Loudoun Now Oct. 4, 2018 by Loudoun Now

LoudounNow LOUDOUN COUNTY’S COMMUNITY-OWNED NEWS SOURCE

[ Vol. 3, No. 46 ]

[ loudounnow.com ]

State park plans expand

October 4, 2018 ]

Town Leaders Cite ‘Grave Concerns’ Over Draft Comp Plan BY RENSS GREENE

dor.” And Supervisor Geary M. Higgins (R-Catoctin) said he has met with farmers along the road. “Nothing is not an option,” Higgins said. “We’ve got to do something on this road to address the safety. We’ve had three fatalities in the last year and a half, and I don’t know how many other accidents.” He also dismissed the alternative design for the corridor, which is based on work by the same engineer who designed traffic calming improvements to the Rt. 50 corridor. Higgins said he met with that engineer, Ian Lockwood, for hours, but said the designs that worked on Rt. 50 won’t work on Rt. 15 because of its heavier traffic load.

Mayors, planning commissioners and staff members of Loudoun’s towns met with the Loudoun County Planning Commission last Thursday to express their concerns about the county’s ongoing work to rewrite its comprehensive plan. The new plan represents in some ways a dramatic departure from the county’s current comprehensive plan. But, while county policies in the rural west remain in some ways unchanged, the Coalition of Loudoun Towns found serious concerns. “The draft includes several areas of grave concern that, if implemented, will jeopardize the continued success of our rural area,” said a statement from the Coalition for Loudoun Towns read by Hillsboro Mayor Roger Vance. The coalition’s letter—coupled with detailed individual responses to the plan from each town—raised five chief areas of concern: The elimination of most policies relating to cooperative planning between the county and town governments, particularly joint land management areas around some towns; increased development density in the Transition Policy Area between rural west and suburban east; possibly releasing towns’ control of water and sewer systems where they serve people in joint land management areas, where towns sometimes charge higher out-of-town rates; the lack of specificity on individual towns in the plan; and an “overall weakening of protections for the transition and rural policy areas.” Joint land management areas faced a challenge in 2007 when the Town of Purcellville sued to prevent the county from building Woodgrove High School outside that town. Circuit Court Judge Thomas D. Horne ruled that despite the Purcellville Urban Growth Area Management Plan adopted by county supervisors and the Purcellville Town Council in 1995, the town did not have authority to control land use outside its borders.

RT. 15 >> 5

GRAVE CONCERNS >> 41

Renss Greene/Loudoun Now

Residents look over a map of an alternate plan for Rt. 15. during a Sept. 26 community meeting in Lucketts.

Rt. 15 Meeting Brings Out Community’s Divisions

BY RENSS GREENE meeting hosted by the county government on plans to alleviate congestion on Rt. 15 brought out the differences in views among the people living along that corridor. People entering the Lucketts Community Center for the Sept. 26 meeting were greeted outside the doors with protest signs bearing messages like “Loudoun B.O.S. abandons rural farms & businesses” and “Loudoun BOS votes for less safe 15.” Inside the doors, opponents to the county’s plans to widen parts of Rt. 15 had set up their own parallel meeting with a map of an alternate plan for the corridor.

Inside the county government meeting, opinions were not more reserved. “It’s about time something’s done,” said one attendee. “And I’m sorry that these people want to live on the farms. My thing is, sell your house and go to Wyoming.” Others worried widening the road could impact agricultural businesses in the area. “Moving forward, we’re going to have to make a determination about are we going to maintain the agriculture that we have, and the infrastructure to support that,” said another. Susan Glass, of the county Department of Transportation and Capital Infrastructure, said the intent of the project approved by county supervisors was to “retain the rural character of the corri-

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BY PATRICK SZABO

The East-West Divide According to former town manager Sam Finz, modern development began in 2005, when the Town Council laid out new opportunities for commercial and residential growth. It wasn’t until 2012, following a down period when the 2008 recession hit, that the growth plan began taking shape. Three years later, construction began on the Lovettsville Square commercial center. With phase one complete in summer 2016, the center’s 17,500 square feet of retail space is now home to seven businesses, including a Velocity Wings and a Leesburg Sterling Family Practice. In the coming years, the center will hopefully include four more retail buildings surrounding the Squirkle—resident’s nickname for the road system that directs northbound and southbound Rt. 287 traffic around the Town Square. It’s this central area that splits the town in two, with the western side of town seeing heaps of residential development bring in more than 550 homes in recent years and, the east remaining largely unchanged for decades.

Parents kept dozens of Lucketts Elementary students home from school this week after they were informed that the school had been under a threat for the past five weeks. Lucketts Elementary Principal Carolyn Clement emailed parents last week to explain why a Loudoun sheriff deputy had been stationed outside of the building since the school year started Aug. 23. Deputies have been temporarily assigned to the school as a precaution “as the result of a domestic issue involving a staff member,” Clement wrote. Kraig Troxell, public information

Meet Loudoun’s beer banker

County to boost western water protections

Ideologues build bridges with dialogue

Patrick Szabo/Loudoun Now

The 212-home Lovettsville Town Center subdivision accounts for about 40 percent of the homes that have been developed on the western side of town since 2005.

Aside from a few subdivisions that were built in the 1990s, residential development on the western side of town really picked up with the construction of the 153-home New Town Meadows neighborhood in 2005, followed closely by the 212-home Lovettsville Town Center and the 80-home Kingsridge Estates neighborhoods. Construction on the 14-home Lovettsville Glen subdivision just wrapped up. About half of the 80-home Heritage Highlands active adult community is complete, with the 27-home Loudoun West community also under construction. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, between 2000 and 2016, all that development more than doubled the number of homes in town from 325 to about 700. On the other side of all the residential growth is the eastern portion of town, which still embodies a traditional aesthetic. Aside from the Lakeview Village and Lovettsville Manor neighborhoods, which were built in the mid-1980s and 1990s respectively, the 23-home Villages at Lovettsville is the only development that the eastern side of town has seen in recent years. Other than that, Zoning Administrator Josh

Bateman said that only a few three-orfewer lot subdivisions have been constructed on that side of town in the past five years. Rebecca Bryant, a former town resident who now lives just outside the municipal limits, said that it was the residential construction that changed the town. “It was really weird to see them pop up,” she said. Bryant feels that the town should stop building while it’s ahead, noting that development is better suited for more densely populated areas that have better public transportation. But she won’t have to worry about much more development, since the Town Council intends to cap the population at 3,500. If the town exceeds that limit, VDOT would stop paying to maintain the town’s roads, turning that multi-million responsibility over to the town’s taxpayers. According to Mayor Nate Fontaine, the town’s current population is around 2,440—nearly double the population in 2010 and three times the population in 2000. Fontaine said that while the curLOVETTSVILLE >> 42

Parents Keep Kids Home After Learning of Threat to Lucketts Elementary Staff Member BY DANIELLE NADLER

All schools achieve full accreditation

officer for the Sheriff ’s Office, said the Sheriff ’s Office was notified on Aug. 20 that a man had made a threat over the phone to a Lucketts Elementary staff member on Aug. 17. The staff member and the man who made the threat know each other, according to Troxell. The man was arrested and charged with making a threat over the phone, a class 1 misdemeanor. He was released on bail and was in Loudoun County Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court on Monday, where he was found not guilty. Heather Williamson, spokeswoman for the Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office, said that Judge Avelina S. Jacob made the ruling after hearing evidence from both sides.

The School Board and Superintendent Eric Williams received more than a dozen emails from Lucketts Elementary parents who were upset they hadn’t been informed about the threat until several weeks after it was made. Several parents are calling for the principal to be placed on leave and investigated for safety and security oversights. Amy Tribié, whose two sons attend Lucketts Elementary, said she counted 36 students of the school’s 306 students who stayed home because of a fear that the school could be attacked. Clement sent another email to parents Monday night to say that the staff LUCKETS THREAT >> 5

INDEX Loudoun Gov.......................... 6 Leesburg.............................. 10 Education............................. 14 Public Safety........................ 18 Nonprofit.............................. 20 Biz....................................... 22 Our Towns............................ 26 LoCo Living.......................... 32 Obituaries............................ 36 Public and Legal Notices...... 37 Classifieds........................... 38 Opinion................................ 40

This is the first installment of a monthly series on the exponential growth of western Loudoun’s once-sleepy towns. The vendor tents have been packed up and the thousands of visitors for Saturday’s Oktoberfest have returned home. Lovettsville’s annual celebration of small-town life was bigger than ever. That’s not just a reflection of the town’s energetic, civic-minded leadership, but also the tremendous growth Lovettsville has experienced over the past decade. Before 2005, the town was predominantly made up of farmland, historic homes and a few neighborhoods that were built in the late 20th century. In 2006 Lovettsville had about 1,200 residents and an annual town budget of about $200,000. Since then, Lovettsville’s population has doubled and town budget has tripled in size.

3 October 4, 2018

After Growth Spurt, Lovettsville Finds its Balance

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Rt. 15

Lucketts Threat << FROM 3 member “involved in the matter is away from Lucketts Elementary.” She said that a deputy will be stationed outside of the school for the immediate future. Tribié kept her two sons home from school Friday, Monday and Tuesday. She said she plans to keep them away from the school until school administrators answer parents’ questions. “It’s breaking my heart. My sons say they miss school, they miss their friends. But at this point, I’ve rung the bells at every level of the administra-

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rgreene@loudounnow.com tion and we’re not being heard,” Tribié said. “We want to know that the threat is removed, and we want there to be an investigation into how this was handled.” Tribié said that she and other parents are also asking that a full-time school resource officer be assigned to Lucketts Elementary, not only because of this recent threat but because emergency response time is estimated at 15 to 20 minutes. Every public middle and high school in Loudoun County has assigned school resource officers, but elementary schools do not.

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In 2017, the Virginia Department of Transportation counted an average of 18,000 vehicles a day on the most congested part of Rt. 50 west of Rt. 15, near Aldie. By comparison, the state counted an average 26,000 cars a day on Rt. 15 between Leesburg and Lucketts. East of Rt. 15, traffic on Rt. 50 scales up dramatically, reaching about 49,000 vehicles a day at Old Ox Road. County supervisors last week unanimously voted to start designing work on Rt. 15 just north of Leesburg. Conceptually, that includes widening Rt. 15 to a four-lane divided road between Battlefield Parkway and Montresor

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October 4, 2018

<< FROM 1

Road, redesigning the intersection of Rt. 15 and North King Street to a T-intersection with a traffic light, and bringing Limestone School Road and Montresor Road together at one intersection on Rt. 15. They also recommended accommodating design guidelines from Journey Through Hallowed Ground where feasible. The design was arrived at after a public input process that Glass said brought in thousands of responses at public meetings and online surveys. The county government does not yet have concrete plans for that work. The county is also conducting a parallel safety and traffic study on Rt. 15 north of Whites Ferry Road.

October 4, 2018

[ LOUDOUN GOV ]

[ BRIEFS ]

Half of Loudoun Land in Conservation Programs

BY RENSS GREENE study of Loudoun’s local tax incentive programs to protect land from development has found that half of the land in the county is already protected by at least one local program and paying lower taxes. The county has three local programs to protect land from development. In each, landowners pay taxes based on a use value assessment, which is often lower than the typical fair market value assessment—for example, a property is taxed based on its value as farmland, rather than its potential sale price if it were to be subdivided and sold for development. According to Commissioner of the Revenue Robert S. Wertz Jr., 4,956 parcels in Loudoun comprising 159,560 acres qualify for lower tax assessments. Loudoun County has about 333,000 acres. “These programs in Loudoun and elsewhere are used to promote agriculture and open space in the county,” Supervisor Geary M. Higgins (R-Catoctin) said. “They are a cost avoidance for the county. They are not a loss of revenue for the county.” “If there were houses built on all of this farmland and open spaces, then we would have to spend a lot more money on schools, on roads, on all of the infrastructure that would be needed to provide services for those folks,” Supervisor Tony R. Buffington (R-Blue Ridge) said. Chairwoman Phyllis J. Randall (D-At Large) took it a step further. “I don’t think it’s just cost avoidance,” Randall said. “I think it’s revenue producing, because most of our—almost all of our—tourism tax dollars sit in western Loudoun County.”

Renss Greene/Loudoun Now

A map of the land in Loudoun receiving a lower tax assessment based on participation in one of three local programs to encourage open spaces and agriculture.

The three programs can and do overlap. The first, agricultural and forestal districts, protect land of 200 contiguous acres or more for four to 10 years. They also confer some protection from eminent domain—if the county or state sought to acquire that land, it must go through a special public review process. Loudoun has 23 agricultural and forestal districts, covering about 43,600 acres. Another is the land use assessment program for qualifying agricultural, horticultural, forest and open space lands. It includes 2,835 parcels rep-

resenting 78,950 acres. In the event a property in the land use taxation program is used for more intensive development, subdivided, or its owners fall behind on taxes, the county can collect five years of back taxes at the property’s full market value. The county’s only program to permanently protect land from development is the conservation easement stewardship program. Some easements are required as a way of maintaining required open space in developments and are held by PROPERTY TAXES >> 9

Loudoun Nears Deal on State Park Expansion BY RENSS GREENE The county Board of Supervisors is looking to add to land purchased by the state government in 2016 to establish a new state park in far northwestern Loudoun. The county is nearing a deal to acquire 280 acres that sits adjacent to the state-owned tract. “At this point, it looks like the second property is going to fall into place,” after three midnight closed-door board meetings, Supervisor Geary M. Higgins (R-Catoctin) told a gathering of the Greater Hillsboro Area Business Alliance on Sept. 24. It would assemble roughly 1,300 acres near Neersville for a long-anticipated state park. It brings together land from the Robert and Dee Leggett Foundation, the Old Dominion Land ConNEERSVILLE PARK >> 9

Douglas Graham/Loudoun Now

Blue Ridge Center for Environmental Stewardship property in Neersville already has miles of hiking trails and could be added to land planned for a new state park.

County Expands Metro Link to Purcellville On Monday, the county government launched a new Metro connection bus service from Purcellville to Wiehle-Reston. Loudoun County Transit offers the Metro Connection bus service departing from the new park and ride lot at 412 Browning Court beginning at 4:45 a.m., Monday through Friday, with trips every half hour until 8:45 a.m. Buses also pick up passengers wishing to travel to Purcellville from Wiehle-Reston East in the morning from 5:30 a.m. to 8 a.m. In the afternoon, buses will make return trips to Purcellville from Wiehle-Reston East from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. and from Purcellville to Wiehle-Reston East from 3:45 p.m. to 6:15 p.m. Normally these trips would have a cash fare of $1, but through the month of October, Loudoun County’s Metro Connection bus service is free through the ISHARE66 Commuter Incentives program, designed to reduce traffic congestion and promote alternative modes of transportation through the Interstate 66 corridor. More information about Metro Connection bus service is online at loudoun.gov/silverlinebuses.

Blighted Chantilly Building Headed for Demolition A longtime eyesore and safety hazard in Chantilly is headed for demolition one way or another with an upcoming county public hearing, a step in enforcing the county’s newly adopted blight ordinance. The target is the United Rentals Building at 43910 Eastgate View Drive. According to county staff members, the property has been the site of at least four fires since November 2016. It has also been the site of numerous Sheriff ’s Office calls, including suspicious activity complaints, building checks, and a parking violation. On Dec. 1, 2017—less than two months after the county’s new blight ordinance was adopted in October—county staff members received a complaint about the building. The building’s owner, G J Malt Corporation, said the property was involved in a recently settled lawsuit, and the company was moving to sell the land. The company requested the county hold off on enforcement, a request that was granted until May 1, 2018. On May 15, the property owner wrote to inform the county he intends to demolish the structure. However, the county began moving ahead with its own blight abatement program. After a fire July 19, the fire marshal ordered the owner to secure the structure—county staff had informed the property owner than a door had been pried open in May. A JUMP TO >> 8

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Farm Bureau to Step Up Role in Envision Loudoun Plan Review BY RENSS GREENE Seeing a county project that “will have a significant impact and ability for agriculture to prosper,” the Loudoun County Farm Bureau has voted to take the lead in advocating for rural businesses as the county rewrites its comprehensive plan. “Without the strength of all of you, our membership, our efforts to be the Voice of Loudoun Agriculture might fall on deaf ears,” said Farm Bureau president Chris Van Vlack telling the membership during the bureau’s annual meeting Sept. 18. The county government is in a yearslong project, Envision Loudoun, to update its comprehensive plan, with far-reaching impacts for the county’s growth and future. And the process has drawn close scrutiny from conservation and agriculture interests, who worry it’s an opportunity to open up the west to development. Van Vlack said the county must protect a “critical mass” of agricultural land to keep the rural economy afloat. “The situation remains critical, as we have seen residential development market pick up again over the past four to five years,” Van Vlack said. “We cannot be complacent in securing a long-term base of land for future generations of agricultural entrepreneurs to take their shot at starting successful Loudoun farms and ag businesses.” The Loudoun Farm Bureau membership voted to “take a leadership role” to put together policy guidelines representing agriculture in Loudoun. The local Farm Bureau also voted to

support several other possible county programs, such as Supervisor Tony R. Buffington’s (R-Blue Ridge) proposed conservation easement assistance program, which would use county funding to help defray the cost to landowners of putting their land into conservation easement to protect it from development. The Farm Bureau also voted in favor of a transfer of development rights program—in which rural landowners could sell their development rights, providing a source of income and promoting development in designated growth areas—and funding for the county’s existing but inactive purchase of development rights program. “It bears mentioning that our Virginia neighbors in Clarke, Frederick, Fauquier, Stafford, Spotsylvania, Culpeper, and soon Prince William all utilize some form of Transfer or Purchase of Development Rights Program, along with our northern neighbors in Montgomery and Frederick County, MD,” Van Vlack said. “Currently, Loudoun is leaving matching funds from the Commonwealth on the table for these programs, and it would be exciting to offer our farmers one of the tools our neighboring producers currently enjoy.” That program would use county and state money to purchase development rights on a piece of property, again to prevent development there. And the Farm Bureau suggested providing more agriculture-focused education in Loudoun County Public Schools, such as livestock animal sciences and agricultural business courses.

