Loudoun Now for Feb. 14, 2019 by Loudoun Now

LOUDOUN COUNTY’S COMMUNITY-OWNED NEWS SOURCE

LoudounNow

[ Vol. 4, No. 13 ]

[ loudounnow.com ]

Middleburg battles cigarette butts

[ February 14, 2019 ]

Douglas Graham/Loudoun Now

A view of the Blue Ridge Center for Environmental Stewardship near Neersville and Harpers Ferry. A draft of the state budget deletes a line allowing the state to accept donated land there for a state park, throwing Loudoun’s longstanding plans for a state park into doubt near the finish line.

Loudoun’s Future State Park in Jeopardy BY RENSS GREENE As state lawmakers work on Virginia’s budget, a line in the document that would allow the state to accept donated land for a state park in Loudoun has been dropped from the Senate version of the budget bill. Governor Ralph Northam’s introduced budget bill this year included a line that would allow the state to accept land for a new state park planned in far northwestern Loudoun, near Neersville and Harpers Ferry.

Senate Finance Committee Co-Chairman Emmet W. Hanger Jr. (R-24), who has been an advocate for expanding the state’s park system in his legislative career, said while he did not suggest cutting it from his chamber’s budget bill, he didn’t fight it, either. He said the park could find its way back into the budget—particularly since the House of Delegates’ version of the budget retains the park. “I am convinced that the property that we’re speaking of up there close to Harper’s Ferry—we already have some land there—

cludes the area of the possible future park. “I will speculate that it only shows that on the senate side, everything—even accepting a gift—is in play when the wheeling and dealing and the trading starts,” said Del. Dave A. LaRock (R-33), whose district includes that area. “It’s not a pretty sight, it’s not what you want to hear.” Monday evening, the Board of Supervisors sent a letter to budget conferees urging them to support the state park. The letter,

would probably be a good addition to what we’re doing,” Hanger said. “So I’m going to look at adding that when we’re in conference, but we did pull it aside.” Loudoun’s representatives in the area are baffled as to how the line, which asks no money of the state for the land, came to be deleted from the Senate budget bill. “I know it’s been a major issue for me and Del. [Dave A.] LaRock (R-33) to get this passed, and so we were quite surprised when it fell out in negotiations,” said Sen. Richard H. Black (R-13), whose district in-

STATE PARK >> 27

Supervisors Welcome Proposed School Budget, Diversity Push BY RENSS GREENE County supervisors have welcomed news of what could be an unusually agreeable school budget debate this year, possibly setting up the school system to get everything it asked for this year.

Each year, the county administrator hands the school board guidance for its budget based on projections of county tax revenues. Typically, the School Board’s subsequent budget request is beyond what the county says it will have available, and board members and county supervisors spend weeks debat-

ing—or battling out—the difference. But this year, for the first time in years, the school system’s proposed budget is within that fiscal guidance. Which could mean that this year, the first time in years, the school system gets every dollar of its $1.284 billion request.

“I think that when they come in at the fiscal guidance, it makes a much harder case on why we would not support that level,” said Supervisor Ron A. Meyer Jr. (R-Broad Run) after a joint meeting with the School board Monday night. He SCHOOL BUDGET >> 27

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Tree of Life Ministries is eyeing the long-vacant Weona Villa Motel property near Round Hill for the construction of a micro-cottage community.

Nonprofit Eyes Round Hill Motel Property for 32-Micro-Cottage Community BY PATRICK SZABO Vacant for the past 12 years, the former Weona Villa Motel on the eastern edge of Round Hill could once again become a multi-unit place to sleep. This time around, however, dozens of people would call it home. Tree of Life Ministries Founder and Executive Director Paul Smith last week requested the Round Hill Town Council consider extending municipal utility service to the 7-acre property. The first step would be expanding the Joint Land Management Area, the boundary of which falls short just shy of the property line. Smith told councilmembers that his nonprofit—which

operates a housing ministry, food pantry, community kitchen and clothing and furniture distributions and offers life skill classes, financial relief and respite care for seniors and those with special needs—intends to purchase the property and convert the 65-yearold, 8-room motel into a communal center and to build 32 micro cottages that would be leased to low-income residents. He said it’s unclear whether the property’s existing well and septic system could sustain the community’s needs. Smith’s contract to purchase the property is contingent on his ability to prove to the landowner in the next 120 days that the micro-cottage com-

munity would be a viable development there. That basically means he needs the town to assure him that it will provide water and sewer by June. To make that happen, the town and county governments would need to agree to update their comprehensive plans to include an extension of the JLMA—an area outside the town limits where the town provides water and sewer service. Smith said that the 32 micro cottages would be built like duplexes and that each one would consist of a living-dining-kitchen area, a single bedroom and bathroom and a shared utility space

Outgoing Board of Supervisors Vice Chairman Ralph M. Buona (R-Ashburn) told the next board—which will be elected in November, and Buona will not seek to join—to “stay the course” during the Loudoun County Chamber of Commerce’s annual PolicyMaker Series breakfast with county supervisors last Friday morning. “We’re all so focused on how we go forward, and that’s great, but at the same time we need to stop, take a breath, and think about how wonderful a place we live in,” Buona said. Now in his eighth and final year on the Board of Supervisors, Buona has seen the Board of Supervisors vote to bring Metrorail to Loudoun, make major investments in economic development, shift more than half of its capital

construction budget to transportation projects and launch an overhaul of the county comprehensive plan. And the next board, he said, will have to keep up that work—including implementing the vision of the new comprehensive land with nuts-and-bolts zoning regulations. “Land use drives everything,” Buona said. “Land use is the core to economic development. Land use is the core to what our county’s going to look like in the future, and as we go through the comp plan, that is so important that we get that vision right.” That, he said, will mean a balance between Loudoun’s competing interests and putting them “in the right place.” “Data centers are a good example,” Buona said. BOARD >> 47

Sheriff Breaks Ground On Training Center

A CSA for Beer Planned Near Willowsford

MOTEL >> 47

Buona Tells Next Board: ‘Stay the Course’ BY RENSS GREENE

Town Manager Pushes For Tax Increase

INDEX

Renss Greene/Loudoun Now

Outgoing Board of Supervisors Vice Chairman Ralph M. Buona (R-Ashburn) advised the next board to stay nonpartisan.

Loudoun Gov........................... 6 Leesburg............................... 10 Public Safety......................... 12 Politics................................. 14 Education.............................. 16 Nonprofit............................... 20 Summer Camp Guide............. 22 Biz........................................ 28 Our Towns............................. 30 LoCo Living........................... 34 Help Wanted.......................... 38 Obituaries............................. 38 Public and Legal Notices....... 39 Resource Directory................ 42 Opinion................................. 44

Patrick Szabo/Loudoun Now

Tobia Reflects on Career, Volunteer Firefighters

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Plowman, Sinclair Vie for Second Judge Seat Two Loudoun attorneys were back in Richmond last week to interview for a seat on the 20th Judicial Circuit bench. The interviews followed the surprise announcement by Judge Jeffrey W. Parker that he plans to retire effective Nov. 1. Under consideration for the seat are Leesburg attorney Lorrie A. Sinclair and Loudoun Commonwealth’s Attorney James Plowman. Both interviews were on Friday during a joint session of the Senate Committee for Courts of Justice and the House Judicial Panel. Sinclair last month had been considered for the 20th Circuit judgeship that had been held vacant for the past two years, but that appointment went instead to Fauquier Commonwealth’s Attorney James Fisher. Plowman, whose term expires Dec. 31, had not previously sought to be

considered for a judgeship. The 20th Circuit includes Fauquier, Loudoun and Rappahannock counties. The General Assembly is expected to elect Parker’s replacement before the session ends Feb. 23—and as early as this week. Parker, 66, who handles cases in Fauquier and Rappahannock counties, has more than five years remaining on his third eight-year term. The appointment of Fisher to a Loudoun-based judgeship that had been unfunded by the General Assembly for the past two years would bring the courthouse back to its full strength of four judges starting July 1. Because Fisher lives near The Plains in Fauquier County, there is already speculation that he could fill Parker’s role following his retirement and that Sinclair or Plowman would serve in the Loudoun courthouse.

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Board Antes Up $42K for Loudoun Mutual Rezoning

February 14, 2019

BY RENSS GREENE

Renss Greene/Loudoun Now

Matt Tobia left his job as assistant chief of Loudon’s Combined Fire-Rescue System last week, having joined four years ago just after Loudoun combined its career and volunteer systems.

Chief Tobia Looks Back on 4 Busy Firefighting Years BY RENSS GREENE After his last day on the job as assistant chief of Loudoun’s Combined Fire-Rescue System last week, Matt Tobia looked back on four years that saw Loudoun’s fledgling combined volunteer and career system mature into an example for other systems around the country. This week, Tobia is going to work in Harrisonburg. He came to Loudoun four years ago after already reaching retirement in another department, ending as a battalion chief in Anne Arundel County, MD, after 23 years. He was hired for a job that had never existed before in Loudoun, and he was coming into a system that had just combined its volunteer and career fire and rescue departments for the first time in the largest overhaul in its history. He may have been the obvious choice. “Anne Arundel County was a very mature combination fire department,”

Tobia said. “They had had career and volunteer firefighters working side by side, integrated, since 1965. So they had already spent 40-plus years functioning and developing and growing as an organization.” He came to Loudoun on the urging of his wife, and knowing little about the county. But in some ways, Loudoun resembled Anne Arundel at the time—he said while Anne Arundel had a system with about 800 career firefighters and 500 volunteers, Loudoun had about 500 career firefighters and 800 volunteers. “There was really no roadmap to follow,” Tobia said. “When I came in, Chief [W. Keith] Brower was really mindful of that, and he said make it the position that you can make it and focus on building the relationship of the combination fire-rescue department.” He arrived shortly after Loudoun brought together its volunteer and career fire-rescue systems to create today’s

Combined Fire-Rescue System. When he arrived, he said, there was a lot of anxiety about whether a combined system could work in Loudoun, with people on either extreme claiming it would be the end of the volunteer or career system in Loudoun. “I’ve been extraordinarily blessed to have the opportunity to travel all over this country and see a lot of fire-rescue departments. This is the single most functional combination career-volunteer system in America, it really is, and that’s a tribute to the people who are in it,” Tobia said. “It is not a reflection of me as an individual, it is a tribute to the people who are in it, because they’re dedicated to working together. There are other places in America where career and volunteer firefighters are actively working against each other.” Antagonism between career and volTOBIA >> 9

Loudoun Land Value Up $5.4B, Affordable Housing Stock Down Again BY RENSS GREENE Over the past year, the total taxable value of real estate across Loudoun went up $5.4 billion to $83.2 billion, according to a report from Commissioner of the Revenue Robert S. Wertz. The continuing data center boom only accelerated from 2018 to 2019. From $2.3 billion in 2017, the real estate value of Loudoun’s data centers grew by 40 percent from 2017 to 2018, and by 43 percent from 2018 to 2019, now eclipsing $4.5 billion in value. That represents the single largest sector in Loudoun’s $20 billion commercial property value. Deputy Commissioner Brian Williams said that growth is primarily attributable to new data center construction and land purchases. The average annual growth in data center values is 29.7 percent, added to an average growth in square footage

of 21.4 percent. In the past year, he said, Loudoun’s data center market added almost 4 million square feet of space. Commercial property values overall also went up, by 10.8 percent. That, too, is accelerating form the previous year, which saw 8.4 percent. But as prices go up, Loudoun’s stock of price-controlled Affordable Dwelling Units continues to slide. Over the past year, 109 homes in the county’s affordable dwelling unit program aged out of the program and are now assessed at fair market values, rather than the lower, price-controlled value used to give some lower-income people a break on homeownership and taxes. As of Jan. 1, Wertz’s office counted 2,056 affordable dwelling units in Loudoun. Deputy Commissioner Jim White said even more, another 167 units, will leave the program over the next year.

Although values continued to grow overall—including home values—new home construction slowed into 2019. $601.9 million worth of single-family houses were built over the past year, a 5.6 percent drop from the previous year. $126.8 million worth of condominiums were built, a 27.8 percent drop. In all, 66 percent of the real estate value in Loudoun is residential. Taxable values in Loudoun’s Metro Service District, a special tax district to help pay for Loudoun County’s investment in Metrorail, also went up. County Administrator Tim Hemstreet said that meant improved projections for those districts. The Board of Supervisors’ finance committee will hear that report on Tuesday, Feb. 12. rgreene@loudounnow.com

Loudoun County supervisors have unanimously voted to give the county’s oldest business $42,000 cash to stay put. The Loudoun Mutual Insurance Company was founded on March 6, 1849, and today employs 50 people, according to a county report. However, the office in Waterford that the company built and has occupied since 1949 was left hamstrung when Loudoun County changed the property’s zoning in 1993. The county placed it in a residential district where offices are not allowed. With that zoning change, the nearly 170-year-old company could not expand its building, and the company’s leaders became concerned that if something happened to the building, they would not be allowed to rebuild it there. The nonconforming zoning status has also created complications for the insurance company insuring its own building. For that reason, the oldest company in the county, and one bearing its very name, considered leaving Loudoun. The $42,000 grant is intended to help the company cover the estimated $27,720 cost to get the land rezoned, plus any related impact studies that may be necessary. Although the grant is expected to meet the Department of Economic Development’s guidelines for a three-year return on investment of tax revenues, the county appears to be making an exception to its usual guidelines for Loudoun Mutual. Under the county’s guidelines, the typical requirements for incentivizing a company expanding inside Loudoun are that it create a minimum of 25 new jobs, invest a minimum of $2.5 million, win a Virginia Jobs Investment Program grant and be in one of Loudoun’s targeted industries, which do not include insurance. Supervisor Geary M. Higgins (R-Catoctin) first proposed developing an incentive package to keep Loudoun Mutual in Loudoun in September 2018. County Chairwoman Phyllis J. Randall (D-At Large) said at a supervisors’ meeting on Feb. 5 that “it’s such an important business to have in Loudoun County.” rgreene@loudounnow.com

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Feb. 8 at Ashby Ponds in Ashburn starting at 10 a.m. Feb. 12 at Unitarian Universal-

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Feb. 19 at the Carver Center in Purcellville starting at 6:30 p.m. Sponsored by the town of Purcellville and Hamilton. Feb. 20 at the Loudoun Museum in Leesburg starting at 6:30 p.m. Sponsored by the Town of Leesburg, Mayor Kelly Burk. Feb. 22 at River Creek Club near Leesburg starting at 6:30 p.m Sponsored by The Piedmont Environmental Council. Feb. 28 at the Cascades Senior Center starting at 6:30 p.m. Sponsored by the League of Women Voters. March 6 at the Sterling Library starting at 5:30 p.m. Sponsored by the Sterling Foundation and Save Old Sterling. March 27 at the Middleburg Community Center starting at 6:30 p.m. Sponsored by the Town of Middleburg.

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Loudoun County officials have announced the dates of milestone meetings in the project to write the county’s new comprehensive plan, including opportunities for public input. The Planning Commission is holding its last planned meetings on the comprehensive plan in February before passing it to the Board of Supervisors, with a presentation to the Board of Supervisors planned for March 21. Supervisors are scheduled to work on the plan through April, May and June. The board will hear public comment on their work Wednesday, April 24 at 6 p.m. and Saturday, April 27 at 9 a.m. The board is tentatively scheduled to adopt a new plan on July 2, capping off a process more than two years long. Once adopted, the Loudoun 2040 Comprehensive Plan will serve as the county government’s guide for land use and transportation policy to meet the county’s future priorities and needs. It will provide for new urban policy areas around the Metrorail stations, focus efforts on infill and revitalization in the Suburban Policy Area, preserve the county’s natural and heritage resources, protect the rural economy and agricultural uses, and promote a wide range of housing choices. Learn more at loudoun.gov/Loudoun2040. The county’s press release notes “a number of community organizations are reaching out to the public to share their ideas and encourage participation in the community-wide process; however, meetings that are organized by non-county organizations are not part of the county’s official process for revising the comprehensive plan.” Among those community groups planning independent community meetings are the Piedmont Environmental Council, the League of Women Voters, the Sterling Foundation and the Waterford Foundation. Those meetings are scheduled for:

February 14, 2019

LOUDOUN NOW STAFF REPORT

Supervisors Pledge Local Money to Save State Science Center Funding

February 14, 2019

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County supervisors have started work to find $15 million to help pay for a new regional science center at Kincora—if the General Assembly will keep a proposal from Governor Ralph Northam to also fund it. The House of Delegates version of the state budget removed $7 million in funding to start the wheels turning on the $75 million project. Ultimately, that includes $45 million from the state to construct the facility, $15 million from the county to outfit the exhibits and $15 million in private sector funding for more exhibits, operating reserves and an endowment. In Loudoun, it would also mean providing funding of $250,000 a year for the first five years, along with service contracts with Loudoun County Public Schools for student programs and teacher professional development. In exchange, the center would be expected to bring to the region millions in economic benefits, not to mention give people in Loudoun—including students—access to science, technology, engineering and math education and further solidify the region’s quality of life and reputation as a science and technology powerhouse. Supervisors have committed to find Loudoun’s share of the money now to urge state lawmakers to keep funding for the center in the state budget. That will be decided in the conference committee that will hash out the differences between the Senate and House version of the budget. Supervisor Ron A. Meyer Jr. (R-Broad Run) called it “one of the most important things” in Loudoun’s legislative priorities and

said, “there’s not a more pivotal time than right now to make our voice heard.” “We lost the House vote already with very little discussion, and we need to show right now that this is a priority for us, that we have skin in the game,” Meyer said. “That’s the only way in conference that we’ll make sure this gets put back.” County Chairwoman Phyllis J. Randall (D-At Large) said there are still issues to be worked out around plans for the project, but called the science center “a game-changer for Loudoun County.” “We have an opportunity that I think most places in the region wish they had, and I do believe that it will benefit Loudoun County, but also benefit the region, and most importantly, benefit our kids,” Randall said. Supervisors unanimously directed County Administrator Tim Hemstreet to find a place for Loudoun’s share of that funding in the county capital budget, which the supervisors will debate as soon as they start work on the next county budget. Loudoun also sent a letter to the chairman of the House and Senate finance committees urging them to fund the center. “Loudoun County believes this is not only a sound economic investment for the Commonwealth, but is an investment in our children now and in the future,” the letter reads. “We are committed to making this investment, and thank you for considering the importance of this project to the region,” the letter states. rgreene@loudounnow.com

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The Federal Emergency Management Agency, which is responsible for floodplain mapping and regulation throughout the United States, is revising the Loudoun County Flood Insurance Rate Map. That work will mean changes to the boundary and designation of the FEMA-delineated flood hazard areas in Selma Estates. Some areas currently delineated as moderate and minimal flood risk will be re-designated to an area of high flood risk. That will also mean a change to the Floodplain Overlay District boundaries. Loudoun County government encourages residents impacted by the change to learn more about the FEMA process, which includes a 90-day appeal period. In a Jan. 28 letter to Loudoun County, FEMA stated that “future developments of projects upstream could cause increased flood discharges, which could cause increased flood hazards” in the area. FEMA’s Flood Insurance Rate Map is the basis of Loudoun Coun-

ty’s Floodplan Overlay District zoning, where some activities and land uses are prohibited. Flood risks can change over time due to new building and development, weather patterns and other factors. Because Loudoun County participates in FEMA’s National Flood Insurance Program, homeowners, business owners and renters in the county can secure federally-backed mortgages for properties with structures within the floodplain, in addition to federally-backed flood insurance policies. FEMA’s revision is subject to a 90day appeal period that begins Feb. 15. The revision, which is expected to be posted on the FEMA website, will become effective only after the 90-day appeal period has elapsed and all appeals received have been resolved. Questions or concerns about the revision and its effect on property can contact Loudoun County Floodplain Administrator Maggie Auer at maggie.auer@loudoun. gov or 703-777-0222.

