The Mothers of North Arlington (MONA)

This organization holds monthly socials on the second Thursday of each month at 10:00 a.m. at the Cherrydale United Methodist Church. The church is located at 3701 Lorcom Lane, on the corner of Lorcom Lane and Nelly Custis Drives.

MONA is a local support group for mothers who primarily stay at home with their children, including those who have home-based businesses or work part-time but are home with their children during the day. The group offers a wide range of activities, including special programs for mothers, playgroups for children, a monthly Moms Night Out and get-togethers for the whole family. MONA also participates in service projects benefitting needy children and families in our community, such as read alouds for The Reading Connection and a Secret Santa program for Arlington County. Membership is open to all Northern Virginia mothers but primarily draws from the area North of Route 50 in Arlington.

The dates for the business meetings for 2004 are: January 8, February 12, March 11, April 8, May 13, June 10, July 8, August 12, September 9, October 14, November 11, December 9.

Children are welcome at all MONA activities. For more information, please see www.monamoms.org or email info@monamoms.org or call 1-866-248-7670 Ext.1021.

November 22nd Planning and Zoning College

If you haven't noticed recently, there are changes going on around Arlington. There are new (sometimes big) houses being built in old established neighborhoods. Two storey commercial buildings from the 1950's are coming down and are being replaced by modern glass towers.

You want to have some control over what happens in your neighborhood, but it can be hard to do unless you understand the planning and zoning process. How can you learn all that? The Civic Federation will present a symposium on planning and zoning basics on November 22nd, from 10 am to Noon. The class will be held at the Department of Human Services Building, 3033 Clarendon Blvd., Rooms 7E-7F.

This class is also highly recommended for Civic Associations who have not yet had the experience of having a developer come to your neighborhood. Be prepared, learn the basics! Please contact bill@civfed.org or Martha@civfed.org to RSVP, or with any questions.

Pruning Class

On Saturday, November 22 from 9 am to noon, Arlington ReLeaf will give a pruning class. This is a hands-on class; you will be assigned a tree to prune, and you will actually do it. Bring hand clippers and pruning saws if you have them. The class will be overseen by Adam Downing of Virginia Tech. It will be held at the intersection of Washington Blvd and Arlington Blvd (Route 50) on the NE highway cloverleaf. Park on Washington Blvd north of the intersection where the houses are, and walk back to the site. There will be signs. Children are welcome but a parent must be present. No animals. RSVP 703-527-8706

Arlington ReLeaf is an all volunteer citizens grassroots group that plants trees in an attempt to maintain Arlington's tree canopy, and provides educational programs for citizens about trees and their needs.

Urban Forestry Master Plan Public Forum

WHO: Arlington County Department of Parks, Recreation and Community Resources and The Arlington County Urban Forestry Commission

WHAT: The second public meeting to develop the Urban Forestry Master Plan. The Master Plan will analyze: Arlington's entire forest canopy; identify tree maintenance & planting needs; and will develop longterm goals for Arlington's trees. Results from the County's recent tree inventory will be shared at this forum, as well as draft goals and recommendations to be contained in the master plan.

WHERE:

Ellipse Art Gallery
4350 N. Fairfax Dr.
Arlington, VA 22203

FREE Parking available on site or take the METRO to Ballston

WHEN: Monday, November 24, 2003, 7:00- 9:30 P.M.

Broad participation from the community is needed to ensure our canopy's sustainability! For more information or to request accommodations for the meeting, please contact Robert Corletta at (703) 228-1863 or e-mail trees@co.arlington.va.us. Participants are asked to please RSVP.

Civic Federation Meeting

The next meeting of Arlington's Civic Federation (of which Williamsburg is a member) will be held on 2 December and will focus on the Arlington School Board. The Civic Federation meetgs at 7:30 pm, at the Hazel Conference Center at Virginia Hospital Center-Arlington.

Extension Master Gardener Training Program

The deadline for enrollment for the Master Gardnener Training course, the pre-requisite to becoming an Extension Master Gardener ends December 12, 2003. The course egins Tuesday January 13, 2003 at 6:30 PM and runs Tuesday and Thursday evenings through March. This is the first time the course has been offered at night in several years. It won't be offered at this hour for several more years.

Master Gardener is a national program sponsored by the Cooperative Extension Service in each state. Participants receive over 60 hours of classroom training in practical horticulture then volunteer 60 hours teaching others in assigned projects. Residents of Arlington and the City of Alexandria have priority over those out of the
jurisdictions.

Volunteer activities must take place in either Arlington County or City of Alexandria on projects of public concern. The local Extension Office guides the volunteer component.

Cost of the class is $140.00 if you live in Arlington County or Alexandria City and $190.00 for all others. Instructors are experts from Cooperative Extension in N. Virginia, other public sectors, Master Gardeners, and the "green industry." The class takes place at the Fairlington Community Center at 3308 S. Stafford Street in Arlington.

For more information and an application form please call 703-228-6414 or download it from http://info.ag.vt.edu/vce/offices/newsletters/form.pdf

The point of contact is Tom Tyler, Extension Agent - Environmental Horticulture, Unit Coordinator, Virginia Cooperative Extension - Arlington County, 3308 S. Stafford St., Arlington, VA 22206

Volunteer Project: Invasive Plan Removal at Barcroft Park

On Sunday, December 7, 1 to 3 p.m. Arlingtonians for a Clean Environment is sponsoring an Invasive Plant Removal project at Barcroft Park, 4100 S. Four Mile Run Drive, Arlington. Help remove exotic invasives including English ivy, porcelain berry, and honeysuckle bush from the park and stream valley. No experience needed.

Sign up for Arlington Emergency Alerts

If you don't want to keep a radio or TV on all day, but would still like a way to be alerted if an emergency occurs in Arlington, sign up for a new County service, which will send a text message to your cell phone, email or pager. When an incident or emergency occurs, authorized Arlington County Emergency Management personnel will rapidly notify you using the Community Alert System. How To Register

Airport Noise Update

The Civic Federation's Airport Issues Committee (AIC) has been actively participating in the Part 150 Noise Study that is underway at Reagan National Airport. Steve Baur, co-chair of the Airport Issues Committee, is a representative on the Part 150 Study Committee, and has been following the progress of the study as well as making suggestions relevant to the citizens of Arlington County. Many of the AIC members participated in the Part 150 Noise Study public meetings held in June in Alexandria and Washington, DC. Several were featured on local news programs. Over the next year, the committee's principal focus will be participation in the noise study, as this represents the best chance within the next ten to fifteen years for citizens of Arlington County to protect our quality of life. Suggestions for abating aircraft noise over Arlington are outlined in a position paper located on the Federation's website.

The Airport issues Committee has a monthly meeting, held on the third Thursday of each month, at a place to be announced. For more information on the AIC, or to participate in the monthly meetings, please contact Steve Geiger (steveg@civfed.org; 703-522-0026) or Steve Baur (Steveb@civfied.org; 703-525-5580) or log onto their web site at ACCF-Airport-Issues@yahoogroups.com.

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