December 25, 2014 Mount Vernon’s Hometown Newspaper • A Connection Newspaper Attention Postmaster: Time-sensitive material. Requested in home 12/26/14 PRSRT STD U.S. Postage PAID Alexandria, VA Permit #482 See Santa Remembers, Page 5 See Former, Page 4 See Fuller, Page 18 By Veronica Bruno The Gazette C hristmas is a little tough sometimes,” said Edward Smith, recalling his daughter, Kimberly Smith Aimes. She was 23 when she was killed by a drunk driver over 10 years ago. “Everyone’s there, but to us, there’s still a void,” he said while talking about how much he misses her during the holi- days. The tragedy was even more devastating considering that she had been three months pregnant at the time. “It would have been our first grandchild.” The drunk driver ran through six stop signs before hitting and killing Kimberly. “To us, it’s like it happened yesterday,” he added. To keep her memory alive, he kept in touch with Kimberly’s friends. Many of them still lived around the corner from him in Beachwood, NJ. His niece and nephew also live there and they have children of their own. He decided to surprise all the chil- dren at their family Christmas party and dress up as Santa for the children about six years ago. On his way back, he would stop by his daughter’s friends’ houses afterwards. “I started going to her friends’ houses who had children of their own, just to visit,” he recalled. “I would do Santa for their kids. It was just fun to do.” Playing Santa took on greater meaning when seeing Kimberly’s friends have families of their own, thinking of how things might have been. “I was inspired by seeing them with their children. It made a connection to me with Kimberly.” His other daughter, Kathy, resides in Alexandria with her family. They have three children now, ranging from ages 2 to 7. The oldest, Lillian, graduated from St. Aidan’s pre-school and the middle child, Caroline, still attends. For the past few years, Smith has been the Santa at the St. Aidan’s Santa’s Workshop. He’s happy they haven’t figured out that it’s their granddad that’s behind the red suit. “They all still believe in Santa,” he said. Smith also performs at Kathy’s house on Christ- mas Eve. It gets a little complicated surprising his grandchildren since he’s also staying there for the holidays. “I have to sneak around the back” in order to make the surprise “Santa” visit. “I really enjoy it.” When asked what he looks forward to the most about performing the role, Smith said, “The expression on the kids’ faces, seeing them so excited.” He also added, “getting out of that hot Santa suit.” Since he’s been playing the role for a while now, he also has some standard techniques that he employs. “I start by asking what their name is. I always assure them that they’re on my good list.” Santa Remembers His Daughter Edward Smith brings smiles to children’s faces during a trying time during the holidays. Ed Smith with his grandchildren Caroline, Lillian and Michael at St. Aidan’s Santa’s Workshop event last Christmas. “ “It made a connection to me with Kimberly.” — Edward Smith, Santa portrayer in speaking about his daughter Photo by Veronica Bruno /The Connection By Andrea Worker The Gazette M ost keynote speakers are used to a bit of fidgeting from the au- dience about 20 minutes into their spiel. Just goes to show the level of interest both the topic and the speaker generated when after al- most two hours, the hosts of the Northern Virginian Association of Realtors (NVAR) Year-End Eco- nomic Review with Dr. Stephen Fuller basically called the session “a wrap” to convince the attend- ees that the included lunch awaited them. Fuller brings quite the collection of credentials to the role: Ph.D., Dwight Schar faculty chair and university professor and director, Fuller Forecasts: ‘Slightly Better 2015’ Realtors association hosts year-end economic update. Stephen Fuller from George Mason University held the stage for almost two hours at the Northern Virginia Association of Realtors (NVAR) Year-End Economic Review. Fuller spoke to the issues that shaped 2014, as well as predictions for the coming year, and beyond. By Andrea Worker /The Gazette By Gerald A.Fill The Gazette W arren Ira Cikins, former Mount Vernon District Supervisor and John F. Kennedy White House staffer, died Dec. 13 at Fairfax Inova Hospital with his wife and two sons at his bedside. He died of complications following emergency spine sur- gery resulting from a fall down a flight of steps during a vacation at Lake Anna to celebrate Thanksgiv- ing and his 50 th wedding anniver- sary with his wife and family. According to his son and family spokesman Dean Cikins, his father embodied the idealism and service to others that inspired millions of Americans during the ‘60s, and what President Kennedy said in his inaugural address challenge to the American people to “ask not what your country can do for you — ask what you can do for your coun- try.” Recalling Warren Cikins Former Mount Vernon supervisor dies. Warren Ira Cikins
Transcript
Mount Vernon Gazette ❖ December 25-31, 2014 ❖ 1www.ConnectionNewspapers.com
December 25, 2014Mount Vernon’s Hometown Newspaper • A Connection Newspaper
Attention
Postmaster:
Time-sensitive
material.
Requested in home
12/26/14
PRSRT STD
U.S. Postage
PAID
Alexandria, VA
Permit #482
See Santa Remembers, Page 5
See Former, Page 4
See Fuller, Page 18
By Veronica Bruno
The Gazette
Christmas is a littletough sometimes,”said EdwardSmith, recalling his
daughter, Kimberly SmithAimes. She was 23 when shewas killed by a drunk driverover 10 years ago.
“Everyone’s there, but to us,there’s still a void,” he saidwhile talking about how muchhe misses her during the holi-days. The tragedy was evenmore devastating consideringthat she had been three monthspregnant at the time. “It wouldhave been our first grandchild.”The drunk driver ran throughsix stop signs before hitting andkilling Kimberly. “To us, it’s likeit happened yesterday,” headded.
To keep her memory alive, hekept in touch with Kimberly’sfriends. Many of them still livedaround the corner from him inBeachwood, NJ. His niece andnephew also live there and theyhave children of their own. Hedecided to surprise all the chil-dren at their family Christmasparty and dress up as Santa forthe children about six yearsago. On his way back, he wouldstop by his daughter’s friends’houses afterwards.
“I started going to her friends’houses who had children oftheir own, just to visit,” he recalled. “I would doSanta for their kids. It was just fun to do.” PlayingSanta took on greater meaning when seeingKimberly’s friends have families of their own,thinking of how things might have been. “I wasinspired by seeing them with their children. Itmade a connection to mewith Kimberly.”
His other daughter, Kathy,resides in Alexandria withher family. They have threechildren now, ranging fromages 2 to 7. The oldest,Lillian, graduated from St.Aidan’s pre-school and themiddle child, Caroline, still attends. For the pastfew years, Smith has been the Santa at the St.Aidan’s Santa’s Workshop. He’s happy they haven’tfigured out that it’s their granddad that’s behindthe red suit. “They all still believe in Santa,” he
said.Smith also performs at Kathy’s house on Christ-
mas Eve. It gets a little complicated surprising hisgrandchildren since he’s also staying there for theholidays. “I have to sneak around the back” inorder to make the surprise “Santa” visit. “I really
enjoy it.”When asked what he looks
forward to the most aboutperforming the role, Smithsaid, “The expression on thekids’ faces, seeing them soexcited.” He also added,“getting out of that hotSanta suit.”
Since he’s been playing the role for a while now,he also has some standard techniques that heemploys. “I start by asking what their name is. Ialways assure them that they’re on my good list.”
Santa Remembers His DaughterEdward Smith brings smiles to children’s facesduring a trying time during the holidays.
Ed Smith with his grandchildren Caroline, Lillian andMichael at St. Aidan’s Santa’s Workshop event lastChristmas.
“
“It made a connectionto me with Kimberly.”— Edward Smith, Santa portrayer
in speaking about his daughter
Pho
to
by Vero
nica Bruno
/T
he C
on
nectio
n
By Andrea Worker
The Gazette
Most keynote speakersare used to a bit offidgeting from the au-
dience about 20 minutes into theirspiel. Just goes to show the levelof interest both the topic and thespeaker generated when after al-most two hours, the hosts of theNorthern Virginian Association ofRealtors (NVAR) Year-End Eco-nomic Review with Dr. StephenFuller basically called the session“a wrap” to convince the attend-ees that the included lunchawaited them.
Fuller brings quite the collectionof credentials to the role: Ph.D.,Dwight Schar faculty chair anduniversity professor and director,
Fuller Forecasts:‘Slightly Better 2015’Realtors association hostsyear-end economic update.
Stephen Fuller from GeorgeMason University held thestage for almost two hoursat the Northern VirginiaAssociation of Realtors(NVAR) Year-End EconomicReview. Fuller spoke to theissues that shaped 2014, aswell as predictions for thecoming year, and beyond.
By A
ndrea W
orker/T
he G
azette
By Gerald A.Fill
The Gazette
Warren Ira Cikins, formerMount Vernon DistrictSupervisor and John F.
Kennedy White House staffer, diedDec. 13 at Fairfax Inova Hospitalwith his wife and two sons at hisbedside. He died of complicationsfollowing emergency spine sur-gery resulting from a fall down aflight of steps during a vacation atLake Anna to celebrate Thanksgiv-ing and his 50th wedding anniver-sary with his wife and family.
According to his son and family
spokesman Dean Cikins, his fatherembodied the idealism and serviceto others that inspired millions ofAmericans during the ‘60s, andwhat President Kennedy said in hisinaugural address challenge to theAmerican people to “ask not whatyour country can do for you — askwhat you can do for your coun-try.”
Groveton Elementary School’s new principal, Jim Swoger, welcomes everyone to the Winter Concert on Tuesday, Dec. 16. The gym was filled withparents, ready to listen to their children perform.
Groveton Elementary Presents Winter Concert
Strings Teacher, Sarah Geiger, and her Advanced Strings Students,perform “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas.”
Members of the Combined Chorus have fun performing the last song ofthe Winter Concert, “Mele Kalikimaka.”
Band teacher David Davis conducts his 5th Grade Trom-bone Students, who are playing their chosen excerpt from“Frosty the Snowman.” The students began playing inOctober and only have an hour a week to learn. Eachgroup was allowed to choose their own song, learnedthrough memorization.
As the chorus memberstook their places, DavidDavis entertained thecrowd with his solo rendi-tion of “Winter Wonder-land.”
Longtime Chorus Teacher, Kate Hart, lead the 5th GradeChorus who performed “Winter Wonderland.”
Photos by
Renée Ruggles
The Gazette
4 ❖ Mount Vernon Gazette ❖ December 25-31, 2014 www.ConnectionNewspapers.com
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News
Former Mount Vernon Supervisor Warren Cikins DiesFrom Page 1
Warren Ira Cikins, surrounded by his family.
Warren IraCikins
Warren IraCikins, 83
❖ Born and raised in Bos-ton, Mass.
❖ Parents: Anna andHarry Cikins
❖ Married to SylviaAcitelli, 50 years.
❖ Be is survived by hiswife, two sons Dean andNeil; daughters in law An-drea and Traci; three grandchildren: Maya, Emmeand Tori.
❖ Education: Bachelor’s degree, Harvard Col-lege; Master’s degree in political science, HarvardCollege Littauer Center (Kennedy School of Gov-ernment)
❖ Member and one of the founders of TempleRodef Shalom, Falls Church, Va.
❖ Expressions of sympathy in lieu of flowers:please donate to a charity of your choice.
❖ Published author: “In Search of MiddleGround; Memoirs of a Washington Insider,” 2005
❖ A memorial service was held at the TempleRodef Shalom on Dec. 17, 2014. He was buried atthe Ivy Hill Cemetery, Alexandria. A celebration ofhis life is planned in the spring of 2015.
“Dad walked the walk,” Dean Cikins said.“He lived by what he aspired to, by reach-ing out and asking others to work togetherto make our country a better place for allAmericans. … He often said that he wantedto make a difference and always meant touse public service as his chosen career.”
Cikins’ philosophy is reflected in his pub-lished personal memoir entitled, “In Searchof Middle Ground,” which he discussed ina Nov. 21, 2013 Mount Vernon Gazette in-terview in connection with the 50th anni-versary of the assassination of PresidentJohn F. Kennedy. In that interview he said:“Seeking middle ground has been my man-tra throughout my professional career andpersonal life.” A Reform Jew, Cikins servedas a legislative aide to former U.S. Rep.Brooks Hays (D –Ark.), a Southern Baptist,who fought against school segregation inArkansas in 1957 that eventually cost himhis seat in Congress. Several years later,when Kennedy was elected President,heasked Hays to join his Administration.Cikins rejoined Hays in the Kennedy WhiteHouse where they continued their civilrights work to help lay the groundwork forthe eventual passage of the Civil Rights Actof 1964, and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
At the local government level Cikins wastwice elected from the Mount Vernon Dis-trict to the Fairfax County Board of Super-visors; first a one-year term to complete theunexpired term of Herb Harris who waselected to Congress, and then reelected toa four-year term. Among his local govern-ment accomplishments he played a criticallyimportant role in establishing the MountVernon Recreation Center. Cikins did notseek a third term. He joined the not forprofit Brookings Institution “think tank”organization in Washington, D.C., andstayed for 15 years as a senior administra-tor. Among other responsibilities atBrookings he worked with Chief JusticeWarren Burger in developing an annualconference to debate and formulate pro-posed federal judicial improvements, in-cluding prison reforms such as work-releaseprograms. According to his family the closeworking relationship with Justice Burgerand what was accomplished through theannual conferences was a highlight of
Cikins’ career. In more recent years he par-ticipated as a volunteer on a citizens’ taskforce that developed the justification to pre-vent the Mount Vernon Hospital from be-ing closed. He also found time to teach po-litical science at several local colleges.