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[ BRIEFS ] << FROM 6 second letter, according to a county staff report, has still yielded no results, and the next step is a criminal complaint. Now, the Board of Supervisors is set for a public hearing Oct. 10 on its plans to demolish the building. At the same time, the owner has said he has hired a contractor and is pursuing demolition permits. “It is my hope that the owner will demolish the building without the County having to do it,” wrote Supervisor Matthew F. Letourneau (R-Dulles) in a newsletter to constituents. “Given how long it has taken to get to this point, however, I want to make sure we have a backup plan in place if the demolition doesn’t happen.” The cost of demolishing the building to the county is estimated to be $373,274.

Fall, Winter Burning Regulations in Effect Open burning is permitted effective Oct. 1 through midnight Feb. 14 for the burning of leaves and trees, brush, yard and garden trimmings generated on-site, except where always prohibited. Burning is always prohibited in urban or built up areas, such as subdivisions, throughout Loudoun County and the Town of Leesburg. It is also prohibited in the town limits of Lovettsville, Middleburg, Purcellville

and Round Hill. Fires must be reported to the Loudoun County Emergency Communications Center at 703-777-0637 prior to ignition and when the fire is extinguished. They must be attended by a competent person or persons, 18 years of age or older, at all times, with means to control and extinguish the fire. Open burning may be no closer than 50 feet from any structure and pose no hazards to a roadway. For more information, contact the Fire Marshal’s Office at 703-737-8600 during normal business hours or go to loudoun.gov/firemarshal.

able at loudoun.gov/cdbg or by contacting CDBG Program Assistant Sandra Berrios at 703-771-5731 or sandra. berrios@loudoun.gov. The county will offer a workshop on applying Tuesday, Oct. 16 in the Shenandoah Building at 102 Heritage Way NE in Leesburg. RSVP to Berrios. The Loudoun County Family Services Advisory Board will hold a public hearing Monday, Oct. 22, at 6 p.m. to gather input on addressing housing and community development needs, also in the Shenandoah Building. No advance sign-ups are required. Applications are accepted until 4 p.m. Nov. 5.

Block Grant Process Opens Friday

Brambleton Library Opens Dec. 1

Loudoun County will open the application process for the Community Development Block Grant program Friday, Oct. 5. The program provides funding for local projects that address a variety of housing, public service, and community development needs. Eligible applicants for funds include local nonprofit organizations and local government entities in Loudoun County or those mainly serving Loudoun County residents. Proposed projects should provide affordable housing opportunities, revitalizing neighborhoods, renovating substandard housing, providing public services and expanding economic development opportunities, primarily for persons of low and moderate income. The application packet will be avail-

The Brambleton Library will open its doors to the public Saturday, Dec. 1 at 1 p.m. with a ribbon cutting and grand opening celebration. The 40,000-square-foot facility, located at 22850 Brambleton Plaza, has dedicated areas for children, teens and adults; three large meeting rooms; a makerspace with 3D printers, laser cutters, sewing equipment and a recording studio; 10 study rooms and a gaming room in the Teen Center. “I’m delighted this state-of-the-art library will serve this growing community,” stated Loudoun County Public Library Director Chang Liu. “The greatest gift we can provide the community is free and equal access to a wide variety of resources that make a difference in people’s lives.”

The construction of the Brambleton Library was made possible through a lease-purchase agreement between the County and the Brambleton Group. The Brambleton Library will join the Sterling Library as the second branch in the Loudoun County Public Library system to be open Friday and Saturday evenings until 9 p.m. For customers 21 and older who are interested in a sneak peek of the facility, the Friends of the Brambleton Library group is hosting a fundraiser Oct. 20 and 21 at 5 p.m. The event will start with a four-course micro wine dinner at AhSo Restaurant. Additional information and tickets are available at friendsofthebrambletonlibrary.org/ upcoming-fundraisers. Every Tuesday at 10 a.m. leading up to the opening, children and their caregivers are invited to attend Family Storytime in the Brambleton Community Center at 42645 Regal Wood Drive. For more information, go to library. loudoun.gov/Brambleton or facebook. com/BrambletonLibrary.

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the county, but in the case of voluntary gift easements, there may also be state and federal tax benefits. There are about 750 conservation easements in Loudoun protecting more than 72,000 acres. Buffington said those are “all good tools for the toolbox.” He also said it shows the importance of conservation easements. “None of them are permanent except for the conservation easements, so the county can’t really make plans on something that’s temporary.” He has proposed a program to help landowners pay for the up-front cost

9 October 4, 2018

<< FROM 6

of putting land into conservation easements, a process he has said can be prohibitively expensive. And Randall said as the county rewrites its comprehensive plan, she will ask the county staff members to study a transfer of development rights program. Typically those programs allow landowners to purchase development potential from each other—removing the possibility of development from one property, while increasing its allowable density on another. Some county planning commissioners, who are working on the comprehensive plan, have opposed that idea, arguing it could funnel more density in eastern Loudoun.

October 4, 2018

[ LEESBURG ]

Leesburg Council Moves to Annex Microsoft Land LOUDOUN NOW STAFF REPORT

ith little discussion at its Sept. 25 meeting, the Leesburg Town Council initiated a municipal boundary expansion that would annex 517 acres on its southern border—including property recently purchased

by Microsoft. Previous Town Councils—for decades—have discussed the merits of annexing additional land within the town-county Joint Land Management Area, particularly the zones where commercial, not residential, development is planned. None, however, pursued the action. Talks to seek the Board of Supervisors’ cooperation in a

boundary line adjustment turned serious a few weeks ago, culminating in a unanimous vote last week. Council members had said they were unaware of Microsoft’s plans to purchase the property and that the action was not motivated by that deal. The voluntary boundary line adjustment process requires cooperation and approval by the Board of Supervisors

and can be finalized by a Circuit Court order. While jurisdictions often coordinate before taking official steps toward decisions like changing their borders, county officials said the first they heard of Leesburg’s proposed annexation was in newspaper reporting of the Town Council’s first discussion of the idea at a council meeting in early September.

Town Council Prepares for New Museum Lease Talks BY KARA C. RODRIGUEZ

Douglas Graham/Loudoun Now

The Leesburg Town Council approved several changes to downtown’s parking policies, but the payment-in-lieu-of-parking program, which allows developers the option to pay a fee for required parking spaces they cannot provide in their property, will remain.

Fixed? Leesburg Council Finalizes Downtown Parking Changes BY KARA C. RODRIGUEZ In a process that lasted 18 months to address complaints that spanned decades, the Leesburg Town Council last week finalized a package of changes to its downtown parking regulations. While often meetings with downtown parking as a topic have drawn crowds of spectators from both the downtown business and development community, the Sept. 25 vote came quickly and with little comment from anyone on or off the dais. The changes to the Zoning Ordinance loosen some requirements for downtown parking, potentially making it easier for some developers to get their projects off the ground. “If I was a business owner downtown, all these amendments … reduce parking in some way. Nothing here

should complicate an existing condition for somebody. It should alleviate concerns about providing parking for businesses,” Brian Boucher, deputy director of the Planning and Zoning Department, said to the council. Many of the council’s changes were somewhat finalized three weeks ago in a series of straw votes. The lone decision that needed to be made last week was whether the council would create a single parking standard for nonresidential uses in the downtown B-1 district. Both an outside consultant and the town staff had recommended against this, with the consultant advocating separate ratios for office and retail uses. Ultimately, the council chose to go with the separate ratios, now requiring one space per 400 square feet for office and one space per 285 square feet for retail use. These ratios, much

like the rest of the recommendations, are based on industry standards, best practices, and comparison of similar-sized communities with limited public transit options, Planning and Zoning Director Susan Berry-Hill said. While the payment-in-lieu-of-parking program, which allows developers the option to pay a fee for parking spaces for required parking spaces they cannot provide in their property, has for many years faced criticism, the program will remain. But one change passed in the ordinance amendment includes a staff-proposed alternative to the program to permit residential developers to pay fees for up to 10 of their required spaces if the property is within 500 feet of a municipal parking facility. PARKING >> 12

The Leesburg Town Council has given the town staff the green light to negotiate a new lease with the Loudoun Museum’s board of trustees. The 5-2 vote during the Sept. 25 meeting came one week after a joint meeting between the council and the board of trustees, when all parties appeared willing to continue the decades-old arrangement of the town leasing three buildings, at a rate of $1 per year, to the museum despite the organization’s recent troubles. The early summer saw the new board, which was placed by the county Board of Supervisors in January, fire the museum’s executive director; the resignations of its remaining staff; and the indefinite closure of the museum. Supervisors at their Sept. 20 meeting agreed to continue funding the museum at a rate of $156,000 annually. Vice Mayor Suzanne Fox and Councilman Josh Thiel opposed moving forward with lease negotiations. Although Town Manager Kaj Dentler had previously advocated specific performance standards to be put in the museum’s new lease, Tuesday night a council majority opposed that approach. Performance standards could, among other stipulations, require the museum to be open for a certain number of hours per week. The previous lease included a stipulation that the museum be open 46 hours weekly, but that benchmark was rarely met. “We are landlords in this,” Councilman Tom Dunn said. “I don’t know how many private owners have leases which dictate how, when and where they’re going to run their business. You’re a private entity; you should be treated as such without having performance standards on you. That’s not what a landlord should be involved in. If we’re going to set those standards we might as well take back the property now.” Thiel made an unsuccessful motion to require the museum board to reach out to the town’s Economic Development Department or Economic Development Commission when problems MUSEUM LEASE >> 12

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Rain Clouds Cleared Just in Time for Leesburg Airshow The region saw rare clear skies Saturday in time for the 2018 Leesburg Airshow at Leesburg Executive Airport. And with clear skies and aerial performers came crowds—aeronautical enthusiasts, performers, and historic aircraft gathered at the airport for aerobatics and demonstrations.

The Berlin Airlift Historical Foundation’s Douglas C-54 Skymaster at Leesburg Executive Airport during the 2018 Leesburg Airshow on Saturday.

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Council Backs Proposal for Land Conservation Program

October 4, 2018

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The Leesburg Town Council last week gave its vote of confidence to a program proposed by Supervisor Tony Buffington (R-Blue Ridge) to offer public money to help Buffington pay for protecting more land from development. The council unanimously endorsed a resolution in support of the program, which was moved forward by the Board of Supervisors over the summer. Buffington’s plan would have the county government help pay the up-front cost of putting land under conservation easements, a cost that can run into the tens of thousands of dollars between appraisals, financial and legal services. As proposed, a $150,000 fund from the county’s year-end budget balance will be set up, which would be used to cover up to 50 percent or $15,000—whichev-

Parking << FROM 10 Council members also supported reducing parking ratios in the downtown B-1 district for multi-family residential development, now requiring only one parking space for one-bedroom units, and 1.5 spaces for a two-bedroom unit. A regulation remains unchanged that exempts parking requirements for the conversion of an existing building into a nonresidential use if the site is within 500 feet of a municipal parking facility.

Museum lease << FROM 10 arise. “We’ve had this open line of communication that clearly hasn’t worked. We need to have at least some kind of formal agreement with the board and with the town that makes sure it’s self-sustaining in the future,” he said. Thiel also asked Town Attorney Barbara Notar about rumors that a lawsuit had been threatened by the museum’s previous executive director and that the museum membership had not ratified three members of the current board. He asked Notar whether the town would be at risk of litigation as the museum’s landlord. “I don’t think there’s a reasonable risk of that,” she said. “I feel very competent I can protect the town from any type of risk.” Notar also said that, in consulting with the museum’s attorney, there was no pending lawsuit against the museum, nor a threat of a lawsuit. Council members did not appear to find consensus on the length of the new lease, but it will not be for more

er is less—of the costs for a landowner putting property into a conservation easement. Conservation easements are agreements between landowners and the government or a nonprofit to permanently limit development and subdivision on a property. Property owners have pointed out that on top of the upfront cost, they are also giving up the potential for profit from their land by preventing it from being subdivided and sold to developers. With its affirmative vote this week, Leesburg joins other Loudoun towns that have supported the program, including Hillsboro, Middleburg and Lovettsville, as well as a slew of community and nonprofit organizations. While acknowledging that very few parcels within town limits would qualify for the program, Mayor Kelly Burk noted, “if the western part of the county does well, the rest of us do well also.” krodriguez@loudounnow.com Reporter Renss Greene contributed to this article. Finally, one change is going to encourage—or, arguably, require—more walking between both residential and nonresidential uses. A change supported by the council increases the allowable walking distance from both residential and nonresidential uses for off-site parking agreements. Under the new regulation, it will be increased to 1,000 feet for both residential and nonresidential uses, up from 300 for residences and 500 for nonresidential properties. All parking changes were passed unanimously. krodriguez@loudounnow.com

than five years. Leases for five years or less can be approved by the Town Council without advertisement and receiving bids, a staff report notes. Dunn advocated a lease of not more than two years. Melanie Miles, owner of the Glenfiddich House on King Street, urged the council to keep the museum board accountable. She also publicly pledged $1,000 to pay for interns to help in cataloguing museum archives. “All I’m asking is that the future of the museum be a thoughtful and detailed consideration. It’s not worth trying to save and resurrect if there’s not a detailed and accountable plan,” she said. The final draft of the museum lease will come back to the council for a vote. Until then, cautious optimism on the part of both the museum board and council remains. “I think we all have ideas that we want the museum to be successful and all want to be a partner with the museum. I’m very enthusiastic that I think the new board of trustees is going to take the museum to a place it’s never been before,” Mayor Kelly Burk said. krodriguez@loudounnow.com

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[ E D U C AT I O N ]

[ SCHOOL NOTES ]

School Board Votes to Name Academies’ Labs After Donors

BY DANIELLE NADLER

he names of five companies and organizations will be prominently displayed throughout the newly opened Academies of Loudoun, following a vote of the Loudoun County School Board. The board voted unanimously last week to name several labs, a common area, and the dining commons after companies and organizations that collectively donated more than $1 million to the new campus. The donors who will be recognized throughout the building are Raytheon Corporation, General Dynamics Information Technology, Holder Construction, Jack Kent Cooke Foundation and Stantec. The Academies of Loudoun opened six weeks ago and welcomed 2,400 students, who attend courses on the new campus every other day. It houses three magnet programs: the Academy of Science, the Academy of Engineering and Technology, and Monroe Advanced Technical Academy. Raytheon Corporation, the largest donor to be recognized, gave $520,000, and asked that $200,000 go directly to support the Academies; $200,000 support the EDGE Academy, a hands-on STEM related afterschool program; and $100,000 support the Backpack Coalition, which provides students in need with food on the weekends. The remaining amount is an unrestricted gift to support the mission of the Loudoun Education Foundation. The company will be recognized with its name displayed in a computer science lab, a cybersecurity lab, an auto service lab, and a science lab. The Academies’ commons area will

Danielle Nadler/Loudoun Now

The dining commons at the Academies of Loudoun will be named after Stantec, the building’s engineer that donated $100,000. Other areas of the building will be named after Raytheon Corporation, General Dynamics Information Technology, Holder Construction, and the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation.

be named after the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation, a nonprofit organization based in Lansdowne. The foundation’s $300,000 gift will support the EDGE Academy. The first floor computer science lab will be named after General Dynamics Information Technology, recognizing the company for its $125,000 donation. The unrestricted gift can support any project of the Loudoun Education Foundation. According to LEF Executive Director Dawn Meyer, this might include support for teacher grants relating to STEM education or funds to support computer science learning experiences. LEF staff plans to recommend that the foundation board allocate a portion of the funds directly to the Academies.

