FirstEnergy on Tuesday hosted its rst community meeting on a 500-kilovolt transmission line that it is proposing to build along existing rights-of-way through northern Loudoun.
e Gore-Doubs-Goose Creek Improvements Project was supported by PJM Interconnection, the regional power coordinator, to help provide regional grid reliability. It is expected to be built along 44 miles of existing ROW through Frederick, Loudoun, Clarke and Je erson counties. e proposal would upgrade an existing single 138-kV line to create double circuit 500-kV and 138-kV lines.
“ is is going to enhance grid reliability for growing demands of electricity by residential and commercial customers,” Senior Communications Representative Will Boye said.
He said the existing H-frame structures are approximately 65 feet tall. e new towers, built alongside those, will be taller but slenderer monopoles.
“ e average height of the new structures would be 185 feet,” Boye said.
Paxton Trust Takes Control
BY HANNA PAMPALONI hpampaloni@loudounnow.org
The Paxton Trust has taken full control of its Leesburg campus that has housed e Arc of Loudoun for the past 16 years.
e Arc of Loudoun CEO Lisa Max announced late Saturday night that a security
service and locksmith had changed the locks that day, prior to the organization clearing all its equipment from the site.
e action comes a er more than a year of negotiations to renew the nonpro t’s expired lease failed.
“At 5:53 on Saturday evening – well a er locks were changed shut – [Paxton attorney Jay] Chadwick sent an email to some of e
Arc’s Board members informing them that the trustees were ending e Arc’s tenancy on campus e ective immediately and without notice,” Max stated in an email.
Max said that security personnel told them that nothing was removed from any of
ROOF LOCAL
Hanna Pampaloni/Loudoun Now
The Paxton campus in Leesburg has been home to The Arc of Loudoun rent-free for 16 years. Last week, after negotiations to renew the lease failed, and after news that The Arc would need to vacate the campus by the start of the school year, the Paxton Trust changed the locks including on the front gate which serves as the primary entrance to the campus.
TOn the Ballot: House District 30
his November will see all 100 House of Delegates seats up for election. Currently, Democrats hold a slim majority in the House at 51-49. Loudoun Now is speaking with each of the candidates to give voters an in-depth look at who will be on their ballot this fall.
House District 30 covers all of western Loudoun and parts of Fauquier County totaling nearly 70,000 registered voters. Residents in HD30 have typically voted Republican by a slim margin, with 49.2% voting for Donald J. Trump and 48.4% voting for Kamala Harris in last year’s presidential race.
DEL. GEARY HIGGINS –REPUBLICAN
Geary Higgins won his rst seat in the House of Delegates in the 2023 campaign against Democrat Rob Banse, earning 53% of the vote. Higgins began his time in public service as a member of the Loudoun County School Board representing the Catoctin District in 2000 for a four-year term. In 2011, he was elected to the Board of Supervisors, representing that same district, a er running unsuccessfully in 2003 and 2007 for the seat. He was re-elected to the board in 2015. Higgins also ran for a state Senate seat in 2019, losing to Democrat John Bell who earned 54% of the vote.
During Higgins’ rst year in the House, he authored and won support for bills relating to rural road maintenance funding,
asbestos and lead project permits, and the Junior Reserve O cers’ Training Corps.
is year, Higgins authored a bill to codify an executive order by Gov. Glenn Youngkin that requires parents to be noti ed when a student has overdosed at a school that their child attends. at was incorporated into a similar bill authored by Del. JJ Singh (D-32), which was signed into law.
Higgins’ bills this year addressed education issues, land conservation, transmission lines, sanctuary policies, invasive species and pharmacogenomics. However, all were stopped by Democratic opposition.
A key aspect of Higgins’ work this year involved e orts to have Oak Hill, President James Monroe’s Loudoun home, established as a state park. e 1,240-acre property is located near Aldie and has been privately owned by the DeLashmutt family for 70 years. e family worked with Loudoun legislators and e Conservation Fund to preserve the property but were met with opposition.
“We passed it through the House in a 99-to-nothing vote in a block, meaning everybody that was there, 99 out of 100, voted for it, and then it went to the Senate, and it got killed in committee,” Higgins said. “It never got to the oor, and I kind of gured out later why that was, but it got
HIGGINS continues on page 26
JOHN MCAULIFF –DEMOCRAT
John McAuli said he accidentally found himself as his party’s candidate in this year’s election a er starting a bed and breakfast at his family’s historic home in Warrenton.
McAuli ’s family has lived in Warrenton since the Revolutionary War and when his grandmother died, he took over the home and decided to turn it into a business. at launched him into the world of zoning requirements, economic development and local politics.
“ at was harder than I expected it to be. So, grandma passed, we decided to do the bed and breakfast model, and it took six months, tens of thousands of dollars and multiple appearances before
the planning committees and the Town Council to get this done,” McAuli said.
Once involved as a business owner McAuli began taking on local roles in the town’s economic development efforts. A er that, he took a job working for Del. David Reid (D-28) and served in Loudoun’s Medical Reserve Corps.
“A er that, I joined the Biden administration, where I spent the rest of my career working at [the U.S. Department of Agriculture], and that is really where I found, I guess, my little place in the world here because of having sort of the background in rural America,” McAuli said.
During that time, he worked to help farmers receive funding for projects on their farms that would reduce their energy costs or create new revenue streams.
“As we all know, one bad drought, one bad season, can totally throw o ve or six years for farmers. And that’s why I’m doing this, because this is a vealarm re right now, and it have been more farm bankruptcies in the last three months, meaning the rst three months of 2025 than all of 2024, nationwide,” McAuli said.
Contributing to that are workforce challenges and rising costs, he added.
MCAULIFF continues on page 26
LMA Selects Loudoun Now for National Journalism Lab
Loudoun Now has been selected by Local Media Association as one of 20 news organizations across the United States that will participate in the 2025 cohort of the LMA Lab for Journalism Funding.
e lab will help cohort members to develop and execute strategies to fund essential local journalism via philanthropy. e six-month intensive program, made possible by support from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, runs through
January.
“As more national and local funders are committing to supporting local journalism, this program will be an important resource for newsrooms who are deeply focused on their communities’ needs and hoping to nd like-minded funders that can help them make their communities thrive,” stated Duc Luu, director of journalism sustainability at Knight Foundation.
Since its launch in 2020, the lab has
helped nearly 200 news organizations raise more than $34 million to support local journalism, with sustained support from Google News Initiative. Newsrooms in the new cohort will learn peer best practices and receive one-on-one coaching to develop actionable fundraising plans.
“Along with advertising, philanthropy is increasingly an important part of Loudoun Now’s overall strategy to produce essential local news coverage for readers,
viewers, and listeners across our county,” said Bill Cli ord, chief development ocer at Loudoun Community Media, the nonpro t publisher of Loudoun Now e 20 newsrooms accepted into the 2025 LMA Lab cohort comprise a diverse set of organizations committed to civic journalism in small and large markets across the country, including e Lansing Journal, Santa Barbara News-Press, Aspen Daily News, e Dallas Weekly, and Signal Ohio. n
Loudoun
Residents Press Higgins, Kershner on Power Line, Development Concerns
BY HANNA PAMPALONI hpampaloni@loudounnow.org
Residents in northwestern Loudoun said they continue to be concerned about the impacts of electric transmission lines and development pressures near their homes during an Aug. 6 community meeting attended by Del. Geary Higgins (R-30) and Supervisor Caleb A. Kershner (R-Catoctin).
e meeting was held at the Between the Hills Community Center, not far from where high voltage Dominion Energy transmission lines cross from West Virginia through Loudoun on their way to Maryland.
e community rallied last year to oppose plans by Florida-based NextEra Energy to build new transmission lines through the heart of western Loudoun, including near the National Historic Landmark at Waterford. NextEra abandoned that plan amid pushback and FirstEnergy proposed building the line along the existing rights-of-way through the northern part of the county. at was largely hailed as a victory by the community, but during last week’s meeting, some residents said they are concerned that it will still negatively impact their homes.
Following growing concerns over transmission line impacts, the Board of Supervisors initiated a Comprehensive Plan amendment to identify preferred corridors for transmission lines. One resident asked how that will impact the homes near existing rights-of-way.
“If my property is on a corridor that you de ne, do I have to tell somebody in the realtor o ce when I’m trying to sell it?” one community member asked. “Do I have to disclose it? If we already know we’re getting two lines and we’re getting we might be getting a third, what does that do to my property value and my individual property rights? You’re throwing this area under a bus in order to get energy down to Data Center Alley.”
Kershner said the CPAM work has not been completed and no corridors have been identi ed, but that the goal is to restrict where new lines are built in the county as much as possible to limit their impacts.
He said the local government does not have control over where lines are built, but supervisors are hoping to have in uence.
“ at’s just instructive to the [State Corporation Commission] who ultimately makes that decision, and they have to take in the general plan of the locality when considering what corridors to use. So, if we have planning documents that say, ‘hey, this is where we think they should go,’ then they have to consider this, but they don’t ultimately have to follow that. So, we don’t get to say the yay and nay on that.”
Kershner also mentioned the recent regulation changes adopted by the Board of Supervisors that prevent any new data centers, applied for a er Feb. 12 of this year, from being built without direct approval from the board. But even without any new data centers, new transmission lines will need to be built, he said.
“Even if we didn’t approve another data center in the future, or even if we didn’t approve any on my board, all this power that you’re talking about, they would be considering it now, because a lot of the
ON THE agenda
Dulles South Rec Center Plans Closures
Facilities at the Dulles South Recreation and Community Center will be closed intermittently beginning Monday to allow for annual maintenance. e competition and leisure pools will close Aug. 18 and reopen Sept. 1. e community center is set to close Aug. 23 and reopen Aug. 25. e tness center will close Aug. 18 and reopen Aug. 25. ere will be no scheduled classes at the center beginning Aug. 18. Classes at the recreation center will restart Aug. 25 and classes held at the community center will resume Aug. 26.
Childcare and camps taking place next week will not be impacted by the closures.
During the closures, community members can visit the newly opened Ashburn Recreation and Community Center or the Claude Moore Recreation and Community center. For pool hours and admission fees got to loudoun.gov/ashburnreccenter or loudoun.gov/claudemoorerec.
Outdoor pools are located at Frankling Park and the Lovettsville Community Center.
Applications Open for Advisory Board Positions
Applications to serve on county-wide advisory boards are open and the Board of Supervisors is looking for residents to serve in the positions.
data centers that are already zoned and approved have already been online for years, and now there’s beginning to get built. So, I just want you to understand that the limited decisions that we make on an approval or not approval makes zero di erence in terms of the power that is ultimately needed,” Kershner said.
Higgins also raised concerns with Virginia’s Clean Economy Act, which was signed into law in 2020 and sets a goal of reaching a 100% clean energy economy in the state by 2050. at has set the stage for 11,000 megawatts of power to be brought o ine in the region, he said.
“Well, 11,000 MW of power is enough power to power every home in Virginia plus 30% and we’re closing all these plants down, and we don’t have a viable alternative,” he said. “ at hope was for renewables but renewables cannot serve your
RESIDENT CONCERNS continues on page 5
Some of the bodies are prescribed by the Code of Virginia, while others were created by the board on a recuring or temporary basis.
