The fourth annual Reston Kids Triathlon will ride and run through South Reston on Sunday.
While registration for the event for athletes ages 6 to 14 is full, here are some things to know if you want to watch the race or need to get around Sunday while the racers are in the streets.
The race begins at 8 a.m. at Ridge Heights Pool, 11400 Ridge Heights Rd.
The bike course will travel down Ridge Heights to Seahawk Drive (younger kids) and on Ridge Heights Road, Soapstone Drive and South Lakes Drive (older kids). Roads will not be completely closed, but lanes will be blocked. Drivers should plan ahead and proceed with caution.
The running portion will take place on the Reston Association paths around Terraset Elementary, Langston Hughes Middle School and South Lakes High School. The finish line is at the west end of Langston Hughes.
On Saturday from 2 to 4 p.m., Gearin’ Up Bicycles is teaming up with the Reston Kids Triathlon to hold a one-day collection of used bicycles at the Packet Pickup for the triathlon at the YMCA Fairfax County Reston. The donated bikes will be used for Earn-A-Bike and job training programs in D.C., where kids and adults will recondition the bicycles while learning mechanic skills. For more information, visit www.GearinUpBicycles.org.
The triathlon will benefit programs at the YMCA Fairfax County Reston and Reston Association.
Photo: Reston Kids Triathlon/File photo by Charlotte Geary
Reston Association’s board of directors plans to rescind a proposal to build a bocce court at Cabots Point Recreation Area after complaints from several nearby residents.
In December, RA’s Board of Directors voted to authorize construction of the lawn bowling court at the area off of South Lakes Drive. The $2,500 cost would be paid for by Friends of Reston, said South Lakes Director Richard Chew, who proposed the amenity. The design plan was approved by RA’s Design Review Board in June and $1,700 has already been donated to the project, RA documents show.
RA CEO Cate Fulkerson has now proposed taking the plan off the table and coming up with an alternate plan that may or may not include bocce for Cabots Point. The directors will vote on it at their regular monthly meeting tonight.
Fulkerson says several RA members who live near Cabots Point have contacted RA “concerned that proper notification and opportunity for public input or a hearing was not made regarding the proposed project and change in use of the recreation area.”
Bill Parker, a South Bay resident told the board in an email “we object because, as an affected party, we were not informed of the plan in advance, and because the space that would be compromised is directly in line with Reston’s concept of openness, community, and beauty. In addition, there is extremely limited parking in the area and the corner of Cabots Point Lane and South Lakes Drive is already subject to significant traffic.”
Parker said he hopes the board will listen and this unfortunately conceived and improperly implemented proposal will be overturned. By doing so, the playground and open space that is currently enjoyed informally by so many will not be transformed into a sport-specific park that could easily be placed elsewhere in Reston.”
Photo: Bocce/file photo
Should the Pony Barn picnic area become a memorial garden? Should it stay just as it is?
These are some of the questions Reston Association had. Now its wants to know your thoughts and answers.
RA will be holding the first of a series of community meetings on the Pony Barn’s future Wednesday at 6 p.m. at the Pony Barn (intersection of Steeplechase Drive and Triple Crown Road).
RA is also looking for volunteers to serve on a task force on the topic.
The Pony Barn Area served as an actual pony barn in Reston’s early days. It helped support the nearby equestrian center. Both are long gone.
The pony barn was torn down after a fire in the 1980s. On the site, Reston Association opened the Pony Barn Picnic Pavilion, a 2006-square foot picnic pavilion near the Glade Stream. There is also a swing set, grills and an open lawn area.
But it may be time to repurpose the Pony Barn area. Last November, the RA Board of Directors marked $30,000 in the 2014 Capital Expense Budget for renovations to the Pony Barn area.
The board will consider a variety of uses, including a memorial garden of reflection, a concept organized by Reston’s Initiative for Public Art Reston (IPAR) and mentioned in the recent Reston Master Plan revision.
When Reston was founded, founder Bob Simon was not a fan of the funeral industry and purposely planned the community with no cemeteries.
