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Meteorite Lorton Hits Williamsburg Square Doctors

A meteorite blasted through the roof and ceiling of a Lorton doctors office Monday evening January 18 sounding like a small explosion and filling an exam room with debris, dempling the cement floor through carpet which impact shattered the rock.

The tennis ball sized space rock weighed 308 grams or about two thirds of a pound with all of the pieces assembled. It was of grey composition with an almost black scorched slightly glazed fusion crust classified as a condrite.

The doctors office was the Williamburg Square Family Practice at 9500 Richmond Highway of Dr. Marc Gallini and Dr. Frank Ciampi.

It was quiet, a little after 5:30 pm Dr. Ciampi was doing charts when, suddenly, bang. Dr. Ciampi said it was so loud that he thought a book case had toppled and went to look. He found debris scattered from the exam room out into the hallway. Inside the exam room near where he would sit with patients was a hole in the ceiling and a dent in the floor. It looked and sounded like a small explosion.

No one expected a meteorite and it took them a while to realize what had really happened. A late cancellation meant that there was no one in the exam room. The roof has been repaired. The exam room is cleaned and the object was given up to the Smithsonian Museum for confirmation. Now there’s only the memory and the dent in the floor.

Companions to the extraterrestrial visitor may be found within a couple of miles of the location so Lorton neighbors should all walk their open spaces and look for more black rocks which traveling at 230mph would either plant themselves in the moist ground or make an obvious dent in pavement with a scatter pattern. Avoid Meteorite hunters which will come from across the country trying to profit from any pieces found. If you find a meteorite on your property, it’s yours. Please call your Lorton Valley Star at 571-274-7389.

Such an event is rarely reported. This is only the fourth reported hit in Virginia in over a hundred years however many more probably fall on open space unnoticed. Update: A search of the web indicates that the Lorton Meteorite twilight fireball was apparently seen in a few states where it is reported that the office is dentists.

Weblog 

Purpose of New Web Site

Forget the travel sites and others abusing the name of Lorton, This is The site Of Lorton, By Lorton, FOR Lorton.

We cover only greater Lorton including Occoquan, Woodbridge, Lorton Valley, Mason Neck, Laurel Hill, Newington, Lorton Station, Fairfax Station, Landsdowne, Fort Belvoir and Engleside. This is the hometown site.

Learn about what is actually in Lorton. Learn how to enjoy Lorton and participate in the community. Find the contact information for the amenities and organizations in Lorton. Find the News, Events, and Merchants in Lorton. Save gas, Spend locally.

Learn where Lorton is, the history and how to get here. Lorton is a Washington, D.C. suburb. Lorton is the northern terminus of the Auto-Train. Find out about living in greater Lorton.

Our tour points out the features that, together, make Lorton Virginia, Usa a unique community. We should also mention the new Lorton Arts Foundation Workhouse Arts Center and the Historic Town of Occoquan just across the river in Prince William County.

This site was reborn, December 2009 as a companion to our community newspaper, Lorton Valley Star. Already, it benefits from inside knowledge of what's new and what's closed over other travel and directory look-up sites. This really is home so please bookmark us and check back frequently because there is vastly more info coming.

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Simple Changes at Meadowood

The annual picnic yields a portion of the funds needed to provide the service but contributions are needed as they keep the fees low for clients.

The heros here are the volunteers. They see the benefits in the lives of the riders every day. The horses, patient and compliant, seem to understand that they are doing something important. The motion of the horses back stimulates the brains of the riders and increases their awareness and coordination.

Demonstration Video
Simple Changes is a 501(c)(3) organization and all donations are tax deductible. For further information please call 703-402-3613 or go to www.simplechanges.org