Crestwood Students in Springfield Sponsor Injured Owl
After a week-long “penny drive” fundraiser, Crestwood Elementary School fifth grader Paola Gonzalez finally got to meet her real-live school mascot. The students raised $760 between Nov. 10 and Nov. 14 to sponsor a 1 and a half-year-old barred owl through the Raptor Conservancy of Virginia.
Lorton’s Pohick Church Hosts 55th Colonial Christmas Mart
Turkey salad, green beans, cranberry sauce, stuffed celery, pumpkin pie, coffee and tea: Anita Stribling has helped serve the same holiday meal for 300 people for 52 years.
Lorton Boy Donates Arrowhead to Smithsonian
Ten-year-old Noah Cordle of Lorton became an overnight celebrity in August after literally stumbling upon a thousands of years-old arrowhead while on vacation in Long Beach Island, N.J. The Asbury Park Press first broke the story and soon national newspapers and television programs were hounding the Cordles for interviews.
Renovation Keeps Rolling at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Alexandria
New wing showcased at Nov. 14 ribbon-cutting.
Thomas Jefferson senior Thomas Rogers is big on the laser cutter. “You can cut anything you want,” said the McLean resident, “like exact designs on sheet metal.” Rogers was enthusiastic about the device, but wouldn’t fire it up during the Nov. 14 tour of the Science and Technology Governor’s School’s new two-story wing with 14 research spaces.
Fairfax County Board of Supervisors makes two rail-facilitating moves; Arlington ends streetcar project.
As the Silver Line Metororail project progresses towards its second phase opening date of 2018, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors are helping pave the way.
Alexandria Dental Office Offers Free Services for Veterans Day
Willie Davis of Mount Vernon just had an impacted molar surgically removed. “When I bit down, every time I ate it was hurting, like biting the inside of my cheek,” he said. “Not having insurance, not knowing how to get this tooth fixed, it was a blessing actually, that someone would give us a free service.”
Fairfax Station, Springfield and Burke students at Sangster Honor Veterans
When Rachel Heyne sang “Let Freedom Ring” on Veterans Day with her classmates in the Sangster chorus, the message touched her.
Traveling Purses Raise Domestic Violence Awareness Around Fairfax County
“Victoria” moved to the United States eight years ago with her husband. (Her name has been changed for protective anonymity.) At the beginning, he was the perfect gentleman: holding doors, full of compliments, telling her he loved her. She quit her job to be with him, her first love. Their future in a new country seemed bright.
Jean R. Packard Remembered at Meadowlark Gardens in Vienna
Jean Packard was Frank Roberts’ first boss. He was 13, she was 22 and the acting editor of her father Dave’s Clermont Sun newspaper in Batavia, Ohio. “I was a ‘devil’s rat,’” Roberts said, responsible for odd gofer jobs around the office. “I was trying to hide from work and she’d track me down. She was a tough boss.”
Remembering Hannah
Hannah Graham honored by candlelight and silence.
A young boy walked the eight-sided labyrinth with steady, assured steps following a well-traveled path to the center. He had done this before. The low clicking of his high-tops on the smooth dark concrete mingled in the air with guitar and flute music, wind buffeting branches outside the church and the occasional tearful sigh.
Twas the Night Before Retirement
Tom Bailey aka Santa Claus leaves Post Office after 30 years.
Wendy Kilpatrick used to mail her packages with help from Santa. The Hollin Hills resident would often joke with the Christmas icon while purchasing postage at the Belle View Post Office.
Fear a Good Cause
Interstate Haunted Maze in Springfield collects food for ECHO.
Gabe Jacome is terrified of haunted mazes. But when the Lake Braddock eighth grader literally ran into some of his friends working at the Interstate Haunted Maze, he decided to join the scare team.
HOT Topic
Fairfax County Fire & Rescue invites the media for Hands-On Training.
Rob Schoenberger is pretty good with a 15-foot extendable camera. Its built-in microphone and powerful lights come in handy, paired with a Delsar seismic sensor device, when trying to locate people trapped under the rubble of a collapsed building.
Gerry Gets Things Done
Democratic incumbent Connolly fends off Republican challenger Suzanne Scholte.
As Huey Lewis and the News’ “Power of Love” poppy ballad led a soundtrack infused with ’80s pop and modern country music, the mood at the DoubleTree Crystal City hotel in Arlington ebbed and flowed between elated cheers and frustrated boos.
Paper Trail
Single voting method helps streamline the process.
When it comes to voting, paper is the past, the present and the future. The assistant chief election officer at Robinson Secondary school James Emery Jr. of Fairfax said paper is too valuable as a voting record to abandon.
Moving Forward
Executive Steering Committee sends supervisors Route 1 multimodal alternatives plan.
The redevelopment of Route 1 is not unlike sitting in rush hour traffic on Route 1: slow, but moving gradually forward.
Mourning Hannah
Candlelight gathering planned for Saturday.
More than a month of what Charlottesville chief of police Timothy Longo described as an “unprecedented” search is finally over.