Board with existing vacancies include the Agricultural District Advisory Committee, Board of Building Code Appeals, Community Policy and Management Team, Community Services Board, Advisory Commission on Youth, Dulles Town Center Community Development Authority, Environmental Commission, Facilities Standards Manual Public Review Committee, Family Services Advisory Board, Fiscal Impact Committee, Housing Advisory Board, Housing Choice Voucher Resident Advisory Board, Other Post-Employment Benets Investment Committee, Police Directed Towing Advisory Board, Transit Advisory Board and Water Resources Technical Advisory Committee. Apply online at onboard.loudoun. gov/application. n
Hanna Pampaloni/Loudoun Now Del. Geary Higgins (R-30) and Supervisors Caleb A. Kershner (R-Catoctin) speak with constituents at an Aug. 6 community meeting in Neersville.
Resident Concerns
continued from page 4
base load power needs because they’re not reliable.”
Because of the Clean Economy Act, Virginia is now importing more power than ever and that is coming from coal power plants, he said.
Residents also asked how to protect their land that are in conservation easements from transmission lines.
“What can we do at this point? We knew when we got the property that it was in a conservation easement, and we had a power line easement where the power line could access that easement at any time. But now, as they talk about expanding their power lines … I’m thinking, wait a minute, I’m not allowed to develop our property because it’s in a conservation easement … but how do they have that right?” one resident asked.
Kershner said the county is continuing to push for no transmission lines to be built on any conserved land. However, that decision ultimately lies with the SCC.
Higgins introduced two bills earlier this year that would have required a utility to either show that a new high voltage line would not expand an existing right-of-way or prove that there was no feasible alternative and required utilities to provide a longer notice to localities when building high voltage lines but neither garnered committee approval.
Community members said they are also concerned about development in the rural areas.
“ ere’s already talk of quite a few cluster housing developments going in and our roads are not appropriate for the increased tra c. We don’t even have shoulders. ere are ditches. ey just drop o ,” one resident said
Kershner said many of the developments are allowed by-right, which means he does not get to review the proposals, but that he felt encouraging more conservation easements would help stave o development in western Loudoun.
“If you’re a farmer and you’ve had that farm for 200 years, that’s essentially your 401K,” Kershner said. “So, you can cash in by doing a conservation program, or you can sell it to the developer. So, the more we injure our conservation programs, ultimately, the more I think we hurt.”
Higgins said he and others are working on a way to improve gravel roads without having to pave them. A bill he authored last year that was adopted with Sen. Russet Perry (D-31) and Del. David Reid (D-28), allowed funding for paving to be used for rural road improvements. e criteria for that program are still being worked out.
“ at money is out there, and it’s not spent every year, so we tried to tap that money so we could use it for maintenance on the gravel roads, and it would allow for improvements to the extent of crowns, curbs, drainage, those kinds of things. at’s the good news,” Higgins said. … I think most people in this county that live on those roads, if they were maintained, wouldn’t have any problem.” n
Leesburg
Town Launches Speed Cameras at 3 Schools
BY NORMAN K. STYER nstyer@loudounnow.org
When classes resume next week, motorists in Leesburg will have special reason to slow down in school zones.
e Leesburg Police Department is rolling out a new school’s safety program with three speed camera zones to enforce 15 miles per hour restrictions at three schools in town.
e cameras will detect and capture images and video of vehicles exceeding the posted speed limit during designated school hours. For the rst 30 days, violators will receive a warning by mail.
Starting Sept. 22, $100 nes will be issued. A Leesburg Police o cer will review and verify each violation before a notice is issued.
e cameras are active only during designated school hours and when school zone signs are ashing to signal the arrival or
Ensuring the safety of our students and residents is a top priority
— ea Pirnat, Police Chief
dismissal of students.
Camera locations were selected through an evaluation of vehicle speeds, tra c volume, and pedestrian crossings. e selected sites re ect a deliberate e ort to represent di erent areas across town, with emphasis on locations experiencing high tra c volumes, persistent speeding, and pedestrian activity, not limited to school crossings alone, according to the announcement.
NOVA Creative Reuse Expanding to West Market St. Location
e cameras are located at Ball’s Blu Elementary along Battleeld Parkway, at John W. Tolbert Jr. Elementary/Harper Park Middle School along Potomac Station Drive, and at Loudoun County High School along Dry Mill Road and Catoctin Circle.
“Ensuring the safety of our students and residents is a top priority,” Police Chief ea Pirnat. “ is initiative is about changing driver behavior and making our streets safer, particularly in areas where children and other vulnerable road users are present. While o cers will continue to conduct school zone enforcement townwide through traditional methods, this program allows us to use technology to support consistent, accountable enforcement.”
For more information and frequently asked questions, please visit: School Zone Speed Safety Program. n
BY WILLIAM TIMME wtimme@loudounnow.org
NOVA Creative Reuse, an organization committed to the sustainable reuse of cra ing materials, will be moving into a new space at 3 W. Market St., an expansion made possible by the transition of the current tenants, CRAFT co-owners Joshua Culhane and Vanessa Borg, into community theater.
NOVA Creative Reuse has diverted more than 11,000 pounds of usable art materials from the waste stream, according to Executive Director Leah Cooper. e organization weighs and tracks every donation received.
Moving to the Market Street location from a Loudoun Street basement will increase the shop’s visibility, Cooper said.
“We’re in the basement, sort of o the beaten path,” Cooper said. “So we get some foot tra c, but not nearly as much as [CRAFT does]. …
We’re worth the treasure hunt, but we are a little bit hard to nd where we are right now.”
Culhane said members in the cra ing community in Leesburg is aware of her shop, but that “the closer you are to King Street and the courthouse, the more foot tra c you will get and the more likely you are to have some success.”
e business also runs workshops, including a mindful art series it hosts on the rst ursday of every month that focuses on the meditative aspects of art. Cooper said in the CRAFT space, Creative Reuse will be able to do more and di erent kinds of workshops.
Cooper said, aside from sustainability, Creative Reuse’s other major focus is a ordability. Making art accessible with a ordable supplies gives people a chance to show o their creativity, she said.
“It’s focused on retail and focused on reimagining things
that come into the store and helping people see the potential in items that other people don’t have any use for anymore,” Cooper said. “When you’re talking about ne art, things like oil painting or ceramics, even really, really nice wool can be very, very expensive, and that shuts a lot of people out.”
CRAFT shared a similar vision of making art accessible.
“We were both doing creative and cra y stu in downtown Leesburg,” Cooper said. “We started talking and just realized that really li ing up the artistic community in Loudoun and making art sort of available to everyone and being really environmentally conscious was important to both of us.”
Cooper said she is aiming for an October reopening for Creative Reuse in the CRAFT space. Learn more about NOVA Creative Reuse at novacrc.org. n
Norman K. Styer/Loudoun Now
A new speed camera on Catoctin Circle will monitor traf c in the area of Loudoun County High School. Drivers detected violating the 15 mph schoolzone speed limit could receive $100 tickets.
William Timme/ Loudoun Now
NOVA Creative Reuse and CRAFT locations in downtown Leesburg.
Lafayette Returns; Celebrates U.S. as Beacon of Freedom, Independence
BY NORMAN K. STYER nstyer@loudounnow.org
On the 200th anniversary of his Aug. 9, 1825, visit to Leesburg, Lafayette returned to town Saturday to meet with residents and address a large crowd from the steps of the courthouse.
Portrayed by Mark Schneider, Lafayette talked with residents at the Loudoun Museum and other locations downtown before joining a formal ceremony at the courthouse that commemorated a community celebration held there 200 years ago.
e event was held in conjunction with the American Friends of Lafayette. Executive Director Chuck Schwam and Schneider have been recreating Lafayette’s journey around all 24 states during his farewell tour—a threemonth project that turned into a 13-month celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Revolutionary War.
“Lafayette was America’s rst rock star when he landed in New York on August 15, [1824], 90,000 people came out to see him. When the Beatles came in ’64 only 4,000 people showed up,” Schwam said.
During the tour, he said the organization is
we guard your character and how much we have been rejoiced in the warm and a ectionate reception with which you have been everywhere else greeted in your extensive circuit of these United States. e story of the generous actions of your youth, the sacri ces and the su erings of your middle age and the glory of your age—they admonish us to silence,” Burk said. “So in other words, we admire you. We’re thankful for all that you’ve done for our country, and we joyfully welcome you back to Leesburg.”
Lafayette was America's rst rock star."
— Chuck Schwam, Executive Director, American Friends of Lafayette
stressing the importance of understanding history, noting that France is America’s oldest ally, and highlighting Lafayette’s role as a war general, an abolitionist, a feminist and a friend of the Native Americans.
“He helped with revolutions all around the world—Greece, Poland, Bolivia. He was a man that believed what we wrote: ‘All men are created equal, all people are recreated equal.’ He believed that,” Schwam said.
Mayor Kelly Burk provided an o cial welcome, reading the same remarks delivered by Mayor John McCabe in 1825.
“With profoundness and veneration,
Schneider’s remarks included references to his associations with George Washington, omas Je erson, and then-former President James Monroe— the Loudoun resident who invited him to town and to stay at his Oak Hill farm.
“Dear friends, look at how far you have gone—from 13 to 24 United States. You have endured war, civil strife, turmoil— yet you have endured. And why is that? I will, I dare say it is because of the foundation that was built at the price of so much sacri ce and blood by you the American patriot,” Schneider said as Lafayette. “In fact, I will go further. I will say, one day this nation shall serve as a beacon for all other nations to look to as the truest example of freedom and of independence. God bless you all my dear friends and God bless this great nation of the United States of America.”
See the full program at loudounnow.tv. e program was organized by the Loudoun VA250 Committee, a coalition of historians and educators developing a series of programs to mark the 250th anniversary of the nation’s independence. Learn more at visitloudoun.org/loudoun250. n
Norman K. Styer/Loudoun Now
Above, portrayed by Mark Schneider, Lafayette talks with residents in the garden at the Loudoun Museum on Saturday morning. At left, he addresses a crowd from the steps of the county courthouse on Saturday night.
Power Line
continued from page 1
While three times higher than the existing lines, the monopoles will take up less space in the rights-of-way than shorter H-frames would.
“ at is going to signi cantly reduce the need for any additional easements,” Boye said.
Widening the existing easement has been a primary concern for residents whose properties already border or include the existing lines.
Plans for the improvement are to “primarily utilize existing rights-of-way” but residents whose properties are already crossed through by transmissions lines have said they are concerned it will impact more of their land.
“In some limited areas, the rights of way may need to be expanded to establish required clearances around the transmission lines. Potomac Edison will contact
Paxton
continued from page 1
the buildings. “We remain very concerned about the trustees having unmonitored access to employee, nancial, student and medical les,” she stated.
e move came a er a June announcement that mediation e orts to negotiate a new lease agreement between e Arc and e Trust had stopped. e Arc had been running its operations at the campus free of charge. e most recent lease expired last August.
e Arc last week relocated its Ability Fitness Center to e National Conference Center in Lansdowne and Friday marked its last day of operations for its Open Door Learning Center preschool and Aurora Behavior Clinic.
e organization was planning to continue to operate the Aurora School, which provides service to disabled students from school division around the region, on the campus. Since mediation e orts faltered in June, administrators have been searching for a new location for the school, an e ort made more challenging by the need to complete the Virginia Department of Education accreditation process.
e Trust released a statement Sunday con rming it had taken full possession of the campus and said it is part of the e orts to transition the campus to a multi-service center.
