Entertainment, Page 10 ❖ Sports, Page 12 ❖ Classified, Page 14 March 17-23, 2016 online at www.connectionnewspapers.com Photo by Tim Peterson /The Connection Franconia ❖ Kingstowne Newington Franconia ❖ Kingstowne Newington Springfield Springfield Page 8 From left, Springfield’s Auto-Grip co-owner Christine Heiby, employ- ees Marsha Perry and Sonja Dunn, and co-owner D. David Heiby were recognized at the 11th Annual Brain Injury Services Volunteer Banquet. From left, Springfield’s Auto-Grip co-owner Christine Heiby, employ- ees Marsha Perry and Sonja Dunn, and co-owner D. David Heiby were recognized at the 11th Annual Brain Injury Services Volunteer Banquet. ‘You’re Not Going Alone’ News, Page 3 Lake Accotink Park ‘Loved to Death’ News, Page 5 Mission: Promoting Peace News, Page 4 ‘You’re Not Going Alone’ News, Page 3 Mission: Promoting Peace News, Page 4 Lake Accotink Park ‘Loved to Death’ News, Page 5
Transcript
Springfield Connection ❖ March 17-23, 2016 ❖ 1www.ConnectionNewspapers.com
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Franconia ❖ KingstowneNewington
Franconia ❖ KingstowneNewington
SpringfieldSpringfieldPage 8
From left, Springfield’s Auto-Gripco-owner Christine Heiby, employ-ees Marsha Perry and Sonja Dunn,and co-owner D. David Heiby wererecognized at the 11th Annual BrainInjury Services Volunteer Banquet.
From left, Springfield’s Auto-Gripco-owner Christine Heiby, employ-ees Marsha Perry and Sonja Dunn,and co-owner D. David Heiby wererecognized at the 11th Annual BrainInjury Services Volunteer Banquet.
‘You’re NotGoing Alone’
News, Page 3
Lake Accotink Park‘Loved to Death’News, Page 5
Mission:Promoting PeaceNews, Page 4
‘You’re NotGoing Alone’
News, Page 3
Mission:Promoting PeaceNews, Page 4
Lake Accotink Park‘Loved to Death’News, Page 5
2 ❖ Springfield Connection ❖ March 17-23, 2016 www.ConnectionNewspapers.com
News
By Tim Peterson
The Connection
Maya Simbulan of Fairfax isthankful for being normal.The Lake Braddock Secondary School freshman would
like to pursue work with computer graph-ics and plays electric wheelchair soccer.
She owes her recovery from a traumaticbrain injury, in large part she said, to Spring-field-based Brain Injury Services, a non-profit organization that helps individualsaround Northern Virginia find recovery andrehabilitation resources, to manage the ef-fects of injuries and find a sense of commu-nity through others with shared experi-ences.
Seven years ago, Simbulan linked up withBIS Pediatric Case Manager Brooke Annessaof Fairfax.
“This has helped me to have a normallife,” Simbulan said, “like going to schooland playing soccer.”
Simbulan’s positivity and success haslanded her as a speaker at BIS events andprominent roles in videos about brain in-jury.
ON MARCH 9, she and Annessa took thestage together to recognize other commu-nity partners of Brain Injury Services at theorganization’s 11th annual Volunteer Ban-quet, held at the Waterford in Springfield.
Macy’s was among the business partnershighlighted for giving back to the commu-nity through BIS.
“We’ve been able to purchase criticalitems like prescription glasses and assistivetechnology,” Simbulan said as she thankedthe partners from Macy’s during the ban-quet ceremony, “and even pay for summercamps for children” who otherwise wouldn’tbe able to afford it.
A first-time donor and community part-ner was Mike Katounas of Centreville andhis business HomeWorks Painting, based in
Chantilly. This year they decided to donatea portion of sales made during their annualtwo-week winter promotion sale to a localnonprofit. Their total contribution was$5,000.
“The work that they do, especially withkids,” was part of what drew Katounas andthe HomeWorks team to Brain Injury Ser-vices.
“I’ve worked with Special Olympics chil-dren, and we were able to specify the pedi-atric program, so 100 percent of our dona-tion went to the kids.”
Annessa said the pediatric program at BISserves about 70 clients, from infants to age22.
Leaders of BIS also recognized commu-nity partners who’ve taken on brain injurysurvivors as employees, as finding work af-
ter a traumatic incident can be difficult, ifnot impossible.
“Your sense of self,” while out of work,said Christine Heiby, a co-owner of Spring-field-based business Auto-Grip. “Your iden-tity gets robbed.”
Christine and her husband D. DavidHeiby’s company is the North American dis-tributor of a special type of automatic lock-ing pliers manufactured abroad. They as-semble the pliers in-house and then sellthem, which requires a lot of repetitive workthat’s well-suited to individuals regainingtheir concentration and organizational skillsafter a brain injury.
“This gives them purpose and a place togo,” Christine said. The Heibys hired threepart-time employees through Brain InjuryServices in February 2015 for temporary
positions. But the individuals have proventhey were too valuable to let go.
“They’re remarkable, the attitude theybring,” D. David said. “They work theirheads off.”
“We think this is the future,” D. Davidcontinued, saying they hope to hire moreemployees from BIS in the future, as wellas veterans who are struggling to find work.
“It’s important to give back to the com-munity, for many who may not have thoseopportunities,” he said.
Jennifer Adams of South Riding, keynotespeaker at the banquet, wasn’t aware ofBrain Injury Services after she went throughher traumatic brain injury, 12 years ago asa senior in college.
Adams was on the passenger side of a carthat was turning when it was hit by anothercar going 70 miles per hour. Her headslammed against the window and she wentinto a coma for five days. It took her a yearand extensive physical therapy before shereturned to school.
Adams said she and her parents had tofigure out resources and services by them-selves, “learning as we went.
“A resource organization like thiswould’ve been great,” she said.
LAST FALL, in 2015, Adams began volun-teering with the Pals mentoring and social-izing program of Brain Injury Services, fi-nally getting connected to a community ofpeople who’ve had experiences like hers.
Not everyone understands the loss ofmemory, organization and concentrationthat individuals who suffer brain injuriesstruggle with.
“We’re kindred spirits,” Adams said. “Youlearn that you’re not going alone.”
Adams encouraged the nearly 200 volun-teers, donors and survivors at the banquetto “Go make a difference in someone else’slife. Get out and volunteer.”
For more information about Brain InjuryServices, visit braininjurysvcs.org.
From left, Springfield’s Auto-Grip co-owner Christine Heiby, employeesMarsha Perry and Sonja Dunn, and co-owner D. David Heiby were recog-nized at the 11th Annual Brain Injury Services Volunteer Banquet.
Chantilly-based HomeWorks Painting was recognized for donating$5,000 to the pediatric program at Brain Injury Services in Springfield.Front row from left, Alex Wright and Charlotte Wright of Centreville,Erwin Simbulan and brain injury survivor Maya Simbulan of Fairfax.Back from left, HomeWorks owner Mike Katounas of Centreville and BISpediatric case manager Brooke Annessa of Fairfax.
Brain InjuryServices
pediatric casemanager
BrookeAnnessa of
Fairfax (left)has been
working withbrain injury
survivor andLake
BraddockSecondary
School fresh-man Maya
Simbulan ofFairfax for
seven years.
Brain Injury Services honorsvolunteers and community partners.‘You’re Not Going Alone’
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Springfield Connection ❖ March 17-23, 2016 ❖ 3www.ConnectionNewspapers.com
News
On Friday, March 11, Del. EileenFiller-Corn (D-41), flanked byleading voices in the fight
against campus and domestic sexual as-sault participated in a press conferencein Richmond on the last day of the 2016General Assembly session announcingthe passage of several bills addressingthis issue.
Filler-Corn introduced three bills thissession focused on this topic.
❖HB 659 will require high school fam-ily life curricula on awareness, under-standing and prevention of dating vio-lence, domestic abuse, sexual harassmentand sexual violence.
❖HB 1102 will require the Departmentof Criminal Justice Services to developmulti-disciplinary curricula on traumainformed sexual assault investigation.
