Vol. XXI, No. 47 Mount Vernon’s Hometown Newspaper • A ... Vernon.pdfHarbin Ice and Snow Festival to be held in January, 2011. The Fairfax County The Fairfax County Convention

Mount Vernon Gazette ❖ November 25 - December 1, 2010 ❖ 1www.ConnectionNewspapers.com

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November 25, 2010Vol. XXI, No. 47 Mount Vernon’s Hometown Newspaper • A Connection Newspaper

A Peek at a Holiday TraditionThe Alexandria Community Nutcracker will run for three nights and a matinee inthe first week of December in the West Potomac High School Auditorium. From thewings, angels Ryan Falk, Charlotte Heimbach, Mary Kate Ross and Hannah Lesliewatch the rehearsal.

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See Page 4.

See Distracted, Page 6

See Grading, Page 6

By Michael Lee Pope

The Gazette

A van full of Marines wasbarreling down FranconiaRoad after a baseball game

one night last September, whenthe tragic consequences of dis-tracted driving became clear. Theway Fairfax County Police Capt.Susan Culin describes the circum-stances of the crash, the driver wasalready distracted talking to hisbuddies when his cell phone be-gan vibrating in his pants pocket.

“We’re not really sure what hap-pened next, but we have our sus-picions,” said Culin, commander

of the Traffic Division. “In that in-stant, the driver drove through ared light that he didn’t see until itwas too late.”

What happened next is onemore statistic in what a grow-ing chorus of voices is describ-ing as a “national epidemic.”The four-vehicle crash senteight people to the hospital.One Marine was in grave con-dition for a while, but he is stillrecovering. The driver, also aMarine, has legal consequencesof the crash. That issue will beresolved in the courts, but the

By Gerald A. Fill

The Gazette

Fairfax County PublicSchools approved thenrescinded “experi-ments” in West Potomac

High School’s revised AcademicImprovement Plan.

Earlier in the year, West Potomacadopted an “Improvement Plan forthe Academic Year” which wouldall but eliminate a failing grade inone quarter (it would be recordedas an Incomplete) and allow a stu-dent until as late as the summerto retake a test and receive a gradefrom the course as if he or shenever took the test before. Therewould be no averaging — just re-

take the test later in the year andthe grade for that test would ap-ply to the course grade.

In addition, if a student wascaught cheating or plagiarizing noacademic sanctions would be im-posed, and instead it would betreated as a behavioral problem.As stated in the plan, the purposeof the new policies was “to closethe student achievement gap in allsubgroups.” Another academicpolicy change would phase out thehonors program.

It took some time but onceWest Potomac parents and teach-ers realized the academicchanges were installed, the re

Grading changes rescinded afterparents’ and teachers’ complaints.

Lesson Learned

Distracted EpidemicMore drivers experience anaccident or near-miss becauseof distracted driving.

2 ❖ Mount Vernon Gazette ❖ November 25 - December 1, 2010 www.ConnectionNewspapers.com


NewsMount Vernon Gazette Editor Steven Mauren

703-778-9415 or [email protected]

See Tourism, Page 9

By Gerald A. Fill

The Gazette

Supervisor Gerald Hylandin a fortuitous twist offate has had an opportu-nity in the past year to

make an impact on the tourist in-dustry in Fairfax County by beingthe catalyst in establishing acounty-city sister relationship withthe northern Chinese city ofHarbin, China.

Harbin, known internationallyfor its mass ice wedding ceremonyand ice cutters (recently carvingice sculptures at a local hotel innearby National Harbor in Mary-land), next year will send a newlywedded couple who successfullycompeted for a prize that will en-title them to spend their honey-moon in Fairfax County. This com-mitment was due in large part tothe efforts of Hyland, Visit Fairfax,and Chairman of the Board of Su-pervisors Sharon Bulova.

For Hyland, it means bringing aneconomic boost directly to his dis-trict. The Mount Vernon Districthas more thanits fair share oflocal, national,and interna-tionally recog-nizable signifi-cant historicsites.

The HistoryCommission ofFairfax Countylists 340 sites ofhistoric signifi-cance. InMount Vernonalone there area number ofsignificant his-toric sites in-cluding GeorgeWashington’s Mount Vernon Es-tate, Gunston Hall, Washington’sGrist Mill, Woodlawn Plantation,Pope-Leighey House, and PohickChurch.

Over a year ago, Harbin, Chinagovernment officials traveled to

the District of Columbia hoping toestablish a sister relationship withthe Nation’s Capital. The problemwas that D.C. officials turned themdown. Not wanting their visit tobe in vain, Chinese embassy offi-cials turned to Hyland, a memberof the National Association ofCounties (NACO), for help.Hyland introduced the Harbin of-ficials to members of the FairfaxCounty Board and staff, and even-tually the county-city sister rela-tionship was established. This yearHarbin entered into a Memoran-dum of Cooperation betweenFairfax County and the Fairfax

Tourism Board,and the HarbinM u n i c i p a lTourism Bu-r e a u ,Heilongjiang,China to pro-mote each re-gion as a tour-ism destina-tion, and topursue otherareas of mutualeconomic inter-est.

Hyland hasmade two visitsto Harbin; onevisit withBulova and

Visit Fairfax CEO Barry Biggar, andanother visit as part of an eight-person delegation sponsored byNACo. The visits were not fi-nanced by taxpayer dollars. Visit

Hyland travels to Harbin, Chinato promote Fairfax Countyas a tourist destination.

Mainland Attraction

Mass Wedding CeremonyOne hundred couples representing more than 50 countries and regions will

participate in a mass ice show wedding in the Ice City of Harbin during theHarbin Ice and Snow Festival to be held in January, 2011. The Fairfax CountyConvention & Visitors Corp. will sponsor one newlywed couple who wins theprize for a trip for two on a honeymoon trip and visit to Fairfax County.

See www.ngaisheung.com

Holiday BazaarDozens of craft vendors set out their wares Sat-

urday, Nov. 20, at the annual Holiday Bazaar onthe historic site of Hollin Hall on top of MasonHill. Knitted hats, scarves, sweaters; glass artistsdisplayed jewelry, platters, plates and goblets; jew-elry, alpaca yarns from Lovettsville, decoupageboxes and orchids were just a sampling of whatwas available for purchase.

Box Boy, a decoupageartist, Paul Bierman,shows one of his hand-made boxes.

Alexandria Glass Artists Madeline Ramsay talks withAdina Russell and Renee Rutkowski.

AYNI co-founder BarbaraWolff talks about some ofthe Peruvian handicraftsand textiles that she hasfor sale at the bazaar.

Golden Slawson and Bette Hines greetvisitors to annual bazaar and sign themup for a chance to win the raffle.

The craft tables in the church hall wereoverflowing with holiday gift ideas.

Glass piecescreated

by theAlexandria

Glass Artists.www.alexandriaglassartists.com

Photos by

Louise Krafft/

The Gazette

Value of Tourism❖ Visitors spend approximately

$2.5 billion annually in thearea economy.

❖ $150.9 million in state andlocal taxes were generated bydirect travel spending in thisarea.

❖ Visitors to Fairfax Countydirectly support almost 30,000jobs with earnings of $534.68

“Personalrelationships arevery important inAsian cultures andwe believe the sisterrelationship withHarbin and Fairfaxcounty will be ofmutual benefit.”

— Sharon Bulova


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News

Presenting‘The Nutcracker’

Angels Hannah Leslie and Connell Leary gaze about the curtain call line-up of all theangels on stage during Sunday’s dress rehearsal.

Four little mice: ElizabethMcMahon, Kate Hardy, Kate Falkand Julia Norton wait to be calledup to the stage.

A new local holiday tradition, The Alexandria Com-munity Nutcracker, will run for three nights the firstweek of December (2 3, and 4), with an additionalmatinee performance on Saturday, Dec. 4, in the West

Potomac High School Auditorium. Tickets can be purchased inadvance online at http://www.alexandriadance.com/.

The Alexandria Community Nutcracker is an original full-lengthcommunity “Nutcracker” choreographed by local dance teachersGennifer Lisenby, Courtney Betzel, and Adrienne Magnuson andfeaturing the West Potomac Dance Academy and other young danc-ers from the community. The approximately 100 dancers are fromthe Alexandria area attending St. Luke’s Day School, AldersgatePreschool, Hollin Meadows Math and Science, Fort Hunt ES,Waynewood ES, Belle View ES, Stratford Landing ES, Washing-ton Mill ES, Burgundy Farm Country Day School, Browne Acad-emy, St. Louis, St. Mary’s, Carl Sandburg MS, West Potomac HS.

This performance tells the traditional story of “The Nut-cracker” with a modern twist with newly recomposed music inAct II. The performance will include ballet, pointe, tap, jazz,modern, hip hop, gymnastics, and lyrical. For more informa-tion see http://www.alexandriadance.com/

Catherine Canary as Clara.

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For more information:www.RexReiley.com

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Alex./Wessynton $609,9003020 Cunningham Drive

Priced Below Market for a QuickSale! Lg 5 BR/2.5 BA Colonial w/2-car garage & full unfinished bsmt inMt. Vernon’s premiere contemporarysubdivision of Wessynton. This homeis priced to allow some updating. Lgcovered screened porch off the fam-

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Beautifully remodeled 4 BR, 2.5BA Colonial in popular RiversideEstates. Updates include: totallyremodeled kit w/granite counters,baths, new carpet in family rm &basement. Interior freshlypainted, refinished hdwd floors onmain & upper levels. New HVAC

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Westgate $659,9009010 Volunteer Drive

Beautiful traditional colonial w/2-car side garage in fabulous MountVernon location. It is classy! Over.5 acre landscaped corner lot.Stun-ning sunroom addition.Hardwood floors main & upperlevels. Family rm w/gas FP off

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Completely remodeled 5 BR, 3.5 BAColonial in premiere Contemporary com-munity of Wessynton. All major systemsupdated: kitchen—ceramic tile floor, gran-ite counters, cabinets, Sub Zero fridge, etc.;baths; total HVAC systems; roof & gutters;thermal windows & freshly painted inte-rior. 2-car garage. This is “turn key.”

Beautiful lot backing to woods. Wessynton offers boat launch just minutes to PotomacRiver by boat, tennis & basketball courts, and pool. 5 minutes to Ft. Belvoir, 15 to OldTown, 25 to National Airport, 30/35 to D.C./Pentagon.

Alex./Riverside Estates $479,9003113 Battersea Lane

Spectacular home on a spectacularlot backing to deep woods. LargeYorkshire model w/spacious 2-cargarage. Numerous updatesthroughout to include: kit w/bump-out, windows, roof, siding, furnace,

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News

Barbara Sullivan will replace Jeff Reed as ex-ecutive director of Mount Vernon At Home(MVAH). MVAH is a senior citizen advocacy

and support organization which provides a range ofcounseling, social, recreational, transportation, andother services essential to those Mount Vernon areaseniors who wish to maintain their independence andage in place in their homes and neighborhoods.

During its annual meeting held at Martha Wash-ington Library on Nov. 17, President VirginiaHodgkinson announced that Sullivan will assume theduties of executive director as of Dec. 15. She willreplace Jeff Reed, MVAH’s first executive director,who is leaving the area to join his wife Beth, a re-cently ordained Episcopal minister, who is acceptinga post as assistant rector of a church in Allentown,Pa.

Sullivan, a Mount Vernon District resident, has

most recently served as assistant executive directorat Paul Spring Retirement Center. She served on theMVAH Board in 2008. She was named Citizen of theYear in 2007 by the Mount Vernon-Lee Chamber ofCommerce where she served as president and chair-man of the board. In addition, she served as chair-man of the Inova Mount Vernon Development Coun-cil.

MVAH also elected four new board members: JulieEllis, director, Hollin Hall Senior Center; MichaelSerlin of Mason Hill who recently retired from theTreasury Department; Betsy Stephens, a Tauxemontresident with experience in nursing and social work,and Richard Titus, a resident of Montebello, andformer employee of the Justice Department withexperience as an instructor at U.C. Berkley and PennState.

— Gerald A. Fill

From left: Outgoingdirector Jeff Reed,President VirginiaHodgkinson, and

new director BarbaraSullivan addressMount Vernon AtHome members

during its annualmeeting.

