Off The Shelf: May 17, 2013

Off the Shelf:

An e-mail newsletter from the Prince William Public Library System

May 17, 2013

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“The rhythm of the rails is all they feel” is a line from Steve Goodman’s song about a long train ride, and who among us isn’t a bit fascinated by the romance of train travel? This June 1^st, Historic Manassas will host the 19^th Annual Heritage Railway Festival in downtown Manassas, and will feature miniature trains, real train rides, bluegrass music and more.To prepare yourself, take a ride through the history of the railroad and its importance to Manassas, as well as its vital role in the Civil War (don’t forget, this is the Sesquicentennial year!).The first Manassas Junction rail depot was a small log building in 1852 and in July of 1861, Manassas became significant as the site of historic Civil War engagements. To read more, try: “Manassas: a Place of Passages” by Mulvaney or “The First Battle of Manassas” by Davis, among the many local history titles that feature photos and information about the town and its trains.

 

IN THE SPOTLIGHT

Take a look at these new fiction titles just out or on their way in May, courtesy of Beth Walker, Librarian I at Chinn Park:

Dead Ever After ( The 13^th and final book of the Sookie Stackhouse series) by Charlaine Harris

 

Silken Prey by John Sandford

 

A Delicate Truth by John Le Carre

 

Pirate Alley by Stephen Coonts

 

Robert B. Parker's Wonderland by Ace Atkins

 

Inferno by Dan Brown

 

Best Kept Secret by Jeffrey Archer

 

And the Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini

 

A Chain of Thunder: A Novel of the Siege of Vicksburg by Jeff Shaara

 

Deeply Odd: An Odd Thomas Novel by Dean Koontz

 

 

c) 2013 Prince William Public Library System

 

Questions or comments? Send an email to: librarywebmaster@pwcgov.org

A Dirty Story

It has been awhile since I've done this, but I'm going to indulge in a little brain dump this morning.  Not sure why I haven't done so recently or why I'm doing it now, though I've got my period, and sometimes I write or do more creative things around that time--again, don't know why.  Hormones are very interesting.

Don't you love how I just talk about my period like this, in the open, where anyone can read about it?  When I was a kid, I was told to shush about it, unless I was speaking to my mother, privately, which was a step up from the 1950's when you didn't talk about periods at all and pads came in unlabeled, brown paper bags.  But it was a small step.  At age 13, I still didn't know exactly where my vagina was, so when an aunt gave me a tampon one day and I told her I didn't know where to put it, there was some eyebrow raising.  Biology wasn't big in my house or my Catholic middle school.  In fact, it was almost taboo.  I was afraid to wash my privates because our 8th grade teacher told us not to touch ourselves.  I took this literally.  So I would kind of let the water run over my body, let the soap drip, rinse and hope for the best.  I was being good, even if not sanitary, right?

I enjoy the way my mind works sometimes, roaming from hormones to body parts to Catholic school to things we're brought up to believe.  If I were teaching writing right now and I saw a student writing this (after cringing because there really are things I don't want to know about my students), I would say, "What you need to write about is something you were taught to believe that is not true and the effect it had on you.  That's your topic."  Then we'd go through the outlining and drafting processes or maybe even skip outlining if it were a creative writing class or if the essay was intended to be a chronological narrative.  With the exception of tense changing and mechanics, most students don't have trouble organizing a narrative.  It's one of the easiest writing forms to teach and learn, which is probably why it's one of the first patterns presented in English composition texts.  Most of us know how to tell simple stories and explain why those stories have importance.  I think it's in our blood to do so.

People have told stories from the beginning of time.  We listen to stories as children and reveal our own.  As adults, we do it formally, professionally and socially, orally and in writing, through complex media and traditional paper/pen.  Story telling is part of the human experience.  We don't think about that when we've got to file a police report or write a narrative review of our employee or compose a few sentences about our prior work experience.  Yet that's story telling.  It's narrative.  It's not creative writing, per se (and probably shouldn't be), but it's a series of events that must be described in an orderly, meaningful way to create understanding.  In that, creative and factual story telling are similar.

There are whole books written on how to formulate a resume, which is, essentially, a story.  There are books on writing annual reports.  What are those except more stories?  And how about legal case files?  Testimony?  Those are some of the most interesting true stories.  Medical records?  Military briefings?  Stories.

