SOUTHERN EDITIONconnectionarchives.com/PDF/2011/121411/Centreview South.pdfHanukkah, Westfield High presents its an-nual “Ho-Ho Holiday Show” in the school theater. More than 100

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‘Ho-Ho Holiday Show’

Gathered ’round the tree are Westfield’s “Ho-Ho Holiday Show” directors (from left)Dieter Stach, Colby Dezelick, Joey Biagini, Nick Burroughs, Chaz Coffin, Erica, Schmidt,Bryan Pitt, Sophia Alam and Corrine Holland. (Not pictured are Kelsey Thompson andStage Manager Sarah Schweit).

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Westfield High presentssix children’s plays.

By Bonnie HobbsCentre View

Featuring five Christmas plays and one aboutHanukkah, Westfield High presents its an-nual “Ho-Ho Holiday Show” in the schooltheater. More than 100 theater students willtake the stage, Saturday-Sunday, Dec. 17-18, at 2p.m., in a production directed by seniors and gearedfor children.

They’ll perform “The Grinch,” “A Charlie BrownChristmas,” “Frosty the Snowman,” “The Hanukkah

Story,” “’Twas the Night before Christmas” and“Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.” Tickets are $5;groups of 15 or more are $4/ticket. [email protected].

‘FROSTY THE SNOWMAN’Directing “Frosty the Snowman” are Joey Biagini

and Erica Schmidt. The nine-person play stars MeganMcMahon as Frosty, Estella Massey as Karen andAidan Quartana as Professor Hinkle.

“There’s lot of slapstick comedy, and the actorsmake big motions for the little kids,” said Biagini.

“We’re learning about directing scenes, in class,and it’s fun,” said Schmidt. “Having to look at thebig picture is different from being an actor. You have

See Westfield High, Page 14

20 Months PrisonFor Chantilly ManHe acceptedbribes from Iraqicontractors


Thomas Aram Manok ofChantilly was sentencedlast Friday, Dec. 9, in U.S.District Court in Alexandria to 20months in prison. He was con-victed in September of conspiringto receive bribes from Iraqi con-tractors involved in U.S.-fundedreconstruction efforts.

Manok, 51, of the Estates atLeeton Manor community, was adual citizen of the U.S. and Iraq.He worked for the Army Corps ofEngineers as a project engineerand contracting officer represen-tative, stationed at the Interna-tional Zone Resident Office at theVictory Base Complex.

When he entered his guilty pleain federal court, Sept. 19, he ad-mitted using his official positionto garner cash bribes in exchangefor his recommendation that theU.S. Army Corps of Engineers ap-prove contracts and other requestsfor payment submitted to the U.S.government by the contractors.

Court documents explainedthat, in March and April 2010,Manok agreed to receive a$10,000 payment from a contrac-tor who’d been involved in build-ing a kindergarten and a girls’school in the Abu Ghraib neigh-borhood of Baghdad.

The contractor sought Manok’sinfluence in having requests forpayment approved by the ArmyCorps of Engineers. Manok was toreceive an additional bribe pay-ment from that contractor oncethe contractor’s claim had beenapproved. Manok further admittedthat he intended to conceal the

See 20 Months, Page 14

Local Man Convicted ofConspiracy, Tax CrimesFair Oaks resident secretlyrepresented Pakistan.


A Fair Oaks man is facing apossible eight years behindbars after pleading guiltylast week in federal court to se-cretly conspiring to act as an agentof the Pakistani government in theU.S., without telling federal au-thorities about this affiliation, as

the law requires. He is SyedGhulam Nabi Fai, 62, a U.S. citi-zen and resident of thePenderbrook community.

He also pleaded guilty to tax vio-lations in connection with a de-cades-long scheme to conceal thetransfer of at least $3.5 millionfrom the government of Pakistanto fund his lobbying efforts in

See 20 Months, Page 14

Volume XXV, NO. 1

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News


There are homes decorated for the holidays— and then there’s Jerry Martoncik’s house.Not only does he have a vast array of holi-day sights and scenes adorning his front yard, buthe designed, built and animated them.

“It takes 25 full days to get everything up andworking,” he said. “People tell me they have to comeback two and three times to see it all.”

Martoncik, 68, is a former computer-systems de-veloper who, for 11 years now, has put his skills andexperience to good use creating a winter wonder-land outside his Clifton home. The lights went onthe day after Thanksgiving, and stay on through Jan.2.

“When my son was 10 or 12 years old, he wantedme to build some yard displays, but I didn’t have thetime,” said Martoncik. “But when I retired and hewas 17 or 18, we started building them together.”

Since then, word’s gotten out about the holidayfantasyland in his yard and, each year, people comefrom miles around to see the colorful animations.“But you can’t just drive by, or you’ll miss a lot of it,”he said. “You’ve got to stop, take time and really look

at things.”Of course, there are lots of lighted stationary items,

such as candy canes, Christmas ornaments and poin-settias, plus small-scale animations. But the show-stoppers are the 11 illuminated, computer-controlled,animated scenes. They include a ski jump, a fox chas-ing a rabbit and a snowball fight during which thesnowballs usually miss their targets but, every sooften, hit their mark.

A girl in a sled rides downhill and penguins slidedown a glacier into a pond of water. Two reindeerride on a seesaw, alternating being up and down,and there’s a scene of a one-horse, open sleigh loadedwith presents.

“A big crowd-pleaser is the flying Santa,” saidMartoncik. “He goes from the North Pole to my housewith a sleigh and a team of reindeer. Then Santawalks across the roof to the chimney, goes down itand back up and then walks to his sleigh. When Ifirst put him up, about four years ago, tons of peoplecame by. For about 2 and a half hours on ChristmasEve, 70-80 adults with toddlers were watching himfrom my driveway.”

Also popular is the skating snowman. With hishands on his hips, he turns to his right and his feetgo into a skating position. Then he skates down theice, slips, tumbles and lands on his head and hands,upside down in the snow. Then a sign comes on read-ing, “Oops.” Martoncik said people also like the signsaying, “Hey, kids, watch me.” And then childrenenjoy watching the snowman’s antics because “he’s

Using computer controls, hundreds oflights, and self-designed and weldedframes, Jerry Martoncik has animated thecrèche scene with Mary and Joseph arriv-ing at the stable, the child being born, astar shining, angels appearing, shepherdsappearing and even wise men arriving oncamels, dismounting and genuflecting.

In Santa’s Toy Shop, elves prepare giftsthat are then sent by conveyor belt to beput into Santa’s sleigh. In the foregrounda rabbit is about to take off, runningacross the yard away from the fox.

A Christmastime WonderlandClifton homeowneranimates his holidaydecorations.

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Roundups

Koroma Indicted for MurderA Fairfax County grand jury has indicted Gbassay “Omar”

Koroma, 18, for the murder of his father, Francis Koroma, 38,who was stabbed to death, May 27, in their Centreville apart-ment. The incident occurred late that night, and the victim died,early the next morning, at Inova Fairfax Hospital.

Police arrested Gbassay Koroma and charged him with murder.He was indicted Nov. 21 and is now scheduled for a five-day, jurytrial, April 23, 2012, in Circuit Court.

Free Carseat InspectionsCertified technicians from the Sully District Police Station will

perform free, child safety carseat inspections Thursday, Dec. 15,from 5-8:30 p.m., at the station, 4900 Stonecroft Blvd. in Chantilly.No appointment is necessary. But residents should install the childsafety seats themselves so technicians may properly inspect andadjust them, as needed.

However, because of time constraints, only the first 35 vehiclesarriving on each date will be inspected. That way, inspectors mayhave enough time to properly instruct the caregiver on the cor-rect use of the child seat. Call 703-814-7000, ext. 5140, to con-firm dates and times.

Sully District Council MeetingTo avoid the winter holidays, the Sully District Council of Citi-

zens Associations and its Land-Use Committee will meet on thethird Thursday, Dec. 15, at 7 p.m., in the Sully District Govern-mental Center, 4900 Stonecroft Blvd. in Chantilly. Call Jeff Parnes,evenings, at 703-904-0131.

Three presentations are scheduled:❖ I-66 Automated Traffic Management plans;❖ Outside the Beltway Tier 1 Environmental Impact Statement

from I-495 to U.S. Route 15;❖ Proposal to construct and operate a wireless telecommuni-

cations facility at Centreville United Methodist Church.

Help WFCM Provide MealsWestern Fairfax Christian Ministries (WFCM) is providing holi-

day meals for more than 700 local families, but it can’t meet thedemand without help from the community.

❖ Food baskets, boxes or bags may be dropped off Saturday,Dec. 17, from 9:30 a.m.-2 p.m., at the WFCM food pantry at 13981Metrotech Drive in Chantilly (near Backyard Grill and Bar).

❖ Those unable to provide a whole basket of food – or whodon’t have time to go shopping – may contribute gift cards tolocal grocery stores, in any denominations.

❖ Grocery-store gift cards may be mailed with a note saying“food basket program” to: WFCM, P.O. Box 220802, Chantilly, VA20153.

❖ For more information or to sponsor a family, contact TerriKelly at 703-988-9656, ext. 105, or via [email protected]. Ifdonors want to shop for holiday-meal items and put together thefood boxes or baskets, themselves, she’ll suggest items to include.

ONC Planning for DeliveryOur Neighbor’s Child will be delivering Christmas presents this

Sunday, Dec. 18, from 1-4 p.m., to families in need in the localarea. But since this all-volunteer organization has some 633 fami-lies on its list, it could use lots of help from the community to getthe job done. People interested in lending a hand with the deliv-eries should go to www.ourneighborschild.org.

