opinion, page 8 know your farmer, know your...
TRANSCRIPT
Camps & SchoolsPage 4
Comstock Challengers Count on ‘Blue Wave’News, Page 3
Carson Middle Celebrates 20th AnniversaryNews, Page 5
Know Your Farmer,Know Your Food
News, Page 2
Grace Bannhene, owner of Grace’s Bakery, is wel-comed back to the Hern-don Farmers Market on a chilly 2018 Opening Day
by Market Manager, John Dudzinsky. ‘Gracie,’ as
Dudzinsky affectionately calls Bannhene, is the sole original vendor still at the
Herndon Market since it opened 31 years ago.
online at www.connectionnewspapers.com April 25-May 1, 2018
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2 ❖ Oak Hill/Herndon Connection ❖ April 25 - May 1, 2018 www.ConnectionNewspapers.com
News
See Farmers Market, Page 6
By Mercia Hobson
The Connection
It’s a little after 6a.m., Thursdaymorning, April 19.Dawn won’t be for
almost an hour. A farmtruck crosses EldenStreet in the historic dis-trict of the Town ofHerndon, headlights areon. The truck is loadedwith locally growngreens and gardenplants. The driver, JoseMedina turns the steer-ing wheel left and slowlydrives his truck up LynnStreet towards the iconicRed Caboose. He’s madeit in time. Two hours leftto get ready.
Medina co-owns SantaCruz Produce in Warsaw,Va. Medina got up at2:45 a.m., packed histruck with produce anditems grown on the fam-ily farm and then drove 117 milesthrough the night from Warsaw,Va. to get to Herndon. Medina isone of the first farmers to arriveon the Opening Day of the 2018Fairfax County Park AuthorityFarmers Market in Herndon. Askedhow he grew the luscious lookinggreens he is unloading from histruck, Medina says, “We got acouple of greenhouses we starteverything in.”
TRUCK AFTER TRUCK begin toroll into Herndon, many with freshproduce picked the day before.These too have been grown ingreenhouses as well as high tun-nels and directly in the groundunder black plastic. If planted inthe unprotected ground in thewinter, the seeds would have diedor failed to sprout but protectedfrom the elements, the soilwarmed and the plants thrived.
Brad McCleaf, of McCleaf’s Or-chard in Biglerville, Pa. pulls histruck onto Lynn Street and climbsout of the cab. He walks aroundthe back of the truck and rolls upthe rear door. The inside is packedwith produce and plants. Askedwhat time he got up, McCleaf said,“I was up at 2:30 to pack my truckand drive in.” McCleaf takes amoment and stands under the
streetlight. It’s cold. The tempera-ture is in the 40’s. Asked how longof a drive he had, McCleaf said,“It’s only about a 2-hour drive. I’mso excited to be here in Herndonbut give me a couple of weeks toget used to it again,” he adds witha laugh.
Manny Medina of J & W ValleyFarm is ahead of the game. He setsup his farmer’s market tent in aflash. He brings the produce outof the truck, lots of it. The familystrives hard to offer their Herndoncustomers, and all their marketcustomers, the freshest best-tast-ing fruits and vegetables possible.Like the other farmers and produc-ers at the market, Medina can onlysell at the market what the familyraises on their farm or makes fromscratch. “This is my first of the sea-son farmer’s market,” says MannyMedina “We started planting the22nd of January, lettuce andgreens. The first and second weekof March, we started putting seedsoutside in the ground, like peas,beans and corn, in rows of blackplastic. We have 80 rows, 900 feeteach.”
Medina’s farm, J & W ValleyFarm is located in Montross, Va.,is a 108-mile drive to Herndon.
The 2018 HerndonFarmers Market opens.
Know Your Farmer,Know Your Food
Photo by Mercia Hobson/The Connection
Jose Median of Santa Cruz Producein Warsaw, Va. places seedlingsgrown on the family farm on tablesat the Herndon Farmers Market.Cruz got up at 2:45 a.m. to packhis truck and drive the 2-hour tripto Herndon.
Oak Hill/Herndon Connection ❖ April 25 - May 1, 2018 ❖ 3www.ConnectionNewspapers.com
NewsHerndon Connection Editor Kemal Kurspahic
703-778-9414 or [email protected]
See Challengers, Page 7
By Andrea Worker
The Connection
The six Democrats, four womenand two men, competing for thechance to unseat incumbentU.S. Rep. Barbara Comstock (R-
10) come November took to the stage toface each other and more than 300 inter-ested citizens from around the widespreadboundaries of the 10th Congressional Districtwhich includes Loudoun, Frederick andClarke counties, and parts of Fairfax andPrince William counties. The forum washosted by the Dranesville District Demo-cratic Committee at Colvin Run ElementarySchool in Vienna, and introduced by theorganization’s Chair, Jennifer Adeli.
