Stories for May 2014

Stories for May 2014

Subscribe

Friday, May 30

Tease photo

Cartoon: Texting While Driving Signs

Texting While Driving Signs

Tease photo

Summer 2014 at Wolf Trap

As America's National Park for the Performing Arts, Wolf Trap plays a valuable leadership role in both the local and national performing arts communities. A typical season at Wolf Trap includes theatre, and musical performances ranging from country to pop to orchestra. Wolf Trap, 1645 Trap Road in Vienna, is accessible from the Metro and parking is free. Visit www.wolftrap.org for more.

Tease photo

Farmers Markets 2014

Buy fresh fruits and veggies from local vendors this summer.

Your guide to all the farmers markets in the Northern Virginia area.

Thursday, May 29

Tease photo

Have a Little Summer Fun

Completed in 1799 by Richard Bland Lee, the main house at Sully combines aspects of Georgian and Federal architecture and tours are given on the hour. Outside walking tours of the original outbuildings and slave quarters are given at 2 p.m. through mid-November. Tours are $7 for adults, $6 for students (16 and up with student I.D.), $5 for seniors (65 and up) and $5 for children (ages 5-15). Sully Historic Site is located at 3650 Historic Sully Way, Chantilly and open 11 a.m.-4 p.m. daily except Tuesdays and some holidays.

Once Cramped, Outdated; Now Modern, Efficient

When the Fairfax County Animal Shelter was built in the early 1970s, it was intended to be a dog pound to handle stray and homeless dogs. Renovated in the mid-1980s, it increased the number of kennels from 48 to 72 to better care for dogs in isolation and quarantine.

Tease photo

Honoring County’s Devotion to Animals

Shelter’s renovation and expansion are celebrated.

Residents, politicians and even four-footed alumni flocked to the Fairfax County Animal Shelter on Saturday, May 17, to celebrate completion of its renovation and expansion. It was a long time in coming, so it made the event even sweeter.

SYA Fall Registration Now Open

Registration for SYA fall sports is available now online at www.syasports.org.

Meeker, Cragg Engaged

Mr. and Mrs. Daniel Meeker of Chesterfield, Va., are pleased to announce the engagement of their daughter, Molly Anne Meeker to W. Kyle Cragg, son of Mr. Scott Cragg and Ms. Lynda Solis of Clifton.

Tease photo

Five New Parks in Sully Woodlands

Residents are asked to submit their ideas for them

The Fairfax County Park Authority wants to hear residents’ thoughts about its new comprehensive plan for parkland in Sully Woodlands. So it held a recent public meeting in Centreville to let people see what’s proposed and comment on it.

Tease photo

Westfield High’s Musical: 14 Cappie Nominations

Centreville, Chantilly are also acknowledged.

In the realm of high-school theater, the annual Cappie awards are akin to professional theater’s Tony awards. And during last week’s unveiling of the 2014 Cappie nominations, Westfield High’s production of “Little Shop of Horrors” received a whopping 14 nods, including Best Musical.

Tease photo

All Hands on Deck Proves Successful

Sometimes, a show of force pays off in a big way — and that’s what happened during the Sully District Police Station’s recent All Hands on Deck operation.

Saved By The Belt

Proper Seatbelt Use Saves Dad, Son

A local father and son received the police Saved by the Belt award at the May 14 meeting of the Sully District Station’s Citizens Advisory Committee. They are Michael Spillane and his now 3-year-old, Evan.

Tease photo

A Hero's Warm Welcome

Quadruple amputee defies the odds.

n the weeks leading up to the 2014 GI Film Festival, the buzz was all about actor and veterans advocate Gary Sinise appearing at the May 23 Salute to Hollywood Patriots night at the Old Town Theatre in Alexandria. But by the end of the evening, it was Army Staff Sergeant and quadruple amputee Travis Mills that left everyone star struck.

Tease photo

Champions at Fundraising Tournament

More than 100 teams participated, raising $335,000. Stars Prime won six straight games through Sunday to become the 13U Kyle's Kamp Champions.

Crime Report

The Sully District Police Station reported the following incidents.

Letter: Overreaching Government

Letter to the Editor

Letter: What Islam Teaches

Letter to the Editor

Classified Advertising May 28, 2014

Read the latest ads here!

Wednesday, May 28

Tease photo

Pausing to Remember America’s Fallen

Memorial Day ceremony at Oakton’s Flint Hill Cemetery.

Residents and dignitaries alike paid their respects to America’s fallen heroes during American Legion Post 180’s annual Memorial Day ceremony.

