A Penny For Your Thoughts

The Mason District Spring Town Meeting will be held this Tuesday, March 16, 2004, at 7:30 p.m. at Weyanoke Elementary School, 6520 Braddock Road, about a block south of its intersection with Little River Turnpike. The topic for the town meeting is Fairfax County’s FY 2005 budget. Guest panelists will be County Executive Anthony H. Griffin and Chief Financial Officer Edward Long.

Our annual budget town meeting is usually well-attended, and gives residents an opportunity to hear first-hand about the county’s revenue projections and how taxpayer dollars provide services that the community wants and needs: education, public safety, environment and parks, and human services. We will learn about the challenge of maintaining services with inadequate help from the state, look at some of the proposals for increasing service fees, and discuss options for cutting programs. A question and answer period will follow the presentations. I look forward to seeing you there.

Last month, the 15th National Youth Crime Prevention Conference was held in neighboring Arlington County. The Crystal Gateway Hotel ballroom was filled with energetic and optimistic young people, more than 700 strong, from all across the country, plus students from the Caribbean, Africa, and Europe. Bright lights and loud music drew in passers-by until the junior ROTC flag ceremony quieted the crowd to respectful atten-tion. The National Anthem was sung a capella by four lovely teenagers, and the delega-tion from Hawaii presented flower leis to lucky people in the front row. The keynote speaker, Dr. Stephen Sroka, told the students and their chaperones about the importance of “The Power of One,” how each person can make a difference in their life and the lives of others by making correct choices and encouraging their peers to do the same.

The youth conference was designed with young people in mind, as demonstrated by the workshops available throughout the three day event. Topics included Community and School Activism, Youth Empowerment, Crime Prevention Through Entertainment, and Youth and Law Enforcement. A daylong YES Forum (Youth Exploring Solutions) was a popular offering, too. Sponsors of the conference included Coca-Cola, Balfour, the Drug Enforcement Agency, the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments, and the Allstate Foundation. The National Crime Prevention Council and Youth Crime Watch of America planned and produced the conference.

There are no limits to what youth can achieve if they have the right tools, the right plan, the right support, and the right attitude. That’s what the National Youth Crime Prevention Conference provided for the youth leaders of today, and the world leaders of tomorrow.