Families Find Ways To Trim Back

By Erica Garman
Sunday, November 23, 2008

Living in LoCo is Erica Garman's blog devoted to Loudoun County. You can find it at http://www.loudounextra.com. This column of highlights appears every Sunday.

The global economic crisis has many in our area worried about the future. Food prices are climbing, and our savings continue to decline. Even neighbors in well-to-do houses face the possibility of foreclosure, and whispers of impending company layoffs have many Loudouners scaling back and making do with less.

I stopped by Shoppers supermarket in Sterling's Sugarland Crossing recently to find out what customers had to say about these uncertain times.

Elaine Kiroff of Cascades said she's buying less at the grocery store and choosing the cheapest brands and meats available.

"Even the sliced ham I buy has jumped 40 percent since the last time I bought it," she said. "With gas prices less, why isn't the store lowering food prices?"

Kiroff, who said she hopes to put her house for sale in late February, is worried about spending extra money now, not knowing what the real estate market will be like in late winter.

"I'll definitely be spending less over the holidays; I still need to cover my credit card debt," she said.

Kristin Campbell of Herndon, a mother of four, said she usually doesn't buy groceries from Shoppers. But with the economy the way it is, she's looking for better food prices.

"We pay attention now," she said. "Constantly, we ask ourselves, 'Do we need it?' "

The Campbells are eating out less than they used to and scaling back on vacations. To save money, they go out of town with another family to share costs.

Kristie Galati of Sterling, a Potowmack Elementary School teacher, was grocery shopping with two of her three children. She said her family is buying more things in bulk at places such as Costco and cutting coupons for supplemental items to use at other grocery stores.

"We're eating out less, scaling back on vacations, and not going to the movies as much as we used to," Galati said.

100 Years of Purcellville History

Just in time for the holiday gift-giving season, the Purcellville Centennial Committee has released a coffee-table book in honor of the town's 100-year anniversary.

Written and edited by historical scholar Deborah Lee of Purcellville, the book chronicles the town's history through photos, newspaper excerpts, town records and personal anecdotes.

"All of the committee members and townspeople were so helpful with the compilation of this book," Lee said. "Jane Bogle, for instance, knew things that only people who've lived here their whole lives would know. She was a great help in identifying people in photographs."

The book is organized in 25-year increments and features poetry by Pulitzer Prize-winner Henry Taylor, excerpts from Asa Moore Janney and Werner Janney's book on the town and stories by Barbara Holland, Eugene Scheel and Bill Flowers.

My personal favorites are the posthumous tributes to town legends such as Broadway choreographer Billy Pierce; Ken Culbert, longtime Loudoun Valley High School educator and principal; and Loudoun Times Mirror writer and editor Frances Hazel Reid, who worked at the paper for a record 73 years.

Because of her long employment record, Reid was invited -- so the story goes -- to be a guest on the "Tonight Show With Johnny Carson." She declined the offer, saying, "I just won't take the time off from work here."

"Purcellville, VA, 1908-2008: A Centennial Anthology" is available for $35 at the Purcellville Marketplace, Heart's Delight, Blackberry's, the Christian Shoppe and Purcellville Copy.

Proceeds from book sales will be used to cover production costs and for programs that celebrate the town's history.

Celebrating Adoption

Gov. Timothy M. Kaine (D) designated November as Adoption Awareness Month in Virginia. More than 1,000 children in Virginia are waiting for permanent, loving homes, he said.

In Loudoun, 91 children are in foster care through the county's Department of Family Services. That number has doubled in five years, said Francie Beverage, who heads up the department's training service.

"The goal of foster care," Beverage said, "is to safely return children to the care of their birth parents or extended family when appropriate."

When that cannot happen, adoption becomes the ultimate goal for the child's well-being, she said.

Amy and Greg Eversmeyer of Leesburg know the joys of adoption.

They adopted a newborn, Lily, a year ago through a private agency. The Eversmeyers, who have two older, biological sons, said their family is complete with Lily.

"We feel so fulfilled and happy that she's with us," said Amy Eversmeyer, who works as an adoption social worker with the Barker Foundation. "People tell us we're heroes for 'saving' Lily, but really, we feel like Lily has saved us."

In honor of Adoption Awareness Month, the Department of Family Services and the Virginia Women Attorneys Association of Loudoun co-sponsored an Adoption Day Ceremony on Nov. 15 at the county courthouse in Leesburg.

Nine Loudoun families who collectively adopted 10 infants and children were honored and recognized by Circuit Court Judge Thomas D. Horne. After the ceremony, the families were treated to a reception and a free concert in celebration National Adoption Day.

To find out more about being a foster parent or adoption, call 703-737-8824 or e-mail francie.beverage@loudoun.gov.

Or make plans to attend the Adoption Information Fair at Dulles Town Center from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Feb. 7. Representatives from the Department of Family Services, the Virginia Women Attorneys Association, private adoption agencies and adoption lawyers will be available to answer questions about the adoption process.