New Recreation Facility Debated
Reston Community Center solicits public input on a new indoor recreation center at Baron Cameron Park.
Reston Community Center invited the public to bring their wish lists to an open forum meeting on Monday, Feb. 11, to discuss the potential development of a new indoor recreation center at Baron Cameron Park. In 2012, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors transferred 68 acres at the park to the Fairfax County Parks Authority, and Bill Bouie, who is both a member of the Reston Community Center Board of Governors, as well as the chairman of the parks authority Board told the assembly that the Reston Community Center is “an interested party” in the Fairfax County Parks Authority’s Master Planning Process about to begin in March.
Circus Comes to Town
I am going to be taking two of my grandchildren to the Barnum and Bailey Circus at the Richmond Coliseum tonight. It is really amazing how quickly the circus can move into its venue; amaze, entertain and hold in suspense its audience; and then pack up and move on. Just a few blocks from the Coliseum, the General Assembly opened at the State Capitol the second week in January and will pack up this week and members will go back home. For the last six weeks the 140 members of the House of Delegates and State Senate along with their staff and about a thousand lobbyists have been holding forth on Capitol Square for the annual legislative session. The agenda is serious, and the activities over the past several weeks have been humorous, suspenseful and in a term used by the circus ringmaster, “unbelievable.”
Rock Musical Takes CenterStage
Reston Community Players to present "Next to Normal."
A "cathartic, powerful rock musical, with a hopeful ending and a great honesty to it" is the way director Andrew JM Regiec describes the next Reston Community Players production, the Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award recipient "Next to Normal." With a score of about three dozen songs "Next to Normal" tells the story of a suburban family battling personal demons "through a fast-paced story-telling and the heightened emotions that music can bring," said Regiec.
TJ Students Promote Science
Science Innovation and Inspiration Youth Conference at Langston Hughes Middle.
The study of science and technology among youths was given a boost on Saturday, Feb. 9, at the Langston Hughes Middle School. The Science Innovation and Inspiration Youth Conference (ScI2YC), a STEM conference aimed at encouraging the study of science and technology among middle school students was hosted by Project BEST.
Week in Reston
The Reston Historic Trust and the Reston Museum are exploring the early history of Reston. The Reston Museum is producing another free program on Feb. 28, 7-9 p.m., to be presented at the Jo Ann Rose Gallery at Reston Community Center—Lake Anne, titled: “Building Community in Reston: Diversity, Openness and Inclusiveness.”
P Minor of a Purim Paparazzi
Instead of joining an exasperated press probing into prominent people's privacies, I will pursue celebrities like King Ahasuerus, Queen Esther and Vashti of Persia. I will serve a much greater purpose by presenting a better picture, or portrait, of the Megillah's principal personalities. It gives me the opportunity to report on the grand procession of Mordechai, Haman and his sons Parshandatha, Parmashta and Poratha, to name only three. Now, with the approach of Purim, I prefer to devote my expertise to promote the proper performance of the Purim procedures and its prerequisites.
‘Casino Royale’ Raises $10,000 for Homeless Children
The Dulles Regional Chamber of Commerce’s event honors educators, raises money for county students.
The Dulles Regional Chamber of Commerce’s annual Casino Royale event evidenced great success on Feb. 8, packing a ballroom at the Westfields Marriott in Chantilly with guests eager to support education in Fairfax County. Chamber members, sponsors, and Fairfax County Public School educators enjoyed the evening, raising more than $10,000 for homeless children in Fairfax County and honoring seven area educators who were presented with the chamber’s Educator of the Year Award.
Week in Herndon
On Tuesday, Feb. 26, northern Virginia’s business community has an opportunity to hear commentary and expert views on today’s economic conditions and real estate market trends from one of the nation’s top-ranked economic forecasters. Lawrence Yun, Chief Economist and Senior Vice President of Research with the National Association of REALTORS®, will headline Northwest Federal Credit Union’s 2013 Economic Forecast Breakfast. A participant in many economic forecasting panels, including Blue Chip and the Harvard University Industrial Economist Council, Yun has been named among the 100 Most Influential Real Estate Leaders by INMAN News. He will address the economic activities, trends, risks and outlook for the coming year.
Northwest FCU Welcomes New, Familiar Faces
Both new and familiar faces will play key roles at Northwest Federal Credit Union as 2013 gets underway. Taking the reins at Northwest Federal — one of the nation’s largest credit unions, with $2.5 billion in assets and serving 117,000 members — is new President/CEO Chris McDonald. He succeeds Gerrianne “Winky” Burks, who retired after a 41-year career at the Credit Union. McDonald has extensive credit union experience gained over 28 years, most recently serving as CEO of Andrews Federal Credit Union in Suitland, Md.
Letter: Saving French at Herndon Elementary
I am writing, as a parent of two children currently attending 4th and 6th grade at Herndon Elementary School in Herndon, to express our big concern about the proposal and possibility of switching from the French Immersion Program that has been in place since 1988, to a two-way Spanish immersion.
