Send announcements, which are open to the public at no or minimal cost, to The Loudoun Connection, 7913 Westpark Drive, McLean, VA 22102, e-mail to loudoun@connectionnewspapers.com or fax to 703-917-0991. Deadline is Friday, two weeks before the event. Photos/artwork encouraged. For more information, call Matthew Razak at 703-917-6457. For additional listings, visit www.connectionnewspapers.com.
The Washington Regional Alcohol Program (WRAP) is offering free cab rides beginning at 4 p.m., Saturday, March 18. The SoberRide program provides a cab ride, up to $50 fare to people 21 and over who have been drinking alcohol, and is offered in the District of Columbia, Montgomery and Prince George's counties in Maryland, and Arlington, Fairfax and eastern Loudoun counties in Virginia. Call 1-800-200-TAXI or #TAXI for Cingular customers.
The county is accepting requests from individuals or organizations for fiscal year 2009 funding through the federal Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act-A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU), formerly the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century.
Anyone interested in submitting a request for SAFETEA-LU Transportation Enhancement funds must complete an application form, which may be obtained from Lyda Kiser, Department of Management & Financial Services, 703-737-8341 or lyda.kiser@loudoun.gov. Requests for funding consideration should be sent to Lyda Kiser, Department of Management & Financial Services, P.O. Box 7000, 1 Harrison St., S.E., Leesburg, VA 20177. The deadline for submissions is March 28. All applicants will be required to attend a meeting with county staff at 2 p.m., March 20, in Leesburg.
Planning is under way for this year's Youth Fest, set for Saturday, May 5, at Belmont Country Club. The Youth Fest is an event that is planned, organized and run by teens. The Youth Fest is seeking exhibitors that promote prevention and healthy youth development for that day. Fill out the online registration form that can be found at www.loudounteens.org by Wednesday, March 21.
The Youth Fest is also seeking volunteers, vendors and sponsors for the event. Visit at www.loudounteens.org or call Veronica Martin at 703-737-8335.
The annual Favorite Loudoun Tree Photo Contest. Photos should feature a single tree in Loudoun County. Entries may be black and white or color, no larger than 8 1/2 inches by 11 inches and printed on photographic paper. Entries should not be framed or matted. The entry must be a photo taken by the entrant. Photos should be submitted with the name, address and phone number of the photographer, location of the tree, and the kind of tree, if known. Entries should be submitted to the Arbor Day Committee, c/o Loudoun Soil and Water Conservation District, 30 Catoctin Circle, S.E., Suite H, Leesburg, VA 20175. The deadline to enter is March 30. Prizes will be awarded to the top-four entries. Photos become property of the Arbor Day Committee. Call 703-777-2075.
The Loudoun County Disability Services Board is seeking applicants for the fiscal year 2008 State Rehabilitative Services Incentive Fund Competitive Grant. This year's grant totals $15,000 and requires a 10 percent local match.
The (RSIF) is designed to promote investment in meeting the needs of individuals with physical and sensory disabilities. The Disability Services Board (DSB) will administer the local grant and seeks proposals from area not-for-profit, or for-profit organizations with a community-based, customer-focused service delivery system. An individual organization or a multi-organization partnership may apply.
Eligible projects must be directly tied to the Loudoun County DSB's Needs Assessment Report. Projects can not supplant the existing funding of a service operating in the community. Funding can be used for program innovation and coordination of services among organizations, jurisdictions and disability services boards.
Applications must address items identified in the LCDSB six-year plan and triennial needs assessment document which are available on the Loudoun County Government Web site at www.loudoun.gov/services/dsb. Applications and guidelines are available at www.loudoun.gov/services/dsb or by calling the Disability Services Board at 703-777-0389.
Applications are due by Friday, March 30, and may be sent electronically to dsb@loudoun.gov or to flor.gibson@loudoun.gov.
The Loudoun Foundation will begin the process of interviewing charities to benefit from the 2007 season of the Loudoun Summer Music Fest, an outdoor community concert series held at Belmont Country Club an Ashburn. To submit an application, log onto The Loudoun Foundation's Web site at www.loudounfoundation.org, scroll down the body copy to the "Call For Loudoun Charities" section. Deadline to submit is March 31. Call Tracey Parent, president of The Loudoun Foundation, at 703-728-9500.
