Opinion, Page 4 ❖ Entertainment, Page 8 ❖ Classifieds, Page 6 February 1-7, 2017 online at www.connectionnewspapers.com Photo by Fallon Forbush/The Connection Herndon Oak Hill Herndon Oak Hill Wellbeing Wellbeing Wellbeing Page 5 Fairfax County Park Authority’s Rebecca Henenlotter pulls leaves out of a groundhog den outside of the Frying Pan Farm Park Visitor Center so the crowd can get a better look at what a burrow looks like. Fairfax County Park Authority’s Rebecca Henenlotter pulls leaves out of a groundhog den outside of the Frying Pan Farm Park Visitor Center so the crowd can get a better look at what a burrow looks like. Neighbors Rehash Shooting Death News, Page 3 Herndon Family Receives Good Neighbor Award News, Page 3 Neighbors Rehash Shooting Death News, Page 3 Herndon Family Receives Good Neighbor Award News, Page 3 Looking for Groundhog At Frying Pan Farm Park News, Page 8 Looking for Groundhog At Frying Pan Farm Park News, Page 8
Transcript
Oak Hill/Herndon Connection ❖ February 1-7, 2017 ❖ 1www.ConnectionNewspapers.com
Opinio
n, Page 4
❖
Entertainm
ent, Page 8
❖
C
lassifieds, Page 6
February 1-7, 2017 online at www.connectionnewspapers.com
Pho
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by Fallo
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HerndonOak HillHerndonOak Hill
WellbeingWellbeingWellbeingPage 5 Fairfax County Park Authority’s
Rebecca Henenlotter pulls leaves outof a groundhog den outside of theFrying Pan Farm Park Visitor Centerso the crowd can get a better look atwhat a burrow looks like.
Fairfax County Park Authority’sRebecca Henenlotter pulls leaves outof a groundhog den outside of theFrying Pan Farm Park Visitor Centerso the crowd can get a better look atwhat a burrow looks like.Neighbors Rehash
Shooting DeathNews, Page 3
Herndon Family ReceivesGood Neighbor AwardNews, Page 3
Neighbors RehashShooting DeathNews, Page 3
Herndon Family ReceivesGood Neighbor AwardNews, Page 3
Looking forGroundhog
At Frying PanFarm Park
News, Page 8
Looking forGroundhog
At Frying PanFarm Park
News, Page 8
2 ❖ Oak Hill/Herndon Connection ❖ February 1-7, 2017 www.ConnectionNewspapers.com
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A father daughter dance, the semi-formal dancefor girls ages 3-12, will be held at the Herndon Com-munity Center, 814 Ferndale Ave., Herndon on Sat-urday, Feb. 4, 6:30-9 p.m. Event attendees will enjoya catered buffet of appetizers and sweets, dancingwith a DJ, a photo booth with props and compli-mentary photo strips, and a keepsake gift for eachdaughter. Daughters may be accompanied by a fa-ther, uncle, grandfather, or male guardian. $50 percouple and $25 each additional daughter. Sign-upat the Herndon Community Center or visit https://herndonwebtrac.com.
Contact: Herndon Parks and Recreation Depart-ment, 703-787-7300 or visit
herndon-va.gov/recreation.
Herndon Over-40Softball League NeedsOne More Team
The Herndon Masters Over-40 Softball League willbe starting its 27th year this season and is looking toadd one more team. Players must be at last 40 yearsof age to be eligible. All games are doubleheaders -played on Sundays at Bready Park in Herndon be-tween 11 - 6 p.m. The season runs from late April toearly October and usually guarantees 26-30 games.
Interested teams can contact the commissioner viaemail at [email protected]. Individuals may alsoreply. If no full teams apply and enough individuals
do, it may be possible to create a new team fromthem. Existing teams might be looking to add moreplayers as well and those names will be made avail-able to them.
Nysmith Team WinsHighest Honors inWordMasters Challenge
A fourth grade team from The Nysmith School inHerndon achieved Highest Honors in the recentWordMasters Challenge—a national vocabulary com-petition involving nearly 150,000 students annu-ally—scoring an impressive 185 points out of a pos-sible 200 to place third in the nation.
Rishabh Kumaran (of Herndon) and NicholasToskey (South Riding) each earned a perfect score,making them two of only 22 fourth graders in thecountry to do so. Nysmith’s Ananya Kakayadi(Reston) also recorded an outstanding score com-peting in the event’s highly competitive Gold divi-sion.
