Loudoun Now for Nov. 2, 2017 by Loudoun Now

LoudounNow LOUDOUN COUNTY’S COMMUNITY-OWNED NEWS SOURCE

[ Vol. 2, No. 51 ]

[ loudounnow.com ]

VOTE

LOUDOUN Election Guide 2017 Page 14

[Nov. 2 – 8, 2017 ]

Renss Greene/Loudoun Now

Virginia’s top Democratic candidates, Lt. Gov. Ralph Northam, center; Attorney General Mark Herring, left; and Justin Fairfax, center back; campaigned in Loudoun County last week.

Top State Candidates Woo Loudoun Voters

Virginia’s top seats made campaign stops in Loudoun and brought a few of their party’s all-stars with them. U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, who Loudoun Republicans backed for president over local runner-up Trump in last year’s presidential primary, headlined an Ed Gillespie campaign event in Arcola on Monday. Rubio urged voters not to get caught up in the narrative that Virginia’s election would be a referendum on the state of politics in Washington, DC. “They want to make this election about all this other stuff,” Rubio said. “This election isn’t about the press corps in New

BY DANIELLE NADLER & NORMAN K. STYER

uesday is decision day. Virginians will head to the polls to choose their next governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, and delegates who will represent them in the General Assembly. The races for Virginia’s top seats are among the nation’s most watched this election season. Election Day in the commonwealth is seen as a political litmus test for how Republicans will fair in moderate states in the wake of President Donald J. Trump’s divisive first year in office. Both parties know what’s at stake. With the big day in sight, candidates vying for

Douglas Graham/Loudoun Now

U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, who most Loudoun Republicans backed in the presidential primary last year, headlined a campaign event for Republican Ed Gillespie, right, in Arcola on Monday.

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Purcellville debates Fireman’s Field options

Renss Greene/Loudoun Now

Costumed Characters Descend on Leesburg The streets of downtown Leesburg were packed Tuesday for the 61st annual Leesburg Halloween Parade, hosted and organized by the Leesburg Kiwanis Club. Most were dressed up in full costume, ranging from horrifying to humorous and entertaining.

Kolla Campaign Accused of Election Law Violations

M BY RENSS GREENE

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KOLLA CAMPAIGN >> 23

INDEX Loudoun Gov..................... 6 Leesburg........................... 8 Public Safety................... 12 Election Preview.............. 14 Education........................ 24 Nonprofit......................... 28 Biz.................................. 30 Our Towns....................... 34 LoCo Living..................... 36 Obituaries....................... 40 Classifieds...................... 41 Opinion........................... 44

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the country next Tuesday,” Carter said. The Office of Elections tallied nearly 400 people coming out to vote. In 2015, Bell won the seat by 320 votes. In 2013, Republican David Ramadan won it by 187. Kolla had earlier that day held a voting rally at his campaign headquarters in South Riding, attended by Supervisors Matthew F. Letourneau (R-Dulles) and Ron A. Meyer Jr. (R-Broad Run), School Board Chairman Jeff Morse (Dulles), Republican candidate for Lt. Governor Sen. Jill Vogel (R-27), Republican candidate for Attorney General John Adams, and the last Republican to represent the 87th House

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embers of Del. John J. Bell’s reelection campaign have accused challenger Subba Kolla’s campaign of violating election law during an absentee voting event over the weekend. Volunteers for Bell (D-87)’s campaign claim they saw Kolla campaign staff members leading people by the arm into the Dulles South Multipurpose Center on Saturday—in contravention of election law that requires campaign staff members to stay at least 40 feet away from the entrance of any polling place. Loudoun County Democratic Committee Dulles District Chairwoman Liz Carter, who was there handing out sample ballots for the Bell campaign, said voters were led through the front entrance of the building, which was not marked with a line designating the 40-foot boundary. A second entrance was designated for voting. Carter said she also saw Kolla campaign representatives instructing voters what to tell election officials when requesting an absentee ballot—to say they were going to be out of the country. “I’m sorry, but 380 people from the Indian community are not going out of

district, David Ramadan, among others. Carter said Bell’s campaign has already made formal complaints to the Loudoun Office of Elections about Kolla campaigners entering the building. “It was very surprising,” Carter said. “And we don’t have early voting—this is supposed to be for people who can’t make it to vote on Tuesday, and it did not seem that that’s what this was.” Virginia allows in-person absentee voting in advance of Election Day if a voter will be unable to reach the polls on Election Day. Another volunteer at the Dulles South Multipurpose Center on Saturday was Bell’s wife, Margaret. She said she saw people of Indian descent pressured to vote for Kolla because of his Indian heritage. Kolla was born in India and emigrated to the U.S. in 1997, earning his citizenship in 2008. “They were definitely approached strongly that they needed to vote for Subba Kolla at all costs, because he was part of their community and they needed to do that regardless of what their positions politically were,” Bell said. “And they had even come up to us and told us, this isn’t a party fight, we don’t want this to be a party fight. And we were like that should be the only fight. The only fight going on to-

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LOUDOUN NOW | NEWS |

Leesburg weighs options for Westpark Golf Club

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that includes Del. Jennifer Boysko (D-86); Sen. Jennifer Wexton (D-33); Patti Nelson, Loudoun Chapter chair of SEIU Virginia 512; Kathy Tran, the Democratic candidate for the House of Delegates 42nd District; and Gwen Pangle, a former Leesburg Town Council candidate. These advisory board members will work closely with young female high school and college students, Tanjore said. The hub participants, “will receive training from the members of the advisory board [with] actual lesson plans,” she said. “There’s a lot of spaces for advisory board members to provide input to younger members, but the general idea is to just create a pipeline of young females affecting generational change.” Each hub of Rise to Run also works directly with one or two “trailblazers”, who are national political figures or community activists that embody the group’s mission. “They represent the diversity of the U.S.,” Tanjore said. Organizing the start of the local hub is an ambitious task for Tanjore. But for someone who eyes a future political career, it’s far from a tall order. Tanjore, who has worked on campaigns for gubernatorial candidate Ralph Northam, former presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, and former Congressional candidate LuAnn Bennett, said she one day wants to be a member of the U.S. Senate.

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LOUDOUN NOW | NEWS |

A national initiative has made its way into Loudoun County in the hopes of spurring young women to become involved in the political process. Rise to Run is a grassroots and community-based organization that is focused on training young women to run for political office. Communities are organized into “hubs” that are overseen by an advisory board of local women who are either in elected office, are running for office, or have run a political campaign. Although guided by the advisory board, the leadership at the top of the hub is a young woman herself. In Loudoun County that honor belongs to Poojitha Tanjore, a Rock Ridge High School junior with eyes on a future political career. Tanjore said she caught wind of Rise to Run’s national efforts online and tweeted them her gratitude for working on the cause. She offered to volunteer, but quickly was recruited as pilot hub coordinator. She now oversees a hub that includes Loudoun, Fairfax, and Prince William counties, and east to Arlington. The goal initially was to keep the hub contained within Loudoun, but the cause “picked up so much interest and speed” it quickly expanded. “I’m happy to expand things further west if interest grows,” she says. The group will have its official kickoff meeting after November’s elections, but so far the Northern Virginia hub has brought together an advisory board

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3,706-Home Development Proposed on Loudoun County Parkway

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Nov. 2 – 8, 2017

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BY RENSS GREENE

Norman K. Styer/Loudoun Now

Eagle, a service dog trained by Loudoun-based Veterans Moving Forward, gets some special attention during the Salute to Military, Veterans and Families on Oct. 28 in Ashburn.

Military Families Urged to Share Their Stories

BY NORMAN K. STYER aturday was Military Appreciation Day in Loudoun County and for the fourth consecutive year representatives of veterans’ support organizations gathered at Stone Bridge High School in Ashburn to ensure service members and their families were well informed about resources that are available to them. Organized by the Leonard W. Kidd Memorial American Legion Post 2001

in Ashburn, the event featured representatives from the Veterans Administration who were on hand to provide assistance on specific cases and a host of volunteer groups that provide a wide range of support to vets. The formal program in the school’s auditorium featured remarks by County Chairwoman Phyllis J. Randall (D-At Large), Vice Chairman Ralph M. Buona (R-Ashburn) and Lester L. Lyles, a retired U.S. Air Force four-star general, as well as performances by the John Champe High School String Band

and the Hillside Elementary Choir. Lyles, who has served several corporate boards since his retirement in 2003, encouraged companies to make efforts to help veterans. Today, he is chairman of USAA. “Look for ways that you can do things together to support the needs of the military families,” Lyles said. “It could be any number of things that you can do, but look for ways and seek ways that you can support them.” MILITARY >> 46

Envision Loudoun Stakeholders Committe Takes Stock After Board Criticism BY RENSS GREENE Members of the committee guiding the county’s comprehensive plan rewrite had to reassess their work after a sharp rebuke from the Loudoun Board of Supervisors. “I feel that circle of trust is broken,” said member Alta Jones, who represents the Rural Economic Development Council on the committee, during its meeting Oct. 23. “I was so shocked when I looked at the video and the presentation that was given to the board to find that the stakeholders group had voted and approved the number of houses.” At a board meeting earlier this month, county planners reported that the 26-member stakeholders committee was examining three possible scenarios for the area that serves as a low ENVISION LOUDOUN >> 47

Renss Greene/Loudoun Now

County Chairwoman Phyllis J. Randall (D-At Large) meets with Planning Commission and Envision Loudoun stakeholders committee Chairman Jeff Salmon at a Board of Supervisors meeting.

The Loudoun Planning Commission is considering an application to build a 3,706-home mixed-use development at the intersection of Loudoun County Parkway and the Dulles Greenway. Silver District West would bring 3,325 multifamily units and 381 townhomes to the area between Loudoun’s two future Metro stops. It is also proposed to bring 630,000 square feet of office space; 240,000 square feet of commercial and retail space; 56 acres of parks, fields, and open space; and a nine-acre site for an elementary school. It is also ahead of the county’s own planning. County planning staff have noted it is consistent with the county’s plans for future growth around the Metro, which are still under development. But it does not match the current planning for that area, which county leaders have acknowledged is out of date. The idea of that many more homes has also already generated intense scrutiny from the Ashburn community, including several speakers at a public hearing and more than 160 comments to the county’s online land application portal. “I oppose the rezoning for traffic purposes in that [area]—single family homes might be OK, but the roads cannot support more high density house[s]. I do not know that the roads can support business traffic either, but at least there might be some convenient shopping,” wrote Ashburn resident Beth Bernat. “I personally feel the whole idea of rezoning is absurd,” wrote Suresh Kumar Reddy Chadive, who also lives in the area. “We need the area around the metro to be lively with more recreation centers and easy access to day to day needs. We are already over crowded with so many residential homes.” Cooley LLP attorney Colleen Gillis, representing the developer, pointed out that the county will soon have to start paying back the massive federal transportation loan the county took out to build Metro, and argued projects like Silver District West, started now, can help defray that cost with proffer agreements. She said the project is of “imminent importance, not only to the application, but to the county and to those taxpayers not living anywhere near the Metro.” Planning commissioners expressed concern about the impact of the development on the school system. According to the county, under its current modeling, Silver District West is expected to bring 1,443 more students, and surrounding schools are already above building capacity. School system staff members have also told county planners they can’t verify the proposed elementary school site on the property is usable until they have finished devising their standards for urban school design, an ongoing process. The Planning Commission forwarded the application to a future work session for more deliberation. rgreene@loudounnow.com

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Loudoun County is offering voters a new way to stay informed: text LCVOTES to 888777 to receive text alerts from the Loudoun County Office of Elections and Voter Registration. An Election Update category is also now available to subscribers of Alert Loudoun, the county’s email and text notification system. Subscribers will receive general information about voting and elections in Loudoun County, including deadlines for voter registration and absentee voting as well as information about where and when to vote on Election Day. Voters can also stay informed online at loudoun.gov/vote and loudoun. gov/election2017. Follow the Office of

LOUDOUN NOW | NEWS |

Night work will be conducted on the Waxpool Road expansion project from Unbridled Way to Faulkner Parkway in Ashburn from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m., Monday, Oct. 30, to Nov. 10. The nighttime work will involve flagging operations to maintain one lane of traffic around the work zone. Message boards will be in place to advise motorists of the night work and flagging operations. Crews will be installing storm drainage facilities. Questions about the project may be directed to Loudoun County Construction Manager Kent Marrs at Kent. Marrs@loudoun.gov or 571-258-3182.

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The Town of Leesburg may be one of the players in the future development of Westpark Golf Club. The council is looking into its options for a potential purchase of the property, which went on the market in late summer.

Leesburg Council Exploring Options for Westpark Golf Club

BY KARA C. RODRIGUEZ

ould Westpark Golf Club become the next town park, or its first municipally run golf club? That and other options are being explored following a Town Council motion last week. Council members unanimously passed a resolution to “explore options” when it comes to the 142-acre golf club property, currently up for sale. Located off Clubhouse Drive and South King Street, the golf club property is expected to attract interest for its development possibilities, as parts of the land are zoned for both residential and commercial uses. Some are concerned about potential loss of the golf club and the open land. Dozens of residents filled Council Chambers on Oct. 24 and many shared their thoughts on how the town should play a role in determining the use of

the property, perhaps by buying it. But not a single resident needed to speak to get what they wanted. Councilman Tom Dunn was successful in finding unanimous support to suspend the rules to add the motion to the agenda ahead of the public comment period. And the council passed, also unanimously, a resolution to direct the town staff to provide some initial feedback about the options during its first set of meetings in November. The resolution also directed the staff to look at options that could involve partnerships with the Loudoun County and the Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority. The town’s Parks and Recreation Commission was among the first to weigh in on the property’s future, sending an Oct. 17 letter urging the council to explore purchase options and continuing its operation as a public golf course. “The Westpark Golf Club has pro-

vided our residents with a quality local golf course for many years. The property has recently been placed on the market creating a unique opportunity for the Town to preserve an important recreational amenity and a significant amount of green space for our Leesburg residents,” the letter reads. “... with growth or redevelopment comes the need for the preservation of existing resources throughout our town in order to maintain the quality of life we have all come to appreciate.” Parks and Recreation Department Director Rich Williams said Monday that the town is continuing to explore its options on the property and that there is nothing further to disclose at this point. Calls this week to Chris Reynolds, the listing agent for the property, were not returned. krodriguez@loudounow.com

Candidates Share Views in Pre-Election Debate BY KARA C. RODRIGUEZ The two candidates vying to fill a seat on the Leesburg Town Council dais engaged in a wide-ranging debate last week over some of the town’s hottest topics. A dozen days from Election Day, Joshua Thiel and Vanessa Maddox participated in a debate organized by Loudoun Now at Black Hoof Brewing. Dozens of supporters of both candidates attended and heard the candidates share their thoughts on everything from affordable housing to downtown parking to development opportunities within Leesburg. On affordable housing, Maddox said it’s a topic she’s heard consistently from COUNCIL DEBATE >> 9

While town residents look to elect their next council member in next week’s special election, Hugh Forsythe served his last set of regularly scheduled council meetings last week. Forsythe was appointed to the council seat in January, following Kelly Burk’s election to the mayor’s chair last November. With the Forsythe winner of the special election expected to be sworn in before the Nov. 1314 council meetings, last week was a goodbye of sorts for Forsythe. Council members presented their colleague with a resolution acknowledging his service to the town. “You stepped up when the town needed you,” Burk said, acknowledging she will miss Forsythe’s sense of humor. “You’ve been a great asset to the council,” Vice Mayor Suzanne Fox said, “But I don’t think you’re going away.” Reflecting on his almost yearlong time on the council dais, Forsythe said he plans to remain involved in town issues. While he won’t rule out a future run for political office, right now he is focused on helping and campaigning for council candidate Josh Thiel, whom he has publicly endorsed for the special election. “It was very educational,” Forsythe said of his council stint. “It was a worthwhile learning experience.” He was especially complimentary of Town Manager Kaj Dentler and his staff, whom he commended for being great with follow-through when he had a question or concern. He also praised Burk for her hard work “at making Leesburg a much better town.” “I got along very well with the majority of council members,” he said. “The majority works very, very hard at making Leesburg a better town.”

Council Pushes for Sidewalk, Bus Stop Funding

Norman K. Styer/Loudoun Now

Voters will be asked to choose between Vanessa Maddox and Joshua Thiel in the Nov. 7 Leesburg Town Council special election. The two participated in a debate organized by Loudoun Now at Black Hoof Brewing Oct. 26.

