Jonathan Whitbey, age 39, is a firefighter and medic at Ashburn Volunteer Fire and Rescue Department’s (AVRD) Station 22 in Lansdowne.  Jonathan has been a volunteer since 1999 first in Fairfax County and now in Loudoun.  Station 22 serves Lansdowne and shares River Creek with the Leesburg Volunteer Fire and Rescue. 
I asked him why he became a trained firefighter and medic.  He said, “Both uncles were firefighters and policemen. I heard their stories and have loved it ever since.”
He told me that the average life of a volunteer is five years.  His motivation he says will carry him forward he expects for another several years.  He gets the incentive from “Having a positive touch on someone’s life.”
Jonathan admits that he sometimes becomes emotionally entwined with those he helps rescue.  Auto accidents can cause major destructive trauma.  He cited one involving a five year old boy.  “The same age as my son. He was okay at first then he got worse.  We had to put him on a helicopter.  I was so affected I had to take two weeks off.  But the boy survived and a year later the family came and I saw them looking at me.” The family thanked him and he found out their son was okay.  “It was nice closure.”
But not all calls he makes are fraught with pending tragedy.  He says, “The silly stuff tends to offset the heaviness of the job.” 
He said once they got a call about someone in Ashburn with a broken leg and it turned out to be a newborn calf.  Another time a four year old had a jellybean in his nose—not an obstruction but the youngster just couldn’t remove it. 
Another time,  ”A little boy who had just learned about calling 911 at school decided he would test the system.  He was delighted that fire trucks showed up at his front door—needless to say Mom and Dad were a bit embarrassed.”
Such is the life of a volunteer fireman and medic.

Bea Snyder and her husband Bob have lived in River Creek for 12 years.  Originally from New York they came here by way of Massachusetts.  Bea went into the business world then six years ago decided to return to her love of painting. 
Her two paintings, Nature’s Bounty and Protea with Antique Pewter are in the Art Square Student Exhibition and are examples of her speciality.  “I find that still life, florals and landscapes are more achievable.”  She uses, “Things we’ve collected.” To set up her arrangements for painting.  As an avid gardener she likes mixing flowers into still life. 
What’s in the future for her in art?  “I paint with a friend and we do like to keep challenging ourselves to do something we haven’t done before.”  They have started taking a portrait class.
You can view Bea’s two paintings along with a host of other artists’ work, at the Art Square Gallery on Cardinal Drive in Leesburg.  The exhibition opened last Friday and will run through Saturday, February 4.

The week before Christmas a residential complex of more than 300 new homes went on the market at the Lansdowne Resort.  For the seventh year the Resort sponsored construction of gingerbread houses.  Whole families worked diligently to produce the most architecturally pleasing homes. 
Architect David Yasin and his family were in the process of painting the roof on their ranch style dwelling.  They had already built in a chimney, a red door and frost lined windows and they had planted a couple trees.  I asked David what made a good gingerbread house.  “Real architecture but have some fantasy; and teamwork.”
Foreman John Peterson was putting the finishing touches on a Santa Fe style house , “Creativity and not arguing.”  He said as he cast an eye toward his young minion who was busy plastering. Last year he and his family built a barn and the year before a log cabin. 
Exterior decorator Kelly indicated the design of these homes meant not having a preconceived notion.  She said, “We take the gingerbread house home and gradually pick off the candy siding until finally on New Years we break the house down.”  Her house had roof tiles made from pretzels.
The Resort’s culinary and consultancy staff led by chief engineer, Jamie Ream supply the construction material and can assist the builders.  “We provide icing consisting of a ratio of sugar and egg white.  We use a higher ratio of flour to sugar than normal for the gingerbread to fabricate a solid building material.” 
One of the impressive aspects of this housing program was the age span of the builders.  Apprentice youngsters who were no more than five or six teamed with their parents, siblings and grandparents.
The cost per unit was $85 including lot, building material and consultancy services .
The building inspector showed up wearing a red suit and sporting a long white beard.  He checked the quality of the homes and posed for photos.  When he saw one that met the building code he let out an approving.  “Ho Ho Ho.”