Busy week? Catch up with Oakton's Week in Review, a roundup of stories that ran Dec. 3 to 8. Monday Tawny Hammond Named New Chief of Fairfax County Animal Shelter And the $17 million expanded shelter is set to open in December. Gas Tax, Higher Tolls Could Fund State Transportation Virginia's gas tax is a flat rate tax, but leaders are beginning to explore other options. Christmas Tree Safety Tips Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department offers tips to help residents avoid a fire this season. Tuesday Oakton High School DECA Giving Back to the Community.  Officials to Explore Smoking Ban on …

Best-selling author David Baldacci and his wife, Michelle, were honored at the Fairfax County Library Foundation's fourth annual Library Jubilee for their efforts to promote literacy in the U.S. Oakton Library hosted the event, which raised more than $120,000 for Fairfax County Public Libraries. Sean Duffy, a Waples Mill Elementary science teacher, will be honored at Leadership Fairfax's annual Northern Virginia Leadership Awards. Vale Club hosted its 74th annual Vale Fall Fair on Saturday, gathering neighbors and friends at the Vale Schoolhouse. Click here to see a photos from the event, and…

Oakton High School celebrated its Homecoming this week, crowning twins Nestor and Naomi Folta as the king and queen during halftime of the Homecoming game against Chantilly. Flint Hill School also hosted Homecoming festivities this week. Click here for photos of Spirit Week, and here for coverage of Saturday's Homecoming games and festivities Fairfax Water crews on Verna Drive caused some interruption to traffic outside Waples Mill Elementary School to install water lines for a new neighborhood being developed. Three 16-year-old girls were arrested in Springfield for allegedly being in …

Mahnaz Ghaffari, 43, of 11900 block of Vale Road in Oakton, was arrested last month after she was accused of stealing merchandise from Macy's in the Fair Oaks Mall, where she was employed, Fairfax County Police said. Fairfax County Public Schools has joined the effort to help find a missing Woodson High student, sending out an alert to the schools community Thursday asking anyone with information to contact police. After President Barack Obama (D) and challenger Mitt Romney (R) faced off in a televised debate Wednesday, Patch readers weighed in with their thoughts. Click here to join the …

An Oakton man arrested for firing a rifle in his home has a $5,000 bond set after an arraignment Thursday morning. At the arraignment, Robert Horton Epperson, 50, of Geneva Hill Court, was formally charged on three counts: reckless handling of a firearm, unlawfully discharging a firearm and discharging a firearm in public. He was released from the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center later Thursday. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for 2 p.m. Nov. 7. Police, Fire Ask an Officer: How Can I Bring Attention to Danger at Lawyers, Hunter Mill Roads Intersection? Officer Wayne Twombly answers …

Fairfax County Police used a stun gun during the arrest of an Oakton man for driving while intoxicated, officials said. Robert Horton Epperson, 50, of Geneva Hill Court in Oakton, was arrested for driving while intoxicated — his third DWI offense in less than 10 years — and concealing a weapon while intoxicated Fairfax County officials unveiled the new turf fields at Oak Marr Recreation Center. Each field, striped for multiple sports including cricket, measures 190'x370'. The yearlong project cost about $1.7 million, not including the $400,000 lighting system installed last year before …

A bus driver requested assistance in unloading Waples Mill Elementary students Wednesday morning after detecting a fuel odor; in a later and separate incident, a medical helicopter landed on the schoolyard for an emergency in a nearby neighborhood, according to an email sent to parents. An Oakton man was arrested last week for driving while intoxicated after a traffic stop in Vienna, according to the Vienna Police Department's weekly police highlights. Fairfax County Police are looking for the people who placed a skimmer on an ATM machine at the Inova Fairfax Hospital Cardiac Care Center some…

A storm ripped through Northern Virginia this weekend, causing power outages, flooding and road closures. Click here for pictures of storm damage. Land development for Reserve at Waples Mill, a new neighborhood behind Waples Mill Elementary, nears completion. The three homes that have been purchased on the 28-lot property will be completed in 2013.  Saying they felt they had not yet had a "full, robust" discussion on the makeup of a committee charged with reviewing the system's discipline policies, Fairfax County School Board members delayed a vote Thursday that would have established the 29-…

A four-vehicle crash on Chain Bridge Road, near Blake Lane, sent two people to the hospital. Hyeong Suh, 23, was charged with reckless driving after disregarding a stop sign, police said. Church of the Good Shepherd, on Hunter Mill Road in Vienna, filed a federal lawsuit claiming a Fairfax County zoning ordinance violates First Amendment rights. Since the filing, Fairfax County has dropped the citation against the church that prompted the lawsuit. Gov. Bob McDonnell (R) spoke at the Republican National Convention in Tampa, Fla., on Tuesday. He urged Americans to vote for GOP nominee Mitt …

Fairfax County Police arrested an Oakton man for manufacturing marijuana with the intent to distribute after responding to a burglary call from his upstairs neighbors, police said. Anthony G. Halteh, 22, of Windwood Farms Drive in Oakton, has been charged with manufacturing marijuana for others, possession with intent to distribute marijuana, burglary and misdemeanor assault. An Oakton man was arrested for embezzling more than $200,000 from a Falls Church defense contracting company. Paul Kulgavin, 33, of Fox Vale Glen Court in Oakton, is accused of not repaying money acquired from his …