The Town Council is hoping that a grant request fills some needed holes in one of the town’s most highly-trafficked pedestrian areas. The council applied to Loudoun County for FY2019 Community Development Grant Block funding. The CDBG program is a federal program of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Locally, the Loudoun County Department of Family BRIEFS >> 10

Council debate

LOUDOUN NOW | NEWS |

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voters when campaigning door to door. “There are citizens of our town who would like their families to move to Leesburg because they love it. These are people like police officers, nurses, teachers, who would like to live where they work and they’ve been saying to me ‘I don’t know how my family is going to afford to move here,’” she said. “If I’m chosen as the next Town Council member I will make sure that we outline a constructive, viable plan to deal with affordable housing.” Thiel pointed to his work as a member of the Economic Development Commission on sharing insights into the formulation of the Eastern Gateway District plan, which outlines development and redevelopment opportunities in Leesburg along the area of East Market Street between River Creek Parkway and the Leesburg Bypass. “We’re going to grow, there’s no doubt about that,” he said. “But we need to build a plan and an infrastructure that’s conducive to the future of Leesburg. We have to be very, very conscious of where we’re building and how we’re impacting citizens, and what businesses are coming into Leesburg. Are they conducive to downtown, to Leesburg as a whole?” The two were also asked about how they would help the often-fractious council operate better as a whole. Building relationships was a key theme stressed by both. “If we can’t build relationships when we’re campaigning I’m sure we can’t build them when we get there,” Maddox said.

Nov. 2 – 8, 2017

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“We have to work together to get things done. We can’t do it based off half of the council,” Thiel said. “When you put your agenda ahead of the town’s, the only people that suffer are the townspeople and residents. I’m willing to work with anyone who’s here to help the town. I would work with Vanessa anytime, because I know her heart’s in the right place.” On a recent hot-button issue—downtown parking—the candidates also shared their ideas. Thiel said the town needed to look at long-term solutions, addressing the infrastructure and making sure changes are conducive to businesses. Maddox suggested looking at some out-of-the-box ideas, like instituting a bike sharing program in town where residents and visitors could pay to rent a bike for several hours at a kiosk. Audience members also posed questions to the candidates, including how they would rate the current council’s performance—both offered B+ scores— and how the town/county relationship could be improved. The victor on Election Day will serve the remaining year of Kelly Burk’s unexpired council term following her election as mayor last fall. A new four-year term will be on the ballot next November. The winner is expected to be sworn in prior to the next set of council meetings, Nov. 13-14. For more information on both candidates, check out Loudoun Now’s Election Guide on Page 14. Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 7.

loudounnow.com

Council Grounds County Airport Funding Request BY KARA C. RODRIGUEZ Last week’s Town Council business meeting took an ugly turn when a debate on whether to change its capital funding request to Loudoun County raised accusations from a councilman that the Leesburg Airport Commission wields too much influence over other council members. On Oct. 24, the council was considering whether to modify a letter it sent to the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors two weeks ago stating its preferred projects for inclusion in the county’s Fiscal Year 2019 Capital Improvement Program. The county annually asks the incorporated towns to submit requests for pedestrian or transportation projects that would benefit the greater county. The letter sent by the council had asked for support for phase one of the Tuscarora Creek pedestrian trail; the widening of Evergreen Mills Road from Heritage High School to Rt. 15; and, at the suggestion of Councilman Tom Dunn, Leesburg Executive Airport’s list of capital projects. Dunn’s Oct. 10 suggestion to add the airport projects was supported by the rest of the council, after he noted the airport’s countywide and regional benefit. It was that suggestion that came under scrutiny last week. At the close of the Oct. 23 council work session, Mayor Kelly Burk found support from the rest of the council to reconsider that vote the following evening. Burk noted that members of the Airport Commission had reached out to the council in the intervening weeks expressing concerns about asking for county funding for the town’s airport and the operational impacts such a request could have. A motion made by Burk last Tuesday removed the request for airport funding.

“The reason I’m making the motion is because I feel [the vote] was done in a hasty manner, although I do understand whole idea of asking the county for additional funding,” she said. “The concern is we’re bringing this forward without looking at all the ramifications. The Airport Commission has asked us to reconsider this and take that out. The commission would like to create a work group [to study] how we can work with the county. This is a great opportunity to get this discussion and conversation started in a manner that is much more thought out, much more to the benefit of the county and town.” A motion by Councilman Ken Reid to postpone the vote until after the Airport Commission’s Nov. 2 meeting failed. Dunn raised concerns about the commission’s request to be consulted in the first place and, reading from an email sent by Airport Commission Chairman Dennis Boykin, said it appeared the commission’s concerns about county involvement came out of fear over operational impacts or ceding control to Loudoun County. “I really think that if we are to go forward with a letter withdrawing the original letter to the county, we put in long-term jeopardy any serious funding request by the town by showing this waffling,” Dunn said. “We have finally gotten to the point where are moving a ball forward asking the county for funding. We have not done this for decades in any real measure.” After the motion to reconsider the vote was successful, the gloves came off. Dunn accused other council members of being swayed on the issue because members of the Airport Commission had made contributions to their campaigns. Dunn said that he, too, had received such contributions, but that they did not cloud his judgment.

“I’m not going to call this corruption. Corruption’s a big word. But I did find that [the definition of] corruption is a perversion of integrity. To pervert is leading to a false judgment,” Dunn said. “To go back on [the vote] now because commissioners make campaign donations or excuses of ‘we need to evaluate this,’” is improper. Dunn noted that every member of the commission has a “monetary interest” in what goes on at the airport, and that Boykin had even agreed with him years ago that the fees at the airport should be raised. According to the campaign contribution database maintained by the Virginia Public Access Project and reports filed with the county election office, since 2014 three of the eight members of the Airport Commission have made political contributions of more than $100. Boykin, Vice Chairman Tom Toth and Thomas Dunlap, combined, made donations totaling just over $3,000 during the past four years. Burk, Dunn, Councilman Marty Martinez, Vice Mayor Suzanne Fox, and Reid were recipients. Some contributions were for non-Town Council races, including bids for Board of Supervisors seats. For campaign contribution of $100 or less, the donors are not required to be disclosed. Dunn said later in the week he was not backing down from his comments. “I still stand by everything I said,” he said. Dunn’s comments at the Oct. 24 meeting immediately drew a sharp response from his council counterparts. “I think it is totally unfair on your part that you should suggest that any member of the council is doing anything other than looking at the best actions for taxpayers,” Burk said. “It’s a real shame you were going to call people corrupt.”

“I just find it very sad that because somebody doesn’t get what they want they have to result to that kind of insulting,” Martinez said. The vote to modify the request to the county passed, with only Dunn dissenting. Now, the original letter will be tweaked to request funding for only the trail and road widening projects. Reached last Thursday, Boykin explained the commission’s initial concerns over seeking county airport funding. “We remember the difficulties we had coordinating with the county in 2005 and 2007 regarding taxation issues at the airport, as well as zoning and land use disagreements that took years to resolve. Several members of the Airport Commission felt that the town would be better served if we ironed out details on taxation, revenue streams, and town-county coordination before the town went and asked for county funding,” Boykin said. Boykin also said he took umbrage with many of Dunn’s statements. “Mr. Dunn’s charges regarding the airport were factually inaccurate and completely inappropriate, in my opinion, especially in the context that he had just finished accusing the Town Council of corruption,” he said. “However, my colleagues on the commission have not yet had a chance to weigh in on this subject, so I’ll withhold any further comment until the next meeting, where hopefully Councilmember Dunn will attend and help us clear up the situation he created.” The commission’s Nov. 2 agenda lists “response to comments at Council by Councilmember Dunn” as its first order of business this Thursday. krodriguez@loudounnow.com

[ BRIEFS ] << FROM 8

Tax Billing Changes OK’ed

Services administers the program for HUD. Projects receiving funding must benefit low- or moderate-income persons. Rather than submit just one project, the town hopes that a few related projects can qualify for funding this year. The request includes a 170-foot sidewalk on the north side of Edwards Ferry Road from Heritage Way to the Shenandoah Office Building, where the Department of Family Services is located; a new bus shelter on the north side of Edwards Ferry Road, east of Heritage Way; a new bus shelter on the south side of Edwards Ferry Road, west of Heritage Way; and improved bus stop signage with route maps throughout town, for a total of 100 signs. Deputy Town Manager Keith Markel said staff identified those projects based on talks with both the Department of Family Services and observing the high amount of pedestrian traffic in the general area. Markel said family services staff have noted their concerns surrounding residents’ accessibility to the building. The total cost for the projects is $140,000. If awarded the grant fund-

The Town Council last week signed off on a Memorandum of Agreement that hands over billing and collection responsibilities to Loudoun County, if such an arrangement is authorized by the General Assembly next year. The agreement means that town taxpayers will receive a consolidated bill for real estate taxes, personal property taxes, vehicle registration fees, and business tangible personal property taxes. Loudoun County will forward taxes collected for the town less a 1.15 percent collection. The town’s expected contribution to the county’s systems development as part of this change is just under $100,000. According to Clark Case, director of Finance and Administrative Services for the town, the process whereby the town bills its residents is “very inefficient, expensive and error prone.” Currently, the town relies on several outside vendors to collect and reformat tax information from the county, bill residents, and submit payment back to the town. The new process would be streamlined and less risky, Case said. In addition to the consolidated bill, one change town residents will notice is they will be billed

Kara C. Rodriguez/Loudoun Now

The town wants to get funding for a sidewalk on the north side of Edwards Ferry Road near Heritage Way, pictured here.

ing, the town would be responsible for a 70 percent match to federal funding, meaning the town could be on the hook for $98,000. Markel said, if the town is successful in achieving the funding, town staff will ask the county to do a 50/50 match on the town’s required portion of the funding since the improvements would benefit those utilizing the county family services building. The remaining funds would be used from the town’s allocation of 30 percent funds from the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority.

twice a year for personal property taxes, to align with the county’s practice. Currently, the town bills personal property taxes in a lump sum in June. The consolidation of real estate taxes is targeted for implementation in tax year 2019, with the remaining taxes being consolidated in tax year 2020. Councilman Tom Dunn was the lone dissenting vote on the matter. “It still seems to be too many questions to buy into it,” he said. “I don’t see the savings to be enough to warrant what may be the limitations that have been placed upon us.” According to Case, the town will realize a first-year savings around $164,000, and second-year savings near $258,000. “We’re only putting $100,000 at risk,” he said in addressing the council last week. “You’re looking at a return on investment of 164 percent off our firstyear investment. You’re talking about a very high ROI for taking this risk. The private sector would jump at this.” In addition to Leesburg, the towns of Middleburg, Lovettsville, Round Hill, and Hillsboro have indicated an interest in pursuing similar framework with the county. Purcellville and Hamilton have elected not to participate.

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Husband Faces Murder Charge in Wife’s Death Four days after Winsome Ann Marie Price, 36, was found dead by family members in her Dawson Creek home, the Sheriff ’s Office have charged her husband with first-degree murder. Frank D. Price, Jr., 47, has been under guard at Reston Hospital Center since Saturday after he was seriously injured in a car crash. Deputies were called to their home on Gayfeather Drive shortly before 8:15 a.m. Saturday after a 911 call from a family member. Prior to the 911 call, the Sheriff ’s Office had responded to a serious head-on crash involving Frank Price. The crash occurred around 6 a.m. in the area of Gum Spring Road and Mayhew Lane. The driver of the second car was taken to Reston Hospital and then was transported to George Washington University Hospital, where she was being treated this week for serious but not life-threatening injuries. The investigation determined Frank Price had called a family member to come to the home and to attend to the couple’s children before he left the home and was involved in the crash.

Price

Price was released from the hospital on Tuesday and was held without bond at the Loudoun County Adult Detention Center. Price has a criminal history, although the extent was not immediately clear. In 1994, he pleaded guilty in Loudoun County Circuit Court to a charge of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. In that case he was sentenced to 12 months in jail, with the sentence suspended entirely pending good behavior.

Driver Pleads No Contest in 2016 Fatal Ashburn Crash Nearly a year after she drove through a red light and crashed broadside into a car carrying five people—killing one—Nakia P. Wilkerson was sentence to jail on Tuesday. The crash occurred Nov. 25, 2016, at 1:19 a.m. on Loudoun County Parkway at the intersec- Wilkerson tion of Gloucester Parkway. According to witnesses, a 2006 Ford pickup truck was traveling north on Loudoun County Parkway when it went through the light and hit a 1997 Toyota sedan. The Toyota driver and four passengers—adults age 26 and 27 and children age 3 and 5—suffered injuries ranging from minor to serious and were transported to nearby hospitals for treatment. Naria Haiderian, a rear seat passenger, died at Inova Fairfax Hospital. The 3-year-old was not in a child safety seat and was ejected from the vehicle in the crash, according to the State Police report. Wilkerson, who also was injured, was initially charged with failing to obey a traffic light. Later a Loudoun

grand jury indicted her on a charge of reckless driving. In Circuit Court on Tuesday, she pleaded no contest to that charge. Wilkerson told investigators that she had no recollection of the crash. A witness said that she was holding her cell phone when he went to render aid while she was in the vehicle. Evidence in the case did not show that she was on the phone at the time of the crash and county prosecutors did not find evidence that would support a more serious manslaughter charge. Judge J. Howell Brown sentenced Wilkerson to 12 months in jail, the maximum for a Class 1 misdemeanor, but suspended all but two months of that jail time. He suspended her driver’s license for 18 months and required supervised probation for 10 years following her release from jail. Additionally, Brown required her to make a charitable donation in Haiderian’s memory each Nov. 25 for the next 10 years.

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The Sheriff ’s Office has created a toll-free tip-line allowing area residents to anonymously report suspected narcotics activity. Loudoun residents are encouraged to call 1-833-HOT-TIPS (1-833-4688477) with any information regarding narcotics activity. “Anonymity can be the key to getting drugs off of our streets or getting someone the help that they need,” said Sheriff Mike Chapman stated. “We want to give residents that outlet and make sure all suspected drug activity is reported.” The effort grew from the regional Heroin Operations Team that was formed in 2015 to employ a comprehensive approach to combat the heroin epidemic, including enforcement, education, prevention and recovery. So far this year, the agency reports that fatal heroin overdoses have decreased 27 percent in Loudoun County compared to this same time last year and non-fatal heroin related overdoses have decreased 14 percent.

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LOUDOUN NOW | NEWS |

white supremacist agenda of the Ku Klux Klan on their doors over the weekend. Leesburg Police Department spokesman Officer Sam Shenouda said the agency received three formal complaints over the weekend from residents in the town’s historic district. Residents said the material included cartoons and candy and may have been targeted to a youth audience. However, there’s not much the police department can do about it. “It’s not illegal to do that,” Shenouda said of the distribution. The content promoted the KKK’s racist views, but did not include threats, and is generally protected speech under the First Amendment. The office would share information about the incidents with regional law enforcement agencies who monitor hate group activities, he said.

Hackney joined the LPD in 2003 and has more than 16 years of experience in law enforcement, having also served with the Harpers Ferry (WV) Police Department. During his tenure with Leesburg, he has served as a field training officer, a member of the Special Operations Team, and a detective in the Criminal Investigations Section.

13 Nov. 2 – 8, 2017

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2017 Election Guide

10th District

Nov. 2 – 8, 2017

2017 ELECTION GUIDE

Gooditis: When Chris and I first moved to Virginia, I commuted from Upperville to DC every day. If the current Greenway tolls had existed then, I would not have been able to afford that drive. The traffic in Loudoun affects countless people in our communities. I will stand behind the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority in Richmond, so that more of our tax dollars return to transportation improvements here at home. The 2013 transportation funding bill was an important piece of legislation, necessary for Loudoun to improve congestion across the area. In Richmond, I will support budgetary decisions that give our region its fair share of funding, so we can work across the aisle to improve gridlock in Loudoun. Accordingly, I will work to ensure that the federal government creates an independent and sufficient funding source

WENDY W. GOODITIS, DEMOCRAT Occupation: Realtor Campaign website: wendygooditis.com

for the Metro, which is responsible for much of its workforce.

