Burke Local

Burke/Fairfax Calendar, Sept. 20-26

If you don't plan anything, you're liable to stay on the couch. Round out your week with some events, local style.

Letter: ‘Deliberate Falsehoods’ - II

Ms. Vanderhye never addresses my argument, that when government forces employers to violate their consciences by subsidizing contraception and abortion, religious freedom is trampled. Though she claims my letter is "replete with inaccuracies," she addresses only one alleged "falsehood" and leaves the rest to our imaginations. Ms. Vanderhye attacks as false the statement that research suggests that contraception and abortion may increase a woman's chance of cancer and heart disease. Actually the statement is true, Ms. Vanderhye's vitriolic tirade notwithstanding

Helping Heroes in Need

Volunteer drivers “urgently” needed to transport local veterans to medical appointments.

When he is feeling well, 87-year-old Peter Edisal Brown enjoys tending the flowers and vegetables he grows in the garden of his Alexandria home he has owned since 1946. “I like to garden, and I wish I could still go dancing. Me and my wife, we used to love going to supper clubs like the Dipsy Doodle,” Brown said.

Shopping with Sheriff

Fairfax County partners with Target to help homeless children purchase school supplies.

Nearly 30 children and their parents got the chance to "Shop with the Sheriff” on Wednesday, Aug. 29. The annual shopping spree pairs deputies and volunteers from the Fairfax County sheriff's office with local homeless children who need a little help with back-to-school supplies.

The Little Red Schoolhouse That Could

Springfield one-room schoolhouse gains historic status on National Register.

Nearly four years after deciding to shut down the popular elementary school because of shrinking enrollment, mounting parental pressure and ardent emotional appeals swayed Fairfax County’s School Board to re-open the rural community school.

Balancing Act: Between Nice-to-Have and Have-to-Have

Fairfax County needs new financial tools.

We’ve been lucky in Fairfax County. Spared the worst of the Great Recession with its mortgage crisis and unemployment, the County has still had to balance falling revenue and service delivery. Human services, libraries, and parks have all taken a hit—and our school budget, while not cut—has struggled to meet the needs of a growing student body.

Burke Dancer Offered Prestigious Scholarships

Emma Bradley from Buffa's Dance Studio in Burke received several scholarships to prominent college dance programs throughout the United States at New York City Dance Alliance's gala in New York City.

Fairfax Symphony Opens its 55th Season

On Sept. 22, the Fairfax Symphony will open its season with a concert at 8 p.m. at George Mason University’s Center for the Arts in Fairfax. The season will mark the beginning of a new three-year focus in programming called “Mischief in Music: Wit, Insolence and Insurrection.” As explained by Maestro Christopher Zimmerman, “So often symphonic music is regarded as something abstract and emotionally unspecific. Over the next three years the orchestra will play music by a variety of composers whose message and expressive aims are deliberate, be they light-hearted, semi-provocative or completely out of the box.”