inside this issue: mike s musings... inside this issue: mike middleridge ivic association life is...
TRANSCRIPT
www.MiddleridgeCivicAssociation.org
Inside This Issue:
Middleridge Civic Association May 2017 Life is too short to live anywhere else!
Mike’s Musings
By: Mike Torrey,
MCA President
Mike’s Musings 1
May Calendar 2
Editorial 3
Middleridge General Membership
Meeting 7
Love Letter to
Middleridge 8
Welcome to
Middleridge 9
Block Captain Needed 11
NNO Volunteers Needed 13
Fairfax Club Estates Pool Memberships 14
May Puzzel 15
Neighborhood Watch 16
Middleridge Home and Garden Tour 17
Neighborhood Watch Information 18
“I am not going to beat
around the bush here—
unless we have a Vice
President by the end of
May, I WILL HALT ALL
MCA EVENTS, TO
INCLUDE THE
NATIONAL NIGHT
OUT, IMMEDIATELY!”
Now that the warmer weath-
er is here to stay, spending
time outdoors is a great thing
after such a wet April. It is
great to see so many neigh-
bors out walking with their
dogs, exchanging greetings,
and sharing fellowship. It is
this spirit of camaraderie
that makes Middleridge such
a great place to live.
First of all, I would like to
thank Sarah Koch for again
coordinating this year’s East-
er Egg Hunt, which took
place on April 8th at Middler-
idge Park. This event was
well attended, with well over
50 children quickly scouring
the tennis court and sur-
rounding bushes in search of
eggs, especially the Golden
Eggs. It seemed like the
whole event was over within
30 minutes.
Secondly, I would like to
thank Sheryl Baer, Don
Gantz, and Greg Summer
for their hard work with the
Scholarship Committee.
They recently reviewed all
submitted applications, and
have selected three award
recipients who will be hon-
ored during our open board
meeting on May 4th at 7:30
pm at Bonnie Brae ES.
Please make an effort to
attend this meeting to rec-
ognize our deserving recip-
ients.
As I have mentioned in
previous columns, our
MCA Board has a consid-
erable vacancy for this
coming year. I am tired of
asking for folks to step up
and serve on our board, so
I am not going to beat
around the bush here—
unless we have a Vice
President by the end of
May, I WILL HALT ALL
MCA EVENTS, TO IN-
CLUDE THE NATION-
AL NIGHT OUT. IMME-
DIATELY! I don’t want to
have to do it, but I feel I
have no choice, considering
we have no succession plan
in place. You see, I have
been on the MCA Board for
5 years, and someone will
have to take the reins from
me next June, 2018. I
have explained in past col-
umns that being a board
member does not take up
too much of one’s time (and
I too have a family, a busi-
ness, a Marine Corps ca-
reer, and duties in the
Knights of Columbus and
the Ancient Order of Hi-
bernians, to name a few). I
will be interested to see if
anyone actually does step
up and serve on the Board--
-we will need to fill the oth-
er positions in the next few
years.
Please consider becoming a
member of the MCA if you
have not already done so.
Our membership co-chairs,
Al & Sandy Obuchowski,
are more than happy to as-
sist you with an application.
Al can be reached via email
at [email protected]. A
$25 membership payment is
all it takes to become a
member, and when you con-
sider what HOAs around
the area cost, it is a pretty
good deal! Your member-
ship and generosity helps
us to fund ALL of our activ-
ities, such as those men-
tioned in the previous para-
graph.
Again, with the warmer
weather now among us,
please watch your speed
around our neighborhoods,
as our children are out play-
ing and having fun.
I wish you all a safe and
happy month. See you
around Middleridge!
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= Student Holiday
General Member Meeting
Bonne Bree Elementary
Please Come!
Student’s
Released
2 Hours Early
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(Continued on page 4
8 Challenges Facing Your Middleridge Civic Association
by
Catie Morales – MCA Newsletter Editor
As the Middleridge Civic Associa-
tion faces changes and tries to sur-
mount the challenges before us, it
might be useful to remind the com-
munity of what it’s like being a
leader in Middleridge as we ap-
proach our next General Member-
ship Meeting to elect our new MCA
Board members.
