loving tina mazeconnectionarchives.com/pdf/2014/072314/great falls.pdf · 2020. 7. 25. · online...

Great Falls Connection ❖ July 23-29, 2014 ❖ 1www.ConnectionNewspapers.com online at www.connectionnewspapers.com

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Great FallsGreat Falls

Drones to HelpSave Rhinoceros News, Page 4

Foust,Comstock

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IssuesNews, Page 3

LovingTinaMaze

Pet Connection, Pages 1-4

“This is my pet praying mantisTina Maze. I named her afterWinter Olympics gold medalistand alpine ski racer fromSlovenia. My pet praying mantisTina is 6 months old. I got her inJanuary. She likes to jump and fly.In this photo she is climbing onmy arm and getting ready to flyin my room. I will let her out inour garden soon. I love my pray-ing mantis Tina so much!” writesMarta Anvelt,7, of Great Falls.

Inside

Pet ConnectionPet Connection

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Pet Connection

2 ❖ Great Falls Connection ❖ July 23-29, 2014 www.ConnectionNewspapers.com

Great Falls Connection ❖ July 23-29, 2014 ❖ 3www.ConnectionNewspapers.com

News

The Northern Virginia market recordedincreased inventories, providing buyerswith more choices. Nonetheless, buyersare challenged by affordability and ac-cessing credit.

The June market in Northern Virginiacontinues the trend of sales numberscoming in just under those from one yearago at this time, but the signs of a stablemarket have led to an increase in sellersplanting signs on their lawns.

“It is all about managing expectations,”said Lorraine Arora, Managing Broker atLong & Foster Real Estate in Springfield.“Some buyers are nervous. When housesare priced correctly, homes will sell.”

Arora explained that since there was

By Reena Singh

The Connection

One of the hotbed issues of thelast month was triggeredwhen the Supreme Court decided that for-profit corpora-

tions can be exempt from a law if the ownerobjects for religious reasons.

The reason? Contraceptives.Women’s health issues are among the is-

sues that Supervisor John Foust (D-Dranesville) and Del. Barbara Comstock (R-34) – candidates for 10th District Congres-sional seat — butt heads on.

“The court should not be deciding onwomen’s health issues,” said Foust. “Womenshould be making those decisions by them-selves.”

He said that women that choose to maketheir own health decisions are “constantlyunder attack” by their peers and lawmak-ers, and that these decisions should onlybe between a woman and her health careprovider.

SEVERAL DEMOCRATIC LEGISLA-

Foust, Comstock Battle Women’s IssuesHot button topic isdiscussed in wake ofHobby Lobbydecision.

John Foust Barbara ComstockPho

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TORS, including state Sen. Janet Howell(D-32) and state Sen. Barbara Favola (D-31), held a press call to talk aboutComstock’s record on women’s health. Thecall was sponsored by the 10th DistrictDemocratic Committee.

According to Comstock’s campaign presssecretary, Johanna Persing, Comstock wasnot available for comment. Persing providedComstock’s record on contraceptives, stat-ing that Foust is “running a negative cam-paign.

“As to Foust’s playing of birth control poli-tics: he is purposely promoting false infor-mation to divide women and politicize this

issue instead of finding a common sensesolution. In contrast, Delegate Comstockspearheaded the effort in Virginia to find acommon sense solution to end birth con-trol politics by making birth control pillsavailable over the counter as recommendedby the American College of Obstetrics andGynecology.”

During the press call, several of the fo-rum speakers talked about other billsComstock voted for, including one support-ing a transvaginal ultrasound for womenconsidering abortion. They claimedComstock hopes to overturn Roe Vs Wadeif elected. Comstock’s press secretary did

not comment about these claims.“Now, I’m old enough to remember what

it was like in the bad old days, before Roevs. Wade, and I think if anyone who thinksthat overturning Roe vs. Wade would doanything positive for a woman’s health,they’re sadly mistaken,” said Sen. Howell.

State Sen. Jennifer Wexton (D-33) saidshe hoped that women voting betweenComstock and Foust do not believe thatComstock is in favor of women’s health is-sues just because she is a woman.

“Barbara Comstock was right there at thecenter, kind of the standard bearer for thosedivisive social issues,” said Wexton. “Thatis not what the government should be do-ing. People told me again and again thatthey do not want the governmentmicromanaging women’s healthcare andfamily planning decisions”

PERSING SAID that, in addition to help-ing women get contraceptives more easilyover the counter, Comstock has passed leg-islation to secure job growth in technologyfields and was awarded the “Competitive-ness Award” and “Free Enterprise Award”for her competitive bidding bill.

“John Foust has never passed a single jobsbill or authored any jobs initiative,” saidPersing in the email statement. “Barbaraalso has authored major legislation to crackdown on human trafficking, legislation toimprove Lyme Disease testing and legisla-tion to require lifesaving testing for congeni-tal heart defects for newborns.”

Realtors: Numbers Indicate Stable Housing Market

June homelistings climb,with slight dipin sales

no activity in winter months, there was pentup demand for this region’s early springseason. Now, she explained, prices arehigher but not all sellers are getting their fullprice. Buyers are less willing to engage in bid-ding wars.

The housing affordability may continueto be a challenge in the region, said MaryBayat, 2014 chair elect of the Northern Vir-ginia Association of Realtors. “While theslightly rising home prices indicate an im-proving market, people are just not mak-ing quick decisions to buy.” Bayat, a bro-ker/owner of Bayat Realty in Alexandria,also noted that the current tight mortgageregulations have been a drag on buyers’ loanprocess. She noted that mortgage standardsare under scrutiny by industry and housinggroups at this time.

The Northern Virginia Association of Re-altors reported on June 2014 home salesactivity for Fairfax and Arlington counties,the cities of Alexandria, Fairfax and FallsChurch and the towns of Vienna, Herndonand Clifton.

A total of 2,174 homes were sold in June

2014, a 12.90 percent decrease belowJune 2013 home sales of 2,496.

Active listings continued to show anincrease this month compared with2013. Listings were up 47 percent overlast year, with 4,777 active listings inJune, compared with 3,247 homes avail-able in June 2013. The average days onmarket for homes in June 2014 was 30days, an increase of 25 percent comparedto the 24 days on market for homes in June2013.

Average home sale prices increasedslightly this June to $580,013. This isup 3 percent compared to June 2013,when the average price was $563,223.

The median sold price of homes thisJune, which is $505,000, rose by 1 per-cent compared to the median price of$499,900 in June 2013.

The 2,047 new pending home salesin Northern Virginia in June is a de-crease of 9.62 percent compared with2,265 contracts that were pending inJune of last year.

* Volunteer Advocates for NursingHome& Assisted Living Residentsneeded throughout Northern Virginia.Contact the Northern Virginia Long-TermCare Ombudsman Program atw w w. f a i r f a x c o u n t y . g o v / d f s /olderadultservices/ltcombudsman/, emailor email [email protected] call 703-324-5861, TTY 711.

* Meals on Wheels needs drivers inFranconia, Reston, McLean and FallsChurch and substitute drivers throughoutthe county. For these and other volunteeropportunities, call 703-324-5406, TTY 711or visit www.fairfaxcounty.gov/olderadultsand click on Volunteer Solutions.