Minchew: I was a co-patron on HB 2313 and supported its passage. Then I was appointed to the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority that is charged with approving projects funded by that 2013 transportation bill. The NVTA has funded $980 million in congestion-relieving transportation projects in Northern Virginia, including many projects that have been in VDOT’s six-year plans for years but never given funding. On a per-capita basis, Loudoun County and the Town of Leesburg has received more

J. RANDALL MINCHEW, REPUBLICAN* Occupation: Attorney Campaign website: delegaterandyminchew.com of these NVTA regional dollars than any other jurisdiction in Northern Virginia. Given that we went for 27 years without adequate funding of our regional roads, we had a backlog in critical projects. During that period, almost all of Loudoun’s major road improvements were financed through the proffer system or through county bonds. HB 2313 changed that. The General Assembly also adopted a new comprehensive rating program for suggested road improvements. I am proud of the work we have done. As for the Greenway, I have been seeking legislative cures to those high tolls for years and have sought a number of legislation solutions. My

2017 bill experience together with the Virginia Supreme Court’s ruling in the Loudoun board’s unsuccessful recent appeal suggests to me that a legislative reform to the Greenway’s 2008 rate legislation would probably not succeed. But, the good news is that this 2008 legislation that functionally allows the Greenway every toll increase it seeks will expire Jan. 1, 2020, and then the Greenway’s tolls can be subject to an honest review process by the State Corporation Commission. Lastly, on Metro, I also serve on the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission that oversees the Metro system. While a strong argument can be made that Loudoun should never have joined the WMATA Compact in 2012, the board’s decision is final and irretrievable. My top priority is to fix the systemic problems WMATA and Metro have before Loudoun starts paying its WMATA membership dues in 2019 and the Silver Line arrives in 2020. I would like to see some major reforms to WMATA’s Charter to address these problems and have been working with Congresswoman Comstock on curative federal legislation that we should see soon.

10TH DISTRICT >> 16

15 Nov. 2 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 8, 2017 2017 ELECTION GUIDE

2017 Election Guide << FROM 14

LN: State law prohibits counties and towns from removing or altering war memorials. Would you support legislation giving that authority to local elected representatives? Gooditis: Yes, I support giving localities the authority to determine the removal and placement of their war memorials.

Minchew: I represent three counties (Loudoun, Clarke, and Frederick) and three towns (Leesburg, Middleburg, and Boyce) and all of them have decided not to seek 2018 authority to remove or alter war memorials. As such, I will respect the wishes of these six jurisdictions.

As a historian, I acknowledge that the study of our history can be very painful at times in that it shows inhumanity, deprivation of civil rights and liberties, and other atrocious acts. But we must honestly appreciate this history warts and all so that we may learn from it and address the very real issues and injustices that we still face as an American society.

10th District why not? Gooditis: Redistricting reform is one of the first issues that got me into this race. Free and fair elections are critical to our democracy, and I believe that non-partisan redistricting in Virginia is absolutely necessary to ensure them. After the 2020 census, I believe that Virginia needs an independent commission to ensure non-partisan redistricting, so that lines are not drawn to favor any politician or party.

Minchew: I support redistricting reform and filed my own bill for redistricting reform, HB 553 in 2016, that would codify criteria for honest redistricting, protection of communities of interest, and avoidance of gerrymandering. I

still think that approach is viable. There are many approaches suggested by other legislators including establishment of an independent redistricting commission, an amendment to our Virginia Constitution prohibiting gerrymandering, and formulaic approaches in designing districts. All approaches have some attributes to them and deserve consideration during the 2018 session or, better yet, at a special session held later in the year, where they can be considered. Also, we are anticipating that the United States Supreme Court will hand down a major decision on redistricting early next year in the case of Whitford v. Gill. In light of that forthcoming major decision, a special 2018 session solely focused on redistricting reform held after the Whitford v. Gill decision comes down makes the most sense to this delegate.

2017 ELECTION GUIDE

2017 Election Guide Loudoun Now: Virginia’s controversial 2013 transportation funding bill has pumped tens of millions of dollars into Loudoun road construction projects. Do you support that approach? What changes do you advocate? What are your solutions to the challenges of high Greenway tolls and Metro’s shaky financial standing? Greason: As one of the co-sponsors on HB 2313, the first Transportation Funding and Reform bill in over 27 years, I knew we could not solve our transportation issues without a new funding source. Today, we see the fruits of that labor with projects like the widening of Belmont Ridge; the Rt. 7 overpasses at Belmont Ridge and Ashburn Village; the extensions at Pacific Boulevard and Gloucester Parkway; and the completion of Loudoun County parkway from Rt. 7 to Rt. 50. These projects will provide essential options for our commuters and serve as effective alternatives to the Greenway Toll Road. I also plan to address the Greenway problem in two ways: purchase the road and re-finance the debt, resulting in a lower toll; and implement distance pricing to reduce the “per trip” cost for local commuters. Both of these options will reduce the cost of the Greenway and provide relief to our community.

Nov. 2 – 8, 2017

Reid: The 2013 bipartisan transportation bill has been successful in funding projects in Loudoun County and Northern Virginia and I support General Assembly efforts to work across the aisle to bring positive results to commuters here in Loudoun County. I believe the best way to address the high costs of the tolls on the Greenway is to revisit HB 1881, which would empower the State Corporation Commission to require the Dulles Greenway owners to imple-

32nd District Greason:

THOMAS A. “TAG” GREASON, REPUBLICAN* Occupation: Executive vice president at QTS Inc. Campaign website: taggreason.com

ment distance-based pricing so that you only pay for the distance you actually travel. To address part of the funding issues for Metro we should explore the efficacy of special assessment districts near Metro stations so the developers who will benefit the most from Metro’s expansion will help fund transportation improvements. Additionally, we need to conduct a study on Metro fares to increase ridership and generate additional revenue. The current fares are one of the most expensive in the nation and it discourages ridership.

LN: State law prohibits counties and towns from removing or altering war memorials. Would you support legislation giving that authority to local elected representatives? Greason: It is important to preserve our history—both the good and the bad. As a cadet at the United States Military Academy at West Point, I studied military history and the impact historical events have on our society. Someone once said, “those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it.” The commonwealth currently pre-

DAVID A. REID Occupation: Program manager at Axiologic Solutions; owner of Rockbridge Consulting Campaign website: reidfordelegate.com

serves memorials in order to preserve the lessons of our past. Asymmetric removal of memorials could set a contentious precedent and diminish our ability to take meaningful lessons from our history. That said, we should consider ensuring appropriate context is provided and offer an opportunity for additional memorials to be erected.

Reid: I would support legislation that would provide local governing bodies the authority to take public comments, conduct debate, and make a local decision pertaining to war memorials in their jurisdictions.

This is an issue with no simple answer. Often, proponents of redistricting reform advocate the establishment of a “non-partisan” commission. While, this sounds like an attractive solution, it could potentially be less equitable than the current system. The members of a “non-partisan re-districting commission,” like all other commissions in Virginia, would be appointed by a governor. Though governors serve the entire commonwealth, many tend to exhibit partisan favoritism. The combination of an appointed, partisan commission would remove the much needed accountability that voters seek when advocating for boundary changes. Unlike elected officials, commission members would be removed from the accountability of the voting booth and thus solely accountable to the individual that presides over their appointment. While the current system may not be perfect, it has been upheld by the federal government, the justice department, and countless courts over years of challenges. And interestingly enough, the aggrieved party in most of re-districting complaints are those who are not in power at the time…regardless of political affiliation. The “right system” is one in which accountability is kept most directly with the citizens. I am not opposed to alternatives; however, today’s system creates more accountability to the voter than any other alternatives that have been proposed.

Reid: Virginia should adopt a process where a non-partisan, independent commission is empowered to conduct redistricting. That approach will return the power of the electoral process to the people. The current system allows the legislature to select their voters instead of the voters selecting their representative.

Loudoun Now: Virginia’s controversial 2013 transportation funding bill has pumped tens of millions of dollars into Loudoun road construction projects. Do you support that approach? What changes do you advocate? What are your solutions to the challenges of high Greenway tolls and Metro’s shaky financial standing? LaRock:

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war memorials. Would you support legislation giving that authority to local elected representatives? LaRock:

DEL. DAVE A. LAROCK, REPUBLICAN* Occupation: General contractor, LaRock Builders, Inc. Campaign website: votelarock.us

to be a top down absolute commitment to safety and excellent service. If you falsify a safety report, you should be out the door; now with the union influence, if that were to occur, there would be a lengthy union grievance process which would stall or prevent termination. The Metro Compact is outdated and has led to a multi-billion-dollar unfunded pension liability. That liability cannot be met and the Metro Compact must be revised to fix this. Virginia made important changes to the WMATA Compact in our code to address these issues, but Maryland and DC have refused to do so. As safety and reliability improve, Metro fares can be increased. Rather than enacting a highly regressive Regional Sales Tax, of which Virginia and Loudoun would pay a grossly disproportionate share, a station-area property or ad valorem tax should be instituted. This would capture some of the vast profits from developers and commercial property owners, and would be passed through to commercial renters, including the federal government, whom benefit from rail. Then-Senator Mark Herring, acting against the interest of his own constituents, pushed through a 2008 law to make Greenway toll increases mandatory, and it should be determined if he took that action because of family ties to the Greenway. Herring’s bill should be reversed, as Del. Minchew and I attempted last year. I trust John Adams, if elected, to do what Herring never

TIA L. WALBRIDGE, DEMOCRAT Occupation: Farmer Campaign website: tiawalbridgefordelegate.com

would—that is to take a close look at Greenway accounting practices to see if there is potential for relief.

Walbridge: Our traffic and infrastructure affect the daily lives of so many in our community. Like so many others, my husband commutes every day to Chantilly. And every evening, we face the same decision as so many other families in Northern Virginia: pay the Greenway tolls, which add up to an extra car payment each month, or miss dinner with the family. In Richmond, I will support the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority, so we can see more of our tax dollars come back to Northern Virginia to improve our roads and infrastructure. This legislation passed with bipartisan support because of the extreme congestion on roads like Route 15, Route 9 and Route 7. However, despite the need for traffic solutions across Loudoun County, Dave LaRock campaigned against this crucial bill. As a delegate, I will work across the aisle to lessen the burden of traffic on our community. We must also ensure that Metro is working to ease traffic in our area, and hold the federal government accountable for its fair share of funding, given that a large portion of Metro traffic is within DC transporting the federal workforce.

LN: State law prohibits counties and towns from removing or altering

I will oppose changing the current law which prohibits tampering with memorials. We need to study and learn from history, not hide it. I am very open to seeing memorials added to assure history is presented in a balanced way. Many people, my opponent included, seem intent on removing historic monuments. I disagree.

Walbridge: I would support giving localities the authority to decide what happens with their war memorials. I believe Confederate statues should be placed in museums where they can be displayed with appropriate historical context.

Walbridge: I support fair and non-partisan redistricting by an independent commission, instead of by partisan politicians. Politicians in Virginia have been allowed to break up communities and neighborhoods—Leesburg is divided between three state house districts—to reduce competition and choose their own electorate. As a delegate, I will support an independent commission taking responsibility for redrawing district lines after the 2020 census.

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

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

2017 ELECTION GUIDE

I support improving roads, education and other core government services without raising taxes. Raising taxes is the easy way out of a problem, but higher taxes hurt families and businesses. As the late Ronald Reagan put it, “We don’t have a trillion-dollar debt because we have not taxed enough, but we have a trillion-dollar debt because we spend too much.” I favor taking steps to refine management practices and prioritize funding to the most important needs; as we cut excessive taxes and unnecessary regulations to create a business-friendly commonwealth, economic activity will grow, and revenues will increase without raising taxes. The passage of the 2013 transportation bill is behind us, and it won’t be repealed. It is now my responsibility to make sure that those funds are protected and projects are prioritized so that critical needs are dealt with in a timely manner. I have led on this through SmartScale legislation, my Transportation Lockbox Constitutional Amendment, and removing the transit-favoring loophole in NVTA project analysis. Unsafe and congested roads like Rt. 15 north of Leesburg, Rt. 9 through Hillsboro, the Rt. 287-Rt. 9 intersection, and Rt. 7 eastbound have waited too long, while deaths, injuries, damage and delays continue to plague them. These problem areas are falling behind partly because the decision to expand Metro in the east has brought with it intense focus on building new taxpayer-funded roads for development around Metro stations, instead of fixing existing needs in the western part of Loudoun County. The Metro system has a general manager who is doing a great turnaround job. He understands there needs

33rd District

Nov. 2 – 8, 2017

2017 Election Guide

2017 ELECTION GUIDE

Considering the projected growth in our region we urgently need an influx of funding for major road projects across Northern Virginia to ease congestion and ensure safety. The widening of Rt. 7 was a good first step. I will continue to advocate for measures that improve Metro and take cars off our roads. We’ve seen a great deal of improvement in the Metro system under its new governance and this improvement will result in increased ridership over time. But if we want Metro to be a viable option for commuters we absolutely must create a dedicated funding source to ensure continued improvement both in reliability and safety. By continuing to improve our public transportation system we

giving localities more control at the local level.

KATHLEEN J. MURPHY, DEMOCRAT*

CHERYL A. BUFORD, REPUBLICAN

Occupation: President, Johnson Murphy & Associates Website: murphyfordelegate.com

Occupation: Vice President, Social Capital Valuators, Inc. Website: cherylbuford.com

will reduce traffic on our roads and ensure we’re prioritizing an interconnected public transportation system. Cheryl A. Buford has not responded to emailed questions or phone messages from Loudoun Now.

LN: State law prohibits counties and towns from removing or altering war memorials. Would you support legislation giving that authority to local elected representatives?

Murphy: I believe these monuments are divisive and have become a focus for hate groups, white supremacists and neo-Nazis. This is dangerous for our communities and harmful to our economy. I think it is time for us to move on from the past and put the statues where they belong—in museums and battlefields. However, we can’t ignore the fiscal impact on localities and I would leave these decisions on whether to relocate a monument and how it is done best to communities. I would support

LN: Redistricting won’t occur until 2021, but the next General Assembly session could set new rules for how that process is conducted. In light of concerns about gerrymandering and relying on elected representatives to redraw their election districts, should Virginia change the process for drawing new electoral maps? If so, what is the best approach? If not, why not? Murphy: As a member of the Privileges and Elections Committee, I do believe we need redistricting reform. I believe voters should be choosing their representatives instead of politicians choosing their voters. I believe that the legislative redistricting process should be open and transparent and impartial. And I believe that redistricting in Virginia should be conducted by an independent commission based on non-partisan, objective criteria.

2017 Election Guide

67th District concerns about gerrymandering and relying on elected representatives to redraw their election districts, should Virginia change the process for drawing new electoral maps? If so, what is the best approach? If not, why not?

Loudoun Now: Virginia’s controversial 2013 transportation funding bill has pumped tens of millions of dollars into Loudoun road construction projects. Do you support that approach? What are your solutions to the challenges of high Greenway tolls and Metro’s shaky financial standing? Delaney: I’m dedicated to finding regional long-range, comprehensive solutions that will ease traffic congestion and ensure Northern Virginia remains an economic hub, like the 2013 transportation funding bill. I also believe we need to prevent private companies from arbitrarily increasing tolls for profit on the Greenway, and instead set a distance-based tolling plan while we work toward eliminating tolls altogether. Finally, we must implement a dedicated funding source for Metro and ensure we commit as a region to improvements to make Metro efficient and reliable.

LeMunyon:

Nov. 2 – 8, 2017

34th District

As a result of the 2013 transportation bill, more than 70 projects are underway in Northern Virginia, with many more in the planning stages. Work has already been completed on the first segment of Rt. 28 widening with these funds, with more work on Rt. 28 coming. With respect to Greenway tolls, refinancing the Greenway’s debt at a lower interest rate would allow toll prices to be reduced. Since the Greenway is privately financed, the state can encourage but not require this. The General Assembly and more recently the Northern

Delaney: KARRIE K. DELANEY, DEMOCRAT Occupation: Communication consultant Campaign website: karriedelaney.com

Virginia Transportation Commission have requested that WMATA provide a business plan demonstrating that it can operate as efficiently as comparable transit systems in the United States. On a per passenger/per mile basis, WMATA’s costs are almost twice that of the Chicago Transit Authority, for example.

LN: State law prohibits counties and towns from removing or altering war memorials. Would you support legislation giving that authority to local elected representatives? Delaney: I support giving localities the choice to decide what to do with all monuments. However, I feel it is important to not lose sight of the tragedy and disturbing violence and hatred that decended upon Charlottesville. I also find it disgusting and appalling that in

JAMES M. “JIM” LEMUNYON, REPUBLICAN* Occupation: Business developer for a consortium of technology companies Campaign website: lemunyon.com a time of great crisis, President Trump displayed a complete lack of moral leadership in his refusal to condemn white supremacists, Neo-Nazis, the Ku Klux Klan, and the domestic terrorism they brought upon our commonwealth that left three dead. Now more than ever we need leaders at all levels of government to rise up against violence and hate, defend our democracy, and ensure our commonwealth remains welcoming and inclusive for all.

LeMunyon: Yes, but memorials and statues placed to recognize a particular event in history at a particular location should not be removed.