Fifty years later — and with many longtime Restonians dying — some community members now wish they had a place for quiet reflection and remembrance of their friends. IPAR’s vision is not a cemetery.
The IPAR Memorial Garden committee was formed in 2011 after the death of IPAR supporter Ann Rodriguez. It envisions a site with natural beauty, wooded elements, as well as walkways and benches. Once the project is awarded a site, the next steps will be to raise money to fund the project, as well as hire a landscape designer.
RA says it hopes to have a final plan for the Pony Barn’s future this fall.
File photo of RA’s Pony Barn Pavilion
Repairs have been completed and Lake Newport Pool will reopen on Saturday, July 19, Reston Association officials said.
The pool will have a modified schedule this weekend:
Saturday, July 19 – 1-8 p.m.; Sunday, July 20 – Noon – 5:30 p.m.; Monday, July 21 – normal operating hours.
The pool has been closed for more than a week in order to repair a mechanical failure with the main pool pump.
Lake Newport, located at 11601 Lake Newport Rd. in North Reston, is Reston Association’s only 50-meter pool. It is the site of many community events, all of which were canceled or moved this week.
Lake Newport Pool, which closed last week for repairs, will remain closed through Monday, July 21, Reston Association officials said.
The repair involves a mechanical failure within the main pool pump, including a damaged bracket. The maintenance team has purchased two replacement brackets that are being shipped, but they may not be a guaranteed match to existing components, RA says.
RA is also seeking to replace the entire pump, and that equipment may not arrive for several days.
Lake Newport, located at 11601 Lake Newport Rd. in North Reston, is Reston Association’s only 50-meter pool. It is the site of many community events, most of which have been relocated for the next week.
The Reston Swim Team Association Individual Medley, scheduled for Wednesday evening at Lake Newport, has been relocated to Lake Thoreau Pool, 2040 Upper Lake Dr.
All group swim lessons at Lake Newport this week will take place at North Hills Pool, 1325 North Village Rd.
Water aerobics held at Lake Newport Wednesday and Friday this week has been canceled.
RA aquatics staff says it will re-evaluate the situation by next Monday. If you have questions, call Phone: (703) 435-6530 or email [email protected].
(Updated, 9:40 a.m. Friday)
A man was arrested on Thursday after he allegedly had inappropriate contact with a minor at the Glade Pool, Fairfax County Police said.
Fairfax County Police Public Information Officer Ludy Caldwell said police responded to a complaint of a sex offense involving an adult male and a minor at the pool located at 11550 Glade Dr. in Reston at around 3:30 p.m.
Following an investigation, a suspect was arrested. Dharam Jindal, 60, of Shadbush Court in Reston, was charged with carnal knowledge with a minor, said Caldwell. The suspect being held without bond at the the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center.
Reston Association says it is cooperating with police in the investigation. The mens’ locker room was investigated as a crime scene on Thursday, but is now reopened, RA officials said.
Classic Reston is a biweekly feature sponsored by the Greater Reston Chamber of Commerce that highlights businesses, places and people with deep roots in Reston.
Every summer weekday morning, when dozens of children are dropped off for Reston Association Day Camp at Brown’s Chapel Park, they play among the mature trees close to the chapel.
The trees are original to the plot of land that is now the park. The chapel, however, is not.
Browns Chapel was originally built in 1879, when Augustus and Sarah Brown deeded a half-acre of land on what is now Leesburg Pike to the “Methodist Episcopal Church.”
It remained in use as a chapel until 1967, when the congregation was dissolved. The Northern Virginia Methodist Board of Missions offered the structure to the Fairfax Historical Landmarks Preservation Commission for relocation. That organization in turn contacted Gulf-Reston, Inc., who were by then the developers of Reston.
In May 1968, Gulf-Reston opted to move the 70-ton chapel a few miles down the road to Baron Cameron near Lake Anne. The park, now part of Reston Association, grew around it. Today, it includes baseball fields, a basketball court, picnic facilities, a playground and other recreation amenities. On rainy days at RA Camps, the chapel is a refuge for indoor games.