The WordMasters Challenge is an exercise in criti-cal thinking that first encourages students to becomefamiliar with a set of interesting new words (consid-erably harder than grade level) and then challengesthem to use those words to complete analogies ex-pressing various kinds of logical relationships. Work-ing to solve the analogies helps students learn to thinkboth analytically and metaphorically. Although mostvocabulary enrichment and analogy-solving pro-grams are designed for high school students,WordMasters Challenge materials have been specifi-cally created for students in Grades 3-8.
Week in Herndon
Oak Hill/Herndon Connection ❖ February 1-7, 2017 ❖ 3www.ConnectionNewspapers.com
News
Herndon Family ReceivesGood Neighbor AwardBarbara Glakas, who is a member of Herndon’s Cultivating Commu-nity Initiative, presented the town’s Good Neighbor award to theLamber-Turgeon family on Tuesday, Jan. 24, during the town councilmeeting. Neighbors who nominated the family say they always helpwith upkeep of the street’s yards and sidewalks. During the presenta-tion, Glakas said the neighbors were especially thankful to the familyduring the winter because they take on the responsibility of snowblowing all the sidewalks. Colette Lamber-Turgeon, to the right ofMayor Lisa Merkel, accepted the award on behalf of her family.
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By Fallon Forbush
The Connection
Monique Tran spenther morn-ing run-ning errands. Shethought it was going
to be a typical day. This was Mon-day, Jan. 16, the day the FairfaxCounty police shot and killed herneighbor Mohammad Azim Doudzai,32, just outside his home, accordingto police.
That morning, she went to thegym, got a haircut and did some gro-cery shopping at Costco. When shegot home around 2 p.m. her husbandhelped her bring the groceries inside.
This was when she noticed herneighbor Doudzai talking with twopeople outside. She greeted him, butdid not get the usual response.
“When I see him, I say hello andhe’s very nice,” she says. “But nobodyanswered me.”
Doudzai routinely has customersin his driveway because he fixes cars,according to Tran. This observationis as much as she and other neighbors liv-ing on the other street knew about him.
The unusual silence was a small sign thatthings were not normal. By 3:30 p.m., herhome would be surrounded by police offic-ers, responding to a double shooting, fireand hostage situation next door, accordingto police. “Police knocked on the door andsaid, ‘Get out, get out of the house,’” shesays. In her panic, she left her coat and hercellphone. Her husband also ran out of thehouse without a coat and shoes.
“No purse, no phone, no nothing,” shesays. “I could not contact my daughter tocome and pick me up. I could not call myson … It was very scary,” she says. “I’venever seen anything like this before.”
Tran has lived on Covered Wagon Lanefor 17 years. She and her neighbors livingin the 10 townhomes on the street are usedto a quiet neighborhood, she says.
THE SUBURBAN NEIGHBORHOOD is
directly off Fox Mill Road in Herndon, out-side of town limits. Parking on the streetswithin the neighborhood is by permit only.
Less than 80 steps from Covered WagonLane sits the neighborhood’s basketballcourt, where children often play.
Sleem Bhatti, who lives a few doors down,moved onto the street with his family lessthan a month ago.
“I drove my son home from school andarrived to police everywhere,” he says.“There was yellow tape from Fox Mill[Road] to Rolling Plains [Drive].”
While he and his son couldn’t get in, thoseon the street who were spending the Mar-tin Luther King, Jr. holiday indoors werealso evacuated.
“A cop called us to get out of the house,”says Amishaben Patel, who also lives on thestreet. “We were scared.”
Though she did not know what was go-ing on at the time of the evacuation, Patelsays the police gathered the neighborhood
in a community hall at a location on theother side of Fox Mill Road and were givenan update on the investigation.
“They didn’t allow us back to our homesuntil 7:30 p.m.” she says.
Nearby residents on adjacent RollingPlains Drive and Covered Wagon Court werealso caught up in the violence.
Haritha Govindu lives with her family lessthan 40 steps from the crime scene on Roll-ing Plains Drive. Her street was not evacu-ated. “We were asked to stay inside,” shesays. She and her husband heard shotswhile they were looking out their window,which views out onto both her street andCovered Wagon Lane, she says. They didnot see the fatal shooting.
