state, local officials rally behind fbi in springfield holiday...

Burke Connection ❖ December 19-25, 2013 ❖ 1www.ConnectionNewspapers.com

State, Local Officials RallyBehind FBI in Springfield

News, Page 3

A Year in a Fast LaneNews, 2

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Alma Wilsonvolunteers withher daughter at theFACETS HolidaySibling Shop.

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December 19-25, 2013

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online at www.connectionnewspapers.com

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HolidaySibling ShopSpreads theSpirit of GivingNews, Page 4

HolidaySibling ShopSpreads theSpirit of Giving

HolidaySibling ShopSpreads theSpirit of GivingNews, Page 4

2 ❖ Burke Connection ❖ December 19-25, 2013 www.ConnectionNewspapers.com

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U.S. Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-11) joins other high-ranking Virginia politicians in backing the Springfield sitefor the new FBI headquarters. The GSA is expected to announce the site selection in 2015. From left - Secre-tary of Commerce and Trade Jim Cheng, who represented Governor Robert McDonnell; U.S. Rep. Jim Moran(D-8) and Fairfax County Supervisor Jeff McKay (D-Lee).

News

By Victoria Ross

The Connection

A high-ranking delegation of Vir-ginia politicians gathered inSpringfield Tuesday morning ina renewed effort to convince the

Federal Bureau of Investigation to relocateits headquarters to a warehouse site inSpringfield.

The move in the high-stakes, highly com-petitive regional competition comes aftersite selection guidelines eliminated almostall other Northern Virginia locations.

U.S. Sens. Mark Warner (D) and TimKaine (D), U.S. Reps. Jim Moran (D-8),Frank Wolf (R-10) and Gerry Connolly (D-11), Governor-elect Terry McAuliffe (D),State Del. Vivian Watts (D-39), FairfaxCounty Supervisor Jeff McKay (D-Lee) andothers held a news conference on Tuesday,Dec. 17 at Northern Virginia CommunityCollege’s Medical Campus Tuesday to senda message that the Springfield site is theideal choice.

IN LATE 2011, the General Services Ad-ministration (GSA), which manages federalproperties, announced plans to move theFBI’s main office out of the run-down, di-lapidated J. Edgar Hoover Building on Penn-sylvania Avenue.

Since then, several jurisdictions across theWashington region have made it clear theyhave the ideal location for the bureau’smove.

But the Virginia delegation made the ar-gument that the federally-owned ware-house in Springfield makes the best loca-tion for the FBI to consolidate as many as11,000 employees for a number of reasons,including the fact that the GSA alreadyowns the warehouse, which guarantees thatfederal government ownership of the cam-pus is both clean and easy.

“Virginia checks every box,” Warner said,“transit accessible, fiber-wired, synergy withFBI Quantico… Many FBI employees livein Virginia, and it is easy for DC and Mary-land residents to commute.”

Citing the bi-partisan display of unity inthe effort, Kaine said he was “brought intothis process by our three members of Con-gress - Connolly, Moran, and Wolf…It ischaracteristic of us in Virginia that we allwork together. “

Wolf, who chairs the appropriations sub-committee overseeing the FBI, said the siteis ideally located, with easy access to theCIA and Quantico.

Connolly agreed: “The FBI’s ability to in-teract with other federal anti-terrorism of-fices located in NoVA is critical.”

Supervisor McKay, whose district is home

He pointed out that airport access willsoon be served by two Metro stations onceRail to Dulles is complete.

Fairfax County would also benefit by high-paying jobs that would come to the area,and redevelopment of the site would spurconstruction of other office projects nearbyand expand commercial tax base.

“You know the site makes perfect sensewhen the entire Northern Virginia Congres-sional Delegation, the Governor, the Gov-ernor-Elect, and State elected and ap-pointed officials – both Democrats and Re-publicans- all agree on something,” McKayadded.

ACCORDING TO OFFICIALS, the deci-sion by the GSA will be made in 2015. Whileother regional sites have been eliminatedfor various reasons, Maryland is still in therunning with its site in Prince GeorgesCounty.

But Connolly predicts the Springfield sitewill be the chosen one.

“We’re going to win this on the merits,not on politics. We had a number of sites inVirginia, but we put our parochial interestaside to support the best site for NorthernVirginia and for our national security.”

Virginia leaders toutmerits of Springfield sitefor FBI HQ relocation.

What More Could FBI Want?

to the warehouse site, said county officialswill do “everything in our power to makesure zoning and other factors are in place.”

McKay said the benefits to the federalgovernment of relocating to Springfield“would be substantial.”

In January 2012, Fairfax County joinedPrince George’s County and the District inplacing its marker on the table in the high-stakes competition soon after the Senatepassed a resolution authorizing the GSA andFBI to seek new headquarters in December

2011.“The FBI needs 2 million square feet of

office space, located within two miles of aMetro station and within 2.5 miles of theBeltway according to the GAO. Redevelop-ing existing sites in DC would be extremelyexpensive, especially given the post-911security features that are now required…Itis adjacent to the Franconia/SpringfieldMetro Station, VRE, AMTRAK, bus service,and every highway except Route 66,” McKaysaid at the time.

A map of the ware-house site in Spring-field shows thelocation’s primeproximity to majortransportation. Thesite is adjacent to theFranconia/Spring-field Metro Station,VRE, AMTRAK, busservice, and everyhighway exceptRoute 66.

“We’re going to win this on the merits, not on politics. We had a numberof sites in Virginia, but we put our parochial interest aside to supportthe best site for Northern Virginia and for our national security.”

— U.S. Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-11)

“We’re going to win this on the merits, not on politics. We had a numberof sites in Virginia, but we put our parochial interest aside to supportthe best site for Northern Virginia and for our national security.”

— U.S. Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-11)

Photo by George Burke

Burke Connection Editor Kemal Kurspahic

703-778-9414 or [email protected]


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News

See Facets, Page 7

By Janelle Germanos

The Connection

FACETS, a non-profit inFairfax that helps those af-fected by poverty, hosted a

Holiday Sibling Shop on Dec. 16at the Ragan Oaks Community

Center that allowed children liv-ing in an affordable housing com-munity to shop for donated giftsto give to their siblings during theholiday season.

According to James Wilson, acommunity advocate for FACETS,the Holiday Sibling Shops not onlygive children the chance to shopfor gifts, but also reduce stress thefamilies may face.

“More importantly, knowing thattheir kids are going to be able toget gifts for their siblings and it isnot an additional expense the par-

ents have to budget in with theother things they have to worryabout such as rent, work, andother expenses,” Wilson said.