Some Good News and a Lot of Uncertainty

Realtors discuss the mortgage market at finance summit.

The Northern Virginia Association of Realtors (NVAR) hosted Finance Summit 2014 at their Fairfax Headquarters on Wednesday, May 21. The event brought together a panel of speakers with an impressive collection of credentials and expertise. Moderator Ken Harney’s “Nation’s Housing” column is nationally syndicated. Harney is also a member of the Federal Reserve Board Consumer Advisory Council, an author and commentator on real estate and mortgage issues, and the host of CNBC’s “Real Estate Magazine” weekly television program.

Column: Team Up

Just as “everyone knows Geico can save you 15 percent in 15 minutes,” that is, if you watch television, listen to radio, access the Internet or even sit on the beach at Ocean City and watch the single-engine planes flying by pulling banners; so too do people know that when your primary care physician tells you that you need to meet with an oncologist to discuss your recent medical results, you should bring along family, friends, advocates, doctors, lawyers, etc. (your presumptive “team”), because, well, you know why: your life may depend on it.

Editorial: New Measure - More Living in Poverty

Inside the Beltway, that is Alexandria, Arlington and parts of Fairfax, 32 percent of children are living in poverty or near poverty. In Fairfax County, 26 percent of children live in or near poverty. This is according to the Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service at the University of Virginia.

Tease photo

‘Look Around and See the Smiles’

Special-ed students enjoy Day Prom at the Waterford.

Last Thursday, May 8, some 400 students got all dressed up and went to their prom at the Waterford in Fair Oaks.

Tuesday, May 27

Tease photo

Oakton Lefty Lopez Pitches Cougars to Conference 5 Championship

Senior throws three-hitter against Chantilly in conference final.

The Oakton baseball team beats Chantilly for the second year in a row in the conference/district championship game.

Friday, May 23

Classified Advertising May 21, 2014

Read the latest ads here!

Thursday, May 22

Tease photo

A ‘Show Everyone Will Enjoy’

Chantilly High presents Jazz & Pizzazz, May 28-31.

More than 50 students will entertain and, said Choral Director Evan Ayars, “It’s a unique experience to have that many musicians and singers onstage together. It’s a great example of musical collaboration.”

Tease photo

‘Look Around and See the Smiles’

Special-ed students enjoy Day Prom at the Waterford.

Some 400 students got all dressed up and went to their prom at the Waterford in Fair Oaks on May 8. Once there, they had professional photos taken, ate pizza, sang karaoke, laughed and hung out with their friends. And when the music played their favorite songs, they filled the dance floor and showed off their coolest moves.

Tease photo

Sharing Burden of PTSD

Sharing Burden of PTSD

Tease photo

‘You Are Not Your Mistakes’

“She was one of the most disagreeable people I had ever met,” says paws4people Chairman and COO, Terry Henry, remembering his reaction to meeting Rebecca at Lakin Correctional Center, more than three years ago. Seeing her now with her earnest smile and a well-behaved puppy happily nestled in her lap, it’s hard to imagine the Rebecca he describes.

Tease photo

Trained in Prison, Healing in N. Virginia

Healing power of dogs creates ties between prisoners, veterans, children with disabilities.

When I first started going inside prisons for paws4people.org, my job was three-fold: to capture, through photography, the connection between the dogs and their inmate trainers, to provide images that reflected the accomplishments of months of training and to document the moment that veterans, children and young adults were matched with their assistance dogs.

Murder Is Charged in Stabbing

A 20-year-old Centreville man died Sunday, May 18, after being stabbed the previous night during a fight. Fairfax County police identified him as Domingo Eduardo Santiago Cuchil of no fixed address in Centreville.

Possible Measles Exposure; Check for Symptoms

“Out of an abundance of caution,” Virginia Department of Health officials are investigating potential exposures to a second person with measles, May 11-15, in the National Capital Region.

Wednesday, May 21

Too Patient a Patient

Since I’m in the honesty business (as you regular readers know; and based on many of the e-mails I receive, commended on being so), if I were to admit anything concerning my behavior during these last five-plus years as a lung cancer survivor, it would have to be my continual tendency to minimize new symptoms, and in turn, not contact my oncologist (which from the very beginning is the exact opposite of what we are told to do). Stupid, stubborn, scared, naive, in denial; you pick.

Tease photo

You’re Never Too Young for Poetry

Local educators say exposing children and even babies to rhyme and rhythm can help develop reading and language skills.

