24-hour parkconnection.media.clients.ellingtoncms.com/news/documents/2015/05/0… · 6/5/2015 ·...

Fairfax Connection ❖ May 7-13, 2015 ❖ 1www.ConnectionNewspapers.com online at www.connectionnewspapers.com

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May 7-13, 2015

WellbeingPage 10

Children have fun playingin Old Town Square’ssplash pad during theopening festivities on

Saturday, May 2.

ServingAreas of BurkeFairfaxFairfaxServingAreas of Burke

Mother’s Day Photo GalleryNews, Page 6

City Council AdoptsFY 2016 Budget

News, Page 4

Mother’s Day Photo GalleryNews, Page 6

City Council AdoptsFY 2016 Budget

News, Page 4

The City’s First24-Hour Park

The City’s First24-Hour Park

News, Page 3

2 ❖ Fairfax Connection ❖ May 7-13, 2015 www.ConnectionNewspapers.com

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Fairfax Connection ❖ May 7-13, 2015 ❖ 3www.ConnectionNewspapers.com

NewsFairfax Connection Editor Kemal Kurspahic

703-778-9414 or [email protected]

By Bonnie Hobbs

The Connection

It wasn’t just Saturday morning’s rib-bon-cutting that signaled the officialopening of the City of Fairfax’s OldTown Square. It was all the people

who gathered there, the children playingin the splash pad and the friends and neigh-bors enjoying themselves afterward at theDerby-Q festival.

And that’s the whole point of the City’snew park at the corner of University Driveand North Street – it’s a place for people toget together, relax and have fun.

Hundreds flocked there for the May 2opening festivities. Besides Mayor ScottSilverthorne and the City Council members,also attending were Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-11), Sen. Chap Petersen (D-34), Del. DavidBulova (D-37), Fairfax County SheriffStacey Kincaid, County Clerk of the CourtJohn Frey, City Manager Bob Sisson, FairfaxCity School Board members Tobey Sorensonand Jon Buttram, and former City Council-men Dan Drummond and Steve Stombres.

“What a great morning in the City ofFairfax,” said Silverthorne at the outset.“Welcome to the official opening of OldTown Square.”

Adjacent to the historic Old Town Hall inthe heart of downtown Fairfax, the $4 mil-lion park boasts modern, new features whilehonoring the City’s rich history. It includesthe Kitty Pozer and Mary McCandlish Me-morial gardens, plus the old-fashioned clockthat the Rotary Club of Fairfax donated tothe City 10 years ago.

Yet it also contains a cascading water fea-ture, a splash pad with 15 water jets – eachwith a full spectrum of colors, a two-tiered

plaza and a pergola to frame live entertain-ment performances and other events. Andcome August, it’ll offer free Wi-Fi, too.

As part of the Council that green-lightedthis project, Drummond and Stombres gota sneak peek at it Friday night, along withSilverthorne and the current Council mem-bers. And, said Silverthorne, “The first kidsin the park last night were the Drummondand Stombres kids.”

LONG AGO, this spot was the site of anold, two-story building that housed the C&Ptelephone company. Later on, WeightWatchers took it over. But eventually, thebuilding was torn down and that area wasturned it into a parking lot.

Time passed, and the City condemned thesite and bought it. And 15 years ago, whenFairfax’s Open Space Committee looked atparcels all over the City for future parks,this was one of them.

“The residents, 2-1, said they wantedmore open space, and we figured out a wayto purchase this,” said Silverthorne. “FormerMayor Rob Lederer was a big help; wecouldn’t have done this without his leader-ship.” He also praised Revenue Commis-sioner Page Johnson and Treasurer TomScibilia for their efforts.

Silverthorne further thanked the projectmanagers, David Summers and ChristinaAlexander, for their hard work on Old TownSquare and for ensuring that it was finishedon time. Also instrumental, he said, werefour key boards and commissions – theCommission on the Arts, Historic FairfaxCity Inc., the Community Appearance Com-mittee and the Parks and Recreation Advi-sory Board (PRAB).

“It’s excellent to see this park completed,”said PRAB Chairman Jon Stehle. “It reallyties together the downtown.”

Brian Knapp, the former longtime PRAB

chairman, also addressed the crowd, call-ing it a wonderful day “to be a lover of parksin the City of Fairfax. Our mayors haveembraced the power of volunteers to helpdefine the future of this city, and the may-ors and Council members had the courageand fortitude to make this happen. It wasthe right decision to put this park here; con-gratulations to the City of Fairfax and itscitizens.”

Silverthorne said how excited he is about“the beauty and natural setting of this park,right in the heart of our Historic District.Think about the weddings, concerts andfestivals [it can host]. And I look forwardto seeing you all at our many events here.”

Besides that, he continued, “It’ll be theCity’s first, 24-hour park, and it’ll be well-lit and safe. And it’ll have free Wi-Fi so youcan get a coffee and bring it over here withyour laptop. We’re keeping Fairfax movingforward; thanks for being part of this greatcelebration today.”

THEN CAME the ribbon-cutting, followedby the activation of the splash pad’s waterjets. Children of all ages had a ball runningthrough the water, and so did State Sen.Petersen – who was one of the first to enjoyit. Afterward, Sisson said, “We’re just sopleased to be able to have a place of beautyfrom what it was in the past. It’ll be a realcommunity asset.”

Also there was former City CouncilwomanPatrice Winter. In 2007, she and fellowPRAB members helped develop the visionfor Old Town Square. She also noted howinstrumental were Knapp, as well as formerCity Councilwoman Joan Cross, in thispark’s planning stages and in helping it getthrough the Council.

“It’s wonderful to see the reality of it,”said Winter. “But it took persistence, pa-tience and time – and following a passion.And I think it’ll be a catalyst for further de-velopment and redevelopment of the down-town area.”

Dignitaries jubilantly hold pieces of the ribbon they just cut to open OldTown Square. Hundreds gathered in Old Town Square for its opening festivities.

(From left) are Gerry Connolly, City Councilman Jeff Greenfield, JohnFrey and Stacey Kincaid.

Introducing the City’s First, 24-Hour ParkOld Town Squareopen for businessand fun.

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News

By Steve Hibbard

The Connection

Frost Middle School celebrated its50th Anniversary on Saturday,May 2, with an open house that

included a tree-planting ceremony anda 5K Fun Run. Guests included BraddockDistrict Supervisor John C. Cook, the firstprincipal Henry York, as well as formerteachers and current principal EricMcCann. Named after the poet RobertFrost, the school off Pickett Road inFairfax has only had five principals in its

50-year history.“When we have an anniversary, we see

that our schools are more than schools, butcenters to our community,” said Cook, whoread a proclamation from the Board of Su-pervisors during the tree-planting of a RedBud donated by Area Landscaping.

“All of us who live here, we are veryblessed to live in a community that cares somuch about schools,” added MeganMcLaughlin, Braddock District School Boardmember, who has three sons that attendedFrost as well as her husband. This is thecurrent principal Eric McCann’s first year

on the job. “This being the 50th Anniver-sary and my first year has been kind of awe-inspiring. It’s a great school with an incred-ible history,” he said. The anniversary alsoincluded student-guided tours, a choralperformance of “Annie, Jr.,” student musi-cians, an academic showcase, art gallery, anda Lands and Water Science Project.

The first principal Henry York opened theschool in 1964 with 1,000 students and atthat time it served one-fifth of the county.“This was the very best school in FairfaxCounty. I got to select many of my staff in thefirst year.” He attributes its success to the

“wonderful support we received from thecommunity. I have very fond memories ofworking with all of these people; a goodstaff sure makes your job a lot easier,” hesaid. Former teacher Jackie Lose, whotaught P.E. from 1966 to 1991, said: “Wewere all so close and we just helped eachother out. I loved working here.” Anotherformer teacher, Sarah Davis, who movedfrom Wyoming and taught English andMath from 1967-1971 and 1976-1983,added: “We really operated like a family.We all just kind of grew up together. Itwas wonderful. I loved it.”

Current Frost Middle School Principal Eric McCann with Henry York,the first principal from 1964 to 1984. Braddock District Supervisor John C. Cook presents a proclamation

celebrating the 50th Anniversary of Frost Middle School last Saturdayin Fairfax. (From left): Dr. Henry York, first principal at Frost MiddleSchool; Ryan McElveen, FCPS school board member at-large; MeganMcLaughlin, FCPS school board member, Braddock district; John C.Cook, Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, Braddock district; EricMcCann, principal, Frost Middle School; Dr. Frances Ivey – regionalassistant superintendent, Region 5; and Maribeth Luftglass, assistantsuperintendent, Department of Information Technology.

Frost Middle School Turns 50Anniversary celebration includes tree-plant-ing ceremony, 5K Race, and visits fromformer staff members.