* The Lewinsville Adult Day HealthCare Center in McLean needs a front deskvolunteer on Wednesdays, 2-3 p.m. Forthese and other volunteer opportunities,call 703-324-5406, TTY 711 or visitwww.fairfaxcounty.gov/olderadults andclick on Volunteer Solutions.

*Fairfax County needs volunteersto drive older adults to medical appoint-ments and wellness programs. For theseand other volunteer opportunities, call 703-324-5406, TTY 711 or visitwww.fairfaxcounty.gov/olderadults andclick on Volunteer Solutions.

Volunteer Opportunities

Great Falls Connection Editor Kemal Kurspahic

703-778-9414 or [email protected]


Congratulations to all of the OutstandingPrincipals listed below.They have been rated highest by our memberships in those schools

Fairfax County Federation of TeachersTeachers Care!

THANK YOU TO ALLOF OUR MEMBERS WHORETURNED THE SURVEY

ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS:Bonnie Glazewski(Oak View)

Jesse Kraft(Providence)

Michael Macrina(Island Creek)

Suzanne Montgomery(Laurel Hill)

Lindsay Trout(Terraset)

MIDDLE SCHOOL:Penny Gros (Glascow)

HIGH SCHOOLS:Teresa Johnson(Chantilly)

Nardos King(Mt. Vernon)

Michael Yohe(Falls Church)

Jeff Yost(Woodson)

News

By Reena Singh

The Connection

While many teensare spending thesummer socializ-ing, a handful of

them were tinkering with wiresand 3D printing.

Kashmir World Foundation helda Build-A-Drone workshop atGreat Falls Library Friday to helpfind a solution for rhinoceros be-ing poached in Africa.

The Wildlife Foundation Un-manned Aerial Vehicle Challenge,a worldwide challenge, currentlyhas 138 teams competing for asolution. However, the nature ofthe workshop was not competitive.

“I started the Da Vinci Challengeto get students interested in science,engineering and art,” said KWFfounder Aliyah Pandolfi. “Wewanted to do a hands-on workshop,because that’s different than hav-ing them listen or watch a video.”

The four-day workshop has stu-dents create a quadcopter with ad-ditions like a camera so they can

“When he was signing up, heasked me if I wanted to come withhim,” said Mark. “I like that youhave hands-on experience withbuilding the stuff.”

Leo said he has been interestedin drones and electronics for awhile. When he found out aboutthe workshop, he knew it was rightup his alley.

shoot a video at events or just forfun.

THE WORKSHOP was targetedfor ages 13 and up, but there weresome students who were younger.Mark Mahdessian, 11, Great Falls,wanted to join the workshop whenhis 14-year-old brother, Leo,signed up.

Science, engineering and art take flight.

Drones to Help Save Rhinoceros

Arthur Tisseront, 16-year-old intern for the Kashmir WorldFoundation, is the “drone expert” for the workshop. Photos by Reena Singh/ The Connection

Brothers Leo, 14, and Mark Mahdessian, 11, are learninghow to build a quadcopter from scratch through a Build-A-Drone workshop at Great Falls Library.

See Science, Page 9

“I got interested in quadcoptersafter flying one at his baseballgame,” Leo said, gesturing at hisbrother. “I really wanted to buildone. I really enjoy electronics andcomputers. I have a passion forbuilding stuff.”

Rather than using kits that al-ready have all the quadcopterpieces in it, Pandolfi had the par-ticipants use 3D printers to createparts that fit the size they wanted


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Opinion

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Call: 703-778-9410e-mail:

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Great Falls

The Virginia General Assembly’s re-fusal to expand Medicaid, extend-ing health coverage to as many as400,000 Virginians has resulted in

the loss of about $1 billion in direct payments.But that understates the loss, failing

to calculate the cost of the lost healthof thousands of Virginians.

Consider one relatively young man,treated by the Health Wagon, who is losing hisvision to untreated diabetes because he has nohealth coverage, his diabetes went undetectedfor years and can’t afford monitoring or medi-cine. Once diabetes begins to take its toll, itcannot be reversed. Once the man is blind andunable to work, he will likely be covered byMedicaid because he is permanently disabled.

The Centers for Disease Control says chronicillnesses are “the nation’s leading causes ofdeath and disability, leav[ing] in their wakedeaths that could have been prevented, life-long disability, compromised quality of life, andburgeoning health care costs. … Heart disease,stroke, cancer, diabetes, obesity, and arthritisare among the most common, costly, and pre-ventable of all health problems.”

Consider the hundreds or thousands of Vir-ginians who are not receiving routine care orscreenings of any kind, whose cancer or highblood pressure or heart disease or diabetes, oreven mental illness, rob them over time of their

ability to work, to care for themselvesor their families. Many will die of ill-nesses that could have been preventedor treated. The human toll is incalcu-

lable, unbearable and unnecessary.It is unfair that health coverage depends on

what state you happen to live in, that an ideo-logically driven General Assembly can deter-mine your fate. If you are poor and live in astate that has chosen to accept expansion ofhealth care with Medicaid, you have healthinsurance, for example in the bordering statesof West Virginia, Kentucky and Maryland. Butif you are poor and live in Virginia, or one ofthe other states that has refused to expandMedicaid, you are out of luck, out of healthand possibly out of life.

Business groups and chambers of commercearound Virginia, including the Fairfax CountyChamber of Commerce, support the expansionof Medicaid in Virginia under the Affordable

Care Act. One persuasive factor for the busi-ness community is that expansion would cre-ate an estimated 30,000 jobs and pump hun-dreds of millions of dollars into Virginia’seconomy. Hospitals support expanding Medic-aid which would offset many of the costs ofcaring for uninsured populations.

In Virginia, Medicaid eligibility for adultswithout disability is almost nonexistent, lim-ited to parents with incomes below 51 percentof poverty, or about $11,900 a year for a fam-ily of four, according to the Kaiser Family Foun-dation. Adults without dependent children re-main ineligible regardless of their income.

Under the Affordable Care Act, people withincomes 100 - 400 percent of poverty qualifyfor subsidies on their health insurance premi-ums when they purchase coverage through aMarketplace. Because the Affordable Care Actenvisioned low-income people receiving cov-erage through Medicaid, people below povertyare not eligible for Marketplace subsidies. Asmany as 400,000 adults in Virginia fall intothe coverage gap because they don’t qualifyfor Medicaid under Virginia’s rules, among themost stringent in the nation, but earn less thanthe poverty rate, so not enough to qualify forsubsidies.

— Mary Kimm,

[email protected]

Money lost by refusal to expand health coverage,but also life, health and livelihood.

Tragic Consequences

Editorial

See Opportunities, Page 13

By Mary Agee

Northern Virginia Family

Service President and CEO

On the surface, MarthaOrdon is living the typi-cal Northern Virginian

life. She works as a medical recep-tionist at a doctor’s office inFairfax, and talks proudly abouther 16 year-old daughter, a so-cially-active junior who plans tostudy business in college when shegraduates. The reality is a little bitmore complicated.

Martha and her daughter movedto Fairfax in 2008 from Louisiana.Her friend had urged her to makethe move to Northern Virginia,telling her about the fantasticquality of life: the great schools,the strong job market and thesense of community. What herfriend hadn’t mentioned was thehigh cost of living. In Louisiana,Martha had worked as a cook in aCatholic school and always made

Housing and jobopportunitiesneeded torelieve poverty.

‘Living Wage’ Tough to Achieve in Northern Virginia

Training Futures is a free program for adults who are determined to gain the skills toexcel in professional, administrative roles.

