Saturday, December 29, 2007

Yorktown wins Bookjammin' Girls Hoops

The Yorktown Patriots won the Bookjammin' High School Girls Basketball Tournament with a thrilling victory over the surging Flint Hill Huskies yesterday night at Marshall High School. The Patriots were up by 13 right near the end of the 3'rd quarter, but the Huskies pulled within two points with only 1:17 to go in the game. The Patriots stiffened their defense, two good Huskies' shots failed to drop, and the Patriots' junior guard LaNia Charity converted a clutch free throw to give the Patriots the win, 47-44.


The Centreville Wildcats took third in the girls tournament with a 55-44 victory over the Langley Lady Saxons. Elected to the tournament all-star team were Potomac senior Lynetta Kizer, Robinson sophomore Samatha Partonen, Centreville senior Chelsea Dunn, Langley freshman Audrey Dotson, Flint Hill senior Michelle Ketcham, and Yorktown junior LaNia Charity. Tournament MVP was Yorktown senior Billee Ripy. Marshall High School won the Sportsmanship Award.

Additional 2007 Bookjammin' high school girls game results: In the first round, Langley defeated Robinson, 53-48; Flint Hill defeated Jefferson, 58-23; Centreville defeated Potomac, 68-50; Yorktown defeated Marshall, 71-28. In the semifinals, Flint Hill over Langley, 59-45; Yorktown over Centerville, 55-51. In consolation play, Robinson beat Jefferson, 63-46, and Potomac beat Marshall, 73-55.

The Cardinal Basketball Officials Association (CBOA) sponsors the Annual Bookjammin' Hoops Basketball Tournament. Eight girls' teams and four boys' teams participated in the tournament. All proceeds from the tournament are used to award scholarships to students who participate in basketball as a player, trainer, or cheerleader and who achieve academic excellence. Recipients of Bookjammin' Hoops Scholarships in 2006 were Alex Harper, Chantilly High School; Christine Reardon, Robert E. Lee High School; and Brent McDaniel, Stone Bridge High School

The Bookjammin' Hoops Tournament depends on volunteers and supporters. Local business, especially Platinum Sponsor Brion's Grille, contributed to the Bookjammin' Scholarship Fund. Rogers Harrison, a CBOA volunteer, directed the tournament. All the officials were unpaid volunteers. Appreciation is also due to the many fans who came to the game and cheered the players on. Knowledgeable fans also repeatedly recognized the excellent work of the highly skilled officials.

Saturday, December 22, 2007

Christopher Bakery coming to the area

On the way home after a fine Lanterne Rouge team ride, I stopped at the Christoper Bakery stand at the Arlington Farmers' market. Among brownies, lemon bars, raspberry double-decker bars, and several types of biscotti, I picked out a cinnamon oatmeal raisin bar. It was fragrantly spiced, soft like a dense cake, but not too sweet. For $3, the one bar was about four normal-sized portions. I ate the whole thing with relish as soon as I returned home.



Then I went back to buy another one. I talked a bit with the person running the stand. He turned out to be Chris of Christopher Bakery. Christopher Bakery currently operates from Baltimore, but sells at the Clarendon Farmers' Market on Wednesdays and at the Court House Farmers' Market on Saturdays. Chris told me that he's hoping to open a bakery in this area in 2008.

Special treats from Christopher Bakery will soon be even more special than my cinnamon oatmeal raisin bar. Hungarian Daboche Torte, Tahitian Rum Cake, Bourbon Caramel & Chocolate Whirl Cheesecake -- these aren't factory-produced desserts. Check out his "haute pastries"! Chris studied at the Culinary Institute of America and was Director of Catering at Raffles L'Ermitage in Beverly Hills, California. Get ready for some world-class pastry.

It's even better than that. Chris said that he liked working at the stand because being there helped him to better understand local tastes. He noticed an interest here in a wide range of international flavors. He is excited about exploring spices and flavors different from his classical European training. To me, that's a chef and a business person who will undoubtedly make a tasty contribution to the community.

Arlington Antique Market

The Arlington Antique Market seems like a combination of an antique market, a flea market, and a craft sale. Professionals might be disappointed with its small size and random offerings. But if you want to find treasure, don't go where everyone else is going. And if you want to meet some interesting, colorful characters who will take time to talk with you, don't go where the masses go.



Among other stuff, Jeremy offers some cool old cameras. He told me he specializes in "cool-lectibles". I asked him if he had any old telephones. He said he thinks he has a home phone from the 1950s, as well as an on-the-back WWII GI radio telephone with a tall antenna. But he said that he hasn't seen these pieces for awhile and that he doesn't really know what he has. He said that when he cleans out his car or a room he finds old stuff that he forgot he had. I think this means that Jeremy offers the real deal, personally certified collectibles.



Eric the Watch Guy offers a sizable collection of vintage watches. "Best prices" is his motto, he said. But he hasn't been able to generate a study income from selling old watches, so he's gotten an M-F job to help pay his utilities and rent. He also is now offering collectibles other than watches -- all kinds of old and unique stuff. Who needs a large flea market? You could spend an enjoyable hour just looking over all the different stuff that Eric the Watch Guy is selling. But if you just look, you won't be helping him to pay his rent.



The Arlington Antique Market is on N. Veitch St. and 15th St, near the Courthouse metro. It runs year-round on Saturday, 9am-4pm, and Sunday, 8am-5pm. If you go on Saturday from 9am-noon, you can also enjoy the excellent Arlington Farmers Market right nearby.

Thursday, December 6, 2007

clearing snow and ice from bike trails



Northern Virginia has a great network of bike trails. Many persons use these trails to bike to work, lessening traffic and pollution. Unfortunately, unlike roads, bike trails aren't cleared of snow in the winter. Even when roads have become totally clear, some sections of the bike trails can remain extremely treacherous.

One such bad section is the step hill on the bike trail between the Iowa Jima Memorial and Arlington Cemetery. This section of trail is in the shade and gets water run-off across the trail. Hence long after most of the bike trail is clear, this section is icy and snow-covered. If Arlington County, or Iowa Jima park maintenance, or Arlington Cemetery park maintenance would clear this section of trail, bike traffic would flow much better through the winter.

Comprehensive plowing of Arlington's trail system would be great. But if that's too costly, some well-targeted but relatively small efforts could still make Arlington more bike-friendly year-round.

[Above photo shows this section of the bike path, in the afternoon of Dec. 6, 2007, after about a 2.6 inch snowfall, with temperature about 0C/32F.]