Challenge 1: We are Doing
More with Less
We have 578 homes in Middler-
idge, however roughly only around
366 ever join the MCA. That’s just
63% of the neighborhood. And
while you may think getting a bit
more than 1/2 the community to
join is prety good, it shorts our
budget by $5,300 annually. You
see Middleridge’s needs and expec-
tations far exceed our available fi-
nancial resources. For every MCA
member who clamors on about how
we don’t do enough, another mem-
ber doesn’t want to pay for more
events. As a result, the MCA
board finds themselves searching
for innovative ways to squeeze
more from the meager $25/
annually charged to each member
who agrees to pay. Or to increase
revenues through innovative fi-
nancing schemes. You may be ask-
ing how? But honestly those
“schemes” fall on your neighbors
who volunteer to sponsor events to
cover the costs. But remember,
those generous “neighbors” are al-
ready paying their dues, so in
sponsoring an event, their mem-
bership dues increases from just
$25/annually to hundreds or even
thousands (yes, thousands) to
cover the loss, just because they
hate to see the Middleridge lose
events.
Challenge 2: Problems from
Above
Unfunded items from Virginia or
Fairfax County governments fur-
ther complicate the fiscal chal-
lenges, as we are compelled to
institute or continue programs for
which no additional finances are
forthcoming. (Caring for the
empty Fairfax County Park lot
between Broadwater and
Paynes Church, cleaning up
the County Parks and Lakes,
maintaining the grass and
plants around our signs so
they don’t become weed invest-
ed again) Yet, if we refuse to
continue these tasks it surely will
endanger Middleridge property
values. And while the MCA
board may not object to the ra-
tionale for keeping up with these
items, without the accompanying
financial support, the result is
less money for community events.
Challenge 3: Middleridge is
Changing
Change in Middleridge is coming
at a faster and faster pace every
day. Just look at how many homes
are For Sale or Under Contract in
the neighborhood. With that
change, sometimes comes compli-
cations. The patterns of our past
are no longer reliable predictors of
our future. We have needed to
learn how to “avoid being sur-
prised by unexpected events.”
What might you say is unexpected
change? Well, the relocation to
California, of our Web Manager,
who also kept our website on his
home server. The loss of Board
Members or Chair People. Kids
spray painting our neighborhood
signs. Cut through traffic. Van-
dalism on homes or cars. Prices of
events getting more and more cost-
ly. Only through some smart
“fiscal forecasting” will Middler-
idge be able to keep on top of
changes affecting our community
and our home values.
Challenge 4: Yes, Even the
MCA Board Faces Complex Is-
sues
In our internet world, everything
today is related to everything else.
This causes intricate and compli-
cated ways of breaking apart com-
plex challenges into manageable
pieces. Sometimes the MCA board
can’t control all the key contingen-
cies that may impact Middleridge
or our home values in the future.
That’s why you read month after
month about the need for new
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(Continued on page 5
blood on the Board. Our Board is
challenged to define issues in ways
every Middleridgian can under-
stand, and then get as many as
possible involved in finding new
and creative answers to vexing
questions. Because what happens
to one of us, happens to all of us. If
a house at the very top of Paynes
Church Drive burns down, how
does that affect the curb appeal
and community value of all of us?
You see, the Board handles more
than just parties and parades.
Challenge 5: Facing our Eco-
nomic and Time Constraint Re-
alities
Back in the mid 1970’s, I remem-
ber a family dinner conversation
that has stuck with me until today.
(Probably because I still live here.)
My father, coming home from work
at the Pentagon, told my mother
he had a conversation with a fellow
officer. “Where do you live, Joe?”
the officer asked. “I live in Mid-
dleridge, it’s a small neighborhood
in Fairfax, VA.” (We were even
smaller back then.) “Oh, I know it.
