Loudoun Now for Nov. 29, 2018 by Loudoun Now

LoudounNow LOUDOUN COUNTY’S COMMUNITY-OWNED NEWS SOURCE

[ Vol. 4, No. 2 ]

[ loudounnow.com ]

[ November 29, 2018 ]

Brambleton Welcomes County's Most Innovative Library Yet BY DANIELLE NADLER

t 1 p.m. Saturday, Brambleton Library will open its doors to the public and already it’s expected to be the busiest library in Loudoun County. When the library staff recently sent out a mass email announcing the library’s opening date, 50,000 people clicked on the link to learn more—by far the most traffic the library’s website has ever seen, according to Pete O’Brien, division manager with the library system. “The pent-up demand for a library in this community is palpable,” he said. “It’s amazing.” As an example, he said story times at Ashburn Library, currently the county’s busiest library, can draw 100 kids. The story time room at the Brambleton Library is designed to fit close to 200 and will offer 15 story times each week, with some for babies, toddlers, older children, and adults. “We’re planning for big numbers and judging by the response we’ve gotten ahead of the opening, I think we’ll get them,” O’Brien said. The 40,000-square-foot facility sits in the heart of Brambleton Town Center and serves as another anchor in the center, only second to the Regal Fox Stadium. Its designed with a variety of users in mind and features dedicated areas for children, tweens, teens and adults—whether they need a quiet place to work or meeting their book club. It also has three large meeting rooms; a makerspace with 3D printers, sewing equipment and a recording studio; 10 study rooms and a gaming room in the teen center that overlooks the town center’s courtyard. Christine Thompson moved from Charles County, MD, where she served as a library branch manager, to take the job of Brambleton Library’s branch manager. “I couldn’t pass this up,” she said, standing amid rows of children’s books. Almost the entire first floor is dedicated to children, with picture books, an educational gaming center, and plenty of

Tree farms keep up tradition

6 Vie for Catoctin District School Board Seat BY DANIELLE NADLER Members of the Loudoun County School Board were the ones asking the questions—not answering them—in the board room Monday night. They interviewed six candidates who have raised their hand to be appointed to the Catoctin District seat, which was vacated last month when Eric DeKenipp resigned with 14 months left in his term. The School Board will vote to appoint a board member at its Dec. 4 meeting. The appointed board member will serve the remainder of DeKenipp’s term, which ends Dec. 31, 2019.

The six candidates in the running are:

shops. This is the county’s tenth public library and, as each new library is designed and opened, Loudoun County Public Library Director Chang Liu works with designers and builders to make tweaks that accommodate some of the public’s favorite aspects of its existing libraries. The Brambleton Library boasts some of the library system’s most state-of-the-art equipment, modern architectural design and furniture, including an oversized staircase that also serves as an amphitheater. Find the library at 22850 Brambleton Plaza in Brambleton. After a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 1 p.m. Saturday, its regular hours will be 1-5 p.m. Sunday and 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Monday through Saturday. Learn more at library.loudoun.gov.

• JENNA ALEXANDER, the director of the Hunt District PTA who has described herself as a passionate advocate of the county’s rural school communities; • JOHN BEATTY, IT director and computer science teacher at The Heights School in Potomac, MD; • CHRIS CROLL, founder of Loudoun County Parents of Gifted Students, and a member of the school system’s Special Education Advisory Committee, the Gifted Advisory Committee, and the School Board-appointed Special Education Ad-hoc Committee, and a delegate on the Minority Student Achievement Advisory Council; • ZERELL JOHNSON-WELCH, an attorney, former chairwoman of the Minority Student Achievement Advisory Council, and a charter member of Tuscarora High School’s parent-teacher-student organization; • BOB OHNEISER, an attorney who represented the Broad Run District on the School Board from 2004-2011; and • AMY TRIBIÉ, the president of Lucketts Elementary School’s PTA and a former music teacher. The board’s eight current members asked each of the candidates two questions, and candidates had two minutes to respond. Candidates brought up the fate of the county’s smallest schools in answers to several of the questions. That’s because

dnadler@loudounnow.com

CANDIDATES >> 38

Danielle Nadler/Loudoun Now

Library assistants Mary Anne Noah and Laurie Guffey shelf children’s books at Brambleton Library.

comfy, bright-colored furniture where little readers can sit and enjoy books. The children’s area also includes Virginia’s first public Tamil-language collection; Tamil is spoken in southern India. The library boasts several other firsts, including a computer that sorts books into categories as they’re returned and a sorting room with floor to ceiling windows so guests can watch the process. It also features a grassy, fenced-in area where kids can stretch their legs, dozens of quiet spots where people can study or work, and outdoor tables where people can read or work while accessing the library’s free WiFi. Katie Wais, the library system’s public information specialist said of those who want to get work done out of their home, “It’s like a Starbucks alternative.” Plus, patrons are welcome to bring in food and drink from any of the nearby

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Patrick Szabo/Loudoun Now

Drivers pick up coffee at the Starbucks drive-through in Purcellville Gateway commercial center, which was built in 2012 amid a surge in the town’s business community and population.

Purcellville Shifts Focus After Building Boom BY PATRICK SZABO

sk anyone who’s lived in Purcellville for a while. The town has changed. Over the past three decades, Purcellville has grown from a quiet town of 1,700 to a bustling community with a population of nearly 10,000. Once a town offering few reasons to exit off Rt. 7 to visit, it’s since become a destination for eastern Loudouners seeking a quiet day trip or tourists from throughout the region looking to experience the town’s breweries, restaurants or shops. And after decades of explosive growth, Purcellville leaders are taking stock of where all that change has got the town and how to deal with it into

This is the second installment of a monthly series on the exponential growth of western Loudoun’s once sleepy towns.

the future. The early stages of the town’s modern growth began during the 1990s technology boom, when tech-savvy workers from across the nation targeted the Washington, DC, area as the Silicon Valley of the east and the opening of the Dulles Greenway offered a nonstop commute to the nation’s capital. Between 1990 and 2000, the town’s population more than doubled from 1,744 to 3,584. During that time, the number of households also increased from 746 to 1,292. Rob Lohr, who served as town

manager from 1993 to 2017, said the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, which boosted the defense contracting industry, also drove the masses to the region. According to a May 2011 report by the Defense-Industrial Initiatives Group, the Department of Defense increased its contract spending from $166 billion to $390 billion between 2000 and 2008. “We had people coming from all over the United States,” Lohr said. It was around that time that new neighborhoods were developed to accommodate hundreds of new residents. Those included the 240-home Hirst Farm, the 159-home Village Case, the 208-home Locust Grove, the 137-home Old Dominion Valley, the 66-home Courts of St. Francis, and

To the day of his death on Nov. 12, environmental attorney, conservationist and former Board of Supervisors candidate Malcolm Baldwin worked to preserve the green spaces in Loudoun, a county he had watched change dramatically from his farm near Lovettsville. Now, his family seeks to continue that work in his name with a fund to help preserve small farms through the Land Trust of Virginia. That fund will help pay to set up conservation easements, in which landowners give up development rights on their land. “Malcolm Baldwin was on our board for I think about four years, and during that time he was always the voice for the working farmer,” said Land Trust

Executive Director Sally Price. “And the Land Trust of Virginia, we’re in the business of doing conservation easements, and it costs money to do a conservation easement.” Baldwin put his WeatherLea Farm in a conservation easement with the Land Trust. But it wasn’t the first home in Northern Virginia for the Baldwin family. In the 1970s, said his wife, Pamela — an accomplished voice for conservation in her own right, and a former USAID officer — the couple built a house in Great Falls. Their work in Sri Lanka from 1988 to 1993 gave them a stop-motion view of how that area grew when they came home. “We watched Great Falls turn into subdivisions all over the place, mostly McMansions,” Pamela said. “We rented

New legislation targets hate crimes

BUILDING BOOM >> 39

Fund to Save Small Farms to Honor Malcolm Baldwin BY RENSS GREENE

Rosy outlook for full-day kindergarten

the house out while we were overseas, and we came back every summer for a couple of weeks, and every time we came back the situation around us was more developed.” The Baldwins wanted to move further out from DC, and in 1992, they bought WeatherLea Farm just north of Lovettsville. But Pamela said the Baldwins—who came to the farm with income from their careers, and never had to live off the land—are not typical of small farmers. For small farmers, said Fuller, the price of putting land into a conservation easement—hiring attorneys, and surveyors, and other costs—can be too much. CONSERVATION FUND >> 39

Waterford looks for traffic fixes

INDEX Loudoun Gov.......................... 4 Leesburg ............................... 8 Education ............................ 12 Public Safety ....................... 16 Nonprofit ............................. 18 Biz ...................................... 22 Our Towns ........................... 24 LoCo Living ......................... 26 Help Wanted........................ 31 Obituaries ........................... 32 Public and Legal Notices...... 33 Resource Directory .............. 34 Opinion ............................... 36

Christmas cheer: Leesburg’s best bets

[ LOUDOUN GOV ]

[ BRIEFS ] Seminars on Real Estate Tax Relief for Elderly, Disabled Set

November 29, 2018

Douglas Graham/Loudoun Now

A view of Dulles International Airport from the terminal. Loudoun’s sister city relationships help build business both in Loudoun and internationally, according to Visit Loudoun President and CEO Beth Erickson and Loudoun Department of Economic Development Executive Director Buddy Rizer.

Erickson, Rizer: Sister Cities Give Loudoun Economic Edge BY RENSS GREENE

oudoun’s sister cities and counties around the world give the county a boost in both international business and tourism, reported Visit Loudoun President and CEO Beth Erickson and Loudoun Department of Economic Development Executive Director Buddy Rizer. Rizer and Erickson gave the county finance committee their annual report on the county’s sister city relationships Nov. 13. Those relationships have come under scrutiny during this Board of Supervisors’ term, as Chairwoman Phyllis J. Randall (D-At Large) has questioned whether all of those relationships are worth the time and effort for Loudoun. In 2016, the Board of Supervisors adopted criteria for designating sister SISTER CITIES >> 7

VDOT Approves Left Turn Signal at Rt. 287

Renss Greene/Loudoun Now

Visit Loudoun President and CEO Beth Erickson speaks to the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors.

Supervisors Hear County Government Energy Update BY RENSS GREENE Several months after Chairwoman Phyllis J. Randall (D-At Large) asked for an update to the county government’s 2009 energy strategy—which she said was award-winning for its writing, but largely ignored thereafter—county supervisors have heard that in fact county government employees have been quietly pushing toward a more energy-efficient government all along. A report Nov. 13 to the county finance committee detailed a wide va-

Loudoun County Commissioner of the Revenue Robert S. Wertz Jr. has scheduled free information sessions to familiarize residents with the eligibility criteria for the county’s generous real estate tax relief program and new eligibility thresholds for 2019. Loudoun County homeowners age 65 or older or with disabilities who are below established income and wealth limits may benefit from a reduction in the amount of property taxes they pay. Qualified applicants for real estate relief must have a gross combined income less than $72,000 and net worth less than $920,000. Up to $10,000 in income of a spouse or relative residing in the home is excluded from the income calculation. Program participants saved almost $8 million in real estate taxes in 2018. Five seminars will be held through December and January: Tuesday, Dec. 4, 10:30 a.m. at Cascades Library, 21030 Whitfield Place, Potomac Falls; Friday, Dec. 7, 10:30 a.m. at Purcellville Library, 220 East Main Street, Purcellville; Wednesday, Dec. 12, 10:30 a.m. at Rust Library, 380 Old Waterford Road, NW Leesburg; Thursday, Dec. 13, 10:30 a.m. at Middleburg Library, 101 Reed Street, Middleburg; and Thursday, Jan. 10, 6 p.m. at the Loudoun County Government Center, 1 Harrison Street, SE, Leesburg. More information about the Loudoun County Tax Relief for the Elderly and Disabled program is online at www.loudoun.gov/taxrelief.

riety of efforts the county government has made since 2009, but which mostly went under the radar and unreported. Those include outreach efforts to businesses and residents such as participating in Solarize NOVA. It also includes a steady update of county government buildings and technology, replacing older facilities with energy-efficient ones as the older facilities wear out. In 2009, the county spent more than $1.1 million on energy efficiency improvements at seven county facilities, and that work has continued. According to the report, between 2010

and 2013 the county replaced HVAC equipment at various county facilities, ending up saving an estimated $24,000 in energy costs. New county buildings are also designed to be more energy efficient. Nonetheless, the goals in the 2009 strategy are very general, and in many cases the county has not done any formal tracking of progress toward those goals. One, for example, states that “Loudoun will have greenhouse gas emissions among the lowest in the ENERGY UPDATE >> 5

The Virginia Department of Transportation has approved a dedicated left turn signal for northbound traffic on Rt. 287 trying to turn onto westbound Rt. 7, Supervisor Tony R. Buffington (R-Blue Ridge) announced Tuesday. In September, Buffington and Purcellville Mayor Kwasi Fraser made a joint request to VDOT for the signal. Buffington said the arrow should go up Thursday, Nov. 29, weather permitting. Buffington said the signal is an interim improvement until the completion of the $11 million Rt.7-Rt. 287 interchange improvement project. Design work on that project began over the summer. Construction funding from VDOT is scheduled for fiscal years 2022 and 2023. “As always, I will work to accelerate receipt of construction funding and will keep you informed as progress is made,” Buffington said in an email to constituents.

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country.” The report Nov. 13 found that will be difficult given Loudoun’s rapid growth, including since 2009. Another policy from the 2009 strategy states “All major investments will visibly contribute to meeting the CES goals.” The county report simply reads “There is currently no established means for implementation or quantification of this goal.” “I think there’s a perception that the countywide energy strategy was done, passed, and then sat on a shelf and nothing’s happened with it,” said finance committee Chairman Matthew F. Letourneau (R-Dulles). “And I think that that report demonstrates that

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that’s not the case, and in fact many of the things that were actionable were in fact implemented to the extent that staff could.” But he also said the energy strategy would be back before his committee for more work, and proposed that he, Randall, and others work on updating some of the 2009 energy strategy’s goals. Randall said the 2009 strategy’s “lofty statements” made it difficult to pinpoint its results. “It’s not that we voted and put it on the shelf and didn’t do anything with it, but we didn’t do as much with it as we could have,” Randall said. “…We do have to start tracking it, because we don’t quite know where we’re at unless we track it.”

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$585,000 MAIN LEVEL MASTER Wonderful Villa home with sought after main level master. Backs to National Golf Club. Beautiful wood floors & 10 ft ceiling on main lvl. Spacious master suite offers door exiting to rear yard. Great upper level offers loft w/built in desk area, 3 additional bdrms, one of which is a princess suite.

$675,000 WATERFORD Lovely Waterford Tour home. Over 3,000 sq ft, located in the middle of the village on lg private lot. Brick, stone and wood. Brick floored FR w/original cooking FP. Huge dining room w/striking painted mural of Waterford. Master suite w/full bath & exterior porch. Upper parlor w/FP & original built-ins. 3rd level is finished w/2 bedrooms & full bath. Fence, patio, shed, lg driveway. Fabulous!

$589,900 MILLION DOLLAR VIEWS Fantastic 9 acres of privacy and wet weather pond. Well installed. Potential to have million dollar views with further clearing. Approved for 5 bedroom drainfield. Base driveway installed. A nature lovers dream. Convenient to commuter train.

