School Fund-raiser
<bt>The Sully Elementary School PTO will be holding a fund-raiser at Chick-Fil-A at the Sugarland Plaza Mall Tuesday, Nov. 29, from 5-8 p.m. Chick-Fil-A will donate a portion of the proceeds to Discovery Park, the planned science park and playground at Sully. Everyone is invited to help raise money for this community project. There will be door prizes available for all children.
The Sully Elementary School PTO will be holding fund-raisers and offering sponsorships for people and businesses who wish to contribute to this community project. For further information, contact Valerie Petrey at 703-787-8931, vpetrey@aol.com or Peter Kronenberg at 703-444-9484, pak@carouselpuppets.com.
<sh>Landfill Holiday Schedule
<bt>The holiday schedule for the Loudoun County Solid Waste Management Facility is as follows:
* The landfill will be closed Thanksgiving Day, Thursday, Nov. 24 and will have normal business hours Friday, Nov. 25, at 8 a.m.
* The landfill will be open, from 8 a.m.-noon, Saturday, Dec. 24 and closed Monday, Dec. 26 in observance of the Christmas holidays.
* The landfill will be closed Saturday, Dec. 31 and will have normal business hours Monday Jan. 2, at 8 a.m.
The normal operating hours at the Loudoun County landfill are Monday-Saturday, from 8 a.m.-4 p.m. The landfill is located at 20939 Evergreen Mills Road, Route 621. The disposal fee is $55 per ton with additional charges added for tires and refrigerated appliances. The landfill accepts cash or checks only.
For more information visit www.loudoun.gov/oswm/landfill.htm or call the Loudoun County Office of Solid Waste Management at 703-777-0187.
<sh>Book Packs Distributed
<bt>The Loudoun Literacy Council, in honor of National Children's Book Week Nov. 14-18, has distributed more than 250 book packs to Loudoun County children residing in the county shelters or enrolled in the Head start and Step programs. The packs contained an age-appropriate book, writing materials and suggestions for literacy-focused craft activities. The Rotary Club of Leesburg and AOL helped fund materials for the packs and with assembling the packs.
<sh>Meeting on Dulles Rail Project
<bt>The Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation will present the proposed design for the first phase of the Dulles Corridor Metrorail Project at a public meeting Thursday, Dec. 8, at Spring Hill Elementary School, 8201 Lewinsville Road, in McLean.
The information meeting, from 6-8:30 p.m., in the school's cafeteria, will present the design changes for the project, which will eventually extend Metrorail service to Dulles International Airport.
The proposed changes are part of an effort to cut the project's price tag from $2.4 billion down to $1.8 billion. The changes would affect the four planned Metro stations in Tysons Corner, as well as alter the alignment along Route 7 and the tunnel at the intersection of Route 7 and Route 123.
The first phase of the project will pass through Tysons Corner, stretching from the West Falls Church station to the eastern edge of Reston. Phase I is scheduled to be finished by 2011, while the second phase Ñ which will run to Dulles Ñ is slated to finish by 2015.
For more information, go to www.dullesmetro.com.
<sh>Transmission Lines Hearings
<bt>The Loudoun County Board of Supervisors has adopted a resolution of continued opposition to the installation of a proposed Dominion Virginia Power transmission line along the Washington and Old Dominion (W&OD) Trail. The resolution, adopted unanimously by the Board Tuesday, Nov. 15, also calls for continued support of underground construction as the preferred method of installation.
The Board's resolution states that "Loudoun County and its citizens will be best served and least damaged" if the proposed transmission facility is placed underground and not on the W&OD Trail. Dominion Virginia Power has filed an application with the State Corporation Commission (SCC) to construct a new 230,000-volt transmission line in western Loudoun County, from the Pleasant View substation to the Hamilton substation.
The SCC has scheduled public hearings in Loudoun County in February 2006 to consider the utility's proposal. Three public hearing sessions are scheduled to be held over two days in Leesburg. The first session will begin at 1:30 p.m., Wednesday, Feb. 8, followed by an evening session beginning at 7 p.m. The third public hearing session will begin Thursday, Feb. 9, at 9:30 a.m. and continue until finished.
The hearings will be held in the Board Room of the Loudoun County Government Center, 1 Harrison St., S.E., in Leesburg. Anyone wishing to comment at these hearings should arrive early and sign in with the SCC bailiff. In addition, comments on the application may be submitted to the SCC in writing or electronically by Feb. 6. More information is available under the Public Notices section on the SCC Web site at http://scc.virginia.gov/caseinfo.htm.
<sh>Land Sold
<bt>The Board of Supervisors successfully sold a piece of property located on Bartholomew Fair Drive in the Sterling District. The 2.85 acres was obtained by the county through a proffered rezoning in 1994 for public purposes. Potential public uses for the site were considered and the
board determined that the property could not be used for any of its Capital Improvement Projects. The county received $632,803 from Potomac View LLC for the land. Following the Board of SupervisorsÕ directive, these funds have been placed in the Public Transportation Fund earmarked for transportation improvements within the Sterling sub-area.