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unteer firefighters is common in combined systems, and even in Loudoun’s there is tension. But Tobia said in Loudoun, firefighters don’t let that dictate their relationship. And he said no volunteer fire-rescue station has ever been forced to take on career staff. “The presence of career personnel in any fire-rescue station in Loudoun County that is a volunteer station has been at the request of the volunteer company,” he said. But as a longtime employee and leader of fire-rescue systems with both volunteer and career personnel, he said he understands where the tension comes from, and it has roots in the very founding of the country. “This country was founded on self-determination, first and foremost—the idea of being able to be in control of our own destiny,” Tobia said. “That is the underpinning of our country. It is so ingrained in everything that we do and everything that we are as a country that it is unconscious to us.” For firefighters, he said, their job is a big part of their personal identity. Volunteers, he said, identify themselves as being the keepers of safety for their community. “People know me as a firefighter,” Tobia said. “In the community that I grew up in, that I was volunteer in, they knew me as a volunteer firefighter, and there is a pride that comes with that title, and that connectivity, because it signals that we are willing to do things that other people aren’t willing to do, which is place ourselves between harm and other people.” But that also means that anything perceived as threatening that status is deeply personal to any firefighter. “The presence of career firefighters, as appropriate as it may be to ensure the safety of our citizenry at all hours of the day, is seen as having a thwarting effect on that identity,” Tobia said. “It’s perceived that it marginalizes and relegates volunteers to a different status than they would have if there were no career firefighters.” He said it comes with a misperception that volunteers have the moral high ground, because they are not paid, or that career firefighters are more competent or highly-trained because it is their profession. But, he said, he knows volunteers “who I would put up against any career

Beware of Home Inspection Pitfalls Before You Put Your Home Up for Sale

9 February 14, 2019

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firefighters any day of the week.” And he pointed out that career firefighters often start out as volunteers, and don’t just do it for money—“career firefighters, equally, are not doing this for a paycheck, because none of them get paid enough to live in Loudoun County. A firefighter wage in Loudoun County is not a liveable wage for Loudoun County.” And when Loudouners call 911, he said, they don’t know whether they’re getting volunteers or paid staff. “When they call 911, professionals— not paid professionals, not volunteer professionals—professionals respond quickly, provide world-class service and are nice,” Tobia said. “Those are the cornerstones of being a part of this system, and no one in this system tolerates individuals who aren’t committed to that.” He said the department also enjoys the support of its Board of Supervisors and County Administrator Tim Hemstreet. “I do not know another fire chief who enjoys the level of support that we do,” Tobia said. That can take many forms—whether through funding the department’s pace of growth or taking a stance against the Virginia Association of Counties in supporting a bill to expand workers’ compensation measures around cancer for firefighters. But now, it’s time for him to move on. “This, literally, is a once-in-a-lifetime job. Nobody else has the opportunities that we have here to help build something and really make it special, which it is,” Tobia said. “As important as that is, as affirming as that is, it’s not as important to me as knowing the people that I work with.” In Anne Arundel, after a lifetime spent in the department, Tobia said he knew almost everyone. In Loudoun, he still meets firefighters under his command he’s never seen before. So he’s leaving for Harrisonburg, the first time he has worked for an all-career department, and where there are fewer than 100 firefighters. “When you move into an executive leadership position, you will become responsible for having to have the impossible task of having to go somebody’s family’s home one night, and potentially tell them that their loved one isn’t coming home, because there are risks associated with being in this profession,” Tobia said. “If I’m ever going to be in that incredibly difficult position, I want to be able to say that I knew the people.”

[ LEESBURG ]

[ BRIEFS ] Lassiter Way Dedication Scheduled

February 14, 2019

Longtime proprietor of Robinson’s Barber Shop, Nelson “Mutt” Lassiter, will be immortalized with an alley bearing his name Saturday, Feb. 23. The council last year voted to name the alley in his honor as Lassiter Way. Lassiter owned and operated Robinson’s Barber Shop for 50 years until his retirement last summer, and has long been a community steward, serving in the military and locally with his church, the Boy Scouts and other groups. The Feb. 23 dedication ceremony begins at 10 a.m. at the alley along the east side of the Town Hall parking garage.

Dog Park Work Rescheduled Renss Greene/Loudoun Now

Town Manager Kaj Dentler is eyeing new programs and personnel in the emergency management, public safety and information technology sectors of next year’s budget.

Dentler Proposes 1-Cent Real Estate Tax Increase for Leesburg

BY KARA C. RODRIGUEZ eesburg’s growth comes at a price, and Town Manager Kaj Dentler is proposing a 1-cent real estate tax increase for the fiscal year 2020 budget that will, in part, fill some needed staff positions. Dentler proposed his $138.5 million budget to the Town Council on Tuesday night with a proposed 1-cent real estate tax increase that would set the rate at 19.4 cents per $100 of assessed value, up

from last year’s adopted 18.4-cent rate. The increase would generate almost $800,000 in additional revenue for the town. Dentler’s budget also reflects a base increase of 2.1 percent and, when proposed enhancements are considered, reflects a 3.3 percent increase in its $60 million General Fund. To the average homeowner, the 1-cent bump would amount to a small increase in their real estate tax bill. With assessments up 3.8 percent on existing homes in town, single-family homeowners would see an average $8.31 increase to

their monthly bills; townhouse owners a $5.58 monthly increase; and condominium owners a $3.12 monthly increase. Dentler also proposed that personal property tax rates remain flat for fiscal year 2020. To hold tax bills level at the 17.7-cent equalized tax rate—which Dentler has urged against in previous years—the council would have to find $550,000 in cuts to the base budget, not including any of the town manager’s proposed enBUDGET >> 11

Council Looks Into Cemetery Land Donation BY KARA C. RODRIGUEZ It appears that sacred ground in Leesburg is set to change hands, with the Town Council Monday night indicating a preference to transfer ownership of the Sycolin Cemetery land to the Loudoun Freedom Center. The cemetery site has been the subject of controversy over the past few months, with community leaders criticizing the town for not properly maintaining the site. Council members appeared content to allow an outside group to take over maintenance, but when they considered leasing the site, it created an even louder outcry—with the leading critic, Loudoun Freedom Center founder Pastor Michelle Thomas, comparing the deal to a “sharecropper’s agreement.” While some on the council had previously indicated a preference to follow the staff recommendation of creating an ad hoc committee to determine the best way to proceed with the site, the will of the council became clear this week—that the property

should change hands altogether. The council was expected Tuesday night to direct the staff to schedule a public hearing to consider a transfer of ownership of the land to the Loudoun Freedom Center, which was the only entity to respond to a town request to indicate interest in taking care of the land. “I think that the best thing to do if there’s an interested party, one that’s come forward with what they would like to do at that location, is give them the ability to do that because they’re the most interested party. They can use their resources to bring tgether stakeholders as they see fit,” Councilman Tom Dunn said during Monday’s work session. There will still need to be some legwork done prior to a public hearing, as the town staff needs to confer with the Federal Aviation Administration regarding the logistics of transferring a property to an outside entity, the size of the parcels being transferred, and any costs to the town. While it was initially thought that the sale or transfer

of the land could cost the town hundreds of thousands of dollars, that figure is now believed to be much lower, council members said. The Sycolin Community Cemetery is an African American burial ground located on town-owned property adjacent to the Leesburg Executive Airport. The cemetery was associated with the Lower Sycolin community, an African American community established in the 1870s, and with the former Sycolin Union Church that is known today as the First Baptist Church Sycoline. The last burials took place in the late 1940s. The town acquired the three parcels containing the cemetery in 1989 and 1990, using grant funding from the FAA to expand the Runway Protection Zone for the airport. The cemetery itself is not located within the Runway Protection Zone, but any improvements on the site are subject to aviation easements and require FAA approval. krodriguez@loudounnow.com

Because of this week’s wintry weather, maintenance planned at Olde Izaak Walton Park’s dog park has been postponed until further notice. The dog park was originally scheduled to be closed for several days this week to remove the existing chip mulch and replace it with another layer.

New Student Art Exhibit A new exhibit on the second floor of Town Hall features artwork from local students. The gallery features 32 paper collages created by second, third and fourth grade art students at Frances Hazel Reid Elementary School. The works on display depict weavings, sandwich towers and self-portraits. The exhibit will be on display through the end of March.

Spring Bling March 2 Ida Lee Park Recreation Center plays host to the 22nd annual Spring Bling, A Hometown Fine Arts & Crafts Show, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, March 2. The indoor event will be held in the main hallway, basketball courts and aerobics room. Handcrafted items will be on display from more than 70 local and regional artisans. Shop for one-of-a-kind items from unique art and home décor, bath and body items, jewelry, wood crafts, florals, gourmet foods and other miscellaneous products. The crafts show offers a great opportunity to find the perfect gift for upcoming occasions, like Easter, Mother’s Day, graduations and end-of-school teacher appreciation. Admission to the crafts show and parking is free. For more information, call 703-777-1368 or go to idalee.org.

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hancements. “We couldn’t cover our base growth based on the equalized rate,” he said. Dentler pointed out several noteworthy adjustments to the base General Fund budget, chief among them a $300,000 increase in the town’s trash and recycling contact. In the midst of acrimony, the Town Council last summer agreed to a new trash and recycling contract that brought trash and recycling service back to its pre-2015 service levels of weekly pickup, and also included hundreds of thousands of dollars a year to pay for new toters. A little less than one-third of that increase is attributable to the 200 new homes built in the town, but over $200,000 is linked to the increase of recycling disposal costs from a declining global recycling market. The base General Fund budget also begins the first of three years of the planned phase-out of funding to the town’s contributions to the fire and rescue companies, which will translate to $166,635 in savings in fiscal year 2020. The town manager’s proposed enhancements fall within three areas— emergency management, public safety and information technology—and account for seven new full-time positions proposed in the General Fund. Dentler is proposing the creation of an emergency management director position, responsible for the preparation, planning and management of the town’s emergency response.

must be sufficient to cover the cost of maintaining the systems and debt service obligations, as well as Utilities Department personnel. Finally, the proposed Capital Improvements Program sees some of the largest growth in recent years. The proposed six-year plan through fiscal year 2025 includes 65 projects, 21 of which are in fiscal year 2020. Funding for fiscal year 2020 is just under $52 million and includes a proposed new project manager position to help with the increased workload and complexity of projects, Dentler said. Noteworthy projects include the Leesburg Police Department headquarters expansion, which was added to the six-year plan last year. The budget for the project has increased $4 million since last year, and has been accelerated due to the space constraints of the department. An upgrade to the department’s computer-aided dispatch and records management system was also increased to reflect current estimates. The Town Council is expected to adopt both the tax rate and budget at its March 26 meeting, with several work sessions planned between now and then. That’s about two weeks earlier than in years past, to comply with deadlines imposed by Loudoun County. The town and county in late 2017 agreed to a Memorandum of Agreement that turns over tax billing and collection responsibility to the county. Dentler’s proposed budget will be available online at leesburgva.gov/budget.

February 14, 2019

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Dentler had alluded to the need for a position to oversee emergency management during last year’s budget cycle, and has noted that the position is common among jurisdictions of Leesburg’s size. He said he first considered the need for the position following January 2016’s record-setting blizzard. “It’s definitely time,” he said. On public safety, he is proposing the addition of five new positions to the Leesburg Police Department—three patrol officers needed for the growth in population; one detective to focus on gang activity and the opioid crisis, among other needs; and a youth services coordinator to serve as a proactive approach to area youth and to work closely with School Resource Officers, nonprofits and community service organizations. Rounding out the additional personnel requested for the General Fund, Dentler is requesting the addition of an IT systems administrator, the top priority identified in the IT Strategic Plan that was endorsed by the Technology & Communications Commission, as well as the Town Council. Revenues for the General Fund were almost $400,000 higher than estimates, attributing to continued growth in consumer taxes, notably meals tax and Business, Professional and Occupational License tax. The Utilities Fund is proposed at just over $30 million and includes four new full-time positions supported by the recent utility study. As an enterprise fund, the Utilities Fund is self-supporting and does not impact town taxes, so revenue generated from water and sewer fees

February 14, 2019

[ PUBLIC SAFETY ]

Sheriff’s Office Breaks Ground on $26M Firearms Training Center BY PATRICK SZABO After nearly four decades of firearm training on leased property in Chantilly, the Loudoun County Sheriff ’s Office will have its own firearms training center by next year. The sheriff ’s office on Friday held a groundbreaking ceremony at the site of its future $25.9 million firearms training center off Shreve Mill Road adjacent to the Greenway. Sheriff Mike Chapman, County Chairwoman Phyllis Randall (D-At Large) and Supervisor Geary Higgins (R-Catoctin) addressed a crowd of about 30, including Supervisors Ralph Buona (R-Ashburn), Kristen Umstattd (D-Leesburg), Ron Meyer (R-Broad Run), Leesburg Police Chief Greg Brown and Chief Fire Marshal Linda Hale. The 55,000-square-foot complex will sit on an 18.5-acre parcel and, once completed in spring 2020, will replace the sheriff ’s office’s firing range located 14 miles southeast of Leesburg, a site that has been leased since 1984. It will feature a 10-lane, 100-yard-long tactical firing range, an 18-lane, 50-yard range, a use-of-force simulator, multiple classrooms, administrative offices and a separate building for force-onforce training.

Patrick Szabo/Loudoun Now

Loudoun County Sheriff Mike Chapman talks during the groundbreaking ceremony for the county’s new, $26 million firearms training center on Friday.

“It’s going to be just a wonderful facility for our deputies,” Chapman said. “This range will further enhance our professionalism.” Randall echoed Chapman’s statements about the multiple dimensions of the complex, making it clear that it’s

much more than just a shooting range. Chapman said the current training center is “inadequate by today’s standards for training needs.” The new one will be shared with the Purcellville and Middleburg Police Departments. Chapman said the new complex would send the message that public safety is a top priority in the county and that it would join a list of new facilities that the county has built since he became sheriff in 2012, including the Western Loudoun Station, the Ashburn Station, a state-of-the-art emergency communications center for dispatchers and a new agency headquarters. He said that, because law enforcement officers are under more scrutiny now than ever, their decisions in the field have never been more complex and that the new training complex would provide deputies and officers with the training space they need to enhance their skillset and judgment. “This facility will accomplish just that,” he said. “We look forward to this incredible facility, enhanced training and keeping Loudoun‘s crime rate the lowest in the entire Washington, DC, metropolitan area.” pszabo@loudounnow.com

LCSO

Loudoun detectives have released surveillance video stills of the man who held up the Sun Trust bank branch inside the Sterling Safeway store Monday afternoon.

Deputies Search for Sterling Bank Robber The Loudoun County Sheriff ’s Office is investigating an armed robbery of the Sun Trust bank branch in the Sterling Plaza Safeway store on Monday. Around 4:40 p.m. Monday, a man approached a teller at the bank and handed the teller a note, demanded cash and displayed a firearm. He left the bank with an undisclosed amount of cash. Detectives have released surveillance video stills of the suspect, who is described as a Hispanic or Middle Eastern male, approximately 5-feet, 8-inches tall, with a slim build and stained yellow teeth with chipped front teeth. He was wearing a grey hoodie with the hood up and a knit hat underneath. Anyone with any information regarding the suspect is asked to contact Detective T. Rodriguez at 703-777-1021.

