<sh>Guilty Plea is Entered
<bt>A Chantilly man is facing a possible five years in prison after pleading guilty, last week, to breaking and entering. He is Erick G. Machado-Carballo, 23, of 13954 Rockland Village Drive.
Fairfax County police responded April 9, around 12:30 a.m., to an alarm going off at a model home in the 4100 block of Sulser Place. When they arrived, they saw Machado-Carballo inside the house. Police took him into custody after he left the premises and charged him with breaking and entering and attempted grand larceny.
The latter charge was later dropped. But last Tuesday, Sept. 24, in Circuit Court, Machado-Carballo pleaded guilty to the other charge before Judge Robert Wooldridge. He is to be sentenced Nov. 8.
<sh>Republican Pep Rally
<bt>The Fairfax County Republican Committee will host its 13th annual Pep Rally Breakfast on Saturday, Oct. 5, from 8-10 a.m. at the Waterford at Fair Oaks. Fairfax County's Republican loyalists will attend the event and hear remarks from their elected officials and candidates, culminating with a keynote address delivered by U.S. Sen. John Warner.
Other speakers will be Virginia Atty. Gen. Jerry Kilgore, U.S. Rep. Thomas M. Davis (R-11th), U.S. Rep. Frank R. Wolf (R-10th), Scott Tate (Congressional Candidate, 8th District), and Jay O'Brien (State Senate Candidate, 39th District). The Waterford at Fair Oaks is at 12025 Lee Jackson Memorial Highway in Fairfax, across from Fair Oaks Mall. Call 703-352-3200.
<sh>Land-Use, Traffic Mtg.
<bt>The Sully District Council of Citizens Associations Land-Use and Transportation Committee will meet Monday, Oct. 7, at 7:30 p.m. in Supervisor Michael R. Frey's (R-Sully) conference room. It's in the Fort Hill Building, 5900 Centreville Road in Centreville.
<sh>League of Women Voters
<bt>Change in Virginia will be discussed at the next meeting of the Fairfax Area League of Women Voters. The Fairfax Station unit — comprised primarily of residents of Clifton, Fairfax Station and Burke — will meet Wednesday, Oct. 9, at 9:30 a.m. Guests are welcome. For directions and a copy of the discussion material, call 703-250-7251 or 703-830-8198. For a unit meeting at a more convenient day or time, call 703-658-9150. The Web site is www.lwv.fairfax.org.
<sh>Park Authority Meeting
<bt>The next meeting of the Fairfax County Park Authority will be Wednesday, Oct. 9, at 7:30 p.m. at the Herrity Building, 12055 Government Center Parkway, Suite 900, in Fairfax. Call Judy Pedersen at 703-324-8662.
<sh>Have Fun, Help Out
<bt>The Pumpkin Patch at Cox Farms, off Braddock Road in Centreville, is now open with new and exciting activities for children. And Cox Farms is also doing its share to help those less fortunate in the local community. On Columbus Day, Monday, Oct. 14, it will donate $1 of each entry fee to the Western Fairfax Christian Ministry (WFCM). In addition, it's asking each person who comes that day to bring a canned good to help stock the WFCM's food pantry.
<sh>Elementary School Boundary Mtg.
<bt>The first boundary meeting for the new northeast Centreville elementary school will be Wednesday, Oct. 16, from 7:30-10 p.m. at Rocky Run Middle School, 4400 Stringfellow Road in Chantilly. The school is being built in the Centreville Farms community, off Route 29 and Stringfellow Road, and is earmarked to relieve Greenbriar East and West elementary schools, as well as Poplar Tree Elementary. The public is welcome to participate and have input in the process of drawing the boundaries for this school which will open in September 2003.
<sh>Dead Raccoon is Rabid
<bt>Fairfax County Animal Control responded Sept. 21 to the 12000 block of Wolf Valley Drive in Clifton for a report of a dead raccoon. A man had called for assistance because his two dogs had killed it during the night and he found it on his property. The raccoon was taken to the county Health Department where it tested positive for the rabies virus.
<sh>WFCM Needs Food, Volunteers
<bt>Western Fairfax Christian Ministry's (WFCM) food pantry — which provides food to local needy families — is in urgent need of several items. They are: canned tuna, meats, fruit, cereal, pasta, rice, beans, personal care items, all baby foods and baby care items.
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.
The WFCM also needs volunteers, Thursdays, from 10 a.m.-noon and from noon-2 p.m. To volunteer, call 703-988-9656.
<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>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>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>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.