Christmas At Colvin Run Mill

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online at www.connectionnewspapers.com Photo by Donna Manz /The Connection Vienna and Oakton Opinion 6 Entertainment, Page 14 Sports, Page 16 Classifieds, Page 17 PRSRT STD U.S. Postage PAID Martinsburg, WV PERMIT #86 December 14-20, 2011 Vienna and Oakton Christmas At Colvin Run Mill News, Page 10 Forging Tradition News, Page 19 Fairfax to Richmond: Do Us No Harm News, Page 3 Christmas At Colvin Run Mill News, Page 10 Forging Tradition News, Page 19 Fairfax to Richmond: Do Us No Harm News, Page 3 Emily Kile, 11, asked Santa to bring “science things” while her sister Annika Kile, 5, asked for a fairy doll and a unicorn. Page 14

Transcript of Christmas At Colvin Run Mill

Page 1: Christmas At Colvin Run Mill

Vienna/Oakton Connection ❖ December 14-20, 2011 ❖ 1www.ConnectionNewspapers.com online at www.connectionnewspapers.com

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Entertainm

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PRSRT STD

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Martinsburg, WV

PERMIT #86

December 14-20, 2011

Viennaand Oakton

ChristmasAt ColvinRun MillNews, Page 10

ForgingTradition

News, Page 19

Fairfax toRichmond:

Do Us No HarmNews, Page 3

ChristmasAt ColvinRun MillNews, Page 10

ForgingTradition

News, Page 19

Fairfax toRichmond:

Do Us No HarmNews, Page 3

Emily Kile, 11,asked Santa to bring

“science things” whileher sister Annika Kile,

5, asked for a fairydoll and a unicorn.

Page 14

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2 ❖ Vienna/Oakton Connection ❖ December 14-20, 2011 www.ConnectionNewspapers.com

News

The Town of Vienna’sannual Church StreetHoliday Stroll hascome and gone, but

Christmas displays made by theAyr Hill Garden Club will adornFreeman House for the month ofDecember. The last days of Novem-ber were so temperate that mem-bers of the club were able to as-semble the arrangements in thesunshine on the historic site beforedecorating the outside of thebuilding as well as the inside ofthe Store and the Museum.

The Store offers merchandise forboth children and adults includ-ing books, penny candies, old-fashioned toys, potter, gifts andsouvenirs. The Museum now fea-tures an exhibit, Vienna Awakensto War, 1861-1865, which looks atthe Civil War through artifactsloaned by local families. The prop-erty is located at 131 ChurchStreet, N.E. and open to the pub-lic on Wednesday through Sundayfrom noon to 4 p.m.

Ayr Hill Garden Club of ViennaDecorates Freeman Store

Anna MarieMulvihill with

her arrange-ment complete

and ready toplace in themuseum ex-

hibit in Free-man House.

Christmas tree in the Freeman Museum, which the AyrHill Garden Club decorated for the month of December.

Hydrangea arrangement amidst children’s toys for sale atFreeman Store.

A fruit arrangement on a table in the Freeman Museum.

Diana Kilcullenand Sally

Recinos dis-playing a

wreath readyto hang on the

front of Free-man Store.

Photos Contributed

Page 3: Christmas At Colvin Run Mill

Vienna/Oakton Connection ❖ December 14-20, 2011 ❖ 3www.ConnectionNewspapers.com

NewsVienna/Oakton Connection Editor Kemal Kurspahic

703-778-9414 or [email protected]

See County, Page 15

On Dec. 11, the ViennaCommunity Bandbrightened the holi-

day season with a spirited con-cert of seasonal music, from aspritely March of the Toy Soldiersto the dramatic Alleluia. SleighRide, with its sound effects, par-ticularly the whinny of a horsetrombone-style, closed out theband’s featured performance.

For some listeners in the au-dience at the Vienna Commu-nity Center, the highlight wasthe sing-along, merging com-munity with band in a scene outof a Hallmark TV movie. As theband segued smoothly from tra-ditional carol to carol in a med-ley, Jane Cooper led the audi-ence in vocal accompaniment.Green Hedges principal BobGregg and his daughters, alongwith 7-year-old MargaretGambino, took front stage inthe sing-along with Cooper.

The audience sang along asthe band played the carol med-ley, climaxing with Silent Night.

The Vienna Community Bandreceives grants from the Townof Vienna and the Exxon MobilFoundation. Individual benefac-

tors help support the band, aswell. Band director Mel Kessler,retired from the navy, lives inAnnapolis and comes to Viennato conduct practices. He alsoconducts the National ConcertBand of America, based in Al-exandria.

“Like so many professionals,your work gets in your blood,”said Kessler. “You don’t want togive it up so you find ways tocontinue with it.”

Corporations interested insponsorship can contact bandpresident Tom Cooper [email protected] or go tothe band’s website atwww.viennacommunityband.org.Search Facebook under ViennaCommunity Band.

Brenda Scott of Vienna is fa-miliar with the music of theVienna Community Band, call-ing them “terrific.” She said shewould like to know the band’sconcert schedule for the year,but, on Dec. 11, she was happyto be there.

“I really like Christmas mu-sic,” Scott said.

— Donna Manz

By Victoria Ross

The Connection

The message Fairfax County Board of Su-pervisors delivered to legislators at itsannual 2012 session was summed up infour words: Do us no harm.

“Our theme is basically ‘Leave us alone,’” said Su-pervisor Jeff McKay (D-Lee), chairman of the board’slegislative committee. “We recognize it’s difficult thisyear, and we’re begging our legislators not to makeit worse for Fairfax County. It doesn’t sound collabo-rative, but we know we lose in all the funding for-mulas, so we’re saying don’t make it any worse.”

The 2012 General Assembly Legislative Work Ses-sion, held at the McConnell Public Safety Transpor-tation and Operations Center on Wednesday, Dec. 7,followed the Boards’ unanimous decision to supportthe 2012 legislative agenda at its regular meetingon Tuesday, Dec. 6.

The county’s legislative program outlines four pri-orities: education funding; transportation funding;restoring the decimated level of state funding; andenhancing local authority, giving the county the flex-ibility to “modernize” its local tax structure, particu-larly in areas such as taxation and land use.

“I know we’re speaking to the choir here,” Chair-man Sharon Bulova (D-At-large) said to the mostlyDemocratic state legislators in the room. “But nowis the time for the state to begin the process of re-building the funding partnership with local govern-ment, by providing adequate funding for core ser-vices and avoiding shifting additional state costs andresponsibilities to localities.”

THE CONCEPT OF DEVOLUTION, or shiftingresponsibilities from the state to the county, was aheated topic during the three-hour session.

“Basically, devolution means we don’t have enoughmoney to go around,” said Del. Ken Plum (D-36) “sowe end up pushing it down to counties. We’re notliving up to our end of the bargain.”

During the session, Fairfax County executives saidtwo facts merge to make FY 2012 a difficult year

financially: funding shortfalls exacerbated by dimin-ishing federal stimulus dollars and the state’s declin-ing revenue sources.

“The pie has shrunk. The money the state has beenable to send us has dropped … some of that decreasedid not feel as bad because of the stimulus,” saidJames J. Regimbal Jr., a consultant from FiscalAnalytics who presented a fiscal forecast of state aidto Fairfax County during the session.

Regimbal said state revenues are not reboundingfast enough after the recession, which impacts coreservices such as education, transportation and hu-man services. He predicted that Medicaid and Vir-ginia Retirement System demands will continue tooutstrip the state’s general fund revenue, puttingpressure on state funding for other core programs.

“Without new revenues and expecting modest eco-nomic growth, the state will continue to reduce fund

Fairfax to Richmond:Do Us No HarmTransportation fundingdominates discussion.

School Board member Ted Velkoff (D-At-large), Supervisor John Foust (D-Dranesville), state Sen. Dave Marsden (D-37) and Supervisor Linda Smyth (D-Provi-dence) at the meeting.

State senators GeorgeBarker (D-39) and Richard

Saslaw (D-35) and Del.Barbara Comstock (R-34)listen as state Sen. Chap

Petersen (D-34) addresseslocal officials during the

meeting of the FairfaxCounty Board of Supervi-

sors and the Fairfax Countydelegation to the General

Assembly on Wed. Dec. 7 atthe McConnell Public SafetyTransportation and Opera-

tions Center.

Photos by

Victoria Ross/

The Connection

Vienna CommunityBand Brings Joy to the

Jane Cooper, Green Hedges principal Bob Gregg,Margaret Gambino, and Gregg’s daughters lead thesing-along.

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Annual holiday concert sparkledwith holiday spirit.

Associate Conductor Katherine Wilson, leading theVienna Community Band in Hanukkah Holiday.

Page 4: Christmas At Colvin Run Mill

4 ❖ Vienna/Oakton Connection ❖ December 14-20, 2011 www.ConnectionNewspapers.com

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News

By Nicholas Horrock

The Connection

The Metropolitan Wash-ington Airport Author-ity apparently nevertires of resisting U.S.

Rep. Frank Wolf and other Virginiaofficials from gaining more controlof the authority’s operations andits handling of the Dulles Railproject.

After President Obama signedinto law a measure that increasesMetropolitan Washington AirportAuthority’s membership from 13to 17 members and called for anadditional two Virginia members,Airports Authority ChairmanCharles D. Snelling, wrote to Wolfthat the authority did not plan toimmediately abide by the law.

“Soon after the enactment ofthis legislation, the Airports Au-thority retained outside legalcounsel to provide an independentlegal opinion on the implementa-tion of the legislation and, morespecifically, on whether thechanges made by the legislation

were operative upon enactment orrequire an amendment to theMWAA compact in order to be-come operative,” Snelling said.

The authority engaged Jenner &Block, one of the nation’s bestknown and most expensive lawfirms, to examine the constitution-ality of the law. In 22 pages of le-gal dissertation, the firm said itmight be unconstitutional but theissue would likely have to besettled in a federal court.

Robert Yingling, a public affairsspokesperson for MetropolitanWashington Airport Authority, saidhe could not report on how muchthis legal opinion cost public fundsbecause the bill for the work hadnot been submitted.

According to Snelling, theJenner & Block opinion found thatthe “new legislation is not oper-able until the Commonwealth ofVirginia and the District of Colum-bia approve changes to the gov-erning MWAA compact. Accord-ingly, it is the opinion of our out-side counsel that the legislation isbest understood as authorizing

Virginia and the District of Colum-bia to amend the MWAA compact,and not unilaterally bringingabout that amendment itself.”

He said Metropolitan Washing-ton Airport Authority would notpermit any new members ap-pointed under the law to “partici-pate in board duties until changesare made to governing MWAAcompact.”

Wolf said he was “extremely dis-appointed” that the Airports Au-thority “is choosing to fight bipar-tisan changes contained in PublicLaw 112-55.” Wolf said the “intentof Congress could not be moreclear” and there was “no need forMWAA to go the expense of hir-ing outside counsel.” Wolf said hehas asked the U.S. TransportationDepartment’s Inspector General tofind out who ordered the reportand what it cost.

The role of board members act-ing out after expiration of theirterm arose when a member whoseterm had expired was allowed sev-eral years ago to vote from housearrest in the Ivory Coast.

MWAA Resists New MembersU.S. Rep. Frank Wolf ‘extremely disappointed.’

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Page 5: Christmas At Colvin Run Mill

Vienna/Oakton Connection ❖ December 14-20, 2011 ❖ 5www.ConnectionNewspapers.com

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Town Offices Closedfor Holiday

Town Offices will close at noon on Friday, Dec. 23,and will be closed on Monday, Dec. 26, in observanceof the Christmas holiday.

Recycling will be collected as normal on Friday,Dec. 23. No trash will be collected on Monday, Dec.26. Monday-route trash will be collected on Thurs-day, Dec. 29; no recycling will be collected on Thurs-day. Town-wide recycling collection (Thursday andFriday recycling routes) will be performed on Fri-day, Dec. 30.

The Community Center will close at 8 p.m. on Fri-day, Dec. 23, and will be closed on Saturday, Dec.24, and Sunday, Dec. 25. The Community Center willbe open Monday, Dec. 26 from 12 to 4 p.m.

Technology Class for BabyBoomers and Beyond

“Today’s Technology for Baby Boomers and Be-yond” will be held on Mondays, Jan. 9, 23 and 30,from 1:40 to 2:40 p.m. at the Vienna CommunityCenter, 120 Cherry Street, SE. This class will also beheld on Mondays, Feb. 6, 13 and 27, 2012.

The program will provide participants with thenecessary tools to keep up with all the technologiesthat society uses on a regular basis including cellphones, computers, digital cameras, GPS devices andmore. The class consists of a formal presentation forone hour followed by an additional hour after eachclass for personalized questions about your equip-ment.

The cost is $26.25 for Town of Vienna residents

and $33 for out-of-town participants. There is a lim-ited enrollment of 16 students. For more informa-tion or to register, call 703-255-6360 and referenceclass number 341241 A1 (January) or B1 (Febru-ary) or view page 27 in the Winter Parks and Recre-ation Brochure online at www.viennava.gov/Archive.aspx?AMID=62.

