<sh>Cut-A-Thon Sunday for Ashley
<bt>A fund-raising cut-a-thon for Ashley Dubey, 5, of Centreville's Crofton Commons community will be held Sunday, July 7, from 9 a.m.-noon, at Salon Cielo in the Tysons II Galleria. Salon Cielo is on the first floor of the mall, in front of Legal Seafood, and Ashley's mother, Seema Dubey, has been a hairdresser there for eight years.
A kindergartner at Bull Run Elementary, Ashley was struck on Old Centreville Road, May 2, by a hit-and-run driver. She sustained a severe head injury which affected her speech, vision and movement on her right side, and she's now in a rehabilitation hospital in Charlottesville.
The fund-raising proceeds will help her family with her medical bills. Contributions, payable to Harsh and Dubey, may also be sent to: Bank of America, 14122 Lee Highway, Centreville, VA 20120.
<sh>WFCM Food Pantry Needs
<bt>Western Fairfax Christian Ministry's (WFCM) food pantry — which provides food to local needy families — is in serious need of several items. They are: Breakfast cereal, canned pastas, fruit, juices and meats (salmon and chicken), peanut butter, jelly and spaghetti sauce.
To donate, call 703-815-3238, or bring these things to the Shepherd Center. It's open Monday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-2 p.m., and is between Fashion Bug and Payless Shoes in the Sully Plaza Shopping Center at 13924 Metrotech Drive in Chantilly.
<sh>Chantilly Community Coalition
<bt>The Chantilly Community Coalition will meet Monday, July 8, at 4 p.m. in the conference room of the Chantilly Regional Library. Call John Hanyok at 703-262-2475.
<sh>Clifton Passes New Budget
<bt>The Town of Clifton passed its new budget, last week, during a special June 26 meeting of the Town Council. The Fiscal Year 2003 budget is $273,000.
<sh>Park Authority Meeting
<bt>The next meeting of the Fairfax County Park Authority will be Wednesday, July 10, at 7:30 p.m. It's in the Herrity Building, 12055 Government Center Parkway, Suite 900, in Fairfax. Call Judy Pedersen at 703-324-8662.
<sh>OK for Jiffy Lube Sundays
<bt>The Jiffy Lube along Route 50 in Chantilly is well on its way toward having Sunday hours. Since a new carwash in the same area will be opening with Sunday hours, the Jiffy Lube wanted the same courtesy.
At the June 18 meeting of the West Fairfax County Citizens Association (WFCCA) Land-Use Committee, Jiffy Lube got its first approval for Sunday hours from 10 a.m.-4:30 p.m. The proposal also got a thumbs-up last Wednesday, June 26, from the county Planning Commission. Next step is the Board of Supervisors.
In an unrelated matter in the same vicinity, the WFCCA upheld county staff's denial of a free-standing, 14-foot-high sign for the Chantilly Animal Hospital. The WFCCA recommended that the sign be no taller than 10 feet, and the animal hospital later withdrew its request for a taller one. The Planning Commission agreed with the WFCCA's decision.
<sh>WFCCA Approves New Antenna
<bt>Crown Castle/Verizon is asking Fairfax County's approval to add an antenna to the monopole at the Centreville Volunteer Fire Department on Old Centreville Road. The antenna is for test purposes for a Verizon land line for broad-band service related to the Internet.
At the June 18 meeting of the West Fairfax County Citizens Association (WFCCA) Land-Use Committee, the members recommended that the county Planning Commission approve this antenna as a feature shown on the county's Comprehensive Plan.
<sh>Planning Commission OKs Hotel
<bt>The Fairfax County Planning Commission last week approved plans for construction of three hotels, instead of two, as part of the
Chantilly Crossing mixed-use project. It's being built along Route 50 and Lee Road in Chantilly and will contain two anchor stores — Target and Costco — the hotels, restaurants, a recreational facility and other retail businesses.
Originally planned were just two hotels, as well as a series of sit-down restaurants with outdoor patio dining, plus a fast-food restaurant. Now, one of those restaurants may not be built, although two will remain. At its June 27 meeting, the Planning Commission approved the third hotel, as long as its sign is no taller than 20 feet and no larger than 200 square feet.
If later approved by the county Board of Supervisors, the new hotel will be a 75,000-square-foot Marriott SpringHill Suites. It's planned for four stories and 132 rooms with a focus on business people and visitors to the area.
<sh>Kids in Crisis Ministry
<bt>Western Fairfax Christian Ministry's (WFCM) Kids in Crisis Ministry provides emergency assistance to families impacted by a child's illness. Since such families are too distracted to research all the organizations that might help them, if anyone knows of a family in need, please advise them to call the hotline at 703-378-3045. Leave a message on the "Kids in Crisis" box, and a volunteer will return the call.
This program offers a safety net for families whose income or expenses are affected by a child's illness. Besides medical bills, they'll incur costs such as travel, babysitting, special equipment and home health care.
Even families with adequate health insurance may find it difficult to meet these expenses. Kids in Crisis aids in areas not covered by traditional health insurance policies. For more information, call the hotline or Karen Dolan at 703-266-3144.
<sh>Blood Urgently Needed
<bt>The Inova Blood Donor Center in the Centremed I Building on Route 29 in Centreville (across from the Centreville Multiplex Cinemas) is in urgent need of blood donations — especially O positive or negative, as well as A and B. They are accepted Tuesday-Friday, noon-8 p.m., and Saturday, 8 a.m.-2 p.m. To make an appointment to give blood, call (703) 322-1970, or just drop in at your own convenience.
<sh>WFCM Personnel Needs
<bt>The Western Fairfax Christian Ministries (WFCM) has several volunteer positions available.
* It needs a client coordinator to make follow-up calls to members of the community who have recently received assistance. This person would also cross-reference recipients with other WFCM services (food and clothing ministry). It would be a good job for someone who has to stay close to home.
* On-call volunteers are also needed. After receiving training, they'll monitor requests for help, coming from the local community, via a telephone mailbox. There's a social worker on staff, plus an extensive network of support to help and encourage people in self-sufficiency.
* WFCM's food pantry needs volunteers to work Tuesdays and Thursdays, 10 a.m.-2 p.m., and Saturdays, noon-2 p.m. To volunteer for any of these positions. or for more information, call 703-378-3045 and leave a message on box 7.
<sh>Food Pantry Needs
<bt>The Western Fairfax Christian Ministries (WFCM) food pantry is in need of several items. They are: Jelly, coffee, tea, juice boxes, syrup, oil, sugar, cereal, crackers, soap, shampoo, toothpaste, paper towels, toilet paper, cleaning products and diapers larger than infant and newborn.
The food pantry also needs volunteers, Thursdays, from noon-2 p.m. Needed, as well, are: Volunteers with trucks to help move heavy items, a volunteer handy-person good with phones, copy machines, faxes and thermostats, a volunteer to wash the Shepherd Center glass front entrance, artwork suitable for display in pantry waiting area, a vacuum, newer-model frost-free refrigerators and a laptop computer.
<sh>WFCM Needs Drivers
<bt>The Western Fairfax Christian Ministries is in need of drivers to take elderly people to medical appointments. Call (703) 378-3045 and press 7 to volunteer for this or any other WFCM ministry.
<sh>Meals on Wheels
<bt>The Clifton Meals on Wheels program urgently needs a volunteer to coordinate the delivery of meals to frail, elderly residents. Call the Fairfax Area Agency on Aging at (703) 324-5406.