Pictures
2012 Town of Occoquan Elections
In 2012 the residents of Occoquan will once again have the opportunity to elect a Mayor and new Town Council. Voting will take place at Town Hall from 6:00am – 7:00pm on Tuesday, May 1. Reminder, you must be registered to vote by April 9th in order to participate.
If you are interested in running for Town Council, now is your opportunity. You may obtain the necessary filing forms by contacting the Office of General Registrar at (703) 792-6470 or by downloading the forms from the State Board of Elections website.
The current Occoquan Town Council consists of:
Mayor:
Earnest W. Porta, Jr.
Town Council:
Elizabeth A. “Liz” Quist
Ken T. Brunsvold
Denise M. Bush
Patrick A. Sivigny
James N. Walbert
Mission to Mason Neck
Virginia Historical Society
The Opinionator Blog in the New York Times recently published an interesting recount of the importance of accurate maps during the Civil War. Understanding the twists and turns of the Occoquan River was vital, which prompted a comprehensive mapping effort.
Pohick Creek, about 10 miles southwest of Alexandria, was by then the forward line of the Union Army, while the Confederates held the Occoquan River, about 5 miles farther south. Heintzelman instructed Sneden to focus his mapping efforts on the area in between — a marshy bit of land known as Mason Neck — where the smugglers lived and rebels retreated after their repeated attacks on the Union line. Continue Reading
Virginia Historical Society
The Muddy Waters of the Chesapeake
Posted by Lou on September 18, 2011 in Boating News, Chesapeake Bay, Occoquan River, Pictures, Potomac River
The “true color” image below, courtesy of Maryland’s Eyes on the Bay website, shows just how unbelievably muddy the Chesapeake Bay has become the in the wake of the copious amount of rainfall that has fallen in the past 2 weeks.
Rainbow Over the Occoquan
Posted by Lou on May 31, 2011 in Pictures, Random Musings
Tim’s Polar Plunge 2011
With Spring right around the corner, it’s time for the crazies to run into the freezing cold Potomac River. The 9th Annual Polar Plunge to benefit Virginia Special Olympics will take place on Saturday, February 26 at Tim’s Rivershore.
The river will be rocking with live music, contests, prizes and more! Visit Tim’s for more information.
A Perfect Day on the River, Until…
Posted by Lou on October 10, 2010 in Pictures, Random Musings
Virtual Tour of Occoquan
Occoquan resident Boyd Alexander recently uploaded a slideshow to YouTube that includes a number of great pictures. Enjoy!
Bull Shark Mania!
Posted by Lou on September 7, 2010 in Boating News, Chesapeake Bay, Fishing News, Pictures, Potomac River
I would be remiss if I did not mention the “Bull Shark in the Potomac River” frenzy that blew up on Facebook and the mainstream media while I was away. I tracked down the original reports and it wasn’t just one bull shark, it was two.
One was caught of Cornfield Harbor in extreme southern St. Mary’s county, MD. The NBC Washington website, which broke the “story” has a gruesome slideshow. The second was caught a bit farther north, near Tall Timbers, MD.
Both of these sharks were caught at the very, very edge of the Potomac River Watershed. So far south that one shark was actually caught by scientists collecting stingrays. This map shows where the bull sharks were caught:
The catches were very far away from Occoquan, almost 100 nautical miles south. Even down there, at the very edge of the Chesapeake Bay “you very, very rarely see them”, according to the Washington Post. Ok, no more bull shark jokes.