❖ HB 655 was incorporated into HB1160 (patroned by Del. Rob Bell ofAlbermarle), relates to the storage ofPhysical Evidence Recovery Kits (PERKs),ensuring that all PERKs are stored for aminimum of two years or two years fromthe victim’s 18th birthday, if the victim
is underage. “Yes, we had success last yearmoving the ball forward on these crucialissues,” said Filler-Corn referencing relatedbills she helped shepherd last year, “but thekey this session was to shift focus to educa-tion and prevention.
This year we did exactly that. My hope isthat with earlier information, young people
can prevent incidents of sexual assault bothon campus and in any and all settings.”
The sentiment was echoed by severallong-time victims’ rights advocates whopraised the legislation as thoughtful andsubstantive.
Said Gil Harrington, mother of MorganHarrington and founder of Help Save the
Next Girl, in Richmond on Friday: “I ap-plaud the work of Delegate Filler-Corn.House Bill 659 will teach high school stu-dents skills that may actually ensuretheir very survival in our complex world.House Bill 1102 will train investigatorsto respond with more compassion andhelp improve psychological health forvictims.”
Annie Clark, executive director of EndRape on Campus, termed the educationcomponent “a critical first step. If wewait until college orientation to talkabout sexual assault, then we are waytoo late.” She, too, credited the Spring-field lawmaker for her leadership on theissue: “End Rape on Campus is so thank-ful for Delegate Filler-Corn’s commit-ment to ending sexual violence and sup-porting survivors.” HB 1102 and HB1160 were among 21 recommendationsof a state task force formed by GovernorTerry McAuliffe and led by Attorney Gen-eral Mark R. Herring.
All of the bills have an April 11 dead-line for the Governor to either sign, vetoor amend.
Del. Filler-Corn Champions New Laws Preventing, Combating Sexual Assault
Del. Eileen Filler-Corn (D-41) with advocates addressing the press con-ference.
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The Connection
Winter Storm Jonas,S n o w m a g e d d o n ,Snowpocalypse 2.0 — nomatter what it’s called, the
county-crippling January 2016 blizzard costFairfax County Public Schools $7.2 millionto pay for employee overtime compensa-tion, additional contractors and equipmentrental.
At the March 10 regular meeting of theSchool Board, Superintendent Karen Garza
said the school system will be applying forFederal Emergency Management Agencyrelief funds to reimburse that total.
“We’ll see what happens,” Garza said,pointing out that it’s uncertain how muchthe agency might hand out. “It may takesome time, but that’s good news. We’ll con-tinue to monitor that.”
Schools are eligible to submit for relieffunds, as well as counties, towns or citiesand certain nonprofit organizations. IfFEMA determines the costs are eligible, theagency could reimburse three-quarters ofthe expenses, with the Commonwealth ofVirginia kicking in another 12 percent.
Fairfax County director of Public AffairsTony Castrilli said the preliminary estimatedcosts from the blizzard for Fairfax County,the town of Herndon and public schools is
$19.5 million, according to the FairfaxCounty Office of Emergency Management.
“This was the most expensive snow eventin the county due in part to large expensesrelating to snow removal activities,” Castrillisaid in an email.
If FEMA determines the submitted costseligible for reimbursement, it would bewelcome, if not immediate, assistance forthe Fairfax County government and schoolsystem, whose budgets are at odds with oneanother: Garza’s FY2017 budget featuringno additional cuts to programs or services,and notable increases to teacher compen-sation sits under-funded by roughly $68million from the advertised County trans-fer.
“The good thing about that,” SpringfieldDistrict School board member Elizabeth
Schultz said about the potential FEMA re-imbursement, “hopefully that’ll give a littlebit of breathing room to the other side.”
At the March 10 meeting, the SchoolBoard unanimously approved revenue andexpenditure adjustments from the ThirdQuarter Budget Review of FY2016 — in-cluding the snow removal costs.
Coming out of the review, the school sys-tem ended up with $5.3 million in avail-able funds, a result of $2.8 million in in-creased revenue and $2.5 million in de-creased disbursements in the school oper-ating fund.
Nothing will be done with those addi-tional funds until the FY 2016 Final BudgetReview, when the School Board may needthem to cover one-time costs or the obliga-tions for the beginning balance for FY 2018.
Fairfax County Public Schools Superintendent Karen Garza said theschool system is eligible and will be applying for relief funds from FEMAfor snow removal costs associated with the January blizzard. Springfield District School Board representative Elizabeth Schultz.
Fairfax County Schools to Apply for FEMA Relief FundsJanuary blizzard costFCPS $7.2 million.
4 ❖ Springfield Connection ❖ March 17-23, 2016 www.ConnectionNewspapers.com
News
By Reem Nadeem
The Connection
With causes ranging from anti-bullying efforts to humantrafficking awareness to in-terfaith dialogue, students in
Fairfax County were recognized for theirpeacemaking efforts at the 11th Annual Stu-dent Peace Awards of Fairfax County on March13.
Students and student groups in any of 29Fairfax County Public high schools, as well asthree private high schools, were eligible fornomination. This year, 22 students or studentgroups received the Student Peace Award, fortheir efforts to promote peace.
“As one of their counselors said, these arepeople who not only looked for opportuni-ties to do good things, they went out andcreated the opportunities. So many, many ofthese students have gone and created theirown organizations and their own clubs to helpwhatever the issue is they wanted to workon,” organizer Margaret Fisher said.
Mason Professor Al Fuertes, who travels toareas affected by war and natural disaster,spoke at the ceremony. Fuertes congratulatedthe recipients and spoke about his personaland professional experiences with fosteringpeace. Students received awards for a varietyof peacemaking activities, however.
“As long as a student’s contribution is some-thing for peacemaking or nonviolentresolution of conflict, the schools could de-cide for themselves what that meant, becausewe didn’t want to limit their thinking, andthere’s just millions of ways you can makepeace either in your life, or in your school, orthe greater community or the world as awhole,” Fisher said.
EACH HIGH SCHOOL is responsible forselecting students to receive the recognition.Club leaders or counselors make recommen-dations and some schools allow students toself-select. Recipients of the award wereinformed in December so that they couldinclude the recognition on collegeapplications.
Because the awards are given to high school
juniors and seniors, the Student Peace Awardsprogram aims to give students anotherachievement to strive for, in addition toacademics and athletics.
“What we want to do is find a way to pro-mote peace, that’s the only goal of this is topromote peace. We thought that encourag-ing young people to find projects that do thatwould be worth doing and we wanted to getthe word peace into the conversation inschools,” Fisher said.
In addition to rewarding good studentbehavior, The Awards also aim to promotenonviolent solutions within the community,which in turn can spread globally, accordingto planner Paul Murphy.
“We need to reward positive behaviors. Andto get people thinking in problem solvingmodes, not just whenever there’s a problemin the world, to think that it requires a militarysolution, but beginning with our communities,expanding nationwide and theninternationally.” Murphy said. “I think it’s veryimportant for people to see that there arealternatives to violence, and these kids arebeginning to show it at a very young age andwe want to encourage them.”
Once nominated for the award, recipientswere guided through the process by repre-sentatives. Nancy James, who has served asa representative for several years, said she wasassigned to work with senior Laith Abuhaijaof the Islamic Saudi Academy, who wasrecognized for his interfaith efforts andvolunteer work.
As the award program has grown, so hasits importance to families of nominees. LuisUrbina drove from North Carolina to attendthe ceremony for his daughter and awardrecipient, Renata Urbina Dela Flor, a seniorat Lake Braddock Secondary School.
“We talked and she mentioned some stuff,but it’s good to see that it’s a lot more thanwhat she said. You know, she’s very humbleso it’s nice to see something like an award,”Urbina said.
RECIPIENTS were awarded $250 as wellas $100 to be donated to an organization oftheir choice. However, according to organizerNancy Davis, the monetary reward is certainlynot the most valuable gift.
“I love to see the families’ expressions,”Davis said. “The families are just so happy tosee their children recognized for this type ofwork. It’s not the athletic field - which isimportant too - and the monetary gift isn’tgreat but I think it’s wonderful seeing theparents so proud.”
What Did You Do to Win Peace Award;What Inspired You to Get Involved?