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See City Budget, Page 5

By Bonnie Hobbs

The Connection

Last week’s City Council meetingoften seemed more like a worksession, with members still hag-gling about the real-estate tax

rate. But after much discussion, some failedmotions and several votes, they finally cameto a consensus.

They officially adopted the City of Fairfaxbudget for FY 2016 and set the real-estatetax rate at $1.052 per $100 assessed valua-tion. It’s a $.012 increase over the current$1.04 tax rate; but is $.013 less than the$1.065 recommended by City Manager BobSisson.

The budget also includes 3.5-percentmerit raises ($313,000) for eligible employ-ees and a 1-percent cost-of-living adjust-ment ($270,000).

“We’re spending our money on criticalitems – public safety and public infrastruc-ture, education, economic development andour employees,” explained CouncilmanMichael DeMarco. “We’re investing in ourquality of life.”

At a brief public hearing beforehand, Eco-

nomic Development Au-thority Chairman JohnSabo said he waspleased that a half centof the tax rate will sup-port the EDA. “This willstrengthen the City’seconomy,” he said.

However, Jon Stehle,chairman of the Parksand Recreation AdvisoryBoard, was unhappy that – although theCouncil previously adopted the Parks andRecreation Strategic Plan – it wasn’t fundedin the budget. “We look forward to discuss-ing the ADA study and the plans for GreenAcres and Van Dyck parks, and their fund-ing timeline, with you further,” he said.“We’re proud of our parks and see them asour future.”

THE COUNCIL then tackled the varioustax rates. Finance Director David Hodgkinspromoted the recommended increase in thecommercial and industrial (C&I) tax ratefrom 5.5 cents to 7.5 cents per $100 as-sessed valuation. He said the revenue ityields is critical because the City receives

“matching funds fromthe NVTA for this tax.And that money’s usedfor transportation pur-poses.”

Councilwomen NancyLoftus and Ellie Schmidtwondered why this taxcouldn’t instead be fullyfunded from the waterfund, “instead of bur-

dening our businesses with a 2-cent taxhike.”

“We wanted to do it incrementally,” re-plied Hodgkins. “And the 2 cents offsets thedecrease in (C&I) valuation, so there’s noincreased tax burden on the businesses.”The Council then approved this new taxrate.

Fairfax’s wastewater tax rates will alsorise, by 10 cents, he said, “because of theneed to maintain and repair our aging in-frastructure and wastewater-collections sys-tem.” And two cents of the tax rate willagain be dedicated to the Stormwater Fundfor infrastructure maintenance and stateand federal regulatory requirements.

Regarding changes since his proposed

budget, City Manager Bob Sisson said helearned recently that “we’ll be receivingthree-quarters of a million dollars from theschool system.” And he recommended us-ing it for economic development.

Hodgkins noted that the cost of new vot-ing machines rose from $110,000 to$130,000, and the Council approved spend-ing the extra $20,000. Hodgkins then saidthat, with the school system’s returned rev-enue, the real-estate tax rate could be low-ered to $1.05.

Councilman Jeff Greenfield suggested$1.055, saying the City should earmark$370,000 for an economic-developmentfund plus $80,000 for a City branding cam-paign. Loftus appreciated the idea, but saidCouncil hasn’t yet discussed specifics.

Greenfield said nothing would be spentwithout a plan. “I support it,” said Schmidt.“It would help our real-estate tax rate if wecould improve our commercial base.”

Mayor Scott Silverthorne agreed with“putting some money behind economic-de-velopment opportunities. Investing [it]should help us out of tough, budget situa-tions.” But Loftus preferred chopping 3

City Council Adopts FY 2016 Budget Real-estate tax ratewill rise slightly.

MichaelDeMarco

JeffGreenfield


cents from the tax rate whilededicating funds for economic de-velopment. Greenfield’s motionfailed, but an amended one byDeMarco passed. He recom-mended using $300,000 for eco-nomic development, with$100,000 of it used for a strategicplan and branding. Agreeing,Councilman David Meyer said,“We ought to be able to step out,have faith in the future and do theright thing.” Since home valua-tions have increased, Loftuswanted to cut capital expendituresby $1.4 million so residents’ taxbills wouldn’t rise. But her motionfailed. Hodgkins said $1.2 millionof the total General Fund is debtservice the City must pay.

Schmidt suggested cutting$105,000 total from the alloca-tions for contract and other ser-vices, overtime and temporaryhelp. Her motion passed, but witha provision allowing Sisson to de-cide from where the money shouldbe cut.

Greenfield then moved to set thereal-estate tax rate at $1.052.“We’re trying to run a business,and more than 40 percent [of thebudget] goes to nondiscretionaryexpenses,” he said.

Meyer seconded and the motioneventually passed, 4-2. “This is aprudent budget, and I’m glad itincluded money for economic de-velopment,” he said. “And we allappreciate what our City employ-ees do.”

Neither Schmidt or Loftus sup-ported it because it raised prop-erty taxes. “Some people’s taxesare going up $800 just because ofincreased assessments,” explainedLoftus. “So this tax increase affectsreal people’s budgets.”

But, said Councilwoman JaniceMiller, “People also tell me howpleased they are with the City ser-vices – trash, parks, art programsand special events. I support thisbudget because it funds police, fireand schools and increases spend-ing for capital needs. It provides amodest salary increase for ouremployees and preserves our 10-percent cash reserves.”

AGREEING, Silverthorne said,“No one likes paying taxes. But thequestion is, are people gettingvalue for their tax dollars? I be-lieve our residents are – and bet-ter than any other place in North-ern Virginia.” “We still have oneof the lowest, overall tax rates andtax burdens of any other jurisdic-tion, and our citizens know that,”he continued. “And money for eco-nomic development is an invest-ment in our future. So all in all, Ithink we struck the right balance.And our investments in the Citywill give us back more in return.”

From Page 4

City BudgetAdopted

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Mother's Day Photo Gallery

Chairman of the Fairfax County Board of SupervisorsSharon Bulova “loves this photo.” On the right is herdaughter Karin feeding her newborn Mac, sittingnext to her stepdaughter, Mary, feeding Will. Theygave birth within two weeks of each other.

Chairman Sharon Bulova with son Delegate DavidBulova in 1971. David Bulova has since gotten overhis fear of horses.

Chairman and Delegate Bulova at Ocean City in1973.

Georgia and Aurelia, 1, of Fairfax,at the Washington Nationalshome opener.

“My mother and I have lived far awayfrom one another for many years. I went

to college in Syracuse while my familywas stationed overseas, and then when

my family moved back to Virginia, I wasliving in Manhattan. Because of this

distance, we rarely got to spend holidaysor birthdays together.

Luckily, this has recently changed! I havefinally moved back to Fairfax and will

have the opportunity to celebrateMother’s Day by taking my Mom out for a

big family brunch. I couldn’t be moreexcited to get to spend the day with her!

This photo was taken on her birthday thispast August— clearly we look happy thatwe were able to spend the day together.

She is a strong and beautiful woman whoI am so proud to call my mother!” writes

Brittany Oman, of Fairfax.

Jacqueline Rose ofFairfax writes: “Mydaughter, KathleenRose, won a trip to

New York for two. Shetreated her mom to

come along. We had awonderful time to-

gether.”

Mom’s 50th birthdayparty at Viet Houserestaurant in Fairfax.From left: Kathryn,15; Diana; and Jor-dan Miller, 18.

Jennifer Maloney of Fairfax with her three childrenClaire, Brian, and Stephen: Here they are enjoyinga lovely summer day and matching haircuts.


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Send notes to the Connection [email protected] or call703-778-9416. The deadline for submis-sions is the Friday prior to publication.Dated announcements should be submit-ted at least two weeks prior to the event.

SATURDAY/MAY 92nd Annual Community

Conversation on Teen Stress:Fostering Wellness andResiliency. 8:30 a.m. - 2 p.m.Hayfield High School, 7630Telegraph Road, Alexandria. MarcBrackett, Ph.D., the director of theYale Center for EmotionalIntelligence will be featured as thekeynote speaker. Tracy Cross, Ph.D.,Professor at The College of Williamand Mary and Executive Director ofthe Center for Gifted Studies andTalent Development will speak in theafternoon about perfectionism andchild and adolescent suicidality. Thisevent will feature breakout sessionsled by FCPS staff members and guestpresenters. A variety of exhibitorswill also be present. http://www.fcps.edu/dss/summit/.

GIVE - Free Tutoring to School AgeStudents. City of Fairfax RegionalLibrary, 10360 North Street, Fairfax.2 p.m. Math, reading, writing,science, social studies and ESL freetutoring by GIVE- Growth andInspiration through Volunteering andEducation volunteers from ThomasJefferson H.S. and Robinson H.S.

Microsoft Excel. City of FairfaxRegional Library, 10360 NorthStreet, Fairfax. 2:30 p.m. Teens andadults learn how to createspreadsheets with Microsoft Excel.Openings.

