Town Hall Meeting
<bt>Governor-elect Tim Kaine will be holding a town hall meeting Saturday, Dec. 3, at 3:45 p.m., at the Leesburg Airport Terminal, 1001 Sycolin Road, S.E., Leesburg.
<sh>Property Tax Deadline Approaches
<bt>The real property tax deadline is Monday, Dec. 5. Any payment not received or postmarked by this date will be assessed a 10 percent penalty. Additional interest will accrue at a rate of 10 percent annually. This payment is the first installment of the semi-annual tax.
Payment can be made at the Leesburg Office located at the Government Center, 1 Harrison St., on the first floor or the Eastern Loudoun office located at the Loudoun Tech Center, 21641 Ridgetop Circle, Suite 104. Payments may be made by check, cash or credit card. There is a transaction fee when using a credit card. Payment may also be made online with a credit card or e-check at www.loudoun.gov.
Customer service representatives will be available by telephone at 703-777-0280 to answer any questions about tax information and to accept payments. Real estate tax relief program for the elderly and disabled is administered by the Commissioner of Revenue. Contact that office for more information at 703-737-8557. Questions regarding real estate assessments should contact the AssessorÕs Office at 703-777-0290.
<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>New Technology
<bt>Deputies from the Loudoun County Sheriff's Office will be the first law-enforcement agency in the state to be able to access information such as driver's license information, vehicle information and wanted status by either name or Vehicle Identification Number(VIN) right from the palms of their hands. Blackberry cellular phones issued to sworn personnel can access Computer Aided Dispatching (CAD), the Virginia
Crime Information Network (VCIN) and the National Crime Information Center (NCIC).
Sheriff's deputies in the agency who are more often away from their patrol vehicles such as Community Policing, Criminal Investigations and Traffic Safety will be the first in the agency to have access on the phones so they can receive queries through VCIN and NCIC.
The phones can also be used to look up current police calls including information on which units are on the scene, location and notes on the incident.
<sh>DUI Arrests
<bt>A DUI checkpoint held near Leesburg Saturday, Nov. 19, saw four people arrested for driving while under the influence, according to the Loudoun County Sheriff's Office.
The checkpoint, held on Route 7 near Hidden Gap Road, saw 912 cars pass through with 28 drivers being checked and four 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.
<sh>Joint Effort
<bt>Shortly after 1 a.m., Nov. 27, Loudoun County Fire-Rescue received a 911 call for mutual aid assistance to Jefferson County, W.Va., for a mountain fire. Volunteer fire and rescue personnel from Lovettsville, Purcellville, Middleburg, Hamilton, Leesburg, Arcola, Sterling and Ashburn, and Loudoun County Fire-Rescue personnel were dispatched to John Brown Lane off of Mission Road in Jefferson County to help fight the fire, which was spreading quickly up the side of the mountain.
Firefighters from West Virginia, Virginia and Maryland worked together to battle the blaze. With the aid of excavation equipment and gators, fire lines were cut up the mountain so that firefighters could gain access to the fire. Using hand tools, such as shovels and rakes, the firefighters worked their way up the mountainside, smothering the fire.
An estimated 200 personnel were on hand. In addition to the firefighters, a number of other agencies including the West Virginia State Police, Jefferson County SheriffÕs Office, Jefferson County Communications, National Park Service, the West Virginia Division of Forestry and the Virginia Division of Forestry assisted with the operation. Agrotors Inc., a helicopter service from Gettysburg, Pa., shuttled water via helicopter from a nearby lake to the mountain, dropping it on the fire.
With the bulk of the fire contained, firefighters returned from the mountain. A small group comprised of members of the National Park Service, the West Virginia Division of Forestry and the Virginia Division of Forestry remained on site monitoring the fire throughout the night.
On Monday, Nov. 28, around 6:30 a.m., 15 firefighters from Loudoun County responded once again to Mission Road to assist with the mop up of the fire. Crews remained on the scene until approximately 4 p.m. helping with the operation. The West Virginia Department of Forestry will continue to monitor the situation.
The cause of the fire has not been determined.