Roads quickly turned dangerous as more than two inches of snow fell in Reston between 10 a.m. and noon on Saturday with no sign of letting up at mid-day.

The National Weather Service had predicted bad weather, and Fairfax County Public Schools events were canceled for Saturday. But the NWS’ Winter Weather Advisory was changed Saturday morning to a Winter Storm Warning that will be in effect until 6 a.m. Sunday.

The NWS says a mix of snow, sleet and freezing rain will fall. From the NWS:

3 TO 6 INCHES OF SNOW. ICE ACCUMULATIONS OF A TRACE TO A FEW HUNDREDTHS OF AN INCH.

TIMING…SNOW WILL CONTINUE THROUGH MID-AFTERNOON. SNOW WILL CHANGE TO SLEET AND FREEZING RAIN LATE THIS AFTERNOON AND EARLY EVENING. PRECIPITATION WILL CHANGE TO RAIN WITH AREAS OF FREEZING RAIN LATE TONIGHT.

TEMPERATURES…HIGHS TODAY IN THE MID TO UPPER 20S. TEMPERATURES SLOWLY RISING TONIGHT INTO EARLY SUNDAY MORNING. * WINDS…WINDS SOUTH 10 TO 20 MPH TODAY INTO TONIGHT NIGHT. WEST 5 TO 10 MPH EARLY SUNDAY MORNING.

IMPACTS…SNOW AND ICE WILL CAUSE HAZARDOUS TRAVELING CONDITIONS SATURDAY THROUGH EARLY SUNDAY MORNING.

As of noon Saturday, most major roads had not been plowed and driving was treacherous. The Virginia Department of Transportation says there a “accidents everywhere” in Northern Virginia, and people should stay off the roads.

Photo: Baron Cameron near Wiehle Saturday, Feb. 21/Credit: Lana Jones via Facebook

More winter weather is heading our way on Saturday.

The National Weather Service has issued a Winter Weather Advisory for Reston and the Metro D.C. area. Fairfax County Public Schools has canceled all Saturday activities on school grounds.

The NWS says there may be a mix of sleet, snow and freezing rain from 9 a.m. Saturday to 6 a.m. Sunday. That includes an accumulation of 1 to 3 inches of snow, as well as a coating of ice, says the NWS.

Snow is expected to start early Saturday afternoon into the evening, then mix with sleet before changing to freezing rain.

That forecast has caused FCPS — which had three snow days this week — to cancel activities. Among the cancelations:

• extracurricular activities
• interscholastic contests
• team practices
• field trips
• professional learning and training courses
• adult and community education classes
• recreation programs and community use by outside groups not affiliated with FCPS
• testing

The Fairfax County Park Authority says all FCPA-sponsored classes and events held in FCPS facilities are also canceled, but RECenters and other FCPA facilities will be open normal business hours.

Reston Community Center has joined the NV Rides network to offer a new transportation program that offers reliable, personalized transportation to Reston adults 55 years and older who cannot drive.

NV Rides Reston will provide door-to-door rides to help get older adults to important engagements, ranging from social and enrichment activities to medical appointments.

Rides are provided by volunteer drivers, free of charge, to anyone age 55 or older who resides in Reston Community Center’s Tax District boundaries. The map is available on our website at http://goo.gl/W4TYRH. There are no income-level requirements.

“I am thrilled to see RCC address the critical need of affordable and accessible transportation for the growing population of older adults in Reston,” said Beverly Cosham, Chair of RCC Board of Governors. “The RCC Board and staff team have been studying this program for many months and we are very happy to bring this volunteer driver approach to Reston.”

NV Rides is a network of service providers that coordinates volunteer driver transportation programs throughout Fairfax County. The development and administration of NV Rides is a unique partnership between Fairfax County, the Jewish Council for the Aging, and the Jewish Community Center of Northern Virginia.

The program partners use cloud-based software, “RideScheduler,” to assist staff in posting and assigning rides. This user-friendly system allows drivers to accept a ride with a click of a button; it also generates route maps and sends drivers reminders of upcoming appointments, says RCC.

RCC is in need of volunteer drivers to make the program a success, says Eileen Boone, RCC Director of Leisure & Learning.

All volunteer driver applicants will undergo a thorough DMV and background check, as well as training on how to use the web-based scheduling system, RideScheduler, where they will be able to freely choose the appointments that best suit their personal schedule – no minimum number of rides required.

Volunteer drivers will also receive a mileage report for their annual tax filings. Interested volunteer drivers can apply on RCC’s website.

