By CHIEF STEPHAN M. HUDSON 
Prince William County Police 

I am truly humbled and honored to be chosen to serve as just the third Police Chief of the Prince William County Police Department. As a career-long member of this Department, I am thankful and proud to have worked alongside dedicated officers and civilians who strive to provide exceptional service to the citizens of Prince William County.

I want to thank Lieutenant Colonel Barry Barnard for his leadership as the Acting Chief since Chief Deane retired on September 1, 2012. Over the past months, LTC Barnard has wisely guided this Department, with steadfast devotion to the well-being of the organization and to each of us. I am pleased to be making this transition with his unwavering support.

It was a privilege to work for Chief Deane for his entire 24 year tenure as Chief of Police, as well as for our first Police Chief, George T. Owens. Both men set an exemplary standard for our Department. Chief Owens founded this Department in 1970, and was responsible for laying its foundation of principled service and commitment. Chief Deane continued this tradition, earning international recognition for integrity and high standards. Because of their tireless and dedicated leadership, this Department is widely renowned for its reputation of excellence.

I have a deep personal commitment to this County, its government, and its citizens. I’ve lived in Prince William County since 1976 and graduated from Gar-Field High School. My wife works for the Prince William County School system, and we were blessed to have our children and now grandchildren here. I am very proud of this community and am privileged to now serve as its Chief of Police.

I was hired as a police officer with this Department in 1982 and have enjoyed many varied experiences since then.

Most recently, I served as Assistant Chief of the Operations Division and the Criminal Investigations Division. I also served as the commander of Special Operations, Internal Affairs, and the Vice/Narcotics Bureau. I had the pleasure of supervising units in CID, the Academy, and Patrol. As an officer and detective for over thirteen years, I served on the SWAT team, as an Academy Instructor, a plain clothes Detective, and a Patrol Officer. Each assignment increased my understanding of the diverse activities of our job. Every day brings progress and innovation. I will do my utmost to build on the Department’s many great strengths and help prepare our next generation of leaders for the complex challenges of the future.

I believe strongly in open communication, teamwork, creativity, and accountability to the citizens we serve. I cannot fully express how honored I am to have the opportunity to work alongside all of the members of our department as we serve the citizens of Prince William County together.

Slug Tales

By LAURA CIRILLO

 Man, I hate the cold.

That taste of 70-degree weather was such a tease, just to be followed by a dusting of snow at the end of the week. And unless the snow is significant enough to close the government, or at least get us a telework day, I’m not interested.

I hate walking our puppy in the snow; it’s too distracting for him and he only wants to eat the snow or play in it. I hate cleaning my car off in the morning, and I don’t drive well in icy conditions (really, does anyone?). But more than anything else, I dread slugging in the cold.

The walk from my car to the slug line in the morning and back in the evening seems so much longer in the cold, especially with that biting wind and all the nasty rain and snow we’ve had lately. It’s almost painful just to stand in the slug line, counting down the number of riders in front of you before you’re in a warm car.

As much as I love slugging, cold, dreary weather can make it pretty miserable. And the unpredictability of slugging, of not knowing how long you’ll be waiting in the slug line, freezing and shivering and pathetic, well, that’s pretty much the worst.

If you don’t slug, you may think I’m being overly dramatic. And if you do slug, and you hate the cold as much as I do, you know just how right I am about this.

Yesterday evening, I left my office just after 5 p.m. and, much to my dismay, walked out the door to find a very long slug line filled with people headed for the Horner Road Commuter lot in Woodbridge. My heart sank, as it usually does when this happens, and I trudged to the end of the line. Five minutes passed and then 10, then 20. It seemed the slug line was barely moving, and I silently cursed each car that created any sort of obstruction in the road, preventing slug drivers from possibly getting to us faster.

I tried counting all of the people waiting ahead of me in line, but stopped after about 12. It seemed hopeless. What if it gets too close to 6 p.m. when the restrictions are lifted in the HOV lanes, and I end up on the bus again? I stayed pretty calm when that happened last week, but I may not be able to handle it again tonight.

Finally, I got closer to the front of the line, but I refused to get my hopes up. I made that mistake last week, and then waited at the very front of the line until after 6 p.m. but wound up taking the Metro back to the Pentagon to take the commuter bus to my car to drive home. Yeah, it’s a trip.

I just couldn’t do it again.

Checking the time again, I continued to worry. After 5:30 p.m., and still no ride. And I wasn’t even next in line! Tomorrow, I need to bring gloves, I reminded myself. My hands were nearly frozen and I could picture them sitting in the passenger seat of my car, right where I left them that morning.

Next thing I knew, we were moving up again. Two people were in a car, with another car waiting behind them, and there went the next two. Finally, I was at the front of the line, and a few minutes later, there was my sweet, sweet chariot (or Ford Explorer, but whatever).

It was about 35 minutes of unpleasantly cold, sheer torture overall, but getting into that warm and toasty SUV and napping on the way back to the commuter lot was just what I needed. Of course, the bus runs on a more predictable timetable, but when something throws that schedule off, you can be stuck waiting, or worse – standing in the aisle the whole ride home. My preference is almost always to slug. Besides the possible wait time, it’s just faster than any other alternative.

As much as I hate the cold weather, I don’t love sweating in the scorching hot sun in the summertime, either. I’m sure I’ll be complaining about that in a few months, but for now, I’m just so over winter. Bring on the heat!

 Laura Cirillo works for the federal government and lives in Prince William County

DALE CITY, Va. – All good things come to an end, and so is true for bingo at Hylton Boys and Girls Club in Dale City.

The popular Friday night attraction will end it’s run on Feb. 15. The final session will be called, appropriately, Achy Breaky Bingo.

