Rocky Run Against the World
Robowiz team develops groundbreaking research.
With food safety being of vital importance these days, a group of students mainly from Rocky Run Middle School created a way to prevent e coli from forming in reusable grocery bags. For their efforts, they took second place in a state championship and third in the world.
Shall We Dance?
Special-ed students have fun at day prom.
Proms in the daytime can be just as much fun as those in the evening. And the special-ed students attending the FCPS Day Prom, last Thursday morning, May 3, at the Waterford in Fair Oaks had a great time.
Roundups for May 9
Worker Dies on the Job A Herndon man working on a job in Chantilly died Sunday after an accident involving heavy equipment. Fairfax County police identified him as Gerardo Santiago Paulette Ruiz, 47. The tragedy occurred May 6, shortly before 3 p.m., at a business in the 4100 block of Lafayette Center Drive. Police say Ruiz was operating a forklift in the warehouse area and “apparently attempted to pass through a doorway when the forklift struck an overhead beam.” The beam then dislodged and fell on him. Ruiz was pronounced dead at the scene.
Local Man Pleads Guilty to Murder
He killed his father in Centreville.
Gbassay “Omar” Koroma was slated to stand trial for murder, May 7, in Fairfax County Circuit Court. Instead, he pleaded guilty in March and will be sentenced next month.
Clifton Rolls Out the Welcome Mat
It’s the 40th annual Spring Homes Tour.
French chandeliers, antique furnishings, original paintings and whimsical collections are among the delights awaiting all those attending the 40th annual Clifton Spring Homes Tour. It’s slated for Thursday, May 17, from 9:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m., and includes a marketplace, silent auction and raffle, from 9:30 a.m.-5 p.m., at the Paradise Springs Winery.
Saturday Is Chantilly Day
Parade, food, music, cars, children’s activities.
Grab the children, comfy shoes and sunscreen — and come to the Sully Place Shopping Center, this Saturday, May 12, for the first-ever Chantilly Day celebration. It’s free and open to everyone, no matter where they live, and promises to be a day of fun and entertainment.
Presidential Visit to Washington-Lee
President Barack Obama made his first visit to Washington-Lee High School on Friday, May 4.
Northern Virginia Bill Signing Puts Human Trafficking and Domestic Violence in Spotlight
A rare moment of bipartisanship between Republican governor and Democratic legislators.
Strangulation will be punished more aggressively to combat violence against women. Campus police will work with other police agencies to crack down on domestic violence of unmarried couples. And the telephone number for a human trafficking hotline will be placed in the restrooms at strip clubs across Virginia.
Housing Discrimination Alert
Officials step up education, outreach efforts to reach immigrant communities about "fair housing" rights.
Housing discrimination cases have been on the rise in Fairfax County in the past few years. And the Office of Human Rights and Equity Programs (OHREP), the agency that enforces fair housing laws in the county, is shining a spotlight on the problem through seminars for housing providers, realtors, community groups and other interested parties. "Sadly, housing discrimination is alive and well and we’ve seen an uptick in complaints during the past six years," said Kenneth Saunders, executive director of OHREP.
Murder Case Goes to Grand Jury
Testimony heard about Centreville woman’s death.
Dressed in the green outfit of a Fairfax County prisoner, Benjamin Luke Walker listened in court last week while others testified during his preliminary hearing. When they were done, Judge Michael Cassidy sent Walker back to jail and certified the murder case against him to the grand jury.
‘Glimmer of Hope for the Future’
Local man in May 5 VisionWalk.
Centreville’s John McKeown has never seen his children’s faces and he always pictures his wife as being 28. That’s because retinitis pigmentosa (RP) — a genetic condition causing degeneration of the retina and eventual vision loss — caused him to go blind.
Social Change Expands Charitable Giving
After hosting a 7th bake sale in two years and raising over $10,000 for Cookies for Kids Cancer, Centreville resident Julie Sussman decided that it was time to turn the table, so to speak, on her generous and loyal bake sale friends, and allow them to raise money for something they believed in.
Centre View Roundups -- May 3
Centreville Man Is Assaulted City of Fairfax police have charged a Fairfax resident with felony malicious wounding in connection with an April 24 assault on a 42-year-old Centreville man. Arrested was Chan Young Kim, 47, of Whitemore Place. Police say that, on that date, the victim reported he’d been involved in a fight, around 11:30 a.m., with a man who’d allegedly “punched him repeatedly in the face, knocked him to the ground and kicked him.” According to police, after a witness tried to intervene, the suspect reportedly “retrieved a golf club from his car and struck the victim several times.”
Kim Gets Three Years Probation for Marriage Fraud
Centreville resident Yong Hyon Kim, 50, was sentenced in federal court to probation following his conviction for conspiracy to commit marriage fraud and making false statements to federal agents.
Reading, Writing and eCybermission at Rocky Run Middle School
Not only did Rocky Run Middle School’s eighth-grade eCybermission team win the Virginia state championship, it also captured first place in the Northeastern U.S. Regionals and will compete in nationals in June.