Falls Church News-Press 12-9-2021

Dec. 9 - 15, 2021

Falls Church, Virginia • w w w . fc n p . c o m • Free

Founded 1991 • Vol. XXXI N o . 43

The City of Falls Church’s Independent, Locally-Owned Newspaper of Record, Serving N. Virginia

F.C. Council, Schools Hear Upbeat News On Revenue

City Council, School Board Meet

But Robust Revenue Growth Offset By Needs

by Nicholas f. benton

Falls Church News-Press

The City of Falls Church is expecting a whopping overall revenue growth for the coming fiscal year of 8.4 percent, all those attending the annual F.C. City Council and School Board joint meeting learned Monday night.

The ballooning of single family home values to an average value of $899,000, the highest in the region, is the primary driver, but the City is also enjoying robust growth in business and other taxes deriving from the continued boom in large scale projects that contribute to the overall number.

That, and news the City schools’ completion of the stateof-the-art new high school has come in on time and under budget, such that the schools will return $100,000 in bond funds to the City, made for an upbeat overall forecast for the City and

Continued on Page 4

THE ANNUAL JOINT MEETING of the Falls Church CIty Council and School Board, kicking off another annual budget cycle, was held in the library of the new Meridian High School Monday, where upbeat preliminary revenue and expenditure projections for the coming period were heard. (Courtesy Photo)

Local Non-Profit Provides Medication to Those in Need

by Amanda Snead

Falls Church News-Press

NOVA ScriptsCentral is a health services non-profit founded in 2007 with the primary focus of providing life saving medications to uninsured peo-

ple living in Northern Virginia.

They work with 16 safety net clinics at 34 locations across the area— the organization has helped to supply over 82 million dollars worth of medication over the past 14 years.

Donney John joined the

organization as a board member in 2014 and now serves as Executive Director. In his role, he has worked to expand NOVA ScriptsCentral beyond just providing medications. He has worked to create free educational programs for people

across the area.

“We teach kids, adults and seniors about their illnesses because no one chooses to be sick, they just need help learning how to heal,” said John.

Continued on Page 5

Inside This Week Your Gift Guide for Shopping Locally This Holiday Season

Still shopping for holiday gifts? Check out our gift guide with a variety of options for everyone on your list! From books for the little ones on your list to designer items, Falls Church businesses have it all!

See Story, Pages 3 and 14

DACA Recipient Speaks About His Experiences

See Pages 12-13

Umaar Eshan was originally unable to enroll in college but was determined to continue learning and receive higher education one day. Now a graduate student at Harvard, Ehsan shares his experience.

See Guest Commentary, Page 7

Index

Editorial................................................ 6 Letters.................................................. 6 Comment..........................................7,8 Crime Report....................................... 8 News & Notes.............................. 10,11 Calendar......................................16,17 Business News.................................. 19 Classified Ads.................................... 20 Comics............................................... 21 Critter Corner..................................... 22

PAGE 2 | DECEMBER 9 - 15, 2021

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FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

DECEMBER 9 - 15, 2021 | PAGE 3

Supporting Local Businesses This Gift Giving Season

BY AMANDA SNEAD

FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS

The holiday season is here and with mail delays it’s the perfect time to support local small businesses.

The City of Falls Church has something for every person on your list.

Not only will you find the perfect gift but you’ll also be supporting your community!

For the theater lover: Creative Cauldron’s season has just begun with multiple plays and concerts set to take place next year including “Girls of Madison Street,” “The Adventures of Mr. Toad,” and “Into the Woods.” Gift certificates of any amount can be purchased on Creative Cauldron’s website and put towards live theater, music or classes. This is the perfect gift for aspiring actors and theater lovers alike.

Creative Cauldron is located at 410 S. Maple Ave. in Falls Church.

Call 703-436-9948 or visit creativecauldron.org for more details.

For the young reader: Scramble is a fabulous location for kids to go play but did you know they have a full bookstore as well? Scramble stocks dozens of different Usborne Books and is one of the largest suppliers of the publishing house on the east coast. There is a wide variety of

books on many topics for a variety of ages.

Scramble is located at 130 E. Fairfax St. in Falls Church. Visit goscramble.com for more details.

For the family of bakers: Have you ever wanted to make your own Preservation Biscuit Company biscuits at home? Now you can. Make Your Own Biscuit Kits can now be ordered (with 24 hours notice) on the Preservation Biscuit website. Each kit comes with instructions and all of the ingredients you’ll need to make 6 — 7 biscuits of your own. This is the perfect gift for bakers of all ages!

Preservation Biscuit Company is located at 102 E. Fairfax St. in Falls Church. Make Your Own Biscuit Kits can be ordered online with 24 hours notice on preservationbiscuit.com by clicking the “order now” tab. Call 571-378-1757 for more details.

For the activist: What’s a better gift to give than giving back?

Falls Church is home to a variety of nonprofits from Lost Dog & Cat Rescue Foundation to the Falls Church Homeless Shelter and many more. Whatever they are passionate about, there is a nonprofit organization in need of help. Try donating to an organization dedicated to a cause they are passionate about in their

PRESERVATION BISCUIT COMPANY is offering Make Your Own Biscuit kits! This is the perfect gift for young bakers and their families. (P���� C������� �� P����������� B������ C�����) name this holiday season!

For a list of nonprofit organizations in Falls Church, visit fallschurchchamber.org/list/category/nonprofit-52.

For the coffee drinker: Rare Bird Coffee Roasters sells a variety of coffee beans, both caffeinated and decaf with different flavors for every taste.

They also have a subscription— for

$19 a month they can have a new 12 oz bag of coffee delivered to their door every month! If their New Year’s Resolution is to start drinking coffee at home instead of going out, this is the perfect gift!

Rare Bird Coffee Roasters is located at 230 W. Broad St. in Falls Church. For more information , call 571-314-1711 or visit rarebirdcoffee.

com.

For the little ones to gift: Clay Cafe Studios has a variety of pottery “to go” that can be taken home to be painted, including an ornament kit.

Kits come with five ornaments, two brushes and a selection of six paints.

No time to paint? Let Clay Cafe do it

Continued on Page 14

PAGE 4 | DECEMBER 9 - 15, 2021

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FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

City Council and School Board Meet to Hear Budget News Continued from Page 1

its schools for the coming period.

Even with the pressing need to make up for having fallen behind in compensation levels at the schools and in the City,alike, there is the prospect for yet another significant tax rate cut come the spring along the lines of the one last time which saw the rate dip from $1.355 to $1.32 per $100 of assessed valuation.

This past Monday’s joint meeting heard presentations of this preliminary data from Schools Superintendent Peter Noonan and City Manager Wyatt Shields and City Chief Financial Officer Kiran Bawa.

Based on this information, the City Council is expected to make formal budget guidance and this coming Monday’s meeting, the last of the year, which it will make on top of some more immediate needs, addressing the compensation levels of City, including police, employees to address the manpower shortages that have shown up recently.

The Council meeting will begin with a half-hour recep-

tion at 7 p.m. to honor the newly elected and re-elected Council members, being incumbents Marybeth Connelly, David Snyder, Debbie Shantz-Hiscott and first time elected Caroline Lian and departing Council member Ross Litkenhous.

To hear Superintendent Noonan say it, the Schools will come in below what the Council guidance can be expected to be, something less than a 6.2 percent increase in the transfer from the City to the schools.

But while the City’s overall growth projection is 8.4 percent (translating into $7 million in new revenue), Bawa noted that outside factors, including the stated intent of incoming Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin to eliminate the grocery tax, a demand that school resource officers and possibly even nurses be hired for all schools, and the current inflation rate of 6.2 percent, could cut into that.

But the mood is definitely upbeat at City Hall and school headquarters alike. The overall situation “is a testament to the fact that our policy of encourag-

ing mixed use development is working,” said Council member Letty Hardi. “This is all very positive news,” Councilman Litkenhous chimed in.

It comes even as the robust hike in home values (8 percent for residential) does not compare with the much higher growth rates annually in the period between 2002 and 2006, when the average boost every year was adove 17 percent.

Pressure on the current growth centers on the need for immediate relief in compensation levels, and the City staff met with leaders of the City’s Employee Advisory Council (EAC) to divine some parameters for that Tuesday. The outcome of that will be factored into the formal budget guidance the Council will tackle this coming Monday.

Shields noted at the joint Council-School Board meeting this Monday that the pay freeze that has been in place the last two years, and the consequential loss of critical manpower in public works and policing that have been the result.

Shields concurred that public

safety is “a very high priority for us,” and Noonan echoed that sentiment for the schools.

Noonan did caution that while the schools are almost fully staffed now, “the pipeline for new hires coming out of the universities is just not there” due to Covid and hiring pressure elsewhere. “Are we going to get the new job applicants we will need?” he asked rhetorically.

Speaking to the equivalent on the City side, Shields said that manpower losses in the Department of Public Works have been significant and “it has been difficult to retain police, as it is tough to be an officer now.” Manpower pressures are also great for the public sector in information technology and even for school bus drivers and crossing guards.

There have been positions that have remained open for over a year, he said.

Noonan noted that the Meridian High School football team made its deepest run into the postseason in years and this year’s projected budget will mark the third consecutive year

when it will come in below the City’s organic revenue growth level. As far as the high school construction, “We’re all but done here,” he said, except for some outdoor amenities held up by supply chain issues, and allowing for the schools’ ability to hand back $100,000 in bond funds to the City.

While enrollment levels remain down since the pandemic, the rate of drop is declining rapidly, and 2,431 students for the whole system has been projected by the Weldon Cooper Center at the University of Virginia, which has been a reliable consultant with the City schools for 15 years.

He noted that for the system’s roughly 500 employees, compensation levels in terms of steps (at a cost of $950,000) and cost of living adjustments ($400,000 per one percent rise) include a 10 percent increase in health plan cost hikes and additional resources are called for to address the mental and emotional health of students and employees alike from the pressures of the pandemic.

FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

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PAGE 5 | DECEMBER 9 - 15, 2021

NOVA ScriptsCentral Helps Refugees in Need of Medical Help

Continued from Page 1

“We focus on making sure people are not needing as many medicines in the future and they know how to take care of themselves. We help them understand the stigmas associated with certain illnesses and get them engaged in knowing how to better manage their health.”

Not only does the nonprofit help those who are native to the area, but also those who are new— including refugees making their way into America for a variety of reasons. Northern Virginia Family Services, another local nonprofit, works closely with these refugees to provide them with the resources they need, including working with NOVA ScriptsCentral to provide medications and other medical supplies such as nutrition supplements for those of all ages and prenatal vitamins for pregnant mothers.

John contacted Direct Relief who helped the organization receive five pallets of items including over 14,000 bottles of Pediasure, Similac and Ensure, hygiene kits, Dove soap, and

disinfectant wipes.

NOVA ScriptsCentral was also a vital part of the community during the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic.

“When Covid first started we were one of the first groups to go out and get PPE supplies to give out to community partners, such as local churches and school systems. We’re accustomed to being a go-to resource when people need something to help the community,” said John.

Almost 20,000 pieces of PPE (personal protective equipment) were given out to the community by NOVA ScriptsCentral last year.

In order to be eligible for NOVA ScriptsCentral’s medication program, you must be a patient at one of their clinic sites, have no access to prescription insurance and be 300 percent below the federal poverty level. For a family of four in Virginia, that means making less than $78,000 a year.

When individuals reach out, the organization helps them to determine which of their partner clinics is the closest to get in in

order to access their resources.

NOVA ScriptsCentral also works to help those who do not meet their requirements but are still in need of help by connecting them with other resources available in the area.

This year, they also launched their diabetes pilot program which helps to provide free insulin to anyone who needs it that is being seen at one of their partner clinics. Although President Biden recently announced that insulin prices would be capped at $35 but that is only for those with some type of insurance— leaving those without still struggling to obtain this life-saving medication.

The organization is predominantly grant-funded and always looking for people to donate— both their time and money. Volunteers work behind the scenes to help with logistics, blog writing and other activities.

Additionally, the organization is always looking for members to serve on their board. You do not need to be a medical professional to serve on the board, just someone who is passionate about

NOVA SCRIPTSCENTRAL worked with Direct Relief to provide a variety of items to refugees in need in the Northern Virginia area. (P���� C������� �� NOVA S������C������) providing help to underserved communities.

