fairfax station a year in a fast laneconnectionarchives.com/pdf/2013/121813/lorton.pdf ·...

Fairfax Station/Clifton/Lorton Connection ❖ December 19-25, 2013 ❖ 1www.ConnectionNewspapers.com

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December 19-25, 2013online at www.connectionnewspapers.com

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Fairfax Station ❖ Clifton ❖ LortonFairfax Station ❖ Clifton ❖ Lorton

A Year in aFast Lane

News, Page 5

Food Assistance CutsAffecting Locals

News, Page 16

Food Assistance CutsAffecting Locals

News, Page 16

State, LocalOfficials Rally

Behind FBIin Springfield

News, Page 3

State, LocalOfficials Rally

Behind FBIin Springfield

News, Page 3

In early April 2013, crews took down theTelegraph Road overpass over I-95 in theQuantico area. This bridge was rebuiltover the summer and fall.

Page 8

2 ❖ Fairfax Station/Clifton/Lorton Connection ❖ December 19-25, 2013 www.ConnectionNewspapers.com

Man Robbedin Clifton

Fairfax County police are seek-ing the people who robbed a man,Friday night, in the 6100 block ofClifton Road. According to police,the victim had just parked his ve-hicle, at 9:50 p.m., when two menapproached and demandedmoney. One of the men displayeda handgun and shot out a windowon the victim’s vehicle.

Both men then stole cash andproperty from the victim and fledin a blue sedan. There were noinjuries. The suspects were de-scribed as black, ages 17-20, andwearing black clothing and masks.

Don’t Drinkand Drive

As the holidays approach,Fairfax County police reminds ev-eryone not to drink and drive.SoberRide is offering a free cabride home every night from nowuntil Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2014. Soanyone heading out to enjoy aholiday gathering is urged to des-ignate a driver or call SoberRideat 1-800-200-TAXI between 10p.m. and 6 a.m. to get home safely.(AT&T customers dial #9727). Formore information, go to http://www.wrap.org/soberride/.

Area Roundups

Send notes to the Connection [email protected] or call703-778-9416. Deadline is Friday. Datedannouncements should be submitted atleast two weeks prior to the event.

SATURDAY/DEC. 21Dog Adoption. 12-3 p.m. PETCO

Greenbriar Towncenter, 13053 LeeJackson Memorial Highway, Fairfax.www.hart90.org

MONDAY/DEC. 23Pohick Prose Society. 7-8:30 p.m.

Pohick Regional Library, 6450Sydenstricker Road, Burke. Teenstalk about books. Persepolis byMarjane Satrapi. Registrationrequired. Book discussion for age 13-18. 703-644-7333.

THURSDAY/DEC. 26Polar Bear Reading Club. 10 a.m.

Pohick Regional Library, 6450Sydenstricker Road, Burke. Join theclub. Read five books and choose aprize from the treasure chest. Do itagain and again in January andFebruary. Age birth-12. 703-644-7333.

FRIDAY/DEC. 27Polar Bear Reading Club. 10 a.m.

Pohick Regional Library, 6450Sydenstricker Road, Burke. Join theclub. Read five books and choose aprize from the treasure chest. Do itagain and again in January andFebruary. Age birth-12. 703-644-7333.

Fun Flicks. 10:30-11:15 a.m. Watchmovies based on children’s books.Call for the titles. Cosponsored by theFriends of the Pohick RegionalLibrary. Registration required. Allages. 703-644-7333.

Bulletin Board

Church of the Apostles Anglican(formerly on Pickett Road inFairfax) lost their church propertymore than two years ago in a dis-pute with the Episcopal diocese.While temporarily “homeless” thechurch (known for decades of the-atrical and dance performances)has decided to bring the show onthe road. Their unique take on aliving nativity will be held in anon-religious atmosphere at theSherwood Community Center inFairfax. Admission is free.

Friday, Dec. 20, 7 – 8 p.m. at

Sherwood Community Center(next to Van Dyke Park), 3740 OldLee Highway, Fairfax.

Rev. Joe Acanfora has said thateven though the economy is recov-ering, there are still many people outthere distressed or just coming outof a tailspin or still feeling “home-less” and that the circumstances thischurch went through have actuallyworked to bring the church into thegeneral community rather than staywithin physical walls.

Church of the Apostles has anequally different take on the Liv-

ing Nativity, as the seemingly im-promptu dialog shows the harshrealities people faced during thetime of the census thousands ofyears ago.

A church in Oakton (WholeWord Fellowship) hosts the COAAcongregation twice on Sundays inthe interim. Church members hailfrom all parts of Fairfax Countyincluding Reston, Herndon,Springfield, Annandale, Clifton,and Centreville/Chantilly. Formore information visitwww.christmasinbethlehem.org

A ‘Homeless’ Church Presents Living Nativity

Photo contributed

Rev. Joe Acanfora plays arabbi.


U.S. Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-11) joins other high-ranking Virginia politicians in backing the Springfield sitefor the new FBI headquarters. The GSA is expected to announce the site selection in 2015. From left - Secre-tary of Commerce and Trade Jim Cheng, who represented Governor Robert McDonnell; U.S. Rep. Jim Moran(D-8) and Fairfax County Supervisor Jeff McKay (D-Lee).

NewsLorton/Fairfax Station/Clifton Connection Editor Kemal Kurspahic

703-778-9414 or [email protected]

By Victoria Ross

The Connection

A high-ranking delegation of Vir-ginia politicians gathered inSpringfield Tuesday morning ina renewed effort to convince the

Federal Bureau of Investigation to relocateits headquarters to a warehouse site inSpringfield.

The move in the high-stakes, highly com-petitive regional competition comes aftersite selection guidelines eliminated almostall other Northern Virginia locations.

U.S. Sens. Mark Warner (D) and TimKaine (D), U.S. Reps. Jim Moran (D-8),Frank Wolf (R-10) and Gerry Connolly (D-11), Governor-elect Terry McAuliffe (D),State Del. Vivian Watts (D-39), FairfaxCounty Supervisor Jeff McKay (D-Lee) andothers held a news conference on Tuesday,Dec. 17 at Northern Virginia CommunityCollege’s Medical Campus Tuesday to senda message that the Springfield site is theideal choice.

IN LATE 2011, the General Services Ad-ministration (GSA), which manages federalproperties, announced plans to move theFBI’s main office out of the run-down, di-lapidated J. Edgar Hoover Building on Penn-sylvania Avenue.

Since then, several jurisdictions across theWashington region have made it clear theyhave the ideal location for the bureau’smove.

But the Virginia delegation made the ar-gument that the federally-owned ware-house in Springfield makes the best loca-tion for the FBI to consolidate as many as11,000 employees for a number of reasons,including the fact that the GSA alreadyowns the warehouse, which guarantees thatfederal government ownership of the cam-pus is both clean and easy.

“Virginia checks every box,” Warner said,“transit accessible, fiber-wired, synergy withFBI Quantico… Many FBI employees livein Virginia, and it is easy for DC and Mary-land residents to commute.”

Citing the bi-partisan display of unity inthe effort, Kaine said he was “brought intothis process by our three members of Con-gress - Connolly, Moran, and Wolf…It ischaracteristic of us in Virginia that we allwork together. “

Wolf, who chairs the appropriations sub-committee overseeing the FBI, said the siteis ideally located, with easy access to theCIA and Quantico.

Connolly agreed: “The FBI’s ability to in-teract with other federal anti-terrorism of-fices located in NoVA is critical.”