Adopt a Shelter AnimalThe Fairfax County Animal Shelter has launched “Operation

Empty Cage” as part of its “Home 4 the Holidays” adoption push.As part of this event, the shelter – at 4500 West Ox Roadºin Fairfax– will offer free spay/neuter for the first 100 dogs and cats adoptedfrom it until Dec. 31. Animals available for adoption at the shel-ter may be seen Tuesdays through Fridays, noon-7 p.m., and Sat-urdays, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. For more information, call 703-830-1100.

News

Getting Involved in Mandy O’Sullivan BenefitThe fund-raiser for Centreville’s

Mandy O’Sullivan is this Friday,Dec. 16, from 5:30-10 p.m., atCentreville Presbyterian Church,15450 Lee Highway in Centreville.

❖ From 6:30-8:30 p.m., there’llbe a silent auction (pay by cash orcheck). At 9:30 p.m., the winnerof a 50/50 raffle will be an-nounced (the winner need not bepresent). The event also includesa buffet dinner and nonalcoholicdrinks. Entertainment will featurelocal deejay Lauren Bobby.

❖ Admission is $15/person or$60 maximum per family. Pre-reg-istration for admission is availablevia PayPal: People should log onto their PayPal accounts, click the“Send Money” tab, and enter

[email protected] the payment as “personal-

gift” and include in the note sec-tion the family name of the ticketpurchaser, i.e., “Smith family’stickets for the benefit, five people.”

❖ To donate silent-auctionitems, e-mail Lara Weatherholtz [email protected] with informa-tion about the items to be contrib-uted.

❖ To volunteer for the event,sign up at http://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0C4DA4AE292-osullivans.

❖ The family requests this invi-tation be extended to anyone inthe community who’s beentouched by the O’Sullivan family,their friends and family or pancre-

atic cancer. An Evite invitation isat http://new.evite.com/#v iew_ inv i t e :e id=00CAAARBSZI3CIJ6KEPBEFAQJOKGM4.

❖ Those who cannot attend theevent, but would like to supportthe cause may donate at http://www.payitsquare.com/collect-page/4464.

“Everyone’s support is graciouslyappreciated and no amount donatedis too small,” said Katie O’Sullivan.“People can also help by sending thisinformation to their online distribu-tion lists.”

For more information, call LauraChristie at 703-217-8126, KatieO’Sullivan at 571-289-4785, or [email protected].

Mandy O’Sullivan saved money from each of her paychecks to treat her family to Christ-mas in Cancun in 2008. “The memories are among our family’s favorites,” said Katie.This photo shows the family enjoying an authentic Mexican dinner. Standing, from leftare Ryan, Sean, PJ and Mandy; seated, from left, are Amanda, Katie and Molly

Centreville Woman Fights for LifeFamily holding fundraiserfor her on Friday.


The O’Sullivan children don’t know howmuch time they have left with theirmother. But they’re hoping a fund-raiserplanned for this Friday, Dec. 16, will yieldenough money to pay for medical treatments to keepher alive as long as possible.

The event is from 5:30-10 p.m. at Centreville Pres-byterian Church, 15450 Lee Highway in Centreville,and the family’s hoping for a huge turnout. (Seebelow for details.)

A wife and mother of five children, MandyO’Sullivan has devoted her life to taking care of them.Now, battling pancreatic cancer at age 51, she’s fight-ing for her own life, and they’re doing all they can to

help her.“This diagnosis was terrible because she was al-

ways healthy and physically fit,” said daughter Katie,24, a 2005 Westfield High graduate. “So it took usby surprise to have this happen to someone so youngand healthy. Pancreatic cancer is usually a death sen-tence, but I’m hopeful for the future and very thank-ful for the time we’ve had together.”

Married 24 years, Mandy and husband PJO’Sullivan live in Centreville’s Pleasant View Estatescommunity. PJ O’Sullivan works for a pharmaceuti-cal company, was an All-American lacrosse player atWest Point and helped coach lacrosse at Westfield.They’re longtime members of St. Timothy CatholicChurch and, until she became too ill to continue,Mandy O’Sullivan was a maternity-ward nurse atInova Fair Oaks Hospital.

All five of their children played lacrosse atWestfield; four already graduated from there, andthe fifth, Molly, 15, is a sophomore. Katie’s also a

See Fundraiser, Page 6


People

By Jennifer FedorCentre View

Kate Trussell, mother to a third graderat Union Mill Elementary in Clifton,has always been involved — as aroom parent, library volunteer, on theschool’s PTA executive board. At the VirginiaPTA State Convention, held Nov. 4 and 5,Trussell was honored for her school-focusedendeavors, as a 2011 recipient of the el-ementary-level PTA Volunteer of the YearAward.

Dana Hubchen, PTA President at UnionMill, is excited Trussell was chosen for thisaward. “We’re very proud of her. We’revery fortunate to have her as part of theUnion Mill family and we’re not surprisedby this honor because she is such a specialperson.”

A self-described Army brat, Trussell re-calls her mother signing up for volunteeractivities wherever they moved. Today,Trussell heads the Bread Basket program atUnion Mill, organizing students, parents,and staff in a weekly effort to provide sand-wiches to a local food bank, Food for Oth-ers. “Every Wednesday morning we have aclass come into the cafeteria. The parentsdonate all of the lunch meat and cheese and

the PTA provides the sandwich baggies andsanitary gloves for the kids to wear whilethey’re making the sandwiches,” she said.

The PTA also provides items like breadand mustard packets for the sandwiches.Once the students have prepared as manysandwiches as they can based on meat andcheese donations from their parents, thefood is transported to the food bank. Ac-cording to Trussell, “Last school year Union

Mill provided over 11,000 sandwiches tothe food bank.”

Hubchen said, “That’s amazing that ourschool is able to give back that way. Kate’sthe one that organizes it all and encourageseveryone. She makes it so everybody wantsto beat their previous records, so it’s fun.”For example, Shannon Whitney’s fifth gradeclass made more than 1,100 sandwiches inabout an hour and a half, bringing theschool’s October sandwich total to 3,500this year.

NOMINATED BY TWO MEMBERS ofthe Union Mill executive board last year,Trussell was selected by the Northern Vir-ginia district PTA for the next level of con-sideration. She felt “pretty humbled” whena Virginia State PTA member called thisOctober to inform her she’d won the PTAVolunteer of the Year Award.

“It sounds so strange to me [to win thisaward] because I do this because I love it. Ido this because the kids are learning somuch from all that we do at the school andso it seems weird for me to receive recogni-tion for that and there’s such a large com-munity here at Union Mill that is so involvedin the school in all different volunteer posi-tions,” Trussell said.

She is grateful for the support of theschool staff and administration, as well asa “fantastic committee” that works on theBread Basket program with her.

Hubchen describes Trussell as “one ofthose people that you can rely on to do whatneeds to be done at all times. Her interestsare always with the school and with mak-ing sure that the kids have a great experi-ence.”

Trussell’s own daughter is learning theimportance of giving back; she assists hermom with carrying supplies to the car eachWednesday and regularly checks in to seehow many sandwiches were produced forthe week.

Trussell emphasizes parents, grandpar-ents, and family friends participating in theschool environment as a way to know whattheir children are learning and to teach byexample the importance of being a goodcitizen. There are many ways caring adultscan help — donating time and resources —to support both the school and the overallcommunity, through school programs likeBread Basket at Union Mill.

Hubchen said, “Union Mill is so very for-tunate to have someone like Kate workingwith our PTA and working with our schooland making it better for our children andbeing so involved. I think we’re extremelylucky to have her.”

Clifton Mom Honored as Elementary-Level VolunteerAward recognizes her dedication to school, community.

From left are Trussell’s mom, MaryRhoades; Kate Trussell and herdaughter Sarah, 8, a third-graderat Union Mill Elementary, at theawards ceremony.

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Jennifer Campbell began volunteer-ing in Fairfax County PublicSchools when her daughter was inkindergarten. Some 17 years havepassed since then and, last month, she washonored as the Virginia PTA SecondaryLevel Volunteer of the Year.

She and her husband Ron live inCentreville’s Sully Station community.Daughter Olivia is now a second-year nurs-ing student at Tennessee Wesleyan Collegeand son Ben is a UVA freshman who planson becoming a doctor.

But Campbell was also a mother to threeother children — and it’s because of all ofher children that she became a school vol-unteer.

“When my sister died suddenly at age 40— and her husband died a year later — Iraised their three children, summers andholidays, since the youngest was 2,” shesaid. “I did that for 17 years. And I got in-volved with the schools because I loved kids.I wanted to be connected to the commu-nity, but be close to home and have a flex-ible schedule so I could be there for thechildren.”

Campbell has a background in socialwork, went undergrad to Cornell and didgrad work at Boston College. She was a PTA

volunteer and Executive Committee mem-ber at Cub Run Elementary, Stone Middleand Westfield High School, often serving asPTA president.

At Westfield, she wrote newsletter col-umns, raised funds and organized installa-tion of the school’s marquee. She alsoworked closely with the Westfield Commu-nity Coalition for Safe and Drug-Free Youthto produce parent-education programs.

“It was so parents would be alert andaware and get their kids help, if needed,”said Campbell. “Prevention is free, and it’sso important to keep drug and alcohol edu-cation out in the open and on parents’minds. We connected people to resourcesand programs and made them feel theywere part of what was happening in theirchildren’s school life.”

