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By Bonnie Hobbs

Centre View

Centreville High se-nior Maddie Asselis a bubbly, outgo-ing, 17-year-old.

She’s busy with school, friends,college visits and — oh, yes,she’s also a contestant on“American Idol.”

Viewers nationwide saw heron the popular, TV singing com-petition last Thursday, Jan. 24,as she belted out her own ren-dition of the Beatles’s song,“Oh, Darling.” She was audi-tioning for the show in BatonRouge, La., and made such animpression on the judges thatshe got a ticket to Hollywoodto compete further.

“I’ve watched ‘American Idol’for so many seasons and haveseen people holding a goldenticket,” said Assel on Monday.“But it’s one of those dreams you never think willhappen to you.”

Her name’s pronounced “as-SELL,” with theaccent on the second syllable, and she lives inLittle Rocky Run. She’s also been singing sinceage 3, both at home and as a child doing errandswith her par-ents, Teri andAllan, who bothsupport her mu-sic endeavors.

Now, she’s al-most all grownup and even hasher own YouTube account,youtube.com/therealmaddiesaith, where she did covers of TheWeekend’s “Wicked Games” and “Like Me” by 2Chainz. “I haven’t updated it lately,” said Assel.“But I plan on adding songs weekly.”

She’s also gaining more exposure for her tal-ents via “American Idol.” Her friend Kara Perdue,plus her grandmother, Sylvia Assel of New Or-

leans, nominated her for the show together.“They know each other and had videos of me

singing, so they sent one to ‘American Idol’ lastsummer,” said Assel. “And I was one out of sevenchosen from hundreds of thousands of nomina-tions like this, in the whole country.”

She camehome fromschool one day,toward the endof October, andher parents toldher she had tofly immediatelyto New Orleansto audition forLSU’s music

program. Since she’d been applying to that andother prestigious music schools, she was excited.

“My mom and I flew together and were met bymy grandma,” said Assel. “Then we went out todinner together at Café Du Monde and a band

A Ticket to HollywoodCentrevilleHigh seniorMaddie Asselis on “AmericanIdol.”

“American Idol” host Ryan Seacrest poses withCentreville’s Maddie Assel after she receives hergolden ticket to Hollywood.

“I wasn’t prepared becauseeverything was happening so fast thatI didn’t have time to practice. But Igot four ‘yesses’ from the judges.”

— Maddie Assel

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By Bonnie Hobbs

Centre View

Supervisor Michael R. Frey(R-Sully) gave his State ofSully address last week,

talking mainly about FairfaxCounty’s economy and transporta-tion issues. He spoke last Monday,Jan. 21, at the quarterly meetingof the West Fairfax County CitizensAssociation (WFCCA).

Although many good things areon the horizon, he said, they’realso tinged with uncertainly.

“We have a strong, educatedworkforce in Northern Virginia, soI’m optimistic that we’ll have abright future here,” said Frey. “Butno one knows how long it’ll taketo get here.”

Basically, he said, “We’re facinga lot of challenges — some we

control directly, but an awful lotwe don’t. The federal governmentis still figuring out where it wantsto go.”

Whether spending cuts or taxincreases will come, “Everyone isstill so reliant, in all their projec-tions, on economic growth — andI wonder why they’re so optimis-tic,” said Frey. “All the people I talk

By Bonnie Hobbs

Centre View

In a county of more than a mil-lion people, the needs aremany, but the dollars can

stretch only so far. That’s the mes-sage Supervisor Michael R. Frey(R-Sully) brought last week to lo-cal residents.

For years, Fairfax County hasrelied on residential property taxrevenue to fuel a great part of itseconomy. But the economic down-town changed things drastically,leaving the country scrambling to

find other sources of money.Owners of all county property

zoned commercial/industrial cur-rently pay an extra 11 cents on theproperty-tax rate. Frey said thispractice generates an extra $50million/year, and “that’s whatwe’re looking at to make up theshortfall on Dulles Rail — andpretty much everything else.”

“We don’t expect any realgrowth in residential develop-ment, but it’s still too early to say,”he said. “So it’s going to make an-other budget year tough.”

Economic UncertaintyCasts Shadow HereFrey givesdetails in Stateof Sully talk.

Michael Frey discussesFairfax County’s eco-nomic outlook.

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Growing Fairfax CountyHas Increasing Needs

SOUTHERN EDITION

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News

Live entertainment, refreshments, giftbaskets, a raffle, silent auction and anevening of fun are all in store for thoseattending Centreville High’s Choral

Cabaret.The annual fundraiser for the school’s choral

program is set for Saturday, Feb. 9, at 7 p.m. Costis $10, adults; $5, students. Students who buytickets during lunch on Feb. 8 will get a free raffleticket.

It’s a coffee-house-style program that the choirpresents in the school cafeteria. Some 20 studentacts – including the a cappella group, Contempo– will sing popular and Broadway tunes. Studentwaiters will serve the audience dessert, coffee andtea.

This year, there’ll be about 20, specially themedbaskets in the silent auction. Some of the gift bas-kets will be titled, “Date Night,”º“Spa,” “Choco-late,” ‘Wine,’ ‘Sports’ and “Year in Review.”º

The raffle will feature 18-24 prizes valued at$10-$15 each and including prizes such as res-taurant gift cards and gift certificates to localbusinesses. There’ll also be a 50/50 raffle at theend of the night.ºRaffle tickets are $1.

The choral program is raising money to pur-chase additional sound equipment and micro-phones for the choir. The current equipment isn’tdesigned for choirs and doesn’t pick up theblended sound of the whole group singing, soproceeds from this event will help.

— Bonnie Hobbs

Choral Cabaret To Be Held Feb. 9 at Centreville High

The a cappella group, Contempo, performing at last year’s Centreville High Choral Cabaret.

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ATM Skimmer Suspect ArrestedFairfax County police detectives on Monday arrested a man in

connection with the skimming of ATM cards at bank machines atlocal hospitals. He is Ioan Cicio, 39, of George C. Marshall Drivein Falls Church.

Cicio was charged with three counts of possession of credit-card forgery devices (skimmers), three counts of credit-cardtheft,ºtwo counts of credit-card fraud and one count of moneylaundering. The investigation is ongoing and there may be morecharges, plus additional arrests.

Police tracked down Cicio after he was allegedly identified insurveillance video linked to a compromised ATM card belongingto the Fairfax City Local 2702 Fire Association in September 2012.With help from detectives from the Fairfax City Police Depart-ment and the U.S. Postal Service, the card was tracked purchas-ing gift cards from a Home Depot in Falls Church and then usedto buy custom-made carpeting and high-end faucets.

Detectives executed a search warrant at the suspect’s home,Jan. 24, and recovered items including skimmer devices, cam-eras and computers. They then arrested Cicio, Jan. 28, aroundnoon. Police had received reports from more than a dozen vic-tims who may have had their bank cards compromised at hospi-tal ATM machines in recent months.

Lt. Tony Matos, supervisor of the Fairfax County Police Finan-cial Crimes Unit said financial crimes are on the rise. Last year,the public reported almost 3,000 cases over the agency’s Finan-cial Crimes electronic reporting site. The site’s used to report casesof identity theft, embezzlement, credit card theft and fraud, plusconstruction and check fraud.

Food Donations for WFCMWestern Fairfax Christian Ministries’ (WFCM) food pantry ur-

gently needs donations of spaghetti sauce, canned fruit, rice (2-lb. bags), canned pasta, peanut butter, canned tuna and meat,hot and cold cereal, fruit juice, and pancake mix and syrup.

Beginning Monday, Feb. 4, bring all items to WFCM’S new food-pantry location at 13888 Metrotech Drive, near Papa John’s Pizzaand Kumon Learning Center, in Chantilly’s Sully Place shoppingcenter.

Free Carseat InspectionsCertified technicians from the Sully District Police Station will

perform free, child safety carseat inspections Thursday, Feb. 14,from 5-8:30 p.m., at the station, 4900 Stonecroft Blvd. in Chantilly.No appointment is necessary. But residents should install the childsafety seats themselves so technicians may properly inspect andadjust them, as needed.

However, because of time constraints, only the first 35 vehiclesarriving on each date will be inspected. That way, inspectors mayhave enough time to properly instruct the caregiver on the cor-rect use of the child seat. Call 703-814-7000, ext. 5140, to con-firm dates and times.

Give Caregivers a BreakFairfax County needs Respite Care volunteers throughout the

county to give family caregivers of a frail older adult a well-de-served break. Volunteers visit and oversee the safety of the olderadult for a few hours each month. Volunteers are matched withfamilies in or near their own neighborhoods. Support and train-ing is provided. Contact Kristin Martin at 703-324-7577, TTY 711,or [email protected].

Meals on Wheels VolunteersFairfax County needs Meals on Wheels drivers in Chantilly and

group Meals on Wheels coordinators in both Chantilly and Fairfax.Contact Volunteer Solutions at 703-324-5406, TTY 711,[email protected] or visitwww.fairfaxcounty.gov/dfs/olderadultservices/volunteer-solutions.htm.

By Bonnie Hobbs

Centre View

A place where children can engage in cre-ative play and have birthday parties, too– that’s Kid Junction. And Kreative MindsLLC – the three people who’d own what

would be Kid Junction’s first franchise in Virginia –hope to open it in Chantilly.

It would be a 9,300-square-foot facility within anexisting building at Route 50 and Pleasant ValleyRoad in the Lafayette Center. But first, it needs toobtain a special permit from Fairfax County to havea commercial-recreation use there.

The owners and their architect came to the Jan.15 meeting of the West Fairfax County Citizens As-sociation (WFCCA) Land-Use Committee and ex-plained their plans. And when they were done, the

panel voted unanimously to recommend approval tothe county Board of Zoning Appeals (BZA) whichwill have the final say.

Pleased with the location, co-owner Alpa Sachdesaid, “Our feasibility study showed a high popula-tion of families with kids in Chantilly. And we couldattract business there from both Fairfax and Loudouncounties.”

