RestonReston Horsemanship Event Celebrates Spirit News, Page 12 Classifieds, Page 10 Classifieds, ❖ Senior Living Page 6 Samantha Thomp- son, of Reston, with Sally, a rescue horse from an auction in New Jersey. “I really Entertainment, Page 8 love that many of ❖ the horses here are getting a second chance while help- ing so many people improve their lives. It’s a perfect bal- ance for us all.” Opinion, Page 4 Lake House Probe: No Conflict of Interest News, Page 3 Requested in home 4-6-17 home in Requested Time sensitive material. sensitive Time Reston Woman Sentenced Postmaster: Attention PERMIT #322 PERMIT Easton, MD Easton, For Supporting Terrorists PAID News, Page 2 Postage U.S. PRSRT STD PRSRT Photo by Andrea Worker/The Connection www.ConnectionNewspapers.comApril 5-11, 2017 online at www.connectionnewspapers.comReston Connection ❖ April 5-11, 2017 ❖ 1 News Reston Woman Sentenced for Provid- ing Material Support to Terrorists wo women were sen- chatroom that Jama established to T tenced today for terror organize and track monthly pay- ism crimes related to ment of money to the “Hargeisa their material support of al- side,” which was used to finance Shabaab, a designated foreign ter- al-Shabaab military operations in rorist organization. the Golis Mountains in northern Muna Osman Jama, 36, of Somalia, and the “Nairobi side,” Reston, and Hinda Osman which was used to fund two al- Dhirane, 46, of Kent, Wash., were Shabaab safehouses. One of the sentenced to 12 and 11 years, re- safehouses was used by al- spectively, for conspiracy to pro- Shabaab to store weapons and to vide material support to a foreign prepare for attacks. The other was terrorist organization, and provid- used to treat al-Shabaab fighters ing material support to a foreign who had been wounded in battle. terrorist organization. The women A substantial part of the were found guilty of the crimes government’s case consisted of after a bench trial in front of U.S. recorded telephone calls and other District Judge Anthony J. Trenga communications among the on Oct. 25, 2016. “Group of Fifteen.” These record- According to court documents, ings demonstrated that the women Jama and Dhirane sent money to had close connections with al- financiers of al-Shabaab in Soma- Shabaab leadership and were lia and Kenya, which they referred privy to non-public, inside infor- to respectively as the “Hargeisa mation concerning al-Shabaab ac- side” and the “Nairobi side.” The tivities. Jama and Dhirane were defendants also organized what recorded as they laughed as the was called a “Group of Fifteen,” carnage at the Westgate Mall in which included women from So- Nairobi was still taking place. malia, Kenya, Egypt, the Nether- Dhirane and a co-conspirator were lands, Sweden, the United King- also recorded as they laughed at dom, and Canada, as well as Min- the Boston Marathon Bombing neapolis, Minn. The “Group of Fif- before it became known who com- teen” met regularly in a private mitted the attack. ® ® WORLD’S BEST SINCE 1957 THIS EASTER, SERVE THE MOST Any Bone-In Half Ham TENDER, FLAVORFUL HAM 8 lbs or Larger or Whole Boneless Ham Valid through 5/21/17 at participating HoneyBaked Ham locations (not valid Online). This coupon may not be combined with other offers nor applied to the Purchase of any item other than the item that is specified on the coupon. Limit one per customer, per visit. While supplies last. ® Any Quarter Ham or Half Boneless Ham Valid through 5/21/17 at participating HoneyBaked Ham locations (not valid Online). This coupon may not be combined with other offers nor applied to the Purchase of any item other than the item that is specified on the coupon. Limit one ® per customer, per visit. 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The RA’s Board of Directors held a spe- cial meeting to discuss the report on Mon- day, March 20. “This did appear to be a highly-unusual transaction and a one-off transaction, the first potentially of its kind for the associa- tion; and as a result of it, there were not past processes or procedures that the asso- ciation staff could necessarily fall back on,” Deirdre Flaherty, a partner of the StoneTurn Group, said during the meeting. Her firm was hired to conduct the investigation and write the report. “We as members want to trust you,” Jill Gallagher, an To the surprise of many in the commu- RA member, told the board during the meeting. “We nity, the report found no conflicts of inter- as members want you to make decisions in our favor est associated with the Lake House through- Deirdre Flaherty of StoneTurn Group answers and throughout this process, it doesn’t seem that out the association’s voter referendum, questions from Reston Association members that happened … it wasn’t one mistake, it was time property acquisition or renovation. during a special board of director meeting on after time after time that decisions were made that “We found no conflict of interest, based Monday, March 20. were not in the members’ favor.” on your policies,” Flaherty said. “There is nothing in your policy that would say that executive session when they could have tion to implement the recommendations of ❖ Establish a comprehensive code of con- anything that has been raised as a concern conducted public meetings, according to the the StoneTurn Group’s report. The board duct for both the association board of di- by the community is actually a conflict of report. instructed RA CEO Cate Fulkerson and her rectors and staff. interest.” Though the report cleared the RA of any staff to draft and develop the implementa- ❖ Consider adopting a policy that will Instead, the lack of written policies and intentional wrongdoing, 14 members of the tion plan for the board to consider in May, provide greater transparency to the consid- procedures was blamed for the mismanage- public showed up at the meeting to address after its spring elections. erations undertaken in executive session. ment of the Lake House project, which went the board. Some of the report’s recommendations ❖ Establish a process whereby a project’s over budget and yielded revenue shortfalls Some could not fathom that the Lake include: budget threshold is calculated and included ever since it was purchased in July 2015 House project mismanagement was a mis- ❖ Policies should be established, docu- in the budgeting documents. for $2.6 million. take, but remain convinced that it was de- mented and then reviewed and updated on ❖ Clarify the existing policy to provide liberate. an annual basis. guidance for situations where a project ex- THE REPORT notes that the RA came to “We as members want to trust you,” Jill ❖ For every established policy, internal pands or where an estimate is found to be this realization and attempted to remediate Gallagher, an RA member, said during the written processes should be established that insufficient. this problem prior to the investigation, meeting. “We as members want you to make identifies employees who are responsible for ❖ Prepare a long-term capital improve- which was conducted in February. decisions in our favor and throughout this the processes and verifications that they ment plan and update it on an annual ba- This remediation was the hiring of Garrett process, it doesn’t seem that that happened have been done. sis. Skinner as director of a new Capital Im- … it wasn’t one mistake, it was time after provement Planning and Projects Depart- time after time that decisions were made ment. He began work on Monday, Jan. 9. that were not in the members’ favor.” Winning March The new department, which includes three Gallagher told the board that it could re- current RA employees, took over responsi- gain its members’ trust by figuring out how Madness bility for the oversight of the association’s to make up the money that it lost. capital projects. Others, including the Reston 20/20 Com- Competition “While there was remediation already mittee, demanded that the board form a Katie Merrit, 9, of undertaken … there is still more work to working group to further investigate the Reston, won do there, primarily due to the recent hires situation. “I am still scratching my head on LearningRx’s Brain and just the lack of resource available to the basic question of why Tetra [the Lake Awareness Month’s get those procedures into place,” Flaherty House] was ever purchased,” Tammi March Madness Compe- said. Petrine, co-chair of the Reston 20/20 Com- tition at its Reston The report also found that the gathering mittee, said during the meeting. center. The March of Maur courtesy Photo of community input was insincere.