Lorton Patch's Most-Read Stories of 2011

A wide variety of local stories, from Gunston Hall to the barns at Meadowood, led the list of the most-read articles on Lorton Patch in 2011.

Here’s a month-by-month round-up:

January: A along Rte. 1 but managed to escape. A had many people concerned about the direction of the historic property in late January.

February: The drama at Gunston Hall continued into February, when a group . A later in the month claimed the life of a Manassas woman.

March: Sadly, two more accidents on Rte. 1 in Lorton, one , claimed lives. This led many to question the of the highway.

April: The federal government came very close to shutting down in April—a near-victim of political gamesmanship. Patch contributor Kristin Blankenship, whose husband is in the military, wrote about .

May: Lorton Patch went before it opened in May.

June: Our tech columnist asked, and answered, the question many people had: In more local news, however, the South County Secondary School baseball team’s with a defeat by a team from Great Bridge in the state finals.

July: South County baseball star by the Kansas City Royals organization, but he chose to go to college in South Carolina.

August: along Backlick Road.

September: A story about a vandalized highway sign () hit the big time online. Also, Lorton Patch published a at Meadowood. (Watch , and .)

October: A driving down I-95.

November and December: The end of the year was again dominated by South County Secondary School sports. The football team headed to the regional finals by but ultimately in December.

Across Fairfax County

Elsewhere in Fairfax County, several issues throughout the year drove comments and interest on Patch.

Full-Day Kindergarten: Early this year, parents and some school board officials fought to have full-day kindergarten implemented across Fairfax County Public Schools.

Discipline in Fairfax County Public Schools: In February, school officials and parents started debating Fairfax County Public Schools’ disciplinary policies and whether they do more harm than good for some students. The after a student, Nicholas Stuben, apparently committed suicide following disciplinary proceedings. His father, , ran for a position on the FCPS school board this fall, but .

November’s Elections: Leadership positions on the Fairfax County School Board, County Board of Supervisors, the Virginia House and Senate and many other positions were up for grabs in this year’s elections in November. Turnout was around 30 percent—about standard for a non-presidential election year in this area. Patch live-blogged the results from the and races in addition to running profiles of candidates, and covering controversies from the to the .

“The Butt Slasher”: Female shoppers at area malls and stores were watching their backsides this spring and summer, as a person allegedly while the women were shopping.  Earlier this week, Fairfax County police officials reported they the suspect was seen in Peru, and police are working with Peruvian officials now.