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February 14, 2019

[ POLITICS ]

Herring Discloses He Wore ‘Brown Makeup’ in Rapper Costume Attorney General Mark Herring last week joined the list of statewide leaders under fire, joining Gov. Ralph Northam and Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax. Herring issued a statement recounting a 1980 incident in which he dressed as a rapper, a costume that included wearing brown makeup on his face. The admission came just days after Northam admitted to wearing black makeup after a racist photo on Northam’s page in his medical school yearbook circulated Feb. 1, triggering widespread calls for the governor to resign. The photo shows one man in blackface standing next to a man in a Ku Klux Klan outfit. Northam said he was not in that yearbook page photo, but wore blackface as part of a Michael Jackson get-up he wore during a dance contest—where, he said, his moonwalking skills took top prize. Herring, a 2021 gubernatorial hopeful, was among those urging Northam to step down. Fairfax is facing allegations from two women who claimed he sexually assaulted them. As of Tuesday, all three were battling calls to resign. Herring has been a vocal leader on combatting racism in Virginia, and spe-

Douglas Graham/Loudoun Now

Attorney General Mark Herring last week disclosed that he wore brown makeup on his face in 1980.

cifically Loudoun County. He’s been a featured speaker at several inter-faith events that were held following the distribution of KKK recruitment fliers in the county. He recently launched a statewide tour to garner support for a series of bills aimed at curbing hate crimes and violence incited by white supremacists. He’s also a longtime member of the Loudoun County Chapter of NAACP. In his Feb. 6 statement, Herring said, “I am sure we all have done things at one time or another in our lives that show

poor judgment, and worse yet, have caused some level of pain to others. I have a glaring example from my past that I have thought about with deep regret in the many years since, and certainly each time I took a step forward in public service, realizing that my goals and this memory could someday collide and cause pain for people I care about, those who stood with me in the many years since, or those who I hoped to serve while in office. “In 1980, when I was a 19-year-old

Higgins Announces Senate Run BY RENSS GREENE Second-term Loudoun County Supervisor Geary M. Higgins (R-Catoctin) has announced he will run to replace retiring state Sen. Richard H. Black (R-13), making him the second county supervisor to compete for the seat. Higgins’ campaign announcement came with a number of endorsements from well-known local Republicans, including former Del. Bob Marshal (R-13), former delegate and candidate J. Randall Minchew (R-10), Loudoun County Treasurer H. Roger Zurn, and Black himself. While he did not have a specific project in mind, Higgins said he wants to use his business and local government experience in Richmond. Before his two terms on the Board of Supervisors, Higgins served a term on the Loudoun County School Board. He is the vice president of Labor Relations for the National Electrical Contractors Association in Bethesda, MD. He is also one of the Loudoun Board of Supervisors’ two representatives on the Northern Virginia Regional Commission and serves as the board’s representative on the Loudoun County Agricultural District Advisory Committee and the Annexation Area Development Policy Committee “I think the biggest thing for Loudoun right now is certainly transportation issues,” Higgins said. “I mean they’ve got a fight going on the [Dulles] Greenway for an honest toll deal, and so we need to continue to

Renss Greene/Loudoun Now

Supervisor Geary M. Higgins (R-Catoctin) at a meeting in November. Higgins has announced he will seek to replace Sen. Richard Black (R-13), who is retiring from the Senate this year.

work on that. … We need someone in Richmond that can work with others and negotiate with others, and have a steady hand and get things done.” In his campaign announcement, Higgins said he has the experience and track record to tackle quality-of-life issues like high quality schools, less traffic, low crime, low taxes and protection of liberties. He also said during his time on the county board, “I have been able to work with my Republican colleagues to reduce the tax rate on residents by $0.20.” He seeks to replace a famously controversial legislator in Richmond. Black is known, among other things, for his opposition to same-sex marriage, abortion—once handing out plastic fetus dolls to legislators—and his vocal support for Syrian President

Bashar al-Assad, who is accused by American and international agencies of human rights abuses and war crimes during his time in power. “Dick Black is an accomplished person, he’s been in politics for many years, and he’s Dick Black and I’m Geary Higgins,” Higgins said. “I think you’ve seen Geary Higgins and his actions on the Board of Supervisors and how he works with other people, and I think Dick Black has done the job that he thinks he needs to do in Richmond.” The campaign announcement pits Higgins against a colleague on the Board of Supervisor, Ron A. Meyer Jr. (R-Broad Run). Meyer, a first-term county supervisor, announced in January that he would once again pursue a seat in the state senate. He has previously eyed seats in the state senate and U.S. House of Representatives. Higgins said the difference between them is his experience, and said he hopes their campaign efforts will not interfere with the last few months of the two men’s work on the Board of Supervisors. He joins a race that on the Republican side already includes Meyer and Mike Buscher, an aerospace entrepreneur and former Army officer and CIA employee from Leesburg. There are also three candidates so far in the Democratic primary: state Del. John J. Bell (D-87), Army Reserve intelligence officer Jasmine Moawad-Barrientos and financial consultant Lucero Wiley. rgreene@loudounnow.com

undergraduate in college, some friends suggested we attend a party dressed like rappers we listened to at the time, like Kurtis Blow, and perform a song. It sounds ridiculous even now writing it. But because of our ignorance and glib attitudes—and because we did not have an appreciation for the experiences and perspectives of others—we dressed up and put on wigs and brown makeup.” While Herring said the incident was a one-time occurrence and does not reflect the man he is four decades later, he understands the pain caused by his actions. “That I have contributed to the pain Virginians have felt this week is the greatest shame I have ever felt. Forgiveness in instances like these is a complicated process, one that necessarily cannot and should not be decided by anyone but those directly affected by the transgressor, should forgiveness be possible or appropriate at all. In the days ahead, honest conversations and discussions will make it clear whether I can or should continue to serve as attorney general, but no matter where we go from here, I will say that from the bottom of my heart, I am deeply, deeply sorry for the pain that I cause with this revelation.”

Hutchinson Joins 86th House Race as Independent Connie Haines Hutchinson, a Herndon native who served seven terms on the Herndon Town Council, announced Monday that she is running as an independent in the Feb. 19 special election to fill the 86th House District seat vacated by Jennifer Boysko’s election to the State Senate. “My experience with the legislative process at the local level gives me the background needed to be an effective representative for the voters of the 86th District,” Hutchinson stated. “With all the political party turmoil that’s going on right now, I think people will welcome the opportunity to support someone who will focus on the cooperation and collaboration needed to get things done.” Hutchinson’s entry makes next Tuesday’s election a three-way race. Democrats have nominated dentist Imbraheem Samirah, while Republicans have nominated U.S. Air Force veteran Gregg Nelson. For more information on Hutchison, visit conniehutchinson.com and or email her at connie@conniehutchinson.com. Most of the 86th District is in Fairfax County, but it includes a section of eastern Loudoun bordered by the W&OD Trail to the south, Sterling Boulevard to the west and East Juniper Avenue, Oak Tree Lane and Sugarland Road to the north.

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Minchew to Run for Delegate Again BY RENSS GREENE Former State Delegate J. Randall Minchew announced last Friday that he will seek a new term in his old seat representing Virginia’s 10th House of Delegates District in Richmond. Minchew, who served for six years in the House of Delegates, said “there’s a lot of work that still needs to be done” in Richmond. “I’d like to think during my six years down there I was one of the more effective members of the House of Delegates in securing transportation funding, making sure that Loudoun gets its fair share of road money, and ensuring that we had good judges elected that would come in without controversy,” Minchew said. He pointed to his work on a landmark solar energy bill and the legislation that created the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority. An announcement video posted to his Facebook page highlights the scandals around Governor Ralph Northam,

Lieutenant Governor Justin Fairfax and Attorney General Mark Herring. His announcement says “Virginians deserve better than the national embarrassment on display this week,” and promises to work for less congestion, more jobs, and “world-class education.” “In the business community, stable, boring, predictable government with no major scandals and red flag issues in our newspapers is a good day,” he said. Minchew said he secured the Republican nomination Thursday. He is the managing shareholder of the land use law firm Walsh, Colucci, Lubely & Walsh’s Loudoun office in downtown Leesburg. He served three consecutive terms in the House of Delegates from 2012 to 2018. He was defeated in the 2017 election by Del. Wendy W. Gooditis (D-10). Learn more at MinchewForDelegate. com. rgreene@loudounnow.com

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[ SCHOOL NOTES ] STEAM Preschool Opens in Ashburn

February 14, 2019

Business and county leaders gathered for a ribbon-cutting ceremony at Everbrook Academy in Ashburn last week. The new preschool officially celebrated its opening with the ceremony and tours of the school on Feb. 6. The preschool’s education model focuses on STEAM— science, technology, engineering, art and mathematics—and strives to equip young children to thrive in a society that’s increasingly dependent on technology. Everbrook Academy offers programs for children ages 6 weeks old to 12 years old. Learn more by watching a video at youtu.be/ nxiEez_WEkw or at everbrookacademy.com. Patrick Szabo/Loudoun Now

Sanders Corner Elementary School students enjoy a spaghetti dinner during the school’s family dinner night last week.

Sanders Corner Hosts Dinner for Families Impacted by Gov’t Shutdown BY DANIELLE NADLER Sanders Corner Elementary School transformed into an Italian-style restaurant after-hours last Wednesday to serve dinner to families impacted by the federal government shutdown. The families of about 60 students came and ate their fill of spaghetti, garlic bread and baked goods—all made possible through the work of school staff members and donations from the local business community. The idea for hosting a family-style dinner for the school community came to Sanders Corner music teacher Shauna Olevson while she was watching news coverage of the federal government shutdown. “We have a lot of families in our school who struggle all the time, and many who were affected by the govern-

ment shutdown,” she said. “I thought, I have all of these resources, why don’t I just do something about it.” With the help of Sanders Corner’s parent liaison Holly Hanback and guidance counselor Mollie Wilson, Olevson raised $1,300 in a few days. The school staff cooked and served the food, with fifth-graders Cooper Leurs and Calvin Balda also rolling up their sleeves to help out. Abhishek Sharma, a parent of a kindergartener and a government contractor, said he came straight from the office because he didn’t want to miss family dinner night. “It’s really great,” he said. “We’ve never come across such a thing.” Olevson said the dinner was made possible by the generous support of several sponsors, including the Sanders Corner PTA, Modern Mechani-

cal, Ashburn Volunteer Fire-Rescue, MainStreet Bank, Ashburn Rotary and Galilee Church in Sterling. The money raised and donated was more than enough to cover the dinner. “We have enough to do two or three more of these,” Olevson said. “The feedback was really positive and it was really nice to see people not having to worry about dinner for their whole family for a night.” Thousands of federal employees forwent a salary for more than a month, and some are still awaiting back pay. Congress and the president agreed to temporarily reopen and fund the federal government until Feb. 15, in hopes that they will come to an agreement on border security measures by that date. dnadler@loudounnow.com

SU Campus Launches Center for Contemporary Islam BY DANIELLE NADLER Shenandoah University is welcoming a new addition to its Scholar Plaza campus in Lansdowne. As of last week, it officially launched a Center for Islam in the Contemporary World. The center is operated by a board of trustees separate from SU that also raises and contributes funds, but is housed at the university’s satellite campus in Lansdowne to provide easy access to students and staff throughout Northern Virginia. The idea to create a center of contemporary Islam came from M. Yaqub Mirza, a member of SU’s board of trustees, who helped raise money for the effort and had a vision for a program that would be affiliated with the university. “The leadership at Shenandoah is really pushing hard this idea of diversity and creating global citizens,” said Ermin Sinanović, the center’s executive

Contributed

Ermin Sinanovic is the executive director of Shenandoah University’s new Center for Islam in the Contemporary World.

director. “They want students to understand the world more, and that includes Islam, the second largest religion in the world.” The goal is to bring expertise and knowledge about Islam and Muslim in

the contemporary contexts to the university’s students and staff. “We plan to support curriculum development, research, facilitate student recruitment and retention, especially from the Muslim communities, locally and internationally, and to increase global collaboration between SU and universities abroad,” Sinanović said. The Center for Islam in the Contemporary World will put on summer and winter student programs provided by scholars in Islamic and interfaith studies; offer teacher training workshops to equip K-12 social studies teachers with pedagogical tools to enrich their educational outcomes; and teach courses on Islam and interfaith engagement. Learn more about the center at contemporaryislam.org. Visit the center on the university’s Scholar Plaza campus at 44160 Scholar Plaza in Lansdowne. dnadler@loudounnow.com

Freedom Student Honored for Volunteerism Jai Kumar, a junior at Freedom High School in South Riding, was recognized as a distinguished finalist for the Prudential Spirit of Community Awards, a nationwide program that honors young people for outstanding acts of volunteerism. Kumar is the co-founder of “ForTrinidad,” a charity organization that has sent more than 1,000 books, school supplies and Christmas gifts to more than 150 children in Trinidad. First inspired to establish the organization after learning about a teacher’s experience growing up in Trinidad, Jai also created “Read a Book, Donate a Book,” an initiative that encourages local fifthgrade students to donate books as part of a reading challenge. Kumar will receive an engraved bronze medallion.

Dominion Student Accepted into NYT Program Dominion High School sophomore Michael Godek was accepted into the New York Times Summer Academy. Godek Throughout the two-week program, Godek will stay in Fordham University’s Lincoln Center Residence Hall and take a course titled Inside the UN/Journalism/Law. “I am thrilled to be accepted into the NY Times Summer Academy for a few reasons. First and foremost, I get to study under some of the world’s best journalists and critical thinkers who work for one of the finest newspapers in the world. To live in NYC and join other students from around the world who share the same passion is very exciting to me,” Godek stated.

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A robotics team from Ashburn won first place at the FIRST Tech Challenge Virginia State Championship, securing a spot in the FIRST World Championship. At the state contest on Feb. 2 in Hanover County, Team 11112, dubbed RoboLords, competed against a plethora of teams, including several others from Loudoun County. But the RoboLords were the only Loudoun-based team to advance to the international competition in Detroit in late April. A nonprofit organized to challenge young minds, FIRST holds robotics competitions each year for middle and high school teams to work together and engineer a robot to solve a problem. This year’s challenge was getting a robot to retrieve “minerals” from a crater and deposit as many as possible into a suspended container. The RoboLords formed in 2016 with students from Eagle Ridge Middle School who came together to learn STEM and robotics through the FIRST program. Throughout the last three years, the team learned how to design, build and program a robot, and also picked up skills along the way to support their efforts, including team work, marketing, fundraising and outreach. The team members are: Isha Thukral, Sanjay Mohan, Rohit Prasanna, Akash Pamal, Ikhlaas Bhat, Aditya Kalkar, Advait Amdekar, Ananya Pamal, and

Contributed

The RoboLords formed three years ago with students from Eagle Ridge Middle School. They placed at a state-level competition on Feb. 2, landing them a spot in the international competition in April.

Aryan Thukral. While team members have fun at the tournament, most of them, including team coach Pamal Meyana, agree that the months spent building and preparing for a task that lasts only a few minutes is about much more than the robots. “There are certain core values that come along with this program,” Meyana said. “You respect everyone, and win or lose, in the end, you’re still doing great things.” Other Loudoun-based teams that competed include Nothing But Treble, Absolute Zero, Slice of Pie, LCD and Circuit Breakers. Follow the RoboLords’ progress at facebook.com/RoboLordsVA. Ethan George is a senior at Loudoun County High School interested in pursuing a career in journalism.

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Step Sisters Mark Fifth Year of Service The Step Sisters are celebrating their fifth anniversary providing support to local breast cancer patients. In 2014, a group of women who had been active in the breast cancer cause for years formally reorganized as a nonprofit and shifted their mission to directly supporting area patients. They wanted to fill gaps in service, like providing rides to treatment sessions, offering child care and delivering healthy food to help reduce stress and strain on patients. Ashley Campolattaro and Angela Fuentes, founders and co-executive directors, said that they never want to see a situation where a patient has

WORKING FOR YOU to cancel an appointment because she can’t find child care or doesn’t have a ride. Five years ago, The Step Sisters started providing three support services at Inova Loudoun Hospital. The group has grown cautiously, ensuring that patient care never suffers and today, the group serves patients at six medical facilities in Loudoun and Fairfax Counties. They have expanded their number of support services to nine, including two key projects—the Crisis Fund and the

Chemotherapy Care Bag. “As we’ve grown, we’ve unfortunately seen that some women are facing severe financial difficulties at time of diagnosis. They have to make the agonizing choice between paying rent and paying for their co-pays or medication,” the duo said. The Crisis Fund was introduced in 2017 and is designed to help pay rent and mortgage, utilities and food. To date, the fund has provided more than $25,000 to patients in crisis situations. Other services include transportation, fresh food delivery, childcare, house cleaning, lawn services and

snow removal, pet care, gift cards and Chemotherapy Care bags—designed to be given to area breast cancer patients as they begin the chemo process. Approximately 800 bags have been distributed to patients so far. While the anniversary is an important milestone, there are no plans to formally observe the anniversary. Instead, the team is busy preparing for its largest annual fundraiser—the Step Sisters’ Ribbon Run and Walk on April 27. Individuals and companies interested in the event and the organization can learn more at stepsisters. org/ribbon-run.

[ NONPROFIT NOTES ] Leadership Loudoun Readies for Class of 2020 Program Leadership Loudoun, a nonprofit that runs an annual immersive leadership learning experience to improve Loudoun’s quality of life, is accepting applications for the Class of 2020. Each year, Leadership Loudoun selects a diverse group of established and emerging leaders to participate in a thought-provoking, nine-month leadership development program from September to May. “We encourage members of our local workforce to consider applying for Leadership Loudoun. It provides an indepth leadership curriculum, as well as one-of-a-kind opportunities to learn about Loudoun’s business culture,” said President Scott German. “We are committed to helping local employers build and strengthen their teams—and our county.” Leadership Loudoun’s educational and leadership-based curriculum consists of an overnight retreat, monthly full-day sessions and a small-group project inspired by countywide issues. Participants will examine issues using subject-matter experts, on-site visits, readings, discussion groups, problem-solving exercises and other experiential activities. An informational meeting will be held 5:30-7 p.m. on Feb. 28 at the Brambleton Library. Learn more at leadershiploudoun.org. Applications are due in by 5 p.m. June 28.

Tree of Life Hosts Community Impact Breakfast Twenty-four community and church leaders gathered last week at Crossroads Baptist Church in Leesburg for breakfast to learn more about Tree of Life Ministries. Executive Director Paul Smith stated that his encounter with poverty began in Manchester, England, but it was a trip to Gulfport, MS after Hurricane

Klebonis Delivers Valentine’s Joy to Women’s Shelter Cynthia Klebonis, of CPK Floral Designs in Leesburg, has partnered with the Loudoun Abused Women’s Shelter to provide Valentine’s Day rose bud vases and heart box chocolate candy to the women and children residing at the shelter. She designed the bud vases to be personalized with “Angel” keychains and an encouraging message of “Faith Love Hope.” Klebonis started her home-based floral studio in 2016 with a focus on fresh and faux floral, plants and trees. Working toward a Certified Floral Designer certification and a coveted invitation to join the American Institute of Floral Designers, Klebonis is hoping to gain experience and expertise coordinating floral projects through community service. “While I was working on my Valentine’s Day dozen rose bouquet offer to my local community, I thought about how I could best ‘pay it forward’ to those who would really appreciate receiving floral love,” Klebonis said. That’s when she saw the shelter’s promotion for Dance-A-Palooza III, a charity dance party that takes place on April 6 at the Tally Ho Theater. “I immediately knew I needed to make bud vases for the residents at the LAWS shelter,” she said. Next, Klebonis is heading north to serve as a Contributed floral assistant volunteer at the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society’s Philadelphia Flower Floral desinger Cynthia Klebonis, right, poses with LAWS Director of Administration Beth Friedmann while delivering Valentine’s Day roses to the Loudoun Abused Show in March. Learn more about CPK Floral Designs at Women’s Shelter. cpkfloraldesigns.com.

Katrina that changed his life. “I believe that God was telling me that there are people in need right where I live in Loudoun County,” he said. Over the past decade, Tree of Life has expanded to provide food, lifeskills training, shelter, healthcare and relief to individuals and families through service hubs in Leesburg, Purcellville and Winchester.

