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Pet ConnectionInside
SeniorLiving
Page 5
Community Helps WFCM Restock Its Food PantryNews, Page 3
No Property Tax Rate IncreaseNews, Page 2
Cherishing PetsPets, Page 4
Sully and Zeke love to hike. They live in Oak
Hill with Lindsey Smith and Jill Westeyn.
online at www.connectionnewspapers.com February 27-March 5, 2019
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Attention Postmaster:
Time sensitive material.
Requested in home 2-28-19
PRSRT STDU.S. Postage
PAIDEaston, MDpermit #322
2 ❖ Chantilly Connection ❖ February 27 - March 5, 2019 www.ConnectionNewspapers.com
News
See 2020 Budget, Page 7
By Bonnie Hobbs
Officer Thomas Rubinstein hasbeen selected as the Sully DistrictPolice Station’s Officer of the
Quarter for the fourth quarter of 2018. Hewas honored at the Feb. 13 meeting of thestation’s Citizens Advisory Committee.
In nominating him for the award, Sgt.Joshua Shoemaker said Rubinstein is “con-sistently a top performer” on the Sully Dis-trict Station Evenings A squad. In additionto his proactive patrol, wrote Shoemaker,“Rubinstein often takes the initiative to fol-low up and complete investigations on hisown that would otherwise be forwarded toanother investigative authority for follow up.”
Shoemaker said Rubinstein’s desire to seean investigation completed — as well as toprovide victims a sense of closure — is “ex-ceptional” for a patrol officer. He then gave
details of an investigation that highlightedRubinstein’s “exemplary effort and outcome.”
Rubinstein responded to a scene to takea report of a larceny of a backpack from anunoccupied, locked vehicle parked atBraddock Park. During his investigation, helearned that the victim’s debit card had re-cently been used to make several, fraudu-lent transactions at multiple locations in theBurke area.
But rather than simply taking a report andforwarding it to detectives, Rubinstein con-tinued his investigation, responding to aWalmart where the fraudulent charges hadbeen attempted. He met with the store’sloss-prevention personnel and worked withthem to track the subject via the surveil-lance footage from the register where thepurchases were made.
“Once identified from the point of saletransaction, Officer Rubinstein continued
his investigation by reviewing video fromthe parking lot,” wrote Shoemaker. “Fromhis efforts, he identified the suspect’s ve-hicle.
“Later that same evening, while continu-ing his proactive patrol, Rubinstein ob-served a U-Haul box truck matching the one
being driven by the suspect. He identifiedthe driver of the U-Haul as his suspect andinitiated a stop.”
Rubinstein then conducted a roadsideinterview and obtained a confession fromthe driver. Furthermore, during a subse-quent search of the driver and vehicle, theofficer recovered much of the victim’s prop-erty, as well as evidence from other larce-nies, additional stolen credit cards, andfelony narcotics.
“Officer Rubinstein’s passion to investi-gate the incident past the initial report —and keen observation in identifying andlocating the suspect vehicle — brought thisinvestigation to a successful conclusion,”wrote Shoemaker. “In addition to bringinghis own investigation to a successful out-come, he discovered numerous other vic-tims and undoubtedly prevented additionalcrimes from taking place. For his continueddedication and commitment to the commu-nity, Rubinstein is the Officer of the Quar-ter for the Sully District Station.”
Rubinstein honored as Officer of the Quarter.
‘Passion to Investigate Past the Initial Report’
Photo by Bonnie Hobbs
Assistant Station Commander, Lt.Todd Billeb (left), presents theOfficer of the Quarter award toOfficer Thomas Rubinstein.
Andrea Worker
After several years of contentiousbudget wrangling, an increase inthe tax rate, and negotiationsforced to “kick-the-can” on many
funding requests due to fiscal obstacles ina sluggish local economy, the proposedFairfax County FY 2020 Budget still presentsits challenges, but the county supervisorssee progress and reason for optimism.
“There’s more good news than bad,” wasSupervisor Jeff McKay’s (Lee District) reac-tion to County Executive Bryan Hill’s pre-sentation to the Board on Tuesday, Feb. 19.
McKay is the chair of the Board of Super-visors’ budget committee, and while he andother supervisors still expressed some con-cerns, particularly over the additional mon-ies required of the county to fund Metro,and the lack of funds to support muchneeded transportation and infrastructureimprovements, the initial draft was gener-ally met with a sense of “having somethingwe can work with.”
McKay, board chair Sharon Bulova andothers thanked Hill and county CFO JoeMondoro for a proposed budget of $4.4 bil-lion that fully funds Fairfax County PublicSchools, allows for raises that help alignteachers’ salaries with neighboring jurisdic-tions and modest Market Rate Adjustmentsand longevity increases for county employ-ees. The proposal also supports board pri-orities such as the Diversion First Program,Gang and Opioid Prevention efforts, EarlyChildhood and Environmental initiatives,
and staffing and training for the SouthCounty Police Center and Animal Shelterthat the county hopes to see operational by2022.