NOVA ScriptsCentral also received an overall score of 100/100 from Charity Navigator, a charity assessment organization that evaluates charitable organizations. All of the money they receive goes to directly supporting the community.

“We’re so focused on serving the community that whatever money we are able to raise goes directly to service,” said John,

who is proud of the work he and his team have done to receive this score. “I have a super talented team of individuals that are mission-driven and looking to find the most resourceful ways of gaining access to supplies to help serve the community.”

If you or someone you know are in need of the services offered by NOVA ScriptsCentral or interested in donating or volunteering, visit novascripts.org or email info@novascripts.com.

PAGE 6 | DECEMBER 9 - 15, 2021 

One of the Nation’s Foremost Weekly Newspapers

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FOUNDED IN 1991

Vol. XXXI, No. 43 December 9 - 15, 2021 • City of Falls Church ‘Business of the Year’ 1991 & 2001 • • Certified by the Commonwealth of Virginia to Publish Official Legal Notices • • Member, Virginia Press Association •

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E D I TO R I A L

Love’s Increase Vs. Selfish Self-Interest

“To whom much is given, much is required,” or so the oft-cited quote in the Gospel of Luke attests, and it is in this giving time of the year that such wisdom challenges each of us to do a personal assessment of where we stand in the greater scheme of things. It can then be paired with the Gospel of Matthew’s Parable of the Talents to produce a similar but somewhat more nuanced meaning.

Life, in particular human life as we know it, does not expect a pay back in the measure given. Everything about life attests to an expectation of still greater abundance and fulfillment beyond what’s begun with. A beautiful sunset is not a thing in itself, but as it explodes into our consciousness, generates even more beauty, beauty that can manifest itself in myriad altogether fresh and new ways. What does a sunset have to do with the perception of it by us, you ask? Well, what if the two are elements of the same reality, which of course is the way it is. Reality encompasses, in its entirety as a unified field, the sunset and the perception of it, and the perception of it as beautiful, as well.

Some may object that this is tantamount to a mandate, that the beauty of a sunset burdens us with a requirement to appreciate it. Yes, we do live in an era where selfish self-interest is preached as gospel.

This is the secret to Trump’s success, although he hardly invented it.

It has taken a full court press by enemies of democracy everywhere, and that means enemies of the human spirit that so naturally manifests and expands beauty, to get us here. But why do they hate so much?

Hate is an action of negation, of destruction. It is not just a protest, it is an active force that has at its core the severance of the bond between beauty and love.

Hate’s fever, obsessed selfish self-interest, dwells in darkness and stays in darkness. In darkness there is no beauty, because beauty, as in a sunset, requires light. There is no love in selfish self-interest, just as there is no light, or enlightenment. There is only a fleeting second of perceived, or hoped for, sensual gratification, a deceiving illusion because there is really no second of time that stands alone, but only as a slight breath of a longer phrase that quickly subsumes it into a far greater song. To one who realizes it has been denied the gratification it sought by the mere nature of reality, there is only the recourse to a grasping hate. Or, there is of course, the option on the other hand, of an about face.

As reality loves itself, by the very nature of things, it loves whatever arises from it no matter in what kind of shape its found. This requires but one thing, an appreciation of love.

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FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

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Tinner Hill Contributions to Watch Night Editor, As I read the article in the News-Press last week entitled, “Watch Night to Return The NYE”, I couldn’t help but get a sense that Tinner Hill Heritage Foundation gets little credit for the significant role Tinner Hill has contributed to many of the community programs that make up the fabric of the Little City.

After the Tri-Centennial Eve celebration in 1998, Tinner Hill led the effort to continue the New Year’s Eve celebration and registered a trademark on “Watch Night®”. Watch Night is a term steeped in the African American experience. Many traditionally African American churches hold Watch Night services in remembrance of when the Emancipation Proclamation came into effect on January 1st, 1863, and the enslaved people in the “States currently in rebellion” would be freed. Like those enslaved here in our community of Falls Church.

“Freedom’s Eve”!

The Tinner Hill Heritage Foundation was responsible for the planning and operations of Watch Night®, as the Non-Profit pass thru for all funds received and paid, managed by the accounting firm of Diener and Associates.

3. Do not let the news columns reflect editorial comment.

4. Publish the news that is public property without fear or favor of friend or foe.

5. Accept no charity and ask no favors.

6. Give “value received” for every dollar you take in.

7. Make the paper show profit if you can, but above all keep it clean, fearless and fair.

Edwin Henderson Falls Church

[ LETTERS ]

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Send us a letter and let us know what you think.

The deadline for Letters to the Editor is 5 p.m. Monday each week of publication Letters should be 350 words or less.

1. Keep the news clean and fair.

2. Play no favorites, never mix business and editorial policy.

Around 2007, Barb Cram took over the full planning and operations of the event. In 2014, Tinner Hill Heritage Foundation sold the trademark for Watch Night® to the Little City CATCH Foundation.

The agreement to sell the trademark to Little City CATCH Foundation stipulated that Tinner Hill will continue to be acknowledged as the founders of Watch Night. But the article in FCNP made it seem that Tinner Hill was only a minor player in the metamorphosis of Falls Church’s New Year’s Eve Celebration.

Tinner Hill established many community programs and initiatives in Falls Church, such as our Music Festival, Women’s History Walk, Martin Luther King Day March, as well as our historic site, heritage trail and monument.

When articles are written that leave out the positive contributions of African Americans, this is typically known as “the sin of omission,” so that going forward no one will know what happened or who made contributions. This is why our work is so important.

Email letters@fcnp.com Fax 703-342-0347 Mail or drop off Letters to the Editor, c/o Falls Church News-Press, 105 N. Virginia Ave., #310, Falls Church, VA 22046

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FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

DECEMBER 9 - 15, 2021 | PAGE 7

G � � � � C � � � � � �� �� From Culmore to Harvard: A Dreamers Experience B� U���� E����

I can vividly remember the day I sat on the floor outside of an acute care unit in which my 52-year-old father was having emergency surgery. I watched a small team of paramedics bow their heads in anticipation and sorrow. Moments earlier, they had been tirelessly working on reviving my father after he developed asphyxiating blood clots in his lungs as a result of a head-on collision with a drunk driver.

As I sat there, I attempted to bribe God with promises of good deeds in return for my father’s life. I slowly turned my head and saw the surgical team quietly leaving the care unit. They didn’t look my way, purposely avoiding eye contact.

Even before I could compute the gravity of that moment, a sense of isolation and dread began to settle in. I would have to navigate a new map of the world, one that was stifling in its unnecessary complexity. I did my best to hold back the river of tears as I prepared to be told what I had already known.

To my siblings and me, he was more than a father—he was our lifeline. He came to the United States with the belief that one day the doors of opportunity would open for his children. But, when he passed away, our lives were on hold and at any moment we could have been uprooted from our home because our immigration status was compromised. It meant that we could not work or drive legally, and that

higher education would only be a dream.

Unable to enroll in college, I educated myself by reading non-fiction literature

“The obstacles I faced taught me an important lesson, that my quest for freedom relied heavily on my ability to understand the world around me.”

at Woodrow Wilson Library and spoke to local leaders about issues impacting our community. Not having access to mainstream institutions of learning fostered a keen sense of creativity and resourcefulness — two characteristics that have influenced my work ethic and determination. The Obama administration passed the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) executive order allowing people like myself to break out of the shackles of our uncertainty. DACA protects nearly 800,000 young people against deportation, but does not grant legal immigration status or a pathway to citizenship. I took advantage of this temporary executive order and my journey began with my enrollment in Northern Virginia Community College, where I

earned an associate’s degree in Business Administration. Following community college, I attended Cornell University’s School of Industrial & Labor Relations (ILR), earning a bachelor’s degree in ILR in December of 2020.

The obstacles I faced taught me an important lesson, that my quest for freedom relied heavily on my ability to understand the world around me. As I walked around Falls Church and noticed day laborers at the local home improvement and convenience stores, I began to realize inequalities and injustices through our marginalized communities. I realized that my individual fate was connected to something greater than myself, and I felt that I needed to create equality and fairness for those without a voice. In order to effectively help others, I needed to continue to seek higher education because it was a purposeful and necessary vocation that gifted growth and opportunity.

After completing my undergraduate degree, I was fortunate enough to be accepted to Harvard Graduate School where I am earning a Master’s of Education in Learning Design, Innovation, and Technology. However, attending graduate school as a DACA recipient presents itself with a unique set of challenges. For one, the cost of attendance is a barrier-to-entry. Now, this can be said about higher education as a whole, but in many states DACA recipients are considered international students incurring two,

sometimes three times the costs of their “documented” counterparts. Fortunately, in Virginia, DACA recipients are able to receive domicile status. Even so, they (we) are not eligible to receive federal financial aid, federal loans, and federal work-study programs.

I was confronted by this obstacle after receiving my acceptance to graduate school—how was I going to be able to afford the projected $75,000 cost of attendance? I did what any millennial would do and went online to start a fundraiser: gofundme.com/F/Harvard-Dreamer, which has raised nearly 20 percent of the funds required to complete my degree. I am actively applying to scholarships and exploring other means for funding as I complete my first semester.

It’s important to note that I am an exception to the rule because most DACA recipients have not had the same opportunities or community of support as I’ve had, yet all DACA recipients have extraordinary untapped potential. America was founded by women and men like us, people who were dreamers with big ideas, and people who were unafraid to challenge the status quo. DACA is simply a stopgap measure requiring a permanent solution. I believe we are overdue in providing security for all dreamers who have lived under the shadows for far too long.

Eshan is a resident of Falls Church and a recipient of DACA.

Q������� �� ��� W��� Do you expect to finish your holiday shopping in time?

• Yes

• No

• Not sure

Visit www.FCNP.com to cast your vote

[WRITE FOR THE PRESS]

Last Week’s Question: Is Roe v. Wade going to survive this most recent challenge?

48% No

28% Yes 24% Not Sure FCNP On-Line polls are surveys, not scientific polls.

The News-Press welcomes readers to send in submissions in the form of Letters to the Editor & Guest Commentaries. Letters to the Editor should be no more than 350 words and writers are limited to one appearance every four weeks. Guest Commentaries should be no more than 800 words and writers are limited to one appearance every four months. Because of space constraints, not all submissions will be published.

All submissions to the News-Press should be original, unpublished content. We reserve the right to edit submissions for length, grammar and accuracy. All submissions should include writer’s name, address, phone and e-mail address if available.

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PAGE 8 | DECEMBER 9 - 15, 2021

A Penny for Your Thoughts

News of Greater Falls Church

By Supervisor Penny Gross

Many local residents are aware that a general aviation airport operated on property that now is Skyline in eastern Mason District.

The Washington-Virginia Airport at Bailey’s Crossroads opened in the mid-1940s, with a 2800-foot dirt runway that was paved by 1957; a second runway later was built, and the airport continued to serve general aviation until it closed in October of 1970. Aerial photos from 1964 show the airport along the south side of Route 7, with a large drive-in theatre and shopping centers adjacent to some still-existing garden apartments.

If you look carefully, you still can see the small red beacon lights (not operational) on buildings that signaled the flight path for incoming planes.

Far less known was another small airport a few miles west, known as the Falls Church Airpark, which operated from 1945 to 1961 along the south side of Route 50, between Graham Road and Fenwick Street. The airpark operated on property owned by the Eakin Family, with a dirt runway and room for a couple dozen planes. Old aerial photos show the runway parallel to Route 50, with houses along Marc Drive and on the eastern side of Graham Road. A later cross runway was added, but not paved. The airpark hosted pilot training and air shows that were open to the public.

When the airpark closed, the Eakin family applied for permits to build a shopping center, but their application was denied. Nearby residents objected to the increased traffic that would be generated. Later applications to build apartments (Monticello and Coralain Gardens) were approved and, eventually, the Loehmann’s Plaza shopping center (now Graham Park Plaza) was built to serve the growing population.

