The violence in Sterling is alarming. It is unacceptable to have a situation where people are afraid to go out and go about their business.

Emergency action must take place to find and convict the perpetrators, protect citizens, identify the root of the problem and work to mitigate its effects.

Posted by momof2 (anonymous) on September 24, 2008 at 9:45 a.m. (Suggest removal)

It's a shame the rest of the BOS wasn't there. This is not just a Sterling problem, but a Loudoun county problem. The county needs to do all it can to help "clean up" this area.

Posted by mazman128 (anonymous) on September 24, 2008 at 11:14 a.m. (Suggest removal)

There is no gang problem in LC. There is at Parkview High school as well as other middle and high schools to include Potomac Falls, just go to a Friday night football game and look for the signs, colors and bandanas. If the schools system would enforce their own standards some of this would get nipped before it gets started. LCSO is doing a great job with the resources they have. As we continue to fund a school budget that is out of control and build schools at an alarming rate we also must increase the funding for the sheriffs dept. I salute Sheriff Simpson and his department. His officers are well trained and motivated to do the right thing. Don’t close the gate after the cow is out. WAKE UP PEOPLE ITS GOING TO GET WORST WITH THE ECONOMY!

Posted by Funnyguyva (anonymous) on September 24, 2008 at 11:40 a.m. (Suggest removal)

"These types of things are costly, and they take resources," Simpson said. "It's tough budget times, I know, but we have to stay proactive."

Wait a minute! "Tough Budget Times"!!! Did he really say that? The BOS has taken all it can from the residents of Loudoun County and has spent even more than they have taken. These "Tough Budget Times" have not yet begun. There has been no decrease in taxes. What is Sheriff Simpson talking about? These are tough budget times for the residents of LC but definitely not for the County itself. Hopefully next year his statement will be appropriate.

Posted by salm624 (anonymous) on September 24, 2008 at 12:33 p.m. (Suggest removal)

I had to laugh at Mr. Rios' comments. He called 911, told them he heard the gunshots but didn't see anything (his words), and he expects to the Sheriff's office to come running to him for a report. What for? So he can say on paper "I didn't see anything, I just heard the gunshots"? Where is the logic in this? Talk about wasting resources.

Last night's meeting was hilarious to attend. Between the ridiculous comments like Mr. Rios' and the puffed up, bravado- and testosterone-filled "Let me strap on my six-shooter and patrol the streets" crowd, it was a joke. Unfortunately, the circumstances surrounding the meeting isn't funny, but there were no real solutions found.

Posted by ronin718 (anonymous) on September 24, 2008 at 12:57 p.m. (Suggest removal)

A mandatory curfew should be imposed immediately. If the county didn't waste so much money on schools, the rest of the citizens of the county could get their tax moneys worth of police protection and enforcement.

Posted by kmccorma (anonymous) on September 24, 2008 at 1:23 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Ronin718,
Logic? You seem to be missing logic. If you where there, then you would have heard the entire comment that Mr. Rios made. It seems to me that you are trying to trivialize something that YOU where not there for and solely basing it on what is printed in this article.

The point was that the police said they where "canvasing the neighborhood" and that "no one was willing to tell them anything", yet they did not talk to the people who lived in that community. Mr. Rios was not the only one who was there who lived in that neighborhood and who did not talk to the police because they really did not "canvas the neighborhood" and did not look for people to tell them something.

Posted by llm (anonymous) on September 24, 2008 at 2:10 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Oh, I was there. He complained about standing outside until 2 AM waiting for the deputies to come to him. Sheriff Simpson asked if he approached any of his deputies, and Mr. Rios said no. Do you want a description of Mr. Rios? Or would it suffice that he said he works at home and the deputies could've come by at any time.

The point is, what did Mr. Rios truly have to contribute to the investigation? Nothing. I could hear the gunshots as well, and I didn't see anything either. Should I be complaining that the deputies didn't talk to me? No, because that would be a waste of time and taxpayer money. And quite frankly, I wouldn't want them pounding on my door, waking me up to ask me questions about something I didn't see. Would you?

And frankly, llm, if you were there, you'd know I was spot on about the numerous blowhards yapping about wanting to strap on their guns, something that wasn't in the article. So back on out and go ride someone else's case.

Posted by ronin718 (anonymous) on September 24, 2008 at 2:44 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Actually, if the schools didn't have to spend so much money on translating everything into Spanish, they wouldn't need so much money. I guess it's a good thing they don't translate things into Chinese, Irdu, Hindi, and the many other languages represented in our school district. Imagine how much tax money they'd be asking for then. Cut all these Spanish-language focused extras beyond the normal educational classes and save money there.

Stop putting so much focus on the second-language students. Sterling schools are failing the AYP anyways, so at least get the educational stuff back on track so students who speak English as a primary language aren't shoved to the back of the class.

I know, that's not PC. But let's get realistic here. For all those folks out there whose grandparents and great-grandparents were "illegals" (as was mentioned last night by one of the teachers), what kind of translation was provided for all the immigrants 30, 40, 50 years ago? None. You learned the language, simple as that. What's the best way to learn a language? Immersion. That's how my wife learned Spanish, two years in South America. Stop molly-coddling the immigrants and they'll learn the language.

Posted by ronin718 (anonymous) on September 24, 2008 at 3 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Ronin718,
There goes your logic again. I was there and he did not complain. He said that there was a problem with the system. He stated that EVEN though he may not have had anything to contribute, (how would the police know, they did not interview nor canvas the neighborhood?). The police said that no one was willing to tell them anything, yet they did not do what they said they where doing- "canvasing the neighborhood" looking for clues. If they did their job and actually talked to people who live in the neighborhood, then they might have actually found someone who was willing to give them some important information.

Yes, there were a lot of people there who rambled and just wanted to be heard, but there were also a lot of people who had legitimate points, like Mr. Rios.

If the police would actually look for clues and do their job, then maybe they could solve this crime. I don't think that actively looking and talking to people is a waste of time, because YOU DO NOT KNOW WHAT THEY COULD TELL YOU, unless you ask and talk to them.

BTW, I live in the area, and would not mind if the police knocked on my door, because that would tell me that they where actually DOING THEIR JOB.

Posted by llm (anonymous) on September 24, 2008 at 3:16 p.m. (Suggest removal)

If other county government bodies would do their jobs then the sheriff's office wouldn't have to spend time and money on solving these crimes.