“When a person comes in for food, they not only leave with food, but have been blessed with the ministry of presence,” said Jim Heigl, who serves as the food branch director of Tree of Life-Leesburg. The Community Kitchen ministry serves a restaurant-style meal each Tuesday evening. “We desire to bring value to each individual, by serving

them individually rather than having them stand in line for food,” said COO Wayne Ruckman. Tree of Life served 16,000 individuals in need in 2018 and more than 50,000 since its inception in 2008. For more information, visit tolministries.org or contact the nonprofit at info@tolministries.org or 540-4417920.

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Get a Jump on Summer Camp There’s little sign of it outside, but summer is quickly approaching—and the best camps to keep the kids busy

will fill up quickly as well. Now is the time to start making those plans. Youth recreational programs and

summer camps can do more than bridge the gap in care between the end of school and the day when classes re-

sume. Summer camps can pull together children from different neighborhoods, social classes and backgrounds. They also provide a variety of activities that can help students try new things and move beyond their comfort zones. Perhaps most importantly, they get kids off the couch and out of the house while providing a safe, supervised environment. How do you select a summer camp program? Here are some suggestions.

Ask for recommendations Speak to other parents and friends about where they send their children. Schedule appointments to visit camps that fall within your budget.

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Take a Visit Take your child along to get a sense of what camp will be like. Find out the philosophy of the camp. Ask about the camper-to-counselor ratio and what kind of medical care is provided. Ask about the experience of the staff members and their training.

Explore all options The variety of camp programs available has never been greater. Businesses, churches, schools and community organizations have programs to offer—from traditional general-interest programs to sports and band camps to highly specialized STEM activities. Parents may need to choose between a sleepaway camp or day camps. Also consider how many people will be in the camp.

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Determine your budget As varied as program offerings may be, camps also can vary greatly with regard to cost. Government-run camps may be less expensive than those offered by private companies. Day camps typically cost less than those that provide room and board. Often grants or discounts are available to address special financial circumstances.

Ask about camp schedules While many camps are flexible, day camps do not have the same level of flexibility as after-school programs. Arrangements will need to be made if care is required after regular camp hours. Speak with the camp staff to see which types of after-hours programs, if any, are available. While camps can be a great experience and creating life-long memories, remember to allow for some free days for family activities—and even a bit of couch time for the kids.

23 February 14, 2019

Contributed

Young participants learn how to bathe a horse during one of Van Vixen Farm’s summer camps in Leesburg.

Loudoun’s Equestrian Camps Draw Riders of All Ages ens of equestrian camps that Loudounbased farms have to offer this summer.

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For many children and teens, summertime presents endless hours full of self-indulgence, sleeping in, lazing around and enjoying the free time that is elusive during the school year. Yet, one popular summertime camp centers activities around putting others first and one’s own interests second. For participants at Serve Camp, it’s not about “I,” but about others. The Christian-based camp is open to children from first through 12th grades and is offered over several weeks throughout the summer. Sal D’Agostino, camp director and the pastor of Common Ground Church in Leesburg, said the goal of each camp week is to “expose young people to as many nonprofits and people in need to not only be empowered, but to be inspired.” The camp is based on the life and message of Jesus Christ that love leads to life, he said. The daily community service, or “love projects” as the camp calls them, involve everything from visiting the elderly and working with homeless shelters and food banks to raising money for childhood cancer research and awareness. On the latter point, Serve Camp has raised more than $100,000 for childhood cancer through various efforts in just the past four years. For older campers, significant attention is put on spotlighting future career choices working with community service organizations.

Contributed

Participants at Serve Camp put in a lot of volunteer time during their summer weeks.

“We focus on relationship building while having fun,” D’Agostino said. There are several changes for 2019, including the introduction of a fiveday overnight camp for teens. The camp has also secured the use of a 100acre property in Leesburg to offer an ample “outdoor playground” of sorts for participants. Transportation hubs are also available at local Chick-fil-a restaurants to offer parents alternative choices for pick-ups and drop-offs. As an added perk, parents can enjoy a free Chick-fil-a coffee in the mornings. In its ninth year, Serve Camp is growing in popularity. D’Agostino notes that, as of early February, already 700 participants are signed up for the summer, with some weeks already approaching waitlist status. For more information, go to teenservecamp.com. krodriguez@loudounnow.com

Equestrian camps an Services in Leesburg, offers children ages 4 and up half- and full-day summer camps that promote healthy growth and development through mental and physical fitness activities built around world-class equestrian fundamentals. Each week features a different theme, including “The Pony Express,” “Acrobatics & Bareback Riding,” “Campfire in the Woods–Survival Skills” and “Olympic Disciplines.” Half-day camps go from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. and are $70 each day. Full-day camps go from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and are $100 each day. Camps begin the week of June 10 and stretch until Aug. 23. For more information, go to campkoda.com.

SERENE ACRES RIDING CENTER in Bluemont offers children five camps this summer. The center’s Spring Camp kicks the season off with a week of lessons from

an English Riding Camp on the weeks of June 11, June 18 and June 25 at Last Frontier Farm in Summit Point, WV. The camps will run from 5-8 p.m. Monday-Thursday, giving riders a chance to get back from work. Cost for the camp is $250 per person. The club is also working to offer a dressage-only camp later this summer at Wildfire Farm in Lovettsville. Liz Shockley, the club’s treasurer, said that the camps are all about educating riders and helping them to get more in tune with the horses.

OVERLOOK FARM near Purcellville of-

fers riders two, four-day camps that feature daily horseback rides and lessons in dressage, jumping and trail riding. The camps also instruct riders on basic equine management and daily horse care, like proper tacking, first aid and barn cleaning. The camps cost $475 and will be held June 10-13 and Aug. 12-15. To learn more, go to theoverlookfarm.com.

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VAN VIXEN FARM in Leesburg features 30 acres and 20 horses for campers to acquaint themselves with this summer. The farm offers Summer Pony Camps that give participants age 5-17 daily riding lessons and teach them how to properly feed, groom, brush, bathe, tack, bandage and cool off the horses and perform other regular tasks. Campers also get the chance to go on trail rides, hear from guest farrier presenters and participate in a Lady Gaga pony hairstyle competition. Farm Owner Heather Heider said that her camps are special because she’s a mother of two who knows what it takes to teach kids equestrian techniques and values in a fun, hands-on setting. “I know how to entertain kids and keep them safe and keep them having fun,” she said. Heider said that her camp counselors are also all former campers themselves, which helps to further enhance their one-on-one relationships with the kids. Van Vixen’s 2019 summer camps are $400 per week and are held June 10-14, June 17-21, June 24-28, July 8-12 and July 22-26. For more information, go to vanvixenfarm.com.

THE TRI-STATE RIDING CLUB will offer

To register for a camp, riders must sign up to be tri-state member at $40 annually. To learn more, go to tristaterc.org.

SUMMER CAMPS

RED GATE FARM in Bluemont offers kids ages 3-16 with four different sleepaway camps. Campers will learn about horsemanship and will train in hunting, jumping, trail riding, cross country, dressage and mounted games during the farm’s five-day, four-night adventures. Camps cost between $1,200 and $1,300 and will be held from June 10-14, June 17-21, July 15-19, July 29-Aug. 2 and Aug. 12-16. The farm also offers a four-day, $220 afternoon preschool camp for children aged 3-6, a full- or half-day, $450 basic horse camp for kids aged 6-14 and a 4-day, $450 day camp for riders ages 10-16. For more information, go to redgatefarmva.com.

For adult horseback riders looking to have a little fun of their own this summer, there’s a few camps in Loudoun that offer courses for a more mature crowd.

February 14, 2019

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April 15-19 on horse care and riding, with an Easter Egg Hunt on the final day. Half-day camp costs $305 and goes from 9 a.m. to noon. Full-day camp costs $405 and stretches from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. The center also offers a $425 fullday camp for riders ages 6-14 to learn about horse care, tack cleaning and riding technique. It will be held June 17-21 and Aug. 5-9. Young riders can enroll in Pony Camp to interact with ponies and take riding lessons. It stretches from 9 a.m. to noon, costs $325 and is held June 10-14 and Aug. 12-16. The center also offers a $45 P.O.N.Y camp—which stands for Providing Opportunities & Nurturing Youth— for riders who might not fit into other programs. To learn more, go to sereneacres.com.

February 14, 2019

Reasons Your Kids should come to Summer Camp at the Ashburn Ice House: SUMMER CAMPS

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State park

School budget << FROM 1 said the county has to make sure teacher pay is “fiscally sustainable.” But that doesn’t mean the school system’s work won’t come under scrutiny from county supervisors. While School Board members and school administrators say creating more racial and income-level equity in the school system— from hiring a more diverse workforce, to providing cultural competency training, to funneling more minority students into gifted and specialty programs— County Chairwoman Phyllis J. Randall (D-At Large) remained skeptical. She pointed to relatively few minority students at the Academies of Loudoun, and

“I feel optimistic, but you never know with the budget how things will go,” Black said. “But I feel pretty optimistic that we will manage to get that reinserted.” The project to bring a state park to Loudoun has been underway since at least 2012. Then-Gov. Bob McDonnell announced plans for the park in northwestern Loudoun just before leaving office in 2014. Since then, efforts have focused on transferring land on the Blue Ridge to the state government. Sen. Jill Holtzman Vogel (R-27), who sits on the Senate Finance Committee, has not yet returned requests for comment.

persistent gaps in minority hiring, academic achievement and discipline. She wondered if school system’s strategies to tackle those issues need to be revisited. “While I am very gratified that some of these things are being put in place, it does feel like Groundhog Day to me, because it feels like we’ve had these discussions before,” Randall said. This year, the school system plans to spend money to launch or expand a number of programs aimed at leveling the playing field for minority students. That includes creating a job overseeing equity issues throughout the school system, and another overseeing the EDGE Academy, an after-school program that targets elementary students from underrepresented populations—such as those from low-income families or racial mi-

norities—who have a knack for science, math and technology but don’t typically have access to enrichment programs to hone those skills. Supervisor Kristen C. Umstattd (D-Leesburg) said she was very happy that the school system will expand computer science programs in elementary schools, she wanted to see the school system do even more to expand computer science immersion in elementary schools. At Meadowland, Moorefield Station and Round Hill Elementary Schools, every student spends at least 30 minutes every day learning computer coding. School Superintendent Eric Williams said there are not specific plans to expand that level of immersion to every school, but didn’t rule it out eventually.

“I think that people are going to be incredibly enthusiastic on the extent of integration, and will be following the same model,” Williams said. “So as long as we continue to add course offering and opportunities for success at those levels while also boosting extracurricular opportunities, I think that’s going to put us on the right pathway.” The county’s fiscal guidance to the school system was based on a budget at the equalized real estate tax rate, meaning the rate at which the average Loudoun homeowner pays the same dollar amount despite rising property values. This year, that rate is estimated at $1.05 per $100 of assessed value, a 3.5cent cut to the current rate.

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signed by Chairwoman Phyllis J. Randall (D-At Large), Vice Chairman Ralph M. Buona (R-Ashburn), and Supervisor Geary M. Higgins (R-Catoctin), points out the county does not ask for initial state investments, and the property already has many of the things needed to support a state park, such as roads, trails, electricity, and well and septic systems. “Our region is currently the most underserved area by the state park system,” the letter reads. “This property, which sits next to the Appalachian Trail and is minutes away from Harper’s Ferry, would help preserve significant natural and his-

park needs $14.3 million for development, $321,200 in startup costs for tractors, mowers and other equipment, and $754,311 in annual staffing and operating costs. Hanger said there should be an acknowledgement of the park’s future costs. “I like to see when a property is acquired that there be a vision in terms of what you’re going to do with it,” Hanger said. LaRock and Black both said that they are hopeful the final budget will include Loudoun’s future state park. “I’m optimistic, but cautiously, because I really am baffled that it would be significant enough for someone to pull it out of the senate budget,” LaRock said. “Nobody’s signaled to me why they’ve done it.”

February 14, 2019

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toric resources, would support the rural economy, and would provide important trail connectivity and economic benefits to both the County and the region.” While the state park, for now, asks for no money from the state, taxpayer money has already been invested. In October 2018, Loudoun County supervisors agreed to pay the Bob and Dee Leggett Foundation $2.9 million for 280 acres for the park after the foundation had already donated 604 acres. For now, the state would get a free park—the nonprofit Blue Ridge Center for Environmental Stewardship has agreed to keep managing the land, and the land already includes facilities like a trail network. However, as a state park, it also will come with some future costs to the state. The state estimates that the

[ BIZ ]

[ BIZ NOTES ] Investment Firm Buys Leesburg Apartments

February 14, 2019

Renss Greene/Loudoun Now

John and Bonnie Branding in one of the historic barns that will soon be the home of their new, community-supported farm brewery.

Wheatland Spring Promises Community-Supported Farm Beer BY RENSS GREENE John and Bonnie Branding are partway through their mission to save and reinvent historic Wheatland Spring near Willowsford, and their next project is both an homage to its past and a new idea for brewing in Loudoun. The Brandings are launching a community-supported farm brewery, akin to community-supported agriculture. Because beer, after all, is an agricultural product. “You might see farmers with dirty boots and hands walking around, because that’s how it comes to be,” said John. “So, we’re trying to celebrate the entire process of how something comes from the ground, gets made and then is delivered.” On Wheatland Spring, a farm dating to the 1830s, they are planning to make beer as rooted in the area around Willowsford as the name. The beer will be served in a barn dating to the 1870s and brewed in another dating to the 1920s, and all of it will be in view of the acres of wheat they’ve planted for ingredients—along with the hundreds of acres of farmland around theirs. “When we were thinking about locations for a farm brewery, one of our key criteria was saving one of Loudoun’s old farms,” Bonnie said. “Certainly, people can build a building from scratch, but the character and the history that lives in our 19th-century barn and early-20th-century barn, you can’t replicate.” The inspiration for that sense of place in their beer came, perhaps ironically, from their travels overseas. The Brandings lived in Germany for years, spending time in the beer gardens of Munich and Berlin. “There’s a term that they use called Gemütlichkeit, that essentially means a sense of belonging and comfort,” Bonnie said. “And it’s something that we felt there in our local beer garden that we

Renss Greene/Loudoun Now

John Branding enters one of the barn spaces that will soon serve as one of the farm brewery’s intimate, rustic tasting rooms.

would visit on a very normal basis.” They decided that would be part of their longstanding dream to open a brewery, along with another German concept: Landbier. It’s not a specific kind of beer, but a lot of German breweries have one. It’s not just any type of beer, either. “One of the critical components, or essential components, is that you’re taking something unique to that region, that space in the world, and making a beer of that region,” John said. “And so it’s something you can only find there.” Using locally grown ingredients isn’t an entirely new concept in Loudoun, where some brewers are already making a point of using ingredients grown locally, or even growing their own hops and other ingredients. But the idea of treating the beer so explicitly as a farm product, by offering a model akin to a community-supported agriculture membership, is relatively new to breweries. It’s something like a mug club,

with monthly memberships that include a certain quantity of beer each month and a few other member benefits, but that puts that money directly into the land. “We think it’s a neat thing for people to be able to take part in the agriculture, as well, to help us harvest our first yield of wheat this coming June and to help with putting those ingredients into the ground that we’re going to be using,” John said. Interest is already growing, with people contacting the Brandings about joining before the first drop of beer has been brewed, and some of the memberships filling up already. “I had never heard of a brewery doing that, but I think it hearkens back to the fact that they are trying to really hammer home the fact that it is a farm product,” said Maureen Moutoux, one of the Branding’s neighbors. She and her husband have a year-round CSA at their farm, and advised the Brandings when they were setting up their own business. “Our upfront costs in starting a farm operation are all in the spring. You need to get a lot of things in the ground. You really won’t see that back until, with beer, April.” Moutoux said their own business has been successful because people want to be reconnected with farms and where their food—and beer—is coming from. At Wheatland Springs, at the more expensive membership levels, members become honorary land stewards, with their name on a part of the farm’s cropland. “They technically become a shareholder, and so they feel like it’s their farm,” Moutoux said. “It’s their space they have contributed, and it just makes for a really great community feeling.” Wheatland Springs will open in the spring. Learn more at wheatlandspring. com. rgreene@loudounnow.com

The Bellemeade Farms Apartments in Leesburg have been sold to Capital Square 1031, a real estate investment and management firm specializing in tax-advantaged Delaware statutory trust offerings. Located on Gateway Drive, the 316-unit complex includes 12 residential buildings and a clubhouse with a leasing office on 15.74 acres. The community, built in 1988, includes one- and two-bedroom floorplans ranging in size from 583 square feet to 954 square feet. “Capital Square is bullish on well-located multifamily communities such as this that boast ideal demographics, high occupancy and exceptional historical rent growth,” stated Louis Rogers, founder and CEO of Capital Square 1031. “We are pleased to add Bellemeade Farms Apartments to our growing portfolio and to provide this exciting opportunity to our investors.” “The property benefits from its proximity to historic downtown Leesburg, over 14 million square feet of retail, and employment centers, including the Dulles Tech Corridor and Reston. In addition, the regional tailwinds created by the Silver Line Metrorail extension and Amazon HQ2 support our long term view of continued growth in Northern Virginia,” stated Whitson Huffman, vice president of acquisitions.

Farmers Open for 2019 Season Nothing is more fresh and local than picking up your produce directly from the farmer. Loudoun’s robust CSA programs offer ample opportunities to do that. Although it is still too cold to plant, many farmers are already selling their community-supported agriculture subscriptions for the 2019 harvests. Typically, the programs provide members with a weekly box of vegetables, eggs or other farm products throughout the growing season. Many farms have a limited number of CSA subscriptions, and since some CSAs sell out early, residents are advised to lock in their subscriptions now. The county’s Department of Economic Development has established an online portal to connect residents with many of the available CSA options. Check out the offerings at LoudounFarms.org/CSA.

