McLean Student’s Artwork Featured at the Smithsonian
High school senior would like to use art to help others.
Maya Chung, of McLean, a senior at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology (TJHSST), is the youngest of 56 artists selected to have their art displayed in the “Artists at Work” exhibit at the Smithsonian’s Ripley Center in Washington, D.C. Chung’s black ink drawing titled “Redbay (Persea borbonia)” was inspired by a botanical sample collected in the museum’s butterfly garden, and is in the style of a scientific drawing.
Priceless Puppies, Future Service Dogs
Photographer Joan Brady of Great Falls volunteers with a nonprofit called paws4people.org which raises and trains service dogs, including psychiatric assistance dogs for veterans with PTSD and assistance dogs for children with disabilities. Brady documents the dogs from birth.
Celebrating Black History Month
This week in Reston.
Herndon Forbidden to Govern Itself?
Virginia House squashes Town’s move to November elections.
The Virginia House of Delegates blocked the Town of Herndon’s plan to move town elections from May to November. The change would have begun in 2016. Despite passage through the Virginia Senate with a unanimous 39-0 vote on Jan. 26, the House of Delegates never voted on Herndon’s bill. After the bill cleared the Committee on Counties, Cities and Towns, the House voted to sent it to the Committee on Privileges and Elections on Feb. 20.
Rio Comes Back from College
Tory Cheshire, of Great Falls, on her horse, Rio, who is meeting her family’s german shepherd puppy, Hunter at the barn. Cheshire loved her horse so much that he went with her to college and lived at a barn near Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Va., for four years.
Best Friends of Great Falls
The late British-American writer Christopher Hitchens once wrote, "Owners of dogs will have noticed that, if you provide them with food and water and shelter and affection, they will think you are god. Whereas owners of cats are compelled to realize that, if you provide them with food and water and shelter and affection, they draw the conclusion that they are gods."
Vienna Woman Raising Puppy for Canine Companions for Independence
Canine Companions for Independence – a national nonprofit organization that provides assistance dogs for children and adults with disabilities, is proud to announce that Vienna resident Barbara Weigand recently began raising an assistance dog in-training for Canine Companions for Independence.
Yes, Cats Can Be Trained Too
Reston cat trainer Lisa-Maria Padilla gives techniques to train feline friends to do tricks.
Lisa-Maria Padilla, 53, of Reston was recently in Del Mar, Calif., close to San Diego, for the largest cat show in the West coast, called the San Diego Cat Fancier's Show, which featured more than 400 cats. She took her cat named Racy Mooner, a blue Abyssinian ("Abys") who has a Facebook page, there to do cat tricks and introduce people to training techniques.
McLean Loves its Pets
Pets connect owners to the wild world around them.
When it comes to pets, McLean is much like other communities. Our pets are pampered, doted on, and loved. And with good reason. According to these McLean pet owners, the unconditional love they give in return is immeasurable.
Bark and Call
Mobile Pet Grooming Comes to You
Marzi Sharifi started HoPPooH in Fairfax, a mobile pet grooming service, in 2013. With her two vans and groomer, Sara, HoPPooH—which means little dog or dog in Persian—will come to the pet owner’s door to groom and style man’s best friend…or his cat.
Shelter Gets Creative To Save Lives
Volunteers, social media assist in pet adoptions.
Since 2013, Fairfax County has been the largest jurisdiction in the United States with a placement rate of animals above 90 percent. Last year alone, nearly 2,500 animals were adopted, which is nearly double the adoptions just two years earlier.
Priceless Puppies, Future Service Dogs
Photographer Joan Brady of Great Falls volunteers with a nonprofit called paws4people.org which raises and trains service dogs, including psychiatric assistance dogs for veterans with PTSD and assistance dogs for children with disabilities.
Team Members Teach Children with Autism
Besides participating in robotics competitions, team Robowiz also did community outreach via the START (Spreading Technology And Robotics Together) program. It partnered with the Autism Society of Northern Virginia (ASNV) to encourage children with autism to develop an interest in robotics.
‘You Start with a Box of Metal’
Local robotics team heads to two state championships.
It’s a big deal when a team, academic or athletic, reaches the state championships. But it’s even more impressive when that team does it in two, different states. Meet team Robowiz – 10 local students who’ve reached that level in both Virginia and Maryland. The eight boys and two girls live in Centreville, Chantilly and Fairfax and are in grades eight through 10.
Winner, Runner-up of Local Spelling Bee
Kaia Liese Lehenbauer won Local Scripps Spelling Bee for home schooled students held at Harvester Teaching Services in Springfield on Feb. 9 and will advance to the Fairfax County Spelling Bee to be held at Lanier Middle School on March 22.