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Oak Hill/Herndon Connection ❖ December 24-30, 2014 ❖ 1www.ConnectionNewspapers.com
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December 24-30, 2014 online at www.connectionnewspapers.com
Oak Hill ❖ HerndonOak Hill ❖ HerndonEnd of the YearFun in HerndonNews, Page 12
End of the YearFun in HerndonNews, Page 12
Karen Garza’sVision for
County SchoolsNews, Page 6
Stephanie Shraga andGreta Richmond,
students at Oak HillElementary School inHerndon participatedin the chandelier art
project at ArtSpaceHerndon on last year’s
New Year’s Eve.
2014 in Herndon:A Year in Review
News, Page 3
2 ❖ Oak Hill/Herndon Connection ❖ December 24-30, 2014 www.ConnectionNewspapers.com
U.S. Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) de-livered the following speech onthe House floor on Dec. 10,2014, honoring retiring U.S.
Rep. Frank Wolf (R-10):Congressman Frank Wolf of Virginia will
cast his last vote this week, capping off aremarkable 34-year career of altruisticdeeds, selfless service, bold humanitarianinitiatives, and durable achievement.
Both of us got elected in 1980, the RonaldReagan class. Many of us wanted to have aSpecial Order tomorrow night, includingthe gentleman from Virginia, BobGoodlatte, to honor him. But he said, “Ab-solutely not.” That is the kind of guy he is.He never seeks any attention. But I am heretoday. Tough. I am going to speak abouthim.
At home and overseas, Frank Wolf, theWilliam Wilberforce of the United StatesHouse of Representatives, has been an in-defatigable defender of human rights andhuman dignity. Last week, WORLD maga-zine named Frank Wolf the 2014 Daniel ofthe Year.
Whether it be helping a young mother ina refugee camp in Sudan or political pris-oners in Russia or jailed pastors in China orany number of the marginalized and perse-cuted, Frank Wolf has always sought to res-cue and to protect.
Frank Wolf is the author of the landmarkInternational Religious Freedom Act of1998, which established both an indepen-dent commission and a State Departmentoffice led by an ambassador at large whollydedicated to safeguarding—via sanctions,if necessary—religious freedom.
I saw firsthand his devotion to humanrights in a myriad of ways, including tripswith Frank to a prison camp in the SovietUnion, the infamous Perm camp 35; a gulagin China, Beijing prison number 2, rightafter Tiananmen Square; Vukovar, a cityunder military siege during the war in Yu-goslavia; and Romania on behalf of perse-cuted believers, just to name a few. He haschaired the Tom Lantos Human Rights Com-mission with great distinction.
A man of deep Christian faith, Frank Wolfnot only passionately believes in JesusChrist but “walks” as St. Paul admonishesus, in a way worthy of his calling. FrankWolf is a devoted family man. He, alongwith his wife, Carolyn, have five adult chil-dren and 16 grandchildren, all of whom arethe apples of his eye.
In his district, Frank Wolf has deliveredas well. His casework is superb and respon-sive; his staff reflects their boss’ commit-ment to assist and to solve problems big andsmall.
As chairman of several Appropriationssubcommittees over the years—includinghis latest assignment as chair of the Sub-committee on Commerce, Justice, Science—he has authored nine major appropriationslaws, including five transportation statutesthat funded major projects in his district andthroughout the Nation.
Frank Wolf ’s many other accomplish-ments include: His bipartisan Bring JobsBack to America Act, designed to returnmanufacturing jobs to the U.S. from coun-tries like China; raising awareness of thegrowing threat from cyber attacks; effortsto address America’s unconscionable debt—it is $18 trillion now—through bipartisanreforms; the formation of two anti-gang taskforces operating in the region, as well asthe creation of the National Gang Intelli-gence Center in the FBI; and the funding ofthe 103-mile Metrorail system.
He led the way in obtaining about $1 bil-lion to extend Metrorail through Tysons andout to Dulles Airport and to Loudon County.He pushed for lower carpool restrictions onI-66 and has helped many commuters getto the Capitol and to Washington. He ledefforts to place Ronald Reagan WashingtonNational and Washington Dulles Interna-tional airports under a regional authority,providing the capital to build a new termi-nal at Reagan National and vastly expandDulles.
He has been a leader in fighting with greattenacity Lyme disease. He has fought toaddress hunger by creating the Feds FeedFamilies food drive, which has generatedmore than 15 million pounds of donatedfood. And in 2014, he put language into anomnibus bill to create the National Com-mission on Hunger.
And one of the Nation’s newest nationalparks is in his 10th District, the Cedar Creekand Belle Grove National Historic Park, es-tablished in 2002 through yet another oneof Frank’s laws.
Finally, let me make it clear: Frank Wolf’sdeparture from the House is only the endof his current place of service to humanityand marks a new beginning, a transition tothe private sector, where he will continueand even expand upon his extraordinarylife’s work.
Wolf Honored as Defender ofHuman Rights, Dignity
News
U.S. Rep Frank Wolf (R-10) retiresafter 34 years in Congress.
Oak Hill/Herndon Connection ❖ December 24-30, 2014 ❖ 3www.ConnectionNewspapers.com
News
By Reena Singh
The Connection
In the past year, Herndon made sure tomake small steps to make the futurebrighter and easier to plan.
Between rezoning downtown for futurerevitalization and creating more inclusive-ness in the community by giving a voice tominority groups, the town is paving its wayinto the next 20 years.
“I think the rezoning of our downtown ishuge,” said Mayor Lisa Merkel. “It’s mynumber one priority for 2015 is to getdowntown off of paper and into reality.”
Included in the rezoning are more spacesfor residents and visitors to park in thedowntown area and single family resi-dences allowed within a portion of the busi-ness district zoning.
Council member Grace Wolf also agreedthat the rezoning the town council has donefor downtown is an integral part of the fu-ture of Herndon.
A big part of creating a revitalized down-town includes walkability. This year, thelights were put along the Washington andOld Dominion Trail that runs through thetown.
“For me, I think the best thing to happenwas the lighting of the trail,” said councilmember Steven Mitchell.
He said he was proud that Herndon wasthe first community in nearly 50 miles thetrail covers to light a section of the path.More than two miles of the trail are withinHerndon’s town limits, running past severalbusinesses, including the Green Lizard, apopular bicycle and coffee shop that openedmore than a year ago.
Merkel said creating more walkability willmake the transition with the new Metro sta-
tion easier.“We need to get more people out of their
cars and onto the trails,” said Merkel.More homes are also being created with
the groundbreaking of Vinehaven in thedowntown area, preparing for the growthof residents that will come ahead of the newMetro station’s opening.
The latest news is the changes in the towncharter voted on by town council earlier thismonth, however.
“In the end, we decided to make it easierand more accessible for people to vote formayor and town council,” said Merkel.
Although four year staggered terms wereon the proposal, Council member GraceWolf amended it to only propose Novem-ber elections rather than in May, stating the
May elections were “suppressive” to minor-ity voters. “I simply will not be a party tovoter suppression,” she said.
According to Town Attorney RichardKaufman, the proposal will go into effectnext July if the state General Assembly ap-proves the proposal. Since there will be noelection in May, the next town election willbe held November 2016.
Many residents who agreed with Novem-ber elections said it would allow for moreminority groups - who are likely the onesworking multiple jobs to support their fam-ily - to be able to get to the polls on time.
The voices against the proposal alto-gether, including several council members,stated the decision should be a referendumby the voters, not by the council.
Herndon Towncouncil memberJasbinder Singh,Herndon Mayor
Lisa Merkel,Marc Anthony,
and town councilmembers Sheila
Olem, and GraceWolf during the
trail lightingceremony.
