<sh>Grand Jury Indicts Two
<bt>A Fairfax County grand jury on Monday indicted two teen-agers accused of robbing a Chantilly boy in August. Both from Falls Church, the teens are Elmer Andrade, 18, of 3041 Patrick Henry Drive, and Romulo Mendoza, 18, of 3048 Patrick Henry Drive.
The incident occurred Aug. 13 in the Chantilly Meadows community. Police said the boy, 16, was walking on Airline Parkway, around 12:30 a.m., when five teen-agers approached him and started a fight. According to police, the assailants knocked the victim to the ground, took his cash and fled in a car.
After a lookout was broadcast, officers located the car on Arlington Boulevard near Seven Corners Shopping Center. Police took all five suspects into custody and charged them each with robbery. Besides Andrade and Mendoza, the other three are all 16-year-old juveniles. Following Monday's indictments, Andrade is scheduled to enter a plea next Tuesday, Oct. 29, in Circuit Court. Mendoza is slated for a jury trial on Nov. 13.
<sh>Fair Oaks DMV Closing
<bt>The Fair Oaks Mall branch of the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) will be closing as of Nov. 15. It's one of 12 such offices shutting down, statewide, because of state budget reductions.
In addition, beginning Nov. 1, all DMV service centers will be closed on Wednesdays. DMV says these actions will enable it to slice $45.5 million from its expenditures over the next two years. The DMV office in the Westfields section of Chantilly will still remain open.
<sh>WFCCA Takes a Stand
<bt>Fairfax County staff is recommending approval of the county Park Authority's plan to amend the county zoning ordinance so it could form a partnership with a commercial entity. Doing so would enable professional soccer team D.C. United to build a training facility on environmentally sensitive land on the Quinn property, at Old Lee and Braddock Roads in Centreville.
The West Fairfax County Citizens Association (WFCCA) Land-Use Committee has already gone on record as opposing staff's wording of the particular standards it could approve to make this project a reality. Then, at its Oct. 15 meeting, the WFCCA further voted to recommend that the county School Board be deleted as a property owner of the land in question.
"That would exclude the School Board from doing any of the things [that are approved] in the zoning-ordinance amendment, if it should pass," said WFCCA Chairman Jim Katcham. "We'd rather see [proposed actions] go through the Planning Commission/Board of Supervisors public-hearing process than through School Board [channels]."
<sh>Rabid Raccoon is Killed
<bt>A Fairfax County Animal Control officer responded last Wednesday, Oct. 16, around 6:40 p.m., to the 13800 block of Eames Avenue in Centreville's Cabell's Mill community. A citizen had reported that her two dogs had killed a raccoon. The critter later tested positive for the rabies virus at the county Health Department. Both dogs were current on their rabies vaccinations, but will still have to be quarantined at home for 90 days.
<sh>Free Cab Rides on Halloween
<bt>As a means of making the roadways a little less frightening this Halloween, free cab rides will be available to would-be drunk drivers next Thursday. Offered by the Washington Regional Alcohol Program (WRAP), the SoberRide will be in operation from 8 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 31 (Halloween) and run through 4 a.m. the following day. Call 1-800-200-TAXI.
<sh>Bank Wants Drive-In Lane
<bt>Sequoia Bancshares wants to add a drive-in lane at its existing bank at Willard Road near the Chantilly Post Office. The bank primarily serves commercial accounts. The parking would have to be reconfigured, and the inflow and outflow of traffic there is also a concern.
Land planner Jane Kelsey is to return to the West Fairfax County Citizens Association (WFCCA) Land-Use Committee on Nov. 19 with renderings of the lighting and signage plans, plus information about how the bank plans to handle traffic circulation on that site.
<sh>Turn Back Those Clocks
<bt>As Halloween approaches, so does the end of Daylight Savings Time. It officially ends this Saturday, Oct. 26, at 2 a.m. So when you go to bed, that night, remember to turn back your clocks, watches, VCRs, etc., one hour.
<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 vegetables (corn, green beans, peas), baked beans, spaghetti sauce, jelly and jam, canned fruit, chicken soups, pasta, cereal, rice, tuna, canned meats and dinners (ravioli, chili, stew, kids' meals)
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.