Taxes Due
<bt>The personal property tax deadline is Thursday, May 5. Any payment not received or postmarked by this date will be assessed a 10 percent penalty. This payment is the first installment of the semi-annual tax. The state phase-out of the car tax remains at 70 percent of the tax and has been directly deducted from taxpayers' bills. This applies to those vehicles used for personal use only and for the first $20,000 of assessed value.
Payment can be made at the Leesburg Office located at the Government Center, 1 Harrison St., S.E., Leesburg, on the first floor or the Eastern Loudoun office located at the Loudoun Tech Center, 21641 Ridgetop Circle, Suite 104, Sterling. Payments may be made by check, cash or credit card. Payment may also be made via the Internet at www.loudoun.gov. There is a convenience fee when using a credit card or taxpayers may utilize E-Check, which does not have a convenience fee.
Both offices will remain open until 6 p.m. Wednesday, May 4 and Thursday, May 5.
Customer service representatives will be available by telephone at these times as well, contact the Treasurer's Office at 703-777-0280. For questions regarding the assessment of a vehicle, contact the Commissioner of Revenue's office at 703-777-0260.
<sh>Markets to Open
<bt>The Loudoun Valley Homegrown Markets Association (LVHMA) will be opening its markets beginning May 4. Residents in Cascades, Leesburg, Middleburg, Purcellville, South Riding and Sterling will have the opportunity to purchase fresh products from local farmers, including fruits and vegetables, flowers, fresh breads and baked goods and meat products. The Leesburg market and the Middleburg market will operate from 8 a.m.-noon on Saturdays; the Cascades market will operate from 9 a.m.-1 p.m. on Sundays; the South Riding market will operate from 4-7 p.m. on Wednesday evenings; and the Purcellville market will be open from 4-7 p.m. on Thursday evenings. The Sterling market, which operates from 4-7 p.m. on Wednesdays, will not open until June 1.
<sh>Seeking Information
<bt>Loudoun County Animal Care and Control is asking the public for help in finding a dog that bit a jogger in Ashburn, Sunday, April 24.
According to the report, a man was jogging on a bike path in the area around Greenwich Square in Ashburn on Sunday morning between 11:30 a.m. and 11:45 a.m. when he encountered a man walking his dog. As the jogger passed, the dog lunged on its leash and bit the jogger on the leg below the knee.
The dog is described as a purebred Dalmatian. The sex and age are unknown. The man walking the dog is described as a Caucasian male in his late 40s or early 50s, approximately 5 feet 8 inches to 5 feet 11 inches tall, weighing 180-200 pounds. He was wearing a blue sweatshirt, jeans, a hat and headphones at the time of the incident. He is also a smoker.
Anyone with information on the dog or the dogÕs owner should call the Loudoun County Department of Animal Care and Control at 703-777-0406.
<sh>Homes Damaged
<bt>The Sheriff's Office is working to determine who broke into two South Riding homes over the weekend causing
more than $50,000 in damage.
According to the Sheriff's Office, a home on Valiant Drive received the most extensive damage totaling more than $48,000 after suspects allegedly entered the home and destroyed drywall, appliances, windows and mirrors. Evidence collected at the scene included numerous beer cans and bottles found inside and outside of the home.
A second home on Clarecastle Drive received damage of up to $3,000 over the weekend. Inside that home Sheriff's Investigators found damaged windows and railings to the stairwell. Empty beer cans and bottles were collected at this residence as well.
The damage on both homes was discovered Monday morning as construction crews returned to work after the weekend. The two single-family homes, which were nearly complete, were entered through rear windows.
Other homes in each neighborhood have had similar incidents in the past few weeks. The Sheriff's Office is asking anyone with information about any of these cases to call their Criminal Investigations Division at 703-777-0475.
Callers wishing to remain anonymous can contact Loudoun County Crime Solvers at 703-777-1919. If a tip leads to an arrest and indictment the caller could be eligible for a cash reward of up to $1,000.
