McLean Wrestlers Win Region Titlesconnectionarchives.com/PDF/2016/021716/McLean.pdfWin Region Titles...

McLean Connection ❖ February 17-23, 2016 ❖ 1www.ConnectionNewspapers.com

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online at www.connectionnewspapers.comFebruary 17-23, 2016

McLeanMcLean

Page 8

Langley HighOrchestras Tour SpainNews, Page 7

1st Stage Receives SixHelen Hayes NominationsNews, Page 10

Langley HighOrchestras Tour SpainNews, Page 7

1st Stage Receives SixHelen Hayes NominationsNews, Page 10

McLean WrestlersWin Region Titles

Sports, Page 12

McLean WrestlersWin Region Titles

Sports, Page 12

McLean junior Brandan Grammes, right,won the 6A North region 138-pound wres-

tling title on Feb. 13 at Fairfax High School.

McLean junior Brandan Grammes, right,won the 6A North region 138-pound wres-

tling title on Feb. 13 at Fairfax High School.

2 ❖ McLean Connection ❖ February 17-23, 2016 www.ConnectionNewspapers.com

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NewsMcLean Connection Editor Kemal Kurspahic

703-778-9414 or [email protected]

By Tim Peterson

The Connection

Kevin Earley said he’s living proofthat Diversion First works. Earleyhas been living with bipolar disorder and had his last episode in

2007. “I was tasered, I broke the law andendangered myself,” he said.

Earley was picked up by a Fairfax CountyPolice officer who had received Crisis In-tervention Team training and driven to thehospital, not the adult detention center.

Earley said the officer spoke with a calmtone and “treated me with dignity and re-spect. The smallest gesture can mean theworld.”

He was linked with a case manager “wholoved and cared for me,” and he also ben-efitted from other psychological and fam-ily support.

“I was sick and needed help, support, notjail time,” Earley said. “It shouldn’t be acrime to live with mental illness.”

Now Earley works as a recovery special-ist with the Fairfax-Falls Church Commu-nity Services Board. He spoke to a room fullof reporters and supporters on Feb. 11 atthe CSB Merrifield Crisis Response Center,a massive Fairfax County-owned facility formental illness treatment services located offGallows Road in Fairfax.

THAT DAY a panel of government leadersexplained the new program Diversion First,the main goal of which is to prevent peoplewith mental illness from unnecessarily fill-ing up the jail. To create more success sto-ries like Earley’s.

Fairfax County Sheriff Stacey Kincaid saidabout 40 percent of the jail’s inmate popu-

lation has mental illness. “It used to besomething taboo for people to talk aboutor report,” she said.

After an intensive study of the mentalhealth program in place through theSheriff ’s office in Bexar County, Texas,Kincaid said her office has been makingchanges such as the relocation of womenwith mental illness to a separate housingarea and change in release time to 8 a.m.

Kincaid also commented that the Diver-sion First program was “quite a bit” in re-action to the in-custody death of NatashaMcKenna just over one year ago. Video wasreleased of McKenna, an African Americanwoman with mental illness, being tasednumerous times by Fairfax County deputieswhile she struggled during an effort totransport her to Alexandria City jail.

“It certainly pushed this forward,” Kincaidsaid.

Prior to Diversion First, deputies mightbring an individual with mental illness tothe CSB for evaluation or treatment, butthen be responsible for waiting with them,sometimes for many hours, until they couldbe seen.

Now, a deputy and police officer will bestationed at the Merrifield Center for 21.5hours every day for other officers and depu-ties to hand off custody and then return toduty.

“The officers love this, the morale isgood,” said Fairfax County Chief of PoliceEdwin Roessler. “We do have gaps” in po-licing, he said, “especially where we servethose with mental health episodes. Themajority of our use of force incidents arewith those suffering mental health crisis.”

For their part in Diversion First, Roesslerhas also been working towards getting 100

percent of officers trained in Crisis Inter-vention Team. This year, 176 officers havealready received the training, he said. CITis a Commonwealth of Virginia-certifiedprogram that teaches officers about whatit’s like to live with mental illness as well asprocedures for de-escalating critical epi-sodes both in the field and jail.

“This is a great first start,” he said. Thepolice are also implementing a new Criti-cal Decision-Making Model based on polic-ing in Scotland, the Chief said, and are thefirst department in the country to do so.

The model is “the backbone of CIT,” saidRoessler. “The goal is to preserve the sanc-tity of human life.”

In the first month of implementing Diver-sion First (Jan. 1-31), Roessler said fieldofficers have conducted 265 mental healthinvestigations. Of those, 40 percent involvedthe Merrifield Center and 39 percent hadparticipation from a CIT-certified officer orofficers.

Once an individual with mental illnessarrives at the CSB Merrifield Center, eitherunder their own power or in custody, theycheck in, undergo a preliminary interviewand psychological and medical evaluation.From there, CSB staffers determine whethertreatment or further transport to the hospi-tal is necessary.

Roessler said Diversion First isn’t meantas a pass from jail for serious offenders orviolent crimes. But empowered by Diver-sion First, officers may use their discretionin determining lawlessness.

IF JAIL AND HOSPITAL are ruled out forthe individual, a problem currently beingtackled by the General Assembly is hous-ing. The local psychiatric hospital in FairfaxCounty is the Northern Virginia MentalHealth Institute in Falls Church on theINOVA campus, with 123 beds.

Those include emergency psychiatricbeds, involuntary beds and forensic beds,said Tisha Deeghan, executive director ofthe CSB. Deeghan said it’s a statewide prob-lem that facilities such as the Institute inFalls Church don’t have the capacity tohandle all the referrals.

“We’re working in Richmond to resolveit,” she said. If there is no room in FallsChurch, officers or deputies then try takingthe individual to another facility outside ofnorthern Virginia.

Kincaid encouraged people to contacttheir elected officials about building a newmental health facility to add capacity innorthern Virginia.

“It’s the right thing to do,” said Board ofSupervisors Chairman Sharon Bulova, whoexplained there’s a three-to-five-year fund-ing mechanism in place to increase the ca-pacity and services of the CSB. “There’s sav-ings in having someone not live in jail, butreceive services and continue to live in thecommunity.”

For more information about DiversionFirst, visit www.fairfaxcounty.gov/diversionfirst.

Fairfax County officials announce DiversionFirst program designed to help individualsget treatment not jail time.

Taking the Crimeout of Mental Illness

CSB Chairman Gary Ambrosesaid the Diversion First programhas taken on “a dynamism of itsown” after taking several yearsto initiate.

Fairfax-Falls Church CommunityServices Board Recovery Special-ist Kevin Earley lives with bipo-lar disorder and is thankful todiversion for the way he wastreated during his last mentalillness episode.

Seated, from left, a panel including Fairfax-Falls Church CommunityServices Board Recovery Specialist Kevin Earley, Fairfax County Chief ofPolice Edwin Roessler, Fairfax County Sheriff Stacey Kincaid, CSB Chair-man Gary Ambrose and Supervisor John Cook (R-Braddock) speaks onthe merits of the new Diversion First program which puts direct offend-ers with mental illness in treatment centers instead of jail.

Photos by Tim Peterson/The Connection

Dr. Jim Kelly (left), Emergency Services manager at the CSB MerrifieldCenter explains to reporters how individuals in custody enter the facilityvia a sally port. If they’re struggling or in a more extreme state, they’retaken to a separate emergency interview room.


News

By Andrea Worker

The Connection

They say that charity begins athome. Helen Yi and Taylor, themother and daughter co-founders of Touching Heart, a

nonprofit aimed at educating and inspiringchildren to empathize with the needs of oth-ers and to take action to assist them, haveno argument with that statement. But theyhave taken that idea out of the home’s frontdoor, down the steps and out into the streetsbeyond. Since 2010, they have grown a dedi-cated group that has produced “Kids on aMission” (KOAM) – children who are taughthow to host their own fundraising eventsfrom selection of a cause, logistically pre-paring the event, developing budgets andseeing the plan through to fruition.

POSTPONED from last month’s SnowzillaDay, Touching Heart held its second annualMinecraft for a Mission event on Feb. 6 atthe Art and Design Building on the GeorgeMason University campus in Fairfax, hostedby the Mason Game and Technology Acad-emy. The event was a group playing of theMinecraft video game, with two computerlabs filled with teams sharing their ideasand resources as they built their Minecraftworlds and filled them with tools and trea-sures. Current and former students of theAcademy volunteered their time and com-puter wizardry to build the enclosed net-work for the gamers and even staffed theevent to keep things running smoothly, pro-vide additional instruction, and a helpinghand when needed. With the registrantsnumbering better than 50 youngsters aged8 - 12 and a registration fee of $45 per par-ticipant, these Kids on a Mission raised asignificant amount of money for foster careprograms and residents in Fairfax andLoudoun County and Alexandria.

