Dear Neighbor,

I hope you are enjoying the holiday season and spending quality time with family and friends. This will be the final Advisory message of 2022.

For a fun and free local holiday activity, how about a driving tour of the many lights displays around Fairfax County? Check out the google map of holiday lights and take a trip on an evening this week.

Topping the list is Braddock's own Marshall Pond Christmas Village!

Holiday Safety and Security

Please keep these tips in mind for a safe and secure holiday and new year:

• Avoid leaving gifts and valuables in your car. Lock the vehicle and don't leave a car running unattended.
• If you’re planning to drink, plan to get a safe, sober ride home through the Washington Regional Alcohol Program’s 2022 Holiday SoberRide code (SAFEDECEMBER22 on the Lyft app).
• Read the Fairfax Fire & Rescue Blog for tips on topics such as tree and candle safety.

Betsy Clevenger and the Annandale Mission Center

We've previously honored Betsy Clevenger as Braddock District Citizen of the Month for her work in the community. This month the Golden Gazette has written a feature on Betsy and her work organizing the distribution of food and other items at the Annandale United Methodist Church Mission Center.

Last Thursday my staff and I had an opportunity to see Betsy and her team's work up close and to assist with the food distribution. The AUMC gives out bags of groceries to area families every Thursday, and on other days they distribute clothing, diapers, or hot meals. Read below about ways that you can help out.

Continue reading below for more information on:



• Mission Center Seeks Donations and Volunteers
• Flood Watch Followed by Extreme Cold Brings Risk of Hypothermia
• Free COVID Tests
• America's Adopt a Soldier Annual Christmas Day Holiday Care Packing
• The Most Wonderful Time to Recycle
• Police Department Updates
• Fairfax Food Council's Care to Share Toolkit
• REVIVE! Training
• Take a Hike! First Hike Photo Contest Returns
• Reminder for Medicaid Members: Ensure your Contact Information is Up to Date
• Health Updates

Supervisor James Walkinshaw

Notice: County Government offices will be operating on a half day schedule tomorrow, December 23, and will be closed on December 26 and January 2.

The Mission Center in Annandale hosts a weekly food distribution, and they are requesting donations of gently used children’s clothing, coats for all ages in all sizes, adult diapers of all sizes (they will take partially opened packages), brown paper bags with handles, and reusable grocery bags.

Want to help? They are also looking for volunteers to assist with the Thursday food program. You can sign up through their SignUp Genius site. (Spanish speaking volunteers welcomed.) You can drop off your donations at the Braddock District office at 9002 Burke Lake Rd. Burke, VA 22015, Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. through 5:00 p.m. or during library hours. If you have any questions, please contact Irma Mejia-Lewis at irma.mejia-lewis@fairfaxcounty.gov or at the Braddock District office at (703) 425-9300.

Read the full post on the Fairfax County Emergency Information Blog.

The National Weather Service forecast calls for overnight lows Friday and Saturday night reaching well below freezing. High temperatures this weekend are not expected to rise above 26 degrees, and wind could be a factor as well.

The main precipitation expected in this cold forecast is rain on Thursday through Friday morning, possibly mixing with snow after 10:00 a.m. Friday, before gradually ending with temperatures rising into the low-to-mid 40s. While the precipitation is just rain, unfortunately, this rain brings with it a flood watch in effect from now through 1:00 a.m. Friday, December 23, with possible flooding caused by excessive rainfall in Fairfax County and northern Virginia.

Hypothermia Information

The extremely cold temperatures bring a danger of hypothermia for anyone spending a lot of time unsheltered outdoors, especially the homeless in our community.

Hypothermia is a decrease in body temperature. A person with moderate hypothermia (94-84 degrees Fahrenheit) may be conscious, but will be lethargic, apathetic, cool and pale. The high-risk group for hypothermia is very likely elderly persons without access to heat. Severe hypothermia results when the core temperature drops below 84 degrees Fahrenheit. A person will most likely be unconscious, with cold skin and rigid muscles.

