the few. the proud.connection.media.clients.ellingtoncms.com/news/... · 11/1/2017 · captain jay...

online at www.connectionnewspapers.com October 25-31, 2017

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Attention Postmaster: Time sensitive material.

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Facing Local Drug Use EpidemicNews, Page 3

Who Will Help Dreamers and Refugees?News, Page 4

The Few. The Proud.News, Page 5

More than 30,000 runners crowd the streets of Arlington at the start of the 42nd annual Marine Corps Marathon Oct. 22.

2 ❖ Arlington Connection ❖ October 25-31, 2017 www.ConnectionNewspapers.com

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Arlington Connection ❖ October 25-31, 2017 ❖ 3www.ConnectionNewspapers.com

See Yorktown, Page 14

NewsArlington Connection Editor Steven Mauren

703-778-9415 or [email protected]

See Facing Local, Page 12

By Eden Brown

The Connection

Carolyn Weems has a messagefor Arlington parents who thinktheir son or daughter couldn’tbecome a drug addict. “It’s not

if my kids are going to be exposed to drugs,”she said, “It’s when.” For Weems, and herdaughter, awareness came too late.

About 250 parents listening to Weems tellthe story of her daughter, who died of anoverdose, overflowed into the halls of theCentral Library on Oct. 12. The topic wasnot new. Opioid use has been in the head-lines. What was new was that Arlington, thesuburban sanctuary full of A-plus rated highschools and travel soccer players, is a placewhere youths are dealing drugs in theschool bathroom.

Caitlyn Weems was a healthy, happy, soc-cer playing youth until she injured herselfplaying soccer and took the narcotics-lacedpainkillers the doctor prescribed. “Youwould never have guessed she was doingdrugs,” said Weems. “She looked healthy.There is so much I wish I had known: howaddictive opioids are, how easy it is to getdrugs, how heroin is like Russian Roulette.It’s not about bad people. It’s about goodpeople from good families. These kids aretrying it at parties, in the bathroom; theysmoke it, then they snort it, then they skinpop it, and then they inject it.” She added:

“You have to have the heroin talk with yourkids.”

Captain Jay Farr, the Arlington Countypolice chief, said his officers, as first re-sponders, had some grim statistics to report.“But the most telling of the things I’velearned, is who it strikes,” he said. “Whenour office of criminal investigations did thestatistics, we learned 90 percent of the us-ers had been prescribed the drug legally.

We saw a 67 percent rise in events from2015 to 2016 and a rise in non-fatal over-doses this year. And this hits every singlezip code in Arlington County except one,and it hits all demographics and economicstrata.” Farr added that it hits every agegroup too. While 56 percent of the casesthey see are in the 21-35 year old age range,some are older than 66 and some are asyoung as 16.

Commonwealth’s Attorney Theo Stamossaid the idea for having a town hall in Ar-lington originated in her office, because she

gets all the autopsy reports for the county.“I started seeing more and more accidentaloverdoses,” she said. “When I looked intothe problem, I learned there wereWilliamsburg Middle School kids buyingLSD on the dark web — at school — andthere were athletes who could not playsports because they tested positive for druguse, and that at Yorktown High School, theprincipal had to take the doors off the bath-room to keep people from dealing drugs —or doing them — in the bathrooms.” Stamossaid APS was also a part of the group that

By Eden Brown

The Connection

Yes, of course we are aware thereare certain hotspots aroundYorktown where kids are engag-

ing in (illegal) activity,” said Dr. MilaVascones-Gatski, the substance abuse coun-selor at Yorktown High School. The com-munity as a whole has to be aware too. Wesay: ‘If you see something, say something.’”

Yorktown and other local high and middleschools share six substance abuse counse-lors who are working to educate parents,teachers, and youth about the drug epi-demic.

Vascones-Gatski, and the other counselorsin the system, spend half the week at an-other school. She says Yorktown is goingthrough all the senior classes to do out-reach: they want the youths to know thatsmoking a substance these days is differentfrom what it was. These days, it’s so con-centrated. These days, there is a nationalepidemic with opioids, and youths can diefrom overdoses. She notes that risk takingbehavior is prevalent in the age group shecounsels: “The kids think: I already took therisk, so why not take the bigger risk? Theydon’t see the consequences.”

Vascones-Gatski said the school is tryingto stay ahead of the problem. Bridget Loft,

Yorktown’s new principal, took the doorsoff the bathrooms at school because stu-dents were using bathrooms to deal or usedrugs. One of the most popular and easilydisguised items of drug use, is the juul, ahighly concentrated nicotine vaporizerwhich youths use to get a buzz.

Vaping equipment, or the tiny juul whichlooks like a flash drive, can be refilled withmarijuana, tobacco, or a substance of thestudent’s own invention. Youths often plugthem into their school-issued laptops tocharge them in class. “Anything you can putinto a liquid or an oil can be used to fill thejuul,” said Vascones-Gatski. And that means

Facing Local Drug Use EpidemicSome parents were unaware; some knew well the pain of drug use in youths.

The panel addressing the drug problem in Arlington County was moderated by Mark Segraves of NBC 4;from left, Chief of Police Jay Farr, Commonwealth’s Attorney Theo Stamos, APS parent Ari Garbow, Depart-ment of Health and Human Services Dr. John Palmieri, and Carolyn Weems, parent and member of VirginiaBeach School Board.

Opioid Overdose StatisticsCalendar Year Total Incident Total Opioid Non-Fatal Fatal Opioid

Involving Opioids Overdoses Opioid Overdoses2015 73 10 6 42016 122 45 33 122017 thru 10-06-2017 108 54 41 13

Source: Arlington County Police Department

“It’s not about bad people. It’s about good peoplefrom good families. These kids are trying it atparties, in the bathroom; they smoke it, then theysnort it, then they skin pop it, and then they inject it.You have to have the heroin talk with your kids.”

— Carolyn Weems, mother of Caitlyn, who overdosed on heroin

Yorktown Takes Steps against Substance AbuseCiting expectations for behavior, and then consequences. Details

Important information for parent awareness:❖ Nov. 13: PTA meeting at Yorktown High. The

school resource officer (SRO) will be there topresent information to parents.

❖ Nov. 15: Discussion of the Risk Behavior Sur-vey for APS, Walter Reed Community Center, 7 (toread this report see https://apcyf.arlingtonva.us/2017-yrbs-school-reports/)

❖ Arlington Public Schools podcast: https://www.apsva.us/school-community-relations/aps-podcast/

❖ www.READYCoalition.org❖ www.secondchancearlington.org❖ www.drugfree.org.❖ The most common drugs abused in high

schools are xanax, adderall, nyquil, coricidin — inlarge amounts.

❖ Parents are very powerful, and sending a mes-sage, early, is important.

❖ Parents should talk to other parents.

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By Shirley Ruhe

The supporters all agree on onething. As Imam Ali Siddiqui said,“Nobody asked these kidswhether they wanted to come to

America. They go to school, they work hard,build a career. It will be a loss to send themback.” Figures distributed by The Common-wealth Institute in October 2017 show thatif all Virginians who are eligible for DeferredAction for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) be-came citizens, state and local tax contribu-tions by young Virginians would rise fromthe current $35 million to $52.9 million ayear.

As President Trump’s executive order re-leased Sept. 5 threatens 800,000 DACA re-cipients with deportation, communities ofsupporters rally to their defense.

Individuals and groups converge from alldirections to provide sanctuary, educationalassistance, moral support, employmentcounseling and sometimes “in your face”advocacy for immigrant assistance. Eachgroup has a plan and a niche but they areall working for the same goal — passage ofthe Dream Act, which will offer the oppor-tunity for a long, but legal, path to citizen-ship for undocumented immigrants.

Norma Kacen is part of the Northern Vir-ginia Friends of Refugees, an Arlington-based group, which she co-founded withWendy Chan in the fall of 2016. “I grew upon Federal Hill in Providence, Rhode Island,an ethnic ghetto. It was a closed world withcircles of ghettos — Portuguese, Italian,French, German, Polish,” she said, drawingcircles with her finger on the table.

Kacen has recently been up on Capitol Hillas a volunteer lobbyist with the AmericanAssociation of University Women visitingkey senators to urge passage of the DreamAct. “All of the comments were ‘we couldn’tafford it,’ but,” she says, pulling out a talk-ing sheet, “ending DACA and kicking recipi-ents out of the labor force would cost theUnited States $433.4 billion in GDP anddecrease Social Se-curity and Medicarecontributions by$24.6 billion overthe next decade.”This is according tothe Center forAmerican Progress,a self-described pro-gressive indepen-dent nonpartisanpolicy institute.

