Wakefield High School

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

View of Rosslyn across the Potomac (Flickr pool photo by Wolfkann)

Wakefield Captures District Championship — On Friday, the Wakefield High School boy’s basketball team defeated Mount Vernon 69-60 to become the National District champions. Wakefield is now competing in the Northern Region regional tournament. Yorktown, which fell 42-82 to Wakefield in the National District tournament, is also competing as a lower seed in the Northern Region tournament. [Northern Virginia Sports]

Neighbors Want Security Guard at New Homeless Shelter — Residents of the Woodbury Heights Condominium in Courthouse are pressing Arlington officials to place a 24-hour security guard at the county’s planned year-round homeless shelter at 2020 14th Street N. Residents say they’re worried about an increase in crime as a result of the shelter moving next to their building. A resident’s Freedom of Information Act request revealed that there have been just under 6 police responses to the existing shelter per year, on average, between 1994 and 2011, mostly for alcohol-related incidents. [Arlington Mercury]

Arlington Tourism Tax Bill Passes General Assembly — A bill that would restore Arlington’s 0.25 percent hotel tax surcharge is destined for the desk of Gov. Bob McDonnell. The state legislature approved the bill, which will restore the tax authority — which is used to fund tourism promotion — for three years. [Sun Gazette]

Conservative Tech Biz Booming in Arlington — Business is booming for a small Arlington-based conservative digital advocacy company. The co-founder of Red Edge, which is based above an antique shop in Lyon Park, says he expects the business to double or triple this year as Republicans look to make up ground lost to Democrats in the online sphere. [New York Times]

Registration Open for Ballston LaunchPad Challenge — Registration is now open for the Ballston LaunchPad Challenge. The contest challenges entrepreneurs to come up with the “next great idea,” for a chance to pitch their innovation to billionaire Washington Capitals owner Ted Leonsis. [Ballston BID]

Flickr pool photo by Wolfkann. Disclosure: Ballston BID is an ARLnow.com advertiser. 

Aquatics Forum to Discuss New Wakefield Pools

By ARLnow.com

Sketch of the new Wakefield High School aquatics center Sketch of the new Wakefield High School

The new Wakefield High School, slated for completion this summer, will include two new publicly-accessible pools. An upcoming meeting will provide the public an opportunity to learn more about and weigh in on the operation of those pools.

On Tuesday, March 12, from 7:00 to 9:00 at the Arlington Education Center (1426 N. Quincy Street), the Arlington Public Schools Aquatics Committee will hold its annual aquatics forum for residents. The forum will focus on the new Wakefield aquatics center, but will also discuss the existing Washington-Lee and Yorktown pools. A similar meeting in 2009 gave residents a chance to contribute views on the then-new Washington-Lee aquatics center.

Expected to open to the public in September, the new Wakefield aquatics center will consist of an 8-lane lap pool and an instructional/diving pool that can also be used as a 5-lane lap pool.

In an email, APS Aquatics Director Helena Machado told us the following about the new facility.

The Wakefield facility pool currently under construction will contain two swimming pools. The “competition pool” will be 25 yards in length and will have 8 lanes. The “instructional/diving” pool will be 25 meters in length and 33.3 feet wide. This pool’s primary use will be for diving and a wide variety of shallow and deep water instructional activities. This pool’s unique configuration of joining diving and shallow-water instructional space will give us the opportunity to also use the pool as a 5-lane lap pool of either 25 yards or 25 meters in length.

The new Wakefield aquatics facility will be programmed and staffed to provide the best possible service to the aquatics community, and at this time there are no plans to reduce community swim hours. The facility and both of its pools will be used for a wide range of aquatics activities, including swimming instruction, water fitness classes, diving, water polo, synchronized swimming, and lap swimming. The pool will be staffed to ensure a safe environment for all of its program participants.

The “instructional/diving” pool will be open daily for classes, diving or other special needs (including lap swimming at times) as needed, and as the scheduling and programming warrants. It was designed as a flexible space and not designed to be only a lane pool. As a result, it will be programmed that way which has always been the plan.

Wakefield High School, at 4901 S. Chesterfield Road, is about 6 miles away from the county’s planned $80 million Long Bridge Park aquatics center.

