12102015_MCEdition - The Sentinel Newspapers

Celebrating 160 years of service!
SINCE 1855
Vol. 161, No. 22 • 50¢
December 10 - December 16, 2015
WSSC Stewage Stink
TODAY’S GAS
PRICE
Residents say water company will destroy property values with latest repair plans
$2.05 per gallon
Last Week
By Danica Roem
$2.09 per gallon
@pwcdanica
A month ago
GAITHERSBURG – In another
case of “Not In My Backyard,” a plan
for the Washington Suburban Sanity
Commission to repair an aging pipe
in the Quince Orchard Valley neighborhood is raising questions from
elected officials and criticism from
some residents.
The controversy revolves
around how WSSC crews plan to arrive at the sewer line by creating a
construction entrances through a residential neighborhood.
Also at issue is how well WSSC
officials have communicated with
$2.20 per gallon
A year ago
$2.73 per gallon
AVERAGE PRICE PER GALLON OF
UNLEADED REGULAR GAS IN
MARYLAND/D.C. METRO AREA
ACCORDING TO AAA
INSIDE
THE
COURT
REPORT
Shoplifters
Beware
Our resident legal scholar
talks about the holiday tradition of shoplifting.
Page 5
area residents about their intentions.
A Nov. 23 letter drafted by
Council member Sidney Katz (D-3)
and signed by County Council President George Leventhal and County
Executive Ike Leggett stated Quince
Orchard Valley area residents “have
expressed frustration with this project
permit process involving the Maryland Department of the Environment
(MDE) as well as WSSC’s public notification and hearing process.
“At an October 21 community
meeting on this project, WSSC acknowledged its shortcomings in notifying the community,” the letter
states. “In fact, several residents have
appealed to the Maryland State Attor-
ney General to investigate MDE and
WSSC for defective notification regarding the permit issued for the project by MDE.”
A video recorded by resident
Elizabeth Shomburg showed WSSC
spokesperson Jim Neustadt telling a
group of residents at the Oct. 21
meeting, “There is no doubt that we
did not give this community adequate
notice of the project coming to this
area. I apologize for that,” he said.
However, Neustadt said during a
follow-up interview he and his colleagues “have done everything we
were supposed to do just up to construction.
“We did not come up to the com-
munity to brief them on what happened,” he added.
Responding to the letter sent
from Leggett and Leventhal, WSSC
general manager and CEO Jerry
Johnson said in a Dec. 4 letter the
WSSC “concluded that the best access to the sewer lines was the use of
the 40-foot-wide access area located
at 12100 and 12056 Suffolk Terrace.
The usage had the least amount of environmental impact (fewer than 30
trees removed). It was also about onethird the cost versus other access
points.
“Though on its surface, access-
See “WSSC ” page 8
Union leader
wants local
delegate
investigated
By Brianna Shea
@Bshea2991
On the mat
Northwest Jaguars dominate in early wrestling action.
Page 23
The political debate over
Montgomery County’s monopoly
on liquor distribution recently
reached a fever pitch when the president of a local union lashed out at
State Comptroller Peter Franchot
and Del. Bill Frick (D-16).
Frick has introduced legislation that would end the county’s
monopoly and Franchot supports
the legislation.
Gino Renne, the president of
the United Food and Commercial
Workers Local 1994 and Municipal
and County Government employees
requested in a letter to the legislature Frick be investigated for ethics
violations and hinted Franchot
should be for his support of the legislation as well.
"The absolute last thing that
Comptroller Franchot will accept is
a lecture in public ethics from the
likes of Gino Renne,” said Andrew
Friedson, spokesperson for Franchot. “This is yet another desperate
Hail Mary from those
See “liquor” page 8
PHOTO BY JACQUI SOUTH
Coach Eric Wallich congratulations his Damascus Swarminʼ Hornets after they won the State 3-A football
championship. See the story on page 20.
Metro surprises by not proposing rate increase
By Kathleen Stubbs
@KathleenStubbs3
WASHINGTON – The proposed 2017 Metro budget would
spare riders fare increases and leave
funding from Maryland, Virginia
and Washington at their current levels.
“Typically when you’re in a
normal cycle the jurisdictions will
increase their support one year, and
the fares are invested the next year,
and then the jurisdictions and then
we increase fares. Except this time
we’re not doing either,” WMATA
spokesperson Dan Stessel said.
Washington Metropolitan Area
Transit Authority staff proposed that
Metro not increase fares and instead
transfer funds from the capital to the
operating budget to make up the difference for fiscal year 2017.
The WMATA board of directors
Finance and Administration Committee members questioned the
plausibility of the proposed operating and capital budgets for fiscal
year 2017 Thursday.
WMATA’s proposed operating
budget maintains current fares while
not cutting any bus, rail or access
services. Jurisdictional contributions remain the same as last fiscal
See “Metro” page 8
2
DECEMBER 10, 2015
THE MONTGOMERY COUNTY SENTINEL
R
EFLECTIONS
February 26, 1948
Corrections gives jail good marks
Each week The Sentinel visits a
memorable story from its archives.
While her sister counties are
sweating under the twenty-first report of the inspection of county jails
as released this week by the State
Board of Corrections, authorities
here were pleased at the good rating
given the local jail. They were quick
to point out that most of criticisms
leveled at this county had already
been corrected.
The editor and general manager
of the Sentinel paid the jail a surprise
visit yesterday and were taken on a
tour by Sheriff Davis and Warden
Moxley. One thing at once noticeable is the complete lack of “institutional odor.” Everywhere there is
fresh paint, spotless floors and plenty of light and air.
In the jail kitchen a trusty was
mopping the floor—another was
preparing vegetables for the beef
stew bubbling on the stove.
The cells were clean, warm and
airy. There were two white women,
no colored women, fourteen white
men and fourteen colored men in the
jail. The 5-room apartment of Warden and Mrs. Moxley is tastefully
furnished. There is nothing about it
to suggest that it is on the same floor
with a jail. The inspector’s report
mentions that the present warden
who has been at the jail for eighteen
years “is assisted by his wife who
serves without pay.”
The report as released stated
“the jail is under management of a
jailor who has two assistants on
night shifts. The jail is located on the
fourth floor of the Court House and
the entrance is to the corridor and receiving office at the top of the stairs.
The cells and rooms are at the ends
of the building away from the center.
There are rooms for the segregation
of women prisoners and for juveniles. The cells have modern locking
devices and are all equipped with
toilets and wash bowls…..There are
cells which provide maximum security as well as rooms that permit a
larger number of men to be kept in
the jail.”
“The kitchen was found to be
in a very clean and sanitary condition. The icebox and pantry were in
excellent shape. The women’s quarters and the juvenile quarters were
likewise in very good condition.
The mattress covers were rather
soiled.” (since renewed) “No bed
bugs or vermin of any kind were
found, and no complaints were
made of them. Some of the plumbing was leaking and the cells were
very badly in need of paint especially around the wash owls and toilets
where the metal was beginning to
rust.” (Since repaired). “The washbowls and toilets were clean and in
good condition.
“Food containers were clean
and in good order. Two meals per
day are served. The Warden is responsible for buying and preparing
the food. Food is charged to the
County and paid for direct. Prisoners
declared the food was adequate.
Prisoners working on the road receive an extra mal of three sandwiches and a pint of coffee.”
“The improvement noted here
is in the lacing of an extra man on
duty at the jail, thus ensuring a shorter day for the personnel.”
The report recommended installation of screens, an assistant for
the warden who would be on duty
with him during the day so he could
devote more time to administration
and again recommended a padded
cell, and that the entire jail be painted. The painting has since been
done.
Without giving a reason the report also recommended that the jail
be operated under direction of the
county commissioners rather than
under the sheriff.
There seems to be a difference
of opinion about the need for a
padded cell. Sheriff Davis thinks it
would be well to have one, but modern practices indicated the padded
cell obsolete.
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Montgomery County, Maryland. Our offices are located at 22 W. Jefferson
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SPORTS EDITOR
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NEWS EDITOR
Jacqui South, Terry Brennan &
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STAFF PHOTOGRAPHERS
NEWS
Schools to be tested again for Radon
By Brianna Shea
@Bshea2991
Twenty-six Montgomery County Public Schools found to have elevated radon levels are being retested
to confirm the levels of the gas.
Although the levels are elevated, they not high enough to raise
safety concerns or close schools, a
school official said.
Retesting began on Nov. 13,
and the results take a week to come
back, said Gboyinde Onijala,
spokesperson for MCPS.
“We made a mistake; we should
have retested as soon as it was discovered that the levels were slightly
elevated,” said Onijala. “We are
taking steps to fix that now and are
reviewing our Radon Testing program to ensure that it doesn’t happen
again.”
Before remediation begins,
retesting will be performed.
Remediation will include installing venting systems that push
the gas from the ground beneath
through the vent in to the outside air
if retests show schools have a level
higher than 4 picocuries, a unit of
measurement for radioactivity, Oni-
jala said.
Onijala said if schools were to
test at a level of 100 picocuries,
schools would be evacuated.
“I want to stress that our buildings and classrooms are safe,” Onijala said.
As of Dec.7, retesting has been
completed at the following elementary schools, Cresthaven, Fallsmead,
Highland, Highland View, Oak
View, Oakland Terrace and Takoma
Park.
Glenallan Elementary School
and Viers Mill Elementary School
are in the process of being retested,
according to an updated report.
Retesting did not begin until
Nov. 13, according to a school official.
On Nov. 3, results of radon testing in the 205 public schools revealed elementary schools such as
Beall
Elementary School had a level
of 4.4 picocuries per liter of air, and
South Lake has a level of 9.6 picocuries per liter of air.
The report also showed that
Springbrook High School has the
highest amount of radon, with 9.8.
According to the official report,
eight rooms in the high school tested
between 4.1 and 9.8.
County council member Craig
Rice (D-2) said there is more of a
concern for those in elementary
schools because they are “stagnant”
and stay in one room all day, while
those in middle and high schools
move from one classroom to the
next.
Since the 1980s, radon testing
has been performed in MCPS after
the EPA conducted a nationwide test
and remediation for radon.
Radon is an invisible, odorless
and tasteless gas created in the
breakdown of uranium in rocks and
soil.
This harmful gas makes its way
into buildings via cracks and gaps,
construction joints and the well water supply, according to the Department of Facilities Management Division of Maintenance.
Radon is the second-leading
cause of cancer, behind tobacco, and
is responsible for about 21,000
deaths per year, according to the
EPA.
Onijala said a letter was sent out
to the parents, making them aware of
the radon in the schools on Dec.1.
For all your local news go to
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January 1, 2015
DECEMBER 10, 2015
THE MONTGOMERY COUNTY SENTINEL
3
4
THE MONTGOMERY COUNTY SENTINEL
OPINIONS &VIEWS
Watch the puppets bounce
Sometimes it appears events
conspire to prove a point and while
anthropomorphizing events can be a
danger, it is nonetheless a human
condition to which I succumb on an
occasion.
Editorʼs Notebook
by Brian J. Karem
The occasion was the anniversary of John Lennon’s death. It’s sad
we remember December 8, 1980 and
for some people, of course, it is as
horrifying to remember as November
22, 1963.
But there I was, driving down
the street in that hulk of a Ford pickup
truck – listening to “Imagine” on the
old-fashioned FM radio station and
watching those large blow-up dolls at
the local car dealership swaying in
time with the music as I drank my favorite brand of vanilla infused caffeine-laden morning drink.
It was as I watched those tall,
slender silk dolls rising and swaying
back and forth that I began to think of
politicians in general and Donald
Trump specifically.
Those dolls have all the appearance of being tall, imposing solid
structures – but in reality they are
only kept in shape by the force of the
turbulent air generated beneath them.
Once the air escapes them they
sag and fall to the ground, limp and
unrecognizable.
Many politicians, while full of
hot air, have yet to approach the limp,
fascist, heat-filled rhetoric which
seemingly inflates the Donald.
More disturbing to me are those
who I’ve previously respected now
buying this American Fascism.
It is no longer a stretch to equate
the rise of the Donald Clown to the
rise of Adolph Hitler.
Hate, fear and retaliation are at
the forefront of today’s politics and it
can be seen every night on the news,
in the newspapers and on any social
media venue you choose to troll.
People are shot dead, but no one
wants to talk about real gun control.
Our President gets on television before the Sunday night football game
and encourages us to work together.
He preaches peace and not giving
into fear – because that’s what the terrorists want. Many began insulting
him immediately after his speech.
So, imagine if you will, listening
to “Imagine” and afterward turning
off the radio. Someone let the air out.
The dolls fell.
The tempest renewed itself in
the newsroom as reporters dealt with
local politicians, developers, and the
wonderful managers of our aging infrastructure.
The spin doctors go into a frenzy
telling us why our water pipes keep
bursting, our subway tracks burst into
flames and why two power companies should merge “for our benefit.”
And the dolls rise and fall and sway to
and fro in the breeze created by the
spin doctors chasing their tails.
The never-ending rhetoric keeps
the dolls dancing as the average reader and television viewer is mesmerized by the dancing dolls – unable to
see the reality of the man behind the
curtain.
Okay, I’ve started mixing
metaphors. But the wild nature of today’s social media and lack of concern with the facts by most of the major media has the same affect on readers and viewers as the wind
underneath the rising dolls. It keeps
everything moving, but it isn’t real.
Imagine, just imagine for one
second what is real.
More than one million people
have died from gun violence in the
United States since John Lennon died
at the hands of a gun toting lunatic.
Quick. Don’t change the subject. Stay
on target young Skywalker.
Another fact: No terrorist needs
to go through the delayed process of
getting into the United States that it
takes to get here under the refugee
program. I can show you places along
the Canadian and Mexican border
where you can gain entry in minutes.
Another fact: We are not the
freest nation in the world.
Another fact: The front runner
for the Republican nomination wants
to solve our problems and make
America great again by denouncing
everything that it means to be American. Another fact: We are a nation of
immigrants.
Another fact: We have never
been more divided as a nation in my
lifetime as we are now. So when the
President asked us not to give into hatred and bigotry and work together I
was not surprised people rolled their
eyes and got angry.
How’s this: The rich keep getting richer and the poor are getting
poorer – and we’ve been at war almost every year of my life.
Another fact: Our infrastructure
is inadequate and local managers
haven’t solved the problem.
Watch that puppet rise and fall
and watch spin doctors tell you the
reasons why the facts aren’t the facts.
I think back to December 8,
1980 and a very telling lyric in
“Working Class Hero”:
“Keep you doped with religion
and sex and TV
And you think you're so clever
and classless and free”
Yes. But we’re still peasants as
far as I can see. Watch the dolls
bounce in time to that.
DECEMBER 10, 2015
DECEMBER 10, 2015
THE MONTGOMERY COUNTY SENTINEL
LETTERS
The latest mass shooting
To the editor;
As a Muslim, my heartfelt condolences go out to the victims of this
tragedy and their families. Such an attack on innocent lives is an attack on humanity and ought to be condemned as such.
In fact, according to the teachings of Islam, "Whosoever killed a person...it shall be as if he had killed all mankind" [Qur'an 5-33].
Per this teaching, the 14 innocent lives taken in San Bernardino shootings
is as if all of humanity has been massacred 14 times.
On a related note, the arsenal of explosives found at the home of the attackers begs an important question: how were the attackers able to amass them
without the authorities even having a clue? As a nation we must figure out
how to nip this homegrown terrorism in the bud.
Dr. Abdul Naseer Malmi, PhD.
Silver Spring
Don’t have to live like a refugee?
To the editor;
While the entry of a limited number of Syrian refugees may be justified
on an humanitarian basis, the recent events in San Bernardino should serve
as a caution.
With the recent disclosure that the immigrant female shooter pledged allegiance to ISIS, it appears that she was the key player in the massacre in San
Bernardino. Permitted entry as the fiancee of an American Muslim, the only
question is whether she was already a supporter of ISIS or if this was a recent
phenomenon. In light of the substantial prior storage of lethal weapons it appears that the murders were planned far in advance.
Whether the female terrorist had arranged the marriage to gain entry to
the U.S. is open to debate, but certainly using a dating service by the American Muslim participant, indicating a desire to marry a devout Muslim, was
key to the ultimate planning by the Pakistani female terrorist. Unfortunately
this is a loophole in our present immigration laws which will prove difficult
to close, since marriage, whether real or engineered for citizenship, will continue to allow terrorists to enter this nation. At the same time entry of Syrian
refugees, difficult to document, also will prove to be a security risk.
N. Marans
Silver Spring
Schools and a Muslim holiday
To the editor;
I am puzzled by the sleight of hand decision of the Montgomery County
Board of Education (MCBOE) to make Eid-ul-Adha, a Muslim holiday, a day
off for all County students. Instead of standing tall and promoting the education of our children, our elected MCBOE folded like a house of cards to outside Muslim organization pressure for an unnecessary holiday.
There is a well-tested process in place for determining religious holidays.
It involves tracking student and staff absences on the day in question and comparing absences to other school days. Year after year, including 2015, the
Muslim holiday Eid fails to make a ripple in student or staff attendance.
Yet because of relentless pressure from the radical group, the Council on
American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), and their local representative, former
state delegate Saqib Ali, the MCBOE switched a teacher professional day for
this seemingly not well followed holiday.
MCBOE Jill Ortman-Fouse voted for the loophole because of “equity”
and stated, “We have a large and growing population (Muslim) in our schools
that have been asking for many, many years for equity. Our Muslim students
contribute equally to our schools as academic support, PTA leadership and
committed educational partners”. What? Even the MC Association of Administrators and Principals opposed this unnecessary Muslim holiday.
Is Ms. Ortman-Fouse effectively stating that our other well represented
religions (Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Baha’i, etc.) are not worthy of respect
and equity unless we give them a loophole holiday as well? Do these other religions need to have radical pressure brought to bear on the MCBOE as did
CAIR via Mr. Ali?