Friends and former colleagues reflectedon Warren Cikins:
Sharon Bulova, Chairman, Fairfax CountyBoard of Supervisors: “On behalf of ourboard I would like to express appreciationand gratitude for Warren Cikins’ service tothe residents of Fairfax County. He has beena real bedrock in our community. My heartgoes out to the family, and I know he willbe sincerely missed by all who knew him.”
Jim Lutzweiler, Southern Baptist archivistfor the late U.S. Rep. Brooks Hays: “ Whatdrew me, a southern Baptist, to WarrenCikins, a reformed Jew, was his passion forjustice. From the first conversation manyyears ago justice was a continuous themein our conversations. He never left homewithout it. He got that passion from theprophet Micah. His life was one long at-tempt to achieve the utopian world for allof men on earth. Warren was indeed aPrince of Peace through his relentless pur-suit of justice and fair play.”
Dr. Cleve Francis, cardiologist, MountVernon: “I knew him for many years as botha patient and dear friend. He was a wiseman, brilliant, good family man and a dedi-cated public servant. From a medical pointof view he never intended to die; he diedunexpectedly of post surgical complicationsfollowing an accident. He died with dignity.His image for me as a continuously en-gaged, positive, good and decent man willforever have a place in my heart.”
Donald Santarelli, former Deputy Attor-ney General of the U.S.: “Warren was thegodfather of important prison reforms in-
cluding the establishment of work-releaseprograms and the development of prisonindustries. Warren served in all threebranches of the federal government as wellas an elected local government official.Those experiences uniquely qualified himto understand the making of public policyas well as the compromises required. … Yetthat never dimmed the principles and vigorthat underpinned his pursuit of the ideal.”
Rabbi Laszlo Berkowits, Temple RodefShalom: “Warren Cikins was a happy war-rior for social justice and the fulfillment ofthe American promise.”
Email announcements to [email protected]. Include date, time, location,description and contact for event: phone, emailand/or website. Photos and artwork welcome.Deadline is Thursday at noon, at least two weeksbefore event.
Dec. 12-Thursday, Jan. 1. Washington-metropolitan area residents celebrating withalcohol may call the toll-free SoberRidephone number 1–800–200–TAXI and be
afforded a no-cost (up to $ 30 fare), safe wayhome. Since 1993, WRAP’s SoberRideprogram has provided 61,002 free cab rideshome to would-be drunk drivers in theGreater Washington area. Visitwww.soberride.com.
SATURDAY/JAN. 10Office Hours. Fairfax County School Board
Member Dan Storck will host Saturday officehours. Members of the community areinvited to stop by to ask questions or to
See Bulletin Board, Page 5
Bulletin Board
Mount Vernon Gazette ❖ December 25-31, 2014 ❖ 5www.ConnectionNewspapers.com
www.RexReiley.com1300 Lafayette Dr. #200Alexandria, VA 22308
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in your home purchase and sale.Rex’s business is built on referrals,and repeatedly his clients pay their
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Mt. Vernon is Rex’s hometown. He movedhere in l960 when his father, an Air Force
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News
From Page 1
Santa Remembers His Daughter
Kimberly Smith Ames, Ed Smith’s daugh-ter, was killed by a drunk driver in 1998.She was three months pregnant at thetime.
Pho
to
co
urtesy o
f Ed Sm
ith
Knowing the latest electrical gadgets can also be achallenge. Smith may not know every electronic toythat the youngsters ask for. “I sometimes have to givepat answers” when confronted with unfamiliar toyrequests. He’s also moved by the many Santa lettershe’s received over the years from children. “I’ve savedmany of them.”
But the Santa experiences he especially remem-bers around this time are with Kimberly’s friends andtheir children. He recalled a memory of going to seethe Rockettes at Radio City Music Hall. His wife Carolwon tickets to the show two years in a row. The yearbefore, Kimberly had gone with her. The year shedied, they still had tickets. Smith decided to go withCarol this time. During the performance, he remem-bered the part when Santa was on stage and he washolding his list of names that he would get the toysfor. He was sitting with his wife and the Santa onstage said, “Oh, we missed one.” He picked up a
single letter and said, “It’s from Kimberly.”With a father’s tears in his eyes, he said, “It was as
Air Force Airman 1st Class KomlaW. Ahligo graduated from basic mili-tary training at Joint Base SanAntonio-Lackland, San Antonio, Texas.Ahligo earned distinction as an honorgraduate. He is the brother of WillieCollins of Alexandria. The airman is a2014 graduate of Annandale HighSchool.
U.S. Air National Guard Airman 1stClass Daniel Lewis graduated frombasic military training at Joint Base SanAntonio-Lackland, San Antonio, Texas.Lewis earned distinction as an honorgraduate.
He is the son of Richard and KathyLewis of Alexandria; and the brother ofMatthew Lewis of Chantilly, and of KatieLuong of South Riding. He is also the
grandson of Joyce Lewis of Belmont,N.C., and of Joan and Ralph Kuhnel ofOcean Isle, N.C. The airman graduatedin 2008 from Mount Vernon HighSchool.
Air Force Airman Ana J. Espinalgraduated from basic military trainingat Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, SanAntonio, Texas. Espinal is the cousin ofVanessa B. Mendez of Alexandria.
Air Force Airman 1st Class Steven S.Klinger graduated from basic militarytraining at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, San Antonio, Texas. Klinger isthe son of Steven S. Klinger of Ohatchee,Ala. and Deborah L. Reed of Alexandria.
He is a 2008 graduate of Exeter HighSchool, Exeter, N.H. He earned an asso-ciate degree in 2012 from Great BayCommunity College, Portsmouth, N.H.
Airman first class Philip Bryant has
graduated from the Basic Air Force Pho-tojournalist Course at the DefenseInformation School, Fort George G.Meade, Md. This course trains selectedenlisted personnel in the principles,techniques and skills required to per-form the duties and functions of publicaffairs specialists. Bryant is the son ofGina Bryant of Bristow, Va. He gradu-ated in 2009 from Mount Vernon HighSchool and he earned a bachelor’s de-gree in 2013 from Radford University(Radford, Va.).
Air Force Airman Bradley M. Bill-ings graduated from basic militarytraining at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, San Antonio, Texas. Airmenwho complete basic training earn fourcredits toward an associate in appliedscience degree through the CommunityCollege of the Air Force. Billings is a2011 graduate of Mount Vernon HighSchool.
Military Notes
Storck SchedulesOffice Hours
Fairfax County School Boardmember Dan Storck will host Sat-urday Community Office Hours inJanuary 2015, and February 2015,as noted below:
❖ Saturday, Jan. 10, 2015, at theLorton Library Conference Room,from 10:00 a.m. to noon.
❖ Saturday, Jan. 10, 2015, at theSherwood Regional Library, Con-ference Room 3, from 12:30-2:30p.m.
❖ Saturday, Feb. 14, 2015, at theLorton Library Conference Room,from 10:00 a.m. to noon.
❖ Saturday, Feb. 14, 2015, at theSherwood Regional Library, Confer-ence Room 3, from 12:30 - 2:30 p.m.
Members of the community areinvited to stop by to ask questionsor to discuss concerns, no appoint-ment necessary. Those with ques-tions about the community officehours should contact Dan Storckat [email protected] or his as-sistant Mary Ellen Hook atmehook@fcps,.edu. See Bulletin Board, Page 20
❖ 10 a.m.-noon at Lorton Library, 9520Richmond Highway, Lorton, in theConference Room.
❖ 12:30-2:30 p.m. at the SherwoodRegional Library, 2501 SherwoodHall Lane, Alexandria, in ConferenceRoom 3.
SUNDAY/JAN. 11School Open House. 2-4 p.m. at
Burgundy Farm Country Day School,3700 Burgundy Road, Alexandria.School serves pre-kindergarten to 8thgrade. Call 703-329-6968 to RSVP orschedule a personal tour. Visitwww.burgundyfarm.org for more.
a.m.-noon at Mason Neck NationalWildlife Refuge and State Park. Joinan introduction to winter waterfowlidentification, in preparation for theannual ASNV Waterfowl Count. Dressfor an outdoor field trip/bird walk.Bring binoculars and a scope ifavailable; leader will have a scopeand waterfowl identification guides.Meet at the Woodmarsh Trail parkinglot on High Point Road. Directions:
from Route 1 in Lorton, take GunstonRd east. Turn right on High PointRoad (toward Mason Neck StatePark) to parking lot for theWoodmarsh Trail on the left. Free;advance registration required. Visitwww.audubonva.org to register.
SATURDAY/FEB. 14Office Hours. Fairfax County School
Board Member Dan Storck will hostSaturday office hours. Members ofthe community are invited to stop byto ask questions or to discussconcerns, no appointment necessary.Contact Dan Storck [email protected] or his assistantMary Ellen Hook [email protected]
❖ 10 a.m.-noon at Lorton Library, 9520Richmond Highway, Lorton, in theConference Room.
❖ 12:30-2:30 p.m. at the SherwoodRegional Library, 2501 SherwoodHall Lane, Alexandria, in ConferenceRoom 3.
VOLUNTEERS NEEDEDMount Vernon At Home is a non-
profit organization that relies onvolunteer time to assist older adultsaging in place in their homes.Volunteers are needed for localtransportation to medical andpersonal appointments, errands, and
Bulletin Board
From Page 4
6 ❖ Mount Vernon Gazette ❖ December 25-31, 2014 www.ConnectionNewspapers.com
By Martin Tillett
The anthrosphere has altered andnegatively impacted our watersheds by increasing the one wayflow of energy and the cycling
of material through the downward move-ment of matter by gravity and the watercycle to the Potomac estuary. We are harm-
ing the river by increasing thelevel of nutrients and toxicchemicals that are able to reachit through the infrastructure of
When Europeans first settled here, ourwatersheds held abundant life surroundedby a periphery of marshes and lands cov-ered by a climax forest ecosystem. The na-tive peoples lived in small villages and sur-vival required harvesting resources from theland, marshes, water and subsistence farm-ing where small areas of forest were burnedand slashed away to grow crops until thesoil nutrients played out and abandoningthe site to undergo reforestation. Thebiodiversity of habitats, species and geneticinheritance over thousands of years of co-evolution enabling organism interactions inthis system had created a functioning andhealthy set of ecosystems that exhibited adynamic stability.
The function, health and stability of thatsystem declined after the arrival of Europe-ans and African slaves. Clearing forests tobuild shelter and create agricultural landfor food, and a cash crop (tobacco) to startan economy was the first step in disruptingthe forces of gravity and running water nolonger moderated by surrounding forests.Trees had been the regulator of the watercycle, minimizing the effect of moving wa-ter and diminishing the flow of nutrientsand sediments from the land. These forcesdrive erosion and shut down seaports bysilting in their harbors.
The changes were treated as insignificantas they impacted small areas. By the mid-
19th century, changes in transport substi-tuted for water conveyance. Land transportinitiated changes in living patterns previ-ously dictated by the need to live near thewaterways for travel and trade. Towns andcities expanded and grew beyond the limi-tations of being linked to water. Late 19thand 20th century development patterns arereflective of this change leading to a reli-ance on transportation innovations culmi-nating with an automobile-dependent so-ciety.
The anthrosphere of roads, storm sewers,sidewalks, housing, shopping centers,schools, businesses, warehouses and park-ing lots is the template upon which our so-ciety is built and operates. Much of this is arequired component of a site developmentproposal by developers. For much of the20th century there were few regulations ofthis design beyond ensuring that stormwater did not flood the streets of our com-munities. Infrastructure only had to carryaway storm water through a storm sewersystem that would capture and direct therunoff to the nearest stream.
A storm sewer system is different fromthe sanitary sewer originating at homes andbusinesses. Water from such sites enters aclosed pipe system that moves the waterfrom our kitchens, bathrooms and laundryto a waste water facility. There it receivescombined biological and chemical treat-ment to ensure that it is clean and free ofnutrients before reentering the watershed.Storm water originating on your roof top,sidewalks, roads and parking lots goes intoa storm sewer in your neighborhood thatflows to the nearest stream. That water hasnutrients like lawn fertilizers. Pet wastesfrom streets and chemical toxins from roadand parking lot surfaces enter storm sew-ers to local streams and to the PotomacRiver.
