Reston Police Officers Get Giant Thank-You From Locals — Fairfax County police officers at the Reston District Station received a giant thank-you card signed by 12 local residents on Tuesday. The officers posted a video of themselves showing off the card, thanking the residents for the show of support. [YouTube/Fairfax County Police]
Metro Board Chairman Urges Federal Takeover — Jack Evans urged federal officials to consider taking over the struggling Metro system Wednesday, saying that only a powerful body like the U.S. government could truly solve all the system’s problems. [Washington Post]
How to Donate Old Work Suits to Help Job Seekers — Davelle Clothiers at Reston Town Center is accepting donations of old suits and other men’s work clothes to benefit Goodwill’s job training programs during shop’s 20th Annual Trade-In Event, which runs until Sunday. [Davelle Clothiers]
Celebrities Take to the Red Carpet in Reston – The BowTie Cinemas in Reston was the site of the 2016 Washington West Film Festival last week, drawing Robert Duvall, Ed Asner and Washington Post reporter Bob Woodward, among others. [Reston Patch]
Local officials are looking to hear from the public about proposed bicycle lanes for Reston’s Hunter Mill District as the Fairfax County Department of Transportation gets ready repave streets in the area.
Members of the public are invited to a community meeting in the Terraset Elementary (11411 Ridge Heights Road) cafeteria on Monday, Nov. 14, to discuss the possible bike lanes, as well as other ideas to enhance safety for traffic, bicyclists and pedestrians in Reston.
The streets that are under review for potential new bike lanes are:
- Glade Drive, from Glade Bank Way to Twin Branches Road.
- Twin Branches Road, from Lawyers Road to South Lakes Drive.
- Colts Neck Road, from Reston Parkway to Sunrise Valley Drive.
- North Shore Drive, from Ring Road to Oak Spring Way.
County officials note that any alterations to the streets are limited to striping changes made during repaving.
The community meeting will last from 6:30-8:30 p.m.
For more information, including a feedback form, visit the Hunter Mill Bike Lanes project page on the county’s website.
Image via Fairfax County
Fairfax County Pedestrian Safety Problem Spots Don’t Include Reston-Herndon Area — The Reston-Herndon area didn’t make a Fairfax County Police Department list of 11 areas that had high levels of serious or fatal crashes involving pedestrians between Jan. 1, 2011 and July 28, 2016. [Reston Patch]
Herndon Resident Wins on Jeopardy! – Siddharth Hariharan, a 22-year-old medical student at Virginia Commonwealth University, talked to the Fairfax County NewsCenter about racking up more than $30,000 in prize money after winning two games in a row on Jeopardy! last month. The Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology alum finished in second place in game three. [Fairfax County NewsCenter]
Get Those Attic Treasures Appraised – The Appraisal Roadshow hits the Reston Association this Thursday from 10 a.m. to noon. Bring one treasure from home and find out “what is is,” “what it’s worth” and “what you can do with it.” Advance registration is required to get an item appraised. The event is open to the public and admission is $8 for RA members, $11 for non-members. [Reston Now Events]
Winter Sports Tryouts Start Soon – Winter sports at South Lakes High School include basketball, gymnastics, indoor track, swim and dive, and wrestling. Tryouts start Thursday. [South Lakes High School Athletics]
Calling All Book-Loving Millennials – The Reston Regional Library’s newest book club is looking for millennial readers. November’s title is “Bristol House” by Beverly Swerling. Come to the discussion on the first Thursday of each month at 7 p.m. There’s a new book to devour each month. [Reston Regional Library]
Two longtime Reston residents have released a new book aimed at teaching local kids all about the area.
“Reston A to Z,” a book by author Watt Hamlett and illustrator Jill Olinger Vinson, hits select stores today.
The book takes young readers on a tour of the community and teaches them the story of how it came to be, led by none other than its famous founder — who takes the form of an animal named Robert E. Squirrel.
“[Bob Squirrel] is a delightful character who perhaps bears more than a passing resemblance to Reston’s beloved founder, Robert E. Simon,” Hamlett and Vinson said.
The story is told in rhyming verse, and takes children through the alphabet from A to Z, with each stop featuring a different corner of the Reston community. The book includes colorful, illustrated drawings of the places, activities and nature that make Reston what it is.