Posted by mazman128 (anonymous) on September 24, 2008 at 4:13 p.m. (Suggest removal)

I made an error
"He stated that EVEN though he may not have had anything to contribute, (how would the police know, they did not interview nor canvas the neighborhood?)"

Should read: He stated that even though he may not have had anything to contribute, the police still did not do what they where suppose to do. There was a failure within their process. That failure needs to be fixed.

Posted by llm (anonymous) on September 24, 2008 at 5:12 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Illegal aliens probably make about 6% of Loudoun's population but account for 50% of the crime. Whatever the exact numbers are I'm sure, we're all sure, that their crime rate is extremely disproportionately high.

Posted by hunter340 (anonymous) on September 24, 2008 at 6:36 p.m. (Suggest removal)

(This comment was removed by the site staff.)

Posted by Justthefacts (anonymous) on September 24, 2008 at 6:51 p.m.

I agree in a curfew. How come it takes shootings for people to care? Why are we not doing an HOA in Sterling Park? We could do so much more with an HOA!

Posted by cesspool (anonymous) on September 24, 2008 at 8:19 p.m. (Suggest removal)

cesspool is right on.

Since most of the BOS (especially the uber-liberal Mr. Miller and his promotion of the illegal aliens) seems not at all inclined to address the many problems caused by the tsunami of illegal aliens, how about if Sterling Park forms itself as an HOA?

Someone else also suggested that Sterling Park incorporate itself. Either would free us from the shackles that the BOS has put on us.

Anyone have any idea just how we go about doing that?

The hundreds of AMERICAN CITIZENS who crowded the Park View HS auditorium certainly give evidence of the anger, frustration and determination of the residents - so 'secession' from the stranglehold of the BOS is looking very attractive.

Posted by nobamessiah (anonymous) on September 24, 2008 at 8:54 p.m. (Suggest removal)

over-reaction.

Posted by slimsamad1 (anonymous) on September 24, 2008 at 8:54 p.m. (Suggest removal)

"over-reaction"? Hardly! I've been in Sterling Park for more than 20 years. I used to work at night and never was concerned about going to my job. Now there's no way I would even go to Safeway alone after dark, never mind a job! Plus there were many who were at the meeting that described the hell they have to go through on a daily basis.

Interesting take on Miller's little story, justthefacts. However, I do recall that he said she started shaking when he said he would get the police and she said "no police"! No doubt she has illegals for parents who have instilled this fear in her since they are afraid of being deported. It makes me angry that if that's the case for two reasons 1) They're here illegally and therefore have no business being here and 2) The child is suffering due to the sins of her parents.

The woman who said that it was no big deal to drive without a license really made me angry! I noticed I wasn't the only one who was angry either.

An HOA is a good idea if it's an effective HOA. We're in a part of SP that is an HOA community. One of the rules we have is no commercial vehicles are allowed to park here. It's a big joke because no one enforces it. On the flip side, when we had a flophouse on the street, we noticed that they never put out any trash. It turns out they were putting it in their backyard. The HOA did intervene in that one and told them to get rid of the trash--suprisingly they listened.

Posted by two4three2 (anonymous) on September 24, 2008 at 9:42 p.m. (Suggest removal)

i attended tuesday's meeting; it was a posturing by several men and women who could not exercise self-control. instead, these several men and women deemed it more important to interrupt the speakers, heckle, spew venom, and stage dramatic, self-important outbursts. given the ungratefulness and caustic arrogance of our citizens, we lack any solid base of cooperation upon which we and the authorities might work together.

Posted by zzzzzzz (anonymous) on September 24, 2008 at 10:26 p.m. (Suggest removal)

While I agree Sterling Park has become a place that is far from what we bought into, I must say that I am against a homeowners association. I DO want my neighborhood cleaned up and it WOULD be if the current laws and zoning on the books were actually enforced (and I mean enforced for EVERYONE, not just the ones who aren't in a buddy-buddy situation with the BOS, zoning or Sheriffs office). But there are those of us who purposely purchased a home WITHOUT an HOA because we don't want someone telling us what color we can paint our house or any of the other meaningless stuff that they do. If law enforcement and county officials had actually been doing their job, we would not be in this mess now. We have had a number of instances over the 22 years that we have lived in Sterling Park where we were the victims of hit and runs, vandalism, shady characters stumbling through the neighborhood, etc. and have more times than not dealt with truly incompetent law enforcement. Please understand that I know many of you are excellent at what you do, but unfortunately, there are too many who have no business being on the force because they are totally incompetent. Same goes for zoning. It is enforced so sporadically that it is a joke. We have had to make adjustments to come into compliance with zoning laws we had no idea existed, as well as parking laws, while daily seeing the SAME laws being broken much more visibly (i.e., all along Sterling Blvd) everywhere you look and not a thing is done about it. Enforce things across the board, or do not enforce them at all and let Sterling Park continue to sink into the abyss of crap that it has been slipping into for years now. I've pretty much had it with this place and would be long gone if the housing market hadn't been driven into the ground by our new neighbors.

Posted by tooger (anonymous) on September 24, 2008 at 10:34 p.m. (Suggest removal)

zzzzzzz, there was also lots of good information shared by audience members and some important information to be gleaned from the BoS members and the Sheriff. For example, I'd never heard we had 38 deputy vacancies, nor had I heard with my own ears the Sheriff say he could not recall how many arrests had been made in the last year vs. how many of those arrests were of illegal immigrants; something I would suspect he may be deliberately avoiding knowing.

I also heard that zoning had to make appointments, which is ridiculous, and so basically our zoning enforcement officers have been paying lip service to zoning enforcement and pushing paper for years instead of pushing back at the BoS and letting them know they could not effectively perform their jobs because they didn't have the means to do so. If they have been telling the BoS this, then they need to become vocal and let the community know.

Although there were more than a couple of people who were pretty rude to the BoS and the Sheriff, I don't think the entire meeting should be dismissed and I do think there is an opportunity to build the solid base that is required to address these issues. Unfortunately, because so many in our community are apathetic and think that "someone else" is making sure things are getting done, we HAVE to start from the ground up. That base that everyone just assumed was somewhat solid is pretty mushy at this point.

Posted by Rachelfriend (anonymous) on September 25, 2008 at 4:50 a.m. (Suggest removal)

(This comment was removed by the site staff.)

Posted by pjl_45 (anonymous) on September 25, 2008 at 5:55 a.m.

pjl_45, we want to improve the community, which means you may have to leave as well.