Currently, Kid Junction has two facilities in NewJersey. It offers recreational entertainment, custom-ized children’s parties, plus general-admission openplay for children ages 18 months to 9 years. There’sa fully enclosed toddler play area, as well as achildren’s arcade including coin-operated ride-ons.

But what sets it apart from other play places is itsinteractive play areas. “This isn’t just aimed at kidsplaying,” said co-owner Srikanth Duddala. “Here,they’ll get a chance to use their imaginations.”

“Our Kid Junction Village is unique,” said Sachde.“It’s a role-playing area with a country-town feelwhere children can pretend to do real-life activities.”

Kid Junction plans to opensite in Chantilly.

Recreation, Imaginative Play and FunThe post office in the Kid Junction “town” in New Jersey.

The climbingarea forolderchildren.

Roundups

See Kid Junction, Page 7

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Centre View Editor Steven Mauren

703-778-9415 or [email protected]


News

By Bonnie Hobbs

Centre View

Marguerite Buckley lived along, full life — but thatdoesn’t mean her familywas ready to say goodbye

to her when she died Jan. 8, at age 94.“Everybody took it pretty hard, especially

the grandchildren,” said daughter-in-lawKathy Buckley. “I don’t think it’s sunk in,yet, for me. When it’s time to visit, that’swhen it hits you.”

Although she was a Centreville residentfor decades, in recent years Marguerite livedin the Fairmont, a retirement communityin Manassas. She was in relatively goodhealth and, said Kathy Buckley, “She had adriver’s license until her mid-80s — and shefought us about relinquishing it.”

But she fell in her apartment, developedpneumonia while undergoing physicaltherapy, was hospitalized and didn’t re-spond to the medication. “It was prettyquick,” said Buckley. “Her funeral was Jan.15; she was buried at Stonewall MemoryGardens in Manassas, next to her husband,who died in 1992. It’s been an emotionaltime for the whole family.”

When Marguerite Sours Buckley cel-ebrated her 90th birthday in November2008, joining her were nearly 75 relativesand friends at the Centreville Volunteer FireDepartment. The location was especiallyfitting because her late husband Woodyjoined the department shortly after it be-gan in early 1950, and she was a chartermember of its Woman’s Auxiliary.They married on April 16, 1938. Woodyserved in the Navy during WWII and, whenhe returned, he built a house for them onBraddock Road in the late 1940s. “Whenwe moved there, Braddock Road wasn’topen in the western end,” said Buckley ather party. “We attended the Old StoneChurch and had to go to Shirley Gate Roadand Fairfax to get there.”

The Buckleys had four children; daugh-ter Betty died, but sons Buddy and wifeShirley, and Jim and wife Kathy, still live inCentreville (in Country Club Manor and

Newgate Forest, respectively). Son Joe livesin Woodbridge. Woody died of cancer in1992, but Marguerite had lots of familyaround, including nine grandchildren, 13great-grandchildren and three great-great-grandchildren.

Jim’s wife Kathy, administrative aide toSully District Supervisor Michael Frey, saidher husband traced his family’s genealogyand discovered that the Buckleys have livedin the Centreville area since the Revolution-ary War. In fact, the land on which theBuckley’s Reserve community was builtonce belonged to the family.Centreville’s Volunteer Fire Department(Station 17 on Old Centreville Road) playeda major role in the Buckleys’ lives. In the1950s and early ‘60s, the center of the com-munity was the firehouse, Hunter Hardwareand a pharmacy where Alto Plaza nowstands.

Woody and Marguerite worked Bingo atStation 17 twice a week for at least 35 years.He called numbers and she helped out inthe kitchen with the food. “She and my fa-

ther-in-law, Woody, were a

very special pair,” said Kathy Buckley. “Theirdevotion to each other was apparent to ev-eryone who knew them.”

Marguerite also volunteered atCentreville United Methodist Church,helped at the polls on election days andbelonged to the Centreville Elementary PTAwhen the school was in the building whereMountain View High School is now. She alsohelped organize Inova Fairfax Hospital’sauxiliary and volunteered there, too.

“I will always remember Marguerite forher love of volunteering, her love of familyand her special holiday dinners,” said KathyBuckley. “Every year she looked forward tothe annual Sours family reunion with hersisters, brothers and their families.”

And they looked forward to her potatosalad. “She always told me leaving the jack-ets on the potatoes was the key to success-ful potato salad,” said granddaughter Jen-nifer Spencer. “I’m now asked to bring mypotato salad to every function I attend, andit’s a hit.”

But more importantly, she said, “I willalways remember Grandma for her smile,

no matter what was happening around heror to her. And she had such strength to dealwith the loss of her husband and daugh-ter.”

Spencer recalled spending weekends asa child at her grandmother’s home, the ra-dio on top of the refrigerator playing non-stop, and their trips to Glen Echo, Md., forlottery tickets. And, she added, “I remem-ber our Saturdays at the fire station, work-ing in the kitchen and playing Bingo.”

Holidays also remind her of her grand-mother. “I remember her working tirelesslyto prepare Christmas and Easter dinners,”said Spencer. “All of us somehow fit intoGrandma’s living room, sitting on the stairsand on each other’s laps as we opened ourgifts. I never knew until I became a motherand a grandmother what the traditions thatGrandma set in place would mean to me.”

And each year as Spencer shopped forEaster dinner, she’d call her grandmother“to ask exactly what I needed to fix thecountry ham. She was delighted to get thatcall from me; I could hear the delight inher soft voice. And it was never just, ‘I loveyou;’ it was, ‘I love you very, very much.’My life was changed because of the grand-mother God gave me, and my life will for-ever be changed because of her loss.”

Even after Buckley moved to theFairmont, she remained active. Outspokenand mentally sharp, she ran Bingo gamesthere, too, and even received a volunteeraward. “Marguerite also loved nurturingplants and flowers and collecting owls,” saidKathy Buckley. “She had a scooter chair andwas able to get around. She was pretty spry;to be 94 and still independent, that’s say-ing a lot. She will be missed every day.”

‘She Will Be Missed Every Day’Family mourns Centreville icon, Marguerite Buckley, 94.

Six siblings (from left): Lloyd Sours, Ruth Taylor, Marguerite Buckley,Frances Schindel, Thelma Jones and Hilda Schaeffer at Buckley’s 90th

birthday.

Marguerite Buckley at theFairmont with some flowers.

Flanking Marguerite Buckley at her 90th birth-day are past chiefs of the Centreville VFD,(from left) Pete Kirby, chief for 14 years, andKenyon Davis, 13 years and the first chief.

At her 90th birthday, Marguerite Buckley blowsout the candles on her birthday cake.

At her 90th birthday, Marguerite Buckley withsons (from left) Buddy, Jim and Joe.

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By Victoria Ross

Centre View

After a week in which news fromRichmond was dominated bypartisan skirmishes, NorthernVirginia Del. Dave Albo (R-41)

joined with other lawmakers to refocus thelegislature on the state’s transportationfunding crisis, presenting an alternative toa controversial plan proposed by GovernorRobert McDonnell (R).

The day before the start of this year’s leg-islative session, McDonnell unveiled a pro-posal to increase funds for transportationby up to $500 million with a sales tax in-crease. But his plan completely eliminatedthe gas tax, which has been set at 17.5 centsper gallon since 1986 and currently fundsabout two-thirds of the state’s transporta-tion funding.

Many Democrats, and some Republicans,derided his plan as nonsensical.

The proposal put forward by DelegatesAlbo, Joe May (R-33) and Tom Rust (R-86),is more complex than the governor’s plan,but also includes both tax increases andcuts.

“It’s like trying to make a pizza. The Gov-ernor has given us a pizza with pepperoniand pineapple. But we don’t like pineapple.We’d rather have sausage,” Albo said, add-ing that McDonnell’s plan offered a start-ing point, but it needed work. “Our bill takesoff the pineapple (the elimination of the gastax) and puts on the sausage (the elimina-tion of the food tax).”

ALBO’S PLAN includes raising the salestax by 1/2 cent per dollar, indexing the gastax to inflation, and increasing charges onalternate fuel vehicles. Combined, thesemeasures would increase state transporta-tion funding by $506 million, say its spon-sors.

To soften the impact of these increases,the amendments would also eliminate the2.5 percent food tax, which Albo said wouldnet savings of $99 a year for a family offour with an annual income of $40,000.

While the elimination of the food taxwould reduce general fund revenues, whichare distributed to local governments, thedelegates say the shortfall will be made upwith new taxes on out-of-state corporationswho provide services in Virginia. They alsoplan to collect sales taxes on out-of-stateretailers who sell to Virginia residentsthrough the Internet.

The Internet sales tax collection is depen-dent upon the passage of the MarketplaceEquity Act, currently pending before theU.S. Congress.

The Albo/May/Rust plan will also createan opt-in option for local governmentswhere they can receive additional transpor-tation funds via a 1/2 cent sales tax whichwill be raised and spent exclusively in thatlocal area. Rust highlighted this point, stat-ing that, “with this option, decisions willbe made locally as to where is best to in-vest in transportation infrastructure.”

Immediate reaction from state and local

elected officials was much more positivethan to the governor’s plan.

“I need to learn more, but I commendthese guys for thinking outside the box,”said Sen. Chap Petersen (D-34), whostrongly opposed the governor’s plan tomake Virginia the first state in the nationto eliminate the gas tax. “I actually wouldfavor a reduction in the meals tax if we canfind the revenue elsewhere, since thosetaxes, in my opinion, do have an impact onlocal, small businesses.”

“This is certainly an improvement overthe governor’s original plan,” said Supervi-sor Jeff McKay (D-Lee), who was recentlyappointed chair of the Northern VirginiaTransportation Commission (NVTC). McKaysaid the county was still analyzing the de-tails, but “on its face this seems to be a morefair way to raise revenue. I think there ismore to do, but this is a step closer to a billthat could be supported. We need action thissession on transportation and I am glad the

dialogue continues.”Supervisor John Cook (R-Braddock) said

Albo’s amendments offered “truly new”source of revenue, and said it was a posi-tive development for Fairfax County. “Giv-ing Fairfax the opportunity to raise localfunds to be spent totally in Fairfax is some-thing I have advocated for some time,” Cooksaid.

