Fairfax County Crime Solvers are seeking the public’s help in identifying the suspects who recently vandalized football fields at Herndon High School and South Lakes High School.
The first incident occurred at Herndon High School between early on June 1. The second incident, at SLHS occurred 11 p.m. on Saturday, June 6, and 1:50 p.m. on Sunday, June 7, police said.
The suspects spray-painted derogatory, racist language and profane images on the football fields of both schools, causing more than $6,000 in damage to both turf fields.
Hunter Mill and Dranesville Supervisors and School Board members called the graffiti “intolerable.”
Anyone with information is asked to contact Crime Solvers by phone at 1-866-411-TIPS(8477), e-mail at www.fairfaxcrimesolvers.org or text “TIP187” plus your message to CRIMES(274637)**.
A $100 to $1,000 cash reward will be paid for information that leads to an arrest. As always, callers never have to give their names or appear in court.
Photo: Graffiti on Herndon High’s football field
It’s not too late to bring your inner artist to Lake Anne Plaza this weekend.
The bricks of Lake Anne Plaza will turn into backdrops for colorful murals at the Second Annual Chalk on the Water Festival Saturday and Sunday.
Chalk on the Water is a two-day street-painting festival where participants of all ages can create street art. Festival-goers purchase a “plot” of brick space on the plaza in which to create their chalk masterpiece.
Cost for spaces are $5 for children, $10 for adults, and $15 for professional artists. Registration of available online at www.chalkonthewater.com. Registration is still open, and there are only 100 spaces available for this event.
There will be cash prizes for various categories, which will be judged by notable community members.
The festival, which runs from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. both days, will also include food, a live DJ, and a wine garden.
Money raised from Chalk on the Water will benefit the Initiative for Public Art-Reston (IPAR).
The festival is sponsored by the Friends of Lake Anne (FOLA), Reston Art Gallery, and Washington Parent Magazine.
Photos: Chalk on the Water 2014
Longtime residents of Reston are getting involved in fundraising efforts, prayer chains and other ways to help their friend Kelly Hennessa.
Hennessa, a 1978 Herndon High School graduate who now lives in Prince William County, was involved in a bad car accident when she was headed to get ice cream with her son on June 1.
Hennessa suffered a severe head injury and remains in a coma at Inova Fairfax Hospital.
Her son Carson, 12, suffered broken bones and other injuries and was transferred to a rehabilitation hospital on Wednesday, according to a Go Fund Me page set up by a friend of the family.
There has been an outpouring of support online for Hennessa, a special education teacher at Centreville High School; Carson, who suffers from cerebral palsy; older son Clayton; and husband Greg Powell, a local playwright.
“Kelly is one of the sweetest , loveliest and most loving people I have ever known,” says Herndon resident Trish Smith, who recently moved from Reston. “I met her 17 years ago, upon moving here from Manhattan to a place I knew nothing about. Kelly was one of my first Reston friends. Because of her spirit and laughter and fun outlook on everything in life, I grew to love Reston, too.”
Smith says Hennessa has “a ton of friends, who are positively bereft, brokenhearted, and praying nonstop for a miracle.”
The Go Fund Me Page was started by Chip Cherry, a friend of the family. As of Wednesday it had raised more than $36,000. There is a second page, also started by Cherry, to help with ongoing expenses the family will have. Cherry says he will close the first fundraising page soon.
“The road to recovery is long,” he wrote. “This second wave of fundraising is being set up with that in mind. This campaign is also being set up properly in American currency and will be connected directly to Greg so I as the administrator won’t need to act as a money mover. “
There is an Open Mic fundraiser for the Powells Thursday night at Malone’s of Manassass. Effee’s Frozen Favorites in New Baltimore, VA, where Kelly and Carson were headed on June 1, is also holding a fundraiser on June 18. All proceeds will go to the Powell family.
To learn more about the Powell family, see this NBC4 story.