Thanks to an increase in property valueslast year, more commercial properties addedto the tax rolls, and economies and efficien-cies instituted by Hill and the county, theproposed budget achieves these fundingobjectives without suggesting an increaseto the residential real estate rate — the mainsource of the county’s revenue.
“This Advertised Budget assumes nochange in the tax rate of $1.15 per $100 ofassessed property value,” said Hill.
Helping things along financially wasVirginia’s economic recovery from the re-cession and from sequestration.
“Our growth has finally picked up,” saidHill, noting a decline in office space vacancyrates, an increase in government contractspending, and employment gains in theWashington Metro region that rose abovehistorical averages in 2018. The county isalso expecting a positive impact from theselection of Northern Virginia as a secondheadquarters for Amazon.
On the other side of the scale, Hill re-minded that “no one yet really knows thetrue effect of the recent partial governmentshutdown.” In addition, the failure of thecurrent General Assembly session to restoretransportation funds to the region haspushed a number of projects further fromtheir anticipated start or completion dates.
Without those funds, work to improvesafety and traffic flow on roads like theFairfax County and Franconia-SpringfieldParkways will no doubt be negatively af-fected, according to Braddock District Su-pervisor John Cook, who added that “citi-zens need to know the facts, that even with3 percent growth in the county, it’s still astruggle to meet our needs. We need their
help.”Several of the supervisors posed budget
questions for Hill and Mondoro. The an-swers to their questions will be forthcom-ing at one of the Budget Committee meet-ings, and Hill also noted that the responseswould be made available to the public onthe county’s Management and Budgetwebsite.
While there is no assumption of a tax rateincrease, other “non-general fund tax rate”service fees will see slight increases. SewerBase Charges will rise from “$30.38 per
quarter, to $32.91, the Sewer AvailabilityCharge (residential) will increase from$8,100 to $8,340 and the Sewer ServiceCharge will rise from $7.00 to $7.28 per1,000 gallons.
After the Budget presentation, Hill, CFOMondoro, and Superintendent of FairfaxCounty Public Schools Scott Brabrand helda joint Q&A with media representatives.
“This is a superintendent’s dream,” saidBrabrand in his remarks, “to be able to workwith a county executive and to have thekind of relationship we are creating be-tween the School Board and the FairfaxCounty Board of Supervisors …. this is theright way to do business.”
TO BRABRAND, this budget “puts theneeds of students first, the needs of theschool system first.” He expressed “delight”that the budget is “finishing the work tomake our teachers market competitive …we want the best and brightest teachers andsupport staff” so that the system can con-tinue to provide an outstanding educationalexperience for the benefit of the entire com-munity.
Brabrand vowed to continue the FCPS’sfocus on One Fairfax to strive for equity inall aspects of its operation, and to continuecollaborating with the Fairfax County gov-ernment.
Hill ended on a positive note, sayingthat while he was disappointed that notall funding requests could be met as “wemanage within our means to meet our 5percent needs on 3 percent growth,”many unfunded priorities from past yearswere finally being addressed. He alsourged citizens to “get involved. All of theinformation is readily available … yourvoice matters.”
Photo by Andrea Worker
County Executive Bryan Hill pre-sents the proposed FY 2020 to theBoard of Supervisors on Feb. 19. Aseries of public hearings anddistrict town halls are slatedbefore the budget’s markup andadoption, with Hill urging citizensto learn all the facts on thecounty’s website and get involved.“Your voice matters.”
County executivepresents proposedFY 2020 budget.
No Property Tax Rate Hike; Fully Funded Public Schools
Chantilly Connection ❖ February 27 - March 5, 2019 ❖ 3www.ConnectionNewspapers.com
News
See Grateful, Page 7
By Bonnie Hobbs
Community spirit was on dis-play during the Stuff the Busfood drive for Western FairfaxChristian Ministries’ (WFCM).
Held Feb. 9 at the Giant grocery store atthe Colonnade at Union Mill ShoppingCenter, it was part of Fairfax County’sannual initiative to stock local food pan-tries in the winter.
From 9 a.m.-4 p.m., various volunteersgreeted Giant customers and passed out fli-ers asking for donations of food or moneyso the nonprofit WFCM can continue pro-viding food for local families in need. Whatwas collected was then stuffed into a busand other vehicles and brought to theorganization’s pantry.
“We received more food than MV Trans-portation expected,” said Jennie Bush,WFCM community outreach manager. “Wefilled its bus, a police department truck andan a MV Transportation personal vehicle.”
“We are grateful for the support of ourcommunity which generously donated foodand helped with volunteer needs,” she con-
tinued. “One customer even took our list ofmost-needed’ items and bought everythingon the list to donate.”