As of November2016, 645,000DACA recipients nationwide are employed,and they pay taxes. Kacen said, “My chal-lenge to the senators was yes, we pay fortheir education like anyone else who paystaxes.” But most of the senators were un-moved by the arguments. Kacen says it is

also important to acknowledge a break-down of DACA by Congressional districtsbecause “some our representatives only lis-ten to their own constituents.”

Northern Virginia Friends of Refugees wasestablished to combat the anti-Muslimrhetoric and to be a welcoming friend to allrefugees. “We didn’t want to duplicate theefforts of others so we partner with otherorganizations,” she said.

RECENTLY THE GROUP held three ad-vocacy workshops for people supportive ofrefugees. About 50 people attended one ofthe workshops at Fairfax PresbyterianChurch, Mt. Olivet Presbyterian Church inArlington and a Muslim site in Fairfax.These workshops are non-partisan with thepurpose to teach the skills necessary for ef-fective advocacy.

“I was really delighted and it was ex-tremely heartening that millennials at-tended. Every organization is trying to fig-ure out what they can do to attract the dis-engaged millennials,” Kacen said.

The second event, which was held in thespring, brought American professionals to-gether with the often highly skilled immi-grants to help the immigrants navigate theworkplace. “So we connect the immigrantstogether with American professionals intheir own field to allow the professionalsto talk.” Many of the refugees were doc-tors, architects, engineers and entrepre-neurs in their countries and now have low-level jobs in America. The purpose of theselife skills programs is to increase connec-tions to help the immigrants reach theirpotential.

The third focus for this year is a large com-munity event planned for the spring. Itwould be intended to show the resilienceof the immigrants by “focusing on the in-credible skills in the cultural arts such asmusic, arts and fashion. It is to show thecapacity to overcome, the triumph of thehuman spirit,” she said.

Are they making progress? Kacen paused,“It’s hard to say. But... there are so manypeople engaged.”

Monica Sarmientois executive directorof Virginia Coalitionfor Immigrant Right(VACIR), a coalitionthat began in 2013with eight organiza-tions, now grown to16. She says their or-ganization is focusedon how to have morecomprehensive im-

migrant reform in Virginia. “Many organi-zations have their niches demographicallyor ethnically but we tend to be looking atwhat we’re doing statewide andcollaboratively. The most important empha-

sis is to push different community repre-sentatives at the table — African, Korean,Muslim.”

Sarmiento says since VACIR is a 501(c)(3)non-profit organization they don’t directlylobby but have encouraged people to calltheir members of Congress, and the 16 or-ganizations who are part of the coalitionoften engage in advocacy. For instance theCommonwealth Institute has prepared afact sheet outlining how DREAMers growour economy with 61 percent opening abank account, 64.5 percent buying their firstcar, 97 percent becoming employed or en-rolled in school. It adds that young peoplewith DACA status contribute nearly $711million to Virginia’s economy annually in-cluding nearly $35 million in state and lo-cal taxes. The conclusion is that endingDACA could reduce Virginia state and localtax revenue by almost $13 million a year.

Members of VACIR include such groupsas Legal Aid Justice Center, SEEC,VOCOLAO, NAKASEC, The CommonwealthInstitute and Virginia New Majority. Thesegroups have focused on the constituents oftwo U.S. representatives in Virginia, ScottTaylor (R-2) and Barbara Comstock (R-10),who they are trying to convince “to do theright thing and support a clean Dream Act.”

Sarmiento says the VACIR board had de-cided for the first time to endorse a cleanDream Act, the first time they had endorsed

any legislation. “A clean Dream Act wouldnot have such provisions as mandatory veri-fication (death by 1,000 papers), an in-crease in ICE agents, increased money fordeportation, funding for the border wall,inability to sponsor family members, nopathway to citizenship.”

She says there needs to be a much largerconversation to spotlight the injustices hap-pening now with undocumented immi-grants who have already lost their DACAstatus due to President Trump’s executiveorder or who will lose their Temporary Pro-tective Status (TPS) if it is not renewed.These people could be deported any day.She says 300,000 of these are from LatinAmerica; 200,000 of these are Salvadoran.Sarmiento was raised in Northern Virginiabut her parents emigrated from El Salva-dor fleeing war. “They were fortunate mygrandmother lived here and got her legalstatus through the Reagan amnesty act somy father got legal status.”

Sumi Yi, Virginia community organizer forNational Korean American Service & Edu-cation Consortium (NAKASEC), a commu-nity-based progressive Asian American andPacific Islander organization, says their mis-sion is to organize Korean and Asian Ameri-cans to achieve social, racial, and economicjustice. She points out that out of the cur-

News

Who Will Help Dreamers and Refugees?Individuals, religious groups and otherorganizations share same goal.

Remembering her youth in Rhode Island, Norma Kacen of Arlingtontraces circles on the table as she describes neighborhood ghettos ofpeople segregated by ethnicity.

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See Who Will Help, Page 13

Resources❖ Just Neighbors: justneighbors.org❖ The Dream Project: dreamproject-va.org❖ Virginia Coalition for Immigrant Rights

(VACIR): virginiaimmigrntrights.org❖ The National Korean American Service & Edu-

cation Consortium (NAKASEC): nakasec.org❖ Mason DREAMers: masondreamers.org❖ Sanctuary DMV: sanctuarydmv.org❖ NOVA Friends of Refugees:

[email protected]❖ Northern Virginia Family Services: nfs.org❖ Legal Aid Justice Center: justice4all.org

Sumi Yi Monica Sarmiento The Rev. Laura Martin


News

William Weidman fromArlington finished with atime of 3:00:43.

John Sabol from Arlingtoncrossed the finish line in3:12:24.

Michael Wardian fromArlington completed themarathon in 2:54:05.

By Jeanne Theismann

The Connection

For 24 miles, KieranO’Connor looked over hisshoulder and saw no one.The Arlington resident

took an early lead, running alonethrough miles of empty streets. Butin Crystal City, he saw something hedidn’t expect — Desta BerisoMorkoma was quickly closing thegap.

“I was dehydrated more than I ex-pected to be in the second half of therace,” said O’Connor. “But I did mybest and Morkoma ran a great race.”

In the end, it was the 32-year-oldMorkoma, also from Arlington, whobecame the champion of the 42ndMarine Corps Marathon, finishingwith a time of 2 hours, 25 minutesand 13 seconds.

“It’s a year I worked hard to win,”said Morkoma, who finished secondin last year’s race.

Wesley Turner of Danville, Va.,came in second place with a time of2:27:34 with O’Connor placing thirdwith 2:28:06.

“I ran alone for most of the race,”said Turner. “But you just try to runyour own race and I feel good abouthow I did today.”

Sarah Bishop, a mother of fourfrom Fairfax, took first place in thewomen’s division after pleading hercase nine days ago asking organizersto allow her to run.

“I came in fourth last year and re-ally felt good and wanted to run,”said Bishop, who completed thecourse in 2:45:06, just 6 seconds shyof qualifying for the Olympic trials.“This is my home turf so the win isvery special to me.”

Bishop was followed by MeghanCurran of Fort Carson, Colo.(2:50:23) and Suzanne Hutchins ofGastonia, N.C., who finished with atime of 2:53:35.

Arlington runners took the top twospots in the men’s division of theMCM 10K race: Denzel Ramirez, 34,finished in 34 minutes and 16 sec-onds, followed by Craig Morgan, 26,(32:21) and Erik McMillan, 20 of theUS Air Force Academy in 32:49.

Bethany Sachtleben, 25, of Alexan-dria shattered the women’s 10Kcourse record with a time of 34:06.She was followed by Julie Tarallo, 28,of Washington (38:00), and AmySmith, 29, of Seattle (38:54).

“Groundpounder” Al Richmond,79, of Arlington, completed his 42nd

Marine Corps Marathon in 6:48:35.“I felt strong today,” said Richmond,who has completed every MarineCorps Marathon since its inception.

Full results can be found atwww.marinemarathon.com.

Local runners take top spots in42nd Marine Corps Marathon.The Few. The Proud.

Arlington’s Desta BerisoMorkoma, 32, crossesthe finish line in twohours, 25 minutes and 13seconds to win the 42nd

annual Marine CorpsMarathon Oct. 22 inArlington.