Stops along the tour include Lake Anne Plaza, Reston Town Center, Reston Regional Library, the Wiehle-Reston East Metro Station, Walker Nature Center, the Reston Farmers Market, the W&OD Trail and more.
“The book also highlights features of Reston such as its lakes, pedestrian paths, swimming pools, community garden plots and parks,” say Hamlett and Vinson.
They add, the book also features other creative touches like a hidden acorn on each page, a coloring page, and a travel log where kids can check off the places or things in the book they have experienced around Reston.
All in all, the book is an homage to the town Hamlett and Vinson have grown to love as residents for so many years.
Hamlett, the book’s author and photographer, has lived in Reston since 2000. He says he was inspired to write this book out of his love for Reston that grew from exploring it over many years with his wife and two sons. 
“I hope the book serves as a tribute to Reston’s beauty, community spirit and the vision of Reston’s founder, Robert E. Simon,” Hamlett said.
Jill Olinger Vinson, the book’s illustrator, grew up in Reston and is a graduate of South Lakes High School. She returned as an adult to live in Reston with her husband, and her two sons were born in Reston. She now lives in neighboring Herndon.
“Reston A to Z is available for sale locally at several locations, including the Reston Museum at Lake Anne Plaza. For all copies purchased at the Museum, 100 percent of the profits will go directly to the Reston Historic Trust. The Museum is also selling stuffed Bob Squirrel plushes.
Hamlett and Vinson will be signing copies of the book at the Reston Museum on Saturday, Dec. 3 from 10 a.m. to noon.
The book is also available for purchase online from Mascot Books, and at other Reston retailers including Scrawl Books and Dawn Price Baby, as well as online from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Books-A-Million. The book retails for $15.95.
Photos courtesy of Watt Hamlett and Jill Olinger Vinson
Annual Thanksgiving Food Drive Begins – Reston Town Center and Reston Community Centers are kicking off their annual Thanksgiving Food Drive today. Nonperishable items can be dropped off at a number of locations including the Hunters Woods and Lake Anne facilities and Reston Town Center building lobbies. Donations will distributed to underprivileged families and individuals throughout the area. [Reston Community Center]
Lions, Tigers and Candidates, Oh My – Halloween enthusiasts from all over came out to Reston Town Center this past weekend to show off their costumes, compete in the many contests and more. Spotted among the crowd were Elsas and Olafs, superheroes, Scooby Doos and even Hillary Clinton getting a piggy-back ride from Donald Trump. See a photo gallery on Modern Reston. [Modern Reston]
Brama Italian Cuisine Now Open on Elden Street – Brama celebrated its grand opening on Friday evening, with a ribbon cutting by Herndon Mayor Lisa Merkel and several members of the Herndon-Dulles Chamber of Commerce. The restaurant serves brick oven-fired pizza and other Italian and Mediterranean-inspired dishes for lunch and dinner and offers both take-out and delivery. Brama’s staff hopes to start offering catering services soon as well. [Herndon Patch]
Two major projects near the Wiehle-Reston East Metro station are up for discussion at the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors meeting tomorrow.
The proposed Lincoln apartment complex at Commerce Park Drive and the Lofts townhomes at Reston Station are on the agenda for about 3:30 p.m. Tuesday.
Wiehle Station Ventures LLC is seeking to redevelop a surface level parking lot across the street from the Sunrise Valley convenience center and, beyond that, Reston National Golf Course, into a 260-unit Lincoln apartment building at Commerce Park, Association and Sunrise Valley drives. The property is also close to Soapstone Drive, where a future toll road crossing is planned.
The Board of Supervisors also is set to consider the design concept for the Lofts, in which Pulte Homes would redevelop a one-story industrial building at 1825 Michael Faraday Court into 44 residences.
The parcel is about one-third of a mile from the Wiehle-Reston East Metro station. The development and the Metro stop eventually will connect through interior streets, including an extension of Reston Station Boulevard, plans show.
Though the Planning Commission has recommended approval to the Board of Supervisors, the concept has not been without issues.
Hunter Mill planning commissioner Frank de le Fe said he feels the project attempts to jam too many residences into too little land, as the plan calls for fitting 12, two-by-two townhouses into less than two acres.
Other issues brought up had to do with the configuration of open space, the amount of surface parking, the design of a pocket park and the lack of landscaping connecting to public space.
Images via Lincoln At Commerce Park, Lofts at Reston Station, Fairfax County.
