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Mount Vernon Gazette ❖ September 20-26, 2018 ❖ 1www.ConnectionNewspapers.com

September 20, 2018Mount Vernon’s Hometown Newspaper • A Connection Newspaper

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Two years ago, the congregation of the Ar-lington Presbyterian Church made a difficultchoice. The church would be demolished to

make way for an affordable housing apartment com-plex.

The church, which originally was chartered in 1908on Columbia Pike, was destroyed by a fire just be-fore Christmas in 1924. While little could be salvagedfrom the church after the 1924 fire, many compo-nents from the church would be salvaged in 2016,including the pipe organ that had been a cornerstoneof parishioners’ experience at Arlington Presbyterianfor decades.

When Arlington Presbyterian began publicizing theavailability of its organ, the 40-year-old organ atCalvary Presbyterian Church, on Old Kings Highwayin Alexandria, had recently been diagnosed with“metal fatigue,” a death sentence for an organ. Learn-ing of the availability of the organ from its neigh-boring congregation in Arlington, Calvary put to-gether a letter of intent to be considered for reloca-tion of the pipe organ.

Calvary submitted its letter in March of 2016 andlearned a few weeks later — just after Easter — thatArlington had selected them as the new home for itsorgan from among many suitors based on corre-sponding need and cultural fit. The next potential

obstacle was whether the pipework of the organ –with its 14 “ranks” and 854 individual pipes – couldphysically fit in Calvary’s sanctuary. Out came themeasuring tapes and, low and behold, the pipeswould fit like a glove within the church’s balcony.Moreover, the baroque-like appearance of the pipeswould find a comfortable home in Calvary’s sanctu-ary, which was constructed in 1954 and remainsfaithful to the traditional style of churches from thatera. However ideal the fit, the move and installationnonetheless was an extended process that requiredthe effort of a team of architects, engineers,carpenters,electricians, construction contractors, as-bestos remediators, consultants, inspectors, and or-gan technicians.

It was more than two years from Calvary’s selec-tion for the instrument to be installed and opera-tional, following a celebratory and cathartic pipewashing party.

Today, looking upward from the pulpit of Calvary’ssanctuary on Old King’s Highway, the pipe organlooks right at home. As the sounds of the instrumentfill the sanctuary on Organ Dedication Sunday —Sept. 23 at 10: a.m., it will be clear that the trans-planted pipe organ from Arlington Presbyterian hasgained new life at Calvary Presbyterian church.

See www.calvarypres.org.

Calvary Presbyterian, on Old Kings Highway in Alexandria, recently installed a pipeorgan that was donated by Arlington Presbyterian.

Organ TransplantCalvary will dedicate relocated pipe organ on Sept. 23.

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By Steve Hibbard

The Gazette

A $2 million NationalTurning Point Suffrag-ist Memorial is slatedto be built in time for

dedication on Aug. 26, 2020 atOccoquan Regional Park near theOccoquan River, said PatriciaDepew Wirth, who is the execu-tive director of the Turning PointSuffragist Memorial Association.The memorial planned near theJean R. Packard Events Center isintended to honor the 5 millionwomen who fought for women’ssuffrage.

On Saturday, Sept. 15, PatriciaDepew Wirth told 40 members andguests of AAUW Springfield-Annandale branch at Kings ParkLibrary in Burke that the memo-rial will contain various elementsthat all have a basis in suffragisthistory. There will be replicas ofthe White House gates and a wallto honor the women who werejailed in Occoquan Prison withplaques for each. It will also con-tain 19 information stations thatwill tell 72 years of the history ofthe Suffrage Movement, from1848 to 1920. The memorial willinclude a bridge to “bridge the twocenturies” that it took to get thewomen’s right to vote. Rotundapillars will represent Democracy.The memorial will also contain ameditation garden and interactive

Turning Point$2 million memorial projectto spotlight women’s suffrage.

Patricia Depew Wirth,executive director of theTurning Point SuffragistMemorial Association,with an artist’s render-ing of the Turning PointSuffragist Memorial tobe built at OccoquanRegional Park. It will bededicated on Aug. 26,2020.

kiosks.So far, Turning Point has re-

ceived roughly $1 million in-kindand cash donations; FairfaxCounty donated $200,000 to-wards it, but it is still short onneeded funding to complete theproject. Some of The TurningPoint’s strategic partners include:AAUW, League of Women Voters,and NOVA Parks, which is donat-ing the land and the perpetualmaintenance of the facility. Donateat www.suffragistmemorial.org

In addition to the Memorial,

2 ❖ Mount Vernon Gazette ❖ September 20-26, 2018 www.ConnectionNewspapers.com


NewsMount Vernon Gazette Editor Steven Mauren

703-778-9415 or [email protected]

Women’s 60Meter DashHannah Phillips,66, of Alexan-dria, leads thepack on her wayto winning goldin the 65-69division of thewomen’s 60meter dashduring theopening day ofthe 2018 North-ern VirginiaSenior Olympics

in Arlington, Saturday, Sept 15. Phillips finished the sprint in 10seconds flat. More than 850 area seniors have signed up for the 36thedition of the NVSO, which continues this week through Sept. 26. Fora complete schedule of events visit www.nvso.us Spectators mayattend all NVSO events free of charge.

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The Gazette

The stars of sports and politicsaligned Sept. 15 as The St.James, a 450,000-square-footsports, wellness and active en-

tertainment complex, celebrated its grandopening in Springfield.

“This is a major investment in our youth,”said Lt. Governor Justin Fairfax, who at-tended the College of William and Marywith co-founders Craig Dixon and KendrickAshton. “The St. James sends a signal toour county and to the country what it meansto have a vision and to dream big.”

Super Bowl champion Darrell Green andStanley Cup champion Alex Ovechkin, afounding member of the St. James, wereon hand for the opening day festivities.

“This is a great place to spend time withthe family,” Ovechkin said “It’s a place tohelp raise sport, be healthy and just havefun.”

Located on a 20-acre campus at the in-tersection of I-395 and I-495 in FairfaxCounty, The St. James combines sportstraining and competition venues withwellness, lifestyle, hospitality and activeentertainment services. The 24-hour cen-ter is membership based but non-membersare able to sign up for programs.

Fairfax County Board of Supervisors chair-man Sharon Bulova praised the impact thefacility has had on the county.

“This is a game changer for Fairfax Countyand the region,” Bulova said. “I am grate-ful for the more than 300 jobs The St. Jameshas brought to the county.”

Opening day showcased the facilities atThe St. James, which includes a Field Housewith a FIFA regulation-sized turf field, fourfull-length regulation basketball courts thatconvert into nine volleyball courts, two NHLregulation-sized ice rinks, a 50-meter Olym-pic regulation-sized competition pool, sixbatting cages and pitching machines, asquash and golf center, gymnastics center,

a climbing and bouldering wall, a waterpark and a 50,000 square-foot health club.

Also on site are a medispa and a retailstore featuring performance-oriented activewear. Celebrity chef Spike Mendelsohn willopen a cafe in November and a MedStarHealth and Sports Medicine Center is slatedto open in the spring.

Following their time together in college,Ashton pursued a career in finance andDixon a career in law. Four years ago, theycollaborated on their vision for The St.James. “We participated in youth sports andnow we are parents of kids participating inyouth sports,” Dixon said. “We are the cus-tomer and we tried to create an environ-ment that is special.”

The St. James, which is backed by diver-sified real estate investment firm Cain In-ternational, expects to open a second flag-ship destination in the northern suburbs ofChicago in early 2021 and is working to

St. James mega-sports complex opens in SpringfieldLet the Games Begin

The St. James co-founders Kendrick Ashton and Craig Dixon, with scissors, are joined by local and statepoliticians Sept. 15 for the official ribbon cutting grand opening of The St. James sports and wellnesscomplex in Springfield.

Tierney Pittman, 10, of Alexan-dria, practices her gymnasticsat the St. James sports complexin Springfield.

The St. James co-founder KendrickAshton, right, is congratulated byKwasi Fields, his former youth sportscoach.

bring The St. James to additional marketsaround the country. “Today is incrediblygratifying,” Ashton said. “We had a visionto provide a deep array of services to the

DC region – to bring together all ages andall walks of life. Today shows that is pos-sible.” For more information, visitwww.thestjames.co.

Submit civic/community announcements atConnectionNewspapers.com/Calendar. Photos andartwork welcome. Deadline is Thursday at noon, atleast two weeks before event.

VOTER REGISTRATION AND ID EVENTSThe Fairfax County Office of Elections

(12000 Government Center Parkway Suite 323,Fairfax) is open daily during normal businesshours to provide county residents theopportunity to register to vote or obtain a freevoter photo ID if needed. Applicants will need tocomplete a photo voter ID application, have aphoto taken and sign a digital signature pad.Call 703-222-0776.

The following special events will also provideopportunity to register to vote and/or get aphoto Virginia Voter card.

❖ Saturday/Oct. 6, 10 a.m.-2 p.m., SherwoodRegional Library, 2501 Sherwood Hall Lane,Alexandria.

DONATIONS NEEDEDUCM Needs Help. United Community Ministries

(UCM), 7511 Fordson Road, Alexandria.Inventory is low on disposable diapers especiallysizes 4, 5, 6; canned tuna and other cannedmeats like chicken; and low-sugar breakfast

cereals. Shop and donate with their AmazonWish List at: bit.ly/UCM_FoodPantry_AmazonWishList. EmailAssistant Food Pantry Manager Von [email protected] or visit atwww.ucmagency.org.

THURSDAY/SEPT. 20IEP Training: Least Restrictive Environment

and Services. 10 a.m.-noon at Dunn LoringCenter for Parent Services, 2334 Gallows Road,Entrance 1 - Room 100, Dunn Loring. Learnabout new changes to the IEP regarding theleast restrictive environment for studentsreceiving special education services. Staff fromthe FCPS Office of Special Education ProceduralSupport and the FCPS Office of SpecialEducation Instruction will present this workshopfor parents of students receiving specialeducation services. Visit www.fcps.edu/resources/family-engagement/parent-resource-center to register.

Thrifty Thursday. 7-9 p.m. at South CountyGovernment Building, 8350 Richmond Highway,Suite 220. Budgeting class will help participantsto identify tools to help manage money andprepare a personal spending plan or budget. Free.Call 703-704-6101 or visitwww.financialempowermentcenter.org for more.

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Alex./Sulgrave $560,1504000 Renault Place

Beautiful 4BR, 3BA garage home with stunning renovations on landscaped .69 acre lot <1mile to Ft. Belvoir, Walker Gate. Gorgeous new custom kitchen & lovely remodeled baths. Open floor plan, refinished hdwd floors, 50 yr. roof & skylights (2016), windows (2015). SGD off Master BR to deck. Family rm fireplace with high-end wood stove insert. Fenced play area.

Alex/Mt. Vernon Woods8102 Martha Washington

Precious 3BR, 1BA Rambler – Perfect Starter Home – Double pane windows and updated bath plus wood burning fireplace– Large deck overlooks the beautifully landscaped, deep, fenced backyard-Perfect for the grill. Roof 2016, A/C Compressor 2017, HWH 2018 -- 10 minutes to Ft. Belvoir, 17 mins to Old town, Alex.

COMING

SOON

SOLD

Alex/Engleside $1,300,0008734 Lukens Lane

4.128 acres zones R-2 for sale. There are 2 lots: 4/0 acres w/house (Tax Map 1101 01 0043) and .128 acre vacant land (1101 01 0043A). House on Property sold “AS IS” and NO ACCESS given or allowed. Land Value only. Water, sewer, gas, electricity available. This land is adjacent to the houses on Halley Farm Ct. which were built in the 2010-2011 time frame.

Alex/Waynewood $660,0001120 Waynewood Blvd.

Waynewood’s popular Mayfield model w/4 finished levels & a spacious 5th level w/good ceiling height waiting to be finished. Steps to Waynewood Elementary. This lovely light-filled home has 4BRs, w/2.5 BAs, a 3 season porch, & a lovely fenced bkyd w/a brick patio & an attractive shed. Quality re-placement windows, 6 panel doors. Beautiful newly refinished hdwd floors. FPL in Living rm, eat-in kitchen w/gas cooktop & double oven. Separate Dining rm w/French doors to porch. Family rm on lower level w/half bath.

