Fairfax County Budget Reflects ‘Increasing Needs, Decreasing Revenues’
"We as a board spend a lot of time talking about helping people in need, I can only say that when it came time to tax them, they were sadly forgotten." —Supervisor Pat Herrity (R-Springfield)
Autism Speaks Volumes for Student Volunteers
Fairfax County Public Schools use latest techniques to teach autistic students. v
In many ways, the three best friends—Anna Kate Martin, Devin Martin and Sarah Carmen—are typical sixth-grade girls.
DC United Nods to Great Falls’ Pride Blue
The Great Falls U10 Girls Pride Blue team participated in the Arlington Spring Invitational Tournament March 8-9 and played against several local teams from Reston, Alexandria and Arlington.
Langley Softball Star Heads to Drexel
Ashley Panetta committed to becoming a Drexel Dragon and playing D-I softball for Drexel University beginning in the 2013-2014 season on Wednesday, April 17, at a signing party with teammates, parents, her school’s athletic director and friends.
Runners Line Up to Stop Child Abuse
Great Falls neighbors join in recognizing Child Abuse Prevention Month.
April is Child Abuse Prevention Month, which helps explain why 300 runners gathered at 9 a.m. at Lake Fairfax Park in Reston, grouped in teams with names like "Peggy's Posse," "Kids4Kids" and—a favorite—"Team Baxter" (named after organizing member Kim Roellig's dog) on Saturday, April 13.
Troop 673 Turns Out Two New Eagle Scouts
Cody Matthew Jones, son of Martin and Carol Jones, and Addison Speer, son of Harvey and Susan Speer, both of Great Falls, are the two newest Eagle Scouts of Troop 73, sponsored by the United Methodist Men.
Forestville Team in World Finals
Forestville Elementary School’s Odyssey of the Mind team will compete at the world level for the second year in a row. Last week, at the Virginia state Odyssey competition held in Aldie, Va., the Forestville Division 1 team co-coached by Jeff LeLoup and Alex Newman won second place in their category, qualifying them to move to the 2013 World Finals competition being held May 23-25 at Michigan State University.
Great Falls Girl Competes for Miss Virginia Title
Alexis Watkinson, the daughter of Diane and Troy Watkinson of Great Falls, is a state finalist in the National American Miss Virginia Pageant.
Teen Theater Explores ‘Responses’
Dodgeball Theater’s “Respond” addresses teens’ need for connections, dangers of isolation.
How do teens respond to the changes in their lives? Dodgeball Theater’s Teen Ensemble explores this in their latest production “Respond,” which addresses teens’ need for connections with others and the dangers of isolation. “People often marginalize the artistic vision of young people,” says Haley Murphy of Great Falls, co-director of Teen Ensemble. “We really want to maximize it.” Each year the ensemble, now in its fifth year, develops and performs an original work that combines monologues, movement pieces, scenes and other theatrical elements, including film.
Karen Garza Hired as Superintendent of Fairfax County Public Schools
FCPS Board lauds Garza’s “openness” and “willingness to engage” community.
The Fairfax County School Board unanimously approved educator Karen Garza of Texas to be the next superintendent of the 181,000 student district at its April 18 school board meeting.
‘We Have Not Forgotten’
Residents rally in Vienna to support stricter gun control measures.
Less than six miles from the National Rifle Association (NRA) headquarters in Fairfax, more than 100 people gathered on the Vienna Town Green Saturday, April 13, to urge Congress to support stricter gun control measures.
Making Every Saturday ‘Special’
Great Falls Farmers Market brings community together.
The Great Falls Farmers Market is an idea that was born during the focus groups and later confirmed by the 2020 Vision Survey of what the community would like to be by the year 2020.
Letter: A Misreading of History
That a few local schools are named for Confederate generals bothers Kiran Hampton [“Alarmed by School Names,” Connection, April 11-17, 2013]. The US Army and Navy have named forts and ships after Confederate heroes. The Veterans Administration provides headstones for Confederate graves. That wouldn’t have happened if they were traitors. No Confederates were convicted of treason. Hampton’s shame that Virginia fought with the Confederacy suggests a misreading of US history.
Letter: Thinking of History In Real Time
Letter writer Kiran Hampton asks if she is "the only one alarmed by the presence of high schools named after Confederate leaders?" ["Alarmed By School Names, Connection, April10-16, 2013]. In response, I would say, "Why yes, I believe she is."
Letter: It Wasn’t ‘Good Guys Vs. Bad Guys’
In a letter regarding local schools named after Confederate generals [“Alarmed by School Names,” Connection, April 10-16, 2013] the author displays an extraordinary lack of understanding of the complexities of the issues leading to the War Between the States as well as a contempt for the courage and sacrifice of those who, often reluctantly, believed that their primary duty was to a sovereign Virginia rather than to what they believed had been conceived as a voluntary union of independent states.