<b>Hunter Mill Road Study Meetings</b>
The next meetings related to the Hunter Mill Road Area Special Study are scheduled for Monday, Oct. 17 and Wednesday, Oct. 19.
The Oct. 17 meeting is scheduled from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. at Madison High School, 2500 James Madison Drive, Vienna. At this meeting, the community will review and discuss the preliminary results of the public input workshops held on Oct. 1, which were led by CirclePoint/HNTB, a team the county hired to facilitate the public engagement process. CirclePoint will present a Community Visioning Report to the Hunter Mill Road Area Special Study Task Force in November.
The task force will gather for its next meeting on Oct. 19 at 7 p.m. at Lake Anne Elementary School, 11510 North Shore Drive, Reston.
To obtain more information about the study area, including upcoming agendas, recent meeting summaries, maps and other task force documents, and to submit comments to the task force, visit www.fairfaxcounty.gov/dpz/huntermill.
<b>SLHS Music Students Win</b>
South Lakes High School band student Kyle Brightwell and orchestra student Vikram Sinnathamby received top honors at the Virginia Band and Orchestra Director’s Northern Virginia Senior Regional Orchestra auditions. South Lakes Senior, Kyle Brightwell, placed first on all three percussion disciplines auditioned: snare drum, mallets, and timpani, and has chosen to be the timpanist for the orchestra. Violinist Vikram Sinathamby will represent South Lakes in the string section. Both students are now eligible to audition for the All-State Band and Orchestra in February. Several hundred of the top music students from Fairfax and Arlington Counties, and the Cities of Alexandria and Falls Church auditioned for the ensemble.
<b>CenterStage Wins Award</b>
The Reston CenterStage's 2004-2005 Professional Touring Artist Series Brochure was selected as Best Promotional Effort For Basic Promotional Piece by the Virginia Recreation and Park Society (VRPS) at its 51st Annual Conference. The CenterStage brochure was selected for excellence in the following areas: design, readability and attractiveness, as well as quality of printing, content, effectiveness, creativity and use of resources. It is designed and written by RCC staff members, Cindy Fortuno, graphic designer, and Performing and Fine Arts Director, Leila Gordon. The primary purpose of The CenterStage publication is to market the Professional Touring Artist Series at RCC's theater, the CenterStage. The brochure is distributed to more than 26,000 residences and businesses in Reston.
<b>Folk and Roots Music Jam</b>
Folk and Roots Music will take center stage at RCC's Community Jam Session on Oct. 16, from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. The Jam, which takes place in the Jo Ann Rose Gallery in the Reston Community Center Lake Anne, offers local musicians of all levels of ability an opportunity to meet and make music together. In addition, local professional musicians will be on hand to accompany instrumentalists and singers who are interested in Bluegrass tunes, traditional folk tunes, old-timey music and more. The jam session is free and open to all.
There will be two more Jams on March 19 and May 21. Each of the Jams will have a focus. In the March 19 Jam, Traditional Jazz play will be the emphasis. In the Spring Jam on May 21, singers are invited to bring their sheet music and participate in a singers' open mic night with accompaniment. All of the Jams will be held at the Jo Ann Rose Gallery at the RCC Lake Anne. The Jam Sessions are designed to encourage music making, socializing and fun. Refreshments will be served, this event is free and open to the public, no registration is required.
<b>Halloween Trail</b>
The Halloween Trail is returning to the Walker Nature Education Center late this month. On Oct. 27 and 28, Reston Association will sponsor after dark tours through the forest for an experience complete with Halloween lore, costumes, jack-o-lanterns, sound and light effects and creatures of the night. The 45-minute guided walk is not a horror show but has a few frights. Snacks and hot cider will be on sale. Enjoy free popcorn and Halloween cartoons while waiting in line. The walk costs $5 per person. Parking is available along Glade Drive or at Glade Pool. Children must be 5 years or older.
<b>Plum Receives Award</b>
Del. Ken Plum (D-36) was presented the Mental Health Community Contributor Award by the Fairfax-Falls Church Mental Health Advocacy Community at the Mental Health Awareness Week Conference last week. Renée Alberts, chair of the Mental Health Services Committee of the Fairfax-Falls Church Community Services Board, presented Plum a plaque that was inscribed, “For his leadership and contributions to enhancing the lives of individuals with mental health needs.”
<b>Author to Visit Used Book Shop</b>
Austin S. Camacho, author of the adventure novel "The Payback Assignment" and three mystery novels in the Hannibal Jones series, will be speaking at Reston’s Used Book Shop at Washington Plaza at Lake Anne Village Center. Camacho, who lives in Springfield, had an Army career writing broadcast news and is now a public affairs specialist for the Department of Defense. Call 703-435-9772 for directions and more details or go to www.RestonsUsedBookShop.com.
<b>RCC Board Elections This Weekend</b>
There are eight candidates vying for four openings on the Reston Community Center’s Board of Governors, which will be decided this weekend. The candidates include two incumbent candidates — Ruth Overton and Fred Greenwald — and six other candidates: Marry Buff, Karen Cleveland, Kevin B. Deasy, George C. Lawton, Peter von zur Muehlen and Cathy Vivona.
Every year in October, Reston residents and businesses vote in a preference poll, endorsing three candidates. This past year two members resigned and only one of the positions was filled, so this year the poll will endorse four candidates. Those nominations are then sent to the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors for approval.
On Oct. 15, the community center will hold a Community Polling Day, when ballots will be available at the five village centers in Reston and at the Harris Teeter at the Spectrum.
Turnout for the poll the past two years has been about 1,300 people. Walk-in balloting for this year’s preference poll are being held now through Oct. 14. Ballots for the walk-in voting is available at the Reston Community Centers at Hunters Woods and Lake Anne.
The nine-member Board of Governors is responsible for establishing the community center’s policies, gathering public input on programming and services, and providing fiscal oversight of the center’s budget.
<b>Skateboarding Event</b>
The temporary skateboarding park for area youth coming to Reston will be held Oct. 29 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. This will be the second skate park on wheels event hosted by Fairfax County Supervisor Cathy Hudgins (D-Hunter Mill) since May. The event, which will also be raising money for victims of Katrina, hopes to raise awareness of and interest in skateboarding in Reston. Participants are asked to bring a $1 donation and their own protective gear.
<b>Play Cards for the Nature House</b>
To raise money for the Nature House, the Friends of Reston will host a Texas Hold 'Em night at McCormick & Schmick’s restaurant at the Reston Town Center Oct. 18. The event, from 5 to 10 p.m., will offer tickets to games ranging from $50 to $1,000. Participants will be able to enjoy a seafood buffet and be eligible for door prizes, including a trip to the Bellagio Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. Call 703-435-6510. To date, the Friends of Reston have raised $825,000 for the Nature House, which will be a year-round educational building located at the Walker Nature Education Center.
<b>Calendar</b>
Monday, Oct. 17, 7 p.m., Reston Association’s Special Committee on Parks & Recreation Planning, Isaac Newton Square.
Thursday, Oct. 27, 7 p.m., Reston Association Board Meeting, Isaac Newton Square