SOLD

Alex/Potomac Valley $529,9008807 Vernon View Drive

Lovely, 4BR, 2BA, 4 lvl Split on a lg, beautiful .3 acre lot w/a fenced bkyd. Freshly painted interior & beautiful refinished hdwds. Main lvl has a spacious & cozy Family rm w/gas FPL, 4th BR, & 2nd full bath. Upper level #1 offers an open kitchen plus Living & Dining Rm. Upper level #2 has full bath & 3BRs. The lower level has a lg partially finished Rec rm. Good price on a super lot.

SOLD

Alex/Wessynton $629,0003301 Wessynton Way

Beautiful home in Wessynton. Mt. Vernon’s sought after contemporary community, just a stone’s throw to Mt. Vernon Estate & George Washington Pkwy, & is adjacent to Little Hunting Creek. Large kitchen w/breakfast area & a separate Dining Rm. Beautiful hdwd floors. FPL’s in the Living Rm & Family Rm. Situated in a natural, wooded setting the home’s bountiful windows bring outdoors inside. Enjoy the natural landscaping on your deck. 1 car garage. Community amenities include boat ramp, swimming pool, tennis courts.

SOLD

News

The Washington DC Metroplex includes Reagan, BWI, Dulles and all the other smallerairports. The image above represents departing and arriving flights, red and blue, andthe green representing flights going to other airports and flying through the area.

CorrectionIn “Piercing Noise” [Mount Vernon Gazette, Sept.

12], the number cited for frequency of flights forReagan Washington National Airport was incorrect.Reagan Washington National Airport averages 400departures and 400 arrival flights per day.

More than 4,300 flights per day affect the Wash-

The following incidents were reportedby the Mount Vernon District Police Sta-tion.

BURGLARY: 1500 block of BelleView Blvd, between Sept. 8 at 6 p.m.and Sept. 11 at 9:30 a.m. Someone en-tered a residence and stole a laptop andpurse. There were no signs of forcedentry into the residence.

ROBBERY: 7800 block of ParrotPlace, Sept. 12, 6 p.m. The victim waswalking with two friends when theywere approached by 8-10 teens whodemanded his cell phone. When the vic-tim refused, the teens punched him inthe face and threw him to the ground.The teens went through the victims’

pockets, stealing his phone before run-ning from the scene.

BURGLARY: 5800 block ofWoodlawn Gable Drive, between 3 p.m.on Sept. 8 and 2 p.m. on Sept. 11. Therenter of an apartment returned homeafter being away for several days to findseveral items missing. While checkingthe apartment, the renter observed thathis mattress had been soaked in wind-shield wiper fluid, olive oil, vinegar, andcoffee grounds. There was no sign offorced entry. Officers collected varioustypes of forensic evidence for detectivesto follow-up on.

SEPT. 17: LARCENIES7800 block of Evening Lane, copper

from vehicle8400 block of Frye Road, water from

business7100 block of Fairchild Drive, license

plate from vehicle6300 block of Richmond Highway,

stereo and wallet from vehicle7700 block of Richmond Highway,

copper from business7700 block of Richmond Highway,

merchandise from business7800 block of Richmond Highway,

beer from business7900 block of Richmond Highway,

cell phone from business8600 block of Richmond Highway,

merchandise from business

Crime Report

ington metroplex area that must be managed andcontrolled by FAA Air Traffic Control including air-planes that are using all the commercial, militaryand general aviation airports in the area and otheraircraft that are transiting the Washingtonmetroplex.


Opinion

So many local elections, and criticalpolicy that follows, have been decidedby so few votes, no one can reason-ably say that their one single vote does

not matter.Just one example: Control of the entire Vir-

ginia General Assembly came down to a singledelegate race which was so close, it was de-clared a tie after a recount. It was awarded tothe Republican by literally pulling a name outof hat.

Vote. Vote early if you qualify. Vote Nov. 6 ifyou haven’t already voted by then. Make a plan.

First, be sure you are registered. Oct. 15 isthe deadline to register, and to check your reg-istration. Many voters across the country havediscovered that they have been unexpectedlydropped from the voter rolls, so be sure tocheck at elections.virginia.gov

Absentee Voting in PersonBegins Sept. 21

Voting early if you qualify is a good choice.There are 20 valid reasons to vote absentee

in Virginia, including working and commut-ing to and from home for 11 or more hoursbetween 6 a.m. and 7 p.m. on Election Day.Check the Virginia Department of Elections listto see if you are eligible: https://www.elections.virginia.gov/casting-a-ballot/absentee-voting/index.htmll

There are two ways to vote absentee, in-per-son and by mail. To do either, you should firstcheck your voter registration status to makesure it is up-to-date.

If you vote absentee in-person you will fillout the application when you arrive at the in-person absentee location.

Early Voting Locations,Dates and Hours

Scheduled to begin Friday, Sept. 21, throughSaturday, Nov. 3 at the government center, andOct. 13-Nov. 3 at the satellite locations.

Fairfax County Government Center, 12000Government Center Parkway, ConferenceRoom 2/3, Fairfax, VA, 22035

Sept. 21-Oct. 12Closed Monday, Oct. 8, Columbus DayMonday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday, 8

a.m. to 4:30 p.m.Thursday, 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.Saturdays, Oct. 6-Nov. 3, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.Oct. 15-Nov. 3Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.Saturdays, Oct. 6-Nov. 3, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

All Satellite Locations:Oct. 13 - Nov. 3Weekdays: Monday thru Friday,3 p.m. - 7 p.m.Saturdays: 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.Sundays: Closed❖ Franconia Governmental Center, 6121

Franconia Road, Alexandria, VA 22310❖ Lorton Library, 9520 Richmond Highway,

Lorton, VA 22079❖ Mason Governmental Center, 6507 Colum-

bia Pike, Annandale, VA 22003❖ McLean Governmental Center, 1437 Balls

Hill Road, McLean, VA 22101

❖ Mount Vernon Governmental Center, 2511Parkers Lane, Alexandria, VA 22306

❖ North County Governmental Center, 1801Cameron Glen Drive, Reston, VA 20190

❖ Providence Community Center, 3001Vaden Drive, Fairfax, VA 22031

❖ Sully Governmental Center, 4900Stonecroft Boulevard, Chantilly, VA 20151

❖ West Springfield Governmental Center,6140 Rolling Road, Springfield, VA 22152

Absentee Voting By MailTo track the status of your absentee ballot

application and ballot, you can view your Vir-ginia Voter Record, vote.elections.virginia.gov/VoterInformation

The deadline to apply for an absentee ballotonline, by mail, by fax, or by email is sevendays prior to Election Day by 5 p.m.

You can apply for your absentee ballot online,vote.elections.virginia.gov/VoterInformation

Or print, complete, and sign the absenteeballot application, www.elections.virginia.gov/F i l e s / F o r m s / V o t e r F o r m s /VirginiaAbsenteeBallotApplication.pdf

Absentee ballot applications are also avail-able for in-person visits at county governmen-tal centers as well as Fairfax County librarybranches.

Send in the completed application:Scan then email the application to

[email protected] or mail theapplication to the Office of Elections at Box10161, Fairfax, VA 22038 or Fax the applica-tion to the Office of Elections at 703-324-3725

Once your completed application is receivedand accepted, your absentee ballot will be sentto you in three business days. If you have ques-tions about your ballot, call the Office of Elec-tions at 703-222-0776 (TTY 711).

Absentee ballots must be returned to theOffice of Elections by 7 p.m. on Election Day,Nov. 6, 2018 in order to be counted.

Virginia Voter IDYou must show identification to vote. Accept-

able forms of valid identification: Virginiadriver’s license, Virginia DMV-issued photo ID,United States passport, Employer-issued photoID, Student photo ID issued by a school, col-lege, or university located in Virginia, OtherU.S. or Virginia government-issued photo ID,Tribal enrollment or other tribal photo ID, orVirginia Voter Photo ID card

Need a Photo ID?If you don’t have an ID, go to your voter reg-

istration office to get a free Voter Photo ID,even on Election Day. You will be required tocomplete an photo ID application, have yourphoto taken and to sign a digital signature pad.

Forgot your photo ID on ElectionDay?

If you get to your polling place without ac-ceptable photo ID, you can vote a provisionalballot. You will be given instructions on whatto do so your vote can count.

A voter will have until noon on the Friday

Every year is election year inVirginia; early voting begins Sept. 21.How To Vote

ELECTION DAY, TUESDAY, NOV. 6, 2018On Election Day, polls are open from 6 a.m.-7 p.m.,

Nov. 6.To determine whether eligible and registered to vote in

this election, visit the Virginia Department ofElections website at elections.virginia.gov/ or callFairfax Elections office at 703-222-0776.

To vote on Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2018, 6 a.m.-7 p.m.(General Election)

❖ Register/update address by: Monday, Oct. 15.❖ Request absentee ballot by mail by: 5 p.m. Tuesday,

Oct. 30.❖ Vote early, in-person absentee, by appearing in

person by 5 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 3For more information on voting in Fairfax County:Fairfax County Office of Elections12000 Government Center Parkway Suite 323Fairfax, VA, 22035Voter Registration: 703-222-0776, TTY 711Absentee Fax: 703-324-3725Email: [email protected] Officer Info: 703-324-4735, TTY 711For 24-hour recorded information call 703-324-4700

ON THE BALLOTFairfax County, Nov. 6, 2018

UNITED STATES SENATECorey A. Stewart (R)Timothy M. Kaine (D)Matt J. Waters (L)

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVESDistrict 8Thomas S. Oh (R)Donald S. Beyer, Jr. (D)

District 10Barbara J. Comstock (R)Jennifer T. Wexton (D)

District 11Jeff A. Dove Jr. (R)Gerald Edward Connolly (D)Stevan M. Porter (L)

FAIRFAX COUNTY PUBLIC SAFETY BONDTEXT: Shall Fairfax County, Virginia, contract a debt,

borrow money, and issue bonds in the maximumaggregate principal amount of $182,000,000 toprovide funds, in addition to funds from publicsafety facilities bonds previously authorized, tofinance, including reimbursement to the County fortemporary financing for, the costs of public safetyfacilities, including the construction, reconstruction,enlargement, renovation and equipment of civil andcriminal justice facilities, police training andoperational facilities and stations, fire and rescuetraining facilities and stations, including fire andrescue stations owned by volunteer organizations,and the acquisition of necessary land?

$73 million would be earmarked for improvements tofour fire stations — Mount Vernon ($16 million),Fairview ($16 million), Gunston ($13 million), andSeven Corners ($13 million) — that are all 37 yearsor older. An additional $15 million would be used toimprove one of the eight volunteer stations that ismore than 40 years old.

The Fairfax County Police Department would receive$59 million: $18 million to renovate and expand theMason District Station which was built in 1975; $18million to renovate and upgrade its Criminal JusticeAcademy, and $18 million to renovate, expand orreplace the Police Evidence Storage Building used tostore evidence for court cases, and also houses thewarrant desk and the victim services section.

The Adult Detention Center needs $45 million ofimprovements to three wings, including plumbing,electrical, HVAC, elevator and fire protectionsystems as well as security and camera equipment.$5 million would be used to improve the JenningsJudicial Center.

TWO VIRGINIA CONSTITUTIONALAMENDMENT BALLOT QUESTIONSState Ballot Question OneQuestion: Should a county, city, or town be

authorized to provide a partial tax exemption forreal property that is subject to recurrent flooding, ifflooding resiliency improvements have been madeon the property?

See How To Vote, Page 18

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See On the Ballot, Page 18


Letters

See Letters, Page 8

Tax Cuts TrumpTax IncreasesTo the Editor:

As we approach the 2018 midterm elec-tion, the gloom and doom from the Demo-crats has begun. I read CongressmanConnolly’s commentary “GOP Tax SchemeHurts Homeowners,” in which he lamentsthe inability to deduct more than $10,000in State and Local Taxes on our Federal In-come tax returns under President Trump’sTax plan.