For more detailed information, contact Karen Brutsché, RCC 55+ Program Director and NV Rides Reston Coordinator, at 703-390-6198 or [email protected], or visit www.restoncommunitycenter.com/nv-rides-reston.

A new public art installation planned for Reston Town Center has signed a Loudoun housing community as a major sponsor.

The Greater Reston Arts Center (GRACE) and Initiative for Public Art-Reston (IPAR) announced in December that IPAR had been recommended for a $20,000 National Endowment for the Arts ArtWorks Grant to support the creation of a temporary, site-specific, large-scale public art work in Reston by artist Patrick Dougherty.

Willowsford — a planned community in Loudoun County with an emphasis on sustainability and nature conservancy — has signed on to become the lead sponsor for the temporary project, committing $30,000.

“We are so excited to have Willowsford joining this project,” said GRACE Executive Director and Curator Holly Koons McCullough. “With their focus on the natural environment and architectural quality, Willowsford is an ideal partner.”

Willowsford spokesman Laura Cole said the sculpture — which will use natural materials such as sticks — “is a wonderful metaphor for what we are building in Loudoun.”

Willowsford will provide saplings from the property to be used in the sculpture, Cole said in a statement.

“This was important to us, to be a real partner and participant in this exciting endeavor, not just a passive investor,” said Cole. “It fits well with who we are, with 2,000 of our 4,000 acres cared for by the Willowsford Conservancy, and set aside for environmental preservation, recreation, and agricultural use. The goal is to provide a complete living experience, and world-class art is certainly a part of the essential life.”

Dougherty is an internationally-renowned sculptor who has created more than 230 sculptural installations worldwide. Dougherty will be creating project in Town Square Park, directly across from the GRACE gallery.

The sculpture, which will take several weeks to build, will be open to the public on April 25. It is anticipated to remain on site for up to two years. Because Dougherty works with natural materials, his sculptures have a limited life span.

Photo: Patrick Dougherty outdoor work “Call of the Wild, Tacoma WA/Credit: Duncan Price  

Many residents of Hunt Club Cluster have written to the Fairfax County Department of Planning and Zoning to remember the possible slave cemetery in Reston when making the final changes to Reston’s Master Plan.

Here is what may be hiding in the woods, according to Hunt Club resident Heather Greenfield, a PR executive and former reporter who has been researching the site, calls Lake Fairfax Unnamed Cemetery #FX242.

“The more we learn about this historic cemetery, the more we see what a fascinating piece of history this is for Fairfax County and pre-history for Reston, and the principles it was founded on,” Greenfield wrote to the DPZ. “This cemetery involves a prominent Fairfax family, the issue of slavery, and how the family matriarch, Mildred Johnson, created a cemetery for those she lived with through treacherous Civil War politics.”

Greenfield and other Hunt Club residents have requested that the wording regarding the Hunt Club property be written with more specifics as to what will happen when/if graves are discovered. The cluster says that when the graves are discovered, the cemetery should be preserved with a 500-foot buffer around it.

The cemetery is believed to be about 200 yards north of the log clubhouse.

The deadline to submit comments to the county was last week, and the DPZ heard from nearly a dozen residents of the housing subdivision near Lake Fairfax Park. Phase 2 of the Master Plan looks at new language for neighborhoods and village centers as Reston goes through its next 50 years. Read More

Leidos To Aid British Military — Reston-based Leidos is close to finalizing a $12 million contract with the British military. [Washington Business Journal]

Going Deep With Fairfax Budget — Taking a closer look at the $7.1 billion advertised budget proposed by County Executive Ed Long this week. [Fairfax Times]

NVTC March Event To Feature 3D Printing — Northern Virginia Technology Council’s March 5 Tech Titans Breakfast will feature a pioneer in 3D printing, who will explain why it will revolutionize business. [NVTC]

FCPD Investigating In-Custody Death — Fairfax County Police have released more details on the death of a woman who died in custody after being tasered last month. [FCPD]

Photo: Snowy day at Lake Fairfax Park

Fairfax County Public Schools Superintendent Karen Garza apologized Thursday for the “inconvenience that any of these delays caused to our students and families” as many school buses in Reston ran late on the bitterly cold day.

About 55 of the schools system’s 1,200 school buses — mostly in Reston and Herndon — were delayed at least 15 minutes during single-digit cold on Thursday morning, Garza said in a statement posted on the FCPS Facebook page and also sent to families.