Viewpoints
22 receive StudentPeace Awards forefforts to promotepeace.
Nathan Pillai, junior, Burke Cen-tre Library Teen Advisory Boardand Robinson Secondary School
“I was recipient of Fairfax County PeaceAward for our efforts in combatting bul-lying around the County. Well, we took alook at a Fairfax County student surveyreport and we found a shocking statisticthat over 50 percent of students aroundthe County had reported being bulliedat least once. So we thought that was ashocking statistic and shouldn’t be hap-pening in a County such as Fairfax, sowe decided to take matters into our ownhands by raising awareness through ananti-bullying fair, where we invited anti-bullying organizations from around thestate to come and give presentations ontheir own efforts. And we invited stu-dents to come and tell their own storiesabout their experiences with bullying andhow they dealt with the issues.”
Trevor Christensen
Trevor Christensen, senior,Mount Vernon High School
“I was nominated for this Peace Award,it was for helping another student whowas being bullied. I brought him to mycounselor, and I believe she was the onewho made the recommendation.
I have a natural knack to sort of assistothers. For instance I’m in the Army Na-tional Guard, it’s kind of a calling of mineto protect and help others.”
Sarah Hobbs
Sarah Hobbs, senior, QuanderRoad School, Alexandria
“I made a video about mental healthawareness last summer and my schoolnominated me for this award. Well,Fairfax County actually sought grant pro-posals at the end of last year to make avideo about mental health awareness,and I actually suffer from mental illnessand I love filmmaking, so I thought itwould be a great opportunity for me tosort of put the two together.”
Logan Mannikko
Logan Mannikko, senior,Westfield High School
“I received this award because of mysupport for people in the LGBTQ com-munity and I’m transgender, so it’s a bigthing for me. Mainly my own identity,and knowing that there’s a lot of studentsand kids in the community that aren’taccepted or supported by family or theirpeers.”
Springfield Connection ❖ March 17-23, 2016 ❖ 5www.ConnectionNewspapers.com
News
By Reem Nadeem
The Connection
Fairfax County Park Au-thority began the masterplan revision process forlocal park, Lake
Accotink. Community membersattended a public informationmeeting March 14 at Cardinal For-est Elementary School.
Project manager and seniorlandscape architect Gayle Hoopersaid she is involved with severalpark master plan revisions everyyear, but she has a personal con-nection with Lake Accotink.
“I grew up in Springfield, notthat far from Lake Accotink. Ispent many a day there as a kid,as a teen, as a young adult, as aparent, as an adult,” Hooper said.
Lake Accotink hosts numerousevents, such as concerts and birth-day parties. Park facilities also in-
clude an antique carousel, minigolf, boat rentals and reservablepicnic areas.
“The park has seen a lot of wear,it’s kind of being loved to death. Iwant to keep that connection withthe community but I’d really liketo make it so it’s a healthier bal-ance in the process,” Hooper said.
The master plan revision is ex-pected to take around 18 months.According to Kirk Kincannon, ex-ecutive director of Fairfax CountyPark Authority, master plans arerevised every 20 to 30 years basedon changes within the community.
Currently, no decisions havebeen made about what revisionsshould be implemented in themaster plan, but each public infor-mation meeting will contain anallotted time for public comment.
The master plan revision for thepark will take around 18 months,community involvement sought.
Lake Accotink Park‘Loved to Death’
Photos by Reem Nadeem/The Connection
Gayle Hooper presenting the revision process during thepublic information meeting at Cardinal Forest ElementarySchool.
In 1918, Lake Accotink spanned 110 aces and was23 feet deep. Today, Accotink spans 50 acres and isshallow enough to walk across, according toFairfax County’s website.
See Laake Accotink,
Page 7
6 ❖ Springfield Connection ❖ March 17-23, 2016 www.ConnectionNewspapers.com
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Homelessness is down in FairfaxCounty in every major category,a fact confirmed on Jan. 28,2016, the annual Point in Time
Count. There were 145 fewer individualshomeless than the Point In Time Count a yearearlier, 138 of those in families, and sevenfewer homeless individuals. There also wereno families in overflow motels, and no fami-lies were unsheltered in the 2016 count.
Sixty-four percent of the 577 family mem-bers who were literally homeless on Jan. 28,2016 were in transitional housing, with the restin emergency shelter. There were vacancies inemergency shelters for families and in domes-tic violence shelters; no families wereunsheltered.
“This trend is beautiful,” said Sharon Bulova,chairman of the Fairfax County Board of Su-pervisors. “The things we’re doing are makinga difference.”
In 2008, the Fairfax County established theOffice to Prevent and End Homelessness witha plan to end homelessness within 10 years.
“Seeing the numbers decrease in so manydifferent areas is encouraging after workingon the 10 year plan,” said Dean Klein, director
of the Office to Prevent and End Homelessness.Since 2008, the number of people who are lit-erally homeless on the day of the Point in TimeCount has decreased by 776 individuals. “Since2008 there has been a 42 percent reduction inthe number of people counted as homeless,from 1,835 people in 2008 to 1,059 in2016,” Klein reported to the Board ofSupervisors on Monday, March 14.
Julie Maltzman, manager of Con-tinuum of Care, reported the details to theGoverning Board of the Fairfax-Falls ChurchPartnership to Prevent and End Homelessnesson Monday afternoon.
A coordinated effort among partners, morehousing options and flexible funding helpedto get formerly homeless families into moreviable housing with appropriate services, saidJoe Meyer, executive director of Shelter House.More public awareness around homelessnessis also making a difference, Meyer said.
Still, 341 children under the age of 18 wereamong those literally homeless in this year’sPoint in Time Count, 32 percent of all home-less.
Eighty percent (190 people) of the adults inhomeless families were female; 66 percent ofadults (155) in homeless families were em-ployed; a slight increase from 62 percent in2015. Twelve percent (21) of families wereconsidered “youth households,” with all fam-ily members under 25 years old.
Single adults made up 46 percent of allhomeless people counted, a total of 482. Forty-two percent (202 people) of single adults whowere homeless suffered from serious mentalillness and/or substance abuse, a 13 percentdecrease from last year. Many had chronic
health problems and/or physical disabilities aswell.
Thirty percent (146 people) were experienc-ing chronic homelessness. This is a significantdecrease from last year when 42 percent (203people) were experiencing chronic
homelessness.Among the factors helping to reduce
homelessness, Maltzman said: theadoption of a Housing First approach;
increased homelessness prevention and rapidrehousing efforts; prioritizing housing for in-dividuals with the longest history ofhomelessness and highest vulnerability; addi-tional permanent supportive housing forsingles experiencing chronic homelessness;focus on housing veterans including use ofVeterans Affairs Supportive Housing (VASH)vouchers; new permanent housing opportuni-ties for families with children.
To find out more, see http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/homeless/
Support the effort to end homelessness bycontributing to the Build a Village campaignfound there as well.
Support the nonprofit partners working toend homelessness, including FACETS, Corner-stones, New Hope Housing, Northern VirginiaFamily Services, Shelter House, United Com-munity Ministries, Good Shepherd Housing,Alternative House, Homestretch, PathwaysHomes and others.
Mary Kimm is a member of the Governing Board ofthe Fairfax-Falls Church Partnership to Prevent andEnd Homelessness.
Homelessness on Its Way Out in FairfaxHomelessness shouldbe rare, brief and non-recurring; 776 fewerhomeless individuals in2016 than in 2008. Editorial
Letters to the Editor
To the Editor:Fairfax County is a composite of
many things that make the qual-ity of life rich for people livinghere.
❖ Low crime rate thanks to thepolice whose budget also pays forthe School Resource Officers andthe School Crossing Guards;
❖ Access to a variety of goodhealth care including a HealthDepartment whose Health Depart-ment budget pays for schoolnurses;
❖ 500 square miles of publicparks, 300 miles of trails and thenation’s only national park for theperforming arts; libraries to enjoywith a variety of programs;
❖ Public Schools with greatstaff, a graduation rate of 93 per-cent, and 74 percent of graduatesgoing on to postsecondary pro-grams;
❖ Safety net services for peoplein need, including Family Servicesand diversity of economic housing;
❖ County Government recog-nized for environmental excel-lence, innovation, and technology;
❖ Desirable location for busi-nesses and access to skilled andtalented workforce: two times asmany Fairfax County adults holda bachelor’s degree or higher com-pared to the national average,home to Virginia’s largest univer-sity and community college;
❖ Close to museums, theaters,restaurants, shopping, fit andhealthy living that is accessible bypublic transportation.
