Loudoun Now for Feb. 18, 2016 by Loudoun Now

LoudounNow LOUDOUN COUNTY’S COMMUNITY-OWNED NEWS SOURCE

[ Vol. 1, No. 15 ]

[ loudounnow.com ]

[ February 18–24, 2016 ]

INSIDE: Bank scammer shot dead Dining Redskins style Downtown’s new arts anchor

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GOING UP? Hemstreet Recommends Tax Hike n BY RENSS GREENE

Doublas Graham/Loudoun Now

Kindergartner Andrew Roos and his teacher Julie Roberts make chocolate-covered strawberries during class at Loudoun County Day School in Leesburg. The private school operates two full-day kindergarten classes.

THE BUSINESS OF KINDERGARTEN

Full-day kindergarten is a $20.6 million-a-year industry in Loudoun County n BY DANIELLE NADLER

here is a 12-letter word that Lyla Hafeez looks for in headlines these days: kindergarten. As county government and school leaders debate whether Loudoun should expand its fullday kindergarten offerings, and how to pay for it, she’s paid attention. Because whatever decision is ultimately made will impact her 4-year-old daughter’s education, and the Hafeezs’ pocketbook. If Loudoun County Public Schools’ plan to expand fullday kindergarten to all but 13 schools this fall is funded, Mari-

na will go to her neighborhood school, Sycolin Creek Elementary near Leesburg. If it’s not, she’ll go to a Fairfax County elementary school, where Hafeez teaches, and pay $10,000 in tuition. “This is on a lot of parents’ minds right now,” Hafeez said. She and her husband have already started making room in their budget for tuition, just in case. He returned a new car, in exchange for one with a less-expensive monthly payment, and they’re reining in other expenses too. “We even contemplated pulling from her college fund but we decided no, we’ll just make due with whatever we can for now,” she said. “It is frustrating to

spend all this money we thought we were going to save.” For many local families, footing the bill for private school is the only option for their kindergartner to receive a full, six-hour school day. Loudoun is one of only three school divisions in Virginia that do not offer universal full-day kindergarten. About one-quarter of Loudoun kindergartners are enrolled in private schools or neighboring jurisdictions, and paying anywhere from $10,000 to $25,000 in tuition. That means, collectively, Loudoun families spend about $20.6 million in full-day kindergarten tuition, according to Lindsay Weissbratten, founder of the advocate group Loudoun

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for Full Day Kindergarten. “Families are already paying taxes,” she said, “and then they’re paying tuition to receive the same education provided for free in neighboring counties.”

Families in Limbo Loudoun County has made some progress toward universal full-day kindergarten. Two years ago, 11 percent of the county’s kindergartners attended school all day. This year, it’s up to 32 percent, or 1,536 students. The school system is requesting $9.7 million to expand the program to 75 percent of kin-

County Administrator Tim Hemstreet recommends Loudoun increase its taxes to keep up with the demand on Virginia’s fastest growing locality. On Feb. 10, Hemstreet presented a proposed $2.5 billion fiscal year 2017 budget that could be funded without raising the real estate tax rate, but warned it just doesn’t bring in enough revenue to provide needed county services. County supervisors had instructed Hemstreet to base his budget on the equalized tax rate in an effort to keep residents’ tax bills level. After projections varied wildly through the year, the equalized tax rate—the tax level that gives the average taxpayer the same dollar figure on her tax bill this year as last—has settled on exactly the same number as the current tax rate, $1.135. Hemstreet hastened to point out that the equalized tax rate to homeowners is in fact $1.14, because average home values across the county have dropped slightly. The county’s real property appreciated by only about 0.2 percent this year, as compared to 2 percent and 4 percent in the two previous years. Hemstreet warned that the equalized tax rate would not provide enough revenue to maintain Loudoun’s current level of service as the population continues to grow. His equalized tax rate budget protects pay

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[ PAGE THREE ]

Supervisors blast school board for costly request n BY RENSS GREENE

■■ $8.5 million for county government office space ■■ $3.5 million to expand the county’s stormwater management infrastructure

■■ $57.1 million for the courthouse expansion project ■■ $3 million to buy ambulances, fire engines and a tanker ■■ $1.24 million to build a new Lucketts fire and rescue station ■■ $13.5 million to replace the Lovettsville Fire Station ■■ $4 million to expand the Leesburg Volunteer Fire Company station

more revenues. [See story, Page 1.] The county staff-proposed CIP does accelerate plans to construct four new schools: A Dulles North elementary school (ES-23) in Arcola Center, a Dulles South elementary school (ES-28) next to John Champe High School, a Dulles South middle school (MS-7) on Braddock Road in Chantilly, and a Dulles North high school (HS-11) in Brambleton. However, some of these projects were not moved as far ahead in the CIP as the School Board has requested. Staff members said they chose projects to accelerate based on which ones have construction sites picked out, and which can therefore be ready to build sooner. The CIP also allocates money for removing the modular classrooms from Briar Woods High School in 2019. And after fervent requests from students at a recent Board of Supervisors meeting, the CIP now budgets for synthetic turf at Dominion, Freedom, and Heritage High schools in 2021 and 2022. But that money has to come from somewhere, and several projects around the county have been delayed to make room in the budget for the schools, including a one-year delay in the design and construction of another Dulles South high school (HS-9) which does not yet have a site secured. The county

Renss Greene/Loudoun Now

Supervisors labor over the proposed fiscal year 2017 budget. From left, Supervisor Matthew F. Letourneau (R-Dulles) and Supervisor Koran T. Saines (D-Sterling).

will also push back purchasing property around the courts complex in Leesburg three years to 2020, and financing for a Leesburg South Fire Station was also pushed to 2020 as the Department of Fire, Rescue, and Emergency Management searches for a new site. Supervisor Ralph M. Buona (R-Ashburn), who lobbied hard against a bill in the General Assembly that would limit proffer agreements between counties and developers, highlighted the impact such a law could have. “For our friends in the General Assembly in Richmond, I think it needs to be said publicly that this CIP has about $72 million of proffer money in it, so for those down there making statements about how we sit on our proffer money, just come look at our CIP and see that is not true.” The finance committee will hold a CIP work session on Feb. 23. The Board of Supervisors is expected to vote on the CIP and county budget on April 5. rgreene@loudounnow.com

■■ $9.68 million to develop a recreation center off Belmont Ridge Road in Ashburn ■■ $8.285 million to construct a senior center on Marblehead Drive in Ashburn ■■ $53.26 million to develop the Hal and Berni Hanson Regional Park on Evergreen Mills Road in Dulles ■■ $173,462 to provide public access to the boat dock and fishing pier at Sleeter Lake Park in Round Hill

The county proposes to fund these projects with: ■■ $70,600,000 in lease revenue financing ■■ $56,885,000 in general obligation bonds ■■ $18,699,962 in local tax funding ■■ $1,310,141 in fees ■■ $32,013,462 in cash proffers

Cramped Classrooms n BY DANIELLE NADLER

this school year, but a slew of unexpected new students enrolled, hiking it to 17 percent over capacity. By this fall, the student population is projected to reach 38 percent over capacity. Renee Lowe, whose daughter attends Mercer, said in an interview that she doesn’t think high enrollment is necessarily hurting her daughter’s education. But it has made other things difficult, like basketball practice. The only time the gym is available for her daughter’s team to practice is from 8:45 to 9:30 p.m. so she’s been going to bed OVERCROWDING >> 38

Danielle Nadler/Loudoun Now

Loudoun County School Board member Jeff Morse (Dulles) addresses concerned parents Feb. 11 at a town hall on middle school overcrowding.

loudounnow.com loudounnow.com

ducators in crowded middle schools in the southern end of the county have had to get creative to accommodate growing enrollment. During the first week of school, the enrollment surge was so far beyond projections that buses filled up and students were left to sit in the aisle, according to one parent. As the school year progressed, Mercer Middle School administrators created traffic patterns in the hallway so the 1,584 students could move between classes in a safe and timely fashion.

School Board members Jeff Morse (Dulles) and Beth Huck (At Large) hosted a meeting on the topic last Thursday and told parents that relief is coming. But it will take a couple of years to reach it. “We’re used to growth, but we’re not used to this rate of growth,” Morse said. “This is unheard of.” All of the middle schools in the Dulles South and Dulles North planning area are operating at or above capacity. But Mercer Middle School, just off Gum Spring Road, is especially packed. Mercer was projected to be 11 percent over the building capacity of 1,350

Parents and school leaders seek overcrowding solutions for Dulles schools

he Loudoun Board of Supervisors has begun work on its fiscal year 2017 budget, and members have made no bones about their frustration with the School Board’s requests. “It’s frustrating to have the School Board come forward with a Capital Improvement Program request that absolutely everybody knows is impossible,” said Supervisor Matthew F. Letourneau (R-Dulles), chairman of the finance committee. “It’s not productive.” Letourneau has already criticized the School Board’s record-setting $1.07 billion proposed budget for requesting more money than the county has to give, even after a bumping up the local government’s longstanding, but voluntary, debt limit. “Their staff knew what our fiscal guidelines were and what our limitations were, and yet they proceed with a CIP that is literally impossible,” Letourneau said. Superintendent Eric Williams has previously defended the school’s construction financing plan. “We create our CIP based on our needs, so we can’t let county fiscal policy drive our articulation of needs,” Williams said in December. “It was not without hesitation that we proposed the CIP that we did. These schools are needed.” The Board of Supervisors’ finance committee has now set about trying to fit the School Board’s requests into the county’s Capital Improvement Program, that part of the county budget that funds new infrastructure and facilities. The CIP looks six years ahead. The School Board has requested $190.6 million for projects above what was in the current CIP. School projects make up the second-largest category of expenses in the CIP at 31 percent, behind only transportation projects. This year’s budget picture is tight— County Administrator Tim Hemstreet has already suggested the county increase the real estate tax rate to bring in

Proposed 2017 CIP’s Non-School Projects

February 18–24, 2016

Construction Plan ‘Impossible’

loudounnow.com

[ A LOUDOUN MOMENT ]

Warming Hands, Heads … and Hearts The efforts of the student-led Warm-Hearted Project are on display in downtown Leesburg, where scarfs, hats, gloves and other winter clothing to be used by anyone who needs one can be seen hanging on the courthouse fence. It’s the second year the team, led by Loudoun County High School students Maddie Peyton and Hayli Maloney, hung the items around town on Valentine’s Day. The students asked for donations starting in January and in recent days sorted the items and attached handmade signs urging people to take whatever they needed to stay warm this winter. Learn more about the project on a Twitter (@warm_project) or at the hashtag #thewarmheartedproject.

Norman K. Styer/Loudoun Now

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Warner Talks Gigs and Cybersecurity n BY RENSS GREENE

The gig economy is hard to nail down. In fact, nobody’s even yet agreed on a name for it—some people call it the on-demand economy, for example. “You know you’re in the right spot when they don’t even have a name for it yet,” said Warner, who was a venture capitalist before entering politics. He said the gig economy started with outsourcing. Companies began shedding employees who weren’t essential to the

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U.S. Senator Mark Warner (D-VA) talks with cyber business leaders at the Mason Enterprise Center in Leesburg.

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company’s central function, and hiring employees on a per-job basis rather than keeping them on as salaried or hourly employees. “Jobs are being transformed the same way the cable package is being transformed,” Warner said, referencing buying individual channels instead of cable packages. “You used to buy the whole person, and now you’re just trying to WARNER >> 38

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Catching up with the New Economy The shape of the economy is changing under our feet, and U.S. Senator Mark Warner (D-VA) and cyber business leaders in Loudoun aren’t sure we’re keeping up. That was the takeaway message from a roundtable discussion Tuesday at the Mason Enterprise Center in Leesburg, where Warner met with business leaders to talk about cybersecurity and the “gig economy”—services like Uber that let people use their cell phones to monetize their cars, gig work, and time. Warner said these are two subjects that “at first blush may not be all that connected, but they are both reflective of the changing nature of our economy.”

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[ CRIME ]

Convicted Bank Scammer Found Shot to Death in Maryland Three days after family members in Leesburg reported him missing, the body of Osama El-Atari was found Saturday afternoon in a pickup in Prince Georges County, MD. Police there are investigating the death as a homicide. The 37-year-old former Loudoun restaurant owner who made headlines for scamming banks out of $71 million was last seen about 5 p.m. on Feb. 10 in the 1600 block of Rochelle Avenue in Capitol Heights, MD. He was reported missing by family members the next day. In 2009, he was the owner of the Original Steakhouse and Sports Theater in Ashburn, the Cantina Cove in Brambleton and several Buffalo Wild Wings locations, when he was charged by federal prosecutors with defrauding banks of $71 million in loans. He fled, but was located in Texas in 2010 and then pleaded guilty to bank fraud and money laundering and was sentenced to 12 years in prison and ordered to pay $53 million in restitution. He was released from prison early, in 2014, after providing federal prosecutors with information obtained from fellow inmates about several criminal cases—including an unsolved 2005 murder of two girls, ages 8 and 9, in Illinois. In that case, conversations El-At-

This photo of Osama El-Atari was distributed last week by the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office after he was reported missing.

ari recorded helped secure a conviction against Jorge Torrez, who was sentenced to death. The PG Police Department’s Homicide Unit is investigating the case and asks those with information to call 301772-4925. Callers wishing to remain anonymous may call CRIME SOLVERS at 1-866-411-TIPS (8477), text “PGPD, plus your message, to CRIMES (274637).

Crime Briefs Teen Driver Dies in Rt. 7 Crash

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Virginia State Police Trooper B.H. Call is investigating a fatal crash that occurred Monday on Rt. 7 just east of the Rt. 9 interchange at Clarkes Cap west of Leesburg. The crash happened just after 7 p.m. According to the preliminary report, Geneva F, Owen, 18, of Harpers Ferry, was driving west on Rt. 7 when her 2006 Toyota Matrix crashed into a backhoe that was traveling in the right-hand lane. She was pronounced dead at the scene. The backhoe driver was not injured. The road was slick from snow and freezing rain at the time of the crash. Three traffic fatalities were reported in Virginia during Monday’s winter storm.

Loudoun Man Charged for Reston Hospital Shooting The Fairfax County Police Department has charged a Potomac Falls man with two felonies after firing two shots at Reston Hospital. The incident started just after 1:30 a.m. Wednesday, Feb. 10, when a man suffering from what is believed to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound attempted to enter a locked entrance of the hospital. He apparently fired a handgun, breaking the glass in the door and entered the hospital. Staff members attempted to render aid, but the man displayed the weapon again and allegedly fired a shot inside the building. Hospital personnel convinced him to put the weapon down and then began treatment. He was transported to another hospital for further evaluation and treatment. No one else was injured during the incident.

William Brock, 52, was charged with felony destruction of property and shooting into an occupied building. He remains hospitalized under guard. Upon his release, he will be transferred to the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center and held without bond. The firearm was recovered and is being held as evidence. The case remains under investigation.

Strike Three: Man Convicted in Fatal Crash Sent Back To Prison A man convicted of manslaughter in a fatal 2003 drunken driving hit-and-run case is headed back to jail for more than 10 years, according to the Loudoun Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office. Larry Duane Arnold, 37, pleaded guilty to manslaughter and hit and run after he struck and killed Harold Blewitt III, Larry Duane Arnold who was driving a scooter on Rt. 28 in November 2003. Arnold had a blood alcohol level of .12 and fled the scene after the collision. Arnold was sentenced to serve three years and eight months in prison. An additional 16 years and four months of suspended time also was imposed. He was released from prison in September 2007 and placed on supervised probation. CRIME BRIEFS >> 7

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In 2011, Arnold was arrested and convicted of driving under the influence in Pennsylvania, which resulted in a probation violation in Loudoun County. He was ordered to complete the detention and diversion center programs through the Virginia Department of Corrections. In January 2015, Arnold was charged in Pennsylvania with assault, obstruction of justice, resisting arrest, and driving under the influence. He was sentenced to jail time there and upon his release was sent back to Loudoun for another probation violation hearing in Circuit Court, where his suspended sentence was revoked. He is expected to remain in prison until at least 2028.

