This & That
The Middleburg Police Department moved into new digs at the end of last year, now located in the Federal Court complex at 107 West Federal Street, Suite One.
And how sweet it is for Chief A.J. Panebianco and his department. The space includes a conference room, kitchen, officer training room, even a workout room with a few weights to stay in shape. The chief said they could use a few cardio-machines—stationary bikes, treadmills or step-climbers—and would be happy to accept donations.
“It’s a real improvement over where we were,” said The Chief. “It provides a much more professional environment and we have a lot more room. We’re still moving in and unpacking boxes, but we’re very happy with it.”
The Middleburg Players are having a special afternoon of “friendship, fun and food” at the Emmanuel Episcopal Church parish house Feb. 14 at 2 p.m. The event will honor the memory of William Carl-Johan Cortney Robinson, who passed away last month. His mother, Ann-Charlotte Robinson, is on the steering committee for the Players and has performed in a number of shows over the years.
Several members of the Players, including Elizabeth Rice, Steve Blakesee, David Witt and Clancy Yovanovich, will sing during the Valentine’s Day event, which also includes a silent auction. There will be videos of past Players productions, as well as a display of photographs, playbills, news clippings and other memorabilia. In addition, Jean Gold, Jim Poston, Gloria Armfield and Fred and Courtney Kohler will be honored for their many contributions to the Players over the years.
This just in: Maddie Dale, a terrific soccer player as a senior at Loudoun Valley High School, will continue playing her favorite sport as a freshman at prestigious Hamilton College in Clinton, N.Y. this fall. The daughter of Bob and Kerry Dale of Middleburg has been a starter at center-midfield at Valley for the last two years and was recruited to play soccer by several schools. Hamilton, founded in 1792, plays in Division III in a league of equally strong academic institutions like Amherst, Middlebury and Tufts, along others.
In other sports news, The Middleburg Tennis Club’s 3.0, 3.5 and 4.0 women’s Tri-Level team took second place last month in the Mid-Atlantic Tri-Level sectional championships in Virginia Beach. The team had advanced to the sectionals by winning the 2015 Shenandoah Fall Tri-Level League, then defeating the 2015 Winter League Champions in a winner-takes-all match. The MTC team was coached by director of tennis
Matt Day. Members of the 3.0 team were Susie Griffiths, Sheila Harrell, Lori McGuinness and Lydia Strohl; 3.5 members were Jenny Long, Mary Thomas and Tara Wegdam and the 4.0 team was Jayne Deckwitz, Barbara Hunter and Verna Stern.
The Middleburg Library Advisory Board, the all-volunteer group that supports the Middleburg Library, agreed at its January meeting to rename its book scholarship program in honor of former board member Charles L. Plante, who died December 21.
Known to his family and friends as Charlie, Mr. Plante was a long-time active supporter of the Middleburg Library and a member of the Advisory Board. A former chief of staff for two U.S. Senators, he earned a doctorate from Georgetown University and served as Philippines regional director for the Peace Corps.
As a lobbyist for the Kidney Foundation, the American Society of Transplantation and the United Network for Organ Sharing, Mr. Plante was the driving force behind congressional passage of legislation that authorized Medicare coverage for dialysis treatments for kidney disease patients.
The advisory board provides college scholarships to deserving high school seniors. In 2016, the newly renamed Charles L. Plante Book Scholarship Program will grant four $1,000 book scholarship awards.