Fifteen percent, really?

I am no political pundit, I do however, bring a vote to the upcoming presidential election. The GOP front runner, (I have no party leanings or loyalties) Mr. Romney, in referencing his tax returns, discloses that he pays 15 percent or so on income that is earned primarily from investments. He acknowledges this and one can sense that he knows how wrong that appears.

I was on board with his campaign until hearing about his income and tax incurment. I, for the life of me, cannot understand how any person wishing to lead this great nation can possibly be trusted to make decisions that affect me, my friends, my family, or anyone for that matter when said person is making millions of dollars (good for him) yet admittedly pays less in taxes (bad for America and appearances) than I. My wife and I work long hard hours with lots of sacrifices as do the majority of the folks I know in Loudoun County. I don’t complain about taxes, I trust that those in power will do the right things (though lately I have my doubts) including stepping up and paying an appropriate tax on income regardless of source. Adhering to current laws and using acceptable loopholes is certainly status quo, many do. I certainly don’t want my President, my leader of these United States, to be a person of the status quo.

Of course, as always, this is just one opinion, oh, and one vote.

Howard Leek

Sterling, VA

Supervisors vote against anti-litter program

Scott York and his new Board of Supervisors at their January 17 meeting (with the exception of Shawn Williams) fulfilled a quiet campaign promise to the development industry donors of hundreds of thousands of dollars to their campaigns: They eliminated the volunteer component of the Loudoun County sign collection program.

Sign trash on our roadsides is ugly. It’s bad for Loudoun’s huge tourism industry. It can distract drivers. It’s a hazard for VDOT workers. Tax paying citizens don’t like litter on their roads. Eight supervisors voted to help their campaign contributors continue to break the law.

Let us note for the record that each and every member of this new all-Republican Board joined their campaign contributors in violating the regulations regarding placement and size of signs last fall.

Let’s be clear: it’s still against state law to put signs in the rights of way along our roads. A group of civic-minded volunteers have been working to keep the roads clear of this public nuisance—at no cost to the county.

Loudoun citizens, note. This is a signature vote for a Board that says it wants to reduce the cost of government: they have eliminated a no-cost program that their campaign contributors didn’t like.

As you drive on Loudoun’s roads and see the road trash, think of your new Supervisors.

But the law is still the law, and volunteers will continue to enforce it.

Martha Polkey

Lucketts, VA

Much needed traffic light

I’d like to know what the county and/or VDOT is waiting for to install a traffic light at the intersection of Waxpool and Ashburn Village Blvd.? Haven’t there been enough accidents or near accidents at that intersection? The traffic at the height of rush hour coming from the Toll road towards Ashburn has consistently been up to 45 cars waiting to go through a 4-way stop sign. People now are resorting to turning left, only to turn around and go back to the same intersection, so they can beat the long line crossing Waxpool…. This then causes a back up in that direction. It appears that traffic on Waxpool, crossing over Ashburn Village Blvd is backed up quite a bit, too.

I know they are building new townhouses there, as well as the now completed Gold’s Gym.

This just seems ridiculous to wait for the Morley’s Corner complex to be completed. And now they have started clearing the way for more townhouses or extended shopping center on Shellhorn and Ashburn Village Blvd. Is it going to take more accidents or even fatalities to get this going? I certainly hope not. People just want to get home and it’s aggravating, especially when it seems that some drivers act as if they aren’t sure what to do when they get to the front of the line…... I’m sure I’m not the only one concerned and frustrated.

KAthy Adlam

Ashburn, VA

Virgina voters should have a full slate of candidates

I am writing to you to express my outrage that I, as a Virginia voter, do not have a full slate of candidates from which to choose to represent me at the Republican Convention. I don’t want to choose between Mitt Romney and Ron Paul. I want the full slate; I want to be able to vote for the candidate that I personally feel will best represent my vote.

I am not interested at this stage of the game in settling for the candidate whom others have decided can
beat President Obama. My feeling is let them fight it out at the Republican convention if that is what has to happen.

I would like Governor McDonnell to make an immediate executive decision and halt the printing of the ballots this week. I would like the Governor, the Attorney General, or whomever has the power to correct this problem immediately. I don’t want to hear that it can’t be done this year but it can be done in future year. I want to hear that they will fix it now.

It seems to to me an executive can make a decision on a dime and make things happen that serve the will and the best interest of the people.

Joan Gorman

Lansdowne

Problems with Lansdowne high school site

For some unknown reason, the National Conference Center land purchase for HS-8 was “fast-tracked” and presented as something the entire Lansdowne community supports. The 120-day due diligence phase for Loudoun County’s $20 million contract to purchase 45 acres for the school expires Jan. 18.

As Lansdowne homeowners, we know that most of our neighbors have little to no knowledge about HS-8 and its potential impacts. Among those who do know about it, many have simply given up and put their homes on the market.

According to the latest plan, the school will not actually be built on the NCC site, but adjacent to Belmont Ridge Middle School in the center of an established neighborhood. Current homeowners bought their homes with reliance on proffers approved with Lansdowne’s development plan. One of those, Lansdowne Sports Park, is adjacent to Belmont Middle School. It now appears that these proffers will be swept aside to make way for this high school.

Many issues were not addressed in the haste to approve HS-8:

•  HS-8 would bring 1,600 new students and 200 staff to the existing middle school campus, which already has 1,413 students and 160 staff. Start times for these two schools are separated by just 30 minutes.

•  Half of the new HS-8 students will come from Broad Run High School. They live south and east of Route 7 and would reach Lansdowne via intensely residential streets like Kipheart and Riverpoint Drives.

•  The National Conference Center will continue to operate; it will need a three-story parking garage facing Kipheart.

•  The heavy volume of traffic to be generated by the confluence of these three institutions overwhelms the promised tradeoff that 300 to 350 of the new high school students will walk to school – at least, when weather permits.

•  Four expensive, dangerous, traffic circles will not reduce traffic volume. Parking on side streets will become a greater problem than the middle school already causes.

•  The HOA maintains Lansdowne’s infrastructure of private streets and sidewalks. The school would encroach upon this privately owned network at residents’ expense. Residential taxpayers already provide 68 percent of the tax revenue in Loudoun County.

•  High schools schedule night and weekend activities from August through June. Neighbors of Belmont Ridge Middle School already hear the rumble of air-handling equipment from the middle school roof all summer.

•  Kipheart and Riverpoint Drives are populated with families with small children. These streets will become thoroughfares for buses, cars, and pedestrians. Safety issues are a grave concern. Cruising speeds of 40 in 25 mph zones are already the norm in Lansdowne.

In some jurisdictions, public officials make decisions after significant public comment and input. But the contract for land at NCC for HS-8 was executed in stealth. Three of our elected boards –supervisors, schools, and HOA—kept silent rather than engage ALL Lansdowne homeowners in discussions about a custom-designed high school on a site that is too small and too expensive. We must ask: Why?

If the “new” supervisors are serious about imposing fiscal discipline on Loudoun County schools, the pending NCC contract is an excellent place to start.

Sincerely,

Lila I. Ashear
Mitchell J. Ashear
Gregg Beyer
Janice Downs
Diane Lasicheck
Paul Maneesilasan
Debbie Piland

Signed above

Lansdowne

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