MONDAY/MAY 11Library Tech Help. City of Fairfax

Regional Library, 10360 NorthStreet, Fairfax. 11 a.m. Teens andadults get help with eBooks andcompatible devices, and otherlibrary-related electronic resourcesquestions. Bring your library card,eBook reader, and laptop.

One-on-One English Practice. BurkeCentre Library, 5935 Freds OakRoad, Burke. 6:45 p.m. Ages 8through adult practice speaking,reading, and writing with avolunteer. Waiting list.

WEDNESDAY/MAY 13Reston – League of Women Voters

meeting on growth in FairfaxCounty. Where is the County’sgrowth going to go? What haschanged in Fairfax County’s land useand where do we go from here? Joinin the discussion. 7:30-9 p.m., NorthCounty Governmental Center, 1801Cameron Glen Drive, Reston. Free,open to the public (men andwomen), call 703-757-5893.Background papers at www.lwv-fairfax.org.

THURSDAY/MAY 14Medicaid Planning. 3 p.m. Insight

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By Stacey A. Kincaid

Sheriff, Fairfax County

Across the nation, peopleare having serious discus-sions about how to alter

the dynamic that too often existsbetween some law enforcementofficers and individuals. Out ofeach case, we learn something thatwill help us go forward. So, as jus-tice pursues its course in FairfaxCounty with regard to the tragicdeath of Natasha McKenna, let’snot lose sight of the real underly-ing problem: the systemic mishan-dling of mentally ill patients whohave few or no resources, and lawenforcement’s struggle to dealwith untreated or undertreatedindividuals.

There is a teachable momenthere for those of us who have dedi-cated our lives to law enforcementand for members of the commu-nity who believe in dignity and

fairness for those who come intocontact with the criminal justicesystem.

All of us are eager — and manyare impatient — for the investiga-tion into Ms. McKenna’s death tobe concluded. This incident hasnot been forgotten or ignored.From the beginning, the Sheriff’sOffice has cooperated with the in-vestigation fully. The recentcompletion of a report by the Of-fice of the Chief Medical Examinermeans the investigation is nearinga close. I have not offered morethan passing comment because, asboth a law enforcement officialand a citizen, I do not want toprejudice the outcome of an inves-tigation in advance of the facts byanswering questions to which I donot have the answers, or by antici-pating actions I might take onceall the facts are known. I admit tohaving been disappointed thatsomeone chose to release internal

documents — for the same reasonsI think anyone interested in jus-tice and fairness would be.

In the meantime, and for theforeseeable future, our jail willcontinue to be a warehouse for in-dividuals with mental illness whohave been unable or unwilling toaccess effective clinical care, socialservices and housing in the com-munity.

About 40 percent of the inmatesin our jail have been identified asneeding some level of mentalhealth care during their incarcera-tion. More than a quarter have aserious mental illness — oftencombined with a substance abusedisorder — that requires interven-tion, regular treatment and medi-cation management. The Sheriff’sOffice is working to improve men-tal health care at the jail, but as ofthis writing, we have no availableoptions to properly divert indi-viduals under arrest and avoid

unnecessary incarceration. In noway whatsoever is this intended tojustify inappropriate, improper orillegal behavior by law enforce-ment officers anywhere; it is sim-ply a fact.

As I have done for years, I willcontinue to advocate locally andin Virginia for more treatment cen-ters for minor offenders who areseriously mentally ill and would bebetter served in a mental healthfacility than in a jail.

I have pledged my 28-year careerwith the Sheriff’s Office in serviceto the safety, security and well be-ing of all Fairfax County residents,and to do so as fairly and transpar-ently as possible. I will continue towork with mental health organiza-tions in search of solutions to anintractable problem facing vulner-able individuals for whom all of us,out of nothing more than commonhuman compassion, must assumesome responsibility.

Law Enforcement, the Mentally Ill and the Pursuit of JusticeCommentary

Mother’s Dayand IslamTo the Editor:

A man once asked the holyProphet Muhammad (may peaceand blessings of Allah be uponhim), “O Messenger of Allah! Whohas the most right to the best treat-ment from me? The Prophet re-plied, “Your mother. The manasked, “Then who?” The Prophetsaid, “Your mother.” The manasked again, “Then who?” The

Prophet again said, “Your mother.”The man asked again, “And afterthat?” The Prophet replied, “Yourfather” (Bukhari and Tirmidhi).

To truly appreciate the awesomesignificance of this particular in-cident, one must remember thatthis took place more than 1,400years ago, in a completely maledominated society; a societywhere women were treated nobetter than slaves.

In Islam the role of a mother isrecognized as being so pivotal inthe upbringing of the children - as

well as in shaping the future ofmankind and society - that Mus-lims are taught that the attainmentof paradise lies under theirmother’s feet. Not only does thisparadise refer to the one in thehereafter, but it also refers to a so-cial paradise in this world…peace,blessings, and security which areobtained after respecting and hon-oring your mother each and everyday, regardless of how difficult thecircumstance may be.

So while it’s thoughtful andsweet to pause our busy lives once

a year to overtly celebrate every-thing our mothers mean to us withflowers and gifts, it is more impor-tant that we also instill the prac-tice of honoring them daily bymaking them proud of the man-ner in which we conduct our-selves; as well as attending to theirgrowing needs with the same care,compassion, love, and patience asthey once extended to us when wewere children.

Aisha KhanHerndon

Letters to the Editor

Opinion

There are families dealing with hun-ger in every county in the UnitedStates, including here in NorthernVirginia.

In Fairfax, there are 67,190 people who arefood insecure, (facing hunger at some pointmonthly) which is more than 6 percent of thepopulation, according to a report by FeedingAmerica. In Arlington, 8.7 percent of the popu-lation is food insecure, 18,750 people. In Al-exandria, 10.8 percent of the population faceshunger at least monthly, that’s 15,540 people.

You can see the national data by county inan interactive map: http://map.feedingamerica.org/

ON SATURDAY, MAY 9, as they deliver mail,postal carriers will collect donations of non-perishable food left by residents near their mailboxes. They will be joined by retired letter car-riers, by family members and friends, and byvolunteers to help collect and distribute thesacks of non-perishable food items that get leftnext to mailboxes that morning.

People are encouraged to leave a sturdy bagcontaining non-perishable foods such ascanned soup; canned vegetables; canned meatsand fish; pasta; peanut butter; rice or cerealnext to their mailbox before the regular maildelivery on Saturday. Carriers will bring thefood to local food banks, pantries and shel-ters.

The annual food drive is held in more than10,000 cities and towns in all 50 states, theDistrict of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the VirginIslands and Guam. Last year almost 73 millionpounds of food was collected in the one-dayevent for people in need throughout the UnitedStates.

CHILDREN ARE AFFECTED by hunger dis-proportionately, with nearly 30 percent of stu-dents in Fairfax County Public Schools poorenough to receive subsidized meals at school,which is an incredible 51,968 students. Thatpercentage is more than 31 percent in Arling-ton with more than 7,700 students poorenough to get meal benefits. In Alexandria, 60percent of students are poor enough to getmeal benefits; that’s almost 8,600 students.

Many of these students go hungry on week-ends, during school closures for bad weatherand in the summer. More on that soon.

In the meantime, leave a bag of food out byyour mailbox on Saturday.

Saturday, May 9, is the postal carriers food drive;put a sturdy bag with food donation next to yourmailbox that morning.

Hunger Is Widespread

Editorial

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Fairfax


Statement from Fairfax County Public SchoolsSuperintendent Karen K. Garza following the FairfaxCounty Board of Supervisors passage of the FairfaxCounty Fiscal Year (FY) 2016 budget:

Once again, we find that the FairfaxCounty Board of Supervisors hasfailed to fully fund Fairfax County

Public Schools (FCPS). This is extremely dis-heartening — we entered this budget yearmaking a good faith effort to workcollaboratively with the Board of Supervi-sors. We worked for nearly a year with theCounty Executive and the Board of Super-visors to develop a reasonable budget thatmet only the very minimal needs of FCPS,and in the end they did not deliver.

Supervisors are sending a clear messagethat they are unconcerned about the in-creasing challenges of our students, ourteachers, and our schools. The supervisorsrefused to fully fund our budget for the2015-16 school year (FY 2016), when facedwith a nominal $7.6 million deficit. We havegrave concerns as to what will happen inthe 2016-17 (FY 2017) school year whenwe face a devastating shortfall of more than$100 million.

The entire Fairfax County community hasa critical decision to make: either we investthe necessary funds in our students andschools, or we will have to work togetherto decide what to cut — and we cannot cutour way to excellence.

