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Oak Hill/Herndon Connection ❖ May 18-24, 2016 ❖ 1www.ConnectionNewspapers.com
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May 18-24, 2016 online at www.connectionnewspapers.com
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Jaeya Taxali,Crossfield Elemen-tary, was honoredlast week by CleanAir Partners.
Jaeya Taxali,Crossfield Elemen-tary, was honoredlast week by CleanAir Partners.
Meals Tax? Ballot PossibilityNews, Page 3
Herndon’s Team Kosmos:Innovation ChampionsA+, Page 8
Meals Tax? Ballot PossibilityNews, Page 3
Herndon’s Team Kosmos:Innovation ChampionsA+, Page 8
‘CarpoolingSolution’
A+, Page 8
‘CarpoolingSolution’
A+, Page 8
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Oak Hill/Herndon Connection ❖ May 18-24, 2016 ❖ 3www.ConnectionNewspapers.com
News
By Ken Moore
The Connection
A majority of The Fairfax CountyBoard of Supervisors voiced sup-port last week for including aMeals Tax Referendum as part of
the 2016 General Election. They hope thata meals tax could provide additional rev-enue to support schools, without putting ad-ditional burden on homeowners with theproperty tax.
The debate and final vote is scheduledfor the Board’s June 7 session. Then it couldbe up to voters.
“If this is approved, it will be new rev-enue. It’s diversified revenue,” said Lee Dis-trict Supervisor Jeff McKay. “I want to putit on the ballot. Ask the voters.”
“We have an opportunity here,” saidMount Vernon Supervisor Dan Storck.
“This is a tool used by cities and townswithin and adjacent to Fairfax County,” saidHunter Mill Supervisor Catherine Hudgins.“It is time for Fairfax County to join thesecounties and begin diversifying our revenuesources.”
“We have a coalition of groups to advo-cate for the meals tax,” said ChairmanSharon Bulova. Bulova and Dranesville Su-pervisor John W. Foust advocated designat-ing 80 percent of the money collected in ameals tax to Fairfax County Public Schools,and 20 percent to capital improvementprojects.
In fact, the Board’s budget committeeapproved by majority vote a ballot questionbased on a 70-30 split.
“I think this is likely to be the ballot ques-tion,” said Budget Committee chairman JeffMcKay.
School advocates are front and center insupporting a meals tax, believing it will helpbridge funding shortfalls.
“The community is ready to support this,”said Pat Hynes, chairman of the FairfaxCounty school board, and the representa-tive from Hunter Mill.
“Referendums focused on schools andcapital improvements prove the ones mostlikely to pass,” Hynes said, citing recentreferenda on meals tax elsewhere in Vir-ginia.
NOT SO FAST. Springfield Supervisor PatHerrity ensured another point of view.
“There is an advocacy group forming onthe other side, chambers and restaurants,”said Herrity, pointing out that it is actually
in addition to a six percent sales tax alreadycollected on meals.
“Certainly from the chamber’s point ofview, we don’t want to see any tax thatsingles out any industry,” said Jim Corcoran,president of the Northern Virginia Cham-ber of Commerce.
A potential four percent meals tax couldcreate $96 million annually in additionalrevenue for the county, more than $20 mil-lion from non-county residents.
“Let’s look at the equation on both sides,”said Corcoran.
“It does not send the right message tobusinesses,” many who make Fairfax Countytheir headquarters, he said. “We have de-veloped a business-friendly environment,internationally.”
A “domino effect” could quickly erase rev-enue generated by the meals in loss of busi-ness and tourism, said Corcoran.
“The average taxpayer is not going to gettax relief. We’re hearing our real estate taxesare getting higher and higher. This isn’tgoing to alleviate that,” said ProvidenceDistrict Supervisor Linda Smyth.
“If people think the meals tax is comingon top of an increasing property tax, it willfail. Maybe it should fail,” said BraddockSupervisor John Cook.
The Greater Reston Chamber, accordingto its CEO and President Mark S. Ingrao,“has a long held position by our membersof opposing single-industry taxes particu-larly if they do not benefit the industry be-ing taxed.”
Ingrao said the Reston Chamber advo-
tax on the county; the Board could vote of-ficially to prove or not approve the ballotquestion.
In 2008, Loudoun County held a referen-dum for a meals tax in November 2008 tofund new school construction, but it failedby a 70-30 percent vote.
In 2013, Henrico and Middlesex countiesapproved meals tax referendums. A similareffort in Chesterfield failed to pass.
“The meals tax ballot questions that havebeen approved are the ones that tell youwhere the money is going, and where it willgo to schools and capital improvements,”said McKay.
The Town of Herndon passed its mealstax in 2003.
“We estimated $900,000, and it generated$900,279. Not bad for estimating somethingright out of the chute,” said Mary Tuohy,the Town’s director of finance.
Herndon Town Council increased the ratefrom 1.5 to 2.5 percent in 2011, and di-rected funding to major Herndon down-town infrastructure projects. Herndon alsouses the meals tax to promote its restau-rants and dineONHerndon campaign, ac-cording to Town’s spokesman Anne Curtis.
The Town’s tax preempts a county tax,said Curtis and Tuohy, “and in fact was oneof the reasons it was enacted in Herndon inthe first place,” said Curtis.
