and are looking to relocate for cheaper living costs in what is known as “nature’s air-conditioned city.”
Sydnor says there are bidding wars for the stately houses in her neighborhood, something she might take advantage of in the coming years as she looks to retire with her husband to a nearby farm.
Before Sydnor sells the inn and before Californians supplant the locals, I suggest stopping by Bakers Hill when traveling in southwest Virginia and southern West Virginia for an overnight stay to learn about the history of the surrounding area, its natural beauty, and the coal that helped to build this nation.
Bakers Hill is inviting, the delicious breakfast pictured above is always hot, and the conversation with Sydnor is enjoyable.
From our local news family to yours, I wish you a happy, healthy, and prosperous New Year.
Uriah Kiser
Founder & Publisher
Potomac Local News
Stafford authorities are searching for a Westmoreland County man they say shot and killed a man on Deacon Road.
Deputies were called to the scene, near White Oak Road and the Virginia Virginia Department of Transportation Residency, early Saturday to find a man suffering multiple gunshot wounds.
Emergency crews took the unidentified 33-year-old victim, of King George, to a hospital where he died.
Darren Jamal Newman, 29, of Westmoreland County is the suspect. The victim knew his killer, police said.
Here’s the full report from the sheriff’s office:
At 12:23 a.m. deputies responded to a shooting in the 100 block of Deacon Road. Deputies located a 33-year-old male from King George at the scene with several gunshot wounds. The deputies began first aid and the victim was transported to the hospital with life-threatening injuries. Unfortunately, the victim succumbed to his injuries earlier this morning.
As a result of the investigation, detectives have identified Darren Jamal Newman, 29, of Westmoreland County as the suspect. Newman is currently wanted for second degree murder, use of a firearm in the commission of a felony and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
Anyone with information on Newman’s location is asked to contact the Stafford County Sheriff’s Office at 540-658-4400 or 911. Newman should be considered armed and dangerous. His photo is attached to this release. The dark colored sedan involved in the homicide has been located.
Thank you to the deputies and Fire and Rescue personnel for their work to try and save the victim. Please keep the victim’s family in your thoughts and prayers. The victim’s name is not being released at this time.
“The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth District has dismissed an appeal by a right-wing advocacy group ordered to stop distributing false, threatening, and misleading mailers prior to November’s election, Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares announced Friday,” Insidenova.com reports.
Every Saturday should be Small Business Saturday. Now it is.
Whether you call them “specials,” “sales,” or just “notes from the bossman,” we’re posting them on our website, potomaclocalnews.com, to help our fellow small business owners in our communities.
These neighborly notes are also great community news.
We’re calling it “Small Business Saturdays,” a FREE, effective way to get your message to our 28,000 weekly readers.
Your submission should be short and sweet; include your business name, address, and link to your website.
Example: “Dixie Bones BBQ (13440 Occoquan Rd., Woodbridge, VA): Dixie Bones Smoked Ribs are the best while watching the championship game this Saturday afternoon. Get a Half Rack of our tender smoked ribs for only $16.95.”
Click this link to submit your Small Business Saturdays Notes today.
Every Saturday should be Small Business Saturday. Now it is.
Please support small businesses in our communities. Here’s how you can help today.
- “My Dog Listens LLC (9107 Industry Dr. Suite S., Manassas Park) My Dog Listens is a veteran-owned and operated dog training company. Basic/advanced obedience and behavioral modification services at an affordable price.”
- “Veterans Growing America (15001 Potomac Town Place Woodbridge) Save 10% off all vendor packages until the end of January with code: ShopBaby”
- “AubScents Bath & Body (10432 Balls Ford Rd Suite 300 Manassas) Looking for the perfect stocking stuffer but on a budget. AubScents Bath & Body has all natural bath bombs for $7.25 grab yours today”
Small business owners: Submit a FREE, effective way to get your message to our 28,000 weekly readers here on Small Business Saturdays.
Your submission should be short and sweet; include your business name, address, and link to your website.
Be sure to get in next week’s post — Click this link to submit your Small Business Saturdays Notes today.
Before we head for a long Christmas weekend, I wish each of you a happy holiday with the ones you hold dear.
There’s been so much bad news, especially from national outlets: War, inflation, crime, etc.
That’s why locally, we’ve tried to find more stories that make you smile and impact your life. It makes us happy to tell these stories and even happier when you, our members, send us news tips and your photos and interact with us daily.
For me, it’s been a joyous year as my wife and I celebrated the birth of our son, Theodore, our second child, in October. He, like our daughter, who came nearly four years before him, is a bright light in our family.
Here at work, I’ve had the pleasure of working with many bright lights in the form of our freelance interns, work-based learning students, our supporting members, and devoted advertisers, all of whom make this project — to bring local news to our communities — not only possible but worthwhile.
We’ll be back on Tuesday, December 26, 2023. Of course, we’ll post any breaking news that may come in the meantime.
Merry Christmas,
Uriah Kiser
Founder and Publisher
Potomac Local News
“Pedestrian-involved motor vehicle crashes reached record levels in both Prince William and Fauquier counties in 2023, according to data from the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles,” reports Hunter Savery at the Prince William Times.