Due to years of chronic underfundingcoupled with a decade of significant enroll-ment growth and increasing student needs,we will not be able to sustain the currentquality nor the full range of academic pro-gramming we currently offer our students.We have sought to protect the classroom todate, but with the scale of the FY 2017shortfall, we will have to take a serious lookat the programs that we must cut starting

in the 2016-17 school year. These cuts willlikely affect all current academic program-ming including limiting elective choices,reducing career and technical programs,impacting advanced offerings, and againraising class sizes at all levels. We mustmake these difficult choices by December2015 because students begin their courseselections in January 2016.

Since 2008, we have cut 2,175 positionsand nearly a half-billion dollars from ourbudget affecting every school and depart-ment. We have fallen so far behind inteacher salaries that we are no longer com-petitive and are losing talented staff toneighboring school districts. Our teachersare the reason FCPS students excel andachieve. Losing our most experienced teach-ers will have a significant effect on studentperformance and will ultimately affect thereputation of FCPS.

Fairfax County public schools are fre-quently cited as one of the main reasonsthat businesses choose to relocate to thecounty, and Fairfax has some of the highestproperty values in the country, but withoutexcellent schools as a foundation — corpo-rate investment in Fairfax and property val-ues will decline.

In the education of our children, everyyear matters; we cannot hope to make updeficits in their education in their lateryears. It is critical we take action now.

I hope our community will join me to#saveFCPS.

By Jeffrey McKay, Supervisor

(D-Lee District)

There is a considerable amount ofmisinformation about the County’scommitment to education and I

would like to give you some of the facts.While close to 70 percent of County resi-

dents do not have children in the schoolsystem, education is our County Board’spriority. We directly transfer more than halfour General Fund to the schools and addi-tionally assume the costs of a number ofother school needs, such as school nurses,health aides, resource officers, and the like.

The FY2016 budget that we adopted onApril 28 includes a transfer to the schoolsof $2.01 billion, an increase of $66.7 mil-lion (+3.43 percent) over the FY2015 bud-get and nearly two-thirds of all new rev-enue associated with increased propertyvalues. The total school budget (that in-cludes the County transfer and some stateand federal funding), totals $2.6 billion.This is the fifth consecutive year that hasseen a substantial increase in the schooltransfer—since 2008, the Board of Super-visors has increased funding for the schoolsby $230 million.

As a County Supervisor, I am responsiblefor all of our residents’ needs includingparks, libraries, public safety, and humanservices. These are not stand-alone servicesand the success of our schools is also linkedto these public services.

To further illustrate our spending priori-ties, in addition to the 52.1 percent of theCounty’s General Fund that we transfer di-rectly to the schools, we spend only 12 per-cent of our General Fund on public safety,10.9 percent on health and human services,and 1.4 percent on parks, libraries, and rec-reation centers combined. Slashing fundingto these would not make a dent in our bud-get and would hurt the schools.

The crux of our school funding problemis the State funding formula. Fairfax Countyis a donor jurisdiction, sending more dol-lars to the state than it recoups—about 21cents on the dollar. That funding formulainequity holds true not only for educationbut also for human services, transportation,

and the like.FCPS’ state per pupil

funding suffers in compari-son to other Virginia locali-ties. In FY2012, the stateprovided $2,764 per pupilwhile the County provided$9,905 per pupil in localfunding. In contrast, neigh-boring Prince WilliamCounty received half its perpupil funding from thestate. These figures mayhave been OK in the past,but today’s school needshave far outpaced our lo-cal ability to pay. Otherschool districts are able to

fund their needs with our tax dollars whilehere in Fairfax County we struggle to meetour own needs.

Fairfax County continues to work with theGeneral Assembly and advocates hard for alarger share of state funding for our schools.Our lobbying this year got us $9.9 millionmore than anticipated in the state budget.Those additional funds bring FCPS within$4.1 million of its total $2.6 billion adver-tised budget proposal—that’s a gap of 0.16percent less than the School Board’s pro-posed budget.

The superintendent of Fairfax CountyPublic Schools increased her transfer re-quest after the state budget increase wasannounced and shortly before our budgetadoption.

Please be aware that the Board of Super-visors does not have line item authority overthe FCPS budget.

According to the Constitution of Virginia,that responsibility lies with the electedSchool Board and it is that Board that setsthe funding priorities for the schools, in-cluding salaries. If teacher salaries are theSchool Board’s top priority, it is their respon-sibility to close the 0.16 percent gap be-tween their proposed budget and the fundsthey are receiving.

As we look ahead at the fiscal outlook fornext year, we know that we will continueto be affected by a sluggish economy andthe effects of federal cutbacks and seques-tration.

Like the Schools, the County side of theledger is projecting a budget shortfall forthe next (2017) fiscal year. Both boards willhave to work closely together to producebalanced budgets.

Thank you again for contacting me andyou have my assurance that my colleagueson both the County and School boards willcontinue to work together.

P.S. - On a personal note, with two kids,I’m as much invested in our educationalsystem as anyone. My daughter is an FCPSfirst-grader and my son isn’t very far be-hind. I’m the product of our Fairfax CountyPublic Schools and I want every child tohave the same opportunity to learn that Idid.

Opposing Views on Education Funding

Education Is CountyBoard’s PriorityThe cruxof our schoolfundingproblem isthe Statefundingformula.

Jeffrey McKay

Garza Calls Communityto Help #saveFCPSSuperintendent saysFCPS faces deficitof more than $100million; FCPSexcellence at risk.

Karen K. Garza

Co

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To the Editor:So the agreement was reached to pay

John Geer’s family just under $2.95M forthe mistake of a police officer. My heartgoes out to the family.

But I am concerned about the payment.Why are taxpayers responsible to pay

for this? Where is the statute that justi-fies this?

I pay over five digits in real estate tax,personal property tax, car registration

fees, licensing fees, and who-knows-howmuch in sales tax.

But the Board of Supervisors pays mil-lions to a victim of a mistake; yet theroads I have to drive on are still full oflumps, bumps, cracks, and potholes.Where is the money for that? Whatgives?

Bob FritzOakton

Who Pays for a Mistake?

10 ❖ Fairfax Connection ❖ May 7-13, 2015 Fairfax Connection ❖ May 7-13, 2015 ❖ 11www.ConnectionNewspapers.com www.ConnectionNewspapers.com

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Wellbeing

By Marilyn Campbell

The Connection

Bill and Betty Kenealy, ofSpringfield, make it apoint to socialize regu-larly with their long-time

friends, many of whom are othercouples they met through work andthrough the activities of their fivechildren. They’ve watched theirchildren become adults, worked,retired and even survived cancer.Now they’re living together in a re-tirement community in Springfield.Bill is 85 and Betty is 81.

“We enjoy meeting for dinner ona regular basis or playing cards ordominoes and Bingo,” said Bill.

One of those couples is Georgeand Peggy White, both 80. Theymet when Bill and George were sta-tioned together in the military. Bothcouples speak fondly of the strengththey get from their friendships.

“All of us have different storiesand have different backgrounds,”said Peggy White, 80. “It’s been an

interesting and rewarding.”Healthy friendships and strong

social connections provide morethan interest, say researchers. Theyare vital to one’s mental, physicaland emotional wellbeing. A studyby the National Institutes of Healthshow that people who are sociallyisolated are more likely to die ofheart disease than those who haveclose relationships. While it mightbe more challenging to makefriends as one ages, the benefits areworth the effort say researchers.

“Research shows that social con-nections are more important forhealth, longevity and cognitivefunctioning than any other vari-able,” said Linda Gulyn, professorof psychology at Marymount Uni-versity in Arlington. “Social sup-port … increased likelihood of get-ting proper health care, compli-ance with health treatments, diet,activity [and] mental health.”

A HEALTHY SOCIAL NET-WORK is credited with longevity.

“Social support at all stages of thelifespan reduces people’s stress lev-els, and this in turn promotesphysical health,” said Linda Cote-Reilly, Ph.D., associate professor ofpsychology at Marymount Univer-sity. Seniors who have active socialconnections are better able to fightdisease, they experience greaterpsychological well-being and re-duced incidence of depression,Cote-Reilly said.

Social isolation can lead to de-pression and physical health issues.

“One of the things that researchhas shown is that social isolationis a killer,” said Dominique S.Hubbard, professor of psychologywho studies social exclusion andostracism at Northern VirginiaCommunity College. “One of themost fundamental things that weneed is meaningful social connec-tions and a sense of belonging.”

In fact, researchers point to avariety of studies that link healthand longevity with fulfilling rela-tionships.

“There is this really amazingstudy done in Alameda County,Calif., that followed almost 5,000residents for nine years, and foundthat the best predictor of mortal-ity rates were people who indicatedthey had few meaningful relation-ships, meaning that people whoanswered they had many meaning-ful relationships were more likelyto be alive than those with few,”said Georgeana Stratton, Ph.D.,(associate professor of psychologyat Northern Virginia CommunityCollege in Sterling. “Even whenthey … only look at people withcancer or heart disease, they stillfound that those with many mean-ingful relationships did better thanthose who answered few.