If county voters approve a meals tax,implementation could occur by July 1, 2017.
cated for additional funding for educationat this year’s General Assembly by support-ing the restoration of Cost-of-Compete-Ad-justment (COCA). “COCA recognizes thatthe costs of hiring and retaining teachersin northern Virginia is more expensive thanin other parts of the state and the Chamberwas part of a partnership that secured $34.4million this year,” he said.
McLEAN CITIZENS ASSOCIATION sup-ports looking at alternative revenue sourcesincluding a possible meals tax. MCA passeda resolution in March urging the Board ofSupervisors to look at “other opportunitiesfor revenue improvement.”
“So we get to share the fun with others,”said Dale Stein, MCA’s chairman of the bud-get committee. “Why does everything needto “be on the back of the real estate tax,”he said.
David Edelman, of the The Fairfax CountyCouncil of PTA’s, said, “Our main concernis getting sustainable funding for schoolsand unfortunately there aren’t many optionsavailable to us.”
“We’ll definitely get the message out thereif the Board of Supervisors puts it on theballot,” he said.
THE BOARD of Supervisors would adopta Resolution directing the County Attorneyto file a petition with the Circuit Court byJuly 26.
The Board of Supervisors will meet onJune 7 and instruct County staff to preparedocumentation on the impact of the meals
Board of Supervisorspotentially set toapprove meals taxballot question onJune 7.
Meals Tax? Ballot Possibility
Meals Tax HistoryBy the Numbers1992A county meals tax was defeated by referendum in
April 1992.
102,000Voters cast votes in the 1992 referendum, which
was approximately 25 percent of registeredvoters.
58Percent of the voters voted against the potential
meals tax in 1992.
2004Legislation to exempt Fairfax County from the voter
referendum requirement on a meals tax passedthe Virginia Senate but failed to pass the house.
2008Loudoun County held a referendum for a meals tax
in November 2008 to fund new schoolconstruction, but it failed by a 70-30 percentvote.
2013Henrico and Middlesex counties approved meals tax
referendums. A similar effort in Chesterfieldfailed to pass.
$96 Million RevenueA one percent meals tax in Fairfax County would generate an estimated $24 million in new rev-
enue in Fairfax County; at the maximum 4 percent rate, a county meals tax would generateapproximately $96 million annually.
The following jurisdictions imposed a four percent meals tax on top of the 6 percent sales tax.Note: Montgomery County, Md. does not impose a meals tax but imposes a sales tax of 6 percent.
Locality Sales Tax Meals Tax Rate EstimatedMeals Tax Revenue
Alexandria 6% 4% $17.8 millionArlington 6% 4% $37.1 millionFalls Church 6% 4% $2.9 millionFairfax City 6% 4% $6 millionHerndon 6% 4% $2.1 millionVienna 6% 4% $2.5 millionD.C. 0% 10% $378.9 million
Meals TaxA possible meals tax could go to voters via ref-
erendum in the Nov. 8, 2016 general election.Under state law, the county would keep 100percent of revenue generated by a meals tax.Counties can impose a meals tax if voters approvevia referendum. If voters approve a meals tax,implementation could occur by July 1, 2017.
“Other [possible] opportunities for revenueimprovement: higher hotel occupancy taxes paidby hotel patrons, a higher cigarette taxconsistent with the practice of surroundinglocalities, an admissions tax to places ofamusement or entertainment, the possibility of ameals tax, and a re-evaluation of permit anduser fees, set consistently to fully recover costs.”
— McLean Citizens Association Resolution
Herndon Connection Editor Kemal Kurspahic
703-778-9414 or [email protected]
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Opinion
Local governments pay for almost allof local services, including schools,by taxing a single industry, propertyowners.
In Fairfax County, property taxes pay for 65percent of the budget. In Arlington, which hasmore revenue options as an urban county, prop-erty taxes pay for 57 percent of everything. Inthe City of Alexandria, property taxes pay for58 percent.
It costs more every year to provide a consis-tent level of services, and the sources of rev-enue available to local governments inVirginia are very limited, forcing anoutsized reliance on property taxes.The reason is that localities in Virginiahave only the power explicitly given to themby the General Assembly, and the General As-sembly allows very few options for localitiesto collect revenue.
Alexandria and Arlington already have a 4percent meals tax on top of the 6 percent salestax, and it’s evident that the robust restaurantscene in both areas has not suffered as a re-sult. Would-be diners do not drive to FairfaxCounty to avoid the tax. But whether FairfaxCounty can collect a meals tax will be up tovoters in November, pending the Board of Su-pervisors putting the question on the ballot.
A meals tax is not a silver bullet, but it doesadd one more source of revenue. A 4-centmeals tax is roughly equivalent to the 4-centincrease in property taxes that Fairfax Countyresidents will face this year. But the propertytax is levied on people with no relationship totheir ability to pay. The meals tax is related tospending, a more progressive approach, andwill also collect taxes from non-residents.
This is one of the wealthiest regions in thecountry, and the highly educated populationhas high expectations. Schools, public safety,
recreational facilities, transportation, humanservices and other services and facilities can-not be allowed to atrophy because real estatevalues are flat. The Fairfax County Board ofSupervisors was correct to provide what Chair-man Sharon Bulova called a “booster shot,”mostly to schools but also to other needs inthe county.
