health

Asbestos Shuts Down Columbia Pike Preschool

By Ethan Rothstein
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A Columbia Pike church preschool has shut down indefinitely after asbestos dust was found in the floors.

Trinity Episcopal Church‘s School of Early Learning sent out a letter to parents on Tuesday, confirming the presence of asbestos dust in the air at the school. The church’s rector, Rev. Kim Coleman, also serves as the school’s headmaster and said the more than 100 students will not be allowed to enter the building for an “indeterminate amount of time.”

“We are presently looking for a temporary site for the school and as soon as we have more information we will let you know,” the letter states. “Please know that we are sorry for these unexpected developments and hope you understand that the measures we are taking we consider to be in the best interest of our students and staff.”

When reached by ARLnow.com, Coleman declined to comment before she could speak to the church’s board. A tipster, who sent us Coleman’s letter, said volunteers were cleaning the preschool when they ripped up flooring, releasing asbestos dust into the air.

“Chaos ensued when folks figured out what had happened,” the tipster wrote. “School was canceled indefinitely. Testing occurred, it came back positive, and now 100-plus kids don’t have a daycare to go to. Who knows if the church has the money to remediate asbestos.”

Coleman’s letter said the church has “consulted a professional asbestos remediation company” and was hoping for an estimate yesterday. The Trinity Church building was built in 1957, and the congregation is 111 years old. Trinity traces its origins back to a chapel for local slaves built by George Washington Parke Custis in the early 1800s, according to the church’s website.

Update at 4:05 p.m. Friday — Rev. Coleman tells ARLnow.com: “We have been dealing with this situation with an abundance of caution and with the advice of environmental professionals since we became aware of it. We will develop a plan of action for going forward as soon as possible and we are keeping the parents apprised of the situation. Our building was built in the early 1950’s and our program currently has 75 students enrolled.

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Man cleaning up trash on Four Mile Run Drive

Alleged Bank Robber Was Staying at Retirement Home — The FBI tracked down an accused bank robber in an Arlington on Friday thanks to his cell phone usage. The so-called Bicycle Bandit is accused of a dozen bank robberies, including a robbery in Alexandria just a few hours prior to his arrest. Investigators used phone records to figure out his identity. The suspect, Woosen Assaye, was staying at his father’s apartment at The Carlin retirement home at the time of his arrest. [NBC Washington – WARNING: Auto-play video]

Arlington Named Healthiest County in Va. — A new study has named Arlington County as the healthiest county in Virginia. Albemarle, Fairfax and Loudoun ranked second, third and fourth, respectively. [Associated Press]

Fehr Reads to Key Students — Washington Capitals player Eric Fehr read his new anti-bullying book to students at Key Elementary School yesterday. [NBC Washington – WARNING: Auto-play video]

Board Considers Affordable Housing Report — The Arlington County Board on Monday heard a comprehensive report about affordable housing in the county. [InsideNova]

Blue Line Issues — A Blue Line train suffering mechanical problems offloaded passengers at the Pentagon station this morning, causing overcrowding on the platform. [Twitter]

APS: 100 Students Aren’t Vaccinated

By Ethan Rothstein

Arlington Public Schools logoThere are 100 students in Arlington Public Schools who are exempted from vaccinations, the school system tells ARLnow.com.

The number represents only 0.4 percent of the 24,529 students currently enrolled in APS. There are only two reasons a student is allowed to attend school without receiving proper immunizations: medical or religious reasons.

“For a medical exemption, a letter must be written from a licensed medical provider stating specifically from which immunizations a child is exempt,” Arlington School Health Bureau Chief Marian Harmon said in an email. “For a religious exemption, the parent must complete the religious exemption form for immunizations and have it notarized.”

Childhood vaccinations have been thrust into the national spotlight after a measles outbreak started at Disneyland in California and has spread to at least 94 people in eight states, according to NBC News. The disease had been largely eradicated in the U.S., but since the Centers for Disease Control reported the disease was brought from overseas, children whose parents declined vaccinations have fallen victim to the highly contagious infection.

Politicians from both sides of the aisle have urged parents to vaccinate their children, shooting down controversial reports from years back that linked vaccinations to autism. Those studies have since been debunked, but the anti-vaccination movement is still prevalent enough in the U.S. to contribute to the largest number of measles cases in 20 years.