Sarah Bishop is presentedthe champion’s trophyfrom Gen. Robert Neller atthe 42nd Marine CorpsMarathon Oct. 22 in Arling-ton. Bishop, 35, of Fairfax,completed the course in2:45:06.

Weary runners work their way through the crowd aftercompleting the 42nd Marine Corps Marathon Oct. 22 inArlington.

Arlington’s KieranO’Connor, 30, runs TheMarine Corps Marathon’sBlue Mile, where morethan 275 fallen servicemembers are remem-bered in photos alongthe Potomac River.O’Connor, who led theOct. 22 race for morethan 24 miles, took thirdplace after finishing in 2hours, 28 minutes and 6seconds.

T.A.P.S. founder Bonnie Carroll, left, posesfor a photo with Ellyn Dunford, who ranthe MCM 10K in memory of Robert Kelly,son of White House Chief of Staff JohnKelly.

Arlington resident James Butcher, 31,points to his medal after finishing theMarine Corps Marathon in 3:59:30.

Bethany Sachtleban, 25,of Alexandria, shatteredthe MCM 10K courserecord with a time of 34minutes and 6 seconds.The previous record was34:43 set in 2010.

Running for Team Manion,Army veteran Jacob Mar-quis of Bangor, Me., com-pleted his mission to runone step for every combatdeath since the Revolution-ary War while carrying theU.S. flag – a total of1,012,000 steps. Marquis,44, began his quest in 2013and completed the final39,000 steps Oct. 22 inArlington. He finished witha time of 4:26:00.

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Opinion

Every year is election year in Virginia.Virginia offers multiple examples thatprove every vote counts.

This year, each Virginia voter will vote forGovernor, Lieutenant Governor, Attorney Gen-eral and their member of the House of Del-egates. Virginia is one of two Governor’s races,and many are watching the Virginia race to asa harbinger of what to expect in 2018.

No matter how you vote, polling shows thatthe Governor’s race could bevery close.

While there are quite a fewuncontested races for members

of the House of Delegates, several races couldalso be close, with the outcome likely to de-pend on turnout.

There is every reason to get out and vote.

Absentee Voting in PersonVoting early if you qualify is a good choice.There are 19 valid reasons to vote absentee

in Virginia, including the possibility that youwill be working and commuting to and fromhome for 11 or more hours between 6 a.m.and 7 p.m. on Election Day. Check the VirginiaDepartment of Elections list to see if you areeligible: elections.virginia.gov/casting-a-bal-lot/absentee-voting/index.html

There are two ways to vote absentee: in-per-son and by mail. To vote by mail, you will needto apply for an absentee ballot; if you voteabsentee in-person you will fill out the appli-cation when you arrive at the in-person ab-sentee location.

See your locality’s elections website for more.

Bring Photo ID,There Are Alternatives

Virginia has voter identification require-ments; plan to bring photo identification withyou to vote, whether absentee or on ElectionDay.

Any registered voter who does not have oneof the required forms of identification can ap-ply for a free Virginia Voter Photo Identifica-tion from any general registrar’s office in theCommonwealth. Voters applying for the Vir-ginia Voter Photo ID complete the VirginiaVoter Photo Identification Card Application,

have their picture taken, and sign the digitalsignature pad.

Among accepted ID: valid Virginia Driver’sLicense or Identification Card; valid VirginiaDMV issued Veteran’s ID card; valid U.S. Pass-port; other government-issued photo identifi-cation cards issued by the U.S. Government,the Commonwealth of Virginia, or a politicalsubdivision of the Commonwealth; valid col-lege or university student photo identificationcard from an institution of higher educationlocated in Virginia; valid student ID issued bya public school or private school in Virginiadisplaying a photo; employee identificationcard containing a photograph of the voter andissued by an employer of the voter in the ordi-nary course of the employer’s business.

A voter who does not bring an acceptablephoto ID to the polls will be offered a provi-sional ballot.

To find a registration office where you canobtain photo ID, even on the day of an elec-

GovernorRalph S. Northam (D)Edward W. “Ed” Gillespie (R)Clifford D. Hyra (L)

Lieutenant GovernorJustin E. Fairfax (D)Jill H. Vogel (R)

Attorney GeneralMark R. Herring (D)*John D. Adams (R)

House of Delegates45th District

Mark Levine (D) incumbent, unopposed47th District

Patrick Hope (D) incumbent, unopposed

Don’t Stay Home Your vote counts this round;nation is watching.

Editorial

tion, visit: vote.elections.virginia.gov/VoterInformation/PublicContactLookup.

Provisional Ballot Process for VotersWho Arrive Without Identification

If you arrive at your polling place on Elec-tion Day without an acceptable form of photoidentification, don’t panic or give up. You willbe given the opportunity to vote a provisionalballot. After completing the provisional ballot,the individual voting will be given written in-structions from the election officials on howto submit a copy of his/her identification sothat his/her vote can be counted.

A voter will have until noon on the Fridayfollowing the election to deliver a copy of theidentification to the local electoral board or toappear in person to apply for a Virginia VoterPhoto ID Card. Also by noon on Friday follow-ing the election, the voter may appear in-per-son in the office of the general registrar, in thelocality in which the provisional ballot was cast,and apply for a Virginia Voter Photo ID Card.At the completion of the application process,the voter may request a Temporary Identifica-tion Document. This document may be pro-vided to the electoral board to suffice the iden-tification requirement.

General Election Day,Tuesday, Nov. 7

On Election Day Polls are open from 6 a.m.-7 p.m.

On the Ballot48th District

Rip Sullivan (D) incumbent, unopposed49th District

Alfonso Lopez (D) incumbentAdam Roosevelt (R)

Arlington School BoardM. D. “Mike” Webb (I)Monique C. O’Grady (I)Alison Priscilla Dough (I)

CONTACT: Arlington VoterRegistration and Elections2100 Clarendon Blvd, Suite 320, Arlington, VA

22201Hours: 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Mondays-Fridaysvote.arlingtonva.usPhone: 703-228-3456TTY: 703-228-4611FAX (main): 703-228-3659

Marianne Chernin con-centrates as she wraps ablue piece of yarn acrossher hand and then oneby one she loops astrand from the bottomover each finger to fingerknit a blue headband.

Fall HeritageFestivalNine-year-old SarahTorchinsky and her 5-year-old sister, Anna,push the woodenbeam around incircles to mash amixture of apples intocider at the GulfBranch Fall FestivalOct. 21. Sarah says,“This is hard to turn.You have to use all ofyour weight.” But it isworth the effort sincecups of hot cider areavailable for tastingat the table nearby.

Caleb Malovany hasfinished decorating hispumpkin and is givingadvice to his 6-year-oldsister, Mira, at thepumpkin-decoratingtable at the Fall HeritageFestival.

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[email protected]@TheismannMedia

[email protected]

ArlingtonThe

Connection

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Take Control and Be Your Own BossLearn how at the Capital Area Franchise Fair

Monday, November 6, 8:30am-12:30pm

Reston Association Conference Center12001 Sunrise Valley Dr., Reston, VA

The Capital Area Franchise Fair is the annual learning event

hosted by FranNet of Virginia with the SBA, SCORE and the

Community Business Partnership.

Experts, lenders and franchisors from various industries will

model, local regulations, franchise funding.

Tickets cost $39 ($49 at the door)

Register at www.capitalfranchiseshow.com Questions call Heather Rosen at 703-291-0939

703-549-0011609 King Street, Alexandria

Mon-Sat 10a-6p Thurs 10a-8p

KingsJewelry.NET

News

By Eden Brown

The Connection

A “Happy Hour Series” onOct. 20 and Nov. 3 isbrightening the longer

days of autumn at the BennettPark Art Atrium, 1601 ClarendonBoulevard, in Arlington. The Quar-tet Uncorked event offered a winepairing with Bistro 360, which dida tasting of two whites and two reds; the upcomingCity Serenade concert will be paired with theDeschutes Brewery for beer tastings.

The musicians who played on Oct. 20 treated anaudience of music lovers — some brought sheetmusic to follow along — to Joaquin Turina’s LaOracion del Torero, Op. 34, GIacomo Puccini’sCrisantemi, and Maurice Ravel’s String Quartet in FMajor. Violinist Matthew Richardson’s choice of mu-sic made it possible for less savvy residents and seri-ous musicians alike to enjoy the hour.

