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

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

My all-time favorite portrait of the Historic Town of Occoquan! Photo by T_13 Photography.

The river will be rocking with live music, contests, prizes and more! Visit Tim’s for more information.

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.

It was freezing outside but that didn’t stop people from taking the plunge! All donations benefit the Special Olympics of Virginia.