Mary Tulipane, of Oakton, succumbed to injuries of an already fatal crash in Ashburn on Tuesday. A memorial service has been scheduled for Monday in Alexandria. On social security's 77th anniversary, former Gov. Tim Kaine wrote a Letter to the Editor asserting his support for the government retirement plan. His opponent in the race for the U.S. Senate seat, George Allen, responded with a letter of his own in which he wrote Kaine's letter went "to great lengths to blame others and provides no solutions." Latest Fair Oaks Police Log: Aug. 2-9 Officer Wayne Twombly, the crime prevention officer …

A 16-year-old driver on his way to football practice veered off Miller Road into a house on the street's 10400 block around 6 a.m. today. A Berryland Farms resident spotted a coyote in the neighborhood last week while walking her dogs. A commenter on the story noted she also spotted a coyote in Oakton recently, at the intersection of Waples Mill Road and Oakton Road. Fairfax County Police say coyote sightings are common.  When Oakton Elementary School welcomes students next month, it will boast a new playground for them to enjoy. U.S. Rep. Frank Wolf announced legislation he introduced that …

Teens formed a group, 1VoiceInside, to start an online movement aimed at encouraging individuality in a youth culture that often touts conformity. Daniel Giguere, a Flint Hill School graduate, and his friends came up with the idea after the success of a personal YouTube video Giguere released after nearly attempting suicide earlier this year. Del. Jim LeMunyon (R-67th District) participated in Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day — an event former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee created in response to the pushback the company's CEO received for speaking out against gay marriage on a Christian radio show…

Fairfax County Police believe an Oakton man shot his housemate before turning the gun on himself Wednesday night, launching the investigation of an apparent murder-suicide on Trevor House Drive. Neighbors were surprised that such an incident would occur in their "quiet community," with one neighbor describing the alleged shooter as "always a very happy, energetic guy."  A complaint filed by the county chapter of NAACP and Coalition of the Silence alleges Fairfax County Public Schools is perpetuating discrimination against black, Latino and disabled students through the admission process for …

The Planning Commission unanimously approved a plan for 10 cell nodes in the area around the intersection of Vale and Fox Mill roads Thursday. Fairfax County Police will not be charging the driver who ran his car into a Blake Lane utility pole July 12, which closed down westbound traffic for about two hours.  Fair Oaks Police Log: A sexual assault, two burglaries and six larcenies included on the log from the week of July 5 through 11.  The Fairfax County Park Authority and the Hunter Mill Defense League unveiled the Oakton Schoolhouse interpretive markers at a ceremony last weekend. Watch a …

A Tunisian court has delayed judgment until Sept. 18 on a case that will determine whether 6-year-old Eslam Chebbi and his 3-year-old sister Zainab, both Oakton schoolchildren, would return to the U.S. with their mother. Also this week, Faical Chebbi, the children's father and accused abductor, was added to the FBI's Most Wanted List. President Barack Obama visited Centreville High School for a campaign rally this weekend. Click here for photos and video from the event. A truck ran into a pole on Blake Lane on Thursday, closing down westbound lanes and snarling traffic during rush hour.  …

The June 29 derecho left much of Oakton in the dark throughout the week, and many roadways blocked with debris. Click here to read through coverage of the storm's aftermath. The Loudoun Board of Supervisors voted 5-4 on Tuesday to continue participating with the Dulles Corridor Metrorail Project, which will extend the now-under-construction Silver Line from Wiehle Avenue in Reston to Route 772 in Ashburn. Click here for a breakdown of the vote and response. Military officials have determined the soldier who shot and killed PFC David Sharrett II, a 1998 Oakton High graduate, in a friendly fire…

Oakton High School graduated 576 seniors in the class of 2012 on Tuesday. Click here to see a photo gallery of the ceremony. Oakton High School is among the 101 high-performing schools across the state that could earn waivers from Virginia's annual accreditation process, allowing educators to focus less on the test and more on innovating in the classroom, local and state officials said this week. Fairfax Acres, a neighborhood off Jermantown Road, will have a new sewer system in place in spring 2013 after years of slow or blocked drainage.  The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors is taking …

A light fixture caused a fire in the basement of 11113 Lochinver Lane in Miller Heights on Monday morning, displacing the home's one resident and causing damage estimated at $75,000. Former Gov. George Allen won Tuesday’s Virginia GOP primary, fending off challenges from E.W. Jackson, Del. R.G. “Bob” Marshall and Jamie Radtke. Allen will face Gov. Tim Kaine (D) in the race for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by U.S. Sen Jim Webb (D). Retired Army Colonel Chris Perkins defeated Herndon traffic engineer Ken Vaughn with 60-plus percent of the vote in the 11th congressional district Republican…

Matthew Kluger, 51, of Oakton, received a record 12-year prison sentence Monday for his part in an insider trading scheme that netted more than $37 million in illicit profits over 17 years. Dr. Hamada Makarita pleaded not guilty Monday to charges he illegally distributed prescription medicine to patients. Fairfax County Fire and Rescue officials reported the June 1 fire at 3140 Trenholm Drive caused $195,000 in damage. Fairfax County Police are investigating a midday burglary on Miller Heights Road.  The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority board voted Wednesday to drop the project …