Still owned by the Eakin family, the property has a prospective third iteration – as the Townhomes at Graham Park Plaza. Following a lengthy public community process to rezone the western half of the old shopping center for residential use, a ceremonial groundbreaking was held last week for what will be a 172-unit community, with 22 affordable dwelling units, required by Fairfax County’s zoning policy. An earlier design was for apartment homes, but additional work with the community, by developer EYA and Federal Realty, resulted in fewer units, all for sale rather than rental. The new neighborhood will include an urban linear park open to the public, a grid of streets, and pedestrian and bicycle amenities. The western half of the shopping center has been demolished; popular spots like the Celebrity Deli, the Giant grocery store, and the rest of the eastern half will remain.

Elements of the new community commemorate the old airpark’s existence. Proposed street names include Old Airfield Way, Blade Drive, Ascent Drive, and Camber Street (camber is an aeronautics term relating to symmetry of an airfoil). Model home names include private plane names like Cessna and Bellair. Although there may not be little red beacons, I suspect that new residents will find other small amenities with aeronautic themes. Forty homes already have been sold; more units will be available for sale 205368A01 as construction proceeds. Occupancy for the first group of townhomes is anticipated to be late 2022.  Penny Gross is the Mason District Supervisor, in the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors. She may be emailed at mason@fairfaxcounty.gov.

C i t y o f Fa l l s C h u r c h

C RIM E R EPO RT Week of Nov. 29 — Dec. 5, 2021 Driving Under the Influence, N Washington St, Dec 3, 3:18 AM, a White female, 25, of Reston, VA, was arrested for Driving Under the Influence.

Larceny from Building, W Broad St, between Dec 2 and 3, unknown suspect(s) took an item of value from a business.

www.FCNP.com

Aggravated Assault, E Fairfax St, Dec 5, 5:11 PM, an attempted assault occurred involving a motor vehicle with no injuries.

Investigation continues.

FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

Delegate Kaye Korys

Richmond Report The whipped-up outcry on public education seemed to definitely turn the tide in November’s election. Between the ‘outrage’ about a parent’s involvement in a child’s education and the near-hysteria about critical race theory, public education became the hottest campaign issue in the gubernatorial campaigns.

I completely object to this false narrative. As a former Fairfax County School Board member and the mother of three Fairfax County Public Schools graduates, I know the myriad opportunities to become involved open to families of FCPS students. I also know that families can reach out to school staff about any concern they may have. FCPS schools have open doors to parents. Decrying critical race theory is more difficult to debunk. I believe that many of those raising their voices against critical race theory were responding to dog-whistle politics and couldn’t describe exactly what they were battling against.

Many teachers view critical race theory as a synonym for true history that is not slanted in any way. I do have experience with a “true history” history curriculum through my long support of the International Baccalaureate (IB) program of studies. In IB history classes, history is taught with a world view and allows the student to see simultaneous history happenings as they have unfolded around the world. I have never heard a complaint about teaching history with this multiple focus, not as a parent of an IB Diploma candidate, nor as a School Board member. In fact, I regret that my public school history education was not taught from this worldwide perspective.

How can any parent object to history lessons based upon actual facts and presented with clear reliance upon those facts?

Because public education has suffered from the campaignspeech exaggerations and from

the estrangement of many students from their schools because of Covid-19, it is easy to besmirch and malign the classroom experience. It is also easy for political candidates to exploit that estrangement through frequently repeated falsehoods and insults and threats to teachers, administrators and elected School Board members. Coming back to a rational discourse about public education after this purposely divisive and, yes, successful statewide campaign will not be easy. I encourage Virginians to use this painful and mudslinging campaign as an opportunity to examine our public education system for a variety of points of view. The first step in this attempt to return to normalcy should be hearing the mud thrown against the system clearly, and looking to define real problems in the mud. Ignoring the campaign hype that we have all experienced in the past several months would be a mistake.

We can learn from the effectiveness of dog-whistle politics and look deeper at the roots of the dissatisfaction which the dogwhistles exploited. Long-term problems surfaced in the political campaigns. We must take a deep breath and work to bring public education back to the public— with reforms and increased resources. We must stand behind our teachers and give them the resources and encouragement to teach in this difficult and angry time. This will not be easy, but we owe our children and our children’s children— the legacy of these times can either be more anger and divisiveness or a step into a future in which we work as a commonwealth to build the public education experience we all want our children to have.

Make Your Pet a Star!

Critter

 Delegate Kory represents the 38th District in the Virginia House of Delegates. She may be emailed at DelKKory@house. virginia.gov.

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Snap a pic of your critter and email it to: CRITTERCORNER@FCNP.COM

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FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

Don’t Murder Your Sons

A familiar story from the Bible, of Abraham (also known as Abram), the patriarch of Western Civilization, willing to obediently slay, at the order of God, his only, long-awaited offspring, Isaac, before the unfolding of the great history of the tribe from whence Judaism, Christianity and Islam all grew.

In the time of Abraham a couple thousand years B.C., it should be pointed out, there was no high ground for any kind of morality, save for self-preservation, which hardly FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS qualifies as morality. The best of what some might call morality came in the form of powerful and honorable leadership in the striving of one tribe over another. But self-preservation and tribal self-preservation were accounted as the measure for all actions and of course that involved an almost unbroken sequence of wars. In other words, killing other human beings was the standard.

There was no such thing as the modern concept of pacifism in the general population, as much as accommodation for a priestly class was sometimes provided.

If you didn’t kill, you’d get killed, and often by your own tribesmen if your reluctance was deemed bad for morale and success.

In war, it is the older generation that has always used its offspring as fodder for its preservation and success. The old forcing their own young to fight and die for them has always been the way it was done.

Yet, there has been in all this time no commonly held term for the genocide of sons by their fathers. There are homicide, genocide, fratricide, even suicide, but no common term by which we identify this most prolific of all forms of systematic taking of human life down through the course of history.

It was not until World War I, the Great War, which saw to the slaughter of tens of millions of the most civil and educated lads that humanity had ever spawned that surfaced at all the expression of even some doubts about war in general and even derived from it dad’s entitlement to kill junior.

From “All Quiet on the Western Front” (1929), to Stanley Kubrick’s “Paths of Glory” (1957) to “Johnny Got His Gun” (1971) and others arose not just a general critique of the unfairness and brutality of war, but of its very idea in the first place. Yet even so, they fall short of getting at the core dynamic behind war.

No, it was not until an intergenerational collaboration between a young poet of the Great War who died on the battlefield only weeks before it ended, Wilfred Owen, and his much younger British composer of music, Benjamin Britten, who put many of Owen’s poems to the music of his War Requiem, first performed in 1962, that a new appreciation was first struck..

Mixing Owen’s “Anthem for a Doomed Youth” and the Latin Mass of the Dead, Britten conjured an alternative to the savagery of civilization built out of its very own core tradition, the Biblical sacrifice by the patriarch Abraham of his son Isaac.

Go these words, “Then Abram bound the youth with belts and straps, “And builded parapets and trenched there, And stretched forth the knife to slay his son. When lo! an angel called him out of heaven, Saying, Lay not thy hand upon the lad,Neither do anything to him. Behold, a ram, caught in a thicket by its horns; “Offer the Ram of Pride instead of him. but the old man would not so, but slew his son, And half the seed of Europe, one by one.”

The first part recites the Biblical account, coming down to the last two lines, which are altered dramatically, “But the old man would not so, but slew his son. And half the seed of Europe, one by one.”

It is an immensely powerful indictment of humanity’s unwillingness to adhere to the core morality of the new thing that was being introduced to humanity by the Abrahmaic tradition.

God orders his principal man to not kill his son! That was how God intended for his people to go forth into the world. Yet nowhere in our long tradition has this been explicitly acknowledged. Instead, swept under the rug.

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DECEMBER 9 - 15, 2021 | PAGE 9

Nicholas F. Benton

Our Man in Arlington

By Charlie Clark

For centuries, a secret fraternity with curious rituals familiar at the highest echelons of American power was known as the Freemasons. In 2021, the Arlington versions of those oncespooky lodge members are now out of the shadows.

I’m assured of this by Don Strehle, a retired Truist banker and longtime resident of the Maywood and Rock Spring neighborhoods, who is the deputy grandmaster of the group’s Cherrydale Columbia Lodge no.

42. “If the brethren continue to elect me, I will be grandmaster next November,” he says. “It will give me pleasure to be in charge of approximately 30,000 Virginia freemasons.”

The group built around ceremonies and tools of the ancient bricklayer’s guild is most closely associated with active members George Washington and Andrew Jackson. (A new book from the University of Virginia Press titled “A Deserving Brother: George Washington and Freemasonry,”

by Mark A. Tabbert, is due in February, and Strehle looks forward to it.)

His Arlington compatriots have frequent contact with allies at Alexandria’s skyline-dominating George Washington Masonic National Memorial, whose museum is a fun tour.

And Strehle helped me explain a mystery about Arlington House creator George Washington Parke Custis for my recent biogra-

phy. The curious anecdote had it that a 17-yearold Custis was arrested in 1798 in Alexandria for failure to answer charges that he’d stolen silver spoons from Gadsby’s Tavern. Strehle agreed with speculation that the mishap was a reason Custis never joined the Masons.

Today, Masons number 1.2 million nationwide, says Strehle, now in his 25th year. Arlington boasts two lodges, including the one he frequents above the Cherrydale Hardware store. “We own the 1930-vintage building at 3805 Langston Blvd., and the hardware store has been our tenant since the 1940s,” he says.

The second is the Centennial Glebe Lodge No. 81, at Route 50 and S. George Mason Dr., next to Arlington Hall. A women’s contingent (led by women but men belong) is the Order of the Eastern Star, which meets in Falls Church at the KemperMacon Ware lodge.

In contrast to their Hollywood image conjuring mysterious ancient temples, “Masons have always been active in our community,” Strehle says. “And we’re going to ramp up our civic activities to increase visibility.

We host blood drives with the Red Cross, at least six a year.”

They assemble food donations, and sponsor Little League teams and Scout troops.

In the future, “We will try to ratchet up activities to make sure the world understands what we are and what we do, to pull back the veil on freemasonry.”

Members are “just average in the community, a fraternity of men” seeking to “make better human beings,” Strehle adds. Yes, the Masons still “have symbols that we identify with one another that are not public.” But nowadays, “you can see everything about us on the Internet, some true, some not.”

The goal is to “support each other, our families and communities. We teach morality to members in search of greater understanding of life.” Some are taught in symbols and veiled in allegory, he acknowledges, invoking the brick artisan’s vocabulary. “In the lodge, you meet members on the level,’” meaning no man is above another, no matter their station in life. We say ‘Part upon the square.’” That means “when we leave each other, we’re always square and honest.” *** I was almost hit by a car last Friday. A neighbor’s.

On my morning walk, I waited patiently at Langston Blvd. and N. Quantico for a traffic lull.

Then I moseyed out in the zebrastripe crossing.

But a Hyundai coupe entering from Quantico turned left. I won’t soon forget its front grid aimed directly at me as the unseen driver accelerated. I dove forward, turned and cursed at the culprit, who sped off.

Next day, I wandered around the neighborhood and found that Hyundai. Luckily, a man from the same house appeared and I asked if he knew the owner. “My brother,” he said. So I asked him to relay a piece of my mind.

PAGE 10 | DECEMBER 9 - 15, 2021

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News-Press

FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

Community News & Notes Make Me Happy Art Exhibit Opening Dec. 18 Thirty-six artists will be featured in the all-media “Make Me Happy” show opening at the Falls Church Arts Gallery December 18 through January 30.

Original artworks – paintings, photography, sculpture and mixed media – that “spark joy, lift the spirit and bring a smile” will be presented at the gallery at 700-B Broad St. (Rte. 7), Falls Church, and online at www.fallschurcharts.org. All artwork is for sale to the public.

Admission is free and the gallery is open Wednesday-Friday from 11 am to 6 p.m., Saturday from 9 a.m.

— 6 p.m., and Sunday from 11 am to 4 pm. Masks and social distancing are required.

“The artworks feature flowers galore; all sorts of awesome animals; eye-popping, colorful abstractions; images of dancers; a baby; hot air balloons; and much more. I’ve been pleasantly surprised to discover the many outstanding artists right around the corner whose work can be seen at the gallery of Falls Church Arts,” said Leslie Ava Shaw, exhibition juror.

Shaw, who taught art history at New School University, has given art lectures in a variety of venues and conducted tours for the Whitney Museum of American Art. She has written art reviews and is currently a Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden gallery guide. While a member of Saint Joseph’s College Arts Council from 2004 to 2012, she curated multiple exhibitions on the East coast.

