<sh>Del. Shannon's First Bill Passes to Law
<bt>Del. Steve Shannon (D-35th) was joined on June 23 by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children's (NCMEC) president and CEO Ernie Allen to support and witness Gov. Mark Warner (D) sign Shannon's first bill into law.
House Bill 717 requires law enforcement to enter missing child reports into criminal information networks within two hours of receiving the report. Also in attendance were Virginia State Police superintendent Col. W. Steven Flaherty; Capt. Robert G. Kemmler, Bureau of Criminal Investigation; and Special Agent in Charge Donald W. Thompson Jr., FBI.
The law will require that local law-enforcement agencies enter descriptive information about a missing child into the Virginia Criminal Information Network and National Crime Information Center (NCIC) systems, forward the report to the Missing Children Information Clearinghouse maintained by the Virginia State Police, notify other local law-enforcement agencies and initiate an investigation within two hours of receiving a report of a missing child. Currently, the law requires that this be done "immediately" but does not define what this means. Virginia is the first state to enact this legislation. NCMEC will use Virginia as the model to take the concept nationwide.
<sh>Applications for Teachers Grant Available
<bt>The Waterford Weavers Guild sponsors its third annual Fiber Education Teacher Grant for projects in the 2004-05 academic year. Any teacher employed in a Fairfax or Loudoun county school is eligible to apply for a grant for up to $500 for a program or project that provides students with a fiber arts experience. Teachers must complete a short application outlining the proposal or project, with the goals and budget included. The deadline for proposals is Sept. 30. Grant awards will be announced before the end of October. For an application or for more details, contact Marilyn Harrington at 540-882-3486 or via e-mail at weavingivory@earthlink.net.
<sh>Correction
<bt>A graduating senior from Madison High School was misidentified in the story, "A Life Well Lived," which ran in the June 23-29 edition of The Vienna/Oakton Connection. Colleen Kampman, not Lampman, was photographed with fellow graduates.