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Great Falls Avenue Of Arts News, Page 15 Classifieds, Page 13 Classifieds, Karen Graham ❖ Karen Graham and Adrienne Kralick, Manager and Owner of Avenue Beau Sejour art gallery, stand before the Sports, Page 16 painting ‘Norma ❖ Jean’ during the grand opening celebration. Entertainment, Page 10 ❖ Opinion 8 Giving Thanks inside In Great Falls News, Page 3 Requested in home 11-25-10 home in Requested Time sensitive material. sensitive Time Attention Postmaster: Attention Bridge to WSS ECR Postal Customer Postal Somewhere #322 PERMIT Easton, MD Easton, News, Page 2 PAID U.S. Postage U.S. PRSRT STD PRSRT Photo by Shirley J. Gregory/The Connection by Shirley J. Gregory/The Photo online at www.connectionnewspapers.com www.ConnectionNewspapers.com November 24-30, 2010 ❖ Volume XXIV, Number 47 Great Falls Connection ❖ November 24-30, 2010 ❖ 1 News Military Notes To have community events After delays, construction resumes listed in the Connection, send to Bridge to Somewhere [email protected]. on Leigh Mill Road bridge. Deadline is Friday. Army National Guard Pfc. By Alex McVeigh Joshua B. Atkins has gradu- ated from basic combat training The Connection broke,” Roper said. “Until plans at Fort Jackson, Columbia, S.C. could be formulated and ap- During the nine weeks of train- Photo by Photo t just sat there, a half-com proved, and then the contract ing, he studied Army history, tradition and core values, physi- pleted bridge to nowhere for amended, no work could go for- cal fitness, received instruction much of the early Fall. The ward.” and practice in basic combat I McVeigh Alex bridge over Difficult Run on Work on the bridge resumed skills, military weapons, chemical Leigh Mill Road, meant to be wid- Oct. 21, and VDOT estimates it warfare and bayonet training, drill and ceremony, marching, ened by two feet and reinforced, will re-open no later than January rifle marksmanship, armed and had already been torn up, but 2011. unarmed combat, map reading, there was no progress being made. “We apologize for any inconve- field tactics and more. He is the While there was no actual con- /The Connection nience this has caused residents son of Randy Atkins of Weant Drive in Great Falls, and a 1990 struction being done, VDOT esti- and will get the bridge by Jan. 31, graduate of the Blue Ridge Prepa- mated thousand cars that traveled if not before,” said Helen Cuervo, ratory School of Dyke, Va. over the bridge daily had to find VDOT assistant engineer for con- detours. While it appeared as struction. “Providing the weather Cadet Anthony Kotoriy of Great Falls successfully com- nothing was getting done, in real- cooperates, we hope to keep con- pleted Cadet Basic Training ity, the Virginia Department of struction ahead of schedule.” (CBT) at the U.S. Military Acad- Transportation had its work cut Construction on the bridge over Difficult Run on Leigh The new bridge will be the same emy on Aug. 14. The initial out for it. Mill Road has resumed, after a delay for additional plan- height, elevation and alignment as military training program pro- vides cadets with basic skills to The bridge was closed July 12, ning. the old bridge, but will be widened instill discipline, pride, cohesion, and was planned to re-open by to 15 feet from the original 13 feet. confidence and a high sense of Labor Day, so that school buses press release, “the old abutments Nick Roper, district structure This will give pedestrians and bi- duty to prepare them for entry into the Corps of Cadets. Areas of would be able to use the road. But and wing walls, of unknown age, and bridge engineer for VDOT’s cyclists more room on the bridge. summer instruction included first during construction in August, are constructed of stone masonry Northern Virginia district, said that The deck, posts, rails and curbs aid, mountaineering, hand gre- VDOT engineers determined that which has lost much of its struc- once this was discovered, the will be made of laminated wood nades, rifle marksmanship and the bridge abutments and wing tural integrity over the years. The bridge had to be completely re- product that is bonded with nuclear, biological, and chemical training. He is the son of walls were in worse condition than entire substructure had to be de- thought. strong, waterproof adhesives. Ac- Giovanni and Elizabeth Kotoriy of previously thought, and decided to molished and replaced with an “Bridges are built from the cording to VDOT, when it is fin- Great Falls, and a graduate of replace the entire substructure. exterior stone texture to replicate ground up, and in this case, part ished it will be “safer, stronger, last Langley High School. According to an August VDOT the original structure.” of the bottom unexpectedly longer and have a natural appear- ance.” 2 ❖ Great Falls Connection ❖ November 24-30, 2010 www.ConnectionNewspapers.com Great Falls Connection Editor Kemal Kurspahic News 703-778-9414 or [email protected] Giving Thanks in Great Falls s we celebrate the Thanksgiving Day, the Great Falls Con Anection has asked area residents to respond to the follow ing three questions: 1) What will you give thanks for this Thanksgiving? 