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MAY 7, 2020
The Road to Recovery
Saluting Loudoun Heroes
Businesses Ready to Re-open, But Bracing for Change BY KARA C. RODRIGUEZ
Workers at Inova Loudoun Hospital stepped outside for a few minutes Friday evening as more than 40 vehicles from George Mason University Police, the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office, the Loudoun County Combined Fire and Rescue System, the Leesburg Police Department, and the Virginia State Police lined up to pay tribute to their service during a First Responder Salute to Healthcare Heroes.
That’s not something they should fear at Inova Loudoun, Puccio said, in part because patients with COVID-19 symptoms are isolated from other patients even before they enter the hospital. Everyone is screened outside the ER door, where their temperature is taken and they are given a mask. Those suspected of a possible COVID-19 infection are sent to a specially built triage area where doctors check their vital sighs, administer tests and determine whether they be sent home,
As the global business economy prepares for the great unknown—what the world will look like as it begins a slow recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic— area businesses and business leaders are doing their best to prepare. Gov. Ralph Northam said Monday that Virginia will begin lifting restrictions on businesses and churches next Friday. Northam said the announcement was aimed at giving businesses time to figure out how best to protect employees and the public, and for state leaders to develop public health guidance for employers. “That gives us an additional two weeks to watch the data and determine if we are meeting the metrics we need to see to enter phase one,” he said. Northam said the first phase of easing limits on businesses and faith communities will be dependent on the continuation of social distancing, with face coverings in the workplace and procedures for frequent hand washing and decontamination. “You’ll be able to get your haircut, but you’ll need an appointment,” Northam said. And he said that restaurants and gyms would be able to open at lower capaci-
EMERGENCY ROOM continues on page 31
RECOVERY continues on page 30
Douglas Graham/Loudoun Now
Don’t Fear the ER, Health Leaders Urge BY NORMAN K. STYER nstyer@loudounnow.com
Sitting at home with chest discomfort, or a strange numbness? Have an injury that needs stiches or an X-ray? Don’t delay treatment because you’re afraid of coming into contact with the coronavirus at the emergency department. That’s a message leaders at Inova Loudoun Hospital are working to drive home as they encounter patients who waited longer than they should have to get checked out.
“The risk of a delay in diagnosis of a medical condition far outweighs the risk of catching COIVD in the emergency department or in the hospital,” said Dr. Edward Puccio, director of emergency medicine at Inova Loudoun Hospital. “We have worked so hard over years to tell people time is brain, time is heart muscle, minutes matter, call 911. And now people are waiting hours for a heart attack. Hours or days with a stroke and all of that progress has been eliminated because of how long people are waiting because of this fear of catching COVID at the hospital.”
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MAY 7, 2020
MAY 7, 2020
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Tourism, Hospitality Businesses Ready to Lead Rebound BY NORMAN K. STYER nstyer@loudounnow.com
This year’s National Travel & Tourism Week was expected to feature a celebration of the accomplishments Visit Loudoun has achieved over its quarter century of service. That special 25th anniversary program was originally scheduled for May 7, but was one of the many community events canceled as part of the battle against the spread of COVID-19. While the organization helped build Loudoun into one of the commonwealth’s largest tourism destinations, its focus now is helping the hospitality venues that were thriving before the statewide shutdown in March successfully ramp up as the limits on public gatherings wind down. Visit Loudoun President and CEO Beth Erickson sees lots of reason for optimism. “The contribution of tourism to
Loudoun is invaluable,” Erickson said. “In 2018, we were the third highest generator of visitor revenue in the Commonwealth of Virginia, accounting for $1.84 billion— more than Virginia Beach and Williamsburg—and our industry put more than 18,000 people to work. There is no way to downplay the impact of COVID-19 on us—it’s been rough. But in keeping with this week’s NTTW theme, ‘The Spirit of Travel,’ it’s been inspiring to see how quickly and creatively our industry adapted to the crisis.” Loudoun has long boasted its status as an internet capital, and that has paid dividends over the past two months. “I have never been more thankful for technology,” Erickson said. She pointed to the innovations that were quickly adopted by restaurants, breweries, wineries and farm stores that moved to online ordering, curbside pickup and delivery to stay in business; and created meaningful virtual experiences
with behind-the-scenes videos, live video chats and concerts, and online wine tastings. Visit Loudoun hosted special webinars with industry leaders and state and county officials, keeping businesses informed on subjects ranging from social media strategies to interpreting state and federal regulations and outlining financial aid opportunities. The Visit Loudoun Foundation partnered with the Community Foundation of Loudoun and the Loudoun Chamber Foundation to launch a fund to help tourism or hospitality employees, raising more than $30,000 to date. As Gov. Ralph Northam looks to roll back on business and travel restrictions, Erikson believes the industries that were hardest hit at the beginning of the pandemic will lead the economic recovery coming out of it. “When we begin going out to restaurants, shops, breweries and wineries again we will know we are on a positive path. In a nutshell: Loudoun’s recovery starts with
tourism,” she said. Among the steps Visit Loudoun is taking to support the industry is the launch of its “Glass Half Full” marketing campaign, which will promote Loudoun’s open spaces, fresh air, rural roads and great food, wine and craft beer. “The campaign will pay homage to all that makes Loudoun a unique and wonderful place to live in and to visit and will include some of virtual experiences resourceful Loudoun businesses created during lockdown,” Erickson said. State and CDC guidelines will play an important role in building consumer confidence, and thus in the pace and scale of the rebound, but Erickson said Loudoun will be well positioned to welcome visitors back. And, with many families likely to be reluctant to jump into international travel, regional destinations are expected to benefit. “We will be here when they are ready. And when they get here, they will have a great experience,” she said. n
‘We’re All Americans’ New Barn Mural is Grabbing Attention
Norman K. Styer/Loudoun Now
Dave Skrzecz works to finish up the flag mural on the side of his Neersville barn.
When Dave Skrzecz started rehabbing the century-old barn on his Neersville property last summer, he didn’t set out to make it a landmark, but, judging from the number of people stopping by to watch him work, there is a new attraction tucked in amid the Between the Hills wineries. After replacing the rotted siding, Skrzecz knew he wanted to paint a flag on the side. “I had a barn and I figured why not,” he said. The 23-year Army Special Forces veteran was inspired by murals painted by Scott LoBaido on VFW Halls around the nation that are distinctive for their 3D furling effect. “I didn’t think it was that big of deal until I started painting it,” said Skrzecz, who moved to the property about two years ago and lives in the small stone structure that served as the community’s schoolhouse after the Civil War. “The first day, I had just most of the blue done and people were pulling into [his neighbor’s driveway] and coming back so they could take pictures.” One passerby even asked to record the work with a drone he pulled out of his SUV. It is his first artistic painting project. “I figured how hard can it be? If I screw it up, I’ll just paint over it,” he said. “Or I figured that it is abstract enough that if I make mistakes you won’t know.” Why paint a flag? “The real why is that we’re all Americans,” Skrzecz said. “In this day and age, everything is all politics, but at the end of the day we’re all Americans. And having been all over the world, this is still the best game in town. We might have our problems, we might have our differences, but this is absolutely best thing going on this planet.” You’ll see Skrzecz’s work at 12813 Harpers Ferry Road on the west side of the street in the village of Neersville. n
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out how to make Loudoun greener. Supervisors during the previous term took several steps toward making Loudoun more environmentally friendly, starting with a review of an existing energy strategy, approving a program to help finance commercial clean energy projects, and adopting new state ordinances to lower barriers to renewable energy at home and on farms. Supervisors also ordered a review of the county’s recycling program, ultimately dedicating $218,000 to test collecting glass separately to reduce contamination in other recyclables, making those recyclables harder to market. The new overview will take a broader look at sustainability in Loudoun County, and is aimed at standing up an Environmental Commission, which Randall said would help supervisors figure out “how do we become a greener county—and I don’t think green county, because we’re a pretty long way from being a truly green county, but a greener county.” The panel, which could incorporate the existing Water Resources Technical Advisory Committee along with other citizen
basis. Rather than being a standing committee, Randall said, it would work toward creating a set of technical recommendations, disbanding when its work is done. She said, hopefully, that will take less than half of the current board’s term, which is in the first year of its four years. That work could include advice on expanding solar energy, encouraging electronic vehicles both for individuals and the transit agency, and zero carbon and zero waste plans. According to a report prepared for the meeting, the proposal for an Environmental Commission follows several attempts to create a central office for environmental oversight over the decades. The county had a Department of Environmental Resources that went away during a mid1990s reorganization, an Environmental Review Team in the early 2000s that has since been disbanded, a short-lived citizen advisory on environmental issues, and a Sustainable Energy Task Force that finished its work and made its final report and recommendations in 2012. The work of the new commission begins with an overview of current and past environmental initiatives, expected back in front of supervisors in October. Supervisors unanimously passed the environmental initiatives review April 21, the day before the 50th observance of Earth Day. n
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PAGE 5
Supervisors Renew, Then Cancel Loudoun Museum Funding BY RENSS GREENE rgreene@loudounnow.com
Loudoun County supervisors gave one of Loudoun’s most storied nonprofits a whiplash ride over the past few weeks, first renewing a funding agreement with the Loudoun Museum and then reversing that decision at their next meeting. On April 21, supervisors renewed their annual agreement with the Loudoun Museum, agreeing to continue funding the museum with $156,000 a year as long as it meets performance benchmarks set by county staff members. The museum has received annual funding from the county since 2016, as it sought to reform a troubled organization and board. Since that funding began, the museum has taken major steps—including a new executive director, new exhibits, a new board of trustees and new guidelines for the museum’s finances. That has meant the museum has received funding from the county every year, even after a staff walkout temporarily closed it in 2018. Now, even as the COVID-19 pandemic has seen the museum ordered to close, its staff has continued to provide programming online. The Loudoun Museum had also asked supervisors to consider an annual 3-per-
cent increase in county funding. But on Tuesday, County Chairwoman Phyllis J. Randall (D-At Large) pushed supervisors to reconsider that vote and reallocated those funds to other nonprofits. “I have always supported the Loudoun Museum, and supported them full-throatedly and very strongly,” Randall said. “I think having a museum in Loudoun County about Loudoun County is very important, and I could not have imagined four months ago ever doing this, but when I juxtapose this $156,00 against what our nonprofits are doing, I could not in good conscience think that this is a good use of this money right now.” Supervisors Caleb A. Kershner (R-Catoctin), Tony R. Buffington (R-Blue Ridge) and Matthew F. Letourneau (R-Dulles) stridently opposed the move. Kershner pointed out that it was unclear where that money will now go. Supervisors voted to send that money to nonprofits that met the qualifications for funding in the county’s competitive grant process but were not funded, and that are dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic. However, it will be up to county staff members to establish the criteria for deciding what work is and is not related to the pandemic. Letourneau argued if supervisors want to give more money to some nonprofits, they can just do that—and already have—
without taking it from another community organization “that has nothing to do with this, and that is just caught in the crosshairs.” “This is really bad government,” Letourneau said. “This is not what a county like Loudoun should be doing in a situation like this. People look to us because we’re calm, we’re ration, we’re reasonable. You can’t spring … a motion like this to take money away from an organization that we have been working with for as long as I’ve been on the board.” He added, “you don’t treat your partners like this.” The museum’s trustees do not anticipate it will become fully self-sufficient, pointing out in a letter to supervisors that most museums, including some of the most wellknown, receive some level of public funding. But Loudoun Museum Board of Trustees Chairwoman Sharon Virts said even with that money yanked back, the museum will survive. “I am disappointed as a board chair that this is happening, but I also understand we’ve got people in this community who are hurting, and I get it,” Virts said. While only a few years ago the museum was struggling to survive, she said the nonprofit today has enough reserves that the loss of funding would not be fatal. “We will weather this storm just like
many other businesses and nonprofits will weather this storm, and come out of it hopefully stronger,” Virst said. “We’re committed to the Town of Leesburg, we’re committed to the County of Loudoun.” Instead, she said the museum will fundraise as much as it can from its board members and the community, so as not to deplete its reserves completely. “I’m confident that by continuing fundraising, by hopefully some generous gifts and some support from the community … we will be OK until [the new fiscal year in] July 2021”, Virts said. The decisions also calls into question whether the museum needs to prioritize its end of the Memorandum of Agreement. “The county, for example, had goals for fundraising in the MOA for 2021,” Virts said. “… I’m hoping we can meet those goals, but we may not be able to, because it’s kind of hard to fundraise when you can’t get people together, and we can’t maintain operations when we’re forced to closed by the state.” “We’ll survive this one, but it can’t go on forever,” Virts said. Supervisors approved Randall’s motion to redistribute that money 6-3, with Buffington, Kershner and Letourneau opposed. n
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Food Pantries Enter Third Month of Pandemic Response LOUDOUN NOW STAFF REPORT
Friday was May 1, beginning the third month of the emergency COVID-19 response. That was especially true for Loudoun’s food pantries, which have been seeing skyrocketing need at the same time that they’ve had to adapt to the new reality of social distancing. “Along with all of you, we have learned so much about our own ability to adapt to rapid change, expand our service capacity, and deal with our own anxieties and those of others,” Loudoun Hunger Relief noted in its weekly newsletter. “Hopefully, also along with all of you, we have witnessed the kindness and generosity of so many.” Last week, Loudoun Hunger marked another increase in its numbers, to more than 650 families getting food directly from the pantry and another 14,000 pounds of food going out from Loudoun Hunger to other nonprofits. That equated to nearly 36,600 meals last week. Meanwhile, Dulles South Food Pantry, the second-largest food pantry in Loudoun, also continues to add new guests. Two weeks ago, the pantry served 123 families including 490 people. It gave
Dulles South Food Pantry
Dulles South Food Pantry volunteers are masked up and ready to serve.
out 2,580 meals to families with children who qualify for free and reduced meal prices through Loudoun County Public Schools, in total distributing 11,700 pounds of food in the Dulles South area. Both hunger nonprofits, along with many other charitable organizations, are taking part in Give Choose, Loudoun’s
annual day of giving organized by the Community Foundation for Loudoun and Northern Fauquier Counties. Loudoun Hunger Relief is located at 750 Miller Dr SE in Leesburg. Find out more at loudounhunger.org. Dulles South Food Pantry is at 24757 Arcola Mills Dr, Dulles. Find out more at dsfp.org. n
Traffic Calming Approved in Stonehill, Seneca Chase County supervisors on April 21 unanimously approved new signs to try to slow traffic in the Stonehill and Seneca Chase neighborhoods. They approved a $56,000 transfer for install pole-mounted speed display and “Additional $200 Fine” signs in the Seneca Chase, and $2,500 to put up a “Watch for Children” sign in the Stonehill Community. The Stonehill Homeowners’ Association, a community of 28 homes, requested the sign in February after a speed limit sign did little to slow drivers. Seneca Chase faced a longer process, requiring a study, participation from VDOT and navigating state regulations after the HOA contacted the county for help in August 2019. The signs will go on South Cottage Road, which goes through the community and also provides access to the 2,600home Sugarland Run community, Sugarland Elementary School and Meadowland Elementary School. n
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MAY 7, 2020
PAGE 7
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Geri Deane, opening the door to all possibilities. “I love my REALTOR® role and assisting my clients whether they are renting, buying, selling a home, relocating to or out of Virginia. I ensure that all aspects of the real estate process are covered and then some. This is a significant decision and my goal is to exceed your expectations.” If you are planning to buy or sell a home, call Geri at 703.615.4126 or visit GeriDeane.com.
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MAY 7, 2020
Leesburg
AROUND Town Town Council Extends Emergency Declaration
Renss Greene/Loudoun Now
The Leesburg Town Council has extended indefinitely its declaration of local emergency related to the COVID-19 pandemic. The council originally voted to enact a state of local emergency March 18, which was set to expire May 2. “We feel it’s important to not have a deadline on it right now,” Interim Town Attorney Martin Crim said during the council’s April 28 meeting. Town Manager Kaj Dentler said he intended the extended local emergency resolution to correspond with Gov. Ralph Northam’s stay-at-home order. Continuing the state of emergency also gives the town the opportunity to be eligible for any federal stimulus funds that could be available. The extension of the local emergency also means that parking in the downtown area, including the Town Hall parking garage, Loudoun Street lot, and at on-street parking meters, will remain free.
Parts of the Compass Creek development, including the ION International Training Center, have been incorporated into the Town of Leesburg, and the door is open to more property owners—like Walmart or Microsoft—to follow.