Metro Won’t Ditch Silver Line Power Equipment Tied to Smoke Incidents — Power connections tied to a handful of smoke incidents in 2015 — including the L’Enfant Plaza incident that killed Carol Glover — will likely remain part of the tracks in the Silver Line extension under construction from Reston to Loudoun County. [WTOP]
Fairfax County Fire & Rescue Makes Daring Rescue at Signature Apartments – First-responders from Reston Fire Station 25 and North Point Fire Station 39 used a tower crane to rescue a man from the fifth floor of the Signature Apartments construction site in Reston Friday afternoon when he suffered a sudden medical emergency. The man was transported to a local hospital after the rescue. [Fairfax Fire & Rescue]
Storm Knocks Out Power in Fairfax County — Power went out for several hours Sunday for more than 1,700 customers in Fred Crabtree Park and Moneys Corner near Vienna, Chantilly and Reston. [Vienna Patch]
Metro Riders Could Face More Hardships Next Year — Many Metro riders could pay more to use the system and have longer wait times even during peak hours beginning in the summer of 2017 under the transit agency’s budget announced yesterday. [Washington Business Journal]
Halloween is almost here. There are plenty of fun events for kids, pets and the whole familt this weekend around Reston.
Friday, Oct. 28
South Lakes High School’s Homecoming Parade – The annual Homecoming Parade marches from Hunters Woods Village Center to South Lakes High School, beginning at 5 p.m.
The best places to watch (and catch candy thrown from the floats) are on the east side of South Lakes or right outside Hunters Woods Village Center along Colts Neck.
The Big Game – The South Lakes High Homecoming football game begins at the school at 7 p.m. Admission is $5.
Saturday, Oct. 29
Costumed Family Bike Ride – Get in a little exercise before all the treats later in the weekend. Bring the whole family out (in costume!) with their bikes for a fun family ride, hosted by Kidical Mass Reston. The ride will begin at the Pony Barn Picnic Pavilion and follow a casual 2-mile route exclusively on Reston’s trails. See more information online.
Howl-O-Ween On The Plaza – Dress your cat or dog up in a costume and bring him down to Lake Anne Plaza for a good old-fashioned pet parade. There will be games, contests, and treats for your furry friends. The festivities run from 1 to 3 p.m., with the costume contest kicking off at 1:30.
Trick or Treat at Reston Town Center – Get your trick or treat on early at the Town Center from noon to 4 p.m. Retailers, restaurants and the folks at the Information Center will be handing out goodies to kids in costume. Any business with a pumpkin flier in the window is participating. Plus, enjoy a performance by Turley the Magician at 1 p.m. in Fountain Square.
Howling Halloween Dog Costume Contest – Stick around after trick or treating at Reston Town Center businesses, because the dog costume contest kicks off at 4 p.m. at the Pavilion. Prizes for best dog costume, best dog-owner duo and best group costume will be given out. Participants must register ahead of time online, and arrive between 3:15-3:45 to check in and pick up your contestant bib.
Police scared off a man who had unlawfully entered a home in Great Falls on Tuesday evening.
Officers from Fairfax County’s Reston District responded to the home, located in the 11000 block of Georgetown Pike, just before 10:30 p.m. on Oct. 25 after receiving a report of a man in the home. Police located the man inside the home and confronted him. The man then fled the home.
The suspect was described as a black man, around 45 years old, with an athletic build.
Nothing was reported missing from the home.
In other news from FCPD’s Reston District Station this week:
ROBBERY – A 30-year-old woman was the victim of a robbery in the Reston District at Thomas Jefferson Way and McNair Farms Drive in the county area of Herndon on Friday evening, Oct. 21.
According to Fairfax County police, the woman was walking along the roadway just after 8 p.m. when a man approached her from behind and attempted to take her purse. They struggled briefly, but the suspect fled with her purse. The victim did not require medical attention.
The suspect was described as a black man around 30 years old wearing blue jeans, a long-sleeved black shirt and a black knit cap.