Projects being considered are minor road improvements, turn-lane adjustments, traffic lights or other corrections to the most traveled areas of Sterling and where there is no current funding to improve or correct the problems.
<sh>Lock All Doors and Windows
<bt>In light of a series of burglaries in eastern Loudoun the Sheriff's Office is reminding residents to lock their vehicles and close their garage doors even when they are at home.
Since October unknown subjects have burglarized four homes in the area around Algonkian Parkway in Sterling with a fifth incident in Ashburn, according to the Sheriff's Office.
In all of the cases unknown subjects have entered the homes undetected while the residents were inside and removed credit cards from purses left near the door entrances.
The first incident occurred Oct. 23 in the 20930 block of Lock Court in Potomac Falls where the subject(s) entered an open garage and opened the door leading into the home between 11-12:30 a.m. Inside credit cards were taken and used later that same morning.
A second incident occurred Oct. 26 on Coldspring Place in Potomac Falls where again the subjects entered an open garage door and entrance to a home where credit cards were taken. A third incident occurred Nov. 7 on Laurel Ridge Drive in Ashburn, with another incident Nov. 11 on Parkside Circle in Sterling. The latest incident occurred Nov. 13 on Chapin Court.
In the Ashburn case the subject(s) entered an open car that was parked out front of a residence and used the garage-door opener to open the garage and gain entry into the house.
The Sheriff's Office reminds residents to never leave windows, sliding glass doors and garage entrances open while you are not at home. This can create an opportunity for burglars to enter your home with little effort.
<sh>Two Injured
<bt>A two-vehicle accident on Route 7 Tuesday, Nov. 15, sent two people to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, according to the Loudoun County Sheriff's Office. The accident occurred shortly before 12:30 p.m. just outside the town limits of Leesburg in the eastbound lanes of Route 7 just prior Roxbury Hall Road. In the accident a 2004 Mazda pickup slowed for traffic. A 2000 Honda Civic, driven by Salvador Dejesus Benitez, 18, of Round Hill, was two cars behind the Mazda when he swerved to avoid another car in front of him, according to the sheriff's Office. The Honda overcorrected and then struck the Mazda sending it down an embankment where it overturned. The Honda continued into a guardrail where it also overturned. The driver of the Mazda, Douglas Fletcher Pitts, 43, of Winchester, and Benitez were both taken to the Cornwall Campus of Inova Loudoun Hospital where they are currently being treated. Benitez was charged with reckless driving for failing to keep his vehicle under control, according to the Sheriff's Office.
<sh>Residents Rescued
<bt>An early morning fire Wednesday, Nov. 16, at the Glen Apartments in Leesburg displaces 17 people from four apartments, according to the Loudoun County Fire-Rescue office. Shortly after 4 a.m., Loudoun County Fire-Rescue received a 911 call for a structure fire at the Glen Apartments located at 90 Heritage Way in Leesburg. Within minutes of the first units arriving on the scene a second alarm was issued for additional resources.
The Leesburg Police Officers and firefighters began checking apartments in the building to make sure that everyone was out. Several residents were rescued including a mother and a small child on a second-floor balcony, who were rescued when officers formed a human ladder.
Due to the extent of the damages from the fire, water and smoke, the residents of four units were not able to return to their homes and have been temporarily relocated pending repairs to their apartments. The Loudoun County After the Fire Program and the American Red Cross were on hand to provide assistance. There were no injuries reported as a result of this fire. The cause of the fire is under investigation by the Loudoun County Fire Marshal's Office.
<sh>New Zoning Districts Proposed
<bt>The Loudoun County Board of Supervisors has adopted a resolution to initiate the process of adopting new zoning districts and a new zoning map for the Rural Policy Area of the county, which includes all of western Loudoun outside the incorporated towns, as well as Joint Land Management Areas around certain towns.
The resolution adopted Thursday, Nov. 17, initiates amendments to the Zoning Ordinance, zoning map, Comprehensive Plan and Land Subdivision and Development Ordinance.
The resolution also calls for the board to refer the proposed ordinance and plan amendments to the Planning Commission after considering the recommendations of the Rural Economic Development Council and the Zoning Ordinance Review Committee, along with proposed amendments drafted by staff, and after establishing a schedule for public notice and hearing.
The action comes after a lengthy review by the board of various matters related to rural land-use policies. The review began after a March 2005 Virginia Supreme Court decision, which overturned the January 2003 remapping of Loudoun's Rural Policy Area.
More information about the zoning proposals for the Rural Policy Area is available on the Loudoun County Government Web site at www.loudoun.gov/rural.
<sh>Money for Dulles Rail
<bt>On Nov. 18, the U.S. House of Representatives approved $30 million to help fund Metrorail to Dulles. The first phase of the rail project is estimated to cost $1.8 billion and includes four stations in Tysons Corner and one at Wiehle Avenue in Reston. It is planned to be operational by 2011.
The federal government is paying for half of the cost of that phase Ñ roughly $900 million. With this latest installment, $210 million federal dollars have been allocated to the project.
The other half of the funding of Phase I will come from state and county sources. Phase II will also include shares from Loudoun County and the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority. Phase II is projected to be operational by 2015.