<sh>Route 28 to Shift
<bt>Beginning this Thursday, Oct. 10, the southbound lanes of Route 28 just south of New Braddock Road in Centreville will be shifted onto a temporary lane and the right lane. Motorists can expect brief delays during the traffic shift.
However, it's necessary so that Colonial Pipeline may repair a 32-inch petroleum pipeline underneath the left lane of southbound Route 28. Some eight feet will be added to the right southbound lane so that, when a Colonial Pipeline contractor begins digging into the road, Oct. 21, to inspect the pipe, two lanes of traffic will still remain.
The pipe-repair work will begin at that time and, weather permitting, it should take two weeks to complete. Work will be performed between 7 a.m.-7 p.m. Message boards have been installed to alert motorists. Drivers on northbound Route 28 will not be affected.
<sh>Fire Station 21's Open House
<bt>The Fair Oaks Volunteer Fire and Rescue Co. (Station 21 at 12300 Lee Jackson Memorial Highway, just west of Fair Oaks Mall) will hold an open house this Saturday, Oct. 12, from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. It's part of National Fire Prevention Week and is free for all ages. Visitors may tour the fire trucks and ambulances, map escape routes from their homes in case of fire, see a live kitchen fire and watch a simulated vehicle accident and "victim" extrication.
There'll also be equipment displays, games, balloons and refreshments. Learn about safety hazards and meet some of the local firefighters who protect the public. Also planned is a special display by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Disaster Medical Assistance Team which responded to the World Trade Center and anthrax attacks. For more information, call 703-591-6587.
<sh>Fire Station 17's Open House
<lst>Learn about fire prevention and safety at the Centreville Volunteer Fire Department. Its annual open house is Saturday, Oct. 12 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Old Centreville Road. Children will be given a team card listing the different activity areas they should visit. At each area they will receive a star for their team card. Once the card is filled they return it to receive a prize. There will be live CPR demos, stop drop and roll demonstrations, a smoke house, hose target practice and more.
<sh>Have Fun, Help Out
<bt>The Pumpkin Patch at Cox Farms, off Braddock Road in Centreville, will soon be open with new and exciting activities for children. And Cox Farms is also doing its share to help those less fortunate in the local community. On Columbus Day, Monday, Oct. 14, it will donate $1 of each entry fee to the Western Fairfax Christian Ministry (WFCM). In addition, it's asking each person who comes that day to bring a canned good to help stock the WFCM's food pantry.
<sh>Town Meeting on Tax Increase
<bt>A town meeting on the Northern Virginia Transportation Referendum will be held Wednesday, Oct. 16 at 7 p.m. in the Westfield High auditorium. Panelists will argue whether Northern Virginians should vote to increase their sales tax by 1/2 cent for Northern Virginia transportation projects. Arguing for the proponents is Sen. Bill Mims. Arguing for the opponents is Peter Ferrara.
<sh>Elementary School Boundary Mtg.
<bt>The first boundary meeting for the new northeast Centreville elementary school will be Wednesday, Oct. 16, from 7:30-10 p.m. at Rocky Run Middle School, 4400 Stringfellow Road in Chantilly. The school is being built in the Centreville Farms community, off Route 29 and Stringfellow Road, and is earmarked to relieve Greenbriar East and West elementary schools, as well as Poplar Tree Elementary. The public is welcome to participate and have input in the process of drawing the boundaries for this school which will open in September 2003.
<sh>WFCM Needs Food, Volunteers
<bt>Western Fairfax Christian Ministry's (WFCM) food pantry — which provides food to local needy families — is in urgent need of several items. They are: canned vegetables (corn, green beans, peas), baked beans, spaghetti sauce, jelly and jam, canned fruit, chicken soups, pasta, cereal, rice, tuna, canned meats and dinners (ravioli, chili, stew, kids' meals)
To donate, call 703-815-3238, or bring these things to the Shepherd Center. It's open Monday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-2 p.m., and is between Fashion Bug and Payless Shoes in the Sully Plaza Shopping Center at 13924 Metrotech Drive in Chantilly. The WFCM also needs volunteers, Thursdays, from 10 a.m.-noon and from noon-2 p.m. To volunteer, call 703-988-9656.
<sh>Water-Quality Preservation Mtg.
<bt>In honor of National Watershed Monitoring Day, there'll be a presentation, Friday, Oct. 18, from 7:30-9:30 p.m., on the role of land conservation in preserving water quality. It will be held at the Clifton Presbyterian Church fellowship hall at 12748 Richards Lane in Clifton (just uphill from the Hermitage Inn parking lot on Main Street).
Speaking will be Katie Goldberg, director of land protection with the Northern Virginia Conservation Trust (NVCT). Sponsoring this program are the NVCT and the Audubon Naturalist Society. For more information, visit www.nvct.org.