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

BBQ smoker outside Whitlow's on Wilsom (photo by Katie Pyzyk)

Pentagon Shooter Sentenced — Yonathan Melaku, the ex-Marine who pleaded guilty last year to firing bullets at the Pentagon, has been sentenced to 25 years in prison. Melaku had planned a terror campaign that included spray painting Arabic statements on gravestones and leaving explosives in Arlington National Cemetery, according to prosecutors. [Washington Post]

Bad Reviews for Rosslyn Safeway — While getting high marks for friendly cashiers, the Safeway supermarket in Rosslyn has earned a dismal 1.5 out of 5 stars in 53 reviews on Yelp. Customers have called the store “disgusting,” “gross,” “cavernous” and the “worst grocery store ever.” [Ode Street Tribune]

Gala Celebration for Wakefield High — The Wakefield Alumni Foundation will be hosting a celebration in May to celebrate the high school’s 60th anniversary. A new Wakefield High School building is expected to open this summer, and the present 1950s-era building will eventually be torn down. [Sun Gazette]

Wakefield Routs Yorktown — The Wakefield Warriors boys basketball team defeated the Yorktown Patriots by the lopsided score of 74-41 on Jan. 11. Wakefield improved to a record of 10-4 overall, while Yorktown fell to 5-8. [Sun Gazette]

Photo by Katie Pyzyk

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

BonChon Chicken Coming to Arlington — BonChon Chicken, a popular Korean-based chicken chain, will be coming to the ground floor of the new 2201 Pershing apartment building. The restaurant, noted for its wings, expects to open in the summer of 2013. [Washingtonian]

Galaxy Hut Goes Vegetarian — Galaxy Hut has introduced a new menu and meat is nowhere to be seen. The revamped menu is all-vegetarian and includes tofu seitan and vegetable-based cheesesteaks, burgers and barbecue sandwiches instead of the genuine article. Some meat-based meals are still available, but by request only. [Washington Post]

Wakefield Half-Way Finished — Construction of the new Wakefield High School has hit the half-way mark. The new $115 million high school is expected to open next summer in time for the 2013-2014 school year. [Sun Gazette]

Church Prepares Meals for the Hungry — Instead of a traditional Sunday service, members of Arlington-based Grace Community Church prepared nearly 100,000 meals for those in need. The church meets at Thomas Jefferson Middle School. [WUSA]

Improvements Coming to Wakefield Sports Facilities

By Katie Pyzyk

As the start of school lingers right around the corner, improvements have been confirmed for the sports facilities at Wakefield High School. Although some of the renovations won’t be completed in time for the 2012-2013 sports season, others are just weeks away from implementation.

Last week, Wakefield Principal Dr. Christian Willmore met with parents and discussed the issue, according to Arlington Public Schools spokesman Frank Bellavia. On Monday (August 27), Willmore joined Student Activities Director Noel Deskins in issuing a letter to the Wakefield community, outlining scheduled improvements.

The letter said, “As you visit the stadium this fall for various games and activities, you will notice that it may not look the best! The stadium was impacted by the 2011 earthquake, construction, and now the derecho! We ask that you please excuse the mess as we work with APS in making necessary updates to the stadium.”

The letter continued by outlining renovations underway or soon to come. An excerpt from the letter’s list of upgrades follows:

  • The turf along the tennis court fence has already been repaired
  • New Bleachers (yes, on both sides) total seating 2200 – by June 2013
  • New Press Box with a video filming platform for coaches, heating, AC, and an upgrade in our audio system – by June 2013
  • New Stadium Scoreboard has been ordered – expected delivery sometime in October 2012. The scoreboard will be an updated version with LED lights, trumpet horn, 1 tenth digit, time out display, WAKEFIELD inserted in place of HOME, and a name plate above the board reading HOME OF THE WARRIORS (and in Wakefield Green of course). By the way, the current scoreboard does work and we will use it until the new one arrives!

Some parents had previously expressed discontent over the facilities having fallen into such disrepair, and questioned why improvements didn’t appear to be included in the $118 million plan for a new Wakefield school building. Comparisons have been made to facilities at Yorktown and Washington-Lee High Schools, with some parents claiming Wakefield’s needs are being overlooked.

