Reaching 578 Homes and Families
May 2015
Tim’s Tidings
Middleridge Civic
Association
Inside this issue:
CERT Classes
4
Toastmasters
5
Newcomer News
8
Upcoming Events
10
Fairfax RR Station
13
Health
17
April Meeting
Minutes
22
Woodglen Lake
24
 World Police Fire and
Games Coming!
 Swim Teams Forming!
Middleridge is
the best community!
That was the sentiment
at the block captain party that was held a few
weeks ago on April 12th
Mary Vander Maten
opened her home for
the Sunday afternoon
event to thank all of the
block captains and section leaders who keep
communication lines
open for our membership. Delivering newsletters and sharing
news keeps all of us
informed and makes for
a better community.
Mary, Sandy
Obuchowski and Linda
Hutchins provided
snacks and drinks for
the 25 or so people who
were able to attend.
We appreciate these
volunteers and all of the
people who help make
Middleridge a wonderful
place to live.
The other events
from last month included the spring community clean-up, organized
by Sarah Mayhugh, and
the plant exchange,
hosted by John
Snyder. On April 11th,
Sarah coordinated
about 20-25 volunteers, mostly high
We are in
community each
time we find a
place where we
belong.
Peter F. Block
school students, to
pick up plastic bottles,
cans, and various other trash items around
the park and
Woodglen Lake. John
and Annette Snyder
had a variety of plants
that were exchanged
or given away to anyone who stopped by
the park on Saturday
morning, April 25th.
John and Sarah Mayhugh provided expert
horticultural advice to
accompany the plants.
I was fortunate to be
given a butterfly bush
for our garden (more
appropriately, Diane’s
garden). Both of these
events improve the
beauty of our neighborhood.
Even if you
missed these MCA
events, there are
many more coming up.
The next one is the
MCA general membership meeting on
Thursday, May 14th, at
8pm at Bonnie Brae
Elementary School.
This meeting will include the presentation
of the MCA scholarships and our annual
officer elections. We
have so many deserving high school seniors
in our community. I
am only sorry that we
cannot give a scholarship to each one.
Sheryl Baer and her
committee are in the
midst of interviewing
the candidates to
choose the winners. It
is a difficult task and I
appreciate the job that
they do. For our MCA
board, we are seeking
(Continued on page 2)
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(Continued from page 1)
a volunteer to accept the office
of the MCA secretary. If you
are interested, contact Al
Obuchowski, our elections coordinator. We are fortunate to
also have John Cook and David
Bulova attending the meeting to
speak on various issues.
Probably the top issue
that members will have questions about is the Woodglen
Lake dredging project and how
traffic and safety will be affected now and throughout the
summer. While there is no
doubt that traffic will be impacted, the plan has gone through
changes to increase safety.
We can thank Rob Paine, our
Traffic and Pedestrian Safety
Committee chair, for influencing
many of the changes. We all
still must be careful as we travel through the construction area
Middeidge News
and remind our children to be
alert to the extra trucks passing
by. Come to the May 14th
meeting to hear more details
from John Cook and the Braddock office.
The Home and Garden
Tour has a confirmed date of
July 11th and Mary Vander
Maten is looking for more participants. If you have had improvements done to your home
or landscaping, please contact
Mary and share your pride with
your neighbors. This is your
chance to show off a little and
give your neighbors ideas for
their own homes for the future.
The more I meet neighbors and hear comments about
Middleridge, the more I appreciate what we have.
This year, we are celebrating 45 years as a community
and although I have only been
a member for about nine years,
this is my home. We still have
a number of residents of Middleridge that were here at the
beginning. In the near future
we would like to tap some of
them to share the history of
Middleridge and their personal
experiences as founding members.
I started this article by
saying Middleridge is the best
community! While this is true,
don’t take our community for
granted. Developing a great
Our Annual Home and Garden Tour will be here soon!
The date has been set for Saturday, July 11, 1-4PM
This popular event allows others to see what you have done and inspires us all! We have several homes already scheduled but can use a few more. Please contact Mary Vander Maten
([email protected] or 703-371-9349) if you would like to host your home or garden. It’s
OK to leak news about a neighbor’s great remodeling job or wonderful gardening. . . we won’t
tell!
Reaching 578 Homes and Families
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Middeidge News
FREE EMERGENCY RESPONSE CLASSES
CERT stands for Community Emergency Response Team. CERT training is free and is held
either at the Fire Training Academy on West Ox Road or at locations throughout Fairfax
County. CERT class participants are taught light search and rescue, team organization, fire
safety, and disaster medical operations. Besides training each student receives a back pack
full of gear at no cost.