Thursday was the only day this week that FCPS students had school. Monday was the Presidents Day holiday. Tuesday and Wednesday were snow days, though most snow of a 3.5-inch snowfall fell Monday and Tuesday. Friday was canceled due to temperatures expected to hover near zero in the morning.

This was the second time this school year Garza explained the thinking of the school system. In early January, FCPS was loudly criticized for holding school despite a snowstorm and dangerous driving conditions.

On Reston Now’s Facebook page, many readers lamented Fairfax County’s planning.

“They shouldn’t close for cold on some days and have school on time on other, equally cold days,” reader Arielle Masters wrote.

Added Staci Little Ford: “Damned if they damned if they don’t. But. .. they need to set certain weather rules as far as temperatures go. With road conditions needing to be the most important part of the equation.”

Here is the statement from Garza:

Thank you for your patience as we work through historic low temperatures and wind chills.

You should be receiving separately our official announcement that FCPS schools will be closed tomorrow because of the extreme weather. This has been a challenging week contending with the first major snowstorm of the winter followed by record-breaking cold temperatures and wind chills.

Fairfax County Public Schools will be closed again on Friday, Feb. 20 due to the extreme cold.

Temperatures are expected to be in the single digits Thursday night into Friday — with a low of -18 below with the wind chill.

It will be the third “snow day” for FCPS this week. After Monday’s holiday, there was no school Tuesday or Wednesday. School went on as usual Thursday despite very cold temperatures. However, there were bus delays in Reston.

From FCPS:

All Fairfax County public schools will be closed tomorrow, Feb. 20 (Condition 2). School offices and central offices will open on time with an unscheduled leave policy in effect for 12-month employees. The following activities in schools and on school:

• extracurricular activities
• interscholastic contests
• team practices
• field trips
• middle school after-school programs
• professional learning and training courses
• adult and community education classes
• recreation programs and community use by outside groups not affiliated with FCPS

School age child care (SACC) centers are closed.

Home-schoolers in Reston and other Virginia locations are closer than ever to getting the right to play for their local high school teams.

After several years of failed attempts, the Virginia General Assembly this week passed legislation to allow home-schooled students to participate in public-school sports.

The measure is commonly known as the “Tebow bill.” It is named for Tim Tebow, the former NFL quarterback who was home-schooled and allowed to play football for his local high school.

The idea has been repeatedly passed by the Republican-heavy Virginia House of Delegates in recent sessions before being killed in the state Senate.

The Senate, which flipped from Democratic to Republican control last year, approved the bill Tuesday on a 22-13 vote. The bill now heads back to the House.

However, the bill leaves it up to local school boards whether to implement the policy.

Gov. Terry McAuliffe has not said whether he will sign it.

Update, 8:30 a.m. — Fairfax County Public Schools now says all elementary school buses in the Herndon and South Lakes pyramids are running on time and most middle school buses delivered their students on time.

Original story:

Despite temperatures in the single digits, school was ON for Fairfax County Public Schools Thursday.

But if your children are heading to a bus stop, bundle up. FCPS says that some buses in the South Lakes and Herndon pyramids are running 30- to 60-minutes late.

However, several Reston Now readers report their buses were right on time earlier this morning, so there really is no predicting who this affects.

It is the first day of school this week for FCPS students. Monday was a school holiday (Presidents Day), and Tuesday and Wednesday were snow days after about 3.5 inches of snow fell in Reston earlier in the week.

Many parents were puzzled by Wednesday’s closure as roads were clear and the sun was shining. Some were also surprised that school was on with no delay for Thursday as the entire region is under a wind chill advisory, making the already cold temperatures feel like -5 to -15. The wind chill advisory expires at 10 a.m. Thursday.

“I plan to drive the kids to school, and if you can’t, find them a ride because they’re running anywhere from on time to an hour late,” Reston Now reader Susan Sather, a mother of two FCPS students, wrote in the comments on our Facebook page. “My whole life in this county and I’ve never seen a year with such dreadful decision making about openings.”

Added reader Christy Allison: “They called to tell us 30-60 minutes late. I am not having my 5 year old stand out there for an hour, let alone an hour and a half. If the buses are then on time and we miss ours, I will be very upset indeed.”

Another parent pointed out that the announcement about the late buses came at 7:38 a.m. — after her high schooler had already boarded the (on-time) bus.

FCPS modified its school calendar for 2014-15 in order to build in extra classroom hours to be able to better absorb snow days without adding time to the end of the school year. Last month, FCPS Superintendent Karen Garza apologized to families after not closing schools despite an active snowstorm.