The same goes for a $25,000 gift from Holder Construction, the contractor for the Academies. The collaboration room on the campus will be named after Holder. Stantec, the engineering firm for the project, donated $100,000. The gift is also unrestricted to support whatever program LEF deems worthy. Ahead of their vote Sept. 25, School Board members shared their appreciation for the gifts, which will help develop the programs at the Academies and equip younger students for the more rigorous coursework the Academies offers. School Board member Eric DeKenipp (Catoctin) acknowledged that the companies are more than financial ACADEMIES >> 16

Every Loudoun Public School Earns Full Accreditation BY DANIELLE NADLER Every public school in Loudoun County earned the top accreditation ranking, according to information released by Virginia Department of Education today. The division’s 88 schools scored well enough on the Standards of Learning exams in the spring to receive the state’s “fully accredited” designation. It is the second year in a row that every Loudoun County school met that standard. Loudoun’s schools were among 1,683 statewide to earn full accreditation this year, 92 percent of Virginia’s public schools. This is an especially big deal for Sugarland Run Elementary, which has missed the mark in recent years. After Sugarland Run fell short of the state’s benchmark in 2015 and 2016 because of low science scores, the school worked with education coaches from VDOE and received extra support from Loudoun school system’s instructional staff to better prepare students

Patrick Szabo/Loudoun Now

Students at Tolbert Elementary School work on a project as part of career day.

for the state assessments. The work has paid off, and the school has tallied scores high enough to earn full accreditation the past two years. For a school to earn full accreditation, students must earn pass rates of at least 75 percent on English reading and writing SOL tests, and at least 70 percent on tests in math, science and history. High schools must also meet a benchmark for graduation and completion. The new Standards of Accreditation

also evaluate schools’ success in reducing absenteeism and lowering dropout rates. Loudoun school system’s attendance rate dropped slightly from 20152016 to the 2017-2018 school year, from 96.21 to 95.84, but it is still among the highest in the state. The Loudoun school system also saw a slight decrease in SOL scores this year. The schools saw the biggest slump in mathematics, where 83 percent of students passed, down two points from last year. Reading, history and social sciences, and science fell by just one point to 86 percent, 91 percent, and 88 percent, respectively. The pass rate in writing stayed level at 90 percent. Assistant Superintendent of Instruction Ashley Ellis told the School Board at its meeting Tuesday to expect good news Thursday, referring to the VDOE report that showed all of the county’s schools meeting the accreditation benchmarks. She told the board, “That’s absolutely a celebration.” dnadler@loudounnow.com

Loudoun School System Names New Budget Director The Loudoun County School Board last week approved the hiring of Karen Gagliano as the school system’s new budget director. She comes to Loudoun with experience in the classroom and in the private sector. She served as assistant property manager for N.C.H.P. Gagliano Property Management in Naperville, IL; as director of business affairs and treasurer for the Special Education District of Lake County, IL; as director of business services for the McFarland School District in Wisconsin; as business administrator for the Stoughton Area School District in Wisconsin; as executive of business and operations for Oak Ridge City Schools in Tennessee; and as chief financial officer for Maury County Public Schools in Tennessee. Superintendent Eric Williams introduced Gagliano during the Sept. 25 School Board meeting, saying, “We welcome her to her new role in Loudoun County Public Schools as budget director.” She will work under Sharon Willoughby, the assistant superintendent of the Department of Business and Financial Services.

3 Loudoun Teachers Win Wolf Trap Grants Three Loudoun County Public Schools fine arts teachers have been awarded a $5,000 Wolf Trap Foundation Grant for Performing Arts Teachers. Park View High School guitar teacher Miroslav Loncar, Rock Ridge High School theater teacher Anthony Cimino-Johnson and Tuscarora High School theater teacher Justin Daniel received the grants to enhance their instruction. The grants may be used to fund artist residencies, commissions, master classes, technology in the arts, going green or STEM programs. The awards were presented by Cate Bechtold, director of internships and community programs with the Wolf Trap Foundation.

Essay Contest Records Veterans Experiences In celebration of Veteran’s Day on Nov. 11, the Conlin Family Caring Fund is organizing an essay writing contest for students age 7-19. To participate, a student must interview a U.S. military veteran and gain insight into what it is like to serve in the military. Contestants will craft a 500- to 750-word essay. Topics that can be covered include why the veteran entered the military, where they were deployed and SCHOOL NOTES >> 16

BY DANIELLE NADLER

dnadler@loudounnow.com

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Woodgrove High School, home to one of the longest afternoon pick-up lines in the county, is about to get an upgrade. The Loudoun County government is planning to build a twolane road between the high school and Hillsboro Road (Rt. 690) just north of Purcellville. The road will be built through the county-owned Fields Farm property to the south of the high school. It will provide a second access road to Woodgrove and should make it easier and faster for parents to drop off and pick up students at the high school and the nearby Mountain View Elementary School. The School Board was told about the project at its Sept. 25 meeting. The project needs the board’s approval because the school system leases portions of the Fields Farm property for the high school and elementary school campuses, so the lease boundaries will need to be shifted. The change would shift about 35 acres that the school system is currently leasing back to the county. But senior staff members said the school campuses are not expect-

ed to be negatively impacted. Two practice fields that sit within that area will be replaced with two new fields nearby. The School Board won’t vote on the matter until its next meeting Oct. 9, but board members shared their support of the idea during last week’s meeting. “I know firsthand, that line can get very long, I’m very grateful for that additional entrance,” said School Board member Jill Turgeon (Blue Ridge), whose son attended Woodgrove. As part of the project, the county also plans to build a park and a park-and-ride lot on the Fields Farm property. But before construction can begin, staff members said that several steps have to be taken. In addition to changing the school system’s lease areas, these include a land exchange with the adjoining property owner Ralph Fields; annexation and de-annexation of land areas within the Town of Purcellville; and a rezoning of land in the town to allow development of the planned park and commuter lot.

October 4, 2018

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Academies << FROM 14 partners of the school system. “It’s not just about finances, folks. We have some of the brightest minds in the world right here in the DC area, and specifically in Loudoun County,” he said. He noted that LEF’s newly launched gift campaign put an invitation out to organizations to donate and partner with the school system to develop the region’s future workforce. “This allowed us to bring those minds into the classroom. These are partnerships that will benefit our students and our faculty for generations to come.” The only debate among board members was whether to approve the names at last week’s meeting or at a meeting Oct. 9. The majority voted to suspend the regular rules of order—which provide for an agenda item to be introduced in one meeting and voted on in a later meeting—and to vote Tuesday. Eric Hornberger (Ashburn), Jill

Turgeon (Blue Ridge), Debbie Rose (Algonkian) and Joy Maloney (Broad Run) said they preferred to follow the regular rules of order to provide time for the public to weigh in. “I think there’s complete support for the names, but I think we do need to hear from the public on it,” Turgeon said. Chairman Jeff Morse (Dulles) supported fast-tracking the names’ approval so that plaques and signs could be made and hung ahead of the Academies’ Oct. 30 dedication ceremony. “We certainly need to get public input, but I cannot imagine that someone from the public would change my mind by saying they don’t want a plaque provided on a facility in recognition of an incredible contribution to the community—it would be a slap in the face,” Morse said. “I think we’re sending a better message to the community—both those who have contributed and those who may contribute— to say our facilities are welcoming to your contributions.” dnadler@loudounnow.com

[ SCHOOL NOTES ] << FROM 14 what their experience was like. The essay should also include what the writer learned through the interview. The essays should be typed. Parents may help students type the essay but not write it. The essays will be divided and judged in three age groups. Karen Conlin, founder and president of the former Helping Our Heroes Foundation and

retired civilian aide to the Secretary of the Army, will select four essays in each age group. The winning essays will be shared with the appropriate secretary for the service branch of the veteran interviewed and sent to the U.S. senator representing the student’s home state. Direct questions to Conlin at ketheobald@aol.com.

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October 4, 2018

[ PUBLIC SAFETY ] Health Care Worker Found Not Guilty in Teen’s Death Following a three-day trial, a Loudoun County Circuit Court jury on Sept. 26 acquitted a man from Martinsburg, WV, who was charged with involuntary manslaughter in the death of a patient at North Spring Behavioral Healthcare just north of Leesburg. William P. Herndon, 47, was indicted in January by a multi-jurisdictional grand jury in Fairfax on charges of involuntary manslaughter in the death of a 15-year-old victim from Norfolk. An investigation conducted by the Loudoun County Sheriff ’s Office in coordination with the Office of the Medical Examiner and the Office of the Commonwealth’s Attorney found the victim—a patient at the center who had been punching walls after an incident of being bullied—died after being restrained by Herndon, who was a mental health technician at the facility. The Loudoun County Sheriff ’s Office was called to the center, located on Victory Lane, about 3:37 p.m. Nov. 19, 2017, to assist a rescue call. A boy was unresponsive and not breathing. He was taken to an area hospital where he died. The autopsy concluded that the boy died from positional asphyxiation. In its acquittal verdict, the jury found that Herndon was not culpable of wrongdoing in the death. A nurse at the health center, Melanie A. Lewis, 47. of Stephens City, also was charged with involuntary manslaughter in the case. Her trial is scheduled to begin Nov. 13.

River Safety Foundation Donates $5K to Fire and Rescue BY RENSS GREENE The Joshua Lee Carr River Safety Foundation presented the Loudoun County Combined Fire and Rescue System with a $5,000 donation during the Board of Supervisors’ Sept. 20 meeting. Members of Loudoun’s swift water rescue team were on hand to receive the donation. The nonprofit foundation was formed in 2013 by friends and family of Joshua Lee Carr, a young Hamilton resident who drowned swimming in the Potomac River near Harpers Ferry, WV. He ventured too far into the river, where the meeting of the Renss Greene/Loudoun Now Shenandoah and Potomac Rivers Members of the Joshua Lee Carr River Safety Foundation and the Loudoun County Combined drives rapid underwater currents Fire and Rescue System pose with a quilt made for a fundraising raffle and fire engine. where the surface appears calm. ny is scheduled for Oct. 13. The foundation advocates river knitted a quilt for a raffle. More information about the Joshsafety, promotes safety education, This year, the foundation sponand supports the local swift water sored its first Eagle Scout project, Jett ua Lee Carr River Safety Foundation rescue teams. The foundation is cur- Glackin’s project to build an infor- is at riversafety.org. rently hosting its first fundraiser. One mational kiosk at Sleeter Lake Park rgreene@loudounnow.com of its members, Kerry Faroane, has in Round Hill. A dedication ceremo-

Worker Charged with Stealing $140K from Rehab Center Residents A former employee of a long-term care center in Sterling has been charged with stealing more than $140,000 from two residents at the facility.

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Alvoid W. Washington, 35, of Laurel, MD, was a social services director at Potomac Falls Health and Rehab Center and has been charged with three counts of obtaining money by false pretenses, two counts of financial exploitation of incapacitated persons, and forgery. According to the Loudoun County Sheriff ’s Office, Washington used checks and check cards from the two victims, both of whom are now deceased. He also fraudulently obtained power of attorney from one of the victims. The thefts occurred between November 2017 and April 2018. The initial case was reported to the Sheriff ’s Office’s Financial Crimes Unit in March. During that investigation, a second victim was discovered. Washington was charged in August and additional warrants were served on him on Monday, in connection with the second victim. Washington is free on $2,500 bond pending trial.

Man Pleads Guilty to Targeting Dulles Planes with Laser Pointer

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A Marshall man pleaded guilty Sept. 27 to aiming the beam of a laser pointer at planes on the landing approach to Dulles Airport. He faces a sentence of

up to 5 years in federal prison. According to the U.S. Dept. of Justice, Nicholas Pifer, 45, struck the cockpit of two commercial aircraft, but the planes managed to land safely. All four pilots reported seeing the cabin illuminated with a green light. Pifer pleaded guilty to one count of aiming a laser pointer at an aircraft. A federal district court judge will determine his sentence during a Dec. 21 hearing, after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Suspected Drunken Driver Arrested after Crash on 1757 Golf Course A Fredericksburg man was arrested Sept. 26 after he was found driving on the 1757 golf course in Sterling. According to the Sheriff ’s Office, deputies were called to the Waxpool Road location at 10:30 p.m. for the report of an intoxicated man driving onto the golf course and nearly striking several people. Deputies found the driver, identified as Christopher L. Luedtke, 33, traveling on the western part of the golf course. He then crashed into a wood bridge. Luedtke was charged with DWI— second offense in 10 years and possession of marijuana.

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19 B I R C H W O O D AT B R A M B L E T O N W H E R E October 4, 2018

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[ NONPROFIT NOTES ] Living Water Farm Offers Environmental Workshop

October 4, 2018

The Living Waters Farm in Hillsboro is hosting an environmental workshop called For the Greater Green at 10 a.m. Friday, Oct. 5. Environmental advocate Anna Gallman, from Southern California, will be the keynote speaker at the workshop. Attendees will also learn how to build a hydroponic system small enough to fit in a bedroom for less than $200. Cost to attend the workshop is $25, and includes lunch. Interested attendees are asked to RSVP by calling 202-241-1542 or emailing lwfgreenfriendly@gmail.com. The Living Waters Farm also provides free filtered and ionized water to Loudoun County residents. Interested residents may bring their own containers to fill.

Renss Greene/Loudoun Now

Karen and Fred Schaufeld address the audience following their induction as Loudoun Laureates.

Schaufelds, Van Huyck Inducted as Loudoun Laureates LOUDOUN NOW STAFF REPORT The community stewardship of three Loudouners was celebrated during a sold-out Loudoun Laurels Foundation gala at the Belmont Country Club on Friday night. Fred and Karen Schaufeld and Al Van Huyck joined the roster of 22 other community leaders who have been inducted since 2008 as Loudoun Laurates in recognition of their service. The Schaufelds met when they were students at Lehigh University and moved to Loudoun County as their business—NEW Corporation, now NEWAsurion—expanded in to larger offices in Sterling. Fred Schaufeld founded the ground-breaking consumer product protection company based on his early experience working with warranties in the auto industry. In 2006, he founded the private equity company that is now SWaN & Legend Venture Partners. He also is an ownership partner in the Washington Capitals, Nationals, Mystics and Wizards sports teams. Karen Schaufeld earned her law degree from George Washington University and worked in the fields of energy, environmental permitting and compliance, corporate and labor law. She is a leading advocate of expanding solar power in Virginia. Their local contributions have been significant and lasting. After a family member suffering a heart attack had to be airlifted to Fairfax Hospital for treatment, they contributed money to increase the capabilities at Inova Loudoun Hospital, establishing the Schaufeld Family Heart Center. After learning of a similar program at a conference, Karen Schaufeld linked

Renss Greene/Loudoun Now

Al Van Huyck addresses the audience following his induction as a Loudoun Laureate.

senior citizens with low-income preschool students to teach school readiness skills founding All Ages Read Together—first at Sunrise in Leesburg and now at 14 locations in Loudoun and Fairfax counties. She also founded 100WomenStrong, an organization that pools contributions to invest strategically in organizations that support health, shelter, hunger and education. The group started with 12 women in 2008 and has since provided more than $1.5 million in community grants and welcomed a few men to the group. She says the full impact of the effort has yet to be felt. “I think we’re just seeding the ground and maybe giving it some fertilizer and hoping that things proceed in a good manner. I don’t think we know. We’re just at the beginning in so many ways.” While the couple may be viewed as relative newcomers when compared with the deep Loudoun roots enjoyed

by other Loudoun Laurels honorees, they are building on their examples. “I always wanted to be part of a community. You come down south and, you know, it takes a while. But being part of this community has been a really moving thing—from walking down the streets and knowing people to something like this [award],” Fred Schaufeld said. “We’re following in the footsteps of people we have read about in the newspapers over the years. We are honored, and I can tell you we get too much credit, but it is a real, real honor.” Al Van Huyck worked for more than 40 years as a community planner addressing urban poverty around the globe. But since the early 1990s, he also has focused his efforts on ensuring Loudoun’s rapid growth protects the community that attracted him to purchase a historic farmhouse at the base of the Blue Ridge Mountains in the late 1960s. He campaigned in the election to fill the newly created chairman-atlarge seat on the Board of Supervisors in 1991. A decade later he was chairman of the Planning Commission that revised Loudoun’s community development vision with a new comprehensive plan—one still in effect today. He also has been a leader in promoting the work of environmental protection and historic preservation organizations, co-founding the Loudoun County Preservation and Conservation Coalition. He was named the county’s Preservationist of the Year in 2013 and a Mosby Area Heritage Association Heritage Hero in 2016. “I look down the list of people who have already won this award and it is LAURELS >> 21

Contributed

Dr. Bill Tyrrell, one of the founders of the Pay-it-Forward Animal Welfare Fund, gets a kiss from Henry.

