Loudoun Now for May 16, 2024

246 Years Project Database Goes Live Morven Park Works to Tell Stories of the Enslaved

BY NORMAN K. STYER nstyer@loudounnow.com

Their names and stories deserve to be known.

That is the foundation of the 246 Years Project started by Morven Park seven years ago.

On Monday, the organizers debuted the fruits of that work—an online database that sheds light on the lives of enslaved people whose records of existence were largely limited to property legers from the beginning of African slavery in America in 1619 to emancipation through the ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution in 1865.

The announcement was made from the stately, columned portico of the Davis mansion at Morven Park, a building that dates back to the early 1800s when the estate operated with slave labor as a Virginia plantation. At least 81 enslaved people worked on the property, according to records that helped launch the database.

“It’s that part of our history here. That is really the reason, and it was the inspiration for establishing the 246 Years Project,” Morven Park Executive Director and CEO Stacey Metcalfe said. “The 246 Years Project is dedicated to documenting and honoring the millions of enslaved men, women, and children whose names and life stories deserve to be known.”

The project started with Morven Park’s records but expanded to include work conducted by the historical records staff at in the Loudoun County Circuit Court Clerk’s Office. And organizers are working for a far broader reach.

“We’re hoping that the 246 Years Project will bring to light thousands of

untold stories of strength, resilience, and persistence. It’s intended to create an opportunity for truth-telling, memorialization, and reconciliation,” Metcalfe said.

Through the support of donors, she noted, the information will be available free of charge.

Clerk of the Circuit Court Gary Clemens said the project offers an important opportunity to share the stories documented by his staff, which spent years combing through and digitizing the court’s historic records, with a wider audience.

“When [Stacey] shared this vision with me, I got really excited because you know my passion for Loudoun history,” Clemens said. “You know by now what we’ve done to try to promote the Black history

of Loudoun County, particularly the stories of those who were enslaved or the former enslaved. These are powerful stories, manifested through our court records at the courthouse in downtown Leesburg. Many people knew nothing about these stories and these narratives, but we’ve tried to share these narratives, these stories, by digitizing records, providing more information about these records.”

The project is led by Jana Shafagoj, Morven Park’s director of preservation and education.

“Together we have created a tool that will ensure that many of the voices that

246 PROJECT continues on page 37

State Training Requirements

May Spur Class Delays

BY ALEXIS GUSTIN agustin@loudounnow.org

To accommodate the more than 36 hours of state required teacher training, Loudoun County school administrators Tuesday recommended changing the school calendar to include 16 days operating on a two-hour delay.

The unprecedented amount of additional training to meet new requirements from the Virginia Literacy Act calls for 27 hours of training for teachers in Kindergarten through eighth grade in addition to required training for new K-2 teachers and third grade teachers for the implementation of the Virginia Language & Literacy Screening System, and new training for the adoption of K-5 core resources according to the briefing provided to the School Board.

On top of that training, the VDOE approved new math and English standards of learning in August 2023 with the expectation that they will be implemented during the 2024-2025 school year. Students will be assessed on the new math standards during the upcoming school

CLASS DELAYS continues on page 37

LOCAL

Hailey Yentz/Loudoun Now Morven Park Executive Director and CEO Stacey Metcalfe speaks during unveiling of the 246 Years Project online database.

Hidden Lane Landfill Clean-Up Progress Celebrated

BY HANNA PAMPALONI hpampaloni@loudounnow.org

Rep. Jennifer Wexton (D-VA-10) joined representatives of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Board of Supervisors Vice Chair Juli E. Briskman (D-Algonkian) and area residents at the Hidden Lane Landfill site Tuesday morning to celebrate the progress made in cleaning up and restoring safe drinking water at the location.

The site was first added to the EPA’s National Priority list in 2008 after being used for years as a landfill. Forty homes in the nearby Broad Run Farms neighborhood have been using water treatment systems maintained by the EPA after testing positive for Trichloroethylene, or TCE, a colorless, liquid organic chemical. An additional 70 homes are also considered to be in a “buffer zone” and are possibly affected by the contaminated water.

All 110 homes will be hooked up with public water through a waterline the EPA will build once the landfill site is remediated.

EPA Mid-Atlantic Regional Admin-

istrator Adam Ortiz said the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law dedicated the

funding needed for the project to move forward. The law invested $3.5 billion in Superfund site cleanups across the country, including $22 million for the Hidden Lane Landfill site.

“This is a lot of money that’s going to clean up errors and bad decisions that people made in the past, but it has to be spent because the 110 homes that are benefiting now from clean water are able to turn on their faucet without fear deserve it,” Ortiz said.

Wexton said TCE is a particular priority of hers and is still being used around the country today.

“In addition to various kinds of cancer, there is strong evidence that exposure to TCE is a contributing factor to Parkinson’s disease,” she said.

Wexton said the clean-up efforts at Hidden Lane were “long awaited” and that she was proud that the federal funding would make the community healthier and a safer place to live.

HIDDEN LANE LANDFILL continues on page 36

Visit Loudoun Highlights Wine Industry’s 40-Year Evolution

BY NORMAN K. STYER nstyer@loudounnow.org

Visit Loudoun’s annual celebration of the growth and successes of the county’s tourism industry this week marked a special anniversary, as well.

Forty years ago this year, Lew Parker bottled Willowcroft Farm Vineyard’s first vintage of Riesling made from grapes grown on a ridge just west of Leesburg. Today, Loudoun’s wine industry—long branded by Visit Loudoun as DC’s Wine Country—anchors the state-leading tourism destination as measured in visitor spending.

Parker and other of the county’s wine pioneers could not have envisioned how grapes would transform, and help preserve, Loudoun’s agricultural landscape. The year’s tourism awards program was held at the 300-acre Stone Tower Winery, one of more than 50 wineries and vineyards in Loudoun today.

“We’re making world-class wines, and it came from a beginning that is hard to imagine,” Parker said during a panel discussion on the evolution of the market. The first grape vines he planted on his

Mt. Gilead property in 1980 died because of farmer error. “The industry was so young and there really wasn’t anybody in Loudoun or Virginia that knew very much about making wine. Today, the county is full of world-class winemakers.”

If Parker planted the industry’s roots, it was operations like Breaux Vineyards near Hillsboro that helped transform wineries into a visitor experience. Jennifer Breaux recalled her father Paul’s search for land to start a winery.

“He decided that Loudoun was going to be home for him because it was so beautiful,” she said, adding he also recognized the importance of the proximity to the Washington, DC, region. When they bought the farm on the western slope of the Short Hill, the property had three acres of grapes, along with horses, hay, and soybeans.

They, too, set about learning to make wine in the untested region, a process that included hiring Parker’s winemaker, Dave Collins, to lead the effort.

“We were really kind of throwing things against the wall to see if they’d stick. Even today, we’re writing the book on how to do it on the East Coast,” she said.

But the family also realized it wasn’t just the wine that was important.

“When we opened our doors, very quickly we saw that Loudoun was ready for this industry. They wanted a place to go for recreation, a place to go to enjoy the

beautiful outdoors,” she said. She recalled a transformative Saturday after a posting on America Online, then the public’s primary connection to the internet, highlighted Breaux Vineyards as a weekend daytrip destination. Her father was quickly overwhelmed with visitors and realized they would have to both plant more vines and build a larger tasting room.

Today, Breaux Vineyards covers 400 acres with more than 100 acres under vine. In March, its 2019 The Fog Nebbiolo Reserve was selected as one of the top 12 wines in the commonwealth during the annual Governor’s Cup competition.

Doug Fabbioli, known as the godfather of Loudoun’s wine industry because of his work training winemakers and grape growers, said that despite the successes, there are challenges ahead. Not the least of those, he said, are the impacts of climate change as grape farmers deal with increasingly severe weather conditions.

But wineries need more local support as well—from local customers and

WINE INDUSTRY continues on page 36

Norman K. Styer/Loudoun Now Doug Fabbiloi discusses the industry’s growth during a panel discussion as part of the 2024 Visit Loudoun Tourism Awards program.

Contributed

From left, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Mid-Atlantic Regional Administrator Adam Ortiz, Rep. Jennifer Wexton (D-VA-10) and Board of Supervisors Vice Chair Juli E. Briskman (D-Algonkian) stand at the Hidden Lane Landfill site May 14.

Loudoun

Feds Approve First Phase of NIETC Designation for Western Loudoun Power Line

BY HANNA PAMPALONI hpampaloni@loudounnow.org

As area residents gear up efforts to oppose the construction of new power lines that could impact the county’s historic, agricultural, and scenic areas, the federal government just made that work more difficult. The U.S. Secretary of Energy on May 8 included parts of the county in the first step of identifying new National Interest Electric Transmission Corridors.

A NIETC designation provides an expedited permitting and construction process for transmission lines. This is done when there is an urgent need to meet power demand in a region. A NIETC designation allows the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to issue permits for siting transmission lines even if state authorities have denied an application.

In Virginia, the State Corporation Commission has regulatory authority over all high voltage transmission projects.

U.S. Department of Energy Grid Deployment Office

The U.S. Department of Energy Grid Deployment Office released the preliminary list of potential National Interest Electric Transmission Corridors under consideration, including parts of Loudoun County.

Typically, NIETCs are large geographic areas, but in December, the Department of Energy released new guidelines for the designation resulting in much narrower NIETC corridors.

ON THE Agenda

State of the County Address Planned May 22

County Chair Phyllis J. Randall (D-At Large) will deliver her annual State of the County address Wednesday, May 22 at 6 p.m.

The event will be held in the Board Room at the county government building on Harrison Street in Leesburg. Residents can also watch the address online at Loudoun.gov/meetings and via Facebook and on television on Comcast channel 23 and Verizon FiOS channel 40.

Randall Retracts Statement on Banshee Reeks Horse Trail Study

Today, the Grid Deployment office

WESTERN POWER LINE continues on page 5

Currently, the DOE is going through its four-phase designation process. In March, NextEra Energy filed a request with the DOE to have western Loudoun and parts of Maryland designated as a NIETC.

Planning Commission Divided Over Arcola Neighborhood’s Data Center Plan

BY HANNA PAMPALONI hpampaloni@loudounnow.org

After three hours of discussion, two failed motions, and a 30-minute break to negotiate with the applicant, the county Planning Commission on Thursday voted narrowly to recommend approval of a rezoning application allowing an Arcola neighborhood to be redeveloped as a data center.

The Hiddenwood Assemblage was formed by 20 homeowners living along Hiddenwood Lane after data centers have surrounded them and caused them to live in a “construction zone.”

They are seeking to rezone their lots from countryside residential to industrial park, which would allow for up to 756,024 square feet of data center use.

The application was reviewed by the

During the May 7 Board of Supervisors meeting, County Chair Phyllis J. Randall (D-At Large) apologized for a statement she made during the April 17 Transportation and Land Use Committee meeting regarding plans to commission a study of the Banshee Reeks Nature Preserve to determine which, if any, trails could be used by equestrians.

The committee endorsed the consultant study as part of the four-year debate over whether to allow horses in the Leesburg-area. Currently, horses and bicycles are prohibited.

“I would be shocked to the point of unhappy if the consultant came back and said there were no trails appropriate at all for horses in Banshee Reeks. That cannot be what the answer is,” Randall said.

But during the May 7 meeting, Friends of Banshee Reeks Board Member Mike Kennedy addressed the full Board of Supervisors to say he felt Randall’s comment could prejudge the results of the study.

Randall agreed, calling her comment “inappropriate.”

ARCOLA DATA CENTER continues on page 7

“I have thought about that statement that I made, and I wish I had not made it,” she said. n

Planning Commission in February when residents from Hiddenwood and the

Hanna Pampaloni/Loudoun Now

Residents from opposing neighborhoods filled the room at the county government building during a Feb. 27 Planning Commission public hearing on whether to approve a rezoning application for an Arcola neighborhood.

Western power line

continued from page 4

released a preliminary list of potential NIETCs, which included parts of Loudoun, West Virginia, Pennsylvania and Maryland in the Mid-Atlantic region.

“The Mid-Atlantic potential NIETC encompasses a geographic area where there is significant need for increased within-region transmission capacity in PJM to maintain and improve reliability and resilience, lower consumer costs, and meet future generation and demand growth,” according to the preliminary list of potential NIETCs.

The Loudoun Transmission Alliance released a statement calling the move “alarming and detrimental to residents.”

The Alliance includes 38 signed representatives from Loudoun County nonprofit organizations, community and neighborhood associations, businesses, and residents and was formed to oppose a transmission line project planned to cut through western Loudoun known as the Mid-Atlantic Resiliency Link.

“We’re extraordinarily nervous about this,” LTLA founder Sue Manch said. “I think that the NIETC designation can go both ways. It can be positive for us because it can involve the Department of Energy in a positive way in the sense that the Biden Administration has committed to using alternative technologies and trying to stay in existing pathways and limiting impact as they look at the national grid in a very comprehensive way.”

But, Manch said, she is also concerned that with a NIETC designation, the DOE could override a denial of the project by the SCC.

“It just puts another scary layer with it,” she said.

Manch said the biggest problem with the MARL is a lack of planning and that the community should be looking to

50-year energy solutions, not 10-year solutions.

“It seems like a lot of damage to inflict on Loudoun greens space for a 10-year solution,” she said.

PJM Interconnection, the organization responsible for coordinating power across 13 states, including Virginia, in its 2022 Regional Transmission Plan expects a loss of 11 gigawatts of fossil fuel power generators and an additional 7.5 gigawatts of power growth in Northern Virginia over the next few years.

It anticipates summer and winter peak load over the entire PJM region to increase by 1.6% and 1.9% each year for the next 10 years, while Northern Virginia is expected to increase by 5.5% and 5% each year.

“Findings [by the DOE Needs Study] show eastern Maryland and Virginia … have experienced persistently high wholesale market prices in recent years. Additional transmission to bring cost-effective resources to demand would help reduce these wholesale prices, ultimately lowering congestion and reducing costs for consumers,” according to the April 8 announcement.

The Mid-Atlantic is one of 10 regions identified as potential NIETCs, following phase one of the process. Phase two consists of a 45-day comment period for the potential designations. Phase two will conclude June 24 at 5 p.m.

Phases three and four will included refining the boundaries of potential NIETCs, beginning any required environmental reviews, preparing a draft reporting, continuing community engagement and providing a final list of potential designations.

Comments may be emailed to NIETC@ hq.doe.gov. An informational webinar will also be held May 16 at 3:30 p.m. Register online. n

Supervisors Send Destiny Drive Improvements to FY 2024 Fund Balance Discussion

BY HANNA PAMPALONI hpampaloni@loudounnow.org

The Board of Supervisors voted May 7 to send a discussion on improvements to Destiny Drive in the Stone Ridge area to the fiscal year 2024 fund balance discussion in an effort to fast-track solutions to road safety concerns expressed by residents.

Supervisor Matthew F. Letourneau (R-Dulles), whose district includes the road, first brought concerns about the intersection to the full board in December 2022, winning support for a study of the road.

Transportation and Capital Infrastructure Program Manager Eloisa Thring and Kimley-Horn consultant Mark Phillips brought the results of the study to the board during last week’s meeting.

Destiny Drive is one mile long and runs from Gum Spring Road to Mineral Springs Circle and has 12 intersections and nine bus stops. County school busses stop along the road 59 times a day.

The study showed that area residents expressed three main concerns—speed-

ing and traffic volume, insufficient sight line when exiting side streets and a lack of any marked crosswalks for pedestrians to access the bus stops.

Transportation staff members recommended two solutions—a short-term plan to add pavement markings, parking restrictions and trim overgrown vegetation and a long-term plan which included more comprehensive improvements and a signal at Destiny Drive and Gum Spring Road.

The estimated cost of the short-term improvements is $650,000, while the long-term plan is estimated to cost $5.3 million.

The county uses an Intersection Improvement Program to address safety and operational challenges on roadways throughout the county that is updated with new data periodically.

Letourneau said the program was last updated with data from 2021 and that the intersection at Destiny Drive and Gum Springs Road did not score highly enough to be funded in the current program. But since then,13 crashes have occurred at the intersection, he said.

He said he would like to send the short-

term plan and plans for a traffic light at the intersection to the FY 2024 fund balance discussion.

“I would defer to all of you if you think that is inappropriate given the intersection improvement program and we can hold back on it,” he told his fellow board members. “I just don’t really know what to do here because I have this sort of sudden problem that cropped up and I don’t know how to address it other than this and waiting is difficult.”

Supervisor Michael R. Turner (D-Ashburn) agreed that the short-term plans should go to the fund balance discussion, but raised concerns with the current intersection program process.

“There ought to be a way we can spot, update and evaluate a specific intersection when a supervisor says, ‘this intersection is a problem,’ that’s faster than two years down the road, actually three if you count the data,” he said.

Turner also expressed concern at sending the traffic signal to the fund balance discussion.

“I do not think it’s appropriate to move an intersection improvement into a fund balance discussion. We can have the dis-

cussion, but I’ll vote against it,” he said.

Other supervisors said they would support sending the short-term plan to the fund balance discussion even if they were not sure if ultimately that is what they wanted to spend the estimated $180 million surplus on.

County Chair Phyllis J. Randall (D-At Large) said she was uncomfortable with the “pick-and-choose” method to improving intersections.

“If we’re going to say two years ago, we should do it in this way because it keeps people from jumping ahead and putting their pet projects first and all those things, OK, then that’s what we’re doing,” she said. “We can’t have an Animal Farm moment where we say, ‘all intersections are equal, but my intersection is more equal than others.’”

Letourneau made a motion to send the short-term items to the fund balance discussion and the long-term plan, including the signal, to the list of projects in the county’s future Capital Improvement Program. That motion passed 8-0 with Supervisor Koran T. Saines (D-Sterling) absent. n

Arcola data center

continued from page 4

nearby Briarfield Estates neighborhood spoke on opposing sides of the plan.

During Thursday’s meeting, county planner Marshall Brown said his team was recommending denial of the rezoning request because of outstanding concerns over land use, design and application materials. He said even though the assemblage had committed to only using the site for a data center it did not comply with the county’s General Plan.

“Although the applicant now is committing to a single use the general issue is the same. The assemblage is within the suburban neighborhood place type, which only supports residential uses and limited nonresidential uses. And among those, data center is not a core use within the place type, or it is not envisioned in any sense in the place type,” he said.

Walsh-Colucci Land Use Planner Michael Romeo, representing the Hiddenwood group, said they had made several changes to the application, including restricting the building height to 60 feet, adding more façade step-backs, additional fenestration, additional foundation plantings, committing to generators being located behind the buildings or 15-foot walls, noise mitigation, and generator testing limitations, and temporary fencing.

Several Hiddenwood residents spoke in favor of the rezoning reiterating concerns about unsafe work zones, the loss of greenspaces, and data center saturation.

Commission Madhava Reddy Madireddy (Dulles), whose district includes the property, asked if the group would be willing to reduce the data center footprint by half.

“That way the Hiddenwood Assemblage people will be out of that space and we still get a reasonable data center in that area,” he said.

Romeo said they would not.

Madireddy said he was sympathetic to the Hiddenwood residents but that he could not support the use they wanted.

“My problem is not what you guys are going through. My problem is with what’s coming in there,” he said.

But Commissioner Dale Polen Myers (At-Large) said the neighborhood did not have a lot of options to build something else because the road to access the land is owned by a neighboring project and their access is tied to a prescriptive easement.

“There is no really other legal access to this property except for this prescriptive easement that is for these lots as they exist today. … So, they’re kind of locked in,” she said.