“ is marks the conclusions of the Arc of Loudoun’s operations on the campus, and the Arc will not be starting a new school year at this location this fall. We know this news may be di cult for some families, and we share in
landowners directly to discuss the additional easements required as well as temporary rights necessary to facilitate construction such as access routes, tree clearing and laydown yards,” according to project information by FirstEnergy.
Boye said most of the areas that need to be widened will be near substations where the lines will need to be built around the structures. None of those are in Loudoun, he said.
“ ere may be some limited areas where we need to expand right away to establish clearances around the lines,” he added.
Terri Ehlert and her husband have lived outside of Lovettsville for 26 years. eir property backs up to the transmission line easement and she said learning that the new towers will be three times as tall is disappointing but it’s not enough of an inconvenience to cause her to move, adding that her two grown daughters and their families both live nearby.
If the right-of-way were widened by
the sadness that o en comes with the close of a long-standing chapter,” according to the statement.
e Trust highlighted its support of e Arc, including previous $9 million in nancial and in-kind contributions, and said it had hoped e Arc would be part of the new vision for the campus.
“ e Arc ultimately declined the Trust’s o ers and indicated it was planning to relocate. We are grateful to the Arc for the many years of partnership and to the families who entrusted this campus with their children’s care and learning. e Paxton trust remains steadfast in its mission to serve children of all abilities, and we are moving forward with compassion and purse to bring the Mosaic Campus to life,” according to the statement.
e Trust said that e Arc has been occupying the campus for a year without a lease and has had four years since a previous lease’s expiration to nd another location.
“Without further cooperation by the Arc, e Trust has moved forward with a peaceful recovery of the Campus as it is entitled to do under Virginia law. All Arc records are secure, and all the Arc’s property is locked and protected by security. e Trust has not and will not access any nancial or health data of the Arc or its students. e Arc has been noti ed directly and through counsel how to make arrangements to recover all les, records and personal property and will be fully cooperative,” according to the statement.
e Arc had a sta of more than 100 and operated the Aurora School, the Open-Door Learning Center supported by the Claude Moore Center for Early Intervention, the Aurora Behavioral Clinic, the Ability Fitness Center and the ALLY Advocacy Center on
200 feet – a concern cited by some community members – the line would run through her backyard pool.
FirstEnergy plans to le applications for the line with the State Corporation Commission and its West Virginia equivalent this fall. Construction is expected to begin in 2027.
e project was originally proposed by NextEra Energy and would have been entirely along new rights-of-way through the heart of western Loudoun, taking a more direct path to a substation south of Leesburg.
However, public opposition led to the company withdrawing its plans which were then adopted by FirstEnergy who proposed running the line through the existing rights-of-way.
Piedmont Environmental Council Senior Land Use Field Representative Tia Earman said despite that change, the organization still has concerns about the proposal.
“We’re certainly very concerned about
the property. Max said the organization is working to temporarily open other services at e National Conference Center.
“As we’ve repeatedly shared, zoning, special exceptions, and Virginia Department of Education regulations make nding a new home for the Aurora School extremely challenging, especially given the lack of available real estate in Loudoun,” Max stated.
In a letter to Loudoun Now Leesburg Mayor Kelly Burk and Councilmember Zach Cummings called for the Trust to allow e Arc to continue operating on campus until they can nd another location for the Aurora School but also make “reasonable rent payments.”
“Giving the school a justi able timeline to nd a new location would show much needed compassion, while having reasonable expectations. We are concerned this weekend’s action demonstrates the opposite. We are asking all parties involved to remember the children during this di cult transition,” according to the letter.
e property has a more than 100-year history of serving children in the community.
Originally, Rachel Paxton bequeathed the land to a foundation to run the Margaret Paxton Memorial for Convalescent Children, named for her daughter Margaret, who predeceased her. Following Rachel Paxton’s death in 1921, her former residence, Carlheim manor, was used from 1924 to 1954 as a center for children recovering from illness or injury. It then shi ed to an orphanage, which operated until 1980, when it became a childcare center.
e property is controlled by three appointed trustees, with the Board of Visitors from St. James’ Episcopal Church, and an ad-
its impact to the residents, the width of the right-of-way and what that’s going to mean for [residents] because we’ve got a lot of farm properties,” she said.
Earman also raised concerns that the proposal does not take into account a separate joint transmission line proposal between FirstEnergy and Dominion Energy to build a 765kV line that has also been approved by regional power coordinators.
“So, with all of this size and all of this expansion and all of this right-of-way, we’re actually not even looking at the full scope of what needs to happen in this region, and I think that continued power need, needs to address a little bit more wholistically,” she said.
Preliminary maps submitted to PJM show the line passing through the general area as the existing lines and where this 500kV line is planned, however Boye said those lines have not routed yet and public meetings will be held next year for that project. n
visory team also playing roles in carrying out the terms of a century-old will.
A er the childcare center closed in 2004, the trustees sought to sell the property to a developer citing the high costs of operating the facility and the value of the land. A demolition permit was sought to raze Carlheim.
Local, state and federal elected leaders rallied to block the e ort and the Leesburg Town Council ultimately placed the campus into the town’s Old & Historic District, preserving the property and ultimately preventing its sale for development.
e Arc then moved in as the primary tenant.
In recent years, the Trust’s leaders have explored ways to make room for other nonpro ts on the campus. A 2021 e ort involved a proposal to build an 11,500-square-foot Nexus School and 27,000-square-foot greenhouse and classroom on seven acres for the children-serving INMED nonpro t. At the time, INMED was led by Jennifer Lassiter Smith, who played a critical role in establishing e Arc and the Aurora School on property and became e Arc’s executive director.
While that project did not advance and INMED closed its operations, the trustees continued making plans for a more diverse use of the property. eir Mosaic Campus master plan envisions hosing multiple child-focused organizations on the property. e plan includes replacing many of the existing structures with sustainable, low-carbon, energy-e cient buildings, restoring historic Carlheim Manor and its existing dependencies, and establishing incubator space for child-serving nonpro ts. e plans envision space for two or three larger anchor tenant organizations. n
The Town of Leesburg Parks & Recreation Department would like to say Thank You to our Sponsors, Businesses, Residents and all Participants for their support.
Pella Mid-Atlantic Windows & Doors Door
Education
Schools Join SCC's Dominion Power Line Review
BY HANNA PAMPALONI hpampaloni@loudounnow.org
e School Board on Tuesday voted to participate in the review of a Dominion Energy proposal to build transmission lines near two Loudoun schools.
e Golden to Mars project is the next phase of a transmission line loop that will connect new 230 kilovolt and 500 kV lines with new substations, providing additional power infrastructure to the county. It begins at the Golden substation near the intersection of Rt. 28 and the W&OD Trail and connects to a new substation east of Dulles Airport.
Community members have opposed the project because it is proposed to be located near Rock Ridge High School and Rosa Lee Carter Elementary School and the neighboring communities. Instead, they said Dominion should bury the lines underground.
School Board members in March agreed pressuring Dominion to bury the lines underground and the Board of Supervisors has also supported undergrounding e orts.
However, the utility company said burying the lines was not fea-
sible in this case, citing the largely untested nature of burying high voltage lines in the United States, the cost of burying and di culty in maintaining them, the disruption to the environment and conicts with property owned and regulated by Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority.
On March 25, Dominion led an application to permit the transmission lines with the State Corporation Commission and did not propose an undergrounding option.
Community members on Tuesday urged the School Board to le a notice of participation in the case, which would allow the school division to provide evidence, make arguments, and cross-examine witnesses during the application’s review.
Speakers from Loudoun Valley Estates, one of the HOAs opposing the plan, said that the proposed transmission lines would be taller than any building in the county, would have adverse environmental e ects due to the number of trees and other natural areas that would be destroyed, and that they are concerned about their children developing cancer due to exposure to radio waves produced by the high volt-
age lines.
ose comments echo letters dated July 21 and July 23 from the Loudoun Valley Estates Homeowners Association I and Lansdowne Conservancy General Counsel Bryan Turner.
Participation was also supported by Loudoun County Public Schools sta .
e board voted 8-0, with Vice Chair Anne Donohue abstaining, to le in the case.
“I think it’s important that the School Board continue to put forth its position on an issue that has such an impact on not just our school buts the surrounding communities and I think it’s part of our duty to go ahead and do so,” School Board member
Arben Istre (Sterling) said. School Board member Kari Labell agreed saying they don’t want transmission lines near the schools.
“It certainly shouldn’t be near a neighborhood. ey need to do it underground or not at all,” she said.
Local SCC hearings in the case will be held Sept. 18 and Sept. 29 at Rock Ridge High School.n
1,300 Students Identi ed for Math Acceleration
BY HANNA PAMPALONI hpampaloni@loudounnow.org
Loudoun County Public Schools sta are gearing up for more students than usual to advance to higher grade math courses this year under a new state law.
K-12 Mathematics Supervisor Nicole Augone told the School Board’s Curriculum and Instruction Committee last week that they had noti ed 1,300 families that their student had quali ed to advance. As of that Aug. 6 meeting, 976 parents had responded to that noti cation.
e bill, authored by Del. Katrina
Callsen (D-54), requires school divisions to automatically place students in grades 5-8, who score in the top 25% statewide on their Standard of Learning assessments, in accelerated math courses. Parents may opt their children out of the advanced class if desired.
Augone said that the school division already o ers accelerated classes, but evaluates students based on more data points than just their SOL placements.
“ ere are teacher recommendations, student goals as well as testing that is included. We o er opportunities for our students to accelerate throughout grade six
through grade 12. ere are multiple opportunities for students to accelerate at any point,” Augone said.
e changes are unlikely to have budgetary impacts, at least this year, she said. However, some middle school teachers will need to be certi ed to teach high school-level courses.
“Last year, prior to knowing about this, the math department started a course to help our middle school teachers pass their Praxis and to teach the high school courses. So, we o ered that course online, we purchased the books for them to practice Praxis and then reimbursed them for taking that
Praxis. So, we’ll continue to do that in an e ort to get more teachers certi ed but that would be the part that would anticipate to be the biggest thing we could run into especially with students that would take algebra in seventh grade,” she said.
Division sta members will evaluate the current math course selection process and create a new policy for math placement to align with the legislation. Augone said they will also evaluate how they identify and support students ready for accelerated courses and look at ways to further support teachers who are educating students above their grade levels. n
Patrick Lewis/Loudoun Now Community members gathered at the Aug. 12 School Board meeting to oppose plans for transmission lines near Rock Ridge High School and Rosa Lee Carter Elementary School.
School Board Eyes Annual Review of Thomas Jefferson Transportation
BY HANNA PAMPALONI hpampaloni@loudounnow.org
A School Board is reviewing the policy governing the Loudoun County Public Schools’ relationship with omas Je erson High School for Science and Technology in Alexandria where some Loudoun students attend.
Tuition for access to the specialty school is paid by LCPS and traditionally the division has also covered the cost of transportation for students.
An amended version of the policy reviewed by a School Board committee last week proposed removing the language outlining transportation and instead have it negotiated annually in a contract between the School Board and the Fairfax County School Board.
Submitted parental feedback supported keeping transportation in the policy.