Though Keith Ward's son is still a baby, the young child is already being exposed to exposed to not just silly stories, but poetry, and a variety of poetic forms at that.

Editorial: Remembering on Memorial Day

Fewer deaths as military operations wind down, but 22 veterans a day die of suicide.

In Arlington over the coming Memorial Day weekend, the organization TAPS, or Tragedy Assistance for Survivors, will hold its 20th annual Military Survivor seminar and Good Grief camp for young survivors, children of all ages. TAPS offers support to anyone who is grieving the death of someone who died in the military, whether from combat, suicide, terrorism, homicide, negligence, accidents or illness. http://www.taps.org/

Tease photo

Rocky Run Odyssey of the Mind Team Heads to World Finals

Rocky Run Middle School’s Odyssey of the Mind “Driver’s Test” team are advancing to the World Finals at Iowa State University from May 28-31, where they will compete against hundreds of teams from across the U.S. and more than 25 other countries.

Monday, May 19

Tease photo

Reminiscences and Remembrances

Chantilly High celebrates its 40th birthday.

Chantilly High celebrated its 40th birthday, Friday evening, May 2, and alumni from several different graduating classes returned to participate in the festivities. They took SGA-guided school tours, viewed exhibits of current programs and learned Chantilly trivia. They also saw displays of Charger sports accomplishments while enjoying both chocolate and vanilla birthday cakes. The Robotics Team exhibited its award-winning technology and the SGA presented a Powerpoint of the school’s history.

Friday, May 16

Letter: Project-Based Learning

To the Editor: It seems like every time you read an article regarding education there is talk of standardized high-stakes testing. Teachers spend hours planning and prepping lessons that ensure their students will select the correct answer on a lengthy multiple choice test. Students regurgitate this information one day late in the spring, when the only thing anyone can focus on is the looming summer months. When you think about what we want our students to be able to do when they exit high school, is being really good at test taking the first thing that comes to mind?

Support Fundraising Clifton Homes Tour and Marketplace

The Clifton Homes Tour and Marketplace, sponsored by the Clifton Community Woman’s Club, will be held on Thursday, May 15. Net proceeds from the Clifton Homes Tour go to the organization’s charitable trust.

Enjoy Classic Clifton Experience

17th Annual Clifton Caboose Twilight Run is May 17.

Gary Anderson, chairman of the Clifton Caboose Twilight Run, isn’t entirely sure why the run was originally chosen to take place at twilight. It was already a twilight run when he became chairman in 2005, and he liked it that way.

Route 28/I-66 Lanes Done

Drivers in Centreville trying to turn left from Route 28 south to get onto I-66 east may now rejoice — VDOT has just finished extending the two, left-turn lanes there by some 750 feet.

For ‘Dedication and Devotion to Duty’

PFC Rick Call is honored as Sully CAC’s Officer of the Month.

Honored for his police work that helped solve cases in Fairfax County and Washington, D.C., PFC Rick Call is the Sully District Station’s Citizens Advisory Committee’s (CAC) Officer of the Month for April. He was presented his award by Lt. Bob Blakely, assistant station commander. A local high-school teacher contacted him about a female student who thought she’d been drugged and sexually assaulted. Call met with the student who told him she and a friend were picked up by a man in Centreville and taken to an indoor swimming pool in the District.

Chantilly Home Sales: April, 2014

In April 2014, 20 homes sold between $810,000-$185,000 in the Chantilly area.

Chantilly Home Sales: April, 2014

Centreville Home Sales: April, 2014

In April 2014, 89 Centreville homes sold between $875,000-$137,000.

Centreville Home Sales: April, 2014

Thursday, May 15

Classified Advertising May 14, 2014

Read the latest ads here!

Wednesday, May 14

Tease photo

Do Your Best; Raise the Bar

Chantilly High named a Virginia Honor Band.

Being designated a “Virginia Honor Band” is the most prestigious title bestowed upon school bands by the Virginia Band & Orchestra Directors Association. And Chantilly High’s band has just received this recognition for the 12th time.

Out-of-This-World Celebration

The third annual Chantilly Day celebration is this Saturday, May 17 and, with two former NASA astronauts coming, it promises to be out of this world. The festival runs from 11 a.m.-5 p.m., rain or shine, in the Kmart and Babies R Us parking lots in the Sully Place Shopping Center, off Route 50 West in Chantilly. And there’ll be fun for the whole family. Free children’s activities will be provided by the Chantilly-Centreville Chamber of and its sponsors and are being coordinated by the Chantilly Youth Association (CYA). The fun includes a rock wall, moonbounces and trackless train, plus several sports-themed activities.