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enough to pay her bills. In Fairfax,she took a full-time job as a cookmaking $10.50 an hour and a part-time job as a retail sales associatemaking $8 an hour. With two jobs,Martha could pay her bills, but sherarely got to see her daughter.When Martha lost her job as acook, she began working retailfull-time but could no longer makeends meet.

In 2012, Martha and her daugh-ter were evicted from their apart-

ment. They lived in a hotel until aspace became available at a localfamily shelter. Martha recognizedthat in order to pull her life backtogether and provide a stablehome for her daughter, she wouldneed a living-wage job. She alsorealized that her previous experi-ence as a cook was not going tohelp her rise above the povertyline. During her shelter stay,Martha discovered Training Fu-tures, the nationally-recognized,

workforce development solutionof Northern Virginia Family Ser-vice.

Training Futures is a free pro-gram for adults who are deter-mined to gain the skills to excel inprofessional, administrative roles.The 6-month curriculum not onlyteaches college-level administra-tive skills such as the MicrosoftOffice Suite, customer service,


For the third year in a row,

Inova Fairfax Medical Cam-pus has been ranked as the top hos-

pital in the Washington, D.C. metropolitanarea by U.S. News & World Report. InovaFairfax also jumped in rankings to secondin the state, and earned national recogni-tion as No.33 in the country in Gynecologyand No. 42 in Neonatology. The annual U.S.News Best Hospitals rankings, now in their25th year, recognize hospitals that excel intreating the most challenging patients.

“Three years in a row as No. 1 is an out-standing accomplishment and we are proudof our hospital’s dedicated physicians and

U.S. News: Inova Fairfax Hospital Tops in D.C. Metro Areastaff who provide the best of care to ourpatients every day. I’d like to congratulateour staff, particularly within InovaWomen’s and Children’s for their impres-sive and well-deserved national rankings,”said Patrick Christiansen, PhD, chief ex-ecutive officer, Inova Fairfax MedicalCampus.

Inova Fairfax Medical Campus also earnedhigh-performing rankings in 11 specialties:

❖ Cancer❖ Cardiology and Heart Surgery❖ Diabetes and Endocrinology❖ Ear, Nose and Throat❖ Gastroenterology & GI Surgery,

❖ Geriatrics❖ Nephrology❖ Neurology and Neurosurgery❖ Orthopedics❖ Pulmonology❖ UrologyIn the recently released U.S. News Best

Children’s Hospital Rankings, InovaChildren’s Hospital was named 42nd in thenation for Neonatology.

U.S. News publishes Best Hospitals to helpguide patients who need a high level of carebecause they face particularly difficult sur-gery, a challenging condition or extra riskbecause of age or multiple health problems.

Objective measures such as patient sur-vival and safety data, adequacy of nursestaffing levels and other data largely de-termined the rankings in most specialties.

The rankings are available at http://health.usnews.com/best-hospitals andwill appear in the U.S. News “Best Hospi-tals 2015” guidebook, available in August.

All five of Inova’s hospitals were recog-nized again this year in the top 15 besthospitals in the Washington, DC, metro-politan area, and top 20 in Virginia. Tolearn more about Inova Fairfax MedicalCampus, visit www.inova.org/ifh.


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From Page 3

News

their drone to be.“This is to help them understand

the internals of it,” she said.She said that, although drones

have had a negative connotation,they can be used to spot poachersbefore they hurt animals. AtKruger National Park in Africa, shesaid, poaching has created a cri-sis. Just last year, 1,004 rhinoswere killed for their horns, whichcan fetch $100,000 in the blackmarket.

“The number of poaching inci-dents keeps increasing,” she said.“This allows students to under-stand global issues and the pos-sible impact of these drones.”

She also wants the workshopparticipants to understand thesafety regulations and ethics of themachines they are building. At thenext class, a representative fromthe Federal Aviation Administra-tion is coming to the class to talkabout the rules of flying in the areaand safety procedures.

THE DRONE EXPERT of theworkshop, Arthur Tisseront, is arising junior at Thomas JeffersonHigh School For Science and Tech-nology and a resident of GreatFalls.

“I started playing with drones awhile ago when they were a newthing,” the 16-year-old intern said.

He showed a hexacopter - thatmeans six propellers - to the work-shop participants that took himmore than two weeks to put to-gether.

“I think in the next 12 months,drones will be scoping out poach-ers,” he said. “That’s one of thebiggest applications it could beused for.”

He plans on starting a smallbusiness as soon as the FederalCommunications Commission putsout their new flight regulationsnext year. He sees drones becom-ing more commonplace in the fu-ture.

“Look to the future,” he said.“There’s going to be a lot of dronesin it.”

Science, Hands-onAt Great Falls Library


FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH OF VIENNA

450 ORCHARD STREET, NWVIENNA, VA 22180

[email protected]

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SUNDAY WORSHIP, 7:45 AM & 11:00 AMCHURCH SCHOOL 9:30AM-10:30AMMIDWEEK SERVICES, WED. 7:00 PM

Visit These Houses of WorshipTo Highlight Your Faith Community,

call Karen at 703-917-6468

8:00 a.m. Holy Eucharist, Rite I10:00 a.m. Holy Eucharist, Rite II 5:00 p.m. Come Just as You Are Contemporary Service

Nursery care provided at 10:00 a.m. service

The Rev. James Papile, RectorThe Rev. Laura Cochran, Assoc. Rector

703-437-6530www.stannes-reston.org

1700 Wainwright Dr., Reston

ST. ANNE’SEPISCOPALCHURCH • Reston

Welcoming, Diverse, Progressive

Send announcements [email protected] is Friday for the following week’spaper. Photos/artwork encouraged.

FRIDAY/JULY 25Playdate Cafe. 10 a.m. Great Falls

Library, 9830 Georgetown Pike,Great Falls. Play area and toys forchildren. Coffee and conversation forgrown-ups. For ages 0 and up with aparent or caregiver. 703-757-8560.

Kayak Tour Island Hopping. 5-7p.m. Riverbend Park, 8700 PotomacHills St., Great Falls. Explore theupper Potomac River islands bykayak. Ages 14+. $59-$74. Registerat http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/parks/riverbend-park/kayaktours.htm.

Drop-In chess and Backgammon. 1p.m. Great Falls Library, 9830Georgetown Pike, Great Falls. Drop-in and play chess and backgammon.All skill levels welcome. School-age,teen, adult. 703-757-8560.

Look at the Stars! ObservatoryOpen. 7:30-10:30 p.m. Turner FarmPark, Springvale Road, Great Falls.Come to the observatory park forFriday Night viewings!www.analemma.org.

SATURDAY/JULY 26Cars & Coffee. 7-9 a.m. Katie’s Coffee

House, 760 Walker Road Great Falls.Come find an amazing gathering ofantique, custom, hotrods, exotic andsports cars; they’re all here. 703-759-2759.

Great Falls Farmers Market. 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Great Falls Village next to theWells Fargo Bank, 778 Walker Road,Great Falls. Don’t forget to bring yourrecyclable bag!www.greatfallsfarmersmarket.org.

Colvin Run Dance for Everyone.

Calendar

Multiple Washington AreaMusic (WAMMIE) Award-winner and bluesmanextraordinaire, TomPrincipato sets the tele-caster on fire and makeshaving the blues so good.See him at McLean’s Sum-mer Sunday Concerts in thePark on July 27 at McLeanCentral Park.