School of Rock Celebrates 10 years in Ashburn School of Rock in Ashburn celebrated a decade of music edBIZ BRIEFS >> 29

[ BIZ NOTES ]

Hutzler Joins BCT Investments Caleb A. Hutzler has been appointed as an investment representative for BCT Investments. His responsibilities include client development as well as managing investment strategies for individuals in the markets served by Bank of Charles Town and its affiliates. Hutzler holds licenses for Series 6, Series 7, and Series 63, plus holds licenses for Life and Health Insurance. He also serves with the United States Air Force as a member of the Air National Guard

Toruño Presented Enterprising Women of the Year Award B r i g i t t a Toruño, of UNO Translations and Communications in Lansdowne, is among the winners of the 2019 Enterprising Women of the Year Awards. She won the award in Toruño the annual sales category of up to $1 million. Toruño will be recognized during the 17th Annual Enterprising Women of the Year Awards Celebration & Conference on March 26 in Fort Lauderdale, FL. “Brigitta Toruño is an accomplished business owner and leader in her field. We are so proud to recognize her contribution to her company, her community and as a role model and mentor to other women and girls,” stated Monica Smiley, publisher and CEO of Enterprising Women. “I am truly humbled to be recognized for this award,” Toruño stated. “I am thankful to Enterprising Women for this honor, as well as the many female entrepreneurs that have led by such wonderful examples.”

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ucation on Sunday with an unveiling of its updated studio and, of course, performances by its students. “We are all about creating musicians,” said Laura Bollettino, owner and executive director of the DC Area Schools of Rock. “We want them to gain the foundational skills and real chops to be able to do whatever it is they want with their music, whether it be music school, their own band or just being able to play with friends as a life-long passion.” Students from the Ashburn School of Rock have been selected for national tours and have played at venues like Red Rocks, The Whiskey A Go Go, House of Blues and Lollapalooza, and students regularly play in venues and on stages here in the D.C. area. The studio is located at 20660 Ashburn Road. For more information on the school, email Ashburn@schoolofrock.com.

167th Airlift Wing in Martinsburg, WV. Prior to joining BCT Investments, he worked in the financial services sector with Northwestern Mutual.

February 14, 2019

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[ OUR TOWNS ]

[ TOWN NOTES ] LOVETTSVILLE

February 14, 2019

Town Awards Cub Scouts $1,500

Patrick Szabo/Loudoun Now

Middleburg Maintenance Superintendent Tim Cole collects cigarette butts from a receptacle in front of the Middleburg Common Grounds coffee shop.

Middleburg Battles, Recycles Cigarette Butt Litter BY PATRICK SZABO Visitors to Middleburg might notice streets that aren’t as littered with cigarette butts as there were in previous years. Since last year, the town has encouraged smokers to dispose of their cigarette butts in special receptacles that it installed on the sides of trashcans along Washington, Federal and Marshall streets. The town’s maintenance department collects the butts and hands them over to the Go Green Committee to be shipped to TerraCycle, an international waste management company that has recycled nearly 58 tons of cigarette waste since 2012. Councilman Peter Leonard-Morgan, the committee’s Town Council liaison, said the initiative to clean the town’s

streets of cigarette butts kicked off in spring 2017, after volunteers for the town’s bi-annual cleanup event reported finding hundreds of them in the roads, sidewalks, parking lots, bushes and storm drains. “By the time I was done picking all those up, I was kind of thoroughly grossed out,” said Lynne Kaye, the town’s sustainability consultant and a Go Green Committee volunteer. Kaye said that after that experience, she went online to find out more about the hazards of littered cigarette butts and came across TerraCycle’s recycling program. Following a trip to Niagara-on-the-Lake, Canada, where she noticed cigarette-recycling receptacles attached to trashcans, Kaye proposed a town partnership with TerraCycle— something George Mason University

and Northern Virginia Community College are also doing. Last spring, the Town Council approved that partnership and the $2,135 purchase of 13 tube-shaped receptacles, which measure a little more than a foot in height, attach to the sides of trashcans across town and were halfway funded by a Virginia Department of Environmental Quality Litter Prevention and Recycling Grant. Almost a year later, Middleburg’s cigarette butt recycling program is a well-oiled process that’s working to rid the town of potentially toxic cigarette filters, which are made of a non-biodegradable plastic that can contaminate the water system when washed into storm drains. According to the Clean BUTT LITTER >> 31

Fraser Assures Residents of a ‘Strong and Vibrant’ Purcellville in Annual Address BY PATRICK SZABO Purcellville Mayor Kwasi Fraser delivered his fifth State of the Town address to a nearly full Town Hall Monday night. About 40 people made it out to hear Fraser give an update on the town’s financial standing, project progress and overall operational status. Following a year-and-a-half of controversy surrounding investigations into ultimately unfounded allegations of misconduct against Police Chief Cynthia McAlister and changing directions on the management of the town’s Fireman’s Field complex, Fraser addressed both topics head-on and presented some of the town’s accomplishments in 2018 and goals moving into 2019.

Patrick Szabo/Loudoun Now

Purcellville Mayor Kwasi Fraser delivered his fifth State of the Town address to about 40 residents in the Town Council chambers Monday night.

Fraser began his talk by noting that town staff continued to deliver high levels of services during the McAlister

investigation, which forced the chief into paid administrative leave from August 2017 to August 2018. He said the town was transparent during that time by disclosing the costs of the probe and the other investigations into allegations of misconduct by other senior staff members—a total of $891,100 including investigation costs and salary expenses for staffers on administrative leave and those in interim positions—and by publicizing the final report on July 30 last year. Fraser then dove into a few key areas of focus, which included updates on town operations, public safety and

The Town Council and Oktoberfest Committee last week presented Cub Scout Pack 962 with a check for $1,500 for its help during last year’s Oktoberfest. Scouts helped at the 2018 event by collecting trash scattered by the estimated 15,000 visitors to town. The pack also held its annual Blue and Gold Ceremony last week to recognize its scouts’ accomplishments and its adult leaders’ contributions. “Thank you to the leaders, parents, and volunteers of Pack 962 who are doing an amazing job of shaping our future,” Mayor Nate Fontaine wrote in his Friday update email.

MIDDLEBURG Middleburg Holds Winter Weekend Sale It’s a four-day weekend in Middleburg, at least as far as the merchants are concerned. The eighth annual Winter Weekend Sale runs from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. this Friday-Monday, Feb. 15-18 throughout the town. Visitors are invited to hunt for gifts in shops like Richard Allen Clothing, Moda Lookbook and J. McLaughlin while experiencing the small-town charm of Middleburg. The Town of Middleburg and the Middleburg Business & Professional Association will sponsor the sale and are inviting visitors to also stay in one of the town’s three inns— the Red Fox Inn, the Goodstone Inn and the Salamander Resort. Many of the specialty shops in the village will offer discounts on everything from shoes to children’s clothes to fall and winter fashions, as well as specials in some of the restaurants. Participating stores will display blue and white balloons. For more information on the town, call 540-687-5152 or visit middleburg.org.

Foxcroft School Student Receives Patent The United States Patent Office has awarded Foxcroft School senior Anne Kickert a provisional patent for a tool she invented to assist with eating. Kickert received the patent after deciding to write a patent grant application for her AdTOWN NOTES >> 31

FRASER >> 33

[ TOWN NOTES ]

Sidesaddle Drawing Class this Sunday The National Sporting Library & Museum and Artists in Middleburg will hold a live sidesaddle drawing class from 1-5 p.m. this Sunday, Feb. 17 at the sporting library. Artists of all skill levels are invited to sketch out their drawings while using a live model, dressed in authentic sidesaddle riding habit, as their subject. Artists should bring their own paper, easel or clipboards and pencils. Admission to the class is $125 for the general public and $112 for members of the sporting library and Artists in Middelburg. For more information or to register, go to theartistsinmiddleburg.org/sidesaddle-drawing-class.

PURCELLVILLE Woodgrove Host Families Needed The Euro-American Student Alliance is looking for multiple Woodgrove High School host families to accommodate a group of 26 foreign exchange students from Morteau, France from March 31 to April 8. French students will meet at Woodgrove each morning before embarking on their daily trips. They will also spend a day shadowing their hosts around school to see what it’s like to attend an American high school. Fam-

Butt litter << FROM 30 Virginia Waterways nonprofit, one cigarette butt is enough to contaminate two gallons of water. “Once those cigarette butts get littered, they sort of never go away,” Kaye said. Twice a month, Maintenance Superintendent Tim Cole collects the butts from the receptacles and hands them to Leonard-Morgan, who sends them off to TerraCycle every few months. The company then separates the components. The paper and tobacco are composted into soil or fertilizer. The filters are melted into a hard plastic, which is distributed to different manufacturers to turn into products like shipping pallets, ashtrays and park benches. “It’s amazing what they can pull out of these little filters,” Leonard-Morgan said. TerraCycle publicist Alex Payne said that the town has sent in 7 pounds of

April 26, 2019 Washington Dulles Airport Marriott Dulles, VA

WATERFORD Waterford Foundation to Host Talk on Black Voting Rights The Waterford Foundation will hold a “Bullets to Ballots” talk about the history of voting rights for black Civil War veterans and freed slaves at 3:30 p.m. this Sunday, Feb. 17 at the John Wesley Church. Asa Gordon, the founder and executive director of the Douglass Institute of Government, will deliver the free talk and will discuss the impact of advocacy for black voting rights in the post-Civil War Reconstruction era of the U.S. The talk will be inspired by new prototype exhibits that will be on display at the African American Civil War Museum in Washington, D.C. For more information, go to waterfordfoundation.org.

Winery to Host Murder Mystery Dinner Terra Nebulo Vineyards will hold a murder mystery dinner from 6:30-9:30 p.m. this Saturday, Feb. 16 at its location off Old Wheatland Road. Guests are invited to enjoy dinner catered by Shaffer’s buffet-style barbecue with sides and desert, wine and a murder mystery called “Till Death Do Us Part.” Attendees will be tasked with helping the event planner solve a mystery that’s threatening to turn the wedding rehearsal dinner into a morgue. Diners are encouraged to dress up for the fun. Tickets to the dinner are $60 per person. For more information, go to terranebulo.com or call 540-882-3800.

cigarette butts. “This may not sound like much, but it’s fairly significant considering Middleburg’s size,” he said. Moving forward, Leonard-Morgan said that aside from the committee posting about the initiative on its Facebook and Instagram profiles, there’s not too much it can do to encourage smokers to stop snuffing their cigarette butts out on the ground, since the practice has virtually always been accepted in most societies. “It’s been happening for a hundred years,” he said. “It’s very hard to get people to stop doing that.” Kaye said that the town would work to attract more attention to the initiative and discuss with business owners the possibility of installing their own cigarette butt recycling receptacles. “The biggest challenge is getting people to use the receptacles,” she said. “We really want people to know they’re there and to use them.” pszabo@loudounnow.com

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vanced Placement English Literature class. Her invention, the “retractable limited dexterity eating aid,” was inspired by her 94-year-old grandmother, who was diagnosed with dementia and began to experience difficulty with fine motor skills like eating. According to a statement from the Foxcroft School, females hold only 10 percent of all U.S. patents.

ilies interested in hosting a teen should contact Program Coordinator Francesca Contento at 240-575-4898 or at Francesca@euro-american.net. For more information on the alliance, visit euro-americanstudentalliance.us.

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February 14, 2019

Aldie Firehouse Plans Draw More Objections BY NORMAN K. STYER Controversial plans to build a new fire house in Aldie were dealt another blow Monday night when the county’s Historic District Review Committee unanimously denied two required applications. The county’s Department of Transportation and Capital Infrastructure filed for two certificates of appropriateness. The first would permit the demolition of a non-historic garage and a cellar house that is deemed historically significant in the village’s historic district. The second would permit the construction of a 20,000-square-foot fire and rescue station on the south side of Rt. 50 in the center of the village. During the Feb. 11 public hearing, HDRC members, representatives of preservation and civic organizations, and village residents all agreed that neither action should be allowed and expressed exasperation that the Board of Supervisors was pushing to squeeze the building into the historic district. “I know the fire company needs a new firehouse. This is not the right site for it,” historian Wayne Saffer said, a view expressed by virtually every speaker during the session. The only accolades handed out during the session went to representatives of Sterling-based HG Architects, who had worked over the past several months on new designs for the station that would better blend with the surroundings while also dealing with the property’s floodplain, steep slopes and

Sterling-based HG Architects worked with community leaders to come up with new designs for the Aldie fire station that would better blend with the surroundings while also dealing with the property’s floodplain, steep slopes and limited access points.

limited access points. While the new plans achieved the goal of allowing the village’s historic tavern building on the property to remain, HDRC members and other speakers raised concerns that the structure wouldn’t have access needed to provide a future use of the building.

TOWN OF MIDDLEBURG, VIRGINIA NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING PROPOSED REAL PROPERTY TAX INCREASE Fiscal Year 2019-2020 The Middleburg Town Council is considering a small increase in the Real Property Tax Rate (the “tax rate”). Pursuant to Code of Virginia Section 58.1-3321 a Public Hearing will be held on the proposed tax rate on March 28, 2019 at 6:00 p.m. at the Middleburg Town Office located at 10 West Marshall Street in Middleburg, Virginia. Assessment Increase: The total assessed value of real property, as of January 1, 2019, excluding additional assessments due to new construction or improvements to property, exceeds last year’s total assessed value of real property by 3.11%. Lower Rate Necessary to Offset Increased Assessment: The current tax rate is $0.153 per $100 of assessed value. The tax rate which would levy the same amount of real estate tax as the current year, when multiplied by the new total assessed value of real estate, with the exclusions mentioned above, would be $0.15 per $100 of assessed value. This rate will be known as the “lowered tax rate.” Effective Rate Increase: The Town Council proposes to adopt a tax rate of $0.153 per $100 of assessed value. The difference between the lowered tax rate and the proposed tax rate would be $0.003 per $100, or 2%. This difference will be known as the “effective tax rate increase.” Individual property taxes may, however, increase at a percentage greater or less than the above percentage.

Peter Hargreaves, the construction department’s design manager, did not defend the site selection for the project, saying that decision was made before he joined the staff. But he did offer hope that another location would be found. “The county has not stopped looking for sites. Hopefully, there is a site we can

move this to,” he said. Two alternatives were proposed by speakers during Monday’s hearing. Stephen Price, chairman of the Mosby Heritage Area Association, urged the county to return to a property it originally bought for the project east of the village a decade ago. After the county paid $1.3 million for two residential lots, neighbors in the subdivision successfully sued to block construction of the firehouse there because it would violate the neighborhood’s covenants. Price suggested that the Board of Supervisors could use its power of eminent domain to overcome the restrictions and provide monetary compensation to the affected landowners. Another option was offered by area resident Jack Andrews. The longtime Loudoun developer said he had earlier proposed a design-build project on a 15-acre site at the southeast quadrant of Rt. 50 and New Mountain Road east of the village. He said the Board of Supervisors reviewed that option in closed session and rejected it. The current budget to build the fire-rescue station on the village site is $18.9 million. While the denial of the historic district permits would doom most projects, several HDRC members said they would work to make the project fit in the village as best as possible if the county board insists on proceeding at the location. nstdyer@loudounnow.com

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Proposed Total Budget Increase: Based on the proposed real property tax rate and changes in other revenues, the total General Fund budget will exceed last year’s by 15.2%. This increase is due to the transfer of $500,000 from the General Fund Reserves in order to fund a capital improvement project. If this transfer were excluded, the General Fund budget would decrease by .003% over last year’s. Questions regarding the proposed tax increase may be directed to the Town Administrator at 540-687-5152. Danny Davis, Town Administrator Town of Middleburg, Virginia

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Fraser

BIKING & WALKING SAFETY WORKSHOP

Tuesday, March 5, 2019 9:30 – 11:00 a.m. LOUDOUN WORKFORCE RESOURCE CENTER Shenandoah Building 102 Heritage Way, NE Leesburg, VA 20176

Registration required for this NO COST workshop: loudoun.gov/wrcworkshops

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OPEN CALL FOR ARTISANS AND LANDSCAPERS

The Old Stone School Preservation Trust is inviting artisans, craftspersons and landscapers to participate in its second annual Gardens at the Gap Artisan Craft and Plant Fair. The Fair will be held at the Old Stone School on Friday, April 26th from Noon-7 p.m. and on Saturday, April 27th from 10-5 p.m. During the craft fair, there will be shopping, music, food, educational booths, demonstrations and workshops. The Fair anchors the town’s two-day Gardens in The Gap spring festival. To participate in the craft fair, please download a Vendor Registration Form found at www.OldStoneSchool.org. For additional information, email us at GiGFair@OldStoneSchool.org.

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finances. Perhaps the most talked about topic Fraser brought up dealt with Fireman’s Field management. Early last year Shaun Alexander Enterprises took over management of the entire 15.89-acre complex as part of a Town Council effort to generate more revenue from the property. The approach fizzled, starting when proposed higher fees prompted the Upper Loudoun Youth Football League to play its season elsewhere after nearly a half century in the complex. When the year ended, SAE was responsible only for the Bush Tabernacle, which lacked a subcontractor to manage day-to-day operations, while the county’s Department of Parks, Recreation and Community Service had resumed its long-time role of managing the sports fields. Fraser said that while there were issues making sports affordable to youth leagues under the SAE contract, Town Council members and town staffers worked to create an interim partnership with the county to maintain the field and to help keep users fees down. He said that residents would see a final long-term agreement with the county in the coming months. From there, Fraser discussed the police department’s progress last year and how it graduated three new officers from the police academy and hosted six Coffee with a Cop events. He said that the town would identify potential sites for a new police headquarters this year, noting that it paid $100,000 in rent at its “woefully inadequate” location off Hirst Road in 2018. He also mentioned that the town would prioritize the 48 recommendations made by the Novak Consulting Group following a four-month-long, $69,800 operational assessment of town operations and that implementing those would make the government “more functional.” As for town finances, Fraser mentioned that the town’s general, water and wastewater fund revenues had all seen increases over 2017—by $228,922, $34,624 and $90,614 respectively. He also pointed out that the town’s investment portfolio increased by $5.4 million in 2018, up to $14.5 million as of Dec. 31. “Your money, citizens of Purcellville,

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is working for you,” he said. “As we sleep, our money is working for us in the bank.” Fraser also said that the town will need to find ways to pay off utility debt, since water and wastewater expenditures were up in 2018 by $664,073 and $304,119 respectively. “That is a key challenge,” he said. Among other tidbits Fraser presented, he noted that 225 jobs were created in Purcellville during 2018, 40 new storefronts opened for business and six sports grants totaling $5,200 were awarded to youth sports organizations. Moving forward, Fraser said that he would be focused on working on a plan to share wastewater treatment operations with the neighboring Town of Hamilton, to bring in more cellular carriers and construct a new cell tower to provide residents with affordable broadband, to find ways to generate revenue from the town-owned Aberdeen Property, and to secure money for town projects. On the 189-acre Aberdeen Property, Fraser used the phrase “hemp, hops and horses,” to describe options for the town to make money from the land. The town has reviewed proposals for hemp and hops farming and to hold steeplechase events there. He said that because the town is not using the property, it’s a liability, rather than a benefit, to taxpayers. “We need to extract value from that,” he said. Fraser said he would be on Capitol Hill as a National League of Cities member on March 13 to ask Congressional legislators for money for town projects, like the Hirst Farm Pond construction, Hirst Road safety improvements, Main Street and Maple Avenue improvements and Nursery Avenue improvements. “I will be knocking on doors and lobbying to bring money back to Purcellville … so we don’t have to go into the pockets of our taxpayers,” he said. Fraser concluded his address by thanking his wife, Angela, for her support, Town Manager David Mekarski, Administration Director Hooper McCann and Town Clerk Diana Hays for their tenacity, perseverance and commitment to making the town run and residents for their participation in town government. “Thank you for your loud voice,” he said. “The state of your town is strong and vibrant.”