“We’ve invited all of our old volunteers who gave a lot of their life and energy to making it a success,” said Prince William / Manassas Boys and Girls Clubs Director Glenn Vickers. “It will be good to have them all back for this.”

The Clubs once relied on the funds generated from bingo night, but an increased need to serve the community in other ways, and an increased enrollment at the Boys and Girls Clubs has prompted the organization to find new ways of raising funds, said Vickers.

“At one point, bingo made up six to eight percent of our annual funding, but now the clubs take into account for our formula for impact and have changed the way we fund our Clubs,” Vickers added.

Staff at the Boys and Girls Clubs will now focus winning more grant funding for the facilities.

The bingo sessions at the Hytlon Club begin at 6 p.m. and the players have their rituals, as many bring family photos and other family heirlooms to set up on tables to bring them luck.

Most games dole out prizes of $100, and a jackpot prize of $1,000 is also awarded at the bingo sessions.

By MARY ROSENTHOL
For Potomac Local News 

DALE CITY , Va. – On Saturday, hockey players, students, and fans will gather at Northern Virginia Community College to watch the final game of the season and to honor former team captain Rob Lucier who died in October. Lucier’s #3 will officially be retired during a ceremony prior to the game.

“Rob was more than a Captain; he was a friend. Rob loved to talk about how he came up with the idea for a program- it was the pride of his life,” said NOVA Head Coach Barrett Haga. “Everywhere he went he talked about NOVA Hockey. Rob loved the game so much that he would teach hockey to his friends, and many of those friends play for NOVA today. His influence on the program will be felt for generations.”

Rob, who had recently relocated to Spartanberg, SC, tragically took his own life.

In 2009, Rob Lucier worked with officials at NOVA to use $3,000 from the student budget to buy 10 practice slots and fund one game. More than 30 interested students showed up to try out for the team and the NOVA hockey program was declared a success.

Current team co-captain Steve Morales appreciates how hard Lucier worked for the sport and for the school.

“I try not to take my time on this Earth for granted,” Morales said. “Rob put a lot of time and energy into this program and I’m sorry I never got to meet him.”

Head Coach Haga went on to say, “Rob was so proud of how far the program has come since that first practice at Mt. Vernon so long ago. We spent countless hours putting in the pieces needed to build this program. Retiring his jersey is the right thing to do to honor his memory.”

Lucier’s parents Gary and Debbie will be at the game in February and are touched by the retirement of his number.

“Although Rob certainly left a great legacy in the NOVA sports program, his direct or indirect impact on individual lives is what inevitably will mean the most,” said the Luciers. “We remain forever grateful to all those who befriended, advised, coached, and instructed our son Rob during his time at NOVA”

The hockey team will play against George Mason University at the “Battle of Northern Virginia” at 10 p.m. Saturday at the Prince William Ice Center in Dale City, states the team’s Facebook page.

MANASSAS, Va. -- The Hylton Performing Arts Center in Manassas wants to be a lunchtime destination.

The center will begin hosting weekday performances following a catered lunch. The series, Matinee Idylls, will be held inside the center’s Gregory Family Theater.

More in a press release:

Matinee Idylls kicks off on Tuesday, Feb. 19, 2013 at 12:30 p.m. with a buffet luncheon from Carmello’s, one of the fine dining restaurants in Old Town Manassas, followed by a one-hour concert by OperaBelle, a “soaring” trio of professional operatic sopranos, featuring Prince William’s own musical treasure, soprano Angela Knight, as well as soprano Katherine Keem and mezzo-soprano Anna Korsakova, in a program of thrilling arias, duets and ensembles. All three singers have performed with the Washington National Opera and Washington Concert Opera, and have had extensive solo concert careers.

OperaBelle [Submitted photo]

The series continues on Tuesday, March 26, 2013 at 12:30 p.m. with lunch and then a performance by QuinTango. This critically acclaimed quintet of two violins, cello, bass and piano is dedicated to the musical performance of the sizzling art of tango. QuinTango was founded in 1995, and has been invited to perform at the White House, the Kennedy Center’s Millennium Stage and the Piccolo Spoleto Festival in Charleston, S.C., among others. The WAMMIE Award-winning ensemble also presents music education programs through the Washington Performing Arts Society.

The inaugural Matinee Idylls series concludes on Tuesday, May 21, 2013 at 12:30 p.m. with lunch and a performance by The Virginia Virtuosi, featuring three outstanding chamber musicians on violin, viola and bass who make the classics come to life. This performance, titled “Casual Classics,” features ensemble member Mark Bergman’smoving and elegant portrait of our nearby national park in “Shenandoah Suite.” The ensemble has performed throughout the greater Washington, D.C. area, including at the Corcoran Gallery of Art, the National Gallery of Art and the Kennedy Center, among others. The Virginia Virtuosi has also partnered with the Virginia Commission on the Arts on music education programming for youth and adults in the region.

A coffee and dessert reception is planned with the artists following each show. All told, the experience is expected to last two and a half hours, according to a Hylton Performing Arts spokeswoman.

Tickets for the show are $38 each and include lunch, the performance, and the dessert reception, and they can be purchased at the box office or online.

FAIRFAX, Va. – The Grow Your Health Wellness Festival, a project of the Northern Virginia Whole Foods Nutrition Meetup Group, will be held on March 10, 2013 from noon – 5 p.m. at Woodson High School in Fairfax.

The festival includes a screening of the food documentary, In Organic We Trust, a “pop-up”café selling local farm fresh meals from Fields of Athenry Farm’s Chef Wes Rosati (former Executive Chef at Lansdowne Resort), and classes and exhibits on gardening, school lunches, local food and wellness. Prominently featured in the film is the school garden at Watkins Elementary School in Washington DC.