Former Redskin Player Faces Firearm Charge After Shooting The Loudoun County Sheriff ’s Office has been dealing with a rash of unintentional shootings in recent weeks. One case has landed a former Washington Redskins player in the hospital—and in court. Former wide receiver Josh Morgan has been charged with reckless use of a firearm after shooting himself at his home in the Barclay Ridge neighbor-

hood near Watson on Jan. 31. According to the sheriff ’s office, Morgan was cleaning his weapon when it fired. He was transported to Inova Fairfax Hospital for treatment. His case is scheduled for trial in Loudoun District Court on March 9. Three other unintentional shootings were reported by the sheriff ’s office last week. On Feb. 9, deputies were called to an Ashley Terrace home in Cascades where a resident reported that the previous day a firearm was discharged while being cleaned. The round went through a wall and into the neighbor’s townhouse. No injuries were reported. That same day, a gunshot victim was treated at the Inova Loudoun Hospital emergency room. Deputies were called to the scene. The man reported he was showing a firearm to a friend when it unintentionally discharged. On Feb. 8, a shooting was reported at a home on Mountain Road near Lovettsville. Deputies were called to the home about 11:45 p.m. where a man reported he was unloading a firearm when it unintentionally discharged. He was transported to Winchester Medical Center and treated for injuries described as non-life-threatening.

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Crime Briefs

proach with our partners in the community to develop educational and prevention programs,” Chapman stated. The pilot program is part of Placido Sanchez the comprehensive approach of the Heroin Operations Team (HOT) initiative announced by Chapman and U.S. Representative Barbara Comstock (R-VA-10) in April 2015. The initiative combines the efforts of local, state, and federal law enforcement; Loudoun County public schools; the Loudoun County Department of Mental Health, Substance Abuse, and Developmental Services; and other offices within the Community Services Board. Comstock congratulated Sanchez and Ambroise on their life-saving work. “The use of heroin is gripping our community, but through the efforts of Sheriff Mike Chapman’s office and the Heroin Operations Team, we are fighting this scourge on all fronts with law enforcement action and community involvement,” according to Comstock. Law enforcement agencies across the country have begun equipping their personnel with naloxone in response to an increase in opiate overdoses nationwide. Fatal overdoses of heroin have nearly tripled nationwide since 2010. In Loudoun County, the number of fatal heroin overdoses increased significantly between 2013 and 2014; however, collective efforts in Loudoun County for this year resulted in a decline of fatal overdoses in 2015.

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Two Loudoun County Sheriff ’s deputies administered LCSO’s first life-saving in-the-field naloxone treatment last week. Deputies Placido Sanchez and Erick Ambroise Erick Ambroise on Wednesday, Feb. 10 responded to a western Loudoun home where a man was slipping in and out of consciousness before becoming unresponsive with indications of drug use. Recognizing a potential heroin overdose, Ambroise administered his agency-issued naloxone to revive the man, who was taken to Inova Loudoun Hospital for treatment. Hospital personnel advised the deputies they likely had saved the man’s life. The treatment marked the first time naloxone was used in the field since a pilot program begun in December. Sanchez and Ambroise are among 31 Loudoun deputies trained last year to carry and administer nasal naloxone, which can quickly reverse the effects of opiates such as heroin, oxycodone, and hydrocodone. “We are proud of these two deputies who utilized their training effectively to potentially help save a life, but this is just one part of our efforts to have an impact on those affected by heroin addiction,” Sheriff Mike Chapman stated, promising that the sheriff ’s office follows up on drug-related cases to determine who is supplying them. “We also understand we cannot arrest our way out of this problem, this is why we have taken a proactive ap-

LCSO Deputies Administer First Naloxone Treatment in Overdoes Case

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[ CRIME ]

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[ LEESBURG ]

Leesburg Prepares for Budget Reveal

n BY KARA C. RODRIGUEZ

ON HOLD

Loudoun Now File Photo

Courthouse expansion vote delayed n BY KARA C. RODRIGUEZ

he Leesburg Town Council will take more time to address some lingering concerns associated with the expansion of the Loudoun County Courthouse in downtown Leesburg. During its Feb. 9 meeting, the council voted to send the applications related to courthouse expansion to its Feb. 22 work session. Before the council are three separate land development applications for the courthouse expansion. The first, a Town Plan amendment, would change the land use designation of the 9.9-acre area including the Pennington parking lot, off North and Church streets, from Low-Density Residential to Downtown. The two other applications include a concept plan and proffer amendment to increase the square footage of the proposed District Court Building at 2 N. Church St. to 92,000 square feet, and to rezone the Pennington lot from

R-6 (residential) to Government Center to allow the construction of a parking garage. Throughout the applications’ three rounds of review before the Planning Commission, concerns about the impact on local traffic and neighborhoods, the aesthetics of the planned parking garage, in particular its size and design, and lighting atop the parking structure have been major concerns raised by commissioners and neighbors. The commission ultimately recommended approval of all three applications, but concerns about the projects have not abated. Last week, many residents from the neighborhood turned out to voice their reservations to the council. North Street resident JD Norman presented a petition signed by more than 70 residents opposed to many facets of the Pennington garage project in particular. (See petition at NoPenningtonGarage.com.) Many have questioned the need

As part of the Loudoun County court system expansion, the county plans to build a parking garage to the left, across from several homes on North Street.

for four parking levels and suggested dropping down the garage by one level to decrease the height and the impact on nearby homes. Charles Yudd, from County Administration, stated during last week’s council meeting that the parking spaces in the proposed garage are needed to make up for the current space shortage in the County Government Center garage. Other residents who spoke at last week’s meeting raised concerns about traffic enforcement, proposed construction hours and proffers. Council members themselves said many of the issues could be better addressed with more time. “I would support a work session to see if we can troubleshoot some of these problems,” Councilwoman Suzanne Fox said, following a motion to move the items to the Feb. 22 work session by Councilwoman Katie Sheldon Hammler. krodriguez@loudounnow.com

City Briefs Special Meeting Planned For Council Seat Appointment The Town Council will host a special meeting on Monday, Feb. 22, at 7:30 p.m. to appoint a new council member. David Butler was appointed as the town’s new mayor last week to serve out the remainder of former mayor Kristen Umstattd’s term, which expires Dec. 31 of this year. Now a new council member is needed to fill out the remainder of Butler’s fouryear council term, which also expires Dec. 31. Town staff has been collecting expressions of interest from Leesburg

residents this week. The appointment is expected to happen at Monday’s meeting, with the regularly scheduled work session immediately following. The meeting will be held in Town Hall Council Chambers.

Staff Eyes Tweaks To Snow Hotline Leesburg Public Information Officer Betsy Arnett says the town’s new snow hotline has been successful in its first season of use, but some tweaks will be needed. The snow hotline debuted in Decem-

ber and has been tested by two minor and one major snowstorm thus far. The hotline was meant to be a central tool to be used for residents to ask questions and share concerns to town staff during declared snow emergencies. All phone calls begin with a recorded update of general snow removal efforts at the time, but then residents are transferred to a staff member responsible for manning the line. The biggest test came on the weekend beginning Jan. 22, when Winter Storm Jonas dumped more than three feet of CRIME BRIEFS >> 9

Leesburg Town Council members will begin the fiscal year 2017 budget process next week, with a budget presentation by Town Manager Kaj Dentler eyed for Feb. 23. Although the official unveiling of the spending plan has not yet occurred, council members and members of the town’s Planning Commission have gotten an initial glimpse at the town’s financial picture, as well as a preview of proposed changes to the Capital Improvements Program, in recent weeks. The Planning Commission kicked off its review of the CIP—a road map for the town’s capital priorities—earlier this month, and was expected to put together its final recommendations on the fiscal year 2017 program at its Feb. 18 meeting, after this paper’s deadline. The draft CIP includes 37 projects. By comparison in fiscal year 2000, the CIP had 130 projects. This year’s draft includes several new projects, most notably a splash pad at Mervin Jackson Park next to Town Hall; as well as budget increases on some of the projects already in the books. Increases are eyed for the renovations to the skate park off Catoctin Circle; an expansion in improvements to the town’s traffic management system; and several road projects hit by an increase in VDOT’s construction costs. The skate park project also is looking at a delay of six months because of a change in the location. The phase two South King Street road widening project will be re-bid in hopes of finding lower construction pricing. David Rose, the town’s financial consultant, has given the town a thumbs-up when it comes to its fiscal policy. Rose updated the council last week on where the town stands in terms of its fiscal prudence. Last year, the town was given a AAA rating by all three rating agencies for the first time in its history. The council last year also amended town policy to increase savings to its rainy day fund from 15 percent to 20 percent for the ensuing five years. Rose said the town’s financial picture is playing out exactly as predicted and, if current policy is followed, the town will remain in a strong fiscal position for years to come. “We’re stronger today than we were 20 years ago,” Rose said. With the budget presentation pegged for next week, the council is expected to schedule several budget work sessions. Budget and tax rate adoption is eyed for early April. krodriguez@loudounnow.com

[ LEESBURG ]

February 18–24, 2016

Town Launches Online Survey for Police Chief Leesburg residents are encouraged to participate in an online survey about the town police department and search for the next police chief. The four-question survey about the recruitment of the new chief is on the new “Leesburg Listens” online forum on leesburgva.gov/leesburglistens. The survey is open through Sunday, Feb. 21. In addition to the survey, town leaders planned hold two public input meetings on Wednesday, Feb.17, in Ida Lee Park << FROM 8

snow in parts of the town. Arnett said between Saturday Jan. 23 and Wednesday Jan. 27 the hotline received 2,270 calls. Almost half of those calls were received on Monday, Jan. 25, when the storm had ended and snow removal efforts were in full swing. That day also seemed to be the tipping point in frustration for residents and town staff alike. That night Town Council members hosted the first of two emergency conference calls on snow removal efforts, with some residents joining in criticizing the town for its focus on treating primary roads when many neighborhood streets were still not passable. Arnett said town staff plans to make a presentation to the council about the town’s snow removal strategy going forward. Although researching industry standard practices has reinforced

the town’s practice of treating primary roads first, Arnett said staff is planning to ask the council to support more funding to supplement snow removal for future storms. As for future tweaks for the hotline, Arnett said one issue that has been identified early on is the need to have all staff members answering phones in the same location for better coordination. Arnett also noted that some residents were sending in the same concerns multiple times, either through repeat calls to the snow hotline, on the town’s Facebook page, or via an online form on the town website. She said that some residents may have felt that their concerns weren’t being heard since the online form submission did not generate a response from town staff, but assures that all concerns were logged and reported to street crews.

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Recreation Center to get feedback from residents and businesses. [The meetings occurred after the newspaper’s deadline; go to LoudounNow.com for an update.] The International Association of Chiefs of Police is leading the recruitment search. The organization will use the information gathered from the online survey and the public meetings to develop a position profile for the recruitment process.

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Monroe Tech preps for new era

LOUDOUN UNSCRIPTED: WATCH A VIDEO ON TIMOTHY FLYNN PRODUCED BY C.S. MONROE TECHNOLOGY STUDENTS IN PARTNERSHIP WITH CPTV AT LOUDOUNNOW.COM.

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n BY DANIELLE NADLER

areer and technical education in Loudoun County is approaching a growth spurt of sorts. As the demand for skilled labor and technology sector jobs continues to rise, C.S. Monroe Technology Center is being seen more and more as a national model for what secondary education ought to look like in the future. And it’s preparing to nearly double in size when it moves into the new Academies of Loudoun in the fall of 2018. The school, Loudoun’s center for career and technical education, has tapped new leadership to guide it through its big transition. Timothy Flynn started last month as Monroe’s third principal. He steps in following the retirement of Wagner Grier, who led the school for 13 years. During Grier’s tenure, Monroe added firefighter/EMT, health and medical

Loudoun Now/Danielle Nadler Timothy Flynn, C.S. Monroe Technology Center’s third principal, is preparing the school for a major expansion.

sciences and computer engineering and design programs, earning it the designation as a Governor’s Career and Technical STEM Academy. “I would like to sustain and build on that as we transition to the Academies of Loudoun and meet the new career needs of industry in Northern Virginia,” Flynn said. Monroe’s 26 programs serve about 600 students, but has waiting lists several hundred students long. Decades ago, the school outgrew its facility on Childrens Center Road in Leesburg, and some of its programs now operate in other buildings throughout the county. The vocational school been described as Loudoun’s best kept secret. But Flynn said word is getting out about the needs—of both students and businesses—that the school is filling. That became evident in 2014 when voters approved $115 million in bond funding to build the Academies of

Loudoun. That campus, off Sycolin Road just south of the Dulles Greenway, will house an expanded version of Monroe and the Academy of Science, as well as a new Academy of Engineering and Technology. Ahead of the academies’ opening, educators are meeting with business leaders to help design the programs to meet industry demands. For Monroe, most of the programs in place are already doing just that. But the academies will provide the space to do it on a larger scale, with room for more than 1,000 students, Flynn said. “We definitely need more space for the 26 programs,” he said. Flynn said he’s had employers in the HVAC, welding and computer sciences industries approach him

Seven months later, its members have put forward a new recommendation: Brambleton Middle School. Their alternate choice is Beaverdam Creek Middle School, after the nearby reservoir. The School Board, which was presented with the recommendation Feb. 9, will likely adopt the name Brambleton; John F. Ryan is the first recommended name the board has rejected in recent history. While a vote to adopt the name is not scheduled until Feb. 23, Tom Marshall (Leesburg) took time during last week’s meeting to register his distaste

for schools named after developments, like Brambleton. “Loudoun County has a great deal of history and exceptional individuals for whom a school could be named,” he said, suggesting Gen. George C. Marshall, President James Monroe or Virginia Governor Westmoreland Davis. “I don’t think artificially created community HOAs or long-forgotten bridges, ridges, corners and creeks or mills, stations or landings are more worthy of recognition as names of schools than an individual with historical significance to our county, our state or our nation.”

about hiring students right out of high school. “I’ve only been here a few weeks and I’ve had people come up to me and say, ‘listen, I have this many jobs I need to fill right now,’” he said. “The needs within the industry are expansive.” Wagner, who sits on a committee to help with Monroe’s transition, said the new space will provide space needed to meet those growing needs. “There’s a huge shortage in skilled labor, and there’s been a shortage for quite a number of years,” he said. For that reason, Monroe is now being seen as one of Loudoun’s premier programs, he added. “Monroe broke ground in a lot of areas, but didn’t get the attention. … Now, I think it will be a focal point of the Academies of Loudoun.” Flynn agreed that it’s an exciting time to work in career and technical education. Many in the school system’s administration office expected Flynn to go on to fill an assistant superintendent role. In 2011, he was named Loudoun County’s Principal of the Year when he worked at Belmont Ridge Middle School. From there, he became the school system’s Director of Instructional Services. But, he said, leading Monroe has been a professional goal of his for a long time. His father was a contractor and carpenter, which helped propel him to work as a career assessor and a vocational rehabilitation counselor before he started with Loudoun County Public Schools. “I’ve loved every job I’ve had … but my passion has always been creating career pathways and options for students within a K-12 environment, and Monroe does that better than any place,” he said. Monroe allows students to find and pursue their passion, and he wants to be a part of that. “Some of the highlights of my career have been the last few days, watching kids do amazing things and just come to life because they created something, whether it was a concrete block wall or a kitchen design,” he said. “It’s been amazing.” dnadler@loudounnow.com

School Notes MS-9 May Soon be Brambleton Middle School The middle school long referred to as simply MS-9 will soon have a name. The Loudoun County School Board initially voted last June to name the school after former Virginia House of Delegates Speaker John F. Ryan, following the recommendation of a naming committee. It later reversed its decision after community members brought to light that Ryan might have ushered in racial segregation laws. The naming committee was asked to go back to the drawing board.