Posted by Rachelfriend (anonymous) on September 25, 2008 at 6:03 a.m. (Suggest removal)

(This comment was removed by the site staff.)

Posted by StLou (anonymous) on September 25, 2008 at 6:20 a.m.

Now you're seeing what we saw in my PWC neighborhood in recent years. There are consequences to having neighborhoods full of illegal immigrants whose identity is not known - and we are much less safer.

I'm sure the Police claim otherwise. But I endured a lot of unsafe conditions in my neighborhood that don't turn up in anyone's crime statistics. Siphoning gas, using my water hose for late-night showers on my lawn - you can't believe these things are happening in your suburban neighborhood until they are.

Posted by seenitallnow1 (anonymous) on September 25, 2008 at 7:35 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Is Loudon county a sanctuary city or do they enforce immigration laws like PWC?

Seems all of northern VA is having problems and most of it is tied to the illegal community.

Need to re-think the situation and get on board with enforcing immigration laws.

Much of the violence and third world behavior would go away.

It is an envasion folks. Call/Fax/email your elected officials and let them know how you feel.

Posted by ladyxx2 (anonymous) on September 25, 2008 at 7:40 a.m. (Suggest removal)

The woman that was talking about having to make appointments with the homeowner before coming back to make sure the compliance was met was saying what a load of bull it was that they had to make an appointment. She agreed that it needed to change. People want to know how they can help? How about helping with the Sterling Foundation, the Sterling Advisory Board? Getting involved in your community...not just wanting to run around with guns thinking that will help. I know I don't want to be judge...jury...and executioner within seconds.

Posted by Gracie8967 (anonymous) on September 25, 2008 at 8:33 a.m. (Suggest removal)

My TH is in Sterling Park South, and we have an HOA. The shooting was right around the corner from the community, and was visible from my unit. An HOA is not a cure-all for these problems, and really can't do a whole lot to keep the gangs out. It certainly can't get rid of flophouses or keep squatters out of vacant units. The most it can do is help ensure that people keep their lots in good repair, and help organize people to form a neighborhood watch. The former should be handled by the zoning office, and the latter can be done by homeowners in a community who have the initiative to organize themselves. Also, I'm not surprised at the recent influx of illegals in the past few months. Once PWC started cracking down on them, they relocated to Loudoun and Fairfax. Unfortunately the BoS has shown that it lacks the political will to do anything about them, so it's up to the residents to pay the higher taxes and then deal with the problem themselves.

Posted by gieriscm1 (anonymous) on September 25, 2008 at 9:43 a.m. (Suggest removal)

gieriscm1, just a side note, according to the chair of the PW BoS, he said he has reason to believe that the vast majority of illegal aliens that left PW Co moved to Ffx Co. Not sure how he figures that, just passing it on. He was on AM 630 WMAL last week.
I almost hate to say it (*ALMOST*), but in a way I think the huge numbers of foreclosures are a blessing in disguise, even as it impacts our property values. Look at who is being foreclosed on and moving out, after all .....

Posted by Justthefacts (anonymous) on September 25, 2008 at 10:14 a.m. (Suggest removal)

gieriscm1, Great comment. Your community is better served through an ad-hoc volunteer network of homeowners. I've had involvment with various HOAs and they seem more interested in making public spaces pretty then enforcing rules on structures. Anyway, an HOA uses community volunteers to run the community as elected leaders so not much difference accept being able to fine owners who generally ignore the fine anyway.

As for Stevens Miller's comment...

When these illegals start banning together to buy the McMansions of the Dulles district he will change his tune – especially if they move in next door to him in Broadlands. Otherwise, Miller is your typical illegal lover who think illegal aliens do no harm because they live in someone else’s neighborhood, but come to his neighborhood to offer cheap lawn service, cheap nanny service, cheap maid service, cheap home repair etc while displacing other legal residents/citizens who pay income taxes on their earnings. If you can’t mow, clean, or take care of your own possessions then why have them.

Posted by RustNeverSleeps (anonymous) on September 25, 2008 at 10:15 a.m. (Suggest removal)

JTF...I can't say for sure how Stewart got his numbers, but in August there was an article in WaPo about the FFX superintendent (Dale) telling the FFX BOS about the 1000+ unexpected student increase that will hit FFX this school year - primarily the schools closest to PWC. According to transcripts, Dale inferred they were all coming from PWC. This caused uproar with the FFX BOS - especially Gerry. There are some PWC illegal aliens who came to Sterling and some who went to Arlington, but FFX got the brunt if I am recalling the article correctly.

Posted by RustNeverSleeps (anonymous) on September 25, 2008 at 10:27 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Welcome to Loudon.....Mexico! Got a gun? Wear it.

Posted by Patriot12 (anonymous) on September 25, 2008 at 11:51 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Trust me... you don't want an HOA. You will be paying mandatory money (tax) to an HOA that has no policing authority. If it's active and serious, it could help clean up a yard or two; but it won't keep (doesn't have the authority to keep) the crime down. You need to ramp up the pressure on your elected officials, and if they won't/can't do the job elect someone else.

Aren't there county ordinances regarding trash piling up in the yard? Cars parked in the front yard? How many people can live in a house? Noise? Harassment?

Make your elected officials accountable. If they refuse to listen to you, elect new blood.

Posted by waterfrontproperty (anonymous) on September 25, 2008 at 11:59 a.m. (Suggest removal)

I agree with gieriscm1. I live in a TH (Condo) .6 miles from the driveby location but I did not hear it as I was attending a Back To School Night at Sterling Middle but I did pull into our road just as 4 LCS Deputies screamed in with lights and sirens blaring. This crime, including the prowlers/Home Invasions our HOA has warned us about, is making Loudoun, just named the "highest median income county in the country", a worse place to live. Our HOA is more worried about giving trash fines for having put the trash out one hour early than it is about the various Hispanic people hanging out on corners and urinating in public. Yes, I am sure they are Hispanic, and NO I am not stating that as a racist comment.

I am trying to say that HOA will not solve anything unless you like getting a $50 fine because you put your trash out at 6pm instead of 7pm.

I also lived on Valery Court (near Amelia) where the stabbing occured) for the previous 5 years and saw it go from family oriented single family homes to group homes with loud music and Corona being drunk while loud screaming was going on into all night. That are DID not have an HOA and nothing is different between where I live now in Sterling and where I lived before other than the size of the lots.