Gifts at the Holiday SiblingShops are donated and the eventtakes place at FACETS Educationand Community Development lo-cations in the affordable housingcommunities.

“We really enjoy giving gifts tokids that would probably not haveanything,” said Liz Griffith, thedevelopment coordinator for FAC-ETS. “It makes them feel more

normal and they don’t feel so leftout.”

The Holiday Sibling Shop, whichalso took place at three other af-fordable housing communitiesthroughout the week, includedvolunteers from Bank of America,Deloitte, and INOVA Health.

Edgar Guerra, who works atBank of America in Fairfax andvolunteered at the Holiday SiblingShop, lived in an affordable hous-ing community as a child and re-members participating in FACETSactivities and services at the com-

munity center in his neighbor-hood.

Guerra grew up in RobinsonSquare, which has a recreationcenter serviced by FACETS. Helater became a volunteer for FAC-ETS, working as a peer lab assis-tant and a homework help volun-teer. He also spoke at the FACETS

Neyda Lugunes-Loza, 13, helped Jason, 6, pick out a gift for his brotherat the FACETS Holiday Sibling Shop.

Alma Wilson of Alexandria helps Adrian pick out a gift for his brotherGreg.

Holiday Sibling Shop Spreads the Spirit of GivingFACETS hosts atraditional Holi-day Sibling Shop.

“I like the conceptthat families areable to get presents.It is nice to helpfamilies who cannotafford them.”

— Alma Wilson, Volunteer

Benefit Breakfast in 2009.“When I saw the FACETS post-

ing, I knew I had to go. FACETShas been a wonderful organiza-tion, in my experiences volunteer-ing,” Guerra said.

Guerra said that the communitycenters serviced by FACETS pro-vide important resources and posi-tive reinforcement for children liv-ing in the affordable housing com-munities.

“I was happy that there was apositive place to go to,” Guerrasaid. “It was great to have thoseresources available.”

Volunteers at the event helpedchildren pick out gifts for their sib-lings, and also helped wrapped thegifts.

Alma Wilson, who works forBank of America in Alexandria,brought her daughter Kira to theHoliday Sibling Shops because shethought it would be a good expe-rience.

“I like the concept that familiesare able to get presents. It is niceto help families who cannot affordthem,” Wilson said.

Guerra said that he volunteers

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Bulletin Board


Opinion

By Michelle Krocker

And Jim Edmondson

In the latest edition of The Herrity Re-port, Springfield Supervisor Pat Herrityproposed “redirecting developers’ $3 persquare foot contribution for buying rent-

controlled housing units into a trustfund to pay for public school renova-tion and construction.”

The report proceeds to make severalunsubstantiated claims regarding thenumber of people living in subsidized housingand the growth in both the number of subsi-dized units and number of households inFairfax County. However as in the past, TheHerrity Report does not provide the full pic-ture of the housing policy under discussion,and misrepresents the facts.

The Board of Supervisors adopted its hous-ing policy in 2010 as a part of the larger plan

for the redevelopment of Tysons. It is now un-der consideration, at the request of the board,for application in other designated high den-sity, transit and business centers in the rest ofthe county. Called the ‘3-2-1’ policy, the pro-posal by county staff would apply a contribu-tion from commercial development to supportthe construction of workforce housing in thetransit or business area, as it does in the Tysonsplan. The contribution would be applied on asliding scale based on a proposeddevelopment’s proximity to a transit station.This proposal will go before the Planning Com-mission and then the Board of Supervisors inthe first quarter of 2014.

Why is this policy important?❖ To accommodate projected job growth and

remain competitive within the region, it is im-portant to ensure housing opportuni-ties for the workforce of the future atall income levels;

❖ Developing housing at transit sta-tions and adjacent to employment cen-

ters encourages use of mass transit, walkingand biking which can lead to fewer cars, andless congestion; it also enhances Metro revenueand reduces the pressure on local governmentto provide subsidies for the system;

❖ Linking commercial development (jobs)and housing via a linkage program is an ac-knowledged “best practice” in hundreds ofcommunities across the country to ensure an

adequate supply of housing to support jobgrowth.

❖ It recognizes the changing preferences ofworkers/taxpayers/voters, particularly youngpeople, to live near where they work.

The proposed policy anticipates that the con-tributions will be made to a housing trust fundused by the county to leverage private sectorfinancing to develop the needed housing.

The housing that is constructed will not beowned or purchased by the county. In fact, verylittle of the affordable housing in the county isowned by the government.

Securing decent housing that is affordableremains a challenge for Fairfax County house-holds earning less than $60,000.

Meeting the growing needs of our schoolsystem is also an important issue. Both educa-tion and safe, decent housing are fundamen-tal to the well-being of our community, andresidents want leadership that seeks to findworkable solutions. Failing to recognize theimportance of both and pitting one issueagainst the other are not the answers, and thecitizens of Fairfax County deserve better fromelected officials.

Michelle Krocker is executive director,Northern Virginia Affordable Housing Alliance.Jim Edmondson is president of AHOME, whichpromotes affordable housing opportunities forfamilies at all income levels.

Preserve 3-2-1 for HousingHousing for all incomelevels near transitsupports vibrantcommunities and jobgrowth, reduces traffic.

Guest

Editorial

Parents Advocate forClass Size CapsTo the Editor:

On Saturday, Dec. 7, Fairfax County PublicSchools (FCPS) Superintendent’s (Dr. KarenGarza) conducted a “Listening Tour” meetingat Cooper Middle School in McLean.

Many parents who spoke at the meeting wereconcerned about large class sizes in theirchildren’s schools. This is not a problem in mostFCPS schools - the average elementary schoolclass in FCPS has only 21-22 students, andplenty of FCPS elementary schools average 20or fewer students per class.

However, large class sizes have become thenorm in Vienna, Oakton, McLean and GreatFalls schools. Teachers unlucky enough to beassigned to the 30+ classes are often pushedto the limit in terms of what they can do tocontrol classroom behavior and alleviate stu-dent stress. At Wolftrap Elementary, teachershave even created a “coping couch” for stressedkids to help them escape from the crowded,noisy and chaotic atmosphere that is so ofteninevitable with such excessively large classes.

The school system is looking at county-wideincreases in average class sizes. Without sometype of class size cap, this would create a situ-ation where most of the county’s students hadreasonable class sizes (e.g., 16 to 26 students),but even more students in the Vienna, Oakton,McLean and Great Falls would have more than30 students in their rooms - which are no largerthan the rooms being used to hold 17 or 22students elsewhere in FCPS.