“I believe that LCPS should continue to provide transportation for TJHSST. Many parents with capable kids rely on this and removing transportation would cause a drastic change and negative impact on those families. TJHSST is a great opportunity provided to this county and removing transportation
to it is the same as removing the opportunity altogether,” one parent wrote in submitted comments.
Members of the Loudoun Education Alliance of Families and Equity Committee also opposed cutting the language from the policy.
“At the end of the day, this policy a rms that LCPS is responsible for providing transportation to a specialized program that many of its own students are selected to attend and bene t from. LCPS should maintain its commitment to providing equitable access to all specialized academies and programs to which it sends students,” said LEAF member Mital Gandhi stated.
e policy changes were supported by division sta .
School Board member Kari Labell (Catoctin) asked if this would change transportation plans for the upcoming school year.
Students leave from hubs around Loudoun and take LCPS buses to the Alexandria high school. at will remain the same this year, according to Director of Academic Programs Kathryn Clark.
Committee Chair Sumera Rashid (Little River) said that the policy change is not intended to eliminate transportation to the
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This committee is not recommending that the full School Board vote to eliminate the TJ transportation at this time."
— Sumera Rashid, Committee Chair
high school but to shi the logistics and cost oversight from the policy to the ongoing contract between the two county school boards.
“ is committee is not recommending that the full School Board vote to eliminate the TJ transportation at this time… I just want to ensure that we put close eyes on it on an annual basis at least,” she said. “So, for example, in the recent past, LCPS has had to create bell schedules that were less than ideal in order to ensure that all bus routes were covered. Should we again be faced with transportation challenges like that, I want to be sure that we pay close attention in e orts
to provide the reasonable route coverage for Loudoun’s own schools along with TJ students.”
at policy is reviewed annually.
LaBell proposed adding clari cation that the division would continue to provide hub transportation, but Rashid said that was too speci c and did not provide enough exibility if something changed with the hub stops.
“I think they need to know that the transportation comes through Loudoun County. at they don’t have to worry about Fairfax providing any sort of transportation or getting their child to someplace that Fairfax is picking their child up inside Fairfax,” LaBell said.
Rashid proposed language that clari ed further that the logistical speci cs of transportation may change during the annual contract renegotiations and that division will provide as much notice to parents as possible if there are changes.
“My intention is to help LCPS best use our resources so that students can take advantage of every opportunity, including ‘To the extent transportation is provided by LCPS’ to TJ as the policy updates state,” Rashid said e full board was scheduled to be briefed on the proposal Tuesday night. n
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Public Safety
ICE Makes 45 Loudoun Arrests in July
BY HANNA PAMPALONI hpampaloni@loudounnow.org
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested 45 immigrants outside of the Sterling Immigration Court in July, according to members of New Virginia Majority.
NVM is a political advocacy group that has been drawing attention to the arrests this year.
At least 10 of the arrests occurred last year, according to Communications Associate Claudia Rojas. In May, there were eight arrests and that jumped to 28 in June, according to the organization.
A video published by NVM shows community members being walked out of the court building in handcu s by plain clothes and uniformed individuals with some wearing masks. e arrested individuals are then loaded into a locked van.
New Virginia Majority volunteer Robin
Luckenbaug is part of the group working to catalogue as many arrests as possible. She said NVM believes that a er being loaded in the van, the detainees are sent to Chantilly before going to the Farmville Detention Center.
“Typically, there’s somebody inside the building who comes out and … will get on her hone and look like she’s text or calling and the van will swing around from their holding place,” Luckenbaug said. “… en we start to just see some movement from the people inside the van who are I guess are corrections o cers.”
e individuals are then brought out to the van.
e single most arrests in one day occurred on June 11 when 10 people were arrested. at prompted a press conference and protest led by New Virginia Majority.
During that event, immigration attorney Sarah Bazzi told Loudoun Now that the individuals arrested were at the court to pursue
legal immigration paperwork.
“ ese non-criminals who have developed signi cant ties to the community, many of whom have work permits, and are working are suddenly taken away for coming to their court hearings and are put in mandatory detention while their court cases proceed,” Bazzi said. “… ese are not the bad people; these are people who come in and do what they’re supposed to do.”
Bazzi said everyone who is at the court has already been released from detention or that the government had already decided they could apply for asylum.
“ ese people who have applied for asylum within one year, and have been complying, are coming to court and the government has been saying, ‘never mind, we changed our mind. You’re at step zero; expedited removal.’ So, then they take them and detain them,” she said.
Luckenbaug said so far, the detentions have seemingly been focused on single men who show up to court.
“A lot of these folks get duped by fake attorneys,” she said.
In one case, a man had paid someone he thought was an attorney to represent him, but the attorney never showed up and the man was arrested when he attended his court hearing.
Luckenbaug said one man who went to court with his wife and two daughters was arrested and is being held in Farmville.
“It does look like the whole family will be deported and their stories are pretty horri c as you can imagine,” she said.
ICE has also issued detainers for individuals held at the Adult Detention Center with 90 being picked up this year so far, according to data obtained by researchers at UC Berkley. n
Sta members at 12 of the 31 vape retailers recently visited by Loudoun County Sheri ’s O ce investigators allegedly sold restricted nicotine merchandise to underage buyers.
Of those 12, ve were found to be in violation during a similar probe conducted last year, according to the agency.
State law prohibits selling, distributing, purchasing for, or allowing the purchase of any tobacco or hemp product to a person under 21 years of age. Deputies conducted compliance checks at stores across the county.
A rst violation carries a civil penalty of $500 for the business and $100 for the
employee who makes the sale. Repeat violations within a 36-month period carry a $2,500 penalty and may result in the suspension or revocation of the business’s license by the Virginia Department of Taxation.
e businesses alleged to have sold restricted merchandise to a person posing as an underage customer were:
• AIO Smoke & Vape, CountrySide
• Ashburn Cigar & Vapes
(second o ense), Ashburn Shopping Plaza
• Diamond Tobacco & Vapes –Lansdowne Town Center
• HUB – CountrySide
• Sterling Smoke & Vape
(second o ense) – Enterprise St., Sterling
• Tobacco Flex – Main Street, Purcellville
• Tobacco Hut (second o ense) –Ashbrook Commons Plaza
• Tobacco Hut –Church Road, Sterling
• Tobacco King (second o ense)
–Leesburg Pike, Sterling
• Tobacco King & Vape –Leesburg Pike, Sterling
• Tobacco King & Vape (second o ense) –Fieldstone Drive, Leesburg
• Tobacco King & Vape –Market Street, Leesburg. n
SAFETY briefs
Leesburg Man Charged with Attempted Murder
e Leesburg Police Department has charged an 18-year-old man with attempted murder and kidnapping following an incident that occurred Saturday night.
According to the report, Christian K. Pulley entered the Police Department headquarters on Plaza Street at approximately 10 p.m. on Aug. 9 and reported that he had attempted to kill a coworker.
Soon a er that, a family member of the juvenile victim called 911 to report the attack. e victim was treated by medical personnel and released.
According to the arrest warrant, Pulley worked at the Jimmy John’s sandwich shop and was closing the store for the night when he choked a 16-year-old female coworker from behind. e victim broke free and attempted to ee, but he grabbed her leg to detain her.
Pulley then turned himself in at the police headquarters.
Pulley was charged with attempted murder and kidnapping. He was held without bond at the Loudoun County Adult Detention Center. is case remains under investigation. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Leesburg Police Department at 703-771-4500 or policeinvestigations@leesburgva.gov. Anonymous tips may be submitted by calling 703-443-TIPS (8477).
Hamilton-Area Stable Under Investigation
Investigators with Loudoun County Animal Services are seeking assistance from people who receive boarding or other services for their horses at a stable located o Charles Town Pike near Hamilton.
e stable was previously operated under the business name Eudora Hollow Stables by owner Amanda Cram.
As part of an open investigation, LCAS is interested in speaking with individuals who are presently using the stable for horse boarding, breeding, training and/or care services or who have leased or transferred horses to the stable. Individuals with information should contact the LCAS dispatch center at 703-777-0406. Callers may leave a voicemail a er 6 p.m. n
New Virginia Majority
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested 45 immigrants outside of the Sterling Immigration Court in July, according to members of New Virginia Majority.
The Restaurant at Patowmack Farm to Close
BY NORMAN K. STYER nstyer@loudounnow.org
A er more than two decades helping to pioneer Loudoun County’s farm-to-table dining movement, Beverly Morton Billand announced that she will close e Restaurant at Patowmack Farm on Aug. 31.
“ ere comes a moment when we must honor the natural rhythm of life and embrace change. at moment has arrived. What began as a dream blossomed into a beautiful chapter - a place rooted in purpose and lled with meaning. Never could I have imagined how deeply this restaurant would shape my life, nor how many treasured memories would be written within its walls and across its elds,” Billand wrote in a letter to patrons announcing her retirement.
“ is journey has been nothing short of extraordinary. Over the years, I’ve had the privilege of welcoming guests who became friends, who entrusted us with their celebrations, their stories, and their time. In turn, I shared pieces of my own life with you - through every seasonal dish, quiet sunsets, joyful toasts, and earnest goodbyes,” she wrote.
Norman K. Styer/Loudoun Now
Beverly Morton Billand stands ready to welcome patrons to the 20th anniversary celebration of The Restaurant at Patowmack Farm in 2024..
Billand began her restaurant journey when she got the idea to use her garden’s bountiful produce to o er meals— cooked in her home kitchen and served in the farm’s barn. at grew into a brick-andmortar restaurant several years later. e venue attracted patrons from around the region for meals curated with seasonal local produce in a setting with expansive views of the Potomac River.
Learn more at patowmackfarm.com. n
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Towns AROUND towns
Nichols Relaunches Hardware Cafe
BY HANNA PAMPALONI hpampaloni@loudounnow.org
Nichols Hardware opened its adjoining cafe in 2019 and has been quietly serving Purcellville residents ever since. Now, as e orts to revitalize 21st Street advance, the company is relaunching the cafe with the help of a former manager at the recently sold Round Hill Grocery.
e relaunch of the Hardware Cafe will include a revamped menu and management from Bobbi Lange who spent seven and a half years in Round Hill.
e shop will still o er its make-yourown sandwich options but will also bring back the much-loved hardware-themed creations of former chef Marvin Camacho.
ose include the Drill Bit – a grilled roast beef sandwich with cooked onions, sharp cheddar cheese and horseradish mayo, the Junk Drawer and the Messy Marvin.
e cafe also o ers breakfast sandwiches, iced and hot co ee, espresso-based drinks and slushes.
ey feature local ingredients including honey from Purcellville-based Matt Gaillardetz, co ee beans from Charles Town-based Black Dog Co ee Company and nitro co ee from Berryville’s Cordial Co ee.
Lange and Nichols Hardware Manager Richard Beard said the menu will be ever evolving with weekly specials and improvements they’ll make over the coming months such as fresh-squeezed orange juice, smoothies and possibly alcoholic beverages and ice cream.
Lange said she hopes the cafe will become a place where locals gather to see a friendly face and catch up with a friend.