What is needed for the future is access toother, more diversified forms of taxes. While itis a pipe dream given the disposition of theGeneral Assembly, what is really needed is togive localities a portion of the income tax. Inthe meantime, locals will have to press the stateto pay for its fair share locally, and to allowincreases in cigarette taxes and other possiblesources of revenue.
— Mary Kimm
Tax Relief for SomeFairfax County provides real estate tax relief and
car tax relief to citizens who are either 65 or older,or permanently and totally disabled, and meet theincome and asset eligibility requirements. For anapplication, call 703-222-8234, or visit http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/dta/taxrelief_home.htm.
An exemption and/or deferral of real estate taxesis available for qualified Arlington homeowners age65 and older and certain totally and permanentlydisabled homeowners, call 703-228-3920 or visithttps://topics.arlingtonva.us/realestate/taxes-payments/real-estate-tax-relief/
Residents of the City of Alexandria who are either65 years of age or older or permanently and totallydisabled by Nov. 15, 2016, may be eligible for theCity’s Real Estate Tax Relief Program for Elderly andDisabled Persons, call 703-746-3901, Option 6, orvisit https://www.alexandriava.gov/finance/info/default.aspx?id=2886.
Fairfax County residentscan expect to see mealstax question onNovember ballots.
In Search ofDiversifiedRevenue
Editorial
For the Benefit of All, Fairfax County Needs a Meals TaxTo the Editor:
For the strongest education for our childrenand for economic prosperity, Fairfax Co. mustpass a Meals Tax. We all know the critical na-ture of the best education for all children butwe need reminding that the highest qualityschools also yield the highest housing prices.
Currently, Fairfax County is losing too manytop teachers to neighboring school districts,especially Arlington County, who pay signifi-cantly higher salaries. I cite the following re-port to the FC School Board last December: A
A Meals Tax will raise crucial revenues forschools, infrastructure and social services. Few,if any people do not eat out in D.C., Arlingtonor Alexandria because they have a revenue-producing meals tax. Few, if any will declineto eat out in Fairfax either.
Let’s all get behind the Meals Tax for thebenefit of our children and to maintain qual-ity schools that raise the value of our homes.
Dennis and Shirley BloomquistGreat Falls
Letters to the Editor
study conducted by Segal Waters Consultinghas revealed that Fairfax County Public Schools(FCPS) teacher salaries fall well behind thoseof other local jurisdictions, particularly in years5-20 of a teacher’s career. Over a 30-year ca-reer, an FCPS teacher earns $142,000 less thanour survey average and $293,000 less than ateacher at Arlington Public Schools. When con-sidering total compensation over a 30-year pe-riod, the gap narrows to $52,000. The studywas presented to the Fairfax County SchoolBoard at its Dec. 7, 2015 work session.
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News
On May 25 at ArtSpaceHerndon, Fairfax CountyHigh School students will
compete to win Arts Herndon scholar-ships in the categories of digital photog-raphy, digital art, animation, and newdigital art. New digital art is a new cat-egory that includes diverse creative digi-tal art forms.
Speaker Chris Doud is the director ofCreative Services at Leidos (formerlySAIC) and works with graphic artists,
video artists and photographers to tell thecompany’s story and drive its business goals.
All award-winning and finalist artworkwill be on display in the Technology Chang-ing Arts Exhibit at ArtSpace Herndon fromMay 24 through June 1. Entries in the com-petition were evaluated and judged by apanel of experts.
Tim Ingle is a digital media expert withover a decade of experience in film, televi-sion and commercial animation production.Michelle Schoening is a multi-disciplinary
design professional who creates identities,brand systems, websites, marketing cam-paigns and environmental graphics. Char-lotte Geary is a professional photographerand co-founder of Modern Reston OnlineLifestyle Magazine. Geary reports on localculture and events.
Each year Arts Herndon holds a Technol-ogy and the Arts Competition with a mis-sion to promote students’ artistic expressionthrough technologically based media, toencourage students to develop their artis-
tic skills, to showcase student talent de-veloped through school curriculum, andto encourage students to become skilled,creative thinkers entering the job mar-ket.
The Awards Reception will be held onWednesday, May 25, 6-8 p.m. at ArtSpaceHerndon, 750 Center St., Herndon. Theexhibit and reception are free and opento the public. For more information onthe exhibit and artists please visitArtSpaceHerndon.org.
Arts Herndon Bestows Digital Art Scholarships Countywide
Greater Reston Arts Center(GRACE) presents their 25thannual Northern Virginia FineArts Festival, offering authen-
tic art and experiences for all tastes and ageson May 21 and 22 at Reston Town Center.This eleven-block art walk will be filled withmore than 200 artists from across the na-tion who will exhibit and sell original paint-ings, photography, mixed-media, sculpture,jewelry, and fine craft. Plus, see inspireddance performances in the parks, enjoy freeart-making activities for families in the Pa-vilion, periodic live music, and morethroughout the weekend. As a highlight ofthe year in the DC region, this event attractsmore than 30,000 attendees over two days.
