Fairfax County Police have identified the human bones found on a Herndon-area trail in February.
Detectives said the body was that of Joseph John Swain, 50, of no fixed address.
There were no clear signs of death and the Office of the Medical Examiner calls the manner of death “undetermined” due to the nature of the bones. Detectives do not have evidence of criminal activity or suspicious trauma surrounding Swain’s death.
A resident in the 2900 block of Treadwell Lane in Herndon discovered the remains on Feb. 8 and called police. The bones were found on a nature walk path at Difficult Run Stream Valley Park.
A sure sign that spring is here: The Reston Farmers Market at Lake Anne reopens for the season on Saturday.
The market is 8 a.m. to noon at Lake Anne Plaza’s parking lot every Saturday from May 2 to Nov. 14 (though it is often extended with limited vendors through Thanksgiving).
Also opening Saturday is Reston’s craft market, located on the Lake Anne Plaza Waterfront. More than 30 crafters will sell clothing, bags, jewelry, dolls, candles and other homemade items.
The Farmers Market will also have its usual wide variety of produce, baked goods, political info, live music and farm-fresh poultry and meat.
Here is who will take part in 2015:
- A Bit More Sweets and Specialties
- Arnest Seafood
- Baguette Republic
- Bees ‘n Blossoms
- Blue Ridge Dairy Co.
- Cavanna Pasta
- Cherry Glen
- Chesley Vegetable Farms
- Colonial Kettle Corn Inc.
- Fresh Crunch Pickles
- Glascocks Produce
- Grace’s Pastries
- Gunpowder Bison & Trading Co.
- Hutt Produce LLC
- J & W Valley View Farm
- Jerry’s Gourmet Berries, Inc
- Ladybug Mountain farm
- Loudoun’s BreezyMeadowFarms
- Mt. Olympus Farm
- Nitro’s Creamery
- Ole Pioneer’s Kitchen
- Penn Farm
- Potomac Vegetable Farms
- Reid’s Orchard & Winery
- Smith Family Farm
- Spring Valley Farm and Orchard
- The Farm at Sunnyside
- Toigo Orchards
- Valentine’s Country Bakery & Meats
- Virginia Vistas Greenhouses
Who is your favorite market vendor? Tell us in the comments so newcomers will know what not to miss.
Reston Farmers Market/file photo
Task Force Working In Nepal Rubble — VA-TF1, the Fairfax County Fire Rescue personnel and trained dogs sent to help with Nepal earthquake recovery, is hard at work. [Fairfax County Fire Rescue]
Southgate Community Day Saturday — Visit the Southgate Community Center, 12125 Pinecrest Rd., from 2 to 6 p.m. for games, kids activities, live music and food.
Live, Work, Play A Long Time — The average life expectancy in Reston is more than 83 years. [Reston Patch]
A Reston teen was arrested in Sterling Tuesday after he drove a car through the glass door of the Ferrari of Washington Dealership at 45000 Towlern Place.
Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office charged Douglas Rios, 19, of Reston, with two counts of burglary, two counts of grand larceny, and destruction of property, Ashburn Rising first reported.
A sheriff’s office spokesman said Rios slammed through the glass door, then forced entry into the adjoining Lamborghini Washington Dealership. He and removed merchandise and keys from both locations.
Rios was taken into custody at the scene and remains held without bond at the Loudoun County Adult Detention Center. No one was injured in the incident.
Ferrari of Washington/file photo; Mugshot Douglas Rios/Credit: Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office
Fairfax County Public Schools Superintendent Karen Garza calls the approval of the Fairfax County 2016 Budget “disheartening.”
The county Board of Supervisors on Tuesday passed the $3.8 billion Fiscal Year 2016 budget.
Real estate taxes for Fairfax County residents remain unchanged, at $1.09 per $100 of assessed value.
The Supervisors (who passed the budget with a 7-3 vote) approved a $2 billion transfer for Fairfax County Public Schools. That is a $66.7 million increase over this year’s school transfer from the county but still about $14 million short of what FCPS says it needs for programs and teacher raises.
Garza minced no words in reacting to the budget news.
“Supervisors are sending a clear message that they are unconcerned about the increasing challenges of our students, our teachers, and our schools,” she said in a statement. “The supervisors refused to fully fund our budget for the 2015-16 school year (FY 2016), when faced with a nominal $7.6 million deficit. We have grave concerns as to what will happen in the 2016-17 (FY 2017) school year when we face a devastating shortfall of more than $100 million.”