Mr. Connolly decries that this may in-crease taxes on many families in Virginia.He did forget to complete the sentence inthat our state and local taxes are too highand reducing them would help ease thatpain. But I recall, as a lifetime resident ofFairfax County, that Mr. Connolly (or anyDemocrat) never saw a tax increase hedidn’t like when he was chairman of theFairfax County Board of Supervisors. Andeven today, our real estate taxes increaseyear after year. I guess I missed his com-mentary complaining about that. But nowthe world is coming to an end with Presi-dent Trump’s tax cuts that every taxpayeris enjoying (including my wife and I).

Our 8th district congressman, Mr. Beyer,also trumpeted his glee over voting againstthe President’s tax cuts and yet neitherMr.Connolly or Mr. Beyer would do any-thing except raise our taxes and costs —Obamacare is perfect example. Then Mr.Beyer constantly insults our intelligence

with his “Just the Facts” climate change pro-paganda and I laugh every day when I passthe automobile dealership on Route 1 withhis name on it. Talk about hypocritical. IfBeyer wants to help the environment, howabout advocating for the elimination ofethanol in our gasoline. I have read manystudies that indicate that the production,distribution and use of ethanol in our gaso-line creates more so-called greenhouse gas-ses than it eliminates. It also reduces ourcars fuel economy, and damages older carsnot designed to run on ethanol and manyof those are owned by lower income peoplewho cannot afford newer cars.

Now that really helps the little guy doesn’tit? Perhaps he should sell bicycles insteadof cars.

Mount Vernon residents, nothing new isoffered to us by our Democrat leaders andyet we inexplicably rush to the polls to re-elect them without regard to reality. Didyour life or economic well being improveunder either Mr. Connolly or Mr. Beyer?Ours sure didn’t. My family has seen a nicebenefit from being able to keep more ofwhat we earn thanks to President Trumpand we are excited about the overall eco-nomic boom we are seeing under his lead-ership. And we are not rich buy any stan-dards. We never saw that under Mr. Obamaor as a result of anything accomplished byConnolly or Beyer.

My wife and I have two grown daugh-ters and both of them will not even con-sider living in Northern Virginia due to


From Page 7

Letters

See Letters, Page 9

Opinion

the cost of living and high taxes here. Thatis a sentiment that is the saddest of all,and yet it rings true for so many I am sure.I realize that keeping more of what youearn is a

foreign concept to our liberal friends inoffice as they view our earnings as theirs.And we must be blessed that they allowus to keep a portion of it. In my view, nei-ther of these men represent the best in-terests of actual taxpayers in their Con-gressional districts and I have zero confi-dence that they ever will. Their complain-ing about President Trump’s tax cuts is theclincher for me — talk about worn-outrhetoric. This is my opinion, of course, butjust take a step back and look at what theyhave or have not accomplished while inoffice. Try to apply some intelligence toyour assessment beyond that of what canI get for free from the government and Ithink my opinion and honest reality maynot be that far off.

Garry Scutt/Alexandria

Willful ExclusionTo the Editor:

The most recent Gazette article concern-ing the DCA noise issue suggests that thereis a problem and quick solution, if only theFAA did not drag its feet with environmen-tal studies.

By Basim Khan, MD, MPA

Executive Director

Neighborhood Health

At any of Neighborhood Health’s12 clinics in the City of Alexan-dria and Fairfax and Arlingtoncounties, patients are served re-

gardless of whether or not they have healthinsurance and regardless of their ability to pay.

It’s been that way for 20 years since itsfounding by nurses from the AlexandriaHealth Department as a small clinic serv-ing women and children in the Arlandriasection of the city.

From that humble beginning, what hasbecome Neighborhood Health today nowserves 20,000 low-income children, men

and women every yearcarrying out its mission:“To improve health andadvance health equity

in Alexandria, Arlington and Fairfax by pro-viding access to high quality care regard-less of ability to pay.”

Neighborhood Health not only providesfamily practice, internal medicine, and pe-diatrics services including acute illness care,routine physical exams, and preventive carebut also women’s health, behavioral health,dental care, medication assistance, lab ser-vices, and case management.

We provide a “medical home” for our pa-tients, working as partners with their pa-tients to help them improve their health andnavigate a complicated health care system.

To achieve that goal, NeighborhoodHealth works to integrate care between dif-ferent service lines such as primary medi-cal care and mental health or pharmacyassistance. For example, if a patient screenspositive for depression, the primary careprovider introduces him or her to a coun-selor within the clinic. Or if a patient doesnot pick up a medication, the pharmacyassistance worker let’s our primary careprovider know. The patient’s primary careprovider, behavioral health counselor, medi-cal assistant, pharmacy assistance worker,referral coordinator, family services worker,and others are all part of a team workingtogether for our patients. We also coordi-nate our patients’ care with outside organi-zation whether specialists or one of ourmultiple community partners such as thelocal community services boards, schoolsystem, or hospitals. We take responsibilityfor our patients.

There’s great need for such services in thearea for low-income residents, especially forthose without insurance but also for those withinsurance such as Medicaid and Medicare.

In 2016, Neighborhood Health providedhealthcare services to 14,000 patients; by2018, that number has increased to 20,000.This is a reflection of the need and our goalto make sure that it is met.

Neighborhood Health has also set a goalto increase the number of people it treatsby more than 10 percent, or 2,500 new pa-tients, next year which also represents a 60percent growth from 2016.

To accomplish that goal, NeighborhoodHealth will need to hire more clinicians tomeet the growing demand.

On Friday, Nov. 9, Neighborhood Healthwill be holding its “Neighbors for Health”gala at 6:30 p.m. at the Ritz-Carlton Penta-gon City, 1250 South Hayes St., Arlington,with the proceeds to support its goal to serve22,500 patients in 2019.

U.S. Rep. Don Beyer (D-8), a longtimesupporter of Neighborhood Health, and hiswife, Megan, are the gala’s honorary chairs.

Congressman Beyer has a long history ofsupporting Neighborhood Health’s mission.Back in 2001 he helped introduce our smallclinic to community leaders and hosted sev-eral receptions at his dealerships.

As a U.S. representative, he continues toadvocate for improving access to health carein Northern Virginia.

At the gala, Neighborhood Health willpresent its inaugural Health Equity Awardto 26 members of the Virginia General As-sembly representing Alexandria, Arlingtonand Fairfax County in gratitude for helpingto pass medical expansion in the Common-wealth.

Medicaid expansion will benefit manypatients without health insurance acrossNorthern Virginia. Yet there will still bemany patients without health insurance.And there are people with insurance whostill face barriers to care, whether becausedoctors don’t accept their insurance or theyhave high copays and deductibles or be-cause of drug costs. There is still so much

work ahead of us in order to ensure thateveryone in our community has access tohigh quality and affordable health care.

The event will include a reception, silentand live auctions, seated dinner and mu-sic.

Sponsorships are available now. Neigh-borhood Health is also seeking donationsto its auction such as sports or theater tick-ets, professional services, weekend geta-ways, restaurant meals, and more.

To purchase tickets, or for more informa-tion on sponsorships and donations, pleasevisit www.501auctions.com/neighborhoodhealthgala or [email protected].

Over the years, Neighborhood Health hasbeen recognized for its service to the com-munities it serves, including being nameda recipient of the federal government’sHealth Resources & Services Administration(HRSA) Quality Award for the fourth yearin a row.

Neighborhood Health administrators re-alize that all they have been able to accom-plish could not have been done without thesupport of numerous community partnersincluding local health departments, humanservices departments, community servicesboards, school systems, hospitals, and manyothers.

Strong partnerships are critical to Neigh-borhood Health’s ability to meet the mul-tiple and complex needs of our patients. Weare thankful for the creativity, support andcollaboration of all of our partners.

Serving 20,000 Low-Income Residents

Commentary

By Paul Krizek

State Delegate (D-44)

The defining feature of

American democracyis that it is a government by

the people and for the people. A keyto an effective democracy is elected officialscommunicating openly and transparentlywith constituents about the work we do.

The first thing to know about my work inthe Virginia General Assembly is that it is apart-time legislature. Most legislators (my-self included) have full-time jobs in addi-

tion to their elected re-sponsibilities. We areonly in legislative ses-sion for six weeks dur-

ing odd-numbered years and eight weeksduring even years. Yet, even out of sessionI am often traveling to Richmond in my of-ficial delegate capacity. This month I havebeen back and forth to Richmond five timesfor meetings on the Appropriations Com-mittee, School Safety Committee and sub-committee, a special session on redistrict-ing, a Caucus meeting; and I will be head-ing to Richmond at least twice in early Oc-tober for the Crime Commission and an-other Appropriations meeting. Also, theClerk of the House just alerted us to be pre-pared for the possibility of being called back

into session by the Speaker for yetanother special session on redistrict-ing. Legislating, however, is not myonly responsibility as delegate.

One of my most important duties,whether we are in session or not, ismy service to constituents to make

state government work best for you. Daily Ireceive inquiries from citizens requestingmy assistance on a range of issues. Recently,I have assisted constituents with issues con-cerning the tax code, new transportation ini-tiatives, and changes to the insurance mar-ketplace after Medicaid expansion amongmany others. These conversations can beincredibly satisfying, such as when I helpeda self-employed family navigate state bu-reaucracy to get more affordable health in-surance due to Medicaid expansion.

Another key part of my responsibility asdelegate is participating in and hosting com-munity events, and not to mention the manypolitical ones. Over the last month I havebeen privileged to attend several importantevents including the Fairfax NAACP DinnerCelebration, the NOVA Labor Day Picnic atFort Hunt park, and to tour Riverside El-ementary school with First Lady PamNortham just to name a few. Next week, Iam excited to be speaking with a commu-nity organization about the future of redis-tricting in Virginia as we try to come up with

a constitutional map that doesn’t discrimi-nate against minority voters. Early nextmonth, I will be speaking to Hayfield Sec-ondary School about working in public ser-vice. I hope to stress to the students thatbeing a politician can be a means to betteryour community. Later in the month, I amproud to be hosting an event in coordina-tion with Senator Warner’s office and MountVernon at Home on Oct. 24 from 2-4 p.m.at Sherwood Regional Library on cyber se-curity awareness for senior citizens. Every-one is invited!

It is not too soon to prepare for the nextGeneral Assembly session. I am drafting po-tential legislation that can improve the livesof my constituents in the 44th district andacross the Commonwealth. A key part of thisprocess is hearing from constituents.Oftentimes the most impactful legislationcomes from someone sharing their story abouta problem they are facing and what part ofVirginia law needs to be changed to solve it.

I hope this article has provided you withsome insight about the work I do year roundto improve our community as your delegate.It is an honor and a pleasure to serve you.Please do not hesitate to reach out to myoffice with any legislative or budgetaryideas or if there is any way I can be of assis-tance to you by emailing me [email protected].

Life of a State Delegate

Commentary


VARIETYSTORE

Est. 1958

Experiencethe Nostalgiaof an old-time

Five & Dime Store

“If we don’t have it,you don’t need it.”

Hollin HallShopping Center

7902 Fort Hunt Rd.,Alexandria, VA 22308

[email protected]

Letters

See Letters, Page 16

What the article fails to mention(and which was brought up at thereferenced meeting), is that theexpedient solution effectivelymoves the route (and the noise)over the Mount Vernon Estate andsurrounding residents. Never mindthe concerns of these residentscontinue to be dismissed. Whenwe try to bring them up at meet-ings, we are continuously beinggaveled out of order or instructedto stop talking. We have acknowl-edged that it is unfair for Fort Huntto being the victims of NextGen,but we are adamantly against justshifting the problem onto us with-out full evaluation of the conse-quences.

The resolution process has beenmost disappointing for the resi-dents of the designated routesarea. First, we are told that we donot know what we are talkingabout, only to have the FAA vali-date our concerns so far. Then weare told that the planes will fly ata given height, so the noise willnot be so great. However, in therevised plan, planes are kept lowuntil they reach a point just beforethe Mount Vernon Estate, wherethey must significantly increasetheir engine power in order to startclimbing and making a longsweeping arc over our area. So,

moving the routes over the Mt.Vernon area might solve Ft. Hunt’sproblem, but it will create a newone for someone else.