West Market St. Sidewalk Project Begins Monday
Town Completes First Compass Creek Expansion
Construction on the West Market Street sidewalk project is expected to begin on Monday. The sidewalk will be replaced along the north side of West Market Street, between Morven Park Road and Ayr Street, with brick sidewalks that will be in compliance with ADA regulations and constructed to provide a safer walking environment. The first phase of work will include the installation of a water line beginning at the intersection of Morven Park Road and West Market Street as well as the relocation of two utility poles owned by Dominion Energy. Daytime road closures are planned from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. from Monday, May 11, to Friday, May 15. During this time, Dominion Energy will be performing its relocation work and the contractor, Madigan Construction, Inc., will be installing the waterline. After the utility relocation work is complete, construction activities will continue under a onelane closure, with the use of flagmen, through June 12. For more details regarding this project, go to leesburgva.gov/westmarket-st-sidewalk.
BY KARA C. RODRIGUEZ krodriguez@loudounnow.com
Following a more than year-long process, the Compass Creek development is now within Leesburg’s town limits. The final order for the boundary line adjustment that increases the corporate limits by approximately 122 acres in the Compass Creek area between the Dulles Greenway and the Leesburg Executive Airport was entered in Loudoun Circuit Court on April 28. The expansion is the result of months of negotiation between the town, Loudoun County, and the property owners. The land now within the town limits include 7.5 acres owned by CC Skating, the owners of the ION International Training Center, 8.5 acres owned by the Peterson Companies, the developers of Compass Creek; and 106 acres owned by the Town of Leesburg, immediately adjacent to the Leesburg Executive Airport. The ION International Training Center parcel is now entirely within the town limits. Previously, the town/county bound-
ary line ran through the building, which opened in 2019. A site plan for the development of the Peterson Companies property, along with an adjacent parcel already within town limits, is under review by the town Department of Plan Review. The proposed development includes two multi-tenant retail buildings and a restaurant with a drivethrough lane, totaling 18,900 square feet, as well as five pad sites. Planned uses for the pad sites include a hotel, restaurants, and office buildings. The expected General Fund revenue to the town from this development is an estimated $521,000 per year at full build-out, according to the town. “The Town of Leesburg remains a very desirable business location,” stated Russell Seymour, director of the Economic Development Department. “By expanding Leesburg’s corporate boundary line, this action will enable additional local employment opportunities and expand the local commercial tax base, resulting in a benefit for all Leesburg residents.” In September 2018, the Town Council adopted a policy to bring the Compass
Creek development into the town boundaries. The property has long been part of the town’s utility service area, and the town has made infrastructure investments to serve the area with water and sanitary sewer. Loudoun County’s policy is to allow boundary line adjustments in Compass Creek, if the property owners consent to be brought into the town. A second BLA to bring the At-Home store, under construction, into the town’s corporate limits is underway. The Town of Leesburg is pursuing additional boundary line adjustments for the new Walmart Supercenter and the remaining parcels in the Compass Creek area. The town staff is working with the county to schedule public hearings for both the Town Council and Board of Supervisors for the At-Home parcel. Discussions between the town and remaining landowners identified in the town’s desired expansion area remain ongoing. This includes Microsoft, which purchased more than 330 acres in the Compass Creek development in 2018. n
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MAY 7, 2020
PAGE 9
Leesburg Council Presses Northam on COVID-19 Restrictions, Seeks Delay in Filing Deadline BY KARA C. RODRIGUEZ krodriguez@loudounnow.com
A majority of the Leesburg Town Council has sent Gov. Ralph Northam a letter expressing its viewpoints on the state’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic. Four members of the council signed the letter—council members Tom Dunn, Ron Campbell, Suzanne Fox, and Josh Thiel. Signatures from Mayor Kelly Burk, Vice Mayor Marty Martinez, and Councilman Neil Steinberg do not appear on the letter. When the council voted last Tuesday to send the letter to Northam, the motion noted that it was optional for council members to sign it. The letter requests that Northam review the stay-at-home order date of June 10 every seven to 15 days. “We want to be able to communicate with the public the progress of our Commonwealth’s timely decision making,” the letter reads. “We believe that this will provide hope to many people across the
Commonwealth. This review should be based on factual COVID-19 information as it impacts Virginia.” The crux of the letter revolves around the desire for more information, particularly regarding the stay-at-home order. “We believe, as you do, that the private sector has been asked to make sacrifices, and citizens by the thousands have lost jobs. The longer everyone is ordered to stay at home, the longer the recovery time. There may also be confusion when businesses are allowed to be re-opened, but their customers are still being told to remain home until June 10,” the letter reads. The letter also asks for data to be shared regarding the financial impact of the stayat-home order and ban on non-essential businesses which have been forced to close. The letter ends with a plea for Northam to consider the impacts of the pandemic on the November elections, and to either push back the June 9 filing deadline to July 15, or waive the signature requirement for candidates. Currently, Town Council candidates are required to obtain a minimum
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of 125 signatures of registered town voters on their petitions, which must also be notarized. “It is not reasonable that potential candidates who are seeking to serve their community must place themselves at risk while asking voters to place themselves at risk to get signatures for their petitions,” it reads. The original letter was presented during the April 28 Town Council meeting by Dunn, who co-authored the letter with help from Campbell. Both council members’ terms are up at year’s end, along with Thiel and Burk. As of press time, Burk is the only sitting council member to be fully qualified for November’s ballot. At last week’s meeting, Burk had criticized the letter’s plea to move the filing deadline, and said she believed the council should instead be focusing on public health. Martinez and Steinberg also publicly expressed reservations about the letter’s content. The original letter had also suggested as an option curtailing the stayat-home order to allow candidates to get their required signatures. n
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Education Schools Scale Back Many Initiatives in COVID-19 Impacted Budget
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demic have wiped out pay raises and many other school division initiatives for Fiscal Year 2021. The School Board got the first view of budget cuts that are now on the table during its April 28 meeting. Over the next three weeks, the School Board will be tasked with cutSCHOOLS BUDGET continues on page 11
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Beatrice Lynch hands out “EME Strong” bracelets with help from Mosby.
Elementary Student Spreads ‘Emerick Strong’ Spirit BY RENSS GREENE rgreene@loudounnow.com
Emerick Elementary School student Beatrice Lynch spent her Saturday spreading the ‘Emerick Strong’ spirit from her front yard in Purcellville. Beatrice spent weeks making 100 bracelets that read “EME Strong,” along with an eagle charm, the school’s mascot. They come packaged with a note that reads: “Stay Safe! Bea L.” On Saturday, she put the bracelets out on a table in her family’s front yard in Purcellville—social distancing is a must, they said—to hand them out to passersby. And she plans to keep making them. “Wearing bracelets makes me happy, and I wanted other people to be happy wearing my bracelets,” Beatrice said. Beatrice’s mom, Sarah Lynch, said her daughter wanted to make the bracelets to spread happiness and school spirit to all the
Renss Greene/Loudoun Now
Beatrice Lynch made 100 “EME Strong” bracelets with eagle charms—Emerick Elementary’s school mascot—packaged with notes that read “Stay Safe!”
Emerick Elementary staff and students. “She loves school and misses everyone terribly, so this was her way to try and stay connected with school,” Lynch wrote. “She wanted to make everyone feel happy and connected to school during this challenging time!” n
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MAY 7, 2020
Schools budget continued from page 10 ting its budget to reflect a Board of Supervisors decision to hold $60 million of the FY21 allocation for education in reserve and another $8.1 million in frozen state funds. The budget staff also warned about the uncertainty over sales tax collections and enrollment growth that also could have ramifications. Superintendent Eric Williams presented a list of 168 items as part of his staff ’s “painful recommendations for reductions” that would cut 249.3 full-time equivalent positions and $73 million from the board’s adopted budget. On that list are $40 million in staff salary restructuring and step increase and market adjustments, along with plans to hire new special education deans, teachers and assistants, teacher assistants, counselors, security officers, and new positions to support the district’s education equity efforts. “Unfortunately, we’re deferring any possible eventual approval of limited salary increases until we learn whether reserve funds will be released,” Williams said. “Obviously, a heavy investment in employee compensation has been a key
aspect in our employee recruitment and retention so it is difficult see the reality we face and make this recommendation.” It would cost $9.7 million to provide the staff a 1-percent market adjustment and $4.85 million to provide a 0.5-percent increase, but that would add only about $10 to the paycheck of a $50,000-per-year staffer, Williams said. The School Board’s adopted budget was based on capping raises at 6 percent. The proposed cuts wouldn’t completely erase gains in some of the board’s priority areas. For example, the list includes cutting 56 planned new special education positions, but still adds 87. There would be 14.8 more FTEs dedicated to the equity program, but 17.8 others would be cut. At a time when the division is ramping up distance learning programs, the board may not be able to move ahead with the plan to hire a coordinator of digital experience. “All of these cuts are with hesitation and reluctance,” Williams said. The School Board is scheduled to work through the reduction options at a May 12 work session and to adopt a revised budget on May 26, following a public hearing that same evening. n
PAGE 11
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Public Safety Suspect Charged After Recycling Stolen Metal The Loudoun County Sheriff ’s Office has arrested a Manassas man in connection with the theft of over $170,000 worth of construction material. According to the agency, the thefts began in December 2019 when concrete forms were reported stolen from several construction sites in the area of Braddock Road. Investigators identified a suspect who had been selling the concrete forms at a regional scrap metal recycling company. With assistance from the Prince William County Police Department, Andrew N. Comfort, 35, was arrested April 20 and charged with six felony counts of grand larceny and six felony counts of larceny with intent to sell. More than 10,995 pounds of the concrete forms were recovered, with 428 concrete forms reported stolen in Loudoun since December. Comfort was released on a personal recognizance bond. A June 2 preliminary hearing is scheduled in Loudoun County District Court.
The Sheriff’s Office released these video stills of the suspect in the April 27 jewelry theft at the Dulles Town Center mall.
Deputies Seek Suspect in Mall Jewelry Theft The Loudoun County Sheriff ’s Office is searching for a man who allegedly stole jewelry from a kiosk at the Dulles Town Center Mall. According to the report, the theft happened at 8:55 p.m. April 27. The suspect was described as a male, with black hair, wearing a red and blue coat, black pants, and white shoes. The suspect fled in a black vehicle.
Deputies Investigate Ashburn Gunfire The Loudoun County Sheriff ’s Office
is investigating a reported shooting in the area of Broad Vista Terrace and Bles Park Drive in Ashburn. Deputies responded to the scene shortly after 8 p.m. Monday after receiving multiple reports of gunfire in the area. Witnesses reported that someone in a dark-colored SUV was discharging a firearm from the vehicle. The vehicle left the scene and no injuries were reported. The circumstances surrounding the incident remain under investigation. Anyone with any information regarding this case is asked to contact Detective S. Coderre at 703-777-1021. Tips may be submitted through the Sheriff ’s Office’s app.
Counterfeit Money Passed at 3 Loudoun Walgreens The Loudoun County Sheriff ’s Office is investigating reports of counterfeit money being passed at three Walgreens stores last week. The cases, all occurring April 29, involved four suspects and are believed to be related. The first case was reported at 6:20 p.m. at the Eastern Marketplace Plaza Walgreens
near South Riding. Less than an hour later, counterfeit money was presented at the Walgreens at Southern Walk Plaza in Ashburn. At 7:32 p.m. the suspects were reported at the Creek View Plaza Walgreens in Ashburn. The suspects traveled in two white, fourdoor passenger cars. The Sheriff ’s Office described the suspects as: A black male, approximately 5-feet, 10-inches tall, 170 pounds, wearing a dark grey hooded sweatshirt, black sweatpants with a white stripe, black shoes, and a yellow hat; a black male, approximately 5-feet, 10-inches tall, 150 pounds, wearing a dark grey hooded sweatshirt, blue sweatpants with a red stripe, short black hair, and black shoes; a black male, approximately 6 feet tall, 180 pounds, wearing a light blue hooded sweatshirt, light grey sweatpants, and white shoes; and a black male with dreadlocks down to his shoulders, approximately 6-feet, 1-inch tall, 180 pounds, wearing a light grey hooded sweatshirt that had a print with yellow markings, black hat, black pants with a white stripe, black shoes.
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MAY 7, 2020
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.
Attention Loudoun County!
Regular Full-Time Positions Position
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Closing Date
Maintenance Worker
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Summer Positions $15.00
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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.
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Large family practice in Loudoun County with 6 locations and 28 providers looking for FT LPN’s or MA’s with a dedication to excellence. New LPN graduates welcome to apply. Pediatric and or family practice experience preferred. EHR experience highly recommended. We offer competitive pay rates, 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
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Home Instead Senior Care is looking for caring and compassionate CAREGivers to become a part of our team and join our mission of enhancing the lives of aging adults throughout the Loudoun county community. Home Instead provides a variety of nonmedical services that allow seniors to remain in their home and meet the challenges of aging with dignity, care and compassion.
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Business
Economic Development Awards $150K in Innovation Grants LOUDOUN NOW STAFF REPORT
On Monday, the Loudoun Economic Development Authority and Department of Economic Development announced the winners in the inaugural Loudoun Innovation Challenge, awarding $75,000 to a company in California that has pledged to invest in Loudoun. Three $25,000 grants and one grand prize $75,000 grant will be paid out immediately through the Economic Development Authority. Those winners rose above among 71 qualified applications representing a cross-section of Loudoun’s economy. From the original pool of submissions, applications were whittled down through a internal scoring process. The original goal of choosing six finalists was expanded to eight after the Economic Development Authority directors concluded that there was an abundance of worthy applications. “The high caliber of applications shows the amazing opportunities for innovation in all corners of Loudoun County,” stated Department of Economic Development and Economic Development Authority Executive Director Buddy Rizer. “In addition to businesses we have worked with in the past, we were excited to see so many new faces in the pool of applicants. This is just the beginning of our work with all of these #LoudounPossible success stories.” All eight finalists had five minutes to
BUSINESS briefs CMIT Solutions Launches New Office in Dulles CMIT Solutions opened a new office in Loudoun County to expand support in Virginia. This is the fifth CMIT Solutions office in the state. “I have spent my career immersed in technology from technical sales to building engineering teams responsible for internal and external problem-solving,” stated Victor Aldana, CEO and owner of CMIT Solutions of Dulles. “With everything that is happening in the world around us, businesses need someone there to help find solutions to their problems. The last thing Loudoun County’s businesses want to worry about is having business operations
Loudoun Economic Development
Calypso AI, a California-based artificial intelligence company, was the grand prize winner of $75,000 in the first-ever Loudoun Innovation Challenge.
make their pitch at the Economic Development Authority’s April 28 meeting. The eight finalists were Amplio, Bartrack, Calypso AI, Jeeva, Qore Performance, Rebion, ResourcePath, and Scieto. After that, California-based Calypso AI, a software company building tools for artificial intelligence, came out on top as the grand prize winner. While the business is headquartered in Silicon Valley, the managing director for Calypso Labs, Tyler Sweatt, is an Ashburn resident and handled the team’s application. He pledged to invest in Loudoun County if selected as a winner.
“Calypso AI is excited to become a part of the amazing Loudoun County community and we could not think of a better area to establish our new global headquarters,” Sweatt stated. “As we expand out of our first home in Silicon Valley, the access to a highly talented workforce, robust infrastructure, and diverse amenities made Loudoun an easy choice for Calypso’s headquarters location.” He said the award “is the beginning of an exciting partnership and journey with a great county.” “We are bringing with us the backing of leading venture capital firms and the
disrupted because of technological issues or data breaches. I’m eager and ready to jump right in to help ease business owners’ minds with our 24/7 support.” CMIT offers a broad spectrum of proactive computer monitoring, maintenance and virtual technology packages, along with quick response services when unexpected crises occur. For more information on CMIT Solutions of Dulles and the services they offer, call 571-463-0987 or go to cmitsolutions. com/dulles.
She brings more than 15 years of investment sales, leasing, finance, and settlements experience to the new position and previously functioned as director for Metropolis Capital Advisors. Kleine will source and complete investment sales transactions involving suburban office buildings, warehouse/industrial properties and neighborhood retail shopping centers throughout the Northern Virginia area with a focus on the Loudoun County market. Learn more at www.edgecre.com.
Kleine Joins Edge Real Estate
Whitetail Looks to Find Rec Uses in Rural Land
Edge, a commercial real estate firm with offices in Washington DC, Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania, has hired Cristine Kleine as senior director with the Capital Markets Group.
