Vienna Idol Heats Up
Auditions open to vocalists through May.
Springtime in Vienna means concerts on the Town Green, festivals, outdoor sports, farmers’ markets and Vienna Idol auditions. This 3rd annual Vienna Idol, a music competition founded to raise money for the Khristin Kyllo “Dream Big” Memorial Fund, began its auditions in late April. Semi-finals run during ViVa! Vienna!, Sunday, May 25, on Church Street and finals take place on the Town Green, Friday, June 5.
Alone on the Road: 7 out of 10 Northern Virginia Workers Use Single-Occupancy Vehicles
Study raises concerns about amount of time drivers spend commuting alone.
Despite the decades-long war against the single-occupancy vehicle, seven out of 10 workers in Northern Virginia drive to work alone every workday.
What to Expect
Real estate experts offer a forecast for spring.
Real estate agent Joan Caton Cromwell says she lost a home bidding war last week in Falls Church even though her client was a strong contestant.
Basheer & Edgmoore Wins Silver
The Maymont community in Vienna, Va. won a Silver Award for Basheer & Edgemoore at the National Sales and Marketing Awards for 2014. Hosted by the National Association of Home Builders, Basheer & Edgemoore took silver in the Community of the Year category.
Spring Songbirds Arriving Now
Local bird groups and bird walks help beginning birders see colorful birds.
The birds are coming. The annual migration of often brightly colored songbirds from their winter homes in Central and South America, Mexico, the Caribbean Islands, and the southern U.S. is underway now. Millions and millions of avian migrants fly northward every night and the come down to rest or nest every morning. Some of the birds are enroute to nesting areas far to the north; some nest right here or nearby.
Region Sees Lowest Number of TB Cases in Decades
Outreach efforts get people in for tuberculosis treatment before it spreads.
When Dr. Barbara Andrino came to the Fairfax County Health Department in 2011, there were 137 cases of tuberculosis in Northern Virginia.
Week in Vienna
Vienna Tree-Planting Ceremony The Town of Vienna and the Community Enhancement Commission invite the public to attend the annual Arbor Day ceremony on Thursday, April 24, at 4 p.m. A tree will be planted next to the Parks and Recreation Department’s community learning garden behind Vienna Elementary, 128 Center St. S.
Westbriar Elementary Top Fundraiser for Leukemia & Lymphoma Society
Westbriar Elementary in Vienna is a National Blue Ribbon School who has partnered with The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) for two years to raise funds in honor of a local student who fought and survived leukemia. This year, as the grand finale for their coin collection campaign, they hosted a student versus teacher volleyball game. LLS attended the game and presented them with a check to show gratitude for their contributions and dedication to LLS mission. Out of 137 schools, they are currently the top fundraising Virginia school. With almost an additional $100 in just one week, they have raised a total of $6,552 to-date for LLS’s Pennies for Patients program. The National Capital Area chapter of LLS has 420 participating schools in their Pennies for Patients programs this year. There is always time to join the cause by collecting change and giving student the opportunity to experience the feeling that comes from helping others. If your school is ready to step up to the challenge and fight blood cancers, contact Jessica Lindquist at jessica.lindquist@lls.org or call 703-399-2928.
Victory
Members of the Vienna AllStars (Junior Level 2) gather after winning at the Annual Alexandria Invitational Cheerleading Competition on Saturday, April 5, at T.C. Williams High School. A variety of recreation centers and clubs at different age levels (Pee Wee Level 1, Youth Level 1, Youth Level 2, Junior Level 1 and Junior Level 2) competed with cheerleading routines.
Waples Mill Students Volunteer to Stop Hunger Now
More than 200 students, families and teachers of Waples Mill Elementary School plus one Fairfax County Public School Board member participated in a community service "meal packing" event in partnership with Stop Hunger Now on Saturday, April 5.
Small Town, Big Ideas
Meet Laurie DiRocco, Vienna’s current and future Mayor.
In January, when Vienna Town Council member Laurie DiRocco announced she would run for mayor, she had no idea that she would be the only candidate on the ballot, or that she would hold the title a month before the actual May 6 election. But with the Feb. 23 death of Mayor Jane Seeman, who announced her retirement last year after being diagnosed with cancer, the six-member town council appointed DiRocco, the only registered candidate for the position, to serve out Mayor Seeman’s uncompleted term. “It's been a very bittersweet time for me,” said DiRocco, 47, during an interview in her home, four days after being sworn-in as mayor on April 8. “I thought of Mayor Seeman as both a role model and a mentor. She gave so much to the community… I admired her service to the community and the fact that she really was a humble person.”