We have raised these Issues atthe referenced meeting and othersimilar meetings, but we havebeen repeatedly dismissed and ig-nored, as was evidenced by a lackof balance in your article as well.It is disingenuous to infer that allwill be well when the route ismoved, and that all of the resi-dents of the Mount Vernon District(i.e., Ft. Hunt and Mt. Vernon) areof one accord on this matter.

The real problem is the NextGenprocess itself, which creates routeefficiencies, while disregarding thepublic good. Numerous cities andstates have voiced concerns aboutNextGen, and are taking action atthe state level. In our area, DC andMaryland are working together inthe matter of NextGen, with Mary-land intending to sue the FAA.However, the commonwealth ofVirginia continues to be silent onthe matter, even though there areseveral Northern Virginia citiesand counties seriously impacted bythe plans for NextGen implemen-tation.

Moreover, why is the Metropoli-tan Airport authority, (which hasa politically appointed board) en-couraging the airlines to relocate

routes to DCA from Dulles andBWI by making it cheaper for air-lines to move? This will just addfuel to the fire, so to speak.

As Dr. Ed Hindman’ s recent let-ter about the matter states: “Weshould all share in this noise bur-den equally.” Better still, we shouldall work together to resolve this is-sue, rather than to continue the zerosum game of pushing the problemon someone else, albeit within thesame district. Although the Mt.Vernon District includes Fort Huntand M.t Vernon neighborhoods, thewillful exclusion of the concerns ofthe Mt. Vernon area citizens bringto mind the old phrase of “red-headed stepchildren.”

Poul Hertel/Alexandria

Avoid BuildingIn FloodplainsTo the Editor:

The owners of 8800 RichmondHighway want Fairfax County toamend its Comprehensive Plan toallow 43 townhomes on land thatis almost entirely in the 100-yearfloodplain and the ChesapeakeBay Resource Protection Area. The8 acres are part of the Dogue CreekEnvironmental Quality Corridorand currently protected by the

From Page 8


By Marilyn Campbell

One of the most unsettling times in aparent-child relationship can be theperiod of adolescence when childrenare growing into adulthood. During

this period say mental health professionals, teens mayexhibit defiance and disrespect while parent mightexperience hurt and question the quality of theirparenting abilities.

This period of time in the lives of both parents andadolescents can be fraught with confusion, pain anddisappointment. Understanding the reasons behindthe sudden shift is one of the keys to navigating thislife change. “One of the most important developmen-tal tasks during adolescence is for the child to dis-cover who they are apart from their parents in prepa-ration for eventually living as an adult,” said MelissaK. McCeney, Ph.D., professorof psychology at MontgomeryCollege. “They are working todefine their own values andgoals, and part of that processinvolves questioning author-ity.”

“It’s a natural part of sepa-ration from parents,” addedLinda Gulyn, Ph.D., professorof psychology at MarymountUniversity. “In fact most be-haviors described as rude ordisrespectful are the teen’sway of expressing her desireto be her own person; not anextension of the parent.”

Understanding what a childof this age might be feelingand experiencing can makeparents more empathetic pre-pare them to help guide theirchildren through this develop-mental period. “Adolescentsalso tend to be very idealisticand absolute in their thinking,which may lead them to be-come critical of parents whocan’t possibly live up to unre-alistic standards,” said McCeney. “Brain developmentduring adolescence can make teens less sensitive tohow other people are feeling and more sensitive totheir own feelings. Consequently, they may behavein self-centered and inconsiderate ways without evenrealizing it.”

During this period, some parents may questiontheir parenting skills or style. “These things will hap-pen regardless of parenting style because they’re anormal part of the developmental process,” saidMcCeney “Parenting style could affect how difficultthis transitional period is, though. Children whoseparents are overly permissive or demand immediatecompliance with no discussion under threat of pun-ishment are more likely to become teens who arevery rude and disrespectful. Parents who have con-sistently had high expectations for their childrenwithin the context of a warm and nurturing rela-tionship have already laid the groundwork for moreconstructive conflict resolution.”

Gulyn suggests that parents exhibit authority, butavoid extremes. “Always set limits and boundaries,

but do it in a way that you maintain a warm rela-tionship with your child,” she said. “Research showsthat authoritarian, that is strict and punitive, andpermissive, having no rules or boundaries, result inthe most disrespectful and difficult rebellious behav-iors.”

When adolescents rebel, the way a parent respondscan set the tone for the eventual outcome. “In myopinion, the parent needs to diffuse that momentwith empathy or at least an expression of understand-ing how it must be for the teen,” said Gulyn. “[Forexample,] ‘I know it’s frustrating trying to keep allthose homework assignments straight ...’”

“I also believe the teen needs feedback that hisrudeness hurts,” continued Gulyn. “[For example,]‘Wow, that really made me feel bad when you talkedto me that way.’ You are the parent. You need to helpyour teen develop empathy and understand the con-

sequences of their behaviors.”Encourage children to think

about the effect their behaviormight have on others, suggestsJerome Short, Ph.D, associateprofessor of psychology atMarymount University. “Parentsshould ask their children, ‘Howwould you feel if someone didthat to you?’ or ‘How do youthink that person feels after youdid that?’, suggests Short. “Thesequestions increase a focus onempathy and compassion. Par-ents should make it clear thatthey value kindness and respectand want their children to valuethose principles too.”

Reinforcement is more effec-tive than punishment, advisesMcCeney, but she underscoresthe reality that actions have con-sequences, and sometimesthey’re unpleasant. “When pun-ishment seems appropriate, try tostick with natural consequencesas much as you can,” she said.“For example, a teen who is be-ing hateful at the dinner table

might need to eat alone. If your child is insulting toyou while you drive him to a party, perhaps youshould turn around and go back home instead.”

McCeney advises against consequences withoutwarning. “If you go the punishment route, though,it’s important to make sure your teen knows in ad-vance exactly what the consequence will be and howthey need to change their behavior in order to avoidit,” she said. “For example, instead of making anunexpected screeching U-turn, say, ‘What you justsaid to me was really rude, and I don’t see why Ishould do you a favor if you’re not going to be nice.If you speak disrespectfully to me again, we’ll turnaround and go home.’ Then follow through as nec-essary. If you know your kid is likely to act up in aparticular situation, lay out the rules ahead of time,”continued McCeney. “If they tend to be rude to youto show off to their friends, let them know that if ithappens at tomorrow’s movie night at your house,they won’t be able to have company over next week-end. Then they can make their own informedchoices.”

Child development experts offer suggestionsfor a difficult period of development.

Navigating the Tween Years

❖ Model appropriate behavior. If your childyells at you and you respond by raisingyour own voice, they will seethe at yourhypocrisy. Don’t allow them to tempt youto stoop to their level.

❖ Choose your battles. If they actually do theirchores, it won’t hurt “not to notice” thatthey rolled their eyes and grumbled undertheir breath while they did them.

❖ Enforce appropriate boundaries. If yourchild is being rude and disrespectful, refuseto engage no matter how hard they push.Say something like, “I’ll be happy to discussthis with you when you can speak to merespectfully,” and then calmly walk away.

❖ Say yes when you can. Grant moreindependence as your child demonstratesthat they can be trusted with it. Help themto understand that handling conflictrespectfully is a sign of maturity and thatyou’ll respond to it as such.

❖ Show them that you still care. Continue tobe affectionate toward them and connectwith them however you can despite the factthat they’re not always behaving in themost lovable ways at this time. Often, teensfeel lonely and vulnerable under theirprickly exterior. Be generous with hugs,and remember that this is only a season. Itwill pass.

Addressing Rude TeenAnd Tween Behavior


Entertainment

By Barbara S. Moffet

Animal Welfare League of Alexandria

Asiago, Cheddar, Feta, Gorgonzola,Gouda, Havarti, Mascarpone, Moz-zarella, Muenster, Provolone and

Ricotta might sound like a stroll down agrocery aisle, but it was actually a panoplyof puppies competing in the “Great PuppyGames” earlier this summer at WOOFS! DogTraining Center.

The puppies are the 11 offspring of ahound mix named Brie, sent by the AnimalWelfare League of Alexandria (AWLA) to

WOOFS! for some special care inher last weeks of pregnancy. Thebirth of not one, not two, but 11puppies provided an opportunity

for WOOFS! to hone its training skills foryoung dogs, a special emphasis of the cen-ter. “One of my personal interests is gettingpuppies started off on the right foot,” saidDr. Laura Sharkey, founder of WOOFS! “Wefocus on socializing them in the 6- to 10-week-old period, meeting other dogs andpeople.”

Along with the usual work of training andboarding dogs for paying clients, WOOFS!is an Animal Guardian of the AWLA, donat-ing thousands of hours each year to fosterdogs who need special attention and care.“We might not have been able to take inBrie if WOOFS! hadn’t agreed to foster her,”said Echo Keif, AWLA Community Outreachand Adoptions Coordinator. But after theirbirth at WOOFS! — and the special train-ing for the Puppy Games — the 11 dogsjourneyed to the shelter for adoption. Allhave now gone to new homes.

Some dog owners don’t realize that train-

ing can begin for puppies as young as threeweeks, Sharkey said. WOOFS! starts itsnursery school with basics like paper train-ing, coming when called and paying atten-tion to what humans are saying to them.Training sessions for puppies are brief, shesaid, because of their short attention spans.Besides, she pointed out, their tiny belliescan only hold so many treats.

Training should be fun for both puppiesand adult dogs, Sharkey said. “If any angstor frustration appears, something is wrongwith the training and it needs to be evalu-ated. The dogs should think it’s all a game.”

AWLA

WOOFS! Gives Shelter Dogs a Place to Learn and Grow

It certainly was fun and games forCheeses Eleven. Showing off such skills asfollowing their trainer, coping with distract-ing objects and agility, Asiago emerged asthe Big Cheese with assistance from trainerJane Saunders; siblings Mozzarella andGorgonzola also emerged as leaders of thepack. Sharkey ushered puppy Mascarponethrough the course, and senior trainer EricaPytlovany presided over the trainers andtheir canine companions in front of an au-dience of friends, family and AWLA follow-ers.

Dr. Sharkey will speak about raising dogs

An AWLA trading card featuring Dr.Laura Sharkey’s champion-in-training, Mascarpone. The cardtracks the skills he learned duringthe Great Puppy Games.

Photographs courtesy, AWLA WOOFS!

Trainers pose with their canine charges as the Great Puppy Games wrapsup.

— and puppies — at a special AWLASpeaker Series event on Thursday, Sept. 27,at 7 p.m. at the AWLA, 4101 EisenhowerAve. More information can be found atAlexandriaAnimals.org/RaisingRover.

The Animal Welfare League of Alexandria, whichoperates the Vola Lawson Animal Shelter on contractwith the City of Alexandria, is an independent, local,501(c)(3) non-profit organization. The AWLA iscommitted to ending animal homelessness, promot-ing animal welfare, and serving as an educationalresource for the City of Alexandria community. Moreinformation is at AlexandriaAnimals.org.

Calendar

Live Music:Fox Vernon

With release of his five-track debutEP, Ghost, Fox Vernon will be joined bydrummer Mike Smirnoff, Dave Mallenand others. Tuesday, Sept. 20, 8 p.m. atEvening Star Cafe, 2000 Mt. VernonAve., Alexandria. Visitwww.eveningstarcafe.net.

Submit entertainment announcementsat www.connectionnewspapers.com/Cal-endar/. The deadline is noon on Friday.

ONGOING“The Painted Rocks at Revolver

Creek” by Athol Fugard. ThroughSept. 30 at MetroStage, 1201 N.Royal St., Alexandria. “The PaintedRocks at Revolver Creek” by AtholFugard, directed by MetroStageArtistic Associate Thomas W. JonesII, will open the 2018-19 season atMetroStage. Visit metrostage.org.

Geometrics Kiln Club Show.Through Sept. 30, at Scope Gallery,105 North Union St., Studio 19,Torpedo Factory, Alexandria. EarthyEncore Spotlights Shapeshifting inClay. Monday-Sunday, 10 a.m.-6p.m., open Thursday, Sept. 13 until 9p.m. and Friday, Sept. 14 until 10p.m. Call Scope Gallery at 703-548-6288 or visit www.scopegallery.org.