A disgruntled tipster told ARLnow.com yesterday, “The new Wakefield facility currently under construction does not have any plan for the football field and surrounding structures. County officials cite tight budgets for the lack of a plan, but many in the Wakefield community just feel jerked around; something county officials wouldn’t dare to do with the Yorktown or W&L communities.”

Echoing the discontent, the “Friends of Wakefield HS Stadium” Facebook page launched last month. In its “About” section, the page states, “We are residents of Arlington County, who would like to see the stadium at Wakefield High School upgraded to the same standard as W-L and Yorktown.” Posts have been added sporadically, highlighting issues such as the desire for a new concessions stand and restrooms in the stadium.

For a large part, the most highly requested improvements listed on the Facebook page were addressed in the letter sent to parents this week. That includes a section mentioning the possibility of a new concessions stand and restrooms which reads: “Discussions continue with APS in regards to possible replacement of concession stand and rest rooms inside stadium area.”

Photos (below) via Facebook

 

UPDATED: Seven Recent Grads Arrested at Wakefield High

By Katie Pyzyk

(Updated at 9:50 a.m.) Seven recent Wakefield High School (4901 S. Chesterfield Road) graduates were arrested at the school around 5:15 this morning.

Police were called after a security guard spotted individuals on the roof. During their investigation, police found that the four adults and three juveniles had climbed onto the roof via a pole on the outside of the school, and proceeded to drink beer on the roof.

The former students, who graduated on Wednesday, June 20, tried to flee the scene. One of the subjects attempted to resist arrest and engaged in a physical altercation with an officer. He was transported to the hospital with minor injuries, but has since been released back into police custody for questioning.

According to police spokesman Dustin Sternbeck, this incident has similarities to one last week on the second floor of the school, which resulted in vandalism.  K9 units were brought in to investigate today’s incident, but no vandalism was discovered. The former students are in custody speaking with detectives to see if they have information about last week’s incident. However, Arlington Public Schools spokesman Frank Bellavia says there was no vandalism last week, somebody simply set off a fire extinguisher.

“It’s just a poor decision on their behalf, to bring alcohol onto the school property and drink,” Sternbeck said. “They weren’t here to vandalize the property, they were just here to have a good time, but it was a poor decision making process.”

All the subjects will be charged with trespassing, and the adults will be charged with contributing to the delinquency of a minor.

“It’s an unfortunate incident,” said Bellavia. “They made a poor decision.”

It’s unclear if there will be any sort of punishment issued by APS. Bellavia said system officials will have to look into the incident, because the subjects are no longer students.

Video: Washington-Lee Basketball Buzzer Beater

By ARLnow.com

A YouTube video of an amazing half-court buzzer beater in a key game between Washington-Lee and Wakefield is making the rounds today among local hoops fans.

The video (above) was recorded by Arlington Independent Media during  last week’s National District semifinal game between two Arlington high schools: Washington-Lee and Wakefield.

According to the Sun Gazette, Wakefield had just tied the game at 60-60 with a last-second three pointer. Then, with 1.2 seconds to go, W-L inbounded the ball to junior Winston Duncan, who sunk the winning basket from half court.

Washington-Lee fans rushed the court in celebration, but that’s where the team’s jubilation ended. The team went on to lose by 9 points in the National District championship game and has since been eliminated from the Northern Region tournament.

Hat tip to @31nader

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Wakefield Advances to ‘It’s Academic’ Championship — The Wakefield High School ‘It’s Academic’ team was a runner-up in the Northern Region tournament and is advancing to the state championship later this month. [Sun Gazette]

Norovirus Outbreak in Arlington Schools — A minor norovirus outbreak has been reported in two Arlington County public schools. So far, none of the norovirus cases have required hospitalization. [Arlington Connection]

New Capital Bikeshare Station Near Rosslyn — A new Capital Bikeshare station is coming to North Meade Street Park, near Rosslyn. [Ode Street Tribune]

Library Requesting High School Yearbook Donations

By Katie Pyzyk

(Updated at 3:25 p.m.) If you attended high school in Arlington, you have something in common with Warren Beatty, Shirley MacLaine, Katie Couric and Sandra Bullock. All are immortalized in yearbooks at Arlington Central Library (1015 N. Quincy St), but the collection isn’t complete. That’s where you can step in to help.

