FOTO conducted a watershed education program for a group of Summer Camp youngsters at the Lake Ridge Marina on July 24, 2006. Wetland Tray models were introduced and should be available later in the Fall to schools and other organizations. Our guest speaker for this occasion was Ms.Holly Wootten, Environmental Engineer and Outreach Specialist for PWSWCD.
Holly Wootten
Presentation Tools
Holly and attendees
AS PART OF OUR PROGRAM OF ENGAGING THE SPANISH SPEAKING COMMUNITY OF NORTHERN VIRGINIA, FOTO SPONSORED TWO EVENTS, ONE IN THE FALL’04 AND ANOTHER IN THE SPRING’05.
EVENT AT JENNIE DEAN PARK, FOUR MILE RUN, ARLINGTON.
The first event took place on Saturday, November 13, 2004, 12 noon to 2 pm, when we joined forces with Arlingtonians for a Clean Environment to organize a cleanup of the Four Mile Run. FOTO provided snacks and refreshments. Volunteers received a certificate of appreciation from Governor Warner of Virginia.
Thirty seven volunteers met at the park along the Jennie Dean Park and collected several trash bags, mattresses and other heavy objects. The following volunteers participated:
David Aburto Garcia
Ricardo Alvarado Lopez
Hugo Ardon Morales
James Bosso
Juan Martinez
Richard Stern
Melissa Avenius
Doug Grepier
Andres Tobar
Carlos Corea
Cristobal Montoya
FedericoNy
Ali Legnos
Hien Vuong
Andrew Yao
Jiali Bai
Emily Barnes
Jonathan Hakakian
Norvin Stevens
Kurt Stevens
Matthew Wilson
M. Nesh
Jose Eleazar Ventura
Carlos Geovanny Montes
Audrey Ford
Katie Schuette
Julie Ann Miranda-Brobeck
Patrick Heydori
Joshua Lee
Cervando Uria
Juan Torres
Juan Ramon
Jaime Omar
Juan Ramon Funez
Juan Ventura
Elenor Hodges
German A. Vanegas
The Jennie Dean Park is located in Shirlington, next to the Four Mile Run, 3630 27th Street, Arlington, VA, where several bilingual signs have been posted.
UNVEILING OF BILINGUAL SIGNS ON ALEXANDRIA EARTH DAY 2005
Foto joined the Alexandria Earth Day Planning Committee to help plan and coordinate the Alexandria Earth Day’2005 Celebration. This event took place on Saturday, April 30, 2005, 9:00 am – 12:00 pm. Several local elected officials were present and everyone enjoyed latin-american food prepared by Spectrum Restaurant, courtesy of FOTO. Due to rain the celebration was moved indoors to the Cora Kelly School Gymnasium.
Mayor Euille, Alex Vanegas, Ray Ferguson, Jay Fisette & German Vanegas
Unveiling of Bilingual Signs
Unveiling of Bilingual Signs
Earth Day Exhibits
FOTO Exhibit
DRIZZLING RAIN SHOWERS DID NOT DETER MORE THAN 80 VOLUNTEERS TO SHOW UP FOR OUR SPRING 2005 CLEANUP!
The original April 2nd cleanup had to be cancelled due to heavy rains and severe thunderstorms. We waited until 8:00 AM when we decided to call off the event. Despite the inclement weather, many volunteers still came to the four sites and went ahead with the cleanup. Finally, on Saturday, April 23, the weather held up and we were able to proceed with the river cleanup. However, because of the inconsistence of the weather many of our regular volunteers stayed away.
TOWN OF OCCOQUAN -- Claudia Cruise and Betty Vanegas registered 18 volunteers, including our State Delegate Michele McQuigg and several Woodbridge H.S. ROTC students, who collected about 22 bags of trash and other debris.
