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PRSRT STD U.S. Postage PAID Elkton, MD Great Falls PERMIT #31 Postal Customer ECR WSS Attention Postmaster: Time sensitive material. Requested in home 7-10-08 CelebrationCelebration DrawsDraws Classifieds, Page 16 Classifieds, CrowdsCrowds ❖ News,News, PagePage 33 Sports, Page 14 Great Falls Historical ❖ Society presented a historic train in last Friday’s July 4thth Home- town Celebration parade. Opinion, Page 8 ❖ Schools, Page 13 Schools, ❖ Faith, Page 12 insideinside /The Connection Great Falls Backs ‘Evita’ Comes David Lonnquest/ David ‘Safe The Pike’ To Alden News, Page 4 Entertainment, Page 10 Photo by Photo www.ConnectionNewspapers.com July 9-15, 2008 ❖ Volume XXII, Number 28 Great Fallswww.connectionnewspapers.com Connection ❖ July 9-15, 2008 ❖ 1 CustomCustom StairStair && HallHall RunnersRunners Sale!!!Sale!!! Custom Stair Rods Sale Custom In-Home Fabrication ou Serving Y Since 1998 EXCELLENT REPUTATION FOR OUTSTANDING SERVICE & SUPERIOR CRAFTSMANSHIP Great Falls OPEN Leesburg Floors GREAT FALLS Calico SUNDAYS . Rt. 193 o Georgetown Pike Rte. 7 and Georgetown Pike (Route 193) C . d. y x R McLean w Old Dominion Dr k irfa . Seneca Square (Next to Calico Corners) P Dranesville R a t. 7 F 703-759-9200 1025-N Seneca Road RestonPkwy Monday through Saturday 10-6 • Sunday 12-4 • VISA • Master Card • Discover • AMEX Herndon Reston Tysons Corner 2 ❖ Great Falls Connection ❖ July 9-15, 2008 www.ConnectionNewspapers.com Great Falls Connection Editor Kemal Kurspahic News 703-917-628 or [email protected] Photos by Photos David Lonnques David t /The Connection Great Falls All Stars parade in the July 4th Hometown Celebration last Great Falls residents presented their cars, old and new, in the Friday’s Friday. parade. Hometown Celebration Draws Crowds th ing because it allows him to meet up with July 4 demonstrates other car enthusiasts from the area, who community spirit. gathered to share their automobiles with the public. The parade also showcased a number of Great Falls emergency vehicles, he Great Falls 4th of July Home from fire trucks to river rescue boats, as well town Celebration drew a large as horses from The Saddlery and local sports Tcrowd to celebrate the nation’s teams. Throughout the afternoon, the Vil- birthday. The festivities, held in lage Green was packed with adults and chil- and around the Great Falls Village Green, dren alike, enjoying carnival games, inflat- included a 5K run, baby parade on the able obstacle courses, and snow cones. Green, the main parade, and plenty of Across the street, the Great Falls Volunteer games and food. Not only did the event Fire Department sponsored a blood drive, bring together residents of Great Falls, it making donations to the Inova Fairfax blood also attracted families surrounding areas. bank. The Siekmans, from Ashburn, participated The event, sponsored by the Great Falls in the baby parade with their son Todd, in Friends, is held to bring the community their second visit to the event. As former closer, and is run by volunteers. Allison residents of Great Falls, they returned to Grandstedt, a first-time volunteer who just enjoy the “small town feel of the celebra- recently moved to Great Falls, organized the tion.” baby parade. In a community-driven event, The main parade featured an assortment Grandstedt echoed the words of many at of cars and displays from local establish- the celebration saying simply, she “just ments and clubs. James McDonald, of Great wanted to be part of the community.” For Great Falls residents, the nation’s birthday celebration is tradition- Falls, who brought his Fiat Bertone to drive ally the Hometown Celebration with symbols of patriotism displayed in the parade, said he enjoyed participat- — David Lonnquest prominently. McLean Celebration Sparks Sense of Community Sabrina Anwah hreats of rain didn’t stop hundreds trolled and synced to music, was newly Tof McLean residents from gather elected MCC governing board member ing at Langley High School’s ath- Risa Sanders. letic field on Friday evening for fireworks “It is about establishing the feeling of /McLean Community Center and community bonding; with attractions community, which is what the McLean Com- from carnival amusements to B2B, a Jimmy munity Center really provides. It’s a gath- Buffett tribute band, there was something ering of families and people from all over for everyone. Put on by the McLean Com- McLean, an opportunity not only to see old munity Center, the celebration drew in the friends and neighbors, but to establish a town’s oldest and youngest citizens. sense that we actually are a community,” “[My wife and I] have been coming said Sanders. “A little bit of a small town here to McLean’s celebration for 20 years feeling in a metropolitan area makes every- or so. That’s a long time,” said Roland body feel a little more secure.” Godin. Also on hand to enjoy the new Jimmy Buffet