Local Veterinarians Launch Nonprofit Fund for Animals The Community Foundation for Loudoun and Northern Fauquier Counties has created a giving circle to benefit animal-serving organizations. The PAW Fund, or Pay-it-Forward Animal Welfare Fund, will support nonprofit organizations focusing on animal safety, education, adoption, health, and overall animal welfare. It will also support animal-based human therapy organizations. As a giving circle, the PAW Fund will pool donations made by individuals and businesses to make grants to eligible organizations. Donors contributing to the PAW Fund will have a seat at the table during the grantmaking process. The fund was created by a group veterinarians of the Loudoun County Veterinary Medical Association, led by local veterinarian Dr. Bill Tyrrell. Tyrrell and the PAW Fund founders saw great need in the community that trickled down to the pets in their care. They wanted to find a way to give back to the community in which they practice, and to the pets, service animals, horses, and livestock in Loudoun County. “We never want someone to have to decide between feeding their family or caring for their pet. Also, many organizations utilize animals as therapy for children and adults with special needs or who have suffered a traumatic event,” Tyrrell NONPROFIT NOTES >> 21

[ NONPROFIT NOTES ] << FROM 20

100WomenStrong, a group of philanthropists seeking to strategically invest in organizations and programs that enrich the lives of Loudoun County residents, is accepting applications

Laurels

Step Sisters Expand into Fairfax The Step Sisters have agreed to take over operations of Fairfax Breast Health Network, expanding the organization’s reach into Fairfax County. This new move allows the organization to expand its Crisis Fund initiative. The Step Sisters was founded in 2014 to improve the quality of life for Loudoun County patients impacted

by breast cancer. After seeing many patients who were struggling financially at the time of their diagnosis, The Step Sisters created a Crisis Fund to help with items such as rent, mortgage payments, utilities, food and medication. This fund ensures that no patient stop or even delay her treatment due to her financial situation. “Unfortunately, we are seeing more and more patients that are needing assistance just to stay in treatment,” co-executive directors and founders of the Step Sisters Ashley Campolattaro and Angela Fuentes said in a joint statement. “Fairfax Breast Health Network has done a great job assisting area residents and we are proud to carry on their work.” Learn more at stepsisters.org.

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<< FROM 20 such a distinguished list. But what was interesting and struck me is the diverse number of fields which have been represented. We have educators, journalists, business leaders, philanthropists, nonprofit leaders, public servants and preservationists,” he said. “As I read over this really diverse set of contributions they have made to Loudoun County , the one unifying theme that comes out is how much they all loved Loudoun County and how much they felt the special place where we are privileged to live.” For the past two years, Van Huyck served on the community stakeholders committee that drafted a new county comprehensive plan and he encouraged the audience to get involved with that project as it moves through review by the Planning Commission and Board of Supervisors. “We have the opportunity here to address our next 20 years,” he said. “It is time for all our voices to be part of this debate.” Even after the new plan’s adoption sometime next year, Van Huyck told the audience members that their work would continue. “We bought our historic 1916 house in 1969 and the late John Lewis said to me, ‘Al, you are the steward of this historic property and it is your obligation to pass it on to the next generation intact. And it occurs to me tonight that we are the stewards of this great county and it is our obligation to pass it on to the next generation intact. “ In addition to honoring community stewards, the Loudoun Laurels Foundation provides scholarships to public high school seniors who have overcome obstacles to excel in their academic careers. These include students enrolled in the school system’s CAMPUS and AVID programs, which support prospective first-generation college students and others who might otherwise be unlikely to attend college. To date, the foundation’s Stewardship Trust has awarded 17 $40,000 scholarships, including four this year. Learn more about the Loudoun Laurels honorees and student scholars at loudounlaurels.org.

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100WomenStrong Accepting Grant Applications

email. Nonprofits who submit a Letter of Intent will be notified of the status of their applications on or before Dec. 14. Only those nonprofits invited to apply will be requested to submit a full grant proposal by Jan. 18. Learn more at onehundredwomenstrong.org/grant-application-process.

October 4, 2018

said. “The aim of this giving circle under the Community Foundation is to help provide some very needed funding for the nonprofit organizations that support these animal related causes.” The Community Foundation expects to release a request for proposals to eligible organizations seeking funding in late 2018. To learn more about the PAW Fund or to donate, visit communityfoundationlf.org/PAW.

from area nonprofits for 2019 grants. Organizations that are headquartered or operate in Loudoun County and wish to receive 2019 grant funds from 100WomenStrong for programs in the areas of health, hunger, education and shelter, must file a preliminary Letter of Intent by 5 p.m. Friday, Nov. 1. Letters of Intent should be no more than one page long, should be in 11-point font or larger and should include: Name and purpose of nonprofit organization; dollar amount of grant request; what the money will fund; why this project(s) is important to those you serve and to Loudoun County residents. Letters should be emailed to lettersofIntent@onehundredwomenstrong.org as a .pdf attachment with the name of the organization in the subject line of the

[ BIZ ]

[ BIZ BRIEFS ] Atoka Properties Opens New Leesburg Office

October 4, 2018

Renss Greene/Loudoun Now

MainStreet Bank vice president and chief lending officer Jimmy Olevson has a beer at Black Hoof Brewery in Leesburg—one of the several breweries in Loudoun he has helped finance.

Meet Jimmy Olevson:

The Beer Banker

BY RENSS GREENE

or all the passion brewers put into their beer, every brewery is a business, and businesses start with financing. In Loudoun, new breweries often go to Jimmy Olevson and MainStreet Bank to get started. Olevson, the bank’s chief lending officer, got into the business to help breweries get started before Loudoun’s brewery boom had the meteoric pace of today. Old Ox Brewery co-founder Chris Burns, burned by a deal that fell through with a national bank, sought out a local banker ahead of their 2014 opening. A mutual acquaintance recommended Olevson. “I had never financed a brewery before,” Olevson said. “Being in Loudoun, I was very familiar with wineries, but had never financed a brewery before.” But Burns and his parents Graham and Mary Ann had done their homework. Olevson said they had a detailed plan “taking into account contingencies I would have never thought of.” “Clearly, it was a family business, but it went far beyond ‘son and dad like to brew on the weekends because it’s cool and fun,’” Olevson said. And go far beyond it has. Old Ox Brewery is one of the largest and bestknown breweries in the region, along with some of Olevson’s other clients, like Lost Rhino Brewing Company and Adroit Theory Brewing Company. He has worked with regionally well-known breweries like Old Ox and Lost Rhino, established gems of the brewing scene like Black Hoof Brewing Company and Old 690 Brewing Company, and upstarts like the new House 6 Brewing Co. in Old Ashburn—whose founder, Rolanda Rivera, Olevson knows through volunteering at the Ashburn Volunteer Fire and Rescue Department.

There was never an intention of saying … I want to be that banker who does breweries, but it clearly worked out very well.” — Jimmy Olevson MainStreet Bank He has also worked with breweries outside Loudoun, and MainStreet Bank is an associate member of the Loudoun County Brewers Association, of which Burns is president. Burns said working with Olevson was a refreshing change, where he’d found the banking industry isn’t “known for its vision.” “I think what’s so incredible about the relationship that we’ve established is that MainStreet—and Jimmy specifically—has been able to, through asking questions, really educated questions about this relatively new industry, really get to know what brewing’s about,” Burns said. “Because it’s different than a lot of other manufacturers.” When he reached an agreement with the Burns family, Olevson wasn’t even a beer drinker—“I told my wife, I’m sorry, we can’t go to the winery this weekend, we’ve got to go to Old Ox”—but after his introduction to craft brewing, he began approaching other brewers. “I started going to some brew festivals before I really knew what I was doing,” Olevson said. He would approach brewers and tell them “I really liked your beer and really like everything I saw—I don’t know if you’re happy with your banking relationship.”

After the experience of opening and growing Old Ox, Burns said he tells prospective brewery owners to pass over the national banks and look for financing locally. “I have some incredibly frustrating experiences when it comes to financing,” Burns said. “I bet that if you talked to not just other startup breweries, but other small business as a whole, they’ve all had pretty rough experiences trying to get financing. Everybody has a story. But my first advice to everybody that has come to me looking for advice on starting a brewery, I would say make sure you have twice as much money as you think you need, and go to a community bank, because anyone else is not going to have the vision.” Beyond the initial loan, Burns said the relationship with the bank for its other needs has been important, such as with Assistant Vice President and Commercial Relationship Manager Melissa Prevatte. She helps the brewery with issues like credit card processing, finding the best price for those services where other operations may be spending percentage points off their bottom line with ready-made services like Square. “When times are good, everything’s fine with your banker, your CPA, your attorney,” Burns said. “When times are bad that’s when you find out who’s going to do battle with you, and who’s going to get out of it.” Olevson said financing breweries has been good business—not just from a financial standpoint, but for the connections its helped him make in the community. “There was never an intention of saying … I want to be that banker who does breweries,” Olevson said, “but it clearly worked out very well.” rgreene@loudounnow.com

Middleburg Real Estate/Atoka Properties will celebrate the grand opening of its relocated Leesburg office from 4 to 7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 4. The new office is located at 458 Harrison Street SE in the Crescent Place. The event will kick off with a ribbon-cutting ceremony and continue with drinks, hors d’oeuvres, and a dessert bar. Pittsburg Rick’s Food Truck will be on site with food for purchase. The event is open to the public. Although the boutique firm was founded in 1939, it keeps ahead of the real estate technology curve, with 100 percent paperless transactions and sleek marketing, both in print and online. The new Leesburg office is designed to reflect that modern approach to real estate with its clean lines and fresh style. Partners Scott Buzzelli and Peter Pejacsevich are thrilled about the possibilities that this next chapter holds for the company. “This is an exciting move to one of the most energetic areas of Leesburg. We have been steadily enhancing our office, technology, support, and services, which makes us a good match with the collective pulse of Crescent Place. Leesburg, along with our other offices, is now poised to provide unparalleled support to our clients and customers,” Pejacsevich said. In addition to this new Leesburg office, MRE|AP has three other locations in key strategic areas: Goose Creek Village in Ashburn, downtown Purcellville, and its original home, Middleburg. Those interested in joining the firm should contact Principal Broker Allan Marteney at 571-4424321. Learn more at atokaproperties.com.

Small Biz Forum Oct. 9 The Leesburg Economic Development Commission will host a Small Business Forum on Tuesday, Oct. 9, at the Ida Lee Park Recreation Center from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. Small business owners and representatives are invited to discuss issues relating to the local business community in a casual, interactive, roundtable format. Topics will include parking in the downtown; leveraging the town’s growing food and entertainment sectors; fostering a shop local environment; and how to better engage with those who visit Leesburg. An update from the EDC on the accomplishments surrounding these focus areas during the past six months will be provided. Input is encouraged on future implementation. Participants are asked to register online at bit.ly/2x2pNyQ. The forum is free to attend. BIZ BRIEFS >> 23

<< FROM 22

More Small Business Awards Finalists Announced

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Suite 210 WHITENING Visit our website at: TheLeesburgVADentist.com Visit our website at: Visit our website: TheLeesburgVADentist.com Conveniently located in8-6pm courtyards all work to sustaining the of Visit our website: TheLeesburgVADentist.com Mon &TheLeesburgVADentist.com Wed: Conveniently in scheduled cleaning or procedure. Leesburg, VA 20175 Tues & Thurs: 7-4pm Offer Expires January 1, 2016. SPECIAL community resort atmosphere, while SPECIAL TheVillage Villageatlocated atLeesburg Leesburg facing The facing Please present coupon to receive the offer. Conveniently in Fri: 8-1pm • Sat: 8-1pm (Once/month) Use your benefits before theend end Use your benefits before discrete nurse call stations and Dodona building Terrace Not to be combined with any the other offer. 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The Loudoun Chamber has announced the finalists for the top two honors at the annual Loudoun Small Business awards, the “Small Business of the Year” and the “Loudoun’s Top Entrepreneur” awards. The 24th annual Loudoun Small Business Awards ceremony, where the honorees in 10 categories will be announced, is set for Thursday, Nov. 1, at The National Conference Center in Lansdowne. These Small Business of the Year and Loudoun’s Top Entrepreneur finalists were selected by a blue-ribbon committee of the county’s business and community leaders and industry experts. Finalists for Loudoun Entrepreneur of the Year are Amy Owen, Community Foundation; Dr. Kelly E. Morgan, Morgan Orthodontics; Julie Borneman, Watermark Woods; and Rusty Foster, Bow Tie Strategies. Finalists for Small Business of the Year are Brew LoCo; KBF by Audi Contractors; and Morgan Orthodontics. Tickets are on sale and sponsorship packages are available. For more information, contact the Loudoun County Chamber of Commerce at 703-7772176 or go to LoudounChamber.org.

23 October 4, 2018

Cochran Family Dental Cochran Family Dental Cochran Family Dental Cochran Family Dental

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[ BIZ BRIEFS ]

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703-771-9034 703-771-9034

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Fri:8-1pm 8-1pm• •Sat: Sat:8-1pm 8-1pm(Once/month) (Once/month) Fri: 24hrEmergency EmergencyService Service 24hr

Visitour our websiteat: at:TheLeesburgVADentist.com TheLeesburgVADentist.com Visit website Dulles Celebrates Hong Kong Connection

Sky Zone Opens in Cascades Sky Zone opened its newest franchise location in Sterling on Monday. The new 43,000-square-foot facility offers 17 attractions, including a freestyle jump court, fusion dodgeball courts, a 70-foot zip line, a sky trail ropes course, and a virtual reality zone. Additional innovations include Sky Slam, which gives guests the opportunity to rock the rim and push the limits of what’s possible and SkyFit, an innovative fitness class that burns up to 1,000 calories in just one hour. Freestyle flyers can also practice their aerial moves in the giant Foam Zone. Sky Zone Sterling accommodates birthday parties, dodgeball tournaments, fundraising events, corporate team building and memorable class field trips Sky Zone was founded in 2004 and has more than 200 locations across the United States and internationally. The Sterling location is at 21070 Southbank St. For more information, go to skyzone.com/sterling.

Poet’s Walk Leesburg Earns Construction Award The builders behind Poet’s Walk Leesburg, L.F. Jennings Inc., have won an Excellence in Construction Award from The Metro Washington and Virginia Chapters of Associated Builders and Contractors. The awards program recognizes out-

Cathay Pacific has launched fourtimes-weekly nonstop service between the Washington, DC, region and Hong Kong. At 8,153 miles, the flight, which began operations on Sept. 15 with Cathay Pacific’s all-new Airbus A350-1000, is the longest nonstop route from both Dulles and Hong Kong International, and the longest flight in Cathay Pacific’s global network. “The United States is a key market for Cathay Pacific, and this route will cater to the growing demand for travel to the U.S. Capital Region while providing U.S.-based passengers with more convenient access to key destinations in Asia and beyond through the airline’s home in Hong Kong,” stated Cathay Pacific Chief Executive Officer Rupert Hogg. “We have been encouraged by the market response so far. Establishing new direct air links to destinations that aren’t already served from Hong Kong enhances our city’s status as Asia’s largest international hub and allows us to secure new and important sources of revenue.” Dulles is Cathay Pacific’s seventh passenger service gateway in the U.S. and ninth in North America. Hong Kong is Dulles fifth destination in Asia, following Beijing, New Delhi, Seoul, South Korea, and Tokyo. Since 2013, the local travel market to Hong Kong has grown 29 percent. Additionally, Asian travelers now account for 32 percent of the District’s overseas visitors, according to Destination DC. Departing from Dulles International overnight, the flight arrives in Hong Kong early enough to provide passengers full access to connect through Asia’s largest international aviation BIZ BRIEFS >> 24

1968

FIFT Y YEARS

2018

Loudoun First Responders Foundation (LFRF) serves our county by providing the community an opportunity to support local heroes. To accomplish this mission, the LFRF will raise private donations and create and strengthen innovative partnerships between organizations, individuals, and corporate neighbors in our community. Donations received may also be used to support educational needs of the sheriff, fire, rescue, and police organizations in our community.

You do not have to be a good dancer to attend!