Supervisor McKay, whose district is home

He pointed out that airport access willsoon be served by two Metro stations onceRail to Dulles is complete.

Fairfax County would also benefit by high-paying jobs that would come to the area,and redevelopment of the site would spurconstruction of other office projects nearbyand expand commercial tax base.

“You know the site makes perfect sensewhen the entire Northern Virginia Congres-sional Delegation, the Governor, the Gov-ernor-Elect, and State elected and ap-pointed officials – both Democrats and Re-publicans- all agree on something,” McKayadded.

ACCORDING TO OFFICIALS, the deci-sion by the GSA will be made in 2015. Whileother regional sites have been eliminatedfor various reasons, Maryland is still in therunning with its site in Prince GeorgesCounty.

But Connolly predicts the Springfield sitewill be the chosen one.

“We’re going to win this on the merits,not on politics. We had a number of sites inVirginia, but we put our parochial interestaside to support the best site for NorthernVirginia and for our national security.”

Virginia leaders toutmerits of Springfield sitefor FBI HQ relocation.

What More Could FBI Want?

to the warehouse site, said county officialswill do “everything in our power to makesure zoning and other factors are in place.”

McKay said the benefits to the federalgovernment of relocating to Springfield“would be substantial.”

In January 2012, Fairfax County joinedPrince George’s County and the District inplacing its marker on the table in the high-stakes competition soon after the Senatepassed a resolution authorizing the GSA andFBI to seek new headquarters in December

2011.“The FBI needs 2 million square feet of

office space, located within two miles of aMetro station and within 2.5 miles of theBeltway according to the GAO. Redevelop-ing existing sites in DC would be extremelyexpensive, especially given the post-911security features that are now required…Itis adjacent to the Franconia/SpringfieldMetro Station, VRE, AMTRAK, bus service,and every highway except Route 66,” McKaysaid at the time.

A map of the ware-house site in Spring-field shows thelocation’s primeproximity to majortransportation. Thesite is adjacent to theFranconia/Spring-field Metro Station,VRE, AMTRAK, busservice, and everyhighway exceptRoute 66.

“We’re going to win this on the merits, not on politics. We had a numberof sites in Virginia, but we put our parochial interest aside to supportthe best site for Northern Virginia and for our national security.”

— U.S. Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-11)

“We’re going to win this on the merits, not on politics. We had a numberof sites in Virginia, but we put our parochial interest aside to supportthe best site for Northern Virginia and for our national security.”

— U.S. Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-11)

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News

By Michael Lee Pope

The Connection

In the coming year, the National Trust for His-toric Preservation will step aside and let a non-profit organization known as Arcadia Centerfor Sustainable Food and Agriculture take con-

trol of operations and interpretation. The move willmark a drastic departure for the plantation estate,which will discontinue its longstanding relationshipwith Woodlawn Stables. The horses will become athing of the past and the museum will feature newinterpretation that leaders at the National Trust hopewill expand into a destination for visitors to eat, learnand garden.

“What you usually would not hear on a tour hereis much about the agricultural history — why thiswas part of Mount Vernon originally, how Washing-ton farmed this area, why he thought that this par-ticular site where we are standing would be, as hecalled it, a great seat for a gentleman,” said JohnRiley, interim director at Woodlawn. “The Trust isgoing to look at the agricultural history throughArcadia and with Arcadia, which predates equestrianfacilities by 100 years here.”

That means the end of an era for the Mount Vernonneighborhood, where Woodlawn Stables has been apopular destination and a cherished memory formany families through the generations. For morethan 30 years, the business has leased a property atthe southeast corner of Route 1 and Mount VernonMemorial Highway. That longstanding history waschallenged last year when officials at the FederalHighway Administration began an effort to widenRoute 1, a process that will eventually lead to demo-lition of Woodlawn Stables.

“Naturally, we are disappointed,” said CynthiaMitchell, owner of Woodlawn Stables. “It does seemas if our roots have gotten pushed a little furtheraway from us, and we tend to be pushing businessessuch as this one that provides jobs in the local com-munity out further and further.”

SINCE WOODLAWN was acquired by the NationalTrust for Historic Preservation and opened as a mu-seum, visitors have learned about the story of NellyCustis Lewis and Lawrence Lewis. But they wouldnot have learned much about the agricultural his-tory of the site — why it was part of the originalMount Vernon estate and how George Washingtonfarmed the area. By the time Woodlawn opens againin the spring of 2015, leaders at Arcadia hope to havetransformed the experience.

“We hope to bring a new life back to the houseand the grounds, and make it the vibrant center ofthe community it once was,” said Arcadia founderMichael Babin in a written statement. “We look for-ward to expanding our farm production, farmer train-ing and our educational programs and sharingWoodlawn’s inspiring agricultural and social historywith the region.”

Supporters of Woodlawn Stables say they are dev-astated by the news, especially considering the fed-eral mitigation money that will be available becauseof the demolition of the existing stables. Some wereholding out hope that the National Trust would in-corporate horses into their property after Route 1was widened. Now that it’s clear that won’t happen,supporters of the stable say they hope the federalmoney might be earmarked for a barn at the eques-trian center at Laurel Hill in Lorton.

“We’re saddened to see that they have decided togo with a path that strays away from Woodlawn’shistory,” said Shelley Castle, founder of a groupknown as Save Woodlawn Stables. “This has been ahorse farm or livestock for more than a century, andwe think this greatly diminishes the historic value ofthe property.”

LEADERS AT THE TRUST disagree with that in-terpretation. They say Arcadia’s new focus on agri-culture will return the property to its roots, a timewhen George Washington sought tenants to farmparts of 8,000 acres of Mount Vernon estate. LikeWashington, the Trust is now hoping its new tenantmight plant a seed for future generations by recreat-ing the Woodlawn experience.

“Washington came to the realization that tobacco—ºyear after year — was going to ruin his land, andthat’s why a lot of people were moving out west tofind new land. But he didn’t want to move west,”said Riley. “So he hoped he was creating an examplefor American farmers in terms of being able to stayon the land you were on and making fruitful.”

Horses will be evicted infavor of new interpretationfocusing on agricultureand gardening.

Woodlawn Reinvented

The NationalTrust for HistoricPreservation willevict these horsesfrom Woodlawn.

Photo by

Michael Lee Pope/

The Connection

It’s betterto givethan tolend, andit costsabout thesame.—Sir Philip Gibbs

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News

Construction dominated the scenery on I-95/395 between Garrisonville Road(Route 610) in Stafford County andTurkeycock Park near Edsall Road in the

north as the 95 Express Lanes project crews advancedwork in the 29-mile construction corridor keepingthe project on-track to open to traffic in early 2015.

The 2013 work focused on clearing the roadbedin the median for the new Express Lanes and build-ing new ramps and foundations for nine new bridgesincluding four flyover ramps connecting the ExpressLanes to the general purpose lanes and other I-95/395 overhead crossing roads and two new bridgestructures on the I-95 mainline over streams andcreeks.

One of the major bridge construction efforts wasdemolishing and re-building the Telegraph Roadbridge carrying traffic serving the Quantico, USMCfacilities on both sides of I-95 requiring a 9-monthlong detour. Once the old bridge was demolished,the median ground between 95 north and south wasexcavated to provide room for new 95 Express Lanesand the new Telegraph Road bridge was built overthe summer and will reopen this winter. Currently,new bridges crossing Aquia Creek, ChopawamsicCreek, Russell Road, Joplin Road, Route 1 and Fur-nace Road are under construction and will be com-pleted this year.