Bush noted that another customer boughtand donated a grocery cart full of cereal,then returned to the donation area againwith a second load of large bottles of liq-uid, laundry detergent and other neededfood — and then went back to do his ownshopping.
Impressed with people’s generosity, Bushsaid, “The community response alwaysamazes me. We couldn’t do what we dowithout them, and any time we ask for do-nations of food, they respond.#neighborshelpingneighbors.”
And when she needed last-minute helpwith an unexpected problem, the local po-lice came to her rescue. “We had an unfor-tunate situation where we thought we hadvolunteers lined up this year, but somethingfell through,” said Bush. “We put out a last-minute — at 5 p.m., the night before theevent — plea to our community to help, andwe got the volunteers we needed. Sully Dis-trict Police Department officers, plus threeauxiliary officers, came to help all day.Those auxiliary officers are volunteers, butthey were really engaged, handing out fli-ers and collecting food.”
In addition, a Boy Scout Troop leader alsospent all day at the event. “All these peoplereally made the difference in how manyshoppers we were able to tell about the fooddrive,” said Bush. “Also, two students from
Community helpsWFCM restock itsfood pantry.
‘We Are Grateful for the Support’
Michael Nashed (left) of MVTransportation Inc. hands bagsof food donations to RobertBarbieri in the bus.
Manning WFCM’s donation table inside the Colonnade Giant are (fromleft) Yesica Agents of Fairfax County’s Neighborhood and CommunityServices and WFCM’s Pamela Montesinos.
Carrying a box of food to the busare (from left) Stone Middleeighth-grader Matthew Mennellaand MV Transportation’s VictorLopez and Michael Nashed.
Photo Courtesy of Jennie Bush
Front row, from left, are LilibethRioux, Natty Enriquez and WFCM’sJennie Bush; back row, from left,are Debbie Neal, Bob Mills andGiant Store Manager Ken Trask.Except for Bush and Trask, all areNorthwest Federal Credit Unionemployees.
Photo Courtesy of John Werderman
From left are Al Koroma with Neighborhood and Community Services,Giant Store Manager Ken Trask, 2nd Lt. Ken Pfeiffer, WFCM’s JennieBush, 2nd Lt. Deanna Weand, Sully District Supervisor Kathy Smith, PFCMeg Hawkins, Springfield District Supervisor Pat Herrity, and Capt. DeanLay, commander of the Sully District Police Station.
Photo Courtesy of Wendy Lemieux
Helping out are Stone Middleeighth-graders (from left) ConnorGary and Jack Woodward.
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4 ❖ Chantilly Connection ❖ February 27 - March 5, 2019 www.ConnectionNewspapers.com
Pet Connection
www.ConnectionNewspapers.com
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Newspaper ofChantilly
Fair Oaks / Fair LakesA Connection Newspaper
An independent, locally owned weeklynewspaper delivered
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Local Media Connection LLC
1606 King StreetAlexandria, Virginia 22314
Free digital edition delivered toyour email box. Go to
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NEWS DEPARTMENT:[email protected]
Steven Mauren Editor, 703-778-9415
Jean CardProduction Editor
Bonnie HobbsCommunity Reporter, [email protected]
Andrea WorkerContributing Writer
ADVERTISING:For advertising information
Debbie FunkNational Sales703-778-9444
David GriffinMarketing Assistant
Classified & EmploymentAdvertising703-778-9431
Editor & PublisherMary Kimm
[email protected]@MaryKimm
Executive Vice PresidentJerry Vernon
Editor in ChiefSteven Mauren
Managing EditorKemal Kurspahic
Art/Design:Laurence Foong, John Heinly,
Ali KhalighProduction Manager:
Geovani Flores
A Connection Newspaper
Chantilly
Sully and Zeke as Mario and LuigiSully, 4, and Zeke, 3, have brightened the Smith housesince their arrival. While Daddy, Lindsey Smith, staysbusy as chief of staff to Braddock Supervisor John Cook,Mommy, Jill Westeyn, spends her days as a Federal em-ployee but volunteers many hours to the Fairfax CountyAnimal Shelter and is on the Board of the Friends of theFairfax County Animal Shelter.Sully and Zeke love to hike and take naps on their lovinghumans. For Halloween this year, Jill made Mario andLuigi costumes and won a couple of contests. I live inOak Hill in the Sully District, hence the pup’s name.Whenever I see former Supervisor Michael Frey, he neverasks how I’m doing, only how Sully and Zeke are doing.