I agree that illegals and higher rate of crimes go hand in hand and I do not go around looking at every hispanic person and think they are illegal. But, given that Sterling has a larger than normal Hispanic population, don't you think they should be more involved in "policing" the area? I have not heard the race of any of the 5 people shot but from the majority of the areas these individuals were shot/stabbed has a high Hispanic population.

Don't want people to point fingers and claim "ILLEGALS!! IT'S THEM THAT ARE CAUSING IT!" then why not get involved in your own area instead of shrugging your shoulders and turning a blind eye.

Posted by cdubaya (anonymous) on September 25, 2008 at 1:30 p.m. (Suggest removal)

I live in Maryland and we had an a couple of homes that are occupied by immigrants (Hispanic and Africans). Now whether they are legal or illegal, I don't know. But anyway, when they first moved in and even now with the African immigrants, they parked their cars on the lawn. H@ll, the African guy cut down trees in his back yard and used some of the logs to section off a parking area in his front yard. He used the trees that had been cut down as clothes lines. They would wash their clothes and hang them on tree stumps, bushes, and old wreck of a car in their back yard. Well, the neighbors on either side of them and across the street were livid. It was making the neighborhood look trashy. Maryland has a "let's keep Maryland beautiful" program, along with a neighborhood *** program (forgot the exact name). Well, after dealing with a leaking sewer line that the African immigrants had not gotten fixed after 8 months, we start calling and complaining that it was a health threat (which it was) and the smell was awful. The country came by and told them they had to get their septic tanks flushed twice a week until they got hooked up to the public sewer system. Four weeks later, it was done. Also they had removed furniture (I am talking about a mountain of it) from their basement that had gotten wet when their basement flooded or something (they had a guy living in their basement, I think). They let this wet soiled furniture stay on the streets for 3 weeks. A call was made about that and they were made to remove it and at their expense. The country will move furniture to the dump site, but not two rooms of it. I haven't seen the cars parked on their front lawns in the last few days, so hopefully that has been taken care of too. I don't think these people want to cause problem. It's up to us to set them straight. But if they don't want to assimilate into our communities, they should leave.

Posted by Edie1 (anonymous) on September 25, 2008 at 1:42 p.m. (Suggest removal)

This is why we cannot have mass amnesty. This is happening all over the country. In L.A. those who want to become accepted by gangs are killing children playing in their neighborhoods. Gangs consider this "brave" enough. This is not brave, it is evil.

Posted by Topper2 (anonymous) on September 25, 2008 at 3:30 p.m. (Suggest removal)

"Tuesday night's meeting at Park View High School nearly devolved into a shouting match at several points, with irate residents yelling over county officials and accusing them of not adequately addressing the problems of gangs and illegal immigration. Several residents said they thought that those problems had contributed to crime."

As usual a bunch of yahoos blaming immigrants for all the ills of society. Yell as loud as you want, but until their is proof that "illigals" were to blame shut the h#$#ll up!

Posted by sammie21 (anonymous) on September 25, 2008 at 4:49 p.m. (Suggest removal)

zzzzzz wrote: "i attended tuesday's meeting; it was a posturing by several men and women who could not exercise self-control. instead, these several men and women deemed it more important to interrupt the speakers, heckle, spew venom, and stage dramatic, self-important outbursts. given the ungratefulness and caustic arrogance of our citizens, we lack any solid base of cooperation upon which we and the authorities might work together."

This is standard behavior for anti-immigrant hate groups out there. These people are there to spread propaganda and fear that eventually causes harm to good people and families. These people should be tagged and forbidden from attending these meetings if any fair reasonable solutions want to be reached. I, for one will attend the next meeting and make sure this does not happen again!

Posted by sammie21 (anonymous) on September 25, 2008 at 5:06 p.m. (Suggest removal)

(This comment was removed by the site staff.)

Posted by Topper2 (anonymous) on September 25, 2008 at 5:34 p.m.

SOUTHWEST BORDER APPREHENSIONS (Source DHS/CBP)
1987--1,190,488------1995--1,394,554------2003----905,065
1988--1,008,145------1996--1,649,986------2004--1,139,282
1989----954,243------1997--1,412,953------2005--1,189,108
1990--1,169,939------1998--1,555,776------2006--1,071,972
1991--1,197,875------1999--1,537,000------2007----858,638
1992--1,258,482------2000--1,643,679------2008----660,288 (ends 9/30)
1993--1,327,259------2001--1,235,718
1994--1,094,717------2002----929,809

FACT: In the last 22 years, over 26 million illegals, have been apprehended, crossing our Southwest Border.

FACT: Less than 1, out of 4, were estimated to have been apprehended.

Mind boggling, isn't it.

and then there are the 4 to 5 million non-immigrants (illegals) who have overstayed their visas, and remain in our United States (source: Pew Hispanic Center)

Posted by buzzm1 (anonymous) on September 25, 2008 at 6:38 p.m. (Suggest removal)

They are still coming!!

Southwest Border Patrol Sector Apprehensions (Source DHS/CBP)
Fiscal Year-------------2005---------2006---------2007-------2008 (ends 9/30)
San Diego------------126,879-----142,104---- 152,460--- 149,418
El Centro--------------55,725-------61,465----- 55,883----- 38,012
Yuma-----------------138,492-----118,549----- 37,992------ 7,966 *
Tucson --------------439,053-----392,074---- 378,239--- 299,635
El Paso---------------122,624-----122,256----- 75,464----- 28,716
Marfa ------------------10,532--------7,520------- 5,536------ 5,113
Del Rio -----------------68,547------42,636----- 22,920----- 19,612
Laredo -----------------75,268------74,840----- 56,714------41,160
Rio Grande Valley --134,136----110,528------ 73,430----- 70,656
Apprehensions----1,189,108--1,071,972-----858,638----660,288(08/31)

Posted by buzzm1 (anonymous) on September 25, 2008 at 6:41 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Topper, I'm glad I got to read your reference to the article before it was removed. It was very insightful and I don't understand why it was removed. There was nothing objectionable or hateful about, just the cold, hard facts. The truth hurts, doesn't it?

Posted by tooger (anonymous) on September 25, 2008 at 6:42 p.m. (Suggest removal)

THERE WILL BE NO AMNESTY!!!

