DAHLGREN,Va. -- With the opening of a new USO Center at Naval Support Facility (NSF) Dahlgren in July, service members and their families at both Dahlgren and NSF Indian Head have access to a unique “home away from home” at both bases.

Both the Dahlgren USO and the USO Center at Indian Head, which has been in operation for several years, are operated by USO-Metro, a private non-profit organization that serves military personnel in Washington, D.C., Maryland and northern Virginia with five centers located on area military installations and four more at area airports.

King George Farmers Market is a fabulous community effort and event. Today I would like to share the story of our beautiful Mason Jar Quilts, a story that embodies this sense of community through and through.
The seed was planted when flower vendor Suzanne Pryor handed me a bag of fabric remnants left from the days of Dr. Pallotti’s Family Health Food Store. Suzanne suggested we make a quilt as a market fund-raiser.
I, in turn, passed the brightly colored blueberry, corn, green pepper and tomato fabrics to Brenda Mitchell, market supporter and member of KG Bees Quilting Club.

A Gospel Concert will be held Saturday, August 14, 6 p.m. on stage at Town Hill in Colonial Beach.  Jordon’s Journey was first discovered in May of this year.  Jordon Smith is a six-year-old happy and fun-loving little boy who is visually impaired due to septo-optic dysplasia (SOD).  His optic nerves are small and undeveloped.  He has lived with this condition his whole life.
Last fall a relative asked his mother, Catharine Quinn, about checking out a new, controversial treatment through the website stemcellschina.com. The site provides information about adult stem cell treatments for a variety of conditions, including septo-optic dysplasia.

During the week of June 21^stthrough June 25^th, I went to 4H camp in Jamestown.  At 4H camp I was always moving.  I did all sorts of things like swim,take fun shops, and I got to pick two classes to take all week.  I spent the night in a cabin and I made new friends.  How about I walk you through a typical day at 4H camp? Here we go!

I woke up every morning around 6:00.  I had a half hour to get ready to make it to the flag raising ceremony.  I watched as the flag was raised.  Then I joined everybody in the Pledge of Allegiance.  What a great way to start the day.  After flag raising I went to breakfast.  I could choose from yogurt, cereal, or the main breakfast of the day.  I went back to my cabin after breakfast to get ready for my two classes.  I chose canoeing and challenge ropes. During canoeing I learned such things as how to save a tipped over canoe and how to paddle.  The ropes course was awesome.  I learned how to work as a team. 

After my classes I had free swim.  I got to swim for about an hour.  After swimming I went back to my cabin for five or ten minutes to change for lunch.  For lunch I could chose a trip to the salad bar or the main lunch of the day. When I was finished with lunch I went back to my cabin for silent rest time.  This lasted for an hour.  I had five minutes after resting to get ready for fun shops. Every day I got to do a different fun shop.  I really enjoyed making a duct tape lunch bag and trying coconut milk, meat, juice, and soda. When fun shops were over I went back to my cabin to get ready for another free swim.

Heat, Schmeat. Apparently not even 100-plus degree days can keep a good market down. More than 500 market shoppers came through our gate on Saturday — our biggest head count of the year! At approximately 11:35 a.m. the market bell rang and Bob Ansel, our unsuspecting 500th visitor of the day, found himself in the middle of a little hoopla. He was warmly greeted (no pun intended) with a handshake from the Market Manager and presented with a free ticket for our fabulous quilt giveaway.
   Casey Tyson and Ray Celeste Tanner, helpers at the Artisan Bread Co. stall, dashed over to present Bob with a free loaf of sourdough bread. Unfortunately, the corn on the cob he had come seeking at the market was long since sold out by then.
Congratulations, Bob, and better luck next week. As always, get to the market early for best selection!
Tomatoes, anyone?
If you have ever wanted to learn the old-fashioned art of canning tomatoes at home, then

This duo of irresistible heart-stealers — Annie and her co-starring dog Sandy — are deep into rehearsals of the Westmoreland Players upcoming musical of the same name slated to open Friday, Aug. 6 and run through Sunday, Aug. 22.
"Annie" is Lauren Petruskie, 12, from Colonial Beach. She met with her cuddly partner for the first time in early July - and now the two are fast thespian pals.