“It’s a quiet neighborhood,” she says.“This kind of thing is not expected. I’venever seen that before. It’s usually friendly.”
During the chaos, she was very concernedfor her 8-year-old daughter and was gladthat her younger daughter was away at a
daycare at the time.Barbara Smith, who moved to her
home in 1998, recalled trying todrive home after the violence began.When she pulled up and tried to getinto Covered Wagon Court, she sawthe emergency vehicles. She thoughtit was just a routine response, per-haps a false fire alarm, she says.
It wasn’t until she saw a police of-ficer standing with a rifle blockingentry into the barricaded area thatshe realized this was not a typicalhouse call. “I don’t know what[Doudzai] burned, but it smelled likerubber,” she says. “It stunk.”
Doudzai set the townhome on firewhile he and a roommate were bothinside, according to police.
She left the area and didn’t returnuntil later that night until she knewit was safe. It was while she wasaway that she learned the situationended with the death of the suspect.
“Since it was an officer-involvedshooting, they have to cross every Tand dot every I,” she says of the in-vestigation.
TEN DAYS AFTER the event on Thursday,Jan. 26, Police Chief Edwin Roessler re-leased a statement telling the public thathe would not release the officer’s name whoused a lethal firearm that killed Doudzai.This was despite the department’s policy ofdoing so within 10 days.
“I informed the Board of Supervisors thisafternoon that a thorough threat assessmentis still being conducted regarding the officerinvolved in this incident,” he said in hisstatement. “County policy is to release anofficer’s name within 10 days, unless I canarticulate a risk to that officer.”
The involved officer, who was not injured,remains on routine administrative leavepending the outcome of the investigation,according to police.
Meanwhile, neighbors are adjusting backto normalcy. On Tuesday evening, Jan. 24,a group of kids were playing on the basket-ball court once again.
Herndon neighborhoodrecovers from shooting incident.Neighbors Rehash Shooting Death
The suburban neighborhood where the scene of the crime occurred is directly offFox Mill Road in Herndon, outside of town limits. Parking on the streets within theneighborhood is by permit only. Less than 80 steps from the street of the shootingsits the neighborhood’s basketball court, where children often play.
Locally, the effects of a travel banat odds with American valuesplayed out at Dulles International
Airport, but stimulated a heartening response,with volunteer attorneys offering help, local,state and federal elected officials demandingaccountability and peaceful demonstrators pro-testing the un-American assault ontravel from particular Muslim-majoritycountries.
“I was just amazed at the number ofpeople, the energy, the spirit, the spontaneity,”said Del. Marcus Simon, who used FaceBookLive to share the scene over several days. “Insome ways, it was heartening, to see so manyNorthern Virginians reacting.”
See reporter Tim Peterson’s story in this pa-per.
CROSSOVER is Feb. 7; that’s when only billsthat have passed either the House of Delegatesor the Virginia Senate can move forward.
As this date approaches, the General Assem-bly has a serious transparency issue, as it con-tinues to kill most proposed legislation withunrecorded voice votes in subcommittee, withno accountability or record of how membersvoted.
This was raised to new heights earlier thisweek, when a House of Delegates subcommit-tee killed proposed constitutional amendmentsincluding non-partisan redistricting and restor-ing voting rights of felons, along with morethan 20 proposed amendments, in a singlevote.
John Horejsi of Vienna, who heads the orga-nization Social Action Linking Together, notesthat his organization is unable to track what
happens to legislation they support. This head-line, which ran last week onwww.roanoke.com, says it all: “Bill to requirerecorded votes dies on an unrecorded vote,again.”
State Sen. Creigh Deeds continues importantwork on mental health reform, citing threepriorities this year, requiring most of Commu-
nity Services Boards around the stateto provide same-day service and cer-tain outpatient services; to assess andprovide care for inmates who have
mental health needs; and long-term support-ive housing to help avoid repeated mentalhealth crises.
About 200,000 people in Virginia have hadtheir motor vehicle licenses suspended for alegal infraction that has nothing to do with adriving offense. And 650,000 people in Virginiahave a suspended license for failing to paycourt costs. This is an obstacle to holding a joband being able to meet other obligations, andlegislation to stop this counter-productive prac-tice is still alive in the Virginia Senate.
