Mother’s Day Event for a Cause
Turner Farm event raising money for suicide awareness.
A mother’s love never ends. Sarah Kirk is planning a celebration of life in memory of her daughter, Becky Love, to raise awareness about suicide and funds for Comfort Zone Camp. Becky was a charismatic and spiritual person and a mother herself, according to Kirk. She was found dead on a shooting range in August at 32 years old. “I wish I knew more about what my daughter was going through,” said Kirk. “We wanted to celebrate Becky being a mother and all mothers who want the best for their kids.”
Rising Stars
Del. Comstock announces new class of Young Women's Leadership Program.
Del. Barbara Comstock (R-34) has officially notified the second class of her Young Women's Leadership Program of their acceptance into this program. "This year we received even more applications to the Young Women's Leadership Program and I am honored to have each and every one of the 80 young women in the 2014 Class. These young women are rising stars in our community and I'm confident that they will bring their passions and unique perspectives to the program. I hope that the Young Women's Leadership Program will help inspire this next generation of female leaders to bring their intelligence, drive and solutions to their communities, families and careers," Del. Comstock said. The Young Women's Leadership Program provides young women enrolled in middle school and high school the opportunity to meet and interact with women in leadership positions in government, politics, medicine, business and a variety of professions throughout our community.
Week in Great Falls
Starshine Theatre to Present ‘The Odyssey’ Starshine Theatre of Great Falls presents its 21st Annual Spring Production, "The Odyssey," based on the ancient Greek epic by Homer. A Cast of talented local students, ages elementary through high school, will portray the colorful characters the great Odysseus met on his 20-year journey home after winning the Trojan War. This original musical drama includes songs and dance/action choreography to complement the epic scholars have called "The best story in 3,000 years." Performance at The Grange Theater, Great Falls, on Saturday, May 10, at 7 p.m. Seats must be reserved in advance by contacting Pat Green Budwig, M.A., Play Director, at 703-790-9050 or StarshineTheater@aol.com .
Classified Advertising April 30, 2014
Read the latest ads here!
Choosing a Summer Camp
Camp experts offer advice on selecting a camp, but now is the time to register.
Many families with school age children will plan to have their children spend some of the much-anticipated summer season in camp. If you haven’t yet selected camps for your children, now is the time.
Many Ideas for Summer Activities
Avoid those dreaded words: ‘I’m bored.’
Molly McAlister enjoys the freedom of summer, but there are three words she dreads hearing: “Mom, I’m bored.” Creating activities to keep her three children busy during the summer is a task she enjoys, but it isn’t always easy.
Fairfax County School Board Examining Later Start Times
High schools could start as late as 9:15.
Two years after the Fairfax County School Board adopted a resolution in favor of later start times, exhausted teenagers are one step closer to getting a full night’s sleep. The Children’s National Medical Center recently presented the school board with options for later start times, of which the school board selected four for public discussion. The new start times could be implemented as early as the 2015-2016 school year.
Protecting Youths Against Substance Abuse
Panel shares stories and advice.
Fairfax County's Unified Prevention Coalition sponsored a forum on the effects of substance abuse on the county's middle and high school children. The resource fair and panel discussion was led by parents, young adults and professionals from the coalition's PROTECT (Parents Reaching Out To Educate Communities Together) task force. "It's been so long, I'll still be emotional about it," said Greg Lannes about his daughter's heroin overdose in 2008. Alicia Lannes had been 19 when she died and had always been a model student with straight A's. He pointed to the lone framed photo of her on the table and asked the audience, "Does that look like a heroin addict? How did she get to that point?"
Protecting Driver’s License Information Becomes Law
Del. David Bulova’s legislation (House Bill 1072) to protect personal information on driver’s licenses was enacted into law during the reconvened session of the General Assembly on April 23. The new law, which will be effective on July 1, limits the ability of a business to electronically scan the bar code on a driver’s license and then store and use that data. State Sen. David Marsden (D-37) carried the companion legislation (Senate Bill 40), which has also been enacted into law.
County Budget Markup Passes
Three supervisors still oppose the budget.
Fairfax County is another step closer to having an approved budget for the next fiscal year. The Board of Supervisors approved the 2015 budget markup at its April 22 meeting at the county Government Center. Supervisors Linda Smyth (D-Providence), Pat Herrity (R-Springfield) and John Cook (R-Braddock) opposed the markup.
Fairfax County Honors ‘Superheroes’
22nd Annual Fairfax County Service Awards presented.
Maybe they don’t wear capes and flashy uniforms, but local volunteers are superheroes. That was the theme for the 22nd Annual Fairfax County Service Awards, where more than 100 volunteers were recognized for their work with breakfast Friday, April 25, at The Waterford in Springfield. More specifically, this year’s theme was "Ordinary People, Extraordinary Impact," which was reflected in the comic book-inspired table decor and introductions by master of ceremonies Jeff Goldberg, Virginia Bureau Chief for ABC7 and News Channel 8.
Father and Son "Twogether"
As a born, bread and buttered Bostonian (Newton Centre, a suburb, to be specific), one of my enduring and genetic passions has been to live and die (figuratively speaking; this is not a cancer column) for The Boston Red Sox. My father sold concessions at Fenway Park (the stadium home of the Bosox since 1912), during the Depression when he was a little boy (not yet an adolescent even). He was nicknamed "Beezo," (his given name was Benet, although he was always called Barry) so he could gain full acceptance to a local knothole gang. Named after the wooden planks which surrounded the old Braves Field in Boston (a National League team called Boston its home as well back in the day), the kids ("gangs") would stand and peer through the knotholes in the wooden planks which otherwise blocked their view. It was a privilege and an honor for my father to be so connected to the game this way. He grew up loving baseball, and as a parent, he passed his love of the game on to me – and my brother.
