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online at www.connectionnewspapers.com Opinion, Page 6 Entertainment, Page 12 Sports, Page 16 Classifieds, Page 18 March 1-7, 2017 Photo by Fallon Forbush/The Connection Great Falls Great Falls Forestville Elementary School Students Bring History to Life Pet Connection, Page 12 Prayer Vigil at ICE Office News, Page 10 Town Hall Debates $57 Million Gap in School Budget News, Page 3 Student Jenny Wang poses as Pocahontas. She says her grandma helped her make her costume by sewing yellow trim to a sweater she already owned. Wellbeing Page 11

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Great Falls Connection ❖ March 1-7, 2017 ❖ 1www.ConnectionNewspapers.com online at www.connectionnewspapers.com

Opinio

n, Page 6

Entertainm

ent, Page 12

Spo

rts, Page 16

C

lassifieds, Page 18

March 1-7, 2017

Pho

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by Fallo

n Fo

rbush/T

he C

onnectio

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Great FallsGreat Falls

ForestvilleElementary

School StudentsBring History

to LifePet Connection, Page 12

Prayer Vigil atICE OfficeNews, Page 10

Town Hall Debates$57 Million Gap inSchool BudgetNews, Page 3

Student Jenny Wang posesas Pocahontas. She says hergrandma helped her make

her costume by sewingyellow trim to a sweater she

already owned.

WellbeingPage 11

2 ❖ Great Falls Connection ❖ March 1-7, 2017 www.ConnectionNewspapers.com

Great Falls Connection ❖ March 1-7, 2017 ❖ 3www.ConnectionNewspapers.com

NewsGreat Falls Connection Editor Kemal Kurspahic

703-778-9414 or [email protected]

See Residents Testify, Page 4

See Town Hall, Page 7

By Fallon Forbush

The Connection

The Fairfax County Public Schoolsprojected a $57 million shortfallin its budget for next school year,which will impact the more than

188,000 students that are projected to beeducated in the system next school year.

The Great Falls Citizens Associationhosted a budget town hall at the Great FallsLibrary on Tuesday, Feb. 21, where approxi-mately 20 people attended to ask questionsand voice concerns.

The town hall was moderated by MatthewHaley, an executive board member of theGFCA and chair of the FCPS Budget TaskForce.

Participants included:❖ Joe Mondoro, CFO for Fairfax County;❖ Kristen Michael, assistant superinten-

dent of financial services for the FairfaxCounty Public Schools;

❖ Jane Strauss, vice chair and DranesvilleDistrict representative on the FCPS Board;

❖ Jeanette Hough, member-at-large onthe FCPS Board; and

❖ Supervisor John Foust, Dranesville rep-resentative on the Fairfax County Board ofSupervisors.

THE $2.8 BILLION fiscal year 2018 bud-get that the FCPS is presenting to the Boardof Supervisors for the next school year isan increase of about 5 percent, or about$135 million, from the fiscal year 2017 bud-get.

The FCPS budget relies primarily on theFairfax County general fund. The other twoprimary sources come from state aid andsales tax revenues.

FCPS is asking the county to provide $2billion, or about 72 percent of the total rev-enue for its new budget. The request isnearly 6 percent more, or an additional$112.5 million, than it requested from the

county for its fiscal year 2017 budget.“It’s clearly, nearly all of our revenue,”

Michael said during the town hall.FCPS is also asking for a $14.4 million

increase in state funding and a $6.6 mil-lion increase in funding from sales taxes,compared to the last budget.

The problem is that FCPS’s request to thecounty exceeds its available revenues bymore than $60 million.

When FCPS applies increased revenuefrom the state and federal funding, they areleft with a gap of $57.4 million, Michaelsaid.

Because of this deficit, there are $47.9million in potential cuts or new revenuesources being considered by FCPS.

Of the more contentious ideas being con-sidered to balance the budget are $1.2 mil-lion in cuts to programs for English forspeakers of other languages.

Town hall participants had many ques-tions about the FCPS’s $2.5 million WorldLanguages Immersion program, includingthe Japanese program at Great Falls El-ementary School.

“The Japanese immersion is not an ex-pensive program,” Strauss said. “It doeshave an additional expense, it also has huge

support among the parents.”Both of Pete Kurzenhauser’s children went

through the Japanese immersion programat Great Falls Elementary School. He alsochaperoned a school trip to Japan after hisstudents finished the sixth grade.

“We got to Japan and none of them hadany conversational capabilities in Japa-nese,” he said. “We need to take a real hardlook at the immersion programs and askwhether the value is worth the additionalcost.”

He also said that a lot of students thatstart out in this program often drop out,which drives up the program’s cost-per-stu-dent because the students are difficult orimpossible to replace.

More proposed cost-savings measures in-clude adding $3.8 million in athletic feesand delaying the start of music programsfrom the fourth grade to fifth grade, whichwould save $2.8 million.

Another would save $22.8 million by in-creasing class sizes for all grade levels byone student.

WHAT THE BUDGET is not looking toreduce or hold flat is employee compensa-tion. In fact, the highest expenditure of the

budget is employee compensation at 89percent.

“We started this current school year withapproximately 180 vacancies,” said Michael.

This is unprecedented for the county, ac-cording to Michael.

“While they’re decreasing, we’re still con-cerned about the number and level of va-cancies,” she said.

This includes schools in Great Falls andMcLean.

“Difficulty in hiring teachers includes ourschools here in Great Falls, the Langley pyra-mid and McLean pyramid,” Strauss saidduring the town hall. “Some people think,‘Oh it must only be in schools that havechallenging curriculum or issues where stu-dents come with many challenges.’ But evenin this community, we have had difficultyhiring teachers.”

FCPS started a compensation study lastyear and found that teacher pay is “signifi-cantly below the market average” in theregion, according to Michael.

That’s why the budget includes $33.2million to increase teacher salaries. It also

Town Hall Debates $57 Million GapWhere to cut?

The town hall was moderated by Matthew Haley, a Great Falls CitizensAssociation executive board member and chair of the FCPS Budget TaskForce. Participants included: Joe Mondoro, CFO for Fairfax County;Kristen Michael, assistant superintendent of financial services for theFairfax County Public Schools; Jane Strauss, vice chair and DranesvilleDistrict representative on the FCPS Board; Jeanette Hough, member-at-large on the FCPS Board; and Supervisor John Foust, Dranesville repre-sentative on the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors.

Pete Kurzenhauser of Great Fallscriticized the FCPS World Lan-guages Immersion program andsuggested that it be looked atwhen making tough budget deci-sions.

Pho

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By Ken Moore

The Connection

Natalie Martinisko was the young-est speaker before the county’sBoard of Supervisors Tuesday,

Feb. 14.“I’ve tried a lot of other sports besides

horseback riding and I have not liked themas much, so we decided to look for barns.

The only ones we could find were about 30to 45 minutes away,” said Natalie.

She told the 10-member Board of Super-visors she wanted to ride with one of herfriends whose family owns horses. “I thinkit would be great to let people train at theirhouses,” said Natalie.

But the county’s zoning ordinances pro-hibited home occupation lessons and herfriend’s mother couldn’t give Natalie les-

sons.“There are many kids that don’t fit into

the traditional sports model of soccer, bas-ketball, lacrosse, swimming or dance. Iknow because my daughter tried most ofthose sports and none really clicked for her,”said Natalie’s mother, Mary Martinisko.

“Being that she’s always been animal ori-ented, I signed her up for summer camp atat Frying Pan Park,” said Mary Martinisko“Over time, she said horseback riding wasall that she really enjoyed.”

The Board of Supervisors passed a changeto the zoning ordinance on Feb. 14 that willallow “small scale horseback riding lessonsas a home occupation subject to specificlimitations designed to minimize the impact

of the lessons on surrounding properties.”Specifically, the proposed ordinance

would allow residents to conduct riding les-sons at home like piano lessons, tutoring,or other private instruction activities.

“My girls have taken tennis at otherpeople’s houses, they have taken soccer,they have taken swimming and basketballat other people’s houses, but they haven’tbeen able to take riding,” said Kim Karanik,of Great Falls. “I hope this gets looked atand passed tonight.”

Supervisor John Foust received 17 let-ters or emails in support of the proposedamendment, Sharon Bulova received 15,

Equestrian Athletes Need Opportunities, TooOne nay doesn’t stop a pasture of supportfor home riding lessons. Many in Oakton,Vienna and Great Falls testify.

4 ❖ Great Falls Connection ❖ March 1-7, 2017 www.ConnectionNewspapers.com

News

Residents Testify in Favor of Equestrian OpportunitiesFrom Page 3

Pat Herrity received 11, “all in support,”he said.

“Clearly, there’s a shortage of opportuni-ties,” Herrity said.

The board passed the zoning amendmentunanimously.NOT ALL SPEAKERS spoke in favor ofthe zoning amendment.

“Well, I was the only person in opposi-tion to these proposed changes at the Plan-ning Commission hearing in January,” saidAnne Huffman, of Great Falls. “This set ofproposed changes are too intense forpeople, environment, streams and thehorses themselves.”

(See Huffman’s letter to the editor in theFeb. 22 issue of the Great Falls Connection.)

“Horses have a high impact on land,” saidHuffman.

Penny Gross acknowledged one ofHuffman’s objections, regarding manureand its impact on the health of local streams.

“Manure can be a significant issue,” saidGross.

She remembered years ago, when twostudents wrote her, asking for special ex-ception permission to allow their horses tobe boarded underneath the decks at theirhouses.

“I wrote back and explained why thatwouldn’t be such a great idea. Their par-

ents have thanked me ever since,” saidGross.

Huffman spoke before the Planning Com-mission and the Board of Supervisors.

“This type of applicant needs to be givenpublic scrutiny. There’s a huge differencebetween indoor piano lessons and outdoorhorseback riding instruction,” saidHuffman, asking who will monitor care ofthe horses and the amount of activity thattakes place.

No special events will be permitted, shewas told at the Planning Commission hear-ing.

“Good luck enforcing that,” Huffman said.

CURRENTLY, A SPECIAL PERMIT toteach riding lessons requires a $8,180 ap-plication fee, just to start the process.

“While evidence is anecdotal, the eques-trian community has seen a long-term de-cline in the number of riding programsavailable in Fairfax County, as propertyowners and horse trainers are concernedabout the consequences of potential zon-ing violations associated with the board ofmore than three horses or with offering anyriding lessons,” according to staff reports.