Infrastructure increases the volume offlow during rain events into streams. In-creased volume undercuts the banks anddestabilizes surrounding trees by removingthe soil around roots. Trees fall into thestream bed creating blockages to migratoryfish. Development in some areas has led toa degree of imperviousness that the watervolume overwhelms the infrastructure ca-pacity to carry the water and floodingthreatens property as happens in the Hun-tington neighborhood along Cameron Run.
By the end of the 20th century our localwatersheds were impaired. Around the
same time, the new science of biodiversitywas gaining recognition. The disciplineteaches that as diversity disappears, ecosys-tems become weakened and inefficient thusthreatening the health and maintenance ofall life including ours. A Fairfax CountyStream Assessment study based on biologi-cal diversity showed many impaired streamsin Fairfax County with those in the MountVernon District being among the worst. Ourwatersheds are imperiled because the im-pact of the anthrosphere on the environ-ment was not only interfering with thestructural components of the ecosystem butthese interferences are jeopardizing thebiodiversity of the ecosystem with the pre-cipitous decline of many species of plantsand animals.
Some state, national and internationalgoverning authorities have responded withresearch and development leading to newtechnologies. These engineered solutionsuse a pretreatment process for storm waterrunoff from impervious areas before allow-ing the water to reenter the watershed.Ideas for cleaning the water before reen-tering our watersheds are a form of bio- andgeo-mimicry where engineers replicatestructures that were in the natural habitatsthat have been declining for the past fourcenturies. They function in much the sameway as the original forests surrounding ourwatersheds where they acted as controlmechanisms to soak up water and to holdmaterials, sediments and nutrients. Theycome in a variety of forms and applications.
The larger, most common forms are bio-retention ponds which capture and fill withstorm water during rain events. Suspendedsediments and particulate matter settle outbefore releasing water back into a nearbystream. Some ponds are designed as wetponds and maintain a constant level ofwater and eventually have emergent andsubmerged aquatic plants growing in themproviding habitat for animal species. Oth-ers are dry ponds where water is drained ina few days and the pond area composed oflow growing grasses and plants dries out.
Rain gardens are another form ofbioretention. Storm water is directed to adepression area that is filled with absorbentsoil and mulch and is planted with a varietyof native moisture loving plants. They workwell when it rains within a normal range ofprecipitation and can generally hold thewater that comes into them. The plants liv-ing in the rain garden use the water forgrowth and transpire the water back intothe atmosphere. The garden contains over-flow valves if runoff from nearby surfacesexceeds a volume greater than the reten-tion capacity of the garden. The excess wa-ter is directed to a drainage swale or stormsewer flowing into a bio-retention pond.
Green roof technologies are aesthetic andfunctional systems that trap water duringrain events of an inch or less. Plants on thegreen roof are a type that can withstandextremes in temperature and drought witha low growing habit requiring little care.They grow in a thin layer of combined soiland other absorbent media. The roof keepsthe water from becoming runoff and con-trols the volume that would drain from theroof to a storm sewer.
Individually, none of these systems alonewill resolve the crisis. The technologies aredesigned to work in conjunction with oneanother. Combined on a development sitewith a high degree of imperviousness, thesetechnologies can perform many of the eco-logical services that are missing due to thefractured habitats we have within our wa-tersheds. They can lessen the impact of theanthrosphere on nature.
Part 7 will conclude the seriesin January.
The author is a Mount Vernon resident since 1981.A retired science educator from Prince George’s CountyPublic Schools, he taught K-12 science at the HowardB. Owens Science Center in Greenbelt, Md., as well ascommunity college, university and adult educationclasses in natural history, physical geology, ecology andenvironmental science.
Sorting through thevariety of efforts to fixhuman impact onrivers and streams.
The Origin of Mount Vernon Watersheds
Nature
Richmond Highway approaching Kings Crossing: A sea of asphalt andconcrete where storm water drains into storm sewers that enterQuander Brook behind the shopping center.
Severe erosion on the banks of Quander Brook below the storm wateroutfall from Richmond Highway and the acres of asphalt parking lots.
Storm water outfall behind KingsCrossing Center: Storm water fromU.S. Route 1 and surroundingparking lots carries automobiletoxins into Quander Brook.
Part 6
Mount Vernon Gazette ❖ December 25-31, 2014 ❖ 7www.ConnectionNewspapers.com
8 ❖ Mount Vernon Gazette ❖ December 25-31, 2014 www.ConnectionNewspapers.com
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A Connection Newspaper483days since a still-unnamed Fairfax Countypolice officer shot unarmed John Geerstanding in the doorway of Geer’s home inSpringfield, then let him bleed to death onAug. 29, 2013. No information has been re-leased about the incident, officers involvednot named, no explanation, no grand jury,no charges. (as of Dec. 10, 2014)
By Jeff Stewart
I would like to begin by saying that I havealways and still do support the police as awhole. I appreciate the job that they do
and the risks they take on a daily basis in aneffort to keep the public safe. The ongoingpolicy in Fairfax County of police self-investi-gation, when officers are involved in possiblecrimes, has to change.
I am willing to bet that all of you have heardof Michael Brown and Ferguson Missouri? Howmany of you have heard of John Geer? Prob-ably not near as many. I would like to share astory about another life taken by police. It hap-pened right here in Fairfax County over 15months ago.
On Aug. 29, 2013 I witnessed the homicideof my best friend of over 25 years by a stillunidentified Fairfax County police officer. Latethat morning John had found out that his part-ner of 24 years and mother of his two childrenwas moving out. John became distraught andbegan to throw some of her property in thefront yard. One of John’s daughters called theirmom and she immediately came home fromwork. After a heated discussion the police werecalled. John kissed his daughters and sent themto a neighbor’s house. Nobody was in the homewith John when police arrived. I arrived shortlyafter the police to find several officers on thescene. Two officers were holding John at gun-point as he stood in the doorway of his hometalking calmly with his empty hands restingon top of the storm door. John, feeling he hadcommitted no crime, refused the officers’ or-ders to come outside. The police were told thatJohn owned firearms and reportedly he hadexpressed a willingness to use those firearmsif the police tried to enter his home without awarrant. After around 40 minutes of what ap-peared to be calm conversation, John began
and immediately collapsed on the floor lessthan 5 feet from the door.
This tragedy only gets worse. John lay justinside the door reportedly yelling for help.Despite his pleas for help, the officers on scenestood outside and did nothing while waitingfor SWAT to arrive. The SWAT team enteredan hour later to find that John had bled todeath. It should be noted that the patrol offic-ers on the scene had an entry shield and couldhave entered the house to rescue John withminimal risk yet chose to do nothing.
After 15 months, no officer has beenidentified, no charges have been filed,no grand jury has been convened and noreason has been given to the family orthe public. In fact the Fairfax County Po-lice Department, up until a recent legalaction filed by the Federal Justice Depart-ment, had refused to provide requestedinformation to anyone including the Vir-ginia State Attorney. The attorneys forthe Geer family have filed 127 requestsfor documents and in response, 122 ob-jections have been filed by the county.Despite the incredible lack of coopera-tion from the Police Department, localcounty officials, the State Attorney Gen-eral and the Governor have remained si-lent. It took over one year for FairfaxCounty supervisors to write a gentlyworded letter requesting that the case beresolved.
The case was turned over to federalprosecutors last January. The FBI con-ducted interviews in March. Still, no in-formation has been released to the pub-lic and no resolution has been achieved.It has taken recent involvement from U.S.Sen. Grassley of the Senate Judicial Com-mittee and legal action by Federal pros-
Do Fairfax County Police Act with Impunity?
See Failure, Page 9
to lower his hands almost deliberately slow,with his clearly empty palms pressed againstthe screen. I thought for a second that this con-frontation was ending and John was comingout of the home. When John’s empty handswere about even with his face, he was shotonce in the chest from less than 20 feet. Johnhad made no quick or aggressive moves of anykind and appeared to be no threat to police, toothers or to himself. John quickly hunchedover, grabbed his wound and retreated into thehouse. He pushed the door shut as he retreated
Opinion
Merry Christmas. It’s a magicaltime of year, and perhaps Connection Newspapers has overindulged in displaying the
many rituals of Christmas on our pages in thepast few weeks. In events around the area, asense of community has infused holiday pa-rades, Christmas tree lightings, menorahlightings, choral performances, singing of car-ols and other traditional events with warmthand joy.
But Christmas is about the birth ofJesus Christ. Whether you believe theChristmas story literally or in spirit, youknow it is the story of joy, hope andlove, the promise of redemption. So here, letus share the verse from the Bible, Luke 2: 4-19:
“So Joseph also went up from the town ofNazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem thetown of David, because he belonged to thehouse and line of David. He went there to reg-ister with Mary, who was pledged to be mar-ried to him and was expecting a child. Whilethey were there, the time came for the baby tobe born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a
son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed himin a manger, because there was no room forthem in the inn.
“And there were shepherds living out in thefields nearby, keeping watch over their flocksat night. An angel of the Lord appeared tothem, and the glory of the Lord shone aroundthem, and they were terrified. But the angelsaid to them, ‘Do not be afraid. I bring yougood news of great joy that will be for all thepeople. Today in the town of David a Savior
has been born to you; he is Christ theLord. This will be a sign to you: Youwill find a baby wrapped in cloths andlying in a manger.’ Suddenly a great
company of the heavenly host appeared withthe angel, praising God and saying, ‘Glory toGod in the highest, and on earth peace to menon whom his favor rests.’
“When the angels had left them and goneinto heaven, the shepherds said to one another,‘Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing thathas happened, which the Lord has told usabout.’ So they hurried off and found Mary andJoseph, and the baby, who was lying in themanger. When they had seen him, they spread
the word concerning what had been told themabout this child, and all who heard it wereamazed at what the shepherds said to them.But Mary treasured up all these things andpondered them in her heart.”
Happy HanukkahHappy Hanukkah, which lasts for eight days
and this year began Tuesday evening. WhileHanukkah is not one of the most importantJewish religious observances, it is a celebra-tion that gets added attention from timing.Hanukkah celebrates the miracle of a one daysupply of oil for the temple lasting eight days.
Editor’s Note about the Rest of 2014This is our last regular edition of 2014. Next
week, after Christmas, we will publish thechildren’s edition, devoted entirely to the art-work and writing of local students. Our nextregular editions will publish Jan. 7-8, 2015, withdeadline for content and advertising of Jan. 2.
Mount Vernon Gazette ❖ December 25-31, 2014 ❖ 9www.ConnectionNewspapers.com
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ecutors to get the Fairfax County Police De-partment to only recently provide the re-quested information, information thatshould have been made public a year ago.It would appear that this police departmentdoes not feel compelled to answer to anyVirginia or federal official. This has tochange. The family, friends and the publichave yet to be told anything about John’sdeath.
When possible crimes have been commit-ted by police officers such as policeshootings, nobody investigates the case butthe police. There are no independent over-sight procedures of any kind. Fairfax Countysupervisors endorse this policy and alongwith the Police Department, have rejected
From Page 8
Failure of Self-InvestigationOpinion
every attempt to create any kind of inde-pendent oversight procedures. It should benoted that the Fairfax County supervisorshire the police chief. They also control themoney dedicated to the department. Thispolicy of self-investigation, no oversight andthe inevitable obstruction that occurs as aresult will continue until the public de-mands better from its elected officials.
To date, no officer in the 75-year historyof the Fairfax County Police Department hasever been charged in a wrongful shooting.These include the deaths of John Geer andat least two other unarmed citizens since2006, all shot by police under questionablecircumstances.
Jeff Stewart, a Chantilly resident, witnessed theshooting of his friend John Geer on Aug. 29, 2013.
To the Editor:I have read the stream of letters support-
ing a civilian review board for our FairfaxCounty Police Department. I wholeheart-edly support this, since I believe it will
help improve communication and trustbetween the police and the community, asit has in other jurisdictions where reviewboards have been established.
I would also advocate for the prompt as-signment of an independent special pros-ecutor in the case of any civilian killed by
the police. As we have seen in the Garnercase in Staten Island and, closer to home,the John Geer case in Springfield, local pros-ecutors have a symbiotic working relation-ship with the police which makes it diffi-cult — and
perhaps impossible — for them to objec-tively pursue the truth in police killings. Thepublic and the police will best be served bya fair and thorough inquiry.
Louis MeyersAlexandria
Need Special Independent ProsecutorLetter to the Editor
10 ❖ Mount Vernon Gazette ❖ December 25-31, 2014 Mount Vernon Gazette ❖ December 25-31, 2014 ❖ 11www.ConnectionNewspapers.com www.ConnectionNewspapers.com
432
1
8
96
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Sources: Fairfax County Public Schools,Washington Area Boards of Education, Texas Tribune
1 1986-1991: Elementary School Teacher,Yoakum, Texas (1,539 students, 38% white and50% Latino and spends about $8,000 per pupil).