OUR ACCEPTABLE IMMIGRATION REFORM

#1. Secure Our Borders!!!
#2. Mandate E-Verify for ALL Employees!!!
#3. Mandate E-Verify for ANY Benefit!!!
#4. Stop the Underground Economy!!!
#5. End Birthright Citizenship for Illegals!!!
......and make it retroactive!!!
#6. End Chain Migration!!!
#7. Make English our Official Language!!!
#8. Cut Off Federal Funds to Sanctuary Cities!!

NOTHING MORE!!! NOTHING LESS!!!

Posted by buzzm1 (anonymous) on September 25, 2008 at 6:43 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Other cities are fighting these same battles.
Traffic checks, impounding the vehicles of those w/o driver's licenses.

Make I.C.E. your best friend!!

Send your county police in for 287(g) training, along with city jailers. They'll be able to sort out, and deport, the bad ones.

Posted by buzzm1 (anonymous) on September 25, 2008 at 6:48 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Begin invoking, and enforcing, strict zoning, and parking laws.

Make it very uncomfortable for illegals.

Posted by buzzm1 (anonymous) on September 25, 2008 at 6:53 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Mandate E-Verify for all businesses, and fine them heavily, if they violate. Arizona's sanction law against employers of illegals, held up In Appeals Court.

Posted by buzzm1 (anonymous) on September 25, 2008 at 6:57 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Virginia's 287(g) trained officers

VA City of Manassas Police Department TFO 3/5/2008
VA Herndon Police Department TFO 3/21/2007
VA Loudoun County Sheriff's Office TFO 6/25/2008
VA Manassas Park Police Department TFO 3/10/2008
VA Prince William County Police Department TFO 2/26/2008
VA Prince William County Sheriff's Office TFO 2/26/2008
VA Prince William-Manassas Adult Detention Center JEO 7/9/2007
VA Rockingham County Sheriff’s Office JEO/TFO 4/25/2007
VA Shenandoah County Sheriff’s Office TFO 5/10/2007

Posted by buzzm1 (anonymous) on September 25, 2008 at 7:03 p.m. (Suggest removal)

buzzm1, E-verify expires in November unless Sen. Menendez decides to stop blocking it. The renewal passed overwhelmingly in the House but has been held up by Mr. Illegal-Lover in the Senate. Pester your Senators!!!!!

Also, interesting that people mention that maybe "when they get more crime in the Broadlands, Miller will change his tune." Have you guys been reading the crime report on this site? HUGE numbers of car break-ins in Ashburn (which is where Broadlands technically is). I'm betting the house-break-ins and assaults aren't too far behind. You are absolutely right though - once the sanctimonious apologists get a taste of what they are supporting, they will most likely change their tune :)

Posted by Justthefacts (anonymous) on September 25, 2008 at 7:13 p.m. (Suggest removal)

E-Verify for all government agencies will cut back on the subsidies to illegal aliens by rejecting non-qualifying applications.

HOAs can do far more than most think. Contact your attorney and ask how you can go about implementing a resolution that requires all absentee homeowners provide the Management Office with a copy of the lease so the HOA knows who is living in the houses. This is a most useful tool in controlling occupancy and also lets Management know which homes are vacant (and can be watched by Neighborhood Watch) and which are occupied (and by whom).

HOAs can also update rules and regulations to implement and enforce permit parking only. HOAs can require all residents to register their vehicles with the Management Office. This way HOAs know which vehicles belong to which homes. All vehicles that do not display a permit and parked on HOA STREETS (not County or State roads), lawns or parking lots, where signs are posted, can be towed at the owners' expense. If signs are not posted a warning must be placed on the windshield and the vehicle can be towed with the second offense.

If HOAs want to limit the number of vehicles on HOA streets and parking areas, that can also be controlled with parking permits.

These powers are granted to HOAs by our General Assembly. USE THEM to clean up your communities. HOAs have a right to know who is living in the community and enforce their rules (often at the owners' expense).

I can tell you from experience, illegal aliens do not want to live in HOAs that have strong governance and enforce their rules. They especially do not want to live in communities where they are required to provide their names to management.

Simpson is right - the immigrant community will become wary of authority when communities and local governments enforce their rules and laws. Illegal aliens like to fly under the radar. When the radar targets them, they move on to places that are less "community oriented."

If you want to rid yourself of illegal aliens and crime, implement E-Verify (cut off the money) and enforce laws and rules.

IT WORKS!

Posted by asmith1 (anonymous) on September 25, 2008 at 7:41 p.m. (Suggest removal)

All good points, asmith! FYI, our HOA over a year ago, tried to get permit only parking in our community. The problem is a certain percentage of residents have to sign paperwork in support of it. Our community fell short by 2 homes. Since then, I don't know what has happened to that effort. I would love to see it revived because the neighboring townhouse community has severe problems with overcrowding so we're stuck with the spillover parking. I think the people who live down the street don't see as much of it so my guess they didn't want to sign in support of the permits.

Posted by two4three2 (anonymous) on September 25, 2008 at 8:16 p.m. (Suggest removal)

asmith1, like I said to buzzm1: E-verify expires in November unless Sen. Menendez decides to stop blocking it. There is less than a week at this point for it to be passed.

Posted by Justthefacts (anonymous) on September 25, 2008 at 8:27 p.m. (Suggest removal)

When are people in this community going to realize there is a cause-effect between illegal immigration and crime?

Secure our borders. Model our immigration laws after the ones Mexico uses. I don't hear anybody accusing Mexico of human rights violations.

For those not familiar with how Mexico deals with immigrants, let me summarize for you:

If you immigrate to our country, you have to speak the native language.

You have to be a professional or an investor; no unskilled workers allowed.

There will be no special bilingual programs in the schools. No special ballots for elections. No government business will be conducted in your language.

Foreigners will not have the right to vote — or hold political office.

If you’re in Mexico, you cannot be a burden to taxpayers. You are not entitled to welfare, food stamps, or other government goodies. You can come if you invest in Mexico: an amount equal to 40,000 times the daily minimum wage. If not, stay home. But if you want to buy land, it'll be restricted. No waterfront, for instance. As a foreigner, you must relinquish individual rights to the property.

You don’t have the right to protest. You're allowed no demonstrations, no foreign flag waving, no political organizing, no bad-mouthing our President or his policies. You’re a foreigner: shut your mouth or get out! And if you come here illegally, you're going to jail.

