<sh>Man Guilty of Embezzlement
<bt>Edward Brabham, 61, of Centreville was convicted Monday in Loudoun County Circuit Court of five counts of embezzlement. According to that county's Sheriff's Office, he embezzled approximately $239,000 from his employer.
Brabham worked at the front counter of United Rentals, on the Chantilly/Loudoun border. But over a period of 12-14 months, say authorities, he'd been taking checks made out to United Rentals. He then floated the funds between the heavy-equipment rental company and his personal accounts.
Members of the Sheriff's Office Financial Crimes Section began investigating the embezzlement allegations against Brabham in May 2004 and arrested him at his home in Centreville in July 2004. He is scheduled for sentencing May 13 before Judge Burke F. McCahill.
<sh>Ruptured Gas Line in Chantilly
<bt>A ruptured gas line along Route 50 west in Chantilly tied up firefighters and snarled traffic for four hours, last Thursday afternoon, Jan. 27. The Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department received a call, around 12:05 p.m., reporting a smell of natural gas in that area — possibly due to a contractor accidentally hitting a gas line.
More than 40 fire and rescue personnel and some 17 emergency vehicles responded to the intersection 14100 Lee Jackson Memorial Highway and 3950 Centre View Drive. "First arriving units reported that a 4-inch, PVC pipe had been cut by a backhoe," said fire department spokesman Raul Castillo. "There were no injuries."
Fire stations responding were: Chantilly, Fair Oaks, Northpoint, Frying Pan, Oakton, McLean and Herndon, plus canteen units from the Vienna station and Station 17 in Centreville. Fire engines, ambulances and medic units all rushed to the scene, as did police personnel and vehicles to control and divert the traffic away from the area.
<sh>Child Carseat Inspections
<bt>The Sully District Police Station is offering free, child carseat inspections by certified technicians. The next dates are Thursday, Feb. 3, from 5–9 p.m., and Thursday, Feb. 10, from 10 a.m.–2 p.m. No appointment is necessary, but technicians request that parents make an effort to install their child safety seats themselves, so they may properly inspect and make adjustments, as necessary. Call the Fairfax County Operations Support Bureau at 703-280-0559. The Sully Police Station is at 4900 Stonecroft Blvd. in Chantilly.
<sh>Centreville Historic District Mtg.
<bt>The Centreville Historic District work group will meet Thursday, Feb. 3, at 7 p.m. in the Sully District Governmental Center, 4900 Stonecroft Blvd. in Chantilly. The visioning session of the last meeting will be discussed, and information will be presented on the historical background of the 30 parcels in the proposed Historic District expansion area.
<sh>Off-Leash Dog Park Meeting
<bt>CentrevilleDogs — a group of more than 150 Centreville residents who want to establish a local, off-leash dog park — will meet Thursday, Feb. 3, from 7-8 p.m. The meeting is at the Sully Station II Community Center, 5501 Sully Park Drive in Centreville.
The group is currently working with the Fairfax County Park Authority to perhaps locate such a facility within Quinn Farm Park at the intersection of Braddock and Old Lee roads. So far, it's reached 20 percent of its fund-raising goal of $10,000. For more information, e-mail CentrevilleDogs@yahoo.com., see www.centrevilledogs.org or write to P.O. Box 230542, Centreville, VA 20120.
<sh>Sully Land-Use, Traffic
<bt>The Sully District Land-Use and Transportation Committee will meet Monday, Feb. 7, at 7:30 p.m. in the Sully District Governmental Center, 4900 Stonecroft Blvd. in Chantilly. Call Jeff Parnes, 703-904-0131, evenings.
<sh>Battlefield Bypass Draft EIS
<bt>The Federal Highway Administration has just released the draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Battlefield Bypass project. It may be viewed online at www.battlefieldbypass.com/resources.htm.
Mandated by Congress in 1988, the project closes Routes 29 and 234 through the Manassas National Battlefield Park and channels their traffic elsewhere. In December, the FHWA recommended Alternative D — the route least disruptive to Fairfax County homes — as the pathway the new road should take.
<sh>New West County High School Planned in Another Decade
<bt>The Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) adopted last Thursday, Jan. 27, by the Fairfax County School Board for fiscal years 2006 through 2010 contains $75 million for a new high school for the western Fairfax County/Dulles area. This could come as good news for the ever-growing Westfield High — but probably not until 2014-2015.
"It's a good 10 years out," said Gary Chevalier, director of Facilities Planning Services for Fairfax County Public Schools. "But at least there's a line item in there for the high school, and money will be set aside for it."
<sh>Neighborhood Watch Training
<bt>Communitywide Neighborhood Watch training will be held Wednesday, Feb. 9, from 7-9 p.m. at the Sully District Governmental Center, 4900 Stonecroft Blvd. in Chantilly. This training is for established Neighborhood Watches with new members in need of training.
If weather is inclement, training will be postponed until Thursday, Feb. 24, at the same time and place. Communities that don't have an active, established Neighborhood Watch need to contact the Crime Prevention office at 703-814-7018 to set up an individual, group-training session.
<sh>Park Authority to Meet
<bt>The next meeting of the Fairfax County Park Authority is Wednesday, Feb. 9, at 7:30 p.m. in the Herrity Building, 12055 Government Center Parkway, Suite 900, in Fairfax. Call Judy Pedersen at 703-324-8662.
<sh>Citizens Advisory Committee
<bt>Sully District's Citizens Advisory Committee (CAC) will meet Tuesday, Feb. 15, at 7:30 p.m., in the Sully District Governmental Center, 4900 Stonecroft Blvd. in Chantilly.
<sh>Dulles Airport Runways Draft EIS
<bt>The draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the new runways at Dulles International Airport has just been released. It may be viewed at www.mwaa.com/dulles/EnvironmentalStudies/RunwaysEIS.htm. In addition, a public hearing on this document and its contents will be held Wednesday, Feb. 23, at Stone Middle School. The public information meeting will begin at 5 p.m., followed by the public hearing at 6 p.m.
<sh>Constituent Viewpoint Hotline
<bt>The Virginia General Assembly will again provide a toll-free Constituent Viewpoint hotline. This will allow residents to express their views on issues before the General Assembly to their representatives in the Senate and the House of Delegates. The number is 1-800-889-0229. Constituent Viewpoint will receive calls from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. on each legislative workday from Jan. 12 through Feb. 25.
Operators will ask callers to provide their names, addresses and phone numbers for verification purposes, plus the legislative issue on which they are expressing their views. Operators will provide the names of the callers' legislators, record their messages and forward this information to the legislators.
<sh>Blood Donations are Sought
<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.