2 July 1991-1994: Education Specialist, RegionIII Education Service Center, Victoria, Texas.Victoria ISD has 13,680 students and spendsabout $7,500 per pupil annually.
3 July 1994-July 1996: Principal, East SideElementary School grades 5-6, PalaciosIndependent School District (ISD), Palacios,Texas (1,508 students, $10,269 per student, 68%economically disadvantaged).
4 July 1996-July 1997: Curriculum SupervisorK-12, El Campo ISD, El Campo, Texas (3,465students, $9,735 per student, 67% economicallydisadvantaged).
5 July 1997-July 1999: Associate ExecutiveDirector for Governmental Relations, TexasAssociation of SchoolAdministrators.
6 July 1999-October 2002:Executive Directorfor Curriculum, StaffDevelopment, andAccountability, Katy ISD,Katy, Texas (58,444students, $7,740 per student,29% disadvantaged).
7 October 2002-August 2004: AssociateExecutive Director for Governmental Relations,Texas Association of School Administrators.
8 August 2004-June 2005: DeputySuperintendent, Corpus Christi ISD, CorpusChristi, Texas (38,041 students, spends $8,240,68% disadvantaged).
9 June 2005-July 2009: Chief AcademicOfficer, Houston ISD, Houston, Texas. (200,944students, $9,231 per student, 80%disadvantaged).
10 July 2009-June 2013: Superintendent ofSchools, Lubbock ISD, Lubbock, Texas (28,476students, $8,163 per student, 62%disadvantaged).
The Road to Fairfax CountyA timeline of Superintendent Karen Garza’s career in education.
11 July 2013-present: FairfaxCounty Public SchoolsSuperintendent. Fairfax CountyPublic Schools (186,785 students,$16,880 per student, 26.4% free/reduced price meal eligible).
View from TexasIn Houston
“When I hired Karen in 2005,” former Superin-tendent of Houston Independent School District(HISD) Dr. Abelardo Saavedra said, “the position ofchief academic officer had been open severalmonths. I went looking for her. I’d never met her butI’d heard about her. There is a big difference be-tween a mid-sized district and a larger one; thedynamics are completely different. I was taking arisk because she came from a mid-sized one of about40,000 in Corpus Christi, and ours was much big-ger. She adjusted very quickly.”
As Chief Academic Officer, Garza was responsiblefor the educational programming and the academicperformance of 200,000 students and the adminis-tration of 300 schools. Saavedra said one of theirmost lasting accomplishments at HISD was the Per-
formance Pay initiative. “I had decided we’d do this,but honestly, I had no idea how to do it. OrdinarilyI’d put it under HR but they weren’t moving fastenough. Karen quickly took ownership. Of course Ididn’t have to ask Karen to take ownership,” he saidlaughing. “This thing wasn’t moving and shestepped up to the plate. It was tied to academics,so she figured she could do it as well as the HR folkscould, and she did. That program continues todayand is why Houston did so well. “
Saavedra was referring to the district’s educa-tional improvement and performance managementmodel, called ASPIRE (Accelerating StudentProgress. Increasing Results and Expectations). TheASPIRE program paid over 18,000 teachers andinstructional staff more than $70 million in perfor-mance bonuses over three years based on theacademic improvement of children.
After Garza’s first year, the average reading scoresof HISD students on the SAT test increased fivepoints while the Texas and national averages fell.
Saavedra noted that one of the most unusualthings about Garza was her relationship with theHouston Chief Financial Officer Melinda Garrett.”Usually in those jobs,” Saavedra said, “there aresilos formed between the financial folks and the aca-demic folks. Not between Garza and Garrett. Theybecame good friends and worked together to makepositive changes happen.”
Garrett confirmed Garza’s achievements: “People inTexas miss her but realize Texas’ loss is Virginia’s gain.They were all happy she got this majorsuperintendent’s job. It is something she really wantedand deserved. She will be great for Fairfax. She is notafraid to make decisions. She always has her hand onthe pulse of the people she is working with.”
Garrett noted that she and Garza shared the samebackground as school teachers; that love of work-ing with children is something they both brought totheir work in funding schools and making sound de-cisions for school districts.
In LubbockAs Lubbock’s Independent School District’s super-
intendent, a job Garza held for four years beforecoming to Fairfax, her accomplishments includeimplementing a standardized curriculum for the29,000-student district, focus on student achievement,and financial stability. She left LISD with the largestfund balance they had ever had and worked throughsome hard times with state funding, getting gains forteachers, students, and taxpayers. Garza helped leadthe effort to win voter approval of a $198 million bondin 2010, the largest bond in the district’s history. As
Lubbock superintendent, Garza narrowed the achieve-ment gap, increased the graduation rate and helpedreduce the number of students who drop out.
Linda DeLeon, a Fairfax County resident who hadserved as a school board member in Lubbock, wasdelighted to see Garza come to Fairfax.
She was asked by someone to attend one ofGarza’s early public hearings in Fairfax. When hername was announced to the group, Garza lifted herhead and gave DeLeon a big smile: “Well, here isLinda, someone I knew from Lubbock.” DeLeon hadbeen a school board member for 18 years in Lub-bock under five different superintendents (but notduring Garza’s tenure) and had kept track of thethings Garza did while there.
She was impressed: “Karen Garza was up to thechallenge. What made her positive was she waswilling to sit with groups of people and have discus-
sions. Decisions were made that were very tough,but she never wavered from being able to sit downwith a group even if they were against the decisionsshe was looking to move forward with.”
DeLeon said Garza made positive changes in Lub-bock. One was to consolidate schools. “Closing theschools was the hardest issue for her. So many par-ents came to these hearings, and complained thatclosing schools was not right, that the school wasthe nucleus of the neighborhood. But Garza workedwith them until you could see a transformation fromthose parents. It’s true that now the kids have to goa little further, but what they did made it possiblefor 2-3 teachers to teach a 3rd grade class. Theycoordinated, they worked together, and they did amuch better job serving the needs of the kids. Youcould also actually see the gap close between mi-nority and ‘anglo’ kids.”
BioKAREN GARZACurrent Position:
Fairfax CountyPublic SchoolsSuperintendent
Salary: $265,000Age: 51Hometown: Canyon,
TexasSpouse: Louis GarzaChildren: Four, grownEducation: Ph.D., University of Texas-Austin, May
2002; M.Ed., University of Houston-Victoria, May1994; B.S., University of Houston-Victoria, 1986.
Facts about FCPS❖ 196 schools❖ Employs 23,447 people❖ Teaches 183, 895 students❖ Receives 52.4% of the county budget ($1,768.5 million)❖ Spends $13,472 dollars per student❖ Educates more students in trailers than total enrollment
of Alexandria City Public Schools
To Learn More❖ www.fccpta.org❖ www.fcps.edu❖ www.fcft.org❖ www.boarddocs.com/vsba/
Fairfax/Board.nsf/Public❖ www.greatschools.org
Superintendent Karen Garza begins and endsher Listening Tour meetings with a plea to thosein the room — parents, teachers, employees,unions — to help her achieve what needs to bedone for their school system.
“I am going to need your help,” she says toaudiences who voice concerns about class size,resources for special education, and teacher sala-ries.
Garza says she hopes to have a lot morepeople engaged during the budget process thisspring. “Come and testify. Talk with your Boardof Supervisors at those meetings. It’s usuallyfilled with folks. But we need a lot more parentsand advocates for our public schools to be in thatroom.”
Garza explains: “We grow by 17-20 studentsevery single day. We have grown by 20,000 stu-dents in six years. This is a huge strain on ourbudget. We spend $25 million a year to supportnew students. We aren’t happy with teacher sala-ries. We need to help people in our areaunderstand our budget. Help us as we enter thisnext budget year.”
“Read our ‘Citizens Guide’,” says Garza.“There’s lots of good information in there to helppeople understand how the system works andhow they can help. This year it includes a sec-tion on why your year-end balance ends up
being what it is. The more we can get people toread that document, the more people will followhow the system works and make solid inputs. “
“We need to get more business and commu-nity leaders to understand: Poverty is growing,our county is definitely changing. We startedsome outreach this year with our superintendentround-tables.”
The president of the Fairfax County Councilof PTAs, Debbie Kilpatrick, underlined the needfor more community involvement: “Karen Garzacannot do this on her own. Parents need to getmore involved so they know what they can doto support Garza and their schools. They shouldlook at the websites, come to PTA meetings,know what the issues are and vote on them. Canshe get smaller classrooms achieved? If she saysit, she will do it. But she will need help.”
Steven Greenburg, president of FairfaxCounty Federation of Teachers, echoed Garza’splea. “Do we know as a group of people, as av-erage citizens living in Fairfax County, how totake action? If this community sees value ineducation then voters have to make their viewsknown. Karen Garza won’t get what she wantswithout more involvement by the community,”Greenburg said. “People will have to reach outto public officials and let them know where thevoters stand.”
Schools Need Community’s Help
Graphics by
Laurence Foong/
The Gazette
By Tim Peterson
& Eden Brown
The Gazette
Karen Garza is a good listener. Andonce she’s listened, she is, admit-tedly, not very patient.
“If there’s a real issue, I don’tthink it has to be debated for 10 or 15 years,”Garza said in an interview. “Either we’regoing to do something about it or not.”
In May and June 2014, less than 12months after taking the helm as superinten-dent of Fairfax County Public Schools, Garzaand her staff hosted eight community meet-ings on the topic of later start times for highschools. According to FCPS, 1,000 peopleparticipated in person, another 2,000weighed in online.
By October, the School Board voted in fa-vor of changing the start times, somethingit had been considering for years but neverpushed forward. For the 2015-2016 schoolyear, all county high schools will start classesbetween 8 a.m. and 8:10 a.m.
Another entrenched issue: moving fromhalf-day Mondays at elementary schools tofull-days. The half-day weekly teacher workperiod dated back to the 1970s.
“Once we identified we really have an is-sue here, we don’t have enough time builtinto our elementary schedules, I met withthe team and I said, ‘Can we get this done?’”said Garza. “These are the reasons why weneed to change it, our timeline is aggres-sive, but can we get it done? And they said,‘Yes we can.’”
The School Board broke with 40 years ofhalf-day Mondays with a vote in June 2014.The change went into effect at the begin-ning of September.
“She looked at these with a new eye andwas very eager to move on them,” said RyanMcElveen, an at-large School Board mem-ber who was part of the group that hiredGarza, “so we could get on with dealing withother issues.”
McElveen said Garza’s face-time at addi-tional “listening tours,” meetings she’s beenhosting around the county since she cameto Fairfax from Lubbock, Texas in July 2013,have helped re-establish critical communityties.
“Under the previous superintendent,”McElveen said, “there were perceptions theboard and the central office had precipi-
tously been removed from the viewpoint andperspective of the community. That was keyin our hiring of Karen. We were looking forsomeone who could bring the communityback into the fold.”
FORMER FCPS Superintendent DanielDomenech still lives in Fairfax County, andhis perspective differs somewhat fromMcElveen. “It didn’t seem to me there was adistance with [Garza’s predecessor] JackDale,” he said. “I always felt that Fairfax asa school system was very responsive to thecommunity, very much in tune with what’sgoing on.”
The two menagree that com-munity involve-ment is crucial tomoving the schoolsystem forward.In a county of180,000 studentsthat’s growing by17 a day (accord-ing to Garza), that’s a lot of parents with alot of voices to listen to.
Debbie Kilpatrick, vice president of mem-bership with Virginia PTA, is impressed sofar with Garza being “inclusive” and having“contagious high energy.”
“She has a schedule not many peoplecould keep up with and she really doesn’tsay no to anyone who wants her time,” saidKilpatrick. “On the contrary, she says, ‘No, Iwant to listen.’”
Tina Hone, a School Board member from2007 to 2011 and founder of the advocacygroup Coalition of the Silence, disagreedwith Garza over her first budget proposalfor the county.
“We had a little crossing of swords,” saidHone. “What I really respect about Karen: Ipublicly made a statement, then she calledme. I looked at the phone, pulled it awayfrom my head and looked at it again. I wasblown away by that.”
Hone sees Garza in stark contrast to pre-vious FCPS leadership that exhibited “very
much an effort tocontrol ratherthan respond.”She cited the con-troversial closingof Clifton Elemen-tary School inJune 2011, whenshe said the boarddid little to consult
with the public first.“There was this sense there were mem-
bers of the School Board who said they don’twant to meet with people who disagreedwith them,” she said.
“It takes courage to be a problem-solver,”
Karen Garza’s vision: the irresistible force movingthe immovable object of Fairfax County Public Schools?
Profile
How Does She Do It?schools.