Free Workshop on Wills“Why Good Wills Go Bad” will be held on Monday,

Jan. 9, 2012 from 10 to 11:30 a.m. at the ViennaCommunity Center, 120 Cherry Street, S.E. Join at-torney David G. Hoffman for a discussion of Virginiawill law, organizing your assets, when to change yourwill, talking to your executor, reducing probate, willcopies, do-it-yourself tax plans and more.

No registration required; free. For more informa-tion, call the Vienna Parks and Recreation Depart-ment at 703-255-6360.

Essay Contest onWomen’s History

The Fairfax County Commission for Women is spon-soring an essay contest to commemorate Women’sHistory Month 2012. The contest is open to everyhigh school senior attending a Fairfax County publicschool, college bound or not, male or female. Thedeadline is Dec. 31. Winning essays can win up to$1000. More information about the topic and require-ments can be found at: http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/dfs/news_press_releases/2011/1107-essay-contest.htm.

Week in Vienna

Activities reported by the Vienna policedepartment through Dec. 9.

ARRESTS400 Block Creek Crossing Road,

N.E. Nov. 25, 11:45 p.m. MPO Shawresponded for the report of a singlevehicle crash into a utility pole. Uponhis arrival he found both the vehicleand the driver. After interacting withthe driver MPO Shaw detected signsof possible impairment. The driver, a19-year-old male of Elmar Drive inVienna, attempted to completeseveral field sobriety tests. He wassubsequently arrested for DrivingWhile Intoxicated and transported tothe Fairfax County Adult DetentionCenter for analysis of his breath andprocessing.

200 Block Lawyers Road, N.W. Dec.2, 5:54 p.m. MPO Sheeran respondedfor a single vehicle crash. Hisinvestigation revealed that a vehiclewas travelling at an excessive rate ofspeed and failed to negotiate the turnon Lawyers Road near Sharon Lane,N.W. The vehicle ran off of theroadway to the right and struck alarge rock. It then continued on andstruck a tree, then spun around andcontacted a second tree. The driverdid not sustain any injuries. Upon hisinteraction with the vehicle’s driverMPO Sheeran detected signs ofpossible impairment. The driver, a56-year-old male of Ridgeview Lanein Brightwood, attempted tocomplete several field sobriety tests.He was then arrested for DrivingWhile Intoxicated and transported toVienna Police Headquarters forbreath analysis. After the analysis hewas transported to the FairfaxCounty Adult Detention Center.

300 Block Maple Ave., East. Dec. 3,1:52 a.m. Sergeant Juelharteconducted a traffic stop. Upon herinteraction with the driver she

detected signs of possibleimpairment. She also observed whatappeared to be fresh damage to theexterior of the vehicle. The driver, a20-year-old male of Lincoln LakeWay in Fairfax, attempted tocomplete several field sobriety tests.He was then arrested for DrivingWhile Intoxicated and transported toVienna Police Headquarters foranalysis of his breath. After theanalysis he was transported to theFairfax County Adult DetentionCenter. It is unknown where thedamage was sustained. Area lawenforcement agencies were madeaware of Sergeant Juelharte’sobservations.

Cunningham Park ElementarySchool, 1001 Park St., S.E. Dec.3, 6:28 a.m. PFC Ruddy observed atrash truck emptying a dumpster atMarshall Road Elementary School inthe early morning hours. Shefollowed it to Cunningham ParkElementary School and observed itservicing another dumpster. OfficerRuddy then issued a 47-year-oldmale of Liberia Ave. in Manassas asummons for violating the Town ofVienna noise ordinance. He wasreleased after signing the summons.

Cottage St. at Kingsley Road, S.W.Dec. 5, 1:11 a.m. Sergeant Juelharteconducted a traffic stop. Upon herinteraction with the driver shedetected the presence of suspectedalcohol. After further investigationSergeant Juelharte determined thatthe driver, a 20-year-old female ofBridleridge Court in Vienna hadconsumed alcohol while underage.She was issued a summons for theviolation and a friend responded todrive her home.

100 Block East St., S.E. Dec. 8, 6:01a.m. Sergeant Juelharte observed atrash disposal truck collecting adumpster prior to 7:00 a.m. inviolation of town code. A 41-year-old

male of Kershaw Court in Manassaswas issued a summons for theviolation and released after signingit.

ABANDONED VEHICLE300 Block Ayrhill Ave., N.E. Dec. 3,

9:21 a.m. A vehicle with a flat tirewas left parked on the roadway forseveral days. A few days later thevehicle was towed away to a securelot and will await retrieval by itsowner.

ANIMAL CASE300 Block Maple Ave., East. Dec. 6,

11:35 a.m. ACO Barker responded fora stray dog running at large. He wasable to capture it and transport it tothe Fairfax County Animal Shelter toawait retrieval by its owner. The dogis described as a female Collie.

ASSIST EMSTapawingo Road at Meadow Lane,

S.W. Dec. 2, 10:14 p.m. SergeantJuelharte responded for a motoristthat was in medical distress. FairfaxCounty EMS also responded andtransported the subject to an areahospital.

CREDIT CARD FRAUD100 Block Casmar St., S.E. Between

Nov. 7 at 12:01 a.m. and Nov. 28 at11:59 p.m. A citizen reportedreceiving a phone call from her creditcard company regarding a purchaseapproval. The complainant’s creditcard number was being used toattempt a fraudulent purchase at aSears store. She declined thepurchase approval. After checkingher credit card activity online she

See Crime, Page 7

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Page 6: Christmas At Colvin Run Mill

6 ❖ Vienna/Oakton Connection ❖ December 14-20, 2011 www.ConnectionNewspapers.com

Opinion

Five Suggestions for the New School BoardHalf of the School Boardmembers are new.

Editorial

On Monday, Dec. 19, the newlyelected members of the FairfaxCounty School Board will besworn in, marking the largest

number of new members at one time inmemory.

The change on the board comes from openseats with previous members deciding not torun. Fully half of the board will be new mem-bers, although most are also familiar faces.

But it was apparent from the election thatvoters were motivated by the school boardraces, turning out to have their say. It’s a mis-take to view the election as a vote of approvalfor all current policies or as a repudiation ofparticular policies. The level of interest andcontroversy indicates that it’s a great momentfor the new board to engage the public.

The fact that 70 percent of voters supportedthe school bond for county schools shows thatcounty residents understand the importanceof quality schools.

The school board consists of three at largemembers who represent the entire county, plusnine district members. Each voter had the op-

portunity to vote for four, three at large andone for their district.

Iryong Moon is the one incumbent remain-ing at large; Ryan McElveen and Ted Velkoffwill join the board at large. District membersare: Megan McLaughlin, Braddock; JanieStrauss, Dranesville; Pat Hynes, Hunter Mill;

Tammy Kaufax, Lee; SandyEvans, Mason; Dan Storck,Mount Vernon; Patty Reed,Providence; Elizabeth Schultz,

Springfield, and Kathy Smith, Sully. Moon,Strauss, Evans, Storck, Reed and Smith arereturning members.

It’s important to respect the dedication andmotivation of school board members. It’s hardto understand why anyone would want thesejobs. The hours are never ending. The pay issymbolic. Few decisions will come without ac-rimony from some quarters. These are peoplewho really are dedicated to service.

That said, we offer a few suggestions, somevery general, some very specific, for the newboard as it steps up to serve.

1) On with campaign. Begin with a listeningtour. Hold some full-board listening sessionsaround the county. Hold some regional listen-ing sessions in schools and parents’ livingrooms. Listen in small groups and individually.

Invite teachers and administrators to come outon tour with you. Don’t forget to listen to teach-ers as well as students, parents, administra-tors and more.

2) Fix large classes. You don’t have to re-duce the “average” class size. But do somethingabout every class of 30 students or more. It’sthe exceptionally large classes where studentsdon’t even fit in the room that drive parentswild. It doesn’t matter if it’s a classroom of poorstudents or wealthy students or something inbetween, really large classes are not appropri-ate.

3) Are surveillance cameras really the bestuse of scarce dollars? No matter what the cur-rent board decides to do later this week (likelyvote on Dec. 15 after Connection deadline),set the decision aside until after the listeningtour.

4) Don’t wait for a state law. Instruct admin-istrators to call parents to be present if theyplan to question a student about behavior thatcould result in serious disciplinary measuresor legal action.

5) Celebrate the specific and varied successesin Fairfax County Public Schools.

- Mary Kimm,

[email protected]

www.ConnectionNewspapers.com

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Grand Illusion in RichmondBy Kenneth R. “Ken” Plum

State Delegate (D-36)

Recently I performed a magic show forchildren at Barnes and Noble in Restonas part of a fundraiser for a local pre-

school. Part of the success of performing magicis dependent upon the ability of the magicianto divert the attention of the audience fromwhat is going on to the illusion of what seemsto be happening.

A ballpoint pen seems to stick a hole in adollar bill, although no hole is found when thepen is removed. The peanut butter jar and thejelly jar seem to mysteriously change places. Astring of bright beads is produced from anempty container. Magic and illusion are greatforms of entertainment.

Unfortunately the agenda shaping up for the2012 General Assembly session in Richmond in-cludes some sleight-of-hand to make the state leg-islature look good in the short run but could leavelocal governments on the losing end of the trick.

The Governor’s Task Force for Local Govern-ment Mandate Review is proposing the elimi-nation of a number of existing mandates. TheTask Force is focusing on 105 education man-dates and 80 local government mandates.

While many of these requirements that stategovernment placed on local government mayhave made sense at the time they were enacted,some are redundant, unnecessary, or meaning-less today. A good house cleaning is always inorder. Also under review by the Task Force is apossible moratorium on new state mandatesto local governments. Review the report atwww.dhcd.virginia.gov/GovMandateReview/default.htm.

As local governments and school boards are

celebrating the elimi-nation of some nui-sance reporting re-quirements and peskyaccountability reports,their attention willneed to be shiftedquickly to the otherside of the stage for thegrand illusion that isabout to take place.

In order to balancethe state budget, theGeneral Assembly is

likely to whittle away at the schools’ Standardsof Quality. And for every mandate that is liftedin the state SOQs, localities will lose state aid.For a partnership that should be equal betweenstate and local governments, a shift has alreadyoccurred with local governments picking up60 percent of costs to the state’s 40 percent.

State general funding to education that in Fis-cal Year 2009 was $5.6 billion is expected todip to $4.9 billion in Fiscal Year 2012.

The grandest of the illusions may be the ex-pected attempt in the 2012 session of the Gen-eral Assembly to shift secondary road mainte-nance from state to local governments. Thestate would balance its transportation budgetwith this little trick, but local governmentswould be saddled with millions of dollars inexpenses. For Fairfax County the cost wouldbe in the hundreds of millions.

For taxpayers the show may even be madeto look attractive in the realignment of stateand local government responsibilities withcounties taking care of local roads. When tax-payers check their wallets and realize they aresuddenly empty from paying the additionalproperty tax that will be required to pay forroad repairs, the trick will not be nearly soentertaining.

The Connection welcomes views on any public issue.The deadline for all material is noon Friday. Letters must be signed. Include

home address and home and business numbers. Letters are routinely edited forlibel, grammar, good taste and factual errors. Send to:

Letters to the EditorThe Connection1606 King St.

Alexandria VA 22314Call: 703-778-9410.

By e-mail: [email protected]

Write

Commentary

Page 7: Christmas At Colvin Run Mill

Vienna/Oakton Connection ❖ December 14-20, 2011 ❖ 7www.ConnectionNewspapers.com

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learned that there were some otherfraudulent purchases on the account.This case is still being investigated.

FOUND PROPERTYCedar Lane Shopping Center, 262

Cedar Lane, S.E. Dec. 4, 8:50 a.m.A citizen reported finding a wallet inthe parking lot. MPO Evans willattempt to locate the owner.

GRAND LARCENYChipotle Restaurant, 200 Block

Maple Ave., East. Between Nov.30 at 7 a.m. and Dec. 1 at 7 a.m. Theproperty manager reported thatduring the listed dates unknownsubjects stole the hydraulic systemfrom an exterior trash compactor.The approximate cost to replace thesystem is $1500. This case is stillbeing investigated.

400 Block Knoll St., N.W. Dec. 2between 1-2 a.m. A citizen reportedthat her estranged husband stole aGPS unit and a wedding ring fromthe interior of her vehicle. Thecomplainant had become intoxicatedat an area bar and asked herestranged husband to drive herhome. The husband told thecomplainant that he took the items asretribution for her taking a televisionset when she left her previous home.This case is still being investigated.

LOST PROPERTYSkorpio’s Restaurant, 421 Maple

Ave., East. Dec. 6, 9:01 p.m. Acitizen reported that he believes helost his wallet inside the restaurant.