October 4, 2018

BCT Introduced to Purcellville with $3K in Donations BY RENSS GREENE One of the country’s oldest banks introduced its newest branch to Purcellville with $3,000 in donations to local nonprofits. Bank of Charles Town, known as BCT, cut the ribbon on its new office in the Catoctin Corner shopping center Sept. 18, simultaneously announcing donations of $1,500 to HeroHomes, which builds homes for wounded veterans, and the Purcellville Volunteer Fire Company. During the event, President and CEO Alice Frazier said there are only 229 banks older than BCT. According to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, there are about 6,800 banks in the U.S. Frazier said Loudoun “made a lot of sense” for growing the bank, since it’s a fast-growing county close to the bank’s home in Jefferson County, WV. “70 percent of the workforce of Jefferson County, and a large number of Berkeley County, travel to or through Loudoun to work,” Frazier said. “And

Renss Greene/Loudoun Now

Chamber of Commerce Chairman Mitch Sproul, a representative from the office of Congresswoman Barbara Comstock (R-VA-10), Chamber of Commerce president and CEO Tony Howard, Purcellville Mayor Kwasi Fraser, BCT president and CEO Alice Frazier, and members of the BCT leadership team and Board of Directors cut the ribbon on the bank’s new Purcellville location.

so for them, they’re seeing their home bank in this community.” She also high-

lighted the volunteering and charitable giving by bank employees, which she

said included more than 2,000 hours of community service and $25,000 of donations to United Way across 105 employees in 2017. Loudoun County Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Tony Howard thanked BCT “for the confidence this demonstrates in Loudoun County.” Town of Purcellville Mayor Kwasi Fraser said the new branch is “evidence of Purcellville’s strong economy.” “It shows evidence that you’ve seen that, and that’s why you have the commitment to this community,” Fraser said. The bank has recruited a raft of familiar faces in Loudoun banking, including Frazier, formerly of Middleburg Bank, BB&T, and Cardinal Financial Corp; Stephen Cowen, formerly of Atlantic Coast Mortgage and Middleburg Bank; Katheryn “Kitty” Kearns, formerly of Middleburg Bank; and Dianne Capilongo, formerly of Cardinal Bank. rgreene@loudounnow.com

[ BIZ BRIEFS ] << FROM 23 hub—including Cathay Pacific and Cathay Dragon flights to Singapore, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta and more than 20 gateways in mainland China.

Primera Air Declares Bankruptcy Less than two months after Gov.

Ralph Northam visited Dulles Airport to celebrate Primera Air’s inaugural flight to London, the airline has filed bankruptcy and abruptly stopped ser-

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vice. Northam was in town Aug. 23. That same day, Primera Air also announced plans to launch a second route between Dulles and Brussels, Belgium. At the time, the company was advertising five nonstop, roundtrip flights per week with fares starting at $199 at Dulles. It was the first low-cost, transatlantic service between London and the Wash-

ington region. The company’s abrupt closure on Oct. 1 left flights grounded and crews and passengers stranded overseas, according to Business Insider. In an internal email, Primera’s director of operations Anders Ludvigsson cited “too high costs” because of an aircraft with corrosion and a delay in receiving new Airbus aircraft.

25 October 4, 2018

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[ OUR TOWNS ]

[ TOWN NOTES ] BLUEMONT

October 4, 2018

Great Country Farms Pumpkin Harvest Underway Great Country Farms will celebrate the first weekend of its month-long Fall Pumpkin Harvest Festival this Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 6-7, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. The farm will hold the harvest festival every day throughout the month of October, with main events taking place on Saturdays and Sundays. Families are invited to visit and pick pumpkins, watch pig races, get lost in a corn maze and much more. Weekend admission is $10 for children and $12 for adults, with weekday admission $2 less for both. For more information, go to greatcountryfarms.com.

Outdoor Movie Night at the Community Center

Patrick Szabo/Loudoun Now

A wiener dog races his way to the finish line at the Lovettsville Oktoberfest’s annual Wiener Dog Races.

Lovettsville’s 25th Annual Oktoberfest Draws Thousands

BY PATRICK SZABO

isitors from around the region converged on Lovettsville last Saturday to drink beer, watch wiener dogs race, shop and embrace the town’s German roots. Last weekend marked the 25th annual Oktoberfest, with thousands of visitors turning up for a packed schedule from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. The day officially kicked off with a keg-tapping ceremony led by Mayor Nate Fontaine and Vice Mayor Jim McIntyre, as they tapped the keg and took the first drink for good luck. While the Alte Kameraden band performed traditional Bavarian music at the Walker Pavilion for hundreds of families crowded in the main tent on the Town Green, hundreds more visitors moseyed their way around the town, stopping at vendors’ tents along the way. One of the most anticipated events of the day was the Wiener Dog races, which drew a crowd of locals and those who traveled from as far away as Washington state. After nearly 20 rounds of races, a wiener dog named Ringo was crowned champion of the 2 p.m. races, while Kaiser was crowned overall champion of the day. Also in attendance were former threeterm mayor Bob Zoldos, who held the post from 2012-2018, and former 10term mayor Elaine Walker, who served in the post from 1990 to 2012. pszabo@loudounnow.com

Looking for something to do with the kids on a Friday night now that summer is over? Try Bluemont. The Bluemont Community Center this Friday, Oct. 5 from 6:30-9 p.m. will hold an outdoor movie night, as it puts on a showing of “Sherlock Gnomes.” Families are invited to bring lawn chairs, picnic blankets and snacks to the free event. Popcorn will also be available. For more information, call the center at 540-554-8643.

HILLSBORO Bordello Bandits to Perform Friday

Patrick Szabo/Loudoun Now

George Hitchcock, a Maryland resident and frequenter of Lovettsville’s Oktoberfest, raises his $35 stein for a prost, or “cheers” in English.

Good, old-fashioned rockabilly music is making its way to the Town of Hillsboro this weekend. The Bordello Bandits are set to perform at the Old Stone School this Friday, Oct. 5 at 7 p.m. The band will perform its rockabilly music that fuses country classics with rock n’ roll, including songs by Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis and other outlaw country music stars. Doors to the free concert open at 6:30 p.m. with barbeque and local beverages available for sale. For more information, go to hillsborova.gov. To hear the band’s music, go to youtube.com/user/ BordelloBandits.

LUCKETTS Lucketts Bluegrass Season Opens Saturday

Patrick Szabo/Loudoun Now

Lovettsville Mayor Nate Fontaine takes the first drink from the ceremonial keg tapping at the town’s 25th annual Oktoberfest.

Patrick Szabo/Loudoun Now

Lovettsville Oktoberfest King and Queen Scott and Melissa Barton.

The 45th season of Lucketts Bluegrass is slated to kick off this Saturday, Oct. 6 at 7 p.m. at the Lucketts Community Center with a performance by The Highland Travelers, a five-person band made up of former members of Boxcars and Ramblers Choice. TOWN NOTES >> 28

Loudouners Briefed on New Watershed Management Plan

Patrick Szabo/Loudoun Now

David Ward, a water resources engineer with the county, talks with residents about potential study locations for the Western Hills Watershed Management Plan at a public meeting Sept. 26.

existing and new data, estimating pollutant amounts and proposing strategies for improvements. Roth said that these strategies could include planting trees, properly disposing of pet waste, using fertilizer without phosphorus and creating community trash pickup campaigns. She also suggested that identifying and addressing pollution sources would be key, such as french fry grease that gets washed into storm drains. In addition to suggesting locations for study areas and pinpointing major concerns they want the county to look into, residents also had the chance to

discuss their visions for a healthy watershed. One resident suggested that the school system could create educational opportunities, like environmental clubs, for students to learn about the Western Hills Watershed, which is comprised of the South Fork Catoctin Creek and the North Fork Goose Creek watersheds and features an area that’s 32 percent forested and 6 percent paved surfaces and roofs. “I would think a lot of parents would get involved if [their kids were passionate about the topic],” she said. “I think more and more kids are interested in

pszabo@loudounnow.com

The Best Things in Life are FREE [ SMILES ]

[ FRIENDS & FAMILY ]

[ FREE RIDES ]

Free Rides on Metro Connect Buses EFFECTIVE: September 17 – October 31, 2018 ROUTES: Loudoun County Transit to/from the Wiehle-Reston East

and West Falls Church Metrorail Stations

Visit loudoun.gov/ishare66 Loudoun’s ISHARE66 Incentives Program is funded through revenue from the I-66 tolls collected during peak period inside the Beltway in partnership with NVTC.

By this time next year, western Loudoun will have a long-term plan aimed at better protecting its water. About 20 western Loudoun residents gathered at Purcellville’s Carver Center last week to learn about the Western Hills Watershed Management Plan, which the county’s Department of Building and Development’s Natural Resources Division is developing along with a consultant team from Tetra Tech Inc. The goal is to protect the 70-square-mile Western Hills Watershed that includes the towns of Hamilton, Purcellville and Round Hill. Scheduled to launch this fall, it will be the county’s second watershed management plan and will cost it $185,000 for the outside help. The plan will be similar to the Upper Broad Run Watershed Management Plan, which the county and Versar, Inc. completed in 2014 and found that the 26-square-mile watershed area contained a nitrogen load of nearly 216,000 pounds per year and a phosphorus load of about 14,000 pounds per year. Like that plan, the Western Hills plan will incorporate goals to improve local watershed and stream conditions, prevent further degradation of water quality and educate businesses and residents about watershed stewardship. Nancy Roth, the project manager for Tetra Tech, presented residents with four steps in the work plan—engaging the community, developing an understanding of the watershed by analyzing

the environment and what’s happening to it.” Another resident mentioned that the Town of Round Hill intends to partner with local environmental stewardship organizations to create an outdoor classroom at Sleeter Lake Park and that the watershed plan could work into that somehow. Adrianna Berk, an environmental scientist with Tetra Tech, said that a program like that would be similar to Prince William County Public Schools’ Meaningful Watershed Educational Experiences program, which requires students to engage in experimental projects within the Chesapeake Bay Watershed. “You’re building long-term stewards of the environment,” she said. The Western Hills Upper Broad Run Watershed Management Plans are part of a systematic approach outlined in the county’s Strategic Watershed Management Solutions project—a 2006 report that envisioned a countywide plan for water resource management. Both plans will be used to provide the Board of Supervisors with a perspective of the county’s federal, state and local obligations for water resource management and to find alternative solutions for watershed management. Roth said that Tetra Tech and the county would begin field investigations in the next few weeks and have them wrapped up by January. She said the plan could be completed as early as next June.

October 4, 2018

BY PATRICK SZABO

October 4, 2018

Purcellville Council Approves New Deal for Fireman’s Field Management BY PATRICK SZABO Following months of contract negotiations, management of Purcellville’s Fireman’s Field Complex is taking on a different form. The Town Council voted unanimously Sept. 25 to amend the town’s contract with Shaun Alexander Enterprises in two parts—one that will remove the firm’s responsibility for maintenance of Fireman’s Field and another that will reduce its monthly rent payments from $10,000 to $4,000. Town Attorney Sally Hankins said that the changes will allow the county’s parks and recreation department resume maintenance of the field, if it agrees to do so. Alexander will continue to manage operations in the Bush Tabernacle. The rent reduction, at least in part, was in recognition that Alexander would not collect advertising revenue from the ballfield complex as it initially planned when entering the management deal last winter. “The negotiations are going well—I think the relationship is intact, I think that progress had been made in terms of having a very good working relationship where the goals of the town and the goals of our operator are aligned,” Hankins said. “I would like to preserve that progress and keep moving forward.”

The reduced rent rate will be in place for the remainder of 2018, with negotiations continuing for the remainder of Alexander’s contract, which expires in 2022. The Town Council last year sought to privatize management of the facilities as part of a plan to generate more income from town-owned properties. Under the previous terms of the contract, Alexander was required to pay the town $120,000 in 2018, with annual payments increasing by $10,000 each year until 2022. Starting in the third year of the contract, Alexander was also required to pay the town 10 percent of the gross annual advertisement revenue generated on the property if it exceeded $150,000. Hankins said that the new rent payment is in line with market rates. It’s also $1,400 more than was paid by the Purcellville Teen Center, which managed operations in the tabernacle from November 2015 until the end of last year, when the town terminated its contract nearly three years early. Hankins said the new rate also aligns with what other contract bidders—Teen Center President Phil Message, Play to Win and Discover Purcellville—had suggested in their proposals to take over management of the tabernacle last month, following Alexander’s short-lived decision

to back out of the contract. Additional contract changes are expected to be discussed at the council’s Oct. 9 meeting. If the town can’t reach an agreement with Alexander by the second meeting in October, Hankins said that the Town Council could give some direction on how to proceed. Councilman Ted Greenly said that the driving force behind the current negotiations is to ensure that the complex remains open for the community. “That’s really the goal here is to keep that facility open for the better of our community,” he said. Alexander, the former NFL running back, took over management of the 15.89-acre Fireman’s Field complex on Jan. 1, replacing the teen center’s management of the tabernacle after more than a decade and the Loudoun County Parks, Recreation and Community Services’ management of the athletic fields after 33 years. On Aug 17, Alexander told the town he would terminate the contract effective Sept. 1. Just a few days later, after the town notified him that the action was in breach of contract, Alexander rescinded the termination. The town has been negotiating with him ever since. Pszabo@loudounnow.com

[ TOWN NOTES ] << FROM 26 The village’s concert series will continue for 27 weekends through April 27, with performances by 30 bluegrass bands and soloists. Established in 1974, Lucketts Bluegrass is said to be the longest continual scheduled bluegrass series in the world. The Seldom Scene, Ralph Stanley, Doyle Lawson and The Country Gentlemen have all performed at the venue. Doors open at 6 p.m. each Saturday night. Tickets are $17 for adults and $5 for those ages 3-17, cash only. Hot dogs, barbeque and drinks will be available for purchase. For more information, call 703-771-5281 or email lucketts@loudoun.gov.

LOVETTSVILLE 4 Apply for Town Council Vacancies The deadline for applications to fill two vacancies on the Lovettsville Town Council has passed, leaving the town with four candidates to consider. The Town Council will conduct interviews at its Oct. 18 meeting with four candidates seeking to fill two spots on the dais—Rebekah Nicole Ontiveros; David Steadman, a director of applications development at DLA Piper and a member of American Legion Lovettsville Post 1836; Tony Quintana, TOWN NOTES >> 29

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.

LUNCH & LEARN Join Tribute at One Loudoun for our monthly Lunch & Learn on the 3rd Thursday of each month from 12:00 – 1:30 pm.

Thursday, Oct. 18th – How to be HEAD strong! Learn the Power BRAINing technique from a group instructor and understand the benefits of fitness for both BRAIN & BODY!

Presented by: Mike Harrigan, CEO of The Braining Center 20335 Savin Hill Drive, Ashburn, VA 20147 (571) 252-8292 Hello@TributeAtOneLoudoun.com thrivesl.com/oneloudoun

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

[ TOWN NOTES ]

MIDDLEBURG Play to Highlight Acceptance, Love Music, drama and overall good vibes collide this weekend in a musical performance that will inspire the whole family. A Place to Be—an arts therapy organization that uses dance, poetry, writing, drama and music to help clients express their emotions and communicate needs—will put on a performance of “Abira and the Mountain” on Sunday, Oct. 7 from 2-3:30 p.m. at The Hill School. The family-oriented performance will focus on acceptance, empathy and love and will be a part of

October Business Mixer Planned Next Tuesday If you’ve got a business that you want to promote or you just want to get your name out there, be sure to visit the Middleburg Community Center next week. The Middleburg Business and Professional Association next Tuesday, Oct. 9 from 5:30-7:30 p.m. at the center will host its October mixer, where business professionals will have the chance to network and be brought upto-date on the organization and community’s latest news and events. Old Ox Brewery will also be selling beer at the event. Admission is free to members and $10 for everyone else. To RSVP, email info@visitmiddleburgva.com or go to the event page on facebook.com/middleburgbusiness.

PURCELLVILLE Bargain Alert: Tag Sale Set Oct. 13 Purcellville’s 15th Annual Tag Sale will be held Saturday, Oct. 13. The town tradition is an opportunity to

pick up treasures and unusual finds— as well as to clean that unwanted junk out of your attic and garage. Vendors will have booths along Main Street and individual homes will conduct sales throughout Purcellville neighborhoods. To register for a prime vendor location on Main Street, go to purcellvilletagsale.com. The fee is $25 per 10’ x 10’ space. To register a sale location off Main Street or your home the fee is $10. “This year we’re continuing the tradition of vendors on Main Street. We’re anticipating a great event, even better than last year,” said event sponsor Michael Oaks of Discover Purcellville and Re-Love It. For more information, go to purcellvilletagsale.com, or contact Oaks by text 540-383-0009.