“Their social relationships werethe best predictor of health anddeath, meaning it predicted betterthan other things they measuredlike smoking and stress,” saidStratton.

Seniors are more susceptible tothe harmful effects of a dearth of

companions. “Isolation is poten-tially very damaging to all of us,but most especially to seniors,” saidPamela Stewart, assistant dean ofpsychology, Northern VirginiaCommunity College, Annandalecampus. “Friendships keep us bal-anced and generally more positive.They help to keep us busy, can giveus a focus and keep us more hap-pily engaged in the world aroundus.”

Retiring and relocating createschallenges when attempting tomaintain existing friendships. “Un-fortunately, for many the pool offriends becomes smaller as oneages,” said Stewart. “We lose touch

with our former work mates and afair percentage of our friends mayhave moved away or passed away.”

Those who are no longer in situ-ations that offer natural opportu-nities for social interactions canstill recreate a circle of friends.

“Seniors can replace those byadding new things,” said Hubbard.“Consider joining a class or abridge club. The key is to have con-sistent, positive interactions.”

Donating one’s time offers anopportunity for staying connected.

“Volunteering at a local school oranimal shelter or even getting apart time job is a great way to meetpeople and stay engaged and cur-

Researchers say meaningful friendships help preserve health.

Healthy Relationships for Life

Photo courtesy of George & Peggy White

George White, 80, stays socially connectedby volunteering for the West Springfieldpolice department. He and his wife, Betty,also 80, stay connected with friends. rent,” said Joyce Schwartz, a geri-

atric social worker who lives inPotomac, Md. “Pursuing a hobby,working out a gym or attendinglectures are good too, especially ifthey’re free or discounted activitiesfor seniors.”

STILL, STAYING ENGAGED so-cially and developing new friend-ships can become increasinglychallenging, as one gets older.

“Physical disabilities and ill-nesses can increase the likelihoodthat a person is hospitalized orhomebound in later adulthood,which can lead to social isolationand depression,” said Cote-Reilly.

Also important, said Cote-Reilly,is distinguishing connections that

offer positive social interactionfrom those that simply provide con-tact with another person. “Socialsupport means, ‘Does this indi-vidual feel supported by those inhis or her life?’ It doesn’t mean thenumber of friends or support per-sons one has,” she said. “Olderadults who have a lot of social in-teraction because they need assis-tance with activities of daily living… do not experience these inter-actions as positive. People are help-ing them because they have lost theability to do the tasks themselves.”

While social media has madestaying in touch with friends easierfor some, there are dangers. “Un-fortunately, there is a negative cor-relation between time spent onsocial networking sites and theinternet in general and the timespent with friends,” said Stratton.“Also, several studies indicate thatmore time on Internet predicts de-pression. So while in-person rela-tionships are great buffers for stressand protect physical and mentalhealth, online relationships mayactually… hurt mental health andsocial connections.”

Photo courtesy of Bill & Betty Kenealy

Bill and Betty Kenealy stay connected bysocializing regularly with their goodfriends and former next-door neighbors.

Creating Fun and Awareness with FACETS

Three high school young men de-signed and implemented a drugand alcohol prevention event at

the Mott Community Center April 4with help from FACETS.

Kaleabe Tewolde, Stephen Amoakoand Corey Lucas of Fairfax hosted a 3on 3 Basketball Tournament as a wayto bring back to the community aware-ness of the dangers of drug and alcoholuse. They designed this program afterattending a weeklong leadership pro-gram at Longwood University inFarmville, Va., last summer. Their flyerhighlighted a family friendly event withfood, games, music and prizes and theydidn’t disappoint.

The registered teams took the courtsto showcase their talents, with musicpumped out on background. The cham-pionship game was intense yet it wasthe height advantage that led PeterKlosky, Nathan Roberts and JibrilAhmed from Fairfax to victory.

FACETS is always looking for volun-teers and mentors to help with theircommunity and youth support pro-grams. If you’re interested in sharingyour knowledge as a mentor or afterschool advisor contact James Williams,Community Advocate [email protected] or 703-352-3269.

—Terrance Moran

These young men took their idea and made ithappen. Event creators (from left): KaleabeTewolde, Stephen Amoako, and Corey Lucas fromFairfax.

Maria Rink from Fairfax leads the brave withsome advanced exercises using stretch ropes.

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Advertising Deadlines are the previous Thursday unless noted.

MAY5/20/2015...A+ Camps & Schools, Proms, Summer PlanningMemorial Day is May 255/27/2015...........Summer Fun, Food, Arts & Entertainment

JUNE6/3/2015....................................................................Wellbeing6/10/2015...................................Father’s Day Dining & Gifts6/10/2015..........................................................HomeLifeStyle6/17/2015...................A+ Graduations & Summer Learning6/17/2015...................................Father’s Day Dining & GiftsFather’s Day is June 216/24/2015.....................................Independence Day Preview6/24/2015...Professional Profiles & Business in the Community

JULY7/1/2015.....................................................................Wellbeing7/8/2015............................................................HomeLifeStyle7/15/2015...............................................A+ Camps & Schools7/22/2015 ...........................................Pet Connection PulloutE-mail [email protected] for more information.

Reaching Suburban Washington’s Leading Households• Alexandria Gazette Packet• Arlington Connection• Burke Connection• Centre View• Chantilly Connection

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SPECIAL CONNECTIONS CALENDAR

Award-WinningAward-

Winning


By David Siegel

The Connection

There was a buzz of en-ergy in the jam-packedfoyer of the Center for

the Arts at George Mason Uni-versity. Northern Virginia per-forming arts lovers were readyto learn of the 25th anniversaryseason of “Great Performancesat Mason!” The crowd wouldnot be disappointed as ThomasReynolds, director of artisticprograming, announced “a re-markable variety of performingarts that both entertains andeducates.” The new season be-gins this September.

“We’ve always prided our-selves on variety and the 25thanniversary season is very rep-resentative of that,” saidReynolds. “We are sticking withour strengths, which has alwaysbeen a variety of arts and en-tertainment options.”

The upcoming season of“Great Performances at Ma-son!” will also continue to sup-port the students at GeorgeMason University. The Center ispart of Mason’s College of Vi-sual and Performing Arts andthe schedule of performerstakes “to heart the mission ofhow to present artists that helpsupport the teaching of our stu-dents,” noted Reynolds.

There are many highlights forthe upcoming 25th anniversaryseason. Just a few examplesinclude the Tony and GrammyAward winning Broadway ac-tress and singer Bernadette Pe-ters who will headline the an-nual “Arts by George!” grandbenefit gala on Sept. 26. Thegala will include a grand show-case of Mason College of Visualand Performing Arts studentand faculty works.

As the season rolls forward,

there is tap dance phenomSavion Glover, Disney’s “Fanta-sia - Live in Concert,” a notableperformances from the VirginiaOpera, the Munich SymphonyOrchestra, live theater such asAquila Theatre’s “The Adven-tures of Sherlock Holmes,” theinventive work ofMummenschanz, the dynamicMark Morris Dance Company,the innovative RIOULT contem-porary dance troupe andBollywood Masala Orchestraand Dancers of India, to namea few.

There will be Christmastimefavorites such as Chanticleerand the Vienna Boys Choir. Lo-cal favorites such as JeffreySiegel and his Keyboard Con-versations and the Metropoli-tan Jazz Orchestra will also re-turn

With a wide-range of offer-ings, the 2015-16 season is anopportunity to try new thingsor take in old favorites. Thereare many performances rightfor the whole family as a wayto introduce younger audiencesto the world of performancewith special ticket prices all ina near-by, easy to reach loca-tion with parking. And free pre-performance discussions spon-sored by the Friends of the Cen-ter for the Arts add to experi-ences.

Bollywood Masala Orchestra and Dancers.

Mason Announces‘Great Performances’

Photo by Andrew Eccles/

Courtesy of George

Mason University

Bernadette Peters

Where and WhenThe 2015-16 season of “Great Performances at Mason!” will be at the

George Mason University, Center for the Arts, 4440 University Drive, Fairfax.The 2015-16 runs September 2015-May 2016. Subscription and single tick-ets are available. For information and tickets call 703-993-2787 or visitcfa.gmu.edu. Detailed season brochure at: http://issuu.com/cfaatmason/docs/cfa_2015-16_brochure?e=4583740/12238447

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Send notes to the Connection [email protected] or call 703-778-9416. Thedeadline is the Friday prior to the next paper’s publication. Datedannouncements should be submitted at least two weeks prior tothe event.