She’s also pleased that, at all the schoolsshe was involved with, she “always got goodpeople to do the appropriate jobs, includ-ing finding volunteer coordinators for theschools.” And at Westfield, she did her bestto make a big school smaller.

“Westfield is a huge place, so I workedhard to make parents feel welcome and thatthey should get involved,” said Campbell.“I put parents in touch with people whocould answer their questions or resourcesthat could help.” Although parents mightnot agree with something, she said, “Some-times, if they could understand the process,

they felt better about it.”She’s also proud of her ability to remain

calm under pressure. “Looking back at allthe crises we had in our community — theVirginia Tech shootings, the sniper, theshootings at the [Sully District] police sta-tion and 9/11 when the Pentagon was hit— I was volunteering in the schools then. Imaintained continuity and a sense of nor-malcy for the kids, while keeping the linesof communication open between parentsand administration.”

On a lighter note, Campbell was boththrilled and relieved to be able to pull to-gether Westfield’s all-night grad party in justa week when the original venue pulled outof its agreement to host it.

In addition to all her volunteer work, shestarted substitute teaching in FCPS in 2000.

She currently works in Westfield’s GuidanceDepartment, generating and preparing tran-scripts for students’ college applications.

Campbell received her statewide honorNov. 5 at the Virginia PTA Convention atthe Koger Holiday Inn in Richmond. Andas far as Westfield PTSA President MaryColeman is concerned, “I cannot think of abetter person than Jennifer for this honorand award. She’s such a wonderful personand a great leader, and she was a true assetto Westfield.”

The two first met when their children at-tended Cub Run elementary together. “Infact, Jennifer’s the reason I got involvedwith the PTA, beginning at Cub Run,” saidColeman. “She made everyone feel welcomeand valued. Over the years, I’ve worked withher through the PTA or PTSA as our chil-dren moved through Stone and finally toWestfield.”

Coleman said both students and parentsthink highly of Campbell. “She was an out-standing member of our Westfield commu-nity,” said Coleman. “Jennifer had a knackof being able to keep the PTSA focused to-ward always helping our children andschool staff in the best way possible.”

She said volunteers like Campbell don’tcome along frequently. “If the school wasin need, Jennifer was there,” said Coleman.“Many times, in the summer, I’d go pastWestfield and find her trimming the treesor pulling weeds. Jennifer inspired parentsto participate and help make Westfield abetter school for all.”

State award spotlights commitment to schools.Campbell Honored as Secondary Level Volunteer

At the awards ceremony are (fromleft) Fairfax County Council PTAPresident Ramona Morrow; JenniferCampbell and Northern VirginiaDistrict PTA Director Denise Bolton.

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News

From Page 2

Clifton Homeowner Animates His Holiday Decorations

A snowman built by Jerry Martoncik waves to passersby as part of the elabo-rate, computer-animated light display Martoncik has built in his yard for thepast 12 years.

like a clown on ice.”But, said Martoncik, “The highlight

of the whole thing is the Nativity scene.Inside are 86 different characters, ei-ther moving in unison or at differenttimes. There are descending angels,shepherds walking, plus wise menriding camels.”

He and his son, daughter and wifeplan out the entire, yard display eachyear. Almost 100,000 lights and morethan 10,000 feet of wire make it all“come alive.” And for 1 and a halfmonths, Martoncik’s electric bill in-creases by about $170/month. But hedoesn’t mind because he knows itbrings so much joy to others.

“There’s a lot to it,” he said. “A coupleyears ago, a guy and his family who’djust come back from Disneyworld saidDisney didn’t have anything for theholidays as extensive and detailed asthis.”

That’s why Martoncik’s so proud ofhis display. “I make it all,” he said. “I’vealways been mechanically inclined. I’dstart with an idea and figure out howto do it.”

Each animated scene is operated bya computer called a microcontroller, pro-grammed to cause each character in eachscene to move and to go on and off at cer-

tain times.“I created all the circuit boards to make

the computer operate,” said Martoncik. “But

I used to develop computer systems, so thatwas right up my alley. And I enjoyed themere challenge of taking it on and seeing if

I could do it.”So what’s his favorite part? “I like the

Nativity scene best because it’s the rea-son for the season,” he said. “And whenyou watch it, you can see the wholestory of the Nativity taking place.”

Still, it’s a tremendous amount ofwork, each year, to make the displaypossible. “We started repairing thingsin October and setting it up outside,Nov. 1,” said Martoncik. “It’s such a bigjob and a time-consuming effort. Butit’s a good hobby and I’ve always likedto do it. I also enjoy talking to thepeople who come by. And I want to givepeople who’ve never seen it before theopportunity to do so.”

However, for their own safety, visi-tors are not allowed to walk downMartoncik’s driveway or go inside thedisplay, itself. They’re encouraged toget out of their cars for a better look,but they should remain on his cul-de-sac’s gravel road. If it’s raining, thelights won’t be on. But, said Martoncik,“The lights look great in the snow.”

His address is 6512 Hanover HeightsTrail. From Clifton Road, at the trianglebefore the Town of Clifton, turn leftonto Newman Road, right on Fairfax

Station Road and left on Hanover Heights.“The house is on the left,” said Martoncik.“You can’t miss it.”

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From Page 3

News

Fundraiser for Centreville Mom This FridayJMU grad now living in Boston andworking for a professional lacrosse or-ganization. Sean, 22, attends LoyolaUniversity; Amanda, 20, is at ColgateUniversity; and Ryan, 18, is atBridgeton Academy.

Mandy O’Sullivan’s sister, LauraChristie, also lives in Centreville. “Sheand I have always been close,” saidChristie. “She’s my best friend and,always, my protector.” Christie saidMandy O’Sullivan’s normally private,selfless and humble; so for her toagree to the fund-raiser in her honoris “a big thing. But it will also bringattention to pancreatic cancer.”

She said Mandy O’Sullivan was avolunteer religion teacher at St. Timo-thy and worked with dogs up foradoption at the Fairfax County Ani-

mal Shelter. She was alsothe team mom for manyof her children’s lacrosseand football teams.

“She’s pretty quiet un-til you know her,” saidChristie. “But she’s funny,witty and strong. Witheverything she’s gonethrough, she’s never com-plained or griped.”

In March 2010, MandyO’Sullivan was diagnosedwith Stage 4 pancreaticcancer. It’s the fourthmost-common cause ofcancer deaths worldwide,and 95 percent of peoplediagnosed aren’t alive fiveyears later. It’s often

called the “silent killer” because of itslack of symptoms, and its causes aremostly unknown.

“She was shocked by it, but thenshe started fighting,” said Christie.“She’s very positive, and her faith hasbeen a huge help for her. Putting to-gether this fund-raiser, I’ve learnedtheir family’s touched so many peoplein Centreville and the Westfield com-munity. Lots of people wanted to beinvolved, and that says so much abouther.”

Westfield High field hockey CoachStarr Karl also hopes the communitywill come out in droves for the event.Said Karl: “The O’Sullivans are a phe-nomenal family who have given backin many ways at Westfield, St Tim’sand on the lacrosse field.”

After Mandy O’Sullivan’s diagnosis,doctors operated and removed thecancer from her pancreas, only to dis-cover it had already spread to sur-rounding organs. She then underwent11 months of chemotherapy, plus ra-diation.

“Though she’s tenaciously over-come a great deal of setback through-out her journey, the disease contin-ues to spread,” said Christie. “And tra-

The O’Sullivans during Christmas 2007. Standing, from left are Katie,Ryan, Amanda and Sean; seated, from left, are Molly, PJ, Mandy and hermother Anne.

ditional medicine —which breaks down thebody’s cells, both goodand bad — has notworked as efficiently asoriginally hoped.”

So Mandy O’Sullivanhas just begun treatmentat Natural Horizons, anintegrative medical andwellness center in Fairfaxthat takes a multi-pronged, holistic ap-proach to cancer. Therapyat Natural Horizons seeksto help strengthen MandyO’Sullivan’s immune sys-tem to help her body fightany new cancer cells.

But the facility is anout-of-network center notcovered by the O’Sullivans’ insurance. So90 percent of the proceeds from the fund-raiser will go toward Mandy O’Sullivan’streatment there, as well as her previouslyaccumulated medical bills. The other 10percent will be contributed to pancreatic-cancer research toward a cure.

“I’m thankful for my mom being thefighter she is, and I hope for as much timeas we can get with her,” said Katie. Crying,she called her mother “absolutely the mostinfluential woman in my life. She’s alwaysbeen there for all us kids. She’s somebodyto lean on, a shoulder to cry on and some-one to walk you through the big decisionsin your life.”

Christie, Katie and her mom’s brotherRussell came up with the fund-raiser idea,and the whole family will attend. “I thinkit’s amazing,” said 2009 Westfield gradAmanda O’Sullivan. “I’m in awe of how ea-

ger people are to helpwith anything and every-thing they can. Thiswhole process reallyopened my eyes to howopenhearted people are,and it’s a beautiful thingto see.”

Amanda said she’s try-ing to be strong for hermom. “She shaped whoI am as a youngwoman,” said Amanda.“She taught me how tobe strong, and it’s defi-nitely helping me now.She loves her childrenmore than anything, sothis fund-raiser is ourway of showing her howmuch love we have for

her in return.”