You mean you live in “middle rich!”
It took me until 9th grade to under-
stand the meaning, but the story
has stuck with me ever since. To-
day’s economic realities put the
Middleridge community far above
the “middle class” memories of the
past. People who can purchase
and live in a community where
houses cost well over half a million
dollars are not considered middle
class anymore. And while I under-
stand we all don’t feel like we are
on the other side of “middle class”
… many folks looking in from the
outside see a different reality.
Obviously, many Middleridge res-
idents still struggle to make that
mortgage payment, while others
(who have lived here for decades)
are depending on the increased
value of their Middleridge home
to take care of them through their
“golden” years. Your MCA board
is keenly aware we all have some
huge financial burdens, and they
do everything they can to keep
our Civic Association dues at a
manageable rate. Just $25 a year
… or just 7 cents a day! What
else can you buy for 7 cents a day?
I have sat through countless MCA
meetings listening to Board mem-
bers throw up their hands in frus-
tration as they try to help our
community understand Middler-
idge truly depends on each and
every home owner or renter to
pay their dues.
Sometimes people use personal
economic ups and downs as a rea-
son they choose not to get in-
volved, or pay their $25 dues.
Others will say they’ll gladly pay
the $25, but don’t have the time
to participate. You know the say-
ing: “If you want something done,
give it to the busiest person in the
group … because they are the
best time managers.” Yes, Mid-
dleridge, your MCA board and
Chair People don’t have the
time either. They too have
jobs. They also have families.
They just make the time. And
by the way, thank goodness they
do! Our property values depend
on them!
Challenge 6: Social and Cultur-
al
This isn’t the 1970’s anymore. Kids
can’t sled down Broadwater during
a snow storm, and not expect to be
hit by a car. You can’t assume the
unlocked car on the street will be
happily waiting for you when you
wake up in the morning. We are
now a “global” community.” We
have neighbors from all different
nationalities and backgrounds. We
stopped assuming everybody cele-
brated the same holidays decades
ago. The mixing of cultures has
challenged your MCA board to
come up with more “homogeneous”
events that will include the entire
community without sacrificing the
“Family Friendly” atmosphere we
have enjoyed here for almost half a
century! And when you have the
same people doing the job over and
over again, it is difficult to find new
answers to those problems.
Challenge 7: Loss of Confi-
dence in Your MCA Board
Listen, the lack of respect for au-
thority is pervasive in today’s socie-
ty, not just, as conventional wisdom
might have it, among younger gen-
erations. This may have a lot to do
with social media, or that every-
body can be a social “pundit” today.
Increasingly, people of all ages mis-
trust institutions of government,
office holders, corporate leaders,
schools, the news media and yes,
even the Middleridge Civic Associa-
tion board members. While I would
be amiss to call it “hate mail”, you
would be surprised at the amount
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of complaints the Board receives
daily on matters they have abso-
lutely no control over. “Why aren’t
our roads plowed? Why don’t we
have our own pool? How come you
can’t stop my neighbor from cutting
down all his trees? Why can’t you
stop my neighbor from changing
his oil on the street? Will you
please do something about the long
grass at the house on …” I think
you understand. But to be honest,
having been MCA President in the
past, the complaints usually come
from those who don’t join the
MCA. “What do you mean my kid
can’t be part of the Middleridge
Scholarship Fund, just because I
didn’t join, I live here too?” And
the very best complaint I’ve heard
over the years was from a resident
who complained we were wasting
their $25 a year on Scholarships,
All Night Grad Parties or Feeding
the Fire Fighters!
Here’s the truth! That $25 goes
directly to Middleridge. None …
and I do mean none … goes to
scholarships, grad parties or feed-
ing the fire fighters. Don’t believe
me? Check out your membership
form. Those funds come directly
from members who pay more than
just $25 a year. They lovingly de-
cide to “pad” their dues with extra
money to supply these things. Yes,
we have pretty generous neighbors
who believe it is important to give
credit to good students, provide a
safe and alcohol free graduation
party, and thank those that serve
our community. (Thank you to
those of you who do this!)
