Op-Ed
By John P. Flannery We are a local community in a State that cherishes its historic and environmental resources, and we have worked hard to preserve and protect entrusted treasures in land and gardens and streams. We convey what we’ve learned to others, including our children, by our example and by the confidences we share…
By Lloyd Harting Several news articles have been published in Loudoun County newspapers reporting on an internal affairs investigation that was recently conducted at the Purcellville Police Department. The newspaper articles identified by name the Purcellville Police Department employee who was the subject of the investigation, Police Officer Carl “Ben” Nett, and also revealed details…
By Charles Houston A few days ago, I had lunch with my good friend Robert Rood. Usually, our conversations meander, but this time I had an agenda: vacationing in Barcelona. For my wife and me, it would be a new—and likely delightful—European destination. I wanted to hear more about it from someone with firsthand experience.…
By Floyd Nelson Shortly after 6 p.m., a single bullet fired from a high-powered, big-game hunting rifle split the early evening air in Memphis, Tennessee and found its intended mark. But it wasn’t a deer, elk or bear that lay mortally wounded on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel on April 4, 1968, it was…
By Loudoun County Catoctin District Supervisor, Caleb A. Kershner It’s budget season in Loudoun County so you may have heard that the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors voted to remove the annoying $25 Vehicle License Fee (VLF) on motor vehicles, motorcycles and any trucks located in the County outside of a Town. Eliminating the county VLF…
The Missing Billions By Charles Houston How much does the Board plan to spend? It’s hard to know. There’s an adopted budget of $6.9 billion on the County website, but Supervisors now bandy about a much lower budget, $4.7 billion. The $2.2 billion difference needs to be explained. I’ll try. Is the $2.2 billion difference…
By John Ellis Citizens living on a narrow gravel road on the east side of Short Hill Mountain recently learned that a developer is planning to build a 20-unit “cluster subdivision” on an adjacent property. The development will increase the daily traffic on that road from about 60 to over 250 vehicle trips per day. …
By Charles Houston The vet and I were chatting as she gave our horses their spring shots. I mentioned that my wife and I were shortly leaving for a vacation in Austria. When the vet heard that, she exclaimed, “You have to see Hallstatt! You absolutely must!” I believed her and marked it boldly on…
By Charles Houston Years ago, I was driving a rental car near Nice, when I came upon something I’d never seen: A floral traffic circle. Not a plain, generic traffic circle, but an over-the-top extravagance filled with thousands of flowers all abloom. It made me smile. Later it made me think, and I came up…
By Kwasi Fraser, former Town of Purcellville Mayor Here we go again. The politicians are at it once more, spinning dreams of housing affordability while conveniently ignoring the true costs of their promises. No mention of paying people more to keep pace with housing prices. No acknowledgment of the economic strain these plans will place…