October 4 – 10, 2018
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 • VOL. XXVIII NO. 33
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I����� T��� W��� F.C. S������ E��������� D��� 53 S������� Official preliminary student enrollment number for Falls Church City Public Schools is down by 53 as of Sept. 30, compared to the same day a year ago. SEE NEWS BRIEFS, PAGE 9
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As Oct. 15 Voter Registration Deadline Looms, Preparations for Huge Election Big Boost in Role of Women Candidates & Hacking Prevention
BY NICHOLAS F. BENTON
FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS
Falls Church’s 26th annual Farm Day is set for this Saturday, Oct. 6, from 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. at Cherry Hill Park featuring horse-drawn hayrides, a petting farm, pumpkin painting, scarecrow-making, blacksmith demonstration, cider pressing from locally grown apples, pony rides and more.
did an analysis of the benefits and concerns about a fly loft system and discovered through our research that as much as we would like a fly loft, there are inherent dangers.” He cited the Virginia Department of Education construction specification recommendations “discouraging schools from building them, and our insurance carrier, the Virginia Municipal League (VML), is urging us not to, as well.”
In what is sizing up to be one of the most consequential elections of our time, American voters will have their first comprehensive opportunity to weigh in with their reaction to the current presidential administration as every seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, a third in the U.S. Senate and much more will be up for a new vote on Nov. 6. Democrats are expected to make major gains, with most predicting they will take control of the House and some thinking they could win control of the Senate, as well. Issues like the current Kavanaugh hearings and the president’s reaction to them will be among the still-unfolding decisive factors. Women, especially, are angling to be an unprecedented, major factor in this election, both in terms of turnout but also in terms of running for office. Emerge America, a major initiative to identify, recruit and train women candidates has been ongoing, with the former Secretary of the Commonwealth (and George Mason High School history teacher) Kate Hanley, spearheading the effort in Virginia. Hanley made a presentation on the effort at the monthly meeting of the Falls Church City Democratic Committee last week. She cited the “sea change” that has been going on in terms of women’s participation in elections this year, including as candidates. But also key will be the on-theground efforts to get out the voters and to make sure that the votes count. The concern still looms of the unprecedented Russian inter-
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SEE NEWS BRIEFS, PAGE 9
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George Mason High School’s football squad dropped another game to a Class 3 foe, this time falling 12–0 to Brentsville District High School. SEE SPORTS, PAGE 8
L���� L������ C������� O��������� C���������� Local weightlifting savant Rick Bucinell cleans, jerks and snatches with fluidity and force that’s made him one of the world’s best Olympic lifters. SEE PAGE 14
MEMBERS OF THE George Mason High School Democratic Club who attended the KennedyKing Dinner in Arlington last week posed with Virginia U.S. Senator Tim Kaine (second from right). They included Elisabeth Snyder, Ella Reithinger, Colter Adams, Charlie Adams and James Weichert. (C������� P����)
Public Activism Begins to Stir on New Mason High ‘Fly Loft ’ Issue BY NICHOLAS F. BENTON
FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS
INDEX
Editorial............... 6 Letters................. 6 News & Notes 10–11 Comment ..... 12–13 Calendar ..... 18–19 Classified Ads ... 20
Comics, Sudoku & Crossword ........ 21 Crime Report ......22 Critter Corner....22 Business News . 23
The News-Press has learned that a citizen groundswell is developing in the City of Falls Church to oppose current plans to diminish, rather than enhance, the theater arts program in the new George Mason High School, despite the $120 million price tag of the new school. Citizens will have one final shot at offering input on the proposed design at a meeting later this month whose time and place have not yet been
specified. In reaction to the report that the new auditorium would not include a “fly loft” system akin to the one currently in use at the present high school, Falls Church City Public Schools Superintendent Peter Noonan wrote Tuesday in an email to the F.C. school community, “We take our arts program very seriously. In fact, if you look at the dedicated spaces in the new design, the arts are one of the largest footprints in the building.” “But,” he added, “we recently