No Criminal Charges for Officer Who Shot Dog
Eighteen-year Fairfax County Police Department veteran MPO Damien Cichocki has been cleared of any “criminal liability” in a September 2014 incident in which he shot a charging pit bull, police announced in a July 2 statement.
Officers had tracked a suspect in a Fairfax Station robbery to a residence in the 4100 block of Morrisons Way. The suspect came out of the residence and police were placing him in custody when the dog left the house and ran towards the officers.
Cichocki shot the dog while it was charging, wounding but not killing it. Then officers contained the animal and took it to a local veterinary clinic.
Rabid Fox Found Near South Run RECenter
Less than a month after a woman was injured by a rabid raccoon, police responded to reports of a fox “acting abnormally” in the same area: the South Run/Burke Lake Trail near the South Run RECenter.
The raccoon incident occurred June 10 while the fox was reported on July 1, according to a July 3 announcement from Fairfax County Police.
A young fox reportedly ran towards a dog and its owner in a wooded area close to the trail. The owner fell and lost his hat, which distracted the fox long enough for the man and dog to get away from the area.
Animal control officers searched the area afterwards and found a fox that was “vocalizing and showing clear signs of rabies.” After the fox was put down, lab tests confirmed the animal had the virus, police said, but may or may not have been the fox that was initially reported.
Police have asked that anyone who may have had contact with a fox in this area contact Bryant Bullock, Environmental Health, 571-274-2296.
Information from the county about the rabies virus, tips for preventing exposure and what to do if bitten by an animal that may have rabies is available at www.fairfaxcounty.gov/hd/rabies/.
Springfield Native to Compete on ‘America’s Next Top Model’
Justin Kim, of Springfield, will be competing on the catwalk for the title of “America’s Next Top Model.”
When the 22nd cycle of model Tyra Banks’ reality TV show debuts on Aug. 5 on the CW network, the 23-year-old Kim will face 13 other male and female contestants. Hailing from around the country, the hopeful models will all live in the same house during the competition.
At the conclusion of the season, the winner will receive $100,000 from Zappos Couture and become the face of their national brand re-launch in 2016, as well as a fashion feature in Nylon Magazine and a modeling contract with Next Model Management.
Judges for the show include Banks, fashion public relations personality Kelly Cutrone and runway coach J. Alexander. Photographer Yu Tsai has worked as a photo shoot creative consultant and will be on this season as well.
Area Teachers Selected for Project ASCENT
The teachers from two Fairfax County Public Schools—Robert E. Lee High School (Springfield) and Westfield High School (Chantilly)—were selected to participate in Project ASCENT (Achieving STEM Course Effectiveness Through Networked Teachers). Project ASCENT, an initiative of the Knowles Science Teaching Foundation, intends to bring teachers’ considerable professional knowledge and skills to bear on a problem that has broad and deep consequences for the nation—too few students are successfully completing advanced science, technology, engineering and mathematics courses at the high school level.
The teams from Westfield and Lee are two of five teacher-led teams that will explore the problem, become familiar with improvement science and begin planning how they will work together as a network over the next year. This work will begin at a three-day launch meeting that kicked off in Philadelphia, Pa. The Lee team is composed of the following individuals: Peter Bakke, Biology Teacher; Nancy Cronin, ESOL Teacher; Lisa Eggart, Physics Teacher; Heather Hotchkiss, Physics Teacher/Science Department Chair.
The Westfield team: Pete Bendorf, Science Department Administrator; Jessica Finley, Reading Specialist;
Mary Constantino, Biology Teacher; Rory McGlinnen, Biology Teacher; Charley Sabatier, High School Science Specialist, Fairfax County Public Schools; Tracie Schaeffer, Biology Teacher.