FRIDAY-SATURDAY/MAY 8-9“Les Miserables.” 7 p.m. South County High School, 8501

Silverbrook Road, Lorton. Tickets will cost $15 for generaladmission or $12 for students and seniors.citizens. You canorder tickets online at southcountytheatre.org. “LesMiserables” is famous musical adapted from the novel byVictor Hugo in 1862. The story revolves around formerconvict Jean Valjean and his pursuit of self-redemption bybreaking his parole, thus having to escape the fleet ofInspector Javert. Intertwined are the students’ revolution tocombat the monarchy and a love triangle betweenschoolboy Marius, Valjean’s daughter Cosette, and the poorEponine. Taking place in France in the early 19th century,the central themes are compassion and social injustice.

“Big the Musical.” 7:30 p.m. Fairfax High School, 3501Rebel Run, Fairfax. The FX Players theatre department willdebut its long awaited spring musical, BIG, the first twoweekends of May. Following the storyline of the 1980’sTom Hanks movie, BIG revolves around a young boy whodreams of being an adult. After a Zoltar machine grants hiswish, he goes on a heartwarming adventure where helearns that age does not determine how much fun you canhave. For more information, please visit www.fxplayers.orgor call 703-219-2351.

Spotlight on the Arts Festival. Dedicated to showcasingthe very best of the visual and performing arts in the City ofFairfax. At a variety of venues in and around the city. Visitwww.visitfairfax.com/category/spotlight.

SATURDAY/MAY 9Tales to Tails. City of Fairfax Regional Library, 10360 North

Street, Fairfax. 10:30 a.m. Age 6-12 read aloud to afriendly, trained therapy dog. Openings.

SUNDAY/MAY 10Hands On Modeling Day Workshop. 1-4 p.m. 11200

Fairfax Station Road in Fairfax Station. You and Mom canlearn how to create and paint scenery for your model traindisplay. Admission: Museum members and children 4 andunder, free; ages 5-15, $2; adults 16 and older, $4.www.fairfax-station.org, 703-425-9225. Like us onFacebook, www.facebook.com/FFXSRR.

Workhouse Farmers Market. 1-5 p.m. Workhouse ArtsCenter, 9518 Workhouse Way, Lorton. The opening day ofthis year’s farmers markets season.

MONDAY/MAY 11PJ Library Book Buddies. City of Fairfax Regional Library,

10360 North Street, Fairfax. 10:30 a.m. Ages 6 months to 5years with adult enjoy Jewish storybooks and craft making.Co-sponsored by JCC of Northern Virginia.

Crazy 8S Math Club for School Age. City of FairfaxRegional Library, 10360 North Street, Fairfax. 4:30 p.m.Super-Cube Shuffle: Math and art collide when you usespecially colored cubes to create funky design. Then, testyour memory skills as you race to copy a giant pattern thatyour friends are spinning…Openings.

TUESDAY/MAY 12Creative Cupcakes for Older Adults. City of Fairfax

Regional Library, 10360 North Street, Fairfax. 1 p.m.Celebrate the Creative Aging Festival by getting creative.Decorate cupcakes with the pros from Cupcakes Actually, alocal bakery and multiple winner at the Chocolate LoversFestival. Openings.

SATURDAY/MAY 16Hope & Health Festival. 11 a.m. - 2 p.m. Lorton

Community Action Center, South County Cares, and INOVAare providing the annual Hope & Health Festival at theLorton Park, 9518 Richmond Highway, behind the LortonLibrary. Free health screenings, food, inflatables, kids’games and activities will be available, rain or shine to all inattendance. LortonAction.org or call 703-339-5161, ext.140.

7th Annual Occoquan River Fest. 10 a.m. - 4 p.m.Occoquan Regional Park, 9751 Ox Road, Lorton. Thisfamily event will feature free river boat rides, a children’smidway, live animals, food, hiking, paddling and over 15outdoor recreation, history and conservation organizations.The event is sponsored by NOVA Parks with assistance fromthe Occoquan Watertrail League, the Occoquan RiverCommunities, Bob Beach Architects, Vulcan Materials,Rivergate Development, Prince William Marina and LortonStation Merchants.

SUNDAY/MAY 173rd Annual Fragile X Walk. 7:45 a.m. Burke Lake Park,

7315 Ox Road, Fairfax Station. Early Registration is $35per adult (includes dry fit t-shirt) and $15 per child

(includes dry fit t-shirt) Children under 4 are free. FragileX syndrome (FXS) is a genetic condition that causesintellectual disability, behavioral and learning challengesand various physical characteristics. FXS is the mostcommon known genetic cause of autism. It can causelearning and behavior challenges ranging from mild tosevere. Over 1 million individuals nationwide have, or areat risk, of carrying the Fragile X mutation. LateRegistration after May 5 is $40 per adult and $15 per childand shirt sizes are not guaranteed. https://www.crowdrise.com/FXSNOVA2015.

N Gauge Model Train Show. 1-4 p.m. Fairfax StationRailroad Museum, 11200 Fairfax Station Road, FairfaxStation.Museum members, free; adults 16 and over, $4;children 5-15, $2; under 4, free. Information on themuseum and shows is at www.fairfax-station.org phone703-425-9225.

MONDAY-SUNDAY/MAY 18-24GI Film Festival. Angelika Film Center, 2911 District

Avenue, Fairfax. The nation’s only military film festival.Cinematic stories of mothers, daughters, fathers, wives,brothers and more. GIFF15.com.

THURSDAY/MAY 21Fairfax Antique Arts Association. 10 a.m. Green Acres

Senior Center, 4401 Sideburn Road, Fairfax. LinwoodSmith, guest speaker this month, will demonstrate how torepair old trunks. He will have a few small samples toshow. He will also share stories about growing up in OldeTown Alexandria.

SATURDAY/MAY 23Screening of Big Dream. 1 p.m. GMU, 4400 University

Drive, Fairfax. Big Dream is a documentary film thatfollows the stories of seven young women in technologyfields around the globe. Each story takes a look at theseyoung women’s ambitions and how they overcomepersonal challenges to pursue careers in STEM fields. Free.

SUNDAY-MONDAY/MAY 24-25Art Guild of Clifton Show and Sale. 5-8 p.m. on Sunday.

12-5 p.m. on Monday. 11200 Fairfax Station Road inFairfax Station. Artists will display and sell works featuringlocal themes across a range of media. Admission is free forMuseum members and children 4 and under; $2 children5-15; $4 adults 16 and older. www.fairfax-station.org, 703-425-9225.

(From left) Doug Klain and Zion Jang playwith light sabers during Fairfax High’s“Big: The Musical.” Performances: Thurs-day-Saturday, May 7, 8 and 9, at 7:30 p.m.Tickets are $10 via www.fxplayers.org or$15 at the door. For the Sunday matinee,tickets are $5 for children 12 and under.And after the show, they can dance on thebig piano, take a photo with the cast andmake a wish with Zoltar.

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Looking for a New Place of Worship?Visit Antioch Baptist Church!

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All Are Welcome!Sunday Worship 8, 9:30 & 11:30 a.m.Sunday School for Children & Adults 9:30 a.m.Married Couples Sunday School 11:30 a.m.

6531 Little Ox Road, Fairfax Station, VA 22039

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Bill Frasnelli, PASTOR 703-383-1170

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News

By Marissa Beale

The Connection

Every year, sixth graders at Oak View Elemen-tary School do a service project to help theirschool’s community. For this year’s project,

they created cards for the Northern Virginia Thera-peutic Riding Program (NVTRP), an assistance-ridingprogram for children and adults with special needs.

Chris Liss, one of the parents on the committeethat organized the project, said that she always feltvery strongly about what NVTRP does, and whenthe opportunity arose to organize the service project,she pitched the idea.

“Their program is just so incredible,” said Liss.“When I ran it by the principal, she said that thereare a couple students, right there at Oak View, whohave gone to therapeutic riding, and she thought itwas a great way to give back to the program.”

At NVTRP, horses are used to help alleviate muscletightness in those with physical disabilities. Partici-pants also learn to ride and how to take care of thehorses.

“For some of the kids who are on the autism spec-trum or have cerebral palsy, it’s one of the few timesthat they feel like they can control something. Thehorses are being controlled by them,” said Liss.

The youngest rider in the program is just 4 yearsold, and the cards created by the sixth graders willbe used for learning purposes. More than 300 cardswere created, featuring numbers, letters and evenDisney characters. Linda Aiken, director of Volun-teer Services at NVTRP, visited the school to officiallyreceive the cards.

“The cards will go, randomly, around the arena,”said Aiken. “Riders will be told different instructionsonce they get [to the card]. They might be told to goto all the even numbers, or to all of the odd num-bers.”

NVTRP’s mission is to “provide equine-assistedactivities to children and adults with disabilities,youth-at-risk, military service personnel, and theirfamilies in an inclusive, community setting,” accord-ing to their website. About 200 volunteers help outat NVTRP a week, and they rely solely on donationsand rider fees for support.

