Crash Kills Fairfax Man on I-66
<bt>A 34-year-old City of Fairfax man died early Sunday morning after crashing his SUV on I-66 west, near the Route 28 north exit in Centreville. He was Nathaniel Wayne Eminger of Lyndhurst Drive. Virginia State Police Sgt. Terry Licklider said he'd recently moved here from Indiana.
Eminger was driving a 1999 GMC JIMMY at 3:24 a.m. when, said Licklider, "He ran off the road onto the left shoulder, into the median and the grassy area. He struck the concrete pillar of the bridge atop the Route 28 overpass, head on."
The sergeant said Eminger wasn't wearing a seatbelt. He also noted that "excessive speed" was a factor and skid marks at the scene indicated that Eminger had been driving more than 75 mph. "He was killed instantly," said Licklider
Police don't yet know whether the Fairfax man fell asleep at the wheel, prior to crashing, nor whether he'd been drinking, and the cause of the crash remains under investigation. "There's no indication of any alcohol use," said Licklider. "But we have to wait for the autopsy results to see if alcohol was a factor."
<sh>Youth Coach Pleads Guilty to Porn Charges
<bt>Christopher H. Allen, 36, pleaded guilty Tuesday, Nov. 8 to one count of possession of child pornography. According to a U.S. Department of Justice press release, the indictment alleged that among the images stored on Allen's computer were images of a girls soccer team, altered to make it appear as if the minors were engaged in sexually explicit conduct with an adult male. Allen, a Fairfax resident, coached a girls soccer team for 10-year-olds with the Springfield Youth Club.
Allen is in custody until his sentencing in January 2006, when he faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison for possession of child pornography. The United States Postal Inspection Service investigated the case, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Gerald Smagala will prosecute it, said the release.
Anyone with information for police regarding this case should contact U.S. Postal Service Inspector Stephan Lear at the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, at 703-837-6317 or 804-640-4584.
<sh>Clifton Candlelight Tour, Dec. 3
<bt>The annual Clifton Candlelight Tour of Homes, which includes a Caroling on Horseback parade, will be Saturday, Dec. 3, in the historic Town of Clifton. The parade begins at 2 p.m. and is sponsored by the Clifton Horse Society. Local residents decorate their horses in holiday finery and parade through the town singing Christmas carols.
The homes tour is from 4-7:30 p.m. Four homes will be open to the public, as well as three churches and the Clifton caboose. Local choirs will perform in the churches, on the half hour, from 4:30-6:30 p.m. Raffle tickets will be on sale for prizes including dinners at local restaurants and a one-night stay at the Canary Cottage Bed & Breakfast in Clifton.
Tickets are $15, adults; $5, children ages 4-12. Ages 3 and under are free, but strollers are not allowed. Tickets may be purchased in Clifton at Baskets & Boughs, the Clifton Store, Cottage Art, All that Glitters, Noodles & Noggins and the Clifton Coffee Mill. They're also available at the Temptations gift shops in Burke and in the Colonnade Shopping Center at Union Mill.
Co-chairs of the event are Lynne Garvey Wark and Jennifer Chesley. For more information, contact Wark at 703-322-1811 or at lghassoc@erols.com, or Chesley at 703-830-2129.
<sh>Tax Relief Workshop, Nov. 17
<bt>Supervisor Elaine McConnell (R-Springfield) presents a workshop on real estate tax relief for Springfield District seniors, Thursday, Nov. 17, from 10 a.m.-2 p.m., at 6140 Rolling Road, Springfield.
Representatives from Fairfax County's Department of Tax Administration will be available to help seniors determine if they are eligible for tax relief and show them how to apply. Last month, the Board of Supervisors expanded the Real Estate Tax Relief Program for the Elderly and Disabled, increasing eligibility requirements. The change is retroactive to the entire tax year 2005. Applicants who have already been certified for exemption need not reapply.
For more on the workshop, call Susan Zarybnicky at 703-324-2500, TTY 711. For more about real estate tax relief, call 703-222-8234, TTY 703-222-7594. Relief applications are at www.fairfaxcounty.gov/dta/pdf_files/2005taxrelief.pdf.
<1b> —Bonnie Hobbs
<sh>Sobriety Checkpoint in Franconia
<bt>Fairfax County police officers from the Franconia District Station conducted a sobriety checkpoint from Friday, Nov. 4, at 11 p.m. to Saturday, Nov. 5, at 2 a.m. said a Fairfax County Police Department press release. Officers stopped approximately 345 drivers at the checkpoint, located on the southbound lanes of Backlick Road at Braddock Road. No motorists were arrested for driving while intoxicated, said the release, but three received citations for traffic offenses.