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Reston Connection ❖ January 11-17, 2017 ❖ 1www.ConnectionNewspapers.com

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January 11-17, 2017 online at www.connectionnewspapers.com

RestonRestonHomeLifeStyleHomeLifeStylePage 9

HomeLifeStyleNew parkingsigns providepayment infor-mation for thosewho park alongthe street of theshopping center.

On a Collision CourseNews, Page 2

Hats Off to Reston FamilyNews, Page 12

On a Collision CourseNews, Page 2

Hats Off to Reston FamilyNews, Page 12

Retailers, Patrons WrestleWith New Parking Fees

News, Page 4

Retailers, Patrons WrestleWith New Parking Fees

News, Page 4

2 ❖ Reston Connection ❖ January 11-17, 2017 www.ConnectionNewspapers.com

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News

By Fallon Forbush

The Connection

The Reston Associationadopted a resolutionthat opposes a newroad the county has

planned north of the Wiehle-Reston East metrorail station outof concern that it runs rightthrough the Hidden Creek Coun-try Club’s golf course.

“For those of us paying attention,[the road] stood out like a sorethumb,” says Connie Hartke, presi-dent of Rescue Reston, an organi-zation that opposes redevelopmentof the Reston National Golf Course,the other golf course located inReston.

The plan laying out the road, theReston Master Plan Special Study,was amended and adopted by theFairfax County Board of Supervi-sors on June 2, 2015. The studybegan in 2009 to include changes into theFairfax County Comprehensive Plan, whichwould guide the redevelopment of Reston.This included areas around the new RestonSilver line metro rail stations, the Dulles TollRoad and other residential neighborhoodsand commercial areas.

The plan calls for the county to constructroadway network improvements that wouldprovide alternative routes for traffic to drivearound transit station areas and reduce con-gestion.

The connection being challenged in theplan is a new road that would bridge Ameri-can Dream Way and Isaac Newton Squarejust north of the Wiehle-Reston East station.However, portions of the Hidden CreekCountry Club’s 18-hole golf course sit inbetween the two roads— American DreamWay to its west and Isaac Newton Squareto its east.

“I hope that any property owner has

learned that Reston stands unified about itsgreen, recreational space,” says Hartke.

THE RA RESOLUTION states that Restonhas been a golf course community since itsinception in 1961 and that the HiddenCreek and Reston National golf courses arean essential element

of Reston because of their integration intoReston’s natural open space areas and be-cause of

the active recreational opportunities theyprovide.

The disruption to the golf course seemsto be a mistake, especially given that a pro-vision listed in the plan backs thecommunity’s desire to preserve its golfcourses.

“The Reston National and Hidden CreekCountry Club golf courses are planned forprivate recreation use, more specifically toremain as golf courses,” the provision reads.

Also, the road is not mapped out to inter-fere with the course. Still, the RA does notthink the road is possible without runningdirectly into the course.

“The plan shows that connection asswinging down, not impacting the golf land-use … basically running parallel to theW&OD [Washington & Old DominionTrail],” Reston Association Land Use Attor-ney John McBride said during a presenta-tion at an RA Board of Directors meetingon Dec. 15. “Anyone that’s walked alongthere or seen that knows that really can’tbe done. There’s no way you can make thatconnection without disturbing three holesof that golf course.”

The resolution concludes by saying theRA does not support any future grid ofstreets road connection between AmericanDream Way and Isaac Newton Square, be-cause it will adversely impact the HiddenCreek golf course.

“We just want to make sure it’s out in theopen that there is a discrepancy,” Larry But-ler, the RA’s senior director of Parks, Recre-

ation and Community Resources.The RA was engaged in the pro-

cess for the plan, but Butler doesnot recall ever attending a meet-ing where the road connection is-sue was discussed.

“The board wanted to essentiallymake a statement that we want tokeep the golf courses in Reston be-cause we think they’re importantand that this recommendation inthe comprehensive plan flies in theface of that because the road can-not be constructed without impact-ing the course,” says Butler.

But the implementation of all el-ements of the plan are not guar-anteed. The grid of streets will beconstructed as developments areapproved by the county.

“It’s not an implementation plan,it’s a conceptual plan,” says TomBiesiadny, director of the FairfaxCounty Department of Transporta-tion. “All of the implementationpieces have to be worked out as

individual development cases to move for-ward.”

And the golf course has not submitted anyproposals for redevelopment, according toBiesiadny. Neither the golf course nor itsparent company responded to inquiriesfrom the Connection.

RESIDENTS OF RESTON who are con-cerned about the golf course can rest as-sured knowing the course is zoned for pri-vate recreation and any requests for rezon-ing must undergo public hearings by thecounty’s Planning Commission and theBoard of Supervisors.

Both attorneys for Rescue Reston and theReston Association are monitoring for anyproposals to redevelop the courses.

“There’s going to be opportunities for thecommunity to come in on any of the pro-posals that might be coming forward forconsideration,” says Biesiadny.

Reston Association disagrees with County over planned roadaffecting the Hidden Creek Country Club’s golf course.

On a Collision Course

YouTube Screengrab

On Dec. 15, Reston Association Land Use Attorney John McBride presented this render-ing of the proposed location of a road that would connect American Dream Way andIsaac Newton Square, which would adversely impact the Hidden Creek golf course.


NewsReston Connection Editor

Kemal Kurspahic

703-778-9414 or

[email protected]

By Tim Peterson

The Connection

“We’re not letting teachersdo their jobs,” was theplea from Jo Neuberof Vienna

Co-chair of the organization Class SizeCounts. Neuber thanked Del. Jim Lemunyon(R-67) for developing three class size billsfor the 2017 session of the Virginia Gen-eral Assembly, including HB1498. Neubersaid she was in favor of putting a cap of 24students in science labs.

Neuber was one of more than 80 FairfaxCounty residents who spoke directly tomembers of the Fairfax delegation to theGeneral Assembly at a public hearing onJan. 7 at the Fairfax County GovernmentCenter.

The General Assembly is set to convenein Richmond at noon on Jan. 11, when theywill begin work on new or amended legis-lation for the Virginia Code.

The public hearing was the last chancelocal constituents had to voice their hopesor concerns for pending or potential legis-lation in person without traveling to thestate capital, though most lawmakers havealready all but finalized their legislativeagenda for the session.

Education was once again an importanttopic for many speakers, beginning withBoard of Supervisors chairman SharonBulova.

“Of the $21 million in additional state

funding the county was expected to receivein FY2017, $4.4 of that is already at riskdue to the cancellation of funding for raisesfor teachers and other instructions person-nel,” Bulova said. “We must get that fund-ing back and we must make sure that fund-ing for those raises is included in theFY2018 budget.”