“I really just want to bring business back to the street and to have a place where you can sit down and get your favorite sandwich, get your favorite co ee, or even just to come in for a group meeting. at’s something that we also do as well if want to book the whole cafe for a couple hours in the evening, we will do that,” she said. “… I just want a spot where people can come and gather.”
e improvements will include adding outdoor seating options as part of other
e orts by Nichols’ Hardware to complete renovations that would add residential and commercial or retail units along 21st Street.
e changes at the cafe come as work by Purcellville Main Street brings more attention to revitalizing the downtown area.
e cafe will debut its relaunch during PVMS’ End of Summer Block Party
planned for Aug. 23 from 4 to 10 p.m.
e cafe will be sponsoring the event and providing popcorn and slushies, and the party will also include music, games and family-friendly activities.
Hardware Cafe is open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sundays. n
BLUEMONT
Preparations Underway for 55th Annual Fair
Organizers are gearing up for the 55th Annual Bluemont Fair, which will be held on Sept. 20-21.
e old-fashioned country fair, features traditional cra s, local art and authors, cra and farming demonstrations, live music, a children’s fair, petting zoo, Llamas & Alpacas, Quilt Display, Gardener’s Shed, blacksmithing and stone wall building demonstrations, homemade food/baked goods/jams & jellies, pie-baking/pickle-making contest, antiques and collectables, wine and beer garden with gourmet treats, beekeepers and hives, a pre-Civil War country store, farmers market, model trains, and handson activities. e Plaster Museum of Bluemont Heritage will o er a special exhibit, “Fiber Arts of the Blue Ridge.” e fair runs 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. both days. Admission is $10 for visitors age 10 and older.
Learn more at bluemontfair.org.
NORTH FORK
North Fork Baptist Church to Celebrate 260 Years
e congregation at North Fork Baptist Church next month will celebrate the 260th anniversary of its founding in 1765.
It was established as the First Baptist Church of North Fork. In 1835, a doctrinal split resulted in the formation and building of the new church, known as the Second Baptist Church of North Fork, right next door.
During the anniversary celebration there will be an abbreviated church service followed by remarks on the history of the church and the once thriving community of North Fork and a luncheon. Tours of the privately owned cemetery will be conducted by the Ketoctin Chapter of the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution. e earliest recorded burial there was in 1801 and includes graves of soldiers from the American Revolution, the War of 1812 and the Civil War.
Limited free tickets available for the luncheon.
Learn more at northforkbaptist.com.
AROUND TOWN continues on page 15
Hanna Pampaloni/Loudoun Now Bobbi Lange will manage the Hardware Cafe as it relaunches alongside Nichols Hardware this month.
Hanna Pampaloni/Loudoun Now A casual seating area inside the Hardware Cafe in Purcellville.
Around Town
continued from page 14
PURCELLVILLE
Upcoming Nature Walk Features Pollinators
Join members of the Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy and Virginia Master Naturalists at the Chapman DeMary Trail on Sunday, Aug. 31 for a guided nature walk about pollinators.
Experts will share facts about the di erent kinds of pollinators, the native plants they need to thrive, and how we can help them. A er the walk, people can decorate a seed bag and ll it with purple cone ower seeds to plant in their garden.
e event, jointly hosted by the Purcellville Parks and Recreation Advisory Board and the Tree and Environment Sustainability Committee, is free and open to the public.
Registration requested at purcellvilleva. gov/881/Monthly-Nature-Walks. n
Cochran Competes in Miss Teen International Pageant
Four months after being named Miss Teen Virginia International, Montana Cochran nished in the top six in the nal pageant in Kingsport, TN.
The Lincoln resident and Loudoun Valley High School graduate used the international forum to promote Lyme disease awareness and women’s health advocacy.
Her Go Green for Lyme platform is based on her own experience with chronic Lyme disease, which she has been battling for two years. She visited ve doctors before she found one, Dr. Carolyn Walsh in Leesburg, who understood her symptoms.
Cochran will continue in her role across the commonwealth as Miss Teen Virginia International until her term ends next spring.
The 2025 pageant was won by Jacqueline Towle, representing the Western U.S.
PUBLISHER’S NOTICE
We are pledged to the letter and spirit of Virginia’s policy for achieving equal housing opportunity throughout the Commonwealth. We encourage and support advertising and marketing programs in which there are no barriers to obtaining housing because of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, elderliness, familial status or handicap.
All real estate advertised herein is subject to Virginia’s fair housing law which makes it illegal to advertise “any preference, limitation or discrimination because of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, elderliness, familial status or handicap or intention to make any such preference, limitation, or discrimination.”
This newspaper will not knowingly accept advertising for real estate that violates the fair housing law. Our readers are hereby informed that all dwellings advertised in this newspaper are available on an equal opportunity basis. For more information or to le a housing complaint call the Virginia Fair Housing Of ce at (804) 367-9753. fairhousing@dpor.virginia.gov www.fairhousing.vipnet.org
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LIVE MUSIC
GREG & CHRIS
6 to 9 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 14 Spanky’s Shenanigans, 538 E. Market St., Leesburg. spankyspub.com
DEANA CARTER W/SELA CAMPBELL
7 to 11 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 14
Tally Ho Theater, 19 W. Market St., Leesburg. $45. tallyhotheater.com
TAYLOR SWIFT NIGHT
2 to 9:30 p.m. Friday, Aug. 15 Lost Barrel Brewing, 36138 Little River Turnpike, Middleburg. lostbarrel.com
SELA CAMPBELL
5 to 8 p.m. Friday, Aug. 15
Lark Brewing Co., 24205 James Monroe Highway, Aldie. larkbrewingco.com
KATE MACLEOD TRIO
5 to 8 p.m. Friday, Aug. 15 Harpers Ferry Brewing, 37412 Adventure Center Lane, Loudoun Heights. harpersferrybrewing.com
SHANE GAMBLE
5 to 8 p.m. Friday, Aug. 15 Quattro Goombas Brewery, 22860 James Monroe Highway, Aldie. quattrogoobas.com
DAVID WHITE
5 to 8 p.m. Friday, Aug. 15 Vanish Farmwoods Brewery, 42245 Black Hops Lane, Lucketts. vanishbeer.com
DEADEYE STARE
5 to 9 p.m. Friday, Aug. 15 Village at Leesburg, 1602 Village Market Blvd., Leesburg. villageatleesburg.com
41 NORTH
6 to 9 p.m. Friday, Aug. 15
Spanky’s Shenanigans, 538 E. Market St., Leesburg. spankyspub.com
MIKE LEVERONE
6 to 9 p.m. Friday, Aug. 15 Flying Ace Farm, 40950 Flying Ace Lane, Lovettsville. yingacefarm.com
MELANIE PEARL
6 to 9 p.m. Friday, Aug. 15 Bear Chase Brewing Company, 33665 Bear Chase Lane, Bluemont. bearchasebrew.com
LIVE MUSIC continues on page 17
CRAFT Aims to Make Theater More Accessible
BY WILLIAM TIMME wtimme@loudounnow.org
CRAFT is entering a new chapter of its journey, as co-owners Vanessa Borg and Joshua Culhane phase out their downtown Leesburg location and shift their focus to their theater company operating in the Faith Chapel near Lucketts.
The husband-and-wife business duo met in college as theater students. Borg said that CRAFT customers often ask what kinds of art the two pursued. In the past, Borg started a nonpro t theater company, but said the enterprise, powered by fresh-out-of-college enthusiasm was short-lived. After getting in contact with Amanda Vela from Faith Chapel, Culhane and Borg’s shot at re-entering the theater world arrived.
“We’ve always talked about doing theater,” Culhane said.
Borg said the Presbyterian Church
at Faith Chapel disbanded during the COVID-19 pandemic but wanted to put the property to good use.
“The presbyters were like, well, we don’t want to just give up this land for someone to build a data center on it, right? Let’s keep it in the community somehow,” Borg said.
That space is now used by the Lucketts Food Pantry and also serves as a community art center. Borg and Culhane plan on incorporating CRAFT Theatre Co. into that community art space – for both adults and kids.
“We’re planning classes that are mostly like, well one of them is after school, but they’re mostly geared towards homeschoolers who are interested in incorporating art history and theater into their curriculum,” Borg said. “We’ve been thinking how do we make the arts more accessible for adults who maybe enjoyed theater in high school or college, but don’t have the time in their schedule to
work it in.”
CRAFT Theatre Co. has a monthly contemporary play reading club. Participants sit and read new plays from start to nish, sometimes accompanied by guest actors who come in and read roles.
Borg said she wants CRAFT Theatre Co. to do things a little differently than other area theater companies.
“We really want to focus on contemporary plays so we’re not trying to do something that other people are already doing,” Borg said. “I think people are less familiar with newer works but nd that it kind of speaks to our current world a little bit more.”
Culhane said theater should “speak to what we’re going through now.”
Faith Chapel touts a dedicated playroom with toys for kids, allowing Borg and Culhane to offer special
Members of CRAFT Theatre Co.’s play reading club at the Studio Theatre in Washington D.C.
MELISSA & THE MOTH MEN
Friday, Aug. 15, 6 to 10 p.m. Hillsboro Old Stone School, 37098 Charles Town Pike, Hillsboro. oldstoneschool.org
This classic country dance band from Harpers Ferry performs highenergy two-step, line dance, and square dance music. Free.
GET OUT
LIVE MUSIC
continued from page 16
MELISSA & THE MOTH MEN
6 to 10 p.m. Friday, Aug. 15
Hillsboro Old Stone School, 37098 Charles Town Pike, Hillsboro. Free. oldstoneschool.org
ZACH JONES
6 to 9 p.m. Friday, Aug. 15
Harvest Gap Brewery, 15485 Purcellville Road, Hillsboro. harvestgap.com
TEJAS SINGH
6 to 10 p.m. Friday, Aug. 15
Stoneleigh Golf and Country Club, 35271 Prestwick Ct., Round Hill. stoneleighgolf.com
RYAN SILL
7 to 10 p.m. Friday, Aug. 15
The Dell: Food & Brew Hall, 1602 Village Market Blvd., Leesburg. atthedell.com
EYES OF THE NILE
7 to 11 p.m. Friday, Aug. 15
Tally Ho Theater, 19 W. Market St., Leesburg. $17.50. tallyhotheater.com
SHADE TREE COLLECTIVE
8 to 11 p.m. Friday, Aug. 15
Monk’s BBQ, 251 N. 21st St., Purcellville. monksq.com
FIRST SUNDAY
9 p.m. to 1 a.m. Friday, Aug. 15
Spanky’s Shenanigans, 538 E. Market St., Leesburg. spankyspub.com
JIM STEELE
12 to 3 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 16 Honor Brewing Company, 42604 Trade W. Drive, Sterling. honorbrewing.com
DIXIE MITCHELL
12 to 4 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 16
BEST BETS
EYES OF THE NILE
Friday, Aug. 15, 7 p.m. (doors) Tally Ho Theater, 19 W. Market St., Leesburg. $17.50. tallyhotheater.com
Celebrate the heavy metal hits of Iron Maiden.