“It’s my view that to better align a largesystem, you have to narrow the number ofpeople at the highest levels making the de-cisions,” Garza said. “I can create stronger,better alignment with five people than I canwith eight people.”
One of Garza’s hires was Marty Smith aschief of staff, to whom she delegated the leadrole on full-day Mondays. Smith was previ-ously the superintendent of Cluster 1.
“He understands and knows the system,”said Garza. “He knows the players, the rightpeople to bring to the table to get it done.And he’s a good listener, which I appreci-ate.”
“The biggest thing with Dr Garza is trust,”said Smith. “She places a lot in the individu-als who work for her. While I carried outher vision, she was able to really build con-sensus with the board in terms of an indi-vidual approach. She didmuch of the same with teacherand principal associations.”
Even with a streamlined andrealigned support team, “Ob-viously Dr. Garza is the CEOfor them to execute the vi-sion,” said Moon. To be a pas-sionate captain of the ship,Garza is motivated by her lifelong love ofschools and learning. She started her careeras an elementary school teacher, aspiring tobe like her father, a college English profes-sor.
“I love being in classrooms, and I’mamazed at how gifted our students are,” saidGarza. “I’m very mindful of the fact that wehave such an opportunity for a positive im-pact on students’ lives. I try to never losesight of the fact not only are you setting stu-dents up for success at that next level, butin many cases making a memory. Make it apositive one.”
Hone said the teacher in Garza is appar-ent and one key to her current success. “Ev-erything she does, it’s how a teacher ap-proaches things,” Hone said. “It’s clear, ex-plained, pulling people in instead of tellingthem what to do. That dictatorship thingdoesn’t work. There’s always someone run-
Hone continued, “to try to turn the shipagainst the tide, with courage and grace toget this stuff done.”
That courage, grace and increased inputfrom the community are helping Garza gettraction on the issues she prioritizes with theSchool Board, still in its honeymoon phasewith Garza.
“We are all happy with her, the boardmembers,” said at-large member IlryongMoon. “I can say that with confidence. Wemade a right decision bringing her to Fairfax.She’s been helping the members to look atissues in a certain perspective that we oth-erwise wouldn’t have an opportunity to takeadvantage of.”
BUT GARZA is not a one-woman show, andshe attributes her accomplishments in partto the cabinet and administrative structureshe realigned within her first year. Unlikemost new superintendents, Garza broughtzero staff with her from the Lone Star State.Instead, she spent her first fall and winterassessing the team she inherited, before re-organizing in the spring.
Garza nixed the old eight-cluster admin-istration group in favor of five regions andsplit the department of Professional Learn-ing and Accountability roles among otherdepartments. This eliminated five staff po-sitions and saved $637,000, according toJohn Torre, public information officer for the
ning a rebellion.”Garza will be tested when she and the
board tackle the $63.9 million deficit sheprojected for FY2016 — and it gets worsein FY2017.
“She is such a good diplomat and every-one likes her,” said Fairfax County Federa-
tion of Teachers PresidentSteven Greenburg. “But thereis an expectation on the partof some stakeholders that shewill generate revenue andhold county or state officialsaccountable for the decisionsthey take. The only thing thatwould limit what she wants to
accomplish is lack of funds.”If she can manage the funds, Garza has a
Texas-sized list of goals for the county.
New Fairfax County Public SchoolsSuperintendent Karen Garza speaksto parents and teachers at SunriseValley Elementary School Monday,Oct. 28, 2013.
Dr. Karen Garza, incoming FCPSSuperintendent and Dr. DanielDomenech, former FCPS Superin-tendent, both in robes at BryantAlternative School graduation, June13, 2013, where Domenech was thegraduation speaker.
Senior Robyn Smith explains Active Minds while Lindsay Laiks, RachelChalkley, Karen Garza and Kim Dockery listen at a March 2014 assemblyat Woodson High School. More than 1,100 people gathered for comfortand advice in the aftermath of two student deaths.
Superintendent KarenGarza shares a momentwith Debbie Kilpatrick,president of FairfaxCounty Council of PTAsat the Listening Tour onDec. 6.
Photo by
Eden Brown/
The Gazette
Pho
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Among them are making the compensationfor teachers more competitive with nearbyjurisdictions, developing a strategic plan forredesigning the curriculum to be moreproject- and problem solving-based, reduc-ing class size, bringing technology to morestudents and doubling the availability of Pre-Kindergarten to qualifying students.
To address the funding, another priorityis mobilizing support from businesses in theschool system’s communities. Garza said theFCPS Foundation, under a new yet-to-be-named executive director, will drive supportfrom that relatively untapped resource.
“I’m hoping we’re able to garner a lotmore support from our business commu-nity,” she said, “at least in those areas thatcan help us be more innovative with tech-nology education.”
12 ❖ Mount Vernon Gazette ❖ December 25-31, 2014 www.ConnectionNewspapers.com
Entertainment
By Jeanne Theismann
The Gazette
The largest New Year’s Eve fire-works display in the Washing-ton region will take place alongthe Alexandria waterfront as
First Night Alexandria celebrates its 20th
anniversary with a day filled with children’sactivities, dancing and live performances.
“The First Night board began brainstorm-ing new ideas in March and we’re pleasedto introduce the #FNA20th Instagram Con-test,’” said First Night executive director AnnDorman. “It’s another way for participantsto engage with us and be eligible to wincash prizes.”
What began 20 years ago as a small, fam-ily-friendly event has grown into the pre-mier New Year’s Eve celebration in the areaattracting tens of thousands of visitors tothe streets of Old Town.
The festivities begin at 2 p.m. with thesixth annual Fun Hunt, which will featurenew activities for couples and families. Fi-nalists in the student Battle of the Bandscompetition will be featured throughout theevening, along with more than 100 perfor-mances at 22 venues in Old Town and onein Del Ray.
“The Mount Vernon Recreation Center isonce again a venue for children’s activities,”
Dorman said. “First Night has turned into afun-filled all-day event with participationby many retail shops, museums and restau-rants.”
Additional daytime activities range fromtasting events to interactive art lessons andpet-friendly gatherings hosted by the Ani-mal Welfare League of Alexandria. Return-ing kid-friendly activities are presented bythe Torpedo Factory Art Center, The ArtLeague, the Alexandria Archaeology Mu-seum and Hooray for Books!
Live performances kick off at 7 p.m. fea-turing rhythm and blues, traditional Irishmusic, acoustic folk and more. New actsinclude the vocals of Virginia nativeKatherine Archer and 2nd Story Band Duo,performing a world blend of jazzy blues,pop rock, Caribbean and Samba rhythms.
Children’s activities continue throughoutthe night, including face painting, a moonbounce, clowns doing balloon sculpturesand interactive games. New this year,children’s performer Groovy Nate will bringhis unique blend of music, movement, pup-pet skits and comedy to First Night, and theOld Fashioned Carnival in Del Ray will fea-ture a ring toss, fortune teller, line dancingand more.
“We’re excited about the Instagram chal-lenge ‘Extraordinary Exposures,’” Dormansaid. “This ‘selfie’ contest is open to every-one that purchases an admission badge andattends First Night Alexandria’s eveningperformances. Details and information onthe cash prizes is available on our website.”
THE GRAND FINALE takes place at mid-night, with a spectacular fireworks displayover the Potomac River. Volunteers for theevent are still being accepted. Visitwww.firstnightalexandria.org and click onGet Involved. All volunteers receive freeadmission, a box dinner and a First Nightapron to keep.
Countdown to 2015Fireworks to culminate 20th anniversary ofAlexnadria’s First Night celebrations.
Fireworks will light up the sky over the Potomac River to ring in 2015 aspart of First Night Alexandria.
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Acclaimed saxophonist Vaughn Ambrose will returnto perform at the Principle Gallery as part of FirstNight Alexandria.
If You Are GoingWHAT: First Night AlexandriaWHERE: Event: 22 venues in Old Town Alexandria
Headquarters: Durant Arts Center, 1605 Cameron St.Fireworks Finale: Unit block of King Street and alongthe waterfront
DATE: December 31, 2014TIME: Afternoon activities: 2-5 p.m. including Sixth Annual
Fun HuntPerformances: 7 p.m.-midnight at venues throughoutOld TownFireworks: Midnight along the Potomac River at thefoot of King Street
ADMISSION: $20; children 12 and under and active militaryfree.For more information and to purchase badges, call 703-746-3301or visit www.firstnightalexandria.org.
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Madeleine Quill, 11, and CarmenRivera, 7, pose for a photo withFirst Night Alexandria mascotProfessor Arts Safari following lastyear’s Fun Hunt.
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“As First Night Alexandria celebrates its20th anniversary, we want to thank the in-credible long-time sponsors that have madethis event possible,” Dorman added. “They
include the City ofAlexandria, Domin-ion Power, the Alex-andria Hotel Asso-
ciation, ACVA, LCOR, Burke & HerbertBank, Virginia Paving and our media spon-sors.”
For more information and a completeschedule of events, call 703-746-3301 orvisit www.FirstNightAlexandria.org. Ticketsare $20. Admission is free to children un-der 12 and active duty military.
Mount Vernon Gazette ❖ December 25-31, 2014 ❖ 13www.ConnectionNewspapers.com
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Email announcements to [email protected]. Include date,time, location, description and contact forevent: phone, email and/or website. Pho-tos and artwork welcome. Deadline isThursday at noon, at least two weeks be-fore event.
ONGOINGMiddle School Artists. Art display by
George Washington Middle Schoolstudents, at St.Elmo’s Coffee Pub,2300 Mount Vernon Ave.,Alexandria. Working in peer groups,the students created a writtenexplanation of their intent toaccompany the display. Visitwww.stelmoscoffeepub.com.
Mount Vernon Virtual Tour.Website users can now transportthemselves to George Washington’sMount Vernon in a click of a mouseor touch of a screen through a newvirtual tour. Featuring 29, 360-degree panoramic images, more than200 points of interest, and dozens ofin-depth videos highlightingarchitectural details, objects andanecdotes, the tour recreates theexperience of being at the estate inan unparalleled way.www.mountvernon.org/virtualtour
Tavern Toddlers. Weekly openplaytime continues every Mondaythroughout holiday season. 10:30-11:30 a.m. Gadsby’s Tavern Museum,North Royal Street, Alexandria.Caregivers, toddlers (walkers through3 years) and visiting relatives arewelcome to play, read, dance andcolor in the historic ballroom. Noreservations required. Each weekcosts $7 for a group of three, whichmust include one adult, andadditional people are $3. A three-visit pass costs $18. On Monday, Feb.
16 Tavern Toddlers will be closeddue to President’s Day.www.gadsbystavern.org or 703-746-4242
Broadway Christmas Carol. Runsthrough Dec. 28 at MetroStage, 1201N. Royal St. Enjoy the showWednesday-Thursday, 8 p.m.,Fridays, 8 p.m., Saturdays, 3 p.m.and 8 p.m, and Sundays, 3 p.m. and7 p.m. Tickets are $50. Visitwww.metrostage.org for more.
Art Exhibit. Through Jan. 2 at 1717King St. and 300 S. Washington St.BB&T Bank hosts an exhibition ofportraits of African American andwomen Living Legends of Alexandriaat its Old Town branches. Monday-Thursday 9 a.m- 5 p.m. and Fridays 9a.m.-6 p.m. Visitwww.AlexandriaLegends.com. formore.
“Friend Me” Exhibit. ThroughMonday, Jan. 5. Opening receptionThursday Dec. 11, 6:30-8 p.m. TheArt League Gallery, Studio 21, 105North Union St., Alexandria. JewelerWhitney Staiger melds together herfriends’ public avatar with an aspectof their private selves on herhandmade brass cameos in a soloexhibit. www.theartleague.org 703-683-1780.
Christmas in Mount Vernon.Through Tuesday, Jan. 6, 9 a.m.-4p.m. at 3200 Mount VernonMemorial Highway, Mount Vernon.Mount Vernon decks the halls withthemed Christmas trees on the estateand festive greenery in the Mansion.Visit www.mountvernon.org/christmas for more.
Painting by John Trumbull. 9 a.m.-4 p.m. through Jan. 7. at MountVernon, 3200 Mount VernonMemorial Highway. On loan from theWinterthur Museum, this portraitwas painted by Washington’s former
aide-de-camp as a gift to MarthaWashington in 1790. Regularadmission rates: adults, $18; seniorcitizens, $16; children age 6-11,when accompanied by an adult, $9;and children under age 5, free. VisitMountVernon.org for more.
“Beyond the Board” Art Exhibit.Through Feb. 22. Prudential PenFedRealty, 4900 Seminary Road,Alexandria. Del Ray Artisans’presents “Beyond the Board.” Aportion of artists’ sales go to the
PenFed Foundation, supportingactive military families, veterans andtheir families. Visitwww.thedelrayartisans.org/shows/gww/ for more.
