Uncovering Family History
A note of warm greetings from Mark Turner III.
I would like to thank everyone who attended last Wednesday’s Great Falls Historical Society program. It was great to see new & old faces and be able to share the history of my family who resided at the Turner Farm property on Georgetown Pike and Springvale Road from 1840 until the time the last five acres with the farmhouse was sold to the Fairfax County Park Authority in 2011.
‘An Evening in Vienna’ at Langley High
The Langley High School Orchestra performed its first concert of the year on Thursday, Nov. 20, in the Langley HS Auditorium.
‘Artists on the Green’ to Exhibit at Great Falls Library
Artists on the Green will display their creative painting talents at an exhibit and show in the large conference room at the Great Falls Public Library during December 2014.
Editorial: Holidays Are About Giving
Give thanks and share; tens of thousands of families around us are in need.
The holidays are about giving, and giving thanks. The holidays are about children and family. The holidays are about sharing, about joy. The holidays are about being thankful and about faith and appreciation. The holidays are about alleviating suffering for others. Surrounded by the bounty in so many neighborhoods in Northern Virginia, many of us see little signs of the massive unmet needs here. But in Fairfax County Public Schools, more than 52,000 of the students are poor enough to receive free or subsidized meals, a significant measure of poverty.
Great Falls Home Sales: October, 2014
In October 2014, 13 Great Falls homes sold between $3,500,000-$525,000.
Great Falls Home Sales: October, 2014
Great Falls Residents Get Update on Toxic Plume
Only one of the three requested pumps to be installed for now.
Residents got an update about the methyl tert-butyl ether [MTBE] plume below the Georgetown Pike and Walker Road intersection last week. Officials from Kleinfelder and the Department of Environmental Quality talked about the removal of the toxic plume so far, assuring residents that their well water will remain clean throughout the cleanup efforts during a Great Falls Citizens Association Town Hall meeting on Nov. 11.
Promoting Rugby in Great Falls
Proceeds from the weekend tournament will support MedStar National Hospital’s spinal cord injury program.
About a year ago, Gary Coetzee nearly died out on the rugby field behind the Great Falls Library. A freak accident left the former professional rugby player quadriplegic on the grass during a game. On Saturday, Nov. 22, he is hosting the inaugural Great Falls Rugby Tournament to celebrate how far he has come a year after the accident and raise money for MedStar National Rehabilitation Hospital’s spinal cord injury program.
State Gardens to Host Holiday Open House in Great Falls
Local business will have Christmas trees, themed wreaths and ornaments.
State Gardens is more than plants, according to co-owner Laura Murray. The shop is home to hundreds of giftables for any occasion, particularly the holidays.
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.
Editorial: Why Shop Small? Shop Large Locally
Small business Saturday isn’t enough; don’t wait until then, and don’t stop after that.
There is a joy to shopping in local stores at the holidays, to participating in community traditions and celebrations, to walking along a sidewalk with the streets decked out for the holidays, to being greeted by someone likely to be the owner of the store, to finding gifts that are not mass-produced.
Parisot Wins Republican Primary
More than 1,400 area Republicans show up to vote.
With Barbara Comstock filling in the 10th Congressional district’s seat, two candidates are closing in on her current position. Democrat Kathleen Murphy and Republican Craig Parisot, both now officially endorsed by their parties, are vying for the 34th House of Delegates seat via special election to be held Jan. 6, 2015.
Langley High’s Katie Robinson to Row at University of Miami
Langley High School’s Katie Robinson ‘15 signed a National Letter of Intent to row for the University of Miami Crew team next year. As a member of the Langley High School Crew team, Katie has excelled at rowing, including stroking the team’s top Women’s boat to Virginia state championship wins in 2013 & 2014, and a silver medal at the 2014 SRAA National Championship regatta.
Column: And The “Scancer” Is…
Unknown at this date – Saturday, November 15. In fact, it will be six days from now until we’ll know the results. As it is always scheduled, a week or so after my quarterly CT Scan, we will have our usual follow-up, face-to-face appointment with my oncologist.
Letter to the Editor: Refreshing, Conscientious Election Coverage
To the Editor: In an area like ours, where national news usually stands at the forefront and many readers turn to national news outlets for the bulk of their election coverage, it is a source of great pride and inspiration to see the Great Falls Connection provide such outstanding coverage.
Excuse Me
Early on during my indoctrination/assimilation into the cancer-patient world in which I now reside, I remember asking a fellow cancer patient/friend if I could use cancer as an excuse for whatever it was needed excusing (directly or indirectly related), and she said: absolutely, “blame the cancer.” Years later, after a chemotherapy infusion, I saw my oncologist walking through the Infusion Center and asked him if my thinning hair might be a result of this most recent chemotherapy drug (not all chemotherapy results in hair loss). His response was similar to what my friend had advised me in 2009. He said: “You can blame me,” (which of course, I understood to mean, cancer/the treatment of cancer) “for anything.”
Dos, Don’ts and What-Ifs
Instinctively, I am not the most open-to-new-ideas/new-things kind of person. However, an unexpected diagnosis of stage IV, non small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) at age 54 and a half – along with its equally unexpected “13-month to two-year prognosis,” changes a few things. And thanks to a great friend, Rebecca Nenner, whom I have written about previously, I have/have had to become more open, and consequently, have assimilated into my life many non-Western, non-traditional alternatives (pills, supplements, super foods, activities/behaviors, etc.) with which I was totally unfamiliar (I’m a sports and chocolate kind of person), in an attempt to outlive my prognosis.
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.”
McLean Location for 2015 DC Design House
House will benefit Children’s National Health System.
The new country estate at 956 Mackall Farm Lane in McLean will be the location for the 8th annual DC Design House, a project that raises money to benefit Children’s National Health System. The 2015 DC Design House will be held from April 11 to May 10.