LoudounNow LOUDOUN COUNTY’S COMMUNITY-OWNED NEWS SOURCE
[ Vol. 2, No. 43 ]
[ loudounnow.com ]
[ Sept. 7 – 13, 2017 ]
Sinkhole troubles in Leesburg
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Manslaughter Charge Dropped in Infant Fatality BY NORMAN K. STYER Loudoun County prosecutors Tuesday morning received approval from a Circuit Court judge to drop the involuntary manslaughter charge filed against the driver who struck and killed 5-month-old Tristan Schulz crossing the street in a stroller one year ago. In a nolle prosequi motion filed by Deputy Commonwealth’s Attorney Sean Morgan on Aug. 30, the prosecutor states there is not enough evidence to support the charge against John Miller. “This decision does not come lightly,” Commonwealth’s Attorney Jim Plowman told Judge Stephen E. Sincavage, while also acknowledging that the decision would not be publicly popular in the high-profile, heartbreaking case. However, Plowman said the evidence dictated the action. Investigators say, on Aug. 31, 2016, Miller drove through the intersection on Riverside Parkway and Coton Manor Drive in Lansdowne, crashing into Mindy Schulz as she was pushing her infant son, Tristan, in a stroller through the crosswalk. The baby was pronounced dead at the hospital shortly after. Mindy Schulz was injured and released from the hospital after three days of treatment. Early in the investigation and at the time that evidence was presented to a grand jury on Nov. 14, it was believed that Miller had been distracted by using one of his two mobile phones at the time of the crash. However, information obtained from the phone carriers and viewed by a battery of experts showed no evidence of texting or other phone use at the time of the crash. CHARGES DROPPED >> 26
Douglas Graham/Loudoun Now
Panda Stonewall General Manager Mark A. Kadon, right, gives developer John A. Andrews II his first view of the complete power plant last week.
Quietly Pumping Out the Power at Panda Stonewall
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BY NORMAN K. STYER
early every minute of every day since April 22 the Panda Stonewall power plant south of Leesburg has been quietly cranking out millions of megawatts to feed the growing energy needs throughout the eastern U.S. After two and a half years of construction by Bechtel—with some 800 employees operating on the 101-acre site at the peak and area motorists dealing with frequent delays and detours as massive pieces of equipment were hauled in— there has been little fanfare or attention given to the plant since operations began. That’s good news for General Manager Mark A. Kadon who has seen the state-
! LE W A O S N N O
of-the-art operation ramp up with few problems and even fewer complaints. Last week, two men who had a hand in bringing the power plant concept to reality got their first look at the finished product. John A. Andrews II was the developer who conceived the projected and shepherded it through the rezoning stage. Scott K. York was the county chairman when the project was approved in 2010. After the Board of Supervisors’ approval, the project sat dormant until Dallas-based Panda Power Partners acquired it in 2014 and quickly moved it to construction. The plant has a capacity of 778 megawatts. Just how much electricity is generated each day depends a little bit on the weather—hot air can lower output—but
more so on the complex calculations of PJM, a transmission organization which oversees the electric transmission system serving Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia and DC. The plant is committed to provide a base capacity of 750 megawatts, but also gets orders to meet daily demand above that. In general, the cheapest power closest to demand typically gets the delivery order. And the state-of-the-art, high-efficiency natural gas-powered plant at the edge of Virginia’s Data Center Alley typically gets the call. “It’s day-to-day. Every day at 1
Where will you purchase your next mattress?
POWER PLANT >> 47
BAER’S Before you head to a large chain, MATTRESS DEN can we suggest another destination? www.baersmattressden.com
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