Constituents Chat
<bt>Chris West, regional representative for U.S. Sen. George Allan (R-Va.) will have office hours April 20, from noon-2 p.m., at the Loudoun county Government Center, 1 Harrison St., S.E., Leesburg, to discuss issues facing the area and to help anyone having problems with a federal agency. Contact West at 703-244-7261.
<sh>New Hearing Set
<bt>The State Corporation Commission (SCC) has set June 19, as the new date for a public hearing in Richmond to consider a proposal by Dominion Virginia Power (DVP) to construct a 230-kilovolt transmission line in western Loudoun County.
The evidentiary portion of the case was delayed by an SCC hearing examiner March 29 to allow additional notice to a group of property owners along a modified route for the transmission line offered for consideration in the proceeding.
The hearing will begin at 10 a.m., June 19, in the Commission's second-floor courtroom located in the Tyler Building, 1300 East Main St., Richmond. Any person wishing to comment at the hearing should arrive early and sign in with the SCC bailiff. The audio portion of the hearing will be Web cast via the Internet.
In addition to the hearing, the SCC has extended the deadline for written comments on the application to May 23.
Written correspondence must be sent to the Clerk of the State Corporation Commission, Document Control Center, P.O. Box 2118, Richmond, VA 23218-2118, and refer to the case number PUE-2005-00018.
To submit comments electronically, follow the instructions available at the SCC's Web site: http://www.scc.virginia.gov/caseinfo.htm. Click on the Public Notices link and then the Submit Comments button for case number PUE-2005-00018.
DVP's application and related documents may be viewed locally at Dominion Virginia Power, Leesburg District Office, 620 Sycolin Road, S.E., Leesburg; Loudoun County Government Center, County Administration, fifth floor, 1 Harrison St., S.E., Leesburg; and Town of Leesburg, Zoning Department, 25 West Market St., Leesburg.
<sh>Former Bookkeeper Sentenced
<bt>A former Loudoun County Public School employee was sentenced to 30 days in jail Monday, April 10, for embezzling more than $11,000 in funds from a county elementary school.
According to the Sheriff's Office, Tracy L. Bryan, 39, of Sterling, was a bookkeeper at Potowmack Elementary School when during a routine audit, county school officials discovered funds had been misappropriated. The misappropriation of funds from the Sterling-based elementary school occurred between July 2003 through April 2004. School officials contacted the Sheriff's Office and Investigators determined Bryan was involved in embezzling money from the school, according to the Sheriff's Office. Bryan was later charged with three counts of felony embezzlement, three felony counts of obtaining money by false pretenses and one felony count of obtaining a signature by false pretense.
In November 2005 after a three-day trial a Loudoun jury found Bryan guilty on all charges and recommended she be sentenced to two years in jail and pay fines.
Loudoun Circuit Court Judge Thomas Horne, Monday, suspended all but 30 days of the two-year sentence and imposed one year of supervised probation. She was also ordered to pay fines and restitution.
<sh>Stop Added
<bt>Loudoun Transit added a stop this month on the Ashburn Village Connector, bus route 96, for residents of Four Seasons Condominiums.
The bus will pull into the complex on Gloucester Parkway as part of its regular route. Riders will not be required to call ahead to request pickup. For more information, call the Loudoun County Office of Transportation at 703-771-5665.
<sh>Underage Alcohol Sting
<bt>An alcohol sales operation conducted by the Sheriff's Office Thursday, April 6, saw three out of the 34 stores visited sell alcohol to an underage buyer. The less than 1 percent failure rate is a significant drop from previous operations where nearly half of the stores sold alcohol to a person under the age of 21.
Members of the Community Policing Section of the Sheriff's Office visited the stores throughout the evening with an underage volunteer. The stores in violation, according to the Sheriff's Office, were the 7-Eleven convenience store on Davenport Drive in Sterling, the Cascades Shell on Algonkian Parkway and Eckerd Drug in the Cedar Lake Plaza. The results of Thursday's operation will be turned over to the Virginia Alcohol Beverage Control Office.
A similar operation held last summer saw a 45 percent failure rate. Another operation in June 2005 saw 10 out of 20 stores in violation of selling to an underage buyer.
<sh>Voting Report Available
<bt>U.S. Rep. Frank Wolf (R-10) announces that his voting record for the first session of the 109th Congress has been posted on his Web page www.house.gov/wolf. To access, click on "votes" on the main page. Past years' voting records also can be assessed online. Tenth District residents who do not have access to a computer can contact Wolf's office at 202-225-5136 or 1-800-945-9653 and a copy will be mailed that day.
The 17-page report is arranged by general subject areas, such as budget and taxes, foreign affairs and trade and homeland security and general government. There were 671 roll call votes during the session, which convened Jan. 4 and adjourned Dec. 22, 2005. Wolf missed only four votes for a voting attendance record of 99.4 percent.