The acoustics in the atrium were good, and if thetraffic going by sometimes created a distraction, the

suspended sculpture by Kendall Buster was the anti-dote. Organizers may not have thought they wouldhave as many attendees as they did. If you arrivelate, bringing a flat pillow for the overflow seats alongthe planters is a good idea.

The mission of the Arlington Philharmonic is tomake classical music accessible to every Arlingtoncitizen, to promote the value of classical music incivic life, and to build strong, creative partnershipswith schools, local government, businesses, and otherorganizations. To learn more about upcoming pro-grams and donate, seewww.ArlingtonPhilharmonic.org

Happy HourSeries at BennettPark Art Atriumattracts crowd.

‘Quartet Uncorked’

Matthew Richardson, violin; Jennifer Wade, violin; Eliza-beth O’Hara Stahr, viola; and Andrew Rammon, cello.Pho

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Entertainment

Submit entertainment announcementsat www.connectionnewspapers.com/Cal-endar/. The deadline is noon on Friday.Photos/artwork encouraged.

ONGOINGPeter Pan on Stage. Through Nov.

19, various times at Synetic Theater,Crystal City, 1800 S. Bell St. Takeflight to Neverland with Peter Pan,his Lost Boys and the Darlingchildren. Ages 7+. $35 and up.Student tickets start at $15. Seniorcitizens and military receive $5 off.Call 866-811-4111 orwww.synetictheater.org.

Arlington Farmer’s Market. EverySaturday, 8 a.m.-noon at the cornerof N. 14th Street and N. CourthouseRoad. A weekly celebration of localfood including fresh produce, meats,dairy, cheese, baked goods, freerange eggs, specialty items, cutflowers, plants and herbs. [email protected] or call 917-733-6402.

FRESHFARM Market. 3-7 p.m. onTuesdays at 1900 Crystal Drive. Shopfrom local farmers and producerswith seasonal fruits and vegetables,fresh-cut flowers, container plantsand herbs, farm-raised eggs, all-natural meats, artisan baked goods,and specialty foods. Visitwww.crystalcity.org.

THROUGHOUT OCTOBERClean Cars for National Breast

Cancer. 4:30-9:30 p.m. at Mr. WashCar Wash, 101 North Glebe Road.Pink suds, pink towels, clean cars, inhonor of National Breast CancerAwareness Month. Visitwww.mrwash.com.

WEDNESDAY/OCT. 25Volunteers of America

Chesapeake. 8-9 p.m. at ArmyNavy Country Club, 1700 Army NavyDrive. Volunteers of AmericaChesapeake’s 8th Annual Harvest forHope. Free. Call 410-837-7222.

THURSDAY/OCT. 26Gin and Jazz Gala for Uganda. 6-10

p.m. at New District BrewingCompany, 2709 S. Oakland St. Liveand silent auction items duringcocktail hour, followed by dinner anddessert, and games to support theefforts building schools, clinics andchanging the face of rural Uganda.Visit http://aahuganda.org/gala/.

FRIDAY/OCT. 2714th Annual Canstruction

Competition. 5 p.m.-midnight.

Organized by the American Instituteof Architects / Northern VirginiaChapter (AIA NOVA) and AFAC,Northern Virginia’s Canstructioncompetition celebrates thecommitment local architects havemade to support their communityand have fun while doing so. Watchteams build on Oct. 27. Thestructures will be on public display atthe airport through Nov. 5. Visitwww.canstruction.org/.

Nocturnal Nature Campfire. 6-7p.m. at the Gulf Branch NatureCenter, 3608 Military Road. Sitaround the fire ring for stories,special animal guests, games, songsand S’mores. $5. Call 703-228-3403.

“Bits and Pieces.” 7:30 p.m. at theTheatre on the Run, 3700 S. FourMile Run Drive. The performanceincorporates spoken word,movement, music and kineticimaging and animation by Hong Huo.$10-$30. Visit janefranklin.com orcall 703-933-1111.

SATURDAY/OCT. 28CROP Hunger Walk. 8 a.m.-noon at

First Presbyterian Church, 601 NorthVermont St. Walk to end hungeraround the world and in Arlingtonwith the 40th Annual CROP HungerWalk. Funds raised support ArlingtonFood Assistance Center and the

global hunger initiatives of ChurchWorld Service. Visitwww.crophungerwalk.org.

Octoberfest Fall Bazaar. 9 a.m.-3p.m. at Walker Chapel UnitedMethodist Church, 4102 N. GlebeRoad. Used clothing, furniture,outdoor and household items, crafts,jewelry, boutique, Christmas items,and bake sale. Cafe serves breakfastand lunch and there is a petting zoo.All proceeds go to charity. Call 703-538-5200 or visitwww.walkerchapel.org.

Champion Trees Bike Ride. 9 a.m.-noon, meet at Shirlington BranchLibrary, 4200 Campbell Ave. Rideover mostly level, paved pathways,while stopping at points of naturaland environmental interest along theway. For ages 12+. Register withVincent Verqeij at 703-228-1863. Call703-228-6545.

Family Fun Dance Day. 9:30, 11 a.m.and 3 p.m. at Theatre on the Run,3700 S Four Mile Run Drive. JaneFranklin Dance team with music byMark Sylvester, Tobias Tenenbaum,and Jon Kamman. $15,Visitjanefranklin.com or call 703-933-1111.

Community Walking Tour. 11 a.m.Courthouse Square Tour meets atCourthouse Pop-up Plaza (SurfaceParking Lot), 2100 Clarendon Blvd.Join a 90-minute community walking

tour with artist-in-residence GrahamCoreil-Allen to explore, question, andreimagine Courthouse’s public spacesin partnership with WalkArlingtonand Courthouse 2.0. Examine howArlington’s history, public artcollection, and civic buildings haveshaped the community and discussCourthouse Square’s future planningefforts. Free. Visitgrahamprojects.com/.

Arlington Free Clinic AnnualBenefit Gala. 6 p.m.-midnight atRitz-Carlton, Tysons Corner TysonsGalleria, 1700 Tysons Blvd. McLean.Cocktail reception and silent auction,including getaways, art andphotography, sports items, and muchmore. $300. Visitwww.gala.arlingtonfreeclinic.org.

OCT. 28-29American Fine Arts Craft Show. 10

a.m.-8 p.m. on Saturday; 10 a.m.-5p.m. on Sunday at the Hyatt RegencyCrystal City at Reagan Airport, 2799Jefferson Davis Highway. 100contemporary artists and designers.Adult $15, senior $12, student $8,under 12 free. VisitAmericanArtMarketing.com.

Donation Drop-Off Weekend. 11a.m.-1 p.m. in the St. Agnes CatholicChurch, Parking Lot by the ParishHall at 1910 North Randolph Street.

Calendar

By Steve Hibbard

The Connection

Signature Theatre in Arlington isstaging “An Act of God” nowthrough Nov. 26. Written by 13-time Emmy Award winner David

Javerbaum (long-time producer of “TheDaily Show”), this comedy delivers a newmeaning to the phrase “divine interven-tion.”

Inhabiting the body of D.C. actor TomStory (MetroStage’s “Fully Committed”),and flanked by his ever-faithful archangels,the show is about God gifting his mortalswith an entirely new set of Ten Command-ments in a sinfully funny whirlwind of com-edy heaven.

Director Eleanor Holdridge said she’sbeen coming to Signature Theatre since shearrived in town a few years back to teach,and she loved the programming and thesense of excitement the theater seems togenerate. “I’ve found the audiences to beliterate, liberal, compassionate and hungryfor dialog and laughs,” she said.

So, when Signature’s Co-Founder andArtistic Director Eric Schaeffer called herto direct this piece, she was thrilled. “It’ssuch a perfect play for today’s America,” shesaid. “It is insidiously funny, making us thinkabout who we are and our relationship toreligion and to God even as we laugh, ex-amining our biases, our knee-jerk assump-tions of how belief and society work to-gether; and the humor of ‘The Daily Show’going deeper within the live medium of the-

ater.”“‘An Act of God’ is a strange hybrid be-

tween play and stand up,” she added. “Atfirst glance each page of the script reads asalmost strictly stand-up: set-up, joke/set-up,joke, and the topical wit and humor seemto skim the surface of what it is to be alivein today’s America.”

She continued: “And yet, as we work onit there is a deeper arc that puts it moreinto the form a play. There is a deep-seatedreason why the character God has inhab-ited Tom Story to bring his new command-ments. There is a resonance in all the pain-ful questions that the arch-angel Michaelkeeps asking that are at the core of what itis to be human.”

