BurkeBurke Burke In Trees are flourishing and flowers are blooming on Burke Centre Parkway as Bloom spring comes to Burke. Classified, Page 12 Classified, ❖ Sports, Page 10 ❖ Remembering Stan Parris News, Page 3 Calendar, Page 8 Requested in home 4-2-10 home in Requested Time sensitive material. sensitive Time NFL’s Randle El Postmaster: Attention PERMIT #86 PERMIT Martinsburg, WV Martinsburg, Visits Robinson PAID Visits Robinson Postage U.S. PRSRT STD PRSRT Photo by Justin Fanizzi/The Connection by Justin Photo Sports, Page 10 www.ConnectionNewspapers.comApril 1-7, 2010 ❖ Volume XXIV, Number 13 online at www.connectionnewspapers.comBurke Connection ❖ April 1-7, 2010 ❖ 1 News Children turned out on Saturday afternoon, March 27 on the ground of the Fairfax County Government Center for Jubilee Christian Center’s annual Easter Eggstravaganza. Of Eggs and Egg Rolls Jubillee Christian Center hosts annual Eggstravaganza for local children. n Saturday afternoon, March Easter Eggstravaganza. 27, children from around the This year’s event took place on the grounds Oarea enjoyed games, face of the Fairfax County Government Center. painting and, of course, Egg Prizes were raffled off and participants Rolling at Jubilee Christian Center’s annual dined on Egg Rolls. /The Connection Craig Sterbutzel Photos by Photos Daniel Girquis, 3, of Fairfax has a dinosaur painted on his face. Ayanna Childs, 4, of Chantilly eyes the finishing line of the Easter Egg Roll. College Notes Sarah Peterson, 20, of Burke, a politics hon- her in conducting independent research during the ors and environmental sciences major at the summer in “Implementations and Implications of University of Virginia is one of 35 University of Policies that Establish Government- and User-Fi- Virginia undergraduates to receive a Harrison Un- nanced Payment Schemes for Environmental dergraduate Research Award. The award will assist Services. 2 ❖ Burke Connection ❖ April 1-7, 2010 www.ConnectionNewspapers.com Burke Connection Editor Michael O’Connell News 703-778-9416 or [email protected] Finding a Better Way To Do Business Supervisor Cook’s “Our committee took a Citizen Budget no-holds-barred Advisory Committee approach.” presents final report. — Chris Craig, Committee Chairman said, was to divide the members based on By Justin Fanizzi by Photo prior experience and interests and create The Connection subcommittees so that the budget could be examined as closely as possible. Two of the upervisor John Cook (R-Braddock) Fanizzi Justin five subcommittees fell apart due to lack of knows that the key to any success participation, Craig said, and the remain- Sful community is citizen involve- ing three were Line of Business, General ment. Through his Community En- Accountability and Acquisitions. Then, each gagement Initiative, among other programs, subcommittee was tasked with creating a he strives to bring everyone into the fold /The Connection list of suggestions instead of a set of voted- and this year’s dire budget situation is no upon recommendations with the goal of different. offering myriad solutions. Cook’s Braddock District Citizens Budget “They essentially created a menu of op- Advisory Committee, created shortly after tions as opposed to a list of recommenda- Cook’s election to the Board of Supervisors, tions,” Cook said. “The plus is that we got a recently presented its final report. The re- lot of interesting ideas, and the minus is port, which was compiled in December Supervisor John Cook (R-Braddock) meets with his constituents at a that not everyone in the group agreed upon 2009 and presented in January, offers the budget meeting. every option.” Board alternative solutions to save money Each subcommittee created its list of sug- in the face of a $257 million deficit. really happy with what we found.” parency to the process. So, the committee gestions after listening to a series of speak- “Our committee took a no-holds-barred According to Craig, the budget commit- was created after the completion of last ers who were experts in the individual fields approach,” said Committee Chairman Chris tee was officially launched in May 2009, year’s budget and immediately began pre- the groups were analyzing. Craig said that Craig. “Our group was designed specifically two months after Cook’s election. Craig said paring for work on this year’s budget. county budget experts, School Board mem- to be separate [from Cook’s office]. It was that one of Cook’s campaign promises was Craig said that the group, which has 30 ber Tessie Wilson (Braddock), representa- important for us and for John that we had to create a citizens budget committee not members, 10 to 12 of whom are active, met tives from Springfield-based think tank Tho a sense of independence and we came out only to have another set of eyes producing every six weeks between last May through with a better product because of that. I’m fresh ideas, but also to