Art Exhibit: “Eat, Drink, and BeMerry.” Through Sept. 30, at DelRay Artisans, 2704 Mt. Vernon Ave.,Alexandria. A national ceramic showthat celebrates dining and food witha regional art exhibit echoing thesethemes. Visit DelRayArtisans.org/event/eat-drink-be-merry.

Dollhouse Exhibit. Through Sept. 30,Tuesdays-Saturdays, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.at Alexandria Black History Museum,902 Wythe St. Alexandria. Exhibit“Our Alexandria” Dollhouse

Collection. The exhibit captures someof the forgotten businesses, people,and institutions that made AfricanAmerican families strong – church,school, and family. Other exhibits arealso on site. Suggested admission $3per person. Visit alexandriava.gov/museums or call 703-746-4356.

THROUGH SEPT. 30Diaper Drive. At Pilates ProWorks,

1103 Queen St., Alexandria. All ofthe diapers collected will be donatedto the Great D.C. Diaper Bank, anofficial partner of the National DiaperBank Network. Pilates ProWorks’diaper drive is a part of a largerbrand-wide initiative, “Restore YourCore,” which emphasizes theimportance of empowering mothersto practice self-care. Visitwww.pilatesproworks.com.

THURSDAY/SEPT. 20Taste of OTN. 4-8 p.m. at Montgomery

Park, Old Town North Alexandria,901 N. Royal St., at intersection ofMontgomery Avenue, Alexandria.The Annual Taste of Old Town Northcelebrates local culture and arts withfree food tastings, live music,wellness demos. Visitoldtownnorth.org/taste or call 917-969-6668.

Author Michael Lee Pope. 5-7 p.m.at The Old Town Shop, 105 SouthUnion St., Alexandria. Pope is an

award-winning journalist who livesin Old Town Alexandria. He’s writtenthe books: Hidden History ofAlexandria, DC; Ghost of Alexandria;Shotgun Justice; and WickedNorthern Virginia. Call 703-684-4682.

Kayak Cleanups at Four Mile Run.5-7:30 p.m. The event starts out atThe Conservatory Center at Four MileRun Park, 4109 Mt Vernon Ave.,Alexandria. Parking details will beprovided to those who RSVP. TheFour Mile Run ConservatoryFoundation will continue to deployits fleet of kayaks to collect litteralong the streambank of Four MileRun. Visit www.fourmilerun.org.

Film Screening. 7-9 p.m. at St. Paul’sEpiscopal Church, 228 S. Pitt St.,Alexandria. St. Paul’s is hosting theD.C. area premiere of “In theExecutioner’s Shadow” and a Q&Awith the filmmakers. Thisdocumentary casts a penetrating lookat the consequences of the deathpenalty through three powerfulstories. Free. Visit bit.ly/executionersshadow.

Understanding Annuities. 7 p.m. atBurke Branch Library, 4701 SeminaryRoad, Alexandria. Learn what anannuity is and how it is funded.There are several types of annuitiesand they are different.

Musician Fox Vernon. 8 p.m. atEvening Star Cafe, 2000 Mt. VernonAve., Alexandria. With release of hisfive-track debut EP, Ghost, Vernonperforms with Mike Smirnoff, DaveMallen and others. Visitwww.eveningstarcafe.net.

SEPT. 20-23Old Town Boutique District Shop

& Stroll. At various boutiquesthroughout Old Town, Alexandria.Take a stroll through historic OldTown Alexandria and explore someof the best boutiques in the area.Browse and shop and use the app toshow each location visited to beentered in a grand prize drawing thatincludes $1,000 worth of gift cards.Additionally, buy a stylish event bagfor more savings and goodies. Visitwww.oldtownboutiquedistrict.com.

FRIDAY/SEPT. 21STEAM Concepts. 10-11:55 a.m. at

Huntley Meadows, 3701 LockheedBlvd., Alexandria. Youngsters ages 4-6 explore STEAM subjects throughactive, hands-on investigations andexperiments in nature with theguidance of a park naturalist.Children will learn how to usebinoculars, magnifying glasses andfield microscopes to deepen theirobservations and investigations. Thisprogram meets weekly for six weeks.The cost of the series is $108. Call703-768-2525 orvisitwww.fairfaxcounty.gov/parks/huntley-meadows.

Movie: Black Panther. 7:30 p.m. atMarket Square, 301 King St.,Alexandria. Part of the City ofAlexandria’s Movies Under the Stars.Attendees are encouraged to bring abeach chair or sit on the benchseating and enjoy an outdoor movieshown on a three-story tall inflatable


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703-548-1616RoyalRestaurantVA.com

Entertainment

By Hope Nelson

Soon, Alexandrians may be able to enjoy a sideof cat cuddles with their coffee and pastries.Mount Purrnon, spearheaded by Kristin Cowan

and Adam Patterson, would blend all the comfortsof a café with all the fuzziness of a dozen felines.

The cat café — which would be the first in North-ern Virginia — has been a longtime dream for theduo.

“We went to the (cat café) in Charleston calledPounce Back and had a great time,”Patterson said. “After that, (Cowan)said, ‘I’ve got to do this.’”

After a springtime fundraising cam-paign, reality has begun to set in: locations, permitsand all.

“We did a Kickstarter campaign back in May andwe got it funded,” Patterson said. “Now we’re just inthe process of looking for a location, and once weget a location that’s when we can apply for the per-mits and the ABC license.”

The popularity of cat cafes has surged in recentyears; Patterson says there are now more than 80locations within the United States. Within the region,the most popular café is Crumbs and Whiskers inWashington, which now sports a sister location inLos Angeles. And the trend continues to grow, withcafes in Denver and more.

The vision for Mount Purrnon is twofold: To serve

food and drink in one room and to offer plenty ofkitty quality time in the other. And, of course, to getthe resident cats adopted. Think of the café as sortof a public foster home — with snacks.

“You can go between (the rooms) if you want, butyou don’t have to,” Patterson said. “We’ll probablyhave about 12 cats at a time, and they’ll all be up foradoption.”

Mount Purrnon is also addressing any food safetyissues before they arise: All snacks and treats will beprepackaged and made off-site to avoid any cross-contamination.

And speaking of the food: Cowan and Pattersonaim to offer an array of cookies, cupcakes, cheeseplates, fruit and more. Wash it down with coffee,juice or something stronger — Mount Purrnon aimsto sell beer and wine, as well — for a balanced meal.

Mount Purrnon’s ideal location would be alongKing Street in Old Town, Patterson said.

“We’re trying to find a good place that has a bigwindow where people can walk by and see them,”he said.

As dreams become reality, Cowan and Pattersonare ready for whatever comes next, Patterson said.

“We’re both very, very excited,” he said. “It’s a newadventure.”

Mount Purrnon’s target opening date is early 2019.

Appetite

Mount Purrnon Aims toGive Cat, Café Lovers a Treat

Hope Nelson owns and operates the Kitchen Recessionistablog, located at www.kitchenrecessionista.com. Email her anytime at [email protected].

Calendar

Michael Lee Pope

Local AuthorThursday

Michael Lee Pope is an award-win-ning journalist who lives in Old TownAlexandria. He has reported for the Al-exandria Gazette Packet, WAMU 88.5News, the New York Daily News and theTallahassee Democrat. He’s written thebooks: Hidden History of Alexandria,DC; Ghost of Alexandria; Shotgun Jus-tice; and Wicked Northern Virginia.Thursday, Sept. 20, 5-7 p.m. at The OldTown Shop, 105 South Union St. Alex-andria. Call 703-684-4682.

screen in front of City Hall. Admission isfree. Visit www.alexandriava.gov.

FRIDAY-SATURDAY/SEPT. 21-22Swim for Dogs. Friday 4-7 p.m. at

Charles Houston Recreation CenterPool, 901 Wythe St., Alexandria.Treat your pooch to a latesummertime dip at one of the City ofAlexandria’s annual dog swims. Dogsunder 50 pounds can enjoy a pool tothemselves at the Itty Bitty DoggieDive. Dogs of all sizes can enjoy theBig Dog Day Swim on Saturday, Sept.22, 10 a.m.-12:45 p.m. at the OldTown Pool, 1609 Cameron St.,Alexandria. Tickets are required toattend. Free. Visit alexandriava.gov/Aquatics.

SATURDAY/SEPT. 22Mosby Civil War Bus Tour. 8:30

a.m.-5:30 p.m. Sponsored by theStuart - Mosby Historical Society;tour leader will be Don Hakenson,Eric Buckland with special guest TomEvans. The bus will leave TruroParish (10520 Main St., Fairfax City).Will be visiting Mosby’s Grave, CloverHill (supposedly a safe house forNick Carter), Wolf’s Craig (the homeof General Turner Ashby), TheMountain Home in Front Royal. Costfor Stuart-Mosby Historical Societymembers is $65; non members is$75. Reserve a seat by sendingcontact info to Don Hakenson [email protected].

Mount Vernon Flea Market. 8 a.m.-1 p.m. at 8717 Fort Hunt Road,Alexandria. Flea Market will takeplace every fourth Saturday of themonth through September. Vendorswill sell items such as: homemadegoods, lavender sachets, jewelry,soap, antique and vintage items;books, CD’s and DVDs, comic books

and more. Refreshments will also beon sale. Hosted by the Mount VernonMasonic Lodge No. 219. Rain orshine. Visit www.facebook.com/mountvernonfleamarket/.

Save the Streams. 9-11 a.m. atJerome “Buddie” Ford Nature Center,5750 Sanger Ave., Alexandria.Interested in learning more about thehealth of local streams? They will beusing the Virginia Save Our Streamsmethodology to assess Holmes Runby classifying macroinvertebrates.The City of Alexandria’s Departmentof Transportation and EnvironmentalServices (T&ES), StormwaterManagement Division and theJerome “Buddie” Ford Nature Center,invite residents to participate in astream monitoring workshop. Spaceis limited and registration is required,[email protected] toregister.

Fall Garden Day. 9 a.m.-3 p.m. atGreen Spring Gardens, 4603 GreenSpring Road, Alexandria. Visit with ahost of local plant and craft vendorsselling everything to satisfy fallgardening needs. There will also be asilent auction, bake sale, live music,food and a kids’ activities tent. Call703-642-5173 or visitwww.fairfaxcounty.gov/parks/green-spring.

Relay for Pre-K. 9 a.m.-noon at St.Stephen’s and St. Agnes UpperSchool Track, 1000 St. Stephen’sRoad, Alexandria. The Child &Family Network Centers (CFNC)announces the launch of its inaugural‘Relay for Pre-K.’ Registration to walkis free. The three-mile walk willbegin at 10 a.m., with registrationbeginning at 9 a.m. Attendees arealso invited to enjoy food, drinks, liveentertainment, and more around thefield. Participants who raise morethan $100 will receive an event t-

shirt. Visit www.cfnc-online.org orcall 703-836-0214.

Telling their Story: MuseumSpecialty Tours. 10 a.m. atGadsby’s Tavern Museum, 134 N.Royal St., Alexandria. Tour the hallswhere Washington, Lafayette,Jefferson, Madison and Burr partiedand made history. Consider the ideasdebated in the rooms where ithappened… for some, but not for all.$12/person. Visitwww.gadsbystavern.org.


Entertainment

By Melinda Kernc

Alexandria Symphony Orchestra

The Alexandria Symphony Orchestra pre-sents its 75th anniversary season this yearwith the first concert weekend of its sub-

scription series on Saturday, Sept. 29, 8 p.m., atthe Rachel M. Schlesinger Concert Hall and ArtsCenter and on Sunday, Sept. 30, 3 p.m., at theGeorge Washington Masonic Memorial.

September’s program mixes grand with intimatesymphonic works, anchored with Beethoven’s pa-triotic Symphony No. 7 preceded by MichaelTorke’s transcendent “Javelin.Ó Maestro Ross and

the ASO welcome violin soloist AlexanderKerr for DvoYák’s Romance in F minor andSaint-Saëns’ Introduction and Rondocapriccioso.