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From Page 1

News

From Page 1

weight of what happened that day willbe a burden forever.

“He now must live with critically injur-ing his friend,” said Culin. “We have to stig-matize this type of behavior and put an endto it.”

And the problem is only growing worseevery day, according to survey data com-piled by AAA Mid-Atlantic and HOT lanescontractor Transurban-Fluor. Last year, ac-cording to the survey, one in six drivers re-ported an accident or near miss as the re-sult of sending texts, reading e-mail or chat-ting on the telephone. This year, it’s one infour. Half of drivers on the phone say theyare responding to urgent work-related is-sues. Despite the workplace-related natureof the epidemic, few employers have for-mal policies discouraging distracted driv-ing.

“Overwhelmingly, we are seeing thesenumbers increase,” said Virginia Secretaryof Transportation Sean Connaughton.“People don’t seem to be making the con-nection.”

Connaughton hopes employers will help

them make the connection, institutingnew policies. Four major regional em-ployers have already taken the pledge:Inova Health System, Tysons CornerCenter, Booz Allen Hamilton and Sci-ence Applications International Corpo-ration. That last business, which isperhaps better known by the acronymSAIC, donated the use of its parkinglot to serve as the venue for a pressconference releasing the study andlaunching the campaign. Carsswooshed through the background, alarge construction zone resembling anobstacle course for motorists and theirsmart phones.

“There are places in Tysons Cornerand on the Beltway where I even turnoff the radio,” said Fairfax County Board ofSupervisors Chairwoman Sharon Bulova.“Lanes are being rearranged as we speak,and it’s important that we pay attention towhat’s going on around us.”

DRIVERS WHO ENGAGE in distracteddriving can be charged for failing to payfull time and attention to the road. Policerecords from across Northern Virginia show

a spike of charges in this category over thelast few years as smart-phones have becomemore widely used. According to VirginiaDepartment of Motor Vehicles, distracteddriving was responsible for more than 6,000crashes in Northern Virginia last year. Tenpeople were killed, and 3,000 people werehurt.

“When you are distracted and you aredriving, you are a hazard,” said Fairfax

County Police Capt. Tracy Russillo.“You are a threat to yourself and allthose people around you, especiallywhen driving through a constructionzone where there is already less roomto navigate and make an error.”

The statistics are daunting and po-tentially misleading. Police officers saythere’s no good way to know if a cellphone was the reason for a crash be-cause they are depending on those re-sponsible to report the information.Unlike driving while intoxicated,there’s no test that could prove a smartphone was responsible. So the bound-aries of the problem remain somewhatof a mystery. Yet according to thosenow calling for action, it’s becoming a

problem too big to ignore.“We know that motorists know they

shouldn’t be doing it — that it’s dangerous,”said Lon Anderson, director of governmentrelations for AAA Mid-Atlantic. “And yet ournumbers are still going up.”

In the first 100 days since the campaignlaunched last week, organizers hope to getat least 100 employers to take the EmployerSafety Pledge.

sulting reaction caused school officialsto rescind the controversial grading andcheating policies.

The decision was communicated this pastweek to parents through the West PotomacHigh School newsletter, “Keep in Touch,”much to the guarded relief of those parentscritical of the proposed changes. These sameparents, upon learning of the new gradingand cheating policies, had quickly formedan advocacy group “Real World, RealGrades” and registered on the FacebookCommunity page. As of this past Sundaythe group said they had 200 members andin one short stretch since it was installedhad identified over 3,000 “hits” on theFacebook site.

In the aftermath of earlier news accounts,the following officials did not return phonecalls for comment: Cliff Hardison, WestPotomac principal; Scott Brabrand, Cluster4 area superintendent, and Mount VernonSchool Board member Dan Storck. PaulRegnier, spokesman for the Fairfax CountyPublic Schools said no interviews were be-ing granted to the media with public schoolofficials.

Parents of “Real World, Real Grades” like-wise expressed their dismay that Storck hadnot returned their phone calls.

As of this past Friday the grading andcheating policies are now back to what theywere all along. Students can still get a fail-ing grade and cheaters can be academicallysanctioned. A third policy change is still inforce: To eliminate the honors programwhich the “Real World, Real Grades” par-ents said is also of concern to them because

it reduces opportunities for a large groupof students to aspire to improve their aca-demic standing.

“Real World, Real Grades” parents saidthat the new honors policy will discouragethose students who have a particular inter-est and capability in a specific subject todevelop advanced knowledge in that sub-ject. It was pointed out that the May, 2010Annual Report of the Advanced AcademicPrograms Advisory Committee made nomention of the plan to phase out honorslevel courses at the high school level whenAP courses were available. Kate Van Dyck,of “Real World, Real Grades,” said, “Elimi-nating honors is not nice and really an un-sound education practice. Is it data manipu-lation to gain a higher spot on JayMatthew’s 1,000 Best High Schools in thecountry or is it a sincere effort for best prac-tice in education? Pushing unprepared highschool students into college level classescannot be best practice. Counting only thenumber of students who walk in the doorwithout counting how many crash and burncannot be best practice. AP level courses aresuitable for only a small percentage of stu-dents who have the skill-set for college levelstudy.”

“Real World, Real Grades” parents saidthat the method by which the controversialpolicies were installed, without consultationwith parents, teachers, and the absence oftransparency, was particularly troubling.

Debra McKeown, one of the “Real World,Real Grades” parents said, “How can sucha significant academic change be installedin one school but not in all the schools inthe county? What is it that these core valueacademic policies were trying to address at

West Potomac but were not importantenough to impose in other schools? Was theelected School Board consulted? If so, whyweren’t we allowed to comment? If not, whynot?”

For some, the notion of a policy whichallows students caught cheating to get awaywith it amounted to, according to ChuckVan Dyck, “undermining the ethics and val-ues which parents are trying to instill athome. The now rescinded policy would, ifit remained in effect, reinforce the cultureof cheating that is rife in our schools andrender good parents insignificant.”

Hardison’s “Keep in Touch” newsletterissued last Friday announced that the grad-ing and cheating policy changes had beenrescinded “because there was no consen-sus within the faculty, the student body, orthe parents.”

“Real World, Real Grades” parentStephanie Melvin commented on Hardison’sstatement: “How could there be any con-sensus since there was virtually no consul-tation as far as we know with a broad crosssection of the faculty or parents.”

In a written statement, two members ofthe “Real World, Real Grades” organizationcommented on the now rescinded academic

policy experiment at West Potomac.Barry Meuse said, “That the Fairfax

county public school system would adoptan unequal education policy, for any rea-son, insults those who set the county on acourse to establish some of the nation’s bestschools. Why Fairfax County gives specialattention and resources to the bottom andthe top but not to the vast middle is thequestion teachers, students, and parents areasking. There is no rationale to provideunequal opportunity to three differentgroups of students; its illogical, poor pub-lic policy, and a reason to question the fit-ness of administrators to hold appointed orelected public office.”

Kate Van Dyck said, “If the school andcounty public school administration backeddown so completely and so quickly on thesetwo issues it was due to the help of mediaattention, not because they thought it wasthe ‘right’ thing to do for our students andteachers. Being a public school teachermyself, I think we will have to be vigilantand monitor future changes very closely toensure that all members of the professionallearning community at each school andthroughout the county are not excludedagain.”

Grading Changes Rescinded After ComplaintsStepping Back, Stepping Forward

Details of the Fairfax County Public Schoolsystem’s Nov. 19, announcement that the grad-ing and cheating policies are rescinded:

❖ West Potomac will completely return to itsUnified School Discipline Policy where studentsreceive forfeiture of credit for incidents of cheat-ing or plagiarism.

❖ West Potomac will return to prior gradingpractices that include giving Fs to students whoare failing at the end of each grading period.

❖ A Grading Implementation Task Force, anAdvanced Academics Advisory Council, and anAssessment and Grading Advisory Council willbe created.

County Cites Inherent Danger in Distracted Driving

Fairfax Police Capt. Susan Culin speaksabout the rising in drivers being distractedby their smart phones.

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From Page 3

Fairfax, NACo, and out of pocketexpenses from Bulova and Hylandhelped to finance the trips. Privateand public entities in China paidfor housing and meals for Hyland,Bulova, and Biggar while travel-ing in China.

“China is a major economicplayer in the global market andour establishing a good workingrelationship we believe will resultin forging business and tourismopportunities,” said Bulova. “Per-sonal relationships are very impor-tant in Asian cultures and we be-lieve the sister relationship withHarbin and Fairfax county will beof mutual benefit. Asians now rep-resent 17 percent of our popula-tion in Fairfax county and theHarbin, China relationship willfurther demonstrate our apprecia-tion of their home countries.

“Right now we have a teacherexchange program with SouthKorea. Similarly, the Harbin offi-cials have expressed an interest ina teacher and student languagearts exchange. Harbin is known forits use of Mandarin Chinese. Cul-tural, teacher, and student ex-changes will help place Fairfaxcounty on the world stage whendealing with Asian countries.”

Hyland said, “Promoting eco-nomic development, cultural, edu-cational, and tourism exchangeswith countries abroad is good busi-ness for Fairfax County. Our sistercounty/city relationship withHarbin, China opens up an impor-tant door of opportunity for us andbrings China closer to us for ourmutual economic and culturalbenefit.”

Tourism

Mrs. Hannah E. Adams didn’tcelebrate her 106th birthday asshe had in the past with her manyfriends and family in the partyroom of the Mt. Vernon Nursingand Rehabilitation Center. Shewas a resident for the last threeyears at Mt. Vernon and was lov-ingly called “grandma” by thenursing staff. She had grownweaker and family and friendsvisited her in her room with bal-loons, cards and well wishes onAug. 19 — the day of her birth-day.

On Oct. 27, 2010, she peacefullyslept away and left many friendsand her family deeply saddened.On Nov. 8, she was buried atBethlehem Baptist Church, Alex-andria, (Gum Springs) Va., whereshe had been a member for over90 years. Staff from Mt. Vernon

Nursing, Capital Hospice, manyfriends and family were in atten-dance to wish her a fond farewell.Expressions of sympathy were re-ceived by the family from many toinclude William D. Euille, mayorand the City Council of Alexan-dria; Virginia Gov. Robert F.McDonnell, and U.S. Rep. JamesP. Moran, 8th Congressional Dis-trict of Virginia.

She was a life resident of FairfaxCounty, and was married to thelate Clarence E. Adams Sr., for 56years. She had one son, Clarence“Eddie” Adams Jr., who also pre-deceased her. In the 106 years ofher life she had been a pillar inthe community, and had made ameaningful contribution to societythrough work and service. She wasthe first black to serve on the Vis-iting Nurses Association in the

state of Virginia, with most ofher cases being in the Alexan-dria area.

At one time she was em-ployed by the Mt. Vernon LadiesAssociation of Mt. Vernon, andon her 100th birthday celebra-tion the regent and vice regentsof the Association ordered theplanting of a Crepe Myrtle treeat Historic Mount Vernon in herhonor. She was recently nomi-nated and selected for Who’sWho in Virginia Long TermCare, sponsored by the state ofVirginia Health Care Associa-tion. During the spring of thisyear she was featured in theCapital Hospice Highlight 2010Newsletter.

She also belonged to manychurch and civic organizationsthroughout Northern Virginia, and

her story telling she wouldoften remind one of eachpresident and the terms theyserved. She was honored tohave the opportunity to voteby absentee ballot in the lastpresidental election of 2008and see more history unfoldat the election of the firstblack president of the UnitedStates, President BarackObama. She will be deeplymissed by many and leaves alegacy of love, giving, caring,and concern for her fellow-man. She leaves to rejoice inher memory a granddaughter,great-granddaughter, two

godsons and a host of relativesand friends. Her favorite sayingwas: “Lord let the work I’ve donespeak for me.” May she rest inpeace.

Hannah E. Adams

Obituary

Hannah E. Adams

received many honorable recogni-tions for her outstanding contribu-tions to her church and society.

She remembered all of thepresidents during her lifetime. In


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While the rest of the world wouldlike to remember small busi-nesses for just one day this year,“small business Saturday,” Con-

nection readers know that local businesses area mainstay of our communities. Locally ownedretail shops, services, restaurants depend onvibrant local communities to thrive.