Some advice for the MCBOE. How about focusing on your elected jobs?
Because while you were finding loopholes, Montgomery County student test
scores continue to plummet and our students remain in overcrowded trailer
classrooms as the County Council and Executive conspire, uncontested by the
MCBOE, to bring in more illegal alien students and Syrian refugees.
B. Botwin
Rockville
Editor’s note: I am the grandson of a Syrian refugee. I don’t think those
who advocate for their own faith are necessarily “radical” simply because
they feel passionately about something - be they Jewish, Christian, Muslim, or
if they worship any other brand of deity. As for Syrian refugees this week’s editorial says something about that. Happy Festivus!
5
LEGAL MATTERS
The problems of holiday shoplifting
THE
COURT
REPORT
by Tom Ryan
During his holiday season, an
unfortunate problem for brick and
mortar stores, in addition to competing with online purchasing, is to
look out for shoplifters. We should
all be aware that stores often have
surveillance cameras monitored by
security personnel. How shoplifting
cases are proven in Court was illustrated in a case from Maryland’s intermediate appellate court last
month called Labria Paige v. State
of Maryland.
The opinion indicates that a
loss prevention agent in a Macy’s
store observed Paige and two juveniles in the store concealing merchandise, and when they left the
store they were stopped in the park-
ing lot. After an altercation, Paige
was handcuffed and led back to the
security area. The loss prevention
agent testified that the defendant
admitted she was responsible for
taking the items and the conduct of
the juveniles, that she did it and
they should not be involved. The
store called the police, and after the
officer arrived Paige signed a form
admitting her involvement. Paige
challenged the statements at trial
given after the police officer arrived
because the store agent did not give
her any Miranda warnings as to her
rights.
At trial, in addition to testifying to these facts, the loss prevention employee also testified along
with video surveillance taken in the
store, describing and explaining
what was shown. Paige was convicted of theft under $1,000.00 and
sentenced to eighteen months in jail
with all but 6 months suspended,
and appealed.
The appellate Court upheld the
conviction. It first found that the
store loss prevention agents were
not State actors, and had no obligation to give the defendant Miranda
warnings. The mere fact that the
Officer showed up was of no moment since he was not involved in
taking the statements. The Court
also held that trial judge did not
abuse his discretion in allowing the
agent to describe what was shown
in portion of the surveillance video,
since the video was authenticated as
kept in the regular course of business of the store, the agent’s description was based on personal
knowledge and was helpful to the
jury.
Cases like this illustrate how
stores protect against shoplifters,
and hopefully can deter shoppers
from trying to help themselves this
holiday season.
Thomas Patrick Ryan is a partner in the Rockville law firm of McCarthy Wilson, which specializes in
civil litigation.
Looking at short sale Christmas options
REAL
ESTATE
SOLUTIONS
By Dan Krell
According to the Corelogic Insights blog, the volume of distressed
home sales is declining. Consider
that during the peak of distressed
sales, which occurred in January
2009, the volume of distressed sales
nationally comprised 32.4 percent of
total home sales. Compare those
figures to Corelogic’s December 2
report, which indicated that nationwide distressed sales volume accounted for about 10 percent of all
home sales during September 2015.
However, distressed sales volume
varies from state to state; Maryland
recorded the highest volume of distressed sales (20.7 percent) among
all states during September.
Distressed home sales include
bank owned properties (REO) and
short sales. It's important to note that
prior to the housing bust in 2007, nationwide REO sales were below 6.2
percent of all sales. September nationwide REO’s accounted for 6.4
percent of all sales; while short sales
accounted for 3.3 percent of all sales,
and have maintained below the 4 percent level for over a year.
The plateau of short sales may
be due the many home owners who
remain underwater. In a June 12th
press release, Zillow announced that
the slow pace of increasing home
prices are leaving many home owners underwater. The nationwide rate
of negative equity among mortgaged
home owners was 15.4 percent during the first quarter of 2015 (which
is down from 18.8 percent a year
ago); the negative equity rate in the
D.C. metro area was reported to be
17.2 percent. For about half of all
underwater home owners, home
prices would need to increase 20
percent or more for them to break
even (zillow.com).
If you are underwater on your
mortgage, check with your lender,
they may have some options to help
you. However, if you are planning a
move, a short sale may also be an
option. Simply put, a short sale is
asking your lender to take a lower
payoff and “forgive” the difference.
If you decide to go through the
short sale process, you should know
that your sale will be subject to your
lender’s approval. The lender will
decide if they will accept the buyer’s
offer based on the home’s “fair market value.” Many lenders use broker
price opinions to assist them in determining a sale price; however
some lenders may use other avenues.
You should be aware of a recent
trend used by some lenders, which is
bypassing the short sale process and
forcing home sellers to list short
sales on auction websites – even if
there is an existing contract of sale!
The given rationale is that the internet auction process provides a fair
market value. However, this stance
by some lenders may lead many
home sellers to breach of contract.
In a recent conversation with several
state regulators, the present consensus is that “…they are aware of the
situation, but there is nothing they
can do about it;” however, they welcome consumer complaints.
Even though the concept is
straightforward and the government
has provided lenders guidance on
short sales, the process can still be
lengthy and full of surprises.
The process does not guarantee
a sale, and the lender could still foreclose if you stopped paying the
mortgage. Additionally, the short
sale may negatively affect your
credit; and there may be legal liabilities to consider. So, before you embark on a short sale, you should consult an attorney about all of your options (which may include and is not
limited to a loan modification, deedin-lieu, or bankruptcy).
Dan Krell is a Realtor® with
RE/MAX All Pro in Rockville, MD.
You can access more information at
www.DanKrell.com.
For all your local news go to
www.thesentinel.com
6
DECEMBER 10, 2015
THE MONTGOMERY COUNTY SENTINEL
NEWS
Proposed plan could save state millions
By Brianna Shea
@Bshea2991
ANNAPOLIS — Maryland is
projected to save $247 million during the next 10 years if a proposed
plan to reduce the prison population
is adopted said a governmental official.
The Justice Reinvestment Coordinating Council met on Dec. 2 to
discuss recommendations about how
to decrease the state’s prison population and recidivism in the state.
The idea is to focus prison space
on violent offenders rather than those
who are low-level nonviolent offenders, said Cara Sullivan, chief of policy and planning for the Governor’s
Office of Crime Control and Prevention.
“I am encouraged by the hard
work done by the members of the
Justice Reinvestment Coordinating
Council and I believe the Council
will come together and agree on a series of robust proposals that we can
all be proud of,” said Christopher
Shank, Chair of the Council and executive director of the GOCCP.
As of Dec.7, the state is housing
20,824 inmates in prisons, a slight
decrease from 2014, when there
were 21,170 people in prison, said
Gerard Shields, spokesperson for the
Department of Public Safety and
Correctional Services.
He said the prison population in
2013, a little more than 21,000 people were in prison.
The council uses the DPSCS definition of a low-level offender, who
are inmates in minimum security
prisons, Sullivan said.
Shields said maximum security
prisons house those who serving
time for violent offenses such as
murder or life sentences.
An inmate costs the state
$38,000 per year in Maryland.
The JRCC created cost saving
projections for fiscal year 2017 to
fiscal year 2026.
In fiscal year 2026, if 3,930 beds
were freed up, the state saves more
than $40 million.
The council projected savings
of more than $31 million by fiscal
year ’22, if 3,170 beds were not to be
used.
In fiscal year ’17, if 341 beds
were freed up, the state saves more
than $3 million.
According to JRCC findings, 58
percent of those in prison are serving
sentences for nonviolent crimes.
The release and reentry subgroup created recommendations that
would change an offender’s case
plan, Sullivan said.
Administrative parole will address parole delays and allow the parole commission to focus on more serious cases, she said.
Victims will be notified of the
parole release date and will be able to
request a hearing, Sullivan said.
The subgroup’s second recommendation is called Diminution
credits, an incentive program that
gives offenders credit toward decreasing their sentence, she said.
The subgroup recommended
geriatric parole that allows offenders,
who are 60 and older, who have
served no less than 10 years or onethird of sentence to request for parole.
Offenders who have permanent
medical issues will be allowed to request medical parole, but the offender must be evaluated by two medical
authorities, who do not work for the
Division of Corrections.
Sullivan said their last recommendation may allow offenders to
serve a portion of their remaining
sentence in the County they would
go released in.
She said the supervision subgroup made recommendations that
will have immediate repercussions
for offenders who commit technical
violations.
Sullivan said these violations do
not include an arrest, conviction or
violations of a no contact order or
failing to report to a case worker.
She said it does include if an offender does not pass a drug test.
Violators will receive up to 15
days for the first revocation and then
the judge or parole commission may
impose the remainder of the person’s
sentence for the fourth and subsequent revocations.
First time offenders convicted
of a nonviolent offense will be eligible to apply for a Certificate of Rehabilitation, she Sullivan said.
Offenders shows the will receive this certificate after they have
successfully completed supervision,
she said.
Sullivan said this will aid in offenders applying for jobs because the
certificate shows the potential employer the person is fully rehabilitated.
The council is looking at how to
mitigate the impact on the local community, said Robert Green, who is a
release and reentry subgroup member and director of the County’s Department of Correction and Rehabilitation.
These recommendations are
not final and could be altered before
the report is due on Dec. 31, Green
said.
He said a goal of the council is
to create safer communities because
the offenders will be better prepared
for release and have access to help
with substance or mental health issues.
“These reforms will protect our
communities, increase government
accountability to taxpayers, and safely reduce the prison population,” said
Shank.
The final recommendations are
scheduled to be presented to Governor Larry Hogan and the General Assembly on Dec. 31, Green said.
On June 22, the council was created to figure out how to reduce the
prison population, save the state
money and reduce recidivism.
Two local students make perfect SAT score
By Taylor Watford
@Carlisletay
Last week, two Montgomery
County students, Jennifer Chen and
Lawrence Zhao, received a perfect
2,400 on the SAT. Chen is currently a
sophomore at Winston Churchill
High School, and Zhao is currently a
junior at Montgomery Blair High
School. This was Zhao’s third time
taking the standardized test since
middle school.
“Initially coming out, I was not
very confident about the writing
questions, but after I found out, I was
definitely happy. My parents were
very surprised I got a perfect score,”
said Zhao.
In preparation for the test, Zhao
attended C2 Education, a test prep
center in Rockville that prides itself
on its low student-to-tutor ratio and
personalization of study programs.
Starting in 10th grade, Zhao met with
various tutors once a week for about
two hours. Before attending C2 Education, Zhao scored roughly between
a 2,000 and 2,100, which ultimately
increased to the perfect score of
2,400.
Program Director Sunny Chung
said this is not something new.
“Every year we have students that
score high. This year. we had three
students with perfect scores as well
as students that scored as high as
2,390. In addition, this year, we had
two students that attended Stanford
and one student that attended MIT.”
C2 Education has more than
150 locations nationwide, including
13 locations in Maryland. The tutors
at C2 Education must have experience in education, pass a tutor test
that is similar to the SAT and participate in an online training program for
two weeks.
Zhao has not yet narrowed
down college choices but has visited
several campuses, including Ivy
League schools such as Harvard, Columbia, and Princeton and other
prestigious schools such as Caltech,
New York University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and
Stanford.
Although unsure of what his
major will be, he is considering a major with math or computer science.
Advertise
in
The
Call Lonnie Johnson
at 301-306-95008
DECEMBER 3, 2015
THE MONTGOMERY COUNTY SENTINEL
BANK FORECLOSURE AUCTION
Successor Trustees’ Sale
NEWS ANALYSIS
Facts matter in Syrian refugees
By Paul Schwartz
Sentinel Columnist
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or email to lonnie@ thesentinel.com
7
Legitimate concerns should
never serve as an excuse to abandon
rational thinking.
In the case of the Syrian refugee
issue, some are exploiting those concerns for political gain and are doing
more to feed the propaganda of our
enemies than serve the well being of
our citizens.
Facts do matter and experiencing legitimate fear and having legitimate concerns are not justifications
for irrational reasoning. We sometimes, as a nation, fail to learn from
past mistakes. Our experience in
Vietnam didn't prevent us from invading Iraq. Our experience with the
demagoguery of Wisconsin Senator
Joseph McCarthy hasn't seemed to
shield us from the demagoguery of
the Donald, or Ted Cruz, or Marco
Rubio as they stoke our fears regarding the Syrian refugee issue for political posturing while watching their
poll numbers climb.
Most importantly, we seemed to
have forgotten the disgrace of the
Japanese internment camps on
American soil during World War II
or the shameful and horrific decision
in June of 1941 to turn back the "voyage of the damned" when our government returned 907 Jews seeking
asylum back to Europe and to their
deaths because of an unfounded fear
that some Nazis may have been using the ship as a ploy to infiltrate the
U.S.
As Edward R. Murrow said
while covering the Army-McCarthy
hearings in the 1950's, "We cannot
defend freedom abroad by deserting
it at home". Well maybe we can, but
only if there is a rational justification
to do so. I don't see such a justification when it comes to the Syrian
refugee issue.
The fear mongers would have
us believe we need a stronger vetting
process. Sounds reasonable until one
realizes that the vetting process we
have in place is quite strong and
takes anywhere from 18 to 24
months to complete before the
refugee could find his or her way into
our country. I would think that a terrorist would be looking for a little
more, shall we say, immediacy?
We also have the Visa Waver
Program which serves to expedite
travel between Europe and the U.S.
primarily to facilitate and support
business. Business purposes sounds
a little like money purposes and we
all know that when it is a debate between money and safety money usually wins. Think NRA.
Instead, the call we hear is for
the Director of the FBI and the Secretary of the Department of Homeland
Security to "certify" that there is no
possibility of a breach to the process
that would let a terrorist in posing as
a Syrian refugee. Really? Certify?
Have a high ranking government of-
ficial certify that the work of his conscientious workforce is foolproof.
Think about that. How foolproof do
you think that certification could
possibly be? How much safer could
anyone feel knowing that a high
ranking government official certified
the validity of the work of his staff?
Would it not make more sense to
simply have the vetting process scrutinized to identify any vulnerabilities? Only if the process wasn't already about as stringent as one could
imagine. According to immigration
lawyer Scott Hicks, "the screening
process is multi-layered and very difficult to get through. Most people
languish in temporary camps for
months to years while their story is
evaluated and checked and they do
not get to choose into which country
to be resettled. Resettlement in the
U.S. is a long process and takes
many steps. The Refugee Admissions Program is jointly administered by the Bureau of Population,
Refugees, and Migration (PRM) in
the Department of State, the Office
of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) in
the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and offices
within the Department of Homeland
Security (DHS). U.S. Citizenship
and Immigration Services (USCIS)
within DHS conducts refugee interviews and determines individual eligibility for refugee status in the United States".
Mr. Hicks further points out that
"every person accepted as a refugee
for admission to the United States is
conditional upon passing a medical
examination and passing all security
checks".
According to Mr. Hicks, "there
is more screening of refugees than
ever happens to get on an airplane. Of
course no system can be 100 percent
foolproof, but if that is the standard,
then we better shut down the entire
airline industry, close the borders,
and stop all international commerce
and shipping. Every one of those has
been the source of entry of people and
are much easier ways to gain access
to the U.S."
The question, then, is where lies
our greatest threat and are we focusing enough on addressing those vulnerabilities? Keep in mind about half
of the refugees are children, another
quarter are elderly and almost all of
the adults are either moms or couples
coming with children. Are we "taking
our eye off the ball" by allowing our
fears about Syrian refugees to serve
as a distraction from addressing more
threatening vulnerabilities? Are some
of our political candidates not serving
our best interests by playing to our
fears without providing a substantive
plan for addressing our safety and security? Would our safety and security
be better served if Congress took
steps to prevent individuals on the
terrorist watch list from obtaining
firearms legally, as they now can due
to our lax gun laws?
8
THE MONTGOMERY COUNTY SENTINEL
DECEMBER 10, 2015
COVER STORY
Montgomery Village plans cause community stir
“WSSC”
from page 1
ing the park between two private residences may not seem ideal, Mark
Riley, director of Montgomery
Parks, has publicly noted that this
access area, which is larger than
most WSSC access points, was established precisely for work of this
nature.”
Leggett spokesperson Patrick
Lacefield reserved comment Dec. 9,
saying, “We are still reviewing the
letter.”
Ellen Dimond lives at 12056
Suffolk Terrace, just east of the ex-
isting paved easement leading to the
woods behind her house.
Dimond is among the most vocal Quince Orchard Valley residents
opposing the WSSC’s selected path
next to her house leading to a wooded park land.
According to Dimond, construction crews developing wider
easements to the west and south of
her house could drive out her tenant
and hurt her private at-home piano
teaching business.
She also pointed out middle
school students walk through the
trails and park behind her house
every school day.
“The school kids cut through
this path to go to Ridgeview,” she
said.
In order to avoid expanding
easements running through the
neighborhood, residents have proposed the WSSC could use a large
existing easement south of the area
owned by the utility company Pepco
Holdings Inc.
A Nov. 11 letter from Pepco real
estate supervisor Joseph Nice to
WSSC project manager Jason Staley
states Pepco “does not allow longitudinal occupation of its property.”
The letter also notes Staley issued a request for permission by the
WSSC for longitudinal access
through a portion of Pepco’s Quince
Orchard area in an email dated Oct.
30.
That Oct. 30 email came nine
days after local residents asked
Neustadt and WSSC customer advocate Don Barrett why they were
not using the existing Pepco easement.
According to Neustadt, the organization’s preferred route through
Suffolk Terrace is “the most efficient” for the WSSC in terms of the
length, mitigating environmental
damage and cost.
