LOUDOUN COUNTY’S COMMUNITY-OWNED NEWS SOURCE
LoudounNow
[ Vol. 4, No. 25 ]
■ PUBLIC AND LEGAL NOTICES - PAGE 34 ■ EMPLOYMENT PAGE 40
■ RESOURCE DIRECTORY PAGE 41 [ May 9, 2019 ]
[ loudounnow.com ]
History Lesson: Washington’s Will Draws a Crowd BY RENSS GREENE
Andrew D. Parker/Loudoun Now
Stefanie Dove, coordinator of marketing and community outreach (left) and Trista Grigsby, Farm to School specialist with the Virginia Department of Education, during a May 7 Farm to School regional meeting at Frederick Douglass Elementary School.
Farm to School Program Blossoms in Loudoun BY ANDREW D. PARKER Schools across Virginia are trying to bring healthier, fresher food to their students—and Loudoun is leading the way. Times have changed in schools, as many home economics and cooking classes are no longer part of the required curriculum. “That was the place you learned about nutrition, along with cooking at home with parents and sitting down at dinner,” said Becky DomokosBays, Loudoun County Public Schools school nutrition services director who last week won national accolades for her work in the field. “Nowadays, that doesn’t happen. Many people don’t know how to cook anymore,” she said. Creating nutritious food options for
students by getting local produce such as fresh strawberries, apples, pears, carrots, cauliflower, beets, potatoes or lettuce into schools takes a lot of coordination. It requires a large-scale effort from state, local and regional governments and school officials, farmers, food distributors, teachers, parents and the community at large to make a real difference in the international movement toward healthier eating. That was the message of state and local officials during a Virginia Farm to School regional meeting on Tuesday in the garden lab at Frederick Douglass Elementary School. Loudoun’s school system is one of the standout programs in the National Farm to School Network— an effort spanning 23.6 million students
at more than 42,500 schools across 46 states—and Douglass is a standout within Loudoun.
A Statewide Goal Virginia First Lady Pamela Northam is leading an effort to increase local food purchases to $22 million or more by 2022 within the state’s school nutrition programs. She set the goal in March during the annual Virginia Farm-to-School Conference in Hampton. Statewide, there are now more than 500 schools with Farm to School programs, according to Virginia Secretary of Education Atif Qarni, who, along with Northam
A display of George Washington’s will— along with other documents signed by famous Americans—was so popular Friday night it led deputies to cut off the line of people waiting to get in. Loudoun County Clerk of the Circuit Court Gary Clemens partnered with Fairfax County clerk John Frey to bring the display to Leesburg’s First Friday, along with other historic documents such as a 1774 deed for church pews from the Pohick Church in Lorton, which bears the signatures of both Washington and George Mason; records signed by four U.S. Presidents from Virginia also including James Madison, James Monroe, and John Tyler; a criminal forensic laboratory report endorsed by former FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover filed as evidence in a Loudoun County Circuit Court case; the Last Will and Testament of five-star general and Nobel Peace Prize winner George C. Marshall; and cartoons signed by Walt Kelly, former artist for Walt Disney Studios. The line to see the documents on display wound across the courthouse green before the courthouse doors opened to the public and grew so long that deputies had to cut off new visitors after nearly 350 lined up. Clemens said he expected good turnout, was surprised by the attendance. The exhibit was born of a long-running partnership between Frey and Clemens, who once served under Frey. It’s also the result of a collaboration between the two clerk’s respective historic records divisions. Loudoun and Fairfax house some of the oldest court documents in American history. “I think it’s a unique opportunity, not only because I’ve got my partner John Frey with me, but it’s unique that we’re able to consolidate our collections,” Clemens said. He also said it’s an example of a return on the Board of Supervisors’ investment in his office to create a historic records department—and a chance for students to see a piece of history. “This is an opportunity for the students to actually come and see some of the documents that they’ve read about in their history class,” Clemens said.
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WASHINGTON'S WILL >> 46
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