Bredesen Protocol Alzheimers Treatment in Centreville, VA

Fairfax County and the Virginia Department of Transportation have kicked off construction to widen a 1.5-mile stretch of Route 29 near Centreville.

Though there will be a ceremonial groundbreaking today (Wednesday), construction on the project began Feb. 9 to add two lanes to the roadway between Union Mill Road and Buckleys Gate Drive.

By the time work finishes in spring 2026, there will be six lanes instead of four on that stretch of road. In addition to the new lanes, the project aims to make improvements to sight distance for drivers and shared-use paths on the roadway.

It will also connect pedestrian and bicycle trails located at the Fairfax County Parkway/West Ox Road interchange.

This work has been on VDOT’s radar for years, with the project first coming to the public at a meeting in October 2018. Notes from a 2019 public hearing say that a 2005 VDOT study “explored the feasibility of providing a continuous 6 lane section from Centreville to the City of Fairfax.”

“Over the past several years, portions of Route 29 have been widened to six lanes (three in each direction) between Centreville and the City of Fairfax,” Mike Murphy, a senior communications specialist at VDOT, wrote in an email to FFXnow.

After this widening, a continuous six-lane section will exist “along the five-mile stretch between Pickwick Road and Shirley Gate Road/Waples Mill Road to improve capacity and safety through the corridor,” Murphy wrote.

The project is removing trees between Stringfellow Road and Meadow Estates Drive on the north side of Route 29. To accommodate that work, residents will need to use alternate routes in place of part of Willow Pond Trail through April 2023.

The estimated cost is $97 million, and those dollars come from four sources: federal, state and local money, plus funding from a I-66 concession fee.

Today’s groundbreaking will be held on the Route 29 service road, near the Brightview Fair Oaks senior living facility. Two members of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors — Pat Herrity (Springfield) and Kathy Smith (Sully) — plan to attend.

A student reviews Centreville High School's performance of Rodgers and Hammerstein's "Cinderella (Enchanted Edition)."

Patch Staff

By Dylan Truncellito of Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology

Turn the pages of this storybook complete with dancing mice, royal balls, and transforming pumpkins as Centreville High School presents Rodgers and Hammerstein's "Cinderella (Enchanted Edition)!"

A musical adaptation of the 1997 teleplay inspired by the classic fairy tale, Rodgers and Hammerstein's "Cinderella (Enchanted Edition)" follows an orphaned girl forced to follow the orders of her stepmother and stepsisters. Her dreams for a greater life develop as she falls in love with the crown prince at a royal ball, but she leaves in a hurry, leaving a single glass slipper behind for the prince to find her once again.

Contrasting the standard portrayal of a gentle, modest fairy godmother, Sienna Ngyuen portrayed a sassy, larger-than-life extrovert. Her stage presence was undeniable, created by her strong voice and unstoppable energy. Motivating Cinderella and living exuberantly through her, Ngyuen commanded attention with her confident steps and grand gestures.

Lionel, the overworked steward of the royal family, was portrayed by Makena Nelson. Nelson's subtle glances and confident demeanor highlighted Lionel's witty comebacks and comedic moments as he worked to every whim of the royal family and rejected the romantic advances of Cinderella's stepmother.

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Cinderella, portrayed by Madelyn Regan, was like a princess who stepped out of a classic children's storybook. Regan's animated steps and twirls brought the innocent dreamer to life as she fantasized about stories of romance and royalty. Regan performed the difficult solo "In My Own Little Corner" with grace, hitting high notes with a crisp vibrato while emotionally acting out her dreams of another life. Excited leaps and poses contrasted with her hesitant pauses, expressing her yearning for a perfect romance.

Designed by Laura Mineo and the Cinderella Costume Crew, the costumes brought attention to the characters and showcased their relationships. The shared color palettes of the stepsisters, portrayed by Kelley Simpkins and Antonella Foschi, established them as a cohesive duo even when apart. Their bright, over-the-top dresses and fur pieces contrasted Cinderella's simple color palette, emphasizing their drastically different demeanors. From the prim-and-proper royal ball to the bustling village market, lush ball gowns and modest village outfits made each setting its own. The fairy godmother's costume was whimsical and extravagant, sparkling and flowing as it emphasized Ngyuen's exuberant stage presence. A transforming dress created a magical moment as the fairy godmother transformed Cinderella from a simple villager into a stunning guest at the ball during an on-stage costume change.