Raised in Alexandria and a graduate of T.C. Wil-liams High School, Kerr is a masterful violinist whohas collaborated with countless artists from JoshuaBell to Sarah Chang. He currently serves as con-certmaster of the Dallas and Indianapolis Sym-phony Orchestras.

The 2018-2019 season marks the introductionof James Ross as the ASO’s new music director,who brings a wealth of international experienceand innovative programming to the ASO. Mae-stro Ross is also the orchestra director of the Na-tional Youth Orchestra – USA at Carnegie Hall andconductor with the Orquestra Simfònica del Vallèsin Barcelona. Ross serves on the conducting fac-ulty at the Juilliard School and recently completeda 16-year tenure as professor and director of Or-chestral Activities at the University of Maryland.

Besides the new maestro, ASO patrons will en-joy an improved concert experience this seasonwith a renovated concession station at Schlesinger

Symphony Opens 75th SeasonConcert Hall.At 2:15 p.m.prior to eachSunday per-formance atthe MasonicM e m o r i a l ,Maestro Rosswill presentan interactivetalk called “Asthe BatonSwings.” Thetalk will in-clude insightsabout thep r o g r a m ,geared to-w a r dyounger at-tendees and

novice symphony-goers. Additional pre-concertactivities and celebratory experiences are alsoscheduled throughout the season at both venues.

The Alexandria Symphony is a fully-professionalorchestra drawing from the Washington, D.C. met-ropolitan region’s wealth of musical talent. Manymusicians perform with other orchestras and topmilitary bands. The ASO performs Saturday eve-nings at the Rachel M. Schlesinger Concert Halland Arts Center and Sunday matinees at theGeorge Washington Masonic Memorial. Adult sub-scriptions start at $68, and single tickets are $20-$80 for adults, $5 for youth (18 and under), and$10 for students (with ID). The ASO also offerssenior, military, and group discounts. For ticketsand more information, visit www.alexsym.org orcall 703-548-0885.

ASO

Photo by Chelsea Sanders

Violinist Alexander Kerr

Walking with Washington. 10 a.m.-noon at Alexandria Visitor’s Center,221 King St., Alexandria. Exploresites associated with GeorgeWashington in his hometown ofAlexandria. This guided walking tourof historic Old Towne covers peopleand events in Washington’s life andin American history, with stops atRamsay House, Market Square, theCarlyle House, Wise’s Tavern, DuvallHouse/Tavern, Gadsby’s Tavern,Washington’s townhouse, The LordFairfax House, “Light-Horse” HarryLee’s house and Christ Church.Sponsored by the City of Alexandria’sGeorge Washington BirthdayCelebration Committee. Free, noreservation required. Visitwww.washingtonbirthday.com.

Archaeology Day at Gunston Hall.10 a.m.-4 p.m. at 10709 GunstonRoad, Lorton. George Mason’sGunston Hall presents ArchaeologyDay, a day dedicated to digging upthe mysteries of the past. Activitiesfor all ages, including sifting forancient artifacts, mendingarchaeological objects, discoveringwhat remains after 200 years, anddressing like an archaeologist. Thisevent is included with Gunston Hall’sgeneral admission. Visitwww.gunstonhall.org.

Classic Car Show. 10 a.m.-1 p.m. atThe Lyceum’s parking lot, 201 SouthWashington St., in Old TownAlexandria. On display will bePackards, Austins, Oldsmobiles, andother Orphans, from the 1930s-1950s. Orphan cars are any marqueof vehicle built by an out-of-businessmanufacturer. Visit packardsva.org orcall 703-424-5871.

Historic Homes Tour. 10 a.m.-3 p.m.A walking tour featuring some of thebeautiful homes in Old TownAlexandria, proceeds will benefitInova Alexandria Hospital. Sponsoredby The Twig, Junior Auxiliary of thehospital. $40 in advance; $45 tourday. On tour day, tickets may bepurchased at the Alexandria VisitorCenter, at The Twig Thrift Shop at106 N. Columbus St. or at TheAthenaeum at 201 Price St. [email protected], call703-338-0691 or visitwww.thetwig.org/Homes-Tour.

Blue Sky Puppet Theatre. 10 a.m.and 11:15 a.m. at Durant ArtsCenter, 1605 Cameron St.,Alexandria. Silly Goose and Valperform. The City of Alexandria’sOffice of the Arts has collaboratedwith the National Capital PuppetryGuild for a series of monthly family-friendly shows. $5. Visitalexandriava.gov/webtrac and searchkeyword “puppet.”

Old Town Waterfront Fitness +Wellness Festival. Noon-4 p.m. atWaterfront Park, 1A Prince St.,Alexandria. Festival gives attendeesthe opportunity to experience first-hand some of the best local fitnessstudios and wellness companies.Waterfront Park will be overflowingwith local fitness studios andwellness businesses. The first 400participants will be given a swag bagfilled with free classes, discounts,branded products and samples fromsome of the top fitness and wellnesscompanies in the area. $29. Visitwww.discoverthedistrictevents.com.

Trash Cleanup. Noon-3 p.m. at DykeMarsh and along the Mount VernonTrail. Check in at Belle Haven Park orthe Dyke Marsh Haul Road entrance.Sponsored by the Friends of DykeMarsh (www.fodm.org) and theNational Park Service (www.nps.gov/gwmp). Sponsors will provide gloves,bags and tools. This event will occurunless there are heavy rains and/orlightning.

ASTEAM Fall Family Carnival. 12-4p.m. at Charles Houston Rec Center,901 Wythe St., Alexandria.This eventis a social amusement platform forleveraging technology infused gamesand immersive hands-on experiences

geared towards encouraging youngpeople to become engaged,knowledgeable and skilled in theASTEAM (Aviation, Science,Technology, Engineering, Art, andMathematics) disciplines within thepower of play. Highlights of thecarnival include: forensic science,cyber security, and rocketryexploration; creative arts and virtualreality activities; roboticdemonstrations; lego building; radio-controlled cars; drones; chess. Visitwww.nvul.org or call 703-836-2858.

Write Like a Woman NetworkingWorkshop. 1:30-3:30 p.m. at TheAthenaeum, 201 Prince St.,Alexandria. Facilitated by Poet andAuthor KaNikki Jakarta, “Write LikeA Woman Networking Workshop”welcomes women writers ages 18-100. Meeting periodically, theworkshop centers on uplifting andinspiring through writing. Eachworkshop focuses on differentwriting styles and allows theparticipants to enhance their ownwriting skills and share their work forlistening or critiques. The meetingsare for amateur and professionalwriters. Every session includeswriting exercises and networking.RSVP at [email protected].

Sips & Secrets: A Speakeasy Night.7-10 p.m. at Lee-Fendall HouseMuseum and Garden, 614 OronocoSt., Alexandria. Sips and Secrets: ASpeakeasy Night is an annual 1920s-themed gala fundraiser to supportthe Lee-Fendall House Museum.Enjoy a night of Prohibition-era fun,including drinks, dancing, and asilent auction. All proceeds from this

event will fund urgently architecturalrepairs and stabilization for thehouse’s historic 233-year-oldfoundations. $35-$85. Visitwww.eventbrite.com/e/sips-secrets-a-speakeasy-night-tickets-44825724950.

MV Underground Masquerade. 7p.m. at George Washington’s MountVernon, 3200 Mount VernonMemorial Highway, Mount Vernon. Ablack tie and mask event featuring amoonlit masquerade on MountVernon’s iconic East Lawn, includinghors d’oeuvres, an open bar, and livemusic and dancing. Enjoy privatetours of the mansion, including a rarepeek into the underground cellar, aswell as 18th century fortune tellingand fireworks over the PotomacRiver. Admission: $159; $90 forMount Vernon UndergroundMembers. Visitwww.MountVernon.org.

Charles Williams Cabaret. 7:30-9p.m. at Mount Vernon UnitarianChurch, 1909 Windmill Lane,Alexandria. Vocalist CharlesWilliams, with Betty Bullock onpiano, will be performing The GreatAmerican Songbook, includingselections from Cole Porter, GeorgeGershwin, Irving Berlin, Rogers andHart, Duke Ellington. Visitwww.mvuc.org. $20. Tickets areavailable atMVUCevents.brownpapertickets.com.

SATURDAY-SUNDAY/SEPT. 22-23King Street Art Festival.

Rescheduled due to HurricaneFlorence. Saturday, 10 a.m.-7 p.m.;

Sunday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. at King Streetin Alexandria, from WashingtonStreet to the waterfront. Freeadmission. The street is transformedinto an outdoor art gallery withoriginal fine artwork by more than200 artists from around the country.Enjoy live music, and interactive artactivities, and the Torpedo FactoryArt Center’s Beer & Wine TorpedoGarden, 11 a.m.-4 p.m. both days.Visit www.VisitAlexandriaVA.com/artfest or call 703-746-3301, orwww.ArtFestival.com.

Ice Cream Bowl Fundraiser. 10a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday; 11 a.m.-4 p.m.Sunday. at the King Street ArtFestival, Market Square, corner ofKing and N. Fairfax streets. Purchaseone of more than 1,400 handmadebowls created by the artists of TheArt League’s Ceramics Departmentand enjoy a scoop of ice cream.Proceeds benefit The Art League’sCeramics department. Participants inthe Ice Cream Bowl Fundraiser mayenter a free drawing to win ceramicartwork and an Art League giftcertificate. $15 per bowl. Visitwww.theartleague.org.

SUNDAY/SEPT. 23Run! Geek! Run! 8:30 a.m. The race

will take place in Alexandria, withthe starting line between GeorgeWashington Middle School and theBraddock Road Metro stop. Proceedsfrom the race will benefit theAlexandria Seaport Foundation.Come either run or walk this flatcourse. Register at rungeekrun.com/register.

Apothecary Museum Geek Tours:A Magical Apothecary. 11 a.m.-noon at Stabler-LeadbeaterApothecary Museum, 105 S. FairfaxSt., Alexandria. Learn about themuggle botanical science thatinspired the potions and herbology ofJ.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series,and make a magical sleeping potion.Adults and children ages 8 and olderwelcome. Call 703-746-3852 or visitwww.alexandriava.gov.

AHA Garden Party. 4-7 p.m. atMurray-Dick-Fawcett House, 517Prince St., Alexandria. At Home inAlexandria will hold a Garden Partyat the historic Murray-Dick-FawcettHouse in Old Town to benefit theorganization’s mission. Attendees willbe invited to tour the public rooms ofthe home and enjoy a buffet, finewine and live music in the garden.The event is open to the public withadvance ticket purchase atwww.athomeinalexandria.org/donate. Tickets are $75. Call 703-231-0824.

Live Music: Joe Jencks and NicoleBelanus. 7 p.m. at GeorgeWashington Masonic NationalMemorial, 101 Callahan Drive,Alexandria. A Joe Jencks concert isan occasion for singing, a contagiousrising up of voices, an act of joy anddefiance. Nicole Belanus is a singer-songwriter with acoustic and folk-rock influences. Tickets are $18 inadvance at www.focusmusic.org/buy-tickets and for members, $20 at thedoor. Email [email protected] orcall 703-380-3151.

MONDAY/SEPT. 24“Fore” the Kids Golf Tourney. 1

p.m. shotgun start, at SpringfieldCountry Club, 8301 Old Keene MillRoad, Springfield. Annual “Fore” theKids Golf Tournament to benefit theDunbar Alexandria-Olympic Branchof Boys Girls Clubs of GreaterWashington. Registration and lunchon patio at 11 a.m., shotgun start at1 p.m. and reception and awardceremony at 6 p.m. Register atbidpal.net/alexandriagolf2018.

Oktoberfest. 6:30-8:30 p.m. at PortCity Brewing Company, 3950Wheeler Ave., Alexandria. Sponsoredby The Campagna Center. Featuringlocal brews, authentic bratwurst andGerman fare, and an evening of oom-pah-POW, all for a great cause. TheCampagna Center’s New NeighborsEnglish Language Learner and FamilyLiteracy Program helps immigrantsbecome self-sufficient members ofthe community. Visitwww.campagnacenter.org/events/new-neighbors-oktoberfest.

