[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 176 (Wednesday, December 7, 2016)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1629-E1630]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  RECOGNIZING THE FAIRFAX COUNTY EXCELLENCE IN COMMUNITY SERVICE AND 
                          PUBLIC SAFETY AWARDS

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. GERALD E. CONNOLLY

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, December 7, 2016

  Mr. CONNOLLY. Mr. Speaker, I rise to recognize the Fairfax County 
Alcohol Service Action Program (ASAP) on the occasion of the 25th 
Annual Excellence in Community Service and Public Safety Awards. This 
year's awards are being jointly sponsored with Mothers Against Drunk 
Driving.
  ASAP is a criminal justice program which uses community and state 
services to reduce the problem of driving under the influence of 
alcohol or other drugs. It identifies and provides appropriate services 
to offenders convicted of driving under the influence or other 
substance abuse-related charges as referred

[[Page E1630]]

by the local courts. The goal of ASAP is to improve transportation 
safety by decreasing the incidence of driving under the influence of 
alcohol or other drugs and thereby reducing the number of alcohol or 
other drug-related crashes.
  According to the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles, in 2014 
nearly 36 percent of all traffic fatalities in the Commonwealth were 
alcohol-related. Tragically, more than 40 percent of those killed in 
alcohol related deaths were ages 21-35. While alcohol-related traffic 
deaths in Virginia have been on the decline, we are still averaging a 
crash nearly every hour as a result of drunk driving. Sadly, national 
statistics reflect an 8 percent increase in alcohol related traffic 
deaths in the first 6 months of 2015 when compared to 2014. We can only 
hope that, thanks to the work of organizations like ASAP and MADD, that 
trend begins to reverse.
  Every year, ASAP honors those in the law-enforcement community who 
have been instrumental in fighting impaired driving. I am pleased to 
include the names of this year's recipients.
  City of Alexandria: Officer Anthony LaRusso.
  Arlington County: Officer Brett Kooharian.
  Fairfax County: APO Donald Brodie, PFC James Burleson, PFC Hyun 
Chang, Ms. Annette Dodson, Officer Harrison R. Gamble, OFC Sameer A. 
Kahn, APO William Ridgeway, APO Richard Zhu.
  City of Fairfax: Officer Bryan P. Nelson.
  City of Falls Church: Officer Kevin Hedden, PFC Dimitri Issaev.
  George Mason University: Sergeant Michael F. Lighthiser, MPO Edward 
T. Gannon.
  Town of Herndon: PFC Eliezer A. Cabo, PFC Charles W. Findley.
  City of Leesburg: Officer Bradley Schultz.
  Loudoun County Sheriff's Office: Deputy Ruben Cardenas, Deputy Glenn 
P. Keough.
  City of Manassas Park: Officer Christopher Koglin.
  Prince William County: Officer Simon Chu, Officer Christopher 
LaFarree, Officer Jeremy Schenck, Officer Brett Tillett.
  Town of Purcellville: Officer Kristopher Fraley, Corporal Clark 
McDaniel.
  United States Park Police: Sergeant Jonathan Daniels, Officer Pentti 
Gillespie, Officer Christopher Gogarty, Officer Greg Harper, Officer 
David Lamond, Officer Lisa Marie Weisbaum, Officer Charles Whiteman, 
Sergeant Adam Zielinski.
  Town of Vienna: Officer Ara Post, Officer Brad Reedy.
  Virginia State Police, Division Seven: Trooper Nicholas Casey, 
Trooper Diego A. Espinosa, Trooper Lorenzo Goode, Trooper Kevin 
Fleenor, Trooper Adam Hassan, Trooper Andre D. Jones, Trooper Tomasz 
Karbowski, Trooper Zachary Koon, Trooper Wesley Paul, Trooper Michael 
Walton, Trooper John Yacek.
  Town of Warrenton: Sergeant Arthur Leeper, Officer Matthew McGuirk.
  Mr. Speaker, I congratulate the 2016 award recipients, and thank each 
of the men and women listed above for their service to our community. 
Their efforts are selfless acts of heroism that save innocent lives and 
truly merit our highest praise. I ask my colleagues to join me in 
commending this extraordinary group of law enforcement professionals.

                          ____________________