Poll Position
Local academics following the 11th Districts race say there’s really no substitute for the strength of incumbency.
Despite low public opinion of President Obama and a minimally productive Congress, representative Gerry Connolly has plenty going for him as the incumbent seeking re-election in Virginia’s largely democratic 11th district.
Writing Their Verse
Fairfax Station couple’s ministry supports vulnerable children in South Africa.
When Alec Zacaroli and his wife Amy hosted a boyhood friend from South Africa, they didn’t expect their lives would change in one evening.
Board Approves Bicycle Master Plan
The Fairfax County Government Center has several massive parking lots. Many hundreds of spaces. But Bruce Wright and members of the Fairfax Advocates for Better Bicycling only needed some rack real estate in front of the building. They rode into the afternoon session of the Board of Supervisors on two wheels apiece from Reston, taking the West Ox Road Side Path.
Stage Presence
Cappies recognized among arts leaders at Arts Council awards.
After Bill Strauss first approached Judy Bowns about creating a student-driven arts awards and journalism organization 16 years ago, the ensuing creative partnership resembled a pair of cartoon characters.
Batter, Up
Former Lake Braddock baseball player Nick Balenger recognized for injury recovery.
Nick Balenger’s promising athletic career all but disappeared in an instant. In 2012, the former Lake Braddock pitcher suffered a spinal cord injury while swimming in Hawaii.
Addressing Domestic Violence
Cook and Silverthorne host domestic violence awareness fundraiser.
Joe Meyer, executive director of the Reston-based Shelter House organization that provides support for victims of domestic violence, began his remarks at the Coyote Grille in Fairfax with some sobering statistics.
Recommendations For Route 1
Bus Rapid Transit by 2026, Yellow Line Extension by 2040.
Extending the Yellow Line to the Route 1 corridor isn’t exactly building another Rome. But it may take that long.
‘This, Sadly, Is Now a Death Investigation’
Human remains found during Hannah Graham search.
Some time before noon on Oct. 18, a search team from the Chesterfield County Sheriff’s department discovered human remains on an abandoned property along Old Lynchburg Road in southern Albemarle County.
Connect Four
Complete ballot of 11th District candidates faced off in Lake Ridge.
It wasn’t so much a down and dirty debate as a no-frills four-way question-and-answer session. Not that AARP and the League of Women Voters of the Fairfax Area (LWVFA), two of the sponsors of the “Meet the Candidates” series billed the Oct. 14 event as such. Tuesday’s meeting was the penultimate of seven events in the series.
Outreach Saves Fifth House
Fire Department smoke alarm program credited.
Fairfax County firefighters have been making more house calls than usual. And it’s paying off. In the case of a basement fire in the early morning of Oct. 13 at a house on Remington Drive in Alexandria, they might not have gotten the call until it was too late if it weren’t for the fire department’s Safety In Our Community (SOIC) outreach program.
Southeast Fairfax Development Corporation Hosts Transportation Summit
Transportation trends like super streets and roundabouts may not be the perfect fit for every roadway and intersection in northern Virginia. But the goal of next week’s Innovations in Transportation Summit, hosted by the Southeast Fairfax Development Corporation (SFDC), is to see how these updates are successful in other states and countries, and how they could be adapted here.
EF-0 Tornado Hits Near Belle Haven
The NOAA National Weather Service (NWS) reported a minor tornado touched down around lunchtime Oct. 15 in the Belle Haven area and followed a tree-damaging path 1.5 miles towards Alexandria city.
Open Sesame
All-new Springfield Town Center holds grand opening.
Eileen Crisson ran a jewelry store on the lower level of the old Springfield Mall for 17 years, up until everything but the large anchor shops closed. On Oct. 17, the longtime Springfield resident was back for the grand opening of the rejuvenated Springfield Town Center with a sleek white cart full of Navajo Native American-made bracelets, necklaces, rings and dreamcatchers.
Friends of Sydenstricker Schoolhouse Plan Tax-Deductible Fundraisers
The 85-year-old Sydenstricker Schoolhouse has a new lease on life. Long looked after by the Upper Pohick Community League, the outdated building that lacks running water, bathrooms or a modern heating and cooling system now has a dedicated, separate organization to oversee renovation fundraising.
Railroad Museum Hosts Western Film Crew
Rosie was the town prostitute. That was before she married an outlaw. Now she’s leaving him in the past and setting off for a new life out west. On a train, of course.
Walking Dead
Clifton residents put on a bigger, scarier Haunted Trail on Saturday, Oct. 25.
Julie Thompson isn’t a voodoo priestess. But the stay-at-home mother, of Clifton plays, one, one night of the year, in a skit for Clifton’s Haunted Trail.
Focus on Domestic Violence
Domestic violence shelters and awareness organizations are hoping to build on the response they’ve seen since the Ray Rice abuse case escalated in a very public way.
Police Investigating Death of Robinson Sophomore
Family, friends, school community mourn Brooke Buesking.