2014 in Herndon: A Year in ReviewRezoning, trail light-ing and Novemberelections are high-lights of this year.
Better lighting was added to Herndon’s two miles of the Washingtonand Old Dominion trail for better pedestrian and bicyclist safety.
Photos by
Ryan Dunn/
The Connection
Viewpoints
What is yourfavorite holiday
tradition?Photos by Reena Singh/
The Connection
Nicholas Sonant, 6, Herndon: “Have hot chocolate. We go to the
light show and have to find plants andstamp our sheets.”
Trevor Sonant, 3, Herndon:“I love eating cookies and (drink-
ing) hot chocolate. This is the best dayever!”
Jack Reed, Herndon, student:“My favorite thing is probably sit-
ting and waiting on Christmas morn-ing for everyone to get up. Also, get-ting and setting up the tree.”
Anna DeFalco, Arlington, stu-dent:
“I love decorating the tree whiledrinking eggnog.”
— Reena Singh
Herndon Connection Editor Kemal Kurspahic
703-778-9414 or [email protected]
4 ❖ Oak Hill/Herndon Connection ❖ December 24-30, 2014 www.ConnectionNewspapers.com
483days since a still-unnamed Fairfax Countypolice officer shot unarmed John Geerstanding in the doorway of Geer’s home inSpringfield, then let him bleed to death onAug. 29, 2013. No information has been re-leased about the incident, officers involvednot named, no explanation, no grand jury,no charges. (as of Dec. 10, 2014)
Opinion
Merry Christmas. It’s a magicaltime of year, and perhaps Con-nection Newspapers has overindulged in displaying the
many rituals of Christmas on our pages in thepast few weeks. In events around the area, asense of community has infused holiday pa-rades, Christmas tree lightings, menorahlightings, choral performances, singing of car-ols and other traditional events with warmthand joy.
We have covered performances of“The Nutcracker” and “A ChristmasCarol;” covered acts of compassion andgiving in almost every corner of ourcommunities; photographed Santa in so manyplaces arriving in so many ways — by boat atLake Anne in Reston, by firetruck in Viennaand McLean and other places, by motorcyclearound Fairfax County; religious celebrationsof many kinds; gift indulgences of many kinds.
But Christmas is about the birth of JesusChrist. Whether you believe the Christmas storyliterally or in spirit, you know it is the story ofjoy, hope and love, the promise of redemption.So here, let us share the verse from the Bible,Luke 2: 4-19:
“So Joseph also went up from the town ofNazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem thetown of David, because he belonged to the
house and line of David. He went there to reg-ister with Mary, who was pledged to be mar-ried to him and was expecting a child. Whilethey were there, the time came for the baby tobe born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, ason. She wrapped him in cloths and placed himin a manger, because there was no room forthem in the inn.
“And there were shepherds living out in thefields nearby, keeping watch over their flocksat night. An angel of the Lord appeared to
them, and the glory of the Lord shonearound them, and they were terrified.But the angel said to them, ‘Do not beafraid. I bring you good news of great
joy that will be for all the people. Today in thetown of David a Savior has been born to you;he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign toyou: You will find a baby wrapped in clothsand lying in a manger.’ Suddenly a great com-pany of the heavenly host appeared with theangel, praising God and saying, ‘Glory to Godin the highest, and on earth peace to men onwhom his favor rests.’
“When the angels had left them and goneinto heaven, the shepherds said to one another,‘Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing thathas happened, which the Lord has told usabout.’ So they hurried off and found Mary andJoseph, and the baby, who was lying in the
manger. When they had seen him, they spreadthe word concerning what had been told themabout this child, and all who heard it wereamazed at what the shepherds said to them.But Mary treasured up all these things andpondered them in her heart.”
Happy HanukkahHappy Hanukkah, which lasts for eight days
and this year began Tuesday evening. WhileHanukkah is not one of the most importantJewish religious observances, it is a celebra-tion that gets added attention from timing.Hanukkah celebrates the miracle of a one daysupply of oil for the temple lasting eight days.
Editor’s Note about the Rest of 2014This is our last regular edition of 2014. Next
week, after Christmas, we will publish thechildren’s edition, devoted entirely to the art-work and writing of local students. Our nextregular editions will publish Jan. 7-8, 2015, withdeadline for content and advertising of Jan. 2.In the meantime you can reach the editors [email protected] and sales/marketing at [email protected].
— Mary Kimm
A message ofpeace and joy.Merry Christmas
Editorial
By Jeff Stewart
I would like to begin by saying that I havealways and still do support the police as awhole. I appreciate the job that they do
and the risks they take on a daily basis in aneffort to keep the public safe. The ongoingpolicy in Fairfax County of police self-investi-gation, when officers are involved in possiblecrimes, has to change.
I am willing to bet that all of you have heardof Michael Brown and Ferguson Missouri? Howmany of you have heard of John Geer? Prob-ably not near as many. I would like to share astory about another life taken by police. It hap-pened right here in Fairfax County over 15months ago.
On Aug. 29, 2013 I witnessed the homicideof my best friend of over 25 years by a stillunidentified Fairfax County police officer. Latethat morning John had found out that his part-ner of 24 years and mother of his two childrenwas moving out. John became distraught andbegan to throw some of her property in thefront yard. One of John’s daughters called theirmom and she immediately came home from
work. After a heated discussion the police werecalled. John kissed his daughters and sent themto a neighbor’s house. Nobody was in the homewith John when police arrived. I arrived shortly
after the police to find several of-ficers on the scene. Two officerswere holding John at gunpoint ashe stood in the doorway of his hometalking calmly with his empty handsresting on top of the storm door.John, feeling he had committed nocrime, refused the officers’ ordersto come outside. The police weretold that John owned firearms andreportedly he had expressed a will-ingness to use those firearms if thepolice tried to enter his home with-out a warrant. After around 40 min-utes of what appeared to be calmconversation, John began to lowerhis hands almost deliberately slow,with his clearly empty palmspressed against the screen. Ithought for a second that this con-frontation was ending and Johnwas coming out of the home. WhenJohn’s empty hands were abouteven with his face, he was shot oncein the chest from less than 20 feet.John had made no quick or aggres-sive moves of any kind and ap-peared to be no threat to police, toothers or to himself. John quicklyhunched over, grabbed his woundand retreated into the house. He
Fifteen months, after the shooting of John Geer,no officer has been identified, no chargeshave been filed,no grand jury hasbeen convened.
Do Fairfax County Police Act with Impunity?
See Police, Page 11
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Oak Hill & Herndon
Oak Hill/Herndon Connection ❖ December 24-30, 2014 ❖ 5www.ConnectionNewspapers.com
Cremation Society of Virginia nowallows you to handle every aspect ofthe cremation arrangement processfrom the comfort of your own home.
Our website provides valuable informationabout cremation, allowing you to makean informed decision about your finalwishes. You even have the opportunity tocomplete all arrangements online, fromthe comfort of your home.
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COMMUNITIES OF WORSHIPCOMMUNITIES OF WORSHIP
bTo Highlightyour Faith
Community,Call Karen at703-917-6468
7:45 a.m. Holy Eucharist, Rite I9:00 a.m. Holy Eucharist, Rite II
Sunday School: preschool - grade 2Music: grades 3 - 7
10:25 a.m. Sunday School Grades 3 to 6Music 4 years to 2nd grade
11:15 a.m. Holy Eucharist, Rite II5:00 p.m. Come Just as You Are Contemporary Service
Nursery care provided at 9:00 a.m. service
The Rev. James Papile, RectorThe Rev. Laura Cochran
703-437-6530www.stannes-reston.org
1700 Wainwright Dr., Reston
ST. ANNE’SEPISCOPALCHURCH • Reston
Welcoming, Diverse, Progressive
The Council for the Arts ofHerndon joins with theDranesville supervisor’s
office every holiday season togather new shoes for children atHutchison Elementary School inHerndon. Hutchison is a Title Ischool serving many students withchallenging social and economicissues. Principal Judy Baldwin toldCAH Executive Director SigneFriedrichs, “Staff and teachers willnotice children who are wearingopen sandals or shoes that are fall-ing apart. We can provide for themwith these donations. Last yearthis was especially bad since it wasextremely cold, and this year, weare seeing the same thing happen-ing. Winter is just starting now,and we know it will get worse.