Photo: Kelly Hennessa and son Carson Powell/Credit: Facebook
Kendra Scott Jewelry, a national upscale costume jewelry store, has signed a lease to open at 11900 Market St. in Reston Town Center.
Texas designer Kendra Scott launched the collection in 2002, and the jewelry is now sold at major department stores such as Nordstrom, as well at Kendra Scott stores nationwide.
Locally, a Kendra Scott store is scheduled to open this summer at Bethesda Row and in the fall at the Mosaic District in Fairfax.
Most pieces use brightly colored materials for “statement necklaces” that retail for under $120. Earrings are generally in the $50 to $100 range. The store also has a Game Day Collection, where sports fans can purchase jewelry in team colors.
Construction permits have been filed. No opening date has been announced.
The owners of Red’s Table, the restaurant planned for South Lakes Village Center, say they are now on track to open in August.
The project has been in the works since early 2014, when brother Ryan, Matt and Pat Tracy took over the old Lakeside Inn space at South Lakes.
They originally planned to open by February or March, but construction issues — including a roof structural defect that meant the whole roof had to be replaced — set back the timetable.
The trio, who grew up in Reston and graduation from South Lakes High School, were already deep in the renovation and hiring process when the roof problem was discovered, Ryan Tracy said.
Inside, construction crews have rid the space of all things Lakeside Inn (which seemingly had not been remodeled in its 22-year existence). The interior, still in construction mode, is taking shape around an open kitchen.
The restaurant, named after the brothers’ grandfather William “Red” Tracy, will focus on New American food, with an emphasis on great steaks, seafood and fresh food. Red’s Table plans to offer $1 oysters at happy hour.
The restaurant is still hiring, and is particularly looking for a sous chef and a baker. If interested, email [email protected].
Red’s Table also is up and running on social media. Follow them on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
Reston Hospital’s Scholarships — Reston Hospital Center recently awarded scholarships to 17 Fairfax and Loudoun County High School seniors in recognition of their academic excellence and excitement for pursuing a career in healthcare. Among those earning scholarships: South Lakes High School’s Madison Lintner and Lyric Venable and Herndon High’s Yasleen Villegas.
Editor’s Note — Karen Goff will be off Thursday and Friday and may be slow to respond to email or approve comments caught in moderation. Please be patient. If you have major breaking news, contact [email protected].
Stock Up — Southgate Community Center (12125 Pinecrest Rd.) is holding a community yard sale Saturday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. This is a great opportunity to browse for bargains for a new home or a college dorm.
Tests Taxing Teacher — What is it like to be a first-year teacher in this age of large classes and standardized tests? The Washington Post spent some time with a FCPS kindergarten teacher to find out. [Washington Post]
As Jeff Spicoli said to teacher Mr. Hand when his pizza was delivered in Fast Times at Ridgemont High, “What’s wrong with a little snack on our time?”
Apparently, enough to ask Herndon High School students to cut it out.
The end of the school year has seen a rise in the number of students and teachers ordering food to be delivered to the school. It is causing front-office stress to the administration, which has asked everyone to stop.
In an email to families, Herndon High administrators reminded parents that food delivery is against Fairfax County Public Schools rules — and that students could get detention.
“Food deliveries are problematic for the main office staff – regarding time and money,” the e-mail reads. “Students may not place orders for delivery during the school day. This is against FCPS School Board regulation, and the food, tips, and payments take up time of our staff. If we receive student orders, our main office staff will deny the order. If students receive orders at any door in the building, they will be assigned after school detention.”
HHS reminded teachers that they may order for themselves and other staff but have to receive the food themselves — no sending students down to the door with dollars, even for the class pizza party.
Finally, HHS says it has seen too many parents dropping off food for their kids during the school day.
“Parents, please do not bring food to your students during the school day if at all possible,” HHS administrators said. “Food often stays in the main office all day and the student doesn’t pick it up. This also becomes difficult for staff to manage and the smell in the main office is often potent. We do not have the staffing to deliver all the food to students that are coming to our office.”