Commissioner Clifford Keirce (Sterling) said they were surrounded on three sides by data centers making the land seem much more fitting for commercial use or data centers, not residential.

Commissioner Robin-Eve Jasper (Little River) said a rezoning was not a good solution to the problem.

“I do not think that this is good way to make public policy,” she said. “There are many other communities in similar situations. I believe that making an exception here as requested by the applicants, is exporting their problem to Briarfield Estates and is also setting a precedent that will affect other communities that are really very nearby and in the same situation.”

A motion by Madireddy to deny recommending the rezoning failed on a 4-41 vote, with Chair Michelle Frank (Broad Run), Mark Miller (Catoctin) and Jasper joining in support and Commissioner Ad Barnes (Leesburg) absent.

A subsequent motion by Miller to send the item to a later work session failed 3-5, with Keirce, Madireddy, James Banks (Algonkian), Myers and Vice Chair Eric Combs (Ashburn) opposed.

At the suggestion of Combs, the group took a 30-minute break to work with the applicant to see if the outstanding issues could be resolved.

Romeo then committed to limiting the height of the proposed building closest to the Briarfield neighborhood to no more than 24 feet above the grade of the nearby street, limiting other building heights to 50 feet above the street grade, increasing the setback for the closest building to 180 feet, and further buildings to 100 feet, generator testing to be done seasonally which complies with the 2019 Zoning Ordinance, increasing a cash offer for landscaping materials to Briarfield from $30,000 to $75,000, increasing the tree conservation area and the open space area, building a pedestrian connection for a walking path, and other smaller site plan changes.

With those changes, the commission voted 4-3-1-1 to recommend the Board of Supervisors approve the rezoning. Frank, Madireddy, and Jasper opposed the motion and Miller abstained. n

Leesburg

Town Council Imposes Special Exception Requirement for Data Centers

BY NORMAN K. STYER nstyer@loudounnow.com

Seeking to limit the impact data centers could have on surrounding properties, the Leesburg Town Council on Tuesday approved a Zoning Ordinance change to require all new projects to undergo special exception review.

Previously, data centers were a by-right use in the town’s industrial and employment zoning districts. Under those rules, they were subject only to staff-level site plan review. Now, any new data centers in town would be required to undergo review and public hearings by the Planning Commission and the Town Council.

The council moved to impose the additional review following the neighborhood controversy stirred by its review of a data center on industrially zoned land near the Village at Leesburg neighborhood earlier this year.

Senior Planning Project Manager Christopher Murphy said the change would not impact any current applications. The town staff is reviewing one active data center project for an undeveloped parcel in the Oaklawn development. That proposal requires a rezoning, which will be reviewed by the Planning Commis-

WWII Warbirds

sion and Town Council, giving town leaders the opportunity to impose additional restrictions.

However, there is one project that appears to be caught in the transition, as longtime Leesburg businessman Eung Gil  Choi is working with Kettler, the developer of the Village at Leesburg, to build a data center on the Cardinal Park Drive property where the grandmaster operates his USTMA Taekwondo studio. While the project has been discussed with town planners, a site plan had not been submitted before the council’s action. The requirement of special exception review of that project could shift approval of the project from a few months to up to a year.

Some council members asked whether accommodations could be made for the project.

“I support this tonight, but I just feel like as Councilmember [Kari] Nacy pointed out, it just does feel a little disingenuous to one potential investor in the town who was who was already in the process and meeting staff to not grandfather them in,” Councilman Zach Cummings said. He asked if there was some modified process through which that application could be reviewed.

Director of Community Development

James David said the special exception review process can move quickly if the developers provide complete applications. “Certainly, we’re willing to work with whoever especially if they submit very clean and detailed and good applications with plenty of information because usually the reason that special exception process drops from six to 12 months is because there’s a lot of back and forth asking for additional information and answering questions,” he said.

Vice Mayor Neil Steinberg said it was important to have council review of the projects rather than to try to set a list of conditions that each project must meet.

“Going through the process with the Planning Commission, we learned an awful lot. One of the things we learned was how much we didn’t know and how much there is to learn,” he said. “And every almost every meeting that we sat through more information came to light. This is an industry that we have faced like no other. I would argue that it comes at us with a great speed and it’s constantly changing the course of its technology. … My feeling is that special exceptions a very rational and reasonable response to allow us to examine these applications to be accepted.” n

Coming to Leesburg Executive Airport

The Capital Wing of the Commemorative Air Force will host a World War II Warbird Showcase this weekend at Leesburg Executive Airport.

From 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, residents are invited to see and hear vintage military aircraft in support of the Capital Wing mission to “Keep ‘Em Flying.” The event is also intended to honor the men and women who built, serviced, and flew the aircraft.

A featured aircraft will be a North American T-6 “Texan,” which was the transition trainer to the larger military aircraft such as the P-51 Mustang fighter. The T-6 has a 600-horsepower radial engine with features such as retractable gear, flaps, and a constant speed propeller.

Rides will be available for purchase in the T-6 Texan as well as a Stinson OY-1, a Fairchild Forwarder, and a Boeing PT17 Stearman open-cockpit bi-plane. The public may book any ride at the Capital Wing bookings website, capitalwingwarbirdrides.org. Flights not sold in advance will be available for sale on site during the event.

AROUND town

Council Advances Toward School-Zone Speed Cameras

The Town Council on Tuesday night took another step in its plan to launch a pilot project to install speed cameras in school zones.

The council approved Town Code amendments to permit photo monitoring in highway work zones and school crossing zones. The ordinance allows the town to contract with a private vendor to operate photo speed monitoring and to issue civil fines of $100 for motorist traveling at least 10 mile per hour over the speed limit.

The council and Police Chief Thea Pirnat have been exploring the program since last fall. The fiscal year 2025 budget anticipates collecting $500,000 in revenue from two planned school-zone speed cameras. The next steps in the process will be to hire a vendor to run the program and to determine which school zones will be used in the pilot project.

Town Adds Downtown Weather Station

As part of a regional initiative to enhance weather-related preparedness, the Town of Leesburg deployed a Davis VP2 Wireless Weather Station through a grant.

The station, located on the roof of the Town Hall parking garage, collects and transmits a wide range of meteorological data, including wind speed and direction, temperature, barometric pressure, relative humidity, and rainfall.

Other planes on display will include a Japanese Fuji LM-1, one of only three in the world; and a French Alouette II, the world’s first jet-powered helicopter.

Leesburg Executive Airport is located at 1001 Sycolin Road. n

Emergency Management Coordinator Alex Fitch said the information would help the town staff to make informed decisions, issue timely warnings, and implement appropriate measures to protect the community and infrastructure during severe weather events.

To view the data go to tinyurl.com/townhallweather.

Capital Wing Commemorative Air Force

A Boeing PT-17 Stearman will be among the vintage military aircraft on display, and available for rides, at Leesburg Executive Airport this weekend.

Wexton Endorses Subramanyam for Congress

supranuclear palsy.

BY HANNA PAMPALONI hpampaloni@loudounnow.org

Rep. Jennifer Wexton (D-VA-10) has endorsed Sen. Suhas Subramanyam (D31) to fill the seat she will be vacating at the end of the year.

Wexton stated in an announcement that she felt Subramanyam would do the best job continuing the work she has begun.

Sixteen candidates, 12 Democrats and four Republicans, are vying for the nomination in June’s primary elections.

Subramanyam said he is “honored and humbled” by the endorsement.

“I believe Suhas is the leader for the future of the 10th District,” she stated. “He is a hardworking, principled, and effective legislator who has a long commitment to service, and is rooted right here in the heart of the district. From fighting for abortion rights and gun violence prevention to protecting our democracy, he has always taken on the tough battles in Richmond and won.”

Wexton was first elected in 2018 after winning a competitive Democratic primary election and then defeating Republican incumbent Barbara Comstock. She chose not to run for re-election this year after being diagnosed with progressive

“I’ve always tried to be the champion for Loudoun in the General Assembly, but Jennifer Wexton has been our champion in Congress and has really been a mentor and friend and has really done so much for our community,” he said drawing similarities between them both as parents who care about the future of Loudoun where their children will grow up.

“I really feel like I’m the best person to continue the incredible legacy that she’s leaving behind,” Subramanyam said.

Subramanyam was elected to the House of Delegates in 2020 where he represented the 87th District. In November 2023, he won election to the House of Representatives. Prior to that he worked as a White House advisor under former President Barack Obama’s administration, a Capitol Hill staffer and volunteered in Loudoun as a firefighter and EMT. n

MAY 18 & 19, 2024 • 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Farm Stops:

•American Meadows

•Aurora Apiary

•Blooming Hill Lavender Farm & Gift Shop

•Brook eld Dairy Farm Inc.

•Bully Goat Farm

•Butter y Hill Farm Store

•Donkey Meadows Safe Haven

•Double 8 Alpaca & Llama Ranch

•Far Bungalow Farm

•Farrah's Farm, LLC

•Fireside Farm

•Fort Bacon Farm

•Gathering Springs Farm

•Georges Mill Farm Artisan Cheese

•Green Hills Garden and Nursery

•Hideaway Springs

• Hill Top Farm

•Hope Flower Farm and Winery

•Kathy Ann's Farm

•Laz E Hill Farm

•Long Stone Farm

•Midsommar Farm, LLC

•Paige's Pit Stop Farm Store

•Planetary Farms

•Rivenwool Animal Rescue

•School Hill Garden and Tiny Acre Farm

•Snickers Run Garlic Farm

•Spring House Farm

•Sprouting Roots Farm

•Sweet Piedmont Flower Farm

•Temple Hall Farm Regional Park

•The Sassy Ass

•Three Cap Farms

•Wegmeyer Farms

•Wheatland Spring

•Willow Hawk Farm

•Zephaniah/Mill Road Farm

Find the digital map, info on participating farms, pick up locations for printed maps, and how to win a Western Loudoun VIP Prize Pack at LoudounFarmTour.com.

Arben

School Board Resumes Renaming Talks

BY ALEXIS GUSTIN agustin@loudounnow.org

The School Board may again take up the task of reviewing and possibly renaming nine schools as part of an effort to address concerns about systemic racism.

The previous School Board took up the task in June 2020 when it began a review of all school names and mascots. Histo-

ry Matters was hired to look for schools named for Confederate leaders or the Confederate cause, people who lived in the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries when slavery was part of the economic, cultural and political systems in Virginia, and any facilities named for individuals or movements that promoted segregation.

The review determined there were no schools in Loudoun named after

Area Groups Oppose Blue Ribbon Panel Recommendations, Call for Redo

BY ALEXIS GUSTIN agustin@loudounnow.org

After the release of 11 recommendations from a Blue Ribbon Panel that looked into safety and security in Loudoun County Public Schools, several groups in the county are calling on school leaders to reject the panel’s findings and reconvene a new review group with more diverse community voices.

The panel, convened by Superintendent Aaron Spence in December, consisted of local law enforcement officers,

including the Sheriff ’s Office, Leesburg Police and Purcellville Police; representative from the Town of Leesburg and Loudoun County governments, The Williams Center for Wellness and Recovery, the Department of Justice and Homeland Security, Loudoun County Fire and Rescue, and cybersecurity firms.

The panel was charged with assessing safety processes and protocols in schools and came up with 11 recommendations to enhance security.

“Parents have questioned the process under which these panel members were

Potomac Falls High School’s yearbook “The Legacy” was chosen as one of the National Scholastic Press Association’s 27 scholastic yearbook Pacemaker winners.

Potomac Falls Yearbook Wins Pacemaker Award

Potomac Falls High School’s yearbook, “The Legacy,” was chosen as one of the National Scholastic Press Association’s 27 scholastic yearbook Pacemaker winners.

Confederate leaders or the Confederate cause. However, work by the Black History Committee of the Friends of the Thomas Balch Library resulted in a recommendation to consider changing the names of 10 schools.

During a May 7 briefing to the School

RENAMING TALKS continues on page 15

chosen and also the basis of the recommendations made by the panel. This information has not been provided with the report, and cannot be found on the LCPS website,” a letter response to the panel stated.

The organizations signing onto the letter are the Loudoun Democratic Committee, Loudoun4All, the New Virginia Majority, Rise for Youth, Justice Forward Virginia, the Hamkae Center, and the Arab American Anti-Discrimination Committee-Loudoun Chapter.

The statement pointed to a heavy law enforcement presence on the panel and said none of the parent and community

BLUE RIBBON PANEL continues on page 15

The Pacemaker is the association’s preeminent award according to Executive Director Laura Widmer.

The award recognized the top 8% of yearbooks in the United States. “The Legacy” was one of two publications from Virginia.

The yearbook was the culmination of hard work by Editor-in-chiefs Molly DeHaven, Talia Firetti, Maya Kassir, Angelina Lam, Emma Meehan, Sarah Pappalardo, Abby Stephens, and Natalie Wike and faculty advisor and English teacher Emily Everett.

The NSPA Pacemaker, one of the oldest awards for scholastic journalism, has a rich tradition. The association began presenting the award to high school newspapers soon after the organization was founded in 1921. Throughout the years, yearbooks, magazines, online sites and broadcast programs were added to the competition.

SCHOOL NOTEBOOK continues on page 15

Alexis Gustin/Loudoun Now

Members of the Finance & Operations Committee discussed possibly taking up the task to rename nine division schools that were named after people or places associated with slavery. Lauren Shernoff (Leesburg) left, was asked to sit in for

Istrefi on the committee.

LOUDOUN COUNTY AREA AGENCY

ON AGING PROGRAMS SERVICES & FOR OLDER ADULTS

The Loudoun County Area Agency on Aging (AAA), a division of Loudoun County Parks, Recreation, and Community Services, is the central point of contact for older adults (55+) and their families. The mission of the Area Agency on Aging is to foster independence and healthy aging, and improve the quality of life for older adults and their caregivers through comprehensive programs and services.

ADULT DAY CENTERS

ADULTS WITH & DISABILITIES

ADVISORY BOARDS

CARE COORDINATION

CAREGIVER SERVICES

CHORE CORPS

CONGREGATE MEALS

DISEASE PREVENTION & HEALTH PROMOTION

ELDER ABUSE PREVENTION & INTERVENTION

HOME-DELIVERED MEALS

INFORMATION & REFERRAL

NORTHERN VIRGINIA LONG-TERM CARE OMBUDSMAN PROGRAM

If you require a reasonable accommodation for any type of disability or need language assistance to access Area Agency on Aging Services, please call 703-777-0257.

SENIOR CENTERS

SENIOR COOL CARE

SENIOR MEDICARE PATROL

SENIOR TRIPS

VIRGINIA INSURANCE COUNSELING & ASSISTANCE PROGRAM (VICAP)

VOLUNTEER SERVICES

LEA Rallies Support from Members, Union Allies

BY ALEXIS GUSTIN agustin@loudounnow.org

The Loudoun Education Association is asking its members and allies to stand with them at an upcoming School Board committee meeting where discussions from two meetings of the Joint Committee on Collective Bargaining will be presented.

“We must stand together to ensure the best working conditions for educators, which are the best learning conditions for its students,” an announcement said.

LEA asked that people attend the May 30 Legislative Audit & Policy Committee to stand for employee rights, saying the process had been delayed long enough.

The joint committee was formed by the LA&P Committee earlier this year to discuss eight items of concern LEA had with the division’s draft collective bargaining resolution. LEA presented those issues in an open letter to the former School Board in December.

School Board member Anne Donohue (At-Large) was tasked with leading the joint committee’s discussions and bringing back its recommendations for review by the LA&P Committee.

The joint committee was told a mediator with Federal Mediator and Conciliation Services could be brought in at no cost to the division if needed, however all nine members of the committee needed to be agreeance. A meeting with the mediator was scheduled for May 16.

At the end of the second of two fourhour meetings May 2, members of LEA opted not to meet with a mediator to continue discussing the eight items. LEA member Cory Brunet accused the division of using stall tactics and agreed to walk away from the table.

“I’m willing to take this and what we’ve done to the LA&P Committee,” LEA President Sandy Sullivan said May 2.

The eight issues include removing the 24 month expiration date on authorization cards, remove election thresholds, expand the scope of bargaining, to include changing the definition of working conditions, granting union access to teachers at school, better defining confidential employees and the changes to the Evergreen Clause/Impasse language. n

Schools Chief of Staff Named Top Contender for Florida Superintendent Job

BY ALEXIS GUSTIN agustin@loudounnow.org

Loudoun County Public Schools

Chief of Staff Daniel Smith is one of two final candidates being considered for superintendent of Duval County Public Schools in Jacksonville, FL.

The Duval County School Board selected Smith and Christopher Bernier as the finalists during a special meeting May 7, according to the Duval County Public Schools website.

Smith came to Loudoun County Public Schools in April 2022 from Fairfax County Public Schools where he served as the principal of Lake Braddock Secondary School. Prior to that he served as principal in Virginia Beach City Public Schools and Page County Public Schools. He has over 16 years of experience as a principal in elementary, middle, and high schools, according to the division’s website. In December 2022,

he was named Loudoun County’s acting superintendent days after the board unanimously voted to fire Scott Ziegler

following the release of a special grand jury’s report on how the division handled two student sexual assaults in 2021.

Smith served as acting superintendent until Aaron Spence took the position as new superintendent in September. Smith then went back to his duties as chief of staff.

Former Duval County Public Schools Superintendent Diane Greene announced she was retiring last May and stepped down in June following a series of investigations in the district amid allegations of abuse and a toxic work environment at one of the division’s schools, according to news reports.

The school division has been searching for a new superintendent since last August, holding both in-person community meetings and conducting an online survey of residents. The job was initially advertised in September, then after board action the search was paused in October and readvertised in March.

The Florida division plans to select the superintendent May 23, with a start date of July 1. n

Alexis Gustin/Loudoun Now

Daniel Smith after being named acting superintendent of the division Dec. 8, 2022. Smith is a top contender for the superintendent job at Duval County Public Schools in Jacksonville, FL.

Alexis Gustin/Loudoun Now Loudoun Education Association Vice President Cory Brunet addresses the School Board on May 14.

Renaming talks

continued from page 12

Board’s Finance & Operations Committee meeting, Chief Operations Officer Kevin Lewis sought direction from members on how the staff should proceed after the previous board failed to take up the issue before its term ended. Lewis said the board could continue where the previous board left off, looking at schools in the first two phases of the review from the Black History Committee or to have community meetings to garner additional feedback.

The initial name review was divided into three phases. Phase one was any school that might meet the criteria. Phase two was for schools named after a person. Phase three was schools named for places, ideals or inanimate objects.

Committee member Deana Griffiths (Ashburn) asked questions about the cost to rename the schools and what the division is paying History Matters.

Lewis said the cost to change the name would likely be different for each school and said he could get estimates to Griffiths. History Matters is under contract with the division at an hourly rate, according to Director of Planning and GIS Services Beverly Tate.

No schools have been renamed to date; however, Loudoun County High School’s mascot was changed in 2022 from the Raiders—a reference to John Mosby’s Confederate cavalry unit—to the Captains. That change cost the division about $1.5 million dollars, according to Tate.

“When communities name schools they are communicating to the public, very much including children, which values they hold dear. Naming schools, like naming other public spaces such as streets, buildings and parks is an opportunity for the community to declare what or who should be honored,” Assistant Superintendent of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility Latisha Ellis-Williams said. “Historically, the practice of naming schools to honor the architects and defenders of slavery has been a part of the broader effort to maintain racial hierarchy in the United States.”