There was much agreement among thecandidates as they answered questionsposed by moderator Glenn Kessler, theWashington Post Fact-Checker columnist.The crowd applauded enthusiastically as thecontenders lambasted Comstock, PresidentTrump, and the Republican Congress on is-sues that included the TrumpAdministration’s attacks on the AffordableCare Act, the future of Social Security, cli-mate change, sanctions against Iran andRussia, DACA and immigration reform, therecently passed Tax Reform bill, tariffs andthe U.S.’s departure from the Trans-PacificPartnership.
ALL OF THE DEBATERS expressed theirsupport for the Affordable Care Act andtheir anger at how the program is beingdiluted, while offering differing solutionson the general topic of healthcare.
Lindsey Davis Stover, who served as aChief of Staff on Capitol Hill, as well as aSenior Advisor at the U.S. Department ofVeterans Affairs under President Obama,declared that access to affordable and qual-ity healthcare “shouldn’t be something wehave to keep marching for. It’s a right, nota privilege.”
Two-term Virginia senator JenniferWexton and Paul Pelletier, a former federalprosecutor, both support adjusting the fi-nancial threshold for the Affordable CareAct to allow more citizens to qualify forsubsidies, with Pelletier adding that control-ling fraud would help drive down costs.
Wexton lauded “Obamacare” as a goodfirst step, saying that “we don’t need to re-invent the wheel” and that a sliding scalebased on ability to pay should be investi-gated. “Let’s get creative.”
Dr. Julia Biggins, an infectious diseasescientist, took the healthcare issue a stepfurther, saying she would vote for a thresh-old increase while working toward a “single-
payer” healthcare system and a focus onpreventative care. “Let’s shoot for themoon,” she urged, saying that to date, Con-gressional efforts in this area have been“Band-Aids” on the greater problem. “It’scomplex,” she added, “but we’ve been talk-ing for decades.” Biggins also believes thathealthcare should be a government respon-sibility, and not tied to employment.
West Point graduate, Rhodes Scholar, andveteran of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan,Dan Helmer envisions a system whereAmericans can opt into Medicare. Helmer’sinsistence that the Government’s ability touse scale be “unleashed” to negotiate drugprices received a roar of approval from theattendees.
Questions concerning the Tax Reform Actalso drew criticism from the candidates andapprobation from the audience on theirnegative commentary.
“It’s a horrible product for many reasons,”was Alison Friedman’s assessment. Fried-man is a former senior official with theObama Administration’s State Department,authoring legislation to combat human traf-ficking and protect voting rights. In her es-timation, the Tax Reform Act is anythingbut, benefiting corporations and thewealthy above working families, singles,and those in most need.
Helmer called the legislation “one of themost unpatriotic” bills ever passed, andthinks a complete re-write is needed, “start-ing from scratch” to get it right.
The Republicans’ immigration bans andreforms and the proposed Border Wall alsogot a bashing from the candidates, withDavis Stover describing both as “heartlessand bad economic decisions” and callingattention to the exemplary safety record ofthe city of El Paso, Texas “right there onthat border. The ‘wall’ isn’t about nationalsecurity. It’s a symbol of hate.”
Friedman, who at one point during thetwo-hour debate called Donald Trump “thegreatest threat to our national security,”added that among the many reasons to runagainst Comstock, the comments she madeduring a debate when first running for Con-gress, likening the tracking of immigrantsentering the country to tracking FedEx pack-ages “are up there on my list.”
“All my time in Iraq and Afghanistan, Inever thought we were fighting to deportchildren,” added Helmer.
If moderator Kessler was hoping to catchthe candidates off guard with a direct ques-tion asking if they would support NancyPelosi in a Congressional leadership role ifelected, first-to-the-mic Friedman wasn’tphased. “Lucky me to get this one first!” shequipped, then fired back.
“This is not the conversation that weshould be having now,” she said, insistingthat Democrats needed to avoid “being di-vided,” and needed to pull together and stayon message.
While acknowledging Pelosi’s contribu-tions and service, Helmer suggested that it
Six Democrats vyingto unseat BarbaraComstock face off atColvin Run Elementary
Comstock Challengers Count on ‘Blue Wave’
Susan Jacobs and candidate DanHelmer. Jacobs, a McLean residentis supporting Helmer as the “bestcandidate” but says she will backwhoever wins the primary. “Theyare all good, with great resumes.”
