Race Relations Coalition: With Open Minds and Open Hearts

Front Porch Magazine
November 2014 (pg. 11)

Protests in Ferguson, Missouri this summer prompted many people to closely consider the realities of racial inequalities within their own communities.  Ferguson showed us that all is not well, that fear is still a factor in our interactions with one another, and it inspired some toward positive action in our own area.  The Fredericksburg Area Race Relations Coalition, in partnership with Virginia Organizing, will hold its first Town Meeting on November 15, 2014, between 12 p.m. and 5 p.m. at Shiloh Baptist New Site on Sophia Street in Fredericksburg.  The event is free to the public, but registration is requested.

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Photo provided by Lee Criscuolo -  Eunice Haigler and Lee Criscuolo

Jay Flaherty: When in Doubt, Act Like a 7th Grader

Front Porch Magazine
December 2013 (pg 21)

It’s tough to reach students, especially middle school students.  With the noisy spectacle of our world today, making connections has become one of the most difficult challenges for teachers.  They must be adept at engaging students in a technology driven environment, where games become the norm and success is measured by reward alone.  So, when Jay Flaherty, a 7th grade civics teacher at Dixon-Smith Middle School in Stafford County, was nominated by a student last December for B101.5’s A+ Teacher of the Month and received a surprise visit from the DJs during lunch, he was humbled and honored.  You see, Mr. Flaherty is all about making connections with the kids, and they know it.

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Jay Flaherty teaches his 7th Grade government class at Dixon-Smith Middle School in Stafford County, VA.

Autumn Dalton: One Teacher

Front Porch Magazine
November 2013 (pg 7)

Recently, in her emboldened speech to the United Nations, Malala Yousafzai passionately proclaimed, “One child, one teacher, one book, one pen can change the world.”  Selflessly, Yousafzai has pressed educational inequalities to the global forefront, braving threats and defying death to bring her message to the world.  Yet, here in America, education and teachers are often portrayed in less than flattering light.  Here, the concentration is often on what schools are doing wrong, rather than on what committed teachers are doing right. 

One such teacher is Autumn Dalton, a seven year veteran of Stafford Senior High School’s English department.  Vivacious and vibrant as her fuscia tipped curls, Dalton says her choice of career was never a question.  “I’ve always liked knowing things and teaching people, and I have definitely always admired teachers.  I’ve wanted to be a teacher since kindergarten.  I went to a very poor elementary school, but there were some extremely dedicated women working there who were very good at what they did. ”

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Photo provided by Autumn Dalton

20 Years Strong: Fredericksburg's disAbility Resource Center

Front Porch Magazine
October 2013 (pg 28)

September traditionally kicks off the fall gala season, many of which are designed to benefit worthwhile organizations within our community.  One such gala will celebrate and support Fredericksburg’s disAbility Resource Center, a local outreach in its 20th year of operation.  Funded primarily through personal donations, grants, and city and county government donations, dRC offers four primary services and a variety of outreach programs to citizens in Fredericksburg, Stafford, Spotsylvania, King George, and Caroline.  They also provide deaf and hard of hearing services to people in Orange, Culpepper, Madison, and throughout the Northern Neck.  As program manager /deputy director Kim Lett puts it, “It’s hard to describe exactly what we do, because we do such a wide variety of things for people with disabilities in our community.”

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NCIL 2010 March - Photo provided by Fredericksburg disAbility Resource Center

Volunteers for the Blind

Front Porch Magazine
August 2013 (pg. 23)

Nestled amidst the foliage on the corner lot of Caroline and Amelia Streets is a tidy white sign that reads "Volunteers for the Blind." Inconspicuous and discreet, it belies the powerhouse within: founder/president, Holly Frisch.

