HOA
Newsletter
April, 2013
Welcome Spring! Time for
Spring Clean-Up & BBQ
Note from
Section IV
Please set aside Saturday, April 20th (Rain Date
Saturday, April 27tt) to spend getting to know your
neighbors and helping to make our common grounds
beautiful. We will begin with sprucing up of the
common areas from 2:30-4:30 pm and will
conclude with a cookout at the corner of Leo and Linton
Lane beginning at 4:30 pm. The association will
provide food and non-alcoholic beverages.
Spring is here again and the trees and flowers are
starting their yearly rebirth. When I first moved to the
neighborhood in 1997, there were very few children here.
SOTP IV, founded in 1969, was almost 30 years old and
most of the original or near original owners had raised
their families and their grown children had moved on to
their own neighborhoods. Within a few years, more
young families moved in and a rebirth cycle soon began
to hit full bloom. Now, the streets of our neighborhood
are once again full of children of all ages. Many have
been born recently to residents and many more have
come to join us as their parents relocate herein. It's a
great place to live. We meet in the streets; join for cleanups; party together and look after our neighbors in need.
Please do not miss the chance to visit with neighbors
and meet new residents. Be sure to
bring the kids. The rain date is Saturday, April 27th,
same time, same place.
the
President
of
SOTP
In preparation for the clean-up, please trim your
personal hedges and trees if they encroach on
common grounds (sidewalks) - this will be part of the
clean-up if not done ahead of time. Call Mike Shane,
703-360-0778, if you have any questions.
We have also had the unfortunate need to say good-bye
to some long-time friends, original owners who built the
neighborhood and others of my generation who have
marshaled it along for the past many years.
Cankerworm Spraying:
During this time of neighborhood rejuvenation, as we
emerge from our winter bunkering and greet our friends
anew, please welcome our new little ones, remember our
departed and for the sake of all the children running
around, please slow down on our roads.
Fairfax Co. Department of Public Works and Environmental
Services has found that the fall cankerworm has invaded
property adjacent to SOTP IV area and that it will be sprayed
sometime in April. This will not be harmful to pets or humans. –
Very Respectfully,
Mike Shane, President of SOTP Section IV
Mark your calendars – Future Meetings
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
Board Meetings: May 16, Sept. 19 and Nov.14.
1-2
Announcements / Note from the HOA President
2
Neighborhood Safety by Greg Kotteman
3
New Families & Babies
3-4
Friendly Reminders
4
Recent Events, In Memory & Contact Information
Annual Meeting: November 14th
STRATFORD ON THE POTMAC,
SECTION IV, INC
P.O. Box 141, Mount Vernon, 22121-0141
Stratford on the Potomac – Section IV pg. 1
Neighborhood
Safety
by
Greg
Kotteman – Mount Vernon Crime
Prevention Officer
When Should I Call the Police?
A question commonly asked by many.
Answer - Whenever you observe suspicious events,
persons, or vehicles (even though you may not be the
only person observing them), a crime in progress, or to
report a crime that has occurred to you or your
property. Never assume the next or other observing
person will do what you should. The police would
rather get numerous calls on the same event than
none at all.
Often citizens fail to call because they are not sure if
what they see is suspicious or believe they will just be
bothering the police. If you are in doubt, call the police
immediately. Don’t wait to talk it over with friends or
neighbors. Valuable response time is lost this way.
If what you are witnessing makes the hair on the back
of your neck stand on end, gives you a strange feeling
that you just can’t put your finger on or just makes you
nervous or apprehensive, call the non-emergency
number and let us check it out. Hopefully these
guidelines will help:
You should call 911 when:

Immediate ambulance/paramedic response is
needed.

Fire or smoke is seen coming from a
structure, vehicle or in the woods.

You hear suspicious noises inside or directly
outside of your home.

Heated or violent family disputes in progress.

You observe a fight or assault in progress or
one that just occurred.

A sexual assault in progress or just occurred.

You are in immediate fear for your personal
safety or the safety of another.

Reporting serious vehicle crashes involving
injury.

You observe an armed subject(s).

A Robbery in progress.

A Burglary in progress.

A Carjacking in progress.

While witnessing crimes in progress.
You should call the non-emergency number 703691-2131 to report:

Suspicious persons, vehicles or events (some
situations may warrant 9-1-1)

Report only (not in progress) cases such as:

Larceny (theft)