6:30-11 p.m. Colvin Run CommunityHall, 10201 Colvin Run Road, GreatFalls. Beginner and IntermediateWest Coast lesson and ‘Dance forEveryone.’ $12. 703-435-5620.

SATURDAY/JULY 26 - AUG. 9McLean AAUW 45th Annual Used

Book Collections. 9 a.m. - 1:30p.m. Sun Trust Bank, 515 MapleAvenue East, Vienna. Bring book, CDand DVD contributions for the 45th

Annual Used Book Sale in September.Email [email protected] orcall 703-527-4206 for information.

SUNDAY/JULY 27 Intro to River Kayaking. 1-1:30

p.m. Riverbend Park, 8700 PotomacHills St., Great Falls. Thisintroductory level course covers riverhazards, water safety and paddlingbasics. Ages 14+. $28-43. Register athttp://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/parks/riverbend-park/kayaktours.htm.

The Morrison Brothers CelebrateGreat Falls Concert on theGreen. 6-8 p.m. Great Falls VillageCentre Green, Georgetown Pike andWalker Road, Great Falls. Come outwith your picnic baskets and chairsfor an evening of live, free countryand rock music. 571-293-0474.

MONDAY/JULY 28The Barker of Seville. 10:30 a.m.

Great Falls Library, 9830 GeorgetownPike, Great Falls. Blue Sky PuppetTheatre presents this musical comedyfor a howling good time! Please signup each child and adult separately.All ages. 703-757-8560.

Great Falls Library Read to theDog. 4:30-5:30 p.m. Great FallsLibrary, 9830 Georgetown Pike,Great Falls. Beginning readers canpractice reading to a furry friend.Call 703-757-8560 to sign up.

McLean & Great Falls CelebrateVirginia Meeting. 5:30 p.m.McLean Community Center, 1234Ingleside Avenue, McLean. The groupwill be finalizing plans for theirAugust 24 event, An Afternoon withthe Madisons, commemorating thebicentennial of the burning of thenation’s Capitol during the War of1812. 703-356-8223.

TUESDAY/JULY 29Lego Club. 2 p.m. Great Falls Library,

9830 Georgetown Pike, Great Falls.Drop in and play with Legos. Ages 3and up. 703-757-8560.

Reading Buddies. 4:30 p.m. GreatFalls Library, 9830 Georgetown Pike,Great Falls. Grab a book, grab abuddy! Beginning readers and teenspractice reading together. School-age. 703-757-8560.

Colvin Run Dance Lesssons. 6:30-10:30 p.m. Colvin Run CommunityHall, 10201 Colvin Run Road, GreatFalls. Weekly Dance/Lesson Serieswith Ed Cottrell & the NVA DanceCrew. $12. 703-435-5620.

WEDNESDAY/JULY 30Pokemon League. 4:30 p.m. Great

Falls Library, 9830 Georgetown Pike,Great Falls. Come play Pokemonwith your friends. 703-757-8560.

THURSDAY/JULY 31Teen Volunteer Sign-up for

Reading Buddies. 4:15 p.m. GreatFalls Library, 9830 Georgetown Pike,Great Falls. Please report at 4:15p.m. Teen. 703-757-8560.

Reading Buddies. 4:30 p.m. GreatFalls Library, 9830 Georgetown Pike,Great Falls. Grab a book, grab abuddy! Beginning readers and teenspractice reading together. School-age. 703-757-8560.

Great Falls Rotary Club WeeklySpeaker Series. 7:30-8:30 a.m.River Bend Country Club, 375 WalkerRoad Great Falls. Visit http://www.rotarygreatfalls.org/ to join.

Artists Meet for Coffee. 8:30-10 a.m.Katie’s Coffeehouse, GeorgetownPike, Great Falls. Local Artists meetfor Coffee; do drop in! 703-759-2759.

FRIDAY/AUG. 1Kayak Tour – Moonshine &

Mayhem. 5-7 p.m. Riverbend Park,8700 Potomac Hills St., Great Falls.What is now Riverbend Park oncewas a safe haven for illegal whiskey-

making operations during the 1920s;kayak past river islands and discoverits shady past. Ages 14+. $59-$74.Register at http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/parks/riverbend-park/kayaktours.htm.

SATURDAY/AUG. 2Ballroom Dance. 8-11:30 p.m. Colvin

Run Dance Hall, 10201 Colvin RunRoad, Great Falls. 8-9pm Cha-Chalesson;º9-11:30pmºdance withfavorite dance tunes from the 1930sto today. Attire is ballroom casual.$15. 703-759-2685.

Sunrise Kayak Tour. 7-9 a.m.Riverbend Park, 8700 Potomac HillsSt., Great Falls. Paddle with anaturalist and learn about thehistorical and natural beauty of thePotomac. Ages 14+. $59-$74.Register at http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/parks/riverbend-park/kayaktours.htm.

Natalie York Band at Jammin’Java. 7 p.m. Jammin’ Java, 227Maple Avenue East, Vienna. Viennanative Natalie Yorkºreturns with herBrooklyn, NY-based band and secondalbum PROMISES. Tickets availableat www.jamminjava.com.

SATURDAY/AUG. 2 - SUNDAY/AUG. 3Tysons-Pimmit Library Book Sale.

10 a.m. - 4 p.m. Tysons-PimmitRegional Library, 7584 LeesburgPike, Falls Church. Friends of theTysons-Pimmit Regional Library isholding a book sale to benefit theTysons-Pimmit Regional Library onAugust 2 and 3. Choose from a largeselection of on Sunday, August 3,from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.Donations are welcome.

SUNDAY/AUG. 3Intro to River Kayaking. 1-1:30 p.m.

Riverbend Park, 8700 Potomac HillsSt., Great Falls. This introductory

See Calendar, Page 11


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level course covers river hazards, watersafety and paddling basics. Ages14+. $28-43. Register at http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/parks/riverbend-park/kayaktours.htm.

FRIDAY/AUG. 8Kayak Tour – Sunset over

Riverbend. 5-7 p.m. RiverbendPark, 8700 Potomac Hills St., GreatFalls. Experience the end of the daywith a tour of the upper Potomac.Ages 14+. $59-$74. Register athttp://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/parks/riverbend-park/kayaktours.htm.

SUNDAY/AUG. 10Tom Principato Celebrate Great

Falls Concert on the Green. 6-8p.m. Great Falls Village CentreGreen, Georgetown Pike and WalkerRoad, Great Falls. Come out withyour picnic baskets and chairs for anevening of live, free blues and rockmusic. 571-293-0474.

Intro to River Kayaking. 1-1:30 p.m.Riverbend Park, 8700 Potomac HillsSt., Great Falls. This introductorylevel course covers river hazards,water safety and paddling basics.Ages 14+. $28-43.

WEDNESDAY/AUG. 13 Kayaking for Fitness. 5-7 p.m.

Riverbend Park, 8700 Potomac HillsSt., Great Falls. Four beginningkayaking classes that teach flat andmoving water kayaking basics.Register at http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/parks/riverbend-park/kayaktours.htm.

