Fairfax County police are investigating a man’s drowning in a pool in McLean on Saturday (June 15).
Police responded to a report of a drowning and found 31-year-old Justin Hollman, of Chesapeake, in a residential pool around 3 p.m. in the 1100 block of Pine Hill Road, according to the Fairfax County Police Department.
“It is unknown how long he had been in the pool and the circumstances surrounding his drowning are still under investigation,” according to the press release.
Police pulled Hollman from the pool, and rescue staff pronounced Hollman dead at the scene. The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner is working to determine the cause of Hollman’s death.
Detectives from our Major Crimes Bureau are responding to assume the investigation of an apparent drowning in the 1100 block of Pine Hill Rd in McLean. #FCPD pic.twitter.com/VnKcSQPsSY
— Fairfax County Police (@FairfaxCountyPD) June 15, 2019
Map via Google Maps
(Updated at 11:45 a.m.) The previously closed lanes of Old Dominion Drive and Beverly Road just reopened after a car crash in downtown McLean this morning.
The Arlington County Fire Department dispatched firefighters to the crash at 6832 Old Dominion Drive shortly before 10 a.m. to help Fairfax County rescue personnel.
Police had closed the westbound lanes of Old Dominion Drive and soundbound lanes of Beverly Road, and around 11 a.m., traffic was backed up on both of those roads.
Two cars — a McHale Landscape Design Inc. truck with a trailer and a Honda Odyssey — were involved in the crash, police told Tysons Reporter. As of 11:30 a.m., the truck, trailer and car have been moved.
One woman was taken to the hospital with minor injuries, police said.
Catherine Moran and Vernon Miles worked on this story.
Map via Google Maps
Police Investigating “Apparent Drowning” in McLean — “Detectives from our Major Crimes Bureau are responding to assume the investigation of an apparent drowning in the 1100 block of Pine Hill Rd in McLean.” [Fairfax County Police/Twitter]
Fire in Vienna Restaurant Saturday — Firefighters responded to a kitchen fire in a restaurant in the 200 block of E. Maple Avenue Saturday night with “smoke showing upon arrival in [the] middle unit of [the] strip shopping center.” [Fairfax County Fire and Rescue/Twitter]
Tegna Acquires Broadcast Companies — “For $535 million in cash, the Tysons-based media company will gain control of NBC Indianapolis affiliate WTHR-TV and CBS Columbus affiliate WBNS-TV… Tegna will also acquire WBNS-FM, a popular sports station in Central Ohio.” [Washington Business Journal]
New Trails Coming to Tysons — “As a major road is widened in Northern Virginia, cyclists say their efforts to get transportation improvements are also being heard. Fourteen miles of new trails are coming along with new lanes along busy Route 7 in the Tysons area.” [Adam Tuss/Twitter]
Police Investigating Falls Church Man’s Drowning — “Detectives from our Major Crimes Bureau are investigating after the body of 55-year-old Lee Bowersett, of Falls Church, was recovered from Lake Barcroft [Wednesday] morning… Preliminarily, there are no signs of foul play.” [Fairfax County Police Department]
Man Pleads Guilty to Fitting Rooms Filmings — “Of the charges to which 39-year-old Mumtaz Rauf pleaded guilty, one was a felony and three were misdemeanors… Rauf was arrested last December after a teenage girl at Fair Oaks Mall in Fairfax told store employees that she saw a camera in a Forever 21 changing room.” [WTOP]
School’s Out, But Free Meals Are Still Around — From June 17 to Aug, 23, the Free Summer Meals for Kids Program provides meals to kids ages 5 to 18 during the summer. [Fairfax County]
(Updated at 2:45 p.m.) The Fairfax County Police Department plans to crack down on violations at Scott’s Run Nature Preserve this summer.
The police department posted today (Friday) on Facebook:
In the span of a just a few hours this past Saturday, our officers responded to multiple calls at Scott’s Run Nature Preserve – arresting six people and serving summons to another nine. This is a beautiful park with a lot to offer for our community. We’re reminding you that there’s NO excuse to break posted park rules at Scott’s Run. That includes engaging in prohibited activities such as swimming, littering, illegal and underage drinking, trespassing after dark, etc.
