The Fredericksburg Regional Chamber of Commerce has announced Michelle Caldwell Thompson, owner and President of CTI Real Estate, as the 2025 Chair of the Board. The Chamber also welcomes its new board members for 2025, including George Barnick of Fredericksburg Technology, Latasha Brooks of A&B Creative Events, Chip Boyles of the George Washington Regional Commission, Barbara Gustavson of Discover Next Step, and Werner Jansen of Bloomia. Additionally, Jennifer McGovern of Parrish Snead Franklin Simpson, PLC, has been named the Chamber’s legal counsel for the upcoming year.
The board officers for 2025 include Michelle Caldwell Thompson as Chair, Ginni Matern of Matern Staffing as Vice Chair, Kevin Dillard of LifeCare Medical Transports as Immediate Past Chair, Shawn Sloan of The Media Partners as Treasurer, and Susan Garnett Spears continuing as President and CEO.
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OmniRide will introduce significant service changes starting Monday, December 9, affecting all Express, Metro Express, and Local routes.
As part of these updates, the organization will begin serving the newly opened Neabsco Commuter Garage in Woodbridge, replacing the OmniRide Transit Center for several routes. Additionally, two western Express routes will be extended: the Gainesville-Washington route will now originate in Front Royal, and the Gainesville-Pentagon-L’Enfant Plaza-Navy Yard route will start in Warrenton. However, the Gainesville-Dulles/Herndon/Reston route will be discontinued.
Revised schedules and maps are available at OmniRide.com. Contact OmniRide at 703-730-6664 or [email protected] for details.
OmniRide Service Change Takes Effect December 9
OmniRide’s next Service Change will take effect on Monday, December 9. All schedules for Express, Metro Express, and Local routes will change on that date. OmniRide will also begin serving the new Neabsco Commuter Garage located in Woodbridge across from Sentara Medical Center. Several routes that previously served the OmniRide Transit Center will move to the Neabsco Commuter Garage.
As part of this service change, OmniRide is extending two existing western Express routes to originate at new locations in Front Royal and Warrenton. The Gainesville-Washington (611) Express route will begin at the Crooked Run Park & Ride Lot in Front Royal and become the Front Royal/Gainesville-Washington Express route. The Gainesville-Pentagon-L’Enfant Plaza-Navy Yard (612) Express route will begin at the Warrenton Park & Ride Lot in Warrenton and become the Warrenton/Gainesville-Pentagon-L’Enfant Plaza-Navy Yard Express route. Route 618, Gainesville-Dulles/Herndon/Reston (618) will be discontinued.
This past summer, OmniRide completed a total overhaul of local routes in the eastern Prince William County area – one of the biggest service changes and expansions in the organization’s 38-year history. The restructured routes were designed to provide more efficient, streamlined, and direct service, while also expanding service to new destinations. OmniRide also introduced our OmniRide Access paratransit service for residents with disabilities in eastern Prince William. See details of the restructured eastern Local service here.
For December 9th, timetables for all routes have been adjusted. A detailed listing of all the service changes along with the new schedules and maps are available for viewing at OmniRide.com.
Contact OmniRide Customer Service at 703-730-6664 or [email protected] for more information.
The program will feature music from the Little Zion Baptist Church, Mount Pleasant Baptist Church, Gainesville High School Ensemble, and the Gainesville Virginia Stake of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, among others. Traditional carols and seasonal favorites will be performed.
Brief messages reflecting on the Christmas season will be shared by Pastor George Carlisle, Pastor James McCray, and President Hans Carlson, who is hosting the event for the first time. Carlson expressed his enthusiasm, emphasizing the concert’s focus on community and holiday spirit.
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Neabsco Regional Park is set to feature another recreational amenity, a new boat launch, by the New Year.
Neabsco Regional Park is a scenic natural area in Prince William County. It includes a 14-mile, $3 million boardwalk through wetlands, is part of the Potomac Heritage National Scenic Trail, and is rich with opportunities for birdwatching, hiking, and learning about local history.
