Loudoun Now for Jan. 6, 2022 by Loudoun Now

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VOL. 7, NO.7

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JANUARY 6, 2022

Morse, Serotkin Take Leadership Posts BY HAYLEY BOUR

hbour@loudounnow.com

Renss Greene/Loudoun Now

Mobile Medical Health Founder and CEO Alyssa Laeser holds up bags containing recently-administered swabs, ready to be tested for signs of COVID-19.

Healthcare Providers Navigating Latest, Biggest COVID Surge BY KARA C. RODRIGUEZ

krodriguez@loudounnow.com

It’s sort of like a plane flying through a thunderstorm, said Dr. Edward Puccio, three days into the third calendar year fighting the COVID-19 pandemic. “The pattern the plane has to take to avoid a storm and land safely may change by the min-

ute,” Puccio, medical director of Inova Loudoun Hospital’s Department of Emergency Services, said. “That’s what we’re trying to do, constantly take the safest course based on the information we have now.” Those changes run the gamut, such as new CDC guidelines on quarantine times for symptomatic and asymptomatic COVID

patients that have caused their own confusion—not to mention a new, highly transmissible variant, Omicron, that is likely linked to the sharp increase in positive cases, even for those fully vaccinated and boosted. With a rise in positive cases the county and the COVID SURGE continues on page 26

The School Board has a familiar face in the chairman’s seat, as it elected new officers during its annual organizational meeting Tuesday. Jeff Morse (Dulles) will once again chair the board, and Ian Serotkin (Blue Ridge) will serve as the vice chairman. Morse was nominated by Tom Marshall (Leesburg), and elected by of vote of 5-04. Outgoing Chairwoman Brenda Sheridan Morse (Sterling), outgoing Vice Chairwoman Atoosa Reaser (Algonkian), Harris Mahedavi (Ashburn) and Serotkin abstained from the vote. Those four had backed Serotkin for the chairman’s post, but his nomination fell short of the five votes required. Serotkin, who was participating in the meeting by a video link from a Houston, TX, hotel because of a flight cancellation, then was nominated by Andrew Hoyler (Broad Run) for the vice chairman’s seat and elected by a 7-1-1 vote, with Mahedavi abstaining and Denise Corbo (At Large) opposed. Morse is a fourth-term School Board member, serving his first term in 2011. He served as chairman of the board in 2017, 2018, and 2019. He has lived in South Riding for 25 years. Morse was praised by some parents during School Board meetings who said he represented a moderate presence on the board during the turbulent past two years. Morse is one of the four School Board members not facing a removal effort led by the Fight For Schools group. “I want to thank my fellow board members, who expressed support in my election as chair, a position I don’t take lightly,” Morse said after the vote. “And our educators, the staff, the superintendent, our families, and especially my eight fellow colleagues. Finally I want to personally thank Ms. Sheridan and Ms. Reaser, who guided us through the most turbulent times in recent history. Your tireless work over the last year is sincerely appreciated.” Serotkin is serving in his first term on the School Board, and SCHOOL BOARD OFFICERS continues on page 27

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JANUARY 6, 2022

35 Acre Oliver Lake

from the 19th century as

mind as you wind up the drive of

house’s early origins. The main house

well. A two-story, brick

Shelburne Glebe Farm. The estate

boasts four bedrooms, three full

addition plus a two-car

comprised of 229+/- acres (an additional

bathrooms, a half bathroom, and a two-car

garage were added on the

152+/- contiguous acres in three lots is also

garage on three ﬁnished levels (4,476 sqft),

west end of the house in the

available for purchase), is in a historic 18th

as well an unﬁnished lower level (967 sqft).

20th century.

Tranquility is the word that comes to

century setting with signiﬁcant historic

Multiple Outbuildings

The gable-roofed, Flemish-bond brick

Early outbuildings stand

importance through the Revolutionary and

build residence has interior and chimneys

east and south of the house.

Civil Wars.

to which brick and frame wings have been

A gable-roof, end-opening

added. The side-and-crimson light Greek

house with a stone ﬁrst

Revival doorway, the Tuscan porch with its

ﬂoor and a brick half-story

two square pitched echoed by two pilasters,

made whole by a concrete

its boldly projecting cornice, and extremely

block addition lies southeast

shallow gable roof, and the present Greek

of the main house. An

Revival interior woodwork may all have

icehouse with a stone

been done at the same time as this

foundation and frame-under weatherboard

and a half bathroom on the lower level

remodeling of the window openings in the

superstructure has a pyramidal hipped roof

with a hayloft above.

19th century.

through the center of which a tall, frame

The estate commands stunning views of the surrounding Loudoun County countryside from its hilltop above the North Fork of Goose Creek. Nestled in the shadow of nearby Mount Gilead, the property overlooks the beautiful 35 acre Oliver Lake to the east, and has broad views to the west of the Blue Ridge. This former glebe house, originally an 18th century farm granted by England to the Anglican Church’s local parish, is on both the Virginia and National Landmark Registers. It remains one of the state’s handful of colonial glebe houses and perhaps the only

2 Beds, 1 Bath | 964 sqft Guest Cottage

Just behind the bank barn is one-car

The south facade, overlooking the creek,

water tower, square in plan, was intruded.

detached garage and three-sided post and

appears to have been the original principal

Further east is a two-story guest cottage

beam frame building both currently used

front. A two-bay kitchen wing with a shallow

consisting of a stone ﬁrst story, a frame

gable roof and interior end chimney was

second story, and a large covered porch

for farm equipment storage. The property is in easement held jointly

added to the east end of the house, ﬂush

overlooking the lake. This charming 964 sqft

by VDHR and Loudoun County, and is

Its construction began in 1773 by the

with the north façade, sometime in the 19th

guest house includes two bedrooms, a

located in the Goose Creek Historic District

builder Appolis Cooper, and the property’s

century. Door frames with bull's-eye corner

bathroom, a kitchen, and laundry room.

(a scenically cohesive rural area of some

acreage is still visible as it was in the 1700s.

blocks survive on most of the doors, and the

one for which original speciﬁcations survive.

Although extensively remodeled and enlarged after its sale to private owners in

10,000 acres in central Loudoun County).

stairway with its ramped-and-eased

appears to be old stone foundations and

The property is in land use (Seller not

banister and squat turned newel post dates

includes six stalls, tack room, feed room,

responsible for roll back taxes).

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PAGE 3

Loudoun Gains Seats as Court Approves Redistricting BY RENSS GREENE

rgreene@loudounnow.com

The First Snow After an unseasonably warm New Year’s Day weekend, the region was blanketed with snow Monday morning, bringing slippery roads and numerous cancellations. And for Loudoun’s students, the winter storm brought an unexpected two-day extension to their winter break. With up to 5 inches of snow falling in some areas of the county, residents were treated to wonderland scenes as well as fun runs down the community’s most popular sledding hills. — Norman K. Styer

The Virginia Supreme Court has issued its final and unanimous approval for new state Senate, House of Delegates and Congressional districts. The new state districts are little changed from the first proposal by the court’s Special Masters, Bernard Grofman and Sean Trende. With only relatively small changes from the first draft, Loudoun can look forward to having its own southeastern state Senate district south of Rt. 7. The mapmakers apparently took into account complaints that the previous version of the map split Brambleton, editing that boundary. Another, larger district would include the rest of Loudoun and the northern half of Fauquier County, reaching to Warrenton. The new House of Delegates map includes four districts entirely contained in eastern Loudoun and a fifth covering western and southern Loudoun and part of Fauquier. The vast majority of the population in both the shared Senate and House districts will live in Loudoun. Under those new maps, there will be many more Loudouners in Richmond. Of the current districts, drawn following the 2010 Census, only one House of Delegates district that is contained completely inside Loudoun, and of the seven House districts in Loudoun, only three are held by Loudoun residents. Of the three state Senate districts in Loudoun, no district is contained entirely in Loudoun and only one state senator, Sen. John Bell (D13), lives in Loudoun. Under the new districts, there will be at least one senator and four delegates from Loudoun in Richmond—and likely more. Loudoun stands a good chance of being represented by all Loudouners, with 89% of the population of the split House District and 91% of the split Senate District living in Loudoun, according to the Virginia Public Access Project. The new Congressional map is dramatically changed from the first draft. The first proposal by the special masters would have put Loudoun at the top a district that, instead of covering Northern Virginia, would stretch south to the borREDISTRICTING continues on page 25

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JANUARY 6, 2022

PAGE 5

Loudoun

Silver Line Nears Opening as Metro Faces Changed Commuting Trends

Supervisors Set January Vote on Plastic Bag Tax BY RENSS GREENE

BY RENSS GREENE

rgreene@loudounnow.com

With the announcement of substantial completion on Metro’s Silver Line Phase 2 extension into Loudoun, a major construction project milestone, and test trains now running regularly on that track, region leaders are looking toward a transit future in flux. Loudoun Supervisor Matthew F. Letourneau (R-Dulles), who until this year chaired the county board’s finance committee and still chairs the Metro board’s Finance and Capital Committee, on Dec. 14 gave his colleagues on the county committee a heads-up about Metro’s finances with federal relief bills scheduled to run out soon. Revenues from passenger service dropped off precipitously during the pandemic, with the Fiscal Year 2021 Metro budget anticipating $677.8 million in revenue, but seeing only $102 million. Those numbers have started to climb back up but by Fiscal Year 2024 are only expected to reach $377.5 million, just over half the pre-pandemic figure. Ridership today remains down around 70%, Letourneau said. “The DC market in particular has been really hard-hit, because so many Metrorail riders are federal workforce, and the federal workforce has not returned back to the office at all,” Letourneau said. Those losses have been replaced by federal relief to the tune of more than $700 million a year, but that money will

Loudoun Now file photo

Ashburn Station awaits the beginning of passenger service.

start to go away in Fiscal Year 2024, leaving Metro with an anticipated $519 million funding gap. The federal funding also came with strings—that Metro could not cut its workforce, keeping people employed but limiting the extent to which Metro could cut costs. On the other side of the equation, Virginia legislation prevents the state from increasing Virginia’s Metro payments by more than 3% a year. Letourneau also said Metro may not ever go back to its pre-pandemic ridership. “There really are sort of existential

PUBLISHER’S NOTICE We are pledged to the letter and spirit of Virginia’s policy for achieving equal housing opportunity throughout the Commonwealth. We encourage and support advertising and marketing programs in which there are no barriers to obtaining housing because of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, elderliness, familial status or handicap. All real estate advertised herein is subject to Virginia’s fair housing law which makes it illegal to advertise “any preference, limitation or discrimination because of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, elderliness, familial status or handicap or intention to make any such preference, limitation, or discrimination.” This newspaper will not knowingly accept advertising for real estate that violates the fair housing law. Our readers are hereby informed that all dwellings advertised in this newspaper are available on an equal opportunity basis. For more information or to file a housing complaint call the Virginia Fair Housing Office at (804) 367-9753.

questions I think as a region we’re going to have grapple with—the whole transit world,” Letourneau said. “I’m of the belief that we are never going back to where we were. The notion of people commuting to the office and sitting in a cubicle five days a week is just not coming back now that everybody’s had a taste of life without doing that and the world has not ended. And frankly, there’s a lot of advantages to that—for family, for the environment, for a lot of things. So how does

Loudoun County supervisors on Jan. 18 are scheduled to vote on whether to impose a new tax of five cents per single-use plastic bag on shoppers. The tax would be applied to plastic bags at the point of sale at grocery stores, convenience stores and drugstores, and would go into effect on July 1, 2022. Under state law guiding the ordinance, exempted are plastic bags solely used to contain ice cream, meat, fish, poultry, produce, unwrapped bulk food items, or perishable food items to avoid damage or contamination; and plastic bags used to carry dry cleaning or prescription drugs. The state Department of Taxation would administer, enforce, and collect bag tax revenues for the county. According to a county staff report, based on the state Department of Taxation’s estimates, a fivecent disposable plastic bag tax in Loudoun could generate between $800,000 and $1 million annually, higher than the staff’s previous estimates. Retailers are permitted to keep some of that. Local revenues could also increase over time as more stores comply with the tax.

METRO continues on page 6

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JANUARY 6, 2022

ON THE Agenda Berlin Pike; Lovettsville, Franklin Park, 17501 Franklin Park Dr., Purcellville; South Riding Town Hall, 43055 Center St.; and Claude Moore Park, 46150 Loudoun Park Lane, Sterling.

Richfield Way, Russell Branch Lane Closures Begin Starting this week, Richfield Way from Russell Branch Parkway to the dead end just south of Rt. 7, and the eastbound Russell Branch Parkway right lane from just before Waverly Court to the Ashburn North Park and Ride Lot will be closed to allow construction of the Rt. 7/George Washington Boulevard overpass, the Virginia Department of Transportation announced. Both will stay closed for the remainder of the construction period, which is scheduled for completion in mid 2024. Those needing to reach properties along Richfield Way will have access via Russell Branch Parkway. Those needing to reach Waverly Court, the Ashburn North Park and Ride Lot and properties along eastbound Russell Branch Parkway will continue to have access; at least one lane of Russell Branch Parkway in each direction will remain open at all times, according to the department. The Rt. 7/George Washington Boulevard Overpass project will connect George Washington Boulevard between Research Place south with Russell Branch Parkway via a

General Assembly Pre-Session Hearing Goes Online The Loudoun General Assembly delegation’s pre-session public hearing will now be a virtual meeting because of record high levels of COVID-19 infections, Sen. Jennifer B. Boysko (D-33) announced. The session remains scheduled for Saturday, Jan. 8, 2 - 4 p.m. Boysko’s office, which is coordinating the legislative session, requires constituents who wish to participate to register in advance at forms.gle/4fvh6i7AwznSQRkA8. Speakers are also required to be residents of Loudoun County, or represent a

Metro continued from page 5 Metro then adjust to that?” Happily, he said, Loudoun’s side of the fiscal picture is “a much, much rosier picture.” Loudoun taxpayers will begin paying the county’s full share of its Metro costs in Fiscal Year 2023, which begins July 2022, an estimated $5.4 million. That comes from special real estate tax districts around Loudoun’s Metro stops, the county’s gas tax, and the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority. Property values in those tax districts have skyrocketed even compared to the rest of the county despite repeated

County Offers Water, Wastewater Project Funding

new bridge over Rt. 7. The quarter-mile George Washington Boulevard extension will be a four-lane road/bridge with a shared-use path along one side and a sidewalk along the other. Go to the VDOT project page at virginiadot.org/projects/northernvirginia/rt_7-gw_blvd_overpass.asp for more details. n

business or agency that provides a service to Loudoun, and must provide a full name, physical address and topic. Speakers will be given two minutes. The event will also be live-streamed on Boysko’s Facebook page. The 2022 General Assembly Session begins Jan. 12.

