Martinsville schools to get gunshot detection
MARTINSVILLE — Martinsville schools recently received a $200,000 award to become Virginia’s first school system to have a gunshot detection system in all of its buildings.
T.J. Slaughter, Martinsville’s director of school safety and emergency management, announced the award Monday at a School Board meeting, the Martinsville Bulletin reported.
In 2019, the school system received about $100,000 in funds from the state and other sources, Slaughter said. But it wasn’t enough for the job, so Clearview Early Childhood Center didn’t get the detection system, he added.
With the new funding, the system can now be put in all the schools. The equipment can recognize the sound of a gunshot and the weapon that fired it.
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The detection system “sends notification to 911 and to law enforcement’s cellphones,” Slaughter said, adding, “It takes out the human element.”
Slaughter said officials will also replace school radios, cameras on school buses and at a high school.
Arlington County to cut Lee’s house from logo
ARLINGTON — Arlington County is changing its logo to remove a stylized version of its namesake mansion because of its ties to Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee.
The county announced Wednesday that its County Board had voted unanimously to adopt a new logo. The current logo depicts the pillars of Arlington House, a mansion overlooking the Potomac River that was Lee’s home before the Civil War.
The home’s history dates back to George Washington’s adopted son, George Washington Parke Custis. Lee married into the Custis family and took over management of the plantation and its slaves.
County officials say they want a logo that better reflects the county’s values. A new logo will be chosen after a process involving input from the public.
The move also comes shortly after Northern Virginia congressional members introduced legislation to end the official designation of Arlington House, a National Park Service site surrounded by Arlington National Cemetery, as a “Robert E. Lee Memorial.”
Feds seize 5,000 fake karaoke machines
CHESAPEAKE — Federal law enforcement officials in Virginia said nearly 5,000 fake karaoke machines from China have been seized and will likely be destroyed.
Jim Stitzel, an assistant special agent in charge with Homeland Security Investigations in Norfolk, said the fake machines had been put in a Chesapeake warehouse and were heading to consumers who purchased them on Amazon, The Virginian-Pilot reported Tuesday.
Federal officials said the fake machines were seized with the help of online retailers who suspected they were counterfeit. The “Operation Fulfilled Action” partnership includes U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the National Intellectual Property Rights Coordination Center.
Officials warned shoppers to be wary of counterfeit goods sold through sites like Amazon.
“Do your due diligence,” Stitzel said. “Do your research, read reviews. Look at where the product is coming from.”
He added that counterfeit karaoke machines “are the tip of the iceberg.”
“Criminals also traffic in counterfeit medications, counterfeit automotive parts and counterfeit micro-components destined for use in military platforms that threaten the health and safety of the American public,” he said.