Today's item is a roundup of things going on in the county, including a geography contest, an online survey from the Sheriff's Office, a reminder on the hospital public hearing and a note about tomorrow's closed county offices.

Where’s Teddy?

To promote the National Geographic Society’s Geography Awareness Week Nov. 16 to 22, Loudoun County is holding its second annual online contest, “Where’s Teddy in Loudoun County?”

Starting at 3 p.m. on Friday and running until Dec. 1, contestants can visit this Web site for a series of photos featuring an adorable Loudoun teddy bear who is wandering around the county.

If you correctly name where Teddy is in LoCo, you’ll win a prize. A list of prizes to be awarded and complete contest rules will be posted later this week. Last year’s prizes included county mugs, T-shirts and yes, teddy bears.

Coinciding with Geography Awareness Week is Geographic Information System (GIS) Day on Nov. 21.

GIS is a computer system that the county uses in several departments, such as Fire, Rescue and Emergency Management, to analyze and distribute vital geographic information, according to the Loudoun.gov Web site.

To test your geographic knowledge of Loudoun using the county’s GIS information, click here to take a quick quiz.

To learn more about how the county uses GIS, a display will be set up next week in the lobby of the Government Center at 1 Harrison Street, SE, in Leesburg. The county will also host a series of technical and non-technical talks about GIS; click here later this week for more information about the talks.

Sheriff’s Office Seeks Community Input

The Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office is asking county residents to rate the law enforcement’s performance in an online survey accessible today through Dec. 1.

To take the 10-minute online citizen survey, click here. A printed version of the survey is also available at the LCSO administration building at 880 Harrison Street in Leesburg.

Survey participants are asked to rate the agency’s competence, including the behavior and attitude of deputies, safety and security concerns and areas in need of improvement. Responses to the survey are confidential and will be used for informational purposes only.

Hospital Public Hearing Sign-Ups

Here’s another opportunity to voice your opinion on the proposed hospital in Ashburn.

Those interested in speaking at the Nov. 20 joint public hearing at Stone Bridge High School at 6 p.m. can sign up in advance, starting today. Click here for more information.

County Offices Closed

In observance of Veterans Day, government offices will be closed tomorrow.