LAKE RIDGE MARINA -- Bud Kraft, Renate Vanegas, Kathy and Chuck Burch coordinated 36 volunteers who picked up 50 bags of trash, tires and other items. LTC Matthews and SFC Elliott and their ROTC students went to work. Also students from Osbourn and Godwin joined the volunteers.
BULLRUNMARINA -- John Rothrock coordinated 14 volunteers who picked up about 15 bags of trash, tires and other refuse. JerryFerguson, Channel 10, Fairfax Public Access, who is helping FOTO to prepare a bilingual video, filmed the cleanup operations.
FOUNTAINHEAD MARINA -- Bob Lerch, assisted by Mike Smedley and Bill Cole directed the 15 volunteers who picked up 12 bags of trash and several tires. Our best wishes go to Bradford Patterson, a senior at RobinsonSecondary School, and a volunteer, who will be attending the AlabamaUniversity in the Fall.
In addition to the above, FOTO thanks the following: Kathy Burch, our Supply Manager; PW Community Council; Prince William Park Authority; Northern Virginia Park Authority; Virginia Department of Transportation, Lake Ridge Division; LTC Franklyn Matthews, director of the Woodbridge HS ROTC Program; Jug Jagodnik and Steve Horvath, Lake Braddock Crew; Bill Olson and Danielle Derwin, and the other FOTO members who worked in the planning of this event.
Following are the 83 volunteers:
Christa Teague
Agnew Elizabeth
Joseph Selkow
Gilberto Treviño
Robert Keller
Andrea Gill
Shawna Fellers
Andrew Myers
Claudia Cruise
Michelle McQuigg
Alex Vanegas
Christy Bierbaum
Julie Bechtel
Ariana Merrill
Louis Veney
Laura Sappingfield
Elizabeth Gallegos
Betty Vanegas
Michael Ssenyonga
SFC Fred Elliott
Sue Schlee
Bob Schlee
Akilah Sanderson
Jazmyn Dzansi
Maudisa Smith
Kathy Burch
Chuck Burch
Jackie Vanegas
Jason Nobles
Keith Link
Nathan LeValley
Andrew Kundrock
Michael O’Connell
Angela Hurler
Nic Cunningham
Kira Bolton
Paige Bolton
Kevin Manley
Jerry Manley
Jacob Frank
Malcolm Patterson
Renate Vanegas
Ernest Ehlinger
Chanel Fautleroy
DeNeisha Knox
Wayne Fauntleroy
LTC Franklyn G. Matthews
Tonya Lantonkpode
Francis Allen
Amy McGowan
Wesley Wright
Estrella Vasilescu
Sarah Web
Bud Kraft
Duane DeBruyne
Reis DeBruyne
Vern Torney
Max Torney
Mickey McCarthy
Mike McCarthy
Kelly McCarthy
German Vanegas
John Rothrock
Martin Leppert
Tania Leppert
Brad Leppert
Mark Leppert
William Reid
Jerry Ferguson
Robert Lerch
Mindy Obi
Michael Smedley
Richard Stretton
James Thomas
Bradford Patterson
Bill Cole
Amanda C. May
Diane Black
Alvin Black
Anniell Miller
Scott Davidow
Alyson Davidow
Micaela Davidow
OCTOBER 23, 2004 CLEANUP WAS A SUCCESS. MORE THAN 250 VOLUNTEER SHOWED UP!
Welcome to Osbourn Park High School, Lake Braddock High School, PW Group Home for Girls, RobinsonHigh School, Boy Scout Troop 994 and Girl Scout Troops 1504 and 1006 who joined us for the first time.
TOWN OF OCCOQUAN. Claudia Cruise and Betty Vanegas were in charge to help the 65 volunteers collect about 70 bags of trash and other debris. There were 50 ROTC cadets, six OsbournHigh School students and nine other volunteers.
LAKE RIDGE MARINA. Renate Vanegas coordinated 65 volunteers who picked up 60 bags of trash, bicycles and miscellaneous items. 16 ROTC cadets, 11 Girl Scouts, 26 OsbournHigh School students, and 12 other volunteers worked from 9am to 12 noon to collect trash along the river.