LN: Redistricting won’t occur until 2021, but the next General Assembly session could set new rules for how that process is conducted. In light of

The blatant gerrymandering of our commonwealth that interferes with the voice of the people is appalling, which is why I support implementing an independent redistricting commission to take the politics out of drawing district lines. Now I understand the argument against this asks who really is independent and non-partisan anymore? However, a great example of addressing this issues comes out of the state of Arizona, which currently has an independent redistrict commission. In Arizona, they appoint two Democrats, two Republicans, and an independent chairwoman to take census data and computer modeling to ensure the Congressional and Legislative districts are drawn to reflect the most recent census and ensure everyone’s vote matters. I would like to see Virginia adopt a similar model and take the drawing of district lines out of the hands of the people that have a vested interest in skewing results, legislators.

LeMunyon: We should look to how other states have changed their redistricting processes and adopt the best practices that are working elsewhere.

86th District success and protect the civil rights of everyone.

LINDA SCHULZ, REPUBLICAN Occupation: Market research professional Campaign website: lindaforvirginia. com

Linda Schulz has not responded to emailed questions or follow-up messages from Loudoun Now.

LN: State law prohibits counties and towns from removing or altering war memorials. Would you support legislation giving that authority to local elected representatives? Boysko: Yes, I support giving localities the autonomy to make their own decisions. But keep in mind that as we

continue to discuss the Confederate statues, we need to be reminded about what truly divides us. We’ve watched for months as certain political candidates and officials have used the threat of losing the statues as “code speak” to distract their constituents from the core issue: the growing economic inequality we face in this country. Inciting fear and anger is an effective political tool to divide a community. We should not fall prey to this type of fear-mongering and allow it to distract us. Instead, we’ve got to find political solutions that empower all hardworking residents to find opportunities for

Boysko: I am a member of the Privileges and Elections Committee and spoke out in committee when my colleagues refused to take a vote on these issues. I co-patroned HJ 628, Virginia Redistricting Commission which would have established the Virginia Redistricting Commission to redraw congressional and General Assembly district boundaries after each decennial census. I continue to be frustrated that we could not get HJ 628, nor any other bill dealing with redistricting to a House floor vote during the 2017 session. I also support the efforts of the nonpartisan group One Virginia2021.

2017 Election Guide Loudoun Now: Virginia’s controversial 2013 transportation funding bill has pumped tens of millions of dollars into Loudoun road construction projects. Do you support that approach? What are your solutions to the challenges of high Greenway tolls and Metro’s shaky financial standing? Bell: I supported the 2013 transportation funding bill which was urgently needed to provide the funding necessary to address Virginia’s long standing transportation challenges. We must now focus on ensuring every dollar is spent wisely and generates the most benefit. I will continue to advocate Virginia’s plan to lower Greenway tolls with the only viable approach being a partial buyback of the road, which can occur at no taxpayer cost, in order to lower tolls and with an ownership interest it will ensure our best interests are considered. I believe additional oversight and cost controls are needed to control the costs of Metro. I’m outraged at the increases in cost and the appearance of a lack of financial discipline. I plan to propose legislation that will open the Dulles Toll Road lanes which are currently being used for airport traffic to all commuters once the Metro lines to Dulles Airport are open. Currently, the airport access lanes are underutilized and once Metro service is provided to the airport I no longer see the need for this ap-

87th District Bell: I believe that war memorials should be left to the discretion of the localities. While I believe that Confederate statues and flags have their proper place in museums and battlefields, I recognize that localities know what’s best for their communities and not the state.

JOHN J. BELL, DEMOCRAT* Occupation: Retired U.S. Air Force major Campaign website: johnbellfordelegate.com proach. Opening the lanes to all traffic will not only ease east-west commutes by providing four additional lanes, it will also increase Metro revenues and shore up Metro financial difficulties. In terms of Metro funding, I’m in favor of making sure Virginia’s investments in the Authority are protected and would demand WMATA provide greater insight to ensure funds are being used responsibly and professionally. I don’t think that’s the case now. I would insist on additional financial oversight, performance metrics and other measures to ensure Metro is properly managed and that we don’t have to continue revisiting the same issues again and again.

Kolla: As Loudoun County continues to expand our commercial base and attract and retain businesses, we need a fully functioning and cost-effective transpor-

SUBBA KOLLA, REPUBLICAN Occupation: Realtor Campaign website: subbakolla.com

tation system as a central selling point. Further, nothing frustrates our citizens like clogged roads and missing links. The efforts made by the General Assembly and the Board of Supervisors are a great start to solving these problems and I will fully support smart, effective transportation initiatives. The Greenway needs alternatives, which is why I support Loudoun’s effort to complete Shellhorn Road and other roadways ahead of Metro’s opening. I pledge to work hand-in-hand with the Board of Supervisors and be a leader on the Greenway, much like former Delegate David Ramadan.

LN: State law prohibits counties and towns from removing or altering war memorials. Would you support legislation giving that authority to local elected representatives?

Kolla: As someone who has come to this country in the mid-90s I’ve seen the best of the American dream. I have a different perspective than many. As Ed Gillespie and others have said, this isn’t a time for knee-jerk reaction to simply remove and erase history. We can and will find a balance between ensuring history is told accurately—good and bad—and ensuring we aren’t being insensitive.

87TH DISTRICT >> 20

2017 ELECTION GUIDE

The 2013 Transportation package was game-changing for the commonwealth, especially here in Northern Virginia. Gov. McAuliffe, VDOT and the regional transportation boards have done an excellent job of having shovel-ready projects ready to go and because of that they have been able to secure significant federal funding. Virginia’s use of public private partnerships has also saved the commonwealth millions of dollars on major projects. Distance-based tolling would provide some relief for residents using the toll roads in our region but we also need to set a floor on the current gas tax and index it for inflation. Many residents in the 86th District pay upwards of $200 per month to get to and from work in tolls. This is an unfair burden.

JENNIFER BOYSKO, DEMOCRAT* Occupation: Public servant Campaign website: jenniferboysko. com

Nov. 2 – 8, 2017

2017 Election Guide

20 << 87TH DISTRICT FROM 19

Bell: I fully support nonpartisan redistricting. I have twice introduced legislation (2016 HJ 117 and 2017 HJ 749) that would implement the Shortest Splitline

Method (watch a video at http://bit. ly/2c0Ruxx to learn more) that will take politics out of the districting process. I don’t trust either party to perform redistricting and I believe to the greatest extent possible politicians should be removed from the process.

Kolla: This is obviously before the Supreme Court and an issue that needs input from our highest court. The process of setting and establishing legislative districts has been in the hand of the legislature decade after decade. If I am

2017 Election Guide

Leesburg Town Council

Leesburg Town Council Vanessa Maddox and Joshua Thiel are campaigning to serve the final year of the unexpired term held by Kelly Burk before she was elected mayor last fall. The seat expires Dec. 31, 2018, and a new four-year term will be on the ballot next November. The victor Nov. 7 will be sworn in ahead of the Town Council’s next set of meetings Nov. 13-14.

Loudoun Now: What are your top three priorities if elected? Maddox:

2017 ELECTION GUIDE

1) Resolve traffic and economic issues via stronger relationships with elected leaders, businesses, planners and Town Council. Encourage eco-friendly transportation options. 2) Committed to governing with ethics, transparency and accountability. Committed to public service to all Leesburg residents. 3) Protect tax dollars and savings with an improved energy and growth plan. Champion technology advancements and improve Leesburg’s infrastructure.

fortunate enough to be elected and the next General Assembly does in fact establish some rules—which isn’t a given—I will be open to considering the best options.

burg we can get our Leesburg economy moving forward to help lower our residents’ taxes or give them more services they want.

VANESSA MADDOX Neighborhood: Parkview Estates Occupation: Learning and development Campaign website: vanessa4towncouncil.com

Thiel: 1.) I hope to help fix our traffic and congestion issues. When we are spending more time in our cars than we are with our family because of traffic, I think we need to address it. We should work with Loudoun County, the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority (NVTA) and VDOT to secure needed road improvements both in and around Leesburg to reduce congestion and increase safety.

JOSHUA THIEL Neighborhood: Crescent Place Occupation: Government contractor, Booz Allen Hamilton; owner, JT Kicking and Training Campaign website: thielforleesburg.com 2.) During budget season, I want to look at our budget and make sure we are spending the taxpayers’ money the right way. I want to make sure we are getting everything we are paying for from the County. I have spoken to a lot of people that haven’t moved to Leesburg because of the double tax and people that have moved out because they can’t afford to live here because of the double tax. Also, economic growth, by bringing big businesses into Lees-

3.) I hope to take a look at what we can do for the drug problem. This is a problem that is sweeping the nation and I want to make sure our streets are safe and clean. My plan is threefold: A. Create a local task force made up of parents, teachers and law enforcement officers. This task force will meet regularly and work together to identify indicators of drug abuse, create education programs for students and parents, and foster resources to help victims. B. Work with Loudoun County, the Sheriff ’s Office, Loudoun County Public Schools and the Commonwealth of Virginia to expand the resources that are currently available to students and parents. C. Secure dedicated funding for the Town of Leesburg to administer education programs, victim-serving helplines and other resources. * Indicates incumbent

A New Voice for Leesburg

 Relieving Traffic Congestion  Reducing Taxes  Fighting the Opioid Epidemic

Endorsed by Delegate Randy Minchew, The Vice Mayor of Leesburg,

Nov. 2 – 8, 2017

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loudounnow.com

Top candidates << FROM 1 York. This isn’t about the press corps in Washington. It isn’t about any of these things. This election is about you and it is about your future and your children’s future.” Gillespie, who faces Democrat Lt. Gov. Ralph Northam for the state’s top seat, told supporters that there is a lot at stake that could impact Virginia for generations to come. “The fact is, Virginia is going to look a lot more like states to our north— New Jersey, Connecticut, New York— with higher taxes and more regulation and mandates and compulsory unionism. They are all in the bottom half of economic growth,” Gillespie said, noting that he preferred to follow the southern model of the Carolinas, Georgia and Florida, which he claimed have more dynamic and fast-growing economies. He continued, “If our next governor does not respond to the challenges we face as a commonwealth, with the right policies and a sense of urgency with which to get them implemented we will fail for all Virginia. I have those policies. I have that sense of urgency. And I will not fail.” The three men at the top of Virginia’s Democratic ticket spent last Wednesday in Leesburg, championing their ideas for tackling the commonwealth’s top health concerns. Democratic Party leaders who gathered at the Loudoun Government Cen-

This election is about you and it is about your future and your children’s future.” – U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, (R-FL)

ter described the Democratic trio— Lt. Gov. Northam, Attorney General Mark Herring, and Justin Fairfax—as the dream team for solving Virginians’ opioid epidemic and winning the votes to expand Medicaid. “Who better than a pediatric neurologist, an experienced attorney general, and a former federal prosecutor,” state Sen. Jennifer Wexton (D-33rd) said. “This is the team that can really address this moving forward.” Northam, the pediatric neurologist, noted that the commonwealth has spent $30 million on mental health care in recent years, and a lot of those funds have been funneled toward helping people addicted to opioids. But, he added, Virginia could be doing more if lawmakers expand Medicaid. As part of the Affordable Care Act, the federal government will match states’ investment if they agree to expand Medicaid to thousands more of their residents. Virginia Republicans have rejected the idea, saying it would cripple the state’s finances. “Every day we don’t expand Medicaid, we’re not only leaving federal

money on the table but we’re giving $6 million a day to other states,” Northam said. “Health care is a right, and now we have 400,000 working Virginians who don’t have access to care.” Northam said he has the experience and temperament to bridge the gap between the governor’s mansion and the Republican-controlled General Assembly. While Virginia’s governorship has flipped back and forth between the two parties over the years, Loudoun voters are almost always on the winning side. During the past two decades, they backed Democrats Terry McAuliffe and Tim Kaine and Republicans Robert McDonnell, Jim Gilmore and George Allen. The exception was in 2001 when Mark Earley, who now has his law practice in Leesburg, outperformed Mark Warner in his unsuccessful bid for the governor’s seat. Gillespie and Northam have been popular candidates in Loudoun County. Both have once before campaigned statewide and both won the majority among Loudoun voters. Four years ago, Northam got the most Loudoun votes of any statewide candidate in handily beating E.W. Jackson for the lieutenant governor’s seat. He even landed more votes than home-grown attorney general candidate Mark Herring. Gillespie took Loudoun in his unsuccessful bid to unseat Mark Warner in 2014’s U.S. Senate race. Like the statewide results, the race was close here. The Republican won 45,50045,042.

Turnout is expected to play a key role in Tuesday’s outcome. In McAuliffe’s victory four years ago, voter turnout in Loudoun was 46 percent—the highest level of voter interest since 1997. During McDonnell’s win in 2009, 39.57 percent of Loudoun voters went to the polls. Also on Tuesday’s ballot are all 100 seats in the House of Delegates. Leesburg voters will select a councilmember to finish out Kelly Burk’s unexpired council term following her election as mayor last fall. On the ballot are Joshua Thiel and Vanessa Maddox. Read about their Oct. 26 debate on Page 10. Round Hill also is holding a special election Tuesday. Voters will be selecting a neighbor to finish the term of Kimberly Fortunato. In January, the Town Council appointed Planning Commissioner Michael Hummel to fill the seat until the election is held. Hummel is the only candidate to file to be on the ballot. The term will expire June 30, 2020. Polls open at 6 a.m. Tuesday and close at 7 p.m. Voters must bring a photo ID; those who arrive at the polls without a photo ID will be required to vote a provisional ballot and will have until noon Friday to present an acceptable form of ID to the county’s voter registrar’s office. Find your polling place and more information on voting at Loudoun.gov/vote. Follow Election Day coverage at LoudounNow.com. nstyer@loudounnow.com dnadler@loudounnow.com

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day should be political values.” Kolla’s campaign strongly denied any allegations of misconduct. “Nobody crossed the 40-foot line,” said Kolla campaign spokesman David D’Onofrio. “I guess at some point the Bell campaign complained, and there was an additional 40-foot line put there in chalk which, once that was there, was fully respected. Any thought that we didn’t abide by the rules and regulations is probably just an effort by the Bell campaign to squelch an overwhelming Indian-American turnout for the first Indian-American candidate for the House of Delegates.” Loudoun County Registrar Judy Brown said her workers were very busy Saturday with the massive influx of voters, but when they were made aware of potential misconduct, took action. She said it appears Kolla campaigners did enter the building. “The Bell campaign had approached the people inside and told them that the other campaign was bringing people in the other door, which was not the door the voters were supposed to be entering, and then they were escorting them down the hallway,” Brown said. After that, elections officials put additional signage out at the building’s main entrance. The day after the complaint was made public, the Kolla campaign painted it as racially motivated voter intimidation in press releases. D’Onofrio said the campaign has complained

23 Nov. 2 – 8, 2017

Kolla campaign

to the Office of Elections about a Bell campaigner writing down the license plate number of a Kolla volunteer. Bell campaigners have also voiced concern about a free flu shot event at Cascades Senior Center, another absentee voting place, which was hosted by Subba Kolla. D’Onofrio said that was not “technically” a Kolla campaign event. “If you go to look at what we put out on Facebook, it does not say that it was our event, so he was supporting Dr. [Mayur] Mody and his free flu shots,” D’Onofrio said. A post on the Subba Kolla for Delegate Facebook page advertises “Subba Kolla hosts Mayur Mody’s Free Flu Shot Clinic at Cascades Senior Center,” marked as “paid for and authorized by friends of Subba Kolla.” A mailer sent to Loudoun residents, which was marked as paid for by the Republican Party of Virginia and approved by Subba Kolla, Candidate for House of Delegates, also announced the event as “Subba Kolla Hosts Mayur Mody’s Free Flu Shot Clinic.” County Attorney Leo Rogers said the event at the senior center was authorized, with the advice that it would be illegal to do any campaign activities at that event. D’Onofrio said that rule was followed. “Obviously, we were aware of it and were smart, and we’re happy to help people there get protected for the flu season, unlike our opponent,” D’Onofrio said.

loudounnow.com

[ E D U C AT I O N ]

[ SCHOOL NOTES ] Board Supports Plans to Restore Union St. School

Nov. 2 – 8, 2017

loudounnow.com

Danielle Nadler/Loudoun Now

Lucketts Elementary second-grader Gavin Tribié sits amid protest signs at the Oct. 24 School Board meeting.

