<sh>Alcohol Sting Results
<bt>McLean District Neighborhood Patrol Unit officers, along with a member of the Traffic Safety Services Unit, conducted alcohol stings at 35 locations within the McLean, Falls Church and Merrifield areas of Fairfax County on Thursday, March 15. This operation is part of the ongoing Youth Alcohol/Business Compliance Enforcement campaign. The operation is conducted using underage Fairfax County Police Cadets, dressed in plain clothes, who attempt to purchase alcoholic beverages. The cadets were instructed to give their true ages if asked by the clerks. Alcohol was sold to an underage cadet at Magruder's, located at 2800 Graham Road in the Falls Church area and at Trader Joe's, located at 7514 Leesburg Pike in the Falls Church area. Two arrests were made at the two locations.
<sh>'Recollections Project' Completed
<bt>McLean and Great Falls Celebrate Virginia, a community organization celebrating the 400th anniversary of the founding of Jamestown, has completed a "Recollections Project" involving 100 people who live, or have lived, in the area. Their stories have been written up to form a 499-page book titled "Yesterday – 100 Recollections of McLean & Great Falls, Virginia."
A reception will be held on Sunday, April 29 at the McLean Community Center from 2:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. to thank the 100 residents who took the time to share their memories and memorabilia. Everyone is invited to attend the event and meet many of the personalities that helped form the McLean and Great Falls communities. Refreshments will be provided. For those interested in purchasing the book, it will be available for $40. After the reception it will be available at Mesmeralda's, The Hermitage and Langley Photo and Digital in McLean. For more information contact Carole Herrick 703-356-8223 or Barbara Smith at 703-757-0267.
<sh>Filing Deadline for MCC Board
<bt>The filing deadline for the McLean Community Center's 2007-2008 Governing Board election is Friday, March 30. Tax district residents who are interested in running for a seat can still enter the race. The board sets policy and provides general oversight for MCC facilities and programs, which include the Robert Ames Alden Theatre and the Old Firehouse Teen Center on Chain Bridge Road.
The center is located at 1234 Ingleside Avenue . All residents of the Center's tax district (Dranesville Small District No. 1A) are eligible to run for a seat on the 11-member board. Candidates are required to obtain the signatures of 10 McLean district residents in order to have their names placed on the election ballot. Nominating petitions forms are available at the center.
Three adult positions and two youth positions are open this year. Adult members serve three-year terms. Youth members serve one-year terms. Youth candidates must be 15, 16 or 17 years old. One youth member will be selected from the area served by McLean High School and one will represent the area served by Langley High School. Candidates do not have to attend these schools to serve on the board. Residents of Dranesville Small District No. 1 may cast their votes in the election between the hours of 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. on Saturday, May 19, at the McLean Day 2007 festival. The festival will be held at Lewinsville Park, 1659 Chain Bridge Road. Adults vote for adults, and youth (ages 15, 16 and 17) vote for the youth candidate who resides within their high school district, Langley or McLean. Absentee voting also will be available starting Monday, April 16. For more information on the MCC Governing Board Election, call the center at 703-790-0123/TTY: 703-827-8255, or visit www.mcleancenter.org.
<sh>Tax Relief Workshops
<bt>Supervisor Joan DuBois invites Dranesville senior citizens and disabled citizens to sign up for a one-on-one help session on applying for real estate tax relief. Staff from the Fairfax County Department of Tax Administration will be on hand to aid seniors and disabled citizens in determining if they meet the qualifications for tax relief, and to aid them in their application. Appointments are available to meet with a counselor at the Supervisor's office in the McLean Governmental Center, located at 1437 Balls Hill Road, McLean, on Friday, April 13, between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. To sign up, call the Dranesville supervisor's office at 703-356-0551. An additional session is available at the Herndon Senior Center on Monday, April 9, beginning at 1 p.m. The Herndon Senior Center is located at 873 Grace Street , Herndon. To sign up for the Herndon workshop, call 703-464-6200.
<sh>Rain Garden Added to Preserve
<bt>The Fairfax County Park Authority in partnership with Earth Sangha and the Northern Virginia Soil and Water Conservation District will begin construction on a demonstration rain garden at Marie Butler Leven Preserve in McLean during the week of April 2.
Rain gardens help to reduce stormwater runoff into local streams by slowing the rate of runoff, which gives the soil and plants time to filter out harmful debris and pollutants.
Workers have already begun to survey and stake-out the site. Construction activities are scheduled for completion by the end of April.
The 20-acre preserve began its transformation into an extensive native plant collection in 2004. Plants are organized at the park to form a living field guide for studying the plant species of Fairfax County.
Along with the new rain garden, Marie Butler Leven Preserve will eventually feature a native pollinator garden, a native oak and hickory forest and a natural spring.
If interested in volunteering to help with the rain garden or have any questions, contact Park Manager Ed Busenlehner at 703-893-2481 or Chris Bright, president of Earth Sangha, at 703-764-4830.
For more information on rain gardens, visit the Web page: http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/nvswcd/