PRSRT STD U.S. Postage PAID Martinsburg, WV Ashburn PERMIT #86 Attention Postmaster: Time sensitive material. Requested in home 05-21-09 Brambleton ❖ Broadlands ❖ Lansdowne Final Frontier — Here News, page 3 Cassie Phillips Join Fight and the defense behind her have been the Against Hunger strengths of this News, page 2 year’s Stone Bridge High girls’ softball team. Phillips, the team’s senior pitcher, and the Stone Bridge Bulldogs cap- tured the Liberty Falls to District crown on Monday night with a finals win McLean over Marshall. Sports, page 8 Classifieds, page 9 Classifieds, ❖ Sports, page 8 ❖ Taking Calendar, page 6 Liberty Crown Sports, page 8 Photo by Robbie Hammer/The Connection www.ConnectionNewspapers.comMay 20-26, 2009 ❖ Volume VI, Number 12 online at www.connectionnewspapers.comLoudoun/Ashburn Connection ❖ May 20-26, 2009 ❖ 1 News OPEN HOUSE at Youths Join in Fight BIRMINGHAM GREEN Against Global Hunger BIRMINGHAM GREEN IS PROUD TO INTRODUCE THE Community Brookens-Sturman, pastor of REDECORATED Brambleton Presbyterian church, invited to lighting the local youth will fast for 30 hours while participating in ser- DISTRICT HOME ASSISTED LIVING of luminaries. vice projects in the Ashburn area, at including working with the Good Shepherd Alliance. BIRMINGHAM GREEN he youth group of “Their goal is to raise $7,000, T Brambleton Presbyterian which will be donated toward the Church will kick-off a 30- children that the World Vision or- WHEN: SATURDAY, MAY 30 & SUNDAY, MAY 31, 2009 Hour Famine Service Project on ganization supports,” said TIME: 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM Firday, May 22, at Brambleton Brookens-Sturman in a written WHERE 8605 CENTREVILLE ROAD, MANASSAS, VA 20110 Town Center amphitheater. The statement. World Vision is a non- public is invited to participate at profit humanitarian organization Birmingham Green will soon resume assisted living services at the refurbished District the 8 p.m. gathering to support the dedicated to helping children and fight against world hunger. Home Assisted Living (DHAL) in late spring of 2009. Room, board and fees at the their communities reach their po- As part of the opening ceremo- tential by alleviating poverty and District Home begin at approximately $1,800 per month up to $2,900 for comfort- nies, these middle and high-school hunger. able, fully furnished single or double occupancy units (compared to the average cost age youths plan to light 1,208 lu- Brookens-Sturman invites the of $4,500 per month in our area). minaries — symbolic of the esti- public to support this youth initia- Birmingham Green is a non-profit health care facility with a reputation for providing mated 1,208 children worldwide tive — by attending the opening quality services since 1927. Applicants must be residents of the following localities: who die in an hour due to hunger. ceremonies, creating a luminary Several of the students will share the counties of Fairfax, Fauquier, Loudoun, Prince William, and the City of Alexandria. for the event, or by making a do- their thoughts during opening re- nation directly to the 30 Hour FOR MORE INFORMATION OR TO ARRANGE TRANSPORTATION marks on what led them to par- Famine, in care of Brambleton ticipate in the event and what they Presbyterian Church. Call the CONTACT THE ADMISSIONS OFFICE hope to accomplish. church office at 703-542-8530 for 703-257-6285 According to Elizabeth more information. New Monday Fast Track Hours ASHBURN MEDICAL CENTER, P.C. WALK-IN for Sick Visits on Comprehensive Family Care Mondays from 9am to 10:15am James Ditaranto, D.O Dr. Ditaranto is a Board Certified Family Medicine Physician. He completed his Family Practice Residency in 1986. Dr. Ditaranto We offer is a former Chairman of the Family Medicine Department at SAME DAY SICK APPOINTMENTS Reston Hospital Center and served on the Board of Medical Monday through Saturday Planning for Loudoun County. He has been practicing in Mon. - Fri. 9:00 - 4:45 and Sat. 8:30 - 11:30 Loudoun county for over 13 years. Dr. Ditaranto’s special interests include pediatric and adolescent health care. His other interests include Call to schedule your Dr.Dr. JamesJames Attention Deficit Disorders in children and adults. College or Sports Physical DitarantoDitaranto Dr. Ditaranto also includes a special place in his practice for all his geriatric patients. Ask us about our vitamin testing Mary Anest, FNP-BC and special lymes disease testing. Mary is a family nurse practitioner with board certifi- Loudoun County currently has the cation from the American Nurse Credentialing highest rate of lymes disease CynthiaCynthia HershHersh Center. She received her undergraduate nursing in the nation. FNP-BCFNP-BC degree from Bob Jones University in Greenville, SC, in 2003. After working on an orthopedics unit and then