Posted by obviously (anonymous) on September 25, 2008 at 8:59 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Hey, obviously, you're preaching to the choir! After attending the meeting, I think the best tactic is to aggressively go after the flophouses. It's absolutely absurd that the woman who talked about the flophouse on her street said that it took 10 years to get rid of it---and the only reason it's now gone is because it went into foreclosure. The LoCo law against flophouses is ridiculous--it has so many loopholes you can drive a trick through it! For example, flophouses are ok if everyone in one says they're related (He's my 5th cousin twice removed. OK--no violation here!). Plus laws allow 50 square feet per person. It's not hard to do the math to see that that is unacceptable!

Posted by two4three2 (anonymous) on September 25, 2008 at 9:12 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Justthefacts, thanks for the update. I knew E-Verify was due to expire, but presumed with nearly 60,000 employers currently using the program it would be extended.

New Employee Verification Act might work equally well (if not better) if E-Verify is allowed to lapse (which I hope does not happen)

Illegals have already found a way to "beat the system" by naming their anchor babies the same name as the mother, father or family member. The parent or family member then has a valid Social Security Number with a matching name in the system - that matches the matricula consular. Because none of these programs match age, this not only gives illegal aliens a free pass to fly under the employment radar, but allows them to get a drivers license and voter registration card.

And these are the "hard working, honest" immigrants both McCain and Obama want to extend amnesty to.

==========

As an alternative to the Shuler bill, HR groups are promoting the New Employee Verification Act, introduced by Rep. Sam Johnson, R-Texas. The bill would mandate that employers submit information electronically only for new hires to the Social Security Administration through a child-support enforcement system already in place in each state.

About 90 percent of U.S. employers use that system. The identity of prospective employees would be checked against Social Security and Department of Homeland Security databases. The procedure would eliminate the paper-based I-9 process.

Posted by asmith1 (anonymous) on September 25, 2008 at 9:35 p.m. (Suggest removal)

2 points to consider from someone who works in public safety.
-whether you believe illegal immigrants commit more crime than legal residents/citizens or not, it is reality that illegal immigrants allow crimes to go unreported, allowing more serious crime and criminals to continue and grow. where a regular citizen would make a report now, allowing law enforcement the opportunity to investigate and be advised of whats happening in a neighborhood or area, illegal immigrants stay mute and crime festers. the number of victims grow and the level of crime they are subjected to rises. this affects all in the area, not just the illegal immigrants. for example- a case i am familiar with. a man noticed for weeks that a woman who rented a room in a house he also rented in, left her 4 yr old son alone in the house for hours on end. he not only waited weeks to report this, but when he finally called, wanting to remain anonymous and as far removed from it as possible, he waited until well after 8pm, when the child had been left for hours. and he knew it.
-vehicle break-ins are, in my experience, committed mostly by 2 separate groups. male teens who stay out late at night, drinking, driving, purposeless, without any contact/supervision/monitoring by parents who seem unconcerned as to what their sons are doing at 0200. unfortunately, young woman are also stupid, but just not in as large a number. they break-in, destroy, scratch, key, stab the tires, pour nailpolish over, rifle thru your cd collection, steal the change, and break the windows. all from boredom, i guess. the other group is usually thieves, different races and backgrounds, just your run of the mill stupid lazy criminals who break in to steal your gps. so they can pawn it, or craigslist it, or ebay it, or flea market it, or ......, well, you get the picture.

i well understand the anger people feel about illegal immigration. my parents were legal immigrants to the US and it really irks me when someone assumes that because i am white i can not possibly understand the situation. or tell me that if i only remember what my parents (or ancestors) did to get into this country i would have so much more sympathy for the illegal immigrant. well, on behalf of not just myself, but of many other legal immigrants, naturalized citizens, and children of immigrants let me just say *&^% that. my parents applied, filled out the paperwork, were interviewed, given green cards and eventually became US citizens. AND THEY DID IT LEGALLY. they waited and they took their turn. Americans hate it when people cheat and try to jump the line -just think about commuting every morning and you know what i mean. America is my home and i firmly believe that i have every right to know who is coming into my home and whether or not they have been invited. and if not, i escort them out.

Posted by wpost456 (anonymous) on September 25, 2008 at 9:51 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Thanks asmith1 I didn't know about the alternate bill.

Posted by Justthefacts (anonymous) on September 25, 2008 at 10:45 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Americans are just sick and tired of the illegal invasion, enough is enough, and it is just not Sterling, or PWC, it is everywhere. We foot the bill for alot of people, more than we know, and it just isn't right.

Posted by highwaybluesoccer (anonymous) on September 25, 2008 at 11 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Believe this because it is true. Many of the areas that have the absolute highest foreclosure rates, are areas frequented and settled heavily by illegals. Stockton, CA, the San Joaquin Valley, the Inland Empire in Southeast, CA, Las Vegas, NV, areas of Florida.

The flood of illegals and the granting of ridiculous loans to them, by none other than illegals; illegals who were real estate people; La Raza included.

I would venture that fully 1/4 of that bad paper, if not more, are loans to illegals who shouldn't have even been here in the first place.

Posted by buzzm1 (anonymous) on September 25, 2008 at 11:59 p.m. (Suggest removal)

A July report showed that in seven of the 10 metro areas with the highest foreclosure rates, Hispanics represented at least one-third of the population; in two of those areas – Merced and Salinas-Monterey, Calif. – Hispanics comprised half the population. The amnesty-promoting National Council of La Raza and its Development Fund have received millions in federal funds to “counsel” their constituents on obtaining mortgages with little to no money down; the group almost succeeded in attaching a $10 million earmark for itself in one of the housing bills past this spring.

Posted by buzzm1 (anonymous) on September 26, 2008 at 1:03 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Read the comments from the Sep 24 blog entry "Sterling Public Meeting With Sheriff Simpson and Supervisors" at novatownhall dot com. A woman is describing how Loudoun zoning is enforced very heavily in the western end of the county, but minimal efforts are made in the east. Also, it looks like the BoS has been working to undermine the effectiveness of LCSO for years in an effort to replace it with a PD controlled by county administration. So, while the BoS and county employees have been occupied playing petty politics, crime in the county has been getting worse.

