Dear West Springfield Neighbor / Friend,
Just a reminder that the enews is sent to myself with you and the rest included in the Bcc address line.
COVID-19 Update – Strange that we here in NOVA are not experiencing the uptick in Covid-19 cases as is most of the rest of VA and in other states. We received very little local news about the virus this week, but the latest from Fairfax County concerning the virus can be found here.
Neighborhood Solicitors – I hope you also saw the video posted to NextDoor showing a young woman canvassing a neighboring community apparently for donations. When no one answered her knock on a front door, she helped herself to the homeowner’s mail, opened one letter and allegedly took a check from the envelope. All was caught on the homeowner’s security camera.
We also had kids soliciting door-to-door in our village. Nothing new there, but one young man was caught on a neighbor’s security camera trying to open the front door without first knocking or pushing the doorbell button and presumably without being invited into the home. It might have been force of habit for him and an honest mistake, but given the first incident above – it caused rightful concern.
So we checked with the police, but there was little they could do since no crime had been reported. They did, however offer the same advice they have provided many times over: 1) Lock your doors and windows to your home. 2) Lock your parked car doors to include any you may have in your garage. 3) Don’t leave valuables in your car even if it is locked. 4) Post a "No Peddlers or Solicitors" sign at your front door if you don’t want to be bothered by peddlers or solicitors. 5) Ask door to door solicitors for their required Fairfax County license. They must show their license upon request and must leave the premises immediately if asked to leave.
Often solicitors will show customers an ID badge or some other document, claiming that they are licensed by Fairfax County when they are not. The Fairfax County Solicitor's License is a laminated card that displays the solicitor's photograph, name, and personal information on the front side. The back side of the license displays the solicitor's business information and thumbprints. It is valid for one year from date of issue.
Exceptions - there are some people and organizations who can knock on your door without a Fairfax County license: those selling fresh farm products including produce and dairy, newspapers or newspaper subscriptions, Girl Scouts, school children conducting school fund raisers, political parties and political campaigns.
Call Fairfax County Police (non-emergency) at 703/691-2131 to report the violations.
Rolling Valley Elementary School (RVES) – we had a couple questions about the trailers at RVES. Principal Maureen Boland was asked about them and she responded that they are there to account for a growing student population, not for social distancing when the school does reopen. Dr. Boland posted on their RVES Facebook Group, but I am happy to hear that enrollment is growing which should also translate into a steady demand for our homes in the RE Market.
Springfield Community Parking District (CPD) – several years ago, we all had a chance to provide input to the decision making the Springfield Magisterial District a CPD which has additional parking restrictions above those imposed by Virginia law. The CPD prohibits the parking of watercraft, motor homes, campers, trailers, vehicles greater than or equal to 3 axles, vehicles with a GVWR greater than or equal to 12,000 lbs., and vehicles transporting greater than or equal to 16 passengers (except school buses) on public streets in residentially zoned areas (that includes all of our streets). Call the Police non-emergency number (703/691-2131) to report violations. Owners of vehicles parked in violation are subject to a $75 fine and may be towed at the owner’s expense. For more information - https://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/transportation/parking/community-parking-districts.
Landscaping Contractor Recommendation – John & Lois Hoffmann want to give a big shout out to Wilber Serrano of J and F landscaping. Wilber did such an exemplary job last year that John & Lois invited him and his crew back this year. They arrived on time and meticulously pulled up each and every weed in 10 gardens. They did not cut our hedges and bushes, they manicured them! Once again an exemplary job at a very reasonable cost Call Wilber at 571/409-9310.
Rats - Last week we included comments about the dangers that rat poison pose to our pets and to our children. I failed to include the most obvious way to keep the rat population in check and that is to eliminate their food sources. Food scraps & waste should be bagged and stored in a trash-toter with the lid closed. Food scrap & waste should not be put into on-ground composting piles, but there are rat-proof, composting containers that can be purchased. Some who have or had these containers reported that the rats eventually chewed into them to enjoy a free meal or two. Here’s a stock photo of one.
They may or may not work to keep the rats out of the compost, but certainly are better than on-ground composting. If you have a food bowl for your pet outside – pick it up after your pet has finished and before the rats come out looking for their next meal. Rats will cannibalize their own in the absence of other foods, but that only helps to reduce their population.
I bet you are wondering if you have rats; aren’t you? A rat hole leading down to their colony is usually a very neat silver dollar-size hole You won’t find spoil (loose dirt from the digging the hole) scattered about like with other ground dwellers.
A single pair of mating rats can propagate to become about a thousand rats in less than a year if left unchecked, without predation and provided adequate food (and I thought I had a lot of grandkids). So do you have rats living at your address? Yes, you probably do; we all do - making it important for each of us to not provide a food source and to not interfere with rat-eating predators. Remember the discussion about fox and that someone killed one in a snap trap while others attempted to poison fox? Fox love to eat rats, as do hawks and eagles and some of the feral cats that roam the village. Predation is vitally important to help control rat populations.
So let’s skip the rat poison unless placed in a safe area by a professional pest management service, dispose of food waste in such ways as to not feed the rats and leave the predators alone.
Secrets to Talking with Young Kids - ages 7, 9 and 11. Step 1 – go to the bathroom and close the door. Step 2 – take a seat and wait. Try to remain quiet as they roam the landscape searching for you even though you had just told them that you would be out of the game for a few minutes. It must have been the closed door, but soon at least one zeroed in and let out the cry for the rest of the pack to join them. “Grandpa, Grandpa, Grandpa” they cry out – each talking over the others. And then the incessant requests begin. One wants to borrow the family car for a joy ride, another wants to know where the scissors are kept and the other wants to report a heinous crime that had been committed by one of his older siblings. Yep – talking to kids is all about location. I should write a book!
Stay safe; stay healthy!
John Cooley, CAWSV