Loudoun Now for Sept. 28, 2022

Parents Turn Tragedy into Advocacy

Suicide Prevention Efforts Continue to Build

BY ALEXIS GUSTIN agustin@loudounnow.com

With the start of school, students are back in classes and back into a routine. Many find relief from the change of being home all summer and look forward to the social interaction with friends. For others, it means rising anxiety, stress, and social and academic pressure which can contribute to a decline in mental health and risk of suicide.

The suicide statistics for Loudoun County are staggering. On average, a Loudoun resident dies by suicide every 13 days, according to the Loudoun County Community Criminal Justice Board. The highest at-risk group for suicide is ages 45-64 (37%) followed by ages 15-34 (34%), and suicide is the leading cause of death for the 15-24 age group in Loudoun County.

Nationwide, suicide is the 12th leading cause of death, and on average there are 130 suicides per day, according to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.

Prior to the pandemic, mental health was already in decline and suicide was the second leading cause of death among people ages 10-34. But the events of the past two and a half years have left a lingering effect, which has caused doctors and medical institutions to declare a mental health national state of emergency for kids.

“The pandemic has struck at the safety and stability of families. More than

Rising Inflation Leads to Greater Need at Food Pantries

BY ALEXIS GUSTIN agustin@loudounnow.com

As temperatures begin to cool and leaves begin to fall, many start to look forward to autumn and winter. But for many, the colder months can be stressful as the cost of everyday living goes up with colder temperatures.

Heating costs are expected to climb even higher this winter. The National Energy Assistance Directors Association,

representing the state director of the federally funded Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, estimated the average cost of home heating will increase by 17.2% compared to last winter. Prices are going up for electricity and especially for fossil fuels including natural gas, propane and heating oil.

Meanwhile the U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates that food prices in August were already 11.4% higher than a year ago.

Together those climbing prices may make for a bleak winter for people already struggling with food insecurity.

According to Loudoun Hunger Relief, in Loudoun County, between 15,000 and 17,000 people could be food insecure. That means they might not have enough money to get groceries before they get their next paycheck, or they don’t have enough healthy food to feed their family, or they are making hard decisions like paying their rent or mortgage or over

buying food, Loudoun Hunger Relief President and CEO Jennifer Montgomery said.

September is Hunger Action Month, in a month-long campaign started by Feeding America to bring people together to end hunger. Loudoun Hunger Relief has hosted events like the empty bowl fundraising event on Sept. 15 and offered

Norman K. Styer/Loudoun Now

Participants prepare for Sunday’s 2022 We’re All Human Color Run by tossing color powder in the air.

continues on

Hanson Park Opening Celebrated

BY RENSS GREENE rgreene@loudounnow.com

Loudoun County officials held likely their best-attended ribbon cutting ever Friday, Sept. 23 as they formally opened the long-awaited Hal and Berni Hanson Regional Park.

The 257-acre regional park is the result of years of planning and work and the vi sion of Haldore “Hal” and Berni Hanson three decades ago. After Hal Hanson, a writer, U.S. State Department official and nonprofit leader, died in 1992, the Han son Family Partnership agreed to sell the land to Loudoun County only for use as a park in keeping with the wishes of Hal and Berni. The county bought the proper ty in 2009 through negotiations with the Hanson family, Dominion Power and the National Park Service as a part of a Unit ed States Department of Interior program. The majority of the $100 million project budget was paid through developer prof fers.

County government leaders and con tractors celebrated the ribbon cutting in front of bleachers full of people there for the event.

Supervisor Matthew F. Letourneau (R-Dulles), Loudoun’s longest-serving current supervisor, recalled the county board’s vote on the project in 2012, his first year in office.

“This has been with me now for 11 years, different staff, different col leagues—but one thing has been constant, which has been the support of the entire community and the board,” he said.

“There was a lot of input from the pub lic on what would go into this park. That framework was what set up this one-of-akind park,” said Loudoun Department of Transportation and Capital Infrastructure Acting Deputy Director Scott Worrest. “I wasn’t around for those workshops, but based on everything that is fit into this park, I have to assume that if something was mentioned, it got put on a board.”

He said the park is a once-in-a-lifetime type of project. HESS Construction Proj ect Manager Jonathan Lang said in terms of footprint it was the largest project the company had ever tackled.

The park’s extensive features include a cricket pitch, disc golf course, four base ball/softball fields with batting cages, four tennis courts/pickleball courts, an outdoor

basketball court, skate plaza, splash pad, 10 multi-purpose grass fields, two artifi cial turf fields with grandstands and press boxes and two playgrounds with rubber ized surface. The project also includes an amphitheater, concession and restroom buildings and pavilions, fishing piers, five ponds, a lodge/event center, nature center, paved and unpaved trails, picnic pavil ions, two off-leash areas for dogs, more than 75 acres of passive parkland and a renovation of the Hanson House.

“This regional part was built with ev eryone in mind, from the splash pad, to the pickleball, to the disc golf course,” said Loudoun Parks, Recreation and Open Space Board Chair Kristen Reed. “We even have a space for dogs.”

The county celebrated the park’s first full day officially open on Saturday, Sept. 24 with a day of activities including bounce houses, food trucks, lawn games, a Nature Center open house with displays and children’s crafts, teams practicing on the various sports fields, shuttle tours of the park, and an open house at the lodge.

The park is located off Evergreen Mills Road in Aldie, between Brambleton and Willowsford. n

First In-Person Girl emPower Summit Meets

BY RENSS GREENE rgreene@loudounnow.com

The Loudoun Commission on Women and Girls hosted its third annual Girl emPower summit Satur day, meeting in-person for the first time at Northern Virginia Commu nity College’s Sterling campus.

The event brings together mid dle and high school girls for a day of inspiration, collaboration and networking, and was again hosted by event chair, inventor, Limitless Limb founder and high school soph omore Mahsa Riar. The summit also featured a welcome from commis sion co-founder County Chair Phyl lis J. Randall (D-At Large), ARM Consulting President and CEO and commission Chair Angela Mitchell, and a keynote speech from Emma G, a New Zealand-born, Wammie Award-winning singer-songwriter, youth worker and TEDx speaker.

Emma G told attendees in both speech and song about her experi ence growing up with hydrocepha lus, the multiple surgeries she had to go through as a child and the peers who made fun of her, the difficulties of having parents who lived halfway

Renss Greene/Loudoun Now

A photo of Haldore “Hal” Hanson on display at the grand opening of Hal and Berni Hanson Regional Park Friday, Sept. 23.

EMPOWER SUMMIT continues on page 33

Renss Greene/Loudoun Now Singer-songwriter Emma G speaks during the Loudoun Commission on Women and Girls’s third annual Girl emPower summit held Sept. 24 at the Northern Virginia Community College’s Sterling campus.

Loudoun

Board Nears Aldie Assemblage Sale to Piedmont Environmental Council

BY RENSS GREENE rgreene@loudounnow.com

County supervisors have agreed, tentatively, to sell the Aldie Assemblage after years of trying and multiple canceled deals.

It is the third attempt to sell the property, after Aldie residents chased the county board off of plans to build a new fire station on the property with sustained protest. Supervisors later backed out of a tentative agreement to swap the land for property near St. Louis that had been proposed for another unpopular development, and then another tentative agreement to sell it to Aldie resident and Aldie Heritage Association member Guy Gerachis.

Both potential buyers had proposed renovations to the property. Gerachis’s

offer had enjoyed support in the village, but he said during negotiations the county was unresponsive and sought to put unreasonable conditions on timelines in the

sales contract.

But pending a final review of a sales

Supervisors Debate Public Input Changes

BY RENSS GREENE rgreene@loudounnow.com

After previously considering eliminating the extra time allotted for people speaking at Board of Supervisors meetings through an interpreter, the county board now seems likely to make mostly technical changes to public input sessions in line with other Northern Virginia localities.

Supervisors began looking into limiting that time after comments in Spanish became common in the boardroom. Non-English comments to the Board of Supervisors had been a rare occasion until recently when New Virginia Majority began organizing in Loudoun, particularly in Spanish-speaking neighborhoods. The organization has typically also provided interpretation for those speakers.

Loudoun supervisors hear comment from the public both on specific topics at public hearings, and more generally during time set aside for public comment at business meetings. Currently the board’s rules of order allow most speakers two and a half minutes to share their thoughts at those meetings and give people delivering remarks in a language other than English double that, five minutes, to allow time for interpreters to translate. The county provides interpreters, but speakers have the

option to bring their own.

The board allots up to an hour and a half at business meetings for comments, adding additional time whenever an interpreter speaks to make sure nobody is bumped out of their chance to speak due to a previous speaker using an interpreter.

Supervisors had considered eliminating that extra time, facing non-English speakers with the option to either speak themselves, likely without being understood on the dais, and provide a written translated version of their comments; or forego speaking to the board personally and allowing someone else to deliver a translated version of their remarks. Facing protests from the community, supervisors delayed a vote July 5 to Sept. 20, and then this month after gathering public input and information about how other localities handle translators delayed that vote again to Oct. 18.

After polling other Northern Virginia jurisdictions and gathering public feedback, county staff members have recommended largely technical changes to the rules of order that would continue to allow translating, as well as a new option to sign up in advance to speak.

Other county boards polled either by practice or policy typically double the comment time for non-English speakers, or simply stop running the clock when an interpreter is speaking. Loudoun County

staff recommended continuing to allow time for translation.

For the Loudoun boardroom, staff members found that simultaneous translation and closed-caption translations are less accurate and may be costly and technically infeasible.

Following a public survey that found non-English speakers had difficulty signing up in advance to speak, they also recommended an online form rather than taking signups only by phone. According to a county staff report, 80% of those who responded to the Spanish version of the survey found the sign-up process difficult. The online form, like the rest of the county website, would be translatable into a number of languages. That would also allow people to sign up outside of the county government’s business hours.

Currently sign-ups to speak at board meetings are available at the meeting or in advance by calling 703-777-0200. Members of the public can also offer comments to the Board of Supervisors outside of meetings by emailing bos@loudoun.gov or by calling the comment line at 703777-0115. Find contact information for individual supervisors and their staff at loudoun.gov/bos.

Supervisors voted 8-0-1, Supervisor Matthew F. Letourneau absent, to forward a decision on the rules of order to their meeting Oct. 18. n

ON THE Agenda

Landfill Sees Construction Waste Crunch

County supervisors have signed off on a request to expand the county landfill’s capacity for construction and demolition debris ahead of schedule after seeing it fill up faster than expected.

The new cell in the landfill was not expected to be needed until 2025, but a recent report on landfill usage indicated the old cell will fill up by the end of 2024, attributable to a 37% increase in the rate of debris drop-off over projections made in 2021. Landfill liner projects can only be built in the warm months, and those projects like many others have been slowed by supply chain issues, so supervisors were advised to move quickly to approve the new cell for construction or risk running out of space.

The next-closest site to drop off Loudoun construction and demolition debris is near Richmond. The new cell project was combined with another project to build a commercial entrance.

Supervisors on Sept. 20 voted 8-0-1, Supervisor Matthew F. Letourneau (R-Dulles) absent, to move $5.19 million to accelerating the project. The project is supported by landfill fees.

Waddell Honored

Supervisors on Sept. 20 adopted a ceremonial resolution honoring the late state Senator and Loudoun County Supervisor Charles L. Waddell, who died on July 19.

The resolution noted “The Singing Senator” came to Loudoun in 1960 for work with American Airlines, and was first elected to the Board of Supervisors in 1967. During his single term on the board, he successfully pushed for free textbooks in the schools and Loudoun’s first sanitary landfill.

In 1971, he was elected to state senate, winning reelection six times before he was appointed in 1998 by Gov. Jim Gilmore to serve as deputy secretary of Transportation.

Supervisors voted 8-0-1, Supervisor Matthew F. Letourneau (R-Dulles) absent. n

The Aldie Tavern.

Loudoun Now file photo

ALDIE ASSEMBLAGE continues on page 6

Supervisors Set Land Planning Goals Amid Staff Shortage

BY RENSS GREENE rgreene@loudounnow.com

As they near the final year of the four-year term, county supervisors and staff members are looking ahead to the remaining land planning projects to get done amid an ongoing shortage of county planners.

Several zoning amendments fasttracked from the overall Zoning Ordi nance Rewrite are expected to be done this year—new rules on short-term resi dential rentals, such as Airbnbs, and zon ing changes to accommodate plans for a large-scale solar array at Dulles Airport are scheduled to wrap up in November, and updates to the county’s Airport Im pact Overlay District for airport noise are expected done in December. Two more, work to revise the county’s cluster zon ing rules to better protect prime farmland and the comprehensive Zoning Ordinance overhaul to bring it in line with the 2019 comprehensive plan, are expected done in 2023.

Meanwhile, county planners are work ing through plans for the Village of St. Louis to better protect it from develop ment and the Red Hill community to per mit central water and sewer. Also ongoing are projects to document and preserve Loudoun’s Black history and decide on a name for the historic courthouse building and apply to have it designated a National Historic Landmark.

Supervisors also voted to resume talks on a Purchase of Development Rights pro gram to buy and retire development rights on rural properties, a project put on hold in June. Supervisors voted to resume that discussion during the finance committee’s annual budget deliberations, opening the possibility of funding the program next fiscal year.

But those efforts are hindered by a perennial staffing shortage in the Depart ment of Planning and Zoning. According to a report prepared for supervisors’ meet ing Sept. 20, of 78 authorized full-time equivalent positions, there are 12 vacan cies, including six that the board added this fiscal year. That puts the department at roughly a 15% vacancy rate, Assistant County Administrator Joe Kroboth point ed out. He said there are not many trained land use planners looking for a job. And, he said, Loudoun can be a difficult place

to work, especially when they must at tend the lengthy Board of Supervisors meetings.

The board’s business meetings be gin at 6 p.m., and hours-long late-night meetings have characterized the board’s last two terms. Since 2016, the board fre quently meets until after midnight, and with many of its decisions being on land planning, planning and zoning staff are frequently in the boardroom past mid night after working a full day of normal office hours.

“They’re typically young profession als, many of which are at the point in their life where they have young families and evenings are very important to them to be able to spend time with their families. I think those things come into play,” Kro both said. “But there are great positive reasons to want to work here in Loudoun County. In a fast-paced growth communi ty, planners, engineers, other profession als, construction managers—they get the opportunity to work on projects that they don’t necessarily get in a stabilized com munity or slow growth community.”

Supervisor Michael R. Turner (D-Ash burn) said he would be open to “out of the box” ideas—such as much higher sala ries—to fill those ranks.

“This is such a critical function for this county at this time,” he said.

County Chair Phyllis J. Randall (DAt Large) paused the time limit on board member comments to suggest one pos sible solution. She said the board could divide its business meetings over two nights, with ceremonial and information items and public comment on one night, and action items requiring a vote on the other. She said that will be on the table when the board holds its annual organiza tional meeting in January.

“It’s something we should at least sug gests for the good of the staff,” she said.

Supervisors voted 8-0-1, with Super visor Matthew F. Letourneau (R-Dulles) absent, to continue with the department’s work plan without major changes and to send the Purchase of Development Rights discussion to budget talks.

“This has been a very busy board, and we’ve done a lot, and that’s good for a lot of reasons,” Randall said. “We need to do a lot and we should, that’s what we’re here for, but we never forget—and I nev er forget—it’s the same staff that’s doing all that.” n

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Aldie Assemblage

continued from page 4

contract by attorneys, supervisors voted last week to sell the property to the Piedmont Environmental Council for $600,000, in another proposal with broad support among other conservation organizations.

Supervisor Juli E. Briskman (D-Algonkian) asked during a Sept. 14 public hearing whether more conditions on timeline could be put into the sales contract; Senior Deputy County Attorney Courtney Sydnor advised that would not be workable in the real estate sale.

But the Piedmont Environment Council has put forth a proposal to revitalize the property, which has long been out of use and has deteriorated in the years the county has owned it. The council has pitched renovating the older buildings on the property, removing a defunct garage, barn and in-ground pools. The tavern building would be examined for commercial or public uses, including possibly as office and meeting space for the PEC and the community; if the tavern is unsuitable for that, it may be restored for residential use. The PEC would also work toward having the restored tavern property listed on the National Register of Historic Places and the Virginia Landmarks Register.

The council also has plans to open a part of the property to the public as a green space with access for fishing and possibly kayaking or canoeing on the Little River. All of that work, wrote Director of Conservation Michael Kane to the county, would be done with an eye to preserve the village.

“Aldie stands as a critical entry point to Loudoun County’s nationally recognized historic and scenic rural landscape,” he wrote. “Any proposed renovation and productive reuse of the Tavern building and/or any other structures on the Property will be designed at a size, scale, and intensity of use that is consistent with the character and fabric of Aldie.”

“In seeking to acquire the Aldie Assemblage, we are responding to the public’s concerns about the sensitive location and potential future uses on the property,” Piedmont Environmental Council Field Officer Gem Bingol said during the public hearing. Representatives from the Virginia Piedmont Heritage Area, Loudoun Historic Village Alliance and Aldie Heritage Association cheered the council’s proposal.

“This proposal lines up with what the community has said they wanted,” Aldie Heritage Association President Katie Johnson said. “I’m comfortable tell-

ing you that because I and a few other members of the AHA board knocked on doors throughout the village. We walked around, we talked to people, we asked what they wanted to see—this lines up with what they wanted to see.”

The PEC has been part of many environmental and preservation projects in Loudoun, including acquiring 239 acres at nearby Gilberts Corner and working with NOVA Parks to create the 150-acre Gilberts Corner Regional Park. They are also working toward plans to renovate the building at the Gilberts Corner farmers market which they acquired in 2019, Bingol said.

But some supervisors opposed selling the property to the PEC, which was not the highest bidder for the property—that came from Aldie residents Adam and Laura McBride, who offered $700,000 along with a detailed proposal to restore and preserve the assemblage.

“To me, that should be the first proposal that we give great scrutiny, too, and I did that going through this process and I was impressed with that proposal,” said Supervisor Matthew F. Letourneau (R-Dulles). “I saw no reason why, as high bidders, they should be disqualified in favor of a lower bidder—it doesn’t matter who the lower bidder was.”

“We’ve been talking about this property for a very long time now. When we originally made the last offer, I went with the public opinion, with the gentleman [Gerachis], and unfortunately that deal kind of blew up in our face. And so with this, when we got these two offers, this time I went with the high bid,” said Vice Chair Koran T. Saines (D-Sterling).

But the majority voted to direct county staff members to bring a finalized contract with the PEC back to the county board for final approval. County Chair Phyllis J. Randall (D-At Large) pointed out the PEC has been involved in the Aldie Assemblage discussion for years.

“We’ve been having this discussion for, I mean, literally over 10 years. I don’t see a reason that PEC would put themselves forward at all if they didn’t have the capacity do what they say they’re going to do,” she said.

“I think that it would almost be irresponsible, after all the work we put into this as a board, to not take advantage of this opportunity to put our trust into the PEC who has clearly earned a lot of public trust, especially in this area,” said district Supervisor Tony R. Buffington (R-Blue Ridge).

Supervisors voted 7-0-2, Saines and Letourneau opposed, to bring a sale contract back for final approval at a future Board of Supervisors meeting. n

Leesburg Council to Consider Parking, Height Limit Changes for Downtown Hotel

BY NORMAN K. STYER nstyer@loudounnow.com

The Leesburg Town Council on Tuesday approved the study of two ordinance changes that could help clear the way for the construction of a downtown hotel.

Developer Kevin Ash has proposed building a 40-room boutique hotel on his property at 208 S. King St., although no formal application has been submitted.

He met privately with council members over the summer to lay out his plans. Two key obstacles have been identified: parking requirements and building height limits in the downtown business district.

On Monday night, the council was briefed by Planning and Zoning Director James David on options to consider modifications to current town regulations.

Under current zoning, hotels are

permitted in the downtown B-1 zoning district by special exception, requiring review by the Planning Commission and Town Council, as well as the Board of Architectural Review which examines historic district compliance. The ordinance requires one parking space per room and one space per every two employees, standards that have been in place since 1986. The prior 1961 zoning ordinance required one space per two rooms and no employee parking.

Council members agreed to have the Planning Commission study different options for hotel parking requirements, including changing the minimum ratios and using shared parking agreements to designate off-site spaces.

The council also backed Ash’s request to consider expanding a zone created in 2011 to permit buildings up to 65 feet tall in the historic district with special exception approval by the Town Council. The Zoning Ordinance limits building

heights downtown to 35 feet for residential buildings and 45 feet for nonresidential buildings. The Enhanced Height Area Map was created to allow taller buildings on low-lying land where the rooftop line would continue to blend in with the historic buildings. Two recent developments— King Street Station and the Church and Market project—were approved for taller buildings.

While the proposed hotel site is located outside the enhanced height area, Ash told the council that the property was situated at a similarly low elevation so that a taller building could met the same goals and blend in with the existing buildings.

The council action directs the Planning Commission to develop changes to the parking requirements and height limits and hold public hearings on the proposals before sending them the council for consideration. n

Loudoun Museum Mural Work Begins

BY ALEXIS GUSTIN agustin@loudounnow.com

The artwork on a Leesburg mural depicting the safe passage of enslaved people escaping to freedom has begun.

Shawn Perkins, a native of Detroit, MI, but a resident of Washington, DC, was chosen to paint the mural on the side of the Loudoun Museum on the Town Hall campus. He started work Monday.

“It’s been a long year and a half, and to finally be painting is a breath of fresh air,” Perkins said.

The mural depicts Bazil Newman, a prominent Black landowner and ferry operator, taking a young Black boy across the Potomac River at night while Newman’s brother looks on. The mural will also represent Leonard Grimes, a Black abolitionist who helped Newman.

The mural was approved over the objections of the Loudoun Museum Board of Directors and some members of the Commission on Public Arts, three of whom were dismissed from their seats.

Perkins said the young boy on the boat could be interpreted as being an enslaved person on his way to freedom or it could be Newman’s grandchild.

Perkins said he went to the spot on the

Potomac at the mouth of Goose Creek where Newman operated the ferry and took pictures so he could depict it in the mural.

Perkins has a fine arts and graphic design degree from Howard University. He’s been painting murals and doing artwork

around DC for the past seven or so years. He has done some indoor murals in Virginia, but the Loudoun Museum mural is his first outdoor mural.

MUSEUM MURAL continues on page 10

Council Urged Not to Pursue Limits on Downtown Protesters

Following complaints about disruptive political protestors during this month’s First Friday event, Town Council member Neil Steinberg requested a report on options to better control conduct in the area designated for sidewalk dining on weekend nights.

During a briefing Monday night, Town Attorney Christopher P. Spera recommended the council not attempt to limit activities that appear to be constitutionally protected free speech.

“It’s a slippery slope. My recommendation is that we stay far away,” he said.

Steinberg said he wasn’t seeking to limit free speech, but to protect the family-oriented atmosphere the town has worked to create. Having protesters displaying signs and waving flags conflicts with that, he said.

Following the discussion, no action was anticipated.

Downtown Car Show Planned Saturday

The Academies of Loudoun will present the 34th annual Leesburg Car Show on Saturday from noon to 4 p.m. in downtown Leesburg.

The show places an emphasis on displaying “classic” cars (25+ years) although all high-quality vehicles are welcome to participate. Only classic class cars will be eligible for the specialty awards. Pre-registration is $25 or $30 on the day of the show. All participating vehicles must be stage at Tuscarora High School between 9:30 and 10:45 a.m. Downtown streets will close at 9:30 a.m. as the vehicles are moved into their display spaces.

The awards ceremony will take place at 3:30 p.m. at the intersection of King and Market streets. Downtown streets will reopen to the traffic by 5 p.m.

AROUND TOWN continues on page 9

Alexis Gustin/Loudoun Now

Artist Shawn Perkins paints a mural on the Loudoun Museum depicting local freedom fighter Bazil Newman taking a Black child across the Potomac to freedom.