From Page 10

Calendar

Oil paintings of Virginia land-scapes by Great Falls artist CotyDickson are on view Aug. 1-31at Katie’s Coffee House (TheOld Brogue), 760 Walker Road,Great Falls. Titled “Scenic Vir-ginia,” scenes show little knownplaces within the Common-wealth. Dickson is a juried art-ist specializing in contemporaryrealistic oil paintings. A nativeof the Washington D.C. area,she resides in Great Falls, whereshe is a member of Artists onthe Green, a Great Falls studioand gallery. She is also a mem-ber of Great Falls Studios, thepremier local art consortium of

Coty Dickson to Exhibit at Katie’sCoffee House

independent artists. Her workcan be viewed at bothorganization’s websites: www.artistsonthegreen.net andwww.greatfallsstudios.com aswell as her own website:www.cotydickson.com.

Her work has been displayedat the September 2013 GalleryExhibit at the Torpedo FactoryArt Center and the 2013 Springand Fall and Spring 2014 Artat the Mill, Millwood, Va. Shealso exhibits work at the RedBarn, Waterford, Va., theFairfax County Library and theGreat Falls Studio Tour in GreatFalls.

BarnbyCotyDickson


Sports

As a senior, Garrett Collier was an all-region wide receiver on the highest-scoring offense in Langley football

history. He was also a defensive back andan all-conference kick returner and punt re-turner. A broken collar bone knocked himout of the final game of the season, butCollier played a significant role in helpingthe Saxons finish 9-3, including a playoffvictory over Battlefield.

While Collier had a strong senior seasonon the football field, his future is on thehardwood. An all-conference basketballplayer at Langley, Collier signed to playhoops at Denison University in Granville,Ohio. Collier, a three-year varsity footballand basketball player at Langley before his2014 graduation, recently participated in aQ and A via email with The Connection.

*Connection: What made Denison Uni-versity the right fit for you?

Collier: I developed a solid relationshipwith the coaching staff, it had the perfectbalance of strong academics and social life,a beautiful campus, and I just felt at homewhen I visited.

A torn ACL sidelined Kelly Koshutafor her entire sophomore season,but the injury didn’t keep the 6-

foot-2 Madison basketball standout fromreturning to dominance. After averaging19.5 points and 10.8 rebounds as a fresh-man post, leading the Warhawks to a Lib-erty District title and a trip to the regionsemifinals, Koshuta injured her left kneeduring an AAU game in the summer of2012. After sitting out as a sophomore,Koshuta returned for her junior cam-paign and earned all-state honors. Madi-son reached the region semifinals for thesecond time in three years, and Koshutanearly willed the Warhawks to victoryand a berth in the state tournament. Fac-ing eventual region champion StonewallJackson and 6-foot-2 Wake Forest-boundNicole Floyd, Koshuta scored a career-high 39 points and grabbed 19 rebounds,but Madison fell short, 78-72.

“She has great hands and she just hasthe determination to score,” Madisonhead coach Kirsten Stone said aboutKoshuta entering her junior season. “Sheknows how to use her body. She’s a littlebit undersized for a post, but she knows

Langley Grad Collier to Play Basketball at Denison

Connection file photo

Garrett Collier (22) was a standouton the basketball and footballteams at Langley.

Q&A: Collier enjoyslistening to Nas,watching Will Ferrellmovies.

*Connection: What is your major?Collier: Economics.*Connection: At what age did you start

playing basketball? When did you realizeplaying college basketball was a possibilityfor you?

Collier: As early as I can remember. Froma very early age, I always wanted to playcollege sports, I just wasn’t sure if it wouldbe basketball or football.

*Connection: You were also a standoutfootball player at Langley. Did you give anythought to playing football in college? If so,when did you make the choice betweenfootball and basketball?

Collier: I didn’t expect to have the [senior]season I had in football, so I didn’t give muchthought to playing in college. By the time Ireceived interest, I had already committed toDenison.

*Connection: You broke your collar boneduring football season, correct? In whichgame did you break it?

Collier: I broke it during our regionalquarterfinal game against Stonewall Jackson.

*Connection: How long were you out? Howdifficult was it to miss time?

Collier: I had surgery a couple days afterthe game, and was out for about six weeks. Imissed the first 10 games of basketball, whichwas difficult for the team because we wereso young. The slow start hurt some of theyounger players’ confidence, and I believe thatwas a big reason we weren’t able to be assuccessful as we wanted to.

*Connection: What is your favorite memoryof playing high school basketball? What isyour favorite football memory?

Collier: My entire junior year basketballseason was one great memory in itself. I couldsay the same about this past football season,but I’d say getting revenge on Chantilly andsmashing crosstown rival McLean.

*Connection: If you could go back and

change one thing about your high school ath-letic career, what would it be?

Collier: I wouldn’t have let [Wakefield’s]Re’Quan Hopson shoot the buzzer-beater 3-pointer that knocked us out of regionals [in2013].

*Connection: What are you most lookingforward to about the transition from highschool to college?

Collier: The step up in competition and thefreedom of living on your own.

*Connection: Who is your favorite musicartist? Why?

Collier: Nas. No explanation needed. TheRolling Stones are also a favorite.

*Connection: What is your favorite movie?Collier: ‘Pineapple Express,’ any Will Ferrell

movie and ‘Django Unchained.’*Connection: Do you play video games? If

so, which one is your favorite?Collier: FIFA is life.*Connection: What is your favorite hobby

outside of basketball and football?Collier: I love to golf and just hang out with

friends.*Connection: What location is the farthest

you have traveled from the Washington, D.C.metro area?

Collier: Russia.*Connection: Are you a pro sports fan? If

so, who are your favorite teams?Collier: All D.C. sports teams. HTTR.

— Jon Roetman

Madison’s Koshuta Returned to Dominance After Torn ACLQ&A: 6-2 postearned all-state in2014, committed toVirginia Tech.

how to position herself in a way that shecan score.”

Koshuta, a rising senior, will have onemore season to try and lead Madison to thestate playoffs. After high school, Koshutawill play for Virginia Tech after committing

to the Hokies during her junior year.Koshuta recently participated in a Q and

A via email with The Connection.*Connection: You’re committed to Vir-

ginia Tech. What made Tech the right fitfor you?

Koshuta: Virginia Tech was the first schoolto offer me, and they called the day after Igot injured and believed in me. VT HeadCoach Dennis Wolff took over a strugglingprogram and has made improvements ev-ery year. The coaches at Virginia Tech be-lieve in me, and they think I will make animmediate impact in the ACC, and that isalso attractive to me. I will be playingagainst some of the best players in the coun-try, not to mention I absolutely love theschool, and the campus.

*Connection: At what age did you startplaying basketball? Have you always beena post player? When did you realize play-ing college basketball was a possibility foryou?

Koshuta: I started in second grade. I havepretty much been a post player my wholelife. I realized college basketball was a pos-sibility when colleges started recruiting mein seventh grade.

*Connection: You missed your sophomoreseason due to a torn ACL. How has that in-jury and the work it took to get back af-fected you as a basketball player and a per-son?

Koshuta: It motivated me to never takebasketball for granted. I realized how muchI missed the game when I had to watch my

sophomore season from the bench. I kepttraining as soon as I could stand, andworked hard on my game all during re-hab. As a person, I now reach out to otherathletes who get injured and tell themto work hard, and things will get better.

*Connection: Was there ever a timeduring your rehab that you wanted togive up?