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Photo by A.E. Bayne - Holly Frisch and guide dog Scully on the steps of Volunteers for the Blind

Boat-Mitzvah: A Golden Opportunity

Front Porch Magazine
July 2013 (pg. 11)

Gary Golden knows boats.  The vice president of International Marine Insurance Agency  has been an avid sailor since his father, Al, took the family on a sailing voyage to Israel and back when he was a boy.  The opportunity arose this past spring to share a similar experience with his father and his son, Elliott; so the three Golden men joined two of Gary’s college buddies to navigate Nalani, a 46-foot sailboat, from Riviera Beach, Florida, through the Chesapeake and home to Cobb Island, Maryland.  

Update: Gary, Elliott, and Ruth Golden embarked on an Atlantic Coast to Bahamas sailing trip in September 2014 and returned to Maryland in late May of 2015.  Ruth kept a blog of their journey.

Plastic Fantastic: It Won't Match Your Couch

Front Porch Magazine
June 2013 (pg. 9)

Prepare yourselves, Fredericksburg.  E.C. Barker and A.E Bayne have collaborated for the past three years to bring you Plastic Fantastic at Populuxe.  Here’s what they have to say:

Amy: So, where did we get this idea?

Emily: I was going for EMDR therapy (eye movement desensitization and reprocessing), and images came from childhood.  After much thought, I decided on Barbies, which we found at yard sales.  These are pictures from my psyche, and I would guess that yours are too.

Amy: Yeah, but I didn’t come at it from the same direction. Color influenced me, and I liked the Barbies because they create a metaphorical veil between animate and inanimate. Strange thing is I don’t even like dolls.

Emily: My dolls just don’t like each other! You developed some dark themes, like the headless Barbie.

Emily Barker is a member of Eyes Like Birds, a band from Fredericksburg, VA. 

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Pop Culture Prevails at Populuxe

Front Porch Fredericksburg
May 2013 (pg. 9)

Amidst the shops on lower William Street sits Populuxe, Fredericksburg’s newest pop culture emporium.   Fashioned around the stylings of the 1950s and 60s, Populuxe proudly proclaims to be “where kitsch meets cool.”  Owners Dom and Charlene Salemi have transformed the storefront into a welcoming space where visitors take a nostalgia trip to a time when leather was tuff, Hawaiian shirts denoted boss beach fashion, and vinyl was the only disc to spin.  

Update: Populuxe has moved to Stanton, VA

A.E. Bayne: National Poetry Month in Fredericksburg

Front Porch Magazine
April 2013 (pg. 26)

When there are no words, there is always poetry.  You know what I mean.  When the literal fails us, the figurative remains. Images charged with emotion and forged from memory and experience fly onto the page with unbridled urgency.  Then the work begins – the weeding, the trimming, the selecting and tying of loose ends.  The poet’s toolbox is language, and the motivation is life.  

National Poetry Month

Stephenie Fellinger and Riverside Young Writers: Words with Friends

Front Porch Magazine
March 2013 (pg. 26)

Friday. 2:30 p.m. English teacher Stephanie Fellinger opens the door for a group of students eager to write. She’s been opening this door every Friday afternoon for the past five years and facilitates further outreach to young writers in surrounding counties. She explains, “My involvement with the Northern Virginia Writing Project taught me that writers become writers when they write every day. I wanted to bring my kids to the point of thinking of themselves as writers, because it opens up a new world for them.”

RIverside Young Writers
Northern Virginia Writing Project

Ellie Brown: Inspiration in the Void

Front Porch Magazine
February 2013 (pg. 9)

The Internet often takes a beating in conversations centered on today’s teenagers. We read report after negative report about vital hours that teens waste aimlessly surfing the Web. Enter Ellie Brown: vibrant, vivacious, and fully integrated into the video culture of online communities. As it turns out, that’s not so terrible after all.

David Lovegrove: Exposed

Front Porch Fredericksburg
January 2013 (pg 19)

David Lovegrove has something to show us. As an abstract artist, Lovegrove embraces the abandoned, derelict remains of the world and reconstructs them into symbolically meaningful gestures. He revives our perspective by exposing us to disregarded structures and reveals the potential in the everyday objects we so easily discard.