Bulova and Fairfax County Public SchoolBoard vice chair Jane Strauss said the Vir-ginia Retirement System rates were accel-erated by one year last year, which increasesthe costs for FCPS by more than $25 mil-lion in FY 2017.

“We ask for help in avoiding funding re-ductions to our local programs and ser-vices,” Bulova said, “and opposing restric-tions on our local revenues.”

Several education advocates echoedNeuber’s call to reduce class size, andBulova’s concern for competitive teachersalary levels.

Other topics with numerous speakers in-cluded legalization of marijuana for medici-nal use; funding for disability services waiv-ers; transportation and congestion reduc-tion; funding for the court system; and thetax on toilet paper, adult diapers and somefeminine hygiene products.

Holly Seibold of Vienna is founder andexecutive director of the group BringingResources to Aid Women’s Shelters that pro-vides donated feminine hygiene productsto who have insufficient access to them. Sheurged the delegation to support the “Dig-nity Act,” introduced by Del. JenniferBoysko (D-86), that would make toilet pa-per, adult diapers and some feminine hy-giene products tax exempt.

For more information on the General As-sembly, to track a bill or find out who yourrepresentative to the assembly is, visitvirginiageneralassembly.gov.

More than 80 speak atGeneral Assemblypublic hearing.

Fairfax Lawmakers’Last Call for Input

Photos by Tim Peterson/The Connection

More than 80 Fairfax County residents spoke directly to members of theFairfax delegation to the General Assembly at a public hearing on Jan. 7at the Fairfax County Government Center.

Education was once again animportant topic for many speakersat the Jan. 7 public hearing for theFairfax delegation to the GeneralAssembly, beginning with Board ofSupervisors chairman SharonBulova.

Robert Sledzaus of Reston askedthe delegation to consider a “lit-mus test” for legislation in theirsession: “Does it servehomeowners’ rights or specialinterest groups” such ashomeowners associations.

Paul McClemens of Reston is thepresident of the Fairfax CountyFederation of Teachers. “We’reworse off now than in 2013, the‘year of the teacher,’” he said.“Teacher salaries have barelyincreased since 2008.”

Mary Elizabeth Weitzmann ofReston represented the group VaNorml and advocated for thelegalization, regulation and taxa-tion of marijuana. “Couldn’t weuse the money?” she asked. “Itcould be used for positive changein Fairfax County. And there arelives, mostly young, that are ru-ined for illegally possessing andgrowing cannabis.”

Rikki Epstein of Reston is execu-tive director of the Arc of NorthernVirginia. Epstein said there “sim-ply isn’t room for more cuts” whenit comes to the more than 4,000Virginians with disabilities on thewaitlist for disability serviceswaivers that would allow them toreceive services to live indepen-dently in the community.

Hearing Highlights


News

By Fallon Forbush

The Connection

Reston Town Center began charging itspatrons for weekday street and garageparking on Tuesday, Jan. 3. Both streetand garage parking were free until then.

While paid parking is in effect 24 hours a day,weekends will remain free for the garages and Sun-days will remain free for street parking. Both garageand street parking will also be free during majorholidays.

The shopping center’s employees can still park freeof charge at all times, but some are not sure thechange is good for their businesses.

Even though the paid parking didn’t go into effectuntil after this year’s holiday shopping season, tworetail managers say it has already driven customersaway.

Mary Tisi, who is manager of Origins, a naturalskincare store on Market Street in the shopping cen-ter, says her store experienced a sharp decline thisseason.

“We saw a 50 percent decline in our holiday trans-actions compared to last year … our store will beclosing,” she says. “Parking was the final nail in thecoffin for us.”

Teresa Johnson, manager at the L’Occitane enProvence, which also sells skincare products on Mar-ket Street in the shopping center, agrees.

“It’s nothing but greed,” says Johnson. “It’s goingto kill the retailers and the restaurants.”

Johnson says the mere word of the paid parkingbeginning in the New Year negatively impacted herstore’s holiday performance, which saw 41 percentless traffic compared to the previous year.

“We’re not profitable and we’re not meeting ournumbers,” she says.

She worries that her store, like Origins, will notmake enough of a profit to be able to renew its leaseat the shopping center.

The shopping center is collecting payment via theParkRTC app, which can be downloaded ontosmartphones for free through the iPhone App Storeor Google Play.

By Dec. 7, more than 21,000 people had alreadydownloaded the parking app.

To encourage further adoption, Reston Town Cen-ter will do a drawing on Feb. 1, where those whodownload the app will be eligible to win one of 10$500 Reston Town Center gift cards.

Patrons who choose not to download the app canstill park on the streets and the garages. They willinstead need to use the garage pay stations or call anumber that is listed on signage. For all methods,those parking must identify their parking zone, ve-hicle license plate and length of stay. The only formof payment accepted is credit or debit card.

For street parking, there is a one-hour time mini-mum and a two-hour maximum:

❖ 0-1 hour is $3❖ 1-2 hours is $6For garage parking, there is a one-hour time mini-

mum and a 24-hour maximum:❖ 0-1 hour is $2❖ 1-2 hours is $4❖ 2-3 hours is $5❖ 3-4 hours is $6❖ 4-6 hours is $8❖ 6-10 hours is $10❖ 10-12 hours is $14

❖ 12-24 hours is $24The garages also offer monthly passes for $70.Origins and L’Occitane en Provence will not vali-

date parking for its customers, but some retailers will.The Bowtie Cinema on Market Street in the shop-

ping center will validate parking for up to three hoursfor its patrons who park in the nearby blue and greenparking garages.

The cinema and other participating establishmentswill provide numeric validation codes for patrons toenter into their ParkRTC app or the pay stations inthe garages.

“Every business entity thoughtfully looks throughmany lenses when making operating decisions, thefinancial lens being one of them,” Rob Weinhold,spokesperson for Reston Town Center, said in anemail. “Parking revenues will support Reston TownCenter’s high quality facilities, family-oriented events,top brand attractions, innovative technologies andnonprofit donations.”

For patrons who choose not to pay during week-days, “violators will be immobilized and charged aservice fee at owner’s expense,” signs read.

Reston Town Center Retailers, PatronsWrestle with New Parking Fees

Photo by Fallon Forbush/The Connection

Signs stand outside the entrances of theshopping center’s parking garages toremind people that paid parking is ineffect. An employee was also standingnear the first-level pay station to helppeople navigate the machines.

“Parking revenues willsupport Reston TownCenter’s high qualityfacilities, family-orientedevents, top brand attractions,innovative technologies andnonprofit donations.”