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Triune Entertainment is producing Best Christmas Pageant Ever: The Musical at Journey Theater in Vint Hill, Virginia, with performances on December 20, 21, 22, 27, 28, and 29. The musical, based on Barbara Robinson’s beloved story, features orchestrations by Malcolm Hillgartner and a book by Jahnna Beecham. It tells a heartwarming story of grace, kindness, and community, becoming a holiday classic.
More in a press release:
Triune Entertainment announces the upcoming production of Best Christmas Pageant Ever: the Musical at the Journey Theater in Vint Hill, Virginia. The beloved story is now a musical that will captivate audiences with its heartfelt message.
Best Christmas Pageant Ever: The Musical is a story of unexpected grace, kindness, and loving thy neighbor. The musical is based on the story by Barbara Robinson with orchestrations by Malcolm Hillgartner and book by Jahnna Beecham. It has become a perennial favorite of the holiday season and will be released as a full length feature film this holiday season starring Judy Greer and Pete Holme and directed by Dallas Jenkins.
For this local production, Triune Entertainment’s Founder Matt Moore assembled a team of professionals from Prince William County and beyond. “We are excited to bring ‘Best Christmas Pageant Ever’ to the community this holiday season, and I know it will leave a lasting impression on our audiences.”
The team is led by director Renée De Ponte, a local professional with many credits from the stage and screen. She is thrilled for the opportunity to bring this hilarious show to life: “I have always wanted to direct a show with lots of families, and this was the perfect story to do that! I love how much heart there is in the script and our cast and crew are working so well together to put on this really beautiful show.”
The Wagner and Mills families are two examples of De Ponte’s vision. Rebeccah and Steven Wagner play the lead roles of Grace and Bob with four of their five children also in the cast: Elsie, Jeremiah, Nora, and Peter while the youngest Wagner Philip watches his bigger siblings in rehearsals. Rebeccah shared that, “this is one of our favorite stories and it’s really special to get to be a part of this production. Our life can get a little crazy this time of year and we’re really thankful we get to do this show together as a family!”
Rebeccah plays Grace, the reluctant director of the Christmas Pageant who leads her family and her community on a journey of love, compassion, and grace. Rebeccah loves helping kids learn to sing and her most recent theatre credits include serving as the Music Director for Sound of Music and Newsies as well as the Assistant Music Director for Disney’s Little Mermaid. Her husband Steve is returning to the stage after being away for several decades. He’s excited to help bring to the stage the story from the best book ever written about Christmas pageants as he reprises his favorite roles of the past 17 years: husband and dad.
Elsie Wagner plays Betty and is a junior and her favorite past roles include Katherine Plumber in Newsies, Doris in Miracle on 34th Street, Mersister in Disney’s Little Mermaid, and the Assistant Director for Pinnochio. Her sister Nora is a freshman and plays the Reverand’s Assistant and the Nurse to the crabby Helen Armstrong. Her favorite past roles include Brigitta von Trapp in The Sound of Music, the White Witch in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, and Tommy Boy in Newsies.
Jeremiah is excited to play brother Ollie Herdman with his real-life brother Peter playing Leroy Herdman. Jeremiah is a 5th grader who recently played the role of Pinocchio in the Torch Drama club Embers production. Peter is 13 years old and recently played Les in Newsies and Geppetto in Pinocchio. When not onstage, both boys enjoy playing sports including soccer, baseball, and swimming.
Mother daughter duo Laura and Susan Mills portray the roles of Helen Armstrong and Gladys Herdman. Susan is 11 years old and is excited to play the ferocious and precocious Herdman kid. Her favorite past roles include Hei Hei in Disney’s Moana Jr, Coral in Finding Nemo, Jr, and a Munchkin Teacher in Wizard of Oz with Pied Piper Theatre.