When it’s especially cold outside, anyone can be affected by hypothermia if you don’t dress in layers and seek shelter when possible. Learn more about hypothermia from our Fire and Rescue Department.

Since 2005, the County’s Hypothermia Prevention Program has prevented death and serious injuries among Fairfax County most vulnerable residents by ensuring that no one must sleep outside during the winter months. The program is available to any adult in need of immediate shelter.

Accommodations are provided within existing shelters that serve single adults as well as in auxiliary programs that are administered in partnership with various faith communities throughout the County. The program provides warm shelter, food, and other supportive services to connect guests to a variety of basic needs to include clothing, employment, housing and more.

Call the County’s non-emergency phone line at (703) 691-2131, TTY 711, if you see someone at night who is unsheltered and you think could be at risk of hypothermia.

As we're starting to see an uptick in COVID-19 cases, the federal government is once again offering four free tests per household via the U.S. Postal Service. Sign up at covidtests.gov.

For additional testing opportunities, visit the Virginia Department of Health's Testing Locator.

Braddock-based nonprofit America's Adopt a Soldier is hosting their 12th Annual Christmas Day Care Packing event. Join them in saying “thank you” to our Veterans and Deployed Service Members for their service and sacrifices. Volunteers will be packing care packages and care letters for our deployed and our veterans in Veterans Homes and Hospitals.

December 25, 2022

1:00 - 5:00 p.m.

American Legion Post 176, 6520 Amherst Avenue, Springfield, VA 22150

Learn more and register on the Eventbrite page

There are a lot more recyclable items during the holiday season.

Items such as paper holiday cards, gift bags/boxes and electronics are more abundant. There may be more food scraps following large holiday dinners, as well as single-use items like red cups (not recyclable), paper plates and plastic utensils.

Visit the Fairfax Recycles page for a list of what should and should NOT be recycled, information on Christmas tree disposal, and ideas to reduce gift and food waste.

Fairfax County Police Chief Kevin Davis began a Chief's Spotlight video series to highlight the tremendous work that our officers do every day. The most recent Chief's Spotlight shows officers interacting with local school children and teachers on a field trip, to ensure their safety:

This week, FCPD officers answered the call for a stray llama near the Fairfax County Parkway and Popes Head Road. Watch the video of the llama rescue. (After a brief stay at the Fairfax County Animal Shelter, Kolby the llama was reunited with her owner.)

CAC Community Engagement Meeting January 3

The West Springfield Community Advisory Committee (CAC) will be hosting a Community Engagement Meeting January 3, 2023, at 7:00 p.m. These meetings offer the community a chance to dialogue and communicate more effectively with officers of the Fairfax County Police Department. 

Their speaker will be SGT Terence Bridges from the School Resource Officer program. The meeting will be held in person at the West Springfield District Station, 6140 Rolling Road, Springfield, VA. If you have any questions, contact MPO Tony Capizzi at (703) 277-2363.

Additional FCPD events will be posted in the Braddock Beacon.

Credit Card Skimmers

Please be careful with your credit/debit cards this holiday season. You’ve heard about skimmers at ATMs and other points of sale, but what are they? Skimmers are illegally installed devices that capture card data or PINs. This data is often used to create fake debit or credit cards, giving criminals the chance to steal from your accounts.

How can you spot a skimming device?

• Look for any loose, crooked, or damaged areas or scratch marks on the ATM or point-of-sale terminal. If you notice something unusual, do not use it.

• Give the edges of the keypad a tug before entering your PIN.

• Cover the keypad with your other hand while entering your PIN to prevent a camera from recording it.

• Try to use ATMs in a well-lit or indoor location.

• Use credit and debit cards with chip technology.

• Avoid using any cards that have a linked account.

• Monitor your accounts and credit report for unusual activity.

• If you believe you have found a skimming device, call the non-emergency line at (703) 691-2131.

If you or a loved one has been scammed, file a report with the FCPD's Financial Crimes Online Reporting (FiCOR) system.

New Year, New Career with FCPD

Join the Fairfax County Police on January 7 for their upcoming hiring expo where attendees will learn about the hiring process and experience academy life. Visit the Eventbrite page for more info.