After seeing their children crammed intooversized classes for years, parents formedClass Size Counts last year. The group is work-ing with State Delegate Barbara Comstock toaddress the class size issue at the state level,Supervisor Foust, several School Board mem-bers and Superintendent Garza at the countylevel. The Class Size Counts online petition,with over 1,000 signatures, asks that theFairfax County school system not increase av-erage class sizes without simultaneously imple-menting class size caps:

http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/stop-oversize-classes-in-fairfax-countyschool/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=system&utm_campaign=Send%2Bto%2BFriend .

At Cooper Middle School, Dr. Garza reas-sured parents and teachers in the room thatshe is working to fix this problem, by draftingan FCPS regulation that would impose classsize caps.

Class Size Counts applauds Dr. Garza for tak-ing a stand on implementing caps so that allchildren in FCPS can receive a decent and faireducation.

Interestingly, the School Board memberwhose district includes many schools with thelargest class sizes - Jane Strauss - also told par-ents at a Longfellow PTA meeting that she op-posed a class size cap, and preferred to con-tinue using the FCPS “staffing reserve.” Sev-eral years ago, parents submitted a Freedomof Information Act (FOIA) request for emailsand other documents regarding the staffingreserve. The documents painted a picture of aslush fund with no apparent criteria or controls.

Kim FarrellMother of two FCPS students

Vienna

Karen Garza discusses class size atthe Dec. 7 listening tour in McLean.

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News

Edgar Guerra, who works at Bankof America in Fairfax, wraps pre-sents at the FACETS Holiday Sib-ling Shop.

Miguel Reynoso wraps presentsthat children picked out for theirsiblings at the FACETS HolidaySibling Shop on Dec. 16.

Adrian, 11, picked out Legos at the FACETS HolidaySibling Shop for his brother.

From Page 4

FACETS Hosts Holiday Siblings Shopbecause he wants to give back to the com-

munity and to the cycle of kindness that heexperienced.

“Even if it is just that one thing that a

volunteer will say to a child that is positiveto them, it can carry on forever,” Guerrasaid. “I remember their faces a little bit, butthat positive vibe is a wonderful thing tohave.

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By Marilyn Campbell

The Connection

Liz Henry is nervous abouther upcoming flight to SanFrancisco. It’s not TSA

regulations or long lines that arecausing her anxiety, however. It istraveling alone with her three chil-dren — all of whom are under theage of 6.

“My kids are 5, 3 and 1,” saidHenry, who lives in Vienna. “I’mtaking them to visit my family forChristmas, but they’ve never flownbefore. I have a lot of DVDspacked, but I don’t know how farthose will get me. I don’t like paci-fying my kids with videos, but Idon’t think I have a choice.”

Going home for the holidays of-ten means boarding an airplanewith high-energy children and set-

tling in for a long ride. Parentssuch as Henry scramble to findways to fill the time in a way thatkeeps their child entertained with-out disturbing other passengers.Local education experts say thereare options that don’t involve the

last resort of videos and electronicgames, however.

“Reading is always a goodchoice, but for many children, itcannot hold their attention forlong plane rides,” said LenAnnetta, Ph.D., a professor in the

College of Education and HumanDevelopment at George MasonUniversity. “Games like Scrabblechallenge players’ literacy skills ina fun way. Crossword puzzles arealso fun and engaging.”

Annetta, who recently returnedfrom a family trip to Italy, has first-hand experience with survivinglengthy plane rides with childrenin tow. “I took the whole family,including my 13- and 11-year-oldchildren,” he said. “My childrenare older, but we played a namethe cloud game. Of course, wewere above the clouds, so it madeit a bit more difficult.”

When traveling abroad, a longflight is an ideal time to learn moreabout the culture or language ofyour final destination. “My chil-dren tried a crash course on Ital-ian,” said Annetta. “They learneda few words they used during theweek we were there. This was afree app on the iPod that we down-loaded before we left.”

Bethesda-based psychotherapistKatie Cogan, Ph.D., recommendsactivities that engage a child’simagination, particularly foryounger children. “You always

have your imagination with you nomatter what,” she said. “You cansay to a child, ‘Tell me a story,’ oryou can take turns telling storieswith your child. When you’re onthe plane, you can help your childimagine what it will look like whenwe get there.”

For young children, Cogan said,“Using what’s inside you to createa world that already exists. It iscalled active imagination. Useyour creativity to do anything. Ifyou’re with a young child, you canask ‘How many things can youthink of that are red?’”

Cogan also advises helping chil-dren make up a story, particularlyabout their final destination. “If itis a small kid, give them the firstpart of the story or the first wordand let them take if from there,”she said. “Have paper with you,and you can have your child tellyou the story and either write itdown or have your child write thestory down and color it.”

Annetta said, “Journaling yourexperience is a fun way to prac-tice writing while telling the storyof where you are going or whereyou’ve been.”

Home for the Holidays: Surviving a Long TripKeeping childrenentertained onlengthy airplanerides.

Len Annetta, Ph.D., of George Mason University traveledto Italy recently with his wife, Jennifer, and his childrenSamantha and Joey. Annetta kept his children occupiedduring the long fight with cloud games and by helpingthem practice Italian.

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Mr. and Mrs. PalmerMarcantonio of Vir-ginia Beach are happyto announce the en-gagement of theirdaughter, Laura An-gela, to Ryan LeeStiles. Ryan is the sonof Ms. Audrey Stiles ofWilliamsburg and Mr.Ronald Stiles of Vir-ginia Beach.

The bride is a 2003graduate of LakeBraddock SecondarySchool, a 2007 gradu-ate of James MadisonUniversity with a Bach-elor of Science in Soci-ology, and a 2013graduate of VirginiaCommonwealth Uni-versity with a Master ofScience in Nursing inWomen’s Health. Sheis employed by CJW MedicalCenter in Richmond.

The groom is a 2000 gradu-ate of Jamestown High School,a 2005 graduate of VirginiaCommonwealth Universitywith a Bachelor of Science inPsychology and is a currentMaster of Business Administra-

tion candidate at the Univer-sity of Richmond’s RobinsSchool of Business. He is em-ployed by the University ofRichmond.

Laura and Ryan look forwardto celebrating with their familyand friends in Charlottesville,Va., next September.

Laura Angela Marcantonio,Ryan Lee Stiles Engaged

Ryan Lee Stiles andLaura Angela Marcantonio


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HappyHolidays!

News

By Steve Hibbard

The Connection

The all-volunteer Celebration Singers per-formed their final holiday concert of theyear on Sunday, Dec. 15 at St. John’sUnited Methodist Church in Springfield.

The group started at Springfield Methodist Churchin the 1960s by the name of the Wesleyan Singers.Some of the ladies have been singing together for40-plus years. And through the years, membershiphas reached 66 people, but has since dwindled to18.

