"how to keep one's financial affairs in order"

One of the county's Senior Center activities involves mural painting at a local school.

Fit for the Golden Years

Fitness programs for seniors are part of a trend.

One night each week, Sue Thompson can be found dribbling a basketball down the court, leading her team, the Nova United, to victory. Thompson, who is in her 60s, is one of the youngest players in her league, the National Senior Women’s Basketball Association.

Nysmith School Students Interview War Veterans

Richard Graff didn't hesitate to describe his darkest days while serving in World War II. "Every combat soldier has to get used to the bodies," he said. "Whenever I think back to that one day when I didn't think I would have another day, you bet, I'm glad to be here," Graff said.

72-year-old Filmmaker Debuts Alzheimer’s Documentary

When Barbara Klutinis’ husband was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s she had no idea how she was going to get through the ordeal ahead of her. After joining a support group and hearing the stories of others going through the same thing, Klutinis realized she was not alone. Inspired by the experience, she decided to make a documentary about the lives of couples coping with the disease. The film, “The Sum Total of Our Memory: Facing Alzheimer’s Together,” will screen at the NOVA International Film Festival Friday, April 17, 1 p.m., at the Angelika Film Center in Fairfax.

Helping Hands

Senior Services of Alexandria

Five years ago, Mary Lee Anderson was asked if she could help Senior Services of Alexandria set up an information database. Since that time, what was supposed to be a part-time commitment has turned into a second career for the international telecommunications corporate executive.

Arlene Hewitt Sets the Pace for Seniors in Alexandria

A recipe for activism at any age.

She is four feet 10 inches tall and 84 years old. She tutors children who cannot read; she champions health insurance for the uninsured in Alexandria; she meets with mayors and senators; she takes 90-year-old gentlemen out to dinner; she wants to reduce the teen pregnancy rate in Alexandria; and she never lets more than a few days go by without chatting with her children or grandsons, usually via email or skype.

Aging in Place

Finding out about the latest services and programs.

Alexandria is a great place to be a senior – there are so many different services and organizations with programs designed to help older residents remain in their homes and age in place safely and in a healthy environment.

Life at Culpepper Garden

Award-winning retirement community celebrates 40th anniversary.

It is St Patrick's Day at Culpepper Garden in Arlington, and there is a party underway downstairs. As the accordionist touches the black and white keys, Marilyn Jarvis stands up and makes her way to the aisle, grabs a partner, Adrianna Bustamante, and begins tap dancing to "The Sidewalks of New York."

Lee Senior Center in Arlington Is a Creative Hub

Painting, pottery, rock bands, and social dance are big hits.

A passer-by at Lee Center in Arlington stopped in to see the country music players the other day and left feeling this group of musicians was worth staying to hear for the whole hour.

Inclusive Camaraderie for Seniors in Alexandria

Class offers a place to chat and get balanced.

Margaret Lewis got things going for seniors at the Mount Vernon Recreation Center, starting the first Tai Chi class, knitting group and square dancing classes about 15 or 20 years ago. “It all started with Margaret Lewis,” says Donna MacDonald.

Getting Dirty for a Good Cause

Staff and volunteers plant native grasses along Big Rocky Run.

Wearing sturdy boots and wielding shovels and wheelbarrows, some two dozen people recently left their comfortable offices to dig in the soil at Ellanor C. Lawrence Park. When they were done, a variety of native grasses had been planted to beautify the Big Rocky Run stream valley and help stabilize the banks there. Participating were staff members and volunteers from Fairfax County’s Department of Public Works and Environmental Services (DPWES), Stormwater; Park Authority; and the Northern Virginia Soil and Water Conservation District (NVSWCD).

Fairfax One: ‘Ambulance in the Air’

A close-up look at Fairfax County’s police helicopter.

Members of the Sully District Police Station’s Citizens Advisory Committee (CAC) recently toured Fairfax County’s heliport, got to speak with a pilot and saw the Fairfax One helicopter up close. It’s a twin-engine, Bell 429 and does both police and medivac missions for the county. And one of its pilots, PFC Nick Taormina, is a paramedic as well as a police officer.

Chantilly Boys’ Lax Bounces Back from First Loss

The Chantilly boys’ lacrosse team suffered its first loss of the season on March 26, falling to Robinson, 7-4, in a matchup of state powerhouses.

News Briefs for the Week of April 1

Roundups

Potomac: ‘Girls’ Night Out’ Features Author Iris Krasnow

Women gather for a night of learning and laughter

“The Healing Power of Women’s Friendships” — a timely topic for a “Girls Night Out” evening — set the tone and spirit for an evening featuring the wisdom of journalist and New York Times best-selling author Iris Krasnow.

Potomac Doctor Fixes Broken Hearts

“Heart healer” Craig Sable saves lives of Ugandan children.

“I am staring at a list of the names of over 100 Ugandan children with holes, blockages and leaks in their heart, knowing that for some, in a few short weeks, the dream that they and their families have been praying for will finally come true...."

Column: Emerging from the Polar Vortex

Spring is here; time to dig in and preserve the local environment.

It seems like such a short time ago that the words “polar” and “climate change” prompted only images of iconic polar bears searching for the last melting Arctic ice floes. Few of us had even heard of “polar vortexes” and their impacts on the Potomac Subregion, but we have all learned rapidly about this other, more local, effect of climate change. Now, finally, the daffodils are budding up and it appears the long winter is over.

Participants serve Arlington Works! as part of their year-long service commitment.

AmeriCorps members pledge to get things done for America. When they embark upon their year of community service, they vow to unite fellow Americans and strengthen communities. The now eight-member Arlington Works! AmeriCorps team has been doing just this since the partnership started in 2011. This year’s Arlington Works! team is the fourth AmeriCorps team to work with two non-profits, the Arlington Education and Employment Program (REEP) and Edu-Futuro, a partner program of Arlington Public Schools that sets out to ensure opportunities for children of immigrant families.

Arlington: Nunez-Led Washington-Lee Generals Not Surprising Anyone

W-L boys’ soccer expects to face defensive-minded opponents.

The Washington-Lee boys' soccer team is off to a 3-0-1 start.

NoVa TEEN Book Festival Featured 21 Authors

NoVa TEEN Book Festival featured 21 authors in four main event panels and 16 smaller Q&A-driven breakout sessions; the event closed out with a keynote speech from New York Times bestselling author Matt de la Peña, whose latest release is “The Living.”

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