People

Reston: Surrounded by Sound

The Reston Chorale to hold auditions on Aug. 11 and 24.

Ruth Overton has performed with the Reston Chorale since 1976. She’s almost never missed Tuesday night rehearsals, all 2,000 of them. “I had six children that had to hear, ‘Mommy will be gone on Tuesday nights.’ That’s me time,” said Overton, of Reston.

Potomac: Beat the Heat with Library Activities

And, when they’re open, rec centers.

August: Heat, humidity, restless children, and squirrelly adults. Longing looks at the calendar. Parents and caregivers have run through their exhaustive list of summer activities. What’s left to do?

Arlington: Taste By Katie Wins Neighborhood Support

Ice cream is back on the menu of small business.

Taste by Katie, the home-cooked meal shop located in Dominion Hills run by a Yorktown High School graduate, succeeded in crowd-funding for its new freezer, raising $7,800 in donations from customers and family.

Fairfax Station: Saving the Whitehall Family Farm

Growing responsibly and benefitting veterans

As Fairfax resident Jeff Waters guided his nimble four-wheeling cart over a bumpy dirt path through the woods on his family’s 200-plus-acre farm, he said confidently, “It’s a lot closer to being done than it looks.”

Mount Vernon: Fort Hunt High School Alumni Gather for Reunion

Alumni dedicate engraved memorial garden.

Approximately 250 alumni, teachers, administrators, parents and family participated in dedicating a memorial garden at Carl Sandburg Middle School on July 25 to memorialize the old Fort Hunt High School and those alumni who died.

Tons of Trucks’ Drive to Success

Event sparks memories, old and new.

Passing showers could not keep away the hundreds of eager people searching Chinquapin Park for long lost loves and new found interests in every day city vehicles. The inaugural event on Saturday, July 18 hosted seven departments including the fire department and Alexandria County Public Schools.

People At Work: City’s Sign Fabricator

Meeting an ever-increasing need for signs.

The black wedge jerks back and forth, making small cuts in the shiny red vinyl. Two or three minutes later Abraham (“they call me Abe here”) Kifle, sign fabricator for the City of Alexandria, cuts off the 24-inch rectangle from the large roll with his sharp blade.

Alexandria: Interning at Horatio Alger Association

High Point University rising junior Blake Pohanka is working with the Horatio Alger Association at her summer internship in her hometown of Alexandria.

Alexandria: Visiting Community Lodgings

Lynn Thomas (near left), executive director of Community Lodgings, discusses the challenges of providing low-income and affordable housing with U. S. Rep. Don Beyer (D) (right) after they toured the nonprofit's transitional housing unit on Friday, July 24.

Alexandria: 2015 Julia Johns Award of Distinction

Inova Alexandria Hospital CEO Susan Carroll, the Jones, Brock and Miller families join with the 2015 recipient of the Julia Johns Award of Distinction Allessandro Ghidini, M.D. at the 23rd annual 1872 Society membership reception on June 2.

Alexandria: Smith, Ridgway Engaged

Lauren Elisabeth Smith met James Alan Ridgway, Jr. during March Madness (2014) on eHarmony.

Alexandria Brief: Shooting Victim Hospitalized

The Alexandria Police Department is investigating a shooting that occurred in the 1200 block of North Quaker Lane on Friday, July 24. At approximately 9:52 p.m., officers responded to an apartment complex for reports of a shooting.

Alexandria: Owen Retires from Marine Corps

Acknowledging that he would miss his colleagues in the Naval Aviation Training Systems Program Office (PMA-205), U.S. Marine Corps Col. David Owen, the Marine Corps department head for PMA-205, marked his retirement from the service July 10 during a ceremony at Naval Air Station (NAS) Patuxent River, Md.

Alexandria: The World of Accordion

City hosts the accordionists’ festival.

The performers hugged their bellows, and like a sigh of relief, the instrument breathed out its reedy melody. The New Jersey-based all-accordion orchestra, made up of 25 men and women, performed at the Holiday Inn ballroom, in front of fans, family, and fellow musicians at the American Accordionists’ Association Festival, July 8-12.

Obituary: Marcella Anderson

Obituary

Marcella Anderson, of Alexandria, died in her home on Sunday, July 26, 2015.

The Connection