The Loudoun County Office of Solid Waste Management has released the Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) collection event schedule for 2007. All events are on a Saturday, from 8:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. The events are free and for Loudoun County residents only. A complete list of dates and locations for the collections is available on the Loudoun County Web site at www.loudoun.gov/oswm/hhw.htm or by calling the Recycling Hotline at 703-771-5318.
The Loudoun County Area Agency on Aging, in cooperation with the IRS, is sponsoring free tax preparation assistance for residents 55 and older whose adjusted gross income in $39,000 and below. Assistance will be provided at locations throughout the county, through April 9; appointments required, call 703-737-8037.
Have taxes prepared at no cost by volunteers from the AARP TaxAide program, from through April 16. All volunteers are trained in tax preparation and certified by the IRS. All returns will be e-filed and you can have refunds sent directly to the bank. For a list of locations and operating hours, call 1-888-AARPNOW.
The Town of Leesburg Parks and Recreation Department will present the 17th Annual Flower & Garden Festival in Downtown Historic Leesburg, rain or shine, April 21 and 22. The department is seeking applications from landscapers and vendors. To download an application visit http://www.idalee.org/parks/events/ or call 703-737-7157 to have an application mailed.
Call Ida Lee Park Recreation Center at 703-777-1368 or visit http://www.idalee.org.
Shenandoah University’s Northern Virginia Campus in Leesburg is seeking nominations for its Teacher of the Year award. Nominations must be received by Friday, April 20. All finalists will be recognized at a reception and the winner will be announced at a Loudoun County School Board meeting in May.
To be eligible, nominees must be full-time teachers in Loudoun County in a specialized area, such as special education, art, music, physical education, drama, kindergarten, English as a second language or gifted and talented. Nominees may work at any grade level but must have at least five years of teaching experience in Loudoun County. Contact Dr. RT Good, dean of the School of Continuing Education, at 540-665-1290 or Kelly Burk, chair of the Northern Virginia Advisory Council, at 703-779-0037.
Loudoun Volunteer Services (LVS) is seeking nominations for outstanding student volunteers, to be recognized as Student Volunteer of the Month.
The qualifying student, or group of students, must be enrolled in Loudoun County public, private or home-school grades kindergarten through 12th. Nominees must demonstrate contributions to the Loudoun County community through exceptional volunteer service.
Students who are selected as Student Volunteer of the Month will receive recognition through their school, the media and Loudoun Volunteer Services' Web site and will receive a $100 donation to a local nonprofit of the student's choice. Recognition is given monthly, during the school year, September through June.
For a written description of the nomination process and criteria, contact Lisa Rose, volunteer coordinator, at 703-777-0113 or visit www.loudoun.gov/pio/volunteer.htm.
The grassroots nonprofit organization, Operation Pinecone, based in South Riding, strives to support the service members and their families by sending care packages abroad and delivering comfort items and providing support in various ways to service members at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. There are collection boxes for donations for this cause throughout Loudoun County. Visit Operation Pinecone, www.operationpinecone.org.
The Loudoun Convention & Visitors Association (LCVA) is pleased to announce the publication of VISIT LOUDOUN: The 2007-2008 Official Visitors Guide to Loudoun County, Virginia. This publication is the primary fulfillment and marketing tool to entice visitors to Loudoun County, and to encourage local residents to explore their community and provide their visiting friends and relatives with tourism information. Visit Loudoun is available at the Loudoun County Visitors Center, 222 Catoctin Circle, SE, Suite 100, Leesburg, Virginia 20175. It is also available at select attractions, wineries, retail shops, restaurants, and other points of distribution. VISIT LOUDOUN is also distributed at Loudoun County hotels, both in the lobby and in-room. The LCVA has produced 100,000 copies of VISIT LOUDOUN, which is published every two years.
The 2007 Spring Activity Guide from the Loudoun County Department of Parks, Recreation and Community Services is now available on the county website. Visit www.loudoun.gov/prcs/#guide.