Cana Vineyards, 38600 Little River Turnpike, Middleburg. canavineyards.com
PEBBLE TO PEARL
1 to 5 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 16 Bear Chase Brewing Company, 33665 Bear Chase Lane, Bluemont. bearchasebrew.com
RYAN SILL
1 to 4 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 16
Three Creeks Winery, 18548 Harmony Church Road, Hamilton. 3creekswinery.com
FAVORITE CHILD
1 to 4 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 16
Vanish Farmwoods Brewery, 42245 Black Hops Lane, Lucketts. vanishbeer.com
JULIANA MACDOWELL
1 to 4 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 16 Creek’s Edge Winery, 41255 Annas Lane, Lovettsville. creeksedgewinery.com
DOUG BELL
1 to 4 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 16 868 Estate Vineyards, 14001 Harpers Ferry Road, Hillsboro. 868estatevineyards.com
1:30 to 4:30 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 16 Fleetwood Farm Winery, 23075 Evergreen Mills Road, Leesburg. eetwoodfarmwinery.com
JP JONES
Saturday, Aug. 16, 7 to 8:30 p.m. Leesburg Town Hall, 25 W. Market St., Leesburg. idalee.org
The Lucketts native brings a blend of soul, R&B, pop, classic rock, country, and the blues to Leesburg’s Summer Jams stage. Bring a picnic, chairs or blankets. Free.
JOE DOWNER
1:30 to 4:30 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 16
50 West Vineyards, 39060 Little River Turnpike, Middleburg. 50westvineyards.com
STEVE BOYD AND FRIENDS
2 to 5 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 16
The Barns at Hamilton Station Vineyards, 16804 Hamilton Station Road, Hamilton. thebarnsathamiltonstation.com
KATE MACLEOD
2 to 6 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 16 Ashburn Library, 43316 Hay Road, Ashburn. library.loudoun.gov/Ashburn
JERRY IRWIN
2 to 6 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 16
Old Farm Winery at Hartland, 23583 Fleetwood Road, Aldie. oldfarmwineryhartland.com
MARK CULLINANE
2 to 5 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 16
Old 690 Brewing Company, 15670 Ashbury Church Road, Hillsboro. old690.com
NATHANIEL DAVIS
2 to 5 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 16 Lark Brewing Co., 24205 James Monroe Highway, Aldie. larkbrewingco.com
ZACH JONES
2 to 5 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 16 Breaux Vineyards, 36888 Breaux Vineyards Lane, Hillsboro. breauxvineyards.com
MORRIS-MORRIS
2 to 5 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 16
Bozzo Family Vineyards, 35226 Charles Town Pike, Hillsboro. bozwines.com
RONNIE WOLFORD BAND
2 to 5 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 16 Harvest Gap Brewery, 15485 Purcellville Road, Hillsboro. harvestgap.com
CALLER N’ DOC
2 to 5 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 16 Quattro Goombas Brewery, 22860 James Monroe Highway, Aldie. quattrogoombas.com
ERIC SELBY & JAY SUMMEROUR
2 to 5 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 16
Good Spirit Farm, 35113 Snickersville Turnpike, Round Hill. goodspiritfarmva.com
Town of Leesburg’s Incredible Free Outdoor Concert Series
GET OUT LIVE MUSIC
continued from page 18
THE COLD NORTH
3 to 7 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 17
Spanky’s Shenanigans, 538 E. Market St., Leesburg. spankyspub.com
TIMMIE METZ DUO
4 to 7 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 17
Harpers Ferry Brewing, 37412 Adventure Center Lane, Loudoun Heights. harpersferrybrewing.com
TOM STARR
4 to 7 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 17
The Bungalow Lakehouse, 46116 Lake Center Plaza, Sterling. bungalowlakehouse.com
REBECCA PORTER
7 to 11 p.m. Monday, Aug. 18
CRAFT, 3 W. Market St., Leesburg. smallmouthsoundco.com
BLUEGRASS JAM
6:30 to 9 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 20 Hope Flower Farm & Winery, 40905 Stumptown Road, Waterford. hope owerfarm.com
ELDEN STREET
6 to 9 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 21
Spanky’s Shenanigans, 538 E. Market St., Leesburg. spankyspub.com
TEJAS SINGH
7 to 11 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 21
Velocity Wings Potomac Falls, 20789 Great Falls Plaza, Sterling. velocitywings.net
COSCULLUELA
9 p.m. to 1 a.m. Thursday, Aug. 21 Rio Cantina, 21800 Towncenter Plaza, Sterling. facebook.com/RioCantinaSterling
HAPPENINGS
DISCOVER VERNAL POOLS
7 to 8:30 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 14
Gum Spring Library, 24600 Millstream Drive, Stone Ridge. loudounwildlife.org
BACK TO SCHOOL FAMILY FUN FAIR
6 to 8:30 p.m. Friday, Aug. 15 First Sterling Church, 21449 Potomac View Road, Sterling. rststerling.org
CRAFT
continued from page 16
performances that adults can attend without worrying about their kids.
For those adults, CRAFT Theatre Co. presents an opportunity to explore an entirely new world, said Borg and Culhane.
“As the plays go on, as you read further and further into the script, you can feel the readers taking on the role more and more,” Culhane said. “These are people who have maybe never acted,
MOVIE NIGHT: DESPICABLE ME 4
8:30 to 10:30 p.m. Friday, Aug. 15
Lansdowne Town Center, Belmont Ridge Road, Leesburg. shoplansdownetowncenter.com
LEESBURG FARMERS MARKET
8 a.m. to noon Saturday, Aug. 16
Virginia Village, 30 Catoctin Circle SE., Leesburg. oudounfarmersmarkets.org
REMNANTS OF THE PAST SPECIALTY TOUR
11 a.m. to noon Saturday, Aug. 16
Morven Park, 17269 Southern Planter Lane, Leesburg. $15 to $25. morvenpark.org
LEESBURG FESTIVAL OF KITES & CRAFTS
11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 16
Ida Lee Park Recreation Center, 60 Ida Lee Dr., Leesburg. hiceventsdc.com
ALOHA WINE FESTIVAL
12 to 5 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 16
Willowcroft Farm Vineyards, 38906 Mount Gilead Road, Leesburg. $30. willowcroftwine.com
7 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 16, Segra Field, Leesburg. loudoununitedfc.com
BIRDING ALGONKIAN
8 to 11 a.m. Sunday, Aug. 17
Algonkian Regional Park, 47001 Fairway Drive, Sterling. loudounwildlife.org
LEARN TO SKATE CLINIC
9 to 9:30 a.m. Sunday, Aug. 17
Douglass Community Center, 407 E. Market St., Leesburg. $25. eliteinlinehockey.hockeyshift.com
COMMUNITY CARNIVAL
5 to 7 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 17
Community Baptist Church, 43100 Center St., Chantilly. Free. cbc4me.org
MOVIE NIGHT: YES DAY,
6 to 9 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 17
Loudoun Station, 43751 Central Station Drive, Ashburn. comstock.com/loudoun-station
SPEED JIGSAW PUZZLE COMPETITION
6:30 to 9 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 20
Solace Brewing Company, 42615 Trade West Drive, Sterling. $25. solacebrewing.com n
and they’re really emoting, and they’re really connecting with the characters.”
Culhane said the awareness and control over voice and body movement taught through theater is indispensable, as is the joy of creating art.
CRAFT Theatre Co. has youth musical theater performance classes (for ages 8 to 15) scheduled from Sept. 9 to Oct. 28 and Youth Acting 101 classes from Sept. 10 to Oct. 29.
Learn more about CRAFT Theatre Co. at craft-leesburg.com/craft-theatre-co. n
Lucia Tirondola Manor Works Painting
Alicia McEldon SciGenie
Ana Salas Ingenious Solutions Factory MODERATED BY Dawn Crawley, STW Cleaning
Legal Notices
LOUDOUN COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE
NOTICE OF IMPOUNDMENT OF ABANDONED VEHICLE
This notice is to inform the owner and any person having a security interest in their right to reclaim the motor vehicle herein described within 15 days after the date of storage charges resulting from placing the vehicle in custody, and the failure of the owner or persons having security interests to exercise their right to reclaim the vehicle within the time provided shall be deemed a waiver by the owner, and all persons having security interests of all right, title and interest in the vehicle, and consent to the sale of the abandoned motor vehicle at a public auction.
This notice shall also advise the owner of record of his or her right to contest the determination by the Sheriff that the motor vehicle was “abandoned,” as provided in Chapter 630.08 of the Loudoun County Ordinance, by requesting a hearing before the County Administrator in writing. Such written request for a hearing must be made within 15 days of the notice.
LAWSON ROAD BICYCLE AND PEDESTRIAN CROSSING OF TUSCARORA CREEK
The Town of Leesburg will accept sealed bids electronically via the Commonwealth’s e-procurement website (www.eva.virginia.gov), until 2:00 p.m. on Friday, August 29, 2025, for the following:
IFB NO. 320814-FY26-03
LAWSON ROAD BICYCLE AND PEDESTRIAN CROSSING OF TUSCARORA CREEK
The Town of Leesburg, Virginia is requesting sealed bids from qualified contractors to construct the Lawson Road Bicycle and Pedestrian Crossing of Tuscarora Creek project. Bidders must be prequalified by the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) at time of bid to submit a bid.
The project involves the construction of a new trail and low water stream crossing on Lawson Road, SE from 0.17 miles south of Trailview Blvd, SE to 0.05 miles north of Beauregard Dr/ Brigadier Ct. Tuscarora Creek has significantly deteriorated the low water crossing between two cul-de-sacs on Lawson Road. A new stream crossing will provide bicycle and pedestrian access to the W&OD Trail from adjacent residential communities. Bank erosion approximately 200 feet upstream of the crossing will be stabilized to reduce further bank loss.
This project includes federal funding from the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and state funding from the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) and shall be subject to applicable grant requirements and regulations. A Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) contract goal of 5% has been established for this contract.
TOWN OF MIDDLEBURG MIDDLEBURG STRATEGIC FINANCE COMMITTEE VACANCY
The Middleburg Town Council is accepting letters of interest from individuals who wish to be considered for service on the MIDDLEBURG STRATEGIC FINANCE COMMITTEE (MSFC) Applicants should have a strong financial services or banking background, preferably with some experience related to local government finances. The MSFC is responsible for reviewing and making recommendations to the Town Council for changes to the Town’s financial policies, as advisable; recommending long-range financial policies regarding the investment of the Town’s reserve funds; recommending tax and revenue policies based on a review of the Town’s tax structures and larger economic trends and factors in a long-term planning sense; and, making recommendations as needed on debt restructuring or the Town’s borrowing policy based on a review of the annual budget, debt structures, financial borrowing capacity and long-term capital and financial needs.
MSFC members normally serve three-year terms. This appointment is to fill a vacancy in a term. The MSFC meets a minimum of once a quarter at 11:30 a.m. during the work week, on dates as established by the Committee.
Anyone interested in serving on this Committee is asked to complete the online application form at https://middleburgva.gov/242/Board-Vacancies no later than September 15, 2025. As an alternative, a letter of interest, including any relevant qualifications, may be sent to the following:
Mayor and Members of Town Council Town of Middleburg
P. O. Box 187 • 10 W. Marshall Stree • Middleburg, Virginia 20118 Attn: Committee Vacancies
8/14 & 8/21/25
COUNTY OF LOUDOUN, VIRGINIA AVAILABILITY OF CONSOLIDATED ANNUAL PERFORMANCE AND EVALUATION REPORT FOR FEDERAL FISCAL YEAR 2025
The Loudoun County Department of Housing and Community Development invites residents to provide comments on the Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 Consolidated Annual Performance and Evaluation Report (CAPER). The public comment period is open August 15, 2025, through September 8, 2025.