The event was hosted by theDranesville District DemocraticCommittee. Chair Jennifer Adeliwelcomed the attendees and intro-duced the moderator and thecandidates.
The Democratic candidates vying for the chance to challenge incumbentRep. Barbara Comstock’s Congressional District 10 seat. From left, DanHelmer, Lindsey Davis Stover, Alison Friedman, moderator Glenn Kessler,Paul Pelletier, State Sen. Jennifer Wexton, and Dr. Julia Biggins.
Photos by Andrea Worker/The Connection
4 ❖ Oak Hill/Herndon Connection ❖ April 25 - May 1, 2018 www.ConnectionNewspapers.com
Camps & Schools
By Marilyn Campbell
One of the great pleasures ofsummer is going to camp.From kayaking and rockclimbing to horseback riding
and sailing, camp is a place where lifelongmemories are created. A recent study by thenon-profit, global policy think tank RANDCorporation shows that voluntary summerprograms like camp have a significant, posi-tive impact on low-income students duringa time when they fall behind their wealthierpeers both academically and socially.
Katie Crump, a case manager at InterfaithWorks, a non-profit organization dedicatedto helping the poor and underserved, saysthat the luxury of summer camp ofteneludes those who need it most.
“The opportunity of attending a real sum-mer camp is a big thing for them. Unfortu-nately, this experience can be unattainabledue to the high cost and finding transpor-tation among other things,” said Crump.“Attending summer camp affords kids a spe-cial and important experience that’s all theirown. It allows kids to be kids, somethingthat is particularly vital for low-income chil-dren who are often forced to deal with theburdens of adulthood at a young age.”
Despite the cost of summer camp, keep-ing children engaged during the stretch oftime between June and August when schoolis not in session is a critical part of their
development, says Jerome Short, Ph.D.,associate professor of psychology at GeorgeMason University.
“Summer camps give opportunities forchildren to develop social, emotional, cog-nitive, and behavioral skills,” he said. “Someresearch shows that higher [socioeconomicstatus] children increase academic and be-havioral skills over the summer and lower[socioeconomic status] children lose skillsover the summer. Research shows that lower[socioeconomic status] children benefitfrom learning social and behavioral skillsin different settings with new peers andchallenges to apply their skills.”
Even with limited resources, summercamps can still be accessible, says TomRosenberg, president and CEO of the Ameri-can Camp Association (ACA). “There is acamp for every budget,” he said “[Most]ACA-accredited camps provide some formof scholarship assistance. Reach out to thecamp directly to ask about specific finan-cial aid and scholarship options.”
The RAND study also showed that eventhough low-income students can lose up totwo months of math and reading skills over
the summer, high-quality summer programscan bridge that gap. Science, Technology,Engineering and Mathematics (STEM)camps are an example of programs that canbe effective, but possibly unaffordable forsome families.
Wolftrap and Colvin Run elementaryschools in Fairfax County will be the site ofa non-profit STEM camp called Camp In-vention. Organized by the National Inven-tors Hall of Fame (NIHF), the hands-on pro-gram is designed for children in kindergar-ten through sixth grade. Through activitieslike building robots and designing gadgets,campers get a sense of what it’s like to be aphysicist or engineer.
“The program has sponsors that providefunding that’s used to helpunderrepresented kids attend the camps,”said Ken Torisky, spokesman for NationalInventors Hall of Fame. “The money is dis-tributed to students by the school district.”
Options for financial assistance for sum-mer camp run the gamut from discounts fordependents of those serving in the militaryto camp funding offered by churches, syna-gogues, and civic organizations. “I wouldsuggest to parents that they look into theirchild being sponsored by a local businessto attend a camp or look into payment planoptions at a camp that they are interestedin attending,” advised Stacie Gottlieb, di-rector, Bullis Summer and Extended Day
Programs in Potomac, Md.While Bullis does not offer financial as-
sistance for summer camp, Gottlieb saysthat there are discounts for early registra-tion and registering for multiple weeks ofcamp.
Parents should check to see if a camp par-ticipates in U.S. government assistance pro-grams, particularly those with income eli-gibility requirements, like Title XX, advisesRosenberg. While it might be too late forthis summer, he encourages parents to ex-plore Dependent Care Flexible SpendingAccounts and a Child and Dependent Caretax credit through the FSA Feds website:https://www.fsafeds.com/.
