Dear Neighbor,

First, I'd like to wish you and your loved ones a Happy Thanksgiving! We have much to be thankful for here in the Braddock District -- our dedicated public service employees, strong neighborhoods, community members who volunteer and donate to help our neighbors, and so much more.

Santa Train Ticket Sales

After a three-year hiatus, the Virginia Railway Express's Santa Train will return on December 10! Tickets for this popular event will go on sale both online and in-person starting Monday, November 28 at 10:00 a.m. The library meeting room next to my office (9002 Burke Lake Road, Burke VA) will serve as the sales location for the Burke Centre trains.

Residents interested in purchasing tickets should plan ahead as there are a limited number of tickets and we expect them to sell out quickly. More details are available on the VRE website.

If you're visiting my office, you can bring winter coats or nonperishable food items to donate to one of our collection boxes.

Safety During the Thanksgiving Holiday

Thanksgiving is the number one day for cooking fires, so I encourage everyone to read these cooking safety tips from the Fire and Rescue Department. If you're traveling for Thanksgiving, be sure to be patient and aware in advance of road issues. On a related note, the I-66 Express Lanes outside the Beltway are now open in both directions with HOV-2 rules for toll-free travel in effect until December 5.

Best of Braddock Awards

Mark your calendars for the Best of Braddock awards ceremony and reception on December 7. At this event we will come together to recognize individuals and organizations who have put in the work to make their neighborhood or broader community a great place to live. Winners will be honored, and heavy hors d'oeuvres will be served.

Wednesday, December 7, 2022

9002 Burke Lake Rd., Burke, VA 22015

Reception 6:30 p.m. | Awards Ceremony 7:30 p.m.

Continue reading below for more information on:

• High School Cleanup Competition November 27 at Lake Accotink
• Meeting November 28 on Proposed Rezoning on Zion Drive
• November 29 Meeting on the Braddock Road Multimodal Improvement Project
• Food and Toy Drives
• GMU Events
• Get the Flu Vaccine

Supervisor James Walkinshaw

High School students looking for a service activity can compete with other schools at the Friends of Lake Accotink Park (FLAP) Trash Off: A High School Showdown! Combined, volunteers comb 497 acres to collect trash within the two-hour limit. Removing these harmful pollutants from the waterways and land not only improve the environment's health but also the health of our wildlife. Challenges are held on a quarterly basis, highlighting the school recovering the most trash at each event. An annual winner will also be selected. The team that collects the most trash wins a pizza party!

FLAP Trash Off: A High School Showdown! Quarterly Clean-Up Competition for FCPS High Schools

Sunday, November 27, from 12:00 - 2:00 p.m.

Lake Accotink Park Marina

7500 Accotink Park Road Springfield, VA 22150

Click here to sign up 

A revised rezoning proposal for 10121 Zion Drive, a wooded, undeveloped site known as the Day property, is currently under staff review. This 2.51-acre site is located on the west side of Zion Drive, just north of its intersection with Guinea Road and adjacent to the Burke Junction community. A Resource Protection Area (RPA) is located along the western boundary line.

Supervisor Walkinshaw will be holding a virtual community meeting on the application on Monday, November 28, at 7:00 p.m.

Join on your computer or mobile app

Click here to join the meeting on November 28

   Password: 100648

Or call in (audio only)

  Dial (888) 270-9936

  Conference code: 194172

Residents are encouraged to attend to learn more about the application, ask questions, and share their comments. The Planning Commission’s public hearing has been rescheduled for January 25.

Supervisor Walkinshaw will be joining VDOT for their virtual public information meeting to discuss the latest plans for the Braddock Road Multimodal Improvement Project, particularly for the critical Braddock Road intersections at Burke Lake Road, Rolling Road, and Wakefield Chapel Road/Danbury Forest Drive. This will be an opportunity to learn more, provide input, and have VDOT answer your questions about the project.

Braddock Road Multimodal Improvements - Second Virtual Public Information Meeting

Tuesday, November 29 at 7:00 p.m.