Leesburg Cited as Top Community for Families

LOUDOUN NOW STAFF REPORT

Following an evaluation nearly 2,000 cities, towns, suburbs, exurbs, villages, and townships that had between 25,000 and 750,000 residents in all 50 states, Fortune magazine on Wednesday named Leesburg one of the top 10 places in America to for families to live.

Leesburg ranked eighth on the list.

According to the company, to analyze

AROUND Town

continued from page 8

In the event of inclement weather, the event will be canceled. All proceeds will benefit the students and staff at the Academies of Loudoun.

For more information, including how to register your vehicle for the show, go to lcps.org/carshow or call 571-252-2080.

Utilities Department Welcomes Visitors

The Leesburg Utilities and Public Works Departments will host an open house on Saturday to give residents the chance to learn more about their services and equipment used to provide those services.

Staff members will be on hand to answer questions and provide educational handouts and demonstrations. Town vehicles will be on display in the back parking lot of the utility maintenance building.

Residents may pre-register for tours of the water plant and wastewater plant. Each tour lasts one hour and is limited to 10 people, ages 10 and above. Register and see other details at the “open house” tab at leesburgva.gov/departments/utilities-water-sewer.

The free event will be held at the Utilities Department, located at 1385 Russell Branch Parkway SE, from 9 a.m. to noon Oct. 1. n

each place Fortune collected more than 215,000 data points across five broad categories: education, aging resources, general wellness, financial health, and livability. The ranking focused on families, particularly the subset of Americans who are shouldering the responsibilities of raising their own children while caring for aging parents. Fortune put extra emphasis on factors such as the quality of local school districts, graduation rates, nearby

college affordability, the number of quality nursing homes, assisted living communities, home health care agencies, risk of social isolation among older residents, and access to solid healthcare providers.

To ensure the winning places were cities and towns where residents could afford to buy homes without breaking the bank, Fortune eliminated jurisdictions with home sale prices that were more than twice as high as the state median

and/or more than 2.75 times higher than the national median. Additionally, Fortune sought to highlight places that offered diverse neighborhoods and cut any town where more than 90% of its population is white, non-Hispanic.

Ann Arbor, MI, topped the list, followed by Dallas-suburb Wylie, TX, and Olathe, KS, outside Kansas City. Gaithersburg, MD, ranked just ahead of Leesburg in seventh place. n

McEnearney Celebrates New Leesburg Office

LOUDOUN NOW STAFF REPORT

Members of McEnearney Associates’ Leesburg office celebrated their move to new office space on Market Street with a Sept. 21 ribbon-cutting ceremony.

The agency moved just around the cor ner from its former North King Street of fice into newly remodeled space at 10 W. Market St. The former bank drive-through building was converted to office space by builder Paul Reimers, one of the last his toric renovation projects to be completed before his death in July.

Agency leaders said the downtown of fice was important to their business and their agents.

“We’re not new to Leesburg. We’ve been here. We’ve been part of this com munity and we’re excited to continue to be part of this community,” McEnearney CEO Dave Hawkins said. “Our company always wants to belong in the business

Museum mural continued from page 8

“For [this] to be a Black history mu ral, obviously I am a man of color so it’s a proud moment for me, and I think the Town of Leesburg, to have this piece of artwork to tell this story. It’s really cool and really interesting to figure out these

areas where we operate. We don’t want to just take from the community; we want to give back to the community. That’s been our history and we’re carrying it forward here in Leesburg.”

n

untold stories, and for it to be people who are from this area I think is even more spe cial,” Perkins said.

Perkins anticipates with good weather the mural will be completed in two weeks.

The mural was proposed last spring by Carmen Felder, president of the 89 Ways to Give Foundation to highlight the Un derground Railroad with area residents helping fleeing enslaved people find safe ty across the Potomac River.

n

Norman K. Styer/Loudoun Now

Mayor Kelly Burk and McEnearney Associates CEO Dave Hawkins cut a ribbon to celebate the opening of the agency’s new office on Market Street in downtown Leesburg.

Norman K. Styer/Loudoun Now Candice Bower, managing broker of McEnearney’s Leesburg and Middleburg offices, speaks during the Sept. 21 ceremony.

Education

Students Walk Out Over New State Policies

BY ALEXIS GUSTIN agustin@loudounnow.com

Nearly 1,400 students walked out of Loudoun public high schools on Tuesday morning to protest Virginia Department of Education model policies that overturn existing protections for transgender students, according to the school division’s tally.

Felicity Banner, a 15-year-old Loudoun County High School student, organized the walkout at their school as part

of the Pride Liberation Project’s planned walkouts at over 100 schools across the state. Pride Liberation describes itself as a student-run organization of queer and allied students that advocates for LGBTQ rights in Virginia.

Banner, who prefers they/them pronouns, said they organized the walkout at the school after hearing about the changes announced by the VDOE on Sept. 16.

About 60 Loudoun County High School students participated in the protest.

“People were angry. They were angry

because they weren’t going to be able to use their pronouns, their chosen name, all the things that made them feel comfortable in their own skin,” Banner said.

Banner said students who are closeted and don’t feel safe talking to their parents, face health and safety risks with the new policies.

“Many students have supporting parents and can go home to supporting homes, but there are also students [for

WALKOUT continues on page 35

More Than 100 Rally to Support Public Education

BY ALEXIS GUSTIN agustin@loudounnow.com

More than 100 people gathered at the Loudoun County Public Schools Administration building Tuesday afternoon for a Support Public Education rally.

The event was organized to show support for not only public education but for teachers, according to rally organizer Amanda Golino, a volunteer with Loudoun4All.

“I think our turnout was awesome. We have a diverse coalition of representatives here tonight as well as speakers. Our real mission was to support public education and supporting our teachers because, we

know they have been under attack, pushing back against book bans, and supporting diversity, equity and inclusion,” Golino said.

Speakers included Loudoun Education Association President Sandy Sullivan, disability advocate Jennifer Litton Tidd, teacher Alex Bennett, Equality Loudoun Education Director Jennifer Boudrye and John Champe High School Genders, Sexuality and Alliance Club President Syre Han Min Morris, among others.

Morris, a transgender student, spoke about her experience going to school

SCHOOLS RALLY continues on page 35

School Board Begins Review of Sexually Explicit Material Policy

BY ALEXIS GUSTIN agustin@loudounnow.com

School Board members last week were presented with a new draft policy to bring the division in line with Virginia Board of Education guidance on sexually explicit content.

During the Sept. 22 meeting of the Curriculum and Instruction Committee, Assistant Superintendent Ashley Ellis and Executive Director of Teaching and Learning Neil Slevin briefed members Ian Serotkin (Blue Ridge) and Harris Mahedavi (Ashburn) on the first draft of the new policy, Policy 5055, that would require notifying parents of sexually explicit content in instructional materials. They said another policy that sets procedures for the selection, review, and challenge of educational material also would need to be updated with the new policy.

Policy 5055 includes protocols to identify all instructional material with sexually explicit content, to notify parents of such content, to allow parents to review the sexually explicit material and to make sure alternative materials are provided for any student who requests it.

Ellis said the new policy is based on VDOE guidance with a few minor differences. Those include an expanded definition section and the addition of a section stating that the censorship of books may not be based solely on the sexual orientation or gender identity of the characters featured. The state Department of Education’s model policy had drawn concerns that it may be discriminatory based on those.

According to both the state’s model policy and the proposed division policy, library materials are not considered instructional material unless used for an assignment or part of an extracurricular educational program.

Parents are to have 30 days advance notice if instructional material is considered sexually explicit, according to the new policy. It also states the division will maintain a list

EXPLICIT POLICY REVIEW continues on page 13

Alexis Gustin/Loudoun Now

Felicity Banner, the organizer of the walkout at Loudoun County High School, stands in front of the school and walkout participants. Students walked out on Sept. 27 to protest model policies that overturn existing protections for transgender students.

Alexis Gustin/Loudoun Now Rally goers at the Support Public Education rally listen to Jennifer Litton Tidd, a disability advocate on Sept. 27 at the Loudoun County Public Schools administration building.

Explicit policy review continued from page 12

of instructional material with sexually explicit material on its website.

“Much of the intent of Policy 5055 aligns to our current practice with the selection of texts in our classrooms,” Slevin said, noting that the current practice in secondary schools is to offer alternative materials.

Ellis said the presentation to the committee was just the beginning of a conversation expected to take many weeks and they “felt it was important enough to be very clear and to take our time and be very thorough with this process.”

Slevin said steps are already being taken to work with families in relation to school libraries, including increased transparency as to what books have been challenged, increased support of schools for selection of materials, and an increase in oversight of which books are being purchased in schools.

Slevin said eight books were pulled out of circulation over concerns last year. He said of those, only one title was removed. He pointed out a list of notable books that might be identified as containing sexually explicit content under the VDOE policy, such as “Kite Runner” by Kahled Hosseini, “1984” by George Orwell, “The Odyssey” by Homer, and “Beloved” by Toni Morrison.

The process over the next several months to get the new policy approved includes gathering input from the public as well as from key stakeholder groups. It will go before the Curriculum and Instruction Committee as an action item Nov. 7, according to Loudoun County Public Schools Public Information Officer Wayde Byard. It must go before the full board for a vote. The latest that could be is the Dec. 13 School Board meeting. Policy 5045, on selecting school materials, will be brought up again at the next iteration of policy 5055, Ellis said.

Ellis said school staff members are expecting additional policy guidance from the Virginia School Boards Association sometime in October. She noted that it is unusual for the VSBA to develop a policy, but it is expected to be similar to the VDOE guidance.

The 2022 Model Policies were created after the General Assembly passed Senate Bill 656 into law in April. The bill added a section to Virginia Code requiring parental notification of any instructional material that included sexually explicit content and included directly identifying specific instructional material with sexually

explicit subjects and provide a review by parents and allow for an alternative material choice. The 2022 Model Polices are required by law and school boards are required to adopt them either as is or altered to be “more comprehensive than the model policies developed by the Department,” according to the model polices.

School boards across the state now have until Jan 1 to create and implement polices similar to the model ones.

Committee member Atoosa Reaser (Algonkian) was absent for the meeting. n

Ian Serotkin (Blue Ridge) and other members of the Curriculum & Instruction Committee heard the first draft of a new policy Sept. 22. Loudoun Now file photo

Public Safety

Spontaneous Combustion Destroys Purcellville-Area Barn

LOUDOUN NOW STAFF REPORT

A fire started by the spontaneous combustion of mulch and potting soil from a flowerbox destroyed a large barn near Purcellville last week.

Just before 4:30 p.m. Sept. 20, a 911 caller reported a barn on fire behind a home on Lincoln Road, and said the flames were approaching several large propane tanks. Hazardous Materials response units were added to the call.

Fire and rescue crews found an approximately 40-foot by 80-foot barn with significant smoke and fire. They would remain on scene for an extended period extinguishing hot spots and assisting the Fire Marshal’s Office investigation, according to the department. There were no reported injuries but damage was estimated at $532,000.

The Fire Marshal’s Office determined

BARN FIRE continues on page 15

Loudoun Detective, Dispatcher Earn Statewide Awards

LOUDOUN NOW STAFF REPORT

Two members of the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office received statewide recognition during the the Virginia Sheriffs’ Association Annual Conference on Sept. 20 in Virginia Beach.

The VSA Deputy Sheriff of the Year award went to a Loudoun deputy who played a key role in a narcotics investigation that began in 2017 and led to the largest seizure of illegal drugs in the history of the county and impacted the operations of the Mexican Sinaloa cartel. In February 2020, Loudoun detectives on the Drug Enforcement Administration High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Task Force seized $6.5 million worth of drugs, guns, and cash connected to the Sinaloa Cartel in Mexico, including seven firearms, $1.4 million in U.S. currency, 50 kilograms of cocaine, 1 kilogram of heroin, 6 pounds of marijuana, 150 grams of crack cocaine, 2 kilograms of

fentanyl and 100 fentanyl pills.

Because of the sensitive nature of the work performed, the detective’s name was not released by the Sheriff’s Office.

The VSA 2022 Dispatcher of the Year award was presented to Loudoun’s Molly Rau. She is assigned to the night shift at the Emergency Communications Center and has been a Sheriff’s Office employee for nearly three years. Rau is certified in crisis intervention training and is already a communications training officer.

Rau was recognized for her response to a call about someone live streaming on Facebook threatening self-harm with a knife. She coordinated with field deputies to determine the person’s address while monitoring several channels and handling calls related to the situation. Simultaneously, there were two additional calls received regarding subjects threatening harm. Her efforts were credited with helping to resolve all the incidents successfully. n

Loudoun County Combined Fire-Rescue System

Loudoun fire-rescue crews respond to a Sept. 20 barn fire near Purcellville that was started by spontaneous combustion of mulch and potting soil in a flowerbox.

SAFETY Briefs

Sterling Truck Driver Charged in Fatal Crash

Virginia State Police have charged a Sterling man with reckless driving following an investigation of a fatal crash in Fauquier County.

According to the report, the crash happened at 1:12 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 27 in Opal. A 2012 Freightliner tractor-trailer was traveling north on Rt. 29 when it failed to stop at a red light and collided with a 2012 Harley-Davidson motorcycle that was traveling northbound through the intersection on Rt. 17. The Harley-Davidson had a green light.

The rider of the Harley-Davidson, John R. Selby, 77, of Bealeton, died at the scene. He was wearing a helmet.

The truck driver, Alexei Plavan, 64, was arrested and charged with reckless driving. He was taken to Culpeper County Jail and released on bond.

The crash remains under investigation.

2 Nabbed Using Stolen Credit Card

After being alerted by a resident that his credit card had been used by someone to purchase car parts, Loudoun deputies were able to catch the suspects red handed.

According to the Sheriff’s Office, after learning about the unauthorized purchase, deputies went to the car dealership where the order had been placed. They were told the buyers would be coming in to pick up the parts later that day.

When the suspects showed up, deputies were there to arrest them.

Charges against the two men include larceny, fraud, credit card fraud and giving false identification to law enforcement. They were held without bond at the Loudoun Adult Detention Center.

Barn fire continued from page 14

the fire was accidental, caused by spontaneous combustion of mulch and potting soil in a flowerbox.

“Spontaneous combustion can happen when a decomposing, organic material such as mulch generates enough heat to ignite without an outside source,” System Chief Keith H. Johnson stated. “Because of this, a large or compacted area of mulch can create sufficient heat to sponta-

neously combust. Remember, in all cases, mulch fires are more likely to start when the weather is hot, and it has been dry for an extended period.”

Fires that start in landscaping mulch or other organic planting materials can spread quickly into shrubbery, up exterior walls and into buildings.

The fire-rescue service recommends precautions to prevent mulch fires at homes and businesses. Those include maintaining at least 18 inches of clearance between the edge of the mulch bed and combustible building materials, such

as exterior vinyl siding and decks; keeping landscaped mulch beds moist if possible; remembering the hot and dry spells and windy conditions allow mulch fires to start more readily; using non-combustible materials like river rock or pea gravel for the first 18 inches around the base of a building with combustible siding and around gas and electrical meters; considering brick or non-combustible exterior siding; using only approved receptables to dispose of smoking materials; and immediately reporting any smoke or fire by calling 911. n

At

Round Hill, County Leaders Celebrate New Park Trail, Steet Improvements

BY NORMAN K. STYER nstyer@loudounnow.com

Round Hill and Loudoun County leaders Tuesday celebrated the fruits of two decades of planning with the formal opening of the Round Hill to Franklin Park trail and the town’s Main Street improvement project.

The projects constructed a shared-use path and sidewalks that link the town to Franklin Park. They included new curb and sidewalk on both sides of East Loudoun Street from the intersection of Main Street to the eastern town limits, a 10-foot, shared-use path between Lake Point neighborhood and the Franklin Park pool, and curb and sidewalk along Main Street from the former W&OD railroad station to East Loudoun Street.

Both projects were conceived in the early 2000s and in 2014 were combined into a joint project to better coordinate construction and limit disruption to residents.

Deputy Director of Parks, Recreation and Community Services Jeremy Payne

said the trail project fulfills the department’s mission to promote community health, reduce impacts on the environment and connect communities.

“This will allow the residents to access all the amenities of Franklin Park without having to get in their car,” he said.

The department also is working with Purcellville leaders to construct a trail

from the park to the town and the western terminus of the W&OD Trail—creating a trail system that would stretch from Round Hill to Alexandria.

For Round Hill, the project provides better pedestrian access in town and improves stormwater management.

Mayor Scott Ramsey credited former Mayor Frank Etro with creating the

Towns for

vision. And he noted the project spanned the terms of five different town administrators and three county supervisors.

“It took us 20 years to make it happen. It was a long road, but it all started with a belief that this town could be better,” Ramsey said.

He said the project turned out to be far more complicated—resulting in a cycle of design and redesign to meet ever-changing standards and having to find more money each time.

“In 2006, we thought we were there. We had the money. We were going to go out for bid. We even put it in our newsletter,” Ramsey said. “How wrong we were. That was 16 years ago.”

He credited County Administrator Tim Hemstreet and his staff for helping to push the project thorough to the construction phase and the town’s project manager, Rob Lohr, for his close work with affected property owners to solve myriad issues during the work.

TRAIL IMPROVEMENTS continues on page 17

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Norman K. Styer/Loudoun Now

Round Hill Mayor Scott Ramsey recounts the 20-year effort to upgrade the town’s sidewalks and stormwater management during the Sept. 27 ceremony celebrating the completion of the project.

County Awards Incentive Grant to Lovettsville Co-op

BY NORMAN K. STYER nstyer@loudounnow.com

The Board of Supervisors last week approved a proposal to provide a $60,000 grant to support construction of the Lovettsville Cooperative Market.

The money will come through the Eco nomic Development Authority as part of the county’s business incentive program.

The co-op is a 7,500-square-foot grocery store under construction near Lovettsville’s Town Center neighbor hood. The store was decades in the plan ning as area residents sought to create a local alternative to their grocery trips to Purcellville or Brunswick, MD.

It was the organizers’ commitment to supporting local farmers and rural busi nesses that landed the grant.

Normally, the nonprofit wouldn’t quality for incentive funding through the county’s program. For instance, the $1.8 million capital investment falls short of the $5 million policy threshold, the aver age employee salary is below the county’s average wage of $71,000, and the county is not competing with another locality or state for the business.

Still, Department of Economic Devel opment Executive Director Buddy Rizer said the business is expected to have a positive impact in supporting area agri cultural businesses. Under the proposed grant provisions, the co-op will commit to using local vendors for at least 25% of total store sales and at least 50% of its

Trail improvements continued from page 16

“Rob Lohr is really the angel that made this project happen,” Ramsey said. “Rob took the time to sit down with every sin gle neighbor, every single house on both streets, Loudoun Street and Main Street. Some probably spent more time talking with Rob than their own relatives.”

“His compassion and his dedication certainly made Round Hill look better than we probably are. He gives a really positive impression to everyone because of his dedication to public service and his desire to get things done right. And that sort of backbone is what we needed to get through this project,” he added.

While crews continue to work on some of the final construction elements and punch list review likely will continue for several weeks, ”it really feels like we got the rock to the top of the mountain,” Ramsey said. n

in-season produce, meats, and craft bev erage. The $60,000 equates to about three years of projected local tax revenue to be generated by the project.

“Because they have committed to a portion of their supplies to come from the local area, we think this is something that is worthwhile to support their efforts and fits in well with our Loudoun Made Loudoun Grown program,” he said.

Supervisors agreed.

“That’s going to be a big deal to our farmers,” Supervisor Tony Buffington

(R-Blue Ridge) said. “It’s going to be re ally great.”

Supervisor Caleb Kershner (R-Catoc tin) said he knows Lovettsville-area resi dents need a local store.

“This is desperately needed. This is going to be an anchor type grocery store,” he said, adding, “Even Middleburg—way out in the middle of nowhere—has this little Safeway.”

“I think it’s going to be a huge hit. I think people will be coming from all parts of Loudoun and beyond to shop here,”

Buffington said.

County Chair Phyllis Randall (DAt Large) recalled meeting with co-op founders, Pam Baldwin and her late hus band Malcolm, several years ago to learn about their plans. She noted that the grant amount was reduced from the original re quest and would provide important seed money to get the venture up and running.

But in addition to the economic im pacts, she said the county grant also sup ports the vision of a prominent conserva tion advocate who died in 2018.

“It feels like this is part of an homage to Malcolm because he was a wonderful human being,” she said. n

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Obituaries

September 27, 2022, at Stau er Funeral Home in Brunswick. Pastor Stephen King o ciated. Burial was held at Mt. Olivet United Methodist Church Cemetery in Lovettsville.

Memorial donations may be made to Blue Ridge Hospice, 333 West Cork Street, Winchester, Virginia 22601 or to Mt. Olivet United Methodist Church, PO Box 66, Lovettsville, Virginia 20180.

Expressions of sympathy may be o ered to the family at Stau erFuneralHome.com.

Food pantries

continued from page 1

educational and volunteer opportunities all month long. Montgomery said September is a great month to bring attention to the issue, but pointed out people are hungry every month.

“The goal is to come together and advocate and find ways to help year-round. People have to eat every day, and making sure people have access to nutritious foods is important every day at every meal,” Montgomery said.

paycheck, add in high gas prices and it puts you over the edge. Inflation is affecting everyone, some more than others, and we are here to help,” said Montgomery.

McKee said during the pandemic the federal government doubled the amount of food sent to banks through the USDA’s Emergency Food Assistance Program or TEFAP. But this year they scaled back to their normal assistance.

Samuel Linden Compher

Samuel Linden Compher, 75, of Lovettsville, Virginia, passed away peacefully on Wednesday, September 21, 2022 at his home in Lovettsville. He fought a courageous and long battle with cancer.

He was born on February 14, 1947, in Lovettsville, to the late Melvin and Dorothy Compher.

Surviving are his wife of 48 years, Pamela Fambrough Compher; daughter, Amy M. Willett (Steve); grandson, Curtis A. Willett of Mount Airy, Maryland; sister, Betty Hale of Lovettsville; and sisterin-law, Melody Grove of Brunswick.

A er graduation from Loudoun Valley High School in 1965, he joined the U.S. Navy, serving on the USS RICH. He was a Vietnam veteran. He and his wife very much enjoyed traveling to the three day Navy reunions for the last 18 years.

Sam worked for the US government at Mt. Weather for many years then transferred and retired from the Federal Aviation Administration in Leesburg.

Sam was constantly building or remodeling something, houses, fences, and furniture. A er his retirement, he enjoyed his woodworking talent building and creating beautiful furniture. He loved attending auctions and could be found at most any auction with his Dad.

Sam and his wife enjoyed traveling, having visited 48 states and many European countries. He enjoyed his boat on the South Carolina lakes and happy just shing, especially with his grandson.

He was a member of the Mt. Olivet United Methodist Church, USS RICH Assoc., Charlestown Moose, VFW, and the Brunswick Legion.

e family received friends from 10 to 11 a.m. on Tuesday, September 27, 2022 at Stau er Funeral Home, 1100 North Maple Avenue in Brunswick, Maryland.

A celebration of Samuel’s life journey took place at 11 a.m. on Tuesday,

Death Notices

, 59 of Leesburg, Virginia, passed away on Wednesday, September 14, 2022. Her family will miss her dearly and will cherish and honor her memory, including her beloved husband, Charles Gordon Bartley; her daughter, Cheryl Lynn Bartley, her son-in-law, Timothy H. Vernon; her son, Brian William Bartley, and one granddaughter, Natalie Grace Vernon.

She is also survived by her mother, Jean Claudia Klabel Harrington; her sisters, and brother, James W. Harrington, Christine Harrington Oster, Linnett H. Benson, and Michelle M. Tucker. Her sister-in-law, Rita Sutton; as well as many other nieces, nephews, cousins, family, and friends who love her.