— Lindsey Smith
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Dog CousinsThese doggies are all BFFs and cousins who love to playwith each other. Sadly, Namche went over Rainbow Bridgeearlier this year and we miss him dearly. From left, theyare: Messi (Golderman Pyrgywhip), Magnolia (BorderCollie), Namche (Golden Retriever), and Hobbes (GoldenRetriever)
— Brooke Paldao of Fairfax
I always had a dream of man-aging or working at a smallhobby farm or working more
with my hands and animals. I be-lieve tasks that involve manuallabor and being outdoors are goodfor the soul. I started volunteer-ing at the Northern Virginia Thera-peutic Riding center to test mytheory that I really want to bearound animals and I have beendoing it for 3 years now and re-ally like seeing the joy that horsesbring to individuals with disabili-ties, youth-at-risk and recoveringmilitary personnel.
My dream was finally realizedafter 20 years of considerationwhen I purchased a 6.3 acre farmin Fairfax Station. I didn’t have alot of experience running a farm
and I knew I wanted a partner andI was concerned about investingso much in a farm at a time whenI didn’t want to take on more ex-pense. I found a neighbor also in-terested and passionate about ani-mals, barns, and animal therapy.We both believe in the healingpower of nature and animals. Wefound many interested people tohelp out and that is motivating.
My neighbor and I took a chanceand teamed up and we now havefour amazing horses (Morgan,Ruger, Cocoa and Traveler), sevenmischievous but loving NigerianDwarf goats (Ninja, Bambi, Cali,Moose Tracks, Sally Leonora, SuzyQ and Snowball), four friendlychickens (Henrietta, Veronika,Erika, Giesela) and two rabbits
(Thumper and Henry) and oneparakeet (Javier).
My neighbor and I have a visionto bring pleasure to people thatlove animals, nature and beingoutdoors. We have seen the smileson faces of children and adults thatcome to the farm. We want tobring joy to people that need aescape from daily pressures of life.
We are just getting started! Weare only looking to do small groupgatherings (the smaller the better)to keep the experience special. Theanimals bring me so much joy.They melt hearts.
We plan to offer horsemanshiplessons, riding, birthday parties(small group), goat yoga and inti-mate farm tours.
Check us out on facebook at
Ninja Horses: Morgan, Ruger, Cocoa and Traveler Bambi
Living the Dream
Thumper and Henry
Live, Laugh, Relax TherapeuticCenter or call 703-989-3883 formore info.
— Joseph Lombardozzi
Chantilly Connection ❖ February 27 - March 5, 2019 ❖ 5www.ConnectionNewspapers.com
lostdogandcatrescue.org
lost (adj): 1. unable to findthe way. 2. not appreciatedor understood. 3. no longer
owned or known
AdoptDonate
VolunteerVolunteers needed for
adoption events,fostering,
transportation,adoption center
caretaking and more.
By Marilyn Campbell
Tracy Palmer didn’t see the acci-dent, but she received a franticcall that every parent dreads:her 11-year-old son had been hit
by a car.“We were on vacation visiting my brother
and I’d gone to get coffee and my phonerang,” she said. “Mybrother told that an82-year old womanhit my son while heand a few of his cous-ins were sitting just offthe driveway drawingwith chalk. She neversaw the kids and whenshe hit my son shethought she’d hit aball, so she kept going.Thank God one of theneighbors saw it andstopped her.”
After eight days inthe intensive careunit, Palmer’s son ison the mend, but Palmer who works as anattorney in Arlington, however, is furiousthat the elderly driver was allowed behindthe wheel of a car in the first place.
Monitoring one’s driving abilities is anessential part of our overall healthcare, es-pecially as one ages. “There’s no cutoff agefor when a person should stop driving. Butas we age, our joints can become stiff, ourreflexes slow down and our ability to makesplit-second judgement calls or stop on adime can become impaired,” said DanaKilgore, MSPT. “Our bodies also become
more frail as we age,so the impact of a caraccident would prob-ably do more harm toa 85-year old than a25-year old.”
It is important forseniors and their fami-lies to pay close to at-tention to the warningsigns that it’s time toreduce one’s drivingor stop it all together,says psychologistDonna Goldstein,Psy.D. “If you noticean increased numberscratches or dents on
that mom or dad’s car, especially if they’vealways been a good driver, that could be anindicator,” she said. “Getting traffic tickets,getting lost frequently, running stop signs
or traffic lights, those are all signs that itmight be time to leave the driving to some-one else.”
Accepting the fact that it’s time to stopdriving can be difficult. “A driver’s licenseisn’t just a plastic card with a bad picturethat you keep in your wallet,” said LisaDombo, LPC, Ed.D, a marriage and familytherapist in McLean. “It means freedom andindependence. It’s hard for anyone to wantto give that up. That’s one of the reasonswhy it can be so hard for people to con-vince someone that they need to stop driv-ing.”
That is a lesson that Naomi O’Connerlearned one weekend this winter when shemade plans with friends to take in a de-signer sample sale that was happeningabout two-miles from her house. Her 86-year old mother had agreed to babysit her7 and 9-year old children. But the weathertook a frosty turn and threw her plans intoa tailspin.