Melinda Mansfield (Dulles) agreed, saying she felt making the changes was important and said she agreed after reading the documents from the Black History Committee that naming a school after a plantation was similar to naming it after a Nazi concentration camp like Auschwitz.

“That really brought it home, and it was in this letter and I was like that is really right. We wouldn’t do that and why

would we do that now?” she said.

Mansfield said before any names were changed, she wanted an effort made to show the history of the atrocities that happened on the land of each school.

Lewis said the process was going to be a “heavy lift” and suggested breaking down the list and taking on a phase at a time.

The division also worked with the Black History Committee of the Friends of the Thomas Balch Library to review the names. The committee originally recommended 10 of the 19 names from the first two phases be looked at further, including four named for people and six named for places. John Champe High School, named for a Revolutionary War cavalryman, was removed from the list Oct. 25, 2022 to allow for additional research by the Black History Committee.

The School Board also in October 2022 unanimously amended its school naming policy to, among other things, allow it to move forward with renaming the nine schools and to allow a renaming committee to choose to the keep the school’s name.

Town Hall meetings were held in December 2022 to hear from the Mercer Middle School and Frances Hazel Reid Elementary School communities. The former board discussed appointing a renaming committee in February of last year for the two schools, which included a recommendation to keep the name of Mercer Middle School and create a permanent exhibit at the school to highlight all of the good and bad of the school’s namesake. The board voted to postpone action until September 2023, but didn’t move forward with it before their term ended.

The committee is scheduled to decide at its May 21 meeting how it will move forward either in phases or holding a community meeting first to see if people still want the changes. Griffiths asked for the cost estimates of renaming each school by that meeting.

The nine schools include on the list for potential renaming are Frances Hazel Reid Elementary School, Mercer Middle School, Emerick Elementary School, all named after people; Belmont Ridge Middle School, Belmont Station Elementary School, Seldens Landing Elementary School, Sully Elementary School, Hutchison Farm Elementary School, all named after places affiliated with slavery; and Ball’s Bluff Elementary School, named after a Civil War battle won by the Confederate Army. n

SCHOOL notebook

continued from page 12

VDOE Recognizes Six Loudoun Schools for High Achievement, Improvement

Aldie, Emerick, Hamilton, and Waterford Elementary Schools and Hillsboro Charter Academy were recognized by the Virginia Board of Education for their high achievement and Hutchison Farm Elementary was recognized for continued improvement as part VDOE’s Exemplar Performance School Recognition Program.

The five schools earned the 2023-2024 Highest Achievement Award and were among 37 in the state recognized for the award. Hutchison Elementary, which received the 2023-2024 Continuous Improvement Award, was among 27 recognized in the state.

Schools recognized for Highest

Blue Ribbon Panel

continued from page 12

groups like the Equity Committee, Minority Student Achievement Advisory Committee, Special Education Advisory Committee or representatives from communities that could be disproportionately affected by the recommendations were part of the discussion.

“We call on the Superintendent and the School Board to reject these recommendations and reconvene a panel that includes a diverse set of voices in order to ensure that our children’s rights, including privacy and fair treatment, are protected, and no measures would enable any group potential for abuse of power when it comes to our children,” the letter stated.

Some of the recommendations include adding school resource officers or school security officers or division patrols to the 62 elementary schools. SROs are armed law enforcement officers, while SSOs are unarmed and non-law enforcement staff. The panel also recommended increasing security personnel for after school events; making sure SRO’s and Unified Mental Health Team representatives are involved in every threat assessment training; ensuring there is Wi-Fi coverage throughout school buildings, creating of a formal alternative education site for at-risk students; have the school board label the Divisions of Safety and Security as a Law En-

Achievement demonstrated high levels of success across all school quality indicators, including success in narrowing achievement gaps. To earn it, schools are required to achieve Performance Level One for reading, math and science based on the student pass rate for the “all students” group in the school, as well as for each student group in the school and achieve Level One in the chronic absenteeism, graduation and completion index and dropout rate.

The continuous improvement award is given to schools that demonstrate an increase in the combined rate for math, reading and science for each of the past three years with a total increase over that time of ten points or more, an increase in the combined rate for two or more student groups in reading and math, an increase in graduation and completion index for each of the past three years and a decrease in dropout rates over a course of three years. n

forcement Unit; and working with public safety officials to assess public safety radio converge within schools.

The groups represented in the letter objected to placing SROs at elementary schools, the requirement of SROs to be involved in every threat assessment made by the school and to designate the division’s Safety and Security department as a law enforcement unit, according to the letter.

The groups argued an increase in law enforcement presence at school did not increase student safety, citing a Texas University and FBI examination of 160 incidents, including 25 school shootings that found none of the shootings were stopped by armed officers returning fire.

The groups also said according to the Center for Public Integrity, Black and disabled students are “disproportionately referred to police, especially in younger grades” and that Virginia has the highest rate of Black student and disabled student referrals to law enforcement in the country.

The groups’ biggest issue, according to the letter, was with the designation of the division’s Safety and Security department as a law enforcement unit, saying it could allow law enforcement to bypass the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act.

The School Board was schedule to get an update on the panel’s recommendations during its May 14 meeting. Spence plans to review the recommendations and community feedback to create an action plan he will present to the board in June. n

Heritage Students Win State, International Awards in Plant the Moon Challenge

BY ALEXIS GUSTIN agustin@loudounnow.org

Purslane Gang, a team of nine Heritage High School students participating in the 2023-2024 international Plant the Moon Challenge won Best in Show for overall experimental design for the state of Virginia and the International Title for best experimental design.

The students learned they won the international award during a livestreamed announcement May 8. They learned they were state winners the day before from Virginia Space Grant Consortium Director Emeritus Mary Sandy and other members of the Consortium via Zoom while they were in biology class.

Sandy congratulated the three teams in attendance and said Purslane Gang was one of four winners out of 89 Virginia teams.

The experimental design is how the team chose to set up their experiment.

The team consisting of Ethan Agustin-Calloway, Joshua Gonzalez, Reeva Khan, Avery Lefman, Jasmine McBorrough, Joe Nyilasi, Camila Quino, Melana Shiring, Willa Tansey and Elijah Woods were one of seven Heritage teams competing the challenge this year under the direction of biology teacher Amy Goodyear.

“You are part of an elite group here at Heritage,” Goodyear said after the May 7 announcement. This is the third year in a row Loudoun students have won under Goodyear.

Principal Jeff Adam bought the class pizza to celebrate the win.

The team expressed shock at winning because they said their experiment didn’t go as planned.

“I am so surprised because things went so wrong,” Lefman said. “Our plants were dying, our water system wasn’t good. I think we had a good plan but things didn’t work out how we thought it would, so it is surprising to win.”

The team chose to use purslane, an annual plant with succulent leaves rich in nutrients. It was based on Khan’s research paper.

“Basically, while I was doing my research paper, it was actually pretty last minute and I’m pretty sure I was almost late on it,” Khan said. “I kept searching and Googling what plant to do that could be edible. I didn’t want to do radishes because everyone was talking about

Public Safety

Juvenile Shoots Mall

Employee with BBs in Shoe Store Robbery

A juvenile suspect is in custody following a Saturday afternoon robbery at the Dulles Town Center mall in which an employee was shot with a BB gun.

According to the Sheriff ’s Office, deputies were dispatched at 4:30 p.m. May 11 to the Foot Locker store for a reported robbery involving an injured person and a suspect who had fled.

Deputies determined the suspect left the store with merchandise and discharged a Glock replica BB gun twice into the right arm and hand of an employee who attempted to stop him outside the store. The suspect left the BB gun and merchandise at the location before fleeing.

Deputies set up a perimeter around the mall. Dicks Sporting Goods was evacuated for approximately 14 minutes during a search for the suspect.

The suspect was located near a car dealership on Russell Branch Parkway at approximately 5:13 p.m.

radishes, and I wanted to do something different.”

“Reeva’s plan was really, really great it was a really durable plant that was able to withstand a lot of temperatures and it was just a really great plan to settle on for our first experiment,” Agustin-Calloway said.

The team’s experiment consisted of 20 pots in various mixtures of regolith and soil. They followed Khan’s plan and used a drip irrigation system. By mid-March all the plants had died.

“I really think it was the water,” Quino said. “During the start they had sprouted and then the watering got messed up and they died. Everything died. We tried several times to fix it but didn’t work.”

She thinks the drip irrigation wasn’t consistently watering the plants and recommends students next year water manually.

Fellow Heritage challenge participant, Anna Britt from team Tuscan Raiders said she was happy to hear a Heritage team won at the state level.”

“We probably all would like to win something at the state level, I’m just happy that someone from our school ended up winning and keeping that winning streak up,” she said.

The eight-week challenge in conjunction with NASA gives students around the

globe the opportunity to take lunar regolith—moon dirt without the organisms that sustain life—and grow vegetables in combinations of soil, additives like different types of fertilizer and regolith. The teams planted the first week of February and harvested their plants March 18-22.

The students competed against 1,000 students from all over the world.

Heritage High School had over 60 students participate in the challenge this year.

“I am so proud of all my students who participated,” Goodyear said via email after the team was announced as international winners. “They have all grown in their scientific ability and working together as a team to problem-solve challenges as they arise.”

This is the second year Heritage students have participated in the challenge, which was brought to the school by Goodyear. Goodyear also led it for a year at the Academies of Loudoun.

In 2022 Goodyear’s students were international winners and in 2023, a group of students were named Best in Show for evaluation of results for the state of Virginia.

Purslane Gang will present their research and be recognized for their accomplishments June 1 at an awards ceremony. n

The injured employee was treated on the scene by Loudoun County Combined Fire and Rescue System. The suspect sustained an injury above his eyebrow during the altercation with the store employee and was transported to an area hospital for treatment, according to the report.

He was charged with petit larceny, brandishing a firearm, and unlawful wounding. He was held at the Juvenile Detention Center.

Witness Sought in W&OD Trail Exposure Case

The Sheriff ’s Office has charged a 30-year-old Herndon man with indecent exposure following a May 12 incident on the W&OD Trail.

The victim reported that she was walking on the trail near mile marker 21.5 in Sterling when a man exposed himself. She fled and called law enforcement.

Deputies searched the area and arrested Brandon Lee Anthony on the trail. He was released on personal recognizance bond.

Investigators are seeking to talk with anyone else who may have been approached by the suspect. Witnesses are asked to contact the Sheriff ’s Office at 703-777-1021. n

Alexis Gustin/Loudoun Now

Heritage High Schools Purslane Gang, from top left; Jasmine McBorrough, Camila Quino, Avery Lefman, Melana Shiring, Ethan Agustin-Calloway, Elijah Woods. Bottom left; Joshua Gonzalez, Willa Tansey, Reeva Khan, and Joe Nyilasi. The team won Best in Show for overall experimental design for the state of Virginia and the International title for best experimental design for the 2023-2024 international Plant the Moon Challenge.

J O I

N T H E P A R T Y ! #BestPartyinLoudoun

P O L O I N T H E P A R K Saturdays in June and July Morven Park International Equestrian Center

Loudoun Cares Honors County’s Outstanding Volunteers

BY HANNA PAMPALONI hpampaloni@loudounnow.org

The county’s nonprofits gathered at Marie De La Fleur in Lansdowne Woods for the Loudoun Cares 2024 Outstanding Volunteer Awards ceremony May 9.

The annual event is held to recognize the work of volunteers and celebrate the time and talent offered by residents for the community. Winners are chosen in 15 categories, including individuals and teams for adults, youth and seniors. Public safety, project leader, veteran, corporate, civic/ community organizations and nonprofit board of directors categories are also available, as well as district recognition’s chosen by each county supervisor, an executive choice award, and two additional specialty awards.

“Not only do we support some of our most vulnerable residents, we work to connect our amazing nonprofits with volunteers like you that they need to accomplish their missions,” Loudoun Cares Executive Director Valerie Pisierra said. “… If I had said it once, I’ll say it 100 times, we are the match.com of volunteering. So, as you can see, we’re passionate about connecting our community and supporting our residents. Those that need help. And tonight, those that want to help. Once again, thank you for being here tonight and helping us celebrate our amazing volunteers here in Loudoun County.”

Pisierra, who began working with the organization in 2016, announced she will be retiring from the role in July.

The event was emceed by Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Tony How-

OTHER HONOREES WERE:

OUTSTANDING ADULT VOLUNTEER AWARD: Deatema Abdul-Latif, APAH-Loudoun View and DeeDee Schrader, A Bright Spot

OUTSTANDING ADULT VOLUNTEER TEAM

AWARD: Dulles Eagle Cam Team, Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy

OUTSTANDING  SENIOR PUBLIC SAFETY

AWARD: Debra Farrar, Loudoun County Sheriff ’s Office Auxiliary Unit

OUTSTANDING SENIOR VOLUNTEER

AWARD: Sheila Green-Singleton, Women Giving Back

OUTSTANDING SENIOR VOLUNTEER TEAM

ard with a keynote speech by County Chair Phyllis J. Randall and a special address by Sterling Volunteer Fire Company Chief David Short. Both spoke on the importance of nonprofits and volunteers in a community.

“We are a remarkable county, and I am always so proud of us,” Randall said. “But I am never ever, ever more proud of our nonprofit programs, our faith based programs and the absolute love and respect we give people who often don’t feel seen, don’t feel heard and don’t feel understood. You all are incredible. Thank you.”

Dave Proctor was presented with the Executive Choice Award, created to honor vol-

AWARD: Loudoun Medicare Counseling Team, Area Agency on Aging

OUTSTANDING VOLUNTEER TEAM

AWARD: Sensory Santa, The Arc of Loudoun

OUTSTANDING VETERAN VOLUNTEER

AWARD: David Chinn, Loudoun Habitat for Humanity

OUTSTANDING VOLUNTEER PROJECT

AWARD: Wegmans – Leesburg/Sterling, Loudoun Hunger Relief

OUTSTANDING VOLUNTEER PROJECT

LEADER AWARD: Mike Wilkins, Loudoun County Commission on Aging (COA)

OUTSTANDING YOUTH INNOVATOR

AWARD: Prakhya Koya, Leap4u

unteers who serve directly with Loudoun Cares.

“This award gives me a chance to honor a volunteer that has worked alongside our organization in either operations or program delivery,” Pisierra said. “This year’s award goes to someone that has been there at all times of the day, working to help us solve our challenges while in the car or in between coaching basketball for his son, who has worked around his schedule and helped when we were in dire need of assistance.”

The Judy Hines Service of a Lifetime Award is given to a volunteer with 10 or

OUTSTANDING YOUTH VOLUNTEER TEAM

AWARD: Girl emPower Summit Committee, Loudoun Coalition on Women and Girls

GABRIELLA MILLER YOUTH VOLUNTEER

AWARD: Nicole Smith, Women Giving Back

OUTSTANDING CORPORATE VOLUNTEER

TEAM AWARD: Abaco Cares, Women Giving Back

Board of Supervisors

Volunteer Recognitions:

AT LARGE: Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity Dulles-Leesburg Alumni Chapter

ALGONKIAN DISTRICT: Alicia Cohen

more years of service in the county. Richard Payne was presented that award for volunteering with the Knights of Columbus and the county’s Commission on Aging for more than 18 years.

The Gabriella Miller Youth Award was created to honor its namesake, who was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor at nine-years-old. She was named the 2012 Outstanding Volunteer of the Year for her efforts in raising more than $275,000 for the Make a Wish Foundation before she died.

Her mother, Ellyn Miller, presented the award to Nicole Smith, who was recognized for her work with Women Giving Back. n

ASHBURN DISTRICT: Nayeli Mahdi, Niah and Gary Comi, Insight Memory Care Center

BROAD RUN DISTRICT: Mike Littman, Loudoun Invasives Removal Alliance

DULLES DISTRICT: Charlene Jones, Dulles South Food Pantry and Dulles South Neighborhood Closet.

LEESBURG DISTRICT: Paula Morato-Callaghan, Leesburg community volunteer

LITTLE RIVER DISTRICT: Willowsford-Aldie Girls on the Run

STERLING DISTRICT: Quinchela DentHess, LAWS Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Services

Hanna Pampaloni/Loudoun Now Prakhya Koya earned the inaugural Youth Innovator Award during Loudoun Cares Outstanding Volunteer Awards ceremony May 9.

Business Purcellville Family Gets into the ‘Business’ of Luxury Toilets

BY ALEXIS GUSTIN agustin@loudounnow.org

Lynn Gardner and her family didn’t set out to create the hottest port-a-potty business in the county.

In fact, she said the business—Throne Rooms—was built out of necessity.

“We actually needed a bathroom for our barn where we have church meetings,” she said.

They looked into all the county codes and requirements to make a portable bathroom out of a horse trailer they owned because they wanted to get it right.

She said they also wanted to make it nicer than a plastic port-a-potty box so women would want to use it.

What they created were luxurious portable restrooms that can be used for any outdoor event.

The family- and veteran-owned business is run with the help of her husband Doug Todd, a Marine Corps veteran and the chief builder of the Throne Rooms, son Jared Shaw, an Air Force veteran and local chef who also uses his talents for the plumbing and electrical side of the portable toilets, and son-in-law Sam Carothers, who serves on active duty in the Air Force, stationed in Pittsburg. Carothers and his family come to town every month to spend a long weekend working on the portable restrooms.

Lynn is the decorator and creative designer.

Their first creation—a yellow wooden portable toilet with a gabled roof—is named the SONshine. She said it’s their most popular rental.

They introduced it last fall during a convention of about 50 women on their property. Gardner said the ladies went crazy over it.

Inside, you will find white beadboard walls, a stained-glass window, chandelier and lamps and a built-in turquoise farmhouse-style sink with running water.

Think pump sink like in an RV.

She said Doug kept teasing her that it was just a toilet even as she kept adding more to the décor.

“I said, ‘no it’s not a toilet. Women won’t use those plastic port-a-potty’s. It has to be cute and a five-star toilet,’” she said.

She said to make sure their luxury portable toilets meet all the state and county standards, they buy the plastic toilet component with its storage tank from a manufacturer. The footprint of it, she said is the size of a handicap portable toilet.

After that, they get their creative juices flowing and build around the toilet, covering up the water tank beneath.

“Structurally, they are all the same. We have to build it large enough to accommodate a flushing port-a-potty, then we have fun with it,” she said.

They just finished a new one, called the HENhouse. She said it is red and looks like a barn, but when you go inside you find mixed medium walls covered in corrugated metal and wooden pallets. The baseboards are from an oak board fence someone gave them. Gardner said they like to repurpose materials whenever possible.

She said to keep them smelling fresh, they have exhaust pipes connected to added soffits on the roof to help odors go up and out.

Other portable toilets in stock include one called the WHITEhouse, with white batten board on the outside, a corrugated metal roof, and a weather vane on top.

She said they are in the process of adding three more models right now—one called the BLUEmoon and a pair called the Royal Flush that includes a his and hers toilet, the King of Hearts and the Queen of Hearts.

“It’s the closest you can get to the comforts of home without being home,” she said.

Gardner said they are booking into October with the most of their customers being wedding parties, followed by other special events like family reunions and graduation parties. She said they hope to have 12 toilets by the end of the year, including another SONshine because it’s requested so often.

A weekend rental costs $575, with drop off on Friday and pickup on Monday. If a party needs two portable toilets, they get a discount rate.

“We are having a ball,” she said, adding that they are also branching into the tiny pool house market with several requests to build pool houses for area families.

For more information, go to throne-rooms.com. n

Alexis Gustin/Loudoun Now

Lynn Gardner and Doug Todd build luxurious portable toilets with the help of sons Jared and Sam.