FCPD will work with the Fairfax County Park Authority during the summer to enforce the park’s rules.
This is not the first time the police department has had to step in to help with enforcement at the park.
Lt. Jason Allegra said in a Fairfax County video from 2017 that Fairfax County police helped enforce violations by patrolling the park daily.
Map via Google Maps
If you’re considering bringing a new pet into your life, DC Shiba Inu Rescue (SIR) is planning a nature hike in McLean with some adoptable dogs.
DC SIR is planning a nature hike at Turkey Run Park in McLean from 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m. At least four adoptable shibas are planning to attend.
The adoption event is public with no paperwork required.
According to Nathalie Abutaha, president and founder of DC SIR, the group holds monthly adoption events at local boutique pet stores, but the group wanted to try something new for the more shy dogs:
These small spaces can be overwhelming to our shy and fearful dogs. Typically, our more fearful dogs would forgo the busy and crowded monthly events, and they would only have one or two meets with final applicants at their foster home. However, we thought this would be an excellent way for the public to meet some of our rescues who are typically too fearful or stressed to attend the monthly events. Nature walks are beneficial to dogs and people, plus we can create a positive experience and have fun with our dogs while meeting new people. Our Organization regularly does monthly adventures for our alumni (kayaking, hiking, camping, etc.,) but we thought we could try a public hike for our potential adopters.
Photo via DC SIR/Facebook
Fairfax County Fire and Rescue is sharing some of its history as it celebrates its 70th anniversary.
Samuel Redmond was the first of the 10 career firefighters hired in 1949, according to a fire department post. Redmond was issued badge #1 and assigned to Station 1 in McLean.
More from the post:
In 1949, the Board of Supervisors approved the hiring of firefighters for each of the volunteer stations. In addition, they approved the installation of a central fire alarm system so Police dispatchers “would dispatch the engines from the department or departments nearest the fire and this would eliminate a great deal of confusion.”
On July 1, 1949, the first 10 career firefighters were hired at an annual salary of $2,500… Career firefighters were called “paid men” and served primarily as daytime apparatus drivers. The various chiefs of the volunteer departments would choose the personnel who would be hired by the County and ultimately work for their departments. This practice would continue for many years. As members of their respective volunteer departments these firefighters responded to “after hours” calls from their homes.
The fire department also shared a video of Sgt. Vincent Guidi, a member of the original “Paid Brigade” hired in 1949, sharing memories from his career at the fire department.
Now 70 years later, FCFRD is the largest fire department in Virginia with approximately 1,400 career firefighters, 170 civilians and 370 operational volunteers, according to the fire department.
First image via Google Maps, second image via FCFRD
The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors recently made a $51 million investment in Tysons-area roads, but improvements to a troubled McLean road didn’t make the cut.
Balls Hill Road runs parallel to the Beltway through much of McLean up to Georgetown Pike, turning the two-lane residential street into a preferred get-around for Beltway traffic on navigation apps.
During rush hour, the intersection of Balls Hill Road and Georgetown Pike (Route 193) is frequently a backed up, apocalyptic free-for-all. Solutions to alleviate the congestion — including a controversial plan to close Georgetown Pike off from the Beltway entirely — have been proposed.
One plan involving intersection improvements was considered at meetings last fall, but the proposed improvement was not included in the Board of Supervisors’ budget.
“The Balls Hill and 193 improvements were not included in the Board’s $51 million [budget],” said Robin Geiger, head of communications for the Fairfax County Department of Transportation.
Potential intersection improvements included short-term solutions like widening shoulders to allow for increased traffic enforcement and painted boxes to stop drivers from stopping in the intersection and blocking traffic.
Longer term solutions focused on coordinated efforts to improve the American Legion Bridge and the nearby Beltway to reduce backups onto Georgetown Pike.
Meanwhile, another project to improve another troublesome intersection on Balls Hill Road is moving forward. The Balls Hill Road and Old Dominion Drive intersection is notoriously crash-prone with 29 crashes in a five-year span, due in part to poor sight-line conditions.