“The kids choose a variety of people andorganizations to assist,” said Helen Yi, butthe primary focus was on aiding other chil-dren less fortunate. The local foster careprograms are a top priority for many of thefundraisers, but under the KOAM flag,youngsters have made meals for the home-less, raised funds to buy mattresses for anorphanage in Kenya and help them build awall, and invested in projects like chickenfarming and solar energy panels around theglobe, helping struggling communities tobecome more self-sufficient. “It’s amazingand humbling what these young people cando once you show them the needs,” said Yi.

Minecraft for a Mission could havedaunted even the most skilled event orga-nizer, but the three primary organizers, whohandled everything from recruiting spon-sors to the logistics on the day, and eventhe opening ceremony instructions and re-marks, seemed to take it all in stride weremiddle-school students Devin Host, AlexLee and Lottie Dubert from the NysmithSchool in Herndon.

Devin, who had participated in otherKOAM activities, brought his friend Alexinto the fold. Mutual friend Lottie heard

them discussing their plans and knew she,too, had to join in.

“Getting the sponsors, that was probablythe most difficult thing to do because wehad never done cold-calling before,” saidDevin. On one occasion the trio walked theentire Fair Lakes Mall, making their pitchat each retailer. “Really,” added Devin, asAlex and Lottie nodded their agreement,“that experience was one of the best thingswe got out of this. You really learn to beconfident and state your case.” Apparentlytheir dedication and growing sales skills didthe trick, garnering the event a number ofsponsors, including one for whom Alex,with his graphic design skills, was able todevelop a logo.

TOUCHING HEART offers an eight-weekafter school “Art of Giving Workshop” atseveral local schools. “And hopefully beyondfairly soon,” said co-founder Helen Yi. Thecircle widens on its own, with one child whohas participated in a workshop or in aKOAM project telling another child who ei-ther joins in or contacts Touching Heart forhelp in organizing their own project. Thosetwo young philanthropists then spread theword, and the good works and developmentof compassionate young leaders keeps mov-ing forward. This growth was on display atthe Minecraft event, with several youngstersparticipating remotely from as far away asSweden, children attending from way be-yond Touching Heart’s home-base of

Herndon, and another gamer who hadplayed last year, then moved to Florida, butwhose parents were willing to bring himback just for this charitable gathering.

“It’s heartening to see that their interestin helping others doesn’t end after oneproject,” said Touching Heart OutreachManager Susan Tseng.

Touching Heart has a number of events,activities and opportunities on their calen-dar this year. Learn more about their story,check out upcoming events like a “MovieDay” to support that Kenyan orphanage orthe annual Touching Heart Golf Tournamentfundraiser, get involved or become one ofthe Kids on a Mission, by checking out itswebsite at www.touchingheart.com.

Minecraft for a Mission – Touching Heartand their “Kids on a Mission” raise fundsfor children in foster care.

Touching Many Hearts

Organizers, staff and associates of Touching Heart show their signature move at the 2016 Minecraft fora Mission event to raise funds for local foster care programs and children.

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The young organizers of this year’s Minecraft for aMission event are Nysmith School eighth gradersLottie Dubert, Devin Host and Alex Lee. The triorecruited sponsors, developed the promotional mate-rials and worked out the logistics for the charitablegroup-gaming day.

Dad John Howells had some difficulty gettingMinecraft for a Mission participant son Kenneth tostand still long enough to re-fuel before heading backfor the afternoon gaming session. The fifth-graderfrom Reston heard about the event from a neighbor.“I like Minecraft and this is a good thing to do,” saidKenneth, in between quick bites.


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Lori Lopez, Chairman for the TysonsRegional Chamber of Commerce(TRCC) (www.tysonschamber.org)announced that Francis Gary Powers,Jr. has been hired as the Acting Presi-dent effective Jan. 15, 2016. “Gary isa welcome addition to our leadershipteam and will build on the chamber’smomentum to contribute to our goalsfor 2016 and beyond,” said Lopez.

Born June 5, 1965, in Burbank,Calif., Powers is the son of FrancisGary and Claudia E. “Sue” Powers.He holds a bachelor of arts degree in Philosophy fromCalifornia State University, Los Angeles, and amaster’s degree in Public Administration/Certifica-tion in Nonprofit Management from George MasonUniversity (GMU). During his career Powers has helda variety of positions including assistant registrar forthe City of Fairfax, executive director of a nonprofitdedicated to the historical revitalization of Old TownFairfax, marketing manager for home inspection com-pany US Inspect, and president/CEO for the ViennaTysons Regional Chamber of Commerce from 2000to 2005. As chairman of the Presidential AdvisoryCommittee for the Cold War Theme Study he workswith the National Park Service and leading Cold Warexperts to identify historic Cold War sites for com-memorating, interpreting and preservation. Recently,

he consulted for the StevenSpielberg Cold War thriller,“Bridge of Spies” aboutJames Donovan whobrokered the 1962 spy ex-change between Soviet spyRudolph Abel and Gary’s fa-ther, U-2 pilot Francis GaryPowers, Sr.

In 1996, Powers foundedThe Cold War Museum(www.coldwar.org) tohonor Cold War veterans,

preserve Cold War history and educate students aboutthis time period. Over the past twenty years he ledthat museum forward as founding chairman, whichin 2011 opened at Vint Hill Farms, a former armycommunication base in Northern Virginia. As a re-sult of his efforts to honor Cold War veterans, theUnited States Junior Chamber of Commerce selectedhim as one of the “Ten Outstanding Young Ameri-cans” for 2002. Powers lectures internationally andappears regularly on the History, Discovery, and A&EChannels. He is married and has one son.

The Tysons Regional Chamber of Commerce servesthe diverse businesses and citizens in the Tysons re-gion through networking, educational, communityand collaborative events. For more information, visitwww.tysonschamber.org.

Tysons Chamber Names Francis Gary Powers, Jr.Acting President

Photo contributed

Francis Gary Powers, Jr.

Bruce L. Green, regional vicepresident of Weichert, Realtors,announced that the McLean/Dolley Madison office was recog-nized for exceptional perfor-mance during the month of Janu-ary. The office led the region,which comprises offices through-out Fairfax, Loudoun, Warrenand Prince William counties, fornew home dollar volume, resalelistings, resale revenue units andresale dollar volume.

In addition, sales associatesJ.D. Callander and Gordon Har-ris of the McLean/Dolley Madi-son office were individually rec-

Weichert, Realtors McLean/Dolley Madison Office,Two Associates Recognized

ognized for their industry successin January. As top producers,Callander led the region in resalelistings and Gordon led for newhome dollar volume.

Invite these talented neighbor-hood specialists in to learn about

the real estate services thatWeichert, Realtors has to offer.They can be reached inWeichert’s McLean/DolleyMadison office at 1313 DolleyMadison Boulevard, or call 703-760-8880 for more information.

J.D.Callander

GordonHarris


Opinion

Natasha McKenna died a littlemore than a year ago on Feb. 7,2015. McKenna, with a long his-tory of severe and often un-

treated mental illness, had been deterioratingin the Fairfax County Adult Detention Centersince Jan. 26, 2015, arriving directly from re-lease from the hospital on an outstanding war-rant from the City of Alexandria charging fe-lonious assault on an Alexandria police officer.

We can’t know whether newefforts to provide people inmental health crisis might havesaved her life if they were avail-

able and put in place early in this particularcrisis, which appears to have begun a monthbefore her death. McKenna’s death is a terribletragedy, and no new program will remove thathorror.

But it’s clear that treatment rather than jailcan make all the difference for many peoplewho come into contact with law enforcementin a mental health crisis. Diversion First is acollaborative effort in Fairfax County to reducethe number of people with mental illness inthe county jail by diverting low risk offendersexperiencing a mental health crisis to treat-ment rather than bringing them to jail.