Dr. Carmel Dekel Wiseman, DC, DICCP in Northern Virginia and Tel Aviv, originally had the vision for the Grow Your Health Wellness Festival after seeing the film at the Environmental Working Group conference last year. “I was originally concerned about the quality of the food my family eats and the direct impact that food has on my patients’ health. Then a vision formed of communities coming together to watch the film and developing local solutions such as learning to start your own garden, tending community and school gardens, and sourcing local food. The sky is the limit for what we can do to support our local economies, improve our health and create healthy thriving communities by coming together to improve the quality of our food.”

To empower festival attendees to improve the quality of the food they eat, start gardens and build community, classes and wellness exhibits after the film screening will support them to take action. Local gardening schools, Prior Unity Garden and Love & Carrots will offer classes.

· Gardening class topics include Starting Your First Garden, Managing Bugs and Pests without Chemicals, Feeding the Soil, Herb & Container Gardening, Gardening with Kids, and Advanced Gardening Methods (Biodynamic Permaculture and Foodscaping)

· A panel of local experts will discuss the solutions presented in the film: organizing school gardens, urban farming, better school lunches, and how to buy local.

· Local wellness exhibits include Bob’s Bakery, Prior Unity gardening services, Smart Markets, United Wellness Center, Vital Healthy Life, and Sunrise Nutritional Therapy.

Tickets are available online, at the door. More details can be found at grow-your-health.info. The advance sale ticket price of $10 adult, $5 children under 18 (babies free), includes the movie and either a gardening class or panel discussion. Lunch is purchased separately. Tickets at the door will be $15. Proceeds from this event over and above expenses will be donated to support the nutrition education efforts of the Weston A. Price Foundation. Direct media inquiries to Kimberly Hartke at 703-860-2711.

-Submitted 

With rates as high as $3.75 million for a 30 second Super Bowl TV commercial, Advertisers, if nothing else, want to leave a lasting impression on you.

So, did it work?

A number of new commercials played during the big game Sunday night. Pepsi, Doritos, Volkswagen, Audi, and others used humor to drive home their marketing message.

Here are some of our favorites. Tell us which commercials you liked best.

Go Daddy kiss

Oreo whisper fight

Volkswagen get in, get happy

Audi prom kiss

Taco Bell viva young

M&Ms pinata

Mom on the Run

By LIANNE WILKENS

It’s a quiet weeknight and I’m home alone. It’s not quite bedtime, I’ve already checked email, I don’t feel alert enough to read a book or do a crossword puzzle, so TV it is. I scan the list of DVRed shows – does anybody watch TV as it airs anymore? – and settle on “How I Met Your Mother.” A half-hour show, no brains required, perfect.

As the show runs I putter around. I’m up and down, up and down, doing little things. The dogs go out, then scratch at the door to come back in. I look over, see a drink bottle, carry it to the recycling bin. I think about tomorrow and set out my son’s lunchbox, just to save myself a minute in what is always a rushed morning.

I don’t pay much attention to the show: no brains required.

Until one of the characters comments that her dad has sent her a Facebook friend request. “No, no!” cry her friends. “Don’t do it!”

What? Riveted, I move into the family room, perch on the edge of the sofa. I lean forward, listening hard. I need information. The characters on-screen – in their late 20s and early 30s, I think – helpfully complain about how terrible it is to be Facebook friends with their parents. Not that they don’t want their parents to know what they’re doing, but their parents’ own postings, the characters whine, are inappropriate, repetitive, and annoying.

Huh. I sit back, and consider. My 21-year-old daughter, currently a junior in college and studying abroad for the semester, recently blocked me from her Facebook page. I can see the pictures and comments she had added before she blocked me, and I can see a recent post where she mentioned me, but that’s it. And I don’t know why.

It’s embarrassing, being blocked by my own kid. It seems unfair. I just wired her a pile of cash for the semester abroad. The post where she mentioned me is actually thanking me for sending her a care package – at great expense, to fly all the way to Europe. I’m a good mom!

And even worse, my daughter hasn’t blocked my friends. We have 108 mutual friends – 108! – and it is embarrassing when Christy asks, “Oh my gosh, don’t you love those shoes she bought?” and I have no idea what the shoes look like.

When Donna exclaims, “I love all the pictures she’s posting!” I can’t talk with her about them. And when Steve from church, who barely knows my first-born, says, “It sounds like she’s having a great time over there!” I can only nod.

I can’t figure out how to fix it. When she left to spend a weekend in Berlin I emailed, “Since I can’t see your Facebook page, please text me occasionally so I know you’re alive.” I got an “OK” in response, but no confirmation that she picked up on the hint.

I asked her brother: “Do you know why your sister blocked me on Facebook?” and he just shrugged his shoulders and said, “I don’t know. She didn’t block me.” And I mentioned it to my husband, who is not blocked, hoping he would pull rank and tell her to re-friend me, but either he hasn’t asked, or she hasn’t complied. Sighhh.

So now, watching “How I Met Your Mother,” I have to reconsider: was it my posts? I don’t play Farmville or any of those games. I don’t write and upload book reports. I don’t think I have embarrassing posts, and I virtually never link her to them, anyway.

And now, reminded of my social media humiliation, I sink deep into the sofa and pout. My kid has blocked me from Facebook. And apparently that’s normal and funny enough to become sit-com fodder. Stupid show. I pick up the remote, turn it off, and go to bed.

Snow fell across the region today. Here’s a view of the fat flakes as they fell over Lake Montclair in Prince William County.

The snow came on a Sunday when traffic volume on most area roads is lighter than normal. Little if any of the snow accumulated.