In addition to cleaning up the river along Cannon Bluff, Chuck Burch transported the trash collected in the town of Occoquan to its final dumpster.
BULLRUNMARINA. John Rothrock, assisted by Bud Kraft and Alex Vanegas, coordinated the 51 volunteers that picked up about 50 bags of trash, tires and other refuse. Four Osbourn HS students, eight Lake Braddock Crew Boosters, nine PW Group Home volunteers, 11 Bull Run Rotarians, and 19 other volunteers joined in the efforts to clean up the area.
FOUNTAINHEAD MARINA. Laura Grape, assisted by Bill Olson, Dave Fellers and Bob Lerch, directed the 69 volunteers that picked up 100 bags of trash, 80 tires and many other items. Bill Cole, Occoquan Watershed Coalition, Laura Grape, Bill Olson, Bob Lerch, Lake Braddock Crew Booster and others recruited all the volunteers, among them, 45 Lake Braddock High School students, five Robinson High School students, 11 Boy Scout Troop 994 and eight other volunteers who took part in cleaning up this area along the river.
In addition to the above, FOTO extend their thanks to: Kathy Burch, our Supply Manager; PW Clean Community Council; Prince William Park Authority; Northern Virginia Park Authority; Virginia Department of Transportation, Lake Ridge Division; LTC Franklyn Matthews, Director of the Woodbridge HS ROTC Program; Jug Jagodnik and Steve Horvath, Lake Braddock Crew; Claudia Cruise, Clerk, Town of Occoquan; and the other FOTO members who assisted in the preparation of this clean up event.
VOLUNTEERS.In addition to the below listed volunteers who signed in, there were many others who had not registered, but participated in the clean up. Click here to see names.
The Fairfax County Water Authority sent this Letter
Volunteers from around the area spent the morning ofSaturday, April 17 2004, hauling well over 2 tons of trash from the Occoquan Watershed. With the help of Bill Olson, Laura and Rob Grape, and other volunteers we were able to cleanup Fountainhead Marina. The Lake Braddock Buster, MESH of Manassas, John Rothrock and other volunteers cleaned up the Bull Run Marina. Alex Vanegas and Claudia Cruise joined other volunteers to pick up litter in the Town of Occoquan. Bud Craft and Renate Vanegas organized the clean up at the Lake ridge Marina. Several people were involved in planning this event: Kathy and Chuck Burch were in charge of supplies; Bonnie Nahas, PW Clean Community Council; LTC Mathews, ROTC Program Director; Helga Perrin; Chesapeake Bay Conservation Fund; Prince William Park Authority and FOTO members.
Volunteers:
Mohammad Ahmed, Danny Beavers, Birkett Becker, Russell Becker, James Bigos, Seanta Brundage, A Clark, Nicole Coppock, Erika Cruz, Duane Debruyne, Dave Fellers, Stephanie Feulner, Jug Jagodnik, Anthony Johnson, Evelyn Kiley, Joy Lavigne, Ed Leggett, Amber Naef, David and Ron Nix, Caitlin Ray, Bill Reap, John, Nikki and Patti Rothrock, Jerry Sherman, Lisa Troyer, Whitney Worley, Germán Vanegas.
Danielle Darwin, Laura and Rob Grape, Bob Lerch, Brooks Noble, Erika Waxbam, Bill Olson.
Kelli Brosnan, Kathy and Chuck Burch, Joshua and John Chandler, Janis Cook, Maryellen Daniels, Megan Daniels, Taylor Day, Duane Dupon, Whitney Hurlbrink, Becky Kaska, Bud and Janet Kraft, Mark Mckenzie, Dora and Michelle Morrisey, Stanley Sequeira, Anthony and Betty Vanegas, Jackie and Renate Vanegas, Cito Vanegas.