The all-female ensemble sings three, four, and five-part harmonies with huge audience interaction. Theysing and dance at nursing homes, assisted-living fa-cilities, benefits for Make-a-Wish and the Salvation

Army, Fischer House at Walter Reed Hospital, andeven the White House.

Anne Miller, 77, of Fairfield, Va., near Lexington,started directing the group in 1971 and has remainedever since. “It’s just something I love,” said Millerwho has been singing since age 6 and hails fromClinton, Okla. “I love to direct, I love to sing and Ilove to make people happy.”

Miller was married to Grant Miller, an Air ForceLawyer, and directed the Tripoli Choral Society whilethey were stationed in Libya. She received a master’sdegree in vocal performance from the University ofHawaii in 1969 and moved to Northern Virginia in1971. That year, she performed in the LeonardBernstein Mass at the grand opening of The KennedyCenter in front of Jackie Kennedy.

Betty Aldrich, 70, of Falls Church says Miller isamazing in her ability to pull out choral perfectionfrom the group. “She teaches us how to center,” saidAldrich who’s been a member since the mid-1980s.

Springfield show choir hasbeen going strong 40 years.

In Harmony WithCelebration Singers

Anne Miller conducts the audience at St.John’s United Methodist Church in Spring-field on Sunday.

Nora Steiger, 85, of Springfield plays awashtub bass using a broomstick and onestring, sometimes called a “stumpf-fiddle.”

See Celebrating, Page 10

The CelebrationSingers performat St. John’sUnited MethodistChurch in Spring-field on Sunday.

Photos by

Steve Hibbard/

The Connection

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All Are Welcome!Sunday Worship 8, 9:30 & 11:30 a.m.

Sunday School for Children & Adults 9:30 a.m.Married Couples Sunday School 11:30 a.m.

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Antioch Baptist Church6531 Little Ox Road

Fairfax Station, VA 22039703-425-0710 • www.antioch-church.org

BaptistPreservation of Zion

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CatholicChurch of the Nativity

703-455-2400

Christian ReformedGrace Christian Reformed

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Shepherd703-323-5400

St. Andrew’s EpiscopalChurch 703-455-2500

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December 15Children’s Musical

“Camel Lot” and Adult Choirpresentation, 11 am.

Holiday Reception follows.

December 24Christmas Eve gathering, 8 pm

December 31International Food Feast and

family activities, 6-10 pm

From Page 9

News

“She gets a beautiful sound with us.”Jenny Squire, 64, of Springfield, who wrote the

script and emceed along with Karen Weinberg,agrees: “She gets from our group a sound that no-body else could get.” Squire is also passionate aboutperforming live at nursing homes and hospitals. “Itprovides them with a window on the world that theycan access,” she said. “We provide live entertainment,which means it’s one-on-on.” She loves to see re-sponses like foot tapping or people mouthing words.After a performance, the singers usually go out andshake hands and greet people. “It’s all about reach-ing them,” she adds.

For their Christmas Show on Sunday, the groupwore brightly colored handmade costumes anddanced to the choreographed songs, “O Holy Night,”“Hanukkah’s Child,” “Christmas Waltz,” and “AfricanAdvent Carol,” among others.

For Willa Lutz, 64, of Falls Church, she enjoys thefriends she’s known for 20 years. “I like to sing anddance,” she added.

Nora Steiger, 85, of Springfield has been singingwith the group for 40 years. She plays a washtubbass using a broomstick and one string, sometimescalled a “stumpf-fiddle.” She calls Miller “very pa-tient and gentle.”

Lydia Garner, 62, a one-year member from Ster-ling, says Miller adds humor to the mix. She says

Celebrating inHarmony

she loves “the gratification of knowing I brought asmile to people’s faces.”

For Karen Weinberg, 58, the Celebration Singersis “like a family.” She enjoys the camaraderie andsays it’s more than just singing. “We get as much outof the performance as (the audience) does.”

“It’s really like a big caring family of all sisters,”added Gayle Parsons, 63, of Springfield, a pianistwho’s been with the group six years.

After Labor Day, the group goes to the MiddlebrookRetreat Center for two days where they begin prac-ticing the songs and choreographing the moves. Af-ter polishing the show for about three months atBurke United Methodist Church, they are ready togive their holiday concert.

Alice Groenig, 64, directs a subgroup called“Sounds of Joy,” that does smaller shows with eightsingers. A member for 28 years, she enjoys “the joyand happiness of seeing people’s faces who don’t getto see live entertainment.”

Celebration Singers is always looking for new mem-bers. If interested in joining, email Jenny Squire [email protected].

Photo by Steve Hibbard/The Connection

Karen Pruitt of Vienna dances to“Hanukkah’s Child.”


WEDNESDAY/DEC. 18Travelers’ Christmas Eve. 7:30 p.m.

Messiah United Methodist Church,6215 Rolling Road, Springfield. AChristmas Eve service for thosepersons, especially first responders,doctors and nurses who may have towork on Dec. 24.www.messiahumc.org

FRIDAY/DEC. 20 - SATURDAY/DEC. 21“Oh Holy Night,” a Christmas

Concert. 7:30 p.m. Workhouse ArtsCenter, 9601 Ox Road, Lorton. Get inthe holiday spirit with somemelodious tunes. Tickets $15 http://www.workhousearts.org/events/performing-arts/christmas-concert-o-holy-night

SATURDAY/DEC. 21An Irish Christmas – An Nollaig. 8

p.m. GMU Center for the Arts,4400 University Drive, Fairfax. Irish-American fiddler Eileen Ivers bringsthe joy of the holiday season toFairfax with her celebration for thewhole family, a heartwarmingconcert filled with tales of IrishChristmas traditions and favoriteCeltic holiday tunes. Tickets: $25-$50.

Living Nativity. 5:30-7:30 p.m.Safeway Parking Lot, Burke TownPlaza, at the corner of Old Keene Milland Lee Chapel/Burke Center

Parkway. Calvary Christian Church ishosting its annual ‘Living Nativity’. Inaddition to people, sheep, donkeysand even a camel will be there. Hotcocoa, cider and cookies will beprovided.

SUNDAY/DEC. 22Christmas Cantata. 11 a.m. Cranford

United Methodist Church, 9912 OldColchester Road, Lorton. Join the 25member strong Cranford ChancelChoir, led by music director GayleLennon, as they sing to the glories ofthe coming Emmanuel with song.

TUESDAY/DEC. 24Christmas Caroling. 4:30 p.m.

Cranford United Methodist Church,9912 Old Colchester Road, Lorton.Door-to-door caroling.

