October 31 — November 6, 2019 Fou n d e d 1991 • V ol. XXIX No. 37
Fa lls Chur c h, V i r g i ni a • ww w. fc np. c om • Fr ee
Falls Church • Tysons Corner • Merrifield • McLean • North Arlington • Bailey’s Crossroads
Inside This Week School Board Extends Noonan Contract On Tuesday, the Falls Church City School Board unanimously approved a new four-year contract for Peter Noonan as Superintendent of Schools. See News Briefs, page 9
F.C. Dance Studio Wins Irish Dance ‘Olympics’
Fifteen local students from the McGrath Morgan Academy of Irish Dance won the “Olympics” in world Irish dance drama, watched by 3,000 at the 2019 competition in Greensboro, North Carolina.
F.C. Officials Strive to Inform Voters Of Polling Site Change This Tuesday Happy Halloween!
See page 10
Stormwater Task Force Volunteers Sought The Falls Church City Council is looking for seven volunteers to join the newly-created Stormwater Task Force, which will update and prioritize the list of stormwater improvement projects in the City’s Watershed Management Plan. See News Briefs, page 9
‘Stangs Rout Wildcats in Regular Season Finale George Mason High School’s volleyball team heads into the Northwestern District tournament headstrong with a 3-0 thumping of Warren County High School Tuesday night. See sports, page 16
Index
Editorial................6 Letters.......... 6, 22 News & Notes.12, 13 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
IT WAS A COSTUMED CELEBRATION at the City of Falls Church’s Halloween Carnival last Saturday where the family-friendly event featured games, face painting, puppet shows and, of course, candy. Here, Recreation and Parks Program Supervisor for Special Events Scarlett Williams poses with a happy reveler at the City’s spooktacular shindig. (Photo: Gary Mester)
Former Oakwood Site Moved to F.C. Community Center
by Nicholas F. Benton
Falls Church News-Press
Citizens in the City of Falls Church are facing an important local election next Tuesday, Nov. 5, when three local City Council and School Board seats will be up for grabs on the ballot in the City. But the major challenge facing election officials here involves getting out the word on the fact that one of the City’s three polling locations will not be in service next Tuesday, and all voters used to casting ballots at the Oakwood Apartments (now called Falls Green) location will be redirected to the F.C. Community Center, 223 Little Falls St., to vote. With only three polling places in the Little City, this impacts fully a third of voters. The City’s Registrar of Voters David Bjerke has been working overtime with the City’s Electoral Board volunteers and the local chapter of the League of Women Voters to help get the word out. Running for the three (out of seven) City Council seats are Phil Duncan, Letty Hardy, David Tarter and Stuart Whitaker. Duncan, Hardy and Tarter are incumbents widely praised for the significant progress made in the Little City in the last four years. Running for three (out of seven) School Board seats are incumbent Phil Reitinger, school activists and parents Laura Downs, Susan Dimock, and parent Douglass Stevens. This weekend will see a flurry of last-minute campaigning, with Hardi having signed up 21 volunteers online to carry literature around the City’s 2.2 acres. The incumbents will assemble at Clare and Don’s Beach Shack after polls close at 7 p.m. Tuesday.