—Rob Weinhold,spokesperson for Reston Town Center

Viewpoints

What do you think ofthe new parking fees?Pamela Light of Reston

“I parked way over there [off shoppingcenter property] because I’m not going topay. I will avoid coming here and I won’tfrequent it as often, but I have a PR[Potomac River] Running coupon. Theyvalidate, but I’m not sure I’ll be buyinganything.”

Lori Axtell of Sterling“It took me forever to figure out the

parking. Not very clear on signs, but itwas easy once I figured it out. A lot ofplaces are validating, which helps.”

Aspasia Padgiotis of Ashburn“Oh, I didn’t know they started charg-

ing …. I’ll stick to weekends now I guess,since that’s free.”

Justin Rice of Gainesville“Luckily, we get parking as long as

we’re employees. I’m surprised they didn’tdo it sooner—not that I want them tocharge people, but other places do it.”

Christine Keppel of Baltimore“$3 is pretty pricey for an hour. I live

near the Towson Town Center nearBaltimore and it’s only 50 cents. I have anevent at a hotel nearby and I literally justwant a Starbucks. I think my parking maybe more expensive than my Starbucks[which does not validate].”

Send school notes [email protected] bynoon on Friday.

Mary Ruth Brown, a 2012 gradu-ate of Oakton High School and a 2016graduate of Embry-Riddle AeronauticalUniversity, is currently in graduateschool at East Carolina University study-ing meteorology/atmospheric science.She has been selected for an internshipat NASA Langley Research Center inHampton, VA for spring semester 2017.

David Clark, alto sax player, is rec-ognized as a member of the 2017 U.S.Army All-American Marching Band andwill receive honorary jacket in front offamily, friends, fellow band membersand classmates.

Snigdha Srivastava and KateHao, of Herndon, are on the dean’s listat Washington University in St. Louis.

Adam Zaman, of Herndon, is on thedean’s list for spring 2016 at South Da-kota School of Mines and Technology.He is studying mechanical engineering.

Dinesh Chowdary Inampudi, ofHerndon, graduated with a master ofscience, May 2016 from the Universityof New Haven.

Kalla Fleger, of Reston, is on thedean’s list for spring 2016 at the Univer-sity of Minnesota Twin Cities. NonDegree, Coll of Continuing Education.

Elizabeth Ashley Drake, ofHerndon, is on the dean’s list at HollinsUniversity for spring 2016.

School Notes


By Fallon Forbush

The Connection

The company selected by a special com-mittee of the Reston Association to reviewthe purchase and renovation of the defi-cit-plagued Lake House property backed

out of negotiations.Sridhar Ganesan, CEO of Mediaworld Ventures,

LLC and president of the Reston Citizens Associa-tion, withdrew his company’s proposal to performthe review citing financial risk.

“We found that it was restrictive, affected inde-pendence and was punitive … we were hopeful ofgetting a document that was a lot more simplifiedwithout the restrictive conditions,” says Ganesan.

As reported in the Connection in December, theRA Board of Directors was still negotiating terms withGanesan’s company, even though it was chosen inSeptember to do the review for a $1 fee. By Dec. 22,Mediaworld sent a detailed letter reiterating changesit requested.

The letter addressed Ganesan’s concern for thenature and tone of the draft contract because it gavethe RA certain powers over his team, its work andthe final report, which he says would jeopardize theindependence of the review.

But instead of receiving a leaner and less litigiousagreement, a “Liquidated Damages” clause wasadded stating that any breach or threatened or per-ceived breach of any of the key terms set forth in theagreement would result in a $2,000 per breach pen-

alty, the letter said.By Jan. 2, conversations broke down when RA had

not responded.“It has been about 10 days since we sent the last

letter to you and have had no response,” Ganesanwrote in an email to RA on Jan. 2. “Please considerthis email as termination of our contract discussions,”it concluded.

After he sent the termination email on Jan. 2, theRA replied by saying the association was still opento negotiating.

“RA was and continues to be willing to work withMediaworld in good faith toward a mutually accept-able agreement,” Ellen Graves, RA’s board president,said in a statement to the Connection.

“Mediaworld apparently could not find the timeto meet to resolve the remaining issues, includingmany standard terms found in community associa-tion contracts designed for an association’s protec-tion and which are generally accepted by most com-panies performing similar services for communityassociations,” Graves’ statement continued.

Still, after three months of going back and forth,Ganesan felt like they were not making anyprogress.

“Bottom line, they had some conditions that wouldhave impacted the independent review that we wouldhave done … which should not have been in theagreement in the first place,” Ganesan says.

The RA will meet later this month to determinethe best course of action moving forward on this in-dependent review.

News

Company Quits Negotiations with RAon Lake House Independent Review


Visitor’s Account:A Bad Day atTown CenterTo the Editor:

As a frequent visitor to Reston and specifi-cally the Reston Town Center, I’m writing abouta recent experience with the newly installedpay parking system. I realize that the entiresystem is new and might have “kinks” to workout, but overall I feel the experience was a di-saster and an embarrassment to the parkingsystem. A group of four of us parked to havelunch and see a movie. After a five to tenminute session, trying to install the phone appfor the system, we were off. Our first shockwas seeing that a credit card number, vehicleinformation, along with an “estimate” of howlong we intended to be parked were requiredor the inconvenience of making a phone callto supply this information (I’m guessing to ac-commodate the many people that don’t havesmart phones?)

We obtained the validation codes from therestaurant and movie theater. All attempts touse the codes failed after much frustration andrepeated tries. We returned to the garage andafter a discussion with a parking

“attendant” realized that he didn’t have anyidea how to assist with our problem. His onlyadvice was to try again in the morning sincethe parking charges wouldn’t be applied to thecredit card until after 24 hours.

If this was anything typical to what othervisitors to the town center are experiencing, Ifeel that all commercial establishments withinthe center have plenty to fear from this newpay parking system. There are plenty of shop-ping centers and malls in and around Restonthat have a huge number of first class restau-rants and other commercial establishments andfree parking. I can’t imagine visitors being will-ing to put up with what we encountered dur-ing this visit. I know for sure that I won’t.

Frank BeckHamilton, Va.

Letters to the Editor

Opinion

Happy New Year. We need yourhelp in 2017.

As local, weekly newspapers,the Connection’s mission is to

deliver news that readers need close to home,to help readers enjoy great local places andevents, to advocate for community good, to callattention to unmet needs, to provide a forumfor dialogue on local concerns, and to celebrateand record milestones and events in commu-nity and people’s lives.

