<sh>Vienna Officer Receives Award
<bt>Detective Tina L. Brook of the Vienna Police Department will be receiving a Lifesaving Award for her part in preventing a suicide.
In December 2003, Brook and Fairfax County Police Officers Lance A. Hamilton and Dana L. Robinson arrived at a Metro station parking garage to find a 16-year-old girl standing close to the edge of the four-story structure, apparently ready to jump.
Brook moved close enough to speak to the girl. The girl was crying and said that she wanted to die.
Brook continued to speak to the girl, distracting her, as Hamilton and Robinson sneaked up next to the girl. As the girl moved closer to the edge of the wall, Hamilton and Robinson grabbed her and pulled her to safety.
Hamilton and Robinson were each given a Certificate of Valor for their role in saving the girl.
Brook, Hamilton and Robinson will receive their awards Thursday, Feb. 24, during the 27th Annual Valor Awards luncheon at the McLean Hilton. The Valor Awards are presented annually by the Fairfax County Chamber of Commerce to recognized heroic efforts by local police and fire and rescue personnel.
<sh>Vienna-Area Firefighter Honored
<bt>Vienna resident and firefighter Rudy Iturrino will receive a Bronze Medal of Valor from the Fairfax County Chamber of Commerce for his part in a boat rescue. Iturrino will receive the award Thursday, Feb. 24, at the 27th Annual Valor Awards luncheon at the McLean Hilton.
In June 2004, a fire boat crew responded to a call that a disabled boat was taking on water. The boat was occupied by two adults and three children.
Upon arrival, the crew found that the boat was sinking rapidly. Master Technician Virgil J. Weber maneuvered the fire boat close to the sinking boat. Iturrino and Capt. Steven Clark began organizing the rescue of the passengers.
Iturrino held tightly to the youngest girl and transferred her to the fire boat and then transferred a boy from the sinking vessel, passing him to Tech. Richard N. Mitchell.
Iturrino straddled the boats, one foot on each, and locked hands with the third child, pulling her to safety. Clark then locked arms with Iturrino and went onto the sinking boat. He was able to pull both adults to safety. The boat sank within minutes.
Clark will also receive a Bronze Medal of Valor, and Weber and Mitchell will each be given a Lifesaving Award at the Valor Awards luncheon.
<sh>Correction
<bt>The story "Senator Reports Back from Richmond" [Vienna Connection, Feb. 9-15], issue implied that RU-486 and the "morning after" pill were the same thing. They are not. The morning after pill prevents a fertilized egg from implanting in the uterus. RU-486 effects an egg which has already implanted.
<sh>Youth Charged in Armed Robberies
<bt>Fairfax County Police arrested a 15-year-old suspect on Friday, Feb. 11, in connection with two Vienna-area armed robberies.
Working with the Metro Transit Police, the Fairfax County Police Department arrested the juvenile, a resident of Washington, D.C., around 8:50 a.m., at the Vienna/Fairfax Metro Station. Evidence obtained at the time of the arrest has enabled detectives to link the juvenile to the robberies that occurred Feb. 5 and Feb. 8 in the Vienna area. Charges of armed robbery and use of a firearm in the commission of a felony are pending against the youth.
On Feb. 8, a couple walking home from the Metro station was robbed at gunpoint. According to a police report, a 40-year-old man and a 39-year-old woman walked into their apartment building in the 9400 block of Virginia Center Blvd., around 9:30 p.m. As they were walking down the hall toward their residence, a man approached them from behind and pointed a gun at the man. He demanded both of their wallets. They complied, and he fled the building.
On Feb. 5, around 2:30 a.m., a 22-year-old woman and a 24-year-old man were walking from the Metro station to an apartment complex in the 2700 block of Centerboro Drive. Once inside the apartment building, the couple was approached from behind by a man who brandished a handgun and demanded the man's money and the woman's purse. The man then fled in an unknown direction.
None of the victims in the Feb. 5 or Feb. 8 incidents were injured.
<sh>Teach in Virginia Session Offered
<bt>Virginia Department of Education hosts the "Teach in Virginia" public information session on March 9, from 6-7:30 p.m., at Patrick Henry Public Library, 101 Maple Ave. E., Vienna. The program recruits outstanding individuals, both licensed and nonlicensed, to teach in high-need-subject areas for selected public school divisions throughout the commonwealth of Virginia. Attendees will have an opportunity to meet Teach in Virginia staff, hear the experiences of current teachers, learn more about the program and ask questions. To register, visit www.teachinvirgina.org. Questions prior to the information session should be directed to the Teach in Virginia office at 804-225-4544 between 2 and 4 p.m.