The FY 2025 CAPER must be submitted to the U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) by September 28, 2025.
For additional information, visit: http://www.leesburgva.gov/bidboard
The Loudoun County Department of Housing and Community Development has prepared a CAPER for FY 2025 on the performance of the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and the HOME Investment Partnerships (HOME) Programs within the County for the period of July 1, 2024, through June 30, 2025, to be submitted to HUD. Copies of the draft CAPER for FY 2025 will be made available starting Friday, August 15, 2025, through Friday, September 8, 2025, and may be examined at the office of the Loudoun County Department of Housing and Community Development, 106 Catoctin Circle, SE, Leesburg, VA 20175, from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday and at Loudoun County libraries during the hours of operation. The CAPER is also available online at https://www. loudoun.gov/CDBG. Written comments on the CAPER may be submitted to the attention of the Program Administrator II, Johnette Powell, at johnette.powell@loudoun.gov. For questions, please call 571-627-7707.
8/14, 8/21, 8/28, 9/4/25
ORDER OF PUBLICATION
A MESSAGE TO LOUDOUN COUNTY OLDER AND DISABLED RESIDENTS FROM Robert S. Wertz, Jr. Commissioner of the Revenue
RESIDENTS 65 AND OLDER OR TOTALLY AND PERMANENTLY DISABLED who wish to apply for 2025 Personal Property (vehicle) Tax Relief for the first time must submit an application to my office by the September 2, 2025, filing deadline.
Please visit our website or contact my office for information or filing assistance.
Leesburg Office 1 Harrison Street SE First Floor
Sterling Office 46000 Center Oak Plaza
Hours: 8:30 AM to 5:00 PM, M - F Phone: (703) 737-8557 Internet: loudoun.gov/taxrelief Email: taxrelief@loudoun.gov
Good morning, Loudoun!
Mailing Address: PO Box 8000, MSC 32 Leesburg, VA 20177-9804
If you require a reasonable accommodation for any type of disability or need language assistance to participate, please contact Tax Exemptions & Deferrals, trcor@louodun.gov, (703) 737-8557 / TTY-711. Three business days advance notice is requested.
ORDER OF PUBLICATION
COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA VA. CODE § 8.01-316 Case No.: JJ049287-03-00
Loudoun Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court
Commonwealth of Virginia, in re ANNE MONSERRAT PENA MUNOZ
Loudoun County Department of Family Services v.
Dayana Nicole Pena-Munoz, mother, Luis Caballero, Putative Father and Unknown Father
The object of this suit is to hold a foster care review hearing and review of Foster Care Plan pursuant to Virginia Code § 16.1-282 and §16.1281 for Anne Monserrat Pena Munoz.
It is ORDERED that Dayana Nicole PenaMunoz, mother, Luis Caballero, Putative Father and Unknown Father appear at the above-named Court and protect his or her interests on or before September 23, 2025 at 2:00 p.m.
8/14, 8/21, 8/28, 9/04
ORDER OF PUBLICATION
COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA VA. CODE § 8.01-316
Case No.: JJ047165
Loudoun Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court
Commonwealth of Virginia, in re IVORY GREEN
Loudoun County Department of Family Services v. Unknown Father
The object of this suit is to hold a third permanency planning hearing and review of Foster Care Plan pursuant to Virginia Code § 16.1-282.1 and §16.1-281 for Ivory Green.
It is ORDERED that Unknown Father appear at the above-named Court and protect his or her interests on or before September 16, 2025 at 10:00 a.m.
8/7, 8/14, 8/21, 8/28/25
LOUDOUN COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE
NOTICE OF ABANDONED BICYCLES
Notice is hereby given that the bicycles described below were found and delivered to the Office of the Sheriff of Loudoun County; if the owners of the listed bicycles are not identified within sixty (60) days following the final publication of this notice, the individuals who found said bicycles shall be entitled to them if he/she desires. All unclaimed bicycles will be handled according to Chapter 228.04 of the Codified Ordinances of Loudoun County.
DESCRIPTION CASE NUMBER RECOVERY DATE RECOVERY LOCATION PHONE NUMBER
BIKE – “BREAKPOINT” SO2500110667/14/2025 42498 FARM LN
& 8/21/25
Legal Notices ONLINE. ALWAYS.LOUDOUNOW.COM
Peruvian Delicious LLC, trading as MachuPicchu Restobar, 20020 Ashbrook Commons Plaza, Unit 117, Ashburn, VA 20147-5033. The above establishment is applying to the VIRGINIA ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE CONTROL (ABC) AUTHORITY for a Retail Restaurant or Caterer Application Restaurant Wine, Beer, Mixed Beverages, Consumed On and Off Premises.
Sergio Martin Talledo, Member
Note: Objections to the issuance of this license must be submitted to ABC no later than 30 days from the publishing date of the first of two required newspaper legal notices.
Objections should be registered at www.abc.virginia.gov or 800-552-3200.
8/07, 8/14/25
Loco Service Providers
Published by Loudoun Community Media
RENSS GREENE Executive Director rgreene@loudounnow.org
BILL CLIFFORD Chief Development Of cer bclifford@loudounnow.org
NORMAN K. STYER Executive Editor nstyer@loudounnow.org
EDITORIAL
HANNA PAMPALONI Reporter hpampaloni@loudounnow.org
WILLIAM TIMME Reporter wtimme@loudounnow.org
ADVERTISING
SUSAN STYER Advertising Manager sstyer@loudounnow.org
When students return to class next week to begin another school year, it won’t be bathroom policies or DEI initiatives—or even power line locations—that top their list of concerns.
ey will be settling in with new groups of classmates, new teachers and new challenges. eir focus will be on mastering the multiplication tables, exploring the lessons of history, decoding new languages, and learning scienti c concepts.
ey, and their parents, will be expecting to receive a world-class education from a roster of highly quali ed teachers, ideally the best our tax dollars can a ord, in a well-equipped, supportive learning environment. If that is a universal priority, it has not been evident
Reckless
Editor:
In recent weeks we have witnessed a reckless e ort by anti-public safety activists to undermine the outstanding work of Sheri Chapman and our Loudoun County Sheri ’s O ce to keep Loudoun the safest locality in the metro Washington area – and one of the safest major counties in the nation. First, by distorting what the LCSO is doing with ICE.
e LCSO does not participate in ICE enforcement activities, nor are any county taxpayer resources being used to assist ICE in our community. Sheri Chapman has repeatedly made clear that the only involvement the LCSO has with ICE is with respect to persons taken into custody for a criminal o ense unrelated to immigration. Deputies have no idea what person’s immigration status until they have been arrested on unrelated charges and taken to the Adult Detention Center in Leesburg. Only then do jail deputies learn of a person’s immigration status when following the standard protocol of making queries to other law enforcement agencies about outstanding warrants or detainers. If ICE wants the person arrested, they have the option of issuing a detainer and picking that person upon his or her scheduled release from jail. Loudoun has been doing it this way many
at the long, late night School Board meetings that are dominated by cultural war debates so easily enraged by partisan playmakers.
While all school divisions face challenges resulting from the pendulum swings of state and national politics, our boardroom has long been targeted as a featured showplace for airing grievances.
at the School Board has a responsibility to follow the law and to hold paramount the safety of students and sta members should be beyond dispute.
Returning the focus of our public discourse on education to core priorities would be a welcome, productive and refreshing change. n
LETTERS to the Editor
years, regardless of who occupies the White House. If, and only if ICE cannot immediately pick that person up, they will now have up to an additional 48 hours to do so. Releasing criminal aliens back into our community to risk further criminal activity instead of releasing them to ICE would be irresponsible of a sheri whose job it is to keep Loudoun’s citizens safe.
Second, by falsely asserting that some form of “pro ling” is happening in Loudoun.
e truth is that LCSO deputies respond to calls for service and patrol where the greatest number of tra c incidents and crimes occur. ose numbers are highest in eastern Loudoun where a greater number of resources are allocated. is is a responsible, pragmatic, analytics-driven and coste ective utilization of County resources – a practice that is making all of us safer and something we should be thankful for. Tra c stops result from tra c violations or crimes in progress. Nobody is targeted as deputies almost never know who they are stopping in a car until they walk up and greet the driver. Subsequent searches are conducted lawfully, and only if there is evidence of a crime. Recent searches have resulted in the recovery of drugs, weapons, and even an automatic weapon with a 50-round clip. ese actions help prevent further crimes and have nothing to do with a person’s age,
ethnic or racial group. is is good, proactive policing, not pro ling.
Sheri Chapman has spent more than 47 years in law enforcement working here in Loudoun and around the globe with the sole mission of advancing public safety. He was recently voted Loudoun Now’s Favorite Public Servant for the h year in a row and named National Sheri of the Year in 2023. Loudoun’s crime rate is the lowest in the region, the LCSO’s professional standards among the highest, and we are blessed to have him at the helm of our Sheri ’s O ce for the past 15 years.
—Frank Holtz, Chairman Loudoun County Crime Commission
End It
Editor:
e Loudoun County Sheri ’s O ce has signed a 287(g) agreement with ICE, a policy that violates due process, exploits taxpayer funds, and perpetuates discriminatory practices. is agreement must be rescinded immediately. e sheri falsely claims the 287(g) program targets individuals based on immigration status, but the Memorandum of Agreement signed by Sheri Chapman explicitly allows LCSO to hand over detainees to ICE before conviction,
LETTERS continues on page 25
Loudoun Now is mailed weekly to homes in Leesburg, western Loudoun and Ashburn, and distributed for pickup throughout the county. Online, Loudoun Now provides daily community news coverage to an audience of more than 100,000 unique monthly visitors.
READERS’ poll
without judicial review or evidence of criminal activity. is violates the presumption of innocence and subjects immigrants to deportation without due process. By outsourcing immigration enforcement to ICE, LCSO bypasses legal safeguards, enabling the sheri to act as an agent of federal deportation policies.
e sheri ’s argument that “public safety” justi es this collaboration is disingenuous. ICE is a violent agency with a history of unlawful actions, not a partner in community safety. e real threat to public safety lies in the fear and chaos this policy instills in immigrant communities. Taxpayers should not fund ICE’s operations, and LCSO should not use county resources to enforce federal immigration policies.
Furthermore, LCSO’s tra c stop data reveals systemic bias. While Latinx drivers account for only 17% of stops, they are 55% of those searched, compared to 19% for white drivers. is disparity cannot be explained by geographic targeting or “data-driven analysis,” which the sheri purports to follow—it re ects discriminatory discretion. e sheri ’s refusal to address this bias undermines trust in law enforcement and perpetuates racial pro ling.
e 287(g) agreement is a dangerous
LETTERS to the
Editor continued from page 24
The Most Dangerous Post in Lovettsville
Editor:
You might think the most dangerous job in Lovettsville belongs to the volunteer re ghter, heroically wrangling ames and the occasional escaped donkey or peacock. You would be wrong.
e most dangerous job in Lovettsville is being a stop sign. Speci cally, *the* stop sign—by West End Motors near the rehouse. You know the one. Or at least you did, before it was mowed down. Again.
In the past ve years, no fewer than seven stop signs have bravely taken up the post, only to be struck down by peripherally challenged purveyors of destruction. e last one lasted maybe three weeks before meeting its end at the front bumper of a Cadillac driven by someone who still thinks Facebook is cool.
