Fauquier County Department of Agricultural Development and the Fauquier Livestock Exchange Board of Directors have been awarded a planning grant to aid in the development of a new abattoir in Marshall. The $9,800 grant, from the Governor’s Agriculture and Forestry Industries Development (AFID) Fund Planning Grant Program, will help to establish a management structure and strategic plan for the operation of the new meat-processing facility

Prince William County Police Department’s crime report for Aug. 23, 2011.

On Aug. 23, at 1:53 p.m., an earthquake hit the East Coast of the United States. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, a 5.9-magnitude earthquake, with an epicenter in Mineral, Va., shook buildings up and down the East Coast, from South Carolina to New Jersey.

Prince William County Police Department’s crime report for Aug. 22, 2011.

A Manassas town house in the 10100 block of Statesboro Court caught fire from a lighting strike on Aug. 21, 2011.

The late-August issues of the Bull Run Observer, Manassas Observer and Old Bridge Observer all offer must-have back-to-school information for parents, students and the community.

Prince William County Schools requires parents and students to attend concussion training before students can even try out for sports, regardless of whether they are contact or noncontact sports.

Prince William County Police Department’s crime report for Aug. 18, 2011. There was no Aug. 17 report.

Prince William public school seniors get high marks on national ACT college-readiness test.