“This has garnered so much support fromthe riding and equestrian community,” saidat-large Planning Commissioner JanyceHedetniemi at its public hearing on Jan. 12.“It has been encouraging to those of us who

to do at your home,” said Karanik.According to Planning Commission docu-

ments, hours of operation would be limitedfrom 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. to minimize impacton surrounding neighbors; and all horsesfor riding must be kept on the property andcan’t be transported or ridden to the prop-erty for lessons. On lots sized between twoand five acres, the maximum amount of in-struction is eight students in one day andno more than two students can be given les-sons at any given time. On lots five acres ormore, a maximum of four students can betaught at any given time.

“The amendment would increase themaximum number of horses or ponies thatcan be boarded by right on a property fromthree horses on any lot, to up to five horseson lots containing a minimum of two acresand less than five acres, and up to eighthorses on lots containing five or more acres.The maximum number of horses that maykept, boarded or maintained shall not in-clude the horses owned by the resident ofthe property,” according to planning docu-ments.

Karanik gave credit to Foust for helpingher navigate the zoning process that pre-vented home riding.

“What I am trying to fight for is continu-ing the equestrian sport in the community.We felt the importance of bringing the sportto children,” said Karanik.

love horses here in Fairfax County.”Beverly Dickerson, of Oakton, is president

of Fairfax for Horses.“There is a large unmet demand for riding

lessons in Fairfax County as you are hear-ing. Long waiting lists in the existing stables,few places to go, and as Natalie just said,‘Not every child is interested in teamsports,’” Dickerson told the board.

“We need to provide good recreation fora wide range of children and adults,” saidDickerson.

Equestrian sports need to be passed downfrom other riders, said Lisa Mulville, ofVienna. “I grew up here in the county and Ihave had a horse since I was 14 and theresponsibility it taught me was incredible,”she said.

“We’re losing a lot of revenue in thiscounty because as stables and horse folksleave so do the vets, so do the blacksmiths,so do the local tack shops,” she said.

Sarah Kirk, owner of the Saddlery inGreat Falls, moved to the county in 1981,and to Great Falls in 1998. “I had three po-nies and nowhere to put them,”

“It is disappointing to see small operationsmoving, and the people that teach ridinggoing to Loudoun County and Maryland,”Kirk said. “We believe passionately in thissport.”

“EVERY OTHER SPORT, you’re allowed

Great Falls Connection ❖ March 1-7, 2017 ❖ 5www.ConnectionNewspapers.com

6 ❖ Great Falls Connection ❖ March 1-7, 2017 www.ConnectionNewspapers.com

Great Falls Connection ❖ March 1-7, 2017 ❖ 7www.ConnectionNewspapers.com

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News

Town Hall Debates Budget GapFrom Page 3

allocates $44 million for an increase in pay of 2.5percent for all eligible FCPS employees.

Another factor that is increasing the budget is $45.9million for anticipated increases in health insuranceand contributions to retirement systems.

“The [pensions systems] is a great benefit for ouremployees and certainly rare in terms of looking atsurrounding school districts,” Michael said.

On Jan. 19, the GFCA emailed a letter to Foustand Strauss voicing its concern over the county’spension systems.

The group said the “high-benefit” pensions havebeen counterintuitive and argued they have nothelped attract employees. Instead, their costs haveeaten away at salaries.

“We strongly advocate that the county develop afull understanding of the pension changes that willbe needed, adopt a strategy to implement thosechanges and take action in 2017 to begin that pro-cess,” the letter says. “Delaying the hard choicesshould no longer be an option. This statement wasdiscussed and unanimously approved by the GFCAExecutive Board.”

AMONG THE POTENTIAL reductions under con-sideration by the FCPS is implementing $4.7 millionin reductions to its Educational Employees’ Supple-mentary Retirement System of Fairfax County (ERFC)pension system by June.

Recommendations include lowering the interestcrediting rate on all ERFC member accounts from 5percent to 4 percent.

More changes were recommended for new or non-

vested ERFC members, including instituting a mini-mum retirement age of 55; increasing the period forcalculating the final average salary from three yearsto five years; and changing the cost-of-living adjust-ment to equal 100 percent of the Consumer PriceIndex with a cap of 4 percent.

Others in the crowd criticized the FCPS boardmembers on the panel for not advocating stronglyenough for the meals tax referendum, which failedin the November election.

Most of the new revenue that the meals tax wouldhave generated would have been used to fund theFCPS and could have prevented the budget shortfallthat the system is facing.

“I was a big supporter of the meals tax,” Foust saidat the town hall. He told the audience that this wasbecause continuing to depend on real estate tax isnot sustainable.

“We can’t keep going to [property owners’] pock-ets,” he said.

The Board of Supervisors has not proposed anyincreases in real estate taxes, unlike last year wherethe residential property tax rate was raised 4 centsto $1.13 per $100 of assessed value.

However, with the slight increase in the county’saverage real estate assessment, the average tax billwill increase by $40.69.

The FCPS adopted its advertised budget on Feb. 9and will present it to the Board of Supervisors onTuesday, April 4.

Prior to the adoption of the budget, which isplanned for May 25, FCPS will have budget worksessions on Monday, March 13; Monday, April 24;Monday, May 1; and Thursday, May 18.

8 ❖ Great Falls Connection ❖ March 1-7, 2017 www.ConnectionNewspapers.com

Opinion

GOOD THINGSProgress in funding mental health and ad-

dressing the opioid epidemic on multiple lev-els were among the successes of the 2017 Gen-eral Assembly session.

❖ In addressing the opioid crisis, the Gen-eral Assembly passed important steps, includ-ing Del. Tim Hugo’s bill to limit opioid pre-scriptions to a seven-day supply in most cases;increased access to naloxone, a drug that in-

stantly reverses an overdose;needle exchange programs (toreduce the spread of HIV, viralhepatitis, and other blood-

borne diseases); focus on infants born withopioid exposure.

❖ Increased funding for mental health in-cluded $7.5 million to facilitate providingsame-day access to mental health screeningservices by July 1, 2019. (The Fairfax-FallsChurch Community Services Board began of-fering same day, in-person screening for men-tal health/and or substance use concerns toadults in July 2015 and extended same dayaccess service to youth. The official launch datefor youth walk-in service was Feb. 1, 2017.)Also supports for discharge planning and ser-vices for people with serious mental illnessbeing released from jail.

❖ The budget included 3 percent raises stateemployees, increase for teachers and a largerincrease for state police.

❖ The Virginia Board of Corrections wasgiven added authority and resources to reviewdeaths in local and regional jails.

❖ Negotiation and legislation will acceler-ate the City of Alexandria’s massive undertak-ing to fix its sewer system that dumps raw sew-

age into the Potomac River whenever it rains.Wendell Berry’s version of the golden rule: “Dounto those downstream as you would havethose upstream do unto you.”

❖ Scott Surovell’s bill requiring Dominionto provide better information on coal ash pol-lution, disaster preparedness, and recycling.

❖ Eileen Filler-Corn’s bill requiring that in-surance cover up to a 12-month supply of hor-monal contraceptives when dispensed or fur-nished at one time.

❖ School boards are required to have anti-bullying policies that includes notifying par-ents that their student was involved in a bully-ing incident.

❖ Use of FaceBook Live allowed members tostream floor discussion, and report to constitu-ents and answer questions directly.

BAD BILLSGov. Terry McAuliffe has already vetoed some

of these, and is expected to veto some others.❖ Expanded access to concealed weapons;

vetoed by Governor. SB1362 would allowsanyone with a military ID card to carry con-cealed weapon; HB2077 would allow guns inemergency shelters and prevents state policeor others from prohibiting them for any rea-son

❖ End funding of Planned Parenthood, ve-toed by Governor.

❖ Anti-Sanctuary City Law HB 2000 says nolocality shall adopt any ordinance, procedure,or policy that restricts the enforcement of fed-eral immigration laws.

❖ As a reality check on the Virginia GeneralAssembly, HB2025 would allow discriminationagainst LGBT community under guise of reli-gious freedom, and passed 21-19 in the Sen-ate and 57-37 in the House of Delegates.

❖ HJ 545 would allow special committeesof the General Assembly to overturn regula-tions, upsetting separation of powers. Consti-tutional amendment (first resolution): “Pro-vides that the General Assembly may suspend

or nullify any or all portions of any adminis-trative rule or regulation.”

❖ Photo identification required for absen-tee ballots.

MISSED OPPORTUNITIES❖ The biggest missed opportunity of the

2017 General Assembly session was the fail-ure to advance any redistricting legislation,which passed in the Senate and died in theHouse of Delegates. It’s clear that Virginia vot-ers want an end to gerrymandering, but hopesfor reform before the next census in 2020 arediminished.

❖ Mental Health in Jails: $4.5 million wasremoved from the Governor’s proposed bud-get that would have paid for desperatelyneeded mental health screening in jails.

❖ Legislation to raise Virginia’s thresholdbetween misdemeanors and felonies from $200to $500 failed. Virginia’s threshold has notchanged since 1981, unnecessarily focusing“police and prosecutors on minor crimes in-stead of violent crime while tainting thousandsof Virginia’s suffering from depression or drugaddiction with felony charges for life,” saysSurovell.

❖ Ken Plum’s bill to increase and index theminimum wage never made it out of commit-tee.

❖ Bills to address student debt also died dur-ing the session, as did bills aimed at reducingstudent suspensions and expulsions.

❖ Republicans stripped language that wouldhave brought $6 million in federal funds toprovide Long Acting Reversible Contraception(LARC) to those at risk for unintended preg-nancy at no cost to Virginia voters.

Thanks to Ken Plum, Scott Surovell, Marcus Simon,Jennifer Boysko, Adam Ebbin and others whose columnsand responses helped inform this editorial. We welcomeopinions and additions to this list.

Good, Bad and Missed OpportunitiesResults of the 2017session of theGeneral Assembly.

Editorial

— Mary Kimm

[email protected]

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Great Falls

Letters to the Editor

See Letters, Page 9

ConcernedAbout VoteTo the Editor:

On Feb. 22, the Virginia Houseof Delegates passed House Reso-lution No. 431 “Encouraging pub-lic institutions of higher educationin the Commonwealth to protectfree speech.”