Traffic Line Painting Begins Purcellville’s paving contractor, Mullen’s Markings, will be restriping streets and crosswalks throughout the town beginning this Thursday, Oct. 4 and continuing each night throughout the next week from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. Roads that will not be restriped include North Maple Avenue and the portion of North 21st and 23rd Streets from Main Street to Branbury Glen Court, which is already scheduled to be repaved. The town asks residents to drive with caution in work zones, watch for turning or stopping vehicles and be alert

NEW!

Purcellville NEW METRO CONNECT BUS SERVICE FROM

PARK AND RIDE LOT • 412 Browning Court, Purcellville •

for changes in traffic patterns.

WATERFORD Waterford Fair this Weekend This weekend marks one of the most anticipated and well-attended fairs in all of Loudoun. The Village of Waterford will hold its 74th annual Waterford Fair this Friday through Sunday, Oct. 5-7, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Seeing more than 20,000 visitors each year, the fair will feature more than 100 artisans and dozens of food and beverage vendors, including Olde Smoke BBQ, Wegmans, La Dolce Vita, Cowbell Kitchen, ChefScape, Creek’s Edge Winery and Parkway Brewing Co. Visitors will have the chance to purchase crafts in the restored brick mill, peruse fine art and photography exhibits at the vintage barns, tour private homes, watch Civil War re-enactments and enjoy live music by The Gina Clowes Project, Sunnyland Band and more. Advance tickets are $16 per person per day and $20 at the door. Advance tickets for those ages 13-21 are $12 and $15 at the door. Three-day passes are $30 per person. Children ages 12 and less get in free. For more information, call 540-8823018, ext. 4 or go to waterfordfairva. org.

STARTING ON OCTOBER 1ST,

Loudoun County Transit will operate direct Metro Connection bus service from the new park and ride lot in Purcellville to the Silver Line Metrorail Station at Wiehle-Reston East. ROUTE 931/932 PEAK RUSH HOURS ONLY • 4:45 a.m.–8:45 a.m. (9 morning trips) • 3:00 p.m.–7:00 p.m. (9 afternoon trips) Most buses that drop off at Wiehle in the morning will also allow passengers to ride to Purcellville, and vice versa in the afternoon.

FREE! This new bus service will be free through October 31st. Fare on November 1st will be $1 cash or punch pass. Free transfers from/to any local or Metro Connect Route. www.loudoun.gov/silverlinebuses

Purcellville Metro Connection service is funded through revenue from the I-66 tolls collected during peak period Inside the Beltway in partnership with NVTC.

a former business solutions director at Exostar who was appointed to the council in March to fill a vacancy left by Tiffany Carder; and Nicholas Hayward, who ran for a spot on the dais in the May 1 town elections but missed out by four votes. Two Town Council vacancies were left on Sept. 6, when Renee Edmonston and Mike Senate resigned. Virginia law requires the appointments to be made by Oct. 21 and the council expects to make them immediately following interviews on Oct. 18. The interim council members will serve until a special election is held some time in February.

The Same Sky Project, which will tour Loudoun middle schools throughout fall. Tickets are $10 at the door. For more information, call Melanie Mullinax at 540-687-6740 or go to aplacetobeva. org.

October 4, 2018

<< FROM 28

Purcellville to Request $700K to Add Rt. 287 Traffic Light

October 4, 2018

BY PATRICK SZABO Purcellville leaders are hoping that installing a fourth traffic light to the congested Rt. 287 corridor will help keep rush hour traffic moving. The Purcellville Town Council on Sept. 25 voted unanimously to authorize Town Manager David Mekarski to request $700,000 from the county government to help pay for a project that will eventually construct a traffic signal at the Rt. 287/Eastgate Drive/Patrick Henry Circle intersection. If approved, the town will use that money to prepare a preliminary engineering report and design and to build the signal. According to a staff report, new development, coupled with the 2013 completion of the Southern Collector Road, has created traffic congestion along Rt. 287 near the intersection. The Purcellville Gateway Traffic Impact Study from last October gave the intersection a service level rating of ‘F’ during weekday peak hours. When Mayor Kwasi Fraser asked whether a traffic signal might improve that rating, Capital Projects & Engineering Manager Dale Lehnig said that the town would have to perform a study once it’s complete to make that determination. The study will seek to identify improvements to an area along Rt. 287 between Hirst Road and Eastgate Drive that has been overlooked. Already, the town has made improvements just south of the intersection and the county plans to improve a section of the road north of the intersection between

Patrick Szabo/Loudoun Now

The Town of Purcellville will request $700,000 from the county to build a traffic signal at the Rt. 287/Eastgate Drive/Patrick Henry Circle intersection.

Hirst Road and Rt. 7 in the next few years. Aside from the $700,000 worth of engineering and construction required for the project, the town intends to use its own resources for project management, to review plans and to inspect construction. Staff members said that proffers from nearby developments could be used to help fund these phases.

If approved, the initial phases of the project could begin as early as next July. Aside from helping to alleviate traffic congestion during morning and afternoon peak hours, a traffic signal could improve safety at the intersection, a concern Councilman Joel Grewe said has been brought up by Patrick Henry College students. “There’s been some concerns of late

and a couple almost hits and runs where students were scampering to avoid cars,” he said. “The traffic goes through at a dense enough volume that even at a reduced speed limit there is a relatively significant risk to life and limb in crossing that particular road.” Vice Mayor Ryan Cool noted that there is a isn’t lighting at the intersection, something he said the college may have neglected to put in. “The lighting…that should be there as an entrance was never done,” he said. Lehnig said that the Holtzman Oil Corp., which is developing the Catoctin Corner commercial center next door to the college, may have agreed with the college to put lights in at the intersection. “As we look at some of these occupancy certificates for Catoctin Corner, we can bring that up again,” she said. The funding request will be considered for inclusion in the county administrator’s proposed Capital Improvement Program if it aligns with county funding guidelines. The Board of Supervisors’ Finance Committee will then review it in February and make a recommendation to the board, which will adopt the plan in April and inform the town whether or not the request has been approved at that point. The county is moving ahead with plans to construct another Rt. 7 interchange on the western side of town, which will take traffic off the Rt. 287 corridor, but that project isn’t scheduled for completion until 2023. pszabo@loudounnow.com

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Purcellville Town Attorney Sally Hankins’ position defined one way in the Town Charter and another in the Town Code—and the Town Council is working to fix that. Although the Town Code requires Hankins to report to the Town Council, she’s reported to the town manager since she was hired in 2012, which is in line with the Town Charter. The council on Tuesday discussed its intent to amend the Town Charter to align with the Town Code regarding the position. Council members want to amend the Town Charter to instead have Hankins report to directly to the council. “We need to bring [the town attorney position] into compliance,” said Mayor Kwasi Fraser. The Town Code states “the town attorney shall be appointed by the Town Council and … shall serve at the pleasure of the council.” The Town Charter, which is controlled by the Virginia General Assembly, states that “all officers and employees of the municipality … shall be appointed and may be removed by the manager.” On Tuesday, Councilman Tip Stinnette offered another option, suggesting a hybrid option that would have Hankins reporting to both the council and to Town Manager David Mekarski. Councilman Nedim Ogelman argued against the hybrid model and said that the Town Charter should be amended to reflect the Town Code, which he said is “a more detailed activation of the charter.”

Mayor Kwasi Fraser said that the Town Charter does not explicitly mention the town attorney position, but that the Town Code specifies that the town attorney should work at the pleasure of Town Council. When asked to define “at the pleasure of the council,” Hankins said that it’s equivalent to “at will,” meaning the Town Council can hire or fire her for any reason at any time. It is common for government attorneys to be hired directly by the elected leaders; for example, the Board of Supervisors directly hires only the county administrator and the county attorney. However, the Purcellville council also discussed the possibility of amending the charter to allow the zoning administrator, finance director and town clerk positions also to report directly to the council, rather than Mekarski. Hankins cautioned the council that such a change is uncommon and that it could make those positions “very susceptible to political pressure,” especially the zoning administrator and finance director positions, since they deal with land use and town finances. The Town Council plans to discuss the matter further at a later meeting. If it wants to have the Town Charter amended during next year’s General Assembly, session, it will need to hold a public hearing and have a state delegate or senator sponsor a bill to do so before the end of this year.

31 October 4, 2018

Purcellville Council Seeks to Amend Charter, Attorney Job

[ LOCO LIVING ]

[ THINGS TO DO ] LOCO CULTURE

October 4, 2018

Waterford Fair Friday, Oct. 5, Saturday, Oct. 6 and Sunday, Oct. 7, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Village of Waterford Details: waterfordfairva.org The 74th annual fair features topnotch juried crafts, homes tours, reenactors, terrific live music, food and libations. Advance tickets are $16 for adults and $12 for students 13 to 21 or $30 for a three-day pass. Tickets are $20 for adults and $15 for youth at the gate. Children 12 and under are free.

Shocktober Friday, Oct. 5 and Saturday, Oct. 6, 7-10 p.m. and Sunday, Oct. 7, 7-9 p.m. Paxton Campus, 601 Catoctin Circle NE, Leesburg Details: shocktober.org

Renss Greene/Loudoun Now

Better Angels Virginia organizer Mel Pine and workshop host Butch Porter meet regularly for coffee and conversation despite political differences. The two friends recently met up at the downtown Leesburg headquarters of Porter’s IndED Academies.

Bursting Bubbles: Local Group Works to Bridge the Red-Blue Divide

M BY JAN MERCKER

el Pine is a 72-yearold Buddhist who grew up in a Jewish family in Philadelphia. William “Butch” Porter is a 44-year-old Southern Baptist from Shreveport, LA. Pine leans to the left on the political spectrum, while Porter is politically conservative. But the two have become friends and meet regularly for coffee and conversation, thanks in part to the Better Angels organization, which seeks to reduce polarization by bringing folks together from across the aisle. Better Angels is a national organization launched in 2016 by journalist and author David Blankenhorn with a goal of helping Americans seek common ground in communities and find unifying principles in politics, even when they disagree. The local chapter has been active for the past year, organizing red-blue workshops designed to give Loudouners tools for engaging in respectful, productive dialog and a chance to go beyond the surface with neighbors whose views are different. “As I’ve gone through life, I’ve had a lot of well-educated, progressive-type friends. That’s my social circle. I’m working, though, for it not to be my bubble,” said Pine, a former journalist and public relations executive who lives in Hamilton. Pine was an early Better Angels member in Northern Virginia and recently became the organization’s Virginia coordinator. He’s also a co-chairman of Loudoun’s Better Angels alliance. Porter, a former insurance broker who launched the IndED Academies homeschool enrichment program in downtown Leesburg last year, also became involved with Better Angels out

I relish and value talking with people that I disagree with.” — Butch Porter of a desire to learn from the other side, which he believes is key to preserving civil society. “I relish and value talking with people that I disagree with,” Porter said. “It’s something that I think is important to maintaining the republic and civil society. To have conversations with people you disagree with in a rational and thoughtful and caring and compassionate way. I just don’t know any other way to operate.” Pine says Better Angels workshops are structured to foster respectful listening and exchange of ideas. The organization has scheduled full-day workshops for 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 13, in Leesburg, and 9:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 10, in Purcellville. (See details below.) For each workshop, organizers recruit five to seven participants from each side of the aisle. Participants are identified as “reds” and “blues,” labels intended to cover a range of ideological points of view. At press time, the Leesburg workshop was close to full, but spots were still available for the Purcellville event. To register for a workshop, participants must sign up online and go through a short interview to confirm their commitment to respectful dialog. The red-blue workshops include a moderator from each side of the aisle

and activities designed to promote both self-examination and listening to participants on the other side of the aisle. Pine says workshops often begin with an exercise examining stereotypes and then move on an exercise known as the Fishbowl, where each side takes a turn on center stage, examining the positives and negatives of their political philosophy. There are also opportunities for respectful questions from across the aisle, but no “gotcha” questions are allowed, Pine said. “Very often, people are surprised that they understand the other side better, that they’re not so far out and extreme, and maybe they understand their thinking better,” Pine said. “Almost nobody ever comes away from one of these changing their minds about their political position but what we want is for them to change their minds about their ability to work together and see the importance of having different points of view and to see that the other side is human.” The Better Angels movement is attracting national and international attention, and Pine says a public television crew from Austria will be covering the Leesburg workshop. Pine, a former chief copy editor for the New York Daily News, came to Northern Virginia in the early ’90s through his public relations position with Mobil Oil. Pine and his family moved to western Loudoun in 2000, and he operated two local insurance agencies. He and his wife Carol recently downsized to a small home in Hamilton with solar panels on the roof and an electric car charging in the driveway. Porter, who has a physics degree from Louisiana State University and an MBA from the University of South Carolina, BETTER ANGELS >> 35

Northern Virginia’s best haunted house is right here in Loudoun and gets better every year. This year’s edition features three levels of the terrifying Paxton Manor, plus its basement, Carnival of Souls full of creepy clowns and carnival carnage. Tickets are $35 in advance, $40 at the gate. Advance purchase is recommended. Proceeds benefit Paxton Campus.

Leesburg First Friday Friday, Oct. 5, 6-9:30 p.m. Downtown Leesburg Details: leesburgfirstfriday.com This month’s highlights include Nashville recording artist Jill Fulton at MacDowell Brew Kitchen and the new DCA group show opening at Tryst Gallery, along with tons of great live music, wine tastings and gallery openings.

Artist’s Reception: ‘When Data is Center’ Friday, Oct. 5, 6-9 p.m. The Fine Gallery, 9 Royal St. SW, Leesburg Details: thefinegallery.com Check out ten paintings and a video installation by Kaeley Boyle about the changing Loudoun County environment and our relationship with the new buildings that are peppering the visual landscape. An artist talk with Q&A starts at 6:30.

Courtesy of Tracy Hamlin

Tracy Hamlin’s Sweet Jazz Festival Saturday, Oct. 6, 1-8 p.m. Tarara Winery, 13648 Tarara Lane, Leesburg. Details: sweetjazzfest.com Loudoun-based jazz vocalist Tracy Hamlin’s inaugural Sweet Jazz Festival features internationally acclaimed

MORE THINGS TO DO >> 33

[ THINGS TO DO ] musicians including saxophonist Gerald Albright, pianist Alex Bugnon and trumpet player Cindy Bradley, along with local up and comers Agmite and Jessica Howard. Gates open at noon. General admission tickets are $75.

Joshua’s Hands Fall Festival 38327 Charles Town Pike, Waterford Details: joshuashands.org This beloved annual festival features live music and entertainment, demonstrations, farm animals, pony rides, puppets, mimes, games, prizes and lunch all at no charge. The event supports the Joshua’s Hands non-profit dedicated to teen safe driving initiatives and scholarships.

Tails and Ales Fundraiser Saturday, Oct. 6, noon-4 p.m.

LSO ‘New Horizons’

Black Walnut Brewery, 212 S. King St., Leesburg

Saturday, Oct. 6, 8 p.m.

Details: humaneloudoun.org The Humane Society of Loudoun County’s fall fundraiser features live music by Todd Brooks and Pour Decisions, food by Sisko’s Smokehouse, raffles, children’s games and a cutest dog contest. Tickets are $25 for adults, $10 for youth ages 10 to 20 and free for children 9 and younger.

ON STAGE

Barktoberfest Saturday, Oct. 6, 10:30 a.m.-6 p.m. Loudoun County Fairgrounds, 17558 Dry Mill Road, Leesburg

This fun fall festival includes rides, moon bounces, train rides, escape room trailer, food vendors, beer, wine, cornhole challenge and an artisan marketplace. Live music kicks off with the Loudoun Jazz Ensemble Big Band at noon and wraps up with The Reflex 80s tribute at 4 p.m. Admission is free. Unlimited ride wristbands are $15.

South Riding Fall Festival Sunday, Oct. 7, 1-3 p.m. South Riding Market Square, 25000 Riding Plaza, Chantilly Details: southridingmarketsquare.com Enjoy an afternoon of fall fun including trick or treating, pumpkin decorating, a moon bounce, DJ and giveaways.

LIBATIONS First Friday at Greenhill Winery and Vineyards Friday, Oct. 5, 4-6 p.m. Greenhill Winery and Vineyards, 23595 Winery Lane, Middleburg Details: greenhillvineyards.com Celebrate Friday and fall with live music from the Crooked Angels and food for sale from Market Salamander.