The Virginia Room at the Central Library is asking for donations of Arlington high school yearbooks in good condition. That way, your accomplishments can be put on display for all to see, along with Sandra Bullock’s time as a cheerleader at Washington-Lee or Katie Couric’s work (quite foreshadowing) in the Yorktown Quill and Scroll Club. Hopefully, there’s no issue over the spelling of your last name like Shirley MacLaine and her brother, Warren (Beaty vs. Beatty).

In addition to the yearbooks, visitors to the Virginia Room can browse through the reference collection of the state’s historical items including maps, photos of the County from decades past and a local newspaper archive.

Judith Knudsen and John Stanton work in the Virginia Room and help visitors hunt down resources. The process will become a little easier on February 1, when the collection, including around 600 photos, will begin to be digitized and put online for public viewing.

“We’re Arlington, Virginia history, but we’re also a community archives,” Knudsen said. “We collect papers and information on individuals and also organizations.”

The high school yearbooks the library would like can be from any year between 1951 and 2010. It’s fine if the books have writing in them, but they must be without mold and mildew. Duplicates are welcome, but the Virginia Room is specifically missing the following yearbooks:

Wakefield – 1954, 1975, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1983, 1986, 2001, 2004, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010
Washington-Lee – 1930, 1958, 1959, 1963, 1964, 1969, 1972, 1989, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2004, 2005, 2009, 2010
Yorktown – 1982, 1984, 1985, 1993, 1997, 2010
Hoffman-Boston – Missing All Except 1951, 1952, 1953, 1954
Bishop Denis J. O’Connell – Missing All Except 1977, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1998
H.B. Woodlawn – They don’t have ANY yearbooks

Donations can be made in person. For more information, call 703-228-5966 or email the Virginia Room.

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Another Crash Near Claremont Traffic Circle

By Katie Pyzyk

Less than seven months after a car ran into his house in the Claremont neighborhood, Patrick Lee is dealing with a similar problem. Somebody hit his car overnight, likely while trying to speed through the crash-prone traffic circle at S. Chesterfield Road and S. Dinwiddie Street.

Lee said his father woke him around 5:00 a.m. asking what happened to his car. That’s when he went outside to find the banged-up vehicle. The other driver left nothing behind except a few shards from a smashed headlight, which Lee hopes will eventually help police find the perpetrator.

Lee’s car had been parked on the street in front of his neighbor’s house when it was hit. He explained that three houses on the block, including his, had all recently sustained property damage from vehicles speeding through the traffic circle. The next-door neighbors escaped a car slamming into their home when the vehicle rammed a tree in the front yard instead.

Lee says when his home was hit in April, the person behind the wheel didn’t end up paying for repairs. A loophole voided her insurance because she uses the vehicle for work. That meant Lee and his parents had to pay about $5,000 out of pocket for repairs. The total estimated cost for damage, both outside and inside, ended up being about $28,000.

Neighbors are concerned not only for their own property and safety, but also because of the traffic circle’s proximity to Wakefield High School.

“I drive for a living and spend a lot of time in traffic,” Lee said. “Never, not anywhere in Northern Virginia, Thailand or other countries, never have I seen such a poorly maintained and dangerous intersection next to a school.”

The intersection has two stop signs and two yield signs for drivers entering the circle. People in the neighborhood say drivers speed through the circle without stopping or even slowing down. Lee mentioned that the layout of the intersection has been changed several times, but a good solution has yet to be found.

“You really have to be flying through these stop signs for something like this to happen,” Lee said. “This is right next to a school and everybody is going 45 to 50 miles per hour and not stopping.”

Lee said he talked to the responding officers about fixing the intersection when his house was hit in April. Although he doesn’t have an easy solution, he said a good start would be a four-way stop. In the meantime, Lee is going to contact his insurance company about his car, and hopes to find the driver who hit it.

Courtesy photos

Gas Leak Reported at Wakefield High School

By ARLnow.com

Update at 11:10 a.m. — The leak has been traced to the construction site where the new Wakefield High School is being built. Students are expected to be let back into the school shortly.

The Arlington County Fire Department is investigating a possible gas leak inside Wakefield High School.

Firefighters are laying out fire hoses while they try to find the source of a gas-like odor in the school, which has been evacuated.

Police are also responding to the scene to assist with traffic control. Chesterfield Road is being blocked off in front of the school.

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