As the title implies, the common-sense Resolution simply encour-ages the protection of free speechrights ingrained in both the U.S.Constitution and Article I of theConstitution of Virginia.

Given the recent efforts by someto suppress free speech on collegecampuses, any Virginian readingthe simple text of the Resolutionshould easily be able to say “yes,this makes sense.” There is abso-lutely nothing controversial in theResolution and it simply reinforces

our right to Free Speech.Yet, I was disappointed to learn

that Delegate Kathleen Murphychose to vote “No” on this Resolu-tion.

This action makes it appear thatshe prioritizes party politics overher oath to support the Constitu-tion of Virginia. She should askherself where her loyalty reallylies. If she is unwilling to supportthe Constitution, it is time for herto step down.

James SymanskiGreat Falls

DevelopmentFight Lost EarlyTo the Editor:

I could be wrong but I believe Idetected an implied note of con-cern in the headline (“EvolvingLand Use: Previous Classification”)

for your report on the Jan. 24 voteby our Board of Supervisors toapprove a zoning change for a pro-posed Gulick development in aforest next to Lexington Estateshere in Great Falls. Ironically, youreported in a previous edition that,at the same meeting, Board of Su-pervisor Chair Sharon Bulova pro-posed a Community Council onLand Use Engagement to betterinform and engage the public onthe board’s decision-making pro-cess.

I was unable to attend the meet-ing due to the birth in Richmondthat night of our first grandchildNora Elizabeth. I had planned tospeak out against the Gulick de-velopment but under the circum-stances I was more than happy tomiss the opportunity

One suggestion I have for thecouncil being formed is that thecounty not just send notices of pro-

posed actions to houses that areadjacent to the property in ques-tion. In our case, the Gulick de-velopment affects more than justthose living next door. Also, a yel-low board leaning against a treein a dead-end cul-de-sac announc-ing hearings doesn’t quite do it. Inour case Gulick reached out to ourHOA and the GFCA but attendanceat their meetings was relativelysparse.

Another suggestion I have is thatthe county give citizens more thanan appearance of a fighting chanceto stop a development when theybelieve it is wrong. A majority ofthe Lexington Estates residentswho responded to an HOA surveywere opposed to the Gulick devel-opment due to environmental con-cerns and concerns over disrup-tion. The survey results were re-ported to the Planning Commis

Great Falls Connection ❖ March 1-7, 2017 ❖ 9www.ConnectionNewspapers.com

From Page 8

Letters

See Letters, Page 13

sion. Before throwing everyoneunder the bus I have to acknowl-edge that Supervisor John Foust,our Planning Commissioner JohnUlfelder and Eric Knudsen and therest of the Great Falls Citizens As-sociation were very active andgenerous in their time and effortsto amend the Gulick plan. How-ever, all of them commended thedeveloper for “going well beyondwhat was required” forstormwater management and treepreservation. That says a lot aboutthe state of regulations and it’s likethanking Ghengis Khan for onlyburning down half your city. De-spite its commendation of Gulick,the GFCA has formed astormwater management commit-tee and is asking that the state andcounty look towards formulatingmore stringent requirements andprotections in the future.

The development plan wentfrom very bad to less bad throughmore than six iterations in a pro-cess that took more than a yearand a half. Each time the devel-oper assured us that their plan wasthe ultimate answer. But, whilethis was ongoing, everyone in-volved quietly assured me that thedevelopment would be approvedno matter what we said. A countystaffer informed me that the boardapproved the rezoning on Jan. 24because it did not “hear anythingnew.” There is clearly a mindsetin favor of development. As a“child of the ‘60s” I believe this isthe opposite of what should behappening.

Finally, it would be a fairer pro-cess if the impact of constructionon surrounding residents wasgiven greater priority. Once theissues of storm water managementand tree preservation were ad-dressed according to existing lawsand regulations the runway wascleared. Never mind that logicallyspeaking cutting down more thana thousand trees and bulldozingthe ground where they stood doesnot seem like good stormwatermanagement.

A provision in the Hickory Com-munity Planning Sector Land UseRecommendations states that theproposed cluster developmentmay be appropriate if individuallots, buildings, streets, utilities andparking areas are designed andsituated to minimize the disrup-tion of the site’s natural drainageand topography and to promotethe preservation of important viewsheds, historic resources, steepslopes, stream valleys and desir-able vegetation. R-1 Districts arenot appropriate unless significantbenefits can be achieved in thepreservation of the natural envi-ronment, scenic view shed(s) or

10 ❖ Great Falls Connection ❖ March 1-7, 2017 www.ConnectionNewspapers.com

News

By Tim Peterson

The Connection

On the morning of Feb. 8, U.S.Immigration and CustomsEnforcement (ICE) officersshowed up across the street

from Rising Hope Mission Church on RussellRoad in the Mount Vernon area of Alexan-dria. According to several witnesses, menwho had just left the church’s hypothermiashelter for the day were set upon and ques-tioned.

Some were asked if they’d seen any num-ber of illegal immigrant criminals for whichthe officers were searching. Others, Latinosin the group, were singled out, finger-printed, and some even restrained, forcedinto vans and driven away, witnesses said.

An ICE official would only confirm thattwo arrests were made at that location onthat day.

“Every day, as part of routine targetedenforcement operations, U.S. Immigrationand Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrestscriminal aliens and other individuals whoare in violation of our nation’s immigrationlaws,” the official said in a statement.

But on Feb. 17, Kincannon and other re-ligious leaders decided to pay a return visitto ICE, specifically at the field office on Pros-perity Avenue in Fairfax. He said they havebeen trying to find out the names of themen who were allegedly picked up in thevans but haven’t been successful yet.

After reports of ICE officers conductinglarge surges of searches, “targeted enforce-ment actions,” for undocumentedimmigrant criminals that followedexecutive order from PresidentDonald Trump, this action inMount Vernon has sparked fear inthe community and calls for an-swers from leaders, according tothe religious leaders.

Gov. Terry McAuliffe released aletter Feb. 16 directed to John Kelly,secretary of Homeland Security,requesting an immediate briefingregarding the events outside Ris-ing Hope, as chronicled by NBCWashington.

“These reports are anecdotal andI recognize that previous adminis-trations have conducted immigra-tion enforcement actions,”McAuliffe writes. “However, theNBC report raises a concern that,unlike previous actions, ICE agentsare detaining Virginia residentswithout cause or specific allega-tions of criminal activity.”

“This is something we will notstand for,” Kincannon said at thevigil. “That’s our legal cause in whywe are opposing what is happen-ing. But there’s a moral cause aswell, that goes to the heart of ourfaith.”

Kincannon said that Jesus Christ taught“how we treat the least of these” is how wetreat him.

“So when we detain people withoutcause, any allegation of criminal activity,”he continued, “it’s the same as detainingJesus Christ, without cause, any allegationof criminal activity.”

Oscar Ramirez, one of the green card-car-rying men who said he was detained andquestioned by ICE on Feb. 8 before eventu-ally being released, said fear in the immi-grant and Latino community has causedpeople to stay inside, away from public andgovernment buildings.

Supervisor Jeff McKay (D-Lee) said thisis a major blow to the public’s relationshipwith law enforcement — one that FairfaxCounty Police have been working to repairand bolster.

McKay said many people don’t differen-tiate among law enforcement — all are “po-lice.” And if residents, undocumented ornot, refuse to open the door or run the otherway when FCPD comes around looking forhelp solving crimes, that’s a concern.

“We’ve come too far building rela-tionships with the immigrant popu-lation,” McKay said, to “sever ties likethis.”

McKay cited the recent murdercase of 15-year-old Damaris ReyesRivas, for which FCPD has arrested10 suspects and issued murdercharges against five of them.

“Without that cooperation, wewouldn’t have people under arrest,”McKay said.

FCPD Chief of Police EdwinRoessler said community involve-ment was definitely part of the casethat helped them solve it.

Regarding the ICE activity as athreat to public trust of police,Roessler said “I absolutely have con-cern.”

He said he’s been hearing thesame questions from numeroussources, “challenging me with whatboils down to the perception, thatwe’re out there as immigration po-lice.”ICE is out there, Roessler said, but the

myth that’s developed about FCPD “doingimmigration raids in certain parts of thecounty, it’s not true.”

FCPD does not participate in ICE’s en-forcement activity, the chief said. “I needthe community to understand the FCPDprimary mission is to prevent and fightcrime. We’re not going to assist ICE in theservice of an administrative matter.”

Two memos from the Department of

Homeland Security were recently publishedgiving more detail to the executive orderson immigration and deportation enforce-ment.

“To maximize participation by state andlocal jurisdictions in the enforcement of fed-eral immigration law near the southernborder,” director Kelly wrote, “I am direct-ing the director of ICE and the commis-sioner of CBP to engage immediately withall willing and qualified law enforcement

jurisdictions that meet all programrequirements for the purpose of en-tering into agreements under287(g) of the INA.”

An ICE spokesperson said that“ICE will approach local jurisdic-tions to tell them about the 287gprogram,” but that ultimately thosejurisdictions need to go through anapplication process to participate.

When asked about the memo,Roessler said first that any changein FCPD operation would need togo through the Board of Supervi-sors. He also said he had not beencontacted by anyone from ICE orDHS regarding the memos.

Then he added: “Regardless oftheir status, we want people to havegreat confidence in their police de-partment and trust. We protect andserve you, prevent crime. That’s therole we’ve been doing, and what weintend to do in the future.”

More information about the twomemos is available online here:https://www.dhs.gov/executive-orders-protecting-homeland.

The full text of Gov. McAuliffe’sletter is available here: https://governor.virginia.gov/newsroom/newsarticle?articleId=19347.

Rising Hope pastor speaks about arrests outside church.

Prayer Vigil at ICE Office

On Feb. 17, Rising Hope pastor Keary Kincannon and other religious leaders held aprayer vigil and demonstration at the ICE field office on Prosperity Avenue in Fairfax.

Photos contributed

Rising Hope pastor Keary Kincannon(right) poses with Jim Wallis of theSojourners (left), trying to get informa-tion from ICE about the enforcementactivity that took place across the streetfrom Kincannon’s church on Feb. 8.

“We’ve come too farbuilding relationships withthe immigrant population[to] sever ties like this.”