This is such a blessing for kids inour school.”
In conjunction with SupervisorFoust’s Office, The Council for theArts of Herndon collected 25 pairsof new shoes and $615 in giftcards.
Hutchison Elementary School isa special favorite of the Council forthe Arts of Herndon, which in ad-dition to the holiday shoe drive,also provides arts enrichment pro-grams including theatrical produc-tions for children with Next StopTheatre, as well as ceramicsclasses.
For further information on theCouncil for the Arts of Herndon,check the Council for the Arts ofHerndon website:www.herndonarts.org
From left - Grace Han Wolf, Herndon towncouncilmember and immediate past president of theCouncil for the Arts of Herndon (CAH); Signe Friedrichs,CAH executive director; Cathy Lanni, CAH director; JohnFoust, Dranesville district supervisor; Anna Bledsoe, CAHassistant, Jenny Phipps, Herndon aide to SupervisorFoust. Not pictured, David Segal, CAH director.
New Shoes for Children atHutchison Elementary
News
Send school notes [email protected] byFriday.
Each year, the Northwest FederalCredit Union Foundation (NWFCUFoundation) awards a total of $100,000in college scholarships – $5,000 each –to 20 students who have demonstratedqualities of leadership, dedication andcommitment in school, at home and inthe community.
“These students have displayed the
qualities that will make them futureleaders in our community,” said ChrisMcDonald, Chairman of the NWFCUFoundation and President/CEO ofNorthwest Federal Credit Union. “Weare pleased to make an investment intheir future – and our community’s fu-ture – by helping them pay for college.”
Winners of the 2014 Ben DeFeliceScholarships from our area include:
❖ Jared Hunsaker, graduate ofHerndon High school. He will attendBrigham Young University.
School Notes
Build Your Community
Support Your Local Businesses.
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6 ❖ Oak Hill/Herndon Connection ❖ December 24-30, 2014 Oak Hill/Herndon Connection ❖ December 24-30, 2014 ❖ 7www.ConnectionNewspapers.com www.ConnectionNewspapers.com
432
1
8
96
10
75
11
Sources: Fairfax County Public Schools, Wash-ington Area Boards of Education, Texas Tribune
By Tim Peterson
& Eden Brown
The Connection
Karen Garza is a good listener. Andonce she’s listened, she is, admit-tedly, not very patient.
“If there’s a real issue, I don’tthink it has to be debated for 10 or 15 years,”Garza said in an interview. “Either we’regoing to do something about it or not.”
In May and June 2014, less than 12months after taking the helm as superinten-dent of Fairfax County Public Schools, Garzaand her staff hosted eight community meet-ings on the topic of later start times for highschools. According to FCPS, 1,000 peopleparticipated in person, another 2,000weighed in online.
By October, the School Board voted in fa-vor of changing the start times, somethingit had been considering for years but neverpushed forward. For the 2015-2016 schoolyear, all county high schools will start classesbetween 8 a.m. and 8:10 a.m.
Another entrenched issue: moving fromhalf-day Mondays at elementary schools tofull-days. The half-day weekly teacher workperiod dated back to the 1970s.
“Once we identified we really have an is-sue here, we don’t have enough time builtinto our elementary schedules, I met withthe team and I said, ‘Can we get this done?’”said Garza. “These are the reasons why weneed to change it, our timeline is aggres-sive, but can we get it done? And they said,‘Yes we can.’”
The School Board broke with 40 years ofhalf-day Mondays with a vote in June 2014.The change went into effect at the begin-ning of September.
“She looked at these with a new eye andwas very eager to move on them,” said RyanMcElveen, an at-large School Board mem-ber who was part of the group that hiredGarza, “so we could get on with dealing withother issues.”
McElveen said Garza’s face-time at addi-tional “listening tours,” meetings she’s beenhosting around the county since she cameto Fairfax from Lubbock, Texas in July 2013,have helped re-establish critical communityties.
“Under the previous superintendent,”McElveen said, “there were perceptions theboard and the central office had precipi-
tously been removed from the viewpoint andperspective of the community. That was keyin our hiring of Karen. We were looking forsomeone who could bring the communityback into the fold.”
FORMER FCPS Superintendent DanielDomenech still lives in Fairfax County, andhis perspective differs somewhat fromMcElveen. “It didn’t seem to me there was adistance with [Garza’s predecessor] JackDale,” he said. “I always felt that Fairfax asa school system was very responsive to thecommunity, very much in tune with what’sgoing on.”
The two menagree that com-munity involve-ment is crucial tomoving the schoolsystem forward.In a county of180,000 studentsthat’s growing by17 a day (accord-ing to Garza), that’s a lot of parents with alot of voices to listen to.
Debbie Kilpatrick, vice president of mem-bership with Virginia PTA, is impressed sofar with Garza being “inclusive” and having“contagious high energy.”
“She has a schedule not many peoplecould keep up with and she really doesn’tsay no to anyone who wants her time,” saidKilpatrick. “On the contrary, she says, ‘No, Iwant to listen.’”
Tina Hone, a School Board member from2007 to 2011 and founder of the advocacygroup Coalition of the Silence, disagreedwith Garza over her first budget proposalfor the county.
“We had a little crossing of swords,” saidHone. “What I really respect about Karen: Ipublicly made a statement, then she calledme. I looked at the phone, pulled it awayfrom my head and looked at it again. I wasblown away by that.”
Hone sees Garza in stark contrast to pre-vious FCPS leadership that exhibited “very
much an effort tocontrol ratherthan respond.”She cited the con-troversial closingof Clifton Elemen-tary School inJune 2011, whenshe said the boarddid little to consult
with the public first.“There was this sense there were mem-
bers of the School Board who said they don’twant to meet with people who disagreedwith them,” she said.
“It takes courage to be a problem-solver,”
1 1986-1991: Elementary School Teacher,Yoakum, Texas (1,539 students, 38% white and50% Latino and spends about $8,000 per pupil).
2 July 1991-1994: Education Specialist, RegionIII Education Service Center, Victoria, Texas.Victoria ISD has 13,680 students and spendsabout $7,500 per pupil annually.
3 July 1994-July 1996: Principal, East SideElementary School grades 5-6, PalaciosIndependent School District (ISD), Palacios,Texas (1,508 students, $10,269 per student, 68%economically disadvantaged).
4 July 1996-July 1997: Curriculum SupervisorK-12, El Campo ISD, El Campo, Texas (3,465students, $9,735 per student, 67% economicallydisadvantaged).
5 July 1997-July 1999: Associate ExecutiveDirector for Governmental Relations, TexasAssociation of SchoolAdministrators.
6 July 1999-October 2002:Executive Directorfor Curriculum, StaffDevelopment, andAccountability, Katy ISD,Katy, Texas (58,444students, $7,740 per student,29% disadvantaged).
7 October 2002-August 2004: AssociateExecutive Director for Governmental Relations,Texas Association of School Administrators.
8 August 2004-June 2005: DeputySuperintendent, Corpus Christi ISD, CorpusChristi, Texas (38,041 students, spends $8,240,68% disadvantaged).
9 June 2005-July 2009: Chief AcademicOfficer, Houston ISD, Houston, Texas. (200,944students, $9,231 per student, 80%disadvantaged).