Challenge 8: Fear of personal
“Assassination”
No, the Board or Chair People
don’t fear for their lives, but serv-
ing the community year after year
can sometimes come at a personal
cost. You see every so often some-
one will try to bring down a Board
member or Chair Person a notch
or two. I know many of you have
seen them … the emails flying
around about how somebody did-
n’t appreciate the word “Free
Loader” being used in the news-
letter, or another person was up-
set because the Yard Sale wasn’t
adequately advertised. Even I
have taken on some personal at-
tacks as being a “know-it-all” or
“attention seeker” just because I
end up chairing events when no
one else steps forward. (I would
gladly give the “attention” to
someone else.) Of course, these
are very small things, but it caus-
es pain when you are freely volun-
teering your time to help the com-
munity and then get attacked for
it.
Unfortunately, we have learned to
live without constant community
approval. You cannot please all
the people all the time. However,
people should recognize we have a
responsibility to provide support
and encouragement to those who
assume the public leadership
roles, even if you do not always
agree or like them. If not, burn-
out ensues and apathy overtakes
everything.
Challenge 9: The Squeaky
Wheel
OK, I lied … I am throwing in a 9th challenge for good measure! You know the old saying: “The squeaky wheel gets the oil?” Well guess what? The wheels are get-ting really squeaky at the MCA and in desperate need of fresh oil. The people who have been there for years, are greying with age, moving out or sadly, simply burn-ing out. We are heading into our May General Membership meet-ing with 2 open board slots. Who do we turn to. Think about it, if you have liked the status quo in Middleridge, understand things may be changing! If you continu-ally celebrate all Middleridge has to offer, please know those things may not be offered anymore. Events are being canceled for lack of money or interest in volunteer-ing. People are growing weary and feeling unappreciated.
So, if you love Middleridge, con-sider getting involved on the Board. Take it from a woman who has very little spare time, it really is not as time consuming as you might think. Run for a Board Office. Be Block Captain! Be-come a Chair Person for the Hal-loween Parade, Easter Egg Hunt, Movie Night or National Night Out. But if you simply cannot do any of those things, please … please join the Civic Association and pay your $25! Take if from me, our property values really do depend on it!
Finally, don’t ridicule or complain about our Board members, or those who constantly volunteer to Chair events. These people de-serve our appreciation and re-spect. They may not be super hu-man, but what they do with a mere $25/annual budget is simply super amazing! Honestly, when you go to sell your house you’ll be glad they volunteered.
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When: May 4th
Where: Bonnie Brae Elementary School
7:30pm-8:30pm
Why: MCA Executive Board Elections
Scholarship Awards
Q & A’s with Local Officials
PLEASE COME! WE NEED YOUR IMPUT!
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Neighbors
Moving Out!
A Love Letter to Middleridge
By Carole Rodero
It’s time to finally say farewell to what we have called home since we
purchased our house in 1982. This is a ‘love letter’ to Middleridge to
make this leave-taking a bit easier.
Moving from state to state and country to country with the military brought many rewards. Watching your
neighbors’ children grow from infancy to adulthood was not among them. Perhaps community interaction and
involvement was what I was seeking without even being aware of it. Middleridge offers that for sure!
We learn to appreciate best what has taught us and given us the most. As I walk my dog around Middleridge
for what I know is my neighborhood excursion countdown, I have been thinking about all this community has
given me. What I have enjoyed and am grateful for are the many friends my husband and I have made over
the years – among them some who are no longer living here and some we have just recently gotten to know. In
addition to friends we have made are the countless opportunities to support our community through volunteer-
ing in almost every capacity. This support began with membership in the Civic Association.