Crime

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Page 8: Christmas At Colvin Run Mill

8 ❖ Vienna/Oakton Connection ❖ December 14-20, 2011 www.ConnectionNewspapers.com

Address ..................................BR FB HB .... Postal City .. Sold Price .... Type ................. Lot AC .PostalCode ................ Subdivision10301 HICKORY FOREST DR ............ 5 .. 5 .. 1 ......... OAKTON .... $1,320,000 .... Detached ................ 1.09 ....... 22124 .. HICKORY HOLLOW FOREST1020 APONI RD .............................. 5 .. 4 .. 2 .......... VIENNA ..... $1,257,219 .... Detached ................ 0.35 ....... 22180 ......................... OAK GROVE2151 CHAIN BRIDGE RD .................. 6 .. 7 .. 0 .......... VIENNA ..... $1,230,000 .... Detached ................ 0.98 ....... 22182 .............. OLD COURTHOUSE908 SYMPHONY CIR ........................ 5 .. 4 .. 1 .......... VIENNA ..... $1,227,500 .... Detached ................ 0.37 ....... 22180 .................. VIENNA WOODS9020 LUPINE DEN DR ...................... 5 .. 4 .. 1 .......... VIENNA ........ $990,000 .... Detached ................ 0.34 ....... 22182 ...... MANORS AT WOLF TRAP1884 BEULAH RD ............................ 3 .. 2 .. 1 .......... VIENNA ........ $900,000 .... Detached ................ 2.02 ....... 22182 ....................... ANKER OAKS2702 BERRYLAND DR ...................... 4 .. 3 .. 1 ......... OAKTON ....... $775,000 .... Detached ................ 0.97 ....... 22124 ................BERRYLAND FARM2853 WILLOWMERE WOODS DR ...... 5 .. 3 .. 1 .......... VIENNA ........ $768,000 .... Detached ................ 0.21 ....... 22180 ........ WILLOWMERE WOODS9612 CENTER ST ............................ 4 .. 2 .. 1 .......... VIENNA ........ $735,000 .... Detached ................ 0.35 ....... 22181 .............. BARRISTERS PLACE1854 FOXSTONE DR ........................ 4 .. 2 .. 2 .......... VIENNA ........ $720,000 .... Detached ................ 0.24 ....... 22182 .......................... FOXSTONE2923 ARAN CT ................................ 4 .. 4 .. 0 ......... OAKTON ....... $715,000 .... Detached ................ 0.10 ....... 22124 ............. OAK MARR COURTS9409 DELANCEY DR ........................ 4 .. 2 .. 1 .......... VIENNA ........ $714,000 .... Detached ................ 0.39 ....... 22182 ............... EMBASSY COURTS2008 ADAMS HILL RD ..................... 4 .. 3 .. 1 .......... VIENNA ........ $705,000 .... Detached ................ 0.72 ....... 22182 ......... HUNTER MILL FOREST10101 GARRETT ST ........................ 5 .. 2 .. 1 .......... VIENNA ........ $700,000 .... Detached ................ 0.48 ....... 22181 ..................... GLENCANNON8021 KIDWELL HILL CT ................... 3 .. 3 .. 1 .......... VIENNA ........ $670,000 .... Townhouse ............. 0.07 ....... 22182 ................. KIDWELL TOWNS10205 WANDERING CREEK RD ........ 4 .. 2 .. 1 .......... VIENNA ........ $665,000 .... Detached ................ 0.47 ....... 22182 ..................... COLVINS GLEN2926 OAKBURY CT .......................... 3 .. 3 .. 1 ......... OAKTON ....... $655,000 .... Detached ................ 0.07 ....... 22124 ............. OAK MARR COURTS10861 PARCEL CT ........................... 3 .. 2 .. 1 ......... OAKTON ....... $625,000 .... Detached ................ 0.48 ....... 22124 ................BERRYLAND FARM9419 VAN ARSDALE DR ................... 3 .. 2 .. 2 .......... VIENNA ........ $620,000 .... Townhouse ............. 0.05 ....... 22181 ................ VIRGINIA CENTER2824 CHARLES DUNN DR ................ 4 .. 3 .. 1 .......... VIENNA ........ $610,000 .... Townhouse ............. 0.04 ....... 22180 ............... PROVIDENCE PARK311 PATRICK ST SW......................... 7 .. 4 .. 0 .......... VIENNA ........ $608,000 .... Detached ................ 0.24 ....... 22180 .................. VIENNA WOODS424 CENTER ST .............................. 4 .. 3 .. 0 .......... VIENNA ........ $600,000 .... Detached ................ 0.23 ....... 22180 .......................... SOMERSET9507 MANDOLIN CT ....................... 4 .. 2 .. 1 .......... VIENNA ........ $595,000 .... Detached ................ 0.40 ....... 22182 ................. SHOUSE VILLAGE1700 FOX RUN CT ........................... 5 .. 2 .. 1 .......... VIENNA ........ $575,000 .... Detached ................ 0.54 ....... 22182 ............................. WAYSIDE636 MARSHALL RD ......................... 5 .. 3 .. 0 .......... VIENNA ........ $570,000 .... Detached ................ 0.45 ....... 22180 ................. MOIDONE ACRES2044 PIERIS CT ............................... 3 .. 2 .. 2 .......... VIENNA ........ $564,000 .... Townhouse ............. 0.06 ....... 22182 ................. TYSONS STATION11804 WAPLES MILL RD .................. 4 .. 3 .. 0 ......... OAKTON ....... $560,000 .... Detached ................ 0.47 ....... 22124 .......... WAPLES MILL ESTATES2241 CHESTERTOWN DR ................ 4 .. 2 .. 0 .......... VIENNA ........ $546,500 .... Detached ................ 0.24 ....... 22182 .................. TYSONS WOODS1652 GELDING LN ........................... 3 .. 3 .. 1 .......... VIENNA ........ $543,900 .... Detached ................ 0.34 ....... 22182 ......................... TRAILS THE608 BLACKSTONE TER .................... 3 .. 3 .. 0 .......... VIENNA ........ $525,000 .... Detached ................ 0.23 ....... 22180 ...................... VIENNA HILLS8044 MERRY OAKS CT ..................... 3 .. 2 .. 1 .......... VIENNA ........ $520,100 .... Townhouse ............. 0.04 ....... 22182 ....................... MERRY OAKS2601 BOWLING GREEN DR .............. 5 .. 3 .. 0 .......... VIENNA ........ $512,500 .... Detached ................ 0.36 ....... 22180 ........ DUNN LORING WOODS8219 BUCKNELL DR ........................ 4 .. 2 .. 1 .......... VIENNA ........ $502,000 .... Detached ................ 0.25 ....... 22180 ........ DUNN LORING WOODS105 SANOEY CIR ............................. 4 .. 3 .. 0 .......... VIENNA ........ $470,000 .... Detached ................ 0.25 ....... 22180 .................. VIENNA WOODS8608 PEPPERDINE DR ..................... 3 .. 3 .. 0 .......... VIENNA ........ $467,000 .... Detached ................ 0.28 ....... 22180 ........ DUNN LORING WOODS121 HICKORY CIR ........................... 2 .. 3 .. 0 .......... VIENNA ........ $465,000 .... Detached ................ 0.26 ....... 22180 ......... WEST VIENNA WOODS3090 BRADFORD WOOD CT ............ 4 .. 3 .. 1 ......... OAKTON ....... $452,000 .... Townhouse ............. 0.04 ....... 22124 .............. CONCORD VILLAGE10435 RED GRANITE TER ................ 3 .. 2 .. 2 ......... OAKTON ....... $435,000 .... Townhouse ............. 0.06 ....... 22124 ........................ ARROWOOD9914 BRIGHTLEA DR ....................... 3 .. 2 .. 1 .......... VIENNA ........ $415,000 .... Detached ................ 0.29 ....... 22181 ................ EDGELEA WOODS2964 BORGE ST .............................. 3 .. 3 .. 1 ......... OAKTON ....... $407,000 .... Townhouse ............. 0.04 ....... 22124 ....... CHERRYWOOD SQUARE207A LOCUST ST #P ....................... 3 .. 2 .. 1 .......... VIENNA ........ $405,000 .... Garden 1-4 Floors .................... 22180 ...................... VIENNA TRAIL2932 WATERFORD CT ..................... 4 .. 3 .. 1 .......... VIENNA ........ $400,000 .... Townhouse ............. 0.04 ....... 22181 ........................ WATERFORD8647 DELLWAY LN .......................... 3 .. 2 .. 2 .......... VIENNA ........ $399,995 .... Townhouse ............. 0.03 ....... 22180 ........ DUNN LORING VILLAGE128 MOORE AVE ............................. 3 .. 2 .. 0 .......... VIENNA ........ $385,000 .... Detached ................ 0.26 ....... 22180 ......... WEST VIENNA WOODS10309 EMERALD ROCK DR .............. 3 .. 2 .. 2 ......... OAKTON ....... $353,000 .... Townhouse ............. 0.04 ....... 22124 ........................ ARROWOOD2765 CENTERBORO DR #165 .......... 2 .. 2 .. 0 .......... VIENNA ........ $304,900 .... Garden 1-4 Floors .................... 22181 .. MARQUIS AT VIENNA STATN10221 VALENTINO DR #7411 ........... 3 .. 2 .. 0 ......... OAKTON ....... $260,000 .... Garden 1-4 Floors .................... 22124 ............... VISTAS OF VIENNA2765 CENTERBORO DR #261 .......... 1 .. 1 .. 0 .......... VIENNA ........ $214,000 .... Garden 1-4 Floors .................... 22181 .. MARQUIS AT VIENNA STATN10175 OAKTON TERR RD#10175 ..... 1 .. 1 .. 0 ......... OAKTON ....... $209,900 .... Garden 1-4 Floors .................... 22124 ....................... THE OAKTON3179 SUMMIT SQUARE DR #2-C3 .... 2 .. 1 .. 0 ......... OAKTON ....... $190,000 .... Garden 1-4 Floors .................... 22124 ..... FOUR WINDS AT OAKTON3179 SUMMIT SQUARE DR #2-A1 .... 1 .. 1 .. 0 ......... OAKTON ....... $186,500 .... Garden 1-4 Floors .................... 22124 ..... FOUR WINDS AT OAKTON10204 BUSHMAN DR #304 .............. 2 .. 2 .. 0 ......... OAKTON ....... $170,000 .... Garden 1-4 Floors .................... 22124 .......................... THE VISTAS

Copyright 2011 Metropolitan Regional Information Systems, Inc. Visit www.mris.com.

Home Sales In October 2011, 52 homes sold between $1,320,000-$170,000 in the Vienna and Oakton area.

Faith Notes are for announcements andevents in the faith community. Send [email protected] is Friday.

St. John’s Episcopal Church,6715 Georgetown Pike in McLean, hasannounced their Christmas WorshipServices. 703-356-4902 orwww.stjohnsmclean.org.

*Sunday, Dec. 18. 9 a.m. and 11:15a.m. A traditional service of lessons andcarols with the Choirs of St. John’sChurch accompanied by organist Dr.John C. Wulff, and the Sunrise StringQuartet with Teri Lazar and OsmanKivrak.

*Saturday, Dec. 24. 4 p.m. ChristmasEve family service of Holy Eucharist,with Christmas music beginning at 3:30p.m.

*Saturday, Dec. 24. 7 p.m. and 10p.m. A traditional service of Holy Eucha-rist including familiar carols. Musicbegins at half an hour before each ser-vice.

*Sunday, Dec. 25. 10 a.m. CelebrateChristmas with the Holy Eucharist andcarol singing.

St. Francis Episcopal Church,9220 Georgetown Pike in Great Falls,offers three Sunday services and a hostof musical, educational, outreach, andfellowship ministries to enrich spiritualgrowth. 7:45 a.m. Worship Service with-out music; 9 a.m. Worship Service,Children’s Chapel and Children’s Choirs;10 a.m. Sunday School and Adult Fo-rum; and 11 a.m. Worship Service withAdult Choir. 703-759-2082.

Epiphany United MethodistChurch, 1014 Country Club Drive N.E.

in Vienna, will hold a Christmas EveFamily Service on Saturday, Dec. 24 at5 p.m., featuring the Praze Band and aChristmas Children’s Program. On Sun-day, Dec. 25, Christmas Day worshipand communion service will be at 11a.m. [email protected] or 703-938-3494.

McLean Bible Church, 8925Leesburg Pike in Vienna, will host twofree Christmas concerts at 8 p.m. onThursday, Dec. 15 and Friday, Dec. 16.“Joy: An Irish Christmas” will featuremodern hymn writers Keith and KristynGetty, as well as artists from the McLeanBible Church staff. Doors will open at7:15 p.m. Free. There will be sign lan-guage interpretation for the Thursdayconcert. http://mcleanbible.org/christmas.

Trinity United MethodistChurch, 1205 Dolley Madison Blvd.,McLean, Sunday worship services are at8:30 and 10:30 a.m. Sunday School foradults is at 9:30 a.m. and for childrenduring the 10:30 a.m. worship service.Youth Group for grades 7-12 meets Sun-days at 6 p.m. A 20-minute service ofHoly Communion is held each Wednes-day at 12 p.m. 703-356-3312 orumtrinity.org.

The Jewish Social ServicesAgency (JSSA) offers a wide variety ofsupport groups for those with emo-tional, social, and physical challenges.www.jssa.org/growth-learning.

HAVEN of Northern Virginia of-fers a variety of free bereavementsupport groups, meeting on a weekly ba-

sis. Contact 703-941-7000 orwww.havenofnova.org for schedulesand registration information.