Posted by gieriscm1 (anonymous) on September 26, 2008 at 8:33 a.m. (Suggest removal)

The answer must start with applying pressure to our elected officials. Phone calls, e-mails and attending all open meetings and asking the hard questions, and demanding answers.
1. Dont tell me what you have done. I do not care it has not worked Tell me what you are doing now!!
2. Demand accountablity from the board, and LVSO.
3. Push the board, county attorney, LCSO to inforce existing laws aready on the books.
4. Push the board to addopt tougher laws. IE. no drivers licence your car is impounded.
5 Demand E- Verify be used by all government agency within loudoun county. If you are not legal no services and the sherifes office will be called. (Currently only Water department and Trash collection use it).
6 Demand that the board find out what is being done in neigbooring communities(Herndon, PW etc) and partner with them in the efforts.-- Herndon has a outstanding zoning inforcement process that is yelding results -- Yea they are coming to Sterling. We can and should do exactly the same things.
7 Lobby our state, and federal reps to addopt a much more agressive stance on immigration reforms.
8. Pressure the board to addopt a zero tolorance on gang presence in the county and empower the LCSO to aggressivly make life so uncomfortable they will leave.

The mantra that should be in the county is "What is there about illegal that you don't understand, Let me help you understand!!!"

Posted by beenaroundhere40ormore (anonymous) on September 26, 2008 at 9:56 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Hello,

I would love to start a community group that is willing to do it's part to see our community move in a better direction. We will be volunteers & advocates working to ensure that we get what is our right from our local officials and each other. If you are interested please send me an email.

Thanks
Jessica Green

Posted by jessica.green (anonymous) on September 26, 2008 at 3:29 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Sorry my email address is way_on_top@yahoo.com

Posted by jessica.green (anonymous) on September 26, 2008 at 3:31 p.m. (Suggest removal)

If you think that eastern loudoun is the only part of the county with gang problems your strongly mistaken. It's not just at Park View and I don't appreciate people dissing all of Park View because, I believe the school does a wonderful job of cracking down on gang related stuff. to Funnyguyva: they can't exactly enforce dress codes at football games. I'm just saying that Park View is a good school and I don't appreciate people putting it down in any matter. I feel like Park View is the school that everyone loves to kick around, and it's messed up.

Posted by ec_band_geek (anonymous) on September 26, 2008 at 4:02 p.m. (Suggest removal)

ronin, i agree with some of your comments (and would defend to my near-death anyway your right to make them) BUT you have to get some facts straight here...

first, sterling schools failing ayp? can be looked up. true of sms, not pvhs.

gang colors at the football games? could be true at pot falls and dominion (the two places i've actually been and seen suspect behavior) but not at pvhs.

schools spending money translating everything into spanish? show me a teacher whose job it IS to teach ESL, and i'll show you someone who spends school time (and resources) translating into spanish. not to mention URDU when the need arises! other than that, the rest of us do it on our own time!

besides that, given MANDATORY school attendance, how exactly do you propose we "immerse" students in english without some INSTRUCTION in the schools? i'm all ears on that one =)

and for the rest of us out there to consider... i wonder if we all had 20 minutes to evacuate because of a tornado or flood, would the word be put out only in english? maybe our weak english speakers (legal and illegal) just don't deserve fair warning??? to compare notice of a true life-and-death situation (like 6 violent crimes in a week) to "coddling" is really just a tad unfair, isn't it???

Posted by mommy422 (anonymous) on September 26, 2008 at 5:15 p.m. (Suggest removal)

"how exactly do you propose we "immerse" students in english without some INSTRUCTION in the schools?"

The same way they teach it in any immersion program - speak only the target language, which in this case is English. This is the natural way to learn language - we don't "teach" our kids to speak English as toddlers, they simply absorb and do it. Kids' brains are wired for this specific purpose.

I'm fairly sure your tornado/flood example is just yet another eye-rollingly irrelevant straw man argument that left wingers tend to love, so I will ignore it because like all straw men, it is completely off-topic and silly.

Posted by Justthefacts (anonymous) on September 26, 2008 at 5:30 p.m. (Suggest removal)

I would echo the comments of EC_Band. Park View gets a bad rap for just being in Sterling park. take the effort to know what your talking about before you cast your net so wide. If you were to talk to school security officers, examine the records you would find that Park View is way down the list where there are problems. Pot falls, Dominion, stonebrige have more student problems while it is known that gang members are in our schools I have yet to see any evidence at Parkview Games. Go see for yourself. there is a game to night 7:30. Let us know what you see.

Posted by beenaroundhere40ormore (anonymous) on September 26, 2008 at 5:53 p.m. (Suggest removal)

mommy42---English is the language that binds us all. You talk about putting out warnings in several languages should there be a flood or tornado. How many different languages should it be in? Considering this country literally has immigrants from every corner of the world, where does it end? Where will the money come from to put out all these different warnings? The county has a $176 million shortfall in the budget!
BTW, previous generations of immigrants learned English through immersion--there were no special ESOL classes for them yet they survived.

Posted by two4three2 (anonymous) on September 26, 2008 at 6:33 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Mommy42, if you moved your family to El Salvador, I would suppose you would expect the local, and national government, as well as the school systems, local merchants, transportation system to ensure that all communications with you were in English. Trust me if you move to another country you will learn to communicate in the local language, especially if you desire to stay there, or you will be at a severe disadvantage. How should you learn it? I would suppose just because you are there the government should take on the obligation to teach you. Makes perfect sense to me??

Posted by beenaroundhere40ormore (anonymous) on September 26, 2008 at 6:46 p.m. (Suggest removal)

gee, justthefacts huh? i'm certainly NOT against tighter controls on immigration, and i'm certainly not FOR illegal immigration. but, still, you think you have me pegged as some sort of bleeding heart liberal -- how about you invest a little though in rational argument, and leave off with the personal attacks? i wonder exactly HOW you think you get people motivated to learn the language, if you are going to exclude them from participating in their own community??? that's just plain SILLY (to coin a phrase hee hee hee). and just to get this out of the way in one marathon post: 2432 that was then, this is now. look around you! we are letting 100s of 1000s of people immigrate LEGALLY, when they have no language or job skills. once we do that, then yes, you have to be willing to pay the price if you actually want them to learn english. besides that, i know at least four people who have volunteered to translate critical community announcements into other languages -- but our board has yet to contact us back. my great-grandparents learned english through immersion 90 years ago, but today's immigrants can live a lifetime without doing so. we all want change -- so write your congressman and your senator. i have! and beenaround, IF i moved to el salvador, i'd already know the language... but we are lucky here in the US, to have a darn good free and public education... i DO though totally dig your very informed assessment of pvhs, i must say. my daughter graduated there recently, and yes, it's a very good school. now, how do we get people to stop living in the past, and start cleaning up the mess that is here NOW? which is going to include tighter immigration laws, more enforcement, and yes, more expense to get the immigrants we already HAVE, to learn english and participate in the betterment of their communities? it's not going to happen by blogging. =(

