Case Against Park Police Who Shot McLean Man Dropped — “Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares (R) on Friday dropped the state’s federal appeal in the manslaughter case against two U.S. Park Police officers, effectively ending any attempt at criminal prosecution of the officers who fatally shot unarmed motorist Bijan Ghaisar in a Fairfax County neighborhood in 2017.” [The Washington Post]

Hundreds Help Pack Ukrainian Refugee Donations — “Hundreds of volunteers gathered this weekend in Oakton to help pack approx. 1800 boxes with donations collected for displaced Ukrainians. Huge thanks to our community members for donating, these wonderful volunteers, and to Paxton Co. for generously shipping these items.” [Chairman Jeff McKay/Twitter]

Mount Vernon Fire Started by Hair Dryer — A house fire in the 3700 block of Nalls Road on Wednesday (April 20) was started accidentally by an electrical event involving a hair dryer in the basement bathroom, the Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department says. There were reported injuries or displacements, but the fire caused an estimated $37,500 in damages. [FCFRD]

Medical Reserve Corps Volunteers Critical to Covid Response — “Since February of 2020, over 1,400 MRC members volunteered more than 65,000 hours at vaccination clinics and testing events, and assisting with outreach, isolation and quarantine efforts, logistical support, and so much more.” [Fairfax County Health Department]

Merrifield Nonprofit Gets Boost from Football Fans — “Wolf Trap Animal Rescue keeps receiving donations from the public in honor of Dwayne Haskins, the former Washington quarterback who died in an accident on a Florida highway on April 9. Haskins…selected Wolf Trap Animal Rescue as his organization to represent for the NFL’s My Cause My Cleats campaign.” [Patch]

Turner Farm Observatory Seeks “Dark Sky” Designation — “To help reverse the trend of growing light pollution, the Great Falls observatory applied to become an Urban Night Sky Place with the International Dark-Sky Association (IDA)…If approved, the observatory would become the first IDA-designated place in the Washington region.” [Greater Greater Washington]

Construction Starts on Woodley Hills Park Playground — “The Fairfax County Park Authority will begin the installation of a new playground and removal of the existing playground the week of April 25, 2022. Construction access to the site will be from Old Mount Vernon Road. It is anticipated that the playground replacement will be completed by early June 2022.” [FCPA]

Reston Library Book Sale Starts Wednesday — The Friends of the Reston Regional Library will host its biggest book sale of the year, starting with a members-only night from 5-8 p.m. on Wednesday (April 27). The sale will be open to all starting at 10 a.m. Thursday through Sunday (April 28-May 2) and include 35,000 to 40,000 books. [Friends of the Reston Regional Library]

It’s Monday — Mostly cloudy throughout the day. High of 75 and low of 55. Sunrise at 6:19 am and sunset at 7:57 pm. [Weather.gov]

County Lands $10M to Address Homelessness — Fairfax County will get $10 million from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to support services for people experiencing homelessness. The money will fully fund 19 projects and represents a 9% increase from last year’s award, mostly for a domestic violence rapid rehousing program run by the nonprofit Shelter House. [Housing and Community Development]

FCPS to Provide Free Online Tutoring — “Fairfax County Public Schools Superintendent Scott Brabrand said unlimited tutoring in any subject for every grade level will be available through a new partnership with Tutor.com. The rollout will begin after spring break.” [WTOP]

Utility Work Requires W&OD Trail Detour in Reston — Washington & Old Dominion Trail users are being detoured to a gravel path this week so that AT&T can relocate a utility line in preparation for the construction of the planned pedestrian bridge over Wiehle Avenue. The work began on Monday (March 21) and could last up to a week. [Fairfax Alliance for Better Bicycling]

Vienna Town Council Eases Rules for Residential Porches — “Home improvement just got easier in Vienna. Homeowners with homes built near the front setback line can now construct a covered front porch on their property thanks to last night’s Town Council vote on a zoning code update.” [Town of Vienna/Twitter]

Paved Trail in Burke Completed — “Burke residents joined Fairfax County officials on Sunday to celebrate the completion of the Burke Centre VRE Trail Project, a new paved path that will provide pedestrians and bicyclists with easier access to the Virginia Railway Express station.” [Patch]

Afghan Refugee Graduates from FCPS — “Mountain View High graduate Eltaf Samim traversed six countries, completed seventh, eighth and ninth grade multiple times in different nations and turned in coursework in three languages on the way to get his high school diploma in Fairfax County this year.” [FCPS/Inside NoVA]

Wolf Trap National Park Adds More Summer Performances — “Newly added shows include Van Morrison, Boyz II Men, Tom Jones, Boy George & Culture Club, Kool & the Gang and more. Closing the season will be a community singing celebration called Joyfully Together on Sept. 18.” [Patch]

Reston Museum Seeks Volunteers — “Reston Museum seeks volunteer docents for flexible shifts Tues-Sun 11-4 pm. Docents greet visitors, introduce them to the museum and Reston’s history and assist with shop sales. Training provided, register here.” [Volunteer Fairfax/Twitter]

It’s Wednesday — Rain starting in the afternoon. High of 60 and low of 43. Sunrise at 7:08 a.m. and sunset at 7:25 p.m. [Weather.gov]

Hikers at Turkey Run Park now have safer access to trails alongside the Potomac River, thanks to the hard work of more than 100 volunteers.