Northern Virginia Fine Arts Festival isopen from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m. on Satur-day, May 21 and 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. onSunday, May 22 at Reston Town Center,11900 Market Street, Reston.
A gate donation of $5 provides a festivalprogram that includes dining certificates forlocal restaurants.
On the evening of Friday, May 20 atReston Town Center Pavilion,there will bea Festival Launch Party that includes an“amazing silent auction” and catering byThe Counter
Ticket quantities are limited for this spe-cial celebration and are now on sale atGRACE, $100 each.
This year’s list of more than 200 partici-pating artists includes 38 who will be ex-hibiting at the festival for the first time, 28from the D.C. metro region, and 4 fromReston. Artists are coming from as far awayas California, Florida, Minnesota, NewHampshire, Canada, and points in between.The selection of artists also includes 10 who
Doud; curator, Ashley Kistler; and interiordesigner, Judith Weisman – will also serveas judges for the 2016 festival.
The Northern Virginia Fine Arts Festivalis made possible with the support of gener-ous sponsors, including Title Sponsor Lind-say Volkswagen of Dulles, Signature Com-munity Sponsors Reston Community Cen-ter and Reston Town Center Association,Pavilion Sponsor The M Group, LaunchParty Sponsor The Counter, Water SponsorWegmans, and Venue Host Reston TownCenter, among other valued supporters.
Free parking is available in seven multi-level garages.
For more information the festival — andabout volunteering, sponsoring or support-ing the Adopt-an-Artist campaign — callGRACE at 703-471-9242 and visitwww.restonarts.org.
Fine Arts Festival Returns May 21-22Festival at RestonTown Center featuresmore than 200 na-tional artists, danceperformances, familyart-making activitiesand more.
Dance Performancesand Family Art ParkActivities
Presented by Reston Community Center;Signature Community Sponsor of theNorthern Virginia Fine Arts Festival
SATURDAY, MAY 2111 a.m. — Reston Town Square Park,
GroundShare Arts Alliance1 p.m. — Hyatt Park, Gin Dance Company2 p.m. — Reston Town Square Park, Ravel
Dance Company4 p.m. — Hyatt Park, Classical Ballet The-
atre
SUNDAY, MAY 2211 a.m. — Hyatt Park, Gin Dance Company12:30 p.m. — Reston Town Square Park,
Ravel Dance Company2 p.m. — Reston Town Square Park,
GroundShare Arts Alliance3:30 p.m. — Hyatt Park, Classical Ballet
Theatre
More entertainment: Throughout theweekend, additional live music will beoffered periodically in the Pavilionand at Reston Town Square Park.
Family Art Park in the Pavilion – FREE art-making activities all weekend. Rain or shine.
All ages are invited to take part in hands-on art projects inspired by the signature“GRACE Art” program.
Northern Virginia Fine Arts Festival artist Bob Copeland.
Northern Virginia Fine Arts Festival booth - Glass by Jeremy & ChelseaGriffith.
received an Award of Excellence at the 2015Northern Virginia Fine Arts Festival. Festi-val artists are selected on the basis of qual-
ity, originality, and craftsmanship by a panelof expert, independent jurors appointed byGRACE. This year’s jurors – artist, Tim
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Oak Hill/Herndon Connection ❖ May 18-24, 2016 ❖ 7www.ConnectionNewspapers.com
bTo Highlightyour Faith
Community,Call Karen at703-917-6468
7:45 a.m. Holy Eucharist, Rite I9:00 a.m. Holy Eucharist, Rite II
Sunday School: preschool - grade 2Music: grades 3 - 7
10:25 a.m. Sunday School Grades 3 to 6Music 4 years to 2nd grade
11:15 a.m. Holy Eucharist, Rite II5:00 p.m. Come Just as You Are Contemporary Service
Nursery care provided at 9:00 a.m. service
The Rev. James Papile, RectorThe Rev. Laura Cochran
703-437-6530www.stannes-reston.org
1700 Wainwright Dr., Reston
ST. ANNE’SEPISCOPALCHURCH • Reston
Welcoming, Diverse, Progressive COMMUNITIES
OF WORSHIPSend announcements towww.connectionnewspapers.com/Calen-dar/. The deadline is noon on the Fridayprior to the following week’s paper. Pho-tos/artwork encouraged.
WEDNESDAY/MAY 18“The Supreme Court After Justice
Scalia.” 8 p.m. 1441 Wiehle Ave.,Reston. Dr. David Cole, George J.Mitchell Professor in Law and PublicPolicy at Georgetown University.Free. http://www.nvhcreston.org/.703-863-7639.
FRIDAY/MAY 20GRACE’s Festival Launch. 6:30 p.m.
Reston Town Center, 12001 MarketSt. #103, Reston. Enjoy artsybeverages, savory creations, anamazing silent auction, and minglewith the artists in town for theweekend festival. $100.restonarts.org. 703-471-9242.
SATURDAY/MAY 21Northern Virginia Fine Arts
Festival – 25th Annual. 10 a.m.-6p.m. Pavilion, streets, and RestonTown Square Park. View andpurchase art from 200+ artists fromacross the nation and enjoy two daysof live performances, acclaimedchildren’s activities, and more. $5donation encouraged. Presented byGreater Reston Arts Center. 703-471-9242. restonarts.org.