— Supervisor Jeff McKay (D-Lee)

Great Falls Connection ❖ March 1-7, 2017 ❖ 11www.ConnectionNewspapers.com

Wellbeing

By Marilyn Campbell

The Connection

Those experiencing Itchy, wateryeyes and seemingly endlesssneezing know that spring al-lergy season is getting an early

start this year thanks to this season’s mildwinter weather.

“Everything is blooming early because ofthe warm weather,” said Dr. BarbaraMackie, M.D., allergist, of Privia MedicalGroup in Vienna. “People are spending moretime outside because the weather is lovely,but they’re experiencing allergy symptoms.”

One of the keys to surviving allergy sea-son is staying ahead of it. When thermom-eters are rising above 60 degrees for morethan three consecutive days, pollen fromplants begins to move through the air. Thetree pollen count has reached high concen-tration levels in the Washington, D.C. re-

gion, according to The American Academyof Allergy, Asthma & Immunology’s NationalAllergy Bureau Pollen and Mold Report.

“Most of the time seasonal allergies,whether it is spring or fall, are caused bypollens that are associated with grass, treesand weeds,” said Dr. Victoria A Garrison,M.D. a Student Health Services physicianand a professor in the School of Nursing atGeorge Mason University in Fairfax, “In ar-eas that are damp or humid, mold sporescan also be a factor. When people have al-lergies to these substances, the immunesystem will react and cause symptoms likesneezing, watery, itchy eyes, runny nose,sore or itchy throat, congestion and fa-tigue.”

“Mild winter temperatures cause plants

to pollinate early,” added Maureen Moriarty,DNP, assistant professor of Nursing atMarymount University in Arlington. “Thisproblem may be compounded by a rainyspring season, leading to increased moldlevels that can drive allergy symptoms insufferers through fall months.”

Instead of waiting for full-blown symp-toms, Mackie recommends beginning medi-cations early. “What I usually tell patientswho normally have seasonal allergies is totake their maintenance medications earlyso they’re covered when allergy seasonhits,” she said.

“Being prepared can often help slowdown symptoms of allergies,” added KathyGrilliot, director of Clinical Education Res-piratory Therapy Program at Northern Vir-ginia Community College’s Medical Educa-tion Campus in Springfield.

“Before the season starts, it is a good ideato start taking a nasal steroid. This medica-tion takes a few weeks to gain full effect sostarting before the allergens are everywherecan really help to control symptoms. Eyescan also have allergic reactions, so see aspecialist to have a good eye drop for aller-gen control.”

For those who might be perplexed by thedistinction between allergies and a commoncold: “If it’s lasting more than three days

Mild Winter Means Early Allergy SeasonExperts offersuggestions toprevent and treatallergy symptoms.

Allergist Dr.Barbara Mackie,M.D advisespatients whonormally haveseasonal aller-gies to begintaking medica-tion early.

Photo courtesy of

Barbara Mackie

with no fever, it’s probably not a cold,” saidMackie.

Some precautions that allergy suffererscan take to decrease their exposure to al-lergens include wearing a face mask whenoutside during times when the pollen countis high and resisting the urge to open carand house windows when the weather iswarm, especially if the wind is blowing.“Take off your shoes when you enter yourhouse so that allergens don’t get spreadaround the house,” said Grilliot. “Be awarewhere you place clothing that has beenoutside when you enter your house to pre-vent allergens from entering your home.”

“I advise patients to rinse their hair andtake a shower to get the pollen off beforegoing to bed at night,” added Mackie. “Oth-erwise you’re getting pollen on your pillow-case and sheets and breathing it in allnight.”

There are certain times of day when al-lergy sufferers should avoid being outside.“Mid-morning, afternoon and early eveningare peak times for pollen,” continuedMackie. “When it’s windy, don’t go out be-cause of the pollen.”

Pets can spread pollen as well. “Dogs getspring fever too and want to be outside, butthey can bring pollen into the house,” saidMackie. “Wipe off their coats and pawswhen them come inside.”

12 ❖ Great Falls Connection ❖ March 1-7, 2017 www.ConnectionNewspapers.com

Schools

Fourth-grade students at ForestvilleElementary School were up tosomething that had their parentsflocking to their classrooms last

Friday morning, Feb. 17.All 88 fourth-grade students of teachers

Margaret Zuerner, Lisa Goglio-Zarczynskiand Nancy

Crotty were making their Living WaxMuseum Project presentations — in cos-tume.

The Wax Museum tradition has been go-ing on since before Crotty started teachingat the school 15 years ago, she said.

“We study Virginia history as part offourth-grade curriculum,” Crotty said. “Theproject enriches the curriculum and givesthem a research project from start to fin-ish.”

Every fourth-grade student selects a fa-mous Virginian who had a positive impact

Forestville Elementary SchoolStudents Bring History to Life

Nancy Crotty’s fourth-grade class gather for a photo outside of the school to show offtheir costumes, which they were encouraged to wear all day.

Student Sarah Zhong wears an Olympic gold medaland jersey as Mia Hamm, a soccer player who com-peted with the U.S. women’s national soccer team for17 years. Hamm attended Lake Braddock SecondarySchool in Burke.

on the state. They then have six weeks toresearch and write a report. On the day ofthe Wax Museum, students display a tri-foldposter report about their Virginian and re-cite an informational speech while dressedup like their Virginian.

“They’re famous for the day,” Crotty said.

— Fallon Forbush

Student Andrew Wang reciteshis speech for a crowd ofparents as Meriwether Lewiswho was born in AlbemarleCounty, Va., on Aug. 18, 1774.“I like exploring,” Wang says.The subject for his project isbest known for his role as theleader of the Lewis and ClarkExpedition.

Photos by Fallon Forbush/The Connection

Faith Notes are for announcements andevents in the faith community. Send [email protected] is Friday at noon.

Passages DivorceCare If you areexperiencing the pain of separation ordivorce, the caring community at ViennaPresbyterian Church invites you to at-tend Passages DivorceCare. Thisprogram offers a path toward healing.The next 15-week DivorceCare serieswill be held Tuesdays from 6:45 to 9p.m. beginning on Feb. 21. Vienna Pres-byterian Church is located on the cornerof Maple Avenue (Rt. 123) and ParkStreet in Vienna. Cost to cover materi-als is $20, scholarships available. Formore information or to register call 703-938-9050, go to www.viennapres.org,or send an email [email protected].

The S.P.O.T for YouthWednesday’s at 7 p.m. A placewhere youth can come together andpray, ask questions about the faith andreceive mentorship. The spot is a min-istry of First Baptist Church of Viennalocated at 450 Orchard Street, NWVienna.

First Baptist Church of Viennalocated at 450 Orchard Street, NWVienna. Sunday services are held at 7:45and 10 a.m. weekly. Wednesday Nightwith the Family service is held at 6 p.m.followed by corporate singing at 7 p.m.Bible studies take place Tuesday’s atnoon.

Wesley United MethodistChurch located at 711 Spring StreetSE, Vienna, Virginia 22180, at the cor-ner of Spring Street and Moore Avenue.

10:30 a.m. fellowship time in the fellow-ship hall; 11 a.m. traditional familyworship in sanctuary. If you are seekinga church home which encourages: car-ing and supportive fellowship, an activeand devoted prayer life and study ofscripture, support for local and worldmissions, an open, responsive aware-ness to the presence and power of God’sHoly Spirit.

Youth Activities at WesleyUnited Methodist Church Activitiesare open to all 6th-12th graders. YouthSunday School meets every Sunday at10 a.m. in the upper room.

Youth Bible Study will meet everySunday at 4:30 p.m. off-site. Followingbible study we will ride together over tothe church for youth group. Email theYouth Ministry Staff for the address.

The Anchor meets every Sunday from

6-8 p.m. in the fellowship hall. Join usfor dinner, games, worship, and divingdeeper into the Word.

During the summer, Youth SundaySchool meets most Sundays at 9 a.m. inthe upper room.

To receive the newsletter or for moreinformation [email protected].

St. Thomas’ Episcopal Church atthe intersection of Lewinsville andBrook Roads in McLean, just a mile westof Tysons, invites you for a casual Sat-urday Service at 5 p.m., followed byconversation and fellowship or for Sun-day Services at 8 a.m. or 10 a.m. SundaySchool for Youth and Children takesplace during the 10 a.m. Service. Lookfor our Pumpkin Patch this October, andcheck www.stthomasmcleanva.org forSpecial Events and Services through the

year. St. Thomas’ Episcopal Church,8991 Brook Road, McLean, 703-442-0330.

Church of the Holy Comforter,543 Beulah Road, NE, Vienna offers amonthly Healing Eucharist with the Lay-ing on of Hands and Anointing forHealing (first Sunday of the month, 5p.m. at St. Mary’s Chapel. The HealingMinistry is led by the Rev. Valerie Hayesand Alexandra MacCracken and in-cludes a team of lay healers who havegone through intentional training andformation. Contact the Rev. ValerieHayes at [email protected].

The Jewish Social ServicesAgency (JSSA) offers a wide variety ofsupport groups for those with emo-tional, social, and physical challenges.www.jssa.org/growth-learning.

Faith Notes

Great Falls Connection ❖ March 1-7, 2017 ❖ 13www.ConnectionNewspapers.com

Community

‘Petals and Reflections’Great Falls artist, Betty Ganley, has been invited to present

a solo exhibition of 32 watercolors, at George Mason’sBuchanan Gallery, located at their Manassas Campus, in theHylton Performing Arts Center, March 7-April 15, with anopen reception, Thursday, March 9, 6-8 p.m. The exhibit,“Petals and Reflections”, showcases the artists attraction tonautical and floral themes. Visit www.hyltoncenter.org/ formore.

historic resources by permitting suchmodifications.

Currently, there is what is effectively amodel home being constructed close to theentrance of the development. It is huge.Nine more would be built over a period thatcould run to more than two years. Alreadyour oldest son was almost run off the roadby a truck hauling a construction vehicle tothe model home. My wife and I were giventhe same treatment by a cement truck rac-ing to the building site. This was while anelderly couple walking on the side of theroad looked on in alarm. It does not takemuch to imagine the construction trafficassociated with many tons of bricks, lum-ber, downed trees, fill dirt, concrete, as-phalt, construction equipment and work-men for nine very large homes. It is to befunneled through a half-mile stretch of sub-division where children and their parentslike to get out for a breath of fresh air. Thesame county staffer asked me how the many

Letters to the Editor

From Page 9 tons of the necessary supplies and equip-ment could get to the construction siteswithout trucks. That pretty much says it all.

