Judicial Visit
<bt>Chief Justice Leroy Hassell of the Virginia Supreme Court visited Del. Dick Black's Sterling office last week to gain first-hand knowledge of funding problems the Public Defender's Office faces. The pair visited the Market Street office of the public defender in Leesburg, where they were briefed by Bonnie Hoffman, the deputy public defender and Loudoun Circuit Court Judge James Chamblin.
Hoffman described legal and logistical challenges facing indigent defendants, including limits on evidence they can obtain during discovery and insufficient financial and staff resources.
Loudoun County subsidizes prosecutors' pay but not defense counsels' pay. This results in significantly different pay scales for prosecutors and defenders. Professional training given to prosecutors is not available to defenders.
The General Assembly created the Indigent Defense Commission to find solutions to problems facing the public defenders. The commission is currently working on a proposal to change or delete caps placed on fees for private, court-appointed attorneys assigned by the court to defend impoverished people.
<sh>Daytime Armed Robbery
<bt>An armed-robbery during broad daylight Monday, Aug. 9 has investigators working to determine if the incident is related to a similar robbery that occurred last month.
According to the Sheriff's Office, around 2:15 p.m. the suspect, described as a black male, aged 30 to 40 years old, and 6 feet to 6 feet 3 inches tall, walked into the High Up Food Mart in the Sterling Plaza and allegedly brandished a firearm.
The suspect forced one of the clerks into the booth where the cash register is located and removed an undisclosed amount of money then fled the scene on foot.
On July 30, a suspect with a similar description walked into the Prime Mart on West Church Road in Sterling just before noon and brandished a firearm. He approached the store clerk from behind and asked him for money. When the clerk replied he did not have any the suspect fled the store on foot.
At the time of the robbery he was wearing a maroon spring coat over a white T-shirt. The suspects clothing was described as having spatters of paint on them.
In both cases the suspect is said to be wearing sunglasses.
If you have any information regarding either of these cases please contact Investigator Miller or Investigator Grau of the Loudoun County Sheriff's Office Criminal Investigations Division at 703-777-0475.
<sh>LAWS Receives $150,477 Grant
<bt>Loudoun Citizens for Social Justice Inc. (LAWS) has received its annual grant of $150,477 from the state. The Virginia Department of Social Services divided $6.4 million among 47 community-based domestic violence prevention programs. The grant makes up approximately 18 percent of LAWS's $825,000 budget and will be used for shelter services and case manager salaries, said to Bonnie Cady, LAWS director of administration.
<sh>Tobacco Settlement Grants
<bt>Prevention and Community Outreach Services received a Virginia Tobacco Settlement Foundation (VTSF) grant for $69,607. Funding will be used to support one full-time employee to provide tobacco prevention programming to at-risk elementary- and middle-school-aged youth at two after school programs, at Evans Ridge Apartments and Leesburg Crossing Apartments, and in the schools with youth identified as emotionally disturbed. Programming will begin at the start of the new school year this fall.
In addition, four Northern Virginia Community Services Boards (CSB) — Alexandria, Arlington, Fairfax-Falls Church, and Loudoun — have been awarded $64,025 grant funding from the Virginia Tobacco Settlement Foundation (VTSF) to implement a regional youth tobacco-use prevention program. The CSBs will recruit area community organizations and faith-based groups for the tobacco-use prevention program, Get Real About Tobacco, with area youth. Partner organizations will receive free training, all required materials, on-going technical assistance and a stipend upon successful completion of program requirements. Organizations interested in partnering should contact their local CSB representative Anne Mikszewski at 703-777-0458; TTY 711.
<sh>Proper Recycling
<bt>The Office of Solid Waste Management advises residents to deliver used motor oil, antifreeze and automobile batteries to the facility for recycling versus handling as Household Hazardous Waste. Both options allow for recycling of these materials, but one generates a rebate and the other costs taxpayers. The county receives a rebate for recycled items if they are collected at the landfill and handled by their respective recycling contractors. The landfill, 20939 Evergreen Mills Road, is open Monday through Saturday, from 8 a.m.-4 p.m., and there is no charge to use the recycling center. For more information about proper disposal or recycling of solid waste in Loudoun County, visit www.loudoun.gov/oswm/hhw.htm or call the Office of Solid Waste Management at 703-777-0187.
<hd>Car Show to Benefit MS
<bt>The annual Sterling classic car show to benefit muscular dystrophy will be held Sunday, Sept. 5.
The 14th annual event will be at Northern Virginia Community College on Route 7. Trophies will be awarded to the top 50, best paint, best engine, best interior, people's choice, best of show and David's choice. An award also will be given to the club with the most vehicles, but pre-registration is required. Anyone who signs up for the show before Aug. 25 will pay $15. Otherwise, the cost is $20 at the gate. Admission is $3 per person and children under 12 attend free. There also is no charge for anyone with a disability.
Vendors are needed, according to organizers. A 10-foot by 10-foot space costs $25.
Classic car owners should check in between 7 a.m. and noon. The gates open to the public at 10 a.m. A patriotic opening ceremony will be held at 11 a.m. and the awards ceremony is scheduled for 4 p.m. The event is dedicated to the men and women in the armed services.
For more information, call 703-421-2822 or 703-444-2343 or visit www.sterlingclassiccarshow.org.
<sh>County Program Honored
<bt>Loudoun County's "E-Pay Stubs" program has been selected as a recipient of the Virginia Association of Counties' (VACo's) 2004 Achievement Award. The E-Pay Stubs program uses Web technology to provide electronic pay stubs to about 3,000 Loudoun County employees, most of whom are paid through direct deposit. The new system, which went online in 2003, replaced the traditional method of printing thousands of paper pay stubs every two weeks, counting them manually and delivering them to a central location for distribution. Loudoun is one of 11 counties to receive a VACo Achievement Award and the only winner in the information technology category.