She called her mom both the “rock” andthe “glue” that’s held their family together.“And now, when she can’t carry the wholeworld on her shoulders, we want her toknow we can handle the weight,” saidAmanda. “Her illness created a strong teamamong all of us. There’s no sense havingnegative thoughts when there’s still time tofight. We’ll deal with this card we were dealtand keep our heads up.”

She said she doesn’t know how her mommanaged “with five kids and all our activi-ties, going to a million places at once.”And, said Amanda, “I want to spend therest of the time we have together happyand smiling.”

Her brother Sean, a 2007 Westfield grad,also praised their mom. “She’s the epitomeof a mother,” he said. “She dedicated herlife to raising us and we’re five good kids.We’re a close family with good morals andgood academically and athletically.”

When he was in sixth grade, he playedon four sports teams in the spring. His dadwas busy working, so his mom drove himand his siblings to their various practices.“She came to all our games — and fromfifth to eighth grade, I had baseball double-headers every Sunday, all summer,” saidSean. “But she was there, for four or fivehours at a time.”

Learning of her cancer, he “couldn’t be-lieve it because she’s so active and seemedso healthy. That really crushed me. Afterthat, how I was doing depended on howshe was doing. It’s gotten worse recently,and everyone came home for Thanksgiv-ing, and now we’re all home again forwinter break. We all left school early tobe here, and our extended family is here,too.”

Hopefully, said Sean, the upcomingfund-raiser will help his mother’s spiritand morale. “I think it’s awesome, andeveryone’s been so generous with dona-tions,” he said. “Two of my lacrossecoaches at Army and Loyola together gaveme $2,000 worth of lacrosse clothing andequipment for the silent auction. And thisevent will be a chance for my mom to seeeveryone at once who cares about her andto know how many people support her.”

Salon Teams with Catholic Charities

After a successful Thanksgivingfood drive in conjunction withthe Knights of Columbus and St.Andrew the Apostle in Clifton, SalonAntoine and Spa will now be a food do-nation center for the Christmas seasonon behalf of Catholic Charities of the Dio-cese of Arlington.

Individuals who would rather drop offtheir food during the evening are invitedby Salon Antoine’s Tony Chahine to leavethe food donations in bins on the frontlawn of his home at 13915 Rock BrookCourt in Clifton between now and Jan. 6.

While there, donors are welcome to en-joy a light show every hour and half hour

from 6 – 11 p.m. and tune to 89.1 in theircar, to listen to music synchronized tothe kaleidoscopic lights. The music andlight sow runs to 2 a.m. on Dec. 24.

The lightshow and sounds are providedby the AV company iHomeIntegrationbased in Burke.

The Diocese informs that food pan-tries are in need of food products likecanned meat and tuna, soups, peanutbutter and jelly, pasta, rice, hot and coldcereals, juice, canned veggies and babyfood. Personal care items like toothpasteand toothbrushes, soap, shampoos,bathroom goods and laundry items arealso appreciated.

“She’salwaysbeentherefor alluskids.”

— KatieO’Sullivan,

daughter

Mandy O’Sullivan


People

The SYA Centreville Wildcats won the champi-onship game against their cross-town rival CYA

Chantillly Chargers recently at James Madison High School. The gamewas neck and neck throughout the first three quarters of the game,until the 4th quarter when the Wildcats pulled away winning the gamewith a score of 30 to 16. This ended their season with a perfect recordof 10 and 0. The SYA Wildcat are coached by Damian Caracciolo, MikeClark, Tom Healy, Coach Ryan and Coach Sheil. The boys on the teamare: Hunar Berzangi , Christian Brooks, Devon Brough, DanielCarracciolo, Neil Chambers, Brett Clark, Joe Cuccias, ImanDastagirzada, Ryan Estep, Gregory Holmes-Brown, Shane Martin,Carlos Martinez, Joel Moreno, Charles Nguyen, Dominique Pearson,Salia Samura, Tyler Scanlon, John Schmank and Zackary Willis.

Perfect Season

In HonorSocietyLi-Cheng Liu,daughter ofCheng-His andKu-Ping Liu ofCentreville, wasinducted intothe Beta GammaSigma honorsociety on Oct.19, along with55 other students. She will graduate in May 2013 with a bachelor ofbusiness administration degree in accounting from James MadisonUniversity, Harrisonburg. Above, Liu is with Dean Robert Reid.

Standing Up to BullyingDeer Park Staff shows its support for “Stand Up to Bullying Week” bywearing pink. The school celebrated all week by having special dress-updays and classroom activities.

Photo by Bonnie Hobbs/Centre View

WFCCA Celebrates the HolidaysThe WFCCA (West Fairfax County Citizens Association) held itsannual holiday party, Sunday evening, Dec. 11, at the Virginia Runhome of Tami and Ted Troscianecki. Pictured (from left) are JimNeighbors, Ed McConn, Tami Troscianecki, Jeff Parnes, JudyHeisinger, Yom Kim, Ted Troscianecki, John Litzenberger, NoemiRodriguez, Stephen Chulick, Carol Hawn and Jim Hart. Barking inforeground is the Troscianeckis’ dog, Max.

Andrew Shaw’s Eagle Scout project toclean up the Little Rocky Run watershed wascompleted on Dec. 3 with assistance fromFriends of Little Rocky Run president NedFoster. Andrew and his fellow Troop 577scouts removed trash from the watershedin the area between New Braddock Roadand Compton Road — over a mile of streamvalley.

Andrew’s group also cleaned up a well-known hangout near the power station onBay Valley Lane. There were a large num-ber of beer bottles, chairs, and more on thesheer cliff at a place known as “The Hole.”

The trash tally included: 24 full orangeVDOT bags, one bicycle, one scooter, onepropane tank, one wooden pallet, one wirecage, 16 linear feet of 2X4s, eight linear feetof 4X4s, one 24-foot aluminum ladder, one50 gallon plastic trash can, three deck

chairs, one plastic laundry tub, and two 5gallon buckets. The total weight was 600lbs and cost $30. in dump fees.

Volunteers included: Scouts AndrewShaw, Timothy Kim, Anthony Troong, NatePascoe, Spencer Horn, Collin Nelson,Eshaan Shetty, David Bunin, Jake Murdak,Gannon LaCroix, David Schoskinski, JacobKintzing, Prashant Desai, Michael Scheider,Collin Henson, Drew Boland, Chris Marty,Marcus Devos, Lucas Devos, Jacob Petersonand Andrew McLenigan, and adults StacyBunin, Chris Henson, Brian Boland, KerryPeterson, Lee Devos, Mike McLenigan, Mar-tin Muradaz, Mike Horn, Vinnie Caporale,Martin Shaw, Janice Shaw, Lindsay Shawand Ned Foster, sponsor.

The Friends of Little Rocky Run want toalso thank the Navy Federal Credit Unionwhose grant money paid for the disposal fees.

Andrew Shaw of Little Rocky Run’s Boy Scout Troop 577, as his EagleScout project, led a massive cleanup of the Little Rocky Run watershed.

Eagle Project Cleans Up Watershed


www.ConnectionNewspapers.com

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A Connection Newspaper

SOUTHERN EDITION

Opinion

On Monday, Dec. 19, the newlyelected members of the FairfaxCounty School Board will besworn in, marking the largestnumber of new members at one timein memory.

The change on the board comes fromopen seats with previous members de-ciding not to run. Fully half of the board willbe new members, although most are also fa-miliar faces.

But it was apparent from the election thatvoters were motivated by the school boardraces, turning out to have their say. It’s a mis-take to view the election as a vote of approvalfor all current policies or as a repudiation ofparticular policies. The level of interest andcontroversy indicates that it’s a great momentfor the new board to engage the public.

The fact that 70 percent of voters supportedthe school bond for county schools shows thatcounty residents understand the importanceof quality schools.

The school board consists of three at large

members who represent the entire county, plusnine district members. Each voter had the op-portunity to vote for four, three at large andone for their district.

Iryong Moon is the one incumbent remain-ing at large; Ryan McElveen and Ted Velkoffwill join the board at large. District membersare: Megan McLaughlin, Braddock; JanieStrauss, Dranesville; Pat Hynes, Hunter Mill;

Tammy Kaufax, Lee; Sandy Evans,Mason; Dan Storck, Mount Vernon;Patty Reed, Providence; ElizabethSchultz, Springfield, and Kathy Smith,

Sully. Moon, Strauss, Evans, Storck, Reed andSmith are returning members.

It’s important to respect the dedication andmotivation of school board members. It’s hardto understand why anyone would want thesejobs. The hours are never ending. The pay issymbolic. Few decisions will come without ac-rimony from some quarters. These are peoplewho really are dedicated to service.

That said, we offer a few suggestions, somevery general, some very specific, for the newboard as it steps up to serve.

1) On with the campaign. Begin with a lis-tening tour. Hold some full-board listening ses-sions around the county. Hold some regionallistening sessions in schools and parents’ liv-

ing rooms. Listen in small groups and individu-ally. Invite teachers and administrators to comeout on tour with you. Don’t forget to listen toteachers as well as students, parents, adminis-trators and more.

2) Fix large classes. You don’t have to reducethe “average” class size. But do something aboutevery class of 30 students or more. It’s the ex-ceptionally large classes where students don’teven fit in the room that drive parents wild. Itdoesn’t matter if it’s a classroom of poor stu-dents or wealthy students or something in be-tween, really large classes are not appropriate.

3) Are surveillance cameras really the bestuse of scarce dollars? No matter what the cur-rent board decides to do later this week (likelyvote on Dec. 15 after Connection deadline),set the decision aside until after the listeningtour.