Sign up for the meeting at VDOT's project website.

FCPD Holiday Toy and Food Drive

Saturday, December 10, 2022 from 9:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. 

Giant Food Store 

8320 Old Keene Mill Road 

Springfield, VA 22152

Officers from the West Springfield District Police Station will be hosting a toy and food drive. 

They are asking for *NEW* unwrapped toys to be donated. These toys will be sent to their Motor Squad for the Santa’s Ride event. The Motor Squad will be delivering these toys to kids at the Inova Children’s Hospital and the Georgetown Hospital Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center.

The food will benefit ECHO. ECHO is the Ecumenical Community Helping others. It is an all-volunteer, 501(c)(3) charity that provides food and financial help to people with short-term emergencies. ECHO also provides clothes and household items to people who need them. 

Items that are requested are in order of priority: can vegetables, can soup, spaghetti sauce, pasta, jelly, vegetable oil, muffin mix, Jello/pudding mix, macaroni and cheese, pancake mix, can tomatoes, box rice, peanut butter, eggs, margarine, bread, condiments, can meat, tortillas, salsa, BBQ sauce, juice (both individual and family size), tea and coffee. "Family Sized" items only please. Extra-large items (25 lb. bags of flour, 5-6 lb. single cans of anything) are too large for distribution to ECHO client families, which have four people on average. 

Please stop by and donate. Officers and community volunteers will be located just outside the store to assist you. Thank you so much for your support!

Contact PFC Liam May (703-277-2357) at the West Springfield District Station with any questions.

ECHO donation boxes for food and winter coats are also located at Supervisor Walkinshaw's Office, 9002 Burke Lake Road, Burke VA 22015.

The Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department will be participating in the Annual National Capital Region Fire and EMS Departments’ 2022 Toys for Tots Campaign. The intent of the campaign is to “bring holiday joy and deliver a message of hope to children.” Stations will accept donations now through Sunday, December 11, 2022.

Collection boxes will be placed outside the front door of each fire and rescue station every morning. Residents will be able to drop off toys until 8:00 p.m. each evening.

Visit the Fire & Rescue Department Blog for more details.

What’s happening at George Mason University? Check out Today @ Mason, the university’s online calendar. View the overall calendar or sort by audience or location. Learn about Mason events at the Mason website.

The Mason Vision Series, a forum for Mason scholars to share their work with university colleagues and the community, continues on December 7 from 7:00 to 8:00 p.m. with Real Characters, Imagined Events: Celebrities and Historic Figures as Fodder for the Stage featuring Djola Branner, Director of the School of Theater. The discourse will examine how contemporary playwrights and directors are weaving fact and fiction, and creating theater that is at once entertaining, thought-provoking, and inspiring. The presentation will be accessible on GMU-TV. Learn more and register at the Vision Series website. 

Seasonal Flu - Get the Vaccine

Influenza, also known as the flu, is a highly contagious infection of the breathing system (nose, throat and lungs) caused by flu viruses.

Seasonal flu is caused by viruses that already circulate among people. Most people have some immunity and a vaccine is available to help prevent the flu. In the United States, flu season usually starts in late fall and lasts throughout the winter, sometimes into early spring. Each year, more than 200,000 people in the U.S. are hospitalized from complications of the flu, and about 36,000 die as a result.

Health experts urge everyone 6 months of age and older to get a flu shot this year and every year.

See: CDC's Frequently Asked Flu Questions: 2022-2023 Season. 

Where to Get a Flu Vaccine

Flu vaccine is available now in the community, including at pharmacies, doctors' offices, and grocery stores. Find a location near you using vaccines.gov.

The Health Department is offering flu shots for children and adults by appointment only. Call (703) 246-7100.

The following fees will apply for a flu vaccine at the Health Department: Uninsured: $25 adults & $21.24 children; Private Insurance: $30. Most health insurance plans cover flu shots for free. The Health Department is out-of-network for private health insurance. If you have private health insurance, you are encouraged to get the flu vaccine at an in-network provider.