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National Night Out
Page 18
August 21 ~ September 25, 2014
Middlburg Rallies Around the Panebiancos Daniel Morrow
Lt. Mike Prince stood in for Middleburg Police Chief A. J. Panebianco at this month’s regular meeting of the Middleburg Town Council on Thursday, August 14. He didn’t say why in so many words, though it soon became apparent that some, if not all the members of Town Council knew why. No one on the Town Staff spoke of it either. Prince had stood in for the Chief before. It wasn’t all that unusual. Prince gave his report. Thanked everyone for their help in making the Town’s most recent “National Night Out” celebration a success. Asked for questions. There were, unusually, none of substance. When Prince left Council chambers, the Vice Mayor quickly left her seat and followed him out. The next day the website of the Virginia Association of Chiefs of Police posted the following statement: Amy Panebianco, the beloved wife of Middleburg Police Chief AJ Panebianco, has been dealt a heartbreaking blow in her courageous fight against cancer. AJ and Amy lead lives of selfless service to others, as all police officers and nurses do. Please help if you can. Readers were referred to a gofundme.com site headlined, “One Last Gift for Nurse Amy” (www.gofundme.com/d1e0as) At press time the gofundme post had been shared nearly a thousand times, and many of those whose lives had been touched by the Panebiancos had donated nearly $7,000. Middleburg Bank has also established a fund to support the family. Checks made out to “AJ Fund” may be deposited at any branch of Middleburg Bank. Liability Insurance Increased
B u si n e s s Di r e c tory : Pa g e 3 8 • Fr i en d s f or L i fe : Pa g e 3 4
PRST STD ECRWSS US POSTAGE PAID BURKE, VA PERMIT NO 029
4 Oak Spring FarmPage Offered by Washington Fine Properties Page 4
“As a result of several high profile cases with policeinvolved shootings,” Town Administrator Martha Semmes reported, many of the Towns near Middleburg have been reviewing their liability insurance coverages. At $1 million, Middleburg’s coverage, she reported, was currently on the “low end of the scale. Town Council unanimously approved an immediate increase in the Town’s coverage
from $1 million to $5 million
New Rules Political Activity In July of this year Middleburg Town Attorney Angela Plowman reported on several changes to the Virginia State Code that required the town to formally adopt personnel policies governing the use of equipment belonging to the town for political purposes. On August 14 Town Clerk Rhonda North presented a draft addendum to the Town’s Employee Handbook, spelling out not only general rules of conduct, but specific rules governing, among other things the use of government-owned vehicles, electronic communication devices and services, social media, cell phones, credit cards, government-funded travel, meals, credit cards. Council Meeting Procedures New rules and guidelines have also been drafted describing precisely how meeting of the Town Council and other official public meetings are to be conducted, who can speak, when, about what and for how long. Among other things the Town will adopt the Virginia State guidelines allowing for electronic participation in meetings, providing that a quorum of live participants is present at the meeting itself. The new guidelines and Employee handbook may currently be seen at the Town Offices. The Town Charter is available in its entirety on line at http://townofmiddleburg.org/ Town_Ordinances.html “Health Center” Donations For many years the “profits” earned from rents paid for space in the Town-owned and operated “Health Center Building” have ostensibly been distributed by Town Council to a variety of Middleburg charities and other non profits. The town’s volunteer “Health Center Advisory Board” recommends which organizations should be funded in a report to Council each year. Continued page 13
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Volume 11 Issue 5
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