More snow showers are expected Monday and Tuesday nights with little to no accumulation possible, the National Weather Service states.

The big question on everyone’s minds today seems to be, will it be the San Francisco 49ers or the Baltimore Ravens.

One thing for sure is the big party will not be at my house. I may be the only one out there that still has an old school big box TV — not the flat screen type. And I only have one at that.

This one TV requires three remotes, go figure. Sure I could scrape up the change to get a new flat screen TV, but the one I have still works and I refuse to just throw it out.

A family member told me even Goodwill won’t take them any more!

The Super Bowl party I have been invited to is at a family member’s home. They have multiple flat screen TVs, including one in a theater restroom, just so you don’t miss any thing.

And get this: only one remote is needed!

This year the National Capital Region Red Cross Chapter will hold its under-the-sea themed prom at Heritage Hunt Country Club in Gainesville on April 26 from 7-11 p.m.

Gainesville Beat has more. 

By AL ALBORN
Contributing Editor

Players are broken up into two teams, the Reds and the Blues. They come in different shades ranging from scarlet to pink, baby blue, to midnight. The color of a piece determines the moves the public may expect it to make. They play behind a wooden board called a Dias.

They may switch colors or shades at will. Sometimes they all turn purple.

Like all games, it’s a math problem. It’s more like Chess than Checkers. Graduate level courses on political calculus are necessary to really understand or play the game well.

It takes five votes to get anything done in Prince William County — five votes.

With six red and two blue pieces on the board, one would think that the game always comes to a quick end. That is seldom the case. Imagine those eight pieces constantly changing shades of color. Never changing shades, or never being one of those five votes, makes a piece irrelevant to the game and not worth watching.

Pieces may collect IOU’s for future votes and “trade moves” to win by losing. They keep track of the moves they trade. Every piece needs to win occasionally regardless of color, and those “IOU’s” come in handy when its time to collect.

Like Monopoly, this game is about money.

All of the wealth of Prince William County is like that money and those houses and hotels in the Monopoly box. Last year, the game cost $2.5 billion.

The goal is to get as much of it as you can and spend it on things to improve your position on the Board. While its ok to take a “chance” once and awhile, “going directly to jail” is something you want to avoid.

There are few rules. All of the pieces are kings. They have absolute discretion in the moves they make, however, they are limited to the number of moves available. They only have two choices: yes or no. The pieces make up the rules as they go along, and they all play to their own rules (which may be changed at will).

Score is kept electronically. The public may see who wins or loses individual moves by watching a set of red or green lights record their latest move.

People desiring to influence the game may do so by speaking directly to the players, or by paying campaign contributions.

The cynical suspect that we aren’t really watching the game at all, and that the real moves occur off the board. We wonder who is really playing? Surprise outcomes are not unusual.

Who is really moving the pieces? If you take your eyes off the board for a while and connect a few dots, you can figure it out.

A new set of the game starts every year. We call preparing for a new set of the game called Budget Season, where the players refill the Monopoly box with our money. The goal is to take “just enough” to stay in the game for four more years. “Too much” is a relative value judgment. The Red players differ on what is “too much” while the blue players think in terms of “never enough”.

While the pieces in the game make the moves, we ultimately have the power. We pay for the game. For the Reds and Blues, the tricky part is convincing the public that they are spending it on things that are really part of the game.

The game comes to an end every four years, and then we start over. The goal for a piece is to survive for another game.

Occasionally, a piece stops enjoying the game and drops off the board because the game isn’t as much fun for some as it used to be. In the past the pieces moved around in relative obscurity with little public interest in their moves. Now, many of us watch the game closely these days.

That’s changing the moves on the board, and perhaps the game itself.

Like all games, you can’t win if you don’t play. After all, its our money.

By STEPHANIE TIPPLE
Potomac Local News Features Editor

Just because he’s been deployed to Afghanistan doesn’t mean Steve Costa will miss this year’s Polar Plunge at Virginia Beach.

The solider from Stafford, along with hundreds of other supporters of Special Olympics of Virginia, will dive into the cold waters of the Atlantic Ocean at the Virginia Beach Oceanfront Feb. 2 to raise money for the organization that supports athletes with disabilities.

Though he’s still in Afghanistan, this event is something Costa swore he wouldn’t miss. After being deployed six months ago, he decided to pull together 10 to 12 of his fellow soldiers who are also deployed, and they ordered a large backyard pool and planed to plunge on that day with all of the other Plungers at Virginia Beach.

“To date, he and his co-workers have raised closed to $4,000. They’ve been asking for donations from their friends, from their loved ones, their co-workers, from everyone they know,” said Special Olympics Virginia spokesman Tim Doyle.

Costa’s love for Special Olympics stems from his experience as a coach for the games.

“I have been a Special Olympics coach for over two years now. A very good friend, Ms. Theresa Wink, invited me to help at a practice one day – and next thing you know, I was attending each week. There’s nothing like the smiles on the kid’s faces when they earn their medals – it’s truly rewarding,” stated Costa in an email to Potomac Local News.

This 17th annual Polar Plunge for Special Olympics of Virginia has served as one of its largest fundraisers, and has spawned other Polar Plunge events throughout the state. In addition to the Plunge, there will be a festival with live bands, sand and ice sculpting, a 5K race, and a Peewee Plunge for tots to test the frigid waters.

And while the end result is all fun and games, participants worked hard to become a part of the plunge, raising a minimum of $100 each. These plungers have gotten creative by hosting parties, using social media, and asking all of their loved ones and social networks to donate. This has been a great success for the Special Olympics of Virginia, said Doyle.