Sheriff Stacey Kincaid estimates that 40 per-cent of detainees at the Fairfax County AdultDetention Center have mental illness. Notably,it is far more expensive to house someone in

county jail than to provide treatment.The collaborative effort was in no small part

launched by Supervisor John Cook when heasked that the Board of Supervisors to add cri-sis intervention training to the scope of workof the Ad Hoc Police Practices Review Com-mission. The Mental Health subcommitteealong with the Community Services Board, theSheriff’s Department, police and mental healthadvocates set and met an aggressive agenda

and timetable for implementation, with theprogram actually beginning in less than a year,on Jan. 1, 2016. In the first month, theMerrifield Crisis Response Center handledmore than 100 cases involving police andpeople in mental health crisis.

Merrifield Crisis Response Center operatesas an assessment site where police are able totransfer custody of nonviolent offenders whomay need mental health services to a CIT-trained officer or deputy assigned there, in-stead of taking them to jail.

How far-reaching, life-saving and resource-preserving Diversion First will turn out to bewill depend on how it is implemented and thediscretion and policies of the police and pros-ecutors, among others.

When police encounter someone in mentalhealth crisis, they can transport them toMerrifield Crisis Response Center instead of jail.

Fairfax Presses Ahead with Diversion First

Sen. Chap Petersen (D-34) cites FOIA on lifesupport in his blog oxroadsouth.com:

“Last week, the Assembly passed SB 202,which undid a major push eight years ago toensure that all of our public spending was‘online’ and searchable by ordinary citizens.This, of course, meant disclosing the salariesof public employees over a certain incomelevel. However, SB 202 has undone all of that,which means that you will no longer know howmuch a public employee (even a city manager)is paid unless you make a formal FOIA request.(Because we all have time to do that).

“This bad idea passed on a 27-12 vote.“Today the Senate passed SB 552 which is

even more sweeping. It actually prohibits fromdisclosure not just the salary information but

even the names of public safety personnel, in-cluding the Sheriff, the Chief of Police and theFire Chief.

“On the floor today, I pointed out that a Chiefof Police could put his own family on the pay-roll and be protected from disclosure. Thiscould also be an issue if a law enforcementagency hires an officer with a poor record fromanother jurisdiction — and nobody knows.Again, who are we protecting?”

“Again, the bill passed 25-15.”“If I’m making a veto list, these two are defi-

nitely on it.”We agree.

— Mary Kimm

[email protected]

Freedom of Information on Life Support inGeneral Assembly?

Editorial

By Barbara Comstock

U.S. Rep. (R-10)

Congress continuesto work together ina bipartisan man-

ner on an issue that grabsheadlines throughout thecountry and here in North-ern Virginia. Human traffick-ing is a growing global crimi-nal enterprise that knows nobounds. Nearly 300 victims of hu-man trafficking have been identi-fied in Northern Virginia fromOctober 2013 through January2015. This scourge that targets ouryoung and vulnerable is in ourvery own backyard.

To effectively combat humantrafficking we need to give our lawenforcement the tools they needto do their job. Earlier this month,the House passed and the presi-dent signed into law H.R. 515, theInternational Megan’s Law to Pre-vent Child Exploitation and OtherSexual Crimes Through AdvancedNotification of Traveling Sex Of-

fenders. This im-portant bipartisanlegislation, which Ico-sponsored, willprotect childrenworldwide fromsexual predatorswho want to dothem harm by bet-ter tracking theirmovements and

travel. It is imperative that law en-forcement on the internationallevel constantly talk with one an-other so that these predators donot slip through the cracks.

We also need to have assetsother than law enforcement whocan spot when something justseems out of place. That is why Iteamed up with CongresswomanDina Titus (D-Nev.) this month inintroducing the Secure Our Skies(SOS) Act. This legislation will re-quire airline industry employees toget the proper training to recog-nize and report human trafficking.Sara Nelson, president of the As-sociation of Flight Attendants-

CWA, said the legislation “…cansave lives with 100,000 trainedeyes in the sky.” The SOS Act isthe type of common sense legisla-tion that will help combat humantrafficking because it uses thepower of those in the airline in-dustry as a force multiplier. Justlast week, the Transportation andInfrastructure Committee, onwhich I serve, passed Federal Avia-tion Administration reauthoriza-tion legislation that incorporatedmuch of this human traffickingbill.

These pieces of legislation arepart of a multipronged bipartisanapproach to rooting out humantraffickers. So far in the 114thCongress I have co-sponsored tenpieces of legislation on humantrafficking and become a memberof the Congressional Human Traf-ficking Caucus. Last year, S. 178,the Justice for Victims of Traffick-ing Act, one of the most compre-hensive pieces of anti-human traf-ficking legislation, passed the

House. The legislation providesrestitution to victims of these hor-rible crimes and increases the pun-ishment for those who profit fromthem. It also recognizes child por-nography as a form of human traf-ficking and subjects perpetratorsto stricter punishment. This leg-islation, which I cosponsored, wassigned into law by the presidentlast year.

One of the most important waysto address human trafficking is toshed light on this dark subjectthrough public education. As partof our office’s 10th CongressionalDistrict Young Women LeadershipProgram, I have had panels withlocal law enforcement and a num-ber of human traffickingnonprofits including Just Ask VAand Polaris to discuss human traf-ficking with middle and highschool aged girls. We have alsoparticipated in a number of otherforums in churches, libraries andschools throughout the Northern

Building on Success Congress passes more legislation tofight human trafficking.

See Comstock, Page 15

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News

From Feb. 3-9, members of the LangleyHigh School orchestras (Freshman,Sinfonietta, Symphonic and Philharmonic)traveled to Spain, where they performed

two concerts and toured the cities of Madrid, Segoviaand Barcelona. The first performance was in the stun-ning Spanish cathedral Basílica de San Francisco ElGrande, where the orchestras received a standingovation from their sold out audience after playingpieces such as Enrique Granados’s “Spanish DanceOp. 37, No. 5-Andaluza,” Albeniz’s “Suite EspanolaNo. 1, Op. 47 Asturias” and “Bailes Para Orquesta”by Richard Meyer. A community center hosted thesecond performance, where the orchestra followeda Spanish college orchestra.

“One of the most memorable experiences occurredafter our second performance,” Langley Symphonicviolist Minh Pham said. “We had just shared the stagewith a community orchestra from Spain, consistingof people around our age. Afterward, we all wentfor dinner at the same restaurant. There was a mo-ment after we all finished eating where the Spanishmusicians and the American musicians exchangeddances and songs attributed to our country. It was agreat time.”

When the students weren’t rehearsing their musicor performing, the Langley students took a city tourof Madrid, shopped at local stores and markets andvisited the Prado Museum, which is the main Span-ish national art museum. The museum displays oneof the world’s finest collections of 12th- to early 19th-century European art. Madrid’s famous Buen Retiro

Park and popular Café Chocolatería San Gines werealso on the itinerary, where the students devouredthe café’s famous churros con chocolate. A side tripto Segovia, a historic city just outside of Madrid, fea-tured a tour of the historic Alcázar, a royal castledating back to the 12th century, stunningly sitedabove the junction of two rivers near the GuadarramaMountains.

With their performance behind them, the Langleyorchestras traveled to Barcelona prior to their returnto Virginia. While in Barcelona, the students touredfamed Spanish architect Gaudí’s church SagradaFamília, Barcelona’s Olympic Park and The Colum-bus Monument. The Langley Saxons also raved aboutBarcelona’s breathtaking architecture, the colorfulcollection of items at the markets and the warm cli-mate, which was a nice break from the freezing coldtemperatures of Northern Virginia.

Langley Philharmonic violist Katherine Carris said,“From the rich culture to the unforgettable food,experiencing Barcelona with my orchestra was be-yond incredible.”

—Caroline Watkins

Langley musiciansperform two concert,tour three cities.

Langley High Orchestras Tour Spain

Langley Seniors posing in front of theRoman aqueducts in Segovia.

All of theLangley musi-cians posing infront of theSagradaFamília inBarcelona

Photos by

Claudia Fraley

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8 ❖ McLean Connection ❖ February 17-23, 2016 McLean Connection ❖ February 17-23, 2016 ❖ 9www.ConnectionNewspapers.com www.ConnectionNewspapers.com

By Marilyn Campbell

The Connection

Beams of neon light flash around adark room. Young Star Wars fansfrom a galaxy not so far away wield

light sabers and move with carefully cho-reographed steps. These Jedis-in-training areundergoing a fantasy combat training thatmelds martial arts with light saber fighting,Star Wars-style.