a high-risk obstetrics unit, she attended Practice Philosophy... Binghamton University in Binghamton, NY. As a family practice, we believe that preven- MaryMary AnestAnest Cynthia Hersh, FNP-BC tive health care is the main path to total well- FNP-BCFNP-BC Cynthia is a graduate of Sacred Heart Hospital being. Spending the extra time with each School of Nursing. In 1999 she graduated individual’s or family’s needs enables us to from Creighton University magna cum laude help build a solid foundation for good health. with a Bachelor’s of Science degree in nursing It is very important to us to have each and and in 2001 with a Master’s of Science every patient actively participate in his or her advanced practice nursing degree specializing total health care. in family medicine. 42882 Truro Parish Dr. ,#201 - Ashburn, VA 703-729-1660 2 ❖ Loudoun/Ashburn Connection ❖ May 20-26, 2009 www.ConnectionNewspapers.com Loudoun Connection Editor Steven Mauren News 703-917-6431 or [email protected] Image from NASA Final Frontier in Loudoun’s Backyard that’s when it kind of clicks and you go oh, NASA employees and others employed in A group of parents hopes to create a scale damn, that’s a long way away.” the aerospace industry. And its not just a long way — the size of The project could also involve a passport model of the solar system in which the planets and the other bodies in relation program for students who could get their to each other would be part of the experi- booklets stamped after each visit to a new schools would be home to the various ence. The sun is so large that it would have part of their solar system with online tuto- planets and celestial bodies. to be built just as an arc with a 17- rials about each of the planets and the so- foot diameter. Earth, on the lar system at large, said Peck. other hand, would By Aaron Stern use the entire county and the schools scat- be about 4.5” in di- AND AFTER two years of a The Connection tered across it. Peck toyed with the orbits ameter and Pluto lukewarm reception of the different planets and quickly found — if it were from the wo years ago Rick Peck was potential homes for the different players in recategorized as a school system, on a trip to Switzerland the solar system at various Loudoun County planet — would Peck said that a Twhen he had a chance run- Public Schools. be 5/8 of an meeting on in with an installation of a The sun would be at Dominion High inch in diam- Monday, May 18 scale model of the Earth’s solar sys- School. Earth would be at Meadowland El- eter. with school offi- tem. As a science teacher at Seneca ementary School, Mars at Rolling Ridge El- cials including Ridge Middle School, used to teach- ementary School, and so on. Peck shared SO FAR the Sharon Ackerman, ing students about space, Peck was his idea with some parents and in the last idea is just Assistant Superin- struck by the educational opportunity two years the idea has grown and the logis- that — an tendent for Instruc- it presented — one he had never quite tics potentially accounted for. There are a idea. The tion, was very produc- thought of before. couple of other places in the country that parents tive and appeared to “I bumped into one of the planets have similar installations — Peoria, Illinois, involved push the project from and it puzzled me where the other Eugene, Oregon and Boston, Mass. — that say that the fringes of reality planets were. It was a learning mo- served as models for Peck’s project. they closer towards actual Instead of have conception. boring had a Peck called the meeting “You kind of go like, ‘Oh. Yeah. I remember.’ youngsters by hard a “major, major step.” And that’s when it kind of clicks ….” busing them time Byard confirmed that a around from the last meeting took place, but — Bruce Thornberry, parent school to two years getting Image fr Ackerman could not be im- school and the school system to embrace om NASA mediately reached for com- ment for me … it stuck with me, ‘Hey, planet to planet on an all-day field trip, the the idea. ment before The Connection that’s cool,’” Peck said. parents involved envision a more informal, Wayde Byard, a spokesperson for went to press. Most students have seen scale mod- long-term learning endeavor. Students play- Loudoun County Public Schools said that If all goes well and the funding can be els of the distances between the plan- ing athletics or musical competitions, or the school system’s reservations have been raised, Peck said he is hopeful that students ets in a textbook or on the wall of their perhaps just driving to different parts of the because of concerns about maintenance and can be getting their passports stamped as classroom, but in order to make a truly county with their parents, would notice the vandalism and a general uncertainty about soon as next spring.