4) Don’t wait for a state law. Instruct admin-istrators to call parents to be present if theyplan to question a student about behavior thatcould result in serious disciplinary measuresor legal action.

5) Celebrate the specific and varied successesin Fairfax County Public Schools.

— Mary Kimm,[email protected]

Five Suggestions for the New School BoardHalf of the School Boardmembers are new.

Editorial

DeepestSympathiesTo the Editor:

An unspeakable tragedy has un-fortunately occurred again, Dec. 8,at Virginia Tech. The VTV FamilyOutreach Foundation extends itssincere condolences to the family,friends and colleagues of OfficerDeriek W. Crouse. We recognizeOfficer Crouse to be the first Vir-ginia Tech campus law officer tohave been killed in the line of dutyand extend our deepest sympa-thies to the law enforcement com-munity.

The Foundation was created byfamilies and survivors directly im-pacted by the April 16, 2007 trag-edy at Virginia Tech. We are wellaware of the horror that the Vir-ginia Tech and Blacksburg commu-nities felt [on Thursday]. We knowthat the loss of these two victimswill resonate forever and under-stand the struggles that officers,

students, faculty and staff willhave as a result of this day.

Family members are willing tovisit, meet with, write a letter orspeak by phone to anyone whoneeds our help and support. Ourmission is to assist those victimsof a tragedy with which we are alltoo familiar.

Please know that our thoughtsare with the families of the victims,campus law enforcement and theVirginia Tech and Blacksburg com-munities at this time.

Joseph Samaha, President,VTV Family Outreach Foundation

Board of DirectorsLori Haas, Vice President,

VTV Family Outreach FoundationBoard of Directors,

www.vtvfoundation.org

ReligiousBackgroundTo the Editor:

It is indeed a tragic incident towitness the incident at VA Tech,especially when nearing the holi-days. I feel for the loved ones ofthe fallen and my sincerest con-dolences go out to them. Our cul-prit has been identified as RossTruett Ashley, 22 of SpotsylvaniaCounty, but one interestingthought came to mind. Obviouslythe media wants to know every-thing about this person and whyhe did what he did, but there’sbeen no mention of his religious

Letters to the Editorbackground. Had this person beena Muslim I’m betting religionwould be one of the first things wewould hear among his description.Ashley could be a Catholic Chris-tian for all we know, but there willbe no mention of it anywhere, sowhy is it that religion only be-comes an issue when a Muslimcomes into the scene? I’m not say-ing religious background shouldbe brought up when a crime iscommitted, but there seems to bea selected stereotype here.

No religion has or ever didpreach causing harm, especiallynot Islam. Each religion has beenintroduced at a time when it wasneeded, when people forgot howto live in peace, when they ne-glected their humanity. Basicallyreligion was there for the reforma-tion of man, and to encourage acloser connection to our Creator.It is very easy to misunderstandand misinterpret what was taughtmany, many years ago, so much sothat one manages to stray so farfrom it and goes against logic.

Ashley’s acts will never sit wellwith anyone, but he is proof thatanyone can go off the rails, andthat it’s not a religious thing.

Seher Chowdhry

Pass It OnTo the Editor:

My son and I left Westfield HighSchool at the sound of the 2:05bell today and drove to FFC, Fast

Food Central, for a bite to eat. Wetook turns talking to the speakerat Burger King to order our foodand pulled around to pay at thedrive through. The young man,cashier, said something that Ithought I miss-heard and I said,“What?” He repeated it again,“The person in the car ahead ofyou paid for your food. You know,Pass It On.”

I looked ahead quickly so I couldget out and rush up to this personto thank them profusely, and theperson was quickly turning out ofmy eyesight. I immediately lookedin my rearview mirror to pass theact of kindness on, but there wasno one in line. I asked the youngworker, how can I thank that per-son? He said, “I told her, God BlessYou,” and I could tell that he wasas excited and touched by this actof kindness, as I was.

I’ve heard of people doinganonymous acts of kindness, butwhen it just happened to me, I feelinspired, energized, and my sonand I are humbled to our core. Iimmediately called my sister to tellher about this beautiful act ofkindness and hurried home to tellmy daughter (who both were alsoawed by it). I hope this personreads this and realizes she hashelped me look for ways to helpothers and hopefully all of thepeople I tell and read this willwant to do acts of kindness as well.

Sherry WatkinsCentreville

WriteCentre View welcomes views on

any public issue.The deadline for all material is

noon Friday. Send to:

Letters to the EditorCentre View

1606 King St.Alexandria VA 22314Call: 703-917-6444.

By e-mail:[email protected]


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By Marilyn CampbellCentre View

From Christmas lists to piles of presents un-der the tree, the last thing on a child’s mindduring the holiday season might be express-ing appreciation. In fact, mental health ex-perts say, it is one of the hardest concepts to teachchildren.

Dr. Todd Kashdan, Ph.D., professor of psychologyat George Mason University, has studied the link be-tween gratitude and happiness and says that peoplewho are grateful tend to be less depressed and anx-ious.

“When people are mindfully recognizing and ap-preciating the benefits they receive from otherpeople, positive events linger longer, [and] it is en-hancing and strengthening those relationships. Thereis a strong link between being a grateful person andhaving the experience of gratitude and having morehappiness in your life,” said Kashdan, who is alsothe author of “Designing Positive Psychology” (Ox-ford University Press) and “Curious? Discover theMissing Ingredient to a Fulfilling Life.”

DURING THE SEASON of giving, Kashdan andother mental health professionals offer tips for par-ents for teaching gratitude to children.

Children often hand their parents lengthy Christ-mas lists. Experts say it is difficult for children tofeel grateful when their every wish is granted.

“Allow them to [identify] certain things on the listthat might be most important to them,” said AnnetteKielkopf, a marriage and family therapist based inMcLean. “[Say to them] ‘If Santa isn’t able to bringyou everything on the list, what would that be likefor you?’ And talk with them about how to cope andallow them to appreciate the smaller things. Whatyou’re trying to do is teach coping skills. You’re teach-ing them how to accept a disappointment and find a

diamond in the rough.”Raising grateful children requires that parents

model the behavior.“As parents, talk about things that you’re grateful

for and not strictly material things. That sets a goodexample so children don’t only hear you complain-ing or nagging them. Kids really do notice what theirparents and the significant people in their lives talkabout,” said Karen Prince, MSW, LCSW-C, aKensington-based clinical social worker who special-izes in treating children with anxiety and depression.

Kashdan says parents should encourage childrento elaborate on why they like a particular gift.

“Spelling out what makes [a gift] a good thing forthem gets them to bookmark and underline it in theirbrain,” he said. “You want them to elaborate on itand what they are going to do with it. Having themsay thank you without an elaboration is just one morething that [their] parents are telling them to do.”

This strategy works even when children receivegifts that they don’t like.

“Sometimes it is difficult [for children] to receivea present that they don’t like,” said Kielkopf. “Takethe gift and notice and recognize the good thingsabout it. Maybe it is your child’s favorite color. It isgood to have discussions about gift-giving so that itdoesn’t become about the gift; it becomes about thegesture.”

“I’m forever hearing kids in my office saying totheir parents, ‘But everybody in my class has an iPad.’And these are kids who are like 8, 9 and 10. Thegrass always looks greener on the other side. So theidea is to focus on what you have and what you need.It is a good lesson for kids to learn early on,” saidPrince.

KASHDAN BELIEVES that one of the things thatmakes children grateful is taking inventory of theirday.

“One of the things that we do at my house is, atthe end of the day, we ask our 4-year-old twins, ‘Whatwas the high point of your day? What was the bestthing that happened to you today?’ You can makesure that the positive things that happened to themas a result of other people stick out more,” saidKashdan.

Teaching children to havean attitude of gratitudeduring the holidays.

The Art of Appreciation

Holiday Guide

Dr. Todd Kashdan, Ph.D. professor of psychology at George Mason Uni-versity has studied the link between gratitude and happiness and saysthat people who are grateful tend to be less depressed and anxious.

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© Google Map data

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Address ........................... BR FB HB .... Postal City .... Sold Price .... Type .... Lot AC .. PostalCode .... Subdivision ............ Date Sold

1 12685 WILTONSHIRE DR .... 6 .. 5 .. 1 ........ CLIFTON ........ $1,175,000 .... Detached .... 5.24 ... 20124 ............. WILTONSHIRE ............... 10/31/11

2 9811 HAMPTON RD ........... 5 .. 5 .. 2 .. FAIRFAX STATION .... $982,000 .... Detached .... 5.74 ... 22039 ..... HAMPTON WOODS WEST ....... 10/27/11

3 7104 GRANBERRY WAY ...... 4 .. 4 .. 1NORTH SPRINGFIELD $855,000 .... Detached .... 0.43 ... 22151 ........ GRANBERRY ESTATES .......... 10/31/11

4 6337 SUMMERDAY CT ....... 5 .. 3 .. 1 .......... BURKE ........... $670,000 .... Detached .... 0.25 ... 22015 ....... BURKE LAKE MEADOW ......... 10/17/11

5 13035 RED ADMIRAL PL ..... 4 .. 4 .. 1 ......... FAIRFAX .......... $642,500 .... Detached .... 0.11 ... 22033 .... WILLOW OAKS AT FAIR LKS ...... 10/12/11

6 15066 BROWN POST LN ..... 4 .. 3 .. 1 ..... CENTREVILLE ...... $615,000 .... Detached .... 0.64 ... 20121 ......... GATE POST ESTATES ........... 10/14/11

7 4303 WOODWARD CT ........ 4 .. 3 .. 1 ...... CHANTILLY ........ $590,000 .... Detached .... 0.28 ... 20151 ......... WAVERLY CROSSING ........... 10/19/11

Source: MRIS, Inc. For more information on MRIS, visit www.mris.com

Photos by Craig Sterbutzel/The Connection

Local REAL ESTATE

1 12685 Wiltonshire Drive, Clifton — $1,175,000

3 7104 Granberry Way,North Springfield — $855,000

4 6337 Summerday Court, Burke — $670,000

6 15066 Brown Post Lane, Centreville — $615,000

7 4303 Woodward Court, Chantilly — $590,000

Top Sales in OctoberTop Sales in October


To add your Realtor represented Open Houseto these weekly listings, please call 703-821-5050

OPEN HOUSE LISTINGSWill Return after the Holidays

News

Homesfor theHolidaysThe Town ofClifton wore itsseasonal finery,Saturday, Dec. 3,during the CliftonCandlelightHomes Tour.

