<sh>Vienna Man Dies in Car Wreck
<bt>According to police, Vienna resident Thomas Paul Farhood, 45, died in a single-car crash in Loudoun County last Friday. Around 4 p.m., Farhood was driving his 1965 Cobra south on Clarke's Gap Road when he lost control of the car, which left the road, struck a telephone pole and rolled over, said police. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Kraig Troxell, public information officer for the Loudoun County Sheriff's Office, said speed was a possible factor in the accident. "No one witnessed the crash, but someone had seen the vehicle just a few minutes earlier getting on Clarke's Gap Road and said it was traveling at a high rate of speed," he said. Troxell said the wreck was still under investigation, although police are not entirely hopeful of finding a witness, as the road is not highly traveled.
<1b>— Mike DiCicco
<sh>Suspect Arrested, Second Sought
<bt>On Friday, Aug. 4, Calvin L. Bowman was brought to the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center after being arrested in Upper Marlboro, Md., according to police reports. Bowman, 38, was arrested in connection with the robbery of a branch of BB&T Bank in the Vienna area shortly after 11 a.m. on Friday, July 28. At that time, two suspects entered the bank, located at 1953 Gallows Road, and announced a robbery while brandishing handguns, said police. The suspects took an undisclosed amount of cash from the bank. The suspects fled the bank and nobody was injured.
With the assistance of the United States Marshals’ Fugitive Task Force, Bowman was taken into custody at his residence, 9505 Merikern Lane on Tuesday, Aug. 1 for outstanding warrants from Fairfax County, police said. Detectives previously developed information that led them to Bowman. He is charged with two counts of robbery, three counts of the use of a firearm in the commission of a felony, abduction and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. This investigation continues as detectives attempt to identify the second suspect in the robbery. Anyone with information concerning this crime is asked to call Crime Solvers at 1-866-411-TIPS (8477) or the police non-emergency number at 703-691-2131.
<sh>Apparent Suicide at Parking Garage
<bt>On Aug. 9, police responded to a report of a man's body found at a parking garage on Willow Oaks Corporate Drive, near the intersection of Gallows Road and Arlington Boulevard in the Merrifield area. Police said the death appeared to be a suicide. "It looks like he jumped from one level to another," said Fairfax County police spokesman Lt. Rich Perez. He said the incident remains under investigation.
<1b>— Mike DiCicco
<sh>Board Targets Kudzu
<bt>In response to a petition from the residents of the Westwood Towns neighborhood near Freedom Hill Park, just outside the town of Vienna, Supervisor Cathy Hudgins (D-Hunter Mill) raised the matter of invasive kudzu vines at the Board of Supervisors meeting July 31. The plant currently blankets a stretch of the undeveloped woodland portion of the park.
"My office will be contacting the community," she said later, adding that bringing the matter before the board placed the issue "more squarely in the hands of the Park Authority." She said she plans to meet with the residents and a representative of the Fairfax County Park Authority "to come up with a way that they can start to remove some of the kudzu and, hopefully, find a way to control it." This would probably take the shape of residents volunteering to work with the Park Authority, she said.
<1b>— Mike DiCicco
<sh>Vienna Calendar Deadline Approaches
<bt>Sept. 1 is the deadline for Vienna nonprofit organizations to submit information about their 2007 community events for publication in the upcoming Vienna Calendar, which is distributed to every home and business in town. Address calendar items to the Public Information Office, Vienna Town Hall, 127 Center St., S., Vienna, VA 22180, fax 703-255-5722, or e-mail pio@ci.vienna.va.us.
<sh>Fall Co-Ed Softball Begins
<bt>Vienna's adult co-ed softball league will begin its fall season the week of Sept. 11. Games will be played on weeknights at Southside Park. The registration fee of $350 per team includes 10 regular-season double-header games, a post-season tournament, umpire fees, softballs and awards. Registrations will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis with a limit of 12 teams. Call Keith Fees at 703-255-6352 or e-mail fees@ci.vienna.va.us.
<sh>Adult Fall Tennis League Begins
<bt>The registration deadline for the Vienna Parks and Recreation Department's adult fall tennis league is Sept. 9. League play begins Sept. 16, with men's singles games on Saturdays and women's singles games on Sundays at Glyndon and Meadow Lane Parks. Each participant will play a minimum of seven matches during the season. The fee is $15 for town residents and $20 for nonresidents. Call 703-255-6360 or visit www.viennava.gov.