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Shirley Ruhe

Stories by Shirley

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Northern Virginia Senior Olympics Celebrates 35th Year

Participants can compete in 70 different events.

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Meet Chef Justus Frank

Live Oak specializes in Charleston inspired Southern cuisine.

Chef profile

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Meet Chef Justus Frank

Live Oak specializes in Charleston inspired Southern cuisine.

Chef profile

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Teens Tackle Poverty Close To Home

Catholic Diocese of Arlington sends 820 teen volunteers.

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People At Work: Lessons for Success from a Red-Dirt Road

Memoir chronicles humorous lessons learned step by step.

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Wright Never Experienced a Boring Day

40 years as school nurse brings many changes.

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In the Kitchen: Meet Yuh Shimomura, Chef at Nasime

A five-course tasting menu: he does it all.

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Ellis Tells Inmates: ‘Don't Be Afraid to Change’

If you mess up, there's a brand new box.

Message while being in jail

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Helping Refugees in Alexandria

Local Care Teams assist families.

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Alexandrians Open Wallets, Hearts to Refugees

Churches, city services, individuals work to meet needs.

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Vogel Provides Memories

Staff works to be king of King Street.

Staff Takes Care of Business at the Kimpton Lorien Hotel

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Helping Immigrants in Arlington

Advice about DACA, green cards, work permits and more.

People at Work

A plumbers work in Old Town, Alexandria

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People At Work: Hart Behind the Scenes

Delivering new trash cans, solving problems

Excell Hart checks the orders that have come in since yesterday. He will head out in "my Cadillac" to issue out a new trash container on S. Royal Street and deliver one on N. Alfred where they have never had one.

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A Dog’s Best Friend: The Doggie Sports Club

Morgan jumps over the 12" hurdle and sniffs Tayler Hudson's hand, looking for his dog treat.

Give that Couch a New Life

ALIVE! assists low-income families with furniture program.

Each week people contact ALIVE! to donate furniture and others contact them with furniture requests.

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Prisoner Resource Fair Offers a Head Start

Easing the transition from jail to the community.

This is the first prisoner Resource Fair held by the Alexandria Sheriff's Office for prisoners who are scheduled to be released within several months.

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Meet the Chef Homero Escobar

Homero Escobar the chef at RT's Restaurant.

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Hands Held High for 44 Years

Cora Reed has been a school crossing guard for the Alexandria Public Schools for nearly 44 years.

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Prisoner Reentry: Some Solutions

Local programs, services help ex-offenders.

Ex-offenders may face stigma, lack of family support, inadequate life skills suitable for making it on "the outside" and difficulty getting and retaining employment.

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McCrary Creates the Score, Directs 'The Prodigal Son'

John McCrary, director of Music and Liturgy at Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church on W. Braddock Road, gears up for the Feb. 24 concert.

Hunger Free Alexandria Receives Bishop’s Award

Hunger Free Alexandria has been awarded the 2017 Bishop's Award for the establishment of the West End Pantry on Oct. 24, 2016 at Church of the Resurrection.

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An Ambassador and an Enforcer

Working in traffic enforcement.

Cheryl Fuller has been a traffic enforcement officer for the City of Alexandria for 20 years.

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Part I: A three-part series focusing on prisoner reentry in Northern Virginia.

Employment and housing prove to be major hurdles.

In Virginia, 38,000 citizens were incarcerated in 2016. Almost 90 percent of those released return home.

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Green: Color for Sewers and Boots in Alexandria

Bill Jones climbs into his white city truck and heads for 5375 Duke St. to respond to an emergency ticket.

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Firefighters from Station 201 Read to Lyles-Crouch Elementary Students.

‘So, Who Has Ever Heard of a Turnip?’

The fire engine pulls up in front of Lyles-Crouch Elementary School on Friday morning and four firefighters jump out and head for the front door.

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Thomas Pollack advances to Eagle Scout

Twelve Years from Cub Scout to the Top

Thomas Pollack reached the end of a long journey on Saturday, Jan. 7 when he received his Eagle neckerchief in his Eagle Scout Court of Honor ceremony at the Army-Navy Country Club.

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Bondareff Expands Pediatric Practice in Alexandria

Fifty-three years brings many changes.

Four-month-old Quinn Doren wiggles her toes and squirms on the table in the nursing area at Pediatric Associates of Alexandria.

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Meet Chef Euripides at the Royal Restaurant in Alexandria

A community institution since 1904.

Richard Euripides, chef at the Royal Restaurant on N. Asaph Street, has boiled two packages of ribbed Zerega lasagna noodles for a customer favorite.

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Column: People at Work in Alexandria

Making Thanksgiving Possible

Tables are piled high with canned green beans, boxes of stuffing and mashed potatoes, cans of broth and yams and marshmallows; “for some reason we got double marshmallows. But one of our volunteers says you have to put marshmallows on sweet potatoes."

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Alexandria: People At Work

Store combines exotic plants and comics since 1974.

The front window of Exotic Planterium and Card and Comic Book Collectorama on Mount Vernon Avenue is crowded with plants of all varieties.

Goodwin House of Alexandria Residents Share Memories of Thanksgiving

Residents at Goodwin House on Fillmore Street in Alexandria shared memories of Thanksgiving traditions.

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Alexandria Station 206 Firefighter Wins Best Chef Contest

Cooking with an eye to sudden interruptions.

Ever wonder what firefighters on 24-hour duty eat for dinner?

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Alexandria: Behind the Glass Wall

Alexandria history at one’s fingertips.

“What's Behind the Glass Wall?” The sign sits outside the Local History and Special Branch of the Alexandria Library on Queen Street.

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People at Work

Sharing Food and Conversation

The telephone is ringing; customers line up at the counter for large white carry-out plastic bags of scrambled eggs and pancakes; the cash register clinks.

West End Pantry Tackles Food Desert

An ecumenical project.

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Alexandria People at Work: Neighborhood Pharmacy Cares for Its Community

Over 1,000 look-alike white bottles line the shelves, cram the nooks and crannies and sit in the refrigerator at Neighborhood Pharmacy on Mt. Vernon Street in Del Ray. Stacey Swartz, pharmacist and co-owner, has operated the independent pharmacy for eight years since she bought the space from Show of Hands. "Monday is the busiest day of the week," she says, "with all of the things piled up from the weekend."

Alexandria People at Work: Shaping Her Life, Her Art

Renee Altman wedges off a large chunk of high-fired stoneware clay and puts it on the workbench. "It's like kneading dough. I usually do this 100 times." Altman owns The Clay Queen Pottery on Mt. Vernon Avenue.

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From the Beginning to the End

982 participants signed up for 2016 Northern Virginia Senior Olympics.

The Northern Virginia Senior Olympics (NVSO) opened Sept. 10 and ran through Sept. 21 with another record registration of 918 participants.

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Senior Living: Life at Vinson Hall — Living the Difference

Mary DeMaris is headed down on the elevator at Vinson Hall with her black case of art supplies, an artist headed to a still life class out of the building. “There is a club here for everything — poetry, art, choral group, photography, book, gardening,” she said.