Alexis Gustin/Loudoun Now

Throne Rooms newest luxury portable bathroom—still in production—is called the HENhouse.

BUSINESS briefs

Langhoff Joins Niyam IT

Ted Langhoff is the new senior director of client delivery services for Leesburg-based Niyam IT.

The company specializes in IT services for the national security sector and will be looking to build on Langhoff’s experience with the Department of Homeland Security and Customs and Border Protection to help secure the nation’s borders and stem the flow of narcotics.

“Ted’s experience with CBP and other DHS components coordinating whole-of-government responses to national security issues and presidential directives enables Niyam to deliver innovative solutions to mission needs,” stated President and COO Raj Parameswaran.

“With our recent award of CBP’s Enterprise Small Business Emerging Technologies Blanket Purchase Agreement, we are excited to have Ted lead and support CBP’s most acute mission priorities.”

Langhoff has supported CBP’s leadership on DHS interagency initiatives including the Common Vetting Task Force and the National Vetting Center, and drafted strategic policy for CBP’s participation in the Counterintelligence Task Force and its leadership of the International Interdiction Task Force. Most recently, Langhoff helped identify and deliver criminal information data to CBP field offices, provided Scaled Agile leadership and guidance at USDA, and led the advanced analytics and data management team that helped to substantially reduce USCIS’s immigration backlog.

Learn more about the company at  niyamit.com.

Razmic Named CEO at StoneSprings Hospital

Tammy L. Razmic is the new chief executive officer of StoneSprings Hospital Center in Arcola. She steps into the post May 20 as the hospital’s first female CEO.  Razmic has more than 30 years of healthcare experience. Since 2020, she served as the chief operating officer at HCA Florida Memorial Hospital in Jack-

sonville, FL. There she was credited with expanding the operating room, catheterization laboratory, post-anesthesia care unit, and sterile processing unit. She also developed a freestanding women’s center with imaging and OBGYN services. Prior to that, she served as the chief operating officer of Palm Beach Gardens Medical Center in Palm Beach Gardens, FL, and as the chief operating officer and chief financial officer of Inova Fair Oaks Hospital in Fairfax.

“Tammy brings a wealth of experience to StoneSprings and her success innovating within a complex healthcare environment will move our team and our hospital forward,” chairman of the hospital’s board of trustees Mike Rhodes stated. “Tammy will be an excellent steward of our hospital and she’ll ensure the success of our strategic growth and development initiatives within the communities we serve.”

Razmic received an undergraduate degree in accounting and financial administration from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, and a master’s degree in health administration from Ohio University’s School of Public Health. n

Langhoff

Razmic

Towns Waterford Added to Most Endangered Historic Places List

BY HANNA PAMPALONI hpampaloni@loudounnow.org

Each year Preservation Virginia releases a list of historic places in the state that are facing imminent or sustained threats. This year the Village of Waterford has been included in that list following a proposal by NextEra Energy to build a 500-kilovolt transmission line across western Loudoun—potentially infringing on the National Historic Landmark.

“These historic sites represent important spaces in communities throughout the commonwealth. All are under threat, all irreplaceable and all propose solutions to ensure a viable future,” Preservation Virginia CEO Elizabeth S. Kostelny stated in the May 14 announcement. “From Hampton to Roanoke, Loudoun County to Brunswick County, these historic sites are in need of awareness and assis-

tance to ensure they are preserved for future generations.”

The transmission line project, known as the Mid-Atlantic Resiliency Link, was approved by PJM Interconnection, the regional power transmission coordinator, in December. NextEra is now going through a process to determine the exact route of the line before it will be submitted to the State Corporation Commission for a final decision.

Waterford Foundation President Sue Manch said the designation shows how valuable Waterford is.

“I think it just underscores the threat that we face, that so much of rural Loudoun faces,” she said.

Having the designation as one of the top 10 most threatened locations in the commonwealth will remind visitors who enjoy the scenic village that it’s not guaranteed in perpetuity, she said.

“This isn’t the end. They’re not think-

ing about the importance of saving this open space for the future so that people have somewhere to go,” Manch said.

She said noted that the village boasts the same historical designation as better-known sites like Williamsburg and Monticello.

“These are irreplaceable resources. These are things that tell us about our history and remind us who we are,” she said.

This Sunday, the Waterford Foundation is hosting the 2024 Preservation Celebration to draw attention to the 1,420acre landmark.

The event will take place at the Waterford Old School from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.

The Waterford National Historic Landmark, designated by the U.S. Department of the Interior in 1970, includes the Historic Village of Waterford, the Waterford Mill, John Wesley Community Church, the Second Street School, and the surrounding agricultural and open space. n

Purcellville Council Hears Sidewalk Connection Projects Priorities

BY HANNA PAMPALONI hpampaloni@loudounnow.org

The Purcellville Council on Tuesday heard the recommendations from representatives of consultant Kimley-Horn on the ranking of 12 miles of missing links in sidewalks throughout the town.

Thomas Super told the council that 81% of the town was connected for pedestrians. The sidewalk gaps result from the town not requiring new development to incorporate pedestrian or bicycle paths. That requirement was introduced with the adoption of the transportation plan in 2009.

“There ended up with a lot of missing links around the town that were addressed an ad hoc basis by town staff as deemed appropriate,” Super said. “What we found is that in order to achieve a safe, efficient multimodal transportation system townwide, we need to have a program approach to figure out what needs to be incorporated next, as opposed to just bringing them up one by one is the issue comes up.”

Kimley-Horn presented a priority list to the council a year ago, before being di-

between cul-de-sacs at East Cornwell Lane and North Brewster Lane and North Hatcher Avenue.

“The two primary businesses along there are a feeding company and veterinarian and I defy you to tell me if anyone you know visits a paving company or a veterinarian other than in a car,” he said.

He said a gap ranked at the bottom of the priority list along the east side of North 21st street was “badly needed.”

Super said the council had the authority to shuffle the priority list.

AROUND towns

BLUEMONT

Memorial Services Planned at the Ebenezer Churches

The stewards of the two historic Ebenezer Churches near Bluemont will hold a memorial service on Sunday, May 19 beginning at 2 p.m.

The annual open house program invites area residents to learn more about the history of the churches, built on land provided by Samuel Butcher Sr. The first church, a two-story stone structure, was built between 1755 and 1769. That was Butcher’s Meeting House. It later became known as the Old Ebenezer Church, when the congregation split in the 1830s over theological philosophies of the Baptist doctrine. While the “new school” congregation shared the stone church building with their “old school” brethren for more than two decades, in 1855 it gained ownership of adjacent land and built the Greek revival “new” church.

The churches are maintained by the Ebenezer Cemetery Company, which is hosting the program.

For more information, go to ebenezercemetery.org.

Bluemont Artist Selected for Fair Poster

Organizers of the 54th annual Bluemont Fair, to be held Sept. 2122, have selected a design by Becky Greene for use on this year’s poster and promotions.

A Bluemont resident, Greene’s image—featuring fireflies, frogs, turtles, and the village’s rolling mountain scenes—reflected the 2024 fair’s theme: The frogs, lightning bugs, turtles and/or salamanders of Bluemont.

rected to create a ranking by taking cost into account in addition to the benefit to the community.

“To get a fuller picture, we looked at the top 20 projects that were part of the rankings. And then the projects that provide the greatest benefit to the community for the lowest costs are ranked a bit higher and worth a few extra points,” Super said.

Council Member Christopher Bertaut said he understood the ranking formula but questioned some of the recommendations, specifically mentioning a link

“There might not be visitors to a painting company along Cornwall, but we found that there are other activity generators nearby,” he said.

Vice Mayor Erin Rayner said she drove by that area frequently and saw a lot of pedestrians walking by. Mayor Stanley Milan agreed.

“I live right here. And there are a lot of dog walkers and people in my neighborhood walking their dogs along that trail,” he said. “It is in my mind connected to the revitalization of the C-4 District.”

An adopted priority list will be taken into account as the town staff creates the Capital Improvement Plan each year. n

For more information about the fair plans, go to bluemontfair.org.

LOVETTSVILLE

Mayfest Set for Saturday

The town’s second biggest celebration is back this Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Mayfest features a series of competitions including tug-o-war, a sack race, a three legged-race, a bat-spin

AROUND TOWNS continues on page 23

Hanna Pampaloni/Loudoun Now

A sidewalk ends along South 20th Street, creating one of the gaps in Purcellville’s 67 miles of planned sidewalks throughout the town.

AROUND towns

continued from page 22

obstacle course, a plunger head ring toss, cornhole, kickball, whiffle ball, and ultimate frisbee.

Live entertainment beginning at 10:30 a.m. will include Kylie Brown, Jessica Paulin, The Red Ferns, The Crown Jewels, and Big Brad and the Day Drinkers.

Visitors will also have the opportunity to try out local flavors and shop local goods from vendors such as One Family Brewing, BomBurger, Tom’s Coffee, Cryp Candy, Windy City Eats, Cream to Go, Nature’s Jewels, Crafting for a Cure, Baker Designs and Pup My Style.

Watermain Replacement Project Delayed

The second phase of the town’s East Pennsylvania Avenue Watermain Replacement has been delayed because of the recent rains and the availability of the contractor to begin.

Construction is expected to begin in two to three weeks and will take place between Light Street and Loudoun Street.

Further updates on the timing of construction and traffic disruption on East Pennsylvania Avenue will be provided once date is certain.

Ad Hoc Committee to Review Charter

The town’s Ad Hoc Committee has scheduled a special meeting to discuss the Town Charter and Rules and Procedures this Thursday at 6:30 p.m.

The council established the committee made up of council members Brandon Davis, Mark Jones, and Stuart Stahl to review the rules and procedures to ensure they are in alignment with the Town Charter.

MIDDLEBURG

Fletcher Named Town’s Finance Director

Angela Fletcher is the Town of Middleburg’s new finance director/treasurer.

She served as the finance director for the Town of Strasburg for the past six years and was Round Hill’s treasurer from 2016 to 2018.

Fletcher replaces Tina Staples, who held the post since 2021.

She begins her new duties May 20.

Middleburg Increases Utility Rates 3%

Following the recommendation of Town Manager Danny Davis, the Town Council on May 9 approved a 3% increase to the town’s water and sewer rates.

The increase, about 60 cents per 1,000 gallons, is expected to increase the bi-monthly bill for customers using 7,000 gallons of water by $8.26, from $273.98 to 282.24, according to the staff report.

The town has the highest utility rates among Loudoun’s municipalities. While the increase is lower than current inflation rates, Davis noted that water consumption has increased over the past year, resulting in higher than anticipated revenues.

Heading into next year’s budget review, Davis plans to work with the town’s financial advisor and utility rate advisor to update the rate model to determine the rate levels needed to maintain the water and sewer systems in future years.

PURCELLVILLE

Public Safety Day Returns

The town’s annual Public Safety Day is returning this Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the fire-rescue station on Maple Avenue.

Children will have the opportunity to participate in a Bike Safety Rodeo, get a helmet fitting, have their bicycle checked for safety, meet state, county and local first responders, explore police, fire and rescue vehicles, paint a police cruiser and participate in a scavenger hunt.

A highlight of the day also includes the bike decorating contest and family-fun bike ride through town.

The fun-ride check in begins at 10 a.m. before the decorating judging at 10:30 a.m. and the ride at 11 a.m.

The event is hosted by the town’s police department, parks and recreation, volunteer fire company and volunteer rescue squad.

Shred Event Scheduled Saturday Morning

A complimentary community shred event is being hosted by the town from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. in the Fireman’s Field Parking lot.

The event will offer a secure and eco-friendly solution for disposing of outdated documents and sensitive files. Visitors are requested to bring a maximum of four letter-size boxes.

Hamilton Amends Zoning Ordinance to Allow Event Sales

BY HANNA PAMPALONI hpampalni@loudounnow.org

After a joint public hearing by the Hamilton Planning Commission and Town Council on Monday night, the town’s zoning ordinance was amended to allow the sale of goods during special events.

The amendment is the final step in a series of changes by the council to expand town events, which Town Attorney Maureen Gilmore said have been successful and are growing.

The council voted to amend the Town Code last month.

Planning Commission Chair Dan Gorman said some concerns brought up by the commission during its previous meeting included noise from generators because of the lack of power sources at the town park, an insufficient number of trash cans, creating a definition of nonprofits, and whether to limit the number of events per year.

Council member Cathy Salter said generators would not be running for extended periods of time or late at night because the park did not have lighting and events would not be taking place after dark.

“Most events are approximately two hours,” she said.

Nonprofits will be defined as 501(c)3 organizations and any others recognized by the General Assembly as charitable organizations.

Zoning Administrator Martha Mason Semmes recommended creating a town policy for special events with specific guidelines, which may be changed more easily than the Zoning Ordinance.

The change will not permit seasonal or temporary sales such as Christmas trees, farm produce or fireworks. It does include carnivals, festivals, concerts, art shows, craft shows and corn mazes.

No residents spoke during the public hearings and the council unanimously passed the amendment. n

LIVE MUSIC

JACKSON QUEENS

5:30 to 8:30 p.m. Thursday, May 16 Bear Chase Brewing Company, 33665 Bear Chase Lane, Bluemont. bearchasebrew.com

TEJAS SINGH

6 to 10 p.m. Thursday, May 16

Spanky’s Shenanigans, 538 E. Market St., Leesburg. spankyspub.com

RICHARD WALTON

6 to 10 p.m. Thursday, May 16

Belmont Country Club, 19661 Belmont Manor Lane, Ashburn. belmonthoa.org

JUSTIN SUEDE

7 to 11 p.m. Friday, May 17

Velocity Wings Potomac Falls, 20789 Great Falls Plaza, Sterling. velocitywings.net/sterling

CARY WIMBISH

5 to 8 p.m. Friday, May 17

Spanky’s Shenanigans, 538 E. Market St., Leesburg. spankyspub.com

BRYAN SHEPHERD

5 to 8 p.m. Friday, May 17

Dirt Farm Brewing, 18701 Foggy Bottom Road, Bluemont. dirtfarmbrewing.com

DOMINICA KNAPP

5 to 8 p.m. Friday, May 17

Harpers Ferry Brewing, 37412 Adventure Center Lane, Loudoun Heights. harpersferrybrewing.com

SHANE GAMBLE

5 to 8 p.m. Friday, May 17

Quattro Goombas Brewery, 22860 James Monroe Highway, Aldie. quattrogoombas.com

GARY PALUMBO

5 to 8 p.m. Friday, May 17

Vanish Farmwoods Brewery, 42245 Black Hops Lane, Lucketts. vanishbeer.com

THE BRUNO SOUND

5:30 to 8 p.m. Friday, May 17

Willowcroft Farm Vineyards, 38906 Mount Gilead Road, Leesburg. willowcroftwine.com

ROBERT MABE & FRIENDS

5:30 to 8:30 p.m. Friday, May 17

Lost Barrel Brewing, 36138 Little River Turnpike, Middleburg. lostbarrelbrewing.com LIVE MUSIC continues on page 26

A man with Himalayan Soul Foods hands a customer their food.

Residents Come Out for Food Truck Festival

BY ALEXIS GUSTIN agustin@loudounnow.org

After several days of rain, the clouds parted Saturday and brought sunshine and nice temperatures for the third annual Loudoun County Food Truck Festival at Segra Field near Leesburg.

The free event featured dozens of tasty selections including cupcakes, BBQ, gourmet popsicles, tamales, pizza and smoothies. There was also an axe throwing truck, a wreck it rage room truck, games for kids, a cornhole tournament and live music. n

Alexis Gustin/Loudoun Now

Alexis Gustin/Loudoun Now People wait in line at several food trucks May 11 during the Loco Food Truck Festival.

Alexis Gustin/Loudoun Now

Among the

food trucks at the food truck festival, you could find gourmet popsicles from King of Pops.

It’s Spring Farm Tour Weekend

Visitors are invited to tour nearly 40 rural venues during this weekend’s Spring Farm Tour organized by the Loudoun County Department of Economic Development.

The free event showcases animals, local produce, and stores packed with locally grown and locally made goods and produce. Venues are open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

After debuting the service with last year’s fall tour, the Department of Economic Development is teaming up with

Visit Loudoun to provide a “Hop On, Hop Off” shuttle service for the tour weekend— designed to make it easier than ever to take in the sights and flavors of Loudoun County. There are four hubs to grab a bus: Ashburn Metro North Side at Loudoun Station, the County Government Center in Leesburg, the Co-Op Market in Lovettsville and the Old Stone School in Hillsboro.

For more details, including a list participating venues and bus routes, go to loudounfarms.org. n

Courtesy Visit Loudoun

Loudoun farmers pour a little bit of themselves into every fruit, vegetable and animal that grows on their farms, as well as the value add products that get made here in Loudoun County.

GET OUT

LIVE MUSIC

continued from page 24

FREDDIE LONG

6 to 9 p.m. Friday, May 17 Flying Ace Farm, 40950 Flying Ace Lane, Lovettsville. flyingacefarm.com

JASON TEACH

6 to 9 p.m. Friday, May 17 Harvest Gap Brewery, 15485 Purcellville Road, Hillsboro. harvestgap.com

JASON MASI

6 to 9 p.m. Friday, May 17 Bear Chase Brewing Company, 33665 Bear Chase Lane, Bluemont. bearchasebrew.com

BETTER OFF DEAD

7 to 11 p.m. Friday, May 17 Tally Ho Theater, 19 W. Market St., Leesburg. $15. tallyhotheater.com

GABE MATTHEWS BAND

7 to 10 p.m. Friday, May 17 Social House Kitchen & Tap, 42841 Creek View Plaza, Ashburn. socialhouseashburn.com

BIG GIANT

8 to 11 p.m. Friday, May 17 Spanky’s Shenanigans, 538 E. Market St., Leesburg. spankyspub.com

ROWDY ACRES

8 to 11 p.m. Friday, May 17 Monk’s BBQ, 251 N. 21st St., Purcellville. monksq.com

BRIAN HARRIS

11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Saturday, May 18 Breaux Vineyards, 36888 Breaux Vineyards Lane, Hillsboro. breauxvineyards.com

HILARY VELTRI

12 to 4 p.m. Saturday, May 18 Cana Vineyards, 38600 Little River Turnpike, Middleburg. canavineyards.com

LUCAS MASON

1 to 4 p.m. Saturday, May 18 Fleetwood Farm Winery, 23075 Evergreen Mills Road, Leesburg. fleetwoodfarmwinery.com

CLARK PEKLO

1 to 4 p.m. Saturday, May 18 Fabbioli Cellars, 15669 Limestone School Road, Leesburg. fabbiolicellars.com

LINDA ANDERSEN AND FRIENDS

1 to 5 p.m. Saturday, May 18 Creek’s Edge Winery, 41255 Annas Lane, Lovettsville. creeksedgewinery.com

PEBBLE TO PEARL

1 to 5 p.m. Saturday, May 18 Bear Chase Brewing Company, 33665 Bear Chase Lane, Bluemont. bearchasebrew.com

EMMA BAILEY

1 to 4 p.m. Saturday, May 18

868 Estate Vineyards, 14001 Harpers Ferry Road, Hillsboro. 868estatevineyards.com

NEW LEGACY BLUES

1 to 4 p.m. Saturday, May 18 Vanish Farmwoods Brewery, 42245 Black Hops Lane, Lucketts. bearchasebrew.com

SHANE HINES

1:30 to 4:30 p.m. Saturday, May 18

Bleu Frog Vineyards, 16413 James Monroe Highway, Leesburg. bleufrogvineyards.com

BRIAN JOHNSON

1:30 to 4:30 p.m. Saturday, May 18 Sunset Hills Vineyard, 38295 Fremont Overlook Lane, Purcellville. sunsethillsvineyard.com

JOE DOWNER

1:30 to 4:30 p.m. Saturday, May 18

8 Chains North Winery, 38593 Daymont Lane, Waterford. 8chainsnorth.com

STEVE & FRIENDS

2 to 5 p.m. Saturday, May 18 Harvest Gap Brewery, 15485 Purcellville Road, Hillsboro. harvestgap.com

LOCAL BOY TIMMY

2 to 5 p.m. Saturday, May 18

Old 690 Brewing Company, 15670 Ashbury Church Road, Hillsboro. old690.com

MELISSA QUINN FOX

2 to 5 p.m. Saturday, May 18 Breaux Vineyards, 36888 Breaux Vineyards Lane, Hillsboro. breauxvineyards.com

JIM STEELE

2 to 5 p.m. Saturday, May 18 The Barns at Hamilton Station Vineyards, 16804 Hamilton Station Road, Hamilton. thebarnsathamiltonstation.com

CALLER N’ DOC

2 to 5 p.m. Saturday, May 18 Quattro Goombas Brewery, 22860 James Monroe Highway, Aldie. quattrogoombas.com

DAN CRONIN

2 to 5 p.m. Saturday, May 18 Bozzo Family Vineyards, 35226 Charles Town Pike, Hillsboro. bozwine.com

MELANIE PEARL

2 to 5 p.m. Saturday, May 18 Chrysalis Vineyards, 39025 Little River Turnpike, Middleburg. chrysaliswine.com

PALMYRA THE BAND

2 to 6 p.m. Saturday, May 18

Wheatland Spring Farm+Brewery, 38506 John Wolford Road, Waterford. wheatlandspring.com

SCOTT KURT & MEMPHIS 59

4 to 7 p.m. Saturday, May 18

Lost Barrel Brewing, 36138 Little River Turnpike, Middleburg. lostbarrel.com

BEST BETS

THE BRUNO SOUND

Friday, May 17, 5:30 p.m. Willowcroft Farm Vineyards willowcroftwine.com

Get your weekend started with an evening of ’90s grunge rock and classic favorites performed with new twists.