Royce and Margie Jarrendt in their diningroom decorated for Christmas.

The Christmas tree in Jeremy and JenniferLustman’s family room.

Jeff Stein and wife Michelle (not pictured) decoratedtheir dining room for Chanukah.

From left: Kim and Steve Bittner withHomes Tour Chairman Jennifer Chesley.

Chuck and Helen Rusnak are all ready forthe holidays.

Photos by Bonnie Hobbs/Centre View


EntertainmentTUESDAY NIGHTSWorld-Class Jazz. 6 to 9 p.m. Paul Langosch on bass and Rick

Whitehead on guitar. At the Copper Canyon, 5815 TrinityParkway, Centreville. Call 703-830-6600 for reservations.

NOW THROUGH DEC. 25Enchanted Ice Palace. 10 a.m. At Fair Oaks Mall’s Grand

Court, the Ice Palace features falling snow, interactiveelements, footage of arctic animals and landscapes along withstories and fun facts. The stroll concludes with a visit withSanta and Mrs. Claus. Guests will have four opportunities tohave their pets’ pictures taken with Santa. Visitwww.ShopFairOaksMall.com.

NOW THROUGH JAN. 8Bull Run Festival of Lights & Holiday Village. Admission:

Monday - Thursday $15 Cars or vans (1-14 people), $25 Van(15-34 people), $50 Bus (35 or more people); Friday,Saturday, Sunday & Holidays $20 Cars or vans (1-14 people),$30 Van (15-34 people), $55 Bus (35 or more people).Monday - Thursday: 5:30 to 9:30 p.m.; Fridays - Sunday andholidays: 5:30 to 10 p.m. At Bull Run Regional Park, 7700Bull Run Drive, Centreville.

FRIDAY/DEC. 16O’Sullivan’s Benefit to Beat Pancreatic Cancer. A benefit

for Mandy O’Sullivan. 5:30-10 p.m. Features a silent auction,50-50 raffle, buffet dinner and drinks. Admission is $15/person; $60/family max. Call Laura Christie at 703-217-8126,Katie O’Sullivan at 571-289-4785, or [email protected]. To be held at PresbyterianChurch, 15450 Lee Highway in Centreville.

Holiday Choral Concert. 7:30 p.m. Free. The choral programat Westfield High School will be performing a concert oftraditional and modern Holiday songs on Friday, Dec. 16 at7:30 p.m.

Swing Dancing. 9 p.m. to midnight. Cost is $15. With theband, King Teddy. Drop-in beginner swing lesson 8:30 to 9p.m. At the Hilton Washington Dulles Airport Hotel, 13869Park Center Road, Herndon.

SATURDAY/DEC. 17Holiday Candlelight Tour at Sully Historic Site. 5 p.m.

Historic holiday candlelight tours of the home of NorthernVirginia’s first congressman. At Sully Historic Site, 3650Historic Sully Way, Chantilly. Call 703-437-1794.

Ice Skating Night. 7:30 to 8:40 p.m. Bull Run Elementary

School is sponsoring a community-wide skating night. Ticketsare $7/person, which includes admission and skate rental. Atthe Ashburn Ice House in Ashburn. Email:[email protected]

DEC. 17 AND 18Ho-Ho-Holiday Show. 2 p.m. Westfield High hosts its annual

Ho-Ho Holiday Show. Tickets are $5; groups of 15 or moreare $4/ticket. More than 100 theater students will perform“The Grinch,” “A Charlie Brown Christmas,” “Frosty theSnowman,” “The Hanukkah Story,” “’Twas the Night BeforeChristmas” and “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.” Email:[email protected].

SUNDAY/DEC. 18Christmas Bird Count. The Aubudon Society of Northern

Virginia will mark the 112th anniversary of the Christmas BirdCount. Volunteers will count birds in a circle aroundCentreville. The area includes Manassas National Battlefield,Bull Run Regional Park, undeveloped areas around Bull RunPost Office Road and Dulles Airport. ASNV is seekingvolunteers to help. Contact ASNV at [email protected] call 703-438-6008.

Christmas Cantata. 8:45 a.m. and 11 a.m. Jubilee ChristianCenter Music Department will perform the Christmas Cantata,“Joy to the World.” Jubilee is located at 4650 Shirley Gate Rd.,Fairfax. Call 703-383-1170 or see www.jccag.org

WWII Christmas at Sully Historic Site. 5 p.m. SullyHistoric Site is all decked out for a WWII era Christmas athome of Northern Virginia’s first congressman. At SullyHistoric Site, 3650 Historic Sully Way, Chantilly. Call 703-437-1794.

DEC. 19-20Holiday Spectacular. 7 p.m. Chantilly High presents its

annual Holiday Spectacular. It features more than 300students from the school band, choir, theater and orchestraprograms in a festive, fun-filled, family event. Tickets are $10/person at www.chantillychoral.org. Click on the “Buy TicketsNow” tab on the left side of the main page. This show usuallysells out prior to the event, so patrons are encouraged topurchase tickets online in advance.

FRIDAY/DEC. 23Swing Dancing. 9 p.m. to midnight. Admission is $15. With the

band, The Thrillbillies. Drop-in beginner swing lesson from8:30 to 9 p.m.; dancing from 9 p.m. to midnight. At the HiltonWashington Dulles Hotel, 13869 Park Center Road, Herndon.

The best in thesport of purebreddogs will flock toOrlando, Fla., onDec. 17-18, tostrut their stuff atthe AKC/Eukanuba Na-tional Champion-ship. Chantillyresident MariaRoyal and her dogCh High PinesHush Puppy willcompete againstthe top show dogsin the country. Theshow will air onthe ABC-TV onFeb. 4, 2012.

The AKC/Eukanuba Na-tional Champion-ship is the largestprize money dogshow in the world,with cash andprizes awarded totaling more than $225,000. This prestigious compe-tition is invitation-only.

After a full day of Pokémon Trading Card Game battles in New Hol-land, PA, Joseph Moretto, 11, of Centreville, clinched second placeat the 2011 New Holland Pokémon City Championships, earning a topcity ranking and Championship Points which count toward a potentialinvitation to the Pokémon U.S. National Championships in Indianapo-lis, Indiana next summer.

People

Centreville High School is havingits Annual Christmas Tree Sale. All pro-ceeds will benefit the Centreville HighSchool Turf Field Fund. Hours areThursday and Friday, 5:30 to 8:30 p.m.;Saturday and Sunday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.Fraser Furs sell for $55 (5-6 ft.), $60 (6-7 ft.), $65 (7-9 ft.) At Centreville HighSchool.

Clifton Children’s Academy willbe holding a Registration Open Housefor Kindergarten and morning, after-noon and full-day preschool classesThursday, Jan. 12 and Thursday, Jan.26, from 9:30 - 11:30 a.m. This is forregistration for Fall 2012. There willalso be limited registration available forthis Winter - 2012. Bring your child andcome to tour the school. The school islocated at 14315 Compton Road inCentreville. Call 703-968-8455 or visitwww.childrensacademy.com .

FRIDAY/JAN. 6International Night. 7 p.m. Westfield

High presents its International Nightin the school auditorium. Performingtraditional dances from theircountries will be Krisnia LaFuente,Bolivia; Viswaja Kaja and Lalita Kota,Southern India; Shilpa Gokhale,Lalitha Guruju and Ambica Kalburgi,Northern India; and Lidiya Kelsseya,Tezeta Mela and Maeza Tesfaye,Ethiopia. Two different and ancientmusical instruments will be played byAlborz Shirms and OmidKhaksavtard, representing Iran.Singing will be students HariKappipor, representing SouthernIndia, and Valeria Sierralta, Peru.International food will be servedduring intermission.

Fairfax County Public Schoolsteachers earned certification fromthe National Board for Professional

Teaching Standards (NBPTS) in2011.

The board-certified FCPS teachers, withtheir schools in parentheses, are:

❖ Kristin Cagle (Centre RidgeElementary School);

❖ Barb Caley (Robinson SecondarySchool)

In addition, the following board certifiedteachers have renewed their boardcertification for an additional tenyears:

❖ Nancy Holincheck (Chantilly HighSchool);

The Centreville High School PTSAwill be hosting one-hour collegeworkshops on these datesimmediately following the regularPTSA meetings which begin at 7 p.m.followed by the college workshop at8 p.m. Kaplan Test Prep Educatorswill present the free workshops.

