October 17 — 23, 2019
Fa lls Chur c h, V i r g i ni a • ww w. fc np. c om • Fr ee
Fou n d e d 1991 • V ol. XXIX No. 35
Falls Church • Tysons Corner • Merrifield • McLean • North Arlington • Bailey’s Crossroads
Inside This Week Ward 2 Polls Moved For November Election Due to delays in a renovation of the Falls Green apartments (formerly Oakwood), the City of Falls Church’s Ward 2 polling place is moving to the F.C. Community Center for the upcoming Nov. 5 election. See News Briefs, page 9
Justice High Program Aids Female Students A game-changing plan by a Justice High School student-led club to provide free menstrual products blossomed into a pilot program that seeks to support female students throughout Fairfax County high schools for the 2019-20 school year.
F.C.’s Retained AAA Bond Rating & Low % Rates May Save $30 Million Candidates at Chamber
Much Better Than What Voters OK’d Now Set for Sale
by Nicholas F. Benton
Falls Church News-Press
of the Dulin United Methodist Church located on the corner of E. Broad and Noland. City Council members were unconditional in their sympathy for the problem, some vowing that a good part of the $2.5 million surplus resulting from the Fiscal Year budget’s final numbers be put quickly to the task of a comprehensive approach to speeding on the City’s residential streets.
Residents of the City of Falls Church are likely to save over $30 million in reduced debt service payments owing to the top-notch AAA bond ratings the City has received from Wall Street late last week. The whopping savings are due to come from a combination of the AAA bond ratings and low prevailing interest rates. The savings are contained in the differential between the size of debt service that City officials modeled in advance of winning wide voter approval for a $120 million school construction bond in November 2017, based on a projected 4.5 percent interest rate, and current conditions with interest rates below 3 percent. F.C. City Manager Wyatt Shields told the F.C. City Council Tuesday night that he expects the City’s $126 million bond sale now slated for next Tuesday to come in at a fixed rate under 3 percent, with the closing on the bond sale set for Nov. 7. The expected rate will save City citizens over $30 million compared to earlier modeling projections, and that will add up to over $1 million a year, or 2.5 cents on the City’s real estate tax rate, over the 30 year terms of most of the loans (some are 20-year), a huge windfall for the City. “This is the best good news we’ve had in a while,” quipped Council member Phil Duncan. Mayor David Tarter added it has
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Rabid Raccoon Put Down in F.C. Last Week
A rabid raccoon was euthanized by police on Oct. 4 near Lea Court and S. Spring St. in the City of Falls Church. See News Briefs, page 9
Warren County Bests Mason High Football
Coming off a bye week, George Mason High School football fell to Warren County High School in a close, 37-33, game last Friday to drop to 3-3 on the year. See sports, page 16
SPEAKING AT THE MONTHLY luncheon of the Falls Church Chamber of Commerce Tuesday were the four candidates on the ballot next month for election to the F.C. City Council. From left to right, incumbents Phil Duncan, Letty Hardi and David Tarter and first-time candidate Stuart Whittaker. (See Editorial, Page 6). (Photo: Brenda Shrier)
Noland Street Cut-Through Woe Wins Immediate Council Action by Nicholas F. Benton
Falls Church News-Press
Index
Editorial................6 Letters..................6 News & Notes.10, 11 Comment...14, 15 School News.... 17 Calendar..... 18,19
Classified Ads... 20 Comics, Sudoku & Crossword........ 21 Crime Report.... 22 Critter Corner.... 22 Business News.23
Falls Church City Manager Wyatt Shields vowed at Tuesday night’s F.C. City Council meeting that there would be a police presence on Noland Street in the City, one of its most notorious “cut through” traffic residential streets, Wednesday morning to demonstrate the City’s support for the large contingent from that street who showed up at the meeting to
regale accounts of the dangers to residents and the 36 children living there. Shields confirmed an officer did patrol there yesterday, and he said Capt. Steve Rau, in charge of the department’s deployment schedules, will be there to talk with residents of the street Thursday morning. The passionate appeals of the Noland Street residents, including from a couple of their children present with them,was led by the Rev. Davies Kirkland, pastor