The $49.34 million middle school will open to students in August 2017.

LCPS Registration Now Online Parents will no longer need to line up at odd hours of the morning to register their children for kindergarten. Loudoun County Public Schools is implementing a new online, pre-registration process for students who will enter kindergarten through 12th grade next school year. The site will open for students registering for the 2016-2017 school year SCHOOL NOTES >> 12

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amendment were successful, Loudoun may be required to build, staff and operate a charter school it doesn’t want and can’t afford. For example, in 2012, the state Board of Education approved an application for the Loudoun Math & IT Academy. The Loudoun School Board ultimately rejected the proposed charter school, citing significant gaps in its academic and financial plans. Loudoun has approved two charter school applications in the past three years, more than any other Virginia school division. Middleburg Community Charter School opened in the fall of 2014 and Hillsboro Charter Academy will open in September. “Let’s keep control of our charter schools at the local level,” Mathews said. At the committee level, Leesburg Del. J. Randall Minchew (R-10) was the swing vote to send the bill to the House floor. He didn’t want his “no vote” to kill the bill in committee and preclude

Renss Greene/Loudoun Now

Hillsboro Elementary School will transition to Hillsboro Charter Academy this fall, making it the second charter school in Loudoun County.

the rest of the General Assembly from weighing in. But he voted against the bill in the House Monday. He said he supports the expansion of charter schools, but doesn’t think that the state Board of Education should undermine a local school board’s decision on the matter. “I do not think that it is good public policy to allow for charter school applicants to take their applications originally to the Board of Education, a body comprised of unelected gubernatorial appointees, rather than first to the local elected school boards,” he said. dnadler@loudounnow.com

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Major School Attendance Boundary Changes Coming This week, the Loudoun County School Board began an extensive review of elementary and middle school attendance zone boundaries that could impact students at as many as 40 schools in eastern, central and parts of western Loudoun. The changes to attendance zones are needed ahead of the opening of a middle school (MS-9) and high school (HS-11) in Brambleton. Plus, boundary lines in the Leesburg area will be changed to address projected overcrowding at Evergreen Mill Elementary School as a result of changes to the attendance map made by the School Board in December. Also as part of this process, the board will reassign students who live in the Hillsboro Elementary attendance zone in preparation for the school’s conversation to

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During a public hearing in November, residents from several Ashburn neighborhoods protest attendance boundary changes. Another round of changes will soon be underway.

a charter school. Students who attend that school this academic year will be eligible for seats if they want to attend Hillsboro Charter Academy, which opens in August. Students at the following schools

could be impacted: Hillsboro, Mountain View, Ball’s Bluff, Catoctin, Cool Spring, Evergreen Mill, Frances Hazel Reid, Frederick Douglass, Kenneth W. Culbert, John W. Tolbert Jr., Leesburg, Lucketts, Sycolin Creek, Hillside, Mill Run, Ashburn, Discovery, Dominion Trail, Aldie, Arcola, Buffalo Trail, Pinebrook, Creighton’s Corner, Legacy, Rosa Lee Carter, Cedar Lane, Sanders BOUNDARY CHANGES >> 12

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egislation that would give the Virginia Board of Education the final say on the establishment of local charter schools had Loudoun’s school leaders bristling this week. House Bill 3 aimed to amend the state constitution to divest local school boards of their sole authority to establish charter schools in their jurisdictions and transfer that authority to the state board. The bill passed in the House of Delegates on a 50-48 vote Monday, and was voted down in the Senate. Although, just barely. Lt. Gov. Ralph S. Northam broke a 20-20 tie to defeat the legislation. Had the bill been successful, it would have been placed on the ballot this November. The Loudoun County School Board issued a “LET’S KEEP resolution last CONTROL OF week opposing OUR CHARTER the bill. The fear SCHOOLS AT was that the THE LOCAL state education LEVEL.” board could approve a charter school to open in a locality, even if the locality could not afford it or residents didn’t want it. “It takes away our ability to reject a charter school application and gives the Board of Education the right to just put one in our county,” Vice Chairwoman Brenda Sheridan (Sterling) said last week. Joey Mathews, president of the school employee advocate group Loudoun Education Association, pointed out that, if the constitutional

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[ E D U C AT I O N ] for all grades including kindergarten on Tuesday, Feb. 23. Parents << FROM 10 of incoming kindergarten students may pre-register online to sign up for a registration meeting for Wednesday, March 30, the kindergarten registration date. Parents should plan to bring the following items with them on registration day, March 30: The original or certified copy of their child’s birth certificate or a notarized affidavit; proof of residency (a signed deed, current lease agreement, new settlement paperwork or current mortgage statement); a parent/ guardian photo ID; and legal custody papers, if applicable. Parents should provide the completed registration form with a new physical to the school no later than Aug. 15. Learn more about the registration process and the new online portal at lcps.org.

Ida Lee Park Recreation Center. The request was unanimously supported by the council. The donation box will be a collection area for care packages for children and their families. Items requested for donation by the students include: coloring books, crayons, colored pencils, markers, playing cards, sport trading cards, travel size games, Indulgence brand travel pillows (from Bed, Bath & Beyond), white pillow cases for travel pillows, smaller Lego sets, game boards and games, and Hot Wheels. Other items sought include things needed for the children’s parents, like toiletries for hospital stays, travel bags, and gift cards to places like Amazon, Starbucks, iTunes and Target. Fun, patterned cotton fabric by the yard to be used for chemo bag covers is also desired. Anyone wishing to donate money toward the cause may make a check out to Team Mathias.

Catoctin ES Students Collecting for Kids with Cancer

Speech Contest Feb. 22

School Notes

Fourth graders at Leesburg’s Catoctin Elementary School will soon begin collecting items for children battling cancer in area hospitals. Students in the fourth grade classes of Linda Knapp and Sarah Webber appeared before the Leesburg Town Council on Feb. 9 to request approval to place a donation box in the lobby of << BOUNDARY CHANGES FROM 11 Corner, Newton-Lee, Seldens Landing and Steuart W. Weller elementary schools; Eagle Ridge, Farmwell Station, Mercer, Belmont Ridge, Stone Hill, Trailside and J. Michael Lunsford middle schools; Briar Woods, Broad Run, John Champe, Riverside, Rock Ridge, Stone Bridge and Freedom high schools. As part of the boundary change process, the board will hold several work sessions and public hearings. The meeting schedule for the central Loudoun/Leesburg attendance changes is as follows: Public hearings, 6:30

Bethany Methodist Church in Purcellville will hold a speech contest at 7 p.m. Monday, Feb. 22. The contest is open to ninth through 12th grade students. The theme of this year’s contest is “Be a gift to the world.” Cash awards will be given. To register and for more information, call Priscilla Godfrey at 540-687-5689. p.m. Thursday, Feb. 18, Thursday, Feb. 25, Thursday, March 3, and Monday, March 14; boundary map adoption, 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 29. The meeting schedule for the Hillsboro conversation and attendance changes is: Public hearing and adoption, 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 23. The meeting schedule for attendance changes related to MS-7 and HS-11 is: Public hearings, 6:30 p.m. Monday, March 28, Monday, April 4, Monday, April 11; boundary map adoption, 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, May 10. The public hearings will be held at the school administration building, 21000 Education Court in Ashburn.

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

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

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McGregor Resigns from VRT, Simms Appointed Interim CEO Two months after federal investigators raided the Virginia Regional Transit headquarters in Purcellville, investigators have not released any information about the case, according to VRT attorney Mary Gayle Holden. However, there has been a change in the leadership of the organization. “We don’t know anything,” Holden said last Wednesday when asked for an update on the Dec. 11, 2015, FBI raid. She confirmed that VRT CEO Mark McGregor has resigned. He was nearing the end of his contract and planned to retire with his wife in Arizona, Holden said. “The [VRT] board reluctantly

agreed,” Holden said. McGregor also resigned his position on the board of the Purcellville Business Association. Bruce Simms, whom McGregor had been grooming as his successor, has been named interim CEO. Holden said the VRT board would decide how to proceed for the future leadership of the company. The nonprofit provides public transportation bus service in 11 Virginia jurisdictions. In its 2015 annual report, VRT reported total revenues of $4.7 million, including $1.38 million in federal funds, $508,500 from the state government and $190,000 from Loudoun County.

A Loudoun deputy guarded the entrance to the Virginia Regional Transit office in Purcellville on Dec. 11, 2015, while federal agents worked inside.

After a month of ice and snow, the thoughts of planners in Loudoun’s Department of Economic Development are turning to spring. They have put out a call for farmers and producers to register to participate in the Spring Farm Tour, which will be held May 21-22. The registration deadline is March 16. The application form is online at biz.loudoun.gov/farmtourapp. “This is a great opportunity to showcase our thriving rural economy and give hands-on opportunities for the community to see the great things that are going on in western Loudoun,” Loudoun Economic Development Executive Director Buddy Rizer said in a statement. The county’s spring and fall farm tours are popular destinations for visitors who get a sense of farm life and enjoy a day out in the country. Participating farmers often invite children to ride ponies, pet water buffalo calves, hold baby chicks, gather eggs, pick strawberries, and enjoy food straight from the farm. “For adults, members of our craft beverage industry have offered tastings of wine, beer, mead and other products, most of them made with ingredients grown right on Loudoun farms. We encourage all farm-related businesses to participate in the Spring Farm Tour,” Agricultural Development Officer Kellie Boles stated.

February 18–24, 2016

Spring Farm Tour Registration Deadline Set for March 16

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Left, a thriving display of tomato vines, some stretching 30 feet long, grow despite weather conditions outside in Donald Virts’ hydroponic greenhouse near Hillsboro.

GROWING SUCCESS After three generations of farming, family digs into hydroponics n BY MARGARET MORTON In his mid-50s, Donald J. Virts Jr. decided to part company with the traditional farming he had known and practiced for years. The lifelong Hillsboro area resident embarked on a new tack—one that would fit with his own views on producing healthy food and also bring in a decent income. The result of that decision can be seen in the 5,000-square-foot hydroponic greenhouse and farm market barn at the junction of Rt. 9 and Purcellville Road. Inside the striking barn, built by Lincoln master timber craftsman and stonemason Allen Cochran, long tables display produce from Virts’ CEA (Controlled-Environment Agriculture) Farm’s greenhouse.

The Virts family has been farming in Loudoun since the 1700s. Donald Virts Sr. bought the 350-acre Meadow Hill Farm from radio entertainer Arthur Godfrey in 1972. In 1996, Donald Virts Jr. moved off the farm. “There wasn’t enough income for everyone,” he said. When his father’s health deteriorated, he came back in 2007. At that point, the farm’s income was still unsustainable. “Hail or summer storms can wipe you out in 10 minutes,” he said. Virts said he and his brother, Realtor Dennis Virts, worried about how the family could keep the land open and keep it viable for the family’s future generations. The answer Donald Virts came up with was to grow products that he could market directly, and to produce healthier food and a more sustainable income through hydroponic green-

Margaret Morton/Loudoun Now

Rows of strawberry plants stretch from one end of the greenhouse to the other at Virts’ CEA Farm.

house production. He’s not the first to do so in Loudoun. Mary Ellen Taylor, owner of Endless Summer Harvest near Round Hill, produces lettuce greens and herbs that are sold year-round to top restaurants and grocery stores. But Virts wanted customers to come to him and avoid what he calls the “pack and haul” business. Over about a three-year period, Virts consulted with County Agricultural Development Officer Kellie Boles on his plans. Boles, who persuaded Virts to open during the 2015 Fall Farm Tour, said his year-round production of vegetables and fruits should do well in Loudoun’s very lucrative market. “He has the widest production of fruits and vegetables grown hydroponically year-round in the region—and that gives him a competitive edge,” according to Boles. He’s also focused on perfection of flavor—not perfection of form. Tomatoes, for instance, grow in different sizes and shapes—some are misshapen. “That’s how our grandparents ate,” Virts said. Boles agreed: “In the middle of winter, you can go [to CEA Farms] and buy a tomato that tastes like a tomato.” Virts built about 90 percent of his greenhouse himself, in late 2014. He planted his first tomato seed on March 29, 2015. Today, his greenhouse is stocked with tomatoes—some sporting 30-foot vines—peppers, cucumber and lettuce as well as strawberries and shitake mushrooms. The advantage of the environmentally controlled growing space is the greatly reduced chemical input, and absence of bugs. Virts has only had to control aphids once and use a fungicide in December when the unseasonably warm and humid temperatures produced mold. He sprays once a month.

Above, Virts holds a ripening strawberry greenhouse. Margaret Morton/Loudoun Now

Each seed is placed in a soft plug of material that soaks up water from below, fertilized and set in long, stacked rows. On a recent visit to the greenhouse, tomato, cucumber and pepper vines twined up long strings toward the roof, with lettuce seedlings at various stages of development. He doesn’t think small, and the greenhouse is only part of the family’s farming operation. “My plan, where I want to go, is 375,000 pounds of beef,” he said. His nephew Michael is in charge of the beef and pork operation. Customers can buy a whole steer or individual cuts of beef. Virts has a food truck behind his farm market, where he makes hamburgers, cheeseburgers and sandwiches that customers can eat while overlooking the scenic farm. That’s the first phase. Phase two is to expand into the food business, including new “grow” buildings, which will have large observation areas for visitors, and a restaurant. “I can grow the majority of the food—it makes this viable,” Virts said. He hopes to establish his first restaurant in eastern Loudoun, with more to come along Rt. 7 toward Washington, DC. He plans to begin construction this summer on a new, more environmentally controlled, grow building. “I’m learning, too,” he said. Virts’ eyes gleam as he thinks of another improvement. “I’d love to incorporate solar and geothermal to run [the greenhouses],” he said. “I’ve had so much fun, people are so appreciative,” he said. “I can see how it will all come together.” For more information, go to facebook.com/CEAFarms. mmorton@loudounnow.com

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Town Briefs toric properties more readily available.

Lovettsville Refocuses ‘We’re In’ Committee

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After hiring part-time help to promote economic development, tourism and events, the Lovettsville Town Council is refocusing the We’re In Committee. The new goal is a return to the original concept—to provide networking, education, exposure for town businesses and to promote tourism. The committee will continue to support four events each year, including the Lovettsville Business Expo; Light Up Lovettsville; the Business Forum and the musical Concert Series on the Town Green. Learn more about the panel in the business section of the town’s website, lovettsvilleva.gov.

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Although hampered by recent snowstorms, the Town of Middleburg is still making progress with major infrastructure projects. Having completed the installation of the water main along Washington Street, crews are working on connections to individual customers and side streets. The next big phase in the traffic calming project is the replacement of street lights on Washington Street. That work will occur in the spring and summer. As soon as the weather warms, the town will start on brick sidewalk repairs. Access to all downtown businesses will remain open during the work. Work on the town’s east-end waterline is also expected to start soon. The larger line forms a new loop along Washington, Pinckney and Marshall streets to improve water pressure in that area of town. Lastly, the town is reviewing seven engineering proposals to design the West End Sewage Pump Station upgrade. A contract award is expected within the next few months.