ALTERNATE CROSSING

5 to 8 p.m. Saturday, May 18

Vanish Farmwoods Brewery, 42245 Black Hops Lane, Lucketts. vanishbeer.com

GARY SMALLWOOD

6 to 9 p.m. Saturday, May 18

Flying Ace Farm, 40950 Flying Ace Lane, Lovettsville. flyingacefarm.com

BOURBON MOON

6 to 9 p.m. Saturday, May 18

Bear Chase Brewing Company, 33665 Bear Chase Lane, Bluemont. bearchasebrew.com

TEN-PEARL JAM

TRIBUTE BAND

7 to 11 p.m. Saturday, May 18, Tally Ho Theater, Leesburg. $20 to $50. tallyhotheater.com

JOEY HAFNER

7 to 10 p.m. Saturday, May 18

Social House Kitchen & Tap, 42841 Creek View Plaza, Ashburn. socialhouseashburn.com

DAVE MININBERG

7 to 10 p.m. Saturday, May 18 The Bungalow Lakehouse, 46116 Lake Center Plaza, Sterling. bungalowlakehouse.com

NIGHTWORK

8 to 11 p.m. Saturday, May 18

Spanky’s Shenanigans, 538 E. Market St., Leesburg. spankyspub.com

SHORT HILL

MOUNTAIN BOYS

8 to 11 p.m. Saturday, May 18

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

BEN REICHARD

11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday, May 19 Creek’s Edge Winery, 41255 Annas Lane, Lovettsville. creeksedgewinery.com

SCOTT KURT

1 to 4 p.m. Sunday, May 19 Fleetwood Farm Winery, 23075 Evergreen Mills Road, Leesburg. fleetwoodfarmwinery.com

BODEANS

Sunday, May 19, 7 p.m. Tally Ho Theater tallyhotheater.com

Kurt Neumann and the band return to Leesburg to perform the band’s catalog of generational anthems, including “Good Things,” “You Don’t Get Much,” “Idaho” and “Closer to Free.” Tickets start at $35.

JOSH SOWDER

1 to 5 p.m. Sunday, May 19 Bear Chase Brewing Company, 33665 Bear Chase Lane, Bluemont. bearchasebrew.com

2 OF THE FOUR

1 to 4 p.m. Sunday, May 19 Vanish Farmwoods Brewery, 42245 Black Hops Lane, Lucketts. vanishbeer.com

LOUDOUN JAZZ JAM

1 to 4 p.m. Sunday, May 19

The Dell: Food & Brew Hall, 1602 Village Market Blvd. SE., Leesburg. atthedell.com

ANNIE STOKES

1 to 5 p.m. Sunday, May 19 Old Farm Winery at Hartland, 23583 Fleetwood Road, Aldie. oldfarmwineryheartland.com

JASON MASI

1:30 to 4:30 p.m. Sunday, May 19 Bleu Frog Vineyards, 16413 James Monroe Highway, Leesburg. bleufrogvineyards.com

DAVID THONG

1:30 to 4:30 p.m. Sunday, May 19 8 Chains North Winery, 38593 Daymont Lane, Waterford. 8chainsnorth.com

LENNY BURRIDGE

2 to 5 p.m. Sunday, May 19 Flying Ace Farm, 40950 Flying Ace Lane, Lovettsville. flyingacefarm.com

MATT & MATT

2 to 5 p.m. Sunday, May 19 Harpers Ferry Brewing, 37412 Adventure Center Lane, Loudoun Heights. harpersferrybrewing.com

CARY WIMBISH

2 to 5 p.m. Sunday, May 19

Harvest Gap Brewery, 15485 Purcellville Road, Hillsboro. harvestgap.com

DEREK KRETZER

2 to 5 p.m. Sunday, May 19 Breaux Vineyards, 36888 Breaux Vineyards Lane, Hillsboro. breauxvineyards.com

JANINE WILSON

2 to 5 p.m. Sunday, May 19

The Barns at Hamilton Station Vineyards, 16804 Hamilton Station Road, Hamilton. thebarnsathamiltonstation.com

ELI LEV

2 to 5 p.m. Sunday, May 19 868 Estate Vineyards, 14001 Harpers Ferry Road, Hillsboro. 868estatevineyards.com

DAVE MININBERG

3 to 7 p.m. Sunday, May 19

Spanky’s Shenanigans, 538 E. Market St., Leesburg. spankyspub.com

MARS RODEO

4 to 7 p.m. Sunday, May 19

The Bungalow Lakehouse, 46116 Lake Center Plaza, Sterling. bungalowlakehouse.com

BIG BAD BRASS PARTY

5 to 9 p.m. Sunday, May 19 Creek’s Edge Winery, 41255 Annas Lane, Lovettsville. $20. creeksedgewinery.com

BODEANS

7 to 11 p.m. Sunday, May 19

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

TOM SANDOVAL & THE MOST EXTRAS

7 p.m. Monday, May 20

Tally Ho Theater, Leesburg. SOLD OUT tallyhotheater.com

JASON MASI

6 to 10 p.m. Wednesday, May 22

The Lost Fox, 20374 Exchange St., Ashburn. lostfoxhideaway.com

BETHANY GATES

6:30 to 10:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 22

Vino Bistro, 1605 Village Market Blvd., Leesburg. vinobistroonline.com

JUSTIN SUEDE

6 to 9 p.m. Thursday, May 23 Spanky’s Shenanigans, 538 E. Market St., Leesburg. spankyspub.com

TROY MILLETTE & JOHN GRATTON

6 to 10 p.m. Thursday, May 23 Creek’s Edge Winery, 41255 Annas Lane, Lovettsville. creeksedgewinery.com

BETHANY GATES

6 to 10 p.m. Thursday, May 23 City Tap Loudoun, 20376 Exchange St., Ashburn. citytap.com

HAPPENINGS

NOOKS & CRANNIES TOUR

12 to 1 p.m. Thursday, May 16 The Davis Mansion, 17269 Southern Planter Lane, Leesburg. $15 to $25. morvenpark.org

HELLO HIVE!

3 to 4 p.m. Thursday, May 16 3 to 4 p.m. Thursday, May 23 Heritage Farm Museum, 21668 Heritage Farm Lane, Sterling. heritagefarmmuseum.org

IN TIME: A REVOLUTIONARY RIDDLE

10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday, May 17 Loudoun Museum, 16 Loudoun St. SW., Leesburg. $13. Reservations Required loudounmuseum.org

THE PICKWICK PLAYERS: ANASTASIA, THE MUSICAL

7:30 to 9:30 p.m. Friday, May 17 1 to 3:30 p.m. Saturday, May 18 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. Saturday, May 18

Capital Community Church, 20430 Ashburn Village Blvd., Ashburn. $15 to $25. thepickwickplayers.com

BECOME A HAM RADIO OPERATOR

8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Saturday, May 18

Office Eastern Loudoun Station, 46620 E. Frederick Drive, Sterling. qsl.net/sterling

HAPPENINGS continues on page 28

Pickwick Players Bring Anastasia Musical to Ashburn

BY HANNA PAMPALONI hpampaloni@loudounnow.org

The Pickwick Players community theater group has been working for months to bring six showings of “Anastasia: The Musical” to Loudoun residents with their first performance scheduled for Friday.

Co-directed by Donna Russel and Pickwick founder Michele Reynolds, the show takes viewers from the last days of the Russian Empire to 1920s Paris with Anya, a brave young woman who sets out to discover if she is one of the last Russian royalty – and what her future may hold. Along the way, she must escape the Soviet officer determined to stop her, and she meets the charming conman, Dmitry, who helps her on her search for home, love and family.

The family-friendly performance will be filled with classic songs from the story including “Once Upon a December,” “Journey to the Past,” and “In My Dreams,” as well as handmade costumes and dance numbers.

Reynolds said the play takes a slightly lighter hand at telling the Anastasia story, but viewers can expect no major changes

to the plot.

“We are not ones, and haven’t been under my direction, of taking a show and changing it, the way a lot of groups do. I like it to be true to what people would expect. True to the period and true to the play itself,” she said.

The performances will take place at Capital Community Church at 20430 Ashburn Village Blvd in Ashburn.

Following the Saturday, May 18, 1 p.m. performance, the group is also hosting a Meet Anastasia event at 3:30 p.m. Children are invited to wear their prince or princess outfits and talk with Anastasia.

While both Russel and Reynolds have directed shows in the group for years, this is the first performance that they will both be acting and directing at the same time.

“This is the first time and actually it’s kind of fun because our characters are kind of companions in the show as well,” Reynolds said.

Both have spent years teaching and being involved in theatre, which, Russel said keeps things exciting.

“It’s certainly a change of pace from

PICKWICK PLAYERS continues on page 28

Hanna Pampaloni/Loudoun Now Husband wife team, Abby and Bennett Atwater, are playing Anastasia and Dmitry in the Pickwick Players rendition of “Anastasia: The Musical.”

Pickwick Players

continued from page 27

what you do in the daytime,” she said. “You come at night, you make friends, you’re onstage, you’re learning, you’re challenging yourself.”

And getting outside their comfort zones brings each play group together into one big family, Reynolds said. Some community members have been part of the Pickwick Players for years, while new ones join with each show, so it’s always a different group.

“It’s like being on any team, I suppose. It’s such a rewarding thing to have made this piece of art together,” Reynolds said.

“It’s a mess – until it’s not anymore,” Russel said. “It just goes from, ‘whoa, what the heck is going on?’ to boom, there it is.”

Operating on a deadline of three and half to two and a half months to put shows together from beginning to end, Reynolds said she and Russel have seen it all come together so many times, they don’t get worried anymore that it’s all going to work out, even with an over 40 member cast.

GET OUT HAPPENINGS

continued from page 26

MIDDLEBURG FARMERS MARKET

9 a.m. to noon Saturday, May 18 Town Hall, 10 W. Marshall St., Middleburg. middleburgva.gov

LINCOLN STRAWBERRY FESTIVAL

10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, May 19

10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday, May 20 18451 Taylor Road, Hamilton. $15 lincolnstrawberryfestival.com

AUDITIONS: WILLY WONKA

5:30 p.m. to May 18, 3 p.m. Thursday, May 16

Cascades Senior Center, 21060 Whitfield Place, Sterling. sterlingplaymakers.org

PURCELLVILLE PUBLIC

SAFETY DAY

10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Saturday, May 18

Purcellville Volunteer Fire Company, 500 N. Maple Ave., Purcellville. purcellvillefire.org

VIRGINIA WINE

COUNTRY HALF

MARATHON

5 a.m. to noon, Saturday, May 18

“I think the cast is more nervous than we are,” Reynolds said. “Twenty years we’ve been doing this, and we know where they are. Right now, we can see it’s going to get there.”

“When people come to our shows, they don’t quite know what to expect, especially ones that are new to us and they’re always surprised. ‘Wow! These are people from our community who come on stage to bring this together.’ And they don’t expect the quality,” Russel said.

The Pickwick Players have put on over 50 productions since the group’s inception in 2005 with members from all over Northern Virginia and occasionally from Maryland, Manassas and Gainesville traveling to be part of the shows. n

Anastasia: The Musical is scheduled to be shown Friday, May 17 at 7:30 p.m., Saturday, May 18, at 1 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., Friday, May 24 at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday, May 25 at 1 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Tickets can be purchased online at pickwickplayers.com for $20 for adults or $15 for seniors and children. Group rates are also available.

Doukenie Winery, 14727 Mountain Road, Hillsboro. virginiawinecountryhalf.com

ASHBURN VOLUNTEER

FIRE & RESCUE 5K

4 to 8 p.m. Saturday, May 18. Ashburn VFRD, 20688 Ashburn Road, Ashburn. ashburnfirerescue.org

RACE TO THE RESCUE 5K AND FUN RUN

8 a.m. to noon Sunday, May 19 Franklin Park, 17501 Franklin Park Dr., Purcellville potomac.enmotive.com

DIRT DAY

10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, May 18

Claude Moore Park Visitor Center, 21544 Old Vestals Gap Road, Sterling. $7.50. loudoun.gov/claudemoorepark

DOG DAYS

11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, May 18 Breaux Vineyards, 36888 Breaux Vineyards Lane, Hillsboro. breauxvineyards.com

LBB VINTAGE MARKET

11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, May 18

Lost Barrel Brewing, 36138 John Mosby Highway, Middleburg. lostbarrel.com

BOOTS, BRIDLES & BLING

BARN DANCE

5 to 10 p.m. Saturday, May 18

Loudoun Therapeutic Riding, 14490 Berlin Turnpike, Lovettsville. $150, ltrf.org

Legal Notices

TOWN OF LEESBURG NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING

TO CONSIDER ADOPTION OF CAPITAL INTENSITY

FACTORS

The Leesburg Town Council will hold a public hearing on: Tuesday, May 28, 2024, at 7:00 p.m. in the Town Council Chamber 25 West Market Street, Leesburg, Virginia 20176

The Town Council will review and consider proposed Capital Intensity Factors (CIFs), per-housingunit dollar amounts, by unit type, that reflect the cost of capital facilities needed to support Town services provided to residents, in the following categories: Parks and Recreation, Public Safety (Police), and Transportation. The Planning Commission conducted a public hearing on the proposed Capital Intensity Factors on April 18, 2024, and has recommended adoption of the factors and policy considerations regarding the use of the proposed CIFs in the evaluation and negotiation of cash proffers associated with residential rezoning applications.

Copies of the proposed Capital Intensity Factors and supporting documents are available at the Town Manager’s Office, 25 West Market Street, Leesburg, Virginia, during normal business hours (Monday-Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.). Digital copies will be available on the Town of Leesburg website (www.leesburgva.gov/agendas) when the Town Council agenda packet is published, typically by 5:00 p.m. on the Wednesday preceding the meeting date.

5/16/2024 & 5/23/2024

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.

SALSA NIGHT

8 p.m. to May 19, 12 a.m. Saturday, May 18

Ion International Training Center, 19201 Compass Creek Parkway, Leesburg. ionarena.com

CELEBRATE BIRDS-BLES PARK

8 to 11 a.m. Sunday, May 19 Bles Park, 44830 Bles Park Drive, Ashburn. loudounwildlife.org

“….IT IS ALL IN THE DAY’S WORK”: MOSBY’S RANGERS AND THE SECOND MASSACHUSETTS CAVALRY

1 to 2:30 p.m. Sunday, May 19 Mt. Zion Historic Park, 40309 Little River Turnpike, Aldie. novapark.org

WATERFORD PRESERVATION CELEBRATION

3 to 6 p.m. Sunday, May 19 Waterford Old School, 40222 Fairfax St., Waterford. waterfordfoundation.org

PROFS & PINTS: THE WARRIOR QUEEN WHO CHALLENGED ROME

3 to 5:30 p.m. Sunday, May 19 Crooked Run Fermentation, 22455 Davis Drive, Sterling. $13.50 to $17. profsandpints.com/washingtondc

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. MAKE MODEL VIN STORAGE

Legal Notices

ORDER OF PUBLICATION

COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA

VA. CODE § 8.01-316

Case No.: JJ048910-01-00

Loudoun Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court

Commonwealth of Virginia, in re Andrea Isabel Benitez

Loudoun County Department of Family Services v. Unknown Father

The object of this suit is to hold an adjudicatory hearing pursuant to Virginia Code § 16.1-252 for Andrea Isabel Benitez; and hold a dispositional hearing for review of initial Foster Care Plan pursuant to Virginia Code §§ 16.1-278.2 and 16.1281 for Andrea Isabel Benitez.

It is ORDERED that the defendant(s) Unknown Father appear at the above-named Court and protect his or her interests on or before May 20, 2024 at 10:00am (Adjudicatory); and June 24, 2024 at 10:00am (Dispositional). 5/16, 5/23, 5/30 & 6/6/24

LOUDOUN COUNTY WILL BE ACCEPTING SEALED COMPETITIVE BIDS/PROPOSALS FOR:

ARCHITECTURAL SERVICES, RFP No. 646811 until prior to 4:00 p.m., June 7, 2024.

BASKETBALL OFFICIATING SERVICES, IFB No. 653820 until prior to 4:00 p.m., June 10, 2024.

FIRE AND RESCUE UNIFORMS: FIRE MARSHAL’S OFFICE, EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS, AND OPERATIONS, IFB No. 652819 until prior to 4:00 p.m., June 10, 2024.

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 5/16/24

Loudoun

County Public Schools

Proposed Elementary School Attendance Zone Change for the Lansdowne Boulevard Development

On May 14, 2024, the Loudoun County School Board initiated an abbreviated attendance zone process to change the elementary school that will serve the future Lansdowne Boulevard development.

The recommended elementary school attendance zone change would assign Lansdowne Boulevard to Seldens Landing Elementary School rather than Steuart W. Weller Elementary School. No change is recommended for the secondary school attendance boundary.

The School Board will hold a public hearing on the proposed elementary school zone change on May 28, 2024, followed by action later the same evening. The Loudoun County Public Schools webpage (https://www.lcps.org/Page/223425) has details on how to sign up to speak at the May 28 hearing.

The May 28 meeting will be held at the Loudoun County Public Schools Administration Building (21000 Education Court, Ashburn), with the evening meeting beginning at 6:30 p.m. The meeting will also be broadcast live on Comcast channel 18 and Verizon Fios channel 43 and viewable via simultaneous webcast (https://www.lcps.org/webcast).

