Arlington National Cemetery | ARLnow.com

Morning Notes

Published December 26, 2012 at 10:45AM

Board to Hold New Year’s Meeting — The Arlington County Board will hold its traditional New Year’s Day meeting at 11:00 a.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 1, 2013. At the meeting, Walter Tejada is expected to be elected County Board chair. Tejada and the other four Board members will then outline their policy goals for 2013. In a press release, Arlington County billed itself as “the only local government that “gets to work” on the New Year’s holiday.” [Arlington County]

Cemetery Expansion Concerns Tree Lovers — A plan to expand Arlington National Cemetery has some tree lovers crying foul. The cemetery is projected to run out of additional burial space in 2025, prompting the need for the expansion. Some Arlington residents, however, have been critical of one particular part of the expansion plan, which calls for the clearing of 890 “old-growth” trees. The cemetery plans to replant 600 trees and to preserve a stand of 220-year-old trees. [Arlington Mercury]

News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published December 17, 2012 at 8:45AM

Wreath Laying at Arlington Nat’l Cemetery — Some 20,000 volunteers placed more than 110,000 wreaths on graves at Arlington National Cemetery on Saturday. It was the 21st annual wreath-laying event at the cemetery, and the largest number of wreaths ever delivered for the event. [Stars and Stripes, Wreaths Across America]

Donations for Secret Santa Due Tomorrow — Those who want to donate gift cards to the Arlington Department of Human Services’ “Secret Santa” program are asked to do so by tomorrow. The program provides a bit of holiday joy to children in foster care, people with disabilities, low income seniors and needy families. [Arlington County]

Around Town

Volunteers to Place Wreaths on Veterans’ Graves

By Katie Pyzyk

Published December 11, 2012 at 2:55PM | Updated December 11, 2012 at 3:12PM

Members of the non-profit group Wreaths Across America coordinated efforts not just here, but at cemeteries across the country. The organization’s website states: “Fresh evergreens are a symbol used for centuries to recognize honor, and a living tribute renewed annually. To use plastic wreaths that are put in storage each year is exactly the kind of tradition we want to avoid – it makes for great photos but misses the point… We want people to see the tradition as a living memorial to veterans and their families, whom we remember amid the hustle and bustle of the holiday season. We believe that the sacrifices they made are more than worth the effort.”

The wreaths are currently on a solemn week-long journey from Maine to Arlington in what is sometimes referred to as “the world’s largest veterans’ parade.” The convoy stops at schools, monuments and veterans’ homes along the way as a reminder of the importance of remembering, honoring and teaching. Other trucks will head to participating cemeteries in all 50 states.

Around Town

Arlington Closures, Ceremonies for Veterans Day

By ARLnow.com

Published November 8, 2012 at 10:55AM | Updated November 8, 2012 at 11:47AM

All Arlington County courts, libraries, public schools, and administrative offices will be closed on Monday, Nov. 12.

The county’s three indoor swimming pools will be open under holiday hours. Metro and ART will be operating under a holiday schedule. Trash and leaf collection will proceed as normal.

News

Westboro Baptist Church Picketers Coming to Arlington

By Katie Pyzyk

Published October 24, 2012 at 3:05PM | Updated October 24, 2012 at 3:22PM

According to a picket schedule on its website, the Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka, Kansas, will send members to Arlington on Monday, November 12. They’re slated to protest at Yorktown High School (5200 Yorktown Blvd) starting at 7:40 a.m., the Pentagon starting at 8:50 a.m. and Arlington National Cemetery at 10:00 a.m.

The group has made stops in Arlington before, in part to perform protests of military funerals. Such protests have been fodder for lawsuits around the country, but the group’s right to protest at the funerals was upheld by the Supreme Court last year. The church has also made headlines for its prominent anti-gay message, for lauding the 9/11 attacks and for using controversial slogans such as “Thank God for breast cancer” on picket signs.

News

Navy Annex, Parking Lot Demolition to Start Soon

By ARLnow.com

Published October 23, 2012 at 12:40PM | Updated October 23, 2012 at 2:03PM

The long-awaited process of demolishing the Navy Annex and its surrounding parking lots is scheduled to begin within the next month or two, officials tell ARLnow.com.

The 1 million square foot military office complex, first built in 1941 and located on the eastern end of Columbia Pike, will be torn down to make way for an expansion of Arlington National Cemetery. The entire 42-acre Navy Annex site, which includes a large surface parking lot on the other side of Columbia Pike, will be turned into a grass field in advance of an official transfer from the Department of the Army to Arlington National Cemetery in late 2013.