$225,000

parking districts, with an eye toward better control of overflow parking around schools and Metro stops. Since 2009, the county has established seven residential permit parking districts in neighborhoods across the county. In those areas, drivers must have a county-issued permit to park, or risk a fine. Loudoun County Program Manager Eloisa Thring said the program was started for neighborhoods where parking was taken up by people from outside the neighborhood, such as by high school students trying to avoid paying the fee to park at school, or people in apartment complexes parking in nearby neighborhoods. Today, those seven districts cover 401 households in Abby Circle, Farmwell Hunt, Ashbrier, Sterling Park, Rockhill Estates, and Stone Ridge. Four of those districts are next door to a high school. Thring said with Metro coming, there may be new areas grappling with parking. New rules adopted Nov. 14 standardize the process for creating new districts, and expand the areas that qualify. To request a new county-administered parking district, residents must collect signatures from 75 percent of the residential addresses in the area or at least 60 percent of the addresses on each block. Now, they must also collect those signatures within a year, whereas before there was no time limit. Qualifying areas are expanded from 0.4 miles to 0.5 miles from a current or planned high school or Metro stop, and now also include areas around college campuses. Fees for those passes have also been changed, now to $10 per permit per year. The fine for improperly displaying a permit is doubled from $25 to $50. That, along with other fee changes, such as for books of guest passes, is expected to reduce the program’s budget deficit, costing the county Depart-

ment of Transportation and Capital Infrastructure $13,000 a year instead of $18,000. And those passes—currently window stickers—will be improved to be specific to each district and harder to duplicate or pass among vehicles. The county has also established a process for closing a parking district if needed, and a way to set up a temporary district during a construction project or special situations. Those are at least six months long and have similar requirements for signatures. Thring said that idea came after reaching out to neighboring counties with similar parking programs “We decided because of all the commercial developments that are happening, or even residential developments that area happening, there could be a result of overflow parking due to the construction activity during that period of time,” Thring said. Other regulations still apply, such as that there must be at least 100 parking spaces in the district, with at least half taken up by nonresidents. The Board of Supervisors must approve all parking districts, and the county can waive those requirements on a case-by-case basis. The parking districts have gotten more popular as Loudoun has grown and Loudouners have found out about the program. “In the past when this program as initiated, we were receiving requests maybe one every year or two, it was few and far between,” Thring said. Now, she said, requests come at least once a year. “My understanding is there are three active ones that we’re reviewing currently, and there are two more that may be coming due to the recent change,” Thring said. Supervisors approved those changes 6-0-3, with supervisors Geary M. Higgins (R-Catoctin), Matthew F. Letourneau (R-Dulles) and Koran T. Saines (D-Sterling) absent. rgreene@loudounnow.com

Sister cities << FROM 4

Office Leasing: Peter Hackett Phackett@PotomacDevGrp.com 571-299-4970

Office Space For Lease Near Dulles and Route 28

— Visit Loudoun President and CEO Beth Erickson

about bringing an Olympic training program when the ION International Training Center opens in Leesburg in 2019. Already, the executive director of US Speedskating has visited Loudoun and met with Loudoun County Public Schools Superintendent Eric Williams to discuss launching a pilot skating physical education program, planned for spring 2019. And Erickson said when South Korean tourists come to the DC region, Loudoun can be the first and last place they visit. And she said even One Loudoun’s LightUP Festival is a result of the county’s trade missions abroad. Rizer said those relationships are also important for Loudoun’s businesses. “Sister cities are one of the most important tools we have to use to enter into the markets,” Rizer said. “It gives us a landing place, credibility in those markets.” His office is currently working to expand Loudoun’s reach abroad into new areas. His office has met with representatives of several municipalities in India, but so far has been unable to establish a sister city relationship. And next year, he said, his office will also be putting more focus on Europe. In the past year, Loudoun celebrated the 10th anniversary of its relationship with Main-Taunus Kreis, and has twice hosted visitors from its sister county’s fire department. The annual student exchange program also continued, including among other businesses and agencies, an internship at Loudoun Now by 15-year-old exchange student Luisa Fritsch. rgreene@loudounnow.com

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city relationships as active or inactive, based on visits of elected officials, student and cultural exchanges; collaboration on economic development; and staff exchanges. Five of Loudoun’s six sister cities were designated active, including Main-Taunus-Kreis, Germany; Goyang City and Gangneung City in South Korea; New Taipei, Taiwan; and Shunyi District in China. The county designated its relationship with the sixth, Karsiyaka Municipality in Turkey, as inactive. This year, county staff members have not recommended any changes to that list. But Loudoun’s economic development and tourism leaders said those relationships have brought the county opportunities abroad, plans for an Olympic training program, and millions of dollars in tourist spending— particularly from Asia. Erickson said her office has had particular success in the relationship with Shunyi District. Visit Loudoun has worked with international consulting firm Triway International Group on booking travel into the DC region directly into Loudoun. Since 2015, Triway has booked more than 18,000 rooms in Loudoun, for a total of nearly $1.2 million for Loudoun’s hotels. Many Loudoun hotels are “China Ready,” with services ready for Chinese tourists, and Cathay Pacific Airways launched direct flights to Hong Kong leaving four times a week in September. Leesburg Premium Outlets remains a favorite for tourists from Asia, and has recently begun accepting China UnionPay, allowing visitors to pay with credit cards from China. She said that’s a “really great differentiating factor” for Loudoun. “I would expect to see continued growth in this market, just because the market is so large and the opportunity is great,” Erickson said. Loudoun also has a burgeoning relationship with its sister cities in South Korea, which has been particularly shown in athletics, including bookings for international Tae Kwon Do tournaments. Loudoun officials also met with the US Olympic Committee and US Speedskating during the 2018 Winter Olympic Games in South Korea to see

November 29, 2018

I would expect to see continued growth in this market, just because the market is so large and the opportunity is great.”

[ LEESBURG ]

[ BRIEFS ] Art Exhibit Opens In Town Hall

November 29, 2018

Norman K. Styer/Loudoun Now

Dimis Christophy estimates he put in more than 300 hours of work on this year’s Leesburg Lights show at 626 Marshall Drive in Leesburg.

Leesburg Homes Light the Night BY KARA C. RODRIGUEZ

eesburg residents don’t need to go far to see some impressive light displays. Several residents have made holiday light shows their business, both literally and figuratively, to the delight of their neighbors and other locals. The gold standard locally seems to be Edwards Landing Lights, which has been entertaining as many as 250 people per hour since 2011. Brandon Bullis aspired to put on his own holiday show since the early 2000s, when his young daughter, now a freshman at the University of Alabama, would enjoy the nightly shows put on by their Dallas, TX, neighbor. “She would sit and stare out the windows. It was our nightly thing to do for several years. I always said, ‘I’m going to build one of those,’” he recalled. Fast forward to New Year’s Day 2011, when he saw a show on television about some of the mega light shows around the country and he decided that was the year to start. He started sketching out a train, similar to the one used in their former neighbor’s home which went around the front yard. “Halfway through the train I started to look at making similar features with blinking lights to make it look animated and I ran across hardware that does blinking to music. I said ‘I’m going to do that with the train.’” He started his house-lighting venture with Halloween, but he brokered a deal with his wife that if he was going to do a Halloween show, he had to do a Christmas one, too. “Every year I’ve built on a little bit from there,” Bullis said. This year, he says his Christmas light show contains about 12,000 lights. A new show begins every 30 minutes, with a soundtrack that can be heard through an FM radio broadcast. On any given night during the holiday season, throngs of spectators line his neighborhood sidewalks, watching the show from the comfort of their heated

Norman K. Styer/Loudoun Now

A crowd of neighbors gather on Marshall Drive on Sunday night to watch the launch of this year’s Leesburg Lights show.

cars, or even lawn chairs with blankets. He’s used the show to raise close to $25,000 in donations for John Hopkins Hospital since he started. Every year Bullis tweaks both his Halloween and Christmas shows, taking into account what he feels did and didn’t work. “It’s usually tweaks most people don’t see,” he acknowledges. Programming just one song for the show takes about 40 hours, he said. He tries to add at least one new song a year. The Edwards Landing Lights Christmas show will start about two weeks before Christmas, Bullis said, and will run nightly through Christmas night. The show usually runs every 30 minutes from 7-9 p.m., but any changes to the schedule, as well as general rules for the light show, are posted at facebook.com/edwardslandinglights, where you also can send a message to get the house address. Although Bullis’ show may be the local industry icon, others are quickly catching on and creating their own buzz. Geoffrey Mansker, of Potomac Station Illumination, has been putting on his light show at 706 Vermillion Drive for the past four years. Interestingly, he also got the inspiration for his show from his former home in Texas,

when he was stationed in San Antonio. “I said, ‘I can probably do something like that,’ and I purchased my first controller,” he recalled. He’s been steadily growing his show ever since and continued the tradition upon the family’s move to Leesburg. He’s just about completed putting up all the lights and décor for this year’s Christmas show, which he expects to debut by this weekend. As technology has evolved over the years, the lights in his show have become easier to control. “In the beginning years, it was an insane amount of work programming. First, we had incandescent lights and you only had the option of coming on or off or limiting power. Every time you see a light come on and flicker it was a separate extension cord going to that set of lights,” Mansker said. “Since then technology has come a long way. There’s more programming aspects but the lights are a lot easier to control.” As most of the lights are now LED, Mansker shares the surprising fact that his electricity bill is less during the holiday season than what most would pay, since he’s not continuously running LIGHTS >> 9

A new art exhibit will debut on the first floor of Town Hall this week. The exhibit will feature selected paintings of U.S. Navy and CIA combat artist Dr. Chip Beck (CDR, USNR Ret). From 1969 through 2013, Beck depicted more than 20 wars, revolutions, and clandestine conflicts in Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and Latin America during his primary careers as a “soldier, sailor, artist, and spy.” In the past year, he served as artist-in-residence at Gettysburg Battlefield and Chaco Canyon National Parks for the National Parks Art Foundation. Friends of Leesburg Public Arts will host a reception to meet the artist Friday, Dec. 7. The event will take place at Town Hall from 6-8 p.m. The exhibit will be on display through Feb. 28.

It’s Craft Show Weekend At Ida Lee The Parks and Recreation Department presents the 28th Annual Holiday Fine Arts & Crafts show at Ida Lee Park Recreation Center this weekend. Show hours are 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 1, and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 2. Fine arts and crafts exhibitors will be selling their handcrafted items in the main gym, hallway, group fitness room and lower level of the recreation center. There will be more than 90 local and regional artisans selling hand-made items including candles, stained glass, carved wood, jewelry, seasonal décor, table linens, and much more. Admission to the show is free. For more information, call Ida Lee Park Recreation Center at 703777-1368 or go to leesburgva.gov/ holidaysinleesburg.

Rockin’ with Rudolph Registration Open Ida Lee Park Recreation Center will reprise its annual Rockin’ with Rudolph and Friends! event Friday, Dec. 7. Held in the lower level social hall from 6:30-8 p.m. Santa will be on hand for picture opportunities and to hear wish lists while Rudolph and Frosty rock out to holiday favorites. This event is limited to children 8 years old and younger. Pre-registration is required. Registration fees are $12 for children 3 to 8 years old and $8 for children 2 years old and under. Registration is currently available online at leesburgva.gov/ webtrac or by visiting the front desk at Ida Lee Park Recreation Center. For more information, go to idalee.org or call 703-777-1368.

Lights

krodriguez@loudounnow.com

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power to the lights. He also tries to add or tweak the show every year, and usually tries to do a blend of fun Christmas songs combined with old favorites and some religious selections. Mansker also adds new props every year, and this year’s new addition is two 4-foot-long holly berries that light up in different colors. Mansker said the community of those who put on holiday light shows is very close, and they often share ideas or even large batches of equipment if need be. “We don’t compete with each other,” he said. “The more people that are enjoying [the shows], the better.” The Potomac Station Illumination show will run nightly starting about 5 p.m. until 9 p.m. on weekdays and 10 p.m. on weekends. Start times are adjusted as the sun sets earlier. More information on the show can be found at facebook.com/psillumination. The Leesburg Lights show, at 626 Marshall Drive, was born out of a homeowner’s association home decorating contest back when the Christophy family still lived in Sterling’s CountrySide neighborhood. “It started three years ago and it just started to get out of hand from there,” Dimis Christophy said with a laugh. The original show ran off six-channel preprogrammed lights, but “our association didn’t think that was fun,” so Christophy decided to upgrade the following year.

November 29, 2018

<< FROM 8

“I came across a network of other individuals who do the same thing,” he recalled. “I did more research and found out there’s a lot more involved than plugging [lights] in and letting it have fun.” This Christmas marks Christophy’s second show since moving to town and, this year, he’s gone all digital. The 2018 Christmas show features 6,000 lights with over 18,000 channels. “All the lights are pixels, everything you’ll see is handmade by me and everything is controlled through software and programming done by me,” he said. He started work for this year’s show while last year’s Christmas show was still running and estimates he put in close to 300 to 400 hours working on the 2018 edition, including programming, wiring and building props. All this while the family of five is expecting the arrival of child number four imminently. Not having a technical background, Christophy admitted it was “a big learning curve” when he started dabbling in the light shows. But, now with a few shows under his belt, he’s started being sought out by others who want him to set up shows for them. The Leesburg Lights show will run nightly from 5:30 to 10:30 p.m. through Jan. 7. Spectators will also have the opportunity to donate to local law enforcement and the Wounded Warriors program through donation boxes on the front lawn. For more information, go to facebook.com/christophychristmaslightshow.

November 29, 2018

Problem Solved? Council Gets Trash Contract Update BY KARA C. RODRIGUEZ Perhaps one of the biggest controversies for Leesburg residents this year came over the summer when the Town of Leesburg switched its trash and recycling provider. Complaints became commonplace and a change in collection schedule, from pickup twice a week to only once a week was a sticking point for many. But almost half a year into the first of seven years of the contract, town staff members are sounding a hopeful note that the initial kinks have been worked out. Renee LaFollette, director of the town’s Public Works and Capital Projects Department, on Monday night presented the Town Council with an update. She noted that the new contractor, Patriot Disposal, had a tough going initially. Although the new fiscal year started July 1, the initial plan was for the previous contractor, Waste Management, to continue with trash and recycling operations in town until September. However, when the town and Waste Management could not come to an agreement—Waste Management wanted an additional $80,000 per month to continue operation—Patriot was thrust into service faster than expected. This meant the contractor had to lease trucks that were not equipped with the proper GPS systems and untrained staff had a baptism by fire of sorts, scrambling to get accustomed to the town routes, among other initial problems. Excessive summer heat also played a part in some days being cut short, or pickups pushed

Renss Greene/Loudoun Now

It’s been an adjustment for town residents getting accustomed to the town’s new trash and recycling contractor. But, almost six months in, town staff is optimistic.

into the next day. Distribution of the roll out trash and recycling containers also was a challenge, with Patriot needing to distribute two lidded containers to more than 11,000 Leesburg residences. Some residents were not happy with the size of the containers assigned to their single-family homes, so about 6 percent are getting replacement containers, LaFollette said. Those exchanges are expected to be completed by next week. One of the biggest “misses,” LaFollette acknowledged, was with the collection of old trash cans. Residents were able to keep the old cans, use them for yard waste or other uses, or put them out for Patriot to take with the trash. “The Patriot crews, in some cases, did take the wrong cans,” she said. “To our knowledge they have remedied those,”

with either replacement of cans or reimbursement. While some residents still raise objections to the change from twice to once a week collection— a practice, LaFollette emphasized, that had only been in existence in town for five years—largely it seems that many problems of the past have been rectified. There’s been a significant reduction in missed pick-ups, down now to only about two a day. With the town’s previous contractor, particularly within the last year of the contract, in some cases entire streets or neighborhoods were being missed, LaFollette said. Having trash and recycling collected on the same day and yard waste town-wide on Mondays has decreased the number of complaint calls and increased efficiency, she said. And the addition of lidded recycling containers has cut down on neighborhood litter. “I can’t tell you how many HOAs have contacted us to say how much cleaner the neighborhoods are,” LaFollette said. With Patriot taking over all customer service functions, it’s also been a significant time savings for the town staff, she added. Over the course of the seven-year contract, the town is expected to save more than $200,000. The collection bins are costly, at $2 million alone over seven years, but the town will own the bins at the end of the contract, LaFollette said. Going forward, LaFollette said the town plans to continue meeting every other month with the contractor to go over any issues that may have arisen. One item in particular that LaFollette

has her eye on is the “skyrocketing” cost of recycling, which she is estimating will rise significantly just by the end of the first year of the contract alone. And the addition of more homes in town, now estimated to be around 200 new homes annually, will mean future increases to the contract, she cautioned. Council members were largely praiseworthy of the strides made by Patriot and town staff in adjusting to the new contract, and relayed mostly positive feedback from residents. One item that Mayor Kelly Burk suggested deserved further scrutiny was in the area of bulk pickup. She noted a recent instance where she was quoted $35 to pick up a small vanity. LaFollette noted that some items fall under construction debris, with different costs and stipulations assigned for pick-up. She noted that adding construction debris to household trash items would cause the cost of the contract to rise. “What I’m really afraid of is we’re going to start getting dump sites around the town…because we’re charging too much for these particular items,” Burk said. “I think that’s very shortsighted of us and we’re going to regret it. I’d like to see a solution to that.” But Town Manager Kaj Dentler cautioned against significant changes to the trash contract, or to the routine of how trash can be disposed or picked up in town. “The more exceptions, we’re creating a failure situation,” he said. “The complaints will increase.” krodriguez@loudounnow.com

Congratulations to Loudoun’s 2018 Entrepreneur of the Year Amy Owen, the President of the Community Foundation for Loudoun and Northern Fauquier Counties, was named the Loudoun Chamber of Commerce’s 2018 Entrepreneur of the Year. Amy is the first nonprofit executive to win this recognition in the chamber’s five decades. Congratulations to Amy on her latest achievement. Won’t you join us to help End the Need in Loudoun?