The county’s proposed budget is$3.99 billion of which almost 60percent is directly (52.2 percent)or indirectly (School Resource Of-ficers, Crossing Guards, Nurses,and debt service for interest paidon bonds for construction or reno-vation of school buildings and ath-letic fields) going to publicschools. This year it is proposedto give the schools an additional3 percent or $54.75 million. About27 percent of county householdshave children in the publicschools. This ratio of increasingtaxes paid to schools and the per-centage of households with chil-dren in the public schools is not
sustainable to keep all quality oflife services at the current level,especially with the huge increasein the 50+ age population thecounty is expecting in the nextdecade.
Residents who care about thesequality of life programs shouldspeak out to the Board of Supervi-sors during the budget cycle
through April 9, 2016. Email, call,write, or testify that you want theentire elected Board of Supervisorsto fairly and equally represent allinterests and all services for allcounty residents. Speak out for thetotal quality of life in FairfaxCounty.
Johna GagnonFranconia
Time to Speak Out for Quality of Life in Fairfax County
To the Editor:As the local Fairfax City election
approaches on May 3, 2016, nowis the time to say “yes” to a for-ward-looking vision for FairfaxCity’s future.
We ask candidates for City Coun-cil and Mayor to take actions thatpromote the economic vitality ofthe City of Fairfax so that we maypreserve and improve our qualityof life. The City depends on anexpanded tax base to include newcommercial developments sup-ported by nearby higher density
residential developments. In ac-cordance with this goal we ask thatinitiatives that incorporate andpromote the following
goals be supported:❖ the preservation of our neigh-
borhoods, historic heritage, andexisting open space;
❖ a range of transportation op-tions to include biking, walking,and improvements to the streetnetwork for vehicular traffic;
❖ a variety of housing options
Promoting EconomicVitality of Fairfax City
See Letters, Page 15
Springfield Connection ❖ March 17-23, 2016 ❖ 7www.ConnectionNewspapers.com
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From Page 5
News
Both individual speakers andthose representing an organizationwere invited to comment.Commenters’ concerns rangedfrom environmental issues to parkaccessibility.
“We heard a lot of commentstonight about connectivity andtrails, nature, conservation, pub-lic access. This is one of probablya dozen or so meetings we’ll havewith the community as we developthe master plan process, so it’s re-ally too early to say what it’s go-ing to be, but it’s really up to thecommunity,” Kincannon said.
Because Lake Accotink is part ofmore than one district, includingBraddock, Supervisor John Cook(R-Braddock) attended the meet-ing.
“Doing something, that doesn’tnecessarily mean building some-thing, paving something. It alsomeans things like thesustainability, the lake, the ecosys-tem, the trail network and we al-ready heard tonight some differ-ent thoughts on what should trailsbe and what should they look like,
we have to find a balance on thosethings,” Cook said.
At this stage in the revision pro-cess, project managers and plan-ners are eager to hear public opin-ion regarding the park.
“It really is an open process. Sopeople should get involved andcome out, put their ideas down.And if neighborhoods want tohave a meeting of their own, we’rehappy to help set that up and justget people talking about the thingsthat we can do,” Cook said.
The next public informationmeeting is scheduled for May 16,however a draft of the revisionswill not yet have been created.Because sediment build up contin-ues to be an issue in the lake, offi-cials plan to conduct studies tofind out the extent of the problembefore making plans.
Hooper said, “we still need tohave this discussion about how tomake the lake a more sustainablesystem, which will be a big factorin how we look at the park.”
Photo by Reem Nadeem/The Connection
Project managers displayed boards presenting informa-tion about Lake Accotink, including facts about Recre-ation and Wildlife.
Lake Accotink Park ‘Loved to Death’
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8 ❖ Springfield Connection ❖ March 17-23, 2016 Springfield Connection ❖ March 17-23, 2016 ❖ 9www.ConnectionNewspapers.com www.ConnectionNewspapers.com
By Steve Hibbard
The Connection
Eleven teams of middleand high school studentscompeted in the fourth
annual Real Food for Kids’ Culi-nary Challenge on Saturday,March 12 at Robinson Second-ary School. Students from sixmiddle schools, four culinaryacademies, and one high schoolcompeted by preparing the mostnutritious and delicious schoolsnacks, breakfast and lunchmenu items.
The event included six expert-led workshops on food writing,promotion and photography,family meal planning and schoolgardening. There was also abreakfast discussion that ad-dressed the future of school foodby Rodney Taylor, the new Foodand Nutrition Services director(FNS) in Fairfax County and apioneer in the farm-to-schoolmovement, and LoudounCounty’s FNS director Dr. BeckyBays, who also served as judges.
It also included celebrity
judges Marjorie Meek Bradley,a Top Chef finalist; AvivaGoldfarb of “Six O’ClockScramble” books; chef KateSherwood of the Center for Sci-ence in the Public Interest; andBonnie Benwick, deputy foodeditor of The Washington Post,who focused on “Food is Hot.”Scoring for the students wasbroken down by 20 percent pre-sentation; 40 percent taste; 30percent adaptability to schoollunches; and 10 percent teamorganization.
“Today is such an excitingevent because it demonstratesour community commitment toproviding healthy food to everychild,” said Megan McLaughlin,Braddock School Board repre-sentative. “I am so proud of theReal Food for Kids organizationfor their leadership and advo-cacy in this area. Their power-ful voice has inspired our schoolsystem to make real and sub-stantive improvements to ourschool meals.”
11 teams of middle and highschool students compete inschool food competition.
Real Food for Kids’Culinary Challenge
The winner of the first place award in the culinarychallenge went to Marshall Academy in Falls Church/McLean. Each student received a $200 scholarship.
The team fromWashingtonIrving MiddleSchool inSpringfieldpreparedBeans andBarley SmartSnack. (Fromleft): KatrinaKlopcic, JaneBruenjes andMalia Lohr.
Pho
to
s by Steve H
ibbard/T
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By Marissa Beale
The Connection
The 10th annual FairfaxCounty Spelling Bee,sponsored by theFairfax County Council
of PTAs (FCCPTA) and the FairfaxCounty Federation of Teachers,took place on Sunday, March 13,at Lanier Middle School. Studentsfrom first grade to eighth grade,representing more than 60 elemen-tary and middle schools fromaround the County, competed torepresent the region at Scripps’National Spelling Bee, which willbe held in May at National Harborin Washington, D.C.
The first word of the competitionwent to first grader Xiwen Yao,from Oak Hill Elementary Schoolin Herndon, who correctly spelled“bandit.” The words becameharder as the rounds progressed,and spellers were challenged withwords from Latin, Greek, French,German, Swahili, Japanese andmany other languages.
“I prepared by studying rootwords for each language,” saidKunal Sharma, an eighth-gradestudent at Kilmer Middle Schoolwho came in second place at theregional spelling bee on Sunday.“My mom knows English andFrench, and she helped me a lot,”he said.
AFTER 11 ROUNDS of competi-tive play, fourth grade student EricKim, from Wakefield Forest El-ementary School, was declared the
champion for correctly spellingevery word thrown at him. His win-ning word was “diffidence.” In ad-dition to being able to competenationally, Kim also received a oneyear’s supply of pizza from PapaJohn’s, Webster’s Third New Inter-national Dictionary and a oneweek’s stay at the Gaylord Resortand Hotel at National Harbor withone family member, during BeeWeek. To prepare, Kim studied forhours a day, and it paid off.
“He stopped wanting to prac-tice,” laughed his father. A dedi-cated student, Kim competed in anOdyssey of the Mind competitionthe day before winning the re-gional spelling bee.
“For those who are successful inthe competition it becomes a sec-ond job. It’s a matter of skill, butit’s also a matter of luck,” said ElizaMorss, the FCCPTA coordinator forthe spelling bee.