While the economic situation isdaunting, even locally where thingsare much better than nationally, evenfamilies who feel financially securewill be more frugal in this holiday season thanbefore the recession. Recently, there is morelife in the economy, though, and most localfamilies will shop and give during the nextmonth. Many people have started ahead of thetraditional kickoff date for Christmas shopping,the Friday after Thanksgiving. Hanukkah be-gins Dec. 2.

One way to be sure holiday shopping comeswith some holiday spirit is to do a portion ofthe shopping in some of the area’s locallyowned stores. There is special holiday ambi-ance available by shopping in the heart of atown that is decked out for the season.

Small retail shops are part of what defines

any community. Their livelihood depends onthe livability and quality of the neighborhoodsaround them. A small business owner pays at-tention to every detail in his or her business ina way that no chain can.

Frequently, it is the small retail person whois active in fund raising for local charities, forfire and rescue service, for local schools and

in organizing holiday events.Local retail stores, mom-and-pop

stores, face some of the toughest chal-

lenges imaginable right now. The costs of be-ing in business have grown tremendously whilerevenues are not.

Competition from Big Box stores and theInternet make the holiday shopping season allthe more important to locally-owned retailers.

Everyone will do some of their shopping atthe mall. In this area, almost everyone will dosome shopping via the Internet.

But local shoppers should be sure to savesome shopping time and dollars for local stores.

Shop Locally Local businesses areinvested in community.

Remember that people applying for foodstamps and seeking help from food banks hasmore than doubled in the last few years inNorthern Virginia. Local charities are scram-bling to meet tremendous increased demandfor holiday help as well.

Organizations like SHARE of McLean andLINK depend on volunteers and contributionsto try to meet the expanding need for food andwarm clothes on a daily basis.

Beyond that, organizations stretch to providethe basics for a holiday meal for Thanksgivingand Christmas dinners and the hope of pre-

sents for many children who might otherwisenot receive a single holiday gift.

There are many ways to give, with some lo-cal charities connecting the donor to a specificfamily to provide a holiday food basket andfulfill some wishes for gifts. Many organiza-tions encourage the donation of gift cards.Every local group seeking to help the needyright now is facing extra demand and needsboth volunteer and financial help.

— Mary Kimm,

[email protected]

Remember to Give Locally Too

Editorials

See Letters, Page 11

A dozen Kiwanis K-Kids from the Stratford LandingElementary School club visited Paul Spring Retire-

ment Community on Fort Hunt Road to give each resident a home-made Thanksgiv-ing turkey Decoration on Nov. 19. Above the K-Kids gather around resident BebeMalkin and MVKC member Joanne Malkin. The K-Kids at Stratford Landing Elemen-tary is sponsored by the Mount Vernon Kiwanis Club. If interested in a Kiwaniscommunity service club in a local school, contact MVKC Past President BruceMalkin at [email protected].

Happy Thanksgiving

EnforcementPrioritiesTo the Editor:

The following is an open letter to Mt.Vernon Gazette, Supervisor GerryHyland, and the Fairfax County ParkPolice.

I’m one of the criminals who gota ticket for walking her dogs offleash at Westgrove Park. I’m writ-ing because my fellows in PACKare badgering me to write. I wasn’tgoing to, because I have no faithin politicians — which I considerMr. Hyland to be, and this wholeexperience with trying to get theWestgrove area declared a tempo-

rary Off Leash Dog Area (OLDA)has simply reinforced my disillu-sionment with politicians and bu-reaucrats.

So I decided to write for tworeasons. One was, frankly, to makemy PACK associates happy. Theother was because I wanted tohave my say — not about GerryHyland (who either is, or has cho-sen to be, ineffective), but aboutthe Animal Control police who areissuing all these tickets.

I’ve completed a 20-year careeras a law enforcement officer (fed-eral) and I was also in manage-ment in my agency. I know that

law enforcement cannot enforceall the laws all the time — and thepublic does not want their policedepartments to do so. So respon-sible departments and agencieshave to balance public safety withavailable resources to make deci-sions on what enforcement effortswill be supported.

I have this to say about that. Thepeople ticketed down at Westgroveare nice people walking nice dogs,neither presenting a danger topublic safety. Some people takingtheir dogs to Westgrove are physi-cally handicapped and must sit inthe chair that’s down there while

their dog gets the exercise it needs.Others have picked up that dog’spoop on the owners behalf. In fact,the group of us who go down there(in the past, thank you very much)frequently pick up trash and otherdog’s poop to keep the place cleanbecause we didn’t want to causeany problems. But I digress …

The point is that if the policehave so many resources that theycan be watching and patrollingand ticketing down at Westgroveto prove their productivity, thenthey have too many resources orthey are not managing their re-sources properly. They are usingthem to enforce the letter of thelaw, rather than address a publicsafety issue.

I am the perfect example. Was Iguilty? Yes. My two dogs are 60-pound rescue dogs who do not getadequate exercise walking on aleash. I work 9-hour days and com-mute another hour. I don’t wantto have to get back in my car anddrive 9 miles to Gristmill OLDA(that is designed like a prison ex-ercise yard and the gravel makestheir feet raw) or leave my juris-diction for Old Town. I think it’sreasonable to drive one mile to afenced in area that the County isn’tusing for much, especially thistime of year when it gets dark tooearly for me to make it to any otherOLDA (none of which are lighted).

Back to public safety. My dogs

Letters to the Editor


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From Page 10

Letters


were off leash. One was right by my side. The otherwas about 25 feet away and came right to me whenI called her after I spotted the Animal Control van.Arguably, though not on a leash, they were “in mycontrol.” My woman friend and I were the onlypeople down there. The place was deserted, so therewere no others to be concerned that my dogs wereoff leash. I don’t see the public danger.

I was down there under the good faith belief thatGerry Hyland had asked the police to hold off onticketing at Westgrove. There had been a meeting

between Hyland , PACK Boardmembers and ParkAuthority staff just a couple weeks prior to this. Itold the officer that. He asked if I had anything inwriting. He said that all Mr. Hyland had to do wasask, and the police would stop, but he hadn’t, so theofficer was following the orders from his Commander.

So I have come to the conclusion that Mr. Hylandeither lied when he said he spoke to them, or he didand was ineffective in doing it in a way that madethe police stop their ticketing. And regardless of whatMr. Hyland did or didn’t do, the police have too many

To the Editor:I have been attending First Church of Christ

Scientist in Mount Vernon on Thanksgiving Dayfor the past 32 years and it has provided greatsatisfaction. This small church has been a firmfoundation on my spiritual journey. Many healingshave occurred as a result of just attending ser-vices on a regular basis.

For example, I had a healing of vertigo as a di-rect result of knowing the Truth about whom Iam and who made me. Knowing that Mind (oneof the synonyms for God) made me in His imageand likeness and that I was His perfect creation,

A lecture/workshop was held last year in the Christian Science Reading Room atFirst Church of Christ Scientist in Mount Vernon.

What I Am Thankful For? healed me and the symptoms have not returned.On Thanksgiving Day my family attends this

healing service and listens to the President’sThanksgiving Day Proclamation as well as selectedpassages from the Bible and Science and Healthwith Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddythe founder of Christian Science. The service isthen opened to the community for expressions ofgratitude. All are welcome to attend this free ser-vice on Thanksgiving Day at 10:30 a.m. at 1500Collingwood Road.

Christopher B. BordeauxAlexandria


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Great holiday gifts!

From Page 11

Letters


resources if they’re ticketing people like me doingwhat I was doing. It is a waste of public resources atbest, and at worst it borders on abuse of police au-thority. I think Mr. Gerry Hyland should be concernedabout that. Others are.

H. Alexis SuggsP.S. Yes, I’ll pay the ticket. I was, after all, guilty

as charged.

Follow Park ProcessTo the Editor:

The recent back and forth in the newspapers onthe merits of a possible off-leash dog park on theWestgrove property requires some clarification of thefacts and some answers.

Proponents of an off-leash dog park presented apetition to Supervisor Gerry Hyland and the FairfaxCounty Park Authority asking the Board of Supervi-sors to designate Westgrove “as an ‘Off Leash DogArea’ at least until such time the County proposes,funds, and obtains voter approval for an alternativeuse.”

Why are the Friends of Dyke Marsh concerned?The Dyke Marsh Wildlife Preserve, immediately

east of and adjacent to the Westgrove property, is afreshwater, tidal, riverine, climax, cattail, 485-acrewetland ecosystem, a remnant of the extensive wet-lands that once lined the Potomac River. Freshwatertidal marshes are rare. This wetland is one of themost significant in the U. S. national park system.

Congress designated it as a national park in 1959“so that fish and wildlife development and their pres-

ervation as wetland wildlife habitat shall be para-mount.” In terms of known species, Dyke Marsh has300 plants, 6,000 arthropods, 38 fish, 16 reptiles, 14amphibians and over 230 birds.

What happens around Dyke Marsh affects DykeMarsh. Nature does not respect people-imposedboundaries.

What is the process for creating a park?The county Park Authority has an established, pub-

lic master planning process for deciding how its prop-erties will be developed or not and which uses willbe allowed. If the Park Authority wishes to developWestgrove, it should follow that process, one thatguarantees public participation and public decision-making and provides all the same information to allthe people.

What are the requirements and costs for a dog park?The Park Authority has clear guidance for off-leash

dog parks which includes having a sponsoring orga-nization responsible for funding the park’s develop-ment and recurring operations; avoiding resourceprotection areas; a preferred size of 27,780 squarefeet (about half an acre); a vinyl-coated, doubleknuckled nine-gauge five-foot fence; a double-gatedentrance and a surface of four inches of stone dust.

Park Authority staff reported on Aug. 25 to Super-visor Hyland that a Westgrove off-leash park with afence would cost approximately $55,800; a kiosk,$1,000; a trail from Belle View Elementary parkinglot, $130,000; a vehicle entrance, including turn lanesand widening Fort Hunt Road, $1 million. I am notaware of estimates of operational costs.

What questions need answers?I gladly met with Steve Nixon, leader of the pro-

If you do notget TheMount VernonGazettedelivered toyour home…

FIRSTCLASSMAILEDSUBSCRIP-TIONSare now avail-able for thefirst time withtimely postalcarrier deliv-ery: $30 forsix months.Help us meetthe costs of pro-viding first-rate communityjournalism onnewsprint toyour house-hold.

Call 703-778-9426 (or -9427)

or e-mailcirculation@

connectionnewspapers.com


From Page 12

Letters

off-leash dog park group, PACK, on Sept.7 to better understand their proposal.

The Friends of Dyke Marsh submitted 16questions to Supervisor Hyland, the ParkAuthority and the proponents of an off-leashdog park at Westgrove in early October.Here are some of them:

Another Nearby: With the developer atGroveton Heights proffering a new dog parkat Lenclair Park, why can’t that meet theneed?

Other Areas: What other areas have theproponents and the county considered, forexample, Hollin Hall Senior Center, WaltWhitman Intermediate School, Belle ViewElementary School, Mount Vernon Govern-ment Center, South County GovernmentCenter, Collingwood Park and Inova Hospi-tal, areas that are already highly disturbedand developed?

Inventory: When will the county conductan inventory of the natural resources atWestgrove Park?

RPA: Part of Westgrove Park is in a re-source protection area. Park Authority docu-ments say that “Dog parks cannot be placedwithin Resource Protection Areas ...” Isn’tan off-leash dog park inconsistent with thepurposes of RPAs?

Connectivity: Given the location ofWestgrove between Mount Vernon Park andthe Dyke Marsh Wildlife Preserve, wouldn’tkeeping it natural, without further devel-opment, without dogs, provide connectiv-ity, consistent with FCPA goals?

Degraded Streams: The Belle Haven Wa-tershed Plan says that the streams in thatwatershed are of the “poorest quality” inthe county. How will the development of adog park, with more impervious surfaces,four inches of stone dust, an asphalt trail,an expanded entrance and turn lane andthe expanded infrastructure and the

stormwater runoff and pollution they bring,improve the quality of the streams?