Strasburg native and Whitetail Properties Real Estate land specialist Chad Pangle has blended his passion for real estate and
global reach of a high-growth software company,” Sweatt said. “We are looking forward to growing in our new home in Loudoun, while giving back to the community through partnerships, interaction with local educational facilities and school districts, and the county I’ve been proud to call home for over a decade.” The runners-up, who will receive those $25,000 grants, include Resource Path, a woman-owned business in Sterling, founded by academic pathologists and molecular technologists to improve the care of individuals with cancer and emerging infectious diseases. Another, Leesburg-based Bartrack, created a beverage sensor that tracks inventory and optimizes the quality of consumer draft beer products. Bars and breweries using the company’s technology have saved an average of $40,000 a year. And Qore Performance, which builds wearable, low-profile hydration and cooling systems for both military, commercial and personal use. “We wanted to highlight what a great place Loudoun County is to start and grow your business,” stated Economic Development Authority Chairman Mark Madigan. “This is an opportunity to elevate the profile of entrepreneurship in Loudoun. Opening this up for anyone that’s either interested in staying in Loudoun or moving to Loudoun County was important.” n
the outdoors with a career in land sales and sees opportunities for rural landowners to realize the value the recreational opportunities can add to their property. Pangle specializes in farming, hunting, and timber properties as well as rural homes with acreage. Tracts with wooded acreage, pasture, and water make for prime habitat for wildlife and hunting. Land that offers investment opportunities from tillable or timber acreage also make properties very attractive in today’s market, said Pangle. According to Pangle, excellent hunting for white-tailed deer, turkey, bear, and fishing attracts outdoor enthusiasts and investors from inside and outside Virginia’s borders. “The time is right to market land as a hunting or recreational property,” he said. Learn more at whitetailproperties.com.
MAY 7, 2020
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PAGE 15
TOWN notes
Our Towns
VA Supreme Court Moves Lovettsville, Middleburg, Purcellville Town Elections to June 4 BY PATRICK SZABO
pszabo@loudounnow.com
Municipal elections in the Towns of Lovettsville, Middleburg and Purcellville have been pushed to the first Thursday in June. Gov. Ralph Northam previously delayed the May 5 elections to May 19. The
town councils in Lovettsville, Middleburg and Purcellville then requested an additional delay. A panel of three Virginia Supreme Court justices last Friday granted petitions made by the towns of Lovettsville and Middleburg to move the municipal elections to June 4, to keep voters from congregating at the polls during
the COVID-19 pandemic. The panel granted Purcellville’s petition on Tuesday. Those June 4 elections will still be six days before Northam’s stay-at-home order expires. Elections in the towns of Hamilton TOWN ELECTIONS continues on page 16
LOVETTSVILLE Town to Enlist County Help to Support Businesses The Town of Lovettsville is seeking the county government’s help with its proposed Business Interruption Fund, which will help in-town businesses impacted by the coronavirus crisis. Mayor Nate Fontaine said that because governments can’t give money directly to businesses, the town is looking at different ways to help local businesses, perhaps through a shortterm agreement with the Loudoun County Economic Development Authority. Fontaine said the town could offer a relief package similar to the one the county offered last week, which saw hundreds of Loudoun businesses apply for support from a $1.4 million fund. Fontaine is working to set up a meeting with Authority Chairman Mark Madigan and to speak at the authority’s May 21 meeting. Fontaine said that, while the town has considered dropping restaurants’ obligation to remit meals tax payments for the time being, some have noted that wouldn’t be enough of a relief to encourage residents to pump money into the town economy. He mentioned some businesses have asked the town to host an event once the crisis ends and social distancing mandates are loosened or undone. “It’s all up in the air,” he said about the town’s ideas to help businesses.
Town Cancels Mayfest, Plans Virtual Memorial Day
Amy Marasco/Town of Hillsboro
Hillsboro Mayor Roger Vance walks down the center of Rt. 9 early Monday morning shortly after a month-long road closure project took effect.
Rt. 9 Shut Down in Hillsboro BY PATRICK SZABO pszabo@loudounnow.com
' From now until mid- to late-June, Rt. 9 through the Town of Hillsboro will be closed entirely to through-traffic. The highway through town is closed to allow crews to install new, buried water mains. In early April, pieces of the town’s decades-old water main broke as crews worked to continue the $3.2 million drink-
ing water project, which is bringing a new well into the system. A temporary fix left the water main above ground, prompting the Virginia Department of Health to step in. Archer Western Corp. crews will also continue work on the $14.33 million road project, specifically the two roundabouts on either end of town. That portion of the project is expected to stretch through late summer or early fall. During the closure, through-trucks will be routed along Rt. 340 to Rt. 7. Traffic
originating west of Hillsboro will skirt the town using Stony Point Road, Woodgrove Road, Allder School Road and Hillsboro Road. Only local traffic will be allowed down Cider Mill Road and only in-town residents will be allowed directly into or through the town along Rt. 9 during the closure. The entire road project is expected to wrap up by June 21, 2021, with more partial and full road closures through Hillsboro planned later this year and early next. Get updates at ReThink9.com. n
The Town of Lovettsville has canceled its 9th annual Mayfest event this month. Mayor Nate Fontaine wrote in his April 24 email newsletter that the town was required to make the decision “to protect the public and our volunteers,” in accordance with state and federal social distancing mandates. Fontaine thanked Mayfest Committee Chairman, Joe Suits, Vice Chairwoman Stephanie Bickmore and committee members Shiva Shilling, Brett Nesselrodt, Brad Horan and Judy Taylor for their hard work planning the event. The town’s Event Committees continues to review the latest information on COVID-19. Meanwhile, The LOVE America Committee is busy planning a virtual TOWN NOTES continues on page 17
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MAY 7, 2020
Purcellville to Help Test for COVID-19 via Wastewater Sampling BY PATRICK SZABO pszabo@loudounnow.com
Researchers will use the Town of Purcellville’s wastewater to better understand the spread of the coronavirus. The town is poised to pay Inboden Environmental Services $2,540 to take eight samples from the town’s wastewater treatment plant to send to researchers from the Biobot analytics firm, MIT, Harvard and Brigham Women’s Hospital to analyze and map where COVID-19 exists across the nation without relying solely on patient testing. Inboden will take two samples a week in Purcellville for one month. “The goal there is … Purcellville, small-town America, being part of a national research effort,” said Mayor Kwasi Fraser. According to a Biobot representative, four sites in Virginia, including three in the DC metro area, are participating in the program.
Town elections continued from page 15 and Round Hill will still be held Tuesday, May 19. While the Purcellville Town Council voted April 14 to petition the state Supreme Court for the delay, the Lovettsville and Middleburg Town Councils voted to do so April 23. Under Virginia law, local governing bodies may petition a panel of the state Supreme Court for a 30-day delay from the original election date if the governor first delays the elections by two weeks. Northam had requested the Virginia General Assembly to delay municipal elections across the state from May 5 to Nov. 3—the same day as the 2020 General Election. The assembly rejected that request during its April 22 veto session, which prompted Northam two days later to use his executive authority to delay the elections to May 19. Lovettsville Town Attorney Liz Whiting said the turnaround for the panel to grant Lovettsville’s petition was the quickest she’s ever seen; she filed it late last Thursday afternoon and the panel granted it less than 24 hours later. Loudoun General Registrar Judy
The town contract with Inboden to take the samples because Purcellville wastewater operators don’t have the personal protective equipment to safely do it themselves. Capital Projects & Engineering Manager Dale Lehnig wrote in an April 6 email to Town Manager David Mekarski that if one wastewater employee contracted the virus, it would devastate the entire staff at the plant. “Unlike other municipalities, we do not have hundreds of employees with the skills necessary to run the [wastewater treatment plant],” she wrote. “To expose these workers to raw sewage in order to provide data for research seems ill-advised at best.” Lehnig wrote that the town staff was surprised to read Mayor Kwasi Fraser’s April 1 press release, in which he announced that the town would “join with other U.S. municipalities in providing samples from our wastewater treatment systems for this free pilot program.” Lehnig noted in her email to Mekarski that just before Fraser made that an-
nouncement, the wastewater treatment plant staff had discussed relaxing raw sewage sampling and testing procedures with the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality to help limit their exposure risk Council members’ opinions on the project were varied during last Tuesday’s meeting. Councilman Nedim Ogelman said the project would give the town a way to noninvasively detect the presence of the coronavirus in the community without the need, or ability, to test more people. “I think that this is a good, good use of our taxpayer money to do something that might actually be both very accurate and also less costly in the long run than the other things that we’re trying to do,” he said. Councilman Joel Grewe said that, while Purcellville’s participation in the project would help to build a broad-spectrum map of where the coronavirus exists and would be beneficial to U.S. public health in general, it would not provide
Brown said the commonwealth informed her that this was the first time such a delay has been granted. She said the county Office of Elections and Voter Registration will be able to use the May 19 town elections in Hamilton and Round Hill, where a combined 133 voters cast ballots in the 2018 elections, as a practice session for implementing proper social distancing measures on June 4. As of Monday, the county Office of Elections had received 2,080 requests for mailed absentee ballots out of the 9,523 registered voters in the five Loudoun towns participating in this year’s municipal elections. About 1,600 of those came from Purcellville voters, with about 300 from Lovettsville voters and less than 100 from Middleburg voters. Brown said that half of all the requested absentee ballots had been filled out and returned as of Monday.
planning ahead. The deadline to request an absentee ballot by mail for those town elections is Tuesday, May 12 at 5 p.m. Apply online at elections.virginia.gov/casting-a-ballot/ absentee-voting, in person at the Loudoun County Registrar, or by fax or mail. To be counted, absentee ballots must be received in the Office of Elections and Voter Registration no later than 7 p.m. on Tuesday, May 19, the day of the election. Currently, absentee ballots require the signature of a witness in addition to the signature of the voter. Election officials have encouraged voters to ask a neighbor or friend for help while also observing social distancing protocols. Voters may also vote early by voting absentee in-person at the Office of Elections and Voter Registration, 750 Miller Drive SE, Suite C, in Leesburg. However voters are not allowed to enter the office; instead, absentee voting is being done curbside. Signs at the office direct voters to contact election officials to meet them once they have arrived. And if you decide to vote in person, voters have been advised to be ready for longer-than-usual wait times due to strict social distancing rules at the polls. All voters will be asked to wear a mask and stay at least six feet away from everyone else
Absentee Voting Encouraged With the Hamilton and Round Hill elections coming up on May 19, Loudoun County election officials are encouraging people to vote absentee or come alone to the polls to minimize crowding. Any voter may choose reason “2A My disability or illness” as a reason to vote absentee in the elections, but doing so means
the town with timely information on the virus. “It’s not going to help us reopen our state and it’s not going to tell us how many people have it. It’s going to tell us proximate densities,” he said. “I don’t think it gives us what we think it does.” According to Biobot, new studies show that SARS-CoV-2—the virus that causes COVID-19—is shed in stool. The firm intends to use the samples from different localities across the nation to provide communities with a map of the virus as it spreads to new places. That will enable communities to measure the scope of the outbreak, help determine the timing and severity of public health interventions, track the effectiveness of those interventions, better anticipate likely impacts on hospital capacity, and provide an early warning for re-emergence. Fraser said the town would put out more information before sampling begins. n
at all times. No more than 10 people will be allowed inside the voting room at once time, which includes election officials, so voters may have to wait outside in the weather. And voters are asked to come to the polls alone to reduce crowding. The deadline to register to vote in the May 19 town elections, or update an existing registration, is Monday, April 13. Although the state has given no direction yet, the deadline to request an absentee ballot by mail for the June 4 town elections will most likely be seven days before the election, per Virginia law, on Thursday, May 28 at 5 p.m. There is also a primary election scheduled for June 23, when Loudouners will pick a Republican candidate for U.S. Senate. The deadline to request an absentee ballot by mail for that election is 5 p.m. June 16. To be counted, absentee ballots must be received by the Office of Elections no later than 7 p.m. on June 23. A U.S. District judge on Tuesday ruled that absentee voters in that primary election don’t need a witness present when they open, mark and refold their absentee ballots—a decision made to help promote social distancing protocols. n
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MAY 7, 2020
TOWN Notes
MIDDLEBURG
continued from page 15
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voucher program—five restaurants, five retail businesses and five service-oriented businesses.
Association Launches Webpage to Support Local Businesses Town Manager Updates on Memorial Day ceremony. The committee is State of Local Emergency Th e Middleburg Business and Profesasking residents to print out an American flag, color it and send a photo of it hanging in their windows to loveamerica@lovettsvilleva.gov. The photos will be included in the virtual ceremony. Download the blank flag image at coloringcastle.com/pdfs/ flags/flag-usa.pdf.
Frontline Workers Invited to Back Street Brews for Treat Back Street Brews Coffee and Tea House is inviting all healthcare workers, teachers, first responders and other frontline workers amid the coronavirus pandemic to the shop for a free coffee or other treat. Customers throughout the past few weeks have been making donations to support frontline workers at the coffee shop by purchasing gift cards, which has allowed the shop to provide the workers with free drinks and food when they visit. Back Street Brews is located at 11 E. Pennsylvania Ave. Learn more about the shop at back-street-brews-coffee-and-teahouse.business.site.
sional Association recently launched a “Middleburg at Home” section on its Visit Middleburg website to promote its members’ services during the coronavirus crisis. The page outlines more than 20 ways residents can help support local businesses, with individual pages dedicated to restaurants and wineries and breweries, lodging, shopping, attractions, events and more. Explore the page at visitmiddleburgva. com/middleburg-at-home.
PURCELLVILLE Town Sends 3K Spending Vouchers to Residents During last Tuesday’s Town Council meeting, Parks and Recreation Division Manager Amie Ware said the town on April 27 mailed 3,336 spending vouchers to utility customers. Each recipient will receive two, $10 vouchers to spend at participating businesses. The total value of all the vouchers is $61,720. Ware said that as of last Tuesday, 15 businesses were participating in the
a program of
Town Manager David Mekarski updated the Town Council last Tuesday night on the status of the town staff ’s operations amid the state of local emergency. Mekarski said that while the town’s 87 employees are “essential in every way,” up to 80 percent of them are working from home. He noted that many are having to “radically revise their work schedules” to ensure the continuity of service in water production, sewage treatment, public safety and public infrastructure management. According to Mekarski’s report, all four departments are working in segregated shifts, with police officers working 12-hour shifts every day of the week and the maintenance team working 6-day schedules, from 4 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mekarski said the town staff is working to preserve the town’s economy, noting that if 50 percent of town businesses remain closed through the next one or two months, the town could suffer a $1.5 million loss in meals tax revenue and a $500,000 or more loss in sales tax revenue.