Barbara Albuquerque, Sarah and Judy Chang, Claudia Cruise, Carl and Robert Harper, James Jones, Tatjana Lyons, James O’Connor, Doug and Nalini Rhea, Donna and Meghan Venturini, Alex Vanegas.
LTC Franklyn Matthews, SGM Joe Neely, SFC Fred Elliott, Carroll Alexander, Francis Allen, Miguel Batista, Keila Beaman, Jill and Juliel Bechtel, Jesus Berrios, Christina Bierbaum, Angel Bonilla, Patrick Carlton, Felicia Cavender, Eric Davis, Andrew Driggers, Amanda Dyson, Jenny Ecal, Shawna Fellers, Monica Gibson, Andrea Gill, Mayra Gomez, Steven Gonzalez, Brittany Griffie, Danielle Harris, Alissah Hickman, Christin Johnson, Robert Keller, Alex Landivar, Christopher Martin, Kari McCaslin, William Moon, Lashanta Moore, Matthew Novak, Tina Perez, Ryan Perry, Marco Quiroga, Michelle Rodriguez, Stephen Rose, Jessica Seles, David Santacruz, Cynthia Santiago, Joseph Selkow, Casey Sherman, Kameyo Shuler, Tanika Skipper, Nicole Suthard, Justin Swithenbank, Brandon Talbot, Francis Tan, Christa Teague, Brandilyn Thompson, Gilberto Treviňo, Ashley Vasquez, Louis Veney III, Chalissia Ward, Sarah Webb, Tamiquia Wood.
October 18, 2003- Clean up
Friends of the Occoquan wishes to thank all the volunteers that contributed to a very successful and productive Fall 2003 Clean up of the Occoquan watershed.
WOODBRIDGE, VA, October 18, 2003 – Volunteers from around the area and as far as Silver Spring, MD came to the Lake Ridge Marina, Bull Run Marina, Fountainhead Park, and the Town of Occoquan to volunteer their time and energy to help clean up the Occoquan watershed.Individuals and community groups including SGM Joe Neely, SFC Fred Elliott and cadets from the Woodbridge High School JROTC, Boy Scouts Troop 1115 of McLean, George Mason University, Godwin Middle School and the Bull Run Rotary Club came out and spent a beautiful Saturday morning hauling well over 3 tons of trash from the Occoquan Watershed. Bud Craft used his pontoon boat to take volunteers to different locations in the river. Claudia Cruise, Kathy and Chuck Burch were in charge of the volunteers cleaning up the Town of Occoquan. Bill Olson was in charge of Fountainhead cleaning operations. Maner and Stacey Lawton were in charge of cleaning up the Bull Run Marina; they used their two boats to ferry volunteers and pick up trash bags. Alex Vanegas and the Bull Run Rotary Club helped to clean the Bull Run Marina. Also present Chairman Sean Connaughton, who has supported FOTO since its inception, worked hands-on together with Marty Nohe, Prince William County Soil Conservation District director, Corey Stewart and David Brickley, former Director of the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation. As usually John Rothrock and John Chandler used their boats to transport trash to the collection points. Numerous tires, barrels, lawn chairs, sports equipment, and 150 trash bags were gathered up in an effort to maintain the beauty and integrity of the Occoquan River.
Cleanup pictures
Alex Vanegas, State Attorney General Jerry Kilgore; Sean Connaugton, Chairman, P.W. County Board of Supvr.
OCCOQUAN CELEBRATION 30TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE CLEAN WATER ACT OCTOBER 19, 2002 TOWN OF OCCOQUAN, VIRGINIA
FOTO Presented Certificates of Appreciation to Stakeholders for their efforts to improve the environment.
Hon. Tom Davis, US Congressman
Hon. Kate Hanley, Chairman, Board of Supervisors, FairfaxCounty.