The upcoming classes meet two times per week for four weeks.
CERT Class 97
CERT Basic training class at the Fire and Rescue Academy, May 18, 20,
27, June 1, 3, 8, 10, Mondays and Wednesdays, 7:00 -10:30 pm
CERT Class 98
CERT Basic training at the Crosspointe Community Center, May 28,
June 2, 4, 9, 11, 16, 18, 23, 25 Tuesdays and Thursdays, 7:00 -9:30 pm
Once you have taken the CERT class then other classes are free for you to take through the
Fire Training Academy, for example, First Aid, Wide Area Search and Rescue, Moulage, CPR
& AED, Ropes & Knots, Map & Compass Skills, etc.
If you would like to register for a CERT class, go to fairfaxcountycert.org. If you have any
questions about the CERT program you can contact Middleridge resident Donna Hosek at
[email protected].
Victim Actors Needed
CERT is in need of actors to play victims at our upcoming drill on Saturday, June 6. This will
be a large-scale exercise at the old Lorton Youth Facility. Actors will be asked to arrive at
7am to check in. After checking in, actors will be escorted to moulage for their disaster
makeup. At 8:30 there will be a short safety briefing; then actors will be placed in position to
be rescued. The exercise ends at noon. Lunch is provided for all actors. After checking out,
actors are free to leave.
All actors must be over age 14. Actors under 18 must have a parent sign their Hold Harmless
form.
If this is something you think you would like to volunteer for, please sign up at
[email protected]. If you have any questions about this event you can contact
Middleridge resident Donna Hosek at [email protected].
Reaching 578 Homes and Families
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May 2015 Burke Toastmasters Column
has is to use the word of the
“The difference between the al- day at least once during his or
her presentation. The definimost right word and the right
word is really a large matter— tion of the word and its proper
usage is also explained at the
’tis the difference between the
top of the meeting. Disingenulightning-bug and the lightous was a recent word of the
ning.” Mark Twain
day during one of the club’s
With the weather warming
March meetings.
up, I’m reminded that we’ll
Each club meeting also insoon be seeing the glow of a
firefly – which makes me think cludes a Table Topics segment,
during which members get the
of the Twain quote above.
chance to hone their imprompIsn’t it frustrating to find
tu speaking skills. Each meetyourself pausing mid-sentence
ing also typically includes 2-3
to search for the words that
5-7 minute speeches which are
will allow you to express the
all evaluated by club members.
exact idea you’re trying to comCome join us at Burke
municate? If English isn’t
Toastmasters where you will
your first language it can be
especially challenging to artic- discover a friendly and supportive atmosphere in which
ulate your thoughts.
you can hone your communicaOne of the many benefits of
tion skills (and increase your
joining Burke Toastmasters is
vocabulary) while receiving
the club’s emphasis on vocabuconstructive and helpful feedlary. Each meeting features a
back. Visitors are always welspecific and slightly out of the
come.
ordinary “word of the day.”
One of the goals each speaker
SAT, College Coaching,
Tutoring: Elementary to College
Fairfax Station, VA
703.830.7037
RossPT.com
Julia-
The Burke Toastmasters
Club is scheduled to meet
from 7:30-9:00 PM, on Thursday, May 7th and Thursday,
May 21st, at the Oaks Community Center, 5708 Oak
Leather Drive in Burke Centre, a five minute drive from
most of Middleridge.
We look forward to seeing
you at our next meeting. For
more information on the club,
please visit our Web site @
www.burketoastmasters.org.
Burke Toastmasters is also
on Facebook and on Meetup.
Burke Toastmasters
would like to welcome its
newest member Patrick
Maloney who joined the club
in April.
Tom Ruzic
VP Public Relations
Burke Toastmasters
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Middeidge News
Are you looking
for a preschool?
Registration for
2015-2016 is
Now Open at St.
George’s!
Classes available for
ages 2 ½- 5 year olds
Extended Day Classes Available
Music and Movement program
Learning through play curriculum
For school tours and more information please contact Jessica Summer, 703-385-4422, or by email
[email protected]
You can also check us out on our website
www.preschool.stgumc.org
Reaching 578 Homes and Families
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BONNIE BRAE REQUESTS PARTICIPANTS
Ted Ostroviak, President of the Bonnie Brae Civic Association invites Middleridge participation.