Santamobile Will Return to F.C. Next Week The City of Falls Church Volunteer Fire Department is excited to announce that the popular Santamobile will once again make its way through the City of Falls Church and neighboring communities this year.

Santamobile begins on Wednesday, December 15, and will run through Thursday, December 23.

A map of the planned routes will be available at fallschurchfire.org/ santamobile.

The elves will hand out winter safety tips and candy canes. For

safety, everyone should stay on the sidewalk and greet the volunteers at the curb. Please wear masks and stay socially distant to help prevent the spread of COVID-19. If driving in your car and you see the Santamobile, please slow down, keep your distance, and watch for elves frolicking in the street.

The planned schedule is below, but please note that routes are subject to change based on road conditions including parking, traffic, and construction. Visit www.facebook. com/FallsChurchVFD to find out when the Santamobile will be in your neighborhood. Every effort will be made to keep the Facebook page updated to reflect Santa’s revised schedule.

December 15: South of W. Broad Street in the St. James Cemetery and Virginia Forest neighborhoods up to and including Seaton Lane and S. Oak south of the Tripps Run bridge.

December 16: North of W. Broad Street including Little Falls Street.

December 17: South of W. Broad Street in the Tyler Gardens neighborhood and Virginia Forest neighborhood south of Seaton Lane; also includes streets north of the Tripps Run bridge (Hillier, S. Oak, Lee, Rees, Chanel).

December 18: The Little Falls neighborhood, and streets east of Washington Street including the Madison Park and Whittier Park neighborhoods.

December 19: Broadmont neighborhood and streets on the north side of Hillwood east of Cherry Street.

December 20 through 23: Make-up routes and excursions into Arlington and Fairfax counties.

The FCVFD respectfully requests that you refrain from calling the fire station for information on Santa’s intended routes. Instead, send your questions to santamobile@fallschurchfire.org. Please note that Santa is unable to respond to requests for private drive-bys.

A Little Christmas in the Little City Saturday, December 11 from 2 — 5 p.m. at Christ Crossman Church (384 N Washington St, Falls Church). “Little Christmas” is a family friendly outdoor event with a live petting zoo, holiday craft stations for kids, munchies from a food truck,

FORMALLY INSTALLED at a special service last Sunday night, the Rev. Walter Burley Strattmann Salmon became the historic Falls Church Episcopal’s 29th rector in its long and storied history, and the first sought, examined and selected by the vestry of the local church since the schism of 2005 and subsequent decade-long restoration struggle of the brave congregation of “continuing Episcopalians” to their rightful location.(Photo: News-Press) and cups of cocoa around a warm fire. Children can participate in a service project assembling weekend backpack meals for local food insecure students (which will be donated to the Food for Others Power Pack Program). This event is free and open to all.

So stop by, warm up, and share some cheer and joy! It’s all outdoors, and we’ll do our part to keep folks safe and healthy. For more information contact the church office at 703-532-4026 or email office@ christcrossman.org.

“The Christmas Angel” Opens This Weekend Based on a little-known 1910 novel by Abbie Farwell Brown, this tale about an elderly spinster and her heartwarming transformation into the Christmas spirit echo Dickens and the journey of Ebenezer Scrooge. Creative Cauldron’s awardwinning creative team, Conner and Smith, put their signature stamp on

what is sure to become another classic Christmas show!

This production features adult professionals and students enrolled in their Musical Theater PreProfessional Training program.

Please note: all patrons must wear masks. Social distancing and proof of vaccination or negative Covid-19 test is required for everyone 12 and over.

Shows take place December 9 — 19 with shows at 7:30 p.m. on Thursdays and Fridays, 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays at 2 p.m. and 4 p.m.

Tickets are available for purchase online at creativecauldron.org.

Creative Cauldron is located at 410 S. Maple Ave. in Falls Church. Call 703-436-9948 with questions.

Cosmopolitan Ballet Theater Presents “The Bluebird” Two peasant siblings, Mytyl and Tytyl, meet a mysterious fairy on Christmas Eve which sparks the

beginning of an exciting quest for the pair as they search for the elusive Bluebird of Happiness.

Mytyl and Tytyl journey through a series of magical places, such as the Palace of Night and the Kingdom of the Future, and cross paths with fantastic characters, like hobgoblins and talking animals. In the end will the two find the Bluebird and safely return home?

This performance will take place on Sunday, December 12 at 5 p.m. at Meridian High School (121 Mustang Alley). Tickets are $20. Visit cbtusa. org or call 409-795-9347 for more information.

MCC Opens “Traveling While Black” VR Experience McLean Community Center (MCC) will hold an opening reception to celebrate the start of the “Traveling While Black” Virtual Reality Experience that will be on exhibit in the center’s lobby (1234 Ingleside Ave., McLean) from

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FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

Friday, Dec. 15, 2021 — Saturday, Feb. 12, 2022.

In “Traveling While Black VR,” the immersion of 360-degree footage draws viewers into living history lessons told around a booth in Ben’s Chili Bowl. The Washington, D.C. restaurant has been a mainstay of the African American community since 1958, bearing witness to significant Civil Rights milestones that are woven into the film in powerful snippets of footage. The VR experience/film was directed by Academy Award-winning director Roger Ross Williams.

From the stirring memories of civil rights leader Courtland Cox to the heartbreaking words of Samaria Rice, whose young son Tamir was killed by police in 2014, VR allows Williams to connect the parallels of the past to the present.

For more information, call MCC at 703-790-0123, TTY: 711.

Live Nativity Scene Next Weekend Saturday, December 18, Sleepy Hollow United Methodist Church will be hosting a live nativity scene from 5:30 — 7:30 p.m. There will be characters portraying the manger scene as well as live animals.

Sleepy Hollow United Methodist Church is located at 3435 Sleepy Hollow Rd. in Falls Church. Register for this event at the door. Masks are required for those who are unvaccinated and six feet of social distancing will be observed.

For questions and more details, visit sleepyhollowumc.org or call 703-534-6461.

Holiday Toy Drive at Mosaic District Bring joy and hope this holiday season and be part of Fairfax County Police Toy Drive! Donate new unwrapped toys, games, books and gifts. Toys collected will be distributed to children at a number of

hospitals and to children in our community who might not otherwise have a cheerful holiday season.

Collection boxes will be placed by the Target Lobby from Nov 26 until Dec 13.

On December 14, Santa will ride through Mosaic in a police motorcade. Santa will be escorted by 40 plus officers from the Virginia State Police, Fairfax County Sheriff’s Office and Fairfax County Police.

DECEMBER 9 - 15, 2021 | PAGE 11

Junie B. in Jingle Bells, Batman Smells Opens Fri. In this holiday favorite, Junie B. Jones, First-Grader, is superexcited about the upcoming Holiday Sing-Along and Secret Santa gift exchange at her school in this play

by Providence Players. Too bad tattletale May keeps ruining all of Junie B.’s fun. So, when Junie B. draws May’s name for Secret Santa, she comes up with the perfect plan to teach her nemesis a lesson! But will the Christmas spirit of peace and goodwill interfere before she can give you-know-who what she deserves? A hilarious and endearing tale based on the best-selling book series by Barbara Park. Suitable for children and families. Performances will take place December 10 — 19 with performances at 2 p.m. on Saturdays and Sunday and 7:30 p.m. on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays.

Transurban Donates $100K To Community Transurban, one of the world’s largest toll-road operators and developers of the 495, 95 and 395 Express Lanes, donated to Northern Virginia Family Service (NVFS) and the National 9/11 Pentagon Memorial today, following a “Drive to Donate” event on November 17.

Pledging to give $2 for the more than 30,000 trips during the event, Transurban added $37,500 for a total contribution of $100,000. The contribution, made on behalf of

LOCAL CRAFTERS, POTTERS, jewelry makers and more sold their goods at the Holiday Gift and Craft Show this past weekend at the Community Center. This year’s event also included a Children’s Shoppe where kids could pick out gifts for their friends and family and have them wrapped with the help of volunteers. (Photo: Gary Mester) Transurban and its customers, was divided equally between the organizations.

“We pride ourselves on being a good neighbor and long-term partner to communities in the Greater Washington Area,” said Pierce Coffee, president of Transurban North America. “NVFS and the National 9/11 Pentagon Memorial are two organizations working to advance critical community needs while preserving and honoring the unique history of Northern Virginia.

Together with our customers, we are pleased to offer funds that help continue their efforts and our commitment as a company to giving back.”

The event, Coffee added, was designed to coincide with the second anniversary of the opening of

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the 395 Express Lanes and continue Transurban’s work of investing in the communities it operates in. Such work includes a decade-long community grant and sponsorship program that has supported over 300 regional organizations.

NVFS, a longtime Transurban partner, helps families and individuals in need create stability with a wide range of critical services.

Each year, it empowers over 35,000 Northern Virginians to achieve selfsufficiency.

“We’re grateful for the support provided by those drivers who started their morning on the 395 Express Lanes on November 17 and to Transurban for their continued partnership,” said Stephanie Berkowitz, president and CEO at NVFS. “This

donation will support programs that provide the essential building blocks for financial, emotional and physical well-being for individuals and families to improve their quality of life.”

The National 9/11 Pentagon Memorial was created to preserve the memories of those lost and the day’s tremendous significance on our nation’s history.

To commemorate the opening of the 395 Express Lanes in 2019, Transurban chose to honor the legacy of September 11 heroes by donating $1 million to the National 9/11 Pentagon Memorial. Its partnership with NVFS includes prior donations of $60,000 toward Covid-19 relief.

To learn more about Transurban or the 395 Express Lanes, visit www. expresslanes.com.

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FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

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Wishing Everyone a Healthy Holiday!

Buying local for the holidays: a gift to your community The holiday season is the busiest time of year for many merchants and service providers in your area. But did you know that if you buy local this Christmas, you’ll help support your community? Here’s what you should know.

A SMALL GESTURE WITH A BIG IMPACT In addition to endorsing the merchants in your area, buying local allows you to contribute to your region’s economy by keeping jobs in the community. Plus, it’s a great way to invest in your neighbourhood’s businesses. Afterall, your support is what makes it possible for them to offer a wide variety of products and services.

Furthermore, a business that earns more money from transactions made by local citizens contributes a greater amount of tax revenue to the government. This money can then be reinvested in services that benefit the entire community.

Finally, buying local products helps protect the environment. This is because fewer greenhouse gases are emitted when locally made goods are transported

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to stores in the area.

THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX Buying local isn’t just about the products you can put in a shopping cart; it’s also about investing in your region’s many services. For example, think of the various offerings provided by regional businesses in the arts such as museums, theatres, galleries and more.

This year for Christmas, consider giving an experience as a gift. It may turn out to be the perfect way to spend quality time with a loved one.

SPECIAL DEALS AND GREAT OPPORTUNITIES During the holiday season, it’s not uncommon to see city officials and business organizations implement initiatives to encourage people to buy local.

This may include posting online directories that list all the businesses in the area. In addition, sometimes stores will offer special promotions, gifts and discounts to local residents.

This year for Christmas, give yourself and your community the gift of buying local.

PAGE 13 | DECEMBER 9 - 15, 2021

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FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

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Northern Virginia Mental Health Foundation wants to thank the Falls Church and surrounding communities for supporting us on Giving Tuesday.

93% percent of all donations to the Northern Virginia Mental Health Foundation goes directly to families and individuals receiving services at the Fairfax-Falls Church Community Services Board.

Learn more or give today at www.novamentalhealth.org.

PAGE 14 | DECEMBER 9 - 15, 2021

FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

Holiday Gift Guide for All Things Local This Giving Season Continued from Page 3

for you! To-go kits as well as completed pieces can be purchased online at shop.claywire.com.

Clay Cafe Studios is located at 101 N. Maple Ave. in Falls Church.

Visit claywire.com or call 703-8793386 for more information.

For young fashionistas: Lemon Lane Consignment offers a variety of clothing for sizes newborn through size 14 and shoes in sizes newborn through three years. The inventory is constantly changing as new items are brought in so you’ll be sure to find something that suits their style.

Lemon Lane is located at 246 W. Broad St. in Falls Church. You can shop via their Instagram @lemonlane_consignment, their website at lemonlaneconsignment.com or by calling 703-300-0060.

