The Barcroft News
October, 2004 - Volume 102, Issue 2
President’s Report
by Eric Harold
If you hadn’t noticed, it’s election time and time once again for our annual Candidate’s Forum. Please plan on attending the meeting on Thursday, October 7, at 7:30 pm. We have invited a good group of candidates from our 8th District congressional candidates (Jim Moran and Lisa Marie Cheney) to County Board and school board. Rumor has it the President Bush and John Kerry will square off in their first debate at our community house. Because of security concerns, I can neither confirm nor deny this, so might want to be there just in case.
Thanks to Miriam Hughey-Guy for providing us with an update at our September meeting on how Barcroft Elementary is doing with respect to No Child Left Behind Act requirements. It was very informative. We continue to be extremely impressed with Ms. Hughey-Guy and extremely proud of our elementary school, its students and its very active parents.
Don’t forget the Candidate’s Forum Thursday October 7 at 7:30 pm.
Time to Renew Your BSCL Membership
Only $3 per adult!
Contact Peg Lefebvre, 521-0184, Peg@BSCL.org!
BSCL News needs a New Publisher!
Want to meet the neighbors? Enjoy the fresh air? Participate in the sophisticated, heady world of neighborhood newsletter publishing?
See Page 4 for your opportunity!
Candidate’s Forum, Thursday, October 7 at 7:30 pm at the BSCL Meeting!
Halloween Front Porch / Yard
Decorating Contest
Give Barcroft children a Ghoulish welcome this Halloween.
To enter the contest, e-mail Eric@BSCL.org
Your house will be placed on a spooky map and voting ballot. If you dare…
Stop by the Community House Porch to pick up a map, a ballot and warm cider before heading out for your trick-or-treats this year.
Your Vote Counts this OCTOBER 31.
CLASSIFIEDS
Behringer Pet Care Service. We care for most any pet. Call (703)6851071
FOR SALE: Baby cradle, all wood, very beautiful, w/mattress & bedding. $20. Call 271-0631.
Anything for the classifieds? Ads are free for Barcroft residents— send to editor@bscl.org or call 271-0631.
Have anything for the Barcroft News?
Submissions are due by the 15th of each month.
Contact Christina at 271-0631 or
editor@bscl.org or 618 S. Stafford St.
Ads are due by the 10th of each month;
contact Jim Kerr at Jim@bscl.org
Keep up with events by joining the Barcroft chat group and news list. Go to: www.bscl.org.
Why Have a Neighborhood Conservation Plan?
The Neighborhood Conservation (NC) Program is a citizen-initiated program which funds improvements to public facilities, increases civic involvement and creates neighborhood identity. In order to achieve their purpose, the NC Program assists neighborhood groups in developing comprehensive NC Plans. Neighborhoods with adopted NC Plans may seek funds for capital improvements including streets, curbs, gutters, sidewalks, streetlights, park and recreational facilities, and landscaping. Currently there are 48 participating neighborhoods. Thirty-nine of those neighborhoods have completed plans, and 8 have new plans under development.
The Neighborhood Conservation Advisory Committee (NCAC) recommends updating plans every ten years. Our neighborhood conservation plan is 14 years old and is in need of a thorough review. The accomplishments as a result of our current NC plan are too numerous to mention, but to highlight just a few (for the full list, visit our website at www.bscl.org):
The Federal Government has devoted the entire Arlington Hall parcel on the west side of South George Mason Drive to a pub1ic neighborhood park. The County has landscaped the site as an NC project.
The County is using striping and street markings where necessary in the neighborhood for safety, including the "Banana" stripe at the bend of South Pershing Drive at Pershing Court.
The State has installed a westbound off ramp from Arlington Boulevard to the service road between North Henderson Road and North George Mason Drive.
The County has maintained direct north-south access across Arlington Boulevard at South Abingdon Street/North Henderson Road.
The County conducted a traffic study of South Wakefield, South Buchanan and South Taylor Streets to determine if additional stop signs or other traffic measures on any of these three streets would offer a solution to Barcroft's speeding problems, and installed speed humps on Buchanan and Wakefield.