Nesting Birds, Plants: There are at leastfive species of ground-nesting birds innorthern Virginia. How will off-leash dogsbe prevented from disturbing nesting birdsand other animals and their young andplants?

There have been several studies showingthat even a leashed, well-behaved dog isperceived as a predator to nesting birds andcan prevent them from successful nesting.These studies show that a dog’s presencecan cause a 40 percent drop in bird num-bers and a 35 percent drop in bird species.

Park Service: What is the position of theU. S. National Park Service? If they havenot been consulted, when will they be?

Traffic Hazard: With more vehicles turn-ing into the property on a curve, how willvehicular and pedestrian safety be assured?

Sponsoring Organization/MOUs: Howdoes the county maintain a stable, long-term sponsoring organization, as peoplemove away or die?

We hope these questions will be an-swered. There is no current plan that peoplecan study and comment on. Would the dogpark be a fenced-in area within Westgrove’scurrent footprint, would Westgrove be ex-panded, would dogs be allowed to runthroughout the entire 22-acre property?Where would people park? The master plan-ning process enables people to raise ques-tions like this and get well-researched an-swers.

The authority to masterplan parks restswith the Park Authority, not the Board ofSupervisors. If the Park Authority plans newuses for Westgrove Park, we will insist thatthe normal park master planning processbe followed.

Glenda Booth,President, Friends of Dyke Marsh

Here some responses to questions about living andworking in Mount Vernon.

5TH GRADERSHollin Meadows Elementary SchoolWhat will you give thanks for this Thanksgiving?To go to school. – Johnathan AlvarezTo learn. – Nicole CastroTo have friends and a family and a roof over my

head. – Kellcy NewbornTo be alive and able to walk. – Chloe AzzamTo be me. – Luke SimonsenTo experience life … – James AgerTo have money and go to school and learn. –

Gabby ClauticeTo have parents who care for me. – Matthias

Iyassu

SUSIE BOWERSWhat will you give thanks for this

Thanksgiving?First, thankful for my family and friends, thank-

ful for those who serve our country.What are you thankful for living and/or

working in Alexandria?Sounds silly, but the ride home on the Parkway

always calms me down especially after a busy dayat the hospital. I am able to reflect on the day andenjoy the view.

SUSAN BAUER CLUBBWhat will you give thanks for this

Thanksgiving?

Reflections: On Being ThankfulAlways family — both extended and our little

family of four!What are you thankful for living and/or

working in Alexandria?I am thankful to work at the National School

Boards Association whose mission is working forexcellence in our public schools. I am thankful thatmy commute to Old Town Alexandria is up ourbeautiful George Washington Parkway.

What advice would you give to someonelooking for more special things to bethankful for in Alexandria?

Volunteer — either through your place of wor-ship, UCM, your neighborhood, or your local school— get out there and make life a little better forsomeone else. It will come full circle back to you!”

STEPHANIE PACE BROWNCEO Alexandria Convention & Visitors Associa-

tionWhat will you give thanks for this

Thanksgiving?Thankful to be able to spend the holidays with

friends and family in Alexandria as we enjoy somany traditional events found right here at home.

What are you thankful for living and/orworking in Alexandria?

As CEO of the organization that promotes visi-tor spending in Alexandria, I am thankful to havework that I am passionate about, and that contrib-utes to the vibrancy of the place I love to call home.

See Thankful, Page 25

14 ❖ Mount Vernon Gazette ❖ November 25 - December 1, 2010 Mount Vernon Gazette ❖ November 25 - December 1, 2010 ❖ 15www.ConnectionNewspapers.com www.ConnectionNewspapers.com


News

By Gerald A. Fill

The Gazette

Supervisor Gerald Hylandbriefed Mount VernonCouncil of Citizens Associa-

tions (MVCCA) on the formationof a Board of Supervisors AdvisoryCitizen Advisory Committee onRedistricting.

Due to population changes, thesupervisors’ districts will have tobe adjusted to even out the num-ber of residents they each repre-sent.

Hyland said that the MountVernon District includes approxi-mately 125,000 residents and,based on projections county-wide,to achieve equity and balance ofthe existing supervisor districts,approximately 8,000 residentswould need to be reassigned to theLee District.

He also discussed and handedout a copy of the ruling by the Fed-eral District Court of the easterndistrict of Virginia regarding thelawsuit by Cingular Wireless PCS,LLC against the Fairfax CountyBoard of Supervisors on the deci-sion by the board to deny the spe-cial application proposal to erecta telecommunications flagpole atthe proposed Masonic Lodge site.The federal court sustained theboard’s decision, establishing caselaw on such matters in the future.

HylandAddressesRedistricting

IN OTHER MVCCA ACTIONS:❖ Approved a Resolution prepared by

the Planning and Zoning Committee tocall on the Planning Commission to de-fer action on the special exceptionapplication to erect a cell phone towerat St. James Episcopal Church pendingan application for a similar tower at theMount Vernon Country Club. Vote: Sup-port: 20, Against: 1

❖ Approved a Resolution prepared bythe Transportation Committee to re-quest the Board of Supervisors, theCommonwealth Transportation Board,the Virginia Department of Transporta-tion to secure funding or reinstate themoney previously allocated for the U.S.Route 1 Fixed Guideway Study forRoute 1 road improvements; and urgedGeneral Assembly members to study thefeasibility of rail mass transit optionsand that VDOT establish the centerlineof Richmond Highway so that the wid-ening and other Route 1 improvementscan be planned. Vote: Support: 22,Against:

❖ Election of MVCCA Officers toServe in 2011. Vote of Nominating Com-mittee recommendations accepted byacclamation. Officers elected were: Co-chairs: Al Bornmann; David Plummer;Robert Reynolds; Secretary: CarolCoyle, and Treasurer: Brenda Hebert.


Arts ❖ Entertainment ❖ Leisure

Friday, Dec. 39 a.m. – 5 p.m. — Christmas Marketplace – One

Day OnlyHeather and Greens Sale1 - 3 p.m. — Children’s Tea7 p.m. — Taste of Scotland Patron Pub Opens7 - 10:30 p.m. — Christmas Marketplace (Taste

of Scotland guests only)8 – 11 p.m. — Taste of Scotland – Celebrating

Scotlandas a Land of Food and Drink

Saturday, Dec. 48 a.m. – 4 p.m. — Heather and Greens Sale (418

S. Washington St., in the Campagna Center park-ing lot)

9 – 10 a.m. — Dignitaries’ Breakfast11 – 4 p.m. — Holiday Designer Tour of Homes11 a.m. — Scottish Christmas Walk Parade

Activities❖ A Christmas Marketplace – One Day OnlyVendors sell unique, holiday gift wares in a bou-

tique setting.Location: George Washington Masonic MemorialDate/Time: Friday, Dec. 3 — One Day Only 10

a.m. – 5 p.m.7 p.m. – 10:30 p.m. (Taste of Scotland guests

only)

❖ Heather and Greens Sales — Try a touchof heather and greens to enhance your holidaydecorations with a Scottish flair. Purchase freshheather, handmade wreaths, garlands, and more.Pre-order forms are available atwww.campagnacenter.org.

Location: Friday, Dec. 3 – George WashingtonMasonic Memorial;

Saturday, Dec. 4 – 418 S. Washington St., in theCampagna Center parking lot

Date/Time: Friday, Dec. 3 from 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.7 p.m. – 11 p.m. (Taste of Scotland guests only)Saturday, Dec. 4 from 8 a.m. – 4 p.m.

❖ Children’s Tea — Children can enjoy teaand snacks as they visit with Santa and participate

Scottish Christmas Walk Weekend

in fun arts and crafts.Location: George Washington Masonic MemorialDate/Time: Friday, Dec. 3 from 1 p.m. – 3 p.m.Cost: $30 per adult; $10 per child

❖ Taste of Scotland – Celebrating Scotlandas a Land of Food and Drink. A tasting featuringhard-to-find Scotches direct from Scotland distill-eries. The Patron Pub features complete top-shelftasting menu, including various rare Scotches. Thiscomplete Scotch selection will be available only inthe Patron Pub.

The remainder of the evening will feature a lim-ited Scotch selection and Scottish ales, as well as beer,wine, and unique Scottish fare. All Taste of Scotlandguests enjoy a private shopping experience at theChristmas Marketplace and have the chance to perusethe fine selection of decorative greens.

Location: George Washington Masonic Memorial

Date/Time: Friday, Dec. 3 at 7 p.m. – Patron PubOpens;

8 p.m. – 11 p.m. General admission welcomeCost: Patron: $150/individual, $250/couple.

General admission tickets $100. Advance ticketsrequired.

Go to www.campagnacenter.org or call 703-549-0111 x146 for tickets.

❖ The Dignitaries’ Breakfast — A pre-pa-rade breakfast for dignitaries, city and stateofficials, Friends of the Parade, corporate champi-ons and partners.

Location: The Campagna CenterDate/Time: Saturday, Dec. 4 from 9 – 10 a.m.

(just before the parade)Cost: By Invitation

❖ The Holiday Designer Tour of Homes— Stroll through properties in the historic districtof Alexandria dressed up for the holidays by ac-claimed interior designers and local florists.Presented by Christine Garner, Weichert, Realtors

Location: Select properties in Old TownDate/Time: Saturday, Dec. 4 from 11 – 4 p.m.Cost: Tickets required. To purchase tickets, call

703-549-0111 or visitwww.ScottishChristmasWalk.com. Also stop byThe Campagna Center or Ramsay House Visitor’sCenter to purchase tickets. Advance purchase $30;day-of purchase $35. Tickets may also be pur-chased at the homes.

❖ The Scottish Christmas Walk Parade —Over 100 Scottish Clans, pipe and drum bands,Scottish dancers, re-enactment groups, Scottie doggroups, dignitaries and, of course, Santa Claus willmarch through the streets of Old Town Alexandria.As the Premier Sponsor, Scottish Government Cabi-net Secretary Richard Lochhead will serve as theGrand Marshal of the 40th Annual Scottish Christ-mas Walk Parade.

Route: Beginning at the corner of Wilkes andSouth St. Asaph Streets in Old Town and endingat Market Square

Date/Time: Saturday, Dec. 4 at 11 a.m. In theevent of severe weather, contact The CampagnaCenter at 703-549-0111.

Visit www.campagnacenter.org orwww.scottishchristmaswalk.com.

Holiday Boat Parade of LightsT

he 11th Annual Burke &Herbert Holiday Boat Pa-rade of Lights announced

the lineup of pre-parade festivitiestaking place at the Alexandria ma-rina Saturday, Dec. 4 at 4 p.m., lead-ing up to the 6 p.m. boat parade.

Starting at 4 p.m., revelers can en-joy free holiday treats including Ben& Jerry’s hot chocolate with whippedcream. Free dog treats will be pro-vided by Barkley Square GourmetDog Bakery & Boutique.

Santa and Mrs. Claus will arriveat the marina by fireboat at 4:15p.m., and make their way to thegazebo to take free pictures withkids and canines. A professionalphotographer will take the photosand a print will be made immedi-ately to take away, courtesy ofRedPeg Marketing.

The Annual Holiday Revue willentertain visitors on the nearby stage withcheerful sounds by choral group the Mont-gomery College Singers followed by theBraddock Brass Quintet.

Santa and Mrs. Claus won’t be the onlyfamous figures spreading holiday cheer.Yogi Bear and Boo Boo from Warner Bros.will be at the marina, too, in celebration ofthe new “Yogi Bear” movie coming out in

December.Visitors are invited to support the U.S.

Marine Corps Toys for Tots drive by bring-ing a toy to the collection point at the ga-zebo during the event. Through Dec. 17,toys will also be collected at the Old Do-minion Boat Club, Alexandria VisitorsCenter at Ramsay House, Foster’s Grill,and the Starbucks at Union and King

streets.Bob Madigan, WTOP’s “Man About

Town,” will take over as the celebrity em-cee for the parade at 6 p.m., when 50brightly lit powerboats and sailboats ledby the Vigilant, Alexandria’s fireboat,cruise down the Potomac River fromWashington, D.C., to Alexandria, fullydecked out in lights and holiday décor.