bring some trans- January of this year. The first step, Craig See Committee, Page 14 Admirers Say Parris Helped Shape Region authority, which allowed the airport to ad- Former congressman, 80, dies March 27. vertise and modernize. Dulles had been los- ing business to Baltimore-Washington Inter- By Julia O’Donoghue Martie, three daughters and grandchildren. national Airport prior to the authority The Connection change. AS A CONGRESSMAN, Parris represented “It was a great deal for regional economic hen Stanford E. Parris took a far larger geographic swath of Virginia development,” said Wolf. his first job on Capitol Hill than his successor, U.S. Rep. Jim Moran (D- Former Fairfax County Supervisor Elaine Win 1958, it wasn’t glamorous 8), currently does. In the 1980s, the 8th McConnell (R-Springfield) said Parris also work. Congressional District included the City of helped secure funding for and assisted with He ran a mimeograph machine in the Alexandria, the entire southern half of the upstart of the Virginia Railway Express basement beneath the House of Represen- Fairfax County, part of Prince William (VRE) commuter train. tatives. The wages County and the tip Photo File “In 1983, I went to talk to him and he helped pay his law of Stafford County. was the only politician I know who really school tuition at The Responsible for moved on it and told me it could be done,” George Washington “Stan was Fairfax. He is such a large terri- said McConnell, who spent 20 years repre- University. the only person in tory, Parris had his senting southern Fairfax County. Fourteen years hand in a range of Stan Parris’ career as a local “I didn’t have many supporters for VRE later, Parris returned Fairfax’s history to serve regional transpor- elected official spanned from the in 1983,” she said. to the Capitol in a far tation and eco- 1960s to the 1980s. more high profile po- in all three levels of nomic develop- PRIOR TO SERVING in Congress, Parris sition. He served as ment projects. “Stan was involved in almost every ma- was also a member of the Fairfax County the U.S. Representa- government.” He is partly re- jor thing in Northern Virginia,” said U.S. Board of Supervisors from 1964 to 1967. tive from Virginia’s — Tom Davis, who served in two sponsible for the Rep. Frank Wolf (R-10), who first got to He almost won a race for Fairfax County 8th District from Torpedo Factory know Parris when they both campaigned for chairman. 1973 to 1974 and Art Center along congressional seats in 1980. The former congressman also served one 1981 to 1990. the Alexandria waterfront and the “high oc- term in the House of Delegates and was The former Republican congressman died cupancy vehicle” [HOV] lanes on Interstate TOGETHER, Parris and Wolf worked to get appointed Virginia’s Secretary of the Com March 27 at the age of 80 in Mathews 95. Parris was also on the founding board Dulles International Airport transferred County, Va. He is survived by his wife of directors at George Mason University. from the federal government to a regional See Stanford Parris, Page 5 www.ConnectionNewspapers.com Burke Connection ❖ April 1-7, 2010 ❖ 3 News Rappina Called ‘Every Day’ Professional awareness in terms and examples they suspect as well as the details. No other com- West Springfield would understand of all issues that can af- ments were made since the case is currently officer honored. fect their lives in negative ways, particu- on trial. larly with the Internet,” said Rappina. “This The Officer of the Quarter is funded by By Stephanie Martinez includes everything from teachers asking the CAC of the West Springfield’s Station, The Connection me to make special appearances in their which also promotes it as a way to recog- classrooms to nize the con- or many, April 20, 1999 will be re- a casual con- tributions of membered as the day when two versation “It shows that the community is outstanding Fhigh school students committed with a stu- officers of one of the deadliest school dent in the appreciative of the work police the West shootins in the United State’s history. For hallway.” Springfield Police Officer First Class Freddie Rappina, As a School District Sta- Fairfax County Police County Fairfax officers do to help keep the it’s also the day that inspired him to be part Resource Of- tion. of the law enforcement. ficer, Rappina community safe.” The “I was sitting in my college dorm room is in charge of — Police Officer 1st Class Freddie Rappina officer’s su- working on a paper for Plato’s ‘Republic’ providing pervisors when the news on TV cut to the Columbine Robinson Sec- make the shootings,” said Rappina. “I would have to ondary School’s students and it’s staff with nominations each quarter to the CAC Ex- say that was the first day I thought about the resources, knowledge and expertise to ecutive Committee, which makes the final the responsibility of protecting other people create a safe environment.