STOLEN VEHICLES:
- Saunders Drive/Hungerford Place, 1993 Honda Accord
LARCENIES:
- 2100 block of Centreville Road, merchandise from business
- 1700 block of Clubhouse Road, keys from vehicle
- 9800 block of Georgetown Pike, merchandise from business
- 10300 block of Hunt Country Lane, necklace and ring from residence
- 1800 block of Michael Faraday, cell phone from business
- 13100 block of Parcher Avenue, dog from business
- 12000 block of Starboard Drive, bicycle from residence
- 9100 block of Sterling Montague Drive, laptop computer from vehicle
- 9200 block of Sterling Montague Drive, laptop computer from vehicle
- 11800 block of Sunrise Valley Drive, beer from business
- 1800 block of Wiehle Avenue, bicycles merchandise from business
- 11500 block of Links Drive, property from residence
- 6100 block of Rose Hill Drive, groceries from business
- 6100 block of Rose Hill Drive, liquor from business
- 1800 block of Wiehle Avenue, bicycle from business
- 1600 block of Reston Parkway, wallet from business
- 12000 block of Town Square, bicycle from business
Reston Association board members are touting it as a one-stop shop that will allow residents to buy passes, sign up for community events like summer camps, and more, all in one convenient place.
WebTrac, RA’s new online registration system, is expected to fully launch in January, but board members are encouraging residents to create their online accounts now and familiarize themselves with the new site, ahead of the launch.
WebTrac is separate from the association’s main website, www.reston.org, where many residents like to pay assessment fees and access disclosure documents. Residents will need to create a separate account to utilize WebTrac.
“Signing up now will enable you to purchase items as soon as they become available, starting in January 2017. In the meantime, you can browse the site to become familiar with how it works,” RA says on its website.
The RA board approved $201,000 at the beginning of this year to upgrade to the WebTrac system. Read More
Community members, corporate partners, faith communities and local officials will gather Wednesday night at South Lakes High School to kick off the new Reston Opportunity Neighborhood (ResTON) initiative.
Started by Fairfax County, the Opportunity Neighborhood movement aims to identify areas of need, and provide resources that will allow all children to gain a strong academic foundation, family resilience, and “a culture of engagement and success,” representatives said.
The first neighborhood to join Opportunity Neighborhood was Mount Vernon in the Alexandria area. Reston will be the second neighborhood to become part of the program.
Hunter Mill District County Supervisor Cathy Hudgins is a big proponent of ResTON initiative, and will be participating in Wednesday night’s kick-off event, along with Fairfax County School Board Representative Pat Hynes (Hunter Mill).
“I believe children need resources that will allow them to excel,” Hudgins said in an email. “Opportunity Neighborhood is about improving the lives of children and youth, by bringing together County services, school resources and our community partners in cooperative framework. Through this collaboration, we can provide families with a seamless pipeline of programs, services and supports.”
One example Hudgins offered was ensuring that all children have safe and reliable transportation to and from school, and to enriching community events and places like their local recreation centers.
“Lack of transportation can hinder a student’s ability to stay after school to get extra assistance from a teacher or participate in an activity that can shape life skills,” Hudgins pointed out.
“And by transportation, I mean it might not be a train or bus. It could be as simple as a sidewalk that allows a child to walk to their local community center,” she added. “RestON will enable us to identify these issues and bring all of our resources to help solve these broader community issues.”
The ResTON kick-off event takes place Wednesday, 7-9 p.m., at South Lakes High School, 11400 South Lakes Dr. in Reston.
Questions can be directed to Bill Threlkeld of Cornerstones at 571-323-9579 or [email protected].
Photo courtesy Cornerstones.
Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) officials will hold a public meeting Thursday to show its place for a proposed design for the widening of Elden Street between Monroe Street and the Fairfax County Parkway in Herndon.
Officials hope the project will reduce traffic congestion, improve safety and enhance access to and from the busy Fairfax County Parkway.
Planned improvements include widening East Elden Street (Route 606) from four lanes to six between Herndon Parkway and Fairfax County Parkway, as well as improving access management from Van Buren Street to Herndon Parkway.
Other planned improvements include a new raised median with streetscaping between Van Buren Street and Herndon Parkway, moving utilities between Monroe Street and Fairfax County Parkway underground, and replacing the culvert over Sugarland Run with a new bridge.
The proposed design also features accommodations for cyclists and pedestrians, including enhanced facilities like on-street bike lanes between Monroe Street and Herndon Parkway, and off-street bike lanes from east of Herndon Parkway to Fairfax County Parkway.
VDOT officials say they hope to have plans approved by the spring, though it could take a few years to receive authorization for right-of-way funding, and to advertise to potential construction companies for the job. All in all, construction could begin in the spring of 2022.