And thus, the biggest challenge, she saidwas to balance the two forms in a way thatholds the audience, “and to make sure we’renot sacrificing the deep truths under thesurface for the comedy, and conversely, thedeep truths for the easy laugh,” she said.

It helped immensely that Signature hasthree fine actors — Tom Story, Evan Casey,Jamie Smithson — who happen to be funny(rather than just comedians) to investigateand uncover the emotional truth and getthe laughs, she said.

Regarding Tom Story, she added: “I’veknown him for about 20 years, (we keepremembering new projects we did togetherback in the day) and his humor and chopsand ideas and dazzling acting abilityseemed a perfect match.”

She said on Feb. 17 of this year,Javerbaum wrote: “‘God’s done with Twit-

ter.’ And his successful book, his wildly suc-cessful Twitter account in the voice of Godinspired this play,” she said. “Which, in turn,sparked his closing down of God’s TwitterAccount.”

She added: “I think he found that,through the character of God, he could finda unique voice for observations of who andwhere we are as a nation; what we do inGod’s name. As I’ve worked on it, I’ve founda surprising amount of faith in humanitywithin the work, even while on surface itseems like a cynical take. Somehow, throughGod’s quixotic wrath and unconditionallove, we can find power in our own human-ity.”

Above all, she wants the audience to havefun with the show. “I want them to laugh

Signature Theatre Stages ‘An Act of God’Show is written by David Javerbaum, along-time producer of “The Daily Show.”

Photo by Margot Schulman

Evan Casey (Michael), Tom Story (God) and Jamie Smithson (Gabriel)star in “An Act of God” at Signature Theatre.

not just at America but themselves. I wantto celebrate the best in how we practicefaith of whatever brand and root out theworst in our easy use of religion to justifybias and personal ends. I want to investi-gate, through humor, what is wrong withour culture, and strive to make it right,” shesaid.

Signature Theatre’s Specialty Nights for “An Act ofGod” include Discussion Nights on Oct. 25, Nov. 8and Nov. 14; Pride Nights on Nov. 3 and Nov. 17;and Open Captioning on Nov. 19, at 2 p.m.

“An Act of God” will be performed through Nov.26, at Signature Theatre. Tickets are $40 to $104.Show times are Tuesdays through Saturdays at 7:30p.m. and 8 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday matinees at2 p.m.; and Sunday at 7 p.m. The venue is locatedin The Village at Shirlington at 4200 Campbell Av-enue, Arlington, VA 22206. Visit www.sigtheatre.orgor call 703-820-9771.


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rHalloween Fun

FRIDAY/OCT. 27Rosslyn Harvest Fest. 4-10 p.m. at

Central Place Plaza, 1800 N. Lynn St.Vendors, crafts, gifts, food, music, apie eating contest, cornhole, pumpkintoss and a kids’ and pets’ costumecontest. Visit www.rosslynva.org/do/rosslyn-harvest-fest.

11th Annual Vampires Ball. 8 p.m.at Synetic Theater, 1800 S. Bell St.Dance the night away with musiccourtesy of Resident Composer andHalloween DJ, KonstantineLortkipanidze. The event will includean open bar, light appetizers, and acostume contest with prizes. $60-$75. Visit synetictheater.org.

SATURDAY/OCT. 28Halloween Spooky Paws Stroll. 10

a.m.-noon in the Market CommonClarendon, 2700 Clarendon Blvd.Doorways for Women and Families7th Annual Dog Walk. Visitwww.doorwaysva.org for more.

Spooky Cupcake Wars. 10 a.m.-noonat at Arlington Mill CommunityCenter, 909 South Dinwiddie St.Every family will learn new ways todecorate this popular dessert andcreate a “spooky” cupcake design totake home. $8. Call 703-228-4747.

Rosslyn Harvest Fest. 10 a.m.-5 p.m.at Central Place Plaza, 1800 N. LynnSt. Vendors, crafts, gifts, food, music,a pie eating contest, cornhole,pumpkin toss and a kids’ and pets’costume contest. Visitwww.rosslynva.org/do/rosslyn-harvest-fest

Community Walking Tour. 11 a.m.Courthouse Square Tour meets atCourthouse Pop-up Plaza (SurfaceParking Lot), 2100 Clarendon Blvd.Join a 90-minute community walkingtour with artist-in-residence Graham

[email protected] orcall 703-442-4341.

Day of the Dead. 6-7 p.m. at the LongBranch Nature Center, 625 S. CarlinSprings Road. Celebrate the Day ofthe Dead with Calaveras, thedecorative sugar skull masks andcostumes, holiday snacks, and seesome night animals up close.Afterward, there is a night hikethrough the candlelit forest.$5. Call703-228-6535 for more.

Haunted Trail. 7-9 p.m. at DouglasPark, 1718 S Quincy St. Bring a non-perishable food donation then walkthrough gates, coffins, tombstones,picket fences and caldrons andpumpkin painting and games. Thisevent benefits Arlington FoodAssistance Center and RandolphElementary School PTA. Call 703-228-6525 for more.

Coreil-Allen to explore, question, andreimagine Courthouse’s public spacesin partnership with WalkArlingtonand Courthouse 2.0. Examine howArlington’s history, public artcollection, and civic buildings haveshaped the community and discussCourthouse Square’s future planningefforts. Free. Visitgrahamprojects.com/ for more.

Fall-O-Ween Festival. 1-4 p.m. atMarket Common Clarendon, 2800Clarendon Blvd. Bring the entirefamily and join us for the fun.Festivities will include: ini pumpkindecorating, Scarecrow decoratingstation, trick-or-treating & kids’ craftsat stores, petting zoo, Big BarnPuppet Shows at 1, 2 & 3 p.m., musicwith Kidsinger Jim, face painting,balloon art & sand art, funnel cakes.Free. Email

Vampire’sBall11th AnnualVampires Ball,at 8 p.m. Oct.27 at SyneticTheater, 1800S. Bell St.Dance thenight awaywith musiccourtesy ofResidentComposer and Halloween DJ, Konstantine Lortkipanidze.The event will include an open bar, light appetizers, anda costume contest with prizes. $60 to $75. Visitsynetictheater.org.


“Share the Journey” is sponsored by theMigration and Refugee OutreachProgram which is collectingdonations of household and personalitems. Call 703-525-1166.

SUNDAY/OCT. 29Roosevelt Memorial Jubilee. 10

a.m.-5 p.m. at Theodore RooseveltIsland, George Washington MemorialParkway. 50th anniversary of theRoosevelt Memorial with historicalre-enactors, games, tours, Teddy BearStorytimes, exhibits, vendors. Visittheodorerooseveltisland.org/.

Evolution: Past Present FutureDance Show. 6 p.m. at KenmoreMiddle School, 200 S. Carlin SpringsRoad. Metropolitan School of theArts youth dancers in ballet, tap,jazz, and hip-hop. $15. Visitmetropolitanarts.org.

MONDAY/OCT. 30Breakfast with the Chief. 8-10 a.m.

at the Hyatt Centric, 1325 WilsonBlvd. Join Arlington County PoliceChief M. Jay Farr for a networkingand Q&A session. Visitpolice.arlingtonva.us/ or call 703-558-2222.

WEDNESDAY/NOV. 1Northern Virginia Bird Club Walk.

8:30-11 a.m. at Long Branch NatureCenter, 625 S. Carlin Springs Road.Search of resident and migratorybirds, bring binoculars. Free. Call703-228-6535 or [email protected].

NOV. 2-3P.E.A.C.E. Investigative

Interviewing Training. 9 a.m.-5p.m. in Marymount’s Ballston CenterConference Room, 1000 North GlebeRoad. The P.E.A.C.E. approach hasbeen adopted by numerous policeforces, including those in Canada,Australia, New Zealand and manyother countries. It is designed tomaintain respect for the interviewee,whether the person is a witness,

suspect or victim. [email protected].

FRIDAY/NOV 3Yoga Dialogue. 6:30-8:30 p.m. at Sun

& Moon Yoga, 3811 Lee Highway.Guided meditations, silent reflection,dialogue principles, and mindfulnesspractices to support us as a group incandid conversations about thedivisions in our country and to learnfrom our different views and ideas ina respectful space. By donation only– all proceeds will go to hurricanerelief. Visit sunandmoonstudio.com.

