West Springfield Woman at Boston Marathon Carried to Safety by NFL Champ Joe Andruzzi
Friends and family pray for the Wittich family.
The Wittich family of West Springfield was excited about attending the Boston Marathon, one of the historic city’s prominent annual civic pride events. On Saturday, April 13, Christine Wittich, a West Springfield High School student, posted several tweets about the upcoming trip. “Wittich invasion has commenced. Is Boston ready?” and “Yay for being that matching family,” with a photo of mom Julie and sisters in matching blue t-shirts. But after Monday’s bomb blasts transformed the Boston Marathon into a scene of chaos and terror, leaving three dead and more than 100 injured, Wittich’s tweets became more muted.
Area Roundups
Smoke Alarms Alert Residents to Townhouse Fire and Police-Involved Shooting in Franconia Area
Republican Women of Clifton to Discuss Prevention of Voter Fraud
The Republican Women of Clifton (RWC) will feature Crystal Wright, editor of www.conservativeblackchick.com, who will address “How Can the GOP Move Forward and Become a Winning Party Again?” and Hans Von Spakovsky, a senior legal fellow at the Heritage Foundation, who will talk about “Preserving Democracy—Election Reform and the Dangers of Voter Fraud” at its April meeting.
County to Complete Road Projects
Projects that came in under-budget free up $11.2 million.
Motorists, pedestrians and cyclists received a bonus Tuesday, April 9, when the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors reallocated $11.2 million in existing funds to complete more than 12 planned pedestrian and road improvement projects.
Animal Control Officer Nabs Elusive Shih Tzu
Officer’s dogged pursuit saves sly pup from life on the streets.
Just 13 pounds of matted fur and fluff, “Biscuit,” a sly shih tzu, evaded capture in the Franconia area for nearly two years, porch-surfing and stealing cats’ food to survive.
Police Receive Alarming Number of Tax Fraud Reports
As annual tax returns are being calculated and submitted in a last-minute furor across the country, Fairfax County Police have received an alarming report of 75 to 100 cases of tax identification fraud in recent weeks. Detectives are warning residents of the scam and urge them to take precautions to prevent being victimized.
Robinson Students Commit to 26 Acts of Kindness
The number 26 is in honor of the 20 students and six staffers killed during the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting.
Even if only 10 percent of Robinson Secondary School’s almost four thousand students accept the Student Government Association (SGA)’s 26 Acts of Kindness Challenge during the month of April, that would still mean 10,400 random acts of kindness and courtesy added to the world. Not a bad achievement.
Letter: An Interesting Perspective
I found Andrea Worker's article, "Muslim Women Encouraged to Explore STEM" [Connection, March 28-April 3, 2013] to be well-written as well as informative.
Housing Market: Strong, But Slowing
Sustained low interest rates and rising prices have energized the marketplace, but cuts to government expenditures will eventually cool things down.
A few weeks ago, George Mason University Professor Stephen Fuller, Ph.D, published an update of his July 17, 2012 report that projected imminent and hard-hitting economic effects from sequestration.
Letter: A Photo ID: Victory for Voters
The voters of Virginia won a great victory when Governor McDonnell signed SB 1256, which changes Virginia’s law to require a recent photo ID as the only acceptable identification for voting. Thus, a positive identification can now be made with a visual check to verify that the person coming to vote is actually who he claims to be.
Hackathon to Promote Invention
24-hour computer science event to be held April 26-27.
The first time Mayank Jain heard of a hackathon was as a freshman at the University of Illinois. Having graduated from Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology (TJHSST) in June 2012, a tournament such as this, where students collaborated and created software projects within a short window of time, was what he was looking for from the field of computer sciences.
Fairfax County’s Homeless Population Declines 12 Percent
Emphasis on rapid re-housing, prevention keys to success.
Despite economic obstacles and fallout from across-the-board sequester cuts, Fairfax County’s number of homeless individuals declined 12 percent decline in the past year, and 26 percent since 2007.
Connolly’s Art Contest Deadline April 5
High school students residing in Virginia’s 11th Congressional District are encouraged to participate in Congressman Gerry Connolly’s annual Congressional Art Competition, An Artistic Discovery. Connolly is accepting artwork entries at his Annandale and Prince William District Offices until April 5.
Fairfax Adult Softball Continues to Support Special Olympics
Participants, family, friends and supporters of Fairfax Adult Softball, Inc. (FAS) united together on Jan. 27 for the 13th Annual Bowling Tournament to benefit Northern Virginia Special Olympics and Fairfax County Park Authority field improvements.
Fairfax Animal Shelter Undergoing Renovation, Expansion
The county is renovating and expanding the Fairfax County Animal Shelter at 4500 West Ox Road to provide state-of-the-art intake and adoption services for the animals that it cares for each year. The addition section was completed in December 2012, with an estimated completion date for the entire project set for July 2013.