<sh>Juveniles Charged
<bt>Five juveniles were charged Tuesday, April 19, for the
March assault of a Sterling youth, according to the Loudoun county sheriff's Office.
The juveniles, all of whom are from the Sterling area, were charged with assault by a mob. They range in age from 14 to 17 years old.
The assault occurred on March 10 when the victim and a friend were walking in the area of Algonkian Parkway near Cascades Parkway. At that time the five juvenile assailants, who had exited a blue Ford Explorer, would allegedly chase the 14-year-old eventually grabbing and assaulting him.
The suspects took several items from the victim including a skateboard and book bag. The items were later recovered in a nearby small stream.
All five of the suspects remain in the custody of their parents or guardians.
<sh>Construction Site Theft
<bt>An Alexandria man was caught in the act of a larceny from a Purcellville construction site April 17, according to the Loudoun County SheriffÕs Office.
Ceci Lio Flores, 27, is alleged to have taken an air conditioner from a home under construction but instead was interrupted by a concerned site manager. The incident occurred shortly after 9 a.m. Sunday morning when the US Homes employee was checking on his site in the 16600 block of Golden Crest Court. There he noticed a man parked in the driveway of a home under construction in the Write Farms development. The site manager confronted the suspect who then jumped into a van and fled, during which, he struck several sheets of drywall that were hanging over the edge of the bed of the site managers pick-up truck.
Sgt. Jeff Brown located the suspect van and conducted a traffic stop. An officer from the Leesburg Police Department assisted in the apprehension of Flores.
The suspect was found to allegedly have two air conditioning units in the van. One of the units had the wires cut and appeared to have been removed from the site of the home under construction.
Construction site larcenies continue to be on the rise in Loudoun and have increased almost 40 percent in March, compared to January and February. During the month of March there were 41 construction site larcenies reported in the county. The most targeted items in these larcenies were building materials.
Flores is charged with trespassing on posted property, grand larceny, hit and run, reckless driving and driving without a license. The incident remains under investigation.
<sh>Grants Awarded
<bt>The Loudoun County Board of Supervisors has approved Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funding in the amount of $751,868 for nine projects ranging from an affordable housing project for the elderly to public facility improvements in the County. CDBG funds are used primarily to benefit low and moderate income residents.
Those projects approved for this year's funding include: Windy Hill Foundation Elderly Housing Project, Loudoun Cares Spanish Speaking Information and Referral Helpline, Loudoun County Health Department Barriers to Care Transportation Program, Good Shepherd Alliance Transitional Home for Women, Loudoun Habitat for Humanity-Banniker Subdivision, Round Hill Home and Acquisition of Land, Northern Virginia Family Services-Loudoun Accessible Medication Program (LAMP), Town of Leesburg-Public Facilities Improvement on East Market Street, Town of Purcellville-South 14th Street improvements and County of Loudoun Dept. of Social Services-Loudoun County Home Improvement Program (LCHIP). Nine projects were also approved for funding during fiscal year 2005, the first year of funding. Funding for the year two projects will be available beginning July 1.
<sh>County Recognized
<bt>Loudoun County has received two awards of excellence for its public information efforts from the National Association of County Information Officers (NACIO). Loudoun received the top rating in its population category for its Web site, www.loudoun.gov, and its 2004 Annual Report.
Loudoun was one of only seven counties nationwide to receive a Superior rating for its county Web site. It was the seventh time in the last eight years that the site has been recognized as one of the nation's top county government Web sites. The county site is jointly managed by the Office of Public Information and the Department of Information Technology.
Loudoun also received a Superior award for its 2004 Annual Report, and was one of only two counties in the "under 500,000" population category to receive the top rating for a magazine-style annual report. The 24-page, illustrated report highlights the county's accomplishments during the fiscal year of July 1, 2003, to June 30, 2004.
The national awards recognized the work of Loudoun County's Public Information Office, which is staffed by Jim Barnes, Lorie Flading, Robin Geiger, Nancy McCormick and Lisa Rose.