Holiday Concert SeriesThe City of Alexandria Announces

2010 Holiday Concert Series. Enjoy thefestive sounds of the season in Alexan-dria as a break between shopping, onyour way to dinner, or just to get intothe holiday spirit. Come enjoy local per-formers with their rich talent as theyentertain you during this festive timeof year Types of music featured includebarbershop, folk, Hanukah favorites,hand bell ringers and good old fash-ioned caroling.

All the performances are free andheld outdoors. Concerts will be can-celled due to inclement weather. Callthe City’s Special Events Hotline at 703-746-5592. These concerts are sched-uled at Market Square, 301 King St.

SATURDAY, NOV. 27

1 p.m. — Potomac Harmony Chorus(Women’s Barbershop);2 p.m. — Doris Justis (Acoustic Folk);

SUNDAY, NOV. 28

2 p.m. — Rich Follett (Folk);3 p.m. — Barbara Martin (Jazz);

SUNDAY, DEC. 5

2 p.m. — Shir Tze‘ir (Jewish acappella);3 p.m. — The Alexandria Singers;

SATURDAY, DEC. 11

1 p.m. — Bell’s Angels, St. John’sLutheran Church Handbell Choir(Handbells);2 p.m. — Alexandria Harmonizers(Men’s Barbershop);

SUNDAY, DEC. 12

2 p.m. — St. Matthew’s United Meth-odist Handbell Choir (Handbells);3 p.m. — Blue Book Value Ban (SwingBlues);The public is encouraged to take pub-lic transit or walk to the event. Visitorsto Old Town can take the Metrorail linesto the King Street Station, and then takethe free King Street Trolley to the event.For DASH schedule information, call703-370-DASH or visitwww.dashbus.com. For Metrobusschedule, call 202-637-7000 or visitwww.wmata.com. For a parking map,visit www.alexandriava.gov/12490.

The Burke & Herbert Holiday Boat Parade of Lights festivities starts Saturday,Dec. 4 at 4 p.m. at the Alexandria marina.

Pho

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by C

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West Potomac Academy and AlexandriaCommunity Dance are teaming up topresent a joint performance of “The Nut-

cracker,” the traditional holiday story with a mod-ern twist, Dec. 2-4 in West Potomac High School’sSpringbank Auditorium. Shows will be presentedThursday, Dec. 2, at 5 p.m., Friday, Dec. 3, at 6:30p.m., and Saturday, Dec. 4, at 2 and 6:30 p.m. WestPotomac Academy is one of six high school acad-emies in Fairfax County Public Schools.

Music for the entire second act has been recom-posed to include ballet, pointe, tap, jazz, modern,and hip hop dance and gymnastics. West PotomacAcademy’s Dance students will be participating inthe production both on stage, behind the scenes, andmentoring young dancers. Advanced Dance studentswill have featured performances. Academy alumniwill also be returning to participate in the produc-tion.

More than 100 dancers from the Alexandria areaof Fairfax County auditioned for the performance.

Students from the following Fairfax County pub-lic schools are represented in the production: BelleView Elementary School, Fort Hunt Elementary

Entertainment

West Potomac Academy,Alexandria CommunityDance Perform “Nutcracker”

School, Hollin Meadows Elementary School, StratfordLanding Elementary School, Washington Mill Elemen-tary School, Waynewood Elementary School,Sandburg Middle School, and West Potomac HighSchool. Performers range in age from 4 years old toadult.

Tickets can be purchased in advance or at the door.For advanced ticket sales visitwww.Alexandriadance.com.

West Potomac Academy and West Potomac HighSchool are located at 6500 Quander Road in the Al-exandria area of Fairfax County. Contact CourtneyBetzel, West Potomac Academy Dance instructor, at703-718-2641 or [email protected], or GenniferLissenby, Alexandria Community Dance director, [email protected].

Brass of Peace will perform a free holiday concert at the Lyceum Nov. 28.

Brass of Peace to Perform at Lyceum on Nov. 28

Brass of Peace, a group of select high schoolmusicians from Northern Virginia, will kickoff the holiday season with a free holiday

concert Nov. 28 at the Lyceum.The ensemble of top student musicians was se-

lected through auditions held earlier this season fromthroughout the region.

“This is an honors band representing several areahigh schools,” said Dan McKay of the AlexandriaPerforming Arts Association. “This is the third yearthat APAA is sponsoring a holiday concert by theseexceptional musicians.”

This year’s concert will feature holiday composi-tions in a variety of musical styles from Bach andother Baroque compositions to Mel Torme’s “TheChristmas Song” and other contemporary tunes.

Brass of Peace musicians are selected on musicalmerit from various schools and play under the di-rection of Sylvia Alimena, a French horn player in

the National Symphony Orchestra and musical direc-tor of Alexandria’s Eclipse Chamber orchestra.

Graduates have gone on to attend The Curtis Insti-tute of Music, the Juilliard School and the New En-gland Conservatory and some are current instrumen-talists of the Philadelphia Orchestra, the San Fran-cisco Symphony and the U.S. Marine Corps and AirForce Bands.

Sunday’s concert begins at 4 p.m. and will be fol-lowed by a reception featuring beverages and lightfare. Admission is free but tax-deductible donationswill be accepted. The concert hall of the Lyceum,located a 201 S. Washington St., seats between 125and 140 so attendees are encouraged to arrive early.

Brass of Peace, founded in 1977, is a scholarshipprogram for gifted high school musicians. For moreinformation, visit www.brassofpeace.org.

— Jeanne Theismann

Every year between Christmas andNew Year’s, The Mount Vernon Gazetteturns its pages over to the contributionsof local students. We are seeking art-work, photography, poetry, opinions,short stories and reflections. We wel-come contributions from publicschools, private schools and studentswho are home schooled.

E-mail to: [email protected], or mail (.jpg and text files on disc only) by Dec. 1, to1606 King St., Alexandria, VA 22314. Please be sure to include the student’sname, age, grade, school and town of residence along with eachsubmission. For information, call 703-778-9410.

Be a Part of CHILDREN’S (& TEENS’) GAZETTE


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Visit These Houses of WorshipJoin A Club, Make New Friends, or Expand Your Horizons...

To Advertise Your Faith Community,call Karen at 703-917-6468

Good ShepherdCatholic Church

Mass ScheduleSaturday Evening5:00 pm; 6:30 pm (en Español)

Sunday7:30; 9:00; 10:30 am; 12:00 Noon2:00 pm (en Español)6:30 pm Mass (starts Sept. 12)

8710 Mount Vernon Highway, Alexandria VA, 22309Tel: 703-780-4055 Fax: 703-360-5385 www.gs-cc.org

Loving as Christ loves, serving as Christ serves

Weekdays(Mass or Communion Service)9:00 am (followed by Rosary)Children’s Liturgy of the WordSundays (Sept.-July) during 9:00 amMass (English)Sign Language InterpreterSunday at 9:00 am Mass

Christ the SaviourAnglican Church

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703-953-2854

Location – Washington Mill ES9100 Cherrytree Drive

Worship Service – 10 a.m.Inter-generational Sunday School – after serviceVicar, The Rev. Huey J Sevier

Entertainment

See Entertainment, Page 20

THURSDAY/NOV. 25Alexandria Turkey Trot. 4,000 runners are expected to run

through the Del Ray neighborhoods in Alexandria. The DelRay Business Association as well as the DC Road RunnersClub sponsors the event and proceeds will benefit the AL.I.V.Efoundation. Visit http://www.alexandriaturkeytrot.com.

FRIDAY/NOV. 26Hooray For Books! Children’s Bookstore Black Friday Sale.

Hooray For Books will be giving 20 percent off allmerchandise purchased between 8 a.m. and 10 a.m. At 1555King Street, Alexandria. Call 703-548-4092.

Alexandria’s Tree Lighting. 7 p.m. Free. Entertainmentfeatures a message from the Mayor, a visit from Santa, aperformance of Santa’s Frosty’s Follies by the MetropolitanFine Arts Center, and caroling with a community sing along.At Market Square, 301 King Street, Old Town Alexandria. Callthe City’s Special Events Hotline at 703-746-5592 or visitwww.alexandriava.gov/recreation.

NOV. 26 – JAN. 6, 2011Christmas at Mount Vernon. 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Themed

decorations (including 12 Christmas trees), a gingerbreadMount Vernon, historical chocolate-making demonstrations,and 18th-century dancing will be offered. Visit Aladdin,George Washington’s Christmas Camel, take special Mansiontours, and make a Chocolate Toast to Christmas, with our18th-century-style chocolate drink, a Washington familyfavorite. At George Washington’s Mount Vernon Estate &Gardens, 3200 Mount Vernon Memorial Highway, MountVernon; call 703-780-2000 or visit mountvernon.org.Admission: $15 for adults, $7 for youth (6-11), and free forchildren 5 and younger.

NOV. 27 TO DEC. 19Alexandria Jaycees’ Christmas Tree Sales. The tree lot

features a variety of trees, including Canaan Firs, DouglasFirs, Fraser Firs, and Scotch Pines in heights from 4-10 feet,with prices from $45-$90. Proceeds to benefit the HolidayShopping Tour for underprivileged children. Operating hoursare Tuesday-Friday 6–9 p.m.; Saturday 9 a.m. – 6 p.m.; andSunday 11 a.m. – 5 p.m. At the Safeway Parking Lot, 500South Royal Street, Alexandria. Call 703-866-7171 or go towww.alexjaycees.org or visit http://www.alexjaycees.org/trees.php.

Mount Vernon by Candlelight. 5 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Join“Mrs. Washington” for an evening of candlelit tours, firesideChristmas caroling, and hot cider and ginger cookies. Tourthe first and second floors, hear characters from Washington’sworld as they guide visitors through the home, addingambiance to a traditional Christmas evening at MountVernon. Admission: Adults/$20, Youth 11 and under/$14. AtGeorge Washington’s Mount Vernon Estate & Gardens, 3200Mount Vernon Memorial Highway, Mount Vernon; call 703-780-2000 or visit mountvernon.org.

SATURDAY/NOV. 27Craftermath. 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. A handmade exhibition and

fair, where independent artists, designers and crafters sellhandmade alternative arts and crafts, products andcuriosities. Hosted by West Potomac Academy’s Pro GraphicStudio. At West Potomac High School, 6500 Quander Road,Alexandria. Visit www.craftermath.moonfruit.com.

NOV. 27-29Christmas Tree Sale. Noon to 8 p.m. Sale will continue

through Sunday, Dec. 19 or until all 780 Frasier firs pluswreaths and garland are sold. At the Belle View ShoppingCenter parking lot, near the Texaco Gas Station. Sponsoredby the Mount Vernon Kiwanis Club.

SUNDAY/NOV. 28Brass of Peace Concert. 4 p.m. Free. An ensemble of top

musicians selected from local high schools. This year’s concertwill feature Holiday compositions in a variety of musicalstyles from Bach and other baroque compositions to Mel

Torme’s “The Christmas Song.” Brass of Peace musicianspractice and weekly and perform throughout the school yearunder the direction of Sylvia Alimena, a hornist with theNational Symphony Orchestra. At the Lyceum, at 201 SouthWashington Street in Old Town Alexandria. Visitwww.alexperformingartsassociation.org.

Bach Vespers at Westminster. 6 p.m. These Vesper servicesincorporate the complete organ works of J. S. Bach in theirproper religious content, played by Paul Stetsenko, organist. AtWestminster Presbyterian Church, 2701 Cameron Mills Road,Alexandria. Visit www.wpc-alex.org

TUESDAY/NOV. 30Vivaldi Concert. 7:30 p.m. Free. Presented by the National

Chamber Players; members of the National SymphonyOrchestra, including guest soloists Nurit Bar-Josef, DavidHardy and Nicholas Stovall, with Kenneth Slovik of theSmithsonian Chamber Music Society and the Episcopal HighSchool Choirs. At Episcopal High School, Pendleton Hall, 3900W. Braddock Road, Alexandria. Visitwww.episcopalhighschool.org. Call 703-933-4135.

The Kirkin’ O’ the Tartans. 7 p.m. The service commemoratesthe Feast of St. Andrew, the patron saint of Scotland. At St.Andrew & St. Margaret of Scotland Anglican Catholic Church,402 E. Monroe Avenue in Alexandria. Visitwww.standrewandstmargaret.org or 703-683-3343.