[ LOCO LIVING ]

[ THINGS TO DO ] HOLIDAY HAPPENINGS

February 14, 2019

Courtesy of Shocktober

My Bloody Valentine at Shocktober A rendering of the proposal to renovate and expand Hill Top House hotel overlooking Harpers Ferry.

Friday, Feb. 15 and Saturday, Feb. 16

In Harpers Ferry: Reviving an Icon

Paxton Manor, 601 Catoctin Circle, NE, Leesburg

Loudoun Couple Plans to Rebuild Crumbling Hill Top House

Details: shocktober.org

BY JAN MERCKER For decades, Loudouners have fallen in love with the quirky and magical Hill Top House Hotel in nearby Harpers Ferry, WV. The hundred-year-old structure has enchanted tourists and locals alike with its air of mystery and one of the best views of Harpers Ferry in the region. But for the past 10 years, the building has been shuttered and in disrepair. Now, Loudoun power couple Karen and Fred Schaufeld are moving forward with plans to redevelop the building as a luxury hotel with a sense of history, restoring a crumbling icon to its former glory. And while the Schaufelds have hit a few bumps in the road with local government across the state line, they’re now confident things are on track with an eye toward a 2022 opening. “It’s a hidden gem. Whether you get there by bike on the C&O Canal or drive there. Just walking around, it’s just beautiful and the history is spectacular,” said Karen Schaufeld, CEO of the redevelopment venture. “There’s a reason why [Harper’s Ferry] became a crossroads of American history. There is something spectacular about it.” The Schaufelds, who live near Leesburg, fell in love with the property during their early days in Loudoun in the 1990s, making regular day trips to the hotel for a meal and the amazing view. But by the end of the 20th century, the building was already beginning to deteriorate. The Schaufelds bought the property in 2007 through their investment firm, SWaN & Legend Venture Partners, and closed the hotel the following year as it became apparent that structural problems made it unsafe. Redevelopment was always the plan, but zoning issues with the Town of Harpers Ferry held up the process.

Fear-bruary has returned to Paxton Manor for one weekend only. This self-guided tour through the love-wrecked horrors inside the haunted manor is perfect for couples or friends looking for something a little different for the holiday weekend. Tickets are $35 per person or $60 per couple in advance or $40 at the door. Advance purchase is recommended.

Family Valentine’s Day Swing Dance Friday, Feb. 15, 7-11 p.m. Hillsboro Old Stone School, 37098 Charles Town Pike, Hillsboro Details: oldstoneschool.org Enjoy a fun-filled, family night of swing dancing at the beautiful Old Stone School. No partners are required, a lesson is provided, and the whole family is invited. Admission is $10 for Adults and $5 for students. Children 6 and under are free.

Valentine’s Vinyasa Saturday, Feb. 16, 2-3:30 p.m. Lotus Town Yoga, 27 S. Loudoun St., Lovettsville An aerial view of the Hill Top House, which has been closed since 2008 because of structural concerns.

But with a new redevelopment plan submitted last spring and widespread support from the local business community, Schaufeld is confident they’re now on track. Leaving time for final changes developed with the town to move through the Board of Zoning Appeals, the developers hope to get construction rolling. “I would be very happy if we can get all this done and under our belt and break ground before the end of the year,” Schaufeld said. The hotel, originally built in 1888 by African American businessman Thomas Lovett, burned down and was rebuilt twice in the early 20th century. Over the years, the hotel hosted luminaries like Mark Twain, Alexander Graham Bell, W.E.B. Du Bois, Pearl Buck, Bill Clinton and other U.S. presidents. The

Schaufelds’ vision is a world-class hotel inspired by Lovett that would attract leaders, history buffs and wine lovers alike. “I want this to feel like America’s living room, like you can come in, sit down and be looking around you and see with the artwork and the finishes and the artifacts that you’re surrounded by things and people that happened there,” Schaufeld said. For longtime Loudouner and new Harpers Ferry resident Morgan Morrison, the redevelopment plans bring a mixed sense of nostalgia and anticipation. Morrison and her husband David Van Deventer, who make up half HILL TOP HOUSE >> 37

Details: lotustownyoga.com Spend Valentine’s weekend giving love to yourself and to others with mindful vinyasa yoga and a special practice of loving kindness meditation. Workshop is $20.

ON STAGE Take Me to the Movies: A Valentine’s Cabaret Saturday, Feb. 16, 6 p.m. and Sunday, Feb. 17, 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. StageCoach Theatre Company, 20937 Ashburn Road, Suites 115 and 120, Ashburn Details: stagecoachtc.com Enjoy a romantic musical trip down a cinematic memory lane with favorite film tunes performed by the region’s top vocalists. Tickets for Saturday’s show are $60 and include a catered dinner. Tickets

MORE THINGS TO DO >> 35

THINGS TO DO ]

for Sunday’s shows are $25 with drinks available for sale. Performances continue Feb. 23 and Feb. 24. Visit the website for pricing and details.

the composers and music throughout the program will captivate listeners of all ages. Tickets are $30 for adults, $25 for seniors and free for children 12 and under.

‘Across a Barrier of Fear: The Life of Eleanor Roosevelt’ Sunday, Feb. 17, 3 p.m.

Saturday, Feb. 16, 6-10 p.m.

Franklin Park Arts Center, 36441 Blueridge View Lane, Purcellville

Franklin Park Arts Center, 36441 Blueridge View Lane, Purcellville Details: franklinparkartscenter.org Loudoun’s third annual teen improv comedy festival features hilarious improv teams from across the county. Tickets are $5.

Lucketts Bluegrass: Josh Grigsby and County Line Saturday, Feb 16, 7 p.m. Lucketts Community Center, 42361 Lucketts Road, Leesburg Details: luckettsbluegrass.org Grigsby’s mix of traditional bluegrass, original music and grassed up country will keep the audience tapping its toes. Up and comers Serene Green perform an opening set. Tickets are $17 at the door.

LSO: ‘Love Is in the Air’ Concert Saturday, Feb. 16, 8 p.m. Saint David’s Episcopal Church, 43600 Russell Branch Parkway, Ashburn Details: loudounsymphony.org Hear love and joy in every phrase of Loudoun Symphony Orchestra’s romantic program, featuring Tchaikovsky’s passionate retelling of “Romeo and Juliet” and the Brahms’ “Symphony no. 2.” Maestra Nancia D’Alimonte’s stories about

Details: franklinparkartscenter.org This one-woman show featuring actress Jane Van Boskirk traces the life and reflections of one of America’s best-known first ladies. Tickets are $15.

LIBATIONS A Taste of Greece Friday, Feb. 15, 4-9 p.m.; Saturday, Feb. 16, 11 a.m.-9 p.m. and Sunday, Feb. 17, 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Ashburn Fire House, 20688 Ashburn Road, Ashburn Details: facebook.com/ tasteofgreeceashburn Loudoun’s annual Greek festival returns with delicious dishes, Greek beer and wine, traditional dancing and other fun activities.

Valentine’s Day at Catoctin Creek

Live Music: Nirvanna

Valentine’s Cupcake and Wine Pairing

Friday, Feb. 15, 7 p.m.

Saturday, Feb. 16, noon-5 p.m.

Tally Ho Theater, 19 W. Market St., Leesburg

Bogati Winery, 35246 Harry Byrd Highway, Round Hill Details: bogatibodega.com Enjoy a sampling of Virginia wines paired with mini-cupcakes to celebrate romance and the holiday weekend. Tickets are $18 and include four delicious pairings. Saturday, Feb. 16, Sunday, Feb. 17 and Monday, Feb. 18, noon-4 p.m. Fabbioli Cellars, 15669 Limestone School Road, Leesburg Details: fabbioliwines.com Enjoy tasty Fabbioli wines paired with Girl Scout cookies supplied by a local troop. Wine and cookie tastings are $10, and additional cookies will be available for sale.

Greenhill Wine Dinner at The Conche Thursday, Feb. 21, 7-10 p.m. The Conche, 1605 Village Market Blvd., Leesburg Details: the-conche.com

Catoctin Creek Distilling Company, 120 W. Main St., Purcellville.

Sample favorite wines from Middleburg’s Greenhill Winery and Vineyard paired with a four-course meal from The Conche. Tickets are $135 per person. Advance purchase is required.

Enjoy a four-course menu from Justin Thyme Culinary with each course featuring a chocolate element and cocktails. Black and red dinner attire is optional but

This tribute to ‘90s rock icons Nirvana leaves grunge fans feeling like they’ve gone back in time to 1993 Seattle. Tickets are $20 in advance.

Girl Scout Cookie and Wine Pairings

Friday, Feb. 15, 7 p.m.

Details: catoctincreekdistilling.com

Details: tallyhotheater.com

Courtesy of Larry Keel

Live Music: The Larry Keel Experience Friday, Feb. 15, 8 p.m. B Chord Brewing Company, 34266 Williams Gap Road, Round Hill Details: bchordbrewing.com One of the most innovative acoustic flatpicking guitarists performing today, Keel draws a crowd every time he visits Northern Virginia with his award-winning

MORE THINGS TO DO >> 37

LoCo ImprovFest

NIGHTLIFE

encouraged. Price is $125, not including tax and gratuity. Advance reservations are required.

February 14, 2019

<< FROM 34

February 14, 2019

NIRVANNA 02/15/19 DOORS: 7:00PM

MARSHA AMBROSIUS 02/16/19 DOORS: 7:00PM

Trial by fire: tribute to journey 02/22/19 DOORS: 7:00PM

Keller Williams 02/23/19 DOORS: 8:00PM

Guitar legends live! 03/01/19 DOORS: 7:00PM

Sister Hazel 03/02/19 DOORS: 7:00PM

Marsha Ambrosius to Perform in Leesburg R&B star Marsha Ambrosius is on a national tour in support of her new album, “NYLA,” and on Saturday night that includes a stop at Leesburg’s Tally Ho Theater. Named for her daughter, “NYLA” is the nine-time Grammy nominee’s third solo album and features production from the likes of The Stereotypes, Harmony Samuels, Best Kept Secrets and Focus. The album is led by the hit single “Old Times,” which was produced by DJ Camper. British-born Ambrosius got her start in 1997 performing with Natalie Stewart in the English neo-soul duo Floetry. They released two albums before Ambrosius struck out on a solo career.

Saliva

She wrote hit songs for others—including Michael Jackson’s top-20 hit “Butterflies”—and then saw her 2011 solo debut, “Late Nights & Early Mornings” climb to the top of the Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Chart and earn Grammy nominations for the songs “Far Away” and “Hope She Cheats On You (With A Basketball Player).” Her follow-up in 2014, “Friends & Lovers,” topped out at number 2 on the charts. She’s being joined on the 29-date tour with her eOne Music labelmate Elle Varner. Tickets to the Saturday, Feb. 16 show at the Tally Ho are $50-60. It will be a fully-seated show. For details, go to tallyhotheater.com.

Hot Picks

03/07/19 DOORS: 7:00PM

80s NIGHT WITH

THE REAGAN YEARS! 03/08/19 DOORS: 7:00PM

PEOPLES BLUES OF RICHMOND 03/09/19 DOORS: 7:00PM

That 70’s party with superflydisco 03/15/19 DOORS: 7:00PM

sponge 03/16/19 DOORS: 7:00PM

Josh Grigsby and County Line

Loudoun Symphony Orchestra

Saturday, Feb. 16, 7 p.m. Lucketts Community Center luckettsbluegrass.com

Presents Love is in the Air Saturday, Feb. 16, 8 p.m. St. David’s Episcopal Church loudounsymphony.org

Hub City Revue Saturday, Feb. 16, 5 p.m. Harpers Ferry Brewing harpersferrybrewing.com

Hill Top House

February 14, 2019

<< FROM 34

A photo of the remains of the Hill Top House hotel following a 1919 fire.

run-down historic homes. “There’s a really cool local community scene. ... I feel like Hill Top would be a great addition to all that,” Morrison said. “The whole town is being fixed up. The hotel is such a huge structure and such a prominent and beautiful place, I feel like it has to happen.” For Morrison and other locals, including a coalition of Harpers Ferry small business owners, the economic development implications are huge, and on the Loudoun side, the hotel offers the prospect of needed lodging for visitors to Loudoun’s farms, wineries and breweries.

THINGS TO DO ] << FROM 35

Details: macdowellsbrewkitchen.com

band. Tickets are $25 in advance or $20 at the door.

Dress in your favorite ‘80s attire and relive the music of the decade with live music from Berlin Calling. No cover.

Live Music: Mercy Creek

Live Music: The Jakob’s Ferry Stragglers

Friday, Feb. 15, 8 p.m.

Saturday, Feb. 16, 8 p.m.

Monk’s BBQ, Monk’s BBQ, 251 N. 21st St., Purcellville

B Chord Brewing Company, 34266 Williams Gap Road, Bluemont

Details: monksq.com

Details: bchordbrewing.com

A folksy take on progressive music from a power folk duo with Loudoun roots. No cover.

Traditional bluegrass with stirring harmonies and powerful instrumentation, incused with progressive originality and a little high-country psychedelia.

Comedy Night at Old Ox: Lucas Bohn and Rob Maher Saturday, Feb. 16, 7-9 p.m.

‘Ballots and Bullets: The U.S. Colored Troops’

Details: oldoxbrewery.com

Sunday, Feb. 17, 3:30-5:30 p.m.

The evening features Rob Maher, a winner of Comedy Central’s Up Next Competition, along with smart, audacious Lucas Bohn. Doors open at 6:15 and seating is limited. Tickets are $20. Advance purchase is recommended.

John Wesley Church, Bond St., Waterford

Saturday, Feb. 16, 7 p.m. Tally Ho Theater, 19 W. Market St., Leesburg Details: tallyhotheater.com Grammy award-nominated soul singer, songwriter and pianist Marsha Ambrosius graces the Tally Ho Stage with her latest inimitable anthems. Tickets are $55 in advance for this fully-seated show, $125 for a VIP meet and greet package.

’80s Night Dance Party Saturday, Feb. 16, 8:30-11:30 p.m. MacDowell Brew Kitchen, 202 South St. SE, Leesburg

former grandeur after a frustrating decline. “People are excited, and if you know anything about Harper’s Ferry, you know why they’re excited because it is magical,” Schaufeld said. “You could tell ... that there were moments of greatness there in the past,” she said. “I think people would want to recapture that greatness and that feeling and feel like once again it’s in its rightful place.” For more information on Hill Top House redevelopment plans, go to hilltophousehotel.com.

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Live Music: Marsha Ambrosius

“I’m truly excited to see the iconic Hill Top House come back to life and know that it will be a great opportunity not only for Jefferson County, WV, but for Loudoun as well,” Visit Loudoun President and CEO Beth Erickson said. “Adding accommodations will help drive more overnight stays in the region, as well as visitors to Loudoun’s outstanding wineries, breweries and recreation assets.” For Schaufeld, a Loudoun resident since 1991, the synergy with Loudoun’s agritourism economy is a big plus, but the redevelopment is also a passion project, restoring a special place to its

Details: waterfordfoundation.org Historian Asa Gordon discusses how black Civil War veterans, freedmen, and their white congressional allies transformed the U.S. Constitution during Reconstruction following the war. Park at the Waterford Old School, 40222 Fairfax St. in Waterford

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Loudoun Grown Expo

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Saturday, Feb. 23, 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Bush Tabernacle, 250 S. Nursery Ave., Purcellville Details: loudoungrown.org Enjoy Loudoun’s wineries, Community Supported Agriculture programs, growers, producers, artisans and makers—all under one roof. The event features tastings samples and sales of food, wines, beers and art.

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of the noted local traditional music band Furnace Mountain, grew up in Loudoun and lived in Clarke County before moving to Harpers Ferry last June. Morrison has fond memories of regular trips to Harpers Ferry as a kid, and she and Van Deventer ran beloved weekly Sunday afternoon Irish music sessions at Hill Top House in the mid2000s before its closing. “It was like no other place. ... It had the best view in Harpers Ferry, so there was this intense beauty to it, but it was kind of funky,” she said. “It was in disrepair, but there was this elegance to it.” Morrison and Van Deventer connected with fellow musicians from Loudoun, Maryland and West Virginia at those Hill Top sessions a dozen years ago, creating a musical community that still exists. With some of the same talented tri-state players, the couple now organizes Irish sessions at The Barn of Harpers Ferry on nearby West Washington Street. As new Harpers Ferry residents, Morrison and her family have fallen in love with the community, which she believes is largely in support of the Hill Top plan. For Morrison, plans to rebuild the hotel mesh well with the trend of redevelopment in the community beyond the well-known “lower town” tourist areas, including new bars and restaurants at the upper end of town and a trend toward renovating

[OBITUARIES]

February 14, 2019

38 Colin Kelly Price

January 13, 1953 – February 3, 2019 Kelly Price, loving husband and father, foodie and passionate sports fan passed away on Sunday, February 3, 2019. Born on January 13, 1953 in Severna Park, MD. He graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree from Salisbury State University and ultimately found his life-long career working in car sales in Loudoun County, VA. He was a simple man that lived to incite happiness and laughter in those around him. He always put family first and would not hesitate to drop every-

thing to help a family member in need or make a funny joke to make them laugh even if it was at his own expense. He had a love for North Carolina BBQ, the Dallas Cowboys, the Baltimore Orioles, classic movies, fishing with his brother and son in Louisiana and Emerald Isle NC, gardening and reciting historic facts to anyone who would be willing to listen. He is survived by his loving wife of 35 years Nancy Price; his two children Whitney and Michael (fiance Allison); his brother Albie Price (Jennie); his sister-in-laws Anne (Terry), Elaine (Lenny), and Maria; numerous nieces, nephews and many cousins. He is pre-deceased by his parents, Paul and Marjorie Price and his oldest brother, Paul Price.