Fish Fry and Yard Sale. 10 a.m.-4p.m. 11500 Leesburg Pike, Herndon.Sponsored by Dranesville Church ofthe Brethren and Salem BaptistChurch to benefit crisis in Nigeria.703-430-7872.dranesvillebrethren.org.
Skye Ballet Center Swan Lake. 2-6:30 p.m. South Lakes High School,11400 South Lakes Drive, Reston.Full-length “Swan Lake”performance. $20/$25. 703-231-8351. [email protected]. 703-863-7639.
Community Yard Sale for Habitatfor Humanity. 8 a.m.-noon. Raindate is May 22. 1760 RestonParkway, Reston. Hosted by WeichertRealtors. Donation of $25 per spacefor Habitat for Humanity. Cash fromsale is yours. 703-362-5171.
SATURDAY-SUNDAY/MAY 21-22Art Outsiders. Saturday, noon-6 p.m.
Sunday, noon-4 p.m. 11921 FreedomDrive, Reston. Meet the famedcontemporary artist, TennesseeLoveless, unveiling his BorderlandSeries, on exhibit through June 5.http://www.artinsights.com/. 703-478-0778.
SUNDAY/MAY 22Stand Up Paddleboard
Demonstrations with SurfReston. 11 a.m.-4 p.m. 11404Washington Plaza W, Reston.Reservations required.lakeanneplaza.com.
SUNDAY/MAY 22The Big Read Herndon. 10 a.m.
ArtSpace Herndon, 750 Center St.,Herndon. Produced by NextStopTheatre. All ages. 703-956-9560.
MONDAY/MAY 23Narfe Dulles Chapter Luncheon.
11:30 a.m. Amphora Diner, 1151Elden St., Herndon. Fairfax CountyVirginia Search & Rescue TeamHelping Others around the Worldwill be the topic. $18. RSPV byThursday, May 19. 703-435-3523 [email protected].
WEDNESDAY/MAY 25Color Me Happy. 7 p.m. Reston
Regional Library, 11925 BowmanTowne Drive. Relax, unwind, turnloose your inner artist and discoverthat coloring is for grown-ups, too.Choose from our collection ofintricate designs and bring them tolife with color. Coloring pages, pensand pencils provided, or bring your
own. Adults. 703-397-0420.
THURSDAY/MAY 26Dollars and Sense. 7 p.m. Reston
Regional Library, 11925 BowmanTowne Drive. A monthly bookdiscussion group that focuses onbusiness leaders and markets. May’stitle is “The Safe Investor” by TimMcCarthy. 703-397-0420.
FRIDAY/MAY 27“Coppelia” and “Jukebox.” 7:30
p.m. CenterStage, Reston CommunityCenter, 2310 Colts Neck Road,Reston. Young dancers will performoriginal works of dance in a varietyof genres. $20. 703-437-9664.raveldance.com.
SATURDAY/MAY 28Star-Spangled Sing Along with the
Reston Chorale. 2-3 p.m. RestonTown Center Pavilion. All arewelcome to take part in a free sing-along of patriotic music in a salute tothe troops, plus children’s activitiesand refreshments. Free.restonchorale.org. 703-834-0079.
THURSDAY-SUNDAY/JUNE 2-5Herndon Festival. Thursday: 6-10
p.m. Friday 5-11 p.m. Saturday: 10a.m. - 11 p.m. Sunday: 10 a.m. - 6p.m. Herndon Town Green, 777 LynnStreet, Herndon. Four-day outdoorfestival with three entertainmentstages, a carnival, two fireworksdisplays, Kid’s Alley with children’sart area, arts and craft show andmore! All ages. Visitwww.herndonfestival.net for moreinformation.
FRIDAY/JUNE 3Community Cookout. 5-7 p.m. North
Hills Pool, 1325 North Village Road,Reston. Everyone is invited to takethe night off from cooking and cometo the pool for some food,entertainment, and good times.Sponsored with the RestonAssociation. 703-476-4500.
SATURDAY/JUNE 4Jimmy Gaudreau and Moondi
Klein. 7:30 p.m. Holy CrossLutheran Church, 1090 SterlingRoad, Herndon. Free/$15. These twolegendary bluegrass musicians, as aduo, are something to behold. 703-435-8377.
MONDAY/JUNE 6Annual Charity Golf Tournament.
Starts at 6:45 a.m. Hidden CreekCountry Club, 1711 Club HouseRoad, Reston. The tournament
includes a 4 person scramble, lunchor dinner and awards. Receptionsfollow both the morning andafternoon shotguns. Lots of prizesand lots of fun. Proceeds benefit ourthree local elementary schools.www.celebrategreatfalls.org.
TUESDAY/JUNE 7“Peonies and Poppies” Class. 7-
8:30 p.m. Mayflowers Floral Studio,11959 Market St., Reston. May willshow you how to combine colors,size, and surprises to make anarrangement that will wow yourfriends. $250. Register atmayflowersreston.com.
A Walk in the Garden. 1-5 p.m.Atrium Building, 9750 MeadowlarkGardens Court, Vienna. A standardflower show. Free. [email protected].
