Two Charged with Animal Cruelty
<bt>Two men were charged with animal cruelty after neglect led to their German shepherd's death. According to the Fairfax County Police, on Friday, July 30, at 11:30 a.m., Chris Do, 31, of Cherokee Terrace in Sterling, brought his black and tan German shepherd into the Fairfax County Animal Shelter to be euthanized. He and his cousin Vu Do, 28, of Queensberry Avenue in the Springfield area, both owned the dog and shared custody. The dog had multiple open sores and injuries, which were so severely infected there was a pungent odor emitting from them. The dog, after being seen by a local veterinarian, was euthanized. Animal Control Officer Richard Cash discovered the dog had been seen by a veterinarian seven months earlier for fly bites. At that time the veterinarian indicated that the dog was in poor health but could recover. The investigation was concluded when enough evidence showed neglect was the cause of the medical issues that led to the animal being euthanized. The two dog owners turned themselves into police and were released on their personal recognizance.
<sh>Drunk Driver Arrested After Fleeing
<bt>An alleged drunken driver was arrested Aug. 24 after he was seen driving in the wrong direction on Ashburn Village Boulevard and then attempted to flee the scene.
Shortly before 3:30 p.m. Robert Dale Parker Jr., 32, of Sterling, was driving northbound in the southbound lanes near the Farmwell Hunt Plaza when he came upon a Loudoun Sheriff's deputy on routine patrol.
The suspect's car then came to a stop just before a second vehicle, which was turning onto the roadway, came into its path narrowly avoiding an accident. In an apparent attempt to flee the scene the man backed his car into the deputy's cruiser that had pulled behind him and continued to make a U-turn onto Ashburn Village Boulevard, now heading
southbound in the northbound lanes. The vehicle then cut across the median, the southbound lanes, the grassy area of the shopping center and into the parking lot where the car hit a curb and came to a rest near a daycare center.
Parker then fled the car on foot crossing a barbed wire fence, circled around a house and returned to the area of the barbed wire fence.
A West Virginia man also offered assistance to Sheriff's deputies involved in the chase by offering information to dispatchers over a telephone, while two Herndon men also tried to assist in the chase.
Parker was taken into custody and charged with misdemeanor hit and run, driving under the influence, felony eluding police, felony driving after being declared a habitual offender and refusal.
Parker is being held at the Loudoun Adult Detention Center without bond.
<sh>Sheriff's Cruiser Supports Charity
<bt>A Sheriff's Office cruiser bought at auction and donated back to the agency was one of the few survivors at a demolition derby held last Thursday at the Prince William County Fair.
The vehicle smashed its way into raising approximately $3,300 for Virginia Special Olympics and placed second in its heat. This is the second year the Sheriff's Office has participated in the demolition derby raising nearly $5,000 for the charity.
The agency's representative in the demolition derby was Deputy Terry Rudolph. Rudolph is currently a member of patrol and has been with the office for three-and-a-half years. In order to raise money for Special Olympics the Sheriff's Office received sponsors from businesses all over the county. The patrol vehicle was purchased at auction by Deputy Josh McKim and donated back to the Sheriff's Office for use in the event.
<sh>New Gang Intervention Coordinator
<bt>Loudoun's Gang Response Intervention Team has hired a new coordinator. David L. Carver will begin his new duties on Aug. 25. His main duties will be to make sure the multi-agency efforts are focused and integrated. The community agencies are committed to cutting back the gang-related activity in Loudoun through suppression, intervention and prevention. Carver's role will be to implement plans that are comprehensive. Carver served Loudoun for 12 years as a probation officer.
<sh>Naturalist Center Temporarily Closes
<bt>The Smithsonian Institution's Naturalist Center, 741 Miller Drive, S.E. in Leesburg, will be closed for two weeks to the general public for the annual collection's care and cleaning. The center closed Aug. 31 and will reopen Tuesday, Sept. 14.
<sh>Givens Reprimanded
<bt>The Virginia State Bar Seventh District Committee issued a public reprimand to Royce Lee Givens Jr. of Leesburg Aug. 12. It was an agreed disposition of misconduct charges against Givens for filing a frivolous lawsuit. The trial court ruled the suit was not warranted by existing law and was imposed for an improper purpose. The court sanctioned Givens and awarded attorney's fees and costs against him and his client.
<sh>Claude Moore Friends Meeting
<bt>The Friends of Claude Moore Park will hold its September general membership meeting Wednesday, Sept. 1, at 7 p.m., at the Visitor Center on Old Vestals Gap Road. The agenda includes special events for the park such as Movie in the Park, October trail maintenance, Holiday in the Park and the restoration of the Lanesville House and Bridge Schoolhouse. For more information, call 703-444-1275 or visit www.loudoun.gov/prcs/parks/claude.
<sh>New License Fees Proposed
<bt>Complaints from vendors participating in some of
Loudoun's oldest fairs have prompted Bob Wertz, Loudoun's Commissioner of the Revenue, to propose that the Board of Supervisors reduce the local license fee.
Under the county's current regulations, itinerant merchants must pay a license fee of $500. Wertz has proposed that the fee be reduced to $50, retroactive to July 1 for fairs and similar special events lasting seven days or less. The
county ordinance does not require the event sponsor or organizer to be licensed.
According to the Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service publication Tax Rates 2003, Virginia's Cities, Counties and Selected Towns, the following are the itinerant license fees imposed by a few nearby localities: Arlington County, $500; Middleburg, $500; Purcellville, $500; Fairfax County, $40; Prince William County, $500; Round Hill, $10; and Leesburg, $250.
Wertz hopes the board's Finance and Government Services Committee will consider the fee reduction in September. Wertz is asking vendors participating in fairs or festivals to submit the required licensing paperwork with no fee. After the board makes its decision, he will contact them regarding what is due. The Commissioner of the Revenue's Office can be contacted at 703-777-0260.
<sh>Back-to-School Donations Sought
<bt>Area stores, in cooperation with the Loudoun United Way, Loudoun County Department of Social Services and local nonprofit human service agencies, are holding a school supplies drive to collect school supplies for children who cannot afford them. Shoppers across Loudoun County will have the opportunity to help a child by donating needed school supplies at local Giant, Safeway and Rite Aid stores. The Leesburg Pharmacy and Sonak Family Practice in Sterling are also partners and will be collecting donations.
Loudoun nonprofits, government agencies and elementary schools working with low-income families will distribute the supplies in time for school in September.
Look for a donation box or shopping cart with the School Supplies posters and flyers in participating stores and donate to a child in need. Students need book bags, spiral notebooks, three-ring binders, No. 2 pencils, loose leaf three-ring paper, scissors round end, rulers, crayons, composition books, pocket folders, Kleenex, plastic storage bags, liquid soap and a number of miscellaneous items.