And Doyle isn’t surprised by Costa’s decision to make the plunge in Afghanistan. He believes it showcases the type of volunteer that he is.

“It’s a very strong statement of how committed he is – how much he believes in our program that he would actually consider doing that while he’s over there in harm’s way. I don’t believe you can get much stronger than that. Steve is just like many, many of our volunteers. He’s very dedicated to our program, he helps us year round,” Doyle said.

The money that is raised from Costa’s group and the other Plungers will allow the Special Olympics of Virginia to host their year-round calendar of activities for individuals with both intellectual and combination intellectual-physical disabilities.

“[Raised funds] are used to fund Special Olympics programs throughout the whole year. A lot of people have the misconception that the Special Olympics is a one time event, when in fact, Special Olympics is something that goes on every day. The Special Olympics provides year round sports, training and competition to people with intellectual disabilities. They are solely funded through the generosity of the community,” said Doyle.

WOODBRIDGE, Va. – Now you can fight the flu through your telephone or computer.

Sentara Northern Virginia Medical Center now offers patients the option of calling a phone number to speak with a doctor. The service, Sentara MDLIVE, is also available online and patients can use their webcams, according a press release.

During the consultation, doctors will be able to diagnose and prescribe medications if necessary.

More in a press release from Sentara:

How does it work?

Log on to www.mdlive.com or call 1-800-335-4836 to get started. For less than the cost of a visit to an urgent care or emergency room, you’ll consult with a board-certified doctor using your computer and a webcam or the telephone. Virtual appointments are usually scheduled within minutes of registration and are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Sentara MDLIVE doctors will diagnose, recommend treatment and prescribe medications when necessary – including Tamiflu. They send prescriptions electronically to the pharmacy of your choice.

Log on to www.mdlive.com or call 1-800-335-4836 to make an appointment and get relief without the wait.

New to virtual appointments? Check out these tips as you make your first appointment with Sentara MDLIVE.

Your living room can be a doctor’s office.

Prior to your appointment with Sentara MDLIVE, take your temperature and gather a list of the medications you currently are taking including vitamins and herbal supplements.

Lists and questions are helpful.

The doctor will ask you questions to understand your medical history and symptoms. Before your visit, jot down key information such as your symptoms, when they began and how you are currently feeling. Also, write down any questions you have to be sure they’re addressed during your virtual appointment.

Jot down your pharmacy contact info.

Have the name, address and phone number of your pharmacy ready in case the doctor needs to send a prescription for you.

Eliminate distractions when it’s time for your virtual appointment.

Find a quiet space when it’s time for your appointment. Eliminate background noise as much as possible – for example, turn off the television in the background or find a room away from other family members.

Virtual visits can play an important role in your healthcare.

Virtual visits can provide you with convenient access to a quality doctor, and can serve as an important first step in getting you the treatment you need. However, telehealth is not appropriate to use in an emergency. It also doesn’t replace your primary care doctor. Be sure to follow up with your primary care doctor if your condition does not improve or you start to feel worse.

Virtual visits may be covered by your health insurance or qualify as a reimbursable HAS expense.

Some insurance plans cover all or a portion of virtual visits. Check with your insurance plan first to be sure your visit is covered, if not the consult is available for the low $45 fee. If you have a Healthcare Spending Account (HSA), keep your receipt as virtual visits often qualify as an expense for most HSAs.

LAKE RIDGE, Va. – Coping with Alzheimer’s disease can be difficult, so that’s why an area senior citizens home wants to help families recognize the signs of the disease.

A special seminar will be held at the Westminster of Lake Ridge where the top 10 warning signs of Alzheimer’s will be discussed.

More in a press release:

The 10 warning signs include:

1. Memory loss that disrupts daily life

2. Challenges in planning or solving problems

3. Difficulty completing familiar tasks at home, at work or at leisure

4. Confusion with time or place

5. Trouble understanding visual images and spatial relationships

6. New problems with words in speaking or writing

7. Misplacing things and losing the ability to retrace steps

8. Decreased or poor judgment

9. Withdrawal from work or social activities

10. Changes in mood and personality

One in eight older Americans, some 5.4 million people, is living with Alzheimer’s disease.

Alzheimer’s is the sixth-leading cause of death in the U.S. and the only cause of death among the top 10 in the nation that cannot be prevented, cured or even slowed.

The workshop starts at 1:30 p.m. and goes until 4 o’clock Wednesday, Jan. 30. Those involved with the workshop said early detection of Alzheimer’s is important because patients can begin drug therapy, enroll in clinical studies, and plan for the future.

WOODBRIDGE, Va. – Nancy Marouf’s 18-year–old son, Cameron, a senior at Forest Park High School in Woodbridge, will attend Norfolk State University on a full scholarship to be the football team’s punter. Being from northern Iraq, Marouf said football was an adjustment for their family as their American-born son taught them the rules of the game.

More in a first-hand account from Nancy Marouf on her son’s achievement:

Cameron Marouf, only child of Salam and Nancy Marouf, first generation Kurdish (northern Iraq) American, is a natural athlete with keen eyesight and a talented foot. Educated in Prince William County schools – Henderson, Porter Traditional and now Forest Park, he is a hometown child. Although he has played T-ball, baseball, a lifetime of recreational soccer and a bit of travel soccer, his greatest athletic gift, at this point, has been as the punter and kicker on the football field.

With the arrival of Coach Coccoli in 2011, Forest Park’s head football coach, there was a need for a kicker. Coach Qura, Cameron’s soccer coach at Forest Park, suggested several young men. Cameron just happened to have been the first telephone call. Although understanding Coach Coccoli’s need, we were quite surprised by the opportunity. Cameron tried out and Coccoli that noticed Cameron’s foot. He said,

“Cameron has a division one foot,” said the coach.

