August in Antarctica Gets Warm Reception
People flock to Richard Byrd Library’s 55th Anniversary Celebration.
The Richard Byrd Library recently held a warm celebration for the Antarctic explorer for whom it was named. The library’s 55th anniversary celebration brought community members together to learn more about Byrd and the South Pole, and to appreciate the great impact the explorer had on the nation. The first of the two celebratory components was a talk by author Guy Guthridge, who was avidly received by a group of more than 115 adults. Guthridge discussed the life and legacy of Byrd, and explained his extraordinary expeditions in the South Pole.
David Fee to Lead Hunt Valley
Easy-going, approachable principal offers inclusive style of leadership.
After 18 years in education, David Fee was named new principal of Hunt Valley Elementary School in Springfield on July 1, taking over the position from former principal Pat Small who retired on June 30.
Week in Springfield
The American Red Cross Greater Chesapeake and Potomac Blood Services Region will hold blood drives in cities and towns throughout the region. Donors are encouraged to give all summer long, but especially near key summer holidays when donations decline.
Outdoor Elegance Meets Cutting Edge Technology
A design/build team explores fine architecture in weather-resistant materials.
If anything in the summer of 2013 points to still evolving homeowner expectations, it may be the frequency with which locals are integrating screen porches, patios, fire pits, and outdoor kitchens into original landscaping schemes that artfully marry the house to its setting.
Geocaching Diversifies
Urbanites embracing new game.
Geocaching usually has been portrayed as someone with hiking boots and a walking staff gazing afar from a hilltop in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Not so anymore. Substantial numbers of those joining the sport are placing and hunting for caches in urban settings, and that includes Northern Virginia.
Will the Next Attorney General Defend Constitutional Ban on Gay Marriage?
Republican says he will defend amendment; Democrat is not so sure.
Virginia's next attorney general will have to stand in a courtroom and make a decision about whether or not the commonwealth's constitutional ban on marriage should be defended. Republican candidate Sen. Mark Obenshain (R-26) has been clear about his support for the amendment and his intention to provide a vigorous defense of marriage. Democratic candidate Sen. Mark Herring (D-33), on the other hand, has yet to take a position on whether or not he will defend the amendment.
The Median Has No Message
Political signs banished from roadsides as campaign season heats up.
Some people call them flowers of democracy. Others call them weeds of political pollution. Whatever one thinks of the campaign signs and placards that appear along the roads of Fairfax County, expect to see a lot fewer of them. Last month, county officials launched a new program in which nonviolent inmates at the county jail hit the streets four days a week to remove illegal signs. With apologies to Marshall McLuhan, the message is no longer in the median. Anger and resentment has been rising over the issue of roadside political signs for years, and campaigns frequently go to war with each other to see which side can plant or steal or deface the largest number of placards. Unlike Prince William County, which had an agreement with the Virginia Department of Transportation that allows the local government to collect the signs and fine violators, Fairfax was caught in a bind. Part of the Virginia code made it illegal for the county to remove the signs in Fairfax County until after an election.
West Springfield's Laguna Meets Redskins
The Washington Redskins Charitable Foundation hosted the Washington Redskins High School Coaches Clinic Wednesday, July 31, along with Sheltering Arms Physical Rehabilitation Centers. Redskins Executive Vice President/General Manager Bruce Allen, head coach Mike Shanahan and Redskins alumnus LaVar Arrington met with more than 250 high school coaches from Virginia, Maryland, Washington, D.C., West Virginia and North Carolina. Paul Laguna, Varsity WR coach at West Springfield High School, also attended.
Springfield Woman Participates in Mary Kay Seminar
Kathy Puglisi of Springfield joined nearly 50,000 Mary Kay independent beauty consultants at the company’s annual seminar held in Dallas from July 21-Aug. 7 at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center.
Growing Your Business in Springfield
Community Business Partnership coaches entrepreneurs.
Juli Monroe, author of The Enthusiastic Networker—Growing a Successful Business, told a group of 20 people last Friday, Aug. 2, how to get their books published at the monthly networking breakfast of The Women’s Business Center of Northern Virginia, located in Springfield.
Week in Springfield
Assaults in the Franconia Area On Tuesday, July 30, there were two unrelated assaults. The first incident took place in the area of Briarleigh Way and Crestleigh Way at approximately 10:14 in the morning. A 30-year-old woman was walking when a man appeared and inappropriately touched her and then fled. She was not injured.
Local Families, Au Pairs Help Support Children in Need
Fairfax County Local Childcare Coordinators (LCCs) Dariece Rau, Kimberly Nelson, Christine Bodziak, Shawna Levins, Cinzia Putzeys and Debora Smith, along with area au pairs and their host families, enjoyed cool refreshing yogurt and other treats at Yolly Molly Café in Fairfax to support Cultural Care’s Kids First Foundation Sunday, Aug. 4. The families and au pairs came from Fairfax, Clifton, Centreville, Fairfax Station and Springfield, all with a mind to support child advocacy groups and other non-profits benefiting children in need worldwide. Currently, Kids First supports: Share Our Strength, one of America’s leading not-for-profit organizations whose mission is to end childhood hunger; Jeevitha Anathashrama, an orphanage in India; and Dom Dietzcka, an orphanage in Poland.
Cops on the Block
Fairfax County Police join hundreds of neighbors at National Night Out events.
“Is that a real gun?” His eyes wide with excitement, 7-year-old Mauro Vargas ran up to Officer Ron Manzo the minute he spotted the blue uniform at the Ravensworth Baptist Church in Springfield on Tuesday, Aug. 6.
Candidates Agree on Amendment for Voting Rights, Disagree on Executive Order
Restoration of civil rights on the agenda for next governor.
Should nonviolent felons have their right to vote automatically restored? What exactly is a nonviolent felony? What kind of process can be considered automatic?
Winning Gold, Bronze
Greenspring residents Jack Cason and Charlie Edwards were awarded top medals at the National Senior Games.
Neighbors Jack Cason and Charlie Edwards competed in archery at the National Senior Games in Cleveland last week.