Meanwhile, a cemetery owned by the church is still located at Baron Cameron and Route 7. More than 200 graves, some of them unmarked, remain. Some of the members were buried there as late as the 1980s — long after the chapel itself was gone.
Photo: Moving Brown’s Chapel in 1968/Credit: Fairfax County
The Reston Association Board of Directors last week approved a request for three homeowners on Sourwood Lane to hold a controlled deer hunt on their property.
The homeowners say their properties are overrun with deer, who eat the ground cover (which will lead to erosion) and may harbor Lyme Disease-carrying ticks.
RA’s board voted to allow the deer hunt. The homeowners will hire Suburban Whitetail Management, a professional wildlife management firm, to use crossbows and hunt the deer from 12-foot high tree stands in order to avoid hitting other wildlife and people.
Reston Now readers have many opinions on this development. Here is what some of you had to say in the article comments:
Animal LOVER in the right places: Last year my cousin was seriously injured (his collar bone was broken) when a deer slammed into him while he was rollerskating through our Reston neighborhood. He spooked the a herd, and in the scramble one of the larger deer ran him over. Overpopulation of deer in our areas is a serious issue that needs to be resolved in a manner that may not seem humane to all. Overpopulation will only lead to more incidents like this.
Preserve Reston: Disgusted…what about those of us who value the quality of life those deer provide to us? Disturbing and selfish.
Steward of Animals: It seems to me that birth control is a reasonable alternative to killing the deer. On another note, killing by bow and arrow is cruel because when the arrow misses the mark the animal is exposed to hours of a slow death. If we must kill the deer, resort to shooting the animals.
Cathie Gorman Freeman: I, too, hate the idea of killing the deer. What I hate more is driving down Soapstone and finding the bodies of the recently frolicking Bambi’s dead by the side of the road. Do what must be done to manage the ever-growing herd. At least someone will benefit from the donated meat.
Juli Vermillion: I am very against this hunt. I live about a block away from the proposed hunt and have lived here for over 10 years. The deer population has remained constant. I suggest if people don’t like deer doing what deer do, then perhaps they should move back into town. The deer have a right to live too and people have so many more options. I for one moved to Reston precisely because I can live in peace with nature.
Sub40 10k: I see tons of deer along my morning runs along the W&OD we could hunt them and then donate the meat to the homeless shelter next to the library; maybe we could go with the “born to run” method and run down one of the deer and exhaust it then kill it with a spear (wanted to do this with antelope in Texas but this could do) alternatively we could release mountain lions as a natural predator.
JR: Urban deer populations are out of control and without proper management the forested areas that make Reston a special place will be lost. Between the overpopulated white-tailed deer and the continued expansion of non-native invasive plants natural forest regeneration no longer occurs. The amazing oaks and hickories of our RA natural areas look great and are special today, but there are no young trees able to grow to replace them. The deer eat all of the young trees and in their place invasive plants replace them. … Not only should we be encouraging this deer management activity but also we should be requesting that our RA dues be spent to maintain our natural areas.
PL: I am strongly against this and I have lyme disease. If these deer are killed, then others will move into the area and then what?
The Reston Association Board of Directors voted on Thursday to allow residents of Sourwood Lane to hire a deer hunting service to help control the deer population on their property.
The motion passed unanimously, with at-large director Rachel Muir abstaining.
The owners of 11624, 11626 and 11628 Sourwood Lane, located off of Glade Drive in a wooded area of South Reston, say they want to reduce the deer population near their homes as deer have destroyed vegetation and may harbor Lyme Disease-carrying ticks.
At Thursday’s meeting, the directors heard pleas from neighbors of the Sourwood families, as well as residents of Buckthorn Lane, where RA has allowed a deer hunt since 2010 after a Buckthorn homeowner has a similar request approved by RA. Four members of that homeowner’s family have Lyme Disease, which is carried by deer ticks.
