‘Look Around and See the Smiles’
Special-ed students enjoy Day Prom at the Waterford.
Last Thursday, May 8, some 400 students got all dressed up and went to their prom at the Waterford in Fair Oaks. Once there, they had professional photos taken, ate pizza, sang karaoke, laughed and hung out with their friends. And when the music played their favorite songs, they filled the dance floor and showed off their coolest moves.
Helping the Earth and Having Fun
Visitors flock to Vienna’s sixth annual Green Expo.
The Vienna Community Center recently hosted the sixth annual Green Expo, in which some three dozen, earth-friendly exhibitors showed those attending how to achieve a green lifestyle. There were spiffy cars that use alternative fuel, plus people providing information about everything from water conservation to ways to protect the environment, how to recycle and even opportunities to go on eco-adventures.
Creating a Community in Tysons
Plethora of events this year in Tysons Corner.
Michael Caplin is helping to turn Tysons Corner into a community.
Vienna Public Works Day Draws Crowds
Preschoolers have opportunity to climb on heavy equipment.
To a young child, there’s no question --- the bigger, the better. Witness the euphoria and unbridled enthusiasm of hundreds of preschoolers who climbed onboard heavy equipment, from front-loaders to ditch-diggers, at the Town of Vienna’s annual (and very popular) Public Works Day open house on May 15. Kids had the opportunity to sit in police vehicles, crawl into the animal compartment of the police department’s animal control truck, get tattoos, and grab loads of complimentary packaged snacks, as well. The congenial staff of the Public Works Department was there on-hand to boost the children into equipment cabs and ensure their safety.
Vienna Man Going to Federal Prison
Given nearly seven years for McLean teen’s death.
Kyle Alifom, 20, of Vienna was sentenced last Friday to nearly seven years in federal prison in connection with the death of a 16-year-old McLean girl. The victim was Emylee Lonczak, a McLean High student whose body he hid after she overdosed on heroin. Charged with tampering with evidence, Alifom was convicted of that offense Feb. 10 in U.S. District Court in Alexandria. A statement of facts filed with his plea made it clear that – not only did he try to prevent anyone from finding Lonczak – he also did nothing to obtain medical help for her while she was still alive.
Too Patient a Patient
Since I’m in the honesty business (as you regular readers know; and based on many of the e-mails I receive, commended on being so), if I were to admit anything concerning my behavior during these last five-plus years as a lung cancer survivor, it would have to be my continual tendency to minimize new symptoms, and in turn, not contact my oncologist (which from the very beginning is the exact opposite of what we are told to do). Stupid, stubborn, scared, naive, in denial; you pick.
You’re Never Too Young for Poetry
Local educators say exposing children and even babies to rhyme and rhythm can help develop reading and language skills.
Though Keith Ward's son is still a baby, the young child is already being exposed to exposed to not just silly stories, but poetry, and a variety of poetic forms at that.
Editorial: Remembering on Memorial Day
Fewer deaths as military operations wind down, but 22 veterans a day die of suicide.
In Arlington over the coming Memorial Day weekend, the organization TAPS, or Tragedy Assistance for Survivors, will hold its 20th annual Military Survivor seminar and Good Grief camp for young survivors, children of all ages. TAPS offers support to anyone who is grieving the death of someone who died in the military, whether from combat, suicide, terrorism, homicide, negligence, accidents or illness. http://www.taps.org/
Vienna, Oakton Home Sales: April, 2014
In April 2014, 101 homes sold between $2,750,000-$208,000 in the Vienna and Oakton area.
Vienna, Oakton Home Sales: April, 2014
Classified Advertising May 14, 2014
Read the latest ads here!
Helping Rwandans
A prominent D.C.- area ophthalmologist from Vienna recently returned from a 10-day trip to East Africa where he performed and assisted with hundreds of surgeries on local residents and those from neighboring countries, many of whom traveled two or three days and lined up and waited for another day or two for their turn. Dr. Alex Melamud of The Retina Group of Washington recently made his third visit to the Kabgayi Eye Hospital in Rwanda, the first facility in the country to provide free retinal care. He and the hospital’s one ophthalmologist did as many as 40 surgeries a day, treating trauma injuries resulting from machete wounds and animal attacks, retinal detachments, cataracts and many extremely advanced cases of Diabetic Retinopathy.