Even though the sixth graders at Oak View are allunder 14 and, thus, too young to volunteer at NVTRP,they were excited about their project, and eager formore chances to work with them in the future.

“I would love to take a field trip there,” said sixthgrader, Jackson Falls. Fellow student, Aubry Smithagreed, saying that she would like for them to all goas a group.

“It was really fun,” said sixth grader LindseyMcAllister, who designed four different cards.

The students were asked what they believed werethe benefits of community service, and they answeredthat it increases self-discipline, teaches job skills,helps one think about others and even helps oneemotionally.

By participating in this year’s service project, thestudents also learned about different breeds of col-ors of horses, grooming tools used and other topics.

Sixth grade teacher Anna Heaney showed the students the cards they made and alsoencouraged them to think about the effect that their service project would have.

Sixth Graders SupportTherapeutic Riding ProgramStudents at Oak ViewElementary School designflash cards for NVTRP.

(From left) Grace Miglorie and NaomiWhite made 14 cards in total to go toNVTRP.


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Obituary

On Wednesday, April 29,2015, Robert Paul “Bob”Warhurst, 76, passed

away at his home in Fairfax aftera long battle with cancer. On thelast full day of his life, Bob wassurrounded by family and friendsbefore he passed peacefully earlythe next morning under the careof Hospice.

Bob Warhurst was the co-ownerand co-founder of Merrifield Gar-den Center, a large garden center,nursery and landscaping companywith three locations in NorthernVirginia. Bob started the gardencenter in 1971 with his good friendand neighbor Buddy Williams. Inthe beginning, there was a quaintred barn, a small store and lessthan an acre of plants. Over thenext 44 years, Merrifield grew tobecome one of the largest indepen-dent garden centers in the coun-try.

Bob was born on Dec., 8, 1938in Russellville, Ala. He was thefourth of eight children born toClaude and Mary Warhurst. Grow-ing up in the rebuilding years thatimmediately followed the GreatDepression, life was hard on thefamily. To help make ends meet,Bob got his first job at the age of 7years old at the corner grocerystore in Russellville. He was hiredfor 50 cents a week.

When he was in the middle ofthe eighth grade, Bob quit schooland moved to Northern Virginia tomake his way in the world. Hebecame an apprentice bricklayerfor his older brother Lee, whoowned his own contracting busi-ness. Two years later, Bob metBillie Jean Allgood and fell in loveat first sight. They were marriedon Jan. 16, 1957. He was 18 andshe was 14. It was a happy mar-riage that lasted 58 years.

While laying brick in the boom-ing suburban developmentsaround Northern Virginia, Bobnoticed there was a need for trashpick-up service, so he started theWarhurst Trash Company in 1963.In running the trash business, Bobsaw that many customers werethrowing away items that still hadvalue, so he began selling thoseitems at The Tradin’ Post, a sec-ond hand store he started in theKamp Washington section ofFairfax. Later, Bob decided to startselling plants at The Tradin’ Post.That was so successful he decidedto open a nursery to sell plants fulltime, and the following year heopened Merrifield Garden Center.

Although his life was defined byhard work, Bob led an adventur-ous life, riding horses, driving fast

cars and flyingairplanes. Heearned hispilot’s licensein 1977. Bobwas very ac-tive in the lo-cal businessc o m m u n i t yand helpedstart twobanks - The

Horizon Bank of Virginia, whichwas founded in 1990 and thensold ten years later to SouthernFinancial Bank, and Virginia Heri-tage Bank, which was founded in2005 and sold in June of 2014 toEagle BankCorp. Throughout hislife, Bob improved – and oftenchanged – the lives of manypeople. Not only was he able todo this by having a successful busi-ness, but by the enormous gener-osity of his heart.

In 1998, Bob bought a seven-acre piece of property at historicHope Parke in Fairfax, whereGeorge Washington often visitedmany years ago. Bob built hisdream house, which became thecenter of the family’s activities.Bob was very active in the com-munity and gave generously tomany charitable and civic organi-zations. Bob’s fascinating and in-spirational life was chronicled ina recent book, The AmericanDream: The Rags to Roses Storyof Bob Warhurst and the Found-ing of Merrifield Garden Center.

Bob was preceded in death byhis father Claude, mother Maryand brothers Charles, Jim, Claude(Tracy) and Lee. Survivors includeBob’s wife Billie Jean Warhurst;children Debbie Warhurst Capp(husband Rob, children Danny andSarah), Robert Warhurst, Jr. (wifeLynn, children Lyndsey, Ashley andBobby), Larry Warhurst (wifeLeslie, children Chance, Jake,Whitney and Harley), DonnyWarhurst (girlfriend KarenVelehoski) and Kevin Warhurst(wife Chris, children Madison andGrace); sisters Margene Scruggsand Jane von Pingel; brother CarlWarhurst; and many extendedfamily members. A viewing washeld on Sunday, May 3, at FairfaxMemorial Funeral Home, 9902Braddock Road in Fairfax. The fu-neral service was held on Monday,May 4, at Vienna PresbyterianChurch, 124 Park Street NE inVienna, followed by an intermentat National Memorial Park in FallsChurch. In lieu of flowers, memo-rial contributions can be made tothe American Cancer Society orCapital Caring Hospice Services.

Robert Paul “Bob”Warhurst, 76, Dies

Robert Paul“Bob”Warhurst

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News

Sixth-grader TrishaBalakrishnan(center) ofGreenbriar WestElementary wonthe Fairfax CountySpelling Bee andwas joined at theChampion’s standby runner-upHarsha Harish(left), a sixth-grader at MosbyWoods Elementary,and third-placefinisher GraceFisher, a seventh-grader represent-ing Capital BaptistHomeschool.

Fairfax Rotary Club Spells It Right

Late this past February, Fairfax Rotarian and PP, RonHubbard was contacted by Debbie Kilpatrick, presidentof Fairfax County Council of PTAs regarding the Fairfax

Club’s annual Dictionary Project presentations. Kilpatrick wascoordinating the Fairfax County School’s Annual Spelling BeeContest to be hosted March 22, 2015 at local city of FairfaxLanier Middle School. She had been made aware that Hubbardwas the annual presenter of dictionaries to the Willow SpringsElementary School, and inquired if there might be enough dic-tionaries available for the Annual Fairfax County Schools Spell-ing Bee contestants, as part of their take-away gift bags.Hubbard moved quickly with the Fairfax Rotary Club’s Dictio-nary Project Coordinator and president Paula Kelley. Additionaldictionaries were ordered to be available for the 60 “Bee” con-testants. The Rotary Club was a proud sponsor of this event.

Sixth-grader Trisha Balakrishnan of Greenbriar West Elemen-tary won the Fairfax County Spelling Bee and she will repre-sent Fairfax County at the Scripps National Spelling Bee, to beheld May 25-30 at National Harbor’s Gaylord Hotel. P

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By Bonnie Hobbs

The Connection

A huge event on a scale FairfaxCounty has never before seen —that’s the 2015 World Police &Fire Games. It’ll run June 26-July

5 and promises to be a once-in-a-lifetimeexperience for area residents.

“We expect over 12,000 first respondersfrom more than 70 countries,” said countypolice Maj. Rich Perez, who’s heading upsecurity. “There’ll be 61 sporting eventsspanning 10 days, and with more athletesthan the summer Olympic Games.”

Perez is in charge of bringing together 37different federal, local and state entities toprovide security for the events. Thesegroups include the county Fire and RescueDepartment, Sheriff’s Office, Virginia StatePolice, the U.S. Department of HomelandSecurity, the TSA, ATF, and Department ofState.

The World Police & Fire Games started inSan Diego, Calif., in 1985 and are held ev-ery two years. “We’re celebrating the cama-raderie, honor, courage and athleticism offirst responders from around the world,”said MPO Michelle DuBois, one of thecounty Police Department’s athletic out-reach ambassadors.

Both active and retired fire and law-en-forcement personnel will be competing.“This is the 30th anniversary of the games,so there’ll be dignitaries here, too,” saidDuBois. “And it’s also the 75th anniversaryof the Fairfax County Police Department.”

THE OFFICIAL website isFairfax2015.com and, said Perez, “It’s get-ting 9 million hits a day. The local, economicimpact is expected to be $70 million to $80million for those 10 days.” That’s because,in addition to the athletes, themselves, anestimated 30,000 visitors are also expectedto attend the games here.

Some 80 county firefighters and 50county police officers are registered to par-ticipate, including Police Chief Ed Roessler

Jr. “He registered for the triathlon and hasbeen diligently working out and preparingfor it,” said Perez.

Some other local first-responders will bedefending their awards won previously. FireDepartment Battalion Chief Jerome Will-iams won a gold medal in stair climbing inthe last games, held in New York. Andcounty police officer, Lt. Mark Kidd, is thecurrent gold-medal holder in darts.

But all the participants are special, saidBill Knight, president of the World Police &Fire Games.