Some students took to Twitter to get #CLOSEFCPS as a trending topic on Thursday. The students did the same during the December snowstorm.

Did FCPS get it right today? Tell us in the comments.

Supervisors Postpone Lake Anne Parking Decision — The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday postponed decision on a reduction of nearly 500 parking spaces for the revitalized Crescent Apartments/Lake Anne project. They will revisit it on March 3.

Kudos to Cornerstones’ Kids — A team from Cornerstones’ Youth Program at the Herndon Neighborhood Resource Center (HNRC) recently had a second-place finish in the Regional VEX Robotics Competition held at Northern Virginia Community College. HNRC’s Robo Squad, the boys’ team, advanced to the finals and finished second. The squad moves on to the state competition this weekend in Doswell, Va. The team is coached by Tom Egan, VP for Industry Relations at PMMI.

New Police Policy? — Fairfax County is considering adopting a new policy for police shootings which would require release of the involved officers’ names within 72 hours of the incident, monthly public updates after the incident, and a public summary of facts when the case is turned over to the Fairfax prosecutor.  The changes come in the wake of the controversial police shooting of John Geer in Springfield in 2013. [Washington Post]

More Snow, More Sledding — In case of more snow days, check out the best places to sled in Reston. [Modern Reston]

Photo: Frozen Lake Thoreau/Credit: Cindy Chiou-Conlin

Musical groups from high school to professional will take over South Lakes High School as the SingStrong International Charity A cappella Festival returns to Reston March 6, 7 and 8.

The seventh-annual all-vocal event consists of five concerts at SLHS, an auction, and more than a dozen classes and coachings, all featuring nothing but the human voice.

Event proceeds support the Alzheimer’s Association and local music programs. Fans can attend single concerts or purchase weekend discount passes, which offer savings of up to 50-percent off.

This year’s performers will include:

• Gospel-pop sounds of Resound (featured on ABC)
•  Traces from this season of NBC’s The Sing-Off
• Vocaldente, the international award-winning German swing-pop group.
• Anna-Maria Hefele, YouTube sensation and Austrian overtone singer.
• Broadway Trio Apollo Link (aka The Spideyboys)
• Ensamble Fenix, Venezuela’s top latin jazz vocal group
• Blue Jupiter, the pop and twisted Broadway quartet featured by Oreo, Nokia, and Nickelodeon
• Ball in the House, Boston’s R&B sensations featured on America’s Got Talent
• The Alexandria Harmonizers, barbershop multi-medalists
• Feedback, NYC’s  studio singers turned jazzy R&B group

Groups will use only their voices to perform leads, harmonies and to vocally imitate a virtual orchestra of sounds  — including jazz trumpet, classical strings, distorted electric guitar and a full drum set.

Some of the other highlights:

Friday, 7 p.m. Concert features  “ACA-Idol,”  an a cappella competition for professional and collegiate groups in the style of American Idol. Celebrity judges will give live feedback. The show is hosted by Jonathan Minkoff (of Blue Jupiter, acappella101.com, RARB.org). First place is $1,000, and audience members get to vote using their cell phones to help determine the winner. Competitors include: The BluesTones from JMU, The Seabelles, The Rhythm and Roos from University of Akron, Uncommon, The Lobby, CATCH-22, Pitches Be Crazy and more.

Saturday, 7 p.m. Main Event Concert features multiple professional a cappella groups including  Traces, Blue Jupiter, Anna-Maria Hefele, and Apollo Link (aka Spideyboys).

Saturday, 9:30 p.m. Main Event Concert features more pro a cappella groups, including  Resound, Ball in the House, Vocaldente, Ensamble Fenix, Feedback and more.

Saturday, 2 p.m. Concert features the Finals of SingStrong’s High School Competition, with awards for performance, arranging and composition, as judged by respected a cappella educators from around the country.

Sunday, 2 p.m. Concert features Resound, Traces, Ensamble Fenix, The Alexandria Harmonizers, Feedback, and Apollo Link (aka Spideyboys).

Amateur singers will be involved in classes and coaching on such topics as recording techniques, stage presence, forming and directing an a cappella group, beatboxing, copyright law, and musical arranging. 

For singers who attend without a group to perform with, SingStrong offers an open a cappella group, The Single Singers. Attendees sign up, get their music online, briefly rehearse together at the festival, and then perform on the mainstage. 
 
Tickets range from $15 to $35. Discounted passes available for Seniors, Students and groups of 10 or more. Free Parking. Tickets and complete info at www.SingStrong.org.