Harmon says APS tracks which students have vaccination exemptions, and makes sure to notify parents when there is a disease outbreak at the child’s school.

“School Health works with Arlington Public Schools and Arlington County Communicable Disease staff to determine the needs for that student and their exposure risk,” she said.

APS spokesman Frank Bellavia said there are no suspected cases of measles in the county.

Wright Way: Sugar Is Not So Sweet for Your Health

By ARLnow.com

'Wright Way' banner

Editor’s Note: This sponsored health and fitness column is written by Virginia Wright, founder of BbG Fitness, which offers group fitness classes around Arlington. Sign up for a free class today.

What exactly does it mean to be healthy? For many of us, “good health” is just a vague notion — until something goes wrong and we’re forced to take a closer look.

In this series of biweekly columns we’ll discuss what factors — other than genetics — contribute to our mental and physical well being, including fitness, nutrition and even how we think about our lives. The goal is for all of us to start taking control of our own health!

When was the last time you felt great? Maybe it’s right now. But maybe you’ve been feeling sluggish and run down and you can’t quite figure out why.

What if I told you there was one thing you could eliminate or cut way back on that would help you lose weight and feel better, and even help stave off sickness and disease? Would you give it a try?

Can you guess what I’m referring to? Here are a few hints:

  • This ingredient is hidden in many foods.
  • It goes by at least 20 different names.
  • It affects our weight, moods, appetite, complexion and energy levels.
  • It’s been linked to obesity, diabetes, heart disease and increased risk of cancer.

What ingredient do all these items share?

Give yourself a pat on the back if you guessed sugar! That’s right, all of the above processed foods have added sugar to make them taste better to consumers and to reap big profits for the food manufacturers — who don’t give a darn about your health.

What’s so bad about sugar anyway, as long as we don’t eat too many calories? Well, there’s nothing wrong with having a sweet every now and then. The problem is that our bodies are just not meant to process the huge amount of sugar the average American now eats on a daily basis: 22.7 teaspoons a day! (The recommended daily amount is not more than 6 teaspoons for women, 9 for men.)

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Morning Notes

By Katie Pyzyk

Green lights in Clarendon

911 Outage Report Released — A report regarding Northern Virginia’s 911 outage following last summer’s derecho storm calls on Verizon to provide an audit of its entire 911 infrastructure. The Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (MWCOG) Board of Directors approved the report, which found that the outage was caused by the loss of commercial power and the subsequent failure of one of the two backup generators in each of Verizon’s Arlington and Fairfax central offices. Improper maintenance and incident response also reportedly contributed to the outage. [MWCOG]

Arlington Third Healthiest County in Virginia — A study by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and University of Wisconsin researchers indicates that Arlington is the third healthiest county in the state. Coming in first is Fairfax County, followed by Loudoun County. The study examined data from nearly every county in the nation. Overall, Northern Virginia counties fared better than those in the southern parts of the state. [WTOP]

Key Elementary School Educator Chosen as Teacher of the Year — The 2013 Arlington Public Schools Teacher of the Year is a fourth grade educator at Key Elementary School. Erica Russell has been teaching at the school since 2006. She will be honored by the School Board on May 15, and is the county’s nominee for the 2013 Virginia Teacher of the Year Competition. [Sun Gazette]

Arlington Deploys Healthier Vending Machines

By ARLnow.com

New "FitArlington" vending machines(Updated at 3:00 p.m.) Arlington County is working with a vendor to install vending machines with healthier options in county offices.

The new vending machines are part of the county’s FitArlington initiative. At first, about half of the contents of the vending machines will contain healthier snack options that are lower in calories, fat and sugar.

One such snack machine includes options like baked potato chips, Clif bars, Nutrigrain bars, Sun Chips, 100 calorie sweet packs and other options. Drink machines will offer low-fat milk, low-calorie teas and bottled water — although the county is discouraging people from buying the latter.

“Our FitArlington Healthy Vending machines will have water but remember that it’s better for the environment to bring your own bottle and fill it up at a nearby drinking fountain,” the county said in a press release (after the jump).

The vending machines will first be deployed to county office buildings  then are expected to be installed in community centers and parks starting in August. (Long Bridge Park, which was in need of vending machines, got an early installation.)