The sale of high-proof grain alcohol in Vir-ginia Alcoholic Beverage Control stores passedthe House of Delegates earlier in the session,and is just foolish.
EFFORTS by state Sen. Adam P. Ebbin andothers, supporting repeal of the Virginia con-stitutional amendment approved by voters in2006 forbidding gay marriage should move for-ward. The 2006 amendment is no longer validbecause the U.S. Supreme Court in 2015 le-galized same-sex marriage.
State Sen. Chap Petersen introduced adoomed bill to ban contributions from publicutilities. “Monopolies like Dominion or Appa-
lachian Power have an undue influence on thepolitical process. That leads to legislationwhich has a direct cost to Virginia consumers,both residents and small businesses,” Petersensaid.
It looks like the felony threshold will increaseto $500 from $200, an important distinctionchampioned by Petersen and state Sen. ScottSurovell.
While the constitutional amendment to ad-dress voting rights for felons who have servedtheir sentences died in the above action, Gov.Terry McAuliffe should be commended for re-storing the civic rights of more than 128,000Virginians, and his plans to restore rights forany remaining Virginia citizens who lost theirrights. This has been a laborious and worthyprocess, adapted as needed to meet legal chal-lenges and court rulings.
The Pet Connection, a twice-yearly specialedition, will publish the last week of February,and photos and stories of your pets with youand your family should be submitted by Feb.15.
Please tell us a little bit about your creature,identify everyone in the photo, give a briefdescription what is happening in the photo,and include address and phone number (wewill not publish your address or phone num-ber, just your town name).
Email [email protected] or submitonline at www.connectionnewspapers.com/pets.
For advertising information, [email protected] or call 703-778-9431.
Demonstrations at Dulles in reaction totravel ban; fast moving General Assemblylacks transparency; other key issues.
So Much Happening, Don’t Blink
Editorial
ComstockDivided LoyaltiesReappearTo the Editor:
I read with interest the editorialconcerning the federal hiringfreeze (“Not Helping the LocalEconomy,” The Connection, Janu-ary 25-31, 2017). All of our North-ern Virginia delegation to the Con-gress oppose the freeze. That is notsurprising since we have so manyfederal employees in Northern Vir-ginia. Even Republican BarbaraComstock has spoken out againsta “foolish” freeze.
But one wonders the motives ofComstock. Just a few weeks agoshe voted to support the Holmanrule which gives Congress the rightto cut personnel and programs.
Congressmen Beyer and Connollyand Senators Kaine and Warneropposed resurrecting the Holmanrule.
While Comstock has touted heropposition to the freeze, she hasvoted with her party on 8 key votesduring the first week of this con-gress. These votes included Repub-lican drafted rules that make iteasier to reduce the federalworkforce and cut civil servants’salaries.
It is clear that the Republicancontrolled House and Senatealong with President Trump arehostile to government spendingand in many areas are seeking toreduce staff and programs them-selves. Comstock has voted withher party in Congress over 90 per-cent of the time since she took of-fice.
Don’t expect Comstock to aban-don her party. With the Housemajority the Republicans havenow, she has come out on the is-sue of the freeze without jeopar-dizing the Republican objectives.
Northern Virginia needs a Rep-resentative that supports our fed-eral workforce full time, not onlywhen a visible piece of legislationgets in the news.
Arnold GoldsmithMcLean
Letters to the Editor
Evil and SelfishTo the Editor:
Re: “Protesting Vote Suppres-sion”, Letter to the Editor, Jan. 25-31. Congratulations to NancyBlethen, for her accurate descrip-tion, concerning the fallacies, ofGerrymandering. The process isevil and selfish, primarily for per-sonal gain, and should be illegal.Thank you Nancy.
Gerry RosenthalGreat Falls
Write The Connection welcomes views on any public issue.The deadline for all material is noon Friday. Send to:
Letters to the EditorThe Connection
1606 King St., Alexandria VA 22314Call: 703-917-6444.
Oak Hill/Herndon Connection ❖ February 1-7, 2017 ❖ 5www.ConnectionNewspapers.com
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See To Move, Page 7
Wellbeing
By Marilyn Campbell
The Connection
One of the most heart-wrenching decisionsthat Denise Schossler, her two siblings andher 95-year-old mother had to make was
whether or not to move her into an assisted livingfacility, leaving the homewhere she’s lived since1954. Physical limitationsand a need for social inter-action drove the decisionto relocate to the newlyopened Kensington FallsChurch.