Memorial services will be held on Monday, October 3rd, 2022 at 2:00 PM at the Loudoun Funeral Chapel, 158 Catoctin Circle, SE, Leesburg, VA 20175.  , 81, of Leesburg, VA passed away on September 18, 2022.

She was preceded in death by her mother Maude Estelle (Lovelace) McClelland. Patricia is survived by her loving husband, Edwin R. White; Children Kathi Rose (Michael), Michael Burgess (Emily Natalio), Kimberly Morick (Brandon), and Amanda Smith (Brandon); one brother Charlie McClelland; two sisters Debbie Kunzle, and Donna Farina; and seven grandchildren, Seth Rose (Virginia), Spencer Rose, Sydney Morick, Aidan Smith, Ashlyn Morick, Peyton Smith, and Dylan Natalio. A celebration of Patricia’s Life for family and close friends will be held at a later date.

Memorial donations may be made to Susan G. Komen for the Cure.

Blue Ridge Area Food Bank CEO Michael McKee agreed. He said getting the word out in September can help keep the awareness going strong through the colder months.

“This time of year, you see a seasonal spike in demand because in the less temperate parts of country the cost of everything goes up, including heating and fuel. The financial demands on those who are financially insecure skyrocket through the winter months,” McKee said.

The Blue Ridge Area Food Bank serves 25 counties on both sides of the Blue Ridge mountains. It is the largest organization working to relieve hunger in western and central Virginia, covering over 12,000 square miles and working with more than 400 community partners like Loudoun Hunger Relief.

According to the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank, the jump in food costs this year is the biggest annual increase since 1979. As food prices continue to rise, more people are turning to the food bank for help. Single mothers represent the largest share of adults using food assistance programs in the region. Single moms are often earning lower wages while dealing with heighted childcare costs and rising food costs.

Both McKee and Montgomery said they have seen first-hand how inflation is affecting families and leading to greater needs at food banks.

Montgomery said before the COVID-19 pandemic, Loudoun Hunger Relief helped about 250 families a week. During the height of the pandemic, that jumped to 1,000 families. She said numbers went down as things started to normalize but went up again last spring as inflation rose. She said they now directly help around 700 families—about 2,800 people—each week. And she said that doesn’t include the food they give to other programs.

“Inflation is a challenge; food prices continue to rise faster than other things. If you were already living paycheck to

“But the problem is the numbers of people seeking food assistance are not back to normal. Food is at a higher cost than last year. Staples are 15-30% more expensive,” McKee said.

He said they have partnerships with grocery stores both locally and on the corporate level which allow their partners like Loudoun Hunger Relief to directly pick up perishable items like breads, produce, and frozen meats from stores to help those in need offset the effects of inflation.

“But again, we are spending more money to buy food,” said McKee.

He said they have a budget of over $2 million to purchase food, but two weeks ago he approved an additional $400,000 to help with costs going into colder weather.

McKee said about half the population they serve are especially vulnerable— children and senior citizens.

He said children need good nutrition because their brains and bodies are developing. He said if they aren’t getting adequate nutrition, they are typically at risk for falling behind in school and potentially continuing the cycle. And senior citizens are likely to encounter various health problems, and good nutrition is key to staying healthy.

He said partnerships between pantries and local growers like the partnership between JK Community Farm and Loudoun Hunger Relief makes a huge impact.

“It takes all of us leaning into this problem. It takes the local farmer, the community member, volunteers, churches. The reality is food is a community wide problem that affects everyone, every age, religion, color, healthy, disabled, working or not working. It affects all and it takes a community to get involved. In Loudoun, we see this happening,” McKee said.

Donations of food, money and time are always accepted at most area food pantries.

If you find yourself needing help, go to loudounfeeds.org to find the nearest place to pick up food. n

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Loudoun’s 10-Year Shakeup

Every 10 years, following the U.S. Census, counties and the state redraw their voting districts to rebalance their populations, necessary to preserve the principle of one person, one vote.

In some counties, that is an easy job because the population hasn’t changed much. But between the 2010 and 2020 Census, Loudoun County led the state with a 35% growth in population, passing Chesterfield County to become the commonwealth’s fourth-largest county.

The next fastest-growing county in Virginia was New Kent County, which grew by 24.5%—far fewer actual new residents in New Kent County, which at 156,927 heads counted has less than half of Loudoun’s reported population of 420,959.

But for Loudoun, that also represents some slowing in growth. The decade of 2010-2020 saw about 34,000 fewer new Loudouners compared to the decade before.

Overall, Virginia’s population grew by 7.9% during the past decade. The national average was 4.7%.

Young, Educated, Diverse, and Expensive

The newest Census data also showed Loudoun is comparatively a young, educated, and expensive county.

Analysis prepared by the Virginia Public Access Project showed that a larger proportion of Loudoun’s population is aged 24 or younger compared to both the region and the state. And despite the famous commutes along Rt. 50 and Rt. 7, more people both live and work in Loudoun compared to others in Northern Virginia and the commonwealth at large. 53.3% of Loudoun workers aged 16 and older have jobs in the county, compared to 48.6% in the region. Statewide, 50.3% of workers work in their county of residence.

Loudoun is highly educated, with 61.6% of Loudouners aged 25 and older holding a bachelor’s or graduate degree, compared to 58.8% in Northern Virginia and 39.6% statewide.

A larger proportion of Loudoun’s population is white compared to Northern Virginia, but Loudoun is

more racially diverse than the state at large.

Median incomes and home values in Loudoun dwarf state averages. Loudoun’s $147,111 household median income is almost double the state median income of $76,398, and the county’s median home value of $534,000 is similarly almost double the statewide median of $282,800.

New Decade, New Districts

Loudoun’s elected officials, from the county board to Congresswoman Jennifer Wexton (D-VA-10), have had their last elections in their current districts.

With all that change on top of delayed Census results, the county and state faced a challenge drawing their new election districts.

at Brambleton to that district. That area is still under development, with hundreds more housing units expected. It is now forecast to be outside the state’s guidelines for balanced populations before it ever sees an election, in November 2023.

Supervisors formally approved the new maps in June; the Attorney General certified those maps in June.

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The county government spent a year working on the new districts, seeking to keep neighborhoods, towns and communities of interest together as much as possible. And with one exception, the new districts will inherit their names frm the current districts they replace—Algonkian, Ashburn, Broad Run, Catoctin, Dulles, Leesburg, and Sterling.

The exception is the new Little River District, which replaces today’s Blue Ridge District. That was also the most out-of-balance district—the Blue Ridge District reaches from Loudoun’s western border to the edge of Dulles Airport and encompasses half the county by acreage, and included more than twice as many people as the previously least populous district, Sterling.

Based on the 2020 census, the population of each adopted district ranges between 50,468 and 54,881 residents. But those populations may soon be out of balance again. The Little River District is forecasted to be Loudoun’s fastest-growing, echoing the problems with today’s Blue Ridge District, and late in their deliberations county supervisors added Birchwood

The state Supreme Court approved new state and congressional districts in December, after the inaugural state redistricting commission failed to submit plans amid partisan gridlock. Two special masters were appointed to draw the new maps, and noted in their final memo they created those maps “naively”—without consideration for protecting incumbents, or artificially maintaining competitiveness or partisan balance.

The growth in Loudoun means the county is likely to have more sway in the General Assembly, with four House of Delegates districts and one state Senate district contained entirely within Loudoun. A fifth House district and second Senate district extend into northern Fauquier County, but in both of those the vast majority of the population lives in Loudoun.

That compares to the old districts, which have only one House District contained in entirely in Loudoun and only three state delegates living in Loudoun, and three state Senate districts picking up pieces of Loudoun and only one state Senator living in the county.

Loudoun also remains in the 10th Congressional District—which is the only thing about the district that didn’t change. Instead of reaching east and west from McLean to Winchester, the district now includes all of Loudoun, Fauquier and Rappahannock counties, along with much of Prince William County, a southwestern portion of Fairfax, and the cities of Manassas and Manassas Park.

Loudoun’s new local election districts.

Loudoun County

Loudoun’s Continuing Evolution

Loudoun County was a Native American crossroads when England’s King Charles II doled out the 5-million-acre Northern Neck of Virginia Proprietary to seven noblemen in 1649. The land stretched from the Potomac to the Rappahannock and, by 1730, was carved into Westmoreland, Stafford and Prince William counties. In 1742, Fairfax County was established.

Fifteen years later, the Virginia House of Burgesses split Fairfax and named the western portion in honor of John Campbell, the fourth earl of Loudoun, a Scottish nobleman who served as commander-in-chief for the British armed forces in North America and as titular governor of Virginia from 1756 to 1759. He never actually set foot in Loudoun County, however.

The Divide

Northern and western Loudoun was settled in the 18th century by Scots-Irish, German and Quaker farming families from Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Maryland. Eastern and southern Loudoun were settled

by residents with English roots who established tobacco plantations.

Thus began the contrasting divide that continues to characterize the county. Loudoun has developed as a suburban community in the east, while retaining a rural atmosphere in the west. In the east, work is winding up to extend Metrorail’s Silver Line to Ashburn (five decades after train service last operated in the county); in the west, some 300 miles of roadways remain unpaved (and for the most part residents want them to stay that way). In the east, data centers carrying 70 percent of the world’s internet traffic have emerged from former cornfields; in the west, wineries and farm breweries stand where dairy farms and orchards once dominated.

Development

Loudoun’s population remained stable even into the 20th century with about 20,000 residents. That changed with an act of Congress—the decision to build Dulles Airport on the county’s eastern border. That action brought public sewer service to the

county and spurred the first wave of suburban development, when Marvin T. Broyhill, Sr. spent $2 million to buy 1,762 acres and built Sterling Park.

Development moved west to the Ashburn area in the 1980s and by the ’90s, Loudoun annually ranked among the fastest growing counties in the nation as more communities were built east of Rt. 15 and in the county’s

seven incorporated towns.

The debate over where and how Loudoun should grow continues.

Following a years-long effort to create a new General Plan to guide growth, the county government is now re-writing the Zoning Ordinance that will implement the new community development vision.

Loudoun Now file photo Construction equipment parked at the site of a new residential development.

The Loudoun Board of Super visors has nine members, all serving four-year terms and all elected for office in the same year. They represent eight election districts, and a chair at-large elected by voters countywide.

The county board spent the first half of its term grappling with a once-a-century pandemic, with many aspects of public meetings and gov ernment work permanently changed by the COVID-19 pandemic. The coun ty administration has made remote work a regular part of its operation, and people seeking to address the Board of Supervisors can now also do that over the phone or internet rather than being physically present.

Supervisors hire two county staff members directly: the County Admin istrator, currently Tim Hemstreet, and the County Attorney, currently Leo Rogers. The county’s staff members and legal team are hired by and serve under them.

Meetings of the Board of Supervi sors are held in the boardroom at the government center at 1 Harrison St. in downtown Leesburg and are open to

2022 Board of Supervisors

the public. The county also televises board meetings on Comcast govern ment channel 23, Verizon FiOS channel 40, and open band channel 40, and livestreams meetings at loudoun.gov/ webcasts.

The board has three standing committees. Board members serve as appointed by the chair on the Finance/ Government Operations and Economic Development Committee, the Trans portation and Land Use Committee, and the Joint Board/School Board Committee.

Supervisors are also paid for their time.

In 2022, the chair is paid $84,376.44, the vice chair is paid $76,326.87, and the seven other super visors are paid $69,525.77. Next year they will get a 2% raise to $86,063.97, $77,853.40 and $70,916.29 respective ly. That will be the last year of raises unless the current board takes action; by state law, they cannot institute au tomatic raises, and any raises they give themselves cannot go into effect until after the next election. Today’s salaries were decided by a vote of the previous board in 2017.

Chair Phyllis J. Randall (D-At Large) phyllis.randall@loudoun.gov

Chair Phyllis J. Randall (D-At Large) began public service with volun teer work in Loudoun County Public Schools. She worked for more than 15 years as a mental health thera pist working with substance abusing offenders in an adult detention center. She was the first Black person elected chair of a county Board of Supervisors in Virginia, and is in her second term as chair.

Randall serves on both the finance and land use board committees, as well as chairing the Northern Virgin ia Transportation Authority and the NVTA’s Governance and Personnel Committee. She also serves on the National Association of Counties Health and Human Resources Commit tee and Economic Mobility Leadership Network, the Virginia Association of Counties Health and Human Resourc es sub-committee, the Washington Metropolitan Council of Governments Board of Directors’ Human Services and Public Safety Policy Committee,

and the Regional Forward Coalition’s DC Statehood sub-committee.

She and her husband T.W. have two sons and live in Lansdowne.

STAFF AIDES:

Matt Rogers matt.rogers@loudoun.gov

Sarah Tuggle sarah.tuggle@loudoun.gov

Laura TeKroney laura.tekroney@loudoun.gov

Vice Chair Koran T. Saines (D-Sterling)

koran.saines@loudoun.gov

Vice Chairman Koran T. Saines (D-Sterling) in his second term was selected to serve as vice chairman of the board. Along with Randall, he was one of the first two Black supervisors elected to the Loudoun County board.

He serves on the board’s finance committee and chairs the Met ropolitan Washington Council of Governments’ Climate Energy and Environment Policy Committee and represents Loudoun on the Northern Virginia Regional Commission and the Northern Virginia Manpower Consor tium Workforce Investment Board.

He currently works as a senior recruiter for the Washington Post. He has previously served as an election officer, including as chief election of ficer in 2014. Saines was born in Fair fax, grew up in Sterling and attended Broad Run High School in Ashburn, and today lives with his wife and son in Sterling.

STAFF AIDES:

Omar Masood

omar.masood@loudoun.gov

Tianni Ivey tianni.ivey@loudoun.gov

Supervisor Juli E. Briskman (D-Algonkian)

juli.briskman@loudoun.gov

Supervisor Juli E. Briskman (D-Al gonkian) began her career as a report er, writing for the Winchester Star and the now-defunct Montgomery Journal in Maryland. She went on to work as a federal contractor and in communi cations.

She serves on the finance commit

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SUPERVISORS

continued from page 6

tee and the Joint Board and School Board Committee. She also rep resents Loudoun on the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments Board of Directors and the Potomac Watershed Roundtable and is one of the county board’s representatives on the Loudoun County Family Services Board and the Dulles Town Center Community Development Authority.

She lives with her two children in the Algonkian District.

STAFF AIDES:

Rey Banks rey.banks@loudoun.gov

Ethan Gardner ethan.gardner@loudoun.gov

Supervisor Michael R. Turner (D-Ashburn)

mike.turner@loudoun.gov

Former U.S. Air Force pilot Super visor Michael R. Turner graduated from the Air Force Academy in 1973 and served on U.S. Central Command during Operation Desert Storm. He was received the Bronze Star Medal, the Defense Superior Service Medal and the Air Medal. His final assign ment was on the Joint Staff in the Pentagon in support of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, where he worked in the Strategic Plans and Poli cy Directorate.

Since retiring from the Air Force in 1997 he has worked mainly in non profit development and as a military commentator on cable news, radio and in Newsweek.

He chairs the board’s Transportation and Land Use Committee and rep resents Loudoun on the Northern Vir ginia Transportation Commission and serves on the county’s Fiscal Impact Committee. He lives in Lansdowne.

STAFF AIDES:

Rachael Mai rachael.mai@loudoun.gov

Joel Gicker joel.gicker@loudoun.gov

Supervisor Tony R. Buffington Jr. (R-Blue Ridge) tony.buffington@loudoun.gov

Supervisor Tony R. Buffington Jr. (R-Blue Ridge), now in his second term, serves on Transportation and Land Use Committee. He previously served

as Loudoun’s representative on the Northern Virginia Regional Commis sion and as the board’s representative on the Coalition of Loudoun Towns. He also led efforts to expand broadband in western Loudoun and to resurrect the county’s Purchase of Development Rights conservation program.

A former U.S. Marine Corps ser geant, Buffington retired after 20 years as Capitol Police officer and now works outside of law enforcement. Buffing ton grew up in Berryville and lives in Purcellville with his wife and their six children.

STAFF AIDES: Robin Bartok robin.w.bartok@loudoun.gov

Christi Maple christi.maple@loudoun.gov

Supervisor Sylvia R. Glass (D-Broad Run)

sylvia.glass@loudoun.gov

Supervisor Sylvia R. Glass (D-Broad Run) is an elementary special edu cation teacher’s assistant with Virtual Loudoun, having worked previously as a special education teacher and cafeteria monitor in Loudoun County Public Schools.

She co-chairs the Joint Board and School Board Committee and serves on the Transportation and Land Use Committee. She represents Loudoun on the Metropolitan Washington Coun cil of Governments’ Air Quality Com mittee, the Northern Virginia Transpor tation Authority Planning Coordination Advisory Committee and the Route 28 Transportation Improvement District Commission and represents the board on the county Disability Services Board.

She is also a member of the Loudoun NAACP Education Commit tee, active with the school system’s Minority Student Achievement Advi sory Committee, and a member of the Loudoun Education Association.

She and her husband live in Ash burn Village where they raised their four sons.

STAFF AIDES: Michelle McIntyre michelle.mcintyre@loudoun.gov

Kent Erwin kent.erwin@loudoun.gov

Abigail Rivas abigail.rivas@loudoun.gov

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SUPERVISORS

from page

Supervisor Caleb A. Kershner (R-Catoctin)

caleb.kershner@loudoun.gov

Simms Showers LLP partner and attorney Supervisor Caleb E. Kersh ner is a native of Frederick, MD, and moved to Loudoun in 1995, working as director of federal relations at the Home School Legal Defense Associ ation in Purcellville. He served as an aassistant commonwealth’s attorney in Loudoun under then-Common wealth’s Attorney Jim Plowman from 2005 to 2009.

He serves on the board’s finance committee and county’s Econom ic Development Committee. He represents Loudoun on the Northern Virginia Regional Commission, the Loudoun County Agricultural District Advisory Committee, the Coalition of Loudoun Towns and the Annexation Area Development Policy Commit tee. He is also an officer on the board of directors for the Loudoun County Fair and Associates.

He lives in Hamilton with his wife and their four children.

STAFF AIDES: Stacy Carey stacy.carey@loudoun.gov

Jonathan Bales

jonathan.bales@loudoun.gov

Arlee Harris

arlee.harris@loudoun.gov

Supervisor Matthew F. Letourneau (R-Dulles)

matt.letourneau@loudoun.gov

Supervisor Matthew F. Letourneau (R-Dulles) is in his third term, making him the longest-serving supervisor currently on the county board.

He is one of Virginia’s two Prin cipal Directors of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, or Metro, where he chairs the board’s Finance and Capital Committee, and represents Loudoun on the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission. He is the first Loudoun supervisor to serve on either the Metro board or as an officer at the NVTC.

He also serves on the National

Capital Region Transportation Plan ning Board and the Route 28 Trans portation Improvement District Com mission. He is Managing Director of Communications and Media for the Global Energy Institute at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and coaches for Loudoun South Little League and for South Loudoun Basketball. He lives with his wife and four children in Little River Commons in Chantilly.

He serves on the finance com mittee, which he chaired since its reorganization in 2015 until last year, and from 2011 chaired the economic development committee that was absorbed into the finance committee.

STAFF AIDES: Tom Parker tom.parker@loudoun.gov

Jared Midwood jared.midwood@loudoun.gov

Supervisor Kristen C. Umstattd (D-Leesburg)

kristen.umstattd@loudoun.gov

Supervisor Kristen C. Umstattd (D-Leesburg), now in her second term, chairs the board’s finance com mittee and serves on the Joint Board

and School Board Committee.

She is also one of the board’s representatives on the Annexation Area Development Policy Committee and the Family Services Board. She represents Loudoun on the North ern Virginia Regional Commission, the National Capital Region Trans portation Planning Board and the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments’ Chesapeake Bay and Water Resources Policy Committee.

A longtime elected official, she previously served on the Leesburg Town Council from 1992 to 2016, and as Mayor from 2002 to 2016 when she joined the Board of Supervisors.

She led a long career in the U.S. Naval Reserve and later the CIA working in intelligence around the Soviet navy. Since 1987 she and her husband have lived in Leesburg where they have a law practice, and their daughter currently attends Yale University.

STAFF AIDES:

Valerie Suzdak valerie.suzdak@loudoun.gov

Laura Tekrony laura.tekrony@loudoun.gov

Loudoun’s Constitutional Offices

In addition to the nine-member Board of Supervisors and School Board, there are five elected constitutional officers who also have a big impact on the county’s quality of life.

They are elected by voters countywide and serve somewhat independently of the general county government, although their office staffing, expenditures and revenues are included in the general county budget. Each officer serves a four-year term, except for the Clerk of the Circuit Court, who serves an eightyear term.

Clerk of the Circuit Court

Gary Clemens was first elected as the Clerk of the Circuit Court in 2000 as the first Republican to hold the office. He is in his third eight-year term. The clerk serves as the recorder of deeds and probate judge, issues marriage licenses and is the official court administrator for all civil and criminal court cases. The clerk’s office creates and maintains all court files and records, prepares court orders and jury lists, contacts jurors and issues summons and court processes.

Commissioner of the Revenue

Robert Wertz has worked for the county government for 30 years, including as the elected Commissioner of the Revenue since 2003. The Republican took over following the retirement of Kitty Ashby, a Democrat, who held the post from 1985 to 2003. The commissioner of the revenue is the chief tax assessing officer in the county, responsible for assessing real estate, individual and business tangible personal property, machinery and tools, business licenses, short-term rental, transient occupancy, public service corporation, and bank franchise taxes. The commissioner also provides state income tax assistance and administers the tax relief program for the elderly and disabled.

Commonwealth’s Attorney

Buta Biberaj, a Democrat, won election to serve as Loudoun’s Commonwealth’s Attorney in 2019. Her office represents the people of Virginia in prosecuting criminal cases, ranging from the most serious felonies, including murder, rape, and robbery to misdemeanors and violations of local ordinances, including traffic offenses.

Welcome to Oatlands

Grounds & Trails

Oatlands is a 400 acre, 200-year-old former plantation, with 20 historic structures, a 4.5-acre formal garden, incredible grounds, and 8 miles of equestrian and hiking trails that traverse through the woods and open landscape. We encourage you to take your time – bring a picnic! Dogs are allowed on Oatlands’ property with the exception of the formal garden.

Gardens

Carved from the earth at the dawn of the 19th century, the terraced gardens are one of a kind. From wisteria draped stone walls, to the serenity of the reflecting pond, as you traverse the 4.5 acres, you discover that each space is unique with special features to capture in photos, and to impress guests.

Sheriff

Sheriff Mike Chapman is a Republican serving his third term as county sheriff. The office provides all law enforcement services, including investigating crimes, pursuing offenders and making arrests. The sheriff also maintains the local jail, manages other local corrections programs and transports criminal defendants to and from corrections facilities. The office provides courthouse security, serves legal papers, summons jurors and witnesses, and executes court judgments.

Treasurer

H. Roger Zurn, a Republican, is the county’s longest serving constitutional officer—and its longest serving elected official. He was first elected treasurer in 1996 after representing the Sterling District on the Board of Supervisors starting in 1990. The treasurer is the chief financial officer for the county, collecting taxes and local fees and making payments on behalf of the local government. The office is responsible for all forms of revenue that come to the locality including taxes, permit fees and fines. The treasurer also manages the investment of local funds and maintains records of local finances.

Venues

With manicured gardens, ample parking, and lots of acreage, Oatlands Historic House and Gardens can accommodate weddings, corporate events, galas, company picnics, celebrations, and festivals.

Our renovated Carriage House is now the center for many private celebrations and events, ideal for up to 80 guests. The Greenhouse is believed to be the second oldest standing greenhouse in the U.S, and is a cozy location for events with up to 60 guests. The Tent Pavillion is our large outdoor event space with a concrete foundation that can host up to 300 guests.

Stay at Oatlands

Make your trip extra special and stay at Oatlands! The beautiful and historic Inn at Oatlands Hamlet, the charming Stone Cottage, and the pet-friendly Gap House, are an ideal location for your next weekend getaway.