Amy Owen

19 Years of Service Meeting Local Needs 66 Funds Building Local Endowment $7M Given to the Community Supporting Local Nonprofits

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[ E D U C AT I O N ]

[ SCHOOL NOTES ]

November 29, 2018

Contributed

Guilford Elementary Principal Lauren Sprowls, second from right, is joined by a team of volunteer staff members at the school’s annual Thanksgiving Feast.

Guilford Hosts 10th Annual Thanksgiving Feast

Douglas Graham/Loudoun Now

Kindergartners line up for the bus at Hillsboro Charter Academy.

Board Gets ‘Terrific News’ About Future of Full-Day Kindergarten in Loudoun BY DANIELLE NADLER

ike Martin, the head of elementary education in Loudoun County, told the School Board recently that he had good news and terrific news to share with them. The good news is that all 5,273 kin-

dergartners in the county are now enrolled in a full-day academic program. And the terrific news? He expects the school system can maintain universal full-day kindergarten next year. “Woo hoo!” he added. Earlier this year, School Board members agreed to bus some students at crowded schools to neighboring schools with space in their kinder-

garten classrooms and made a couple of policy tweaks—including allowing some exceptions to its maximum class size rule—to provide full-day kindergarten countywide. When the school system hit that major milestone three to four years earlier than expected, school leaders warned that it would KINDERGARTEN >> 15

Superintendent Eyes Pay Raises for New Teachers BY DANIELLE NADLER For several years, school and county leaders have worked to improve pay for Loudoun’s teachers. They’ve especially targeted more funding to boost salaries for teachers in the middle of their careers, when it seemed many were being lured to neighboring school districts that paid more. Now, they’re looking at improving pay for teachers earlier in their careers. Superintendent Eric Williams told School Board members during a work session earlier this month that the budget he presents to them in early January will look at carving out about $30.5 million to continue the restructuring

of the teacher salary scale. He wants to see some of the changes better compensate teachers in the first two years of their career. Williams said that Loudoun County is not immune to the teacher shortage that is being felt by school districts throughout the nation and the attrition rate is especially high in teachers’ earliest years. “We want to provide greater compensation to teachers earlier in their years, and we think it’s a positive for both the district and teachers,” he said. “Maybe they can buy a home, pay off student loans—it gives them greater choices earlier in their career and increases the likelihood of us attracting

more teachers at a time when they’re more apt to leave their current employer.” He said there are two principles he and his senior staff members are weighing as they restructure the teacher salary scale. One is to provide greater compensation earlier in teachers’ career and the second is to provide raises more consistently throughout their careers. Williams said his recommendation favors the former, and the operating budget he’s drafting for fiscal year 2020 will likely reflect that. During a Nov. 13 work session, PAY RAISES >> 14

For its 10th year, Guilford Elementary invited the surrounding community to the school last week for a Thanksgiving Feast. Free Thanksgiving meals were served to 1,208 people; exceeding the goal of 1,000 Guilford’s staff set. Sterling School Board member Brenda Sheridan and Principal Lauren Sprowls were among those manning the serving lines. Madison’s Trust Elementary Principal Dave Stewart, who began this community event as Guilford’s principal, attended this year’s dinner as a guest. Other former Guilford staffers who attended were Cardinal Ridge Elementary Principal Lottie Spurlock, Meadowland Assistant Principal Anna Purdy, Madison’s Trust Assistant Principal Andrea Cho and teachers Mark Andrews and Joanne Luoma. The meal was made possible through donations from a slew of organizations and businesses, including the Park View High School Culinary Department, which donated and cooked 12 turkeys; Sterling Methodist Church, which donated 40 turkeys; and Reston Bible Church, which donated 110 pies and 170 boxes of stuffing. Guilford parents and staff volunteered to cook 400 pounds of turkey and roll more than 1,000 silverware sets. Some of the special additions to this year’s dinner included a music hour featuring Sterling Middle School’s Chamber group, Park View High School’s World View Band and Park View’s Jazz Band. A special dinner was held at 5 p.m. for a local senior center and a special Gator Alumni Table was set aside for all Guilford staff who have made this event a success during the past decade.

NJROTC Information Sessions Planned The Naval Junior ROTC program will host three information SCHOOL NOTES >> 15

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Pay raises

Confidence In Math Confidence For Life ™

<< FROM 12 the superintendent asked the board to weigh in on two options. The first would bump salaries for first-year teachers with bachelor’s degrees from just below $50,000 to $52,230, and salaries for first-year teachers with master’s degrees from just over $55,000 to $58,000. That would give Loudoun a lead over their neighbors to the east, with the closest starting pay being $52,050 for teachers with bachelor’s degrees in Fairfax and $57,487 for teachers with master’s degrees in Alexandria. Williams’ second option would give Loudoun an even greater advantage when hiring teachers new to the profession. It would boost salaries for first-year teachers with bachelor’s degrees to $53,730 and those with master’s degrees to $59,500. The second option does, however, leave less money for the second principle Williams presented—more consistent raises for teachers later in their career. Teachers would get a $500 annual increase for about 10 years in the middle of their career. Joy Maloney (Broad Run) said Williams’ suggestion is worth considering to recruit teachers. “There is a lot of research out there to that says starting salaries does help with recruitment.” Chairman Jeff Morse (Dulles) agreed that the school system has a challenge keeping teachers early in their career, but said some of that may be hard to avoid. “In those first cou-

EE!! E E R

FF R

Customized Learning Plans E! Homework E Help R 1st–12th FGrades Test Prep

Danielle Nadler/Loudoun Now

Superintendent Eric Williams, a former teacher, wants to give teachers higher pay earlier in their careers.

Maybe they can buy a home, pay off student loans—it gives them greater choices earlier in their career and increases the likelihood of us attracting more teachers at a time when they’re more apt to leave their current employer.” — Eric Williams, School Board Superintendent ple years, some are deciding teaching is not for them,” he said. He also said he’s concerned that shifting too much funding for early career raises could discourage teachers later in their careers who are getting just $500 annual raises. Eric Hornberger (Ashburn) asked

Williams to consider increasing those $500 annual mid-career raises to $1,000. The superintendent will present more details on his recommendation when he unveils his proposed operating budget for fiscal year 2020 on Jan. 8.

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Kindergarten be tricky, maybe impossible, to sustain as they maintained their focus and resources on building new schools fast enough to keep up with enrollment growth. But Martin said during the Nov. 13 board meeting, with the enrollment projections in for 2019-2020, he expects there will be enough classroom space for every kindergartener to attend for a full day next year, too. By this time next year, the county is projected to have 5,541 kindergartners. “It’s contingent on the budget and how the boundary lines are drawn for Waxpool Elementary, but we anticipate being able to maintain full-day kindergarten.” His team will continue to use some of the flexibility that the School Board has allowed to deliver a six-hour academic day at every elementary school. Some kindergartners who would typically at-

resolve—asking for funding and passing a policy or two—most of the hard work was done by staff in a variety of departments working together to make this happen. And the superintendent showed determination to make this happen,” said Eric Hornberger (Ashburn), who suggested some of the policy adjustments in the spring that Martin put to good use. “Achieving 100 percent FDK next year is a tribute to the staff working on the details,” added Chairman Jeff Morse (Dulles). His district includes the county’s most crowded schools that received full-day kindergarten for the first time this year. “Thank you.” “Thank you very much for seeing this through,” added Joy Maloney (Broad Run), one of the board’s most vocal advocates of full-day kindergarten. “I hope our policy in the future will be that we just have universal fullday kindergarten—always.” dnadler@loudounnow.com

[ SCHOOL NOTES ] << FROM 12 sessions for eighth-graders seeking to join the program during the next school year. The information sessions are 7 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 5; Wednesday, Jan. 9; and Wednesday, Jan. 23, at Loudoun County High School, where the pro-

gram is housed. Loudoun County High School is located at 415 Dry Mill Road SW in Leesburg. Students who attend any public, private or home school are welcome to apply for the program. Students admitted into the program who do not currently attend a public school in Loudoun will have to formally apply

to become a Loudoun County Public Schools student. The Naval Junior ROTC application will be available from Dec. 3 through Feb. 8 at lcps.org/cte. The application is for admissions for the 2019-2020 school year and requires a four-year commitment.

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<< FROM 12

tend Goshen Post Elementary will likely need to be bussed to a nearby school with more space. He also expects at least four elementary schools—Goshen Post, Liberty, Cedar Lane and Buffalo Trail—will have classes with 26 or 27 students, two more than the school system’s target max class size. Another tool Martin’s team might use is to turn computer labs at a few of the schools into classrooms. Martin thanked the School Board for giving him and his team the tools and leeway needed to create enough classroom space for full-day kindergarten countywide. He noted that 1,004 more students are receiving a full academic day this year as compared to last year. “This is a tribute to this School Board’s dedication to pursuing over the last four years a massive amount of progress in serving all of our students with full-day kindergarten,” he said. Board members passed the credit onto Martin and Superintendent Eric Williams. “While the School Board showed

November 29, 2018

[ PUBLIC SAFETY ]

Herring to Press Legislation to Combat Hate Groups BY NORMAN K. STYER Attorney General Mark R. Herring on Monday morning kicked off a statewide tour to garner support for a series of bills aimed at curbing hate crimes and violence incited by white supremacists with a forum at a Leesburg synagogue. Representatives of faith groups, organizations representing minorities and the Loudoun County Sheriff ’s Office met with Herring around a table at the Congregation Sha’are Shalom to share their experiences and to offer suggestions about how the government can better protect residents amid increasingly divisive rhetoric nationally. The meeting came just one month after the worship center welcomed a standing-room-only crowd following mass shooting at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh, PA that left 11 dead, and on a day when jury selection continued in the murder trial of James Alex Fields, who is accused killing a counter protester during the white nationalists rally last year in Charlottesville. “In Virginia and across the country, we’re seeing hate turn deadly with increasing frequency, and it is well past the time to acknowledge the threat posed by hate and white supremacist violence and take action to stop it,” Herring said to the group. “We have to make absolutely clear that white supremacist and extremist violence will not be tolerated

Norman K. Styer/Loudoun Now

Attorney General Mark R. Herring addresses faith and community leaders during a forum on hate crimes Monday in Leesburg.

in our commonwealth and we have to do more than just say it. It is important for leaders from the community all the way up to the top to condemn it, but I think we have to do more than that. We have to pair our words with action.” According to statistics reported by the Virginia State Police, the number of reported hate crimes increased by 65 percent over the past 5 years. The 202 cases reported in 2017 represented a 50 percent increase in one year. Herring is proposing five bills that would: update the definition of hate crimes to create protections against crimes committed on the basis of gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or disability; allow the Attorney Gen-

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eral’s Office to prosecute hate crimes through multijurisdictional grand juries; prohibit the kind of paramilitary activity by that was demonstrated by white supremacists in the deadly Charlottesville riot; give law enforcement agencies more tools to identify and curtail white supremacist groups perpetrating or planning acts of violence; allowing localities to ban firearms from public spaces during events that require permits; and prohibit those convicted of hate crimes from possessing guns. “I certainly have images from that Friday night and Saturday that I will never get out of my mind,” Herring said of the Charlottesville rally, recalling the torch-bearing marchers and the “heavily armed private, uniformed militias that intimidated people who were there to express the counter viewpoint, one of inclusion and equality.” Community leaders—including representatives of the All Dulles Area Muslim Society, the NAACP, Loudoun Interfaith Bridges, and the Arc of Loudoun, among others—welcomed efforts to combat acts of hatred and to address concerns about violence stemming from inflammatory rhetoric increasingly featured in the national dialogue. They also expressed frustration that more hasn’t been done to limit the ability of fringe groups from spreading hate messages and to punish those who attack or demean others. “When lines are crossed, where

somebody is hurt, injured or intimidated, then there needs to be some consequences to that,” Herring said. The meeting also was attended by three members of Loudoun’s General Assembly delegation, delegates John Bell (D-87), Jennifer Boysko (D-86), and David LaRock (R-33). While tensions involving intolerance appear to be increasing nationally, Herring, a Leesburg resident, said he was proud of the way his hometown has reacted. “I really love the community I’m a part of,” he said. “None of us want to see the kind of hate and violence we see anywhere in the country, in our state. The one thing I have seen is that the community response when it does happen has been really strong.” Pointing to the community’s outreach after the former African-American schoolhouse in Ashburn was vandalized, after instances when KKK recruitment fliers were left in driveways, and when race-related violence occurred in other areas, he said “the community comes together to say that’s not who we want to be and we need to work harder in our own community to prevent those types of hatred from taking root.” Herring planned similar roundtable talks in Alexandria, Richmond, Charlottesville, Norfolk and Roanoke during the next several weeks. nstyer@loudounnow.com

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[ NONPROFIT ]

Nonprofit Grant Funding Opens Monday LOUDOUN STAFF REPORT Loudoun County’s grant application process for human service nonprofit organizations kicks off Monday, Dec. 3. Tax-exempt, private, nonprofit organizations that provide human services to Loudoun County residents in four areas of identified need are eligible to apply for grants. For fiscal year 2020, the county board has identified four areas of need: prevention and self-sufficiency, crisis intervention and diversion, long-term support, and improved quality of human services. The Prevention and Self-Sufficiency category includes services focused on assisting individuals and families in becoming and remaining independent and stable, and providing tools, skills, strategies, and resources to individuals and families. The Crisis Intervention and Diversion category includes services provided to individuals and families in crisis to overcome immediate problems, and reduce or prevent the need for more restrictive and expensive higher-level services. The Long-Term Support category covers services that focus on assisting individuals who have continuing, longterm support needs to remain healthy, safe and independent in the community.

Douglas Graham/Loudoun Now

Kids play games at Paxton Campus, a nonprofit organization in Leesburg. Loudoun County is preparing for its next cycle of human services nonprofit grantmaking.

And the Improved Quality of Human Services category includes services and opportunities provided to individuals, organizations and communities that enhance the quality, accessibility, accountability and coordination of services provided by community organizations. The fiscal year 2020 Human Service Nonprofit Grant Application and related documents will be posted on Dec. 3 at loudoun.gov/NonProfitGrants. Applications are due by 5 p.m. Jan.

18. The amount of funding available for grants will be determined as part of the county’s adopted fiscal year 2020 budget. This year, the budget for human service nonprofit grant funding was $1.09 million. Supervisors are expected to adopt next year’s budget in April, with grant funding to begin with the new fiscal year on July 1, 2019. Last year, supervisors continued their work to overhaul the grant process in part by removing six nonprofits from

the competitive grant funding process, now opting to fund them directly. Those six nonprofits—HealthWorks for Northern Virginia, Loudoun Free Clinic, Northern VA Dental Clinic, Blue Ridge Speech and Hearing, Loudoun Volunteer Caregivers, and Loudoun Abused Women’s Shelter—routinely accounted for half of the county’s nonprofit grants. They collectively received the same amount as the previous year, $502,519. That resulted in a net increase of nonprofit funding, as the pool of money in the competitive grant program saw no correlating decrease. This year, on top of releasing the application earlier, the county has made a number of other changes to the grant process. County government staff members are trying to encourage partnership applications between organizations providing similar services to present a stronger application and to assist smaller or newer organizations in managing grant funds. Applications that represent a partnership will be weighted in scoring those applications. The application itself is similar to last year, but with more detailed guidance, streamlined questions requesting the specific data needed for review, and additional narrative space where orgaGRANT FUNDING >> 19

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ST. GABRIEL’S ~ SAN GABRIEL Episcopal Church Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe Traditional Latin American Eucharist Service Honoring the Patron Saint of the Americas Wednesday, December 12, 7 PM Procession and Eucharist with Live Mariachi band Contributed

Representatives from the Safeway Foundation display a check ready to be given to Loudoun Hunger Relief.