Board Seeks to Tap County Surplus for Lucketts Classroom Addition BY DANIELLE NADLER The 60 or so parents, students and staff members from Lucketts Elementary who gathered at last week’s School Board meeting erupted in applause after a split vote fell their way. Following a heated debate, the board voted to formally request $3.1 million in county dollars left over from fiscal year 2017 to build a three-classroom addition at Lucketts Elementary. “We did it,” one parent whispered to a young student after the vote, followed by a high five. The decision comes after Lucketts parents and school staff attended School Board meetings for almost a

year to ask for more space. They held signs and lined up to speak at meetings, detailing just how crowded the 45-year-old building has gotten. “By voting yes, you are affirming the value of equal educational facilities by reestablishing full-day kindergarten and creating an art and music room,” Amy Tribié, president of Lucketts Elementary’s PTA, told the board. As the school’s enrollment climbed above the building capacity in recent years, the art and music classroom were converted to a kindergarten classroom. Art and music teachers now transport their supplies on carts. The school’s tightening quarters has also required some of its special education and re-

medial lessons to take place in small offices, hallways and the cafeteria. Should the county Board of Supervisors back the project, it would boost Lucketts Elementary’s building capacity from 286 to 355 by fall of 2019. The addition would allow the school to offer full-day kindergarten and have a designated art and music classroom. The two board members who voted against the classroom addition, Eric Hornberger (Ashburn) and Debbie Rose (Algonkian), said they were primarily opposed to the process. Both noted that most building projects are prioritized alongside other capital LUCKETTS CLASSROOMS >> 26

Input Sought on School Calendar Options BY DANIELLE NADLER Loudouners, you may soon be hearing from your School Board representatives. Over the next two weeks, they want to know what parents, students and teachers want in a school calendar. The board is scheduled to adopt a calendar for the 2018-2019 academic year at its Nov. 14 meeting. Board members were presented with three initial options at their meeting last week. One, dubbed Option B, was immediately taken off the table because it would move spring break ahead two weeks, so it would no longer align with other area school systems. “It would put us in conflict with a lot of other nearby counties and make it difficult for families who work in other

counties,” Chairman Jeff Morse (Dulles) said. The last two on the table are Option A and Option C. Both would start the school year on Thursday, Aug. 23; teachers would start eight days earlier on Aug. 15. Both calendars on the table would also have spring break April 15-19. The one difference between the two options is winter break: Option A would provide a shorter winter break, from Dec. 24 to Jan. 1, and Option C would add one more weekday to that break to stretch it from Dec. 21 to Jan. 1. To make up for that additional day off in January, the last day of the school year in Option C would be June 7. The last day in Option A would be June 6. School Board members also asked staff members to come back to the next board meeting with a third option that

avoids starting the school year on a Thursday. Debbie Rose (Algonkian) and Beth Huck (At Large) said they received a slew of emails from families earlier this year who were upset about the Thursday start. “I had people angry with me–really angry–because it was an early start and a Thursday start,” Huck said. Instead of gleaning feedback about the calendar options through a survey, School Board members said they will solicit input through their social media outlets since the difference between Option A and C is just the longer winter break. To weigh in, send an email to lcsb@lcps.org. dnadler@loudounnow.com

The Loudoun County School Board has given the green light to begin the process of handing over the Union Street school to the Douglass Alumni Association and the Loudoun Freedom Center. The historic two-story building in downtown Leesburg served as an education hub for the county’s black students from the early 1880s to 1958, first as the Leesburg Training School, Leesburg Colored School, and later as the first Douglass Elementary School. The board voted unanimously at its Oct. 25 meeting to hand over the building to the two nonprofit organizations that have vowed to restore it and reopen it as an education center. Michelle C. Thomas, founder and executive director of the Loudoun Freedom Center, said the plan is to repair the building and use it as a museum of sorts, displaying artifacts on black education in Loudoun and a “Hall of Fame” that tells the stories of the students who attended the school and the teachers who taught there. The process to hand over the property’s title is complicated and requires the blessing of two more elected bodies. The proposal now goes to the county Board of Supervisors for approval. Then, the School Board will request that the Leesburg Town Council approve a rezoning of the property. The 0.84-acre property has two zoning designations: R-HD (historic residential) and R-6 (moderate density residential) with H-1 and H-2 (historic district) overlays. The final step will require the School Board to declare the former school site as surplus and technically transfer ownership to the Board of Supervisors, which can then give it to the Douglass Alumni Association and the Loudoun Freedom Center.

LEAP Meeting Addresses Student Mental Health The public is invited to the next meeting of the Loudoun Education Alliance of Parents, 7 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 8. The meeting’s topic is student mental health, and members of the LEAP executive committee will fine tune and vote on a final set of recommendations for policies they believe the school system can put in place immediately to address the needs of students who have attempted suicide or missed school due to mental illness and treatment. LEAP was established in 1989 to provide an active forum for local parent groups, teachers, administrators and the School Board to discuss and explore important educational ideas and issues. The group holds public meetings the second Wednesday of every month. Learn more at lcps.org/ domain/99.

Board Considers Boundary Changes; Aims for Long-Term Stability BY DANIELLE NADLER

Loudoun Now Managing Editor Danielle Nadler was presented with Rock Ridge High School’s 2017 Rise Forward award Friday night. The award recognizes individuals who make outstanding commitments to the school community. Nadler was recognized for her reporting on Rock Ridge’s dual enrollment and its performing arts programs. “Her dedication to reporting truth and people first are an inspiration to all,” Rock Ridge theater teacher Anthony Cimino-Johnson said in presenting the award on the school’s auditorium stage before a performance of “The Addams Family.” Cimino-Johnson said Nadler’s coverage of the partnership between Rock Ridge and Richard Bland College helped ensure the free dual enrollment program continued and her coverage of the school’s performing arts pro-

who moves out of Buffalo Trail is going to move to the new elementary school (ES-29). So what made sense to me was to try to keep people who live around there put so they don’t have to move twice,” Morse said. No plan can keep every student at Buffalo Trail, he added. That school is the most crowded in the Dulles South planning zone, serving 1,599 students—656 over its building capacity. The board will hold another public hearing on the proposed boundary changes at 6:30 p.m. Monday, Nov. 6, at the school administration building in Ashburn. See details for the plans and sign up to speak at lcps.org; click on the “School Attendance Boundaries” link. dnadler@loudounnow.com

admin@middleburghumane.org

(540) 364-3272 www.middleburghumane.org Contributed

Danielle Nadler, Loudoun Now managing editor, poses with some of the stars in Rock Ridge High School’s production of “The Addams Family.”

gram helped Rock Ridge gain national attention. A founding member of the Loudoun Now staff, Nadler has covered education, politics and general news in Loudoun for the past six years. During Friday’s event, she also signed copies of her novel, “Without a Trace: The Life of Sierra Phantom.”

Duncan and his mom were brought to MHF from a feral colony. Another facility was performing a TNR trapping when they found that she had a litter of kittens under a bush. The mom cat and kittens were brought to MHF where we provided care for them for the last 5 1/2 months. Duncan and two other kittens from that litter (Sophia & Drika) are still available for adoption. He is neutered and UTD on all vaccines and deworming, combo tested and has received a microchip.

Willy was abandoned on the front porch of a disabled woman. The mom cat and her litter of kittens were left in a laundry basket to fend for themselves. Once found, the cats were brought to MHF for care. All other cats were adopted but Willy and Rayland, his brother, still remain in foster care for the last four months looking for their forever home. Neutered, UTD on medical, microchipped, tested etc. Socialized with children.

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Rock Ridge Cites Nadler for ‘Inspirational’ Reporting

in part because it would likely provide the most stability for families in Dulles South neighborhoods moving forward. As they drafted both of the plans, staff members said they took into consideration that a new elementary school (ES-29) is scheduled to open just south of Braddock Road in 2023, and they wanted to avoid changing school assignments for neighborhoods that will again be reassigned in five years. Board Chairman Jeff Morse (Dulles) said that he was also working on a proposal of his own. His plan, which will likely be called Plan 3, would move even fewer students in the neighborhoods surrounding the future site of ES-29. “Knowing ES-29 is in the Buffalo Trail [Elementary] footprint, anyone

Nov. 2 – 8, 2017

The Loudoun County School Board held its first work session for attendance boundary changes for elementary schools in the southern end of the county this week. School assignments need to be adjusted in that area to make room for Goshen Post Elementary School, set to open next to John Champe High School along Northstar Boulevard next

fall, and to provide relief to some of the county’s most crowded schools. The changes could impact students at five Dulles South elementary schools: Buffalo Trail, Hutchison Farm, Liberty, Little River, and Pinebrook. At a work session Monday, board members asked for more details on the two proposals school system staff members have drafted, Plan 1 and Plan 2. Most board members agreed that Plan 1 seemed to be the best option,

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Lucketts classrooms << FROM 24

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Lucketts Elementary kindergartner Kaitlyn Bailey stands at the side of her father, Danny, as he asks the School Board to fund a classroom addition.

plant that serves Lucketts Elementary and two county facilities: the Lucketts Community Center and the Lucketts Volunteer Fire Department’s station. It will also serve a new fire station that is under construction. Assistant Superintendent of Support Services Kevin Lewis said it would be ideal to replace the water treatment plant at the same time the classrooms are being added to the elementary school. “We would propose doing them together because it would mean less disruption on the site,” he said. Supervisors are scheduled to begin talks about how to spend county dollars left over from last fiscal year within the next few weeks. dnadler@loudounnow.com

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needs each year when the School Board adopts its Capital Improvement Program. Funding the classroom addition with money left over from the fiscal year that ended in June as opposed to the School Board’s 2019-2024 CIP accelerates the project by several years. Hornberger said since his colleagues wanted to fast-track the Lucketts project, it’s meant they haven’t had time to look at the best solutions. “I’m still scrambling to try to get what the need is and what the best solution is, not just for the Lucketts community but all other communities,” he said. Reassigning some students to Waterford Elementary School, which is operating at just more than half its capacity, is an option worth considering, Hornberger added. “There is available capacity there, and we just added a policy that says if we can rezone to make full-day kindergarten an option to consider doing that.” In her comments, Rose said, “I do not doubt that there is definite need, as there is at a lot of our older schools. … I just disagree with the process.” Eric DeKenipp (Catoctin), who represents the Lucketts area, said his colleagues have had almost a year to look at various solutions. “This is well thought out, well quantified and makes good common and fiscal sense,” he said. Last year, the School Board requested about $7 million in county surplus funds for textbooks, buses, and an artificial turf field for Heritage High School. The year before that, Rose helped lead an effort to have county fund balance dollars earmarked for improvements at Potomac Falls High School, including two classroom trailers and an artificial turf field. “Folks, I’m asking for classrooms to teach kids. Not turf fields,” DeKenipp said, referring to previous years’ funding requests. “This is not a cosmetic issue. It isn’t trying to make the school pretty. It’s not bumping them up on a priority list,” Chairman Jeff Morse (Dulles) said. “It is addressing a capacity issue right away.” The School Board is also requesting $3.9 million of the county’s year-end surplus to replace a wastewater treatment

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[ NONPROFIT ] Belfort Furniture’s Huber Receives Good Scout Award LOUDOUN NOW STAFF REPORT Michael Huber, CEO and founder of Belfort Furniture in Sterling, has been awarded the 2017 Goose Creek District Good Scout Award. Huber received the award during an Oct. 26 reception in his honor at another of his ventures, Stone Tower Winery south of Leesburg. “The Good Scout award honors outstanding leaders who exemplify the ideals of the Scout Oath and Law in their daily life,” said Kristina Bouweiri, president and CEO of Reston Limousine, chairman of this year’s event. “We are privileged to recognize a role model within the furniture retailing business and the Loudoun community.” Good Scout Huber supports the good works of many area organizations including Every Citizen Has Opportunities, the Loudoun YMCA, the Loudoun Education Foundation, the Loudoun Abused Women’s Shelter, and the USO, among others. The Good Scout Award recognizes a local leader for his or her contributions to the community and raises funds to support the Goose Creek District Boy Scouts. The Goose Creek District serves the 4,000 participants in the scouting program in Loudoun County. Huber joins community leaders who have received the award since it was first bestowed in 1998, including Del. J. Randall Minchew (R-10), former schools superintendent Edgar Hat-

[ NOTES ] Candy Give-Back Benefits Troops Kids are invited to share some of their Halloween candy with U.S. troops and first-responders this week. They can drop off their goodies and handwritten letters of gratitude to troops and first-responders at Winwood Children’s Center, 43244 Hay Road in Ashburn, Wednesday through Friday. The candy and letters will be shipped to Operation Gratitude, which will send them all in care packages to service members deployed overseas and to first-responders serving here at home.

Not-Your-Kid’s Spelling Bee Raises $17.5K

Contributed

Michael Huber, CEO and founder of Belfort Furniture in Sterling, accepts the 2017 Goose Creek District Good Scout Award.

rick, former delegate Joe May, J. Hamilton Lambert of the Claude Moore Charitable Foundation, Leonard “Hobie” Mitchel of Lansdowne Development Group, former Leesburg mayor Bob Sevila, Scott Hamberger of Fortessa Tableware Solutions, Jeff Browning of Browning Equipment, John Wood of Telos, and Bill Dean of

M.C. Dean. The Good Scout Award event is one of the Goose Creek District’s most significant fundraisers of the year, the proceeds of which support leadership and character development programs for young men and women in Loudoun.

The highly anticipated NotYour-Kid’s Spelling Bee, held Oct. 26, raised about $17,500 for the Loudoun Literacy Council. A team from Janelia Research Center won first place, followed by a team from VW. The event’s celebrity judges were Loudoun County Public Libraries Director Chang Liu, Loudoun Chamber CEO Tony Howard, Superintendent of Schools Eric Williams, and Leesburg Mayor Kelly Burk. NOTES >> 29

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Loudoun’s largest annual food drive will be held Saturday, Nov. 11, but collection efforts begin this weekend. Area Cub Scout packs and Boy Scout troops on Saturday will distribute white plastic collection bags to homes around the county. The bags are preprinted with instructions of a list of food items needed to replenish the stockrooms of eight area food pantries. They’ll come back the next Saturday to collect donations and deliver them to eight collection sites around the county. The donations will be transported and sorted by the scouts at Catholic Charities, Leesburg; the Dulles South Food Pantry, Arcola; LINK, Sterling; Loudoun Hunger Relief, behind the South King Street Rite-Aid in Leesburg; Messiah’s Market, Ashburn; Seven Loaves, Middleburg; Tree of Life, Purcellville; and the Western Loudoun Food Pantry, Lovettsville.

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Loudoun County-based 100WomenStrong is now accepting applications for grant funding. Nonprofit organizations that serve Loudoun residents and wish to be considered for this grant cycle must submit a Letter of Intent by 5 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 30. 100WomenStrong is a group of concerned area residents and business people who strategically support organizations and programs that enhance the lives of Loudoun residents. Its grants fund programs that address issues in the following areas: health, hunger, education, shelter. Letters of Intent should include: the name and purpose of the organization; dollar amount of grant request; description of the proposed project; and

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Loudoun Now reporter and the voice of the Morning Minute podcast Renss Greene served as emcee. Margaret Brown, a member of the Loudoun Literacy Council’s board of directors, said the event drew about 80 people. “And they were smart,” she added. “We threw in a round of words that we required people to spell backward, and they got them all right!” She said Loudoun Literacy will likely host another “bee with a twist” in 2018. The organization provides free and low-cost language courses, as well as one-on-one tutoring, to individuals and families. Learn more at loudounliteracy.org.

an explanation of the importance of the proposed project to Loudoun residents. They can be no more than one page in length, in 11-point font or larger, and should be emailed to LettersofIntent@ onehundredwomenstrong.org as a PDF attachment with the name of the organization in the subject line of the email. Organizations that submit a Letter of Intent will be notified of the status of their applications by Jan. 2, 2018. See more details about the grant application process at onehundredwomenstrong.org.

Nov. 2 – 8, 2017

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[ BIZ ]

[ BIZ BRIEFS ] Faye Lane Featured at VA Women’s Conference

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Douglas Graham/Loudoun Now

Bike TrAle Brewing co-owner Greg Perlberg says he and business partner Bruce Forbes’ initial goal in opening their downtown Leesburg brewery is “to have fun.” Bike TrAle opened over the weekend with a selection of five beers, a few of which are seasonal favorites.

