To Manassas Patch Readers And Contributors: Thanks

MANASSAS, VA — Well. It's been nearly eight years since Manassas Patch launched. Whether you were late to the party or an early curiosity seeker who decided to stick around and give this start-up local news site a chance, we sincerely thank you for the patronage.

Manassas Patch — it went live on Dec. 16, 2010 — is one of 36 such sites in Virginia, and it's one of the more high-performing ones, at that. That could well owe to the oddly unique three-pronged nature of the area. After all, you have the Prince William County Manassas, the Manassas Park Manassas and the City of Manassas Manassas. Ah, so uniquely Manassas.

In August alone, nearly 46,000 folks visited Manassas and Manassas Park Patch. That figure — compiled and verified through Google Analytics — include readers on desktop, laptop, tablet, mobile and our app, and our visitors often access Patch on several devices over the month.

Here are some of the most-read articles in Manassas Patch the past few weeks:

• Sonic Drive-In Appears Bound For Manassas
• Man With No Pants Arrested At Gainesville Golf Course: Police
• Man Impersonates Cop During Manassas Road Rage Incident
• Hurricane Florence: NOVEC Warns Of Possible Power Outages
• Manassas Fugitive Arrested At Dulles Airport
• Prolific Burglars Sought In Manassas: Police
• Manassas Restaurant Inspections: Kline's Freeze Perfect
• Burglary Suspect Found Hiding In Dumpster In Manassas: Police
• Manassas City 2018-19 School Calendar

Oh, yes. There also was another one:

• Man Rubs Produce On Buttocks In Manassas Grocery Store: Police

As for me, I'm Skip Wood, your local editor. Some of you might remember my parents, Bill and Sherry Wood. Dad was the principal at Osbourn High School for the bulk of the 1960s, when Mom was a business teacher at Stonewall High School. I went to Bennett Elementary before we moved to Virginia Beach in 1970.

My previous full-time professional stops, in chronological order: the Daily News-Record in Harrisonburg (JMU sports), the Richmond Times-Dispatch (Virginia Tech football, NASCAR), USA Today (NASCAR, National Football League, Olympics) and the website for WJLA 's Channel 7 in Greater Washington (Daybreak Daily, politics).

Yes, I may have covered sports for the bulk of my career, but a journalist is a journalist—no matter the beat. Send your tips, ideas and questions my way at skipwood@patch.com.

Manassas Patch also is fortunate enough to have a "Patch Mayor" in Katherine Mercurio Gotthardt. She's a terrific conduit to things going on in Manassas that might otherwise get overlooked. By all means, reach out to Katherine. Too, our calendar has become something of a must-read for those looking to see what Manassas offers.

If you'd like to post on Manassas Patch, it's easy to sign up for a free user profile. As a Patch user, you can post articles, events, jobs, and announcements. And the "rules of Patch" are easy to follow: "no abusive content, no commercial spam, keep it local, and be awesome."

While many news websites are limiting access to free articles, Patch articles and events by our journalists and community contributors are always free to view. Simply put, it's both gratifying and humbling that you've made Manassas Patch a part of your life. Thank's again for your support and readership.

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Image of Jiffy Lube Live via Patch editor Skip Wood