Building the new flyover ramps required the place-ment of steel beams over the I-95 lanes and severalmidnight to early morning detours were imple-mented allowing crews access to place steel beamsacross the 95 lanes. The flyover ramp south ofDumfries was done first, followed by the flyover nearAlban Road in Springfield, and the flyover atGarrisonville Road in Stafford County. Beam place-ment for the final flyover ramp at Turkeycock Parknear Edsall Road will be completed in January 2014.At the Fort Belvoir North Area in Springfield, beamswill be placed over I-95 South and Backlick Road inearly January and a detour will be in place for thisovernight activity. Although this is not part of the 95Express Lanes project, it is in the same corridor andwill impact motorists traveling at night.

In 2014, crews will be finishing the flyover rampconnections, placing pavement, installing soundwalls and erecting signs and toll gantry’s through-out the corridor.

A Year in a Fast Lane2013 was a big year fortransportation projects inNorthern Virginia.

Just south of the FairfaxCounty Parkway overpass,workers put decking on areversible express lanesramp in fall 2013.

From the air,decking isnearly com-plete on thereversible 95Express Lanesramp in theNewingtonarea.

Keeping Motorists InformedThroughout the year, Virginia Megaprojects continued its

public outreach program that keeps motorists informed ofconstruction and providing commuters with alternate traveloptions. One popular program has been the WoodbridgeTysons Express buses, the Saturday Metrodirect Bus betweenPotomac Mills Mall and the Springfield-Franconia Metro Sta-tion. Also, the new dynamic travel-time sign comparing HOVtravel times to the general purpose lanes and placement ofadditional message boards and signage are other methods theVDOT Virginia Megaprojects team employs to keep motoristsaware of highway conditions.

Construction impacts are also announced on theMegaprojects e-news, an electronic newspaper that is distrib-uted on a bi-weekly and monthly basis. To sign up for thee-news, email requests to [email protected].

Photo by

Joe Romeo

Photo by

Trevor Wrayton/

VDOT


WriteLetters to the Editor

The Connection1606 King St.

Alexandria VA 22314

By e-mail: [email protected]

Parents Advocate forClass Size CapsTo the Editor:

On Saturday, Dec. 7, Fairfax County PublicSchools (FCPS) Superintendent’s (Dr. KarenGarza) conducted a “Listening Tour” meetingat Cooper Middle School in McLean.

Many parents who spoke at the meeting wereconcerned about large class sizes in theirchildren’s schools. This is not a problem in mostFCPS schools - the average elementary schoolclass in FCPS has only 21-22 students, andplenty of FCPS elementary schools average 20or fewer students per class.

However, large class sizes have become thenorm in Vienna, Oakton, McLean and GreatFalls schools. Teachers unlucky enough to beassigned to the 30+ classes are often pushedto the limit in terms of what they can do tocontrol classroom behavior and alleviate stu-dent stress. At Wolftrap Elementary, teachershave even created a “coping couch” for stressedkids to help them escape from the crowded,noisy and chaotic atmosphere that is so ofteninevitable with such excessively large classes.

The school system is looking at county-wideincreases in average class sizes. Without sometype of class size cap, this would create a situ-ation where most of the county’s students hadreasonable class sizes (e.g., 16 to 26 students),but even more students in the Vienna, Oakton,McLean and Great Falls would have more than30 students in their rooms - which are no largerthan the rooms being used to hold 17 or 22students elsewhere in FCPS.

After seeing their children crammed intooversized classes for years, parents formedClass Size Counts last year. The group is work-ing with State Delegate Barbara Comstock toaddress the class size issue at the state level,Supervisor Foust, several School Board mem-bers and Superintendent Garza at the countylevel. The Class Size Counts online petition,with over 1,000 signatures, asks that theFairfax County school system not increase av-erage class sizes without simultaneously imple-menting class size caps:

http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/stop-oversize-classes-in-fairfax-countyschool/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=system&utm_campaign=Send%2Bto%2BFriend .

At Cooper Middle School, Dr. Garza reas-sured parents and teachers in the room thatshe is working to fix this problem, by draftingan FCPS regulation that would impose classsize caps.

Class Size Counts applauds Dr. Garza for tak-ing a stand on implementing caps so that allchildren in FCPS can receive a decent and faireducation.

Interestingly, the School Board memberwhose district includes many schools with thelargest class sizes - Jane Strauss - also told par-ents at a Longfellow PTA meeting that she op-posed a class size cap, and preferred to con-tinue using the FCPS “staffing reserve.” Sev-eral years ago, parents submitted a Freedomof Information Act (FOIA) request for emailsand other documents regarding the staffingreserve. The documents painted a picture of aslush fund with no apparent criteria or controls.

Kim FarrellMother of two FCPS students

Vienna

Karen Garza discusses class size atthe Dec. 7 listening tour in McLean.

Letters to the Editor

Opinion

By Michelle Krocker

And Jim Edmondson

In the latest edition of The Herrity Re-port, Springfield Supervisor Pat Herrityproposed “redirecting developers’ $3 persquare foot contribution for buying rent-

controlled housing units into a trustfund to pay for public school renova-tion and construction.”

The report proceeds to make severalunsubstantiated claims regarding thenumber of people living in subsidized housingand the growth in both the number of subsi-dized units and number of households inFairfax County. However as in the past, TheHerrity Report does not provide the full pic-ture of the housing policy under discussion,and misrepresents the facts.

The Board of Supervisors adopted its hous-ing policy in 2010 as a part of the larger plan

for the redevelopment of Tysons. It is now un-der consideration, at the request of the board,for application in other designated high den-sity, transit and business centers in the rest ofthe county. Called the ‘3-2-1’ policy, the pro-posal by county staff would apply a contribu-tion from commercial development to supportthe construction of workforce housing in thetransit or business area, as it does in the Tysonsplan. The contribution would be applied on asliding scale based on a proposeddevelopment’s proximity to a transit station.This proposal will go before the Planning Com-mission and then the Board of Supervisors inthe first quarter of 2014.

Why is this policy important?❖ To accommodate projected job growth and

remain competitive within the region, it is im-portant to ensure housing opportuni-ties for the workforce of the future atall income levels;

❖ Developing housing at transit sta-tions and adjacent to employment cen-

ters encourages use of mass transit, walkingand biking which can lead to fewer cars, andless congestion; it also enhances Metro revenueand reduces the pressure on local governmentto provide subsidies for the system;

❖ Linking commercial development (jobs)and housing via a linkage program is an ac-knowledged “best practice” in hundreds ofcommunities across the country to ensure an

adequate supply of housing to support jobgrowth.

❖ It recognizes the changing preferences ofworkers/taxpayers/voters, particularly youngpeople, to live near where they work.

The proposed policy anticipates that the con-tributions will be made to a housing trust fundused by the county to leverage private sectorfinancing to develop the needed housing.

The housing that is constructed will not beowned or purchased by the county. In fact, verylittle of the affordable housing in the county isowned by the government.

Securing decent housing that is affordableremains a challenge for Fairfax County house-holds earning less than $60,000.

Meeting the growing needs of our schoolsystem is also an important issue. Both educa-tion and safe, decent housing are fundamen-tal to the well-being of our community, andresidents want leadership that seeks to findworkable solutions. Failing to recognize theimportance of both and pitting one issueagainst the other are not the answers, and thecitizens of Fairfax County deserve better fromelected officials.

Michelle Krocker is executive director,Northern Virginia Affordable Housing Alliance.Jim Edmondson is president of AHOME, whichpromotes affordable housing opportunities forfamilies at all income levels.