He added the amendment also “bringsextra transportation revenue through thesales tax, and yet it gives homeowners abreak by eliminating the sales tax on foodwhile restoring the general fund by taxingout-of-state businesses.”

HOWEVER, DEL. TIM HUGO (R-40) –a member of the legislature’s Transporta-tion Committee and chief co-patron of Gov-ernor McDonnell’s bill - maintains that in-dexing and/or increasing the state gas salestax are “short-term fixes” in addressingVirginia’s significant transportation needs.

In 2017, Virginia faces its own “fiscalcliff,” the year transportation officials fore-cast the state will run out of money to buildnew roads.

According to the Virginia Department ofTransportation, the state needs billions ofdollars to repair, maintain and expand itsaging and overburdened transportation sys-tem. However, because of persistent rev-enue shortfalls, money intended for newhighway construction has been used to payfor road-maintenance needs, which, by law,is the state’s first funding priority.

“There is no question that funding forVirginia’s transportation needs is sorelylacking,” Hugo said in a statement support-ing the governor’s plan. “We need to thinkof innovative new means to fund transpor-tation that do not gouge the taxpaying pub-lic.”

Hugo said Tuesday that while he ap-plauded “my fellow delegates for puttingforth alternative proposals, the reality is thatthe gas tax is a diminishing form of rev-enue.

“The Governor’s proposal will eliminatethe gas tax and replace it with a revenueneutral sales tax that will ‘stop the bleed-ing’ on the transportation trust fund,” Hugosaid. “I look forward to working with all ofmy colleagues to create jobs and improveour quality of life in Virginia.”

Proposed changes to governor’s transportation funding plan receivelocal support.

Keep Gas Tax, Cut Meals Tax, Add ‘Sausage’

A VDOT crew member assesses damage to Lorton Road after TropicalStorm Lee in Sept. 2011, which destroyed three bridges on secondaryroads, damaged pavement on dozens of roads and cost the state $10million in transportation funds. By law, Virginia must repair damagedroads before spending money to build new ones.

Winter Band ConcertFifth and sixth grade Band students from UnionMill Elementary performed in their WinterBand Concert on Jan. 16. First-year band stu-dents performed “When the Saints Go MarchingIn,” “Old MacDonald Had a Band,” “Ode toJoy,” and “Hard Rock Blues.” The sixth gradeband students performed “Bag ‘O Blues,” andseveral holiday pieces including “Frosty theSnowman,” “Carol of the Bells,” “Jingle BellRock,” and “Let it Snow! Let it Snow! Let itSnow!” The Union Mill Band is led by BandTeacher Laura Seifried.

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SOUTHERN EDITION

Power ofVolunteersTo the Editor:

This past Saturday, more than200 people gathered at MountOlive Baptist Church in Centrevilleto volunteer their time to help chil-dren in our community. CentrevilleElementary School’s BackpackProgram, which provides weekendmeals for students in need, was inneed of supplies to carry the pro-gram through the remainder of the2012-2013 school-year.

Collaborating with the leader-ship at Mount Olive BaptistChurch, specifically JeannetteHoward, Deacon Prince Howard,Pastor Johnson and Deacon Car-penter, the church generously do-nated all of the food and joinedus in planning an event to preparemore than 1,200 weekend foodbags that will support over 65 stu-dents on a weekly basis.

In the truest sense of commu-nity, volunteers from the church’scongregation, Centreville HighSchool’s Key Club (led by Presi-dent Esther Yoon), Centreville El-ementary School’s students, fami-lies and staff as well as manyCentreville residents all came to-gether to support our program. Weare truly grateful to all of thosewho volunteered their time.

What was so impressive washow many youth turned out tosupport other youth. As research

has shown, those who experiencevolunteering as youth are morelikely to volunteer as adults. WhileCentreville is so geographically,culturally and socioeconomicallydiverse, it was fantastic to see somany people come together as oneto support our own.

As one volunteer asked, “Whencan we do this again?”

With great appreciation,

Esther Kang and LeeKaiser

Centreville Elementary SchoolCounselors

Letter to the Editor

Approximately 1,200 weekend food bags will supportmore than 65 students on a weekly basis.

More than 200volunteers helpedwith CentrevilleElementary School’sBackpack Program.

Photos Contributed

Opinion

The real solution to homelessness ishousing.

This week in Northern Vir-ginia, a point-in-time survey will

record all of the “literally homeless” individu-als and families in the region. Last year,on Jan. 25, 2012, there were 1,534people who were literally homeless inthe Fairfax-Falls Church Community;697 of them were single individuals and 837were people in families. A third of the totalnumber of homeless were children. Nearly 60percent of the adult members of the homelessfamilies were employed.

Later in February, the Fairfax-Falls ChurchPartnership to End Homelessness will embarkon a new, intensive approach to identify thenearly 300 people who are chronically home-less, living on the street or in the woods aroundthe county. This is part of a national effort,100,000 Homes.

Volunteers will create a registry, includingnames, photographs and personal stories of all

individuals experiencing chronic homelessnessin the area. The information gathered will iden-tify particularly vulnerable people, and helpprioritize housing and support resources. Thecounty’s goal is to get half of them in housing

within three years.The effort is not without precedent.

Arlington’s registry week was in Octo-ber 2011, and identified 153 homeless

individuals, with more than half at risk of dy-ing on the streets. Since then, more than 30homeless people identified as vulnerable havebeen placed in permanent housing. Arlington’scampaign is on target to fulfill the goal of hous-ing 100 people in three years.

The Fairfax effort, 100,000 Homes Fairfax,kicks off on Feb. 23 with Registry Week, a multi-day event where volunteers go out on thestreets and gather information to create a nameand photographic registry.

It will require the work of more than 150volunteers countywide. Most will help conductsurveys with homeless individuals on the

streets for three days during registry week.Others will help with data entry and other sup-port roles.

It’s a big commitment but also an opportu-nity to be a part of real change for some of thearea’s most vulnerable people. Volunteer effortson those days will most certainly lead to sav-ing lives.

Survey volunteers make a four-day commit-ment, a half-day of training plus working threemornings (4-7 a.m.) in teams of four to inter-view homeless individuals for the registry. Thesame team of four must survey the assignedgeographical area all three days. Survey vol-unteers will need to be available: Saturday, Feb.23, overview and training, noon-4 p.m.; Mon-day, Tuesday and Wednesday, Feb. 25, 26, 27,team survey, 4-7 a.m.

The Registry Week will wrap up with a pre-sentation to the community on March 1.

Other volunteers will help set up for the vol-unteer training and/or assist at headquarterseach survey morning by setting up food, help-ing with cleanup and answering volunteerquestions. You can register online and learnmore at http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/home-less/100khomes/registry-week.htm

Extreme, But Brief, VolunteeringMore than 150 volunteers needed to surveychronic homeless three days in February.

Editorial


From Page 3

News

Planned are a grocery store, pizzeria, ani-mal hospital, post office, zoo and a costumeshop where children can dress up. “We ob-served a Kid Junction in New Jersey andthe kids have a blast playing there,” saidSachde. “The zoo has felt-covered, roboticanimals that the children can ride.” In ad-dition, there’ll be video karaoke, arcadegames and a soft-play area with places forclimbing and sliding.

There’s also a kitchen, but not for cook-ing – just for warming food. “We’re goingto try to be a nut-free facility, so peoplewon’t bring in their own snacks,” saidSachde. “And there’ll be birthday parties onthe weekends.”

The cost is $8.99/child for walk-in play,with discounts for siblings. The franchisedubs itself, “Kid Junction – the ultimateparty experience,” and party prices varyaccording to the particular birthday-partypackage selected.

“Parents are free, but children can’t justwalk in there alone,” said co-owner ParagPujara. “And children and parents will begiven the same hand stamp.” Seven employ-ees will be on the scene at all times, andchildren will always be supervised by theirparents.

The New Jersey sites have won awardsfor cleanliness, and Pujara said the one in

Chantilly will be sanitized on a regular ba-sis, as well as between parties.

Architect Mark Mittereder said there’ll beplenty of parking all around the buildingand safety will be a top priority. “The rearentrance is an emergency exit only, and it’seasy to see people entering through thefront,” he said. Mittereder anticipated thehours of operation being Monday-Saturday,

10 a.m.-9 p.m., and Sunday, 10 a.m.-8 p.m.“I think you’ll meet a demand out here

for birthday parties,” said WFCCA’s ChrisTerpak-Malm. “I think it’s a great location.”

“We also like this [franchise] because ithas a mixture of games that we haven’t seenin this area,” replied Pujara.

He said the party room holds 12-18 chil-dren, depending on their age. Parties last

Kid Junction Plans To Open Site in Chantilly

two hours and include free tokens for thegames; 90 minutes is planned for play and30 minutes for birthday cake and presents.

“How long in advance would you have toreserve it for a party,” asked BZA memberJim Hart. “Usually 30 days in advance,”answered Pujara.

“All the activities are indoors?” askedHart. And Pujara said yes.

In response to a question from theWFCCA, the co-owners said they’ll be do-ing background checks on their employees.Mittereder said the expected opening dateis in May.

Now that the WFCCA has given the pro-posal a thumbs-up, its next stop is the BZAfor a public hearing on Feb. 13. The WFCCAapproved the project subject to a subsequentapproval from county staff, and Hart said theBZA members “should get the staff reportabout a week before” the public hearing.

The veterinary room, complete with stuffed animal “patients.”

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News

Centreville High Senior Maddie Assel Is on ‘American Idol’From Page 1

It’s always nice when aformer student does well,so it’s understandable how

proud Liberty Middle SchoolTheater Director Jody Scott isof Maddie Assel. The Centrevilleteen took Scott’s Theatre ArtsAppreciation and AdvancedTheatre classes and was di-rected by her in the musical,“Annie Jr.”