“WSSC has carefully exam-
ined potential access from Suffolk
Terrace, Longdraft Road and Sioux
Lane to determine which route
would have the least amount of
community and environmental impact. It has been determined that accessing the construction from Suffolk Terrace is the most feasible,”
Neustadt said in a Dec. 7 email to
the “Quince Orchard Valley Community.”
WSSC officials next plan to
meet with community residents
Dec. 16 at 7 p.m. at the Quince Orchard Valley Neighborhood Park
Activity Building, which is located
at 12015 Suffolk Terrace.
Metro plans budget
Latest liquor proposal draws the ire of local union leader
“Metro”
from page 1
“Liquor”
from page 1
year, according to the Finance and
Administration Committee meeting
agenda.
Paul Wiedefeld, WMATA general manager, said he does not want
to increase fares until the quality of
service improves. Wiedefeld said
skipping the increase is a one-time
situation for the upcoming fiscal
year, referring to it as a “pause” on
fare changes.
WMATA board of directors
member Michael Goldman said
WMATA fare increases alternate
with increases in jurisdictional contributions. Washington, Maryland
and Virginia contributed more money last year than in the previous
year, Goldman said.
In addition to transmitting
money from the capital budget,
Metro staff said this would be possible with the incorporation of
grants from the Federal Transit Administration.
According to a Metro report,
WMATA staff proposed to maintain
the contributions by Washington,
Maryland and Virginia at current
operational budget levels: $845million.
They propose to increase the
amount of eligible preventative
maintenance activities funded
through FTA grants.
WMATA includes $30.7 million of eligible preventative maintenance expenses by Federal Transit
Administration grants at the WMATA board’s direction, according to
the report. WMATA staff said $64
million might be eligible for FTA
grants.
An FTA representative said
FTA is examining the proposed
budget but did not comment on the
proposed grant totals.
“FTA is reviewing WMATA’s
recently proposed FY17 budget and
has not made a final determination
about the use of federal dollars in
that budget,” said a Federal Transit
Administration spokesperson on
the condition of anonymity.
Capital investments in the operational budget that do not pertain
to preventative maintenance would
need to be covered by “nonfederal”
funding, according to the committee agenda.
Stessel said the proposed budget could change based on Wiedefeld’s priorities.
“We want to make sure we
have economic growth and make
sure we improve the livability of
this region for years to come. It’s
part of what has made this region
great for close to 40 years now and
what makes it an attractive place to
be.”
ADVERTISE
in
who've lost the argument
clinging to a status quo opposed
by the vast majority of Montgomery County residents and a
senseless distraction from the real
issue: that the County's Prohibition-era monopoly is broken and
outdated; it offers lackluster customer service and inadequate
product selection; and it levies a
tax that County consumers and
small businesses don't want and
can't afford."
On Nov. 23, Renne, sent a letter he wrote to the Joint Committee on Legislative Ethics requesting the committee investigate
Frick on the grounds of a conflict
of interest.
The complaint comes after
Renne says he found out Frick and
his wife, Bethany Medford Frick,
own between $20,000 and
$30,000 worth of stocks in Diageo
North America Inc. and Beam Inc.
Both companies distribute
wine, spirits and liquor.
“The entrenched interests
can't defend this broken system on
the merits, so they are trying to
use intimidation and
baseless personal attacks to
preserve the status quo,” Frick
said. “The voters deserve to be
heard.”
Franchot supports Frick’s efforts to end the alcohol monopoly
due to high costs, poor selection
and poor customer service from
the Department of Liquor Control, Friedson said.
“Any question regarding Delegate Frick’s motives or character
beyond actually listening to and
looking out for the best interests
of his constituents and of Montgomery County consumers is an
outrageous and offensive distraction from an important public policy issue which doesn’t deserve
the dignity of a response.”
State Del. Kirill Reznik (D39) says Renne is sending a message to the delegation that he will
go after anyone who opposes him.
Reznik said the investigation
is “a tool for intimidation” and to
cause fear.
“Throwing around accusations and filing ethics complaints
is a serious charge,” said Reznik.
Reznik said Frick was not
hiding his affiliation with Diageo
when he filed his annual income
and debt service papers to the
committee.
Del. Kathleen Dumais (D16), also a co-sponsor of Frick’s
bill, said the bill does not eliminate the DLC, but opens up competition in the county.
She said Frick responded appropriately to the allegation of the
conflict of interest.
“He believes he filed appropriate finance documents,” said
Dumais.
She said every delegate must
turn in finance disclosures and
Frick did not hide his finances.
The committee will look at
the complaint and will determine
if rules were broken, Dumais said.
“I thought that Montgomery
County should not be in the liquor
business,” said Reznik,, a cosponsor of the bill.
Renne said he wants to know
the relationship between Frick
and Franchot and the liquor industry as the proposed legislation
could eliminate 350 jobs.
Franchot advocated privatizing liquor in Worcester County,
which the General Assembly did
in 2011.
Renne said the Worcester
County decision cost taxpayers
money and has left 40 DLC employees without jobs.
He said this issue is too complicated and “it’s not as simple as
let the voters decide.”
“These guys are both political
opportunists and don’t care about
who they hurt along the way,”
Renne said.
County
Executive
Ike
Leggett and eight of the nine
County Council members oppose
Frisk’s legislation.
The County could lose between $30 million and $35 million if the bill passes.
To counter the loss of revenue the Montgomery County
Council has offered compromise
legislation that will allow the privatization of special orders of alcohol while the county continues
its monopoly on alcohol distribution.
Dumais says she does not believe the compromise will work
because distributors cannot afford
to deliver just one case.
State Sen. Jaime Raskin (D20) said he will not comment on a
pending investigation.
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or e-mail: [email protected]
The Sentinel!
DECEMBER 10, 2015
THE MONTGOMERY COUNTY SENTINEL
9
NEWS
Council expresses Metro stop concerns
By Kathleen Stubbs
@kathleenstubbs3
During the evening rush hour at
Shady Grove Metro station, dozens
of riders flock to the escalator and
staircase in a hurry to get home.
Some people run across the platform
as soon as the doors open to beat the
crowd.
Two County Council members
wrote a letter to the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority
board of directors Chairman Mortimer Downey and said they were
concerned about crowding on the
Shady Grove Station platform.
Council members Roger Berliner (D-1) and Sidney Katz (D-3)
urged Downey to support giving
money to improving the safety of the
station.
“Residents have raised to us
their experiences waiting minutes to
exit the station and feeling particularly unsafe when they are stuck at the
edge of the crowd just inches from
the edge of the platform,” Berliner
and Katz wrote.
Drew Morrison, Berliner’s legislative senior aide, said Berliner was
concerned about Shady Grove Station in particular.
“At rush hour, Shady Grove has
some of the worst overcrowding of
Red Line stations in Montgomery
County, and so the Council members
have asked WMATA to take the necessary steps to correct the problem,”
Morrison said.
Berliner and Katz offered a solution from the Shady Grove Capacity Improvement Study.
Berliner and Katz recommend-
ed Alternative 1-A, an open staircase
with a quarter-turn landing, a temporary solution proposed to reduce possible risks associated with the bottleneck of riders leaving Shady Grove
platform during rush hour. Fare gates
and an add-fare machine at the platform level were also included in the
alternative.
“Though there are certainly
many wise investments for Metrorail to make at this time to improve
safety, reliability, and the customer
experience, the issues at Shady
Grove are among the most critical
for any Red Line station in Montgomery County,” Berliner and Katz
wrote. “It was a major topic of concern raised by residents at the forum
that the Council held in July on
Metro's current challenges and future possibilities.”
Katz said he co-wrote the letter
because Shady Grove Station is in
his district and because county residents told him they were concerned
about it. He said residents would approach him at the grocery store or
when they would see him at the doctor’s office to mention the Metro and
sometimes Shady Grove Station
when they see him at an event or
when they see him at the grocery
store or the doctor’s office.
“I’m sure all of us (Council
members) do, but people I’ve seen
over the years… say, ‘I was hoping
I’d bump into you, and this is a concern that I have.’ (It’s) not something
they’d necessarily write a letter
about, but when they see you, it’s important to let you know their concern,” said Katz.
Berliner hosted a forum in July
to discuss county residents’ concerns
with safety issues connected with the
Metro.
Katz, who attended the forum,
said people said they were concerned
about the width of the platform. Katz
said a wider platform might lessen
the worry of some riders about standing close to the edge of a crowded
platform.
Massey Joseph, a Metro rider
and Germantown resident, said she
was worried about the crowds on the
platform in the evening.
“Someone could fall on the
tracks,” said Joseph.
Joseph said she owns a car but
takes the Metro to and from work,
even though she is uncomfortable
with the crowding, to escape the traffic.
“In evenings I hate it because
it’s very crowded. If traffic wasn’t so
bad on the roadway I would drive.”
Anup Shrestha, Gaithersburg
resident, said normally the stairs and
escalator would be enough to accommodate all the people headed from
the platform to the parking lots and
bus stops, but the escalator remained
stationary, which less effectively accommodated the volume of people.
Shrestha said that when riders
rush to the escalator and stairs, he
waits for the area to clear first.
For Jason Schefflin, the number
of people leaving the train at the
same time is only an issue if he is riding on one of the cars that is not close
to the escalator.
Riders on these cars have to exit
the car, turn around and then walk on
the part of platform narrowed by the
elevator there.
School system to improve special ed services
By Kathleen
@kathleenstubbs3
ROCKVILLE—An associate
superintendent of Montgomery
County Public Schools said Nov. 30
staff will develop a plan to improve
special-education services after parents raised concern about whether
parts of the process of assigning special education services comply with
the law.
Board of Education members
said during the audit presentation in
October they were concerned about
whether some students’ IEPs were
determined before the plans were
shown to students’ parents, after
more than one-fourth of parents surveyed said they thought this was the
case. The MCPS Foard of Education
requested an audit of special-education services that was then presented
during a board meeting.
Committee members said they
did not think the audit represented all
populations within the school system.
Approximately 12.5 percent of
parents who received the survey
completed it.
According to the audit report,
MCPS is compliant with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.
The education auditing firm provided MCPS with a list of recommendations to improve special education
services, however.
Joshua Civin, legal counsel for
MCPS, said although the school system is compliant with IDEA, MCPS
staff aim to practice continuous improvement.
Special Populations Committee
members said staff in the Office of
Special Education and Student Services needed to put additional effort
to involve parents of students in minority groups, who they speculated
could have been better represented in
the survey.
Chrisandra Richardson, associate superintendent of Special Education and Student Services, presented
the department’s goals for improving
services to the board of education
Committee of Special Populations
following the audit by education
consulting firm WestEd that was released in October.
Richardson and Philip Lynch, a
director of the Department of Special
Education Services, said the goals
were to develop school staff, improve communication with parents
and increase accountability of the
Office of Special Education and Student Services. The changes would be
executed over the next two to three
years.
Lynch said the next step is creating work groups consisting of central office staff, staff from the Office
of Special Education and Student
Services, the MCPS general counsel, teachers at all three levels of
school and some parents from the
Montgomery County Council of
PTAs and the Special Education Advisory Committee. The work groups
would discuss an action plan to
reach the new goals between 2016
and 2018.
In addition, the work groups
will create a list of deliverables for
the goals, Richardson said.
WestEd, whose staff wrote the
audit, offered a list of recommendations for the county school system to
improve special-education services.
10
DECEMBER 10, 2015
THE MONTGOMERY COUNTY SENTINEL
NEWS
Gaithersburg hears plans
By Peter Rouleau
@petersrouleau
GAITHERSBURG – Bruce
Crispell, director of Montgomery
County Public Schools’ Division of
Long-Range Planning, attended Monday night’s meeting of the Gaithersburg mayor and City Council to discuss the ramifications of MCPS’ Capital Improvements Plan.
Crispell reviewed the capacity issues confronting Gaithersburg
schools, noting that 10,000 more students were projected to join the city’s
elementary schools over the next six
years.
“We have not been able to keep
up with elementary schools,” Crispell
said. “90 percent of relocations happen at the elementary school level, so
we have a large degree of catching up
to do there.”
Crispell said that the CIP contained provisions to expand school capacity.
“We’ve grown by 65,000 students since 1984,” Crispell said. “At
the same time, we have an aging infrastructure, aging schools in need of revitalization, so we have a few schools
moving up to get those improvements
made. In every case, we’re adding ca-
pacity as well, so the re-vitalization
process also addresses enrollment
problems.”
Crispell said that expansion will
accommodate an additional 6,000 elementary seats and 4,000 middle
school seats and that MCPS plans to
expand DuFief Elementary School to
provide relief to Rachel Carson Elementary, a school that is operating at
close to 150 percent of capacity.
MCPS is holding the first meeting of a “tri-cluster roundtable discussion group” to address over-utilization issues in the media center of
Gaithersburg High School on Thursday, Dec. 17. Crispell said the group
will include five representatives from
the Gaithersburg, Magruder, and
Wootton clusters and that MCPS is
also reaching out to Hispanic and
African-American student advocacy
groups to participate in the discussion.
Some city officials expressed
concern at the projected rate of the
proposed changes.
“I see that we have in the CIP
planned relief for Summit Hall and
Rachel Carson, and I know that
Rachel Carson’s a little sooner, but
these are two very overcrowded
schools,” said Mayor Jud Ashman, a
past president of Brown Station Ele-
mentary School’s PTA who began his
municipal career campaigning against
school overcrowding. “While there
may be differences as to how we deal
with this overcrowding, I’m wondering if you think there’s any way to
speed it up so that we don’t have to go
another six or eight years in the case
of Summit Hall with this bursting-atthe-seams situation?”
“That’s one reason we decided to
have this roundtable in the winter, that
puts it on the fast track,” Crispell said.
“Typically, these studies are done in
the spring, but if we’d done that we’d
have to wait until next fall. That’s one
demonstration that we’re trying to get
these demonstrations in place during
this CIP cycle. The other thing is that
we’ve already got $26 million requested by the board for some kind of
Gaithersburg capacity solution.”
“While I’m sure you guys try the
best you can with your projections, it
seems they’re always underestimates,” said Council member
Michael Sesma. “By the time these
additions and expansions and hopefully new schools are built, we won’t
be able to address the capacity issues
we have now… I don’t think the public knows the extent to which MCPS
is always behind.”
Rockville supports refugees
By Danica Roem
@pwcdanica
ROCKVILLE – The City
Council joined its counterparts from
Montgomery County and Takoma
Park Monday in extending a welcome to Syrian refugees.
The two city councils and the
County Council countered a Nov. 17
statement from Gov. Larry Hogan
(R) in which he asked the federal
government to halt the flow of Syrian refugees until the federal government “can provide appropriate assurances that refugees from Syria
pose no threat to public safety.”
Council
member
Julie
Palakovich Carr introduced the resolution late Monday during
Old/New Business. Council member Mark Pierzchala seconded her
motion.
“The Mayor and Council affirms Rockville's role as a welcoming and inclusive community,”
states the Rockville resolution. “We
firmly believe that the diversity of
our residents enhances our city. We
fully support Montgomery County's
promise to serve as a welcoming
community for refugees, including
those from Syria.”
Pierzchala spoke in favor of the
resolution after Palakovich Carr
read it.
“I think it’s important to realize that we are a nation of refugees
in many instances. We are a nation
of immigrants. You have to understand that, you know, you have to
answer hatred with love, in my
opinion, and, so I’m going to vote
for it,” he said.
The motion received unanimous support from Mayor Bridget
Donnell Newton and the four council members.
During public comments shortly after the start of the Dec. 7 meeting, the city’s Human Rights Commission acting Chairman Ken
Sandin joined Commissioners
Alonzo Smith and Ben Shnider in
requesting the council affirm its status as a community welcoming
refugees. They sent an email to the
council members with the same request in the run-up to the meeting.
Shnider urged the council
members “to issue a public statement that Rockville is open and is
ready to welcome those fleeing the
civil war in Syria.”
Although she voted for the resolution, Council member Beryl
Feinberg reminded those in attendance the city, county and state governments have no authority when it
comes to locating immigrants within the country. That’s because immigration is controlled by the federal
government.
“We may be saying we are welcoming, but it is not a decision point
for any of these levels of government and I think that just needs to be
understood for us, that it is not in the
jurisdiction of any of these levels of
government,” said Feinberg.
“And I just want to make sure
that’s understood, that no matter
what we may advocate and be welcoming to Syrian refugees or
refugees from any other part of the
world, it is not in our jurisdiction,
nor is it the county’s or the state’s.”
The mayor concurred and
praised Palakovich Carr for her
wording on the motion, specifically
the phrase that Rockville is “welcoming” of Syrian refugees.
According to Council member
Virginia Onley, the resolution carries symbolic value.
“And while it is not in our jurisdiction, it is so important for a jurisdiction like ours to be open, to be
welcoming and to foster peace
amongst everyone,” she said.
“We’re a diverse community
and it … sends a message when we
advocate for something like this,”
added Onley. “Even though the final
decision is not ours, it speaks volumes for Rockville’s citizens, it
speaks volumes for this mayor and
council and what kind of community leaders like ours want to foster
and lead.”
Feinberg drew attention to periods within the county’s history
when “we were extremely isolationist and we did not welcome taking in
people, notably around the First
World War and certainly before and
during the Second World War.”
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ads in
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a t 3 01 - 3 0 6 - 9 5 0 0
DECEMBER 10, 2015
THE MONTGOMERY COUNTY SENTINEL
11
NEWS
Acting Superintendant proposes budget increase
By Kathleen Stubbs
@kathleenstubbs3
ROCKVILLE – The Montgomery County Public Schools interim superintendent proposed a
$2.4 billion fiscal year 2017 operating budget, or a $135 million increase, to accommodate negotiated
employee salary increases, a rise in
enrolment and strategic enhancements.