Visitation will be held at Bethany United Methodist Church, 100 W. Main Street, Purcellville VA Friday, February 8, 2019 from 6-8PM. A memorial service will be held at Bethany United Methodist Church Saturday, February 9, 2019 at 1 pm with reception following. In lieu of flowers, the family asks for donations to Purcellville Rescue (PO Box 38, Purcellville VA 20134) and Purcellville Fire (PO Box 386, Purcellville VA 20134) in honor of their lifesaving responses to Kelly over the past few years. The family would also like to thank the Purcellville Police Department for their kindness and professionalism at the time of his passing.

Employment 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

Certified Police Officer (VA DCJS)

Police

$53,233-$96,835 DOQ

Open until filled

Groundskeeper

Parks and Recreation

$42,767-$73,221 DOQ

Open until filled

Utility Plant Supervisor or Utility Plant Operator: Trainee, I, II or Senior

Utilities- Water Pollution Control

$39,384-$100,856 DOQ

Open until filled

Utility Plant Technician Trainee or Utility Plant Technician

Utilities

$42,767-$79,129 DOQ

Open until filled

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.

Admin. Assistant Needed Real Estate Developer located in the Ashburn area is seeking an administrative assistant with professionalism and great people skills. The ideal candidate will be responsible for welcoming visitors, answering phones, ordering and setting up refreshments for meetings, assisting staff with administrative tasks in addition to other responsibilities needed to maintain a productive office. Candidate must have a minimum of 2 years office experience, and be proficient with Microsoft Word. To apply please visit http://www.soave.com/careers/ Compensation: based on experience Employment type: full-time

Busy family practice in Lansdowne, VA seeking a full time LPN or MA. Pediatric and or family practice experience preferred. EHR experience highly recommended. We offer health, dental and vision insurance as well as direct deposit, 401k and many other benefits. Please send your resume to lgray@lmgdoctors.com or fax to 703-726-0804, attention Lisa.

Rev. Dr. Hennie Brown, Jr.,

Pastor Emeritus of Oak Grove Bapt. Church, Sterling, VA (Age 86) of Wheaton, Maryland. He departed this life peacefully on Jan. 22, 2019 at Washington Adventist Hospital, Takoma Park, MD. He is survived by his wife, Matilda J. Brown, Sons, Artie R. Brown (Sandra) of Bowie, MD and Hennie Scott Brown ,III (Adayla)of Havelock, NC, Daughter, Glenda Marie Hall of Odenton, MD, grandchildren, Chenelle Bernice Ellie (Brett) of Avenue, MD, Jackson Scott Brown; great grandchild, Harley Marie Ellie and a host of nieces, nephews, cousins and other relatives and friends. Visitation and viewing was held on Monday, Jan. 28, 2019 from 9:00 a.m. until time of service 11:00 a.m. at The People’s Community Baptist Church, 31 Norwood Road, Silver Spring, MD 20905. Interment was at the Oak Grove Baptist Church Cemetery, Sterling, VA. Arrangements by Lyles Funeral Service, serving Northern Virginia , Eric S. Lyles, Director, Lic. VA, MD, DC 1800388-1913

Seeking Geotechnical Engineer You can contribute to our client’s success. Join our team of Geotechnical Engineers and design innovative solutions for Structures & Foundations. We are GeoStructures, Inc., located just a short commute to Purcellville, Virginia. Submit your resume to: employment@geostructures.com today. EOE

HELP WANTED Controller for small Leesburg company, approx. 20 hrs/wk. QuickBooks and MS Office applications skills required. Supervise A/PA/R clerk; ensure accuracy and accessibility of company books & records; run all aspects of multistate payroll; manage employee benefit programs; prepare sales & use tax returns; administer corporate insurance policies; monitor company’s financial position; prepare financial & other reports for management and for tax CPA. Contact: 2019jobapplication@gmail.com

Legal Notices

TO CONSIDER ZONING ORDINANCE AMENDMENT TLOA-2018-0006 AND ZONING MAP AMENDMENT TLZM-2018-0006 TO EXPAND THE H-1 OVERLAY, OLD AND HISTORIC DISTRICT, TO INCLUDE A PORTION OF THE ROGERS FARM PROPERTY ALSO KNOWN AS WHITE OAK

The Town of Leesburg, Virginia will accept SEALED BIDS for the above titled project at the First Floor Lobby Receptionist, located at 25 West Market Street, Leesburg, VA 20176, UNTIL BUT NO LATER THAN 2:30 p.m., Thursday March 7, 2019. Bids will be publicly opened and read aloud at 25 West Market Street, Lower Level Conference Room 2, at that date and time. Bids shall be marked “Sealed Bid for Flexible Pavement Maintenance Bid Date: Thursday March 7, 2019 – 2:30 P.M.” All questions regarding this bid must be submitted in writing via email to opsbidquestions@leesburgva.gov until but no later than 5:00 P.M. on Friday, February 22, 2019. The work includes performing flexible pavement deep patching, crack sealing, pothole repair and shoulder maintenance for Town-owned roads on an as-needed basis, and all incidentals related thereto. The awarded bidder, also referred to herein as Contractor, will be responsible for, but not limited to, all Maintenance of Traffic (MOT), crack sealing including any needed backer rod, pothole repair, saw-cutting, removal and proper disposal of any excess or removed materials, compaction of soil, stone, subbase and subgrade materials, placement and compaction of bituminous asphalt, compaction testing and reporting. Work may also require select undercutting and backfilling to address unsuitable conditions below the pavement cross section. The Town reserves the right to award multiple contracts, and to perform all, part, or none of the work. Bid Documents are available for download from the Town’s Bid Board at http://www.leesburgva.gov/bidboard and may be obtained beginning Thursday, February 7, 2019. Contact Jennifer Eaton at 703-737-7073 with questions about obtaining these bid documents. Any addenda issued for this project will be posted on the Town’s Bid Board and eVA (https:// eva.virginia.gov). Renée LaFollette, P.E., Director Department of Public Works & Capital Projects

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 PLANNING COMMISSION will hold a public hearing on THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 2019 AT 7:00 P.M. in the Town Council Chambers, 25 West Market Street, Leesburg, Virginia 20176, to consider Rezoning application TLZM2018-0006 and Zoning Ordinance Amendment TLOA-2018-0006 to include a portion of the historic Rogers Farm property, also known as White Oak, in the H-1, Overlay, Old and Historic District. The subject property consists of a portion of two parcels that collectively comprise approximately 12.7 acres. The properties are zoned R-4, Single Family Residential, and further described as Loudoun County Parcel Identification Numbers (PINs) 271-10-5459 (Carolyn H. Rogers Estate) and 272-40-4072 (Carolyn Horton Rogers Estate Devisees), and are located at 440 Dry Mill Road SW on the east side of Dry Mill Road across from Loudoun County High School. Rezoning/Application TLZM-2018-0006 is an amendment initiated by the Town of Leesburg to amend the official zoning map to extend the H-1, Overlay, Old and Historic District, to include approximately 12.7 acres of the subject properties. The Town Plan designates this property as “Low Density Residential” on the Land Use Policy Map and specifically identifies the property as one that may be eligible for inclusion in the H-1 Old and Historic District Overlay. Zoning Ordinance Amendment Case Number TLOA-2018-0006 is an amendment to the text of Section 7.5.3 to add a description of the land proposed for this addition to the H-1, Overlay, Old and Historic District. Additional information and copies of these applications are available at the Department of Planning and Zoning located on the second floor of the Leesburg Town Hall, 25 West Market Street, Leesburg, Virginia 20176 during normal business hours (Monday-Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.), or by contacting Lauren Murphy, Preservation Planner, at 703-771-2773 or lmurphy@leesburgva.gov. At these hearings, all persons desiring to express their views concerning these matters will be heard. Persons requiring special accommodations at the meeting should contact the Clerk of the Commission at (703) 7712434 three days in advance of the meeting. For TTY/TDD service, use the Virginia Relay Center by dialing 711. 02/07/19 & 02/14/19

02/07/19 & 02/14/19

NOTIFICATION OF DECLARATION OF LAND PATENT One, Allen, Sheila affirmed, under oath, declare and state that one is assigns, of allodial right, and title to lands acquired by a legal description for this property as a portion of original land patent grant. I am an assignee of Grant Deed and Beneficiary of land patent, for which was recorded in the General Land office, by Captain Daniel McCarty, in Stafford County, Virginia in 1709, Book number 3 page 248, by Captain Daniel McCarty on the Second Day of February 1709, Grant Patent number 248. I bring the land patent forward retroactive to the issue date of 1709 containing which we are assigns to the partition described as: Lot 37A, section 15B, CASCADES, as the same is shown on a plat attached to the deed of boundary line adjustment recorded in Deed Book 1351 at page 1296, among the land records of Loudoun County, Virginia. Any part to these claims for specific lands shall be made within thirty (30) days, by certified mail return receipt, of first public notice in writing, to Sheila Allen, 47798 MacGill Court, Sterling, VA 20165, including adverse claimants office and title. February twelve, year of our lord, two thousand and nineteen. 2/14, 2/21, 2/28, 3/7/19

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TOWN OF LEESBURG

ADVERTISEMENT FOR BID IFB NO. 100313-FY19-26 FLEXIBLE PAVEMENT MAINTENANCE

February 14, 2019

TOWN OF LEESBURG NOTICE OF PLANNING COMMISSION PUBLIC HEARING

February 14, 2019

Legal Notices Town of Lovettsville Notice of Public Hearing PROPOSED OPERATING & CAPITAL BUDGETS FOR FISCAL YEAR 2020 A PUBLIC HEARING on the proposed Operating and Capital Budget along with the fee schedule for FY 2020 will be held at the Lovettsville Town Hall, 6 East Pennsylvania Avenue, Lovettsville, VA on Thursday, February 28, 2019, at 7:30 p.m., at which time all interested citizens will be heard. Copies of the Proposed FY 2020 Budget and fee schedule in its entirety may be examined at the Town Hall from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, holidays excepted or on the Town’s website at www.lovettsvilleva.gov. GENERAL FUND – OPERATING BUDGET OVERVIEW REVENUE General real estate tax revenue Sales & other tax revenue Permits, fees, & license revenue Micellaneous reimbursement Non catagorical Transfer from reserves to capital

FY 19 $596,184 $525,611 $38,140 $44,050 $259,950 $331,500

FY 20 $658,940 $549,996 $14,950 $270,450 $264,749 $714,000

TOTAL REVENUE

$1,795,435

$2,473,085

REVENUES Utility revenue Capital revenue Transfer from reserves to capital Other revenue

FY 19 $1,164,390 $1,010,540 $142,000 $20,000

FY 20 $1,236,089 $947,009 $136,000 $20,000

TOTAL REVENUES

$2,336,930

$2,339,098

TOTAL GENERAL & UTILITY FUND

$4,132,365

$4,812,183

EXPENDITURES Administration services Contractual services Debt payment General fund transfer Activities & events support General expenses Capital improvement TOTAL EXPENDITURES

FY 19 $609,690 $280,500 $148,300 $206,995 $44,050 $174,400 $331,500 $1,795,435

FY 20 $650,679 $256,475 $150,281 $225,000 $261,050 $215,600 $714,000 $2,473,085

FY 19 $414,079 $160,500 $215,576 $163,550 $628,812 $612,413 $142,000 $2,336,930

FY 20 $428,053 $133,000 $245,400 $169,750 $636,694 $590,201 $136,000 $2,339,098

$4,132,365

$4,812,183

UTILITY FUND – OPERATING BUDGET OVERVIEW EXPENDITURES Personnel services Contractual services Sewer & water repair/maintenance General expenses Transfer, debt, & misc. Payment Utility fund transfer Capital improvement TOTAL EXPENDITURES TOTAL GENERAL & UTILITY FUND EXPENSES

INCREASES TO FEE SCHEDULE AND EXISTING FEES AND RATES No increase to Real Estate Tax: $.195/100 of assessed value. Excise Tax (Meals Tax) 3 percent Cigarette Tax: $0.40 per pack Transient Occupancy Tax 5 percent Vehicle License Tax $25/vehicle including Motorcycles Town Facilities Use Permit: $25 In Town Rates Town Facilities Use Permit: $50 Out of Town Rates Freedom of Information Act Charge Staff $20-$50/hour Photocopies $0.25/page 8.5x11 Audio and Flash Drives $5/copy

Availability Fees and Meter Fee: 5/8” Meter $10,631 Water, $15,619 Sewer, and $250 for Cost of Meter 3/4” Meter $15,947 Water, $23,429 Sewer, and $250 for Cost of Meter 1” Meter $26,579 Water, $39,047 Sewer, and $20 + Cost of Meter 1 1/2” Meter $53,156 Water, $78,094 Sewer, and $20 + Cost of Meter 2” Meter $85,050 Water, $124,950 Sewer, and $20 + Cost of Meter 3” Meter $170,100 Water, $249,900 Sewer, and $20 + Cost of Meter 4” Meter $265,781 Water, $390,469 Sewer, and $20 + Cost of Meter Comprehensive Plan Document $40

2/14/19 & 2/21/19

ABC LICENSE Dhindsa Group LLC, trading as Chantilly Corner Eatery & Shell, 25465 Pleasant Valley Road, Chantilly, Virginia 20152 The above establishment is applying to the VIRGINIA AlCOHOLIC BEVERAGE CONTROL (ABC) AUTHORITY for a Wine and Beer off Premise license to sell or manufacture alcoholic beverages. Leena Dhindsa, Manager Member, Dhindsa Group LLC 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. 02/14/19 & 02/21/19

ABC LICENSE Ramsai Foods Inc, trading as Rasa Haveli 44050 Ashburn Shopping Plz, Suite 191, Virginia 20147-7915 The above establishment is applying to the VIRGINIA AlCOHOLIC BEVERAGE CONTROL (ABC) AUTHORITY for a Wine and Beer on Premise and Mixed Beverage Resturant license to sell or manufacture alcoholic beverages. SRINIVASA GOLUGURI 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. 02/07/19 & 02/14/19

TOWN OF LEESBURG

NOTICE OF PLANNING COMMISSION PUBLIC HEARING TO CONSIDER TOWN PLAN AMENDMENT TLTA-2018-0003 WESTPARK

D E

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 Planning Commission will hold a public hearing on Thursday, February 21, 2019 at 7:00 p.m. in the Town Council Chambers, 25 West Market Street, Leesburg, Virginia 20176, to consider Town Plan Amendment application TLTA-2018-0003 – a request by U.S. Home Corporation d/b/a Lennar to amend the Town Plan Land Use Policy Map.

L L

The Town Plan Amendment applies to a portion of a parcel located at 59 Clubhouse Drive SW, Leesburg, Virginia 20175 with Loudoun County Parcel Identification Number (PIN): 272-38-5124 and Tax Map No. /47////////27E. This parcel is approximately 96.2 acres in size. It is bounded by the Harry Byrd Highway, the Tuscarora Creek Apartments, the Country Club Green condominiums, and a vacant property to the north, single-family homes and Country Club Drive SW to the south, single-family homes to the west, and South King Street to the east.

E C

The parcel is zoned B-3, “Community Retail/Commercial” and R-E “Single Family Residential Estate. The Town Plan designates this property as “Community Office” and “Open Space” on the Land Use Policy Map. A separate Rezoning Application (TLZM-2018-0004) has also been submitted by the applicant allow for a residential use on the subject property. The Applicant proposes to remap the Community Office designated land and a small portion of Open Space designated land to Medium Density Residential. Approximately 12.92 acres is proposed to change from Community Office to Medium Density Residential, approximately 0.99 acres is proposed to change from Open Space to Medium Density Residential and approximately 4.39 acres will be changed from Community Office to Open Space. The requested “Medium Density Residential” land use allows a density of 5-12 dwelling units per acre.