As reported by The Connection, I live nextto the forest in question. I don’t believe thatany members of the Board of Supervisorsor Planning Commission would allow thisto happen to themselves or their neighbors.The GFCA fought the Brooks Farm devel-opment for more than two and a half years.It should be noted that despite many per-suasive arguments against it the GFCA ulti-mately failed to stop it.

We moved here from Salt Lake City in1987. The Salt Lake Valley is bordered bymountains east and west. The valley on thewest is mostly flat and treeless. Those neigh-borhoods with trees are generally the mostdesirable and expensive. I do not believe itis an exaggeration to estimate that moretrees have been cut down in Fairfax Countyin the past three decades than now exist inthe Salt Lake Valley.

Arthur Kingdom III, Great Falls

14 ❖ Great Falls Connection ❖ March 1-7, 2017 www.ConnectionNewspapers.com

News

By Fallon Forbush

The Connection

A microphone reserved for U.S.Rep. Barbara Comstock (R-10)remained silent during a townhall meeting on Friday, Feb. 24,

where 150 of her constituents gathered toquestion her.

Members of the Indivisible Virginia Dis-trict 10 group knew that Comstock declinedtheir invitation, but they chose to set up amic and a paper name plate for their Con-gressional lawmaker just in case shechanged her mind. After all, the event wasscheduled during Congress’s week-long re-cess from Feb. 19 to Feb. 25 when federallawmakers typically spend time meetingwith constituents in their home districts.

Instead, the congresswoman chose to at-tend a Catholic Charities Ball for the Dio-cese of Arlington at the Ritz-Carlton inTysons, leaving organizers to fact check herpublic record and attempt to answer ques-tions on her behalf.

An official invitation was given toComstock on Tuesday, Feb. 7, according toJan Hyland, a member of the LovettsvilleIndivisible group who helped organize thein-person town hall with other members ofIndivisible groups throughout northern Vir-ginia.

Indivisible groups have been formingacross the country after the publication ofan “Indivisible Guide” that was created inDecember to help people resist the Trumpadministration’s agenda, according to thegrassroots group’s website.

Virginia Indivisible members living in the10th Congressional District, like Hyland,were surprised to see that Comstock an-nounced a telephone town hall the verysame day they invited her to their in-per-son town hall.

Individuals subscribed to Comstock’semail list received a last-minute invitationto register to participate in the call thatwould be taking place the following day,Wednesday, Feb. 8.

The short notice, indirect answers fromComstock and the participant’s inability toask follow-up questions left Hyland and herIndivisible peers determined that their in-person town hall was still necessary.

“People left that [telephone] town hallfeeling all the more frustrated,” said Hyland.

While the gymnasium met its small ca-pacity that evening without Comstock,many more people saw her absence by tun-ing into the event over the Web. There havebeen more than 1,000 views of the townhall’s live and archived Facebook Live feedsthat streamed the event.

“The congresswoman hosts telephone townhalls where she can talk to thousands of herconstituents in a civil and conversationalmanner,” said Jeffrey Marschner, Comstock’sspokesperson, told the Connection in anemail. “She has been doing telephone townhalls since she was a delegate in 2010.”

Marschner said Comstock’s constituentsappreciate the opportunity to call in fromhome or wherever they are and listen in attheir convenience.

“There is a lot of hunger for engagementwith representatives,” said Nathan Will-iams, one of the primary organizers of theTown Hall Project.

His new grassroots project has sprung upto help satisfy the demand for lawmaker’sattention and is attempting to publicize allcongressional town hall and constituentevents.

“This resource should exist, in fact wewere surprised it didn’t exist, that nobodyhad a single source of every member ofCongress’ public events,” he said.

Since the project is a “labor of passion,”Williams relies on small donations and vol-unteer researchers from across the countrywho contribute to and update calendars,which can be a difficult task.

“You can’t find all of these events by go-ing to their website or going to theirFacebook page,” he said. “Some membersof Congress seem to be going to greatlengths to avoid making the events known.”

ACCORDING TO MARSCHNER,Comstock spent time in the district onWednesday, Feb. 22, speaking at a rotaryclub in Manassas, visiting a rehab healthcare facility in Gainesville and stopping into

a local pharmacy to discuss health care is-sues. She finished the day in Great Falls byattending a law enforcement fundraiser atthe Brix American Bistro.

Two telephone town halls that Comstockheld this month were publicized in twoemails that were only sent to subscriberson her opt-in email list. There was no in-formation about the events on her websiteor social media channels prior to the event.

“It was emailed to the congresswoman’se-newsletter list, put on her website andFacebook page,” Marschner said. “It wastaken down from the Facebook page whenregistration closed.”

This behavior isn’t unusual, especially forreluctant Republicans who have noticedother rowdy town halls by colleagues acrossthe country.

“We don’t have years and years of data,but we do get a sense that there are mem-bers of Congress that in the past have heldin-person town halls who are now holdingtele-town halls or Facebook Live eventswhere frankly questions are typicallyscreened,” said Williams.

While Williams cannot confirm whetherComstock screened her questions, he saidthat it is a typical process for members ofCongress, which is why his group does notthink virtual events are sufficient substitutesfor in-person town halls.

“There are cases to be made to having a

tele-town hall in addition to having an in-person town hall,” he said. “Unless they candemonstrate that they are taking all ques-tions [in a] totally open format, there is noreason to believe as a constituent that theyhave the same level of openness and ac-countability that an in-person town hall haswhere someone raises their hand and takesthe microphone to ask their question.”

Comstock’s office emailed a second invi-tation for another telephone town hall onFeb. 18. This time, constituents were givenmore advanced notice, as the tele-town hallwas scheduled for Tuesday, Feb. 21.

Last week, in-person meetings were alsogiven to constituents who had pressed staffmembers for face time with Comstock, ac-cording to Hyland. However, these meet-ings were brief and limited to one or two ata time. The meetings were also at her of-fice on Capitol Hill and the invitations weregiven out with very short notice, accordingto Hyland.

“Basically, people have a day’s notice orless to take off time from work and they’rebeing asked to travel into Washington toher office in D.C., not here in the actual dis-trict,” Hyland said. “There’s no reason thatpeople who live as far away as Winchester,Clarke County or those of us out here inLovettsville, etcetera, to have to drive outof district on a week where she’s being paidto be out here with us.”

While there was a noticeable effort toquell in-person meetings last week, her con-stituents have been complaining about it allmonth.

“A friend just came back from a Comstockevent in Oakton — Barbara was supposedto meet constituents there to talk about therepeal of Obamacare and she never showedup,” wrote Fairfax resident James McCeneyon the public Facebook page of Our Revo-lution Northern Virginia, a liberal activistgroup.

Comstock sent staff members to the eventinstead.

“There’s a difference between listening tosomeone on the phone or reading aFacebook text question versus having a per-son look you in the eye and say, ‘I’m veryconcerned about losing my health insuranceand I’m a real person, I’m standing here infront of you, I’m not a paid protester, I’mnot a made-up Internet troll, I’m real andmy concerns are real and you represent me,so what are you going to do about it,’” saidWilliams. “Regardless of where they are inthe political spectrum, I think every mem-ber of Congress needs that face-to-face in-teraction with their constituents,” Williamssaid.

Comstock’s office is currently polling con-stituents over email about their stances onissues. On Feb. 15, subscribers to her emaillist received a short online “Issues Survey.”

“I would like to know which issues aremost important to you and what issues youfeel should be addressed?” her email read.

She asked recipients to react to policystatements by checking one of three optionsby each statement: “Agree,” “Disagree” or“No Opinion.”

Representative uses tele-town halls to discuss issues with voters.

Comstock Skips Constituent-Organized Town Hall

Alane Dashner of Great Falls askedhow the Republican administrationplanned to pay for the replacementof the Affordable Care Act.

Sue Reilly and her husband SteveDuggas of Ashburn stand and showtheir support when someone saidU.S. Rep. Barbara Comstock (R-10)should support a pathway tocitizenship for people living in thecountry without legal permissioninstead of deporting them.

Lindsey Davis Stover of McLeanvoiced concern over the demise ofthe Affordable Care Act and howU.S. Rep. Barbara Comstock (R-10)would keep birth control acces-sible and affordable if the law wasrepealed.

The seat at the table for U.S. RepBarbara Comstock (R-10) at theSterling Community Center re-mained empty during the town hall.

Photos by Fallon Forbush/The Connection

Great Falls Connection ❖ March 1-7, 2017 ❖ 15www.ConnectionNewspapers.com

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Sports

By Gary Coetzee

Great Falls Youth Rugby

It is wheels up on March 2 for Great Falls RugbyClub’s middle school boys, and they have reason tobe optimistic. With the support of the Great FallsOptimists Club, 12 boys will compete in the premierrugby 7s tournaments of the year – The Las Vegas7s. “I am very grateful to the Great Falls OptimistClub and to all those in the community who havesupported our boys’ trip to the Vegas 7s. This will bea great opportunity for them to see internationalrugby up close and to grow both as a team and asindividuals on the pitch. Success requires both gritand teamwork,” said Gary Coetzee, head coach ofGreat Falls Rugby Club.

What is rugby 7s? Well, it is that fast-paced, full-field running game that you saw played in the RioSummer Olympics. Did you know that national cham-pion and New England Patriot, Nate Ebner, playedrugby for the U.S. in Rio? With the return of rugbyto the Summer Olympics, the United States has seena surge of interest in this global sport. Rugby hasbeen lauded as a safer alternative to American foot-ball. (Cue the old “pads versus no pads” safety de-bate.) And, some claim it is the fastest growing youthsport in America. This is, perhaps, because until 5th

grade, the game is purely a “tag” sport with no tack-ling but lots and lots of running and teamwork.

Those who spend time in Great Falls Village mayhave noticed this phenomena playing out at Leo

Santabella field, home base for the Great Falls RugbyClub. Last year a scrum sled showed up to compli-ment the numerous lacrosse goals dotting the land-scape. Great Falls Rugby is celebrating its fifth anni-versary this year and has seen steady growth and suc-cess since its inception. In 2016 the Club’s coed, un-der-9 “tag” rugby team placed third in Rugby Virginia’sstatewide tournament. In 2017 the club has addedgirl’s high-school and middle school tackle teams.

