I am a 1-year-old kitty that is very sweet and affectionate.

I am a cocker spaniel mix that wants nothing more than to curl up by your side. I

Catherine H. McMichael, 87, died Saturday, April 19, 2008 at Potomac Hospital in Woodbridge. 

Commander Christian Lincoln Hansen, 75, of Fredericksburg, died Friday, April 18, 2008 at Mary Washington Hospital in Fredericksburg. 

STAFFORD — Life has been anything but average for a Stafford woman who has spent seven years in the U.S. Army, nearly 10 years in college and has undergone 39 radiation treatments to fight inoperable brain cancer.

All parents, I imagine, have times in which they feel like they’re not all they can be for their children.

News from area schools

A look at events in the area

Hello! I’m a beautiful 8-year-old kitty that wants nothing more than to curl up by your side. 

STAFFORD — If you are a stray dog or cat, this could be one of the last places you want to end up, but if you’re a person who has room for a loving animal in your home, this may just be the place for you.

STAFFORD — A crowd of 400 displayed a dogged determination to attend the seventh annual Family Fun Day at Duff McDuff Green Park on Sunday. They braved an angry sky to participate in the fun, but informational activities.

Paintings by Shirley Whelan will be on display exhibit and open during regular operating hours of the Porter Branch Library in Stafford. 

Area school news from around the county.

It used to sound silly to me when my parents would say that my sister and I knew more about technology than they did.

WOODBRIDGE — Claudia Thomas has fought for civil rights — and her own life. Thomas, 58, is an orthopedic sur-geon living in Lady Lake, Fla., who said she was the first black woman in the field. 

Kenneth Reid “Kenny” Wine, 75, of Stafford County, died Wednesday, April 23, 2008 at Mary Washington Hospital in Fredericksburg. 

Brittany McGrath, 22 and a graduate of Stafford High School, died April 22, 2008 after a six-year battle with Wegener’s granulomatosis.

Ernestine L. Gordon, 81, of Woodbridge, Virginia, died Thursday, April 24, 2008 at Potomac Hospital in Woodbridge.

James Emory Gates, 59, died Tuesday, April 22, 2008 at INOVA Healthplex. 

Robert W. Becker Jr., 57, of Stafford County died Friday, April 25th, 2008 at Mary Washington Hospital in Fredericksburg. 

Hello, I’m Patton.

Hello! I’m Max. 

Spring cleaning isn’t just for your closet. It’s for your makeup, too.

The idea was to get ideas. That’s why a group of about 60 area elementary and middle school students gathered Saturday at Godwin Middle School for a brainstorming session on how to get the word out on conservation and the environment. 

You mow it, spray it, fertilize it, weed it, water it, plug it, rake it, thatch it and edge it — the lawn, that is, that endless glutton of time and energy and usurper of weekends. 

MANASSAS – Virginia Tech head football coach Frank Beamer will be the featured speaker at the “Breakfast of Champions” benefit on May 6 at the Carteret Boys and Girls Club, 9501 Dean Park Lane, Manassas. 

QUANTICO — Stuffing 10,000 boxes with personal care items Saturday was the perfect way for Marine Staff Sgt. Matthew Carman and more than 200 other volunteers to say thank you to troops serving overseas.

QUANTICO — Organizers of the Marine Corps Marathon have unveiled marinecorpshistorichalf.com — the official Web site for the inaugural Marine Corps Historic Half, a race taking place May 18 in Fredericksburg. 

A Navy officer that began his career as an enlisted seaman was promoted to the prestigious rank of captain April 18.

An Air Force sergeant has recently graduated from the Air Traffic Control Operations Apprentice Course at Kessler Air Force Base in Biloxi, Miss.