Water Tower Modifications Remain on Track Modification work to the Town of Purcellville’s Maple Avenue water tower are expected to move along as planned and wrap up by the fall. Capital Projects & Engineering Manager Dale Lehnig presented the Town Council last Tuesday with updates on the project. Since the town staff ’s last update in March, catwalk modifications have been completed and inspected. Information and photos from that inspection were sent to the design engineer, who approved the work—work that did not appear to affect the family of ravens nesting on the temporary cell tower, according to a staff report. The Pittsburg Tank & Tower Group is expected to begin foundation modification work on June 1 if all arrangements between the cellular the carriers and the town are worked out. According to the staff report, Verizon is the only carrier that has yet to sign a new deal with the town. Pittsburg is expected to complete the work by July 17. All cellular carriers are then expected to install their antennas atop the tower beginning July 20. That will take each carrier 2-3 weeks to do—meaning all antennas will be back on the tower by Sept. 31.
for
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MAY 7, 2020
LoCo Living
BY JAN MERCKER
jmercker@loudounnow.com
For Lucas Bohn, comedy means pushing buttons and opening up about stuff people just don’t talk about. From the indignities of infertility treatment to handling rude questions after an interracial adoption, the former Loudoun County elementary school teacher turned professional comedian finds humor in touchy subjects. Bohn’s popular monthly comedy shows at Ashburn’s Old Ox Brewery, bringing nationally known comedians to Loudoun, are on hold during the COVID shutdown. Right now, like many Loudouners, Bohn is parenting young children during a pandemic and sharing a workspace with his spouse. He’s also missing gig-related travel and the energy exchange with audiences. “Part of the reason we get into comedy is for the reaction,” he said. “I like the audience’s reaction. I want to know when they like a joke and that’s when you hear laughter. ... It’s not the same when you can’t see the looks on people’s faces and you can’t see the guy slap his knee or the girl lean over and grab her husband’s shoulder because you said something that resonated with her.” Bohn specializes in “clean” comedy, which foregoes the profanity, obscenity and explicit material some comics are known for. But that doesn’t mean he doesn’t step on some toes. Bohn’s “Black Friday Baby” clip from his 2017 special on the Dry Bar Comedy site is one of his most popular— and most controversial—bits. The material was inspired by a rude question Bohn got while visiting his hometown in southern Virginia with his daughter Ella, whom he and his wife Kristie adopted from Kenya. “That bit has gotten me more flak than I have ever thought that I would get,” he said. “When I wrote the bit, it was more out of absurdity—that people would have the audacity to ask someone these stupid questions.” Bohn tells the story of running into an acquaintance while at a playground with
Lucas Bohn: Finding Humor in the Hard Stuff Ella. The woman asked how the baby would recognize a white couple as her parents, and Bohn responded by belting out a wellknown musical call from “The Lion King.” In a similar situation, Bohn recounts telling a security guard at Walmart who asked an inappropriate question about Ella’s origins, “We got her on Black Friday.” “Very inappropriate question. I gave an inappropriate answer,” he said. Bohn has also found material in the uncomfortable subject of infertility treatments and has earned laughs and connection from audiences. “It’s a weird process. ... Nobody talks about it. … So, I went on stage and I talked about it,” he said. “What I found out was that people came up afterward—men and women—and they’re like, ‘I just want you to know we’re struggling with fertility. You telling those jokes and talking about it on stage was amazing because we thought we were by ourselves. We thought we were on our own.’” Bohn, 38, grew up in Mathews County on Virginia’s Middle Peninsula and made the transition from theater in high school to comedy in college. “I’ve always loved to entertain—whether it’s at the dinner table or on stage,” he said. “I love making people laugh. I love telling stories. It’s always been with me.” Bohn fell in love with comedy while in college at Coastal Carolina University near Myrtle Beach, SC. When he became a regular at a local comedy club, the club own-
er suggested he take comedy classes along with his college courses, and Bohn eventually became the house emcee at the club. “I got a lot of experience very quickly,” he said. But Bohn stayed on track for a career in education and moved to Northern Virginia to take a job with Loudoun County Public Schools where he worked as a fifth grade teacher for several years. In 2010, he was teaching in Loudoun, doing comedy on the side and engaged to Kristie when the opportunity for a 45-venue college tour came up. Saying yes to the tour would mean an extended leave from his teaching job—and eventually leaving teaching altogether. “I freaked out. I had a midlife crisis at 28,” he said. “I never thought [comedy] was a sustainable job.” But Kristie encouraged him to take the leap and follow his dream “She said, ‘You need to go do this and give it a shot.” Bohn did the tour and has been a professional comedian for 10 years, performing regularly on college campuses, cruise ships, theaters and other venues. He released his first comedy special in 2017 with Dry Bar and appeared on NBC’s “Bring the Funny” comedy competition show last summer. In 2018, Bohn launched a comedy events and distribution company, Bojo Entertainment, with his brother-in-law, Steven Jones. Through Bojo, Bohn brings national touring comedians to Old Ox and records and distributes comedy shows to satellite radio
stations and online platforms. “I know comedy. I know what makes a good track. I know where the punchline is. I know how to edit it. By doing that and putting good products out, we’ve been able to sustain ourselves in this crazy economy,” Bohn said. Bohn is also an active performer in his own right, hosting the Ashburn shows and touring regularly. Ella is now 5 and in kindergarten, and Bohn and Kristie adopted her younger brother Alexander in 2018. Alexander, who’s also African American, was adopted domestically in New York during the family’s three-year stint in Brooklyn. They returned to Northern Virginia last year, and Bohn approached Old Ox co-owner Graham Burns about a monthly comedy night in Ashburn. For the past year, Bohn has been hosting national touring comics like Comedy Central alum Louis Ramey and “Tonight Show” guest Brett Leake at sellout shows at the brewery. Bohn and his family live in Reston but are planning a move to Lovettsville this summer. For now, Bohn is writing and running Bojo while homeschooling a kindergartener with a toddler in tow. “I was a teacher. I became a comedian and because of the pandemic, I’m a teacher again,” he said. “I’m right back into my old shoes.” He and Burns are waiting for news from the state government before returning to live shows, but Bohn says the first show would be a benefit for brewery employees who have lost wages during the COVID crisis. Meanwhile, there’s definitely plenty of comic fodder in two months self-isolation with family. “My new joke is, ‘I’ve learned one thing over the pandemic and that is family is everything. Just not for me. You can have them,’” Bohn said. “I think every single person that’s been through these eight weeks is like, ‘I’ve got it. I’ve got how you can love somebody and still be like, I’m done.’” To learn more about Lucas Bohn and check out clips from his 2017 special, go to facebook.com/comiclucasbohn. n
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MAY 7, 2020
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Obituaries Debra Jean Duke Tanner
Debra Jean Duke Tanner, 61, of Leesburg, Virginia, passed away from this life on Wednesday, April 15, 2020, at Inova Hospital, Lansdowne, VA, of suspected pneumo-
nia and partly undetermined causes, following a month of increasing tiredness and respiratory distress. After surviving colon cancer and of late successfully undergoing chemo therapy, she, in part, was a victim of our current Covid-19 times: the confusion of having many symptoms of the virus, but no fever, and several well-meaning virtual visits with physicians that proved fruitless probably delaying what could have been her earlier admission at the ER and more successful 5-day hospital stay. Debra (Deb) was the loving and devoted Wife of and survived by the same of
Nancy Lee (Cullen) Peacock Nancy Lee (Cullen) Peacock, 75, of Leesburg, VA, passed away peacefully on May 4, 2020, at The Adler Center Hospice Facility in Aldie, VA, after a remarkably courageous five and a half year battle with ovarian cancer. She had successfully overcome breast cancer 28 years prior. Nancy’s feisty spunk and spirit made her a determined cancer warrior until the end, and gave her the gift of more time to spend with family making memories. Nancy was born on August 28, 1944, in Washington, D.C. She was the daughter of the late James and Katherine Cullen of Vienna, VA, where she grew up. Nancy was a longtime resident of Loudoun County, having lived in Leesburg, Hamilton and most recently Lucketts. Nancy graduated from James Madison High School’s Class of 1963. Nancy worked for Giant, Contel Phone Company, many local retail stores (Fashion Bug, Peebles, Cato, West Point Stevens, Clarks), and most recently retired from her position as a LCPS bus attendant in 2013 where she
enjoyed working with special needs students. Nancy was a devoted wife, mother and grandmother who had many interests including crocheting, knitting and sewing. She was a former member of the Leesburg Lioness Club and served as their President from 1992-1994. She enjoyed children and loved spending time with her daughter and grandchildren. Nancy is survived by her beloved spouse, Carroll Peacock, of 35 years; a daughter, Lynn Mercer, and husband, Mike Mercer; a granddaughter, Shelby Glenn (Mercer), and wife, Katie; and a grandson, Dylan Mercer, and fiance, Megan Constantinides. Nancy was predeceased by her sister, Phyllis E. Wood, and in-laws, Arthur and Mae Peacock. Funeral arrangements will be private for immediate family only due to COVID-19 restrictions. The graveside service will be at Union Cemetery on Thursday, May 7, at 11 am. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations can be made to the “Pink” Assistance Fund to assist Loudoun residents undergoing breast cancer treatment. Send to: PO Box 6194 Leesburg, VA. 20178 or to Capital Caring Hospice 3180 Fairview Park Dr. Ste 500 Falls Church, VA 22042.
Lives are like rivers: Eventually they go where they must, not where we want them to.
LoudounNow To place an obituary, contact Susan Styer at 703-770-9723 or email: sstyer@loudounnow.com
her Husband, Arnold (Arnie) O. Tanner, and the loving “Mother” of two standard poodles (Francie and Max) which she groomed, loved, and cared for dearly. She also is survived by her sister, Diane Duke, of Yardley, PA, and her brother, Dennis Duke, of Monterey, CA. She was preceded in death by her Mother, Dorothy Duke Field, Father, Hector Irl Duke, and brother, Donald Duke. She was born on April 19, 1958 in Encino, CA. As a child, she in the Indian Maidens (like the Brownies) was known as “Dancing Star”. The family moved to Bucks County,
PA, in 1971; she became a dental assistant, achieved her bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts at the San Francisco Art Institute, and moved back East. Back to school again, now in Virginia, she became a Dental Hygienist serving us for 10 years, after which she served ‘til her death as a personal care assistant, as a Visiting Angel. She and Arnie met hiking at Shenandoah National Park, shared many things and times, and missed many things with the necessity of her abrupt departure, but they loved each other so very much. Deb’s heart was the epitome of Love.
Stephen A. Tyrrell Stephen A. Tyrrell, 68, of Lovettsville, has been received in his heavenly home. He courageously fought early onset Alzheimer’s Dementia for the past several years and now our good Lord has called him home. Mr. Tyrrell was born in Delhi, NY on June 25, 1951, growing up on a dairy farm in the Catskills, skiing at the local ski centers, graduating from Delaware Academy in 1969, graduating from Delhi Tech in 1971, and in 1973 graduated from Clarkson University with a BS in Civil Engineering. He joined VDOT’s 2.5 yr. trainee program upon graduation, moving to VA. Steve’s childhood dream of becoming a highway engineer came true. He later tested for and passed his Professional Engineering exam and received his P.E. license. Steve retired from VDOT on September 1, 2017 with over 44 years of service as a Sr. Engineer. Steve met his future wife Bonnie in the spring of 1974 - introduced by a VDOT employee and mutual friend, Sylvia Leathem. They were married on August 2, 1975. Together they enjoyed tennis, golf, bike riding, going to airshows, and projects in their home. Their family consisted of a wonderful daughter, Christy- a family Steve loved with all his heart. Airplanes were Steve’s passion from a very early age and he enjoyed building and flying radio controlled airplanes.
Dave Brown, a fellow VDOT employee and best friend, taught Steve how to fly his Stearman Bi-plane. Together they shared many adventures in the air and on the ground at The Flying Circus. Survivors include his wife of 44 years, Bonnie S. Tyrrell, daughter Christy M. Tyrrell both of Lovettsville, nephew Derek Sturdevant and wife Debbie (sons Cody and Benjamin) of SC, sister-in- law Karen S. Ennis and husband Steve, John Ennis and wife Jenn ( daughters Taylor, Hannah and Abby) of Fredericksburg, Jamie Ennis Duffy and husband Kent of Arlington, Charlotte Sturdevant of California, Dave Brown of Warrenton, Grace Ross of Berryville, and many cousins and friends. Steve was predeceased in death by his parents, Maurice and Helen Tyrrell and his sister, Kathleen Tyrrell Sturdevant. To honor Steve’s love of flying, we will have a special day of celebration for him at the Flying Circus later this year, Steve’s “Happy Place”. Memorial contributions may be made to The Retreat at Berryville, 450 Mosby Blvd. Berryville, VA 22611, Blue Ridge Hospice 333 W. Cork St. #405 Winchester, VA 22601 or to The Flying Circus 5114 Ritchie Rd. Bealeton, VA 22712. Guestbook at DBThompsonfuneralhome.com Donald B. Thompson Funeral Home, Middletown, is in charge of arrangements.
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Leesburg Resident Publishes First Book on Gratitude BY KARA C. RODRIGUEZ krodriguez@loudounnow.com
Gratitude is what got Leesburg resident Jennifer Garman through a trying medical ordeal. And it may be just what the general public could use in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. Garman recently released her first book, “Flourish: 7 Ways Gratitude Can Change Your Life.” The book comes on the heels of her first product release, The Growing Gratitude Tree, by her Gratitude Mission. Garman’s focus on gratitude began in the midst of her own medical challenges, when she was suffering from an unknown ailment. Doctors failed to pinpoint her exact diagnosis, and no treatment regimen got her beyond feeling even 70 percent like herself. “It wasn’t until I changed my mindset, and the focus and pillar of that was gratitude,” she said. She used her renewed energy to create The Growing Gratitude Tree, a vinyl wall decal which can serve as a “visual reminder of everything you do have in your life.” The product went to market in the fall of 2018
and she began last spring documenting her experience in her first book. “It truly is a perspective shift. I talk about this in the book. [Gratitude is] like building up a muscle. You start to work out, you want to get muscle and definition in your arms but you’ve got nothing there to begin with. In order to really get this impact of it you’ve got to practice it, build that muscle so when things do happen that are bad or a negative thought hits you can shift that perspective,” she explained. The timeliness of the release of a book about gratitude in a period of social isolation, a struggling economy, and major disruptions related to the worldwide pandemic was not lost on Garman. With the book release and the exhaustive research behind her, she is hoping to return to her life coaching career. Trauma and forgiveness are two things people get hung up on, really can’t get past it. Gratitude is a really great way to get past that,” she said. “Flourish: 7 Ways Gratitude Can Change Your Life” is available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Walmart. For more information about Garman and her products, go to gratitudemission.org. n
MAY 7, 2020
ARTS roundup LoCo Living Arts and Leisure Round-Up, May 7-14 Thinking of making a short film with all of your free time during lockdown? You’re in luck. The new Loudoun Arts Film Festival has extended its deadline for submissions through June 12. Here’s the scoop on the fest along with some of the best virtual events and curbside Mother’s Day brunches coming up in Loudoun. Send your upcoming performances, art demos, culinary events and cultural happenings to calendar@ loudounnow.com and list online at getoutloudoun.com.
Film Fest Submission Deadline Extended
It’s all happening at facebook.com/ franklinpark.artscenter.
The brand-new Loudoun Arts Film Festival has extended its submission deadline to June 12. The festival is scheduled for Aug. 7-9 under the umbrella of the Loudoun Arts Council. Organizers are seeking films, both feature length and short, along with screenplays and music videos. For details and submission guidelines, go to filmfreeway.com/loudounfilmfest.
Wineries Get Creative with Virtual Tastings
Xylophones, Puppets and More from Franklin Park Franklin Park Arts Center’s new Friday afternoon percussion programming features music therapist Jay Forbes exploring percussion in a range of forms. This week’s session teaches viewers how to make and tune a xylophone using drinking glasses and takes place Friday, May 8 at 4 p.m. The center’s online Sunday Coffeehouse series features a performance from singer/songwriter Eli Pafumi, a Dominion High School grad and former Loudoun YouthFest winner who now makes music in Los Angeles. Pafumi makes a virtual return to Loudoun at Franklin Park Sunday, May 10 at 8 p.m. Meanwhile, the center’s Start Lunch with the Arts series continues full steam ahead with performances and demos at noon daily. This week’s schedule includes the following: • Thursday, May 7: Brian Flatko, percussion • Friday, May 8: Jewelry making with designer Meredith Hilt
With wineries around Loudoun limited to curbside pickup, virtual wine tastings are becoming a big thing. Wine lovers can grab selected bottles from their favorite vineyards and follow along with online tastings. BREAUX VINEYARDS is offering regular Friday evening virtual tastings with lead wine educator Jim Koennicke. Up next is a virtual tasting of two of its Lineage portstyle wines on Friday, May 8 from 7 to 7:30 p.m. If you want to follow along at home, the featured wines can be pre-purchased for curbside pick-up or shipping. Tune in to the free tasting at facebook.com/breauxvineyards1997. STONE TOWER WINERY is offering virtual tasting kits with tiny tasting-sized bottles and guided tastings along with cooking classes and live music from favorite winery circuit musicians. Go to facebook.com/ stonetowerwinery.
Saying Thanks—With Beer Want to support a local craft brewery and give back to healthcare workers and other essential employees? CROOKED RUN BREWING launched its Essential Beers program this week, creating a prepaid tab for healthcare workers, first responders, pharmacy and grocery store employees. Essential employees can bring a work ID or pay stub to pick up a donated four-pack. To donate, go to crookedrunbrewing.com
• Saturday, May 9: Blue Sky Puppets
Curbside Brunches for Mom
• Sunday, May 10: Loudoun-based painter Anne Block discusses making art in the time of quarantine
After cooking quarantine meal #168, there’s a good chance mom’s are more than a little over it. Here are just a few favorite spots to pick up brunch curbside for Mother’s Day this Sunday, May 10. And yes, you can get mimosas to go. Order ahead and pick up curbside. PURCELLVILLE’S PETITE LOULOU has put
• Monday, May 11: TBA • Tuesday, May 12: The Doubtful Sprout puppet show • Wednesday, May 13: TBA • Thursday, May 14: Wood turner Juan Gil demonstrates his craft
ARTS ROUNDUP continues on page 21
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MAY 7, 2020
ARTS roundup continued from page 20
together a Mom-Mosa gift box including a bottle of French sparkling wine, carafe of juice and adorable gifts made by small producers for $55. The cafe also offers a Grande Mother’s Day Tea along with brunch or breakfast to go. Go to petiteloulou.store to order. DINNER BELLES KITCHEN CUPBOARD in Lovettsville is offering sweet or savory French toast casserole for four for $20. Add
in a mimosa for mom for $10 or purchase a bottle of sparkling wine from the cupboard fun selection. Order online by May 8 for pick-up May 9. Limited delivery is available. Go to facebook.com/dbkitchencupboard to order. ASHBURN’S FAMOUS TOASTERY offers curbside pick-up Mother’s Day brunch for four for $40 with options including quiche, French toast casserole and flapjacks. Add a mimosa kit for $18. Go to facebook.com/ famoustoastery SIDEBAR’s Mother’s Day brunch is sold out, but you can still order from sister establishment More Better Restaurant in
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Round Hill: brunch for four is $80 including eggs, sausage and bacon and cinnamon rolls along with a range of beverage add-ons. You can even buy a spring bouquet with your meal. Go to facebook.com/ morebetterbeer ASHBURN’S PARALLEL WINE & WHISKEY BAR serves up an abundant Mother’s Day
brunch for up to five, including salad, smoked salmon, lots of breakfast meats, a frittata and more, for $120. Add on mimosas or bloody Marys and make mom’s day. Order at paralleltogo.smartonlineorder. com.