10 July 2009-June 2013: Superintendent ofSchools, Lubbock ISD, Lubbock, Texas (28,476students, $8,163 per student, 62%disadvantaged).
The Road to Fairfax CountyA timeline of Superintendent Karen Garza’s career in education.
11 July 2013-present: FairfaxCounty Public SchoolsSuperintendent. Fairfax CountyPublic Schools (186,785 students,$16,880 per student, 26.4% free/reduced price meal eligible).
Karen Garza’s vision: the irresistible force movingthe immovable object of Fairfax County Public Schools?
Profile
How Does She Do It?schools.
“It’s my view that to better align a largesystem, you have to narrow the number ofpeople at the highest levels making the de-cisions,” Garza said. “I can create stronger,better alignment with five people than I canwith eight people.”
One of Garza’s hires was Marty Smith aschief of staff, to whom she delegated the leadrole on full-day Mondays. Smith was previ-ously the superintendent of Cluster 1.
“He understands and knows the system,”said Garza. “He knows the players, the rightpeople to bring to the table to get it done.And he’s a good listener, which I appreci-ate.”
“The biggest thing with Dr Garza is trust,”said Smith. “She places a lot in the individu-als who work for her. While I carried outher vision, she was able to really build con-sensus with the board in terms of an indi-vidual approach. She didmuch of the same with teacherand principal associations.”
Even with a streamlined andrealigned support team, “Ob-viously Dr. Garza is the CEOfor them to execute the vi-sion,” said Moon. To be a pas-sionate captain of the ship,Garza is motivated by her lifelong love ofschools and learning. She started her careeras an elementary school teacher, aspiring tobe like her father, a college English profes-sor.
“I love being in classrooms, and I’mamazed at how gifted our students are,” saidGarza. “I’m very mindful of the fact that wehave such an opportunity for a positive im-pact on students’ lives. I try to never losesight of the fact not only are you setting stu-dents up for success at that next level, butin many cases making a memory. Make it apositive one.”
Hone said the teacher in Garza is appar-ent and one key to her current success. “Ev-erything she does, it’s how a teacher ap-proaches things,” Hone said. “It’s clear, ex-plained, pulling people in instead of tellingthem what to do. That dictatorship thingdoesn’t work. There’s always someone run-
Hone continued, “to try to turn the shipagainst the tide, with courage and grace toget this stuff done.”
That courage, grace and increased inputfrom the community are helping Garza gettraction on the issues she prioritizes with theSchool Board, still in its honeymoon phasewith Garza.
“We are all happy with her, the boardmembers,” said at-large member IlryongMoon. “I can say that with confidence. Wemade a right decision bringing her to Fairfax.She’s been helping the members to look atissues in a certain perspective that we oth-erwise wouldn’t have an opportunity to takeadvantage of.”
BUT GARZA is not a one-woman show, andshe attributes her accomplishments in partto the cabinet and administrative structureshe realigned within her first year. Unlikemost new superintendents, Garza broughtzero staff with her from the Lone Star State.Instead, she spent her first fall and winterassessing the team she inherited, before re-organizing in the spring.
Garza nixed the old eight-cluster admin-istration group in favor of five regions andsplit the department of Professional Learn-ing and Accountability roles among otherdepartments. This eliminated five staff po-sitions and saved $637,000, according toJohn Torre, public information officer for the
ning a rebellion.”Garza will be tested when she and the
board tackle the $63.9 million deficit sheprojected for FY2016 — and it gets worsein FY2017.
“She is such a good diplomat and every-one likes her,” said Fairfax County Federa-
tion of Teachers PresidentSteven Greenburg. “But thereis an expectation on the partof some stakeholders that shewill generate revenue andhold county or state officialsaccountable for the decisionsthey take. The only thing thatwould limit what she wants to
accomplish is lack of funds.”If she can manage the funds, Garza has a
Texas-sized list of goals for the county.
New Fairfax County Public SchoolsSuperintendent Karen Garza speaksto parents and teachers at SunriseValley Elementary School Monday,Oct. 28, 2013.
Dr. Karen Garza, incoming FCPSSuperintendent and Dr. DanielDomenech, former FCPS Superin-tendent, both in robes at BryantAlternative School graduation, June13, 2013, where Domenech was thegraduation speaker.
Senior Robyn Smith explains Active Minds while Lindsay Laiks, RachelChalkley, Karen Garza and Kim Dockery listen at a March 2014 assemblyat Woodson High School. More than 1,100 people gathered for comfortand advice in the aftermath of two student deaths.
Superintendent KarenGarza shares a momentwith Debbie Kilpatrick,president of FairfaxCounty Council of PTAsat the Listening Tour onDec. 6.
Photo by
Eden Brown/
The Connection
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Among them are making the compensationfor teachers more competitive with nearbyjurisdictions, developing a strategic plan forredesigning the curriculum to be moreproject- and problem solving-based, reduc-ing class size, bringing technology to morestudents and doubling the availability of Pre-Kindergarten to qualifying students.
To address the funding, another priorityis mobilizing support from businesses in theschool system’s communities. Garza said theFCPS Foundation, under a new yet-to-be-named executive director, will drive supportfrom that relatively untapped resource.
“I’m hoping we’re able to garner a lotmore support from our business commu-nity,” she said, “at least in those areas thatcan help us be more innovative with tech-nology education.”
View from TexasIn Houston
“When I hired Karen in 2005,” former Superin-tendent of Houston Independent School District(HISD) Dr. Abelardo Saavedra said, “the position ofchief academic officer had been open severalmonths. I went looking for her. I’d never met her butI’d heard about her. There is a big difference be-tween a mid-sized district and a larger one; thedynamics are completely different. I was taking arisk because she came from a mid-sized one of about40,000 in Corpus Christi, and ours was much big-ger. She adjusted very quickly.”
As Chief Academic Officer, Garza was responsiblefor the educational programming and the academicperformance of 200,000 students and the adminis-tration of 300 schools. Saavedra said one of theirmost lasting accomplishments at HISD was the Per-
formance Pay initiative. “I had decided we’d do this,but honestly, I had no idea how to do it. OrdinarilyI’d put it under HR but they weren’t moving fastenough. Karen quickly took ownership. Of course Ididn’t have to ask Karen to take ownership,” he saidlaughing. “This thing wasn’t moving and shestepped up to the plate. It was tied to academics,so she figured she could do it as well as the HR folkscould, and she did. That program continues todayand is why Houston did so well. “
Saavedra was referring to the district’s educa-tional improvement and performance managementmodel, called ASPIRE (Accelerating StudentProgress. Increasing Results and Expectations). TheASPIRE program paid over 18,000 teachers andinstructional staff more than $70 million in perfor-mance bonuses over three years based on theacademic improvement of children.
After Garza’s first year, the average reading scoresof HISD students on the SAT test increased fivepoints while the Texas and national averages fell.
Saavedra noted that one of the most unusualthings about Garza was her relationship with theHouston Chief Financial Officer Melinda Garrett.”Usually in those jobs,” Saavedra said, “there aresilos formed between the financial folks and the aca-demic folks. Not between Garza and Garrett. Theybecame good friends and worked together to makepositive changes happen.”
Garrett confirmed Garza’s achievements: “People inTexas miss her but realize Texas’ loss is Virginia’s gain.They were all happy she got this majorsuperintendent’s job. It is something she really wantedand deserved. She will be great for Fairfax. She is notafraid to make decisions. She always has her hand onthe pulse of the people she is working with.”
Garrett noted that she and Garza shared the samebackground as school teachers; that love of work-ing with children is something they both brought totheir work in funding schools and making sound de-cisions for school districts.
