<sh>Sign Dedication at Skatepark
<bt>The Friends of the Skatepark is inviting the public to attend a Sign Dedication Ceremony at 4 p.m., Saturday, June 18, at the City of Alexandria’s Schuyler Hamilton Jones Skatepark at Luckett Field, 3540 Wheeler Ave. near the intersection of Duke Street and Quaker Lane.
The city named its first skatepark in memory of Schuyler Hamilton Jones, a 16-year-old T.C. Williams High School student, who died in September 2003. Schuyler was an avid skater and supporter of the skatepark. As a member of Friends of the Skatepark, he was actively involved with fund-raising and ramp design.
The skatepark was officially opened in October 2003 as the City of Alexandria’s Skatepark. City Council approved of changing the name of the park to the Schuyler Hamilton Jones Skatepark at Luckett Field in June 2004. Since then, a new sign has been designed bearing the skatepark’s official name.
<sh>Hearing on Recreation Fields
<bt>The Park and Recreation Commission will host a public hearing to discuss the acquisition of the CSX property, located south of Witter Drive and west of Telegraph Road for recreation fields, and the property located at 1001 S. Washington St. and 714 Church St. for a memorial park called Freedman's Cemetery. The public hearing will be held at 7 p.m., Thursday, June 16, at the Mt. Vernon Recreation Center, 2701 Commonwealth Ave.
New recreation fields at Witter Drive are being proposed on 13.7 acres of land to be acquired from the CSX Railroad. The CSX property, located south of Witter Drive and west of Telegraph Road, would be acquired with federal funds as part of the settlement of a lawsuit related to the Woodrow Wilson Bridge construction project. The settlement will also provide funding for the construction of the fields, restrooms and adjacent parking, which are scheduled to be completed in years 2008 and 2009.
Also, as part of the settlement, property will be acquired for the creation of a passive memorial park called Freedman's Cemetery. This park will feature a memorial to the freed African Americans who were buried there during and shortly after the Civil War.
Additional public meetings will be scheduled in the future to obtain additional community input, to complete the federal requirements for land acquisition with federal funds.
Call the Department of Recreation, Parks and Cultural Activities at 703-838-4842.
<sh>Annual Awards To Be Presented
<bt>The Alexandria Commission on Persons with Disabilities, along with Mayor William D. Euille and the members of the City Council, will present its annual awards at a reception to be held in the Vola Lawson Lobby at City Hall on Tuesday, June 14, at 6 p.m.
Each year, the commission seeks nominations for: An outstanding advocate for persons with disabilities; organizations attempting to expand their services to include individuals with disabilities; and students with physical or sensory disabilities seeking post-high school training, technical school, community college, undergraduate, or graduate education.
For more information on the awards, reception, or to request reasonable accommodations, contact Mike Hatfield, the city’s disabilities resources coordinator in the Office of Aging and Adult Services, at 703-838-0711 or TTY 703-836-1493.
<sh>GOP Nominates Candidates
<bt>Republicans have nominated candidates for local office in the Nov. 8, General Election. All three statewide Republican candidates — for Governor, Lt. Governor, and Attorney General — will be selected in the June 14 Primary. Candidates for Alexandria Sheriff and for the 45th and 46th House of Delegates districts have already been nominated, having faced no opposition. The candidates are:
* Bill C. Cleveland, Alexandria Sheriff.
* Chris J.T. Gregerson, House of Delegates, 45th District.
* Matt A. Mueda, House of Delegates, 46th District.
<sh>Democrats To Gather
<bt>All three of the Democratic candidates for state-wide office will be honored at the Alexandria Democratic Committee’s Jefferson-Jackson Dinner Sunday, June 19. Lt. Gov. Tim Kaine, the gubernatorial candidate and Sen. Creigh Deeds, the candidate for attorney general, will be joined by the winner of the Democratic lieutenant governor’s primary.
The dinner will be held at the Hilton Mark Center, 5000 Seminary Road. The reception will begin at 6 p.m, with dinner at 7 p.m. Ticket prices begin at $60 per person. Call the ADC office at 703-549-3367.
<sh>Moran to Hold BRAC Meeting
<bt>U.S. Rep. James P. Moran will hold a meeting to discuss the impact of the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) recommendations for Northern Virginia. The recommendations released last month include the dislocation of nearly 23,000 employees from leased office space in Northern Virginia and the infusion of 18,000 employees to Ft. Belvoir. The meeting will be held Monday, June 20 from 12-1:30 p.m. at George Mason University Law School Atrium, 3301 Fairfax Drive, Arlington.
<sh>Meeting on Potomac Yard
<bt>The Alexandria Park and Recreation Commission and the Potomac Yard Design Advisory Committee have scheduled a joint meeting to discuss a proposed park for Potomac Yard at 7:30 p.m., Wednesday, June 15, at the Mt. Vernon Elementary School, 2601 Commonwealth Ave.
A concept plan for the Potomac Yard site was approved in 1999 and provides for substantial open space, office space, a hotel, new retail space, and residential units, all organized into a series of parcels, or landbays. Through the city’s special use permit process, the landbays are under review.
Landbay K — the proposed Potomac Yard park — will be located on the east side of Potomac Avenue in the proposed Potomac Yard development. The park is generally intended as a north-south linear greenway.
For more information or to RSVP, call Ron Kagawa of the city’s Department of Recreation, Parks and Cultural Activities at 703-838-5041, ext. 322; or e-mail ron.kagawa@alexandriava.gov.
<sh>Workshop on Watershed Draft Plan
<bt>On Thursday, June 16, from 6 to 9 p.m. at the Mason District Governmental Center, 6507 Columbia Pike, Annandale, the Fairfax County Department of Public Works and Environmental Services will host a review workshop to obtain public input on the draft management plan for the Cameron Run Watershed. This is the third of four public meetings planned.
The Cameron Run watershed is the area south of I-66 inside the Capitol Beltway, including parts of Falls Church, Arlington and Alexandria, and south to Franconia Road and Kings Highway.
Information on the watershed management planning efforts currently underway in Fairfax County can be found at www.fairfaxcounty.gov/watersheds. For information on the Cameron Run Watershed review workshop, contact Jennifer Shore of Versar Inc. at 1-866-341-4599, TTY ext. 711.
<sh>Fans for Seniors
<bt>A limited number of electric fans are available through the Fan Care Program to eligible Alexandria senior citizens who need relief from the summer heat. This program is operated by the Alexandria Department of Human Services Office of Aging and Adult Services and is sponsored jointly by Dominion Virginia Power and the Virginia Department for the Aging.
To be eligible for a free fan, residents must be age 60 or older and live in a situation where their health and well-being are at risk due to lack of cooling in the home. To qualify for the program, participants must have a monthly income below $1,164 for individuals and $1,562 for two persons. All household income must be counted as all members of the household will benefit from the fan. Fans become the property of the recipient and can be delivered to homebound persons if necessary. Contact the Office of Aging and Adult Services at 703-838-0920.