Dear Village Neighbor / Friend,
We now have just under 200 paid members; just another 150 to go.
Civic Association of West Springfield Village – What do you get for $10.00 annual dues? Professional maintenance of the Rolling Road median. Representation of our majority position at county, district and state levels. Communications redundancy to include, West Springfield Village FaceBook Group, access to NextDoor that also serves surrounding communities, a professional website, weekly enews and hard copy newsletters if and when needed and a community directory that is chock full of useful information and phone numbers. We conduct a yearly yard sale and community cleanup at no additional expense to members. And we host several social events in cooperation with the Village West Swimming Pool. And, the pool offers a discount to pool members who are also members of our civic association.
All that for just $10.00 per year? But, it does take participation by 80% of our residents to cover our annual operating expenses.
COVID-19 Update – The latest from Fairfax County concerning the virus can be found here. The percentage of positive COVID tests from 23 to 30 August fluctuated between 5.7% and 5.1%. Hospitalizations for COVID-related illness remain low with a steady trend. Testing totals have remained above 10,000 tests per week. Overall available hospital beds were at 26%; an 8% increase from the 28 August report. PPE for hospitals appears to continue to be adequate.
And, check out this COVID-19 Information Page on FaceBook: https://www.facebook.com/coronavirus_info/?page_source=bookmark. It is chock full of good information and links to relevant sites such as CDC, County and Virginia Departments of Health.
Don’t Take Your Guns to Town Son - leave your guns at home boy - words from an old country music song, but our District Supervisor, Pat Herrity wanted all to have the opportunity to speak at the public hearing on 15 September at 4:30 PM concerning a possible, absolute ban on guns in public places. You can sign up here through the Clerk’s office.
Civil War Monuments and Memorials – At the same meeting on 15 September at 4:30 PM, the Board of Supervisors invite public comments about the possible removal, relocation, contextualization, or covering of the Civil War Monuments and Memorials at the Fairfax County Judicial Complex, including the Marr monument, two howitzer cannons, and a memorial marker where the first Confederate officer was killed. You can sign up through the Clerk to the Board of Supervisors here.
Property Acquisition - for Rolling Road Widening Project is underway. Understand some along Rolling Road have received VDOT’s first offer. You can find a wealth of information about the project by visiting www.virginiadot.org and then Projects & Studies and then enter Route 638 Rolling Road in that search function. All you may want to know and more. Plan drawings can be found on our website (https://www.westspringfieldvillage.org/current-rolling-road-design-plans-10282019).
Stuff the Bus events to support ECHO – the need for their support to our community has increased substantially. And, the number of clients to ECHO’s Food Room is escalating again – 44 last week and expecting similar numbers this week. Before the virus, ECHO would have 18-20 clients a week, but since 1 March - 950 families have visited the Food Room vs 447 families during the same period last year. That equates to having served approximately 3,800 people since 1 March.
The closest location supporting ECHO for this Saturday (12 September) event and also Saturday, 26 September from 10:00 AM – 3:00 PM both dates is Braddock District Supervisor’s Office, 9002 Burke Lake Road, Burke, VA 22015.
Though a similar event will take place at the Springfield District Government Center, but as explained by a very patient Ann Womack (Edmonton Court) – “Charities in Fairfax County have a specific area that they provide support to in order to not overwhelm any given organization. ECHO covers Burke, West Springfield and part of Springfield. The Stuff the Bus event at the West Springfield Governmental Center will support Koinonia who covers the rest of Springfield and Franconia.”
It’s great to support either organization, but ECHO provides support to our immediate neighbors in need.
**Food Items Needed: Box Rice, Muffin Mix, Sugar/Flour, Pancake Mix & Syrup, Pasta, Spaghetti Sauce, Bag Beans, Salsa, Can Vegetables, Can Soup, Can Meat and Tuna, Can Tomatoes, Jelly, Macaroni and Cheese, Salad Dressing, Juice, Peanut Butter, Tea/Coffee
**Personal Hygiene Items Needed: Laundry Detergent, Shampoo/Conditioner, Razors, Hand/Body Lotion, Sanitary Pads, Baby Wipes, OTC Pain/Flu/Cold Meds for children and adults
For more information and the most up-to-date list of needed items, visit the ECHO website: https://www.echo-inc.org.
Girl Scouts - Girl Scout troops are forming and have spaces for girls in Kindergarten through 6th Grade at Rolling Valley Elementary School or from the surrounding area in Springfield. Become a Girl Scout family! The next general interest meeting is on 9/17 at 7:00 pm via Zoom. To get more information email Jessica Gregris (girlscoutldr@yahoo.com) and Alex Fahey (afahey@gscnc.org).
Auditors – Need two volunteers to go over Liz Greene’s FY20 books. If you can balance your family’s checkbook, you can audit Liz’s records. We can do it sitting on my front porch at the acceptable distance from each other. Liz’s detailed record keeping makes it very easy and she even writes the audit report for your signatures once you’re satisfied. We have to have it done by the October meeting normally held on the second Thursday in October (8 October this year). If Liz can close out FY20 and prepare the books for audit, we’re looking at doing the audit on 2, 3 or 4 October. It will take less time to complete the audit than for you to drink one of my beers or a glass of wine.
October Membership Meeting – we meet twice each year in May and then again in October. In the May meeting we vote to set the amount of dues for the next fiscal year. In the October meeting, we ratify the audit of our finances, we pass a marked up budget for the next FY and elect a new Board of Directors (President, Vice President, Secretary and Treasurer). The 5th member of the BOD is the Past President. Kirby Myers currently serves in that position and also as our Directory Editor. 20+ years ago, then President Dick Denny directed the Board of Directors (BOD) and Executive Council (EC) to reduce the need for volunteers and to change the way we do business in order to reduce the burden on BOD/EC members. I am convinced we have succeeded and can assure you that if elected to a BOD position, you will be surprised how little time you will spend on CAWSV issues. NOTE – EC members are appointed by the BOD, no membership vote required.
Random Act of Kindness – A few days ago, Andrew Bilski (SVD) was out for a long walk home when what had been a drizzle changed into a heavy rain. Seeing a house with chairs under a covered porch, he rang the bell to ask if he could rest there, waiting for the rain to stop. The lady who answered the door not only cheerfully agreed, but having found out where Andrew lives, offered and insisted on giving him a ride home. During a short ride, Andrew said they talked about how much each of them like our neighborhood and she offered her help in the future. Andrew wants to thank Mrs. Carla Spitler (Greenview) for this random act of kindness.
Stay safe, happy and healthy.
John Cooley, CAWSV