Vins of Virginia Wine Dinner Friday, Oct. 5, 6:30-9 p.m. Petite Loulou Creperie and Bar a Vins, 713 E. Main St., Purcellville Details: northgatevineyard.mobi This exploration of Virginia wines and the craftspeople who make them is led by Sarah and Nate Walsh of Walsh Family Vineyards and North Gate Vineyards. Tickets are $50 in advance and include a four-course dinner with wine pairings.

With new conductor Nancia D’Alimonte at the helm, the Loudoun Symphony Orchestra’s fall concert is focused on material that is fresh, different or cuttingedge. LSO presents Weber’s “Oberon Overture,” selections from Bizet’s “L’Arlesienne Suites,” and Beethoven’s famed “Symphony No. 3, Op. 55, E Flat Major.” Tickets are $30 for adults, $25 for seniors and free for youth 12 and under. Season subscriptions are also available.

Courtesy of The Highland Travelers

Lucketts Bluegrass: The Highland Travelers Lucketts Community Center, 42361 Lucketts Road, Leesburg

The son of rock legend Gregg Allman, Michael Allman offers his own distinctive style of blues and rock. Tickets are $15 in advance, $35 for VIP seats.

Live Music: The Lost Locals Saturday, Oct. 6, 5-9 p.m. MacDowell Brew Kitchen, 202 Harrison St. SE, Leesburg Details: macdowellsbrewkitchen.com Rock, funk and pop from the ‘70s through today from a Leesburg favorite. No cover.

This celebration of the King of Pop offers a power-packed performance of Jackson’s expansive catalog and an evening of fun and nostalgia for one of the greats. Tickets are $20 in advance, $50 for VIP seats.

Saturday, Oct. 6, 7 p.m. Tally Ho Theater, 19 W. Market St., Leesburg

Details: luckettsbluegrass.org

Details: tallyhotheater.com

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

Live Music: Michael Allman and The Mile-High Club

Saturday, Oct. 6, 7 p.m.

Courtesy of Tally Ho Theater

Friday, Oct. 5, 7 p.m.

Details: tallyhotheater.com

Saturday, Oct. 6, noon-6 p.m.

Details: brambletonhoa.com

Details: loudounsymphony.org

Live Music: Who’s Bad Michael Jackson Tribute

Friends of Homeless Animals hosts this fun-filled, family-oriented day of live music, games for kids and dogs, vendors, food and beverages and canine demonstrations. Requested donation is $5 per person, free for children under 16 and dogs. Parking is $5 per car.

Brambleton Town Center, Olympia Drive, Brambleton

St. David’s Episcopal Church, 43600 Russell Branch Parkway, Ashburn

NIGHTLIFE

Details: barktoberfest.org

Brambleton Fall Fest

Lucketts Bluegrass kicks off its 45th season with The Highland Travelers, a hot new band of seasoned performers who are already topping the bluegrass charts. Tickets are $17 at the door.

Live Music: Folkenphunk Saturday, Oct. 6, 8 p.m. B Chord Brewing, 34266 Williams Gap Road, Round Hill Details: bchordbrewing.com This acoustic trio that stands the traditional bluegrass approach on its ear by incorporating funk, folk, rock, and

MORE THINGS TO DO >> 35

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Willowcroft Harvest Celebration Saturday, Oct. 6, 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Willowcroft Farm Vineyards, 38906 Mount Gilead Road, Leesburg Details: willowcroftwine.com

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Saturday, Oct. 6, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.

Loudoun’s oldest winery celebrates the harvest with five wine and food pairings for $15 per person while supplies last.

October 4, 2018

<< FROM 32

October 4, 2018

34 alongside pop stars, virtuosos, and folk musicians and represented the U.S. Department of State as a musical ambassador in China, Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar, Vietnam, Turkey and Azerbaijan. He performs with The Human Hands, a collective of virtuoso jazz and bluegrass musicians from Brooklyn, NY. If you miss the fair performance, take note that Reider and the band will return to the village Nov. 1 for a special concert at the Old Stone School. Another Main Stage highlight will be Saturday afternoon’s performance by the Gina Clowes Project. A nominee for the International Bluegrass Music Association Banjo Player of the Year award, the Front Royal native has been touring with her siblings for two decades, dominating banjo competitions all along the way. Her 2017 album, True Colors, won her additional accolades. On the Waterford stage, she will be joined by her sister Malia Furtado, an amazing fiddle player. This year the fair’s main stage will be set up in the Schooley Mill Meadow. Look at the fair’s full entertainment lineup at waterfordfairva.com.

Who’s bad:

the ultimate michael jackson experience 10/05/18 DOORS: 8:00PM

michael allman & THE MILE HIGH CLUB

10/06/18 DOORS: 7:00PM

eagle mania 10/12/18 Doors 7:00PM

Allman Legacy Celebrated on Leesburg Stage Saturday

DANCE-A-PALOOZA 2.0 LOWDOWN’S BIGGEST DANCE PARTY FOR FIRST RESPONDERS!

10/13/18 Doors: 7:00PM Photo by Donald Kallaus

Autoharp master Bryan Bowers performs two shows during this weekend’s Waterford Fair.

Virtuoso Talent Lines Up for Waterford Fair Stage

The Wailers 10/20/18 Doors 7:00PM

The Bodeans 10/26/18 DOORS: 7:00PM

90’S HALLOWEEN PARTY WITH

AS IF!

10/27/18 DOORS: 7:00PM

GEORGE CLINTON AND PARLIMENT FUNKADELIC HALLOWEEN FUNKDOWN! 11/01/18 DOORS: 7:00PM

A Tribute to pearl jam:

the ten band

11/02/18 DOORS: 7:00PM

80’s night with

the reagan years 11/03/18 DOORS: 7:00PM

For 74 years, the On the Waterford Waterford Fair has Main Stage served as a showcase for local history and Saturday traditional crafts1-3 p.m. Bryan Bowers Band manship. In recent 3-5 p.m. Gina Clowes Project 5-6 p.m. Hansen & Friends years, the county’s largest community Sunday festival has become Noon-2 p.m. Bryan Bowers even more diverse, Band with Danny Knicely including an effort 2-3 p.m. Jubilo to step up the caliber 3-5 p.m. Sam Reider and the of its musical perforHuman Hands mances. As you plan your weekend visit to the National Historic Landmark village, you might want to check out the main stage schedule so you don’t miss a show of interest. Autoharp virtuoso Bryan Bowers opens the concert schedule on Saturday (1 p.m.) and Sunday (noon). The masterful singer-songwriter and storyteller is teaming up with two great pickers—local favorite Danny Knicely and New England-based multi-instrumentalist Geoff Goodhue—to offer sets of American folk and mountain music. Jazz pianist turned roots musician Sam Reider performs Sunday afternoon. The accordion master has been featured at Lincoln Center and on NPR, and performed

Many accomplished rock ’n’ roll tribute bands roll through Leesburg these days to perform to large, appreciative crowds at the Tally Ho Theater. This weekend, the walls of downtown buildings are likely to reverberate with sounds of southern rock standards of the Allman Brothers Band. On the stage won’t be your typical tribute band, there’s a DNA bond. And the setlist won’t just be a roster of classic cover songs. Backed by the Philadelphia-based The Mile High Club band, Michael Allman makes his first appearance in Leesburg on Saturday night. The oldest son of Gregg Allman, he was born and raised in Daytona Beach, FL, and developed his own distinctive style of blues and rock during years touring across the country. He’s even hit on his own songwriting success—with songs such as “It Ain’t Me,” “If Dreams Were Money,” and “Mule Named Whiskey”—while delivering performances that evoke memories of his father, who died last year. This is the fourth year Allman has booked a summer tour with The Mile High Club, his backing band after meeting them at a festival in an Atlantic City casino. “From our very first show, we knew we had something special,” guitarist John McNutt, told the Philadelphia Weekly in June. “We were all just blown away by Michael’s soulful, bluesy voice and how well it fit with what we were doing musically. Our show is now tighter than ever and fans are going to love it.” Michael isn’t the only child of Gregg Allman pursuing music for a living in the industry. His half-siblings are Layla Brooklyn Allman, who performs with Picture Me Broken; Devon Allman, who heads Honeytribe and Royal Southern Brotherhood; and Elijah Blue of Deadsy. DC-area blues guitarist Mike Westcott opens Saturday’s show. Tickets are $15-35. Doors open at 7 p.m. Go to tallyhotheater.com for details.

Hot Picks Ginada Piñata Friday, Oct. 5, 8 p.m. B Chord Brewing Company bchordbrewing.com

Highland Travelers Lucketts Bluegrass Saturday, Oct. 6, 7 p.m. Lucketts Community Center

Sweet Jazz & Wine Festival Saturday, Oct. 6, 2-8 p.m. Tarara Winery sweetjazzfest.com

See more at getoutloudoun.com

[ THINGS TO DO ] Thursday, Oct. 18-Sunday, Oct. 21

psychedelic influences into the mix. No cover.

Town of Middleburg

Live Music: Ted Garber

Individual tickets and packages are on sale for the sixth annual Middleburg Film Festival, featuring terrific films, parties and panel discussions. Check out the website for details and a schedule of events.

Saturday, Oct. 6, 8 p.m. Monk’s BBQ, 251 N. 21st St., Purcellville Details: monksq.com

Loudoun Fall Farm Tour Saturday, Oct. 20 and Sunday, Oct. 21, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Countywide Details: loudounfarms.org

COMING UP Middleburg Film Festival

Better Angels << FROM 32 moved to Loudoun in 2003 with his wife Emily (also a red-blue workshop participant) and worked as an insurance broker before launching IndED, which started its second year of operations this fall. The couple lives in Leesburg with their two children. Beyond the formal red-blue workshops, the Better Angels Loudoun chapter has created an alliance that meets monthly for informal discussions, and in some cases members take the conversation further, as in the case of Pine and Porter’s regular meet-ups for coffee and discussion. “He’s very thoughtful and well-researched about it,” Pine said of Porter. “He knows what he’s talking about. He likes to talk and I like to talk, too. ... He really does enjoy understanding other points of view and so do I.” For Porter, who hosted a red/blue workshop at IndEd’s offices last spring, Better Angels meshes with his organization’s mission, offering adults the same sense of engagement he works to foster in young people. “IndED is an enterprise that’s very interested in civic engagement.” Porter said. Porter said the structured environment of a Better Angels workshop is a great jumping off point for launching a dialog in a partisan environment where flames often get fanned on social media. “We can literally lose friends over politics. That’s not healthy, and the solution is not to stop talking about politics: it’s exactly the opposite,” Porter said. “The solution is to learn how to talk politics with your friends and still be friends when you disagree. On that front, for people who don’t have that comfort level yet to work with other people and establish relationships, [Better Angels] a great first step.” The Better Angels red-blue workshops are scheduled for Saturday, October 13 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. in Leesburg and Saturday, Nov. 10 from 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. in Purcellville. Advance registration is required. For more information about the local chapter or to register for a local workshop, contact Mel Pine at mel@better-angels.org. For more information about the Better Angels organization, go to better-angels.org.

This free self-guided tour features lots of fall color and favorite spots including farms and craft beverage producers.

(540) 364-3272 www.middleburghumane.org

Woodward Adult male large tabby (brown/chocalate) DMH. House trained with up to date vaccinations, neutered. Good in a home with dogs & children. Prefers a home without other cats.

The charming and talented singer/ songwriter Ted Garber brings a genrebending, multi-instrumentalist approach to what he calls BluesAmericanaRock. No cover.

Details: middleburgfilm.org

35 October 4, 2018

<< FROM 33

admin@middleburghumane.org

October 4, 2018

Announcements

[OBITUARY] Glenn, and their children Alex and Amber residing in Fairfax, Virginia, Crystal Phipps Lewis and her daughter, Grace, living in Danville, Virginia.

Local Young Lady to Compete at the 2018 National All-American Miss Pageant Miss Hilana Leng, of Brambleton, VA, recently competed in the National American Miss State Virginia Pageant, where she excelled in multiple talent shows and won four trophies. She has earned the opportunity to attend the National Pageant in Anaheim California in November 2018, where she will represent the state of Virginia and have the opportunity to win her share of over $500,000 in cash and prizes. Any business, organization, or private individual who may be interested in becoming a sponsor to Miss Hilana Leng may contact the Miss Jr. Pre-Teen pageant coordinator at 703-618-6186 or lenghinam@gmail.com.

Nathan Alexander Poole, 43, passed away on September 21, 2018 at his home in Leesburg, Virginia. Nathan was born on September 12, l975 in and was a life time resident of Leesburg.

He is also survived by his uncle and aunt John Wyatt Fore, Jr. and Linda Fore, residing in The Villages, Florida, his cousins Melissa Fore Wheeler and her husband, Gary, and their son Dalton residing in Alvo, Nebraska, Matt Fore living in Nashville, Tennessee and his twin brother Wyatt Fore residing in Washington, DC. Nathan’s cousin Whitney Fore predeceased him in 2018.

He was the son of Maston (Mickey) Eugene Poole, Jr. and the late Charlotte Joanne Fore Poole. His parents, who lived in Leesburg until 2006, moved to Lake Frederick, Virginia and The Villages, Florida. Nathan graduated from Loudoun County High School, Leesburg, Virginia and from Fairmont State University, Fairmont, West Virginia.

Like his mother, Nathan had an apt for telling a joke and loved to share them with all he met, from his best friends to casual acquaintances. He loved bluegrass music, blues, gospel and a variety of other music. Often he could be found at the Lucketts Community Center or Watermelon Park with his daughter for a music festival.

In addition to his father, Nathan is survived by his daughter, Alma Emerson Poole, Leesburg, Virginia and his brother, Andrew Christopher Poole, Strasburg, Virginia. Nathan’s daughter was the center of his life. Nathan is also survived by his companion, Julie Allen, Burke, Virginia; his ex-wives Jennifer Boisseau, Leesburg, Virginia and Melissa Tello, Leesburg, Virginia.

The Loudoun Funeral Chapel, 158 Catoctin Circle, SE, Leesburg, Virginia 20175 is responsible for arrangements. The family will receive family and friends at the Chapel on Friday, October 12, 2018 from 7 to 9. The funeral services will be held at the Chapel on Saturday, October 13, 2018 at 11. Interment services will be held on Monday, October 15, 2018 in Union Cemetery.

He is also survived by his aunt and uncle, Sandra Poole Phipps and Roger Phipps residing in Fairfax, Virginia, his cousins Melanie Phipps Harrison and her husband,

Additional information is available by calling 703-777-6000. Online condolences may be made to the family at www.loudounfuneralchapel.com.

Nathan Alexander Poole

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Employment

Reso 37 October 4, 2018

Attention Loudoun County!

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Legal Notices ORDER OF PUBLICATION

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

County Seeks Proposals for Project-Based Vouchers

NAME CHANGE OF MY SON. It is ORDERED that Jesus Eduardo Garcia appear at the above-named court and protect his/her interests on or before 12/07/18 at 2:00 pm.

The Loudoun County Department of Family Services (DFS) is accepting proposals from owners of rental properties to contract with the County for Project-Based Vouchers (PBV). Successful proposals must provide fully accessible and 504 compliant housing units; and/ or studio units; and/or 1 bedroom units. Proposals will be evaluated based on owner experience and capability to manage or build rental housing as identified in the proposal on a first-come, first-served basis. DFS reserves the right to not award PBV. More information about application procedures and the proposal review process are online at www.loudoun.gov/pbv or by contacting Antwaun Jackson, Housing Choice Voucher Division Manager, at 703-7378213 or antwaun.jackson@loudoun.gov.

9/20/18, 9/27/18, 10/4/18, & 10/11/18

9/20/18, 9/27/18 & 10/4/18

Case No.:

CL115889

Loudoun County Circuit Court 18 East Market St., Leesburg, VA 20176 Claudia Garcia /v. Name Change The object of this suit is to:

Family practice in Ashburn seeks full-time receptionist to answer phones, schedule appointments and perform other administrative duties. Previous medical office experience required. Bilingual skills a plus. Salary commensurate with experience. Benefits available. Fax resume to Kim at (571)223-1797.