NOV. 30 AND DEC. 1DRA Holiday Mosaic Art Workshop. 7 to 9 p.m. Cost is $35/

DRA members; $45/nonmembers. Pre-registration atwww.TheDelRayArtisans.org must be completed by Tuesday,Nov. 23. For a list of supplies or to purchase a 12x12” frameand mirror, email instructor Sally Coler [email protected].

WEDNESDAY/DEC. 1Free Group Vocal Lessons. Potomac Harmony Chorus, Sweet

Adelines International, invites you to attend four free groupvocal lessons conducted by Ozzi Mask, Master Director ofPotomac Harmony. Lessons will be held at 7 p.m. on Nov. 22and Dec. 1. At the Hermitage in Northern Virginia, 5000Fairbanks Avenue, Alexandria. Call 703-764-3896. Visitwww.potomacharmony.org

Traditional Scottish Music. 7:30 p.m. Free. Sponsored bysister city of Dundee, Scotland and the City of AlexandriaSister Cities Committee. At The Lyceum, 201 S. WashingtonStreet, Old Town Alexandria.

DEC. 1-3Interactive Book Fair. Open to studentsand families Wednesday, Dec. 1 to Friday,Dec. 3 from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. The BookFair is open to the public on Wednesday, Dec.1 and Thursday, Dec. 2 from 6 p.m. – 9 p.m.Those evenings are also “Pajama Parties” —children and their families are encouraged towear their pajamas to these special events,which will feature interactive storytelling,baked goods, and more. At DouglasMacArthur Elementary School, 1101 JanneysLane, Alexandria.

THURSDAY/DEC. 2Holiday Bash With Shopping. 6 to 9 p.m.Free. Studios and galleries are open forholiday shopping as the art center istransformed into a glittering spectacle ofholiday spirit. Shop for one-of-a-kind gifts asyou enjoy live music and festive activitiesthroughout the evening. At the TorpedoFactory Art Center, 105 N. Union Street,

FRIDAY/DEC. 3ArtFest 2010. 6 to 9 p.m. Free. Open House and Holiday Party

featuring handmade ceramics and jewelry for sale, live musicby Rew Smith band, exhibits, art demos and more. TheCeramic Sale will take place Friday, Dec. 3, from noon to 9p.m.; Saturday, Dec. 4 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Sunday, Dec. 5from noon to 5 p.m. The Jewelry Sale will take place Friday,Dec. 3 from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Saturday, Dec. 4 from 10 a.m.to 6 p.m. At The Art League’s Madison Annex, 305 MadisonStreet, Alexandria.

SATURDAY/DEC. 4Divas and Bards. 7 p.m. Concert by the 7 Sopranos. At the Arts Center at

Convergence. Guests will be invited to a party featuring a new exhibit by visualand performing artist, Eve Hennessa. Guests will enjoy hors d‘oeuvres, wine andchampagne from 8 to 9 p.m. During the reception, guests will enjoy marimbaplayer Adam Garcia and appearance by performance artist, Deborah Lashmodeling one of her “sculpture dresses.” From 9 to 10:30 p.m. the evening willcontinue with a D.J. and beer from Dogfish Head Alehouse. Tickets are $35 atdoor or $30 in advance or reserved online at www.convergenceccf.net.


Cooking Demos atSpice & Tea Exchange

The Spice & Tea Exchange Alexandria ishosting a series of cooking demonstrationswith Old Town Alexandria’s finest chefs.Chefs will use the selection of fresh spicesavailable at The Spice & Tea Exchange Alex-andria to debut their favorite dishes that canbe cooked at home. Customers will learn andtaste. Reservations required; $20 in advance,$25 day of (if seating is available). [email protected] or call, 571-312-8505. At The Spice & Tea Exchange ofAlexandria, 320 King Street, Alexandria(across from City Hall). Call Joy Quinn andTaruna Reddy at 571-312-8505.

Schedule❖ Nov. 28, 6 p.m. — Chef de Cuisine Chris

Watson, BRABO by Robert Wiedmaier &BRABO Tasting Room

❖ Jan. 27, 7 p.m. — Dennis Marron, Ex-ecutive Chef, The Grille at Morrison House& Jackson 20

❖ Feb. 21, 7 p.m. — Executive Chef An-thony Chittum, Vermilion

❖ March 29, 7 p.m. — Chef ShannonOvermiller, Majestic Cafe and ToddThrasher, PX Lounge

❖ April 25, 7 p.m. — Chef Nick Flores,Hank’s Oyster Bar

Alexandria. Call 703-838-4565 or visitwww.TorpedoFactory.org.

FRIDAY/DEC. 3A Christmas Marketplace. 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Sponsored by the Campagna Center. Specialshopping hours for Taste of Scotland guests 7-11p.m. Vendors include: Janice’s Table; DiscoveryToys; G’s Glory Handbags; Janet Egan Design; TheDressed Up Nut; Celtic Landscapes in Pastel;Aurora Bath and Jewels; The Perfect Buddha;Scottish Gourmet USA LLC; Patricia PalerminoStudio; Villa de Alpacas Farm; SouthwesternSilver; The Scottish Trading Co.; Queen BeeDesigns; Monday’s Child; Thirty-One; Heather &Greens also available. At the George WashingtonMasonic Memorial, 101 Callahan Drive,Alexandria.

Holiday on the Avenue in Del Ray. 5:45 to 9p.m. Free. Annual Del Ray holiday tree lighting,visit with Santa and lighting of the luminaries; aholiday tradition in Alexandria. Carols begin at5:45 p.m. and hot chocolate, hot cider and cookieswill be provided. At 6 p.m. sing “Here ComesSanta Claus” when Santa arrives. Thousands ofluminaries will be lit from Mt. Vernon andCommonwealth down to Luray Avenue. At DelRay Farmer’s Market at Mt. Vernon Ave. and E.Oxford Ave., Alexandria. Call 703-746-3301.

Taste of Scotland. 8 to 11 p.m. Exclusive PatronPub from 7 to 11 p.m. Join in a tasting featuringrare scotches direct from Scotland distilleries. Partof The Campagna Center’s 40th Annual ScottishChristmas Walk Weekend. At the GeorgeWashington Masonic Memorial, 101 CallahanDrive, Alexandria. Call Carlos at 703-549-0111x146 or [email protected].

DEC. 3 TO 4Annual Christmas Celebration. Friday, Dec. 3,

from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 4, from 11a.m.-4 p.m. At Pauline Books & Media, 1025 KingStreet, Alexandria. Bring your own camera,costumes provided.

Scottish Christmas Walk Weekend. Free forParade and Marketplace; $75 Taste of Scotland;$35 Designer Tour of Homes. 40th AnnualCampagna Center Scottish Christmas WalkWeekend —ºeven the dogs wear tartans. OnSaturday, Dec. 4, more than 100 Scottish clansdressed in tartans will parade through the streetsof Old Town. They’ll be joined by pipe and drumbands from around the region, as well as terriersand hounds of every description. This year’s eventis sponsored by the Scottish government. Otherevents of the weekend include A ChristmasMarketplace and A Taste of Scotland on Dec. 3,and the Campagna Center’s Holiday Designer Tourof Homes on Dec. 4. Call 703-549-0111 or visitwww.ScottishChristmasWalk.com.

DEC. 3 TO 515th Holiday Market. Free. Reception is Friday,

Dec. 3 from 6-9 p.m. Hours Saturday, Dec. 4 from10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Sunday, noon to 4 p.m. Uniquehandmade fine arts and crafts from 20 exhibitors(including pottery/ceramics, photography, jewelry,cloth, paper crafts, and glass), beautiful poinsettiasfrom West Landscapes LLC, and delicious BakeSale items to benefit the local community. Del RayArtisans Gallery, at the Nicholas A. ColasantoCenter, 2704 Mount Vernon Avenue, Alexandria.Check www.TheDelRayArtisans.org.

DEC. 3 TO 12A Christmas Carol.” Admission: $15. The Little

Theatre of Alexandria rings in the holidays with areturn of a classic by Charles Dickens. EbenezerScrooge, a miserly Victorian humbug, travels withghostly guides through Christmas past, present,and future to find the true meaning of theholidays. At The Little Theatre of Alexandria, 600Wolfe Street, Alexandria; call 703-683-0496 orvisit www.thelittletheatre.com.

SATURDAY/DEC. 4Book Signing Event. 6 p.m. Author Maria

McCarthy will sign her book, “High Heels HoneyLips and White Powder.” At Books-a-Millions,6230 N Kings Highway,Alexandria.

Author and Bra Fitter.9:30 to 10 a.m. Readingand Kid’s Activities. 10a.m. to 1 p.m. BookSigning. Vicky Whipplepresents her new book,“The Little Weed Flower.”At The Full Cup EuropeanBra Fitting Salon, 218 N.Lee St. #206, Alexandria.Call 703-836-9441.

Burke & Herbert HolidayBoat Parade of Lights.Free. Festivities at 4 p.m.;Boat Parade at 6 p.m. Alexandria’s harbor lights upwhen more than 50 illuminated boats cruise thePotomac River at the historic waterfront.Festivities at the Alexandria City Marina (OneCameron Street, Alexandria) with Santa arrivingby fireboat at 4:15 p.m. Call 703-746-3301.VisitAlexandriaVA.com

Concert with Ars Choralis. 7 p.m. The concertfeatures a candlelight procession, Antonio Vivaldi’sGloria, A Carol Suite by modern English composerKarl Jenkins, favorites including “O Come, OCome, Emmanuel,” and an audience sing-a-long. Areception will follow. At St. Paul’s EpiscopalChurch, 228 South Pit St., corner of Pitt and DukeStreets.

Christmas Boutique. 9 a.m. to noon. HandmadeChristmas décor, ornaments, hand knitted items,baked goods, and unique gifts. Proceeds supportHeritage Presbyterian Women’s outreach programsfor children and women. At Heritage PresbyterianChurch, 8503 Fort Hunt Road, Alexandria. Call703-360-9546.

Mediation: The Better Way to ResolveSeparation and Divorce Issues. 11 a.m. to12:30 p.m. Free. Virginia Colin, Ph.D., will tell youhow to reduce distress and save time and moneyby using mediation, not litigation. At KingstowneLibrary Meeting Room, 6500 Landsdowne Centre,Alexandria. Call 703-864-2101.

Cocker Spaniel Adoption Show. 11 a.m. to 2p.m. Come meet cockers of all ages available foradoption. All dogs are spayed or neutered. Visitwww.cockerspanielrescue.com. At Alexandria/Hybla Valley Petsmart, 7690 Richmond Hwy.,Alexandria. Call 703-533-2373.

Holiday Open House. Fair Trade, World Peaceand Cats. Fair trade tea and chocolate, cider andtreats. Toss your hand-colored wish for worldpeace into the World Peace Wishing Well andenter your name into a drawing to win valuableprizes. Also hosting the cats and kittens from TailsHigh, an Alexandria-based cat rescue group, in thekitty playpen. At Mindful Hands, 211 King Street.Visit www.mindfulhands.com or 703-683-2074.

Ornament Decorating Workshop. 1 to 4 p.m.Free. Be inspired by the colors and patterns ofpottery excavated in Alexandria and make amemorable holiday keepsake! Participants candecorate and take home dough ornaments whichare shaped like artifacts from the museum’s owncollection. At the Alexandria ArchaeologyMuseum at the Torpedo Factory, 105 N. UnionStreet #327, Alexandria; Call 703-746-4399 orvisit www.alexandriaarchaeology.org.

SUNDAY/DEC. 5Women’s Artists Show. 1 to 5 p.m. Free. More

than 30 local women artists will offer pottery,scarves, jewelry, crafts, photography and more.Exciting items — including trips, restaurantcertificates, household items and vendor items —will be raffled off. Sponsored by The AlexandriaCommission for Women. At the Charles HoustonRecreation Center, 905 Wythe Street.

“Ode to Joy.” 4 p.m. An All-Beethoven Concert withThe New Dominion Chorale, Thomas Beveridge,artistic director. Tickets are $30/general; $25/

seniors. At the Rachel M. Schlesinger Concert Halland Arts Center, 3001 North Beauregard St.,Alexandria. Visit www.newdominion.org or call703-442-9404.