If you know people or organizations doingimportant work, something newsworthy orsomething that might make a good fea-ture story, let us know.

We want to know if someone in yourfamily or your community published abook, became an Eagle Scout, raised moneyfor a good cause, or accomplished a feat likerunning a marathon or having an art show.

We publish photos and notes of a variety ofpersonal milestones and community events,including births, engagements, weddings, an-niversaries, awards and obituaries. Send aphoto and tell us about it in 200 words or lessto [email protected].

We feature events in our weekly calendars.We are also interested in events at your church,mosque, synagogue, community center, pool,school, club, etc. To have the best chance ofgetting an event included in our calendarahead of time, email us the details of the event(who, what, where, when, why) three weeksahead of time. Email [email protected].

After your event, email us a photo and a noteso we can consider including it in our cover-age. Be sure to include the names of all thepeople who are in a photo, and say when andwhere the photo was taken.

We also publish notes about news and eventsfrom local businesses. Notes about openings,new employees, anniversaries are welcome.

Of course we are interested in your news tipsand your questions about what is happeningin your community.

We are always looking for contributing writ-ers and photographers.

The Connection Newspapers are publishedby Local Media Connection LLC, an indepen-dent, locally owned company. The publicationsand websites include the Alexandria GazettePacket, the Mount Vernon Gazette, the Centre

View, the Potomac Almanac and indi-vidual Connection papers and websitesserving McLean, Great Falls, Vienna/Oakton, Oak Hill/Herndon, Reston,

Springfield, Burke, Fairfax, Fairfax Station/Clifton/Lorton, Arlington, Centreville,Chantilly/Fair Oaks, Alexandria and MountVernon.

The publications and websites have wonhundreds of awards for news and communitycoverage just in the past few years, includingthe Virginia Press Association Award for Integ-rity and Community Service for coverage ofefforts to prevent and end homelessness, andBest in Show for information/art for coverageof local parks.

The operation of these community-servingpublications is entirely funded by advertis-ing. The papers are delivered free to homesand businesses throughout Northern Vir-ginia, and through free digital subscriptions,with more than 150,000 readers across theregion. If you or your organization appreci-ate the Connection publications, please sup-port them by patronizing our advertisers andby spending a portion of your marketingbudget with us.

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About the Reston Connection

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NEWS DEPARTMENT:[email protected]

Kemal Kurspahic Editor ❖ 703-778-9414

[email protected]

Fallon ForbushReporter

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Andrea SmithClassified Advertising, 703-778-9411

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Editor & PublisherMary Kimm

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Managing EditorKemal Kurspahic

Art/Design:Laurence Foong, John Heinly,

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[email protected]@TheismannMedia

CIRCULATION: [email protected]

Reston

To have community events listed in the Connection,send to connectionnewspapers.com/Calendar/ by noonon Friday.

JAN. 9 - JAN. 20Coat Drive to Benefit Cornerstones at Reston

Town Center Monday, January 9 through Friday,January 20, collection in building lobbies. Help ushelp those in need in our community stay warm thiswinter! Reston Town Center will be accepting newor gently used winter coats (in good condition andcleaned), and new hats, gloves and scarves. Itemswill be collected in boxes located in building lobbiesfor donation to Cornerstones. restontowncenter.com

WEDNESDAY/JAN. 11DMV2Go at the Pavilion in Reston Town

Center 9 - 4 p.m. DMV wireless office on wheels:apply or renew ID card and driver’s license; getdriving records, vehicle titles, license plates, decals,order disabled plates, and more. Information on allservices offered at http://re.ston.tc/P9HLkh

THROUGH JAN. 18Community Forums on Superintendent Search.

Hazard, Young, Attea & Associates (HYA), the firmhired by the FCPS School Board to conduct a searchfor a new superintendent to replace Karen K. Garza,will be holding ten community forums in January toallow Fairfax County residents to share their ideasand feedback on the characteristics they are seekingin a new superintendent. Meetings in our areainclude:

% Wednesday, Jan. 11, noon, Providence DistrictOffice and Community Center, multipurpose room

Bulletin Board

Write The Connection welcomes viewson any public issue. The deadline for all

material is noon Friday. Send to:

Letters to the EditorThe Connection1606 King St.

Alexandria VA 22314Call: 703-917-6444.

By e-mail:[email protected]


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By Kenneth R. “Ken” Plum

State Delegate (D-36)

The Dulles Corridor Rail Association(DCRA) Board of Directors voted lastweek to merge with the Northern Vir-ginia Transportation Alliance (NVTA)

with the Alliance going forward to represent trans-portation interests for the region. As founder of DCRAI felt some sadness at the consolidation of the orga-nization into another entity with a broader purpose,but at the same time I was very pleased with thegreater meaning of the merger. On the one hand themerger represented “mission accomplished” forDCRA, and on the other hand it reflected a greaterappreciation of the need for a multimodal transpor-tation system for our region.

DCRA was founded in 1998 after conversations Ihad with members of the Reston Transportation Com-mittee, area residents and members of the businesscommunity. My concern that I found was shared bymany others was that road building alone would notmeet the long-term needs of the region and specifi-cally Reston located in the middle of the corridor.Short-term solutions like widening roads, addingbuses or bus rapid transit or light rail trains could beshort-term fixes some of which would interfere withadding more substantial infrastructure in the future.The ensuing years were filled with much debate, fitsand starts, and ups and downs before an extensionof Metro from West Falls Church into LoudounCounty was finally approved as the preferred localalternative, federal funds were approved, special taxdistricts were set up, and agreements and contracts

were signed to make the Silver Line a reality.For DCRA members the completion of Phase 1 and

its operation and the contracting for Phase 2 to becompleted by 2020 meant that the work on its nar-rowly drawn mission had been completed. While is-sues about maximizing the use of the rail system andaccess to it remain to be fine-tuned, those matters arebest resolved within the framework of a multimodalapproach. Northern Virginia Transportation Alliancehas moved beyond its road building focus of the pastto a more multimodal approach that will support theSilver Line while at the same time reducing conges-tion and supporting the many different ways thatpeople in our community choose to travel.

DCRA would never have been able to declare vic-tory without the active support of the many indi-viduals, organizations and businesses that supportedits mission. They joined together in the “Dulles RailNow!” campaign at a critically important time, in thebeginning sent faxes to key decision makers followedby email in more recent years, held educational semi-nars for residents and the business community toenhance understanding of transit-oriented develop-ment, and cajoled, flattered and persuaded politicalleaders to support the project. Key to its successfuloperation was its president Patty Nicoson who joinedthe organization at its very beginning and contin-ued with it until its victory celebration. She came tothe organization with experience as a planner whenMetro first came to the District of Columbia and laterworked for Arlington County when Metro arrivedthere. Her persistent but reasoned approach mayhave been the most important element of DCRA com-pleting its mission.