Larry Bowers, interim superintendent of MCPS, said at a presentation to the board of education
Tuesday that MCPS would need a
slightly larger budget in order to
continue funding education at the
current level of service for each student year to year.
Under Maintenance of Effort,
MCPS receives the same amount of
money per student from the state
each year. Inflation and increased
costs are not included in this.
Benefit cost increases for current employee salary increases, inflation, new schools and additional
space also contributed to the budget
increase, the superintendent said.
Bowers said the proposed budget would be a $134.9 million budget increase. He requested as part of
the increase that the County Council restore $24 million in one-time
funding given for fiscal year 2016
and an additional $7.9 million for
teacher pension costs that shifted
from Maryland to the County.
Michael Durso, the newly
elected president of the board of education, said realigned investments
within the budget were of less concern to him than means for MCPS’
budget to be fully funded.
“I don’t think it’s going to be an
easy process, but I think it’s certainly a crucial process,” said Durso.
Bowers said he believed a
property tax increase would be necessary for the MCPS operating budget to be fully funded.
Following the board of education’s goal of preparing students to
be equipped with skills and experience they need to do well in college
and in careers, Bowers proposed
enhancements to programs related
to careers.
The types of careers those programs cover will depend on input
from the professional field.
“We have to make sure that we
understand which jobs are available
for our students and make
sure which career pathways
that we have are for jobs that are
ready for them,” said Bowers. “We
may be closing down some of those
programs.We may be creating some
new programs…We’re going to be
working with business leaders in
the community to identify what
those are.”
He said he could not name any
partnerships because some need to
be finalized.
One career program that
MCPS sponsors feeds back into the
teaching workforce in the public
schools, Bowers said. The program
is called Student to Educator Pathway.
“There’s a lot of our young
people who we think may make
great teachers, and we want to build
a pipeline system,” said Bowers.
“We’re now going to help pay tuition for them when they’re in college, and then hopefully they’ll be
wanting to continue working in education, be teachers and come back
to us. So that’s a key part of the
pipeline for the teachers.”
About 25 percent of the teachers MCPS hires each year are from
Montgomery County and are graduates of Montgomery County high
schools, Bowers said Tuesday.
As part of the strategic enhancements for fiscal year 2017’s
operating budget, Bowers proposed
adding scholarships to the equation.
“(We could) expand (the)
“grow our own” Student to Educator Pathway (STEP) program with
scholarships,” said Bowers.
Bowers said the students participating in the program seemed to
be coming from a select few high
schools.
“Unfortunately, when you look
at the schools they’re coming from,
we have a lot from some individual
high schools, and then we have
some where we only have three or
four.”
MCPS staff enacted initiatives
to improve student performance in
literacy and math in 2014 and 2015.
Bowers said he intends for MCPS
to continue its efforts to increase
student performance further.
During his address to the
board, Bowers said he would not
talk about employee cuts. In the final operating budget for fiscal year
2016, about 360 positions were cut
due to budget constraints.
Bowers included professional
development for teachers in the
proposed fiscal year 2017 budget in
continuation of MCPS Office of
School Support and Improvement
initiatives to boost student performance in key subjects.
“Mr. Bowers talked about explicitly putting in an investment for
professional development,” said
Maria Navarro, chief academic officer for MCPS. “In general for the
FY-17 budget there is a targeted investment in the professional development for literacy and math
(kindergarten through twelfth
grade) and continuing the plans
we’ve been developing for the last
couple of years.”
Those plans include strategies
to meet benchmarks MCPS staff
set, such as all students reading on
grade level by third grade, Navarro
said. Staff would also provide supports for literacy development and
math skills to ensure students reach
middle school benchmarks.
While Bowers said MCPS
would use funds to improve the
quality of teaching and student supports, funding specifically to close
the achievement gap is not an option for the upcoming fiscal year
due to the County’s economy.
“I am not asking for all of the
resources that many of you believe
are needed to address student performance and the achievement gap.
That will have to wait for future
years.”
He added that this year the
school system cannot afford any
more cuts.
“We cannot fool ourselves into
believe that we can accomplish
what we need to accomplish and
close the gaps while continuing to
disinvest in education,” said Bowers.
Bowers also included transportation costs for more students,
even though some bus driver positions were cut last year. Enrollment
increased by more than 2,500 students since the 2014-2015 school
year, according to MCPS.
Montgomery Village master plan under scrutiny
By Danica Roem
@pwcdanica
GAITHERSBURG – When a
Montgomery County Council committee meets Jan. 11, three council
members will decide whether the
Montgomery Village master plan is
ready for a full vote by the council
or needs more work.
The Planning, Housing and
Economic Development Committee is chaired by County Council
President Nancy Floreen (D) and
also includes fellow at-large Council members George Leventhal (D)
and Hans Reimer (D). They’re
scheduled to meet at 2 p.m. that day
to discuss the master plan.
Last week, Reimer offered
several favorable comments about
the proposed redevelopment of the
area’s former golf course, which is
at the center of the development’s
controversy.
However, Chris Gillis, a senior
legislative aide to Leventhal, said
the former council president has
not made a decision on the master
plan yet.
What’s at stake is whether
hundreds of houses will be built at
the site of the former golf course, a
147-acre property Monument Realty bought during a bankruptcy auc-
tion.
The developer “received support from the Montgomery Village
Board of Directors for a residential
redevelopment concept plan with
ample open space,” according to
the draft version of the master plan.
“If the former golf course
property redevelops, amenities
could include a trail network, playgrounds, a dog park, community
gardens and other open spaces. Environmentally sensitive areas will
likely be placed into permanent
conservation easements.”
However, the master plan also
states it “recognizes that there is
community support for, as well as
opposition to, residential redevelopment of the former golf course.
Some residents, particularly those
with homes adjacent to the former
golf course, would like for the site
to remain open space.”
That description, the former
golf course as open space, runs
contrary to the description of the
property offered by Montgomery
Village Foundation board of directors President John Driscoll.
Driscoll and Monument Realty president Russ Hines are two of
the leading proponents of the redevelopment plan put forth by Monument Realty.
“First of all, it's private property, it's not public property, so it's
not included in the green space and
never has been,” said Driscoll.
“Putting aside that, it's in the
center of Montgomery Village. It's
never been a part of Montgomery
Village, and it's owned by Monument Realty, so it's private property... And I believe that with all due
respect, Dave's incorrect on that.”
He referred to Dave Lechner, a
community activist who has helped
lead the opposition to the redevelopment plan.
One issue cited by Lechner is
an Oct. 27, 1980, real estate sale
agreement that states the seller’s
“desire” is to “transfer the ownership of the Montgomery Village
Golf Club to a responsible and
knowledgeable purchaser who will
maintain the facility in the same
fashion or better and with the same
attention or better as (the seller)
has shown to the needs of both
homeowners adjacent to the Golf
Club and the club membership.”
Despite their disagreement,
Driscoll called Lechner a “very
good guy” and noted both of them
opposed a proposal 10 years ago by
residential developer IDI Group
Cos. to build condominiums and a
senior center on the golf course.
Even Driscoll has some problems with the proposed development.
He referred to homeowners
who bought property along the
perimeter of the golf course with
the understanding they would be
next to a golf course.
“Obviously, promises were
made to them that were not kept,”
said Driscoll.
He also recalled meeting with
“a few hundred people” who lived
along the property in early 2014,
“and they were all upset,” said
Driscoll.
“And it was a pretty difficult
meeting. If I lived by the golf
course, I would rather have development and closure rather than undeveloped rough ground behind
me,” he said.
The late Clarence Kettler,
whose company Kettle Brothers
developed Montgomery Village in
the 1960s, wrote in an Oct. 29,
1980, letter supplied by Lechner
that “prime location, overlooking
the well-kept golf course grounds,
was an important factor” in homeowners’ decisions to purchase their
property.
“Kettler Brothers is aware
how vital the maintenance of the
Club and its facilities is to you, and
we have gone to great lengths, both
in reviewing Mr. (Jack) Doser’s
qualifications and in writing the
protective covenants of the purchase contract, to allay your concerns,” states the letter, referring to
the then-buyer of the golf club.
However, Driscoll and Hines
insist the 1980 contract is not the
same thing as a recorded covenant.
“First off, that contract is not
recorded. It doesn't encumber the
property. It deals with what two
properties tried to do 35 years
ago,” said Hines.
According to Hines, the property owner Kettler “reserved the
right to encumber the property,”
but he “didn't encumber the property with a restrictive covenant; he
reserved the right to do that.”
Hines concluded that because
Kettle did not act on his right to establish a covenant, the contract is
“not recorded in the land recorded.”
“If someone has a beef with
that letter, it's with Kettle Brothers,
not Monument Realty,” added
Hines. “That letter has no bearing
on me.”
“Even if there was covenant,
why would you block development
in an area that really needs investment?” said Driscoll.
12
DECEMBER 10, 2015
THE MONTGOMERY COUNTY SENTINEL
NEWS
County plans for safe haven for children
By Brianna Shea
@Bshea2991
ROCKVILLE – Montgomery
County’s Domestic Violence Coordinating Council and the County
Family Justice Center hope a center
to give domestic violence victims
and their children supervised visitation and monitored child exchanges will be created soon.
The Public Safety Committee
met with the County Sheriff Darren
Popkin and others who help domestic abuse victims on Nov. 30.
The earliest the proposal
would begin is in Fiscal Year 2017,
said Laurie Duker, co-founder and
executive director of the Court
Watch Montgomery.
She said an actual proposal has
not been created just yet.
“There is really not much of a
location now,” said Popkin.
People are told to exchange
their children in public areas such
as a McDonald’s, but it is not guar-
anteed something may not happen,
said Phil Andrews, former chair of
the DVCC.
“There is no dedicated center
now,” Andrews said.
He said police stations may
not be the safest area to exchange
children because police they are
patrolling the streets or may not
around.
He said supervised visitations
would not be implemented at the
moment, but wants to start with exchange centers.
Council member Marc Elrich
(At Large), chair of the PSC, said
he is not interested in a “slow startup” and wants to explore this idea
further.
“The magnitude of the problem, is way severe,” Elrich said.
Duker asked the committee to
set up two to three pilot child exchange centers this year.
She said 44 percent of domestic-disturbance phone calls took
place in Silver Spring and Wheaton
Students get “Good Samaritan” lesson
By Brianna Shea
@Bshea2991
GERMANTOWN— Northwest High School students learned
about heroin and Maryland’s Good
Samaritan Laws on Nov. 25.
John McCarthy, County state’s
attorney, and others presented the
Speak Up, Save a Life presentation.
Maryland’ Good Samaritan
Law, effective on Oct. 1, was signed
into law by Gov. Larry Hogan on
May 12, giving immunity to people
who call for help if someone overdoses.
“Many people don’t call for
help because they are afraid of getting in trouble,” said Steve Chaikin,
assistant state’s attorney.
As Nov. 25, the County had 40
nonfatal heroin overdoses and 16 fatal ones this year, said 6th District
police Comm. David Gillespie.
In 2014, 52 nonfatal overdoses
were reported and 24 fatal overdoses, he said.
Gillespie said this is an epidemic in the community.
“We care about what happens to
you,” Gillespie said. “We want you
to make good choices.”
McCarthy said the addiction
starts when a student athlete is hurt,
the doctor prescribes a drug like
OxyContin and then the athlete becomes dependent.
When the prescriptions run out,
people will search for the next option: heroin, he said.
McCarthy said it costs about
$10 on the street, and there is a similar high.
The purity of heroin has spiked
from 9 percent to 41 percent, he said.
Heroin is cut with different
drugs such as Fentanyl, but no one
really knows what they are buying,
McCarthy said.
He said heroin has real-life
consequences. On June 4, 2009,
Lea Edgecomb lost her ability to
walk after she snorted heroin for the
first time.
Edgecomb’s body went into
cardiac arrest, which caused severe
brain damage and affected her ability to walk.
Police are carrying Narcan
spray, which reduces the effects of a
drug, in case someone overdoses.
The County Fire and Rescue
Service personnel have been using
Narcan for 25 years, said Pete
Piringer, spokesperson for the service.
Piringer said the nasal spray
was implemented a year ago.
He said medical technicians
use the intravenous method because
it goes directly into the blood
stream.
“Make the call; save somebody’s life,” McCarthy said.
McCarthy said this addiction is
hard to beat and cannot be taken
care of in a 90-day treatment center.
He said about 4 percent will be
completely rehabilitated, but 96 percent will not.
McCarthy said addicts need a
minimum of a year in a treatment facility to recover fully from the addiction. Other drugs such as synthetic marijuana and alcohol were
discussed in the presentation, as
well.
This presentation is part of the
state’s Heroin and Opioid Emergency Task Force’s effort to raise
awareness about heroin and opioid
abuse and overdoses.
in 2014.
Seventy percent of victims of
domestic abuse in court asked
judges for a safe location to exchange their children, in the Court
Watch’s June 2014 report, Duker
said.
She said a pilot program
should be set up in East County or
Down County because there are
few resources to deal with domestic violence.
Duker said the centers can be
existing buildings that have a
ground floor, two entrances, two
parking lots and a social worker to
help with the initial intakes.
Volunteers can help exchange
the children, taking the children
from one entrance to the other.
The suggested plan would
start as an exchange center for parents to safely hand their children
off to the other parent, Popkin said.
He said there are no locations,
except for the Armand Center for
Conflict Resolutions in Rockville.
Natasha Carter, director of the
center, said it opened in June 2013
and is renting a property from a
Unitarian Church in Rockville.
Carter said if the area were
larger, more resources could be offered to those who use the center
for visitation and supervised exchanges.
The center has served 321
clients, 72 from Gaithersburg and
96 from Silver Spring, between
July 2014 and June 2015.
“The Mission of the Armand
Center is to provide an affordable,
safe and family-friendly environment for children to spend quality
time with their parents,” Carter
said. “To provide safeguards for
the emotional and physical wellbeing of parents and their children
and to prevent further acts of violence to survivors of domestic
abuse.”
Carter said she is looking into
another building located between
these two locations and are hoping
to find a new location “as soon as
possible.”
A proposal to create a center to
for child exchange was proposed
last year, but did not make it into
the budget, Elrich said.
He said the program cost about
$1 million and the County could
not afford it at the time.
Elrich said he would be open
to budgetary cuts to be able to afford this program.
“I think we need to do something as quickly as we can,” said
Sidney Katz (D-2).
Elrich and Katz (D-3) agreed
they would discuss working out a
way to work around the budget issues to make sure people are safe.
John Debelius III, administrative judge in Circuit Court, said he
is aware of budgetary constraints,
but “it would be “wonderful” for
judges to give victims of violence
options where exchange locations
and supervised exchanges will occur.
Takoma Park considers getting more noisy
By Taylor Watford
@carlisletay
TAKOMA PARK – City Council members are considering raising
the nighttime noise threshold for
fines from 55 decibels to 60, arguing that the current level is too low.
Fines currently start at $200
for violations, which are generally
given to repeat offenders.
Council member Frederick
Schultz (Ward 6) said he believes
the acceptable noise level needs to
be raised to a level that punishes
people who make significant noise.
“Fifty-five is a useless number;
almost everyone is in violation,”
said Schultz, who argued, “Virtually any sound can be heard” at that
level. “We all chose to live in an urban area”.
A majority of the council supports the ideal to raise the noise lev-
el to 60 decibels in the near future.
Council member Jarrett Smith
(Ward 2) addressed noise made at
Washington Hospital and Washington University, as well as how to
appeal noise complaints and seek
waivers prior to events.
The hospital will have an exemption, particularly when it
comes to helicopter travels to and
from the hospital. The university is
difficult to address because the city
line goes directly through the building and police do not have any authority to address noise complaints
outside their city lines.
Alan Goldberg, chief of police
for 31 years, stated the noise complaints have not been a main concern of the police department.
“This is low priority … generally
we get compliance. We talk to people and remind them they have
neighbors and they can be cited.”
Goldberg continued to address the
issue, saying currently the police
department does not have the proper equipment (decibel meters) to
measure noise and the officers use
their personal judgment when addressing calls.
Currently, at least two parties
must complain before police address a noise complaint. Mayor
Kate Stewart recommended requiring just one complaining party. The
council did not unanimously agree,
but a majority backed the requirement for two complaints to hinder
calls made out of spite.
The council has not yet permanently voted to raise the decibel
level, but will revisit the topic in
January.
In other news, strides are being made toward the purchase of
the new equipment for Colby Park
Playground.
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DECEMBER 10, 2015
THE MONTGOMERY COUNTY SENTINEL
Whatʼs happening this week in Montgomery County
C
13
ALENDAR
December 10, 2015 – December 16, 2015
DEC 10
MBT'S 27TH ANNUAL PRODUCTION OF
THE NUTCRACKER
Dec. 10 – 13. Metropolitan Ballet Theatre has
been presenting the full-length traditional staging of
The Nutcracker since 1989. Year after year audiences are enchanted by MBT's performances which
feature student and professional dancers, fabulous
costumes, and beautiful scenery including a Christmas tree that seemingly grows forever, magical
dancing dolls, marching toy soldiers, giant mice, a
dazzling blizzard with dancing snowflakes and a
land of luscious sweets. Tickets start at $19, group
discounts available. Presented by Metropolitan Ballet Theatre and Robert E. Parilla Performing Arts
Center at Robert E. Parilla Performing Arts Center,
51 Mannakee St., Rockville. Phone: 301-762-1757
THE CHRISTMAS REVELS: A MEDIEVAL
CELEBRATION OF THE WINTER SOLSTICE
Dec. 10 – 13. Revel with us and with our
beloved king, a mysterious woodland queen, a pair
of fools, and an unexpected guest. As the Winter
Solstice calls us all together, meet us in a special
place that straddles the majestic and the mythical
realms. The town folk gather with court and forest,
new and old traditions find common ground, and a
deeper community emerges. Join us and find the
true heart and spirit of the holiday season as we bid
goodbye to the old year and celebrate the birth of
the new.