Interactive Nativity Pageant. 2 to 4 p.m. Thepageant will feature live animals, including sheepand a donkey. Christmas cookies and hotchocolate will be served in the church’s communityroom. Opportunities for worship, Bible study,youth activities, grief counseling and healing areoffered throughout the week. At St. Andrew & St.Margaret of Scotland Anglican Catholic Church,402 E. Monroe Ave., in the Del Ray area ofAlexandria. Visit www.standrewandstmargaret.orgor call 703-683-3343.

Toys for Tots Benefit Square Dance. 1 to 5 p.m.With a special 3 p.m. performance by CapitalSquares Demonstration Team. Recommendeddonation for each couple is a new, unopened toyor a $10 minimum contribution (singles $5). Atthe Lee Center Exhibit Hall, 1108 Jefferson St.,Alexandria. Call the City’s Special Events Hotlineat 703-746-5592 or visit www.alexandriava.gov/recreation.

Handel’s “Judas Maccabaeus.” 3 p.m. Free. Notickets required; $10/donation. Performed byNOVA Community Chorus, Dr. Mark A. Whitmire,Director, and Washington MetropolitanPhilharmonic, Ulysses S. James, Music Direct/Conductor. At Bishop Ireton High School, 201Cambridge Road, Alexandria. Call 703-845-6097.

Alternative Christmas Giving Bazaar. A fund-raiser for local charity. After the 8:30 a.m. and 11a.m. services. In the Fellowship Hall ofWestminster Presbyterian Church, 2701 CameronMills Road, Alexandria. Visit www.spc-alex.org.

MONDAY/DEC. 6Advent Benefit Concert. 7:30 p.m. A benefit

concert for the Daughters of St. Paul. A relaxingand prayerful evening of classical and sacredmusic with concert pianist Donna Stoering andRoyal Philharmonic Orchestra violist, Erin Nolan, apostulant with the Daughters of St. Paul. Music byChopin, Faure, Rachmaninov and Schubert. Free-will offering will be collected to support themission of the Daughters of St. Paul. Call 703-549-3806. At St. Mary’s Lyceum, 313 Duke Street, OldTown, Alexandria.

Toastmasters International Area G1 HolidayParty. 7:30 p.m. At Primo Family Restaurant onBelle View Blvd in Alexandria. [email protected]. Visit http://mountvernon.freetoasthost.org/

WEDNESDAY/DEC. 8Swing Dancing. 9 to 11 p.m. Admission is $6. DJ

Dance Party with DJ Dabe Murphy. At Nick’sNightclub, 642 South Pickett Street, Alexandria.

Electric Nature Open House. 4 to 7 p.m. Getsome fun and new ideas about decorating andbuying holiday gifts. Wear your red and green -and bring a friend (or two)! Door prizes andspecial offers. At 1503 Mount Vernon Avenue.RSVP: [email protected] or 703-360-3621

“Need a Closet Renovation?” Bake salefundraiser luncheon sponsored by the Springfield/Alexandria Christian Women’s Connection. 11:30a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Cost is $17/person.Reservations 703-590-6562 or email [email protected]. At the SpringfieldGolf & Country Club, 8301 Old Keene Mill Road,Springfield. Call 703-815-4204.

From Page 19

Entertainment

Jason Linett of Alexandria.

WEDNESDAY/DEC. 1Comedy Hypnotist Performs. 7 p.m. Tickets are

$6. Audiences can expect to see willingvolunteers rapidly induced into a hypnotic tranceand then given funny suggestions. A fund-raiserfor the Class of 2011 Seniors at T.C. WilliamsHigh School, 3330 King Street in Alexandria. Visitwww.JasonLinett.com.

DEC. 2, 3, 4“The Alexandria Community Nutcracker.”

Dec. 2 at 5 p.m.; Dec. 3 at 6:30 p.m.; Dec. 4 at 2p.m. and 6:30 p.m. The Alexandria CommunityNutcracker is an original full-length communityNutcracker choreographed by local dance teachersGennifer Lisenby, Courtney Betzel, and AdrienneMagnuson and featuring the West Potomac DanceAcademy and many young dancers from thecommunity. Local schools represented in theproduction include St. Luke’s Day School,Aldersgate Preschool, Hollin Meadows Math andScience, Fort Hunt ES, Waynewood ES, Belle ViewES, Stratford Landing ES, Washington Mill ES,Burgundy Farm Country Day School, BrowneAcademy, St. Louis, St. Mary’s, Carl Sandburg MS,and West Potomac HS. At West Potomac HighSchool Auditorium. Tickets can be purchasedonline at http://www.alexandriadance.com. Visitalexandriadance.com.

Vicky Whipple

Kate Campbell

SATURDAY/DEC. 4Kate Campbell Performs. 7 p.m. Country/Folk

singer. Tickets are $18/general; $15/advance.Presented by Focus Music in Mount Vernon. At St.Aidan’s Episcopal Church, 8531 Riverside Rd.,Alexandria.


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Schools

Nearly 1,000 parents, stu-dents, families, facultyand community mem-

bers enjoyed a Thanksgiving lun-cheon at Hollin Meadows School

on Thursday, Nov. 18. The lun-cheon included a salad with let-tuce grown by the students in thenationally recognized school gar-den.

Launching ‘Save Our Garden, Save Our Focus’The lettuce harvest was made

possible through a donation of1000 lettuce seedlings fromBonnie Plants.

The luncheon marks the kick-off

of a campaign to raise $170,000cut from the school budget. Themoney funds the Hollin Meadowslearning garden and the Scienceand Math Focus Program.

Outdoor education coordinator Shawn Akard preparesthe student-grown and harvested lettuce for the Thanks-giving dinner salad.

Suzanne McDonnell joins her daughter Kiki, a HollinMeadow student for the holiday luncheon.

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Four descendants of GeorgeWashington’s slaves returned to themansion earlier this month for a spe-cial rededication of the slave quarter

on the mansion grounds. The Hon. RohulaminQuander and Gloria Alice Tancil Holmes areboth related to Suckey Bay, one of the estateslaves, and Harmony Annette Armstrong camewith her grandmother Zsun-Nee Matema. Har-mony, through her grandmother, is related toone of the mansion slaves Caroline, who was inthe room with the doctors and family whenGeneral George Washington died in 1799.

The slaves quarters were reinterpreted to bemore accurate in the portrayal of how theywould have lived. In the period between 1775and 1787, George Washington decided that hewould never buy or sell another slave. In 1786,a complete census was conducted of the slavepopulation: George Washington owned 105 andthe estate of Martha Washington’s late husband,Daniel Parke Custis numbered 111. In 1799,Washington drafted a second inventory; the listincluded 123 slaves owned by him.

Washington wrote his in will to free his slavesupon his death and included detailed instruc-tions for care and support for the newly freedslaves. The slaves held by the Custis estate weredivided among Martha’s four grandchildren.

Rededication of Slave Quarters at Mount Vernon

Harmony Annette Armstrong places a fabric doll on the bed of a child inthe women’s quarters.The slave quarters and green house on the mansion site.

People

Mount Vernon High School’s Com-posite Squadron’s CyberPatriotTeam has surpassed hundreds of

teams to advance in CyberPatriot, the nation’slargest youth cyber defense challenge.

CyberPatriot officially began Oct. 23 withmore than 400 All-Service teams around thenation setting out to competitively ward offa series of cyber attacks by defending avirtualized network of computers.

Each team of students was able to suc-cessfully compete in the first round andexcelled. Owing to their performance, theyhave received a “bye” for the second roundof competition and will advance directly tothe third round, which takes place on Dec.

4, 2010. Due to exceptionally high serverdemand, technical challenges impairedsome teams’ ability to compete. As a result,every team in the competition was advancedto the second round.

Mount Vernon Composite Squadron,which meets at Ft. Belvoir, is one of sixsquadrons in Civil Air Patrol’s National Capi-tal Wing. Civil Air Patrol, the official auxil-iary of the U.S. Air Force, performs 90 per-cent of continental U.S. inland search andrescue missions, with approximately 75lives saved each year. Its members also pro-vide disaster relief and emergency servicesfollowing natural and manmade disasterssuch as 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina.

Members of theMount Vernon Com-

posite Squadron’sCyberPatriot Team

include: C/AmnGabriel Abbe, C/AB

Nebay Haile, C/1st LtChristopher Fry, C/

CMSgt Brandon Julig,C/2d Lt Hunter

Garth, and C/SrAJack Wilson. Not

pictured is C/SSgtPaul MacGregor.

Mt. Vernon Team Advances in Youth Cyber Competition

Gloria Alice Tancil Holmes, adescendant of Suckey Bay placeda Colonware bowl near the hearthin the woman’s slave quarters.

Dr. Susan Schoelwer, curator,presents Harmony Armstrongwith a similar fabric doll. WithHarmony is her grandmotherZsun-Nee Matema

In the reinterpretation of theslave quarters, bunk beds weremade. Historical evidence indi-cates that this may be more accu-rate furnishings.

Photos by Louise Krafft/The Gazette


SportsMount Vernon Gazette Sports Editor Jon Roetman

703-224-3015 or [email protected]

See MVHS, Page 24

By Rich Sanders

The Gazette

Mount Vernon High football coachBarry Wells had a good feelingabout his new team right from

the start this season. The first-year headcoach, whose Majors saw their 2010 sea-son end with a playoff loss to South Lakeslast Friday night in Reston, said he knewupon meeting with his squad for the firsttime several months ago that they had themake-up of a good team. In 2009, the Ma-jors experienced a dismal 0-10 season un-der previous head coach Tom Glynn. ButWells was positive about a turnaround fromthe start.

“We went into the season cautiously op-timistic. After 0-10 you really don’t knowwhat to expect,” said Wells, an assistant highschool football coach in New Jersey for 10years prior to becoming the Mount Vernonhead coach. “But from the first day I metthe kids, I really didn’t think we were an 0-

10 team. I thought we might surprise somepeople.”

The challenge to respectability was farfrom easy for the Majors, who opened theseason with lopsided losses to local Alex-andria area rivals West Potomac, 55-20, andT.C. Williams, 45-14. But Mount Vernoncame back in week three to beat Edison athome, 14-6, in a National District gameplayed on Sept. 16. The win over the Eagleswas the first Mount Vernon victory since the2008 season. Then, the following week, theMajors improved to 2-2 with a 17-14 dis-trict win at Stuart.

Losses to both Centreville and Hayfieldhad Mount Vernon sitting at 2-4 with amonth remaining in the regular season. Butthe Majors won three of their next fourgames — the wins coming over Washing-ton-Lee, 37-20, Falls Church, 20-13, andWakefield, 41-21, and the setback comingin week nine to Yorktown, 28-14, with thedistrict title on the line — to conclude theregular schedule with a 5-5 record, a huge

improvement from the year before.“When you’re 0-10 [the year before] a

lot of things have to be re-tooled,” saidWells. “A lot of it was psyche. That was avery hard [challenge] for me. I took this

job with the understanding that I wouldbe relentless [in the pursuit of seeing theteam improve]. I wanted to work to help

Dennis Mensah led Mount Vernon with 48 rushing yards during theMajors’ playoff loss to South Lakes on Nov. 12.

Pho

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Seahawks Eliminate Majors in Football Playoff OpenerBut season overall proves great improvementfor Mount Vernon program.

By Jon Roetman

The Gazette

Bring up that WestPotomac graduated alot of seniors from lastyear’s Patriot District

boys basketball championshipteam and head coach David Hous-ton III acknowledges the loss. Butmention that a group of inexperi-enced athletes will be defendingthe title and Houston disagrees.

“These guys aren’t defending it,”the coach said. “They didn’t haveit.”

West Potomac enters the 2010-11 season as the defending districtchampion, but the Wolverines re-turn only four players from a teamthat reached the regionquarterfinals. Eight seniors aregone, leaving only DarylCopeland, Jalen Dawson, NikDimitrijevic and Karl Grabbi asathletes with varsity experience.But while Houston declines to la-bel his newcomers defending dis-trict champs, the coach offers anendorsement for a group he feelscapable of its own accomplish-ments.