A history we share and a future we create. We are working together to tell the full story of Oatlands’ history, with the intent of using that information and learning from each other to build a better future.

Caleb M. Schutz, CEO, Oatlands Historic House and Gardens

VISIT OATLANDS.ORG 20850 Oatlands Plantation Lane, Leesburg, VA 20175

The nine-member elect ed School Board directs a $2.02 billion total budget and oversees Loudoun’s 98 schools that educate 81,992 students and employ over 25,000 full-time and part-time staff.

Board members earn a salary of $20,000 per year, and the chairperson earns $22,000 per year.

The board conducts business meetings on the second and fourth Tuesday, at the district’s administra tion office 21000 Education Court in Ashburn.

Board members serve four-year terms, which will end Dec. 31, 2023. The board has 11 committees that collaborate with school division staff and members of the community to guide policy. School Board races are non-partisan, though some run under a particular party.

School Board meetings can be ac cessed through LCPS-TV on Comcast channel 18 and Verizon FIOS channel 43. To watch the livestream of the meeting go to https://www.lcps.org/ webcast. School Board meetings are rebroadcast on Thursdays at 10:00 a.m.

The board also hires the superin tendent. On June 8, 2021, the School Board appointed Scott A. Ziegler to that position. He had served in the post since January, following the res ignation of Eric Williams who left to take a position in Texas. Ziegler joined the division in 2019, when he was hired as the Assistant Superintendent for Human Resources and Talent De velopment. He previously served as a special education and social stud ies teacher with Portsmouth Public Schools and Virginia Beach City Public Schools. Later he became an assistant principal then an employee relations specialist. He has Doctor of Education degree in Educational Leadership from Northwest Nazarene University, a master’s degree in secondary educa tion and a bachelor’s degree in history from Eastern Nazarene College. He also has a Certificate of Advanced Graduate Study in Education Leader ship from Cambridge College.

Brenda Sheridan

Sterling District Residence: Sterling Phone: (571) 233-0307

Brenda.Sheridan@LCPS.org

Brenda Sheridan is the second-lon gest tenured board member and is

Loudoun County School Board

serving her third term. She was chair in 2021 and vice chair for four years prior.

The upstate New York native has lived in Sterling for over two decades and works for Perspecta as a security analyst. She worked as a substitute teacher from 2004-2011. She was appointed to her seat, and then went on to be elected to office. She and her husband, Keith, have two children who are alumni of Park View High School.

She chairs both the Equity Com mittee and the Specialized Programs & Centers Committee. She is also a member of the Finance & Operations Committee and is the Liaison to the Minority Student Achievement Advi sory Committee.

Atoosa Reaser

Algonkian District Residence: Cascades Phone: 571-291-5325

Atoosa.Reaser@lcps.org

Atoosa Reaser is serving in her first term on the board and has lived in Loudoun for nearly 20 years with her husband and son. She is a former teacher and is a practicing attorney. Previously, she served as an executive board member for the school divi sion’s Minority Student Achievement Advisory Committee. She has also served as a substitute teacher and PTA leader.

She chairs the Legislative & Policy Committee and serves on the Curric ulum & Instruction Committee and the Joint Committee with the Board of Supervisors. She also serves as the liaison to the Virginia School Boards Association.

Tom Marshall

Leesburg District Residence: Leesburg Phone:571-252-2411

Tom.marshall@lcps.org

Tom Marshall was appointed in December 2021 after former School Board member Beth Barts resigned. This is his third term on the board. He previously served for eight years. He will represent the Leesburg District through Dec. 31, 2022. He was em ployed as a teacher, counselor and Di rector of Student services for 30 years in Fairfax County Public Schools. He has a bachelor’s degree in Europe

an History from Randolph-Macon College and a master’s degree from the University of Virginia in Counsel ing Education and a master’s degree in Communication from American University.

He lives with his wife Barbi in Leesburg. Their daughter Amy is a Loudoun County High School alumni, their son Cory is a Tuscarora alumni.

He chairs the Discipline Committee and serves on the Communications & Outreach Committee, the Finance & Operations Committee and the Equi ty Committee. He also serves as the liaison to the School Health Advisory Board.

He announced his withdrawal from the Leesburg District School Board race on Aug.15. There are three people running for his seat, Michael Rivera, Erika Ogedegbe and Lauren Shernoff.

John Beatty

Catoctin District Residence: Lovettsville Phone: 571-440-1410

John.beatty@lcps.org

John Beatty is serving his first term on the board.

He was born in Portsmouth and grew up in the Washington, DC metropolitan area. He has a degree in computer science from Virginia Tech and has worked at several startups in Northern Virginia, focusing on iOS, Android, and Ruby on Rails software development. He works as the IT director at a private school where he also teaches Python and Java to high school students. He lives on a farm between Lovettsville and Waterford with his wife, Katie, and their five children.

Beatty chairs the Technology Steer ing Committee and serves on the Communications & Outreach Com mittee. He also serves as the liaison to the School Business Partnership Executive Council.

Denise Corbo

At Large Residence: The Preserve at Goose Creek

Phone: 571-246-3766 denise.corbo@lcps.org

Denise Corbo is serving her first term on the board. She has lived in Loudoun County for the past 34

years. After receiving a degree in business psychology and a master’s in education from Marymount Uni versity, she taught kindergarten and first grade, and served as a technol ogy resource teacher. She holds a National Board Teacher Certification, in addition to a gifted and talent ed and provisional administration endorsement through the University of Virginia. In addition to 33 years of teaching experience, she is president and founder of StoryBook Treasures, a literacy nonprofit.

Corbo chair’s the Human Resourc es & Talent Development Committee and serves on the Joint Committee with the Board of Supervisors, the Student Services Committee and the Technology Steering Committee. She also serves as the liaison to the Head Start Policy Council.

Harris Mahedavi

Ashburn District Residence: Belmont Greene Phone: 571-420-9312

E-mail: harris.mahedavi@lcps.org

Harris Mahedavi is serving his first term on the board. He holds a degree in computer science from Drexel University and is the president of Harris Grant Consulting. He has served as a Loudoun Soccer coach, a Cub Scout and Boy Scout leader, and as a member of the Loudoun County Family Services Advisory Board. He and his wife, Sadia, have two schoolaged children.

Mahedavi chairs the Communi cations & Outreach Committee and serves on the Curriculum & Instruction Committee and Discipline Commit tee. He also serves as the liaison to the Career & Technical Education Advisory Committee.

Jeff Morse, Chairman

Dulles District Residence: South Riding Phone: 571-420-2243

Email: jeff.morse@lcps.org

Jeff Morse, the longest-tenured School Board member, was first elected in 2011 and is serving his third term. He served as School Board chairman for the three years. He grew up in Vienna and attended Virginia Tech where he graduated with a bachelor’s in science in busi ness management. He also earned a

master’s of science in business finance from the University of Maryland. He served on active duty in the U.S. Navy for 20 years, retiring as a commander in 2006. He works for Booz Allen Hamilton, managing and procuring technology and services for the federal government. He has a bachelor’s in science in business management. He serves as a lector for Corpus Christi Catholic Church and is a past president of South Riding Home Owners Association. He and his wife, Karen, have three children.

Morse chairs the Finance & Operations Committee and co-chairs the Joint Committee with the Board of Supervisors. He serves on the Human Resources & Talent Development Committee and the Specializes Programs & Centers Committee. He also serves as the lisiaon the the Loudoun Education Foundation and the Washington Area Boards of Education.

Ian Serotkin, Vice Chairman

Blue Ridge District Residence: Purcellville

Phone: 571-420-1628

E-mail: ian.serotkin@LCPS.org

Ian Serotkin is serving his first term on the board. He grew up in New York. He holds a degree in computer science from the University of Illinois and a master’s degree in information systems and technology from Johns Hopkins University. He works as the senior IT director for PDRI, a private government contractor based in Chantilly. He was a leader in the More Recess for Virginians statewide advocacy group, and served for two years on the Aldie Heritage Association Board of Directors. He has volunteered as an Odyssey of the Mind coach, judge, and school coordinator since 2014. He and his wife, Caitlin, have two school-aged children.

Serotkin chairs the board’s Curriculum & Instruction Committee and serves on the Specialized Programs & Centers Committee, the Legislative Policy Committee and the Equity Committee. He also serves as the liaison to the Gifted Advisory Committee.

Andrew Hoyler

Broad Run District Residence: Broadlands Phone: 571-410-9780 Andrew.hoyler@lcps.org

Andrew Hoyler was appointed to the board in Oct. 2021 to fill the vacant seat after member Leslee King died on Aug. 31 2021. A special election will be held November 8, 2022 to elect a candidate to fill the end of the term.

Hoyler has been a lifelong resident of Northern Virginia and graduated

from Briar Woods High School. He is a commercial airline pilot and has a degree in professional flight and a minor in organizational leadership and supervision from Purdue University. He taught at Purdue for one year after he graduated. He is active in his community and volunteers with the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Auxiliary Unit as a Field Training Officer. He has also been a substitute teacher and football coach.

Hoyler chairs the Student Services Committee and serves on the Discipline Committee, the Legislative Policy Committee and the Technology Steering Committee. He also serves as the liaison to the Special Education Advisory Committee.

He is currently running for re-election for his seat. His opponents are Nick Gotthard and Tiffany Polifko.

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The Town of Leesburg operates under the council-manager form of government, which divides responsibilities between an elected mayor and Town Council and an appointed town manager. The council determines town policy, adopts all ordinances and resolutions, sets the annual tax rates and adopts an annual budget based on a staff-prepared draft. The town manager is responsible for the dayto-day management of town affairs, implementing the Town Council’s policies, and hiring a staff to assist in that work.

Town Council

The Leesburg Town Council has seven members. The mayor serves a two-year term, while all other council members are elected for four-year terms. Council members are paid an annual stipend of $15,912. The mayor is paid $16,524 per year.

Council member terms are staggered, with three seats filled each election cycle. Elections occur in November of even-numbered years. This year, the seats held by Mayor Kelly

The Town of Leesburg

Burk, Vice Mayor Marty Martinez, and council members Suzanne Fox, and Neil Stenberg are on the Nov. 8 ballot.

Kelly Burk, Mayor Email: kburk@leesburgva.gov

Kelly Burk is serving her third term as Leesburg mayor.

Burk was first elected to the Town Council in 2004 and, three years later, she was elected as the Leesburg District representative to the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors. She served on the county board from 2008 to 2011. She re-joined the Town Council following an April 2012 special election, and was re-elected to a new four-year term in 2014. She was elected to her first mayoral term in November 2016.

Burk represents the town on the Loudoun County Economic Development Commission, the Northern Virginia Regional Commission, the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority Advisory Committee, and Virginia Municipal League’s Executive Board.

A Leesburg resident since 1979,

Burk was a special education teacher with Loudoun County Public Schools until her retirement in 2014. She holds a bachelor’s degree in education from George Washington University and a master’s degree in middle school curriculum and instruction from Virginia Tech. She is a past president of the Loudoun Education Association and served on the board of directors of the Virginia Education Association from 1994 to 2000. In 2001, the Loudoun Commission on Women honored her as the Woman of the Year for Education and Training. She and her husband, Larry, have two adult sons and two grandchildren.

She is running for re-election and is challenged by Council member Suzanne Fox.

Fernando “Marty” Martinez, Vice Mayor

Email: mmartinez@leesburgva.gov

Marty Martinez was elected to his first term on Town Council in 2002 and is serving in his fifth, four-year term. He was appointed to a two-year term as vice mayor by his council peers in 2019, and previously served in the same post from July 2004 to June 2006. He is the longest-serving member on the council.

Martinez represents the council on VML’s General Laws and Transportation committees. Before his election to council, he served on the Loudoun County Parks and Recreation Commission, as well as the Loudoun County Community Services Advisory Board. Originally from California, Martinez is a Vietnam-era U.S. Air Force veteran. He earned his bachelor’s degrees in economics and computer science from Portland State University.

Martinez has worked as a consultant for the Federal Aviation Administration. He founded Heritage High School Project Grad and helped to co-found the Boys and Girls Club of Loudoun County and La Voz, a Hispanic advocacy group. He has served as the vice chairman on the board of directors for the Paxton Campus, which is a full-service organization for children with special needs. He has also been appointed by the governor to serve on the Aerospace Advisory Council. He has lived in Leesburg with his wife, Doris, and children since 1993. Martinez has five children, eight grandchildren, and two great-grandsons.

After 20 years on the council, Martinez is not seeking reelection, but

is running for the 29th District seat in the House of Delegates.

Ara Bagdasarian

Email: abagdasarian@leesburgva.com

Ara Bagdasarian was elected to his first term starting in 2021.

He serves as the council liaison to the Economic Development Commission with Mayor Kelly Burk; the Commission on Public Art; and the Standing Residential Traffic Committee. He also represents the town on VML’s Community & Economic Development and Human Development & Education committees.

Prior to being elected to Town Council, Bagdasarian served on the Leesburg Economic Development Commission from 2004 to 2012 and was the chair of the commission for six years.

Bagdasarian is an entrepreneur, author, and advocate for entrepreneurship education and school safety. He founded Omnilert, which pioneered the world’s first campus emergency notification system in 2004. He also founded RainedOut, the most widely used communication platform for sports organizations and Parks and Recreation departments. As a community leader, he has served as president of the The Arc of Loudoun Board of Directors, president of the Loudoun Symphony Orchestra, vice chairman of The United Way Loudoun Regional Council, and board member at Loudoun Literacy Council. He recently founded BENEFIT as an organization of musicians who perform to raise funds for children in need. Bagdasarian is a member at St. James Episcopal Church and has lived in Leesburg since 2000 with his wife Patti and children Adrik and Ava.

Zach Cummings

Email: zcummings@leesburgva.gov

Zach Cummings was elected to his first term starting in 2021.

Cummings serves as the council liaison to the Board of Architectural Review and the Thomas Balch Library Advisory Commission. He represents Leesburg on VML’s Finance Committee.

A residential Realtor by profession, Cummings is also with his son’s elementary school PTA, the Friends of Leesburg Public Arts, and was a member of the committee that raised funds to erect the Stanley Caulkins Memorial in downtown Leesburg.  Cummings lives with his wife, Jea-

nette, their son, Jackson, in south west Leesburg.

Suzanne Fox

Email: sfox@leesburgva.gov

Suzanne Fox was first elected to the Town Council in 2014, and served as vice mayor from 2016 to 2018. She is the council’s representative on the county’s Court House Grounds and Facilities Committee.

Fox is the owner of Legacy Wed dings, a wedding planning/coordi nating business, and has performed thousands of local wedding cere monies as a Civil Celebrant for the Commonwealth of Virginia.

She holds a bachelor’s degree in social work from Brigham Young University. Fox and her family moved to Leesburg in 2003.

Her council term expires Dec. 31. She is not seeking reelection, but is running for mayor, challenging incum bent Kelly Burk.

Kari Nacy

Kari Nacy was elected to her first term starting in 2021.

She serves as the council liaison to the Planning Commission and the Tree Commission.

Prior to being elected to Town

Council, Nacy served on the Environ mental Advisory Commission from 2018 to 2019 and on the Planning Commission from 2019 to 2020.

Nacy is a native of Leesburg, and lives with her husband Matt, and daughter Savannah in the same neighborhood where she grew up in. Nacy works as director of Defense Intelligence Programs for EverWatch Corporation in Reston. She and her husband also own a small watersports business on Chincoteague Island.

Nacy holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from Radford Uni versity, and a MBA from Shenandoah University.

Neil Steinberg

Email: nsteinberg@leesburgva.gov

Neil Steinberg was elected to his first Town Council term in Novem ber 2018. He represents the town on VML’s Environmental Quality Com mittee, and he serves as the council liaison to the Airport Commission and Technology & Communications Commission.

A Fairfax County native, Stein berg attended Virginia Tech where he served one year in the Corps of Cadets Army ROTC and studied engineering, political science and

theater. Steinberg and his wife, KD Kidder, moved to Loudoun County in 1975, and began their business, Photoworks, a photography, imag ing services, and framing business, in 1979. They have operated it ever since at the same location on the corner of Loudoun and King Streets in downtown Leesburg. Neil and KD moved to Leesburg in 2008.

Steinberg has studied martial arts since the early 1980s and holds black belts in three disciplines, including a Master level (5th degree) in tae kwondo. He has been an instructor for Grand Master Eunggil Choi at United States Taekwondo Martial Arts Academy in Leesburg for more than 25 years. Over the years he has been involved in a variety of downtown business organizations, serving as president for what was the Leesburg Downtown Business Association. He is currently a member of the local branch of the NAACP. He also de votes a considerable amount of his time to the Edwin Washington Project in its effort to preserve and present the history of education for Black res idents, past and present, of Loudoun County.

Steinberg’s term expires Dec. 31. He is seeking reelection.

Town Staff

Town Manager: Kaj Dentler

Deputy Town Manager: Keith Markel

Town Attorney: Christopher Spera

Police Chief: Gregory Brown

Public Information Officer: Kara Rodriguez

Leesburg Executive Airport Manager: Scott Coffman

Director of Public Works and Capi tal Projects: Renee LaFollette

Director of Economic Development: Russell Seymour

Director of Finance & Administrative Services: Clark Case

Director of Human Resources: Joshua Didawick

Director of Parks & Recreation: Rich Williams

Director of Plan Review: Bill Ackman

Director of Planning and Zoning: James David

Director of Thomas Balch Library: Alexandra Gressitt

Director of Utilities: Amy Wyks

Loudoun County has seven incorporated towns. While Leesburg is the largest town in the commonwealth, western Loudoun’s six municipalities operate on a smaller scale. They chiefly pro vide water and sewer service, but also offer parks, trash service and in two cases police departments.

HAMILTON

Growing from a colonial settle ment known as Harmony, Hamilton was formally incorporated in 1874. Its location along the W&OD Railroad contributed to its growth as a central business hub and tourist destination and by the turn of the 20th century it was Loudoun’s second largest town with 400 residents. The town’s for tunes changed with the advent of the automobile, which slowed tourism, and then a 1926 fire that destroyed much of the downtown commercial district.

Today, the town is primarily a residential community. Primary issues coming before the Town Council typically focus on services such as the utility system, parks, community facil

Loudoun’s Western Towns

ities such as sidewalks, and concerns about speeding on the town’s main street, Colonial Highway.

Population: 641

Households: 269

Median Age: 43

Approximate Size: 0.25 square miles

Mayor: Kenneth C. Wine

Council: Vice Mayor Rebecca Jones, Elizabeth Gaucher, Craig Green, Cathy Salter, Greg Wilmoth

Council Meetings: 7 p.m. second or third Monday of each month at the Town Office, 53 E. Colonial Hwy.

Stipend: Mayor, $15,000 per annum, Councilmembers, $1,200 each per annum

Town Manager: None

On Nov. 8, the mayor’s seat and the council seats held by Jones, Green and Salter will be on the ballot. Wine, who was appointed to the may or’s seat after the retirement of David Simpson, is running for a full mayoral term along with Vaughn W. Standford and Brian J. Daskalovitz. Jones, Salter, and Green are seeking reelection. Elena M. Boras and Amy Barden also

are running for council. In the council race, the top three vote-getters will win seats.

Find more information at hamiltonva.gov.

HILLSBORO

Originally settled by German farm ers and Quakers migrating south from Pennsylvania, the community was known as The Gap. The official name changed to Hillsborough when a post office was established there in 1802 and it was formally incorporated by the General Assembly. By 1880, the name was changed again, to present day Hillsboro.

The town grew to economic prom inence through its mills and location on the important Vestal’s Gap Road. However, the arrival of the railroad, which provided a boost to other west ern Loudoun communities, resulted in the town’s economic decline. By the dawn of the 20th century, Hillsboro was primarily a residential community.

Recent years have been transfor mational for the town, as the Town Council worked to address two

longstanding concerns—providing safe drinking water and slowing the commuter traffic that rumble through town on Rt. 9. Following a major annexation to extend the town boundaries in 2016, the town this year completed projects that brought new water lines, sidewalks, traffic calming features and even broadband conduits to town.

Population: 114 Households: 54

Median Age: 59

Approximate Size: 0.27 square miles

Mayor: Roger Vance

Council: Vice Mayor Claudia Forbes, Lisa Franke, Paul Hrebenak, Stephen Moskal, Laney Oxman

Council Meetings: 7 p.m. third Tues day of each month at the Old Stone School, 37098 Charles Town Pike

Stipend: None

Town Manager: None

On Nov. 8, town voters will elect a mayor and five council members. Per tradition in the town, the selections will be made through write-in ballots.

Find out more at hillsborova.gov.

LOVETTSVILLE

The Town of Lovettsville, also known as The German Settlement and Virginia’s northernmost town, is famous for its German roots dating back to the early 1730s. The town began to take shape in 1820, when David Lovett laid out his property in quarter-acre lots, giving rise to the development of Newtown. In 1928, the town was renamed to Lovettsville, which was established as a town in 1836 and formally incorporated in 1876.

Lovettsville is the county’s fast est-growing town, adding more than 1,000 residents between 2010 and 2020. Since 2000, Lovettsville has grown from 853 to 2,694 residents. A new community park and community center opened this year, and the town is growing, with a pending annexation of land on its southern border.

Population: 2,694 Households: 702

Median Age: 32

Approximate Size: 0.84 square miles

Mayor: Nate Fontaine

Council: Vice Mayor Chris Hornbaker, David Earl, Renee Edmonston, Joy Pritz, Buchanan Smith, Tony Quintana

Council Meetings: 7:30 p.m. second and third/fourth Thursdays of the month at the Town Office, 6 E. Penn sylvania Ave.

Stipend: Mayor, $2,000 per quarter; Councilmembers, $500 per quarter

Town Manager: Jason L. Cournoyer

On Nov. 8, town voters will elect a new mayor and fill three council seats. Fontaine is not seeking reelection and Hornberger, whose council term ex pires Dec. 31, is running unopposed to replace him. The terms of Edmonston and Quintana also expire at year’s end. They are not seeking reelection. On the ballot for three available council seats are Robert M. Merhaut, Brandon A. Davis and Jennifer K. Reed.

Find more information at lovettsvilleva.gov.

MIDDLEBURG

The Town of Middleburg is Loudoun’s southernmost town and is situated in the middle of wine and horse country. The town was estab lished in 1787 by Leven Powell. The town grew to prominence because of its mills and the development of the flour trade. While the economy was devastated following the Civil War, the town gained new prominence in the early 1900s as a destination for fox hunting and steeplechasing.

Still known as the capital of Hunt Country, the town remains a tourist destination, anchored by its large and eclectic retail offerings and lodging amenities at the Red Fox Inn and Sala mander Resort & Spa.

Population: 669

Households: 295

Median Age: 51

Approximate Size: 1.04 square miles

Mayor: Bridge Littleton

Council: Vice Mayor Peter LeonardMorgan, Philip Miller, Chris Bernard, J. Daly, Morris “Bud” Jacobs, Darlene Kirk, Cindy C. Pearson

Council Meetings: 6 p.m. second and fourth Thursdays of each month at the Town Office, 10 W. Marshall St.

Stipend: Mayor, $500 per month; Councilmembers $200 each per month

Town Manager: Danny Davis

Middleburg holds its elections on odd numbered years.

Find more information at middleburgva.gov.

PURCELLVILLE

The Town of Purcellville is western Loudoun’s largest town and home to a diverse culture of residents and businesses. The town’s earliest settle ment is credited to James Dillon in the 1760s. By the turn of the century, the village was known as Purcell’s Store. The name changed to Purcellville in 1852, although formal incorporation did not happen until 1908.

The town grew as a hub of the agri cultural community, at first because of its location along the Great Road that connected Alexandria and Winchester and then the arrival of rail service in 1874. Although impacted by devas tating fires in the early 20th century and the discontinuation of the railroad in 1968, the town continues to serve as the commercial hub of western Loudoun County.