“Star Wars fans are the ultimate martialarts enthusiasts. Star Wars is 100 percentdeveloped on the concepts and philosophiesof martial arts … the use of the sword, thebelief structure,” said Michael Dietrich ofDietrich’s Karate Fitness and Life Skills inBurke. “Now we have an opportunity to in-vite students because of their interest in themovie. It’s an easy way to bring them intoour schools and show them what martial artsare all about.”

Building on the hype surrounding the re-cent release of ”Star Wars: Episode VII - TheForce Awakens,” Dietrich began offeringclasses at his newly created “Laser Saber

Academy.” Students sign up for a six-weekclass, where they learn how to use a lightsaber, tap into “The Force,” and improvetheir focus, discipline and determination.

“Any time a new movie or TV show comes

out that features a robot, there is a spike ininterest in robotics,” said Dan Gallagher ofRobotWorks in Burke. “Every kid I’ve talkedto since the Star Wars movie came out wantsto know how BB-8 works. Before that, they

talked about other robots like Wall-E, R2D2,and Baymax.”

At RobotWorks, Gallagher’s students learnbasic robot design, construction and pro-gramming. “In general, though, kids are al-ways interested in robots and how they work.Robots are fun,” said Gallagher. “Buildingrobots is even more fun, so we see a steadyinterest that might jump a little when a newmovie robot makes an appearance becauseit acts as a reminder of that interest — bring-ing it back to the front burner.”

The concepts of the Star Wars universe areseeping into the extracurricular class choicesat local schools, with students opting to takeofferings like robotics and 3-D modeling. “Ithink that there is some interest in ourSTEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering,the Arts and Mathematics) activities thatgrows from sci-fi movies like Star Wars,” saidRichard Rho, director of Technology Educa-tion and Innovation at St. Stephen’s & St.Agnes School. “I have had students 3Dmodel and print the Tie Fighters and X Wingfrom the movies as well as talking about howwe could create our own BB-8 droid in therobotics lab as the off season project.”

Educators say that such activities are funand engaging while also educational. “It’sgreat students are getting inspired by themovie to create ideas and designs andspreading that interest with the rest of ourcommunity,” said Rho.

Movie’s popularityleaves fans wanting tofeel “The Force.”

Star Wars Fans Flock to Local Classes

By Marilyn Campbell

The Connection

Under a blanket of February frost,summer might seem light yearsaway, but it’s closer than onemight think. As coveted slots fill

at some of the area’s most sought-aftercamps, now is the time to begin planning,say camp directors. With options rangingfrom sailing to fencing, narrowing down thedecision can be daunting. That’s why localcamp fairs can be a valuable one-stop-shop-ping service for choosing summer activities.Hundreds of camp representatives will beon hand for the Northern Virginia Camp andSummer Fun Expo on Feb. 20-21 at 2100Dulles Town Circle, Dulles.

“We will have a lot of exhibitors in onelocation so that parents can see a variety ofcamps to make sure that their children havea fun summer,” said Samantha Carter ofWashington Parent, the event’s sponsor.“There are programs to fit every budget.”

Camp fairs, says Carter, offer parents anopportunity to meet representatives from avariety of camps, gather information and ask

questions. “We have camps from all up anddown the eastern seaboard, even as far awayas Maine.”

With so many choices, narrowing the listof options can leave many parents feelingflummoxed. Camp experts shared a few keyfactors parents should consider before set-tling on summer camps to help avert un-pleasant surprises.

“First, I think that parents should take theirchildren into consideration, and the kindsof activities they like to do and whether theyare being offered at the camps they are look-ing at,” said Kevin Rechen, Summer Camp

director for Norwood School in Bethesda,Md.

It’s a good idea to inquire about thecamper to staff ratios and the types of staffthe camp will hire, such as adult teachers oractivity specialists. “Who are the individu-als who will watch over the campers andwhat kinds of licenses do they have?” asksFrancesca Reed, a mother of two and asso-ciate vice president for Enrollment Manage-ment at Marymount University in Arlington.

Safety and medical considerations are alsokey factors to consider, especially for chil-dren who have allergies or other medical

issues. “Is there a nurse on site?” asks StacieGottlieb, director of Summer Programs atBullis School in Potomac, Md. “What safetyand medical procedures [does the camp]have in place?”

Reed suggests parents also inquire abouta camp’s drop off and pick up times, avail-ability of after-care services and whether feesare charged for late arrivals. “Some of thebasic questions are the cost and any addi-tional fees that might not be apparent,” saidReed. “Find out the camp’s reimbursementpolicy in case you have to cancel before campstarts or while it’s in session.”

For parents who have more than one childwho will attend camp, Rechen suggests look-ing for camps that offer an assortment ofactivities that appeal to children of differ-ent ages. “For the sake of convenience, it’skey for a lot of parents to have all of theirchildren in one camp, so they don’t have tomake multiple trips each and every day,” hesaid. “Having a variety of programs for awide age range also allows younger childrento see the activities that they have to lookforward to as they get older.”

Photo courtesy of Dietrich’s Karate Fitness and Life Skills

Students work on light saber skills during a class at Dietrich’s KarateFitness and Life Skills in Burke.

Local camp fairoffers sampling ofsummer programs.

Time To Plan for Kids’ Summer Camp AdventuresSummer Camp FairThe Northern Virginia Camp andSummer Fun ExpoFeb. 20-21, Saturday, 10 a.m. - 4 p.m., Sunday, 11

a.m.–4 p.m.2100 Dulles Town Circle, Dulles

Now is the time to plan for summer camp, say experts.

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On Saturday, Feb. 6, The LangleySchool hosted its first-everSTEAM Fair to celebrate the

school’s interdisciplinary, inquiry-basedapproach to learning and discoverythrough science, technology, engineering,arts and mathematics.

More than 300 students and parentscame to campus to take part in fun, in-teractive STEAM-based challenges suchas building the tallest spaghetti tower thatsupported a single marshmallow, creat-ing a lunar lander that prevented a marsh-mallow from bouncing out when itlanded, or building foil boats that heldthe most plastic bears afloat. Participantsused their creativity to paint works of artbased on NASA images of our galaxy andused problem-solving skills to make work-ing popsicle-stick windmills and paperairplanes that carried the most weight.

“STEAM initiatives are becoming an in-creasingly important part of our curricu-

lum at Langley because they help studentsdevelop the collaborative design-thinkingand problem-solving skills they will needto succeed in today’s ever-changingworld,” says assistant head of schoolKathleen Smith. “The STEAM Fair pro-vided a great way to showcase STEAM-based activities, inspire students of allages to create and innovate in new ways,and bring together teachers, students, andparents for a wonderful community build-ing event.”

In addition to the hands-on activitiesat stations throughout Langley’s cam-pus, the STEAM Fair also featured dis-plays of interdisciplinary STEAMprojects from each grade level and tech-nology demonstrations using theschool’s 3-D printer and other devices.In addition, middle school students pre-sented their sophisticated scienceprojects which included a hover boardbuilt by a Langley seventh-grader.

STEAM Fair PushesInnovative Thinking

More than 300 students and parents came to campus to take part infun, interactive STEAM-based challenges.

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Calendar

Send announcements to [email protected]. Deadline is Friday for thefollowing week’s paper. Photos/artwork encouraged.

ONGOINGNorthern Virginia Photographic Society Art

Show. Monday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Jan.15-Feb. 29.The Frame Factory, 212 DominionRoad, NE, Vienna.

McMurry Artist Showcase. Feb. 1-24. BroadwayGallery Fine Art and Framing, 1025-J-SenecaRoad, Great Falls. Local artist RichardMcMurry’s stylized landscape paintings will beon display. www.broadwaygallery.net. 703-450-8005.

“When the Rain Stops Falling.” Feb. 4-28. 1stStage Tysons, 1524 Spring Hill Road, TysonsCorner. Epic in scope and poetic in language,this beautiful, haunting play crosses continentsand challenges the boundaries of time to tell thestory of one family and the events that bringthem together and drive them apart. $15—$30.www.1ststagetysons.org. 703-854-1856.

Pigments of My Imagination. Jan. 4-March 31.Great Falls Library, 9830 Georgetown Pike,Great Falls. Long time Great Falls residentDonna Barnako, has created over a dozencolorful and whimsical small works. Her subjectsare varied, from pigs to puppies and cowboyboots.

Weekly Storytime. Wednesday and Saturday. 11a.m. Barnes & Noble, 7851 L Tysons CornerCenter, McLean. Themes and Titles vary. Freeadmission.