Posted by mommy422 (anonymous) on September 27, 2008 at 2:24 a.m. (Suggest removal)

you know, it's a little silly that i didn't post this idea earlier as well, BUT since schools and education keep coming up... we can't rely solely on immersion in the schools, if 20 or 25% of our students are still learning english... because THEN our schools DEFINITELY would not make AYP. besides that, immersion works best on elementary aged kids... and older kids who are still learning the language aren't really getting all they need ESL-wise, to pass in the other academic areas! the thing is, NCLB + mandatory attendance means that local schools are held accountable for educating students whether they are legal or not. now THAT to me doesn't make much sense. so someone comes here illegally, and their kids MUST attend school, and the schools MUST make ayp... is this not a little silly? although i'd hate to think someone would want to make the SCHOOLS start investigating and reporting suspected illegal immigrants -- that's not exactly the funciton they are designed to do, or funded to do... and i have to think they may already have enough on their plate just trying to EDUCATE CHILDREN! it's sort of sad, really, that the schools can't JUST concentrate on teaching the ESL kids english, BUT once they are in the district, they HAVE TO ATTEND. and once they attend, they get counted for SOLs and AYP. it's a really tough situation, the way the current immigration/education laws are on the books today. now i know you all will weigh in with some interesting comments on THAT!

Posted by mommy422 (anonymous) on September 27, 2008 at 2:34 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Actually Ronin, my grandparents attended a German-language school in the midwest, not an English language immersion school. Guess what? They became fluent in English anyway.

Posted by vms5q (anonymous) on September 27, 2008 at 9:58 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Justthefacts,

I just completed a master's degree in Multilingual Education. While it is true that infants "simply absorb" a language, the same cannot be said for people that are learning a language when they move to a country when they are older. The truth is, it takes 7-10 years for people to achieve mature-adult "academic" fluency in a language, and studies are showing that this utter immersion into classrooms with fluent speakers is not the most expedient means of achieving this goal. In fact, it is recommended that students be given material that is at their language development level "+1" - i.e. just a little more challenging than their current level. Hence the creation of ESL classes.

Putting a large number of English Language Learners directly into mainstream courses could therefore result in those students failing miserably. As any teacher knows, nothing derails a class like a group of failing students who feel like they cannot succeed. Thus you'd be putting the whole class, native speakers included, at risk.

Posted by vms5q (anonymous) on September 27, 2008 at 10:16 a.m. (Suggest removal)

mommy422 said: "we are lucky here in the US, to have a darn good free and public education"
---
.... free??????? ~75% of LoCo taxes go to the public education system. Have you paid taxes here recently? It is hardly free (it's hardly "darn good" for that matter in some schools, but that is a different discussion).
---
Vms5q, you are wrong. You are talking about partial immersion, and there is no credible evidence to support that partial immersion (ESL) is better than full immersion - in fact, the opposite is true. Look at these studies: Cloud, Genesee, & Hamayan, 2000; Genesee, 1987; Met, 1998; Johnson & Swain, 1997; Genesee, 1992; deCourcy, Warren, & Burston, 2002. They all disagree with your premise. Besides, we are talking about children, who even as native speakers do not achieve ADULT-level "academic" fluency for a loooooong time.

Posted by Justthefacts (anonymous) on September 27, 2008 at 12:30 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Mommy442...you should know that your dealing with a bunch of racist anti-immigrant posters on this board like "two4three2" as well as others. Believe me..you can talk all the logic in the world to these people, but they will never listen due to their hate filled agenda. Your above assessments were right on the mark..don't let the haters get to you!

Posted by sammie21 (anonymous) on September 29, 2008 at 4:10 p.m. (Suggest removal)

two4three2,
Actually the US does not have an official language and that is one of the main reasons why there are so many translations of things in different languages. Until the US actually legally adopts English as an official language, people are going to have to get use to all the other languages out there. It needs to start there- at the national level. Schools have to provide ESL instruction because they will loose needed federal funds if they don't. Justthefacts and beenaroundhere40ormore, if you want to argue for not ESL instruction or no translations, you are wasting your time- it won't happen.

Posted by llm (anonymous) on October 2, 2008 at 8:40 a.m. (Suggest removal)

I am not arguing for no ESL, I would welcome more ESL. Priviate, church based, and school based. What I was and am stating is that if you look around, at schools business, and government Spanish is becoming a second language. If you move to a country assimilate into the culture, learn the language. If there is not a need for our Hispanic neigboors to speak,nor read english then they will not. its actually that simple. If you have to you will. I would also concur with you English should be the 0fficial Language of the United States of America. But we have a lot of control here at the local level as to what and how much we accomodate our Spanish only speaking neighboors.

Posted by beenaroundhere40ormore (anonymous) on October 2, 2008 at 9:10 a.m. (Suggest removal)

If you are so unhappy where you live and the conditions you live in then MOVE THE HECK OUT OF THE COUNTY!!! Loudoun County was a beautiful place to live until YOU PEOPLE showed up and demanded all these services so you have no one to blame but YOURSELVES! Loudoun County has nothing but snobs living in it!

Posted by clibbybaseball (anonymous) on October 2, 2008 at 4:04 p.m. (Suggest removal)

JustTheFacts,
Precisely because they do not achieve academic fluency for a long time, they are not able to succeed in mainstream academic full-immersion courses for a long time. I am suggesting that they would slow down the rest of the class.

Posted by vms5q (anonymous) on October 4, 2008 at 8:07 a.m. (Suggest removal)

JustTheFacts,

The researchers you mention support foreign language immersion programs, in which the regular school curriculum is taught in a target foreign language for at least half of the school day. I, too, am a strong supporter of foreign language immersion.

In fact, I think we should be using Loudoun County's Spanish speaking population as a resource. I would love to see Spanish-English partial-immersion programs like those already in some Fairfax County schools. In the elementary schools, students spend part of the day learning in English and part of the day learning in Spanish. Native English speakers learn Spanish and native Spanish speakers learn English. As you know, there is research showing that this is effective. All students come out with valuable bilingual skills.

Posted by vms5q (anonymous) on October 4, 2008 at 8:40 a.m. (Suggest removal)