It’s easy to see where needs are when you join an organization so financial support moved easily into involve-
ment with the Executive Board and various responsibilities supported by the Board (Newsletter Editor, Neigh-
borhood Watch, and Welcoming). In addition, there was participation in neighborhood events (the semi-annual
park and woods cleanups, the annual plant share, the Halloween parade/party at the tennis courts, the holi-
day decorating and judging, National Night Out, and the Home and Garden Tour). Through these activities
and events I have met such interesting and diverse people. I thoroughly appreciated the opportunity to meet
people from so many other parts of the U.S. and from so many different countries and am now so fortunate to
have many of these people as life-long friends.
In life, we often get commensurate with what we give. If you want a lot out of life and your community, my
suggestion is to get involved. Start small with immediate neighbors: initiate the tradition of a 4th of July Block
Party, organize a Progressive Dinner, take a baked item or plant to a new neighbor, invite a neighbor over for
tea. Or go big: Run for office in the MCA, head or join a committee. You will gain so much by becoming in-
volved.
I hope that my next neighborhood is dynamic and invites involvement. If it does not, I will do my best to repli-
cate this community.
Middleridge…thank you and my love to you.
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Chelsea Pollock ~ Middlegate Drive
Relocated from Fairfax Station, VA
Reminder to Block
Captains and Neighbors!
YOU are an important link.
Please contact me when new people move into your area.
Newcomers! If you have recently moved in/back to Middleridge
and have not been officially welcomed, please contact me.
Carolyn Vaughan – [email protected]
Neighbors
Moving In!
Quality Landscaping at Affordable Prices
Mow Trim & Edge $30
Weed & Feed Program $120
Spring Cleaning @ $100
Gutter Cleaning $60
No Contracts / Your Satisfaction Guaranteed
Call for Power Washing, Deck Sealing
Spring Planting, and Mulching
(703) 503-3130
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We are desperately seeking a new Block
Captain for Block G39 to take over for
Gavin Calarco.
You would deliver to 13 homes: 10700,
10701, 10702, 10703, 10704, 10705,
10706, and 10707 Colton Street and
10727, 10729, 10801, 10802, and
10803 Rippon Lodge Drive.
Please consider volunteering to be the block captain for this area – as a volunteer you
need to be a member of MCA. Thanks so much.
You can send me an email if you are interested in being the block captain.
Sandy Obuchowski
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portant than protecting our family’s and the
neighborhood’s safety?
To that end, I sent an email out a few weeks ago
to everyone who has signed up for neighborhood
watch in the past or through the latest member-
ship drive to confirm your further participation
in the program. To date I am still waiting to
hear from several of you. Please make sure
[email protected] is listed as a
safe address in your email. The original email
was sent out under my email address,
[email protected], because the
changes in the leadership had not been caught
up with the email service. Anyone who wants to
sign up for NW, or find out more information,
can send me an email at either address now.
Greg has turned over the information and sup-
plies for the NW to me. I am currently working
on updating not only the files and spreadsheets,
but developing new information for processes
and procedures that we would like to implement
for the NW. I do want to re-start Watch patrols
as soon as possible, and I am sure that for the
first weekend of May I will be doing the runs. Af-
ter that, hopefully, I will be able to provide a
schedule for the other volunteers. Please remem-
ber it’s never too late to volunteer. If you are in-
terested just send an emai l to
[email protected] and we’ll be
happy to add you to the list.
The week after I met with Greg, I attended a
training session at the West Springfield Police
Station (that is our local station, for your situa-
tional awareness). Master Police Officer Michael
Hello Neighbors. My name is Vernon Campbell,
my family and I have been in Middleridge for
over 12 years now. I was VP of the Board for 1 ½
years, and newsletter editor for over 4 years. My
family and I also led the Neighborhood Night Out
for one year. At this time, I am jumping back in
as Neighborhood Watch coordinator. Greg Sum-
mers has been the coordinator for a number of
years, and due to other work and family commit-
ments, has needed to step down. We all give
many thanks to Greg for his tireless efforts over
these number of years.