There were also three speakers who asked the board not to allow the hunt.
“It is amazing there are people who suggest the compassionate response to this is to do nothing,” said one resident of Triple Crown Road. “It is exactly the opposite — Doing nothing is in fact not really possible. Good stewardship requires difficult choices. A vote to deny is to vote in favor of more disease and more starving deer.”
Sourwood resident Larry Gsellman, who filed the initial request, said the plant destruction will eventually cause soil erosion. He also said the homeowners have tried many ways to rid the properties of deer, including a liquid fence, rotten egg sprays, and Deer-Vic, a deer repellent paste smeared on fenceposts.
The deer hunt, using crossbows, will be conducted at owners’ expense on the three lots (totaling 1.45 acres), by Suburban Whitetail Management during the urban archery season that begins Sept. 7. The state of Virginia and Fairfax County both allow for hunts on private property, but in Reston, permission also must be obtained from RA.
Suburban Whitetail Management says the hunt is done from treestands at least 12 feet hight. Arrows are shot at a downward angle, making it safe for neighbors and other animals.
Photo: Deer in Reston/file photo
Six months after Reston Association and Lake Anne Development Partners agreed to a land swap involving RA land at Lake Anne Plaza, the two are ready to formalize the agreement.
The swap is necessary for LADP, which is redeveloping Crescent Apartments and areas close to the plaza, to build a 120-space parking garage at Lake Anne.
The swap exchanges a one-acre parcel of wooded land adjacent to the current Lake Anne Plaza parking lot for similar-sized plot off of Baron Cameron Avenue.
The proposal was met with some opposition when it was first presented in late 2013, even though LADP made proffers of money and tree care. Citizens opposing the plan said there would be potential destruction of trees, as well as inequities of the land, in the swap. Critics say the parcel on Baron Cameron is largely unusable.
At a December RA meeting, citizens concerned with the environment pleaded with the board to think about the ecosystem and an alternative parking area that does not remove mature trees. Others asked the board to go ahead with the plan to ensure the economic viability of Lake Anne Plaza’s future. RA’s Sustainability Committee Chair resigned in protest.
Some of the land swap conditions, according to a revised agreement:
The number of healthy trees measuring 24 inches in diameter at breast height within the LADP Exchange Property shall be equal to or greater than the number of healthy trees measuring 24″ in diameter at breast height that will be removed from the RA Exchange Property when it is developed.
A minimum of 0.3 acres (30 percent) of the RA Exchange Property shall remain in an undisturbed natural state.
LADP will pay $100,000 to RA for either tree canopy enhancement and reforestation or other environmental enhancements of RA Common Area in Reston, or to fund the acquisition by RA conservation easements over privately owned property for the purpose of expanding the amount of RA Common Area and/or protected mature tree canopy within Reston.
An arborist will assess the trees and make recommendations on how trees can best survive the construction process. This includes pruning, fertilization and water monitoring. Additionally, during pruning, removal, and mulching operations, exotic and invasive species will be removed from the area.
LADP will install standard RA-approved light fixtures (or a DRB-approved alternate consistent with its overall planning) on all new pathways/trails within the Crescent Property, as well as 10 additional standard RA approved light fixtures along pathways/trails that adjoin the Crescent Property, particularly in the Brown’s Chapel and Lake Anne Elementary School areas.
LADP will install standard RA approved light fixtures (or a DRB-approved alternate consistent with its overall planning) on all new pathways/trails within the Crescent Property, as well as 10 additional standard RA approved light fixtures along pathways/trails that adjoin the Crescent Property, particularly in the Brown’s Chapel and Lake Anne Elementary School areas.
LADP will pay to RA an amount equal to 25 percent of the cost of the Lake Anne dredge.
LADP said in December that construction on the parking garage would not begin for three to five years.
Graphic: Area that Reston Association will swap with LADP.
Classic Reston is a biweekly feature sponsored by the Greater Reston Chamber of Commerce that highlights businesses, places and people with deep roots in Reston.