The County considered ways to improve the safety of school children walking to and from Barcroft School along 7th and 8th Streets South between South Wakefield and South Buchanan Streets, and constructed a sidewalk in that block along most of 8th St South, accompanied by a rebuilding of the street with curb and gutter. It also is in the process of building sidewalks on the south side of 9th Street South between Taylor and Wakefield, and added sidewalk on a section of Abingdon Street between 5th and 6th.
As can be seen, the NC plan is critical to enable Barcroft to continue to keep the neighborhood safe and beautiful. There is a working group currently beginning the process of reviewing and updating our NC plan. The plan update will include a neighborhood survey to update our goals and objectives, a neighborhood inventory to identify areas where improvements are needed, and reviews of land use and transportation issues. WE NEED VOLUNTEERS. Please take a moment to review the plan, which is located in its entirety on our web site. Anybody interested in assisting please contact me by email.
Volunteer to Bring Refreshments
to BSCL Meetings!
We would like to re-start a tradition of having a few refreshments at the BSCL Meetings. It's a great way to make the meetings more enjoyable and encourage friendly conversations with your neighbors at the end of themeetings. If you would like to volunteer to bring light snacks or drinks to the October 7 meeting, please call Annette Osso, 703-553-3953, or email her.
Candidates Nights Happens October 7
Plan to attend the Candidates' Night community meeting on October 7. We have invited the Congressional candidates, as well as local candidates for County Board and School Board. We will also provide information on the county bond issues and have information available from the presidential candidates.
Columbia Pike Implementation Team
By Teera Games
The Columbia Pike Implementation Team (CPIT) meetings have been ongoing through the summer months. The team is comprised of representatives of the neighborhoods along the Columbia Pike corridor and is tasked with deciding on some of the details of the future vision and direction of the Pike in Arlington County. This work is in addition to the form-based code that was decided upon after much citizen input over the previous few years and adopted by the County Board earlier this year.
So far this summer we have decided upon using the Carlyle-style street lights and traffic arms as well as Victor Stanley model steel benches and trash cans. You may have already noticed the new traffic arms being installed at the Glebe Road intersection and the benches can be seen in the Fairfax portion of the Pike near Carlin Springs Road. Meanwhile, the county is in the process of undergrounding the power lines, if you haven’t noticed the construction at the Glebe Road intersection, and a new condo building has been approved by the County Board at the site of the old Arlington Hardware store.
In the next few meetings we will be discussing street crossings, new super stops for the Pike Ride bus, sidewalk composition/layout, and WMATA Transit Analysis of Alternatives Study. Please feel free to contact me at teera@teera.com if you have any comments on these issues.
Looking to Volunteer? BSCL News Needs a Publisher
After three years of loyal service as the BSCL News publisher, Susan Hunn is ready to pass the position along to the next willing Barcroft volunteer. Susan has done a great job getting the newsletter out for the entire neighborhood and coordinating volunteers as well— many thanks for a job well done, Susan!
The publisher is responsible for picking up the newsletter from the printer (located in Arlington near Courthouse), dividing it up, and dropping off the bundles on the various doorsteps of the volunteers who deliver them around the neighborhood. Susan also delivered one of the routes herself, but that is optional— we have people who are willing to deliver door to door.
If you are interested, please contact Christina or Eric for more information. This is a nice way to get to know the neighborhood and the interesting people in it.
A Note from the Editor on BSCL Newsletter Content: Anyone can submit an article to the newsletter. We have no regular writers whose job it is to generate articles for the newsletters; we rely on input from the neighbors. There is no editorial board, and we do not edit our newsletter for political content. The newsletter is a vehicle for the entire neighborhood. While we certainly maintain standards for taste and content, we do not (and will not) restrict opinions. If you have an opinion or reaction, I hope you will share it with this audience; contact Christina Cavoli, editor@BSCL.org, 271-0631 with your comments, concerns, suggestions.
A Different View… More Responses
The Sept. newsletter contained a counterpoint from neighbor Bill Nehrke to a letter previously submitted by Steve Reiss and Scott Royal about their decision to leave this area in reaction to a law recently enacted by the Virginia legislature. Bill’s views caused quite a bit of feedback; below is a response from one neighbor.
The original letters can be read in past newsletters, posted at www.bscl.org
I would like to respond to Mr. Nehrke's letter posted in the September 2004 edition of the Barcroft News. I believe Mr. Nehrke is very misinformed on a number of fronts.