“As a seventh-grader, Maddiewas a ‘bird girl’ in “Seussical Jr.,”singing and dancing,” saidScott. “In eighth grade, sheplayed the lead in ‘Annie Jr.’ andwas perfect for the role; she hada powerful voice, even then. Inboth my classes and plays,Maddie was a true delight. Shewas eager to learn, came pre-pared to class and rehearsal,was willing to take directionand was super-enthusiasticabout whatever role she had,small or large.”

Scott called Assel “thoroughlyentertaining onstage and aleader in class, helping otherstudents with their acting as-signments. In the eighth-gradetalent show, I selected Maddieto be one of the three, lead sing-ers for the finale, ‘DancingQueen’ from ‘Mamma Mia.’ Shewas so much fun to watch.”

“I believed she’d find success,but not while she was still inhigh school,” continued Scott.“Being selected for ‘AmericanIdol’ shows her strong commit-ment and work ethic to her pas-sion.”

Scott’s delighted that Assel iscontinuing on in performing

Assel’s Former Teacher Sings Her Praises

arts. “How wonderful that the restof the world will get to see thesinger/entertainer that we’ve seenin Maddie,” said Scott. “She has aunique style, andºI think she hasan excellent chance of advancingto the finals. Interestingly enough,the final scene work she did in myAdvanced Theater class was called‘Waiting for Glory.’”

— Bonnie Hobbs

Only Five Years Ago …Maddie Assel (in red sweater in center) and thecast of Liberty Middle’s spring 2009 production of“Annie Jr.”

From left are MaddieAssel, Luke Wilbur and

Binta Barry in LibertyMiddle’s “Annie Jr.,”

when Assel was ineighth grade.

Photos by

Bonnie Hobbs

Centre View

started playing my favorite song,‘Sitting on the Dock of the Bay,’ byOtis Redding. My grandma told meto get up and go sing with them,and I decided, ‘Why not? I’m in theFrench Quarter and will never getthis opportunity again,’ so I did.”

While she sang, people startedrecording her on cameras and cellphones. “I thought they were con-fused, but I kept on singing,” saidAssel. “Then all of a sudden, Iheard a deep voice behind me say-ing, ‘Yo, Maddie,’ and I turnedaround and it was Randy Jackson.”

“I was completely shocked; I hadno idea what was going on,” shecontinued. “So I started crying be-cause I was so overwhelmed. ThenRandy told me to sing for him, andI did. I sang, ‘Oh, Darling,’ and hesaid, ‘I can’t wait to hear you to-morrow at auditions.’ He said itwould be before him, MariahCarey, Nicki Minaj and Keith Urbanin Baton Rouge. It was just sur-real.”

Then Jackson told Assel who’dnominated her. “It was amazing,”she said. “It opened my eyes to thefact that other people believed inme, too.”

Still, she was nervous before herbig performance.

“I wasn’t prepared because ev-erything was happening so fast thatI didn’t have time to practice,” shesaid. “But I got four ‘yesses’ fromthe judges.”

Walking into the room, saidAssel, “I was just so excited to meetthe judges. Everyone knows

Mariah Carey, and she and the oth-ers all have such talent and havemade names for themselves in theindustry. So getting to sing beforethem was just incredible.”

She made it to Hollywood Weekbut, beyond that, she can’t talkabout how she did because thoseshows haven’t aired, yet. So peoplewill have to tune in to find out. Butshe enjoyed being a tourist, visit-ing Hollywood for the first time.

“It was the experience of a lifetime,getting to see all the things you seein movies,” said Assel. “I saw theHollywood sign, the Kodak Theaterand the Walk of Fame, and all theother contestants were nice to meand took care of me.”

She’s continuing to go on collegeauditions “at the best music pro-grams in the entire country, and it’san honor to do that,” she said. Asselwill also be in the spring showcase

for singers at the Fairfax Academy,where she’s in the Musical Theaterand Actors Studio program taughtby Mike Replogle, who directs theacademy.

“The academy program at FairfaxHigh lets you focus on and prac-tice what you want to be in per-forming arts when you grow up,”she said. She’s in her second yearthere, and classmate IsabelleBaucum says Assel has a wonder-

Maddie Assel, with her mom Teri, reacts after being invited to audition for“American Idol.”

A jubilant Maddie Assel celebratesat Café Du Monde with one of theemployees.

Local teen Maddie Assel performs on TV last week on“American Idol.”

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ful voice.“I haven’t heard anyone else who

sounds like her,” said Baucum.“She’s folksy, jazzy and poppy, witha versatile range, and totally herown artist.”

As for Maddie the person,Baucum calls her fun and sassy ina sweet way. “I like her a lot andI’m happy for her,” she said. “I’mexcited that she had this opportu-nity and is being noticed for it be-cause she’s talented and deservesthe recognition.”

Although Assel can sing rock,jazz and blues, she’s leaning moretoward performing pop music incollege, en route to becoming aprofessional recording artist. Herfavorite singers are Beyoncé and

Haley Reinhart, who finished thirdon “Idol,” a couple years ago.

“I was especially influenced byHaley, who opened the door forgirls with those big, rock voices,”said Assel. And she was helped on“Idol” by voice coach, SarahPramstaller, a Chantilly High gradand veteran performer and chore-ographer of that school’s annualJazz & Pizzazz shows.

“I’ve always wanted to be on‘American Idol,’ but I thought, ‘Noway I’d ever make it and sing onthat stage,’” said Assel. “But Ilearned that everything you dreamis a possibility and, if you workhard enough for something youreally want, it can actually hap-pen.”

Maddie Assel and mom Teri Assel wait for Maddie’s “American Idol” audition inBaton Rouge.


News

See Bulletin Board, Page 14

By Bonnie Hobbs

Centre View

Western Fairfax Christian Min-istries (WFCM) has moved– but not far. Its client ser-vices and food pantry are

now at 13888 Metrotech Drive, near PapaJohn’s Pizza and Kumon Learning Center,in Chantilly’s Sully Place shopping center.And its thrift store is nearby at 13939Metrotech Drive, near the Lotte Market, alsoin Sully Place.

“We are excited to remain centrally lo-cated to our clients, many of whom live inChantilly, Centreville and parts of Fairfax,”said WFCM Executive Director MelissaJansen. “We hope this move will mean moreexposure for WFCM in the business com-munity with which we hope to foster work-ing partnerships to better serve our com-munity.”

The WFCM client-services and food-pan-try phone number is still 703-988-9656, butthe food pantry’s hours of operation havechanged to Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-3 p.m.,plus two evenings a week. Clients shop forneeded groceries by appointment.

Food donations will be accepted again,starting Feb. 4, Monday-Friday, 9-11 a.m.They should be brought to the rear of thefood pantry via the access road behind Papa

John’s Pizza. For alternate donation times,contact Terri Kelly at [email protected].

The thrift store is slated to reopen Satur-day, Feb. 16. Store hours will remain thesame – Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-6 p.m., andSaturday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. But starting Tues-day, Feb. 19, donation hours for clothing,household goods and furniture will be Tues-day-Saturday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. The phonenumber is 703-956-6955. For more infor-mation about donations accepted at thethrift store, see www.wfcmva.org. Througha renegotiation with Beatty DevelopmentCorp., WFCM was able to lease its two newspaces. “We’re very happy that Mr. Beattlywas able to keep us in two properties in thesame shopping center,” said WFCM’s JenAdkins. “We feel grateful and blessed. It’ll

make it easier for our clients to find us andwe’ll still be centrally located.”

On Dec. 27-28, WFCM staff and volun-teers loaded several trucks with non-per-ishable food, shelving units, office furniture,clothing and other items and moved themfrom the organization’s old location to thenew food-pantry site. Thrift-store itemswent into storage until their new site be-came available. Jansen believes the newthrift-store site will prove to be a “high-traf-fic retail property. This is important to [its]continued success, which provides signifi-cant revenue for our ministry.”

Agreeing, Adkins said, “The thrift store isin the former Catholic Store location and isa really awesome site. It’s going to be a greatspace.”

WFCM’s history as a homelessness-preven-tion agency dates back 25 years to 1987when it was founded by a coalition of 12 lo-cal churches concerned about the growingneed for emergency assistance in Centreville,Clifton, Chantilly, Fair Oaks and Fairfax Sta-tion. Since then, WFCM has been commit-ted to providing its clients’ basic needs – food,clothing and financial assistance. In 2012,WFCM served 3,272 people with food, cloth-ing, rent and utility assistance. “While thenumber of homeless individuals is decreas-ing in Fairfax County, the number of work-ing poor is growing,” said Jansen. “Now,more than ever, WFCM needs the support ofchurches, businesses and individuals to con-tinue to serve those neediest in our commu-nity.”

The exterior of WFCM’s new food-pantry location in Chantilly’s SullyPlace shopping center.

Daniel Roca, WFCM assistant thrift store manager, helping restockshelves at the New Food Pantry.

Food Pantry, Thrift Store Moves to New Locations

Lillian Diaz,WFCM ThriftStore man-ager, contact-ing clientsfor recertifi-cation.

Melissa Jansen, WFCM’s executivedirector.

WFCM is still onMetrotech Drive,but in two new spots.

Photos

Courtesy of

Jeanette Nagel

Email announcements [email protected]. Deadline isThursday at noon. Photos welcome.

THURSDAY/JAN. 31Registration Open House. 9:30-11:30 a.m. at

Clifton Children’s Academy, 14315 Compton

Road, Centreville. Come tour the school andregister for morning, afternoon or full-daypreschool classes. Visitwww.childrensacademy.com or 703-968-8455 toregister for one of the open houses.

THROUGH JAN. 31

Registration Deadline. Register for Torah Tots,a program for children ages 2.5 through pre-k.$90/member; $120/non-member. Classes heldon Sundays at 11 a.m.

SATURDAY/FEB. 2Blood Drive. 8 a.m.-1 p.m. at Ox Hill Baptist

Church, 4101 Elmwood St., Chantilly. Donateblood through the American Red Cross. Visitredcrossblood.org or 1-800-Red-CROSS to makean appointment or information.

