Mansion to Close
<bt>This year the Westmoreland Davis Memorial Foundation Inc., the charitable entity entrusted with preserving historic Morven Park, has decided to accelerate the restoration of the mansion. The recent discovery of serious drainage issues that threaten the foundation and contents of the mansion will force the closing of the building after July 4.
During this extensive work under and around the building, the Morven Park property will remain open to the public during visitors' hours for historical tours of the grounds and visits to the Winmill Carriage Collection. In addition, some new exhibits of pieces of the Davis' collection will be on display in the Vaughan Room at the Visitors Center.
<sh>Recycling Changes
<bt>As of July 1, local recycling drop-off centers in Loudoun County will accept office paper and junk mail in addition to the other recyclable materials collected at the sites.
There are public drop-off centers at the following locations that accept bottles, cans, newspapers, magazines, phone books, cardboard, paperboard, office paper and junk mail for recycling:
* Arcola Community Center, 24244 Gum Springs Road (Route 659).
* Western Loudoun Recycling Center, 38159 Colonial Highway, Hamilton.
* Hillsboro Elementary School, 37110 Charles Town Pike (Route 9).
* Loudoun County Landfill, 20939 Evergreen Mills Road (Route 621), Leesburg.
* Lovettsville Recycling Center, 1 Berlin Pike.
* Lucketts Elementary School, Saturdays only, 8 a.m.- noon, 14550 James Monroe Highway (Route 15).
* Mickie Gordon Memorial Park, one mile east of Middleburg on Carters Farm Lane.
* Park View High School Bus Parking Lot, 400 W. Laurel Ave., Sterling Park.
* Philomont Fire Department, 36560 Jeb Stuart Road, (Route 630).
* Leesburg Food Lion, 720 S. King St., phone books during June, July, August only.
* Leesburg Wal-Mart, Edwards Ferry Road (Route 15 N), phone books during June, July, August only.
For more information about these and other local recycling opportunities, call the Loudoun County Office of Solid Waste Management's recycling hotline at 703-771-5318 or visit www.loudoun.gov/oswm.
<sh>Grants for Historic Preservation
<bt>The Library of Virginia awarded Loudoun two historic preservation grants in the amount of $42,399, according to Gary M. Clemens, Clerk of the Circuit. One grant will allow the Clerk's Office to install a security system in the historic records research room and the other will permit the continuation of efforts to preserve the chancery court cases filed from the late 1700s to the early 1900s.
Loudoun County has court records dating back to its origin in 1757 when the Lord of Fairfax provided a land grant to the Earl of Loudoun. Loudoun is one of only a handful of Circuit Court Clerk's Offices in Virginia that possess all its historical records dating back to its origin. Many courts lost records during the Civil War due to destruction and theft.
The old chancery papers are currently stored in envelopes and must be folded for insertion in the envelopes. Each time these court papers are removed, there is a risk that the brittle papers will crack or tear, causing significant damage to these records. The preservation efforts involve removing the old papers, carefully unfolding them and inserting the
flattened papers in acid-free file folders for long-term retention. During the process, the court case information is indexed in a special database to ensure a proper catalog of the historic chancery papers.
<sh>Sediment Program Improved
<bt>The Loudoun County Erosion and Sediment Control Program has achieved a milestone by earning a "consistent" rating from the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR).
This accomplishment is the result of a three-year effort, which began after the DCR found the Loudoun County program to be "inconsistent" in the four component categories of administration, plan review, inspection
and enforcement.
After the state's finding, the county took steps to improve
the program, which operates out of the Department of Building and Development. These steps included increasing
the size of the inspection staff; developing a standardized enforcement protocol; amending the Alternative Inspection Program, which resulted in a cost-savings to the county of at least $700,000 a year; and revising local ordinances in regard to erosion control. The ordinance revision process included a focus group with representatives from private
industry, state and local jurisdictions, and other agencies.
The primary mission of the county's Erosion and Sediment Control Program is to minimize the degradation of properties, stream channels, water and other natural resources by establishing requirements for the control of soil erosion, sediment deposits and stormwater runoff.