For the person who loves the outdoors: A long-time staple of the Falls Church community, Brown’s Hardware has a wide variety of items for any project you might have. In addition, they also have a selection of bird feeders and seed if you’re the type of person who prefers to sit outside and be with nature.

Brown’s Hardware is located at 100 W. Broad St. in Falls Church.

Call 703-532-1168 for more information.

For the party host: Preorders are now open for Dogwood Tavern’s limited edition eggnog! The eggnog is made with the finest bourbon, rum and brandy and aged for 30 days inhouse. Preorders can now be made on their website and pickup begins on Monday, December 13. Additionally, they are currently running a gift card promotion— when you purchase $100 worth of gift cards, you’ll receive a complimentary $20 gift card to keep for yourself or give to a loved one!

Dogwood Tavern is located at 132 W. Broad St. in Falls Church.

Preorders for eggnog and gift cards can be purchased online at dogwoodtavern.com. Pickup for eggnog begins December 13. Call 703-2378333 or email info@dogwoodtavernfc.com for more information.

For the vintage lover: New to You offers designer clothing, vintage glassware, mid-century modern home goods, fine jewelry, unique gifts and more. Not only is this a great way to shop locally but it’s also a great way to shop sustainably by buying secondhand! Who says you can’t be stylish and sustainable at the

same time?

New to You is located at 108 W. Broad St. in Falls Church. For more information, visit https://newtoyou. net/ or call 703-533-1251.

For the person with a resolution to work out more: Workout equipment is an investment and can be pricey. Help your loved one purchase their dream bike with a gift card to Conte’s Bike Shop. Gift cards can be purchased with values from $10 to $1,000. With trails all over the area a new bike is the perfect way to get outdoors and exercise in the new year.

Conte’s Bike Shop is located at 1118 W. Broad St. in Falls Church.

Call 703-639-0343 or visit contebikes.com for more details.

For all the kids on your list: Doodlehopper 4 Kids is your one stop shop for toys, games, books and more.

With hot toys like Squishmallows and fidget toys to jewelry-making kits and sports equipment and more you’re sure to find something for all of the little ones on the “nice list” this year.

Doodlehopper 4 Kids is located at 234 W. Broad St. in Falls Church.

To see their online catalog or find out more information, visit their website at doodlehopper.com.

NEW TO YOU offers a variety of designer shoes, clothes and accessories. (Photo: Courtesy of New to You)

Faces of Falls Church

Holiday Party Free and Open to All Friends of the News-Press WHILE TRYING TO GET A JUMP on the Holiday shopping I needed to do, I dipped into Penzeys, and there I not only found a great gift for the in-laws but I also found Karyn.

Karyn was born in DC but currently resides in Arlington.

She loves to cook and has been working there for the last 7 months.(Photo: J. Michael Whalen)

Thursday, Dec. 16, at 6 p.m.

American Legion Hall, 400 N. Oak Street.

DECEMBER 9 - 15, 2021 | PAGE 15

FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

Fa l l s C h u r c h

NEWS BRIEFS F.C.’s Economic Development Group Plans More Bailout $ Another round of grants to local businesses in the City of Falls Church are being planned by the City’s quasi-independent Economic Development Authority (EDA), based on votes taken by the group Tuesday night. Of the approximately $18 million federal Covid Relief funds designated for the City, it has been determined that $1.5 million will come to the EDA in equal amounts of $500,000 for each of the next three years, Becky Witsman of the City’s Economic Development Office told the EDA board Tuesday.

The first year’s allocation would include another round of small $5,000 grants to local businesses doing between $50,000 and $1 million in annual business that have lost 25 to 80 percent in gross receipts during the pandemic. They would go to businesses not included in the first round of EDA grants from earlier this year and with no other restriction.

In year two, funds would go to a “Dining Parklet Program” to assist in the effort of local businesses to extend their operations to outdoor parking areas, to the hiring of a marketing consultant, the use of “Shop Local” gift cards and to partner with the George Mason University Small Business Center.

Amazon Affordable Housing Grant $ Said Coming to F.C. Year 3 grant money from Amazon, dedicated to the advancement of affordable housing initiatives, will likely be coming to the City, it was reported at Tuesday’s meeting of the F.C. Economic Development Authority.

The plan is to use the funds to extend the City’s presence in the Virginia Village affordable housing section of the City.

Rep. Beyer Virtual Town Hall Set Monday Night Falls Church’s U.S. Rep. Don Beyer will hold his final town hall of the year this coming Monday, Dec. 13, at 7 p.m. It will be virtual and citizens looking to tune in can call 703-658-5903 for information. Beyer said, “I will be talking with constituents about how the Build Back Better and Infrastructure Bills will support Northern Virginians, providing an update on what’s happening in Congress, and taking your questions.”

Meanwhile., Rep. Beyer, who is chair of Congress’ Joint Economic Committee and author of the Digital Asset Market Structure and Investor Protection Act, issued the following statement as the House Financial Services Committee held a hearing on digital assets: “I commend the House Financial Services Committee for its work on digital assets to explore legislative solutions that promote innovation and growth while protecting consumers. My comprehen-

sive digital asset legislation is an excellent starting point for those efforts. I look forward to continued conversations with Chair Waters and other members of the Committee on how Congress can incorporate digital assets into regulatory frameworks, a need that both industry and regulators emphasize more and more all the time.”

Beyer recently chaired a Joint Economic Committee hearing, “Demystifying Crypto: Digital Assets and The Role Of Government.” The hearing underscored the important point that, while digital assets have great potential, the lack of comprehensive regulation exposes investors and consumers to fraud, hacks, and other illicit activities. Federal regulators have called upon Congress to create better rules to govern digital assets.

F.C.’s Snyder Honored With GMU Leadership Award In a program run under the auspices of the Schar School of Policy and Government of George Mason University, a Regional Elected Leaders Institute NOVA Leadership Award was presented last week to long-standing Falls Church City Councilman David Snyder.

This year, the award was presented to State Sen. Janet Howell, Arlington School Board Chair Barbara Kanninen and Prince William School Board Chair Babur Lateef in addition to Snyder.

Northam Announces Big Public Safety Spending Boost Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam Tuesday announced that his proposed two-year state budget will include the largest dollar investment in public safety in Virginia history. Northam is proposing pay increases for Virginia State Troopers, correctional officers, deputy sheriffs and regional jail officers, building on his record of law enforcement pay raises over the past four years.

“Law enforcement officers carry a heavy burden as they work to protect Virginians, and this raise is the right thing to do,” said Gov. Northam. “Virginia is committed to training officers, funding alternative response systems, and investing in communities. It is also important that our officers are paid enough to create a positive work environment free from as much stress and burnout as possible. This raise and increased funding is a huge step forward.”

Under the Governor’s proposal, newly-sworn state troopers will receive a 7.7 percent pay raise; the starting salary for new correction officers will increase by 25 percent; and the average entry-level salary for deputy sheriffs and regional jail officials will increase by approximately 20 percent. The Governor’s budget also includes significant funding to address pay compression and provide additional raises to a range of targeted officers and sworn personnel. Virginia gave one-time bonuses of $3,000 to $5,000 to public safety officials in 2021, in addition to a one-time bonus of $500 in 2020.

Protect the ones you love,

get your flu shot today.

@vaccinatevirginia

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FALLS CHURCH CALENDAR LOCALEVENTS THURSDAY, DECEMBER 9 Chamber of Commerce Breakfast Connection. The Falls Church Chamber of Commerce is changing it up this month with a special opportunity. Promote your business before the workday even begins. The format of the Breakfast Connection gives attendees a chance to bring their business to the table, literally.

This event focuses on roundtable power networking. This Breakfast is with the Arlington Chamber of Commerce, and will double your connections! The fee includes a continental breakfast. Register online on the Chamber website. (1999 Richmond Highway, Arlington). 7:30 — 9 a.m.

Baby Storytime. Join TysonsPimmit Library for songs, rhymes, stories and activities for you and your baby. Build an early literacy foundation while enjoying time together in your lap. Space limited to 15 children with one caregiver each. No registration, customers will be allowed in on a first come, first served basis. Check in at the Children's Information desk for tickets. This class is best for babies 0 — 18 months and their caregivers. (7584 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church). 10:30 — 11 a.m.

Five & Under Storytime. Join Thomas Jefferson Library for stories, songs, and activities that build early literacy skills. Ages 0 — 5. Space is limited to ticketed attendees for in-person events.

Tickets are free and first-come, first-serve at the information desk 30 minutes before each program. (1545 Arlington Blvd., Falls Church). 10:30 — 11 a.m.

Woodrow Wilson Storytime. Join Woodrow Wilson Library with your kids to read stories, move your feet and have fun at this storytime event. Attendees will also be learning Spanish words as they fit with the theme of each program. Please note masks are required for all people ages 2 and up. This program is limited to the first 15 people total. (6101 Knollwood Dr., Falls Church).

10:30 — 11 a.m. and 11:30 a.m.

— 12 p.m.

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 10

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 12

Snow Slime Making. There’s no snow outside yet so join TysonsPimmit Library to make some of your own. Ages 6 — 12. (7584 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church). 4 — 5 p.m.

Psychic Connections in Criminal Investigations. Join TysonsPimmit Library for stories of unconventional investigations of unsolved crimes. Psychic detective Noreen Renier, a veteran of over 600 cases, will speak about her investigative work. For decades she has participated in cases for the police and FBI using her psychic insights to help solve crimes and find missing persons when conventional methods couldn’t.

Her work has been featured on many platforms including Larry King, Court TV, 48 Hours, and America’s Most Wanted. Books will be available for purchase and signing afterwards. Readers of true crime and stories of the paranormal will be sure to enjoy this lecture! This event is for adults and teens. (7584 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church). 1 — 2 p.m.

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 11 Falls Church Farmers Market.

The Falls Church Farmers Market runs every Saturday at City Hall, where attendees will find fresh, local produce, meat, dairy, flowers & plants, honey, music and more. For more information, visit fallschurchva.gov/547/FarmersMarket-To-Go. (300 Park Ave., Falls Church). 8 a.m. — 12 p.m.

Kids in the Kitchen. Come join Tysons-Pimmit Library outside for a fun nutrition lesson and a healthy snack! This is an interactive experience that engages kids to form healthy eating habits and learn basic cooking skills. Snack ingredients are provided (may include nuts), just come ready to learn and have fun. This is for ages 3 — 8 with one parent, if you have questions about the appropriate age for a program or its content please call the branch at 703-7908088 (option 4). Due to space limitations we only have room for one adult with each registered child. All employees and visitors — regardless of vaccination status — are required to wear a mask while inside all Fairfax County facilities to help stop the spread of COVID-19. Room capacity will be limited to 40 people. (7584 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church). 11 — 11:30 p.m.

Paws to Read with Lucy. Read aloud to Lucy, a trained therapy dog at Thomas Jefferson Library.

Bring your own book or choose a book from the library. Walk-ins welcome. Ages 6 — 12. (1545 Arlington Blvd., Falls Church). 2 — 3 p.m.

Winter Wreath Making Workshop. Welcome the season’s change this winter with a festive homemade wreath at TysonsPimmit Library. All supplies will be provided, just bring your creativity. This event is for adults. (7584 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church). 2 — 3 p.m.

Washington Sinfonietta Family Holiday Concert. The Washington Sinfonietta returns to the stage with its annual Family Holiday Concert — a joyful musical celebration that has come to be beloved in and around the Falls Church community! Under the baton of Music Director Joel Lazar, the orchestra will perform timeless classics and festive tunes ranging from “Greensleeves” and Tchaikovsky’s “Nutcracker Suite”, to “Sleigh Ride” and choruses from Handel’s immortal “Messiah”. The program will also feature the talented George Mason High School Chamber Singers, an audience holiday carol sing-along, and a visit from Santa! Admission is free for adults and children of all ages. Proof of Covid vaccination or negative test within 72 hours required – please visit washingtonsinfonietta.org for full details and more information. (166 E. Broad St., Falls Church). 4 — 5:30 p.m.

MONDAY, DECEMBER 13 Storytime Fun for Preschoolers.

Join Tysons-Pimmit Library with your preschooler for storytime.