When Reston was founded in the mid-1960s, Reston founder Bob Simon envisioned horse owners buying homes in the south end of his “New Town.”
Many of the streets in the Hunters Woods area were given horse-related names and clustered around a barns where Hunters Woods Park sits today and at Steeplechase and Triple Crown Road. The new construction was marketed to prospective residents as a place to work, play and ride — even taking your horse to run errands at the new Hunters Woods Village Center.
The pony barn at Steeplechase and Triple Crown burned down in more than 30 years ago. On the site, Reston Association opened the Pony Barn Picnic Pavilion, a 2006 square foot picnic pavilion near the Glade Stream. There is also a swing set, grills and an open lawn area.
But it may be time to repurpose the Pony Barn area. Reston Association’s Board of Directors is about to begin a community engagement process to get feedback on what residents would like to see in the wooded spot.
Last November the RA Board of Directors marked $30,000 in the 2014 Capital Expense Budget for renovations to the Pony Barn area.
The board will consider a variety of uses, including a memorial garden of reflection.
To kick off the process, RA will send mailings to homes within a quarter-mile of the Pony Barn. They plan on organizing a task force, holding several community meetings, and developing a plan in conjunction with the Initiative for Public Art Reston (IPAR) and the RA Design Review Board. Any plans would have to go through the county planning process as well.
RA says it hopes to begin organizing the project this summer, with a final plan presented to RA, IPAR and the DRB by November.
What would you like to see in the Pony Barn spot? Tell us in the comments.
Photo: Pony Barn Pavilion in South Reston
Reston Association is considering allowing several homeowners on Sourwood Lane to conduct a controlled deer hunt on their properties.
The owners of 11624, 11626 and 11628 Sourwood Lane, located off of Glade Drive in a wooded area of South Reston, say they want to reduce the deer population near their homes as deer have destroyed vegetation and may harbor Lyme Disease-carrying ticks.
RA will take action on the request at its meeting this Thursday at RA headquarters, 12001 Sunrise Valley Drive. A public comment period will begin about 6:30 p.m.
“There is an urgent health-driven and environmental need to reduce the deer population in and around our properties,” Sourwood homeowner Larry Gsellman wrote in a letter to Reston Association.
“At last count there was a herd of at least 10 deer that pass through our property every day or two to graze on vegetation. … Lyme Disease as well as other tick-borne diseases is a constant concern. Although there have not been any cases in the neighborhood, there have been numerous cases reported in the Reston area.”
Gsellman, who is seeking clearance to hunt for three years, says the plant destruction will eventually cause soil erosion. He also said the homeowners have tried many ways to rid the properties of deer, including a liquid fence, rotten egg sprays, and Deer-Vic, a deer repellent paste smeared on fenceposts.
The deer hunt, using crossbows, would be conducted at owners’ expense on the three lots (totaling 1.45 acres), by Suburban Whitetail Management during the urban archery season that begins Sept. 7. The state of Virginia and Fairfax County both allow for hunts on private property, but in Reston, permission also must be obtained from RA.
RA has recently granted permission to other homeowners. Since 2010, a resident of Buckthorn Lane — who said four family members were suffering from Lyme Disease — has had permission for Suburban Whitetail Management to hunt deer on his property.
While many neighbors wrote to RA in support of the hunting request, some are not in favor.
From a letter written to RA by one neighbor:
I (and the deer) are your neighbor here on Sourwood Lane. They have lived here for at least the 14 years I have lived here. … The same family, year after year, treks through my backyard, munches down on the weeds, helps control the ivy that strangles the trees and helps themselves to water in my little pond.
Yes, they eat my hosta and tomato plants — but who cares? … I greet the deer family with the joy they deserve for having survived the winter and bringing such pleasure into the lives of me and my family.
A RA staff report recommends that the bow hunt take place from treestands on weekdays at dawn; that the owners post signage alerting the neighborhood of the hunt; and that hunters will be oriented towards the center and rear of the lots to minimize the chances of an arrow going off the subject lots. Staff also recommended that RA waive the condition that the proposed location of the hunter be held 75 yards away from any street.
