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n LOUDOUN
n LEESBURG
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n PUBLIC SAFETY
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n PUBLIC NOTICES
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n OBITUARIES
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JANUARY 23, 2020
Leesburg Town Council Division Gets Personal 4 Members Criticized for Stance on Development, Town Attorney BY KARA C. RODRIGUEZ
krodriguez@loudounnow.com
Renss Greene/Loudoun Now
Martin Luther King, Jr. Day marchers led a procession down Leesburg’s East Market Street on Monday carrying flags of various nations.
Marchers Brave Cold to Remember the Dream BY RENSS GREENE rgreene@loudounnow.com
Hundreds of people packed into downtown Leesburg Monday morning to march on one of the coldest days of the year to mark Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. The Loudoun NAACP, congregations of various faiths, black fraternities and sororities, progressive groups, government officials, high school bands, scouts, and others gathered for a celebration that continued into the afternoon. The event
began with a youth panel, “Love to Unity,” featuring young people Tarina Ahuja, Jenny Rahmani, Arman Akhavan, and adults Jamila Gault and Nooshin Agahi, moderated by Mamie Parker. The march began at the Leesburg courthouse with a Sikh invocation led by Gurvinder Singh. The gathered celebrants then marched down East Market Street with police escort to the Douglass School, one of the most historically significant schools in the story of the county’s civil rights history. Built in 1941 as a four-class-
room school, it was long the place where Loudoun’s black students were educated in a segregated school system. The program continued into the afternoon with prayer, speeches, dancing, music, and a speech by Jason Nichols, an award-winning full-time lecturer in the African American Studies Department at the University of Maryland College Park, and was the long-time editor-in-chief of Words Beats & Life: The Global Journey of Hip Hop Culture, the first peer-reviewed journal of hip-hop studies. n
COUNCIL DIVISION continues on page 43
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ECRWSS Postal Customer
PROPANE COSTS TOO MUCH!
Less • Local • Honest
540-687-3608 | huntcountrypropane.com
This Winter is the Ideal Time to Make the Switch.
“So very happy we switched to Hunt Country. My only regret is that we didn’t do it sooner. How much money we would have saved…However, we finally made the right choice about our propane. For years I have been receiving offers from other companies offering low rates, only to find out you have to enter a contract with them. It never made sense to me that you could drive around town and shop for fuel for your car, but not for your home. It’s nice to see that a business owner understands this and caters to the customer. We received our first delivery this past Saturday and the owner himself brought it out. The service was excellent. Of course, I’m not surprised, as the initial account set-up was easy and the lady in the office was so pleasant!” —Caroline T.
An unprecedented statement sent to Loudoun Now by three Leesburg Town Council members has put a spotlight in the long-simmering division on the council dais, one that may impact the future of Town Attorney Barbara Notar. Monday afternoon a letter signed by Mayor Kelly Burk, Vice Mayor Marty Martinez and Councilman Neil Steinberg was sent to Loudoun Now accusing council members Ron Campbell, Tom Dunn, Suzanne Fox, and Josh Thiel of a “concerted strategy” to terminate Notar’s employment contract. The town attorney is one of two town government employees, along with the town manager, who serves at the will of the council, meaning the council has the sole authority to hire or fire the employee. Annually, usually around early February, the town attorney has a closed session evaluation with the Town Council after which a new contract is approved, typically with a pay increase of some sort. Notar has served as town attorney since January 2015 and previously was the deputy town attorney, under former town attorney and current Circuit Court Judge Jeanette Irby, beginning in July 2008. The letter, which Steinberg confirmed
previous propane provider was much higher priced. The staff was rude and didn’t seem to care if you gave them business or not. When I was shopping around for a new company, thankfully I found Hunt Country. The staff is friendly, professional, knowledgeable and genuinely cared that you gave them your business. Hunt Country prices are consistently lower than their competitors. I highly recommend that you call Hunt Country Propane, if you don’t, you’re making a BIG($) mistake. Thanks Hunt Country!” —Ed, Leesburg
Less • Local • Honest
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