Gang Forum
<bt>A community gang forum, sponsored by the Gang Response Intervention Team (GRIT), is scheduled from 7-9:30 p.m., Thursday, Jan. 27, in the auditorium of Farmwell Station Middle School, 44281 Gloucester Parkway in Ashburn.
Topics to be covered include:
* Gang awareness;
* Local and regional trends;
* Indicators of gang activity;
* What makes a child at risk to join a gang; and
* What a parent can do to prevent a child from joining a gang.
Members of GRIT and the Loudoun County Sheriff's Gang Intelligence Unit will make a formal presentation to be followed by a question-and-answer session.
Contact Dave Carver, GRIT coordinator, 703-777-0303 or visit the Web site at www.loudoun.gov/GRIT.
<sh>Meeting Rescheduled
<bt>The inaugural meeting of the Board of Supervisors' Human Services Committee has been rescheduled for Wednesday, Jan. 26, at 6:30 p.m., in the Board Room of the Loudoun County Government Center, 1 Harrison St., S.E. in Leesburg. The original meeting, scheduled for Jan. 19, was canceled due to the weather.
<sh>House Fire Accidental
<bt>The Loudoun County Fire MarshalÕs Office has determined the fire that destroyed a single-family home on Stone Hollow Drive in Ashburn was accidental.
According to the fire marshal's office, around 6:30 p.m., Monday, Jan. 17, Loudoun County Fire-Rescue were called to the scene for a structure fire at 22011 Stone Hollow Drive. Fire and rescue personnel from Ashburn, Arcola, Sterling and Metropolitan Washington Airport Authority Ñ Dulles Airport responded, and found heavy fire coming from a single-family home that was under construction. Due to the extent of the fire, the house was destroyed. The exact cause of the fire and the dollar loss is pending further investigation by the Loudoun County Fire MarshalÕs Office. One firefighter was transported to Loudoun Hospital Center for treatment of a minor injury.
<sh>Witnesses Sought
<bt>A three-vehicle accident Tuesday, Jan. 18, on
Route 28 in Sterling sent a Leesburg man to an area hospital, according to the Loudoun County Sheriff's Office.
Shortly before 5 p.m. Jordan Hunter Felton, 26, was traveling southbound on Route 28 in a 2001 Chevy Tahoe near the intersection of Nokes Boulevard when he says his brakes malfunctioned. In an attempt to slow down Felton says he went into the left-hand turn lane where he rear-ended a
waiting 1996 Saturn four-door. The impact sent the Saturn into a 2001 Ford Escape that was also sitting at the light.
The driver of the Saturn, Charles H. Simpson, 49, Leesburg, was airlifted to Inova Fairfax Hospital for non-life threatening injuries. The driver of the Ford, Carol Ann Kesler, 49, who is also from Leesburg, declined rescue at the scene.
Felton was not injured in the accident. All three victims were wearing seat belts.
Any witnesses who have yet to come forward are asked to contact DFC M. Cenate, of the Traffic Safety Unit Crash Team, at 703-771-5798.
<sh>School Zone Enforcement
<bt>During a two-day period last week the Loudoun County Sheriff's Office combined efforts with the Virginia State Police and issued 66 tickets to drivers for speeding or other violations in school zones across the county.
The project, called School Traffic Enforcement Patrol (STEP), is targeting drivers for speeding, passing school buses and not yielding to pedestrians in crosswalks.
Of the 66 tickets issued last week, 55 were for speeding, three were for not wearing a seat belt and eight others were for expired vehicle decals.
The school zone enforcement is being conducted in the morning and afternoon in school zones across the county.
<sh>Sheriff's Office Receives
Accreditation
<bt>The Loudoun County Sheriff's Office was approved Thursday, Jan. 20, for accredited status from the Virginia Law
Enforcement Professional Standards Commission (VALEPSC).
A team of five assessors from the Virginia Law Enforcement
Accreditation Coalition spent Jan. 3-5 at the Sheriff's Office reviewing 180 standards, which cover all aspects of the agency to include patrol, administrative and special operation functions, court security, civil process, criminal investigations and budget. Verification by the team that the Loudoun County Sheriff's Office meets the standards of VALEPSC is part of a voluntary process to gain accreditation.
The office was first accredited in 1999 and is one of 51 agencies in Virginia recognized by the commission.
Agencies wishing to retain accredited status must complete the accreditation process every five years. During the five-year period, the agency must submit annual reports attesting to the continued compliance with accreditation standards.
A formal presentation of the accreditation certificate will be held at a later date.