Dear West Springfield Neighbor / Friend,
Security – Still, we are getting even more reports of parked cars that were rummaged through by someone at night or very early in the morning. Several surrounding communities have also been targeted. We can stop a lot of this by simply locking our cars to include those in your garage. And please don’t leave valuables in plain sight even when you do lock your cars. This is starting to sound like a village teenager or young adult. Let’s not facilitate this delinquency by inviting him or her to commit crimes.
If / when you return to the village late at night or in the wee hours of the morn, drive around a bit on village streets before going home; you might just see someone doing something they shouldn’t. Do not confront them, but do record as much detail about the person and make, model, color and ideally license plate number of their car and call the police.
If you become a victim, report it to the police, non-emergency number (703/691-2131).
Thunderstorm / Hurricane Damage Mitigation – What preparations do you take for our frequent thunderstorms and lightning strikes? Would like to consolidate a list of our preparations that may benefit others.
- Bob Havey discussed use of surge protectors, uninterruptible power supply (UPS) or whole house surge protectors to protect electronic items.
- Trim dead branches out of trees and remove dead trees before they fall during a storm. Several village trees need to be removed. Have you noticed that it costs a lot less to remove a tree before the storm than afterwards?
- Program emergency numbers into your fully charged cell phone. You can find them in your community directory and on our website.
- Put flashlights with fully charged or useful batteries where you can find them in the darkness. Candles work, but may present a fire hazard, especially if you have younger children or pets.
- My wife’s favorite is making block ice to put into refrigerators or freezers when the power goes out.
- Make sure storm water intakes on your property and those curbside are free of debris that may cause water to bypass the intake and flood homes and streets.
- Clean your gutters. Even with gutter guards, the pollen often cakes onto the guards rendering them useless in heavy rains.
- What do have to add to this list?
COVID-19 Update – The latest from Fairfax County concerning the virus can be found here. There is a COVIDWISE app that notifies you if you have been in close contact with someone who tested positive for COVID-19. See more at https://www.vdh.virginia.gov/covidwise/. Fairfax County is working to finalize details for a new program with a SACC component for families. Details to follow.
FCPS Update - The virtual beginning of the school year will be 8 September. That virtual learning schedule here. You child’s school will send information on the laptop distribution process.
Musical Entertainment – right here in the Village! Village Directory Editor, Kirby Myers reported:
Neighbors at the east end of Springfield Village Drive enjoyed a Saturday afternoon of musical entertainment on August 8th provided by two local Village bands: Gotcha Covered (led by Village resident and CAWSV member Woody Weir) and The New Dominion Band (led by ‘95-‘97 CAWSV President Jay Walker).
Social Distancing was in effect. Food and drinks were BYO. Our thanks to these bands for livening up the weekend and bringing back that neighborly feeling!
Google the bands to see when their fall gig schedule starts up.
Acts of Kindness / Community Service - Last Saturday, John Boynton (Truro Court) brought his son Wyatt over to help John & Lois Hoffmann prepare their Recreational Vehicle (RV) for delivery to a wonderful children’s camp in West Virginia. They power-washed the outside, brought all the tires up to pressure, and sanitized the inside. For both it was an act of random kindness and for Wyatt three hours of community service. Well done John and Wyatt!
Neighborhood Dinner Food Drops – Thanks to Tim & Jenna Barron who arranged with Jeremy Barber (Elkton Drive), owner / operator of the Live Oak Restaurant to deliver takeout food to the Rolling Valley ES parking lot this evening for those who pre-ordered under their initiative.
Tim & Jenna hope to do more events like this one; in fact, at least one a month. Stay tuned. And, email them at timjennabarron@gmail.com with your input or ideas. Thanks to both! I am anxious for the shrimp & grits!
Civic Association Membership – You can pay $11.00 using PayPal by clicking “Here”. The extra $1.00 covers the charge PayPal exacts on our transactions. And if you are a new member or if you want to change your directory listing instructions, then email me with your information and what you want changed.
Given all the benefits of our organization, I don’t understand why we fall short of 100% participation. But we need 350 households to pay their $10.00 dues for FY21 (1 October 2020 – 30 September 2021) in order to cover the expected expenses for the year. That’s 80% of the village households. Shoot, we don’t even need the membership form, but do need: 1) your First and Last Name of 1st Resident, First and Last Name of 2nd Resident, 2) Street Address, 3) Phone Number and 4) Email Address. Indicate if we may list your name(s) and address in the directory (Yes or No), list your phone number (Y or N) and lastly may we list your email address (Y or N)? If you answer “no” to 1st question – the other two answers are also “no”.
The FY21 form is on our website (https://www.westspringfieldvillage.org/), also on our Village FaceBook Group and attached to this email. I can also send it to you if you want. If you use the form, complete and send it and your dues payment to “CAWSV”, P.O. Box 2204, Springfield, VA 22152.
Membership Chair Julia Hale or I will send you a confirmation email receipt and put you into that group who do not receive these type reminder articles in their enews. If you are reading this article, you have not yet joined or renewed your membership. Let’s get ‘er done, eh?
But, if you do decide to not join or renew your membership, please let me know so we can save on hard-copy newsletters and postage.
Stay safe, healthy and happy.
John Cooley, CAWSV