First, the legislation that Mr. Nehrke referred to in his letter is HB 751. Without taking up valuable space, I invite Mr. Nehrke to review it for the first time. It can be found at: . Now, I'm not an attorney, but you don't have to be one to plainly see that this legislation is not a "defense of marriage" but a bill intended to single out and discriminate against a group of tax paying Virginia citizens. Any legislation that does this is hateful. Period, end of discussion. Virginia's history is replete with similar examples of HB751; for example the prohibition of interracial marriage, which was finally taken off the books in the late 1960s. What HB751 clearly does is threaten, if not destroy, the ability of two people of the same sex -- whether gay or straight -- to willingly bequeath property to one another or enter into any form of contractual arrangements between each other in the state of Virginia. Mr. Nehrke is correct when he says gays "can enter into any contract they want to;" I can name my partner of 10 years as the beneficiary on my life insurance, name him in my will, put him on the deed to my property, and name him to make medical decisions
for me if I can't. But what Mr. Nehrke does not understand is that this legislation has opened up the door for challenges to these arrangements by anyone who would have cause to do so. If I would die tomorrow, any member of my family could now come and challenge my last wishes and most likely win. For that matter, any member of Mr. Nehrke's family could challenge his wishes if he would, for example, bequeath his car to his male next door neighbor.
Second, what I believe Mr. Nehrke and many others fail to understand is that much of this putsch for rights in the gay community is not about the religious institution of marriage, but the civil institution of basic human rights; rights that he, as a heterosexual, enjoys without question. For example, the right to have last wishes followed without the fear that a homophonic member of the family would challenge them. The right to put a partner on medical insurance without the fear of reprisals from an employer. The right to openly live with a partner without the fear that someone would poison your dogs because they object. The right to adopt a child without the fear that Virginia would take the child away just because two people of the same sex were raising him or her. I believe that the majority of the gay community is just looking for basic human rights without fear, and could someone please tell me how that threatens the religious institution of marriage. If marriage needs defending, it doesn't need defending from the supposed 1-2% minoirty that Mr. Nehrke cites.
Lastly, Mr. Nehrke is wrong when he eludes to homosexuality as a "choice" or that someone has chosen "to adopt the gay lifestyle." I may not be an attorney, but I can speak from a position of authority on this one: I, and I dare say all homosexuals, did not wake up one morning and decide to be gay. Speaking for myself, what I did decide to do was to be the person that God made me and not who, or what, some member of my family or the community would have liked me to be. In short, I refused to live a lie so that other people could feel comfortable. As for Steve and Scott, I'm sorry to see them go. As for Tom and me, we're staying to fight.
Peace and God Bless,
Jeff Weir and Tom Siegrist
Light in October Art Show
Barcroft neighbor and metal sculptor, Peter Wood, will once again be co-producing a one day art show and sale at the Barcroft Community House. On Saturday, October 23rd from noon to 8 pm there will be eight local artists displaying their functional and decorative fine art for sale. Six of the artists from last year will return with two new artists for an exciting event with food and live music. Check www.lightinocotber.com for details, or call Peter Wood at 703-892-1692 for more information.
Please visit my website at http://www.rustymetal.com
Side Note: Peter has established a small home and studio in West Virginia. In order to move to the next adventure, he is selling his home in Barcroft. He will maintain his email list and website for fans of his art, and hopes to continue the annual plant sale at the Barcroft Community House as well as Light In October 2005. Peter has been a real asset to this neighborhood and he will be missed.
Announcements
Shadow of Lights will be appearing at 7:30 on October 2nd at Arlington Community Church on Wilson Boulevard. They will be presenting An Evening of One Act Plays. Tickets are $10. If you are interested in attending I have tickets for Barcroft residents for FREE on first come basis. Call Bill @ 703 979-1166.
See Mommy Run: A Douglas Park neighbor has started a chapter of a running organization for mothers called "See Mommy Run." The goals are to promote running and walking for moms, and to put moms who would like to exercise in touch with each other. To find out more, visit seemommyrun.com. You can register and find out about the local group there.
