GAINSWave Therapy in West Springfield, VA

USPS said it's waiting on guidance from local health officials on how to proceed.

WEST SPRINGFIELD, Va. — Three employees of a U.S. Postal Service office in West Springfield, Virginia have tested positive for COVID-19 coronavirus, according to USPS.

USPS said it's waiting on guidance from local health officials on how to proceed, but has already started to follow guidance from the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for how to handle COVID-19 exposures within its post office.

"We are in the process of reaching out to the local public health office and will follow the guidance they provide. We believe the risk is low for employees who work at the West Springfield Post Office but we will keep our employees apprised as new information and guidance becomes available," said the West Springfield Post Office in its statement to WUSA9.

At this time, WUSA9 has not confirmed how this will impact mail delivery in the area.

USPS said it believes that the risk for other employees is low.

USPS said it will not release the condition or identities of those that contracted COVID-19. because of the Rehabilitation Act and the Privacy Act, said the statement to WUSA9.

WUSA9 is working to get more information and will provide updates as they come into our newsroom and station.

Below is the full-statement from USPS about the contraction at its West Springfield office:

“The U.S. Postal Service has learned that three employees at the West Springfield Post Office tested positive for the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19).

We are in the process of reaching out to the local public health office and will follow the guidance they provide. We believe the risk is low for employees who work at the West Springfield Post Office but we will keep our employees apprised as new information and guidance becomes available.

As you may know, under the Rehabilitation Act and the Privacy Act, specific employee medical information must be kept confidential and may only be shared in very limited circumstances. Therefore, the Postal Service cannot share the name of an employee who tested positive for COVID-19 or further specifics of his or her medical condition.

The safety and well-being of our employees is our highest priority. To ensure the health of our employees, we are continuing to follow recommended guidance and strategies from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).”

The game of musical chairs that is Springfield’s grocery store scene has taken a turn.

Trader Joe’s, a longtime tenant of Rappaport’s Springfield Plaza on Old Keene Mill Road, has executed a lease to replace Whole Foods Market at Federal Realty Investment Trusts’s Old Keene Mill Center three miles to the west, confirmed a direct party to the deal who was not authorized to speak publicly.

A Federal Realty (NYSE: FRT) spokeswoman declined to comment. A Trader Joe's spokeswoman would only say that West Springfield is not on the list of stores "opening soon."

Whole Foods, owned by Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN), will leave 8402 Old Keene Mill Road in West Springfield toward the end of 2023 for a much larger space at Springfield Plaza. The future Whole Foods space, which is coming to the end of a years-long soup-to-nuts overhaul, was formerly occupied by Giant Food. Giant relocated to a non-Rappaport-owned part of Springfield Plaza formerly occupied by K-Mart.

Everyone is getting larger footprints. Giant now occupies 50,000 square feet, up from about 40,000 square feet at its former Springfield Plaza location. Whole Foods occupies 24,000 square feet in West Springfield, but will lease more than 42,000 square feet at Springfield Plaza — the rebuild consumed an adjacent storefront.

And Trader Joe’s currently leases 10,673 square feet at Springfield Plaza, according to a tenant roster filed with Fairfax County, but will have closer to 20,000 square feet at Old Keene Mill — the Whole Foods space will be gutted, renovated and demised to allow for additional, smaller tenants, including a McAlister’s Deli, according to Federal Realty’s tenant roster.

Trader Joe’s lease at Springfield Plaza expires on Jan. 31, 2024. Henry Fonvielle, president of Rappaport, confirmed the specialty grocer has flexibility to extend its lease there, and the covenants in the Whole Foods lease allow for both grocers to occupy space in the same center. Trader Joe’s has not told Rappaport that it plans to leave Springfield Plaza, and may wait to see how both Springfield stores do before making that call.

“We want them to stay,” said Fonvielle, adding he personally shops in that store. “They are a great tenant and have been a strong anchor at Springfield Plaza for over 20 years.”