THURSDAY/FEB. 7

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News

From Page 1

Frey Gives Economic Details in State of Sully Talkto — except for those in Tysons — say, ‘Whoare you kidding? No one’s investing.’”

Still, he said, “Somebody in the federalgovernment is assuming there’ll be hugegrowth over the next 10 years. But whilewe’re raising taxes by $25 billion for nextyear, we just spent $60 billion for [Hurri-cane] Sandy, so we’re not getting any-where.”

Frey said all this economic uncertaintyaffects the state. As a result, he said, “Wedon’t know how much thestate will expand Medic-aid. Gov. McDonnell saysno. I find it ironic that Vir-ginia — so adamant aboutstate’s rights — declined toset up its own state,health-care plan.”

So with so many un-knowns, said Frey, “Youlook at the future of North-ern Virginia and FairfaxCounty and you wonderwhat it’ll look like economically. I don’tthink we’ll see a vibrant Tysons anytimesoon, and the county’s $67 million short tofund the Silver Line.”

“We’re also still $150 million short, atleast, on our obligation on Phase II of[Dulles] Rail,” he continued.

“They expect to award the contract in thespring, with construction starting in sum-

mer. Passenger service for Phase I is ex-pected to start by the end of this year, andit will certainly change the face of this re-gion.”

REGARDING VDOT’S I-66 Corridor En-vironmental Impact Study (EIS), Frey notedthat Phase I is about extending I-66 fromthe Beltway to Route 15. “It doesn’t do ananalysis of the I-66/Route 28 intersection[in Centreville] or of a rail line down thecenter,” said Frey. “These things will be done

in Phase II of that study. It won’t take aslong to do the EIS in two phases, so this is agood step forward.”

He said the Board of Supervisors believesthe next extension of rail should be in theI-66 Corridor. However, said Frey, “If the FBImoves to Springfield, it’ll cost us somemoney, so we’re looking to get ahead of thecurve. But I’m concerned that we continue

to focus on other areas of the county, likeTysons and Springfield, when the conges-tion is here.”

Meanwhile, he said, some spot improve-ments will help drivers locally. “There’s aplan to have four lanes from Route 50 tothe Dulles Toll Road and we’re movingahead with some pieces of that,” said Frey.“We’re looking to do some of it with Route28 Tax District money.”

One change already benefiting drivershere has been the extension of the merge

lane onto Route 28north from I-66 west.Now, motorists don’thave to turn at Walneyand have another quar-ter mile to merge intotraffic.

There’s also a plan tolengthen the turn lanesfrom Route 28 south toI-66 east. These lanescurrently back up duringboth morning and

evening rush hours. Frey said relief shouldbe underway in the next few months.

“We also want to extend the right-turn-only lane from Route 28 south to BraddockRoad and make it also a through lane to gowest on I-66,” he said. “There are someright-of-way and drainage issues, but VDOTwants to build up that lane betweenBraddock and the I-66 ramp.”

AS FOR THE INTERSECTION ofBraddock and Pleasant Valley roads (by CoxFarms), Frey acknowledged that “it’s beena problem for awhile — two, tiny, one-laneroads with no turning lanes. Because of poordrainage, it ices in winter and floods inspring. There’s not any room to separateturning lanes and put in a traffic signal, anda traffic circle would cost $6 million-plus.”

Besides that, added WFCCA’s JudyHeisinger, “When they did the traffic countsfor a traffic circle, the density was too high.”So Fairfax County tabled its plans to fix thatintersection. And although Loudoun Countyponied up some money of its own, gotVDOT to do likewise and hopes to improvethat intersection somehow, Fairfax has nomoney to contribute to the effort.

“But VDOT says its design analysis willbe done in a few weeks,” said Frey. “I’d ex-pect, sometime this spring, we’ll have ameeting about it. Virginia Run’s concernedthat fixing the intersection will cause moretraffic. It’s more congestion than is accept-able, so we’ve got to do something about it— but we still don’t have the money for it.”

He said only a “couple hundred” of FairfaxCounty’s nearly 1.1 million people re-sponded to a survey about transportation-system improvements. “They said, ‘We wantthe improvements, but don’t use property-tax money for them,’” said Frey. “They saiduse hotel or rental-car taxes for them orhave developers pay for them.”

Growing Fairfax County Has Increasing NeedsFrom Page 1

Noting that county schools are continu-ing to grow, Frey said it wasn’t too long agothat they contained 160,000 students, butnow that number is about 183,000. “Andthat puts a lot of pressure on our budget,”he said.

“The school system’s CIP [Capital Im-provement Program] is calling for a newelementary school [in this area] and a newhigh school somewhere between Westfieldand Herndon high schools.”

Additionally, said Frey, “Situations likeNewtown make us focus on mental-healthservices and the funding for it, so I expect

us to continue to see an increased demandfor these services.”

Regarding public safety, he said, “Themore people we get, the more police andfire personnel we’re going to need. And wehave a lot of fire stations that haven’t beenrenovated in a long time. We hope to bedone with the Fair Oaks Fire Station reno-vation by spring; some of the new pumpersand ladder trucks didn’t fit into the oldbuilding.”

Other factors will also affect the countybudget. For example, the General Assem-bly is now requiring all jurisdictions to de-velop new, stormwater-management sys-

tems. “The hard part is understanding therelationships between it and the other lo-cal, state and federal stormwater require-ments,” said Frey.

Nonetheless, he said, “We hope to havesomething by the end of the year for theboard to act on — and it’s going to be ahuge expense.

Right now, residents pay a penny for this;but to meet the new federal and state re-quirements in the next five to eight years,it’ll be 10 cents — and we don’t have achoice.”

There are other needs, as well. “We wereable to restore some of the library hours,

but it’ll be a challenge to keep them,” saidFrey. “We have more demand for trails andballfields for kids. And they should be turffields because you get about 60-percentmore play out of them than out of grassfields.”

He’d also like to do additional historicpreservation. “Level Green in Chantilly isprobably one of the three oldest houses inFairfax County,” he said. “I’d hate to lose it,but historic preservation is very expensive.We’d also like to do more in the CentrevilleHistoric District; but it depends on a healthyeconomy which, for the most part, is largelyout of our hands.”

“You look at the future of Northern Virginia andFairfax County and you wonder what it’ll looklike economically. I don’t think we’ll see avibrant Tysons anytime soon, and the county’s$67 million short to fund the Silver Line.”

— Sully Supervisor Michael R. Frey

For a free digital subscription toone or all of the 15 ConnectionNewspapers, go towww.connectionnewspapers.com/subscribe

Be the first to know – get yourpaper before it hits the press.

Complete digital replica of the printedition, including photos and ads,delivered weekly to youre-mail box.

Questions? E-mail:[email protected]


Email announcements to [email protected]. Deadline is Thursdayat noon. Photos welcome.

THURSDAY/JAN. 31Registration Open House. 9:30-11:30 a.m.

at Clifton Children’s Academy, 14315Compton Road, Centreville. Come tour theschool and register for morning, afternoon orfull-day preschool classes. Visitwww.childrensacademy.com or 703-968-8455 to register for one of the open houses.

THROUGH JAN. 31Registration Deadline. Register for Torah

Tots, a program for children ages 2.5through pre-k. $90/member; $120/non-member. Classes held on Sundays at 11 a.m.

SATURDAY/FEB. 2Blood Drive. 8 a.m.-1 p.m. at Ox Hill Baptist

Church, 4101 Elmwood St., Chantilly.Donate blood through the American RedCross. Visit redcrossblood.org or 1-800-Red-CROSS to make an appointment orinformation.

THURSDAY/FEB. 7Program Information. Learn about Lifetime

Leadership Program at 11 a.m. at LeadershipFairfax, 8230 Old Courthouse Road, Suite350, Vienna.

SATURDAY/FEB. 9Second Saturday. 9 a.m. at Marriott

Courtyard, 11220 Lee-Jackson Highway,Fairfax. Professionals speak towardseducating spouses about separation anddivorce process in order to encourage themto be civil and reasonable for theirpocketbooks, emotional health and children.RSVP to [email protected].

FRIDAY/MARCH 8Scholarship Deadline. High school seniors

must submit their application form online tobe eligible for a scholarship from theVirginia, Maryland & Delaware Association ofElectric Cooperatives EducationalScholarship Foundation. Detailedinformation is available at www.vmdaec.comor 804-968-7153.

CVHS Swim and DiveThe Centreville swim and dive team com-

peted against Herndon on Jan. 18.Centreville first-place finishers included:

Rachel Anderson, Logan Ross, AbbyMcCranie, Kylie Cuomo (200 medley relay),Rachel Anderson (200 free), Brooke Worley(50 free), Paul Baumgartner (diving),Rachel Anderson, Kylie Cuomo, BrookeWorley, Abby McCranie (200 free relay),and Abby McCranie, Brooke Worley, KyleCuomo, Rachel Anderson (400 free relay).

Second-place finishers were: AlexAguilera, Tae Hyun Jung, Matthew Rice,David Weisbrodt (200 medley relay), AbbyMcCranie (200 IM), Tyler Kurowski (div-ing), Tae Hyun Jung (100 free), MackenzieCripe (500 free), Andy Balberde, Won JaeLee, Matthew Rice, Ryan Boll (200 free re-lay), Logan Ross (100 breast), and AndyBalberbe, Ryan Boll, Won Jae Lee, Tae Hyun

Jung (400 free relay).Third-place finishers were: Logan Ross

(50 free), McKenzie Islin (diving), MatthewRice (100 fly), Andy Balberde (100 free),Kelsey Daily (100 free), Tea Leitch, EstherLee, Katie Schwindt, Shannon O’Donnell(200 free relay), Sarah Clark (100 back),Sarah Hessler (100 breast), and MackenzieCripe, Logan Ross, Kelsey Daily, Esther Lee(400 free relay).