Photo of deer on Reston trial/Credit: Linda Thomas via Flickr
Reston’s first relay triathlon will race through North Reston on Sunday, so watch out for bikers, runners and spectators on the roads.
The Reston Relay Triathlon is a sprint-distance event for teams of competitors. It is sponsored by Reston Association and the YMCA. Proceeds will provide scholarships to support kids programs offered by The YMCA and by Reston Association, including summer camps and classes. Registration is full.
The race begins at 7 a.m. with a 400-meter swim in Lake Newport Pool. From there, the next teammate bikes three loops of a 3.50-mile course that ends back at the pool. The third teammate then runs a 5K on paths in North Reston.
The first teams should start finishing by 8 a.m. and the awards ceremonies start at Lake Newport about 10:20 a.m.
Streets on the course will not be closed, but lanes will be blocked off with cones. Police urge motorists and participants to pay attention. If you are planning to drive somewhere early Sunday, allow time for delays.
The biking course will affect Lake Newport Road to Reston Parkway to Wiehle Avenue to Baron Cameron Avenue and Reston Parkway again. See a course map on the Reston Relay Triathlon website.
The runners will mainly be on Reston Association paths, but police will control traffic at the intersection of North Village and Center Harbor and at Center Harbor and Wiehle as the runners come through, race officials said.
Officials ask athletes and spectators to not park at Lake Newport Pool or on nearby residential streets. The best place to park is North Point Village Shopping Center.
Reston Association’s Design Review Board on Tuesday unanimously denied the proposal for a 115-foot cell phone tower in Hunters Woods Park.
The tower would have been the first such structure on RA land, though there have been requests to do so before. One of those requests was dropped by the carrier; the other was also denied by the DRB.
Reston-based Milestone Communications and AT&T sought to install a monopole in the wooded area behind the soccer field at the park off of Reston Parkway. The equipment would be located in a fenced-in area of the park and would include cables and other support structures.
The DRB concurred with several community members that spoke of their concerns with the environment, property values and damage to trees, among others, at Tuesday’s meeting.
Milestone has teamed with local entities many times over the last several years. There are several hundred existing cell phone poles on Fairfax County Public Schools land, including at South Lakes High School, Herndon Middle School, Madison High School and Carson Middle School, to name a few.
The cell phone tower would have been a moneymaker for Reston Association. The cell phone companies pay the landowners to lease the pole space. FCPS, for instance, has made more than $4 million from the arrangement over the last six years, FCPS officials said.
Milestone collects rent from the wireless carriers on its towers, 40 percent of which goes to FCPS. Schools receive $25,000 each time a tower is built, and then $5,000 from each wireless carrier that leases space on the tower.
Milestone says schools and parks are ideal locations for these towers because they often have existing structures, such as field light poles, in place. Many Milestone towers are disguised as trees, so lots of times they go unnoticed.
FCPS has done studies on cell phones being located on school grounds and has determined the practice is safe.
File photo of proposed cell phone pole/Credit: Milestone
Reston Association has been looking for what killed several hundred of Lake Thoreau’s fish, but has been unable to pinpoint an exact reason.
Since tests have not pointed to one reason, RA lake specialists say that the fish likely died of natural causes.
RA, along with scientists from Aquatic Environmental Consultants, Inc. (AEC), were looking for clues after more than 200 fish were discovered dead in Lake Thoreau in late May and early June. The fish in other Reston lakes were not dying in such large numbers.
AEC consultants said they have seen similar fish kills in other area lakes they manage. RA does not believe toxins were responsible for the fish kill.
Potential causes include:
- Weather-related conditions, including flucuations in termperatures and heavy rains.
- Stress on the fish from spawning and fighting for territory.
- Possible low oxygen levels due to an algae bloom on the lake.
- Columnaris Disease (a bacterial infection).