Space limited to 15 children with one caregiver each. No registration. Please check in at the information desk for tickets. Masks are once again required at the library regardless of vaccination

status. (7584 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church). 10:30 — 11 a.m.

Reception for Incoming and Outgoing City Council Members.

The public is invited to attend a reception honoring newly elected Council Member Caroline S. Lian; reelected Council Members Marybeth Connelly, Debora Schantz-Hiscott, and David F. Snyder; and outgoing Council Member Ross Litkenhous. (300 Park Ave., Falls Church). 7 — 7:30 p.m.

City Council Meeting. The City Council meets in-person in City Hall’s Council Chambers. In-person capacity may be limited due to Covid-19 safety, and all attendees must wear a mask and stay socially distant at all times. The meeting can be viewed live online (fallschurchva.gov/CouncilMeetings) or on FCCTV (Cox channel 11, RCN channel 2, Verizon channel 35).

Public comment can be made inperson or via MS Teams on any topic; sign-up by noon on the day of the meeting, fallschurchva.gov/ PublicComment. (300 Park Ave., Falls Church). 7:30 — 11 p.m.

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 15 Polar Express Pajama Party. Put on your coziest pajamas, snuggle with your favorite stuffed animal, pull up a soft blanket and join Mary Riley Styles Library for a ride on the Polar Express! This annual program is open to students in Grades K — 5. Registration and masks required. Pajamas, stuffed animals, pillows, and blankets are welcome. Hot cocoa, peppermint sticks, and popcorn will be served.

(120 N Virginia Ave., Falls Church).

3:30 — 4:30 p.m.

After School Activities and Adventures. Introducing After School Activities and Adventures: the after-school activity of the week at Woodrow Wilson Library.

It might be games, activities, or crafts. It's always a surprise and fun. Ages 6 — 12. Limited to the first 12 participants. (6101 Knollwood Dr., Falls Church). 4:30 — 5:30 p.m.

Santamobile. The City of Falls Church Volunteer Fire Department is excited to announce that the popular Santamobile will once

again make its way through the City of Falls Church and neighboring communities this year.

On Wednesday the 15, the Santamobile will be making its way through South of W. Broad Street in the St. James Cemetery and Virginia Forest neighborhoods up to and including Seaton Lane and S. Oak south of the Tripps Run bridge. To see more details and the routes, visit fallschurchfire.org/santamobile. (South of W. Broad St., Falls Church). 6:30 — 9:30 p.m.

Teen Advisory Board. Join TAB at Tysons-Pimmit Library to share ideas to improve teen programming and earn volunteer credit.

Grades 7 — 12. Pick up an application at the information desk or email alisha.hasson@fairfaxcounty.gov for more information. (7584 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church). 7 — 8 p.m.

VIRTUALEVENTS SUNDAY, DECEMBER 12 Conversation with Delegate Marcus Simon. The Falls Church League of Women Voters is hosting a virtual conversation with Marcus Simon, who represents Falls Church in the Virginia House of Delegates, on Sunday, December 12 at 3:00 pm.

Delegate Simon will be providing a preview of the upcoming session of the General Assembly and will also be discussing current issues within the Commonwealth.

The program is open to the public and questions from the audience are encouraged. You may register to attend this event by going to Eventbrite.com or by emailing Barbara Lipsky, blipsky@cox.net.

THEATER&ARTS THURSDAY, DECEMBER 9 The Christmas Angel. Based on a little-known 1910 novel by Abbey Farwell Brown, this tale about an elderly spinster and her heartwarming transformation into the Christmas spirit echo Dickens and the journey of Ebeneezer Scrooge.

Creative Cauldron’s award-winning creative team, Conner and Smith, put their signature stamp

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FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

on what is sure to become another classic Christmas show. This production features adult professionals and students enrolled in the Musical Theater PreProfessional Training program.

Please note: all patrons must wear masks. Social distancing and proof of vaccination or negative COVID test is required for everyone 12 and over. Performances take place from December 9 — 19 with shows on Thursdays and Fridays at 7:30 p.m., Saturdays at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. (410 South Maple Ave., Falls Church). 703436-9948.

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 10 Junie B. in Jingle Bells, Batman Smells. In this holiday favorite, Junie B. Jones, First-Grader, is super-excited about the upcoming Holiday Sing-Along and Secret Santa gift exchange at her school in this play by Providence Players. Too bad tattletale May keeps ruining all of Junie B.’s fun. So, when Junie B. draws May’s name for Secret Santa, she comes up with the perfect plan to teach her nemesis a lesson! But will the Christmas spirit of peace and goodwill interfere

before she can give you-knowwho what she deserves? A hilarious and endearing tale based on the best-selling book series by Barbara Park. Suitable for children and families. Performances will take place December 10 — 19 with performances at 2 p.m. on Saturdays and Sunday and 7:30 p.m. on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays. (2855 Annandale Rd., Falls Church). 703-425-6782.

LIVEMUSIC THURSDAY, DECEMBER 9 Adam Knudsen. Falls Church Distillers (442 S. Washington Street, Ste A Falls Church). 6 p.m.

703-858-9186.

KT Tunstall with Live and in Birchmere (3701 Ave, Alexandria).

703-549-7500.

Haley Johnsen Concert. The Mount Vernon $45. 7:30 p.m.

U2Topia. The State Theatre (220 N Washington St., Falls Church). $12. 8 p.m. 703-237-0300.

Born Cross Eyed. Jammin’ Java (227 Maple Ave. E, Vienna). 8 p.m. 703-255-1566.

Sol Roots Band. JV’s Restaurant (6666 Arlington Blvd., Falls Church). 8:30 p.m. 703-241-9504.

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 10 Josh Allen Duo Live. JV’s Restaurant (6666 Arlington Blvd., Falls Church). 4 p.m. 703-2419504.

Liz Taylor and the Husbands Live and in Concert. Falls Church Distillers (442 S. Washington Street, Ste A Falls Church). 7 p.m.

703-858-9186.

Maggie Rose. The Birchmere (3701 Mount Vernon Ave, Alexandria). $29.50. 7:30 p.m.

703-549-7500.

Parthenon Huxley & His Ridiculous Band Live and in Concert. Jammin’ Java (227 Maple Ave. E, Vienna). $20. 8 p.m. 703255-1566.

DECEMBER 9 - 15, 2021 | PAGE 17

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 11

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 12

Groovequest Live and in Concert.

JV’s Restaurant (6666 Arlington Blvd., Falls Church). 4 p.m. 703241-9504.

Daryl Davis & Patsy’s Holiday Show. JV’s Restaurant (6666 Arlington Blvd., Falls Church). 4 p.m. 703-241-9504.

Willy Porter. Jammin’ Java (227 Maple Ave. E, Vienna). $25. 7 p.m.

703-255-1566.

Open Mic. Falls Church Distillers (442 S. Washington Street, Ste A Falls Church). 5 p.m. 703-8589186.

Southside Johnny & the Asbury Dukes Live and in Concert.

Birchmere (3701 Mount Vernon Ave, Alexandria). $49.50. 7:30 p.m. 703-549-7500.

Game Over Man. Falls Church Distillers (442 S. Washington Street, Ste A Falls Church). 8 p.m.

703-858-9186.

Josh Allen Band. JV’s Restaurant (6666 Arlington Blvd., Falls Church). 8:30 p.m. 703-241-9504.

Roadducks. JV’s Restaurant (6666 Arlington Blvd., Falls Church). 8:30 p.m. 703-241-9504.

The Hackensaw Boys. The State Theatre (220 N Washington St., Falls Church). $17 — $20. 9 p.m.

703-237-0300.

Rob Hornfeck Enterprise.

Dogwood Tavern (132 W. Broad St., Falls Church). 9:30 p.m. 703237-8333.

Curtis Knocking Christmas Show.

Dogwood Tavern (132 W. Broad St., Falls Church). 9:30 p.m. 703237-8333.

Fruit Favorites Gift Box ONLY

Bill Kirchen. The Birchmere (3701 Mount Vernon Ave, Alexandria). $39.50. 7:30 p.m. 703-549-7500.

Eyes of the Nile. The State Theatre (220 N Washington St., Falls Church). $ 12 — $15. 8 p.m.

703-237-0300.

Linwood Taylor Band. JV’s Restaurant (6666 Arlington Blvd., Falls Church). 8 p.m. 703-2419504.

MONDAY, DECEMBER 13 Tom Saputo. JV’s Restaurant (6666 Arlington Blvd., Falls Church). 7:30 p.m. 703-241-9504.

Sweet Yoder. Jammin’ Java (227 Maple Ave. E, Vienna). 7:30 p.m.

703-255-1566.

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Get Tickets & See Covid-19 Protocol at creativecauldron.org

PAGE 18 | DECEMBER 9 - 15, 2021

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FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

School News & Notes FCCPS School Board Office Hours FCCPS School Board Chair Shannon Litton and Vice-Chair Laura Downs will be holding “office hours” at Dogwood Tavern (132 W Broad Street) on Monday, December 13th from 6 — 8 p.m. Residents may drop by (no registration required) to ask questions and offer feedback in a casual environment. As this will not be a private setting, community members who prefer to have a private exchange with the School Board can locate members’ email addresses on their website: https://www.fccps.org/ page/school-board.

MHS Senior SCA Cooks for Shelter Each winter, the Senior Class SCA partners with the Falls Church Homeless shelter to provide home-cooked meals every Tuesday. Meridian High School seniors pick out recipes, prepare meals after school, and deliver the meals directly to the shelter.

Their commitment to service and to making a difference in our community is what it’s all about to be a caring IB student.

Tumbler Sale to Support the Choir The Meridian High School Choir is selling the first-ever “Meridian” High School tumblers to raise funds for the Spring trip to New York City. Support the choir and keep your beverages hot this winter in this stylish stainless steel, insulated tumbler.

Contact an MHS Choir student or email Jaime Sample at samplej@ fccps.org to order your tumbler.

School Board/City Council Budget Work Monday night, Superintendent Peter Noonan presented a first

look at the Fiscal Year 2023 FCCPS Budget request to a joint meeting of the Falls Church School Board & City Council.

For the fourth year in a row, the proposed 6.2 percent transfer request falls below the current projected organic revenue growth of 8.4 percent. Priorities for this budget year include compensation for FCCPS staff and program building.

The City Council will vote on this year’s Budget Guidance on December 13th, and Superintendent Noonan will present his annual Proposed Budget to the School Board on January 11th.

OSE Students Are Coding in Class The National Computer Science Week is an annual time to inspire K-12 students to learn more about computer science.

Coding can be challenging and uncertain, and risk-takers at OSE are taking this challenge head-on in their technology classes with Ms. Megan Torpey all week.

Learning to code in elementary school helps students with problem-solving, logic, and creativity skills.

They use Code.org, scratch, and a few other programs to code this year. Computer Science Week honors Grace Hopper’s birthday (December 9, 1906).

She is known as a pioneer of computer programming. Students at OSE will continue coding in Technology class through January.

Choral Boosters Poinsettias for Pick Up If you ordered plants, here are the ways to get them from Meridian High School, where they will be delivered: If you plan to attend one of the Middle School choir concerts on December 14, come to the Meridian cafeteria to pick up your plants before or after you hear your child’s grade sing.

Poinsettias will be sorted alphabetically by the last name on the order.

MERIDIAN, HENDERSON, AND OAK STREET musicians spread musical cheer throughout the city this weekend. The events were held at Tree Fest at Ireland’s Four Provinces night and the Falls Church Community Center’s Arts and Craft Festival. (Photo Courtesy FCCPS)

If you plan to attend the High School concert on December 15, pick up your plants after the show since they will decorate the stage for the concert.

If you do not plan to attend the middle or high school choir concerts, please pick up your plants 3 — 8 pm on December 14 in the Meridian cafeteria.

If you cannot choose any of the options above, please email Beth Neal to make other arrangements. Visit fccpschoralboosters. org for more details.

Upload Student Vaccination Cards To help speed up the vaccination verification process and avoid pauses/quarantines for fully vaccinated students, FCCPS would like to ask families to consider uploading their student’s updated vaccination cards to their new FCCPS Vaccination Card Upload page. Visit the FCCPS website for the form.

Please note: There is no need to upload the new form if you have already uploaded it to the previous Google Form and there are no changes.

Meridian HS Legacy Grove Remember those engraved bricks from the old high school?