In this elimination game, stu-dents study thousands of words toprepare. Scripps exclusively usesWebster’s Third New InternationalDictionary, which contains 472,000words, and any of those words arefair game on competition day.Spelling bees at the school level arerun by volunteers who rotate outwith greater frequency at themiddle school level than do volun-teers at the elementary schoollevel, but the goal is for the com-petition to continue expanding.
“I had a grandparent say theywould like to watch [the regionalcompetition] on television,” saidMorss. “And I thought, why not.
Wakefield Forest Elementary Schoolstudent to compete atScripps’ National Spelling Bee.
And the Winner Is ...
Photos by Abigail Constantino/The Connection
Fairfax County Spelling Bee winner and Wakefield ForestElementary fourth-grader Eric Kim easily spelled his firstword “denim” at the Fairfax County Spelling Bee held atLanier Middle School on Sunday, March 13. His winningword was “diffidence.”
Brianna (Min Hee) Son, asixth-grader at Mosby WoodsElementary, spells the word“antibiotic” at the FairfaxCounty Spelling Bee held atLanier Middle School onSunday, March 13.
Brookfield Elementary third-grader Nimal Muthukumar’s(pictured with his mother) winning strategy for the FairfaxCounty Spelling Bee is to sound it out.
Little Run Elementary fourth-graderAlejandra Prudencio needed some reassur-ance before the contest from her father.Her first word was “panic,” which shespelled correctly.
Ayaz Parvez, the father of Sarosh Parvez, asixth-grader at Fairhill Elementary, says hisson’s winning strategy for the FairfaxCounty Spelling Bee is “Confidence, confi-dence, confidence.”
Jin Wen Xie, an eighth-grader at LanierMiddle School, spells “commensurate”during second round of the Fairfax CountySpelling Bee held at Lanier Middle Schoolon Sunday, March 13.
Key Middle School seventh-grader RaizaUddin makes to the third round of theFairfax County Spelling Bee with the word“magnanimous.”
Next year it will definitely be tele-vised,” she said.
AT THE NATIONAL SPELLINGBEE, which is televised each year,one of the first things students willtake is a multiple choice vocabu-
lary test. The grade on that test willdetermine whether the studentprogresses to the next level of com-petition where they will spell be-fore a judging panel.
“At the oral round there were alot of successful kids. They then cut
off a certain group again based onyour grade on the test,” said Morss.“That’s how they make the showentertaining and suspenseful.”
Kim will join spelling championsfrom around the country and com-pete during Bee Week on May 22-27.
By Marilyn Campbell
The Connection
When Ashley and Clark Leonard enrolledtheir son in a local independent school,they were excited about the prospect
of him thriving in a new, smaller academic envi-ronment. He left his local public school after whatthe Leonards described as a “bullying situation.”However, mid-way though the year at his newschool, the family decided that the private schoolwas not a good fit.
“He just wasn’t happy, so we decided to take himout,” said Ashley, who lives in Bethesda, Md. “Butwe lost about $30,000.”
Now that the application period for most inde-pendent schools is over and acceptance letters havebeen disbursed, the next step in the process, forthose fortunate enough to have been admitted, ismaking a commitment to one’s school of choice.This often requires that parents shell out a heftydeposit and sign a contract, agreeing, among otherthings, to pay tuition for the upcoming school year.
However, some families may change their finan-cial situation and can no longer afford the tuition.Other families may relocate during the school yearor have a child who becomes ill and is no longerable to attend school. Or, like the Leonards, a fam-ily may simply decide the school is no longer agood fit.
Many parents are surprised to learn that even iftheir circumstances change, their financial com-mitment to pay full tuition remains. The reasonfor this policy is largely budgetary. “Most schoolsrequire a contract and a deposit because the sepa-ration of a student does not materially decreasethe expenses of the school since staff, services, andprovisions are contracted for the year in advance,”said Mary Herridge, director of Enrollment Man-agement for The Madeira School in McLean.
While making the decision to commit as methodi-cally as possible is the best option for avoiding fi-nancial loss, there are circumstances that arisewhich are beyond one’s control. For these instances,many schools offer parents a safety net option.
“We offer tuition insurance and recommend thatfamilies purchase the plan as protection,” saidHerridge.
If a family’s financial situation changes, it is ineveryone’s best interests to work together to finda reasonable solution,” said Mark H. Sklarow, CEO,Independent Educational Consultants Association.“The school wants to make the situation work asmuch as the parent do, so the parents should im-mediately reach out to the school officials to seewhat can be done. Often times a school will tem-porarily reduce the fee, hoping that the family’ssituation will improve.”
Private Schools: WhenLeaving Unexpectedly
See Food For Kids,
Page 15
10 ❖ Springfield Connection ❖ March 17-23, 2016 www.ConnectionNewspapers.com
See Calendar, Page 11
Send notes to the Connection [email protected] or call703-778-9416. The deadline is the Fridayprior to the next paper’s publication.Dated announcements should be submit-ted at least two weeks prior to the event.
ONGOINGScholarship. Deadline April 1. The
Bull Run Civil War Round Table inCentreville is offering a $1,500scholarship to a high school seniorwho resides in Fairfax or PrinceWilliam counties and will attendcollege or community college in fall2016. Information and applicationinstructions can be found at http://bullruncwrt.org.
“Shrek the Musical JR.” April 22, 23,29, and 30. Burke CommunityChurch, 9900 Old Keene Mill Road,Burke. Come see this talented groupof young actors ages 8-18 as theytravel Far Far Away with everyone’sfavorite ogre, a wise-crackingdonkey, and a cast of fairy talemisfits. $14. www.nvplayers.com.
FUN-Exercise. Thursdays, noon-12:50p.m. Grace Presbyterian ChurchFamily Room, 7434 Bath St.,Springfield. Inova certified exerciseinstructor leads a moderate levelexercise class with music and currentevents conversation. Muscle, Balance,Strength Training using stretch bandsand weights both standing andseated exercises. Instructor donationis $5. Contact Chris Moore [email protected] or 703-499-6133.
Adventures in Learning. Mondays,8:30 a.m.-2:45 p.m. April 4-May 9.Lord of Life Lutheran Church, 5114Twinbrook Road, Fairfax.community, personal development,finance, and more. Afternoonbreakouts are book club, bridge, andcanasta. Bring a brown bag lunch.$30. www.scfbva.org. 703-426-2824.
Lake Accotink Park CampfireSaturdays. March 26, April 16, May14. Starts between 6:30-7 p.m. LakeAccotink Park, 7500 Accotink ParkRoad, Springfield. Adventure awaitsas you explore the woodlands andLake Accotink spots where wildlifehides and resides, guided by anaturalist. Program ends with a cozycampfire. Bring whatever you like toroast. S’mores provided. Topics varyeach month. $8-$10. http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/parks/lake-accotink/.
Foon Sham: Culture House.Through April 3. W-16 VulcanGallery, 9518 Workhouse Way,Lorton. Foon Sham was born in HongKong and received a BFA from theCalifornia College of Arts and Crafts,and a MFA from VirginiaCommonwealth University. He isprofessor of Art at the University ofMaryland, College Park.www.workhousearts.org. 703-585-2900.
“Reflections of the Spirit” ArtExhibition. April 3-May 1. Workhouse
Arts Center, 9601 Ox Road, Lorton.Exhibit by artist, Kathy Strauss.workhousearts.org. 703-492-8215.
FRIDAY/MARCH 18“Meat the Truth.” 6:30-9:30 p.m.
Accotink Unitarian UniversalistChurch, 10125 Lakehaven Court,Burke. Soup and salad supper and adocumentary showing. Childcareprovided. Free. accotinkuuc.org. 703-503-4579.
SATURDAY/MARCH 19Music at the Box Office. 7:30 p.m.
Fairfax High School, 3501 Rebel Run,Fairfax. City of Fairfax bandwelcomes the coming of spring withan evocative selection of classiccompositions for the silver screen.The program features music offamous 20th-century Hollywoodcomposers. $10, $16.www.fairfaxband.org.
SUNDAY/MARCH 20NOVA Pro Wrestling. 5-7:30 p.m.