Fairfax County Fire Rescue says a electrical malfunction led to a fire that caused major damage to a commercial high rise building onTuesday.
Units were called to 13820 Sunrise Valley Dr. in Herndon, near the Westin Washington Dulles, about 7:45 p.m.
Firefighters said they encountered heavy smoke coming from the lower level of the 10-story building upon arrival. Upon further investigation, firefighters found fire in the first floor “battery room.” Additionally, an outside transformer caught fire near the building.
The incident commander issues a second alarm, which brought more than 60 firefighters to the scene.
There were approximately 50 employees in the building when the fire broke out. All were able to get out of the building. There were no injuries.
Firefighters were able to contain the fire to the room of origin and transformer with no fire extension to other parts of the building.
Firefighters said the automatic fire alarm did activate; however, a security officer called 911 after hearing an explosion. One sprinkler head did activate helping to keep the fire contained.
Damage is estimated at $2 million.
The fire has been ruled accidental. An electrical event in the control module to the uninterruptible power supply caused the fire, officials said.
The search has been called off for a Reston man who has been missing since he jumped into the Potomac River a week ago.
Marco Reyes-Sanchez, 21, of Reston is presumed drowned, officials said.
Reyes-Sanchez and another man jumped into the Potomac near Great Falls June 3. The other man emerged, but Reyes-Sanchez did not.
Montgomery County Fire-Rescue boats and personnel, as well as U.S. Park Police, were actively searching for the missing man from last Wednesday, when Reyes-Sanchez was reported missing, through Sunday, said MCFR spokesman Pete Piringer.
Piringer said a search of three to four days is typical in cases such as this one.
“We will continue to do passive searches,” he said. “And the U.S. Park Police will continue to notify boaters and kayakers. The [kayaking] community knows he is still missing. They are our eyes and ears on the river.”
Photo: Montgomery County officials searching Potomac last week.
While the Silver Line is having an impact on how younger workers get to Reston, it is not necessarily expected to attract them to live in Reston.
That is what several real estate developers said at a forum “The Future of Reston and Herndon” organized by e-news company Bisnow in Reston on Tuesday.
The Silver Line opened its first phase last July, and Wiehle-Reston East, the end of the line until Phase 2 opens in 2019, immediately became one of Metro’s highest-traveled stations. Metro officials say people are taking public transportation both to Reston and from Reston to other workplaces in Arlington, Tysons Corner and D.C.
But they still can’t take Metro around Reston, which is what Millennials (people ages 18 to 35) want.
“A lot of people are saying ‘this is it’ when talking about the Silver Line,” said Greg Trimmer, Principal with The JBG Companies. “But JBG’s position is the Silver Line is not really the panacea. It is a great thing to have, but it is really a commuter line. It presents some challenges as well. People are not going to take the Metro three stops to get some lunch. We will see people taking it 5 or 6 stops to get to a job.”
JBG has four mixed use projects under development: Reston Heights, RTC West, 1831 Wiehle Ave. (in application process) and at Fairway Apartments. There are also multifamily developments either planned or under construction at Wiehle-Reston East (Comstock’s BLVD and the new Bozzuto/Charles Veatch building) and Lake Anne/Crescent (Lake Anne Development Partners), among others.
Several panelists said the residents of other recently-built residential buildings such as The Harrison and The Avant are trending older.
“We are seeing a huge boom in multifamily construction,” said Trimmer. “But the population of millennials in Reston has actually dropped. We are seeing growth in Reston in people in their 40s and 50s and retirees.”
Trimmer said if Reston properties try to compete with buildings in the District “it is not a fight Reston is going to win.”
Said Randall Scott, Principal, Coretrust Capital Partners commercial real estate: “We view Reston as a new town, edge city type place. In our experience, millennials will gravitate to an urban core such as D.C. initially. It remains to be seen whether they will stay there or be where there are open spaces and great schools eventually. Our view is we will get terrific inflow and outflow on the Silver Line.”
