Blue Ridge Leader News - June 20, 2010
Time to Pitch In
In one of those sad twists of fate, we hear that a local firefighter lost his own house this week to the flames he’s been helping to put out for others around Loudoun County. The Middleburg Fire Department seeks donations in aid of the family of volunteer Mike Monteith.
They lost their dwelling and evidently most or all of their belongings three days ago to a house fire.
From what we heard, there were no injuries, but you can imagine the trauma of losing a lifetime of personal items in this way.
The Sterling Volunteer Fire Department has a rundown on all the clothing sizes needed- at: www.svfd.org.
Gift cards and cash would obviously be gladly accepted as well.
We understand that donations can be dropped off at the Middleburg Fire Station at 910 West Washington Street.
It’s great that much of the nation is focused on the gulf oil disaster, but right now, right here, it’s time to offer help to someone who’s been lending a hand to others.
The Pendulum Returns
We’ll see two of the accused attackers in the brutal murder/beating of a local couple go to trial. Darwin Bowman and Jaime Ayala heard their horrific list of charges earlier this week in the slaying of William Bennett and the attack on his surviving widow, Cynthia.
Those crimes occurred in March of last year in the hitherto peaceful neighborhood of Lansdowne.
We’ve already chronicled much of the detail on this case in earlier stories, you’ll recall.
Bowman will most likely face a death penalty for his role in the attack, but Ayala was a minor at the time of the crimes, so he’ll (hopefully) spend a very, very long time behind bars.
Makes you wonder why we don’t change the law in for cases like this; some of the blogs I’ve read almost makes one expect to see a lynching party outside the jail.
I can understand those feelings.
I also realize that any punishment the accused receive will fall pathetically short of restoring the victimized family to its former sense of wholeness.
What Plan?
After hearing about the passage of a revised transportation plan by our local County Board this week, I had to chuckle to myself: from the traffic I’ve experienced in Loudoun over the past 13 years, it appears as if we’ve gotten along without a transportation plan up to now- why adopt a plan at this time? All kidding aside, I’m sure the Supervisors passed this document with the best of intentions.
They’ve got designs for new connector roads, expanded existing roads, and metrorail stations for the future train service out to Ashburn.
But, even if they find the money to implement all these plans- the details are on the County’s webpage, by the way- even if they can pay for these developments, I don’t see us keeping up with the constantly growing influx of traffic from West Virginia, Maryland and other points on the compass.
Not to mention our own substantial population explosion in Loudoun County- where people are seemingly born with a steering wheel in their hands.
Like I said, I’m sure the Supervisors had the best of intentions with this new transportation plan.
I wish them well.
I also recall an old Randy Travis song- something about “…the road to hell is paved with good intentions.”
The Bay with the Bathwater
And- if you really want to see a firestorm of criticism, go ahead and read some of the blogs and comments on the Chesapeake Bay Protection Act. Probably a good idea that the Board went ahead and delayed any action on this thing until September, as if they haven’t already heard enough citizen input.
Perhaps the thought was that people will change their minds; most of the reactions we’ve seen have been sharply critical of this plan to enforce stricter regulations on use of any land abutting open water.
All in the name of protecting the delicate natural balance of the Bay.
But until we have to actually drink untreated water dipped fresh from the Chesapeake, I predict that most of us will fight this thing to the last claw.
We’ve hashed over much of the data on this in previous articles, but just wanted to touch on the latest here.
Kudos to the Drug Dog- or Cocaine Canine
How do you tell the difference between dehydrated soup mix and cocaine? You get a trained canine.
That’s what officials at Dulles Airport did to apprehend a Pennsylvania man trying to get through customs with about four pounds of illegal drugs- disguised as food.
Well, the dog wasn’t fooled by the soup packaging- or even the presence of rice kernels in some of the cocaine bags.
This all came down on Thursday night after an incoming flight from El Salvador touched down at Dulles.
You know, the older I get, the less I’m surprised by the stupidity of Mankind and the remarkable abilities of the various members of the animal kingdom.
Heck, I swear my dogs can find a molecule of dog biscuit hidden in the recesses of the couch without batting an eye.
Two Papers are Better than One…er…
Well, it’s good to see at least one story of local media in which yet another paper or radio station or cable show isn’t axed; that’s not to say we see any big change in the merger announcement for the Loudoun Times Mirror and Loudoun Independent. The carefully prepared statements by the ‘paper heads’ left us kinda scratching our head as to what changed, if any, the readers can expect.
Maybe it’s just as well if we don’t see an about-face for either paper; I would like to see their staffs remain in place, having myself been professionally displaced in a very different kind of local media story.
Looking Forward to Looking Back
One of our favorite purveyors of local history plans to reopen its doors in a matter of days. The Loudoun Museum’s getting ready to celebrate its return to the public ’stage’ on July 2nd.
They’ve designed a new display for the occasion, called “The Lure of Loudoun: Virginia’s Emerald County.”
We hear the exhibit shows the constant vibrancy of the area in the face of enormous changes.
The Loudoun Museum- on Loudoun Street in Downtown Leesburg- has been closed since April for repairs.
The Building itself- colloquially known as Oddfellows Hall- is itself an historic artifact.
You may remember the squirrel trouble they had awhile back- with chewed electrical wiring?
All part of their ongoing story.
Officer Down
Our local law enforcement community mourns the passing of one of the greats of their brotherhood; former Loudoun County Sheriff Robert Legard of Lovettsville died earlier this month at the Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Leesburg. He served four terms as Sheriff- from 1964 to 1979.
Legard’s law enforcement career spanned almost three decades.
He was instrumental in setting up a modern communications system for local emergency services- coordinating with radio legend Arthur Godfrey to construct a broadcast tower for those purposes.
Robert Legard was the first member of the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office to graduate from the FBI Academy- in 1970.
He served on a special commission devoted to Law Enforcement Training Standards- on appointment by then-Governor Linwood Holton.
Sheriff Legard served as a Deputy under another local law enforcement legend- the late William Powell- back in the 1950’s.
I spoke to Legard at the time of Sheriff Powell’s passing- in 2001- and it was a marvel to hear his description of the County in those days.
He said that was a real ‘Golden Age’ in Loudoun County History.
Legard served- at that time- as one of two Deputies sworn to protect and serve an entire County- 517 square miles!
Talk about dedication.
The population at that time stood in the 20-thousand-plus range.
I remember Sheriff Legard said they just did their best with the resources they had at the time.
I’m sure few of us can even imagine the actual services performed by Officers like William Powell and Robert Legard.
Well, hats off for Sheriff Legard.
Condolences to his family and many friends- and his Law Enforcement Colleagues.
Memorial contributions can be sent to the New Jeruselem Church in Lovettsville (12942 Lutheran Church Road) or the Lovettsville Fire and Rescue Squad (PO Box 123)- Zip Code for both is 20180.