McLean Bible Church FitnessClass at Body & Soul Fitness. Balanceis key, energy is renewed and strengthis gained. 9:45 a.m. Mondays and Fri-days. Free childcare for registereds t u d e n t s [email protected].

Vajrayogini Buddhist Center of-fers ongoing classes on meditation andBuddhist philosophy, Mondays at 7 p.m.at Unity of Fairfax, 2854 Hunter MillRoad, Oakton. $10 per class. 202-331-2122 or www.meditation-dc.org.

Epiphany United MethodistChurch, 1014 Country Club Drive, N.E.in Vienna, will hold its ThanksgivingService on Sunday, Nov. 20 at 11 a.m.The sermon topic is “Why Me, Lord.”[email protected] or 703-938-3494.

St. Dunstan’s Episcopal Church,1830 Kirby Road in McLean. The thirdSunday service every month at 10:15a.m. allows children to play active rolesin the music and as greeters and ushers.Traditional services are every Sunday at8:15 and 10:15 a.m.

Vienna Presbyterian Church,124 Park St. in Vienna, presents the 12-week program “Passages,” for thoseexperiencing separation or divorce. TheDivorceCare series meets Tuesdays at 7p.m. Cost of materials $20, scholarshipsavailable. 703-938 9050 [email protected].

Faith Notes

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OPEN HOUSE LISTINGSWill Return after the Holidays

O COME, LET US ADORE HIM!

PROVIDENCE BAPTIST CHURCH8980 Brook Road; McLean, VA: Route 7 just 2 miles west of Tysons.

Preschool childcare available. 703-893-5330www.providencetoday.org

Saturday 12/24 6:00 PMCHRISTMAS EVE BY CANDLELIGHT

A McLean Tradition featuring carols and candles, storytelling and scripture reading.

Sunday, 12/25 10:00 AMCHRISTMAS GLORY

A majestic celebration of Christ’s birth complete with pageantry, strings, classic Christmasmusic and Communion. Afterwards we’ll share a birthday cake in honor of Christ.

Page 9: Christmas At Colvin Run Mill

Vienna/Oakton Connection ❖ December 14-20, 2011 ❖ 9www.ConnectionNewspapers.com

To have community events listed in theConnection, send to [email protected]. Deadline isFriday.

WEDNESDAY/DEC. 14Multiple Sclerosis Support Group.

7 p.m. Vienna Presbyterian Church,124 Park St., NE, Vienna, VA. Agroup for anyone with multiplesclerosis, their family and friends.Sponsored by the National CapitalChapter of the MS Society. The groupmeets the second Wednesday ofevery month. Free. 703-768-4841.

TUESDAY/DEC. 20Vienna Tysons Regional Chamber

of Commerce TIPS Luncheon.12:15 p.m. Shula’s Steakhouse, 8028Leesburg Pike, in the Tysons CornerMarriott. Every Tuesday. 703-862-4895.

Five Hills Garden Club. 10 a.m.Vienna Presbyterian Church, 124Park St., Vienna. Meets third Tuesdayof every month. 703-988-9324 [email protected].

TUESDAY/JAN. 3English, Citizenship, and

Computer Class Registration. 7p.m. St. Mark Christian FormationCenter, 9972 Vale Road, Vienna. Allstudents must be registered andtested. Classes begin Tuesday, Jan.10 and meet Tuesdays and Thursdaysat 8 p.m. A 6:30 p.m. optional BasicComputer Skills Lab and a 6:30 p.m.Citizenship Preparation Class offeredto intermediate and advancedstudents. $20 per course, cash only.Register at 703-300-3936 [email protected] for English orSpanish, 703-994-8510 for Korean.

THURSDAY/JAN. 5English, Citizenship, and

Computer Class Registration. 7p.m. St. Mark Christian FormationCenter, 9972 Vale Road, Vienna. Allstudents must be registered andtested. Classes begin Tuesday, Jan.10 and meet Tuesdays and Thursdaysat 8 p.m. A 6:30 p.m. optional BasicComputer Skills Lab and a 6:30 p.m.Citizenship Preparation Class offeredto intermediate and advancedstudents. $20 per course, cash only.Register at 703-300-3936 [email protected] for English orSpanish, 703-994-8510 for Korean.

SATURDAY/JAN. 7McLean Little League Spring

Registration. 8:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m.McLean Little League Fields, 1836Westmoreland St., McLean.www.mcleanll.com.

TUESDAY/JAN. 10Vienna Tysons Regional Chamber

of Commerce TIPS Luncheon.12:15 p.m. Shula’s Steakhouse, 8028Leesburg Pike, in the Tysons CornerMarriott. Every Tuesday. 703-862-4895.

Tysons Corner Kiwanis ClubMeeting. 7:30 p.m. at George C.Marshall High School, Room 124,7731 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church.Meeting is public and Individualslooking to volunteer in theircommunity welcome. Meetings thesecond and fourth Tuesday of themonth. www.tysonscornerkiwanis.org.

WEDNESDAY/JAN. 11Virginia Chronic Pain Support

Group Meeting. 1:30 p.m. atKaplan Center for IntegrativeMedicine, 6829 Elm St., Suite 300,McLean. Group leader, Jodi Brayton,LCSW. 703-532-4892.

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Page 10: Christmas At Colvin Run Mill

10 ❖ Vienna/Oakton Connection ❖ December 14-20, 2011 Vienna/Oakton Connection ❖ December 14-20, 2011 ❖ 11www.ConnectionNewspapers.com www.ConnectionNewspapers.com

Colonial Day atChurchill Road

On Friday, Dec. 9, ChurchillRoad fourth graders partici-pated in the school’s annualColonial Day, an immersion intothe life styles and customs of thecolonial days. Students, teach-ers and parents participated ina variety of activities that in-cluded tin punching, calligra-phy, candle-making, stenciling,quilting, soap carving, dancing,corn husk doll making andmore. Parents and studentsdressed in period garb and thor-oughly enjoyed the daylongevents. The event was organizedby CRS fourth grade teachersRachel Dunleavy, DaveIckowski, Nick Kilpatrick, ClaireMcHale, Mary Lynn Roboskyand Dave Suchoski.

At the school’s annualColonial Day, ChurchillRoad 4th graders NashLeaptrot and Katherine

Walker dance the VirginiaReel while their class-

mates await their turn.

As part of a reenactment of Colonial crafts, ChurchillRoad fourth graders Nathan Ward and Joey Park learnhow to make corn husk dolls from parent volunteerSarah Walter.

Photos by Jeff Palk

Colvin Run Mill re-turned to an earliertime in Virginia whenit hosted Santa Claus

at the mill, complementing Santa’svisit with a roaring bonfire, carol-ers from the Virginia 49th Infantryand their families, crafts for chil-dren and marshmallow roasting.

Luminaria lined the path fromthe general store to the miller’shouse where Santa Claus sat in themiller’s office, warmed by a fireblazing in a brick fireplace. A Vic-torian-decorated Christmas treewelcomed families.

Hot chocolate waited for coldhands and, inside the general store,old-fashioned gifts, including avariety of puzzles for children andadults, lined the shelves of the rus-tic shop. Teen volunteers guidedchildren’s craftmaking activitiesinside the barn. Snowflake design

and pipe cleaner candy canes werebig hits.

Families came from throughoutNorthern Virginia for the holidaycelebration at Colvin Run Mill,many saying that they come oftento events there.

“This is a nice atmosphere to seeSanta,” said Alexandria motherSarah Wrazen, in the barn withhusband David and their children,Evie, 2, and Clara, 6. “There’s craftsand carolers, people singing along.It feels like Christmas here.”

The Kile sisters, Emily, 11, andAnnika, 5, along with Santa,shared what it is that they like themost about Christmastime. ForAnnika, it’s snow and making asnowman. Emily said that what shelikes most about the season is “time

off from school.”And Santa said he likes getting a

chance to bring things to boys andgirls, to bring some joy into theworld.

COLVIN RUN MILL PARK, stillwith a working mill, celebrated its200th anniversary this year.Throughout the year, the FairfaxCounty Park Authority sponsorsprograms for all age groups, frommaple syrup boil-downs to icecream making and wood carving.On Dec. 3 and 4, Colvin Run Millhosted children’s shopping dayswhere children shopped for familymembers at the general store.

The park features a G-gauge holi-day train layout on Saturday, Dec.17, and Sunday, Dec. 18, from 11a.m. to 4 p.m. For details, call 703-759-2771. There’s no charge towatch the model trains chugthrough a replica western town.

— Donna Manz

Celebrating Christmas at Colvin Run Mill

Clara Wrazen, 6, learns how to make her own pipe cleanercandy cane as her sister Evie, 2, watches.

The Virginia49th InfantryRegiment, CSA,and theirfamilies gath-ered around abonfire to leadguests in aholiday sing-along.

Photos by

Donna Manz/

The Connection

Park hosts Santa,carolers and craftsfor children.

Community

On his 3rd tour in Iraq in 2008, Spc. Josh Schictl wasdriving a Humvee which was hit by two IED’s. He sufferedlife-threatening injuries to his face and head. Despite thequick work of medics, Spc. Schictl lost his right eye andnine teeth. Nearly all of the bones in his face were brokenbut were stabilized before transport to Walter Reed MedicalCenter. He also suffered a TBI.

Wounded warriors and their families struggle for yearsto recover physically, emotionally and financially fromthe sacrifices they make in wartime. Operation Homefrontseeks to walk with them on their journey and ease thehardships they face. The DC Metro Chapter assistedJosh and Emily with transitional housing, householdfurnishings, holiday gifts and grocery gift cards duringthese difficult times.

There are many ways you can work with the DC MetroChapter to assist local military families like Josh and Emily.

People ask us everyday how they can show their apprecia-tion and gratitude for the sacrifices made by military families.One way you can do this is to let the DC Metro Chapter fill thegap for military families as they adjust to the ‘new normal’after being deployed or wounded in combat. Send your taxdeductible donation before Dec. 31st to help us meet nextyear’s needs.

Send your donations to:Operation Homefront DC Metro

PO Box 650220Sterling, VA 20165703-421-9033301-722-2440

or visit us online to donate atwww.operationhomefront.net/dcmetro

or tag your donations withthe catchphrase “support our troops”

Page 11: Christmas At Colvin Run Mill

12 ❖ Vienna/Oakton Connection ❖ December 14-20, 2011 www.ConnectionNewspapers.com

Entertainment

There will be a Model Railroad (HO Scale) Open House and Display on Saturday, Dec. 17from 1-5 p.m. at the Historic Vienna Depot, 231 Dominion Road NE, Vienna. The layoutdepicts the Western North Carolina Railroad (now a portion of the Norfolk Southern)during the period of transition from steam to diesel. The Open House also featuresThomas the Tank Engine and some of his friends. Free, donations accepted.www.nvmr.org or 703-938-5157.

Vienna musician and songwriterNatalie York headlines an 8 p.m. con-cert performance at Jammin’ Java onDec. 15 to benefit the local non-profitFood for Others.

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Send announcements [email protected] is Thursday for the followingweek’s paper. Photos/artwork encour-aged. For additional listings, visitwww.connectionnewspapers.com

of Fairfax Regional Library, 10360North St., Fairfax. Stories, songs,fingerplays and more. Age 3-5 withadult. 703-293-6227.

Holidays Around the World. 7 p.m.Patrick Henry Library, 101 MapleAve. East, Vienna. Cody & Bjinteractive holiday music show. Allages. 703-938-0405.

FRIDAY/DEC. 16“Parfumerie.” 8 p.m. 1st Stage, 1524

Spring Hill Road, Tysons Corner.Two Budapest shop clerks bicker byday, oblivious to the fact that they’vefallen for each other exchanginganonymous love letters. Tickets $25.703-854-1856 orwww.1ststagetysons.org.

Sesame Street Live: Elmo MakesMusic. 10:30 a.m. and 7 p.m.George Mason University PatriotCenter, 4500 Patriot Circle, Fairfax.Elmo, Abby Cadabby, Big Bird andmore take to the stage to share theirlove of music. Tickets $15-$75,available at www.ticketmaster.comor703-573-SEAT.

Bill Kirchen’s Honkey TonkHoliday Show. 8 p.m. Jammin’Java, 227 Maple Ave. E., Vienna.www.jamminjava.com.

Living Nativity and ChristmasConcert. Redeemer LutheranChurch, 1545 Chain Bridge Rd,McLean. The Living Nativity is from6-8 p.m. and the Concert at 7:30p.m. Live animals in the Manger, hotchocolate and bake sale. The Concertincludes the Bell Choir, Praise Team,Traditional Choir, Youth Choir andStudent Symphonic Orchestra. 703-356-3346 or redeemermclean.org.

English Conversation Group. 10a.m. Patrick Henry Library, 101Maple Ave. East, Vienna.Conversation group for adultslearning English. 703-938-0405.

Pokemon League. 3 p.m. PatrickHenry Library, 101 Maple Ave. East,Vienna. Learn and play. Age 5-18.703-938-0405.