Loudoun Hunger Relief announced a $6,114 grant from Safeway and Safeway Foundation from their Hunger Is initiative to eradicate childhood hunger. The money will be used to provide healthy breakfast foods to families with children. “We’re excited that Safeway and Safeway Foundation are supporting the work we do each day to help local kids start their day with a good, nutritious meal,” stated Loudoun Hunger Relief Executive Director, Jennifer Montgomery. “We know that Safeway Foundation sets a high standard for its Hunger Is grant recipients because the grants only go to organizations that have the greatest impact on fighting childhood hunger. We’re proud to be part of that recipient group and thank Safeway and their customers for helping us continue to make a difference in the lives of children in Loudoun County.” “We know that Loudoun Hunger Relief is doing great things,” stated Tom Lofland, President, Safeway Eastern Division. “It’s our pleasure to support their innovative programs and tireless commitment to the health and futures of our community’s youngest citizens.” Loudoun Hunger Relief has been fighting hunger since its founding as Loudoun Interfaith Relief in 1991.

Blue Ridge Hospice is taking a moment during November, which is National Hospice and Palliative Care Month, to tell people about all that hospice and palliative care can offer. A released statement from the Winchester-based organization said that there are a lot of misconceptions about end-of-life care. “It is essential that people understand that hospice and palliative care is not giving up, it is not the abandonment of care, it is not reserved for the imminently dying,” stated Edo Banach, president and CEO of the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization. “Hospice is a successful model of person-centered care that brings hope, dignity and compassion when they are most needed.” According to Blue Ridge Hospice President and CEO Constance Morrison, Blue Ridge Hospice has an almost 40-year history of serving patients and their families throughout the greater Shenandoah Valley. Blue Ridge Hospice also operates eight thrift shops throughout the greater region, including one in Leesburg and Purcellville, with proceeds supporting the organization’s work.

Grant funding

any nonprofit applying for a grant of $5,000 or less. The mini-grants program is designed for small-scale innovative projects, and for new or small organizations who may lack capacity for writing a larger grant.

<< FROM 18 nizations can provide context for data submitted. The county will include additional resources for training and assistance, especially around strategic planning, in information sessions that will be offered after the application is released. New funding limits will be in effect for this grant cycle. Since the current fiscal year’s application process, no organization may request more than 30 percent of its current operating revenue. This year, individual awards will also be limited to no more than 10 percent of the competitive process’s budget to ensure that the county retains the capacity to make multiple awards across all areas of need. In addition to the standard nonprofit application grant process, a mini-grants process will once again be available, providing a simplified application for

Development Workshops Set for December The county government is hosting an application development workshop for prospective applicants. The workshop will be offered twice: Friday, Dec. 7, from 9 a.m. to noon at the county government center in Leesburg; and Tuesday, Dec. 11, from 1-4 p.m. at Cascades Library. The workshop will cover changes to the application, as well as resources for building stronger organizations, such as financial health and strategic planning. Pre-registration is not required. For questions about the application process, contact Grants Program Coordinator Shalom Black in the Department of Management and Budget at Shalom. Black@loudoun.gov or 703-737-8186

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21 November 29, 2018

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November 29, 2018

Douglas Graham/Loudoun Now

While traffic was up at Dulles Town Center as the holiday shopping season kicked off last week, mall representatives remain mum on future plans.

Nordstrom Site Sold as Mall Owners Prepare Retail Transitions BY KARA C. RODRIGUEZ

epresentatives of Dulles Town Center are remaining mum on the mall’s future amid news that Lerner Enterprises, the developer behind the Dulles Town Center project, has purchased the former Nordstrom’s department store space. Nordstrom, one of the mall’s prominent anchors, closed in September 2017 and the large, two-story space it occupied has since sat empty. Kim Mazhari, director of marketing for Dulles Town Center, acknowledged

that the retail industry and public preferences are changing in an era where online shopping and experiential retail are the trends of the moment. But, despite that, she happily reported that the mall’s retailers saw an increase in foot traffic over the Thanksgiving holiday shopping weekend. While she would not share the mall’s current vacancy figures, she said that all of its in-line spaces are occupied for the holiday season, whether by a temporary or permanent retailer. Some stores at the mall opened as early as 2 p.m. Thanksgiving Day, with 95 percent of the mall’s stores open from 6 p.m. to midnight that day. A line start-

ed forming around the mall’s exterior a little after noon Thanksgiving Day. “A lot of the retailers we’ve spoken to had double-digit increases for Thanksgiving,” she said. Because of the emergence of early shopping on Thanksgiving, the parking lot at the mall did not hit capacity until 1 p.m. Friday, which is later than usual, she said. Mazhari chalked it up to more people sleeping in or resting in the morning after perhaps already being out for round one of holiday shopping on Thanksgiving Day. Of its anchor department stores, MALL FUTURE >> 23

Teen CEO Releases 2nd Book on Self-Confidence BY DANIELLE NADLER A 14-year-old who already boasts the title CEO can now call herself a twotime author. Alana Andrews, a freshman at Potomac Falls High School, is launching her second book this month called “Creating Confidence,” which encourages young people to make no excuses and reject any limitations to success. “If you don’t make excuses, you don’t have anything holding you back,” she said. Her book outlines five steps young people can take to build their self-esteem. “I share stories from throughout my life. I first developed confidence at a young age and I use it in everyday situations to get big things done—and now I use it to encourage others to be their best selves.” And she’s certainly tackled big things. Alana created her own company, So Positive Inc., almost two years ago. The business develops products and books that are designed to give teens the tools—

and a firm nudge—to to help fund production. take risks with the end Andrews will share her goal of building their experiences as a young self-confidence, while entrepreneur and offimaintaining a healthy cially launch her new lifestyle. As part of her book during the Virginia work, she created the Women’s Business ConSo Positive Initiative ference, in which she is at Potomac Falls that among the impressive helps teens develop lineup of speakers. The leadership and puball-day conference is Friday, Nov. 30, at the Sherlic speaking skills by aton Tysons Hotel in Tyspeaking to fifth-gradsons Corner. ers about how they can Learn more about So build confidence ahead Positive Inc. at soposof entering middle Hear Alana Andrews at the Women’s itiveinc.com and purschool. So far, the proBusiness Conference on Friday, Nov. gram has connected chase “Creating Con30, at the Sheraton Tysons Hotel in high school speakers fidence” for $12.99 on Tysons Corner. with four elementary Amazon. Alana’s first schools. book, “Timeless,” is also for sale on AmThrough her company, So Positive azon for $15. Her first book offers an Inc., Alana is also working to manufac- authentic glimpse of her experiences as ture a no-sugar, all-natural energy drink a young teen through poetry. that she plans to market to teens. She dnadler@loudounnow.com said she’s currently looking for investors

Starting Jan. 1, Matt Mathias takes over as CEO of HCA’s StoneSprings Hospital Center near Arcola. Mathias has been with HCA for 14 years, most recently serving as CEO at HCA’s Clear Lake Regional Medical Center, a 531-bed, Mathias Level 2 Trauma hospital in Houston, TX. He also served in various administrative roles at Virginia hospitals—LewisGale Hospital Montgomery in Blacksburg, LewisGale Alleghany in Covington, and Henrico Doctors’ Hospital in Richmond. He holds a bachelor’s degree in health services administration from James Madison University and a master’s degree in health administration from Virginia Commonwealth University. Located along Rt. 50, StoneSprings Hospital Center is a 234,000-square-foot, 124-bed facility providing medical and surgical services to Loudoun County. For more information, go to stonespringshospital.com.

Aperiomics Named 2018 Startup of the Year Established, the founders of media company Tech.Co, has named Ashburn’s Aperiomics as the 2018 Startup of the Year for its innovation and the work the company does to help people suffering from chronic infection. This award was presented at the Innovate Celebrate competition in Boston last month. The event was co-sponsored by Established and the Consumer Technology Association. Aperiomics and CEO and co-founder Crystal Icenhour were recognized for offering “one-of-akind technology [that] can identify every known pathogen in a single test, helping to address the 75% failure rate of existing identification of infection-causing pathogens.” “We are grateful to the judges and participants at Innovate Celebrate for recognizing the important work our team is doing to help doctors and their patients identify the causes of chronic infection. Our technology has helped hundreds of patients and their healthcare teams finally identify the root causes of their chronic illness,” Icenhour said. “This is a new frontier in the use of DNA analysis and we are excited to lead the way.” The company also recently brought home the grand prize in the Vinetta Project pitch challenge in Washington, DC. The Vinetta Project is a NYC-born collective JUMP TO >> 23

[ BIZ BRIEFS ]

Oncology Practice Joins National Network Oncology/Hematology of Loudoun and Reston has joined the joined American Oncology Network, a national alliance of physicians and experienced health care leaders. The partnership is intended to increase the practice’s current service offered to local cancer patients, including care management, oral oncolytic pharmacy and an in-house pathology lab. AON provides specialized and comprehensive protocols for managing administrative procedures and enhancing ancillary services for its affiliates and is able to aggregate volume and attain economies of scale as it guides its member physicians and practices through the transition to value-based reimbursement models that improve the patient experience and help to reduce the per-capita cost of cancer care. Oncology/Hematology of Loudoun and Reston’s Loudoun office is located at 44055 Riverside Parkway, Suite 224, in Lansdowne.

SAIC Executive Featured for Contractor Chat In collaboration with Leesburg’s Economic Development Office, the Mason Enterprise Center will hold its next Contractor Chat on Monday, Dec. 3, from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. This free

Mall future << FROM 22 only the Nordstrom’s space is currently vacant, Mazhari said. Macys, Lord & Taylor, JCPenny’s and Sears all remain. As many of those larger scale retailers have closed up shop in other parts of the country, Dulles Town Center, with the exception of Nordstroms, has so far been spared from the list of closures. Mazhari would not elaborate on specific future plans for the mall, but said in particular Dulles Town Center is looking at adding to its entertainment options. The 556-acre master plan site also includes office, retail and residential uses in addition to the anchor mall, which opened in 1999. “People are looking for places to shop, dine and be entertained. We want

Sheep Farmers Offer Holiday Products During the annual Leesburg Winter Farmers Market, held from 9 a.m. to noon Dec. 8 and Dec. 15, shoppers will have an opportunity to buy handcrafted local sheep-related products at the Loudoun Valley Sheep Producer’s Wool Shop. There will be a large variety of handcrafted wool products made by area artisans. Products include sheepskins, felted items, hats, scarfs, socks, mittens and hand spun yarns. Additionally, other Loudoun Valley Sheep Producer members will sell breed-specific yarns and locally raised lamb meat and sausage. to increase the amount of entertainment options we have here at Dulles Town Center,” she said. “There’s a shift as leases are naturally expiring to look for other brands—not only brands but companies—that are offering what the public is looking for with more dining and entertainment. We’re always open to more conversations with brands looking to get their foot in the door with brick and mortar.” Going forward they’re looking at “all options” given the changing retail market. “We need to be moving forward in a direction that will still retain customers and residents,” Mazhari said. “At this time, we’re just having conversations and discussing what could be a benefit to our property and the surrounding community.” krodriguez@loudounnow.com

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that aims to close the gender-based venture capital funding gap by connecting female founders and investors. Also the National Science Foundation last month awarded the company an additional $229,000 phase IIb through its Small Business Innovative Research program. Over the past two years, Aperiomics has received more than $1.6 million from the NSF. In 2017, the company closed a seed round of funding raising $512,000 that was led by Pipeline Angels, a national network of new and seasoned women angel investors. In 2016, the company was named “Life Sciences Innovator of the Year.”

event is open to all, but particularly of value to small government contractors. Lunch will be provided and sponsored by Access National Bank. The presenter this month is MiTownsend chael Townsend Sr., director for Small Business Development and Utilization for SAIC. He is the corporate point of contact for all small business matters related to SAIC’s federal government, state and local government customers and commercial small business vendors and partners. He is responsible for promoting small business utilization and outreach within the company, government customers and industry. Townsend develops and implements SAIC small business processes in accordance with statutory requirements and is the small business liaison officer responsible for small business compliance and reporting. Additionally, he oversees and manages SAIC’s small business special programs including Mentor-Protégé, HBCU/MI and Ability One. The Mason Enterprise Center is located at 202 Church Street, SE, in Leesburg. To reserve a seat, go to meetup. com/Federal-Contractors-Loudoun/ events/256157276.

November 29, 2018

<< FROM 22

[ OUR TOWNS ]

[ TOWN NOTES ] HILLSBORO

November 29, 2018

Hillsboro to Host Winter Wonderland

Norman K. Styer/Loudoun Now

Commuters line up on Main Street in Waterford on Monday morning. The Waterford Citizens Association is working with VDOT to discuss possible solutions for the village’s cut-through traffic concerns.

Waterford Residents Seek VDOT Help with Cut-Through Traffic BY PATRICK SZABO

aterford residents for years have been bemoaning the significant impact cut-through traffic has had on the historic village. Now, the community is prepared to ask VDOT for help. Since May, the Waterford Citizens Association has been working through the findings of a traffic study to prepare a proposal that it will use to solicit VDOT for help with its cut-through traffic dilemma. Although that study, conducted by the JMT engineering firm in November 2016 and funded by the county

government for $82,500, includes suggestions for alternative traffic routes, Meredith Imwalle, the chairwoman of the association’s traffic committee, said those routes could jeopardize the village’s National Historic Landmark designation. Instead, the association has alternative proposals. “We’ve come up with some out-ofthe-box solutions,” Imwalle said. Cut-through traffic began affecting the village about three decades ago when commuters started driving through the village’s narrow streets to avoid rush hour traffic jams on Rt. 287, Rt. 9 and Rt. 15. More recently, the problem transformed from a nuisance into a safety hazard.

The JMT study found that there were 102 vehicles cutting through the village from Milltown Road in the north to Clarks Gap Road in the south from 7-8 a.m. It also found that there were 169 vehicles cutting through from south to north along those roads from 5-6 p.m. That’s enough to solicit VDOT for help, since cut-through traffic exceeds 150 vehicle trips in an hour and accounts for more than 40 percent of the overall volume—54 percent in the mornings and 60 percent in the afternoons. “It’s really like traffic is being funneled through Waterford,” Imwalle said. WATERFORD TRAFFIC >> 26

Purcellville Pet Lover Works to Raise $16K for Armenian Dogs BY PATRICK SZABO With the season of giving in full swing and the weather getting colder, many animal lovers are doing their part to help local shelters. Beyond Loudoun and the U.S., though, there’s a whole other world of animals that need attention. Purcellville resident Sarah Jones recently started working from her temporary home in Yerevan, Armenia, during the winter to raise money to keep the city’s stray animals warm and also find them suitable homes back in the U.S. Having moved to the Eurasian

nation in June to accompany her husband on a work assignment, Jones, 41, is working with The Loudoun Pet Sitting Co. to help raise $16,000 to feed the 127 dogs at Armenia’s Pawsitive Rescue animal shelter, while also raising awareness that those dogs need homes in the U.S. “Once I arrived and saw the situation regarding homeless, injured and abandoned animals here, my heart broke and I had to do something,” she said. Jones said that dogs in Yerevan are often put out on the streets when their owners don’t want them anymore and are stricken by the cold winter months

and by cars running into them. “There’s a huge overpopulation,” she said. “They’re everywhere—I hear them at night.” Since moving to Armenia this summer, Jones joined Pawsitive Rescue and recently started the Project Santa Paws campaign that she’s hoping will raise enough money to provide two meals a day for the shelter’s dogs during the cold winter months. “They need the extra food to put on the extra layers,” she said. On the adoption side, Jones is workARMENIAN DOGS >> 27

It’s about to be December, which means it is time for some winter-themed festivities to kick the season off. The town this Saturday, Dec. 1 from 7 p.m. to midnight will host its Winter Wonderland Gala in the Gap event at the Old Stone School. Visitors are invited to come out for dancing, a gourmet dinner prepared by Chef Driscoll, assorted holiday drinks, local wines and beers and a performance by the Rick Reaves Big Band. Tickets to the event are $75 in advance and $100 at the door. All proceeds will go toward the 2019 Independence Day the Hillsboro Way Fireworks Fund. The town will also host a tree lighting ceremony and potluck dinner Sunday, Dec. 2 from 6-9 p.m. For more information, or to purchase tickets, go to hillsborova. gov or call 540-486-8001.