THURSDAY/JUNE 9Paint the Story. 7-9 p.m. ArtSpace
Herndon, 750 Center St., Herndon.Melanie Stanley will usherparticipants into the indigenousMexican culture as depicted in thebook “Bless Me, Ultima” by RudolfoAnaya. Register atartspaceherndon.com. 703-956-9560.
FRIDAY/JUNE 10Senior Tea. 1-2 p.m. ArtSpace
Herndon, 750 Center St., Herndon.Seniors are invited to visit the galleryto view the current exhibit and enjoya cup of tea. Free.artspaceherndon.com.
SATURDAY/JUNE 11Dead Men’s Hollow. 7:30 p.m. Holy
Cross Lutheran Church, 1090 SterlingRoad, Herndon. Free/$15.Magnificent three part female vocalharmony is the centerpiece of thisfine group and male voices roundthings out appropriately. 703-435-8377.
SUNDAY/JUNE 12Love Your Body Yoga. 10 a.m.-5 p.m.
Reston Town Center Pavilion andMarket Street. Yoga studios andwellness centers of Northern Virginiawill be offering classes, services, andinformation on ways to care for yourbody, along with live entertainmentand activities for children. Donationsto participate in classes benefitCornerstones. Presented by BelovedYoga. belovedyoga.com.
Dance Off and Stories fromMexico. 2-4 p.m. ArtSpace Herndon,750 Center St., Herndon. With guestAcoatzin Torres. Free. Seatinglimited. Register atartspaceherndon.com.
Calendar
JimmyGaudreau
and MoondiKlein willshowcase
their blue-grass chops
at Holy CrossLutheran
Church inHerndon on
Saturday,June 4. P
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To honor dad on Father’s Day, send us your favorite snapshotsof you with your dad and The Connection will publish them inour Father’s Day issue. Be sure to include some informationabout what’s going on in the photo, plus your name and phonenumber and town of residence. To e-mail photos, send to:
“Me and My Dad”
8 ❖ Oak Hill/Herndon Connection ❖ May 18-24, 2016 www.ConnectionNewspapers.com
Team Kosmos placedfirst in the prestigious“2016 Conrad Spirit of
Innovation Challenge” at the2016 summit in Kennedy SpaceCenter in Florida.
The team got first place in theCyberTechnology and Securitycategory and was selected asPete Conrad Scholars.
Team Kosmos consisted of :Rahul Rajan (Thomas JeffersonSchool for Science and Technol-ogy), Kavya Kopparapu (Tho-mas Jefferson School for Sci-ence and Technology), AlexPeng (Thomas Jefferson Schoolfor Science and Technology),Justin Zhang (ThomasJefferson School for Scienceand Technology), Naman Singh(Westfield High School). Thewinners live in Herndon.
At the Conrad Spirit of Inno-
vation Challenge teams com-pete for a chance to be namedPete Conrad Scholars, as wellas for seed grants, prizes, schol-arships, patent support andopportunities to grow their so-lution into a real business. TheConrad Challenge offers twoacademic levels of competition:secondary and post-secondary(university students and uni-versity-age military). Foundedin 2008 by Nancy Conrad, theConrad Spirit of InnovationChallenge honors her late hus-band, naval aviator and astro-naut, Charles “Pete” ConradJr.’s passion for education, en-trepreneurship, and innova-tion.
Team Kosmos will presenttheir Innovation at the ASEEConference in New OrleansJune 27-28.
From left — Nancy Conrad, Kavya Kopparapu,Naman Singh, Alex Peng, Justin Zhang, Rahul Rajanand Robert Cabana.
Innovation ChampionsHerndon’s Team Kosmoswins Conrad Spirit of InnovationChallenge, goes to New Orleans.
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By Ken Moore
The Connection
Jaeya Taxali, a sixth-gradestudent at Crossfield El-ementary, gained her inspiration from the school
bus ride home.“I was thinking of ways to make
the world a better place,” she said,“I just got off the school bus.”
Her class was learning about theatmosphere, and she thought ofthe school bus and its capacity tocarry multiple people at the sametime, she said. “There are so manypeople who go to my school inseparate cars. Less cars on the roadwill create less pollution.”
She quickly developed her slo-gan — “Find a partner to go toschool. Stop Pollution. Carpoolingis the solution.”
Jaeya was honored last Wednes-day, May 11 by Clean Air Partnersat the Maryland Zoo in Baltimore.
“Jaeya is a very hard-workingstudent. She is enthusiastic andpassionate about science espe-cially issues that relate to the en-vironment,” said her teacher An-drea MacRae.
Jaeya and her class have alsostudied renewable and nonrenew-able energy sources. “The studentslearned more about how thechoices we make now will affecttheir future,” said MacRae.
JAEYA HOPES the slogan andher award will encourage class-mates and other people in thecommunity to make better choicesthat will help the environment andplanet.
“We’re trying to help childrenlearn about air quality,” said BrianO’Malley, board chair for Clean AirPartners.
“Engaging young people, theymake great ambassadors to acause if they believe in it,” he said.
Clean Air Partners is a public-private partnership that educatesthe greater metropolitan Washing-ton-Baltimore region about thehealth risks associated with poorair quality and the impacts every-
day actions have on the environ-ment.