Roundups for 5/14/2014

The editor presents the roundups for the week of 5/14/2014.

Animal Shelter Grand Opening

The Fairfax County Animal Shelter will host a ribbon-cutting ceremony and open house Saturday, May 17, to celebrate the official completion of the shelter’s renovation and expansion project.

5K Ice Cream Race at Bull Run

The first annual 5K Ice Cream Race will be held Saturday, June 28 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Bull Run Regional Park in Centreville.

Tuesday, May 13

Editorial: Virginia Proves Elections Matter

Health and economic issues are entwined.

Some people continue to assert, either with their words or by simply abstaining, that voting just doesn’t matter. Here in Virginia, nearly every day we prove that is incorrect. All of Virginia’s elected representatives who are elected by the entire state are of the same political party. They are all Democrats: Gov. Terry McAuliffe, Lt. Gov. Ralph Northam, Attorney General Mark Herring and Virginia’s two U.S. Senators, Mark Warner and Tim Kaine.

Tease photo

Riding for the Fallen

More than 100 officers cycle through Virginia, for cause.

Police officers from all over the country vowed to "ride for those who died" this week. Police Unity Tour Chapter IV - also known as the Virginia chapter - challenged officers on a three day bicycle tour from Richmond to D.C. in memory for fallen officers. Before the last stop at Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium, the group of 122 officers and loved ones of fallen police stopped for lunch at McConnell Public Safety and Transportation Operations Center Monday in Fairfax as a tribute to the county most the officers served.

Tease photo

Northern Virginia Family Service Holds 16th Annual Gala

Local donors and supporters recognized at event.

The evening of Friday May 9 at Hilton McLean Tysons Corner, the nonprofit Northern Virginia Family Service (NVFS) held their 16th Annual Road to Independence Gala. The festive event gave community and business leaders an opportunity to celebrate the impact of NVFS on families and children in need. It also recognized donors and supporters dedicated to giving back to the community in which they live making NVFS services possible.

Seventeen of Fantastic 50 Companies in Virginia Hail from Fairfax County

Seventeen Fairfax County companies are part of the 2014 Virginia Chamber of Commerce Fantastic 50 rankings of the 50 fastest-growing businesses in Virginia. Chantilly-based First Line Technology, which sells products to first responders and the military, received a Virginia Vanguard Award for having the highest growth rate among companies in the manufacturing category.

Tease photo

County Hosts Nearly 100 Outdoor Festivals

With a population of more than one million residents, it has long been known that Fairfax County is the most populous jurisdiction in the National Capital Region. However, what may surprise both residents and visitors is that the County is also home to nearly 100 annual outdoor festivals, most of which have very strong arts and cultural components.

Still Curious, But Maybe Not Dying

Although one never knows, especially if that one is living in "cancerville." And by "cancerville" I mean, euphemistically speaking, anywhere where one of us diagnosed with cancer is living. Living being the operative word. Still, as my column from a few weeks ago entitled, "Dying With Curiosity" discussed, cancer patients are often besieged by their subconscious, changing fact into fiction and manipulating feelings into inevitabilities. If only there was a switch to turn off the mind games that don’t exactly mind their "man-ners" or "women-ers" for that fact, I’d flick it in a second. Cancer creates physical problems – as we all know, but I have to tell you, it’s the mental problems that can be just as deadly.

Tease photo

Outdoor Entertaining

Local style gurus offer tips for alfresco soirees.

The mild temperatures that usher in late spring and early summer beckon many outdoors for alfresco parties. Whether held on a patio, deck or veranda, the necessary logistics for coordinating even a simple gathering can be daunting.

Tease photo

Empty-Nesters Spread Their Wings

A Springfield couple creates a personalized interior custom-suited to support everyday pleasures, using the existing footprint.

A sunny space; an uplifting view; a generous footprint that includes a sizeable breakfast zone, a food preparation island and easy access to a large back deck.

Tease photo

C-Section Boom in Northern Virginia

Region has some of the highest rates of cesarean-section deliveries for low-risk pregnancies.

Behind the closed doors at Inova Fairfax Hospital in Falls Church and the Virginia Hospital Center in Arlington, a quiet change has been taking shape over the last few decades.

Friday, May 9

Classified Advertising May 7, 2014

Read the latest ads here!

Tease photo

Me & My Mom 2014 — Mother’s Day Photo Gallery and My Mother: an Appreciation

"A tribute to my mother, Lorena W. Mayhew, a superb seamstress..."