“My mom lives a mile away from me andhas always been my most dependable back-up babysitter for weeknights, but when thesnow started falling, I knew that I could notlet her get on the road in that weather,” saidO’Conner who lives in Bethesda. “It was forher safety and everybody else who’d be onroad. Unfortunately, she kept insisting that
Recognizing warning signs thatit might be time to stop driving.Giving Up the Car Keys?
she would be fine and even became a littlepeeved that I was suggesting that she wastoo old. Too keep her off the road, I had toconcoct a story about one of my friendsgetting sick and canceling the plans.”
The thought of suggesting to a loved onethat it’s time to give up their car keys can bedaunting. Dombo says that there are stepsthat one can take to make such a conversa-tion less intimidating. “This is a very sensi-tive issue for many people because it meansdramatic change in lifestyle and having lesscontrol over ourselves,” she said. “It’s im-portant to be respectful and not talk to themlike they are a child. Give specific examplesinstead of making general statements andtry not to have the conversation alone. It’susually more effective to have the conver-sation with a group of family members.”
Demonstrating an understand of the whatreduced driving means is also important,suggests Goldstein. “You must show empa-thy,” she said. “This type of transition canlead to depression for some seniors. Offer-ing alternatives like gift certificates for cabrides or Uber or Lyft can be good. Comingup with a plan to remain socially active andto run errands and get to doctor’s appoint-ments. But this type of life transition is noteasy, but it is possible to live a rich, full lifewithout a car.”
Senior Living
“... a very sensitiveissue for manypeople because itmeans dramaticchange in lifestyleand having less con-trol over ourselves.”
— Lisa Dombo, LPC, Ed.D
6 ❖ Chantilly Connection ❖ February 27 - March 5, 2019 www.ConnectionNewspapers.com
Sports
The Westfield Bulldogs took on the MarshallStatesmen in a second round regional playoff game in Falls Church on Feb. 22. Westfield
advanced to the game having defeated Washington-Lee in the first round 58-55. Marshall advanced de-feating Osbourn Park 74-42.
Marshall started off with 11 first quarter points,led by Ryan Schlaffer’s 9 points, while Westfieldmanaged only 4 points all of which came from TrentReimonenq.
In the 2nd quarter Marshall balanced their scor-ing with Daniel Deavers scoring 8, Ryan Schlaffer 6and Alex Pigeon scoring 3. Westfield’s Marshall Reedscored 9 points in the quarter with teammate TahjSummey adding the other 4 Westfield points. Half-way through the game neither team had been suc-cessful on a three pointer, yet Marshall led by doubledigits, 32-17 at the halfway point.
In the 3rd quarter Marshall increased their leadmargin another two points, with all but four of theMarshall 15 points coming from Daniel Deaver.Deaver would tally 11 in the quarter. Westfield’s SamJohnson scored 6 points in the quarter while team-mate Marshall Reed added 4, and Gavin Kiley addeda basket.
With just eight minutes to play and trailing 47-29in regulation Westfield still had fight in them andoutscored the Statesmen 17-16, but were not able tostage a comeback. Marshall closed out the game witha 64-45 victory. Westfield’s Marshall Reed scored 8points in the quarter, including two 3 pointers to givehim a game high 25 points, and Trent Reimonenqadded another three pointer. Taylor Morin and Rob-ert Black each added a basket. Marshall’s DanielDeaver scored 6 points in the quarter for a team highof 23 points. Jack Taylor added 5 points and endedthe game with 9 points. Ryan Schlaffer scored twopoints and ended up with 17 for the game.
Marshall (22-6) moves on to the third round wherethey will face Patriot High School, who defeated
McLean High School 65-56. Westfield ended theirseason at 4-22.
For the game Marshall converted on 12 of their 15free throws. Westfield sank the game’s only 3 point-ers, all in the 4th quarter.
— Will Palenscar
Statesmen Take Down BulldogsIn regional playoff.
Marshall Reed lays in two of his gamehigh 25 points.
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Submit entertainment announcementsat www.connectionnewspapers.c om/Cal-endar/. The deadline is noon on Friday.Photos/artwork encouraged.
FRIDAY/MARCH 1Registration Deadline: Fairfax
Adult Softball. Experience first-hand the enjoyment that only FASsoftball offers with play for adultmen and women in a number ofdifferent leagues across FairfaxCounty: Men, Women, Coed,Modified Coed, Social Coed, FastPitch, Men’s 35+, Men’s 50+ andChurch. Team and individualregistration now open. Visit us andregister online atwww.fairfaxadultsoftball.com.
SATURDAY-SUNDAY/MARCH 2-3Monty’s Model Train Display.
Saturday, noon-5 p.m. and Sunday,noon-4 p.m. at the Fairfax StationRailroad Museum, 11200 FairfaxStation Road, Fairfax Station. Localmodel train enthusiast Monty Smithwill display his running brick-builtmodel trains featuring LEGO trains inthis two-day event. Ages 16 andolder, $4; 5-15, $2; 4 and under,free. Visit www.fairfax-station.org orcall 703-425-9225.