In LubbockAs Lubbock’s Independent School District’s super-
intendent, a job Garza held for four years beforecoming to Fairfax, her accomplishments includeimplementing a standardized curriculum for the29,000-student district, focus on student achievement,and financial stability. She left LISD with the largestfund balance they had ever had and worked throughsome hard times with state funding, getting gains forteachers, students, and taxpayers. Garza helped leadthe effort to win voter approval of a $198 million bondin 2010, the largest bond in the district’s history. As
Lubbock superintendent, Garza narrowed the achieve-ment gap, increased the graduation rate and helpedreduce the number of students who drop out.
Linda DeLeon, a Fairfax County resident who hadserved as a school board member in Lubbock, wasdelighted to see Garza come to Fairfax.
She was asked by someone to attend one ofGarza’s early public hearings in Fairfax. When hername was announced to the group, Garza lifted herhead and gave DeLeon a big smile: “Well, here isLinda, someone I knew from Lubbock.” DeLeon hadbeen a school board member for 18 years in Lub-bock under five different superintendents (but notduring Garza’s tenure) and had kept track of thethings Garza did while there.
She was impressed: “Karen Garza was up to thechallenge. What made her positive was she waswilling to sit with groups of people and have discus-
sions. Decisions were made that were very tough,but she never wavered from being able to sit downwith a group even if they were against the decisionsshe was looking to move forward with.”
DeLeon said Garza made positive changes in Lub-bock. One was to consolidate schools. “Closing theschools was the hardest issue for her. So many par-ents came to these hearings, and complained thatclosing schools was not right, that the school wasthe nucleus of the neighborhood. But Garza workedwith them until you could see a transformation fromthose parents. It’s true that now the kids have to goa little further, but what they did made it possiblefor 2-3 teachers to teach a 3rd grade class. Theycoordinated, they worked together, and they did amuch better job serving the needs of the kids. Youcould also actually see the gap close between mi-nority and ‘anglo’ kids.”
BioKAREN GARZACurrent Position:
Fairfax CountyPublic SchoolsSuperintendent
Salary: $265,000Age: 51Hometown: Canyon,
TexasSpouse: Louis GarzaChildren: Four, grownEducation: Ph.D., University of Texas-Austin, May
2002; M.Ed., University of Houston-Victoria, May1994; B.S., University of Houston-Victoria, 1986.
Facts about FCPS❖ 196 schools❖ Employs 23,447 people❖ Teaches 183, 895 students❖ Receives 52.4% of the county budget ($1,768.5 million)❖ Spends $13,472 dollars per student❖ Educates more students in trailers than total enrollment
of Alexandria City Public Schools
To Learn More❖ www.fccpta.org❖ www.fcps.edu❖ www.fcft.org❖ www.boarddocs.com/vsba/
Fairfax/Board.nsf/Public❖ www.greatschools.org
Superintendent Karen Garza begins and endsher Listening Tour meetings with a plea to thosein the room — parents, teachers, employees,unions — to help her achieve what needs to bedone for their school system.
“I am going to need your help,” she says toaudiences who voice concerns about class size,resources for special education, and teacher sala-ries.
Garza says she hopes to have a lot morepeople engaged during the budget process thisspring. “Come and testify. Talk with your Boardof Supervisors at those meetings. It’s usuallyfilled with folks. But we need a lot more parentsand advocates for our public schools to be in thatroom.”
Garza explains: “We grow by 17-20 studentsevery single day. We have grown by 20,000 stu-dents in six years. This is a huge strain on ourbudget. We spend $25 million a year to supportnew students. We aren’t happy with teacher sala-ries. We need to help people in our areaunderstand our budget. Help us as we enter thisnext budget year.”
“Read our ‘Citizens Guide’,” says Garza.“There’s lots of good information in there to helppeople understand how the system works andhow they can help. This year it includes a sec-tion on why your year-end balance ends up
being what it is. The more we can get people toread that document, the more people will followhow the system works and make solid inputs. “
“We need to get more business and commu-nity leaders to understand: Poverty is growing,our county is definitely changing. We startedsome outreach this year with our superintendentround-tables.”
The president of the Fairfax County Councilof PTAs, Debbie Kilpatrick, underlined the needfor more community involvement: “Karen Garzacannot do this on her own. Parents need to getmore involved so they know what they can doto support Garza and their schools. They shouldlook at the websites, come to PTA meetings,know what the issues are and vote on them. Canshe get smaller classrooms achieved? If she saysit, she will do it. But she will need help.”
Steven Greenburg, president of FairfaxCounty Federation of Teachers, echoed Garza’splea. “Do we know as a group of people, as av-erage citizens living in Fairfax County, how totake action? If this community sees value ineducation then voters have to make their viewsknown. Karen Garza won’t get what she wantswithout more involvement by the community,”Greenburg said. “People will have to reach outto public officials and let them know where thevoters stand.”
Schools Need Community’s Help
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The Connection
8 ❖ Oak Hill/Herndon Connection ❖ December 24-30, 2014 www.ConnectionNewspapers.com
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THROUGH WEDNESDAY/DEC. 31La Lumiere DuBois. 9 a.m.-9 p.m. Hunters Woods Exhibit,
2310 Colts Neck Road, Reston. An exhibit of the colorfulnature photographs of award-winning artist, MichaelDuBois. 703-476-4500.
THROUGH SATURDAY/JAN. 3LineWorks: Drawing Redefined Exhibit at GRACE. 6 -
8 p.m. Reston Town Center, 11900 Market Street, Reston.Thematic multi-media works by five artists, Lee Gainer,Sarah Irvin, Nikki Painter, Foon Sham, and SarahWeinstock.703-471-9242. www.restonarts.org.
THROUGH SUNDAY/JAN. 4Meadowlark’s Winter Walk of Lights. 5:30 p.m.
Meadowlark Botanical Garden, 9750 Meadowlark GardensCourt, Vienna. A winter wonderland, including a flowingstream of softly glowing lights, a two story animatedfountain and a Gingerbread Village. Admission: $13 adults,$8 children ages 3-12; children under 3 are free.
THROUGH MONDAY/JAN. 5Annual “Gifts from the HeART” to Benefit Reston
Interfaith. 9 a.m.-9 p.m. Jo Ann Rose Gallery, 1609Washington Plaza N, Reston. Sales of original works of artin many mediums will benefit Cornerstones. 703-476-4500.
THROUGH TUESDAY/JAN. 6Christmas at Mount Vernon. 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. George
Washington’s Mount Vernon, 3200 Mount Vernon MemorialHighway, Mount Vernon. Themed decorations (including12 Christmas trees) and historical chocolate-makingdemonstrations will be offered. Tour the rarely-open thirdfloor of the Mansion and learn how the Washingtonscelebrated Christmas. In 1787, George Washington paid 18shillings to bring a camel to Mount Vernon for theenjoyment of his guests. During Christmas at MountVernon, visitors can meet a camel on the grounds.
THROUGH SATURDAY/JAN. 31Exhibit of Colorful Nutcrackers. 11 a.m. - 4 p.m. Closed
on Tuesdays. Sully Historic Site, 3650 Historic Sully Way,Chantilly. See an amazing array of nutcrackers, both oldand new, in a colorful case exhibit. Did you ever wonderwhere the craze for collecting nutcracker dolls came from?Nutcrackers have a fascinating history. The first nutcrackerswere produced to crack nuts more effectively and the oldestknown metal example, on exhibit in Tarent, Italy, is fromthe third or fourth century B.C. The LeavenworthNutcracker Museum in Leavenworth, Washington, shows abronze Roman nutcracker dated between 200 B.C and 200A.D. German nutcrackers, made as decorative pieces, weredeveloped around 1500. Early nutcrackers were in theshapes of animals, birds and people. Later, they were madein the likeness of kings, soldiers, church leaders and rulingclass figures. Fine wood carved nutcrackers were createdacross Europe, especially in France and England by the15th and 16th centuries. Admission: $7/adult, $6/student,$5/senior or child.