Creative Gifts for Mom Need a last-minute Mother’s Day gift? Artists Amy Manson of the Clay and Metal Loft and Teresa Jardines of Zia Jewelry Designs are offering special online shopping for the big day at facebook.com/theclayandmetalloft. Order online and pick up curbside at the downtown Leesburg studio. If mom wants to get crafty herself, gift her an online ceramic rose class scheduled for May 14. Sign up for the class via Facebook and pick up materials curbside before instruction starts. n
Legal Notices NOTICE OF IMPOUNDMENT OF ABANDONED VEHICLES This notice is to inform the owner and any person having a security interest in their right to reclaim the motor vehicle herein described within 15 days after the date of storage charges resulting from placing the vehicle in custody, and the failure of the owner or persons having security interests to exercise their right to reclaim the vehicle within the time provided shall be deemed a waiver by the owner, and all persons having security interests of all right, title and interest in the vehicle, and consent to the sale of the abandoned motor vehicle at a public auction.
NOTICE TO THE PUBLIC MIDDLEBURG TOWN COUNCIL PUBLIC HEARING
This notice shall also advise the owner of record of his or her right to contest the determination by the Sheriff that the motor vehicle was “abandoned”, as provided in Chapter 630.08 of the Loudoun County Ordinance, by requesting a hearing before the County Administrator in writing. Such written request for a hearing must be made within 15 days of the notice. YR.
FRANCHISE GRANT OF PUBLIC RIGHT-OF-WAY
2001
MAKE
YAMAHA
MODEL
RAPTOR
VIN
JY4AM01371A000444
STORAGE
AL’S TOWING
The Middleburg Town Council will hold a public hearing on Thursday, May 14, 2020 at 6:00 p.m. in the Town Hall Council Chambers, located at 10 West Marshall Street, to consider the following: FRANCHISE TO LUMOS NETWORKS, INC., DOING BUSINESS AS “SEGRA,” TO PLACE TELECOMMUNICATIONS FACILITIES IN THE PUBLIC RIGHT-OF-WAY Pursuant to Virginia Code §15.2-1800, the Town of Middleburg will hold a public hearing to receive comments concerning a proposed franchise agreement between the Town and LUMOS NETWORKS, INC. (doing business as Segra) (“Segra”). Under the agreement, the Town would grant Segra the right to install optical fiber within the Town’s public right-of-way. Segra intends to use the optical fiber to provide Segra’s customers Broadband Internet Access Service and Telecommunications Service. The proposed agreement is for a period of five years. Interested citizens are invited to express their views on this application during the public hearing by calling (540) 339-6355 at 6:00 p.m. on May 14th or by submitting written comments through our website at https://www.middleburgva.gov/287/Report-a-Concern-Provide-Input. Copies of the application to use the public right-of-way may be viewed on our website at https:// www.middleburgva.gov/313/Public-Hearings or at the Town Hall from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Mondays through Fridays.
PHONE#
703-435-8888 04/30 & 05/07/20
ORDER OF PUBLICATION COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA VA. CODE § 8.01-316, 317
Case No.:
JJ035094-05-00,
Loudoun Circuit Court Commonwealth of Virginia, in re Bhasmang A Bhatt v. Ami Bhasmang Bhatt The subject of this suit is to obtain divorce from the bond of matrimony. It is ORDERED that Bhasmang A Bhatt appear at the above-named Court and protect his interests on or before July 10, 2020 at 10:00 am. 4/23, 4/30, 5/7 & 5/14/20
5/7/20
Community Notice of Floodplain Map Amendments The Town of Hillsboro Zoning Department and the Natural Resources Division of the Department of Building and Development, Loudoun County, VA hereby gives notice of the Town’s and County’s intent to revise the flood hazard information, generally located between Gaver Mill Road and upstream of Stony Point Road. Specifically, the flood hazard information shall be revised along the North Fork Catoctin Creek from a point approximately 700 feet downstream of Highwater Road to a point approximately 1,930 feet upstream of Stony Point Road. The flood hazard revisions are being proposed as part of Conditional Letter of Map Revision (CLOMR) Case No. 19-03-1576R for a proposed project along North Fork Catoctin Creek. Town of Hillsboro is proposing a Charles Town Pike Traffic Calming project as part of pedestrian safety and traffic calming measures for the Town. Once the project has been completed, a Letter of Map Revision (LOMR) request should be submitted that will, in part, revise the following flood hazards along North Fork Catoctin Creek. 1.
Base Flood Elevations (BFEs) will increase and decrease within Town of Hillsboro along North Fork Catoctin Creek and there is no increase in BFE within Loudon County along North Fork Catoctin Creek.
2.
The SFHA will increase and decrease within Town of Hillsboro and Loudon County along North Fork Catoctin Creek.
Maps and detailed analysis of the revision can be reviewed at the Hillsboro Old Stone School, Town of Hillsboro, 37098 Charles Town Pike, Hillsboro, VA. Interested persons may contact Ashlyn Eisenbrown, Project Coordinator at 540-486-8001 or email: aeisenbrown@hillsborova.gov for additional information or to setup a review appointment from 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM Monday to Friday. 5/7/20
TOWN OF LEESBURG DEPARTMENT OF UTILITIES NOTICE OF WATER MAIN FLUSHING The Town of Leesburg will conduct controlled flushing of water mains throughout the Town beginning April through June 30th, 2020. This preventative maintenance program is essential for maintaining the Town’s high standards of water quality. Water mains are flushed by opening fire hydrants and allowing them to flow freely for a short period of time. The flushing cleans out sediment, removes air which may accumulate in the water mains and restores chlorine levels in areas of limited use, thereby, reducing the potential for bacteriological contamination. Water is safe to drink and safe to use during flushing. However, flushing may result in temporary discoloration and sediment in the water. If discoloration or sediment is evident, the Town recommends residents avoid doing laundry until the discoloration subsides. Flushing may also introduce air into the water, which may temporarily cause erratic flow. If this occurs, open your cold water tap until a clear steady flow of water is observed. Some residents and businesses may experience lower pressure during the flushing in their neighborhood. The Town regrets any inconvenience the flushing operation may cause. Please call the Utilities Department at 703-737-7075 for further information. For after-hour emergencies, call the Leesburg Police Department at 703-771-4500. 4/9, 4/16, 4/23, 5/7, 5/14, 5/21 & 5/28/20
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MAY 7, 2020
Legal Notices PUBLIC HEARING The LOUDOUN COUNTY PLANNING COMMISSION will hold a public hearing in the Board of Supervisors’ Meeting Room on the first floor of the County Government Center, 1 Harrison Street, S.E., Leesburg, Virginia, on Tuesday, May 26, 2020, at 6:00 p.m. to consider the following:
ZRTD-2019-0005 CARPENTER DRIVE
(Zoning Conversion in the Route 28 Taxing District) Carpenter Drive, L.L.C., of Sterling, Virginia, has submitted an application to rezone approximately 3.28 acres from the PD-IP (Planned Development-Industrial Park) zoning district under the 1972 Zoning Ordinance, to the PD-IP (Planned Development-Industrial Park) zoning district under the Revised 1993 Zoning Ordinance, in order to develop all principal and accessory uses permitted in the PD-IP zoning district under the Revised 1993 Zoning Ordinance at a maximum Floor Area Ratio (FAR) of 0.4 (up to 0.6 by Special Exception). The subject property is located within the Route 28 Tax District. The subject property is approximately 3.28 acres in size and located on the south side of Sterling Boulevard (Route 846), east of Sully Road (Route 28), at 108 Carpenter Drive, Sterling, Virginia, in the Broad Run Election District. The subject property is more particularly described as PIN: 033-37-0100. The area is governed by the policies of the Loudoun County 2019 General Plan (Suburban Policy Area) in the Suburban Employment Place Type, which support a broad array of Employment uses at a recommended FAR of up to 1.0.
ZRTD-2019-0006 DIGITAL STERLING PREMIERE
(Zoning Conversion in the Route 28 Taxing District) Digital Sterling Premiere LLC., of San Francisco, California, has submitted an application to rezone approximately 22.07 acres from the PD-IP (Planned Development-Industrial Park) zoning district under the 1972 Zoning Ordinance and 1993 Zoning Ordinance, to the PD-IP (Planned Development-Industrial) zoning district under the Revised 1993 Zoning Ordinance, in order to develop all principal and accessory uses permitted in the PD-GI (Planned Development-General Industry) zoning district under the Revised 1993 Zoning Ordinance at a maximum Floor Area Ratio (FAR) of 0.4 (up to 0.6 by Special Exception). The subject properties are located within the Route 28 Tax District, Corridor Office (CO) Optional Overlay and partially within the AI (Airport Impact) Overlay District, between the 60 and 65 Ldn noise contour and also partially within the AI (Airport Impact) Overlay District, outside of but within one (1) mile of the Ldn 60 aircraft noise contours. The subject properties are approximately 22.07 acres in size and are located on the east side of Pacific Boulevard (Route 1036), on the west side of Sully Road (Route 28) and north of South Sterling Boulevard (Route 846) in the Broad Run Election District. The subject properties are more particularly described as follows: PIN 045-29-9249 045-39-6350 045-39-6211 045-49-8712
ADDRESS N/A N/A N/A 22590 Relocation Drive, Sterling, Virginia
The area is governed by the policies of the Loudoun County 2019 General Plan (Suburban Policy Area) in the Suburban Employment Place Type, which supports a broad array of Employment uses at a recommended FAR of up to 1.0.
ZRTD-2020-0001 BUSINESS COURT
(Zoning Conversion in the Route 28 Taxing District) Pilot Station Virginia LLC., c/o Sackman Enterprises Inc., of New York, New York, has submitted an application to rezone approximately 8.14 acres from the PD-IP (Planned Development-Industrial Park) zoning district under the 1993 Zoning Ordinance to PD-IP under the Revised 1993 Zoning Ordinance, in order to permit all principal and accessory uses permitted in the PD-IP zoning district under the Revised 1993 Zoning Ordinance at a maximum Floor Area Ratio (FAR) of 0.6 (up to 1.0 by Special Exception). The subject property is located within the Route 28 Taxing District, within the Route 28 Optional Overlay District, and within the AI (Airport Impact) Overlay District, between the Ldn 60-65 aircraft noise contours. The subject property is approximately 8.14 acres in size and is located west of Pacific Boulevard (Route 1036), on the west side of Business Court (Route 1037) and east side of Underwood Lane (Route 866) at 45195 Business Court, Sterling, Virginia, in the Broad Run Election District. The subject property is more particularly described as PIN: 046-38-6144. The area is governed by the policies of the Loudoun County 2019 General Plan (Suburban Policy Area (Suburban Employment Place Type)), which supports a broad array of Employment uses at a recommended FAR of up to 1.0.
ZMAP-2018-0015, SPEX-2018-0037 & SPEX-2018-0038 JK TECHNOLOGY PARK #1 (Zoning Map Amendment Petition and Special Exception)
JK Land Holdings of Sterling, Virginia, has submitted applications for the following: 1) To rezone approximately 71.56 acres from the R-1 (Residential–1 ), CR-1 (Countryside Residential–1), PD-GI (Planned Development – General Industry), and PD-IP (Planned Development – Industrial Park) zoning districts under the Revised 1993 Zoning Ordinance to the PD-IP (Planned Development – Industrial Park) zoning district under the Revised 1993 Zoning Ordinance in order to permit the development of all principal and accessory uses permitted in the PD-IP zoning district under the Revised 1993 Zoning Ordinance at a
maximum Floor Area Ratio (FAR) of 0.60 (up to 1.0 by Special Exception); 2) A Special Exception to permit an increase to the maximum FAR from 0.60 to 1.0; and 3) A Special Exception to permit an increase to the maximum lot coverage from 0.45 to 0.60. These applications are subject to the Revised 1993 Zoning Ordinance, and the proposed uses are listed as Special Exception uses under Section 4-506(A) and (C). The subject property is located within the AI (Airport Impact) Overlay District, within the Ldn 65 or higher and between the Ldn 60-65, aircraft noise contours. The subject property is approximately 71.56 acres in size and is located south of Evergreen Mills Road (Route 621) and north of Racefield Lane (Route 877) in the Blue Ridge election district. The subject property is more particularly described as follows: PIN
PROPERTY ADDRESS
202-28-5740
N/A
202-18-8046
N/A
202-26-0981
N/A
202-17-7155
N/A
202-19-2262
41567 Briarfield Lane, Aldie, Virginia
202-29-1015
N/A
202-19-0181
N/A
The area is governed by the policies of the Loudoun County 2019 General Plan (Suburban Policy Area (Suburban Neighborhood)), which support primarily Single-Family Residential uses with limited supportive Retail and Service uses at recommended densities of four dwelling units per acre (du/ac), up to 6 du/ac for infill development, and FAR of up to 1.0 for Non-Residential uses. Unless otherwise noted in the above notices, copies of the above-referenced amendments, applications, ordinances, and/or plans and related documents may be examined by request at the Loudoun County Government Center, Information Desk, 1st Floor, 1 Harrison Street, S.E., Leesburg, Virginia, from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, or call 703-777-0246 (option 5) to request hard copies or electronic copies, or electronically at www.loudoun.gov/lola. This link also provides an additional opportunity for public input on active applications. To arrange a time to view the file at the Loudoun County Government Center, please email dpz@loudoun.gov or call 703-777-0246, or you may view the file electronically at www.loudoun.gov/lola. For detailed instructions on how to access documents using LOLA, to request that documents be emailed to you, to receive physical copies of documents, or to arrange a time to view the file at the Loudoun County Government Center, please email DPZ@loudoun.gov or call 703-777-0246 (option 5). Additionally, documents may be viewed and downloaded electronically the week before the hearing at www.loudoun.gov/pc. All members of the public will be heard as to their views pertinent to these matters. Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, members of the public are encouraged to view and/or participate in the public hearing electronically. Planning Commission public hearings are available for viewing on television on Comcast Government Channel 23, Open Band Channel 40, and Verizon FiOS Channel 40, and are livestreamed at loudoun.gov/webcast Citizens are encouraged to call in advance to sign up to speak at the public hearing. Instructions for remote participation will be forwarded to all individuals who sign-up in advance. If you wish to sign up in advance of the hearing, please call the Department of Planning and Zoning at 703-777-0246 prior to 12:00 PM on the day of the public hearing. Speakers may also sign up at the hearing. Written comments are welcomed at any time and may be sent to the Loudoun County Planning Commission, 1 Harrison Street, S.E., 3rd Floor, MSC #62, Leesburg, Virginia 20175, or by e-mail to loudounpc@loudoun.gov. Any individual representing and/or proposing to be the sole speaker on behalf of a citizen’s organization or civic association is encouraged to contact the Department of Planning and Zoning prior to the date of the public hearing if special arrangements for additional speaking time and/or audio-visual equipment will be requested. Such an organization representative will be allotted 6 minutes to speak, and the Chairman may grant additional time if the request is made prior to the date of the hearing and the need for additional time is reasonably justified. Citizens are encouraged to call the Department of Planning and Zoning on the day of the public hearing to confirm that an item is on the agenda, or, the most current agenda may be viewed on the Planning Commission’s website at www.loudoun.gov/pc. In the event that the second Thursday is a holiday or the meeting may not be held due to inclement weather or other conditions that make it hazardous for members to attend, the meeting will be moved to the third Tuesday of the month. In the event that Tuesday is a holiday or the Tuesday meeting may not be held due to inclement weather or other conditions that make it hazardous for members to attend, the meeting will be held on the following Thursday. The meeting will be held at a place determined by the Chairman. Hearing assistance is available for meetings in the Board of Supervisors’ Meeting Room. FM Assistive Listening System is available at the meetings at all other locations. If you require any type of reasonable accommodation as a result of a physical, sensory or mental disability to participate in this meeting, contact the Department of Planning and Zoning at 703-777-0246. Please provide three days’ notice. BY ORDER OF:
ERIC COMBS, CHAIRMAN LOUDOUN COUNTY PLANNING COMMISSION 5/7/20
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MAY 7, 2020
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Legal Notices PUBLIC HEARING The LOUDOUN COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS will hold a public hearing in the Board of Supervisors’ Meeting Room, County Government Center, 1 Harrison Street, S.E., Leesburg, Virginia, at 6:00 p.m. on WEDNESDAY, May 13, 2020 in order to consider:
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT (CDBG) AMENDMENTS to the FY2019-2020 and 2020-2021 ANNUAL ACTION PLANS And CITIZEN PARTICIPATION PLAN The Citizen Participation Plan (CPP) was adopted by the Board on April 2, 2014. The CDBG FY20192020 Annual Action Plan and the CDBG FY2020-2021 Annual Action Plan were adopted by the Board of Supervisors (Board) on March 13, 2019 and March 11, 2020, respectively. Pursuant to the CARES Act, staff is proposing that the Board amend the process in the CPP in order to address the COVID-19 emergency in a timely manner. Due to the CARES Act, the County is receiving additional CDBG funds that could be spent immediately to address the community impacts of the coronavirus (COVID-19). Staff is proposing that the Board allocate the CARES Act CDBG funds to the CDBG FY2019-2020 budget. In addition, the County is to receive more CDBG funds than expected for FY2020-2021. Staff is proposing to redistribute a portion of this additional FY2020-2021 funding to also address the community impacts of COVID-19. The County seeks community comments to modifications of the: 1. CPP to include the expedited process to amend the Annual Action Plans during a declared emergency such as the coronavirus (COVID-19); 2. CDBG FY2019-2020 Annual Action Plan to enable CARES Act funds to be used starting in the 2020 fiscal year to address the immediate critical COVID-19 related needs; and 3. CDBG FY2020-2021 Annual Action Plan funding contingency plan to use a portion of those additional funds to address COVID-19 related needs beginning July 1, 2020. HUD has designated Loudoun County as qualified for Urban County participation in the CDBG program and entitled to receive CDBG funding directly from HUD. HUD regulations require the adoption of the above referenced Plans which outlines the County’s housing and community development needs, priorities and objectives, and proposed use of the federal funds for the ensuing CDBG program year. The CPP, included as part of the 2014-2018 Consolidated Plan, provides guidance for public input and participation in the development of the Annual Action Plans. The CARES Act permits an expedited process in order to deploy funding as soon as possible to help address COVID-19 related issues. The expedited process requires that the public be notified at least 5 days in advance of a public hearing and given an opportunity to comment on proposed uses of CDBG funds; permits virtual public hearings as long as national or local health authorities recommend social distancing and limiting public gatherings for public health reasons; and requires that virtual hearings provide reasonable notification and access for citizens, timely responses from local officials to all citizen questions and issues, and public access to all questions and responses. Components of the amended Annual Action Plans include, without limitation, descriptions of: • Resources and proposed activities to prevent, prepare for, and respond to COVID-19; • Federal and other resources expected to be available; • Leveraging of resources and how match obligations will be met; • The activities to be undertaken; • The geographic distribution of investment; and • Planned homeless and other special needs activities. Copies of the proposed Plan are available and may be examined online at www.loudoun.gov/cdbg. Written comments on the Plan may be submitted via email to Sandra.Berrios@loudoun.gov through May 12, 2020.