The National Park Service and the nonprofit Potomac Appalachian Trail Club officially reopened a half-mile section of trail in the McLean park with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Saturday (March 5), the NPS announced.

It was the federal agency’s largest volunteer-designed and built project in the D.C. area, according to a press release.

“This project is a great example of the success we can have when park staff work together with partners and volunteers to meet the needs of visitors,” George Washington Memorial Parkway Superintendent Charles Cuvelier said in a statement. “We embrace the collaboration, trust, and open communication we have with partners and are grateful to PATC and the volunteers for making this project possible.”

According to the NPS, it took more than four years and over 1,000 volunteer hours for the Potomac Appalachian Trail Club to rebuild a section of trail that had eroded due to its age and location on a gorge leads to the Potomac River.

The project was intended to provide safer and easier access to the Potomac Heritage National Scenic Trail, a regional network that follows the river and runs along the northern edge of Turkey Run Park.

Founded in 1927, the Potomac Appalachian Trail Club consists of volunteers and a professional support staff who manage over 1,000 miles of hiking trails across Virginia, Maryland, D.C., and Pennsylvania.

Among other challenges, the Turkey Run project required constructing a wood staircase with over 100 steps that enables trail users to climb almost 170 feet in less than two-tenths of a mile, according to PATC President Joe Lombardo.

“This daunting task required the skill and dedication of experienced crew leaders to design and execute a unique trail rehabilitation plan that provided improved access and was sensitive to the natural setting of the park,” Lombardo said in the NPS news release.

George Washington Memorial Parkway, which encompasses Turkey Run Park, did not immediately return FFXnow’s request for additional comment on the trail project and an update on its plans for the former Claude Moore Farm, which is being revamped as South Turkey Run Park.

As the country reflects on the 20 years that have passed since the 9/11 attacks in New York City and at the Pentagon, volunteers in Fairfax County will spend this Saturday (Sept. 11) giving back to the community.

Volunteer Fairfax, the county’s volunteer network, has hosted a countywide day of service each fall to support local nonprofits for over 25 years. The 2021 VolunteerFest has been timed to coincide with the 20th anniversary of 9/11 and will involve over 30 volunteer projects, including ones that can be done at home.

The proceedings will begin at 9 a.m. at the Fairfax County Government Center (12000 Government Center Parkway) with a Chalk4Peace.org art project for youth to create positive messages of peace using art and sidewalk chalk.

Fairfax County will also host a remembrance ceremony for those lost on 9/11 at the Bailey’s Crossroads Volunteer Fire Department (3601 Firehouse Lane) in Falls Church, though members of the public are being encouraged to watch online through Facebook or the county government’s cable channel.

Scheduled to begin at 2 p.m., the event is expected to have a number of public safety and elected officials in attendance, including Rep. Gerry Connolly, Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Chairman Jeffrey McKay, Fire and Rescue Chief John Butler, and Police Chief Kevin Davis.

Additionally, the Department of Public Safety Communications will make a special, countywide announcement over Fire and Rescue radios at 10:28 a.m.

Starting at 10 a.m., the county will also hold its first Stuff the Bus food drive of the fall with sites at the government center and 22 other locations around the county, including Fairfax, Chantilly, Reston, Lorton, and McLean.

Now in its 10th year, the program organized by the county government and local nonprofits collects donations for local food banks to address hunger in the community. Volunteer Fairfax has also been accepting monetary donations online during the pandemic.

Registration is still open for a range of VolunteerFest projects.

In-person projects include removing invasive plants at Difficult Run Stream Valley Park in Oakton, cleaning up Centreville Elementary School’s gardens, and helping prepare a large garden bed for planting several trees to beautify South Run RECenter in Springfield.

Those looking to participate in an at-home project can create “homeless survival kits” to be distributed across Northern Virginia, make fleece blankets or toys for rescue dogs and cats, and craft face masks for people with mental health, substance use and homelessness issues at Recovery Program Solutions of Virginia centers.

There will also be a gratitude station at the government center for community members to compose messages of remembrance and thanks that will be distributed to local fire and police stations. The station is co-hosted by Kids Give Back, a local nonprofit that supports youth volunteering.

Originally called the Voluntary Action Center of Fairfax County when it was created in 1974, Volunteer Fairfax took on its current moniker in 1992 as the organization’s focus evolved to accommodate more volunteers looking to serve, including youths.

Volunteer Fairfax now works with almost 14,000 volunteers who have contributed more than 54,000 service hours to over 650 nonprofits and public agencies, according to its site.

According to a news release, this year’s edition of VolunteerFest is supported by AT&T, NetApp, Kaiser Permanente, Accenture, Deloitte, Virginia Service Foundation, and The Williams Foundation.