THROUGH MONDAY/MARCH 16Ice Skating at Reston Town Center. 11 a.m. - 7 p.m.
Reston Town Center, 11900 Market Street, Reston. Fromearly November through the early March, the Pavilion flooris transformed into a gleaming ice skating rink. Ice skatesand other supplies are available inside the Skate Shopdirectly beside the Pavilion (behind Clyde’s). Admission:$10 per adult; $9 for children under 12; $5 per skaterental.
TUESDAY/DEC. 23Magic Toy Shop Puppet Show. 10 & 11:30 a.m. Frying
Pan Farm Park, 2709 West Ox Road, Herndon. Bring yourholiday guests and join master puppeteer Bob Brown in aholiday production of the “Magic Toy Shop.” Join the livelymarionettes as they frolic in a magic shop full of toys. Afterthe show, stroll the pond visit our animals or shop at theCountry Store. Children must be accompanied by registeredadult.
WEDNESDAY/DEC. 24Holiday Gift Wrapping by Kids R First. 10 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Hyatt Regency Reston, Reston Town Center, 1800Presidents Street, Reston. Gifts will be beautifully wrappedwhile you shop or work, same-day service. Donationsbenefit 22,000 needy kids with school supplies. 703-850-3639 www.kidsrfirst.org
FRIDAY/DEC. 26Friday Night Rock ‘n’ Skate. 8-10 p.m. Ice Skating
Pavilion, Reston Town Center, 11900 Market Street,
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WEDNESDAY/DEC. 31New Year’s Eve Bonfire and Celebration. ArtSpace
Herndon, 750 Center Street, Herndon. African Drum &band workshop (youth event; $5/child or $10/family) 7 –8:30 p.m. Bonfire with Drum Circle (all ages; free), 8:30 –10 p.m. A Night of Blues: Herbie D. & the Dangermen($25/single, $50/couple) 10 p.m. – 12:30 a.m. Purchasetickets at www.artspaceherndon.org.
Jimmy’s Annual New Year’s Eve Gala. Jimmy’s OldTown Tavern, 697 Spring Street, Herndon. Ring in the newyear at Jimmy’s . http://www.jimmystavern.com/
New Year’s Eve Golf Tournament. 8:30 a.m. HerndonCentennial Golf Course, 909 Ferndale Ave., Herndon.Celebrate the last day of the year with a four-personscramble. Entry fee includes greens and cart fees, rangeballs, prizes and breakfast. 703-471-5769.www.herndongolf.com. $70 per person, registrationrequired by Sunday, Dec. 21.
THURSDAY/JAN. 1New Year’s Day 5K. 10 a.m. Reston Town Center, 11900
Market Street, Reston, Fountain Square. Kick off the NewYear with a run from Reston Town Center with music, food,and fun celebration following the race. Presented byPotomac River Running. 703-689-0999 at prraces.com/newyearsday.
SATURDAY/JAN. 3Winter Bird Count. 7 a.m. - Noon. Walker Nature Center,
11450 Glade Drive, Reston. Adults. Join for a half-dayannual bird count throughout Reston’s natural areas. Meetlocal bird experts, learn tips on identification and have funwhile helping obtain important information about ourfeathered friends. Volunteers are invited to enjoy a freelunch, tally results and swap stories back at Nature Housefollowing the count from Noon - 12:30 p.m. Reservationsrequired by Jan. 2. Free. For more information, [email protected], or call 703-476-9689 and press 5.
Scooby Doo and Tweety Bird glide along atthe Reston Town Center Ice Skating Pavil-ion. A big hit with the younger skaters –and a few of the young at heart, as well –the two are part of the rink’s SaturdayCartoon Character Skate. Scooby assuredus that he would be there for many moreSaturdays to come.
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Sports
By Jon Roetman
The Connection
Keith A. Kaufman, Ph.D., a sport psycholo-gist with offices in Washington, D.C. andOld Town Alexandria, said two potentialissues stand out for a young athlete
coached by a parent.“I think two issues that jump out to me are the
athlete feels like they can never escape talking aboutthe sport,” Kaufman said in a phone interview, “orthey feel too much scrutiny or not enough; like theyfeel like they’re treated differently [than other mem-bers of the team].”
Kaufman said “it’s absolutely essential there areboundaries,” when a parent is coaching his or herchild, and it’s important the child is treated in thesame manner as his or her teammates. While eachcase is different, he said the relationship can be ben-eficial.
“I would say most coaches are harder on their ownkids than they are on the regular kids,” Madison as-sistant volleyball coach Christine Zanellato said. “Wetend to point out when they mess up more than youwould with another kid.”
Zanellato and head coach Carrie Hall each have adaughter on the Madison volleyball team, which wasone point away from capturing the VHSL 6A statechampionship in the fall. Zanellato coached herdaughter, Natale, when she was young, but stoppedwhen Natale was in middle school.
Their relationship had some rough spots.“When I was in [sixth] grade, I hated it,” Natale
said. “I would cry most nights. I would cry on theway home [from volleyball]. I was very sensitive. Iwould get a little upset when she would tell me tosuck it up or do this and that. I wasn’t as good withher criticism.”
After a few years playing for other coaches, Natalestarted to appreciate her mom’s volleyball knowl-edge. Zanellato played collegiately at LSU andcoached the Fairfax High varsity from 2007-2011.When it came time for high school, Natale, who at-tended Lake Braddock as a freshman, wanted hermom as a coach. Zanellato joined the Bruins’ staff asan assistant in 2012.
“I think what has worked out well for us is that wehave a really solid relationship and she trusts that
when I am working to improve her skills, I’m look-ing at her as an athlete,” Zanellato said. “My criti-cism is all based on what she needs to do on thecourt. It’s not about her personally. I think that’s thehardest thing [about being a parent/coach] is kidssometimes personalize the comments.”
Natale would later transfer to Madison. After notplaying high school volleyball her sophomore year,Natale joined the Warhawk varsity as a junior andwas a key contributor at outside hitter for the 2014state runners-up.
“I love working with my mom,” Natale said. “I re-spect her. I know that she played great. She’s a greatcoach. When I was younger, it was a little rougher. Iwas just like, ‘I don’t want to listen to you,’ that kindof stuff. I respect her judgment and I respect whatshe’s saying. I really respect her opinion. I love hav-ing her on the coaching staff.”
Hall said she treats her daughter, Kendal, astandout junior setter for the Warhawks, no differ-ently than any other member of the team.
“It’s not hard to me at all,” Hall said. “I’ve beenhere 14 years and to me it’s about the program. …It’s the program first, then my daughter.”
Hall said the two talk about volleyball at home,but don’t discuss strategy.
“We talk about if we think we had a good game ornot that night, but nothing too elaborate,” Hall said.“… That way she’s part of the team, I’m part of thecoaching staff. She doesn’t need to know anythingthat’s going on.”
Kendal said she’s appreciative of her mom’s vol-leyball knowledge.
“It’s definitely nice,” Kendal said, “coming homeand having someone to talk to who definitely knowswhat they’re doing.”
Langley football coach John Howerton started hissons on a path toward gridiron success at a youngage. Jack, now a sophomore at Stetson University inDeLand, Fla., and Tyler, now a sophomore at Lan-gley, started strength and skill training before theage of 10. However, they did not play organized foot-ball until high school.
Howerton, who was inducted into the ShepherdUniversity athletic Hall of Fame after garnering All-American status as an offensive tackle, taught hissons the basic fundamentals of offensive line play,such as getting in a proper stance. He also showedthem the basics of strength training, including 15-minute workouts with a lightweight aluminum pipe.