Geiger said in December, the Board of Supervisors approved the T-intersection proposal for the site and the project is currently in a preliminary engineering design phase. Funding for that project is approximately $21.5 million with construction scheduled to start in spring 2023.
Image via Google Maps
The McLean Citizens Association (MCA) unanimously voted to oppose a controversial series of group homes proposed in McLean.
The vote is the latest push in a fight led by neighbors against plans to open a series of new group homes in a residential neighborhood by McLean High School.
MCA voted last night (June 5) to oppose a special exception that would allow the Newport Academy, a for-profit therapy and rehabilitation program for teens, to open a facility at Davidson Road.
The group also voted to support Fairfax County Zoning Administrator Leslie Johnson’s determination that the facility would not be permitted as a by-right use and would require approval from the Board of Supervisors.
MCA members shared a common sentiment at last night’s meeting: this is not the last time they expect to hear about Newport Academy.
“The MCA will revisit this case if new facts become available or circumstances of the proposed use change, including but not limited to additional facts becoming available about the proposed use at Kurtz Road,” the draft resolution said.
Rob Jackson, the chair of MCA’s Planning and Zoning Committee, said that the vote on the resolution is possibly the beginning, rather than the end, of MCA’s involvement in the Newport controversy.
“We’re just taking one bite of the apple,” Jackson said. “I think we need to wait to see where the next shoe drops.”
New plans are on the way to fix traffic on the Dolley Madison Corridor between Tysons and McLean.
The Fairfax County Department of Transportation (FCDOT) and Dranesville District Supervisor John Foust are planning a meeting next Thursday (June 13) at 7 p.m. in the McLean Community Center (1234 Ingleside Avenue) to discuss the new “Dolley Madison Corridor Study.” According to the meeting description:
The purpose of the study is to analyze Dolley Madison Boulevard between the Dulles Toll Road and Old Dominion Drive and recommend solutions to improve traffic conditions. The team will present a variety of options with traffic model analysis and is looking for feedback from the public on the short-term and long-term improvements presented.
A Fairfax County Transportation status report from February said that four local intersections are being evaluated to understand how changes to one impact the others.
- Dolley Madison Boulevard, Great Falls Street and Lewinsville Road intersection
- Dolley Madison Boulevard and Old Dominion Drive intersection
- Great Falls Street and Chain Bridge Road intersection
- Balls Hill Road and Lewinsville Road intersection
Robin Geiger, head of communications for FCDOT, also said the intersections of Dolley Madison Boulevard and Ingleside Avenue and the intersection of Old Dominion Drive and Ingleside Avenue are being considered. Geiger said staff evaluated short term solutions that could be implemented to benefit traffic over the next 10 years.
The status report noted that FCDOT staff presented scenarios to Foust’s office and they were asked to look at more long-term solutions as well. Geiger said FCDOT are considering longer-term solutions for the Great Falls Street/Lewinsville Road intersection with Dolley Madison Boulevard near Tysons and the intersection with Old Dominion Drive.
The specific solutions being proposed are not presently available, but Geiger said a website for the project is planned to be launched soon and community feedback will be gathered at the June 13 meeting.
The new tenant at 1389 Chain Bridge Road isn’t attracting nearly as much controversy as the last one — the Nova Firearms gun store.
Boss Design Center is a local remodeling agency. The headquarters and showroom in downtown McLean feature displays for various kitchen and bathroom remodeling options along with a very friendly cat.
The company’s website said the company also does basement finishing and room additions.
“As our name implies at Boss Design Center, we take a keen interest in the entire design process from drawing board to completion,” according to the company’s website. “We have great ideas to help you realize your remodeling dreams from that room addition to the ultimate kitchen remodeling; we bring 10 years of experience to the design table and construction site.”
The company offers an initial complimentary consultation, followed by design and development stages where the company works with craftsmen to install cabinetry, appliances and other remodeling needs.
Boss Design operates in Maryland, D.C. and Northern Virginia.