“Don’t play with me as we don’t know anything about this football world,” I replied.

And, the party started. All of this was a new world.

We took Cameron to several kicking camps/classes – Before you Kick (held at UVA); Coach Doug Blevins (former NFL coach); Virginia Tech camp (met Coach Beamer), and some other local camps in the area.

With a dad that only knew soccer to transition into football was a feat in itself. His dad didn’t know about cheerleaders, what “starting” meant, the bands, halftime, etc. It was truly a story in itself to watch this transition.

It took about three games for dad to decide we had to be there at 6 p.m. to watch Cameron kick and prepare for the game. The most I could contribute was being the best cheerleader. So many parents who have been involved in football for years were so forthcoming and welcoming. We couldn’t ask for more. They also enjoyed dad’s transition from soccer to football!

Fall 2011 and fall of 2012 were our only football seasons. Cameron had no less than 6 – 8 people in his cheering section at every game. Everyone from family, day care providers, neighbors, cousins, aunts, uncles, grandpa, great uncles and aunts, our company clients, etc. were there to support him.

I was researching all that I could find about college football, recruiting, colleges, divisions and asking the coaches too many questions. Technology was a large part of this process between videos and emails. By the time the season was finished, the college coaches began to stop by the school, call us at home and or email the coach. It was coming at us from all sides.

I had to make a file box to keep the information organized as there was so much of it and coming to us so quickly. For about three weeks in December, Cameron was coming home on a daily basis to tell us about the coach and school he had met that particular day. We had inquiries from Assumption College in Maine, Stevenson College, ODU, Bridgewater, University of Richmond, Ferrum, and Norfolk State.

We were invited By Coach Butler and Head Coach Adrian, of Norfolk State, for an official visit in January. It was a great experience and reconfirmed our concerns for a healthy successful academic support system.

The bonus was the connection from the head coach to his staff. He will have tutors, scheduled study time, a personal punting/kicking coach, practice clothes, away game clothes, home game clothes and shoes. We could not ask for more as parents.

He has been taught how to take care of his room, home responsibilities and his laundry. We have felt that we are on a cloud and just can’t believe what we are experiencing. We just know it has all been a gift from God for this plan for our family.

By STEPHANIE TIPPLE

When walking in to the Stars and Stripes Café one thing is clear – it looks and feels like home. Lined with knickknacks, collectibles and other merchandise sold by local vendors on site, this café is the epitome of what you’d see on your next trip to your grandmother’s home.

Cozy and inviting, the building has been reincarnated into several different businesses, including a home and a deli before opening as the café two months ago. Managed by Alan Melton, a chef who was trained in New York City, the café in Triangle is a quick turn from the main entrance of Quantico Marine Corps Base.

To find out if the café was worth its salt, I sampled four different food items showcased on the menu. For an opener, I ordered the baked potato soup ($4.95). Many of the items on the menu, like the soup, are homemade and delivered to the restaurant. It was creamy, served at the right temperature, and hit the spot on one of the coldest days this winter.

While the taste was delicious, the presentation was off – as it was served in a ceramic bowl with a plastic spoon. If you’re looking to bring someone on a first date and plastic cutlery isn’t their thing, avoid the soup.

The “Semper Fi”, a modern take on the Italian sandwich ($6.95 for 7-inch sandwich and $9.95 for 12-inch), was true to its description, but didn’t offer any spice or punch that would have brought it over the edge into delicious territory. This is a safe bet when ordering a sandwich, but I recommend ordering spices, oil or vinegar on the side to give it some kick.

The “Chappie James Reuben” Panini ($6.95) was true to a classic Reuben, but could have used more of the Thousand Island dressing. The “Colonel Cordon Bleu” ($5.95 for a 7-inch and $7.50 for 12-inch) was one of the day’s favorites and did a classic cordon bleu sandwich justice. It’s a large portion, so consider sharing or ordering the smaller size.

The BLT sandwich, one of the daily specials, had just the right amount of bacon, lettuce and tomato, and just enough mayo to be a sloppy eat.

Having New England roots makes me a little biased when it comes to Italian style desserts, the cannoli was just the right size and the presentation was simple and well done. A dollop of whipped cream and a cherry would be welcome additions to make this more in line with traditional cannolis.

When ordering drinks, watch out for soda prices. Soda bottles are listed $1.65, but it’s really a can for that price. They also don’t have free refills, so make sure you don’t drink your entire can or bottle of juice before your main course. They also don’t offer ice and cups, so if you want a more formal dining experience, this isn’t the place. Stars and Stripes Café is great for a quick meal while you’re in the Dumfries and Quantico area. It’s the perfect spot to come for an informal lunch with a friend, but don’t expect the works. The atmosphere is very friendly and inviting, but it doesn’t offer some of the frills and consistent service that you’d find at a more established restaurant.

Mary Washington Hospital in Fredericksburg invites the community to dance in the streets in February.

The hospital based in Fredericksburg will hold two “Day of Dance for Your Heart Health” events – one at Spotsylvania Towne Centre and the other at Potomac Mills mall.

More in a press release:

Day of Dance has been helping to create healthier communities for over nine years nationwide and this is the 4th year that Mary Washington Healthcare will participate in this movement. Hundreds of residents are expected to get involved with this event, which will take place at:

-Spotsylvania Towne Centre – February 16

-Potomac Mills – February 23

1 – 4 p.m.

Nationwide, more than 75,000 people are expected to dance for their health at one of these events!