Building up the fairy-tale setting, Katie Powderly and the Cinderella Set Crew used their space effectively to create distinct locations. Cinderella's home, cozy and modest with simple furniture and colors, contrasted with the royal palace, which was lavishly decorated with thrones and a shining suit of armor. These two spaces were on opposite sides of the stage, allowing for moments of yearning and separation between Madelyn Regan as Cinderella and Andre Jones as Prince Christopher to shine through in their duets. The set contained many transforming elements, creating quick scene changes and fantastical moments. The royal ballroom set turned into the royal garden, quickly following the romance between Cinderella and Prince Christopher without missing a beat. A moving pumpkin swirled around the stage, creating the iconic conversion into a golden carriage. Every fairy tale comes with a beginning and an end, and a giant storybook opened and closed to bookend the musical.

From stunning songs to fairy tale scenes, Centreville High School's production of Rodgers and Hammerstein's "Cinderella (Enchanted Edition)" is a story to remember.

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This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Community Corner

Centreville area schools supported include Centreville HS, Chantilly HS, Liberty MS, and Stone MS.

Renee Maxwell, Community Contributor

|Updated Fri, Nov 17, 2023 at 2:21 pm ET

The generosity of the neighborhoods surrounding the Centreville and Chantilly schools is amazing! To learn how you can make a difference, visit https://www.foodforneighbors.org/get-involved/. (Food For Neighbors)

November 2023 marks the seventh anniversary—and tremendous growth—for Food For Neighbors (FFN), a grassroots nonprofit tackling teen food insecurity in partnership with local middle and high schools. Although founded in 2016 to address the weekend food gap for hungry students attending Herndon Middle School and Herndon High School, Food For Neighbors quickly and effectively responded to other schools that learned about the reliable and nutritious supplemental food and requested services for their students. The nonprofit is now partnering with 42 schools in Arlington, Fairfax, and Loudoun counties, and, with its November 11th collection, has provided over 425,000 pounds of food and toiletries to schools. Food For Neighbors credits this success to the generous community spirit found throughout the many neighborhoods surrounding schools.

“Our ability to help so many students is directly tied to the interest and support of our wonderful community members,” explained Karen Joseph, Founder and Executive Director of Food For Neighbors. “Our innovative Red Bag Program focuses on mobilizing community members of all ages and backgrounds to support their local schools, which means that the food and toiletries they donate are helping students living and learning in their neighborhood or one just down the street. We’re thrilled to have so many people excited about supporting our mission!”

The Red Bag Program provides shelving/storage units for schools to establish in-house pantries and then mobilizes community members to fill the pantries. Five times a year, Red Bag donors use a specific grocery list to shop for toiletries and shelf-stable, single-serve foods that provide nutrition and variety, so all students may enjoy the food regardless of their access to special ingredients or large appliances. The donors then fill their bags with their purchases and set the bags on their doorsteps. Volunteers, organized by neighborhoods, collect the donations and bring them to one of now nine locations for sorting and then delivery to nearby partnering schools. At the schools, social workers, counselors, and/or family liaisons identify students in need and connect them with the resources. Food For Neighbors has registered over 2,700 volunteers and over 2,700 Red Bag donors, and more donors are always required to address the need. For the most vulnerable students, Food For Neighbors also offers interested schools grocery gift cards, which enables students and their families to shop for their most-needed food, like fresh fruits and vegetables.

“Every time I participate in a Red Bag Event, I feel the community spirit and am moved to do all I can to support Food For Neighbors, our amazing area schools, and the students they serve,” shared Anne O’Flaherty, Director of Operations for Food For Neighbors. “I see people of all ages and backgrounds, school groups, businesses, and service organizations coming together to make a difference. It’s very inspiring.”

During the November 11th Red Bag Event, over 800 dedicated volunteers helped to collect, sort, and deliver more than 24,000 pounds of food and toiletries donated by over 1,800 households in the areas of Arlington, Annandale, Falls Church, Alexandria, Fort Hunt, Mount Vernon, Springfield, Lorton, Centreville, Chantilly, Vienna, Reston, Herndon, Sterling, Potomac Falls, and Ashburn. Supporting the event with food drives and/or hands-on help were families with children, teens, adults of all ages, and representatives from 26 different businesses, service organizations, and school groups. All contributed with enthusiasm to make a direct, positive impact on students in their local schools.

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For Centreville High School, November 11th marked the eighth time it served as a major donation collection and sorting site. Heather Ellison, the Centreville Area Manager for Food For Neighbors, found the school buzzing with activity and her heart full of appreciation for other volunteers on the Centreville leadership team as well as for the many donors and additional volunteers working together to make a difference.

“Bags were overflowing with generosity from our donors and food drives,” shared Ellison. “There were the familiar faces of our amazing repeat volunteers, who were smiling ear to ear as well as new volunteers and organizations eagerly learning the ropes. Even the teenagers were beaming with pride as they stacked filled bins in our pantry.”

Food For Neighbors invites additional community members to join in the fight against teen food insecurity. The next Red Bag Event will be held on January 13, 2024, and new Red Bag donors, volunteers, community partners, and financial contributors are always welcome. To learn more visit, https://www.foodforneighbors.org/get-involved/.

