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Chantilly Letter: Many Reasons To Give Thanks

Mariam Sadia Sosan Malik, Chantilly

Gobble, gobble, it’s near that time of year again. The time we all check our Smartphones to see who has received the most likes on their turkey feast.

Chantilly: Walney Road Widening Meeting Set

Work is scheduled to begin Dec. 2.

Supervisor Michael R. Frey (R-Sully) and VDOT are co-hosting a “Pardon Our Dust” meeting for the Walney Road widening and bridge replacement.

Chantilly: ‘She Eats, Sleeps and Breathes Music’

Chantilly High student to perform with Army’s All-American Marching Band.

Chantilly High senior Mari Takeda has an extra-special reason to look forward to the holidays. On Jan. 3, 2015, she’ll join an elite group of musicians who’ll perform at halftime of the U.S. Army All-American Bowl in San Antonio, Texas.

A Holiday Classic Comes to Life in Fairfax

“A Christmas Carol” offers dinner and a play.

A holiday classic comes to life in an intimate, dinner-theater setting when the City of Fairfax Theatre Co. and Truro Anglican Church present “A Christmas Carol.” Guided by the ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Future, Ebenezer Scrooge will take a journey leading to his transformation and redemption.

Centreview: Holiday Food Drive for Needy Families

Police and community answer the call.

For many local families, the holidays are a time of hunger. So the Sully District Police Station, Westfields Business Owners Association and Western Fairfax Christian Ministries (WFCM) teamed up to help feed them.

Column: ‘Shrinkage’

Not exactly “like a frightened turtle” as “similed” on a long-ago Seinfeld episode by Jerry himself; this shrinkage is the good kind, the kind you hope a radiological oncologist characterizes when viewing your CT Scan (computed tomography).

Mount Vernon Schools Host Virginia Secretary of Education

“Pre-ci-pi-ta-tion at-mo-sphere, pre-ci-pi-ta-tion at-mo-sphere.” Hybla Valley music teacher Carla Okouchi helped fourth grade students count out beats for a cross-discipline lesson on music and weather. The floor-seated students picked up white plastic recorders and tweeted a melody, with percussive accompaniment from maracas, wood blocks and tambourine.

Sun Shines on Pohick Church Christmas Mart in Lorton

In recent years, it’s poured on people like Janice Cranel while they waited for the Pohick Church Christmas Mart to open. Rain or shine, they would still line up in front of the modest red brick building where colonial celebrities like George Washington, George Mason and their families attended services. “We come for the fellowship, the delicious luncheon, sweet ladies, arts and crafts, jewelry and Christmas decorations,” said Cranel.

Lorton Outreach Group Sets Thanksgiving Service Record

Kathy Noone stood alone, surrounded by Thanksgiving baskets ready to feed over 400 families. The Lorton resident is Director of Volunteers for the Lorton Community Action Center (LCAC), and though she looked capable, she didn’t fill the bags all by herself. Earlier on Nov. 23, a team of volunteers worked “better than a well-oiled machine” to sort donated food into nearly identical combinations at the Moose Family Center in Lorton for delivery and pickup.

Seniors in Burke and West Springfield Look for More Activity Space

Larry Mark is 83, lives in West Springfield and practices tai chi with his wife Mary. They go to a class that meets once a week at the Burke Conservancy on Burke Centre Parkway. “It’s interesting,” he said. “It helps your balance and strengthens your neck and other muscles. Everybody needs better balance.”

ECHO Steps Up Holiday Giving in Burke and Springfield

Duane Carlson and his wife Alice are sorting canned goods into a long row of evenly spaced paper bags, each representing a family. On the Monday before Thanksgiving, there’s a vibrant energy among volunteers buzzing around the Ecumenical Community Helping Others (ECHO) building in Springfield. The nonprofit basic need for assistance organization is open year-round, and now it has the feeling of Santa’s workshop.

Fairfax Resident Talks Victorian Christmas at Burke Historical Society

Electricity didn’t come to Burke until 1928. That meant no one could power strings of lights to decorate Christmas trees; they had to use real candles and assume the very real fire hazard risk. Fortunately, fireproof fake trees made of goose feathers or chenille had already been around since the 1880s.