LOVETTSVILLE 11th Annual Christkindlmarkt this Weekend at Game Club Keeping with its German heritage, the Town of Lovettsville will again play host to a traditional Christmas market this weekend. The Loudoun Valley German Society is set to hold its 11th annual Christkindlmarkt this Saturday, Dec. 1 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday, Dec. 2 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Lovettsville Game Club. Residents are invited to the German-themed market— which will be set up like a German shopping district—to purchase hand-crafted goods, artisan foods like sausage, gingerbread, Stollen, chestnuts and traditional German drinks, like Glühwein. Christmas decorations and trees will also be sold at the event.

MIDDLEBURG Foxcroft School to Host Christmas Pageant Foxcroft School this Sunday, Dec. 2 at 2 p.m. will hold its annual Christmas Pageant in the Englehard Gymnasium. Families are invited to watch as the school’s chorus puts on a performance centered on the nativity. TOWN NOTES >> 25

[ TOWN NOTES ] The pageant will be the culmination of a weekend dedicated to community outreach and holiday activities, which will include students decorating the campus, singing carols and preparing Christmas cards on Friday and participating in the Christmas in Middleburg parade on Saturday. For more information on the pageant, call the school at 540-687-4511.

PURCELLVILLE

First ‘A Christmas Carol’ Musical Kicks Off Thursday For those who love classic stories with a modern and musical twist, Run Rabbit Run Theatre has the perfect holiday performance for you. On Thursday, Nov. 29 the company will kick off the first of eight performances of “Once Upon a Christmas Carol” at the Franklin Park Arts Center. The musical adaptation of the Charles Dickens classic will be presented at the center on Nov. 29 and 30 and Dec. 1, 6, 7 and 8 at 7:30 p.m. and Dec. 2 and 9 at 2 p.m. The performance has won multiple awards from DC Metro Theatre Arts in recent years. Tickets can be purchased beforehand for $15 for children, students and seniors and $20 for adults. Tickets at the door are $5 more. For more information on the performances, go to rrrtheatre.org or call 571510-0037.

Town Reroutes Christmas Parade Organizers are planning a route change for the town’s 15th annual Christmas in Purcellville Parade, which will be held Saturday, Dec. 15 beginning at noon. In a reversal from previous years, the parade will start at Loudoun Valley High School, head south on Maple Avenue, turn west on Main Street and then north onto 21st Street in the historic downtown area before ending at the Purcellville Train Station. Participants will continue along 21st Street to the Cardinal Concrete Plant to dismantle their floats. According to a town statement, the change is expected “to improve the safety and efficiency of the parade.” For more information on road closures, or to sign up to participate in the parade, visit purcellvilleva.gov or call 540-338-7421.

TOWN NOTES >> 26

BY PATRICK SZABO Hillsboro’s longest-living resident and longtime Town Council member Belle Ware died Sunday at the age of 82. Mayor Roger Vance said that it was Ware’s ability to share her knowledge of the town’s history and bring clarity to difficult issues that made her so important to the community and inspired Vance and others in town. “She was involved in everything we do around here,” he said. “She was so active and vital—it’s a big loss.” Ware arrived in town more than seven decades ago, in 1945. Two years later, Ware’s mother, Evelyn Turbeville, was elected mayor. While that made her the first female mayor in Virginia, it also set the tone for Ware growing up. In 1976, Ware founded the Hillsboro Community Association to save the Old Stone School by agreeing to lease the building from the county government in exchange for conducting major restoration projects. In the early 2000s, Ware took over as the town treasurer for many years. In 2010, she was elected to the Town Council and served nearly four full terms and several years as vice mayor before stepping down nine months early this past February. Ware was also one of the most notable decorators in the Christmas in Hillsboro Historic Homes Tour, was actively involved with the Hillsboro United Methodist Church and the

Daughters of the American Revolution and, for the past three years, hosted the town’s New Year’s Day polar plunge at the pond on her property. For her service to Hillsboro, the Town Council in February 2016 rededicated the Old Stone School’s upstairs room as the Tulip Ware Room. In January this year, the town also presented Ware with the Lifetime Achievement Award. “She was a really progressive woman who worked and contributed and never really slowed down much,” Vance said. “She was always there at the forefront.” pszabo@loudounnow.com

Contributed

Longtime Hillsboro town treasurer and Town Council member Belle Ware died Sunday at the age of 82.

Contributed

Belle Ware stands with Vice Mayor Amy Marasco, Town Treasurer Marybeth Muir, Mayor Roger Vance, Supervisor Tony Buffington (R-Blue Ridge) and Councilwoman Claudia Forbes after being presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award in January.

<< FROM 24

Ware Leaves Behind Lasting Legacy in Hillsboro

November 29, 2018

[ TOWN NOTES ]

Waterford traffic

FROM 25

<< FROM 24 The study proposes four solutions. One suggests installing “No Thru Traffic” signs on 2nd, Factory, Janney and Patrick streets, while another suggests restricting access to 2nd Street in the mornings and Factory, Janney and Patrick Streets in the afternoons. The last two alternatives call for construction of a bypass around the village or to convert the southernmost portion of Factory Street into a cul-de-sac, prohibiting traffic from accessing High Street and vice versa. Those alternatives could significantly change the appearance of the village and affect the historic landmark designation that the National Park Service granted it in 1970. According to federal regulations, Waterford could be removed from the National Register of Historic Places if the “qualities which caused it to be originally listed have been lost or destroyed.” In response to the study’s suggested routes, the citizens association this summer came up with its own proposals, which it hopes to present to VDOT before Christmas and will make public at a community meeting early next year. Supervisor Geary Higgins (R-Catoctin), who lives just outside the village, said the goal of the meeting with VDOT is to initiate discussions of possible short-term solutions. In the long-term, he said that improvements to Rt. 15, which will widen much of the highway to four lanes by 2023, and the planned 2020 installation of the Rt. 9/287 roundabout would also help.

3 Appointed to Planning Commission, 1 to Arts Council

Patrick Szabo/Loudoun Now

A traffic study released in May counted 169 vehicles cutting through Waterford from Clarks Gap Road to Milltown Road during the 5-6 p.m. afternoon rush hour.

To get help from VDOT’s Residential Cut-Through Traffic Program, the community needs information on the village’s primary use area, roadway classifications, verification that the volume of cut-through traffic meets VDOT minimums, alternative solutions and a community petition. The study and citizens association already have four of those. All that’s left is to gather at least 75 signatures from village residents on a community petition. “We know we qualify for some help from VDOT,” Imwalle said. “We need some quick fixes now.” The citizens association wants commuters to make the village a destination, rather than a cut-through, to experience its character up close. The county sheriff ’s office is also working to calm traffic. Captain Greg

Ahlemann, the Western Loudoun Station commander, said that while deputies frequently patrol the area, complaints help to “re-calibrate” their enforcement. “I think we do a pretty good job [patrolling Waterford],” he said. Public Information Officer Kraig Troxell said the sheriff ’s office and VDOT also redesigned the signage along Butchers Row and High Street to better assist with traffic flow. Troxell said deputies also use the School Awareness and Firm Enforcement initiative to manage traffic around Waterford Elementary School. “The Loudoun County Sheriff ’s Office continues to have a presence in the village,” he said.

The Town Council this month voted to appoint Edward Neham, Stosh Kowalski and Orlo Paciulli to fill three vacancies on the town’s Planning Commission. They were selected from a pool of six candidates, one of whom was former Town Councilman Doug McCollum. Their terms on the commission expire on Sept. 30, 2022. The council also voted to appoint Erika Rudiger to the Purcellville Arts Council, to fill a vacancy with a term that expires on Sept. 30, 2020. The town is still looking to fill another vacancy on the arts council and one on the Board of Zoning Appeals, the Economic Development Advisory Committee and the Tree and Environmental Sustainability Committee. To apply for one of those spots, send an application, resume and letter of interest to Town Clerk Diana Hays at dhays@purcellvilleva.gov.

ROUND HILL Annual Tree Lighting, Dinner with Santa this Saturday Santa will be in town this weekend to join the town’s tree lighting and stay for dinner. The town this Saturday, Dec. 1 from 4-5:30 p.m. is set to host its annual Christmas Tree Lighting ceremony at

pszabo@loudounnow.com

TOWN NOTES >> 27

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

[ TOWN NOTES ] the town park, followed by a free dinner with Santa from 5:30-7 p.m. at the Round Hill Volunteer Fire Department on Main Street. The menu will include ham, a vegetarian casserole option, macaroni and cheese, salad, dessert and drinks. Children will also have the chance to sit and talk with Santa throughout the dinner. For more information, call the town at 540-338-7878.

WATERFORD Wineries Raise $20K for Paralyzed Winegrower After a little more than a month of fundraising, Loudoun’s wine community has raised enough money to give one of its own the ability to continue doing the job she loves. As of this month, the Harvest Kindness initiative, which was headed by the Wine Reserve at Waterford and North Gate Vineyard, raised $20,000 to purchase Jan Mathov a track chair that will enable her to continue working her job. She is a Waterford winegrower who was paralyzed after a fall in her vineyard four years ago. The money was collected through individual donations on Mathov’s GoFundMe page, in-person at the wineries, and from a fundraising event at North Gate on Nov. 10. Mathov’s husband, Fernando, said they will order the track chair with those funds in hopes of having it before the spring 2019 growing season.

Armenian dogs << FROM 24 ing to inform Loudoun residents that they can also adopt an Armenian dog. She said the shelter, which operates in an abandoned Soviet Army barracks, won’t allow Armenians to adopt dogs with special needs, like those missing legs, out of fear that they’ll dump them back on the streets. Jones has raised close to $3,000 on her GoFundMe page, gofundme. com/Project-Santa-Paws, although there have yet to be any adoptions by Loudoun residents. Lysa Clemens, the owner and founder of The Loudoun Pet Sitting Co., said that she’s spreading the word about the campaign to her clients and the region at large. Her company is also prepared to make a donation of up to $1,000. “We’re happy to do whatever we can to help,” she said. “I know the situation has got to be pretty rough in Armenia for the dogs.” Jones’ work in Armenia isn’t the first time she’s worked to help animals. In Loudoun, she started the Pawsome Palz dog-walking and pet-sitting company in 2016 after moving from Washington, DC, to a 20-acre farm near Purcellville with her husband, Simon, and their pets. It was then, after Jones left her marketing job in the city, that someone suggested that she walk dogs to fill up her time. Working with animals is a family affair. Growing up, Simon lived on the property of London’s Whipsnade Zoo while his father worked as the direc-

Contributed

Purcellville resident Sarah Jones is helping to raise $16,000 for 127 dogs in Armenia’s Pawsitive Rescue animal shelter.

tor of the London Zoological Society. He’s also worked for the National Geographic Society, as a safari guide and with the Lewa Wildlife Conservancy in Kenya and as a ranger at the North Carolina Zoo. When Simon’s job with Solimar International required him to move to Armenia this summer, Sarah sold Pawsome Palz to The Loudoun Pet Sitting Co.

beauty made for real life.

Now staying put in Yerevan until the spring, Jones is fully committed to the dogs there. “I truly believe Virginia is for lovers and hope a few dog lovers will see it in their hearts to give a little and, who knows, maybe even fall in love with one or two of the dogs here and adopt them out,” she said. pszabo@loudounnow.com

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FROM 26

[ LOCO LIVING ]

[ THINGS TO DO ] HOLIDAY HAPPENINGS

November 29, 2018

Philomont Holiday Dinner with Santa Friday, Nov. 30, 6:30-8:30 p.m. Philomont Fire Department, 36560 Jeb Stuart Road, Philomont Contact: 540-338-5882 Philomont Community Center hosts a delicious Italian style dinner and a visit from Santa to kick off the holidays. Admission is $7 for adults, $5 for children or $20 for a family of four. Advance purchase is encouraged.

Courtesy of Christmas in Middleburg

Christmas in Middleburg Patrick Szabo/Loudoun Now

Town of Middleburg

A family drags their freshly cut Christmas tree to their car at Between the Hills Farm north of Hillsboro.

Details: christmasinmiddleburg.org

Fresh Trees and Family Time:

Making It a Cut-Your-Own Christmas in Loudoun BY JAN MERCKER

The morning starts with breakfast with Santa at Middleburg Community Charter School and continues all day with fun activities, a craft fair and progressive food and wine tastings. Highlights include the hunt review at 11 a.m. and Christmas parade at 2 p.m.

Purcellville Rescue Breakfast with Santa Saturday, Dec. 1, 8 a.m.-noon

hen Shelly Tomlinson was growing up near Albany, NY, trudging through the snow to cut down a Christmas tree with family was a favorite annual event. And she’s now carrying on that tradition with her own family and close friends in western Loudoun. The county’s booming cut-your-own Christmas tree scene has made it pretty easy, with farms right in her backyard. “It’s just tradition,” Tomlinson said. “We’re lucky—there are so many tree farms around here so it’s convenient.” For the past 15 years, Tomlinson, her husband, Andy, their friends Michelle and Dustin Sclater and their children have hit an area tree farm. Their location of choice is usually Milltown Creek Tree Farms near their home in Lovettsville, but they’ve also explored other farms around the region. And while Loudoun cut-your-own farms offer a wide range of varieties, Tomlinson is usually on the hunt for the perfect blue spruce. “They’re pretty and they smell great,” she said. But there’s also some family history in the choice: her German grandfather had a nursery in New York and blue spruce was his specialty. With two families and five kids total, it’s not a picture-perfect experience every year, Tomlinson said, but it’s always worthwhile. The memories and photo ops are priceless: the families have photos of two, then four and then five kids on the back of their truck going back 15 years. And it’s a family bonding experience that is even more priceless as their kids have entered the teen years.

Saturday, Dec. 1, 7:45 a.m.-6 p.m.

Purcellville Volunteer Rescue Squad, 500 N. Maple Ave., Purcellville Details: purcellvillerescue.org This super popular breakfast features home-cooked food and photos with Santa by donation.

West Belmont Place Breakfast with Santa Saturday, Dec. 1, 8:30-11:30 a.m. West Belmont Place at the National, 18980 Upper Belmont Place, Leesburg Details: westbelmontplace.com

Patrick Szabo/Loudoun Now

Workers at Between the Hills Farm work to bind a freshly cut Christmas tree.

For more information on Holidays in Loudoun Valleys and a map of participating tree farms and places to buy handmade gifts, go to loudounfarms.org/holidaytrees.

“It would be a lot cheaper to go somewhere else, but we’d miss the tradition part. And the kids love it,” Tomlinson said. “They still get into it—they still love all that traditional stuff, and they still like to hang out with us.” Cut your own trees is a growing sector in Loudoun’s agritourism economy, and Loudoun Farms’ Holidays in Loudoun Valleys campaign, organized by the county’s economic development office, kicked off last weekend. According to the Virginia Depart-

ment of Agriculture, there are at least 16 tree farmers in Loudoun. This year’s campaign spotlights a dozen of those farms along with area farms, farmers markets and artisan studios where visitors can pick up products for holiday giving, and the idea is to encourage visitors to make a day of it with family and friends in addition to finding the perfect tree. “It truly becomes more of an experience for the families who are visiting the farms this season,” said Vanessa Wagner, interim rural development officer for Loudoun County Economic Development. “The trend is opening up to being more than just cut your own but having it be that whole event. A lot of the venues are pet-friendly, CHRISTMAS TREES >> 30

With seatings at 8:30 and 10 a.m., this beloved annual event features a hot breakfast buffet, photos with Santa and Mrs. Claus, gingerbread decorating and a festive movie. Unwrapped toys for the Salvation Army are also welcome. Tickets are $26 for adults, $20 for children 3 to 12 and free for children 2 and under.

Leesburg Holiday Fine Arts and Crafts Show Saturday, Dec. 1, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. and Sunday, Dec. 2, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Ida Lee Recreation Center, 60 Ida Lee Drive NW, Leesburg Details: leesburgva.gov More than 90 local and regional artisans selling handmade items including candles, stained glass, carved wood, jewelry, seasonal decor, table linens and other unique gifts. Admission and parking are free.

Claude Moore Holiday in the Park Saturday, Dec. 1, 3:30-6 p.m. Claude Moore Park, 21544 Old Vestals Gap Road, Sterling

MORE THINGS TO DO >> 29

[ THINGS TO DO ]

Details: loudoun.gov/claudemoorepark Go back in time to see how people in colonial and Victorian times celebrated the holidays. Visit period decorated Lanesville Ordinary and explore the Frogshackle Nature Center. Make crafts, enjoy hot chocolate, cider, and toasting marshmallows. Bring a donation of a new hat or gloves for the Winter Warmth Tree. Event is free.