“Day of Dance has inspired millions of consumers to change their lifestyle over the past nine years,” said Tanya Abreu, President and National Program Director of Spirit of Women. “This unique program brings together doctors, community leaders, and businesses to teach families about healthy choices they can easily incorporate into their daily lives. It also helps people understand their personal risk factors for heart disease and stroke, all while having fun and learning new dance moves.”

Taking place from 1 – 4 p.m. at both malls, the events will include dancing, physician consultations, screenings, Zumba and other activities to immediately inspire people to be their own health advocate. Day of Dance also educates consumers on a variety of cardiovascular conditions such as atrial fibrillation, stroke, and more.

The Day of Dance is a national program of the Spirit of Women Hospital Network which focuses on dance as a way to take steps for a healthier life because dancing can burn as many calories as swimming, walking, or riding a bike (as many as 200-400 calories per hour).

According to the organization, many health benefits may result from dance if it is done on a regular basis as a form of exercise. Benefits include weight maintenance or weight loss, blood pressure and cholesterol management (lowering), increased energy, decreased sadness and depression, increased coordination and muscle strength, and an overall sense of well-being.

Mom on the Run

By LIANNE WILKENS

I’m in Kohl’s. In the dressing room. Looking. Thinking. Hard.

My sneakers are on the floor and my jeans are crumpled on top of my purse on that little corner seat. I’ve got two hangered black skirts on the hook, and a third on my body. I turn here and there, back and forth, assessing the image in the mirror. Hmmm.

Maybe a longer mirror would help, if I could stand farther back? Get a different angle, with a different light? Something to help me picture the skirt as I would actually wear it, with heels, instead of with my cheerful but so-wrong striped socks. So out I go, in search of a communal mirror, one that hopefully will reflect the perfect black pencil skirt.

Except … there’s no communal mirror in this dressing room. There are four little rooms in this alcove, each with its own full-length mirror, but no hallway mirror, nowhere else to stand without going out into the actual store. And I’m not sure this skirt has that much potential, really, to warrant all that.

Just as I turn to go back a young lady enters, looking for a dressing room of her own. She’s got an armful of jeans, and she looks to be in her late teens, with her long hair and her Coach sneakers. Aha!

“Excuse me,” I say, and she freezes and looks at me.

“What do you think of this skirt?”

Because this skirt, it’s from the Juniors section. The two from my own women’s section were wrong; one was too big, and there weren’t any in my size, and the other had a big waist panel and belt loops. I’m no longer buying and keeping in my closet any clothes that don’t make me look fabulous – no more cheap, “it’ll do” stuff for me, I have moved on in life and I’m not just Mom anymore, I want to look good – so those skirts, well, they just weren’t cutting it.

This skirt might do it, though. It’s got a great, flattering cut, and trendy but not wild little angled seaming at the waist. It doesn’t puff out in the front, and it’s all stretchy and elastic and very, very comfortable. And it’s a Juniors size!

A part of me giggles with joy. But … it’s tight. Every-curve, derriere-hugging tight. Much tighter and more revealing than anything I’ve worn in, oh, 20 years. And I’m pretty sure that’s the way this skirt is supposed to look – that’s the point of spandex, after all – but I’m also thinking that this skirt probably goes too far, especially in for my office.

So. Young lady in dressing room. A junior herself, obviously, who will make a pronouncement and help me decide. “What do you think of this skirt?”

“Umm .…” She looks at me uncertainly. She seems surprised that someone her mother’s age is asking her opinion. Finally she looks down at the skirt. I lift up my t-shirt so she can see the waist. I turn, left, right, let her see the whole thing. And, “It looks great,” she says.

“Really? It’s not too tight?”

“Oh, ah, no,” she says, with heavy, obvious hesitation. “Uh, that’s the way it’s supposed to look.”

And now I know. Yes, the skirt fits. Yes, it’s a good style. And yes, oh yes, this teenager clearly expressed that I’m too old for it, and that I cannot wear it in public. I thank the girl for her help, then go back into the dressing room, peel off the skirt, put it back on the hanger.

Well – a Juniors skirt! That was fun while it lasted, anyway. And back I go to the women’s section.

Opinion 

By AL ALBORN
Contributing Editor

Occasionally I have a question about the budget. When I do, I usually look to the Office of Management’s Budget Questions Database to see if it’s already been asked and answered.

Quite a few of those questions in the database are mine. When I get a “complicated” question, I send an email to Michelle Casciato, Prince William County’s Budget Director. I always get a quick response.

My latest questions were about carryover funds. I’ve been watching this process for some time. Casciato recognized my question might get complicated if answered in an email chain, so she invited me to her office to chat. As one of Prince William County’s budding budget watchers, that’s an offer I couldn’t refuse.

To make sure our conversation was grounded in correct assumptions, I started our conversation by asking for clarification of the categories of money left over at the end of the year.

Casciato explained that there are really two kinds of end of year funds that Prince William County has to deal with. The first is carryovers. Not everything ends neatly at the end of the fiscal year. Carryovers extend previously approved appropriations from one fiscal year to the next.

The second is turnbacks. These are excess funds at year-end that are returned to the general fund by individual departments.

The public has come to lump these two funds together as “carryover funds”, or money of any flavor left over at the end of the year. I do believe that lumping turnbacks and carryovers into the same conversation has perhaps confused the public.

A look at the typical General Fund – Attachment D, Carryover recommendations, demonstrates that both flavors of money are addressed under the heading of “carryover recommendations”. This might contribute to the public’s confusion.

Ms. Casciato did mention that a lot of Prince William County’s budget process is based upon customs developed over the years.

Some issues weren’t “issues” in the past because little public attention was given to the details of the budget process. Of course, the discretionary fund issue changed all that.

This year’s more transparent budget process is actually a response to increased public scrutiny. I suspect this same level of transparency and awareness will also be applied to the annual carry-over process.

