<sh>When Iced Tea Hurts...
<bt>Fairfax County police say a local woman got so upset, last weekend, at the county Animal Shelter that she allegedly became unruly and struck a police officer on the head with a full bottle of iced tea. The woman is Sonya Lynn Strawderman, 25, of 12201 Popes Head Road in Fairfax.
Police say she came to the shelter at 4500 West Ox Road on Saturday to dispute the possible adoption of her Rottweiler by a citizen and reportedly became loud and disorderly. According to police, "When an Animal Control Officer tried to calm her down, she began yelling and screaming obscenities at the officer."
Making matters worse, say police, when that officer then tried to place Strawderman under arrest, she reportedly whacked him in the head with the iced tea. However, police were finally able to take her into custody.
They took her to the Adult Detention Center and charged her with assault on a police officer — a felony punishable by a maximum of five years in prison — and disorderly conduct, a misdemeanor charge. She was released a few hours later on $5,000 bond and has a July 22 court date. The officer was treated at the scene for his injuries.
<sh>Case Goes to Grand Jury
<bt>London Towne's Nelson Martinez-Quintanilla is batting .500. Last Wednesday, May 29, in Fairfax County General District Court, one of the charges against him was dropped, but the other was sent to the grand jury.
Fairfax County police have charged him in April with burglarizing a house not far from his own home. Martinez-Quintanilla, 38, lives at 14802 Hancock Court in Centreville. Officers from the Fair Oaks District Station responded April 18, around 9:15 p.m., to the 6100 block of Early Autumn Drive, off Stone Road, after receiving a report of a residential-alarm activation.
Police noticed a window in the rear of the house had been smashed out, and officers allegedly saw Martinez-Quintanilla inside and arrested him. He was charged with burglary and larceny — each carrying possible five-year prison terms.
In court last week, the larceny charge was dropped. However, Judge Stewart Davis sent the burglary charge to the next grand jury for possible indictment. Meanwhile, Martinez-Quintanilla is still being held at the Adult Detention Center on $2,500 bond.
<sh>Virginia Transportation Meeting
<bt>Del. John A. Rollison III, chairman of the House Transportation Subcommittee on Allocation of Funds for Highway Construction, will hold a public meeting Friday, June 7, at 10 a.m., in Room D23 of Mason Hall on the Fairfax Campus of George Mason University. beginning at 10 a.m.
He'll receive staff briefings on recommendations made by the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission for overhauling Virginia's transportation programs. It will be a joint meeting with the Joint Subcommittee appointed to study similar matters. Time permitting, the public may make comments.
<sh>Westfield Community Coalition
<bt>The next Westfield Community Coalition meeting will be Monday, June 10, in the driver-education room, N142, at Westfield High. The Coalition and its new chairman, Ron Furgerson, will plan events for the beginning of the upcoming school year. These include the Bulldog Barbecue in August and Back-to-School nights in September. Membership in the Coalition is free, and all are welcome to attend.
<sh>Chantilly Community Coalition
<bt>The Chantilly Community Coalition will meet Monday, June 10, at 4 p.m. in the conference room of the Chantilly Regional Library. Call John Hanyok at 703-262-2475.
<sh>Park Authority Meeting
<bt>The Fairfax County Park Authority will meet Wednesday, June 12, at 7:30 p.m. in the Herrity Building, 12055 Government Center Parkway, Suite 900, in Fairfax. Call Judy Pedersen at 703-324-8662.
<sh>Planning Commission OKs BP
<bt>BP hopes to build a service station in the Westfields business park and, last Wednesday, May 29, the plan got a thumbs-up from the Fairfax County Planning Commission. The new BP would be constructed west of Route 28 and south of Westfields Boulevard.
The site was initially approved for an Amoco service station, quick-service food store and carwash. But BP Oil purchased Amoco and now wants to increase the size of the originally approved building from 1,250 to 1,872 square feet and add more pumping stations. The Board of Supervisors will have final approval.
<sh>WFCM Personnel Needs
<bt>The Western Fairfax Christian Ministries (WFCM) has several volunteer positions available.
* It needs a client coordinator to make follow-up calls to members of the community who have recently received assistance. This person would also cross-reference recipients with other WFCM services (food and clothing ministry). It would be a good job for someone who has to stay close to home.
* On-call volunteers are also needed. After receiving training, they'll monitor requests for help, coming from the local community, via a telephone mailbox. There's a social worker on staff, plus an extensive network of support to help and encourage people in self-sufficiency.
* WFCM's food pantry needs volunteers to work Tuesdays and Thursdays, 10 a.m.-2 p.m., and Saturdays, noon-2 p.m. To volunteer for any of these positions. or for more information, call 703-378-3045 and leave a message on box 7.
<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.