SATURDAY/MARCH 9Naked Tour. 1-2 p.m. At Sully Historic
Site, 3650 Historic Sully Way,Chantilly. On this tour, visitors will
walk freely with their guides throughthe home of Richard Bland Lee, thefirst congressman from NorthernVirginia. The usual museum barrierswill be down. This tour is designedfor visitors age 5 to adult. The cost is$7 per person.
Call 703-437-1794 or visitwww.fairfaxcounty.gov/parks/sully-historic-site.
SUNDAY/MARCH 10Game Day Fun. 1-4 p.m. at the Fairfax
Station Railroad Museum, 11200Fairfax Station Road, Fairfax Station.The Fairfax Station Railroad Museumwill host a Game Day for all ages andprizes as well. For the little onesthere will be a Thomas the TankEngine game. Older children willhave a sticker scavenger hunt bingogame and there will even be a gamefor the grownups. Ages 16 and older,$4; 5-15, $2; 4 and under, free. Visitwww.fairfax-station.org or call 703-425-9225.
SUNDAY/MARCH 17NTRAK Scale Model Train Show. 1-
4 p.m. at the Fairfax Station RailroadMuseum, 11200 Fairfax StationRoad, Fairfax Station. The NorthernVirginia NTRAK members will hold aN gauge Model Train Display. Ages16 and older, $4; 5-15, $2; 4 andunder, free. Visit www.fairfax-station.org, www.facebook.com/FFXSRR, or call 703-425-9225.
TUESDAY/MARCH 19Live Music: Ryanhood. 7:15 p.m. at
Amphora’s Diner Deluxe, 1151 EldenSt., Herndon. Acoustic duo Ryanhoodgot their first break more than adecade ago as street performers atBoston’s Quincy Market. Ryanhood ison tour promoting their latest album,Early Best. Suggested donation is $10for members of the Folk Club ofReston/Herndon and $11 for non-members. Visitwww.restonherndonfolkclub.com formore.
SUNDAY/MARCH 24Spring Make ‘n Take Activity. 1-4
p.m. at the Fairfax Station RailroadMuseum, 11200 Fairfax StationRoad, Fairfax Station. Make tissuepaper flowers to welcome spring.Ages 16 and older, $4; 5-15, $2; 4and under, free. Visit www.fairfax-station.org, www.facebook.com/FFXSRR, or call 703-425-9225.
Live Music: Valerie Smith &Liberty Pike. 7 p.m. (doors open at6) at Frying Pan Farm Park VisitorCenter, 2739 West Ox Road,Herndon. Make plans to “hitch up theteam” and head to Frying Pan FarmPark this season for Bluegrass Barn.Food and beverages available forpurchase. $18 in advance, $20 at thedoor. Purchase tickets online atwww.fairfaxcounty.gov/parks/frying-pan-park/bluegrass-barn or by phoneat 703-222-4664 or 703-437-9101.
Entertainment
Chantilly Connection ❖ February 27 - March 5, 2019 ❖ 7www.ConnectionNewspapers.com
Kenny Lourie is an Advertising Representative forThe Potomac Almanac & The Connection Newspapers.
By KENNETH B. LOURIE
Although you can adjust your television set, it’s probably wise to have juiced the battery in your cellular phone. Better still, use your landline – if you have one – thereby prevent-ing a dropped call right in the middle of your interminable hold. Because the call you’re about
going to be made to the correct number or the correct person or at the correct time or even to the correct department.
And should you be lucky enough to reach an actual person with your call, the explanation for your call/the problem you’re attempting to resolve, will no doubt result in a transfer which most likely will not be to the correct number, the correct person, at the correct time or even to the correct department.
Unfortunately, after perusing the govern-ment’s website, you’re just not smart enough to
to call. (Is anyone that smart?) And therefore you are likely going to experience this loop-de-loop – without the upset stomach.
And what makes your attempt even worse? Hanging up, since your call might be “answered in the order in which it was received.”
Now presuming/assuming that a less-than-im-mediate solution will not be at hand, there are a few steps one should take in preparation to not make a bad situation worse:
* Allow for plenty of time. Do not make this call when you’re in a hurry, on break/at lunch or have a limited window of opportunity to complete your task. You will need to be in for the long haul, so to speak.
* Try to make this call when you’re able to sit/stand comfortably – for long periods of time. Moreover, make sure you have the privacy you need so that anything you say will not be heard (or held against you in a court of law) and any movements your body makes will likewise not be seen.
There’s something about being stuck on the phone for long periods of time waiting, waiting, waiting; talking, talking, talking; hoping (you’ll note I didn’t say expecting) to reach the right per-son and/or resolve the problem/get the answer
rarely brings out the best in the person on hold. Quite frankly, it’s been my personal experience that it brings out the worst.