Annandale Sports Center, 6728Industrial Road, Springfield. “LastExit to Springfield,” with Sonja Dutt,Logan Easton Laroux, Arik Royal, etal. [email protected].
MONDAY/MARCH 21Art Theraphy Day at NVTRP. 9 a.m.-
noon. NVTRP, 6429 Clifton Road,Clifton. A morning of therapeutic artactivities designed to encourage self-confidence, socialization, andcreative expression! Multi-mediaactivities may include painting,movement, music, group art,drawing, creative play, and more.Ages 5-12. $100. Sign up [email protected].
SATURDAY/MARCH 26Easter Egg Hunt. 10-11:30 a.m.
Sangster Elementary School, 7420Reservation Drive, Springfield.Parkway Bible Church will hold anEaster Egg Hunt. There will beseparate egg hunts for the little tykesand the school aged kids. Pre-K andschool-aged children and families.Free. www.parkwaybibleva.org.
Eggstravanganza. 1-3 p.m. FairfaxCounty Government Center, 12000Government Center Parkway, Fairfax.Egg roll, moon bounce, face painting,door prizes, carnival games andmore. Sponsored by Jubilee ChristianCenter and Brincolin Moonbounce.Free. jccag.org. 703-383-1170
Photo by Gregor Eisenhuth
Singers, Irish dancers and actors tell the story of thespirit of Ireland on Sunday, March 20 at George MasonUniversity’s Center for the Arts.
Calendar
For the sixth year, swimmers piled on milesof laps in the pool, raising money to sup-port their coach and the Avon Walk toEnd Breast Cancer.
The 52 members of the Shark Tank RacingSquad, between ages 8 and 18, brought in morethan $25,000 at the Feb. 28 swimming marathonthat took place at the South Run RECenter. Thattotal beat last year’s record of $23,200.
Each swimmer collected donations and thenswam between 110 and 155 laps; the latter werereferred to as “going the extra mile.”
“It was truly one of the most beautiful mara-thons,” coach Patty Friedman of Fairfax Stationsaid in an email.
Friedman walked in the Avon Walk to End BreastCancer and raised money independently for sev-eral years before getting the team involved. In thesix years of the marathon, the team has raised$100,000, she said.
A number of swimmers completed the marathonand extra mile despite injuries. Friedman said oneathlete with a cyst on her breast provided thegroup more motivation and a reminder that partof the money they raised will help women whootherwise wouldn’t have access to top surgeons.
“These kids have paid for a lot of mammogramsand breast surgeries over these years,” Friedmansaid.
W.T. Woodson freshman Riley Allison completedhis third swim marathon as a Shark Tank athlete.
“The event is very important to me because atany point in time someone I know could be diag-nosed with breast cancer,” he said in an email.“Even if it isn’t somebody I know, I’m glad I canraise money to help anyone who is diagnosed withit.”
As in past years, supporters from Shark Tankwill accompany Friedman to the start of the two-day, 39.3-mile walk, beginning in Washington,D.C.
For more information or to make additionaldonations, visit www.tinyurl.com/tank2016.
—Tim Peterson
Shark Tank Racing SquadSets New Record
Photos contributed
Of the six graduating seniors from Shark Tank Racing Squad, each have partici-pated in at least two of the six annual swim marathons: (from left) CharlieLertlumprasert, Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology; NoraSurbey, W.T. Woodson High School; Moira LeMay, South County High School;Caroline Paris, West Springfield High School; Holly To, West Springfield HighSchool and Ethan Villavicencio, W.T. Woodson High School.
Fifty-two swimmers from the Shark TankRacing Squad raised more than $25,000for breast cancer research by participat-ing in the team’s sixth annual swimmingmarathon on Feb. 28 at South RunRECenter.
The To family of Springfield has hadthree children participate in the swimmarathon in each of its six years run-ning: (from left) Holly To, coach PattyFriedman of Fairfax Station, motherJennifer To, Christopher To, Nicole Toand William To.
Springfield Connection ❖ March 17-23, 2016 ❖ 11www.ConnectionNewspapers.com
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Calendar
FRIDAY/APRIL 1Annual Funfair. 6-9 p.m. Cardinal
Forest Elementary School, 8600Forrester Blvd., Springfield. familyfriendly event that combines food, araffle, carnival type games as well as
Celebrating the Spring HolidaysFRIDAY/MARCH 18“Meat the Truth.” 6:30-9:30 p.m. Accotink Unitarian Universalist Church,
10125 Lakehaven Court, Burke. Soup and salad supper and a documentaryshowing. Childcare provided. Free. accotinkuuc.org. 703-503-4579.
SUNDAY/MARCH 20Celtic Nights: The Spirit of Freedom. 4 p.m. Center for the Arts George
Mason University, 4373 Mason Pond Drive, Fairfax. Cast of 14accomplished singers, Irish dancers and actors tell this story of the spirit ofIreland to more than 50 communities in the U.S. $29-$48. cfa.gmu.edu.888-945-2468.
Easter Event. 3:30 p.m. King of Kings Lutheran Church and Preschool, 4025Kings Way, Fairfax. Lots of fun activities, picture with the Easter bunny,egg hunts for different ages, and decorating Easter trees. Eater hunt forspecial needs children, too. Children up to sixth grade. kofk.org. 703-378-7272 ext. 225.
Reservation Drive, Springfield. Parkway Bible Church will hold an EasterEgg Hunt. There will be separate egg hunts for the little tykes and theschool aged kids. Pre-K and school-aged children and families. Free.www.parkwaybibleva.org.
Breakfast and Easter Egg Hunt. 9 a.m. Grace Presbyterian Church, 7434Bath St., Springfield. Free. All welcome. gracepresby.org.
Eggstravanganza. 1-3 p.m. Fairfax County Government Center, 12000Government Center Parkway, Fairfax. Egg roll, moon bounce, facepainting, door prizes, carnival games and more. Sponsored by JubileeChristian Center and Brincolin Moonbounce. Free. jccag.org. 703-383-1170.
Community Pancake Breakfast and Easter Egg Hunt. 8:30 a.m. St.George’s United Methodist Church, 4910 Ox Road, Fairfax. Egg hunts areby age group, newborn to 10 years. 571-218-9972.
moon bounces, a rock wall and anobstacle course to create an exciting,fun-filled evening. Tickets for sale atthe door to purchase food, playgames and enter the raffle. Moreinformation at https://sites.google.com/site/cardinalforestpta/home/Funfair
SPECIAL CONNECTIONS CALENDARAdvertising Deadlines are the previous Thursday unless noted.
APRIL4/6/2016.......................Wellbeing – Senior Living PulloutEaster Sunday is March 274/13/2016.....................Real Estate Pullout – New Homes4/20/2016..........................................A+ Camps & Schools4/27/2016............................A+ Camps & Schools Pullout4/27/2016...Mother’s Day Celebrations, Dining & Gifts I4/27/2016...........................................Spring Outlook 2016
12 ❖ Springfield Connection ❖ March 17-23, 2016 www.ConnectionNewspapers.com
Sports
By Jon Roetman
The Connection
Members of the two-time de-fending state championRobinson boys’ lacrosseteam sat quietly at one end
of the Coffey Stadium field during halftimeof their season opener Tuesday night whenthey were greeted by the sound of reality.
Visiting Broad Run led 5-4 and the Spar-tans let the Rams — and others in atten-dance — know it, confidently cheering atthe other end of the field.
“We just weren’t really into it and wesnapped into it once we realized that they’reup,” Robinson senior attackman JohnnyDaniel said. “When we hear them yappingit up over in the corner of the field — that’sour field. You can yap all you want, but it’sCoffey Stadium [and] we’re defending ourfield.” The Rams woke up in the third quar-ter, outscoring Broad Run 7-0, and Robinsonpulled away for a 14-7 season-opening vic-tory.
Once Robinson got going in the secondhalf, it didn’t take long for the Rams to gainseparation.
Five different Rams scored a goal duringa 3-minute, 39-second stretch in the thirdquarter, taking Robinson from a 5-4 deficitto a 9-5 lead. Daniel and freshmanattackman Declan Connolly each scored inthe final minute of the period, extendingthe Rams’ lead to 11-5.
