PRSRT STD U.S. Postage PAID Martinsburg, WV Ashburn PERMIT #86 Attention Postmaster: Time sensitive material. Requested in home 8-28-08 Brambleton ❖ Broadlands ❖ Belmont ❖ Lansdowne Family insideinside Fun Community, page 4 Classifieds, page 17 Classifieds, ❖ Sports, page 9 ❖ Real Estate, page 13 Real Estate, ❖ E Section, page 14 ❖ Faith, page 5 ❖ Lunch Health & Fitness, page 5 Health & Fitness, Date News, page 3 insideinside Travis Smith of Ashburn tries plate spin- ning at the family entertainment stage Follow the /The Connection Inova Loudoun Hospital Family Fest at Dulles Town Center, Saturday. Money News, page 3 Finding ENDependence News, page 3 Photo by Jennifer Lesinski Photo www.connectionnewspapers.com www.ConnectionNewspapers.com August 27-September 2, 2008 ❖ Volume V, Number 35 Loudoun/Ashburn Connection ❖ August 27 - September 2, 2008 ❖ 1 Health & Fitness Reach Your Community Send announcements or events, which with the goal of attaining personal and You Can Have a Successful are open to the public at no or minimal cost, financial stability. to The Loudoun Connection, 7913 DFS will provide preferential place- Advertising Program that Westpark Drive, McLean, VA 22102 or e- ment into transitional housing programs mail [email protected]. for families who agree to participate in Into Deadline is Friday, two weeks before the the Open Door Program operated by event. Photos/artwork encouraged. For INMED. DFS will also provide staff con- Fits more information, call 703-917-6454. sultation and support as well as data Your Advertising Budget. collection. INMED Partnerships for Chil- dren (INMED) and Loudoun County Loudoun Dads is a Northern Vir- Department of Family Services ginia support group for new fathers and (DFS) will collaborate to provide inten- for expectant fathers. The group meets sive case management services to every Tuesday, 8 p.m., at Inova www.connectionnewspapers.com pregnant women and families with Loudoun Hospital’s Lansdowne Cam- young children in Loudoun County’s pus, 44045 Riverside Parkway, emergency homeless shelter and transi- Leesburg, family education classroom 703-821-5050 tional housing programs, through a on the second floor. The group’s facili- $50,000 grant to INMED from The tator is Dr. Damon Moore of Pediatric Freddie Mac Foundation. Healthcare, P.C. Participants can call During the first year of the grant, the 703-858-6360 or visit the Web site at program expects to serve 25 families www.thebirthinginn.org. Bulletin Board and all levels are welcome. SATURDAY/AUG. 30 Recommended for adults. AWARENESS EVENT. 9 a.m.-5 p.m., ADULT BOOK CLUB. 7 p.m., at Trailside Park, 20375 Claiborne Ashburn Library, 43316 Hay Road, Parkway, Ashburn. This event is to Ashburn. “Never Let Me Go” by help raise the awareness of the Kazuo Ishiguro. Call 703-737-8100. unsolved murder of Erica Heather Smith, daughter to Will and Pamela Smith, six years ago. Visit WEDNESDAY/SEPT. 3 www.ericaheathersmith.com. STATE OF EDUCATION. 8-10 a.m., Loudoun County Public School Administration Building in Ashburn. TUESDAY/SEPT. 2 Loudoun County Chamber of ENGLISH CONVERSATION GROUP. Commerce will host its annual State 7 p.m., Ashburn Library, 43316 Hay of Education presented by Dr. Ed Road. Informal conversation circle Hatrick, Superintendent of Loudoun for non-native speakers to practice County Public Schools. RSVP to speaking English. This is not a class, Ashlie Vickers, events coordinator, at but an opportunity to meet new 571-209-9036 or via e-mail people. Only English will be spoken [email protected]. Pediatric & General Dentistry Schedule your six-month cleaning before the end of the calendar year for insurance coverage! NEW! LASER procedure for fillings. Many pediatric patients can be treated without novocaine! •Bleaching •Special Needs Patients •Nitrous Oxide •Cosmetic Restorations •Wi-Fi Available •IV Sedation Available Howard Mitnick, DDS Heidi Herbst, DDS, FAAPD Nooshin Monajemy, DDS 21475 Ridgetop Circle, Sterling, VA 703-444-3710 www.sterlingVAsmiles.com Children love our entertainment center with video games. 2 ❖ Loudoun/Ashburn Connection ❖ August 27 - September 2, 2008 www.ConnectionNewspapers.com Ashburn Connection Editor Jennifer Lesinski News 703-917-6454 or [email protected] Feeding the Working Poor a brown-bag lunch twice a week, Tuesdays Catholic Charities and Fridays. The charity provides 30 begins program to help lunches, which includes a sandwich, fruit cup, cookie and eating utensil, each week. feed those in need. Since beginning the program in July, Catholic Charities has seen a steady increase of people coming by the shelter to get a By Jennifer Lesinski meal. However, Catholic Charities does not The Connection track how many people are using their brown-bag lunch program. bout a month ago, Dawn Dumas, social services manager for ACatholic Charities of the Diocese More of Arlington’s western regional The