by Reston Citizen John K. Nusbaum

My dad and mom bought 12 acres on Hunter Mill Road in Oakton in 1948 so I had plenty of time as I grew up to get acquainted with the area that would later be named Reston. There have been many changes since the days when I would ford Difficult Run on Lawyers Road and hunt small game in the beautiful wooded countryside.

My wife Maria and I have lived here in Reston for over 27 years now and over those years I’ve watched it change to meet the needs of an increasing population. Lately the desires of some property owners have produced serious issues that stand to impact Reston’s future in very profound ways.

Ambivalent Fairfax County administrators’ heads are turned by special interests and big business so counting on their help in protecting the essence of what makes Reston unique is getting harder by the day.

Without question the genie is out of the bottle, so now more than ever before it’s the duty of we the residents to understand what is at stake in Reston’s future and stand up for core values that we hold dear.