Composting: What to Do with AllThose Leaves. 7 p.m. at BurkeBranch Library, 4701 Seminary Road,Alexandria. Learn how to startcomposting at home, what to put intoa compost pile, how to easilymaintain it so the materials breakdown properly, and how to apply itin the garden. Free. Advanceregistration is requested atmgnv.org/category/public-education-events/.

ReReading “My Ántonia.” 7 p.m. atDuncan Branch Library, 2501Commonwealth Ave., Alexandria.Join in to (re)read of “My Ántonia”by Willa Cather. Discussion will belead by Dr. Janie Mitchell incelebration of the 100th anniversaryof publication in September 1918.“My Ántonia” is one of the mostsignificant American novels of the20th century. Get a copy fromAlexandria Library and comeprepared to discuss this seminal workon immigration, religious difference,gender, class, and environmentalprotection. Visit alexlibraryva.org.

Banned Books Read Out. 7 p.m. atThe Athenaeum, 201 Prince St.,Alexandria. Join Honorary HostAlexandria Mayor Allison Silberberg,Alexandria Library Director Rose


Friday, October 19, 20187:00 - 10:00 P.M.

US Patent & Trademark Office600 Dulany Street, Alexandria, Virginia

Entertainment

The Murray-Dick-Fawcett house is one of the oldest inAlexandria and considered one of the least altered his-toric homes in Northern Virginia.

AHA Garden PartyAt Home in Alexandria will hold a garden party at the historic Murray-Dick-

Fawcett House in Old Town to benefit the organization’s mission. Attendees willbe invited to tour the public rooms of the home and enjoy a buffet, fine wine andlive music in the garden. Sunday, Sept. 23, 4-7 p.m. at Murray-Dick-Fawcett House,517 Prince St., Alexandria. Advance tickets required; $75. Call 703-231-0824 orvisit www.athomeinalexandria.org/donate.

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Dawson and others who will read frombanned books to celebrate thefreedom to read. Participants mayread 3-5 minute selections from abanned or challenged book or justcome to listen. To read, RSVP with aselection to [email protected].

TUESDAY/SEPT. 25Healthy Food Lecture and Cooking

Demo. 2 - 3:30 p.m., Beatley CentralLibrary, 5005 Duke St., Alexandria.Join Madison Reeder, a registereddietitian, as she explains whichtrends are best to incorporate in ourdiets and which are best to avoid.Each session includes a cookingdemonstration and food samples. Toregister, call 703-836-4414, ext. 110.

Twilight & Tipple Tuesday Tours.6-9 p.m. at Woodlawn & Pope-Leighey House, 9000 RichmondHighway. A rare opportunity toexperience Frank Lloyd Wright’sPope-Leighey House by twilight. Thistour is a chance to see one ofWright’s houses illuminated against anight sky, bring a new dimension andradiance to the typical tourexperience. Visitwww.woodlawnpopeleighey.org.

Partners in Art. 7-9 p.m. at Del RayArtisans gallery, 2704 Mt VernonAve. Join a collegial group of artiststo share goals and get feedback onartwork. Monthly meetings includediscussions on exhibit opportunities,the creative process and the local artscene. Artist can bring 1-3 works –complete or in progress – forfeedback. All skill levels and mediawelcome. Donations ($1-3)appreciated. VisitDelRayArtisans.org/partners-in-art.

Adult Knitting Workshop forBeginners. 7 p.m. at Kate WallerBarrett Branch Library, 717 QueenStreet, Alexandria. Learn the basicsof the knit stitch and practice newskills by making a washcloth. Keepthe finished project or donate it to bemade into a scarf. For those new toknitting or anyone wanting arefresher. Ages 16 and up. Allsupplies will be provided.Registration is required. Call 703-746-1751 to register.

Author Talk: Katie Bianco. 7 p.m. atBarrett Branch Library, 717 QueenSt., Alexandria. Come meet localauthor Katie Bianco as she presentsthe new edition of her guidebook toWashington, D.C. Books will beavailable for purchase and signing.Visit alexlibraryva.org.

THURSDAY/SEPT. 27Tee-Off Against Prostate Cancer.

6-9 p.m. at TopGolf Alexandria, 6625S. Van Dorn St., Alexandria. Joinalone or with a team for an eveningof fun, food, and people to supportthis cause. All participants willreceive a Lifetime membership toTopGolf as well as appetizers anddrink tickets. Individual Ticket - $60Team (5 tickets) - $250 Bay PCa FactSponsor - $750 Deck Sponsor -$1,500. Email [email protected] or call 202-334-9058.

U.S. Navy Concert Band. 7-9 p.m. atThe Athenaeum, 201 Prince St.,Alexandria. The United States NavyBand Chamber Group fromWashington, D.C., is the Navy’spremier musical organization. Thischamber music recital series willfeature a diverse array of traditionaland contemporary music includingworks by Kerry Turner, Lowell Shaw,and Katharina Thomsen. RSVP [email protected].

Selling Your Home. 7 p.m. at BurkeBranch Library, 4701 Seminary Road,Alexandria. Learn techniques tonegotiate and get the best price for ahome while minimizing the hassleassociated with selling. Offered byBruce McBarnette, a real estate agentassociated with Keller Williams inLoudoun County. Register at

[email protected].

FRIDAY/SEPT. 28Garden Talk: Planting Trees &

Shrubs. 1:30-2:30 p.m. at GreenSpring Gardens, 4603 Green SpringRoad, Alexandria. (16-Adult) Learnhow to select trees and shrubs thatthrive in Northern Virginia.Understand how to handle bare-root,balled, wrapped andcontainer plants. Receive guidancefrom VCE master gardeners onplanting, feeding and caring for newtrees and shrubs. $10/person.Register online atwww.fairfaxcounty.gov/parks/parktakes using code 290 489 3501or call 703-642-5173.

SATURDAY/SEPT. 295K Fundraiser. 7:30 a.m. at Fort Hunt

Park in Alexandria. For Arts on theHorizon, a non-profit theatre forchildren ages 0-6. Families areinvited to run or walk to support Artson the Horizon’s arts educationprograms and performances.Registration is $25. Visitwww.artsonthehorizon.org/5k

Pet Blessing. 9 a.m. at Trinity UnitedMethodist Church, 2911 CameronMills Road, Alexandria. Each pet willbe individually blessed by PastorGrace Han in the courtyard under theoaks on Cameron Mills Road. Call ortext 703-408-4008.

Plants & Design: Shade GardenIntensive. 9 a.m.-noon. (Adults)We love the relief shade offers fromthe hot sun, but lament howchallenging it is have a shade garden.What can a gardener do with shade?Topics: Made in the (Dry) Shade andGreat Plant Combinations for ShadeGardens. $39/person. Register onlineat www.fairfaxcounty.gov/parks/parktakes using code 290 482 3401or call 703-642-5173.

Fall Festival. 10 a.m.-3 p.m. at BeatleyCentral Library, 5005 Duke St.,Alexandria. Join Beatley CentralLibrary as it celebrates its 6th annualFall Festival and Open House. Visitalexlibraryva.org.

A Mansion House WhiskeyTasting. 6:30-9 p.m. at CarlyleHouse, 121 N. Fairfax St.,Alexandria. Taste whiskeys pairedwith delectable food, harkening backto the days when the Mansion HouseHotel stood on the property. Thisevent includes an evening tour of theCarlyle House, four whiskeys, andheavy hors d’oeuvres. Local historianRich Gillespie will share stories ofhistoric Virginia and guide you on

your whiskey tasting journey.Admission: $75 per person 36 andover; $35 ages 21-35. Call 703-549-2997 or visit www.novaparks.com

ASO’S New Season. 8 p.m. at RachelM. Schlesinger Concert Hall and ArtsCenter. The Alexandria SymphonyOrchestra opens its 75th AnniversarySeason and welcomes violinistAlexander Kerr. Season subscriptionsstart at $68. Single-ticket pricesrange $20-$80 for adults; $5 youthand $10 student tickets. Visitwww.alexsym.org or call 703-548-0885.

SUNDAY/SEPT. 30Kayak Cleanups at Four Mile Run.

9 a.m.-noon. The event starts out atThe Conservatory Center at Four MileRun Park, 4109 Mt Vernon Ave.,Alexandria. Parking details will beprovided to those who RSVP. TheFour Mile Run ConservatoryFoundation will continue to deployits fleet of kayaks to collect litteralong the streambank of Four MileRun this fall. Visitwww.fourmilerun.org.

Book & Author. 2-5 p.m. at Beth ElHebrew Congregation, 3830Seminary Road, Alexandria. AuthorsRonald Balson, The Trust, Dina Gold,Stolen Legacy, and Steve Israel, BigGuns, will speak and sell their bookswith proceeds to benefit Beth ElYouth and Brandeis NationalScholarships. Refreshments will beserved. $25 in advance, $30 at thedoor. [email protected].

Beethoven: Symphony No.7. 3 p.m.at George Washington MasonicMemorial. Featuring James Ross,conductor and Alexander Kerr, violin.The concert begins with MichaelTorke’s joyful and majestic workJavelin, co-commissioned by theAtlanta Symphony Orchestra and the1996 Atlanta Olympic Committee.The program continues with twoworks featuring solo violin, includingDvoYák’s Romance in F Minor andSaint-Saëns’ Introduction and Rondocapriccioso. The concert concludeswith Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7.For tickets, visit www.alexsym.org.

SEPT. 30-OCT. 31Pumpkin Patch. Monday-Friday, 11

a.m.-7:30 p.m.; Saturday-Sunday, 9a.m.-8 p.m. at Immanuel Church-on-the-Hill, 3606 Seminary Road. All netprofits support the church’s outreachactivities. Visit www.immanuel-on-the-hill.org.


Another Community Partner

PUBLIC NOTICEPlease be advised that a brief fireworks display will

take place as part of a private event at George Washington’s Mount Vernon on the following date:

Saturday, September 22 between 9:25p.m. and 9:45p.m. (3 minutes)

The Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association thanks you for your tolerance and apologizes for any disruption.

To receive Mount Vernon fireworks notifications via e-mail, write to [email protected]

Letters

county’s Comprehensive Planand several ordinances.

Developers propose to add41,000 cubic feet of fill in thefloodplain and build townhomeson top. Raising homes out of thefloodplain may protect them, butit displaces water during high-flowevents.

Floodplains absorb, store anddissipate water during floods. Per-manently removing 2 acres offloodplain increases the risk ofdownstream flooding. The countyhas already spent our tax moneyto purchase private propertiesdownstream on Dogue Creek tomitigate flooding.

This development is inconsistentwith policies and laws that protectstreams, improve water quality,reduce flood risk, and restore theChesapeake Bay. Since the countytightened environmental protec-tions in 1975, very few new resi-dential lots have been created infloodplains.

Current county policy allowsdevelopment in EnvironmentalQuality Corridors only in “extraor-dinary circumstances.” Violatingthe county’s hard-won environ-mental protections weakens them.If the county allows this exception,it can’t deny it to other “similarlysituated” projects.

Each floodplain developmentwould have a cumulative effect,increasing flooding risk and ad-versely affecting water quality.

Approving this developmentcould raise flood insurance costsfor everyone. Fairfax County hasa very high rating (category 6) inthe FEMA National Flood Insur-ance Community Rating System.This allows owners to obtain floodinsurance at a discount. Loosen-ing restrictions on floodplain de-velopment could lower thecounty’s rating and raise the costof flood insurance.

Fairfax County had a long his-tory of development in floodplainsand is still living with the conse-quences. Look at the $30 millionprice tag to construct a levee toprotect Huntington residents fromthe waters of Cameron Run. Thatfloodplain was developed longbefore Fairfax County had effec-tive restrictions on floodplain de-velopment. Surely we know bet-ter now.

Responsible county officialsshould learn from the past and notrepeat its mistakes. New homes donot belong in the floodplain.Please contact Supervisor DanStorck ([email protected]) and Mount VernonPlanning Commissioner WalterClarke ([email protected]) to urge them not tosupport this project.