The machines are provided by a vendor at no cost to the county, according to spokeswoman Susan Kalish.

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Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Molly the Dog by Ddimick

Board Members Want More Capital Projects — Arlington County Board members don’t want to stop new capital spending projects, saying that “now is not the time to stop investing in the future of the community.” Board members say that interest rates are low and the construction market is competitive  making new building projects cheaper than they might be in the future. [Sun Gazette]

Reporter Peeved About FOIA Fees — Connection Newspapers reporter Michael Lee Pope is continuing his crusade against public records practices at the Arlington County Police Department. This time around, Pope notes that the police department has charged or threaten to charge between $31.16 and $573.25 for his Freedom of Information Act requests. Pope writes that “Arlington County’s system of nickel-and-diming the public and the press serves as a barrier to public access.” [Arlington Connection]

Tea Party Wants to Weigh in on Streetcar — The Arlington County Tea Party says it wants to make a presentation at the upcoming March 27 community forum on the planned Columbia Pike streetcar. At least one other anti-streetcar organization has made a similar request. [Sun Gazette]

Moran: Vaccinations Save Lives — Rep. Jim Moran (D-Va.) is encouraging constituents to get vaccinated. “As Chairman of the Congressional Prevention Caucus, I understand the important role prevention plays in reducing contagious diseases,” Moran wrote in his weekly newspaper column. “Due to the Affordable Care Act, signed into law in 2009, most health insurance companies, including Medicare, are now required to cover recommended vaccinations… with no out of pocket cost. Increased coverage for preventive measures is a significant step towards a health care system that truly improves the health of the American people.” [Falls Church News-Press]

Flickr pool photo by Ddimick

Morning Notes

By Katie Pyzyk

Snowy branches

Metro Closing Several Pentagon Escalators — Metro will begin its third major escalator replacement at the Pentagon station on February 4. Three of the six “southside escalators” at the station entrance will be shut down for replacement with new, more reliable units. Customers will still be able to use the three other escalators on the north side. [WMATA]

Proposal to Extend Voting Hours Fails — The proposal by state Sen. Adam Ebbin (D) to extend voting times in Virginia has failed in committee. The measure would have pushed poll closing time from 7:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. [Sun Gazette]

Claremont Elementary School Earns Health Award — The Marine Corps Marathon (MCM) and Sodexo presented Claremont Elementary School with the Healthy Schools Award for being one of five schools having the most participants in the MCM-organized Healthy Kids Fun Run in October. The Claremont P.E. department received $1,000 and each student received a healthy snack pack from Sodexo. [Arlington Public Schools]

Emergency Winter Shelter Open — Because of the extreme cold, the county’s Emergency Winter Shelter, which is usually only open at night, will be open all day today. If you see someone in Arlington needing shelter from the cold, call 703-228-7395.

Norovirus Outbreak Reported at Arlington Public Schools

By ARLnow.com

(Updated at 5:05 p.m.) Parents of Arlington public school students were told today that “one or more outbreaks of norovirus have been confirmed in schools in Arlington.”

It’s the second publicly reported norovirus outbreak at Arlington Public Schools so far this year. In February a norovirus outbreak was reported at two Arlington schools.

This time around, outbreaks have been reported at Patrick Henry and Randolph elementary schools, according to APS Assistant Superintendent for School and Community Relations Linda Erdos, who added that the letter below was sent to all parents “because it’s that time of year” for norovirus outbreaks.

Earlier this year, APS spokesman Frank Bellavia described the February outbreak as “nothing unusual” and noted that previous outbreaks did not result in any student requiring hospitalization.

The Arlington Department of Human Services sent the following letter to APS parents today.

Dear APS Families:

This communication is being sent to let you know that one or more outbreaks of NOROVIRUS have been confirmed in schools in Arlington. This virus spreads very quickly and easily and there is no vaccine or medicine for it. Even if your school has not been affected, prevention is essential!

FACTS:  Norovirus causes “gastroenteritis”, or infection of the stomach and/or intestines. The most common symptoms are nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. Symptoms typically resolve in a few days, although in rare cases the outcome can be more serious.

HOW IT SPREADS:  These pathogens are HIGHLY contagious through contact with an infected person’s vomit or stool, or through contact with contaminated food or objects.