Preserve 3-2-1 for HousingHousing for all incomelevels near transitsupports vibrantcommunities and jobgrowth, reduces traffic.

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News

John Lewett Honored withLife MembershipJoan Rogers, President of The Friends of The FairfaxStation, presented a Life Membership for John Lewett toJohn’s son, Sean Lewett, at the 24th annual Fairfax Sta-tion Railroad Museum’s Holiday Train Show the weekendof Dec. 7 and 8. John Lewett, owner of JL Tree Service,Inc. has provided hundreds of hours of donated tree workservice to the Museum as well as being a great supporterof the Museum activities for many years.

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Fairfax County PublicSchools (FCPS) Super-intendent Karen K.Garza has released the

results of the third annual trustand confidence survey of FCPSparents and taxpayers that mea-sured opinions about a number ofissues related to the school district.The assessment surveyed morethan 10,700 parents and non-par-ent taxpayers to determine theiroverall level of trust and confi-dence in the school system.

Survey participants were askedwhether they agreed with a num-ber of statements about FCPS. Atotal of 84 percent of parent re-spondents strongly agreed oragreed that FCPS is a trustworthypublic institution, and 65 percentof non-parents strongly agreed oragreed with that statement. Thesenumbers are up slightly from 2012respondents. Approximately 25percent of non-parents say theydon’t have enough information tomake that assessment, a two-pointdecrease from last year, and a posi-tive indicator.

Every question had an increasein the agree-strongly agree re-

sponses, and some had significantincreases of four or more points.Each question also saw an im-provement in the “don’t haveenough information to make anassessment” response, and somehad significant decreases of five ormore points, an indicator of im-provement, showing that fewerpeople feel they don’t have enoughinformation to respond.

A significant increase in theagree-strongly agree responseswas “School system leaders makedecisions that reflect thecommunity’s values,” an increasefrom 63 percent to 70 percentamong parents, and from 41 to 47percent among non-parents. Posi-tive responses for the followingitems increased over the 2012 sur-vey: 90 percent of parents and 65percent of non-parents agree thatFCPS respects the cultural diver-sity of students and families, and83 percent of parents and 56 per-cent of non-parents agree thatFCPS teachers are effective in pre-paring students for the future.Eighty-three percent of parent re-spondents also confirmed thatFCPS is providing students withthe right education for the 21stcentury, along with 56 percent ofnon-parent respondents.

For complete results, visitwww.fcps.edu. To sign up for theFCPS community newsletter, visitwww.fcps.edu/kit/.

Results of thethird annualsurvey released.

Trust in SchoolSystem Tested


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FULL DAY SUMMER CAMP PROGRAM AGES SIX TO ELEVEN YEARSProgram is organized into weekly themes packed with FANTASTIC FIELD TRIPS, ASENSATIONAL OVERNIGHT CAMP OUT, DAILY SWIMMING, SPORTS, DANCING,MUSIC, AND AN END OF THE SUMMER “SMASH” MUSICAL PRODUCTION BY

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KINDERGARTENRegistrations are now being accepted for the2013-2014 School Year. Two Virginia certifiedteachers per classroom. Program emphasizes

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www.kiddiecountry.com

Mr. and Mrs. PalmerMarcantonio of Vir-ginia Beach are happyto announce the en-gagement of theirdaughter, Laura An-gela, to Ryan LeeStiles. Ryan is the sonof Ms. Audrey Stiles ofWilliamsburg and Mr.Ronald Stiles of Vir-ginia Beach.

The bride is a 2003graduate of LakeBraddock SecondarySchool, a 2007 gradu-ate of James MadisonUniversity with a Bach-elor of Science in Soci-ology, and a 2013graduate of VirginiaCommonwealth Uni-versity with a Master ofScience in Nursing inWomen’s Health. Sheis employed by CJW MedicalCenter in Richmond.

The groom is a 2000 gradu-ate of Jamestown High School,a 2005 graduate of VirginiaCommonwealth Universitywith a Bachelor of Science inPsychology and is a currentMaster of Business Administra-

tion candidate at the Univer-sity of Richmond’s RobinsSchool of Business. He is em-ployed by the University ofRichmond.

Laura and Ryan look forwardto celebrating with their familyand friends in Charlottesville,Va., next September.

Laura Angela Marcantonio,Ryan Lee Stiles Engaged

Ryan Lee Stiles andLaura Angela Marcantonio

By Marilyn Campbell

The Connection

Liz Henry is nervous abouther upcoming flight to SanFrancisco. It’s not TSA

regulations or long lines that arecausing her anxiety, however. It istraveling alone with her three chil-dren — all of whom are under theage of 6.

“My kids are 5, 3 and 1,” saidHenry, who lives in Vienna. “I’mtaking them to visit my family forChristmas, but they’ve never flownbefore. I have a lot of DVDspacked, but I don’t know how farthose will get me. I don’t like paci-fying my kids with videos, but Idon’t think I have a choice.”

Going home for the holidays of-ten means boarding an airplanewith high-energy children and set-

tling in for a long ride. Parentssuch as Henry scramble to findways to fill the time in a way thatkeeps their child entertained with-out disturbing other passengers.Local education experts say thereare options that don’t involve the

last resort of videos and electronicgames, however.

“Reading is always a goodchoice, but for many children, itcannot hold their attention forlong plane rides,” said LenAnnetta, Ph.D., a professor in the

College of Education and HumanDevelopment at George MasonUniversity. “Games like Scrabblechallenge players’ literacy skills ina fun way. Crossword puzzles arealso fun and engaging.”

Annetta, who recently returnedfrom a family trip to Italy, has first-hand experience with survivinglengthy plane rides with childrenin tow. “I took the whole family,including my 13- and 11-year-oldchildren,” he said. “My childrenare older, but we played a namethe cloud game. Of course, wewere above the clouds, so it madeit a bit more difficult.”

When traveling abroad, a longflight is an ideal time to learn moreabout the culture or language ofyour final destination. “My chil-dren tried a crash course on Ital-ian,” said Annetta. “They learneda few words they used during theweek we were there. This was afree app on the iPod that we down-loaded before we left.”

Bethesda-based psychotherapistKatie Cogan, Ph.D., recommendsactivities that engage a child’simagination, particularly foryounger children. “You always

have your imagination with you nomatter what,” she said. “You cansay to a child, ‘Tell me a story,’ oryou can take turns telling storieswith your child. When you’re onthe plane, you can help your childimagine what it will look like whenwe get there.”

For young children, Cogan said,“Using what’s inside you to createa world that already exists. It iscalled active imagination. Useyour creativity to do anything. Ifyou’re with a young child, you canask ‘How many things can youthink of that are red?’”

Cogan also advises helping chil-dren make up a story, particularlyabout their final destination. “If itis a small kid, give them the firstpart of the story or the first wordand let them take if from there,”she said. “Have paper with you,and you can have your child tellyou the story and either write itdown or have your child write thestory down and color it.”

Annetta said, “Journaling yourexperience is a fun way to prac-tice writing while telling the storyof where you are going or whereyou’ve been.”

Home for the Holidays: Surviving a Long TripKeeping childrenentertained onlengthy airplanerides.

Len Annetta, Ph.D., of George Mason University traveledto Italy recently with his wife, Jennifer, and his childrenSamantha and Joey. Annetta kept his children occupiedduring the long fight with cloud games and by helpingthem practice Italian.