Loudoun County has five collection locations for residents to drop off Christmas trees for recycling, open through Jan. 20. The trees will be converted into mulch, which is available free of charge

to Loudoun County residents year-round at the county landfill. Only natural cut trees and wreaths will be accepted; no artificial trees or artificial wreaths. Residents who receive curbside recycling service may contact their homeowners association, town office or recycling service provider for Christmas tree collection schedules. Remove all decorations from the tree before dropping it off for recycling. If transporting a tree in a tree bag, remove and dispose of the bag with regular trash. Drop-offs will be at: the Loudoun County Landfill Recycling Center, 21101 Evergreen Mills Road, Leesburg; the Game Protective Association, 16 South

Silver Line Phase 2 delays, growing 168% since 2013, around when Loudoun decided to join Metro, compared to an increase of 62% across the county during that period, according to a county report. Metro’s cheerleaders have portrayed the three new stops in Loudoun—one at Dulles Airport, and two along the Dulles Greenway at Rt. 606 and Rt. 772—as a game changer for the county. Loudoun Economic Development Business Retention Manager Chris Hunter compared the arrival of rail service to the construction of Dulles Airport and the first internet peer exchange that eventually brought the data center industry to Loudoun. Only one of those stops is expected to

see residential and mixed-use development. The Dulles Airport stop is at the terminal, and the Rt. 606 or “Loudoun Gateway” station is close enough to the airport that county noise ordinances prohibit residential development in most of the area around it. “Where Ashburn Station has tremendous potential for development around it and nearby, Loudoun Gateway station is the destination for parking to board the system station more than it is—you’re not going to see high rises going up around. It is in flight patterns, it’s in noise areas affected by its really close proximity to the flight patterns at the airport,” said Dulles Corridor Metrorail Project Communica-

Christmas Tree Recycling Offered

The Loudoun County Water and Wastewater Program is accepting applications for county government assistance with community water and wastewater projects. The Water and Wastewater Program is designed to support Loudoun County communities experiencing issues with deficient or non-existent water and/or wastewater systems with funding and other resources. Communities that need assistance are encouraged to learn more about the program at loudoun.gov/waterprojects or by contacting Loudoun County Environmental Program Specialist Scott Fincham at 703-771-5520 or Scott.Fincham@loudoun.gov. Applications will be accepted through March 31.

County Annual Financial Report Online Loudoun County’s Fiscal Year 2021 Popular Annual Financial Report is online. The report is specifically designed to be readily accessible and easily understandable for people who do not have a background in public finance. Links to both the Popular Annual Financial Report and the Annual Comprehensive Financial Report are online at loudoun.gov/financialreports. n tions Manager Marcia McAllister during the Dulles Regional Chamber of Commerce’s Metro Monday session on Dec. 13. Before passenger service can begin in Loudoun, the independent Washington Metrorail Safety Commission must sign off. Last week, Metro’s efforts to put it 7000-series cars back in service—pulled because of safety concerns—were dealt a setback. The safety commission ordered they be kept out of passenger service until Metro provides revisions to its plan to bring them back, requiring additional protections and internal oversights for inspections. n

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JANUARY 6, 2022

Leesburg Vaccine Mandate Approaching, Resignations in Leesburg Continue BY KARA C. RODRIGUEZ krodriguez@loudounnow.com

With one week remaining to comply with the Town of Leesburg’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate, resignations of town employees and board and commission members have continued. According to Public Information Officer Betsy Arnett, the number of resignations from the Leesburg Police Department now stands at nine, up from seven just a few weeks ago. That department represents the largest number of resignations since the Town Council voted Oct. 12 to impose the mandate, with the deadline for employees to be fully vaccinated by Jan. 11. Altogether, 14 full-time employees have left town employ since the mandate vote, with seven of those employees tying their resignation to the mandate. Four part-time employees have resigned, including three in the Parks & Recreation Department, all of whom cited the mandate as their reason. Six members of the town’s advisory boards and commissions have resigned, but only two of those resignations were attributed to the mandate. All board and commission members must also comply with the mandate, with the exception of the Planning Commission and Board of Zoning Appeals. Arnett had previously stated because those bodies are state-mandated, there is no authority for the town to dismiss members for not complying with a vaccine mandate. In addition to the nine police depart-

Police Debut New Badge Design The Leesburg Police Department uniform is getting a makeover for the New Year. The department last week retired its 25-year-old badge and replaced it with a new, more modern badge starting Jan. 1. The new badge includes historical elements from the former badge, with the addition of both the U.S. and Virginia flags. Leesburg Town Hall remains in the background. Officers wearing an ex-

ment resignations, three full-time employees have resigned from the Finance & Administrative Services Department; one from the Town Manager’s Office; and one from the Utilities Department. In addition to the three resignations from the Parks & Recreation Department, one parttime employee has resigned from Thomas Balch Library. Of the two remaining full-time employees who are unvaccinated, one remains undecided and one has indicated they will not comply, and hence will either resign or be terminated by Jan. 11. Two part-time employees have indicated they will not get vaccinated, and four part-timers are undecided. One board or commission member is undecided, and seven have not yet responded to the town. In subsequent meetings leading up to the mandate compliance deadline, there have been several attempts by council members Kari Nacy and Suzanne Fox, the only two council members to vote against the mandate, to rescind the Oct. 12 action. However, remaining council members have voted to remove those motions from council agendas without allowing a vote. The council’s next business meeting is the same date as the deadline, Jan. 11. Mayor Kelly Burk, who first introduced the vaccine mandate, said this week she has no plans to propose the COVID-19 booster shot be added to the mandate. Burk said she is, however, looking at incentives to encourage employees to get their booster shots, such as offering time off work or holding a booster shot clinic in a convenient location. n ternal vest will wear a similar high-definition embroidered badge patch. “This new badge combines elements of our proud history, along with a modern and refined design reminiscent of badges used by some of the first professional and progressive police departments,” stated Leesburg Chief of Police Gregory Brown. n

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Loudoun County Public Schools is shortening the length of time staff members and students infected with COVID-19 must isolate from 10 days to five, in accordance with the latest recommendations from the CDC and Department of Health, despite previously stating it wouldn’t do so until mid-January. Superintendent Scott Ziegler previously announced plans to continue the 10-day quarantine requirement when classes resumed after winter break. Ziegler said in an email to families that the new protocols wouldn’t be implemented until Jan. 17, allowing for transmission data to be analyzed before a decision was made. The new guidance also requires fully vaccinated individuals who are eligible for a booster shot but have not yet received one to isolate if they are close contacts of infected individuals. Individuals deemed close contacts who are asymptomatic may forgo the isolation period after showing proof of having received a vaccine booster, two shots of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine in the last six months, or one shot of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine in the last two months. The new guidance comes as evidence shared by the CDC found that transmission of the virus is most likely to occur one to two days before the onset of symptoms, and two to three days after. Now, infected

individuals may return to school five days after testing positive, regardless of their status. The spread of the Omicron variant during the holidays led to a pandemic era-high 1,215 new cases being reported in Loudoun County on Dec. 31. The seven-day average of new cases reported, as of Jan. 4, was 767. The division is continuing with mitigation protocols, requiring all people in school buildings to wear masks, regardless of vaccination status. Still, parents and staff members took to social media to express concerns. Many speculate that the change in protocols is due to a shortage of teachers and substitutes. One mother posted on Facebook a photo of her daughter’s positive COVID test on day eight of the child’s illness, three days after the student would have been permitted to return if school had been in session. Staff at a high school were reportedly told that due to teacher shortages, classes might be combined in the gymnasium. Shortly after the new protocols were announced, School Board member Andrew Hoyler said on Facebook that he had not been briefed on the change. “When I have answers, I will share them with you all, but unfortunately at this point, I’m as confused as many of you,” he said in his post. The school division did not respond with comment on the sudden change by press time. n

Sterling Schools to Receive Security Grants LOUDOUN NOW STAFF REPORT

Dominion High School and Park View High School in Sterling together will receive $25,600 from the state government for building security upgrades in 2022 The School Security Equipment Grants program is a $12 million dollar effort devised by the Virginia Department of Education and the Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services to modernize security in school buildings identified by a school security audit. The grants may pay for video monitoring systems, voice and video internal communications systems, school bus in-

terior cameras, mass notification systems, visitor-identification systems, access control systems, two-way radios, security vestibules and other security upgrades. The School Security Equipment Grants program was established in 2013 by the General Assembly in response to the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary in Connecticut. The grants Loudoun received are miniscule in comparison to those received by neighboring school districts. Five Fairfax County elementary schools will receive a combined $250,000, while five elementary schools in Fauquier County will split $235,059. n

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JANUARY 6, 2022

PAGE 9

Hoyler to Seek Election to His Seat in Fall BY HAYLEY MILON BOUR hbour@loudounnow.com

During November’s special election, Andrew Hoyler (Broad Run) will seek election to the School Board seat to which he was appointed last fall. Former Broad Run District representative Leslee King died Aug. 31 from to complications from a heart procedure she underwent earlier in the summer, vacating the seat. The board appointed the 25-year-old Hoyler, King’s former opponent, on Oct. 12. Hoyler stepped into the role amid the turmoil that has put the School Board in the national headlines, as activist groups Hayley Bour/ Loudoun Now sought the ouster of several members, Andrew Hoyler (Broad Run) was sworn into his citing concerns about progressive social seat on Oct. 12, filling the vacancy left by the late agendas and the board’s handling of a Leslee King student sexual assault scandal. During his tenure, Hoyler has sought to ameliorate the divide many families my best to be a nonpartisan public servant. Not only as a representative, but in are experiencing in the community. “People recognize that the School our schools as well,” Hoyler said, adding Board is supposed to be a nonpartisan that he has never sought a political enposition and people recognize that I do dorsement.

Hoyler has been volunteer substitute teaching in Broad Run schools that are short-staffed because of the pandemic. Parents have heaped praise on the representative during the characteristically hostile public comment portions of board meetings for hosting three town hall meetings since taking office. “Holding town halls gives parents an opportunity to have a dialogue. There are a lot of people who are coming and want to vent,” he said. He added that the town halls have demonstrated that people who are culture war adversaries might have more in common than they think. He made a splash less than a month into his appointment when he voted against a proclamation for School Psychologists’ Week during the Nov. 9 meeting. He later shared on Facebook that he felt there are shortcomings in support of school psychologists, and that such a proclamation was largely a performative gesture that wouldn’t affect change. As an appointee, Hoyler is set to serve in the position until the special election.

The winner of the special election will serve until the end of King’s term, Dec. 31, 2023. But Hoyler hopes to sit on the board far beyond the end of the term, stating he aspires to holding a long tenure similar that of 10-year School Board members Jeff Morse (Dulles) and Brenda Sheridan (Sterling). The areas Hoyler would like to focus on range from finding storage space for the fine arts program at Broad Run High School, to bringing more mental health resources to students across the district. Hoyler said that it’s taken some time to get acclimated in the new position. As such, the power of incumbency might be supercharged in the race for his seat; a new Broad Run District representative winning next fall would mean the three different representatives for the district in one term. “They deserve a little more continuity,” Hoyler said of his constituents. “It does take time to get up to speed.” More information about Hoyler’s campaign can be found at votehoyler.com. n

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Public Safety Arrest Made in Stabbing at Leesburg Outlets A Bristow man has been charged with attempted murder following a Dec. 28 stabbing at Leesburg Premium Outlets. According to the Leesburg Police Department, dispatchers received a report at approximately 4:30 p.m. last Tuesday that a 27-year-old woman had been stabbed outside a store at the mall. The caller said the male assailant fled on foot, armed with a knife, toward the Sycamore Hill neighborhood behind the outlets. Responding officers found the suspect, 34-year-old Corinthian Witcher, near the intersection of Potomac Station Drive NE and Lilac Terrace NE. Witcher was taken into custoWitcher dy without further incident. Investigators determined the suspect and victim were known to each other. The victim was transported by ambulance to an area hospital where she was

Death of Ashburn Woman Ruled Homicide

treated for injuries described as serious, but not life-threatening. Witcher has been charged with attempted murder and aggravated malicious wounding. He was held at the Loudoun County Adult Detention Center, pending a bond hearing scheduled for Jan. 5. A preliminary hearing is set for Feb. 2 in Loudoun County District Court.