PLEASE DO NOT SEND YOUR CHILD TO SCHOOL IF:

  • You know or suspect that your child has a fever or is ill. Please delay sending her/him to school and take the time to feel certain that she/he is well enough to participate in school activities.
  • Your child has vomited the night before, or in the morning before going to school.
  • Your child has diarrhea, stomach pain or cramping.
  • Your child complains of generally not feeling well.
  • Your child has any combination of the above symptoms.

WHAT YOU SHOULD DO:

Make sure your child washes their hands frequently and thoroughly before meals or food preparation, after meals, after using the bathroom, and anytime their hands get dirty. Use soap and warm water and scrub for at least 20 seconds (the time it takes to sing “Happy Birthday” TWICE).

IF SYMPTOMS DEVELOP:  Please keep your child at home and inform the school. For additional guidance, contact your healthcare provider and provide them with a copy of this letter.  Your child will need to remain at home until they are free from symptoms for one entire day (24 hours).

WHAT WE ARE DOING:  School Health, which is part of the Public Health Department, is working closely with Arlington Public Schools to identify cases and to prevent the spread of the disease

WARNING:  Monitor for signs of dehydration if your child is unable to keep fluids down.

MORE INFORMATION:  If you want to read more, information from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is available at http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvrd/revb/gastro/faq.htm.

QUESTIONS:  If you have questions, please contact the nurse in your child’s school clinic or visit the School Health Bureau’s website at www.apsva.us/schoolhealth.

Sincerely,

Marian D. Harmon, MSN, RN
School Health Bureau Chief

Samuel Stebbins, MD, MPH
Public Health Physician

Man With Healing Gaze to Stare at Crowds in Crystal City

By ARLnow.com

A man purported to have a healing gaze will be gazing at rooms full of people at a Crystal City hotel this weekend.

Braco, a Croatian man who purportedly has the gift of being able to awaken “positive and beautiful feelings and energies” simply by gazing at people, will be holding nine daily 30-35 minute “gazing sessions” at the Sheraton Crystal City Hotel (1800 Jefferson Davis Highway) today (Friday), Saturday and Sunday.

Though some may be skeptical of the power of Braco’s gaze, he has been doing it since the 1990s and thousands of people still line up for his gazing session.

“His visitors report his success through fascinating recoveries and positive changes in their lives, which attracts more and more people from all over the world,” according to his website. “And during those silent sessions people feel deeply touched even without having any direct and personal contact with Braco. They feel touched by an invisible and silent power, which is flowing through them and they try to open and assimilate that power.”

In the video below, two American veterans describe their profound experience with Braco.

Braco’s gazing sessions will be held from 11:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. today, and from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. Tickets for one gazing session are $8, and are sold at the door or online.

The final session of each day will include the playing of ‘The Voice,’ described as “an eight-minute recording of Braco speaking, and offers another way for us to receive this gift into our lives.”

For the record, the price of admission is said to only cover Braco’s event expenses.

“Braco does not take any money for his help; he does not accept donations and the sessions are always free at his Center in Zagreb [Croatia],” according to his website. “There is only a small fee at international events, when he visits other countries on tour, to cover the event facilities rental and organizational costs.”

Hat tip to John Fontain. Photos via Braco.net.

Local McDonald’s Restaurants to Post Calorie Counts

By ARLnow.com

It was a precursor to a big announcement today, but we didn’t even know it.

Last week, or perhaps even earlier, the McDonald’s restaurant at 3031 Columbia Pike started using a new drive-thru menu that included calorie counts for each menu item. Although some jurisdictions require chain restaurants to post calorie counts for menu items, Arlington does not. That prompted us to ask McDonald’s why its Columbia Pike location was doing so voluntarily.

Was it a one-off experiment, or something even bigger? Today we finally got the answer.

In a press release, McDonald’s announced that its restaurants nationwide — including in Arlington and the greater D.C. area — will be listing calorie information on all indoor and drive-thru menu. The move comes ahead of a new federal requirement for restaurant chains with more than 20 locations to list calorie information, part of President Obama’s health care legislation.

McDonald’s says that in addition to posting calorie information, it will be rolling out a series of healthier menu items, including new wraps, an egg white breakfast sandwich, and additional fruit and vegetable options.

See the full McDonald’s press release, after the jump.

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