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

VDOT to close two lanes in each direction on U.S. 29 in Gainesville on Aug. 20 and 21.

Prince William County Police Department’s crime report for Aug. 16, 2011.

Prince William County Fair brings in livestock and people. Food was a big draw for fairgoers. Here, a man cooks jumbo turkey legs to perfection for hungry fairgoers.

Prince William County Police Department’s crime report for Aug. 15, 2011.

Prince William County Police Department’s crime report for Aug. 15, 2011.

Many area students performed extremely well on their Virginia Standards of Learning (SOL) tests. Even still, no area school division—Prince William, Fauquier county, Manassas City nor Manassas Park—achieved all the benchmarks required to earn the national Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) standard. They were in line with 124 other school divisions that failed to make AYP. Only four school divisions as a whole achieved AYP, which requires not only high numbers of students to pass the math and reading SOLs, but that certain groups of students meet SOL pass rates, graduation and attendance rates as well.

Prince William County Police Department’s crime report for Aug. 12, 2011.

Prince William County Police Department’s crime report for Aug. 11, 2011.