The Silver Line, has, however, been a great work perk, even after just 10 months.
Reston was planned all along to be a transit-oriented community, with offices and residential, an urban-style town center and walkability. That puts it ahead of the game when it comes to Tysons Corner, said Sonny Small, CEO of Renaissance Centro, which built the recently-opened The Harrison apartments. The Harrison is also seeing older residents, many of whom are moving from other properties such as single-family homes within Reston.
“The Silver Line is a fabulous amenity,” he said. “Reston has the original bones already. The interesting part will be how neighborhoods other than Reston Town Center evolve.”
Tony Womack of Tishman Speyer commercial real estate said he has clients looking at Reston office space that were not looking here prior to the Silver Line.
“The younger workforce can get out here,” he said. “Older executives are already out here.”
Photo: The Avant apartments at Reston Town Center
Buzz Aldrin Visits Buzz Aldrin Elementary — The astronaut had words of encouragement for the students at the Reston school. [Washington Post]
Dark Sky at Night — Restonian on the big, streetlight-less hole that is Reston. [Restonian]
School’s Out; Let’s Party — Reston Community Center is hosting a School’s Out Pool Party on June 19 (last day for most FCPS students) at Golf Course Island Pool, 4 to 7 p.m. Free and for all ages. [RCC]
FCPD Officers Training to Understanding Mental Illness — Fairfax County Police Officers are getting special training to gain more in-depth understanding of people who suffer from mental illness. [FCPD]
Kudos For Clarabridge CFO — Bas Brukx, CFO of Reston-based Clarabridge, was honored as the Northern Virginia Technology Council’s Emerging CFO of the Year Award at the NVTC’s annual CFO Awards at the Ritz-Carlton Tysons. [NVTC]
Photo: Rainbow over South Lakes Village Center/Credit: Maria Bonaquist
Fairfax County supervisors and school board members are speaking up in response to racist, profane and anti-semitic graffiti at Herndon High School last week.
There has since been similar incident at South Lakes High School, but a joint statement by Hunter Mill Supervisor Cathy Hudgins and school board rep Pat Hynes and Dranesville Supervisor John Foust and school board member Jane Strauss was issued prior to Sunday’s SLHS vandalism.
No suspects have been charged.
The representatives say the behavior is “intolerable in our community.”
“It does not represent the inclusive community that we strive to make possible in Fairfax County,” the reps said.
Here’s the statement:
Last weekend, vile hate speech and derogatory symbols were found defacing property at Herndon High School. We stand together, all saying that this behavior is intolerable in our community. This action represents some of the worst intolerance that we have seen, and does not represent the inclusive community that we strive to make possible in Fairfax County.
This action is intended to demean and diminish members of our community. The symbols depicted at Herndon High School represent hate and inhumanity. We will not stand for this behavior in our school system, or in the greater Fairfax County community.
We will not allow our schools to become a platform for hatred and intolerance of any group or individual. Moreover, we must use this occasion in a positive way, to teach respect and tolerance and to demonstrate how the diversity of our county enriches all our lives.
This is a horrific example, but we must take it as an opportunity to further build an inclusive community for all.
Photo: Graffiti at Herndon High School
The JBG Companies have signed 24 Hour Fitness as an anchor tenant for the Reston Heights expansion on Sunrise Valley Drive.
It will be 24 Hour Fitness’ fourth Northern Virginia location. The national chain, which has more than 450 locations nationwide, has gyms in Tysons Corner, Falls Church and Fairfax.
“It’s a big win for us,” said JBG Principal Greg Trimmer.
It is not known how big the Reston gym will be, but the Tysons location, which anchors urban mixed-use development Tysons West, is 49,000 square feet. The Tysons location features an indoor pool, racquetball courts, weights, cardio equipment and a child care center.