Historic District Survey Contract Awarded The Middleburg Town Council has awarded a contract to Dutton + Association LLC to complete an update of the Middleburg Historic District Survey. The project, funded by a state grant, will update the town’s 2000 survey and add that information to the Virginia Department of Historic Resources V-CRIS database. The results will make it easier for property owners in the district to pursue historic preservation tax credits. A historic district survey report will make information on the town’s his-

Bluemont Fair is Calling All Artists Organizers of the Bluemont Fair has put out the call for artists to submit designs for the 2016 logo and poster. Artists of all ages may choose to submit designs in the following areas: harvest moon, fall foliage and Bluemont—where the past meets the present. One, two or all three elements may be incorporated into the design, and artists may submit multiple entries. The designs should be simple and minimal color to facilitate replication on the fair’s poster, T-shirt and mug. The artwork should be mailed by April 8 to: Bluemont Fair Logo/ Poster Design Competition, PO Box 217, Bluemont, VA 20135. Enclose a self-addressed, stamped mailer to request return of the artwork. For more information, call 540-5542367 or go to bluemontfair.org. This year’s fair—the 47th annual—will be held Sept. 17-18. Organizers also recently named Keith and Lori Schoonover of Wood Eye Wood as the juried crafts winner of the 2015 Bluemont Fair. The couple will receive a free display space and a large blue ribbon to display during this year’s fair.

PURCELLVILLE Arts Council Sponsors Art Exhibit at Town Hall The Purcellville Arts Council is sponsoring the first in a series of three-month-long art exhibits in the Purcellville Town Hall, featuring the work of local artist Penny Hauff. The show, which will be exhibited throughout the first floor, will run through March. Born in Namibia, Hauffe was educated in England at Oxford University/Gemini School of Illustration. She traveled the world before settling in western Loudoun. Hauffe’s work is inspired by the natural world, and her work shows a tremendous sense of color—from playful illustrations to landscapes and images. Painter, sculptor, muralist, illustrator and teacher, Hauffe’s exhibit will reflect her diversity of style and medium. Residents may view the exhibit during regular Town Hall hours— from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday to Friday. Those interested in booking a show at the Town Hall next year should contact Melanie Scoggins at mscoggins@purcellvilleva.gov.

[ OUR TOWNS ]

Four candidates vie for Purcellville Council vacancy n BY MARGARET MORTON Purcellville Councilwoman Joan Lehr announced Monday that she will challenge incumbent Kwasi Fraser for the mayor’s seat in May’s town elections. In a statement, Lehr said she had been approached by many constituents asking that she run for mayor. “I spoke with residents of the town to understand their issues and concerns,” she said, citing her two terms on the council and previous experience on the town’s Planning Commission. “I have gained the knowledge and understanding of how our town government functions and the rules and regulations by which we govern.” Lehr said her community involvement, including with the Rotary Club of Purcellville, the Purcellville Business Association and her years of working in youth sports and school activities, “enables me to listen to many points of view and work to find the best solutions for the town as a whole.” Fraser was elected in 2014 and is serving his first term in elective office. On Tuesday night, the Town Council held a special meeting to interview four finalists who applied to fill the council seat vacated by the Jan. 12 resignation of Vice Mayor Ben Packard,

who is moving. After interviewing the candidates in open session, the council was expected to debate its selection in closed session before announcing its choice publicly. The selected candidate will serve until a special election is held May 3. The meeting occurred after the newspaper’s deadline; go to LoudounNow.com for an update on the action. The four candidates were selected Feb. 9 from a list of 10 applicants. Those selected were: Eamon McAdoo Coy, Melanie Fuller, Amanda Athilia Kadilak and James O. Wiley. Also, Ronald B. Rise Jr. was selected as an alternate, should any of the others not be available for interviews that day. Coy serves as chairman of the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board. He has lived in town since 2009 and believes that the mission of local government is to simultaneously nurture the town’s history and bring new ideas and methods to local governance. Fuller, who has lived in town since 2006, serves on the Board of Zoning Appeals and is a past member of the town’s Economic Development Advisory Committee. Fuller says that experience has given her a good understanding of how government works and of the collaborative efforts needed to bring all parties to consensus. Kadilak has lived in town since 2006.

Although this is her first foray into local government, Kadilak has spent most of her professional career in the federal government relations arena, representing municipalities across the country on policy issues. She describes herself as a forward-thinking fiscal conservative. Retired dentist James O. “Doc” Wiley has lived in town for more than 50 years. He served on the Purcellville Town Council for two terms, during which his was an influential voice on budget and planning issues. Previously he served as a long-tenured member of the Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority. He also served on the town’s Parks and Recreation Advisory Board. Alternate candidate, Ronald B. Rise Jr. graduated from Loudoun Valley High School and his first job was at Nichols Hardware. An operations manager and software engineer in the aviation industry, Rise works closely with the Federal Aviation Administration regarding regulatory interpretation and compliance. Others who sought the interim appointment were: Raul George Aramayo, Ryan James Cool, Kelli Grim, Marcos A. Salinas, and Rebecca Elizabeth Evans Visna.

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[ LOUDOUN ]

PARK PROGRESS

Loudoun Now/Renss Greene

Part of the Blue Ridge Center for Environmental Stewardship in western Loudoun County could soon be home to a state park.

Efforts to open Loudoun’s first state park are advancing on two fronts n BY RENSS GREENE The trail to Loudoun’s first state park has been a long and winding one, but this year it comes one step closer. Leesburg Del. J. Randall Minchew (R-10) this year proposed a state budget amendment that would allow the Department of Conservation and Recreation to use state capital construction funds to acquire state park property in Loudoun County. The state has planned a park in far northwestern Loudoun, near Neersville, since 2014. The park won’t have a name for a while yet, but people involved with the project have informally referred to it as Loudoun Between the Hills. There’s no dollar figure attached to Minchew’s budget amendment, but it’s probably a good deal for the commonwealth—most of the land will be donated to the state, and much of the rest can probably be bought at fire sale prices. “Basically, I was leaving it to the DCR and Virginia State Parks to decide what that dollar figure is, because really, I don’t even know what is the possible price for buying this land,” Minchew said. Depending on how many landowners decide to donate or sell at low prices, the park could be anywhere between 600 to 1,500 acres with the mountainside trails, ponds, and streams. Roughly 600 acres of land in the western part of the Blue Ridge Center for Environmental Stewardship will

form the backbone of the park. The land was owned by the Robert and Dee Leggett Foundation, which put a conservation easement across the land to protect it from development and donated the land to the Old Dominion Land Conservancy. Now, the Blue Ridge Center operates the land as a private park, with hiking trails, camping, horseback riding, and an education center. “If all the people donate who have expressed an interest, we would be close to 1,500 acres,” said Henry Stribling, executive director of the Old Dominion Land Conservancy. That land would stretch along the Blue Ridge and Potomac River.

The parkland is working its way through legal technicalities before the state can take possession. Recently, the Board of Supervisors approved a change to the easement rules which would allow the state to put up a sign and meet other state land rules, such as those dealing with legal indemnity. Two of the holders of the conservation easements on the land, the county government and the Potomac Conservancy Inc., have now agreed to that change in its terms. Stribling said the third, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, is expected to agree soon.

rgreene@loudounnow.com

Group’s Easements Preserve Forests, Farms and Wetlands The Purcellville-based Old Dominion Land Conservancy provided more than 2,200 acres of land conservation easements in Loudoun and Fauquier counties during 2015. These easements span seven separate plots, consisting of active farms, forests, historic structures and wetlands. “OLDC takes great pride in the work we were able to accomplish across Northern Virginia in 2015,” Executive Director Henry Stribling stated. “It is an honor to work with Virginia’s wonderful families and organizations to help preserve our beautiful countryside. We deeply appreciate the generosity and support of our neighbors, without whom none of this would be possible.” Among the highlights of the work are two properties. In Loudoun County, ODLC worked with the Northern Virginia United Methodist Camps and Conference Corporation to preserve 610 acres of campground near Philomont for youth. In Fauquier County, the ODLC helped Charles Strother preserve his farm, which has been in his family for more than three generations and is now the home to an expanding winery operation. More information about Old Dominion Land Conservancy can be found at www.odlc.us.

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February 18–24, 2016

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[ BIZ ]

Chamber to Honor 132 for Heroic Actions

TIME TO PIG OUT Spring Opening Eyed for Redskins’ Restaurant

ore details have been unveiled about the long-anticipated Washington Redskins-themed restaurant planned at One Loudoun in Ashburn. Hail & Hog Kitchen & Tap will open in late spring, the team announced last week. The décor will showcase the team’s 84-year history, including three Super Bowl wins and five National League Championships. The name is intended to pay homage to the team’s longstanding anthem, “Hail to the Redskins,” along with a tribute to its storied offensive line of the 1980s and early ’90s, “the Hogs.” “The ability to connect with the community in a very real way through

Hail & Hog is a natural extension for us,” Terry Bateman, Redskins Executive Vice President, stated in announcing the plans. The team is working with The G.R.E.A.T. Grille Group, known as g3 Restaurants, which also developed Eddie George’s Grille 27 in Columbus, OH, Jerome Bettis’ Grille 36 in Pittsburg, PA, the Indianapolis Colts Grille and the Houston Texans Grille. The Ashburn restaurant will include more than 12,000 square feet on two levels. The downstairs will feature a bar showcasing hand-crafted cocktails along with an extensive wine list and local craft beers. The first floor also will be home to a radio/television studio designed for the Redskins to broadcast radio and television pro-

The Washington Redskins-themed restaurant is slated to be the place to watch the game, with wall-to-wall highdefinition televisions and a rooftop bar with a fire pit.

gramming. When not in use the studio will be available to be reserved for small private events. The second floor is designed for sports fanatics, with wall-to-wall high-definition televisions and a rooftop bar with a fire pit. The Redskins plan to hold a variety of events at the restaurant including select press conferences. “This is an awesome project for g3 Restaurants,” Company President Marc Buehler stated. “We cannot wait to debut our chef-inspired American fare menu paired with awesome drinks in this really spectacular facility. We have gone to extraordinary lengths to tie the Redskins brand into this truly fan friendly one-of-a-kind experience.”

World of Beer Coming to One Loudoun Loudoun County is becoming a beer haven, and industry favorite World of Beer has taken notice. The craft beer marketplace is planning to open its fourth Virginia tavern in One Loudoun in March. With more than 500 bottles, 55 rotating taps, a cask engine and an infusion tower, World of Beer invites guests on a journey to discover the best in local and international beers. “Northern Virginia, and specifically the Loudoun community, has a long standing adoration for great beer paired with great food, which is why we picked this location to open a new WOB,” Bob Dorfman, owner of World of Beer-One Loudoun, stated. The rapidly expanding tavern franchise currently operates 70 taverns in 20 states. The taverns’ database in-

Courtesy World of Beer

World of Beer currently operates taverns in 20 states.

cludes beer in 68 styles from 47 states and 82 countries. “Our goal is to provide our guests with a one-of-a-kind World of Beer experience they won’t find anywhere else,” Dan Bednar, World of BeerOne Loudoun general manager, stated. “Whether you’re a passionate beer lover or simply looking for a friendly

place to gather for great casual food and a drink, we hope to see you here.” World of Beers did not give an exact opening date, but promised to get the taps flowing by the end of March. The tavern will be at 44699 Brimfield Drive in Ashburn and employ about 70 people. Learn more at worldofbeer.com/ Locations/OneLoudoun.

The 31st annual Loudoun Annual Valor Awards will see a record number of first responders and residents recognized for decisive actions and selfless heroism when faced with emergency situations during 2015. The awards will be announced April 7 during a luncheon at the National Conference Center in Lansdowne. Honorees include 114 career and volunteer emergency first responders and 18 civilians. Also during this year’s event, the chamber will debut the Stu Plitman First Responder Community Service Award, named in honor of the founder of the Loudoun First Responders Foundation who was a tireless advocate for Loudoun’s public safety personnel. That award will go to first responders who demonstrate the highest commitment to fostering positive relationships with the community in ways that positively enhance the safety and security of the pubic. Tickets and sponsorships are available for the event. Residents and businesses also have the opportunity to purchase benefactor tables that help provide seats to the 2016 honorees and their family members. Details can be viewed at www. loudounchamber.org.

Organarchy Hops Forum Brings Experts to Brewers, Growers Organarchy Hops, the Lucketts-based company that is leading the growth of Loudoun’s hops farming industry, is planning a two-day seminar aimed at building the local craft beer scene. The Beyond Brewing Forum will be held April 7-8 at Black Hops Farm, which will be home to the region’s first hops processing plant, Virginia’s first malting operation and Vanish Brewery. The program is designed along two tracks—one for brewers and another for hops growers. Both groups will hear from experts and innovators in their fields. The speaker line up includes Ralph Olson, the former CEO of Hopunion; Josh Matthews, owner of Bulk Head Brewing Company; Matt Brophy of Flying Dog Brewery; Robbie O’Cain of Starr Hill Brewery; Hugh Sisson of Heavy Seas Beer; Michael Schimmel of Pilot Malt House; Jasper Akerboom of Birght Yeast Labs; and Mike Van Hall, founder of Opprobiations. For more information and registration, go to beyondbrewingforum.com. BIZ NOTES >> 21

[ BIZ NOTES ]

Gateway Office Building Sale Brings $22M RREEF Property Trust Inc. has acquired Loudoun Gateway I, a 102,015-square-foot office building in Sterling for $21.95 million. Located near the intersection of Rt. 28 and Old Ox Road, the building is fully leased. It is the trust’s first acquisition in the Washington, DC, metropolitan area.

McLaughlin Joins Middleburg Real Estate Madeline Mc L au g h l i n has joined Middleburg Real Estate/ Atoka Properties as its newest Realtor. The Loudoun County native says she Madeline McLaughin is an agent of relationship. She finds value in the friendships that are created with her clients, which transcend their working relationship. She enjoys studying Loudoun’s past and uses this information to enrich her client’s understanding of their “hometown.” Email McLaughlin at madeline@ atokaproperties.com or call her at 703-777-1170.

Deadline Looms for Design Excellence Nominations Is there a Loudoun development, building, public space or architectural detail you’ve always admired? The Loudoun County Design Cabinet is seeking nominations for the Signatures of Loudoun design excellence awards program. The deadline for nominations is Friday, Feb. 26 at 5 p.m. Award categories include public spaces, historic renovations, adaptive reuse and visually groundbreaking projects. Winners will be announced during a Loudoun County Board of Supervisors meeting in June and celebrated with a special reception. To learn more about the program or to make a nomination, go to biz. loudoun.gov/designawards.

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The Town of Leesburg will hold the its annual Career Expo for Students and Recent Graduates on Saturday, April 9, at Tuscarora High School from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Area businesses are invited to submit a request to participate. The deadline is March 4. Registration information can be found at leesburgva.gov/careerexpo. A request to participate is not a guarantee of acceptance. Notification of acceptance will be sent by no later than Friday, March 11. The expo is an opportunity for businesses to hire students to fill

Robotic spine surgery has been around for a few years, but it has not been widely practiced. Dr. Jae Y. Lim, an Atlantic Brain & Spine neurosurgeon with offices in Leesburg and Fairfax, is one of four surgeons in the region qualified to use the Mazor Robotics Renaissance Guidance System. It assists the surgeon in placement of hardware to correct spine disorders. This approach improves accuracy, minimizes risk and dramatically reduces patient recovery times. Reston Hospital Center is the only hospital in the DC metro area with robotic spinal surgery capabilities. Dr. Lim’s Loudoun office is located at 19455 Deerfield Ave. Suite 211 in Lansdowne.

