U.S. POSTAL SERVICE INVESTIGATING THEFTS FROM DRIVE-THROUGH MAILBOX IN GREAT FALLS: The drive-through mailbox at the Great Falls Post Office was pried open and its contents removed sometime on Aug. 26 or 27, Great Falls Citizens Association leaders said in an e-mail to members in September.
According to the message, Great Falls Postmaster Marcus Esposito told GFCA leaders that the U.S. Postal Inspection Service is investigating the matter, as mail theft is a federal crime. Postal patrons who may have deposited mail during that time frame should monitor any payments mailed and take appropriate steps to verify their mail reached its destination, Esposito told the group.
Among several steps being contemplated by the U.S. Postal Service is replacing the Great Falls Post Office’s familiar blue collection box in the driveway with a new high-security version, GFCA leaders wrote.
In May, the Postal Service and the Postal Inspection Service announced actions to protect postal employees and improve the security of the nation’s mail and packages, as threats and attacks on letter carriers and mail-fraud incidents have escalated, the GFCA note read.
As part of this effort, the U.S. Postal Service will install 12,000 high-security blue collection boxes during the next fiscal year.
The new boxes do not have drop-off slots that allow drivers to stop and deposit mail without leaving their cars, but Esposito told the group the Postal Service has to weigh the loss of customer convenience against mail security.
SUPERVISORS SET HEARINGS FOR PROPOSED DARK-SKIES RULES AROUND TURNER FARM PARK OBSERVATORY: Fairfax County supervisors on Sept. 12 set a pair of future public hearings to discuss a proposed zoning-ordinance amendment that would impose additional outdoor-lighting restrictions on property owners living within a half-mile of Turner Farm Park Observatory in Great Falls.
Supervisors set public hearings on the matter before the Fairfax County Planning Commission on Oct. 18 at 7:30 p.m. and the Board of Supervisors on Nov. 21 at 3:30 p.m.
The proposed amendment would:
• Reduce the maximum illumination for motion-activated lights on single-family lots from 4,000 lumens to 1,500, consistent with the maximum amount for other exempt light fixtures.
• Limit the exemption for all other lights with up to 1,500 lumens on single-family lots to those lights located near doors or garages. The county also would exempt landscape and decorative lighting with up to 20 lumens of illumination.
• Add a limit of 300 lumens for uplights or spotlights.
• Allow legally existing lights to remain and have the new regulations apply to new or replaced fixtures.
McLEAN AAUW LAUDS STUDENT SUCCESS: Seven local high-school students were recognized by the McLean area branch of the American Association of University Women (AAUW) during a Sept. 7 recognition ceremony at the McLean Community Center.
Six of the students received 2023 AAUW McLean Area Branch STEM Achievement Awards: Nicoleta Hoffman (math) and Audrey Herlands (computer science) from McLean High School; Sophia Bruno (math), Scarlett Adams (science) and Lilly Wu (computer science) from Langley High School; and Jocelyn Reyes (math) from Park View High School.
The students spoke about their interest in STEM [science, technology, engineering and math], their involvement in STEM-related extracurriculars and their plans for future studies at the college level.
Four additional recipients of the award who were not in attendance are Kaitlyn Cole (science) of McLean High School; Lillian Thomas (science) of Park View High School; Leslie Escobar (math) and Ashley Coats (science) at Robey High School.
Additionally, McLean High School senior Lauren Vandivier was presented with the AAUW McLean Area Branch Student Inclusion Recognition Award for her efforts to make her school environment welcoming to students of all backgrounds, heritages and abilities. Vandiver created programs to benefit female sanitary needs, ESOL students, parents whose first language is not English, and students who have life-threatening food allergies.
For the past decade, the McLean area branch has partnered with counselors at local high schools to award STEM Achievement Awards to female students finishing their junior or senior year. Each award, which is funded through the branch’s fundraising, consists of a certificate and a monetary award.
Career-center counselors at the schools manage the process of selecting the students. The members of the McLean area branch STEM awards committee that manages the high school STEM Science Achievement Awards are Myrtle Hendricks- Corrales, Nina McVeigh and STEM chair Judy Page.
For more information on the McLean area branch, see the Website at http://mclean-va.aauw.net.
WOMAN’S CLUB OF McLEAN PROVIDES BACKPACKS, OTHER SUPPLIES FOR YOUTH: The Woman’s Club of McLean recently purchased and outfitted backpacks for the school-aged children involved in Second Story, a nonprofit organization in Fairfax County that provides counseling and residential housing for teens, young mothers and their children who are living in unsafe residential situations.
This summer, the Woman’s Club of McLean raised $1,300 to buy and fill the backpacks. The club sought advice from a Fairfax County Public Schools teacher as to which supplies to purchase for backpacks that could be used by first-graders. Club members strategically shopped various vendors such as Target, Staples and eBay and kept spreadsheets to track donations, supplies and expenditures.
A club member scheduled an afternoon tea to get volunteers to stuff the backpacks. The club formed an assembly line to fill the backpacks with pencil boxes, glue sticks, pencils, notebooks, erasers and other items. Later that afternoon, the club delivered 40 backpacks to Second Story.
In 2022, Second Story served 213 young mothers, their children and teenagers and helped them transfer to safe living situations.