Betsy Martin/Alexandria

From Page 9


News

Next Step for EqualityAfter the 19th Amendment affirming women’s right to vote

was ratified in 1920, suffragist leader Alice Paul introducedthe ERA in 1923 as the next step in bringing “equal justiceunder law” to all citizens. The proposed Equal Rights Amend-ment (ERA) states that the rights guaranteed by theConstitution apply equally to all persons regardless of theirsex.

In 1972, the ERA was finally passed by Congress and sentto the states for ratification. The original seven-year time limitwas extended by Congress to June 30, 1982, but at that dead-line, the ERA had been ratified by only 35 states, three statesshort of the 38 required to put it into the Constitution.

Now, Virginia could be the last state needed to ratify theEqual Rights Amendment, which would pass on the floor ofthe House and the Senate in the session beginning Jan. 9,2019, if opponents don’t prevent the vote by tying it up incommittee.

The Equal Rights Amendment Verbatim:Section 1. Equality of rights under the law shall not be

denied or abridged by the United States or by any state onaccount of sex.

Section 2. The Congress shall have the power to enforce, byappropriate legislation, the provisions of this article.

Section 3. This amendment shall take effect two years af-ter the date of ratification.

The ERA has been introduced into every Congress since thedeadline, and beginning in 1994, ERA advocates have beenpursuing two different routes to ratification:

❖ the traditional process described in Article V of the Con-stitution (passage by a two-thirds majority in both the Senateand the House of Representatives, followed by ratification bythree-quarters of the states), and

❖ the “three-state strategy” (ratification in three more of the15 state legislatures that did not ratify the ERA in 1972-82,based on legal analysis that when three more states vote yes,this process could withstand legal challenge and accomplishratification of the ERA). Virginia could be the third and finalstate needed to pursue this strategy were the Equal RightsAmendment to pass in the 2019 General Assembly session.

Spotlighting Women’s SuffrageFrom Page 1

they are developing a Constitution Trail starting atthe National Archives, going to Mount Vernon,Gunston Hall, Montpelier and to the Turning PointSuffragist Memorial.

WIRTH, who worked in the automotive service in-dustry for 30 years, and now devotes all of her timeto building the memorial, gave a presentation of themovers and shakers in the Women’s Suffrage Move-ment. starting with an audio of the Declaration ofSentiments — the document that changed course ofwomen’s lives in Seneca Falls, N.Y., in 1848. It wassigned by 68 women and 32 men at the convention.

She talked about the contributions of icons Eliza-beth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott, who met in1840 in London, England, to attend an internationalabolitionist convention.

“Many early suffragists were abolitionists. In thatperiod of time, if you were married, you belongedto your husband. … Women were limited in theirability to get higher education and get into the pro-fessions. They did not feel equal. That’s why thismovement got going,” she said.

Wirth mentioned the contributions of Susan B.Anthony, of New York State, who dedicated her lifeto suffragists. In 1851, she marched into a pollingplace and attempted to vote but she was thrown onthe sidewalk, manhandled and arrested for the crimeof voting. “She had a trial, was found guilty of vot-ing but never went to jail. She was a wonderfulwoman to be reckoned with,” she said.

Mary Church Terrell, the founding member ofNAACP in 1909, was the first African Americanwoman to go to college, Wirth said. Terrell went toOberlin, was a teacher, principal, and member ofthe Delta Sigma Theta sorority.

Another woman, Carrie Chapman Catt, was in-volved in National American Woman Suffrage Asso-ciation and founder of the League of Women Votersin 1920. She focused on getting the vote state bystate, by establishing offices in every state. She cameout with “The Winning Plan” strategy that involvedgetting an Amendment to the Constitution andturned all those state offices into the League ofWomen Voters.

Wirth mentioned Alice Paul, the co-founder of theNational Woman’s Party, a Quaker from New Jersey,who authored the Equal Rights Amendment in 1923.“She became aware of the Suffragette movement inEngland overseen by Pankhurst family,” she said. Paulmarched with them, went to jail, went on hungerstrikes and met Lucy Burns.

Paul, who co-founded the National Women’s Partywith Lucy Burns, felt an amendment to the consti-

tution was needed.“She felt without it, women in the South would

never get the vote. She knew what she was talkingabout,” Wirth said.

In 1913, Paul planned the March down Pennsylva-nia Avenue in Washington, D.C., where between5,000 and 9,000 people marched in a parade forwomen’s rights.

Wirth talked about Inez Milholland Boissevain, asuffragist and well-to-do lawyer, who died from per-nicious anemia while she was giving a talk out Weston women’s voting. “We look at her as the martyr ofthe Suffragist movement,” she said. Her memorialservice was in the U.S. Capitol on Christmas Day1916.

BEGINNING IN JANUARY 1917, women startedpicketing Woodrow Wilson’s White House. By June1917, Wilson gave word to start arresting the pro-testors for obstructing the sidewalk.

Lucy Burns, co-founder, National Woman’s Party,was one of the prisoners at Occoquan Workhouse inLorton, where the conditions were brutal. Womenon hunger strikes were force fed through their nosesand mouths. “This is what women were willing to doso that we could vote,” she said.

The word leaked out to the national press of theirhorrible treatment, so in November 1917, the womenwere transported from Occoquan to D.C. and werereleased from jail. In January 1918, the D.C. Courtof Appeals ruled that their arrests were illegal so theywere all freed.

Still, women were not included in the Constitutionuntil the 19th Amendment.

It was President Wilson who went to Congress tosay a National Amendment for the women’s right tovote was needed. The House of Representatives votedyea immediately but the Senate waited another 18months to decide. Thus, began the fight for ratifica-tion in 36 states. Ratification came down to one finalstate: Tennessee. The vote in the Tennessee legisla-ture was 48-48. So, as they were doing the vote count,they got to Rep. Harry Burn, age 26, who had re-ceived a note from his mother encouraging him todo the right thing and vote for suffrage. Burn’s votebroke the tie in favor of ratifying the amendment.He cast the final vote, giving women the right to votein 1920.

The ratification of the 19th Amendment led to thelargest single one-day increase of potential voters inthe history of the United States. It took 72 years topass and ratify the 19th Amendment, but the EqualRights Amendment has yet to be adopted to this day.

To donate, or for more information, visitwww.suffragistmemorial.org.


Kenny Lourie is an Advertising Representative forThe Potomac Almanac & The Connection Newspapers.

By KENNETH B. LOURIE

You know what’s impossible – or next to impossi-ble? Trying to write a funny non-cancer column while on hold with the Oncology Department waiting for calculations to be made by their pharmacist which will determine if my creatinine levels (kidney func-tion) are low enough to allow me to get my infusion today.

No big deal, really. It’s only a matter of life and hopefully my avoiding death.

And to complicate this waiting/holding “intermi-

back and forth across my desk, rubbing my writing hand with her head – while I’m trying to write no less, as she steps repeatedly on my writing pad.

Oh. One more thing, she keeps knocking down the wireless land-line phone that I’ve placed on my desk – which I have on speaker, close enough to hear but far enough, I thought, to keep her at bay. It never ceases to amaze me how cats seem to know where you don’t want them go and invariably that’s almost always where they seem to end up.

Now back to my original situation: Waiting for the pharmacist to calculate my results.

After nearly 30 minutes on hold, with “Twinkle” having been occupied elsewhere during the last 10 minutes or so. (After I implored her to “Give me some space, please?” she jumped off the desk.) Finally, I have received word that I’m approved for my infu-sion. And now that I’m no longer on telephone-hold, I doubt I’ll be seeing any more of her.

Oh. I was wrong. Here she is again. This time however, she’s brought along “Biscuit,”

one of the two oldest “buff-colored” brothers we rescued in September ‘06. But I’m more tolerant of their interference now as I’ve been given the infusion OKAY. (Not a thrill really, but, as mentioned in pre-

a reply-email to me, this third dose of chemotherapy in the last seven weeks might have a bearing on the results of my upcoming Sept. 26 CT scan. That sound you heard was me exhaling.)

Another peculiar feline behavior: they seem to know when their behavior is not as bothersome/interfering as it might otherwise be so they refrain a bit. (A bit.)

So now I have nothing to wait for except Godot (who never shows). My results will show up though, on or about Sept. 28, more than likely via email from my oncologist. Important to consider that the 28th is a Friday and given that lines of communication don’t

know before the weekend so that we can get on with our lives.

And, as I’m sure you can appreciate, this is no laughing matter and receiving results – good or bad – in a timely fashion does enable us to get on with our lives.

For the moment, however, it’s still about waiting and hoping, but no planning – yet. Discussing scenar-ios before the actual facts are known has never been

discussions about alternatives going forward, but until further details are known, it’s all premature.

For the moment then, my existence is about managing expectations, trying to remain positive and letting go.

be what they will be. I don’t imagine there’s much I can do about it now. When those results are known, then we’ll go to plan “B,” or revert to current plan “A.”

way in the short term so all I can do is maintain my status quo. There’s no panic.

Anxiety? Of course. Anticipation? Yes, in a weird way. I would like to know what treatment/potential side effects and all are in store for me living forward but it’s still “early days.” Maybe the cats do know something. We’ve heard it rumored that cats have a sixth sense about sickness and death.

Oh, oh. Here’s comes “Biscuit,” he’s been hanging around me an awful lot lately, very uncharacteristic. Should I be concerned or just appreciative of the attention?

A Tail Notof Woe

From Page 6

following the election to deliver a copyof the identification to the local electoralboard or to appear in person to apply fora Virginia Voter Photo ID Card. Voters maysubmit a copy of their ID via fax, email,in-person, or through the mail or commer-cial delivery service. The copy of the IDmust be delivered to the electoral boardby noon on Friday, or the provisional bal-lot cannot be counted.

Also by noon on Friday following the elec-tion, the voter may appear in-person in theoffice of the general registrar, in the local-ity in which the provisional ballot was cast,and apply for a Virginia Voter Photo ID Card.At the completion of the application pro-cess, the voter may request a TemporaryIdentification Document. This documentcan be provided to the electoral board forthe identification requirement.

Upcoming Events to Register andGet Voter ID

The Office of Elections is open daily dur-ing normal business hours to provide resi-dents the opportunity to register to vote orobtain a free voter photo ID if needed. 703-222-0776, 12000 Government Center Park-way Suite 323, Fairfax, VA 22035

The following events will also provideopportunity to register and/or get a Vir-ginia Voter card:

❖ Wednesday, Sept. 19, 10 a.m. - 2 p.m.,Greenspring Retirement Community, 7410Spring Village Drive, Springfield, 22150

❖ Monday, Sept. 24, 10 a.m. - 2 p.m..Goodwin House Bailey’s Crossroads, 3440South Jefferson Street, Falls Church, 22041

❖ Tuesday, Sept. 25, 11 a.m. - 2 p.m.,Burke Health and Rehab Center, 9640 BurkeLake Road, Burke, 22015

❖ Wednesday, Sept. 26, 10 a.m. - 2 p.m.,Herndon Senior Center, 873 Grace St #1,Herndon, 20170

❖ Thursday, Sept. 27, 10 a.m. - 2 p.m.,Lewinsville Retirement Residence, 1515Great Falls Street, McLean 22101

❖ Thursday, Oct. 4, 10 a.m. - 1 p.m.,Leewood Healthcare Center, 7120 BraddockRoad, Annandale, 22003

❖ Saturday, Oct. 6, 10 a.m. - 2 p.m.,Sherwood Regional Library, 2501 SherwoodHall Lane

Alexandria, 22306❖ Tuesday, Oct. 9, 10 a.m. - 2 p.m.,

Arleigh Burke Pavilion at Vinson HallRetirement Community, 1739 KirbyRoad, McLean, 22101

How To Vote

Opinion

State Ballot Question TwoQuestion: Shall the real property tax

exemption for a primary residence that iscurrently provided to the surviving spousesof veterans who had a one hundredpercent service-connected, permanent, andtotal disability be amended to allow thesurviving spouse to move to a differentprimary residence and still claim theexemption?

From Page 6

On the Ballot


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ALEXANDRIA TOYOTA

FOR YOUR TOYOTA

WELCOME TO ALEXANDRIA TOYOTA’SPERSONALIZED CAR CARE EXPERIENCE

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