Candlelight Christmas EveService. 7:30 p.m. Cranford UnitedMethodist Church, 9912 OldColchester Road, Lorton. An eveningof music, scripture and quietreflection of the birth of Jesus.

WEDNESDAY/DEC. 25J Fest. 11 a.m. - 3 p.m. wish

Community Center of NorthernVirginia, 8900 Little River Turnpike,Fairfax. The day includesentertainment, food and fun for allages. At 3 p.m., the JCCNV willscreen the documentary “Hava Nagila

(The Movie)” — a romp through thehistory, mystery and meaning of thegreat Jewish standard. Israelidancing with Markid Mark followsthe film. J Fest fee per family (up to6 people): $20/ $15 JCCNV member(includes admission and moviescreening). Film only fee: $9/ $6JCCNV member, senior, student,child. Call (703) 323-0880 for detailsand to register, or visitwww.jccnv.org.

TUESDAY/DEC. 31The Ultimate 80s New Years Eve. 9

p.m. Empire, 6355 Rolling Road,Springfield. $20.

The Ultimate New Year’s EveExperience. 7 p.m. - 1 a.m. HyattFair Lakes Hotel, 12777 Fair LakesCircle, Fairfax. Live entertainment,music, food, and more. Tickets: $159per person.

Cool Cow Comedy Presents: TheNew Years Eve Special. 7 p.m. &9 p.m. Workhouse Arts Center, 9601Ox Road, Lorton. Admission: $35.With powerful stand up comedy andhilarious sketch comedy, RahmienMostafavi (DC Improv, KennedyCenter), Jon Mumma (DC Improv,Sirius XM), and Danny Rouhier(106.7 The Fan, DC Improv) will takeyou toward midnight with sidesplitting comedy. For tickets, visit:http://www.workhousearts.org/events/performing-arts/cool-cow-comedy-presents-nye-special-show.

Holiday Calendar

Eileen Ivers brings the joy of the holiday season to Fairfax with her celebration for thewhole family, a heartwarming concert filled with tales of Irish Christmas traditions andfavorite Celtic holiday tunes on Dec. 21 at GMU’s Center for the Arts.

Pho

to

by Luke R

atray

To have community events listed,send [email protected] call 703-778-9416 with questions.The deadline for submissions is theFriday prior to publication; we rec-ommend submitting your event twoweeks ahead of time. To see moreentertainment events, go to: http://www.connectionnewspapers.com/news/2013/sep/26/fairfax-county-calendar/.

WEDNESDAY/DEC. 18- SUNDAY/JAN. 5100 Under 200: 100 Artists

Exhibiting Work Priced Lessthan $200. Workhouse Arts,9601 Ox Road, Lorton. Freeflowing and ever changing; theexhibit will have new art on vieweach week.

From the Fire. Workhouse Arts,9601 Ox Road, Lorton. Fivediverse ceramic artists challengethemselves to create personalwork for a joint firing in “From

the Fire”, an educational exhibit of30 works and concomitantphotographs and text.

SATURDAY/DEC. 21Ballroom Social Dance. 7:30-10:30

p.m. 601 Ox Road, Lorton.Admission: $15. http://www.workhousearts.org/events/performing-arts/ballroom-social-dance-10

FRIDAY/JAN. 3 & SATURDAY/JAN. 4Cabaret Series: Welcome to the

Speakeasy. 8 p.m. Workhouse Arts,9601 Ox Road, Lorton. A raucousramble through the Jazz Age astalented performers tackle the tunesinspired by the gin-joint atmosphere.

SUNDAY/JAN. 5Cabaret Series: Welcome to the

Speakeasy. 1 p.m. Workhouse Arts,9601 Ox Road, Lorton. A raucousramble through the Jazz Age astalented performers tackle the tunesinspired by the gin-joint atmosphere.

ONGOINGFirst Fridays at the Clifton Art

Guild. 6-9 p.m. at Clifton WineShop, 7145 C Main St.,

Clifton. Enjoy a wine tasting and mixand mingle with the Art Guild ofClifton artists. 703-830-1480 orwww.artguildofclifton.org/.

Saturday Farmers Market. 8a.m.-1 p.m., at the parking lot atthe intersection of West and MainStreets behind Wells Fargo Bankin Fairfax. Every Saturday thereis fresh produce, goods and waresat the [email protected] orwww.FairfaxSaturdayMarket.com.

Sunday Farmers Market. 10a.m.-2 p.m., at the parking lot atthe intersection of West and MainStreets behind Wells Fargo Bankin Fairfax. Every Saturday thereis fresh produce, goods and waresat the [email protected] orwww.FairfaxSundayMarket.com.

Calendar

On Dec. 2, DelegateEileen Filler-Corn(D-41) co-hosted a

forum with David Anderson,executive director for HigherEducation, Association ofAmerican Publishers and NadaDabbagh, professor and direc-tor of Division of Learning Tech-nologies, George Mason Univer-sity to discuss new technologiesand affordable options forhigher education textbooks.This forum brought togetherseveral important stakeholdersinvolved with higher educationand the development and usageof textbooks. “I was honoredto lead this forum that contin-ued the vital discussion of howwe can reduce costs for our stu-dents and families through theuse of new technology and re-sources in textbooks and classmaterials” said Del. Filler-Corn.“We have continued to see a risein the price of textbooks andother auxiliary materials inhigher education. We need touse new resources as a way toreduce costs and ensure thatstudents are getting the mostout of their higher education.”

This forum was the result ofa yearlong discussion from Del-egate Filler-Corn’s 2013 bill, HB1777, with a goal of creating anOpen Education ResourceCouncil tasked with developingand acquiring open educationresources that could be pro-vided at no charge to students.This bill was referred to the

Joint Commission on Technol-ogy and Science during the2013 General Assembly sessionand has drawn wide interestfrom different parties. The pri-mary focus of the forum heldat George Mason Universitywas a discussion of Virginiacolleges and universities usingopen education resources(OER). OER materials are text-books or other auxiliary re-sources developed and pro-duced with no copyright restric-tions. This makes them avail-able for anyone to access anduse at their disposal. Oftenthese materials are developedby university professors withexpertise in their field and peerreviewed for accuracy of infor-mation. “Several states are cur-rently utilizing OER materialsas a way to reduce cost burdenson their students. These booksare available at no charge andaccessed digitally at thestudent’s convenience. This isan excellent method to increaseaffordability, while still provid-ing accurate information andquality material,” Del. Filler-Corn said. Representativesfrom George Mason University,the State Council of HigherEducation for Virginia (SCHEV)and the VCCS attended the fo-rum to add their input on theidea. Additionally, representa-tives from the major textbookpublishers and Fairfax CountyPublic Schools were also in at-tendance.

