Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

For a brief moment, we pause

It’s at this moment the world is merry and bright. Families travel to be with each other. Gifts of appreciation are shared. Memories are made. 

The store windows in Occoquan are decorated with garland, while the buildings in Downtown Manassas are adorned with white lights. 

A large Christmas Tree overlooks Stonebridge at Potomac Town Center in Woodbridge, while light continues to shine on our very own symbol of freedom — The National Museum of the Marine Corps at Quantico.

These sights are commonplace in our community at this time of year. The hustle and bustle of our daily lives sometimes make it difficult for us to stop, look around, and appreciate them for all they’re worth. 

At Potomac Local, I’m appreciative of you for allowing us to celebrate another Christmas by looking back at all we’ve accomplished over the past year. 

We’ve seen the opening of a new Re-Store which helps provide housing to some of our area’s neediest. We saw the renaming of a Dale City middle school and talked to the community who came to be a part of the process. 

We learned about the histories of Aden and Smoketown — once settlements that today remembered best by the road signs erected in their honor.

And we saw the community crave sweets with the opening of a new doughnut shop, and lose their appetites when another favorite restaurant closed. 

These are just some of my memories from 2016. 

Your gift of continued support and readership of Potomac Local goes a long way in helping us to celebrate the season.

We wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. 

Uriah Kiser
Publisher