Prince William County news in brief

Census opens Manassas office to gather data in 2010

The U.S. Census Bureau has opened a Manassas office and selected managers to support the 2010 Census operations.

The office, at 9705 Liberia Ave., Suite 106, is one of 12 temporary branches across the state that will help gather census data next year. It will be in charge of getting information for the cities of Manassas, Manassas Park and Winchester and for Prince William, Loudoun, Clarke, Fauquier, Frederick, Rappahannock, Warren and Stafford counties. The office will be managed by six area residents: Don Newsome, Monica Moore, Eugene Lyons, Colleen Sexton, Karen Collins and Karin Mathur.

Census counts are taken every 10 years and, among other things, are used to determine the number of congressional seats for each state and how to divide $400 billion in federal funds to communities each year, the bureau said in a news release. The data also shape state legislative and local government districts. Census questionnaires are scheduled to be mailed to residents in mid-March and will be collected April 1.

Chambers of commerce announce possible merger

Representatives from the two Prince William area chambers of commerce have signed a letter of intent to explore merging in order to better serve the local business community, chamber officials said Thursday.

The Prince William County-Greater Manassas and the Prince William Regional chambers of commerce represent the business community in Manassas, Manassas Park and Prince William. Talks about a merger began a year ago, and chamber officials said that if it goes through, it will create Northern Virginia's largest business organization, reaching nearly 2,000 businesses.

Chamber officials said they will hold membership information meetings over the next six weeks to introduce the concept of a merger and get feedback. After that, chamber officials will decide whether to merge.

Manassas merchants have a golden ticket

The famous golden ticket from "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" will be hidden in Old Town Manassas this week -- well, sort of.

Playing off the Roald Dahl book and the movies based on it, Manassas merchants are selling Merry Old Town Chocolate Bars starting Tuesday, with one of the milk-chocolate treats containing a golden ticket. The ticket recipient will get the chance to be Santa's guest on his float in the 64th annual Greater Manassas Christmas Parade on Dec. 5.

The parade is part of the Old Town Manassas holiday festivities. On Dec. 4, Santa will arrive at the train station and help the mayor light the Christmas tree. On Dec. 6, Old Town merchants will have their annual open house, during which residents can enjoy treats and horse-drawn carriage rides.

For information about the holiday festivities, visit http://www.visitmanassas.org.

Manassas Museum gets grant for civil rights project

The Manassas Museum has received a grant from the Dominion Foundation that will help finance a new project that focuses on the civil rights movement in Northern Virginia.

The $1,000 grant will be used to develop "traveling trunks" that will go to schools to offer a look at Manassas from the 1950s to 1970s. The trunks will contain hands-on replicated artifacts, teacher's guides and other educational materials.