Hildebrand family is together and happy after Battlefield High School graduate Jessica Hildebrand gets her mom's kidney in a transplant. Shown here seated, are Jessica and her mother, Tish, with Jessica’s brother, Ricky, and father, Rick, standing behind them.

Prince William County schools welcomed its newest elementary school to the division on Aug. 24, when Piney Branch Elementary School, at 8301 Linton Hall Road in Bristow, held a dedication and ribbon-cutting ceremony. The 57th elementary school was opened by its community of students, teachers, special guests and families, who exhibited enthusiasm for the new school with a standing-room only audience. Two students are shown here at the new Piney Branch Elementary school pause with the school’s Cardinal mascot.

Stay Alert: 800 School Buses Will Roll on Sept. 6 in Prince William County.

Some 650 teachers joined Prince William County Schools’ ranks for the 2011-12 school year. Some just graduated from college, others have taught for years elsewhere and still others have had careers in other professions but are joining the ranks of the teachers in the county.

As Hurricane Irene, which may revert to Tropical Storm Irene, heads to the Northern Virginia area, agencies in Prince William County ready to handle power outages and more.

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.

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.