Clarifications/Corrections
<bt>The story, "No Appeal on Supreme Court Ruling," in the March 16-22 edition of the Loudoun Connection, did not run in its entirety. Read the entire story on the Connection's Web site, www.loudounconnection.com.
Del. L. Scott Lingamfelter sponsored the "Marriage License Plate" bill. An article in the March 9-15 Loudoun Connection, "Black Lists Legislative Success" misidentified Del. Richard Black as the legislator who introduced the bill, but he is a co-sponsor and never pulled it when it crossed over into the Senate.
<sh>Memorial Service
<bt>Memorial services will be held for Ali Cheloei of Great Falls Saturday, March 26, from 4-8 p.m., at the Potomac Lakes Community Center, 20670 Fernbank Court, Sterling.
Cheloei and his wife, Shiva, own Abbey Carpet, located in Sterling Park, and have been active in the community for 18 years. The family has requested that in lieu of flowers, donations can be made to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, TN 38105.
<sh>Community Input Session
<bt>The Loudoun County Planning Commission is seeking input from the community on a proposed amendment to the Revised Comprehensive Plan for the Upper Broad Run and Upper Foley subareas of the Transition Policy Area. The amendment is known as Comprehensive Plan Amendment (CPAM) 2005-0003.
The proposed Comprehensive Plan amendment concerns the Upper Broad Run and Upper Foley subareas of the Transition Policy Area. A map of the subareas can be found on the county government Web site at www.loudoun.gov/compplan/transition.htm.
The Planning Commission will host a community input session
Wednesday, March 30, at 7 p.m., at Mercer Middle School, 42149 Greenstone Drive in Aldie, to receive public input on the proposed amendment. This community input session is the first session to be hosted by the Planning Commission on the amendment.
<sh>Thirteen Displaced by Fire
<bt>The Loudoun County Fire Marshal's Office is investigating a fire that extensively damaged a townhouse on Virginia Manor Terrace in Ashburn late Tuesday morning.
Around 11:45 a.m., Tuesday, March 15, Loudoun County Fire-Rescue responded to a structure fire at 43770 Virginia Manor Terrace. Firefighters discovered fire coming from an interior townhouse.
The fire resulted in extensive damage to the townhouse, and two adjacent town homes sustained damage, as well. One unit located at 43768 sustained fire and water damage, while the other unit at 43772 sustained smoke damage.
A total of 13 people have been displaced as a result of this fire. The American Red Cross was contacted to provide assistance and housing for the residents of one of the units. The residents of the other two townhouses will be staying with family and friends.
Two residents were transported to Loudoun Hospital Center for check out for possible smoke inhalation. The dollar loss and cause of the fire had not been determined at this time.
<sh>SheriffÕs Office Seek Memorabilia
<bt>The Loudoun County Sheriff's Office, in planning for the 250th anniversary of the agency in 2007, is seeking the donation of Sheriff's Office memorabilia for display purposes.
The items are to be displayed in the Sheriff's Office Administration building in a secured display. The Sheriff's Office is asking anyone with old photographs, uniforms, badges, patches, documents or any other item related to the agency, to contact Sgt. Chris Athey at 703-729-0621 or cathey@loudoun.gov.
Items may be donated or loaned and loaned items will be returned. Those not wishing to part with a family heirloom are asked to consider allowing the Sheriff's Office to photograph the item. If an item's historical value to the Sheriff's Office is not known, contact Athey so that a determination may be made.
<sh>Purcellville Squad Receives Grant
<bt>Gov. Mark R. Warner announces that more than $3.3 million in grants has been awarded to 120 nonprofit emergency medical services (EMS) agencies and organizations, primarily volunteer rescue squads. The matching grants, totaling $3,303,428, were awarded by the Virginia Department of Health (VDH). These Rescue Squad Assistance Fund grants, administered by the VDH Office of EMS, were effective Jan. 1, 2005.
The awards are made twice a year and represent the largest portion of the Four-for-Life monies collected annually through motor vehicle registration fees. These grant awards assist Virginia's nonprofit EMS agencies with funding for EMS vehicles, communications, medical equipment and training courses. Among the EMS agencies and organizations awarded funding include were from Loudoun, the Purcellville Volunteer Rescue Squad, in the amount of $2,000 for mobile battery chargers.