“I generally think lower income childrenbenefit when they have access to the sameopportunities as upper-income children andalso gain cultural skills and knowledge im-portant to upward mobility when they haveopportunity to interact with upper-incomekids,” said Amy L. Best, Ph.D., professor andchair, Department of Sociology and Anthro-pology at George Mason University. “I alsothink upper-income kids gain mightily whenthey have genuine interactions with kidsfrom other class backgrounds. Becauseempathy, cross cultural understanding, andan ability to work in diverse groups are skillsthat this new century demands, having op-portunities to hone those skills are of valuefor all involved.”
MoreCAMP INVENTIONhttp://campinvention.org/
GOVERNMENT ASSISTANCEhttps://www.fsafeds.com/
Affording Summer Camp For families with a limited budget,paying for camp can be a challenge.
Oak Hill/Herndon Connection ❖ April 25 - May 1, 2018 ❖ 5www.ConnectionNewspapers.com
By Mercia Hobson
The Connection
Members and supporters of theHerndon High School Band,The Pride of Herndon invite
everyone to their “Normandy Kickoff Cel-ebration and Benefit Concert” on May 5on the Herndon Town Green located at777 Lynn Street in Historic DowntownHerndon. The HHS Band has been se-lected to represent the United States atthe 75th Anniversary of D-Day inNormandy, France in June 2019. TheBand is accepting donations to offset thesignificant costs associated with the trip.
Significant costs are anticipated foramong other things, band member air-
fare, lodging, food, and shipping of bandinstruments and uniforms. Some bandmembers’ families do not have the finan-cial means to support their child’s ex-penses. To ensure all students can par-ticipate, the Herndon High SchoolMarching Band is turning to the com-munity and businesses for financial sup-port. Donations are welcome at the con-cert entrance and herndonband.org.
The Pride of Herndon will also play atthe American Cemeteries in Brittany andat Omaha Beach, as well as in the D-DayMusical Salute to Liberation.
For updates about the events and ac-tivities of the Herndon HS Band, visit.facebook.com/Herndon and Twitter@band_Herndon.
Herndon High School Marching Band will present their “NormandyKickoff Celebration and Benefit Concert” on Saturday, May 5, 2018,to partially support trip expenses as they represent the United Statesat the 75th Anniversary of D-Day in Normandy, France, June 2019.
Rock Concert Saturday, May 5To Support The Pride of Herndon
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Carson Middle Celebrates 20th AnniversaryRachel Carson Middle School in
Herndon celebrated its 20th anniversaryon Friday, April 20. Staff, students, fami-lies and alumni gathered at the school toenjoy an afternoon of music, dancing,relay races, games, cake walks, facepainting, a photo booth and lots of greatfood.
Principal Gordon Stokes summed upthe event as “a great opportunity togather as a community to celebrate 20wonderful years. We are proud of all thathas been accomplished by our studentsand staff. We look forward to 20 moresuccessful years.”
Principal Gordon Stokes checksin with DJ and former studentRomin Zandi.
Teachers and their families get in on the fun! Pictured, from left:Jason Oliver, Ayden Oliver, Kristden Oliver, Susan Deal, Adelyn Deal,Becca Isoldi, Ji Dalkin.
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Submit entertainment announcements atwww.connectionnewspapers.com/Calendar/. Thedeadline is noon on Friday. Photos/artwork encour-aged.
ONGOING“Thoroughly Modern Millie.” Through May 12
at Reston Community Center’s CenterStage,2310 Colts Neck Road, Reston. PerformanceDates are April 20, 21, 27, 28, 29*, May 4, 5, 6*,11, 12, 2018. Curtain time is 8 p.m. except forApril 29 and May 6 which are matinees with a 2p.m. curtain. Cost is $27/adults; $23 students/seniors. Visit restonplayers.org.
Homegrown Yoga. Tuesday, Wednesday andThursday nights at ArtSpace Herndon, 750Center St., Herndon. Alison Adams is bringingHomegrown Yoga. All levels welcome. Drop inand take a class. $25 two week unlimited passor drop-in available. Visitwww.homegrownpoweryoga.com to sign up.
The Elden Street Tea Shop. Saturdays inArtSpace Herndon, 750 Center St., Herndon. Siptea and enjoy a variety of locally made snacksand pastries while enjoying the latest artinstallations in the gallery. Visitwww.eldenstreettea.com.
FRIDAY/APRIL 27Amphibians After Dark. 7 p.m. at Lake Fairfax
Park in Reston. Cost is $6/$8. (7-Adult) Assistpark naturalists with a calling amphibian survey.Learn how to identify frogs and toads by theircalls as we explore pools and ponds. Childrenmust be accompanied by a registered adult. Visitwww.fairfaxcounty.gov.