Western Regional Office of Catholic office, was getting information from a Charities, 100 Dry Mill Road, S.E., mother while her three children were play- Leesburg, provides social services, ing in the other room. The woman was fac- immigration assistance, mental-health ing eviction and was seeking emergency counseling and crisis pregnancy assistance. To learn more, to volunteer or to donate, assistance. visit www.ccda.net or call 703-443-2481. While talking to the woman, Dumas said her stomach was rumbling so loud that Dumas finally had to ask if she was hungry. “I do know it is increasing,” Marty The mother said she had been eating only Maykrantz, food program coordinator for rice so that she could give her children a the charity group, said. “When we first mixture of rice and chili. started there would be five bags gone by “That’s when I decided everybody was the end of the day. Now, we see families going to leave here with a bag of food and coming in.” a card with Loudoun Interfaith’s [the county’s only food pantry] number,” Dumas THE PROGRAM, Maykrantz said, got off said of the visitors to the Leesburg office. to a slow start because the volunteers had “There is a lot of that out there. We see it to build relationships with the drop-in cen- daily.” ter clients. In an effort to help the homeless and She said the people who use the center working poor who may have to forgo a meal were timid and reluctant at first, until they in order pay for another pressing need, got a chance to know the volunteers on a Photo by Dawn Dumas/Catholic Charities Catholic Charities has partnered with the Catholic Charities’ volunteer Theresa Lozano makes sandwiches for the Loudoun County drop-in center to provide See Building, Page 5 hungry in Loudoun County. On Equal Financial Ground Ending Dependence Challenger pulls from donors outside Virginia. ENDependence Center sets up in county, By Julia O’Donoghue ing to have the budget it takes to win,” Luke The Connection McFarland, Feder’s campaign manager, said. aims to help with independent living. An independent candidate, Neeraj Nigam, .S. Rep. Frank Wolf (R-10) and is also running for office in the Virginia’s By Mike DiCicco Learn More Democrat Judy Feder’s political 10th Congressional District. Nigam has The Connection U To learn more, call the Loudoun campaigns had approximately the raised between $5,000 and $6,000 for his ENDependence Center toll-free at 703- same amount of cash available at the end campaign and intends to contribute some ary Lou Werner said the bud- 342-7651 (voice/relay) or 703-485-7381 of June, in spite of the fund-raising advan- personal money to his election efforts. ding Loudoun (voice/SMS), e-mail [email protected] or M visit www.ecnv.org/LEND.html. tages incumbents typically enjoy over a “It is harder to raise money as an inde- ENDependence Center has challenger. pendent candidate. I don’t have a ready- been “a lifesaver” for her and her son, Wolf, who was first elected in 1980, has made group that is going to support me,” Taylor, since the center opened up a tem- gan working to establish a presence in raised approximately $1.4 million. With Nigam said. porary office in Leesburg in January. the county, and Burds said the organiza- $1.2 million in donations, Feder had col- ENDependence is a nonprofit network tion has found a location in Countryside lected slightly less but she also spent less, FEDER’S ability to raise money may be of centers manned largely by people with that he hopes will be a permanent office according to the Federal Election Commis- getting her campaign some attention. disabilities that works to “end depen- and active sometime next month. sion. At the beginning of the month, the Demo- dence” among the elderly and disabled “We’re out here in Loudoun County In terms of “cash on hand” — money that cratic Congressional Campaign Committee by helping them to live on their own. For and there just aren’t many support ser- the campaign has not spent yet — the two added Virginia’s 10th Congressional District 26 years, Loudoun has been served by vices for someone Taylor’s age,” said candidates were locked in a virtual tie at to its competitive “Red to Blue” program — the Northern Virginia ENDependence Mary Lou Werner. Taylor Werner, 17, suf- the end of June. Wolf had $849,391 avail- which highlights the Democrat’s most prom- Center, based many miles away in Arling- fered a brain aneurysm in his sleep when able and Feder $812,122, according to the ising challengers and candidates — in part ton, said its executive director, David he was 11. He had just finished the fifth Federal Election Commission. because of Feder’s ability to collect cash. Burds. However, about two years ago, grade with straight As and played on a “We are way ahead of schedule and way “Red to Blue” candidates are those who two part-time employees, Elisa Graves of ahead of where we were in 2006.