<sh>Fatal Motorcycle Crash
<bt>A fatal accident, Sunday night, on New Braddock Road in Centreville claimed the life of a 37-year-old Vienna man. According to Fairfax County police, Vienna's Michael John Orapello was operating his 2001 Suzuki GSXR 1000 motorcycle, eastbound on New Braddock Road, around 8:30 p.m., when the crash occurred.
They say he entered the intersection with Singleton's Way with the green light. Meanwhile, Joseph Allen Siler Jr., 45, of Little Rocky Run, was driving his 1984 Ford F-150 pickup truck west on New Braddock and tried to turn left onto Singleton's.
Police say Siler turned left in front of Orapello, causing him to crash into the truck. The impact ejected Orapello onto the roadway. Police say further investigation revealed that Orapello was reportedly traveling at a high rate of speed and allegedly doing a "wheelie" when he entered the intersection and smashed into Siler's truck. The Vienna man was pronounced dead at the scene. Police say alcohol was not a factor and "Orapello will be held at fault."
<sh>Accused Carjacker Indicted
<bt>A 34-year-old man is facing more than a decade in prison after being indicted by the grand jury for a Chantilly carjacking. He is James Eric Garnett of no fixed address.
On June 7, around 6:15 p.m., he was at the Mobil gas station at 4320 Chantilly Shopping Center, off Willard Road, near the Dulles Expo Center. Fairfax County police said Garnett reportedly tried to carjack a vehicle belonging to a 29-year-old woman there, but failed.
Then, said police, he approached a 35-year-old woman at the gas pumps and allegedly got into her car and drove away. Afterward, police said he drove her car to a construction site near the expo center and struck a wall. They said he then got out of the car and fled a short distance on foot before they nabbed him. Police said an officer en route to the gas station saw Garnett running from the scene and pursued him.
He was charged with carjacking and attempted carjacking. On July 24, General District Court Judge Thomas Gallahue certified his case to the grand jury. Garnett was then indicted, Aug. 19, and is scheduled for a jury trial, Sept. 23, in Circuit Court. If convicted, he could receive as much as 15 years in prison.
<sh>Alleged Bogus Cop Sought
<bt>Fairfax County police are trying to find a Springfield man so they can charge him with abduction and impersonating a police officer in connection with an alleged incident, Aug. 23, in Centreville. He is Stephen A. Carr, 40, of 6810 Field Master Drive.
On that day, around 9 a.m., police Det. William Baitinger of the Fair Oaks District Station was driving on I-66 west, near Bull Run Regional Park in Centreville. He noticed a Chevrolet Blazer on the shoulder with a red light flashing on the dashboard and parked behind another car.
The two cars then pulled back onto I-66. The detective pulled up next to the driver of the first car, at the intersection of Sudley and Balls Ford Road in Manassas, and asked him if the other driver had pulled him over. The victim said yes and said the driver told him he was speeding and should slow down.
When Baitinger contacted the driver, reportedly identified as Carr, police say he allegedly said he was a volunteer firefighter and was "just helping out the police department." Investigation revealed that Carr is not a volunteer firefighter, but police haven't been able to locate him, yet, so they can serve him with arrest warrants. He is described as white, 5 feet 7 and 175 pounds, with short brown hair and hazel eyes.
<sh>Chantilly Community Coalition
<bt>The Chantilly Community Coalition (for safe and drug-free kids) will meet Monday, Sept. 9, at 4 p.m. in the conference room of the Chantilly Regional Library. Call John Hanyok at 703-262-2475.
<sh>League of Women Voters
<bt>September meetings of the League of Women Voters of the Fairfax Area will be "All about the League." Everyone curious about the workings of this organization is invited to attend. The Fairfax unit — encompassing residents of Clifton, Fairfax Station and Burke — will meet Wednesday, Sept. 11, at 9:30 a.m., at the home of Morag Cole, 12421 Fairfax Station Road in Clifton.
For directions and a copy of the discussion material, call her at 703-631-1267 or the membership chairman at 703-830-8198. For a unit meeting at a more convenient day or time, call the League office at 703-658-9150.
<sh>Park Authority Meeting
<bt>The next meeting of the Fairfax County Park Authority will be Wednesday, Sept. 11, 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>OK for Jiffy Lube Sundays
<bt>The Jiffy Lube along Route 50 in Chantilly will now be able to have Sunday hours. Since a new carwash in the same area will be open for business on Sunday, the Jiffy Lube wanted the same opportunity. The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors recently approved it having Sunday hours of 10 a.m.-4:30 p.m.
<sh>Attorney's License Suspended
<bt>The Virginia State Bar Disciplinary Board has suspended the law license of a Clifton attorney. He is Robert Edmund La Serte of 5827 Orchard Hill Lane in The Ponds community, near New Braddock Road.
On July 26, the board suspended his license to practice law for three years and issued a public reprimand. The board found that he incompetently drafted a legally defective deed and failed to explain to his client that his office could not perform the real-estate settlement the client believed she had engaged him to perform.
It also found that he failed to reconcile, balance and maintain proper records for his trust account. According to the Virginia State Bar, "La Serte's failure to inform his client that his office did not perform residential real-estate settlements caused delay in a scheduled settlement, with attendant increased costs to his client."
The Virginia State Bar further noted that "his mismanagement of his trust account resulted in loss to his bank when it honored a check drawn by [him] against insufficient funds." La Serte was ordered to make full restitution to the client and the bank or suffer revocation of his license to practice law in Virginia.
<sh>WFCM Needs Food, Volunteers
<bt>Western Fairfax Christian Ministry's (WFCM) food pantry — which provides food to local needy families — is in serious need of several items. They are: Breakfast cereal, canned pastas, fruit, juices and meats (salmon and chicken), coffee, tea, flour, sugar, shortening, spaghetti sauce and toilet tissue.
To donate, call 703-815-3238, or bring these things to the Shepherd Center. It's open Monday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-2 p.m., and is between Fashion Bug and Payless Shoes in the Sully Plaza Shopping Center at 13924 Metrotech Drive in Chantilly.
In addition, because of summer vacations, the WFCM is also in urgent need of volunteers, Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m.-noon and noon-2 p.m. To volunteer, call 703-988-9656.
<sh>Kids in Crisis Ministry
<bt>Western Fairfax Christian Ministry's (WFCM) Kids in Crisis Ministry provides emergency assistance to families impacted by a child's illness. Since such families are too distracted to research all the organizations that might help them, If anyone knows of a family in need, please advise them to call the hotline at 703-378-3045. Leave a message on the "Kids in Crisis" box, and a volunteer will return the call.
This program offers a safety net for families whose income or expenses are affected by a child's illness. Besides medical bills, they'll incur costs such as travel, babysitting, special equipment and home health care.
Even families with adequate health insurance may find it difficult to meet these expenses. Kids in Crisis aids in areas not covered by traditional health insurance policies. For more information, call the hotline or Karen Dolan at 703-266-3144.
<sh>Blood Urgently 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, as well as A and B. 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 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>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.