<sh>Teens Nominated for Cappies
<bt>Four Loudoun County students were nominated for Cappie Awards, which are given to students who have performed in or worked on a high school drama production in the last year. Each Cappie Award Category includes five nominees. The following are the nominees from local high schools:
Make-Up: Katy Hershberger and Kim Griffin, Park View, “Pippin”
Comic Actor in a Play: Sean Kinslow, Stone Bridge, “Twelfth Night”
Featured Actor in a Musical: Philip Bernier, Park View, “Pippin”
The Cappie Awards will be presented at the Cappies Awards Gala on June 9 at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. All Cappie nominations and awards are decided by student critics, except in the case of critics’ award categories.
<sh>Endangered Man Found
<bt>On Saturday, May 11, the Loudoun County Sheriff's Office received a report of a missing person. Deputies were notified that Edward Christian Hamler, 34, from Lincoln, Va., had not been seen since May 8. On the evening of May 13, Hamler was stopped during a routine road check outside of Brunswick, Md. It was discovered at that time Hamler was reported missing and endangered in Loudoun County. Hamler is now back at his home and is in good health.
<sh>Robbery at Croson's Store
<bt>On Friday, May 17 at 3:11 a.m., Sheriff's deputies responded to an alarm at Croson's Store located at 42383 John Mosby Highway. Upon arrival, deputies found signs of forced entry into the store. There were items on the floor of the business that appeared to have been knocked off of the counter. Upon further investigation, it was determined the only item removed from the store was a cash register containing an undisclosed amount of cash. The store was closed and unoccupied at the time of the incident.
<sh>Stakeout Yields Arrest
<bt>On Sunday, May 12, detectives from the Fairfax Investigations Division and officers from the Reston District station conducted a stakeout at the Target store located at 12197 Sunset Hills Road in Reston. Police reported that around 11:45 a.m., Steven Shealy, a 36-year-old Fairfax area man, entered the store, approached the pharmacist, stated he had a gun, and demanded Oxycontin. Shealy took a large quantity of the drug and was apprehended as he attempted to leave the store. Shealy was transported to the Adult Detention Center in Fairfax, charged with two counts of robbery, and held without bond. Charges are pending in Loudoun County on Shealy for the Feb. 10 and April 28 robberies of the Sterling Park Safeway pharmacy. Sheriff's investigators also wanted Shealy for three counts of prescription fraud.
<sh>Candle Leads to Fire
<bt>An unattended candle was the cause of a fire that damaged a Leesburg family home on May 18. The fire, located at 818 Duncan Place, resulted in approximately $400,000 in damage as well as an additional $25,000 in damage to a neighbor's home. It took an hour for firefighters from Leesburg, Ashburn, Hamilton, Lucketts and Purcellville to contain the fire. The family is currently displaced pending repairs to their home.
<sh>Final Phase of Census
<bt>Loudoun County Public Schools began the final phase of its 2002 census on Tuesday, May 14. The purpose of this phase is to seek responses from the more than 23,000 residents who have not yet responded. All households are asked to participate in the census, even if they do not have any children born between Jan. 1, 1983 and Dec. 31, 2001. The census will conclude June 30. For those who have not received a mail packet, LCPS can be contacted at census@loudoun.k12.va.us or at 703-771-6436.
<sh>Swimming Pools on Schedule
<bt>The swimming pool in the Cheltenham area of Ashburn Village will open July 4. The pool in Peace Plantation, which opened late last summer, will open Memorial Day weekend this summer. The county approved the site plan for the swimming pool in Belmont Greene in December 2001.
<sh>Herring at Committee on Pollution
<bt>Loudoun County Supervisor Mark Herring (D-Leesburg) attended a conference on Capitol Hill on May 17 urging legislation that would require cuts in emissions from older power plants. The conference was inspired by a new Harvard study which found that pollution from five power plants in the D.C. Metropolitan area contribute to more than 250 deaths and 20,000 asthma attacks per year, along with other respiratory illnesses. The employment of pollution control equipment, the study found, would reduce such deaths and problems by 75 percent. One of the five power plants included in the Harvard study was the Mirant Corp. plant, located in Dickerson, Md.
<sh>Historic Cabin to be Dismantled
<bt>The Settle-Dean cabin, a county landmark dating back to 1815, will be dismantled and eventually reassembled across the Loudoun County Parkway. The cabin is situated on land owned by the Toll Brothers, in the path of a planned extension of the Loudoun County Parkway. The dismantling and reassembling of the cabin is a goal of the Loudoun County Revised Comprehensive Plan, whose purpose, according to Supervisor Mark Herring (Leesburg District), is "helping to preserve a unique part of Loudoun County history." The Settle-Dean cabin represents almost every aspect of Virginia's history according to Planning Commission chairman Kathryn Miller. The structure and materials found near the site displays life from the time of the early settlers through Reconstruction.
<sh>Focus Group Meeting Postponed
<bt>The Loudoun County Towns/Joint Land Management Area focus group meeting, scheduled for Wednesday, May 29, has been postponed and will be rescheduled at a later date. The focus group is one of several advising the Board of Supervisors on the zoning ordinance revision and re-mapping project.