September 9 – 15, 2021
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. XXXI NO. 30
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Sept. 11 First Responder is Featured Speaker at F.C. Festival Annual Event is Back, Takes Place Saturday on 20th Anniversary of 9/11
BY ALEX RUSSELL
FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS
The 45th annual Falls Church Festival is making its return to the City this Saturday, providing the community with fun, family-friendly events while at the same time taking stock of the damage — as well as the cooperation, outreach, and hope — that came about in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks. Previously called the Falls
Church Fall Festival, this yearly outing features food, a beer garden, live music, and a variety of booths set up by local crafters, businesses and civic organizations. A timely addition this year is a Covid-19 vaccination clinic inside the Community Center (223 Little Falls Street), with free general admission to the public. Scheduled to speak a halfhour into the festival is Steve
Holl, former Deputy Chief of Police for Arlington County, who helped oversee the emergency response efforts at the Pentagon. When asked about what he planned on communicating to the festival audience, Holl said that he wants to “recap the events of that day,” especially to the “young people who were not alive at the time.” A recap will surely provide some helpful context, as some
may not be aware of the crisis management timeframe during the aftermath of the attack. The initial effort was not a matter of a few days or even weeks, but an around-the-clock duty that spanned months as well as different corners of the U.S. law enforcement community. The response to the Pentagon, in particular, was “very much a regional effort,” says Holl. Federal agencies, in the coming weeks, would reach out to help
local law enforcement officers in the course of their work. Holl touched upon the fact that the kind of work that federal officers are tasked to focus on often carries with it a different set of dynamics and nuances as opposed to the work regional and local officers concentrate on. This blend of experience and perspectives, however, ended up coalescing into an
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Covid-19 Positivity Rates Still High as F.C. Classes Resume BY NICHOLAS F. BENTON
FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS
With the Falls Church public school year a week in, classes continue to be 100 percent in person at all grade levels and there are no missing students from the year of virtual learning. However, this is in the context of rates of transmission of the Covid-19 virus that are “high” in the judgment of the Virginia Department of Health, and officials are continuing to watch very closely to determine that the current in-person environments are not triggering major new outbreaks. The “positivity rate” for the City of Falls Church, not unlike its neighbors in Arlington and Fairfax County, continues in the “high” range, with 116.3 cases reported per 100,000, a rate of 3.5 percent. Fairfax is at 98.4
cases for a 4.3 percent positivity and in Arlington the rate is 109.8 cases for a 2.8 percent positivity. Falls Church Public Schools’ Superintendent Dr. Peter Noonan provided a status report earlier this week as classes are beginning to kick into high gear. He said the following in his first report of the new year, “Despite the storms, it has been a week of sunshine in FCCPS. Thank you to all of our employees, students, and their families for a wonderful back to school. The week was full of so many smiling faces, reconnections, and great activities to kick off the 2021-2022 school year! Take a moment to send a “thank you” to someone who made a difference in your week.”
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CAMPAIGNING IN HIS BID FOR A SECOND TERM as Virginia’s governor, Terry McAuliffe appeared at the annual Jim Scott Memorial Labor Day BBQ for Del. Marcus Simon last weekend. Among the Falls Church faithful at the event, shown here, were Vice Mayor Marybeth Connelly (far left), Del. Simon (center) and among those on the right, a masked Council member Phil Duncan, Debra Roth, Revenue Commissioner Tom Clinton and School Board candidate Lori Silverman. (Photo: News-Press)
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Taste of F.C. Judges weigh in on their healthy (and unhealthy) eating habits, as well as their views on leftovers and potluck. The Falls Church Festival returns Sept. 11, with remarks from a special guest speaker.
With busy construction sites coming to the area over the next several years, it’s all but guaranteed there will be food trucks posting up nearby to offer the workers an option other than their saranwrapped ham sandwich.
SEE SECTION, PAGE 11
SEE STORY, PAGE 15
INDEX
Editorial............................................... 6 Letters................................................. 6 Comment ..................................... 7,8,9 Crime Report ...................................... 8 News & Notes................................... 10 Calendar ........................................... 17 Business News ................................. 18 Classified Ads ................................... 20 Comics, Sudoku & Crossword ......... 21 Critter Corner.................................... 22
