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Fallon Forbush

Stories by Fallon

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McLean: Gratitude Abounds at Lewinsville Thanksgiving Dinner

“It’s not always easy to be grateful … we get used to the comforts around us,” Spencer Deese, 25, said during a short message during the dinner’s worship service. “Gratitude takes practice, just like any other skill.”

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Reston: ‘Wild’ Chinese Lantern Festival Illuminates NoVa

Over 800 hand-made lanterns have been shipped from southern China to northern Virginia for the Chinese Lantern Festival at Roer’s Zoofari, the old Reston Zoo, in Vienna. All the lanterns in the festival are life-sized or oversized animals that stand at heights as tall as 55 feet, says George Zhao, spokesperson for the festival.

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Reston: Paying Traffic Tickets with Canned Food Donations?

Reston-based company StandUnited is petitioning the Fairfax County Police Department to allow people to pay their parking tickets with canned food donations for one week during the holidays.

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Herndon: Viewpoints A Thanksgiving Tradition Continues Strong at Herndon Elementary

What are you thankful for?

“The police are very supportive of the school and community as a whole,” says Nancy Cassidy, an office assistant in the main office of the elementary school. “I think they’re very good at community outreach.” She says police officers come every Friday to help pack bags for the school’s Weekend Backpack Program, a program that provides children in need with nutritious, easy-to-prepare food at times when school resources are unavailable, such as weekends and during school vacations. “The kids love seeing them,” Cassidy says.

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Herndon Receives First Application for ‘Metro’ Area Redevelopment

Stanley Martin Homes wants to build 64 new townhomes at 625 Herndon Parkway.

Stanley Martin Homes wants to build 64 new townhomes at 625 Herndon Parkway. This is the first redevelopment requested for the Herndon Transit-Oriented Core, roughly 38 acres of land immediately north of the new metrorail station that is being constructed in Herndon on the Silver line.

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Great Falls Classical Ballet Performs Revamped Nutcracker This Weekend

Fifty-five dancers will be performing in the show on Saturday, Nov. 26, at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. at McLean High School.

The Margaret Haddad Studio of Classical Ballet in Great Falls has performed the Nutcracker ballet for decades. Though the studio’s founder –Margaret Haddad— retired last year, her 50-year legacy of teaching classical ballet in the community will continue through one of her students: Casey Jones. Jones started dancing under Margaret Haddad’s instruction in 1994. By 2001, Haddad inducted her into the studio’s teacher training program.

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Great Falls: House Fire Early Sunday Morning Completely Destroys Home

While driving down Route 7 in the early hours of Sunday morning, a passerby noticed flames billowing out from a two-story house at 1065 Northfalls Court in Great Falls. This person called 9-1-1 and rushed to knock on the door of the house across the street to warn neighbors.

Great Falls: Route 7 Under Construction For 6 Years

The main challenge of the project: Maintaining the traffic while VDOT widens the road.

The Virginia Department of Transportation plans to spend $234 million on improvements to nearly seven miles of Route 7, which include widening it from four to six lanes between Reston Avenue and Jarrett Valley Drive. The project will be awarded to a contractor by January 2018 with construction starting by March 2019 and finishing in late 2025—a total of six years.

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Herndon: Citizen Committee Rejects Cellphone Tower Next to Crossfield Elementary

Committee Denies Cell Tower Application

On Tuesday, Nov. 15, the Hunter Mill District Land Use Committee voted 3-2 to deny an application to build a cellphone tower on Crossfield Elementary School property on Fox Mill Road in Herndon. "This is about money, not anything else,” says Griffin, who is a father of a fourth grader who attends the elementary school.Milestone Communications towers on county school properties has generated more than $13 million of income over the last 20 years for the school system, says Forkas. The proposed tower would generate approximately $40,000 of revenue a year for the school system once at least three carriers agree to use the tower, he says.

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Reston: Region Races For ‘Team Red, White & Blue’

More than 600 people from all over the greater Washington area braved 30-degree weather on Sunday morning to salute veterans and members of the military by running in Dominion Consulting’s Third Annual Veterans Day 5K. “Just by getting vets out who have issues [post-traumatic stress disorder] gets them involved and gives them two hours or so to not think about those things,” says Lynch, who is a veteran of the Air Force.

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Reston: Reston Association Board Members Divided; Pools on Chopping Block

Board Divided Over Budget

Reston Association’s 2017 proposed budget was hotly debated during a public hearing that left both residents and board directors in disagreement.

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Herndon Has High Turnout; Mayor Wins Re-Election

Town Council Elections Held

Herndon Mayor Lisa Merkel won re-election last week from an engaged town of voters. “The election was a great experience,” says Merkel. “Seeing so many people out and excited to cast their ballots … the atmosphere was very positive and neighborly at each of the three precincts I visited.”

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Herndon: LINK Accepts Donations to Annual Coat Drive

New and gently used winter coats will be distributed to those in need on Nov. 19.

Those wishing to donate can deliver coats to the Sterling United Methodist Church at 304 E. Church Road from 8:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. until Friday, Nov. 18. “When my kids started elementary school, I started noticing,” Thomas says. “It broke my heart to see kids who couldn’t help themselves, and had no winter clothing.”

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Herndon: Chimney Fire Displaces 4

A chimney fire last weekend displaced four Herndon residents from their home on the 13400 block of Lake Shore Drive in Herndon last weekend.

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McLean: Kirby Road Sidewalk in Three Years

Two preliminary designs for new sidewalk on Kirby Road connecting pedestrians to Chesterbrook Elementary School were presented to the community on Wednesday, Nov. 9, at a public meeting in the school’s cafeteria. The final design will be completed in 2017, land required for the projects will be acquired in 2018 and construction will start and finish in 2019.

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Santa HQ Opens at Tysons

Santa Claus makes special stop for service members

“What better way to say thank you to those who have served and our military families than to bring them Santa Claus?” says Becca Willcox, spokeswoman for Tysons Corner Center. “We’re lucky to have him here so early.”

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Great Falls Remembers Its Veterans

The Freedom Memorial

“It’s easy to recognize active duty military, but most veterans blend into our communities,” said Maj. Gen. Julie Bentz, vice director of the Joint Improvised-Threat Defeat Agency, who was the keynote speaker at the ceremony.

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Mark Zetts Honored for ‘Selfless Devotion’ to Community

McLean Citizens Association presents resolution recognizing years of Zett’s leadership on planning and zoning issues.

The McLean Citizens Association voted unanimously to approve a resolution expressing its “deep gratitude and appreciation” for his “exceptional dedication and selfless devotion” to MCA and the McLean community. Mark Zetts was a member of the MCA’s Board of Directors since 2002, he spent more than nine years as chair or co-chair of the association’s Planning and Zoning Committee.

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Thousands Cast Ballots at Great Falls Library

Fairfax County expected thousands of voters to cast their ballot at the Great Falls Library off Georgetown Pike yesterday.

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Tuesday at Langley High: School is Out and Voting is In

Election 2016

Fairfax County Public Schools were closed for Election Day, but people woke up early to vote at Langley High School off of Georgetown Pike yesterday.

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McLean: Election Viewpoints 2016

Who did you vote for and why?

By 7 a.m., 361 people had submitted a ballot. The high school was the polling location for both the Chain Bridge and Langley precincts in McLean and the county’s Office of Elections expected nearly 6,000 voters to pass through its doors by the time it closed at 7 p.m.

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