Fire Destroys Sterling Garage The Loudoun County Fire Marshal’s Office is working to determine the cause of a Dec. 29 fire that destroyed a Sterling Park garage. According to the report, fire-rescue crews were dispatched at 7 p.m. last Wednesday to a Williamsburg Road home where a detached garage was fully involved in fire. Units from Sterling Park, Kincora, Cascades, Fairfax County, and the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority responded. In addition to the garage, the fire extended to several vehicles and two boats located on the property. The fire was brought under control within 15 minutes. The main home was not damaged and there were no reported

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The Sheriff’s Office is investigating the death of a 57-year-old Ashburn woman as a homicide. The body of Najat Chemlali Goode was discovered Dec. 30. Shortly before 8:30 p.m. Thursday night deputies were called to the Connie Marie Terrace home in the Belmont Trace neighborhood where a family member found Goode unresponsive. She was taken to StoneSprings Hospital Center where she died from her injuries. On Monday, detectives released a composite sketch of a man who may have been in the area that evening and who is wanted for questioning as a person of interest. Anyone with any information as to the identity of the man or information regarding this case is asked to contact Detective T. Rodriguez at 703777-1021. You may also submit a tip injuries to civilians or firefighters. Fire damages are estimated $167,000.

Leesburg Man Charged in McDonald’s Attempted Robbery A Leesburg man has been charged following the Dec. 22 attempted robbery at the McDonalds on Market Street in Leesburg. According to the Leesburg Police Department report, 54-year-old Joseph Readmond was charged with two counts of attempted robbery and one count of the use of a Redmond firearm in the com-

The Sheriff’s Office released this sketch of a man seen in the area of the Connie Marie Terrace home where the body of Najat Chemlali Goode was found Dec. 30.

through the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office app. n mission of a felony. He was arrested Dec. 30 by the Sheriff’s Office and was held without bond at the Loudoun County Adult Detention Center, for the Leesburg charges as well as for additional unrelated charges brought by the Sheriff’s Office. The Leesburg charges stem from an incident Dec. 22 at shortly after 5:30 p.m. The Leesburg Police dispatchers received a report of an armed robbery in progress at McDonald’s, with the caller reporting that the man was brandishing a firearm at a cashier. The man had fled empty handed by the time officers arrived. A search of the area was unsuccessful. Investigators released video stills of the suspect inside the restaurant. A preliminary hearing is scheduled Feb. 3 in Loudoun County District Court. n

LOUDOUNNOW.COM

JANUARY 6, 2022

PAGE 11

Running into 2022 More than 200 runners got up early New Year’s Day to compete in the New Day * New Year 10K hosted at House 6 Brewing Co. This year’s event featured the challenge of running through periodic downpours. Benn Thomas of Washington, DC, got 2022 off to a fast start, winning the 10K race with a time of 36:53. Abby Byambatseren was the fastest female running, crossing the line with a time of 42:10. In the 5K, Alex Venable of Ashburn completed the course in 15:57, and Michelle VanHorn of Harpers Ferry was the top female finisher at 21:04. The race is in its fourth year, carrying on a New Year’s Day tradition begun by the Rotary Club of Leesburg that hosted a race at Ida Lee Park in Leesburg for decades. Like that event, the New Day * New Year 5K/10K benefits the Rotary Club of Leesburg’s Perry Winston Memorial Scholarship Fund, which pro-

Nine-year-old C. Hanna finished 40th of 145 runners in the New Day * New Year 5K race Saturday morning.

vides scholarship to high school seniors who have been accepted to an accredited college, university, or community college. Each year, two $10,000 scholarships are awarded along with a Path-

ways scholarship and a Monroe Tech scholarship. Loudoun’s other New Year’s Day tradition, Lovettsville’s Berserkle in the Squirkle community fun run was can-

celed because of the not-fun-to-run-in weather. n — Norman K. Styer

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JANUARY 6, 2022

Business

Mitchell Selected to Lead Chamber Board The Loudoun Chamber of Commerce has announced Modern Mechanical Founder and CEO Shawn Mitchell will serve as the organization’s 2022 chairman. Mitchell has served on the Chamber’s Board of Directors since 2015. He will debut as its chairman during the organization’s 54th Annual Meeting & Community Leadership Awards on Jan. 21 at the National Conference Center in Lansdowne. “It is a great honor to serve our community as Board Chair for Loudoun County’s premier business advocacy and networking organization,” Mitchell stated. “With the support of the outstanding leaders on our Board of Directors and a talented team of staff professionals, I look forward to helping our Loudoun Chamber members and our entire community continue to grow and prosper, as we meet the challenges and opportunities that 2022 has to offer.” Mitchell follows Morven Park CEO Stacey Metcalfe, the first person to serve in the position for a two-year term.

Galen Photography

Shawn Mitchell, pictured winning the Loudoun Chamber’s Small Business of the Year award in 2014.

“It was one of the great honors of my professional career to serve our great Loudoun community and our entire membership as Chair of the Board of Direc-

tors,” Metcalfe stated. “Having worked alongside Shawn Mitchell throughout our time on the Chamber’s Board, I have every confidence that he will lead this

great organization with vision, confidence and commitment to our members’ success.” Joining Mitchell on the board’s leadership team will be the organization’s new first vice chair/chair-elect 2023 Carol Barbe, president & CEO of Backflow Technology; and Second Vice Chair/Chairelect 2024 Angela Mitchell, president & CEO of ARM Consulting. The Chamber also announced several new members on its Board of Directors. Those include Nicole Acosta, Community Foundation for Loudoun & Northern Fauquier Counties; Doug Camp, Salamander Resort & Spa; Dario Campolattaro, The Hilb Group; Lori Collette, AQS Automotive Quality Solutions; Amber Davison, Equinix; Scott Hamberger, Integrus Holdings; Brad Hoffman, DeLeon & Stang; Chauvon McFadden, Crimson Wealth Strategies; Natasha Magrath, You’ve Got Maids; Susan Mitchell, Guardians of Honor; Todd Pettibon, Toth Financial Advisory Corp.; Mark Rider, Marble Business Solutions; Nathan Vooys, StoneSprings Hospital Center; Joe Won, Ariatek; and Gift Wyatt, CDR Fundraising Group. n

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PAGE 13

Post your job listings at NowHiringLoudoun.com Town of Leesburg Employment Opportunities Please visit www.leesburgva.gov/jobs for more information and to apply online. Resumes may be submitted as supplemental only. EOE/ADA. Regular Full-Time Positions Position

Department

Salary Range

Closing Date

Accounting Associate II

Finance

$44,905-$76,882 DOQ

Open until filled

Director of Planning & Zoning

Planning & Zoning

$150,000-$180,000 DOQ

2/14/2022

Enterprise GIS Manager

Information Technology

$76,426-$130,688 DOQ

Open until filled

IT Systems Administrator

Information Technology

$70,374-$120,339 DOQ

Open until filled

Maintenance Worker I

Public Works & Capital Projects

$40,000-$65,186 DOQ

1/21/22

Planner - Zoning Administration

Planning & Zoning

$61,857 - $105,896 DOQ

Open until filled

Police Officer

Police

$62,000-$89,590 DOQ

Open until filled Open until filled

Senior Buyer/Contracts Administrator

Finance

$67,175-$115,044 DOQ

Senior Management & Budget Analyst

Finance

$72,952-$124,893 DOQ

Open until filled

Stormwater & Environmental Manager

Public Works & Capital Projects

$82,999-$141,929 DOQ

Open until filled

Utility Plant Technician or Senior Utility Plant Technician

Utilities

$50,000-$89,790 DOQ

Open until filled

Utility System Trainee or Technician

Utilities

$50,000-$76,882 DOQ

Open until filled

Wastewater Plant Operator: Trainee, I, II or Senior

Utilities

$50,000-$89,790 DOQ

Open until filled

DRIVERS NEEDED Regular & CDL Call 703-737-3011

Flexible Part-Time Position Position

Department

Hourly Rate

Closing Date

Administrative Associate

Thomas Balch Library

$20.51-$33.42 DOQ

Open until filled

Receptionist

Public Information Office

$20.51

Open until filled

Senior Buyer/Contracts Administrator

Finance

$34.44-$58.99 DOQ

Open until filled

See the full job listings at NowHiringLoudoun.com

To review Ida Lee (Parks & Recreation) flexible part-time positions, please visit www.leesburgva.gov/jobs. Most positions will be filled at or near the minimum of the range. Dependent on qualifications. All Town vacancies may be viewed on Comcast Cable Channel 67 and Verizon FiOS Channel 35.

Contract Position: Superintendent Construction Superintendent Contract Position with Potential for Permanent Employment Meridien Group, LLC is seeking a deadline-driven Construction Superintendent to oversee our construction projects, and to act as the link between various project parties. The Construction Superintendent will lead and manage the on-site construction team and oversee all work on site. The Construction Superintendent will be responsible for orderliness on site and ensure compliance with safety regulations. You will ensure quality standards are met, and all equipment and materials are available on site at all times, as well as liaise with inspection authorities regarding approvals, complete projects on time and within budget, and never compromise on quality. Construction Superintendent Requirements: • 5+ years of experience as a Construction Superintendent. • Proficient with MS Office Word and Excel. • Proficient with scheduling software, and CAE and CAD applications. • Proficient with taking and uploading digital photographs. • Ability to lift 40 pounds and to operate heavy equipment. • Ability to interpret and build according to drawings, specifications, and other documents. • Excellent communication and interpersonal skills. • Outstanding organizational skills. • Must be able to pass background check for access to Federal buildings Send Resume to Katherine Hicks, khicks@meridiengroupllc.com

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LOUDOUNNOW.COM

PAGE 14

JANUARY 6, 2022

Towns

Kuhn, Land Trust Announce 108 Acres Protected near Purcellville The Land Trust of Virginia has announced a new conservation easement by the northwest corner of the Town of Purcellville, protecting 108 acres with the help of JK Moving founder Chuck Kuhn. The property fronts Hillsboro Road, Allder School Road and Short Hill Road, with 3,000 feet of frontage on Allder School Road. According to the Land Trust, more than 90% of the property features “Prime Farmland” or “Farmland of Statewide Importance,” designations by the state Department of Conservation and Recreation. The property includes 15.6 acres of forest cover and one small pond near the southern boundary. The pond is considered an instance of a “ponded” wetland, designated as such by the National Wetlands Inventory of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. The property is in the watersheds of Catoctin Creek, the Potomac River, and the Chesapeake Bay.

“Furthering the density of conserved land in western Loudoun County was central to the mission behind our founding in 1992,” stated Land Trust of Virginia Executive Director Sally Price. “We are grateful this easement creates a buffer around Purcellville to help prevent additional development sprawl.” The Hillsboro Road property is the 216th easement completed by the Land Trust of Virginia. The Land Trust has worked with 216 families, conserving a total of 25,271 acres in 22 counties in Virginia. For more information about the Land Trust, go to landtrustva.org. The Kuhn family has preserved thousands of acres of land in Loudoun by putting it under conservation easement. Over the past decade, they said they have placed more than 22,000 acres under conservation easement, both in Loudoun and elsewhere. n

Contributed/Land Trust of Virginia

A pond on the southern end of 108 acres recently placed under conservation easement on Hillsboro Road near the Town of Purcellville.

Federal Relief Fund Dumps Nearly $15M into Town Utility Budgets BY NORMAN STYER nstyer@loudounnow.com

For any small town, the top responsibility—and biggest expense—is providing safe drinking water and wastewater treatment. Federal COVID-19 relief efforts are giving Loudoun’s towns a boost on that front. The $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan Act approved last March includes direct aid to localities to offset pandemic-related expenses and upgrade utility systems. Loudoun’s towns, excluding Leesburg, received just over $1,000 per resident. That made Purcellville the big winner locally, securing nearly $10.6 million. Leesburg, Virginia’s largest town, fell into a different classification and received only $110 per resident, just $5.92 million. While the allocations were announced—and the first half of the awards paid last summer—the town councils have spent months debating on how best to use the windfall, including having to wait for the federal rules governing how the money can be used. The second half payments are expected this summer.

In the end, the funding boost should allow localities to avoid or lower planned debt funding and benefit the checkbooks of rate payers.

Purcellville

Those savings be most impactful in Purcellville, where holding down rates has been a top Town Council priority. With $5.28 million in hand and another payment expected in June, the Town Council has held several meetings to debate the best way to use the funds. So far, the council has appropriated funding for its Water Treatment Plant to its Town Watermain Replacement Project, forgoing the need to take out a $400,000 loan; advanced plans for a new $2.4 million finished water storage tank, which was recently identified as a top priority; and pivoted the Hirst Reservoir Rehabilitation Project from a prior plan to fund it with a $1.4 million USDA loan.

Lovettsville

The Town of Lovettsville will receive $2,280,462, with the Town Council laying out plans to use 80% for infrastructure projects and 20% to support tourism, hospitality, businesses, and nonprofits.

Last fall, the council assigned its first half allocation to pay for stormwater management infrastructure; wastewater line improvements and repairs to reduce the inflow and infiltration of stormwater; and water main replacements, along with providing grants to town nonprofits and businesses.

Middleburg

The Town of Middleburg was allocated $865,288 in ARPA funding. Under a staff proposal, 90% of the money would be used for water and sewer infrastructure projects. Those include helping to pay for the town’s Well 4 Clearwell Project; the Stonewall/Lincoln Road Septic Conversion Projects; upgrades to the water meters and radio read system to provide automated, real-time water consumption information; and offsetting the cost of infrastructure at the new Town Hall. The council also is looking provide utility bill credits and for marketing and public information efforts promoting pandemic recovery and supporting businesses.