“These athletes are truly heroes fromaround the world,” he said. “And they de-serve to be treated like Olympians.”

The various athletic competitions will beheld at 53 different venues, but more than70 percent of the games will take place inFairfax County. Athletes will participate inevents including archery, badminton, base-ball, beach volleyball, bench press, billiards,body building, bowling, boxing, cross coun-try, cycling, darts, dodge ball, flag football,golf, hockey, judo, karate, lacrosse, halfmarathon, motocross, motorcycle andmountain biking. They’ll also vie inorienteering, paintball, pistol and rifle com-

Several of the events will be held in thelocal communities. There’ll be baseball atWestfield High; Toughest Competitor Aliveat the Cub Run Rec Center; clays, skeet andtrap shooting, Bull Run Regional Park; cy-cling, police driving track in Chantilly; darts,Fairfax County Police Association Hall inFairfax; and lacrosse, Centreville High.

GMU will also host baseball games, aswell as basketball, bodybuilding, boxing,swimming, tennis, and track and field. Atthe Reston Town Center will be the athletevillage and check-in, plus the half marathonand honor guard competitions.

Martial arts will be held at NOVA’s ErnstCenter, and weightlifting will be at theHerndon Community Center. Meanwhile,archery, cycling, mountain biking andorienteering will take place in FairfaxStation’s Fountainhead Regional Park. AndTysons Corner will host dodge ball and stairracing.

MASS TRANSIT will be used as much aspossible to transport the athletes to andfrom each venue.

“There’s no cost to attend and view anyof the events,” said DuBois. “So we encour-age people to bring their families andfriends to them and enjoy.”

But such a huge undertaking can’t be ac-complished without volunteers, and some4,000 of them are needed. Signups are athttp://fairfax2015.com/volunteer.

“We need medical personnel at eachvenue to cover the athletes, volunteers andspectators,” said DuBois. “People are alsoneeded to check in the athletes and directthem to the next station. Volunteers mustbe 18 or older and able to read, write andcommunicate in English. They must alsopass a background check to keep everybodysafe.”

Urging people not to pass up this oppor-tunity to lend a hand, she said, “You canplay a key role in one of the largest, multi-sport, multi-venue events in the world. In-stead of just watching, you can be a part ofhistory.”

Fairfax County hosting the2015 World Police & Fire Games.61 Sports Events over 10 Days

Police officers Rich Perez and Michelle DuBois discuss the upcomingWorld Police & Fire Games.

petitions, police service dogs, rowing, rugby,skeet shooting, soccer, softball, swimming,table tennis, tae kwon do, tennis, track andfield, triathlon, ultimate firefighter, volley-ball, wrestling and wrist wrestling.

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Clair D. BurgesonJuly 28, 1929 – March 30, 2015Clair D. Burgeson died March 30, 2015 at three pm at

Hospice by the Sea in Boca Raton, Florida. He died withhis wife and three children by his side of complicationsof pulmonary fibrosis. Born in Jamestown, NY on July28, 1929, survived by: wife Joyce Elaine CarlbergBurgeson, brother Irving Burgeson, sister LouiseKolinofsky. Three children: Stephen Clair Burgeson ofBuffalo, NY, David Mark Burgeson of Naples, FL, LisaJoy Burgeson Rhein of Fairfax, VA and six grandchil-dren: Elizabeth Rhein O’Connor, Robert Rhein, GenevraRhein, Eric Burgeson, Briana Burgeson, Liam Burgeson.

A depression baby, born in 1929, Clair received adiploma in General Agriculture from NYS AgriculturalTechnological Institute (now Alfred State College) in1950, a diploma in Bible Studies and Missions fromPrairie Bible Institute, Alberta Canada in 1954, aBachelor of Arts, cum laude, SUNY Albany paid for bythe G.I. bill. During his 3 years of United States Armyservice he spent a year and a half on the DMZ in Korea.He set up two libraries and served as a librarian underspecial services. Joyce and Clair both worked whileraising Steve, Dave and Lisa. Clair completed two addi-tional college degrees; a Masters of Library Science,Columbia University and a Certificate of AdvancedStudy in Educational Administration, SUNY, New Paltz.

His library career began in White Plains High School.In 1967 he took the position of Director of Libraries inRamapo Central School District in Rockland County, NYand held it until his retirement in 1991. One of his greatjoys during that time was teaching a Junior Great Booksclass for the 7th and 8th grade students. Clair was oneof the first trustees of the Sloatsburg Library, instrumen-tal in moving the library to the building it resides intoday. A naturalist, he took many groups on educationalnature walks in Harriman State Park. An energetic fatherand grandfather, he could be counted on to jog, snowshoe, hike, bike and canoe as well as take quiet walksin nature. He was an enthusiastic bird watcher, lovedclassical music, and an avid reader. He was active in theAmerican Library Association and Audubon Society.Clair gave consistently and generously to his charitiesof choice. He was unfailingly devoted to his family.Upon his retirement, Clair and Joyce enjoyed travelingthe world and sharing their love with family and manyfriends at their residences in Naples, FL, Chautauqua,NY, Burke, VA, and Boca Raton, FL.

His love of learning, nature, spirituality, philosophyand people will live on through we who knew and lovedhim. He will be deeply missed. Contributions in Clair’smemory can be made to the Sloatsburg Public Library, 1Liberty Rock Road, Sloatsburg, NY 10974 or theAudubon Society. Following a scattering of Clair’s ashesover Chautauqua Lake, a gathering and smorgasbordwill be held in the library at the Roger Tory PetersonInstitute of Jamestown, NY on July 18, 2015.

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Sports

By Jon Roetman

The Connection

The Robinson boys’ lacrosse teamreturned most of its firepowerfrom last year’s state championship run, entered Saturday’s

contest against South County with a 9-2record and had won 26 of its previous 27games against public school opponents, astreak dating back to early in the 2014 cam-paign.

In other words, the Rams are good. Realgood.

But just in case there was any doubtwhether Robinson has what it takes to com-pete for a second straight state title, theRams put forth one of their best offensiveefforts of the season on Saturday.

Facing a South County team, consideredone of the best in the region, the Rams hadseven different players score multiple goalsduring a 16-9 victory on May 2 at RobinsonSecondary School.

“I’m starting to see the patience that I’mlooking for offensively,” Robinson headcoach Matt Curran said. “… This is huge,and one of the reasons is we’ve had somegood offensive outputs, but not against ateam — no offense to the teams we’veplayed — but a team of this caliber. Thiswas really big for our momentum. … Thiswas the type of victory we needed.”

South County entered the contest with a10-2 record and brieflytook a 4-3 lead on a goalwith 2:53 remaining inthe second quarter.Robinson responded witha pair of goals and led 5-4 at halftime.

Robinson led for theentire second half.

“I think this is one of thebest games we’ve playedall year,” said JackRowlett, a senior longstick midfielder who willplay for the University ofNorth Carolina. “As ateam, it wasn’t just oneplayer shining. Everyonecontributed …”

Rowlett scored three goals Saturday, giv-ing him 16 for the season.

“Getting a hat trick as a long stick,[Rowlett is] just such a weapon,” Curransaid. “… Long stick middies, you don’t getthat. You might have one or two goals onthe year in a transition. Jack has 16 goalson the season and that’s just kind of un-heard of with a long pole. He can dodgeagainst anybody. If he has a shorty on him,he has the green light.”

Senior attackman Chapman Jasien saidRowlett makes life difficult for opposingdefenses.

“That’s huge coming from a long stickmiddie,” said Jasien, who will play collegelacrosse for the Naval Academy. “That’stough for another team; that’s tough to de-fend. We’ll kind of get out of his way and lethim work on offense; let him get his shot …

“Those shots really help us out a lot. Weencourage it big time.”

Senior attackman Tommy Gallogly alsorecorded a hat trick for Robinson.

Senior midfielder Jack Smith, juniorattackman Johnny Daniel, senior attackmanChris White, junior midfielder Austin Henry,and Jasien each scored two goals for theRams.

“I think it’s good for us,” Rowlett said.“We’re hitting our stride at the right time.We started a little shaky, not playing as wellas we could have. This is a big game for usto help us build toward the team we canbe, the team we should be [come late] May,the beginning of June.”

Robinson defeated Oakton 14-4 on Tues-day, improving its record to 11-2. The Ramswill close the regular season with a roadgame against Centreville at 7:15 p.m. onMonday, May 11.

Seven different Ramsscore multiple goalsin win over SoCo.

Robinson Boys’ LaxSpreads Offensive Wealth

Robinson long stickmidfielder JackRowlett, right, scoredthree goals againstSouth County onSaturday.

Photos by Craig Sterbutzel/The Connection

Robinson senior Tommy Gallogly finished with ahat trick during the Rams’ 16-9 win over SouthCounty on Saturday.


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