No, I’m Not a Parent; I Just Act Like One
I’m not a biological mother, an adoptive mother, a stepmother or a foster mother. But I have experienced some of the joys and heartbreaks of motherhood.
Hilarious Comedy in 19th-Century England
Oakton High presents ‘The Pirates of Penzance.’
Ahoy, mateys! There are pirates on the horizon – but this bunch sings, dances and makes people laugh. And they’re all in Oakton High’s production of “The Pirates of Penzance.” It’s a satiric operetta about a group of inept pirates off the shore of Cornwall, England in the 1880s. And they’ll commandeer the stage, this Thursday-Saturday, May 15-17, at 7 p.m. Tickets are $10 at the door.
Paladar Brings Latin-inspired Cuisine to Vienna
Restaurant launches with benefit for Food for Others, plans to be good neighbor in community.
Mix innovative Latin “comfort” food with a twist, a rum bar with more than 60 rums from throughout the Caribbean and South America, gracious staff, and a mission to be a friend to the community, and you have Vienna’s newest good neighbor, Paladar Latin Kitchen and Rum Bar. On May 8, Paladar hosted a benefit dinner on behalf of Food for Others, donating the proceeds to the Northern Virginia-area charity. It opened its doors to an enthusiastic public the following evening.
ViVa! Vienna! Returns Memorial Day Weekend
Rides, food, entertainment, kids’ activities and Memorial Day tribute celebrate community spirit.
Memorial Day is a time to honor America’s fallen and to celebrate life. ViVa! Vienna!, a three-day family-focused festival covering Memorial Day weekend, does both with fun activities and a Memorial Day tribute. ViVa! Vienna!, sponsored and hosted by the Vienna Rotary club, in partnership with the Town of Vienna and Navy Federal Credit Union, opens on Saturday, May 24, with food vendors and amusement rides for all ages. On Sunday and Monday, 350 vendors converge in the historic Church Street corridor and on the Town Green. Church Street closes down and nonstop live entertainment is presented on a children’s stage and a main stage. The Rotary Club returns its profit from the festival back to the community. It is awarding more than $165,000 to local nonprofits and schools in 2014.
Local Man Going to Prison Again
27 months incarceration for cheating government.
True, Henry Washington Yeh’s parents helped him file a fraudulent tax return. But it was his fault, in the first place, for involving them in his illegal activities. And last week in federal court, he was the only one of the three Vienna residents sentenced to prison – 27 months. For Yeh, it wasn’t the first time a family member ended up in legal trouble because of him. And when he goes to prison, that won’t be for the first time, either. In Philadelphia in October 2009, Yeh was convicted of drug distribution and later sentenced to 15 months behind bars.
Vienna Parents, Son Sentenced in Court
Defrauded IRS on income-tax return.
It’s not every day that a judge sentences a son and his parents together – but that’s what happened Friday in federal court to a Vienna family. Ultimately, two family members received probation and the third was sentenced to prison.
National Merit Scholarship Winners
The National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC) has named 31 Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) students winners of $2,500 National Merit Scholarships. The students are part of a group of approximately 2,500 National Merit finalists chosen to receive scholarships primarily financed by the NMSC. Winners of the scholarships, with their probable career fields in parentheses, are:
Colvin Run Elementary Holds Fun Run
Inspired by the gorgeous day, and by the camaraderie of family and friends, participants in the 9th Annual Colvin Run Elementary School Fun Run, a Family Event for Charity, ran and walked the equivalent of 720 miles in a one hour period last Saturday morning. Each Fun Run participant collected pledges or flat donations for the charity of their choice. Organizations benefiting included those that support the environment, animal welfare, medical research, treatment of disease, children and families in need, affordable housing, hospice, and more.
Editorial: Virginia Proves Elections Matter
Health and economic issues are entwined.
Some people continue to assert, either with their words or by simply abstaining, that voting just doesn’t matter. Here in Virginia, nearly every day we prove that is incorrect. All of Virginia’s elected representatives who are elected by the entire state are of the same political party. They are all Democrats: Gov. Terry McAuliffe, Lt. Gov. Ralph Northam, Attorney General Mark Herring and Virginia’s two U.S. Senators, Mark Warner and Tim Kaine.