Which leads me back to the question I might ask a student.  What is something we were taught to believe that ended up not being true, and how did that impact us?

You'll be happy to know that my practice of virtuous washing ended fairly quickly.  It's amazing what happens when you tell your best friend something and she laughs so hard she practically pees herself.  I'm a very clean person now, I assure you.  There are plenty of washcloths in our house.   

Make Your Opinion Known to the State Board of Education

Express your thoughts on proposed regulations allowing use of seclusion, restraint and aversive practices on students with disabilities in private school. Did you know the State Board of Education is considering proposed regulations governing the use of restraint, seclusion, and aversive practices for students with disabilities in private schools? The draft regulations would permit prone restraints and other restraints that could impede breathing and might injure, harm, or result in death. As proposed, the regulations would not fully protect a parent's right to know or be able to have a debriefing to work with the school to make changes. Additionally, the language does not limit these practices to emergencies where they are absolutely necessary to protect someone from physical harm.

The Virginia Department of Education has recognized stakeholder concerns and deferred action on these regulations. It is important that the State Board of Education hear from constituents.

To learn more, read the public comment statement developed by the Virginia Coalition for Students with Disabilities.

If you are an individual and you support these comments, you can send an email to BOE@doe.virginia.gov expressing your support for the Coalition's comments. Or you can write your own letter regarding their impact.

If you wish to sign on to the Coalition's comments on behalf of your organization and have the authority to do so, the Coalition asks that you use the webform.

The deadline is Tuesday, May 21 at 5pm for organizational sign-ons. 

Comprehensive Plan Amendments and Recently Initiated Annual Comprehensive Plan Amendments

Five Comprehensive Plan Amendment applications were received by the Planning Office for the 2013 Annual Comprehensive Plan amendment Review. All five applications were initiated by the Board of County Supervisors on March 12, 2013.

Following initiation, applicants need to submit additional information in order for the cases to be heard by the

Planning Commission and then sent to the Board of County Supervisors

for final action. Maps and application materials for these cases can be found on the Comprehen-

sive Plan Amendments web page at www.pwcgov.org/CPA.

.

Midwood / Midwood Center

–

A request to change +/- 118 acres from CEC, Community Employment Center, REC,

Regional Employment Center and ER, Environmental Resource to SRM, Suburban Residential Medium and

ER, Environmental Resource. The site is located on the south side of John Marshall Highway (Route 55) ap-

proximately 2,500 feet west of its intersection with James Madison Highway (Route 15).

Heritage Crossing

–

A request to change +/- 16 acres from GC, General Commercial, SRH, Suburban Residential High,

and ER, Environmental Resource to GC, General Commercial, SRH, Suburban Residential High, and ER,

Environmental Resource. The site is located on the north side of Sudley Road, 250 feet from the intersection

of Barrett Drive and Sudley Road. The principal frontages of the property are along the Fairmont Avenue

right-of-way.

Richmond Station

–

A request to change +/- 29 acres from FEC, Flexible-Use Employment Center, O, Office, and ER,

Environmental Resource to SRH, Suburban Residential High and ER, Environmental Resource. The site is

located 300 feet east of the intersection of Liberia Avenue and Richmond Avenue, extending to the north

along the city line of Manassas. The application was initiated with an expanded study area to look at the adja-

cent land uses.

Reserve at Cannon Branch

–

A request to change +/- 11 acres from NC, Neighborhood Commercial and ER, Environ-

mental Resource to SRL, Suburban Residential Low and ER, Environmental Resource. The site is located on

the south side of Godwin Drive at its intersection with Hastings Drive.

Stone Haven

–

A request to change +/- 864 acres from SRL, Suburban Residential Low, ER, Environmental Resource,

and FEC, Flexible-Use Employment Center to designations consistent with the Stone Haven Land Use Study

Blended Map. The site is located on the northeast side of Linton Hall Road (Route 619) and bounded by

Devlin Road to the east and Wellington Road to the north.

The full text of this notification and other updates can be found at
http://www.pwcgov.org/government/dept/development/Documents/Alliance_%20Spring%202013.pdf.