❖ Feb. 21: SAT or ACT 10 QuestionChallenge

❖ March 20: Accepted - Getting intoyour First Choice School

❖ April 17: SAT or ACT Essay WritingMay 15: SAT Critical Reading

Timothy Eisenhardt and JosephLang, Centreville natives and seniorengineering students at JamesMadison University, are working oncompleting their Capstone Projects.The will be part of JMU’s firstgraduating class of engineeringstudents. Eisenhardt is working withhis team to design, build and test aPiezoelectric OligonucleotideSynthesizer and Microarrayer. Langis working with a team to design andconstruct a robot to enter into TheTrinity College Fire Fighting RobotCompetition (FFRC). The FFRC is ayearly competition in which teamsconstruct robots that can maneuverthrough a simulated home with fourrooms, hallways, rugs, furniture, wallhangings, and uneven flooring.

School Notes

Maria Royal and her dog Hush Puppy.

Kristina Massie from Fairfaxworked on the production of astudent-produced sitcom at DrexelUniversity that made its networktelevision debut on Philadelphia’slocal CBS affiliate The CW Philly 57this month. “OFF CAMPUS” is asitcom produced by students inDrexel’s Antoinette Westphal Collegeof Media Arts & Design. The storylinecenters around the adventures andmisadventures of recent collegegraduates and roommates Claire,Dean, Felix, Hailey and Nick.

Lee Seidner, a senior fromCentreville, majoring in music inthe College of Liberal Arts andHuman Sciences, has gainedmembership to the MarchingVirginians at Virginia Tech.

Tommy Polson, a senior fromCentreville, majoring in economicsin the Pamplin College of Business,has gained membership to theMarching Virginians at Virginia Tech.

Carolyn Korch, a junior fromCentreville, majoring in hospitalityand tourism management in thePamplin College of Business, hasgained membership to the MarchingVirginians at Virginia Tech.

Sarah DeVito, a junior fromCentreville, majoring inmathematics in the College ofScience, has gained membership tothe Marching Virginians at VirginiaTech.

Chelsea Croll, a junior fromCentreville, majoring inmanagement and Spanish in thePamplin College of Business andCollege of Liberal Arts and HumanSciences, has gained membership tothe Marching Virginians at VirginiaTech.


See CVHS's Storybook, Page 16

Centre View Sports Editor Rich Sanders703-224-3031 or [email protected]

By Rich SandersCentre View

By the positive demeanor of theCentreville High football playersand their fans during the latterstages of the Wildcats’ 47-21 stateAAA championship game loss to OscarSmith High (Chesapeake) last Saturdayevening at Scott Stadium on the Universityof Virginia campus in Charlottesville, onemight have been under the mistaken im-pression that the Centreville team was win-ning the game.

Players did not have their heads down,postures were not slouched, and there wereno sign of teammates complaining or point-ing fingers for the way the game hadevolved.

The Centreville team, although too farbehind to realistically come back and win,was playing all out on each play. Ball carri-ers were running hard, linemen, both onoffense and defense, were bursting off theline, and receivers were running crisp, pre-cise patterns or helping out with blocks.

On the Centreville sideline, players wereencouraging one another with pats on thebackside and paying attention to the playon the field. Meanwhile, directly behind theteam’s bench, the Wildcats’ large contingentof fans, made up of the student body as wellas parents and other Centreville faithful,cheered on the team as heartedly as theyhad when the score was tied at the start ofthe game.

Coaches were still coaching, players werestill playing, and the fans were still cheer-

ing. It didn’t matter what the scoreboardread. The overall mindset seemed to beupbeat in nature because of what theCentreville team, with the rampant supportof its adoring community, had accomplishedover the course of this championship sea-son.

There was, during Saturday’s game, acan’t-miss connection between the team andfandom which had been apparent all sea-son long and was still vibrant as the finalminutes of the 2011 season ticked away inCharlottesville.

The season-long refrain of the CentrevilleHigh football community — players,coaches, school personnel, and fans — be-ing “family” might seem corny to opponentsor fans of other teams. But it was a bondwhich played a tangible role in the team’sbreakthrough season which saw the Wild-cats, under second year head coach ChrisHaddock, capture their first Div. 6 North-ern Region title in 11 years and qualify forstates.

“We fought and left everything on thefield,” said senior team leader and runningback Manny Smith, who led his teammatesinto the stadium prior to the state finalsgame, waving a large Centreville team flag— a banner adorned with a black Wildcats’paw with a Columbia blue back drop — andeventually going towards the sideline anddirectly towards the Centreville fans wherehe waved his arms to fire them up morethan they already were. “We don’t quit andwe won’t give in. As a leader on this team Itry to put as much emotion into the gameas possible.”

A day earlier Smith had asked if the Wild-cats could display the flag upon coming intothe stadium.

“I’m an emotional guy and I talked tocoach Haddock and asked him if we couldbring the flag,” recalled Smith. “I didn’t haveto be carrying it out.”

Haddock eventually decided it would bea good idea and, on the morning of thegame, asked Smith if he would carry the

flag and lead the team onto the field. WhenSmith led the Wildcats onto the stadium, itwas a moment he and Centreville fans willalways remember.

“It was great running out of the tunnelwith our fans, family and friends in thestands,” said Smith. Smiling, he said, “See-ing our crowd there — those are the crazi-est people you’ll ever meet.”

THE PREGAME EMOTION carried overinto the game for Centreville. On the game’sopening kickoff, Wildcat senior ConnorCulleiton flew down the field and made asparkling tackle of the Oscar Smith kickreturner, who had just barely crossed thefive yard line. Then, on the Tigers’ first playfrom their own six, quarterback JaylianWilliamson, back in shotgun formation, wasunprepared for the center snap. The ballwent right past the startled QB and out ofthe end zone for a stunning two-point safetywhich gave Centreville the game’s firstpoints.

As the rules of a safety apply, Oscar Smithwas then required to punt the ball toCentreville. Chase Walter further ignited thecrowd with a 31-yard return to the Tigers’38 yard line. Unfortunately from aCentreville perspective, the Wildcats werenot able to score on that possession.

Oscar Smith would go on to score touch-downs on its next three possessions, surg-ing ahead 21-2, behind the play ofWilliamson, a quarterback with a Div. 1 col-lege caliber arm and an ability to evade passrushers. Williamson, who has committed toplay college football in-state at HamptonUniversity next school year, went on to havea phenomenal game, completing 17 of his20 passes for 240 yards and two touch-downs.

“He’s a good football player, no doubtabout it,” said Haddock. “He stepped up and

They might not have won the game, but Centreville’s players and fanssure had some great moments in Charlottesville on Saturday.

Centreville recovered a second quarter squib kick moments following aChase Walter touchdown catch which pulled the Wildcats within 21-9.

What a Football Season for the WildcatsState finals loss doesnot diminish 2011storybook campaign.

Connor Coward runs to daylight as Oscar Smith players pursue.

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Westfield High Presents Show of Six Children’s PlaysFrom Page 1

Resident Secretly Represented Pakistanpayments from authorities by transferringthem, via associates, from Iraq to Armenia.

Manok was sentenced last week by U.S.District Court Judge Anthony J. Trenga.Following completion of his prison term,he’ll be on three years supervised release.A forfeiture hearing is slated for Jan. 13,2012, to determine how much money heowes the federal government because ofhis crime.

This case was investigated by the FBI’sWashington Field Office, the Departmentof Defense Office of the Inspector General,the Army Criminal Investigation Commandand the Defense Criminal InvestigativeService. It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S.Attorney Paul J. Nathanson and trial attor-ney Mary Ann McCarthy of the CriminalDivision’s Fraud Section.

This prosecution is part of efforts under-way by President Barack Obama’s inter-agency Financial Fraud Enforcement TaskForce. Obama established this task force asa way of waging a coordinated effort to in-vestigate and prosecute financial crimes. Formore information, go to www.stopfraud.gov.

20 Months PrisonFrom Page 1

News

to consider each actor, not just what you’redoing.”

Biagini directed Westfield’s VTA compe-tition piece, “Oleanna,” so this play markshis second time at the helm. Toughest, hesaid, is “dealing with the actors’ time-sched-ule conflicts, because this isn’t someone’sentire life. But I enjoy seeing things cometogether.”

Schmidt said the audience will like theirplay’s humor and the overall variety of showsin the whole production. “They’re not justabout Christmas,” she said. “And ‘’Twas theNight before Christmas’ is a dance show.”

As for “Frosty,” added Biagini, “I think thekids will enjoy the big personas the actorsbring to the stage.”

‘A CHARLIE BROWN CHRISTMAS’Nick Burroughs and Chaz Coffin are di-

recting “A Charlie Brown Christmas” to-gether. The cast of 11 features BrandonSanchez as Charlie Brown, MadeleineBloxam as Lucy, Mitchell Buckley as Linus,Rachel Moser as Sally, Julian Sanchez asSchroeder and David Koenigsberg asSnoopy.

“Things are going well,” said Burroughs.“We’re putting final touches on the shownow. Because it’s such a classic and so fa-mous, the audience will enjoy seeing itonstage and recognizing some of the dif-ferences between the cartoon and our ver-sion.”

“The children will like the slapstick, thecolorful costumes and the comedy,” saidCoffin. “And we’ll also have some holidaymusic playing.”

Thrilled to be a director, he said doing soas a student “makes me feel like I’ve grown

in this department and have finally gottento the place every actor waits for — being adirector.” Coffin said the most difficult thingabout directing is “organizing everythingonstage so the audience will respond to theplay positively.”