New Exhibit. Mount Vernon invitesvisitors to explore GeorgeWashington’s design for the groundsof his estate, through a newexhibition, “Gardens & Groves:George Washington’s Landscape” atMount Vernon through Jan. 12,2016. Gardens & Groves is the firstmuseum exhibition to focus
specifically on Washington’slandmark achievements as alandscape designer combining rarely-seen original documents, artwork,and books with period garden tools,landscape photography, and a scalemodel of the Mount Vernon estate.Included in admission $18/adult;$17/senior citizen; $9/child age 6-11; children under 5 are free. Visitwww.mountvernon.org for more.
Alexandria Cars & Coffee invites carenthusiasts to meet for coffee atHollin Hall Shopping Center in frontof Roseina’s, 1307 Shenandoah Road.Owners of classic cars, hot rods,exotic cars, motorcycles and moremeet to share car stories and drinkcoffee. Group meets the first Sundayof every month. 8:30-11 a.m.
George Washington’s MountVernon has joined ThomasJefferson’s Monticello and JamesMadison’s Montpelier to expand the“Presidents Passport,” Virginia’spremier presidential trail. As anadded bonus to this year’s program,visitors to the Alexandria VisitorsCenter at 221 King St. showing orpurchasing a ticket to any of thethree presidential estates will, uponrequest, receive for free Alexandria’s“Key to the City” pass, which grantsaccess into nine historic sites andmuseums in Alexandria-a $26 addedvalue. Visitwww.PresPassport.Monticello.org formore.
Fifty Years of Collecting. Tuesday-Saturday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Sundaysnoon to 5 p.m. Fort Ward Museum4301 West Braddock Road. Ananniversary exhibit of objects fromthe Fort Ward collection. Free. Visitwww.fortward.org or call 703-746-4848.
Dinner for the Washingtons. Noonat George Washington’s Mount
Food & Drink
“Reveillon de Noel” Christmas Eve Dinner. At Bastille, 1201 N. RoyalSt., Alexandria. Chefs Christophe and Michelle Poteaux will serve a four-course prix fixe feast, with wine pairings upon request. Menu highlightsinclude lobster bisque with poached oysters; pan-roasted foie gras; tartareof Skuna Bay salmon; grass-fed Angus beef filet roasted whole in saltcrust; Hudson Valley Moullard duck breast; and a chocolate hazelnut“Buche de Noel” with cranberry ice cream. $85 per person, exclusive oftaxes and gratuities. Call 703-519-3776 for more.
“Reveillon de la Saint Sylvestre” New Year’s Eve Dinner. AtBastille, 1201 N. Royal St., Alexandria. The first seating from 5-6:30 p.m.is a three-course prix fixe for $79, exclusive of taxes and gratuities, withwine pairings upon request. After the market surprise amuse bouche,guests will enjoy menu highlights including butternut squash risotto andparmesan broth; braised lobster in a curried coconut emulsion; bacon-wrapped rabbit loin; and coconut cake with caramelized pumpkin butterand curry ice cream. Taking things to the next level with the secondseating from 8-10 p.m., guests will enjoy a four-course prix fixe for $99, or$139 with wine pairings, exclusive of taxes and gratuities. After themarket surprise amuse bouche, guests may choose from dishes includingsteak tartare; seared foie gras; sautéed Wild Turbot filet; and roastedspiced pineapple marmalade almond cake. Call 703-519-3776 for more.
Old Town Farmers Market. 7 a.m.-noon, Saturdays year round. Localfarmers and artists have been selling products there since 1753. Located atMarket Square, 301 King St. Call 703-746-3200 or [email protected].
Del Ray Farmers Market. 8 a.m.-noon, Saturdays year round. Featuresfresh vegetables and fruits in season, meats, eggs, fresh pasta and sauces,Amish cheese, yogurt, bakery goods and more. Located at the corner ofEast Oxford and Mount Vernon avenues. [email protected] for more.
Entertainment
14 ❖ Mount Vernon Gazette ❖ December 25-31, 2014 www.ConnectionNewspapers.com
www.RoyalRestaurantVA.comExp. 12/31/14
Join La Bergerie as wecelebrate featuring aStrolling Violinist.
Christmas Eve 3-Course Dinner for $69New Year's Eve 4-Course Dinner for $99
Reserve now. Both evenings 5-10 p.m.
218 N. Lee Street703-683-1007 • www.labergerie.com
Vernon, 3200 Mount VernonMemorial Highway. A walking tourthat goes behind the scenes to findout how food was prepared andserved before the era of microwavesand TV dinners. $5 in addition toestate admission. Visitwww.mountvernon.org/ for more.
Second Thursday Music.Athenaeum, 201 Prince St. 7 pm.Second Thursday of every month.Visit nvfaa.org to view concertcalendar and listen to upcomingSecond Thursday Music artists.
The Monday Morning Birdwalk hasbeen a weekly event at HuntleyMeadows since 1985. It takes placeevery week, rain or shine (exceptduring electrical storms, strongwinds, or icy trails), at 7 a.m. (8 a.m.November through March), is free ofcharge, requires no reservation, andis open to all. Birders meet in theparking lot at the park’s entrance at3701 Lockheed Blvd. Direct questionsto Park staff during normal businesshours at 703-768-2525.
CAMPS, CLASSES & WORKSHOPSTavern Toddlers. Every Monday
(except Federal Holidays) 10:30-11:30 a.m. Gadsby’s Tavern Museum,134 North Royal Street, Alexandria.Join other families with toddlers(walkers through 36 months) to havefun in Gadsby’s historic ballroom.Playtime features a craft table, bookcorner, toys and group dancing. $7for a group of three. Visitwww.alexandria.gov/gadsbystavernor call 703-746-4242.
Photography Workshop. 10:30 a.m.-noon at Multiple Exposures Galleryon 105 N. Union St. Photographersand enthusiasts of all skill levels areinvited to share work, ideas, andquestions at this free workshop heldon the last Sunday of each month,except December. No reservations.Call 703-683-2205.
Life Drawing. Del Ray Artisans offers arange of open life drawing sessionsfor anyone to develop life-drawingskills further. Just drop-in for thesession and bring your supplies todraw or paint our live models. Feeranges from $8-$12. All skill levelsare welcome. Del Ray Artisans islocated at 2704 Mount Vernon Ave.Visit www.TheDelRayArtisans.org fora schedule.
DECEMBERTree Sale. Weekends through
December, 9 a.m.-6 p.m. at St.Aidan’s Episcopal Church, 8531Riverside Road, Alexandria. Enjoymusic, warm drinks and cookies bythe fire, while surrounded by frasierfir trees. Sales benefit of communityoutreach programs and local schools.Choose to have 10 percent of the saleamount go to St. Aidan’s Day Schoolor a local, public elementary school.St Aidan’s Episcopal Church, 8531Riverside Road, Alexandria. Visitwww.staidansepiscopal.com formore.
Alexandria’s Holiday Market. At at300 John Carlyle St., Alexandria.Vendors will sell traditionalEuropean food, sweets and drinkscombined with art and craft vendorsto create a European holiday marketshopping experience. The event alsofeatures the Holiday Sharing - ToyDrive program to support families inneed, as well as the Hunger FreeAlexandria initiative. Visitwww.alexandriaholidaymarket.comfor more.
❖ Dec. 22 and 23 —11 a.m.-8 p.m.❖ Dec. 24, Christmas Eve —11 a.m.-2
p.m.
MONDAY/DEC. 22A John Waters Christmas. 7:30 p.m.
The Birchmere, 3701 Mount VernonAve. $49.50. Visit
www.birchmere.com for more.
MONDAY-WEDNESDAY/DEC. 22-24Breakfast with Santa. 8:30 a.m.-
12:30 p.m. Union Street PublicHouse, 121 South Union St.,Alexandria. Have breakfast withSanta and Mrs. Claus before theytake off for the big night. $10 perchild (age 0-12) and $15 per person(age 13+) includes a continentalbreakfast, visit with Santa and Mrs.Claus and tax. Tickets required.Limited amount for every seating.Reservationswww.unionstreetpublichouse.com/breakfast.
WEDNESDAY/DEC. 24Water-skiing Santa and his
Kneeboarding Reindeer. 1-1:30p.m. at Old Town Waterfront,between King and Oronoco streets,Alexandria. This is the 29thAnniversary of this one of a kindWashington, D.C. tradition andincludes the Flying Elves, theJetskiing Grinch, and Frosty theSnowman in a dinghy. [email protected] for more.
SATURDAY/DEC. 27Live Music. 7:30 p.m. at the
Birchmere, 3701 Mount Vernon Ave.Performance by Southside Johnnyand The Asbury Jukes. $39.50. Visitwww.birchmere.com for more.
SUNDAY/DEC. 28Hank Williams Tribute Show. 7:30
p.m. at The Birchmere, 3701 MountVernon Ave. Tickets $29.50. Visitwww.birchmere.com or call 703-549-7500.
WEDNESDAY/DEC. 31First Night Alexandria. Events take
place throughout the day atnumerous venues around the City ofAlexandria. Visitwww.firstnightalexandria.org formore.
Live Music. 8 p.m. at The Birchmere,3701 Mount Vernon Ave. WatchSeldom Scene, Bumper Jackson andThe Hello Strangers perform. Tickets$39.50. Visit www.birchmere.com orcall 703-549-7500.
SATURDAY/JAN. 3Hal Ketchum. 7:30 p.m. at The
Birchmere, 3701 Mount Vernon Ave.Tickets $35. Visitwww.birchmere.com or call 703-549-7500.
SUNDAY/JAN. 4Evening of Musical Comedy. 7:30
p.m. at The Birchmere, 3701 MountVernon Ave. Tickets $49.50. Visitwww.birchmere.com or call 703-549-7500.
TUESDAY/JAN. 6“Self Portraits: How Our Artists
View Themselves.” 10 a.m.-5 p.m.Through Feb. 8 at Potomac Fiber ArtsGallery, Torpedo Factory Art Center,105 North Union St., Studio 18,Alexandria. A self portrait can bewhat our face/body looks like or itcan be what we stand for, what webelieve, what we love. Visitwww.Potomacfiberartsgallery.com
for more.Choral Evensong on the Feast of
the Epiphany 7:30 p.m. at St.Paul’s Episcopal Church, 228 SouthPitt St., Alexandria. Grant Hellmers,organist and choirmaster of St. Paul’sEpiscopal Church, will direct theadult choir in a Choral Evensong onthe Feast of the Epiphany. Music byWilliam Byrd, Edward Bairstow,Malcolm Archer, and William Smithof Durham will be featured. TheThree Wise Men will appear at thisservice. Open to all, followed by areception. Donations and non-perishable foods will be accepted forSt. Paul’s Lazarus Ministry. ContactGrant Hellmers at 703-549-3312 [email protected].
WEDNESDAY/JAN. 7Boomerangs Square Dance
Teaching Council. 7:30-9:30 p.m.at Lincolnia Center, 4710 NorthChambliss Street, Alexandria. SquareDance Lessons. Welcome singles,couples, and families for an eveningof fun. Free. Call Nancy at 571-210-5480 or [email protected] or visitwww.boomerangssquaredance.org.
THURSDAY/JAN. 8Second Thursday Live: Cynthia
Marie Concert. 7 p.m. at TheAthenaeum, 201 Prince St.,Alexandria. Cynthia Marie returnswith her soulful voice and captivatingpiano playing. Special guests join herthis evening. Admission $15. Call703-548-0035 or visit www.nvfaa.org for more.
JAN. 8-FEB. 22Exhibition “Unearthed |
Unleashed.” In the AthenaeumGallery 201 Prince St., Alexandria.An exhibition of the works of MichaelGessner and Joanne Kent. Gessner’smixed media sculptures are lyricaland reference a wide variety ofnatural forms. Kent’s minimal workswith thickly applied paint and waxappear to be a subtle, meditativereflection on organic elements andartifacts. Free. Visit www.nvfaa.orgfor more.
SATURDAY/JAN. 10Chords of Courage Benefit
Concert. 7 p.m. at Church of St.Clement, 1701 N. Quaker Lane,Alexandria. Chords of Courage,founded by Caron Dale, tells thestories of people who have performedan act of courage and suffered in theprocess or performed an act ofinspiration born of tragedy. She willbe joined by fellow folk musiciansKevin Dudley, Laura Baron, BainEnnis and Matt Kohut, and membersof the band R.S.V.P. With specialguest Allison Silberberg. $18/$15 inadvance. Call 703-380-3151 or visitwww.focusmusic.org/venue_alexandria.php orchordsofcourage.org.
SUNDAY/JAN. 11Opening Reception of exhibition
“Unearthed | Unleashed.” 4-6p.m., in the Athenaeum Gallery 201Prince St., Alexandria. An exhibitionof the works of Michael Gessner andJoanne Kent. Free. Visitwww.nvfaa.org for more.