Friday Flicks. 10:30 a.m. Tysons-Pimmit Regional Library, 7584Leesburg Pike, Falls Church. Call fortitle. All ages. 703-790-8088.

SATURDAY/DEC. 17Model Railroad (HOScale) Open House andDisplay. 1-5 p.m. HistoricVienna Depot, 231Dominion Road NE,Vienna. The layout depictsthe Western North CarolinaRailroad (now a portion ofthe Norfolk Southern)during the period oftransition from steam todiesel. The Open Housealso features Thomas theTank Engine and some ofhis friends. Free, donationsaccepted. www.nvmr.org or703-938-5157.Sesame Street Live:Elmo Makes Music.10:30 a.m. and 2 p.m.George Mason UniversityPatriot Center, 4500 PatriotCircle, Fairfax. Elmo, AbbyCadabby, Big Bird andmore take to the stage toshare their love of music.Tickets $15-$75, availableat www.ticketmaster.comor703-573-SEAT.5th AnnualRocknoceros HolidaySingalong at 11 a.m.; 5thAnnual RocknocerosHoliday Singalong andHappy Family Hour at 7p.m. Jammin’ Java, 227Maple Ave. E., Vienna.www.jamminjava.com.Christmas in CapeBreton. 8 p.m. GeorgeMason University’s Centerfor the Arts Concert Hall,4400 University Drive,

WEDNESDAY/DEC. 14Moscow Ballet’s Great Russian

Nutcracker. 7:30 p.m. GeorgeMason University Center for the Arts,4400 University Drive, Fairfax.Tickets $28-$122, available atwww.ticketmaster.com or 703-573-SEAT.

Winter Orchestra Concert. 7 p.m.Langley High School, 6520Georgetown Pike, McLean. Acelebration of France, with music byFaure, Herold, Saint-Saens, andBizet, poetry readings and a mime.Silent auction and refreshments.Free. [email protected].

THURSDAY/DEC. 15Sesame Street Live: Elmo Makes

Music. 7 p.m. George MasonUniversity Patriot Center, 4500Patriot Circle, Fairfax. Elmo, AbbyCadabby, Big Bird and more take tothe stage to share their love of music.Tickets $15-$75, available atwww.ticketmaster.com or703-573-SEAT.

Buon Natale Featuring NatalieYork & Friends in a benefit forFood for Others. 8 p.m. Jammin’Java, 227 Maple Ave. E., Vienna.www.jamminjava.com.

One-on-One Computer Tutoring. 2p.m. Oakton Library, 10304Lynnhaven Place, Oakton. Learn thebasics of the Internet, Word andExcel. Call for an appointment.Adults. 703-242-4020.

Book Discussion. 7 p.m. OaktonLibrary, 10304 Lynnhaven Place,Oakton. Where I’m Calling From byRaymond Carver. Adults. 703-242-4020.

E-book /E-Reader Instruction. 7:30p.m. Oakton Library, 10304Lynnhaven Place, Oakton. Learnabout library eBooks and how toaccess them with your compatibledevice. Call for an appointment.Adults. 703-242-4020.

Preschool Storytime. 10:30 a.m. City

Fairfax. Cape Breton fiddler NatalieMacMaster performs traditional andcontemporary Celtic melodies andChristmas carols. $25-$50.www.gmu.edu.

“Parfumerie.” 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. 1stStage, 1524 Spring Hill Road, TysonsCorner. Two Budapest shop clerksbicker by day, oblivious to the factthat they’ve fallen for each otherexchanging anonymous love letters.Tickets $25. 703-854-1856 orwww.1ststagetysons.org.

Candlelight Tour: Civil WarChristmas. 4:45-7 p.m. SullyHistoric Site, 3650 Historic SullyWay, Chantilly. Hear 19th centuryfiddling by Michael McDonnell.Witness Confederate officers diningat Sully as JEB Stuart’s cavalry did inDecember 1862. See what goes intothe Christmas box being packed forsoldiers in the field. Ladies maketheir own holiday decorations. Watchmembers of the 28th VirginiaInfantry cook Christmas dinner in theyard. Tour the 1794 home in theglow of natural candlelight, hearseasonal music, make holidayornaments, and sample sugarcookies. $10 adults, $7 seniors andchildren. Reserve at 703-437-1794 orwww.fairfaxcounty.gov/parks/sully/calendar.htm.

Northern Virginia CountryWestern Dance Association.Luther Jackson Middle School, 3020Gallows Rd., Falls Church. Attendeesare encouraged to bring new,unwrapped toys for the MarineCorps’ Toys for Tots campaign. Theline dance lesson at 7:30 p.m.,couples specialty dance lesson at 8p.m. Open dancing 8:30-11 p.m.Couples and singles welcome.Admission $5-$12. www.nvcwda.orgor 703-860-4941.

Book Talk: Your Emotional Type. 1p.m. Books-A-Million, 1457 ChainBridge Road, McLean. AuthorMichael Jawer on emotional typesand susceptibility to chronic illnessesAssessment survey provided. [email protected].

Movie Day at the Library. 1 p.m.Tysons-Pimmit Regional Library,7584 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church.Call for title. Adults. 703-790-8088.

Holiday Pancake Breakfast. 8 a.m.-12 p.m. Vienna Volunteer FireDepartment, 400 Center St. South,Vienna. All you can eat pancakes,bacon, sausage, eggs, and more.Santa will make an appearance at 11

a.m. $8 adults, $7 seniors, $6 age 5-12, free age 4 and under.www.vvfd.org.

Piano Recital. 1 p.m. Steinway Hall,Tysons Corner Center, McLena. Withstudents of the Elite Piano Academy.202-674-0499.

SUNDAY/DEC. 18Yosi and the Superdads Rockin’

Hanukkah Concert. 3 p.m.McLean Community Center, 1234Ingleside Ave., McLean. $10-$15.www.mcleancenter.org.

Sesame Street Live: Elmo MakesMusic. 1 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. GeorgeMason University Patriot Center,4500 Patriot Circle, Fairfax. Elmo,Abby Cadabby, Big Bird and moretake to the stage to share their loveof music. Tickets $15-$75, availableat www.ticketmaster.com or703-573-SEAT.

Mariachi Los Camperos de NatiCano: Fiesta Navidad. 4 p.m.George Mason University’s Center forthe Arts Concert Hall, 4400University Drive, Fairfax. FiestaNavidad mixes traditional Mexicanand American holiday songs withdancing, authentic, costumes and anaudience sing-along. $23-$46.www.gmu.edu.

“Parfumerie.” 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. 1stStage, 1524 Spring Hill Road, TysonsCorner. Two Budapest shop clerksbicker by day, oblivious to the factthat they’ve fallen for each otherexchanging anonymous love letters.Tickets $25. 703-854-1856 orwww.1ststagetysons.org.

Candlelight Tour: World War II,Christmas on the Homefront.4:45-7 p.m. Sully Historic Site, 3650Historic Sully Way, Chantilly. The51st Engineers Battalion set up campin front of the house. Listen toholiday radio broadcasts of FranklinRoosevelt and Winston Churchill.See how Fairfax families celebrateda homemade Christmas and helpedthe troops, and how Christmasdinner was enjoyed in spite ofrationing. Enjoy cider and cookies,have their photos taken on anantique sleigh. Tour the 1794 homein the glow of natural candlelight,hear seasonal music, make holidayornaments, and sample sugarcookies. $10 adults, $7 seniors andchildren. Reserve at 703-437-1794 orwww.fairfaxcounty.gov/parks/sully/calendar.htm.

MONDAY/DEC. 19English Conversation. 10:30 a.m.

Oakton Library, 10304 LynnhavenPlace, Oakton. English practice fornon-native speakers. Adults. 703-242-4020.

V.I.P. Vienna. 10 a.m. Patrick HenryLibrary, 101 Maple Ave. East, Vienna.Support group for visually impairedadults. With Patrick Timony,adaptive technology specialist andLeslie Bobbitt, IT specialist onaccessibility features of the iPhoneand iPad. 703-938-0405.

Game On Afternoon Edition. 3:30p.m. Patrick Henry Library, 101Maple Ave. East, Vienna. Wii MarioKart or Wii Super Smashbros. BrawlTournament. Age 6-16. 703-938-0405.

TUESDAY/DEC. 20Sounds of the Season Winter

Concert. 7:30 p.m. Langley HighSchool Auditorium, 6520Georgetown Pike, McLean. The LHSMadrigals will perform Renaissanceholiday music in elaborate periodcostumes. In addition, all of the LHSchoirs will perform selections. Freeadmission. [email protected] or703-283-1697.

One-on-One Computer Tutoring. 3p.m. Oakton Library, 10304Lynnhaven Place, Oakton. Learn thebasics of the Internet, Word andExcel. Call for an appointment.Adults. 703-242-4020.

English Conversation Group. 7 p.m.City of Fairfax Regional Library,10360 North St., Fairfax.Conversation group for adultslearning English. 703-293-6227.

Mystery Book Discussion. 6:30 p.m.Tysons-Pimmit Regional Library,7584 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church.Call for title. Adults. 703-790-8088.

Practice Your English. 6:30 p.m.Tysons-Pimmit Regional Library,7584 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church.Conversation group for adultslearning English. 703-790-8088.

WEDNESDAY/DEC. 21Student Volunteer Training

Session. 7 p.m. City of FairfaxRegional Library, 10360 North St.,Fairfax. Students receive trainingfrom library staff and sign up forvolunteer hours. Age 12-15. 703-293-6227.

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Vienna/Oakton Connection ❖ December 14-20, 2011 ❖ 13www.ConnectionNewspapers.com

Holiday Recital atChesterbrook ResidencesOn Saturday, Dec. 3, Aaron Grossman (Cooper MiddleSchool), Matthew Gregory (Longfellow Middle School),Aaliyah Booker (McLean High School), and Julia Kushan(Saint John Academy) performed their semi-annualconcert at Chesterbrook Residences, an assisted livingcommunity in McLean, with a full house ready to enjoy a“Piano and Violin Holiday Recital.”

The Marshall High School DECAchapter is sponsoring the Treats forTreatment project during the weekof Dec. 12-16 to collect and funditems for pediatric patients atInova Fairfax Hospital for Children.

Led by DECA members LukeDziedzic, Rachel Killmeyer, andLauryn Johnson, the Treats forTreatment project will be collect-ing wish list items — includingmarkers, playing cards, bubbles,and play dough — to make achild’s visit at the hospital morecomfortable. Items from theINOVA Fairfax Hospital for Chil-dren wish list can be found athttp://www.inova.org/upload/docs/Foundation/IFHC/Wish-List-Change-a-Life-2010x6081.pdf.

DECA has planned a number ofactivities throughout the week tobenefit the hospital. Donationswill be collected throughout theschool and at the varsity basket-ball game on Tuesday, Dec. 13,against Fairfax High School. Stu-dents can make cash donations tothe wish list fund in the cafeteria

and will be recognized by havingtheir name placed on a Treats forTreatment bandage on the cafete-ria wall. At 9 a.m. on Tuesday, Dec.13, Leigh Bauman, developmentofficer with Inova Health SystemFoundation, was scheduled to talkabout how the project will helpyoung patients at the hospital. OnThursday, Dec. 15, from 5 to 9p.m., Jason’s Deli in McLean willdonate 10 percent of its dine-insales to fund purchases from thewish list.

DECA is also holding a silentauction featuring restaurant giftcards, autographed Redskinsmemorabilia, and WashingtonCapitals tickets. Bids can be madein the school office, at Tuesday’sbasketball game, or during thefundraiser at Jason’s Deli on Dec.15. All proceeds will fund pur-chases from the wish list. DECAmembers will also host a numberof student-centered events duringthe week, including Shoot theShot, Find the Band-Aid, and Rockthe Doc.

Marshall’s DECA Makes WishesCome True

By Alex McVeigh

The Connection

Arita Matini knows aboutthe restaurant business.Her mother Sherry has

been in the business for 20years, and growing up Arita andher brother Andre were alwaysbehind the counter. AritaMatini, McLean native andgraduate of Langley HighSchool, went to college to studyInterior Design, but couldn’t es-cape for long.

“I convinced my mom aftercollege that we should team upagain, that food was the way togo,” she said. “I knew what hadto be done to make it work, andI know the area, the communityand I’m comfortable with it.”

Arita opened the firstSweetleaf in McLean more thantwo years ago, while she wasstill a senior in college. Shemodeled it after her mother’sSweet Stuff shop, but with afew alterations.

“It’s sort of the same concept,but we gave it a new face. Weadded more salads and somenewer concepts, everything ismade in front of you,” she said.“We wanted to combine the feelof a café with a sandwich shopand more, and make it sort of aone stop shop. Sometimes acouple comes in and one wantsa salad, the other a more sub-stantial sandwich, and we canmeet both of those needs.”

Using her background in In-terior Design, Arita Matini de-signed the McLean location and

Matini said this is to attract asmany different members of thecommunity as possible.

“Whether it’s regulars orpeople just passing through, thebest part about this job is inter-acting and meeting with newpeople,” she said. “I think we’reable to fill a nice niche, to givesomeone anything they couldwant.”