The flavor of money really does matter. I doubt anyone who understands carryovers really have an issue with them, and the normal practice for both Government and Industry.

Turnbacks are the focus of the budget watchers in our community. Addressing this issue, Casciato pointed out that budgets are built to fund the programs to succeed – no more, no less.

“To the extent that funding is left over at turnback, we build that turnback as a resource into the next year’s budget to return that funding to the taxpayers,” she said.

I understand intentionally collecting more than is perhaps really required to buy down risk; however, my real interest is in what happens to these “leftovers” at the end of the year.

I reviewed the last five years of carryover recommendations and noticed that many of them looked like things that should be part of the normal budget process, not an end of year leftovers subject.

Budget watchers such as me would prefer to see the movement of all budget items into the formal budget for public review and comment during the budget process.

An example would be the annual funding of Prince William County’s Technology Improvement Plan every year for the past five years (FY2008-FY2012) for exactly $5.5 million dollars (General Fund – Attachment D, Carryover recommendations, FY 2008-2013). I mentioned this to Casciato. She assured me this was in the nformation Technology and Improvements Section of the FY2013-2018 Capital Improvement Plan. Casciato did recognize my skepticism at the same recurring amount every year, funding for something as strategic as IT coming out of turnbacks, and the suggestion that perhaps something as dependable as this should be addressed up front as part of the budget process.

I was impressed when she responded that perhaps I was correct, and she would revisit just where funding for Technology Improvements are reflected in the upcoming budget. I only share this story because it demonstrates the two-way value of citizen interest and participation in County Government. Occasionally, we might even have a good idea.

As for my fellow budget watchers, the next Community Budget Meeting is scheduled for Saturday, February 16 at 9 a.m. in the Board Chambers at the McCoart Administration Building in Woodbridge. Bring your questions. After all, it’s our money.

Submitted News 

By Justin Youtz
Cubmaster, Pack 501

I am very proud to report the outstanding job that the boys from Cub Scout Pack 501 did during the Presidential Inauguration Parade.

We had three Web IIs, four Web I’s and two Bears along with our Cubmaster, Bear Den Leader and our first Den Chief supporting.

When the National Capital Area Council (NCAC) for the Boy Scouts of America sent out a request for Boy Scouts interested in serving as volunteers for the activities surrounding the Presidential Inauguration, thousands of Boy Scouts and Scout Leaders volunteered, and so did Cub Scout Pack 501. Their leader submitted an application with a note asking that Cub Scouts (the younger boys) not be excluded and that the boys of Pack 501 in Woodbridge would do an outstanding job representing the Boy Scouts of America.

In a lottery that followed, only 700 leaders and scouts were selected for the honor. Ten boys and two adult leaders were selected from Cub Scout Pack 501 in those numbers.

The boys were up early, leaving from the parking lot of St. Thomas Aquinas at 4:30 a.m. in order to catch the Metro to get to our check in by 6 a.m.

We were assigned to support the Crossover at 7th and Constitution streets in Zone 2 (refered to by the Presidential Inauguration Committee as “The Beast” due to the large number of people that will be pass through the area.)

While we started out slow with just providing some basic directions, we soon got into the thick of things when the Army special officers in charge of the crossover asked for some help as they were soon to be overwhelmed by hundreds of people standing on either side of the street, waiting for the barrier to come down and the crosswalks to reopen after a series of motorcades came through.

The boys jumped into the crowd and formed a human row of cones. We got all of the north going traffic on the right, opening up the left for the south bound pedestrians.

Our Bear Leader kept everyone on the south side going in the right direction, while our Cubmaster used his day camp shouting ability (people believe that he was a drill sergeant in a former life) to keep directing the southbound crowd out of security and to the Mall for the inauguration.

We provided directions to lost travellers to get to their ticketed security points all over the Mall and advice on how to get past some of the closures due to security.

The pack kept this up all morning, keep things going through the stopping and starting as the Secret Service closed the crossovers to allow motorcades through.

After the Inauguration, and a quick eight block round trip hike for lunch, the boys jumped in again to create two lines of human cones from the barricades to sidewalks, keeping the crossing area clear, pedestrians moving and providing directions.

When the crosswalk permanently closed, we closed ranks some, but kept a secure lane open to allow military, police officers and secret service members access through the crowd from the barricades to the rear staging and warming areas.

Additional good deeds that I witnessed from the boys included supporting one another when tired, cold and hungry; picking up litter; being kind and courteous to the attendees. We provided directions on how to get around with the closures and tried to keep up to date by questioning others in the crowd as they came through on surrounding conditions, receiving news text updates and the like. Our Cubmaster even provided some basic first aid from handing out TUMs and IMMODIUM, to getting fruit and chocolates to two diabetics whose blood sugar was crashing.

Throughout the day, comments like “Yeah, Boy Scouts!”, “Thank you, Boy Scouts!” and “It’s so great to see the Scouts here helping!” kept us going through the long hours and cold.

We made friends with the Army Special Officers, the Minnesota State Police and the Secret Service.

At about 7:30pm, fifteen hours later, we returned the Scouts to their parents at the St. Thomas Aquinas parking lot again. We shared with the parents how well the boys behaved and all that they did.

Some of us saw the President as he drove to the Capitol and many were able to see the First Lady as they drove by in the parade. (We missed them walking by about a block!)

They stood tall and saluted each time. They listened to the President’s speech over the loud speakers. They got to participate in a piece of history.

At the end of the day, they were tired but proud, and I am the proudest of them all. The boys went above and beyond what could have been expected from any CubScout Pack.

It was an honor to be allowed to be part of it all. Thank you NCAC for that.