Robinson led by as many as eight goals,when senior attackman Tristan Scoffieldgave the Rams a 14-6 advantage with 1:04remaining in the fourth quarter.
“I’m extremely happy with the way weresponded in the second half,” Robinsonhead coach Matt Curran said. “With a youngteam, you’re in that position maybe for thefirst time and you’re not sure exactly how
they’re going to respond.”Eight different Rams scored at least one
goal. Senior midfielder Austin Henry andfreshman Connolly each scored three. Jun-ior attackman Liam Curran and Daniel eachscored two goals, and sophomore midfielderReid Scarborough, junior midfielder TylerIriondo, sophomore midfielder Nick Rowlettand senior Scoffield each had one.
Junior goalkeeper Matt Bethard had eightsaves.
Robinson enters the 2016 season with atalented roster, but the Rams have new play-ers transitioning into leadership roles aftergraduating several prominent athletes fromtheir back-to-back title runs.
Curran said Robinson still has high ex-pectations, but the loss of experienced play-ers means the Rams aren’t as far along whenit comes to implementing strategy.
“It doesn’t matter what year it is and whatkind of talent we have, our expectationsevery year are to win the state champion-ship and I think that’s how it should be,”Curran said. “Do we take them alongslowly? Yeah, we do. Last year, we had aton of starters back so we could get intothings that we were running the year be-fore right away and some of these guys …are learning it for the first time.
“… We don’t have Jack Rowlett orChapman Jasien or Jude Buckholz or ChrisWhite, guys like that that were three- andfour-year starters, anymore. Those guys aregone, so you guys — Austin Henry, JohnnyDaniel, [senior midfielder] Danny Krug,[senior long stick midfielder] Eric Scales —you guys have to step up and they did. Theyresponded. Just like anything, they’re go-ing to have to learn to be the guys, the cap-tains, the leaders. They know how to do thelacrosse part, now they have to figure outhow to be the leaders of the team and I thinkthey certainly made a step [toward that].”
Daniel said players who might have beenoverlooked in the past now have a chanceto step up. “We had a great amount of tal-ent last year, but that talent kind of shad-owed a lot of underlying talent,” he said.“For example, Austin and I, we’re a duothat’s been kind of been overlooked for awhile and now we have the chance to[lead].”
Daniel and Henry have both signed withVMI.
While Daniel, Henry, Krug and otherstransition into leadership roles, Connollyhas an opportunity to be a young difference-maker. The freshman produced a hat trickin his first varsity game, including
Robinson’s first goal of the season.“People need to be ready for him, hon-
estly,” Daniel said, “because that kid, he’sone of the best players I’ve ever playedwith.”
Curran praised Connolly.“I’ve known Declan since he was in el-
ementary school and coached him in someoffseason stuff,” Curran said. “He’s got areally good head on his shoulders. He knowshe’s good, but he recognizes that this is ateam game and he’s always asking questionsand he’s always learning.”
Robinson’s next four games are at home,starting with a contest against Yorktown at4 p.m. on Saturday, March 19. The Ramswill host Northern at 2 p.m. on Monday,Langley at noon on Wednesday, March 23,and St. Ignatius (Illinois) at 7:15 p.m. onMarch 29.
Robinson will travel to face Chantilly at7:15 p.m. on April 1 in a rematch of lastyear’s Conference 5, 6A North region andstate championship games.
“Every year is state championship —that’s what we want,” Henry said. “We’llwork [through] whatever we have to to getthat.”
Robinson senior Johnny Daniel scored a pair of goals during the Rams’season-opening victory over Broad Run on Tuesday.
Robinson freshman Declan Connolly scored three goals against BroadRun on Tuesday. The Rams defeated the Spartans 14-7.
Robinson sophomore Nick Rowlett scored a goal during the Rams’ winover Broad Run on Tuesday.
Robinson Boys’ Lax Beats Broad Run in Season OpenerTwo-time defendingstate champs havenew leaders.
“We just weren’t reallyinto it and we snappedinto it once we realizedthat they’re up. When wehear them yapping it upover in the corner of thefield — that’s our field.You can yap all you want,but it’s Coffey Stadium[and] we’re defendingour field.”
Springfield Connection ❖ March 17-23, 2016 ❖ 13www.ConnectionNewspapers.com
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14 ❖ Springfield Connection ❖ March 17-23, 2016 www.ConnectionNewspapers.com
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Springfield Connection ❖ March 17-23, 2016 ❖ 15www.ConnectionNewspapers.com
JOINT PUBLIC HEARING TOWN OF CLIFTON PLANNING COMMISSION AND CLIFTON TOWN
COUNCIL
April 5, 2016Notice is hereby given that the Town of Clifton Planning Com-mission and the Town Council will hold a joint Public Hearing on Tuesday, April 5,, 2016 at 7:30 P.M. at the Town Meeting Hall, 12641 Chapel Road, Clifton, VA 20124 to consider a re-quest for a special use permit for Peterson’s Ice Cream Depot,located at 7150 Main Street. The special use permit request includes an expansion of the existing use, including, but not limited to, the increase in number of seats; an increase in park-ing; an expansion of the hours of operation; an increase in employees, from the previously issued special use permit. The application for this special use permit is available forreview and downloading on the Town’s website at www.clifton-va.com and a hard copy may be examined at the Clifton Post Office, 12644 Chapel Road, Clifton VA, 20124. All interested parties are invited to attend the joint public hearing of the Town of Clifton Planning Commission and the Town Council and express their views with respect to the requested special usepermit for Peterson’s Ice Cream Depot.
21 Announcements 21 Announcements
We pay top $ for STERLING, MEN'S WATCHES,
JEWELRY, COSTUME JEWELRY, FURNITURE, PAINTINGS AND CLOCKS.
ABC LICENSEChipotle Mexican Grill of Colo-rado, LLC trading as Chipotle Mexican Grill, 6230 Rolling Rd, Ste Y, West Springfield, VA 22152. The above estab-lishment is applying to the VIRGINIA DEPARTMENT OF ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE CONTROL (ABC) for a Beer On Premises license to sell or manufacture alcoholic bever-ages, M. Steven Ells, ManagerNOTE: Objections to the issu-ance of this license must be submitted to ABC no later than 30 days from the publishing date of the first of two required newspaper legal notices. Ob-jections should be registered at www.abc.virginia.gov or 800-552-3200.
ABC LICENSEMuse Paintbar, LLC trading as Muse Paintbar, 2920 District
Ave, Ste 100, Fairfax, VA 22031. The above establish-
ment is applying to the VIRGINIA DEPARTMENT OF
ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE CONTROL (ABC) for a Wine & Beer On Premises license to sell or manufacture alcoholic beverages, Stanley J. Finch,
memberNOTE: Objections to the issu-ance of this license must be submitted to ABC no later than 30 days from the publishing date of the first of two required newspaper legal notices. Ob-jections should be registered at www.abc.virginia.gov or 800-552-3200.
Send notes to the Connection at [email protected] or call 703-778-9416.The deadline for submissions is the Friday prior topublication. Dated announcements should be submit-ted at least two weeks prior to the event.
SATURDAY/MARCH 19Library Forum. 10-11:30 a.m. George Mason
Regional Library, 7001 Little River Turnpike,Annandale. Help plan the libraries’ future bysharing your input. fairfaxcounty.gov/library.703-324-8319.
WEDNESDAY/MARCH 23Budget Town Hall. 7-9 p.m. Community Room,
West Springfield Government Center, 6140Rolling Road, Springfield. County Executive EdLong and representatives from the Departmentof Management and Budget will be available toanswer questions. Sponsored by Supervisor PatHerrity (R-Springfield). 571-585-4540.
SATURDAY/APRIL 2Breathe Out. 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Fairfax United
Methodist Church, 10300 Stratford Ave.,Fairfax. Breathe Out has been developed toaddress teen stress. Registration required.breatheoutnow.wix.com/goldaward.
Donation Drop-Off. Noon-3 p.m. The HistoricSydenstricker Schoolhouse, 8511 Hooes Road,Springfield. Community drop-off for householditems, clothing, etc. to be sold at upcoming yardsale. Donations tax-deductible.sydenstrickerschoolhouse.org.
