<sh>Robbery to Grand Jury
<bt>The cases against two 18-year-olds charged with robbery are heading for the grand jury. They were among five Falls Church teen-agers who were arrested last month after they allegedly assaulted and robbed a 16-year-old Chantilly boy.
The incident occurred Aug. 13 in the Chantilly Meadows community. Fairfax County police say the boy was walking on Airline Parkway, around 12:30 a.m., when the five approached him and started a fight.
According to police, the five 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.
Last Wednesday, Sept. 18, Elmer Andrade, 18, of 3041 Patrick Henry Drive, and Romulo Mendoza, 18, of 3048 Patrick Henry Drive, both appeared in Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court. At that time, the judge certified the cases against them to the next grand jury for possible indictment. The three others charged in this case are all 16-year-old juveniles.
<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>Yes, CVS Will Open
<bt>For all those wondering what's happened to the new CVS pharmacy being built at Route 29 and Pickwick Road in Centreville, take heart. Although the building itself went up fast enough, work outside the building stalled for several months. The problem was that CVS had difficulty obtaining a sewer easement it needed for that property. However, it now has the easement and work is expected to proceed again soon.
<sh>WFCCA Land-Use Meeting
<bt>The West Fairfax County Citizens Association (WFCCA) Land-Use Committee will meet Monday, Sept. 30 at 7 p.m. in Supervisor Michael R. Frey's (R-Sully) conference room. It's in the Fort Hill Building, 5900 Centreville Road in Centreville. Loudoun County's planning staff will share information about building projects in that county that could have an impact upon western Fairfax County, its residents and its roads.
<sh>Clifton Town Council Mtg.
<bt>The next meeting of the Clifton Town Council will be Tuesday, Oct. 1, at 7:30 p.m., in the Clifton Town Meeting Hall, 12641 Chapel Road in Clifton. The council members plan further discussion with NOVEC and Cox Communications about the relocation of electric and cable utility poles and wires on Main Street and Chapel Road. Taller poles will eventually accommodate the town's phone, electric and cable wires, and Cox will install fiber-optic wire to replace its co-axial cable wire there.
<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: Baby food and baby items, personal-care items, pasta, rice, tuna and canned meats.
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>A Pretty Smelly Situation
<bt>Fairfax County Animal Control officers responded last Thursday, Sept. 19, around 6:30 p.m., to Centreville's Hawthorne Forest community for a report of a dog fighting a skunk. The incident occurred in the 13000 block of Portage Place. Officers submitted the skunk to the county Health Department, where it tested positive for the rabies virus. The dog was current in its rabies vaccination.
<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>Have Fun, Help Out
<bt>The Pumpkin Patch at Cox Farms, off Braddock Road in Centreville, will soon be 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>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.