Chorus 'Vaudeville' Show: Featuring Barcroft neighbor Janeen Latini, the Potomac Harmony Chorus presents "The Really Big Razzamatazz Vaudeville Show" at 3:00PM, Sat., Oct. 16 at the Thomas Jefferson Theater at 125 South Old Glebe Road. The audience will be treated to a collection of songs, jokes, tricks, juggling, acrobatics, all in the spirit of a vaudeville variety show, with fun and laughs for the whole family. Tickets are $15.00 for adults and $12 for seniors and children. For more information please call 764-3896, visit www.potomacharmony.org.
Are you prepared for an emergency? Do you have enough food, water and supplies for three days? To be better prepared, Arlingtonians are invited to attend the free Arlington Prepares Fair, Saturday, October 30, Arlington Career Center, 816 S. Walter Reed Drive, 9:00AM to 2PM. Arlington's Office of Emergency Management, Arlington Citizen Corps Council and other partner organizations will offer free information to help you prepare for and recover after an emergency. Arlington County also will provide a display of a variety of emergency equipment, including the new Mobile Command vehicle and the County's specialized HazMat equipment.
Get Moving: Orange Line Walker Time (fall AND spring, that is). Moderate to fast-paced guided LUNCHTIME WALKS in Rosslyn, Clarendon and Ballston will begin once again during the week of September 20. Push back the desk and join us! Participate in walks at one or all locations, and the price is still just $20. NEW this season: a slow to moderate paced Ballston group. Also new this season: online registration ! www.walkarlington.com/go/orangeline.html.
Crime Reports: Daily Crime Reports are available directly from the Police Department online at
www.arlingtonva.us/Departments/Police/crimereport/viewlist.asp. Crime Reports generally cover significant criminal incidents from
the day before.
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Before the Lens
Photography by Annie Harold
Unique family photos in natural settings.
Color and Black & White
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Send a creative greeting this year.
View my portfolio:
703-486-0879 ampharold@comcast.net
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Schedule of Events
Please check our calendar page on the Web for updates.
Submissions to the Barcroft News
Have anything to contribute to the Barcroft News? All submissions are due by the 15th of each month. Contact Christina at 271-0631 or editor@bscl.org.
If you are interested in ad space, contact our ad manager Jim Kerr at Jim@bscl.org
Check out our Barcroft Website for the latest news!
www.bscl.org
All Barcroft News phone numbers are area code 703 unless indicated.
Barcroft News Staff
Editor - Christina Cavoli, 703-271-0631
editor@BSCL.org
Publisher/Mailing - Susan Hunn, 703-892-6179
RETIRING -- Are you interested?
auntsuebh@aol.com
Contributions - Mark Wigfield, 703-979-0339 mark@BSCL.org
Advertising Manager - Jim Kerr, 703-892-6458 jim@BSCL.org
Neighborhood News - Could be you!
Deadlines: 1st (ads) or 10th (editorial material) day of the month preceding the issue month.
BSCL Officers for 2002-2003
President - - Eric Harold - 703-486-0879, eric@BSCL.org
Vice President - - Annette Osso - 703-553-3953, annette@BSCL.org
Recording Secretary -- Vacant!!
Treasurer - - Gary LeFebvre - 703-521-0184
gary@BSCL.org
Corresponding Secretary -- Eric Parker - 703-486-3649, ericP@BSCL.org
Membership Secretary -- Peg LeFebvre - 703-521-0184 peg@BSCL.org
Board Members
Community House
Committees
Arlington Mill Community Center -- Bill Lykes, 703-892-4422
Columbia Pike - Bryant Monroe, 703-271-0944 - bryant@BSCL.org
Crime - vacant
Demeter House Liaison Committee - Darlene Mickey
Parade -- Andrew Hunter, 703-979-8247
Parking -- Tom Palance - tom@BSCL.org
Parks -- Shelley Fichtner, 703-486-0856 shelley@BSCL.org
Traffic - Elaine Squeri 703-920-7014, elaine@BSCL.org
Volunteers - Vacant!!
Webmaster - Randy Swart 703-521-2080 randy@BSCL.org
The paper version of the Barcroft News is printed on recycled paper with vegetable-based ink by the Stanley Adams Printing Company. This Web page uses recycled bits and bytes, and it is not absolutely identical to the paper one.
Barcroft School and Civic League
800 South Buchanan Street
Arlington, VA 22204
Neighborline: (24 hr. announcements, Community House rentals) 703-521-1116
Email: info@bscl.org
Web: www.bscl.org
This page was revised on: October 3, 2004.
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