Hon. Elaine McConnell, Springfield Supervisor, FairfaxCounty
Hon. Leo Smith, Councilman, Town of Occoquan
Claudia Cruise, Clerk, Town of Occoquan
Merrili Pierce, Environmentalist, FairfaxCounty
General Al Akers, Occoquan Watershed Coalition
Bill Cole, Occoquan Watershed Coalition
Nancy Finucan, PW Soil Conservation District
Julia Claypool, Northern Virginia Park Authority
Tracy Hannigan, PW Park Authority
Dave Fellers, No. Virginia Park Authority
Aileen Streng, Potomac News
Randi Deiotte-Reid, OldBridge Observer
Mike Rissenman, OccoquanRegionalPark
Janet Ellis, PW Clean Community Council
Deb Oliver, PW Public Works
Kim Hosen, Environmentalist
Cliff Fairweather, Audobon Society
John Rothrock, FOTO
John Chandler, FOTO
Bill Olson, FOTO
Bud Kraft, FOTO
Jug Jadgonik, LakeBraddock Crew Boosters
Masters of Ceremony: Alex Vanegas and Bud Kraft
Bill Cole, Gen. Al Akers, Bud Kraft
Alex Vanegas, Leo Smith, Bud Kraft
Alex Vanegas, Leo Smith, Bud Kraft
Alex Vanegas, Nancy Finucan, Bud Kraft
Kate Hanley, Alex Vanegas
Alex Vanegas, Nancy Finucan, Bud Kraft
Alex Vanegas, Ruth Griggs, Bud Kraft
Alex Vanegas, Ruth Griggs, Bud Kraft
Sean Connaughton, Bud Kraft
Sean Connaughton
Sean Connaughton
Mike May
Bonnie Nahas
Tracy Hannigan
Tracy Hannigan
Kack Koogoomjian
Alex vanegas and Kate Hanley
Ruth Griggs
Ruth Griggs
Opening Ceremony
Opening Ceremony
Julia Claypool
John Chandler
Alex Vanegas and Bud Kraft
Award Recipients
Award Recipients
German A. Vanegas, Jug and Christina Jagodnik, Bud Kraft
German Vanegas & Cong. Tom Davis
INTERNATIONAL/BILINGUAL SIGN PROJECT
An international/bilingual sign for the Four Mile Run of Arlington and Alexandria has been completed and will soon be installed. Katherine Mull and Bill Hicks, Northern Virginia Regional Commission; Aileen Winquist and Howard Hudgins, Arlington County; Judy Lo and Tom Wassaff, City of Alexandria; Laura Grape, Fairfax County; Elenor Hodges, Arlingtonians for a Clean Environment; and Germán Vanegas, FOTO, met several times and developed the sign shown below. All of the above mentioned deserve our thanks and appreciation, especially Aileen who was the coordinator and Laura and Judy who suggested new approaches to the design. Our next step will be the installation of 12 signs along the Four Mile Run. We will be notifying the public of this upcoming event through this website and other media outlets.
FOTO will continue with its efforts to keep our watersheds clean and encourage all Virginians to become stakeholders of our rivers and streams. We will engage the Spanish speaking community, especially those that do not speak English. FOTO is going to enlist the help of Hispanic organizations such as Soccer Leagues, Churches, TV and radio stations, and other local community organizations.
Aside from the sign installation at the Four Mile Run, FOTO has plans to install signs in Fairfax county, City of Alexandria, Northern Virginia Park Authority installations, Prince William county and Town of Occoquan.
WATER QUALITY MONITORING FOTO has established three specific goals for this project. 1. To obtain useful biological, chemical and physical data to assess the quality of the OccoquanRiver. 2. To assess water quality changes that occur over a three-year period near transportation areas, bridges, that intersect the river and tributaries. 3. To train and educate citizens with the basic skills and knowledge to effectively monitor the Occoquan Watershed.
FY 2003 FOTO Water Quality Program
Water Quality Monitoring was conducted during the months of May –October 2003 at the following sites within the Occoquan Watershed.