SATURDAY/APRIL 28Fairfax Run for the Children. 8 a.m. at Fairfax
County Courthouse Complex, 4110 Chain BridgeRoad, Fairfax. Join Fairfax Court AppointedSpecial Advocates (CASA) for the 8th Annual 8Kand 3K races. The superhero-themed raceattracts nearly 1,000 runners and walkers, 250volunteers, and raises almost $85,000 each year
to support Fairfax CASA’s advocacy work withabused and neglected children in thecommunity. Participants can enjoy the after racecelebration, including superhero meet andgreets, a DJ, free food, face painting, kids’ crafts,photo booth, and more. Visitwww.fairfaxrunforthechildren.com/.
MONDAY/APRIL 30Women’s Training Program. 6:30-8 p.m. at
South Lakes High School, 11400 South LakesDrive, Reston. Reston Runners Women’sTraining Program will help walkers, runners andthose in between improve their fitness.Presentations on injury prevention, proper form,personal safety, and workouts with enthusiasticcoaches. Contact Molly Barrie [email protected] or visit the websitewww.RestonRunners.org.
THURSDAY-FRIDAY/MAY 3-4Big Truck Days. 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Thursday and 9
a.m.-7 p.m. Friday. At the Public WorksMaintenance Complex, 1479 Sterling Road,Herndon. The Town of Herndon’s Department ofPublic Works hosts its annual “Big Truck Days,”an opportunity for children to see the town’s bigtrucks and heavy equipment on display. Theevent is free; please bring non-perishable fooddonations. Visit the town’s website atwww.herndon-va.gov/PublicWorks or call 703-435-6860 or via email [email protected].
SATURDAY/MAY 5Native Plant Sale. 10 a.m.-2 p.m. at
Runnymeade Park, 195 Herndon Pkwy.,Herndon. The event is sponsored by Friends ofRunnymede Park. Visit www.frpweb.org.
SUNDAY/MAY 6Indigo T-Shirt Dyeing. 2-4 p.m. at ArtSpace
Herndon, 750 Center St., Herndon. WithElizabeth Gibson. Ages 7-13; cost $20 perstudent. Visit www.artspaceherndon.org.
Entertainment
6 ❖ Oak Hill/Herndon Connection ❖ April 25 - May 1, 2018 www.ConnectionNewspapers.com
News
Fairfax CountyPark Authorityrequires that allfarmers and pro-ducers come nofarther than a125-mile radiusof FairfaxCounty.
James Bourneis the owner ofThe Lamb’sQuarter, a colo-nial-era familyfarm in South-ern Maryland.Bourne farms onland that hasbeen owned andfarmed by hisfamily since1690. They spe-cialize in high quality, sustainablyraised meat, grass-fed beef, porkand lamb. Their free-range poul-try products include eggs, chickenand turkeys and they raise morethan three dozen different veg-etables, without synthetic chemi-cals or fertilizers. Bourne was ea-ger to share his thoughts about theHerndon Farmers Market.
“The Fairfax County Park Au-thority Market here in Herndon ismy first market of the season,”Bourne said. This is my fourth yearin Herndon, and by far Herndonis my best mid-week market. Thepeople are great. I continue to de-liver up here through the winterto keep my customers happy. Ihave a fantastic customer base.”
JOHN DUDZINSKY is theHerndon Market Manager. Hewalked up to Grace Bannhene,owner of Grace’s Bakery, as shewas setting up and welcomed herback.
“Grace’s Pastries located inHerndon is the only original ven-
dor remaining from whenthe market first started in 1989,”said Dudzinsky. “We’re so gladGracie comes every year.” GraceBannhene spoke about the fresh-ness of her pastries. “Everythingis done at the premises. Theseproducts we baked last night andloaded up.”
Another bakery was also at theHerndon market, but it offereddifferent products than Grace’sBakery. New to the HerndonFarmer’s Market was Bread & Wa-ter Company, an Artisan Bakeryand Cafe located in Alexandriaand Arlington. The bakery is com-mitted to local farmers and choos-ing to use seasonal produce asmuch as possible. The bakers pre-pare foods based on local availabil-ity, a big plus with Fairfax CountyPark Authority. The Park states ontheir website, “We encourage ourvendors to use local ingredients inthe creation of their products asmuch as possible.”
Harrison Rosenfeld, distributionmanager and vendor for Bread &
Water Company, said, “We bakefresh daily. The people in the bak-ery are very talented.” He thenwalked over and held up a five-foot-long loaf of bread, called“Mediterranean Greek VillageStyle Country Bread.” It is sold in4-inch segments. Harrison ex-plained, “The bakers start with 30pounds of dough with olive oil.The bread has a mild sourdoughtaste with the texture of chewyciabatta.”