I am stepping in because I believe Neighborhood
Watch is probably the most important service
provided by a community. What is more im-
Middleridge Neighborhood Watch By Vernon Campbell—Neighborhood Watch Chairmen
(Continued on page 17
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Hello Middleridge! So far, we have 2 volunteers who willing to open their home/garden for our Mid-
dleridge Home & Garden Tour … but we need at least 2 more! Have you done some fun remodel-
ing in your home or reworking in your garden? We would love to have you on the tour.
The event will be held on Saturday, July 8th.
(As always, I encourage you to suggest a neighbor and I will discreetly contact them
without divulging your identity.)
Email me at [email protected] or call my cell phone at 703-371-9349.
Thanks, Mary Vander Maten
Stewart is the NW officer in the Crime Preven-
tion Unit, and he did over an hour of trainging
and Q&A for representatives of over 25 local
neighborhoods that are registered with the NW.
Once I figure out a schedule and am ready to pro-
ceed, I expect to invite the NW members for a
session that provides much of the information
from our training.
Elsewhere in this newsletter, I have provided a
couple pages of information from the training
that point out how all of us can help develop and
maintain a safe neighborhood. I can tell you from
personal experience, one of the most important
things is to LOCK YOUR CAR DOORS AT
NIGHT! A few summers ago, there was a rash if
burglaries where the perpetrators just availed
themselves of our “open door” generosity, mine
included.
The Police department continues to try and refine
the tools that we have at our fingertips as well.
They've improved their Incident Reporting Appli-
cation which maps reported crimes on an interac-
tive map. By typing in an address and searching
the map during a given time period, the various
crimes reported during that time period will come
up on your screen, showing you some of the crime
within the county. Look at the URL’s provided in
the other NW pages in this newsletter to get to
the application. You can also sign up for the West
Springfield newsletter while on the West Spring-
field District site which requires an email address
and will automatically send a reminder each
month with the latest tips and crimes.
Most safety precautions have a thread of common
sense about them, but I believe we tend to know
how great our neighborhood is, and let our guards
down. Over the next few months, I will provide
more tips from the police department that are de-
signed to help us utilize better security in things
we do.
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2017 MIDDLERIDGE CALENDAR OF EVENTS
June July August September
Executive Board Meeting
June 1, 7:00
Executive Board Meeting
July 6, 7:00
Home & Garden Tour
July 8, 1:00-4:00
National Night Out
August 1
Executive Board Meeting
August 3
MCA/FCE Moving Night
September 2, 8:30
Executive Board Meeting
September 7, 7:00
Every Month:
MCA Board Meeting: 1st Thursday of the month Neighborhood Watch
Newsletter Delivery: 5th of the month Welcoming: As needed. Please notify Carolyn Vaughan
Reaching 578 Homes and Families
Middleridge Website
www.middleridgecivicassociation.org
Look for:
List of MCA Officers
Committee Contacts
Photos of Events Past & Present
Past Newsletter Issues
Neighborhood Police
Reports
Middleridge Map/Street Name
History
And much more!!!
Executive Board
President—Mike Torrey
Interim Vice President—Rick Jones
Secretary— Brad Koch
Treasurer—John Tedrick
Other MCA Contacts
Webmasters—Joe Landry & Kim Nelson
Newsletter Editor—Catie Morales
Distribution—Sandy Obuchowski
Directory Editor—Al & Sandy Obuchowski
Membership—Al & Sandy Obuchowski
Neighborhood Watch—Vernon Campbell
Community Service—Vacant
Welcoming Chair— Carolyn Vaughan
Notary—Catie Morales
Middleridge Mailing Address
P.O. Box 208
Fairfax Station, VA 22039-0208
Newsletter Administration
Business Advertising Rates:
Regular Member*
Full Page $75 $50
1/2 Page $50 $30
1/4 Page $30 $20
1/8 Page $20 $10
*2016/2017 Paid MCA Member
Monthly Deadline for ads and articles: 25th of the Month
Checks Payable to:
Middleridge Civic Association
P.O. Box 208
Fairfax Station, VA 22039
Mail ads to the address above or Email Ads to: