Forestville Talent on Display
Students and professional artists exhibit creativity at Spring Art Fair
Forestville Elementary was turned into an art museum last week. The school’s Parent Teacher Association held it’s Spring Art Fair on Thursday, displaying works by about 70 student artists and professionals from Great Falls Studios. “We do this every two to three years,” said event organizer and PTA member Maureen Gatti. “The artists have really appreciated being here for the children and the children like meeting the professional artists.” In the cafeteria, dance performances to popular songs like “In Summer” from the movie Frozen, even got the children in the audience dancing. Proud parents took pictures of their children on stage or in front of their art display. Fifth grade student Cassie Dallas, 11, said her love of oil painting began after she saw an artist painting at her local farmers market. Her parents sent her to lessons, and she gets to paint for one to two hours with her instructor every week.
Clearing Up ‘Diet’ Mistery
To the Editor, Thank you for your illuminating article on the so-called Walker Road ‘Diet’ in Great Falls [“Walker Road ‘Diet’ Nears Completion,” Great Falls Connection, April 2-8, 2014]. It goes a long way towards clearing up the mystery (to me and perhaps to others) of why we had to endure several months of inconvenience while different versions of construction crews plied their trade. If I understand it correctly, we spent a million dollars of scarce taxpayer funds to make the president of the Great Falls Citizens Association and the owner of The Brogue tavern happy. This at a cost nearly four times the original estimate. To further summarize, we Great Falls residents allegedly needed a crosswalk and it was determined that it could not be done without reducing the number of Walker Road lanes at the Great Falls Center.
Week in Great Falls
Spring Festival Needs Volunteers
The Great Falls Optimists are in need of volunteers with this year's Spring Festival. If you can give a few hours on Sunday, April 13 to help, here are the times you could help: *10 a.m. to Noon – helping with set- up; *1 to 3:45 p.m. -- supervising children playing games and on the rides; 3:45 to 4:05 p.m. -- helping the children line up at the age appropriate entrances to the Egg Hunt on the Village Green; * Clean-up following the Egg Hunt. The Great Falls Optimists want to thank all those who have volunteered in previous years and those who will help this year. Call 703-216-3035 or e-mail a.c.bongiorno@comcast.net
Cox’s Spring Special Offers Nearly 600 Free Episodes
Cox Communications customers can enjoy an all-access free pass to some of the most popular TV shows with the opportunity to catch up on past episodes of shows they love, plus get exclusive On Demand sneak peeks, all in the Spring FreeView On Demand from now until April 20.
Week in Great Falls
Town Hall Meeting on Deer Issues Great Falls Citizens Association will hold a Town Hall Meeting on Tuesday, April 8, at 7:30 p.m. at the Great Falls Grange, as a Part II - GFCA Deer & Forest Health Program. Part one of this program was held in March when Commonwealth and Fairfax County experts discussed the role of deer in forest degradation, Lyme disease and car collisions. The April 8 program will look at possible solutions * Kristen Sinclair, Fairfax County Park Authority, who will outline deer control in county parks; * Kevin Rose, certified wildlife biologist with the VA Department of Game & Inland Fisheries, who will discuss Commonwealth hunting requirements and non-lethal forms of deer control; and * Jerry Peters, Great Falls resident and founder of Green Fire, who will describe his neighborhood's bow hunting program and the impact on local deer herds. There will be ample time for questions and answers during this public program.
Walker Road ‘Diet’ Nears Completion
$1 million project features crosswalks and street side parking.
To the average person, the Walker Road Project looks nearly complete.
Protecting Children Online
Great Falls-based Enough Is Enough protects children from the harms of the Internet.
Enough Is Enough (EIE), a nonprofit based in Great Falls, was the first of its kind.
Cornwell Farm Tours Generate $3000 for Lift Me Up!
A beautiful warm spring day set the backdrop for a successful day of tours of Cornwell Farm on March 8. The tours of the historic home and grounds generated over $3000 for Lift Me Up’s "Good Fences" project. The Lift Me Up! door prize was won by Janice Thrush of Great Falls. Ms. Thrush won a "Winner’s Circle Package" from Lift Me Up! which includes a section of fence, a copy of Secretariat’s Meadow, a Lift Me Up! hat/t-shirt and a Lift Me Up! calendar, a $200 value.
Great Falls Historical Society Seeks Nominations for Jean Tibbetts History Award
The Great Falls Historical Society, a nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving the history of the area, invites community members to submit nominations for the Jean Tibbetts History Award, an annual award that honors outstanding contributors to the research, articulation, dissemination and preservation of the history of life along the Potomac River corridor from McLean to west of Dranesville and south through Herndon.
Great Falls Citizens Association Talks Ticks and Trails
Town Hall Meeting addresses ‘Deer Management’ and the future of ‘Trails, Paths and Sidewalks’ in the village.
Braving frigid gusts of wind that left some of them without power at home, residents came out in force for the Great Falls Citizens Association (GFCA) Town Hall Meeting on the night of Wednesday, March 12. The agenda consisted of only two topics – "Deer Management" and the future of "Trails, Paths and Sidewalks" in the village, but there was enough material and discussion to fill the three hours allotted.
Northern Virginia's Growing Debt Burden
Local governments use debt as a tool to build for the future.
Back in the 1920s, Harry Byrd became governor of Virginia on what he called a "pay-as-you-go" platform.
Great Falls Historical Society Seeks Nominations for Jean Tibbetts History Award
The Great Falls Historical Society, a nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving the history of the area, invites community members to submit nominations for the Jean Tibbetts History Award, an annual award that honors outstanding contributors to the research, articulation, dissemination and preservation of the history of life along the Potomac River corridor from McLean to west of Dranesville and south through Herndon. Candidates for the Jean Tibbetts History Award are selected from annual nominations to Great Falls Historical Society and the award includes a stipend of $200.
St. Patrick’s Day at the Old Brogue
Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day at your local Irish pub, The Old Brogue. Come out to listen to Sunday Night Snuggery Concerts with Pennywhistle on March 16 at 4 and 6 p.m. The cost is $15 per person. Or join in on the fun on Monday, March 17, for The Snuggery’s Irish Concerts, featuring Pennywhistle (Barry, Donal & Leonard Nelson) straight from County Donegal, Ireland. Includes lunch or dinner. For reservations call 703-759-3309
Race to Watch - II
To the Editor: There were a few errors in my letter published in the Connection of March 5th [“Race to Watch”]. I stated that Barbara Comstock spent $1.4 on her race and won by less than 52 percent of the vote. She actually spent $1.4 million and received 50.6 percent of the vote, a margin of only 422 votes. I also understated Bob Marshall's margin of victory. He won by 495 votes, not close to 400 votes. Sue Rosenberg Vienna
Great Falls Writer’s Group to Host Smithsonian Curator Dr. William L. Bird
On Thursday, March 20, from noon to 1:30 p.m. at the Great Falls Library, the Great Falls Writer's Group (GFWG) will host Dr. William L. Bird, Smithsonian Curator of the National Museum of American History and Director of the Division of Political History.