Bike TrAle Brewing Rolling in Leesburg

BY KARA C. RODRIGUEZ

owntown Leesburg’s exploding craft brewing scene gained another addition last weekend, with the opening of Bike TrAle Brewing. Owners Greg Perlberg and Bruce Forbes were former coworkers in the IT/defense industry looking for a business opportunity. “We initially thought we wanted to [only] grow hops,” Perlberg said. “But when we started looking into the hops industry, the complexity was greater

than what we wanted to get ourselves involved with.” Instead the duo turned to the land— Forbes’ land north of Morven Park, to be exact. There, they could grow all the ingredients they needed to produce beer, including some hops. Conveniently, Forbes also owned a building in downtown Leesburg, at 101 Loudoun St. SE, nestled between the busy King Street area and the Market Station retail center, with parking right across the street. So, Forbes and Perlberg settled on opening Bike TrAle Brewing, and it was a quick process—from idea in-

ception to doors opening, about 10 months. The name of the brewery is a nod to Perlberg’s love of cycling and fits in nicely with the proximity to the W&OD Trail and the easy access to Northern Virginia’s avid cycling community. As bike trails accommodate everyone—from runners to cycling enthusiasts to casual walkers—so is the goal at Bike TrAle, Perlberg said. “We wanted to have a wide variety of beers, because there are a wide variety of palates,” he said. “I have friends who BIKE TRALE >> 32

Equinix Celebrates Growing Footprint in Data Alley BY NORMAN K. STYER Almost 600 people joined last Thursday’s grand opening celebration for Loudoun’s newest data center. Built by Equinix, a pioneer of Ashburn’s Data Center Alley, DC12 is a $98.5 million, LEED-Gold certified facility supporting the ever-growing demand for interconnection capacity from companies and government agencies. As its name indicates, it is the 12th data center and most advanced Equinix has built in the DC market. It is located just down the road from DC1, developed in 1998 at the dawn of the internet age. With the addition of DC12 and the acquisition of 29 data centers from Verizon last spring, including two in the DC area, Equinix now operates 14 data centers in the region. Equinix has invested almost $1 billion in the region and has purchased 34.5 acres in Ashburn for future expansion. Four more data centers can

Norman K. Styer/Loudoun Now

Matthew Douglas, the director of Cloud & Solutions Architecture for Smithfield, left, talks with Equinix President Karl Strohmeyer.

be built on the DC12 campus, just off Loudoun County Parkway. Thursday’s five-hour grand opening ceremony was attended by county

government leaders, technology executives and other business leaders—and a roster of customer prospects who are EQUINIX >> 32

The ninth annual Virginia Women’s Business Conference will be held Friday, Dec. 1, at Lansdowne Resort and Spa. The day-long event is designed for visionary women who want to discover the tools for success, make strategic business connections and leave feeling empowered and inspired to take action. “This year’s conference features an amazing line-up of speakers and panel members. Women who attend will find this day to be transformative and inspiring, whether they are already leaders in their field or desire to be more successful. We offer eight personal or professional tracks to align with your personal and professional goals and help you grow,” said Tina Johnson, president and CEO of JP Events & Consulting, organizer of the event. The keynote speaker is Faye Lane, a New York-based writer and performer who draws big crowds across the country to hear her blend of story and song. The conference also includes personal and professional tracks and the new Mastermind Roundtable Talks featuring some of the area’s most influential and successful women. Throughout the day, prominent women in the areas of personal health, lifestyle, business development, marketing, social media and personal development will make presentations. For details and tickets, go to virginiawomensbusinessconference.com.

CNBC to Feature Woofies Ashburn-based Woofie’s is being featured on CNBC’s new docuseries, “The Job Interview,” which follows employers going through the hiring process. The show captures Woofie’s hiring managers seeking a new groomer, a specialized position difficult to fill in the DC market where unemployment is low. The Woofie’s segment will run sometime during the 10-episode season, which starts Nov. 8. Woofie’s, a full-service pet care business, was started in 2004 by Amy Reed and Leslie Barron. Since then, the company has grown to serve thousands of people and their pets while offering both pet sitting and mobile pet spa services. Learn more about the show at cnbc.com/the-job-interview.

StoneSprings Accredited in Nuclear Medicine StoneSprings Hospital Center has been awarded a three-year accreditation in nuclear medicine as the result of a recent BIZ BRIEFS >> 33

Nov. 2 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 8, 2017 LOUDOUN NOW | NEWS |

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Nov. 2 – 8, 2017

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Bike TrAle

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expected to help fill the vacant server cabinets. It included the presentation of a $15,000 donation to the Boulder Crest Retreat for military veterans and first responders in Bluemont. Equinix President Karl Strohmeyer explained the company’s focus on delivering customers the best connections to the world’s top cloud platforms including AWS, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud Platform and Oracle Cloud. Matthew Douglas, the director of Cloud & Solutions Architecture for Virginia’s Smithfield, touted the importance of the Equinix architecture as his company continues to diversify. “We used to just look at bacon. That’s what things were—bacon and ribs,” Douglas said. Today, Smithfield is involved in bioscience and genetics— making everything from insulin to skin grafts made from pig skin—in 45 plants across the country. Smithfield had little focus on technology when Douglas joined the company to find 11-year-old computer systems. “I was told we can do our business with a pencil,” Douglas said. “If you’re still doing business with a pencil, you’re going to be out of business.” “The next guy is going to come in and do predictive analytics, machine learning [and] the internet of things,” he said “Our competitors, they’re not there yet. We were the first ones there leveraging these technologies.” Jon Lin, Equinix’s vice president of

Lin says there is no end in sight for growth in Loudoun’s Data Center Alley, but it’s not just your Netflix stream or Amazon shopping cart that will be driving it. “The appetite to consume more data and figure out how to analyze it to gain insights is not slowing down at all. Instead it is actually accelerating,” he said. “Now that people are seeing the initial use cases that they can do with that data and saying ‘Oh, I can apply this to 15 different areas of my business. I need to start collecting that data.’” Increasing demand for more complex real-time analytics will further drive the demand for interconnected services, he said. That’s a demand Strohmeyer said his company is ready to meet for years to come.

are Bud Light drinkers and others who like over-the-top stouts.” While they eventually aim to expand to 12 taps, Bike TrAle begins with an eclectic five-tap selection in a nod to a variety of tastes, as well as seasonal influences. An Oktoberfest, a pumpkin ale, a coffee stout, a Belgian ale and, Forbes’ favorite, a red ale, round out the initial offerings. Forbes and Perlberg have hopes of producing a beer made entirely with the ingredients on Forbes’ farm. Customers may sample a beer flight, a pint, or a 12-ounce pour, with growler fills to soon be offered. In addition to the indoor seating, outdoor seating in the back will be added, and customers may also use the front porch for their imbibing. With their brewery doors open, Perlberg, a South Riding resident, said his and Forbes’ initial goal is “to have fun.” “If we’re having fun we can look at the opportunities to scale the biz if it makes us feel good, or if we feel happy we’ll stay at the level we’re at,” he said. “We want to make sure we’re having fun doing what we’re doing.” The brewery is open 5-9 p.m. Fridays; noon to 9 p.m. Saturdays; and noon to 6 p.m. Sundays, and will also open for some holidays. For more information, go to facebook.com/BikeTrAleBrewing.

nstyer@loudounnow.com

krodriguez@loudounnow.com

Norman K. Styer/Loudoun Now

The first phase of Equinix’s DC12 data center includes 1,500 cabinets that soon will be filled with servers.

Corporate Development and Strategy, said the strategy of providing interconnected service was the company’s hallmark since its founding two decades ago—at a time when many consumers still used dial-up modem connections to get online and advanced businesses used T1 lines and clunky VPN technology. “How do those networks connect to each other? How does an AT&T customer talk to a Verizon customer? How does AOL as a service provider talk to any of those internet customers,” Lin said. “So, the idea was, let’s get everybody together into one facility. Everybody can pull their networks into one place and then you can connect to any of those networks from that spot.” From that beginning at DC1, Equinix now operates 190 data centers in 48 metro areas and 24 countries and services 10,000 customers.

[ BIZ BRIEFS ]

Club Pilates opened its latest studio at 47100 Community Plaza in Potomac Falls last week. The new studio offers members total body workouts that help with posture, balance, flexibility and strength. Discounted memberships will be offered through mid-November for the first three months. The 2,400-square-foot studio will host dozens of group classes using a variety of equipment, including reform-

Juan J. Garcia is the new executive director of sales at The National Conference Center. He will be responsible for leading The National’s 14-member sales team. “We are delight- Garcia ed to add Juan to our highly regarded executive team,” stated Chuck Ocheltree, chief marketing officer. “Juan’s vast experience in sales and marketing will be a huge asset to our already successful sales program at The National.” The Ashburn resident has more than 35 years of hotel experience. He will be responsible for leading and mentoring the sales team as it collaborates with clients, applying The National’s “whatever-it-takes” approach to the special needs of each client. Contact Garcia at 703-714-5984 or jgarcia@conferencecenter.com.

Saturday, Nov. 18, 2017 8 p.m. Tuscarora High School 801 N. King Street Leesburg, VA 20176 The Capitol Steps, a Washington DC-based comedy troupe that began as a group of Senate Staffers, will present a show based on songs from their current album “Orange is the new Barack.” A Washington, DC institution for over thirty years, they provide a unique blend of musical and political comedy. Each show consists of tasteful lampooning guaranteed to leave both sides of the political spectrum laughing.

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survey by the American College of Radiology. Nuclear medicine is a branch of medical imaging that uses small amounts of radioactive material to diagnose and treat a variety of disease, including many types of cancers, heart disease and certain other abnormalities within the body. The accreditation is awarded to facilities meeting ACR Practice Parameters and Technical Standards after a peer-review evaluation by board-certified physicians and medical physicists who are experts in the field. Image quality, personnel qualifications, adequacy of facility equipment, quality control procedures and quality assurance programs are assessed. This marks the fifth ACR accreditation that the hospital, which opened in late 2015, has earned.

ers, EXO chairs, TRX, springboard and Barre. Private and semi-private lessons also are offered. The Potomac Falls location is owned by Vince Black, a 24-year U.S. Navy veteran. For more information, go to clubpilates.com/potomacfalls or call 571525-2282.

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Negotiations with bidders for management of the Fireman’s Field complex are ongoing, with an end-of-the-year deadline in sight.

Fireman’s Field Negotiations Continue as Deadline Approaches

BY PATRICK SZABO urcellville residents will see new management at Fireman’s Field by the start of next year, but it remains unclear what those changes will

bring. The current lease with the Loudoun County Department of Parks, Recreation and Community Services expires Dec. 31. Rather than renew it, the Town Council is searching for a firm to manage the 15.89-acre complex and, ideally, have the property generate more income for the town. The town received one bid, which is under review by an administrative team, made up of staff from finance, legal and public works. Play to Win, which operates the Evergreen Sportsplex south of Leesburg, Lifeview Real Estate and nonprofit organization ECHO (Every Citizen Has Opportunities) teamed up for the proposal to manage operations at Fireman’s Field, Bush Tabernacle, Haske Field and Dillon’s Woods. The town had talks with the bidders last week and a best and final offer will be presented to town council on Nov. 14,

Fireman’s Field Wi-Fi Up and Running BY PATRICK SZABO

Nov. 2 – 8, 2017

according to Councilman Ryan Cool. “Town staff, both past and present, all agreed, with council as well, that the approach we are taking is the best approach for the town,” Cool said. The county has leased the property since 1984, even before the town acquired it. Cool said a key concern is that the complex needs upgrades that the county’s parks department isn’t willing to pay for. He said a private-sector contract could address that and expand use of the property. “There’s so many things that we can do,” Cool said. “Why don’t we utilize the facilities?” Although the county pays the town nothing to lease the property, it has made $600,000 in upgrades to the control booth, storage buildings and maintenance shed. The town does, however, receive some revenue from the complex. The Purcellville Teen Center, which is under contract to manage operations at Bush Tabernacle until October 2020, pays the town $31,200 annually in rent—the town’s only contractual revenue stream from the complex. If the town brings in a

Purcellville’s effort to roll out a town-wide Wi-Fi program is beginning to make progress. A Wi-Fi pilot program at Fireman’s Field was implemented last weekend, providing free internet for visitors to the complex. Although town IT Director Shannon Bohince said he didn’t have any statistics yet, he was happy with the performance he saw. “I’ve gotten as high as 30 [Mbps] on upload speeds and around 20 on download speeds,” he said. “It really just depends on your location.” With four antennas—three around the Fireman’s Field stadium and one on the press box in center field—Bohince said the Wi-Fi’s range extends

from Dillon’s Woods to halfway between the complex and Town Hall. “I was really pleased with the coverage that we’re getting over there,” he said. To access the Wi-Fi, users must be in range, join the “Fireman’s Field” network and accept the terms and conditions on a login page. No password is required. Vice Mayor Nedim Ogelman was one of the pilot program’s initial users. He and Councilwoman Karen Jimmerson have been spearheading the effort to expand internet alternatives in town. “It’s a starting point for us,” Ogelman said. “Our objective is to help our town’s business and citizens.” Bohince is working with food, sou-

Purcellvile Sets Deadline for Grim Replacement Candidates BY PATRICK SZABO

venir and ticket vendors to set up a system that would allow them to use the internet service for credit card transactions during an event at the complex. While this is a slow time at Fireman’s Field, the Wi-Fi system will remain active through the winter. More testing will be done in spring, when larger crowds show up. The town’s plans to install a similar system at the water plant are also under development, Bohince said, starting with a feasibility study. “We are still looking at ways of building our internal infrastructure,” he said. “We’re still pursuing that.” He estimated this part of the project would take about a year to complete.

Purcellville Councilwoman Kelli Grim will resign from her seat, effective Friday. The formal announcement came two weeks after Grim said her family might have to move out of state. “It’s a bittersweet farewell to have to leave,” she said during last week’s meeting. “It’s very important to me … that this council and the citizens do not forget where we came from.” Town council voted unanimously Oct. 24 to move forward with the process for appointing an interim councilmember. In this case, the council can make an appointment rather than holding a special election because Grim’s resignation came after the midpoint of her term, which ends June 30. The seat will be one of three council positions, along with the mayor’s seat, on the ballot during the May 1 town elections. Under Virginia law, the council has 45 days from the vacancy date to make the appointment. If they fail to do so, the Circuit Court would step in. Applications for the interim council position are due at 5 p.m. Monday, Nov. 6. A special town council meeting will follow during which the council will review applications in a closed session and up to four candidates will be selected for interviews. Another special meeting will be held at 5 p.m. Nov. 14 before the town council meeting for council to conduct interviews in open session and make an appointment. According to Director of Administration Hooper McCann, the town could work with Clerk of the Loudoun Circuit Court Gary Clemens to set up a swearing in of the interim councilmember that night or the next day. Council is following an interim councilmember appointment process adopted in February 2016 that sets forth requirements, including the number of candidates to interview, the interview process and the timeframe to make an appointment.

pszabo@loudounnow.com

new firm to manage all operations within the Fireman’s Field complex, it could terminate the teen center’s contract three years early. According to Purcellville Teen Center President Phil Message, the center has been left in the dark about the negotiations and could be pushed out altogether. Last spring, Message told the council he was interested in continuing to operate the skating rink and teen center, but was not interested in taking on management of the larger complex. Message said he has been in contact with Shaun Alexander, the former NFL running back who runs Lifeview Real Estate. “We are hopeful that we will eventually be part of the team,” Message said. “[Alexander] said if the town awarded him the contract, he would then have further discussions with us to consider our role.” With only two town council meetings left in 2017 and negotiations with the bidders ongoing, the town might have to call special meetings to finalize the deal before January. pszabo@loudounnow.com

[ TOWN BRIEFS ] Lovettsville Considers Banning Out-of-Service Vehicles

Coming Up: Catoctin Holiday Art Tour Lovettsville is gearing up for the seventh annual Catoctin Holiday Art Tour, which takes place Saturday, Nov. 11 and Sunday, Nov. 12. The 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. driving tour will take visitors to eight studios, featuring 22 artists. Potters, printmakers, jewelry makers, fiber artists and metal workers will welcome visitors to stop by their studios to learn about their art and make a purchase. Many artists will also provide food and wine from local vendors. While all studios are located around Lovettsville, only one is in town. The tour will take visitors from Morrisonville to the Potomac River. Find more information on the artists and a map of the tour at catoctinart. com.

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With Purcellville Chief of Police Cynthia McAlister now on leave from her post for more than a month, her status remains uncertain. But that may change this week. The Town Council planned a closed meeting Wednesday night, after this newspaper’s deadline, to discuss “the performance and possible discipline of an employee of the town police department.” Interim Town Manager Alex Vanegas confirmed Oct. 6 that McAlister had been placed on administrative leave, but

The Town Council last week unanimously approved Blue Ridge Veterinary Associates’ plans to build a larger practice in the Mayfair Industrial Park. The property is on Shepherdstown Court, off Purcellville Road and less than a mile north of the vet’s current location. According to Bowman Consulting Group Principal Mark Baker, the two buildings the veterinary clinic currently uses on Cornwell Lane are close to capacity and the expansion will provide room for additional services, including animal day care, a dog swimming pool,

animal physical therapy and a photography studio. Because the animal day care portion of the building would function as a kennel, the plans required a special use permit and council review. “The remaining uses that they’re planning to use the building for are permitted by right,” said Purcellville Senior Planner Erin Goodrich. The applicant said noise shouldn’t be a problem because the closest home would also be at least 215 feet away. “The distance between the residential and the building. That’s very positive,” Councilwoman Kelli Grim said. “I highly support this.”

