Send announcements, which are open to the public at no or minimal cost, to The Loudoun Connection, 7913 Westpark Drive, McLean, VA 22102 or e-mail to loudoun@connectionnewspapers.com. Deadline is Friday, two weeks before the event. Photos/artwork encouraged. For more information, call Jennifer Lesinski at 703-917-6454. For additional listings, visit www.connectionnewspapers.com.
As the only candidate filing, Glen Caroline will be deemed Loudoun County Republican Committee chairman at the group’s March 15 meeting at Heritage High School.
BR Frozen Custard and Sweets and All Pro Eating will join forces for the first ever National Custard Eating Championship Saturday, April 12. Several ranked competitive eaters will take part in this championship custard chow down. Multititle holder and world record holder Ian "The Invader" Hickman from Sterling will lead the charge. In addition to becoming champion, there will be a $400 prize. Event will begin at noon. Visit www.competitiveeaters.com.
Army National Guard Spec. Charles D. Balding has returned to 116th Brigade Special Troop Brigade, National Guard Station, Fredericksburg, Va., after being deployed to an operating base in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Balding is an infantryman with nine years of military service. He is the son of David W. and Shirley Balding of Canby Road, Leesburg. Balding graduated in 1984 from Bishop O'Connell High School, Falls Church, and received a bachelor's degree in 1997 from Radford College. He earned a master's degree in 2001.
Army Reserve Spec. Kurt S. McCain has been mobilized and activated for a future deployment to an undisclosed overseas location in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
The specialist is a civil affairs specialist normally assigned to the 443rd Civil Affairs Battalion, Warwick, R.I. He has served in the military for three years.
He is the son of Patrick S. McCain of Hartwell Place, Canton, Mass., and Beth Ann Turquist of Milestone Square, Ashburn.
McCain is a 2005 graduate of Canton High School.
Army National Guard Spec. Matthew R. Murray has graduated from basic combat training at Fort Jackson, Columbia, S.C.
During the nine weeks of training, the soldier studied the Army mission, history, tradition and core values, physical fitness, and received instruction and practice in basic combat skills, military weapons, chemical warfare and bayonet training, drill and ceremony, marching, rifle marksmanship, armed and unarmed combat, map reading, field tactics, military courtesy, military justice system, basic first aid, foot marches, and field training exercises.
He is the son of Starr Murray of Eastlake Court, Sterling.
Murray graduated in 2001 from Potomac Falls High School and received a bachelor's degree in 2005 from Indiana University, Bloomington, Ind.
Loudoun County Animal Care & Control took home three awards at the Metropolitan Washington Council of Government’s 2007 Animal Services Awards, presented March 14 in Washington, D.C. The department was honored with the 2007 Adoption, the Outstanding Customer Service and the Dedicated Service awards.
Sean Jackson of Sterling, a sophomore majoring in agricultural technology in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Virginia Tech, was recently inducted into the Delta Tau Alpha Honor Society.
The Loudoun County Fire Marshal's Office announces the addition of a new accelerant detection canine named Jimmy. Jimmy who joined the Fire Marshal’s Office staff March 24 will be assigned to the fire investigations section. Jimmy, a 17-month-old female yellow Labrador retriever, was trained by The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosive’s (BATFE) accelerant detection canine program. Jimmy is trained to detect ignitable liquids used to start fires allowing investigators to obtain accurate evidence while reducing the time and personnel needed to investigate fire scenes. Jimmy and handler, Assistant Fire Marshal William "Bud" Herndon, spent six weeks training in Front Royal and graduated March 21, as a team. The two were placed into service March 24.
The Sterling Volunteer Fire Company was notified that one of it's own is to receive the Governor's Award for Volunteerism and Community Service. On April 24, the award for the category of Emergency Preparedness and Disaster Recovery will be bestowed upon Technician Rebecca Welsch.