Bonnie Brae is the home of many vintage, cute, hot and fun cars. People have suggested that
Bonnie Brae put on a car parade and show, and they plan on doing that for the very first time
on June 7 from 1:00-5:00 P.M. They plan to drive the neighborhood twice and then park near
Wood Glen Lake so that people can talk to the car owners about the cars and walk the lake area. They are trying to get a couple of food trucks so that people can purchase a sandwich;
drinks and water will be sold. They also hope to set up a dessert table or get an icecream truck
to stop by.
They currentl;y have about 10 cars (3 Porsches, a few vintage muscle cars, a Mazda RX7, an old
MG, etc.) signed up, but they would love to get other neighborhoods to participate.
If Middleridge participated, they would also drive through Middleridge.
If you have a vintage car and would like to participate, please send a note to
[email protected] with description of the car and give your contact information.
Additionally, Bonnie Brae is thinking about starting a band and would like to know if anyone in
Middleridge would be interested in participating in that activity. Send e-mail to [email protected] if you are interested.
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Middeidge News
ATTENTION DOG OWNERS!
PLEASE BE A RESPONSIBLE DOG OWNER
KEEP YOUR DOG AND YOUR NEIGHBORS HAPPY!!
Leaving a dog in the backyard to bark at anything that moves in the early morning and late
evening hours is unwelcomed and unappreciated noise pollution disturbing the peace.
Leaving an unattended dog alone in the backyard also presents a danger to any child who
could be bitten while attempting to pet the animal.
Dog owners are reminded of the “Pooper Scooper” Law—Section 41.1-2-6, which requires dog
owners to pick up after their dogs.
Your neighbors thank you in advance.
UPCOMING EVENTS
May 14 — General Membership Meeting at
Bonnie Brae Elementary School, 8:00 P.M.
June 27 — Middleridge Movie Night (at dusk)
July 11 — Home & Garden Tour, 1-4:00 PM
August 4—National Night Out, 6-8:00 PM
Are you interested in improving Middleridge?
Get involved in the Middleridge Civic Association (MCA).
Better yet, contact Al Obuchowski at 703-352-1380 and become an officer in the
MCA. This is a great way to voice your opinion and be involved in change for the
neighborhood. Elections will be held at the General Membership Meeting on
May 14.
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Middeidge News
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FAIRFAX STATION RAILROAD MUSEUM
Civil War Forum, "Southern Civilians in Southern Prisons" on Wednesday, June 3,
2015, at 7:30 p.m. The Forum will be given by noted local Historian, Civil War Reenactor and President of the Burke Historical Society, Jon Vrana. The Forum will be
a first person soliloquy of local civilians from Fairfax, Loudoun and Prince William
counties and their arrests and incarceration in the prisons of Richmond and other
Southern camps and prisons.
For more information on this event, contact Joyce Hill, [email protected]
Volunteer Opportunities at the Fairfax Station Railroad Museum:
Fairfax Station Railroad Museum needs volunteer docents on Sunday afternoons
from 1-4 p.m. and during special Museum events. Greet Museum visitors and tell
them about the exhibits and the Museum's railroad and Civil War history. Ideal for
people who live in the Fairfax, Burke, Clifton or Fairfax Station area and want to
contribute to the local community through volunteerism. Training and orientation is
provided. Many other Museum volunteer opportunities are available such as gardening, publicity, exhibit planning, special event planning and outreach to other community organizations. Call Michael at 703-945-7483 for more information.
The Museum is located at 11200 Fairfax Station Road, Fairfax Station, VA.
www.fairfax-station.org, 703-425-9225.
Like us at www.facebook.com/FFXSRR.
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Spring Clean Up Well Attended
By Sarah Mayhew, Fairfax Master Naturalist
Our Spring Parks and Stream Clean Up was a success thanks to many
students from Robinson Secondary School who earned service hours and Middleridge neighbors who helped on a delightful warm April 11, 2015, morning.
Sixteen people came to help. We separated into two groups to pick up trash in
Middleridge Park and the Middleridge side of Woodglen Lake Park and along
the streams that run though both parks. We recycled seven bags of plastic
bottles and aluminum cans. The other 11 full bags of garbage were, well, garbage! This year a group of Bonnie Brae residents was doing a similar clean up
on their side of Woodglen Lake Park, so it was an impressive area-wide effort.
As we repeat the clean ups, we are finding fewer and fewer large items of
trash, like broken computers and pieces of old swing sets dumped in the park.
We found one piece of old corrugated steel roofing, a fairly new cast iron floor
drain with about 2 feet of pipe attached and a long pipe that had been part of
the chain link fence in Middleridge Park that was damaged when a tree fell on
it.