It would not be an unprecedented move for Trader Joe’s to stay — the grocer’s two Bethesda locations, one older and one newer, are just a mile from each other and both are on Wisconsin Avenue.

By Leydi Cris Cobo Cordon of Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology

Almost. A word that describes both a town and so many of the relationships within it. Almost married. Almost in love. Almost moved on. However, when it comes to the question of the successful execution of a performance that tugged at the heartstrings and sparked warm, fuzzy feelings, West Springfield High School's answer was no "almost."

Between stone-cold heartbreak, newfound love, and the bittersweet area in between, John Cariani's 2004 play explores the concept of love in eleven short scenes. All these stories take place simultaneously, on a night when the Northern Lights will become visible, in an area of Maine that isn't quite a town — hence the name: Almost, Maine.

Find out what's happening in Burkewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

This production's magical element was truly elevated by the Northern Lights, which shone at the end of each scene, enchanting both the couples and audiences alike. Mimicking natural phenomena on stage is no easy feat, so to achieve this, TJ Green cunningly synced up a series of projectors to create a glowing effect that smoothly transitioned from soothing hues of green to magenta. Even more astonishing than that was the final iteration of Northern Lights that shone throughout the entire auditorium. Green had sneakily hidden projectors during intermission, and with the help of Stage Manager Meg Hogan, they were able to coordinate when to reveal the sparkling lights.

Bubbling with chemistry, Jack Furman and Chloe Nasr's Dave and Rhonda were a comedic explosion. The duo played off each other especially well, which made moments like when they were "tricking it" extra cute. Their scene revolved around Dave expressing his love for his friend Rhonda, by giving her a painting of a pixelated heart. In an attempt to get Rhonda to see the heart, Furman would jump and then point, creating a charming combination of moves to execute each time Dave told her to "trick it."

Find out what's happening in Burkewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

This performance was rounded out by Oliver Bourjaily and Mad Mitchell who played Pete and Ginette, a couple who quite literally came full circle. Both roles were very demanding physically since they had little dialogue, yet Bourjaily and Mitchell handled it magnificently. During the interlogue, Bourjaily was a pitiful sight, sulking with his head in his hands as he sat abandoned on the bench. When Mitchell re-entered for the epilogue, his eyes lit up and his entire posture shifted as the excitement sunk in. Both of them excelled at conveying emotions through movement, a valuable skill for an actor to have.

Just like the layers of cozy flannels, jackets, and sweaters the actors were bundled under, the costume design done by Halli Wilkerson and Maddie Schulz was dynamic and detail oriented. In "Story of Hope," audiences were put into the shoes of Hope, who only spotted Daniel's wedding ring after it had been revealed that he was married, making it all the more heartbreaking. The costumes team also used contrast between the pairings to their advantage, such as dressing Jimmy in a faded flannel, while his ex, Sandrine, wore a bright fuchsia dress. This illustrated how the couples often found themselves on opposing sides before ultimately ending up together or apart. Finley Cochran and Eleanor Heinbaugh's set design featured tall pine tree silhouettes lining the back and a wooden porch to the side, creating a cozy ambiance for the entire performance. Additional set pieces were swapped in during efficient transitions, giving each scene a distinct location.

Following a whimsical, wintry night, West Springfield's performance of Almost, Maine set a new standard as they brought next-level magical realism to the stage.

In February, at the Class 6 indoor state championships, the Spartans suffered an unexpected blow from the Langley Saxons, whose quartet won the event by three seconds to capture the state title.

The defeat was bitter for the Spartans, and three of them came to Todd Stadium with thoughts of payback.

The Spartans got that Friday morning as Lexi Stein, Kenza Elakari, Chloe Miller and Aidan MacGrath won the event in 9 minutes 16.16 seconds, just ahead of Yorktown (9:18.75).

“Really satisfying,” said Elakari, whose second leg put West Springfield ahead as she made her break on the backstretch of her second lap and opened a three-second lead before handing the baton to Miller.