Amidst it all, enjoy rousing traditional music,
powerful medieval songs, ethereal chants, seasonal
carols, rollicking tunes on early instruments, familiar rounds, folk and courtly dances, a madcap “12
Days of
Christmas,” the eerily hypnotic Abbots Bromley
horn dance, a topsy-turvy “Lord of Misrule,” and an
evocative mummers’ play. Where: Lisner Auditorium, 21st and H Streets NW, Washington, DC
20052. For more information call (301) 587-3835.
A CHRISTMAS CAROL: A GHOST STORY
OF CHRISTMAS
Dec. 10. 7:30 – 9:30 P.M. The Holiday Tradition
continues as Olney Theatre Center favorite Paul
Morella returns to bring his unique and memorable
adaptation of A Christmas Carol to life in our most
intimate space – the Mulitz-Gudelsky Theatre Lab.
Experience the unforgettable characters and vivid
imagery as Charles Dickens originally intended – in
his own words – and rediscover this timeless classic
presented in a masterful solo performance. Adapted
from Dickens’ original novella and reading tour,
Morella’s solo version will transport you back to
Victorian England and into the heart of this classic
morality tale. This critically acclaimed production
has become a holiday must-see. (Recommended for
ages 10 and up.) Olney Theatre Center, 2001 Olney
Sandy Spring Rd, Olney | Tickets: $18 – 36 | Phone:
301-924-3400
Additional shows: Dec 11-13 and 16-19.
FILM SCREENING: CALVARY! PARADE!
+ AND THEN I FELL DOWN
Dec. 10. 7:30 P.M. A screening of two films by
filmmaker Gabriel Rodriguez-Fuller, followed by a
Q&A. “Calvary! Parade!” examines the institution
of higher education through a radicalized group of
college seniors, rebelling against their institution as
it forecloses around them. “and then I fell” down is
a romance, following two young women who can
no longer communicate. Where: The Takoma Park
Community Center, 7500 Maple Avenue, Takoma
Park.
COURTESY PHOTO
Relax with the tunes of Jazz musician Larry Carlton at Bethesda Blues &
Jazz Supper Club on Dec. 14.
Dec 11 – 20. Georgetown GLOW—the popular
holiday celebration featuring outdoor public light-art
installations that invite visitors to “re-imagine the
season of light,”—is even bigger for 2015. In its
second year, Georgetown GLOW will expand from
a weekend-long celebration to a 10-day exhibition
from December 11-20, with works lit from 6 – 10
p.m. nightly. Georgetown GLOW is a signature
winter event celebrating the holiday season organized by the Georgetown Business Improvement
District (BID). Visit
www.GeorgetownGLOWDC.com for announcements and updates. The Georgetown GLOW exhibition encourages contemplation of, and interaction
with, the natural environment. The intimate, historic
C&O Canal—a beautiful, meditative waterway
reminiscent of Georgetown’s founding as a port
town just steps from bustling M Street—will serve
as the primary location for the works. Five site-specific installations, commissioned by local, regional
and international artists, will be on view along and
adjacent to the C&O Canal, Georgetown Waterfront
Park, and other locations south of M Street. While
works will be on view throughout the 10-day period, each piece will be lit nightly from 6-10 p.m. An
announcement of the artists and their projects is to
come.
CLAIRE LYNCH BLUEGRASS HOLIDAY
Dec. 11. 8:00 P.M. This Holiday season, treat
your family to an evening of classic holiday tunes
performed by award-winning Bluegrass singer
Claire Lynch and her white-hot band featuring soulful, young gun Bryan McDowell (fiddle-mandolin),
twenty-something virtuoso Jarrod Walker (mandolin-guitar) and A-Lister Mark Schatz (bass-banjo). You’ll see an Appalachian dance around a
Christmas tree, feel the joy of the Menorah lights,
and experience the extraordinary skills of the CLB
players as they present a jazz interpretation of a
beloved old carol. While Emmylou Harris hails
Lynch as having the “voice of an angel,” Dolly Parton credits Claire with “one of the sweetest, purest
and best lead voices in the music business today.”
Named by DigitalJournal.com as one of the “10 best
angelic voices of our time” alongside icons like
Judy Collins, Sarah McLaughlin and Alison Krauss,
Claire Lynch is a legend in her own right. Tickets to
all events are on sale through the BlackRock box office in person, online at blackrockcenter.org or by
calling 240.912.1058. Tickets: $18 - $36.
DEC 11
GEORGETOWN GLOW LIGHT-ART EXHIBITION
DEC 12
"THE NUTCRACKER" PRESENTED BY
ROCKVILLE CIVIC BALLET
Dec. 12 at 2 and 7:30 P.M. Dec. 6 and 13 at 2
P.M. Tickets: $17 Adults, $13 Children (12 and under) and seniors (60 and older). . Buy tickets online
at www.rockvillemd.gov/theatre or by phone or in
person at the box office (240-314-8690). Where: F.
Scott Fitzgerald Theatre
HOLIDAY GINGERBREAD HOUSE
WORKSHOP
Dec. 12. 10:00 A.M. – 1:00 P.M. Build your
own gingerbread house for holidays. Come learn the
tricks of the trade and get creative. Fee includes one
house and all the sweet decorating supplies. Working conditions will include plenty of cookies and hot
chocolate. Thomas Farm Community Center, 700
Fallsgrove Drive, Rockville. Cost: $45 residents/$50 non-residents. Course #52322.
COMMUNITY CHANUKAH CELEBRATIONS
Dec. 12. 7:00 – 9:00 P.M. Join our Family
Chanukah party with a Havdalah service, music and
dancing, latkes, drinks, and more activities. This will
be held at Chanukah Wonderland, 640 Centerpoint
Way. For more details, please visit our website,
www.OurShul.org, or call our office, 301.926.3632.
Please provide this contact information in your publication. If you have any questions, please feel free
to contact Rabbi Sholom Raichik at 301.537.0067
or [email protected].
Music with a Contemporary Beat at the synagogue.
Tickets are $25 each. Order online at
tikvatisrael.org/concert or call 301-762-7338. Tikvat Israel is located at 2200 Baltimore Road in
Rockville MD.
Montgomery County Model (MCM). Please save
the date. Open to Public. Please plan to bring your
own lunch. WHERE: 19650 Club House Road, Ste
# 205, Montgomery Village. For more information
email [email protected]
FREE HOLIDAY OPEN HOUSE AT
ROCKVILLE'S GLENVIEW MANSION
Dec. 13. 1:00 – 4:00 P.M. Children's Day with
Santa and Mrs. Claus and live music by: The Heavenly Handbells of Trinity Lutheran Church at 1:15
p.m., Heart of Maryland Chorus at 2:15 p.m., and
Watkins Mill High School Chamber Singers at 3:15
p.m. | Rockville Civic Center Park, 603 Edmonston
Drive
MAGGIE ROSE CHRISTMAS SHOW W/
MORRISON BROTHERS
Dec. 17. 8:00 P.M. Cool and confident, yet warm
and approachable with a laugh that’s as melodic as
the songs she sings, it’s difficult to look at Maggie
Rose and not think that she was born under a very
special star. And maybe she was. How else can you
explain her journey from Potomac, Maryland—
hardly a mecca for country music—to Nashville by
way of storied record executive Tommy Mottola
(Celine Dion, Mariah Carey)? Where: Bethesda
Blues & Jazz Supper Club, 7719 Wisconsin Avenue, Bethesda. Tickets $17.50 - $35
AFRO BLUE CHRISTMAS
Dec. 13. 5:00 P.M. Howard University’s premier
vocal ensemble Afro Blue will bring their “vocal big
band” stylings to BlackRock in a special holiday
concert jam-packed with unique arrangements of
traditional holiday songs. Afro Blue has previously
performed their holiday show live on NPR and at
the White House. Performing music similar to the
styles of Lambert, Hendricks and Ross, The Manhattan Transfer and Take 6 – while adding their own
unique sound – Afro Blue has performed to wide
critical acclaim. Tickets to all December performances are now on sale and can be purchased
through the BlackRock box office in person, over
the phone by calling 240.912.1058, or online at
blackrockcenter.org.
OPENING RECEPTION AND ARTIST
TALK: BRIAN DAVIS – “UNCOUPLED”
Dec. 13. 2:00 – 4:00 P.M. Brian Davis investigates the transformative potential of art with a solo
exhibition combining new media, sculpture and installation in his exhibit “Uncoupled.” About the
Artist: Brian Davis lives and works in Woodbridge,
VA. Born in Ft. Walton Beach, Florida, Mr. Davis
was raised in Guam and South Carolina. He has
taught New Media and Sculpture at The George
Washington University and American University.
Exhibit runs through Jan. 10, 2016. Location: Gibbs
Street Gallery, 155 Gibbs Street, Rockville. For
more information call 301-315-8200.
COFFEE AND CRITIQUE
Dec. 13. 10:00 A.M. – 12:00 P.M. Sunday
morning photo jam sessions! View and discuss
your prints. This free event has unlimited coffee
and bagels. Coffee and Critique is at Photoworks.
For more information view
glenechophotoworks.org
DEC 14
“HOLIDAY SIP AND SHOP“
Dec. 12. 11:00 A.M. – 3:00 P.M. King Farm Village Center will partner with four unique boutique
trucks and a local coffee truck for a holiday shopping event that will take place by the Village Green
across from L’Or Salon and Baja Fresh. Tin Lizzy
Mobile Boutique, The Strut Truck, The Board Bus,
and Trunk Love will all be on hand offering a range
of men’s, women’s, and children’s clothing and accessories. To help visitors stay warm, the Java
Cruiser will be offering complimentary lattes, cappuccinos, hot cider, and hot chocolate. King Farm
Village Center in Rockville, Md. Is located off Redland Boulevard less than a mile from I-270’s Exit 8
and just west of MD Route 355/Rockville Pike
LARRY CARLTON AT BETHESDA BLUES
AND JAZZ
Dec. 14. 7:30 P.M. Larry Carlton’s own musical
story began in Southern California. He picked up his
first guitar when he was only six years old. He was
introduced to jazz in junior high school after hearing
The Gerald Wilson Big Band album, Moment of
Truth, with guitarist Joe Pass. Larry then became interested in Barney Kessel, Wes Montgomery and
the legendary blues guitarist B.B. King. Saxophonist John Coltrane was also a major influence on
Carlton, beginning with Coltrane’s 1962 classic Ballads. Where: Bethesda Blues & Jazz Supper Club,
7719 Wisconsin Avenue, Bethesda. Tickets $35
DEC 13
MCM OPEN HOUSE
Dec. 17. 12:00 – 1:00 P.M. The International
Cultural Center (ICC) in partnership with Montgomery County Faith Community Working Group
(FCWG) and Gaithersburg Interfaith Alliance (GIA)
invites you to an open house to learn more about our
UPCOMING
HOLIDAY ROCK CONCERT SET FOR
ROCKVILLE SYNAGOGUE
Dec. 13. 7:30 P.M. Tikvat Israel Congregation's
cantor, Rochelle Helzner, will join the Mark Novak
Band for a holiday concert, “Rock of Ages – Jewish
PLAY: THE SKRIKER
Dec. 18. 7:00 P.M. and Dec. 19. 2:00 and 7:00
P.M. A new company of five women, Welcome
Homesick Productions, presents Caryl Churchill’s
mythological feminist creation “The Skriker.” The
play tells of an ancient Celtic monster by the same
name, a shapeshifter who feeds off the energy of
two destitute teenage girls in modern day Britain. It
weaves in and out of “reality,” exploring how the
roles of women play out in our collective human
mythology, and how these myths have shaped and
distorted the human experience. Where: Silver
Spring Black Box Theater, 8641 Colesville Rd, Silver Spring. Tickets: $15 adults and $12 retirees and
youth under 18.
LLOYD DOBLER EFFECT: HOLIDAY EXPERIENCE CONCERT
De. 18. 7:00 P.M. Enjoy a mix of holiday favorites, band originals that are performed in an alternate fashion and unique cover songs orchestrated by
the band. Features visits by Santa Claus, The
Grinch, The Human Dreidel, Elvis, a Leprechaun,
Bad Santa and more. Tickets: $15 advanced; $18
day-of-show.
Buy tickets online at www.rockvillemd.gov/theatre or by phone or in person at the box office (240314-8690). Where: F. Scott Fitzgerald Theatre
BETHESDA FINE ARTS FESTIVAL
Dec. 18. Application Deadline. The Bethesda
Fine Arts Festival features 130 booth spaces. All
original fine art and fine craft is eligible to apply. All
work must be created by the artist; no manufactured
or mass produced work is eligible. All artists must
provide their own white tents and weights. Booth
Fees:
Standard 10 x 10 .......... $425; Deluxe 10 x
20.............. $850; Application Fee .............$35. Create an account and user login. Upload images and
pay $35 entry fee using major credit card. The 13th
annual Bethesda Fine Arts Festival will be on Saturday, May 14 & Sunday, May 15, 2016, in downtown Bethesda, Maryland, a lively urban area
renowned for restaurants, shopping, galleries and
theaters
FREE HOLIDAY OPEN HOUSE AT
ROCKVILLE'S GLENVIEW MANSION
Dec. 20. 1:00 – 4:00 P.M. Tour the mansion
and enjoy live music by: Richard Montgomery
High School Madrigals at 1:15 p.m., The Encore
Singers at 2:15 p.m., and Harmony Express at 3:15
p.m. | Rockville Civic Center Park, 603 Edmonston
Drive
"WELCOME WINTER" PRESENTED BY
THE ROCKVILLE CONCERT BAND
Dec. 20. 3:00 P.M. Expect to hear the soft snow
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THE MONTGOMERY COUNTY SENTINEL
Whatʼs happening this week in Montgomery County
C
DECEMBER 10, 2015
ALENDAR
Continued from page 13
Stonestreet Ave, Rockville.
falling, bright holiday cheers and icicles tinkling.
No tickets required; $5 suggested donation. Buy
tickets online at www.rockvillemd.gov/theatre or by
phone or in person at the box office (240-314-8690).
Where: F. Scott Fitzgerald Theatre
MLK JR. DAY OF SERVICE
Jan. 18. Make Martin Luther King Jr. Day on
January 18, 2016 a Day ON and not a day off. Save
the date to volunteer at Montgomery County’s
MLK Day of Service at locations throughout the
county. There will be service projects for all ages
that will make an impact to lives in your community. Be Ready to Serve!!
HOLIDAY CONCERT PRESENTED BY
THE ROCKVILLE CHORUS
Dec. 20. 7:30 P.M. Enjoy a wide variety of selections -- both traditional and contemporary -- to
celebrate the season. No tickets required; $5 suggested donation. Where: F. Scott Fitzgerald Theatre
Round House Theatre, 4545 East-West Highway,
Bethesda. For tickets call: 240.644.1100
ONGOING
ART EXHIBIT: "TRUE COLORS: LIKE A
RAINBOW" AT DEL RAY ARTISANS
Jan. 8-31, 2016. Del Ray Artisans’ artists interpret colors of the rainbow in the "True Colors: Like
a Rainbow" art exhibit. For centuries artists have
been inspired by these true colors. Come enjoy the
artwork and mingle with the artists at the Opening
Reception on January 8, 2016 from 7-9pm at Del
Ray Artisans gallery (2704 Mount Vernon Ave,
Alexandria VA). Don’t miss the workshops on wire
jewelry, polymer clay, resin, and paper flowers!
www.TheDelRayArtisans.org/True
ART EXHIBIT AT VISARTS: DAEDAL ADJ.
RICH, INTRICATE, ADORNED
Through Dec. 13. Ceramic artist Kate Westfall
presents a solo exhibition of new functional ceramic
vessels that are designed for daily and ceremonial
use. With intricate profiles, lavish ornamentation
and earthy-colored glazes. Westfall’s vessels convey
a sense of whimsy, rustic luxury and humble elegance. | Closing Reception: Sunday, December 13,
2:00 p.m. | Common Ground Gallery, VisArts at
Rockville is located three blocks from the Rockville
Metro station at 155 Gibbs Street, Rockville, MD.
For information, please visit www.visartscenter.org
or call 301-315-8200.
AUDITIONS FOR FIDDLER ON THE
ROOF
Jan. 11 & 13. 7:00 – 9:00 P.M. Kensington Art
HOLIDAY MARKET 2015 AT DEL RAY ARTISANS
Through Dec. 20. Del Ray Artisans 20th Annual
COURTESY PHOTO
Potomac native Maggie Rose helps bring in holidays with a Christmas
show at Bethesda Blues and Jazz on Dec. 17.
Theatre's Second Stage program for young performers in grades 5-12 will be holding auditions for Fiddler on the Roof Jr. (a condensed version of Fiddler)
at the Arts Barn, 3111 Kent Square Road, Gaithersburg, MD. A prepared song is preferred, and auditions will take the full two hours. Performances are
the first three weekends in March with rehearsals
weekday evenings and occasional weekend afternoons. Please call Fred Zirm at 240-485-7233 or email him at [email protected] if you have any
questions.
CONCERT: BILL AND THE BELLES
Jan. 14. 7:00 P.M. (doors open at 6 pm) A rare
appearance in our area--this Bristol, TN trio presents
early country music for the modern listener with
striking 3-part harmony. Website: http://billandthebelles.com/ Contact: Ruth Goldberg,
[email protected] or Patuxent Music, (301)
424-0637, [email protected]. Tickets are $15 in advance or $20 at the door. Advance tickets are available for purchase. Where: Patuxent Music, 409 N
December 10, 2015 – December 16, 2015
Holiday Market features handcrafted work from local artists (wall art, botanical, pottery, photography,
jewelry, glass, and more), plus poinsettias, ornaments, and 2016 calendars to support the gallery.