There are eleven vendors at theHerndon Farmers Market, whichopened April 19, 2018, and willrun through Nov. 8, 2018. Thehours are 8 a.m.- 12:30 p.m. Themarket is located in Old TownHerndon, 700 Block of Lynn Streetby the Red Caboose. Supplemen-tal Nutrition Assistance Program(SNAP) EBT cards can be used atthe Herndon Fairfax County Farm-ers Market. The Virginia FreshMatch Program will match up to$20 per market visit for free fruitsand veggies.
From Page 2
Herndon Farmers Market Opens
Brad McCleaf unloads apples atthe Herndon Farmers Market onOpening Day, April 19, 2018.
Manny Medina of J & W ValleyView Farm readies produce beforeshoppers arrive at the HerndonFarmers Market.
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Oak Hill/Herndon Connection ❖ April 25 - May 1, 2018 ❖ 7www.ConnectionNewspapers.com
Kenny Lourie is an Advertising Representative forThe Potomac Almanac & The Connection Newspapers.
By KENNETH B. LOURIE
Not that deadlines don’t happen in thenewspaper business; of course they do, everyTuesday for us weeklies. But when combinedwith my usual post-chemotherapy malaise, itis a bit more challenging. More so when thedeadline is tightened up due to the nature ofhitting and occasionally missing in-house com-munications, which is also not unreasonablegiven the multiple demands multi taskingimposes.
Compounding this task even more is thatuntil I’m back to semi post-chemo normal, inthe interim, I am not eating too much, notsleeping well, have low energy (related to theprevious two deficiencies), my hands areshaky, my balance is off and I’m having somedifficulty focusing. It’s a good thing I’m sittingat a desk while attempting to write this col-umn because operating any heavy machinerywould definitely be out of the question. WhatI need to do is mind my own business.
Business which at the moment involvesfending off my buff-colored male cat, Chino,as he angles to sit on my writing pad as I movehim from left to right – and then right to leftsince he won’t take “Chino, move!” for adirective. But if I know anything, other thanwhat to expect post chemo, I also know whatto expect from Chino – or any of the othercats we manage: independence, as any fellowcat owner knows. Unlike a “true and loyaldog,” a cat, generally speaking, is not inclinedto respond to your commands, well, too manyof them, anyway. Nor are they likely torespond to any physical discipline and/orpushing/pulling/redirecting. Invariably, if youpush, they pull. If you pull, they push.
How Chino knows I’m not feeling well andon an unanticipated and abbreviated dead-line, I’ll never know. But rather than leave meto it, he’ll interfere every way possible: nuz-zling, nudging, leaning, rubbing, meowing,moving about and plopping down when allelse fails. If you love cats as we do, this is theircharm. If you don’t love them and their antics,I can see how this kind of behavior can bevery frustrating.
I mean, with all this activity, it’s difficult tothink about what I’m supposed to be doingwhen I’m so busy preventing things from get-ting done. I imagine Chino thinks he’s doingme a favor, being so affectionate and so in theway. Maybe he thinks he’s contributing to thecreative process by sitting in the middle of mywriting pad? In a way, maybe he is. He’s forc-ing me to concentrate. Moreover, he’s forcingme to focus on this most immediate taskwhich, at the moment, has me fending him offwith my left wrist while I’m scribbling prosewith my right hand. Oddly enough, it mightbe working as I’m three-quarters finished withthis column which 30 minutes ago was aweekend task until it became a today/Tuesdaytask.
Now if I didn’t have a CT scan and lowerabdomen MRI scheduled for Wednesday, I’dhave a bit more time to sort out the details ofwriting this column. Unfortunately, post-chemo, mid-newspaper deadline and pre-scan is a triple threat which sometimes canimpose its will. A ‘will’ which I take personallyso I will persevere and complete this columnwith one final paragraph now that Chino hasleft my desk and likely ended up on someunoccupied couch to sleep; he’s had a bigday.
All kidding aside, if there’s one behavior Ineed more than any other during these dead-line triple threats, it’s companionship. Becauseof Chino and our other four cats: Andrew,Sloane, Biscuit and Twinkle, I am never aloneand always have someone to talk to who,occasionally talks back. Not that we under-stand one another, but it’s giving and getting,and it’s loving and affecting – me and my can-cer; and everything in between.
You MeanTomorrowTuesday?
News
From Page 3
was time for a new generation to take thehelm in Congress. “There is somethingwrong with our politics,” he said, “thatmade so many willing to vote for DonaldTrump.”