We also saw two Garter Snakes and a Red-backed Salamander. This
was the very first time I have seen a salamander in Middleridge, so that was
exciting for me. I am very thankful to the students for finding it.
Please, when you see one of the following people, thank them for spending part of their Saturday keeping our woods and
streams cleaner of trash:
Britt Anderson, Esther Anderson, Jordon Divina,
James Stanton, Ava Alonso, Viktoria Usova, Nathan Park, Adriene Swagerty, Amy Hogan, Megan Murphy, Nadine Fahmy, Ryan Carpenter,
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Middeidge News
PLEASE PRACTICE GOOD CITIZENSHIP.
DO NOT LITTER!
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HEALTH: NUTRITION AND EXERCISE
From Men’s Health:
RUN AWAY FROM YOUR ALLERGIES
Julie Stewart, March 24, 2013
Now that it's officially sneezin' season (gesundheit!), put down the
pills and pick up the pace: Running can help relieve allergy symptoms, reveals a new study from Thailand.
After allergy sufferers ran for 30 minutes, their sneezing, runny nose,
and nasal itching and congestion all
decreased by more than 70 percent.
One theory is that cardio exercise calms inflammatory proteins in the
nasal passages. The scientists recommend a moderate pace, so stay
within 65 to 70 percent of your heart rate reserve.
You can calculate this number by subtracting your resting heart rate from your maximum heart rate.
(To figure your max, multiply your age by 0.7 and then subtract the result from 207.)
From Total Gym:
Regular physical activity helps to decrease allergy symptoms by improving blood flow in your body, which
promotes the removal of allergens. The most common allergy symptoms that make us feel so miserable include itchy eyes, runny nose, fullness in the ears, pressure in the sinuses and overall fatigue. Although you
can’t exercise away your allergies, working out regularly can certainly minimize your symptoms because the
improved blood flow that results from exercise helps to prevent the delicate tissues surrounding your nose,
mouth and lungs from being inflamed. The best part is that the exercise doesn’t have to be intense or challenging – all you need to do is just get your blood pumping!! Try not to
overexert yourself, though, because that may actually aggravate
your symptoms.
AND . . . .
From Fitness Magazine:
Get Yourself to the Greek (Yogurt)
During an allergy attack, IgE, an antibody in your blood, stimulates the release of histamine, a neurotransmitter that causes your runny nose, watery eyes, and sneezing fits.
It may be possible to put a pharma-free kibosh on hay fever by downing a daily dose of probiotic yogurt,
which contains a strain of "friendly" bacteria called Lactobacillus casei. Allergy sufferers who consumed a
drink containing L. casei had significantly lower levels of IgE, a study in the journal Clinical and Experimental Allergy found. "Probiotics help balance the bacteria in your digestive system and may prevent the im-
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Middeidge News
THE PLANT EXCHANGE WAS A SUCCESS!!
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Middeidge News
Minutes, Executive Board Meeting, April 2, 2015 , at Mary VanderMaten’s Home
Call to Order: by Tim Harazin at 7:00 PM
Members Present: Tim Harazin (President), Mike Torrey (Vice President), John Tedrick
(Secretary), Paul Armstrong (Treasurer)
Committee members present: Mary VanderMaten, Catie Morales, Linda Hutchins, Rick
Jones, Tim Henderson, and Sandy Obuchowski
Review of Minutes: John Tedrick
The minutes from the March meeting were reviewed and approved via email.
Treasurer’s Report: Paul Armstrong provided an update on the association finances by
email.
$27,899.42 Total Assets ($18840.67 cash on hand)
$ 2,343.14 March Expenses
$25,556.28 Balance
The major expenses for March were landscaping, council dues, incorporation fees and insurance.
Membership Committee: Sandy Obuchowski
Continuing Business—Issues and Updates
Traffic and Pedestrian Safety Committee report— Rob Paine (DNA but sent email)
Rob is working with the County to get information about the traffic plan for the truck
traffic expected on Zion road during the Woodglen Lake dredging project. Also, Rob continues to pursue remedies for cut-through traffic with the County. The Board approved a letter
to Supervisor Cook regarding the traffic/speed studies necessary to justify additional speed
calming initiatives.
Welcoming Committee – Carole Rodero: DNA
Newsletter Management— Linda Hutchins
Linda announced a new volunteer editor, Kim Nelson, will be helping with the newsletter. Welcome Kim!
Scholarship Committee – Sheryl Baer: DNA but sent update to Tim
Sheryl reported that several applications have been received and the committee will
begin the selection process soon.