The Vienna location is at 262Maple Avenue E and theMcLean Sweetleaf is at 1359Chain Bridge Road. More infor-mation is available atwww.eatsweetleaf.com.

Matinis Finding Success is SweetFamily run Sweetleaf is finding place in community.

Arita Matini, a McLeannative, started Sweetleafmore than two years ago,while still a senior incollege. Matini, who runsthe business with hermother and brother,opened up her secondlocation in Vienna a fewmonths ago.

The ingredients for Sweetleaf’s potato and leek soup are on display for all to see.

the new Vienna location, withbright green walls and a relaxedatmosphere.

THE RESTAURANTS are runwith freshness at the top of thepriority list. The McLean locationfeatures a garden that is the sourceof many of their vegetables.

“Hopefully we can help peopleget away from that fast-food sortof lifestyle and provide peoplewith something fresh and healthyto eat,” Arita Matini said.

Arita currently runs the Viennalocation, while Sherry runs theMcLean one. One of Sherry’s big-gest contributions to the store isher soups, which she makes freshdaily using the minimum amountof ingredients.

“I love the soup, and I’ve foundit’s practically a staple when itstarts to get cold,” said Lisa Wallof McLean. “It really tastes likesomething you’d find in yourfamily’s kitchen, not somethingyou’re buying at a restaurant.”

John West, a childhood friend ofAnita Matini’s, says he is im-pressed with her drive and vision.

“It’s been interesting to watchher as an entrepreneur create anenterprise like this, that’s so fo-cused on the community and its’families,” he said. “There’s a lineout the door every month. In thisbad economy, they were confidentit would work, but so far, it has.”

IN ADDITION to a full menu oftoasted sandwiches and soups,Sweetleaf features milkshakes, icecream and frozen yogurt, as wellas a full children‘s menu. Arita

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Allison Pepper of Vienna has beennamed to the spring 2011 dean’s listVillanova University College of LiberalArts and Sciences, Villanova, Pa.

Shilpa Darivemula of Vienna hasbeen named to the spring 2011 dean’slist at Union College of Schenectady,N.Y. The James Madison High Schoolgraduate is majoring in leadership inmedicine.

Marine Corps 1st Lt. P. Heg ofVienna has graduated from the CombatEngineer Officer Course at Marine Corps

Engineer School, Marine Corps Base,Camp Lejeune, N. C. Heg studied opera-tional and planning skills in engineeringrelated subjects pertaining to mobility,survivability, and general engineering.The 2000 graduate of Oakton HighSchool joined the Marine Corps in July2001.

Kerry Jordan Aldrich of Viennahas been named to the spring 2011dean’s list at Washington UniversitySchool of Engineering and Applied Sci-ence in St. Louis.

School Notes

Send school notes to [email protected]. Deadline is Friday.

Page 13: Christmas At Colvin Run Mill

14 ❖ Vienna/Oakton Connection ❖ December 14-20, 2011 www.ConnectionNewspapers.com

By Marilyn Campbell

The Connection

Each year, parents who opt out oftheir neighborhood public schoolin favor of an independent schoolmust sift through the long list of

the Washington area’s independent schoolsto find one that meets the needs of theirchild.

They must then navigate the lengthy ap-plication required by most schools, andhope that their efforts are deft enough togain acceptance in a competitive environ-ment. Some schools report receiving asmany as nine applications for each avail-able slot.

Even for prospective pre-kindergarten stu-dents, the independent school admissionsprocess often includes a written application,admissions tests, parent statements, studentinterviews, parent interviews, playdates,school visits, transcripts and teacher recom-mendations.

“What we’re trying to do is get a wholepicture of a child and look at informationfrom a variety of different sources,” saidChristina Tait, director of admission and fi-nancial aid at The Langley School inMcLean.

THE APPLICATION PACKETS provideinsight for both the school and the appli-cants. “We have a fairly detailed process sothat we get to know the girls and they getto know us,” said Pilar Cabeza de Vaca, headof the Madeira School in McLean. “Our goalis to find girls who are the right fit for ourschool and for whom our school is the rightfit.”

The role of each component of the appli-cation varies depending on the age of theapplicant. “The admission [process] foryoung children is especially com-plex and difficult because we haveto use both explicit and intuitivemeasures because we have lessdata,” said Diane Dunning, direc-tor of admission and financial aidat St. Stephen’s & St. AgnesSchool in Alexandria. “If you werelooking at a ninth grade [admis-sions] folder, you would haveeight years of report cards andmaybe four years of standardizedtesting. You are also able to inter-view [older applicants] in a dif-ferent way than when you are in-teracting with the young chil-dren.”

Why is so much probing neces-sary?

“Schools are looking for consis-

tency in grades, attitude, testing and rec-ommendations,” said Lindsay White,educational consultant with the SchoolCounseling Group in Washington, D.C.“[For example] If there is a huge differ-ence between a [teacher] recommenda-tion and what they are seeing on thegrades, that is going to be a red flag.”

Most schools want prospective applicantsto spend time on campus. “The [school] visitis important to us. It gives the boy and hisfamily a chance to experience the Heightsfirst hand,” said Richard Moss, director ofadmission at the Heights School in Potomac,Md. “On the flip side, it gives us a chanceto really get to know the boy. How is heinteracting with his peers? Is he friendly?Is he courteous? Does he have a good, firmhandshake? Does he look the teachers inthe eye when he greets them in the morn-ing?”

Most applications ask parents to answerquestions describing their children. Here aretwo questions from the Langley School’sapplication: What do you believe is yourrole as a parent in your child’s education?What qualities do you consider to be most

important for your child’s education?Consultants say schools look at the way

parents answer questions. “There are a lotof parents who regurgitate the school’s mis-sion statement and all the language that isused on the school’s website. Schools cansee right through that,” said educationalconsultant Clare Anderson, of Chevy Chase,Md. “They want to know that the family isin line with how [the school] works withstudents and [their] approach to educa-tion.”

Schools also pay attention to a parent’sevaluation of their child. “Red flags go upwhen everything is just perfect and they’venever encountered a setback or difficulty,”said Anderson. “[Schools] are looking forhonest, candid responses. Obviously parentsare going to frame it in a positive light, asthey should.”

Most schools require admissionstests. Depending on the age andgrade of the child, these tests in-clude the Wechsler Preschool andPrimary Scale of Intelligence(WPPSI-III), Wechsler IntelligenceScale for Children (WISC) and theSecondary School Admission Testfor (SSAT).

“Testing often creates the mostanxiety,” said Dunning, of St.Stephen’s & St. Agnes.

THE TESTS are used differentlydepending on the age of the ap-plicant. “Tests for [young chil-dren] are used as standardizedtools to give an overall picture ofa child’s learning profile. Theseare not predictors for academic

success. They give broad overviews of howa child learns,” said Anderson. Tests givento middle and high school applicants aremore meaningful. “Those tests measurehow well your child has done with the in-formation he or she has learned in school.If they see an eighth grader who has onlyaverage grades, but remarkable SSATs, theyare going to ask, ‘Is this an underachiever?Why is this child not excelling in the class-room?’ ”

Should children prepare for tests? Whenit comes to young children, most consult-ants say no. “It is unethical and makes yourtest scores invalid,” said Anderson. “You aregoing to shoot yourself in the foot [if youprep your young child]. Your child will bethe first to announce it either in the tester’soffice or at the school on the playdate. Thenthe scores are invalid.”

The scenario is different for those apply-ing for slots in middle and upper school.“I’ve had students who’ve taken [admissionstests] without prep, and then I worked withthem and their scores [went] up consider-ably,” said Christa Abbott, an Arlington-based independent test prep tutor.

Anderson agrees. “Just like you preheatyour oven, you’ve got to get your child readyfor the test. Just knowing the format of thetest can really help,” said Anderson. “But Icaution parents about [taking expensive testprep classes]. There has to be a primaryconcern that something is going to get inthe way of your child being able to showwhat he or she knows.”

Some parents hire educational consult-ants like White or Anderson, hoping to geta competitive advantage. Consultants saytheir role is to guide families through theprocess. “The number one mistake that Ithink parents make is thinking that hiringan educational consultant is going to givethem an advantage at a very competitiveschool,” said Mark Sklarow, executive di-rector of the Independent Educational Con-sultants Association in Fairfax. “That is justnot the way the system works. Consultantsdon’t have a secret handshake that they canuse with an admissions director to help geta student in. The reason you hire an educa-tional consultant is to find a good fit be-tween a student’s needs and a school’sstrengths. A consultant’s role is to [iden-tify] a school where a child is going tothrive.”

So what can parents do to make sure theirchild’s application shines in a pool overflow-ing with many attractive applicants?

“It is always nice to think about what isspecial about your child,” said White. “Whatis the one special strength or talent yourchild might have, whether it be academicsor an extracurricular interest? What is thepotential for your child to contribute to theschool?”

Anderson says she encourages parents toview admissions procedures as multi-pronged. “My hope is to help parents un-derstand the process and see that there re-ally is a method and [schools] are lookingto get the best from your child.”

Getting into ‘Right Fit’ Private SchoolExperts explain how tonavigate admissionsprocess for area’s mostelite schools.

The Madeira volleyball teamrecently won the IndependentStudent League title.

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“Our goal is to find girlswho are the right fit for ourschool and for whom ourschool is the right fit.”

— Pilar Cabeza de Vaca, head of theMadeira School in McLean

St. Stephen’s & St. Agnes Upper School studentsIsabella Norton, Leah Joseph, and Ulises Giacomanwith Upper School Science Teacher Julie Krane.

Page 14: Christmas At Colvin Run Mill

Vienna/Oakton Connection ❖ December 14-20, 2011 ❖ 15www.ConnectionNewspapers.com

Christ the KingLutheran Church

Rev. John [email protected]

Nursery availableat all services

Connecting the World with God’s Grace

10550 Georgetown Pike Great Falls, VA 22066Office: 703.759.6068www.gflutheran.org

CHRISTMAS EVE SERVICESChildren’s Service at 5:00 P.M.

Candlelight Services at 7:00 P.M. and 11:00 PM

ADVENT MID-WEEK SERVICESJoin us during Advent on Wednesdays (Nov 30,

Dec 7, 14, 21) at noon and 7:30 pm Advent worship.

Visit These Houses of Worship

Assembly of GodVienna Assembly of God ... 703-938-7736

Washington Christian Church...703-938-7720Cristo Es Mi Refugio...703-938-7727

Baha’iBaha’i Faith for Northern Virginia ... 703-821-3345

BaptistGlobal Mission Church ... 703-757-0877Peace Baptist Church ... 703-560-8462

Bethel Primitive Baptist Church... 703-757-8134

Cartersville Baptist Church ... 703-255-7075Fellowship Baptist Church ... 703-385-8516

First Baptist Church ... 703-938-8525The Light Mission Church ... 703-757-0877

Vienna Baptist Church ... 703-281-4400New Union Baptist Church... 703-281-2556

BuddhistVajrayogini Buddhist Center... 202-331-2122

Church of the BrethernOakton Church of the Brethern

... 703-281-4411Catholic

Our Lady of Good Counsel ... 703-938-2828St. Athanasius Catholic Church ... 703-759-4555

St. Mark’s Catholic Church ... 703-281-9100

FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH OF VIENNA

450 ORCHARD STREETVIENNA, VA

[email protected]

www.fbcv.org

Dr. KENNY SMITH,PASTOR

SUNDAY WORSHIP, 7:45 AM & 11:00 AMMIDWEEK SERVICES, WED. 7:00 PM

11321 Beach Mill RoadGreat Falls, VA 20165

It’s like coming home

Rev. D. J. Zuchelli, Pastor

[email protected]

SMITH CHAPEL UM CHURCH

WORSHIP HOURS SUNDAY: 11:00 AM

b

7:45 a.m. Holy Eucharist, Rite I9:00 a.m. Holy Eucharist, Rite II

Sunday school/Music: preschool - grade 210:25 a.m. Sunday school/Music: grades 3 - 1211:15 a.m. Holy Eucharist, Rite II5:00 p.m. Come Just as You Are Contemporary Service

Nursery care provided at 9:00 and 11:15 services

The Rev. James Papile, RectorThe Rev. Jacqueline Thomson

The Rev. Denise Trogdon703-437-6530

www.stannes-reston.org1700 Wainwright Dr., Reston

ST. ANNE’SEPISCOPALCHURCH • Reston

Progressive & Welcoming

1133 Reston Avenue, Herndon, VA 20170Worship: Sunday, 8:00 A.M. and 11:00 A.M.

Sunday School: 9:30 A.M.Rev. Dr. William H. Flammann, Pastor

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To Highlight Your Faith Community call Karen at 703- 917-6468

From Page 3

News

ing for locally-administered, but requiredprograms in the 2012-14 budget. The Gov-ernor is going to have to balance the bud-get. Think about what he might do,”Regimbal said.

County Executive Anthony Griffin saidFairfax County’s budgetary shortfall is ex-pected to be about $114 million in FiscalYear 2013, and the county is taking severalsteps — including looking at fee increasesand analyzing agency cuts of up to 5 per-cent — to bridge the financial gap.