Population: 8,929

Households: 3,034

Median Age: 35.5

Approximate Size: 3.42 square miles

Mayor: Kwasi Fraser

Council: Vice Mayor Christopher Bertaut, Mary Jane Williams, Joel Grewe, Stanley Milan, Erin Rayner, Tip Stinnette.

Council Meetings: 7 p.m. second and fourth Tuesdays of the month at the Town Hall, 221 S. Nursery Ave.

WESTERN TOWNS continues on page 18

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Tony Nerantzis Managing Principal & Financial Advisor

The Forbes ranking of Best-In-State Wealth Advisors, developed by SHOOK Research, is based on an algorithm of qualitative criteria, mostly gained through telephone and in-person due diligence interviews, and quantitative data. Those advisors that are considered have a minimum of seven years’ experience, and the algorithm weights factors like revenue trends, assets under management, compliance records, industry experience and those that encompass best practices in their practices and approach to working with clients. Out of approximately 32,725 nominations received, based on thresholds, more than 5,000 advisors received the award. Portfolio performance is not a criteria due to varying client objectives and lack of audited data. Neither Forbes nor SHOOK receives a fee in exchange for rankings. This ranking is not indicative of advisor’s future performance, is not an endorsement, and may not be representative of individual clients’ experience. Neither Raymond James nor any of its Financial Advisors or RIA rms pay a fee in exchange for this award/rating. Raymond James is not af liated with Forbes or Shook Research, LLC. For more information, visit: https://www.forbes.com/best-in-state-wealth-advisors/.

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WESTERN TOWNS

continued from page 17

Stipend: Mayor, $7,025 per annum; Councilmembers, $6,050 each per annum

Town Manager: David Mekarski

On Nov. 8, town votes will select a mayor and fill three council seats. Fraser is not seeking reelection. Grewe, whose council term expires Dec. 31, and Milan are running for mayor. Stin nette and Rayner are seeking re-elec tion to the council. Also on the council ballot are Caleb J. Stought, Ronald B. Rise Jr., Carol Luke, and Mary F. “Boo” Bennett. The top three voter-getters will be elected to four-year terms.

Find more information at purcellvilleva.gov.

ROUND HILL

Round Hill grew to prominence as a resort destination for residents escaping the unbearable Washington, DC, summer weather. Railroad service arrived in 1874 and the town was formally incorporated in 1900 with 319 residents.

A residential community today, the

town is surrounded by larger housing subdivisions that are provided town utility service but are outside the town boundaries. That may change in com ing years as the Town Council explores options for incremental annexations to bring those residents into town. One annexation to expand the western boundary to the Hill High Orchard complex is pending court approval.

Population: 693 Households: 251

Median Age: 42

Approximate Size: 0.37 square miles

Mayor: Scott Ramsey

Council: Vice Mayor Mary Anne Graham, Jesse Howe, Paula James, Michael Hummel, Sean Lloyd and Isaac Pacheco.

Council Meetings: 7:30 p.m. third Wednesday of each month (work ses sions on the first Wednesday of each month) at the Town Office, 23 Main St. Stipend: None

Town Administrator: Melissa Hynes

On Nov. 8, town voters will select someone to fill a vacant council seat. Pacheco, who was appointed to fill the vacancy until the election, is the only name on the ballot.

Find out more at roundhillva.org.

LoudounNow

WINNER LOUDOUN’S FAVORITE

Your State and Federal Representatives

Loudoun residents are represent ed at the state level in the House of Delegates and state Senate, and federally in Congress. Below find the contact information for your state and federal representatives. If you are not sure which voting district you fall into, go to loudoun.gov/voting, click on Voting followed by Find Your Polling Place.

U.S. CONGRESS

House of Representatives – 10th District

Rep. Jennifer T. Wexton (D)

Serving since January 2019 Wexton’s Loudoun-based office is in Sterling at 21351 Gentry Dr., Suite 140.

Sterling office phone: 703-234-3800 Wexton.house.gov

SENATE

Sen. Tim Kaine (D)

Serving since January 2013 Kaine’s closest office is in Manassas at 9408 Grant Ave., Suite 202.

Manassas office phone: 703-361-3192 Kaine.senate.gov

Sen. Mark Warner (D)

Serving since January 2009 Warner’s closest office is in Vienna at 8000 Towers Crescent Dr. Suite 200. Vienna office phone: 703-442-0670 Warner.senate.gov

VIRGINIA GENERAL ASSEMBLY

House of Delegates

10th District

Del. Wendy Gooditis (D)

Serving since January 2018

P.O. Box 180, Boyce, VA 22620 540-300-3857 wendygooditis.com

32nd District

Del. David Reid (D)

Serving since January 2018

P.O. Box 4132, Ashburn, VA 20148 703-662-1395 delegatedavidreid.com

33rd District

Del. David LaRock (R)

Serving since January 2014 P.O. Box 6, Hamilton, VA 20159 540-751-8364 votelarock.us

34th District

Del. Kathleen Murphy (D)

Serving since January 2015

P.O. Box 146, McLean, VA 22101 804-698-1034 murphyfordelegate.com

67th District

Del. Karrie Delaney (D)

Serving since January 2018 P.O. Box 231023, Centreville, VA 20120 703-996-9415 karriedelaney.com

86th District

Del. Irene Shin (D)

Serving since January 2022

397 Herndon Parkway, Suite 110, Herndon, VA 20170 703-677-8334 ireneforva.com

87th District

Del. Suhas Subramanyam (D)

Serving since January 2020

P.O. Box 302, Ashburn, VA, 20146 571-707-4566 suhasforvirginia.com

State Senate

13th District

Sen. John Bell (D)

Serving since January 2020

Mailing address: P.O. Box 4489, Broadlands, VA 20148 571-367-9080 senatorbell.com

27th District

Sen. Jill Holtzman Vogel (R)

Serving since January 2008

Mailing address: 332 West Lee High way, PMB 312, Warrenton, VA 20186 540-662-4551 senatorjillvogel.com

31st District

Sen. Barbara Favola (D)

Serving since January 2012 2319 18th Street North, Arlington, VA 22201 703-835-4895 barbarafavola.org

33rd District

Sen. Jennifer Boysko (D)

Serving since January 2019

P.O. Box 247 Herndon, VA 20172 703-437-0086 jenniferboysko.com

our 30th Year Anniversary, being in business since October 1992!

Thank you to our loyal Leesburg customers and Loudoun County communities for supporting us for the past 30 years.

A huge Thank You to the Loudoun County Government, all of the departments that have supported us over the years as well as Loudoun County Sheriff, Town of Leesburg, Leesburg Fire & Rescue, Leesburg Police Department and many, many more small and large companies locally in NOVA, DC, MD.

We offer our customers a variety of services over the years, with our expert knowledge in batteries, accessories, hydraulic hoses and more. We are proud to be a part of the Leesburg community.

We want to show our appreciation to our customers and the community by celebrating with a BBQ on Saturday, October 15th between 9am to 3pm.

We will offer door prizes, food, and special discounts on a variety of products. Join us on October 15th

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IN STOCK WITHERS GROVE DINING TABLE $1259 Up-to-date look with metal base, list $1880; upholstered chair $349, list $530.

LoCo Living The Rush of the Kitchen

Ashburn’s Boyd Brown III Releases “The Undrafted Chef”

BY JAN MERCKER jmercker@loudounnow.com

Sometimes life takes you to unexpected places. For Boyd Brown III, that path has wound through football arenas and corporate America. But he’s ended up where he’s happiest: in the kitchen.

The self-taught Ashburn chef has built a following of more than 150,000 Instagram fans and nearly 200,000 TikTok followers with his warm personality and recipes that blend his family’s southern roots with his West Coast upbringing. After years of building a social media following, Brown’s first cookbook “The Undrafted Chef,” a collection of most-requested recipes, drops Sept. 30 in e-book format.

A former collegiate and professional arena football player, the 6-foot, 5-inch Brown has lived in Loudoun for the past four years, using his Ashburn kitchen to follow his passion for inventive food and share it with his growing community of fans.

“It’s a real adrenaline rush. When I’m cooking, editing my video and getting ready to post, it’s a rush like I’m getting ready for a game. I love coming up with new ideas, seeing people’s reactions. I love everything about it. … It’s the whole process—going to the store and picking out the groceries, talking to people at the store, going home, setting up. It’s the whole experience from A to Z.”

Brown grew up in the Seattle suburb of Bellevue, WA, the son of noted NFL tight end Boyd Brown Jr., who played for the Denver Broncos and New York Giants in the 1970s.

Brown’s passion for cooking started while he was a college football player at the University of Washington. He remembers inviting teammates over for a barbecue, buying groceries and getting everything ready to go and then realizing he had no clue how to prepare the food.

“My teammates kind of made fun of me and were like ‘Boyd, you don’t know how to cook, man?’ ... That was the spark right there that said I’ve got to get better.”

After that, the 20-something Brown was on a mission to improve his cooking skills. He taught himself cooking techniques, channeling the southern cooking of his Mississippi-born father and aunts and watching television greats like Emeril Lagasse and Gordon Ramsay for inspiration. After a stint as a professional arena football player, Brown moved to Atlanta at 26 to launch a corporate career and has worked for two decades in the technology and telecommunications sectors. But he continued cooking on the side, building a small high-end catering business in Atlanta and launching a social media presence for his innovative recipes.

Brown met his wife, Loudoun native Natasha Jeter, in Atlanta. When Jeter, now a Loudoun County Public Schools teacher, wanted to return home, Brown

was ready to make the move. He says Loudoun has a similar vibe to the Seattle suburbs of his youth.

“This place kind of reminds me of home…It’s very diverse. I love the culture here,” he said.

During the pandemic, Brown decided it was time to pursue his passion in earnest–and take his social media presence up a notch.

“When COVID hit, everything on TikTok took off. I started watching chefs and creators do their thing. I was like, ‘Let’s do this!’ I got more and more traction.”

Brown upgraded his camera and audio-visual equipment and started posting videos on TikTok in addition to his growing Instagram presence.

THINGS to do

LOCO LIVE

Live Music: Dave Mininberg Friday, Sept. 30, 5 p.m.

Dirt Farm Brewing, 18701 Foggy Bottom Road, Bluemont

Details: dirtfarmbrewing.com

Well known for his work with the band 7th

Son of WV, Mininberg brings a unique blend of originals, classic rock, blues and country.

Live Music: The Cold North Friday, Sept. 30, 5:30 p.m.

Old 690 Brewing Company, 15670 Ashbury Church Road, Hillsboro

Details: old690.com

This father-daughter vocal duo plays a variety of musical styles on guitar, ukulele and banjo.

Concert in the Park: Taylor Hunnicutt Friday, Sept. 30, 5:30-7:30 p.m.

Middleburg Community Center, 300 W. Washington St., Middleburg

Details: middleburgcommunitycenter.com

Grab your cowboy boots and blue jeans and dance to this gritty, soulful southern country band. Admission is free.

Live Music: Amanda Cunningham Friday, Sept. 30, 6 p.m.

Doukenie Winery, 14727 Mountain Road, Hillsboro

Details: doukeniewinery.com

It’s Friday bistro night at Doukenie with covers and originals from DMV singer/ songwriter Amanda Cunningham.

Live Music: Melissa Quinn Fox Trio Friday, Sept. 30, 7 p.m.

Social House Kitchen and Tap, 42841 Creek View Plaza, Ashburn Details: socialhouseashburn.com

Fox returns to Social House with her signature high-energy blend of rock and country.

Live Music: Will Baskin Friday, Sept. 30, 7 p.m.

Elysium Axe Bar, 251 N. 21st St., Purcellville

Details: elysiumaxebar.com

Baskin was raised on Elvis, Johnny Cash and the Beatles and mixes jazz, Motown and contemporary music into his sets.

Live Music: Southern Avenue Friday, Sept. 30, 8 p.m.

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

Check out this Grammy-nominated fivepiece blues and soul blues band from Memphis, TN. Tickets are $20 for general admission, $40 for VIP seats.

Live Music: Michael Perdew and Friends Friday, Sept. 30, 8 p.m.

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

Michael Perdew and friends put together this fun project playing bluegrass renditions of favorite songs from 80s classics to 2000s dance tunes to today’s hip-hop and top hits.

THINGS TO DO continues on page 22

Renss Greene/Loudoun Now Boyd Brown prepares one of his Seattle-style dishes at his home in Ashburn.

THE SCENIC ROOTS

Friday, Sept. 30, 5:30-9:30 p.m. MacDowell’s Beach macsbeach.com

SOUTHERN AVENUE

Friday, Sept. 30, 7 p.m. (doors)

Tally Ho Theater tallyhotheater.com

BLUEGRASS IN THE GAP

Saturday, Oct. 1, 3-10 p.m.

Old Stone School, Hillsboro oldstoneschool.org

Boyd Brown

continued from page 19

“People eat with their eyes. People are visual,” he said. “You have to put out good quality content.”

Brown’s parents were originally from Mississippi and moved to the West Coast for his father’s professional football career. Brown’s signature dishes often combine Seattle-style fusion cuisine with southern flair.

“Growing up in the Seattle area, the food culture is very diverse,” he said. “Having parents from Mississippi, I learned to combine those two styles and make it my own.”

Brown loves working with oxtail, a southern favorite, and has a passion for seafood. His claim to fame is innovative exotic sandwiches and New American dishes combining southern favorites with a Pacific Northwest-style fusion approach.

“The Undrafted Chef” features 13 of his most requested recipes, including an

LOUDOUN SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

WHEN MUSIC SPEAKS …

Saturday, Oct. 1, 7:30 p.m.

St. David’s Episcopal Church loudounsymphony.org

oxtail and gruyere sandwich, oven-roasted salmon, Brown’s twist on bang bang shrimp, Maryland-style crab cakes, a chicken katsu sandwich with slaw and a lobster and bacon BLT.

For now, Brown still has a corporate day job but continues to grow the cooking gig with plans to ramp things up in the first quarter of 2023. He’s already planning the next cookbook and has launched a one-man personal chef business, The In Home Chef Experience, for small private dinners and gatherings.

Brown says he’s continually inspired by the work ethic of his famous father, who died in 2014, and mom, a former teacher.

“I give everything 110 percent,” he said. “This is my passion.” n

Boyd Brown’s “Undrafted Chef” is available in electronic format starting Friday, Sept. 30 at chefboydbrowniii.com.Follow Boyd Brown III on Instagram at @boydbrown3 and on TikTok at @chef_boydbrownthe3rd.

&

LITERARY!

QUI LT S

THE STORIES THEY TELL

PRISCILLA GODFREY, a leading national expert on the historic and contemporary American art form of quilt making, reveals the unexpected stories stitched in colorful patchworks, patterns and shapes.

TICKETS: $15 in advance, $20 at the door, light hors d'oeuvre served

THE GAP BAR Open at 6 p.m./ Featuring Local Wines & Beers

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THINGS to do

from page

Live Music: Jake Phillips

Saturday, Oct. 1, 1 p.m.

Flying Ace Distillery and Brewery, 40950 Flying Ace Lane, Lovettsville Details: flyingacefarm.com

Jake Phillips is a singer/songwriter who has traveled the world. With a powerful voice and dynamic guitar skills, Phillips’s repertoire includes original music and an eclectic set of classic folk and alternative covers.

Live Music: LAZ Collective Saturday, Oct. 1, 2 p.m.

Breaux Vineyards, 36888 Breaux Vineyards Lane, Hillsboro

Details: breauxvineyards.com This soulful four-piece covers favorites from Stevie Wonder to Dua Lipa.

Live Music: Bluegrass in the Gap Saturday, Oct. 1, 3 p.m.

Hillsboro Old Stone School, 37098 Charles Town Pike, Hillsboro Details: oldstoneschool.org

Hillsboro celebrates bluegrass with performances from The Fret Flatters, Furnace Mountain Trio, Circa Blue and the Carroll County Ramblers. Admission is free. Food, beer and wine will be available for sale.

Live Music: Steve George and Friends

Saturday, Oct. 1, 4 p.m.

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

Celebrate Saturday with classic rock, country, blues and beyond from a local favorite.

Live Music: Jill Fulton Band Saturday, Oct. 1, 5 p.m.

Harpers Ferry Brewing, 37412 Adventure Center Lane, Loudoun Heights Details: facebook.com/harpersferrybrewing Jill Fulton is back with powerhouse blues, country, soul and oldies.

Live Music: Voodoo Rocks

Saturday, Oct. 1, 6-9 p.m.

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

This high-energy Frederick, MD-based rock band brings the party to Loudoun.

Live Music: Sidetracked Saturday, Oct. 1, 6 p.m.

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

Enjoy guitar-driven rock ‘n’ roll featuring hits and B-sides from the 60s through the 90s.

Live Music: The Reagan Years Saturday, Oct. 1, 8 p.m.

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

One of the region’s favorite 80s tribute bands returns to the Tally Ho. Tickets are $20.

Live Music: Cowpoke Saturday, Oct. 1, 8 p.m.

Monk’s BBQ, 251 N. 21st St., Purcellville Details: monksq.com Cowpoke is a unique trio that performs an eclectic mix of originals and covers spanning genres including country, folk, pop and rock.

Live Music: Dave Goodrum

Sunday, Oct. 2, 1 p.m.

Lost Barrel Brewing, 36138 John Mosby Highway, Middleburg

Details: lostbarrel.com

Goodrum brings acoustic music at its most fun-covering a range of genres from the 70s, 80s, 90s and today.

Live Music: Ken Wenzel

Sunday, Oct. 2, 2 p.m.

Breaux Vineyards, 36888 Breaux Vineyards Lane, Hillsboro

Details: breauxvineyards.com

Wenzel returns to Breaux with his signature rootsrock, country-jazz take on love, learning and life in America.

Live Music: Clark Peklo

Sunday, Oct. 2, 2 p.m.

Flying Ace Distillery and Brewery, 40950 Flying Ace Lane, Lovettsville

Details: flyingacefarm.com

Peklo returns to Flying Ace with cool, unexpected covers and a strict No Eagles policy.

LIBATIONS

Corks for a Cause

Friday, Sept. 30

Breaux Vineyards, 36888 Breaux Vineyards Lane, Hillsboro

Details: breauxvineyards.com

The sixth annual Corks for a Cause event features world-class wines and food samplings by local restaurants and caterers to benefit LAWS Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Services. Tickets are $85.

Virginia Wine Festival at One Loudoun

Saturday, Oct. 1 and Sunday, Oct. 2, 11 a.m.-6 p.m. 44600 Freetown Blvd., Ashburn Details: virginiawinefest.com

The event features unlimited tastings from top Virginia wineries, favorite local food trucks and live music. Tickets are $45 for general admission at noon, $79 for VIP passes and 11 a.m. entry.

Hillsborough Vineyards Harvest Festival Saturday, Oct. 1, 11 a.m.-7 p.m.

Hillsborough Vineyards, 36716 Charles Town Pike, Hillsboro

Details: hillsboroughwine.com

Hillsborough celebrates 19 years with great wines and beers, live music, vendors, children’s activities and food.

Titles and Tastes: Spooky Reads Saturday, Oct. 1, noon-1:30 p.m.

Firefly Cellars, 40325 Charles Town Pike, Hamilton Details: fireflycellars.com

Firefly Cellars partners with Birch Tree Books for a Halloween-themed book and wine pairing event. Birch Tree features six spooky readings, and Firefly provides a tasting of six wines to complement the book choices. Tickets are $55 and include the wine tasting and a glass of wine of choice, snacks and a $10 credit toward a book purchase.

Ion ITC Oktoberfest

Saturday, Oct. 1, 6 p.m.

Ion International Training Center, 19201 Compass Creek Parkway, Leesburg

Details: ionitc.com

It’s an evening of music and fun with great tunes from the Slippery When Wet Bon Jovi tribute band and The Darby Brothers and fall brews from top local breweries. Admission is $45 and includes beer tastings. Event is for adults 21 and over.

VAL Oktoberfest

Sunday, Oct. 2, 2-6 p.m.

Village At Leesburg, 1602 Village Market Blvd., Leesburg

Details: villageatleesburg.com

Village at Leesburg’s inaugural Oktoberfest celebration features German food, drinks, music and more.

All

Position Department

Assistant Aquatics Supervisor

Deputy Director of Public Works and Capital Projects

Emergency Management Coordinator

Management Analyst (Sustainability & Resiliency)

Parks Operations Supervisor

Salary Range Closing Date

Parks and Recreation $50,000-$81,495 DOQ Open until filled

Public Works & Capital Projects $93,438-$169,567 DOQ Open until filled

Town Manager’s Office $101,476-$184,151 DOQ Open until filled

Emergency Management $67,175-$121,947 DOQ Open until filled

Parks & Recreation $56,956-$103,363 DOQ Open until filled

Police Officer Police $62,000-$94,966 DOQ Open until filled

Project Manager Utilities $76,426-$138,530 DOQ Open until filled

Senior Planner (Preservation and Zoning Administration)

Stormwater and Environmental Manager

Urban Forester/Landscape Management Specialist

Planning & Zoning $67,175-$121,947 DOQ Open until filled

Public Works & Capital Projects $82,999-$150,445 DOQ Open until filled

Public Works & Capital Projects $67,175-$121,947 DOQ Open until filled

Utility Inspector II Utilities $56,956-$103,363 DOQ Open until filled

Utility Plant Technician or Senior Utility Plant Technician Utilities $50,000-$95,178 DOQ Open until filled

DOQ

FiOS

Construction Project Manager/Project Engineer

Meridien Group, LLC is seeking a motivated, qualified individual to handle all aspects of construction proj ect management. Duties include Preparing, scheduling, coordinating and monitoring the assigned projects.

Monitoring compliance to applicable codes, practices, QA/QC policies, performance standards and specifications.

Interacting daily with the clients to interpret their needs and requirements and representing them in the field.

We are looking for an accountable project engineer/project manager to be responsible for all engineering and technical disciplines that projects involve. You will schedule, plan, forecast, resource and manage all the technical activities aiming at assuring project accuracy and quality from conception to completion.

Qualifications

• BS degree in Engineering/Construction Management or relevant field

• Prior federal government project experience is preferred, but not required

• Entry-level/mid-level Position

Contact Info:

Katherine Hicks

208 South King Street Suite 303 Leesburg, VA 20175

Send Resume to: khicks@meridiengroupllc.com (703) 777-8285

Legal Notices

PUBLIC HEARING

The LOUDOUN COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS will hold a public hearing in the Board of Supervisors’ Meeting Room, County Government Center, 1 Harrison Street, S.E., Leesburg, Virginia, at 6:00 p.m. on WEDNESDAY, October 12, 2022, in order to consider:

PROPOSED CONVEYANCE OF COUNTY PROPERTY Conveyance of Approximately 3.2 Acres of Real Property-Ashburn North Park & Ride Lot

Pursuant to Virginia Code §15.2-1800, the Board of Supervisors will consider a proposed sale and convey ance of approximately 3.2 acres of land to NRP Properties LLC (NRP). The subject property is currently used as the Ashburn North Park and Ride Lot, which is planned for closure. NRP proposes to construct a mixed-income multifamily residential building and related amenities. The subject property is located on the south side of Russell Branch Parkway (Route 1061), east of Waverly Court, at 45151 Russell Branch Parkway, Ashburn, Virginia in the Broad Run Election District. It is more particularly described PIN 040-38-3790 and a portion of PIN 040-38-1852. The final boundary of the land proposed for sale will be determined upon approval of a subdivision or boundary line adjustment creating the sale parcel.

A copy of the proposed real estate purchase and sales contract and a map depicting the location and current configuration of the subject property is on file and available for public inspection at the Loudoun County Government Center, Information Desk, 1st Floor, 1 Harrison Street, S.E., Leesburg, Virginia, from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, or call 703-777-0200. Documents may also be viewed and downloaded electronically 72 hours in advance of the public hearing at: www.loudoun.gov/bosdoc uments (for Public Hearing documents, follow the link for “Board of Supervisors Business Meetings, Public Hearings and Special Meetings”).

