Letter to the Editor

LTE: Board Response to Reid's Comments 'Disappointing'

Officials handling of Dec. 4 public comment meeting is "fueling culture war," one resident writes.

To the editor: I was deeply disappointed by the December 4 BoS public comment. Supervisors Reid and Delgaudio didn't have to rally apologists to fuel the "war on Christmas" narrative. They could have sincerely listened to the citizens targeted by Supervisor Reid’s thoughtless remarks, and responded as their hearts and consciences lead them.  Instead, Supervisor Delgaudio, with or without Supervisor Reid's consent, issued a call to his list of "persecuted Christians," one of whom wore a pin from another anti-gay hate group, the American Family Association. I know that's what happened because I’ve seen the same pattern from material received via FOIA, evidence that he directs phone banking to insure that the people on his list turn out to “…

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Reid Apologizes Again for Comments about Atheists

Dozens of residents spoke Tuesday night, some to criticize the Leesburg supervisor, others to show him support.

Opposing sides in the now-years-long debate about what, if anything, should be placed on the Loudoun Courthouse lawn during the Christmas holiday season turned out Tuesday night to lash out at or give their support to Supervisor Ken Reid (R-Leesburg). The most recent blow up occurred after Reid referred to the local group of atheists opposed to the county’s taxpayer-funded Christmas tree display at the courthouse as “terrorists” and “fanatics.” In addition to the tree, the display includes a crèche, a menorah and Santa Claus. Reid apologized again Tuesday evening, but not until speakers weighed in the display and his comments. Rick Wingrove, who organizes the Northern Virginia Atheists website, said that as a veteran who has not committed …

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Reid Gets Attention for Calling Atheist Group Terrorists

Leesburg supervisor later apologizes for remarks in response to courthouse holiday display debate.

Loudoun has again managed to make its decisions regarding courthouse lawn holiday displays a hot topic this year. The county has for several years debated what types of displays would be permitted and how individuals or groups could apply to create the displays. The long tradition had been for a local group to place a nativity scene at the Loudoun County Courthouse in Leesburg, but in recent years, that arrangement has been questioned as the state potentially sanctioning religion. At one point, unattended holiday displays were permitted on a limited number of spaces at the courthouse by application. The resulting Santa Claus in a skeleton suit and signs with flying spaghetti monsters were widely criticized, so Loudoun’s Board of …

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County Road to Be Renamed on Sunday

The Loudoun County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to adopt the resolution back on Sept. 18 that would rename Bear's School Road as Carter's School Road.

Leesburg residents Christena Rose Martyn Fulcher and her daughter, Carolyn Lineberry, will get their 20-year wish this Sunday when Bear's School Road will be formally renamed as Carter's School Road. Fulcher attended the one-room schoolhouse from 1930 until 1937 and was determined to see the road receive its historically correct name. While there was a Bear’s School, it was relocated several miles north. The Loudoun County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to adopt the resolution back on Sept. 18.  Leesburg District Supervisor Ken Reid and Dulles District Supervisor Matt Letourneau, who coauthored the resolution to rename the road, are scheduled to officiate with both women during the ceremony, which will be held at the intersection …

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Supervisor Reid Requests Reconsideration for Local Department

The board voted 6-2-1 last week to relocate the county's Park, Recreation and Community Services department from Leesburg to the Ashbrook Commons Plaza.

Supervisor Ken Reid is requesting that the Loudoun County Board reconsider a recent 6-2-1 vote regarding the relocation of the county Parks, Recreation and Community Services (PRCS) Department to a new building in Ashburn. The Oct. 2 approval would allow the PRCS to be moved from its downtown Leesburg location to 20145 Ashbrook Commons Plaza. The current lease for the building at 215 Depot Ct. expires in June 2013. “This is the first time, to my knowledge, that a county department headquarters has been moved out of the town and I strongly encourage my colleagues to reconsider this move,” Reid said, as stated in a press release. “Filling vacant office space in Leesburg is already a challenge with the market weak. Adding 25,500 square feet …

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Road Renamed Per Leesburg Woman's Request

The Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to rename Bears School Road to Carters School Road during their meeting on Tuesday.

On Tuesday, the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to rename Bears School Road, near the Dulles Airport, to Carters School Road at the request of Leesburg resident Christena Rose Martyn Fulcher. According to a press release sent on Wednesday by Leesburg District Supervisor Ken Reid, Fulcher and her daughter, Carolyn Lineberry, have been advocating renaming the road for 20 years. Fulcher attended the one‐room Carter’s School from 1930 until 1937 and was determined to see the road receive its historically correct name. While there was a Bear’s School, it was relocated several miles north.  “I am glad to be able to play a part in bringing closure to this issue for one of Loudoun’s eldest residents," Reid said. He jointly …

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GOP Targets MWAA as Campaign Issue

Republicans elected to represent Loudoun’s at various levels blame authority’s ails on Kaine.

A group of Republicans who represent Loudoun residents at the local, state and federal level gathered in front of the old Loudoun Courthouse to decry the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, call for changes and attempt to pin the authority’s woes on Democrat, U.S. Senate candidate and former governor Tim Kaine. U.S. Rep. Frank Wolf (R-10), who previously pushed legislation through to expand Virginia’s representation on the MWAA’s board of directors, has now introduced legislation to completely re-work that board, heavily weighting it toward Virginia. “Both airports, the Dulles Toll Road and the Silver Line extension are all in Virginia,” Wolf said. “Would anyone think that Virginia should have majority control over the operations …

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LTE: Who is Attacking Supervisor Ken Reid?

A reader shares his thoughts regarding the supervisor's recent vote regarding Metro to Loudoun County.

Dear Editor, Leesburg Supervisor Ken Reid, as many know, voted to opt in to Metro despite a decade long career of advocating against it. Ken justifies this last minute flip with confusing doubletalk that maintains his opposition to the project and support of it in back to back sentences. Ken does have both bases covered in the event of success or failure. Ken’s recent constituent email said this, “Although I was a staunch critic of the project, and am still quite skeptical of its benefits...” In this same mass email, Ken Reid stooped to a new low. After having betrayed his friends in the Opt Out group, whom he worked with for months to educate the public before he flipped to vote Loudoun into Metro, Ken is now using nonsensical claims that…

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Peggy Coleman

10:21 pm on Wednesday, July 18, 2012

Leesburg Supervisor Ken Reid reacted to the majority of his constituents' wishes by voting in favor of Metro into Loudoun. Ken did what elected officials are supposed to do - assess the facts, collaborate with colleagues, listen to constituents and vote in support of their best interests. Ken has and will continue to endure personal attacks and political threats because of this vote. However, he …   more ›

Letter to the Editor

LTE: Metro Tax District Will Fail

A reader discusses a recent conversation with Supervisor Ken Reid regarding Metro and why he wasn't impressed.

Dear Editor,  A week prior to the Board of Supervisors' Metro vote, I called Supervisor Ken Reid to ask him where he stood. While not verbatim, I think I am really close.   Ken Reid's response: "John, I know this project has always been a piece of crap, and it still is, but the tax district has legs".   In other words, he knew something was a major waste of tax dollars, but he was going to vote for it anyways. I was dumbstruck. How does that work?  I asked how he could possibly say that the tax district had "legs", as most landowners couldn't possibly know about it yet (Supervisor Williams only had devised it two weeks prior). Ken then regaled me with a story Joe May once shared with him, on how one day he opened the mail and found out he …

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