Fourth-place finishers were: BrookeWorley, Sarah Hessler, Katie Schwindt, Sh-annon O’Donnell (200 medley relay), WonJae Lee (200 free), McKenzie Cripe (200IM), Andy Balberde (50 free), Sarah Hessler(diving), Kylie Cuomo (100 fly), ShannonO’Donnell (100 free), Tae Hyun Jung, MarkMahoney, Alex Aguilera, David Weisbrodt(200 free Relay) and Shannon O’Donnell(100 breast).

Sports Briefs

Sports

By Jon Roetman

Centre View

The Chantilly boys’ basketballteam trailed the Yorktown Pa-triots late in the first quarter onJan. 24 when senior guard

DeAndre Harris drove to the basket andscored.

Liking what he saw, head coach Jim Smithyelled “all day” from the Chargers bench.

“Tonight, we came out [and] we shot alot of jump shots early,” Smith said. “Finally,[Harris] puts it on the floor and gets to therim. It was ‘all day,’ both to communicatethat he could do that, but also to get ourkids to know we need to start attacking thebasket more and not to be so quick to settlefor jump shots.”

Harris finished with 13 points, includinga pair of penetration-created field goals inthe fourth quarter, and Chantilly snapped athree-game losing streak with a 52-46 vic-tory at Yorktown High School.

Harris also showed his perimeter rangeby burying a deep 3-pointer in the secondquarter.

“He’s quick, he can blow by you, but thenif you play off, he has the ability to knockdown 3s. That’s a tough matchup,” Smithsaid about Harris. “His biggest enemy overthe years has just been his confidence. Nowhe’s confident, he believes in himself. Lastyear, if he missed a couple shots, he’d backaway from the game. Now he just keepsplaying.”

Chantilly led by three with 21.2 secondsremaining in the contest when Harris wentto the free-throw line and knocked down apair to give the Chargers a two-possessionlead at 48-43.

“I always try to get started early,” Harrissaid. “I always try to make sure my first shotis a good shot. I try not to take tough shotstoo early so I can get in a rhythm and even-tually start [hitting] more shots later in thegame.”

Harris was one of three Chargers to reachdouble figures. Senior guard Brian Sydnorled the way with 15 points and senior for-ward Sean Huelskamp finished with 12points.

The victory snapped a three-game skid for

the Chargers. Chantilly also beat Oakton 63-48 on Jan. 29, improving its record to 14-4after starting the season 12-1. Chantilly wonits first nine games before losing to Moun-tain View in the semifinals of the PohankaChantilly Classic holiday tournament. TheChargers bounced back with a win againstSouth County and Concorde District victo-ries against Westfield and Oakton. That’swhen Chantilly hit a rough spot, losing dis-trict games against Herndon, Robinson andCentreville.

Smith said the Chargers’ recent strugglesshould have kept the team from overlook-ing Thursday’s non-district opponent.

“We desperately needed a win one wayor another,” Smith said. “We were, I think,battling ourselves and our confidence asmuch as we were battling Yorktown.”

“[Beating Yorktown] makes us feel a lotbetter,” Sydnor said.

Yorktown trailed for most of the night butremained within striking distance. TheChargers led 27-19 at halftime, but the Pa-triots opened the third quarter with an 11-3 run, tying the score at 30-30 on a bucketby senior post Nick Yore with 3:02 remain-ing in the period. A jumper by Yorktown’sBen Criswell tied the score at 36-36 with6:02 remaining in the fourth, but Chantilly’sHarris answered with a bucket 15 secondslater and the Chargers led for the remain-der of the contest.

“I’m definitely pleased,” Yore said, “wewere able to play with them.”

Yore and junior forward Matt Pietropaolieach finished with 11 points for the Patriots.Senior guard Ben Criswell scored eight pointsand junior guard Zack Esherick had six.

Head coach Rich Avila said he wasn’tpleased with the Patriots’ decision makingin the first half or their execution at the endof the fourth quarter.

Chantilly’s Jan. 25 game against Westfieldas rescheduled to Wednesday, after CentreView’s deadline, due to inclement weather.The Chargers will travel to face Herndon at7:30 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 1.

Chantilly Boys’ Team Snaps 3-Game Losing SkidThree Chargers scorein double figuresagainst Yorktown.

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iew

Bulletin Board

Centre View Sports Editor Rich Sanders

703-224-3031 or [email protected]


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OPEN HOUSESSATURDAY/SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 2 & 3

Call Specific Agents to Confirm Dates & Times

When you visit one of these Open Houses, tell the Realtor you saw it in thisConnection Newspaper. For more real estate listings and open houses, visit

www.ConnectionNewspapers.com and click on the “This Week in Real Estate” link.

Burke9519 Vandola Ct.....................$575,000........Sun 1-4 ........Helen Grozbean.....Keller Williams..571-233-4287

Centreville14364 Round Lick Ln.............$565,000 .........Sat 1-4............Kelly Thomas....................Jobin..703-405-2222

Fair Lakes5102 Juglan Ct................................TBA......Sun 12-3...........Ed Lang Team...............RE/MAX..703-932-5753

Fairfax6050 Colchester Rd................$649,900........Sun 1-4..Carol Hermandorfer......Long & Foster..703-503-18124615 Village Dr.......................$449,000........Sun 1-4..Carol Hermandorfer......Long & Foster..703-503-1812387 University Dr ...................$448,000........Sun 1-4..Carol Hermandorfer......Long & Foster..703-503-1812

Fairfax Station7513 South Reach Dr.............$839,950........Sun 1-4...Kathleen Quintarelli ..............Weichert..703-862-88086321 Youngs Branch Dr.........$719,000........Sun 2-4.....Christine Shevock...............RE/MAX..703-475-3986

Falls Church3804 Munson Rd....................$829,000........Sun 1-4..........Patrick Kessler.....Keller Williams..703-405-6540

Kingstowne/Alexandria7151 Barry Rd........................$829,900........Sun 1-4..............Bill Halloran................Acquire..703-932-96834904 Apple Tree Dr.................$739,000..Sat/Sun 1-4........Michael Fogarty............HomeFirst..703-971-18005806 Wescott Hills Way.........$299,950........Sun 1-4..Tom & Cindy & Assoc..Long & Foster..703-822-0207

Leesburg543 Edmonton Terr NE...........$359,900........Sun 2-4...................Pat Fales...............RE/MAX..703-503-4365

Lorton6830 Tiddle Way.....................$699,000........Sun 1-4.............Beckie Owen......Long & Foster..703-328-41298960 Fascination Ct #130/03..$199,990......Sun 12-4............Shawn Evans......Long & Foster..703-795-3973

Springfield7262 Linden Tree Ln...............$459,950........Sun 1-4...Kathleen Quintarelli ..............Weichert..703-862-88088625 Madley Ct......................$435,000........Sun 1-3....................Kay Hart......Long & Foster..703-503-1860

Stafford11 Clark Ln.............................$319,900........Sun 2-4 .............. Tracy Jones................Acquire..703-231-6094

To add your Realtor-represented Open House to these weeklylistings, please call Karen Washburn at 703-778-9422 or E-mail

the info to: [email protected] listings due by Tuesday at 3 P.M.

Viewpoints

What Do You Do for Winter Fun? — Anagha Srikanth/ Centre View

Avanti Shirke, 17,senior at ThomasJefferson HighSchool for Scienceand Technology,Chantilly

“I like cozying up atlocal Starbucks with ahot vanilla latte and agood book. It’s a warmand homey atmo-sphere that makes thecold NOVA weatherbearable. It’s espe-cially nice to look outthe windows when it’ssnowing; it’s almost like you’re in a snow globe.”

Jolene Mafnas,17, senior atRobinson SecondarySchool, Chantilly

“I like to go toReston Towne Centerwith my friend be-cause there’s a lot todo and it’s all in oneplace. There’s a movietheater that’s designedlike those old-styletheaters from the ‘50sand an ice skating rinkin the winter. Thereare also a lot of good

restaurants, from Vapiano’s to Big Bowl, that are per-fect to get hot food on a cold day. There are so manydifferent options, it fits whatever mood you’re in.”

By Marilyn Campbell

Centre View

Winter weather often means limitedopen air playtime for some children.“It is very important for children toget as much outdoor activity as pos-

sible, but there are times when it is not safe for themto be outside for an extended length of time, or anytime at all, because it is too cold. ” said ShannonMelideo, chair of the Education Department atMarymount University in Arlington. “There are manyother things that children can do besides sleddingand ice skating.”

While experts say many parents fear that too muchtime spent inside can lead to cabin fever, they addthat there are a myriad of ways to have winter funwithout leaving the warmth of your home. “Thereare numerous creative opportunities for children toexpress themselves indoors. Parents can sneak ineducational experiences when the children don’tknow it,” said Melideo, who lives in Reston.

Paula Keyes Kun, spokeswoman for the AmericanAlliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation,and Dance (AAHPERD) and the National Associa-tion for Sport and Physical Education (NASPE) of-fers activity ideas that are geared for outdoor play,but that can easily be adapted for indoors. “Pretendyou are at a zoo. Identify an animal: Move and soundlike that animal. Pretend to be a growing flower:First you are a tiny seed in the ground, and thengrow into a big flower.”

Other imaginative indoor play ideas Kun offered in-clude asking children to pretend to be a balloon, firstwithout air, then being blown up, floating around andfinally being popped. Asking a child to pretend to movelike different foods, such as melting like a popsicle orpopping like popcorn, is also fun and creative.

Put a pen to paper, say experts. “Because of textingand email, many children don’t spend time writing‘snail mail,’ said Christie Westermann, a fourth gradeteacher at Norwood Elementary School in Potomac,Md. “Children can decorate blank postcards, learnhow to properly address a piece of snail mail andwrite special notes to friends and relatives.”

Melideo agrees that writing can be a fun and edu-

cational indoor activity, and suggests writing thank-you notes for holiday gifts as well as making Valentine’sDay cards for family and friends. She says this is anideal way to incorporate writing skills with fun: “Youhave to ask yourself what your child can do develop-mentally,” she said. “If they can write their name, thenthey can make the rest of the card with stickers. Chil-dren can make two or three each day and they willhave something they are proud of, and family mem-bers always need to be told they are loved.”

