December 21 – 28, 2006
‘Sister City’ Folk Need 100 $10 Donations in 10 Days
In order to win a $5,000 challenge grant for Falls Church’s African “Sister City,” Kokolopori, 100 citizens must donate at least $10 in the next 10 days, reports Ingrid Schulze, program director for the partnership. They can do it through the web site, www.supportsistercities.org. They key to winning, Schulze says, is the number, not the size, of the individual contributions, as long as they are at least $10 each. Kokolopori is a region in the interior of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, described as “on the front lines of biodiversity conservation,” being “the ultimate stewards of the tropical rainforests that we in the rich world benefit from and teach our children about. The Mongandu people of Kokolopori people manage a 1,200 square mile rainforest reserve that has one of the largest known populations of bonobos, the rarest and most endangered of the great ape species. The people live primarily through subsistence agriculture, hunting, fishing and barter, and have virtually no international support for their conservation work.
‘Watch Night’ New Year’s Eve Schedule Expands
Organizers are now calling it “the party for the people by the people,” a broad variety of family activities, six live bands and other happenings constituting the City of Falls Church’s ninth annual New Year’s Eve “Watch Night” celebration from 8 p.m. to midnight in a 100 block of W. Broad Street that will be closed off to traffic. Activities will include a 66-foot dragon obstacle course, a “Velcro” wall, karaoke, digital dance, face painting, a caricaturist, creative interactive opportunities, scavenger hunt and two magic shows. Local restaurants will feature special Watch Night menus. A New Year’s countdown and special light show will emanate from a main stage in the middle of the street. Bands participating incude Basmati, Rites of Ash, Shakila N’Tala Faral, Powerglide, Danny Blew and the Blues Crew, Susan Taylor and the Up in the Air Band. The event is sponsored by the City of Falls Church, Tinner Hill Heritage Foundation, Acacia Federal Savings Bank and Falls Church Economic Development Authority.
Mason District Alcohol Sting Nets an Arrest
Fairfax County police in the Mason District conducted alcohol stings at 34 locations within the Annandale, Falls Church and Bailey’s Crossroads areas of the county on Monday, Dec. 18. The operation is part of the ongoing youth alcohol enforcement campaign during the Safe December program. The operation is conducted using underage Fairfax County police cadets, dressed in plain clothes, who attempt to purchase alcoholic beverages. Fairfax County police cadets in plain clothes made 34 attempts to buy alcohol. A clerk from Eckerd Pharmacy, located at 6053 Leesburg Pike in the Falls Church arera, was charged with improperly selling alcoholic beverages. The clerk who sold alcohol to a cadet was issued a summons for illegal sale of an alcoholic beverage to a minor.
F.C. Resident Wins Meatloaf Recipe Contest
Ann Tansill of Falls Church was announced as the winner of the Red, Hot and Blue restaurants’ “American Meatloaf Star” competition on Monday, being awarded a first prize of $1,000. Entrants had from Sept. 25 to Nov. 5 to enter their recipes. The company narrowed the initial entrants to 18 regional winners and from there to three finalists, following the format of the popular “American Idol” TV series. “We chose the finalists based on the detail and quality of the recipe, originality and flair,” said Red, Hot and Blue spokesperson Diane Trepper. The three finalists’ recipes were then baked off and submitted to a blind taste test.
Sen.-Elect Webb Greets His Volunteers at Aldo’s
Senator-elect Jim Webb of Falls Church chose a Falls Church landmark, Al Frey’s Aldo Restaurant on Lee Highway, to host a Saturday morning buffet breakfast for hundreds of volunteers and supporters last weekend. Webb spent two hours milling among those who gathered, taking congratulations and special requests. His new Chief of Staff, Paul Reagan, did likewise. Webb has slated a celebration for the Clarendon Grill in Arlington from 5 to 7 p.m. after being sworn in on Jan. 3 and a public open house at his new Senate digs, Room 432 of the Russell Office Building, from 1 to 3 p.m. on Jan. 4. We won’t be able to claim Webb as a Falls Church resident for much longer, however. In order to be closer into his new job, he’s moving to Arlington next month.