Hamilton

The Town of Hamilton will receive $652,598 in ARPA funds, with the first

half of the grant in hand. Among the options to use the money identified so far are to pay for the rehabilitation and cleaning of the Harmony and Rogers St. water towers; to pay off the balance for customers who made payment arrangements on their utility bills due to the pandemic, and the replacement of the South Saint Paul Street sanitary pipe replacement.

Round Hill

The Town of Round Hill will receive an allocation of $650,000, an amount disproportionally low considering its public utility system serves about 5,000 residents in surrounding neighborhoods. The funding was based on the town’s population of about 650. The Town Council is expected to use the funds to offset expenses in its $7 million water and sewer system construction budget but specific projects have not yet been selected.

Hillsboro

In Hillsboro, which has fewer that 170 residents, the Town Council used its small share of ARPA funds to help roll out fiber-optic broadband service to all town residents and businesses. n

LOUDOUNNOW.COM

JANUARY 6, 2022

PAGE 15

Memory Impairment Choir Comes to Loudoun

The Sentimental Journey Singers program will come to Insight Memory Care Center’s new location in Sterling.

LOUDOUN NOW STAFF REPORT

Encore Creativity for Older Adults, the nation’s largest choral organization for adults over 55, will offer its choir for adults diagnosed with early-stage Alzheimer’s or other memory impairments at Insight Memory Care Center’s new location in Sterling. Sentimental Journey Singers is open both to members of Insight Memory Care Center and the community at no charge. Participants will take part in therapeutic musical activities and sing familiar songs and new pieces in a social group setting under the leadership of conductor Mary Ann East, a performer, teacher and founder of Capital Harmonia. People living outside the area can join on Zoom. It’s the second Sentimental Journey Singers program for Encore—the choir has already been running at Insight Memory Care Center in Fairfax County for three seasons. Insight Memory Care Center Executive Director Anita Irvin said the program brings joy to the participants, who look forward to the weekly sessions. “Singing is beneficial socially as well as mentally for our participants, particularly since music impacts different parts of the brain and is often remembered even late in the disease,” Irvin stated. The choir, Sentimental Journey Singers, will run for 15 weeks on Thursdays, starting on Jan. 13, from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. The program will culminate in a performance, Saturday, May 14, at 3 p.m. at Strathmore in North Bethesda, MD, in celebration of Encore Creativity’s 15th anniversary. Founded in 2007, Encore Creativity for Older Adults, an Annapolis, MD-based nonprofit, has more than 1,500 singers in 26 in-person ensembles across the nation, an online university, plus summer camp, winter retreat and travel abroad programs. Insight Memory Care Center is a non-profit adult day health and resource center specializing in Alzheimer’s disease and other memory impairments. Registration is open at encorecreativity. org. Insight Memory Care Center’s Sterling location is at 45945 Center Oak Plaza, Suite 190. All singers must participate with a care partner. n

Contributed Encore Creativity for Older Adults

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LOUDOUNNOW.COM

JANUARY 6, 2022

THINGS to do

Loco Living

LOCO LIVE Live Music: Mercury Avenue

Friday, Jan. 7, 5:30 p.m. Lost Barrel Brewing, 36138 John Mosby Highway, Middleburg Details: lostbarrel.com This acoustic duo plays favorites from the 60s through today.

Live Music: Gary Smallwood

Friday, Jan. 7, 6 p.m. Flying Ace Distillery and Brewery, 40950 Flying Ace Lane, Lovettsville Details: flyingacefarm.com Gary Smallwood returns to Flying Ace with his locally famous classic rock, country rock and blues.

Live Music: Ken Wenzel

Friday, Jan. 7, 6 p.m. Chefscape, 1602 Village Market Blvd. # 115, Leesburg Details: chefscapekitchen.com Wenzel brings his signature roots-rock, countryjazz take on love, learning and life in America to Chefscape.

Live Music: Philadelphia Freedom Elton John Tribute

Friday, Jan. 7, 7 p.m. Tally Ho Theater, 19 W. Market St., Leesburg Details: tallyhotheater.com This favorite tribute band brings Elton John’s music and iconic style to life. Tickets are $15.

Renss Greene/Loudoun Now

“Rocky,” a taxidermized wild yak, greets guests at the entrance to Himalayan Wild Yak in Brambleton Town Center.

A Taste of Nepal in Brambleton BY JAN MERCKER

jmercker@loudounnow.com

In search of the perfect protein? 2022 might be the perfect year to give yak a try. A trio of seasoned DMV restaurateurs are serving up yak dishes and other Nepalese favoritesat the Wild Himalayan Yak, which opened in Brambleton last week. Brambleton resident Dip Raj Jarga Magar runs the front of the house while his brother Keshar Jarga and their business partner Tuk Gurung are behind the restaurant’s kitchen and bar programs. Magar and Gurung have worked together for years and opened the popular Royal Nepal restaurant in Alexandria. When it was time to launch a new project, they wanted a bigger space. And Magar knew his own neighborhood fit the bill perfectly. The partners

Renss Greene/Loudoun Now

Nabin Adhikari puts meat on a skewer in the kitchen at Himalayan Wild Yak, a new restaurant in Brambleton Town Center.

found a two-story, 5,000-square-foot space in Brambleton Town Center, formerly the home to the Lost Rhino Retreat. “It’s a great location for us,” Magar said. The restaurant also fills a niche for Nepalese cuisine in Ashburn and, to Magar’s knowledge, is the only place in the county where diners can order yak, which he hopes will become the restaurant’s claim to fame. “Yak meat is the healthiest meat on the planet,” Magar said. Yaks, also called “mountain cows,” are known for their exceptionally lean meat. But it’s also high in Omega-3 oils, which keep it tender and juicy. Magar sources U.S.-raised yak from farms in several states. And a TASTE OF NEPAL continues on page 18

Live Music: Hard Swimmin’ Fish

Friday, Jan. 7, 8 p.m. Monk’s BBQ, 251 N. 21st St., Purcellville Details: monksq.com Hard Swimmin’ Fish returns to Monk’s with a versatile blues sound covering everything from Mississippi country blues to the urban Chicago sound and beyond.

Elvis Birthday Party with Jed Duvall

Saturday, Jan. 8, 1 p.m. Two Twisted Posts Winery, 12944 Harpers Ferry Road, Hillsboro Details: twotwistedposts.com Join Jed Duvall in his annual birthday salute to the king of rock ‘n’ roll, singing all the hits that made Elvis a legend.

Live Music: High Maintenance

Saturday, Jan. 8, 1 p.m. Vanish Farmwoods Brewery, 42245 Black Hops Lane, Lucketts Details: vanishbeer.com High Maintenance returns to Vanish with popular covers and powerful vocals.

Live Music: Pete Lapp

Saturday, Jan. 8, 1:30 p.m. Sunset Hills Vineyard, 38295 Fremont Overlook

THINGS TO DO continues on page 17

LOUDOUNNOW.COM

JANUARY 6, 2022

BEST BETS

PAGE 17 Hill Details: bchordbrewing.com Wicked Sycamore is an all-woman guitar, mandolin and cello trio playing contemporary folk with a mischievous edge. The Shade Unger Project opens with bluegrass, jazz and rock. Admission is $15.

Live Music: Side Effects

Saturday, Jan. 8, 7 p.m. Chefscape, 1602 Village Market Blvd. # 115, Leesburg Details: chefscapekitchen.com One of Northern Virginia’s top classic rock bands serves up favorites from the 60s through the 90s.

Live Music: Best Friends Girl Cars Tribute

PHILADELPHIA FREEDOM: ELTON JOHN TRIBUTE Friday, Jan. 7, 7 p.m. (doors) Tally Ho Theater tallyhotheater.com

THINGS to do continued from page 16

Lane, Purcellville Details: sunsethillsvineyard.com Lapp brings his acoustic interpretations of classic and alternative rock songs from Bon Jovi to Mumford and Sons to Sunset Hills.

Live Music: Robert Mabe Saturday, Jan. 8, 2 p.m.

ELVIS BIRTHDAY PARTY WITH JED DUVALL Saturday, Jan. 8, 1-4 p.m. Two Twisted Post Winery twotwistedposts.com Flying Ace Distillery and Brewery, 40950 Flying Ace Lane, Lovettsville Details: flyingacefarm.com Mabe is a stellar banjo player and singer/songwriter from the hills of North Carolina. His unique style covers a wide range of music from bluegrass to jazz, Irish and roots tunes.

Live Music: Clark Peklo

Saturday, Jan. 8, 2 p.m. Lost Rhino Brewing Company 21730 Red Rum Drive, Ashburn Details: lostrhino.com Peklo is back at Lost Rhino with his repertoire of

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MEISHA HERRON Sunday, Jan.9, 2-5 p.m. Flying Ace Distillery and Brewery flyingacefarm.com

Saturday, Jan. 8, 7 p.m. Tally Ho Theater, 19 W. Market St., Leesburg Details: tallyhotheater.com Head back to the 80s with the timeless hits of The Cars from a top-notch tribute band. Tickets are $15 for general admission, $35 for VIP seats.

Live Music: Skribe

cool, unexpected covers and a strict No Eagles policy.

Saturday, Jan. 8, 8 p.m Monk’s BBQ, 251 N. 21st St., Purcellville Details: monksq.com Skribe serves up garage/folk/Americana for a rocking Saturday night.

Live Music: Chris Bone

Live Music: Cory Campbell

Saturday, Jan. 8, 5 p.m. Lost Barrel Brewing, 36138 John Mosby Highway, Middleburg Details: lostbarrel.com Enjoy an evening of great tunes from Western Loudoun singer/songwriter and one-man band Chris Bone of the Bone Show.

Sunday, Jan. 9, 1 p.m. Lost Barrel Brewing, 36138 John Mosby Highway, Middleburg Details: lostbarrel.com Catch up and coming singer/songwriter Cory Campbell for a groovy Sunday afternoon.

Wicked Sycamore with Shade Unger Project

Sunday, Jan. 9, 1 p.m.

Saturday, Jan. 8, 6:30 p.m. B Chord Brewing, 34266 Williams Gap Road, Round

Live Music: Laura Cashman THINGS TO DO continues on page 18

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PAGE 18

Obituaries

DOROTHY VIOLA RICHARDSON TEATES Dorothy Viola Richardson Teates, 90, of Leesburg, Virginia, passed away Thursday, December 30, 2021, at Commonwealth Senior Living of Berryville. Dorothy was born October 3, 1931, in Victoria Hospital, Miami, Florida. She was the daughter of the late Simon and Mary Elizabeth Richardson, of Miami. Sister to Mary Jane Lathan, John Richardson deceased and Howard Wayne Richardson deceased. She attended Bridgewater College and graduated in 1953 with a Bachelor of Science in Home Economics. Dorothy was a Home Extension Agent, first in Culpeper and then in Leesburg, where she met and married the love of her life, Cecil Teates. She married Cecil Edward Teates in 1954 in her hometown of Miami. Cecil and Dorothy built their own home in Leesburg, Virginia. They enjoyed 48 years of marriage before Cecil passed away in 2002. She was very active in her church, Pleasant Valley United Methodist Church in Chantilly, Virginia, where she sang in the choir, filled in and played piano, was a member of the Pleasant Valley United Methodist Women, planned and executed numerous Christmas programs, planned Vacation Bible School programs and began a Chrismon (Christ monogram) tree program for the church, which continues to this day. She judged various categories for the Loudoun County Fair and other county fairs. She worked with 4-H, helping their members with projects. She was a substitute teacher in Aldie and Arcola, Virginia. Dorothy wrote the “Down The Turnpike” column for the Loudoun Times-Mirror for over 20 years and was also a member of the Waterford Quilters Guild. She was a masterful seamstress and made many wedding dresses, party dresses, jackets, coats, drapes, and clothes for the family. Dorothy is survived by her sister, Mary Jane Lathan of Augusta, Georgia; her three children, Benjamin Teates and his wife, Dawn, of Leesburg, Virginia, Cary Teates and his wife, Nancy, of Orange, Virginia, Melanie Teates Livingston and her husband, Ken, of Berryville, Virginia; seven grandchildren; 15 great-grandchildren; four great-great-grandchildren, and numerous nieces and nephews. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to www.thewaterproject.org or to https://joycemeyer.org/donate. There will be a visitation on Saturday, January 15, 2022, at Pleasant Valley United Methodist Church, 43987 John Mosby Highway, Chantilly, Virginia 20152, at 10 a.m., before the celebration of life service at 11 a.m. A private graveside service will follow. Funeral arrangements are by Colonial Funeral home in Leesburg, Virginia. Online condolences may be left at www.colonialfuneralhome.com.

Taste of Nepal continued from page 16 Pennsylvania yak farm was the source of the restaurant’s mascot: a towering taxidermized yak named Rocky. Magar is looking forward to introducing fellow Loudouners to cuisine from his native Nepal, a small mountain nation bordered by India to the south and China to the north. And there are influences from both cultures on Nepalese cuisine, he says. “We’re a very small country, and we’re heavily influenced by both sides.” Overall, Nepalese dishes are most similar to northern Indian cuisine, he adds, but a little lighter on the spice. In addition to 18-hour marinated braised yak, Wild Himalayan Yak offers a range of more familiar fare, including curries, butter chicken, biryani and fried rice. Magar also sources yak butter from Mongolia (very few farms in the U.S. are licensed to raise yaks for dairy products) to use in several signature dishes. The new restaurant is made for dining in, with a spacious bar and lounge area, craft and classic beers on tap, inviting wine and cocktail lists and photo ops with Rocky. Magar’s brother Keshar Jarga, who is trained as a chef and previously worked

THINGS to do continued from page 17

50 West Vineyards, 39060 John Mosby Highway, Middleburg Details: facebook.com/50westvineyards Cashman is a local favorite who plays a wide range of genres. Hits from the ‘70s and ’80s are sure to be part of her playlist, but her favorite decade is the 90s.