Businesses Invited to Youth Career Expo

Robotic Spine Surgery Offered in Northern Virginia

Chauvon McFadden has been appointed as the chairman of the Loudoun CEO Cabinet for 2016. The CEO Cabinet is a membership Chauvon McFadden organization comprised of a select group of CEOs, presidents, and other key organizational leaders from top Loudoun corporations, private firms, nonprofits, and government agencies. The Cabinet’s long-term objective is to contribute to making Loudoun one of the best places in the world to locate a business. “It is an honor and a privilege to be selected as chairman of the CEO Cabinet. I look forward to the opportunity to further support and build Loudoun County’s reputation as one of the best places in the world to live, work, play, and locate a business,” said McFadden, principal of Crimson Wealth Strategies. He replaces Edward C. Zigo III, of the Clarke-Hook Corporation. McFadden, a Leesburg resident, specializes in guiding business owners, industry leaders, and professional athletes in organizing their finances by showing them efficient and effective ways to build, protect, and preserve their assets and lifestyle. McFadden is an executive board member for the National Capital Area Council for the Boy Scouts of America and serves on the Loudoun County Economic Development Advisory Commission and the Loudoun County Rural Economic Development Council.

part-time, full-time, seasonal and intern positions. For more information about the expo, contact the town’s business development manager, Kindra Harvey, at kindra.jackson@leesburgva.gov or 703-771-6530.

February 18–24, 2016

McFadden Tapped to Lead CEO Cabinet

[ S TAT E H O U S E ]

[ S TAT E N E W S ] Young Farmers Meet with Virginia Legislators

THIS IS A STEP FORWARD IN OUR EFFORTS TO ADDRESS THE GRIDLOCK ON I-66 WITHIN THE LIMITS OF CURRENT BUDGET RESOURCES.” – DEL. JIM LEMUNYON (R-67)

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I-66 WIDENING ADDED TO TOLL PLAN Plans to widen congested interstate gain traction in Richmond

ov. Terry McAuliffe announced a new deal reached with both parties and both chambers of the Virginia General Assembly that would widen a four-mile stretch of I-66 while also removing objections to the state’s plans to allow toll-paying drivers of single occupancy vehicles to use the highway during rush hours. Previously, money raised by McAuliffe’s toll plan would have been dedicated to transit projects and road improvements in the corridor. Northern Virginia legislators and local government leaders objected to the plan, pointing out that tolls—expected to average $6 per one-way trip—would especially hurt commuters who already pay to travel on the Dulles Toll Road and Dulles Greenway. Toll opponents argued that efforts to address daily gridlock on I-66 without adding new lanes inside the Capital Beltway would offer little relief. The plan announced last week allocates up to $140 million to construct an additional eastbound land between the Dulles Connector Road and Ballston. The agreement takes shape in House amendments to McAuliffe’s proposed budget and comes after negotiations between the governor’s office, Del. Jim LeMunyon (R-67) and House Appropriations Committee Chairman Chris Jones (R-76). As part of the deal, House Republicans agreed to table legislation by LeMunyon and others that would have blocked the tolling plan. “This agreement is a big win for Virginia’s economy and for the commut-

Details of the project include: CONVERTING I-66 INSIDE THE BELTWAY TO EXPRESS LANES during rush hours in the peak directions, widens I-66 eastbound from the Dulles Connector Road and improves transit service throughout the corridor. ALLOWING CARPOOLERS (TWO OR MORE PEOPLE IN A VEHICLE) TO CONTINUE TO RIDE THE LANES FOR FREE when dynamic tolling is scheduled to begin in 2017 during morning and evening rush hours (5:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. eastbound and 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. westbound). Solo drivers, now prohibited on the highway during rush hours, can use the road if they pay a variable toll based on the distance they travel. Average toll is expected to be $6 a trip. IN 2020, THE LANES WILL BE CONVERTED TO HOV-3 DURING RUSHHOURS under a previously adopted regional policy. All others will pay a variable toll. THE LANES WILL REMAIN FREE TO ALL TRAFFIC DURING OFF-PEAK PERIODS. There will be no tolling in the reverse commute. ALL OF THE REVENUES RAISED FROM THE TOLLS WILL BE USED by the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission for improvements in the corridor such as new transit service and carpooling incentives. Estimated toll revenue in 2018 is $18 million. TOLL REVENUES WILL FINANCE THE ENVIRONMENTAL WORK AND CONSTRUCTION to widen I-66 eastbound from the Dulles Connector Road to Ballston. THE ESTIMATED COST OF CONSTRUCTION IS UP TO $140 MILLION and will be funded with increased revenues from the recently passed FAST Act and improved state revenues. No revenues will be taken from previously approved regional projects.

ers who spend too much time on the most congested road in the most congested region in the country,” McAuliffe said in as statement announcing the deal. “This multi-pronged strategy will increase options and reduce commute times through improved transit, smarter management of the lanes we already have and a new agreement for a wider roadway both inside and outside the beltway.” “My colleagues and I made the case

for widening I-66 inside the beltway,” LeMunyon stated. “I’m glad there is now consensus on the need to do this as soon as possible. This is a step forward in our efforts to address the gridlock on I-66 within the limits of current budget resources. I look forward to taking additional steps to reduce congestion in this key corridor.” The more information on the project can be found at inside.transform66. org.

Loudoun Farm Bureau Vice President Chris Van Vlack was among the members of a Young Farmers and Growing Leaders delegation that met with members of the Virginia General Assembly in Richmond on Feb. 8. Van Vlack, of Lovettsville, said the Loudoun farmers had a good meeting with the state legislators, discussing important agricultural issues, including funding for Virginia’s Agriculture Best Management Practices Cost Share Program, the use of eminent domain, and state assistance for farmers dealing with wildlife damage to crops. “It was really exciting to see the interest some of the more urban Northern Virginia legislators had in meeting with us,” Van Vlack said in a statement, noting those areas don’t have a lot of farming constituents. “We are a grassroots organization, and we believe it’s important for our legislators to hear not only from us as individual farmers, but as future leaders of Virginia’s largest industry.” Van Vlack said he wanted to convey the importance of preserving farmland in Loudoun’s corner of Virginia so residents “have the ability to connect with and value local food.” Although Loudoun’s food production is not as large scale as in other areas of Virginia, the county can use its high value operations to keep farming an important part of its economy, he said.

Power Line Public Hearing Legislation Advances Legislation that would address some of the recent concerns in Loudoun and Prince William counties about the state’s review of electric transmission line applications passed in the House of Delegates this week. Del. John J. Bell (D-87) and Del. J. Randall Minchew (R-10) introduced identical bills (House Bill 533 and HB 283) that would give localities affected by the construction of electric transmission lines the ability to request a local public hearing on the matter. Both were referred to committee. Minchew’s bill, HB 283, was reported from the Commerce and Labor Committee by a 19-2 vote on Thursday, Feb. 11. The full House approved the bill 97-0-2 Thursday, Feb. 16. “This bipartisan legislation streamlines the public hearing process when issues arise with controversial power lines,” Bell said. “Thousands of my constituents in Dulles South and Haymarket have grave concerns about the recent power line proposals, and I want the public hearing process to proceed with as much ease and transparency as possible.”

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Large 3 BR, 3.5 Bath townhouse with garage in Riverside Villages, easy access for short commute to VA.

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Stone & Cedar ranch. 10 Acres. Cottage = 572 SqFt. 40x30 barn w/workshop, woodstove & loft.

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Granite, hardwoods, stone ﬁreplace, fully ﬁnished basement, pool, 2 fenced paddocks.

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Choosing a Summer Camp:

SUMMER CAMPS

WHAT THE EXPERTS SAY When beginning the summer camp selection process, the American Camp Association recommends maintaining a focus on your child’s interests. It’s important to know a child’s personality and identify what camp programs will benefit him or her most. With a variety of programs and activities, summer camp oﬀers fun and meaningful adventures to match a child’s interests and maturity level. Be certain to include your child in the decision-making process. Together with your child, explore the camp options and examine the materials the camps provide. In addition, many camps have websites with photos, maps or virtual tours of their facility, sample daily schedules and menus, and information about the directors and key staﬀ. As children become better acquainted with the camp experience and more involved in the decision-making process, they will have less anxiety about going away to camp. Think about what you want in a camp before you enroll your child.

Questions to Consider in Selecting a Resident Camp • What locale do I want to consider? Consider, mountains, oceanfront, distance from home. • Do I want a traditional camp that offers a variety of experiences or do I want to select a specialty camp that focuses on a particular activity or set of skills? • What size enrollment will make my child feel comfortable? • How rustic do I want the camp to be? • How structured do I want the program to be? Does my child like to have a lot of choice in the activity schedule? • Is my child ready to sleep away from home for an extended stay? This will help you to select either a resident or day camp setting. • What session length will appeal to my child and to our family plans for the summer? One week? Eight weeks? • How can I stay in touch with my child during camp? Does the camp allow mail, phone calls or email? Does the camp have parent visitation days? • How will the camp meet my child’s special dietary or physical needs? • What is my budget for camp tuition? Remember, many camps offer financial aid. CAMPS >> 26

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February 18–24, 2016

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SUMMER CAMPS

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26 • If transportation is offered, where is the closest pick-up location? • Does the camp have an “express bus” that transports children quickly? • If before- and after-camp extended care is offered, who is with the children and what activities take place? • Is lunch served or do campers bring their own sack lunch? Are snacks and drinks provided? • If the camp offers swimming, are there swimming lessons or is it simply recreational swimming? << CAMPS FROM 24 Questions to Consider • Are campers in a group with a counin Selecting a Day Camp selor all day? Or, are campers free to Day camps offer experiences that are go from one activity to another with unique from resident camps. Because of appropriate supervision? In this case, this, there are specific points to consider whom would you talk to if you had a when choosing a day camp. question or concern about your child? • Does the American Camp Association • Is an open house offered before camp accredit the camp? ACA has specifstarts where you can meet your child’s ic standards applicable only for day counselor and van/bus driver? camps. • Are parents allowed to drop by for • What training does the staff receive visits or is there a special parent vision safety, supervision, counseling, tation day? problem solving and other issues Once you have answered these questions, unique to working with young chilyou can better sort through the many opdren? tions available. The American Camp As• Is the price all-inclusive or are there sociation maintains an online database of extra charges for activities, transporcamps at find.acacamps.org. tation, photos or other items?

County Plans Summer Camp Fair The Loudoun County Department of Parks, Recreation and Community Service will hold its inaugural Summer Camp Fair on Monday, Feb 29, at the Dulles South Multipurpose Center. The free event will feature representatives from the department’s contracted camp vendors as well as other camp providers from throughout the area. Interested vendors should contact Darby Charles at 571-258-3456 for more information. The fair will run from 4:30 to 8:30 p.m. The multipurpose center is at 24950 Riding Center Drive in South Riding.

[ POLITICS ]

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“Loudoun County means a lot to the area of Northern Virginia,” Martinez said. “Some call it the bellwether for the state.” Haynes agreed. Voters in the Republican primary particularly will face a very crowded ballot. The Republican ballot has 13 names, including several candidates who have dropped out. (Because official ballots are printed well in advance, those names will still appear.) Haynes said those former candidates will likely get some votes anyway. “That happened in New Hampshire, too,” he said. “It’ll happen everywhere. As you saw in New Hampshire, some

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people will go ahead and vote for that person even though they’re no longer in the race. You’re basically throwing your vote away when you do that.” Republicans will see, in order: Marco Rubio, Lindsey Graham, Ben Carson, Rand Paul, Mike Huckabee, Ted Cruz, Donald Trump, Jim Gilmore, Chris Christie, Jeb Bush, Rick Santorum, John Kasich, and Carly Fiorina. As of Tuesday, Feb. 16, more than half have dropped out of the race: Graham, Paul, Huckabee, Gilmore, Christie, Santorum, and Fiorina, and there’s still time for more to leave before Super Tuesday. Democrats will choose from three

Super Tuesday will probably live up to the name in Loudoun County. Democrats and Republicans alike are preparing for a very busy Virginia primary on March 1. “We have motivation galore,” said Mike Haynes, chairman of the Loudoun County Republican Committee. “I think the turnout on the Republican primary will be very high. Everyone is excited about the election cycle, and I think the Republicans feel like they have a really good shot at taking the White House. And with that many people on the ballot, it stirs a lot of people.” Fernando “Marty” Martinez, Leesburg councilman and chairman of the Loudoun County Democratic Committee, agreed that enthusiasm is high. “Really, all we can do is wait and see,” Martinez said. “I know that we have a lot of Hillary and Bernie supporters, and we’re all working together.” The Loudoun race matters to presidential hopefuls who are paying attention. The politically purple county—situated in politically purple Virginia—was a regular campaign stop for candidates ahead of the 2012 presidential election.

names on their ballot: Hillary Clinton, Martin O’Malley, and Bernie Sanders. O’Malley has left the race. The Republican Party of Virginia, after successfully defending in court a rule that would require primary voters to sign a loyalty pledge, has dropped the pledge after all. Republican primary voters will not have to sign a loyalty pledge. “That’s probably a good thing, that it’s not there now,” Haynes said. “It caused a lot of confusion, but at its core, all it was trying to do was make sure Republicans pick the Republican candidate, and I don’t see a problem with that.” And voting matters. “When we talk about freedom and patriotism, sometimes we use that word way too cheaply,” Martinez said. He said freedom has been bought at a dear price by people in every echelon of society. “If we really want to pay respect to our veterans, to our leaders, to the people in the past who have sacrificed and died in the past so we can have this freedom,” we should vote, he said. “To me, it’s the one freedom that we have to exercise.” The election is open to all registered voters in Loudoun County. Virginia does not recognize party affiliation when registering citizens to vote. Voters will be asked to choose which primary they wish to vote in upon arrival. Virginia law now requires all voters to provide a photo identification at the polls.

February 18–24, 2016

Get Ready for Primaries, Loudoun

[ this week ]

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[ LOCO LIVING ]

ON STAGE TERRY PRATCHETT’S ‘MORT’ Thursday, Feb. 18-Saturday, Feb. 20. 8 p.m.; Sterling Middle School, 201 W. Holly Ave., Sterling. Details: sterlingplaymakers.com

The Sterling Playmakers present a comic romp through Discworld, where the Grim Reaper’s apprentice takes charge while Death takes a vacation. Tickets are $12.

LAST HAM STANDING Friday, Feb. 19, 8 p.m.; Franklin Park Arts Center, 36441 Blueridge View Lane, Purcellville. Details: franklinparkartscenter.org This hilarious show is full of laughs for the entire family. A group of talented local performers take suggestions from the audience to create wacky scenes and funny improv games. Tickets are $12 for adults, $10 for seniors, $8 for children.