PROPOSED PARTIAL RELEASE OF RESTRICTIVE COVENANT IN FAVOR OF THE COUNTY

NTT Global Data Centers

Pursuant to Virginia Code §15.2-1800, the Board of Supervisors will consider amending a restrictive covenant regarding fence design standards over 77.92 acres in the Ashburn Election District, at a property commonly known as 44725 Gigabit Plaza, Ashburn, Virginia more particularly described as PIN 088-407447, owned by NTT Global Data Centers VA, LLC (NTT). NTT seeks a release from certain restrictions regarding fencing design standards in a recorded covenant on the property. If approved, the County will execute a deed of partial release.

A copy of the proposed deed of partial release, restrictive covenant, and associated documents are on file and available for public inspection at the Loudoun County Government Center, Information Desk, 1st Floor, 1 Harrison Street, S.E., Leesburg, Virginia, from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, or call 703-777-0200. Documents may also be viewed and downloaded electronically 72 hours in advance of the public hearing at: www.loudoun.gov/bosdocuments (for Public Hearing documents, follow the link for “Board of Supervisors Business Meetings, Public Hearings and Special Meetings”).

AMENDMENTS TO CHAPTER 840 OF THE CODIFIED ORDINANCE OF LOUDOUN COUNTY

Business, Professional and Occupational License (BPOL) Tax

Pursuant to Virginia Code §15.2-1427, the Board of Supervisors gives notice of its intention to propose for passage amendments to Chapter 840 Business, Professional and Occupational License Tax. Loudoun Codified Ordinance Chapter 840 contains the provisions for assessing the BPOL tax on the gross receipts of businesses operating in Loudoun County. The proposed amendments are as follows:

• Loudoun Codified Ordinances, Chapter 840.03 Licensing Generally, sets a threshold of more than $4,000 in gross receipts for requiring business license fee on home-based businesses. The amend ments propose raising the minimum gross receipts to more than $10,000 for payment of the $30 fee for a home-based business license.

• Clarification of the appeals process in Loudon Codified Ordinances Chapter 840.07 Administrative Appeals of Local License Tax, to align that section further with the Code of Virginia, §58.1-3703.1.

• Update the description in Chapter 840.08 Local Tax Rulings, to include additional language in the Code of Virginia §58.1-3703.1 related to Rulings by the Commissioner of the Revenue.

• Updated definitions in the Loudoun Codified Ordinances Chapter 840.01 Definitions, from Virginia Code §58.1-3700.1 and §58.1-3703.1.

• Updates to Loudoun Codified Ordinances Chapter 840.11 Exclusions; Deductions to further align the language with the Code of Virginia §58.1-3732.

• Modernization and clarification of language throughout Loudoun Codified Ordinances Chapter 840

• Removal of gender specific pronouns Loudoun Codified Ordinances in Chapter 840.

A complete copy of the full text of the above-referenced proposed ordinance amendment is on file and available for public inspection at the Loudoun County Government Center, Information Desk, 1st Floor, 1 Harrison Street, S.E., Leesburg, Virginia, from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, or call 703-777-0200. Documents may also be viewed and downloaded electronically 72 hours in advance of the public hearing at: www.loudoun.gov/bosdocuments (for Public Hearing documents, follow the link for “Board of Supervisors Business Meetings, Public Hearings and Special Meetings”).

SPEX-2021-0046, SPEX-2021-0048, ZMOD-2021-0065 & ZMOD-2021-0067 21800 BEAUMEADE CIRCLE (Special Exceptions & Zoning Ordinance Modifications)

H5 Capital – Ashburn, LLC of Beverly Hills, California has submitted an application for Special Ex ceptions to permit an increase in the maximum Floor Area Ratio (FAR) in the PD-IP (Planned Develop ment-Industrial Park) zoning district from 0.60 to 1.0 and to permit an increase of maximum lot coverage in the PD-IP zoning district from .45 to .55. These applications are subject to the Revised 1993 Zoning Ordinance. The proposed increase in maximum FAR is permitted by Special Exception under Section 4-506(C). The proposed increase in maximum lot coverage is permitted by Special Exception under Sec tion 4-506 (A). The applicant also requests the following Zoning Ordinance modifications:

ZONING ORDINANCE SECTION

§5-1404(D), Landscaping, Buffer Yards, Screening, and Landscaping Plans, Buffer Yards, Buffer Yard Widths and Plant Requirements.

§5-1303(A)(1), Tree Planting and Replacement, Canopy Requirements, Site Planning.

PROPOSED MODIFICATION

To eliminate the Type C landscape buffer along the east (rear) property line.

To reduce the required site tree canopy from 10% to 7%.

The subject property is located within the Route 28 Taxing District and the Route 28 CB (Corridor Busi ness) Optional Overlay, within the AI (Airport Impact) Overlay District, between the Ldn 60-65 aircraft noise contours, and is located within the FOD (Floodplain Overlay District). The subject property is approximately 5.25 acres in size and is located on the east side of Beaumeade Circle (Route 3037), north of Waxpool Road (Route 625) and east of Loudoun County Parkway (Route 607) at 21800 Beaumeade Circle, Ashburn, Virginia, in the Sterling (formerly Broad Run) Election District. The subject property is more particularly described as follows:

PIN

PROPERTY ADDRESS 061-30-7718 21800 Beaumeade Circle, Ashburn, Virginia 061-20-8870

N/A 043-35-0507 N/A

The area is governed by the policies of the Loudoun County 2019 General Plan (Suburban Policy Area (Suburban Employment Place Type)), which designate this area for a mix of office, production, flex space, and warehousing uses at densities up to 1.0 FAR.

ZCPA-2021-0007 & SPEX-2021-0035

ASHBY PONDS (Zoning Concept Plan Amendment & Special Exception)

Erickson Senior Living, LLC of Baltimore, Maryland, has submitted applications for the following: 1) to amend the existing proffers and concept development plan (“CDP”) approved with ZCPA-2014-0004, Ashby Ponds, in order to increase the buildable square footage and amend the number of one and two bedroom independent living units with no resulting change in density; and 2) a Special Exception to amend the conditions of approval and special exception plat associated with SPEX-2005-0030, Erick son Retirement Communities, which currently govern the subject property, with a new special exception plat and conditions of approval in order to continue to allow congregate care facility, assisted living facility, and convalescent/nursing facility Special Exception uses in the PD-AAAR (Planned Develop ment – Active Adult/Age-Restricted) zoning district. These applications are subject to the Revised 1993 Zoning Ordinance, and the proposed uses are listed as Special Exception uses under Section 4-1305 (A), (B), and (C). The subject property is located within the AI (Airport Impact) Overlay District, between the Ldn 60-65, and outside of but within one (1) mile of Ldn 60 aircraft noise contours and the FOD (Floodplain Overlay District) – major floodplain. The subject property contains areas of Very Steep Slope and Moderately Steep Slope according to the standards of Section 5-1508(C)(1). The subject property is approximately 123.03 acres in size and is located on the north side of Gloucester Parkway (Route 2150) and west of Loudoun County Parkway (Route 607) at 44755 Audubon Square, Ashburn, Virginia, in the Broad Run Election District. The subject property is more particularly described as PIN: 060-49-8809. The area is governed by the policies of the Loudoun County 2019 General Plan (Suburban Policy Area) in the Suburban Compact Neighborhood Place Type which designate this area for a mix of Single and Multi-Family Residential, Active Adult Retirement Communities, and Retail & Service Commercial uses at recommended residential density of 8-24 dwelling units per acre and nonresidential Floor Area Ratio (FAR) of up to 1.0.

Legal Notices

ZMAP-2021-0014, SPEX-2021-0038, & SPEX-2022-0036

45865 MARIES ROAD REZONING (Zoning Map Amendment & Special Exceptions)

MECP 1 Ashburn 2, LLC of Broomfield, Colorado, has submitted applications for the following: 1) to rezone approximately 10 acres from the A-3 (Agricultural – 3) zoning district under the Revised 1993 Zoning Ordinance to the PD-IP (Planned Development – Industrial Park) zoning district under the Revised 1993 Zoning Ordinance in order to develop a data center; 2) a Special Exception to permit an increase in the Floor Area Ratio (FAR) from 0.6 to 1.0 for data center uses; and 3) a Special Exception to permit an increase in lot coverage from 0.45 to 0.60. These applications are subject to the Revised 1993 Zoning Ordinance and the proposed modifications of the FAR and lot coverage are listed as Special Exceptions under Section 4-506 (A) and (C). The subject property is approximately 10 acres in size and is located on the south side of Maries Road (Route 638), west of Cascades Parkway (Route 637), and east of Atlantic Boulevard (Route 1902) at 45865 Maries Road, Sterling, Virginia, in the Sterling Election District. The subject property is more particularly described as PIN: 030-29-2034. The area is governed by the policies of the Loudoun County 2019 General Plan (Suburban Policy Area (Suburban Employment Place Type)), which support a broad array of employment uses at a recommended FAR of up to 1.0.

SPEX-2021-0001

POTOMACK LAKES PLAYGROUND (Special Exception)

The Board of Supervisors of Loudoun County, Virginia, and the Loudoun County Department of Parks, Recreation and Community Services of Leesburg, Virginia, has submitted an application for a Special Exception to permit incidental structures in excess of 840 square feet within the major floodplain in the PD-H4 (Planned Development-Housing 4) zoning district. This application is subject to the Revised 1993 Loudoun County Zoning Ordinance, and the proposed use is listed as a Special Exception use un der 4-1506(E). The subject property is partially located in the FOD (Floodplain Overlay District), major floodplain. The subject property is approximately 35.43 acres in size and is located north of Algonkian Parkway (Route 1582) on the east side of Cascades Parkway (Route 1794) at 20286 Cascades Parkways, Sterling, Virginia in the Algonkian Election District. The subject property is more particularly described as PIN: 010-27-3927. The area is governed by the policies of the Loudoun County 2019 General Plan (Suburban Policy Area (Suburban Neighborhood Place Type)), which designate this area for existing Parks and Recreation facilities uses.

ZOAM-2022-0002 & ZMAP-2022-0011

PROPOSED SOLAR PROJECT AT DULLES INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT (Zoning Ordinance Amendment & Zoning Map Amendment)

Pursuant to Virginia Code §§15.2-2204, 15.2-2285, 15.2-2286, and 15.2-2288.7(F), and a Resolution of Intent to Amend adopted by the Board of Supervisors on May 17, 2022, the Board of Supervisors hereby gives notice of proposed amendments to the Revised 1993 Zoning Ordinance (“Zoning Ordi nance”) in order to establish new regulations that allow “Utility generating plant and transmission fa cility, ground-mounted solar energy generation facility only” as a permitted use, subject to new “Use Limitations”, in the Planned Development-General Industry (PD-GI) zoning district. These amendments are being considered to permit Dominion Energy to establish a ground-mounted solar energy generation facility at Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD). The amendment proposes revisions to Article 4, Special & Overlay Districts, Section 4-600, PD-GI Planned Development-General Industry, Section 4-603, Permitted Uses, Section 4-607 Use Limitations, and such other Articles, Sections, Subsections, and provisions of the Zoning Ordinance as necessary to implement and maintain consistency with the foregoing amendments or as otherwise necessary to correct typographical errors, section and subsection numbering, and formatting within, update cross-references to, and further clarify the requirements of, the above-mentioned section(s) of the Zoning Ordinance. The proposed text amendments under consideration include, without limitation, the following:

Amendments to Article 4, Special & Overlay Districts, Section 4-600, PD-GI Planned Develop ment-General Industry, Section 4-603, Permitted Uses:

• Add “Utility generating plant and transmission facility, ground-mounted solar energy generation facility only, pursuant to Section 4-607(L)” to the lists of permitted uses.

Amendments to Article 4, Special & Overlay Districts, Section 4-600, PD-GI Planned Develop ment-General Industry, Section 4-607, Use Limitations:

• Add new use limitations in regard to size, visual impacts, location, access, buffering, decommission plan/security, and unsafe or abandoned facilities for the “Utility generating plant and transmission facility, ground-mounted solar energy generation facility” use.

ABC LICENSE

Banjara, LLC trading as Banjara Flavors of India, 44050 Ashburn Shopping Plz, Ste 191, Ashburn, Virginia 20147

The above establishment is applying to the VIRGINIA AlCOHOLIC BEVERAGE CONTROL (ABC) AUTHORITY for a Wine and Beer on and off Premises/Mixed Beverage Restaurant license to sell or manufacture alcoholic beverages.

Janki Khanna, Owner

In addition to the ZOAM, pursuant to the Resolution of Intent to Amend adopted by the Board of Super visors on May 17, 2022, the Board of Supervisors hereby gives notice of proposed amendments to the Loudoun County Zoning Map to rezone certain property on which IAD is located from the Residential Single Family (R-2) zoning district under the Zoning Ordinance to the PD-GI zoning district under the Zoning Ordinance in order to permit Dominion Energy to establish a ground-mounted solar energy gen eration facility on approximately 835 acres of land. The subject property is located within the Airport Impact (AI) Overlay District, within the Ldn 65 or higher, between the Ldn 60-Ldn 65 and outside of the Ldn 60 noise contours. The subject property is also located partially within the Route 28 Taxing District, the Floodplain Overlay District (FOD) and the Quarry Notification Overlay District. The subject property is approximately 7,507 acres in size and is located north of John Mosby Highway (Route 50) and west of Sully Road (Route 28) at 23546 Autopilot Drive, Sterling, Virginia in the Dulles Election District. The subject property is more particularly described as PIN: 067-37-9924. The area is governed by the policies of the Loudoun County 2019 General Plan which designate this area for airport related uses.

The public purposes of these amendments are to achieve the purposes of zoning as set forth in Virginia Code §§15.2-2200 and 15.2-2283, including, without limitation, furtherance of the public necessity, con venience, general welfare, and good zoning practice and facilitating the creation of a convenient, attrac tive, and harmonious community.

A complete copy of the full text of the above-referenced proposed ordinance amendment is on file and available for public inspection at the Loudoun County Government Center, Information Desk, 1st Floor, 1 Harrison Street, S.E., Leesburg, Virginia, from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, or call 703-777-0200. Documents may also be viewed and downloaded electronically 72 hours in advance of the public hearing at: www.loudoun.gov/bosdocuments (for Public Hearing documents, follow the link for “Board of Supervisors Business Meetings, Public Hearings and Special Meetings”).

Unless otherwise noted in the above notices, copies of the above-referenced amendments, applications, ordinances, and/or plans and related documents may be examined by request at the Loudoun County Gov ernment Center, Information Desk, 1st Floor, 1 Harrison Street, S.E., Leesburg, Virginia, from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, or call 703-7770246 (option 5) to request hard copies or electronic copies, or electronically at www.loudoun.gov/lola. This link also provides an additional opportunity for public input on active applications. Documents also may be viewed and downloaded electronically 72 hours in advance of the public hearing at: www.loudoun.gov/bosdocuments (for Public Hearing docu ments, follow the link for “Board of Supervisors Business Meetings, Public Hearings and Special Meet ings”). In addition, for detailed instructions on how to access documents using LOLA, to request that documents be emailed to you, to receive physical copies of documents, or to arrange a time to view the file at the Loudoun County Government Center, please email DPZ@loudoun.gov or call 703-777-0246 (option 5).

Board of Supervisors public hearings are available for live viewing on television on Comcast Government Channel 23 and Verizon FiOS Channel 40, and livestreamed at loudoun.gov/meetings. All members of the public who desire to speak will be heard as to their views pertinent to these matters. Public input may be provided by electronic means at Board public hearings. Members of the public who wish to provide public input, whether electronically or in person, will be accommodated without advanced sign-up during the hearing, however, members of the public are strongly encouraged to sign-up in advance. For this public hearing, advanced sign-up will be taken after 8:30 a.m. on September 30, 2022, and no later than 12:00 p.m. on October 12, 2022. If you wish to sign-up in advance, call the Office of the County Administrator at (703) 777-0200. Citizens will also have the option to sign-up during the public hearing. Citizens may also submit written comments by email sent to bos@loudoun.gov. Any written comments received prior to the public hearing will be distributed to Board members and made part of the minutes for the public hearing.

Hearing assistance is available for meetings in the Board of Supervisors’ Meeting Room. If you require any type of reasonable accommodation as a result of a physical, sensory or mental disability to participate in this meeting, please contact the Office of the County Administrator at 703-777-0200. At least one busi ness day of advance notice is requested; some accommodations may require more than one day of notice. FM Assistive Listening System is available at the meetings.

BY ORDER OF: PHYLLIS RANDALL, CHAIR LOUDOUN COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS

9/22, 9/29/22

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.

9/29 & 10/6/22

Legal Notices

Pursuant to §§ 15.2-1123 and 15.2-1427 of the Code of Virginia, 1950, as amended, the LEESBURG TOWN COUNCIL will hold a public hearing on

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 11, 2022, at 7:00 p.m. in the Town Council Chambers

25 W. Market Street, Leesburg VA 20176

at which time, the public shall have the right to present oral and written testimony on an ordinance amending Town Code Appendix B-Fee Schedule, Section 6-25 (Leesburg Executive Airport), Subsection 2 (Monthly Rentals):

New fees are shown in bold and underlined

Fees for which an amendment or increase is proposed show the current fee amount in strikethrough and the new fee amount in bold and underline

Fee

North 65’ Corporate Hangars $2,300.00 $2,500.00

South 55’ Corporate Hangars $1,900.00 $2,000.00

North 48’ A, B, & C T-hangars $600.00 $700.00

North 53’ T-Hangars End Units C-1 and C-7 $634.00 $750.00

South 44’ T-Hangars $600.00 $650.00

North 42’ T-Hangars $600.00

T-Hangars #1-6 and #13-18 $500.00

T-Hangars #7-12 $650.00

T-Hangars #20-34 and #35-50 $600.00

T-Hangar #19 $850.00

Tiedowns $120.00

Copies of the ordinance are available for public examination prior to the public hearing in the office of the Clerk of Council at Town Hall, 25 W. Market Street, Leesburg VA 20176 during normal business hours. For more information about the ordinance, please contact Scott Coffman, Airport Director, via email at scoffman@leesburgva.gov, or via telephone at 703-737-7125.

Persons requiring special accommodations should contact Eileen Boeing, 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.

9/29/22 & 10/6/22

LOUDOUN COUNTY WILL BE ACCEPTING SEALED COMPETITIVE BIDS FOR:

JANITORIAL SERVICES FOR ZONE 1, IFB No. 555785 until prior to 4:00 p.m., local “Atomic Time”, October 17, 2022.

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) 7770403, M - F, 9:00 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.

9/29/22

Public Notice

The Town of Leesburg Board of Zoning Appeals

The Town of Leesburg is soliciting resumes and letters of interest for an appointment to serve on the Board of Zoning Appeals. This position is appointed by the Loudoun County Circuit Court to fill a former member’s unexpired term ending December 31, 2023.

The Board of Zoning Appeals meets as necessary the third Tuesday of each month at 7:00 p.m. in Town Hall, 25 West Market Street, Leesburg, VA. Additional information concerning this quasi-judi cial board is available from the Clerk of Council during normal business hours (Mon – Fri 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.) at 703-771-2733 or eboeing@leesburgva.gov, or the Town of Leesburg website at www. leesburgva.gov

Please submit your letter of interest and resume materials by 5:00 p.m., October 14, 2022, to the Clerk of Council, at the Town of Leesburg, 25 West Market Street, Leesburg, Virginia, 20176 or via email to eboeing@leesburgva.gov. All interested parties will be forwarded to the Loudoun County Circuit Court for consideration.

09/22/22 & 09/29/22

Public Notice

Vacancy The Town of Leesburg Diversity Commission

The Town of Leesburg is soliciting resumes and letters of interest to appoint multiple Diversity Commission members. The term of these appointments will run from the date of appointment until December 31, 2022 or December 31, 2024.

The Diversity Commission meets the second Wednesday of the month at 7:00 p.m. All meetings are held in the Lower Level I Conference Room at Town Hall, 25 West Market Street, Leesburg, VA 20176. Additional information is available by contacting Eileen Boeing, Clerk of Council, during normal business hours (Mon – Fri 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.) at 703-771-2733 or eboeing@leesburgva. gov, or on the Town of Leesburg Website: https://www.leesburgva.gov/government/boards-and-com missions/diversity-commission

Please submit your letter of interest and/or professional resume addressed to the Clerk of Council. All materials should either be delivered or mailed to the Town’s official address at Town of Leesburg, 25 West Market Street, Leesburg, Virginia 20176 or emailed to the Clerk of Council at eboeing@ leesburgva.gov

9/22/2022 & 9/29/2022

PUBLIC NOTICE

The LOUDOUN COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF BUILDING AND DEVELOPMENT has accepted application for preliminary record plat of subdivision for the following project.

SBPR-2022-0011

Moorefield Station Southmoore Parcel D-2

The Claude Moore Charitable Foundation, of Fairfax, VA is requesting PRELIMINARY/RECORD plat of subdivision approval to subdivide approximately fifty-nine (59.34) acres into five (5) parcels for future multifamily and mixed used development and one (1) residue parcel. The property is located north of Loudoun County Parkway (Route 607) and east of Old Ryan Road (Route 772). The property is zoned PD-TRC (Planned Development Transit Related Center) and Floodplain Overlay District and Airport Impact Overlay District under the provisions of the Revised 1993 Loudoun County Zoning Ordinance. The property is more particularly described as PIN 090-45-4961-000 in the Broad Run Election District.

Additional information regarding this application may be found on the Loudoun Online Land Applications System www.loudoun.gov/LOLA and searching for SBPR-2022-0011. Complete copies of the above referenced application(s) are also available for public review at the Loudoun County Department of Building and Development, Land Development File Room, 1 Harrison Street, SE, 2nd Floor, Leesburg, Virginia, between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. Please forward any comments or questions to the project manager, Ronald Dunbar at Ronald.dunbar@loudoun.gov or you may mail them to The Department of Building and Development 1 Harrison Street, SE, 2nd Floor, Leesburg, Virginia by November 03, 2022 The Department of Building and Development will take action on the above application(s) in accordance with the requirements for preliminary subdivisions outlined in Section 1243.08 of the Land Subdivision and Development Ordinance (LSDO).

TOWN OF LEESBURG NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING TO CONSIDER AMENDMENTS TO TOWN CODE APPENDIX B – FEE SCHEDULE SECTION 6-25(2) (MONTHLY RENTALS)

Legal Notices

TOWN OF LEESBURG

NOTICE OF TOWN COUNCIL PUBLIC HEARING TO CONSIDER AMENDMENTS TO ZONING ORDINANCE ARTICLE 10 DENSITY/INTENSITY & DIMENSIONAL STANDARDS RELATING TO EXTENSIONS INTO REQUIRED YARDS FOR ACCESSORY STRUCTURES

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, OCTOBER 11, 2022 at 7:00 p.m. in the Town Council Chambers, 25 West Market Street, Leesburg, Virginia, 20176 to consider Zoning Ordinance Amendment TLOA-2022-0005 revising the following Sections of the Zoning Ordinance:

1. Sec. 10.4.5.C Extensions Into Required Yards;

2. Sec. 10.4.5.C.4 Balconies, Bay Windows, Steps and Landings; and, 3. Sec.10.4.5.C.5 Uncovered Decks and Patios

The purpose of the amendment is to clarify and establish that stairs and landings attached to decks accessory to single-family attached, and multi-family dwellings do not require a setback from interior lot lines.

Copies and additional information regarding this proposed Zoning Ordinance amendment is available at the Department of Planning and Zoning located on the second floor of the Leesburg Town Hall, 25 West Market Street, Leesburg, Virginia 20176 during normal business hours (Monday-Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.), or by calling 703-737-7920 and asking for Michael Watkins, Zoning Administrator. This zoning ordinance amendment application is identified as case number TLOA-2022-0005.

