Cabbie Charged with Assault
<bt>Fairfax County police arrested a local, taxi-cab driver recently, charging him with assaulting a 16-year-old, female passenger. He is Nauman Shaukat Khan, 39, of 12114 Greenway Court in Fairfax's Penderbrook community.
According to police, on March 25, Khan — who drives for Springfield Yellow Cab — picked up the girl at her Reston home and drove her to a treatment center in the City of Fairfax. Police say she sat in the front seat, per his request. But when he stopped for a red light, they allege that he sexually assaulted her over her clothes.
The girl reported it to an acquaintance, and the alleged incident was eventually reported to police. After an investigation, police charged Khan on April 23 with assault and contributing to the delinquency of a minor.
He was released on personal recognizance and has a May 26 court date. If convicted, he could receive a maximum of two years behind bars.
<sh>Crash Victim Is Improving
<bt>Abdallah Toma, a 34-year-old Centreville man injured in an April 18 crash, is no longer in critical condition at Inova Fairfax Hospital. His condition has now been upgraded to serious.
Toma was driving a Jeep Cherokee in Centre Ridge when the accident occurred. Fairfax County police say he was making a left turn when a Chevrolet truck allegedly driven by Centreville resident Pablo Florian, 45, struck his vehicle broadside.
Believing that Florian was intoxicated at the time, police charged him with driving while intoxicated (DWI) and DWI maiming (causing permanent and significant physical impairment). Toma sustained internal injuries and was taken to the hospital in critical condition. But hospital spokeswoman Kathleen Thomas said Tuesday afternoon that he's now listed as being in serious condition
<sh>Checkpoint Yields Two Arrests
<bt>A police sobriety checkpoint last week didn't yield any drunk-driving arrests, but it did enable police to charge two people with criminal offenses. Fairfax County police conducted the checkpoint Friday, April 30, from 10:30 p.m.-1 a.m. on southbound West Ox Road and the heliport entrance, across the street from Costco.
Approximately 633 cars passed through the checkpoint and, during the event, police served two outstanding warrants for domestic violence and issued three traffic summonses.
<sh>Gang Awareness Seminar
<bt>The Sully Crime Prevention unit will hold a Gang Awareness Seminar, this Thursday, May 6, from 7-9 p.m. It will be at the Sully District Governmental Center, 4900 Stonecroft Blvd. ,in Chantilly.
<sh>Westfield Community Coalition
<bt>The Westfield Community Coalition will hold a brown-bag luncheon, Monday, May 10, from 11:30 a.m.- 12:30 p.m. at the Sully District Governmental Center, 4900 Stonecroft Blvd., in Chantilly. Dessert and beverages will be provided. Speakers will discuss free, prevention programs available to the local schools. Speakers and their topics are:
* Clara Marshall, "Girl Power," a substance-abuse prevention program for girls 10–15 years old;
* Diane Eckert, "Get Real About Violence," "Get Real About Tobacco" and "Guiding Good Choices." These three programs are geared for students in grades six through nine;
* Karen Scudder, "The Leadership and Resiliency Program," for teens ages 14-19. This program works to enhance youths’ internal strengths and resiliency, while preventing involvement in substance abuse and violence.
The coalition will hold its last business meeting of the year on Monday, June 7, to discuss its plans and goals for the 2004-2005 school year. Community input is vitally important, and all are welcome to attend. For more information, call Nancy Bennett at 703-266-2370.
<sh>Chantilly Community Coalition
<bt>The Chantilly Community Coalition will meet Monday, May 10, at 4 p.m. in the conference room of the Chantilly Regional Library. Call John Hanyok at 703-262-2475.
<sh>Workshop on Sully Plantation
<bt>The Fairfax County Park Authority will hold a planning workshop on the Master Plan revision for the Sully Historic Site, off Route 28 in Chantilly. It will be Tuesday, May 11, at 7 p.m. in the Franklin Middle School cafeteria, off Route 50 west, at 3300 Lees Corner Road.
This is a chance for area residents to share their ideas for this 128-acre historic property included on the National Register of Historic Places and accredited by the American Association of Museums.
Sully was built in 1794 by Richard Bland Lee, Northern Virginia's first representative to Congress. The house is furnished with Federal-period antiques, and outbuildings include a kitchen, smokehouse and stone dairy.
<sh>Clifton Town Council Mtg.
<bt>The Clifton Town Council will meet Tuesday, May 11, at 7 p.m. in the Clifton Town Meeting Hall, 12641 Chapel Road in Clifton. This meeting was postponed from last week because of the town election.
<sh>Park Authority To Meet
<bt>The next meeting of the Fairfax County Park Authority will be Wednesday, May 12, at 7:30 p.m. at the Herrity Building, 12055 Government Center Parkway, Suite 900, in Fairfax. Call Judy Pedersen at 703-324-8662.
<sh>WFCM Urgently Needs Food
<bt>Western Fairfax Christian Ministries (WFCM) is in urgent need of groceries and personal items for its food pantry for local needy families. Especially needed are: Breakfast cereal, chili, spaghetti, canned meat/pasta meals such as spaghetti and ravioli, jelly, bags of rice, fruit juice, bags of beans, boxed dinners and lima beans, as well as personal-care products and paper goods such as bathroom tissue and paper towels.
Donations may be dropped off, Monday-Saturday, from 10 a.m.-2 p.m., at the Shepherd Center at 13981 Metrotech Drive in the Sully Plaza Shopping Center in Chantilly. For more information, call 703-988-9656. "WFCM greatly appreciates the support it receives from committed community members," said executive director Dorothy Fonow. "We could not serve the people in need without your help."
<sh>Blood Is 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're accepted Tuesday-Friday, noon-8 p.m., and Saturday, 8 a.m.-2 p.m. For an appointment to give blood, call 703-322-1970, or drop in at your own convenience.