COOLEY’SMAGIC TOUCH Labor of love puts ceramists’ work in new light ■ BY JAN MERCKER

hris Cooley’s new gallery in downtown Leesburg has been a labor of love—and a hands-on project—all the way down to installing the plumbing. Cooley, a ceramicist and former Washington Redskins tight end, quietly opened his new Leesburg gallery in December with fiancée Madi DeBray. Since then, the couple’s vision for the new larger space to serve as a cultural anchor for downtown has come to fruition. “We believe we can do something special here,” Cooley said. “We wanted to make a commitment to something that’s sustainable.” The new space replaces the small“WE er gallery Cooley opened in a leased BELIEVE just a block WE CAN DO space away on King SOMETHING Street in 2010. AfSPECIAL ter years of paying rent, Cooley deHERE.” cided it was time to buy a space and – Chris Cooley really put down roots. When the former bail bonds building across from the courthouse and next to the Lightfoot restaurant went up for sale two years ago, the timing was right. With more square footage and plenty of space behind the storefront, the couple had initially imagined a restaurant/gallery, serving meals on handcrafted functional pottery. Those plans were put on hold when their daughter

Sloane was born in 2014 and Cooley and DeBray decided to focus instead on classes and events. They recruited a stable of top regional artists and craftspeople to teach classes from ceramics to cake decorating. The jam-packed events list includes paint and wine nights (in some cases hosted by Cooley himself), open studios, and ongoing classes—from clay hand-building classes with noted local ceramicist Amy Manson, to mixed media and children’s book writing classes with Mary Rand Hess. And the owners are already taking things beyond the visual arts. They’ve scheduled writing workshops with author David Hazard and are in talks with a comedy troupe about hosting a monthly improv night. “Our big thing is that we want an art community. It’s not an art store. It’s not an art gallery. It’s a community,” said DeBray, who handles the gallery’s special events and class scheduling. For Manson, the gallery is an exciting development following the closure of the ArtSquare gallery and studio in 2014. “They have a new and fresh take on what a creative art space can be and I love that they are willing to take chances and do things differently. They have been so supportive of new ideas and flexible in what types of classes they can host and encouraging of collaboration amongst the teaching team,” Manson said. “When we gathered a month or so back for a teachers meet and greet, I looked around the room and saw a new and exciting group of instructors that were hand picked by Chris and Madi. You could feel the excitement and energy in the room. Chris basically said, ‘If

Loudoun Now/Douglas Graham Chris Cooley, with fiancé Madi Debray and 17-month-old daughter, Sloane, pose for a photo in The Cooley Gallery’s new space in downtown Leesburg.

you want to try it, lets go for it—we’re here to support you.’” Before getting things up and running, the new owners had to gut and restore the building, which had been divided up into office space. In true Renaissance man fashion, Cooley did most of the work himself, removing dropped ceilings and installing corrugated tin. “I put the toilets in—which was hysterical—trying to learn how on YouTube … It was a good project,” he said with a laugh. The result is a gorgeous space with lots of exposed original brick and reclaimed wood—further evidence that Cooley seems to have a magic touch in whatever he undertakes. An art major at Utah State University, Cooley was drafted by the Redskins in 2004 and opened his first gallery in 2010 as a side project while playing for the team. “I just started having a lot of pots in my house and I thought I was getting pretty good—and by the way, I still think I’m getting pretty good,” Cooley said. “I walked downtown and thought about leasing a space.” For Cooley, the gallery has always been a venue to showcase his own work but also a way to leverage his name recognition to help promote other local artists. “I know that there are people who come in the door because it’s memorabilia but continue to come back and COOLEY >> 32

‘BACKWARDS BROADWAY’ Saturday, Feb. 20, 6:30 p.m.; Savoir Fare, 1 W. Loudoun St., Round Hill. Details: stagecoachtc.com StageCoach Theatre turns the world of musical theater upside down: tearjerkers will make you laugh, and songs that once seemed funny will bring a tear to your eye. It’s Broadway as it’s never been celebrated before. $65 ticket price includes dinner and the show. Advance reservations are required.

LUCKETTS BLUEGRASS: LARRY STEPHENSON BAND Saturday, Feb. 20, 7 p.m.; Lucketts Community Center, 42361 Lucketts Road, Lucketts. Details: luckettsbluegrass.org One of the bluegrass world’s top tenor vocalists, Stephenson is known for melody, clarity and storytelling. Tickets are $15 at the door.

LOUDOUN

SYMPHONY: A LITTLE CHAMBER MUSIC Sunday, Feb. 21, 3 p.m.; Franklin Park Arts Center, 36441 Blueridge View Lane, Purcellville. Details: loudounsymphony. org This delightful concert includes

MORE TO DO >> 29

[ this week ]

February 18–24, 2016

Friday, Feb. 19, 8:30 p.m.; Tally Ho Theatre, 19 W. Market St., Leesburg. Details: tallyholeesburg.com After 30 years and nine albums, this Pittsburgh-based rock band is still cranking out great tunes. Tickets are $17 in advance, $20 day of show.

<< FROM 28 a little something for everyone, from Hoagy Carmaichael’s “Stardust” to Rimsky-Korsakov. Tickets are $30 for adults, $25 for seniors 65 and older and free for youth 17 and under (must be ticketed). A special package offers four adult tickets for $60.

LOCO CULTURE BALL’S BLUFF REMEMBRANCE DAY DINNER Sunday, Feb. 21, 6-9 p.m.; Algonkian Park Clubhouse, 47001 Fairway Drive, Sterling. Contact: 703-352-5900 Friends of Ball’s Bluff hosts a benefit dinner for the battlefield featuring a talk from historian Horace Mewborn and special guest the Rev. Elijah White. Dinner is catered by Blue Heron Catering. Cost is $45 per person. Advance registration is required.

bringing history to life. Admission is $10 for adults, $5 for students at the door.

NIGHTLIFE LIVE MUSIC: PHIL ROSSI Friday, Feb. 19, 8 p.m., Parallel Wine Bar, 43135 Brdlnds Center Plaza #121, Broadlands. Details: parallelwinebistro.com The Ashburn-based alt-rocker sings solo acoustic covers and originals when not playing with his band Ditched By Date.

You can take center stage with the Harikaraoke Band as backup at this monthly event. So warm up your vocal cords and bring your friends. No cover.

BEATLES SING ALONG Saturday, Feb. 20, 7-10 p.m., Paxton Campus, 601 Catoctin Circle NE, Leesburg. Contact: 301-6397608

LIVE MUSIC: THE COAL MEN Saturday, Feb. 20, 8 p.m.; Smokehouse Live, 1602 Village Market Blvd. SE #12, Leesburg. Details:

MORE TO DO >> 30

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The Mosby Heritage Area Association offers its latest interpretive program, Oatlands: A Civil War Odyssey, with actors in period dress

Celebrate guitarist George Harrison’s birthday by singing along with other fans. Lyrics sheets provided. This monthly event is led by several guitarists—other acoustic instruments welcome. $2 suggested donation.

Saturday, Feb. 20, 7:30 p.m.; Oatlands Historic House and Gardens, 20850 Oatlands Plantation Lane, Leesburg. Details: mosbyheritagearea.org

Loudoun Carpet Care™ understands the importance of providing consistent, reliable personal service to our clients, both returning and new. Our pledge is to offer honest advice about all of the services we offer, and to complete each job the best of our ability.

Friday, Feb. 19, 8:30 p.m.; Smokehouse Live, 1602 Village Market Blvd. SE #12, Leesburg. Details: smokehouse-live.com

Sunday, Feb. 21, 2 p.m.; Thomas Balch Library, 208 W. Market St., Leesburg. Contact: 703-737-7195

LEGENDS BY LANTERNLIGHT

for carpet, rugs, upholstery and hard surfaces on site or at our in plant facility

LIVE MUSIC KARAOKE

LETTERS FROM EDGAR’S TRUNK

Marilyn Thornton, granddaughter of Edgar Thornton, a member of the legendary 369th American Expeditionary Forces Colored Infantry Regiment in World War I, shares a portrait of an African-American soldier from Loudoun County through her grandfather’s letters. Event is free, but advance registration is recommended.

PROVIDING CLEANING SERVICES

LIVE MUSIC: THE CLARKS

1st Annual Katherine Marshall

FLEA MARKET

Katherine Marshall was an avid flea market shopper. Her finds grace The Marshall House to this day.

[ this week ] << FROM 29 smokehouse-live.com Dave Coleman and The Coal Men have released four albums and kept a rigorous touring schedule for more than a decade. Coleman’s creativity in the studio and his mastery as a guitarist are the focus of this stripped-down rock and roll affair. No cover.

loudounnow.com

LIVE WIRE: THE WORLD’S GREATEST AC/DC EXPERIENCE

— Proceeds benefit The Marshall House and GCMIC’s education programs — Visit our website for suggested SHOP donations and limitations APRIL 16th & 17th — Donate Saturdays in March, during the 9AM-12PM, to 206 E. Market Leesburg Flower and Garden Festival Street (formerly Home Specialty) weekend!

703.777.1301

www.georgecmarshall.org/events

The George C. Marshall International Center is a non-profit corporation under IRC Section 501(c)(3). GCMIC relies on a combination of memberships, corporate sponsorships, private donations and grants to fund its mission. 83% of proceeds from contributions, programs and events support our education programs, and help us preserve The Marshall House.

VINO MARKET LOUDOUN’S BEST KEPT SECRET!

The area’s BEST selection of beers, ciders & gluten free beers! Rated by Northern Virginia Magazine to have one of the Top 10 Pulled Pork Sandwiches! Also featuring our Brie, Apple, Honey Sandwich!

LIVE MUSIC ON FRIDAY & SATURDAYS! Visit our wine and beer bar in the cellar Conveniently located on Route 9 (near Route 7) in Paeonian Springs, VA 40602 Charles Town Pike Paeonian Springs, VA

540-882-9600 Mon-Thur 10am-8pm • Friday 10am-1am Saturday 10am-1am • Sunday 10am-8pm

Saturday, Feb. 20, 8:30 p.m.; Tally Ho Theatre, 19 W. Market St., Leesburg. Details: tallyholeesburg.com

WITH THE KIDS FAMILY GLOW PARTY Friday, Feb. 19, 6:30 p.m.; Lovettsville Community Center, 57 E Broad Way, Lovettsville. Contact: lovcc@loudoun.gov Bring the whole family for a night of fun and exciting aerobic dance moves! Things get more fun with a black light and glow bracelets. Cost is $4 per individual and $8 per family (up to 4) and $1 for each additional family member.

The essence of an AC/DC show from this New York-based tribute band. A great night of high voltage rock ‘n’ roll. Tickets are $15 in advance, $20 day of show.

LIBATIONS CHOCOLATES GALORE AND MORE Friday, Feb. 19, 7-11 p.m.; Lansdowne Resort, 44050 Woodridge Parkway, Leesburg. Contact: 703-777-9622 This annual benefit event for the YMCA of Loudoun County features hors d’oeuvres, delicious desserts, sparkling wine, live music, and auction and more. Tickets are $50 per person.

COUNTRY BRUNCH WITH KENNY RAY HORTON Sunday, Feb. 21, 11 a.m.-2 p.m.; Smokehouse Live, 1602 Village Market Blvd. SE #12, Leesburg. Details: smokehouse-live.com The U.S. Navy band alum and Nashville-based songwriter is a must see rising star. Show is free with brunch.

STONE TOWER SOMMINAR: BORDEAUX REDS

CHINESE NEW YEAR CELEBRATION Saturday, Feb. 20, 1-4 p.m.; Franklin Park Arts Center, 36441 Blueridge View Lane, Purcellville. Details: franklinparkartscenter.org Celebrate the Year of the Monkey, wear the lucky color red, make simple crafts, solve riddles and enjoy refreshments and entertainment. Tickets are $10 per person or $35 per family. Call 540-3387973 to reserve.

NORTHERN VIRGINIA ROLLER DERBY Saturday, Feb. 20, 3:30 (doors open), 4:30 (first whistle); Dulles Sportsplex, 21610 Atlantic Boulevard, Sterling. Details: novarollerderby.com Loudoun’s own SuperNOVAs take on Southern Maryland for some hard-hitting WFTDA derby action. Tickets are $12 at the door, free for children 6 and under. Donations of new children’s pajamas are also being collected for the Comfort Cases nonprofit.

COMING UP LOUDOUN GROWN EXPO

Sunday, Feb. 21, 1-2:30 p.m.; Stone Tower Winery, 19925 Hogback Mountain Road, Leesburg. Details: stonetowerwinery.com

Saturday, Feb. 27, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; Bush Tabernacle, 250 Nursery Ave., Purcellville. Details: loudoungrownexpo.org

Explore the amazing reds of France’s Bordeaux region along with Bordeaux style blends from around the world, including three Stone Tower estate wines. Cost is $60 for wine club members, $70 for non-members. Advance registration is required.

This annual showcase of local meats, vegetables, wine and beer is a great way to shake the winter blues. Admission is $2 per person/$3 per family. Free for Purcellville residents with ID.

[ LOCO LIVING ]

Fine Art NVCC FEATURES ALLISON LONG HARDY EXHIBIT

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day, and parking is free in the student parking lots after 4 p.m. To learn more, contact Gallery Coordinator Don Depuydt at 703-450-2627 or ddepuydt@nvcc.edu.

Abstract drawings by Allison Long Hardy, including Pandora’s Box (shown), will be on display through March 18 in Waddell Gallery at Northern Virginia Community College’s Loudoun Campus.

I N R E C O G N I T I O N O F N A T I O N A L H E A R T H E A LT H M O N T H :

Tomato Soup To Go Tuesday, February 23rd 10 a.m. - 2 p.m.

Come in for a personal presentation and leave with a bowl of heart healthy tomato soup, tasty toppings, and a better understanding of the services and amenities we offer.

Schedule an appointment and reserve your soup today! (703) 594-7350

A SHBURN

“Daily Drawings” by Allison Long Hardy will be on display in Waddell Gallery at the Loudoun Campus of Northern Virginia Community College through March 18. Hardy was born and raised in Frederick, MD, and lives in Virginia Beach. She holds a bachelor’s degree in studio art from West Virginia Wesleyan College and a master’s degree in fine arts from Towson University. She has taught at Northern Virginia Community College and the University of Mary Washington. “When making work, I am interested in the certain moments that communication or lack of communication occur and interpreting those moments through mark,” she stated. “What interests me most is when the marks that emerge on the page overlap and meld with the marks below or on top and create their own type of mark, something that I had not planned. My work is a mix of intuitive and deliberate mark-making paired with the spontaneity that occurs when these marks overlap.” Waddell Gallery at the NVCC Loudoun Campus is open to the public 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., Monday through Fri-

A record number of entries will be featured in the 2016 Step Up Loudoun Youth Competition. The program encourages middle and high school students across the county to identify a concern in their school, neighborhood or community and to create and implement a plan to address it. The goal is to encourage and reward the students for making positive changes in their lives and the lives of others. This year there are 98 teams entered in the competition, the most since the program began in 2010. The first round of the competition takes place on March 29 at the Loudoun County Schools Administration Building in Ashburn. The top 10 teams will be invited to The Clubhouse at One Loudoun on April 6 to compete for cash prizes valued at more than $3,000. “The students who enter Step Up Loudoun Youth Competition are not only recognizing issues, but they are developing programs and having an impact on their community,” Loudoun Youth Executive Director Steve Wolfson stated. “These are the leaders of today and tomorrow.” Loudoun Youth, Inc. was established as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit in 2005 to provide programs to engage and empower all youth in Loudoun County. For more information, go to loudounyouth.org.

February 18–24, 2016

Students ‘Step Up’ in Record Numbers

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<< FROM 28 purchase other artists’ work and see other stuff,” he said. Cooley also sees the gallery as a way to contribute to what he calls “after 5 o’clock life” in downtown Leesburg, creating a synergy among local arts and music venues and restaurants. Cooley retired from the Redskins in 2013 and now works as a radio host for

Loudoun Now/Douglas Graham Former Washington Redskins tight end Chris Cooley has opened a new art gallery in downtown Leesburg Virginia at 9 North King Street, next door to Lightfoot Restaurant.