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

9/29/2022 & 10/6/2022

VIRGINIA:

IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF LOUDOUN COUNTY

CASE NO. C142200155200

THOMAS EDWARD REID, et al. Plaintiffs, v. SHERREL S. HARMON, et al. Defendants.

ORDER OF PUBLICATION

The object of this suit is to effect partition amongst the owners by sale of a 1.1216-acre parcel of land located in Loudoun County, Virginia at 20965 Greengarden Road, Bluemont, Virginia 20165, with a PIN of 65538-8138, of which Victoria S. Davis died in 1958 seised and possessed.

An affidavit having been made and filed stating that diligence has been used without effect to ascertain the location of Defendant GERTRUDE BASIL NOLAN who is believed to be living, and there is no post office known to the plaintiffs.

It is hereby ORDERED that the said nonresident defendant GERTRUDE BASIL, do appear and protect her interests on or before the 18th day of November, 2022 at 10:00 a.m. and do what is necessary to protect her interests.

9/15, 9/22, 9/29, & 10/06/22

ORDER OF PUBLICATION

COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA VA. CODE § 8.01-316

Case No.: JJ046150-02-00

Loudoun Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court Commonwealth of Virginia, in re Marjorie Cruz

Loudoun County Department of Family Services /v.

Endenilson Alavarado, putative father & Unknown Father

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

It is ORDERED that the defendant Endenilson Alavarado, Putative Father & Unknown Father appear at the above-named Court and protect his or her interests on or October 11, 2022 at 2:00 p.m. (Dispositional) 9/22, 9/29 & 10/6/22

LoudounNow.com

COUNTY OF LOUDOUN FIRST HALF PERSONAL PROPERTY TAX DEADLINE H. Roger Zurn, Jr., Treasurer

October 5, 2022

The deadline for payment of the second half personal property tax is October 5, 2022.

Please Note: Payments received or postmarked after October 5, 2022, will incur a 10 percent penalty and interest. Any such penalty, when assessed, shall become part of the tax with interest accruing on both the tax and penalty at a rate of 10% annually. Personal Property taxes remaining unpaid after 60 calendar day from the original due date will incur an additional 15% penalty. The due date will not be extended for bills where assessment questions have been filed with the Board of Equalization. Taxpayers who are having financial difficulties should contact our Collections Team at 703-771-5656 who stand ready to assist.

For Your Safety and Convenience, please consider making payments online, by phone or mail.

CONVENIENT PAYMENT OPTIONS AND LOCATIONS

Online: www.loudounportal.com/taxes

Pay using electronic check, VISA, MasterCard, American Express or Discover

By Telephone: 24-hour line 1-800-269-5971 703-777-0280 during regular business hours. Pay using electronic check, VISA, MasterCard, American Express or Discover

Please note: There is a convenience fee added to a Credit Card transaction. There is no fee for electronic checks (e-check).

By Mail: County of Loudoun P.O. Box 1000 Leesburg, Virginia 20177-1000

TREASURER’S OFFICE LOCATIONS

Extended Hours: Tuesday, October 4 – 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM Wednesday, October 5 - 8:00AM to 5:00 PM

Regular Hours: 8:30 AM to 5:00 PM

1 Harrison Street, S.E. 21641 Ridgetop Circle 1st Floor Suite 104 Leesburg, Virginia 20175 Sterling, Virginia 20166

A 24 hour drop box is located outside the Sterling and Leesburg office.

Please contact the Loudoun County Treasurer's Office at 703-777-0280 or email us at taxes@loudoun. gov with questions or if you have not received your bill.

Stay up to date on tax information by subscribing to the Tax Notices category of Alert Loudoun at www.louduon.gov/alert. You can also text the word “TAXES” to 888777 to receive text messages about tax-related information, including upcoming deadlines.

For information regarding Personal Property Tax Relief for the Elderly or for Disabled Persons, please contact the Tax Exemption and Deferrals division of the Commissioner of the Revenue’s Office at taxrelief@loudoun.gov by phone 703-737-8557 or visit www.loudoun.gov/taxrelief. 9/22 & 9/29/22

NOTICE OF IMPOUNDMENT OF ABANDONED VEHICLES

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

YR. MAKE MODEL VIN STORAGE PHONE#

2003 GMC YUKON XL 1GKEC16Z73R128779 ROAD RUNNER 703-450-7555

2000 HONDA ACCORD 1HGCG6690YA122544 DOUBLE D 703-777-7300

2002 HYUNDAI SONATA KMHWF25S42A512593 BLAIR’S TOWING 703-661-8200

2007 HYUNDAI 4DR 5NPET46C57H252328 D&M 703-471-4590

Legal Notices

VIRGINIA: IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF LOUDOUN COUNTY

Civil Action No. CL22-5089

COUNTY OF LOUDOUN, VIRGINIA, Plaintiff, v. PARTIES UNKNOWN, Defendants,

ORDER OF PUBLICATION

The object of the above-styled suit is to achieve the judicial sale of real estate located in Loudoun County, Virginia, for the purpose of collecting delinquent real estate taxes assessed against the subject real Property.

IT APPEARING that the subject real estate contains 13.22 acres, more or less, of unimproved land located in the Blue Ridge Election district, on “Poplar Ridge,” identified by Loudoun County PIN 688-45-3782-000 and Tax Map Number /68///4////UK/ (the “Property”), the owner of which is unknown. The Property is located in the southwest corner of the County, between Trappe Road and Blueridge Mountain Road bordered to the north by a parcel identified as PIN 693-208-837-000 with a current owner shown as Spurlock Family LLC, to the west by a parcel identified as PIN 693-196-566000, also with a current owner shown as Spurlock Family, LLC, to the south by a parcel identified as PIN 688-455-304-000 with a current owner shown as Victor E. Ferrall, Jr., and to the east by a parcel identified as PIN 688-379-524-000 with a current owner shown as Barbara Balfanz Allbritton.

IT FURTHER APPEARING TO THE COURT that there are or may be persons whose names are unknown that may have a potential ownership interest in the Property. They are identified in the pleadings as defendants by the general description of “PARTIES UNKNOWN”;

IT FURTHER APPEARING TO THE COURT, that Plaintiff has exercised due diligence, to no avail, to ascertain the identity of the owner(s) of the Property and a location to serve said property owner(s) as party defendants;

IT FURTHER APPEARING TO THE COURT that pursuant to Va. Code § 8.01-316 those who may have interest in the Property, named Parties Unknown, may be served by order of publication; and

IT FURTHER APPEARING TO THE COURT that pursuant to Va. Code § 8.01-321, the party served by publication shall be required to appear and protect his interest by the date stated in the order of publication, which shall be not less than 24 days after entry of such order; it is therefore ADJUDGED, ORDERED AND DECREED that:

1. Pursuant to Virginia Code §§ 8.01-316, 8.01-321 and 58.1-3967, the PARTIES UNKNOWN shall appear before this Court on October 7, 2022 at 10:00 AM, and do what is necessary to protect their interest herein;

2. Pursuant to Virginia Code § 8.01-321, this Order is to be published for two successive weeks in Loudoun Now; and

3. Pursuant to Virginia Code § 17.1-601, the cost of the Order of Publication, if any, shall be paid initially by the Plaintiff subject to recovery of expenses.

9/8, 9/15, 9/22, 9/29

ORDER OF PUBLICATION

COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA

VA. CODE § 8.01-316

Case No.: JJ044816-02-00

Loudoun County Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court

Commonwealth of Virginia, in re Alexander Beers

Loudoun County Department of Family Services

/v.

John Beers, putative father & Cathryn Beers, Mother

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 16.1-281 for Alexander Beers.

It is ORDERED that the defendant John Beers, putative father and Cathryn Beers, Mother appear at the above-named Court and protect his or her interests on or before October 24, 2022 at 3:00 p.m.

9/15, 9/22, 9/29 & 10/6/22

ORDER OF PUBLICATION

COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA

VA. CODE § 8.01-316

Case No.: JJ046179-01-00

Loudoun County Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court

Commonwealth of Virginia, in re Starh Rahimi

Loudoun County Department of Family Services

/v.

Mohamad Wali, putative father

The object of this suit is to hold an adjudicatory hearing pursuant to Virginia Code § 16.1-252 for Starh Rahimi; 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 Starh Rahimi.

It is ORDERED that the defendant Mohamad Wali, putative father appear at the above-named Court and protect his interests on or before September 28, 2022 at 3:00pm (Adjudicatory) and October 27, 2022 at 10:00am (Dispositional).

9/15, 9/22, 9/29 & 10/6/22

TOWN OF LOVETTSVILLE NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING

LVZA 2022-0001 AMENDMENTS TO ARTICLE 42, ZONING, DIVISION 42-I, IN GENERAL, ARTICLE 42-VIII, GENERAL REGULATIONS, AND ARTICLE 42-VIII-2, ADDITIONAL STANDARDS, TO ADD SECTION 42-305, SMALL CELL WIRELESS FACILITIES

The LOVETTSVILLE TOWN COUNCIL will hold a public hearing on the following item at their meeting on Thursday, October 13, 2022, at 6:30 p.m. in the Town Council Chambers, 6 E. Pennsylvania Avenue, Lovettsville, Virginia. Written comments regarding this item can be submitted to clerk@lovettsvilleva.gov by 3:00PM on the day of the meeting. Members of the public may access and participate in this meeting electronically.

The purpose of the amendment is to establish standards for the installation of small cell wireless communication equipment on buildings, utility poles, and other structures. "Small cell facility" as defined by § 15.2-2316.3 of the 1950 Code of Virginia, as amended, means a wireless facility consisting of a whip antenna, panel antenna, or dish antenna provided by a wireless services provider or wireless infrastructure that is located inside an enclosure, or, in the case of an antenna that has exposed elements, could fit within an imaginary enclosure of no more than six cubic feet and all other wireless equipment associated with the facility has a cumulative volume of no more than 28 cubic feet, or such higher limit as is established by the Federal Communications Commission.

Section 15.2-2316.4 of the 1950 Code of Virginia, as amended prohibits localities from requiring conditional use permits or variances for small cell wireless facilities. The proposed amendment would require zoning permit approval, add definitions, and apply size, height, and design standards.

All persons desiring to speak will be given an opportunity to do so at this meeting.

The proposed zoning amendment is available for review on the Town website at: www.lovettsvilleva. gov. You may also request a copy be sent to you via email by contacting John Merrithew, Planning Director at (540) 822-5788 between the hours of 8:30am and 4:30pm weekdays, holidays excepted. In the event the meeting is postponed, the public hearing will be convened on the next regularly scheduled meeting at the same time and place.

9/29, 10/6

NOTICE OF A PUBLIC HEARING ON THE FY 2023-2024 COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT PROGRAM

LOUDOUN COUNTY HOUSING ADVISORY BOARD

Date: Wednesday, October 12, 2022, at 4:00 PM

Location: Loudoun County Department of Housing and Community Development 1st floor, Olmstead Room, 106 Catoctin Circle, SE, Leesburg, VA 20175

Information on how to attend virtually can be found on the County Calendar: https://www.loudoun.gov/calendar.aspx

Pursuant to Title I of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974, 42 United States Code §5301, et seq., and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) regulations at 24 Code of Federal Regulations Subtitle A §91.105(e)(1), the Loudoun County Housing Advisory Board will hold a PUBLIC HEARING on October 12, 2022, at 4:00 p.m. at the Loudoun County Department of Housing and Community Development. The purpose of the Public Hearing is to obtain citizens’ views and to respond to proposals and questions for the purpose of addressing housing and community devel opment needs, including priority housing and non-housing community development needs, economic development needs, fair housing issues, development of proposed activities, proposed strategies and ac tions for affirmatively furthering fair housing, and review of program performance. Comments received at the Public Hearing will be considered in preparing Loudoun County’s CDBG 2023-2024 Annual Action Plan that will be submitted to the Board of Supervisors for approval and subsequently submitted to HUD in the spring of 2023. The CDBG Application for 2023-2024 will open on October 11, 2022, and applications will be due November 16, 2022.

All citizens and organizations are invited to present their views and comments. Written comments may be submitted to the Department of Housing and Community Development by not later than 3:00 p.m. on October 12, 2022.

If you require any type of reasonable accommodation as a result of a physical, sensory or mental dis ability to participate in this meeting, please contact the Department of Housing and Community De velopment at 703-737-8323 (V/TTY). At least one business day of advance notice is requested; some accommodations may require more than one day of notice. FM Assistive Listening System is available at the meetings.

Legal Notices Misc.

PUBLIC NOTICE

Environmental Studies Document

Route 50 and Trailhead Drive Roundabout Project

The Loudoun County Department of Transportation and Capital Infrastructure (DTCI) proposes to construct a roundabout at the Route 50 and Trailhead Drive intersection to improve traffic operations.

Due to high speed approaches and heavy volumes, combined with frequent turning movements and substandard roadway geometrics, the current intersection experiences extensive delays and a high volume of crashes. The proposed roundabout will include two westbound lanes to provide for the high volume left turning and through/right turning traffic, along with a northbound approach from Trailhead Drive that will include a bypass lane to eastbound Route 50. The roundabout will be constructed as a hybrid roundabout, with provisions for future expansion, and will include stormwater management, drainage improvements and roadway lighting.

In compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act and 23 CFR Part 771, a Categorical Exclusion (CE) was approved by the Federal Highway Administration on August 21, 2002 for the Route 50 Traffic Calming Project in Loudoun and Fauquier Counties. Following the CE approval, the Virginia Department of Transportation implemented traffic calming measures on Route 50 in a series of break-out projects. The Route 50 and Trailhead Drive Roundabout Project is a remaining breakout project administered by DTCI. Pursuant to 23 CFR 771.129, an Environmental Studies document has been prepared to determine what effects any changes in the project design, laws and regulations or the affected environment might have on the validity of the approved CE.

The Environmental Studies document is now available for public review and comment at the Loudoun County Department of Transportation and Capital Infrastructure, 101 Blue Seal Drive, Suite 102, Leesburg, VA, 20177, and on the project’s website at: https://www.loudoun.gov/5455/Route-50and-Trailhead-Drive-Roundabout . Please call ahead at 703-737-8624 or TTY/TDD 711 to ensure appropriate personnel are available to answer your questions. Comments must be received in writing at DTCI@loudoun.gov or by mail at the address listed above (ATTN: Mark Phillips) by October 10, 2022. Please reference “Route 50 and Trailhead Drive” in the subject line.

Loudoun County ensures nondiscrimination and equal employment in all programs and activities in accordance with Title VI and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. If you need more information or require special assistance for persons with disabilities or limited English proficiency contact the Department of Transportation and Capital Infrastructure – Design and Construction Projects at (703) 777-0396 or at DTCI@loudoun.gov. TDD/TTY # (703) 777-0396 (TTY 711).

Loudoun County Project: CRCP-2019-0010 9/22 & 9/29/22

School Board Seeks Name Suggestions for New Middle School

The Loudoun County School Board is seeking name suggestions for a new middle school.

A Dulles North area middle school (MS-14), located southwest of the Evergreen Mills Road/Red Hill Road/Ryan Road intersection, is under construction and scheduled to open in fall 2024.

A School Board-appointed naming committee may consider geographic and historic names, as well as names of deceased individuals who significantly contributed to improving life in Loudoun County Public Schools (LCPS), Loudoun County, the Commonwealth of Virginia, or the United States of America. The School Board will not consider naming a school facility for any individual unless the individual has been deceased for at least five (5) years.

School name suggestions should be sent to LCPS Division of Planning and GIS Services, 21000 Ed ucation Court, Ashburn VA 20148 or emailed to LCPSPLAN@LCPS.ORG by no later than Monday, October 17, 2022. Citizens suggesting a school name are requested to provide background informa tion to aid in the committee’s review process.

The School Board naming committee meetings are open to the public and are scheduled for the follow ing dates:

Dulles North Area Middle School Naming Committee Meetings

Wednesday, October 19, 2022, 6:00 p.m., Brambleton Middle School Library Wednesday, November 2, 2022, 6:00 p.m., Brambleton Middle School Library

Brambleton Middle School is located at 23070 Learning Circle, in Ashburn. 9/22/22

BROADLANDS FALL COMMUNITY YARD SALE

To

Come

Broadlands Community

October 1st, 8:00am-2:00pm

please

. Not all participants are registered. The Broadlands community is located in Ashburn, VA.

The Lansdowne on the Potomac Community Wide Yard Sale is this Saturday, October 1st from 8am to 12 noon at our private residences throughout the neighborhood, rain, or shine in Lansdowne, VA, North of route 7, past the Lansdowne Town Center.

DOWNTOWN OFFICE BUILDING FOR LEASE

2,738 square feet with 26 parking spaces! Walking distance to the Courthouse, Loudoun County Government and Town of Leesburg offices. 107 N. King Street Leesburg, VA

Office: 703-777-5000 Cell: 703-505-7585

HOUSE FOR RENT

Approx. 15 miles north of Leesburg 3 BDR, 1 1/2 BA, Newly painted & carpeted. $1,800 per month plus deposit 571-216-5376 or 571-216-5375

Basement Apartment for Rent

Big basement with plenty of regular windows. Full kitchen with dish washer. Big family room with 2 windows looking out on the pond and good landscaping. Big bedroom with 2 very good size closets and large windows to look out at landscaping. Kitchen with dining room. Washer and dryer, fireplace, private entrance, cable and WiFi included also has a private deck. Very quiet neighbors plenty of parking. Monthly rent $1500 plus half utilities which is gas, electricity monthly water every 3 month, half security deposit. If interested text me or call 571-276-8031. Available October 15th.

Legal Notices

PUBLIC HEARING

The LOUDOUN COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS will hold a public hearing in the Board of Supervisors’ Meeting Room, County Government Center, 1 Harrison Street, S.E., Leesburg, Virginia, at 6:00 p.m. on WEDNESDAY, October 12, 2022, in order to consider:

PROPOSED CONVEYANCE OF COUNTY PROPERTY Conveyance of Approximately 3.2 Acres of Real Property-Ashburn North Park & Ride Lot

Pursuant to Virginia Code §15.2-1800, the Board of Supervisors will consider a proposed sale and convey ance of approximately 3.2 acres of land to NRP Properties LLC (NRP). The subject property is currently used as the Ashburn North Park and Ride Lot, which is planned for closure. NRP proposes to construct a mixed-income multifamily residential building and related amenities. The subject property is located on the south side of Russell Branch Parkway (Route 1061), east of Waverly Court, at 45151 Russell Branch Parkway, Ashburn, Virginia in the Broad Run Election District. It is more particularly described PIN 040-38-3790 and a portion of PIN 040-38-1852. The final boundary of the land proposed for sale will be determined upon approval of a subdivision or boundary line adjustment creating the sale parcel.

A copy of the proposed real estate purchase and sales contract and a map depicting the location and current configuration of the subject property is on file and available for public inspection at the Loudoun County Government Center, Information Desk, 1st Floor, 1 Harrison Street, S.E., Leesburg, Virginia, from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, or call 703-777-0200. Documents may also be viewed and downloaded electronically 72 hours in advance of the public hearing at: www.loudoun.gov/bosdoc uments (for Public Hearing documents, follow the link for “Board of Supervisors Business Meetings, Public Hearings and Special Meetings”).

PROPOSED PARTIAL RELEASE OF RESTRICTIVE COVENANT IN FAVOR OF THE COUNTY

NTT Global Data Centers

Pursuant to Virginia Code §15.2-1800, the Board of Supervisors will consider amending a restrictive covenant regarding fence design standards over 77.92 acres in the Ashburn Election District, at a property commonly known as 44725 Gigabit Plaza, Ashburn, Virginia more particularly described as PIN 088-407447, owned by NTT Global Data Centers VA, LLC (NTT). NTT seeks a release from certain restrictions regarding fencing design standards in a recorded covenant on the property. If approved, the County will execute a deed of partial release.

A copy of the proposed deed of partial release, restrictive covenant, and associated documents are on file and available for public inspection at the Loudoun County Government Center, Information Desk, 1st Floor, 1 Harrison Street, S.E., Leesburg, Virginia, from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, or call 703-777-0200. Documents may also be viewed and downloaded electronically 72 hours in advance of the public hearing at: www.loudoun.gov/bosdocuments (for Public Hearing documents, follow the link for “Board of Supervisors Business Meetings, Public Hearings and Special Meetings”).

AMENDMENTS TO CHAPTER 840 OF THE CODIFIED ORDINANCE OF LOUDOUN COUNTY

Business, Professional and Occupational License (BPOL) Tax

Pursuant to Virginia Code §15.2-1427, the Board of Supervisors gives notice of its intention to propose for passage amendments to Chapter 840 Business, Professional and Occupational License Tax. Loudoun Codified Ordinance Chapter 840 contains the provisions for assessing the BPOL tax on the gross receipts of businesses operating in Loudoun County. The proposed amendments are as follows:

• Loudoun Codified Ordinances, Chapter 840.03 Licensing Generally, sets a threshold of more than $4,000 in gross receipts for requiring business license fee on home-based businesses. The amend ments propose raising the minimum gross receipts to more than $10,000 for payment of the $30 fee for a home-based business license.

• Clarification of the appeals process in Loudon Codified Ordinances Chapter 840.07 Administrative Appeals of Local License Tax, to align that section further with the Code of Virginia, §58.1-3703.1.

• Update the description in Chapter 840.08 Local Tax Rulings, to include additional language in the Code of Virginia §58.1-3703.1 related to Rulings by the Commissioner of the Revenue.

• Updated definitions in the Loudoun Codified Ordinances Chapter 840.01 Definitions, from Virginia Code §58.1-3700.1 and §58.1-3703.1.

• Updates to Loudoun Codified Ordinances Chapter 840.11 Exclusions; Deductions to further align the language with the Code of Virginia §58.1-3732.

• Modernization and clarification of language throughout Loudoun Codified Ordinances Chapter 840

• Removal of gender specific pronouns Loudoun Codified Ordinances in Chapter 840.

A complete copy of the full text of the above-referenced proposed ordinance amendment is on file and available for public inspection at the Loudoun County Government Center, Information Desk, 1st Floor, 1 Harrison Street, S.E., Leesburg, Virginia, from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, or call 703-777-0200. Documents may also be viewed and downloaded electronically 72 hours in advance of the public hearing at: www.loudoun.gov/bosdocuments (for Public Hearing documents, follow the link for “Board of Supervisors Business Meetings, Public Hearings and Special Meetings”).

SPEX-2021-0046, SPEX-2021-0048, ZMOD-2021-0065 & ZMOD-2021-0067 21800 BEAUMEADE CIRCLE (Special Exceptions & Zoning Ordinance Modifications)

H5 Capital – Ashburn, LLC of Beverly Hills, California has submitted an application for Special Ex ceptions to permit an increase in the maximum Floor Area Ratio (FAR) in the PD-IP (Planned Develop ment-Industrial Park) zoning district from 0.60 to 1.0 and to permit an increase of maximum lot coverage in the PD-IP zoning district from .45 to .55. These applications are subject to the Revised 1993 Zoning Ordinance. The proposed increase in maximum FAR is permitted by Special Exception under Section 4-506(C). The proposed increase in maximum lot coverage is permitted by Special Exception under Sec tion 4-506 (A). The applicant also requests the following Zoning Ordinance modifications:

ZONING ORDINANCE SECTION

§5-1404(D), Landscaping, Buffer Yards, Screening, and Landscaping Plans, Buffer Yards, Buffer Yard Widths and Plant Requirements.

§5-1303(A)(1), Tree Planting and Replacement, Canopy Requirements, Site Planning.

PROPOSED MODIFICATION

To eliminate the Type C landscape buffer along the east (rear) property line.

To reduce the required site tree canopy from 10% to 7%.

