U.S. Rep. Donald S. Beyer Jr., who represents the 8th District of Virginia that includes the City of Falls Church and before getting elected to public office was a Falls Church businessman and was a president of the Falls Church Chamber of Commerce, issued the following statement on the occasion of the Falls Church News-Press’ 30th anniversary this week:

“I am so grateful for the mighty Falls Church News Press’ 30 years of informing, inspiring, and uniting the community of Falls Church. The gift of a local newspaper is to create a shared history and identity — and Nick Benton and the FCNP have done this with astonishing steadfastness and excellence. 30 is the Pearl wedding anniversary, remembered by sticks on the 30th birthday, the total number of major and minor keys in Western tonal music, and the age at which you can become a U.S. Senator. 30 pieces of silver, zinc’s atomic number, and the sum of the first four squares. I am rooting for another entire generation of the Falls Church News Press, the first draft of our exceptional history.”