In addition to having the time and the place, one must also have the patience. That patience comes from proper preparation. And by “proper preparation” I mean the creature comforts: food, water and access to a bathroom.
The order really should be reversed with
time and place, and then making the effort to navigate the government’s website looking for the proper person, phone number, department and then in the midst of any success you might have accomplishing this Herculean feat, to have that very personal need interrupt the proceedings
Common sense has to prevail or the conse-quences may be dire; you might have to start your calling process all over again. I wouldn’t wish that on any one.
There is no greater satisfaction than surviving making one of these calls, and having done so because you put all of your adult Boy Scout skills to work. There really should be badge of honor one can earn after completing this dreaded and arduous task.
In fact, there should be some kind of reward. Although I imagine reaching nirvana (not listen-ing to Nirvana) is its own reward.
Nevertheless, having survived the ordeal and endured the suffering for as many minutes as I care not to remember, I can say with absolute certainty, it’s a hell of a feeling. I wish you all well in your next pursuit of truth and justice despite the American Way.
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Stone Middle School, and a Boy Scout,stopped by to help pack food and load itinto the truck and bus.”
As a result of everyone’s efforts, she said,all items collected will go toward helpingthe most vulnerable members of the com-munity feed their families. She also ex-pressed WFCM’s gratitude toward the Gi-ant Foods Corp. and to the Clifton Giant atThe Colonnade for hosting this Stuff the Busevent each year.
“The store manager, Ken Trask, ordersfood ahead of time to make sure enough ison hand, the day of our food drive,” saidBush. He specifically ordered some of ourmost-needed items for us to pre-bag in re-usable shopping bags, which the store do-nated, enabling us to offer customers aneasy way to buy a bag of food for about$10.”
In addition, one of WFCM’s communitypartners, Northwest Federal Credit Union(NWFCU), sent five employees to the store,a week early, to help fill 200 bags with theseitems — sugar, black beans, cannedpeaches, tuna, spinach and canned tomatosauce — all top choices of WFCM’s clients.These were the food bags that were avail-able for purchase by willing donors duringStuff the Bus.
“We are grateful for all the volunteers whomade this day possible,” said Bush. “Andthank you to the residents and organiza-tions for their generous food donations forour pantry and the hungry families in ourcommunity.”
Each district will host at least one budgettown hall — with either Hill or Mondoro orboth in attendance — before the Board ofSupervisors holds public hearings and be-fore the budget goes to “mark-up” on April30, with adoption slated for the board meet-ing on May 7.
Public hearings before the board will beheld on April 9 at 4 p.m. and on April 10and 11 at 1 p.m. All meetings will take placeat the Fairfax County Government Centerin the Board Auditorium. Persons who wishto speak at a public hearing need to sign upwith the Clerk by calling 703-324-3151, orby form at www.fairfaxcounty.gov/bosclerk/speakers-form. Written testimonyfor the record can also be emailed to theClerk’s Office [email protected].
A 37-page Summary of the Budget, areader-friendly two-page highlights docu-ment, as well as complete information onthe budget process, timeline, meetings andmore are all available on the county’swebsite, search “budget.” Information onthe town hall meetings can be found at
https://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/budget/fy-2020-budget-town-hall-meetings.
2020 Budget
Grateful
8 ❖ Chantilly Connection ❖ February 27 - March 5, 2019 www.ConnectionNewspapers.com
News
Troop 30 of Centreville honored three BoyScouts — Spencer Bartlett, Andrew Tsai, andBrendan Selewski — who achieved the rank
of Eagle Scout and were honored in a ceremony onJan. 12.
Spencer and Brendan are seniors at CentrevilleHigh School and Andrew is a senior at Westfield HighSchool. They were all recognized for their signifi-cant achievements and leadership in the ceremonyat the troop’s-chartered organization, CentrevillePresbyterian Church.
Spencer performed an Eagle Scout project thatconsisted of painting a large U.S map, multiplica-tion table, and number lines on the playground atCentreville Elementary School.
His project allowed him to lead 10 people for atotal of 65 man-hours. Spencer hopes to pursue com-
puter science at Virginia Tech or William & Mary.Andrew performed an Eagle Scout project that
consisted of building, painting, and installing anoutdoor storage shelf at Bull Run Elementary. Hisproject allowed him to lead nine people for a totalof 70 man-hours.
Andrew hopes to pursue computer science at ei-ther UVA or Carnegie Mellon.
Brendan performed an Eagle Scout project thatconsisted of building and installing benches arounda fire pit that was also rebuilt at Centreville Presby-terian Church. His project allowed him to lead 29people for a total of 108 man-hours. Brendan hopesto pursue computer science at Carnegie Mellon,Duke, or UVA.