The Robinson community is coping with the loss of sophomore Brooke Buesking. On Oct. 15 Fairfax County Police found her body close to train tracks by Sideburn and New Guinea Roads, the Burke area where they’d gotten a report of someone being hit by a train.
Focusing On Police
Mount Vernon-based group persists in police oversight board.
Louis Meyers with the Citizens Coalition for Police Accountability (CCPA) opened the group’s Oct. 6 meeting by saying, “We’re privileged to have a very good police department.”
Delay in Shooting Investigation Decried
Supervisors urge action by U.S. attorney.
The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors decided they’ve exercised enough patience with U.S. Attorney Dana Boente’s office. Now more than 13 months after Fairfax County police shot and killed John Geer, standing unarmed in the doorway of his Springfield home, Board chairman Sharon Bulova addressed the silence from Boente.
One Month Missing
Search for Hannah Graham continues.
Over 30 days after second-year UVA student and West Potomac alumna Hannah Graham was last seen on a surveillance tape in Charlottesville’s Downtown Mall, Charlottesville police and the Virginia Department of Emergency Management are continuing their search.
Board of Supervisors Urges Action on John Geer Shooting Investigation
The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors decided they’ve exercised enough patience with U.S. Attorney Dana Boente’s office. Now more than 13 months after Fairfax County police shot and killed John Geer, standing unarmed in the doorway of his Springfield home, Board chairman Sharon Bulova addressed the silence and stagnance from Boente.
Crashing the Parties
Marc Harrold, Libertarian; Joe Galdo, Green, run for Congress.
Marc Harrold is a self-professed creature of habit. He’s been going to the same bars and restaurants near his Fairfax home for years, where the close friends he’s made there say his great sense of humor and diverse intelligence help him “hold court” and converse easily with anyone, on any subject.
Changes in Store
‘Transformative’ new Springfield Town Center to open Oct. 17.
Lee District supervisor Jeff McKay has been preparing for Friday’s Springfield Town Center ribbon cutting since he was a kid. “As someone who’s spent my entire life here,” said McKay, “I’ve been acutely aware of the decline over the years.”
Foot Action
Burke schools participate in National Walk to School Day
The “kiss and ride” lane of cars dropping off students was noticeably sparse at Cherry Run Elementary School. Principal Mark Bibbee said they average between 70 and 80 cars a day. On National Walk to School Day, Oct. 8, he counted just 25. His students and parents were pounding the pavement.
‘Net Positive’ Home Under Construction in Springfield
Once completed, this house will generate more electricity than it requires to operate. More and more houses are employing grids of solar panels to supplement the electricity they draw from power companies. Forty panels on the roof of this Springfield residence will help generate 12 megawatts of electricity a year, 10 more than what the owner expects to need.
Seeing Red and Blue with Connolly
Colleagues say Gerry Connolly’s vision central to productivity.
Gerry Connolly doesn’t have 20/20 vision. His round wire-framed spectacles and cropped salt-and-pepper mustache have long accessorized his look, whether sporting a black pinstripe suit or a billowy navy University of Virginia windbreaker
Bio and Q&A with Gerry Connolly
Q: What do you think are your top three accomplishments in office? A: * The Silver Line. I wasn’t alone, but I'm very proud of my championship of the Silver Line and the fact that it's up and running and succeeding. It took 19 years to sort of get people to reimagine it and get it built. It was a long, tough struggle.
Pounding the Pavement
First annual 5K raises awareness of teen driving safety.
Robin Wallin of Alexandria has been training for this day at Cameron Run Regional Park for three months. She and sister-in-law Carolyn Wiser of Baltimore used a seat-to-5K app on their smartphones to prepare for the Oct. 4 race, encouraging each other through Facebook messaging.
New Packard Center Honors Suffragists in Occoquan
The characteristically humble Jean Packard allowed just a little egotism at the idea of seeing her name on a new center at Occoquan Regional Park.
Gone Girls Next Door
PSA roll-out marks one-year anniversary of “Just Ask” project.
On a sunny afternoon, a police officer pulls over a young male driver. There’s an innocent-looking, girl-next-door type in the back seat of the car. The driver responds to the officer’s basic questions with cold indifference. When questioned, the girl in the back says she’s fine. Maybe she betrays a hint of unease.
Car Show Honors Former Principal
Hayfield Days Car Show benefits Auto Tech and David S. Tremaine Charity.
For the seventh straight year, more than 70 restored and modified icons of American motoring history rumbled into the parking lot at Hayfield Plaza Shopping Center. But for the first year, the funds raised by the Hayfield Days Car Show aren’t just supporting Hayfield Secondary’s Auto Tech Program.
A Cracking Success
Hyland’s 24th Lobsterfest fundraiser fends off foul weather.
How does it feel to chauffeur over 500 head of fresh lobster, direct from Maine? John Harris, co-organizer of Mount Vernon District Supervisor Gerry Hyland’s 24th annual Lobsterfest knows.