Calendar for April 19
E-mail announcements to the Gazette, gazette@connectionnewspapers.com. Photos and artwork are encouraged. Deadline is Thursday at noon for the following week's paper. Call Steve Hibbard at 703-778-9412 with questions.
Educator: Have Students Help Shape Curriculum
Progressive educator Alfie Kohn challenged parents and teachers to go beyond comfort zones at the Burgundy Farm Country Day School Eric Sevareid Forum held April 4. “Progressive education is scary because it is unfamiliar,” said Kohn. “Progressive education has a better claim to traditional education in fact, standardized testing does not go back that far.”
Letter: True Community Business in Alexandria
I am writing to thank the Harvey family for everything they've done in the 20 years or so that we've lived in the Fort Hunt area, fully aware that they had done the same things for years before we arrived. The service provided at Hollin Hall Automotive has been fantastic over the years, and the contributions the Harvey family has made to the local Little League and other organizations have helped make this a great community. When we moved to this area, the Hollin Hall shopping center looked a bit drab, but then we went through the doors and met the people at Village Hardware, Safeway, Via Veneto, the Variety Store, etc., and we learned to love the place. Village Hardware, in particular, has made major contributions to local organizations; I have personally spread much of the free Turfus they have provided to the Ft. Hunt Little League.
Fort Hunt Little League Baseball Hosts Opening Day
On Saturday morning 492 players from 47 team paraded onto the Red Steven Field at Carl Sandburg School for the Fort Hunt Little League Baseball Opening Day ceremony. The president of Fort Hunt Little League Paul Murphy introduced the teams as they lined up at the baseline.
49 Shopping Carts Later …
Cleanup was well underway on Saturday morning, April 14 at the tributaries of Little Hunting Creek off Buckman Road. Forty-nine shopping carts, 245-plus bags of trash, and 27 tires were collected at 10 sites from the mouth of Little Hunting Creek upstream nearly to Huntley Meadows. Fairfax County together with the Alice Ferguson Foundation collaborated in the clean-up effort. Little Hunting Creek covers over nine acres in Fairfax County and is in the watershed of the Potomac River. The Alice Ferguson Foundation established in 1989 organized watershed cleanup activities at 600 sites in five states on Saturday.
Hollin Hills Hosts 2012 House & Garden Tour
Hollin Hills, the mid-century modern neighborhood in Alexandria, hosts its next House & Garden Tour on Saturday, April 28, from noon to 6 p.m.
Chamber to Honor First Responders with Valor Awards April 26
There was no time for careful deliberation. The water was swiftly rising as an elderly driver was trapped inside a submerged vehicle at the intersection of Edsall Road and Winter View Drive during the flash flooding that devastated the region on Sept. 8, 2011. Unequipped for swift water rescue, Lt. Patrick Lyon and firefighters Michael Chandler, Louis Simpson and Joseph Porcelli from Ladder Truck 208 quickly assessed the situation.
Helping Rebuilding Together Alexandria
Twenty-one volunteers from Safeway spent Thursday, April 12 constructing an outside porch and wheel chair ramp for John Patterson, a double amputee veteran of the Vietnam War. The volunteers also repaired broken faucets, painted, repaired a fence and pergola and planted a summer garden. Katherine Dixon, executive director of Rebuilding Together Alexandria said, “In addition to the $20,000 donation from Safeway, we leveraged a significant amount of volunteer help, discounted materials, and professional labor.”
SCAN Names 2012 Ally in Prevention Awardees
SCAN named Erick T. King, co-founder of the Capital Youth Empowerment Program (CYEP); Valerie Cuffee, who recently retired as division chief of Arlington County's Child & Family Services Division; and the late Cynthia Hull, former executive director of United Community Ministries, as the 2012 Allies in Prevention for Alexandria, Arlington and Fairfax, respectively. The award was given at SCAN's 10th Annual Allies in Prevention Awards Luncheon.
"Flight 905 Heavy"
The Space Shuttle Discovery, atop its Boeing 747 carrier, flies over Windmill Hill Park on Tuesday, April 17. The shuttle will become part of the Smithsonian Institution’s permanent collection at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly. The flight was referred to as “flight 905 heavy” on the air traffic control channel.
Culinary Classes for Children
Little gourmands cook up fun in the kitchen.
"If you lick your hands you have to wash them," said instructor Beth Bigler as she teaches a class of kindergartens students how to make vegetable pizzas. "Are these pickles?" asks a 6-year-old student as she clutches a dark-green, cylindrical vegetable in her tiny fingers.
Nancy Larsen Turner Dies
Nancy Larsen Turner, 83, formerly of Alexandria, died on March 2, 2012 at her home in Boonton, N.J. Born in Ogden, Utah, in 1928, she spent her childhood in Yellowstone Park, Wyoming, where her father worked for the Park Service.
Watershed Cleanup in Alexandria
Volunteers collected hundreds of pounds of trash from Four Mile Run Park in Alexandria on Saturday, April 14. The cleanup was organized by Alexandria’s Transportation and Environmental Services, Office of Environmental Quality and Solid Waste Division in conjunction with the Alice Ferguson Foundation. The foundation, established in 1989, organized watershed cleanup activities at 600 sites in five states on Saturday.
Baseball Legend Frank Howard Visits Sportsman's Club
He took the field with the likes of Carl Furillo, Gil Hodges, Pee Wee Reese and Ray Campanella. But Frank Howard didn't just play with baseball's finest, he was one of them, winning National League Rookie of the Year honors in 1960 and appearing in four All Star games for the American League from 1968 to 1971. On April 17, the former Washington Senator and Los Angeles Dodger spoke at the Alexandria Sportsman's Club and recounted some of the most memorable moments of his career.
No Butts About It: Ramparts Shifts to “No Smoking” Policy
The gang of regulars at Ramparts had a friendly wager going: How long would it take Butch Shunk to return after his vow to never again set foot in the popular Alexandria watering hole after its sudden shift to a no smoking policy on Easter Sunday? Some said three months but in the end it only took three days for the loyal customer to be back in his customary place at the end of the bar.
Alarm Over Fire Code at Shelters
Fairfax County officials respond to concerns about fire code violations at local shelters.
Spring fever hit the region early this year. Last week’s record-high temperatures had residents flocking outdoors to play, bike, jog and picnic.
Community Lodgings Celebrates 25 Years, Raises $40,000
More than 170 people turned out April 15 for the 7th annual “Spring Forward to Union Street,” a fundraiser to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Community Lodgings that also recognized program participant Harriet Owusu for her exceptional strides in attaining self-sufficiency.
Nancy Larsen Turner Dies
Nancy Larsen Turner, 83, formerly of Alexandria, died on March 2, 2012 at her home in Boonton, N.J. Born in Ogden, Utah, in 1928, she spent her childhood in Yellowstone Park, Wyoming, where her father worked for the Park Service. She married Calhoun Harris Turner in South Carolina in 1956. After his death in 1970, she lived and worked throughout the United States and in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
Column: Seminary Valley
The West End is about to receive a great upgrade with the installation of a new playing field at Francis C. Hammond Middle School.
Letter: Expertise Needed
Prior to the April 10 meeting of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors (BOS), the meeting agenda listed an agenda item beginning on page 303 concerning a BOS vote to approve or turn down a new charter for the County's Tree Commission.