Reaching 578 Homes and Families
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(Minutes of Executive Board Meeting Continued)
National Night Out – Tim Harazin and Catie Morales
Tim and Catie discussed planning tasks. The entertainment and games are set. The grandstand and rides are reserved. The Robinson Booster will be selling food again this year. The
next step is to focus on getting sponsors for information booths / table to attend the event.
Each member agreed to contact a few organizations.
Easter Egg Hunt - Sarah Koch: DNA
Even though it was very cold, we had about 25 kids turn-out for the Easter Egg Hunt. The
children (and parents) had a wonderful time. “Great job” to Sarah and her volunteers
Block Captain Meeting/Social - Tim Harazin
We had about 10 replies out of 50 with only 3 planning to attend the Block Captain appreciation meeting and social. The board approved to move $100 from the shredder budget item
to sponsor the event.
Family Movie Night –POC: Catie Morales
Catie announced the movie will be Big Hero 6.
Continuing Business—Events
Feed the Firefighters – planned for April
POC: Jessica Summer
Braddock District Council of Community Associations next meeting is April 8th.
Spring Community Clean-up - Saturday, April 11 POC: Sarah Mayhew
Block Captain Meeting/Social - Sunday, Apr 12 @ 2-4pm POC: Tim Harazin
Annual Plant Exchange - Saturday, Apr 25 POC: John Snyder
Shred Event has been cancelled due to the lack of equipment availability
General Membership Meeting - May 14th at Bonnie Brae ES at 7 PM.
Family Movie Night – Saturday June 27th POC: Catie Morales
National Night Out - Tuesday, Aug 4 POC: Tim Harazin and Catie Morales
New Business:
 Repaving Neighborhood Streets: Rick Jones believed there was an on-line form. He said he
would investigate. Rick noted that snow removal over-runs come out of the paving budget, so
competition will be steep to get unplanned repairs done.
Light Post Repair: Dominion power is responsible for maintenance and repair of the light post.
On their web site is a form you must fill out and you need the post number. The Middleridge
web site has the information.
Adjournment:
The board adjourned at 8:50 PM
Place of next meeting: Rick Jones’ home
June 4, 2015 at
7:00 PM
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Version 2/9/2015
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WOODGLEN LAKE
DRAINED
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Middeidge News
2015 MIDDLERIDGE CALENDAR OF EVENTS
MAY
JUNE
JULY
AUGUST
General Membership
Meeting
Executive Board Meeting,
June 4, 7:00
Executive Board Meeting,
July 2, 7:00
National Night Out
May 14, 8:00 at BBES
Family Movie Night
Home & Garden Tour
June 27, Dusk
July 11, 1:00-4:00
August 4, 6:00-8:00
Executive Board Meeting,
August 6, 7:00
Every Month:
MCA Board Meeting: 1st Thursday of the month
Neighborhood Watch
Newsletter Delivery: 5th of the month
Welcoming: as needed. Please notify Shirley Plunkett
and Carole Rodero
Middleridge
Website
Executive Board
President—Tim Harazin
Vice President—Mike Torrey
Secretary— John Tedrick
Treasurer—Paul Armstrong
Middleridge Mailing Address
P.O. Box 208
Fairfax Station, VA 22039-0208
Other MCA Contacts
Webmaster—Paul Armstrong
Newsletter Editor—Linda Hutchins
Distribution—Sandy Obuchowski
Directory Editor—Al & Sandy Obuchowski
Membership—Al & Sandy Obuchowski
Neighborhood Watch— Greg Summer
Community Service—Paige Franklin
Welcoming Chair— Shirley Plunkett &
Carole Rodero
Newsletter Administration
Business Advertising Rates:
www.middleridgecivicassociation.org
Regular Member*
Look for:
Full Page
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
List of MCA Officers
1/2 Page
$50
$30

Committee Contacts
1/4 Page
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
1/8 Page
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Photos of Events Past &
Present

Past Newsletter Issues

Neighborhood Police
Reports

Middleridge Map/Street
Name History
Classified Ads
$5
* 2014/2015 Paid MCA Member
Monthly Deadline for ads and articles:
25th of the Month
Checks Payable to:
Middleridge Civic Association
P.O. Box 208
Fairfax Station, VA 22039
And much more!!!
Sign up to be notified every
time the Website is updated!
Mail ads to the address above or Email Ads
to [email protected]
Middleridge Book Club— Shirley Plunkett
Reaching 578 Homes and Families