“We lost a lot of experience andtoughness,” Houston said, “but Ithink that we are more talentedthis year.”

West Potomac’s best player issenior Daryl Copeland, who entershis third season as a varsity starter.The 5-foot-8 guard was the MVPof last season’s Patriot Districttournament and will once again bethe Wolverines’ top scoring threat.This year, however, Copeland’srole will be expanded to help dealwith the team’s inexperience.

“He’s now the veteran leader,”Houston said. “He started when hewas a sophomore when he wasone of the younger guys on theteam. Last year, with as many se-niors as we had, he was still oneof the younger guys on the team.Now, he’s a veteran, has a lot ofgame experience and [he’s at-tempted] a lot of big-game shots.

“Last year, his role was more, ‘Put it in.Score. Get us in our offense and make someshots.’ This year, he’s going to score, nodoubt about that, but he’s going to be help-ing the guys — more of a leader on thefloor.”

It’s a role Copeland said he’s ready to as-sume.

“I like,” Copeland said, “being dependedon and taking the last shot — being theimportant person.”

Along with Copeland, the 5-foot-8Dawson, who Houston called “the best ath-lete on the team,” will also be a factor in

the West Potomac backcourt.An area of uncertainty for West

Potomac is the frontcourt. Houston saidthe Wolverines have five players stand-ing 6 feet 4 or taller, but none of whichhave varsity experience. Seniors JesseFico and Evans Labossiere and juniorBryant Fultz are potential frontcourtstandouts for West Potomac.

The Wolverines open their season athome against Mount Vernon at 7:30p.m. on Dec. 3. Houston said the teamwants to end up playing at RobinsonSecondary School in the region finalfour. For now, West Potomac needs to

gain experience — a reality of which oneof its veteran players is well aware.

“We have a golden opportunity to try todefend [our district crown] and that’s whatwe want to do, but that’s not what we’relooking at now” Dawson said. “What we’relooking at now is execution, working hard,instilling confidence in our players and lis-tening to what the coaches say. … If we dothat, anything can happen.”

Wolverines returnfour players fromtitle team.

Defending District Champ WPHS Inexperienced

West Potomac senior Jalen Dawson is one of onlyfour players who return from last season’s PatriotDistrict championship team.

Pho

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uise K

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azette

“We lost a lot ofexperience andtoughness, but I thinkthat we are moretalented this year.”

— West Potomac head boysbasketball coach

David Houston III


From Page 23

Sports

restore Mount Vernon’s tradition.”

WHILE THE SEASON was a success overall, Wellssaid his team’s postseason loss to South Lakes — a39-0 shutout setback to the No. 4-seeded Seahawksin a Div. 5 Northern Region quarterfinals playoffmatchup on Nov. 12 — was difficult to take.

“I felt similar to how I had felt after the [late sea-son] Yorktown loss — for whatever reason, we didn’tshow up,” said Wells, of the season-ending defeat atthe hands of coach Andy Hill’s South Lakes squad,members of the Liberty District. “We were movingthe ball early on but had a [lost] fumble on that firstdrive.”

Mount Vernon trailed 8-0 after one quarter buthad fallen behind 20-0 by halftime. South Lakes putup 13 more points in the third quarter to make thescore 33-0 and put the game out of reach.

On the night, the run-oriented Mount Vernon of-fense was held to less than 100 yards rushing by theSouth Lakes defense. Dennis Mensah was the Ma-jors’ top ball carrier with 48 yards. The visitors man-aged just 27 yards through the air as two MountVernon quarterbacks combined to go 3-for-12.

Meanwhile, South Lakes sophomore quarterbackRashaan Jones continued a marvelous first seasonas South Lakes’ starting varsity signal caller by toss-ing three touchdown passes, including scoring strikesof 10 and 13 yards to wide receiver Sean Price, and

running for another score in his team’s playoff win.Jones’ fourth quarter 40-yard touchdown pass to jun-ior Stan Lindsay capped the night’s highlight play reelfor the home team.

The win improved South Lakes’ record to 8-3 onthe season and advanced them to the semifinals.

“I thought our defense played extremely well, asthey have any time we put up a shutout, but theywere dominant at times,” said Hill.º“Mount Vernoncame in with a very good running attack and a de-cent passing game that could keep us off-balance.”º

Wells said he has received lots of congratulatorycompliments in regards to Mount Vernon’s five-winseason and the impressive turnaround from thewinless season before. But he also admitted to hav-ing a hard time shaking off the decisive loss to SouthLakes.

“Everyone is telling me it was a great season, to gofrom 0-10 to 5-5,” said Wells. “But right now, person-ally, it’s hard to brush that [playoff defeat] aside.South Lakes is a good ball club, well coached withtalented players.”

Wells is optimistic about the future of the MountVernon program and he looks forward to coachingthe team next year and thereafter. He expressed grati-tude for having been given the opportunity to pilotthe Majors.

“I wouldn’t trade this opportunity for anything,”he said. “Mount Vernon was kind enough, graciousenough to afford me my first opportunity ever as ahead coach.”

Much Improvement for MVHS

Every year between Christmas andNew Year’s, The Mount Vernon Gazetteturns its pages over to the contributionsof local students. We are seeking art-work, photography, poetry, opinions,short stories and reflections. We wel-come contributions from publicschools, private schools and studentswho are home schooled.

E-mail to: [email protected], or mail (.jpg and text files on disc only) by Dec. 1, to1606 King St., Alexandria, VA 22314. Please be sure to include the student’sname, age, grade, school and town of residence along with eachsubmission. For information, call 703-778-9410.

Be a Part of CHILDREN’S (& TEENS’) GAZETTE


Opinion

From Page 13

What advice would you give to someonelooking for more special things to bethankful for in Alexandria?

Take time to enjoy the events and places thatmake Alexandria so special.

DIANE HENRYWhat will you give thanks for this

Thanksgiving?I give thanks for not killing the bicyclist. I’ve

been doing it every Thanksgiving for about 15years. It was a dark night in Old Town where ev-ery corner has a stop sign. I obeyed. But when Ipushed the gas pedal again there was a bicyclist,out of no where, fast, wearing dark clothes and hetipped over, probably out of fright. I don’t think Ihit him, but we came dang close. He cursed. Myheart stopped and I sat frozen as he righted him-self, cursed some more and started riding again. Idon’t know who’s guardian angels were at work,his or mine, but I give thanks that they were onduty and I will continue the same prayer of thanksuntil my breath gives out. I think this year, I willalso ask the guardian angels to look out after theguy who rides his handicapped scooter in thestreets, at night, in the north end of Old Town. Healso wears dark clothes and there are no reflectorson his scooter.

I am blessed beyond words with family andfriends, like so many others in our town. If I letmyself write about these dear ones I wouldn’t getup from the computer until Groundhog’s day. Theyare loved and I frequently tell them so. On Thanks-giving I should perhaps add in a few that I overlooksometimes, like the poet Wendell Berry, the cre-ators of Google, whom I adore, or the doctors whohave allowed me to live beyond my original expi-ration date.

The teachers at Burgundy Farm Country DaySchool would certainly be high on my list. Mydaughter, now in law school, attended Burgundyand I am so grateful that her early years were filledwith a love of learning, reasoning, and respect ina place where curiosity, joy, and imagination wereencourage. Not one day, in all those years at Bur-gundy, did my child ever say she did not want togo to school. Not one. Just the opposite. Eagerly,she raced to her classroom each morning when shewas dropped off. Is that not one of the great giftsin life?

I will also give thanks this year for my yoga bud-dies at “Yoga In Daily Life” in Del Ray. I stumbledinto a free yoga class ten years ago, out of shapeand totally ignorant about yoga. But I discoveredthe most wonderful teacher who was patient,funny, and always encouraging. By accident I cameupon a very traditional style of yoga, not competi-tive, not trendy, not strict. It was yoga thatembraced many imperfections and helped peoplebecome more healthy and more relaxed. Everyonewho works there is a volunteer, running the office,cleaning, teaching classes, including some whoteach at the city jail and offices around town. I amone of the teachers now so I know I’m more thana little biased on the subject. But I think it is hon-est to stay that the people who teach and takeclasses at the yoga center are an exceptionallylovely group and to them I say a special thank you.

CHRISTINE (CHRIS) WIXTROMFounder ASL AccessWhat will you give thanks for this

Thanksgiving?I’m thankful for the generosity of deaf friends as

they share American Sign Language with me.

Thankful

WriteThe Gazette welcomes views on any

public issue.Send to:

Letters to the EditorThe Gazette

1606 King St.Alexandria VA 22314Call: 703-778-9410.

By e-mail:[email protected]

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Legal Notices

OBITUARYMary Beth Shelton, age 84, died peaceful-ly on 11/20 10 in Hendersonville, NC, after a brief illness.A native of St Claire, PA, Mary Beth moved to Washington DC during WW II. There she worked for the Dept of Agriculture and met her late husband, Billy Ray Shelton.The couple were married, settled in Alexandria, VA and raised 6 children. After the death of her husband, Mary beth worked as an office admin-istrator at St Lawrence Catholic Church in Springfield, VA and later at St Timothys Catholic church in Chantilly, VA. After retiring in 2004, Mary beth moved to Columbus, North Carolina.

She is survived by her 6 children, 9 grandchildren, and 3 great-grandchilden.

A memorial service will be held at St. Johns Baptist Church in Tryon, NC on Wed Nov 24, 2010. In Lieu of flowers please make donations to the American heart Association.

Legal Notices


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703-360-7400Alexandria/Mount Vernon Office

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Happy Thanksgivingfrom

Alexandria~ Mount Vernon Weichert

Again thisyear, Weichert,

Realtors will be col-lecting toys to distributeto underprivileged children in the localarea during the holidays. If you’d liketo help us light up the eyes of a child,please bring a new, unwrapped toy toyour local Weichert office.

32ND ANNUAL TOY DRIVE

News

By Gale Curcio

The Gazette

Catie Liebeck and NellMcKeown have takentheir love of rowing toa whole new level. Us-

ing their expertise, they put to-gether a program that introducesrowing to PE students in both CarlSandburg Middle School and WestPotomac High School. This projectwill ultimately earn them the GirlScouts Gold Award. They havespent more than 80 hours on theproject creating a curriculum thatcan be used at both levels.

Their motto is: “Creating a Life-Long Row-mance. Row Long, LiveStrong.”

The course includes informationon technique, jargon, history,strength training and the manymental and physical benefits ofrowing. The curriculum is an intro-duction to rowing, an aquatic sportin which rowers race each other inshells of up to eight rowers, usu-ally accompanied by a coxswain.

“Rowing is a wonderful sportthat is physically demanding andworks all parts of the body, mak-ing rowers very fit and healthypeople,” said Liebeck andMcKeown. “It is a test of intensity,strength and teamwork.”

Their goal is to inspire studentsto take up the sport of rowing andbecome fitter, healthier and hap-pier people.

They also hope to reduce child-hood obesity by inspiring studentsto get fit through a worthy andfulfilling sport that they can con-tinue all their lives.

Their Power Point presentationshows statistics about obesity andeffects of obesity on a child.

The girls still have to presenttheir final project to the Girl ScoutCouncil, but their initial plan hasalready been improved. Thecourse was given to Carl Sandburgstudents last semester and is cur-rently in place at West Potomac.The rowing machines were loanedto Sandburg by the West Potomaccrew team so that they could beused during the time that the teamdidn’t need the machines.

“Most of the kids really like itand really seem to have fun withlearning to row,” said McKeown.“It is the ultimate team sport, nota lot of people know about it.”

Liebeck added, “We both reallylike rowing and wanted to inspireother kids.”

Gale Curcio is an independentwriter and public relationsconsultant in Mount Vernon.

Girl Scout ProjectEncourages Rowing

Catie Liebeck instructs rowing class at Carl SandburgMiddle School.

Co

urtesy Pho

to

Documents

Vol. XXI, No. 47 Mount Vernon’s Hometown Newspaper • A ... Vernon.pdfHarbin Ice and Snow Festival to be held in January, 2011. The Fairfax County The Fairfax County Convention