Mission AccomplishedCommentary

South Lakes High School had a successful show-ing at The Ocean Breeze Freedom Games indoortrack meet Saturday, Jan. 7 in Staten Island, N.Y.,which was highlighted by a record-setting perfor-mance by junior Olivia Beckner in the 1,000meters.

Beckner finished fourth in that race with a timeof 2:54.06, breaking the school record of 2:58.47that she set last season. She then teamed withsophomore Sophie Halkett and juniors Aly Rayleand Sarah Wolfe for third place in the 4x800 meterrelay (9:33.12). Both events were in 6A state meetqualifying times.

The SLHS boys team was led by the state-quali-fying 4x200 meter team of seniors Timiebi Ogobri,Don’ta Whitley, junior Jack Eggeman and sopho-more Nicky Napolitano. They finished fourth witha time of 1:32.87 in the finals after running a1:33.35 in the preliminaries.

Seniors Peter Sepulveda, Jack Watkins,Dimarcus Vilcheck and junior Alex Loukili finishedsecond in the 4x800 meter relay in a NorthernRegion championship qualifying time of 8:22.07.Louikili also finished fifth in the red division of1,000 with a time of 2:35.82, which is also a re-gional qualifying time.

The track team will close out the regular sea-son with members competing at both the con-ference meet Saturday, Jan. 14 at ThomasJefferson Community Center in Arlington and theVirginia Showcase, Jan. 13-14 at the LibertyUniversity in Lynchburg.

Olivia Beckner Breaks South Lakes High Record inthe 1,000 Meters Race

South Lakes’ AlyRayle and SophieHalkett in 4x800 Ocean Breeze FreedomGames race (Jan. 7, 2017)

Alex Loukili and Dimarcus Vilcheck in4x800 Ocean Breeze Games race.

Photos contributed


Calendar

THURSDAY/JAN. 12Encore Chorale of Reston

Rehearsals 6:30pm at St. Anne’sEpiscopal Church located at 1700Wainwright Drive, Reston. There areno auditions and singers may beseated for rehearsals andperformances. Singers will rehearseeach week for 90 minutes inpreparation for May performances.The spring repertoire for EncoreChorale includes Porgy & Bess, VaPensiero, Les Miserables, Do, LordRemember Me, & more! Theconductor is David Lang. The Springrepertoire for the ROCKS chorusesincludes favorites like, All You Needis Love by the Beatles, Longest Timeby Billy Joel, Forever Doo Wop andRock On—a medley of hits from the50’s & 60’s. Fee is $175 for 15 weeklyrehearsals, sheet music, CD in yourmusic part and performances.

FRIDAY/JAN. 13Erev Shabbat Service at Northern

Virginia Hebrew Congregation, 1441Wiehle Avenue, Reston, 6:30-9 p.m.Jewish-American songwriter MichaelHunter Ochs and award-winningMuslim Palestinian peace activist/songwriter Alaa Alshaham andShireinu - Hebrew Congregation’syouth choir - weave theirextraordinary story and music intothe worship. Co-Sponsored by TheAll Dulles Area Muslim Society(ADAMS).

SATURDAY/JAN. 14Concert Tribute to Dr. King 4 - 5:30

p.m. Reston Community Center 2310Colt’s Neck Road, Reston. The RestonCommunity Orchestra presents itsannual musical tribute to Dr. Martin

Luther King, Jr. featuring the work ofOlly Wilson, one of the pre-eminentcontemporary composers of African-American descent, along withbaritone Bryan Wilson and song-stylist Beverly Cosham.restoncommunityorchestra.org

TUESDAY/JAN. 17Concert Joan & Joni 7:15 p.m. Doors

open at 6 p.m. 110 Devil’s BackboneOverlook, Stephenson. Allison andKipyn bring to the stage many ofJoan Baez and Joni Mitchell’s well-

known originals and folk songs, aswell as a few hidden gems. They alsohighlight the impact these legendarywomen have had on their ownsongwriting and performance.Tickets: at the door or contact [email protected] Cost: $10Members, $11 Non-members.

THURSDAY/JAN. 19Artist’s Critique Group at Greater

Reston Arts Center 7 - 9:30 p.m.Call to local artists: Bring 1-2 recentartworks to the gallery for a groupdiscussion and critique. Limitedspace. 703-471-9242 restonarts.org

SATURDAY/JAN. 21Living with Arthritis Seminar 2

p.m. Reston Regional Library, 11925Bowman Towne Drive. Join Dr. MarkP. Madden from Reston RegionalHospital Center to learn about themajor types of arthritis and theirtreatment options, and what you cando to manage pain and preserve jointfunction, mobility and your quality oflife. Adults only. Cost: Free. Pleaseregister online atwww.fairfaxcounty.gov/library

NextStop’s Theater Presents MuchAdo About Nothing 7 p.m.NextStop’s Theater 269 Sunset ParkDrive Herndon, VA 20170.TheShakespeare tale of Beatrice andBenedick, the original romanticcomedy. The pair are locked in aconstant battle of wits and share amutual disdain for love.Cost: $25 -average per ticket.www.nextstoptheatre.org/contact/

SUNDAY/JAN. 22Springtime in Winter 2 - 4 p.m.

11400 Washington Plaza, Reston.Reception for a collaborative exhibitof poets, painters, and musicians,featuring readings and music createdto complement the works of eightartists. The exhibit will remain ondisplay through February 22. [email protected]

ONGOINGShepherd’s Center of Oakton

Vienna Caregivers SupportGroup Meetings are the first andthird Thursdays of every month, i.e.January 19th, 2017 from 10:00 a.mto 11:30 a.m. Join us at the UnitarianUniversalist Congregation of Fairfax(UUCF) - Program Building, 2709Hunter Mill Rd, Oakton.All caregiversare welcome to come for supportanytime. For more info contactfacilitator, Jack Tarr, 703-821-6838,[email protected] Lynn Rafferty,[email protected]

All-comers Group Fun Run atPotomac River Running EveryTuesday and Thursday, 6:30 p.m. Forbeginners or competitive runners,come out for a free, fun, low-key runthat’s safe and social. 703-689-0999potomacriverrunning.com

NextStop’s Shakespeare “MuchAdo About Nothing” Jan. 19 -Feb. 12 NextStop Theatre 269 SunsetPark Drive, Herndon. Tickets at:www.NextStopTheatre.org 866-811-4111

“A Bird in the Hand” through spring2017 Reston Town Square Park,11990 Market Street, Reston TownCenter. See and explore PatrickDougherty’s monumental public artsculpture made from tree saplings.Presented by GRACE in collaborationwith IPAR. 703-471-9242restonarts.org

PenFed Realty Hosts Sievers’Paintings during January 2017 atthe office of PenFed Realty, 1886Metro Center Dr. Reston. The exhibitis free and the office is open tovisitors Monday through Friday from

9:00 am – 5:00 pm. Visit the LRAweb site atwww.leagueofrestonartists.org formore information on this and otherevents.