Shirley M. Bailey, 84, of Burke submitted this poem “as a tribute to my mother, Lorena W. Mayhew, a superb seamstress, who kept her four children well dressed during the Depression and even later with her superb skills as a seamstress.

Tease photo

Chantilly Day: Food, Fun, Music and Astronauts

Third annual Chantilly Day celebration is May 17, 2014

Fun for the whole family is planned for the third annual Chantilly Day celebration, Saturday, May 17, at the Sully Place Shopping Center, off Route 50 West in Chantilly. There’ll be two U.S. astronauts, live music and dancing, food and children’s activities. The festival runs from 11 a.m.-5 p.m., rain or shine, in the Kmart and Babies R Us parking lots. The day’s events will include onstage performances by the Chantilly High Jazz Ensemble and Latin Dance Club, School of Rock Centreville, a pet adoption, trackless train, robotics demonstration, business expo and awards ceremony.

Thursday, May 8

Tease photo

Cougar Clash Victors

The Demarini Stars Prime won the first annual Cougar Clash as sponsored by Oakton High School.

Tease photo

‘Entertaining for Whole Family’

Chantilly presents children’s play, ‘Goldilocks on Trial.’

Somebody’s been inside the three bears’ home and eating their porridge. But did she commit a crime? That’s for the jury to decide in Chantilly High’s upcoming children’s play, “Goldilocks on Stage.” The curtain rises Friday, May 16, at 7 p.m.; Saturday, May 17, at 2 and 7 p.m.; and Sunday, May 18, at 2 p.m. Tickets are $5 at the door or via www.chantillyhsdrama.com.

Tease photo

Meals Tax Possible for Fairfax County

Tax could generate $88 million in revenue.

At a public hearing on the 2015 budget, Fairfax County resident Kimberly Adams joined numerous other individuals who urged the Board of Supervisors to consider a meals tax. “To have the quality of life that we’ve come to depend on in Fairfax County, we must move the needle closer to the regional average when it comes to taxes. We must not be afraid to look for new streams of revenue, such as a meals tax for instance,” Adams told the Board of Supervisors at the budget hearings. “Never have I actually thought, well, there’s a meals tax in Alexandria, so I’ll drive 10 more minutes into Fairfax and order my pizza. I go to the place that’s convenient and where I want to eat.”

Remembering Jeffrey By Helping Others

Angel Kisses 5K/2K is set for Mother’s Day.

Superheroes do some pretty amazing things, such as thwarting villains and saving people. In life, Chantilly’s Jeffrey Virostek only got to pretend to be a superhero; but in death, he’s become a real one. He was only 4 in September 2003 when he succumbed to acute myelogenous leukemia (AML). But a fund his parents started in his name has enabled many nonprofit organizations to help other children in their battles against cancer.

Wednesday, May 7

Editorial: Yes to the Meals Tax Referendum

Voters could decide on the tax in November.

Economic diversification is worthy goal. All of your eggs shouldn’t be in one basket. All of your revenue shouldn’t come from one source. In Fairfax County, adding a meals tax at the same level as Arlington, Alexandria, Falls Church and the City of Fairfax, 4 percent, could generate $88 million a year. The county estimates that 25-30 percent of the meals taxes collected would be paid by non-county residents. The inability to implement alternative revenue sources will mean continued dependence on one basket. The combined increase in the real estate property tax rate and home values means that most homeowners will be paying hundreds of dollars more in property taxes regardless of their ability to pay.

Tease photo

Airbag Thefts on the Rise in Fairfax

Doesn’t take long to steal.

This year, Fairfax County has become one of the biggest suppliers of stolen airbags for Virginia’s auto parts black market. Since January, more than 50 airbags have been stolen in Fairfax County alone, and, in April, Arlington reported that a dozen airbags had been stolen.

Tease photo

Feeling Repercussions of Winter

Schedule adjustments for Northern Virginia public school students.

This winter, thousands of area students were given more days off than expected. Day after day, parents, students and faculty received notice that school had yet again been cancelled due to the heavy snow and cold weather, which forced students and faculty to watch one of the coldest and heaviest winters since the 2010 Snowmagedden from home.

Tease photo

Hearing Loss Doesn’t Have to be Life-changing

“What?” May is Better Hearing and Speech Month.

On any given workday, you might find Arlington resident Erin Weiner sitting in a family-friendly restaurant causally coloring or playing games with a young child. At first glance, she might be mistaken for any young mother entertaining her offspring while they wait for a meal. In actuality, Weiner, who is a speech-language pathologist, is employing what she describes as an innovative approach to therapy that involves working with a child in his or her natural environment.