“My mother has man-aged to stay in her homeall this time with the helpof an aide who comes ev-ery day, but she realizedthat it just couldn’t con-tinue. One of the mainthings is the isolation and the loneliness,” saidSchossler. “She needs more social interaction thanshe gets alone in her home. She’s someone who’s
had an active social life, but now it’s just televisionand books.”
A dearth of social interaction is one of the factorsthat can lead seniors into assisted living facilities. Infact, a recent study published in the Journal of Ger-ontology shows that seniors living in assisted livingfacilities have fewer unmet needs such as compan-ionship, help with cooking, bathing and doing laun-dry than those who live independently. However, thesurvey of more than 4,000 people over the age of 65shows that even in such retirement communities,unmet needs still exist. To address this challenge,local gerontology experts say that families must de-termine whether a loved one’s needs meet the crite-
ria for assisted living can-didacy and once placed,work to ensure that thoseneeds are being met.
“In counseling familiesmaking this difficult deci-sion, I focus on safety fac-tors for the patient andother family members,”said Maureen Moriarty,D.N.P., assistant professorof nursing at MarymountUniversity in Arlington.“Often cognitive impair-ment is the reason for as-
sisted living. Perhaps memory is affected so the pa-tient can no longer safely drive or remember the steps
Denise Schossler ‘s 95-year-old mother will move into the newly opened KensingtonFalls Church assisted living facility later this month.
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To Move Or Not To MoveLocal family movesmother into newly openedKensington Falls Church.
“She needs more socialinteraction than she getsalone in her home. She’ssomeone who’s had an activesocial life, but now it’s justtelevision and books.”
— Denise Schossler
6 ❖ Oak Hill/Herndon Connection ❖ February 1-7, 2017 www.ConnectionNewspapers.com
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be presented to the State Review Board and the Board of Historic Resources on March 16, 2017 in Fredericksburg,VA. For a copy of the proposal and/or a boundary map, contact
Kenny Lourie is an Advertising Representative forThe Potomac Almanac & The Connection Newspapers.
By KENNETH B. LOURIEThank God! Another three months, (13
weeks actually) of wedded-type bliss until mynext scan scheduled for mid April. Save for fourweeks of pre- and post-chemotherapy-infusionnon-bliss in the interim when the effects of thebefore, during, after treatment will make mefeel less like the person I will otherwise be — forthe nine or so other weeks, I am indeed lucky tobe “stable” and looking forward.
However, I will be off to a bit of a bumpystart as a result of the timing of my most recentchemotherapy infusion and its negative sideeffects coming so soon on the heels of the previ-ous week’s positive scan news. Not that thenegative overwhelms the positive in the slight-est, it’s more that it slows down my progressionfrom feeling abnormal to feeling normal; well, asmuch as one diagnosed and living with a “term-inal” disease, non-small cell lung cancer, stageIV, can. Which, as you regular readers know, I’mgenerally able to do, except when there a blips,and for the next week, I’ll be “blipped.” Havingconsidered the inevitable taste and eating issuesI typically face post infusion, I spoke with anutritionist this past week to see if I’ve beenmissing a boat somewhere. Unfortunately, otherthan remaining well-hydrated, it seems there’svery little I can do other than to endure thepost-chemotherapy weak.
But of course, it’s the big picture (no tumorprogression, no fluid build up) that mattersmost, not the small picture (the pre- and post-scan anxiety and the post-chemotherapy eatingissues). And of course, it’s nothing new. I’vebeen through variations of this routine going onnearly eight years now, since the diagnosticprocess began on Jan. 1, 2009, when I first vis-ited the Emergency Room. Pain in my rib cagehad migrated from one side to the other andsimultaneously I was having difficulty catchingmy breath. Then, even I knew, I needed somemedical attention. Two and a half months laterafter the usual schedule of tests, interpretationsand more tests, I received my diagnosis withwhich you are all so familiar.