”1776.” Fridays and Saturdays, 8 p.m. Sundays, 2p.m. Through Feb. 21. Alden Theatre, 1234Ingleside Ave., McLean. The founding fatherswho participated in the creation and signing ofone of the most important documents in ournation’s history are presented in a humorousway, with their human foibles and failings.Directed by Annie O’Neill Galvin; produced byJerry Gideon and Jean Matich. $23-$25.mcleanplayers.org. 866-811-4111.

Gentle Yoga. Thursdays, 6:30 p.m. EmmausUnited Church of Christ, 900 E Maple Ave. E,Vienna. Saturdays, 9:30 a.m. UnitarianUniversalist Congregation of Fairfax, 2709Hunter Mill Road, Oakton. Gentle KundaliniYoga, one free introductory session, seniordiscounts. Increase your flexibility, improve yourbreathing and health, reduce your stress. RaviKaur has 15 years experience teaching yoga. $15per session. www.edimprovement.org. 571-213-3192.

“Poetry in Motion” Exhibit. Tuesdays-Saturdays, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. From Feb. 2-27.Exhibition of VAS members paintings with thetheme “Poetry in Motion. Free.

Tai Chi Beginners’ Practice. Saturdays, 8-9a.m. St. Luke’s Catholic School Gymnasium,7005 Georgetown Pike, McLean. Weekly Tai Chipractice. Group has met for over 20 years. Free.FreeTaiChi.org. 703-759-9141.

“Wishes and Dreams” Exhibit. March 1-April2. Vienna Art Center, 115 Pleasant St., NW,Vienna. Free. viennaartssociety. 703-319-3971.

THURSDAY/FEB. 18The Jones Family Singers. 8 p.m. The Barns at

Wolf Trap, 1635 Trap Road, Vienna. The familythat sings together stays together. The sevenJones children and their father, Bishop Fred A.Jones, have been making a joyful noise for morethan 20 years. $25. www.wolftrap.org.

FRIDAY/FEB. 19Kevin Griffin of Better than Ezra. 8 p.m. The

Barns at Wolf Trap, 1635 Trap Road, Vienna.Frontman of the alt-rock band Better Than Ezra,this prolific singer/songwriter has pennednumerous hits for Train, Sugarland, JamesBlunt, Howie Day, Missy Higgins, Blondie, andmore. $25-$27. www.wolftrap.org.

FRIDAY-SUNDAY/FEB. 19-21Hope on Ice. 3-8 p.m. Tysons Skate Rink, 1961

Chain Bridge Road, McLean. Community iceskating extravaganza benefiting AmericanCancer Society and honoring cancer survivors.U.S. Rep. Gerry Connollly (D-11th) will bepresent on Friday. DJ Civil, live music,entertainment and Luminaria on ice ceremony.First 50 cancer survivors receive commemorativeT-shirt. $12. [email protected].

SATURDAY/FEB. 20Puppetry Festival. 10 a.m.-1 p.m. McLean

Community Center, 1234 Ingleside Ave.,McLean. Jim West Puppets and CrabgrassPuppets will present and perform. Children canenjoy two puppet shows and learn how to maketheir own puppets. $15/$10. http://ow.ly/WLmhq. 703-790-0123.

Winter Wine Tasting. 7-10 p.m. River Bend Golfand Country Club, 375 Walker Road, GreatFalls. Mingle with and join your neighbors for adelicious selection of hors d’oeuvres, cheesesand fine wines. $75. http://www.celebrategreatfalls.org/winter-wine-tasting/.

SATURDAY-SUNDAY/FEB. 20-21HAPA. 7:30 p.m. The Barns at Wolf Trap, 1635

Trap Road, Vienna. Often described as the“Soundtrack of Hawaii,” the ancient chants andwarm, contemporary tunes of this group’s liquidguitar runs are woven around clear harmoniesand poetic lyrics. $25-$30. www.wolftrap.org.

SUNDAY/FEB. 21Hula Dance Master Class. 3 p.m. The Center

for Education, 1645 Trap Road, Vienna. Take atrip to the fascinating Hawaiian islands in thisfun-filled hula dance master class. Learn thebeautiful footwork and graceful hand motions ofa hula ‘auana, modern hula, to a special mele,Hawaiian song. Ages 13 to adult. $20.www.wolftrap.org.

WEDNESDAY/FEB. 241964 The Tribute. 8 p.m. The Barns at Wolf

Trap, 1635 Trap Road, Vienna. Recreates theFab Four’s early ’60s concerts—see theirastonishing show live, complete with periodinstruments, clothing, hairstyles, and onstagebanter. $38-$42. www.wolftrap.org.

THURSDAY/FEB. 25Marty Stuart. 8 p.m. The Barns at Wolf Trap,

1635 Trap Road, Vienna. Grammy winner MartyStuart’s music reflects the rich legacy of hisMississippi roots and the intersection of gospel,drinking and cheating ballads, and rock. $50-$55. www.wolftrap.org.

FRIDAY/FEB. 26Itamar Zorman, Kwan Yi. 7:30 p.m. The Barns

at Wolf Trap, 1635 Trap Road, Vienna. Violinand piano pieces by Mozart (“Sonata in B-flatMajor K. 378”), Crumb (“Nocturnes”), Brahms(“Sonata in A Major”), Bartok (“Sonata no. 1 forViolin and Piano”). $35. www.wolftrap.org.

McLean Art Society Meeting. 10 a.m.-noon.McLean Community Center, 1234 InglesideAve., McLean. Gavin Glakas, a well knownportrait artist will be the featured presenter. Hewill bring his own model and will do an oilpainting demonstration. Guests invited. 703-790-0123.

Photo contributed

Puppeteer Jim West performs atthe McLean Community Center onSaturday, Feb. 20.

See Calendar, Page 11

By David Siegel

The Connection

The Helen Hayes Awards, now inits 32nd year, recognizes out-standing achievement in more

than 90 professional theatres across theWashington metropolitan area, includingNorthern Virginia. The nominees for the2016 Helen Hayes Awards were recentlyannounced. 1st Stage, performing inTysons near the Spring Hill stop onMetro’s Silver Line, received six nomi-nations.

“The recognition of 1st Stage amongso many talented artists and companiesis a great privilege, said artistic directorAlex Levy. “This was an exciting year oflive theatre in the D.C. area, and we areproud to have been a part of it.”

1st Stage received Helen Hayes nomi-nations for:

Outstanding Musical Director, Walter“Bobby” McCoy for “Old Wicked Songs,”

Outstanding Lighting Design, RobbieHayes for “The Good Counselor,”

Outstanding Sound Design, KennyNeal for “Old Wicked Songs,”

Outstanding Supporting Actress in aPlay, Lolita Marie in “Doubt, A Parable,”

Robert Prosky Award for OutstandingLead Actor in a Play, Philip Hosford in“Old Wicked Songs,”

Outstanding Play, “Old Wicked Song.”Named for the legendary First Lady of

the American Theater, the 2016 HelenHayes Award recipients will be an-nounced at a major ceremony to be heldon May 23.

Often featuring young and emergingactors, plus a separate gallery space, 1stStage’s first full season was 2008-09. In2010, 1st Stage received the John Aniello

Award for Outstanding EmergingTheatre Company excellence fromthe Helen Hayes Awards. The the-ater troupe is also a recipient of anAmerican Theatre Wing NationalTheatre Company award among itsother honors and awards.

1st Stage is located at 1524 SpringHill Road,Tysons. The theatercompany’s current production is“When the Rain Stops Falling.” In-formation about 1st Stage can befound at www.1stStageTysons.org.

1st Stage Receives SixHelen Hayes Nominations

Photo by Teresa Castracane/Courtesy of 1st Stage

Philip Hosford as Professor Josef Mashkan in 1st Stage productionof “Old Wicked Songs.”

Teresa Castracane/Courtesy of 1st Stage

Lolita Marie as Ms. Muller in“Doubt, a Parable” at 1st Stagein Tysons Corner.

Photo courtesy of 1st Stage

Walter “Bobby” McCoy


FinalWeekend!

AMERICA’S PRIZE-WINNING MUSICAL!

1776 is presented through special arrangement with Music Theatre International (MTI)All performance materials are also supplied by MTI, 421 West 54th St. NY, NY 10019

Fridays & Saturdays at 8pm. Sundays at 2pm

Tickets 866.811.4111 OR www.McLeanPlayers.org

FEB. 5 – 21, 2016Alden Theatre • McLean Community Center

Original production directed by Peter Hunt. Originally produced on the Broadway stage by Stuart Ostrow

Music and Lyrics by

Sherman EdwardsBased on a Concept by

Sherman EdwardsBook by

Peter Stone

From

Calendar

SATURDAY/FEB. 27Scott Miller. 6:30 p.m. Jammin Java, 227 Maple

Ave., E, Vienna. Staunton, Va. native, singersongwriter and farmer. www.jamminjava.com.