SPEX-2019-0050 & CMPT-2019-0006 INVISIBLE TOWERS–KARMEN (Special Exception & Commission Permit)
Invisible Towers LLC, of Waterford, Virginia, has submitted applications for the following: 1) Commission approval to permit a 199-foot tall Telecommunications Monopole and associated ground equipment in the AR1 (Agricultural Rural1) zoning district; and 2) A Special Exception to permit a 199-foot tall Telecommunications Monopole in the AR1 zoning district. These applications are subject to the Revised 1993 Loudoun County Zoning Ordinance and the proposed use is listed as a Special Exception use under Table 2102 and requires a Commission Permit in accordance with Section 61101. The modification of the Buffer Yard and Screening requirements applicable to the proposed monopole use is authorized as part of the Special Exception under Section 51409(B)(2), Waivers and Modifications, pursuant to which the Applicant requests the following Zoning Ordinance modification(s): ZONING ORDINANCE SECTION §51404(B), Landscaping, Buffer Yards, Screening, and Landscaping Plans, Buffer Yards, Use Buffer Yard Matrix, Table 51404(B).
PROPOSED MODIFICATION Eliminate the required Type C buffer yard landscaping around the equipment at the base monopole.
The subject property is an approximately 1.59 acre portion of an approximately 163.88 acre parcel and is located on the south side of Lovettsville Road (Route 672), and the north side of Yakey Lane (Route 667) in the Catoctin Election District. The subject property is more particularly described as PIN: 216-35-6684.The area is governed by the policies of the Loudoun County 2019 General Plan (Rural Area (Rural North Place
Type)), which designate this area for mostly Agricultural and Agricultural supportive uses with limited Residential development at a recommended density of up to one dwelling units per 20 acres.
SIDP-2019-0008 LOVETTSVILLE HOME ASSISTED LIVING (Sign Development Plan)
Lovettsville Home Assisted Living, of Lovettsville, Virginia, has submitted an application for a Sign Development Plan to request alternative sign regulations for permitted signs in order to modify Table 5-1204(D), Sign Requirements Matrix, to increase the maximum area of any one Residential Name Sign from 2 square feet to 15.8 square feet. The subject property is being developed pursuant to ZMAP-20050042, Rural Policy Area Remapping, located in the AR-1 (Agricultural Rural – 1) zoning district under the Revised 1993 Zoning Ordinance. This application is subject to the Revised 1993 Zoning Ordinance, and pursuant to Section 5-1202(E) alternative sign regulations for permitted signs may be requested with the submission of a Sign Development Plan. The subject property is approximately 3 acres in size and is located east of Berlin Turnpike (Route 287) and west of Milltown Road (Route 681), at 39196 Rodeffer Road, Lovettsville, Virginia, in the Catoctin Election District. The subject property is more particularly described as PIN: 372-48-8868. The area is governed by the policies of the Loudoun County 2019 General Plan (Rural Policy Area (Rural North Place Type)), which designate this area for Rural Economy uses and limited Residential development.
SPEX-2019-0030 BANFIELD PET HOSPITAL (Special Exception)
Medical Management International, Inc., of Minnetonka, Minnesota, has submitted an application for a Special Exception to permit an Animal Hospital use in the PC-CC-SC (Planned Development-Commercial Center-Small Regional Center) zoning district. This application is subject to the Revised 1993 Loudoun County Zoning Ordinance, and the proposed use is listed as a Special Exception use under Section 4-204(C) (1) and more specifically under 4-204(B)(11). The subject property is located partially within the FOD (Floodplain Overlay District) and contains moderate steep slopes. The subject property is approximately 9.529 acres in size and is located on the south side of Harry Byrd Highway (Route 7), east of North Sterling Boulevard (Route 846), and west of Dranesville Road (Route 228), at 21800 Towncenter Plaza, Sterling, Virginia, in the Sterling Election District. The subject property is more particularly described as PIN: 01439-1743. The area is governed by the policies of the Loudoun County 2019 General Plan (Suburban Policy Area (Suburban Mixed Use place type)), which designate this area for a mix of Residential, Commercial, Entertainment, Cultural and Recreational uses.
SPEX-2019-0021 7-ELEVEN SOUTH RIDING (Special Exception)
7-Eleven, Inc., of Irving, Texas, has submitted an application for a Special Exception to permit a Car Wash use in the PD-CC-NC (Planned Development – Commercial Center – Neighborhood Center) zoning district. This application is subject to the Revised 1993 Zoning Ordinance, and the proposed use is listed as a Special Exception use under Section 4-204(A). The subject property is located within the AI (Airport Impact) Overlay District, outside of but within one (1) mile of the Ldn 60, aircraft noise contours and the QN (Quarry Notification) Overlay District-Chantilly Crush Stone Note Area. The subject property is approximately 2.132 acres in size and is located north of Tall Cedars Parkway (Route 2200), south of John Mosby Highway (Route 50) and east of Loudoun County Parkway (Route 606) at 25140 Loudoun County Pkwy., Chantilly, Virginia, in the Dulles Election District. The subject property is more particularly described as PIN: 164-105-637-001. The area is governed by the policies of the Loudoun County 2019 General Plan (Suburban Policy Area (Suburban Neighborhood Place Type)) which designate this area for predominately Residential uses with complementary Retail and Service Commercial uses.
ZRTD-2019-0007 BEAUMEADE CIRCLE PROPERTIES (Zoning Conversion in the Route 28 Taxing District)
Beaumeade Properties LLC, of Reston, Virginia, has submitted an application to rezone approximately 18.33 acres from the PD-IP (Planned Development-Industrial Park) zoning district under the 1993 Loudoun County Zoning Ordinance to the PD-IP zoning district under the Revised 1993 Loudoun County Zoning Ordinance, in order to permit all principal and accessory uses permitted in the PD-IP zoning district under the Revised 1993 Loudoun County Zoning Ordinance at a maximum Floor Area Ratio (FAR) of 0.6 (up to 1.0 by Special Exception). The subject property is located within the Route 28 Taxing District, within the Route 28 Corridor Optional Overlay District, and within the AI (Airport Impact) Overlay district, between the Ldn 60-65 aircraft noise contours. The subject property is approximately 18.33 acres in size and is located east of Cape Court, on the west side of Loudoun County Parkway (Route 607) and on the southeast
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MAY 7, 2020
Legal Notices side of Beaumeade Circle (Route 3037) in the Broad Run Election District. The subject property is more particularly described as: PIN
PROPERTY ADDRESS
061-40-4434
N/A
061-40-8640
N/A
061-30-3196
N/A
The area is governed by the policies of the Loudoun County 2019 General Plan (Suburban Policy Area, Suburban Employment Place Type), which supports a broad array of Employment uses at a recommended FAR of up to 1.0. Unless otherwise noted in the above notices, copies of the above-referenced amendments, applications, ordinances, and/or plans and related documents may be examined by request at the Loudoun County Government Center, Information Desk, 1st Floor, 1 Harrison Street, S.E., Leesburg, Virginia, from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, or call 703-7770246 (option 5) to request hard copies or electronic copies, or electronically at www.loudoun.gov/lola. This link also provides an additional opportunity for public input on active applications. Documents also may be viewed and downloaded electronically 72 hours in advance of the public hearing at: www.loudoun.gov/bosdocuments (for Public Hearing documents, follow the link for “Board of Supervisors Business Meetings, Public Hearings and Special Meetings”). In addition, for detailed instructions on how to access documents using LOLA, to request that documents be emailed to you, to receive physical copies of documents, or to arrange a time to view the file at the Loudoun
OFFICIAL VOTING INFORMATION Town Elections – Tuesday, May 19, 2020 By Mail - Tuesday, May 12, 2020, by 5 p.m. In Person – Saturday, May 16, 2020, by 5 p.m. The Voter Registration Office located at 750 Miller Drive, SE, Suite C, Leesburg, Virginia, is open Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. and will also be open on Saturday, May 16, 2020, from 8:30 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. for curbside absentee voting ONLY. Town voters are encouraged to vote by mail (if time permits). Apply for an absentee ballot online using the Virginia Department of Elections website at www.elections.virginia.gov. POLLING PLACES WILL BE OPEN AT 6:00 A.M. AND CLOSE AT 7:00 P.M. ON TUESDAY, MAY 19, 2020. For more information, call 703 777-0380 Judith Brown, General Registrar 750 Miller Drive, SE, Suite C Leesburg, Virginia 20175-8916 Email: vote@loudoun.gov Please Note: Absentee ballots should be returned so that they are received by the Office of Elections no later than 7 p.m. on Tuesday, May 19, 2020, Election Day, to be counted. All town voters are reminded that strict social distancing measures will be in place on Tuesday, May 19, 2020 at all polling places. Voters should remain at least 6 feet apart and only 10 people will be allowed in the polling place at any given time. Voters should expect delays when voting in person on Election Day. Town elections for Hillsboro and Leesburg are held in November. 5/7/20
ACCEPTING
All members of the public will be heard as to their views pertinent to these matters. Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, members of the public are encouraged to view and/or participate in the public hearing electronically. Board of Supervisors public hearings are available for viewing on television on Comcast Government Channel 23, Open Band Channel 40 and Verizon FiOS Channel 40, and are livestreamed at loudoun.gov/webcast. Citizens are encouraged to call in advance to sign up to speak at the public hearing. Instructions for remote participation will be forwarded to all individuals who sign-up in advance. For this public hearing, advanced sign-up will be taken after 8:30 a.m. on May 1, 2020, and no later than 12:00 p.m. on May 13, 2020. If you wish to sign-up in advance, call the Office of the County Administrator at (703) 777-0200. Citizens will also have the option to sign-up during the public hearing. Citizens may also submit written comments by email sent to bos@loudoun.gov. Any written comments received prior to the public hearing will be distributed to Board members and made part of the minutes for the public hearing. Hearing assistance is available for meetings in the Board of Supervisors’ Meeting Room. If you require any type of reasonable accommodation as a result of a physical, sensory or mental disability to participate in this meeting, please contact the Office of the County Administrator at 703-777-0200. At least one business day of advance notice is requested; some accommodations may require more than one day of notice. FM Assistive Listening System is available at the meetings. BY ORDER OF:
PHYLLIS RANDALL, CHAIRMAN LOUDOUN COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
4/23, 4/30 & 5/7/20
County of Loudoun, Virginia
FINAL DAY TO APPLY FOR AN ABSENTEE BALLOT
LOUDOUN COUNTY WILL BE COMPETITIVE PROPOSALS FOR:
County Government Center, please email DPZ@loudoun.gov or call 703-777-0246 (option 5).
SEALED
GROUP MEDICAL, PRESCRIPTION DRUG, DENTAL AND VISION COVERAGE, RFP No. 215782 until prior to 4:00 p.m., local “Atomic Time”, May 28, 2020. MECHANICAL, ELECTRICAL & PLUMBING DESIGN AND PROJECT ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES, RFP No. 206782 until prior to 4:00 p.m., local “Atomic Time”, June 9, 2020. Solicitation forms may be obtained 24 hours a day by visiting our web site at www.loudoun.gov/procurement. If you do not have access to the Internet, call (703) 777-0403, M - F, 8:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. WHEN CALLING, PLEASE LET US KNOW IF YOU NEED ANY REASONABLE ACCOMMODATION FOR ANY TYPE OF DISABILITY IN ORDER TO PARTICIPATE IN THIS PROCUREMENT. 05/07/20
Availability of COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT (CDBG) AMENDMENTS to the FY2019-2020 and 2020-2021 ANNUAL ACTION PLANS And CITIZEN PARTICIPATION PLAN The Citizen Participation Plan (CPP) was adopted by the Board on April 2, 2014. The CDBG FY20192020 Annual Action Plan and the CDBG FY2020-2021 Annual Action Plan were adopted by the Board of Supervisors (Board) on March 13, 2019 and March 11, 2020, respectively. Pursuant to the CARES Act, staff is proposing that the Board amend the process in the CPP in order to address the COVID-19 emergency in a timely manner. Due to the CARES Act, the County is receiving additional CDBG funds that could be spent immediately to address the community impacts of the coronavirus (COVID-19). Staff is proposing that the Board allocate the CARES Act CDBG funds to the CDBG FY2019-2020 budget. In addition, the County is to receive more CDBG funds than expected for FY2020-2021. Staff is proposing to redistribute a portion of this additional FY2020-2021 funding to also address the community impacts of COVID-19. The County seeks community comments to modifications of the: 1) 2) 3)
CPP to include the expedited process to amend the Annual Action Plans during a declared emergency such as the coronavirus (COVID-19); CDBG FY2019-2020 Annual Action Plan to enable CARES Act funds to be used starting in the 2020 fiscal year to address the immediate critical COVID-19 related needs; and CDBG FY2020-2021 Annual Action Plan funding contingency plan to use a portion of those additional funds to address COVID-19 related needs beginning July 1, 2020.