Live Music: Julia Kasdorf

Sunday, Jan. 9, 1:30 p.m. Sunset Hills Vineyard, 38295 Fremont Overlook Lane, Purcellville Details: sunsethillsvineyard.com Kasdorf’s exceptional voice, top-notch guitar skills and catalog of standards, pop hits, folk and rock ‘n’ roll set her apart on the local music scene.

Live Music: Juliet Lloyd

Sunday, Jan. 9, 2 p.m. Breaux Vineyards, 36888 Breaux Vineyards Lane, Hillsboro Details: breauxvineyards.com Singer/songwriter/pianist Juliet Lloyd returns to Breaux with pop, rock and classic soul favorites.

Live Music: Meisha Herron

Sunday, Jan. 9, 2 p.m. Flying Ace Distillery and Brewery, 40950 Flying Ace Lane, Lovettsville Details: flyingacefarm.com

JANUARY 6, 2022

as a bartender at the Watergate Hotel, runs the bar program. Magar has also done sommelier classes and says there’s nothing like a robust Napa Valley cabernet to pair with a yak dish. Magar came to the U.S. in 2005 to work for a cruise line and settled in Northern Virginia in 2010. He worked at DC’s Four Seasons Hotel and Blue Duck Tavern at the Park Hyatt Washington, where he met Gurung. The partners opened the highly rated Royal Nepal in Alexandria in 2017. “I always had a dream to have my own restaurant featuring our Nepalese cuisine,” Magar said. Magar and Gurung sold their shares in Royal Nepal to launch the new venture. Opening a 5,000-square-foot restaurant during a pandemic is a gamble, Magar said, but it comes with the territory in the restaurant business. And he’s counting on Loudoun’s unquenchable curiosity and appetite for cool new cuisines. “Obviously the pandemic has been very challenging. But at the same time, I’m optimistic about the coming days,” he said. “We’ve been through most of the difficult times, and I’m very hopeful that it will be better.” n Himalayan Wild Yak is located at 22885 Brambleton Plaza, Ashburn. For more information and to check out a menu, go to himalayanwildyak.com. Rising star Meisha Herron returns to Flying Ace for an afternoon of soul and blues.

MacDowell’s Open Mic Night

Sunday, Jan. 9, 6-10 p.m. MacDowell Brew Kitchen, 202 South St. SE, Leesburg Details: macsbeach.com Jump on MacDowell’s indoor stage and showcase your musical talents at open mic night every Sunday. A featured local performer kicks off the show each week.

COMING UP The Nighthawks

Sunday, Jan. 16, 6 p.m. The Barns At Hamilton Station, 16804 Hamilton Station Road, Hamilton Details: thebarnsathamiltonstation.com The legendary blues and roots rock band The Nighthawks return to The Barns for an evening of great music. Tickets are $25 in advance.

Loudoun Battle of the Bands Round 1

Friday, Jan. 21, 6-10 p.m. Franklin Park Arts Center, 36441 Blueridge View Lane, Purcellville Details: franklinparkartscenter.org The Battle of the Bands features teen performers in different genres battling it out for audience votes. The event features preliminary rounds Jan. 21 and Feb. 25. In-person or virtual tickets are $5.

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PAGE 19

Legal Notices TOWN OF LOVETTSVILLE NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING 2023-2027 CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PLAN Pursuant to Va. Code § 15.2-2239, the Lovettsville Planning Commission will hold a public hearing on Wednesday, January 12, 2022, at 7:00 P.M. in the Council Chambers, 6 East Pennsylvania Avenue, Lovettsville, Virginia, to solicit public comment on the proposed Fiscal Year 2023-2027 Capital Improvement Plan (CIP). The final requested funding amount of the CIP will be included in the Town Manager’s Fiscal Year 2023 Proposed Budget scheduled to be presented to Town Council during their regular meeting the evening of January 20, 2022, at 6:30 P.M. All persons desiring to speak will be given an opportunity to do so at this meeting.

Renss Greene/Loudoun Now

Copies of the proposed CIP with a complete list of projects are available for review at the Town Hall between the hours of 8:30am and 4:30pm weekdays or by special appointment, holidays excepted. Call 540-822-5788 for more information or visit www.lovettsvilleva.gov. In the event the meeting is cancelled, the public hearing will be convened at the next regular scheduled meeting at the same time and place.

Old Glory co-captain Thretton Palamo charges up the pitch during the team’s 2021 debut at Segra Field. This year, Loudoun will become an official Rugby City.

What’s New in 2022 BY VISIT LOUDOUN

In February 2022 a new sports entertainment concept that could do for baseball what TopGolf has done for golf, opens in Loudoun. That it’s pioneered by a local businessman only makes it more intriguing. Welcome to The Ballpark Loudoun, brainchild of local tech-turned-sports entrepreneur Chris Bourassa. The interactive facility located on Rt. 7 opposite One Loudoun will combine cutting-edge pitching and hitting technology with a lively bar and a Korean-inspired restaurant. “I worked at IBM, founded my own software company and then turned to coaching and sports management at Evergreen SportsPlex in Leesburg,” said Bourassa. “This venture perfectly marries my sports background with my tech background.” There are 12 hitting lanes in the facility, four of them entertainment suites for parties to drink, order food and hit balls. All the lanes are fitted with camera technology that tracks speed and elevation off the bat to calculate where a ball would go in any Major League ballpark you program in. Baseball might never be the same again. The Ballpark is not the only exciting new venture slated for Loudoun in 2022, however. Two new parks open early in the new year. The 257-acre Hal & Berni Hanson Regional Park on Evergreen Mills Road near Brambleton has 17 athletic fields, a skate park, over 75 acres of recreational

space and an events venue. In northern Loudoun, 91-acre Lovettsville Community Park will feature equestrian trails, a pond, an amphitheater and multiple softball, baseball, and soccer fields. Talking sports, pencil in Feb. 18 as the official home opener at Segra Field for local pro rugby team Old Glory DC’s 2022 season. To commemorate it, the team will hold a themed “Loudoun Night” featuring local businesses, a ribbon cutting and a celebration of Loudoun as an official “rugby city.” From sports to culture. Throughout 2022, George C. Marshall’s Dodona Manor will be celebrating 75 years since the great statesman announced his vision for rebuilding post-World War II Europe in a speech at Harvard on June 5, 1947. Celebrations will include a film festival, a poster contest, the first-ever Marshall Award for Ethical Leadership and a June 5 commemoration at Dodona Manor. Wine lovers meanwhile can look forward to the February release of 2020 Valle Tranquilo: a Bordeaux-style red blend made via a collaboration between Hillsboro wineries 868 Estate, Maggie Malick, Hillsborough Vineyards, Notaviva, Doukenie, Breaux and Two Twisted Posts. Back In Leesburg, upscale ice cream emporium Mocatinas has partnered with Bespoke Books and Archives to start a new monthly book club at Mocatinas aptly named “Booked at Mocatinas.” What better way to celebrate the spirit of 2022 than with these new Loudoun offerings? n Share what you explore in the New Year with Visit Loudoun using #LoveLoudoun.

12/30/2021 & 1/6/2022

TOWN OF LEESBURG NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING TO CONSIDER AMENDMENTS TO ZONING ORDINANCE ARTICLES 3, 9, 10, 15 AND 18 Pursuant to Sections 15.2-1427, 15.2-2204, 15.2-2205 and 15.2-2285 of the Code of Virginia, 1950, as amended, the LEESBURG TOWN COUNCIL will hold a public hearing on TUESDAY, JANUARY 11, 2022, at 7:00 p.m. in the Town Council Chambers, 25 W. Market Street, Leesburg VA 20176 to consider the following amendments to the Zoning Ordinance: 1.

Section 3.4.16 Termination of Use, to extend validity periods of special exceptions from three (3) years to five (5) years.

Sections 3.7.3 Application Submittal and Section 11.12.1 Floor Plans, to consolidate zoning permit application requirements in one section.

Section 9.4 Accessory Uses creating Section 9.4.1.1 Accessory Kitchen, establishing use standards for accessory kitchens.

Section 9.4.7 Family Day Home, to conform the Town of Leesburg Zoning Ordinance requirements to those in the Code of Virginia regarding the permissible number of children allowed by-right, and establishing an appeal process when an application is denied.

Various subsections of Section 10.4.5.C Extensions into Required Yards:

to reduce the separation of an accessory structure to the principal structure from 10 feet (10’) to five feet (5’).

to clarify enclosed decks cannot encroach into a required yard.

to add allowable encroachments for portable sheds.

Various subsections of Article 15 Sign Regulations: a.

to add a definition for ATM Sign.

to add a subsection for Bank Signs, clarifying maximum number, type, and size due to the addition of ATM sign.

Various subsections of 18.1 Terms Defined: a.

Add a definition for ATM Sign

Add a definition for Deck, Enclosed or Roofed

Add a definition for Porch

Add a definition for Stoop

Revise the definition for Accessory Kitchen

Add a definition for Shed

Add a definition for Shed, Portable

Copies and additional information regarding each of these proposed Zoning Ordinance amendments are available at the Department of Planning & Zoning located on the 2nd floor of Leesburg Town Hall, 25 W. Market Street, Leesburg VA 20176 during normal business hours (Mon.-Fri., 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.), or by contacting Michael Watkins, Zoning Administrator, via email at mwatkins@leesburgva. gov, or via telephone at 703-737-7920. This zoning ordinance amendment application is identified as case number TLOA-2021-0001. At this hearing all persons desiring to express their views concerning these matters will be heard. Persons requiring special accommodations should contact the Clerk of Council at (703) 771-2733, three days in advance of the meeting. For TTY/TDD service, use the Virginia Relay Center by dialing 711. 12/30/21 & 01/06/22

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JANUARY 6, 2022

Legal Notices PUBLIC HEARING The LOUDOUN COUNTY PLANNING COMMISSION will hold a public hearing in the Board of Supervisors’ Meeting Room on the first floor of the County Government Center, 1 Harrison Street, S.E., Leesburg, Virginia, on Tuesday, January 25, 2022, at 6:00 p.m. to consider the following: CMPT-2021-0008 DULLES SOUTH ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

SPEX-2021-0025 SCOTT JENKINS MEMORIAL PARK

The Loudoun County School Board, of Ashburn, Virginia has submitted an application for Commission approval to permit an elementary school in the TR-1(UBF) (Transitional Residential – 3 (Upper Broad Run and Upper Foley)) and TR-3(UBF) (Transitional Residential – 1 (Upper Broad Run and Upper Foley)) zoning districts. This application is subject to the Revised 1993 Zoning Ordinance and requires a Commission Permit in accordance with Section 6-1101. The subject property is located partially within FOD (Floodplain Overlay District), and partially within the AI (Airport Impact) Overlay District, outside of but within one (1) mile of the Ldn 60 aircraft noise contours. The subject property is approximately 117.49 acres in size and is located south of Braddock Road (Route 705 and Route 620) on the west side of Lightridge Farm Road (Route 705), at 41025 Collaboration Drive, Aldie, VA 20105, in the Blue Ridge Election District. The subject property is more particularly described as PIN: 288-19-4044. The area is governed by the policies of the Loudoun County 2019 General Plan (Transition Policy Area (Transition Large Lot Neighborhood Place Type) which designate this area for low density Residential neighborhoods, Agricultural uses, and Extensive Natural and Manmade open space areas developed at a non-residential Floor Area Ratio (FAR) up to 0.1.

The Loudoun County Department of Transportation & Capital Infrastructure, of Leesburg, Virginia, has submitted an application for a Special Exception to modify the conditions of approval and Special Exception plat associated with SPEX-2009-0004, Scott Jenkins Memorial Park, which currently govern the subject property, in order to amend Condition #5 to allow lighting for the existing ballfields on site in the AR-1 (Agricultural Rural - 1) zoning district. This application is subject to the Revised 1993 Zoning Ordinance. The subject property is located partially within the Sensitive Mountainside Overlay District and is also located partially within the Somewhat Sensitive Mountainside Overlay District. The subject property is approximately 34.21 acres in size and is located on the south side of Harry Byrd Highway (Route 7) and on the north side of East Colonial Highway (Old Route 7), at 39464 E Colonial Highway, Hamilton, Virginia, in the Catoctin Election District. The subject property is more particularly described as PIN: 346-35-3765. The area is governed by the policies of the Loudoun County 2019 General Plan (Rural Policy Area (Rural North Place Type)), which designate this area for mostly Agricultural and Agricultural Supportive uses with limited Residential uses.

(Commission Permit)

ZMAP-2021-0001 GUM SPRING RESIDENTIAL (Zoning Map Amendment)

25534 GumSpringRd LLC, of Ashburn, Virginia, has submitted an application to rezone approximately 2.0 acres from the R-1 (Single-Family Residential 1) zoning district under the Revised 1993 Zoning Ordinance to the R-8 (Single-Family Residential 8) zoning district under the Revised 1993 Zoning Ordinance to develop 12 single-family attached residential units at a density of approximately 6 dwelling units per acre. The subject property is approximately 2.0 acres in size and is located north of Braddock Road (Route 620) on the east side of Gum Spring Road (Route 659), at 25534 Gum Spring Road, Chantilly, VA 20152, in the Dulles Election District. The subject property is more particularly described as PIN: 20628-7547. The area is governed by the policies of the Loudoun County 2019 General Plan (Suburban Policy Area (Suburban Neighborhood Place Type)), which designate this area for Residential uses arranged on medium-to-large lots at a recommended density of up to six dwelling units per acre for infill development.