Different artists are featured each weekend! Open
the first three weekends in December: December 46, December 11-13, December 18-20. Hours: Fridays 6-9pm, Saturdays and Sundays 11am-6pm.
Located in the Colasanto Center, 2704 Mount Vernon Avenue, Alexandria VA. Free entry and handicap accessible. www.TheDelRayArtisans.org/HolidayMarket
ROMANTIC COMEDY: STAGE KISS
Through Dec. 27. When two actors with a history are thrown together as romantic leads in a forgotten 1930s melodrama, they quickly lose touch with
reality as the story onstage follows them offstage.
Sarah Ruhl’s singular voice returns to Round House
with Stage Kiss, a charming tale about what happens when lovers share a stage kiss—or when actors
share a real one. Directed by Aaron Posner. Where:
A LUMP OF COAL FOR CHRISTMAS
Through Dec. 31. Presented by Adventure Theatre MTC at Adventure Theatre MTC. What do a
Christmas stocking, a Korean Barbeque and Secretarial School, a sketch artist, Shakespeare, and a
drug store coupon have in common? The hilarious
and heartburning, uh, heartwarming holiday journey
of a Lump of Coal who wants to make art on any
canvas will light a fire in even the smallest, flammable heart, or it will at least convince you to open up
a Korean BBQ and Secretarial School. Adventure
Theatre MTC, 7300 MacArthur Blvd, Glen Echo.
Tickets: $19.50
“WEAVING COMMUNITY” ON A LARGER-THAN-LIFE LOOM
Through Dec. 31 11:00 A.M. – 3:00 P.M. The
Sandy Spring Museum creates a one-of-a-kind work
of community-generated art when it opens its
“Weaving Community” project on September 5.
All visitors to the museum are invited to come and
weave on a giant loom that will be constructed from
the 11 foot tall oak beams that frame the exhibit hall.
Fabric artist Suzanne Herbert Forton will facilitate
the weaving of a community tapestry, using the oak
beams of Bentley Memorial Exhibition Hall at the
Sandy Spring Museum as the frame of a giant loom.
The larger-than-life loom will be created first by
stringing warp between the floor and the 11 foot
high horizontal oak beams that are a permanent part
of the exhibition hall architecture. Next, the supporting vertical oak beams will mark off different
sections of warp, with each section containing distinct thematic content woven into its weft and created from a wide variety of materials: yarn, fabric
strips with personal messages and statements, ribbon, recycled clothing, plastics, photos and found
objects. Sandy Spring Museum is located at 17901
Bentley Rd, Sandy Spring, MD. The exhibit runs
through Dec. 31. For more information call 301774-0022 or visit www.sandyspringmuseum.org.
GARDEN OF LIGHTS: WINTER GARDEN
WALK THROUGH HOLIDAY LIGHT DISPLAY
Through Jan. 3. 10:00 A.M. – 5:00 P.M. Step
into a magical winter wonderland illuminated with
more than one million dazzling colorful lights
shaped into hand-crafted, original art forms of flowers, animals and other natural elements. Stroll from
garden to garden enjoying twinkling tree forms,
fountains, sparkling snowflakes overhead and more.
The Garden of Lights celebrates its 18th season as a
Baltimore/Washington, DC area family holiday tradition. The night wouldn’t be complete without a
visit inside the Conservatory to enjoy watching GScale model trains wind through a seasonal landscape. Afterward, warm up inside the Visitors Center while you sip hot cocoa and listen to one of the
nightly musical performances. The Conservatory
Winter Display and Garden Railway Exhibit is open
daily from 10 AM to 5 PM through Sunday, January
3, 2016. Where: Brookside Gardens, 1800 Glenallan Avenue, Silver Spring.
SATURDAY FARMERS MARKET
Saturdays 9:00 A.M. – 1:00 P.M. Every week,
on Saturday, through mid-November, the Farmers
Market transforms itself as different fruits and vegetables become available throughout the season.
Your pick of farm-fresh fruits and vegetables, bedding plants, cut flowers, preserves, honey, herbs,
baked goods, and more. All items offered are picked
fresh daily and available as supplies last. The Market accepts EBT benefits. Location: Jury parking lot
located on the corner of Rt. 28 and Monroe Street |
Address: Rockville, MD 20850 | Contact: 240-3148620
PHOTO BY JUN SATO
Bill and the Belles, the Bristol, TN trio, present early country music for the
modern listener with striking 3-part harmony in Rockville concert Jan. 14.
TEEN WRITER'S CLUB
Thursdays 6:30 – 8:00 P.M. Join us at the Marilyn J. Praisner Library, at 14910 Old Columbia Pike,
Burtonsville, MD 20866, to meet other teens who
share your interest in writing. Learn to improve your
writing and try new approaches. Ages 12 and up are
welcome. For additional library events and information call 240-773-9460.
ART EXPLORERS OPEN STUDIO
Saturdays, 10:00 – 12:00 P.M. Join us on Saturday mornings, 10am to 12:30pm in the Candy Corner Studio for drop in art activities for parents and
children. Activities change weekly and there is no
pre-registration; $10 per child. This weekly event is
presented by Playgroup in the Park (PGiP) and Glen
Echo Park Partnership for Arts and Culture. Location: The Candy Corner Visit
www.glenechopark.org or call 301-634-2222
AFTERNOON GRIEF SUPPORT GROUP
Tuesdays 1:30 – 3:00 P.M. For anyone grieving
the death of a love one. Registration required at
(301) 921-4400. North Bethesda United Methodist
Church, 10100 Old Georgetown Rd., Bethesda, MD
20814.
LOSS OF A CHILD SUPPORT GROUP
Wednesdays, 6:30 – 8:00 P.M. For parents grieving the death of a child of any age. Registration required at (301) 921-4400. Montgomery Hospice,
1355 Piccard Dr., Suite 100, Rockville, MD 20850.
EVENING GRIEF SUPPORT GROUP
Thursdays 6:30 – 8:00 P.M. For anyone grieving
the death of a loved one. Registration required at
(301) 921-4400. Hughes United Methodist Church,
10700 Georgia Ave., Silver Spring, MD 20918.
PARENT LOSS SUPPORT GROUP
Thursdays 6:30 – 8:00 P.M. For adults who have
experienced the death of one or both parents. Registration required at (301) 921-4400. Mt. Calvary
Baptist church, 608 North Horner’s Lane,
Rockville, MD 20850.
BACKGAMMON TOURNAMENT
Tuesdays. 6:30 – 10:30 P.M. Local backgammon
tournament on the 2nd and 4th Tuesday of each
month starting March 11. More information at
MeetUp.com-DC Metro Backgammon Club. Ruby
Tuesday Westfield Wheaton Mall 11160 Veirs Mill
Rd, Wheaton-Glenmont, MD 20902
[email protected]
CHAMPAGNE BRUNCH
Sundays 11:00 – 3:00 P.M. $33 $12 for unlimited champagne cocktails Executive Chef Todd Wiss
has cooked up a seasonal brunch menu complete
with a brunch time standard – Champagne! Guests
are welcome every Sunday to indulge on Black’s favorites like Smoked Salmon, Chesapeake Bay Blue
Fish Rillette, Herb Crusted Pineland Farms Prime
Rib or breakfast treats like House Made Brioche
French Toast, Quiche and a selection of Chef Wiss’
homemade jams. Visit http://www.blacksbarandkitchen.com or call (301) 652-5525. Black’s Bar
and Kitchen, 7750 Woodmont Ave., Bethesda, MD
20814.
LAUGH RIOT AT THE HYATT
Saturdays 8:00 – 10:00 P.M. Check out a live
standup comedy show by local standup comics
every weekend at the Hyatt Regency Bethesda.
There's a $25 cash prize joke contest for non-comedian audience members after the show. Check it out
every Saturday night! Comedians can sign up to
perform by emailing [email protected].
$10 at the door. Visit http://www.StandupComedyToGo.com or call (301) 657-1234. Hyatt Regency
Bethesda, 1 Bethesda Metro Center, Bethesda, MD.
CORPORATE BARTENDING FOR CHARITY
Wednesdays 4:00 – 7:00 P.M. Send your CEO or
VP to Tommy Joe's to bartend for charity! Can't bartend? No problem, the on-staff bartenders are there
to help for a good cause (no experience necessary).
Represent your company during happy hour, and a
portion of the proceeds will go to the charity of your
choice. Maybe you can even pull off some flair behind the bar and make Tom Cruise proud. Visit tommyjoes.com or call (301) 654-3801 for more information. 4714 Montgomery Ln., Bethesda, MD
20814.
LIVE MUSIC FRIDAYS
Fridays 9:30- 12:30 P.M. Rock Bottom Restaurant & Brewery features different music styles by
various live bands that perform both original and
cover songs. So come relax and enjoy live music
and Rock Bottom's award-winning handcrafted
beer. Visit http://www.rockbottom.com or call (301)
652-1311 for more information. 7900 Norfolk Ave.,
Bethesda, MD 20814.
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DECEMBER 10, 2015
THE MONTGOMERY COUNTY SENTINEL
Continued from page 14
Every Tuesday, 12:15 – 1:15 P.M. Hilton Hotel,
620 Perry Parkway, Gaithersburg. For more information, please visit www.gaithersburgrotary.org.
SALSA NIGHT
Tuesdays 7:30 – 12:30 P.M. Come to the Barking Dog every Tuesday night for their sizzling Salsa
Night. Take lessons with salsa instructor Michelle
Reyes from 7:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. for only $10. Learn
to shake those hips, and then show off your new
skills to the music of a live salsa band during the
open dance after class. Visit salsawild.com or call
(301) 654-0022 for more information. 4723 Elm
St., Bethesda, MD 20814.
THE COMEDY AND MAGIC SOCIETY
Fridays, 8:00 P.M. Astounding magic and slight
of hand with interactive theatre and hilarious fun.
Ages 10 and up. 311 Kent Square Rd, Gaithersburg,
MD 20878. For more information: 301-258-6394.
Price: $12 to $15
HEY MR. DJ
Fridays 9:00 – 2:00 A.M. It’s time to dance!
Grab your friends and come to The Barking Dog for
a good time on the dance floor. Every Friday and
Saturday night the Dog brings in a DJ to play the
Top 40 and your favorite songs. Make sure you
check out their great drink specials before you show
us what you got! The Barking Dog, Elm Street
Bethesda, MD 20814. Free admission.
SPAGNVOLA CHOCOLOATE FACTORY
TOUR
Saturdays and Sundays: 2:00 – 6:00 P.M. Meet
the owners, learn about the origin of chocolate, and
see how it is grown and processed. Experience how
chocolate is made from the actual cacao seed to the
final chocolate during this "sweet" educational tour,
from chocolate bars to truffles to bonbons. Each tour
also includes a FREE chocolate tasting! 360 Main
Street Suite 101 Gaithersburg, Maryland 20878.
Visit http://www.spagnvola.com or call (240) 6546972.
COUNTRY THURSDAYS
Thursdays, 9 P.M. Union Jack's traditionally
British pub in Bethesda heads to the South for their
all new Country Night every Thursday. Live country/rock bands, free cowboy hats for the cowgirls,
bandanas for the cowboys, drink specials, including
$2 PBR cans, $2 Budweiser bottles, $4 Jack Daniels
drinks, food specials including 50 cent hot wings.
Best of all, there's no cover to get in! And be sure to
get there early for Union Jack's famous Beat. 4915
Saint Elmo Ave., Bethesda, MD 20814.
WORLD SERIES OF POKER
Every Tuesday and Sunday night Flanagan's
hosts Poker in the rear from 8-10 p.m. it's Bethesda's
own version of The World Series of poker. Call
(301) 951-0115 for more. Flanagan's Harp and Fiddle, 4844 Cordell Ave., Bethesda, MD 20814.
TAKOMA MOVES! COMMUNITY DANCE
CLASS AT DANCE EXCHANGE
Thursdays, 6:30 – 8:00 P.M. $10 per class. First
Thursday of each month from 6:30 - 7 p.m., free!
This open-level, community modern class brings together movers of all ages and abilities to move and
make at Dance Exchange. Led by teachers from the
DC region, Takoma Park Moves creates a space to
explore improvisation, technique, and choreography
in an intergenerational class. This drop-in class will
kick off on the first Thursday of each month with a
free, 30 minute get to know you class. New to
dance? Join us. Returning to dance? Join us. Just
want to dance with your family and neighbors? Join
us. Presented by Dance Exchange, 7117 Maple Avenue, Takoma Park, MD. For more information,
please visit: http://danceexchange.org/ or call: 301270-6700.
NEED A SITTER? IT’S LEGO TIME AT
VISARTS!
Saturdays, 12 – 5:00 P.M. Go on a date, get
some shopping done, or just relax for a few hours
while your kids get to play with more than 15
pounds of LEGO bricks! Children can play on our
LEGO race track, build a car, a tall tower, a city or
free build. They can even take part in a LEGO craft
project! Our top-notch staff are LEGO enthusiasts
and ready to entertain your kids while you get some
"me" time. Register at [email protected].
At VisArts in Rockville.
GAITHERSBURG ROTARY CLUB WEEKLY MEETING
DROP-IN YOGA IN BETHESDA
Fridays, 6:00 – 7:00 P.M. Community classes are
mixed level, one-hour asana classes taught by a rotating selection of Unity Woods teachers. Just drop
in – no registration required! Unity Woods Yoga
Center, 4853 Cordell Ave. Bethesda. Ages 18+.
Cost: $5. For more information, call 301-656-8992.
TEEN SK8 AT WHEATON ICE
Most Friday evenings 8:00 – 10:00 P.M. The
Wheaton Ice Arena is the place to be on Friday
nights! Play along with our theme to get the 'Cheapskate' rate of $6.50 for admission and skates.
Wheaton Regional Park, 11717 Orebaugh Ave in
Wheaton, MD. For more information, call: 301905-3000 or visit: montgomeryparks.org.
THE WIDOWED PERSONS SERVICE OF
MONTGOMERY COUNTY
Weekly support groups for newly widowed persons at three locations: at Margaret Schweinhaut
Center 1000 Forest Glen Rd. Silver Spring on Mondays, at Holiday park Senior Center, 3950 Ferrara
Drive, Wheaton, on Thursdays and at Jane Lawton
(Leland) Center, 4301 Willow Lane, Chevy Chase
on Thursdays. These support groups are open, free
of charge, to all widowed persons who have suffered a loss within the past two years. Those preferring an evening group are encouraged to call the
WPS office. The groups are facilitated by trained
volunteers. For more information or to register,
please call: 301-949-7398 to register. The Widowed
Persons Service is a non-profit volunteer organization sponsored by AARP, the Montgomery County
Mental Health Association, and other community
organizations.
KNITTING AND SPINNING
Every second Monday of the month. 3:00 –
5:00 P.M. Come to the Marilyn J. Praisner Library
to practice your knitting and spinning skills. Open
to everyone of all skill levels. Come learn how to
knit and spin or work on your current projects with
others. No registration needed.
– Compiled by Tazeen Ahmad
The Montgomery County
Sentinel
regrets to inform
organizations that only
Montgomery County
groups or events located
within the county will be
published on a space-available basis.
Send news of your group’s
event AT LEAST two
weeks in advance to:
The Montgomery County Sentinel
22 W Jefferson St. Suite 309
Rockville, MD. 20850
or email [email protected]
or call 301.838.0788
Some Fun
15
16
THE MONTGOMERY COUNTY SENTINEL
DECEMBER 10, 2015
DECEMBER 10, 2015
17
THE MONTGOMERY COUNTY SENTINEL
C
LASSIFIEDS
Automotive
77035 - Antiques & Classics
77039 - Domestics
77040 - Imports
77041 - Sports Utility Vehicle
77043 - Pickups, Trucks & Vans
77045 - Motorcycles/Mopeds
77046 - Auto Services
77047 - Parts/Accessories
77051 - Vehicles Wanted
RVʼs
77059 - Airplanes
77065 - Boats
77067 - RVs
Announcements
12001 - Adoptions
12003 - Carpools
12004 - Happy Ads
12005 - Camp Directory
12006 - Classes/Seminars
12008 - Found
12031 - Lost
12033 - General Announcements
12037 - Personal Ads
12039 - In Memoriam
Services
22000 - Accounting Services
22017 - Business services
22021 - Carpet services
22030 - Ceramic Tile
22031 - Child care services
22033 - Chimney cleaning
22035 - Cleaning services
22039 - Computer Services
22041 - Concrete
22045 - Decorating/Home
Interior
22052 - Editing/Writing
22053 - Elder Care
22055 - Electrical Services
22057 - Entertainment/Parties
22062 - Financial
22066 - General Services
22071 - Gutters
22072 - Hauling
22073 - Health & Fitness
22075 - Home Improvement
22085 - Instruction/Tutoring
22086 - Insurance Services
22089
22093
22095
22101
22102
22103
22104
22105
22107
22109
22115
22118
22123
22125
22129
22130
22133
22135
22137
22141
22143
22145
-
Landscaping
Lawn & Garden
Legal Services
Masonry
Medical/Health
Moving & Storage
Painting
Paving/Seal Coating
Pet Services
Photography
Plumbing
Pressure Cleaning
Roofing
Sewing/Alterations
Snow Removal
Tax Preparation
Tree Services
Upholstering
Wallpapering
Wedding/Parties
Window Cleaning
Windows
Employment
47107 - Resumes/Word
Processing
Professional Services
Specializing in Concrete &
Masonry Construction Since 1977
• 2-story Foyers/Vaulted Ceilings
• Military Discounts
• Drywall/Water Damage Repair • Senior Citizen Discounts
• Power Washing/Decks/Homes
• Licensed & Insured
• Handyman/Carpentry
• MHIC#70338
• Wallpaper Removal
Driveways
Brick
Sidewalks
Stone
Patios
Stucco
Steps
Chimneys
Custom Design
Basements
(o) 410.663.1224
(c) 443.562.7589
MHIC #3802
WWW.LSCMD.COM
47109
47121
47122
47123
47134
47135
47139
47140
47141
47142
47155
67163
-
Positions Wanted
Child Care Wanted
Domestic Help Wanted
Volunteers Wanted
Career Training
Help Wanted, General
Medical
Dental
Allied Health
Part-time Positions
Seasonal Help
Business Opportunities
Merchandise
37000 - Give Aways
37002 - Antiques
37003 - Appliances
37004 - Arts, Crafts & Hobbies
37005 - Auction & Estate Sales
37008 - Building Materials
37012 - Cemetery Lots & Crypts
37014 - Computers & Software
37015 - Consignment
37016 - Events/Tickets
37018 - Flea Market
37020 - Furniture
37022 - Garage/Yard Sales
37024 - Health & Fitness
37026 - Horses, Livestock &
Supplies
37030 - Lawn & Garden
Equipment
37032 - Merchandise For Sale
37034 - Miscellaneous
37036 - Musical Instruments
37040 - Pets & Supplies
37045 - Trips, Tours & Travel
37048 - Wanted to Buy
Rentals
57035 - Apartments/Condos
57037 - Apartment Complexes
57039 - Commercial Space
57043 - Homes/Townhomes
57047 - Industrial/Warehouse
57049 - Office Space
57051 - Roommates
57053 - Room for Rent
57057 - Storage Space
57059 - Vacation Rental
57061 - Want to Rent
Real Estate
52101 - Commercial property
52117 - Lots & Acreage
52119 - Mobile Homes
52121 - Owners Sale
52123 - Real Estate
52127 - Real Estate Services
52131 - Real Estate Wanted
52133 - Vacation Property
To Advertise in The Sentinel:
Phone: 1-800-884-8797
(301) 317-1946
DEADLINES:
Prince Georgeʼs Sentinel
Monday 12:30 pm
Montgomery County Sentinel
Monday 12:30 pm
To Place Your Ad Call 410-884-4600 Today!