Persons who need translation/interpretation assistance or a reasonable accommodation for any type of disability, in order to participate meaningfully in the May 28, 2024 public hearing and meeting, should contact the Clerk of the School Board at 571-252-1020 at least three (3) days prior to the meeting.

Beverly I. Tate, Director Loudoun County Public Schools Division of Planning & GIS Services 21000 Education Court, Ashburn, Virginia 20148

Telephone: 571-252-1050

Email: LCPSPLAN@LCPS.ORG 5/16 & 5/23/24

ORDER OF PUBLICATION

COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA VA. CODE § 8.01-316

Case No.: JJ048309-02-00, JJ048310-02-00

Loudoun Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court

Commonwealth of Virginia, in re Yanelis Banegas and Yadiel Banegas Loudoun County Department of Family Services v.

Paula Banegas, Mother, Marvin Echeverria, putative father and Unknown Father

The object of this suit is to hold a foster care review hearing and review of foster care plan pursuant to Virginia Code §§ 16.1-282 and 16.1281 for Yanelis Banegas and Yadiel Banegas.

It is ORDERED that the defendant(s) Paula Banegas, Mother, Marvin Echeverria, putative father and Unknown Father appear at the abovenamed Court and protect his or her interests on or before June 11, 2024 at 11:00 am.

5/9, 5/16, 5/23 & 5/30/24

ORDER OF PUBLICATION

COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA

VA. CODE § 8.01-316

Case No.: JJ047165; JJ047164

Loudoun Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court

Commonwealth of Virginia, in re Ivory Green and Kamron Roundtree Loudoun County Department of Family Services v. Zhane Preston, Mother

The object of this suit is to hold a dispositional hearing for review of initial Foster Care Plan pursuant to Virginia Code §§ 16.1-278.2 and 16.1-281 for Ivory Green and Kamron Roundtree.

It is ORDERED that the defendant(s) Zhane Preston, Mother appear at the above-named Court and protect his or her interests on or before May 29, 2024 at 3:00pm (Dispositional). 5/9, 5/16 & 5/23/24

ORDER OF PUBLICATION

COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA VA. CODE § 8.01-316

Case No.: JJ044061

Loudoun Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court

Commonwealth of Virginia, in re Allison Rodriguez Loudoun County Department of Family Services v.

Liliana Rodriguez, Mother and Unknown Father

ORDER OF PUBLICATION

COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA VA. CODE § 8.01-316

Case No.: JJ047413-03 -00

Loudoun Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court

Commonwealth of Virginia, in re Yessiah Recinos Morales

Loudoun County Department of Family Services

v.

Ebony Morales, Mother and Anderson Alejandro Recinos Rivas, Father

The object of this suit is to hold a Permanency planning hearing and review of Foster Care Plan pursuant to Virginia Code §§ 16.1-282.1 and 16.1-281 for Yessiah Recinos Morales.

It is ORDERED that the defendant(s) Ebony Morales, Mother and Anderson Alejandro Recinos Rivas, Father appear at the abovenamed Court and protect his or her interests on or before June 18, 2024 at 10:00 am.

5/9, 5/16, 5/23 & 5/30/24

ABC LICENSE

KW Pizza Co. trading as Knead Wine, 721 E Main ST., Purcellville, VA 20132-3178. The above establishment is applying to the VIRGINIA AlCOHOLIC BEVERAGE CONTROL (ABC) AUTHORITY for a Mixed Beverage Restuarant license to sell or manufacture alcoholic beverages.

KW Pizza Co.

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.

5/9 & 5/16/24

The object of this suit is to hold an adjudicatory hearing pursuant to Virginia Code § 16.1-252 for Allison Rodriguez; and hold a dispositional hearing for review of initial Foster Care Plan pursuant to Virginia Code §§ 16.1-278.2 and 16.1281 for Allison Rodriguez.

It is ORDERED that the defendant(s) Liliana Rodriguez, Mother and Unknown Father appear at the above-named Court and protect his or her interests on or before May 3, 2024 at 9:00am (Adjudicatory); and May 29, 2024 at 10:00am (Dispositional)

4/25, 5/2, 5/9, 5/16 & 5/23/24

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 28, 2024, at 6:00 p.m. to consider the following:

REQUEST FOR WITHDRAWAL OF LAND BELONGING TO THE GORDON C. KEYS LIVING TRUST, FROM THE BEAVERDAM VALLEY AGRICULTURAL AND FORESTAL DISTRICT

Pursuant to Virginia Code §15.2-4314 and the Beaverdam Valley Agricultural and Forestal District Ordinance, G. Chandler Keys, III, and Robin Garwood Keys (applicants), trustees for the Gordon C. Keys Living Trust, of Middleburg, Virginia, have submitted an application to withdraw a 138.32-acre parcel from the Beaverdam Valley Agricultural and Forestal District. The subject property is located on both sides of Newlin Mill Road (Route 790) at 21795 Newlin Mill Road, Middleburg, VA, between Quaker Lane (Route 630) to the north and Snake Hill Road (Route 744) to the south, in the Little River Election District. The subject property is more particularly described as PIN 620-27-2371-000.

The Beaverdam Valley Agricultural and Forestal District currently has a 4-year period that will expire on June 19, 2026, and is subject to a subdivision minimum lot size of 50 acres.

In accordance with Section 15.2-4307 of the Code of Virginia, the applications 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 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, or by calling 703-777-0246 (option 5) to request hard copies or electronic copies or electronically at: https://www.loudoun.gov/adac (4-8-2024 ADAC Meeting under Agendas and Bylaws). Documents also may be viewed and downloaded electronically 72 hours in advance of the public hearing at: https://www.loudoun.gov/pc (for Public Hearing documents, follow the link for Public Hearings Packet).

LEGI-2023-0085, EAST GATE MARKETPLACE PROFFER AMENDMENT: ZCPA-2023-0003

(Zoning Concept Plan Amendment)

East Gate Partners II, LLC. has submitted an application for a zoning concept plan amendment for approximately 26.6 acres of land south of Route 50, north of East Gate View Drive (Route 3010), and west of Tall Cedars Parkway (Route 2200) in the Dulles Election district (the Subject Property). The Subject Property is more particularly described as:

097-36-5968-000 25370 Eastern Marketplace Plaza, Chantilly, VA 107////////46/

097-36-6339-000 25330 Eastern Marketplace Plaza, Chantilly, VA 107//16/////F/

097-26-8853-000 25410 Eastern Marketplace Plaza, Chantilly, VA 107//16/////K/

LEGI-2023-0059, GREENLIN PARK: ZMAP-2022-0024 (Zoning Map Amendment)

Cammack Brothers, LLC has submitted an application for a zoning map amendment for approximately 81.17 acres of land located on the north side of the Dulles Greenway (Route 267), south side of Shreve Mill Road (Route 653), and west side of Sycolin Road (Route 625) in the Leesburg Election District (the and more particularly described as a portion of 237-39-5293-000, Tax Map # /60////////55/. The applicant seeks to rezone a 81.17-acre portion of the larger 467.1-acre property to the Industrial Park Zoning District in order to develop data center and utility substation uses. The application is being processed under the Revised 1993 Loudoun County Zoning Ordinance pursuant to the Loudoun County Zoning Ordinance Grandfathering Resolution, dated December 13, 2023.

LEGI-2023-0073, MARS SUBSTATION:

CMPT-2023-0005, SPEX-2023-0017, & SPMI-2023-0011

(Commission Permit, Special Exception, and Minor Special Exception)

Dominion Energy Virginia (Dominion Energy) has submitted applications for: a commission permit, special exception, and a minor special exception for approximately 153.72 acres of land located east of Carters School Road (Route 857) north of Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD) and southeast of Old Ox Road (Route 606) and more particularly described as: PINs 093-38-2322 and 093-18-5459000, Tax Map #s 102/////////4/ and 102/////////5A. For CMPT-2023-0005, the applicant seeks a commission permit for a Utility Substation, Transmission under the Loudoun County Zoning Ordinance. For SPEX2023-0017 the applicant seeks to construct a Utility Substation, Transmission, use within the Planned Development – General Industry Zoning District. For SPMI-2023-0011, the applicant seeks to eliminate the minimum and maximum evergreen tree planting landscape buffer requirements along the north, south, and east property boundaries. SPEX-2023-0017 and SPMI-2023-0011 are being processed under the Revised 1993 Loudoun County Zoning Ordinance pursuant to the Loudoun County Zoning Ordinance Grandfathering Resolution, dated December 13, 2023.

Copies of the proposed plans, ordinances, or amendments for each item listed above may be examined at the Loudoun County Government Center, Office of County Administrator, Information Desk, First Floor, 1 Harrison Street, S.E., Leesburg, Virginia, from 8:30 AM to 5:00 PM, Monday through Friday or call 703-777-0246 (option 5), to request hard copies or electronic copies. Additional project files related to land use applications and land use ordinances may be reviewed electronically at loudoun.gov/landmarc Additionally, documents may be viewed and downloaded electronically the week before the hearing at www. loudoun.gov/pc. For further information, contact the Department of Planning and Zoning at 703-777-0246 (option 5).

Planning Commission work sessions and public hearings are held in the Board Room of the Government Center. Public hearings and work sessions are televised on Comcast Government Channel 23 and Verizon FiOS Channel 40, and are also are livestreamed at loudoun.gov/meetings

The Applicant seeks to amend ZMAP-2005-0002, East Gate Two, Proffer VII.A., Landscaping, Buffering and Design Guidelines, to eliminate a 35-foot setback, Type 3 Rear Yard Buffer, and 8-foot-high brick pillar fence on two offsite parcels identified as:

097-26-9469-000 25400 Eastern Marketplace Plaza, Chantilly, VA 107//16/////J/ 097-26-8130-000 25420 Eastern Marketplace Plaza, Chantilly, VA 107//16/////L/ 097-26-5238-000 25421 Eastern Marketplace Plaza, Chantilly, VA 107//16/////M/ 097-26-2652-000 25411 Eastern Marketplace Plaza, Chantilly, VA 107//16/////A/ PIN

097-26-2158-000 43655 Tall Cedars Parkway, Chantilly, VA 107//14/////1/

097-15-8631-000 43659 Tall Cedars Parkway, Chantilly, VA 107/H/1CM///1/

The Subject Property is zoned Planned Development - Commercial Center (Small Regional Center) (PDCC(SC)) under the Loudoun County Zoning Ordinance. The application is being processed under the Revised 1993 Loudoun County Zoning Ordinance pursuant to the Loudoun County Zoning Ordinance Grandfathering Resolution, dated December 13, 2023.

LEGI-2023-0066, LAKEVIEW CENTER PLAZA: SPEX-2023-0009 (Special Exception)

Eyob Mamo, Consolidated Petroleum, LLC, has submitted an application for a special exception on a 1.99-acre property located north of Leesburg Pike (Route 7) on the southeast corner of Lakeview Center Plaza and Riverside Parkway (Route 607) in the Algonkian Election District (the Subject Property). The Subject Property is more particularly described as: 20070 Lakeview Center Plaza, Ashburn, Virginia, PIN 057-40-6876-000, Tax Map # /63/E19/////2/. The Subject Property is zoned Planned Development – Research and Development Park (PD-RDP) under the 1972 Loudoun County Zoning Ordinance (1972 Zoning Ordinance). The applicant seeks a special exception, per the 1972 Zoning Ordinance, to allow an automobile service station in the PD-RDP Zoning District.

Members of the public desiring to do so may appear and present their views during the public hearing. Public comment will be received only for those items listed for public hearing. Members of the public who wish to provide public input, whether electronically or in person, are encouraged to sign-up in advance; however, speakers may sign-up during the hearing. If you wish to sign-up in advance, please call the Department of Planning and Zoning at 703-777-0246 (option 5) prior to 12:00 PM on the day of the public hearing; however, speakers may also sign-up at the public hearing. Written comments concerning any item before the Commission are welcomed at any time and may be sent to the Loudoun County Planning Commission, P.O. Box 7000 Leesburg, VA 20177-7000, or by e-mail to loudounpc@loudoun.gov. If written comments are presented at the hearing, please provide ten (10) copies for distribution to the Commission and for the Clerk’s records. Members of the public may also submit comments on land use items electronically at loudoun. gov/landapplications. 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 to request additional time to speak on behalf of such organization.

Regularly scheduled Planning Commission public hearings are held on the fourth Tuesday of each month. In the event the public hearing cannot be conducted on that date due to weather or other conditions that make it hazardous for members to attend the hearing, the public hearing will be continued to the next day (Wednesday). In the event the public hearing may not be held on that Wednesday due to weather or other conditions that make it hazardous for members to attend the hearing, the public hearing may be continued to the first Thursday of the next month.

Hearing assistance is available for meetings in the Board of Supervisors’ Meeting Room. FM Assistive Listening System is available at the meetings. 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 (option 5). Three business days advance notice is requested.

BY ORDER OF: MICHELLE FRANK, CHAIR LOUDOUN COUNTY PLANNING COMMISSION

5/16 & 5/23/24

Legal Notices

TOWN OF LEESBURG

NOTICE OF TOWN COUNCIL PUBLIC

HEARING

TO CONSIDER MINOR SPECIAL EXCEPTION APPLICATION

TLSPEX2024-0004

MID-ATLANTIC VETERINARY DERMATOLOGY

Pursuant to Sections 15.2-1427, 15.2-2204, 15.2-2205 and 15.2-2285 of the Code of Virginia, 1950, as amended, the LEESBURG TOWN COUNCIL will hold a public hearing on TUESDAY, MAY 28, 2024, at 7:00 p.m. in the Town Council Chambers, 25 West Market Street, Leesburg, Virginia 20176, to consider Minor Special Exception application TLSPEX2024-0004, Mid-Atlantic Veterinary Dermatology.

The subject of the application is an existing commercial space addressed as 1507 Dodona Terrace, Suite 200, Leesburg, VA 20175. The property is zoned Mixed Use Business District (B-4) and is further described as Loudoun County Parcel Identification Number (PIN) 149-28-0225.

Minor Special Exception Application TLSPEX2024-0004 is a request by Mid-Atlantic Veterinary Dermatology to allow a 1,300 square foot specialty veterinary hospital pursuant to Town of Leesburg Zoning Ordinance (TLZO) Section 6.6.2, Use Regulations

The Subject Property is located in what the Town Plan describes as an “Area to Transform or Evolve” on the Area Based Land Use Initiatives Map (Town Plan pg. 72). The property is further designated within the Town Plan as a “Mixed Use Center” on the Character Areas for Preservation and Change Map (Town Plan pg. 76). The property is located in an area that is part of the Eastern Gateway District Small Area Plan (EGDSAP). It is also within the Gateway District (Overlay) but administered as proffered H-2 Corridor District (H-2 Overlay District).

Additional information and copies of this application are available at the Department of Community Development located on the second floor of 222 Catoctin Circle, Suite 200, Leesburg, Virginia 20176 during normal business hours (Monday-Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.), or by contacting Scott E. Parker, Senior Planning Project Manager at 703-771-2771 or sparker@leesburgva.gov

At these hearings, all persons desiring to express their views concerning these matters will be heard. Persons requiring special accommodations at the meeting should contact the Clerk of Council at (703) 771-2733 three days in advance of the meeting. For TTY/TDD service, use the Virginia Relay Center by dialing 711. 5/16 & 5/23

Town of Middleburg, Virginia

INVITATION TO BID ON A NONEXCLUSIVE LEASE/FRANCHISE TO CONSTRUCT, INSTALL, MAINTAIN, EXTEND AND OPERATE TELECOMMUNICATIONS EQUIPMENT ON PROPERTY OWNED BY THE TOWN OF MIDDLEBURG

Notice is hereby given that the Council of the Town of Middleburg, Virginia, a Municipal Corporation of the Commonwealth of Virginia, pursuant to § 15.2-2102 of the Code of Virginia, as amended, and after advertisement required by § 15.2-2101 of the Code of Virginia, as amended, and in the mode prescribed by the laws of the Commonwealth of Virginia, intends to receive bids and adopt an Ordinance for the lease/franchise of Town-owned property located at 25 Stonewall Court for cellular communications equipment and associated facilities for a term of up to 25 years. Bids shall be in writing and delivered to Council Chambers, Town Hall, 10 West Marshall Street, Virginia on Thursday, May 23, 2024, at 6:00 p.m., local time, in open session of Council, to the Clerk of Council. All bids shall be opened in public session and marked for identification by the mayor or other presiding officer.

If an acceptable bid is received, the Town Council may adopt an Ordinance to grant nonexclusive use of the Town’s property to the successful bidder. Such Ordinance shall include required terms, such as, monthly lease amount, length of lease, and tenant’s obligations. A copy of the full Ordinance is available at the Town Hall, 10 West Marshall Street, Middleburg, Virginia, from 8:30am to 5:00pm Monday through Friday, excluding holidays.

The Town reserves the right to reject any and all bids.

Trowbridge Littleton, Mayor Town of Middleburg 5/16 & 5/23/24

THE TOWN OF ROUND HILL, VIRGINIA WILL BE ACCEPTING COMPETITIVE SEALED BIDS FOR:

The Airmont Water Tank Project, which includes the construction of a new 500,000 gallon elevated water storage tank with related site work, piping, and appurtenances. Bids will be received at the Round Hill Town Office, c/o Melissa Hynes, Town Administrator, 23 Main Street, Round Hill, VA 20141, until 2:00 PM local prevailing time on Tuesday June 18, 2024, and then publicly opened and read aloud at said location.

The Contract Documents may be examined at the following locations: Peed & Bortz, LLC, 20 Midway Plaza Drive, Ste. 100 Christiansburg, VA 24073 Round Hill Town Office, 23 Main Street, Round Hill, VA 20141

Digital copies of Bidding Documents may be obtained at no charge from the Peed & Bortz website at http://peed-bortz.com/request-for-bids/. Prospective Bidders are urged to register with Peed & Bortz, LLC as a plan holder, even if Bidding Documents are obtained from a plan room or source other than the designated website in either electronic or paper format. The designated website will be updated periodically with addenda and other information relevant to submitting a Bid for the Project. All official notifications, addenda, and other Bidding Documents will be offered only through the designated website. Neither Owner nor Engineer will be responsible for Bidding Documents, including addenda, if any, omitted or obtained from sources other than the designated website.

A Pre-Bid Conference shall be held at 1:00 PM local prevailing time Tuesday June 4, 2024 at the Round Hill Town Office, 23 Main Street, Round Hill, VA 20141. Attendance at the pre-bid conference is encouraged, but not mandatory.

Withdrawal of bids due to error shall be in accordance with Virginia Code Section 2.2-4330 (B)(1).

Contract award shall be based on an evaluated bid analysis considering the type of tank (concrete composite or steel pedesphere). If an award is made, it will be made on a best overall value basis.

The Town of Round Hill shall be the sole and only judge in this life cycle evaluation. Should the apparent low bid exceed available funds, the Owner reserves the right to negotiate with the apparent low bidder of either tank style to obtain a contract price within available funds.

Bidders shall comply with Virginia Code Section 54.1-1112 regarding information required with bid. Envelopes containing bids shall be clearly marked with the Bidder ’s contractor license number.