ZRTD-2021-0007 HERCULES VENTURES LC

(Zoning Conversion in the Route 28 Taxing District) Hercules Ventures L.C., of Bethesda, Maryland has submitted an application to rezone a 2.02-acre parcel from the PD-GI (Planned Development-General Industry) zoning district under the 1972 Zoning Ordinance to the PD-GI zoning district under the Revised 1993 Zoning Ordinance as amended from time to time, in order to permit the development of all principle and accessory uses permitted in the PD-GI zoning district under the Revised 1993 Zoning Ordinance at a maximum Floor Area Ratio (FAR) of 0.4 (up to 0.6 by Special Exception). The subject property is located within the Route 28 Taxing District, the Route 28 CI (Corridor Industrial) Overlay District, partially within the AI (Airport Impact) Overlay District between the Ldn 60-65, and partially within the AI Overlay District outside of but within one (1) mile of the Ldn 60 aircraft noise contours. The subject property is approximately 2.02 acres in size and located on the south side of Moran Road (Route 634) and the west side of Markey Court (Route 741), at 22570 Markey Court, Sterling, Virginia in the Broad Run Election District. The subject property is more particularly described as PIN 045-35-2429. The area is governed by the policies of the Loudoun County 2019 Comprehensive Plan (Suburban Policy Area (Suburban Industrial/Mineral Extraction)), which support large manufacturing, contractor and outdoor storage, industrial, and mineral extraction uses at a recommended FAR of up to 0.6.

ZRTD-2021-0006 SHAW ROAD BUSINESS PARK

(Zoning Conversion in the Route 28 Taxing District) PS Business Parks, L.P., of Tysons, Virginia, has submitted an application to rezone a 9.6-acre parcel from the PD-IP (Planned Development-Industrial Park) zoning district under the 1972 Zoning Ordinance to the PD-IP zoning district under the Revised 1993 Zoning Ordinance as amended from time to time, in order to permit the development of all principle and accessory uses permitted in the PD-IP zoning district under the Revised 1993 Zoning Ordinance at a maximum Floor Area Ratio (FAR) of 0.6 (up to 1.0 by Special Exception). The subject property is located within the Route 28 Taxing District, the Route 28 CB (Corridor Business) Overlay District, the Quarry Overlay District (Loudoun Note Area), and the AI (Airport Impact) Overlay District outside of but within one mile of the Ldn 60 aircraft noise contour. The subject property is approximately 9.6 acres in size and located east of Sully Road (Route 28); north of Old Ox Road (Route 606); and south of Sterling Boulevard (Route 846); at 22930, 22960, and 22980 Shaw Road, Sterling, Virginia in the Broad Run Election District. The subject property is more particularly described as PIN: 034-37-2453. The area is governed by the policies of the Loudoun County 2019 Comprehensive Plan (Suburban Policy Area (Suburban Employment)), which support a broad array of employment uses at a recommended FAR of up to 1.0.

(Special Exception)

ZMAP-2020-0009 & ZMOD-2021-0022 POTOMAC VIEW TOWNHOMES (Zoning Map Amendment & Zoning Modification)

Zohrab Tikoyan, of Fairfax, Virginia, has submitted an application to rezone approximately 3.054 acres from the R-1 (Single Family Residential), PD-H3 (Planned Development – Housing 3), PD-H4 (Planned Development – Housing 4), and PD-H6 (Planned Development – Housing 6) zoning districts under the Revised 1993 Zoning Ordinance to the R-8 ADU (Single Family Residential – 8 Affordable Dwelling Unit Development Regulations), zoning district under the Revised 1993 Zoning Ordinance in order to develop 21 single family attached units, at a density of approximately 6.8 dwelling units per acre. The applicant also requests the following Zoning Ordinance modification: ZONING ORDINANCE SECTION

PROPOSED MODIFICATION

§7-803(F)(2) R-8 Single Family Residential Permit the development to front on a private road. District, Lot and Building Requirements, Other Regulations, Frontage. The subject property is approximately 3.054 acres in size and is located north of South Cottage Road (Route 1724), east of Potomac View Road (Route 637) and south of Hopeland Lane (Route 1721) in the Sterling Election District. The subject property is more particularly described as: PIN

PROPERTY ADDRESS

012-26-2912

N/A

012-25-5549 Area of Right-of-Way

N/A N/A

The area is governed by the policies of the Loudoun County 2019 General Plan (Suburban Policy Area) in the Suburban Neighborhood Place Type which designate this area for predominately Residential uses on medium-to-large lots with a residential density up to four dwelling units per acres, or up to six units per acre for infill development, and a total non-residential Floor Area Ratio (FAR) of up to 1.0.

ZMAP-2020-0014, SPEX-2020-0028, ZMOD-2020-0034 & ZMOD-2021-0009 THE VILLAS AT CASCADES (Zoning Map Amendment, Special Exception & Zoning Modifications)

Tradition Companies LLC, of Arlington, Virginia, has submitted applications for the following: to rezone approximately 6.93 acres from the PD-H4 (Planned Development – Housing 4), administered as PDCC-CC (Planned Development – Commercial Center (Community Center)) zoning district under the Revised 1993 Zoning Ordinance, to the R-24 ADU (Multifamily Residential – 24 Affordable Dwelling Unit Development Regulations) zoning district under the Revised 1993 Zoning Ordinance in order to develop 173 stacked multifamily residential units, at a density of approximately 24.96 dwelling units per acre; and a Special Exception to reduce the front yard setback from 25 feet to 10 feet. These applications are subject to the Revised 1993 Zoning Ordinance and the proposed modification of the front yard setback in the R-24 zoning district is listed as a Special Exception under Section 7-1003(C)(4). The applicant also requests the following Zoning Ordinance modification(s):

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PAGE 21

Legal Notices ZONING ORDINANCE SECTION

PROPOSED MODIFICATION

§3-702(A), R-24 Multifamily Residential, Size and Permit the development to have direct access to Location. Cascades Parkway by private roads. §3-707(B), R-24 Multifamily Residential, Building Permit multifamily buildings to be constructed to Requirements, Building Height. a maximum height of 50 feet without providing an additional setback from streets or lot lines beyond the required minimum yard dimensions.

The subject property is partially located within the FOD (Floodplain Overlay District), minor floodplain. The subject property is approximately 6.93 acres in size and is located north of Harry Byrd Highway (Route 7), east of Cascades Parkway (Route 1794) and south of Palisade Parkway (Route 1795) in the Algonkian Election District. The subject property is more particularly described as: PIN

PROPERTY ADDRESS

019-27-8810

46303 McClellan Way, Sterling Virginia

019-18-2198

N/A

019-18-1583

46321 McClellan Way, Sterling, Virginia

The area is governed by the policies of the Loudoun County 2019 General Plan (Suburban Policy Area) in the Suburban Mixed Use Place Type which designate this area for a mix of Residential, Commercial, Entertainment, Cultural and Recreational uses at recommended Floor Area Ratio (FAR) of 1.0. Unless otherwise noted in the above notices, copies of the above-referenced amendments, applications, ordinances, and/or plans and related documents may be examined by request at the Loudoun County Government Center, Information Desk, 1st Floor, 1 Harrison Street, S.E., Leesburg, Virginia, from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, or call 703-777-0246 (option 5) to request hard copies or electronic copies, or electronically at www.loudoun.gov/ lola. This link also provides an additional opportunity for public input on active applications. To arrange a time to view the file at the Loudoun County Government Center, please email dpz@loudoun.gov or call 703-777-0246, or you may view the file electronically at www.loudoun. gov/lola. For detailed instructions on how to access documents using LOLA, to request that documents be emailed to you, to receive physical copies of documents, or to arrange a time to

view the file at the Loudoun County Government Center, please email DPZ@loudoun.gov or call 703-777-0246 (option 5). Additionally, documents may be viewed and downloaded electronically the week before the hearing at www.loudoun.gov/pc. Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, members of the public are encouraged to view the public hearing electronically; however, the Board Room will be open for any members of the public who wish to attend in person with appropriate physical distancing. Planning Commission public hearings are available for viewing on television on Comcast Government Channel 23, Open Band Channel 40, and Verizon FiOS Channel 40, and are livestreamed at loudoun.gov/webcast. All members of the public will be heard as to their views pertinent to these matters. Citizens are encouraged to call in advance to sign up to speak at the public hearing. If you wish to sign up in advance of the hearing, please call the Department of Planning and Zoning at 703-777-0246 prior to 12:00 PM on the day of the public hearing. Speakers may also sign up at the hearing. Written comments are welcomed at any time and may be sent to the Loudoun County Planning Commission, 1 Harrison Street, S.E., 3rd Floor, MSC #62, Leesburg, Virginia 20175, or by e-mail to loudounpc@loudoun. gov. Any individual representing and/or proposing to be the sole speaker on behalf of a citizen’s organization or civic association is encouraged to contact the Department of Planning and Zoning prior to the date of the public hearing if special arrangements for additional speaking time and/or audio-visual equipment will be requested. Such an organization representative will be allotted 6 minutes to speak, and the Chairman may grant additional time if the request is made prior to the date of the hearing and the need for additional time is reasonably justified. Citizens are encouraged to call the Department of Planning and Zoning on the day of the public hearing to confirm that an item is on the agenda, or, the most current agenda may be viewed on the Planning Commission’s website at www.loudoun.gov/pc. In the event that the second Thursday is a holiday or the meeting may not be held due to inclement weather or other conditions that make it hazardous for members to attend, the meeting will be moved to the third Tuesday of the month. In the event that Tuesday is a holiday or the Tuesday meeting may not be held due to inclement weather or other conditions that make it hazardous for members to attend, the meeting will be held on the following Thursday. The meeting will be held at a place determined by the Chairman. Hearing assistance is available for meetings in the Board of Supervisors’ Meeting Room. FM Assistive Listening System is available at the meetings at all other locations. If you require any type of reasonable accommodation as a result of a physical, sensory or mental disability to participate in this meeting, contact the Department of Planning and Zoning at 703-777-0246. Please provide three days’ notice. BY ORDER OF:

FOREST HAYES, CHAIRMAN LOUDOUN COUNTY PLANNING COMMISSION

01/06 & 01/13/22

TOWN OF LOVETTSVILLE NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING

TOWN OF LEESBURG NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING LEESBURG TOWN CODE AMENDMENTS: CHAPTER 24 (OFFENSES AND MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS) OF THE TOWN CODE In accordance with Code of Virginia of 1950, as amended, Sections 15.2-1427 and 15.2-1712, the Leesburg Town Council will hold a public hearing on:

Proposed Revisions to Lovettsville Town Code Sections 38-48 and 38-50 regarding water and sewer billing and collection policies to conform with Virginia Code §§ 15.2-2119; 15.2-2119.1; 15.2-2119.4 Pursuant to §§ 15.2-1427 and 15.2-2118, et seq., of the 1950 Code of Virginia, as amended, the LOVETTSVILLE TOWN COUNCIL will hold a Public Hearing on THURSDAY, January 20, 2022, at 6:30 p.m., at the Lovettsville Council Chambers, 6 East Pennsylvania Avenue, Lovettsville, VA 20180, to receive public comment concerning proposed revisions to Lovettsville Town Code §§ 38-48 and 38-50 regarding water and sewer billing and collection policies to comply with the Virginia Code. All persons desiring to speak will be given an opportunity to do so at this meeting.

Tuesday, January 11, 2022, at 7:00 P.M. in the Council Chambers of Town Hall, 25 West Market Street, Leesburg, VA at which time the public shall have the right to present oral and written testimony on proposed adoption of an ordinance adding a new Town Code Section 24-3 (Employment of off-duty law enforcement officers). The ordinance will allow Town law enforcement officers to engage in off-duty employment which may occasionally require the use of their police powers, in accordance with rules to be adopted by the Chief of Police. A copy of the proposed ordinance is available from the Town Clerk, located in Town Hall, 25 West Market Street, Leesburg, Virginia, during normal business hours (Monday-Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.); or by calling Eileen Boeing, Town Clerk, at 703-771-2733. At this hearing, all persons desiring to express their views concerning these matters will be heard. Persons requiring special accommodations should contact the Clerk of Council at 703-771-2733, three days in advance of the meeting. For TTY/TDD service, use the Virginia Relay Center by dialing 711. 12/30/21 & 1/6/2022

The proposed revisions being considered are available for review at the Town Hall between the hours of 8:30am and 4:30pm weekdays or by special appointment, holidays excepted. Call 540-822-5788 for more information or visit www.lovettsvilleva.gov. In the event the meeting is cancelled, the public hearing will be convened at the next regular scheduled meeting at the same time and place. 01/06 & 01/13/22

NOTICE OF IMPOUNDMENT OF ABANDONED VEHICLES This notice is to inform the owner and any person having a security interest in their right to reclaim the motor vehicle herein described within 15 days after the date of storage charges resulting from placing the vehicle in custody, and the failure of the owner or persons having security interests to exercise their right to reclaim the vehicle within the time provided shall be deemed a waiver by the owner, and all persons having security interests of all right, title and interest in the vehicle, and consent to the sale of the abandoned motor vehicle at a public auction. This notice shall also advise the owner of record of his or her right to contest the determination by the Sheriff that the motor vehicle was “abandoned”, as provided in Chapter 630.08 of the Loudoun County Ordinance, by requesting a hearing before the County Administrator in writing. Such written request for a hearing must be made within 15 days of the notice. YR.

