When Potomac Local ran this story about the Dale City K Mart closing, it generated a bittersweet moment for me.
For as long as I can remember, I have complained about the entrance to Dale City. I’ve always wanted our community to look beautiful and inviting. I’ve long hoped it would become a place to drive to, not through.
· Good morning – Happy Fall! Volunteers are needed at the Manassas Fall Jubilee event on Saturday October 4th. This event runs all day so lots of fun opportunities available including help in the pumpkin patch from 2pm-5pm, pour beer in the beer garden from 10am-2pm, check ID’s or poor beer from 2pm-5pm or check ID’s and sell tickets at the Wine Garden fr5om 2pm-5pm. Please email Kristina at: [email protected] to learn more.
· Leesylvania State Park needs volunteers also on Saturday October 4th to stomp seeds in their wildflower garden from 11am-1pm. Sounds fun to me! come as you are with your stomping shoes to join the event. Please call (703) 583-6904 with any questions.
Around the beginning of August I broke the news my husband and I were going to be leaving Prince William County. I was so devastated by the changes coming to our lives that I wrote a column, comparing the relocation to the five stages of loss and grief. We typically think of those stages as
part of dying, but they are applicable to any major event in life that causes upheaval and loss.
Here’s an opportunity to put a number on your stress. This is science based on the Holmes and Rahe Stress Scale and by answering this questionnaire can accurately predict your risk of serious illness resulting from stress.
· Good morning – Attention Garden Clubs! Rainbow Therapeutic Riding Program in Haymarket has a beautiful new perennial berm at the front of the property that needs care for a while. Come give your love of plants a little exercise until the garden becomes self-sufficient. Please call Debi or Shane at (703) 754-6159 for more info.
· Volunteer Prince William is delighted to sponsor the Volunteer Management Training series again this fall. The course starts Wednesday October 15th 9am-11:30am and continues each Wednesday morning for 5 weeks. This course is free but please register at: volunteerprincewilliam.org. Topics include planning your program, recruiting and placing volunteers, training and orienting volunteers, supervision and evaluation of your program. Many thanks to the Manassas Park Rec Center for use of their class room.
I need a break from the Moser Farewell Tour this week! Let’s talk about something that caught my attention this week and see what you think.
Do you know your neighbors? How old are the children across the street? What are the names of the couple two doors down? Who on your block has your house key? If you became ill, how long before one of your neighbors noticed?
For about 26 years I could tell you all that and more. I wish I could tell you about all the wonderful people who have been part of my community, but there are just too many of them. My neighbors on the right and left of me have been here since these homes were built in 1976.
· Good morning – Manassas Neighborhood Services needs volunteers for the Color Vibe 5K Run on Saturday September 13th. This event is from 6:30am-1pm at Osbourn High School. Duties include packet pick-up, water stations and rout coordination. Volunteers are also need on Friday from 11am-6pm for packet pick-up at the Harris Pavilion. Please email Christen at:[email protected] for more info.
· Beacon Adult Literacy needs volunteer tutors to teach conversation or computer literacy to ESL students in the Manassas area. Please call Caroline at (703) 368-7491 to learn more.
Last week, I called it a day. The numbers just didn’t add up. I couldn’t squeeze another qualified voter out of the 1,259 signatures that lay before me.
In order to appear on the ballot for U.S. House of Representatives as an independent candidate, I had to present signatures of registered 11th District voters to the Virginia State Board of Elections (SBE) by June 10. SBE then distributed the petitions to the general registrars of the jurisdictions that constitute the District – the counties of Fairfax and Prince William, as well as the City of Fairfax – for verification that at least 1,000 signatures were registered as voters in the 11th.
Most families in Northern Virginia are still feeling the effects of a sluggish economy and a federal defense spending trajectory that remains uncertain. Last week, I visited with a husband and wife who expressed to me their concern that they won’t be able to stay in their home because his company may lose its federal contract. Despite the empty assurances of some politicians, people understand that there is still a need for caution and for restraint in local government spending just like the restraint they practice in their family budgets.
On August 15, Governor McAuliffe announced a $2.4 billion projected budget shortfall in the state budget that he attributed primarily to cuts in defense spending caused by federally mandated sequestration.
Last week, those interested in knowing more about me as a candidate for Manassas City Council, my positions, and my vision for the city gathered at Okra’s Louisiana Bistro at the corner of Center and Battle in Old Town Manassas.
While there was plenty of good Cajun food, the main course was meaty discussion (sorry for the pun, it was tough to resist) about real issues facing Manassas City. My running for office, the whole campaign of “Ken Elston for Manassas City Council,” is based on my affection for Manassas. A vote for me is a vote for public safety, a vote for our public schools and a vote for economic development in the city.