The slogan awards help the mis-sion of raising awareness. “Wehave a ways to go, but air qualityhas gotten better; this is work thatis getting results.”
Clean Air Partners helps indi-viduals and organizations takesimple actions to reduce their im-pact on the environment and ex-posure to air pollution during un-healthy air quality days.
See www.cleanairpartners.net.
TAXALI was honored at the 8thAnnual Awards Ceremony, heldthis year at the Maryland Zoo inBaltimore.
“It was really special. I met a lotof people,” said Jaeya. “The day Ifound out, I was so excited. I didn’t
‘Carpooling Solution’Herndonelementaryschool studenthonored forclean airinitiative.
Jaeya Taxali, Crossfield Elementary.
Jaeya’s winning slogan,
even know about it until myteacher announced it to the wholeclass.”
Headed to New OrleansAndrea MacRae, teacher at Crossfield Elementary, has taught
Jaeya Taxali and her classmates about the atmosphere, renewableand nonrenewable energy sources and how the choices we makenow will affect their future.
Jaeya was honored last week by Clean Air Partners.Next week, MacRae is taking five of her sixth-grade students to
compete at the Nationals for the Kid Wind competition in NewOrleans.
“They built a wind turbine and won a spot at Nationals in theMiddle School division. We are one of two teams competing fromFairfax County,” said MacRae. “This was part of our unit on En-ergy. We are super excited.”
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Send school notes [email protected] bynoon on Friday.
Eight students from Fairfax CountyPublic Schools — all attending ThomasJefferson High School for Science andTechnology (TJHSST) — have beennamed semifinalists in the 2016 IntelScience Talent Search. The students, withtheir project names, are:
❖ Jake Cui, A Machine Learning Ap-proach to Identifying Ordered BindingRegions on Order-disorder Protein Inter-faces.
❖ Tarun Kamath, Marked Decreases inPediatric and Young Adult Solid OrganCancer Mortality in the United StatesSince 1940: Analysis and Hypotheses.
❖ Ava Lakmazaheri, Brain-actuatedRobotics: A Logic-based Approach forMultimodal Programming and Opera-tion of Assistive Humanoid Robots.
❖ Austin Mills, Demonstrating theDevelopment of Heavy Metal Resistancein Non-tolerant Multigenerational Bras-
sica rapa.❖ Kunal Shroff, The Relationship Be-
tween Lethality and Genomic Instabilityin Euploid and Aneuploid Yeast CellsExpressing Pathological Huntingtin.
❖ Matthew Sun, Hyperacute Tempo-ral Resolution with a Neural Populationfor Biologically Plausible Firing RateChange Detection.
❖ Jason Wei, Improving Lateral FlowImmunoassay Sensitivity by a Palla-dium-catalyzed Dye Reaction.
❖ Michael You, Two-degree-of-free-dom Bubble Oscillations in ElasticVessels and its Application in Sonar-in-duced Marine Mammal Injuries.
The 300 semifinalists were chosenfrom more than 1,750 entrants and willreceive matching awards of $1,000along with their school.
This is the 75th year of the ScienceTalent Search, which Intel has spon-sored since 1998, providing $1.6 millionin awards and scholarships to contes-tants.
School Notes
Oak Hill/Herndon Connection ❖ May 18-24, 2016 ❖ 9www.ConnectionNewspapers.com
Sports
By Jon Roetman
The Connection
After members of the South Lakesboys’ lacrosse team received rec-ognition and the Seahawksposed for photos with the “Lib-
erty Conference 6 Champions” banner,alumni were invited onto the field to joinfor additional celebratory pictures.
Later, head coach Craig Lunde called overplayers by grade and snapped pictures ofeach group.
Before players, coaches and fans clearedthe field at Langley High School, Lunde anda pair of all-conference performers spokewith a reporter about their accomplishment.
South Lakes had just won its first confer-ence title in program history and theSeahawks were going to cherish the expe-rience.
South Lakes defeated Yorktown 8-5 onMay 13 in the Conference 6 tournament fi-nal. The Seahawks overcame an early 2-0deficit, built a 5-2 halftime advantage andled for the entire second half.
South Lakes entered the contest with a12-1 record, including a 9-4 win overYorktown on April 5 during the regular sea-son, and took the next step in a memorableseason.
How did South Lakes, a program with a40-38 record during Lunde’s first six sea-sons as head coach, become a first-timeconference champion riding a 12-game winstreak into the 6A North region tourna-ment?
“They did it the good-old-fashion way: alot of hard work in the offseason, theytrained on their own, they played fall la-crosse as a team when a lot of guys are play-ing club and doing their own thing, so I
think that was … big,” said Lunde, the con-ference Coach of the Year. “They had goneundefeated in the fall league, so I think thatgot them off to a winning start.”
Lunde also credited assistant coaches AlexClough, a 2011 South Lakes graduate andthe program’s all-time leading scorer, andThomas Patterson with helping theSeahawks.
After coming from behind to beat Lan-gley in the conference semifinals, SouthLakes trailed Yorktown 2-0 in the first quar-ter on Friday after Patriots senior and first-team all-conference attackman C.J. Stowellput a pair in the net. The Seahawks weren’tfazed, however and tied the score at 2 bythe end of the quarter with goals from jun-ior long stick midfielder Matt Hughes andsenior attackman Tommy Jung.
