Faces of Falls Church

A Penny for Your Thoughts News of Greater Falls Church

By Supervisor Penny Gross

Saturday was a beautiful day for outdoor activities, and the community didn’t disappoint. Hundreds of residents turned out for Culmore Community Day, held in the parking lot at the Woodrow Wilson Branch Library, for live entertainment, children’s activities, prizes and lots of county services. You could test for differences in the taste of tap water and bottled water, visit with uniformed public safety personnel and get a free ticket for prize drawings. Hidden Oaks Nature Center hosted a booth with an albino corn snake, ladybugs, tadpoles and a live toad. Wherever one turned, there was an interesting booth or activity for children and adults alike.

foot raised bed has a blend of 50 percent native Virginia topsoil and 50 percent organic matter, and is contaminant-free. Each raised bed can accommodate two gardeners; bright pink ribbons demarcated the plots already leased. The wooden boxes are made from Wolmanized Outdoor Wood, which is coppertreated to be safe and economical for use in vegetable and flower raised bed gardens.

sible from Magnolia Avenue). Go to www.fairfaxcounty.gov/parks/ green-spring/plots for more information and to register for a plot. You must be a Fairfax County resident to participate. Vegetable Garden Plant Clinics (free) will be held at Hogge Park from 9 to 11:30 a.m. on Saturday, May 13, June 10, July 15, August 19, and September 23, 2023.

In July 2017, when Kathryn was 2 years old, she was diagnosed with a rare genetic condition called MPS I (also referred to as Hurler’s Syndrome) which affects 1 in 100,000 individuals. People with MPS I can’t make a specific enzyme, which is needed to break down sugars in their cells. These sugars then build up and cause damage throughout the body, including issues with their heart, bones, joints, ears, eyes, internal organs and cognitive impairment. There is no cure for Hurler’s Syndrome, but there are treatments to prevent cognitive decline and lessen the effects of the disease on the body, and prolong life. These include IV enzyme treatments and a bone marrow transplant. Kathryn was transplanted in 2018 at Children’s National Hospital in Washington, D.C. and was admitted for eight weeks, followed by a year of semi-isolation at her home in Falls Church. Currently, Kathryn is a happy and social 8-year old. She loves riding her scooter and attending Girl Scouts with her friends. Kathryn also enjoys educating her peers about MPS I and rare diseases in general. She recently helped teach a lesson on rare diseases and inclusion to her first grade class at Glen Forest Elementary School. May 15 is National MPS Awareness Day and she encourages everyone to wear purple, the MPS Awareness color, on that day to support all individuals around the world with MPS. (Photo: Laura Spencer)

Let us know who in the community makes you smile or makes The Little City feel more like a home by emailing ktoland@fcnp.com. The News-Press reserves the right to use its discretion on who to feature.

The same afternoon, and within walking distance of the library, the Fairfax County Park Authority hosted the formal ribbon-cutting to open the Boyd A. and Charlotte M. Hogge Park on Glen Carlyn Road. The new six-acre park includes walking trails, a children’s playground with a soft “floor” instead of the traditional wood chips, a half-basketball court, two pickleball courts and the most beautiful raised-bed garden plots in Fairfax County! The raised beds are encircled by a tall black metal fence to keep out deer and unauthorized visitors. Each six by nine

Bluestone paths between and around the garden beds are six feet wide, and can accommodate wheelchairs and a variety of garden equipment. On Saturday, a young woman in a wheelchair was busy planting her first herb plants and had measured off the rest of her plot for other crops. A demonstration garden by the Fairfax Master Gardeners was already planted with French radishes large enough to harvest, along with snow peas — which will be replaced by beans later in the season — and onions. Water taps at both ends of the garden plots augment rainfall, and a large shed holds larger tools for the gardeners’ use. All a gardener has to bring are gloves, small tools like trowels and the seeds or plants. Gardeners who live nearby don’t even have to use a vehicle (although there is a nice new parking lot acces-