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Legal Notices

VIRGINIA: IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE COUNTY OF LOUDOUN

NOTICE OF SEIZURE AND INTENT TO FORFEIT Notice is hereby given that the United States Department of the Interior is hereby commencing a forfeiture proceeding against the following items of wildlife or wildlife products, which were seized in the Eastern District of Virginia on the dates indicated because they were involved in one or more violations of any of the following laws: Endangered Species Act, Title 16 U.S.C. Sec. 1538, the Marine Mammal Protection Act, 11 U.S.C. Sec. 1371-1372, the Lacey Act, 16 U.S.C. Sec. 3372, Wild Bird Conservation Act, 16 U.S.C. Sec. 4901-4916, or the African Elephant Conservation Act, 16 U.S.C. Sec. 4221-4245. These items are subject to forfeiture to the United States under Title 16, U.S.C. Sec. 1540(e), 16 U.S.C. Sec. 1377, or 16 U.S.C. Sec. 3374 and Title 50 Code of Federal Regulations, Section 12.23. Any person with an ownership or financial interest in said items who desires to claim them must file a claim with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Office of Law Enforcement, 23703-C Air Freight Lane, Suite 200, Dulles, VA 20166; telephone (703) 661-8560. Such claim must be received by the above office by 02/03/2022. The claim will be transmitted to the U.S. Attorney for institution of a forfeiture action in U.S. District Court. If a proper claim is not received by the above office by such date, the items will be declared forfeited to the United States and disposed of according to law. Any person who has an interest in the items may also file with the above office a petition for remission of forfeiture in accordance with Title 50, Code of Federal Regulations, Section 12.24, which petition must be received in such office before disposition of the items. Storage costs may also be assessed. INV #

SEIZURE DATE

VALUE

ITEMS SEIZED

2021505390

12/07/2021

$19516

One thousand one hundred ninety-six (1196) money cowrie (cypraea moneta) jewelry (other than ivory); Three hundred forty-seven (347) money cowrie (cypraea moneta) shell product (mollusc or turtle).

ABC LICENSE

Virginia Winery Distribution Company, trading as VWDC, 22455 Davis Drive, Suite 106, Sterling, VA 20164-4446 The above establishment is applying to the VIRGINIA DEPARTMENT OF ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE CONTROL for a Virginia Wine Wholesaler’s license to sell or manufacture alcoholic beverages. Courtney Mailey, Chairman NOTE: Objections to the issuance of this license must be submitted to ABC no later than 30 days from the publishing date of the first of two required newspaper legal notices. Objections should be registered at www.abc. virginia.gov or 800-552-3200. 01/06 & 01/13/22

Pursuant to Sections 15.2-1427, 15.2-2204, 15.2-2205 and 15.2-2285 of the Code of Virginia, 1950, as amended, the LEESBURG TOWN COUNCIL will hold a public hearing on TUESDAY, January 11, 2022 at 7:00 p.m. in the Town Council Chambers, 25 W. Market Street, Leesburg VA 20176 to consider the following amendments to the Zoning Ordinance: 1. Section 7.5.6 Administrative Approval of Certificate of Appropriateness, to amend the types of certificate of appropriateness applications which may be eligible for administrative review and approval in the H-1 Old and Historic District. Copies and additional information regarding each of these proposed Zoning Ordinance amendments are available at the Department of Planning & Zoning located on the 2nd floor of Leesburg Town Hall, 25 W. Market Street, Leesburg VA 20176 during normal business hours (Mon.-Fri., 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.), or by contacting Lauren Murphy via email at lmurphy@leesburgva.gov, or via telephone at 703-771-2773. This zoning ordinance amendment application is identified as case number TLOA-2021-0005. At this hearing all persons desiring to express their views concerning these matters will be heard. Persons requiring special accommodations should contact the Clerk of the Council at (703) 771-2733, three days in advance of the meeting. For TTY/TDD service, use the Virginia Relay Center by dialing 711. 12/30 & 1/6/22

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THE OBJECT of the above-styled suit is to grant an Adoption Petition for the minor child Kalia Annette Moore filed by Van Tyrone Smith, II and Megan Nicole Loveall; and IT APPEARING by affidavit filed according to law that the Respondent, Damone Ledell Moore, in the above-titled cause does not reside in the Commonwealth of Virginia; it is therefore

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JANUARY 6, 2022

Opinion The Flip When Jeff Morse last held the chairman’s gavel in the School Board meeting room, the biggest challenges were how to expand the full-day kindergarten program, push the Academies of Loudoun project over the finishing line, and plan for the day when every student would have a computer device in hand. That was back when School Board members were able to focus on education during their meetings. Tuesday night’s leadership flip should provide an important opportunity to tone down the political battle that has paralyzed the board for much of its term. Both Morse and newly elected Vice Chairman Ian Serotkin have demonstrated the desire to tackle problems that have been seen by others as too big to tackle. Through the first year of the pandemic, Morse often seemed alone in pressing the right question—What steps were needed to get students back in the classroom safely? It was not: Can the students return safely? But: How can it get done? Serotkin may have gotten his start in politics trying to solve recess challenges, but on the board he has worked on issues such as strengthening the overtaxed bus system and served as the leading voice in trying to find more productive ways to interact with the board’s toughest critics. If they’ve been lone voices in the past, they’re now in better positions to be heard and to make a difference. They’ll likely have a narrow window to defuse the highly charged ecosystem in which the board has operated for the past two years. Their success should be viewed as important by all those involved in these divisive debates. n

Norman K. Styer, Publisher and Editor nstyer@loudounnow.com

Published by Amendment One Loudoun, LLC

EDITORIAL Renss Greene, Deputy Editor rgreene@loudounnow.com

15 N. King St., Suite 101 Leesburg, VA, 20176

Jan Mercker, Reporter jmercker@loudounnow.com

PO Box 207 Leesburg, VA 20178 703-770-9723

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Loudoun Now is delivered by mail to more than 44,000 Loudoun homes and businesses, with a total weekly distribution of 47,000.

Tonya Harding, Account Executive tharding@loudounnow.com Vicky Mashaw, Account Executive vmashaw@loudounnow.com

LETTERS to the Editor Wild Spaces Editor: I am writing to express my displeasure that the Board of Supervisors can’t seem to understand the beauty of wild and natural places. Bles Park is a wonderful example of a beautiful habitat that needs to stay as it is. The proposal that is on the table would take the park from a place I take the Cub Scouts to learn about native species, reinforce Leave No Trace principles and talk about the Outdoor Code, and change it into yet another human dominated, overly processed and developed space. Adding a kayak launch, clearing for an access road, increasing the impervious surface by 30 times—this is just not the way to treat a beautiful and unique wildlife habitat. We need to save wild spaces, not just for wildlife, but for the people and youth, too. Not every nook and cranny of the county needs to be processed, developed, and paved. Keep Bles Park the way it is. — Callie Fulmer, Lovettsville

The Me Too Gang Editor: I have come to think of the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors as the “Me Too” gang. There is not a single progressive notion that his board doesn’t want to apply to Loudoun County with no thought

to any unintended consequences. Supervisor Briskman leads the way with too many examples to mention. Chair Randall believes we need a Police Department, after all Fairfax has one, and now Supervisor Saines is on board with a tax on plastic bags mainly because Arlington, Alexandria and Fairfax County are doing so. Previously, this board was all-in on encouraging/mandating the use of masks and gloves without any plan on mitigating the resulting medically contaminated trash that is still present in our parking lots, paths and neighborhoods. I don’t recall a single effort to educate the public on the proper disposal of any of these items. Now, they appear to want to ignore the significant health risk posed by the use of reusable grocery bags. Studies have shown these bags can sustain the Covid-19 and flu viruses, spread viruses throughout the store and are highly likely to transfer pathogens to store employees and shoppers, particularly at high contract points like conveyers, food scanners and grocery carts. A safer concept would be the board working to support grocery stores recycling programs. Bins are conveniently provided for the return of plastic bags that are then recycled into hundreds of useful items. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR continues on page 25

JANUARY 6, 2022

LOUDOUNNOW.COM

Readers’ Poll

THIS WEEK'S QUESTION: Do you support a county tax on plastic shopping bags?

LAST WEEK'S QUESTION: What’s your outlook for 2022?

LETTERS to the editor continued from page 24

Until its safe enough to finally eliminate the need for masks, this is a proposal that should go nowhere. — Ellie Lockwood, Ashburn

Bullies Editor: Look out, they’re back! The Democrats on the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors are back again to bully you into changing your behavior. These Democrat officials have come up with yet another ludicrous scheme to butt into your personal life, to intrude into your pocketbook, and thus, to bully you into changing your behavior. This time, in an effort to force you to

Redistricting continued from page 3 der of the City of Charlottesville, covering all of Loudoun, seven mostly rural counties to the south and the northern part of Albemarle County. The final version instead includes all of Loudoun, Fauquier and Rappahannock counties, along with much of Prince William County, a southwestern portion of Fairfax, and the cities of Manassas and Manassas Park. Loudoun County accounts for almost 54% of the population in that district according to analysis by the Virginia Public Access Project, a slight majority. In a memo to the court, Grofman and Trende acknowledged that northern Albemarle County “is not a natural fit with Northern Virginia.” The first draft of the

PAGE 25

Share your views at loudounnow.com/ polls

stop using plastic bags for your shopping convenience, they intend to impose on you a five-cent tax for each plastic bag that you get from a store to carry home your food and household necessities. Why are they doing this? Why are these buttinskies bullying you, a private citizen who is just sitting there minding your own business, into changing your behavior? Well, perhaps they believe they are smarter than you are. Perhaps they believe that you are a blissfully ignorant rube who doesn’t know enough to dispose of the plastic bags properly or to re-use the plastic bags for other purposes. Perhaps they believe that you spend much of your day driving on Rt. 7, throwing plastic bags out of your car window while singing country tunes or the National Anthem. Perhaps they believe that you go to the Potomac River every day to throw your plastic bags

into the river just to choke the fish. They are, in fact, proud liberals, and perhaps that’s what they actually believe. As radio icon Rush Limbaugh always used to say: “When you don’t behave the way liberals think you should, their effort and their intention to control you compounds.” Meanwhile, they have offered to you no proof, no data, no objective cost-benefit analysis, to support the imposition of this five-cent plastic bag tax on you. All they have offered to you so far are some propaganda pieces full of liberal platitudes to try to convince you that plastic bags are a tremendous burden on the county landfill. For example, on Dec. 31, you were targeted by an online Loudoun Now story in which the journalist dutifully parroted the Loudoun Director of General Services, who claimed that having these plastic bags in the county landfill is

somewhere between “a nuisance at best, and a legitimate environmental concern at worst.” That’s quite a range of possible consequences not backed up with any actual evidence. In fact, if you read that story closely, you may get the impression, like I did, that the county’s landfill employees spend hours each day feverishly trying to snare multiple flocks of plastic bags that are uncontrollably flying all over the place, and that this supposed problem can only be solved if you change your behavior. Now, please ask yourself this: Do you remember these Democrat supervisors promising you two years ago that, if you would help to elect them, they will make it a priority of theirs to bully you into changing your behavior? Yeah, neither do I. — Mike Panchura, Sterling

new 10th District was lost to significant changes in central Virginia districts. “This forced changes in Northern Virginia. Having lost northern Albemarle County, the 10th needed to pick up population. We looked to add northern Prince William County, which kept the I-66 corridor intact,” they stated. Grofman and Trende wrote that they had read every one of the many comments they received on their proposed maps, and that those comments improved the quality of the final product. “…[H]earing from residents from all walks of life and from all corners of the Commonwealth gave us a much deeper understanding of the issues involved and brought to our attention things that we had honestly missed,” they wrote. “Not only that, but as the resulting maps should demonstrate, we have paid attention, and have tried to incorporate as many of the

suggestions as possible.” They wrote that their maps were created in some ways “naively”—without consideration for protecting incumbents or artificially maintaining some sort of competitiveness or partisan balance. They stood by the decision to largely ignore incumbency, and declined to edit their proposals to protect sitting legislators—many of whom now find themselves in drastically changed districts, or sharing a district with another incumbent, or in some cases creating districts where no incumbent currently resides. “We believe that one reason for employing redistricting commissions […] is to minimize the power of politicians over the drawing of lines, and a frequently voiced objection to partisan line drawing is that it ‘allows politicians to choose their voters, rather than allowing voters to choose the politicians,’” they wrote. “As

the Supreme Court of the United States has noted, the history of gerrymandering is a tale of ‘protecting incumbents’ in a manner that effectively ‘enshrines a particular partisan distribution.’” They also defended criticisms that their maps do not create many competitive districts. “We believe that doing so would contravene our stated goal of drawing maps without respect to partisanship,” they wrote. “Moreover, we wish to point out that competitive districts are often at odds with maps that do not ‘unduly’ favor one party or the other.” “We drew maps which did not unduly favor either party. These maps came about as part of a partisan and incumbency blind process based on good government map making,” they wrote. n

LOUDOUNNOW.COM

PAGE 26

COVID surge continued from page 1 nation have not seen since the pandemic’s earliest days in the spring of 2020, Puccio and his team at Inova Loudoun Hospital again begin a new year battling a familiar, pesky foe. As 2021 came to a close, COVID cases skyrocketed. On Tuesday, the Virginia Department of Health’s latest report for Loudoun indicated a seven-day positivity rate of 32%. Almost 6,000 COVID cases have been reported to the health department over the past week. There has been an average of 776 new cases reported daily over the past week. One month ago, there were an average of about 90 new cases daily and the positivity rate was about 6%. “We’re definitely in a surge. We are in a double surge; we’re in the winter surge and the Omicron surge hitting at the same time. And Northern Virginia is bearing the brunt of it right now for whatever reason,” said Dr. David Goodfriend, director of Loudoun’s Health Department. And as he told the Loudoun Board of Supervisors on Tuesday: “I’m assuming that at least one person in this room is contagious with COVID.”

