<sh>Corrections
<bt>Last week's calendar section entry about the "Poker Run" sponsored by the Greater Herndon Fraternal Order of Police, Lodge 64, incorrectly reported the registration fee for the 100-125 mile motorcycle ride for charity. The fee is $10. For more information, call SPO Dave Patterson, Det. Jim Moore or Det. Kevin Nuckolls at 703-435-6846.
<sh>Southgate Ballots Mailed
<bt>The Reston Association will mail ballots for its Southgate Referendum on Wednesday, Sept. 18 to all Reston homeowners. RA is planning an unprecedented get-out-the-vote campaign to encourage voters to vote "yes" for the proposed recreational facility in South Reston. The association will need 40 percent of eligible voters to cast their ballot through the mail or on-line. Of those 40 percent, two-thirds must mark "yes" if the $2.3 million county-funded project is to pass. Voters will have seven weeks to vote in the referendum.
<sh>Coach, Reston Man Indicted
<bt>A Fairfax County grand jury on Monday indicted two people accused of crimes in the local area. One was a school coach and teacher; the other is a Reston resident.
* Vanessa Baker, 26, of Montjoy Court in Centreville, is a teacher charged with carnal knowledge and custodial indecent liberties. Already suspended without pay from the Fairfax County school system, if convicted, she could be sentenced to as many as 15 years in prison.
When arrested June 12, Baker was in her second year of teaching physical education at Langston Hughes Middle School and was the freshman girls basketball coach at South Lakes High School. According to county police, she had a relationship with an acquaintance under age 18. Baker is scheduled for a Nov. 5 jury trial.
* Rasheed Yusuf Ali, 30, of Purple Sage Drive in Reston, was charged July 1 with receiving stolen goods. If convicted, he could receive as much as five years in prison.
After a Clifton woman's home was burglarized, May 26, police advised her to search various pawn shops for her stolen jewelry. When she found some of it in a Vienna pawn shop, her discovery didn't nab the thief. It did, however, lead to the arrest of Ali, who, police said, bought the jewelry from the thief and sold it to the pawn shop.
Police arrested Ali after he returned to the pawn shop on July 1, and tried to sell a loose diamond. According to police, Ali admitted selling the items in question and acknowledged that he knew they were stolen. He's slated for a Nov. 5 trial.
<1b>— Bonnie Hobbs
<sh>Attack on Trail
<bt>Fairfax County Police are investigating a malicious wounding that occurred at the Washington and Old Dominion trail in Reston at about 7:15 p.m. Sept. 10. According to police, a 40-year-old man was riding his bicycle on the trail when he was approached by two men in their twenties, who were also on bikes. Words were exchanged as the men rode past each other. At which time, all three men got off their bikes and an argument ensued which escalated into an assault. The 40-year-old was stabbed several times about his body. The stabbing victim said he called a friend who then drove him to Inova Fairfax Hospital where he was treated for non-life threatening injuries. Anyone with information about these two suspects is asked to call police at 691-2131 or crime solvers at 691-8888.
<sh>School Bus Violence
<bt>Fairfax County Police charged an 11-year-old Reston girl with assault after she allegedly verbally and physically assaulted her school bus driver on Sept. 12 around 7:20 a.m. The bus driver is a 47-year-old Alexandria resident who was driving her bus along Lawyers Road near Steeplechase Drive, when the juvenile suspect began to scream obscenities at her, police said. Immediately, the driver stopped the bus which was attempting to drop the children off at the Olde Creek Center in Fairfax. Once the driver stopped the vehicle, according to police, she was hit in the head with a backpack containing books. Police were called and they took the girl into custody. The suspect began to scream and kick at the police car's windows and shout obscenities at the arresting officer. Police said the girl will be held in the Juvenile Detention Center.
<sh>Nature House Fundraiser
<bt>Looking to kick off a new drive to help raise money for the construction of the Nature House, the Friends of Reston will be providing coin collection cans to the public. The group will be hosting the open-to-the-public fundraising event at the Jasmine Cafe at Lake Anne Plaza on Sept. 26 from 7 to 8 p.m. Individuals, families and organizations are needed to adopt cans and help with their distribution throughout the community. The money collected from the can drive will be counted by the Business Bank and receipts will be given to contributors. Donations are tax-deductible, a spokesman for the Friends of Reston said. When completed at the Walker Nature Education Center, the Nature House will be an educational facility to study Reston's natural environment. To date, the Friends have raised over one-third of the necessary $700,000 needed to complete construction.