Koshuta: Never. I had a great surgeon,Dr. Chris Annunziata, and an awesomephysical therapist named Sam Kang andthey were both positive I would make acomplete comeback. I also had supportfrom my trainer, Mandy Ronay, and myfamily. If anything, I worked even harderafter my surgery, both in rehab, and train-ing for basketball.

*Connection: You stand 6 feet 2. Howoften does someone mention your heightduring a conversation or ask if you playbasketball?

Koshuta: People talk about my heightall the time, but it’s funny: I am actuallyundersized for a college post player. Ihave played against girls who are 6-6 and6-7 during AAU season.

*Connection: What is your favorite ath-letic moment from your first three yearsat Madison?

Koshuta: Two things come to mind:beating Paul VI in the Bulldog Bash myfreshman year, and winning the LibertyDistrict my freshman year.

Connection File Photo

Madison’s Kelly Koshuta scored 39points and grabbed 19 reboundsduring a loss to Stonewall Jacksonin the 2014 6A North region semifi-nals.

— Jon Roetman


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Letters

To the Editor:Delegate Barbara Comstock has

run a positive campaign that dis-cusses her legislative accomplish-ments in the Virginia House ofDelegates, her record as a smallbusinesswoman, her time as a se-nior official at the Justice Depart-ment and as a senior aide to ourcurrent well-respected Congress-man, Frank Wolf. She highlightscommon sense solutions andhasengaged communities allacross the 10th District.

Her campaign is built on astrong grassroots organizationthat delivers her positive messagedoor to door. I have seen DelegateComstock at events all around the10th District. Her busy scheduleshows that she has the voters bestinterests in mind and wants tohear from the constituents.

Her positive message of job cre-ation and economic growth is just

what the District needs. In Rich-mond, she has made jobs a prior-ity, and it has paid off—as Virginiahas been highlighted as a top statefor job growth. She has not sup-ported tax increases unlike heropponent where

taxing seems to be his favoritepastime. She is an independentvoice in the House of Delegatesand will continue to be as our Con-gresswoman. We don’t need an-other Nancy Pelosi/Barack Obamaliberal in Congress whowill be arubber stamp and repeatedly sup-port tax increases that will hurtour small businesses and families.

We need a Representative tofight for us and Delegate BarbaraComstock is the person to bestserve the diverse interests of thisDistrict.

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Supporting Comstock

From Page 6

Creating Opportunitiesrecords management, medical ter-minology, business English andbusiness math, but also through apartnership with Northern VirginiaCommunity College, offers eligibletrainees the opportunity to earn upto 21 college credits and a CareerStudies Certificate in Business In-formation Technology.

Trainees come to Training Fu-tures Monday – Friday, 9 a.m. – 2p.m., and often arrive early andstay late to master course work.They are outfitted in the TrainingFutures Clothing Closet and ex-pected to wear business profes-sional clothes every day. Eachtrainee reports to a “supervisor,”or staff member, who coachesthem around attitude and businesshabits, encourages them andabove all else, holds them to high“corporate” expectations. Whentrainees arrive for their first dayat their new professional, admin-istrative job, they not only havethe skills to add value, but alsolook and act the part of an excel-lent employee. Martha knew shehad found the pathway to the lifeshe imagined for herself and herdaughter. Within five weeks ofgraduating from this exciting pro-gram, Martha landed her positionas a medical receptionist, making$14 an hour.

While at the shelter, Martha wasalso referred to the BridgingAffordability Program. BridgingAffordability is administered byNorthern Virginia Family Servicein partnership with Fairfax CountyDepartment of Housing & Commu-nity Development. The programcombines rental subsidies and case

management supportive serviceswith the intent of moving familiesforward toward self-sufficiency.Bridging Affordability has givenMartha the time and financialbreathing room to attend TrainingFutures and work towards a liv-ing wage. As Martha nears the endof her time in BridgingAffordability she is paying downdebt which will allow her to pur-chase a car and further broadenher housing options. She has in-creased her income 57 percentsince starting the program, thanksto the training and subsequentemployment she found followingTraining Futures, but still needsto consider affordable housingoptions, which are rare in thisarea.

The comprehensive nature ofNVFS programs, includingWorkforce Development andHousing Services, provide clientswith a unique opportunity toachieve several substantial goalsat one time. NVFS has made theinvestment to ensure that whenclients who seek our services forone issue may access the full rangeof our programs to increase theodds of achieving self-sufficiency.In the community, NVFS has beenworking with partners in both thenonprofit and government sectorswho recognize the cross sectionbetween these two service areas.Families will not be able to main-tain stable housing without livingwages, and our efforts to solve thehousing program in Northern Vir-ginia are contingent upon holisticsolutions that address both ofthese issues, together.


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James E. “Butch” Miller, 76, of Burgess, Virginiawent to be with his Lord on July 11, 2014.He is survived by his wife of 50 years, Marlene Millerand their three children, Denise, Scott, and TeagueMiller; and two grandchildren, Tristan and BaileyMiller. He is also survived by three sisters, LindaCasciano of Leesburg, Va., Bonnie Bolick ofRadford, Va. and Becky Paul of Charlotte, N.C., andten nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by abrother Curtis Miller. Butch was raised in Great Falls, Va. and graduatedfrom Herndon High School in 1956. In 1960, hegraduated from Virginia Tech with a degree in CivilEngineering. Following graduation, Butch workedfor and rose to become president of Moses-ECCOConstruction Company, and he in the early 1970’swent to work as Vice President of L.F. JenningsConstruction Company, where he worked until hisretirement in 2002.In 2002, Butch and Marlene began their retirementyears by moving from Leesburg, Va.where they hadraised their family, to the Northern Neck of VA,where they settled in a home on the banks of TheGreat Wicomico River. It was important to Butchupon retirement to occupy his time in a worthy pur-suit, so he began playing golf on a regular basis. Heorganized and ran Men’s Golf Leagues at the Tartanand King Carter Golf Clubs. He was affectionatelyknown at those two clubs as the “HonorableCommissioner of Golf”.Butch was a devout Christian his entire life andwhen he retired to the Northern Neck of VA, hejoined the Wesley Presbyterian Church in Weems,Va., where he was a very active member, was cho-sen to become an Elder, and was Chairman ofnumerous church committees. He often said thatthe most important thing in his life was his faith inJesus Christ.In 2007 Butch became a consultant in the recon-struction of seven buildings on the Paxton Campusof the ARC of Loudoun, a charitable corporationwhich operates a school for autistic children. Butchspent countless hours on these projects, bringing allprojects in under budget. The ARC of Loudounrecently honored the contribution and lasting legacyButch made to the building and the children atAurora school by naming the building and place-ment of a plaque which reads: “The J.E. “Butch”Miller Building, beloved friend of Paxton whoseexpertise, hard work, and generous spirit broughtthe dream of this building to life for the children.”

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One of my ongoing major concerns is theorigin of the miscellaneous symptoms Iirregularly experience. Obviously I don’twant to think they’re cancer-related, soassessing them becomes minding whatpotentially matters. Moreover, since I don’twant to believe the cancer is actually harm-ing me, convincing myself that what I feelmight be important to share with my oncolo-gist is almost a fool’s errand. Though I’vebeen in this situation going on nearly five andone half years now, I am still stubborn andstupid about my reality. And though I furtherrealize that pretending doesn’t work, anddenial is hard to maintain when you receivechemotherapy every three weeks, still,accepting the various symptoms as cancerhas been too scary for me to consider; so Ihaven’t/don’t.

