<sh>Fatal Car Crash
<bt>The Fairfax County Police Department's Accident Reconstruction Unit is investigating a fatal accident that claimed the life of a 32-year-old South Riding Man, early Wednesday, on a rain-slicked Centreville road. The victim is Omar Mimish of Lands End Lane.
He was driving a 1999 Saturn, southbound on Pleasant Valley Road near Cub Run Road, around 1:15 a.m., when the tragedy occurred. Police say he somehow lost control of his vehicle on the wet roadway, causing the car to spin and run off the left side of the road, smashing into a tree on the passenger side.
Mimish was Medevaced to Inova Fairfax Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Speed was not a factor, but it is unknown if alcohol was. Police say he was not wearing a seatbelt.
<sh>Chantilly Man Arrested
<bt>A Chantilly man is facing a possible five years in prison after being arrested and charged Tuesday, following a break-in at a model home. He is Erick G. Machado Carballo, 23, of 13954 Rockland Village Drive.
Fairfax County police responded Tuesday, around 12:30 a.m., to an alarm going off at a model home in the 4100 block of Sulser Place. When they arrived, they allegedly observed Carballo inside the house. Police say he then left the house and they took him into custody.
He was charged with breaking and entering and attempted grand larceny. Breaking and entering is punishable by as much as five years in prison. Carballo was released from the Adult Detention Center, the same day, on $5,000 bond; he has a June 3 court date.
<sh>Charges are Dropped
<bt>So far, Devon Sharp is batting .500. He was arrested by Fairfax County police in connection with two Clifton burglaries, but the charges from one of those cases have now been dropped.
Police suspected Sharp, 27, of no fixed address, of burglarizing a home in the 13300 block of Loth Lorian Drive, sometime between Dec. 27 and Jan. 3, while the occupants were out of town for the holidays.
As a result, on Feb. 14 they charged him with burglary, grand larceny and possession of burglary tools. However, when he appeared Tuesday, April 9, in General District Court before Judge Stewart Davis, all the charges against him were dropped.
But Sharp is not quite finished with the local legal system. He was indicted by the grand jury, March 18, in connection with the Jan. 3 burglary of a home in the 7400 block of Dunquin Court in Clifton. He is scheduled for an April 1 trial in Circuit Court.
<sh>Virginia Transportation Mtg. is April 15
<bt>The Commonwealth Transportation Board (CTB) will hold a meeting Monday, April 15, to get public input on transportation programs and projects for Northern Virginia. It's at 10 a.m. at Fairfax City Hall, 10455 Armstrong Street in Fairfax.
Interim Commissioner Ray Pethtel will outline the current financial impacts and General Assembly actions, and then the CTB will receive public comments. Citizens wishing to speak — three minutes per person — may register at the door. A court reporter will also be available to take comments.
<sh>Hanley at WFCCA
<bt>Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Chairman Katherine K. "Kate" Hanley will address the quarterly meeting of the West Fairfax County Citizens Association (WFCCA), Monday, April 15, at 7 p.m. The meeting is in Supervisor Michael R. Frey's (R-Sully) conference room in the Fort Hill Building, 5900 Centreville Road in Centreville.
In addition, the WFCCA Land-Use Committee will hold its annual elections that night and will present the 2001 James D. McDonnell Award for outstanding community service.
<sh>Chantilly Community Coalition
<bt>The next meeting of the Chantilly Community Coalition will be Monday April 15, at 4 p.m. at the Chantilly Regional Library. The group normally meets the second Monday of the month. The group's goal is to mobilize the community to network, communicate and cooperate about keeping youth safe and drug-free. Call John Hanyok at 703-262-2475.
<sh>AmeriCorps Cleans Parks
<bt>The Fairfax County Park Authority has been awarded an AmeriCorps grant that will bring a dozen volunteers to five area parks this summer.
At E.C. Lawrence Park, corps members will focus on the protection of natural resources. Constructing check dams will reduce erosion in streams; dropping and cutting standing dead wood will prevent devastating fires and provide a healthier habitat for forest species; removing invasive plants will protect native plant species and encourage biodiversity. At Sully Historic Site, corps members will repair trails, construct pens and clean facilities.
<sh>Rabid Raccoon Found
<bt>Fairfax County police responded to a home in the 7400 block of Clifton Road in Clifton, March 27, to retrieve the carcass of a raccoon. Police say a woman and her 22-month-old son were walking across the creek bed there when her son spotted the raccoon. Before she could stop him, she said, he began petting the dead animal. The officer removed the raccoon, and it later tested positive for the rabies virus at the county Health Department.
<sh>Clifton Clean-Up Day
<bt>Clifton Clean-Up Day and Spruce-Up Day will be held Saturday, April 27, from 9 a.m. to noon. Volunteers are asked to meet anytime at the Clifton Caboose for assignments. The day will include flower planting, gazebo clean-up, painting, tidying and pruning. Call Jennifer Chesley at 703-830-2129 or Lynne Garvey Hodge at 703-322-1811.
<sh>Food Pantry Needs
<bt>The Western Fairfax Christian Ministries (WFCM) food pantry is in need of several items. They are: Jelly, coffee, tea, juice boxes, syrup, oil, sugar, cereal, crackers, soap, shampoo, toothpaste, paper towels, toilet paper, cleaning products and diapers larger than infant and newborn.
The food pantry also needs volunteers, Thursdays, from noon-2 p.m. Needed, as well, are: Volunteers with trucks to help move heavy items, a volunteer handy-person good with phones, copy machines, faxes and thermostats, a volunteer to wash the Shepherd Center glass front entrance, artwork suitable for display in pantry waiting area, a vacuum, newer-model frost-free refrigerators and a laptop computer.
<sh>Blood Still Needed
<bt>The Inova Blood Donor Center in the Centremed I Building on Route 29 in Centreville (across from the Centreville Multiplex Cinemas) is in urgent need of blood donations — especially O positive or negative. They are accepted Tuesday-Friday, noon-8 p.m., and Saturday, 8 a.m.-2 p.m. To make an appointment to give blood, call (703) 322-1970, or just drop in at your own convenience.
<sh>WFCM Needs Drivers
<bt>The Western Fairfax Christian Ministries is in need of drivers to take elderly people to medical appointments. Call (703) 378-3045 and press 7 to volunteer for this or any other WFCM ministry.
<sh>Meals on Wheels
<bt>The Clifton Meals on Wheels program urgently needs a volunteer to coordinate the delivery of meals to frail, elderly residents. Call the Fairfax Area Agency on Aging at (703) 324-5406.