“Directing is a lot harder than I realized,”said Burroughs. “It’s not just the staging,but getting everybody in the same place atthe same time and focused on the sameobjective.”

Regarding their play, said Coffin, “Thechildren attending the show will flip overall these characters they usually see on TVand read about in storybooks.”

Added Burroughs: “A lot of people comeback to see this show, year after year, like aholiday tradition for them, and new audi-ences will be able to do the same thing.”

‘THE HANUKKAH STORY’Although the subject is serious, “The Ha-

nukkah Story” is presented as a comedy.Directed by Bryan Pitt, it has a cast of 13,including Zoe Hawryluk as Judy Macabee,the leader of the Jews, and Zack Walsh asKing Antiocus, the king of the Greeks.

“It’s the story of how the Greeks invadedIsrael and took over their land, and howthe Israelites got it back,” said Pitt. Narrat-ing are Sy and Celia, portrayed by AlexMann and Ali Koenigsberg, respectively.

“They’re an old, Jewish couple telling thisstory to the audience while the actors showwhat happened,” said Pitt. “It’s a split stagewhere half is the real world and half is theflashback world. I think the audience willlove it. There are a bunch of clever bits,jokes and puns we put in for the adults, plusplenty of physical comedy for the kids.”

He said directing’s fun because “you get

to work with so many different people. It’smore about teamwork and getting a groupof individuals who don’t have anything incommon, besides a love of theater, to worktogether to make the best story possible.”

‘NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS’Directing “’Twas the Night before Christ-

mas” is Corinne Holland, and the story istold mainly through dance. “There are nar-rators and a family with children,” saidsophomore Emily Tobin. “It’s the children’sdream of the fairies vs. the rats, but the re-indeer, rats and fairies don’t speak.”

In this vignette, the nutcracker and therat king fight, and the fairies all turn intoreindeer. Santa Claus brings presents andall the reindeer do a kickline dance led byRudolph.

“It appeals to kids because it’s almost allmusic and dancing,” said Tobin. “The girlswill like the fairies and the boys will likethe rats.” Regarding the whole “Ho-Ho Holi-day Show,” she said, “It will be wonderfulbecause we have great actors and it’s justfun stuff to watch.”

‘RUDOLPH THE RED-NOSED REIN-DEER’

The 12-person cast of “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” includes T.J. Vinsavich asRudolph; Annie Snyder as an elf; OliviaJoseph as Rudolph’s love interest, Cupid;and Tabeer Singh as Rudolph’s arch enemy,Blitzen. Directing are Kelsey Thompson andSophia Alam.

“The plot follows the song, and we addedhow Rudolph interacts with the other rein-deer,” said Alam. “We also added an elf andan elf helper — an elf-in-training who triesto be like the leader elf.”

Besides that, she said she and Thompsongave this story more modern jokes that theaudience will understand and relate to.They also made it more humorous than inpast years so, said Alam, “The stereotypicalcharacters are really funny. And hopefully,at the end, the children will learn a nicelesson that we’re all different, but we’re allfriends.”

She said directing is challenging because“you want everyone to have fun and theactors to be comfortable. But at the sametime, they need to be focused and ready towork and make a commitment. So that canbe a bit stressful. But I enjoy helping actorsfind their voice and teaching them ways toact in front of other people. I try to bringthe best out of them and show them theycan do it.”

‘THE GRINCH’Directed by Colby Dezelick and Dieter

Stach, “The Grinch” has nine characters andstars Dezelick as the Grinch, Sam Dempseyas Cindy Lou Who and Bryan Pitt as Max.“The actors are picking up things reallyquickly,” said Stach. “They bring a lot ofgood ideas to the table so the group dy-namic is fun.”

Stach is typically a sound engineer, so thisshow marks his first time directing. “I’mglad to be working with Colby,” he said. “Weshare a lot of the same ideas, and it’s fun towatch our initially rough ideas come to-gether.”

In this vignette, Stach reads the story andthe actors react to it. “We’re also putting insome quirky acting bits and scenarios thatshould be fun for the audience,” he said.“It’s a classic, Dr. Seuss tale that shows whatChristmas is all about.”

From Page 1America related to Kashmir.

Fai served as the director of theKashmiri American Council (KAC), a non-governmental organization in Washing-ton, D.C., that purported to be run byKashmiris, financed by Americans anddedicated to raising the level of knowl-edge in the U.S. about the struggle of theKashmiri people for self-determination.But according to court documents, theKAC was secretly funded by officials em-ployed by the government of Pakistan,including the Inter-Services IntelligenceDirectorate (ISI).

“For the last 20 years, Mr. Fai secretlytook millions of dollars from Pakistaniintelligence and lied about it to the U.S.government,” said U.S. Attorney NeilMacBride. “As a paid operative of ISI, hedid the bidding of his handlers in Paki-stan while he met with U.S. elected offi-cials, funded high-profile conferences andpromoted the Kashmiri cause to decision-makers in Washington.”

“Mr. Fai purposefully hid financialtransactions from the U.S. government,with intentions that his scheme to fundlobbying efforts by a foreign government

would go unnoticed,” said FBI AssistantDirector in Charge James McJunkin.“[But] the FBI will detect and defeat thosewho attempt to surreptitiously exert for-eign influence on our government by us-ing agents who conceal their foreign af-filiation.”

Arrested July 19, Fai appeared lastWednesday, Dec. 7, in U.S. District Courtin Alexandria and entered his guilty pleasbefore Judge Liam O’Grady. He could nowreceive as much as five years in prisonfor the conspiracy offense, plus a possiblethree years incarceration for the tax vio-lation, when he’s sentenced on March 9,2012. As part of his plea agreement, Faiwill forfeit $142,851.32 seized from himby the government in July.

“The Tax Division is committed to pros-ecuting any individual who illegally usesthe tax-exempt status of charitable enti-ties to promote or conceal federal crimes,”said Principal Deputy Assistant AttorneyGeneral John DiCiccio.

Doing so, added IRS Special Agent inCharge Jeannine Hammett, “harms allAmericans, as we all have to pay our fairshare for the government services andprotections that we enjoy.”

Fai admitted in court that, from 1990until about July 18 of this year, he lied toand defrauded the U.S. government. Andaccording to court documents, Fai told FBIagents in March 2007 that he’d never metanyone who identified himself as beingaffiliated with the ISI. Then in May 2009,he falsely denied to the IRS on a tax re-turn for the KAC that the KAC had receivedany money from foreign sources in 2008.

Furthermore, court documents statethat, in April 2010, Fai sent a letter to theJustice Department claiming that the Pa-kistani government didn’t fund the KAC.He also told the IRS that the KAC hadn’treceived any money from foreign sourcesin 2009. Again, in July 2011, Fai lied tothe FBI that neither he nor the KAC re-ceived money from the ISI or from Paki-stan.

But in fact, U.S. authorities say he re-peatedly submitted annual KAC strategyreports and budgetary requirements toPakistani government officials for ap-proval. In 2009, they say, these documentsincluded his plans to “secure U.S. congres-sional support for U.S. action in support

See Convicted, Page 18


By Marilyn CampbellCentre View

Each year, parents whoopt out of their neigh-borhood public schoolin favor of an indepen-dent school must sift through thelong list of the Washington area’sindependent schools to find onethat meets the needs of their child.

They must then navigate thelengthy application required bymost schools, and hope that theirefforts are deft enough to gain ac-ceptance in a competitive environ-ment. Some schools report receiv-ing as many as nine applicationsfor each available slot.

Even for prospective pre-kinder-garten students, the independentschool admissions process oftenincludes a written application,admissions tests, parent state-ments, student interviews, parentinterviews, playdates, school vis-its, transcripts and teacher recom-mendations.

“What we’re trying to do is get awhole picture of a child and lookat information from a variety ofdifferent sources,” said ChristinaTait, director of admission and fi-nancial aid at The Langley Schoolin McLean.

THE APPLICATION PACKETSprovide insight for both the schooland the applicants. “We have afairly detailed process so that weget to know the girls and they getto know us,” said Pilar Cabeza deVaca, head of the Madeira Schoolin McLean. “Our goal is to findgirls who are the right fit for ourschool and for whom our schoolis the right fit.”

The role of each component ofthe application varies dependingon the age of the applicant. “Theadmission [process] for youngchildren is especially complex anddifficult because we have to useboth explicit and intuitive mea-sures because we have less data,”said Diane Dunning, director ofadmission and financial aid at St.Stephen’s & St. Agnes School inAlexandria. “If you were lookingat a ninth grade [admissions]folder, you would have eight yearsof report cards and maybe fouryears of standardized testing. Youare also able to interview [olderapplicants] in a different way thanwhen you are interacting with theyoung children.”

Why is so much probing neces-sary?

“Schools are looking for consis-

tency in grades, attitude, testingand recommendations,” said Lind-say White, educational consultantwith the School Counseling Groupin Washington, D.C. “[For ex-ample] If there is a huge differencebetween a [teacher] recommenda-tion and what they are seeing onthe grades, that is going to be ared flag.”

Most schools want prospectiveapplicants to spend time on cam-pus. “The [school] visit is impor-tant to us. It gives the boy and hisfamily a chance to experience theHeights first hand,” said RichardMoss, director of admission at theHeights School in Potomac, Md.“On the flip side,

Documents

SOUTHERN EDITIONconnectionarchives.com/PDF/2011/121411/Centreview South.pdfHanukkah, Westfield High presents its an-nual “Ho-Ho Holiday Show” in the school theater. More than 100