United Way Awards Community Impact Grants
Fairfax/Falls Church nonprofits receive $338,662.
United Way of the National Capital Area (United Way NCA) announced that it is awarding 21 grants totaling $338,662 to member organizations serving the Fairfax and Falls Church areas. The funds came through designations to the Fairfax/Falls Church Community Impact Fund in United Way NCA's annual workplace giving campaign. Each of the grants directly addresses programs that fall within United Way NCA's focus areas of education, financial stability and health.
Vienna Town Council Candidates Speak Out
Besides voting for mayor – and Councilwoman Laurie DiRocco is the only candidate – Vienna residents will choose three Town Council members in the May 6 election. All Council candidates except responded to The Connection’s questionnaire.
Vienna Homeowners Welcome Visitors
House and Garden Tour is April 29.
Spring is here, trees and flowers are in bloom and it’s time for Vienna’s annual House and Garden Tour. Presented by the Garden Club of Fairfax, it’s set for Tuesday, April 29, from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. On tour are four private homes and gardens in the historic area, plus a full day of gardening-themed activities at Wolftrap Performing Arts Center and Meadowlark Botanical Gardens.
Area Roundups
Entrants Sought for Anti-Alcohol Awards
A Vienna-based, alcohol-education group wants to honor local, high school groups for their efforts in fighting underage drinking. To recognize high-school students for “doing the right thing,” the nonprofit Washington Regional Alcohol Program (WRAP) will present its 2014 GEICO Student Awards at a May 16 ceremony in Washington, D.C., and is accepting applications for the honors through Monday, April 28, at http://www.wrap.org/files/youthOutreach.htm. Entry is free.
Where Am I?
"I’m sitting in the rocking chair, good buddy," (a "Smokey and The Bandit" reference, if you’re not of a certain vintage), between two 18-wheelers where the police radar can’t find me – further referencing the C.B. radio days. Updating to the "Kenny-with-cancer" days, I’m a month or so past my last very encouraging CT Scan, the one I wrote about when my oncologist offered me a congratulatory handshake, a gesture he had not made in the five-plus years since we’ve been tangling with this damn disease; and I’m approximately seven weeks away from my next CT scan, "intervaled" every three months at present. Seven weeks is far enough away where I’m not even thinking about it, or the possibility of its discouraging results that I’ll know about on or about June 9th. I am cruising, emotionally, and savoring the excellent results from the last scan and not yet worrying, wondering, hoping, praying (too much) about my next scan. This means, at the moment – or moments, I should say, I am enjoying a relatively stress-free and blissful ignorance to what may – or hopefully may not, be happening in my lungs. I am, to quote a Three Stooges line: "as safe as in my mother’s arms."
Entrants Sought for Anti-Alcohol Awards
A Vienna-based, alcohol-education group wants to honor local, high school groups for their efforts in fighting underage drinking. To recognize high-school students for "doing the right thing," the nonprofit Washington Regional Alcohol Program (WRAP) will present its 2014 GEICO Student Awards at a May 16 ceremony in Washington, D.C., and is accepting applications for the honors through Monday, April 28, at http://www.wrap.org/files/youthOutreach.htm. Entry is free.
Editorial: Past Time for Later Start Times
Teenagers are sleep deprived, and sleep deprivation takes a significant toll on safety, health and learning. We’ve known this for decades. But for decades, literally, Fairfax County Public Schools (and Montgomery County, Md.) have let a combination of reactionary blabber ("buck up and get moving;" "just tell them to go to bed earlier") and organizational resistance prevent implementing a solution to this very real problem. Getting up at 5:30 or 6 a.m. to hop on a school bus at 5:45 a.m. or even as late at 6:30 a.m. to get to school by 7:20 a.m. is not healthy for teenagers. It is nearly impossible for teenagers to go to sleep before 11 p.m. or midnight. Fairfax County high school students average six hours of sleep a night on weeknights. Research shows they need nine hours of sleep. Research has also quantified the costs of sleep deprivation.
Herndon Softball Edges Marshall in Eight Innings
Herndon catcher Martire delivers two clutch doubles in victory.
The Herndon softball team made the most of its four hits against Marshall on Monday.
Classified Advertising April 23, 2014
Read the latest ads here!