Road, Purcellville Details: goosecreekplayers.com Loudoun’s newest performing arts group, the Goose Creek Players, presents the charming play based on the 1947 classic film. Attendees are invited to shoot a photo with the play’s Santa after the show. Tickets are $10 in advance.

Live Music: Damage Inc. Metallica Tribute Saturday, Dec. 1, 7 p.m. Tally Ho Theater, 19 W. Market St., Leesburg Details: tallyhotheater.com

One Loudoun Tree Lighting Saturday, Dec. 1, 5-7 p.m. One Loudoun, 60626 Easthampton Plaza, Ashburn Courtesy of Loudoun Centre Theatre

Details: oneloudoun.com

Enjoy a festive evening of jazz from the Rick Reaves Big Band, gourmet dinner, local wines and beers and holiday cocktails. Tickets are $100 at the door.

Lights of Love Celebration Sunday, Dec. 2, 5 p.m., Inova Loudoun Hospital, 44045 Riverside Parkway, Leesburg Details: ladiesboard.org Inova Loudoun Hospital celebrates the holidays and invites the public to buy a light in honor of someone special or in memory of a loved one. The evening also features a holiday concert from the Loudoun County High School Chamber Choir and refreshments. Suggested donations for lights are $10 and up and benefit the Inova Ladies Board’s nursing scholarship fund.

ON STAGE ‘Once Upon a Christmas Carol’ Thursday, Nov. 29, Friday, Nov. 30, and Saturday, Dec. 1, 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, Dec. 2, 2 p.m. Franklin Park Arts Center, 36441 Blueridge View Lane, Purcellville Details: rrrtheatre.org Run Rabbit Run Theater presents a musical adaptation of Charles Dickens’ classic tale of Scrooge’s redemption, full of joyful and poignant songs to entertain audiences of all ages. Thirty-six actors portray over 140 characters to tell the story of the redemption of cold Ebenezer Scrooge. Tickets are $14-$20 in advance, $25 at the door. Performances also run Thursday, Dec. 6- Sunday, Dec. 9.

‘Miracle on 34th Street’ Friday, Nov. 30, 7:30 p.m., Saturday, Dec. 1 and Sunday, Dec. 2, 2 p.m. Trillium Gathering Building, 18915 Lincoln

Let loose with classic rock, blues, jam and old school hippie music from a local favorite. No cover.

Get a taste of alt country/Americana up and comers Yarn from Brooklyn, NY. Local favorite Juliana MacDowell and her new band open. Tickets are $10 in advance.

Visit the gorgeous Davis mansion in its holiday splendor and learn how early 20th Century Christmas customs evolved into the holiday traditions we enjoy today. Last tour starts at 4 p.m. Tickets are $10 per adult and $5 per child. Tours continue weekends through Dec. 30 with weekday tours available Dec. 26-28.

Details: oldstoneschool.org

Details: monksq.com

Details: bchordbrewing.com

Details: morvenpark.org

Hillsboro Old Stone School, 37098 Charles Town Pike, Hillsboro

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

B Chord Brewing Company, 34266 Williams Gap Road, Bluemont

Morven Park, 17195 Southern Planter Lane, Leesburg

Saturday, Dec. 1, 7 p.m.-midnight

Friday, Nov. 30, 8-11 p.m.

Friday, Nov. 30, 8 p.m.

Saturday, Dec. 1 and Sunday, Dec. 2, noon5 p.m.

Winter Wonderland Gala in the Gap

Live Music: Virginia Hipnecks

Live Music Yarn with Juliana MacDowell

Morven Park Holiday Tours

Enjoy entertainment, crafts for the kids, holiday horse and wagon rides, s’mores, popcorn and other free refreshments and a visit from Santa.

heart of downtown Leesburg. Tickets are $15 in advance, $35 for VIP seats.

This New York-based Metallica tribute serves up the energy and precision of the real thing. Tickets are $15 in advance, $35 for VIP seats. Saturday, Dec. 1, 8 p.m.

Friday, Nov. 30, 7:30 p.m.; Saturday, Dec. 1, 1:30 and 7:30 p.m.

B Chord Brewing Company, 34266 Williams Gap Road, Bluemont

Destiny Hall, 37 Catoctin Circle SE, Leesburg

Details: bchordbrewing.com

Loudoun Centre Theatre presents its fourth annual production of “A Christmas Carol” in its new space, as the ghosts remind stingy Scrooge that mankind should be his business. Tickets are $15 in advance, $18 at the door. Performances run Fridays and Saturdays through Dec. 15.

Loudoun’s own world-traveling Furnace Mountain Band, featuring Aimee Curl on bass and vocals, Danny Knicely on mandolin and fiddle, Dave Van Deventer on fiddle, and Morgan Morrison on guitar, bouzouki, and vocals, brings it home for the holidays with a lively show at B Chord. No cover.

Atlantis After Work Concert Series: Matthew Shell Friday, Nov. 30, 6- 10p.m. Atlantis, 45449 Severn Way, Dulles Details: atlantisva.info Atlantis’ new series featuring notable national and regional jazz, soul and R&B performers features Matthew Shell, an Alexandria-based producer and songwriter known for chart-topping contemporary jazz. Advance tickets are $25 for the show or $40 with dinner included.

Live Music: Jason Masi Album Release Party Friday, Nov. 30, 7-10 p.m. Tally Ho Theater, 19 W. Market St., Leesburg Details: tallyhotheater.com Winery circuit favorite Jason Masi celebrates the release of his new album “Capture the Heart” with a show in the

12/1/18 DOORS: 7:00PM

Eddie from ohio 12/6/18 DOORS: 7:00PM

10thSOAnnual LD Jingle JamOUT

12/8/18 Junior Jam: 11:30aM Early Show: 2:30PM | Late Show 8:30PM

12/14/18 DOORS: 7:00PM

Saturday, Dec. 1, 6 p.m., StageCoach Theatre Company, 20937 Ashburn Road, Ashburn and Sunday, Dec. 2, 6 p.m., Trungo’s, 2C Loudoun St. SW, Leesburg.

NIGHTLIFE

Metallica tribute: damage inc

THE AMISH OUTLAWS

‘Ugly Sweaters, Beautiful Music’ Holiday Cabaret

StageCoach Theatre’s popular holiday cabaret returns with an all-star quartet of singers. From contemporary classics to throwback oldies, there’s something to get everyone in the holiday spirit. Tickets for each show are $60 and include dinner. Advance reservations are required. Performances continue weekends through Dec. 16 in Ashburn.

11/30/18 DOORS: 7:00PM

Live Music: Furnace Mountain Band

‘A Christmas Carol’

Details: thelct.org

Jason Masi’s Capture the heart album realease party

TALKING HEADS TRIBUTE PSYCHO KILLERS 12/15/18 DOORS: 7:00PM

TOYS FOR TOTS TOY DRIVE FEATURING THE DARBY BROTHERS 12/16/18 DOORS: 7:00PM Courtesy of Eddie From Ohio

Live Music: Eddie From Ohio Thursday, Dec. 6, 7 p.m. Tally Ho Theater, 19 W. Market St., Leesburg Details: tallyhotheater.com Rocking the line between folk and alternative, Eddie From Ohio continues to defy description with their unique vocals and acoustic instrumentation. Tickets are $30 in advance.

COMING UP Leesburg Christmas and Holiday Parade Saturday, Dec. 8, 6 p.m. King Street, Leesburg The holiday spirit will be in full swing as Leesburg hosts its annual holiday parade bringing Santa and his friends, along with dozens of community groups, through historic downtown Leesburg. The parade begins at Ida Lee Drive and ends at Fairfax Street.

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12/20/18 DOORS: 7:00PM

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12/21/18 DOORS: 7:00PM

COMEDY NIGHT FEATURING 106.7 THE FAN’S DANNY ROUHIER

12/22/18 DOORS: 7:00PM

GRUNGE-A-PALOOZA 12/28/18 DOORS: 7:00PM

<< FROM 28

November 29, 2018

Christmas Trees << FROM 28

Douglas Graham/Loudoun Now

The Middleburg Hunt and Hounds Review is an annual highlight of the town’s Christmas season kickoff, but it is only one of many holiday activities planned this weekend.

Middleburg Goes Big on Christmas Spirit Not yet in the holiday spirit? Spending this Saturday in Middleburg is likely to get you on track. When it comes to Christmas, Middleburg goes big with events over three days. The celebration kicks off Friday night with a tree-lighting ceremony and carols behind the Pink Box visitors center at 12 N. Madison St. But things really pick up Saturday morning when Santa arrives for an early breakfast and to help raise money to support the Middleburg Charter School. Tickets range from $5 to $18, with online ticket sales ending at noon Friday. Of the seasonal offerings around Loudoun’s communities, only in Middleburg will you see two holiday parades. Middleburg Hunt and Hounds Review is a unique spectacle that brings thousands of visitors into town early. The riders and the hounds gather behind the Red Fox

Inn for ham biscuits and beverages to provide visitors an opportunity to get an up-close look before their 11 a.m. procession down Washington Street. After that there are a host of family activities all around town to keep busy and warm until the main holiday parade. There also are plenty of restaurants open for lunch and the Middleburg United Methodist Church will offer a special serving of soup and ham biscuits. At the Middleburg Community Center, there is a daylong craft fair featuring scores of vendors. At the Pavilion on North Madison Street, there will be a Santa’s Workshop featuring face painting, a pet show, children’s music and caroling and a visit from Santa. The workshop activities close at 1:45 p.m. to give families time to find their viewing position along Washington Street for the main parade that begins at 2 p.m. It’s among the largest parades in

the county—with scores of horses, canines of many breeds, probably a couple of goats, maybe a pig or two, school groups, lines of classic cars, polo clubs, and marching bands— stretching a mile in length. The day’s events wrap up with the Spirits of Middleburg progressive tour of the town’s food, wine, cider and distilled spirits establishments. Festivities continue Sunday afternoon with the live animal Christmas pageant at Foxcroft School. It is important to remember that Middleburg has a population of about 800 people, so finding parking spaces for the more than 10,000 visitors who will be in town on Saturday is a challenge. The event organizers are offering several parking options, with shuttle service offered from some locations. Charges may apply. Full details of all the weekend’s events can be found at christmasinmiddleburg.org.

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offering artisanal products in addition to the trees.” Many farms offer more than just trees, with warm drinks and snacks, hayrides, gift shops and other bonuses. A number of local agro-businesses are also listed on the holiday tour, so as visitors head to western Loudoun to pick a tree, they can make stops for local gifts from soaps to lavender products to handmade furniture. “This is a perfect way to support Loudoun small businesses in western Loudoun. Come out and get your tree, get gifts for people as well as supporting the farms,” said Lois Kirkpatrick, marketing and communications manager for Loudoun Economic Development. And while Black Friday is a big day, with up to 30 percent of the season’s sales, the peak is actually the first weekend in December, Kirkpatrick said, with strong sales the second weekend in December, too. The county’s most recent data from 2013 showed 200,000 trees available for sale in Loudoun, Kirkpatrick said. And that number may have grown with new farms opening for business. One of the new additions to this year’s holiday tour is Between the Hills Farm near Hillsboro. After planting Norway and blue spruce seven years ago, Abby and Mark Mendes opened their farm for business last year. “We looked at each other and said, ‘well, they’re getting pretty big. It’s probably time to start selling trees’,” Abby Mendes said with a laugh. Now in their second year of operation, the Mendeses are able to offer extra large trees, up to 12 feet, for folks with big foyers. And while this summer’s heavy rains weren’t ideal for some agricultural businesses, they’ve been a blessing for tree growers. “I think they really liked the rainy summer,” Mendes said. “We’d come up the driveway and everything was really beautiful and lush in the summertime. It was definitely a plus for us.” Between the Hills offers cider, hot chocolate, and cookies in the barn Mark Mendes built himself, along with a decorated tree for photos. This year, guests can also book a 30-minute session with a local photographer to help capture the day. The farm is located along Harper’s Ferry Road, which takes visitors from historic Hillsboro to Harper’s Ferry, and there are several vineyards on the route, so it’s easy to make a day of it. Mendes says that in their first year, they got a mix of visitors who happened to catch signs on Rt. 9 or Harper’s Ferry Road and folks who heard about the farm via social media buzz. This year, they’re looking forward to their first crop of return customers along with new faces. “There’s always those first few years in business where you’re establishing yourself and putting yourself on the map,” she said. “We had a lot of people who were excited to come back again.” Between the Hills Farm is located at 12898 Sagle Road, Purcellville, north of Hillsboro. To learn more, go to betweenthehillsfarm.com.

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[OBITUARIES]

November 29, 2018

ale

Betty Darlene Frye Darlene, age 75, of Lovettsville, VA went home to be with the Lord peacefully after a short bout with cancer on the evening of November 15, 2018. She was the daughter of the late Mervin Lee “Bud” Lerch and Ethel Louise “Betty” Phillips Lerch. Darlene grew up on the family farm near Knoxville, MD. On November 4, 1961 she married the love of her life, Thomas Beverley “Tommy” Frye, they then lived in Leesburg until the family moved to Lovettsville, VA in 1972. Along with her husband, Darlene was an award winning archer and prolific hunter. She hunted for large and small game throughout the United States and Canada. Darlene enjoyed cooking and baking and was often found in the kitchen, at home, on mission trips and in hunting camps. She was well known for the apple pies and apple dumplings she baked for her family and sold at local fairs. During her lifetime, Darlene found time to travel. The beaches of Ocean City, MD., Hawaii and Cancun, Mexico where at the top of her list. She also went on several mission trips with her church, The Worship Center, once to the Ukraine and several times to Mississippi (following hurricane Katrina). Darlene is survived by her husband, Thomas Frye, daughters Beverly Arnold and Joanna (Paul) Poston, brother Donnie (Donna) Lerch, grandchildren Thomas “TJ” (Nina) Frye, Justin Loveless, Katie (Sky) Meashintubby, and Amanda (fiancé Drixsen) Poston, great-granddaughters Winola and Maybelle Frye, and a great-grandson on the way. Darlene was preceded in death by her parents, Bud and Betty Lerch, her mother-in-law, Elizabeth Frye, a brother Gene Lerch, son-in-law Rob Arnold, and great-granddaughter Sophia Grace Meashintubby. The family will receive friends for visitation on Monday, November 19, 2018 from 6 pm to 8 pm at the Loudoun Funeral Chapel, 158 Catoctin Circle, SE, Leesburg, VA. The funeral will begin a 12 pm on Tuesday, November 20, 2018 at The Worship Center, 19227 Gleedsville Road, Leesburg, VA. Family and friends are invited to a luncheon following the funeral in the church fellowship hall.Internment will be held privately. Donations can be made to The Worship Center. Online condolences may be expressed at www.loudounfuneralchapel.com

John “Kelly” Frye, Sr. John “Kelly” Frye, Sr. of Leesburg, VA passed away on Sunday, November 18, 2018 at the age of 73 after a long battle with lung disease. He died peacefully at home with his family and pastor by his side. Kelly was born on Tuesday, October 23, 1945 in Leesburg, Virginia to Norman and Dorothy (Shewbridge) Frye. As a young man, Kelly excelled in all sports, namely baseball, basketball, and

golf. As a lifelong sports enthusiast, he spent many years coaching and officiating various sporting events. After more than 30 years of service, Kelly retired from the U.S. Postal Service. He was a well-respected and beloved member of the community. Kelly married his high school sweetheart, Nancy, and the two of them were happily married for over 50 years. Kelly was always a devoted family man and reveled in spending time with and watching his children and grandchildren play sports. He loved to garden, cook, and can vegetables. His famous pickled beets were the most coveted at any family gathering. Kelly will be dearly missed by his family, friends, and those who knew him. He is survived by his wife, Nancy (Patton) Frye, his two sons, John K. “Jay” Frye, Jr. and wife, Lindsey, Patrick R. Frye and wife, Kelsey Noland, four grandchildren, Jake, Kaylee, Anna, and Sam Frye, and five siblings, Buddy Frye, Kermie Frye, Davey Frye, Terry Frye, and Carol Wilson. He was preceded by his parents and two siblings, Dickie Frye, and Sharon “Sissy” Frye. A Celebration of Life was held at 11:00 AM on Saturday, November 24, 2018 at Leesburg Community Church, located at 835 Lee Avenue, Leesburg, VA 20175. Pastor Tim Gianossa lead the service. A luncheon followed the service at the church. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the Leesburg Community Church. Online condolences may be expressed at www. loudounfuneralchapel.com.