Helmer was also the candidate to turn upthe heat on one of his opponents when theissue of gun violence was raised. Helmercalled out “someone on this stage” who hesaid accepted money from the National RifleAssociation and other corporations duringher political career, and who had voted forlegislation approving reciprocity for permit-ted carriers of concealed weapons fromother states.
SEVERAL OTHER QUESTIONS wereasked of the candidates and answered, butHelmer smoothly looped back to the guncontrol issue and acceptance of corporatepolitical contributions.
Sen. Wexton was ultimately identified asthe target of Helmer’s attack and Kesslergave her the opportunity to respond.
Pointing out that among the candidatesshe was the only one to ever hold electedoffice, Wexton said “this is what you dowhen you govern. You compromise.” Shefurther defended her vote saying that thebill was the result of a deal between theNRA, Republicans, and then-Gov. TerryMcAuliffe and that its passage aided victimsof domestic violence and allowed back-ground checks at gun shows.
Wexton later acknowledged taking con-tributions from Dominion Energy in previ-ous campaigns, but has already pledged notto take PAC money during this election.
Despite those few more heated ex-changes, the candidates and their support-ers seemed focused on the goal of continu-ing the “Blue Wave” that saw a dozen Demo-crats sweep into office in Richmond, andtheir mission to “replace and repeal BarbaraComstock” as Alison Friedman put it. At-tendees like Susan Jacobs of McLean whobacks Dan Helmer and thinks he’s the bestchance to beat Comstock, and AndrewFierro of Great Falls who supports Dr.Biggins, both say they are rooting for theircandidate, but will support whoever winsthe June 12 primary.
Challengers
Photo by Andrea Worker/The Connection
The inflatable “greeter” at theentrance to the debate. The candi-dates spent much of their timeattacking the Republican Congress,incumbent Rep. Barbara Comstock,and President Trump.
8 ❖ Oak Hill/Herndon Connection ❖ April 25 - May 1, 2018 www.ConnectionNewspapers.com
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Oak Hill & HerndonOpinion
By Sharon Bulova
Chairman, Fairfax
County Board of
Supervisors
During today’s[April 24]Board of Su-p e r v i s o r s
Meeting, the Board markedup the FY2019 AdvertisedBudget by a vote of 8-2. Formal adoption ofthe budget will take place on May 1. I wouldlike to share with you my remarks prior to ourvote this morning:
The process for adopting the County Budgetevery year is all about community engagement.Fiscal Year 2019 is no exception, with BudgetForums and Town Hall Meetings hosted in eachof our nine Districts, Budget Committee meet-ings (which included our partners on theSchool Board), and three days of public hear-ings on the Advertised Budget earlier this
month. Since February, our offices have re-ceived hundreds, if not thousands, of letters,e-mail messages, phone calls and personal vis-its from our constituents.
The Budget “mood” this year was harmonic,thanks to an Advertised Budget that I believehit all of the right notes.
The Budget that we are about to “Mark-Up,”or amend, is based on a tax rate of $1.15. Thepackage:
❖ Fully funds the School Board’s request,bringing teachers’ salaries into competitivealignment with our sister jurisdictions in theregion;
❖ Overall support for our school system isincreased by $91.49 million or 4.22 percentover Fiscal Year 2018, with 52.8 percent of ourGeneral Fund Budget going to schools;
❖ Fully funds compensation for our Countyemployees with a 2.25 percent Market RateAdjustment, Performance, Merit and Longev-ity increases;
❖ Includes funding for Fairfax First, Gang
Proposed Budget Hit All the Right Notes
“While this ... package includes a 2 cent increase in the real estatetax rate, an increase of $241 on the average annual tax bill, Ibelieve the additional revenue is an important investment neededto shore up the foundation on which our quality of life rests.”
SharonBulova
Prevention, the expansion of Diversion Firstand Opportunity Neighborhoods, additionalslots for Early Childhood programs, and fund-ing to address the Opioid Crisis;
❖ Provides an increase in funding for Metro(pending a long-term solution), VRE and ourConnector Bus System.
While this Mark-Up package includes a 2 centincrease in the real estate tax rate, an increaseof $241 on the average annual tax bill, I be-lieve the additional revenue is an importantinvestment needed to shore up the foundationon which our quality of life rests. I want tothank Budget Committee Chairman Jeff McKayfor his excellent work bringing this Mark-UpPackage to the Board today, along with Bud-get Guidance that addresses issues discussedduring budget deliberations with each of ourcolleagues. Adoption of a Budget every year re-quires the good faith collaboration of each mem-ber or our Board and I appreciate everyone’swillingness to come together on a Budget pro-cess that moves Fairfax County forward.