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News

By Steve Hibbard

The Connection

The all-volunteer Celebration Singers per-formed their final holiday concert of theyear on Sunday, Dec. 15 at St. John’sUnited Methodist Church in Springfield.

The group started at Springfield Methodist Churchin the 1960s by the name of the Wesleyan Singers.Some of the ladies have been singing together for40-plus years. And through the years, membershiphas reached 66 people, but has since dwindled to18.

The all-female ensemble sings three, four, and five-part harmonies with huge audience interaction. Theysing and dance at nursing homes, assisted-living fa-cilities, benefits for Make-a-Wish and the Salvation

Army, Fischer House at Walter Reed Hospital, andeven the White House.

Anne Miller, 77, of Fairfield, Va., near Lexington,started directing the group in 1971 and has remainedever since. “It’s just something I love,” said Millerwho has been singing since age 6 and hails fromClinton, Okla. “I love to direct, I love to sing and Ilove to make people happy.”

Miller was married to Grant Miller, an Air ForceLawyer, and directed the Tripoli Choral Society whilethey were stationed in Libya. She received a master’sdegree in vocal performance from the University ofHawaii in 1969 and moved to Northern Virginia in1971. That year, she performed in the LeonardBernstein Mass at the grand opening of The KennedyCenter in front of Jackie Kennedy.

Betty Aldrich, 70, of Falls Church says Miller isamazing in her ability to pull out choral perfectionfrom the group. “She teaches us how to center,” saidAldrich who’s been a member since the mid-1980s.

Springfield show choir hasbeen going strong 40 years.

In Harmony WithCelebration Singers

Anne Miller conducts the audience at St.John’s United Methodist Church in Spring-field on Sunday.

Nora Steiger, 85, of Springfield plays awashtub bass using a broomstick and onestring, sometimes called a “stumpf-fiddle.”

See Celebrating, Page 11

The CelebrationSingers performat St. John’sUnited MethodistChurch in Spring-field on Sunday.

Photos by

Steve Hibbard/

The Connection


JubileeChristian Center

A Caring & Spirit-Filled Church

4650 SHIRLEY GATE ROAD, FAIRFAXBILL FRASNELLI, LEAD PASTOR

703-383-1170VISIT OUR WEB SITE: WWW.JCCAG.ORG

December 15Children’s Musical

“Camel Lot” and Adult Choirpresentation, 11 am.

Holiday Reception follows.

December 24Christmas Eve gathering, 8 pm

December 31International Food Feast and

family activities, 6-10 pm

BaptistAntioch Baptist Church…

703-425-0940Clifton Baptist Church…

703-263-1161Community Baptist

Church…703-250-9060

Fairfax Baptist Temple…703-323-8100

Harvest AssemblyBaptist Church…

703-799-7868Hope Baptist Church…

703-799-5155Jerusalem

Baptist Church…703-278-8166

Shiloh Baptist Church…703-550-8557

Virginia KoreanBaptist Church…

703-425-1972Buddhist

Ekoji Buddhist Temple….703-239-1200

CatholicSt. Clare of Assisi…

703-266-1310St. Raymond of Peñafort

703-440-0535

Church of GodChurch of the Living Godof No. Va.…703-250-7980

CongregaciónLa Cena Del Señor…

703-550-1204Episcopal

St. Peter’s in the Woods…703-503-9210

Pohick Church…703-339-6579

JewishTemple B’nai Shalom...

703-764-2901Lutheran

Living Savior LutheranChurch…703-352-1421

MethodistChrist Church ofFairfax Station…

703-690-3401

Cranford UnitedMethodist Church…

703-339-5382Non-DenominationalGrace Bible Church…

703-339-7292Gunston Bible Church…

703-339-5395Iglesia La Gran Comision

Asambleas De Dios…703-541-0816

New Hope Church…703-971-4673

New Jerusalem Templeof Worship…703-593-6153

The Spirit of The Living ChristMinistry…703-568-5647

PentecostalChrist Pentecostal International

Church…703-339-2119

First United PentecostalChurch…

703-339-2402Presbyterian

Clifton Presbyterian Church…703-830-3175

Seoul Presbyterian Church…703-764-1310

SikhSikh Foundation

of Virginia…703-323-8849

COMMUNITIES OF WORSHIP

To Advertise Your Community of Worship, Call 703-778-9418

www.calvaryfamily.com“Continuing the ministry of Christ

on earth”

9800 Old Keene Mill Rd.703-455-7041Sunday School

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Send notes to the Connection [email protected] orcall 703-778-9416. The deadline is theFriday prior to the next paper’s publi-cation. Dated announcements shouldbe submitted at least two weeks priorto the event. For more entertainmentevents in the county, go to: http://www.connectionnewspapers.com/news/2013/sep/26/fairfax-county-calendar/.

WEDNESDAY/DEC. 18-SUNDAY/JAN. 5100 Under 200: 100 Artists

Exhibiting Work PricedLess than $200. WorkhouseArts, 9601 Ox Road, Lorton.Free flowing and ever changing;the exhibit will have new art onview each week.

From the Fire. Workhouse Arts,9601 Ox Road, Lorton. Fivediverse ceramic artists challengethemselves to create personalwork for a joint firing in “Fromthe Fire”, an educational exhibitof 30 works and concomitantphotographs and text.

SATURDAY/DEC. 21Ballroom Social Dance. 7:30-

10:30 p.m. 601 Ox Road,Lorton. Admission: $15. http://www.workhousearts.org/events/performing-arts/ballroom-social-dance-10

FRIDAY/JAN. 3 &SATURDAY/JAN. 4Cabaret Series: Welcome to

the Speakeasy. 8 p.m.Workhouse Arts, 9601 Ox Road,Lorton. A raucous ramblethrough the Jazz Age as talentedperformers tackle the tunesinspired by the gin-jointatmosphere.

Calendar

WEDNESDAY/DEC. 18Travelers’ Christmas Eve.

7:30 p.m. Messiah UnitedMethodist Church, 6215Rolling Road, Springfield. AChristmas Eve service for thosepersons, especially firstresponders, doctors and nurseswho may have to work on Dec.24. www.messiahumc.org

FRIDAY/DEC. 20 -SATURDAY/DEC. 21“Oh Holy Night,” a Christmas

Concert. 7:30 p.m. WorkhouseArts Center, 9601 Ox Road,Lorton. Get in the holiday spiritwith some melodious tunes.Tickets $15 http://www.workhousearts.org/events/performing-arts/christmas-concert-o-holy-night

SATURDAY/DEC. 21An Irish Christmas – An

Nollaig. 8 p.m. GMUCenter for the Arts, 4400University Drive, Fairfax. Irish-American fiddler Eileen Iversbrings the joy of the holidayseason to Fairfax with hercelebration for the whole family, aheartwarming concert filled withtales of Irish Christmas traditions andfavorite Celtic holiday tunes. Tickets:$25-$50.

Living Nativity. 5:30-7:30 p.m.Safeway Parking Lot, Burke TownPlaza, at the corner of Old Keene Milland Lee Chapel/Burke CenterParkway. Calvary Christian Church ishosting its annual ‘Living Nativity’. Inaddition to people, sheep, donkeysand even a camel will be there. Hotcocoa, cider and cookies will beprovided.

SUNDAY/DEC. 22Christmas Cantata. 11 a.m. Cranford

United Methodist Church, 9912 OldColchester Road, Lorton. Join the 25member strong Cranford ChancelChoir, led by music director GayleLennon, as they sing to the glories ofthe coming Emmanuel with song.

TUESDAY/DEC. 24Christmas Caroling. 4:30 p.m.