A Tale of Two Seasons

It is not the best of times, nor is it the worst of times; it is, simply put: the time between the end of winter and the beginning of summer. It is the season known as spring, but more to the point of this column, it is the time when, if the weather cooperates/accommodates, I won’t need to turn the heat or the air conditioning on in my house. I will instead be able to ride the wave, so to speak, and not incur any post-winter/pre-summer utility bills. Possibly, I might even be able to pay off my oil-heating budget bill balance for the 2013/2014 season – before the 2014/2015 budget cycle begins, and hopefully not have to cool down the house at the same time – due to an early summer – so that on the day my oil-heating bill is due, it won’t be competing for cash with my upstart electric/air conditioning bill for money not well spent and for money hardly in abundance.

Tease photo

Supervisors Pass County Budget

Three supervisors vote against the $3.7 billion budget.

Educators are not happy that the school district will receive $64 million less than they asked for next year. The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors passed the county’s Fiscal Year 2015 budget, which includes a 3 percent increase in the School Fund Transfer, at the April 29 meeting.

Tease photo

Going into Business with Mom

Mother-daughter Realtor teams say working together can work.

Allison Goodhart has a vivid childhood memory: pulling a wagon filled with pumpkins and her younger sister around her family’s Del Ray neighborhood in Alexandria, helping to promote her parents’ real estate business. Today Allison Goodhart works alongside her mother as part of Old Town Alexandria-based Goodhart Group of McEnearney Associates Inc., Realtors.

22 Years in Prison for Child’s Death

A Fair Lakes woman has been sentenced to more than 22 years in prison for murdering an 11-month-old boy in Vienna, nearly three years ago. She is Carol Nadine Lutsky, 22, of Summit Manor Court. The tragedy occurred Oct. 5, 2011. Town of Vienna police officers were called to the 1100 block of Lakewood Drive S.W. regarding a baby who was reported to be unresponsive. But before they arrived, the caretaker, Lutsky, then 20, transported the infant to his biological mother who was in Reston at the time. The baby was then rushed to Reston Hospital, from where – because of his critical and deteriorating condition – he was Medevaced to Children’s National Medical Center in Washington, D.C. The boy, Nehemiah Williams, died the next day, on Oct. 6.

Roundups for 5/7/2014

The editor presents the roundups for 5/7/2014.

Advisory Issued on Possible Measles Exposure

The Fairfax and Loudoun County Health Departments are informing people who were at various locations in both counties between April 23 and May 1, 2014 that they may have been exposed to a person with measles.

Woman Convicted of Tax and Wire Fraud

Fair Oaks tax preparer filed false returns with the IRS.

Thuy Tien Le, 40, pleaded guilty last week in federal court to preparing false income tax returns and committing wire fraud.

Friday, May 2

Tease photo

Special-Needs Children Given Wings to Fly

Therapy and recreational center opens in Chantilly.

When Donna Shank’s son Ryan was diagnosed with autism eight yeas ago, she traveled throughout the Washington Metropolitan area to get treatment for him. “Most children with autism, and other children with special needs, require several different types of therapies, such as speech and occupational therapy and additional tutoring,” she said. “But it’s difficult to find all these services in one location. So my dream was to provide an all-in-one, integrated, therapy center.”

Face-to-Face with Arrests, Prison, Death

Parents, students learn substance-abuse dangers.

It’s one thing for people to warn others about the dangers of substance abuse. But it’s more powerful when they share personal stories of how drugs and alcohol affected their own families. And that’s what happened during the recent forum at Madison High. Called “Protecting Against the Realities of Substance Abuse,” it was put on by Parents Reaching Out To Educate Communities Together (PROTECT), a task force of the Unified Prevention Coalition of Fairfax County (UPC).

Thursday, May 1

Classified Advertising April 30, 2014

Read the latest ads here!

Tease photo

Choosing a Summer Camp

Camp experts offer advice on selecting a camp, but now is the time to register.

Many families with school age children will plan to have their children spend some of the much-anticipated summer season in camp. If you haven’t yet selected camps for your children, now is the time.

Tease photo

Many Ideas for Summer Activities

Avoid those dreaded words: ‘I’m bored.’

Molly McAlister enjoys the freedom of summer, but there are three words she dreads hearing: “Mom, I’m bored.” Creating activities to keep her three children busy during the summer is a task she enjoys, but it isn’t always easy.