By: Melissa Hynes, Town Administrator

PUBLIC HEARING NOTICE

5/16/24

The LOUDOUN COUNTY BOARD OF ZONING APPEALS will hold a public hearing in the DULLES ROOM, County Government Center, 1 Harrison Street, S.E., Leesburg, Virginia, on Thursday, May 23, 2024, at 6:00 p.m. to consider the following:

APPL-2023-0006

Appeal – Notice of Violation dated October 30, 2023 for 21004 Willisville Road

Nicholas V. Albu, representing Highfields Farm VA LLC, has submitted an application for an appeal of an October 30, 2023, Notice of Violation (NOV) issued to the owners of a property more particularly identified as 21004 Willisville Road, Bluemont, Virginia for violations of the Revised 1993 Loudoun County Zoning Ordinance (Zoning Ordinance). The following violations were noted: Section 1-103(C), General Prohibition and Section 4-1505(A), Permitted Uses in the Floodplain Overlay District (FOD) (Major Floodplain) 1) Use of the subject property in a manner not in conformity with the regulations of the Zoning Ordinance and 2) Establishment of a use that is not a permitted in the FOD. The subject property is zoned AR-2 (Agricultural Rural-2) and is partially within the FOD. The subject property is approximately 50 acres in size and more particularly described as PIN: 127-26-8731-000, Tax Map # 71//13/////1/, in the Little River Election District.

Copies of the applications and related documents listed above may be examined at the Loudoun County Government Center, Information Desk, First Floor, 1 Harrison Street, S.E., Leesburg, Virginia, from 8:30 AM to 5:00 PM, Monday through Friday or call 703-777-0246 (option 5), to request hard copies or electronic copies. County staff reports will be made available Friday, May 17, 2024. Documents may also be reviewed electronically at loudoun.gov/landmarc. Members of the public desiring to do so may appear and present their views regarding these matters. Members of the public who wish to provide public input, whether electronically or in person, are encouraged to 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 no later than 12:00 PM on the day of the public hearing. Speakers may also sign up at the hearing. Written comments may be sent to the Loudoun County Board of Zoning Appeals, P.O. Box 7000, Leesburg, Virginia 20175, or by e-mail to stephanie.capps@loudoun.gov. Members of the public may also submit comments electronically at loudoun.gov/landapplications If you require a reasonable accommodation for any type of disability or need language assistance in order to participate in the public hearing, please contact the Department of Planning & Zoning at 703-777-0246 (option 5) or, TTY-711. Three business days advance notice is requested

Nan M. Joseph Forbes, Chair Loudoun County Board of Zoning Appeals 5/9, 5/16/24

TOWN OF LEESBURG NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING

INTENTION TO APPROVE VOLUNTARY SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT REGARDING ANNEXATION ISSUES AND RELATED MATTERS

Pursuant to Virginia Code §§ 15.2-1427 and 15.2-3400, notice is hereby given that the Town Council of the Town of Leesburg, Virginia, intends to approve the proposed Voluntary Settlement Agreement between the Town of Leesburg, Virginia and the County of Loudoun, Virginia, with a technical amendment to Section 7 discussed below, and will hold a public hearing on:

Tuesday, May 28, 2024, at 7:00 P.M. in the Council Chambers of Town Hall, 25 West Market Street, Leesburg, VA

at which time the public shall have the right to present oral and written testimony on a proposed ordinance to approve this agreement.

Descriptive Summary of the Voluntary Settlement Agreement

The Voluntary Settlement Agreement provides for the annexation of approximately 402.8315 acres of unincorporated territory into the Town commonly referred to as Compass Creek, including: Parcel Identification Nos. (“PIN”) 234-29-4515 (Realty Income Properties 18 LLC); 234-29-0522 (CC Outparcel LC); 234-37-8457 (Toll Road Investors Partnership II LP); 235-29-7431 (Microsoft Corporation); 234-38-2603 (SI NVA06A LLC); 234-19-2469 (Leesburg Commercial LC); 23439-2601 (Walmart Real Estate Business Trust); and the dedicated right of way for Compass Creek Parkway. The Agreement provides for the Town to obtain consent from the property owners who will be annexed into the Town.

The Voluntary Settlement Agreement addresses certain other matters related to the annexation of Compass Creek. With respect to utilities, the Agreement provides that the Town will provide water and sewer service to Compass Creek. The Agreement provides that Microsoft will retain the option to use Loudoun Water for future phases of development. The Agreement establishes the Economic Development Incentive Program (“EDIP”), under which the Town will not charge the out-of-town water and sewer rate surcharge for County residents who receive service from the Town, or each year that the County makes an annual EDIP payment to the Town. The Agreement will also limit the Town’s ability to seek city status for a period of 25 years after the lifting of the moratorium in Virginia Code § 15.2-3201. The Agreement will also limit the filing of any future annexation by the Town for a period of 25 years.

The Virginia Commission on Local Government issued its report, dated April 30, 2024 and titled “Report on the Town of Leesburg-Loudoun County Voluntary Settlement Agreement” (the “CLG Report”). The CLG Report recommended approval of the Agreement with a technical amendment to Section 7 clarifying that the limitation on the Town’s ability to seek city status will begin to run upon the lifting of the moratorium, regardless of the manner in which it is lifted.

A copy of the full text of the Voluntary Settlement Agreement is on file with the Clerk for the Circuit Court for Loudoun County, located at 18 East Market Street, Leesburg, Virginia 20176, between the hours of 8:00 A.M. and 4:30 P.M. Monday through Friday. Copies of the proposed ordinance, the Voluntary Settlement Agreement, and the CLG Report are also available for inspection at the office of the Town Clerk, located in Town Hall, 25 West Market Street, Leesburg, Virginia, during normal business hours (Monday-Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.); or by calling Eileen Boeing, Town Clerk, at 703-771-2733.

At this hearing, all persons desiring to express their views concerning these matters will be heard. Persons requiring special accommodations should contact the Clerk of Council at 703-771-2733, three days in advance of the meeting. For TTY/TDD service, use the Virginia Relay Center by dialing 711.

5/16/24 & 5/23/24

ORDER OF PUBLICATION

COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA

VA. CODE § 8.01-316

Case No.: JJ047165-01-00

Loudoun Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court

Commonwealth of Virginia, in re Ivory Green

Loudoun County Department of Family Services

v. Kevin Green, Putative Father and Unknown Father

The object of this suit is to hold and adjudicatory hearing pursuant to Virginia Code § 161.-252 for Ivory Green; 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 Ivory Green.

It is ORDERED that the defendant(s) Kevin Green, Putative Father and Unknown Father appear at the above-named Court and protect his or her interests on or before May 2, 2024 at 10:00am (adjudicatory); and May 29, 2024 at 3:00pm (Dispositional) 4/25, 5/2, 5/9 & 5/16/24

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 15 through May 31st , 2024. 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 water use.

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 or a milky look. If this occurs, open your cold water tap until a clear steady flow of water is observed.

Some residents and businesses may experience lower than normal 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.

4/11, 4/18, 4/25, 5/2, 5/9, 5/16, 5/23, 5/30

Misc.

VEHICLE AUCTION

MD Repo Vehicles For Public Sale at ADESA Washington, DC. All Makes and Models Running Weekly Details can be found at www.adesawashingtondc.com

Terms: State and local orders will be strictly enforced at the sale, including social distancing and limits on the number of people permitted to gather in certain areas. All attendees must comply with such procedures or will be required to leave the premises. We strongly recommend that all attendees wear face coverings for the protection of themselves and our staff. Bidder agrees to register and pay a refundable $500 cash deposit plus a non-refundable $20 entry fee before the Sale starts. The balance of the purchase is due in full by 5:00pm on sale day. vehicles are AS-IS and are subject to a buy fee based on the sale price of the vehicle. Only cash or certified funds will be accepted. No vehicle will be released until Payment is made in full. Children under the age of 18 are not permitted.

VEHICLE AUCTION

ADESA WASHINGTON DC 705-996-1100 44475 OLD OX ROAD, DULLES, VA 20166

20+Chase repossessions will be offered to the public sale (monthly) on Wednesdays (5/22/24, 6/19/24, 7/17/24, 8/14/24, 9/11/24, 10/9/24, 11/6/24, 12/4/24).

Auction doors open at 8:00 a.m. Sale starts at 9:50 a.m. ET. Registered persons may preview/inspect vehicles on the day of the sale before bidding. Bids accepted only when a vehicle is presented for sale. The auctioneer will conclude the sale when bidding stops. All results will be final by 5:00 p.m. Terms: Cash or Certified Check.

Loco Service Providers

CONSTRUCTION

Marhea Beth Ruzanic

It is with great sadness that we share the passing of MARHEA BETH RUZANIC, 53 of Ashburn, Virginia on Thursday, May 9, 2024. Born and raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, she was the daughter of the late Robert Ruzanic and Joyce Ruzanic.

Marhea graduated with a BA from Penn State University in 1992, including a semester abroad in Chichester, England. She loved teaching and her innovative instruction reached many as an elementary teacher in Virginia. She received her master’s degree from George Mason University and worked as a gifted specialist for the Loudoun County Public Schools.

Marhea was vivacious and loved people. She was always busy talking and joking with friends, neighbors, and colleagues, and wanted to learn more about everyone she met. Her infectious spirit would light up a room and her zest for life carried her through the many health trials she faced.

She was very active in her church and faith community, organ transplant support and advocacy groups, a volunteer at USTA tennis events, as well as a huge sports fan–following tennis and cheering for the Pittsburgh Steelers.

She loved her family and friends with all of her heart. Marhea leaves behind her mother, Joyce Ruzanic, brothers, Robert Ruzanic and Alex Ruzanic (Beth), and her four dearly loved nieces and nephews, Annie, Lucy, Jack and Wyatt.

Her life mattered to so many, and we were blessed because of her beautiful soul as she became a humble servant to God.

A memorial service will be held at Cornerstone Chapel, 650 Battlefield Pkwy SE, Leesburg, VA 20175 on  Saturday, May 18 at 10:00 a.m.

Obituaries

In lieu of flowers please consider making donations in Marhea’s honor to the American Diabetes Association or the National Kidney Foundation.

Online condolences may be made to the family at www.loudounfuneralchapel.com

Maury McLean

“Mac” Pumphrey

February 14, 1954 – May, 9 2024

Maury McLean “Mac” Lillard Pumphrey,70, of Leesburg, VA, passed away peacefully at her Leesburg home on May 9, 2024, following a long and courageous battle with Lewy body dementia. McLean was born on St. Valentine’s Day 1954 to George Robert Lillard, Jr. and Nancy McLean Triplett Lillard at The Doctors Hospital in Washington, DC, but her beloved hometown was Culpeper, Virginia. She would often recount her fond memories of growing up in a small southern town with all of her childhood friends who she remained in touch with throughout her life. McLean was very proud of her southern heritage and the fact that she was the great-great granddaughter of Wilmer McLean who moved his family to Appomattox, VA after the first battle of Manassas to escape the Civil War only to have the war end in the parlor of his Appomattox home where Lee and Grant signed the articles of surrender. McLean graduated from Notre Dame Academy in Middleburg, VA in 1972 and went on to study art, design and photo journalism at the Corcoran School of Art and Design in Washington, DC. After completing her studies at the Corcoran, she went to work for the Fauquier Democrat newspaper as a photojournalist. In 1976 McLean moved to Leesburg, taking a position with the Loudoun Times Mirror

where she was an award-winning photographer. She also covered the police, fire and rescue beat along with several of the local town councils, the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors and court proceedings. She was also instrumental in the design and layout of the newspaper. Not long after McLean moved to Leesburg, she was introduced to her future husband, Jimmy, by a co-worker who happened to be Jimmy’s best friend. A blind date was arranged and as the saying goes “the rest is history”. Their love was steadfast throughout the highs and lows of life, and they were never apart more than a few days at any given time during their 46 years of marriage. McLean and Jimmy were married on May 6th 1978 at St. James’ Episcopal Church in Leesburg. Some members of the wedding party asked McLean why she chose that date and she said, “because when you write it numerically it is 5-6-7-8”. One member in particular said, “don’t you realize that’s Gold Cup Race weekend and the running of the Kentucky Derby?” McLean was not amused. McLean continued working for the Loudoun Times until 1983 when she and Jimmy decided it was time to start a family. In March of 1984 their first son, Tripp, was born and McLean wanted nothing more than to be a stay at home mom, which she became and excelled in the role. In 1989 their second son, Tyler, was born and McLean relished every moment of being with her two boys. She loved going to all their sporting events especially their baseball games, and as the boys got older, she would drive up and down the east coast taking them to tournaments. She was a fierce advocate for and protector of her boys and likened herself to a mama bear saying, “no one messes with my cubs.” But she also taught the boys that there were consequences for their actions, and if necessary, they would be on the receiving end of the consequences. McLean always believed that the best gift she and Jimmy could give their boys was a good education, and they worked very hard to do just that. Both boys attended McLean’s high school alma mater, Notre Dame Academy, laying the foundation for college. When Tripp was accepted to the Virginia Military Institute, McLean proclaimed she would strut down the streets of Leesburg like a proud peacock when he graduated. When Tyler decided, he would go to VMI as well and was accepted, she said she would do the same for him. Well, McLean didn’t literally strut the streets of Leesburg but

was beyond proud of her two VMI graduates and was always ready to share stories and pictures of their accomplishments with anyone. Even through some of the hardest times of her dementia, McLean’s eyes always lit up whenever the love of her life, Jimmy, or one of her two precious sons were with her. The three of them were the pride and joy of her life. McLean wore many other hats over the years in addition to wife, mother, grandmother, homemaker and friend. She served on the Alter Guild at St. James’ Episcopal Church for 35 plus years, was on the board of directors of the St. James’ Pre-School and participated in countless other ministries at the church. She was on the Board of Architectural Review for the Town of Leesburg and also found time to be a part-time fashion consultant. McLean was a wonderful cook and loved to entertain, whether it was a themebased birthday party for one of the boys, a luncheon for the garden club, a family Thanksgiving gathering or a Christmas open house, she would prepare the food, set the perfect table and decorate the house for the occasion. One of McLean’s favorite hobbies was gardening and flower arranging, which led to being a member of the Leesburg Garden Club and the Catoctin Garden Club. McLean also volunteered at the Ladies Board of Inova Loudoun Hospital’s thrift shop, Twice is Nice. Lastly, after Jimmy’s mother retired, McLean was the bookkeeper for the family business. McLean is survived by her husband of 46 years, James L. “Jimmy” Pumphrey, and her two sons: Tripp and Tyler (Rachel). She also leaves two grandchildren: Hastings and Hattie. In addition to her parents, McLean was predeceased by her brother, Robert M. Lillard. A celebration of McLean’s life will be held on Friday, May 17, 2024, at 2:00 pm at St. James’ Episcopal Church, 8 Cornwall Street NW, Leesburg, Virginia 20176 with a reception to follow in the church parish hall. A private interment will follow the reception. In lieu of flowers the family requests donations be made to Blue Ridge Hospice, 333 W. Cork St. Unit 405, Winchester, Virginia 22601 or to St. James’ Episcopal Church, 8 Cornwall Street NW, Leesburg, Virginia 20176.

To place an obituary, contact Susan Styer at 703-770-9723 or email sstyer@loudounnow.com

Town of Leesburg

Employment Opportunities

Please visit www.leesburgva.gov/jobs for more information and to apply online. Resumes may be submitted as supplemental only. EOE/ADA.

Regular Full-Time Positions

Flexible Part-Time Positions

Regular Part-Time Positions

Summer Position

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.

We’re Hiring.

Loudoun Now is growing. Join the team.

Reporters

Full-time and part-time positions available for experienced journalists with a passion for community journalism. Accuracy, integrity, curiosity required. Talent with photography, video, social media preferred.

Sales

Full-time and part-time advertising sales positions are available for candidates who can help businesses meet their marketing goals in print and online. There is an opportunity to specialize in Loudoun’s growing hospitality/entertainment industries.

Production Manager

An experienced and creative graphics designer is needed to lead all aspects of the newspaper’s ad creation and page design. The position will also oversee aspects of the online operations.

The Loudoun Now team is driven by a mission to make our community stronger through committed journalism. Can you help?

Visit Loudoun Celebrates Tourism Leaders

BY NORMAN K. STYER nstyer@loudounnow.org

Visit Loudoun’s annual awards ceremony puts the spotlight on the businesses and people who contribute to the visitor experience that helps make Loudoun County the commonwealth’s top destination.

During this year’s program, held May 9 at Stone Tower Winery, the Loudoun Wineries & Winegrowers Association was presented with Visit Loudoun’s highest award, a hotel guest service agent was recognized for life-saving actions, the Town of Leesburg landed accolades for two events, and U.S. Rep. Jennifer Wexton was thanked her support for the industry, especially efforts to expand agri-tourism, during her time as a state and federal representative for the past 10 years

Wexton is not seeking reelection after being diagnosed progressive supra-nuclear palsy a rare brain condition that affects her body movements, balance and speech. She addressed the crowd using an electronic tablet to read her remarks.

“This is not how I envisioned to my career in public service coming to an end, but it has been the honor of my life to represent my community in Congress,” she said. “Having been supported by enthusiastic partnerships with so many in our community like you all in Visit Loudoun has not only made my job much easier, but also much more rewarding. And I’m not done yet. There’s still many months left in my term and I look forward to making the most of every opportunity I can to deliver for our district.”

The program’s top recognition, the Judy Patterson Award, was presented to the Loudoun Wineries & Winegrowers

Hidden Lane Landfill

continued from page 3

“I look forward to continued progress to keep Americans safe from this toxic chemical,” she said. “I want to applaud the EPA for all the work that they’ve done along with the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality and other state and local agencies to put this project in motion. I’m eager to see and hear more about your progress and will continue to be a resource to support your efforts in any way that I can.”

Briskman said she was excited to be cel-

Association. The organization was founded 1991 to promote education and collaboration in the industry and is credited with working to elevate the reputation of Loudoun wines through its special programing.

Steve Hines Partner of the Year was presented to Old Ox Brewery. While the Burns family is known for its collaboration with a wide range of community groups, it was given special recognition for last year’s Bye Dan beer, which celebrated the end of Dan Synder’s ownership of the Washington Commanders.

The Tourism Manager of the Year was presented to Chris Suarez, general manager, Bear Chase Brewing Company in Bluemont. The award recognizes a dynamic and effective leader who inspires others to provide exceptional service and in doing so giver back to the industry.

This year’s Back-of-the House Hero award, which recognizes important contributions of hospitality employees who customers may never see, was presented to Greg “Luke” Haley. He is the senior maintenance supervisor at the National Conference Center, where he has worked for 48 years and spurred the campus’ goto problem-solving mantra: “Ask Luke.”

The Front-of-the-House Hero award went to Eduardo Alvarenga, a guest service agent at the Candlewood Suites-Sterling. He was credited with life-saving action after noticing a favorite guest had not been heard from. A check on her room found her unconscious on the floor. After gaining access through the bolted door, he provided aid until the ambulance arrived and she was admitted to the ICU at an area hospital.

Organizers of the US Youth Soccer

ebrating the progress made at the Superfund site and agreed with Ortiz that it is a “project to clean up the past.”

“I think that we should acknowledge that there were definitely harms to this community because of the way this landfill was operated,” she said. “And I’m really proud that we’re getting to a point now that the community has safe drinking water.”

Briskman said she is looking forward to working with the community to decide what the land will be when it is safe again.

“We know the final goal with something like this is to return the land to use for the public, right? Return the land, so that it can be an integrated part in our community.

Eastern Regional Soccer Tournament won the Tourism Event of the Year award. The event was held last June at two county sports parks, bringing 4,600 players and 11,700 attendees, while selling out all available hotel rooms and earning a national economic impact award.

The Town of Leesburg won two awards. One of the town’s most well-established events—Leesburg Flower & Garden Festival—was named the Community Event of the Year. Meanwhile, a new initiative by the town’s Department of Economic Development—the Leesburg Loves Dogs campaign—was named the Tourism Marketing Promotion/PR Campaign of the Year.