Amazingly, life has gone on and fallen into asort of routine. The most recent one, going backapproximately three and a half years, beganwith my first and only hospitalization followedup a month or so later with the beginning of myAlimta infusion. For the most part, the infu-sion/experience has been quite manageable,and according to my oncologist, “great.” So“great,” in fact, that we have been extending theinterval of my infusions from three weeks origi-nally to four weeks to four/five weeks to nowinfusing forward, every five weeks. This will givemy body more time to recuperate between che-motherapy and give me more quality-weeks oflife (always a concern of my oncologist); mini-mizing eating and anxiety issues.
For the moment, we’re keeping the scanschedule to every three months. As to our con-cern about trying to limit the exposure to radia-tion — per scan; as my oncologist sort of joked,it’s the toxins from the chemotherapy that aremore harmful (it’s akin to the line from themovie “Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid”when Paul Newman snickered at RobertRedford’s concern about not being able to swim— should they in fact jump off the cliff into theraging river below, to escape Joe Lefors and theIndian tracker, Lord Baltimore: “Swim? Are youcrazy? The fall will probably kill you.”)
So by the time you all are reading this col-umn, Thursday-ish, I’ll be mostly back to eatingnormally — well, normal for me. It’s a routineI’ve become accustomed to and one with whichI can live, live being the operable word.Certainly not a life without some hardships anddifficulties, but still a life worth living; withsome weeks harder than others; this week cer-tainly being one of them. It won’t be pretty butsoon enough it will have passed with clear sail-ing ahead for the next four weeks until you-know-what.
And So ItBegins — Again EmploymentEmployment
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mistakes that can be made in hissubject and how to avoid them.
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Wellbeing
To Move Or Not To MoveFrom Page 5 Local Resources
❖ Alexandria Area Agency on Aginghttps://www.alexandriava.gov/Aging❖ Fairfax County Area Agency on Agingh t t p : / / w w w . f a i r f a x c o u n t y . g o v / d f s /
olderadultservices/❖ Arlington Aging and Disability Services Divi-
sionhttps://aging-disability.arlingtonva.us/❖ Kensington Falls Church Open HouseFeb. 1, 5 and 22, 4:30 to 7 p.m.700 West Broad St., Falls Church
in carrying out activities of daily livingsuch as cooking, bathing or managementof finances.”
In making this decision, an evaluation byan objective gerontology expert can be nec-essary, says Patrice Winter, DPT, assistantprofessor at George Mason University in theDepartment of Global and CommunityHealth. “They come out and evaluate thehouse and the person as well,” she said.“You have an objective, unemotional per-son instead of an adult child going, ‘Momyou can’t live here anymore.’ and the momsaying, ‘Stay out of my business.’”
Such an evaluation will show that thereare times when a lifestyle adjustment is allthat is needed. “Sometimes they can offersimple solutions that can make hugechanges,” said Winter. “Could it be that theyneed their eyesight and hearing checked?Or the washing machine moved upstairs”so they can do laundry more frequently?
When seeking an evaluation, Winter rec-ommends local social service agencies suchas the Fairfax County Area Agency on Ag-ing. “The issue may not be cognitive, butthe need for a living environment with moresupport may be triggered by physical limi-tations,” added Moriarty. “Perhaps a chronicdegenerative illness such as Parkinson’s Dis-ease has left the patient with physical careneeds beyond the scope of family members.”
Safety can become an issue when familymembers’ physical limitations restrict thequality of care they are able to offer. “Thisopens issues not only to patient safety butalso the family member may be frail or havetheir own physical limitations that limittheir capacity to assist someone who, forinstance, has balance loss,” said Moriarty.“The key assessment as a clinician for me isthat the family no longer has the resourcesto care safely for this individual in a homeenvironment.”
“If there is any question at all, the personshould have a medical evaluation,” addedWinter. “There could be an imbalance in thesystem that could cause changes so a reallygood physical by a geriatric internist wouldbe paramount before any drastic actions aretaken.”
Once a senior has moved into an assistedliving facility, they often need someone toadvocate on their behalf. Regular visits andtelephone calls to both the family memberand the staff are necessary. “You need tomake sure you know what’s going on,” saidThompson, who recently moved her ownmother into an assisted living facility. “It’sOK to be a pest. I communicate with thestaff at my mother’s facility. She complainsto me about things that she won’t complainto the staff about so I have to complain onher behalf.”
Even in the best of facilities, a person’sneeds can be inadvertently overlooked, saysThompson, so a family member’s presenceis necessary. “Walk around, pay attentionto how other residents seem,” she said. “Arethey happy and engaged or are there signsof neglect?”