<sh>Westfield Community Coalition
<bt>The Westfield Community Coalition will meet Monday, Oct. 21, at 7 p.m. at Stone Middle School. The usual date and place has been changed to accommodate those who will be traveling over Columbus Day weekend.
The coalition's goal is to increase community awareness of drug and alcohol abuse among teens in our area, as well as to plan prevention programs. Membership in the Westfield Community Coalition is free, and all are welcome to attend the meetings.
<sh>Chantilly Community Coalition
<bt>The Chantilly Community Coalition will meet Monday, Oct. 21, at 4 p.m. in the conference room of the Chantilly Regional Library. (This month's meeting-date was changed because of the Columbus Day holiday). The group will discuss this year's programs, as well as how to involve youth in coalition activities.
In September, the coalition agreed to continue funding the after-school programs at Rocky Run and Franklin middle schools. It will also keep reinforcing these schools' mediation programs that teach students life skills for conflict resolution.
The coalition's goal is to mobilize the community to network, communicate and cooperate about keeping youth safe and drug-free, and it hopes to attract new members who can help disseminate this information to their school PTAs, local community and civic and other groups. Call John Hanyok at 703-262-2475.
<sh>New Homes are Approved
<bt>The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors on Monday gave the go-ahead for Eastwood Properties to build five, single-family, detached homes off Centreville Road, adjacent to the Willoughby Woods community, in Centreville.
It needed an OK from the county to have its 2.8-acre site rezoned from its current one home per acre to two-to-three homes per acre. (It actually proposes a density of 1.75 homes per acre). In exchange for the county's blessing, the developer must give $4,775 to the county Park Authority for recreation.
Eastwood also agreed to earmark its Centreville Road Fund contribution of $9,060 to the Mount Olive Road improvements. It will also erect a fence along the adjoining property and add more landscaping in certain areas. The developer agreed, as well, to set up a liaison with members of the Willoughby Woods community to keep them informed of what's happening throughout the construction process.
<sh>Dead Raccoon is Rabid
<bt>Fairfax County Animal Control responded Sept. 21 to the 12000 block of Wolf Valley Drive in Clifton for a report of a dead raccoon. A man had called for assistance because his two dogs had killed it, during the night, and he found it on his property. The raccoon was taken to the county Health Department where it tested positive for the rabies virus.
<sh>Clarification
<bt>In the story "Citizens Committee Forms to Explain Bonds," (Centre View, Oct. 3-9), Janyce Hedetniemi, the Braddock District representative, should have been identified as chairman of the 2002 Fall Bond Referendum Committee.
<sh>Blood Urgently Needed
<bt>The Inova Blood Donor Center in the Centremed I Building on Route 29 in Centreville (across from the Centreville Multiplex Cinemas) is in urgent need of blood donations — especially O positive or negative, as well as A and B. They are accepted Tuesday-Friday, noon-8 p.m., and Saturday, 8 a.m.-2 p.m. To make an appointment to give blood, call (703) 322-1970, or just drop in at your own convenience.
<sh>Kids in Crisis Ministry
<bt>Western Fairfax Christian Ministry's (WFCM) Kids in Crisis Ministry provides emergency assistance to families impacted by a child's illness. Since such families are too distracted to research all the organizations that might help them, If anyone knows of a family in need, please advise them to call the hotline at 703-378-3045. Leave a message on the "Kids in Crisis" box, and a volunteer will return the call.
This program offers a safety net for families whose income or expenses are affected by a child's illness. Besides medical bills, they'll incur costs such as travel, babysitting, special equipment and home health care.
Even families with adequate health insurance may find it difficult to meet these expenses. Kids in Crisis aids in areas not covered by traditional health insurance policies. For more information, call the hotline or Karen Dolan at 703-266-3144.
<sh>WFCM Personnel Needs
<bt>The Western Fairfax Christian Ministries (WFCM) has several volunteer positions available.
* It needs a client coordinator to make follow-up calls to members of the community who have recently received assistance. This person would also cross-reference recipients with other WFCM services (food and clothing ministry). It would be a good job for someone who has to stay close to home.
* On-call volunteers are also needed. After receiving training, they'll monitor requests for help, coming from the local community, via a telephone mailbox. There's a social worker on staff, plus an extensive network of support to help and encourage people in self-sufficiency.
* WFCM's food pantry needs volunteers to work Tuesdays and Thursdays, 10 a.m.-2 p.m., and Saturdays, noon-2 p.m. To volunteer for any of these positions. or for more information, call 703-378-3045 and leave a message on box 7.
<sh>WFCM Needs Drivers
<bt>The Western Fairfax Christian Ministries is in need of drivers to take elderly people to medical appointments. Call (703) 378-3045 and press 7 to volunteer for this or any other WFCM ministry.
<sh>Meals on Wheels
<bt>The Clifton Meals on Wheels program urgently needs a volunteer to coordinate the delivery of meals to frail, elderly residents. Call the Fairfax Area Agency on Aging at (703) 324-5406.