Torpedo Factory Associate Artist Gallery
Studio 12. 11 a.m.-5 p.m. daily. About 20 artists will be showing their workin two-week exhibitions through the end of 2014. This dynamic pop-upgallery provides an opportunity for many of the associates to have theirwork on view. Visit torpedofactory.org/events/ for more.
❖ Dec. 15-28: Fritz Des Roches, paintings; Barbara Muth, paintings; NormaHintze, ceramics; and Marilynn Spindler, paintings
Entertainment
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Mount Vernon Gazette ❖ December 25-31, 2014 ❖ 15www.ConnectionNewspapers.com
Sports
By Jon Roetman
The Gazette
Rick Sofield started coachingwhen he was in high school,helping his father coach hisyounger brothers in football.
He continued when he was in law school,when he made extra money coaching vari-ous middle school and high school sports.
After starting a family with his wife, Alice,Sofield couldn’t wait to coach his own chil-dren. The Sofields’ first child was a girlnamed Charlotte, who turned out to bequite the athlete.
Sofield, who played four sports in highschool on Long Island and four years of foot-ball and lacrosse at Harvard University,helped coach Charlotte in peewee soccerand T-ball. When she was in the first grade,Sofield coached Charlotte’s lacrosse teamafter convincing the commissioner of a FortHunt rec league to let Charlotte play againstgirls several years older.
While eager to succeed, Sofield initiallystruggled as a youth lacrosse coach.
“I had no idea what I was doing and wegot killed in our first game,” Sofield wrotein an email. “Afterward, a mom gave methe rule book and suggested that I read it.We got better after that.”
More than a decade later, Sofield is stillcoaching Charlotte. In the spring of 2014,the duo led the Bishop Ireton girls’ lacrosseteam to a historic season of success, includ-ing the program’s first WCAC championshipand first VISAA state title. The Cardinalsended their 20-win season with their first-ever victory against national power St.Stephen’s & St. Agnes, 9-7, in the statechampionship game.
Charlotte, then a junior, led Ireton in
points with 48 goals and 67 assists. She wasan Under Armour Underclass All-Americanand WCAC Player of the Year, and latersigned to play lacrosse at the University ofNorth Carolina. Sofield was named VISAACoach of the Year and WCAC co-Coach ofthe Year.
Bishop Ireton will return the majority ofits impact players for Charlotte’s senior sea-son in 2015.
“My dad started coaching me when I wasin first grade,” Charlotte wrote. “He hasn’tbeen my only lacrosse coach, but he hasbeen my main coach for as long as I canremember.”
From first grade through high school,Charlotte and her dad experienced ups anddowns on and off the field. As severalcoaches and athletes in the area acknowl-edged, a parent coaching his or her childcan be a difficult, yet rewarding process.
“When my wife, Alice, and I started ourfamily, I couldn’t wait for the kids to getold enough to coach,” Sofield wrote. “I havecoached all four of our kids in a variety ofsports: football, basketball, wrestling, icehockey, T-Ball, and lacrosse.”
Charlotte was the oldest child, and Sofieldadmits she was forced to deal with his mis-takes as a first time parent/coach, includ-ing not being able to separate the two roles.
“The middle school years were particu-larly tough for me and Char,” Sofield wrote.“I hadn’t learned how to separate Dad fromCoach. I also saw exceptional talent in Charand felt compelled to try and maximize herability. She has always wanted to be her bestso she didn’t need all the extra pushing thatI was giving her. Unfortunately for Char, Ilearned my lessons and made my mistakeson her as our eldest and I have been muchmore patient and understanding with herthree younger brothers.”
Charlotte also acknowledged middleschool was a tough time.
“Every practice was a disaster,” she wrote.“But I’m happy he didn’t stop coaching. Iwould not be the player I am today with-out him.”
Sofield said his wife helped him realizethe need for separation between father andcoach.
“By the time Char got to middle school,we used to talk about virtually nothing butlacrosse,” Sofield wrote. “It was around thattime that Alice gently, but firmly, remindedme through a series of conversations thatthere was much more to my relationshipwith Char off the field than lacrosse. Shereminded me to keep lacrosse on the field,and be a father at home.”
“I’ve gotten much better over the past 10-plus years in separating player and child,”Sofield wrote. “I’m still not always as goodat it as she deserves: I sometimes find my-self projecting my own ambitions for heronto her. I’m aware of it now, though, andremind myself (or sometimes she remindsme) that it’s her journey, not mine.”
Keith A. Kaufman, Ph.D., a sport psycholo-gist with offices in Washington, D.C. andOld Town Alexandria, said two potential
issues stand out for a young athlete coachedby a parent.
“I think two issues that jump out to meare the athlete feels like they can never es-cape talking about the sport,” Kaufman saidin a phone interview, “or they feel too muchscrutiny or not enough; like they feel likethey’re treated differently [than other mem-bers of the team].”
Kaufman said “it’s absolutely essentialthere are boundaries,” when a parent iscoaching his or her child, and it’s impor-tant the child is treated in the same man-ner as his or her teammates. While each caseis different, he said the relationship can bebeneficial.
“I think in an ideal situation,” Kaufmansaid, “it can be a great way to connect or toshare something, or to feel supported orencouraged or instructed by a parent.”
While the potential for burnout exists,Charlotte said she often talks lacrosse withher father, and that’s not a bad thing. Shealso said she never views Sofield as just acoach.
“During practices and games, my dad isstill my dad,” Charlotte wrote. “He will al-ways be my dad. Sure, he is my coach, andpersonally I think he is the best coach I’veever had, but he is my dad. On or off thefield.
“Having my dad as a coach gives me anedge over other players. I am constantlyaround the game. And I always have asounding board to vent my lacrosse prob-lems.
“Lacrosse is a huge bond for my dad andI. It’s our thing together. Lacrosse is a con-stant. But it’s not a bad thing. It is some-thing that he and I both love.”
When it comes to treating Charlotte thesame as others on the team, Sofield said heholds his daughter to a higher standard.
“I encourage our players to ‘play hard andmake lots of mistakes. Make mistakes byplaying fast and learn from them,’” Sofieldwrote. “I find that I’m much more tolerantof the mistakes made by other players than
of mistakes that Char makes.”Sofield isn’t alone.“I would say most coaches are harder on
their own kids than they are on the regularkids,” Madison assistant volleyball coachChristine Zanellato said. “We tend to pointout when they mess up more than youwould with another kid.”
Zanellato and head coach Carrie Hall eachhave a daughter on the Madison volleyballteam, which was one point away from cap-turing the VHSL 6A state championship inthe fall. Zanellato coached her daughter,Natale, when she was young, but stoppedwhen Natale was in middle school.
Their relationship had some rough spots.“When I was in [sixth] grade, I hated it,”
Natale said. “I would cry most nights. Iwould cry on the way home [from volley-ball]. I was very sensitive. I would get a littleupset when she would tell me to suck it upor do this and that. I wasn’t as good withher criticism.”
After a few years playing for othercoaches, Natale started to appreciate hermom’s volleyball knowledge. Zanellatoplayed collegiately at LSU and coached theFairfax High varsity from 2007-2011. Whenit came time for high school, Natale, whoattended Lake Braddock as a freshman,wanted her mom as a coach. Zanellatojoined the Bruins’ staff as an assistant in2012.
“I think what has worked out well for usis that we have a really solid relationshipand she trusts that when I am working toimprove her skills, I’m looking at her as anathlete,” Zanellato said. “My criticism is allbased on what she needs to do on the court.It’s not about her personally. I think that’sthe hardest thing [about being a parent/coach] is kids sometimes personalize thecomments. …
“I coached her early and then I stopped. Istepped away and let her be coached by alot of other people … then I let her come tome. When she was ready and comfortable,she started seeking me out for, ‘Do I needthis?’ ‘How does this work? ‘Does my ap-proach look right?’ ‘Am I blocking too farin?’”
Natale would later transfer to Madison.After not playing high school volleyball hersophomore year, Natale joined the Warhawkvarsity as a junior and was a key contribu-tor at outside hitter for the 2014 state run-ners-up.
“I love working with my mom,” Natalesaid. “I respect her. I know that she playedgreat. She’s a great coach. When I wasyounger, it was a little rougher. I was justlike, ‘I don’t want to listen to you,’ that kindof stuff. I respect her judgment and I re-spect what she’s saying. I really respect heropinion. I love having her on the coachingstaff.”
Hall said she treats her daughter, Kendal,a standout junior setter for the Warhawks,no differently than any other member of theteam.
Coaching one’s ownchild can be stressful,rewarding.
Parent Coaches Searching for Balance
See Parent Coaches, Page 16
Hayfield’s Molly Overstreet,middle, is a two-time VHSL statechampion gymnast. Her mother,Kristin Overstreet, right, is anassistant coach with the Hawks.Also pictured is Hayfield headcoach Michelle Pennow.
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Head coach Rick Sofield and hisdaughter, Charlotte Sofield, left,are seen during a Bishop Iretongirls’ lacrosse game.
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elia Sullivan
16 ❖ Mount Vernon Gazette ❖ December 25-31, 2014 www.ConnectionNewspapers.com
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From Page 15
Sports
“It’s not hard to me at all,” Hall said. “I’ve beenhere 14 years and to me it’s about the program. …It’s the program first, then my daughter.”
Hall said the two talk about volleyball at home,but don’t discuss strategy.
“We talk about if we think we had a good game ornot that night, but nothing too elaborate,” Hall said.“… That way she’s part of the team, I’m part of thecoaching staff. She doesn’t need to know anythingthat’s going on.”
Kendal said she’s appreciative of her mom’s vol-leyball knowledge.
“It’s definitely nice,” Kendal said, “coming homeand having someone to talk to who definitely knowswhat they’re doing.”
Langley football coach John Howerton started hissons on a path toward gridiron success at a youngage. Jack, now a sophomore at Stetson Universityin DeLand, Fla., and Tyler, now a sophomore at Lan-gley, started strength and skill training before theage of 10. However, they did not play organized foot-ball until high school.
Howerton, who was inducted into the ShepherdUniversity athletic Hall ofFame after garnering All-American status as an offen-sive tackle, taught his sons thebasic fundamentals of offen-sive line play, such as gettingin a proper stance. He alsoshowed them the basics ofstrength training, including15-minute workouts with alightweight aluminum pipe.
Between the ages of 10 and12, Howerton “started to geta little more serious with it.”By the time Jack and Tylerreached high school, they werelight years ahead of the otherkids in both strength and tech-nique.
Tyler earned all-state honorsduring his time at Langley. Hecould bench press 500 poundsand squat 675. He is now anoffensive lineman at Stetson. Tyler recently com-pleted his sophomore season as a starter on the Lan-gley varsity. Both played right guard for the Saxons.
Howerton said he has tried to treat Jack and Tylerin an equal fashion to other players on the team,but admits he has higher expectations for his sons.
“I try to treat them as any kid out there,” Howertonsaid. “As a parent, you probably have more expecta-tions for your own sons. I try not to yell at them anymore or less than anyone else. I do expect them toexcel as much as possible because they’ve been ex-posed to me as a coach more than the other kidshave. …
“I was probably a little tougher on Jack becausehe was the first one and we were trying to set thetone of how you’re going to do things. As you learn,the second one is not quite a mystery because you’vealready been through it.”
Howerton was coached by his father, Elton “Cig”Howerton, in youth football. Cig Howerton was anAll-American at Randolph-Macon and was inductedinto the university’s athletic Hall of Fame.
Tyler said he questioned the purpose of the drillsand hard work his father put him through at a youngage.
“Even now, I still question that sometimes,” Tylersaid. “You have to realize that this is the best for me,
this is the best way to go [and] this will make me thebest I can be.”
While it’s not easy having his father as a coach,Tyler said there are benefits.
“He’s also able to work with me more than any-body else in the weight room and on the field,” Tylersaid. “He’s able to tell me what I’m doing well, whatI’m not doing so well. He always has that urge tomake me better than everybody else.”
Hayfield assistant gymnastics coach KristinOverstreet started coaching her daughter, Molly, at ayoung age, as well, but it didn’t take long for Mollyto surpass her mother’s teachings.
“I also coached Molly when she was Level 3 at Car-dinal Gymnastics,” Overstreet said. “She quickly sur-passed my coaching abilities and moved up throughthe Level system in club gymnastics and became aLevel 9.”
Molly gave up club gymnastics prior to her sopho-more year, but still competes at the high school levelfor Hayfield. Now a junior, Molly has already cap-tured a pair of state championships, finishing in athree-way tie for first on vault as a freshman, andsetting a state record on bars as a sophomore.
At the high school level,Molly rarely needs coachinghelp, allowing Overstreet tofocus her attention on theteam’s less-experienced gym-nasts.