The total costs of the project, including preliminary engineering, right-of-way and construction, add up to just under $35 million.
Thursday’s meeting will take place at the Herndon Senior Center, located at 873 Grace St. The public is invited to drop by to view the plans and talk with officials anytime between 6:30 to 8 p.m.
Comments can also be sent to VDOT directly anytime before Nov. 28. by e-mailing [email protected] or by sending mail to Mr. Hamid Misaghian, P.E., Project Manager, Virginia Department of Transportation, 4975 Alliance Drive, Fairfax, VA, 22030.
View the East Elden Street Widening project page online for more information.
Image: VDOT/Google Maps
Langston Hughes Middle and South Lakes High schools were swarming with families on Sunday as the second annual NoVa Mini Maker Faire returned to Reston.
Part of the popular Maker Faire nationwide network of events, the NoVa Mini Maker Faire is geared toward school-age kids, celebrating innovation, imagination and the STEM fields (science, technology, engineering and math) and showing kids that science can be fun.
More than 100 booths featuring interactive activities and demonstrations were spread out across the campuses of the two Reston schools. Popular attractions included the chance to fly drones and pilot robots to perform small tasks, watching a 3-D printer churn out objects like a chess set and other figurines, making art out of yarn and recycled materials, building Lego towers and duct-tape forts, and much more.
There was even a blacksmithing demonstration by high school students, where the crowd got to watch them pound fire-hot iron into objects like coat hooks and swords.
The calendar’s proximity to summer made booths like Activity Rocket quite popular as well, as many parents welcomed the opportunity to read up on science and art camps for their kids taking place this year.
“I really think my son would love one of these camps, like the Lego camp or the computer programming camp, so I was very excited to see them handing out information at the Faire today,” said Candy Schmidt of Reston, the mom of a 8-year-old.
One prominent theme of this year’s faire was to encourage more girls to get excited about entering the STEM fields, as organizers said the fields still tend to be very male-heavy at many schools and companies across the country. One such booth was the GEMS organization, or Girls Excited About Math and Science, which offered fun, quick projects with electronics.
Photo gallery by Jennifer van der Kleut
While virtual yard sale sites are gaining in popularity, one Reston resident hopes her alternative site — Buy Nothing Reston — will gain traction. Buy Nothing, part of a larger nationl movement, encourages a trade economy with heart.
Kristi Guidry, founder of Buy Nothing Reston, says nothing is for sale. The idea is “gifting” to your neighbors out of the kindness of your heart, and knowing that the kindness could come back to you if you’re ever in need of something as well.
Buy Nothing also promotes the idea of community, and of helping and getting to know your neighbors. When they say neighbors, they mean it, because everyone has to live within the Reston limits in order to join the group.
The site has no rules such as “first come, first serve,” taking the highest and best offer, or “priority to first pick-up.” In fact, the “gifter” gets to select the “giftee” based on his or her own criteria or virtues.
It’s an idea that has been catching on worldwide, says Guidry. More than 80,000 members have joined the movement worldwide in the last few years.
The “Buy Nothing Project” originally started in the Seattle area. Guidry’s sister, who lives there, was a member. When Guidry looked to see if there was a local group here, she discovered there were none in the D.C. area. That’s when the stay-at-home mom decided to start her own.
The organizers of the larger umbrella organization helped get a Reston site, in the form of a Facebook group, up and running. Then, all she needed were local members. Read More
It’s not hard to find a Reston family with ties to Lake Anne Nursery Kindergarten. LANK, as the school is called, has been around nearly as long as Reston itself, and is celebrating its 50th anniversary in a big way in 2015.
And if you have ties to the school, they want you to be a part of it.
“We’re trying to contact all of our alumni – which is a lot!” said LANK co-director Patty Marsh.
Adds co-director Marilyn O’Neill: “Yes, we’d love to know where they all are, what they’re doing, how they’re doing,”
One testament to how beloved LANK is, is how many generations of families have attended over the last 50 years.
“Reston seems to be a place kids return to, to raise their own families,” O’Neill said.
LANK was the first preschool in Reston. Founded in 1965, Reston’s founder, Robert E. Simon, gifted the land to the school expressly for the purpose. LANK first opened at Lake Anne Village Center and quickly became a cornerstone of the budding community.
In 1972, the school moved to its current location on North Shore Drive near Wiehle Avenue. Read More