They were saved and installed, along with new ones in the Meridian High School Legacy Grove.

Wondering if there’s a brick with your name? Check the Legacy Kiosk online or in the school for the Legacy Grove Directory. Search by name/keyword and check out a map of the area to figure out where to find your brick.

There are 1,443 engraved bricks and space for new ones to be added. Bricks ordered by June 15, 2022, will be installed this summer.

Health and Wellness Advisory Survey Would you mind taking two minutes to complete a brief survey for the School Board’s Health & Wellness Advisory Committee and FCCPS PTAs? The survey invites parents and teachers to share feedback about the health and wellness topics they are most interested in learning about this year.

The survey will close on Friday, December 17. The survey can be accessed on the FCCPS website.

Saturday Learning Lounge at Meridian All students in grades 8 — 12 are invited to sign up for the Learning Lounge with Mrs. Rafique & Mr. Perkins. This quiet space allows students the opportunity to get work done with the help of a teacher or peer tutors.

The SLL is offered most Saturday

mornings from 9 a.m. — 12:00 p.m. in room 4L29 (across from the fitness room).

Students must sign up if they plan to attend. They should indicate in the request form if they would like to have a tutor by 3:00 p.m. on Thursday.

Henderson Students Learn Through Games Seventh graders in Ms. Axelle Amos’ World History class have been learning about different religions in the world. As a formative assignment, they create Game Boards to test their knowledge.

Students made Game Boards about various religions, such as Hinduism, Judaism, Islam, Christianity, and Buddhism. They will play the games in groups to help prepare for their summative assessment.

Upcoming Henderson and MHS Concerts Enjoy music in the new Meridian High School Auditorium: Thursday, December 9 at 7 p.m. — Meridian Band Concert Tuesday, December 14 at 6:45 p.m. — Henderson Choir Concert (6th grade) Tuesday, December 14 at 7:15 p.m. — Henderson Choir Concert (7th grade) Tuesday, December 14 at 7:45 p.m. — Henderson Choir Concert (8th grade) Wednesday, December 15 at 7 p.m. — Meridian Choral Concert

FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

Fa l l s C h u r c h Business News & Notes The Perks of New Editions Consulting The December issue of Washingtonian has recognized local companies for the perks and support given to employees during the pandemic. New Editions Consulting in Falls Church was noted several times. The work at home employees were given an $80 National Parks pass which would have otherwise been spent on the company picnic. In the spirit of community outreach, $1,000 was given to every employee to spend at their favorite local businesses last year. And parents with children under 12 received up to 10 hours a week of extra paid leave.

DECEMBER 9 - 15, 2021 | PAGE 19

Protect the ones you love,

get your flu shot today.

Kastle Systems expands into Charlotte Kastle Systems, a leader in property technology and the nation’s largest managed security provider located in Falls Church, has announced expansion into the Charlotte metro area. The Kastle brand represents advanced technology for the commercial and multifamily real estate industries. In the changing work environment, they have addressed health and safety issues for those returning to the workplace with customizable technology to include vaccination authentication and testing, and health screenings for tenants and visitors. These capabilities are integrated directly into Kastle’s access platform making them simple for businesses to adopt and administer.

Kastle is on Silicon Review’s 2021 Five Best Security Companies to Watch list.

#ShopLocalFC for the Holidays The Falls Church Chamber encourages the community to continue to #LiveLocalFC and now #ShopLocalFC to support businesses and retailers. Shoppers are encouraged to share and celebrate their favorite retailers, purchases and experiences with photographs for social media. The new competition, set to out-perform the November #LiveLocalFC competition, runs through December in which the individual with the most posts will receive a gift card to his/her favorite Falls Church retailer. Use Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram via https:// woobox.com/kwg2wk.

Local Shopping Guide Available Shopping is made easy with the local shopping guide for Falls Church. The guide is offered on the Falls Church Chamber website, www.fallschurchchamber.org and is updated weekly. #ShopLocalFC

Nominations for Employer Recognition Awards The Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments and its Commuter Connections program have opened applications for the 2022 Employer Recognition Awards. Commuter Connections encourages and assists businesses and employees with alternative commuting methods such as transit and teleworking, to reduce traffic congestion and emissions. Nominations are open to all private sector companies, non-profit organizations, and government agencies within DC, Suburban Maryland and Northern Virginia. Categories include Incentives, Marketing, Telework, Eligibility. Application forms are online and the deadline is January 31st. Winners will be announced at the June awards ceremony. For more info: https://www.commuterconnections.org/employerrecognition-awards/

Eden Center FREE Family Movie Night Presents: The Grinch Families are invited to Eden Center for a FREE showing of the “The Grinch” on a 40-foot screen in the parking lot on Saturday, December 11 at 6 p.m. Watch the movie from the warmth of your car and listen through your car radio. Free popcorn, free holiday candy and other special surprises!!!!

Washington Sinfonietta Concert The Washington Sinfonietta is presenting the Family Holiday Concert on Sunday, December 12 at 4:00 p.m. at The Falls Church Episcopal. Beloved holiday tunes and timeless classics like Sleigh Ride and Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker Suite will be performed. The Meridian High School Chamber Singers, led

by Choral Director Jamie Sample, will join for choruses from Handel’s immortal Messiah, followed by the popular audience sing-along of favorite carols. Santa is rumored to drop by. Since the Sinfonietta is a recipient of a 2021 Falls Church Arts and Culture Project Grant, admission for the concert is free of charge.  Business News & Notes is compiled by Elise Neil Bengtson, Executive Director of the Greater Falls Church Chamber of Commerce. She may be emailed at elise@fallschcurchchamber.org.

@vaccinatevirginia

PAGE 20 | DECEMBER 9 - 15, 2021 Public Notice NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING CITY COUNCIL CITY OF FALLS CHURCH, VIRGINIA City Council scheduled a public hearing and final action for the following item for Monday, December 13, 2021 at 7:30 p.m., or as soon thereafter as the matter may be heard.

(TR21-32) RESOLUTION TO NAME THE STREETS AT THE WEST FALLS ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PROJECT The ordinance referenced below was given first reading on November 8, 2021. Public hearing, second reading, and final City Council action is scheduled for Monday, December 13, 2021 at 7:30 p.m., or as soon thereafter as the matter may be heard.

(TO21-14) ORDINANCE TO AMEND CHAPTER 40, “TAXATION,” OF THE FALLS CHURCH CITY CODE TO ADD A NEW ARTICLE XX, TO IMPOSE A TAX ON THE USE OF CERTAIN PLASTIC BAGS This would impose a tax of five cents per bag on disposable plastic bags on certain retailers.

The ordinances referenced below were given first reading on November 22, 2021. Public hearing, second reading, and final City Council action is scheduled for Monday, December 13, 2021 at 7:30 p.m., or as soon thereafter as the matters may be heard.

(TO21-15) ORDINANCE TO AMEND ORDINANCES 2026, 2027, 2032 AND 2034 REGARDING THE BUDGET OF EXPENDITURES AND REVENUES, APPROPRIATING FUNDS FOR FISCAL YEAR 2022 FOR THE GENERAL FUND, SCHOOL OPERATING FUND, AFFORDABLE HOUSING FUND, COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY FUND, AND THE CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM FUNDS This would amend the FY2022 budget to appropriate new revenues, primarily from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) and FY2021 year-end balance.

(TO21-16) ORDINANCE TO AMEND, REENACT, AND RECODIFY CHAPTER 42, ARTICLE V, OF THE CODE OF THE CITY OF FALLS CHURCH TO RECONSTITUTE THE PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION (TO21-17) ORDINANCE APPROVING DEED OF PARTIAL RELEASE OF RESTRICTIVE COVENANTS, DEED IMPOSING NEW RESTRICTIVE COVENANTS AND DEED TO VACATE EXISTING EASEMENT WHICH TRAVERSES THE CENTERLINE, FOR LOT(S) A AND B AS PART OF PROPERTY AT 405 NORTH VAN BUREN STREET RPC# 53-101-128, FALLS CHURCH, VIRGINIA, BY OWNER/ APPLICANT STEPHEN HISCOTT All public hearings will be held in City Council Chambers, City Hall, 300 Park Ave., Falls Church, VA. Public comment will be heard from those attending the meeting. Public comment will also be heard remotely from those who complete a speaker form at www. fallschurchva.gov/ PublicComment before noon on the day of the Council meeting.

Written public hearing comments may be sent until noon on the day of the meeting to cityclerk@fallschurchva.gov.

For copies of legislation, contact the City Clerk’s office at 703-248-5014 or cityclerk@ fallschurchva.gov. The City of Falls Church is committed to the letter and spirit of the Americans with Disabilities Act. To request a reasonable accommodation for any type of disability, call 703-248-5014 (TTY 711).

CELESTE HEATH, CITY CLERK

FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

C L AS S I F I E DS

NOTICE OF EAST COAST TRUCK & TRAILER SALES, INC.’S HEARING ON OPERATION OF DEALERSHIP

BY MANUFACTURER The Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV), under the Code of Virginia §§ 46.2- 1572(4) and 46.2-1573 is conducting a formal evidentiary hearing at the request of East Coast Truck & Trailer Sales, Inc., a Commonwealth-licensed motor vehicle manufacturer. East Coast Truck & Trailer Sales, Inc. seeks an eligibility determination to be both a manufacturer and a dealer of franchises in the community or trade area of Manassas, Virginia. According to Va. Code § 46.2-1572(4), East Coast Truck & Trailer Sales, Inc. must establish that there is no dealer independent of the manufacturer available in the above-mentioned community or trade area to own and operate the franchise in a manner consistent with the public interest.

The formal evidentiary hearing will take place on January 21, 2022, starting at 10:30 a.m.

EST at the offices of DMV, 6306 Grovedale Drive, Alexandria, VA 23310. Any party interested in this matter is invited to attend the hearing and provide relevant information.

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ACROSS 1. Baths 5. Busy activity 8. Melt 12. Corridor 13. Do wrong 14. Paper or pudding 15. Solar or lunar events 17. Exploited 18. Slalom competitor 19. Mets, e.g.

21. Get bigger 23. Excellent 27. Scarf 29. Drink 31. Join together 32. Sedan, e.g.

34. Lump or mass 36. Like some tales 37. Make a touchdown 39. Faulty item 41. Circus safeguard 42. Scream 44. Talk back 46. Gooey stuff 48. Warm 51. Stereo: hyph.

54. Part of a phone number: 2 wds.

56. Fifty-fifty 57. ____ an egg 58. Maple, e.g.

59. Whiskeys 60. Positive answer 61. Leading performer DOWN 1. “____ So Cold” 2. Fill tightly 3. Crocodile’s relative 4. Trickier 5. Stubborn animal 6. Eating plan 7. Start 8. Brass instrument

FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

PUZZLE NO. 113

ANSWER TO PUZZLE NO. 111

CROSSWORD PUZZLE ANSWERS USE AMERICAN SPELLING

A RTS&E NTE RTA I NME NT

8. Bullets, for short 9. Kind of plane 10. Be indebted to 11. Naturally!

17. Pens’ contents 19. Mistreat 22. French ____ soup 24. Like some tea 25. Angered 26. Attempt 27. Woeful expression 28. Be bold enough

s goal

ing

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29. Rim 31. Sporting facility 34. Teach 37. “When You Wish ____ a Star” 43. Hazes 44. Dog’s pest 46. Water body 47. Queue 48. Hero 49. Information 50. Unruly crowd 51. Some 52. Wow! 53. Roadside lodging

Copyright © 2021, Penny Press

ACROSS 1. Thin opening 5. Grandmother 9. Delight 12. Sit for a portrait 13. Huge quiz 14. Shepherd’s charge 15. Sound 16. Wood-eating insects 18. Playground item 20. Hither and ____ 21. Voice disapproval 23. Smooch 27. Lemon drink 30. Coffee server

31. Neck scarf 32. Boy 33. Slalom competitor 35. Important age 36. Squabble 38. Solemn lyric poem 39. Society girl 40. Drip 41. Convent inhabitant 42. Out of operation 45. Contact the office: 2 wds.