Little Hands Preschool Art Classat Greater Reston Arts CenterSaturdays, January 7 - 28, 10 - 11a.m. Introducing young children toart by having them explore newartwork, materials, and skills eachweek. Four weeks of classes cost: $80for Reston residents, $120 non-residents. 703-471-9242restonarts.org

Exercise for Parkinson’s EveryMonday, 1:15 - 2:15 p.m. RestonSport&health, 11445 Isaac NewtonSquare, Reston. This program bringstogether people impacted byParkinson’s Disease to participate invarious physical exercises aimed atimproving posture, balance andcirculation and increasing strength,muscle control and mobility.Free.parkinsonfoundation.org.ckacenga@sportandhealth.com 703-621-4148.

Teen and Adult Art ClassesArtSpace Herndon Every Mondayfrom 5:30 - 8:30 p.m. 750 CenterStreet, Herndon. Drawing and MixedMedia with Melanie Stanley - DuringFall and Winter of 2016. Cost: $45/class. The class will use a variety oftechniques for drawing, painting,mark making, and collage using finearts tools and materials. Studentswill be taken down a creative path tolearn to use drawing tools andbrushes more effectively. Register byemailing Melanie, and she will sendyou the supply list and paymentoptions/information:[email protected]. 703-956-9560. www.artspaceherndon.com

All-comers’ Group Fun Run atPotomac River Running.Tuesdays and Thursdays. RestonTown Center, 11900 Market Street,Reston. For beginners or competitiverunners, come out for a fun, low-keyrun that is safe and social. For moreinformation, call 703-689-0999https://potomacriverrunning.com.

Herndon Regional Wind EnsemblePractice. Every Tuesday 7-9 p.m.through May. Herndon MiddleSchool, 901 Locust St., Herndon. Foradvanced high school students,college students, and adults who playa brass, woodwind or percussioninstrument. [email protected]: Free

College Night Skate, Rock N Skate,Cartoon Skate at the IceSkating Pavilion EveryThursday 6 - 9 p.m. - Every Friday,8 - 10 p.m. Skate Shop, 1818Discovery Street, Reston TownCenter. 11900 Market Street. Receive$2 off admission with valid collegeID. Live DJ & music, games & prizes;skating continues until 11 pm. Sharethe ice with Scooby-Doo, Cat in theHat and more. [email protected]/skating

Ice Skating in the Pavilion 8 a.m. -11 p.m. open daily, November untilMarch

Plan Ahead Reston& HerndonSATURDAY/JAN. 28IN THEIR OWN WORDS: Women

successfully reentering thecommunity after incarceration,10a.m. to noon at Refraction (RestonTown Center). Featured speakers:Clients of Friends of Guest House.Education program from the GivingCircle of HOPE & Reston-HerndonBranch of AAUW. Free to attend.Free parking. RSVP [email protected]

Reston to Celebrate Dr. King’s LegacyThree-days of events for Reston Martin Luther King Jr. Birthday Celebration; Jan.

14-16, 2017. For information about performances and events call 703-476-4500or visit www.restoncommunitycenter.com. Events include:

❖ “The Pursuit of Harmony” at CenterStage, Reston Community Center, 2310Colts Neck Road, Reston. In partnership with the Northern Virginia Hebrew Con-gregation and All Dulles Area Muslin Society (ADAMS), Performance Jan. 14, 2017at 8 p.m. Tickets: $5 Reston/$10 non-Reston. Call 703-476-4500 or visitwww.restoncommunitycenter.com

❖ Keynote address by Eugene Robinson at CenterStage, Reston Community Cen-ter, 2310 Colts Neck Road, Hunters Woods, Reston. Event on Monday, Jan. 16, 2016at 12 noon followed by Community Lunch. Tickets: $5 Reston/$10 non-Reston. Call703-476-4500 or visit www.restoncommunitycenter.com.

❖ Note: After the community lunch, there will be an interactive workshop titled“Building Bridges” – A Tool Kit for Finding Common Ground led by Lisa Sechrest-Ehrhardt, PhD, MSW, LGSW on Monday, Jan. 16 from 3 to 4 p.m. Free, separateregistration required.

Performers in “The Pursuit of Harmony” in Reston Commu-nity Center’s Martin Luther King, Jr. Day celebration week-end, from left, Alaa Alshaham and Michael Hunter Ochs.

Send announcements to www.connectionnewspapers.com/Calendar/.The deadline is noon on Friday. Photos/artwork encouraged.


HomeLifeStyle

By Marilyn Campbell

The Connection

Whether located in a base-ment, spare bedroom orkitchen corner, one of thekeys to creating a func-

tional home office is organization. Localdesigners offer suggestions for styling aspace that is both practical and aestheticallyappealing.

“Start by thinking about how you wouldlike to use your home office and plan ac-

cordingly,” said Megan Padilla, senior de-signer at Aidan Design. “Will it be a deskthat easily converts to a homework stationor craft area or a dedicated home office forthe everyday telecommuter?”

Keeping office equipment out of sight willgive the space a home-like feel, says Padilla.This can be accomplished by using storagesolutions like printer drawers.

Practical home office organizational so-lutions include roll-out trays for computeraccessories like printers and a wire man-agement system above and below the desk

for power cords and computer cables bothon top of the desk, advises Chuck Khiel, vicepresident of Fred Home Improvement, adivision of Case. “Create a Bluetooth op-erational office space,” he said.

“Organizing all of the smaller office sup-plies can be accomplished with a series ofcoordinated containers for tools such aspencils, scissors and markers … or withindrawers,” added Padilla. “Consider a mixof drawer heights to allow ample storagefor smaller desk supplies as well as yourtypical file folders.”

Use open shelving to allow for quick ac-

Design ideas for workspace order.Organizing a Home Officecess to frequently used items and book stor-age. “[It] can also make a smaller space feelmore expansive,” said Padilla.

If a home office is in a spare bedroom,closets can be repurposed and organized tohide copy and fax machines, says ShannonKadwell, interior designer at AnthonyWilder Design/Build.