Del. Eileen Filler-Corn (D-41) participates in OpenEducation Resource Forum on textbooks at GeorgeMason University on Dec. 2.

Del. Filler-Corn Co-hostsOpen Resources ForumHow to provide students neweducation resources at no charge.

From right - Del. EileenFiller-Corn pictured withDavid Anderson, execu-tive director for HigherEducation Association ofAmerican Publishers,and Nada Dabbagh,professor & directorDivision of LearningTechnologies at GeorgeMason University.

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News

Construction dominated the scenery on I-95/395 between Garrisonville Road(Route 610) in Stafford County andTurkeycock Park near Edsall Road in the

north as the 95 Express Lanes project crews advancedwork in the 29-mile construction corridor keepingthe project on-track to open to traffic in early 2015.

The 2013 work focused on clearing the roadbedin the median for the new Express Lanes and build-ing new ramps and foundations for nine new bridgesincluding four flyover ramps connecting the ExpressLanes to the general purpose lanes and other I-95/395 overhead crossing roads and two new bridgestructures on the I-95 mainline over streams andcreeks.

One of the major bridge construction efforts wasdemolishing and re-building the Telegraph Roadbridge carrying traffic serving the Quantico, USMCfacilities on both sides of I-95 requiring a 9-monthlong detour. Once the old bridge was demolished,the median ground between 95 north and south wasexcavated to provide room for new 95 Express Lanesand the new Telegraph Road bridge was built overthe summer and will reopen this winter. Currently,new bridges crossing Aquia Creek, ChopawamsicCreek, Russell Road, Joplin Road, Route 1 and Fur-nace Road are under construction and will be com-pleted this year.

Building the new flyover ramps required the place-ment of steel beams over the I-95 lanes and severalmidnight to early morning detours were imple-mented allowing crews access to place steel beamsacross the 95 lanes. The flyover ramp south ofDumfries was done first, followed by the flyover nearAlban Road in Springfield, and the flyover atGarrisonville Road in Stafford County. Beam place-ment for the final flyover ramp at Turkeycock Parknear Edsall Road will be completed in January 2014.At the Fort Belvoir North Area in Springfield, beamswill be placed over I-95 South and Backlick Road inearly January and a detour will be in place for thisovernight activity. Although this is not part of the 95Express Lanes project, it is in the same corridor andwill impact motorists traveling at night.

In 2014, crews will be finishing the flyover rampconnections, placing pavement, installing soundwalls and erecting signs and toll gantry’s through-out the corridor.

A Year in a Fast Lane2013 was a big year fortransportation projects inNorthern Virginia.

Just south of the FairfaxCounty Parkway overpass,workers put decking on areversible express lanesramp in fall 2013.

From the air,decking isnearly com-plete on thereversible 95Express Lanesramp in theNewingtonarea.

Keeping Motorists InformedThroughout the year, Virginia Megaprojects continued its

public outreach program that keeps motorists informed ofconstruction and providing commuters with alternate traveloptions. One popular program has been the WoodbridgeTysons Express buses, the Saturday Metrodirect Bus betweenPotomac Mills Mall and the Springfield-Franconia Metro Sta-tion. Also, the new dynamic travel-time sign comparing HOVtravel times to the general purpose lanes and placement ofadditional message boards and signage are other methods theVDOT Virginia Megaprojects team employs to keep motoristsaware of highway conditions.

Construction impacts are also announced on theMegaprojects e-news, an electronic newspaper that is distrib-uted on a bi-weekly and monthly basis. To sign up for thee-news, email requests to [email protected].

Photo by

Joe Romeo

Photo by

Trevor Wrayton/

VDOT

Find us on Facebook and become a fan!www.Facebook.com/connectionnewspapers

It’s betterto givethan tolend, andit costsabout thesame.—Sir Philip Gibbs


Sports

By Jon Roetman

The Connection

Caroline Alcorta fin-ished 16th at the FootLocker Cross CountryChampionships na-

tional meet as a junior in 2012,missing by the slimmest of mar-gins the All-America status thataccompanies a top-15 finish.

Alcorta was disappointed butnot devastated, knowing she’dhave one more shot to crack thetop 15.

This year, Alcorta won the southregional in Charlotte on Nov. 30,earning a trip back to nationals.The West Springfield senior hadher sights set on becoming an All-American, saying a top-15 finishwould be “nifty.”

This time, she left no doubt.

ALCORTA PLACED THIRD atthe Foot Locker national meet onDec. 14, finishing with a time of17:31 at Morley Park in San Di-ego. Last year, Alcorta missed atop-15 finish by less than a second.This year, only two runners werefaster and she finished 22 secondsahead of the 15th-place harrier.

Alcorta said her goal was to fin-ish in the top 15, but her “stretchgoal” was to place in the top five.

“I’m happy with the effort I putinto it and how it turned out,”

Alcorta said. “I couldn’t ask foranything better than a top-five fin-ish.”

As a senior, Alcorta got used toself-motivating as she would buildlarge leads en route to victory.During the VHSL state meet atGreat Meadow, Alcorta won theGroup 6A championship with ameet-record time of 17:13, finish-ing 39 seconds faster than hernearest competitor. Alcorta wonthe 6A North regional meet witha time of 16:31, the third-fastesttime in Burke Lake Park history,and finished 48 seconds ahead ofthe second-place harrier. WestSpringfield coach Chris Pellegrinitold Alcorta to focus on runningher own race without letting anyoutside factors change her ap-proach.

On Saturday, however, Alcortahad to chase a couple harriers,something she said helped her runa better race.

“My coach and I talked abouteven if I couldn’t win I would raceto try and win,” Alcorta said. “That

would push me to do the best Icould. … I know I’m supposed torun my own race, but at the sametime it’s nice to know there arepeople to help you. … Lookingahead to see the people you’re try-ing to catch is really big.”

Tessa Barrett, a senior fromWaverly, Pa., won the event witha time of 17:15.4. Hannah DeBalsi,a sophomore from Westport,Conn., finished second with a timeof 17:25.3.

Alcorta started running crosscountry as a sophomore and con-tinued improving. Shortly beforethe 2013 state meet in mid-No-vember, Alcorta committed to runfor the University of North Caro-lina.

“I started doing cross countrybecause I found a sport that I re-ally love,” Alcorta said. “… I justfollowed what I wanted to do andwhat I really enjoyed doing and itjust turned it really well.”

Alcorta was one of five North-ern Virginia harriers to compete atnationals. Lake Braddock seniorKaty Kunc, who started runningcross country during her junioryear as a way to condition for soc-cer, finished 19th with a time of

18:07.2.“It was a really great experi-

ence,” Kunc said. “I never wouldimagine myself racing at such ahigh level since I just started lastyear.”

