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APRIL 21, 2017 | NORTHERN VIRGINIA MEDIA SERVICES
Board defers Clearview Heights decision
ROAD WIDENING
TRACY BELL
tbell@insidenova.com
T
he Stafford County Board of Supervisors has deferred a decision about a proposed wedding and event venue in the Falmouth District. The board voted 4-3 on Tuesday to defer, with Supervisors Jack Cavalier, R-GriffisWidewater; Wendy Maurer, R-Rock Hill, and Gary Snellings, R-Hartwood, casting the dissenting votes. Just prior, a group of residents from the neighborhood, Clearview Heights, spoke against the property owners receiving a conditional-use permit for the proposed business. The property, at 420 Forbes St., is zoned suburban residential. The neighbors cited concerns about public safety and potential wrecks on the narrow road, as well as increased traffic and noise. The property sits on 8 acres. One neighborhood resident spoke in favor of the venue at the public hearing. Falmouth District Supervisor Meg Bohmke said, “It’s a challenging decision because there are people who abut the property.” Although concerned about the potential for wrecks, Bohmke said her biggest issue would be the noise. But she said she would rather a wedding venue be there than to later have 10 to 12 developed homes, which would also cause traffic issues. The applicant, Elizabeth Sale, said her husband’s grandfather, Bill Sale, owns the property and asked the family to come up with a way to preserve the historic building. They first considered a nursery. Supervisor Gary Snellings, R-Hartwood, said of Forbes DEFER Street: “That street was PAGE 3 designed by a snake with a
A worker tamps down the shoulder of Onville Road as it transitions from a two-lane road to seven lanes at the intersection with Garrisonville Road, on Tuesday. The reconfigured intersection is part of the current widening of Garrisonville Road that also saw the demolition of Mike’s Diner. ALEKS DOLZENKO | INSIDENOVA
Courthouse comfort Dog helps traumatized victims, witnesses and children TRACY BELL
tbell@insidenova.com
remarkable, specially-trained 7-year-old Labrador retriever named Kahn is a regular sight at the Stafford County courthouse. He works diligently to calm and comfort witnesses, crime victims and children who may otherwise be afraid, uncomfortable or nervous. April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month – and Kahn regularly encounters children who’ve been exposed to abuse. Kahn, who will turn 8 this year, began training for this job since the dog was about 8 weeks old. He lives with and works alongside Juanita Maley, a victim/ witness advocate for the Stafford commonwealth’s attorney’s office Maley said court can be frightening for anyone, especially a child. So, Kahn
Kahn, a 7-year-old Labrador retriever, works in the Stafford County courts system with Juanita Maley of the county’s Victim Witness Assistance Program. JUANITA MALEY
works in the victim services office to relax children when attorneys, judges or other adults are asking difficult questions, or when the child needs to explain something that happened or something that was witnessed. Kahn also works with victims of domestic violence, elder abuse, sexual assault and other violent crimes. “We know that when a dog is calm and relaxed, it can assist humans in feeling the same,” Maley said. She explained that Kahn is needed for pretrial preparation meet-and-greets.
There, the child can feel safe in telling his or her story. Kahn helps focus the child in a non-threatening, nonjudgmental environment, she said. He’s needed, essentially as a diversion, for anxious child witnesses before and after testimonies, too. Kahn is able to accompany the child into court with a judge’s permission, Maley said. Kahn is not the only dog that aids crime victims in the COMFORT region, but he’s leadPAGE 3 ing the way in Staf-
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