News

Taxi Driver Tased Outside Arlington National Cemetery

By ARLnow.com

Published September 7, 2012 at 12:25PM

The incident happened around 11:00 a.m. According to U.S. Park Police spokesman Sgt. Paul Brooks, an officer approached a cab that was waiting for a fare on Memorial Drive, near the cemetery, and asked to see the driver’s hack (taxi) license. The driver refused, became disorderly and exited his vehicle without being asked to do so, Brooks said. There was some sort of confrontation and the officer used a Taser to subdue the driver.

Medics from Arlington County responded to the scene to evaluate the driver, per standard procedure following a Taser deployment. The driver was arrested, but Brooks was unable to say what he was charged with.

News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published August 9, 2012 at 9:15AM

VDOT Needs Residents to Check Trees — VDOT says it doesn’t have the resources to check all the trees along roads it maintains, so it sometimes relies on residents to tell them when a tree needs to be inspected or removed. VDOT-maintained roads in Arlington include Glebe Road, Lee Highway, Old Dominion Drive and parts of Washington Blvd. [Sun Gazette]

Art at Arlington National Cemetery — A new art exhibit at Arlington National Cemetery entitled “The Greatest Generation, A Visual Tribute,” is getting some help from amateur artists. About 500 people have contributed their own visual tributes to those who served in World War II on a “wall of thanks.” [WUSA 9]

News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published May 29, 2012 at 8:40AM

Obama Speaks of Peace in Arlington Speech— In his Memorial Day speech at Arlington National Cemetery, President Obama spoke of a “milestone” reached in the past year with the end of the Iraq war. “After a decade under a dark cloud of war, we can see the light of a new day on the horizon.” Mr. Obama also spoke of protecting veterans’ benefits. [Los Angeles Times, Associated Press]

Arlington Church Hosts Rolling Thunder Riders — The Arlington Assembly of God church, located just off Route 50 in the Arlington Forest neighborhood, hosted 300-400 Rolling Thunder riders over the weekend. The motorcyclists made camp outside the church or slept in the church itself. [Arlington Mercury]

News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published May 25, 2012 at 9:12AM

‘Flags-In’ Ceremony at Arlington National — As they have done every year since 1948, members of the “Old Guard,” 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment, placed an American flag at every grave in Arlington National Cemetery yesterday evening. The annual “Flags-In” ceremony is held each year in advance of Memorial Day weekend. The flags will be removed after Memorial Day. [Houston Chronicle]

Shuttleworth Campaign Profiled — Bruce Shuttleworth, who is challenging incumbent Rep. Jim Moran for the Eighth District Democratic congressional nomination, says he’s running against the 11-term congressman because of alleged ethics violations. “I think he votes the right way on social values, but he brazenly embraces conflicts of interest, and I think that’s unacceptable,” Shuttleworth told the Washington Post. Shuttleworth’s campaign, however, seems like a long shot — in March a group called the Campaign for Primary Accountability pulled its support of Shuttleworth to focus on “races where challengers understand what they must do to prevail.” [Washington Post]

Around Town

Volunteers to Distribute Roses for Memorial Day

By Katie Pyzyk

Published May 23, 2012 at 4:50PM

This Monday, May 28, more than 100 volunteers from Memorial Day Flowers will hand out more than 50,000 roses at the cemetery. Visitors are given two roses, one to place on a grave, and one to take home in remembrance.

All of the flowers are donated by farmers throughout Ecuador. The idea was initiated by Ramiro Peñaherrera of Flowers for Kids. He’s part Ecuadorean and has family members buried at Arlington National Cemetery. Being that Ecuador is one of the largest rose producers in the world, he set out to get farmers there to donate roses for the cause.

Events

Arlington Cemetery to Hold Historic Taps Event

By Katie Pyzyk

Published May 15, 2012 at 2:45PM

The anniversary of the National Song of Remembrance will be marked with a ceremony on Saturday, May 19, in the cemetery’s Old Amphitheater. There will be participants from TAPS 150, an organization devised to commemorate the anniversary, along with Bugles Across America, an organization to recruit volunteers for playing Taps at veterans’ funerals.

Hundreds of buglers from around the country will take part in the ceremony, which starts at 10:00 a.m. There will be speakers, special music and a playing of Taps at the event. After that, the buglers will move to sites throughout the cemetery to simultaneously play Taps following the noon chimes.