The Club is grateful for all of the support that theGreat Falls community has shown over the years,particularly for its November benefit tournament.This past November marked the third anniversary ofthe tournament which raised a significant sum tobenefit the spinal cord injury recovery programs atMedstar National Hospital.

Great Falls Rugby plays year round and allows play-ers to pop-in and pop-out throughout the year. Reg-istration is always open and players can join at anytime. Summer is the primary season for rugby inVirgina and culminates with a statewide tournamentat the end of July – just in time to show up fit for fallsports. For more information about Great Falls Rugby,visit www.rugbyva.com or contact Gary Coetzee [email protected].

Great Falls Rugby ClubHeads to Tournament

Local high school senior BeatriceKelly-Russo has accepted a bid byLynchburg College to play on itschampionship woman’s soccerteam. Soccer has been her passionsince starting to play at age 9. Shehas been goalie for several soccerclubs, Langley High School,Herndon High School, and an in-door team at Sterling SportsPlex,plus she coaches youth soccerthere as well.

Kelly-Russo will be joining a suc-cessful soccer program atLynchburg. The team has been in-vited to the NCAA playoffs everyyear since 2010. It won successive

ODA Conference championshipseach year, and went on to capturethe Division III National Champi-onship in 2014.

Coach Todd Olson recruitedKelly-Russo early based on herperformance at a soccer camp,and offered her a place on theLynchburg team during her jun-ior year at high school. She washonored for her selection at a“Signing Ceremony” Feb. 10 atHerndon High School.

Kelly-Russo is a high schoolhonor student and has beenawarded an academic scholarshipby Lynchburg College.

Beatrice Kelly-Russo toPlay for Lynchburg College

Photo contributed

Bea Kelly-Russo and Cpt.Adler signing the intentform for Lynchburg CollegeWomen’s Soccer.

16 ❖ Great Falls Connection ❖ March 1-7, 2017 www.ConnectionNewspapers.com

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Welcoming, Diverse, Progressive

By Aubrey Winger

Loudoun Valley High School

You never know what to expect when jour-neying into the woods. Perhaps you willcross paths with a wily wolf, or an inno-cent boy with his cow. However, you would

never expect to find the sublime vocals and enticingperformances of The Madeira School’s cast of “Intothe Woods.”

A classic musical by Stephen Sondheim, “Into theWoods” epitomizes the fractured fairy tale. Treasuredcharacters from children’s stories are brought to-gether in one giant spectacle. As the show progresses,

their happy endings are forever alteredby a maniacal witch and a few old beans.

In a show known for its subplots anddistinctive characters, the Madeira castmade sure every story was heard.

Cinderella (Keenan Parker) won hearts with her spec-tacular range and melancholy expressions. She wasjuxtaposed with her stepfamily, all deliciously eviland remarkably fun to despise. Jack (Zoe Crawley)and Little Red Riding Hood (Katie King) capturedyouth and playfulness in their characters. They alsoshowed growth as Little Red learned “many valu-able things” and Jack found his confidence at thetop of the beanstalk. Jack’s faithful companion, MilkyWhite (Alex Raposo), was effortlessly funny with-out “uddering” a sound.

The Baker’s Wife (Claire Pitzer) was a breath ofreality. As Cinderella spoke of her glamorous nightsat the ball, Pitzer was stunned by the idea of evenencountering royalty. Later, when she had her veryown royal fling, Pitzer grounded herself with sternreasoning, reassuring herself that it was only a “mo-ment in the woods.” Vei Vei Thomas, playingCinderella’s Prince, brought her fantasies to life.Thomas and Prabha Girish (Rapunzel’s Prince) em-braced their roles with outlandish masculinity andflirting.

“BOOM! CRASH! A lightning flash!” Every momentof Magana Ngaiza as the witch was electrifying.Ngaiza’s disfigured form and chilling, wild-eyed takesto the audience accentuated her stunning vocal per-formance. This diabolical persona contrasted per-fectly with the elegant post-transformation witch.Although Ngaiza maintained her insidious personal-ity and questionable motives in the second act, shedeveloped an entirely new physique as she relishedher newfound beauty.

Every member of this cast was female, yet the per-sonas of male characters and the chemistry between

couples were consistently believable. Ensemble num-bers were full of haunting harmonies, maintainingthe integrity of Sondheim’s intricate score.

One of the most impressive technical elements wasthe set. Naturally, a show built from storybooksshould have a set built from them too. The trees inthe woods rose upon trunks formed from book spinesand extended into branches made of pages suspendedfrom the ceiling. The curved trunks made the forestperfect for hiding, providing a vehicle for a certainmysterious man to disappear. The use of a cycloramawas also commendable. At the beginning of each act,before the characters journeyed into the woods, thispiece was used with three fireplaces to represent thehomes of characters. Each fireplace was beautifullydesigned to show the characters’ personality and sta-tus. The narrator sat in a library nook off to the side,separating himself from the story at hand.

The breathtaking sets and stellar performances inThe Madeira School’s production of “Into The Woods”were a fairy tale come true.

Entertainment

‘Into the Woods’ at The Madeira School

hoto by Teresa Wood

From left are Alex Raposo, Zoe Crawley,and Callie Jacks.

Cappies

Review

Send announcements toconnectionnewspapers.com/Calendar/.Deadline is Friday at noon for thefollowing week’s paper. Photos/artworkencouraged.

ONGOINGSculpture Now. Through March 4 at

McLean Project For The Arts at ChainBridge, 1446 Chain Bridge Road,McLean. Presented by WashingtonSculptors Group & McLean Projectfor the Arts and juried by NancySausser, Exhibitions Director of theMcLean Project for the Arts. Visitwww.mpaart.org for more.

Trevor on Stage. Various timesthrough March 5 at 1st Stage inTysons, 1524 Spring Hill Road,Tysons Corner. $30, seniors (65+)$27, students and military $15.

Purchase online atwww.1ststagetysons.org or 703-854-1856.

“Around the World” Arts. ThroughMarch 6, various time at Vienna ArtsCenter,

115 Pleasant St., NW, Vienna. Memberspaintings. Free. Visitwww.ViennaArtsSociety.org or call703-319-3971.

Stuff-a-Bus Food Drive. ThroughApril 15, various times at Christ theKing Lutheran Church, 10550Georgetown Pike, Great Falls. A fooddrive for non-perishable items tosupport Arlington Food AssistanceCenter. There will be drop off boxesfor donations of non-perishable foodthroughout the church. Then, onApril 1, look for the school busparked in front of the church. Call703-759-6068.

The Golden Girls of NorthernVirginia, a senior women’s softballleague, is looking for players. Anywoman over the age of 40 isencouraged to join. All skill levels arewelcome. Play on Wednesdayevenings and Saturday mornings inVienna. Visit www.goldengirls.org.

First Sunday Jazz Brunch 11-2 p.m.Recurring monthly on the 1st Sundayat Bazin’s on Church 111 Church StN.W., Vienna. Enjoy brunchaccompanied by the soft jazz soundsof Virginia Music Adventure. Visitwww.fxva.com/listing/bazins-on-church/1686/

The Freeman Store & MuseumWednesday through Sunday noon-4p.m. 131 Church St. NE, Vienna. TheFreeman Store & Museum is

Calendar

See Calendar, Page 13

The Celebrate Great FallsFoundation will host its annualWinter Wine Tasting on Satur-day, March 4, from 7-10 p.m.at the River Bend Golf & Coun-try Club on Walker Road.

Richard Ashton, owner ofClassic Wines on GeorgetownPike, will be pouring wine andtaking orders at the event forthe third consecutive year.

“If they like a wine at the tast-ing, they can order it and pickit up at the shop here the nextweek,” Ashton said. “They can’tactually buy it at the event.”

Guests will receive a sam-pling of cheeses, hors d’oeuvresand domestic wines that thegolf course selected

“They’re all from pretty repu-table producers and some arehard to get stuff,” Ashton said.“They’re all good in their ownright.”

He has been selling the Intrin-sic Cabernet from Washingtonin his shop for the last year to“rave reviews,” he said.

It is an unusual wine because

Community Causes BenefitFrom Wine Tasting Event

the producers leave the wine incontact with the skins of thegrapes, according to Ashton.

“Usually the skins are re-moved after two weeks, afterthe color has been extractedand the tannins, but they actu-ally leave the skins in contactwith the wine for, I think, eightor nine months.”

This process is called extremeextended maceration.

He said the Cabernet is calledIntrinsic because of its intrin-sic ability to mellow itself outover time to be a “great, full-bodied wine.”

Tickets are available for pur-chase online atwww.celebrategreatfalls.orguntil Feb. 28. They are $75 perperson.

— Fallon Forbush

Photos by Malou Rennert

Great Falls Connection ❖ March 1-7, 2017 ❖ 17www.ConnectionNewspapers.com

Entertainment

By Cecily Wolfe

Flint Hill School

Haunting xylophones ring and sharpshafts of light illuminate a schoolhouse. Though the classroom appearsnormal, with a bookshelf, chalkboard,

and chairs, this is not a typical children’s story. Ayoung girl kneels holding flowers, and as a disturb-ing smile contorts her face, an alarming sense of fore-boding descends on McLean High School’s produc-tion of “The Children’s Hour.”

Based on a true story, Lillian Hellman’s “TheChildren’s Hour” is the troubling tale of a girls’ board-ing school in the 1930s in which one student, MaryTilford, accuses the heads of school, Karen Wright

and Martha Dobie, of inappropriate re-lations. Mary then deviously spins anelaborate scheme in which to ensnare thetwo headmistresses, until the rumor ru-ins their reputations, friendships, and the

lives of their loved ones. Premiering at the MaxineEliot Theatre in New York City on Nov. 20, 1934,“The Children’s Hour” received both critical acclaimand disdain because of its controversial material, yettoday is a staple in the American drama repertoire.

McLean High School’s production of this disquiet-ing incident treated such an upsetting tragedy withmaturity. Jordan Prather (Martha Dobie) personifiedthe sensible headmistress. Her controlled voice andpoised posture contrasted beautifully with her subtlehesitations when discussing her amorous feelings.Stutters and wringing of her hands belied her jeal-ousy over Karen’s relationship with her fiance, Dr.Joseph Cardin, while the desperate, hysterical edgebordering on a sob and agitated pacing adeptly con-veyed the inner turmoil over her sexuality.