VIRGINIA — If the weather cooperates in Virginia, 2023 could be a stellar year to take in the Perseid meteor shower, which peaks this weekend.

The moon won’t interfere with the Perseids, known as one of the best meteor shows of the year with between 50-100 shooting stars an hour at the peak and a good possibility of fireballs.

The Perseids are building in intensity for peak Friday and Saturday. Weather conditions in the Washington, D.C., region look somewhat favorable, with partly cloudy skies forecast both nights. The only natural light interference will come from a thin crescent moon — a far different story than last year, when the harsh light of a nearly full moon washed out all but the brightest meteors.

When it comes to brilliance, only the Geminid meteor shower in December rivals the Perseids. Both are known for swift, bright meteors that frequently leave behind long “wakes” of light and color, according to NASA.

Both are also known for fireballs, larger explosions of light and color that are brighter than typical meteors and whose “tails” last longer than typical meteor streaks. That’s because, NASA explains, fireballs come from larger particles of cometary material.

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The big difference between the shooting star shows from the skywatcher’s vantage point is the difference between summer and winter. Regardless of the meteor shower, stargazers are rewarded by their patience, something many have in more abundance on warm summer versus cold winter nights.

If you can, find a dark sky location to watch for meteors. Most meteors will fly during predawn hours, though it’s possible to see them any time after 10 p.m. during the peak, according to NASA.

Virginia State Parks has four parks designated as International Dark Sky Parks by the International Dark-Sky Association: Staunton River, James River, Natural Bridge and Sky Meadows.

Other sports for star-gazing include: Assateague Island National Seashore, Grayson Highlands State Park, James River State Park, Meadows of Dan, Natural Bridge State Park, Natural Chimneys Park, Rappahannock County Park, and Shenandoah National Park, according to Space Tourism Guide.

Also, the American Meteor Society notes, “the more stars you see, the more meteors will also be visible.”

The shooting stars may not all be from the Perseids. This summertime favorite intersects with the Delta Aquariid meteor shower, which continues through Aug. 21. The Perseids continue through Sept. 1.

Also, meteors randomly fly in the sky but don’t always seem to originate from a particular star or constellation. The Perseids, no matter where they’re seen in the sky, trace back to the radiant point of the constellation of Perseus. The meteor shower is a tiny piece of the comet Swift-Tuttle, which orbits the sun every 135 years, according to NASA.

Severe thunderstorms brought cells of heavy rain, hail, and whipping winds to the DMV Friday. Here's what some of you saw.

CENTREVILLE, Va. — Severe thunderstorms brought rain, hail and high winds to parts of the DC region Friday. WUSA9 weather watchers spotted hail through Allegany County, Maryland to Frederick County, Fairfax County and Prince William County in Virginia.

You can share your photos and videos with WUSA9 using the Near Me Map on the WUSA9 app.

Storms started popping up in Eastern Allegany County, Maryland at around 4:00 p.m Friday. Matt Jones shared this photo of the hail near his house.

Credit: Matt Jones

That storm then dumped hail in Brucetown, Virginia near the West Virginia line.

Credit: Beverly Ball

Credit: Beverly Ball

In Loudoun County, Virginia the hail fell for about 15 minutes in the town of Bluemont according to Weather Watcher Michael R. Van Dyke. The hail stones were just smaller than a quarter.

Storms then swept through Centreville, Virginia in Fairfax County. Weather Watcher Ann Susie Rourke captured the hail, which took down tree leaves in her yard. "I've never seen anything like it," Rourke told WUSA9 Friday.

"All of a sudden I had to get up and run. It was cold, and hail just was flying onto the deck, the wind, there was so much hail," Rourke said.

Credit: Ann Susie Rourke

Credit: Ann Susie Rourke

Hail drift against the back of the house. C-ville @capitalweather pic.twitter.com/U9N7Sm9vgh

— Brian Engelmann (@BrianEngels) June 16, 2023

Storms also brought hail and high winds to Woodbridge in Prince William County, Virginia. Tanya Kelminsky shared this video.

Storms then crossed the Potomac and over into Southern Maryland. In La Plata, Jen Harris said the storm sounded like a tornado. There was no tornado warning issued, or indication of a tornado from radar. Harris said there was damage to some neighboring homes.

Credit: Jen Harris

We believe a tornado hit Bridgeleigh Farms in La Plata MD tonight. We have inches of hail & homes damaged. Credit: Jen Harris

Credit: Jen Harris

We believe a tornado hit Bridgeleigh Farms in La Plata MD tonight. We have inches of hail & homes damaged. Credit: Jen Harris

Credit: Jen Harris

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