Cranford United Methodist Church,

9912 Old Colchester Road, Lorton.Door-to-door caroling.

Candlelight Christmas EveService. 7:30 p.m. Cranford UnitedMethodist Church, 9912 OldColchester Road, Lorton. An eveningof music, scripture and quietreflection of the birth of Jesus.

WEDNESDAY/DEC. 25J Fest. 11 a.m. - 3 p.m. wish

Community Center of NorthernVirginia, 8900 Little River

Turnpike, Fairfax. The dayincludes entertainment, food andfun for all ages. At 3 p.m., theJCCNV will screen thedocumentary “Hava Nagila (TheMovie)” — a romp through thehistory, mystery and meaning ofthe great Jewish standard. Israelidancing with Markid Markfollows the film. J Fest fee perfamily (up to 6 people): $20/$15 JCCNV member (includesadmission and movie screening).Film only fee: $9/ $6 JCCNVmember, senior, student, child.Call (703) 323-0880 for detailsand to register, or visitwww.jccnv.org.

TUESDAY/DEC. 31The Ultimate 80s New YearsEve. 9 p.m. Empire, 6355 RollingRoad, Springfield. $20.The Ultimate New Year’sEve Experience. 7 p.m. - 1a.m. Hyatt Fair Lakes Hotel,12777 Fair Lakes Circle, Fairfax.Live entertainment, music, food,and more. Tickets: $159 perperson.Cool Cow Comedy Presents:

The New Years Eve Special. 7p.m. & 9 p.m. Workhouse ArtsCenter, 9601 Ox Road, Lorton.Admission: $35. With powerful standup comedy and hilarious sketchcomedy, Rahmien Mostafavi (DCImprov, Kennedy Center), JonMumma (DC Improv, Sirius XM), andDanny Rouhier (106.7 The Fan, DCImprov) will take you towardmidnight with side splitting comedy.For tickets, visit: http://www.workhousearts.org/events/performing-arts/cool-cow-comedy-presents-nye-special-show.

Holiday Calendar

Photo by Luke Ratray

Eileen Ivers brings the joy of the holiday season to Fairfax withher celebration for the whole family, a heartwarming concertfilled with tales of Irish Christmas traditions and favorite Celticholiday tunes on Dec. 21 at GMU’s Center for the Arts.


Looking for a NewPlace of Worship?

Visit Antioch Baptist Church!

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.

Rev. Dr. Marshal L. Ausberry, Sr., Senior Pastor

Antioch Baptist Church6531 Little Ox Road

Fairfax Station, VA 22039703-425-0710 • www.antioch-church.org

5911 Fairview Woods Drive,Fairfax Station, VA 22039

www.spiw.org • 703-503-9210

We invite you to worship with us!Our Regular Weekly Worship:8 a.m., 10:15 am, and 5 pm

Sunday, 8:00 am: A traditional service without music,but with a very contemplative focus.Sunday, 10:15 am: A service for all ages with diverse musicsupported by a full choir.Sunday, 5 pm: A casual service to “Come As You Are” andworship God with joyous music supported by our house band.Wednesday, 7 pm: Wednesday Prayer Service

Christmas Eve Services:Pageant & Choral Eucharist 5 pmSpecial Music 7 pm • Choral Eucharist 7:30 pm

Christmas Day Service:December 25th, 10 am

From Page 9

News

“She gets a beautiful sound with us.”Jenny Squire, 64, of Springfield, who wrote the

script and emceed along with Karen Weinberg,agrees: “She gets from our group a sound that no-body else could get.” Squire is also passionate aboutperforming live at nursing homes and hospitals. “Itprovides them with a window on the world that theycan access,” she said. “We provide live entertainment,which means it’s one-on-on.” She loves to see re-sponses like foot tapping or people mouthing words.After a performance, the singers usually go out andshake hands and greet people. “It’s all about reach-ing them,” she adds.

For their Christmas Show on Sunday, the groupwore brightly colored handmade costumes anddanced to the choreographed songs, “O Holy Night,”“Hanukkah’s Child,” “Christmas Waltz,” and “AfricanAdvent Carol,” among others.

For Willa Lutz, 64, of Falls Church, she enjoys thefriends she’s known for 20 years. “I like to sing anddance,” she added.

Nora Steiger, 85, of Springfield has been singingwith the group for 40 years. She plays a washtubbass using a broomstick and one string, sometimescalled a “stumpf-fiddle.” She calls Miller “very pa-tient and gentle.”

Lydia Garner, 62, a one-year member from Ster-ling, says Miller adds humor to the mix. She says

Celebrating inHarmony

she loves “the gratification of knowing I brought asmile to people’s faces.”

For Karen Weinberg, 58, the Celebration Singersis “like a family.” She enjoys the camaraderie andsays it’s more than just singing. “We get as much outof the performance as (the audience) does.”

“It’s really like a big caring family of all sisters,”added Gayle Parsons, 63, of Springfield, a pianistwho’s been with the group six years.

After Labor Day, the group goes to the MiddlebrookRetreat Center for two days where they begin prac-ticing the songs and choreographing the moves. Af-ter polishing the show for about three months atBurke United Methodist Church, they are ready togive their holiday concert.

Alice Groenig, 64, directs a subgroup called“Sounds of Joy,” that does smaller shows with eightsingers. A member for 28 years, she enjoys “the joyand happiness of seeing people’s faces who don’t getto see live entertainment.”

Celebration Singers is always looking for new mem-bers. If interested in joining, email Jenny Squire [email protected].

Photo by Steve Hibbard/The Connection

Karen Pruitt of Vienna dances to“Hanukkah’s Child.”


West Springfield guard AmyBerglund looked up in thestands and saw her mom holdup two fingers.

The Spartans were hostingMadison on Dec. 7 andBerglund was closing in on1,000 career points. BetsyBerglund signaled to herdaughter, letting the Spartan se-nior know she needed two morepoints to reach the milestone.

With about a minute remain-ing in the fourth quarter,Berglund dropped in a reverselayup, giving her 21 points forthe game and 1,000 for her ca-reer. Along with the personalachievement, Berglund helpedthe West Springfield girls’ bas-ketball team beat Madison, 63-50.

“It was really special scoringmy 1,000th point because itwas a culmination of so muchtime and effort that I have putinto basketball,” Berglundwrote in an email. “It was es-pecially great reaching thatmark in a tough game againsta strong Madison team.”

Berglund is a four-year var-sity starter for the Spartans.She’s been part of two PatriotDistrict championship teams,one Northern Region champi-onship team and twice experi-enced the state tournament,including a trip to the statesemifinals as a freshman. Shewas a first-team all-region se-lection as a junior.

“It became my goal to scorea 1,000 points after my fresh-man year,” Berglund wrote, “be-cause I had scored almost 300that year and I realized it wasdefinitely a reachable goal.”

Berglund averaged 18.4points through WestSpringfield’s first five games

this season. The Spartansstarted 5-0, including a 54-53victory over T.C. Williams onDec. 13, during which Berglundscored 11 points. T.C. Williamswon the Patriot District title lastseason, snapping WestSpringfield’s streak of threeconsecutive district champion-ships.

“The TC game was such anintense game and it was anamazing team win,” Berglundwrote. “We were super excitedto get the win over the toughopponent that TC is. It is a posi-tive step toward our team goalof winning the district title. Ithink that our team still hasmany things to improve on andwe know that every opponentis going to put up a tough fightso we focus on one game at atime.”