HUD has designated Loudoun County as qualified for Urban County participation in the CDBG program and entitled to receive CDBG funding directly from HUD. HUD regulations require the adoption of the above referenced Plans which outlines the County’s housing and community development needs, priorities and objectives, and proposed use of the federal funds for the ensuing CDBG program year. The CPP, included as part of the 2014-2018 Consolidated Plan, provides guidance for public input and participation in the development of the Annual Action Plans. The CARES Act permits an expedited process in order to deploy funding as soon as possible to help address COVID-19 related issues. The expedited process requires that the public be notified at least 5 days in advance of a public hearing and given an opportunity to comment on proposed uses of CDBG funds; permits virtual public hearings as long as national or local health authorities recommend social distancing and limiting public gatherings for public health reasons; and requires that virtual hearings provide reasonable notification and access for citizens, timely responses from local officials to all citizen questions and issues, and public access to all questions and responses. Components of the amended Annual Action Plans include, without limitation, descriptions of:
• • • • • •
Resources and proposed activities to prevent, prepare for, and respond to COVID-19; Federal and other resources expected to be available; Leveraging of resources and how match obligations will be met; The activities to be undertaken; The geographic distribution of investment; and Planned homeless and other special needs activities.
Copies of the proposed Plan are available and may be examined online at www.loudoun.gov/cdbg. Written comments on the Plan may be submitted via email to Sandra.Berrios@loudoun.gov through May 12, 2020. 4/30 & 5/7/20
ALWAYS ONLINE AT LOUDOUNNOW.COM
MAY 7, 2020
ORDER OF PUBLICATION COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA VA. CODE § 8.01-316
Case No.:
JJ044071-01-00, 02-00 , Loudoun Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court
Commonwealth of Virginia, in re Abigail Rivera Hernandez Loudoun County Department of Family Services /v. Nelson Bismarck Rivera Espinoza, putative father and Rosibel Hernandez Zepeda, mother The object of this suit is to hold an adjudicatory hearing pursuant to Virginia Code § 16.1-252 for Abigail Rivera Hernandez, and hold a dispositional hearing for review of initial Foster Care Plan pursuant to Virginia Code §§ 16.1-278.2 and 16.1-281 for Abigail Rivera Hernandez. It is ORDERED that Nelson Bismarck Rivera Espinoza, putative father and Rosibel Hernandez Zepeda, mother appear at the above-named Court and protect their interests on or before April 29, 2020 at 3:00 pm for Adjudication, and June 3, 2020 at 3:00 pm for Dispositional Hearing. 4/16, 4/23, 4/30, & 5/7/20
ABC LICENSE Mizata, LLC, trading as La Perla Restaurant, 119 Fort Evans Rd NE, Leesburg, Virginia 20176 The above establishment is applying to the VIRGINIA AlCOHOLIC BEVERAGE CONTROL (ABC) AUTHORITY for a Wine and Beer On Premises license to sell or manufacture alcoholic beverages. Jose Octavio Barahona Barahona, LLC Member 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. 05/07 & 05/14/20
NOTICE TOWN OF LEESBURG TOWN COUNCIL MEETING Remote Public Participation Available Members of the public who wish to speak during the petitioners’ section of the May 12, 2020, Leesburg Town Council Meeting can do so remotely. Information on how to participate remotely can be found on the Town of Leesburg’s website www. leesburgva.gov/agendas or on the agenda that will be posted outside of the Clerk’s Office and in the lobby of Town Hall (25 West Market Street) by close of business on May 6, 2020. If you need more information, contact the Clerk of Council at eboeing@leesburgva.gov or 703-771-2733. 05/07/2020
PAGE 25
Legal Notices ORDER OF PUBLICATION
TOWN OF LEESBURG ADVERTISEMENT FOR BID
COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA VA. CODE § 8.01-316
Case No.:
JJ024579-08-00
Loudoun Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court
IFB NO. 19004-FY20-16 EDWARDS FERRY ROAD BUS SHELTERS AND SIDEWALK
,
SEALED BIDS to construct the above project will be received by the Office of Capital Projects for the Town of Leesburg, either by mail or hand delivered to the First Floor Lobby Receptionist, 25 West Market Street, Leesburg, VA 20176, UNTIL BUT NO LATER THAN 3:30 P.M. ON May 12, 2020. Bids shall be marked “Sealed Bid for EDWARDS FERRY ROAD BUS SHELTERS AND SIDEWALK, Bid Date–Tuesday, May 12, 2020 – 3:30 P.M.” Bids will be opened and read aloud at 25 West Market Street, Lower Level Conference Room 2, at that date and time.
Commonwealth of Virginia, in re Isaiah Matos Loudoun County Department of Family Services /v. Earl Marshal, putative father
All questions regarding this bid must be submitted in writing via email to CapitalBidQuestions@ leesburgva.gov until but no later than 5:00 P.M. on Tuesday, May 5, 2020.
The object of this suit is to hold a dispositional hearing and review of foster care plan in connection with permanent foster care disruption pursuant to Virginia Code §§ 16.1-281 and 63.2-908(H) for Isaiah Matos.
The project includes replacement of curb and sidewalk, installation of two bus shelters and concrete pad, traffic control, restriping of crosswalk and all incidentals related thereto. The Town reserves the right 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. Contact Cindy Steyer at 703-737-2302 or csteyer@leesburgva.gov 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) with a courtesy email to those firms who have registered on the Town’s Bid Board. It is the bidders’ responsibility to provide a correct email address and to be aware of any addenda.
It is ORDERED that the defendant, Earl Marshal, putative father appear at the above-named Court and protect his interests on or before May 19, 2020 at 2:00 pm.
Bud Siegel, Acting Manager Office of Capital Projects
4/16, 4/23,4/30, & 5/7/20
PUBLIC NOTICE INVITATION FOR BID (IFB)
5/7/20
TOWN OF LEESBURG, VIRGINIA REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS
The Town of Leesburg will accept sealed bids in the Procurement Office, 25 W. Market Street, Leesburg, VA 20176, until 3:00 p.m. on June 16, 2020 for the following:
COMPREHENSIVE ENGINEERING, ARCHITECTURAL, SURVEYING AND RELATED SERVICES RFP NO. 100330-FY20-45
IFB No. 06401-FY20-48 Wirt Street Waterline Improvements
The Town of Leesburg is accepting proposals for Comprehensive Engineering, Architectural, Surveying and Related Services in support of projects as identified by Town of Leesburg officials. Proposals must be submitted to the Town of Leesburg, Procurement Division, 25 West Market Street, Leesburg, VA 20176, no later than 3:00 p.m., Friday, May 29, 2020. All proposals must indicate RFP title, number and submittal date on the external shipping material.
The Town is soliciting sealed bids from qualified contractors for the installation of waterline, maintenance of traffic, removal of existing waterline, and all incidentals. A non-mandatory pre-bid meeting will be held at 9:00 a.m. on Thursday, May 21, 2020 via Cisco Webex Meetings. There will be no in-person participants at the pre-bid meeting and the Webex conference details can be obtained from the Bid Documents. Remote attendance at the pre-bid meeting is encouraged, but not mandatory to submit a bid.
All questions regarding this RFP must be received in writing by email at CapitalBidQuestions@ leesburgva.gov until but no later than 5:00 P.M. on Friday, May 15, 2020. Interested offerors may download a copy of the RFP from the bid board on the Town’s website at http:// www.leesburgva.gov/bidboard. Contact Cindy Steyer at 703-737-2302 or csteyer@leesburgva.gov with questions about obtaining these documents. All addenda issued for this project will only be posted on the Town’s bid board and eVA (https://eva.virginia.gov). Renée M. LaFollette, P.E., Director Department of Public Works & Capital Projects
For additional information, visit: http://www.leesburgva.gov/bidboard
5/7/20
5/7/20
NOTICE OF ABANDONED BICYCLES Notice is hereby given that the bicycles described below were found and delivered to the Office of the Sheriff of Loudoun County; if the owners of the listed bicycles are not identified within sixty (60) days following the final publication of this notice, the individuals who found said bicycles shall be entitled to them if he/she desires. All unclaimed bicycles will be handled according to Chapter 228.04 of the Codified Ordinances of Loudoun County.
Description Black Fuji Silhouette One 7 with white and blue masterlock device
Case Number
Recovery Date
Recovery Location
Phone Number
SO200006214
4/8/2020
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PAGE 26
Legal Notices ORDER OF PUBLICATION COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA
Civil Action No.:
CL20-2487
,In the Circuit Court of Loudoun County THE COUNTY OF LOUDOUN Plaintiff, v. OXANA DROUGOV, et al Defendants, ORDER OF PUBLICATION
The object of the above-styled suit is to affect the judicial sale of real estate located in Loudoun County, Virginia, for the purpose of collecting delinquent real estate taxes assessed against the subject real Property. IT APPEARING that the subject real estate contains .05 of an acre, more or less, with improvements, located at 43682 Balmoral Terrace, Ashburn, Virginia, 20147 identified by Loudoun County PIN 085-46-1787-000 and Tax Map Number /62//17////17/ (the “Property”) and further described, of record, among the land records of Loudoun County, Virginia as: Lot 17, Section 2, Block 2, The Ridges at Ashburn, as the same appears duly dedicated, platted and recorded among the land records of Loudoun County, Virginia in Deed Book 1660 at page 22 and resubdivided in Deed Book 1730 at page 805. IT FURTHER APPEARING to the Court, by affidavit, that the record owner of the property is Oxana Drougov. IT FURTHER APPEARING to the Court, by affidavit, that diligence has been used without effect to ascertain the location of Oxana Drougov, it is therefore ORDERED, that pursuant to Virginia Code §§8.01-316 and 58.1-3967, that Oxana Drougov, appear before this Court on July 10, 2020 at 2:00 p.m., and do what is necessary to protect her interests herein; and it is also ORDERED, pursuant to Virginia Code Sec. 8.01-321 that this Order be published for two successive weeks in Loudoun Now. 05/07, & 05/14/20
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PAGE 27
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PAGE 28
MAY 7, 2020
Opinion The Poll Shuffle Voting in western Loudoun’s towns seldom has presented a threat to social distancing; sometimes just a few dozen people show up at the polls. Getting folks interested in town elections is hard enough in normal times and this year’s shuffling of election dates and deadlines overlaid on coronavirus health concerns adds to the challenges of voters and candidates, alike. In a typical year, in this week’s issue you would be reading about the winning candidates who were selected to lead their local municipal governments following the town council and mayoral elections that are held on the first Tuesday in May. Voting hasn’t happened yet. First there was a plan to push the elections to November. Then it was May 19. This week, three of the towns received rare dispensation from the state Supreme Court to delay voting until June 4. But for two others, polling will still be held May 19. Voters in all five municipalities have been encouraged to submit absentee ballots. The deadlines for doing so have changed repeatedly, sometimes even leaving election officials unsure of what will come next. Meanwhile, the candidates, who typically reach out to voters by knocking on their doors, have been sidelined from the campaign trail. Opportunities for meet-and-greets and issues forums have been limited to cyberspace. All that is to say, voters have a lot of reasons to sit this one out. But if they care about their utility and tax bills, trash pickup, sidewalks and parks—and competent leadership that will ensure that their town is one they can be proud of—not participating shouldn’t be an option. Voters in Hamilton and Round Hill still have a week or so to get involved and get informed. Those in Lovettsville, Middleburg and Purcellville have nearly a month. Let’s make the best use of the extra time allotted. Maybe we can even shoot for record participation this year. n
Norman K. Styer, Publisher and Editor nstyer@loudounnow.com Published by Amendment One Loudoun, LLC 15 N. King St., Suite 101 Leesburg, VA, 20176 PO Box 207 • Leesburg, VA 20178 703-770-9723
EDITORIAL Renss Greene, Deputy Editor rgreene@loudounnow.com
LETTERS to the Editor Local Action Editor: I write to encourage your readers to support the Ampersand Pantry Project, a great example of local action in the fight against food insecurity, a constant problem made worse by the recent economic shutdown. Nonprofit organizations that fight hunger every day, including the amazing Loudoun Hunger Relief, press on with their invaluable work and have found ways to expand their services in response to Covid-19. Local governments also play an important role, but there is only do so much they can do in a crisis of this magnitude. Unlike the federal government, counties and towns are not allowed to run deficits. Their tight budgets, made tighter by the recent loss of revenue, leave little room to maneuver. Meanwhile, too
Jan Mercker, Reporter jmercker@loudounnow.com Kara C. Rodriguez, Reporter krodriguez@loudounnow.com Patrick Szabo, Reporter pszabo@loudounnow.com
many of our neighbors find themselves unable to feed their families. What are we to do? Get active at the local level. Local action is happening in Leesburg with the Ampersand Pantry Project. The Project started earlier this year with a little free pantry next to Crossroads Baptist Church on Edwards Ferry Road. Then COVID hit. The Ampersand Pantry Project knew it had to expand and expand it did. Operating out of the former Tastee Freez across from McDonalds on East Market Street, the Ampersand Pantry Project provides free lunches, without questions, to as many people as it can. The Project also gives out diapers and wipes, which are always in demand. LETTERS continues on page 31
ADVERTISING Susan Styer, Advertising Manager sstyer@loudounnow.com Tonya Harding, Account Executive tharding@loudounnow.com
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PAGE 29
The Peoples’ Constitution
COVID-19 versus Freedom BY BEN LENHART
The COVID-19 pandemic is threatening many of our most cherished freedoms. We are told by the government not to travel. We are told we can’t gather for religious services. We are told we must wear masks, but we must not go to restaurants or stores. Our favorite sporting events, school activities and even graduations are cancelled. In some places, we are told we may not gather even for the most important things in life: the birth of a newborn or the passing of a loved one. At rallies protesting the lockdown, participants claim their constitutional rights are being violated and that the “illegal” government orders must be lifted. Who is right: the protestors or the government? Put another way, do the governments’ actions taking away certain rights, even if only temporarily, violate the Constitution? This article seeks to answer that question using a few real-life examples. COVID-19 Order Blocks Church in Kansas As part of a COVID “stay at home” order, Kansas barred more than 10 people from attending religious services. Two churches sued, claiming violation of their religious freedoms. The First Amendment bars the federal government from (A) establishing any official state religion, or (B) restricting Americans from freely exercising their religion of choice. A Kansas trial court realized this was a hard case: yes, the churches’ constitutional rights were being curtailed, but also, yes, the COVID-19 pandemic required urgent measures to protect public health. For guidance, the Kansas court looked to the famous quarantine case of Jacobson v. Massachusetts, where a man refused a mandatory smallpox vaccination during a smallpox epidemic. Recognizing the hard balance, the Supreme Court in Jacobson acknowledged both sides of the issue: First “when faced with a society-threatening epidemic, a state may implement emergency measures that curtail constitutional rights so long as the measures have at least some “real or substantial relation” to the public health crisis …” But second, a law purporting to protect public health, may nevertheless be invalid if it “has no real or substantial relation to those objects, or is, beyond all question, a plain, palpable invasion of rights secured by the fundamental law.” In the end, the court upheld the government order requiring the vaccination. A COVID-19 order taking away our constitutional rights may be valid if (A)
that order directly advances a public health goal (such as controlling the spread of COVID-19), and (B) the same goal can’t be achieved in a narrower way that does not curtail our Constitution rights (or curtails them to a lesser degree). If (A) and (B) are not true, the court may decide to strike down the order as unconstitutional. Applying these rules, the Kansas court sided with the churches and against the government. Noting that Kansas’ stay-athome-order singled out places of worship for stricter measures, the court found that, while the public health goals were important, they could be achieved while still allowing the churches to hold services in a safe manner with more than 10 people. The case settled on favorable terms for the churches before it could be appealed, and so the churches largely won this fight. COVID-19 Order Blocks Abortions in Texas In order to preserve medical resources during the coronavirus pandemic, a Texas order banned many non-essential medical procedures, including abortions under most circumstances. Roe v. Wade first recognized the constitutional right to abortion more than 45 years ago. Abortion providers sued, claiming the order deprived them of their constitutional rights. Much like the Kansas church case, the Texas court recognized the two competing forces: the need to protect public health during the COVID crisis versus the constitutional right to abortion. On the one hand, the court agreed that individual rights secured by the Constitution are not lost even during a severe public health crisis. There is no “emergency override” of the Constitution. On the other hand, the Texas court, said that “liberty secured by the Constitution … does not import an absolute right in each person to be, at all times and in all circumstances, wholly freed from restraint.” Instead, the court fund that “a community has the right to protect itself against an epidemic of disease which threatens the safety of its members,” even when that means temporarily curtailing certain rights. In the end, the lower court largely sided with the abortion providers, ordering that they be allowed to continue during the COVID crisis, but an appellate court overruled the lower court, and allowed most of the abortion ban to continue. However, before the courts could come to a final ruling, the case was resolved, and abortions in Texas were largely allowed to continue during the Covid crisis.