Fourth grade teacher Alysha Akbar, a graduate stu-dent in the education program at George MasonUniversity in Fairfax, adds, “While the winter weatherhas prevented my fourth graders from enjoying out-door recess, the cold has not kept their hands idle,”she said. “Many of my students enjoy making beau-tiful, three-dimensional snowflakes. We hang themfrom the ceiling and they are very simple to make.The children also keep busy indoors playing withLego blocks, drawing and, of course, reading.”

Melideo says that creating a family photo albumwhere children get to create the captions or playing agame of charades are also great indoor pastimes. “Playcharades with a theme, where maybe one personcomes up with clues, throws them into a hat around atheme like the holidays or a family experience. Chil-dren are using creativity, memory, connecting in a funway and getting excited an expressing themselves.

Westermann adds that students can practice mathskills while whetting their taste buds by choosing afavorite dish to prepare: “Have your children dreamup something yummy to eat [like] cookies, brown-ies or cinnamon rolls, then look online for a kid-friendly recipe,” she said. “Children can hone theirmath skills through measuring. Monkey bread is afun, easy and yummy recipe for children.”

Using modern technology to connect with familymembers who live in other parts of the country isanother indoor pastime, say experts. “Call, Skype orFacetime and read to grandparents or other familymembers,” said Melideo. “Children practicing read-ing before for an audience helps them develop flu-ency. Parents should encourage them to rehearse be-forehand. They can also read a poem or somethingthat they wrote. This is also a self-esteem boostingexercise because they get positive feedback from thegrandparents or relatives.”

Melideo concludes by suggesting scavenger andtreasure hunts: “You can even start with an outdoorhunt where the treasure brings them back inside tofind hot cocoa and cookies.”

Ideas for entertainmentwhen Jack Frost appears.

Indoor Winter Fun with ChildrenWinter Fun


From Page 10

Bulletin Board

Program Information. Learn about LifetimeLeadership Program at 11 a.m. at LeadershipFairfax, 8230 Old Courthouse Road, Suite 350,Vienna.

SATURDAY/FEB. 9Second Saturday. 9 a.m. at Marriott Courtyard,

11220 Lee-Jackson Highway, Fairfax.Professionals speak towards educating spousesabout separation and divorce process in order toencourage them to be civil and reasonable fortheir pocketbooks, emotional health andchildren. RSVP to [email protected].

FRIDAY/MARCH 8Scholarship Deadline. High school seniors must

submit their application form online to beeligible for a scholarship from the Virginia,Maryland & Delaware Association of ElectricCooperatives Educational ScholarshipFoundation. Detailed information is available atwww.vmdaec.com or 804-968-7153.

TUESDAY/MARCH 12Civil War Lecture. 7 p.m. at Cabell’s Mill in

Centreville. Lt. Col. Bill Hewitt will discuss theGettysburg Campaign and July 1 battle.Donation of $5 will be accepted for SullyHistoric Site. Reservations required, 703-437-1794.

MONDAY/MARCH 18Scholarship Application Deadline. High

school seniors can apply for $1,500 scholarshipfrom Northern Virginia Electric Cooperative.Visit www.novec.com/community/index.cfmand select “scholarships” or contact DonnaSnellings at [email protected] or 703-392-1511.

SATURDAY/MARCH 23Art and Silent Auction. 7 p.m. at Westfields

Marriott, 14750 Conference Center Drive. Ticketsare $25 online or $30 at the door, with discountsfor multiple tickets. Held by Homeless AnimalsRescue Team. Visit www.hart90.org for more.

TUESDAY/APRIL 9Civil War Discussion. 7 p.m. at Sully Historic

Site. Angie Atkinson will discuss the second dayof the battle at Gettysburg, including LittleRound Top and Devil’s Den. Donation of $5 willbe accepted for Sully Historic Site. Reservationsrequired, 703-437-1794.

TUESDAY/MAY 14Civil War Discussion. 7 p.m. at Sully Historic

Site. Matt Atkinson will discuss the final day ofthe battle at Gettysburg. Donation of $5 will beaccepted for Sully Historic Site. Reservationsrequired, 703-437-1794.

TUESDAYS AND/OR THURSDAYSSenior Fall Prevention Classes. 1:30-2:30 p.m.

Classes are held in a heated indoor pool and aredesigned to work on balance and core musclesin order to prevent injuries and falls. At TheWoodlands Retirement Community, 4320 ForestHill Dr. Registrations are required. Call 703-667-9800 to register as space is limited. Cost is$10 per class.

VOLUNTEERS NEEDEDRespite Care Volunteers. Give a family

caregiver of a frail, older adult a break so theycan go shopping, attend a doctor’s appointmentor have coffee with a friend. Volunteers visit andoversee the safety of the older adult for a fewhours each month. Volunteers are matched withfamilies in or near their own neighborhoods inFairfax County. Support and training isprovided. Contact Kristin Martin at 703-324-7577, TTY 711, [email protected]. Visitwww.fairfaxcounty.gov/dfs/olderadultservices/volunteer-solutions.htm.

The Stuart-Mosby Civil War CavalryMuseum at 13938 Braddock Road. is nowopen, Saturdays and Mondays, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.Docents and additional volunteers needed, pluspeople willing to donate or loan artifacts. CallDon Hakenson at 703-971-4984.

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in Mount Vernon. Rewarding,flexible work, pay is nominal.

Email letter, resume plus clips [email protected]

Connection Newspapers in Old Town Alexandriahas an immediate opening for a Full ChargeBookkeeper. Duties include payroll, tax filings,accounts receivable and payable, invoicing, generalledger and financial statements. Applicant must bean expert in Quickbooks and proficient MicrosoftExcel. Applicant must possess a strong work ethic,people skills, team attitude and be able to multi-task. Near King Street Metro. Free parking. Flexiblehours, 24-30 hours/week. Email cover letter, resumeto [email protected]

Bookkeeper

Advertising SalesWork part-time in and near your home office

Enjoy commissions and flexible hoursGreat opportunity for outside sales person to work primarily

in and near your home. Use relationship selling to create andexpand community print and internet advertising campaigns tolocal businesses for Connection Newspapers, Northern Virginia’sbest-read community newspapers and websites.

Keep productivity high and commuting low while workingclose to home. After a short training period, travel to our OldTown Alexandria headquarters and production facility requiredonly once or twice a week during off-peaktraffic hours. Call 703-778-9431 for details.

I don’t quite know how to start this col-umn so I’ll begin with its ending: “I’m fine.”

I am asked as much, if not more, than thenext person how I am doing. It’s a standardcourtesy offered up every day between manyunsuspecting askers and most often providesanswerers an opportunity to nonchalantlymove the conversation along without toomany fits and starts. For a cancer patient likemyself, however, whose status, situation andstory is likely known in advance (generallyspeaking) of most casual meetings that occur,the question/greeting, though well-intended,doesn’t exactly fall on deaf ears, and certainlydoes not conjure nonchalance; at least not inmy head, and that’s where this problemreally starts.

Of course, I want people interested in myhealth. Of course, I want people to be cour-teous and respectful to me. Of course, I wantpeople to engage me and treat me like thenon-terminal patient I’m not. I aspire to benormal so I want to be treated normally, andnormally, being treated as such wouldn’tbother me. And it doesn’t bother me, really.What it does do however, is jump-start/remind my brain of my less-than-ideal healthcircumstances: stage IV non-small cell lungcancer (NSCLC). Hardly the cross I wanted tobear beginning at age 54 and a half – after alife of not smoking, with no immediate-fam-ily history of cancer.

And given the fact that I semi pay atten-tion to my surroundings and take notice ofwhat I see and hear, when asked a questionof health-related substance – sincerely, I amloathe to answer the question “monosyllab-ically.” If I do control my responses and don’tburden the questioner with a brief buthumorous accounting of my most recentcancer-related anecdote, in my head I willhave already gone there and done that:meaning, just because I don’t say anything,don’t presume for a second that my brainhasn’t already considered how in fact I amdoing and reviewed all the gory details. Sowhether anybody intended it – and I’m notsure anybody did, when I’m asked this mostinnocent of questions, my reaction is any-thing but. My reaction is a non-verbal, instan-taneous re-living of the past four years,beginning with my visit to the EmergencyRoom on January 1, 2009. And as much as Ithink about my circumstances – on my own,what few breaks I allow myself are invariablycut short when someone, anyone has thegood nature to inquire how I’m doing.

Still, being ignored is no good. Beingtreated with kid gloves is no good. Being cau-tious is no good. Being super-sensitive is nogood. Being over-reactive is no good. Beingpitied is no good. Being alone is no good.Moreover, being diagnosed with a terminalform of cancer is absolutely no good. Asmuch as I want to live long and prosper andconsider all the hope the future has to offer,cancer controls from within, often subcon-sciously. That’s what I hate the most; thechanges it causes in your head: your reac-tions, your assessments, your sense of pro-portion, your sense of self, etc. It’s all differ-ent. I can live with it, but it does cause me tosometimes make mountains out of molehillsand molehills out of mountains; with very lit-tle consideration of the mole.

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

By KENNETH B. LOURIE

A SimpleQuestion


Zone 4 Ad Deadline:

Monday Noon

703-917-6400

Zone 4:

• CentrevilleClassifiedClassified

AUTOMOTIVE SPACE FORLEASE IN CENTREVILLE

Ideal for auto supply or light mechanic work.Lift ready w/ 5 bays. 4,500 SF

Dan or Arthur703-277-3483

[email protected]

[email protected]

Contact

12 Commercial Lease 12 Commercial Lease

21 Announcements 21 Announcements 21 Announcements




21 Announcements 21 Announcements 21 Announcements26 Antiques

We pay top $ for antique furniture and mid-century

Danish/modernteak furniture, STERLING, MEN'S WATCHES, jewelry

and costume jewelry,paintings/art glass/clocks.

Schefer Antiques @703-241-0790.