Miller, a sophomore, delivered the decisive lap, taking the baton on the third leg and doubling her team’s lead to six, which was the plan, according to Coach Chris Pellegrini.

“Her instructions were to go out hard,” said Pellegrini, whose team has dominated this relay at the state level over the past decade, winning 12 VHSL Class 6 boys’ and girls’ championships between the indoor and outdoor seasons. This was the girls’ first outdoor win since 2013.

MacGrath received a scare on the final lap as Yorktown’s Anna Macon Corcoran, a Duke commit, closed the lead to two seconds heading into the final turn, a fact unknown to the Spartans senior.

“I felt like I was going slow,” MacGrath said. “With about 150 [meters] to go, I saw a bunch of Yorktown runners cheering for Anna, heard her and realized that she was right there.”

Holding to form, the Spartans boys also won, with Kyle LaJoye, Nasir Banks, Sean Cochran and John O’Donnell clocking a meet record time of 7:44.42 — more than seven seconds ahead of runner-up South Lakes. Cochran’s final split of 1:55.2 added six seconds to the margin of victory.

Friday’s performance was the boys’ sixth consecutive win in the relay, counting indoor seasons.

Many field events were held on Friday — the meet continues Saturday — but there were no winners among Northern Virginia athletes.

Battlefield’s Brian DiBassinga scored eight key points with his second-place finish in the triple jump (47 feet 4.25 inches) to help the Bobcats’ bid for a Class 6 boys’ team championship. The Battlefield boys are in second place with 14 points, with West Springfield (12), South Lakes (11) and Potomac (11) close behind.

Viviana Rodriguez of Osbourn Park was the runner-up in the Class 6 pole vault, clearing 10-3. The Osbourn Park girls sit in fourth place with 11 points.

Reigning indoor track All-Met Athlete of the Year Wisdom Williams of Alexandria City was second in the girls’ discus with a throw of 139 feet 5 inches.

Video of a walk-off single in the 10th inning of a Virginia state quarterfinal baseball game went viral last week — not because of the clutch hit but for the reaction of the losing team’s catcher in the wake of a season-ending defeat.

After the ball left Herndon junior Mitch Maurer’s bat and landed safely in right field, West Springfield’s Eric Fila removed his catcher’s mask, turned toward the home plate umpire and extended his hand. The umpire, Homer Gaouette, watched to make sure the runner from third base touched home plate before reciprocating the gesture, shaking hands with Fila as Herndon’s players celebrated a 7-6 triumph in the distance.

The video was recorded and posted on Twitter by Steve Beasley, who does public address announcing for Herndon’s home games and is the father of Hornets sophomore pitcher James Beasley. Unlike most of Beasley’s videos, which he tweets for the benefit of Herndon’s players and parents — and which might garner a few dozen likes — this one was shared far and wide. Two days later, it was shown during the Phillies-Brewers broadcast on NBC Sports Philadelphia, with Phillies play-by-play man Tom McCarthy praising Fila’s display of “class and respect” at “his team’s worst moment.”

Fila, a rising senior, doesn’t understand what all the fuss is about.

“It’s nuts,” he said in a phone interview. “It’s something so simple. It’s the standard, in my eyes, and it’s gone everywhere.”

Fila said he was scrolling through TikTok last week when he saw Beasley’s video, which had been shared by someone else with the caption “Catchers do this” and the thumbs-up emoji. About 15 minutes later, his mom came into his room and told him the video was all over Twitter.

Gaouette, who has umpired baseball games at various levels in Northern Virginia for 34 years and worked 135 games last season, didn’t realize video of his postgame handshake with Fila existed, much less had more than a million views.

“I felt bad because I left him hanging there,” Gaouette said after watching the video for the first time. “He stuck his hand out, and I kind of didn’t do anything because the game wasn’t over until the kid touched home plate. I honestly don’t remember shaking his hand after that, but I do remember he was a good kid. I’m glad he’s getting the recognition he deserves.”