Town Calendar Photo Competition Announced
ArtSpace Herndon and the Council for the Arts of Herndon present the third annual Herndon 2014 Town Calendar Photo Competition. Professional and amateur photographers aged 16 and older are invited to submit entries to the competition; the deadline for submissions is June 18, 2013. Subjects for all entries must be located within the corporate limits of the Town of Herndon, and special consideration will be given to entries depicting people participating in seasonal or community events.
Week in Vienna
Town Council will hold two work sessions during March to discuss the Town’s Fiscal Year 2014 Budget. The public is invited to attend; however, public commentary is not permitted during work sessions. The work sessions will be held at Town Hall, 127 Center Street S, on Saturday, March 9 beginning at 9 a.m. and Monday, March 11 at 7:30 p.m. If necessary, a third work session will be held Monday, April 22 at 7:30 p.m. A public hearing on the FY 2014 budget will be held Monday, April 1, and a public hearing on the proposed tax rate, and water and sewer rates will be held Monday, April 15 at 8 p.m. in Town Hall. The public is invited to attend and provide their input during the public hearing process. The adoption of the budget, tax rate and water and sewer rates is scheduled for Monday, May 13, at 8 p.m.
Circus Artwork Wins International Award
Applegate Gallery owner creates whimsical piece for picture-framing competition.
Sara Applegate, whose framing and art gallery sits on Church Street, won an international competition in late January for a framed artpiece. To call Applegate’s interpretation a “frame,” is akin to calling a Ferrari just a car. The piece, whimsical yet complex, features five three-dimensional circus vignettes. The individual components are mostly vintage lead collector pieces. “Once I found those, I fell completely in love,” said Applegate, who picked up several character pieces at the Frederick Antique Emporium. Two pieces were created in 1948 by Britains, a lead soldier manufacturer that produced a circus collection series. The remaining three vignettes were produced by the same company in 1998. Applegate bought those on E-Bay.
Comic Books Are No Laughing Matter
E.G. Comics in Vienna features thousands of titles, from vintage to current.
Edwin Gumel really knows his comics. His store, E.G. Comics, has served Vienna and the surrounding area since 1990. He doesn’t just sell comics and graphic novels; he grades their condition, he catalogues them, he knows what back issues are worth. Among his stock are niche collections and the more well-known ones, such as Marvel Comics, DC Comics, Image Comics, and Dark Horse Comics.
Letter: Alarmed and Saddened
I participated in the public hearing on school discipline last week and was alarmed and deeply saddened to view the document Students Rights and Responsibilities for K-12, which lists pages and pages of all the “bad” behavior a student could possibly have, and the consequences for each violation. The really big consequence is for marijuana use, which merits immediate 10-day suspension and a referral for consideration of expulsion on the first violation.
Langley Crew Team Rows to ‘Stop Hunger Now’
The Langley crew team raised $2,500 toward the Langley pyramid effort to support the Stop Hunger Now charity, which culminated in a meal packaging event that was held at Colvin Run Elementary School on Saturday, Feb. 9. The Langley pyramid effort raised $19,000 total, which paid for 76,000 high protein meals that were put together or "packed" by volunteers. Langley crew held a fundraiser event at the Great Falls Safeway on Feb. 2 and also donated a portion of the proceeds from its annual indoor rowing competition—an "Erg-a-thon" against West Springfield High School that Langley won.
Spelling Bee Champion
On Feb. 11, Churchill Road crowned a new spelling bee champion. After 12 rounds among 20 finalists, 6th grader Matthew Cox took first place by correctly spelling the word “salubrious.” He will go on to represent CRS at the county bee on March 12 at Lanier Middle School. Sixth graders Soumya Peri and Eric Gan placed second and third, respectively.
On a Mission to Serve
On Tuesday, Jan. 22, Oakcrest School implemented a school-wide initiative called L.E.A.D. (Leadership, Experience, Academics, Daring) Day. The mission for the day was to provide a series of thoughtful workshops, service projects and field trips to kickoff the 3rd Quarter and Semester II.
McLean’s Potomac School Gets New Leader
John Kowalik described as a wise and gifted educator.
The Potomac School in McLean will soon have a new leader at the helm. School officials announced recently that John J. Kowalik will assume the role of head of school. The announcement came in a statement from Larry Culp, chair of Potomac’s board of trustees. “John Kowalik is a wise and gifted educator, with a rare combination of inspirational leadership capabilities and exceptional management skills. He is the right leader to build on [current Head] Geoff Jones’ remarkable achievements at Potomac during the last 13 years.”
McLean High Students Present The Salon Project
Revisiting the time and a place “where ideas mattered most.”
Conversations about Newtonian science, Benjamin Franklin’s electricity, liberty and equality, diplomacy, the monarchy, free speech, free press, American independence social life and scandal were just a few of the subjects broached in the Salon Project presentation, at the Corcoran Gallery of Art last Saturday, by McLean High School students in Dean Howarth’s program.