“Quite frankly, we’re running out of placesto make reductions. This is a struggle now,and it’s going to continue to be a strugglefor my successor,” Griffin said, alluding tohis retirement in April 2012.

Griffin said there was some good news.Job growth in Northern Virginia has con-tinued to grow each month since April 2010,and Fairfax County’s unemployment rateremains stable at 4.6 percent (which isabout 28,000 unemployed residents), com-pared to 6.4 percent across the state and 9percent in the nation.

ALTHOUGH GOVERNOR RobertMcDonnell (R) has not yet proposed spe-cific road devolution legislation, House Re-publicans have been looking at ways to shiftspiraling road-maintenance responsibilities

back to localities for several years.Fairfax County leaders have been un-

equivocal in their opposition to any pros-pect of road devolution, saying it’s tanta-mount to an unfunded mandate that wouldforce the County to increase property taxes.

“It’s a major concern for anyone who caresabout transportation, but frankly anyonewho cares about anything else localitieshave to keep up because all those elementswould be affected,” said McKay. “My great-est fear is that [with road devolution] wewould be pitting roads against schools andpublic safety.”

Tom Biesiadny, director of FairfaxCounty’s Department of Transportation,estimated that Fairfax County would haveto make a one-time investment of up to$208 million to take local control of localroads, which would mean a property taxincrease of about $479 for the averagehousehold.

He said that localities that maintain theirown roads typically spend about 25 percentmore than what the state allocates. For ex-ample, he noted that in Fiscal Year 2010,Arlington spent $18 million, while the statespent $15 million.

“Counties in Northern Virginia alreadyspend millions of dollars a year to mitigatethe effects of state underfunding of roadconstruction, which has created some of theworst traffic in the nation,” Biesiadny said.

Bulova added that if counties are requiredto maintain their secondary roads, the re-sulting disparity in road conditions will af-fect Virginia’s ability to attract business.

During the roundtable discussion, Del.Mark Sickles (D-43) agreed the county’sroads are in terrible shape.

“At some point we have to act,” he said,suggesting a referendum asking voters todecide whether to increase certain taxes,similar to a 2002 failed referendum on thesales tax, in order to pay for transportationcosts.

State Sen. Richard Saslaw (D-35) told theelected officials not to “punt the damn ball.”

“I can tell you this: It ain’t gonna happenwith my vote … I will not ever, ever, ever, ifI have anything to say about it, allow taxesto be put to a referendum. That’s what thevoters elected you to do. If they don’t likewhat you did, they will show you the doorthe next election. We have no business put-ting revenue-raising measures to a referen-dum. Plain and simple.”

Supervisor John Cook (R-Braddock) saidhe thought road devolution was viable ifdone correctly.

“It’s not going to be pain-free, but thereare ways to do it,” Cook said. “If we’re goingto have the responsibility, we ought to ownthe streets. And if we’re going to own them… we ought to have the mechanisms to raisethe money we need to raise,” Cook said.

“Would you be supportive of raising taxesto do it?” Bulova asked. Cook did not re-spond.

ON THURSDAY, DEC. 8, the Governoroutlined his transportation policy and fund-ing plans for the upcoming 2012 GeneralAssembly session. Speaking to more than700 industry and transportation agencyprofessionals during the 2011 Governor’sTransportation Conference in Norfolk,McDonnell called for changes in laws gov-erning the allocation of future surpluses totransportation, dedicating portions of rev-enue growth attributable to transportationinfrastructure projects to transportation andincreasing the portion of sales tax dedicatedto transportation.

Several legislators, including state Sena-tors Chap Petersen (D-34), Dave Marsden(D-37), Janet Howell (D-32) and Del. KenPlum said they will hold GovernorMcDonnell to his promise of a dedicatedsource of revenue for a transportation bondpackage passed last session.

“There’s a fundamental disconnect,”Marsden said. “Any transportation solutionis not acceptable if it doesn’t come withmoney … What we were promised was afunding stream and not the transfer of re-sponsibility to localities. I think we need tolet the governor know this is not accept-able.”

County Sends ‘Hands Off’ Message to General Assembly

Page 15: Christmas At Colvin Run Mill

16 ❖ Vienna/Oakton Connection ❖ December 14-20, 2011 www.ConnectionNewspapers.com

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How does one not become consumed withsomething that is all-consuming? Moreover,how does that same one take certain informa-tion in stride that potentially is anything butstride-worthy? And if one were not to be all-consumed by the information that, disturbingas it was, was in fact taken in stride, how doesthat one not feel guilty and/or responsibleabout neglecting to act – if there was evenanything to be done about the unsettling newsthat may have spawned this initial paragraph?

I don’t. I can’t. I won’t. Somehow.Not that I received any news of late that

was particularly jarring or life-abbreviating but,as a terminal patient, so far as I know (andhow far do I really know, since I’ve never beena terminal patient before), information that isnot positive is negative (almost by definition)and the fine line of life upon which I straddleevery minute of every day becomes that muchmore difficult to sustain, especially if the nega-tive begins to overtake the positive. I haveequated the sensation to taking the first fewcurious steps across a newly frozen pond – inwinter, each step more precarious than thelast, waiting for the cracking – or not, and theassociated fear. You want to go forward, butnot at your own peril. Yet going backwardseems equally ill-advised. I mean, you’ve beenthere and done that. Backwards represents thepast. Forward represents the future. Personally,I don’t want to live in the past. I want to live inthe present/future. Receiving results whichprevent you from going forward – which maystop you in your tracks, are not so much safeas they are insecure. For me, it’s all aboutmomentum. I don’t want to lose what progressI’ve gained, nor do I want to retrace my steps.However, survival may be about knowingwhen to redirect those energies/treatment, torest and/or retreat (to fight another day) and towork with your body, not against it.

But who knows? For a terminal patient,changes in anything are disproportionately sig-nificant. It could mean anything. It couldmean nothing. Objectivity disappears the dayyour oncologist tells you have an incurabledisease. Accordingly, it’s extremely difficult toshrug off any abnormal medical findings. Howdo I not think that the beginning of the endstarts at the end of the beginning? The point atwhich my body begins to weaken and revealindicators that reflect a body in distress andone whose underlying diagnosis is starting toassert itself and break down all the barriersthat have been constructed (metaphoricallyspeaking) over the previous 34 months?

In summary, how do I interpret change? Forthe better? The worse? Meaningful?Meaningless? As a cancer patient who hasnow outlived his original prognosis (“13months to two years”) by a rather significantamount of time, how do I remain objectiveabout lab work, urine specimens, diagnosticscans, etc.? I can’t. However, worrying aboutany or all of it likely produces no real tangiblebenefit either, whereas not worrying about it,not stressing about it might, anecdotally speak-ing, anyway. Unfortunately, worrying andstressing are not simply emotions I can switchoff, especially when you’re consumed by a ter-minal disease, whether figuratively or worse,literally.

Diagnosis to date, my cancer-related prob-lems have been figurative, mostly. Neverthe-less, it’s difficult to not react negatively whenresults are changing right before your eyes, lit-erally. Yet somehow, I have to. If I don’t, I’lllikely make matters worse. And given myunderlying stage IV lung-cancer diagnosis, Iprobably don’t need to go out of my way tocause any more trouble. It’s already found me.

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

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Page 16: Christmas At Colvin Run Mill

Vienna/Oakton Connection ❖ December 14-20, 2011 ❖ 17www.ConnectionNewspapers.com

Sports Roundups

Flint Hill School footballplayer Hunter Windmuller, asenior punter and kicker for theHuskies this past fall season, hasverbally committed to be a pre-ferred walk-on player at VirginiaTech next school year. This season,as a senior, Windmuller averaged47.1 yards per punt and was a su-perb kickoff specialist. He was alsorecruited by the University of Vir-ginia, the University of Pennsylva-nia, Cornell University, and TheCollege of William & Mary.

Both the Flint Hill boys andgirls swim teams won theirmeets against Bullis this past weekby scores of 116-26 and 102-49,respectively. Double event winnersfor Flint Hill included: Rob Ikeda,Rachel Swarts, Natalie Brendsel,and Brian DeMocker. Single eventwinners included Eric Tang, ZachThornburg, Jonah Chang,Catherine Swarts, Drew Johnson,and Allison Kennedy. Earlier in theweek, the girls lost to Madeira121-58. Rachel Swarts won bothher events.

Alex Long, a senior pointguard for the Flint Hill Schoolgirls’ basketball team, has enjoyeda great high school playing schoolcareer with the Huskies. Since herfreshmen season, Long has beenone of coach Jody Patrick’s topplayers.

“From her first practice on theHill in 2008 to our current season,

Robert E. Lee, and West Spring-field. Madison’s Evelyn Nee wasfirst place in All Around with a36.425 score.

Alisa Harrison of Vienna isthe leading scorer for theRensselaer Polytechnic Institute(RPI) women’s ice hockey team.RPI, located in Troy, N.Y., is a pri-vate research university. Through20 games, Harrison has a team-

Alex has led the way with a stellarwork ethic and attention to detailboth on and off the court,” saidPatrick. “She has helped her team-mates become better players aswell, which is the sign of a trueleader.”

With a 15-foot jump shot in aFlint Hill game last week, Longbecame just the second Huskiesgirls’ basketball player to everreach the 1,000-point career scor-ing mark.

Long, who has been a big factorin Flint Hill’s strong 4-0 start this

season, has signed a collegiatescholarship to play the sport atDavidson College (N.C.) nextschool year.

The Madison High girls’gymnastics team, in a meethosted by Robinson Secondary onNov. 30, finished third place over-all with 111.525 points. The com-peting teams were the Warhawks,host Rams, Hayfield, Oakton,

best seven goals with seven assistsfor 14 points. An ECAC HockeyPlayer of the Week selection oncethis season, the former Washing-ton Pride standout has tallied ashort-handed goal and has a team-leading two game-winning goals.

Rensselaer (4-12-4) is idle overthe holiday break, but returns tothe ice on Jan. 6 and 7 when ithosts Colgate and Cornell, respec-tively, at the Houston Field House.

Sports

Three VYI Football Teams Capture National TitlesFive Vienna teams inall reach title gamesin Daytona Beach.

Following last year’s success inwhich two Vienna Youth Incorpo-rated (VYI) football teams — the75-pound Steelers and the 125-

pound Steelers — won national champion-ships, five VYI teams gained invitations tothis year’s nationals tournament.

Vienna Youth Coach of the Year nomineeWilly Pickett’s 75-pound Cavaliers, ToddCasey’s 85 Steelers, longtime coach RickyLipscomb’s 110 Steelers, two-time nationalchampion Casey Samson’s 125 Steelers, andVienna Youth Coach of the Year nomineeRandy McCargo’s 150 Raiders each com-peted at this year’s national championships,held in Daytona Beach, Fla.

Vienna families took Daytona by stormand turned it into their own with beachcookouts and great football. Vienna YouthIncorporated had all five teams make it tothe National Championship finals with three

winners and two runners up.The 75 American Cavaliers ran the table

this season with a perfect 9-0 record and,earlier this postseason, won the FairfaxCounty Championship. In their first gameof the national tournament in Daytona Beachthe Cavaliers overpowered Groveport, Ohio,40-0. Playing Nashville BBB in the champi-onship game the Cavalier’s offensive linetook over early, blowing open holes that en-abled touchdown runs by John Finney (2),Caleb Williams and Riley Fitzsimmons inVienna’s 32-0 title game victory. The offen-sive line was anchored by center ColinGardner with a supporting cast of BowmanRaskin, Jake Calhoun, Thomas MacCall,Riley Fitzsimmons, Max Wysocki and MaxCowman.

The 85 American Vienna Steelers de-fended their 2010 national championshipwith a successful tournament this year. Theirfirst game was a match up against the ath-letic and physically larger Blue Island Un-touchables of Metropolitan Chicago. TheSteelers started out the game in a big waywith a 55-yard touchdown on the first play

from scrimmage. From then on they con-trolled both sides of the ball in a 32-0 victory.

The championship game pitted Viennaagainst a Mason Comets (Cincinnati, Ohio)team that had gone 44-0 combined overrecent seasons. A recovery of the openingkickoff sparked the Steelers early. Offen-sively, the line was dominant as the run-ning game consistently ripped off largegains. Defensively, the Comet passing at-tack was frustrated by Vienna’s disciplineand quickness. The Steelers interceptedtwo passes and had one return of 85 yards.The final Score: Vienna Steelers 24, Ma-son Comets 0.

The 110 American Vienna Steelers madetheir first appearance at nationals this year,going up against two undefeated teams with acombined record the past few years of 76-0.

The Steelers’ first game was a match upagainst the athletic and previously unbeat-able metropolitan champion Bartlett Hawksfrom Chicago — a team which went 54-0over the past three years. From the begin-ning the Steelers controlled both lines ofscrimmage behind the strong play of PatDavis, Paul Plawin, Thomas Gates, Charles

Urbanek, Miles Collins, Paul Gerdon, NoahClemente and Nate Leas. Vienna scored 30points in the first half without a single passplay while giving up no first downs. In theend the Steelers had six different playersscore (including Joe Zucarr, Kullen Kritsky,John Tucker, Thomas Gates and Nate Will-iams) and beat the Chicago metro bowlchampions 42-0.