Meet the Artists. 7 p.m. atMarymount University’s BallstonCenter Gallery, 1000 North GlebeRoad. Talk with artists Jeremy Flickand Jon Malis about their exhibit“Metaphrase.” Visit marymount.edu.

Moon Night Hike. 7-8 p.m. at FortC.F. Smith, 2411 24th St N.Experience the trails under the moon,learn a new constellation, and meetnocturnal critters. 703-228- 3403.

After Hours Dance Party. 7-9 p.m.Columbia Pike Branch Library, 816South Walter Reed Drive. CazGardiner, a Washington, D.C.-basedsinger/songwriter performs rock andreggae. Call 703-228-5710.

Auto-Audio. 7:30 p.m. at the Theatreon the Run, 3700 S. Four Mile RunDrive. New works by Forty+/Excerpts from Aflight. Post-performance at Capitol City BrewingCompany. Minimum donation $10.Visit janefranklin.com or call 703-933-1111.

SATURDAY/NOV. 4Birding Arlington. 8-9:30 a.m. at at

Gravelly Point, George WashingtonMemorial Pkwy. Use spotting scopes,and stroll around the park looking forwaterfowl, songbirds and maybe aPeregrine Falcon. Ages 8 and up. Call703-228-3403.

Whitetail Deer Campfire. 6-7 p.m. atat Gulf Branch Nature Center, 3608N. Military Road. Stories, specialanimal guests, games, songs andS’mores. $5. 703-228-3403 [email protected].

‘Voices out of Chaos’The Yorktown Theatre III & IV classes are performing“Voices out of Chaos,” an original play developed by thestudents in response to current events. The show followsa young girl’s journey as she attempts to make sense ofthe chaos created by the barrage of daily headlines. Freeperformances will take place on Oct. 27 and 28, in theYorktown H.S. auditorium, at 7 p.m., followed by a Q&Asession. The theatre classes will also be taking this showto the Virginia High School League competition on Jan.20, 2018. The performances are free and open to thepublic.

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News

Facing Local Drug Use EpidemicFrom Page 3

Nathan Eberhart, 12, Boy Scout First Class, Troop647, asked Chief of Police Jay Farr what he and histroop could do to spread awareness of the problem.

Also present at thelibrary were DEApersonnel, addressing“red ribbon week”and providing aware-ness of Narcan anopioid blocker usedin the treatment ofoverdoses. The Ar-lington County policedisplayed typical drugparaphernalia to lookfor: the FedEx enve-lope is how drugs canarrive in the mail;youths are orderingthem over theinternet via the “darkweb.”

made the town hall meeting happen.One of the most disturbing stories of the

night was from a parent, Ari Garbow, who saidhe has three children in the Arlington schoolsystem. “Nine months ago, I wouldn’t havebeen here. But almost exactly nine months ago,I was having wine and cheese with friendswhen I got a call from our two younger chil-dren at home, who were in hysterics. They saidthere were police outside the home with theirolder brother.” Garbow rushed home to seepolice cruisers outside his house. “For the next48 hours, we watched as my 10th grader hadto be subdued on the ground, chained to a hos-pital bed, and put into juvenile detention.”

“We were — and we are — really good par-ents,” he said. “We bonded with our kids, hadgood chats with them, did the talks about drugsand marijuana, and heard back from them thatthey felt they could say ‘no’ to drugs and alco-hol and not feel uncomfortable. My son wasgetting good grades in school, he seemedhappy and we had a great relationship. Butthen, when he was a freshman in high school,we heard from another parent that our sonhad boasted to their son about being high.When we confronted him, he protested: butit’s legal in so many places.”

Garbow said he and his wife tracked theirson carefully after that. They thought they hadit under control: they engaged in therapy forhim to deal with anxiety and depression, whicha lot of youths have in Arlington County. Theydidn’t smell the strong smell of marijuana any-where at home. But then, they found out hewas doing marijuana daily the first week hetried it, then multiple times a day, then vapingit, then abusing alcohol in the house. Theylearned that much of the use and purchase ofdrugs and alcohol took place at school, andthat with the lunch money he was given, hehad purchased LSD, not lunch.

“We thought we knew everything,” Garbowsaid, “but when I look back on it, I realize therewas no way this kid was going to tell us thetruth: he was addicted. My kid was taking hislunch money to school and there was a smor-gasbord of drug choices for him to spend iton, instead of food.”

Dr. John Palmieri of the Arlington CountyDepartment of Human Services said drug useis common, starting early, becoming increas-ingly complex and has more serious conse-quences than it used to.

He referred the residents at the meeting tothe Risk Behavior Survey filled out by Arling-ton teens. Risky behavior is up, he said. Con-

sequences are not clear to the adolescent. Andthe potency of the drugs out there is muchhigher. He suggested parents be on the look-out of warning signs like fatigue, red eyes,emotional changes, increasedargumentativeness, breaking rules, with-drawal, clothing changes, and different friends.But he warned that not all youths demonstratethese signs.

For more information, Palmieri recom-mended the website”Partnership for a DrugFree America” or www.drugfree.org.

APS School Superintendent Dr. PatrickMurphy addressed the comments of some irateparents who wanted to know why they weren’tbetter informed about the drug epidemic inArlington County and its schools. What was theschool system doing to keep kids safe? Hestressed the importance of education andawareness about the drug issue: the purposeof the evening’s town hall meeting. “The mes-sage I want to send,” he said, “is education,awareness, prevention — and that we’re in thistogether. Schools can do a lot, but it’s only onepiece of the puzzle. Bringing the canines intoschool (to do drug searches) was a difficultdecision; it was painful. But in light of thesestories we’ve heard tonight, we don’t feel it wastoo much.”

Photos by

Eden Brown

The Connection


News

Dreamers

small apartment with 13 people. We were there tosupport her for her deportation hearing. The womanhad fled El Salvador, which is the murder capital ofthe world. We took her to Rosslyn to immigrationcourt. All of us had to go through a metal detectorincluding the children, and they took away the foodin her purse.”

Martin says 80 different cases were all given thesame 11 a.m. time for consideration. “It wasn’t agrand court — it was an institutional setting withlow ceilings, bright light and so crowded that people,

even with babies,couldn’t sit down. Itwas very proceduraland you heard thesame thing dozens oftimes. They took caseswith attorneys first sowe had to wait for along time.”

Martin says somewhere along the way the woman’sheavy ankle bracelet started beeping because thebattery was low. “There was nowhere to recharge itso it just kept beeping until we got to Subway forlunch in the late afternoon and she could plug it in.”When it came her turn the bilingual judge asked ifthe immigrant needed time to get an attorney andpostponed her case until August.

Then they had to go to Vienna for a regular anklebracelet check-in. “They could track where she was.”

Martin said the Sanctuary DMV group is not in-volved in case management so she doesn’t know whathappened at the August court date. “The courts can’tkeep up. They are rescheduling out to the end of2018.”

An excerpt from a poem sent by Martin to the con-gregation concludes:

“I have known the grandmothers whoSmile even though they have leftTheir country of spices and markets,Have left their open windows with blue curtainsHave left the tramping of war,Have left their songs and language,And believed America when we said,‘This is the land of the free.’”

This is the third article in a series focusing on DACA.

From Page 4

rent 800,000 DACA 135,000 are Asian-Americans.The current efforts focus on DACA with phone

banks, vigils and visits to Virginia legislators urgingthem to support of the Dream Act. “RepresentativesBarbara Comstock and Scott Taylor are on the fenceabout whether to co-sponsor the legislation,” saidYi. NAKASEC is planning a day soon when they willjoin with other organizations and knock on everydoor they can find. “Come on; we can do this,” shesaid.

Yi says that Korea is a land of opportunity with agreat educational system. “I can go there now andmake a lot of money but what keeps us rooted hereis liberty and freedom. In Korea,” she said, “You haveto think a certain way. Culturally and value-wise, I’mAmerican.”

Yi takes a moment to reflect on their recent 30-day vigil in front of the White House.

She said they slept on benches, talked to people,got signatures and even did the “DACA dance.”

“The Secret Service told us we were the weirdestdemonstrators they had ever seen at the WhiteHouse; we even had a karaoke night. But we raiseda lot of money,” Yi said. “Some people were support-ive but others were being really mean. We had kidswith us and I could see they were so hurt. I don’tknow what’s going to happen but we’re stronger to-gether. We have to do something.”