Anna Kate Womack’s (Karen Wright) presence ac-centuated the intensity of the play, comfortable

whether she engaged in a heartbreaking exchangewith Joey Barth (Dr. Joseph Cardin), who helpedground the show through his rational tone and me-thodical movements, or a stark moment of silence andpenetrating stare that left the audience breathless.

Others, such as Emily Lachow (Mrs. Amelia Tilford,Mary’s grandmother) and Julia Luigs (Mrs. Lily Mor-tar, Martha’s aunt) accordingly portrayed the allegedwisdom of age through Lachow’s self-righteous bear-ing and Luigs’s dramatic, all-knowing air. In contrast,Rachel Kulp (Mary Tilford) fostered a charged at-mosphere through her chilling intensity. Her sulkingface fluidly transitioned to low, menacing tones andoverbearing stance, and just as easily to the falseinnocence of a confused child barely able to keepher body and voice from trembling in fear. AmandaFlores (Rosalie Wells) complemented Kulp’s eeriecharacter through her purposefully nervous shufflingand shuddering, while Carenna Slotkoff (PeggyRogers) and Ariana Colder (Evelyn Munn) capturedthe demeanor of young girls whose enthusiasm turnsto horror as their supposed friend backs them intocorners and pulls their hair. In fact, the school girlsas a whole appeared quite natural as they chatteredcomfortably and murmured anxiously about upcom-ing exams and social events.

Furthermore, technical aspects were impressive,including dresses of rich fuchsia and a gentle bluejuxtaposed with drab brown; crowded bookshelvesand neat office space easily changed into an immacu-late living room, and then to a barren, jumbled class-room; appropriately period props, from the telephoneto the black-and-white portraits; and amber lightingthat was both clean and natural.

Jarring and distressing, the painful memory of grimexpressions and bodies rigid with regret seared intoone’s mind by McLean High School’s “The Children’sHour” should serve as a lesson that since words alonecan destroy, one should use them wisely.

‘The Children’s Hour’ at McLean

Cappies

Review

dedicated to Preserving and promotingVienna’s heritage through theidentification, preservation, andinterpretation of history significantplaces, events, and persons.Historicviennainc.org

Weekly Storytime. Wednesday andSaturday. 11 a.m. Barnes & Noble,7851 L Tysons Corner Center,McLean. Themes and titles vary. Freeadmission.

Bingo Night. Sundays. 4 p.m. FlameRoom, Vienna Volunteer FireDepartment, 400 Center St. S,Vienna. $10. www.vvfd.org/bingo.html.

Gentle Yoga. Thursdays, 6:30 p.m.Emmaus United Church of Christ,900 E Maple Ave. E., Vienna.Saturdays, 9:30 a.m. UnitarianUniversalist Congregation of Fairfax,2709 Hunter Mill Road, Oakton.Gentle Kundalini Yoga, one freeintroductory session, seniordiscounts. Increase flexibility,improve breathing and health, reducestress. Ravi Kaur has 15 yearsexperience teaching yoga. $15 persession. www.edimprovement.org.571-213-3192.

Tai Chi Beginners’ Practice.Saturdays, 8-9 a.m. St. Luke’sCatholic School Gymnasium, 7005Georgetown Pike, McLean. WeeklyTai Chi practice. Group has met forover 20 years. Free. FreeTaiChi.org.703-759-9141.

Fishing Rod Rentals 8700 PotomacHills St., Great Falls. Rentalsavailable during visitor center hours.

Fishing tackle and live bait areavailable for purchase. Reservationsrequired for group rentals. $6/rental(2 hour max). Valid driver’s licenserequired. Rod/reel combinations areperfect for beginners and children. AVirginia or Maryland freshwaterfishing license is required for those16 years or older. The park does notsell fishing licenses.www.fairfaxcounty.gov/parks/riverbend-park/

Colvin Run Mill open 11 - 4 p.m.daily, closed Tuesday. 10017 ColvinRun Road, Great Falls. FairfaxCounty’s operational 19th centurywater powered gristmill, offersrecreational and educationalactivities for all ages through dailytours, school programs and specialevents. Fees: $7/adult, $6 students16+ with ID, $5 children & seniors.January and Februar hours: 11 a.m.-4 p.m., last tour 3 p.m. Admission topark is free except for some specialevents. South County GovernmentCenter, 7-9 p.m. 8350 RichmondHighway, Alexandria. Thursday,February 16, 2017 (Room 220) &Thursday, May 18, 2017 (Room 220)Chantilly High School 7-9 p.m. 4201Stringfellow Road, Chantilly.Thursday, March 16, 2017 (Room253) & Thursday, June 15, 2017(Room 253). For All Sessions, RSVPto: Carole Rogers at [email protected] or 703-273-8829.

FRIDAY/MARCH 3Friday Fun Storytime. 11:30 a.m. at

the Dolley Madison Library, 1244

Oak Ridge Ave., McLean. Stories andactivities about Dr. Seuss’s Birthday.Age 2-5 with adult. Free. Call 703-356-0770 for more.

SATURDAY/MARCH 4Wine Tasting River Bend Country

Club 7 - 10 p.m. There will be adelicious selection of Hors d’oeuvres,cheeses and fine wines and minglingwith long-time and new Great Fallsneighbors.

TUESDAY/MARCH 7Lecture and Book Signing. Noon at

Trinity United Methodist Church,1205 Dolley Madison Blvd., McLean.Sandra Grimes, former CIA officerwho helped unmask Aldrich Amesand co-wrote 2012 book “Circle ofTreason” on the subject. Free. Visitwww.mcleanwomansclub.org. or call703-556-0197.

Mobile Tech Tuesday. 2 p.m. at theDolley Madison Library, 1244 OakRidge Ave. McLean. Bring a smartphone or tablet and learn about basicmobile device functions, or movebeyond the basics.

THURSDAY/MARCH 9LEGO Club (S.T.E.A.M.). 4:30 p.m. at

Great Falls Library, 9830 GeorgetownPike, Great Falls. Have fun, use theimagination and keep theengineering and problem-solvingskills flowing with lots of LEGO®

From Page 12

Calendar

See Calendar, Page 15

18 ❖ Great Falls Connection ❖ March 1-7, 2017 www.ConnectionNewspapers.com

Zone 6 Ad Deadline:

Monday Noon

703-778-9411

Zone 6: • Arlington • Great Falls

• McLean • Vienna/Oakton

Home & GardenHome & GardenCONTRACTORS.comconnectionnewspapers.com

Recessed LightingCeiling FansPhone/CATVComputer Network CablingService UpgradesHot Tubs, etc…

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A&S Landscaping

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Power WashingGo from green to clean, do you have

mold on your siding rotten wood that’sa hoa voilation? We do houses, decks,fences, side walks, etc. Deck and fence

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email: [email protected]

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Remodeling Homes, Flooring,Kitchen & Bath, Windows,

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RN. CONTRACTORS, INC.

Phone: 703-887-3827E-mail: [email protected]

www.rncontractors.com

J.E.S. ServicesYour neighborhood company since 1987

703-912-6886

Landscaping & Construction

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• Planting & Landscaping Design• Drainage & Water Problems• Concrete Driveways, Replacement or New• Patios and Walks • Masonry Work or Dry Laid• Paver, Flagstone, Brick, any style you choose• Retaining walls of all types

Free Estimates - Fully Licensed & Insured

LAWN SERVICE LAWN SERVICE

WILLIAMS PLUMBING& RemodelingNo Job too small

Toilets, disposals, leaks, sump pumps, faucets

Lic & Ins 25 yrs exp24 hour service.

571-263-6405

PLUMBING PLUMBING

Partial or Full. Kit. Floors, Backsplashes.Specializing in Ceramic, Porcelain, Glass Tiles

and Natural Stones. Also repair work. 35 yrs exp.

BATHROOM REMODELING

703-250-2872Licensed • Bonded • Insured

www.brennan-tile.com

by Brennan Bath and Tile

TILE/MARBLE TILE/MARBLE

Quality Tree Service& Landscaping

Reasonable prices. Licensed & insured.

24 Hour EmergencyTree Service

25 years of experience – Free estimates 703-868-5358

Summer Cleanup...Tree removal, topping & pruning,shrubbery trimming, mulching,leaf removal, planting, hauling,gutter cleaning, retaining walls,

drainage problems, etc.

TREE SERVICE TREE SERVICE

LANDSCAPING

SOD, Mulch, Clean-UpLeaf Removal

Hauling.703-863-7465

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PLUMBING PLUMBING

Water HeatersSump PumpsFaucetsToiletsDrain CleaningWater Leaks

703-388-6601www.hightideplumbingofva.comherb@hightideplumbingofva.com

Residential & Commercial

It’s Never Too Early to schedule your pool opening for 2017

Call Jonathan Ruhe & Teamat Anthony & Sylvan Pools

Opening and Closing Packages(4th season free if booked before April 1)

Annual Pool Maintenance Contracts 10% OFF if booked by April.

703-803-7374 Ext. 3140

LANDSCAPING LANDSCAPING

The biggestthings arealways the

easiest to dobecause there isno competition.

-William Van Horne

The future comes one day at a time.

-Dean Acheson

NOTICETO ESTABLISH A NEW BRANCH

Notice is hereby given that TD Bank, N.A.,2035 Limestone Road, Wilmington, DE 19808,

has applied to the Office of Comptroller ofthe Currency on or about February 23 2017, as

specified in 12 C.F.R. §5 for permission toestablish a new branch to be located at

6260 Old Dominion Drive, McLean,County of Fairfax,

State of Virginia, 22101.Any person wishing to comment on this

application may file comments in writing to

Ms. Marva Cummings, DirectorOCC Northeastern District,

340 Madison Avenue, 5th Floor,New York, NY 10173

within 30 days of this publication.

21 Announcements 21 Announcements

We pay top $ for STERLING, MEN'S WATCHES,

JEWELRY, COSTUME JEWELRY, FURNITURE, PAINTINGS AND CLOCKS.