“Add fabric bulletin boards in prominentlocations and in a complementary color forvisual appeal,” she said. “Custom built-insmake a huge difference as you can tailorthe storage space to individual needs andcreate more functional spaces.”

This new homeoffice by An-thony WilderDesign/Buildincorporates acustom-de-signed cordcontrol system.

Storage solu-tions such asthose in thisoffice byMegan Padillahelp makehome officesaestheticallyappealing.

Photo by

Robert Radifera

Photo by

Morgan Howarth


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Kenny Lourie is an Advertising Representative forThe Potomac Almanac & The Connection Newspapers.

By KENNETH B. LOURIE

SlipperyHope

When you’re diagnosed with a terminalform of cancer, you spend a lot of time talkingto yourself, not aloud; well, mostly not aloud,trying to convince yourself of a million andone things that don’t lead to that inescapableconclusion: premature death (I know, anydeath is premature). And when you get sick, asI am now and have been for the past 10 days;not getting worse, just not getting better; it is,at least for me, not only next to impossible,but impossible as well, not to think that per-haps this is the time when you have crossedthe Rubicon.

Though what I am referring to aremerely/mostly cold symptoms: sneezing,coughing, runny nose, nasal congestion,watery eyes, occasional headache; no tem-perature or sore throat, no vomiting, no nau-sea; it’s easy to rationalize that I am simplyexperiencing a severe seasonal reaction tosome strain of something which is, if what Ihear from friends and family is true, somethingwhich is definitely going around. However,that assessment would presume I’m a relativelynormal person, ‘normal’ meaning not a persondiagnosed with stage IV, non-small cell lungcancer. Ergo, the conversations me, myself andI are constantly having with ourselves.

And though the answers rarely change(always minimizing, never reinforcing a nega-tive, accentuating the positive), I have to admitthe longer I live through these blips on theradar, the less conviction I am able to sustainin my ongoing attempts to talk myself into orout of, whatever the case may be, the chal-lenges emotionally and/or physically, that char-acterize one’s life living with cancer. Andbelieve me, ‘living with cancer’ is all it’scracked up to be, and I’m one of the luckyones, a survivor, nearly eight years in fact, postmy Feb. 27, 2009 face-to-face appointmentwith an oncologist; my new best friend, wholowered the diagnostic boom to Team Louriethat day.

I think I can say with some certainty thatthe one constant in my life these past eightyears has been the many conversations I’vehad with myself. Trying to maintain an evenkeel; heck, any keel that would keep me emo-tionally afloat. Obviously, encouraging andsupportive words from others have filled manygaps, but there are way more gaps when I’malone that need to be filled. Reading, writing,‘rithmetic, radio, television and theInternet, fill some and provide distraction forothers, but still there are many more timeswhen you’re left alone with your thoughts;when the rubber really hits the road andsomehow you must get through the night orthe post-chemo weak or the before, duringand after “scanxiety” and navigate the slingsand arrows of the outrageous misfortunewhich has befallen you.

Mostly I have been successful. Occasionallythough I have been depressed. Occasionally Ihave felt lonely. Occasionally I have felt out ofcontrol. And more than occasionally, I havejust plain worried. Like now, when I’m sickand tired and wondering if persistent coldsymptoms portend the beginning of somethingworse. After all, I do have lung cancer so anybreathing-related and/or coughing problemscould indicate an exacerbation of my underly-ing condition, or so I would guess.

Ah yes, guessing. That’s perhaps the realproblem. How do you stop yourself from goingdown that rabbit hole, especially when you’vealready quadrupled the back end of the num-ber of years: two, offered up by your oncolo-gist eight years ago? I don’t suppose I couldexperience a normal life expectancy afterbeing given a terminal diagnosis. Could I? Iguess it’s possible. Probable? I wouldn’t know.However, there’s no harm thinking about it.Except if you’re thinking about it all the time.

Do what you can, with what youhave, where you are.

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Connection

An expert is someone who knowssome of the

worst mistakesthat can bemade in his

subject and howto avoid them.

-WernerHeisenberg By David Siegel

The Connection

Ever inventive contemporaryAmerican playwright Christo-pher Durang’s Tony Award-win-ning, “Vanya and Sonia and

Masha and Spike” is the Reston Commu-nity Players’ upcoming production.

Durang’s “Vanya and Sonia and Mashaand Spike” is an imaginatively adjusted ver-sion of several of Anton Chekhov’s master-works all packed together with modernAmerican ingredients. Enjoying “Vanya andSonia and Masha and Spike” requires “noprevious knowledge” of Chekov, said JoleneVetese, RCP Board President.

“We decided to produce ‘Vanya’ becauseit is such a funny, eclectic play,” said Vetese.“It’s a dark comedy that explores these sib-ling relationships and the people that in-tersect that relationship.

Playwright Durang riffed on Chekov’smoody Russian characters then transportedthem to present times in Bucks County, Pa.The play has a middle-aged Vanya (AndrewJM Regiec) and his sister Sonia (Lee Slivka)who live a quiet life after providing long-term care for their now-deceased parents.

Soon enough chaos begins when Vanyaand Sonia’s flashy sister and Hollywoodactress Masha (Joanne Maylone) arrives fora belated condolence visit. Sibling rivalriesflair along with wit and biting sarcasm.Masha has brought along her younger buffboy-friend Spike (Will MacLeod).

Andrew JM Regiec called his characterVanya a man who “while educated, he hasn’treally lived and experienced the world ex-cept through books and TV and movies.

Now that the parents are gone, he’s look-ing back at a life gone by, a little forlorn,realizing he’s got little future himself.”

Vanya is “repressed…resigned to his lifeof living like a lump on a log; overly con-cerned about change,” added Regiec.

For Lee Slivka her Sonia character is“snarky and funny as hell as she steps out-side of her comfort zone. I want the audi-ence to come along and maybe find a bit ofthat leap within themselves.” Beyond laugh-ter, “there are also moments which maymove the audience as they watch this fam-ily navigate their history and complexity.”

Inviting audiences to partake of Durang’s“wonderfully funny look at people and fam-ily relations” Monk went on to say, “I wouldlike audiences to come out laughing, re-membering and enjoying the characters andthe situations they have seen, and contentwith the final resolution.”

Audiences taking in RCP’s “Vanya andSonia and Masha and Spike” will haveplenty of zingy comedy as well as earthyrevelations and even Snow White to savoras Durang’s fictional on-stage characters’lives are turned upside down.

Reston Community Players’ production of‘Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike’coming to CenterStage on Jan. 20.