COVID-19 Orders Deny the Right to Travel in Many States To protect public health, many states have ordered that people not travel unless for essential purposes. But the right to travel is one of Americans’ most cherished freedoms. A drive to the mall, or to a friend’s house, or a road trip across America—the freedom to travel “where we want and when we want” helps define America. It is also a core rights long protected by the Constitution (although its precise source is still being debated). COVID travel bans present the same “hard balance” between our safety and constitutional rights. Faced with a severe pandemic where the very movement of people can spread the disease, courts would likely approve a limited travel ban, such as one that lasted a short time and had exceptions for emergencies and essential activities. On the other hand, courts would likely strike down a travel ban that was imposed rigidly for a year or more regardless of changes in the pandemic status, and that failed to allow reasonable exceptions to the ban. Such a ban would be unconstitutional because a more limited travel ban likely could achieve the same goal—protecting public health—without such a severe denial of constitutional liberty. The Outer Banks Travel Ban The Outer Banks (OB) is a beloved vacation spot along the North Carolina coast. In March, it banned nonresidents from entering most of the OB but permitted residents to enter. This ban has two potential constitutional problems. First, it denies the right to travel discussed above. Second, by discriminating against non-residents, the ban may violate the so-called Dormant Commerce Clause, which generally prohibits states from favoring their own residents at the expense of out-of-staters. A huge reason why America’s economy has succeeded and grown to the largest in the world is that we have a free market among the 50 states. The constitutional framework allows commerce to flow freely across state lines. By violating this basic rule, the OB may be violating the Constitution unless it can show there is no less restrictive way to protect public health in the OB short of discriminating against non-residents. Korematsu The COVID-19 stay-at-home orders impose real hardships, but compare those to the hardships during World War II. After Pearl Harbor, thousands of Japanese American citizens, most of unquestioned
loyalty to the United States, were sent to internment camps far from their homes based on fears that a small number would side with Japanese war effort. This was a massive deprivation of the most basic constitutional rights of American citizens. In 1944 a sharply divided court, with stinging dissents, held that the urgent Japanese threat justified this extreme measure. But history was not kind to Korematsu, and it has become one of the Court’s most heavily criticized cases. Last year, Chief Justice Roberts said this: “The dissent’s reference to Korematsu, however, affords this Court the opportunity to make express what is already obvious: Korematsu was gravely wrong the day it was decided, has been overruled in the court of history, and—to be clear—’has no place in law under the Constitution.’” Why was Korematsu so wrong? Both because withheld evidence showed less threat from the Japanese Americans, and because there were ways to achieve the government’s goal (such as police investigative work) that did not involve such flagrant denial our Constitution rights, the order at issue in Korematsu was unconstitutional. Conclusion The COVID-19 constitutional balance is hard because the things being balanced are both vitally important: stopping the spread of the coronavirus is a matter of life and death; but many lives have also been lost over the past 232 years fighting to protect the rights guaranteed to all Americans in the Constitution. The examples above shed light on whether any particular COVID-19 order is constitutional. If that order takes away constitutional rights— such as the right to travel, the right to assemble, or freedom of religion—then ask if the government can achieve the same COVID-19 health goal in some other way that does not take away those rights or involves materially less interference with those rights. If the answer is no, then the law may well be constitutional, but if the answer is yes, then the balance may tip in favor of protecting our constitutional rights and striking down the order. n Ben Lenhart is a graduate of Harvard Law School and has taught Constitutional Law at Georgetown Law Center for more than 20 years. He lives with his family and lots of animals on a farm near Hillsboro.
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Recovery
“It’s hard for me to believe in a few weeks we could be ty. Farmers markets will be able to reopen standing in a doorway checking and to offer prepared foods. Places of people’s temperatures and worship could resume in-person services, wearing masks in the office, subject to continued precautions. “Social distancing still matters, even at but I think that’s where we are currently.” church,” Northam cautioned. continued from page 1
And as with the rest of the pandemic, it appears there are more questions than answers. Those questions run the gamut from how to address employee fears or uncertainty about returning to work; what will customer behavior and demand look like; and how long the recovery will last, including whether or not there will be another spread of the coronavirus that will bring forth another period of quarantine. Both the Virginia Small Business Development Center and the Loudoun County Chamber of Commerce are establishing resource guides for businesses on their websites to offer a bevy of information on how to prepare for recovery. Chamber President and CEO Tony Howard said the Chamber relied heavily on information disseminated from the CDC and OSHA, as well as legal and insurance advice, in putting together its toolkit. It will be available on its loudounchamber. org website to the public—whether they are Chamber members or not—this week. “We leveraged all the best ideas to put together the toolkit,” Howard said. “The guidance is out there; what we’re attempting to do with the toolkit is bring it all together.” The toolkit covers everything from cleaning and disinfecting practices, to how to manage sick employees, to customer communication. But while it lays out the basics for businesses to consider on their re-openings, Howard admits there’s much of the narrative left for employers to write. “We can’t write their reopening strategy for them. There’s a lot of things they know that we don’t know,” he said.
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— Dario Campolattaro Chairman, Loudoun CEO Cabinet Loudoun Small Business Development Center Manager Eric Byrd deals largely with business owners and entrepreneurs who are struggling with the very question of what their reopening strategy will look like. It’s a business decision that has many aspects to it, from regulatory to financial to safety to customer demand and expectations. “At the state level the SBDC has a working group that’s been looking at aspects of what do you need to do to reopen and recover,” Byrd said. “Everybody really wants to open and we really want them to be open, but we don’t know what’s going to happen or [customer] behavior or economic activity patterns. That’s also going to drive how many employees you need.” Managing employees is top of mind for many business leaders, and it is certain to be a main topic at a meeting organized by the Loudoun CEO Cabinet later this week, which will include participation from Howard; Inova Loudoun Hospital CEO Deborah Addo; and Loudoun County Health Director Dr. David Goodfriend. Dario Campolattaro, as chairman of the cabinet, wears several hats in the community. He also serves on the board of directors of the Loudoun chapter of the Society of Human Resource Management and as the CEO of Summit Insurance Services. “From my perspective as an employer, employee safety is paramount,” he said. “There’s a high expectation of employers
to be the front-line guardians of safety for employees, which is a big responsibility. It’s hard for me to believe in a few weeks we could be standing in a doorway checking people’s temperatures and wearing masks in the office, but I think that’s where we are currently.” Campolattaro acknowledged that there may be some employees who question whether they can or are willing to come back to work, with coronavirus still very much present in the community. Some may also find that unemployment monies they are receiving are sufficient to cover their expenses, and opt to stay home. It’s all part of the great unknown, he said. Byrd believes communication is key to solving this problem. “The way I’m framing my conversation with [business owners] is to think about the culture of your company and your business. What relationship have you already had with those employees? They’re going to make a decision if that’s the culture they want to continue with. Some employees love the company they’re working with, other employees may not feel that kind of loyalty. That’s going to be a little bit trickier. The business owner might have to do some extra things to make people come back, but the first thing you have to do in any case is talk to them,” he said. Campolattaro and Byrd both pointed to the ways businesses have adapted as a positive byproduct of the pandemic. “Business leaders are learning more about their business than they ever have before. Innovation will come out of it and I think some positive will come out of it,” Campolattaro said. Byrd points to businesses that have had to pivot their business model over the last few months, like distilleries shifting from liquor production to making hand sanitizer. A business owner will need to evaluate whether the service they previously provided is still needed, if it needs to be provided in a different format, or if there
MAY 7, 2020
now exists a group of customers that need a service that can’t be provided. “Are the fundamental assumptions of that business still true? They may or may not be,” he said. “This event has impacted literally everything. You may have had plenty of people come into your little specialty shop or contact your consulting company because of how the world was [before the pandemic], but that may not be the case anymore. If you open with the expectation that that business is still valid and it’s not, you could run into a few problems.” “Thinking through this process is going to be really, really important,” Byrd added. “The challenge is you need to start doing it really quickly.” Another piece of that conversation is how a business can plan for the future in an environment that is likely to change in the next 12 to 18 months, Byrd said. It underscores the need for a good business coach, which the SBDC can provide, and Byrd also encourages business owners to check out the resource guide put together by the Virginia SBDC, which can be found online at virginiasbdc.org/ recoveryresourcecenter. In a time of uncertainty, Byrd strikes a hopeful note. Business owners are, above all, resilient, he pointed out. “There is the ability to find opportunity in this mess,” he said. “People who go into business for themselves are action people and they like doing things, trying things, or else they wouldn’t have started a business in the first place.” Norhtam said the phase one restrictions are expected to be in place for two or four weeks before additional limits would be lifted. But the governor made it clear that the threat of the coronavirus will remain for a year or more. “Efforts have slowed the spread, but have not cured the disease,” he said. n Norman K. Styer contributed to this report.
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Emergency room continued from page 1 moved into negative pressure isolation rooms or to a room in a section of the hospital reserved for those undergoing treatment for the coronavirus—all without ever entering the ER waiting room. And recent expansion at the Lansdowne campus made plenty of room, now with 49 ER beds and 36 for intensive care. “I think part of [the fear] is because the only pictures they see of hospitals are people on ventilators in the waiting room and people on the floor waiting to be seen,” Puccio said. “That’s local in some areas, but when you look at healthcare across the country you have to look at: what is happening in my community? What is happening in my community’s hospital? And we have not been in that position at all. We have always been able to have patients be seen right away.” This week, Loudoun County crossed the threshold of 1,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases, as the cumulative number of hospitalized patients reached 100 and the local death toll climbed to 24. More than 1,000 COVID-19 tests have been administered at the hospital. Puccio said about 70 percent of those patients are sent home to self-quarantine, with instructions to return if symptoms worsen. So far, about 70 hospitalized COVID patients have been released, including several who required treatment on a ventilator. “Some of these people were very sick, but we’ve been able to turn them around in the hospital,” Puccio said. He said the virus is “completely unpredictable” and the symptoms vary broadly. And while the fatal cases in Loudoun have largely involved elderly residents—17 of the deaths involve patients age 80 or older, five were in their 70s, one in his 60s and one in her 50s—young, healthy people also face serious threats. Some people coming to the ER can walk in and find themselves on a ventilator only
LETTERS to the editor continued from page 28 The Project has gone from distributing 25 lunches on its first day to over 250 a day in just two weeks. The lunches are nutritious and delicious, thanks to the generosity and creativity of local restaurants who chipped in without hesitation, providing food prepared in their commercial kitchens at as low a cost as they can afford. Their participation feeds hundreds of people a day and keeps restaurant workers on the job, even if it
ALWAYS ONLINE AT LOUDOUNNOW.COM hours later. Others may just need a few days on oxygen before they are released home. “It’s sort of like there are people who have zero symptoms and they’re positive and have nothing. So, it is the entire spectrum. It’s not just cough, fever, shortness of breath. It could be chest pains,” Puccio said. When the coronavirus presents as blood clotting disorder, it often takes people by surprise. “People are coming in with no risk factors—no smoking, no family history, no cholesterol, no diabetes—and they are getting chest pain. So, they’re like ‘no this can’t be a heart attack because I don’t have any risk factors. I’m 40. I’m healthy,’” he said. Likewise, with stroke systems, Puccio said, “a young person could have numbness and weakness and think ‘I’m young and healthy, this can’t be a stroke’ and they are delaying coming in.” They’ve also seen cases begin with simple pinkeye. Puccio said that his staff ’s prior experience with cases of SARS and Ebola has them well prepared to handle the outbreak. “Having that experience so successfully in the recent past—we know we can do this and with calm and organization can really handle this. There really was no panic or worry about safety. Everyone was confident in their safety,” Puccio said. “We feel safe working together and our patients are safe.”
Outside the Hospital, Counts Continue to Rise As the numbers of confirmed infections continue to climb, difficulty getting a firm handle on how many people are actually infected out in the community remains. Loudoun County Health Department Director Dr. David Goodfriend said Tuesday a sharp increase in local fatal cases reported this week did not reflect a spike in deaths, but catching up on paperwork on old ones. “That was really just us catching up on reports that had come in over the past sevis at a greatly reduced level. Meanwhile, the Tastee Freez building, modified with a makeshift roller conveyor, is the perfect location for contact-free, social-distanced meal distribution. The Project has had remarkable early success. It will need our help to sustain it. The Ampersand Pantry Project is local action at its finest. It deserves all the support we can give it. Donations are tax deductible and, like everything else these days, the Ampersand Pantry Project can be found on the web. I encourage all of my neighbors to look it up and do what they can to help. — Rhonda Wilson Paice, Leesburg
PAGE 31
eral weeks and just didn’t get married up,” Goodfriend said. “…When we were able to find those orphan reports and then attach them to Loudoun County residents, we were able these past couple days to increase our numbers to what we think is now a more accurate count.” But, he advised, many people never show symptoms and yet can still be infected. And even the updated counts may leave some COVID-19 deaths out. “There are still folks that may never have gotten tested, died at home, and if it’s not on the death certificate, we may never know about it,” Goodfriend said. The Health Department has put a particular focus on stopping outbreaks of the virus in retirement communities and other group settings. And Falcons Landing, which earlier in the pandemic lost three of its residents to the virus, got a little help from the Virginia National Guard last week.
TH E
V IR TU A L
On April 28, soldiers and airmen rolled into the retirement community to conduct wide-scale testing, gathering samples from more than 230 staff and residents to be tested at the University of Virginia. It was the first community in Northern Virginia to be selected for the Virginia Department of Health’s new Point Prevalence Survey, in which everyone in a particular group setting is tested for the virus to see how widespread it has become. In Falcons Landing, those were the two assisted living facilities, Johnson Center Nursing & Assisted Living, and West Falls Assisted Living. Statewide, the health department has reported 20,256 total cases, with 2,773 requiring hospitalizations. As of May 5, about 1,500 patients were undergoing hospital treatment for the coronavirus. There have been 713 COVID-19-related deaths in the commonwealth. n
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MIDDLEBURG REAL ESTATE
MAY 7, 2020
ATOKA
PROPERTIES
S I M P LY B E T T E R .
FLEETWOOD FARM | 1669 WINCHESTER RD | DELAPLANE
20561 TRAPPE RD | UPPERVILLE
$21,700,000 | Incomparable Fleetwood Farm is comprised of 26 parcels totaling 2,490 acres of mature farmland, only a mere 60 miles west of Washington DC. On the property are 4 rental homes. Surrounded by creeks, streams, and ponds. Not in conservation easement.
$4,400,000 | Trappe Hill Farm is a serene 474 acre estate in 5 parcels. Lovely residence with first floor master bedroom suite and incredible views. Three tenant houses, stable with 13 stalls, wash stall, office and apartment. Fenced paddocks and fields with 11 run-in sheds. Various easements.
Peter Pejacsevich 540.270.3835
Peter Pejacsevich 540.270.3835
Scott Buzzelli 540.454.1399
Scott Buzzelli 540.454.1399
36585 SAWMILL LN | PURCELLVILLE
17 W FEDERAL ST | MIDDLEBURG
$2,700,000 | Property in Land Use~hay & forestry. NOT in Conservation Easement. Zoned AR1. Property lends itself to endless possibilities. Open & rolling fields plus wooded mountain area. VIEWS in every direction. Well-appointed home w/ 12,000+ finished sqft.
$1,300,000 | Beautiful, modern open 2 story office offering in the heart of historic Middleburg. Large open workspace for communal work environment, as well as individual office spaces to accommodate for multiple types of work preferences. Bright and open throughout. Small kitchen space, 2 bathrooms, and back patio.
Marcy Cantatore 540.533.7453
Peter Pejacsevich 540.270.3835
37575 CHARTWELL LN | PURCELLVILLE
10 RICE ST | BERRYVILLE
$999,500 | Gorgeous estate home w/ incredible indoor & outdoor living!! On 10+ acres, indoors-enjoy almost 6000 finished sqft, 5BD/4.5BA, open floor plan, gourmet kitchen w/ granite, HW floors, family room w/ FP, master w/ custom cedar lined closet, all baths updated, finished lower level w/ bedroom and full bath and walk-out to the patio, all w/ low UV light glass windows!
$325,000 | Back on the market! Charming well-maintained Victorian cottage in berryville, peaceful and safe! House maintains its historic charm including an upstairs sleeping porch and a wrap around front porch. The house has been well maintained! With its many windows and beautiful woodwork, this home truly is unique.
Joy Thompson 540.729.3428
Anne McIntosh 703.509.4499
S I M P LY B E T T E R . | AT O KA P R O P E R T I E S . C O M MIDDLEBURG: 540.687.6321 | PURCELLVILLE: 540.338.7770 | LEESBURG: 703.777.1170 | ASHBURN: 703.436.0077 CORPORATE: 10 E WASHINGTON ST, MIDDELBURG, VA 20117 | 540.687.6321 | LICENSED IN VA + WV
Scott Buzzelli 540.454.1399
Maria Eldredge 540.454.3829