According to the Capital Area Food Bank’s 2022 Hunger Report, 41 percent of Fairfax County households with children experience food insecurity. Across the U.S. in 2019, 10 percent of households were, at times, unable to acquire adequate food for one or more household members because they had insufficient money and other resources to purchase food.

The Fairfax Food Council has developed a toolkit to support schools, PTAs and other volunteers who want to start an easy to implement food rescue program at a Fairfax County (or any) school. The Care to Share Toolkit is a hands-on/how-to toolkit which provides a very direct, step-by-step approach to support efforts to rescue food waste in our schools.   

The Community Services Board has partnered with the Virginia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services to launch REVIVE!, a program that makes naloxone available to lay rescuers to reverse opioid overdoses. Opioids include prescribed medications like hydrocodone and oxycodone, in addition to illicit drugs like heroin.

REVIVE! training is available virtually on several dates in January through March, training individuals on what to do and not do in an overdose situation, how to administer naloxone, and what to do afterwards. Each attendee also receives a free REVIVE! kit, which includes all the supplies needed to administer naloxone. The medication itself can be acquired at a pharmacy after completing the training.

Ring in the new year with a hike on Fairfax County trails! Even better, take a great photo and win a prize.

The Fairfax County Park Authority and the Fairfax County Park Foundation are teaming up once again to present the First Hike Fairfax Photo Contest on New Year’s weekend, Saturday, December 31, 2022 through Sunday, January 1, 2023. More information is available on the Park Authority website.

Have you moved in the past three years? Has your address or contact information changed? Please make sure Medicaid has your current mobile phone number, email, and mailing address so your records are up to date. It’s important to make sure you can be reached with information about changes to your health insurance. There may be steps you need to take to keep your coverage. Update your info today!

• Visit Common Help
• Visit Cover Virginia for information about Medicaid in multiple languages
• Call 1 (855) 242-8282 (TDD: 1-888-221-1590)
• Email DFSMyCase@FairfaxCounty.gov
• Call (703) 324-7500 for more information

Take Precautions to Prevent the Flu, COVID-19, RSV and Other Viruses this Season

This year’s flu season is already showing early, an indicator that this season may be worse than recent years, so don’t delay in getting vaccinated against flu and COVID-19 to help prevent serious illness in your home. There are also increasing numbers of Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) cases, which may cause serious illness and hospitalization in children and older adults.

Pediatricians and healthcare providers are already seeing high volumes of patients with respiratory illnesses seeking care. Across Virginia, emergency department and urgent care clinic visits involving patient diagnoses of RSV have quadrupled since early September and remain high.

To enjoy the holidays and protect yourself and your family against flu, RSV, and other respiratory illnesses, take the following steps:

• Make an appointment to get a flu vaccine as soon as possible. Everyone 6 months and older should get a flu vaccine (with rare exceptions). Flu vaccines are widely available at doctors’ and pediatricians’ offices, grocery stores, and pharmacies.
• Get vaccinated against COVID-19 if you have not done so already. Get boosted if you have been vaccinated and it has been at least 2 months since your last vaccine dose. Bivalent booster doses are available for vaccinated individuals five years and older. Information for parents and caregivers about COVID-19 vaccines is available online from the CDC. Find out where you can get a COVID-19 vaccine or booster in your community by visiting vaccines.gov or call the Fairfax Health Department at (703) 324-7404.
• Parents/caregivers of sick children should keep students home from school and other activities to help limit the spread of infection.
• Adults who become ill are also encouraged to stay home to limit the risk of spreading illness and contact their healthcare provider for evaluation, testing and/or guidance. There are treatment options for both COVID-19 and influenza; people are encouraged to seek care quickly and talk to their healthcare provider about possible treatment options.
• Don’t forget to wash hands regularly, avoid touching the face with unwashed hands, cover the mouth when coughing or sneezing, and limit the time children spend in large group settings with contagious individuals whenever possible.

The increases in respiratory illnesses are a good reminder to Virginians to get vaccinated, take simple prevention steps, and seek appropriate medical care and guidance if you become sick.