<sh>Clifton Crash Claims Teen
<bt>A 16-year-old Mount Vernon girl died Monday morning after a car crash in Clifton. Fairfax County police say the girl, Jacqueline Rosinski, was driving north on Henderson Road, approaching Old Yates Ford Road, around 11:25 a.m., when the accident occurred.
Police say she lost control of her Ford Taurus, and the vehicle slid sideways into the oncoming lane — where she was hit by a Ford F150 pickup truck. The circumstances surrounding the crash are still under investigation. The driver of the truck, David Perry, 32, of Woodbridge, was taken to Inova Fair Oaks Hospital for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries.
<sh>Guilty Plea for Robbery Attempt at Sweetwater Tavern
<bt>He carried a BB gun with him at the time, but his intentions were serious. And Tuesday morning in Fairfax County Circuit Court, Andrew Woods, 18, pleaded guilty to the Oct. 18 attempted robbery of Sweetwater Tavern in Centreville.
Woods, of Falls Church, walked into the restaurant through the back door, around 1 a.m., brandished the gun and demanded money from the employees. But when the manager, a 31-year-old Centreville man, realized that the weapon was actually a toy, he and other employees grabbed and held the intruder until police arrived.
"He said he did it because he had no job and no money," said Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney Toni Fay, in court Tuesday, to Judge M. Langhorne Keith. "It's pretty dangerous, though." Woods will remain in the Adult Detention Center until he's sentenced on Feb. 13.
<sh>Illegal Still Yields Fine
<bt>The Virginia Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) is pretty much a stickler about folks following the law. So, on Oct. 8, when its special agents found an illegal still right, smack in western Fairfax County, it set about finding who owned it. The still was discovered on residential property along Valley Road in the Penderbrook area, in a shed-type building adjacent to the home there.
An investigation led to two Oakton residents, Daniel Llewellyn Alexander, 20, and Jason Ronald Kuhn, 19, and both were charged with possession of a still without a permit. Tuesday morning in General District Court, Kuhn's case was continued until Feb. 24; however, Alexander's went forward.
Judge Mark Simmons found him guilty as charged and fined him $500, with $250 suspended. Alexander also had to pay $65 in court costs, for $315 total, and Simmons placed him on a year's probation.
<sh>Centreville VFD Gets Grant
<bt>The Centreville Volunteer Fire Department — Station 17 on Old Centreville Road — has just received a fire-prevention grant for $16,182. It was announced, Dec. 19, in Philadelphia by Michael Brown, Under Secretary of Homeland Security for Emergency Preparedness and Response.
It was one of four federal grants given to help local fire departments fund firefighting equipment and firefighter health and safety programs, enhance emergency medical services programs and conduct fire-prevention and safety programs.
<sh>Chantilly Community Coalition
<bt>The next meeting of the Chantilly Community Coalition will be Monday, Jan. 12, at 4 p.m. in the conference room of the Chantilly Regional Library. Call John Hanyok at 703-262-2475.
<sh>Westfield Community Coalition
<bt>The Westfield Community Coalition will meet Monday, Jan. 12, at 3 p.m. at the Sully Governmental Center, 4900 Stonecroft Blvd. in Chantilly. The coalition's goal is to increase community awareness of drug and alcohol abuse among teens in the local area, as well as to plan prevention programs for the benefit of teens in the community. Membership is free and all are welcome to attend the meetings. Call Nancy Bennett at 703-266-2370.
<sh>Place of Worship Planned
<bt>Sant Nirankari Mission wants to build a place of worship on a nearly 4.1-acre site at 4501 Pleasant Valley Road. The sanctuary would have seating for 376 people and would operate from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. The parcel is currently vacant, and the applicant needs to obtain a special permit from Fairfax County to build there.
Details were presented at the Dec. 16 meeting of the West Fairfax County Citizens Association (WFCCA) Land-Use Committee. The congregation has existed in this area for more than 20 years, and its members meet in a Methodist church in the local area.
"We asked them to meet with the Pleasant Valley Homeowners Association [near the proposed site]," said WFCCA Chairman Jim Katcham. "And [county] staff is concerned that [the proposal] has no [plan to handle] overflow parking, so they have to work that out."
<sh>Park Authority to Meet
<bt>The Fairfax County Park Authority will meet Wednesday, Jan. 14, at 7:30 p.m. in the Herrity Building, 12055 Government Center Parkway, Suite 900, in Fairfax. Call Judy Pedersen at 703-324-8662.