Visit www.troopwebhost.org/Troop30Centreville/Index.htm. Andrew Tsai, Brendan Selewski and Spencer Bartlett.
Troop 30 Honors Its Three New Eagle Scouts
By Steve Hibbard
Now there’s trulyFamily Scouting inCentreville. Sevengirls were officially
launched into Girls Troop 893 ina special Scouting ceremony onFriday, Feb. 1, at CentrevilleUnited Methodist Church(CUMC), the chartering organiza-tion. Now called Scouts BSA, girlsages 11-17 from schools inCentreville and Chantilly are ableto join the Boy Scout level. CUMCcurrently sponsors three otherunits – Boy Scout Troop 893, CubScout Pack 893, and Venture Crew893. Andrea Schuetz will be thegirls Scoutmaster.
According to Michael Adere,chartered organization represen-tative with Troop 893: “This ispretty exciting because girls havebeen involved in the Venture Crewfor 20 years, and a year ago theywere able to integrate with thePack, which is Cub Scouts. Todayis actually the official launch na-tionwide of girls’ troops in theScouts BSA. And these girls, liketheir boy counterparts in the boytroops, will be able to work upthrough the ranks, earn meritbadges, and they will follow thesame what we call ‘Trail to Eagle’that the boys do currently.”
He continued: “It’s exciting forus because they’ve talked aboutthis for a few years and now we’reactually having it happen. That’swhat tonight’s celebration launchis all about.”
He added that the girls’ troopwill be a totally separate troopfrom the boys but they will sharesome resources at the adult level;they will interact with each otherand join in some activities like
campouts.How big of a milestone is this?
Adere said: “It’s actually huge be-cause we’ve had girls in the Ven-ture Crew, which is 14-21, forabout 20 years. But we’ve neverhad girls in the Pack level, whichis Cub Scouts ages 5-11, or the BoyScout troop level, ages 11-17 upuntil this time.”
He continued: “This is some-thing we’ve been looking towardfor several years. It is a big mile-stone. Because for the first time,girls will actually be able to join agirls’ troop, similar to a boys’troop, and be able to earn thesame merit badges, and more im-portantly, the rank advancements,the same as the boys — ultimatelyculminating in the Eagle Scoutrank, which is the highest rank inBoy Scouts.”
ACCORDING TO Paul Taylor,committee chair for the BoysTroop and Girls Troop: “This is apretty big deal. I like that we cannow welcome all youth to all lev-els of our Scouting programs. Wehave four different levels and they
now can be involved at every level.So, we’ve had co-ed in VenturingCrew for a long time, but what Ireally like is that now girls can joinboth in the Pack level, whenthey’re in elementary school andnow their middle and high schoolcan be in a troop, and earn Eagle,which is a huge deal.”
Taylor added: “This is somethingthat’s been long in coming, it’sbeen worldwide accepted and weare now stepping into the samearena as the rest of the world andhaving girls in every aspect ofScouting, so it’s a huge day in thehistory of Scouting. It’s a pretty bigdeal. Things like this don’t happenvery often.”
New member Christina Alvarez,14, of Centreville attends ninthgrade at Chantilly High School.“Today, I’m looking forward tojoining Boy Scouts probably be-cause I think it will be a lot of funand my goal is to get my Eagle(rank). My plan for the patchesand ranks is to ask my parents tohelp me because my dad is theTroop leader for 1995 (at DeerPark Elementary), which is a dif-
ferent troop and my mom’s theAdvancement Chair for that troopso she has connections all over BoyScouts…. I’m probably most look-ing forward to making friends andmeeting new people and becom-ing eventually an Eagle, hope-fully,” she said.
Brian Staton, 13, of Centreville,who attends eighth-grade at RockyRun Middle School, said: “I feellike it’s a good thing that they’re(girls are) getting a chance to dothe same activities that we do, butI think it’s also good that they’re
getting their own separate troop.So, I feel good about it. I feel likeit’s a good idea and it’s nice to fi-nally have this happen.”
New member Rowan Causley,10, of Centreville is a fifth-graderat Virginia Run Elementary, whoadded: “I’m very excited and alittle nervous at the same time,”she said. “I play baseball with boysso I’m kind of used to it. I’m verylooking forward to doing all thisstuff. My dad was a Boy Scout andI’ve seen all of his outfits and stuffso it looks very cool.”
Scout Troop 893 Welcomes GirlsSeven girls launched into Troop 893 at Centreville United Methodist Church.
Past Scoutmaster of Troop893 Shawn Morrow.
Brian Staton puts theScouting handkerchief onhis sister Megan.
The girls of Troop 893 include (front row, from left):Jayna Farver, Isabella Pazos, and Rowan Causley. Backrow: Caitlin Schuetz, Christina Alvarez, and MeganStaton.
Pho
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s by Steve H
ibbard