DC’s ESPN 980. On a certain level, the gallery has always been a side project, but with DeBray’s help, he’s looking to take it to the next level, as a connecting point for other local artists—as both teachers and students. And of course, the former profes-

sional athlete has a sports metaphor: “It’s like having a little team,” Cooley said. “We believe we’re going to need them to help us and we’re going to support them as much as we can.”

THE COOLEY GALLERY’S GRAND RE-OPENING IS SCHEDULED FOR SAT., MARCH 5. FOR DETAILS AND MORE INFORMATION ABOUT CLASSES AND EVENTS, VISIT WWW.THECOOLEYGALLERY.COM.

Lectures NIH Director to Speak at Smashing Walnuts Gala

r. Francis S. Collins, the director of the National Institutes of Health, will be a featured speaker at the third annual Cracking the Cure Gala on Saturday, March 19. Dr. Collins leads NIH, the largest supporter of biomedical research in the world, spanning the spectrum from basic to clinical research. Collins was present when The Gabriella Miller Kids First Research Act, a $126 million federal appropriation given to childhood disease research, was signed into law in 2014. NIH and the National Cancer Institute will be participants in the Cancer Initiative that President Obama announced during his State of the Union Address. “Smashing Walnuts is focused on funding childhood brain cancer research and clinical trials,” Ellyn Miller, Smashing Walnuts founder, said. “Having the nation’s leading authority on medical research believe in our work is incredibly exciting.”

Collins is a physi“HAVING THE cian-genetiNATION’S cist noted for LEADING his landmark AUTHORITY discoveries ON MEDICAL of disease RESEARCH genes and BELIEVE IN his leaderOUR WORK IS ship of the INCREDIBLY EXCITING.” international Human Genome Project. He is an elected member of the Institute of Medicine and the National Academy of Sciences, was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2007, received the National Medal of Science in 2009 and is a bestselling author. “Because of NIH-funded research and contributions made by advocacy groups like the Smashing Walnuts Foundation, we are faced with exceptional scientific opportunities to advance treatments for childhood brain cancer,” Collins said in

a statement. “In addition to the research that NIH already supports in this area, the Vice President’s National Cancer Moonshot proposes additional resources to develop new treatments specifically aimed at childhood cancers.” “Shamrock Smash” is the theme of this year’s Cracking the Cure Gala, to be held at the Ritz Carlton Tysons Corner. The event features dinner, a silent and live auction fundraiser and dancing. Last year’s event drew more than 500 guests. Tickets for the gala are available at smashingwalnuts.org. Smashing Walnuts was founded by the family of Gabriella Miller who raised nearly $300,000 for children’s cancer charities, including funding for the Make a Wish Foundation to grant wishes to 36 children and co-authored a book about childhood cancer before her death in 2013. Gabriella and her family smashed walnuts with a frying pan to symbolize the fight against her “walnut sized” brain tumor.

Dr. Francis S. Collins

burg, VA, and Samuel H. Rogers III (Matthew Hamblet) Jefferson, Md. The Rogers have four grandchildren- Shelley P. Shen, Catherine R. Rainbow MD, William A.T. (Bo) Rainbow DVM and Samuel S. Parks – and two great-grandchildren.

Carolyn Horton Rogers

Carolyn was predeceased by her brother Phin Horton III of Newland, NC. She is survived by three children, Carolyn Rainbow (Bill) Acorn Farm, Ocala, FL, Susan Parks (Kenneth F.) Lees

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Funeral arrangements are pending. They will be organized by the Hall Funeral Home of Purcellville, VA. Please visit their website at www.hallfh.com for further information. Interment will be in Union Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Old Friends Equine Retirement, 1841 Paynes Depot Rd., Georgetown, KY 40324 www. oldfriendsequine.org Robert (Bob or Bobby) George Welch, 76, of Leesburg, Virginia, passed away unexpectedly on February 2, 2016 in St. Augustine, Florida. He was born in Washington, DC on August 31st 1939. He graduated from Loudoun County High School, proudly served in the US Navy, and earned an Associate’s Degree from NVCC. Robert was a country boy, raised on a farm in Lovettsville. He traveled the world during his service with the Navy and almost always sported a Navy Veteran baseball cap – proud of his service to his country. He played trumpet in a Dixieland band that he put together as a teen and loved it, always said it was the most fun he’d ever had. Robert owned the local BP business in Lovettsville for a number of years, was a Realtor, a general contractor and a mortgage banker. He is preceded in death by his parents Clarence H. and Helene Welch and is survived by his loving wife of 54+ years, Jean D. Welch. They were married in Lovettsville on June 23rd, 1961. Robert is lovingly remembered by his daughters Sandi Preston (Larry), Kathy Ahalt (Steffan), grandchildren Taylor Ahalt, Sydney Ahalt, Michael Preston, Sarah Preston, and Daniel Preston, sister Susie Silliman (Ben) and brother Tubby Welch (Bea). Godspeed Bob, we all love you........ A memorial service is not yet planned. Details will be available in the near future at: www.hallfh.com Arrangements made by Hall Funeral Home, Purcellville, VA.

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Carolyn was born in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, to Phin and Frances Medearis Horton. She was raised in Winston-Salem and attended Mary Baldwin College in Staunton, Virginia. Having learned how to ride horses from her father at a very early age, she became an accomplished horsewoman and successfully showed both Saddlebreds and hunters in the highest level of horse shows along the east coast and even Canada. She and Sam were long time consignors to horse sales, including the Fasig-Tipton Summer Yearling Sale in Saratoga Springs, NY where they sold numerous stakes winners, such as champion Sharp Cat. Carolyn was one of the first women to obtain her Thoroughbred race horse Trainer’s license and campaigned a number of winners, many of which she and Sam had bred themselves. She was also active with Thoroughbred breeders’ organizations in Virginia and Maryland. She will be remembered for her little Chihuahua dogs that she always carried with her.

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passed away peacefully on February 14, 2016, at the age of 88. She was preceded in death by her husband of 68 years, Samuel H. Rogers, Jr. Together they raised and raced Thoroughbred horses from their White Oaks farm in Leesburg, Virginia for over sixty years. Most recently they had been residents of Spring Arbor of Leesburg.

The Rogers family would like to thank the wonderful individuals on the staff of Spring Arbor of Leesburg for their compassionate and dedicated care in the last months of her life.

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February 18–24, 2016

[ Obituaries ]

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[ OPINION ]

Letters Finding the Budget Balance In his fiscal year 2017 spending plan, County Administrator Tim Hemstreet gave the new Board of Supervisors wide latitude to develop its budgetary philosophy. Supervisors can hold the tax rate at the current level, forcing cuts in many current county government and school services. Or they can increase the real estate tax rate by as much as 3.5 cents—a rate that would even fully fund the School Board’s record $1.07 billion budget request. These scenarios depict two very different visions of government. Remarkably, the tax bills don’t vary as much. For a home valued at $400,000, the bottom-line difference is less than $12 a month. That’s why it is important for supervisors to focus first on what they want their government to do, rather than the tax rate they hope to adopt. Over the next several weeks, supervisors will have the opportunity to dig deeply into the operations of county government and also to review the School Board’s stewardship of tax dollars. For five of the nine members, it will be their first time through this exercise. The budget mark-up process is a time to evaluate and adjust service priorities. The previous board came out of the chute four years ago focused on transportation; today, road construction projects comprise the largest segment of the county’s construction plan. With hard work, this board can find the balance required to have a similar significant impact without breaking the bank or abandoning fiscal discipline. That is the challenge. Supervisors will not find that balance by entering the review process with a predetermined stance to hold down taxes or to increase them. Nor is the goal of preserving government jobs or pay raises a useful starting point. Those positions limit opportunities for the board to reshape the government in ways that better serve the county’s residents and businesses. That should be supervisors’ shared goal as the annual money debate kicks off.

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Letters Urgent Issue Editor: Earlier this month in Leesburg, Senator Tim Kaine led an important Senate Field Hearing: “Fighting Opioid Misuse and Abuse Among Older Americans” convened by the United States Senate Special Committee on Aging. Unfortunately, most of the focus was on opioid abuse by younger Americans. We older Americans have a different story to tell. Back in the 1960s, when Grace Slick sang “one pill makes you larger and one pill makes you small,” her incantation to us was “feed your head, feed your head.” And America’s youth engaged in recreational use of a great many drugs, including the opioid known as heroin. Now, 50 years later as a senior citizen diagnosed with peripheral neuropathy, I take a class-one drug to feed my feet. It partially alleviates the chronic pain caused by the neuropathy. But I also have health issues for which I am prescribed drugs to feed my heart, feed my blood sugar, feed my gastro-intestinal system, and feed my prostate. I use my personal example to illustrate an important point. Most of America’s aging population do not begin use of opioids recreationally. We are prescribed these drugs by our doctors to deal with urgent and chronic medical issues. We’re not sticking needles in our arms and ODing; we are quietly suffering the consequences of prescribed opioid use that causes negative impact on our health, and more and more, we are quietly dying from the multiple complications of opioid use. Not only have my senior friends been hauled off in ambulances from these complications, they have also suffered loss of vitality, increased mental impairment, and loss of quality of life. The effects of opioid drugs on old-

er Americans occur in broken bones from falls, organ failures from long term use, auto accidents or house fires caused by mental impairment. But these are quiet problems that do not reach newspaper front pages or explode on social media. However, they are strongly connected to the prescription of a drug by a most trusted source, the doctor. It is crucial to discuss and debate the consequences of opioid drug misuse that I have described. Please remember that among senior citizens, the initial misuse is often unintentional. I urge that we focus on this aspect of uninformed opioid misuse by senior citizens. Our motivation in using these drugs is not to “feed our heads.” It is to age in place, living meaningfully lives while using prescription drugs to maximize our health and productivity in American society. I appreciate and support Senator Kaine’s very important efforts to deal with elder opioid abuse and misuse. I am keeping members of my senior community in Loudoun County informed about his efforts on our behalf. Let the discussion on this urgent issue in Loudoun continue. – Matthew Gallelli, Bluemont

Happiness Editor: In honor of Black History Month, I want to celebrate and share my happiness. After all, where I live has been dubbed “The Happiest County” in the U.S. Here, in what used to be called the «Exurbs» of Loudoun County, we have a new day: • The first two African-Americans to ever be elected to the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors in its 250-year history; • The first African-American repLETTERS >> 37

[ OPINION ]

February 18–24, 2016

Letters

<< FROM 37

Addressing Injustice Editor: Del. Dave LaRock’s (R-33) introduction of the “Parental Choice Education

No Benefit? Editor: In his letter to you David Dickinson wrote, “...parents (of privately schooled children) watch ... a significant portion of their taxes go to schools they are not required to use and from which their children derive no benefit.” Really. He can’t be serious. Education is not a consumer good. It is a public benefit for the public good. Would you rather live in a region of the country where most of the residents are not educated? Imagine the difference in your quality of life... instead of the networks of competent, skilled and involved citizens that live and work in Loudoun due to its excellent public education. That is certainly a benefit that all – including children – receive and enjoy. I haven’t had a child in the public schools for 20 years now, and it does not bother me at all that my taxes go to pay for good schools. Education is the foundation of a decent and prosperous society as a whole. – S. Ann Robinson, Leesburg

4th Earl Theory Editor: The rising popularity of Republi-

can presidential candidate Donald J. Trump can best be explained by what I like to call “The 4th Earl of Loudoun Theory.” Many other theories abound, but I believe my theory clearly describes why many Republicans and even some Democrats are supporting Mr. Trump to be the next U.S. president. You may already know that The 4th Earl of Loudoun (for whom Loudoun County is named) became in 1756 the Captain-General and Governor-in-Chief of Virginia and the Commander-in-Chief of British forces in America, but you may be surprised, as I was, to learn that he apparently botched his responsibilities. According to author Harrison Williams in his book titled “Legends of Loudoun,” The 4th Earl of Loudoun “incurred great unpopularity.” His job performance was described as “far from glorious,” and in one of his military campaigns he reportedly displayed “ineptitude and dilatory inefficiency” for which he was “peremptorily recalled to England in 1757.” Even Founding Father Benjamin Franklin complained that The Earl (birth name: John Campbell) “was like King George upon the signposts, always on horseback but never advancing.” Just like the 4th Earl of Loudoun, President Obama and most of our leaders in the the US Congress have incurred great unpopularity among a majority of citizens. In a recent Gallup Poll, 80 percent of citizens have disapproved of the far from glorious job performance of the US Congress. Perhaps the most glaring example of ineptitude and dilatory inefficiency is in how they have allowed our nation’s debt to get out of control. Because of the president’s increasingly-unpopular policies and thanks to Loudoun County’s three representatives in the U.S. Congress—Democrats Mark Warner and Tim Kaine and Republican Barbara Comstock—who have voted to spend our tax dollars to support those policies, our national debt will have nearly doubled to $19 trillion during Mr. Obama’s time in office. Unlike The 4th Earl of Loudoun, Mr. Trump has incurred great popularity with a large swath of citizens because of his leadership skills, his negotiating skills, his proven success as a financially-literate businessman, and his dogged determination to help reduce the nation’s debt while advancing our country’s economy, safety and reputation. Thus, my theory is that Mr. Trump’s popularity is rising because he is very unlike most of our current leaders who are perceived by many citizens as epitomes of The 4th Earl of Loudoun. If Mr. Trump earns the presidency and then you hear afterwards that the reason for his election was the “The 4th Earl of Loudoun Theory,” remember that you read it here first. – Mike Panchura, Sterling

@ LoudounNow.com Highlights of online readers’ comments about this week’s news. “This effort by high school students provides great hope for the future.” “Great job deputies! It’s good to see a program work as advertised.” —Chris Manthos, on Loudoun Deputies Administer First Naloxone Treatment in Overdose Case “I really hope we can come together as a community to fight the underlying problem of drug addiction and overdose so our police department can focus on our protection and justice. I agree with allowing our police to save lives but we need to do more to prevent the need.” —Allison Tinney, on Loudoun Deputies Administer First Naloxone Treatment in Overdose Case, via Facebook

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– Yvette Castro-Green, Leesburg Diversity Commission Member, Town of Leesburg Former Executive Director, La Voz of Loudoun

Savings Account” bill is the most significant piece of educational legislation since desegregation. It begins to right long-suffering injustices and will demonstrate that the commonwealth is committed to the education of all children and not just some children. The state mandates compulsory education. Further, it allows a parent to choose the type of school their child will attend: government, private, or home. The multi-generational injustice has been the majority forcing its will on the minority and dictating that all parents must pay for government run schools first before paying for their own privately or home educated child. Del. LaRock’s bill would allow parents to create an educational account for every student not in a government school. The state would provide funds up to 90 percent of the value of the state’s contribution for similar students attending government run schools. This is no small matter. In Loudoun County alone, almost 10,000 students do not attend government-run schools. At an average per pupil cost of about $15,000 per year, this cohort saves LCPS and the county $150M per year. In return for this enormous annual savings, these parents watch almost 70 percent of their property taxes and a significant portion of their state income taxes go to schools they are not required to use and from which their children derive no benefit. That injustice is about to end. Parents will finally see their educational tax monies support their own children’s education and not their neighbors, and the Commonwealth of Virginia’s educational funds will finally become “public” for the first time in history. – David Dickinson, Leesburg

resentative to be appointed to the first ever Diversity Commission under the Town of Leesburg; • The first black woman to found a church in Loudoun and organize the honoring of the slaves that worked on the land it will stand on; and • A current leader who was the first African-American school board member, and remains the only one to this day. A special congratulation to Phyllis Randall, the new chair of the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors, Adrianne Bray, vice chair of the Leesburg Diversity Commission, Pastor Michelle Thomas of Holy and Whole Life Changing Ministries, and Wendall Fisher, outreach director for the Loudoun County Public Schools. You are all an inspiration. I’m proud to be in great company— grateful to be working alongside six other talented members of the Diversity Commission, including Adrianne Bray, and fortunate to call Wendall Fisher a long-time colleague/friend. I’m excited to get to know Phyllis Randall and Pastor Michelle Thomas more, and looking forward to meeting Koran Saines, the new Sterling District representative of the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors. I would like to also recognize the tireless efforts of NAACP Loudoun Chapter President Phillip Thompson, our fearless leader (in the spotlight and working behind the scenes), and all those honored and mentioned in the Black History month resolution at the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors meeting on Feb. 2. We need another special “shout out” to the people who reside in this place, such as those who have had the courage to seek a “better life” here without knowing their future. Let us also remember those who stand up/ stood up for, and others who support the ever-changing landscape of Loudoun County—a pillar of growth, hope, and innovation. As a native Californian, having been raised bi-culturally and bi-lingually, it’s hard to believe that I used to call this place “Hickville,” when I first moved here 15 and a half years ago. Today, with my husband, two kids later, and my new-found family, it’s a place I can call “Home” and find happiness. We are all united in this human race. We have but one life to live, and I implore you, as Gandhi so eloquently said, “Be the change you wish to see in the World.” And, don’t forget each and every day to be awesome—as you can clearly see, my friends and colleagues are, Leesburg and Loudoun County is doing it, and you can, too.