The subject property is located within the Route 28 Taxing District and the Route 28 CB (Corridor Busi ness) Optional Overlay, within the AI (Airport Impact) Overlay District, between the Ldn 60-65 aircraft noise contours, and is located within the FOD (Floodplain Overlay District). The subject property is approximately 5.25 acres in size and is located on the east side of Beaumeade Circle (Route 3037), north of Waxpool Road (Route 625) and east of Loudoun County Parkway (Route 607) at 21800 Beaumeade Circle, Ashburn, Virginia, in the Sterling (formerly Broad Run) Election District. The subject property is more particularly described as follows:

PIN

PROPERTY ADDRESS 061-30-7718 21800 Beaumeade Circle, Ashburn, Virginia 061-20-8870

N/A 043-35-0507 N/A

The area is governed by the policies of the Loudoun County 2019 General Plan (Suburban Policy Area (Suburban Employment Place Type)), which designate this area for a mix of office, production, flex space, and warehousing uses at densities up to 1.0 FAR.

ZCPA-2021-0007 & SPEX-2021-0035

ASHBY PONDS (Zoning Concept Plan Amendment & Special Exception)

Erickson Senior Living, LLC of Baltimore, Maryland, has submitted applications for the following: 1) to amend the existing proffers and concept development plan (“CDP”) approved with ZCPA-2014-0004, Ashby Ponds, in order to increase the buildable square footage and amend the number of one and two bedroom independent living units with no resulting change in density; and 2) a Special Exception to amend the conditions of approval and special exception plat associated with SPEX-2005-0030, Erick son Retirement Communities, which currently govern the subject property, with a new special exception plat and conditions of approval in order to continue to allow congregate care facility, assisted living facility, and convalescent/nursing facility Special Exception uses in the PD-AAAR (Planned Develop ment – Active Adult/Age-Restricted) zoning district. These applications are subject to the Revised 1993 Zoning Ordinance, and the proposed uses are listed as Special Exception uses under Section 4-1305 (A), (B), and (C). The subject property is located within the AI (Airport Impact) Overlay District, between the Ldn 60-65, and outside of but within one (1) mile of Ldn 60 aircraft noise contours and the FOD (Floodplain Overlay District) – major floodplain. The subject property contains areas of Very Steep Slope and Moderately Steep Slope according to the standards of Section 5-1508(C)(1). The subject property is approximately 123.03 acres in size and is located on the north side of Gloucester Parkway (Route 2150) and west of Loudoun County Parkway (Route 607) at 44755 Audubon Square, Ashburn, Virginia, in the Broad Run Election District. The subject property is more particularly described as PIN: 060-49-8809. The area is governed by the policies of the Loudoun County 2019 General Plan (Suburban Policy Area) in the Suburban Compact Neighborhood Place Type which designate this area for a mix of Single and Multi-Family Residential, Active Adult Retirement Communities, and Retail & Service Commercial uses at recommended residential density of 8-24 dwelling units per acre and nonresidential Floor Area Ratio (FAR) of up to 1.0.

Opinion

Completing the List

This is the point in the terms of many boards of supervisors that the members grapple with the long list of unfinished business.

This board is no different. The final months are quickly counting down. The conversation is turning to choosing which projects to push through and which they will have to punt.

What is remarkable in this term is that a significant obstacle to meeting supervisors’ goals is directly attributable to the board’s own conduct.

During the recent briefing on the difficulties experienced in trying to recruit new staffers to the planning and zoning department—key players in completing the critical Zoning Ordinance re-write, among other unfinished priorities—supervisors were told that it wasn’t an issue of salaries. With

the recent implementation of a classification and compensation study, the positions are funded at regionally competitive levels.

Instead, a central concern cited in efforts to retain and recruit planners was the large number of night meetings—often very late night and sometimes continuing into the early morning— required for the jobs. Well, they are not required for the job, but they are expected under the current system.

The next time supervisors joke about becoming punchy as a meeting rolls into its sixth or seventh hour, they should look around the boardroom to take note of the staff members, petitioners and general public waiting for their turn to be heard— and the chance to head home to their families. Is their time being valued? For many planning

staffers, board meetings are just a part of the regimen, while other nights of the week also are filled with Planning Commission, committee, or community meetings of some sort.

A jurisdiction that is constantly pushing for creativity in it planning concepts, creating a new zoning ordinance, opening a Metro line, and dealing with development projects of every scale should be a dream location for new and veteran planners alike. For many years, Loudoun was a coveted career destination for land use professionals. The opportunities have little changed.

Loudoun should be an environment where the best and the brightest come to help shape the community’s evolution, and boards of supervisors likely won’t complete their lists without them. n

LETTERS to the Editor

Same Claim

Editor:

In his recent letter, Chris Stevenson claimed, “people in high places and with significant influence have, without credible substantiation, called into question the integrity of the locally directed American election system beginning with the 2020 election.” Of course, that is not true.

In the 2016 election, Mrs. Clinton claimed that the election was rigged. Others, such as Elizabeth Warren, picked up the banter. And yes, the same claim occurred in the 2000 election between Bush and Gore. Mr. Stevenson is correct when he says this is a serious concern. But then let’s be honest here, it didn’t start in 2000, and both parties have raised it.

In picking the 2020 election to high-

light, Mr. Stevenson gives it all away. He says that he invites neither hostility nor judgment from either party. But by concentrating only on the 2020 election, to the exclusion of the earlier elections, he has already given it away, and invited hostility.

— Roy Liggett, Leesburg

Competition

Editor:

On Nov. 8, citizens around the country will step into ballot boxes and voice how they want this country run. The competition of ideas produces a path forward for the country, and we the people decide that path. Competition is what produces greatness. Competition in life is what improves skills. Competition forges

athletes. They sent us to the moon and developed ideas that will outlive us.

Unfortunately, for the residents of Lovettsville, this competition of ideas will not take place for our mayoral election. Christopher Hornbaker will assume the elected office without having to truly face his constituents. While his ideas may value the will of the people, we could never be sure without a true competition of ideas.

This leaves me disappointed in the residents of my hometown, including myself.

We should not elect our mayor by default. Generations of people fought for this very right to self-govern. With that comes a deep responsibility to run our own communities. Whether that’s volunteering, showing up to council meetings,

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

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or simply voting every election. These actions decide how we govern ourselves.

What a beautiful thing that is. The right to choose our path forward.

The residents of Lovettsville mustn’t simply accept an individual to assume elected office by default. President Kennedy in his inaugural address said, “In your hands, my fellow citizens, more than mine, will rest final success or failure of our course. Since this country was founded, each generation of Americans has been summoned to give testimony to its national loyalty.”

I call on my fellow citizens to mount a write-in campaign for this office and give Mr. Hornbaker a true competition for this office.

— Donovan Tate, 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.

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The Cost of Housing in Loudoun: The Economics of Workforce Housing

BY STACEY METCALFE

When AOL opened its headquarters in Ashburn in 1996, it started a mad rush of competitors vying for real estate in Loudoun County. Just last month, the AOL building brought back employees to celebrate and share memories one last time before the building gets torn down to make room for a new data center.

Between 2000-2010, Loudoun’s population grew approximately 84%, partly due to the tech boom taking place in and around Ashburn. The great migration into Loudoun County brought with it a skilled workforce that required quality housing, excellent schools, a superior health system and a vibrant community filled with local eateries and attractions. To accommodate these workers, the county had to work swiftly and mindfully to preserve Loudoun’s open spaces while building enough infrastructure to sustain the workforce.

Fast forward to today. We know that only 38% of the workforce in Loudoun County actually lives in the county; that leaves 62% of workers who are spending their hard-earned income somewhere else. That means they don’t get to eat at our local restaurants, shop at our local stores or partake in our friendly farmer’s markets outside of business hours. It also means that your beloved teachers, dedicated health care workers, and police and fire department employees are driving miles outside of the county because they can’t find appropriate attainable housing nearby.

How do we keep our workforce from moving elsewhere? We provide a competitive advantage over our neighboring jurisdictions in the way of creative workforce housing. Housing that is close to major transportation hubs, housing that varies in sizes and shapes (condos, duplexes, triplexes) and housing that is priced appropriately for salaries below

our average income.

The public agrees! According to a recent independent poll, 78% of Loudoun residents believe people work in Loudoun should be able to live in Loudoun and 67% believe Loudoun County would benefit from a wider range of housing options.

So how do we make this happen? First and foremost, we support less restrictive land-use policies. This does not mean that your favorite farm goes away, it means that developing in areas that are already supported by existing infrastructure are strongly considered. Secondly, we support economic development opportunities that bring quality businesses and jobs to the area. Thirdly, we support transportation initiatives that reduce the burden on roads so that we can all get to our jobs safely and efficiently.

Loudoun has come a long way since the internet started and AOL was the largest employer in the county. We still

rank high in many of the “Top Places to Live” charts, we still get to enjoy wineries and open space to the West plus dynamic town centers to the east. However, without our workforce firmly planted in our community, we cannot continue to grow together.

n

Stacey Metcalfe serves as the executive director and CEO of Morven Park, Loudoun’s 1000acre backyard located in Leesburg, Virginia which is owned and operated by the Westmoreland Davis Memorial Foundation. She also serves as the Immediate Past Chair of the Loudoun Chamber and serves on EDAC. She moved to Loudoun County in 1998 while working for AOL.

emPower Summit

continued from page 3

around the world from each other, and how she turned to music to express herself and take control of her own growth. And she told the girls gathered for the summit that “in a world that profits from self-doubt, loving yourself is a rebellious act.”

“You have all of your answers about who are you inside of you at all times,” she said. “You need to just remember

who that is.”

And she said when you do not have a seat at the table, “don’t forget to bring a folding chair.”

Randall recounted the commission’s creation as a nonprofit after her attempt to create it as a county government-affiliated panel was voted down. She said operating as an independent nonprofit would allow the commission to continue beyond her time as county chair.

“Although I started this commission, it’s not mine. It’s yours,” she said. “It’s for every single woman and girl and

young lady in Loudoun County, and it is to empower you, It is to inform you, it is to support you. It is to be there for you in whatever ways you need. And one day when I am no longer chair of the county and maybe not even here anymore, I want this to be here. Because, you know what, as an elected official I can feel roads and I can build buildings, but if I don’t build people, if I don’t build up the next generation coming after me, that I’m not really a very good chair.”

The event also included a panel discussion on women in STEM from event

sponsor Amazon Web Services; an address on mental health and wellness from Miss Virginia Volunteer 2021 and Sisters with Ambition founder Breana Turner; an address on leadership and entrepreneurship with PurposeWorX President and CEO and Fifty Leven Wines founder Kindra Dionne; and advice on preparing for the future from Jack Kent Cooke Foundation Senior Educational Advisor Nancy Yarahuan.

Learn more about the Loudoun Commission on Women and Girls at lcwag.org. n

What method will you use to vote in this year’s elections?

Are you worried about high energy costs this winter?

13 Loudoun Brewers Collaborate for Suicide Prevention

BY RENSS GREENE rgreene@loudounnow.com

Thirteen Loudoun breweries have col laborated on a new brew to both break the stigma and raise funds to help prevent death by suicide.

All proceeds from the new You Are Not Alone session IPA will be donated to the National Capital Area Chapter of the American Foundation for Suicide Pre vention. It will be available in cans and on draft at the participating breweries: Bear Chase, Belly Love, Beltway, Black Hoof, Dynasty, Hillsborough, Loudoun Brewing, Ocelot, Old 690, Old Ox, Quattro Goombas, Lost Barrel and Wheatland Springs in mid-October.

The brewers met at Old Ox Brewery in Sterling on Wednesday morning to get the brewing started, using all donated, of ten local ingredients including yeast from Jasper Yeast and hops from Fabbioli Cel lars and other local farms and breweries.

Loudoun artist Randy Krukles, who also designs artwork for Purcellville’s Belly Love Brewing Company, is donating a design for the cans. And the grains and malt were donated by BSG CraftBrewing, a national provider of bulk brewing sup plies headquartered in Minnesota.

Loudoun County Brewers Association Chair Chris Suarez, general manager of Bear Chase Brewery, said the goal is not only to raise money but to make suicide easier to talk about. Brewers association Vice Chair Tolga Baki, Belly Love owner and Hillsborough Vineyards & Brewery co-owner and head brewer, agreed.

“I think it’s important for people to un derstand. That’s how we named the beer,” he said. “They’re not alone. There’s a lot of times when people are in that mindset, they do feel alone, and I think there’s also

Advocacy

continued from page 1

140,000 children in the United States lost a primary and/or secondary caregiver, with youth of color disproportionately impacted. We are caring for young people with soaring rates of depression, anxiety, trauma, loneliness, and suicidality that will have lasting impacts on them, their families, and their communities,” wrote the American Academy of Pediatrics last October in its Declaration of a Nation al Emergency in Child and Adolescent Health.

With such a national crisis, what can be done?

Suzie Bartel, a Loudoun County mom,

a stigma about reaching out for help.”

American Foundation of Suicide Pre vention National Capital Area Chapter Executive Director Ellen Shannon said almost everyone’s lives are impacted by suicide—and that’s true in the tight-knit brewing community, with at least four lives have been lost just in the past few years, including a brewer in Loudoun.

According to the AFSP, suicide is the 12th leading cause of death in the U.S., and almost 46,000 Americans died by suicide in 2020. There were 1.2 million attempts. But Shannon also said there is help, and there is hope.

“Suicide is preventable, and there is a lot of hope around this,” she said. “Re search has shown that through education, through breaking down stigma, and rais ing awareness can all lead to cultural shift which can all change how we feel about

lost her son Ryan to suicide in 2014. She decided to turn her grief into helping others.

She founded the Ryan Bartel Foun dation that focuses on positive, peer-led messaging to help build upstream resil ience in youth, so they don’t turn to sui cide when times are tough.

She said for her it was healing to help others who were hurting.

“For me there was no other way I could go. I could become angry and wallow in grief and be demobilized. But I am one of those people who looked around and saw these kids struggling and said, ‘we’ve got to do something,’” she said. “I spend every spare hour of my personal time do ing this because it makes me feel good. I’m giving back in his memory, and he is

mental health and how we approach suicide.”

Talking to the brewers gathered Wednesday, she used the same words— “You are not alone.”

“We can work together to create a culture that’s smart about mental health, break down the stigma and encourage help-seeking,” Shannon said. “Because just like those numbers that I shared, we are not alone. None of us are. Every single person has mental health, and there are things that we can do to be resilient and to take care of ourselves.”

And the charity brew also helped the brewers feel a little less alone after two long years of distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s the first big collaboration for the Loudoun County Brewers Association since the beginning of the pandemic, reuniting over an im

present with me constantly.”

The upstream prevention concept fo cuses on building resiliency in youth, so they know how to cope when things get hard. Through the foundation, they of fer group sessions for teens that work as a companion to therapy. The foundation does not offer therapy sessions.

The foundation offers several pro grams around the county to make it as ac cessible to as many teens as possible. The support groups focus on building connec tion, community, and strength. They also have themes to help them build as many coping skills as they can including ex pressive arts, like music, journaling, and poetry; mindfulness, like yoga and med itation; and working with animals, where there is a therapy dog at every session.

portant cause.

“Our association hasn’t done as much together recently, and we felt that this was a close enough to home cause to try to bring the breweries back together,” Su arez said.

Baki said following two recent deaths in the brewing community, one by sui cide and both tied to mental health, many brewers already have regular get-togethers.

“We just sit there, have a couple beers, talk, check up on each other—it does get kind of personal sometimes, but that’s kind of the point,” he said. “We don’t want to see any more of this. And at least us, in our little, small community, get to gether and support each other.”

That also helps lift the stigma and ta boo around asking her help, he said.

“It’s not a sign of weakness. People sometimes think, ‘it’s going to make me look weak,’” Shannon said. “The truth is, it takes incredible strength to ask for help. So it really is truly a sign of strength.”

The American Foundation of Suicide Prevention is the largest funder of suicide prevention research in the world, she said. The nonprofit also provides education and community programs, advocates for laws that can save lives, and provides support for people who have lost someone by suicide.

Learn more about the AFSP National Capital Area Chapter and the services it offers, volunteer or donate at afsp.org/ NCAC. To find local suicide prevention resources, go to loudoun.gov/suicidepre vention. If you are in crisis, call the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline by dialing 988, or the National Suicide Prevention Life line at 1-800-273-TALK (800-273-8255), or contact the Crisis Text Line by texting TALK to 741741. n

They also partner with other nonprofits to offer equine workshops from time to time.

They also offer support groups for parents.

New this year, the foundation is of fering FORTitude teen workshops. A six-week workshop series that help teens develop deeper self-awareness and great er emotional understanding so they can implement coping skills to better manage challenges in their lives.

Bartel based the idea for the FORT groups from the forts Ryan used to build in the woods as a safe space. She said they are now doing this for others.

“Everyone is struggling. They need to realize they aren’t alone. Finding com

Renss Greene/Loudoun Now

American Foundation of Suicide Prevention National Capital Area Chapter Executive Director Ellen Shannon, center, joins representatives from 13 Loudoun breweries at Old Ox Brewery on Wednesday, Sept. 21 as they start brewing You Are Not Alone, a session IPA to raise money and awareness for suicide prevention.

Walkout

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whom] school is their safe place, and if we take that away from them by taking away their privacy, that can really harm them,” Banner said.

Banner said they know some people who are in that situation, and they want to make sure they keep their privacy so they can stay safe until they are ready to tell people.

“We really need to be able to protect our friends, our peers, and up-and-coming people in the LGBTQ community who are younger than us and can’t speak up for themselves yet,” Banner said.

Banner said Pride Liberation reached out to student members of their organiza

Schools rally

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every day. She said she is speaking out because she’s afraid for her rights as a hu man being.

“The fact that in this modern day, especially in a country that is all about freedom and rights, I have to walk into a school worrying that one of these days I might have to say goodbye to one of the teachers that helped to save my life, even if they didn’t know it. That I might have to hear a name that is a reflection of every

Advocacy

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mon ground is very important. It makes it easier; the weight comes off when we share, and we can cope much better,” Bar tel said.

Bartell said before the COVID-19 pan demic they saw a lot of teens dealing with anxiety, academic pressure, social and ro mantic relationships and many who strug gled to feel accepted and were bullied.

She said now it’s gotten more acute.

“Pressure is now coming at them from all sides. They are going back to school and have to catch up. What happened to their brains during that year and a half of isolation did tremendous damage. It hap pened during a time when the adolescent brain is developing and needs socializa tion to develop certain skill sets, and that basically stopped altogether for a period of time,” Bartel said.

She said they’re seeing more anger and defiance in teens, something they hadn’t experienced before.

Bartel said they have been working

tion at high schools in the area and asked if they wanted to do a walkout. The group helped students get organized and gave them advice on how to talk to their prin cipal. Banner said they met with Loudoun County High School Principal Michelle Luttrell, who agreed to let the students do the walkout and gave them parameters on what they could do.

Banner said they weren’t allowed to put flyers up in the school, so they got the word out by word of mouth.

“This is awesome. We weren’t expect ing this many people. I’m really proud of everybody for stepping up and coming, because I know there are some people who weren’t able to come because they didn’t feel safe about being in pictures. But it really helped support those who can’t speak,” Banner said.

time I looked in the mirror and hated what was staring back at me,” Morris said.

She emphasized it’s a feeling that would be terrifying to anyone who doesn’t know what it feels like.

“That’s just it—the people writing these guidelines don’t understand what it’s like. They never have and they nev er will, because they are not trans, and I can’t blame them for that. However, that does not mean that they are not blame less,” Morris said.

During the rally, school critic Brian Davison showed up with a sign reading “groomers love LCPS,” confronting dem onstrators and disrupting the speakers

hard all summer to analyze the results of workshops and programs they offer through the foundation to see how they can best serve the kids today with the add ed challenges they are facing.

“One year in and we haven’t complete ly cracked the nut yet,” Bartel said. But it did lead to revamping 42 workshops and a greater focus on helping kids with their self-identity. She said many feel like they’ve lost themselves and don’t know who they are anymore.

“We call this period the lost years. They lost two years of growing and de velopment. They are struggling with self-identity, and their self-worth and they don’t know how to manage all the con flicting emotions. They’ve lost life skills they badly need to deal with normal dayto-day activity,” Bartel said.

She noted that teens in general are hav ing a hard time managing their emotions.

“We need to normalize being our au thentic selves and show our vulnerability. In the end we are all human,” Bartell said.

On Sunday, the Ryan Bartel Founda tion hosted its seventh annual We’re All Human 5k Color Run at Woodgrove High

When asked if they felt a middle ground could be reached between those fighting for parents’ rights and those fight ing for transgender rights in schools, Ban ner said there probably could be, but at this point they don’t know what that looks like.

“I agree that parents do need to know what is happening at their schools, but transgender teens, non-binary teens, oth er people of the queer community really need to have that safety and that safety net of being able to go and relax at school,” they said. “I want to be able to be in my AP world [history] class and learn about Mongols and other empires and not have to worry about if my rights are being tak en away.”

Loudoun County Public Schools Pub lic Information Officer Wayde Byard

momentarily.

The crowd pushed closer together and began shouting “choose love, not hate” to drown him out. He continued to make his way around, with some demonstrators saying he shoved them. The Loudoun County Sheriff’s office was called but Davison later returned to the crowd.

During a confrontation with one pro testor, the protestor grabbed Davison’s sign and ripped it apart. Davison said afterward he “simply did the same thing that left wing activists have done at con servative rallies.”

“I would say a significant portion of the people there would try to block me,

School. Bartel said they named the run ‘We’re All Human’ because it’s some thing Ryan used to always say.

Woodgrove was where Ryan went to high school, and it’s one of the schools in the county that piloted a nationally-known suicide prevention program called Sourc es of Strength in 2016. Bartel ran the pro gram then, but Loudoun County Public Schools has since taken over and the pro gram is now in every high school and al most all middle schools in the county. The program highlights eight positive sources of strength in everyone’s life and helps teens recognize them in their own lives.

“Part of the human condition is when one bad thing happens it tends to take over and we lose sight of the good. It’s all about reframing and looking at it from a different perspective,” Bartel said.

Other local families who have lost chil dren to suicide and who are also reaching out to help others were at Sunday’s race.

Matt Hallam’s son Nick died in 2020. The family created the Nick’s Way schol arship to help with the cost of therapy for those who can’t afford it.

The largest group participating in the

published a statement Monday before the walkouts that the division was aware of those plans.

“First, the top priority of Loudoun County Public Schools is the safety and security of students and staff. Keeping this in mind, high schools will provide a safe space for students to exercise their freedom of expression,” Byard wrote. “Students who choose to demonstrate will not be penalized. We have asked that students who participate do so peacefully, without signage, and in accordance with the Students Rights and Responsibilities that they reviewed and signed at the be ginning of the year.”

“We encourage students to use ‘voice and choice.’ These students, who are ma ture young adults, chose to use their voice on this issue,” Byard added. n

scream me down, they said I’m a crazy, have PTSD because they knew about my former service, they suggested I was abused on my naval submarine—just the full range of insults that you normally ex pect,” he said.

Golino said they tried to keep a posi tive focus and to protect those who were from marginalized communities to help them feel protected and supported.

“There is so much negativity right now, but the majority of our community really supports our public education and our teachers. It hurts all of us when public education is under attack,” Golino said. n

race was Be Strong Be Kind For Brody, a team of more than 50 runners from Wil lard Middle School who gathered to sup port the memory of Brody Watson who died in February.

Bartel said she was happy to have the other families join in the run.

“We are in the same boat, but all in our own way trying to make a difference. I feel so much better knowing I am not the only one out there. That we are all col lectively working together to make this stop,” Bartel said.

Funds from the We’re All Human Color Run support the programs offered through the Ryan Bartel Foundation.

For more information on groups of fered through the Ryan Bartel Founda tion, go to ryanbartelfoundation.org.

If you or someone you know is struggling with suicidal thoughts, there are several resources available right here in Loudoun. Visit loudoun.gov/suicideprevention.

If you are in crisis, call the National Suicide Prevention Hotline at 988. n