Evelynn Belle Turbeville Ware Evelynn Belle Turbeville Ware, 82, wife of the late John William Ware of Hillsboro, Virginia, passed away on Sunday, November 25 at INOVA Fairfax Hospital. Born February 22, 1936 in Washington, DC, she was the daughter of the late Evelyn and Willie Turbeville. Belle was a long-time resident of Hillsboro, Virginia having moved here with her parents and sister during the end of WWII. After she married, Belle and her beloved husband John moved to tiny house in town where they lived while restoring a Victorian farmhouse they purchased in Hillsboro. Belle was one of the founding members of what is now the Short Hill Historical Society and helped save the Old Stone School from demolition. She served as an active member of this non-profit for 42 years, and was most fond of the Christmas in Hillsboro Historic Homes Tour. Following in the footsteps of her mother who was the first female mayor in the Commonwealth of Virginia, Belle served her community on the Hillsboro Town Council. For many years, she was the Town Treasurer, and ultimately became Hillsboro’s Vice Mayor. Belle was also a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution, and each year, recognized an elementary school student at Hillsboro with the DAR award. Part of the congregation of the Hillsboro United Methodist Church and the United Methodist Women’s Group. Belle

[ DEATH NOTICES ] sang in the choir and was instrumental in many volunteer efforts through the church which included making apple butter, raising money through a yard sale, helping prepare and serve the annual freewill offering holiday dinner, packaging and donating meals for local families in need, hosting the annual church picnic, and helping with a local food bank. Belle worked at a medical practice for thirty years before retiring. Belle is survived by daughter: Vicki Ware Albert and her husband Charles; daughter Paige Ware Petro and her husband Mark; son John Ware; son Mark Ware and his wife Amie; 10 grandchildren: Jeremy Barry, Lindsay Albert, Kendall Albert, Morgan Petro, Chris Petro, Jordan Ware, Jackson Ware, Evan Ware, Matthew Ware, and Nathan Ware; and 2 great grandchildren: Owen Barry and Kyle Barry. In addition to her husband John, Belle was predeceased by her parents Evelyn and Willie Turbeville, sister Wilma Turbeville Helton, and grandson Jason Reed. A memorial service will be held at Hillsboro United Methodist Church on November 30th at 1:00 p.m. followed by a reception at the Old Stone School to celebrate Belle’s life. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations in Belle’s name be made the two community organizations that she dedicated much of her life to: Hillsboro United Methodist Church, 37216 Charles Town Pike, Hillsboro, VA 20132 and the Short Hill Historical Society (P.O. Box 770, Purcellville, Virginia 20132).

Chrystal Gail Guevara Oct. 28, 1975-Nov. 15, 2018 Visitation was held Saturday, November 24, 2018 at Hall Funeral Home, 140 S. Nursery Avenue, Purcellville, VA 20134. A funeral service was held Sunday, November 25, 2018 at 2:00 PM, followed by a graveside service at 3:00 PM at Lovettsville Union Cemetery, 12942 Lutheran Church Road, Lovettsville, VA 20180.

Peggy D. Mott Robinson Peggy, 80, died in Washington, DC on Wednesday, November 14, 2018. She is survived by her daughter Reneé Mott, and brother Alvin Dodson, Sr. She was preceded in death by her husband, Christopher Robinson, Sr. Visitation and viewing were held on Saturday, November 24, 2018, from 5-7 p.m. at the Middleburg United Methodist Church, 15 West Washington Street, Middleburg, VA 20117. Visitation and Funeral will be held on Friday, December 7, 2018, from 10 a.m. until time of funeral service at 11 a.m. at Metropolitan Baptist Church, 1200 Mercantile Lane, Largo, MD 20774. Interment at Shumate Cemetery, Marshall, VA on Monday, December 10, 2018. Arrangements by Lyles Funeral Service, serving Northern Virginia and surrounding areas, Eric S. Lyles, Director, Lic. MD, VA, DC 1800-3881913.

Please visit www.hallfh.com to express online condolences to the family. Arrangements by Hall Funeral Home, Purcellville, VA.

Offices For Rent

Legal Notices

Reso 33

Notice of Public Hearing Town of Lovettsville Planning Commission

COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA VA. CODE ยง ยง 1-211.1; 8.01-316, -317, 20-104 Case No.:

CL117476

Loudoun County Circuit Court 18 East Market St., Leesburg, VA 20176 Kelly Jean Wilson /v. Joseph Bernard Wilson The object of this suit is to:

is for the Plaintiff, KELLY JEAN WILSON, to obtain a divorce a vinculo matrimonii from the Defendant, JOSEPH BERNARD WILSON, on the grounds of the parties having lived separate and apart without cohabitation and without interruption for a period of time in excess of one (1) year. IT APPEARING by Affidavit that the Plaintiff has used due diligence to ascertain the whereabouts of the Defendant without effect, and therefore,

ABC LICENSE Em Oi Corporation, trading as Em Oi Modern Vietnamese Restaurant, 20020 Ashbrook Common Plz STE 117, Ashburn, Loudoun VA 20147-5033 The above establishment is applying to the VIRGINIA DEPARTMENT OF ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE CONTROL (ABC) AUTHORITY for a Wine and Beer On Premises / Mixed Beverage Restaurant license to sell or manufacture alcoholic beverages.

IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the Defendant appear before this Court on or befure the 1st day of February, 2019 at 10:00 a.m. and protect his interests herein.

Note: Objections to the issuance of this license must be submitted to ABC no later than 30 days from the publishing date of the first of two required newspaper legal notices. Objections should be registered at www.abc.virginia.gov or 800-552-3200.

11/29/18, 12/6/18, 12/13/18, & 12/20/18

11/22/18 & 11/29/18

The Lovettsville Town Council will hold a public hearing on the following item at their meeting at 7:30 pm on December 13, 2018 at the Lovettsville Town Office located at 6 East Pennsylvania Avenue: LVZA 2018-0002

Amendment to Section 42-286 (Off-street parking), Section 42-288 (Fences) and Section 42-295 (Storage of dismantled or inoperable vehicles)

Consideration of an amendment to Article VIII (General Regulations) amending Section 42-286 (Minimum off-street parking) and deleting Section 42-288 (Fences) and Section 42295 (Storage of dismantled or inoperable vehicles) of the Zoning Ordinance (Chapter 42 of the Town Code). The amendment is described in greater detail below: 1. Section 42-286. Minimum off-street parking. The provisions of this section are amended as follows: a. Requirements in Paragraph (a): The uses for which minimum off-street parking spaces are prescribed in this section are renamed to match the specific terms used in the definitions (Article I) and zoning district regulations (Article VI and Article VII) and are reorganized in alphabetical order. In addition: i. Minimum off-street parking requirements are added for the following uses: Assisted living facility, Automobile filling station, contractors and construction services, convenience stores, convention centers, government buildings, grocery stores, hospitals, outdoor recreational facilities, outdoor sales or display areas not otherwise specified, Montessori schools, technical schools, shopping centers, and wholesale trade establishments. ii. The minimum off-street parking requirements are deleted for corporate retreats and congregate housing. iii. The minimum off-street parking space requirements are increased for the following uses: Used automobile sales, banks, motels/hotels, carry-out restaurants, restaurants with indoor and outdoor seating, funeral homes, libraries, museums, cultural centers, art galleries, manufacturing, nursing homes, retail sales establishments, elementary schools, middle schools, high schools, and veterinary clinics. iv. The minimum off-street parking space requirements are decreased for the following uses: Light vehicle and automobile repair shops, child care centers, farm and garden shops, fraternal and social clubs, indoor recreation facilities, dance and fitness studios, professional offices, places of assembly without fixed seating, colleges and universities, and self-storage facilities. b. General standards in Paragraph (b): i. Subsection (1) is added requiring the minimum off-street parking spaces as per paragraph (a) whenever any principal use of any building, structure or lot is established. ii. Subsection (2) is added requiring adequate off-street parking, drive aisles, and ingress/egress whenever a building is changed in use or structurally altered. iii. Subsection (13) is added requiring bumper stops where necessary to identify the locations of off-street parking spaces in gravel parking lots and to prevent vehicles from extending over any property line, right-of-way, sidewalk or travel way. iv. Subsection (14) is added to include definitions for the terms assembly area, enclosed sales area, maximum occupancy load, and outdoor sales area. v. Subsection (15) is added to clarify that the minimum parking standard per employee shall be calculated for the maximum shift of employment. vi. The other subsections of this paragraph are amended for simplicity and clarity. c. Location and use of off-street parking spaces: The provisions of Paragraph (e) are amended for clarity and to increase the distance (from 300 feet to 500 feet) from which off-street spaces may be located relative to the structure or use to which they are accessory. d. Joint use of off-street parking spaces: The provisions of Paragraph (f)(2) are amended for clarity and to require a parking study prior to consideration and approval of shared parking arrangements. e. Paragraph (g) is added which exempts changes to a nonresidential use of an existing building or structure in the C-1 Commercial District from the requirement for additional off-street parking spaces under certain circumstances and conditions described therein. The paragraph further authorizes up to 25 percent of the total number of on-street parking spaces, and 25 percent of the total number of parking spaces within a public parking lot, located within 500 feet of a property in the C-1 Commercial District to be counted toward meeting the off-street parking requirement for a non-residential use of such property. 2. Section 42-288. Fences. This section containing a reference to Section 42-290 for fences is deleted in its entirety. 3. Section 42-295. Storage of dismantled or inoperable vehicles. This section containing restrictions on the storage of inoperable vehicles has been superseded by the adoption of Section 34-5 of the Town Code and is therefore deleted in its entirety. The proposed zoning amendment is available for review at the Town Office between the hours of 8:30 am and 4:30 pm during weekdays or by special appointment, holidays excepted. Call (540) 822-5788 for more information or contact the Planning Director at jbateman@lovettsvilleva.gov. In the event the meeting is postponed, the public hearing will be convened on the next regularly-scheduled meeting at the same time and place. To be published: 11/29/18, 12/6/18

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[ OPINION ]

November 29, 2018

Here We Go Again, Again Well, we almost made it. We almost got through a whole year without members of the county School Board rolling out another attack on some of Loudoun’s last remaining small neighborhood schools. We were last faced with threats to close Lincoln and Hamilton elementary schools in the spring of 2017, a measure then put forward as a last-minute budget-balancing proposal. In that case, steadier hands prevailed and the School Board majority came up with more practical adjustments to the annual spending plan. However, it remains clear that some board members still view these small schools as part of a problem rather than part of a solution. As we pointed out during that earlier debate, overcrowd-

[ LETTERS ]

ed schools are not just a concern in fast-growing eastern Loudoun neighborhoods; many Leesburg-area schools also are operating in tight quarters. Eliminating 400 elementary school seats—seats that have long been paid for—is nonsensical. Instead of closing two schools, prudent attendance zone adjustments that make better use of the available seats would allow administrators to delay or even avoid the need to build a new school or to roll out additions elsewhere. That would be a tangible savings to taxpayers. When Culbert Elementary was built, school system leaders assured families in Hamilton and Lincoln that the new building was needed to accommodate future growth in the area and was not intended as a replacement for their neighborhood schools. There is no benefit to be derived from changing that mission now.

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

Kara C. Rodriguez, Reporter krodriguez@loudounnow.com Patrick Szabo, Reporter pszabo@loudounnow.com Jan Mercker, Reporter jmerker@loudounnow.com Douglas Graham, Photographer dgraham@loudounnow.com

Advertising Director Susan Styer sstyer@loudounnow.com Display Advertising Tonya Harding tharding@loudounnow.com Display Advertising Pam Stamper pstamper@loudounnow.com Classified Advertising Ashley Fertig afertig@loudounnow.com

High Efficiency Editor: While the School Board made a logical decision to delay the acceptance of the $833.95 million Capital Improvement Program until the Catoctin District has a seated representative, it is still disheartening to hear the continued argument to close two schools in this district based solely on potentially inaccurate data. I attended the Nov. 19 School Board meeting and listened to many members question the accuracy of the data that is being used to make these decisions—particularly the projected growth rate data for western Loudoun. The proposed school closures would add additional students to neighboring schools—one of which is already at capacity, and the other would exceed the target capacity of 85 percent, even before the estimated 232 students move into the region over the next 22 years. Of particular concern is the assertion by School Board Member Eric Hornberger (Ashburn) that by closing Lincoln and Hamilton elementary schools the totality of those students would consolidate into Kenneth Culbert Elementary—and would, by the numbers, make more sense financially. I see two likely outcomes of this scenario. If this simple re-bucketing of students plays out, Culbert will be at 92 percent capacity immediately, higher than the county recommended 85 percent capacity. The second, more likely, outcome is that a large region gets rezoned so that a number of families from Emerick and Culbert are upended and moved to another elementary school. A disruptive action that would affect families across four schools, with an end result of two elementary schools that are at or over capacity. In closing schools, there may possibly be short-term savings, but with the likelihood that we would be quickly starting a discussion on the need for

a new school building in a few years. If these schools close, the cost per student ($13,500 for Lincoln students and $17,900 for Hamilton students) will follow the students to whatever school they attend. Teachers and staff will remain employed by LCPS and the building will continue to operate. It would be a decision that merely disrupts schooling that is operating successfully. As the School Board emphasizes the necessity to make financially responsible decisions, then why hasn’t it taken advantage of available tax dollars to operate the Lincoln school building by allowing it to be registered as an historic building? A decision that only requires a signature by the same school board at this point. Also, why have they opted to hire additional teachers in neighboring schools to squeeze in more classrooms while some capacity remains at Lincoln? If the School Board is truly looking out for the efficiencies and success of the school system, look no further than Lincoln Elementary, an example of high performance on truly low operating costs. The school is granted fewer specialists than other schools in the county, they don’t operate a kitchen (both less cost, but equally unfair) yet the SOL scores are outstanding and the school earned the 2018 Governor’s Board of Education Excellence Award—one of only eight elementary schools earning this award in Loudoun County. An award that was earned in four prior years as well. They have dedicated teachers, a supportive community, and staff that regularly go above-and-beyond to make this school excel. Lincoln Elementary is a school that the county should be using as an example of high efficiency with equally high results. — Kate Pendleton President, Lincoln Elementary PTO LETTERS >> 37

[ LETTERS ]

MORE THAN $5 000 IN PRIZES & GIVEAWAYS ,

Are Data Centers Paying Their Fair Share?

Crisis Averted Editor: After a wonderful Thanksgiving meal my wife and I were enjoying a cup of coffee in front of our fireplace. We were surprised by a knock at the door to find three young men who asked if we had a fire going because

Sources of Strength Editor: A few days ago, I participated in a Sources of Strength training program where a select number of kids who show leadership and teamwork qualities talk to each other about teenage depression issues and how the symptoms are shown. We participated in seminars about the eight components of the Sources of Strength wheel, also with challenging, fun games. I learned a lot more about how my fellow peers and friends live outside of school and how everyone has their sad times in their lives. I think it is really important to help kids who are undergoing long-term depression and allow them to ask for help when they need it. I have been getting more involved this year in our Sources of Strength club. I’ve been learning to be a nicer and more compassionate person and that everyone has had some kind of downfall in their lives, even I do. I’ve been more confident to talk to my guidance counselor and a therapist about the things that go on in my high school life. Just talking to someone about one’s struggles in their life, inside or outside of school, can really make a difference in one’s success in the future; we hope to let everyone know that everything is OK and to enjoy life while you can because life’s short. I believe the Sources of Strength program has a lot of potential, especially with a lot of talented and dedicated teenagers who show great leadership and teamwork qualities and who are aware and react to signs of teenage depression. I think this program should be implemented in all LCPS high schools. — Jake Wolfson, Leesburg

Meet San

ta!