John Eaton, The Swingin’ ’30s. 8 p.m. TheBarns at Wolf Trap, 1635 Trap Road, Vienna.Join renowned pianist and vocalist John Eatonas he interprets the Great American Songbook.$25-$27. www.wolftrap.org.

SUNDAY/FEB. 28Crys Matthews. 6 p.m. Jammin’ Java, 227 Maple

Ave. E, Vienna. Herndon resident Crys Matthewsand two of the Mid-Atlantic’s best singer-songwriters for a night of amazing music. $15.jamminjava.com.

MONDAY-TUESDAY/FEB. 29-MARCH 1Herb Alpert and Lani Hall. 8 p.m. The Barns at

Wolf Trap, 1635 Trap Road, Vienna. Join Alpertand his Grammy-winning wife—the originalvoice of Sérgio Mendes’ Brasil ’66—as they takethe stage with their dynamic band. $55-$65.www.wolftrap.org.

SATURDAY/MARCH 5“Wishes and Dreams” Reception. 4-6 p.m.

Vienna Art Center, 115 Pleasant St., NW,Vienna. Free. viennaartssociety.org. 703-319-3971.

THURSDAY/MARCH 10Vienna Art Society Meeting. 10:30 a.m.-12:30

p.m. Speaker will be Davi D’Agostino who willdiscuss and demonstration her paintings in oilsand acrylics and how she plans subject matterfor her own works and also for the classes sheteaches. Free. viennaartssociety.org. 703-319-3971.

SATURDAY/MARCH 12Model Trains and Thomas at Open House.

1-5 p.m. Historic Vienna Train Station, 231Dominion Road NE, Vienna. See and hear modeltrolleys and steam and diesel trains plus Thomasand some of his friends. The layout reflects themountainous terrain and towns of WesternNorth Carolina with award winning structures.Free. Donations accepted. www.nvmr.org. 703-938-5157.

TUESDAY/MARCH 15Whiskey Classics Dinner. 7-9 p.m. Ruth’s Chris

Steak House-Tysons Corner, 8521 LeesburgPike, Vienna. Ruth’s Chris Tyson’s Corner andMacallan Highland Single Malt Scotch Whiskypresents a five-course “Whiskey Classics Dinner”prepared by Executive Chef Jean Bosch. $99.99.http://www.ruthschris.com/restaurant-locations/tysons-corner. 703-848-4290.

Perennial Personalities. 10 a.m. ViennaPresbyterian Church, 124 Park St., Vienna.Karen Rexrod, plant expert and former owner ofWindy Hill nursery, will present her favoriteperennial personalities. Karen’s expertise andknowledge of perennial plants and their habits.Free. [email protected].

FRIDAY/MARCH 18Flashlight Egg Hunt. 7 p.m. Glyndon Park, 300

Glyndon St., NE, Vienna. Enjoy a family eveningsearching for eggs and prizes in the dark! Pleasebring a flashlight so you can find the eggs. Jumplike a bunny in the moon bounce and visit theEaster Bunny. 703-255-6360.

SATURDAY/MARCH 19Old-Fashioned Egg Hunt and Roll. 10:30-

11:30 a.m. Freeman House, 131 Church St., NE,Vienna. Children 12 and under and their parentsare welcome to participate in an egg roll andvisit with Easter Bunny, hosted by HistoricVienna, Inc. 703-938-5187.


Sports

The McLean wrestlingteam finished fourthand captured three in-

dividual titles at the 6A Northregion championships on Feb.13 at Fairfax High School.

The Highlanders finishedwith a score of 134. Battlefieldwon the team title with a totalof 194, followed by Hayfield(161) and Robinson (157.5).

Junior Brendan Grammes(138), senior Conor Grammes(160) and junior Gavin Legg

(170) each won a region titleon Saturday.

Brendan Grammes defeatedAnnandale’s Alex Joya (3-0 de-cision in) in the 138-pound fi-nal. Conor Grammes beat LakeBraddock’s Tyler Matheny (pin)for the 160 title, and Legg de-feated Battlefield’s Ray Bernot(5-2 decision) for the 170championship.

The state tournament will beheld Feb. 19-20 at Oscar SmithHigh School in Chesapeake.

McLean Wrestling PlacesFourth at Regionals

Photo by Craig Sterbutzel/The Connection

McLean senior Conor Grammes, top, captured the 6ANorth region 160-pound wrestling championship onFeb. 13.

McLean wrestler Gavin Legg (170 pounds) was one ofthree Highlanders to win a region title on Feb. 13.

Loudoun Freedom Tryouts The Loudoun Freedom is a competitive basketball organization for

girls only. It provides players the opportunity to develop advanced bas-ketball skills and knowledge, and to play in a very competitive envi-ronment. The Freedom emphasizes player development starting in thirdgrade and continuing through high school. Open tryouts will be heldfor grades 3-8 on Sunday, Feb. 21 at Harmony Middle School.

Teams are formed at all playing levels to include an ELITE team atthe eighth-grade level. Visit www.LoudounFreedom.com for specifictryout times/locations. Pre-registration is highly encouraged.

Looking for UmpiresNorthern Virginia Baseball Umpires Association is in need of um-

pires for youth leagues, high schools, and collegiate-level baseball andvolleyball games. Experience is helpful, but not required. Will give class-room and field training to aid you in acquiring skills needed. ContactJohn Porter at 703-978-3601 or [email protected].

Sports Roundups

By Jon Roetman

The Connection

The defending champion McLean gym-nastics team failed to earn a returntrip to states, placing third at the 6ANorth region meet, but three High-

landers will compete as individuals this week-end.

Sophomore Carolyn Brown-Kaiser (vault,beam), junior Calista Pardue (floor) and sopho-more Anna Brower (vault) each finished in thetop eight in at least one event during regionalson Feb. 13 at Patriot High School, and will com-pete at the 6A individual state meet on Satur-day, Feb. 20 at Kellam High School in VirginiaBeach.

McLean finished third as a team with a scoreof 142.625. Yorktown won the region champi-onship with a total of 146.05 and West Spring-field finished runner-up (143.575). The top twoteams earn a state berth.

Last season, McLean became the first FairfaxCounty school to win a state gymnastics cham-pionship since Langley in 2004.

The Highlanders finished state runner-up in2014.

“Losing key gymnasts like my sister, Lizzy[Brown-Kaiser], and Jackie Green (to gradua-tion) definitely played a huge role in our placementat both conferences and regionals,” Carolyn Brown-Kaiser wrote in an email. “Although I’m disappointedthat the McNastics team won’t be able to compete atstates, I am very pleased with everyone’s perfor-mance.”

Brown-Kaiser will compete in two events at states.During regionals, she placed sixth on vault with ascore of 9.35 and finished eighth on beam (9.2).

“I was fairly pleased with my vault, however, I feelas if I could have performed better,” Brown-Kaiserwrote. “With beam being my weakest event, I wasvery nervous to compete, but I feel as if I proved tomyself that I can make a routine with confidence.”

Brown-Kaiser finished ninth in the all-around witha score of 36.375.

“Because I was injured for the first half of the sea-

son, I’ve only been able to compete all-around aboutthree times before regionals,” she wrote. “My all-around score at regionals was my highest it has beenin my two years of high school gymnastics, and I’mextremely glad to have peaked at regionals.”

Pardue tied for sixth on floor with a score of 9.425— the highest score of the evening by a Highlandergymnast.

Brower tied for seventh on beam (9.3).Yorktown freshman Julia Hays won the all-around

with a score of 37.65, followed by teammate JulietteMitrovich (37.475), West Springfield’s Abbie Levine(37) and Battlefield’s Emily Ignacio (36.675).

Next up: states.“I hope to place in the top five for vault,” Brown-

Kaiser wrote, “and the top eight for beam at indi-vidual states.”

Defending state champsplace third at regionals.

Three McLean GymnastsQualify for State Meet

McLean sophomore Carolyn Brown-Kaiser,left, qualified for states on beam, placingeighth at the 6A North regional meet on Feb.13 at Patriot High School.