Perhaps it’s the treatment (I tell myselfconstantly), and the cumulative effect on mybody of non-stop chemotherapy every threeweeks for five-plus years, save for a yearwhen I was able to take a “targeted therapy”pill, Tarceva, at home every day, that is mani-festing itself? As I may have joked, being acancer patient is all it’s cracked up to be. Inone delivery system or another, I have beenreceiving treatment for almost 64 months. Itseems only logical that my body would atsome juncture begin to feel the effects fromthat kind of long-term exposure, though mylab work doesn’t necessarily reflect it, otherthan for the kidney and liver issues withwhich you regular readers are familiar. Iwould imagine there has to be some wear-and-tear-type fatigue. I mean, 64 months offairly toxic materials swirling around in yourblood system and interacting with all yourorgans; not exactly a recipe for normalcy. Itcan’t be one big happy family in there, if youknow what I mean. There has to be somedisagreements. So far, however, apparentlynot; at least as indicated by my labs andscans, which if certain levels changed wouldlikely warrant a retreat of some kind.

Perhaps what I feel is simply my age. Howwould I know? I’ve never been this agebefore; but certainly it’s possible, maybeeven probable. For all I know, this is what age60 feels like. Maybe all that I feel – and allthat I worry about – is simply the aging proc-ess, and this allows me to rationalize awaymy worst fears. Or, and this is the worst-casescenario, the age symptoms could be mask-ing the cancer symptoms, and yours trulycontinuing to do nothing about either is waypast pretending and denying; it’s almost irre-sponsible, and disrespectful even, to theefforts being made – by myself and others, tokeep me alive. After all, keeping a stage IV,non small cell lung cancer/terminal patientalive for as long as I’ve survived doesn’texactly happen by accident. Stage IV lungcancer is a killer, almost always, and one’samazing good fortune shouldn’t be taken forgranted.

Shouldn’t I be paying closer attentionhere? If I feel something, shouldn’t I allow myoncologist the opportunity to evaluate me?Who am I, a writer/salesperson, to determinewhat is medically significant (cancer-related),and what is not (age-related)? As I’ve said ahundred times in my life, I know about twothings: sports and chocolate, neither of whichhas much to do with cancer and its treat-ment. Concerning science and medicine, Iknow very little. Usually at least, I knowenough to follow directions. Therefore, if I’vebeen told to do something (by my doc-tor/health care team), maybe it’s time I did.It’s likely to be important living forward,especially considering I’ve reached an age noone expected me to be.

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

By KENNETH B. LOURIE

A Battle—Hopefully Not tothe PrematureDeath

Reaching Suburban Washington’s Leading Households• Alexandria Gazette Packet• Arlington Connection• Burke Connection• Centre View• Chantilly Connection

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SPECIAL PULLOUT TAB

Community & Newcomers GuideAugust 27, 2014

The annual Newcomers and Community Guides for each of our 15communities with inside facts on what makes each community special,their secret places, the real power players, how to get involved and more.

Including the history, schools, parks, libraries,local people, elected officials, county/cityoffices, how decisions are made, a calendar ofevents and other vital community information.

Due to the popularity and long shelf life of thisissue, an overrun of the publication is made tomeet demand. Extra copies are delivered toselect Chambers of Commerce, Realtors,Citizens’ Associations and local government.

Great Marketing for:• Hospitals, Healthcare, Wellbeing• New Homes, Realtor Remodels• Schools, Camps, Services

for Students• Malls, Shopping Centers• Professional Services• And Much More

Bulletin Board

To have community events listed in the Connec-tion, send to [email protected] deadline for submissions is the Friday prior topublication.

THURSDAY/JULY 24Computer One-on-One. 11 a.m. Oakton Library,

10304 Lynnhaven Pl., Oakton. Internet,Microsoft Word, Excel and Powerpoint. Adult.703-242-4020.

FRIDAY/JULY 25English Conversation Group. 10 a.m. Patrick

Henry Library, 101 Maple Ave. East, Vienna.Practice your English conversation skills in agroup. Adults. 703-938-0405.

MONDAY/JULY 28English Conversation. 10:30 a.m. Oakton Library,

10304 Lynnhaven Pl., Oakton. English practice fornon-native speakers. Adults. 703-242-4020.

Spanish Conversation Group. 1 p.m. GreatFalls Library, 9830 Georgetown Pike, Great Falls.Practice Spanish as a foreign language in thiscasual conversation group. Adult. 703-757-8560.

TUESDAY/JULY 29Computer One-on-One. 11 a.m. Oakton Library,


Improve Your English Skills. 11 a.m. DolleyMadison Library, 1244 Oak Ridge Ave., McLean.Get focused help with reading, writing, speakingand listening skills. Adults. 703-356-0770.

One-on-One Computer Tutoring. 11 a.m.Patrick Henry Library, 101 Maple Ave. East,Vienna. Work with a volunteer tutor to learnabout using the Internet, setting up an emailaccount and using basic software. Adults. 703-938-0404.

English Conversation One-on-One. 1:30 p.m.

Oakton Library, 10304 Lynnhaven Pl., Oakton.English practice for a non-native speaker with alibrary volunteer. Call for appointment. Adults.703-242-4020.

WEDNESDAY/JULY 30Computer One-on-One. 11 a.m. Oakton Library,


English Conversation Group. 1 p.m. DolleyMadison Library, 1244 Oak Ridge Ave., McLean.Practice conversational English in a groupsetting. Adults. 703-356-0770.

ESL Conversation Group. 2 p.m. Great FallsLibrary, 9830 Georgetown Pike, Great Falls.Practice English in this casual conversationgroup. Adult. 703-757-8560.

One-on-One Computer Tutoring. 2 p.m.Patrick Henry Library, 101 Maple Ave. East,Vienna. Work with a volunteer tutor to learnabout using the Internet, setting up an emailaccount and using basic software. Adults. 703-938-0404.


www.GreatFallsGreatHomes.com

Helen Chung VasiliadisSusan Canis703-757-3222 Office

Jan & Dan LaythamDianne Van Volkenburg

Great Falls $1,739,000







Reston $889,000Great Falls $1,495,000



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Great Falls $925,000

Great Falls Connection ❖ Pet Connection, Summer 2014 ❖ 1www.ConnectionNewspapers.com

Pet Connection

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Great Falls

By MacKenzie Reagan

The Connection

Apollo and Athena descend on the scene in acloud of fury.

The pair, owned by the Case family inGreat Falls, are both 13-year-old toy poodles. Whilethe two look similar — Apollo, with dark gray furand Athena, with black — their personalities arequite distinct.

Apollo is “our ‘funny’ dog,” says Angela Case, vicepresident of Case Consulting Services in Great Falls,who’s currently in charge of the dogs who were origi-nally Christmas presents for her children. “[Athenais] the more ‘astute’” of the two dogs,” she said.

While Athena can be “very particular” aboutthings, she also has a “sweet personality,” which Caseattributes to her daughter, Natalie, who raised herfrom puppyhood. Apollo, the more laid back of thetwo, takes after Case’s son, Benjamin, who was incharge of taking care of him.

Although Apollo acts tough, “he’s really not,” saysCase. “[He’s] the big chicken.” It’s Athena who’s re-ally the brave one. “She’s a tenacious little dog,” saysCase, noting Athena’s speedy recoveries from botha severe allergic reaction and a torn ligament in her

Great Falls poodles arequite the pair.