2) What are you thankful for living and/or working in Great Falls? 3) What advice would you give to someone looking for more special things to be thankful for here? Photo Contributed Photo The new Great Falls Fire Station, as shown here, is scheduled to open in January Here are the responses, in alphabetical order. 2012. In addition to many environmentally friendly features, the two-story station will have enough room for the fire department to store its’ special rescue equipment. Candace Campbell, Great Falls Optimist Club “I’m thankful for the fact that New Fire Station, Same Location I live in a friendly, vibrant com- munity where people don’t ment the Great Falls Fire Department uses and will hesitate to jump right in and Great Falls Fire Station to contain several environmentally friendly features. volunteer when problems need be replaced with bigger, “There’s a lot more room to better accommodate to be solved, when their neigh- the specialized equipment they need,” said Dan bors need help, or when we modern facility. Schmidt of the Fairfax County Fire and Rescue De- want to create something - an partment. “They have swift boats for river rescues event, or a wonderful facility and a medic unit, each with its own equipment that like Turner Farm Park - for our By Alex McVeigh they will now have room for.” town. I’ve met so many won- The Connection The Great Falls Fire Department responds to all derful people while volunteer- calls on the Potomac River from the Loudoun County ing. It’s astounding how much he current Great Falls Fire Station line to the American Legion Bridge. talent and expertise there is in our little town.” was built in 1960, and as the scope Fairfax County purchased additional property at Tof services offered by the Great Falls 718 Walker Road, to expand the station, and will Fire Department has expanded, have a new septic system instead of the pump and there has been a need for more room. Because haul system that was originally planned. of this, a new station is currently being built “The community said they wanted a septic system which will have much more room for their there, and as a result of great planning, we were equipment, as well as other modern amenities. able to change the plan,” said Brian Worthy of the While a new building sounds good to the department’s Public Affairs Office. firefighters, there’s also more than a little nos- talgia for the old station. THE PLAN is for the building to be LEED Silver cer- tified by the U.S. Green Buildings Council, due to new technology that will reduce energy and water “Firefighters are very into use. Low flow plumbing fixtures, low-power light- ing fixtures and a design that takes advantage of tradition, we don’t like natural light are all features the new station will have. Green buildings can slash energy costs by 15 to 20 changes, so even though we’re percent and water by as much as 20 percent, Worthy happy about the new facility, said. “Once the building is complete, we’ll be able to do more exact calculations and see exactly how much it’s kind of like saying goodbye we’re saving.” The new station will feature four bays, and Schmidt to an old friend.” says it will be “very aesthetically pleasing.” A silo — Capt. Mark Feaster will be part of the façade, and it will also be used to Lorraine Turner Coons of Vienna, (front row, middle) dry hoses after use. Turner Framing, Inc., Great Falls The station, which was a volunteer fire department, “Firefighters are very into tradition, we don’t will be staffed by Fairfax County career firefighters, 1. Mostly my family and friends, of course. But also, as a busi- like changes, so even though we’re happy about with a volunteer component. Even though some of ness owner, I am thankful for our loyal customers in a struggling the new facility, it’s kind of like saying goodbye the organizational structure is changing, Feaster says economy for helping us keep our great employees and a 37 year to an old friend,” said Capt. Mark Feaster, sta- the area can still expect the same level of service. old business. tion captain. “We all have a lot of good memo- “Nothing will change when it comes to operations, ries in that old building.” it’s just that we’ll be in a station that’s on par with 2.