PA I N T I N G S E R V I C E
THE BEST QUALITY PAINTING
Interior/Exterior Starting at:
Rooms - $175 • Windows - $35
Work Done by Owners
Licensed in MD for 30 years
Chris & Mike Levero
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Free Estimates
FIVE STAR HOME SERVICE
410-661-4050
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www.handsonpainters.com 410-242-1737
MHIC# 10138
www.fivestarmaryland.com
We'll bring you
a brand new audience.
Ask about classified zone buys
301-317-1946
18
DECEMBER 10, 2015
THE MONTGOMERY COUNTY SENTINEL
GEICO IS HAVING A CAREER FAIR!
DEC. 11th • 9 am - 5 pm
HELP WANTED,
GENERAL
Market
D 3808663-1
HELP WANTED,
GENERAL
Research Analyst
Conduct
Asian
2 X 3.01
i Market Research; Collect data &
47135HEL
Helpdata
Wanted,
General
CNG
conduct
in-depth
analyses;
Prepare- reports
of3808663-1
finding. MBA. Knwldge of &/or exp. in
004011HELP WANTED
SPSS,
SAS CMoney, Shakespeare Desktop,
SENTINEL
Founder
FIT, Strategy Companion Analyzer &
HELP WANTED
IBM Cognos. Res to job loc: Lee & Lee
Washington Inc. Attn HR 5848 Hubbard Dr.,
Rockville, MD 20852 [email protected]
TRAINING ADMINISTRATOR - Master
Ed. or Admin., know latest versions of: MS
Office, MS Excel, MS Word, MS SQL Server,
MS Visio & MS Project & proof of leg. rt. to
work perm. in US req’d; identify/design/develop & monitor internal training programs; FT,
8am-4pm, M-F. Mail CV to Unatek, Inc, 10411
Motor City DR, # 750, Bethesda, MD 20817.
Adventist Healthcare seeks a Corporate Supply
Chain Supervisor in Gaithersburg, MD. Req.:
Master’s in Industrial Engineering and demonstrative knowledge of the following skills in
healthcare environment: Supply Management,
tracking
of savings through supply chain
D 3808690-1
2 X 1.51 and
i
reports
dashboards.
Contact:
47135UAD Help Wanted, General - CNG
[email protected].
3808690-1
003006UADWEB ADVENTIST HOSP
SENTINEL
UADWEB ADVENTIST HOSP
The Sentinel Newspaper has an immediate
opening for a sales representative to sell
print and online advertising.
AUTO
SERVICES
AUTO INSURANCE
STARTING AT $25/ MONTH!
Call 877-929-9397
YOU COULD SAVE OVER $500
OFF YOUR AUTO INSURANCE.
It only takes a few minutes.
Save 10% by adding property
to quote. Call Now! 1-888-4985313
VEHICLES
WANTED
AARON
BUYS
CARS
&
TRUCKS Any year or condition.
Fair prices. Immediate service.
Local. Call 410-258-0602
ACCOUNTING
SERVICES
CALL NOW TO SECURE A
SUPER LOW RATE ON YOUR
MORTGAGE.
Don’t wait for Rates to increase.
Act Now! Call 1-888-859-9539
SELL YOUR STRUCTURED
SETTLEMENT OR ANNUITY
payments for CASH NOW. You
don’t have to wait for your future payments any longer!
Call 1-800-283-3601
SOCIAL SECURITY DISABILITY BENEFITS Unable to work?
Denied benefits? We Can Help!
WIN or Pay Nothing! Contact Bill
Gordon & Associates at 1-800706-8742 to start your application today!
BUSINESS
SERVICES
ARE YOU IN BIG TROUBLE
WITH THE IRS?
Stop wage & bank levies, liens &
audits, unfiled tax returns, payroll issues, & resolve tax debt
FAST. Call 844-245-2287
NEED EXTRA CASH?
Personal loans of $1000 or
more. Must be 21+ and have a
job to apply! Call 844-289-2506
PLACE YOUR AD ON
FACEBOOK;TWITTER;
LinkedIN and Google Ads Words
through MDDC’s Social Media
Ad Network; Call today to find
out maximize your presence on
Social Media; 410-212-0616; or
email Wanda Smith @ wsmith@
mddcpress.com
ELDER CARE
A PLACE FOR MOM.
The nation’s largest senior living referral service. Contact our
trusted, local experts today!
Our service is FREE/no obligation. CALL 1-800-717-2905
LEGAL
SERVICES
LEGAL
SERVICES
LEGAL
SERVICES
3808649-1
PDRIVATE
RESOLUTION OF DISPUTES
3 X 2.51 i
Judge NANCY B. SHUGER
for 18 years as an Associate
Judge on the
22095NAN
Legalserved
Services
- CNG
District Court of Maryland for Baltimore City, handling various civil and criminal
3808649-1
matters.
Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) offers a creative, positive alternative tot the cost and uncertainty of litigation for individuals, businesses, organiza004676NANCY
tions and families. As a former judge, she can assist disputing parties to achieve
reasonable
results. ADR offers a way for her to help people discover common
SENTINEL
interests which can allow them to shape their own resolution to their disputes.
NANCY
As a mediator, she acts as a private neutral. She emphasizes that mediation can be
effective wether the parties desire to address differences in an ongoing relationship,
or to reach a mutually agreeable solution to a single dispute, without trial. She uses
mediation, arbitration and settlement conferences successfully for conflict involving
personal injury (including auto torts and premises liability), employment, workplace
conflict, child access, elder law, ethics, collections, contracts and other civil matters.
Nancy B. Shuger • Baltimore, MD
410-903-7813 • [email protected]
GUTTERS
BOB’S GUTTER SERVICE
Expert cleaning & repairs!
Fast friendly service! Gutter
guards installed - 3 styles
Save $$$! Free estimate.
Handyman. 410-750-1605
HAULING
0123 4 ALL YOUR HAULING/
TRASH NEEDS
Attics, bsmts, yards & demos.
Small to large. Free est. Call
MIKE’S 410-294-8404.
1+1 AAA ABC Attics, Bsmt,
Garage, Yards. 25 yrs of honest
hauling. Same Day. Call Mike:
410-446-1163.
ABM’S HAULING
Clean Houses
Basements, Yards & Attics
Haul free unwanted cars
Match Any Price!!!!!
443-250-6703
HOME
IMPROVEMENT
ALL THINGS BASEMENTY!
Basement Systems Inc. Call us
for all of your basement needs!
Waterproofing, Finishing, Structural Repairs, Humidity and
Mold Control FREE ESTIMATES!
Call 1-800-998-5574
BEST SALE EVER!!!
Need New Carpet or Flooring??? All this Special Number
for $250.00 off. Limited Time.
Free In Home Estimate!! Call
Empire Today@ 1-844-369-3371
HOME
IMPROVEMENT
FIND THE RIGHT CARPET,
FLOORING & WINDOW TREATMENTS.
Ask about our 50% off specials
& our Low Price Guarantee.
Offer Expires Soon. Call now
1-888-906-1887
INSTRUCTION
EARN YOUR HIGH SCHOOL
DIPLOMA ONLINE Accredited
- Affordable. Call Penn Foster
High School: 855-781-1779
CAREER
TRAINING
AIRLINE CAREERS START
HERE
Get hands on training as FAA
certified Technician fixing jets.
Financial aid if qualified. Call for
free information Aviation Institute of Maintenance
1-877-818-0783
www.FixJets.com
HELP WANTED,
GENERAL
HELP WANTED!!
Make up to $1000 A Week
Mailing Brochures From Home!
Helping Home Workers since
2001! Genuine Opportunity!
NO Experience Required!
www.needmailers.com
VOID IN WI
HELP WANTED,
GENERAL
CDL REGIONAL
D 3808668-1
TRUCK
1 X 1.00 iDRIVER
47135ACC Help Wanted
Great Starting Pay,
3808668-1
001670ACCESS
AD
Home Weekends
SENTINEL
Experienced
&
ACCESS
AD
CDL Grads,
Start Your Career
Today! 866-955-8904
NEW YEAR, NEW CAREER
We have Entry Level Openings
Available
Looking for Candidates to
Interview and Train ASAP
Qualifications:
• Good Communication Skills
• Outgoing Personality
• Strong Work Ethic
• 0-1 years of working with
the Public
Call 410-616-0615 with your
compensation expectations
and Interview availability
HEALTH
& FITNESS
CANADA DRUG CENTER is
your choice for safe and affordable medications. Our licensed
Canadian mail order pharmacy
will provide you with savings of up to 90% on all your
medication needs. Call today
1-800-418-8975, for $10.00 off
your first prescription and free
shipping.
CPAP/BIPAP
supplies at little or no cost from
Allied Medical Supply Network!
Fresh supplies delivered right to
your door. Insurance may cover
all costs. 800-902-9352
The successful candidate must have advertising sales
experience, preferably in the newspaper industry and
online. Applicant will conduct sales and service calls on
existing accounts and new accounts to grow revenue.
The successful candidate must have strong people
skills, be self-motivated with good organizational skills,
D 3808654-1
computer
skills and have reliable transportation. A
2 X 2.01
college
degreeiis preferred. Interested persons should
47135AD
Help
Wanted,
General
send cover letter,
resume
and references
to: - CNG
3808654-1
Lynn Kapiloff
003341AD
REP- 5307 N. Charles St. Baltimore,
SENTINEL
MD 21210 or email: [email protected]
AD REP
A DVERTISE IN
The Sentinel!
Check out our web site
www.thesentinel.com
D 3808673-1
2 X 1.76 i
47135CLI Help Wanted, General - CNG
3808673-1
003173CLIENT NETWORK
SENTINEL
CLIENT NETWORK
HELP WANTED
The Sentinel Newspapers, a 160-yearold general interest newspaper in
Montgomery County and a 90-year-old
general interest newspaper in Prince
Georges County are looking to
expand. We are interested in talented and seasoned managers,
reporters,
sales staff and photograD 3808677-1
2phers.
X 1.51If i you have an interest, then
47135OPE Help Wanted, General - CNG
please forward your resume and other
3808677-1
003006OPENINGS
relevant
information to: Lynn@thesenSENTINEL
OPENINGS
tinel.com
SUBSCRIBE TO The Sentinel!
HEALTH
& FITNESS
GET HELP NOW! ONE BUTTON SENIOR MEDICAL ALERT.
Falls, Fires & Emergencies
happen. 24/7 Protection. Only
$14.99/mo. Call NOW
888-772-9801
KNEE PAIN? BACK PAIN?
SHOULDER PAIN?
Get a pain-relieving brace -little
or NO cost to you. Medicare Patients Call Health Hotline Now!
1- 800-900-5406
HELP WANTED,
GENERAL
Client Network Services, Inc. seeks Sr. Software
D 3808683-1
Engineer(s)-IVR
in Rockville, MD. Design,
2 X 1.51 i
develop,
test Help
and implement
applications
47135RES
Wanted,software
General
- CNG
including
internet (portal) communications for
3808683-1
healthcare
computer systems using web services.
003006RESANALYST
SENTINEL
Req’s
exp. with Developing IVR applications using
RESANALYST
Avaya
Contact Center solutions and software;
Functional testing for Contact Center IVR application. May require travel to various unanticipated
sites throughout the US. Send resume to D. Roberts
at [email protected] or D. Roberts, CNSI, 2277
Research Blvd, Rockville, MD 20850. Must reference Job Code IVR.
2 IMMEDIATE
D 3808687-1
‘ OPENINGS!
2 X 1.51 i
Earn
baseHelp
salary
& bonuses!
47135TRA
Wanted,
General - Work
CNG
on
INTERESTING PROJECTS. Well estab3808687-1
003006TRAINING
ADM
lished marketing agency seeks 2 experiSENTINEL
enced
& articulate telephone reps, who live
TRAINING ADM
within 20 minutes of Gaithersburg. ONLY
call if you speak PERFECT English, sound
GREAT, have experience. Only 2 immediate
DAY positions available.
301-926-3194
INDUSTRIAL/
WAREHOUSE
INDUSTRIAL/
WAREHOUSE
Warehouse Space
Available
D 3808696-1
2 X 2.01 i
57047WAR Industrial & Warehouse - CN
3808696-1
003341WAREHOUSE SPACE
SENTINEL
5,000 to 192,000
Square Feet with
WAREHOUSE
SPACE
• Executive Offices • Loading Docks
• Sprinklers • M1, M2 or M3 Zoning
• Near Expressways
Cut Your Own Deal!
No Reasonable Offer Refused!
Call 301-728-7949
MERCHANDISE
COLLECTABLES
D 3808710-1
1 X 1.00 i
Santa’s,
Department
37032COL
Merchandise56
3808710-1
001670COLLECTABLES
Annalee
Figurines
and
SENTINEL
COLLECTABLES
other items.
Call: (301) 530-2757
MERCHANDISE
KILL BED BUGS & THEIR EGGS!
Buy Harris Bed Bug Killers. Complete Treatment System/KIT
Available: The Home Depot, homedepot.com, Hardware Stores
MISCELLANEOUS
ACORN STAIRLIFTS. THE AFFORDABLE solution to your
stairs! **Limited time -$250
Off Your Stairlift Purchase!**
Buy Direct & SAVE. Please call
1-800-304-4489 for FREE DVD
and brochure.
ADVERTISE YOUR PRODUCT
OR SERVICE NATIONWIDE
or by region in over 7 million
households in North America’s
best suburbs! Place your classified ad in over 570 suburban
newspapers just like this one.
Call Classified Avenue
at 888-486-2466
DISH NETWORK – GET MORE
FOR LESS!
Starting $19.99/month (for 12
months.) PLUS Bundle & SAVE
(Fast Internet for $15 more/
month.) 800-278-1401
HEALTH
& FITNESS
EMERGENCIES CAN STRIKE
AT ANY TIME.
Wise Food Storage makes it
easy to prepare with tasty,
easy-to-cook meals that have a
25-year shelf life. FREE SAMPLE.
Call: 844-797-6877
VIAGRA AND CIALIS USERS!
50 Pills SPECIAL - $99.00. FREE
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CALL NOW! 844-586-6399
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LOWEST PRICES ON HEALTH
INSURANCE We have the best
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HELP WANTED,
GENERAL
APARTMENTS
& CONDOS
GAITHERSBURG,
D 3808705-1
1 X 1.25 i
MD./STUDIO
APT.
57035APT Apartments
3808705-1
Private entrance,
001838APT
RENT
SENTINEL
private bath,
APT RENT
private kitchen.
Includes utilities, Fios,
& storage, comm. pool.
$900.00 a month.
Call 301-370-7508
MISCELLANEOUS
KILL BED BUGS! Buy Harris
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Buy Online: homedepot.com
SAVE ON HOME INSURANCE
WITH CUSTOMIZED COVERAGE. Call for a free quote: 855502-3293
WANTED TO BUY
PREGNANT? CONSIDERING
ADOPTION?
Call us first. Living expenses,
housing, medical, and continued support afterwards.
Choose adoptive family of your
choice. Call 24/7. 999-999-9999
866-274-8027
DECEMBER 10, 2015
19
THE MONTGOMERY COUNTY SENTINEL
NEWS
Montgomery says health leads her to resign from Senate
By Danica Roem
@pwcdanica
State Sen. Karen Montgomery
(D-14) announced she plans to resign from the General Assembly
Jan. 1.
In a statement, she said her
"macular degeneration has worsened," making it too difficult for the
80-year-old to drive at night.
"It's not horrible," said Montgomery on Friday. "I'm dandy in the
daytime, but the last two times I was
out driving at night, my eyes were
watering; it was hard to see. I
thought a good thing to do was
quit."
According to Montgomery, she
and her staffers have "a lot" of constituents meetings and an untold
number of events at night.
She and her 84-year-old husband "can't afford to hire a driver,"
she added.