Laura Mills works for Prince William County Public Schools and volunteers with many local schools and arts organizations, including Gainesville Community Choir where she serves as a Board Member. She most recently played Katherine Blake in Upper Room Theatre Ministry’s Freaky Friday and Doralee in Prince William Little Theatre’s 9 to 5 the Musical. Although Laura and Susan have many previous stage credits, this will be their first production together.
Laura is excited to have this experience with her daughter: “There’s something really special about sharing a passion with your child and getting the opportunity to go through the same rehearsal process and performing together. I’m really glad whenever there are shows like this where we can have fun together and tell important stories like this one!”
Best Christmas Pageant Ever: The Musical comes on the heels of Triune’s critically acclaimed world premier of Peter Filichia’s Larry the Big-Time Broadway Producer and Jason Robert Brown’s Songs for a New World. Triune is an independent, non-Equity production company dedicated to providing artists with opportunities to direct and perform in exciting and original ways.
Triune’s mission is to create exceptional entertainment experiences while being respectful to its audiences and participants, and to provide opportunity and access to the best in live production, publishing, training and education, and beyond. Triune Entertainment’s Best Christmas Pageant Ever: the Musical has six performances onDecember 20, 21, 22, 27, 28, and 29 at Journey Church in Vint Hill For more information and to purchase tickets, visit triuneentertainment.com/bcpe
Press release:
Dylan Smith and Ester Garrido, who share a passion for fitness, recently opened Training Ed, a private personal training studio in Manassas at 9824 Liberia Avenue. With 10–15 years of experience and multiple certifications, their trainers provide personalized, contract-free sessions in a supportive environment.
The facility is equipped with premium gear and offers both in-person and virtual coaching, focusing on education and tailored programs for lasting results.
Celebrate Training Ed’s opening at their ribbon-cutting event on January 31 at 3:30 p.m., or learn more on their website.
We all want to live in a community that is fun, safe, and, at its core, clean. However, it’s easier said than done.
Maintaining an inviting, enjoyable space has challenges, from monetary expenses to valuable time and effort. Prince William County has been attempting to address the biggest environmental culprit – litter. To combat this, the county has implemented additional litter crews for several roadways, especially ones regularly littered. These crews operate on a consistent schedule. However, this doesn’t mark the end of their efforts – meet Trashy!
Trashy the Raccoon is an anti-litter persona brought to life. While it is an unusual mascot, it is memorable. Combined with his slogan, “I’m a raccoon, what’s your excuse?” this character appeals to all ages. “We got the idea to fashion Trashy after the Mayhem character because we wanted it to be unique from other anti-litter campaigns,” says Prince William County spokeswoman Nicole Brown. Alongside that, Brown anticipates Trashy will make his debut on social media.
She also expresses hope for Trashy’s in-person appearances.
Learn more about Prince William’s environmental efforts toward a clean, beautiful space.
With the return of the city’s safe exchange zone at the Manassas City Police Department, residents of Manassas now have a designated safe space to conduct online purchases and child custody exchanges.
Located behind the Public Safety Facility at 9608 Grant Ave., the zone is marked and offers a secure environment for community members to meet.
City Spokeswoman Lisa Otten clarified the exchange zone’s history, noting it wasn’t removed but relocated to the police department’s new facility in the winter of 2022.
“This is a great area for residents who wish to meet each other and exchange items which have been bought or sold using online sites, or domestic child custody exchanges,” Otten said.
While officers do not monitor exchanges, the area’s proximity to the police department gives residents an added sense of security.
The return of the safe exchange zone reflects a growing need for secure public spaces to facilitate online transactions and sensitive custody exchanges. Communities nationwide have embraced similar zones as a preventive measure against fraud, theft, and disputes.
Residents are encouraged to use the safe exchange zone whenever possible. Its location behind the Public Safety Facility ensures convenient access while maintaining privacy for those conducting exchanges.
For more information about the safe exchange zone, visit the Manassas City Police Department website.
From Fredericksburg Police
VANDALISM:
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