“The entire Fairfax County community has a critical decision to make: either we invest the necessary funds in our students and schools, or we will have to work together to decide what to cut – and we cannot cut our way to excellence.”
Garza said that growing enrollment combined with budget cuts will force the school system to “take a serious look at the programs that we must cut starting in the 2016-17 school year.”
Garza predicts a $100 million budget shortfall for the schools in 2017.
“These cuts will likely affect all current academic programming including limiting elective choices, reducing career and technical programs, impacting advanced offerings, and again raising class sizes at all levels,” she said, adding that those decisions will come as soon as December 2015.
Added Garza: “Since 2008, we have cut 2,175 positions and nearly a half-billion dollars from our budget affecting every school and department. We have fallen so far behind in teacher salaries that we are no longer competitive and are losing talented staff to neighboring school districts. Our teachers are the reason FCPS students excel and achieve. Losing our most experienced teachers will have a significant effect on student performance and will ultimately affect the reputation of FCPS.
The school board will adopt its 2016 budget on May 21.
Karen Garza/file photo
Lake Fairfax Park will take on the adventure of the high seas on Saturday at the annual Pirate Fest.
This event runs from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The Fairfax County Park Authority says it will be a chance for “high adventure and to explore life at sea and in a port town.” Tickets are $10 online or at the gate, and an additional $2 per person for the Pirate Boat Tour (must purchase time-stamped tickets in advance or at the door).
Among the activities:
- Talk with Moody Crewe about life on the high seas
- Sea Chanteys and Pirate Ditties by Ship’s Company Chanteymen
- Costume Contests for all ages
- Treasure Hunt
- Music by John DuranT
- Kids’ Kove Featuring sailing, science and craft activities
- Recycling Pirates Puppet Show
Kids are encouraged to wear pirate gear to win costume contest prizes in different categories. Pirate Fest will be held rain or shine.
Photo: Pirate Fest Boat on Lake Fairfax/Courtesy FCPA
Reston is getting a new private school where the focus will be on science, technology engineering and math (STEM).
Ideaventions Academy for Mathematics and Science, opening this fall, will serve students in grades 4 through 8. Its founders say it is a the only elementary/middle school in the country to require computer science as part of its core curriculum.
The school plans to break ground on its new location at 12340 Pinecrest Rd. on May 18.
Ideaventions founders are Juliana and Ryan Heitz, area residents and graduates of Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology. They said they had an unsuccessful search to find a science enrichment class for their son, so they created their own teaching science center and started Ideaventions as an extracurricular and homeschool science program in 2010.
“At Ideaventions, our mission is to empower young minds to understand and improve the world,” Heitz says in his welcome letter on the school’s website. “The Academy is geared to active learners with a passion for the sciences and mathematics. Inspired by the educational ideals of Thomas Jefferson, the Academy will encourage independent thinking by nurturing the inventive, quirky, and fearless spirits of its students.”
Ideaventions, which will cost $24,500 annually, says it will combine hands-on, project-based learning with classical education, while providing a collegial environment where students help design their schedule.
Among the planned courses: computer science, cellular biology, computational design, iOS and Android app development, engineering; arts, music, humanities, foreign languages and physical education.
Another new Reston school, School For Tomorrow, also plans to open in Fall 2015.
Rendering of Ideaventions Academy common area/Credit: Ideaventions
Schools Come Up Short in Fairfax County Budget — The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors approved its 2016 budget on Tuesday. The $3.8 billion budget comes up $14 million below the amount Fairfax County Public Schools requested. [Washington Post]
Spring Festival — Reston Association will hold its nature-themed Spring Festival from 1 to 5 p.m. Saturday at the Walker Nature Education center. Family fun to learn about the environment, featuring hands-on activities and acoustic music. [Reston Association]
Search Team Gets To Work in Nepal — The VA-TF1, Fairfax County’s Search-and-Rescue team, has arrived in Nepal and set up operations on a baseball field in order to aid in the earthquake recovery. [Fairfax County Fire and Rescue]
Bring your dog — or make plans to adopt one — to Saturday’s Pet Fiesta at Reston Town Center.
The free event, organized by the nonprofit Good Dogz, runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and will feature more than 100 exhibitors with pet products, services and demonstrations.
Here are some of the highlights:
Dozens of pet rescue groups will be on hand with pets to meet. See a list — and check out some of the rescue pets — on the fiesta website.