Senior Hannah Christen, Kunc’steammate at Lake Braddock, fin-ished 21st with a time of 18:07.3.

Kunc said having Christen at themeet made things “so much morecomfortable.”

IN THE BOYS’ RACE, Edisonsenior Louis Colson finished 32ndwith a time of 15:58.7, and GeorgeC. Marshall senior MackenzieHaight took 34th with a time of16:06.1.

Grant Fisher, a junior fromGrand Blanc, Mich., won the eventwith a time of 15:06.5.

“I’m disappointed with how I fin-

ished,” Haight said. “My goal was(to finish in the) top 15 for All-American. I don’t think I executedmy race how I planned it. I wantedto run an aggressive race and Ifound myself at the back of thepack.”

While Haight wasn’t pleasedwith his finish, he said he enjoyedthe experience. The five NorthernVirginia harriers arrived in SanDiego on Thursday, Dec. 12 andreturned home on Sunday. Kuncsaid the runners felt like “profes-sional athletes” and were treatedlike “royalty.”

“It’s incredible,” said Haight,who will compete for William andMary next year. “The entire expe-rience was surreal — one of thebest weekends I’ve ever had in mylife. I would never trade the expe-rience for anything.”

Lake Braddock’s Kunc, Christencompete at XC nationals.

West Springfield’s Alcorta PlacesThird at Foot Locker Nationals

West Springfield seniorCaroline Alcorta, seen dur-ing the VHSL state meet,placed third at the FootLocker Cross Country Cham-pionships national meet onDec. 14 in San Diego.

Lake Braddock senior KatyKunc, seen during the VHSLstate meet, finished 19th atthe Foot Locker CrossCountry Championshipsnational meet on Dec. 14 inSan Diego.

Lake Braddock seniorHannah Christen, seen dur-ing the VHSL state meet,finished 21st at the FootLocker Cross Country Cham-pionships national meet onDec. 14 in San Diego.

“I’m happy with the effort I put into it andhow it turned out. I couldn’t ask foranything better than a top-five finish.”

— West Springfield senior Caroline Alcorta

West Springfield guard AmyBerglund looked up in thestands and saw her mom holdup two fingers.

The Spartans were hostingMadison on Dec. 7 andBerglund was closing in on1,000 career points. BetsyBerglund signaled to herdaughter, letting the Spartan se-nior know she needed two morepoints to reach the milestone.

With about a minute remain-ing in the fourth quarter,Berglund dropped in a reverselayup, giving her 21 points forthe game and 1,000 for her ca-reer. Along with the personalachievement, Berglund helpedthe West Springfield girls’ bas-ketball team beat Madison, 63-50.

“It was really special scoringmy 1,000th point because itwas a culmination of so muchtime and effort that I have putinto basketball,” Berglundwrote in an email. “It was es-pecially great reaching thatmark in a tough game againsta strong Madison team.”

Berglund is a four-year var-sity starter for the Spartans.She’s been part of two PatriotDistrict championship teams,one Northern Region champi-onship team and twice experi-enced the state tournament,including a trip to the statesemifinals as a freshman. Shewas a first-team all-region se-lection as a junior.

“It became my goal to scorea 1,000 points after my fresh-man year,” Berglund wrote, “be-cause I had scored almost 300that year and I realized it wasdefinitely a reachable goal.”

Berglund averaged 18.4points through WestSpringfield’s first five games

this season. The Spartansstarted 5-0, including a 54-53victory over T.C. Williams onDec. 13, during which Berglundscored 11 points. T.C. Williamswon the Patriot District title lastseason, snapping WestSpringfield’s streak of threeconsecutive district champion-ships.

“The TC game was such anintense game and it was anamazing team win,” Berglundwrote. “We were super excitedto get the win over the toughopponent that TC is. It is a posi-tive step toward our team goalof winning the district title. Ithink that our team still hasmany things to improve on andwe know that every opponentis going to put up a tough fightso we focus on one game at atime.”

West Springfield will travel toface Lake Braddock at 7:30 p.m.on Friday, Dec. 20.

— Jon Roetman

Courtesy photo

West Springfield’s AmyBerglund, seen duringher junior season, re-cently scored her 1,000thcareer point.

West Springfield’s BerglundReaches 1,000 Career PointsPhotos by Ed Lull


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IVY CHRISTIAN COLLEGE TO HOST ON-SITE VISIT

Ivy Christian College will host a Transnational Association ofChristian colleges and schools on-site evaluation team on 01/07-10 for the purpose of evaluating the college for Accredi-tation Level.

Third party comments are invited and may be addressed to:TRACS, 15935 Forest Rd, Forest, VA 24551.

TRACS is approved by the U.S. Department of Education as anationally-recognized institutional accrediting agency and ap-pears on the Secretary’s List of Approved Accrediting Agen-cies, which is approved in the Higher Education Directory. TRACS is also recognized by the Council for higher Education Accreditation (CHEA).

Ivy Christian College9401 Mathy Drive Suite 380Fairfax, Virginia 22031Tell : 703) 425-4143Fax: (703) 425-4148

21 Announcements 21 Announcements

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An expert is someone who knowssome of the

worst mistakesthat can bemade in his

subject and howto avoid them.

-WernerHeisenberg

By Elliot K. Wicks, Ph. D.

Recent news stories have focusedon people who bought healthinsurance in the individual mar-ket, rather than through an em-

ployer, and whose policies have been can-celed. Some then found that coverage avail-able through the new “Obamacare” Market-places (or Exchanges) is more expensive.Their anger is understandable, but the is-sue needs to be put in context.

A great many of those losing coverage andfacing higher premiums were the beneficia-ries of the insurers’ policies that denied cov-erage to the really sick and charged veryhigh rates to the moderately unhealthy.

Without the reforms of the AffordableCare Act, insurers would continue to denycoverage to many thousand of people withpre-existing conditions and chargeunaffordable premiums to older Americansor those with less than stellar health.

The new law prohibits such discrimina-tion in the individual market: no one canbe denied coverage or charged more be-cause of a pre-existing condition, and anolder person cannot be charged more thanthree times as much as a younger person.Thus, differences in premiums for peoplewith different risk levels will be greatly re-duced starting in January.

If we want to ensure that everyone, re-gardless of their age or health condition,can get affordable coverage—whichObamacare promises to do—we have toaccept the possibility that some people willpay more for coverage. The nature of in-surance is that healthy people subsidizesicker people. Healthy people agree to thisarrangement simply because they neverknow when they are going to be part of theunhealthy 10 percent of any populationgroup that accounts for about 70 percentof the costs in any year.