‘Not a Reason to Panic’

But while COVID cases are breaking records, the number of people dying from the disease from day to day has stayed relatively low in Loudoun. On Dec. 29, as the winter surge began, Gov. Ralph Northam issued a statement calling the case numbers “a reason for concern, but not a reason to panic.” “We have all studied the ‘number of cases’ for many months now, but this data point means something different today, compared to this time last year,” Northam stated. “One year ago, vaccines had just become available, so nearly no one had gotten a shot. Today, more than 14 million shots have been given in Virginia. Only nine states have given more shots, and those states are all larger than Virginia. That’s good news, and it’s thanks to a lot of hard work by Virginians.” Northam, a pediatric neurologist, said with the virus becoming endemic, it is now time to study not only case counts, but also the severity of symptoms and the number of hospitalizations. Inova Loudoun Hospital President Susan Carroll told the county board Tuesday that the hospital had a record 59 COVID-19 inpatients. She noted that vaccinated patients with break-through cases have much shorter hospital stays—two or three days—and better outcomes generally. Last

year, the average COVID patient faced an eight-day hospital stay. Unvaccinated patients suffering from COVID or the flu, or both, are not doing well, she said.

Short on Tests

The Omicron variant, which many medical professionals believe to be the culprit behind the majority of the new positive cases, is believed to have arrived in the U.S. in the fall after first being detected in South Africa. It follows on the heels of the still present Delta variant, which arrived just in time for schools to go back in session this fall. The surge comes at a particularly difficult time, with COVID-fatigued residents longing for holiday gatherings and normalcy of yore, and a decent portion of the population choosing to go forward with their holiday plans as scheduled, despite a rise in cases. The rise of cases has also entailed a significant jump in demand for COVID testing, with desperate residents even flocking to social media sites offering to pay strangers double the amount they paid for a COVID home test when available free testing could not be found. Loudoun County has begun twice-weekly COVID testing events that has seen demand significantly outpace supply, with many turned away at each event when tests ran out, and those successful in obtaining a test only doing so after waiting in line for hours. Prior to the current surge, Goodfriend said, the county testing events had regularly attracted around 200 participants each time. In the last week of December, between its two events at Philip A. Bolen Park in Leesburg, more than 4,000 people turned out to be tested, many having to be turned away. Goodfriend said scarce supplies of home tests at area pharmacies are likewise caused by the unanticipated surge in demand. “[Pharmacies] were purchasing based on their expected amount of demand. That has gone up tremendously so they are going to have to go back to their suppliers to order more. It’s going to take a bit of time for supplies to keep up with demand,” he said. Alyssa Laeser and her Sterling-based Mobile Medical Health Clinic have tried to help meet the surge in demand from those seeking COVID tests. “We literally went from testing five people a day to a house call here and there, to today we just finished testing 50 people,” she said on a recent early Thursday afternoon. “It’s been a tenfold increase with only a one-fold increase in staff.” Laeser has taken to social media to

solicit nurses and medical professionals to join her staff to meet the demand, and also to account for sick employees, but has been so busy herself she hasn’t been able to initiate a hiring process in earnest. From her end, she said the patients testing positive for COVID of late tend to have milder symptoms than in previous surges, mirroring those of a common cold. She did say that those vaccinated patients who did not receive a booster do tend to be sicker than those who are boosted.

Hospitals Bear the Brunt

Laeser echoed the recent sentiments shared on the social media pages of both local hospital systems, Inova Loudoun and HCA StoneSprings—don’t go to the emergency room merely to get a COVID test or for mild symptoms. The rise in cases and subsequent rush to area emergency rooms is already having an impact. Dr. Nafis Ahmed, chairman and medical director of the emergency department at StoneSprings, said the Aldie hospital is seeing a “tremendous increase” in visits to its ER. “It’s astonishing, the record-breaking numbers that we’re experiencing at StoneSprings,” he said. He said a majority of recent ER visits have been those patients presenting with only mild symptoms, and thus not in need of inpatient treatment, or even just those who want to be tested. “I understand a lot of people are afraid and want the reassurance of knowing if they have COVID or not, but it’s starting to overwhelm the system with the amount of visits. We’re really urging the community if they’re asymptomatic or not exhibiting severe symptoms, we encourage you to quarantine. If you’re feeling critically ill or short of breath come to the emergency department, we’re ready to take care of you,” Ahmed said. Meanwhile hospital staff are dealing not just with the exhaustion of their work, but their own health. StoneSprings CEO Nathan Vooys said Jan. 4 that over the past two weeks, about 15% of his workforce has contracted COVID. Similarly, Carroll said despite the Inova’s vaccine mandate and 99.5% vaccinated workforce, some staff members are out sick with COVID. Ahmed also said he is understanding of those vaccinated and boosted individuals who are becoming more ill than perhaps they thought they would. “I think [vaccinated] people are in shock that they’re feeling symptoms. What I’m telling folks is it likely is COVID and it’s most likely the new variant which appears to be more contagious, more transmissible but luckily is COVID SURGE continues on page 27

JANUARY 6, 2022

County, Inova Offer COVID Testing With a rise in demand for COVID-19 testing, both the Loudoun County government and the Inova Health System have announced regular testing events.

Loudoun County

Loudoun County government has announced plans to offer twice-weekly, free, drive-through COVID testing events on Tuesdays and Fridays, with the location changing each week. Testing begins each day at 9 a.m. and is held rain or shine. There are no age or residency restrictions, and no ID is required to be tested. A registration form in both English and Spanish can be found at loudoun.gov/covid19testing, and is recommended to be printed and filled out ahead of time to expedite testing. More information on testing sites and dates can be found via that same link. The next testing date is set for Friday, Jan. 7, at Philip A. Bolen Park in Leesburg.

Inova Health System

Inova Health System has opened a vehicle-side testing site in Falls Church for symptomatic individuals. Testing is available by appointment only for individuals experiencing symptoms of COVID-19. Asymptomatic patients or individuals who have been exposed to COVID-19 without symptoms will not be tested. The testing site is located at the Inova Telestar Court Office Building, 2990 Telestar Ct., Falls Church, and is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Additional testing hours on weekends may be added depending on demand. Appointments can be scheduled by calling 571-472-6843. Inova offers PCR testing only (no rapid tests) and results will be available within one to two days through Inova’s MyChart Patient Portal. Inova also offers COVID-19 testing for symptomatic primary care patients. Individuals should call their primary care office for more information. n

JANUARY 6, 2022

COVID surge continued from page 26 not as severe especially for the vaccinated population,” he said. Puccio said the activity at Inova Loudoun mirrors that of the early days of the pandemic, in March and April 2020. “I would say that we are seeing as many patients coming in for COVID symptoms or COVID testing as we were during the initial peak,” he said. “However, much more of these patients are able to go home and don’t need to be hospitalized. I think that is due to the penetration of vaccination in our area.” Most of the treatment the hospital is currently doing for COVID-positive patients is supportive care in the form of over-the-counter medications like Tylenol, and dehydrated patients are given IV fluids for hydration. COVID patients who require oxygen need to be admitted to the hospital, Puccio said. Monoclonal antibody treatment is also available, but qualifications for that have changed dramatically over the last month. “Right now, it’s only for those people who are severely immunocompromised— [patients who are] under active treatment

LOUDOUNNOW.COM for a solid tumor or hematologic malignancies, organ transplant recipients, HIV patients, or those who are on high doses of steroids or chemotherapy,” he said. “Those who are not sick enough to be admitted but have the potential to be very sick they are being referred to [Inova’s] Reston infusion site to schedule a monoclonal antibody infusion. We’re trying to do this within seven days [of testing positive]. If you come to one of Inova Loudoun’s ERs and you’re on day six or seven and are high risk you can get an infusion at Inova Loudoun’s main hospital [in Lansdowne] before being discharged but the supplies at the hospital are very limited.” The standards are determined by state supplies, and current supplies at area hospitals are very limited. That is attributed in part to the monoclonal antibody treatment of choice changing recently, from Regeneron to Sotrovimab, which has been shown to be more effective against the Omicron variant, Puccio said. The rise of new variants, Puccio said, should serve as further impetus for the public to do its best to prevent the spread of COVID. “Everyone around the world in labs are looking for variants. That’s why we’re really trying to limit the amount of people

Bag tax continued from page 5 State law also required those revenues to be used for environmental cleanup, environmental education programs, mitigation pollution and litter, or providing reusable bags to people using Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or Women, Infants, and Children Program benefits. Department of General Services Director Ernie Brown said the department is looking particularly at grants for nonprofits doing cleanups. “The purpose of the tax is going to be incentivizing not using plastic bags, so if it is to be successful, the revenues will be diminishing,” Brown said at the county board’s public hearing on the proposed ordinance Dec. 15. “So we don’t want to put it into programs that then become dependent on those revenues, because they’re going to be temporary in nature. What we want to do is to augment existing programs in a way that can ebb and flow.” He also said “there is no question at all” that plastic bags are one of the biggest headaches the county landfill handles, both in its operations and from an environmental perspective. “They’re one of the most difficult sail

Screenshot/Loudoun County

Loudoun Board of Supervisors Vice Chairman Koran T. Saines (D-Sterling) holds up reusable shopping bags during a Dec. 15 public hearing on a proposed five-cent tax on single-use plastic bags.

patterns that we have, because that’s exactly what they do—the wind catches them and they sail, and we are spending a great deal of time dealing with recovery of that trash. … There’s no way around it, they are a nuisance at best, and a legitimate environmental concern at worst,” he said. The tax is likely to pass, with a 5-4 majority of supervisors voting during the public hearing to suspend the board’s normal rules of order and rush a vote through that night. However, the board’s rules of order also require a super-majority vote

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that get sick. The less people that have COVID the less variants will develop. That’s why it’s important to really get the vaccine out to the whole world. If we move one area of the world and coronavirus is spreading amongst that population regardless of travel restrictions it will get here, and it will spread here. This is a whole world problem,” he said. Whereas flu cases in the area were scarce, if not altogether absent, last winter, they are now returning, Goodfriend said. The state currently has widespread flu activity, he said, and traditionally flu outbreaks begin in mid-January. With mitigation strategies not as stringent as they were a year ago, and schools fully back in person, it could be a wild winter. Goodfriend said it is likely that January will bring with it a rise in cases of respiratory infections of all forms, from COVID to flu to RSV to the common cold. Couple that with the return of residents from large holiday gatherings, potential super-spreader events, and the worst, unfortunately, may be yet to come. That has area medical professionals bracing for a rocky start to the New Year. “The peak may not have happened yet,” Ahmed said. “I think we’re in the middle of it.” n

chairs the Curriculum and Instruction Committee. Serotkin is one of the targets of the removal effort. The petition to remove him has not been filed, but Fight For Schools announced in October that it had enough signatures to satisfy the filing requirement. Fight for Schools Executive Director Ian Prior issued a statement supporting Morse’s election. “While we have not agreed with every vote Mr. Morse has made, he has proven during his tenure on the board to be a reasonable and responsible public servant who listens to his constituents,” Prior stated. “The issues with Loudoun County Public Schools that have been exposed over the past two years will require strong leadership from the chair, and Mr. Morse is to be commended for stepping up to repair the damage that has been done and rebuild trust with the community. We look forward to working with him to make that happen.” Loudoun County Circuit Court judges were scheduled Wednesday to hear motions in the removal petition efforts against Sheridan and Reaser. n

to suspend those rules—which supporters did not have. The board’s three Republican members and Supervisor Kristen C. Umstattd (D-Leesburg) voted against suspending the rules for an immediate vote, with Republicans pointing out it is not the board’s normal practice to suspend the normal rules to vote on controversial items, and Umstattd saying she needed more time to think about the issue. “People are not yet back to normal. There’s a lot more anger out there, there’s a lot more frustration. I hate the idea of imposing another burden,” Umstattd said. “It may seem like a minor inconvenience to some folks, but it’s yet another thing to remember. I hate to add to the crankiness level at this point.” The three Republicans have said they will not support the tax when it comes to a vote. Supervisors Caleb E. Kershner (R-Catoctin) said rather than outlawing plastic bags, or incentivizing companies to stop using them, the government is placing the burden and cost on individuals. And Supervisor Matthew F. Letourneau (R-Dulles) said supply chain issues have driven up the cost of paper bags. “Who is going to get hurt by this? Well, it probably wouldn’t be the largescale purchasers like your Walmarts and

your Harris Teeters and stuff,” Letourneau said. “It’s going to be the smaller mom-and-pop convenience stores, the ethnic stores—we have a number of Indian grocery stores in my neck of the woods and so on. They’re going to have to start purchasing paper bags at a higher cost.” But a majority appear set to approve the tax. “We are the stewards of this county, and what we are trying to do is, we are trying to make sure that our waterways, our streams—Broad Run and other streams and rivers, the Potomac River—that we take care of it, and that we are doing our small part in our county to make sure that we take care of our environment,” said Supervisor Sylvia R. Glass (D-Broad Run). Vice Chairman Koran T. Saines (D-Sterling) described it as a “voluntary tax,” saying people can find paper bags or reusable bags. “This allows the county to accomplish its goal of helping the environment while still retaining choice for residents who prefer plastic bags, and an ability for people who do not want to pay the tax to easily avoid it,” he said. Supervisors voted 6-3 to send the tax to a Jan. 18 vote, with Kershner, Letourneau and Supervisor Tony R. Buffington (R-Blue Ridge) opposed. n

School Board officers continued from page 1

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