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LoudounNow Classifieds | In the mail weekly. Online always. | 703-770-9723 | loudounnow.com

[ OPINION ]

October 4, 2018

Your Plan According to the latest schedule published by the county government, we are four weeks away from the first official public hearing on the draft 2040 Comprehensive Plan. While there have been numerous community workshops and input sessions over the past two and a half years as the foundation of Loudoun’s next community development guide was laid out by a large committee of community leaders, that Nov. 7 session will be the first one that counts—a step required by state law. The county’s Planning Commission spent much of the summer debating the merits of that committee’s work and has signaled its intent to go in different directions in a number of key areas. At the same time, other segments of the community—most recently the leaders of Loudoun’s incorporated towns and the state’s largest farmer advocacy organization—have weighed in with new concerns. Emerging is a consensus that the new plan must do a better job of protecting the county’s rural countryside, addressing the workforce housing needs, adjusting to the rapidly changing nature of commercial development in the nation’s hottest data center market, and promoting redevelopment that will enhance community life in some of the county’s oldest neighborhoods. There is a recognition that achieving our vision of Loudoun County in 2040 will require more innovation and creativity. Recent enthusiasm to revive a government-funded Purchase of Development Rights program provides a good example of the opportunities afforded by this exercise. In the draft plan, the use of PDRs as a tool to protect some rural land from development pressure was little more than a passing mention. In fact, the plan provided few options for changing the expectations that thousands of new homes will fill the countryside in coming years. This is the time to change that projected outcome and the use of PDRs is only one of many creative preservation tools available. It’s not yet known how far the commission will push the plan over the next several weeks of its review, but it shouldn’t be just rural or western Loudoun interest following the action. Business leaders, educators, HOA boards, restaurant owners and many others who don’t normally pay close attention to the goings on in the County Government Center should be engaged with the debate. Does the draft plan really reflect your vision for life in 2040?

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

Renss Greene, Reporter rgreene@loudounnow.com Kara C. Rodriguez, Reporter krodriguez@loudounnow.com Patrick Szabo, Reporter pszabo@loudounnow.com Jan Mercker, Reporter jmerker@loudounnow.com

Douglas Graham, Photographer dgraham@loudounnow.com Advertising Director Susan Styer sstyer@loudounnow.com Display Advertising Tonya Harding tharding@loudounnow.com Classified Advertising Ashley Fertig afertig@loudounnow.com

[ LETTERS ] Not Symbolic Editor: Loudoun Board failed Loudoun County residents by refusing to include the ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment in its state legislative agenda. The ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment is necessary to make the U.S. Constitution conform with the promise of “Equal Justice Under the Law.” If Virginia were to ratify the ERA, it will enhance the dignity of our residents by proclaiming equality of women and men under the law in perpetuity. It will provide broad protection of women and men against gender discrimination. It is not a partisan issue. It is not a symbolic act. It is a Loudoun County issue because it is a quality of life and safety issue. At the meeting on Sept. 20, 2018, the Board of Supervisors voted 5-11-2 not to include the Equal Rights Amendment in its agenda. Supervisors Buffington (Blue Ridge), Higgins (Catoctin), Buona (Ashburn), Umstattd (Leesburg), and Letourneau (Dulles) voted not to include it; with Chair Randall (At-Large) opposed; Meyer, Jr. (Broad Run) abstained; and Volpe (Algonkian) and Saines (Sterling) were absent. The reasons given for a vote of “no” included statements such as: adopting a position on the ERA would open the board to debating any number of issues not particular to Loudoun;. the ERA is not an issue for Loudoun’s legislative agenda; and, the board should be focused on things that the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors can directly affect. Loudoun County residents should not allow this issue to be dismissed by the board. First, the ERA is “particular to Loudoun.” Loudoun County residents are victims of and, thus injured by gender discrimination, e.g., unequal treatment based on gender includes disparate salaries, unequal

career advancement opportunities and variations in the law related to gender based protection from violence. The belief that the ERA is not something “that board can directly affect” represents a very unenlightened and limiting perspective. The spirit of Loudoun County should not be “we don’t act because we don’t think we will succeed.” Loudoun County succeeds because we act. The ERA is not new law. It buttresses existing laws, and amendments in state constitutions. Specifically, Virginia Constitution Article I, §11 (1971), states: “That no person shall be deprived of his life, liberty, or property without due process of law; that the General Assembly shall not pass any law impairing the obligation of contracts; and that the right to be free from any governmental discrimination upon the basis of religious conviction, race, color, sex, or national origin shall not be abridged…” Only a federal Equal Rights Amendment can provide U.S. citizens, women and men, with the highest and broadest level of legal protection against gender discrimination. To the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors: include the ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment in the state legislative agenda. To the Loudoun County residents: contact your representative on the Board of Supervisors and your representatives in Richmond, to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment. — Buta Biberaj, Leesburg

Not My Party Editor: The Republican Party is not what it used to be. The Trump administration’s control of the party has derailed the primary conservative values of decency and respect of others, of LETTERS >> 42

Grave concerns

October 4, 2018

<< FROM 1

Battle Over the Transition Policy Area When the county’s current general plan was updated in 2001, it created the Transition Policy Area to serve as “a separation between the suburban and rural policy areas.” It has become a defining feature of Loudoun’s land use planning. It covers about 36 square miles, and divides the county from north to south around Leesburg and runs along the county’s southeastern border. It has also been a key battleground in the county’s work to rewrite its comprehensive plan. While many in the west see it and its western border— the “urban growth boundary”—as an important buffer against suburban sprawl into the county’s rural areas, a stakeholder steering committee and the planning commission have recommended allowing increased development in the area. In the transition policy area, said Round Hill Mayor Scott Ramsey, the county is “sending a signal” when it decides whether to allow more development or push its boundaries west. “How you make your decisions about how do you hold the line, where do you make specific adjustments, who do you make adjustments to benefit— that sends a signal,” Ramsey said. While towns leaders were united on the importance of the Transition Policy Area to protecting the west from suburban sprawl, the debate brought out divisions on the county planning commission. Some commissioners argued that Transition Policy Area was a failed policy, or no longer relevant. Commissioner Jeff Salmon (Dulles) pointed to housing demand estimates that exceed the county’s remaining room for growth in eastern Loudoun. “I think where there’s a disconnect is if you realize that the experts are telling us that the housing’s coming,” Salmon said. “You’ve got to figure out what we’re going to do.” He added if “you don’t allow it one area, it’s going to be like squeezing a balloon. It’s going to go to another area, and that’s already happening today, and that’s why you’re getting the development out in the Rural Policy Area.” Commission Vice Chairman Fred Jennings (Ashburn) said a Board of Supervisors decision to extend central water and sewer service to the area was “tantamount to saying ‘develop.’” “I appreciate the desire to want to hang onto it, but I’m also asking people GRAVE CONCERNS >> 42

A VIEW FROM THE GAP

Neighbors Helping Neighbors

and private stakeholders—made little effort to apprise the public about the extent and magnitude of pollution n important story is being written that this manufacturing operation would inject into the air. could have profound impacts on our reClearly, the public outcry we are seeing now would gion’s health and quality of life. Ultimate- certainly have given state officials and political leaders ly, the authors of this story are primarily pause had it come prior to the permitting and approval the citizens of Jefferson County, WV, and process. Although the company, state and local officials their neighbors, the citizens of Loudoun County. assure that they have followed all Today, virtually no Hazardous Air of the regulatory requirements and Pollution (HAP) is released into the notifications, their obvious intent WHILE ON ITS FACE THE atmosphere above Jefferson County. was to keep awareness—and thus RAW NUMBERS ARE In the future, however, some 392 opposition—low among the public ALARMING, IT IS EVEN tons of Hazardous Air Pollution per until they had their state permits in MORE REVEALING TO year may spew from a single Jefferhand. KNOW THAT THE 392 son County manufacturing plant. Thus, as is too often the case, HAP contains toxins that are known TONS OF HAZARDOUS frustrated citizens find themselves or believed to be harmful to human starting from far behind in a conEMISSIONS FROM THE health. test with a large corporation with PROPOSED PLANT While on its face the raw nummuch to gain and with public offiWOULD MAKE IT THE bers are alarming, it is even more cial allies who have paved the way SECOND BIGGEST revealing to know that the 392 tons for them. And, in this particular HAP EMITTER IN THE of hazardous emissions from the case, a large proportion of the diproposed plant would make it the ENTIRE STATE OF rectly impacted public actually resecond biggest HAP emitter in the sides outside the controlling jurisWEST VIRGINIA. entire state of West Virginia. diction of authority. Jefferson County abuts Loudoun’s Remarkably however, in just northern boundary, sharing a 17-mile border and some a few short weeks, our neighbors in Jefferson County of the region’s most historic sites, scenic landscapes and have nimbly organized and mobilized to create a romountain vistas. But more than mere geography binds bust movement in opposition to the Rockwool operaLoudoun and Jefferson together, as thousands of resi- tion. And they have reached out to their neighbors in dents in this fast-growing West Virginia county work Loudoun, alerting us to the imminent environmental in Loudoun or pass through to their employment every and economic threats and soliciting our support. day. Likewise, thousands of Loudoun residents frequent Fortunately for Loudoun County, we have leaders the recreational sites, National Park and entertainment who will listen and who will lead to protect the intervenues situated just across the border in Jefferson. ests of their of citizens despite lacking the direct jurisWhat we also share is the air we breathe and, as pre- dictional authority to act. At the urging of Chair Phyllis vailing winds blow over Jefferson into Loudoun, what’s Randall and Supervisors Higgins and Buffington, the in the air in Jefferson will be in the air in Loudoun. So, Board of Supervisors has instructed the county staff to it is a legitimate concern of the citizens of Loudoun and research the facts and report on any actions Loudoun their representatives with regard to what pollutants en- County may take. And on the federal level, 10th District ter the air in Jefferson. Representative Barbara Comstock has requested interAs has recently been well publicized, the West Virgin- vention on the part of the Environmental Protection ia Department of Environmental Protection has desig- Agency. Likewise, activist organizations in Loudoun are nated the proposed Rockwool insulation manufacturing stepping up to join in opposition to the Rockwool plant. plant planned in Ranson, WV, about 10 miles from the But, the ending of this story will ultimately be penned Loudoun border a “major stationary source” polluter. by the people of Jefferson County who have joined toWhether it was by design or not, the process for permit- gether to lead when their representatives have failed to ting and approving this facility was less than transparent do so, to fight—for themselves and for us—against long to the public in Jefferson County—and all but invisible odds. In turn, we in Loudoun must join our neighbors to the officials, let alone the public, in Loudoun County. and support them in every way we Given the magnitude and reach of the air pollution can, as their fight is our fight, too. | to be introduced to the region and the potential negative health and economic impacts it may cause, wide Roger Vance is the mayor of Hillsboro. public awareness and involvement was warranted beHis column, A View from the Gap, is foresuch a project was permitted. Instead, in this case, published monthly in Loudoun Now. it appears the promoters of this project—public officials BY ROGER VANCE

Despite the county having final authority on land use decisions outside town limits, including in joint land management areas, they have persisted as a voluntary cooperation. Some of the towns’ concerns, said county Assistant Director of Planning and Zoning John Merrithew, are already being addressed. County staff members are working on a new draft of the plan, expected next week, that Merrithew said will reintroduce individualized town narratives and policies.

[ LETTERS ]

PHOTO OF THE WEEK

October 4, 2018

<< FROM 40

Douglas Graham/Loudoun Now

The sun rises over the Blue Ridge Mountains. Purchase this print and others of scenes throughout Loudoun County at LoudounNow.com/PhotooftheWeek.

Lovettsville << FROM 3 rent residential development plans will bring the town close to the 3,500 limit, they shouldn’t push it over. He said that pace of population growth will soon slow to a crawl and that it would take another eight years to reach a population of 3,000.

A Business Boom In addition to the residential boom, Lovettsville has seen an influx of businesses opening around town in the past few years. In 2017 alone, the 1836 Kitchen and Taproom, Thaiverse, The Painted Pig and Back Street Brews opened. A 3,000-square-foot 7-Eleven also opened at the eastern edge of the Squirkle and Rasco New York Pizza became the third pizza parlor in town—although it’s now one of two following Lovettsville Pizza

and Subs’ closure last weekend. This year, Velocity Wings opened in February and Salon Allure opened in March. During summer, Brainiacs, Lotus Town Yoga, the Asian Bistro and the Ivory & Oak Boutique all opened within a three-week span. Altogether, 87 businesses are now registered in the town, including restaurants, doctor’s offices, specialty shops, automotive repair shops and home businesses. All the commercial development provides the town with an additional $7 for every $1 of commercial real estate tax revenue—with about $36,000 coming from real estate tax and $257,000 coming from bank franchise fees, business licenses, communications revenue and cigarette and meals taxes. In fact, with so many restaurants opening, meals tax revenue has quadrupled since 2010, up from $35,000 to $140,000 annually. Commercial development also allowed the Town Council this year to reduce the real estate tax rate by 1.5 cents from $0.21 to $0.195 per $100 of

fiscal responsibility, free trade, and the defense of truth. Under Trump, mocking those with different views in ways heretofore completely unacceptable by a U.S. president is the anticipated Twitter feed or Trump rally ritual. Trump’s anti-immigrant, nationalist agenda is not consistent with my conservative Christian values. What has happened to the fiscal conservatives that pushed so hard for a balanced budget and were desperately concerned about the national debt? Most are as quiet as church mice amid the shouts of “Build the Wall” and “Lock Her Up.” Under Trump, the national debt now exceeds $21,000,000,000,000. Who will benefit from a trade war with China and our allies? There will be a few big winners, but fundamental economic principles will prevail and

assessed value, something it hasn’t been able to do since 2005. Even with the reduction, the town still expects to pull in at least $593,000 from the tax annually, counting both the commercial and residential portion. That’s nearly double what it collected in 2010. Finz feels that Lovettsville’s development has stabilized. He said it’s unlikely the town will be able to reduce residents’ tax burden much more, since the population cap would essentially keep larger businesses that require high levels of foot traffic from moving in. Fontaine said that the town isn’t looking to attract larger businesses, like grocery stores, since they wouldn’t fit the community’s image. “We want the small, rural town that we have,” he said. Currently, commercial real estate tax revenue accounts for only 6 percent of the real estate tax base, while the residential portion accounts for 94 percent. The last remaining large parcel of land to be developed in town is the Engle Tract—35 acres bordering New

Grave concerns << FROM 41 to recognize that it isn’t as relevant today,” Jennings said. “There are a significant number of minority opinions on our Planning Commission that would not agree with the point of view that you just heard,” said Commissioner Eugene Scheel (Catoctin). He referenced a controversial vote to allow a data center complex in the Transition Policy Area in a wooded parcel along Goose Creek: “I would like to point out that the initial vote against that—or against the data centers in the transition area—was 4-5 with the Planning Commission, and 4-5 with the Board of Supervisors.” And Commissioner Kathy Blackburn (Algonkian) reiterated her view that the Transition Policy Area is meant for development. “The transition policy area was not meant to be a buffer,” Blackburn said. “It was meant to be a holding area for further development.”

Renss Greene/Loudoun Now

Round Hill Mayor Scott Ramsay sits with leaders from all of Loudoun’s towns at a special meeting of the Loudoun County Planning Commission Thursday.

County staff members at the meeting declined to confirm that interpretation. Ramsey pointed out that in public

nput sessions on the comprehensive plan, the Transition Policy Area has enjoyed strong support and “when the

the majority of Americans will eventually be worse off under Trump’s higher tariffs. I now agree with Max Boot, who in his July 4 letter said that a vote for the GOP in November is a vote for obstruction of justice, conflicts of interest, demonization of minorities, the debasing of our political discourse, alienating America’s allies, essentially ending free trade, and a vote to appease dictators. The Republican Party is now the Party of Trump. The party that I belonged to is no longer. A truly good, conservative party must rise from the rubble of the impending collapse. I encourage all principled conservatives to summon the strength of Sampson, and stand with those currently best equipped to topple the Party of Trump—the Democrats. — Glen Peterson, Hamilton

Town Meadows at the southeastern corner of the Town Square. Although it’s zoned as light industrial, Bateman said the developer is seeking to rezone the land for commercial and residential lots. While further residential build-out would bring the town’s population closer to the 3,500 limit, Bateman said it’s unlikely that a mixed-use development would be approved, since it doesn’t match the goals of the town’s Comprehensive Plan, which looks forward to 2030. He said that as long as the town doesn’t expand its boundaries for residential development, or change its zoning to allow for greater population density, it most likely won’t exceed the population cap any time soon. “We’re not going to exceed 3,500 in 2020,” he said. “All we can do is plan forward and project forward.” pszabo@loudounnow.com

public has been consulted on the topic of the Transition Policy Area, they find it to be wildly successful.” “You need to ask yourself, who is it broken for, who is it not working for, and are those my constituents?” Ramsey said. Vance also raised concerns about taking a purchase of development rights program off the books. The Loudoun County government currently has a program to buy development rights, protecting those properties from future development, but the program is unfunded and unused. The new comprehensive plan removes references to that plan. The Loudoun County Farm Bureau recently passed a resolution in support of a purchase of development rights program, supplemented by matching state funding. Deputy Director of Planning and Zoning Alaina Ray said the next draft of the plan is expected out by the end of next week. rgreene@loudounnow.com

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