Older or sicker people will incur highermedical expenses. And if they are all nowto get coverage and not be forced to payvery high premiums, other insured people,the younger and healthier, will have to paymore than they did in the past—unless sub-stantially more younger and healthierpeople are brought into the insurance pool.That is why the mandate that everyone havecoverage is so important. The premiumsthese newly insured lower-risk people willpay are necessary to offset the costs of cov-ering the less healthy people who are newlyinsured.

In short, some people may face higherpremiums, but that seems a reasonableprice to pay for enhancing fairness and pre-serving the health of the entire population.

Of course, some people will pay more

because the old insurance policies they hadprovided woefully inadequate protectionthat would have left them deep in debt ifthey had a serious medical event. The Af-fordable Care Act sets minimum standardsfor coverage, and so some people whobought these skimpy individual plans lostthat coverage. Naturally, when they go tothe Marketplace to buy comprehensive re-placement coverage, the premium is oftenhigher.

But it is essential to understand that manyof these people will be eligible for federalsubsidies that make the net cost lower thanwhat they were previously paying. Subsi-dies to make Marketplace coverage afford-able are available to individuals and fami-lies well up the income scale—to all withincomes up to 400 percent of the federalpoverty level ($94,200 for a family of fourin 2013). The size of the subsidy declinesas income increases, but many middle-in-come people will be eligible for some assis-tance.

It is also important to keep the big pic-ture in mind. Most people are covered byemployer-based insurance, not the indi-vidual market. The individual market is asmall part of the total insurance market, andmany who buy such coverage keep it foronly a short period of time, often less thana year. A study by Mathematica Policy Re-search found that during an average month,only 5.3 percent of the under-65 popula-tion had individual coverage, but fewer thanhalf of that population group (2.1 percent)had that coverage for the entire year.

This “churning” is easily explained: manypeople who buy individual insurance do soas a stop-gap strategy to protect themselvesuntil they get a job that provides better, lessexpensive coverage. They are people wholeave a job that provided health insurancebut have not yet found a new job that of-fers coverage, students who graduate andlose their school-based coverage, or 27 yearolds who have “aged out” of their parents’plan.

The fact is that the individual market hasnever worked well, which is why the ACAfocused especially on reforming it. Largepremium increases, loss of coverage, andinstability have always been characteristicof this poorly functioning market.

The lesson is that now is not the time toendorse legislation like that recently passedin the House that would perpetuate a bro-ken and inequitable individual market andjeopardize the reforms that would bringgood, affordable coverage to many thou-sands who until now have been denied suchprotection.

The writer is a Reston resident.

Obama Care and theIndividual Market —Not a Failure

Opinion


By Michael Lee Pope

The Connection

In the coming year, the National Trustfor Historic Preservation will step asideand let a nonprofit organization known

as Arcadia Center for Sustainable Food andAgriculture take control of operations andinterpretation. The move will mark a dras-tic departure for the plantation estate,which will discontinue its longstanding re-lationship with Woodlawn Stables. Thehorses will become a thing of the past andthe museum will feature new interpretationthat leaders at the National Trust hope willexpand into a destination for visitors to eat,learn and garden. “What you usually wouldnot hear on a tour here is much about theagricultural history — why this was part ofMount Vernon originally, how Washingtonfarmed this area, why he thought that thisparticular site where we are standing wouldbe, as he called it, a great seat for a gentle-man,” said John Riley, interim director atWoodlawn. “The Trust is going to look atthe agricultural history through Arcadia andwith Arcadia, which predates equestrianfacilities by 100 years here.”

That means the end of an era for theMount Vernon neighborhood, whereWoodlawn Stables has been a popular des-tination and a cherished memory for manyfamilies through the generations. For morethan 30 years, the business has leased aproperty at the southeast corner of Route 1and Mount Vernon Memorial Highway. Thatlongstanding history was challenged lastyear when officials at the Federal HighwayAdministration began an effort to widenRoute 1, a process that will eventually leadto demolition of Woodlawn Stables.

“Naturally, we are disappointed,” saidCynthia Mitchell, owner of WoodlawnStables. “It does seem as if our roots havegotten pushed a little further away from us,and we tend to be pushing businesses suchas this one that provides jobs in the localcommunity out further and further.”

SINCE WOODLAWN was acquired by the

National Trust for Historic Preservation andopened as a museum, visitors have learnedabout the story of Nelly Custis Lewis andLawrence Lewis. But they would not havelearned much about the agricultural historyof the site — why it was part of the originalMount Vernon estate and how GeorgeWashington farmed the area. By the timeWoodlawn opens again in the spring of2015, leaders at Arcadia hope to have trans-formed the experience.

“We hope to bring a new life back to thehouse and the grounds, and make it the vi-brant center of the community it once was,”said Arcadia founder Michael Babin in awritten statement. “We look forward to ex-panding our farm production, farmer train-ing and our educational programs and shar-ing Woodlawn’s inspiring agricultural andsocial history with the region.”

Supporters of Woodlawn Stables say theyare devastated by the news, especially con-sidering the federal mitigation money thatwill be available because of the demolitionof the existing stables. Some were holdingout hope that the National Trust would in-corporate horses into their property afterRoute 1 was widened. Now that it’s clearthat won’t happen, supporters of the stablesay they hope the federal money might beearmarked for a barn at the equestrian cen-ter at Laurel Hill in Lorton.

“We’re saddened to see that they havedecided to go with a path that strays awayfrom Woodlawn’s history,” said ShelleyCastle, founder of a group known as SaveWoodlawn Stables. “This has been a horsefarm or livestock for more than a century,and we think this greatly diminishes thehistoric value of the property.”

LEADERS AT THE TRUST disagree withthat interpretation. They say Arcadia’s newfocus on agriculture will return the prop-erty to its roots, a time when George Wash-ington sought tenants to farm parts of 8,000acres of Mount Vernon estate. Like Wash-ington, the Trust is now hoping its new ten-ant might plant a seed for future genera-tions by recreating the Woodlawn experi-ence.

“Washington came to the realization thattobacco — year after year — was going toruin his land, and that’s why a lot of peoplewere moving out west to find new land. Buthe didn’t want to move west,” said Riley.“So he hoped he was creating an examplefor American farmers in terms of being ableto stay on the land you were on and mak-ing fruitful.”

The NationalTrust forHistoric

Preservationwill evict

these horsesfrom

Woodlawn.

Woodlawn ReinventedHorses will be evictedin favor of new inter-pretation focusing onagriculture and gar-dening.

Pho

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by M

ichael Lee Po

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state, local officials rally behind fbi in springfield holiday...

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