Jung scored his second goal with 7:45remaining in the second quarter, givingSouth Lakes a 3-2 advantage and puttingthe Seahawks ahead to stay.
Jung, a first-team all-conference selectionwho will play at Babson College, led SouthLakes with three goals.
“I think it’s the offseason,” Jung gave asa reason for South Lakes’ success. “This year,everyone is just so focused on trying to winstates. It’s our mentality.”
Hughes, a Mercer University commit andthe conference Defensive Player of the Year,scored two goals for the Seahawks. EricOttman and Spencer Alston, each a first-team all-conference selection, and ChrisSherbert each scored one goal.
Senior goalie John Hughes, a second-team all-conference selection, had 14 savesfor the Seahawks.
“Knowing that this is going to be ourlegacy,” Jung said in reference to SouthLakes winning its first conference title, “it’samazing.”
The Seahawks entered the region tour-nament as the No. 1 seed from Conference6 and faced Stonewall Jackson on Tuesday,after The Connection’s deadline.
“I think we can go all the way to states,”Matt Hughes said. “I don’t think any teamcan really compete with the heart that thisteam has …”
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Madison Girls’ Lax Wins Sixth StraightConference/District ChampionshipThe Madison girls’ lacrosse team won the Conference 6 champion-ship with an 11-9 victory over Langley on May 13.
The South Lakes boys’ lacrosse team won the first conference champion-ship in program history on May 13.
South Lakes senior attackman Tommy Jung scored three goals againstYorktown in the Conference 6 championship game on May 13.
South Lakes senior Eric Ottman, right, defends a Yorktown player dur-ing the Conference 6 championship game on May 13.
South Lakes Boys’ Lax Wins First Conference ChampionshipSeahawks beatYorktown inConference 6tournament final.
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Connection Sports Editor Jon Roetman
703-752-4031 or [email protected]
10 ❖ Oak Hill/Herndon Connection ❖ May 18-24, 2016 www.ConnectionNewspapers.com
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By KENNETH B. LOURIE
ClutterEither it’s the cancer/seven-plus years of
chemotherapy, or it’s my age. Regardless,information retention and recall is not quitewhat it used to be. What goes in doesn’texactly come out, or if it does, it’s some-what after the fact. I wouldn’t say it’sembarrassing yet, and it hasn’t led to anyspeech impediment-type of hemming andhawing. But it has led to something, otherthan this column, that is.
I haven’t quite resorted to index/flashcards, nor am I avoiding human interactionas a way to minimize the awkwardness. Iam still going about my normal business –or lack thereof, and wondering if time is onmy side or has it been usurped by powersgreater than me. And since there’s no realdefinitive answer, I’ll try to stop questioningwhether what I think I’m experiencing isinevitable or am I, as any Three Stoogesaficionado would appreciate: simply “avictim of circumstance.”
Granted, I may not be the sharpest knifein the drawer, but if we’re invoking utensilshere, neither am I a spoon. I can accept thefact that in the knife category, I’m closer toa butter knife than I am to a steak knife;meaning I get the job done, probably withless haste, but likely with more waste.Nevertheless, the job gets done and moreoften than not, it’s without further ado. Andwhile I’m using ado/adieu, I don’t feel as ifthis lack of recall/retention is indicative ofme bidding adieu. However, it does giveme pause about my status as a long-time (inthe stage IV, non-small cell lung cancerworld, when one’s prognosis was originally“13 months to two years,” seven-plus yearsis a long time) survivor. Maybe I’m simplyexperiencing what any person nearing theage of 62 does. It’s not the cancer, it’s dareI say/hope: middle age. Although I’ll admitI may be on the downside of it, andapproaching what I’ll call “older” age (not“old” age).
But let’s be honest here, when anoncologist advises you at age 54 and a halfthat your prognosis is at best two years andthat he can “treat you but can’t cure you,”and that perhaps, “you should take thatvacation you’ve always dreamt of,” not onlydoes your middle age (or what’s left of it)rapidly disappear, so too does your“older”/“old” age.
Quite unexpectedly then, given yourprior good health and no history of cancerin your immediate family, your mind/brainquickly gets overloaded with facts, figures,feelings and fears it had never consideredbefore. Ergo the clutter. Not that there’s alimited amount of space in your head for allthis new/never-expected information, but itdoes seem to crowd out more familiar, lessimpactful stuff. At least that’s my story/rationalization and I’m most definitelysticking to it.
But my reality is: I am stuck with it,unfortunately. No cure doesn’t exactly con-jure optimism. Nevertheless, as a long-suf-fering Boston Red Sox fan (until 2004, thatis, when “the curse” was finally broken asthe Bosox won their first World Series in 86years), hope springs eternal, and so Iremain ever hopeful. It’s just that occasion-ally, I have difficulty remembering/ articulat-ing that hopefulness – among other things.No worries though. I know the informationis still in my head, somewhere. I’m sure I’llget it out, eventually.
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12 ❖ Oak Hill/Herndon Connection ❖ May 18-24, 2016 www.ConnectionNewspapers.com