s many homeowners and property managers seek sustainable alternatives to land management, goats are increasingly sought out as an alternative to chemical and mechanical weed control. Last summer, in its fifth year of business, the Maryland-based company Eco-Goats made the front page of The Washington Post when its herd cleared invasive and unwanted plants from Congressional Cemetery in historic southwest Washington, near the Anacostia River. While managed grazing has been used for brush control and land-clearing for centuries, the practice has recently resurfaced throughout North America. At Willowsford Farm, Conservancy, and Community, and around Loudoun County, our own small herd of goats is following suit and managing unwanted vegetation naturally—by eating it. We deliver goats to a target area, ranging from a quarter-acre to an acre, enclose them in a solar-powered electric fence, and provide them with water, shelter and supplementary feed or minerals. For several days or weeks, depending on the size of the area and density of vegetation, the goats chew their way through the brush, leaving the area cleared for replanting with more desirable plants. For most of 2013, we kept our young goats close to the farm, allowing them to graze mostly within or around our fence-line. They become accustomed to frequent moves and grew horns big enough to defend themselves against potential predators on future job sites. Blissful visitor interactions with the animals led to important conversations about conservation, with children especially, and attracted interest and volunteers to the farm. That summer, we took several goats to the Arcadia Center for Sustainable Food and Agriculture to participate in their farmbased summer camp. This day trip and one small prescribed graze in Fairfax helped launch the grazing and educational outreach business we run today. The demand for the goats’ defoliation service was so high in 2014 that the herd spent most of the season working off-site more than on. If you hiked the new trails at Morven Park in Leesburg, you may have passed our herd, chowing down on Mile-A-Minute. Or if you jogged the trail, you may have had ten running-mates along the fence for fifty yards! In addition to consecutive grazing gigs since 2014, the goats returned to summer camp at Arcadia and participated in several weeks of Farm Kamp while at Morven Park. In collaboration with DC Greens and its Growing Green Teacher Programming, the goats brought livestock education to the District, visiting with hundreds of

YARD

BY DEB DRAMBY, WILLOWSFORD FARM

• IN

Graze Local, Think Global

O UR

Overcrowding << FROM 3

BACK

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Weeds our goats love to eat include:

past 10:30 p.m. each night. It’s also been tough for her daughter to keep friends, because each semester she’s in classes with a whole different group of students. “It’d be nice for her to see at least a few familiar faces in class,” Lowe said. She and her husband and two daughters moved from Fairfax to South Riding three years ago before the recent growth spurt. “Seems like everyone moved at the same time,” she said, adding that developers should be required to do more to ensure the communities they’re building have enough infrastructure, like schools, to support the population. Morse and Huck gave a brief over-

view about the new schools that are in the works: A new middle school, referred to as MS-9, will alleviate some overcrowding when it opens in fall of 2017. School Board members also want to accelerate the opening of MS-7 (planned to be built on land on Braddock Road) by one year so it will open in the fall of 2018. As part of its Capital Improvement Program, the School Board also has requested $2.96 million to purchase classroom trailers to house Mercer students. The trailers would be placed on the John Champe High School campus. That capital funding request is now in the hands of the Board of Supervisors, which is expected to vote on the matter in April. dnadler@loudounnow.com

Mile-A-Minute Japanese Honeysuckle Kudzu Autumn Olive Pokeweed Oriental Bittersweet Japanese Knotweed Japanese Stiltgrass Poison Ivy Canada Thistle Tree of Heaven Multiflora Rose students at Janney Elementary School and St. Colomba’s Nursery School. In 2015, the goats teamed up with yet another farm-to-school initiative, teaching elementary-aged children about animals in the farm system through Real Food For Kids: Loudoun County. Whether during an educational visit or in conversations with passersby on prescribed grazes, the goats are always teaching. When we’re on site watering and caring for the herd, discussions center around how it all works—how a goat’s narrow, triangular mouth allows them to crush what they eat, so seeds that might otherwise get passed through are not viable—and often drift into topics like ticks, “to spray or not to spray,” where cashmere comes from and the appeals of goat’s milk. When there is no shepherd on site, perhaps the herd spurs childhood memories of family farms, or gives folks a chance to meet an animal that wouldn’t typically cross their paths. In the coming years, as our goats work to keep local woods walkable, we hope their charm and successes continue to facilitate discussions about preserving ecosystems and sustainable land management. [Deb Dramby is the market manager, education coordinator and shepherd at Willowsford Farm, more than 300 acres that are part of the 2,000 Willowford Conservancy. In Our Backyard is compiled by the Loudoun County Preservation and Conservation Coalition. To learn more about the organization or to participate in the rural road initiative, to go loudouncoalition.org.]

Warner << FROM 5 buy the individual task or job on an a-la-carte basis.” Warner cited a study published in January that found 22 percent of the adult population had worked on an on-demand basis. This presents a problem for employees and employers: “The law only looks at you in two buckets: You’re a 1099 independent contractor, or you’re a W-2 employee,” Warner said. This means that on-demand workers slip through a big crack in social safety nets. Benefits like insurance and retirement that are traditionally attached to a job are usually unavailable, and employers who try to chip in to help with those costs expose themselves to litigation. Warner said the solution involves reinventing the American social contract. Instead of benefits tied to jobs, he said, maybe benefits should follow the person. “The last time the federal government looked at the contingent workforce was 2005,” Warner said. “That’s about as useful as if it was 1895.” And Warner says government will be forced to confront the gig economy. “I’ll make you a wager: whomever the next president’s going to be, this is going to be one of the most significant issues that our country’s going to have to address,” Warner said.

Cybersecurity But the first topic on the minds of the executives and elected representatives in the room was cybersecurity. “If Americans knew how many times a day every institution is under some level of attempted hacking or cyberattack, it would be pretty loud,” Warner said. John Wood, CEO of Telos Corporation, agreed whole-heartedly, and said the problem requires a change in the way we think about cyberspace. “Cyber, really, is another domain, just like land, sea, and air is a domain,” Wood said. “And I would argue that those other domains are easier to secure.” Cybersecurity also lends itself very well to asymmetrical warfare, in which small groups of hackers can stymie powerful nations. And John Binkley, who serves on the

Town of Leesburg’s Technology Commission, giving cybersecurity students practical experience is risky in the current legal environment. Safe spaces for students to test cybersecurity techniques in a lab environments are being squeezed out by tighter legislationd and regulation. “If you want to create this generation, this wave of cybersecurity experts, which is what I think we need as a country, you need to create a space for them to learn,” Binkley said. But as Loudoun well knows, cyber and cybersecurity jobs are appearing faster than they can be filled. There are 200,000 unfilled cyber jobs in America, and Warner said more of those are in Virginia than anywhere else. Binkley and others agreed that, with the dearth of employees to fill the glut of jobs, workforce development will be crucial to American cybersecurity. Warner mentioned recent proposals to teach coding as a language in schools. “It’s something that puts a stake down and says to the world: We’re ready for the future,” Warner said. But Virginia isn’t yet seen as the place for tech innovation. The Department of Defense and other federal and private offices look first to the elephant in the digital room—Silicon Valley. What’s more, California is fertile ground for new tech business, with well-established funders for startups. “There’s a network there that’s forty years old,” Warner said. “We don’t have that same ecosystem here, and that’s part of what we’re trying to create.” Tech startups in Virginia face a number of hurdles: lowest-cost competition from larger companies, significant regulatory and paperwork hurdles for government contracts, and a lack of access to capital for small businesses. Warner goes back to Washington with several ideas: a startup fund for new cyber businesses, rules that allow workers more flexibility in switching back and forth between the public and private sectors, and a better training and career pipeline through public schools, community colleges, and universities. “One of the challenges from today is going to be, how do you make sure that that small business voice is heard?” Warner said. rgreene@loudounnow.com

39 February 18–24, 2016

Kindergarten

5,121: kindergartners countywide

<< FROM 1

Impact on Private Schools Private schools are following Loudoun’s kindergarten debate just as much as families with young children. As more kindergartners can get a full day at their neighborhood public

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3,841: may get full-day public school seats this fall

school, some predict a drop in private schools’ enrollment. Sam Adamo, executive director of planning for Loudoun County Public Schools, expects about 920 students more, or 18 percent of all Loudoun kindergartners, will enroll in public schools if the majority offer fullday kindergarten. “I think they are definitely going to take a hit,” Hafeez said. “If your local public schools are really good, why would you opt to send your kid to a private school?” Adela Taboada, owner of Primrose School of Ashburn and Primrose School of Ashburn at Broadlands, expects many families will still pay the $400 a week because of the quality of education offered there. “They see the difference and they value that,” she said. “They’ll say I’m not buying a new car, this is worth it. One parent said, ‘we’re investing early now so that later on when it’s their turn to go to college they can get a scholarship.’” Loudoun Country Day School Headmaster Randy Hollister said it’s difficult to know how the school’s enrollment will be impacted. Each year, a few families enroll in the school, and pay the $24,985 tuition, just for the full-day kindergarten program and then return to public school by first grade. But that’s becoming more rare. A number of families have told him they planned to just stay for kindergarten but stayed on because of the school’s emphasis on hands-on learning, public speaking and community service. “That is very gratifying,” he said. Ken Nysmith, headmaster at Nysmith School for the Gifted in Herndon, offered some comforting words for Loudoun private schools. When Fairfax County Public Schools moved to universal full-day kindergarten in 2011, the private school lost just a handful of students. schools, and one high school in the Capital Improvement Program to alleviate overcrowding in the Dulles area. Adding a penny more to the tax rate would allow supervisors to transfer an additional $10.8 million to the schools, although that figure still falls short of the School Board’s request by $20.7 million. To fully fund the School Board’s record $1.07 billion funding request, the tax rate would have to climb to $1.17. Hemstreet advertised at this rate to give supervisors options—supervisors cannot impose a tax rate higher than what it has already advertised. Chairwoman Phyllis Randall said a tax hike may be inevitable, and it would be irresponsible to borrow against balancing the budget by drawing from re-

Douglas Graham/Loudoun Now Kindergartner Peyton Smith shows off a chocolate-covered strawberry, made in class at Loudoun County Day School, for Valentine’s Day.

The key, he added, is Nysmith offers something different than public schools, and Loudoun’s private schools would need to continue meeting a need the public school system can’t. “It certainly means they need to differentiate themselves,” he said. “But let’s face it, none of us would be in business if the public schools were doing everything that parents wanted.”

‘We’re Not Done Yet’ Weissbratten is hopeful that the days of private school tuition as her only option for full-day kindergarten will soon be over. She said when the School Board adopted the superintendent’s plan to expand the program to 75 percent of kindergartners, she was stunned. “I was just speechless. I’m so happy for the progress,” she said. “But we’re not done serves or the general fund. “For me to vote for an equalized tax rate, I think that would be irresponsible, when we know the needs,” Randall said. “We know we have overcrowded schools.” Other supervisors say it’s too early to decide on a tax rate increase. Finance committee Chairman Matthew F. Letourneau (R-Dulles) said that discussion will come after supervisors have a better idea of the county’s needs. “It’s a bad practice to begin your budget discussion with a particular tax rate in mind,” Letourneau said. “I think you have to look at what the county’s needs are, what the schools’ needs are.” Letourneau added that, as a conservative, his goal is the lowest tax rate pos-

yet. We need supervisors to approve the $1 billion budget.” That would provide a six-hour school day to all but 1,280 Loudoun kindergartners. Proponents of full-day kindergarten face a larger, and more costly, hurdle to extend the program countywide. School leaders have said it would cost another $6.8 million just in salaries and supplies to expand to universal kindergarten. But that doesn’t include the cost of building the extra classroom additions needed at several central and southern Loudoun schools, that would likely add several million more dollars. “Each year, we’re making progress,” Weissbratten said. “We’ll get there.” dnadler@loudounnow.com sible—“but that’s ‘possible’ when you include the needs that you have in the county.” Supervisor Koran Saines (D-Sterling) agreed with Hemstreet that the county government must protect its employees. His priority is to make sure county employees don’t lose jobs or hours, and he said that county departments would have to distinguish between wants to needs. “Nobody wants to see a tax increase,” Saines said, “but at the same time, if we’re looking to improve our service, we have to take a hard look and make good decisions that are going to benefit the majority of the people in the county.” rgreene@loudounnow.com

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and benefits for county employees, but has no room for expanding facilities in the county, and falls short of some of the county’s mandates. It also increases local tax funding for the school system by $26.9 million—but that’s still $31.4 million short of the School Board’s request. “Doing more with less was a theme throughout,” Hemstreet said. Hemstreet’s recommended budget includes $1.14 and $1.15 tax rates. He said the $1.14 rate would provide adequate staffing at all county facilities and protect public safety and social safety net services. It also accelerates funding for one elementary school, two middle

$16,000: typical private school tuition

Budget

1,280: kindergartners in private school

dergartners next school year. But it’s too early to know whether the Board of Supervisors will back enough funding to pay for it. Supervisors vote on their budget in April. That makes it difficult for families to plan. It’s enrollment season for most private schools, and Weissbratten, seen as an expert on the kindergarten issue in Loudoun, has been asked by many parents whether they should register their child in private schools or hold out for a full-day program at their nearby public school. She recommends they enroll in a private program, just in case. “People really need to assume they’re not going to get it,” she said. “I get it. The deposits are big—like $800 at some schools. That’s a lot of money to lose, but you don’t want to hope that you get fullday kindergarten and then miss out.” Nicole Majak, who’s facing that dilemma, said she’d rather not lose out on a deposit. “We’ll probably just take our chances.” She is leaning toward not signing her 4-year-old daughter up for private school, in hopes that Algonkian Elementary will offer a full-day program. This year, her son attends kindergarten at Algonkian for three hours a day, before he hops on the bus at 11 a.m. to spend the last half of his day at Chesterbrook Academy. “It’s a long day,” Majak said, “and he has different teachers and different friends.” She said it’s not about the money. She wishes the school system would allow parents to pay for their kindergartners to attend a full day. Then, they would get more enrichment programs like art and music, and they would attend with the students who will be their classmates throughout elementary school. “It’s silly to me that we live in the richest county in the country and our kids go to kindergarten for three hours a day,” she said. “They miss out on a lot.”

so ld

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