“Establish a relationship with those pro-viders who will be involved in the care ofyour family member,” added Moriarty. “Be-come part of the team by attending regularteam meetings. Make them aware of yourloved one’s special needs. For example, ifyour family member always had tea in themorning, request that this continues.”
Schossler says that her proximity to theKensington Falls Church will allow her tobe in regular contact with both her motherand the staff.
“My mother has grandchildren and great-grandchildren and we can visit her becausethe Kensington is just a few minutes awayfrom where I live,” she said. “My motherhas already made connections with threepeople who will be there, so she’s lookingforward to moving. We happened to findthe right fit at the right time.”
8 ❖ Oak Hill/Herndon Connection ❖ February 1-7, 2017 www.ConnectionNewspapers.com
By Fallon Forbush
The Connection
The groundhog that liveson the grounds of Fry-ing Pan Farm Park did
not come out of its den for visi-tors on Sunday, Jan. 29. Thenext day, all Fairfax Countypublic schools had a two-hourdelay due to inclement weather.
Whether this is a foreshadow-ing of what Punxsutawney Philwill see on Groundhog Daylater this week is yet to be seen.Nearly 60 parents and childrenvisited the park’s visitor centerto learn about the weather-pre-dicting rodent and the holidaythat celebrates them every Feb.2.
The groundhog, also knownas a woodchuck, whistle pig orland beaver is a rodent of thefamily Sciuridae, John McNair,who works for the Park Author-ity, explained to the gathering.In fact, the animal belongs tothe group of large ground squir-rels known as marmots. Thewhistlepig nickname comesfrom the sound that it makes.
“Groundhogs make a high-pitched, squeaking bird chirpsound,” he said.
The animal eats a diet ofgrasses and vegetables, includ-ing dandelions, berries and gar-den vegetables. They are also
known to eat grubs, he said.McNair said he was certain
that groundhogs at the park eathealthy amounts of blackber-ries off the bushes that can befound on the property.
But what the animal is bestknown for is digging. He toldthe gathering that the holesthey dig are much more thanwhat they seem.
“Groundhogs have rooms justlike our homes do,” he said.
In these burrows are wherethey hibernate for three toseven months out of the year,he said. According to folklore,if a groundhog emerges from itsburrow on Groundhog Day anddoes not see its shadow, thenthe spring season will comeearly. If the groundhog sees itsshadow and retreats back intoits den, then winter weatherwill persist for six more weeks.
Visitors did not see thegroundhog that made the denat the park, but it tends to hangout in the cow field when it isnot hibernating, says FairfaxCounty Park Authority’sRebecca Henenlotter.
She took groups out to seethe opening to the animal’s denand explained how groundhogscan burrow many rooms for itsden as far down as five feet andas wide as 50 feet.
The “R” is capitalized
AnuRa Worden of Centerville and her daughterStella, 4, listen to Rebecca Henenlotter, who worksfor the Fairfax County Park Authority, as she showspeople the groundhog den outside the Frying PanFarm Park Visitor Center.
Looking for GroundhogAt Frying Pan Farm Park
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Send announcements towww.connectionnewspapers.com/Calen-dar/. The deadline is noon on Friday.Photos/artwork encouraged.
SUNDAY/FEB. 5Super Bowl Showdown at
American Tap Room 10 - 3 p.m.1811 Library Street, Reston TownCenter. All You Can Eat Brunch, pre-game tailgate party with drinkfeatures and charity raffle for a prizefrom 4 - 7 p.m. Take-out Wing Platterspecials also available. 703-834-0400americantaproom.com
SATURDAY/FEB. 6Father Daughter Dance. 6:30-9 p.m.
at Herndon Community Center, 814Ferndale Ave, Herndon. A momentfather’s will treasure for the rest oftheir lives and a special night fordaughters. This semi-formal eventwill include an evening of dancing,appetizers, drinks, a photo of thecouple, and a keepsake. Daughtermay be accompanied by an uncle,grandfather, or a male guardian. $50per couple/$25 for each additionaldaughter. www.herndon-va.gov.
TUESDAY/FEB. 7IIIT Lecture “Islam and the
Problem of Slavery” 6:30 - 8 p.m.500 Grove St., Suite 200,Herndon.
