A Memorial Day to Remember

Today is a day when we remind ourselves of those men and women in military uniform who've died in defense of our freedom. To be honest, I find it hard to say "Happy Memorial Day," since that's not what this day is supposed to be about. First observed in 1868 as Decoration Day, was a day of reconciliation between Northern and Southern armies; Congress declared it an official federal holiday in 1971. It is truly meant to be one of remembrance of our fallen soldiers, airmen/women, sailors and Marines.

However, even as I thought of friends who are in the military and in harm's way as well as reflecting on those lives that have been lost, I turned my attention to the fact that we aren't just fortunate in this country to have a military defending our freedoms, but also a cadre of veterans who continue their public service as police officers, firefighters and fulfilling other vital roles in government and society.

And I think of this because of the actions taken today by one Sgt. Matthew Brannock, a veteran of the U.S. Air Force and a Virginia State Trooper who his and his colleagues actions may have saved the lives of many, many people.

According to the Virginia State Police and news reports, Franklin County Deputy Sheriff Jonathan Agee allegedly shot and killed his ex-wife at a Sheetz gas station in Roanoke around 11:30 a.m. today. Agee then fled and Sgt. Brannock pursued him all along 460 and onto I-81 North. When Sgt. Brannock stopped him, the deputy shot him in the leg then drove off. About ten miles later, Agee was surrounded by Virginia State Troopers and eventually shot and wounded.

Thankfully, Sgt. Brannock's injuries are not considered life threatening; although, Agee's wounds are more serious.

So, what's the tie in here? Well, my family and I were on our way back from Abingdon after attending a play at the Barter Theater when around 3:30 we got a call from another family who was with us, telling us to avoid the area between Exits 118 and 128 on I-81 North. Sure enough we soon saw a back up of cars. Without knowing what had happened, we took a detour around the scene. We took a "scenic" two hour route to get around the 10-mile back up, taking a circuitous route that put us back on I-81 after Roanoke. Got home around 11 tonight.

Despite listening to the radio for updates, I wasn't aware what had happened till the early evening after seeing a post on Facebook. When Kerry and I started digging into what happened we were just shocked.

But then when I saw the background of Sgt. Brannock, I had this thought: here is a man who has dedicated his life to serving his country, the Commonwealth and his community. He's a veteran who served honorably and took the same level of dedication to his job while in one uniform and applied it to another job here in Virginia. And for that I'm grateful on this Memorial Day because as we certainly need to remember those lives lost, we should also use this time to remember those who've come home from their military service, continuing to serve and protect their fellow citizens.

Mixed bag of thoughts ...

It's been a little too long since I've posted, but here are a few quick thoughts:

First, congratulations to SEAL Team 6 for their remarkable heroism in the capture and killing of Osama bin Laden. From my hometown of Virginia Beach, this band of warriors truly showed their bravery in what they did. We will likely never know their names, but will always remember their accomplishment.

Second, I had the honor of accompanying my friend Sean Kelley down to the White House Sunday morning to revel with a few hundred other Americans as we celebrate. Sean, a professional photographer, was one of the first photographers on the scene at the Pentagon on 9/11. I was there, too, as a reporter for The Washington Times. And neither he nor I wanted to be at what was a fitting coda for the nearly ten years that bin Laden has alluded us.

As The Washington Post's Petula Dvorak wrote in here column this morning, bin Laden was a "boogeyman" for those people who've grown up with September 11th fresh in their minds, serving as a defining point in their lives. It certainly seemed that early Monday morning the revelers - most of whom were under the age of 25 - were getting the "boogeyman" of bin Laden off their backs as they reveled not so much in his particular death, but rather the closing of a chapter in their lives. I think that's actually how many Americans feel - that bin Laden's death is truly bringing a sense of closure to how 9/11 impacted them. Now does this change our foreign policy? Whether we're in Afghanistan? That's to be seen and discussed later. But for now, people seem to feel a sense of relief as if a cloud has been lifted.

For me, it is closure in many ways because I was at the Pentagon on September 11th, 2001 and saw the horrors that bin Laden and his cowardly bunch wrought on this country. The death of bin Laden just feels like a chapter that seemed to go on and on and on has now ended. But that doesn't mean the book on the war on terrorism or our vigilance has ended or should be lessened.

Second, I wanted to say thank you to Governor McDonnell for signing legislation today that will require the companies operating at the tank farm to upgrade their tanks. Both Sen. Chap Petersen and Del. David Bulova along with Mayor Rob Lederer and my colleagues on council are to be commended for their leadership. Thanks to Congressman Gerry Connolly and county leaders, too, for the work they did in making this happen and helping to keep the pressure on the tank farm.

Finally, the City Council passed the FY 2012 budget last week. The bottom line is that taxes won't be going up (or just minimally, really, if at all) with the City setting a property tax rate of 93.7 cents per $100 assessed and .05 cents added for storm water projects.

We still have the lowest tax burden in all of Northern Virginia and I think the entire DC region. We also have the best services and this year we added three new part-time park and recreation workers, invested in the arts and culture programs our community values and gave City employees a much deserved 1.75 percent COLA, starting January 2012.

I'll probably write more about the budget soon, but for now know that the City - thanks to the staff, my colleagues and the community - once again were able to collectively pass a budget that is fiscally responsible, sound and responsive.

Sorry for the time away.