No Arrests
<bt>A sobriety checkpoint held Saturday, Dec. 2, in Ashburn saw encouraging signs as of the more than 720 cars checked there were no arrests for driving under the influence.
The checkpoint was held on Farmwell Road just east of Ashburn Village Boulevard. The checkpoint saw 727 vehicles pass through with 11 vehicles pulled to the side for further screening. There were no arrests for DUI. One person was charged for a narcotics violation.
The Sheriff’s Office conducts one checkpoint per month throughout the year and holds additional checkpoints during the holidays. The Sheriff’s Office designed the checkpoints to raise public awareness and to discourage impaired driving.
<sh>Teens Found Guilty
<bt>Four teenagers pleaded guilty to gang participation charges last week in Loudoun Juvenile District Court for their involvement in the assault of a 13-year-old girl this past May, according to the Sheriff's Office.
The four teens included two females, ages 15 and 16, and two males, ages 14 and 15. The names of the teens are not being released due to their ages. The juveniles were found guilty on Thursday, Nov. 30, of criminal street gang participation for an assault committed in association with the 18th Street gang, a national gang with ties to Los Angeles, Calif.
"They’re believed to be a rivals with MS-13," said Kraig Troxell, spokesperson for the Sheriff’s Office.
The assault took place at a school bus stop near East Frederick Drive in Sterling on the afternoon of May 5. The 13-year-old victim had just been let off of her school bus when the suspects assaulted her. The attack was over statements made by the victim regarding the 18th Street gang. The victim was treated at the scene and did not request further medical treatment for any injuries.
The four teens are awaiting sentencing.
<sh>New Partnership
<bt>The county's Commissioner of Revenue and the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) have formed a new partnership to provide selected DMV services in both Leesburg and Sterling. The Commissioner of the Revenue has contracted with DMV to perform vehicle-related DMV transactions in his offices as an alternative to visiting DMV's full-service centers.
Joining 41 other DMV select partners throughout the state, the Commissioner of the Revenue has online access to DMV, allowing the instantaneous updating of customer records, as well as the issuing of titles and license plates and the renewing of vehicle registrations.
The Commissioner's Leesburg office is located in the County Government Center at 1 Harrison St., SE. The Sterling office is located in the Loudoun Tech Center at 21641 Ridgetop Circle, Suite 100. Both locations provide services between the hours of 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m., Monday-Friday.
The Commissioner of the Revenue offers citizens the ability to register vehicles and report address and vehicle changes at www.loudoun.gov/cor. DMV allows customers to renew vehicle registrations and driver's licenses at www.dmvNOW.com. Citizens can also use DMV's touch-tone telephone service at 1-888-337-4782 or call the Commissioner of the Revenue at 703 777-0260.
<sh>Web Award
<bt>Computerworld magazine has named Loudoun County's Web site, www.loudoun.gov, as one of the nation's top e-government sites. Loudoun was one of just 14 county governments to receive a grade of A or better for its Web site.
According to Computerworld, the e-government report card is based on an extensive examination of 11,227 official government Web sites conducted by the National Policy Research Council (NPRC), a Washington-based think tank, in collaboration with Computerworld. Reviewers judged the Web sites on 25 criteria, such as whether people could use them to pay taxes, bid for contracts, find government jobs and contact officials about local concerns.
Loudoun County's Web site has received numerous national awards, and is frequently listed among the nation's leading local government Web sites. It currently averages more than 2.5 million pages viewed per month.