She declares they’re going to get education anddriver’s licenses for everyone in Virginia. “This mo-ment is bigger than all of us.”

SIXTY FOUR PLACES of worship joined togetherafter the election with the announcement of upcom-ing anti-immigration legislation. Imam Ali Saddiqui,who is part of a transitional leadership team for thegroup, says SanctuaryDMV (D.C., Maryland,Virginia) includes a num-ber of Protestantchurches as well as sev-eral synagogues, Catholicchurches and his MuslimInstitute. One of their ac-tions has been organizingrallies in support of DACA and immigrant rights. “Iwas just there last week at the Immigration CustomsEnforcement (ICE) office in D.C. and at the mayor’soffice.” Since there was just a raid where ICE wentafter 500 undocumented immigrants and 14 werearrested, the group was asking for their release andfor the mayor not to cooperate with ICE officials.

In addition, they have been visiting congressionaloffices in support of the Dream Act and phoningmembers of Congress. “Actually this is on a party line.Democrats are very supportive and Republicans not.”

He says you hear the argument that immigrantscost the government money and don’t pay taxes. “Letme tell you my own story. I came here from Pakistanon March 23, 1969 originally as an asylee. I lookedfor a job and started working and paying taxes March24 and have paid ever since.”

The Rev. Laura Martin, associate pastor for at RockSpring UCC in Arlington and also a member of DMVSanctuary, says there are a number of unresolvedissues about the concept of offering sanctuary to animmigrant in a church building. “We are trying tocome up with a wider definition of sanctuary suchas offering solidarity or support for immigrants whenthey have an order for deportation. So in the springanother member of the congregation and I pickedup a woman living in D.C. with her two children in a

Imam Ali Saddiqui, transitional leader forSanctuary DMV, demonstrates outside ofICE office in D.C.

DACA by Congressional DistrictDACA DACA

U.S. Rep. Recipients EligibleBeyer (D-8) 2,000 5,400Comstock (R-10) 1,600 3,700Connelly (D-11) 2,400 5,300

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ABC LICENSEGreen Valley Stores LLC trading as Green

Valley Market, 2415 Shirlington Road Arlington, Virginia 22206. The above

establishment is applying to the VIRGINIA DEPARTMENT OF ALCOHOLIC BEVER-

Beer and Wine license to sell or manufac-ture alcoholic beverages. Ibrahim Al Amin. NOTE: Objections to the issuance of this

license must be submitted to ABC no later than 30 days from the publishing date of

notices. Objections should be registered at

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ABC LICENSE XHR Arlington TRS LLC trading as The Ritz

Carlton Pentagon City, 1250 South Hayes Street, Arlington, Arlington County, Virginia 22202.

The above establishment is applying to the VIR-GINIA DEPARTMENT OF ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE

Premises; Mixed Beverage Restaurant (seat ca-pacity over 150 seats) license to sell or manufac-ture alcoholic beverages. Marcel Verbaas, Presi-

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Yorktown Focuses on Drug UseFrom Page 3

pretty much anything that can be inhaled orsmoked, can also be vaped. “We’ve even seen pho-tos of kids vaping (drugs) at school because thesekids document everything on social media. “We dohave a problem with juuls compared to otherschools,” she said. Yorktown is an affluent schooland juuls are expensive: they can cost $40 to $50per case with card charger.”

Some Yorktown teachers and parents have knownabout this problem for a while; students have toldtheir parents about the ease of doing juuls in themiddle of a class. “You can inhale it right in themiddle of the class, even with the teacher looking,because it’s so small it fits in your palm,” said onestudent. And why? “It’s to fight boredom, mainly.”

Teachers have long complained that the “PatriotPeriod” — a scheduled “down period” designed toloosen up the packed schedule and let high schoolstudents catch up on a class or seek help with theirwork — was not adequately supervised and allowedstudents to roam the halls, and sometimes the fieldsand woods. One teacher, who did not want to beidentified, said of the Patriot Period in 2016-2017:“There is no accountability during Patriot Period. Noone checks on the kids. They could be anywhere.”Loft was brought to Yorktown from Swanson MiddleSchool this fall in part to deal with this problem headon. She says it is an ongoing process. Her primaryrole in this effort is to be transparent with parents,students, and teachers about the consequences ofsubstance abuse.

She has shared the Risk Behavior Survey, whichmonitors risky behavior in 6-12 graders locally andby school, with teachers, and then did a show andtell for them on actual vaping devices they mightsee in the classroom or around school. She plans toshare the same information at the Nov. 13 PTA meet-ing.

Loft said she is having class meetings, talking aboutexpectations for behavior, and then consequences.Those are: if a student is found vaping on schoolproperty the student will receive an out-of-schoolsuspension, which can be expunged from the recordif the student participates in the second chance pro-gram. The school wants to solve the abuse problem,not ruin the lives of students. Her tactics seem to behaving an effect: several Yorktown students saidconsequences were rare previously and risks theymight have taken last year, they wouldn’t take thisyear because they know the current principal is se-rious, and is watching.

Loft has also worked with government classes, withninth graders about decision-making, providing

them with the testimony of someone who has beenin recovery for 20 years, and on early release day,she invited Kevin Shird, a convicted drug dealer whowrote a book about his experience after he was re-leased from prison, to speak about his own badchoices. She recommended the podcast produced byAPS which provides tips to parents (see box).

On Dec. 7, she will reprise a presentation MikeKrulfeld, Yorktown’s director of Student Activities,organized last year, where students with struggleswith substance abuse talked about their lives, andparents shared similar stories. She reiterated Super-intendent of Schools Dr. Patrick Murphy’s commentsfrom the town hall meeting: parents, schools, andstudents are “in this together” and education, aware-ness, prevention — and partnership — are the keys.

As for Patriot Period, Loft said she wanted to seehow Patriot Period was working before she changedit. Patriot Period is now in its second year. The driv-ing motivation for the idea was to get extra helpembedded in the school day for students who neededit. She has put together a group of staff to evaluatewhether it is having any positive effect for studentswho need it, and just how accountable it is. Loft hasnot set a date for her decision on Patriot Period, butshe is engaging in small tweaks while she observes.One of the things she has done is to add a layer ofaccountability: if students are given directives byteachers to report to them for Patriot Period, thenthey need to show up, and if they don’t, the schoolhas to be aware of the no-show. Loft is also increas-ing the activity of student resource officers who roamin the area behind Yorktown which has been notori-ous for congregating (and substance abuse). Addi-tional coverage for sports events and events like prom,will also be deployed.

Still, just two weekends after Shird made his emo-tional plea to the Yorktown senior class, to make goodchoices at this point in their lives, a “Powder Puff”football game took place at Jamestown Elementary’splaying field, where Yorktown students, among oth-ers, were engaged in alcohol and substance abuse.The game was interrupted by the police, who confis-cated substance abuse items and took names.

Will Yorktown students be suspended? When asked,Loft said, “Given that the Powder Puff game was nota school-sanctioned event and did not occur on schoolgrounds nor during school hours, Yorktown’s admin-istrators will follow our usual procedure in follow-ing up with the students’ parents and referring thestudents who had been drinking at the event or us-ing substances to our substance abuse counselor, Dr.Mila Vascones-Gatski, who will determine if referralsto Second Chance are appropriate.”

Submit civic/community announce-ments at ConnectionNewspapers.com/Calendar. Photos and artwork welcome.Deadline is Thursday at noon, at least twoweeks before event.

SATURDAY/OCT. 28Drug Take-Back Day. 10 a.m.-2 p.m.

The Arlington County PoliceDepartment (ACPD), ArlingtonCounty Sheriff’s Office and the DrugEnforcement Administration (DEA)will give the public a chance to bringmedications for disposal to the siteslisted below. The service is free andanonymous, no questions asked. Sitescannot accept liquids, needles orsharps; only pills or patches will beaccepted. ACPD will be collectingprescription drugs at the followingsites:

❖ Fire Station #1, 500 S. Glebe Road❖ Fire Station #5, 1750 S. Hayes St.❖ Fire Station #8, 4845 Lee Highway❖ Fire Station #9, 1900 S. Walter Reed

DriveVisit newsroom.arlingtonva.us/events/

national-prescription-drug-take-back-day-2/.