N A

Additional information and copies of these applications are available at the Department of Planning and Zoning located on the second floor of the Leesburg Town Hall, 25 West Market Street, Leesburg, Virginia 20176 during normal business hours (Monday-Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.), or by contacting Richard Klusek, Senior Planner at 703-771-2758 or rklusek@leesburgva.gov. At these hearings, all persons desiring to express their views concerning these matters will be heard. Persons requiring special accommodations at the meeting should contact the Clerk of the Commission at (703) 771-2434 three days in advance of the meeting. For TTY/TDD service, use the Virginia Relay Center by dialing 711. 02/07/19 & 02/14/19

ABC LICENSE Airwell Bed and Breakfast Inc, trading as Airwell Bed and Breakfast, 35399 Snickersville Tpke, Purcellville, Virginia 20132-3847 The above establishment is applying to the VIRGINIA AlCOHOLIC BEVERAGE CONTROL (ABC) AUTHORITY for a Wine and Beer on Premise to sell or manufacture alcoholic beverages. Lisa Peterson, President/Director 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. 02/14/19 & 02/21/19

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Legal Notices

TOWN OF LEESBURG NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING TO CONSIDER A PROPOSED RESIDENTIAL PERMIT PARKING ZONE ON MEADOWS LANE NE WITHOUT VISITOR PASSES The LEESBURG TOWN MANAGER will hold a public hearing during the Town Council Meeting in the Town Council Chambers, 25 West Market Street, Leesburg, Virginia on TUESDAY, February 26 at 7:00 p.m. on a Proposed Residential Permit Parking Zone on Meadows Lane NE, without visitor passes. The modiﬁcation will eliminate on-street visitor passes. This Public Hearing is in accordance with Section 32-240(b) of the Town Code. Additional information concerning this Proposed Residential Permit Parking Zone modiﬁcation is available by contacting Calvin K. Grow, Transportation Engineer at 703-771-2791 or email at cgrow@leesburgva. gov. At this hearing, all persons desiring to express their views regarding this matter will be heard. Persons requiring special accommodations should contact the Clerk of Council at 703-771-2733. Three days’ notice is requested. (TTD 703-771-4560). 02/14/19 & 02/21/19

The purpose of the proposed text amendments is to add or amend uses to the Zoning Ordinance to permit various types of restaurants, food establishments, breweries, wineries and distilleries; to create consistency with Virginia Code revisions and to remove ambiguous terms, standards and meanings in the Zoning Ordinance. The amendments are authorized by Virginia Code Section 15.22286. 1. Add the following Terms and Definitions to Article 2: Definitions: Barrel, Malt Beverage Brewery Distillery Winery Carryout Restaurant

Craft Beverage Establishment Retail Sales Establishment Quick Service Food Store Drive-Through Facilities Full Service Restaurant

Tasting Room Mobile Food Unit Food Establishment Drive-Through Restaurant

2. Revise the following Terms and Definitions in Article 2: Definitions: Convenience Store 3. Delete the following Terms and Definitions in Article 2: Definitions: • Delete the term Retail Stores & Shops, and replace with the term Retail Sales Establishment 4. Add to Article 25: Use Standards A Set of Standards are proposed for each of the following uses: Craft Beverage Establishment Mobile Food Unit

Restaurants (Full Service)

Restaurants (Carryout)

5. Add and remove the following Permitted Uses: • • • • •

Add Carryout Restaurant as a Permitted Use in the B-1 District Add Full Service Restaurant as a Permitted Use in the B-1 District Add Retail Sales Establishment as a Permitted Use in the B-1 District Add Quick Service Food Store as a Permitted Use in the B-1 District Add Craft Beverage Establishment as a Permitted Use in the B-1 District

6. Add and remove the following Special Exception Uses: • Remove Restaurants as a Special Exception Use in the B-1 Zoning District 7. Add and remove the following Accessory Uses: • Add Tasting Room as an Accessory Use in the B-1 District • Add Mobile Food Unit as an Accessory Use in the B-1 District 8. Add to Article 12: Parking & Loading • Section 12.3 - add Off-Street Parking Standards for the following uses: » » » »

Full Service Restaurant Carryout Restaurant Craft Beverage Establishment Tasting Room

9. Revise Section 7.4 under the B-1 District “Accessory Uses & Structures” • To require screening for all emergency power generators and fuel tanks In the event of cancellation of the Joint Public Hearing on February 21, 2019 – the Public Hearing will be rescheduled for March 7, 2019. Complete copies of the proposed text amendments may be reviewed in the Round Hill Town Office between the hours of 8:30 am to 4:30 pm, Monday through Friday. For questions, call 540-338-7878 or email mhynes@roundhillva.org. All interested persons are encouraged to attend the hearing. Scott Ramsey, Mayor of Round Hill Manny Mirabal, Planning Commission Chair 2/7/19, 2/14/19

ORDER OF PUBLICATION

COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA VA. CODE § § 1-211.1; 8.01-316, -317, 20-104

Case No.:

CA18-55

Loudoun County Circuit Court 18 East Market St., Leesburg, VA 20176 Ali Sharkawi /v. Mohammed El Laymouni The object of this suit is to: Adoption. It is ORDERED that Mohammed El Laymouni appear at the above-named Court and protect his/ her interests on or before May 3, 2019 at 10:00 a.m. 02/14/19, 02/21/19, 02/28/19, 03/07/19

ORDER OF PUBLICATION

COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA VA. CODE § § 1-211.1; 8.01-316, -317, 20-104

Case No.:

CL 119233

Loudoun County Circuit Court 18 East Market St., Leesburg, VA 20176 Sandra Henriquez /v. Josue Ricardo Rodriguez The object of this suit is to: Divorce. It is ORDERED that Josue Ricardo Rodriguez appear at the above-named Court and protect his/her interests on or before March 1, 2019 at 10:00 a.m. 01/24/19, 01/31/19, 02/07/19, 02/14/19

The Round Hill Town Council and Planning Commission will conduct a Joint Public Hearing in accordance with Sections 15.2-2204, 15.2-2285, and 15.2-2286 of the Code of Virginia, on Thursday, February 21, 2019 beginning at 7:30 p.m. at the Round Hill Town Office, 23 Main Street, Round Hill, Virginia for the purpose of receiving comments on the following proposed text amendments to the Round Hill Zoning Ordinance.

February 14, 2019

PUBLIC HEARING NOTICE ROUND HILL TOWN COUNCIL ZOAM-2018-02

February 14, 2019

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February 14, 2019

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[ OPINION ]

February 14, 2019

The Disconnect Last week we were fretting about the lack of state funding to support Loudoun’s transportation needs in the coming year. This week, we’re learning that fears of having to allocate more money to our county in the future may derail plans to donate land for a state park in western Loudoun and that lawmakers are backing away from promised support for the ambitious Children’s Science Center project planned to be built on the other end of the county. And then there is the vacant (and donated) tract in Ashburn that is planned for the construction of a new George Mason University campus that could make significant advances toward meeting the regional workforce needs—another project Richmond hasn’t found worthy of investment. The disconnect between Richmond’s views of Loudoun County and reality was on display during the recent Senate committee hearing when the panel rejected attempts to change the way tolls are regulated on the Dulles Greenway. Responding to a comment about Loudoun often getting short-changed by the Assembly, a senator shot back that surely local leaders liked all their Rt. 7 interchanges. The impression was that the state had invested mightily in the effort to make Rt. 7 a limited-access highway. The reality is that one interchange was built during the Baliles administration with contributions from area landowners, one was built during the Wilder administration, one was built using (for the first time ever) locally-issued bonds, and two or three were built by developers. The state money added to the Belmont Ridge Road project was the first significant contribution in decades. Oh, and funding for the final planned intersection on Rt. 7? Regional taxes and fees are picking up a good chunk of that one, too. For projects like the state park, science center and even a new college campus, Loudoun’s taxpayers and community leaders are lined up to provide support, but they can’t be successful without having the state government as a reliable partner. When the county’s representatives ask Richmond for support, these requests are not made with a sense of entitlement, but with an expectation of fairness. It is not too much to expect.

LoudounNow Published by Amendment One Loudoun, LLC 15 N. King St., Suite 101 • Leesburg, VA, 20176 PO Box 207 • Leesburg, VA 20178 703-770-9723 Norman K. Styer Editor nstyer@loudounnow.com Danielle Nadler Managing Editor dnadler@loudounnow.com Margaret Morton Senior Writer mmorton@loudounnow.com Renss Greene, Reporter rgreene@loudounnow.com

Kara C. Rodriguez, Reporter krodriguez@loudounnow.com Patrick Szabo, Reporter pszabo@loudounnow.com Jan Mercker, Reporter jmerker@loudounnow.com Douglas Graham, Photographer dgraham@loudounnow.com

Advertising Director Susan Styer sstyer@loudounnow.com Display Advertising Tonya Harding tharding@loudounnow.com Display Advertising Pam Stamper pstamper@loudounnow.com Classified Advertising Ashley Fertig afertig@loudounnow.com

[ LETTERS ] A Challenge Editor: I’m not a personal friend of Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring now under fire for racism. But I have known Mark Herring for over 25 years in his various offices of Loudoun supervisor, state senator, and attorney general and worked often with him in my various capacities of failed politician, planning commissioner, and officer of various Loudoun organizations concerned with the quality of life in our county. During all of my interactions over a quarter of a century I have never heard Mark Herring make a racist remark, tell a racist joke, or even give that wink and a nod when something racist is passed around. As far as I know all his public service actions have been focused on equality, fair treatment regardless of race, and to the public interest. By this letter I would like to challenge any one in Loudoun County who has any information that supports the thesis that Mark Herring is a racist to step forward and publicly present it now. But if there is no evidence to present from those of us in Loudoun who know him well; then I ask you and all our political leaders both Republican and Democratic, leaders of our African-American communities, and citizens who have interacted with Mark in one way or another on their concerns to speak out in his defense now. It has taken me 24 hours of soul searching to write this letter as it is not my direct concern. I asked myself what if I’m accused of racism for writing in support of Mark? Will it marginalize me when the time comes

to petition the Board of Supervisors to curb some of the development excesses that the Planning Commission is writing into the 2040 Plan? But in the end, you’re forced to recognize that if you have testimony that can help prevent an injustice you must step up or be ready to live with the knowledge of your failure to do so for a long time. I just hope others will feel the same way. — Al Van Huyck, Round Hill

Stark Contrast Editor: I am writing as a person of color, whose parents were imprisoned because they were Japanese. I grew up in the post-war years of World War II, experiencing the pain and confusion of discrimination in Washington, DC. I understand the depth of the anguish that has been in the air since the Feb. 8 publication of a 35-yearold photograph of two figures, one in black face, the other in full Klan regalia. I understand the outraged response to that as well; one night, as a graduate student in North Carolina in the mid-60s, my friends and I were attacked by armed members of the KKK. The photo was reportedly uncovered by a Breitbart operative, who found it on the personal page in the 1984 yearbook of the medical school attended by Gov. Ralph Northam. He initially acknowledged that he was one of the figures in the photograph, without any further indication of which figure was him. The public response was swift and unambiguous: Universal condemnation of his participation in the clearly staged photo, coupled with LETTERS >> 45

[ LETTERS ] << FROM 44

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.

fairhousing@dpor.virginia.gov • www.fairhousing.vipnet.org

Our Money Editor: Here we go again. $99.6 million dollars in leftover tax money is being used as the Board of Supervisors sees fit instead of being returned to the taxpayers or put toward next year’s taxes. The Jan. 10 article in Loudoun Now states that “The money comes from the previous fiscal year’s fund balance, from the county collecting more in tax

revenues than it spends. This year that number is higher than usual due largely to higher than expected revenues from taxes on data centers.” I strongly object to tax money being used for anything but what was in the budget originally. It should be returned to the taxpayers or put toward next year’s taxes. In the past leftover money has been used to buy cell phones for every teacher in every school so they can be alerted to bad weather. That is a colossal waste of money. We do not live in a tornado area and even if we did, the sirens would warn of impending weather. Elected officials should not be using our money as they see fit. It is not theirs, it is ours. — Virginia Kramer, Leesburg

PUBLISHER’S NOTICE

serve while in office.” The second is its structural congruence with the ecumenical, moral logic of confession, the act of contrition and repentance that precedes forgiveness and grace. I, for one, urge that we, his neighbors, friends and residents of Loudoun, grant him that sacrament. — Randy Ihara, South Riding

February 14, 2019

calls for his resignation. His subsequent press conference was a disaster. He not only denied that he was in the photo, he then admitted to participating in a different blackface at a party in San Antonio, TX, in the same year. As a result, he has lost all credibility and with it the capacity to govern. Shortly after the disclosure of the Northam photograph, it was reported that a woman had come forward with accusations of sexual assault against Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax in a Boston hotel room during the Democratic National Convention in 2004. Initially, Mr. Fairfax did not deny the claim, but characterized it as “consensual.” This was similarly met with public calls for his resignation. An investigation is likely and determining the facts and penalties, if any, will be determined by the legal system, which may take many months, at a minimum. Attorney General Mark Herring’s situation is completely different. He disclosed that he had appeared in blackface at a party as a 19-year-old university student. He chose to admit his participation and apologized for the hurt his thoughtlessness caused. He made no excuses. There was no dissembling, no equivocation. Mr. Herring’s remarks stand in stark contrast to the earlier fervent denials from those confronted with similarly

devastating claims. The forth-rightness of his admission and self-critical oral condemnation of his callous “ignorance and glib” attitude is admirable. He condemned his “inexcusable lack of awareness and insensitivity to the pain my behavior could inflict on others … a minimization of both people of color, and a minimization of a horrific history I knew well even then.” There are two aspects of Herring’s remarks worth noting. First, he said the thoughts his earlier action were not deeply buried and out of mind, only to re-surface during the current controversy. The memory was active and the source of his chronic sense of “deep regret,” the moral basis motivating his personal commitment and dedication to those he “hoped to

PARENTING WITH PURPOSE

February 14, 2019

Don’t Take It Personally

W BY NEIL MCNERNEY

e’ve been told over and over that parenting is one of the toughest jobs out there. I agree and disagree with this statement. Yes, it’s hard, but it’s not a job. It’s our life. Our family is everything to us and we can’t just turn it off like we can with our job. We are thinking about our kids at all hours of the day and, if we are not careful, it can be all-encompassing. One of the risks of being a parent is being too emotionally involved in our children’s ups and downs. I believe that our ability to be a good leader for our kids, at some point, decreases because we are too connected with our kids’ difficulties. My friend and fellow author, Hal Runkel, put it simply: We should take our children’s issues seriously, but we should not take their issues personally. We should take our parenting job seriously. Being such a major influence on a child’s life is extremely important. If we don’t take it seriously,

we are not doing all we should for our kids. But when we take it personally, we tend to get confused, hurt, angry—and we become much less effective. This got me to thinking about the concept of the gravitational pull our children have on us. I don’t mean the real gravitational pull, but the emotional pull they exert. If you remember your high school science, the more massive object will have a greater pull on the less massive object. Therefore, the less massive object will tend to be much more affected than the more massive one. If you think of planets, it means the less massive object will begin to orbit around the more massive one. We have been told, sometimes directly and sometimes indirectly, that our kids should be the most important thing in our lives. That the minute we have kids, our center of gravity should completely shift, and we should begin to orbit ourselves around our children. And in the beginning, that certainly is the case. Their lives take complete precedence. They call the shots. But as our kids move into the

school years, our center of gravity should shift much more back to ourselves and not as much on our kids. If we can find a way to balance the gravity issue so that our kids don’t have as much effect on us emotionally, I think our ability to be strong leaders in their lives will increase significantly. What happens if we don’t shift our center of gravity? Our kids become our whole lives. If our kids become our whole life, then it is very hard to not take things personally. We get mad at them over things that had nothing to do with us. For instance, you child comes home with a bad grade on a quiz. It is important to take this issue seriously, but not personally. Getting mad about a bad quiz grade tends to do nothing but create hurt emotions. When we get angry about things that weren’t done directly to us tends to muddy the water and makes it harder to be a good leader in our children’s lives. When we take our kids’ actions too personally, it is because we have gotten a bit too emotionally close to them. One of the great things about being a human is balancing the fact

that we are individuals, and at the same time we are driven to connect with others. But when we over-connect, we lose our sense of self. In the long run, the more we take our kids’ actions personally, the more it will backfire on us—and ultimately on our kids as well. Whenever I start to feel parental anxiety creep up on me, I ask myself, “Am I taking this seriously or personally?” That one question has saved many a conversation between me and my kids. Plus, it then calms me down enough to carefully consider what my best leadership action should be. Neil McNerney is a licensed professional counselor and author of Homework – A Parent’s Guide To Helping Out Without Freaking Out! and The Don’t Freak Out Guide for Parenting Kids with Asperger’s. He can be reached at neil@neilmcnerney.com

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Motel

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The 65-year-old Weona Villa Motel near Round Hill has been vacant since 2007, but could be restored to life in the form of a micro-cottage community.

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Board << FROM 3 Although he had earlier pointed out the industry’s massively positive effect on county tax revenues and real estate taxes, he said “I’m now seeing them start to encroach where, personally, I don’t want to see them, like next to existing neighborhoods.” Finally, he said, the next Board of Supervisors—like the current one, which he gave a “B+” for keeping out of politics—must work on being nonpartisan. “Why? Because what does the Board of Supervisors focus on? The quality of life for the citizens of Loudoun County,” Buona said. “Not the issues that are dragging down D.C., or even Richmond at this point in time. So stay focused on what matters—like getting people to work, like keeping people’s taxes at a normal level, like good schools, and you’ll be just fine.” Supervisors also faced questions on—among other things—transportation and attracting more young people to Loudoun. Clerk of the Circuit Court Gary Cle-

mens asked supervisors how the county could bring in millennials. County Chairwoman Phyllis J. Randall (D-At Large) referenced the Nighttime Economy Ad-Hoc Committee, a subcommittee of the Economic Development Advisory Commission whose work culminated in 2016 with a report laying out options for urban, walkable, transit-serviced communities where people can live, work and play without needing to get in a car. Randall said the key to bringing younger people into Loudoun is threefold: more affordable housing options, a thriving nightlife with things to do for young people, and the arts. Supervisor Matthew F. Letourneau (R-Dulles) said economic development and transportation are often the same issue. “In reality, if we can bring a job close to where our residents live, then that’s also fixing transportation, because we’re really fundamentally changing their commuting patterns,” Letourneau said. “We can’t control too much that happens outside of the county.” rgreene@loudounnow.com

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between two units. He said the small size and shared utility room would keep costs down and promote the idea of community. While county zoning permits one lot per 20 acres under the land’s current zoning, Smith said that he’s looking at a co-housing provision that could allow for greater density. Smith decided to expand the nonprofit’s housing ministry, which currently houses low-income residents in five Purcellville apartments, after years of discussions. He said that after being asked numerous times whether he could use the 2,412-square-foot Weona Villa Motel—which got its name from a play on words to sound like “we own a villa”—he realized that the property is situated in a central location between the nonprofit’s ministry sites in Leesburg, Purcellville and Winchester. Smith hatched the idea for micro cottages after seeing some in Kansas City that were intended for military veterans. He said the nonprofit is now taking the county’s scenic appeal into account during the design process. “We want the cottages to be very much in keeping with the Loudoun landscape,” he said. Smith is using the Greenwood Avenue Cottages community in Shoreline, WA as a model. That community features similar units that are all less than 1,000-square-feet in size and were designed using a Cottage Housing Development Code that the City Council adopted in 2000, but repealed three years later following resident backlash centered on the notion that developers were cramming condo-sized homes into single-family zoning districts and that they weren’t delivering on their promises to offer affordable home prices. One resident called the cottages “the city’s official urban slum.”

47 February 14, 2019

<< FROM 3

If the project moves forward, Smith said the nonprofit’s first priority would be to welcome in senior citizens who can’t afford to live in the area. Because all Round Hill Town Council members expressed an interest in the project, saying it meets several of the housing goals in the town’s Comprehensive Plan, town staff will present a resolution to begin the process of amending the town’s plan during the council’s Feb. 21 meeting. The council will then refer the amendment to the Planning Commission to solicit public input. “We like what we heard and we want you to keep going,” Mayor Scott Ramsey told Smith. Smith said that he would work to “get as far down the approval process” as he can in the next four months by meeting with county staff and the Round Hill Owners Association—the group that oversees 1,100 homes within The Villages at Round Hill community, which abuts the motel property. He’s already met with the county’s Affordable Dwelling Unit Advisory Board, which he said has “warmly embraced” the micro-cottage concept. Supervisor Suzanne Volpe (R-Algonkian), the Board of Supervisors’ representative on the advisory board, said she thinks Smith’s concept is a “wonderful idea.” “I love the fact that we have another charitable organization thinking outside the box on ways to help with our affordable housing problems,” she said. Per Ramsey’s request, Smith will also give a presentation at the Feb. 21 Town Council meeting detailing his plan of action moving forward. “I’m encouraged,” Smith said. “We’ve got an amazing team that are willing to pour themselves into this.”

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