Jack earned all-state honors during his time at
Coaching one’s own childcan be stressful, rewarding.
Parent Coaches Searching for Balance
Photo contributed
Langley offensive lineman Tyler Howerton, left, is seen asa freshman in 2013. His father, John Howerton, right, isthe Langley head football coach and is a member of theShepherd University athletic Hall of Fame. Tyler’s grand-father, Cig Howerton, is a member of the Randolph-Macon Hall of Fame.
Madison head volleyball coach Carrie Hall’s daughter,Kendal Hall, is a setter for the Warhawks.
Natale Zanellato, left, helped the Madison volleyball teamfinish state runner-up in the fall. Her mother, ChristineZanellato, is an assistant coach for the Warhawks.
Photos by Craig Sterbutzel/The Connection
See Parent Coaches, Page 11
10 ❖ Oak Hill/Herndon Connection ❖ December 24-30, 2014 www.ConnectionNewspapers.com
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Dr.Donald Anthony Fleger, age 85, passed into eternal rest at Atlantic General Hospital on Sunday,
December 14, 2014. Born November 21, 1929, in Cleveland, Ohio, he was the son of the late Anthony A. and Mary Nemec Fleger. He is survived by his beloved wife of 59 years Mary
K. Fleger and children, Kathleen Mary Tracy and her husband Patrick of Pittsburgh, PA, Dwayne Edward Fleger
and his wife Marti of Reston, VA and Stephen Anthony Fleger and his wife Melanie of Herndon, VA. There are nine
grandchildren, Patrick Tracy, Christopher Tracy, Timothy Tracy, Cassie Jackson, Kirstie Fleger, Kalla Fleger,
Katherine Fleger, Andrew Fleger, Jordan Fleger, and four great-grandchildren, Madison Fleger, Lilliane Fleger, Andrew
Fleger, Jr., and Evelyn Fleger.
His family moved to Washington, DC in 1940 when his father was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. During that tenure, Don attended Capital Page School where he
served two years as a Page in the US House.. He attended University of VA and was a 1955 graduate of the George-town University School of Dentistry. He then served as a dentist in the US Army for two years as a Captain while
stationed at Fort Meade, MD. Following his discharge, he moved his family to Virginia and opened a dental practice. After 30 years he retired to Ocean Pines in 1988. There he served as an active member of the Environmental Control
Committee for approximately 20 years.
Donald was an affectionate husband and caring father who adored his grandchildren and great grandchildren. In his
spare time he enjoyed boating, wood working, model building and watching the Washington Redskins. Above all, he will be
remembered for his love of family, optimistic outlook and tenacious drive to never give up.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Friday, December 19, 2014 at 11:00 AM at St. John Neumann Catholic Church.
Friends may call on Wednesday, December 17, from 3:00 until 6:00 PM at the Burbage Funeral Home in Berlin. Pray-ers will be said beginning 4:00 PM by Rev. William Porter. A
donation in his memory may be made to: St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital 262 Danny Thomas Place,
Memphis TN, 38105. Letters of condolence may be sent via: www.burbagefuneralhome.com
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Loosey goosey, I suppose. As much as onemight prefer some predictability in their life(certainly a cancer patient would – I know Iwould), I may be entering a cycle of perma-nent unpredictability. Whereas my previousschedule was chemotherapy every threeweeks, a CT Scan every three months, fol-lowed up by a face-to-face appointment/examination/assessment with my oncologistsometime during the next week (in effect,every three months as well), my most recentabnormal lab results may very well be upset-ting my apple cart. However, rather thanchange my infusion schedule to every fourweeks due to recurring high creatinine levelsshowing up in my current every-three-week,pre-chemotherapy lab work, my oncologistwants to keep me on the same track. Histhinking is, since my most recent CT Scanshowed “shrinkage,” he wants to continuetreating my cancer as aggressively as possible,since we’re having some success – so long asmy body tolerates the drug, that is. My worryis that, from what little I understand, these lasttwo lab results are indications that my body(kidneys) may in fact no longer be toleratingthe treatment and that my future treatment issubject to change, shall we say.
For the moment however, the change willnot be in the drug I’m infusing but with thefrequency. I will still be scheduled for my che-motherapy every three weeks, with my usualpre-chemotherapy lab work the Wednesdaybefore the Friday. If my creatinine level is toohigh on that first test, we will delay the infu-sion by one week and I will return to the labthe following Wednesday and hope for animproved result. What this means to me is, Ican’t ever know, given the variability in mylast two lab results, whether I can plan onchemotherapy every three weeks, every fourweeks or some reasonable facsimile thereof.What little control I thought I had over mylife: the predictability/regularity of my infu-sions, apparently is over. Now, so long as mycreatinine goes down on the subsequentretests, I will live with the consequences –happily. Still, I have lost something veryimportant in my life, something with which Ihave become quite accustomed these last fewyears: knowing who, what, when and where.Why this is happening, and whether or not aslope has become slippery all of a sudden(“all of a sudden” – after six years, nothing isall of a sudden) is the big question, a ques-tion/scenario that my oncologist will likelyblame the cancer for causing (simple, isn’t it?).Because, that’s sort of what cancer does, he’llprobably say.
Part of me understands that “If It Ain’tBroke” there’s no need to fix it; we just needto work in some flexibility. And if the flexibil-ity keeps me alive, I’m all for it. Nevertheless,this change will affect my life, my future. I cannever know – for sure, and anticipate accord-ingly – what my lab results will be (as I havebeen able to these last few years) andplan/schedule/arrange my non-cancer activi-ties. I will once again become a victim of myown circumstances. I will never know untilI’m told (e-mailed actually; I’ll know by theresults whether that next chemotherapyappointment will be put off) whether I’m busytwo days hence or not. Moreover, I’ll likelyrepeat the cycle the following week andbeyond. Maybe the regularity of the irregular-ity will become my new routine? Maybebreaking up the every-three-week schedule –sometimes – will give me and my body somemuch needed/appreciated rest. I can onlyhope so. I don’t want to think that it’s not so.I’ve gotten used to my life. And though this isdefinitely a blip, I’m thankful to still be show-ing up on the radar.
Kenny Lourie is an Advertising Representative forThe Potomac Almanac & The Connection Newspapers.
By KENNETH B. LOURIE
The NewNormal
I'am a slow walker, but I never walk back.
-Abraham Lincoln
The biggestthings arealways the
easiest to dobecause there isno competition.
-William Van Horne
Oak Hill/Herndon Connection ❖ December 24-30, 2014 ❖ 11www.ConnectionNewspapers.com
pushed the door shut as he retreated andimmediately collapsed on the floor less than5 feet from the door.
This tragedy only gets worse. John lay justinside the door reportedly yelling for help.Despite his pleas for help, the officers onscene stood outside and did nothing whilewaiting for SWAT to arrive. The SWAT teamentered an hour later to find that John hadbled to death. It should be noted that thepatrol officers on the scene had an entryshield and could have entered the house torescue John with minimal risk yet chose todo nothing.
After 15 months, no officer has been iden-tified, no charges have been filed, no grandjury has been convened and no reason hasbeen given to the family or the public. Infact the Fairfax County Police Department,up until a recent legal action filed by theFederal Justice Department, had refused toprovide requested information to anyoneincluding the Virginia State Attorney. Theattorneys for the Geer family have filed 127
requests for documents and in response,122 objections have been filed by thecounty. Despite the incredible lack of coop-eration from the Police Department, localcounty officials, the State Attorney Generaland the Governor have remained silent. Ittook over one year for Fairfax County su-pervisors to write a gently worded letterrequesting that the case be resolved.
