Morning Minute

Happy holidays.

Tuesday, May 21, 2019 by Loudoun Now

County supervisors look into supplementing VDOT's mowing; Leesburg's local laws could be changing.

Students and parents speak out in favor of continuing to send students to Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology; the school system hires its first equity director.

A wrongful termination lawsuit against Sheriff Michael Chapman is again dismissed; the Dulles Greenway opens a new exit to get to a new Walmart.

Waterford residents are upset about Dominion cutting back trees in the village; a Stone Bridge High school student is arrested for making online threats to a school in Broward County, FL.

Visit Loudoun recognizes one of the best haunted houses and one of the first farm-to-table restaurants in the country; a man faces 20 years in federal prison after a woman is poisoned with a date rape drug.

County supervisors push on data center sprawl and housing prices in suburban Loudoun; it could soon be against school system rules to vape on the job.

Drug Court gets its first participant; the Riverside High School Marching Rams have notched two state championships in the four years since they formed.

Plans for a new Aldie fire house hit a stumbling block, but the county government presses ahead; Telos Corporation donates $25,000 to help vulnerable children and their families.

Sterling Volunteer Rescue is looking for new recruits; a man drowns working on a dam on Goose Creek.

Döner Bistro is on the move; Loudoun United FC plays their first (sort-of) home game.

County supervisors start work on the county's first-ever Urban Policy Area; the School Board debates whether to stop sending Loudoun students to Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Fairfax.

Sugarland Run Elementary goes from a focus school to a model school in five years; Loudoun County Public Library visits Awesome Con.

A new Civil War historic park opens near Middleburg; the Loudoun County Combined Fire/Rescue System finally gets Kirkpatrick Fire and Rescue Station.

Leesburg Town Council members see an eroding relationship with the county government as free government software goes away; two Loudoun 8th graders head to a national chemistry challenge.

Leesburg residents ask the town council to stop spraying the Town Branch with an herbicide called glyphosate; the Loudoun Education Foundation is once again raising money to help feed hungry students.

Supervisors get a ranking of the worst intersections without stoplights in Loudoun; the Loudoun Museum looks for ideas.

Step Up Loudoun has a tie for first place; the Town of Purcellville is down to three breweries.

The Loudoun Chamber's Valor Awards recognize some of the heroes of the past year; Rockwool opponents travel to Denmark to meet the shareholders and CEO personally.

Loudoun County Fire-Rescue recognizes some of its standouts; a Loudoun Valley High School student wins the national speed skating championship.

Kincora and the Children's Science Center gather to celebrate their progress; Food for Fines is back.

County supervisors question some of the studies behind the latest draft of the new comprehensive plan; the school system's new Ad Hoc Committee on Equity holds its first meeting.

An anti-corruption nonprofit and a group of environmentalists win a legal battle to reopen the Potomac around Trump National golf club; a junior at Stone Bridge High School makes chess history.

Loudoun's drug court opens once again; a Lovettsville woman's search for a kidney is over, thanks to her husband's fellow airmen.

The county's easternmost agricultural district is going away; Loudoun gets ready for the 2020 census.

The Planning Commission starts the countdown on the new comprehensive plan; three students from Foxcroft School win national awards for their art.

A fatal crash on Evergreen Mills Road provides the lesson for a first-of-its-kind lifesaving technique in the region; an Air Force recruiter will not be prosecuted for bringing a gun into Tuscarora High School.

Leesburg nonprofit ECHO adapts to changing federal regulations that put 20 people with disabilities out of a job; the Arc of Loudoun celebrates three people for their work supporting people with disabilities.

The comprehensive plan finally gets to the Board of Supervisors—as election year politics take hold; supervisors approve a huge Metrorail-area development.

Local government staff and historians race to document all of Loudoun's historic burial grounds; Purcellville Town Manager David Mekarski's proposed budget defers tax increases but not budget increases.

For the second time, a former senior officer under Sheriff Michael Chapman is now trying to unseat him; a man from West Virginia is arrested in charged in the death of a Bluemont man on the side of Rt. 7 in Clarke County.

What builds roads, fights fires, funds schools, keeps the libraries opens an costs $3 billion a year? And police are investigating two incidents of gunfire, one fatal.

Middle Schoolers at Eagle Ridge Middle School spend time every Friday building and programming robots; Loudoun United scores the first goal in franchise history.

The Planning Commission wraps up work on the comprehensive plan, which is pretty much what it sounds like; two men are accused of mailing seven pounds of marijuana.

County supervisors appoint a committee to try to make sure everyone gets counted in the 2020 census; longtime western Loudoun community resource officer Victor LoPreto retires.

County supervisors approve nearly $30 million of road safety improvements on Evergreen Mills Road, although it will be years before drivers see it; Trump National Golf Course is cited for illegally clearcutting along the Potomac River and dumping those trees in the river.

A mastiff named Goliath finds a home, and his story could win a local shelter $20,000; after two house fires, the Fire Marshal urges fire safety in the cold months.

County supervisors get to work on the county budget; a controversial plan to develop part of Westpark golf course in Leesburg is set for a public hearing.

Supervisors hear from the public on the next county budget; Loudoun farmers and producers make deals with industry buyers at a "speed-dating" event.

Faith leaders gather for a meeting on what elected leaders can do to combat racism; a champion spellers gets the three-peat.

The Loudoun County Sheriff's Office demands nearly $2,000 for a document police departments around the region post on their websites; a leader of Loudoun's wine industry is honored for his accomplishments.

The School Board creates a committee on equity issues in the school system and adopts protections for LGBT students and teachers; Buzzed at the Bee is back tonight!

After a rash of stray bullets hitting homes, a county committee largely shies away from expanding shooting regulations; credit card skimmers are found on gas pumps in Ashburn.

Supervisors vote down a purchase of development rights program; Buzzed at the Bee is back.

The General Assembly clears the way for Loudoun's new state park; school leaders apologize for a lesson that had students chasing escaped slaves through the Underground Railroad.

A new plan could eliminate call transfers during 911 calls; the Purcellville Library isn't going anywhere for now.

Commonwealth's Attorney Jim Plowman gets a seat on the other side of the courtroom; land around future Metro stops is even more expensive than predicted.

County supervisors get good news about the county budget; taxes in Leesburg could go up.

The School Board could get its full budget request this year; Loudoun's own pro soccer team signs its first two players.

The RoboLords head to an international robotics competition; the Loudoun County Sheriff's Office is looking for an armed bank robber.