Reston Lions Bland Competition.7:30 p.m. Reston Community Centerat Hunter Woods, 2310 Colts NeckRoad, Reston. Sixteen students witha variety of voice, piano andinstrumental talents compete forawards on the local club level and foropportunities to advance to Regional,District and State finals. Participationand concert admissions are free.restonlions.org
WEDNESDAY/FEB. 8Fracking “What’s the Fuss? 7:15-
9:00 p.m. Reston Community Centerin Hunters Woods, Room 3, 2310Colts Neck Road, Reston. Where is ittaking place in Virginia, and whatshould we do about it? Join RestonLWV members as they continue atwo–month study of thisenvironmental issue currently beingexamined both nationally and inVirginia. Learn the facts about whatis happening in Virginia, whether weshould be concerned, and what weshould do about it. Cost: Free. 703-471-6364 www.lwv-fairfax.org
SATURDAY/FEB. 112017 Virginia Polar Dip Registration
at noon Plunge at 2 p.m. RestonCommunity Center, Lake AnneVillage Center, Reston. With thestrength of an event such as the 2017Virginia Polar Dip and the resourcesof Camp Sunshine, the goal is to raisein excess of $100,000 in 2017. Thatis enough to send 40 families fromthe Mid-Atlantic area (including VA/MD/DC/DE/PA/WV/NC) to attendCamp Sunshine. All participants whoraise at least $100 will receive ahighly coveted “I DID IT” event tshirt.csun.convio.net
Pre-Valentine Cooking Class at IlFornaio 11 - 1 p.m. Il Fornaio,11990 Market Street, Reston TownCenter. Join us for our first men-onlycooking class. Our chef will instructyou in an easy-to-prepare gourmetValentine’s Day dinner for yourspecial someone at home. Recipes,shopping list, wine pairing and handytips will be provided. $75.Facebook.com/IlFornaioRestonReservations:[email protected] or 703-437-5544
Handmade Valentine CardWorkshop at GRACE 9:30 - 11a.m. Greater Reston Arts Center,
12001 Market Street, #103, RestonTown Center. Using punches,origami, and stamping techniques,create a one-of-a-kind Valentine forsomeone special! Sign up the wholefamily for this fun workshop led byGRACE staff. Note: Parents will needto assist children with the creation ofcards, and children must beaccompanied by a participating adult.Adults may come on their own anddo not need to be accompanied by achild. Facebook.com/GreaterRestonArtsCenter Registrationrequired. 703-471-9242restonarts.org
Parthenon Huxley at ARTSSPACEHERNDON 7 - 9 p.m. AlternateRock Singer and Songwriter. Huxleyhas released nine albums of criticallyacclaimed, award-winning music.Huxley will be accompanied by theprodigiously talented violinist BenHoyt of Baltimore’s Peabody Schoolof Music. Come out for thisValentines themed performance.http://events.r20.constantcontact.com/register/event?oeidk=a07edp4z65t17e09d76&llr=uhpd6pcab
ONGOINGAll-comers’ Group Fun Run at
Potomac River Running.Tuesdays and Thursdays. RestonTown Center, 11900 Market Street,Reston. For beginners or competitiverunners, come out for a fun, low-keyrun that is safe and social. For moreinformation, call 703-689-0999https://potomacriverrunning.com.
Over-40 Softball League. A Fairfax-based league is looking for enoughplayers to form another team. Playersmust be at last 40 years of age to beeligible. All games are doubleheaders -played on Sundays at Bready Park inHerndon between 11 a.m. and 6 p.m.If interested, [email protected] for moreinformation.
“A Bird in the Hand” through spring2017 Reston Town Square Park,11990 Market Street, Reston TownCenter. See and explore PatrickDougherty’s monumental public artsculpture made from tree saplings.Presented by GRACE in collaborationwith IPAR. 703-471-9242restonarts.org
Calendar
On Saturday, Feb. 4, from 6:30 - 9 p.m. the HerndonCommunity Center will host a Father Daughter Dance. Amoment father’s will treasure for the rest of their livesand a special night for daughters. This semi-formalevent will include an evening of dancing, appetizers,drinks, a photo of the couple, and a keepsake. Daughtermay be accompanied by an uncle, grandfather, or a maleguardian. $50 per couple. The Herndon CommunityCenter is located at 814 Ferndale Ave, Herndon.www.herndon-va.gov.