West Springfield will travel toface Lake Braddock at 7:30 p.m.on Friday, Dec. 20.

— Jon Roetman

Courtesy photo

West Springfield’s AmyBerglund, seen duringher junior season, re-cently scored her 1,000thcareer point.

West Springfield’s BerglundReaches 1,000 Career Points

Sports

By Jon Roetman

The Connection

Caroline Alcorta fin-ished 16th at the FootLocker Cross CountryChampionships na-

tional meet as a junior in 2012,missing by the slimmest of mar-gins the All-America status thataccompanies a top-15 finish.

Alcorta was disappointed butnot devastated, knowing she’dhave one more shot to crack thetop 15.

This year, Alcorta won the southregional in Charlotte on Nov. 30,earning a trip back to nationals.The West Springfield senior hadher sights set on becoming an All-American, saying a top-15 finishwould be “nifty.”

This time, she left no doubt.

ALCORTA PLACED THIRD atthe Foot Locker national meet onDec. 14, finishing with a time of17:31 at Morley Park in San Di-ego. Last year, Alcorta missed atop-15 finish by less than a second.This year, only two runners werefaster and she finished 22 secondsahead of the 15th-place harrier.

Alcorta said her goal was to fin-ish in the top 15, but her “stretchgoal” was to place in the top five.

“I’m happy with the effort I putinto it and how it turned out,”

Alcorta said. “I couldn’t ask foranything better than a top-five fin-ish.”

As a senior, Alcorta got used toself-motivating as she would buildlarge leads en route to victory.During the VHSL state meet atGreat Meadow, Alcorta won theGroup 6A championship with ameet-record time of 17:13, finish-ing 39 seconds faster than hernearest competitor. Alcorta wonthe 6A North regional meet witha time of 16:31, the third-fastesttime in Burke Lake Park history,and finished 48 seconds ahead ofthe second-place harrier. WestSpringfield coach Chris Pellegrinitold Alcorta to focus on runningher own race without letting anyoutside factors change her ap-proach.

On Saturday, however, Alcortahad to chase a couple harriers,something she said helped her runa better race.

“My coach and I talked abouteven if I couldn’t win I would raceto try and win,” Alcorta said. “That

would push me to do the best Icould. … I know I’m supposed torun my own race, but at the sametime it’s nice to know there arepeople to help you. … Lookingahead to see the people you’re try-ing to catch is really big.”

Tessa Barrett, a senior fromWaverly, Pa., won the event witha time of 17:15.4. Hannah DeBalsi,a sophomore from Westport,Conn., finished second with a timeof 17:25.3.

Alcorta started running crosscountry as a sophomore and con-tinued improving. Shortly beforethe 2013 state meet in mid-No-vember, Alcorta committed to runfor the University of North Caro-lina.

“I started doing cross countrybecause I found a sport that I re-ally love,” Alcorta said. “… I justfollowed what I wanted to do andwhat I really enjoyed doing and itjust turned it really well.”

Alcorta was one of five North-ern Virginia harriers to compete atnationals. Lake Braddock seniorKaty Kunc, who started runningcross country during her junioryear as a way to condition for soc-cer, finished 19th with a time of

18:07.2.“It was a really great experi-

ence,” Kunc said. “I never wouldimagine myself racing at such ahigh level since I just started lastyear.”

Senior Hannah Christen, Kunc’steammate at Lake Braddock, fin-ished 21st with a time of 18:07.3.

Kunc said having Christen at themeet made things “so much morecomfortable.”

IN THE BOYS’ RACE, Edisonsenior Louis Colson finished 32ndwith a time of 15:58.7, and GeorgeC. Marshall senior MackenzieHaight took 34th with a time of16:06.1.

Grant Fisher, a junior fromGrand Blanc, Mich., won the eventwith a time of 15:06.5.

“I’m disappointed with how I fin-

ished,” Haight said. “My goal was(to finish in the) top 15 for All-American. I don’t think I executedmy race how I planned it. I wantedto run an aggressive race and Ifound myself at the back of thepack.”

While Haight wasn’t pleasedwith his finish, he said he enjoyedthe experience. The five NorthernVirginia harriers arrived in SanDiego on Thursday, Dec. 12 andreturned home on Sunday. Kuncsaid the runners felt like “profes-sional athletes” and were treatedlike “royalty.”

“It’s incredible,” said Haight,who will compete for William andMary next year. “The entire expe-rience was surreal — one of thebest weekends I’ve ever had in mylife. I would never trade the expe-rience for anything.”

Lake Braddock’s Kunc, Christencompete at XC nationals.

West Springfield’s Alcorta PlacesThird at Foot Locker Nationals

West Springfield seniorCaroline Alcorta, seen dur-ing the VHSL state meet,placed third at the FootLocker Cross Country Cham-pionships national meet onDec. 14 in San Diego.

Lake Braddock senior KatyKunc, seen during the VHSLstate meet, finished 19th atthe Foot Locker CrossCountry Championshipsnational meet on Dec. 14 inSan Diego.

Lake Braddock seniorHannah Christen, seen dur-ing the VHSL state meet,finished 21st at the FootLocker Cross Country Cham-pionships national meet onDec. 14 in San Diego.

“I’m happy with the effort I put into it andhow it turned out. I couldn’t ask foranything better than a top-five finish.”

— West Springfield senior Caroline Alcorta

Photos by Ed Lull


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By Elliot K. Wicks, Ph. D.

Recent news stories have focusedon people who bought healthinsurance in the individual mar-ket, rather than through an em-

ployer, and whose policies have been can-celed. Some then found that coverage avail-able through the new “Obamacare” Market-places (or Exchanges) is more expensive.Their anger is understandable, but the is-sue needs to be put in context.

A great many of those losing coverage andfacing higher premiums were the beneficia-ries of the insurers’ policies that denied cov-erage to the really sick and charged veryhigh rates to the moderately unhealthy.

Without the reforms of the AffordableCare Act, insurers would continue to denycoverage to many thousand of people withpre-existing conditions and chargeunaffordable premiums to older Americansor those with less than stellar health.

The new law prohibits such discrimina-tion in the individual market: no one canbe denied coverage or charged more be-cause of a pre-existing condition, and anolder person cannot be charged more thanthree times as much as a younger person.Thus, differences in premiums for peoplewith different risk levels will be greatly re-duced starting in January.

If we want to ensure that everyone, re-gardless of their age or health condition,can get affordable coverage—whichObamacare promises to do—we have toaccept the possibility that some people willpay more for coverage. The nature of in-surance is that healthy people subsidizesicker people. Healthy people agree to thisarrangement simply because they neverknow when they are going to be part of theunhealthy 10 percent of any populationgroup that accounts for about 70 percentof the costs in any year.

Older or sicker people will incur highermedical expenses. And if they are all nowto get coverage and not be forced to payvery high premiums, other insured people,the younger and healthier, will have to paymore than they did in the past—unless sub-stantially more younger and healthierpeople are brought into the insurance pool.That is why the mandate that everyone havecoverage is so important. The premiumsthese newly insured lower-risk people willpay are necessary to offset the costs of cov-ering the less healthy people who are newlyinsured.

In short, some people may face higherpremiums, but that seems a reasonableprice to pay for enhancing fairness and pre-serving the health of the entire population.

Of course, some people will pay more

because the old insurance policies they hadprovided woefully inadequate protectionthat would have left them deep in debt ifthey had a serious medical event. The Af-fordable Care Act sets minimum standardsfor coverage, and so some people whobought these skimpy individual plans lostthat coverage. Naturally, when they go tothe Marketplace to buy comprehensive re-placement coverage, the premium is oftenhigher.