Gaouette and Fila never expected their moment of mutual respect to be featured during a major league game.

“I tell you what, that’s pro right there,” Phillies analyst Ruben Amaro Jr. said on the broadcast. “You got to love that, and that kid is coached very, very well, and you love to see that. You see so many negative things happening in high school sports from time to time, a lot of stuff that you don’t really like, but that was a beauty. That’s a really nice moment.”

Just showed this on the Phillies broadcast today. Way to make all of northern Virginia Proud Eric Fila. @wshssports @wshsvarbaseball pic.twitter.com/wMzPfKDbjI

— Hayfield Baseball (@hawksbaseball1) June 9, 2022

West Springfield Coach Jason Olms, who has coached Fila since he was 13, described him as a “natural born-leader” and “another coach on the field.” After one of his assistants told him the video of Fila shaking the umpire’s hand was shown during the Phillies game and spreading like wildfire on social media, Olms texted Fila the hashtag “MakeEricFilaFamous,” which was started by a coach from Nevada who saw Beasley’s video on Twitter.

“Eric wrote back: ‘You know coach, this is what I’m supposed to do and now everyone’s going crazy over it. I don’t know why this is such a big deal,’ ” Olms said. “I told him the difference is this was a gut-wrenching, 10-inning loss to end our season in the state tournament, and he still had the clarity at that moment to shake the umpire’s hand.”

“It’s rare that you get somebody who has that much sportsmanship, especially in a big game,” Gaouette said. “You don’t know how many people I’ve tossed because of their attitude. He’ll go far.”

Fila, who has been catching since he was 8, introduces himself to the home plate umpire before every game. During Tuesday’s quarterfinal, which lasted more than four hours, he and Gaouette talked about “everything,” including Gaouette’s son Joe, who starred at Manassas Park High and then pitched at William & Mary. (Joe saw the video of the handshake on Instagram a few days later — without realizing his dad was the umpire.)

“It’s a game within a game,” Fila said. “As a catcher, you have to buy your team calls. I don’t think anything good comes from chirping at [the umpire]. The more you butter him up and the nicer you are, the nicer he is to you. That’s just how I view the whole thing.”

“I don’t know about that,” Gaouette said with a laugh when informed of Fila’s take on the catcher-umpire relationship. “Sometimes you’ll get attitude from the catcher, but I didn’t have any problem with him. He asked maybe once or twice about a pitch, but he was a very respectful young man.”

Catcher is very mature for high school! Awesome job by the folks who raised him pic.twitter.com/WncAirn9FE

Olms has argued a call on occasion over his 11 seasons at West Springfield, but he tries to instill in his players the importance of being respectful and taking accountability for what happens on the field rather than blaming the umpires. Fila, an emotional player whose passion on the field his coach said can rub opposing teams the wrong way, exemplified that lesson last week.

“I think [Herndon] showed a lot of humility and [West Springfield] showed a lot of grace in defeat,” said Beasley, who continued to post videos throughout the Hornets’ run to Saturday’s state championship game. “How can you not get behind that? I think there’s a lot more of that in youth baseball than we talk about.”

Connor Brennan’s walk off hit to win the Northern Region for Herndon High School Baseball in 11 innings 6-5!@HHornetBaseball @LSBR11 pic.twitter.com/xREdO7Wzx9

— Steven Beasley (@stevebeasleydc) June 4, 2022

Beasley has seen many examples firsthand. Just four days earlier, he captured the same act of sportsmanship by South Lakes catcher Robbie Reddington, who shook the home plate umpire’s hand after his team suffered a walk-off loss to Herndon in the 11th inning of the Class 6 Region D final.

“I saw that video,” Fila said. “I wouldn’t say it’s the whole reason I turned around and shook the umpire’s hand. We could have him [call one of our games] next year. It was the right thing to do.”