SATURDAY-SUNDAY/OCT. 28-29Donation Drop Off. In the St. Agnes

Catholic Church parking lot by theParish Hall at 1910 North RandolphSt. “Share the Journey” is sponsoredby the Migration and RefugeeOutreach Program which is collectingdonations of household and personalitems on Saturday, 11 a.m.-1 p.m.and Sunday, following the noonmass-2:30 p.m. Items will becollected in the St. Agnes Catholic

Church Parking Lot by the Parish Hallat 1910 North Randolph in Arlington.Needs for refugee families includesnew twin and queen size bedding,brooms with dust pans, bakingdishes, mixing bowls, new kitchenutensils and kitchen knives as well asfloor lamps, alarm clocks, showercurtains and rings and hand canopeners (no electric.) They currentlyare not accepting diapers, any type ofclothing, toys or used car seats. Call703-841-3891 with questions.

SUNDAY/OCT. 29Newcomers’ Fall Reception. 1-3

p.m. at St. Mary’s, 2609 N. GlebeRoad. New to St. Mary’s? Let us getto know you at our Newcomers

See Bulletin, Page 15

Bulletin Board


Kenny Lourie is an Advertising Representative forThe Potomac Almanac & The Connection Newspapers.

By KENNETH B. LOURIE

Say that three times quickly. Heck, say itone-time slowly. And then welcome to mywhirled: the world of cancer treatment and sur-vival. A ‘whirled’ in which, eight years andnearly eight months post diagnosis, I continueto live, breathe and write.

Occasionally it happens, as it is happeningnow, that some of the most excruciatingdemands of being a cancer patient, occursimultaneously – or a reasonable facsimile thereof. For me that means 24-hour urine collection,pre-chemotherapy lab work, chemotherapyinfusion, CT Scan and then the appointmentwith my oncologist to discuss all the results;occurring over 13 days – with intermittent daysoff for good behavior.

Typically; meaning every minute, everyhour, every day, every week, etc., maybe notevery second, I am thinking about cancer;though I wouldn’t say I’m preoccupied (othersmight). And of course, it’s certainly understand-able and reasonable to do so when every dayover a fortnight, you are waiting – as we say inthe sales world – “for the other shoe to drop.”

Having endured this cycle over the last eightand a half years with varying regularity, I canhonestly say that whatever symptoms havemanifested themselves – or not – have neverprovided any consistent assurance that mylife/life expectancy had not changed for theworse. It’s not until the appointment with myoncologist occurs – or sooner if he emails methe scan results, that I learn the facts of mycase.

All of that being said, as my friend Frank hasoften said to me: “You’re in pretty good shapefor the shape you’re in.” Don’t I know it.

However, yes there’s always a ‘however’ inthe cancer-patient-surviving-against-all-odds‘whirled,’ there are no guarantees. In fact, thereare only two guarantees: death and taxes. Theformer is way too close for comfort and the lat-ter, I’m already taxed to the hilt, emotionally.Somehow, I have to get through because “thealternative is gloomy” to quote Dr. Mobley, thedoctor in Miles City who treated AugustusMcCray in the epic miniseries, “LonesomeDove.” And so I try not to be gloomy.

However, there’s that word again, circum-stances/schedules randomly bring down theweight – and wait of my ‘whirled.’ These 13days can never pass quickly enough. But thatpresumes a good result, which one would wantto know as soon as possible. But what of a badresult, leading to an exponential increase inanxiety – and fear, ultimately leading to a treat-ment unknown. That I might not want to knowso soon. Not that not knowing serves any pointor helps coordinate the next treatment plan,I’m more afraid of hearing something I haven’theard much of since February 2009. To quotemy late mother quoting somebody: “No onegets out of this life alive.”

That of course is the point of this column,and the effect of having all this cancer stuff hap-pen at the same time. I can take it, generally; asmy late father used to say: “KB, I have confi-dence in you. You have broad shoulders.”Nevertheless, I worry about the figurative strawbreaking my emotional back. Cancer can dothat. It did it to my mother-in-law, Peggy, whereover a few days the situation went from bad toworse to finally, the worst.

Somehow, I have to compartmentalize allthis negative energy and focus on the positive.And that positive turns out to be an early emailfrom my oncologist basically saying that my lungcancer remains stable. Now we can go to myappointment on Monday “unencumbered,” toonce gain quote my late father. The pressure issemi off. Talk about relief.

Now maybe I can relax and try not to thinkabout my next infusion, my next scan and mynext appointment with the oncologist. There’sno harm in trying, right?

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“Flourishing After 55”

“Flourishing After 55” from Arlington Office ofSenior Adult Programs for Oct. 30-Nov. 4.

Senior centers: Lee, 5722 Lee Hwy.;Langston-Brown Senior Center, 2121 N. CulpeperSt.; Walter Reed, 2909 S. 16th St.; Arlington Mill,909 S. Dinwiddie St.; Aurora Hills, 735 S. 18th St.

Senior trips: Brandywine River Museum,Chadds Ford, Pa., Monday, Oct. 30, $101; back-stage tour Wolf Trap, Tuesday, Oct. 31, $9; U.S.Naval Academy tour and high tea, Annapolis,Wednesday, Nov. 1, $58; Textile Museum, D.C.,Thursday, Nov. 2, $15; “The Price,” matinee, ArenaStage, D.C., Sat., Nov 4, $94. Call Arlington County55+ Travel, 703-228-4748. Registration required.

NEW PROGRAMS:Understanding gardening, Monday, Oct.

30, 1 p.m., Walter Reed. Register, 703-228-0955.Karaoke time at Lee, Monday, Oct. 30, 1:30

p.m. Register early, 703-228-0555.What to do with heirlooms, Monday, Oct.

30, 1 p.m., Langston-Brown. Register, 703-228-6300.

How to use Craigslist, Tuesday, Oct. 31, 1p.m., Walter Reed. Register, 703-228-0955.

Free blood pressure check, Tuesday, Oct.31, 10-11 a.m., Walter Reed. Details, 703-228-0955.

Moving to a retirement community, Tues-day, Oct. 31, 1 p.m., Lee. Register, 703-228-0555.

Local history discussion, Wednesday, Nov.1, 12:30 p.m., Lee. Details, 703-228-0555.

Study of words, Wednesday, Nov. 1, 11 a.m.,Lee. Details, 703-228-0555.

Walter’s Walkers, 30 minutes, Wednesday,Nov. 1, 8:30 a.m., Walter Reed. Details, 703-228-0955.

Food Safety 101, Thursday, Nov. 2, 10 a.m.,Walter Reed. Register, 703-228-0955.

World history discussion, Thursday, Nov. 2,1 p.m., Walter Reed. Details, 703-228-0955.

Behind the scenes of Ten Thousand Vil-lages stores , Thursday, Nov. 2, 11 a.m.,Langston-Brown. Details, 703-228-6300.

A fresh look at Classical Greek Theatre,Friday, Nov. 3, 1:30 p.m., Aurora Hills. Register703-228-5722.

What’s a Podcast, Friday, Nov. 3, 5-7 p.m.,Connection Library, Crystal City Underground.Register, 703-228-4756.

Reception. Tell us what you’re interested in, meetclergy, ministry leaders and other newcomers.Additionally, we’ll welcome the newest MerrowScholarship Fellow from Virginia TheologicalSeminary at this reception. Visitstmarysarlington.org.

SUNDAY/NOV. 12“Life’s Final Choices.” 2 p.m. at Unitarian

Universalist Church of Arlington, 4444 ArlingtonBlvd. Maureen Albrethsen, a licensed funeraldirector, will discuss medical treatments whendeath is near; disposition of one’s body (burial,cremation, or donation to science), and planningfor a “life celebration.” The meeting is presentedby the Memorial Society of Northern Virginia, anonproft group of volunteers. Free, open to all.Call 703-271-9240 or [email protected].

FRIDAY/NOV. 17Design Competition Deadline. The Office of

the Arlington County Treasurer invites highschool students who reside or attend school inArlington to participate in the 14th AnnualDecal Design Competition attaxes.arlingtonva.us/decal-design/.

GET MORE WITH SNAPArlington and Alexandria Farmers’ Markets

accept SNAP/EBT (Supplemental NutritionAssistance Program) cards for purchases. SNAP/EBT customers can purchase produce at areafarmers’ markets and get matching bonus tokensto add to their purchases. Virginia Cooperativewill be on-siteto provide more information onSNAP and offer food tastings, prizes and more atthe Arlington Farmers’ Market, N. 14th andCourthouse Road (second Saturday of themonth) and Columbia Pike Farmers’ Market,2820 Columbia Pike (third Sunday).

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