<sh>Grant Funding in Danger
<bt> Law enforcement officials were on Capitol Hill Tuesday, March 15, addressing concerns over the possible federal budget cut of the Edward Byrne Memorial State and Local Law Enforcement Assistance Grant Program.
Loudoun County Sheriff Steve Simpson was one of several law enforcement leaders from across the United States invited to speak to the Law Enforcement Caucus.
Simpson told the caucus the Edward Byrne Grant was an essential piece in helping to establish a School Resource Officer program in Loudoun
County. He explained to the caucus how the grant has been used to help supplement the salaries of the 13 School Resource Officers (SRO) who work in the county's public high schools and middle schools. To date the total amount of federal funding from the Edward Byrne Grant received
by the Sheriff's Office for the SRO program has exceeded $570,000.
Monies from the grant have also gone to support the Crime Analyst unit and the Vice/Narcotics Unit. The Loudoun County Sheriff's Office recently submitted an application for the grant to purchase surveillance equipment for the Criminal Investigations Division. This equipment will
primarily be used by the Sheriff's Vice/Narcotics Section but will also be available for any major crime investigation.
The Edward Byrne Memorial State and Local Law Enforcement Assistance Grant Program is provided through the Federal Bureau of Justice Assistance who is authorized to award the grants to states for use by
states and units of local government to improve the functioning of the criminal justice system. The grant is a partnership among federal, state, and local governments.
<sh>Safe St. Patrick's Day
<bt>A DUI checkpoint the evening of Thursday, March 17, on Farmwell Road east of Ashburn Village Boulevard showed encouraging signs as no one was arrested for driving under the influence.
A total of 546 vehicles passed through the checkpoint with three drivers being screened and no arrests.
The Sheriff's Office designed the checkpoints to raise public
awareness and to discourage impaired driving. The ultimate goal is to ensure the roads are safe for all motorists. The success of the checkpoints is measured by the number of drivers that were screened and were driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
Members of the Loudoun County Sheriff's Office Special Operations Division conducted the checkpoint with assistance from the Sheriff's Auxiliary Unit and the local chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD).
<sh>Aldie Fire Accidental
<bt>The Loudoun County Fire MarshalÕs Office has determined that the fire, which resulted in an estimated $60,000 damage to a single-family home on Buchannon Gap Road, was accidental due to an overheated electrical cord on a space heater.
Around 3:06 p.m., Sunday, March 13, Loudoun County Fire-Rescue responded to a structure fire in the 39400 block of Buchannon Gap Road in Aldie. Firefighters discovered fire on the second floor of the single-family home.
The fire started when a space heaterÕs electrical cord, which was coiled up, overheated and ignited. The fire then spread quickly to nearby combustibles. The majority of damages were confined to the childrenÕs bedrooms on the second floor of the home.
The family of five, which included two adults and three children, has been displaced. The family will be staying with friends and family pending repairs to the home.
There were no injuries.
<sh>New Alert System
<bt>Loudoun County is launching a new Reverse 911 community notification system, which will be used to distribute emergency-related notifications to county residents and businesses.
The Reverse 911 system, manufactured by Sigma Communications of Indianapolis, is a patented interactive community notification system that distributes emergency voice messages by telephone to residences and businesses. The system can target notifications to specifically defined geographic areas, such as all residences in a flood plain along a specific creek.
The system can also distribute emergency mobilization messages by telephone to public safety staff. The Reverse 911 system supplements the county's existing Citizen Alert System, which distributes text-based messages to citizen e-mail accounts, cell phones, and pagers.
The implementation of the new system is the product of a multi-departmental and multi-jurisdictional project team consisting of staff from the Departments of Information Technology and Fire, Rescue and Emergency Management; the Loudoun County Sheriff's Office; and the Police Departments of the Towns of Leesburg, Purcellville and Middleburg.
The Reverse 911 system was funded through a federal emergency preparedness grant and local funds.
<sh>Upcoming Meetings
<bt>March 21-25
Spring Break. All school closed.
March 24-25
School and administrative office closed.
Tuesday, March 29
* 6 p.m., LCPS finance, construction and site acquisition committee, School Board conference room, 102 North St., N.W., Leesburg.
* 6:30 p.m., School Board meeting, School Board conference room, 102 North St., N.W., Leesburg.