Clifton Homes Tour, Parade, Dec. 3
<bt>The annual Clifton Candlelight Tour of Homes, which also includes a Caroling on Horseback parade, takes place Saturday, Dec. 3, in the historic Town of Clifton. The parade begins at 2 p.m. and is sponsored by the Clifton Horse Society. Local residents decorate their horses in holiday finery and parade through the town singing Christmas carols.
The homes tour is from 4-7:30 p.m. Five homes will be open to the public, as well as three churches and the Clifton caboose. Local choirs will perform in the churches, on the half hour, from 4:30-6:30 p.m. Raffle tickets will be on sale for prizes including dinners at local restaurants and a one-night stay at the Canary Cottage Bed & Breakfast in Clifton.
Homes tour tickets are $15, adults; $5, children ages 4-12. Ages 3 and under are free, but strollers are not allowed. Tickets may be purchased in Centreville at Ribbons Hallmark in Centrewood Plaza, and in Clifton at Baskets & Boughs, the Clifton Store, Cottage Art, All that Glitters, Noodles & Noggins and the Clifton Coffee Mill. They're also available at the Temptations gift shops in Burke and in the Colonnade Shopping Center at Union Mill.
Co-chairs of the event are Lynne Garvey Wark and Jennifer Chesley. For more information, contact Wark at 703-322-1811 or at lghassoc@erols.com, or Chesley at 703-830-2129.
<sh>Increased Police Presence on Parkways
<bt>Until Dec. 9, drivers along the Fairfax County and Franconia Springfield Parkways will see a stronger police presence as Fairfax County officers participate in a speed enforcement campaign called 50 Means 50.
Officers from the Franconia, West Springfield, Fair Oaks, Reston and Sully districts will be paying special attention to the 37 miles of roadway that stretch from Route 1 in the southern part of Fairfax County to Route 7 near Leesburg in an attempt to stop speeding, aggressive or reckless driving. So far this year, 782 crashes have occurred on the parkways, more than 100 more than the 690 crashes reported between January and October 2004.
In addition to message boards that will be set up throughout the parkway, police will use marked and unmarked cars along with motorcycles and radar and lidar speed detectors to stop offending drivers.
<sh>Land-Use Committee Meets Dec. 6
<bt>The Springfield District/Fairfax Center Land-Use Committee will meet Tuesday, Dec. 6, at 7 p.m., in rooms 4 and 5 of the Fairfax County Government Center. Call Marlae Schnare at 703-451-8873.
On the agenda is a proposal by the Lincoln Property Co. for a mixed-use development in the Fairfax Towne Center. The site is located in the northwest corner of the intersection of West Ox Road and Monument Drive.
The developer would like to change the existing, 3-acre, surface parking lot there into the spot for a five-story building. The first floor would contain 20,000 square feet of retail space, and the four floors above it would consist of 140,000 square feet of multi-family residential space. Planned are 164 units with underground parking.
<sh>Human Rights Hearing, Dec. 7
<bt>The Fairfax County Human Rights Commission conducts a public hearing, Wednesday, Dec. 7, at 7:30 p.m., at Government Center, Conference Room 10, 12000 Government Center Parkway, Fairfax. The hearing is to determine if a violation of Chapter 11 of the Fairfax County Code occurred in the case of Pelszynski v. Cavalier Telephone. For more, call Michael Cash at 703-324-2953.