DECEMBER 15 ONE LOUDOUN

5K RACE - 9 AM // 10K RACE - 9:10 AM 1K JAMMIE JINGLE - 10:30 AM B EN EF IT IN

Editor: I live one mile north of Exit 7 off the Greenway. We have been trying to get around our local area for holiday preparations and usual chores. The road work involved in laying out all the fiber bundles has had a serious effect of traffic safety and convenience for local travel. There is always a gaggle of machinery and equipment around the sites and maybe one or two humans, generally talking. I realize work is getting done, but the pace and the optics for the average passerby is terrible. It is bad enough we are stuck with these eye sores (data centers) for the rest of lives, now we are driving through single-lane traffic around orange cones or barrels while there is absolutely no work being done on that corner. Not one human among all the orange barrels and equipment stationed there. Note: Loudoun County Parkway and Waxpool Intersection. Besides the grief in getting to the dry cleaners, grocery, post office etc. etc. I also wanted to ask who is paying for all that fiber optics installation and components? We were told by local representatives that tax revenues are fair. But we have not seen a detailed total cost of ownership, installation and operation of all of this fiber. Are the details of the land sale and licensing for data centers available for citizen review? In our subdivision the roads, parks, street lights etc. were all detailed in the developers’ agreement to develop property. Are such details of costs to the community available and accessible? We would very much like to see a much more attractive and consistent to Virginia heritage façade on these concrete prison walls showing up all over our region of Loudoun. Frankly, had we required them to be underground with commercial space above ground the community maybe better off. We learned that the proximity to the Mae East terminal is very desirable, too bad we weren’t able to maintain the beauty of Northern Virginia in southern Loudoun while supporting growth of technology enterprises. And as a local resident we sure would have enjoyed shopping, restaurants, and other convenience commercial operations at these desirable locations as well. Look back at the cost benefit to the county, and the residences. Are we confident the data centers are paying their fair share of expenses and inconveniences? — Dennis Murphey, Ashburn

there were sparks and flames coming out of our chimney. These gentlemen had spent Thanksgiving with relatives in Round Hill and were on their way home to Lovettsville when they went by our home and saw what appeared to be a chimney fire in our house. We closed the glass doors on the fireplace and within a couple of minutes the sparks and flames stopped; crisis averted. In all of the chaos and excitement of the moment, I did not get their names and properly thank them for their good deed. Being a car guy myself, I did notice that they were driving a two-tone black and white Ford Bronco (I believe mid ‘80’s and very nice condition). With all of the divisiveness in our country today, it restores hope for the future to know there are still good Samaritans like these men who will go out of their way to help people they had never met. My purpose for this letter is that one of these men, or someone who recognizes them from my brief description, will pass along my request to stop by our house on Rt. 690 north of Purcellville, so that we can meet and properly thank them. — Leo Scott Peterson, Purcellville

November 29, 2018

FROM 36

PHOTO OF THE WEEK

Candidates << FROM 1

November 29, 2018

Douglas Graham/Loudoun Now

Tara Wassing walks her dog in early morning fog near Hillsboro. Purchase this print and others of scenes throughout Loudoun County at LoudounNow.com/PhotooftheWeek.

the board is again considering closing Hamilton Elementary School, which sits in the Catoctin District, and Lincoln Elementary and reassigning those students to Kenneth Culbert Elementary in Hamilton. The board delayed voting on the matter of consolidating those schools as part of its Capital Improvement Program until Dec. 11, after a Catoctin District representative could be appointed. Board member Tom Marshall (Leesburg) asked the candidates what information they would need before they voted on whether to close the small schools. Tribié said she saw firsthand how important these smaller schools are to the county’s rural communities when she taught at Hillsboro Elementary before its declining enrollment prompted community members to transform it into a charter school. She told Marshall she is a proponent of keeping the small schools open and she would ask for community and staff input and investigate out-of-the box ideas. Alexander and Ohneiser said previous attendance boundary decisions are to blame for some of the schools in the west, especially Hamilton, being under enrolled. “We have prioritized the desires of people who don’t want to be reassigned schools,” Alexander said. “The difficult decision that was not made was to assign students from the Leesburg area to Hamilton.” Croll, who visited Lincoln Elementary that morning, said when it comes to the under-enrolled schools, school leaders have a marketing issue, not a budget issue. She said there are families taking out second mortgages to afford private school for their children who need smaller class sizes. “I don’t think they know they could have that if they drove 20 minutes west,” she said. “These small schools serve a need and it is part of the diversity of what makes this county pretty special.” Eric Hornberger (Ashburn) asked the candidates to name one of the board’s decisions that they disagree with. Ohneiser said his one criticism is that the board doesn’t put enough pressure on state lawmakers to adjust the composite index, a metric used to determine how much money is given to school divisions. “We lose hundreds of millions of dollars each year because the state doesn’t give us our sales taxes back.” Johnson-Welch, Alexander and Croll told the board there is not one specific vote they disagree with, but communication about the rationale behind decisions would help the public better accept, or at least understand, their decisions. “Parents might just see a decision as cut, cut, cut because the context and rationale is not being communicated… That could be improved,” Croll said. Marshall also asked the candidates which of the board’s nine committees they would want to be on if appointed to the board. Alexander and Ohneiser said they would love to sit on the Finance and Facilities Committee. “I love digging into the details and playing with the numbers,” Alexander said, adding that she would especially like to look at the operating costs of some of the county’s oldest and smallest schools that are under threat of being closed. “I feel something is happening in those calculations for the buildings that

are under enrolled, yet on those same campuses, we have trailers.” Ohneiser, who chaired the Finance and Facilities Committee for seven years, said he would like to pick up where he left off by coming up with out-of-the-box solutions to find savings. One of the expenses he pointed to was artificial turf fields. “There is no way on earth you could ever justify a turf field on an already existing field with water wells supporting it,” he added. Beatty chose the Instruction and Curriculum Committee, where he would harness his experience as an educator to give teachers the tools to teach students writing, math and logic. “And as a computer science teacher, I would be able to help.” Tribié also chose the Instruction and Curriculum Committee, where she would like the opportunity to look at alternative ways to adopt and purchase curriculum. “I’d like to look at incentivizing teachers to create curriculum that fits our district as opposed to buying a one-size-fits-all box that comes in a kit.” Croll said she’d like to sit on the Communications and Outreach Committee to help lead improvements to the school system’s website and distribute fliers in foreign languages, among other improvements. Johnson-Welch said she’d like to sit on the Discipline Committee, where she could dig into why minority and special education students are disciplined at a much higher rate than the rest of the student population. She’d also like a seat on the Human Resources and Talent Development Committee, where she could give school leaders the tools to hire a more diverse workforce. “I’d also like to work on training our educators to interact with children who may act differently in a learning environment than typically developing children.” Before board members asked their questions, 27 speakers spoke in support of several candidates. The speakers endorsed Alexander, Croll, Johnson-Welch, and Tribié. In his resignation statement, DeKenipp endorsed Ohneiser as his successor. Even though just six candidates took questions Monday, eight actually applied for the position. One applicant, Taylor Gurunlian, did not attend the meeting and a second, Mark Miller, was found to not be eligible. Miller was invited to speak before the board to explain. He said that he discovered that Virginia law prohibits officers of the state or officers of the county from being appointed to a school board, and he is considered an officer of the state as a member of the Board of the Library of Virginia and an officer of the county as chairman of the Loudoun County Library Board of Trustees and as a member of the County Fiscal Impact Committee. “I stress appointed,” Miller said. “Were I to be elected to the school board, I would be free to continue my years of dedicated service to the county and state without even a perceived conflict.” This is the first time in seven years the School Board appointed a person to the board. Sheridan was appointed in 2011 to represent the Sterling District after the death of longtime School Board member J. Warren Geurin. Following Guerin’s wishes, the School Board voted unanimously to appoint her to the position, and she’s since been elected to two terms. dnadler@loudounnow.com

Building boom

Conservation fund << FROM 3 “They quite often are just making ends meet and don’t have extra money, so while they want to be protecting their land from future development, they don’t necessarily have the money to help cover the cost,” Price said. “So often, the people who have the financial wherewithal to do conservation easements are rich people, and the poor people sell to developers, because that’s their retirement fund,” Pamela Baldwin said. The idea, said Rebecca Baldwin Fuller, one of Baldwin’s surviving children, came as the family tried to write Baldwin’s obituary. “When I came to the ending part where you say send flowers to here, I realized we didn’t want flowers,” Fuller said. “What we really wanted was to do something that was a donation to some cause that mattered to daddy.” She said the family started brainstorming, and immediately knew it would be something to do with the environment, Baldwin’s life’s work. They decided it would be best to give to a smaller, local organization, and landed on conservation easements.

She said giving up the potential nest egg of selling land to a developer is not easy. “Not everybody can easily say, ‘oh, sure, we’ll give up the potential to make a great deal of money off this property,’” Fuller said. “It asks people to be committed to supporting the maintenance of rural lands. And so we started to think about, what if there was something that we could use that would be a fund that would enable some families who might otherwise choose not to do this because of the financial implications.” Fuller said she has seen farmland in her own neighborhood in Waterford disappear, replaced by suburb. And she said as parents stop farming the land, it makes sense for their children to sell the farm—and so farms drop off the map one by one. “It’s hard to blame a family for making that choice if there isn’t somebody in the next generation that wants to farm it—the money is there for the taking,” Fuller said. “It’s hard to say, ‘don’t do that.’” The details are still up in the air, but the fund will be aimed particularly at helping small farmers. “A developer would pay so much more, and it’s just such an important thing for people to be doing,” Prices

said. “But he understood the pressures on farmers. And so many of them, their children have grown up and gone off, and don’t want to farm, and are perfectly willing to have their parents sell the property to a developer.” Price said at WeatherLea, Baldwin “got the vision for how hard it is to make a living as a farmer, but what an honorable profession.” Baldwin’s career was shaped by a lifelong dedication to saving the planet. Upon graduating from the University of Chicago Law School, he went to work in the then-new field of environmental law and policy, convened the first national conference on environmental law, and served as senior environmental law and policy specialist at the White House Council on Environmental Quality during the administration of President Jimmy Carter. He would go on to work overseas helping local officials in Sri Lanka establish that country’s environmental laws and policies, among other work. In 2002, he retired to WeatherLea, turning his endless energy to growing wine grapes, raising sheep, and protecting rural lands and businesses in Loudoun. Here, he co-founded Save Rural Loudoun, was active in the Virginia Farm Bureau, helped created the Lovettsville Cooperative Market, and

Growing Acreage Around 2010, the town also purchased and annexed several properties, which grew the town’s size from about 2.4 to 3.2 square miles. In 2008, the town annexed the 12.32acre O’Toole property, located at the southeast corner of the Rt. 287/Main Street traffic circle. Beverly O’Toole, the property owner, now wants to have the property rezoned to allow a 12,000-square-foot child care center, a 23,000-square-foot hotel with three levels and 60 rooms, a 51,000-square-foot assisted living center with 70 rooms and 28,000-square-feet of retail and office space. Also in 2008, the town purchased the 15.89-acre Fireman’s Field complex from the Purcellville Volunteer Fire Department for $1.7 million. Since implementing a Fireman’s Field service tax, which is set at 3 cents per $100 of assessed value, the town has pulled in about $2.2 million in revenue to help pay for operation and maintenance of the complex and other town-owned properties. During a drought in 2009, the town purchased the 189-acre Aberdeen Property for $2.1 million with the intent to increase the town water system’s capacity by 300,000 gallons each day. In 2013, the town annexed the 70.81acre Autumn Hill and 3.98-acre Brookfield-Washington properties just across Purcellville Road from the Warner Brook property. That land is now home to the Mayfair development, including 12, 1-acre industrial lots and 103 single-family homes and 151 townhomes on 52 acres. So much growth leading into the 2010s pressed the town to move out of its former 7,800-square-foot town

hall on Main Street and into its current 15,324-square-foot town hall on Nursery Avenue in November 2011. Today, the town is 3.42 square miles in size, has a total operating budget of $24.4 million, has 801 registered businesses and employs 70 full-time and 12 part-time people serving nearly 10,000 residents living in about 3,000 homes.

Future Growth Now a month after the Purcellville Town Council voted to deny the annexation of the 131-acre Warner Brook Property, which would have increased the town’s size by 6 percent, Purcellville’s growth surge seems to be leveling off. And moving forward, there are a few schools of thought on how the town should handle growth. One of those is to annex more land. Another is to sell utilities to residents living just outside the town limits in the county’s Joint Land Management Area to help to alleviate potential increased debt burdens on intown residents, like the Town of Round Hill does. Fraser, however, is more focused on existing businesses and residents. Looking ahead five years, he wants to retain the town’s current size, help existing businesses thrive and extract value from the town’s $130 million in assets. To do this, he’s focused on infill developments instead of more annexations, and improving broadband connectivity and the town’s transportation and utility systems. Fraser is pushing for the installation of solar panels and the construction of a $280,000, 175-foot cell tower at the Basham Simms Wastewater Facility, both of which help alleviate the town’s utility fund debt, with the tower also helping to improve residents’ cell phone coverage. “We have to find ways to better utilize our assets,” he said. “We want to listen to the will of the people.” pszabo@loudounnow.com served on the Loudoun County Rural Economic Development Council and on the boards of the Piedmont Environmental Council and the Land Trust of Virginia. “He was extraordinary,” Price said. “He spent his life giving back. It’s what I’m sure he had learned early on, that that’s what you’re supposed to do, and he demonstrated it in every way that he lived his life. He was an exceptional man” “From the Baldwin family’s point of view, it’s really just that we want to keep up the spirit of what daddy was trying to encourage people to do,” Fuller said. “And when they went through the process of putting their own property into conservation easement, it just gave him such peace of mind. Even if it’s not with our family, with future generations of Loudouners it will be kept green and historic in perpetuity.” “We both have always been troubled seeing so many of these smaller farms just disappearing and turning into subdivisions, and we have been aware of the constraints that traditional farmers in particular are under,” Pamela Baldwin said. To donate to the new fund, go to landtrustva.org/support. rgreene@loudounnow.com

the 36-home Courtland Square subdivisions. By 2010, the population was up to 7,727, with the number of households up to 2,491. Lohr said that in a half-decade, the town’s population grew at a rate that would take most U.S. towns a half-century to do. “I don’t think anyone was prepared for that,” he said. It was this surge of new residents that helped fuel the Town Council’s shift in focus to commercial development, adopting a revised zoning map in 2008 that eliminated about 1,000 homes from the plans. According to the town’s Fall 2008 Citizen Update, the rezoning was intended to “reduce potential future traffic, as well as future residential demands on public utilities and services…create a better balance between the residential and non-residential tax base…[and] increase opportunities for commercial and industrial growth.” Bob Lazaro, who served as Purcellville’s mayor from 2006-2014, said the driving force behind the revision was to diversify the tax base—so businesses could help shoulder the town’s operating costs—and ensure that the town had enough water and sewer capacity for businesses, not just residents. Since then, the most notable commercial development project is the 16acre Purcellville Gateway commercial center, which was completed in 2012 and includes 88,431-square-feet of retail space, a Harris Teeter as its anchor store and three acres set aside for future residential development. Just this year, businesses also started moving into the 6.5-acre Catoctin Corner commercial center, located across the street from Purcellville Gateway. With 40,000-square-feet of retail space,

east of town. “We are the largest host of county buildings in all of western Loudoun,” Fraser said. “The county has contributed greatly to our local economy.”

November 29, 2018

<< FROM 3

the center features a Chipotle, a drivethrough Dunkin’ Donuts and a soonto-open 5,400-square-foot Shell gas station. The explosion in new businesses has brought the town massive amounts of new revenue in the form of not only real estate and utility taxes, but also business license fees and sales, meals, cigarette, bank franchise and communications taxes. The town expects to generate $4.2 million in commercial tax revenue by next July. That’s 45 percent of the General Fund and 19 percent of the total operating budget. In 2010, that number was about half that, with $2.4 million budgeted for the same revenues. It was even smaller in 2000, with the town was collecting only $583,000 in commercial tax revenue. Mayor Kwasi Fraser said that restaurants are now a primary town business, with 31 of them in operation, not including four breweries, one of the county’s three distilleries and 16 convenience, grocery and specialty food stores. In the current fiscal year, the town expects to pull in $2 million in meals tax revenue, which is about $1.3 million more than it did in 2010 and about $1.8 million more than it did in 2000. According to a retail market study conducted by the urban planning firm Arnett Muldrow & Associates, sales from in-town restaurants in 2014 accounted for about 14 percent of the total food and beverage sales in Loudoun County—$146 million of $1 billion. Fraser also noted that the town’s largest employer is and long has been Loudoun County Public Schools. In 2000, about 480 employees worked for the school system in Purcellville at Loudoun Valley High School, Emerick Elementary School and Blue Ridge and Harmony Middle Schools. Now, 826 employees work at not only those schools, but also Woodgrove High School and Mountain View and Kenneth W. Culbert elementary schools, which sit just

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