McLean gymnast Calista Pardue tied for sixthon floor at the 6A North region meet on Feb.13, earning her a spot at the state meet.

McLean gym-nasts CarolynBrown-Kaiser,far left, andAnna Brower,far right,finished sixthand seventh,respectively,on vault at the6A Northregion meet onFeb. 13 atPatriot HighSchool.

Photo by

Jon Roetman/

The Connection


News

Shepherd’s Center BeginsFriendly Visitor/Caller Program

The Shepherd’s Center of McLean-Arlington-Falls Church hasinitiated two programs for senior adults who find it difficult toleave their homes. The Friendly Visitor program matches volun-teers to seniors who would like a visit periodically. The FriendlyCaller program allows volunteers to call seniors to let them knowthey haven’t been forgotten and remind them to call the Center ifthey need help. Both programs allow for setting up a time conve-nient for both client and volunteer. Volunteers are needed forboth programs. If you want to share experiences by either visit-ing or calling a homebound senior, call the Shepherd’s Center at703-506-2199 or e-mail at [email protected].

Langley Crew to Hold FundraiserOn Saturday, Feb. 20, crew members from Langley High School

will participate in their “Boats and Oars” fundraising effortthroughout neighborhoods in McLean and Great Falls. Each year,the Langley High School Crew asks the larger community for fi-nancial support. Donations to Langley Crew (LCBC) are tax de-ductible.

Also, the team invites you to come see a regatta or two in thespring. Regattas are held Saturdays, 9 a.m.-3 p.m. from March26 until May 14 (no regatta on April 4) on the Occoquan at SandyRun Regional Park, 10450 Van Thompson Rd, Fairfax Station.

Fundraiser SupportingSafe Community Coalition

A fundraiser for Safe Community Coalition has been announcedby HBC Group’s (Keller Williams Realty) Community CharityChampions. Come to dinner on Tuesday, March 8, 2016 from 5to 8 p.m. at Pulcinella Italian Host in McLean to support SafeCommunity Coalition. Enjoy dinner and know that approximately70 percent of the proceeds from food and drink will go to SCC aslong as the diner brings the flyer for the event. Contact HBCGroup at 703-734-0192 or visit www.HBCGroupKW.com to re-ceive a flyer.

Sponsors of the event are: Karen Briscoe and Lizzy Conroy withthe HBC Group of Keller Williams Realty, Marcus Simon with EKKOTitle, Kevin Dougherty of Pillar to Post, Kathy and Justin Neal ofThe Neal Team/SunTrust Mortgage, BOWA, The McLean Cham-ber of Commerce, and Moe Jebali with Pulcinella Italian Host.

Week in McLean

In preparation of the opening ofBASIS Independent McLean(which is Tysons Corner’s firstprek-12th grade school), Basis.ed’sco-founder Michael Block willspeak at an introductory sessionon Monday, Feb. 22 at theSheraton Tysons Hotel at 7 p.m.,located at 8661 Leesburg Pike inVienna. The Washington Post re-cently ranked BASIS Oro Valley inArizona the number one mostchallenging high school inAmerica and now that privateschool model is coming to McLean.To register, go to http://mclean.basisindependent.com orcall 703-854-1253.

School registration is underwayfor Tyson Corner’s new school,BASIS Independent McLean. Theschool will be located at 8000Jones Branch Drive in McLean.

“We’re thrilled to bring BASISIndependent to Tysons Corner, theheart of so much growth, innova-tion and progress in Northern Vir-ginia,” said Michael Block, co-founder of BASIS.ed and BASISIndependent McLean.

BASIS Independent to Open inTysons Corner

Photo contributed

Michael Block ofBasis.ed leadsinfo session onfirst privateschool in TysonsCorner.

Ten students in grades 4-8 at The Langley Schooltested their geographic knowledge during the firstround of the 28th annual National Geographic Beeon Jan. 14. After the students tackled a series of chal-lenging questions, Langley crowned its 2016 win-ner, seventh-grader Chris Stewart, who won theschool’s competition for the second straight year.

Sponsored by the National Geographic Society, theopening round of the National Geographic Bee is heldin thousands of schools across the country and is thefirst step toward naming a national champion. Dur-ing Langley’s competition, contestants were chal-lenged with oral and written geography questions,ranging from the locations of national parks to thenames of European cities.

As Langley’s winner, Chris advances to the next level,a written examination to determine state competitors.

The top 100 scorers on this written exam from eachstate will then face each other in their statewide Geo-graphic Bee, with state champions eventually com-peting for a $50,000 college scholarship in the na-tional competition in Washington, D.C. in May 2016.

Last month, all of Langley’s fourth- through eighth-grade students were given a preliminary qualifyingtest prepared by the National Geographic. The twotop-scoring students in each grade were then selectedto participate in Langley’s school-wide Bee.

Students who competed in Langley’s GeographyBee on Jan. 14 included: eighth-graders Manu Kiniand Jackson Merrick; seventh-graders Bela Aguilarand Chris Stewart (champion); sixth-graders SoudAl-Saif and Keira Cornwell (runner-up); fifth-grad-ers Adrianna Leckow and Jack Nelson; and fourth-graders Nasma Doyle and Tom Weed.

Sydney Grube, a senior at The Potomac School,has committed to swim for the University of Chicago.Grube will become the first Potomac athlete to swimat the collegiate level since 2006. “It’s been a goal ofmine to swim in college,” she says. “I’m very excitedabout this opportunity.”

So far in her senior season, Grube has captainedPotomac’s girls swim team to a seventh-place finishin the Independent School League championships;individually, she placed third in the 100-yard breast-stroke. During her junior season, Grube finished sixthin the 100 breaststroke and 11th in the 200 indi-

vidual medley at the Virginia states. In addition, sheset school records at the Washington MetropolitanInterscholastic Swimming and Diving Championshipsin the 100 breaststroke, 200 individual medley, andthe 200 medley relay. She notes, “It’s been a lot offun watching the team continually improve.”

Grube is eager to bring her skills to a University ofChicago team that was ranked eighth in the countryfor Division III swimming in December. “I was attractedto the school’s well-rounded liberal arts education andstrong swimming program,” she says. “I’m looking for-ward to training hard and contributing to the team.”

Potomac School Senior Commits to Swim forUniversity of Chicago

Sydney Grube

Photo

contributed

The Langley School Crowns Geography Bee Champion

Participants inLangley’sGeography Beeon Jan. 14.

Photo

contributed


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PEDIATRIC RN/LPNOur busy happy stimulating pediatric practice in Alexandria and Fairfax has

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ABC LICENSE JIGO, LLC trading as La Cote D’or Cafe, 6876 Lee Hwy, Ar-lington, VA 22213. The above establishment is applying to the VIRGINIA DEPARTMENT OF ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE CONTROL (ABC) for a Wine and Beer On and Off Prem-ises; Mixed Beverage license to sell or manufacture alcohol-ic beverages. Jacques Imper-ato, ownerNOTE: Objections to the issu-ance of this license must be submitted to ABC no later than 30 dates from the publishing date of the first of two required newspaper legal notices. Ob-jections should be registered at www.abc.virginia.gov or 800-552-3200

ABC LICENSE The Shamrock Arlington, LLC trading as The Spirits of ‘76, 3211 Washington Blvd, Arling-ton, VA 22201. The above es-tablishment is applying to the VIRGINIA DEPARTMENT OF ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE CONTROL (ABC) for a Wine and Beer On and Off Prem-ises; Mixed Beverage license to sell or manufacture alcohol-ic beverages. Patrick Doody, MemberNOTE: Objections to the issu-ance of this license must be submitted to ABC no later than 30 dates from the publishing date of the first of two required newspaper legal notices. Ob-jections should be registered at www.abc.virginia.gov or 800-552-3200

ABC LICENSEPainerya LLC trading as Pio Pio Peruvian Cuisine, 762 Walker Rd, Ste A, Great Falls, VA 22066. The above estab-lishment is applying to the VIRGINIA DEPARTMENT OF ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE CONTROL(ABC) for a Wine and Beer On Premises and Mixed Beverages license to sell or manufacture alcoholic beverages. Benazur Pain,President.NOTE: Objections to the issu-ance of this license must be submitted to ABC no later than 30 days from the publishing date fo the first of two required newspaper legal notices. Ob-jections should be registered at www.abc.virginia.gov or 800-552-3200.

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I Never think of the future.

It comes soonenough.

-Albert Einstein

When spiderwebs unite, theycan tie up a lion.-Ethiopian Proverb


Kenny Lourie is an Advertising Representative forThe Potomac Almanac & The Connection Newspapers.

