Motorists driving Interstate 95 are now shaving between 10-20 minutes off the commute between the Occoquan exit in Prince William County and the Springfield Interchange in Fairfax County, according to the Virginia Department of Transportation. An additional lane in each direction, between VA 123 at the Occoquan exit and VA 7100, Fairfax County Parkway, opened three months ahead of schedule. More than 220,000 vehicles use this stretch of I-95 daily, VDOT said. For full details, see the July 27 edition of the Old Bridge Observer. (Photo courtesy VDOT)

With the Manassas City commemoration of the 150th anniversary of the Civil War on the horizon, John Van Sickle of 9209 Maple Street has gotten into the spirit of the upcoming occasion by displaying Union and Confederate flags and a Clara Barton scene in his front yard. Nurse Barton, often called Angel of the Battlefield, treated the wounded at the battles of Bull Run I & II. Van Sickle said she was authorized by President Lincoln to enter the battlefields and was founder of the Sanitary Commission, which later became known as the Red Cross. Clara Barton was also known as the lantern lady, for her constant nighttime rounds, attending to wounded soldiers. The Van Sickle display is on the section of Maple Street between Old Centreville Rd. and Mathis Ave.