Council Calls Closed Meeting on Police Position

Blue Ridge Vet Kennel Plans Approved

The Lovettsville Town Council is considering adopting a stricter rule that would require residents to remove inoperable vehicles stored on their lawns. The rule on the books prohibits the storage of more than five inoperable vehicles. If adopted, the new rule would prohibit residents from keeping inoperable vehicles on their property except in enclosed structures or otherwise shielded from public view. The town would issue a violation notice and a separate offense would apply for every 10-day period the vehicle is not removed. A civil ticket in Lovettsville is initially $200 and $500 for subsequent citations. Lovettsville resident Nicholas Frederickson addressed the council at its Oct. 26 meeting, saying the town would be encroaching on residents’ rights to own and maintain personal property. “There aren’t any inoperable vehicles speeding through town,” he said. “It’s not like they’re hurting anybody.” Zoning Administrator Joshua Bateman, said broken-down vehicles can be a neighborhood nuisance and hurt real estate values. “These things do have real financial, monetary implications,” Bateman said. “It’s not intended to deprive anybody of their personal property.” The Planning Commission will review suggestions before the proposal returns to the Town Council on Nov. 16.

said she had used her personal leave that week. He and Town Council members declined to provide any details about the situation. Last Tuesday, Vanegas said he met with McAlister on Oct. 17 and that he would provide an update on her status as soon as he had more information. Mayor Kwasi Fraser said he had taken himself out of the process. “I’m looking for something by next week at the latest,” he said. “I want to understand … where we stand with the chief following the administrative leave.” Lt. Joe Schroeck has been serving as acting chief.

Nov. 2 – 8, 2017

LOVETTSVILLE

[ LOCO LIVING ]

[ THINGS TO DO ]

Nov. 2 – 8, 2017

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LOCO CULTURE LEESBURG FIRST FRIDAY Friday, Nov. 3, 6-9 p.m.; downtown Leesburg. Details: leesburgfirstfriday.com Stroll downtown Leesburg’s bustling streets for live music, gallery openings, wine tastings and restaurant specials.

ARTIST’S RECEPTION: P. BUCKLEY MOSS Friday, Nov. 3, 6-9 p.m. and Saturday, Nov. 4, 11 a.m.-2 p.m.; Medlin Gallery, 2 Loudoun St. SE, Leesburg. Contact: 703-771-8696 The Virginia-based artist is nationally known for her simple, homespun landscapes, floral and animal prints and portraits. She’ll be at Medlin to meet fans both Friday and Saturday at her annual Leesburg show.

Douglas Graham/Loudoun Now

Chef Britt Scholler’s creativity and energy can be seen on O’Faolain’s Irish Pub’s new menu. Her twist on pub fare includes pork belly bites, meatballs with bacon jam and a curried crème fraîche.

Spotlight on Chefs:

O’Faolain’s Britt Scholler

BY JAN MERCKER

or more than a dozen years, O’Faolain’s Irish Pub and Restaurant in Sterling has been a local favorite, serving up classic Irish comfort food like shepherd’s pie and Guinness stew. This year, the restaurant brought on an innovative young chef to update the menu with fun seasonal specials. With her high energy and red hair, 32-yearold chef Britt Scholler fits right in at the family-oriented pub. And while the Irish classics on the menu aren’t going anywhere, regulars and newcomers alike are getting a taste of Scholler’s fresh twists on Irish cuisine. Scholler, an Indiana native, is a former volunteer with Ashburn Volunteer Fire and Rescue and mom to two girls, ages 3 and 5. Loudoun Now: What are some of the things you’re doing to update the menu? Britt Scholler: We’re bringing a new idea to what pub food is ... I trained using classical techniques, but I like doing modern classical, so I like using ideas from Irish cuisine like root vegetables and fresh ingredients and doing things simple but elevated. ... We have wings and onion rings but you can also come in and get a lobster tail on a Friday or Saturday. That’s where I’m going with the specials—bringing that comfort food but a little bit more elevated. For the new menu, we’re going to be doing pork belly bites, meatballs with bacon jam and a curried crème fraîche. I have a gluten-free meatloaf that’s going on the menu that’s very homey and very nice. … We’re doing a Jameson-glazed steak with a pickled red cabbage. It’s a little bit sweet and gives you a little bit of home and it’s

still very Irish. We got a new idea from [bar manager] Francis [Thornton] to take the Irish boxty, which is a potato pancake, and make it a waffle, and we did chicken and waffles. It was a fun, homey dish, and it went over very well when we did a test run. LN: How does seasonal cooking fit in with what you’re doing? Scholler: For fall, I’m doing a butternut squash ravioli with sausage in a brown butter sauce with bacon and pomegranate seeds, so we’re really bringing those fall flavors out. I’m also doing a beet pasta—any of the specialty pastas I make here, so I get to experiment. I look at what’s in season and what flavors go with the season and that’s what I base my specials on. LN: Tell us about your background. Scholler: I’ve been working in restaurants for 14 years. I’ve worked just about every position in a restaurant. I started professionally cooking four years ago, but I always knew I wanted to be a chef. When I was 15, my grandmother was opening a restaurant and interviewing chefs so I got to see the whole process and I was like, “This is what I want to do.” I’m originally from Indiana, which is where I went to culinary school. It was an excellent program at Ivy Tech Community College in Muncie. I was top of my class and was on a competition team. It was a really great experience. ... I started off working catering in Muncie as a line cook and then I went to a restaurant called Grains & Grill in Fairmount, Indiana, which is James Dean’s hometown. They’ve been doing really well and have gotten some recognition. Then I moved to West Palm Beach and worked for a restau-

rant called Bowery under a Michelin-starred chef and learned a lot as the sous [chef] there. It’s been a crazy but great adventure. LN: What made O’Faolain’s a good fit for you? Scholler: I love that we are a very small, dedicated crew. It is very much like family. It’s amazing. We all work together to make it happen and that’s important—the family aspect and the team aspect. We’d all go to bat for each other in a heartbeat. It’s atmosphere and community. We have a great atmosphere and we involve everyone. LN: Would you say Irish food is fun to work with? Scholler: I get to be very creative. [Irish food] can be kind of bland but it’s very comforting. I just take that comfort food aspect and the ideas of fresh ingredients like root vegetables and incorporate it into what I’m doing. LN: The culinary industry is a field that’s still guy-heavy. How has that been for you in your career? Scholler: I worked very hard to get to where I am and I never viewed it as a competition. I’m just going to do what I do, and I’m going to be the best at what I do. That was the attitude I’ve always had. I’ve definitely been in some kitchens where I’ve had some male bosses who were not particularly respectful towards female chefs, but they got over it. It’s a learning experience. I’ve been in kitchens where I’ve had people yell at me and throw things at me. It’s not pleasant but it’s one of those things where if you demand the respect you get it, and I’ve always demanded the respect. CHEF >> 40

ARTIST’S RECEPTION: PATTEE HIPSCHEN AND CARRIE ALTHOUSE Friday, Nov. 3, 6-9 p.m.; The Cooley Gallery, 9 N. King St., Leesburg. Details: thecooleygallery.com Cooley kicks off November with a spotlight on painter Pattee Hipschen, whose current passion is luminous renderings of trees, and potter Carrie Althouse. Admission is free.

APPALACHIAN STOMP Saturday, Nov. 4, 8:30 a.m.-8 p.m.; Carver Center, 200 E. Willie Palmer Way, Purcellville. Details: brtc.us Blue Ridge Thunder Cloggers’ annual clogging extravaganza is a Loudoun tradition. This year, noted instructor Josh King joins local teachers for a day of fun and learning for experts and newbies alike. Registration is $20 in advance, $25 at the door.

CONNECTING OUR COMMUNITY EXPO Saturday, Nov. 4, 10 a.m.-2 p.m.; Douglass Community Center, 405 E. Market St., Leesburg. Details: lcacdst.org This free event offers health checkups and connects participants with resources in the community including business, legal services and advocacy organizations. There will also be music, raffles and healthy snacks. Admission is free.

CHILI COOK-OFF AND RUMMAGE SALE Saturday, Nov. 4, noon-4 p.m.; Church of Our Saviour, Oatlands, 20340 James Monroe Highway, Leesburg. Details: oursaviouroatlands.org This fun event features chili, a rummage and craft sale, music and games to benefit the church’s building fund. Admission is $5 per car.

TASTE OF THE SEASON FALL FOOD FESTIVAL Saturday, Nov. 4, 1-5 p.m.; West Belmont Place at The National, 18980 Upper Belmont Place, Leesburg. Details: seasonstaste.

MORE THINGS TO DO >> 38

Nov. 2 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 8, 2017

loudounnow.com

7/25/2017 1:45:53 PM

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[ THINGS TO DO ]

loudounnow.com

<< FROM 36 eventbrite.com

Celebrate fall with food and wine pairings, live music, games and a Junior Chef competition for children 6 to 16. Admission is $25 for adults and $12 for youth ages 6 to 20. Registration for the junior chef competition is $20. Advance registration is required.

A Tribute to Bon Jovi:

Slipper When Wet

11/04/17 Doors 7:00PM

Crack the Sky 11/10/17 Doors: 7:00PM

Red Not Chili Peppers

11/11/17 Doors: 7:00PM

Eric Gales 11/16/17 Doors 7:00PM

Tribute to Neil Young:

Broken Arrow

11/17/17 Doors 7:00PM

Kid Brother

W/Milo & The Doldrums & Bluewreck 11/18/17 Doors 7:00PM

LOUDOUN SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA CONDUCTOR SHOWCASE Saturday, Nov. 4, 7:30 pm.; Broad Run High School, 21670 Ashburn Road, Ashburn. Details: loudounsymphony.org As LSO concludes its search for a new conductor, the orchestra hosts a series of concerts showcasing the three finalists. The first in the series features conductor Nancia D’Alimonte conducting favorite pieces by Mendelssohn, Saint-Saëns and Tchaikovsky. Tickets are $30 for adults and $25 for seniors. Children 12 and under are free but must be ticketed.

HOLISTIC ENERGY EXPO Sunday, Nov. 5, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; Ashburn Farm Clubhouse, 21400 Windmill Drive, Ashburn. Details: mediumannielarson.com This free event offers attendees a chance to check out holistic healing opportunities including massage therapy and reiki and connect with psychics, mediums and card readers. Vendors will be on hand with crystals, cards and holistic products for sale.

BRIDAL OPEN HOUSE Sunday, Nov. 5, 1-5 p.m.; Bogati Winery, 35246 Harry Byrd Highway, Round Hill. Details: bogatibodega.com Check out this rustic chic venue and meet vendors including caterers, hotels, floral

designers and bakers. Event is free and open to the public.

1BOOK 1COMMUNITY: THANHHA LAI Tuesday, Nov. 8, 7 p.m.; Briar Woods High School, 22525 Belmont Ridge Road, Ashburn. Details: library.loudoun.gov The award-winning author visits Loudoun to discuss her book, “Inside Out and Back Again,” this year’s selection for Loudoun County Public Library’s 1Book 1Community program. The event is free and open to the public.

FUN FOR A CAUSE LOUDOUN COUNTY 5K RACE FOR THE HOMELESS Saturday, Nov. 4, 9 a.m.; Stone Bridge High School, 43100 Hay Road Ashburn. Details: mobilehopeloudoun.org Lace up your running shoes to benefit Mobile Hope and The Loudoun Homeless Service Center/Volunteers of America. Race day registration is $40 for adults, $25 for students 18 and under.

AS5K Sunday, Nov. 5, 10 a.m.; Westpark Golf Club, 59 Clubhouse Drive, Leesburg. Details: as5k.com This wild and crazy 5K features golf putting, pong tossing, dart throwing and cornhole to benefit Fisher House. Registration is $45 per person and includes a fun after-party. All participants must be part of two-person teams.

LRR BOULDER CREST FUNDRAISER Friday, Nov. 3, 6-10 p.m.; Black Walnut Brewery, 210 S. King St., Leesburg. Details: loudounroadrunners.org Loudoun Road Runners hosts a fundraiser

for Boulder Crest Retreat, and participants can also register for the Nov. 12 10K to benefit Boulder Crest. Admission is free.

NIGHTLIFE LIVE MUSIC: AFTER PARIS Friday, Nov. 3, 6:30-8:30 p.m.; Trinity House Cafe, 101 E. Market St., Leesburg. Details: trinityhousecafe.com Soulful covers from Anna Nalick to The Band Perry from this new Loudoun-based duo. No cover.

LIVE MUSIC: LOS LONELY BOYS Friday, November 3, 7 p.m.; Tally Ho Theater, 19 W. Market St., Leesburg. Details: tallyhotheater.com It’s been 13 years since the Garza brothers rode their bluesy “Texican” rock sound to worldwide fame. After some setbacks, the boys are back on tour and coming to Leesburg. Tickets are $45 in advance.

HANNAH HERSHEY FUND KICK-OFF EVENT Saturday, Nov. 4, noon-3 p.m.; The Oncology Service LifeCentre West, 134 Fort Evans Road NE, Leesburg. Celebrate the new Hannah Hershey Fund, which provides financial assistance to help families in Northern Virginia pay for life-saving cancer treatments for their pets. Event includes a barbecue lunch, a chance to purchase pet and family photos, a raffle and an information session on how to detect cancer in pets.

SCOTT KURT & MEMPHIS 59 Saturday, Nov. 4, 8 p.m.; Smokehouse Live, 1602 Village Market Blvd., Leesburg. Details: smokehouse-live.com

MORE THINGS TO DO >> 40

Nate Good 11/25/17 Doors 7:00PM

Edwin McCain 12/01/17 Doors: 7PM

Almost Queen 12/02/17 Doors: 7PM

Here Come the Mummies 12/07/17 Doors: 7PM

Jingle Jam

Two Really Big Shows! 12/09/17 2:30 PM Matinee & 8:30 PM

Now Open Tues. through Sun. for Lunch & Dinner

CALL FOR A TOUR!

39 Nov. 2 – 8, 2017

It’s your LAST CHANCE to OWN your retail space Don’t miss out on an incredible opportunity to own your future in Downtown Leesburg. The Shops at Crescent Place have great visibility, ample parking and an amazing location. Located right on the W&OD Trail and across from Raflo Park, you’ll be a part of a thriving new mixed-use neighborhood that is becoming a new destination downtown These popular local businesses have already made their mark at The Shops at Crescent Place:

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All prices are subject to change without notice. All floor plans and renderings are conceptual and used for illustrative purposes only and are subject to change without notice. All dimensions are approximate. Builder reserves its right to change or alter its plans, specifications and materials without notice or obligation. Please consult sales representative for details.

loudounnow.com

Contact Jim Sisley at 703.777.8123 for Information or visit TheShopsAtCrescentPlace.com

[ THINGS TO DO ]

loudounnow.com

<< FROM 38 The singer, songwriter and guitarist pays tribute to the late Tom Petty at this free show.

LIVE MUSIC: SLIPPERY WHEN WET BON JOVI TRIBUTE Saturday, Nov. 4, 7 p.m.; Tally Ho Theater, 19 W. Market St., Leesburg. Details: tallyhotheater.com Formed in 2003 by Bon Jovi lookalike Jason Morey, Slippery When Wet offers

fans young and old the high-energy experience of a Bon Jovi show. Tickets are $15 in advance.

COMING UP CATOCTIN HOLIDAY ART TOUR

CLUB ATLANTIS HALLOWEEN COSTUME PARTY

Saturday, Nov. 11 and Sunday, Nov. 12, 10 a.m.-6 p.m.; Lovettsville area. Details: catoctinart.com

Saturday, Nov. 4, 7 p.m.; Atlantis, 45449 E. Severn Way, Sterling. Details: atlantisva.info

Shop local this holiday season with gorgeous handmade art, including jewelry, ceramics, paintings, woodwork and fiber arts. Check out the website for a map and list of participating artists.

DJ Master C-Spyce plays favorite R&B, Motown and old school tunes from the 70s, 80s 90s and today for an evening of hand dancing and line dancing. Tickets are $20.

WATERFORD CONCERT SERIES: CHAMBER MUSIC SOCIETY OF LINCOLN CENTER TRIO Sunday, Nov. 12, 4 p.m.; Waterford Old School, 40222 Fairfax St., Waterford. Details: waterfordconcertseries.com One of the series’ most prestigious acts to date, the trio features cellist David Finckel, violist Paul Neubauer and violinist Arnaud Sussmann for an evening of gorgeous string essentials by Beethoven, Penderecki and Mozart. Tickets are $35 for adults, $15 for students and free for children 12 and under.