By KENNETH B. LOURIE

One HundredPills

What exactly am I going to do with 100pills? Well, barring unforeseen (good or bad)circumstances, I’ll certainly continue to takethem every four weeks: two the day beforemy chemotherapy infusion, two the day ofand two the day after, as I’ve done so now,for this particular medication, going on 30-plus months. “Not that there’s anythingwrong with that,” or new, for that matter.But when I refilled this prescription lastweek, I was surprised when, after the phar-macy customer-server opened the bottle toshow me the pills and ask if I had any ques-tions, she then mentioned the count: “100.”That’s a lot of pills, I thought, more thanusual. Typically, I receive only 30 pills.

As I drove home from the pharmacy, Ibegan to think (always dangerous). Whywould my oncologist prescribe so many pills?I only need six per month. Is there a mini-mum he must order? A maximum? Did heover prescribe? Does he even have anyinput? Perhaps he’s projecting my life expec-tancy? One hundred pills divided by six permonth calculates to 17 months/infusions forwhich I now have pills. I don’t want to looka gift oncologist in the mouth, but as aseven-year cancer survivor, I’m well awarethat cancer treatment/results are hardly castin stone and 17 months seems like a longtime not yet gone (David Crosby song title,sort of).

I’m sure part of my presumptuousness isnaiveté. I want/need to believe in some-thing/anything positive (any port in a storm)concerning/relating to my health/treatment.More so when I’m in between my every-three-month, face-to-face appointment withmy oncologist. That’s when we review mymost recent diagnostic scan and assess myoverall status and consider treatment optionsbefore agreeing on a schedule for the nextthree months. Not that I’m discouragedfrom communicating with him in theinterim. Quite the opposite in fact; he’s veryresponsive to my e-mails. It’s more that elec-tronic communication is a “two-dimen-sional” type of communication, and I’m a“three-dimensional” kind of communicator.Obviously, I can respond electronically to hisanswers and presumably we could type backand forth, but dare I show my age and say:It’s just not the same as being there/talkingon the telephone. Ergo, during this between-appointment interval, I’m sort of left to myown devices and in turn inclined to wobble– and wonder, emotionally, about my life.Perhaps I should look on the bright side andbe glad my oncologist didn’t order six pills.

I suppose, if I wanted to be honest withmyself, I’d say the number of the pills pre-scribed/in the bottle probably mean nothing.The doctor simply checked a box and off theorder went with nary a consideration of thepatient’s reaction. Nor do I think the doctoris aware of patient co-pays, deductibles, per-centage of benefits used or any of the otherout-of-pocket expenses associated with theprescription/patient’s health insurance.“Hippocratically” speaking, that’s not hisjob. His job is to keep me/the patient alive.

And since I’m still alive, pill-count with-standing, I’m looking forward to the next 17months. Seeing my bottles of pills becomeless full over time gives me a peculiar senseof accomplishment: that I continue to sur-vive in the face of what was originally a fairlydiscouraging set of circumstances.Occasionally, however, I have to be realistic;100 is simply a number, not a prognosis.

From Page 6

Comstock

News

Virginia region. An effective way to com-bat human trafficking is to acknowledge theproblem and raise awareness, and these fo-rums have succeeded in bringing our com-munity together to do just that. It is reas-suring to know that our community is fullyengaged on this important issue.

At the local level, in Congress, and even

in the skies, people are more aware now ofhuman trafficking than they were in thepast. But more needs to be done becausethese predators are constantly changingtactics on how they take advantage of thosewho are vulnerable.

The saying “if you see something, say some-thing” applies to human trafficking as well.So please, if you see something that is out

of sorts contact local law enforcement. Orif you, a friend, or a loved one you thinkmay have been targeted or caught up in thisgrowing criminal enterprise, call the Na-tional Human Trafficking Resource CenterHotline at 1-888-373-7888 or text “Be Free”to 233733.

To beat the traffickers we all must beunited and on guard.

Children can enjoy two puppetshows and learn how to maketheir own puppets at a Puppetry

Festival sponsored by The Alden in McLeanon Saturday, Feb. 20. The event will be heldin the Community Hall of the McLean Com-munity Center (MCC) from 10 a.m. to 1p.m. and features performances by Crab-grass Puppets of Halifax, Vt., and New YorkCity-based Jim West Puppets. Tickets are$15 for the general public and $10 for MCCdistrict residents. Infants and toddlers un-der the age of 2 will be admitted free ofcharge. MCC is located at 1234 InglesideAve.

Designed for children ages four and older,

the festival consists of two, 45-minuteshows along with self-guided puppet-mak-ing stations, where parents can assist theirchildren in making a variety of puppets. Thestations will be open for the duration of thefestival. Jim West Puppets will perform“Aesops Fables” at 10:30 a.m. Jim West andhis partners, with the help of Aesop him-self (and his faithful dog, Moral), will sharethe author’s famous fables, including “TheLion and the Mouse,” “The Tortoise and theHare” and “The Fox and the Grapes.” Thislarge-scale puppet production also featuresthe music of Scarlatti, Beethoven andChopin.

Crabgrass Puppets will present “African

Adventure Tales” at 11:30 a.m. Two funnyfolktales from Africa come to life with stun-ning puppetry, spectacular scenery and in-fectious music. “Anansi and the TalkingMelon” features the irrepressible tricksterAnansi the Spider, who eats his way intoElephant’s melon and becomes too bloatedto get back out. “Koi and the Kola Nuts” is ahumorous tale from Liberia in which theyoungest son of a chief is cheated out of hisinheritance; instead of his father’s riches,he receives just one small kola nut tree.

Tickets are on sale now. For more infor-mation or to purchase tickets online, visithttp://ow.ly/WLmhq or call 703-790-0123,TTY: 711.

Crabgrass Puppets will present “African Adventure Tales.”Jim West Puppets will perform“Aesops Fables.”

Two Companies Bring Their Magicto McLean for 2016 Puppetry Festival

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To have community events listed in the Connec-tion, send to [email protected] deadline for submissions is the Friday priorto publication.

WEDNESDAY/FEB. 17McLean Newcomers and Neighbors

Monthly Luncheon. 11:30 a.m. Nostos, 81Boone Blvd., Vienna. Vienna. Ruth Robbins,senior program coordinator of theSmithsonian Associates, will describeprograms she has organized with luminarieslike Sonia Sotomayor, Henry Kissinger, TomBrokaw and Martin Sheen. RSVP by Feb. 12to [email protected]. $38. Non-memberswelcome. www.McleanNewcomers.org.

WEDNESDAY-THURSDAY/FEB. 24-25Christ Presbyterian Preschool Open

House. 10-11 a.m. Christ PresbyterianPreschool, 12410 Lee Jackson Memorial

Highway, Fairfax. Open house tours for thecurrent school year and 2016-17.www.christpresbyterianpreschool.com. 703-691-9120.

ONGOINGThe Northern Virginia Long Term Care

Ombudsman Program needs volunteeradvocates for residents in nursing homes andassisted living facilities. Contact Lisa Callahan at703-324-5861, TTY 711 or [email protected] . Also visitwww.fairfaxcounty.gov/dfs/olderadultservices/ltcombudsman/.

Fairfax County needs volunteers to drive olderadults to medical appointments andwellness programs. For these and othervolunteer opportunities, call 703-324-5406, TTY711 or visit www.fairfaxcounty.gov/olderadultsand click on Volunteer Solutions.

Respite Care volunteers give family caregivers ofa frail older adult a well-deserved break so they

can go shopping, attend a doctor’sappointment or just have coffee with afriend. Volunteers visit and oversee the safetyof the older adult for a few hours eachmonth. Support and training are provided.Contact 703-324-7577, TTY 711, [email protected].

Fairfax County needs a volunteer SeniorCenter Marketing Coordinator to assistthe Friends of Fairfax County Senior Centerswith marketing. For these and othervolunteer opportunities, call 703-324-5406,TTY 711 or visit www.fairfaxcounty.gov/olderadults and click on Volunteer Solutions.

The Lewinsville Senior Center in McLeanneeds instructors for the following classes:Line Dance, Zumba Gold, Certified ArthritisExercise, Square Dance, Basic Guitar, Art andBasic Spanish. For these and other volunteeropportunities, call 703-324-5406, TTY 711 orvisit www.fairfaxcounty.gov/olderadults andclick on Volunteer Solutions.

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