Editorial: Trending in the Right Direction
Commitment to ending homelessness shows progress, but more affordable housing is needed.
On one night in late January, local jurisdictions in our area fanned out to count the number of people who were literally homeless. Fairfax County released its numbers last week; Arlington and Alexandria will do so in the near future. In Fairfax County, the commitment in 2010 to end homelessness in 10 years has resulted in significant progress, even in the wake of the great recession. The number of people literally homeless decreased by a third from 2008 to 2014, from 1,835 to 1,225 counted this year. Many non-profit organizations have partnered to prevent homelessness one family or individual at a time for those on the brink and to house chronically homeless individuals. There is so much still to be done.
Becoming a Leader - The Grange Way
Great Falls Day, Sunday, May 4, to explore the story of local Grange.
The National Grange was formed in 1867, two years after the wrenching Civil War that took more lives than any war since. Mired in mistrust of neighbor, impoverished by outdated farming practices throughout the south, the Grange served as a platform for improving farming practices and farmers economics while building trust.
VDOT Holds Six-year Improvement Plan Hearing
Public input sought on transportation improvement plan.
It was Northern Virginia’s turn last week when Virginia Secretary of Transportation Aubrey Layne and the Commonwealth Transportation Board (CTB) held a public hearing at the offices of the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) in Fairfax. The CTB is conducting meetings throughout the state to garner public opinion before their scheduled June vote on the state’s Six-Year Improvement Plan 2015 - 2020 (SYIP). Various entities have held numerous meetings in recent months, particularly since HB 2313 - the first comprehensive transportation funding bill in the state for more than 27 years – passed in the General Assembly last year. Those meetings were often standing-room-only affairs, could witness dozens of citizens lined up to comment on particular projects or to suggest others, and frequently got a bit heated.
Comstock Wins 10th District GOP Canvass
Sole female Republican candidate sweeps party polls, will face John Foust in November election.
Del. Barbara Comstock (R-34) is the 10th Congressional District Republican pick for Congressman Frank Wolf’s open seat. The current delegate reined in more than 7,000 votes at the party canvass on Saturday. “It is an honor and a privilege to win my party's nomination for Virginia's 10th Congressional District and follow in the footsteps of my mentor, Congressman Frank Wolf,” she said in a press release.
Holocaust Survivor Speaks in Great Falls
In Auschwitz they took the last thing he had for himself - a name - and tattooed a number on his forearm.
Henry Greenbaum has more than earned each of the 86 years he has been alive. He spent five years as a teenager being forced from one concentration camp to another during the Holocaust, losing most of his family before he was finally liberated in 1945. Greenbaum, born Chuna Grynbaum in Poland, told his story to an audience of nearly 80 people at Great Falls Library on April 23. However, he has not stopped telling his story since the his “death march” from Flossenburg towards Dachau. “We promised one another during the march that if you survive, make sure you tell,” he said.
All-night Long Relay for Life
Langley and McLean High Schools join forces in fight against cancer.
The students of Langley High School (LHS) and McLean High School (MHS) most often see each other as arch rivals, particularly when vying for local supremacy on sports fields and courts, so the fact that the two schools joined forces and pulled off a joint effort in the American Cancer Society-sponsored Relay for Life fundraiser on Saturday, April 26, made the event much more special. Langley Co-Captains Harris LaTeef and Ava Shomaker started planning the 2014 Relay immediately after the 2013 happening, which was Langley’s first time to participate, and which won them Best Rookie Relay in the region while raising $57,000. Knowing that upcoming renovations to Langley would probably mean that a 2015 event would have to be on borrowed ground from MHS, joining forces for this year’s Relay just made sense. McLean Co-Captains Margaret Duvall and Ann Liu, both seniors, rallied their troops and the combined energies and efforts of the two schools was a sight to behold at Langley’s track and field stadium when the opening ceremonies began just after 6 p.m.
Cooper Middle Presents ‘Aida’
Spring production runs Wednesday through Saturday, April 30-May 3.
It’s the timeless story of star-crossed lovers - with a twist. Cooper Middle School is performing “Aida,” the story of a deep love stirring in the midst of a war between two nations, starting today. “The music’s excellent and it’s a beautiful show,” said theater arts teacher and play director Meg Baber. “I love the drama of it and how meaningful it is. And I do like to keep challenging them. I don’t want to make it too easy.” The story follows Aida - an enslaved Nubian princess as she falls in love with Radames - an Egyptian soldier already promised to the Pharaoh’s daughter. “As their forbidden love blossoms, Aida is forced to weigh her heart against the responsibility she faces as leader of her people,” Baber said in an email. “Aida and Radames' love for one another proves transcendent of cultural differences and ushers in a time of unprecedented peace between the warring nations.” She said it is a very mature, challenging play for the middle school age group, but believes that many of the actors are talented enough to handle it. About 70 people are a part of the show’s cast and crew.
Filling Empty Bowls in Herndon
Empty Bowl fundraiser held at Floris United Methodist Church.
Friday evening, April 25 the annual Empty Bowls event was hosted by the Giving Circle of HOPE at Floris United Methodist Church on Frying Pan Road in Herndon. All proceeds went directly to Food for Others, the largest distributor of free food to needy people in Northern Virginia. “This is a collaboration between the Giving Circle of HOPE and a local organization,” said Linda Strup, a resident of Reston and member of the Giving Circle of HOPE. The Giving Circle of HOPE was founded in January 2004 with four members. Since then, membership has grown to over 100 individuals. Voting members contribute a minimum of $1 per day and are eligible to vote on grants. Service members do not vote but may participate in all service programs and social events. “This is our seventh year of doing an Empty Bowl event, and we have sold out our tickets,” said Strup.