Scholler << FROM 36 LN: Is it tough balancing being a chef with being a mom?

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Scholler: Some days more than others. If I’m having a busy weekend [at work] it’s not like I can sleep in because I’ve had a 12-hour day. My kids are still up at 6:30 in the morning. Luckily, I have a great support system to make sure I can do what I need to do. It does take a village, but, yes, it is hard to balance sometimes. I do get to spend nights at home with them, but not necessarily on weekends. When I started [cooking professionally], I was putting in 100hour weeks and not seeing my kids and, really, just putting in the time and energy to get to where I wanted to be. Now that I’m in this position, it’s been nice to be able to have more time with the family. LN: What do you like to make for your kids at home? Scholler: Hope, my 5-year-old, is ridiculously picky. She would eat quesadillas and pizza every day of her life. Sophia, my 3-year-old, will eat anything you put in front of her. I did a stuffed acorn squash a few weeks ago and she was loving it. She’s the one that’s like “I want to try that!” If I’m eating it, she’ll eat it. LN: Do you have tips for home cooks? Scholler: Always keep learning. Start with a recipe. You start by following the recipe and then once you’re comfortable with that, you can go off from it and use it as an inspiration. And once you learn those basic things, then you can expand it and move forward and start doing more complicated things— and it’s easier than you think.

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O’Faolain’s is located at 20921 Davenport Drive in Sterling. Find more information at ofaolains.com. To follow Britt Scholler on Facebook and get the scoop on weekly specials, go to facebook.com/brittshyreneculinary.

[OBITUARY] Carol Ann “Cookie” Good Cookie Good, a long-time resident of Loudoun County, passed away peacefully on Monday October 30 due to complications from a fall. Cookie was the first child of Doris Hundley Good

and Braxton Taylor Good, Jr. She was the dear sister of Robert and Bonnie, the dear aunt of Jonathan, Megan, Morgan and great aunt of Braxton and Lilly. An avid animal lover and horsewoman, Cookie showed horses for years before finding her true love

of fox hunting. First with Fairfax Hunt, then Middleburg Hunt, she made many friends and created her extended family in Philomont, Virginia. A staple of the community, she will be sorely missed. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to the Humane So-

ciety of the U.S. (HSUS), the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA), as Cookie would wish. Memorial services will be Friday, November 3rd at 11:00 am, Hall Funeral Home in Purcellville, Virginia.

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Meeting at: Sterling Middle School 201 W. Holly Ave. Sterling,VA 20164 Sunday 10:15am

Please mail cover letter with pay requirements and resume to: Law Office of William R.F. Conners, P.C. Attn. Legal Assistant/Paralegal Position P.O. Box 11 Leesburg, Virginia 20178

www.fountainsoflivingwater.org (703) 433-1481 “Whoever believes in me (Jesus)... streams of living water will flow from within him.” John 7:38

FT LPN or MA

Looking for a Full Time Receptionist to join our established, family wellness Chiropractic clinic. The ideal candidate must have a positive attitude, be dependable, friendly, and energetic.

Large family practice in Loudoun County seeking FT LPN’s or MA’s for our new site located in the professional building at Stone Springs Hospital in Aldie, VA.

Location: Leesburg, Virginia Job Type: Full Time, 35+ hours per week

Please include 2 professional references when applying. Contact: cleggchiro@gmail.com with the Subject: Receptionist Position

Please send your resume to lgray@ lmgdoctors.com or fax to 703-7260804, attention Lisa.

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Job Responsibilities include, but are not limited to front desk duties, customer service, and basic office tasks. Must be able to prioritize and have computer skills.

We also have openings in our Ashburn, Lansdowne, Cornwall and Purcellville offices. Pediatric and or family practice experience preferred but willing to train the right candidate. EHR experience highly recommended. We offer health, dental and vision insurance as well as direct deposit, 401k and many other benefits.

Receptionist, Chiropractic Clinic

Crossword

LOUDOUN NOW | NEWS |

iday, NoFuneral a.

Employment

Nov. 2 – 8, 2017

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Voters line up at the polls in Hillsboro in 2016. Party leaders are hoping for good turnout Tuesday.

Yes, Your Vote Counts There are many places in America where the results of elections are largely predetermined. Where one party holds such a large majority that outcomes are foregone conclusions. Loudoun County and Virginia are not among them. Over and over, recent contests—from the presidential race to the U.S Senate to local delegates seats—have been decided by razor-thin margins. A few thousand votes statewide or a few dozen in local races have made the difference. This Tuesday, you may be that difference.

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

Nov. 2 – 8, 2017

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 Douglas Graham, Photographer dgraham@loudounnow.com Contributors Samantha Bartram John McNeilly Jan Mercker Patrick Szabo

Advertising Director Susan Styer sstyer@loudounnow.com Display Advertising Tonya Harding tharding@loudounnow.com Allison Jenkins ajenkins@loudounnow.com Production Electronic Ink Leesburg, VA 20175

[ LETTERS ] End the Silence Editor: Gentry Nalley’s Oct 22 letter in Loudoun Now was concise and absolutely correct. Why is there community and governmental silence about the rape and murder of 17-year-old Nabra Hassanen? Nabra’s body should never have been pulled from a pond in Sterling because her murder was completely and totally preventable if only our elected officials done their most basic duty: Enforce the law. Nalley raises a serious question about county government’s complicity in this murder—one that must be explored in depth. However, this turning a blind eye goes all the way up the political food chain. The murders of Nabra and Danny Centeno-Miranda, another 17-yearold gunned down at a Sterling bus stop, lay directly at the feet of our state and federal officials. They are the ones who ignore and enable violent illegal criminals to roam Loudoun’s neighborhoods. Democrats do so for callous and calculated political reasons, while Republicans are simply cowed into silence, fearful they’ll offend some group. And the violent murders of our young people continue. What have Democrat candidates such as Ralph Northam ever done to eliminate these predators among us? Ralph’s campaign ads claim he “voted to crack down on MS-13,” yet they’re still here. Ralph is the candidate of outof-state billionaires and the well-heeled in their gated communities, but young people like Nabra and Danny pay the ultimate price for his indifference on illegal violent criminals in Loudoun. Republicans aren’t much better. They talk about it and tout area “gang task forces,” but in the end, they’re still here. The first question we the people should ask whenever we encounter Comstock, Ralph, the attorney general, or any of our state senators and delegates, is what have you done to eliminate the completely preventable murders of Nabra and Danny from happening again? What have you done? Demand a clear answer, not a mumbled stale talking point, on what they have done to protect our young people from violent criminals who shouldn’t

even be present in Loudoun to begin with. They’re accountable, and they serve us. If politicians are unable or unwilling to address the issue, they need to be removed from office. Our silence as a community on this completely preventable terror must end. — Chris Manthos, Leesburg

Think Regionally Editor: Next week we vote, so make it a priority. Once again, voters in the state of Virginia are asked to go to the polls and cast their votes for leadership at the state and local levels. My plea is that voters in Northern Virginia consider how strides in funding transportation projects have been made by the current leadership. With exponential growth in Northern Virginia, it is critical that we have the current delegates and state senators in place who have experience and tenure in Richmond. Without that knowledge and seniority, Northern Virginia will again be set back for the roads and infrastructure necessary to support the phenomenal and crippling growth in our population. We are at a pivotal time. Richmond, Norfolk and other parts of the state will benefit from the changes in leadership in Northern Virginia. And the dollars will again flow south to the other projects in the state. So please think regionally, and not just locally, when you vote. — Peggy Forbes, Leesburg

Responsible Management Editor: The Oct. 26 editorial, “The Transportation Disconnect,” is very inaccurate; I will supplement with the following relevant facts: First, the author attributes transportation funding shortfalls to “the General Assembly failure to meet its obligation.” Fact, the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors controls the decisions impacting the pace and volume of development in Loudoun, the imposition of proffers, and it also controlled the decision to extend Metro into LETTERS >> 45

[ LETTERS ] << FROM 44

Editor: On Oct. 19, the Board of Supervisors approved a commission permit for the Loudoun Compressor Station expansion. In doing so, Dominion Cove Point LNG is permitted to increase compression of natural gas allowing even more natural gas through its pipelines. The

Doctrine of Public Trust be considered. It requires the state to maintain, protect, and preserve those resources necessary for public survival and welfare. It was successfully applied to our common resource the air. The Atmospheric Trust Litigation provides a legal mechanism for courts to hold governments accountable for reducing carbon emissions. Methane, the primary component of natural gas, is a carbon emission. The Loudoun Compressor Station expansion will surely increase carbon emissions. Though the staff report states the permit is in conformance with the revised General Plan, it clearly is not. The Sustainability section of the revised General Plan beginning on page 34, states the county directive “Sustainable development calls for practices that are economically cost-effective, enhance human health and well-being, and protect and restore the environment.” This project is far from sustainable as it pollutes the air with climate changing gases that are hazardous to human health. Of the nine supervisors, only two acted responsibly by denying this permit. They were Chair Randall and Supervisor Umstattd. These wise supervisors listened to and understood the public opposition. Perhaps they recognized that fossil fuel projects like this cannot be adequately reviewed in the Commission Permit process. Thankfully, they also learned the bi-monthly climate change lessons tirelessly given for over one year by Anthony Noerpel. What can you say about the other supervisors? Do they make all their decisions with a parochial mentality as evidenced here? — Natalie Pien, Leesburg

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vote was two against approval, eight for approval, and one abstain. The vote was made after the public input session in which eight citizens urged supervisors to deny the permit. Reasons cited ranged from health impacts to climate change to role of government to conformance with the revised General Plan. One gentleman from Sterling compared the climate change crisis to being in a deep hole. He implored supervisors to take the opportunity to stop digging the hole by denying the permit. Another gentleman from Lansdowne cited a newly released study showing compressor stations release seventy harmful toxins to the air continuously through leaks as well as during scheduled, deliberate, high volume releases/ventings. These toxins are linked to 19 of 20 major categories of human disease, ranging from cancer to mental and behavioral disorders. Two citizens referenced the role of government in this permit. One extremely familiar with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission described the close relationship between FERC and the fossil fuel industry. FERC commissioners are political appointees selected from the fossil fuel industry and return to it once his/her appointment expires. FERC is designed to be self-funded, independent and non-partisan, but receives its money from fees paid by the companies it oversees. In the past thirty years, FERC has approved all but one fossil fuel project. FERC, currently under litigation for bias and corruption, clearly does not do its job. This citizen urged the supervisors to exercise its right, at the local level, to regulate this applicant. Another citizen advised that the

Nov. 2 – 8, 2017

Loudoun. Decisions by supervisors, not the General Assembly, have led to strained finances which will impact other non-transportation spending in Loudoun for decades to come. So heavy is the commitment by Loudoun to hurry up and build new Metro-area roads, that other projects, such as US 15, Rt. 7 and Rt. 9, are being delayed. Loudoun’s FY2018 Capital Improvement Program road projects shows about one-third of the transportation funding is going to the same area. I and Sen. Black are strong proponents of managing transportation funds responsibly to build the roads we need. However, they both come from the position that government should seek to accomplish this without digging deeper into tax payers’ pockets. The author states, I and Sen. Black “…dismantled the proffer system…” This couldn’t be further from the truth. The revision to proffer law supported by LaRock and Black did not reduce the ability of a jurisdiction to access proffers for roads, schools, public safety facilities and equipment and other demands associated with residential rezonings. Looking at Loudoun’s reaction to proffer reform, a few things are clear. Despite all the assertions that proffer reform affected Loudoun’s ability to recoup costs associated with rezonings, the reform changed nothing. See Virginia law, § 15.2-2303.4. paragraph E. Loudoun was granted a carve out for the Suburban Policy Area (approximately everything east of Goose Creek), so that means all of the suburban policy area of Loudoun County is exempt

from revisions to the new proffer law. Some supervisors want unbridled ability to rake in boatloads of proffer money to help fund things like off-site libraries, parks, recreation centers, and other non-essentials. While these look enticing, it is a mistake to be distracted from the long-term effect. More rezoning means more homes; the well-established effect of new homes is more schools and more traffic and the costs which are connected to those. While some incorrectly assert that proffers cover the new costs, that has been proven wrong over and over. Just look at the ballot on Election Day every year. If proffers cover the cost of new schools, why are voters asked to float hundreds of millions in new bonds every year? Proffers do not cover the cost of roads. If they did, Loudoun would not be starved for road money. It is abundantly obvious; developers usually are let off the hook and taxpayers are the default backstop. Regardless of how excited our decision makers are about the prospect of new development in the east, building new roads when existing roads like Rt. 15 are unsafe and often impassable is irresponsible. — Del. Dave LaRock (R-33), Hamilton

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He highlighted the insurance company’s efforts to aid homeless veterans in San Antonio, TX, where it is headquartered. “Anyone who wanted to be helped, we helped them. We got them off the streets. We got them homes. We got them jobs, many with USAA,” Lyles said. The general also said it was important for veterans and military families to talk with their friends and neighbors who may not understand military life. “Tell your story,” he said. “It is important for people to really understand what it is like to serve in the military, to be a military family member or to be a military vet. One of the ways to have that happen is for you, vets and the military members, to tell your story. Don’t be shy about explaining all the challenges but also the opportunities as a result of you having served.” In her remarks, Randall did that, sharing stories of growing up as the daughter of a master sergeant who served three tours in Vietnam. Those included having to meet the daily test of making a quarter bounce off the freshly made bed before school, not being “authorized” to have a second dessert at the dinner table, and having to stop a sprint across the post to get care for her sister’s appendicitis until the daily flag retirement ceremony ended. She said military families rely heav-

ily on resilience and a good sense of humor. That was true in her family as they dealt with her father’s alcoholism and PTSD. “There were times when the house was very turbulent,” she said. “At the time, nobody believed in the word trauma.” Instead families tried to “push through” without the services that are available now, she said. Those experiences led to her career in mental health therapy. “I watched so many men and women come back from combat and not have the support or the understanding they needed,” Randall said. “I would say that we are so much farther along today than we used to be.” Before reading the Board of Supervisors’ formal resolution proclaiming Oct. 28 as Military Appreciation Day, Buona also emphasized the need to support military families. “It is the families that sacrifice. It is the families that endure absences. It is the families that endure moving and moving and moving,” Buona said. Saturday’s program also was attended by U.S. Rep. Barbara Comstock (R-VA-10th), Del. Tag Greason (R34), county supervisors Ron Meyer (R-Broad Run), Susanne Volpe (R-Algonkian), Koran Saines (D-Sterling) and Leesburg Town Councilman Ron Campbell, along with two World War II veterans.

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density buffer between the county’s rural west and suburban east. One of those was the status quo, another that would allow up to 12,000 more homes, and another that would allow up to 18,000 more homes. Supervisors criticized the notion of allowing dramatic increases in the numbers of homes in what is known as the transition policy area. County planners also offered the caveat that the committee’s concepts were very much works in progress. Planning Commission Chairman Jeff Salmon (Dulles), who also chairs the stakeholders committee, pointed out that both he and planners had cautioned supervisors that the report was preliminary. But he said that’s not what the board or the public heard. “In my mind, the paper is what the public responded to,” Salmon said. “They didn’t respond necessarily to what [Project Manager] Chris [Garcia] and [Planning and Zoning Director] Ricky [Barker] said. What Chris and Ricky said, maybe they could have jumped up and down and had flashing lights behind them, but they said the right stuff. They weren’t heard.” Jones asked that in the future, stakeholders get a look at reports to the county board before they go out. “I feel that we have wasted some capital—political capital—with Loudoun residents by this faux pas of putting out a scenario that we don’t really say

is a scenario, and that as far as I’m concerned, I don’t remember voting on it,” Jones said. But other members of the committee seemed to stand by their work so far, even if it arrived at allowing more development in the transition area. “I think the votes were overwhelming,” said Algonkian District appointee Chris Glassmoyer. “I didn’t misunderstand what we were voting on last week, and you know, like 80 to 90 percent [consensus] is not an accident.” And John Andrews, who represents the county’s Housing Advisory Board, said “the status quo gets use zero affordable units” and that “I understood completely where I was going,” which included requiring 50 to 70 percent of the transition policy area be preserved as open space. “To get the max [buildout], you were going to have to have more open space, which would create smaller lots, which would create more affordable lots, which would create more affordable housing,” Andrews said. “So, I knew exactly what I was doing in order to create a more affordable community, and not to continue creating an elitist community.” Committee members and the county staff agreed that the presentation itself was flawed. “It wasn’t couched in the proper context, I don’t think, when we presented it,” said Assistant Director of Planning and Zoning John Merrithew.

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