tribute band B2B performs a set of rock oldies for the fireworks display, technologically con- — Julia Winkler crowd at McLean’s 4th of July Celebration. www.ConnectionNewspapers.com Great Falls Connection ❖ July 9-15, 2008 ❖ 3 News Week in Great Falls History Award Great Falls Backs ‘Safe The Pike’ For Colvin Run Mill Citizens Association The Fairfax County Park Authority has received an award from the American As- collects 1,300 sociation for State and Local History which honored Colvin Run Mill Historic Site and signatures in support staff member Dawn Kehrer for the creation of the Colvin Run Mill Historic Site Furnish- of the petition. ings Plan. Award winners will be honored in September at the annual meeting in New By Matthew Swift York. The Connection Colvin Run Mill is an early 19th century operating gristmill. Restored in 1972, it is an award-winning restoration and a Virginia fter going over the results of the landmark listed on the National Register of 2020 Vision Survey taken by citi Historic Places. It offers daily tours, educa- zens of Great Falls last year, it A tional programs, special events, and outdoor became clear to Eric Knudsen concerts. that a major issue in the community was For more information about historic transportation, specifically on Georgetown Colvin Run Mill contact the site at 703-759- Pike. 2771 or visit http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/ Knudsen, co-chairman of the Great Falls parks/crm/ Citizens Association Transportation Com- mittee, agreed with the community and along with other members on the GFCA License Plate came up with the “Safe the Pike” Petition Drive. The petition’s goal is preserving Drawing Sought Georgetown Pike’s rural aspects, calming Great Falls residents have been invited to traffic, and making safety improvements submit their drawings for the special Great along a road that is threatened by growth Falls license plate. In working on their pro- in Fairfax and Loudoun counties. “When we posed design, citizens are encouraged to use did 2020, people expressed kind of what standard plate size; no more than four col- they wanted,” said Knudsen. “Transporta- ors on top of plate color; leave room for up tion, crosswalks, and trails were all big to six plate letters; use motto “Treasuring items, so we said ‘OK what’s the next step?’ Heritage, Home and Habitat”, “Treasuring The next step is to put something specifi- Great Falls”, “Great Falls” or some other icon cally in writing about that.” of the town and surrounding area. The proposed license plate must have BEGINNING IN MAY, the GFCA col- “Virginia” in 1 inch letters (any color or lected more than 1,300 signatures from area font), legible from a distance of 50 feet. residents in Great Falls and McLean and is Mail proposals by July 21 to Great Falls hoping to get up to 3,000 signatures to Photo by Robbie Hammer/The Connection Citizens Association, P.O. Box 27, Great Falls, present to political representatives, Virginia The petition’s goal is preserving Georgetown Pike’s rural aspects, calm- VA 22066. Department of Transportation, and Fairfax ing traffic, and making safety improvements along a road. GFCA will review proposed designs and County Department of Transportation so decide which one represents the commu- they will see how many citizens are sup- more people try- nity best. porting the initiative. Only three people ing to bail,” said presented with the petition refused to sign Knudsen who be- Foust, Vanderhye it. Among the changes asked are more cross- lieves that GFCA Discuss Traffic Study Garden Club walks in and around the Village Centre, is willing to com- rumble strips, and traffic-calming measures promise with Supervisor John Foust and Del. Organizes Trip such as traffic islands and speed tables, wide VDOT to make Margi Vanderhye (D-34) will host a The Great Falls Garden Club is organiz- speed humps with crosswalks on them, to minor changes public meeting to present and discuss ing a bus trip to Chanticleer Gardens in ensure drivers obey the 25mph speed limit. with current traf- the traffic light warrant study for the Wayne, Pa. on Thursday Sept. 18, and is “Safe the Pike” also aims to preserve fic plans. “If intersection of Georgetown Pike and inviting non-members to join the tour. A 30- Georgetown Pike as a historic two-lane by- VDOT is willing River Bend Road, July 16 at 7:30 p.m. acre pleasure botanical garden near Phila- way and recently approved traffic measures to dump more at the Great Falls Grange, 9812 delphia, Chanticleer features perennials, Knudsen feels will threaten the road with people on Georgetown Pike in Great Falls. tropicals, containers, woodlands, and wild- more traffic that could eventually force Eric Knudsen [Georgetown A Virginia Department of Transpor- flowers. Space is limited and early registra- transportation officials to consider widen- Pike] then we tation preliminary review of traffic tion is recommended.