SUNDAY/APRIL 3Richmond Wrap-Up. 2-4 p.m. Virginia
International Conference Room, 4401 VillageDrive, Fairfax. Learn what your area legislatordid during the Virginia General Assembly. Hearfrom state legislators. Bring your questions. Jointhe discussion. For more information go to s-a-l-t.org/ or call 703-591-7042 ext. 352.
Bulletin Board
Send notes to the Connection at [email protected] or call 703-778-9416.Deadline is Friday. Dated announcements should besubmitted at least two weeks prior to the event.
Harvester Presbyterian Church will holdEaster Sunday Service on March 27 from 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m. The church is located at 7800 RollingRoad, Springfield. www.harvesterpca.org
An Easter Cantata, “Risen,” will be presented atJubilee Christian Center on Easter Sunday,March 27, 8:45 and 11 a.m. services. The center islocated at 4650 Shirley Gate Road, Fairfax. Thereis no Easter Sunday evening service. Call 703-383-1170,or see www.jccag.org.
Lenten Soup Supper. Fridays from Feb. 26-March 18. 5:30-7 p.m. will be offered at HolySpirit School Cafeteria, 8800 Braddock Road,Annandale. Meatless soup suppers on Fridays dur-ing Lent, followed by the Stations of the Cross inthe Church at 7 p.m. Free. Contact Lambie Renner,[email protected].
Jubilee Christian Center of Fairfax is restart-ing its “Living Free” support groups for the Springon Wednesdays, starting on Mar. 30, 7:15 p.m. Thesupport groups are free, and will cover “Steppinginto Freedom,” “Concerned Persons Group” (forfamily and friends of addicts), “Understanding andOvercoming Depression,” “The Image of God in
You,” and “Handling Loss and Grief.” There willalso be support groups meeting on Sundays, 10:10a.m. 4650 Shirley Gate Road, Fairfax. For informa-tion or to register, call 703)-383-1170, [email protected] or seewww.jccag.org.
Fairfax Baptist Temple, at the corner ofFairfax County Parkway and Burke Lake Roads,holds a bible study fellowship at 9 a.m. Sundaysfollowed by a 10 a.m. worship service. Nursery careand children’s church also provided. 6401 Mission-ary Lane, Fairfax Station, 703-323-8100 orwww.fbtministries.org.
The Guhyasamaja Buddhist Center, 10875Main St., Fairfax City provides free classes to bothnewcomers and advanced practitioners of TibetanBuddhism. The center emphasizes working with themind and learning how to understand the workingsof the mind, overcoming inner causes of suffering,while cultivating causes of happiness. Under the di-rection of Lama Zopa Rinpoche, the center is a placeof study, contemplation and meditation. Visit http://www.guhyasamaja.org for more information.
Lord of Life Lutheran offers services at twolocations, in Fairfax at 5114 Twinbrook Road andin Clifton at 13421 Twin Lakes Drive. Services inFairfax are held on Saturdays at 5:30 p.m. andSundays at 8:30 and 10 a.m. Services in Clifton areheld on Sundays at 8:15 and 10:30 a.m. 703-323-9500 or www.Lordoflifeva.org.
Faith
From Page 6
that enable people who work here to livehere;
❖ the continued preservation and im-provement of parks, recreation, and arts;
❖ the protection and restoration of habi-tat space and the underlying ecosystems;
❖ improved connections with GeorgeMason University students, faculty, andstaff.
These goals were echoed during theVisionFairfaxMason, a 2014 community-wide planning workshop that produced an
ambitious plan to strengthen the economicties between the City and the University. Weurge those candidates for city council andMayor to move forward with the recommen-dations in this plan to ensure the contin-ued improvement of the quality of life forall Fairfax City residents.
Support this vision! Email us [email protected] andprovide your full name.
Dean RossFairfax
Letters
“The whole point of it is to encouragekids to participate in healthier cookingand foods that are in school. We’re try-ing to encourage kids to help changeschool food and to live a more activelifestyle,” said Diana Nash, Real Food forKids event coordinator.
“This year we decided to open it upfor middle schoolers and high schoolers.I’m really impressed with the level of skill
and preparation of the teams today,” saidJenny Hein, executive director of RealFood for Kids.
An awards ceremony at the end in-cluded $200 scholarships, $50 gift cardsto Sur La Table, a $500 raffle award toWilliams-Sonoma, gift certificate to Earl’sKitchen & Bar for six people, cookbooksand a Veggetti Spiralizer, among othergifts. All participating students left withtheir own gift bags.
Food for KidsFrom Page 9
16 ❖ Springfield Connection ❖ March 17-23, 2016 www.ConnectionNewspapers.com
Sheila Adams703-503-1895Life Member, NVAR Multi–MillionDollar Sales ClubLife Member,NVAR TOP PRODUCERS
Modern eat-in KT w/island, silestone counters, S/S appls &doors to deck. Gorgeous hdwds. Sep LR & DR. Lg MBRw/vaulted ceiling, W/I closet, lux bath w/dual vanity, septub/shower. Nice-sized BRs. Walkout rec rm w/frpl. Seplaundry/storage rm. Fenced yard w/patio. Freshly painted.Many HOA amenities. Jim Fox 703.755.0296
Judy McGuire703-581-7679NVAR Multi-Million Dollar ClubNVAR Top Producer
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Immaculate 3 levelTownhome.........just redeco-rated! 3 bedrms, 3 1/2 baths,2 fireplaces, granite counter-tops!! Family rm w/ skylightsand fireplace, Rec Rm in walk-out basement to patio, homeoffice, Master suite w/ 2 clos-
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Gainesville Heritage Hunt 55+ (age 50+ ok) $479,900PRISTINE 3BR, 3BA, Grmt Kit w granite, HDWDS, NEW carpet up, Liv,2 sided Gas Fpl, Din, Sunrm, Laundry, Loft, Scrnd Porch & deck, unfinLL w storage & rough-in for BA, 2 car Gar, private yard, cul de sac.
Fairfax $569,500Open floor plan, 2 story addition, and 2 master suites!Vaulted ceilings, walls of glass, expansive great room! 3bedrooms, 3.5 baths, 2 car garage and quiet cul de sac.
Belmont Bay “Coming Soon” $569,900Luxury 3 story Brownstone-style end unit townhome. Spacious400 sq. ft. deck with water view! Gas FP in family room with pass-through viewing onto deck. 3 bedrooms/4 baths with 2-car garage.
Fairfax Station – $1,149,000Gorgeous custom home sited on beautiful .83 acre in the conven-iently located Donovans Ridge community. This spacious homeboasts beautiful craftsmanship and attention to details throughout.
NEW
PRIC
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access to large Screen Porch overlooking Treed Back Yard –Updated Kitchen – HW Floors – Large Centre Island –Walk-Out LL w/Full BA, Rec Rm & Lg Extra Bonus Rm –Deluxe MBA w/Sep Shower & Tub – 5 Large BR/4.5 BA – 3FULL on BR Level.
Call/Email Ann Witherspoon for Your Private Showing!
CROSSPOINTEOPEN SUNDAY
$750,000EXPANDEDCROSSNEWPORTDELUXEw/Sunroom/Library/Den has
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Fairfax $745,000Lovely Colonial in Hampton Forest community with over3600 sq. ft. on two levels with 4 BRs, 4.5 BAs, two storyfoyer, gourmet kitchen, hardwood floors on main level, andmuch more. Walk to pool & tennis courts.
Woodbridge - Gorgeous 6BR Estate OverlookingPotomac River, $1,340,000.
Lorton/Lorfax - Newer 5BR Custom Home on1/2 acre, $950,000 Bristow - 3 Level, 3 BathTownhome near Sought After Schools, $299,000.
Alexandria/Mount Vernon - 3 BR Rambler withUpgraded Kitchen & Baths on 1/2 acre.
Gainesville - 5 BR, 3 Level Home backing up toGolf Course in 55+ Community.
Coming Soon
Burke $1,900Fully Furnished Rental
3 BR, 2BA main floor furnished rental includes dishes,pots & pans, small appliances, linens, and utilities.
