"I get the feeling that there has been a collective sigh of relief."
That was the candid assessment from Mount Vernon Supervisor Gerald Hyland, after the sniper crisis ended with the arrest of two suspects last week.
"It starts with our own law enforcement people," Hyland said. "They were working long hours and had to maintain a very strong presence in our schools. It's a real relief for them.
"The feeling by the general public seems to be 'isn't it wonderful.' Just before the suspects were apprehended I got a call from a citizen asking the supervisors to cancel Halloween to protect the kids. Her concern was an expression of what was being felt across the area," Hyland emphasized.
"All that has dissipated and that's great. People feel things are now back to normal and I feel that way too. But, I was concerned that we didn't get any official notice about the message concerning the kids not being safe. It was only through the leak to the press that it came to our attention," Hyland said.
ACROSS THE REGION, people are heaving a sigh of relief, venturing outside to accomplish their daily routines.
"I think it's exuberant," said Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Chairman Katherine Hanley (D) of the mood in the county.
"I think people have shown great confidence in the law enforcement in Fairfax County and the region."
While the Fairfax County Police Department had been part of an interagency task force from the start of the investigation, its scope broadened after the killing at the Home Depot store in Fairfax County.
"We had a pretty significant role in terms of following up leads in the Northern Virginia area," said Fairfax County Police Chief Thomas Manger.
The state, local and federal law enforcement agencies also worked together in an "unprecedented" way, he said, even though he noted that there had been some communication problems during the investigation.
"Were there little things along the way that needed to be dealt with? Sure there were," he said. But he added: "I think that there was excellent teamwork. The cooperation and coordination was absolutely phenomenal."
All told, about 200 officers were assigned to protecting the county's schools, dozens of police detectives worked on the case and several special operations officers patrolled the county, Manger said.
"There was a fair amount of overtime that we used," he said. Training exercises were canceled, officers worked extra hours but they were able to keep their days off.
"We didn't want to burn these officers out," said Manger.
MANGER ESTIMATED the total cost of the investigation to the county to be around a half million dollars, aggravating an already difficult budget situation. But he said the department had heard of possible state or federal programs to reimburse local departments for costs incurred during the sniper investigation.
"We're going to certainly search any additional assistance that the federal or state government might be able to provide us," he said.
But Gov. Mark Warner (D) said the price tag was irrelevant so long as the perpetrators were caught.
"My position has been we need to make sure that all available resources are put out to protect the safety of the public," he said.
"The happiest indication I've seen of things getting back to normal was exhibited at our Third Annual Tour d Lee bike ride last Sunday. We had 200 riders, double the number of last year," said Dana Kauffman, Lee District Supervisor.
"We had groups from both the Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts. The girls sang God Bless America and a song they created called "Thanks For Returning Recess," he said. "It put a smile on everyone's face."
Chuck Hagee contributed to this story.