The Tails on Trails dog walk to benefit homeless pets takes place at 10 a.m. Entry fee is $20 for the first dog; $5 for additional dogs.
There will be live entertainment, including music, pet contests and Dog House of Style fashion show. See the schedule.
Pet Fiesta visitor/file photo
Reston will honor its own — and raise money for Cornerstones — on Thursday at the 24th annual Best of Reston Awards for Community Service gala at the Hyatt Regency Reston.
The event is nearly sold out, says Cornerstones, so if you have not purchased a ticket, act fast. Individual tickets start at $200.
The event begins with cocktail hour and a silent auction at 5:30 p.m. The program starts at 6:45 p.m.
Last year, the Best of Reston raised $675,000 to benefit Cornerstones’ efforts to secure affordable housing for citizens facing homelessness.
This year’s event will honor
- Civic/Community Organization: His Hidden Treasures (Troy and Lois Hughes)
- Small Business Leader: Maid Bright (Maria Fedick, Yusuf and Zeynep Mehmetoglu)
- Corporate Business Leader: Leidos (Mike Coogan, Director, Corporate Responsibility)
- Corporate Business Leader: MAXIMUS (Susan Boren, Mark Andrekovich, Tom Romeo)
- Individual Community Leader: Francis C. Steinbauer
- Vade Bolton-Ann Rodriguez Legacy Award: Casey Veatch
- Individual Community Leader: Larry Butler, Reston Association Senior Director of Parks, Recreation and Community Resources
Read more about the honorees in this previous Reston Now post.
The Initiative for Public Art Reston formally dedicated sculptor Patrick Dougherty’s public art installation at Reston Town Center’s Town Square Park on Saturday.
North Carolina-based Dougherty and a crew spent two weeks constructing the building-sized artwork out of saplings.
The work is already a kid favorite. On Sunday, groups of youngsters played hide-and-seek and chased each other through the adjoining structures. They peered from the “windows,” which give the structure an overall fairy tale cottage in the woods feeling.
The art work will remain on site for at least a year, IPAR says.
Learn more about Patrick Dougherty in this CBS Sunday morning piece.
If you see a mannequin holding a “Do You See Me?” sign in Reston, think about how you would feel if it were a real person on the street or under a bridge.
That’s the message the Fairfax-Falls Church Community Partnership to Prevent and End Homelessness is trying to get across with its 2015 We Can End Homelessness campaign, which will kick off at the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday.
Fairfax County is participating in the Mannequin Project, an effort designed to raise awareness that homelessness does exist in Fairfax, one of the nation’s wealthiest counties.
Beginning Tuesday and running through June, a series of mannequins will be on display in locations throughout the county, representing the faces of homelessness that exist in real life in our area, says Dean Klein, Director of the Fairfax County Office to Prevent and End Homelessness.
The mannequins will hold placards asking residents “Do You Know Me? Can You See Me?” and will depict people of all ages and backgrounds, and further descriptions on the project website explain each mannequins “story,” which is fairly typical of how homelessness can happen to many people, especially children.
“This exciting awareness campaign is intended to bring more attention to the issues facing homeless women, men and children in our community who are homeless,” Klein said. “We hope that by raising awareness we will be able to build even more momentum in preventing and ending homelessness in our community by engaging new stakeholders and by raising more resources.”
About 1,200 people in Fairfax County are considered homeless, said Board of Supervisors Chair Sharon Bulova.
“The Mannequin Project is a creative way to bring attention to our homeless population in Fairfax County,” says Bulova. “The Mannequin Project tells us about our homeless neighbors. Each mannequin has a story that may challenge your views on why people are homeless, and what we can do to help.”
Photo: A “Do You See Me?” mannequin/Credit: Fairfax County
Kudos For Herndon High Counseling — Herndon High School was one of eight Fairfax County Public Schools recognized for having a top counseling program that benefits all students. [FCPS]
Be Prepared — Fairfax County will hold emergency prep training for houses of worship [Fairfax County]
Leidos On The List — Reston-based Leidos has been named to Military Times’ Best for Vets: Employers 2015 list. Leidos, with headquarters at Reston Town Center, is a national security, health and engineering solutions company. [GI User]
Check Out Dulles Jobs at Reston Event — Dulles Food and Shops has partnered with the Fairfax SkillSource Center Reston to host a job fair Wednesday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., for the new stores and restaurants opening at Washington Dulles International Airport. [Reston Now]
Construction crews were up on the roof at South Lakes Village Center Monday, finally getting to work dismantling and rebuilding the roof at the old Lakeside Inn space.