“Molly is so knowledgeablethat she can coach herself,”Overstreet wrote in an email.“She knows the corrections sheneeds to make. I just remindher to have fun and do herbest. She is also a great coachto the younger/newer girls.She demonstrates skills andgives them cues for makingskills easier for them.
“I love working with theHayfield girls. We have ninegirls who have never com-peted in gymnastics beforeand they improve daily. Theyusually need my time at prac-
tice more than Molly does, but I am always watchingher out of the corner of my eye. I rarely have to setlimits on her. She knows what is expected and shedoes it.”
Molly struggles with back pain “from years of over-use, training up to 25 hours a week and the constantpounding and hard landing,” her mother wrote. Thepain is to the point that Molly might have to walkaway from gymnastics this year, according toOverstreet.
Molly said one of the greatest benefits of havingher mom as a coach is when it comes to dealing withpain.
“Some benefits for having my mom as a coach arethat she knows me the best, so when I’m in pain oranything like that, she can tell,” Molly wrote. “Mymom is a very understanding person and her beingmy mom and coach, it makes it that much easier tocommunicate with her about what’s going on, or if Idon’t want to do something.”
Like others in the same situation, Molly and hermother experience stressful times together. However,Overstreet, who used to coach at Edison and coachedher two other daughters, as well, said coaching herchild has benefits, like “Special time together, greatmemories, great pictures, laughing together,”Overstreet wrote about the benefits.
Parent Coaches Searching for Balance
“I think two issues thatjump out to me are theathlete feels like theycan never escape talkingabout the sport, or theyfeel too much scrutinyor not enough; like theyfeel like they’re treateddifferently [than othermembers of the team].”
— Sport psychologistKeith Kaufman, Ph.D.
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Mount Vernon Gazette ❖ December 25-31, 2014 ❖ 17www.ConnectionNewspapers.com
21 Announcements
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18 ❖ Mount Vernon Gazette ❖ December 25-31, 2014 www.ConnectionNewspapers.com
News
From Page 1
Fuller Forecasts: ‘A Slightly Better 2015’
Stephen Fuller went out into the crowd of attendees during his NVAR-hosted presentation on the past year’s economy and the economicoutlook ahead.
The news could be better – according to Fuller and many of the chartsand graphs he referred to during his presentation, the WashingtonMetro area, including Northern Virginia, is lagging well behind inmany key recovery factors. Fuller discussed several reasons for thesituation, not the least of which being the aftermath of 2013’s “fiscalcliff” and the continuing impact of sequestration.
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Center for Regional Analysis, School of Pub-lic Policy at George Mason University, notto mention chief economist for CardinalBank. Adding an arsenal of graphs and otheranalytical data to his expertise and experi-ence, Fuller provided insights about theclosing year, a preview of what to expect in2015, and some long-term economic expec-tations for Northern Virginia, the Districtand Maryland.
“2014 was actually softer in all catego-ries than expected, given the strength of theeconomic recovery exhibited in 2013,” saidFuller, “particularly in relationship to thehousing market. Fuller credited a numberof factors for the reason that things sloweddown in 2014.
Lower wage jobs, slower immigration andreduced international transfers, lower mar-riage rates, limited access to credit, de-graded mobility (when the jobs being cre-ated aren’t worth moving for), student loanburdens and even changing generationalvalues and preferences were the reasons hecited.
“Perhaps most surprising is that for thefirst time in the memory of many, our localeconomy is under-performing compared tothe rest of the country.” Based heavily ondirect and ancillary federal governmentemployment, the area has previously beenless negatively impacted by the recessionthan other areas of the country. “This is newterritory for us,” Fuller said. “Even moresurprising, it didn’t really make the head-lines that our economy shrank more in thelast year than it did during the recession.”He likened the situation to a luxury linerwith a small leak. “It may be hardly notice-able now, but someone had better start bal-ing and repairing soon.”
ACCORDING TO FULLER and many ofthe sources he consulted, the “fiscal cliff”and the introduction of sequestration in2013 are just beginning to make an impacton the local way of life — and not in a posi-tive way.All of the reports on the creation and statusof jobs show that most growth, particularlyin this area, is taking place in industries thaton average pay less and that many of thosewho lost their positions in government orgovernment contracting, have yet to be “re-deployed” in similar situations. “Health andeducation and local government were thekey growth industries in the this area, andwe can’t sustain our economy on only thesetwo sectors.We definitely need wage growth, somethingwe haven’t had in this recovery so far,”added Fuller. “During the recession, employ-ers learned the lessons of productivity.” Withhigher unemployment and older workersopting out of the workforce, employerscould more easily pick and choose and keeppay rates lower.The unemployment numbers are dropping,but according to Fuller, we still haven’treached the stage where employers mustoffer more to secure the best. And there issomething else missing from the equation
in Fuller’s opinion. “Where is inflation?There isn’t any. And you need it to givemerchants the opportunity to provide wagegrowth.”
Despite a number of troubling indicatorsthat he believes require immediate and sig-nificant attention, Fuller does predict aslightly better 2015. “We are still feeling thatpent up demand that will push things a bithigher.”
Fuller does not see a repeat of the flurryof increasing house prices that many sell-ers enjoyed not long ago. Instead, he be-lieves that many luxury homes will comedown in price and average time from list-to-sale may increase somewhat.
WHEN ASKED during the Q&A session tocomment specifically on Fairfax County,Fuller cautioned that without creation ofhigher-wage jobs, the county would face a“real squeeze to services — fire, policing,education.” Local government needs tax
money to do its job. Lower income andproperty taxes coupled with an increasinglyaging population could mean even morechallenging times ahead. “But interestingones,” he said. “Downsizing or rightsizingaccording to your view, things change.”
This NVAR event was sponsored by RGSTitle Company and hosted by the NVARSmall Broker and Real Estate Finance andSettlement Forums. NVAR has several eco-nomic outlook programs in store for thecoming year. Visit its website atwww.nvar.com to keep up to date on NVARhappenings.
Fuller will speak at the 23rd Annual Car-dinal Bank and George Mason UniversityEconomic Conference on Jan. 15, 2015. Pre-registration for the conference is availableat www.cardinalbank.com. More on Fuller’supdate, review and the analytical data hepresented are available on the George Ma-son University Center for Regional Analy-sis website at cra.gmu.edu.
ClassifiedClassified
Obituary
John Alfke Campbell,beloved father and faithful friend, died on Monday November 24, 2014 in Alexandria, Virginia. John is survived by his two daughters, Barbara C. Holt of California and Elizabeth C. Wilmot of Virginia. He will be deeply missed by his grandchildren, Lauren G. Wilmot and Jack Holt and his son-in-laws, Peter Adler and David Holt. He is predeceased by his wife of 63 years, Janet Campbell.
He was born in Bronxville, New York in 1924. He attended Middlebury College for a short while before enlisting in the Army Air Corps. He was a bomber pilot in World War II. He was a 1st lieutenant who flew 35 missions in a B-17. He earned the Distinguished Flying Cross and an air medal with 3 clusters plus 6 battle stars.
When he got out of the service he went to Columbia University on the GI bill where he met his future wife. He earned both his undergraduate and his Master’s degree from Columbia.
He made his living as a salesman which was a career he was perfectly suited for as he could charm anyone into any-thing and made everyone who knew him feel special. He retired from Lord Abbett, a mutual fund company on Wall Street, having risen to the position of national sales manager. He and his family lived in New Canaan, CT for 40 years be-fore retiring to Lake Placid, FL. He spent his summers at a cottage in the 1000 Islands. He moved to Virginia after the death of his wife to be with his daughter.
In Connecticut, he was active in the Senior Men’s club and ran the Saint Marks Fair for many years. He was a fabulous bridge player having played on the train to New York City and he was in much demand as a bridge partner. He was an avid investor who carefully watched the market and was part of the “Ticker Club” in Florida. He loved music and the outdoors. He enjoyed skiing, hiking, fishing and travelling.
He was an outgoing man who found the best in every situa-tion and the best in every person. He always had a twinkle in his eye, a smile and a kind word. He was a true gentleman. He is already deeply missed. A service was held for him at Paul Springs Retirement home and he will be interred at Ar-lington National Cemetery at a later date. Donations in his name may be made to the Church of the St. Lawrence in Alexandria Bay, NY.
21 Announcements 21 Announcements
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Mount Vernon Gazette ❖ December 25-31, 2014 ❖ 19www.ConnectionNewspapers.com
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You Have Saturdays OffThat’s Exactly Why We Don’t!
20 ❖ Mount Vernon Gazette ❖ December 25-31, 2014 www.ConnectionNewspapers.com
From Page 5
Bulletin Board
grocery store trips; light handymanchores and home technology to namejust a few. No minimum number ofvolunteer hours are required. CallMount Vernon At Home 703-303-4060 or e-mail [email protected] to learn more.Visit www.mountvernonathome.org.
The Kingstowne Center needs a vandriver to take participants on outingsand an ESL teacher. For these andother volunteer opportunities, call703-324-5406, TTY 711 or visitwww.fairfaxcounty.gov/olderadultsand click on Volunteer Solutions.
The Hollin Hall Senior Center,1500 Shenandoah Road,Alexandria,needs a DJ to provide a wide array ofmusic from ballroom to line dancing,a Ballroom Dance Instructor and avolunteer with basic carpentry skillsto build a “Little Free Library,” forpeople to donate and borrow booksfrom. Center will provide plans andmaterials. For these and othervolunteer opportunities, call 703-324-5406, TTY 711 or visitwww.fairfaxcounty.gov/olderadultsand click on Volunteer Solutions.
The Gum Springs Senior Center.Spanish teacher for a beginner’s classneeded. For these and othervolunteer opportunities, call 703-324-5406, TTY 711 or visitwww.fairfaxcounty.gov/olderadultsand click on Volunteer Solutions.
Volunteer Advocates for NursingHome & Assisted LivingResidents needed throughoutNorthern Virginia. Contact theNorthern Virginia Long-Term CareOmbudsman Program atwww.fairfaxcounty.gov/dfs/olderadultservices/ltcombudsman/,email or [email protected] orcall 703-324-5861, TTY 711.
On-Call IT Specialists to help olderadults and adults with disabilitieswith basic computer issues. Scheduleis flexible. For these and othervolunteer opportunities, call 703-324-5406, TTY 711 or visitwww.fairfaxcounty.gov/olderadultsand click on Volunteer Solutions.
Volunteers needed in FairfaxCounty to drive older adults tomedical appointments and wellnessprograms. For these and othervolunteer opportunities, call 703-324-5406, TTY 711 or visitwww.fairfaxcounty.gov/olderadultsand click on Volunteer Solutions.
Respite Care volunteers give familycaregivers of a frail older adult awell-deserved break so they can goshopping, attend a doctor’sappointment or just have coffee witha friend. Volunteers visit and overseethe safety of the older adult for a fewhours each month. Support andtraining are provided. Contact KristinMartin at 703-324-7577, TTY 711, [email protected].
The Mount Vernon Adult DayHealth Care Program needs avolunteer to greet people and answerphones Mondays-Fridays from 9:15-9:30 a.m. to start as soon as possible.Contact Fairfax County’s VolunteerSolutions at 703-324-5406, TTY 703-449-1186, [email protected], or visitwww.fairfaxcounty.gov/dfs/olderadultservices and click onvolunteers.
Fairfax County’s Meals on Wheelsneeds drivers and a coordinator.Contact Fairfax County’s VolunteerSolutions at 703-324-5406, TTY 703-449-1186, [email protected] or visitwww.fairfaxcounty.gov/dfs/olderadultservices and click onvolunteers.
Viewpoints
What are your hopes for 2015?
Nikki Houston, MountVernon: “I hope for betterjobs and housing. Hope forbetter people.”
Larry Simmons, Washing-ton, D.C.: “Next yearshould be a year of comingtogether, for everyone.Also, I don’t like to seehomelessness. People areon the street for differentreasons. I’d like to seethem all sheltered.”
Doug Woodward andgranddaughter, Katie,Mount Vernon: “I hope thatthe world gets more peace-ful and the governmentgets more civil. Also, I hopefor no more calamities, likethe ones that we have beenhearing about.”
Photos by
Renée Ruggles
The Gazette
NOVA Long-Term CareOmbudsman is in need ofvolunteer advocates for residents ofnursing homes and assisted livingfacilities throughout NorthernVirginia. [email protected] or
call 703-324-5861 to volunteer or formore information.
ONGOINGTelephone Support Group. 7-8 p.m.
on the 2nd Tuesday of the month.For family caregivers of older adults.
Discuss ”The Good, the Bad and theUgly-Caregiving with Family andFriends.” Share experiences, gainsupport and get information withouthaving to travel. Free.www.fairfaxcounty.gov/dfs/olderadultservices/