Destruction of property

Noise ordinance violations

Non-injury accidents

Animal complaints

Incident with a time lapse of 30 minutes or more
You will be asked for your name, address and phone
number.
This information is requested in case
additional contact with you is necessary. You do not
have to provide this and may remain anonymous.
Any information provided to the police department is
kept in confidence.
If you want to have personal contact with the responding
officer, please advise the call taker. If you don’t wish to
be seen, please make that clear as well.
As first responders we would always like to have a way
to contact you after arriving, in case we need
clarification or further assistance, but you are under no
obligation to provide contact information.
By acting quickly and calmly, your request for police
service could foil a crime, help identify suspects
involved in other crimes or deter a criminal act. It also
provides the Police Department the best chance of
being at the right place at the right time, and interceding
or preventing a crime from occurring.
Crime Prevention is Everyone Business
Mowers Needed:
We are continuing to use community volunteers to mow
the common areas this summer. Here is an opportunity
for older kids or adults to make some money and at the
same time do a needed service for our community. If
interested, please call Walk Fink at 703-360-5222.
Have you met our newest dogs?
From left to right; Scotch Norsworthy, Bo Moore-Alley,
and Thunder Wallach
Stratford on the Potomac – Section IV pg. 2
Welcome to New Families &
Babies
Friendly Reminders
Keep the Light On……..For Safety
New Baby – Jack Robert Bierschenk
Proud parents: Kevin and Amanda Bierschenk as well
as their daughter Madeline "Maddy" Bierschenk and
the rest of the neighborhood welcome the arrival
of Jack Robert Bierschenk born on February 11, 2013
@7:31 AM weighing 9 lbs 2 ounces and 21 inches
long. Everyone is healthy and looking forward to the
warmer months to introduce Jack to the community.
New Family – The Wicks
One way to keep our neighborhood safe is to please
remember to keep your front yard light on at night. Since
we have no street lights our yard lights are our only
means of lighting our sidewalks and streets. If you have
a gas light and would like to convert to electric, please
contact one of our Board members, and they can give
you information on how to do that.
Pets:
We love our pets; however, we need to be courteous to
our neighbors and keep our furry friends safe. Please
do not allow your dogs to wander the neighborhood or
onto your neighbors' properties, and, please, clean up
after your dog when walking your dog.
Association Contact Information:
In order to keep the roster up-to-date, we need
residents to please check their information on the roster
and
call
or
send
us
an
email
at
stratfordsectioniv@gmail.com with any updates.
Please feel free to give your e-mail address. These emails are used only with our neighbors and it allows us
to communicate community updates via e-mail and
save on paper.
Please welcome our newest neighbors to join our
association having just moved in on Linton Lane. The
Wick family- made up of Daniel and Kim and their
daughters Sophia (2 ½) and Aurelia (1) recently moved
from Fairlington in Arlington, where they resided for the
last 5 years. Kim moved to Washington D.C. after
graduate school in Massachusetts in 2003, and lived
there until she and Dan moved to Shirlington shortly
before marrying in 2008. Dan moved to Arlington in
2005 from Wisconsin.
Kim is a Foreign Affairs Officer at the State
Department and Dan is a Naval Engineer with the
Navy's Military Sealift Command. Sophia is a very
active pre-schooler and Aurelia is following in her big
sister's footsteps.
Please Drive Slowly
We have a lot of young children in the neighborhood,
which means playing games and riding bikes
everywhere. Please be cautious as you drive through
the neighborhood streets and remind your children to
watch for cars.
Association Dues:
The deadline for dues was in January. If you have
forgotten to pay your dues, a late fee of $10.00 is now
in effect.
Trash Reminder:
With the new automated trash trucks in place, please
remember on trash day to put wheels to the curb and
cans at least 6 ft. apart.
In their spare time, the Wicks like biking on the Mount
Vernon trail, meeting new friends,spending lots of time
outside and on the playground, cooking and baking,
and having impromptu family dance parties.
Stratford on the Potomac – Section IV pg. 3
In Memory:
This past season we have lost two of our long-time
neighbors and friends – former Treasurer of our HOA, Allan
Wylie (Linton Lane) and original owner, Bob O’Connell
(Hoover Lane).
We offer our condolences to their family and friends for their
tremendous loss. They will be missed.
Neighborhood Events:
Thanks to all the volunteers for making the St. Patrick’s
Day/Easter Egg Hunt so much fun – help from the
Wallachs,Earlys,Sessines,Gerdemans, Tess Moore, Dawn
Light, Shelly Reilly, Nadia Sadee and Pris Bornmann made
it possible. Special thanks to the Johnsons, Drummonds,
Wilkerson/McNullas and Costellos for the use of their yards.
We had a great turn-out for a festive but cold event! Keep
an eye out for more community events – a great chance to
get to know your neighbors!
Special Thank You to Robert
O’Hanlon…..
To Robert O’Hanlon who most of us know as a past
resident of Linton Lane but also our “go to” tree, shrub
trimming, stump grinding, and removal expert. Robert
is always there to help out our HOA after storms, during
our Clean-Ups, and special requests. Robert recently
made a generous donation in memory of his long time
friend of 19 years, Allan Wiley. His donation of a 1012 Ft. Cornus Kousa Dogwood tree sits beautifully in
our common area for all to enjoy. Robert, his co-worker
Jay and Walt Fink dug a deep hole and used 500 lbs
of dirt to cover it. Their hard work and dedications was
such a beautiful gesture.
Any ideas, questions or comments regarding the
newsletter, contact Julie Lowe at
JulieElowe@msn.com.
Directors and Officers
Michael Shane
Kevin
Bierschenk
Al Bornmann
LexaLynn
Hooper
Julie Lowe
Jeanne Raymos
Walt Fink
Peggy Florenzo
Nadia Sadee
John
Jeszenszky
Ken Murphy
Doug Ryan
Nancy Callahan
Tess Moore
Director and
President
Director and Vice
President
Director, Budget and
Finance
Director Parliamentarian
DirectorHospitality/Newsletter
Director , Secretary
and Consumer Affairs
Director, Treasurer
and Mowing Manager
Planning & Zoning
Public Safety
Representative
Health and Human
Services
Transportation
Curtis.shane@navy.mil
703-360-0778
Kevin811@gmail.com
703-619-6283
Al_Bornmann@sra.com
703-360-5964
Environment and
Recreation
Education
Web Master
lexalynn@hoopersqualitycars.com 703-799-4956
Julieelowe@msn.com
703-360-2810
Jeanner3@verizon.net
703-360-8687
vafink@yahoo.com
703-360-5222
peggyflorenzo@earthlink.net
nadiafpsadee@yahoo.com
jeszenszky@verizon.net
703-780-7358
703-360-5964
703-799-0279
703-799-9635
Murphyk2ds@googlemail.com
703-704-5198
Parinwood@aol.com
703-360-0778
nccallahan@yahoo.com
tessemoore@gmail.com
703-982-2622
703-799-2520
Stratford on the Potomac – Section IV pg. 4