Letter to the Editor
To the Editor:As a current high school teacher in Fairfax
County, and a future school librarian, I fre-quently hear the question, “Why do you wantto be a librarian? Do kids even read anymore?”April is National School Library Month, andI’d like to take the opportunity to clarify theanswers to these questions.
In my school, the library is not only alreadyan essential part of the school, it is filled withuntapped potential as well, because so manyparents, students, and teachers are not awareof all of the opportunities that are available.Our school library provides our students withtechnology access, research stations, a placeto work and research, but also has lunch pro-
grams to help students meet each other andmake friends; on some days during lunch thereis a knitting group that meets. Students meetand teach each other to create new stitchesand patterns, and you haven’t seen a schoolunited until you’ve seen a freshman girl pa-tiently demonstrating a stitch for the third timeto a senior football player. We have a book clubthat meets during our remediation period oncea month. The kids pick the books, and havesome of the most lively discussions I’ve heard.
Even more than this, our library is teachingour students how to be digital citizens and 21stcentury learners. They foster curiosity — notalways an easy feat in high schoolers. Theyhave a coding station where our students can
learn to code, even if they aren’t taking com-puter science classes, and a media lab wherestudents produce, film, and present daily an-nouncements for the school. They are tryingto get a 3D printer in the library, as well asvirtual reality technology to allow our studentsto explore places and ideas to which they mightnever otherwise have access.
So yes, kids do still read. But these also aren’tthe same school libraries that we had; nolonger is the library a silent, intimidating tombof books. Go check out your local school li-brary after school one day in April — you mightjust be surprised at what you find!
Meagan MajorFairfax
Time to Rediscover Libraries
Submit civic/community announce-ments at ConnectionNewspapers.com/Calendar. Photos and artwork welcome.Deadline is Thursday at noon, at least twoweeks before event.
VOLUNTEERS NEEDEDVolunteers Needed for Northern
Virginia Fine Arts Festival. AtReston Town Center, 11900 MarketSt., Reston. Greater Reston ArtCenter’s (GRACE’s) largest annualfundraiser. Draws up to 30,000visitors and there is free garageparking all weekend. Over 500volunteers are needed. Volunteersperform a variety of roles includingsetting up with the logistics crew,welcoming and booth sitting forparticipating artists as part of theArtist Hospitality entourage,welcoming visitors and acceptingdonations for GRACE as a Festival
Ambassador, or helping young artistswith their creations in the Family ArtPark. Visit restonarts.org/fineartsfestival.
The Herndon High School PTSA isin need of a treasurer, but anyoneinterested in serving on the board iswelcome. The HHS PTSA works toprovide connections betweenstudents, teacher and parents. Theyoffer mini-grants to teachers,scholarships and achievement awardsto students as well as appreciationevents for staff. [email protected] learn more.
STEM Professionals Needed. Helpassist K-12 STEM teachers as part ofthe American Association for theAdvancement of Science’s STEMVolunteer Program,stemvolunteers.org, during the 2018-19 school year. In the 2017-18 schoolyear, there are 85 volunteers in six
Northern Virginia school districts.Contact Don Rea at 571-551- 2488,or [email protected].
Volunteer Adult Mentors Needed.Help assist the Department of FamilyServices’ BeFriendA-Child mentoringprogram. The mentors provideopportunities for companionship,guidance and support to childrenwho have been abused andneglected, or who are at risk of abuseand neglect. Contact Ibrahim Khalilat [email protected] 703-324-4547.
Volunteer ‘Victims’ Needed.Virginia Task Force 1 (VA-TF1) isholding a full scale exercise andneeds volunteers to act as victims inneed of rescue. The exercise will takeplace from the evening of Monday,April 23 through afternoon ofThursday, April 26. A minimum shiftof six hours is expected, overnightvolunteers are especially needed.
“Victims” will need to be able tocrawl in and out of rubble piles,capable of sitting or lying in place forextended periods of time, and notmind getting dirty. ContactChristopher Yorty [email protected].
PARENTS HELPING PARENTSParent Support Partners, a service
of the Healthy Minds Fairfaxinitiative, are all parents who havereceived training and are qualitied tooffer education, support andassistance at no cost to families orcaregivers. They provide reliableinformation that families can use indecision-making and are familiarwith services and resources that canhelp families in distress. Visitwww.fairfaxcounty.gov/healthymindsfairfax or www.nami-northernvirginia.org/parent-peer-support.html.
Bulletin Board