But it is essential to understand that manyof these people will be eligible for federalsubsidies that make the net cost lower thanwhat they were previously paying. Subsi-dies to make Marketplace coverage afford-able are available to individuals and fami-lies well up the income scale—to all withincomes up to 400 percent of the federalpoverty level ($94,200 for a family of fourin 2013). The size of the subsidy declinesas income increases, but many middle-in-come people will be eligible for some assis-tance.

It is also important to keep the big pic-ture in mind. Most people are covered byemployer-based insurance, not the indi-vidual market. The individual market is asmall part of the total insurance market, andmany who buy such coverage keep it foronly a short period of time, often less thana year. A study by Mathematica Policy Re-search found that during an average month,only 5.3 percent of the under-65 popula-tion had individual coverage, but fewer thanhalf of that population group (2.1 percent)had that coverage for the entire year.

This “churning” is easily explained: manypeople who buy individual insurance do soas a stop-gap strategy to protect themselvesuntil they get a job that provides better, lessexpensive coverage. They are people wholeave a job that provided health insurancebut have not yet found a new job that of-fers coverage, students who graduate andlose their school-based coverage, or 27 yearolds who have “aged out” of their parents’plan.

The fact is that the individual market hasnever worked well, which is why the ACAfocused especially on reforming it. Largepremium increases, loss of coverage, andinstability have always been characteristicof this poorly functioning market.

The lesson is that now is not the time toendorse legislation like that recently passedin the House that would perpetuate a bro-ken and inequitable individual market andjeopardize the reforms that would bringgood, affordable coverage to many thou-sands who until now have been denied suchprotection.

The writer is a Reston resident.

Obama Care and theIndividual Market —Not a Failure

Opinion

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IVY CHRISTIAN COLLEGE TO HOST ON-SITE VISIT

Ivy Christian College will host a Transnational Association ofChristian colleges and schools on-site evaluation team on 01/07-10 for the purpose of evaluating the college for Accredi-tation Level.

Third party comments are invited and may be addressed to:TRACS, 15935 Forest Rd, Forest, VA 24551.

TRACS is approved by the U.S. Department of Education as anationally-recognized institutional accrediting agency and ap-pears on the Secretary’s List of Approved Accrediting Agen-cies, which is approved in the Higher Education Directory. TRACS is also recognized by the Council for higher Education Accreditation (CHEA).

Ivy Christian College9401 Mathy Drive Suite 380Fairfax, Virginia 22031Tell : 703) 425-4143Fax: (703) 425-4148

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By Lisa Spinelli

The Connection

Melinda Anderson, 50, of Al-exandria is feeling the extrapinch to her federally-sub-sidized food budget.

“I have had to eat less and hit up morefood banks in the area just to survive,” shesaid while collecting her monthly food al-lotment from the Fairfax-based food-bankFood for Others. “I’m visiting three [foodbanks] a month now.”

Anderson and the other 456,626 Virgin-ians are amongst the 47.7 million Ameri-cans enrolled in the Supplemental Nutri-tion Assistance Program—also known asfood stamps, all of whom had their monthlyfood benefits cut on Nov. 1, after a four-year temporary boost from the Recoveryand Reinvestment Act (RRA) expired. Vir-ginia experienced a $99 million cut lastmonth when the boost ended. For Ander-son, a childless adult, her food benefits wentdown $11 a month to leave her with a maxamount of $189 per month. A family of fouris receiving $36 less a month from a maxbenefit of $668 to $632. And more cutscould be on the horizon once Congress re-convenes next year.

“We’ve seen a definite increase in refer-rals for food since the November first re-duction,” said Lisa Whetzel, executive di-

rector of Our Daily Bread, a Fairfax-basednonprofit servicing local disadvantagedfamilies. Her nonprofit receives referralsfrom social workers on who should be ad-mitted into their food assistance program.“These single mothers, or people with verylow income, they need this assistance inorder to just make ends meet or to justkeep the lights on—especially in this area.I’ve heard some people say that cuttingSNAP is doing the poor a favor—I dis-agree.”

THE REDUCTION isn’t necessarily a cut,as many politicians will argue, because thebenefits were always intended as a tem-porarily boost, not a long-term payment-plan. But the Bureau of Labor Statisticsputs the total national unemployment rateat 7.9, which is 0.1 percent higher than in2009 when the RRA boost was enacted—hardly a major recovery. The D.C.-metroarea has not recovered well either, beingtied in October with the Boston area forthe largest metropolitan unemploymentrate increase over the last year at 0.6 per-cent, landing the D.C. area at a 5.9 unem-ployment rate.

While the total unemployment rate in themetro-area is low compared to the worst-hit parts of the nation—though D.C. by it-self ranks amongst the highest at 9.9 per-cent, the increase in unemployment hints

there is not an instrumental economicgrowth happening in the area. Without eco-nomic growth, those relying on SNAP tofeed their children, and themselves, are leftscrambling.

“I’m working as a CNA (certified nursingassistant), but it’s never steady. We have tocome here after everything is finished,” saidAmany Hussein, 47 of Alexandria, aboutvisiting Food for Others. Hussein said evenwith her job, being in the SNAP program,and her husband’s two jobs as a pizza deliv-ery man and taxi operator, they are still un-able to feed themselves and their two teen-agers after paying their $1700 monthly rent.

Executive Director of Food for OthersRoxanne Rice said she sees first-hand thegrowing economic problems in the area. Asshe compared the number of patrons to herfood bank from last October to this Octo-ber, she saw a staggering 28 percent in-crease—and the SNAP reductions are onlygoing to add to her figures for November,she said.

Those enrolled in SNAP could have evenmore cuts to fear next year. The Republi-can-led U.S. House of Representatives re-cently passed a bill cutting the program by$39 billion over the next 10 years and isawaiting Senate approval. While the cutsare unlikely to pass, even the Senate is look-ing to cut $4.5 billion over 10 years fromthe most expensive food stamp program thenation has ever seen—$80 billion a year.The House bill as it stands would poten-tially cut 3.8 million Americans from theprogram entirely within the first year, and

could especially hurt families withchildren.

AT LEAST FOR NOW, the FairfaxCounty Public School system has beenpicking up some of the bill for thosechildren in need, said Food and Nu-trition Director Penny E. McConnell.While all children whose families areenrolled in SNAP, homeless childrenor children in foster-care receive a freelunch during school days, there are

disadvantaged children who fall be-tween the cracks. With the proposedSNAP cuts, the Center on Budget andPolicy Priorities, predicts many chil-dren across the nation will lose theirfree lunches.

“It doesn’t help anybody to cut foodstamps,” said Rice. “Increasing mini-mum wages, encouraging ways toend disparity of income in our soci-ety is definitely needed, but that hasnothing to do with helping people inother ways.”

Cuts to the food stamp program are hittinglocal beneficiaries and food banks.

Food Assistance Cuts Affecting Locals

Photo by Lisa Spinelli/The Connection

A woman picks up her monthly food donations from Food for Others inFairfax.

Photo by Janelle Germanos/The Connection

Lisa Whetzel, executive director of Our Daily Bread, holds up an adver-tisement of the organization that encouraged donations.

“We’ve seen a definiteincrease in referrals forfood since the November1st reduction.”

— Lisa Whetzel,executive director of Our Daily Bread

fairfax station a year in a fast laneconnectionarchives.com/pdf/2013/121813/lorton.pdf ·...

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