Trimmer was part of a forum “The Future of Reston and Herndon” sponsored by business website/newsletters Bisnow in Reston on Tuesday. The panel discussion mostly looked at the commercial real estate climate in Reston.
From a retail perspective, Trimmer says the Reston market is booming. JBG is also developing RTC West, the 40,000-square-foot retail and office development at Sunset Hills Road and Town Center Parkway.
“When you look at the demographics of the DC area, it is home to 6 of the 10 wealthiest counties,” Trimmer said. “As far as Reston demographics, people in Reston are 20 percent more likely to eat out, 30 percent more likely to have a new car., and 75 percent of people in Reston will consider brand name more than price. Retailers cannot get here quickly enough.”
Most retailers, including Chili’s and 7-Eleven, have already left the Reston Heights complex at 11844 Sunrise Valley Dr. Reston Kabob will close its doors on July 31. Both JBG and Reston Kabob owners say they are interested in a new Reston Kabob when there when the new complex opens, but that could be several years away.
24 Hour Fitness will have competition from Reston branches of Life Time Athletic, which opened in fall of 2013, the YMCA Fairfax County Reston, Fitness First Reston Sport & Health, as well as boutique gyms and yoga studios.
The Westin Reston Heights, Mercer Condominiums and office buildings make up the first phase of Reston Heights.
The second phase, approved by the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors in 2013, will have a six-story residential building, a 15-story residential building, a five-story building that incorporates a parking garage with residences and retail space; and a 10-story building that mixes office space, parking and retail space.
The plan includes 145,000 square feet of above-grade retail, 100,00 square feet of below-grade retail, 428,225 square feet of office and 498 residential units.
Groundbreaking should happen later this year, JBG says.
Women runners will hit the trails near the YMCA Fairfax County Reston Saturday, June 20 for the “Ladies Sizzle” Women’s Distance Festival 5K.
The annual race is the culmination of a season of training for the Reston Runners’ Women’s Training Program. Each spring, the low-cost WTP helps walkers become runners and runners become faster runners alongside other women in training.
The race, which begins at 8 a.m., is open to the entire community, though, and not just WTP members. Men are encouraged to volunteer to help make the race a success.
Advance registration is open through Wednesday, June 18 at midnight. You may also register at packet pickup Friday or on race day from 6 to 7 a.m. at the YMCA.
The entry fee is $35; $40 day of race.
The flat course mostly takes place on the W & OD trail and other paths, so it should not impact local roads. See the course map on the WTP website.
Packet pickup, race registration and race headquarters is at the YMCA Fairfax County Reston, 12196 Sunset Hills Rd.
Women’s Distance Festival/file photo
The Fairfax County School Board has filed a Planned Residential Community application for a building addition and other improvements for Reston’s South Lakes High School.
The plans will add about 40,000 more square feet to the high school, which has exceeded capacity that was added in renovations in 2006-07. The renovations were followed by a redistricting that added more than 700 students to the school, which has capacity for 2,300. FCPS predicts school enrollment will be more than 2,900 by 2017-18.
The SLHS addition, as well as previously announced improvements for Herndon High School, is part of the five-year capital improvement plan, which has $220 million in funding from approved school bonds that were approved in 2013, FCPS says.
The remainder of the funds for the CIP will comes from a school bond referendum in the fall of 2015. The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors last week authorized the $310 million schools referendum, which has one more step before being added to the Nov. 3 general election ballot.
South Lakes’ addition should increase space from about 2,300 students to 2,700 students, school officials previously said.
The site plan includes adding 40,000 square feet, bringing the total space in the school building to 373,750 square feet. There are also plans for adding 120 parking spaces, bringing capacity to 750 spaces.
Approximately 74 percent or 35.89 acres of property will remain in open space, school officials said.
The plans are tentatively scheduled to have a Fairfax County Planning Commission public hearing on Oct. 15.