The case was turned over to federal pros-ecutors last January. The FBI conducted in-terviews in March. Still, no information hasbeen released to the public and no resolu-tion has been achieved. It has taken recentinvolvement from U.S. Sen. Grassley of theSenate Judicial Committee and legal actionby Federal prosecutors to get the FairfaxCounty Police Department to only recentlyprovide the requested information, infor-mation that should have been made publica year ago. It would appear that this policedepartment does not feel compelled to an-swer to any Virginia or federal official. Thishas to change. The family, friends and thepublic have yet to be told anything aboutJohn’s death.
When possible crimes have been commit-ted by police officers such as policeshootings, nobody investigates the case butthe police. There are no independent over-sight procedures of any kind. Fairfax Countysupervisors endorse this policy and alongwith the Police Department, have rejectedevery attempt to create any kind of inde-pendent oversight procedures. It should benoted that the Fairfax County supervisorshire the police chief. They also control themoney dedicated to the department. Thispolicy of self-investigation, no oversight andthe inevitable obstruction that occurs as aresult will continue until the public de-mands better from its elected officials.
To date, no officer in the 75-year historyof the Fairfax County Police Department hasever been charged in a wrongful shooting.These include the deaths of John Geer andat least two other unarmed citizens since2006, all shot by police under questionablecircumstances.
Jeff Stewart, a Chantilly resident,witnessed the shooting of his friend John
Geer on Aug. 29, 2013.
Do Fairfax County Police Act with Impunity?From Page 4
Parent Coaches Searching for Balance
Langley. He could bench press 500 poundsand squat 675. He is now an offensive line-man at Stetson. Tyler recently completedhis sophomore season as a starter on theLangley varsity. Both played right guard forthe Saxons.
Howerton said he has tried to treat Jackand Tyler in an equal fashion to other play-ers on the team, but admits he has higherexpectations for his sons.
“I try to treat them as any kid out there,”Howerton said. “As a parent, you probablyhave more expectations for your own sons.I try not to yell at them any more or less
than anyone else. I do expect them to excelas much as possible because they’ve beenexposed to me as a coach more than theother kids have.”
Howerton was coached by his father,Elton “Cig” Howerton, in youth football. CigHowerton was an
From Page 9
By Abigail Constantino
The Connection
After the hustle and bustle of theholidays, taxpayers beginscrambling to get that end-of-theyear charitable donation so they
claim it on their tax returns. For people whowant to benefit while helping people, twoOakton based organizations, Northern Vir-ginia Family Service and The CommunityFoundation for Northern Virginia offer twoways to give.
The Northern Virginia Family Service’s,NVFS, Gifting for Families program may beover but financial contributions to its otherprograms and services are always welcome,said Tonya McCreary, director of agencycommunications at NVFS. This year’s toycloset saw an increase of 350 children fromlast year, giving a total of 2,100 children in1,000 families.
It is especially during the holidays, inun-dated by commercialism and consumerism,that low-income families may feel the pinchof poverty even more. But it is also during
this time that generosity and communitygiving can restore hope.
NVFS’s Family Reunification Program,which serves recent immigrants with spe-cial needs or traumatic histories, helpedRuth (name changed for confidentiality)and her children have the chance to expe-rience what others take for granted, buy-ing something they want.
BUYING SOMETHING that is desired butnot needed is a “luxury...rarely experienced”by families served by NVFS, said McCreary.Ruth sought asylum in 2012, after surviv-ing torture in the Democratic Republic ofthe Congo. Her six children, ages 10-18-years old, joined her and they struggle withbills and basic necessities, as Ruth has notbeen able to find full-time employment. Atlast year’s Gifting for Families, Ruth and herfamily all got something they wanted, notjust something they needed. Her childrengot toys, cosmetics, crafts and gift cards, sothey can buy something they wanted froma store. Ruth was brought to tears by thegenerosity of the people in the community,reported McCreary.
At the Community Foundation for North-ern Virginia, a public charity focused ongrant giving, donors can have more say in
how their contributions are distributed. Theorganization serves Fairfax, Loudoun, Ar-lington and Prince William counties and thecities of Alexandria, Falls Church, Fairfax,Manassas and Manassas Park.
For people who do not have a specificcharity in mind, the Community Founda-tion for Northern Virginia can help with theresearch. “If you’re interested in somethingin particular but not a specific organization”Community Foundation for Northern Vir-ginia can help direct contributions to thatcause, said Lesley MacDonald, director ofcommunity investment.
DONORS have three ways to donate: es-tablish a donor advised fund—a kind ofcharitable savings account—donate to anexisting donor advised fund, or donate toCommunity Foundation, which also runsseveral funds. It also keeps a list of re-searched and scrutinized organizations sodonors know about the organization receiv-ing their money.
NVFS and the Community Foundation forNorthern Virginia offer different ways togive in ways both donors and people in needcan benefit. For more information on howto give, visit http://www.nvfs.org/ andhttp://www.cfnova.org/.
Helping organizationsneed help year round.
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ZONESZone 1: The Reston Connection The Oak Hill/Herndon ConnectionZone 2: The Springfield Connection The Burke Connection The Fairfax Connection The Fairfax Station/Clifton/
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12 ❖ Oak Hill/Herndon Connection ❖ December 24-30, 2014 www.ConnectionNewspapers.com
News
By Ryan Dunn
The Connection
At the end of December andearly days of January, resi-dents in the Reston and
Herndon area have a variety oflocal options for fun and entertain-ment. Some of these include thelocal art galleries, as well as op-tions at the local community cen-ters and regional parks.
ArtSpace Herndon located at750 Center Street will continuetheir tradition: New Year’s Gala,hosting a celebration event the lastevening of December. The eventbegins at 7 p.m., and will first fea-ture a family friendly party withchildren’s activities centeredround the blues. Local folk singerand musician, Bill Davis will leada drum making hands-on-artproject at ArtSpace Herndon start-ing at 7 p.m. Children ages 4-14will make djembe drums, andyounger children will make shakeinstruments.
Families are invited into the gal-lery at 7:30 p.m with their drumsto participate in a workshop leadby one of Virginia’s best acousticblues bands, Herbie D & theDangermen. The band will talkabout the origin of the blues andplay some blues. Due to the lim-
ited seating inside ArtSpaceHerndon for the workshop andhands-on-art activity, reservationsare strongly urged. Tickets areavailable at a cost of $10 for a fam-ily for the drum and band work-shop, and light refreshments. Tick-ets are $5/child to make a drumand not attend the workshop. Theevent is 7 to 8:30 p.m. At the endof the workshop, Herbie D. & theDangermen will lead everyoneoutside for ArtSpace Hernond’straditional drum circle. ArtSpaceHerndon’s doors reopen at 9:30p.m. for a separate ticketed adultparty. The party is 10 p.m. to 12:30a.m.; the doors open at 9:30 p.m.Single tickets are $30.
Herndon’s Potter’s Fire lo-cated at 797 Center Street will behosting some holiday events fromDec. 19-23. On Dec. 19, stop bythe location to enjoy a mug of hotchocolate by the fire pit. Saturday,Dec. 20 patrons celebrate the holi-days with refreshments and list tocarolers. Monday, Dec. 22 you cantour the Potter’s Fire studio andhave a custom piece wrapped forthe holidays. Potters Fire is smallceramics business whichhandcrafts each piece of potterywith respect and attention to de-tail reserved for the most thought-ful gestures.
A feature of the ArtSpace Herndon New Year’s Eve Gala isthe outdoor bonfire held outdoors near the art gallery at750 Center Street in Herndon. The New Years Gala beginsat 7 p.m., and will first feature a family-friendly partywith children’s activities centered round the blues genre.
End of the YearFun in HerndonWinter entertainmentat various locations in the area.
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