Meet Apollo and Athena

Photo by MacKenzie Reagan/The Connection

Apollo, left and Athena: two toy poodles with very dis-tinct personalities.

knee. When walking around the neighborhood, “[she]thinks she’s as big as the Great Danes.”

The dogs, who are from two different litters, wereborn one day apart. Eleven years ago, the two had pup-pies, named Mario and Luigi.

While they’re both slowing down some as they age,the two used to accompany Case on long, five-milewalks at their old home in North Carolina. “They’regreat company.” she says. Nowadays, they go for muchshorter outings –– and never one without the other.“Apollo won’t walk without Athena,” according to Case.

Lost and Found at River Bend Park

This is Snicklefritz, Snicky forshort. He found me at RiverBend Park on Father’s Dayweekend this year. We did all we

could to find his owners, to no avail, so headopted us! In the picture we are on one ofour many walks in Great Falls Park. Snickyloves all people, big and small, and he getsno end of attention when we’re out. We havea rather large extended family of all agegroups and he fits right in with everyone. Inthis picture I’ve picked him up so he couldsee the falls. Snicklefritz is such a joy; we’reso happy we found each other.

— Anne and Hugh Morrow,

Great Falls

2 ❖ Great Falls Connection ❖ Pet Connection, Summer 2014 www.ConnectionNewspapers.com

Pet Connection

In the July 4th

spirit, DaisyWhitworth ofGreat Falls.

IndependenceDay

Meet Ms. ParrotThis is my praying mantis named Ms. Parrot. In this picture she is

on my hand outside about to go out into the bush behind me. I raisedher since she was a nymph. She is an adult female praying mantisnow. Ms. Parrot is 6 months old. I have learned so much from her, likeshe prefers to eat at night. Ms. Parrot is a girl so she doesn’t need tofly and her wings are used for when she jumps. She usually spreadsout her wings and uses them like parachutes. This skill is useful in thewild. It looks like she really liked it outside when we let her go. I lovehaving her as a pet.

— Miina Anvelt, 9,

Great Falls

Bred, donated and/or rescuedfor assistance dog training bypaws4people.org, these “babypictures” will be shared with

the children and veterans matched witheach dog.

But until then, the puppies will receivecomprehensive training. Training beginsat the Training Center in Wilmington,Del. The specific training is proprietary,but includes learning how to navigatedifferent surfaces and challenges andhow to handle stress. At around 6 weeks,they curl up in a transport van and makethe drive to the Puppy Development Cen-ter, currently in Georgia. There, they con-tinue with socialization training as theywork students who are autistic at theLionheart school, with both puppies andstudents getting more comfortable withnew situations and people.

At 16 weeks, they pile back into thevan and are met by inmate trainers atLakin Correctional, in West Virginia. It ishere that the core of “command set”training happens. Each dog will learn110 commands before being matchedwith a “client.”

After 12 - 15 months of socializationand command training, they will each bematched with either a child or a veteran.From that point, the puppies will betrained specifically to meet their new“handler’s” needs.

During that specialized training, thedogs remain in prison. These pictures willhelp the newly matched children andadults get through that initial separation.

Read more about paws4people assistancedogs at joanbradyphoto.wordpress.com

— Joan Brady

Joan Brady is a professional photographer;mentor and advocate for current and formerfoster children; volunteer with paws4People,

Fairfax Families4Kids, and others; and aresident of Great Falls. Reach her at

[email protected]

Puppies Destined forImportant Work

Joan Brady and the paws4people puppy named JOAN

Photos by Joan Brady/joanbradyphotography.com

Baby photos of future assistance dogs

Great Falls Connection ❖ Pet Connection, Summer 2014 ❖ 3www.ConnectionNewspapers.com

www.lostdogandcatrescue.org

lost (adj): 1. unable to find the way.2. not appreciated or understood.

3. no longer owned or known

Helping AnimalsFind Their WaySince 2001

Adopt/Donate/Volunteer

Volunteers needed for adoption events, fostering, transporta-tion, adoption center caretaking and more.

Pet Connection

A Good CitizenAbby is an 8-year-old Sheltie, an AKC Therapy Dog and Canine GoodCitizen, who lives in Great Falls with Kathi and Dan Baker. Abbyloves people and most of all visiting with residents at the SunriseAssisted Living in Reston. Abby and Kathi volunteer there withFairfax Pets On Wheels, Inc. It is the highlight of her week to go andcheck on all her friends.

Frodo and Sam have become bestfriends – sort of. My husband and Iadopted Frodo from Home Alone Cat

Rescue several years ago. He is part MaineCoon and part American Bobtail, with afunny short tail. He may have been mis-treated by a previous owner because he isafraid of everything, especially ceiling fans.He quickly became comfortable in our homeas an “only cat”.

We adopted “Sam” in September of 2012.She was an adorable tabby kitten, part of aferal litter living outside of a restaurant inWashington D.C. Lee District School BoardMember Tammy Kaufax and her two highschool aged kids, Halle and Matthew, werefostering the litter as part of a school project.

Tammy showed me a photo of the kittensin August of 2012 during the SpringfieldBridge Walk and I fell in love with the small-est kitten with tiger markings. As soon asSam had gained enough weight to beadopted we brought her home as a com-panion for Frodo.

It took a few weeks for the two cats to getused to each other, but now they play to-gether and chase each other around all thetime. They are so cute together, especiallywhen Sam hides behind the bedroom doorand ambushes Frodo when he walks intothe room. Animals add so much to your life!

— Sharon Bulova, Chairman,

Fairfax County Board of Supervisors

Becoming Best Friends

Photo contributed

Sharon Bulova with her cats. ‘Animals add so much to your life!’ – Bulovasays.

Welcome tothe Dog ParkSign welcomes dogowners to Reston’sBaron Cameron DogPark.

4 ❖ Great Falls Connection ❖ Pet Connection, Summer 2014 www.ConnectionNewspapers.com

Pet Watson, a cockapoo rescue, with children, from left: Cole, Carolineand Max Morehouse, of Great Falls.

The BestChristmasGift EverWatson is acockapoorescue whocame to theMorehouseFamily of GreatFalls on Christ-mas Eve 2013and remainsthe best Christ-mas gift thefamily has everreceived.

Meet Gloria’s ‘Puff’Gloria Boos, 10, of Great Falls, and her dog, “Puff the Magic Pom Pom”or better known as “Puff.”

Mr. Giant is a 9-year-old tabby ac-quired from theFairfax animalshelter when hewas 18 monthsold. Mr. Giantweighs a svelte20 pounds. Hespends his daymoving from sunpatch to sunpatch in thehouse for hisnaps. He followsme up and downthe stairs in themorning and is inthe window togreet me everyevening when Icome home fromwork. This is usu-ally accompaniedby a series of me-ows, purrs andcoos as he rolls onthe floor. He lovesto sit and curl upin his basket eventhough it is waytoo small. The cry of “outside” makes himrun for the back door to be let out wherehe can rollick in the buffalo grass and un-successfully stalk whatever is around likehe was home on the Serengeti Plain. Mr.Giant also likes to have his toys thrownin the air where he catches and knocks

them down and sometimes returns them.Mr. Giant is a beloved and essential mem-ber of the family, a beast who enricheslife every day.

— Jack O. Nutter,

Great Falls

Mr. GiantPet Connection

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