Schefer Antiques703-241-0790

[email protected]

26 Antiques 26 Antiques

JENNIFER SMITH ❖ Serving the Area Since 1995

➣ Speed Up SlowComputers

➣ Virus Removal➣ Computer Setup➣ Help with Windows 8 & 10

571-265-2038

HDICOMPUTER SOLUTIONS

[email protected]

101 Computers 101 Computers

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

By KENNETH B. LOURIEIt’s not as if I haven’t written about this date:

2/27, before (try last week, Ken), but as I sit atmy desk and stare at the calendar hanging onthe wall to my front right, the date jumps out atme. Not that I approach it with any fear ortrepidation, but I do approach it for days,weeks and even months, calculating my pastand contemplating my future. Cancer has a wayof marking time, and leaving marks —figuratively and literally.

Mostly I have weathered the cancer storm,eight years and counting/hoping. And as muchas I don’t want to define myself as a cancerpatient/survivor and live my life waiting for theother shoe to drop, it’s difficult not to whenyour feet are so swollen from years of chemo-therapy that you’re now forced to wear yoursneakers without laces. What I lose in support, Igain in comfort. Shoes I can’t wear any more.The leather soles don’t cushion my feet enoughto not fatigue my legs. The shoe can’t drop ifI’m not wearing it, right? Hardly. It can drop atany time. Certainly it can drop after my quar-terly scans, hearing that tumor and/or fluidgrowth has recurred or anytime in betweenwhen new symptoms appear and persist (fortwo to three weeks, my oncologist has advised).The trick is; heck, there is no trick.

And as much as I’d like to live this date asany other, the date on which one is diagnosedwith non-small cell lung cancer, stage IV andgiven a “13-month to two-year” prognosis byan oncologist, is a date that cannot be livednormally. February 27, 2009 is a date, to invokeFranklin Delano Roosevelt, that will live in myinfamy. February 27, 2009 was a Friday. Wehad scheduled a mid-morning appointment.My brother, Richard (my one surviving immedi-ate family member), met my wife, Dina and I(Team Lourie as I’ve become accustomed tocalling us) in the lobby of the HMO andtogether we took the elevator up to the thirdfloor (can you say somber?) where we were tomeet an oncologist — a man whom I hadnever met or heard of before, to learn exactlywhat the previous week’s biopsy being malig-nant, meant.

After the awkward introductions, theoncologist spent the next 10 minutes or soexamining me in an adjacent room. Uponcompleting the examination, we all reassem-bled in the doctor’s office where he proceededto review/read the results/assessments from theprevious seven weeks of tests/examinationsfrom the pulmonologist, the radiologist, thethoracic surgeon and the associated diagnosticprocedures completed: X-Rays, CT Scan, P.E.T.Scan, and of course, the biopsy. The medicalopinions started off bad and got worse: stage IV,non small cell lung cancer, a “terminal” disease.In listening to the reports, there seemed tobe little doubt as to the diagnosis. And so itwas clear to my oncologist how to proceed:chemotherapy infusions to begin as soon aspossible; to occur every three weeks for sixcycles with face-to-face appointments and CTScans to follow. And though it wasn’t, and ithasn’t been pretty, generally it has — presuma-bly, kept me alive and in reasonably good spir-its, all things considered, and some of thosethings considered have included some non-Western alternatives.

So here I am, nearly eight years to the datewhen my old life (pre-diagnosis) ended and mynew life — as a cancer patient, began. I would-n’t call it a metamorphosis, more like anupheaval. Somehow though, as the time, treat-ment and routine passed, I began to assimilateand integrate my new reality into my age 54and a half head and figure a way forward. Ican’t say it’s been fun, but the more I can laughand find humor in my less-than-ideal circum-stances, the more positive I can be about thenegative. A negative which has already doneenough damage on its own.

Still“Dating”

ClassifiedClassified

Great Falls Connection ❖ March 1-7, 2017 ❖ 19www.ConnectionNewspapers.com

Zone 6 Ad Deadline:

Monday Noon

703-778-9411

Zone 6: • Arlington • Great Falls

• McLean • Vienna/OaktonClassifiedClassified

21 Announcements 21 Announcements 21 Announcements

Zone 6 Ad Deadline:

Tuesday 11 a.m.

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EducationalInternshipsUnusual opportunity tolearn many aspects of thenewspaper business.Internships available inreporting, photography,research, graphics.Opportunities for students,and for adults consideringchange of career. Unpaid.E-mail [email protected]

CLASSIFIEDDEADLINESZones 1, 5, 6 ....................Mon @ noonZones 2, 3, 4 ....................Tues @ noon

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HOW TO SUBMIT ADS TO

ZONESZone 1: The Reston Connection The Oak Hill/Herndon ConnectionZone 2: The Springfield Connection The Burke Connection The Fairfax Connection The Fairfax Station/Clifton/ Lorton ConnectionZone 3: The Alexandria Gazette Packet

The Mount Vernon Gazette

Zone 4: Centre View North Centre View SouthZone 5: The Potomac AlmanacZone 6: The Arlington Connection

The Vienna/OaktonConnection

The McLean ConnectionThe Great Falls

Connection

bricks. Age 5-12. Free. Call 703-757-8560 for more.River Cruise Night. 7-9 p.m. at Paddy Barry’s

Irish Pub, 8150 Leesburg Pike, Vienna. Learnabout hosted group wine sailings as well asindividual reservations for 2017 and 2018 onEurope’s waterways. Free. [email protected] or by phone at703-938-1300.

SATURDAY/MARCH 11Spring Bazaar. 10 a.m.-4 p.m. at Vienna

Volunteer Fire Department, 400 Center St.,South, Vienna. The Auxiliary to the ViennaVolunteer Fire Department will hold their SpringBazaar and Craft Show. Free. Call 703-309-3468or email [email protected] for more.

Essential Oils for Spring. 1 p.m. at the DolleyMadison Library, 1244 Oak Ridge Ave., McLean.Learn about the benefits of essential oils and themany reasons to use them. Adults. Call 703-356-0770 for more.

Effective Communication Workshop. 1-3 p.m.at Patrick Henry Library, 101 Maple Ave. E.,Vienna. Tom Pfeifer, the author of “Write it,Speak it: Writing a Speech They’ll APPLAUD!”presents tools for a more effective communicatorand leader. Visit www.fairfaxcounty.gov/libraryor call 703-938-0405 for more.

Japanese Teas. 1-3 p.m. at Colvin Run Mill,10017 Colvin Run Road, Great Falls. Taste avaried selection of teas and take home a CherryBlossom Blend tea sampler. $35. Call 703-759-2771 for more.

Gospel Concert. 3 p.m. at Historic PleasantGrove, 8641 Lewinsville Road, McLean. Free.This community event features Voices ofWorship community choir singing traditionalgospel music and uplifting spirituals in a quaint1895 church setting, now an historic site. Visitwww.HistoricPleasantGrove.org for more.

SUNDAY/MARCH 12McLean Newcomers Luncheon. 11:30 a.m. at

Nostos, 8100 Boone Blvd., Vienna. CeciliaGlembocki, Executive Director of the VirginiaEgg Council will speak about her 35 years oforganizing the White House Egg Roll. ToR.S.V.P. for the luncheon, e-mail Gloria Cohan,[email protected] by March 10. Visitwww.McleanNewcomers.org for more.

Winter Traditional Celtic Concerts. Shows at4 and 6 p.m. at The Old Brogue Irish Pub, 760-CWalker Road, Great Falls. Celtic musiciansperforming in a listening room by the fireside.$18/$12 children. Visit oldbrogue.com or call703-759-3309 for more.

MONDAY/MARCH 13Lunch N’ Life. Noon at Emmanuel Lutheran

Church, 2589 Chain Bridge Road. Shepherd’sCenter of Oakton-Vienna’s first Lunch N’ Lifeevent of the year, with “Scandals in the City”Alice Roosevelt Longworth as portrayed byentertainer, Elaine Flynn. $10, prepaymentrequired by Wednesday, March 8. No refunds.Visit www.scov.org or call call 703-281-0538.

TUESDAY/MARCH 1439th Annual Valor Awards. 11 a.m.-1:30 p.m.

at Hilton McLean Tysons Corner, 7920 JonesBranch Drive, McLean. To honor public safetyheroes from the Fairfax County PoliceDepartment, Fairfax County Fire & RescueDepartment, Fairfax County Office of the Sheriff,Town of Vienna Police Department, and Town ofHerndon Police Department who have put theirpersonal safety at risk to keep our communityand businesses safe. Chris Lawrence, NewsAnchor with News4 at 4, NBC4, will act asemcee. Registration is available online. Entry is$125 for a single ticket, or $1,250 for a table of10. Email [email protected].

Lecture on Italy. 5 p.m. at Dante’s Ristorante,1148 Walker Road, Great Falls. A discussion onexperiences in Italy. Dinner plus $5 per personor $10 per couple to cover Dr. Cicali’stransportation. Call 703-759-4605 for more.

Civil War Historian. 7:30 p.m. at the McLeanCommunity Center, 1234 Ingleside Ave.,McLean.The program will feature noted CivilWar historian Jim Lewis who will discuss “TheEvolution of the Fairfax/Loudoun CountyBoundary Line and J.E.B. Stuart’s Most DifficultAchievement During the American Civil War.”The program is free and open to the public.Contact Carole Herrick at 703-356-8223.

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Calendar

20 ❖ Great Falls Connection ❖ March 1-7, 2017 www.ConnectionNewspapers.com

www. GreatFallsGreatHomes.comJan & Dan Laytham Dianne Van Volkenburg

Susan CanisAssociate Realtor

Sally MarvinAssociate Realtor

Jan & Dan LaythamDianne Van Volkenburg

Office: 703-757-32229841 Georgetown Pike, Great Falls, VA 22066 • 703-759-9190Justin Scango

Associate Realtor

Reston $1,275,000

Great Falls $925,000

Horse

Prope

rty

Great Falls $1,399,000

Just

List

ed

Great Falls $1,399,000

Great Falls $1,080,000 Great Falls $1,070,000

Great Falls $1,050,000

Just

List

ed

Great Falls $1,799,000

Just

Reduc

ed

Great Falls $1,049,000

3 Priv

ate

Acres

Great Falls $2,699,000Great Falls $2,299,000

100K

Reduc

tion

Great Falls $1,199,000

Great Falls $2,350,000

Just

Reduc

ed

Great Falls $1,100,000

Renov

ated

Great Falls $950,000