50. Fragrant shrub 54. White House staffer 55. Dollar

56. Fellow 57. Realize 58. Quick farewell 59. Mentally healthy 60. Wiggly creatures

DOWN 1. Baths 2. Earring’s location 3. Land amid water 4. Golf pegs 5. Television company 6. Chopper 7. Not

ANSWER TO PUZZLE NO. 113

CROSSWORD PUZZLE ANSWERS USE AMERICAN SPELLING

SPORTS QUIZ

By Ryan A. Berenz 1. What competition, created and televised by ESPN in the early 2000s, featured fishing, sporting dogs, target sports and timber events?

2. Ullamaliztli -- resembling a combination of modern soccer and basketball -- was a sport played by what ancient civilization?

3. At the 1992 Barcelona Summer Olympics, 12 of the 15 former Soviet Union republics competed together under what name?

4. What 1996 sports comedy film starred Adam Sandler as a failed hockey player who discovers a knack for golf?

5. Name the San Francisco 49ers placekicker who set the NFL single-season record with 44 field goals made in 2011?

6. Legendary figure skaters Willy Bocki, Karl Schafer and Emmerich Danzer all hailed from what country?

7. In July 1991, Dennis Martinez threw a perfect game pitching for what Major League Baseball team?

Last Week’s Answers Answers 1. Dan Saleaumua • 2. France • 3. Edwin Moses.

4. The Oorang Indians • 5. Snooker • 6. Bowling.

7. “The Price Is Right.” (c) 2021 King Features Syndicate, Inc

DECEMBER 9 - 15, 2021 | PAGE 21

STRANGE BREW

JOHN DEERING

LO CA L

PAGE 22 | DECEMBER 9 - 15, 2021

BACK IN THE DAY

FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

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25 � 10 Y���� A�� �� ��� N���-P���� Falls Church News-Press Vol. VI, No. 38 • December 5, 1996

Falls Church News-Press Vol. XXI, No. 39 • December 8,, 2011

A State Theatre Rebirth? Entrepreneurs Plan to Revive Landmark

Fairfax Co. Supervisors Clear Away Competition for New Water Service

Two entreprenurs who have been working for the last year and a half on a plan to buy and convert the old State Theatre in Falls Church into a multi-use restaurant, conference and entertainment center went public this week with their efforts to raise the investment dollars to begin the project.

By a unanimous vote Tuesday, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors approved a twopart plan to grab control of all water services provided to citizens and businesses in the county. But the move promises to run afoul of stiff opposition both in the courts and in the Virginia State Legislature.

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October 30, 1985 — November 17, 2021 The world lost one of its brightest souls on November 17, 2021 with the passing of Christopher Anthony Cistaro. A longtime Arlington resident, and recently Falls Church, Chris had a huge heart and an insatiable zest for life.

A graduate of The Tilton School, Chris attended West Virginia Wesleyan College and Northern Virginia Community College.

Chris was an accomplished IT professional who spent over a decade at Apple prior to joining Deloitte earlier this year. His proudest professional accomplishment, however, combined his affinity for technology with his love for hockey, was his years with the Washington Capitals. Chris spent almost five years in the team video department, where he was part of the Caps’ 2018 Stanley Cup Championship team. All those close to Chris know how much that championship ring meant to him and the sense of pride he had when wearing it. Chris owed his longtime love of hockey and of the Capitals to his mother, who accompanied him to practices, tournaments and Caps games.

His mother, Kimchi Nguyen, instilled in him the importance of family, truth, communication and connectedness. Chris and his mom were more than just mother and son; they were kindred spirits who were comfortable talking about any subject. From hockey to homework, their shared pride of Vietnamese heritage or causes that champion the rights of all people, their connection was undeniable. His greatest passions in life were ignited with Kimchi.

Chris was also captivated by the magic of Walt Disney and took frequent trips to Disney World and Disneyland. He, like so many who love Disney, embraced his inner child while vacationing there, using it as a means to disconnect and reset while enjoying time with many close friends he made in the community. Chris had the personality of Aladdin, the heart of Woody, the sense of humor of Olaf, the charisma of Prince Charming, the quick wit of Han Solo, and the endearment of Mickey Mouse himself.

Chris was always one to go out of his way to be there for his family and friends. He

ELLIOTT was rescued when he was just three weeks old. He enjoys spending time napping in sunshine patches in his house.

Just because you’re not famous doesn’t mean your pet can’t be! Send in your Critter Corner submissions to crittercorner@fcnp.com.

lived in the moment and formed meaningful relationships in all walks of his life. He is survived by his mother Kimchi Nguyen, as well as countless family, friends, colleagues, and other loved ones. His loss leaves a hole in the hearts of so many but there is comfort in knowing how much love, compassion, and thoughtfulness he brought to the world in his 36 years. Chris will always be with us.

A celebration of Chris’ life was held on Saturday, Dec. 4 at Advent Funeral Home.

The family has requested that in lieu of flowers, remembrances can be made in the form of a donation to the American Cancer Society.

FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

DECEMBER 9 - 15, 2021 | PAGE 23

Where to Pick Up The • 7 Eleven (Box), 3019 Annandale Rd • Amazing Smiles, 444 W Broad St – D • Anthony’s Restaurant, 3000 Annandale Rd. • Audacious Aleworks, 110 E Fairfax St. • Ballston Quarter (Box) 4238 Wilson Blvd. • BB&T Bank, 225 W Broad St. • Bikenetic, 201 W Jefferson St. • Bowl America, 140 S Maple Ave. • Clarendon Blvd & Courthouse Rd. Bus Stop (Box) • Broad Falls Apartments, 809 W Broad St. • Broadway Apt (in mailroom), 500 W Broad St. • Brown’s Hardware, 100 W Broad St. • Burke & Herbert Bank, 225 West Broad St. • Byron Apartments, 513 W Broad St. • Timberlane Condos Bus Stop, 7368 Lee Hwy • Lee Hwy/ Hollywood Rd. Bus Stop • Café Kindred, 450 N Washington St. • Celebrity Delly – Graham Park Plaza, 7263A Arlington Blvd. • Clarendon Metro, 3021 Wilson Blvd. • Clay Café Studios, 101 N Maple Ave. • Clare & Don’s Beach Shack, 130 N Washington St. • Courthouse Parking Lot, 2100 Wilson Blvd. • CVS, 1150 W Broad St. • CVS (Box), 134 W Broad St. • CVS (Box), 6404 N Williamsburg Blvd. • Falls Church Distillers, 442 S A. Washington St. • Across from Dar Al Hijrah Islamic Center (Box), Route 7 & Rio Dr. • Differences Hair Designer, 8122 Arlington Blvd.

• Dogwood Tavern, 132 W. Broad St. • Don Beyer Volvo, 1231 W Broad St. • East Falls Church Metro (Box), 2001 N. Sycamore St • Einstein Bros. Bagels, 913 W Broad St. • El Tio Restaurant, 7630 Lee Hwy. • Elevation Burger (Box), 442 S. Washington St. • Exxon Gas Station, 400 W Broad St. • Fairfax Auto Parts, 431 S Maple Ave. • Falls Church Animal Hospital, 1249 W Broad St. • Falls Church City Government, 300 Park Ave. • Falls Church City Public Schools, 150 S. Washington Street, Suite 400 • Falls Church City Public Utilities, Gordon Rd. • Falls Church Community Center, 223 Little Falls St. • Falls Church News-Press, 105 N. Virginia Ave. Suite #310 • Falls Green Apartments (formerly Oakwood), 501 N. Roosevelt Blvd.

• Flippin’ Pizza, 800 W Broad St. • Floyd’s 99 Barbershop, 8296 Glass Alley, Fairfax • Foxcraft Design Group, 110 Great Falls St • Galleria Florist, 248 W. Broad Street • George Mason & Wilson Blvd (Box), 5015 Wilson Blvd • George Mason High School, 7124 Leesburg Pike • Giant – Graham Park Plaza, 7235 Arlington Blvd. • Giant Food, 1230 W Broad St. • Goodwin House, 3440 South Jefferson St. • Grand Hunan Restaurant, 5845 Washington Blvd. • Harris Teeter, 301 W Broad St. • Hillwood Cleaners, 165 Hillwood Ave. • Hilton Garden Inn, 706 W Broad St. • Idylwood Towers Condominium, 2300 & 2311 Pimmit Dr. • Indian Spices, 1067_B W Broad St. • Inns Virginia Hotel, 421 W. Broad St. • Ireland’s Four Provinces, 105 W Broad St. • Joe’s Place Pizza & Pasta, 5555 Lee Hwy. • Jhoon Rhee Tae Kwon Do, 1136 W Broad St. • Kensington Falls Church, 700 W Broad St. • Lazy Mikes Deli, 7049 Leesburg Pike • Ledo Pizza, 7510 Leesburg Pike • Liberty Barbecue, 370 W Broad St. • Lil City Creamery, 114 W Broad St. • Lincoln At Tinner Hill Apartments, 455 S. Maple Ave. • Long Foster Realtors, 6299 Castle Rd. • Madison Apartments, 600 N Roosevelt Blvd. • Mary Ellen Henderson Middle School, 7130 Leesburg Pike • Merrill House Apartments, 210 E Fairfax St. • Metro Diner, 4711 Lee Hwy. • Metro Dunn Loring, Gallows Rd & Belleforest Dr. • Mr Tire Auto, 105 Falls Ave, Falls Church, VA 22046 • Moby Dick House of Kabob, 444 W. Broad St. • Munson Hill Apartments, 6729 Leesburg Pike • N Virginia Av & W Broad St (Box), 105 N Virginia Ave. • N. Washington & E. Columbia St., 106 E Columbia St. • Neighborhood Barbershop, 417 W Broad St #103 • Northern Virginia Center, 7054 Haycock Rd.• Northgate Apartments (lobby), 450 N Washington St. • Northside Social, 205 Park Ave. • Original Pancake House, 7395 Lee Hwy. • Park Towers Condos, 200 N. Maple Ave. • Peach Tree Towers, 2042 Peach Orchard Dr. • Pearson Square Apartments, 410 S. Maple Ave. • Pete’s Barber Shop, 5847 Washington Blvd. • Pho 88 Restaurant, 232 W Broad St. • Tysons-Pimmit Regional Library, 7700 Leesburg Pike • Pizzeria Orso (Tax Analysts building), 400 S. Maple Ave. • PNC Bank, 402 W. Broad St. • Point of View, 701 W. Broad St. • Professional Building, 313 Park Ave. • Providence Recreation Center, 7525 Marc Dr. • Quick Copy, 417 W. Broad St. • Rare Bird Coffee Roasters, 230 W. Broad St. • Read Apartments, 402 W Broad St. • Re/Max West End, 710 W Broad St • Roosevelt Towers, 500 N Roosevelt Blvd.• Safeway, 5101 Wilson Blvd. • Safeway, 2500 N Harrison St. • Safeway – Route 29, 7397 Lee Hwy.• Sfizi Café, 800 W Broad St. • Silver Diner, 3200 Wilson Blvd. • Sislers Stone, 7139 Lee Hwy. • Smokey’s Garage, 1105 W Broad St. • Sonic Car Wash, 1050 W Broad St. • The Spectrum, 444 W. Broad St.• Spectrum Cleaners, 444 W Broad St. • Stratford Motor Lodge, 300 W. Broad St.• Sunrise of Falls Church, 330 N. Washington St. • Super A Market, 2800 Graham Rd. • Target, 500 S Washington St. • Target – Skyline Mall (Box), 5107 Leesburg Pike • West Broad Building, 301 W Broad St. • Thomas Jefferson Library, 7415 Arlington Blvd. • Towne Place Suites – Marriot, 205 Hillwood Ave. • Unity Club, 116-B W Broad St. • UPS Store Seven Corners, 6312 Seven Corners Ctr. • US Post Office, 2045 Wilson Blvd.

• Virginia Hospital Center (Box), 1701 N George Mason Dr. • Virginia Hospital Center ER (inside), 1702 N George Mason Dr • Virginia Tech, Courthouse 7054 Haycock Rd. • Washington & S. Broad St. (Box) 101 W Broad St. • West Lee Apartments, 2200 N Westmoreland • Wendy’s – Bus Stop, 7391 Lee Hwy.• West Falls Church Metro (Box) 7040 Haycock Rd. • Woodrow Wilson Community Library, 6101 Knollwood Dr.

FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

PAGE 24 | DECEMBER 9 - 15, 2021

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