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The Comeback Kid

Paralyzed after tragic accident, Nick Balenger throws out WSLL’s Opening Day pitch.

"You always get a special kick on Opening Day, no matter how many you go through. You look forward to it like a birthday party when you're a kid. You think something wonderful is going to happen,” said baseball legend Joe DiMaggio.

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West Springfield Woman at Boston Marathon Carried to Safety by NFL Champ Joe Andruzzi

Friends and family pray for the Wittich family.

The Wittich family of West Springfield was excited about attending the Boston Marathon, one of the historic city’s prominent annual civic pride events. On Saturday, April 13, Christine Wittich, a West Springfield High School student, posted several tweets about the upcoming trip. “Wittich invasion has commenced. Is Boston ready?” and “Yay for being that matching family,” with a photo of mom Julie and sisters in matching blue t-shirts. But after Monday’s bomb blasts transformed the Boston Marathon into a scene of chaos and terror, leaving three dead and more than 100 injured, Wittich’s tweets became more muted.

Week in Springfield

Police-Involved Shooting in Franconia Area, Library Friends to Hold Annual Meeting, and Apple, Vantria Federal Credit Unions Announce Merger

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History, Up Close and Personal

West Springfield High School students interview veterans at World War II Memorial.

The heat is palpable and the buzz of tourists is mesmerizing but Courtney Simmons is focused on Carmel Whetzel’s account of his World War II experience. Whetzel is a veteran and Simmons, a current freshman at George Mason University and a West Springfield High School graduate, is interviewing him as part of “Capturing the Voices of World War II: A Student Interview Project.”

Police Receive Alarming Number of Tax Fraud Reports

As annual tax returns are being calculated and submitted in a last-minute furor across the country, Fairfax County Police have received an alarming report of 75 to 100 cases of tax identification fraud in recent weeks. Detectives are warning residents of the scam and urge them to take precautions to prevent being victimized.

Robert Richard Carvajal, 81, of Springfield, Dies

Robert Richard Carvajal, 81, of Springfield, died at home surrounded by his family on Monday, March 18. Burial was at Fairfax Memorial Park Cemetery.

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Serving Others on Spring Break?

Spring break means something entirely different to a group of youth from Springfield.

Spring break can mean so many things to different people. Just in hearing the term we think of white sandy beaches, sleeping in late and of course the end of winter. However, spring break means something entirely different to a group of youth from Springfield: it means an opportunity to serve others.

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Housing Market: Strong, But Slowing

Sustained low interest rates and rising prices have energized the marketplace, but cuts to government expenditures will eventually cool things down.

A few weeks ago, George Mason University Professor Stephen Fuller, Ph.D, published an update of his July 17, 2012 report that projected imminent and hard-hitting economic effects from sequestration.

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Hackathon to Promote Invention

24-hour computer science event to be held April 26-27.

The first time Mayank Jain heard of a hackathon was as a freshman at the University of Illinois. Having graduated from Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology (TJHSST) in June 2012, a tournament such as this, where students collaborated and created software projects within a short window of time, was what he was looking for from the field of computer sciences.

Springfield Post 176 Holds Memorial Service for Chaplain Emeritus John S. Bednarek

On Sunday, Feb. 17, 2013, Springfield Post 176 conducted an American Legion Memorial Service for WWII veteran Chaplain Emeritus John Stanley Bednarek Jr., 84, who died on Feb. 12, 2013.

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Sharks Take a Bite Out of Cancer

Swimmers raise $17,000 for breast cancer awareness during annual marathon.

One woman is diagnosed with breast cancer every three minutes, and one woman will die of breast cancer every 13 minutes in the U.S. On Sunday, March 3, 38 members of the Shark Tank Racing Squad swam for three hours to put a dent in that brutal statistic.

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Over 300 Attend ‘Dancing With the Greenspring Stars’

The event serves as a fundraiser for the community’s Benevolent Care Fund.

On Tuesday, March 5, Greenspring hosted a “Dancing With the Greenspring Stars” event to benefit the Benevolent Care Fund at the community. Throughout the year, various events are held at Greenspring to raise funds to provide support to residents who, despite careful planning, outlive their financial resources.

Letter: Preserving Electoral Board Integrity

The integrity of our elections administration is too important to be trusted in the hands of someone who may have ulterior motives or seek partisan advantage. For that reason I am pleased that Hans von Spakovsky will no longer be on the Fairfax County Electoral Board.

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Putting a Face on Homelessness

462 homeless interviewed during Registry Week, an intense effort to document Fairfax County’s chronic homeless.

"We have to step up to this question. … Are we going to walk away from this tonight and say, 'That's just the way people live?’ Well, it's not the way people should live." —Supervisor Cathy Hudgins (D-Hunter Mill)

Letter: How I Got My Dog

We had been looking for a new dog for close to 10 years—I would occasionally stop at the animal shelter or at a rescue group set-up—but I really didn't know how to pick out a dog, so I just didn't. Our previous dogs had basically just fallen into our laps by differing circumstances.

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