In response, the town has stationed an unmanned sheri ’s cruiser nearby— presumably to slow drivers as they enter town. But I prefer to believe it’s there to protect the stop sign. It has not worked. You may pity the taxpayers, forced
to fund this endless game of highway whack-a-mole. You may pity the civil engineer who, years ago, probably sketched a roundabout or tra c light
and scrawled across the blueprint in blood-red pen: “Median! Install a median!” To no avail.
But have you considered the cost? Not just to our collective dignity, but to the town’s procurement budget. Do these dastardly individuals not understand the rising price of steel and aluminum? ese signs are not made of dreams. ey are made of tari -bloated imports and municipal despair.
Truly, the most pitiable gure in all of this is the stop sign itself—a silent, upright sentinel, condemned to deliver the same four-letter command to a citizenry that simply cannot. Or will not. Stop.
I propose a memorial. Not to the drivers. To the signs—those noble, aluminum martyrs, taken from us too soon.
And perhaps the return of Friday bingo, to fundraise for the ones we haven’t hit yet.
Mike Smeltzer, Lovettsville [A town resident, the writer always stops and looks both ways.]
Higgins
continued from page 3
killed in committee, so I worked with the governor a er the session was over to have him get it into his budget amendments.”
Despite initial concerns over the nancial viability of the park, Youngkin made some changes to the proposal and included it in his list of amendments. However, the amendment was killed along with other proposals in a block vote by the Senate.
Higgins said he was frustrated with the outcome and is planning to continue e orts to have the property designated as a state park and have it included in Youngkin’snal budget proposal.
“We’re not done ghting yet, but that whole thing played out in such a poor way and an unfortunate way. ere can be no other explanation in silly politics,” Higgins said.
In addition to that work, Higgins said he’s focused on cost-of-living issues, education issues, preserving rural areas and mitigating data center impacts while pushing for proper locations for the industry.
Last month, Attorney General Jason Miyares announced that Loudoun was among ve Northern Virginia school systems violating Title IX because of transgender student policies. Loudoun County Public Schools has also been noti ed that it could lose federal funding if it does alter its DEI policies.
Higgins said both of those issues matter to county residents.
“One thing I want to say that gets lost in all of this, when we have the School Board or whatever that’s making decisions that people don’t like, or at least some people don’t like, and they’re being very critical of the school system, we shouldn’t lose touch with the fact that there are a lot of excellent teachers and administrators in the school system. I think that gets lost sometimes, and the criticism of the administration isn’t a criticism of those teachers and those administrators who are doing a great job,” he said.
But Higgins said the possibility of losing funding is an important issue.
“Depending on which gure you want to look at, because I’ve seen a couple di erent ones, they could be jeopardizing as much as $90 to $100 million in federal funds, at least $40 to $50 million in federal funds,” he said. “And I got to tell you, when I was on the School Board, we counted every penny we had, and to be able to walk away from $50 million or $100 million is irresponsible in my view, and it shows that the whole system is broken if there’s that much money oating around.”
Another issue at the top of many voters’ minds is preserving their rural surroundings, particularly from electric transmission lines needed to support data center power
demands. Higgins has been a proponent of conservation easements that limit development and can preserve land in perpetuity.
“We’ve twice run bills to restore the funding for conservation easements back to where they were in 2017, and we’ll bring that back again, because that’s an opportunity that costs the county really nothing and saves the county all kinds of money in the down years from that development. So those are important initiatives as well,” he said.
e State Corporation Commission does have the power to approve transmission lines through conservation easements. To address those concerns, Higgins said the problem needs to be looked at holistically.
“Everybody wants to look at this piece of it or that piece of it, and you’re looking at it in a vacuum. You can’t ignore the revenues that are paid by data centers and say, ‘oh, they’re costing us here, but we’ll forget about the revenues.’ I mean, Loudoun takes in a billion dollars a year from data center revenue, and so when you’re talking about expenses, that has to be part of the equation,” he said.
Part of that equation is the 11,000 megawatts of power that will be taken o ine in the coming years to comply with the Clean Economy Act, which mandates that the state become a 100% clean energy economy by 2050, he said.
“Eleven thousand megawatts of power is enough power for every house in Virginia, plus 30%,” Higgins said. “So, that’s what we’re taking o the grid, and that’s why Virginia has become the number one importer of power in the country, and we can’t depend on renewables. Renewables are great.
ey’re good for auxiliary but they can’t be your base load power. And so, we’re closing down all these power plants, and we don’t have a substitution for them.”
Keeping those plants online until a more reliable source of energy to replace them can be found would help mitigate the problem, he added.
Higgins said Democratic House leadership is beginning to realize that.
“We really need to take a second look at that and it’s a big time second look, because the mandates they put on the utilities for renewables are not realistic, and the penalty for not reaching the mandates is a ne. And the utilities pay the nes, but they also have to operate in a margin, and the nes are going to get passed on to the ratepayers,” Higgins said.
Utility rate increases are just one aspect of cost-of-living concerns held by many residents.
“We’re hearing a lot from people about the cost of living and the things that add to that, whether it’s in ation or taxes or those kinds of things,” he said.
Learn more at gearyhiggins.com. n
McAuliff
continued from page 3
“ e costs didn’t come down. ey told us they would. ey didn’t. And farmers are very, very, very connected to food costs. Obviously, as much as you and I are, but the result of that is that we are facing, I think, the biggest hurdle there that we face in a long time, as you have encroaching development from the east, data centers, companies willing to pay a lot of money for land, certainly more than I can pay, and you have farmers who are now looking at the future,” he said.
McAuli said many of the USDA subsidy programs such as ones that paid farmers to provide food to food banks are “completely gutted.”
Protecting farmers in District 30 is a key focus of his campaign, he said.
“If we lose our agricultural heritage out here, it’s not so much the land suddenly sprawls out with buildings, right?
at’s not going to be how it looks.
ere’s lots of land and conservation easement out here, but you’re going to lose the tractors. You’re going to start to lose, without even noticing it, the lifestyle and the farmers’ markets and the farm stands,” he said.
To address that, McAuli said the state needs to incentivize putting more land into conservation easements, promote open space and agriculture, and protect the rural economy including agritourism.
“We also have a ton of federal employees in the district. Every single day, I talk to somebody who has been impacted personally or who have themselves either chosen to retire, taken one of the buyouts, or are hanging on just trying to get the next couple years through,” he said. “And these are public servants who have worked hard their entire lives for no one’s bene t but ours. I managed hundreds when I was at USDA. I don’t know how many are le now, but that thread runs through everything we do out here, and we are deeply, deeply tied to what that economy looks like. And so, we have to, one, prepare to take care of our businesses here in the event that this gets worse and two, make sure that we’re diversifying our western Loudoun economy out here, to make sure that we are not beholden to the ebb and ow of what is no longer a stable federal government.”
Another issue that McAuli said was important to Virginians is the three constitutional amendments that are planned to be considered by the Gen-
eral Assembly again next spring – enshrining access to abortion, restoration of voting rights to people convicted of felonies a er their sentence is served, and removing the existing constitutional ban on same-sex marriage in the state.
“People are watching their kids grow up and realizing that those kids don’t have the same rights that they did at their age. I talked to 65-year-olds who are like, ‘my grandkids are growing up with fewer rights than I had.’ at is something that’s deeply scary for a lot of people, and it’s hard to know where that goes, but it is on the minds I think of everyone, I don’t care what your party is: Democrat, Independent, Republican, you are thinking about that because both parties – until I think recent days, where you have a very invasive version of one of those parties in Washington – cared a lot about protecting those rights, and folks who live out here, live here so they can live their lives the way they want to,” he said.
If elected in November, McAuli said he wants to cra legislation that would incentivize small businesses through tax credits, expand and improve conservation easements, protect utility ratepayers from infrastructure expenses needed to support data center power demand, promote renewable energy use in that industry and expand the ability to build accessory dwelling units.
“ at is something the state can do, if the votes are there, to provide additional help for farmers, who can then rent out accessory dwellings on their land. It also makes life more a ordable here overall,” he said.
If rural landowners can earn from additional revenue sources like accessory units, they are able to preserve their land and not sell to developers, he said.
“I think that the overarching thing to understand about me is that I am stability-focused,” McAuli said. “We are in an unstable time as a country, as a world. A lot of the stability that I grew up with and that we all counted on is ebbing away or rapidly moving away, depending on where you are in society. I want to make sure that I’m bringing stability for farmers in western Loudoun, families in western Loudoun, founders of small businesses in western Loudoun and northern Fauquier and making sure that there is the right path to be able to do business, to be able to raise your kids and you know what to expect.”
Learn more at john4va.com. n
A Loudoun Moment
LETTERS to the Editor continued from page 24
precedent that prioritizes political expediency over justice. It exploits vulnerable communities, misuses public funds, and erodes the rights of all residents. We urge the sheri to end this collaboration and uphold the principles of fairness, due process, and community trust.
—Chris Armstrong, Sterling
Stealing From Us
Editor:
ere have been a growing number of opinions presented as to why as a society we should be outraged about how the government is doing its job, following laws, to address illegal activity. Coming into this country illegally is illegal activity. Staying here in the country past your visa expiration is illegal activity.
Some in our community believe these crimes are not crimes against our society. at they are harmless. ose committing these crimes should not be searched for and removed. ese are victimless crimes. is is simply not true.
Everyone is a victim of these crimes. It steals from us all. It robs us of our money, our safety and our security, even those that support ignoring these crimes. It robs those who are directly impacted by additional criminal acts, even more.
When violent, sexual, or physical crimes are committed, all the empathetic voices for the illegal aliens who bemoan law enforcement following the processes and procedures people like Tim Kaine and Mark Warner and the Congress have enacted, suddenly go silent for actual victims and their families. e people on the receiving end of grandmothers being
murdered for their cars, for the parents of children subject to sex crimes, those people get zero empathy from the let the illegals be crowd. ese things have happened in Loudoun in the last ve years. at behavior must stop, for our society to continue to be peaceful and productive.
If we collectively do not decide as a society, as a county, as a population, that this cannot continue, then we will reap the bene ts of that poor decision. We can look at how locations in the states of Washington, Oregon, California, Michigan and New York have failed to protect their legal constituents in favor of criminal activity. We can see how those policies have cost the citizens of those locations time, treasure, and even blood unnecessarily. All of it can be avoided by enforcing the law.
ankfully a large percentage of the root cause of the problem has been addressed in spite of being told repeatedly it was impossible to address. It would seem that many people were outright lying about that to our faces for a very long time. Some of those people are still in elected o ces today, but should they be? If those candidates are willing to lie to your face about something as simple as enforcing laws to close our border and prevent illegal immigration, what more serious issues are they willing to compromise their morals and ethics over for votes to stay in o ce? Or worse, to hurt you and your family by voting for polices that rob you of your time, treasure and blood for things you don’t ask for, support, or want in your community? November is coming. Choose wisely. —Christopher Rohland, Leesburg
Douglas Graham/Loudoun Now
The Sturgeon Moon rises over the Loudoun Valley on Aug. 9, putting on a spectacular lunar light show as it leaps above the southeastern horizon at sunset. This full moon gets its name from the sturgeon sh, which were plentiful in the Great Lakes and Lake Champlain during this time of year, making them easier to catch for Native American tribes who relied on them for food.