The championship game pitted Viennaagainst the Miami, Fla. metro bowl cham-pions who were 22-0 going into the game.Vienna went out in front early with a bal-anced attack led by quarterback JasonGastrock and strong running by Joe Zucarr,John Tucker, and Nate Williams. At halftimethe score was 16-6 Vienna with touchdownsby Paul Gerdon and Nate Williams. In thesecond half the Miami team scored early,bringing the score to 16-12, before Viennareturned to its domineering play behind thestrong running and scoring of Mike Grimes,the outstanding kicking of Kyle (Money)Fredrick, and the hard defensive hitting byNate Williams, Patrick Davis, Kullen Kritsky,Joe Zucarr and Paul Gerdon. In the end,Vienna won the game 24-12.

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Flint Hill School’s HunterWindmuller gets a punt offduring a Huskies’ homefootball game this past fallseason versus BishopIreton.

The Vienna Youth Soccer (VYS) Ninjas, an under-13 girls’ select team made up of sev-enth grade players from the Vienna/Oakton area, captured first place at the 14-teamHerndon All Star Tournament, held Nov. 19-20. The Ninjas were undefeated in their fourround robin games against teams from Arlington, Annandale, Herndon and Loudoun.After one day of play, Vienna was the top seeded team. The locals then prevailed in a 2-0 semifinals victory over McLean on Sunday morning. The win advanced the Ninjas tothe championship where they defeated Arlington, 2-1. The VYS Ninjas are made up ofSahana Bhagat, Hailey Blaine, Isabel Bufton, Annika Burstein, Molly Cox, Megan Craven,Sarah Franklin, Angie Garcia, Kaitlin Gutenson, Hannah Hibbs, Samantha Levowitz,Cathy Maroney, Shannon Prescott, Isabelle Sexton, Ysabel Spague, and April Williams.The team was coached by Jill Maroney and Neeraj Bhagat.

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Page 17: Christmas At Colvin Run Mill

18 ❖ Vienna/Oakton Connection ❖ December 14-20, 2011 www.ConnectionNewspapers.com

Zone 6 Ad Deadline:

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PUBLIC NOTICEPublic Notice – Environmental Permit

PURPOSE OF NOTICE: To seek public comment on a draft permit from the Department of Environmental Quality to limit air pollution emitted by a facility in Arlington, Virginia.

PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD: December 15, 2011 to Janu-ary 17, 2012

PERMIT NAME: State Operating Permit to Operate Issued by DEQ, under the authority of the State Air Pollution Control Board

NAME, ADDRESS AND REGISTRATION NUMBER OF PROPOSED PERMIT HOLDER: Vornado/Charles E. Smith, 1901 S. Bell Street, Arlington, VA 22202; Registration Num-ber: 73980

PROJECT DESCRIPTION: Vornado/Charles E. Smith has applied for a State Operating Permit for their facility located at 2100 Crystal Drive, Arlington, Virginia. The facility is a com-mercial office building that has (1) emergency generator rated at 1050 kW.

HOW TO COMMENT: DEQ accepts comments by e-mail, fax or postal mail. All comments must include the name, address and telephone number of the person commenting and be re-ceived by the DEQ within the comment period. The public may request a public hearing. The public may review the draft permit and application at the DEQ office named below. The draft permit is also available on the DEQ web site at www.deq.virginia.gov. To request a public hearing, written comments must include: 1) the names, mailing addresses and telephone numbers of the requester and of all people represented by the requester. 2) The reason a hearing is re-quested, including associated air quality concerns. 3) A brief, informational statement regarding the extent of the interest of the requester, including how the operation of the facility af-fects the requester.

CONTACT FOR PUBLIC COMMENTS, DOCUMENTS, RE-QUESTS AND ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

K. Dean Gossett, Environmental Engineer, Sr. Northern Re-gional Office, Department of Environmental Quality, 13901 Crown Court, Woodbridge, VA 22193, phone: 703-583-3800, email: [email protected]

21 Announcements 21 Announcements

Rod’s Sharpening Service – Precision Sharpening✃✃✃✃✃✃✃✃✃✃✃

Most knives, scissors, and gardening tools sharpened at $5.00/each - While youshop in Vienna and Fairfax • Salon shears sharpened at $25.00/each. • Barberand grooming scissors sharpened at $10.00/each. • Clipper blades sharpened

at $6.00/each • 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed or full refund of sharpening cost.Locations: Google Rod’s Sharpening

Service for further detailsDealer for Spydercoknives - Great Gifts!703 945 0171

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Reston - drop off and pick up 9am-5pm National Realty Monday - Friday. Leave knives andscissors with secretary. Prepay and pick up at your leisure. Must have correct change orcheck 11890 Sunrise Valley Drive, Suite 700, Reston, VA 20191Mondays in Vienna, 10:00 - 1:00: Magruder’s Supermarket, 180 Maple Avenue, Vienna, VATuesdays in Fairfax,12:00 - 3:00: Fairfax Smart Market, Fairfax Corner on the Plaza, Fairfax,Also at Culinaria Cooking School First Fridays

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500 watt Generator, Troy Bilt, Has run 4 hrs. 703-356-1095$600.

ABC LICENSEAladdin’s Eatery of VA Inc., trading as Aladdin’s Eatery

4044 Campbell Avenue, Arlingon, VA 22206-3424. . The above establishment is

applying to the VIRGINIA DEPARTMENT OF

ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE CONTROL for a MixedBeverages on premises

license to sell or manufacture alcoholic beverages. Raja

Atalla, Vice PresidentNOTE: Objections to the issu-ance of this license must be

submitted to ABC no later than 30 days from the publishing date of the first two required

newspaper legal notices. Objections should be regis-

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Now! CompletePrint EditionsOnline!

The full print editions of all 18Connection Newspapers are nowavailable on our Web Site in PDF format,page by page, identical to our weeklynewsprint editions, including printadvertising. Go towww.ConnectionNewspapers.comand click on “Print Editions.”

MPRINT EDITIONSPRINT EDITIONS

An expert is someone who knows some of the worst

mistakes that can be made in hissubject and how to avoid them.

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Results! Why,man, I havegotten a lot of results.

I know severalthousand thingsthat won't work.

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Page 18: Christmas At Colvin Run Mill

Vienna/Oakton Connection ❖ December 14-20, 2011 ❖ 19www.ConnectionNewspapers.com

News

Curt Welch of Ayrhill Forge ismaking and selling his seasonalcandy canes and jingle bells.

Curt Welch in his blacksmithing workshop. The forgestarted its life as a Sears compressed air tank. It nowreaches 1,800 degrees of fiery heat.

Artisan blacksmith Curt Welch of Vienna molds ajingle bell from heated, softened metal.

Forging Tradition

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Vienna blacksmithcreates enduringwork.

By Donna Manz

The Connection

There are 150 members of theBlacksmiths’ Guild of thePotomac and Vienna’s CurtWelch is of one of them. Welch,

a blacksmith for two and a half years, hand-forges home accessories and seasonal deco-rations from his home workshop, AyrhillForge, near Glyndon Park.

“I wanted to get into robotics, makingrobots,” said Welch whose professionalbackground is in computer science. “Ineeded welding [instruction] and when Iresearched welding, I discovered NorthernVirginia Community College had a series ofclasses in welding.” Welch’s immersion intowelding several years ago was the catalystfor his entry into forging.

A welding instructor brought his ownforge into class one day and the teachercreated a simple iron piece there. It didn’ttake long before Welch was hooked on theart and science of blacksmithing.

ON A POST-THANKSGIVING SATUR-DAY, Welch was in his regular place, hisgarage workshop, forge blazing, making tallforged iron candy canes and jingle bells. Thebells have whimsical handles for ringinghands. He uses a vise to turn the twists onhis fanciful candy canes, some of whichhave reverse twists.

“I get immense enjoyment from this,” saidWelch. “I’ve always been the kind of person

Welch’s garage houses his blacksmiths’equipment, from forge to tools and waterbucket for cooling and safety. “I can takethe summer heat in here but it’s harder towork out here in the winter,” Welch said.Because he uses a propane tank, he leavesthe garage door open for ventilation. “It getspretty cold in here when it’s 32 degrees,even with the heat from the forge.”

The Blacksmiths’ Guild of the Potomacoperates a traditional coal forge at the GulfBranch Nature Center in Arlington. Mem-bers maintain the forge and runblacksmithing demonstrations at the parkfor the public to learn about blacksmithing.Welch, a member of guild board and thegroup’s webmaster, is a demonstrator there.The Saturday after Thanksgiving, Welchhelped deliver coal to the forge at the park.

Welch’s swirl-y candy canes start at $30,and the jingle bells are $10. The decorativewall hooks start at $5, and he keeps a largestock of those. He makes everything fromtrivets, flowers and accent pieces to tablebases and a slithering snake poised to strike.One of forging’s most forgiving attributesis that you can repair or redesign a piece byreheating it in the forge.

“[Blacksmithing] is not a bigmoneymaker,” said Welch. “I do it for thelove of it.”

PHOTOS OF SAMPLES of Welch’s forgedpieces are on his Facebook page, visitwww.facebook.com and search Ayr HillForge.

To order a hand-forged decorative pieceof ironwork from Welch, e-mail him [email protected]. His website iswww.ayrhillforge.com. To learn more aboutblacksmithing and the Blacksmiths’ Guildof the Potomac, go to bgop.org.

who likes to design and make stuff.”A blacksmith changes the shape of metal

by heating it to softness in a fired forge,Welch explained. An artisan blacksmithtakes metal to an art form. No, he does notmake horseshoes, if you’re wondering. Thesmithy who makes horseshoes is called afarrier.

Welch’s propane-driven forge was madefrom an old Sears compressed air tank. Ithas two inches of ceramic wool insulationon its interior and reaches 1,800 degrees.The artisan blacksmith buys his steel froma Manassas wholesaler but admits thatblacksmiths use recycled metal and look for“roadkill,” usable pieces of metal left alongthe roadway.

Don’t MissOur SpecialEditions.Be a part of our newWellbeing pages, thefirst week of everymonth.

Delight in ourHomeLifeStylesections, the secondweek of every month.Peek at the top realestate sales, glimpseover-the-top remodel-ing projects, get prac-tical suggestions foryour home.

Celebrate students,camps, schools,enrichmentprograms, collegesand more inour A-plus:Education,Learning, Fun pages,the third week ofevery month.

Questions? [email protected]? [email protected]

Page 19: Christmas At Colvin Run Mill

20 ❖ Vienna/Oakton Connection ❖ December 14-20, 2011 www.ConnectionNewspapers.com

We know that choosing a dental provider often feels like the luck of the draw. But it shouldn’t be! Just like anyhealth care provider, you should be comfortable with your dentist, understand the practice philosophy, and learn more

about who you are entrusting your oral health to then by just a name in the phone book.

Here at Beulah Dental, our practice was created with one driving force: to provide excellent dentistry with unsurpassedcustomer service. From your first phone call to schedule your appointment, to your visit, and beyond, rest assured thatyou will receive couteous, caring, and personalized service. Our goal is to help you achieve optimal dental health while

creating the natural and beautiful smile you’ve always wanted in a warm and caring atmosphere.

We want to be your dental provider for life!

At Beulah Dental, we provide comprehensivefamily and cosmetic dental care for the

entire family with a gentle touch!

Brittany L. Vo, DDS was raised in Pasadena, TX. She graduated from the University of Houston with a B.S. in Economics and Minor inPolitical Science. She then went on to complete her dental education at Baylor College of Dentistry in Dallas, TX. She received her D.D.S. in1997 and soon after was commissioned as a Captain in the United States Air Force. She was stationed at Bolling AFB in Washington, D.C.and finished at the Pentagon. In December 2001, after proudly serving her country, Dr. Vo went into private practice in Northern Virginia. Sheis licensed in Virginia, Maryland, and Texas.She spends her free time keeping up with her husband, Binh Trang, and their four children. They recently moved to Vienna and enjoy thesmall town feel of Vienna in the midst of the big city. She is an avid sports fan and enjoys reading, traveling, and is a news junkie.Dr. Vo is passionate about her patients and places a strong emphasis in providing quality dental care in a warm and caring environment. Hergoal is to provide individualized care while offering knowledge, comfort, and gentle dentistry that is in harmony with the clinical techniquesof today’s dentistry. To her, patients are not just another name but become lifelong friends of the practice.

About the Doctor

Of course, please do not hesitate to contact us if you have anyquestions or would like to schedule an appointment.

We Create Beautiful Smiles

Beulah DentalBrittany L. Vo, DDS

1300 Beulah Road, Vienna, VA 22182

(703) 757 1000

About the Doctor

Use YourInsurance BenefitsBefore Year-end

Visit us at WWW.BEULAHDENTAL.COM

ConvenientLocationon the corner of

Beulah Rd. & Rt. 7

Convenient locationwith ample free parking

Professional & comfortable officein a relaxing environment

Clean, moderntreatment rooms

We utilize the latest dental technologysuch as digital x-rays