Photo: Vocaldente are among SingStrong headliners/Credit: SingsStrong

Update, Wednesday, 1:25 p.m.: The Wednesday, Feb 18 meeting has been canceled due to weather. Reston Now will apprise of the rescheduled vote date.

The Fairfax County Planning Commission will revisit and take action on Wednesday regarding the new retail and restaurant destination at Sunset Hills Road and Town Center Parkway known as RTC West

There was a public hearing held on the new development two weeks ago. The planning commission then deferred action on the plan for RTC West until Feb. 18, mostly to give time for transportation improvements to be formalized.

A staff report recommends approval, provided transportation improvements are met.

Developer JBG Companies is seeking a special exception from the planning commission in order to add retail, restaurant and food stores to the 13-acre site that currently houses three office buildings. Much of the development will convert the first two floors of the office buildings into restaurant and retail space.

JBG’s application says it plans to convert 15,100 square feet of office space to retail/restaurant space and add 25,000 square feet of new retail/restaurant space (on the southwest corner of the site) within an existing office campus on three parcels.

Some of the transportation logistics that need to be worked out:

Connecting an existing walkway to the adjacent trails along the public roadways and adding two new crosswalks across Town Center Parkway.

Connecting the development to the W & OD trail, which runs on the northern part of the property. One development condition for JBG is working with the Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority (NVRPA) and Dominion Virginia Power to establish an easement for a pedestrian connection between the site and the W&OD trail.

Closing the existing exit-only driveway on Town Center Parkway and to construct new signalized access point about 440 feet north of the intersection at Sunset Hills Road. Constructing an entrance in this location will require the relocation or closure of an existing entrance for the property across Town Center Parkway to avoid an unsafe intersection, JBG says. JBG will have to work out an agreement with Boston Properties, which owns that parcel, as a condition of development.

Two new crosswalks across Town Center Parkway at a new access point.

A new turning lane on Reston Parkway.

See the entire staff report on the Fairfax County Planning website.

The planning commission meets at 8:15 p.m. at the Fairfax County Government Center.

A little snow on the ground. Kids out of Fairfax County Public Schools for the second day in a row. And now this: The National Weather Service is predicting an Arctic cold front (temps will feel below zero) and snow squalls later today.

Reston and the Metro D.C. area are under a Winter Weather Advisory from 2 to 9 p.m. Wednesday and a Wind Chill Advisory from midnight tonight to 6 p.m. Thursday.

From the NWS:

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BALTIMORE MD/WASHINGTON HAS ISSUED A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR SNOW… WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM 2 PM THIS AFTERNOON TO 9 PM EST THIS EVENING.

A WIND CHILL ADVISORY HAS ALSO BEEN ISSUED. THIS WIND CHILL ADVISORY IS IN EFFECT FROM MIDNIGHT TONIGHT TO 6 PM EST THURSDAY.

PRECIPITATION TYPE…SNOW SHOWERS AND SNOW SQUALLS.

ACCUMULATIONS…A COATING TO ONE INCH * TIMING…SNOW SHOWERS WILL DEVELOP THIS AFTERNOON. THE BEST CHANCE FOR THE HEAVIER SNOW SHOWERS AND SNOW SQUALLS WILL BE BETWEEN 4 AND 8 PM THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING.

WIND CHILL…0 TO 10 DEGREES BELOW ZERO LATE TONIGHT THROUGH THURSDAY. * TEMPERATURES…HIGHS TODAY IN THE UPPER 20S TO AROUND 30 DEGREES. LOWS TONIGHT IN THE SINGLE DIGITS. HIGHS THURSDAY IN THE MID TO UPPER TEENS.

 WINDS…WEST 15 TO 25 MPH WITH GUSTS AROUND 30 MPH.

IMPACTS…ROADS WILL BE SNOW COVERED AND SLIPPERY. VISIBILITY WILL BE LOCALLY REDUCED TO BELOW ONE-QUARTER MILE AT TIMES. THE COMBINATION OF SNOW COVERED ROADS AND SUDDEN REDUCTIONS IN VISIBILITY MAY CAUSE DANGEROUS TRAVELING CONDITIONS DURING THE EVENING RUSH.

THE COMBINATION OF GUSTY WINDS AND COLD TEMPERATURES TONIGHT THROUGH THURSDAY MAY RESULT IN DANGEROUS WIND CHILLS THAT CAN QUICKLY CAUSE HYPOTHERMIA AND FROST BITE.

Stay warm, Reston. What are the odds of having school on Thursday? Tell us in the comments.

Photo: Snow on Lake Anne/file photo