n LEESBURG
Pg. 8 | n PUBLIC SAFETY
VOL. 5, NO. 43
Pg. 12 | n BUSINESS
Pg. 16 | n OBITUARIES
We've got you covered. In the mail weekly. Online always at LoudounNow.com
Pg. 21 | n PUBLIC NOTICES
Pg. 27
SEPTEMBER 24, 2020
School Board OKs In-person Learning Plan BY NORMAN K. STYER nstyer@loudounnow.com
Patrick Szabo/Loudoun Now
Early voting at the Loudoun County Office of Elections on Miller Drive in Leesburg got off to a hot start Sept. 18, with some residents in line more than an hour before the office opened. By the end of the first day of early voting, 1,659 people had cast a ballot.
Bustling, Hustling & Mail Stuffing Loudoun’s Election Officers Prepare for Nov. 3 BY KARA C. RODRIGUEZ krodriguez@loudounnow.com
Although Election Day is still a month away, last Friday’s start to early voting officially kicked the season into high gear. In the COVID-19 era, Loudoun Coun-
ty General Registrar Judy Brown has just about had to throw out the playbook that’s guided her 35-year career. “If I can do this [election] I can stay another 30 years; it can’t get any worse,” she said with a laugh. The work Brown and her staff have put
in just through the month of September has been unprecedented. The same day early voting began, Sept. 18, they mailed 57,000 ballots to Loudoun residents who have chosen to take advantage of mail-in EARLY VOTING continues on page 26
Many of Loudoun’s youngest gradeschool students should be headed back to class on Oct. 27. The School Board on Tuesday night was presented with the next phase of the school division’s back-to-school plan. Members unanimously backed a proposal by Superintendent Eric Williams to allow kindergarten, first and second graders to begin hybrid learning by late October. Administrators envision third, fourth and fifth graders beginning hybrid classes by early December. The hybrid classes will be offered to families who signed up for that option prior to the School Board’s decision in July to open the school year with 100-percent distance learning. Under that model, students will attend in-person classes two days per week and have online learning three days. Even that may not be soon enough, as parents and students—from first graders to high school seniors—lined up Tuesday to implore division leaders to resume in-person learning as quickly as possible. They told stories of tears, frustration, boredom, and headaches from too much screen time during their first 10 days of 100-percent distance learning. They lamented the loss of socialization and connections with classmates. Some said IN-PERSON LEARNING continues on page 27
ECRWSS Postal Customer
Permit #1374 Merrifield VA
PAID
PRESRT STD U.S. Postage