Cheri Shields, of Hidden View Bed & Breakfast, was named Loudoun Certified Tourism Ambassador of the Year. She is one of more than 350 industry representatives who have undergone special training to enhance the experience of visitors through their knowledge of local amenities.

Leesburg’s newest hotel, Home2 Suites by Hilton, was named the New Tourism Business of the Year. The management team was recognized for its broad outreach to community organizations and for quicky establishing strong relationships with area wineries, breweries and restaurants.

The Diversity in Travel award spotlights businesses and individuals who demonstrate special actions to enhance the engagement with diverse travelers. The Loudoun Art Tours was selected for its efforts to better serve the deaf and hard of hearing community along with neurodiverse art lovers during its walking tours of public arts attractions in Leesburg. n

And we’ll be working hard on that in the future,” she said.

Excavation of contaminated material at the site is expected to be completed this summer, according to EPA Remedial Project Manager Austin Oelschlager.

“Once we finish with this project, it’ll be a little bit of a longer process. We have another remediation component that we’ll be doing which is the underground treatment of the groundwater,” she said.

Once the groundwater is treated and cleared, the waterline for the 110 Broad Run Farms homes can be installed.

“We’re hoping that’s going to start toward the end of the year,” she said. n

Wine industry

continued from page 3

government leaders and regulators, he said.

“The simple economics of winemaking is that we want our wines to be taken home and enjoyed,” he said. “OK, we love to entertain; we think it’s great. But we base our business on our community being our customers and our guests— folks who are going to take that wine home and share it with their family, share it with friends. We’re proud of what we’re doing.”

When starting Fabbioli Cellars, he intended to be running a wholesale operation. “But people came,” he said. “Now, I realize I’m in the entertainment business, too.”

A review of rural zoning rules recently launched by county supervisors is a concern of industry leaders.

Fabbioli highlighted the agricultural, tourism, and educational operations offered by Zurschmeide family in Bluemont, where they run Great Country Farm, Bluemont Winery, and Dirt Farm Brewery.

“These are the kinds of things that we’d love to see go on. You don’t want to regulate that. You want to give a little bit of room for these people to find their way,” he said. We’ve worked hard in our legislative aspects to self-regulate.”

What does the industry look like in the years ahead? He’s not sure.

“We don’t know our best way to survive tomorrow,” Fabbioli said.

He said it was important that Loudoun wines are part of the local culture—served at Loudoun weddings and available at Loudoun restaurants. As part of that, winemakers have a responsibility to maintain a high quality and sensible price point, he said.

“We need to make sure our grapes have a home.”

And as important as the wineries may be to the county’s tourism efforts, Fabbioli said their success is dependent on the support of local residents. “Our businesses are based on our community,” Fabbioli said. n

Class delays

continued from page 1

year, but it is unclear whether they will be assessed on the new English standards.

“What that means is we have a lot on our plate between the Virginia Literacy Act and two new core sets of standards,” Superintendent Aaron Spence said in an interview.

Spence said typically when new standards are adopted, divisions have more time to prepare for and adapt to the new curriculum, get resources, and train teachers.

“As you can probably tell, this is a fairly shortened timeline for us,” he said, adding that it is causing concern as to how they will be able to get all the teachers trained and ready to teach the material.

Spence said his colleagues around the state are also expressing concern over the number of required hours of training and said other divisions are looking at creative ways to accommodate it.

Some of the possible solutions administrators considered included early release for all students, adjusting the arrival times, adding contractual days for teachers, and using unassigned days in teacher contracts.

According to the presentation an early release posed problems for high school athletics and other after school activities and with the availability of bus drivers. Adding contractual days would have significant budget impacts to the tune of millions of dollars and unassigned time already is being used by teachers to complete required

246 Project

continued from page 1

were silenced and the stories that were hidden for the last 400 years can finally be brought to light, witnessed and acknowledged,” she said.

While ancestry research has advanced for many families with the growth of the internet, Shafagoj said decedents of enslaved Africans have had few resources to learn about their past.

“For decades online genealogy databases have provided Americans descended from free ancestors the resources to trace their family stories through for centuries of American history, with items like Census, military birth, death, immigration and marriage records,” she said. “For the estimated 33 million Americans descended from ancestors who were enslaved, these same records typically only go back to about 1865. Prior to 1865, as most of you know, enslaved people were legally considered property, and so viewed as prop-

training and planning.

The staff arrived at the recommendation of late start times because families, students and school staff members are already familiar with a two-hour delay schedule, and it still allowed for after school activities to continue.

The proposed 16 days—about two days each month—would have all students showing up two hours late to school to allow teachers that time to complete training. Students would be dismissed on time and the delayed start days wouldn’t affect the start and end date of school, student holidays or teacher work days. The days would likely be Wednesdays to accommodate the block schedule of A and B days.

“We feel like for a variety of reasons that gives us the best possible opportunity to be providing that professional learning for our teachers while also minimizing the amount of disruption to our instructional program,” Spence said.

Spence said they would discuss what childcare options may be available for parents on the late start days, such as having parents drop kids off at school to be under the care of other staff members.

Several School Board members expressed concern for families and what this change could mean for them.

“We have a team that is committed to making this work. We have initially tried to wear our various caps as parents who will be in similar situations where our young children are at home and we are not,” Chief Human Resources Officer Lisa Boland said Tuesday.

The proposed calendar changes begin in

erty and not as people. Their names are absent from most government records. For descendants of enslaved Africans trying to trace their ancestors in the historic record, 1865 is often referred to as a brick wall—meaning that the legal institution of slavery in place from about 1619 through 1865 can be an impenetrable obstacle to many descendants.”

Starting in 2016, the staff at Morven Park began working to learn more about the men, women and children who had been enslaved on the property under the ownership of Thomas Swan from 1800 to 1840, and his son Thomas Swan Jr. from 1840 to 1865.

Organizers started with a list of names from Morven Park’s 1840 inventory of property and worked to put pieces of information about their lives together using court records and deeds and items from the genealogy collections at Leesburg’s Thomas Balch Library. While not included in most government records, information about enslaved individuals—their names, life events, and family relationships—

September, with the months of December and June excluded from the change because of winter break and the end of school.

Spence said he met with the Loudoun Education Association and found support for the recommendation.

The division currently has three professional development days in it calendar. Spence said teachers have consistently said that schedule did not provide enough time to complete the existing required training without adding the VLA requirements.

“In my entire career in education in Virginia, I have never quite seen so many expectations placed on school divisions at one time to deliver on with our teachers and prepare teachers,” he said. “We certainly have never seen new standards be implemented, even this quickly with the assessment coming at the same time.”

He said when new state standards are implemented, even with a year to prepare, there is always what is called an “implementation dip” where student scores drop as students and teachers adjust to the new standards.

“You can see it in the data every year in Virginia when they’ve implemented new standards,” he said.

He said he’s concerned there will be an even higher rate of implementation dip with how quickly the new standards are being put in place.

Passed in 2022, the Virginia Literacy Act’s goal is to improve early literacy outcomes for the state’s youngest learners. Beginning with the 2024-2025 school year, every division must develop a literacy plan and provide professional development to

were recorded by enslavers managing their property.

“These documents survive in the archives of historic sites, local courts, and historical organizations,” Shafagoj said. “Although there has been a lot of great work to share these documents by institutions here in Loudoun in many other areas, these documents are rarely online, and often are not even cataloged, making them difficult for descendants to locate. The 246 Years Project set out to change this.”

The effort was supported by community historians, including an advisory committee comprised of Donna Bohanon, Phyllis Cook-Taylor, Kevin Grigsby, Stephen Hammond and Lori Kimball.

“We want to make clear the when, the who, and also, we want the information to give us the basis for understanding the why,” Bohanon said. “This is what we get from primary source documents. The primary source information is important to erase the false narratives about the experiences of African-descended people here in America. It gives us the

support teachers, reading specialists and principals. As part of the plan, every teacher must use an evidence-based literacy curriculum, assess students using approved literacy screeners and patriciate in pre-service training. And every kindergarten student will receive scientifically based and evidence-based literacy instruction. Students in kindergarten through eighth grade will also receive evidence based supplemental instruction if they do not meet literacy benchmarks.

“I’m not expressing these concerns because I don’t believe the Virginia Literacy Act is the right direction for the state,” Spence said. “I just am concerned that we are not providing adequate time for our teachers to be able to do this to effectively develop themselves ... and we want to make sure if we’re going to deliver on this promise of belter literacy instruction, that we’re doing it in a very effective way and that our teachers are capable and ready to do that.”

Boland said, although there isn’t time to get feedback from the community on the plan, they are open to hearing from them about concerns they haven’t thought about.

“I just commend you for finding a solution because it felt nearly impossible on April 11 when the VLA requirements came out, and then additionally there’s all these other new things and it really is unprecedented. I want the community to understand how much this really is a heavy lift,” School Board member Lauren Shernoff (Leesburg) said Tuesday.

The board is scheduled to vote on the plan at its May 28 meeting. n

opportunity to untangle the myths. It gets to the truth so that we can all—all of us—know our story.”

Incorporating those records into a searchable database largely was done by volunteers, including a group of students from Stone Bridge High School. So far, some 2,300 documents providing information on 7,821 enslaved, emancipated, and self-emancipated individuals is included, Shafagoj said.

The 246 Years Project database is now live for use at 246years.org. But the work completed so far is just the beginning.

Shafagoj said the team already is reaching out to other organizations, including the Waterford Foundation and Historic Alexandria, to incorporate their archival records.

“The 246 years project is expanding our understanding of American history while preserving and providing unrestricted access to fragile historic documents. The stories of strength, resilience and perseverance found within these records inspire us all,” she said. n

Published by Loudoun Community Media

15 N. King St., Suite 101 Leesburg, VA, 20176 703-770-9723

KURT ASCHERMANN Executive Director kaschermann@loudounnow.org

NORMAN K. STYER Publisher and Editor nstyer@loudounnow.org

EDITORIAL

ALEXIS GUSTIN Reporter agustin@loudounnow.org

HANNA PAMPALONI Reporter hpampaloni@loudounnow.org

ADVERTISING

SUSAN STYER Advertising Manager sstyer@loudounnow.org

TONYA HARDING Account Executive tharding@loudounnow.org

VICKY MASHAW Account Executive vmashaw@loudounnow.org

A Top Priority

Opinion

Coming to a school division that recently achieved national notoriety for on-campus sexual assaults, it is understandable and commendable that the new superintendent would undertake a comprehensive assessment of school safety as a top priority.

For the past five months a panel of experts on the front lines of school security—including those involved with law enforcement, fire-rescue, and drug intervention—examined the division’s protocols and capabilities to identify the weaknesses.

Among the 11 recommendations are concerns about the existing systems, including communication gaps on campus where Wi-Fi and radio coverage is unavailable, that school-level personnel aren’t adequately trained in security and threat assessment, and that in-school security and mental health personnel aren’t adequately involved in analysis of threats involving their students.

Time to Listen

Editor:

The protests on college campuses across the country have been front page news for a while. I suspect that many people are shocked or disappointed or mad at students that seem dissatisfied with current events. I’d like to share an experience from the past that may have relevance to the present.

They also proposed beefing up safety operations with a dedicated supervisor to the security operations center, adding personnel at after-school events, and putting security manpower in elementary schools.

Increased cybersecurity and social media training is needed, along with a more robust system to evaluate serious threats, according to the report.

More controversially, the panel also suggested the creation of a more secure educational site for highrisk students and extending some law enforcement powers to security personnel.

None of these recommendations should be easily disregarded. While there are many areas to debate about what schools do well or where they miss the mark, there can be no disagreement that failing to ensure the safety of the students and staff members cannot be tolerated. n

LETTERS to the Editor

I attended Cornell University from 1968 to 1973 as an engineering student. I invited my parents to the campus during April of my freshman year. This was their first visit to a university so I booked them a room at the Student Union (Willard Straight Hall) so they could experience life on campus. That was the weekend a group of students, led by Eric Williams, a senior at Cornell, took over the Straight protesting discrimination against black students on campus and discrimination toward black people in general across the country.

Over the years, many articles and opinions were written about the takeover including the Newsweek magazine cover story in May 1969, which featured Mr. Evans with a long gun under his arm and a bandoleer of ammunition across his chest. There is a lot of frightening dialogue in that article about the conduct of the protesters and students. The firsthand account from my folks was decidedly different.

Mr. Evans knocked on their door that morning and my dad was shocked to see him standing there. He told my dad they were taking over the building as part of a civil rights protest that morning and they were asking the visitors to evacuate the building for their safety. He said they had reserved a room for them in downtown Ithaca and could provide transportation if needed. Later that morning I located my folks and was able to give them a tour of the campus amid the protest activities and

have many conversations about what was going on.

I worked at home that summer prior to starting my sophomore year. One Saturday, Dad and I were standing in the living room and on the coffee table was the issue of Newsweek with a picture of Mr. Evans on the cover carrying his rifle and bandolier. We both stared at the magazine and then stared at each other, and dad said, “You know, if I had just read that article and had not been there, I would have hauled you out of Cornell that day. But, I met that guy and he’s a nice fella.” Dad was a machinist, conservative blue-collar worker and not much of a philosopher but, he used to tell me that if three people in the room tell you you’re drunk, you should sit down. Currently, there are many campus protests across the country concerning the Israel/Palestine conflict. Perhaps it’s time to sit down and listen.

— Paul Swanson, Lovettsville

Loudoun Now is mailed weekly to homes in Leesburg, western Loudoun and Ashburn, and distributed for pickup throughout the county. Online, Loudoun Now provides daily community news coverage to an audience of more than 100,000 unique monthly visitors.

62.5% Don’t allow in classrooms

County Zoning Decisions: Who is Being Selfish?

BY JOHN ELLIS, HILLSBORO

In their recent zoning decisions, some county supervisors seem to apply a double standard that puts the interests of developers above the interests of citizens who are impacted by development.

When developers apply for rezonings and special exceptions that allow them to super-size the scale and profitability of their projects, supervisors have no concerns about the developers’ motivations.

But when citizens raise concerns about the negative impacts on their safety, quality of life, and tax burdens, they are accused of being “selfish.”

There is a false narrative about “selfishness” that goes like this: Whether they’ve lived here their whole lives or moved in last year, some citizens supposedly want to be “the last one in,” preventing anyone else from enjoying the wonderful surroundings and quality of life they already enjoy.

What this story overlooks is that there are always vacancies in the existing housing stock. New families move in all the time, and no one objects. The objections aren’t about new neighbors, they’re about developments that fundamentally change our neighborhoods and surroundings, making it impossible for existing residents and new residents alike to enjoy what everyone enjoys today.

When the Board of Supervisors recently approved an application to increase the number of residential units in the Villages at Clear Springs project on Evergreen Mills Road from 50 to more than 1,000 (Super-

Viewpoint

visors Tekrony and Umstattd dissenting), supervisors knew that the project would increase traffic congestion, that students in the neighborhood would have to be bussed long distances because the closest schools don’t have enough room for them, that there will be fewer trees and open spaces in the county’s Transition Policy Area, and that the county will have to increase spending and taxes to fix those problems.

They are aware that the same things will happen if they approve applications for the Greenfield Farm and Arcola Farm subdivisions on Evergreen Mills Road and the Tillett’s View subdivision in Ashburn. Citizens’ “selfish” desires for traffic safety, effective schools, access to open spaces, and reasonable tax burdens will again be sacrificed to developers’ wishes to pack as many more houses as possible into Loudoun’s increasingly tight spaces.

As a result of the Clear Springs development alone, the county will need to spend an additional $100-140 million over the next 10 years to expand roads and school capacity. It may need to spend even more for parkland, to replace the open spaces destroyed by the development. Of course, it will need to raise more tax revenue to pay for all of that.

Developers and supervisors claim that citizens need to make these sacrifices to solve the nationwide affordable housing crisis. We are supposedly doing that by re-

quiring that 15 percent of the housing units in these super-sized new developments be “affordable” to teachers, firefighters, plumbers, restaurant workers and others who make less than the county’s median income.

Of course, this standard means that 85 percent of the new units will not be affordable to median income families. It also means that 85 percent of the costs that county taxpayers will have to pay to build more roads, schools and parks will be the result of increasing the number of unaffordable units. In the case of the Clear Springs development alone, that will require $85-120 million more in county tax revenues. In other words, our taxpayers will be subsidizing the construction of unaffordable housing.

The county has established a goal of providing 16,000 more affordable housing units by 2040. The Clear Springs developer included 196 affordable units in that project, which will move the county a whopping one-tenth of one percent toward its goal. Construction of the 881 unaffordable units in this subdivision, of course, will make no contribution at all.

The affordable housing goal, in fact, will be a fantasy as long as 85 percent or more of new residential housing continues to be unaffordable. The actual proportion is higher than 85 percent because 100 percent of new “by-right” housing in rural Loudoun’s cluster subdivisions is also unaffordable. So, from this perspective at least, the sacrifices citizens are being asked to make to accommodate super-sized developments

approved by the Board of Supervisors and by-right rural developments approved by no one will be in vain.

To be fair, our supervisors have offered a few more reasons for dismissing the concerns citizens raised about the Clear Springs project. Two supervisors said they supported it because it included a regional tennis center that would help diversify Loudoun’s economy. Another said that the project, like the others he has supported, was “a good design.”

The proper questions in evaluating this and other re-zoning applications are:

• Do taxpayers want to pay even more for bigger roads, schools, and other public infrastructure so that developers can build more unaffordable housing?

• Do citizens want to endure increased traffic congestion, over-crowded schools, and longer school bus routes while they wait for the new infrastructure to be built?

• Do citizens want to get rid of their communities’ green, open spaces?

• Do the benefits of a professionally adequate subdivision design and a private amenity like a tennis center fully offset all those other burdens?

But these questions will not be considered or addressed if citizens’ concerns are summarily dismissed as simple “selfishness.”

The priorities of the citizens and taxpayers who are impacted by upscaled development should matter. The quality of life for existing and future residents is as important as developers’ profitability. It’s time for supervisors to start taking it more seriously. n

Beck

MARSHALL

$3,950,000

6760 Wilson Road 7 BR + 5/1 BA

Laura Nunley, 703.795.8667

Kevin Chung, 703.303.8199

PURCELLVILLE $675,000

18165 Lincoln Road 2 BR + 1/1 BA

Becky Houston, 703.623.6676

Barb Branham, 703.505.2546

Proud Sponsors of A Fest Less Ordinary

Come to our inaugural music festival, celebrating farming and community. All proceeds benefit A Farm Less Ordinary, a local nonprofit whose mission is to provide employment and a welcoming community to adults with cognitive and developmental disabilities! Enjoy bluegrass and American roots music, local food, beer, and wine at this family-friendly event!

SATURDAY, JUNE 22 | 2:00 - 9:00 PM 17281 SIMMONS RD, PURCELLVILLE

To purchase tickets, simply use your phone and scan the QR code OR please visit www.afarmlessordinary.org/aflo-music-festival

CLIFTON

$3,750,000 12792 Yates Ford Rd 8 BR + 8/3 BA Joan Reimann, 703.505.5626 JustPhoneJoan.com

ASHBURN $600,000 43258 Clearnight Terrace 3 BR + 2/1 BA Veronica Aramburu, 571.436.4033 VeronicaAramburu.com

Kevin Chung, 703.303.8199

120 Fort Evans Road SE #D 2 BR + 2 BA Ryan Clegg, 703.209.9849 Clegg.co

167 ACRES OF LAND