Chekhov’s Masterworkswith American Flavor

Where and WhenReston Community Players presents

“Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike”at CenterStage, Reston CommunityCenter, 2310 Colts Neck Road, (in theHunters Woods Village Center) Reston.Performances: Jan. 20 to Feb. 4, 2017,Friday at 8 p.m., Saturday at 8 p.m. withSunday, Jan. 29 matinee at 2 p.m. Tickets:$18 (seniors/students) $21 adults. Call703-476-4500 or visitwww.restonplayers.org.

Entertainment

Photo by Traci J. Brooks/Courtesy of Reston Community Players

From left — Vanya played by Andrew JM Regiec, Cassandra played byAlexa Yarboro and Sonia played by Lee Slivka in Reston CommunityPlayers’ production of ‘Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike.’


“It started kind of accidently,” she said.Molly’s namesake, a long-time family friendfrom California, had heard about a groupof women who were planning to knit hatsfor the marchers. She mentioned the projectto the the McKnights and Molly and familyasked if there was anything that they coulddo to help. Turns out there was. Thefounders of the project, Californians KristaSuh and Jayna Zwieman, were looking forsomeplace to house the hats, made basedon a pattern designed by knitting storeowner Kat Coyle, until they could be movedto a number of distribution points.

Her initial involvement may have beenaccidental, but Molly’s growing commit-ment has been anything but. “Each hatcomes with information about who knittedit, where they’re from, and what are issuesthat are important to them. Some come withlonger letters, stories about obstacles anddiscrimination that they experienced. Somewere sending hats in dedication to some-one or in the memory of a family memberor friend. Some just said that they couldn’tcome to the March, but they wanted to stillbe a part of it. Their stories are really in-

spiring,” acknowledged Molly.Stefanie Kamerman is a knitter, but that’s

not what had her sitting beside Molly in theMcKnight basement, helping her in her sort-ing duties. “Yes, I am knitting for theproject,” she said, but Kamerman is also theofficial photographer of the endeavour. “Iheard about it through the knitting com-munity. I am a writer and a photographerso I just emailed them and asked if theyneeded help, even though I figured theyprobably already had a photographer onboard. Well, they didn’t – so here I am.”

Like Molly, Kamerman admits that shecouldn’t be called an activist before this elec-tion. “This is a time of change, even for me,”she said. The married mother to a youngdaughter, Kamerman voted Democrat forthe first time in November, and says thatwhat she has seen and heard and what shebelieves is at risk, makes her feel that shemust do her part. “I will do this, and I willmarch to show solidarity, to promote car-ing, kindness and love.”

Molly and Kamerman both feel especiallyinspired by the letters from older women,“like one 90-year-old lady,” said Molly, “who

News

By Andrea Worker

The Connection

The McKnight family of Restonmay have slightly underesti-mated exactly what it meant tovolunteer their home to serve as

the area collection point for the hats beingknitted for the Jan. 21 Women’s March onWashington. The project aims to “providethe people of the March a means to make aunique collective visual statement whichwill help activists be better heard, and toprovide people who cannot physically at-tend a way to represent themselves andsupport women’s rights and issues.” A seaof pink, pussycat head-shaped caps bobbingalong the streets of D.C. should certainlymake that visual statement.

Shortly after the project was announcedvia social media, a few packages contain-ing the pink caps arrived at the McKnightdoorstep. A few weeks later, the mail carri-ers were taking around 5 minutes to scanand log the dozens of parcels arriving. Be-fore long, some 750 hats “decorated” theirbasement rec room. “And now it’s really tak-ing off. Last week,” said Carrie McKnight,“we got like 500 hats in one day!” Maybethey didn’t quite expect this massive re-sponse, but they say they are “ready andmore than willing” to do the receiving andthe sorting and the juggling that it takes toprepare the hats for their ultimate homes –on the heads of the women and men whowill be participating in the March.

MOLLY, the eldest of the McKnight kids,has been the primary “hat worker.” Theyoung Ms. McKnight, who is preparing totransfer as a Junior to a university schoolin California, explained why she got in-volved and what the project means to her,as she sat cross-legged amidst a pile of pack-ages, efficiently opening, sorting, and in-ventorying.

made several hats and said she was reallysad, but angry, too, that we had to marchto protect the same rights that she marchedfor back in the ‘70s. She thanked us for do-ing this in her place.”

KAMERMAN has a more personal inspi-ration among the senior set. “My 70-year-old aunt is coming up from Virginia Beachto march with me!”

Both are also pleased that the youngergenerations seem to be on board, too. Hats,letters and pledges to remain active in work-ing for equality for all came from collegeand high school students, working moms’knitting groups and even “a 7-year-old firsttime knitter.” Hats have even been comingfrom outside the United States, from placeslike Great Britain, Belgium and Germany.

“It’s really great,” declared Kamerman,“that people from so many walks of life, allages, all around this country and the world,and with a variety of issues, are all comingtogether.” She hopes that after the March,this unity will continue and will raise a“newer conversation.”

Molly is hopeful as well, that the Marchand the Hat Project will propel more of hergeneration to get involved to protect therights of all and to see that “doing the gruntwork is just as important to getting thingsdone.” She no doubt had more to add, butit was about that time – the doorbell wouldsoon ring and today’s delivery of hats wasabout to arrive.

The deadline looms for the hats to bedelivered at the Reston “way station.” If youare interested in adding a cap or two to theeffort, check out the websitewww.pussyhatproject.com or visit theirFacebook page. The Women’s March onWashington (men are most welcomed) isscheduled to begin at 10 a.m. on Saturday,Jan. 21. More information is available atwww.womensmarch.com.

The McKnight family volunteering in the HatProject for the Women’s March on Washington.Hats Off to Reston Family

Taking a bit of a break from opening packages and sorting hats, projectphotographer Stefanie Kamerman and volunteer project collectioncoordinator Molly McKnight model two of the hats knitted for partici-pants in the upcoming Women’s March on Washington.

Postman Adam has been getting an extra workout of late, deliveringhundreds of packages to the McKnight household in Reston. Collegestudent Molly McKnight and her family volunteered to be the collectionpoint for hats being knitted by people around the world to “make aunique collective visual statement” at the Women’s March on Washing-ton. Adam and his colleagues have already delivered more than 1,000hats – and they just keep coming!

Photos by Stefanie Kamerman

Many of the hatscome with basicinformation aboutthe person whoknitted the cap,where they are fromand what some ofthe issues are thatconcern them andbrought them to theproject. Quite a few,though, accordingto Ms. McKnight,contain longerletters and personalstories that are“really inspiring.”

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