Email:[email protected]

110 Elderly Care

Elderly CompanionCaregiver

Excellent refs15 yrs Exp.

contact Phyliss

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Great Papers • Great Readers • Great Results!

Employers:Are your recruiting ads notworking in other papers?

Try a better way to fill your employment openings

[email protected]

• Target your best job candidateswhere they live.

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

E-mail ad with zone choices to: [email protected] or call Andrea @ 703-778-9411

EMPLOYMENTDEADLINESZones 5, 6...........................Tues @ 11:00Zones 1, 3.............................Tues @ 4:00Zone 2.................................Wed @ 11:00Zone 4...................................Wed @ 1:00

E-mail ad with zone choices to: [email protected] or call Andrea @ 703-778-9411

Newspapers & Online

HOW TO SUBMIT ADS TO

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

The Mount Vernon Gazette

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

The Vienna/OaktonConnection

The McLean ConnectionThe Great Falls

Connection

Results! Why, man, I have gotten a lot of results. I know several

thousand things that won't work.-Thomas A. Edison


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Sunday Worship with us:8:45 & 11:00am

with Sunday Schoolat 10:00am

b

THE CHURCH OF THE ASCENSION

TraditionalAnglican Service

1928 Book ofCommon Prayer

13941 Braddock Road, (north off Rte. 29) Centreville, VA703-830-3176 • www.thechurchoftheascension.org

Holy Communion 10 A.M. Sundays(with Church School and Nursery)

Evening Prayer and Bible Study 7 P.M. Wednesdays

Saint AndrewLutheran ChurchSunday Worship: 8:30 a.m., 11:00 a.m.

Christian Education for All Ages: 9:45 a.m.

Adult Bible Study: Wed. 9:30 a.m.

Our mission is to welcome all people,

to grow in our relationship with Christ,

and to serve the Lord

Braddock Road and Cranoke Street

Centreville, VA 20120

www.saintandrewlc.org

703-830-2768

Email announcements to [email protected]. Photos wel-come.

THURSDAY/JAN. 31Storytime. 3 p.m. at Chantilly Regional

Library, 4000 Stringfellow Road.Children age 3-5 can enjoy storiesand more. Free. Registrationrequired. 703-502-3883.

English Conversation Group. 7 p.m.at Chantilly Regional Library, 4000Stringfellow Road. Adults canpractice with other students.Registration required. 703-502-3883.

FRIDAY/FEB. 1Storytime. 1:30 p.m. at Chantilly

Regional Library, 4000 StringfellowRoad. Children ages 3-5 can enjoystories and activities aboutgroundhogs. Free. Registrationrequired. 703-502-3883.

Tax Assistance. 10 a.m. at ChantillyRegional Library, 4000 StringfellowRoad. Adults can get help from IRS-certified volunteers. Free.

THROUGH FEB. 1Art Exhibit. Paintings by Rosemary

Gallick celebrate the secondinauguration of President BarackObama. See 23 portraits of PresidentObama, Michelle Obama, Joe Biden,Hillary Clinton and more. The

exhibition is free and located at theWoodbridge campus of NorthernVirginia Community College, 15200Neabsco Mills Road.

SATURDAY/FEB. 2Animal Program. 1:30 p.m. at Ellanor

C. Lawrence Park, 5040 WalneyRoad, Chantilly. Participants 3 yearsand older can learn about this animaland the story behind Groundhog Day.$5/person. Register online atwww.fairfaxcounty.gov/parks/parktakes with code #2741879701.Call 703-631-0013.

Paws for Reading. 3 p.m. at ChantillyRegional Library, 4000 StringfellowRoad. Children ages 5-12 can readaloud for 15-minute sessions with atherapy dog. Bring a book or chooseone from the library. Free.Registration required. 703-502-3883.

Storytime. 3 p.m. at Chantilly RegionalLibrary, 4000 Stringfellow Road.Children ages 3-5 can enjoy storiesand activities about groundhogs.Free. Registration required. 703-502-3883.

MONDAY/FEB. 4Frying Pan Farm. 2 p.m. at Chantilly

Library, 4000 Stringfellow Road.Meet and learn about small farmanimals, hear a story and take homea craft. For children in grades K-6.Free. Registration required, 703-502-

3883.Afternoon Adventures: American

Girl Doll Tea. 3 p.m. at CentrevilleRegional Library, 14200 St. GermainDrive. Children age 6-12 can bringdolls to play and interpret history.Free. Registration required, 703-830-2223.

Kids Knit. 4 p.m. at Chantilly RegionalLibrary, 4000 Stringfellow Road.Children in grades 3 and up can meetnew friends, learn to knit or get helpon a project. Beginners welcome.Free. Registration required, 703-502-3883.

ESL Book Club. 7 p.m. at CentrevilleRegional Library, 14200 St. GermainDrive. Ask for title. 703-830-2223.

TUESDAY/FEB. 5IHOP’s National Pancake Day.

Participating local IHOPs celebrate bygiving away one free short stack ofpancakes to all who dine throughoutthe day. All proceeds that day benefitthe Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’sNational Capital Area Chapter, withthe hopes that patrons will make adonation to LLS in lieu of paymentfor pancakes. Visit www.lls.org.

English Conversation Group. 10:30a.m. at Chantilly Regional Library,4000 Stringfellow Road. Adults canpractice with other students.Registration required. 703-502-3883.

Small Wonders. 10:30 a.m. atChantilly Regional Library, 4000

Stringfellow Road. Children ages 12-23 months can enjoy rhymes, songsand more. Free. Registrationrequired. 703-502-3883.

Time for Tots. 11 a.m. at CentervilleRegional Library, 14200 St. GermainDrive. Children ages 2-3 with adult.Free. Registration required. 703-830-2223.

Bouncin’ Babies. 11:30 a.m. atChantilly Regional Library, 4000Stringfellow Road. Babies up to 11months can enjoy rhymes, songs,stories and more. Free. Registrationrequired. 703-502-3883.

Storytime. 1:30 p.m. at ChantillyRegional Library, 4000 StringfellowRoad. Children ages 3-5 can enjoystories and activities. Free.Registration required. 703-502-3883.

AARP Tax Assistance. 4-8 p.m. atCentreville Regional Library, 14200St. Germain Drive. Preference givento older adults. Free. 703-830-2223.

Mr. Skip. 7 p.m. at Chantilly RegionalLibrary, 4000 Stringfellow Road. Allages can enjoy music, movement andfun. Free. Registration required. 703-502-3883.

WEDNESDAY/FEB. 6Toddlin’ Twos. 10:30 and 11:30 a.m.

at Chantilly Regional Library, 4000Stringfellow Road. Children age 2can enjoy stories and activities. Free.Registration required. 703-502-3883.

AARP Tax Assistance. 1-5 p.m. at

Centreville Regional Library, 14200St. Germain Drive. Preference givento older adults. Free. 703-830-2223.

Mystery Book Discussion. 7 p.m. atChantilly Regional Library, 4000Stringfellow Road. Adults can calland ask for title. Free. 703-502-3883.

Starlight Storytime. 7 p.m. atCentreville Regional Library, 14200St. Germain Drive. All ages can bringa stuffed animal and enjoy storiesand fun. Free. Registration required.703-830-2223.

THURSDAY/FEB. 7Small Wonders. 11 a.m. at Centreville

Regional Library, 14200 St. GermainDrive. Children age 13-23 monthscan enjoy stories and activities. Free.Registration required. 703-830-2223.

Book Group. 7 p.m. at ChantillyRegional Library, 4000 StringfellowRoad. Teens in grades 7-8 canparticipate. Call for title. Free.Registration required. 703-502-3883.

Tax Assistance. 6 p.m. at ChantillyRegional Library, 4000 StringfellowRoad. Adults can get help from IRS-certified volunteers. Free.

English Conversation Group. 7 p.m.at Chantilly Regional Library, 4000Stringfellow Road. Adults canpractice with other students.Registration required. 703-502-3883.

FRIDAY/FEB. 8Ready for School Storytime. 4 p.m.

at Chantilly Regional Library, 4000Stringfellow Road. Children ages 4-5can enjoy stories and more. Free.Registration required. 703-502-3883.

SATURDAY/FEB. 9Purple Tie Bash. 6:30 p.m.-midnight

at Westin at Washington Dulles.Chantilly High School presents anevening of fun with dinner, dancingsilent and live auctions and more.Proceeds benefit the athleticprograms at the high school. Visitwww.chantillysports.org to buytickets.

Choral Cabaret. 7 p.m. at CentrevilleHigh School. Enjoy dessert, coffeeand tea while listening to the choirperform. There will be a silentauction and raffle. $10/adult; $5/student. CVHS students who buytickets during lunch will get a freeraffle ticket.

Tax Assistance. 10 a.m. at ChantillyRegional Library, 4000 StringfellowRoad. Adults can get help from IRS-certified volunteers. Free.

Kaleidoscope Storytime. 10 a.m. atChantilly Regional Library, 4000Stringfellow Road. All ages can enjoya sensory storytime focusing on thestrengths and adapting to children onthe autism spectrum and with otherdevelopmental disabilities. Free.Registration required. 703-502-3883.

Thriving Three to Fives. 10:30 a.m.at Centreville Regional Library,14200 St. Germain Drive. Childrenage 3-5 can enjoy stories andactivities. Free. Registration required.703-830-2223.

E-book Help. 2 p.m. at ChantillyRegional Library, 4000 StringfellowRoad. Adults can get any questionsabout their eBook reader answered.Free. Registration required. 703-502-3883.

English Conversation Group. 3:30p.m. at Centreville Regional Library,14200 St. Germain Drive. Adults canpractice with other students.Registration required. 703-830-2223.

SATURDAY-SUNDAY/FEB. 9-10Lunar New Year Festival. From 1-6

p.m. celebrate the year of the snakeduring Fair Oaks Mall’s 10th annualfestival. Features traditional Chinesedragon dances, music, martial artsdemonstrations, crafts and more.Free. Call 703-359-8300 or visitwww.ShopFairOaksMall.com.

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