The owners of Red’s Table, the new restaurant slated to open there, say they hope to overcome this final construction obstacle and open for business by late July.
Ryan, Pat and Matt Tracy leased the space in early 2014, and had originally hoped to open by last fall. Delays with permitting initially set the project opening to early 2015. They were deep in the interior renovation and hiring process when a structural issue within the roof of the 30-year-old building was discovered.
That led to a new permitting process and more delays.
The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority said on Monday that design modifications for safety and reliability of Metro’s Silver Line will delay the opening of Phase 2 for about 13 months.
Phase 2, which will run from Wiehle-Reston East to Dulles International Airport and into Loudoun County, was most recently projected to open in late 2018. This means it might not open until late 2019.
MWAA constructed Phase 1 of the Silver Line, which opened in July 2014 (about six months behind schedule). Phase 1 has five stops from Tysons Corner to Reston. It is also building Phase 2, which is projected to cost $2.7 billion and will expand the line from Wiehle-Reston East to Reston Town Center, Herndon, Route 28, Dulles International Airport and Ashburn.
More than 150 modifications have been made and integrated into the design for Phase 2, says MWAA. Many of these modifications parallel design changes made in the latter stages of Phase 1 and will enhance the safety and reliability of Phase 2. The modifications, when combined with associated weather and construction delays, have extended the Phase 2 construction schedule by about 13 months, MWAA officials said.
“Over 100 design changes were made in Phase 1 — a large number of them ordered in the final months of the construction process — requiring additional design, engineering, construction, management and oversight work,” Charles Stark, the Airports Authority’s executive director of the Silver Line project, said in a statement.
“For consistency, many of these same safety and reliability modifications needed to be incorporated into Phase 2 of the project, which then impacted the schedule.”
MWAA announced late last year that the entire 11-mile Phase 2 would need changes to comply with new stormwater regulations.
Meanwhile, MWAA said remaining work done to finalize Phase 1 of the project will add $76 million, or about 2.6 percent, to the previously announced Phase 1 cost of $2.8 billion.
The new Phase 1 cost of $2.982 billion remains within the original federally approved Phase 1 budget and toll rates on the Dulles Toll Road will not be affected, MWAA said. Toll rates will remain at current levels through 2018.
From MWAA:
A recently concluded global settlement with the construction contractor for Phase 1, Dulles Transit Partners, along with the resolution of other outstanding matters – including the close-out of Virginia permits which allowed Phase 1 work within Routes 7 and 123 in Tysons Corner, and the execution of contracts to supplement certain Phase 1 work, as required by WMATA – has allowed the Airports Authority to project a final Phase 1 close-out cost of $2.982 billion, which represents an additional cost of about $76 million, and to move to the final close-out of the Phase 1 project.
The majority of the remaining work on Phase 1, which opened for business in July 2014, will be completed by the end of this year, including the delivery of 64 new rail cars at a cost of $189.4 million to expand the Metrorail fleet. Final close-out of Phase 1 is expected to occur in 2016.
“The Phase 1 global settlement is an important milestone in the Silver Line project, following its successful launch in July 2014,” Airports Authority CEO Jack Potter said. “It gives us closure on the most substantial cost component of Phase 1, ensures we will achieve the project’s federal budget targets and allows us to maintain the existing toll schedule for the Dulles Toll Road.”
The ultimate impact of the Phase 1 additional costs may be reduced or even eliminated if the contingency budget for Phase 2 of the Silver Line project is not fully used and the total project, both Phases 1 and 2, comes in at or under the overall project budget.
The Airports Authority also announced an update to the construction schedule for Phase 2 of the Silver Line project, which will extend service from the terminus of Phase 1 in Reston, Virginia, through Washington Dulles International Airport and into Loudoun County, Virginia.
Potter said, “The added costs arising from Phase 2 design modifications will remain within the Phase 2 contingency budget of $550 million and will have no effect on the toll rates on the Dulles Toll Road. With our project partners, we are committed to limiting future design changes. Phase 1 is already experiencing ridership beyond expectations, and significant construction and development is underway along its path in the Dulles Corridor. We are confident that Phase 2 will experience similar success.”
