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MAY 8, 2014
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Margaret Morton
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t was not exactly a stampede to the polls Tuesday as voters in five western Loudoun towns headed out to make their selection to fill mayor and council seats. Voting was extremely slow in most places, apart from Purcellville, where voters swept four new representatives into office. In a stunning upset, political neophyte and eight-year town resident Kwasi Fraser handily defeated Vice Mayor Keith Melton in the bid to replace four-term Mayor Bob Lazaro, who will step down from the post June 30. Fraser got 868 votes to Melton’s 539 in the unofficial tally.
In the race for three council seats, Planning Commissioner Ben Packard was the top vote getter—topping Fraser’s count—with 901 votes, followed by Karen Jimmerson, with 841 votes, and Planning Commission Chairman Doug McCollum, with 791. Lt. Jim Rust came in fourth, with 761 votes. Fraser, originally from Guyana, made history as the county’s first elected African-American mayor. Reached shortly after his historic win, Fraser said he had not expected to win by such a wide gap. “Keith was a solid candidate; he’s been there for the past four years and I expected a slim margin,” he said. “But it was the voice of the people. I heard them
L if e s t yle s
Election Brings Change To Purcellville; Incumbents Return In Other Towns
Leesburg Today/Danielle Nadler
Kwasi Fraser, center, and Karen Jimmerson, greet voters at the polls Tuesday. Fraser beat Keith Melton in the Purcellville mayoral race to become the first elected African-American mayor in Loudoun County. Jimerson is one of three new council members elected Tuesday.
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level, helping foster interest in learning is one of the most important investments we can make for our children’s future,” he stated. The Loudoun Board of Supervisors has also put some money behind its vocal support of the children’s museum. The board voted April 16 to develop a financial agreement that provides a $250,000 grant to the nonprofit, including a grant consisting primarily of fee waivers for the construction of the museum, with any remaining money going as a cash offset to operations in the first two years. The financial agreement will come Continued on Page 78
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who make up Loudoun’s population. “We are so pleased to have found exactly what we are looking for in the Dulles region.” In a statement announcing the decision, County Chairman Scott K. York (R-At Large) said he was pleased that Loudoun would be home to the museum. “The Children’s Science Center will impact hundreds of thousands of young minds a year; teaching them that important subjects such as science, technology, engineering, and mathematics can be fun and helping keep the spark of STEM learning alive past the critical 8th grade
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n a few years, children from all over Northern Virginia will be getting their hands “dirty” in Loudoun County—all in the name of science and education. The Children’s Science Center announced Tuesday afternoon it had selected the Kincora development near the Rt. 28/Rt. 7 interchange as its permanent home in Northern Virginia. The announcement was made at the nonprofit’s founders’ event in Vienna.
Plans for a children’s museum in Northern Virginia have been under development since 2005. Operations recently have been housed at the Center for Innovative Technology in Herndon while the museum’s leadership searched in eastern Loudoun and western Fairfax for a permanent home. “Loudoun and western Fairfax have the supportive community of industry, visitors and participants we were looking for,” Adalene “Nene” Spivy, executive director of the Children’s Science Center, said this week, pointing to the large number of families with young children
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