Gov. Larry Hogan (R) will be
tasked with filling the vacancy created by her resignation, though he'll
have to appoint someone selected
by the Maryland Democratic State
Central Committee.
Montgomery, a self-described
progressive Democrat, endorsed
state Del. Craig Zucker (D-14) as
her replacement to complete the remaining three years of her term.
Zucker announced Saturday he
intends to "formally submit" his
name to the Central Committee as a
candidate "when Senator Montgomery’s resignation becomes official.”
Along with Montgomery, he's
also earned the endorsement of
Montgomery County Executive Ike
Leggett (D).
The outgoing state senator said
she's known Zucker for a long time
and she likes that "he listens to people," although she added he is "a little bit more conservative than I am."
Although his views align with
hers on social issues, Montgomery
explained Zucker "knows the state
budget pretty well and he knows
what's possible and what's not," so
he likely wouldn't need the same
level of help interpreting bills from
leaders that she requested.
Montgomery said she hopes
her successor follows through on
her efforts to test thousands of rape
kits that were used but remained
untested.
"And I feel very strongly that
those rape kits that are sitting
untested in just about every part of
the state would be helpful in catching rapists who are often serial
rapists. And I do feel strongly about
that and there are statistics to show
that's the case," said Montgomery.
According to state Senate President Mike Miller (D), Montgomery "was the primary sponsor
of the state's moratorium on hydraulic fracturing (fracking) and efforts to count and move forward the
state's backlog of untested rape
kits."
Even with an incumbent office
holder existing the state Senate, the
Democrats hold an overwhelming
33-14 majority in the upper chamber of the General Assembly.
The Democratic-leaning 14th
District extends through northern
and eastern precincts in Mont-
gomery County, including the entire boundary with Howard County
and portions of the boundary lines
with Frederick and Prince George's
counties.
Montgomery defeated Frank
Howard, Jr. (R) by 15.1 percentage
points in 2014 during her re-election race, four years after beating
Eric Cary (R) by 24.2 percentage
points for her first term.
All three Democrats whose
names appeared on the ballot for
the House of Delegates in the 14th
District earned at least 20,000 votes
in 2014 while the three Republican
candidates were stuck in the
15,000s.
In 2010, the three Democrats
all broke 21,000 votes and three
Republicans each earned fewer
than 15,000 votes.
Costco issue leads to county zoning change
By Kathleen Stubbs
@kathleenstubbs3
Advertise
in
THE
MONTGOMERY COUNTY
...and let your
business soar!
Call Lonnie Johnson at 301-306-9500
or email to [email protected]
ROCKVILLE - The Montgomery County Council passed a
zoning text amendment Tuesday to
requiring large gas stations to be
placed father from areas with sensitive populations with an 8-1 vote after a clash between Costco and a
civic association.
The decision occurred in the
wake of Costco requesting a special
exception to place a large gas station
outside its Wheaton store which
would be less than 300 feet away
from homes, the previous County
standard.
Council members Roger Berliner, Marc Elrich, Tom Hucker, Sidney
Katz, George Leventhal, Nancy
Navarro, Craig Rice and Hans
Riemer voted to approve the amendment, and Nancy Floreen opposed,
according to a news release.
Previously a gas station that
pumped 3.6 million gallons of gas
per year had to be a minimum of 300
feet away from a school, park or
playground, daycare center or outdoor use for the purpose of civic or
institutional use, for recreation or for
entertainment, according to the release. The standard was approved by
the previous council in 2012.
Zoning text amendment 15-07
would increase the minimum to 500
feet and add environmental attributes
and dwelling units to the list of sensitive land uses, according to the release.
The council members’ discus-
sion about large gas station locations
started after Costco Wholesale executives requested a special exception
to locate a large gas station at its store
in Wheaton, according to the release.
Members of the Kensington
Heights Civic Association opposed
the special-exception request.
Danila Sheveiko, the previous
president of the Kensington Heights
Civic Association, said Costco representatives asked for a special exception to locate a mega gas station 118
feet away from single-family residences, adjacent to an outdoor swimming pool and a school.
Sheveiko said the amendment
will not determine the fate of the
proposed Costco gas station because
the case will be grandfathered with
the previous County Council standard.
According to the release, Floreen (D-at large) said the gas station’s fate should be determined by
the local conditions. The existing
process for conditional uses accomplishes that objective without unnecessarily excluding opportunities for
businesses, Floreen said in a statement included with the release.
The case was later adopted by a
county attorney. Representatives of
the county and of Costco Wholesale
had an oral argument in November
after Costco appealed. Circuit court
Judge Gary Bair did not decide
whether to issue the special exception, saying he needed more time to
review legal documents.
Rob Leuck, Costco Wholesale
vice president for operations, did not
mention a consequence of the
amendment in his statement about
the vote.
“We look forward to the Montgomery County Circuit Court’s ruling on our appeal of the denial by the
County Board of Appeals of our request for a special exception to build
the Westfield Wheaton Shopping
Center gas station,” Leuck said.
Leigh
Strope,
Costco
spokesperson, said Costco representatives declined to comment aside
from the statement.
Sheveiko said he was excited
for other Montgomery County residents who would be able to avoid
lengthy periods of trials for cases involving large gas stations, but expects Costco executives to appeal
again once the Bair announces his
decision.
Elrich said he supported the
amendment because it would prevent the long queues of drivers utilizing the gas station from being located within 300 feet of resident areas and schools.
He said in a statement he was
concerned that exposure to car exhaust and fumes that would possibly
be a hazard to human health.
“We do know that anyone
forced to breathe car exhaust and gas
fumes constantly because a megastation locates near their home or
where they play cannot be good for
their long-term health,”
Elrich said. “This ZTA guarantees mega-stations will be located a
safe distance from residents, schools
and places with people congregate.”
See news?
Tell us about it!
Call 301-306-9500 or e-mail [email protected].
20
The Montgomery County Sentinel
December 10, 2015
Funk-A-Delic
Damascus bulldozes way to 3-A State Championship
By Brandy L. Simms
@BLS1969
BALTIMORE – One year after
losing in the state championship
game, the Damascus varsity football
team captured the Class 3A state title
Thursday night with an impressive
55-14 victory over Dundalk at M&T
Bank Stadium.
Damascus senior running back
Jake Funk put on a performance for
the ages, scoring seven touchdowns
and rushing for 270 yards on 31 carries during the last game of his high
school career.
Funk, who was named the 2015
Gatorade Maryland Player of the
Year, scored six touchdowns on the
ground and caught a 14-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Julian
Kinard in the waning moments of
the second quarter to put the
Swarmin’ Hornets ahead 41-8 at the
half.
“He’s as good as anybody I’ve
ever seen,” said Damascus head
coach Eric Wallich, who helped
guide his alma mater to the program’s first state title in eight years.
Funk, who committed to Maryland during the regular season,
scored on runs of one, four, 33, seven and six yards and helped Damascus (14-0) earn the program’s eighth
state championship.
“We came out last year and laid
an egg,” said Funk. “We had to finish the game this year.”
Funk cemented his status as one
of the program’s all-time great running backs alongside a list that includes Chad Bradley, Matt Reidy,
Steve Anderson and Evan Zedler.
All of them captured state
championships during their tenure at
Damascus.
“Funk is a very special player,”
said Dan Makosy, who spent two
decades at Damascus including 10
as the Hornets head coach. Makosky
guided the program to three state
championships.
Meanwhile Friday, senior kicker Joe Curry went 7-for-7 in PATs,
making him No. 2 in state history for
most career PATs with 196, nine behind former Linganore kicker Alex
Eckard’s total of 205.
The only Damascus scoring
mistake came on a failed two-point
conversion attempt in the second
quarter.
Daquan Grimes, Markus Vinson, Jake Bradshaw and Ben Lokos
led the Damascus defense Thursday
night, limiting the Owls to one score
per half.
The Damascus defense held
Dundalk to just ten first downs
through four quarters and 217 yards
of total offense. The Swarmin’ Hornets forced five Dundalk fumbles
and recovered four of them.
The only Damascus touchdown
not to come from Funk came from
Will Armstrong early in the fourth
quarter, which put the Hornets up
55-8.
Dundalk (12-2) first scored on a
two-yard rushing touchdown by
quarterback Darrius Sample in the
second quarter, immediately followed by a two-point conversion
pass to Kobi Eure.
The Owls second score came
from a 29-yard touchdown pass in
the final minute of the game to Deqwon Thomas. A botched extra point
attempt kept the scoreboard showing
its margin-making final, 55-14.
“This is the best feeling I’ve
ever had in my life,” said Grimes, a
Monmouth commit who registered a
team-high six tackles for Damascus,
including five solo stops.
“I didn’t see a single player on
defense better than him,” said Wallich. “Our defense has played outstanding the whole year.”
PHOTO BY JACQUI SOUTH
Jake Funk on the loose.
Silent leader of the Swarmin’ Hornets almost never get his shot at football
By Eva Paspalis
@EvaPaspalis
BALTIMORE – As the Damascus Swarmin’ Hornets dashed and
danced their way to the 3A state
championship Thursday night at
M&T Bank Stadium, there was one
varsity football player whose struggle, heart and determination wouldn’t
make it onto the stat sheet.
Senior quarterback Julian Kinard is a quiet leader. He doesn’t run
for flashy touchdowns or pass for
hundreds of yards in a game.
As an integral part of the Hornets’ offense, Kinard’s stoic presence
under center is the ideal complement
to the star-studded running game and
brick wall defense.
He met many of his teammates
during their childhoods. He now calls
them his brothers.
Kinard said he knew from a
young age that the team around him
was destined for greatness.
In the resounding 55-14 victory
over the Dundalk Owls that earned
him his first championship ring, Ki-
nard went 4-for-6 for 20 yards and
one touchdown.
It was the cherry on top of an undefeated season.
Long before Kinard successfully
fought for a state championship, he
fought for his life as an 11-year-old at
the Children’s National Medical Center from the effects of HLH.
Hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis is a rare, genetic, life-threatening blood disorder with a 50 percent mortality rate.
It causes the affected person’s
immune system to overact, which
damages tissues and organs, including the bone marrow, liver and brain.
“When I was sitting in that hospital bed and they told me I might not
be able to play football again, I almost felt like I had nothing to live
for,” said Kinard. “That was everything for me.”
Kinard’s mother Lorena
Mauney was with her son as doctors
put him into a medically induced
coma to try to combat the effects of
the disease.
She called him a walking mira-
PHOTO BY JACQUI SOUTH
Julian Kinard
cle Thursday and expressed how
proud she was of his tremendous
tenacity.
“Even when it hurt to walk, he
got up and did it,” Mauney said.
“Even when he was embarrassed because he had patches of hair missing
and he looked different because of his
treatment, he still went to school.”
Mauney mentioned an athlete
from Georgia, Rana Mashburn, who
recently died from the effects of
HLH.
Mashburn was the same age as
Kinard.
“She had a scholarship and she
didn’t make it,” said Mauney. “She
struggled just like him. I couldn’t
imagine life without him. I feel really
blessed.”
Even when he was sick, Mauney
said Kinard never let his grades slip.
He had tutors help him with his
schoolwork and didn’t let a single
football season go by without participating.
“He didn’t stop living,” she said.
“Playing football, getting the grades
he’s gotten, it’s just a bonus.”
After Damascus dismantled
Dundalk on Dec. 3, Kinard stood at
the post-game podium with several of
his teammates as the Maryland state
champions.
Kinard said even when he was
sick, he knew he belonged out on the
field.
“When [the doctors] told me I
couldn’t play, I knew I was going to
end up playing again with my brothers,” he said. “I was going to fight
through it.”
These days, Kinard receives regular check-ups and he said his doctors
are pleased with his health. He is set
to graduate next June and said he
wants to study engineering and play
college football.
Mauney said Kinard likes to visit patients who also have autoimmune
disorders and encourage them to not
give up.
“I think he surprises people with
what you can overcome,” she said.
Damascus head coach Eric Wallich said Kinard graduating as a state
champion is a storybook ending. He
mentioned that having someone like
Kinard on the team is a reminder of
what’s important in life.
“Football is just one piece of
life,” said Wallich. “It’s pretty amazing for him to go through what he
went through and come through it,
and lead the team to a state championship.”
Kinard said he wants to inspire
people. “Always keep pushing,” he
said. “There’s always something to
live for.”
DECEMBER 10, 2015
THE MONTGOMERY COUNTY SENTINEL
21
SPORTS
Gaithersburg storms back to dump R.M.
By Andy Kostka
Sentinel Sports
ROCKVILE – Nine years as the
junior varsity coach at Gaithersburg
prepared coach Jeff Holda for the
varsity stage. Friday night, in front
of a boisterous crowd at Richard
Montgomery, Holda led the Trojans
to a 69-61 comeback victory over
the Rockets, avenging Gaithersburg’s one-point defeat against R.M.
from the year prior.
The Rockets used their runand-gun style offense to jump out to
a seven-point lead in the first quarter
but the Trojans always stayed close.
Richard Montgomery scored
just two points in the final 5:30 of
regulation, providing Gaithersburg
an opening.
The game shifted from a 59-55
Richard Montgomery lead to an
eight-point Gaithersburg victory.
While the Rockets struggled
shooting from the floor down the
stretch, Gaithersburg sank six free
throws.
Richard Montgomery started
the second half in much better
shape, setting up a half-court offense and pulling back on fast
breaks.
Despite two three-pointers
from R.M. senior Joseph Contreras,
the Trojans managed the home
team’s set-up better than they did in
the first half.
“We tried to slow down the
tempo a little bit. It planned out
well, until the fourth quarter. We
just gave up the game,” said Richard
Montgomery senior Daniel Alexander. “I give credit to [Gaithersburg].
They played great defense, but at
the same time we weren’t being disciplined on offense.”
“The second half we just did a
better job of switching in our halfcourt defense. We got some key rebounds,” said Holda. “On offense,
we were able to push the ball and
[R.M.] couldn’t really stop us getting to the rim it seemed like.”
Senior guard Nick Pantos (12
points) provided a strong night off
the bench for Gaithersburg.
“I tried to come in and work my
hardest and play defense and get rebounds,” Pantos said. “Everything
PHOTOS BY TERRY BRENNAN
Gaithersburg dominated underneath to help secure a hard fought 69-61 victory over Richard Montgomery.
comes from that, getting rebounds
under the basket.”
Meanwhile, senior forwards
Alex Rojas (11 points) and Matt
Moersen (7 points) picked up several key defensive rebounds to keep
Richard Montgomery from taking
back the lead.
“Alex stepped up. Alex is really
hungry,” Holda said. “He wants to
play this year – he didn’t get the opportunity to play last year. He’s improved and is doing all the right
things. He’s our big guy. He can
shoot the ball but is also very physical.”
Junior guards Paris DysonDimes and sophomore Jordan Gra-
ham both pitched in for Gaithersburg with rebounds late in the game
and key passes to clinch the victory.
Richard Montgomery seniors
Julian Watson (13 points), Nasiir
Robinson (11 points) and Joseph
Contreras (8 points) led the Rockets
in scoring.
“It’s just not making that extra
pass,” Watson said. “Simple things
like not making the extra pass, not
hitting the right screen – it all comes
back. When we were playing a little
lazier toward the fourth quarter, not
talking as much on defense, not
playing as a team as much, we just
have to understand you can’t do it
all by yourself.”
Blair girls dominate Einstein to take 51-24 road win
By Carlos Alfaro
@carlosalfarorod
KENSINGTON – The Blair
varsity girls basketball team beat
host Einstein 51-24 in a dominating performance Tuesday night,
never once relinquishing the lead.
“I think our intensity turned
up in the third quarter,” said Blair
head coach Carlos Smith. “That
helped make the difference in the
game, mainly on defense.”
The Blazers started off strong
and stumbled only slightly in the
second quarter, when the Titans
outscored them by two points but
only closed the gap to eight points.
Blair’s offense put together an
11-point streak in the first quarter
until a free throw by guard Eman
Meteke notched one for the Titans.
Post player Nora Olagbaju ran
through the Titans’ defense and
used her height advantage for rebounds on both sides of the ball.
Einstein senior guard Dalina
Julien repeatedly shot layups
through a crowded Blair defense
but only scored once.
Another 11-point run in the
third quarter gave the Blazers one
of their biggest advantages in the
game, a 23-point lead later narrowed during the last minutes of
the third quarter.
Titans senior center Alana
Richards, Julien, and junior guard
Neveen Rizkallah all converted
buckets for the home team.
“We could have executed
more and talked more on the court,
made better passes, and not have
the same amount of intensity,” said
senior center Ashley Mbemba.
With the win, Blair moved to
2-0 but Einstein was left searching
for its first victory.
“It was a tough game. We
were aggressive at times, we just
have to make sure that we keep up
the intensity on defense and just
score, make some easy baskets,”
said Einstein head coach Julian
Barron.
Blair last won a state championship in 1982.
The closest Einstein ever arrived to the state title was a semifinalist showing in 1989.
22
THE MONTGOMERY COUNTY SENTINEL
DECEMBER 10, 2015
SPORTS
Whitman girls pound Gaithersburg
By Eva Paspalis
@EvaPaspalis
BETHESDA – The Walt Whitman girls varsity basketball team
waited five long weeks to play at
home on its brand new court.
A leaking roof during the summer damaged the floor so severely, it
needed to be entirely replaced. The
court was ready just in time for the
Vikings to throttle Gaithersburg 6935 Tuesday night.
Whitman (1-1) recovered
quickly from Saturday’s loss at Neumann-Goretti. Gaithersburg fell to
0-2 after losing to Richard Montgomery at home Friday.
Junior guard Abby Meyers led
the Vikings with 19 points. Meyers
posted the first score of the night and
sunk a three-pointer with such precision, it appeared to sail through the
net in slow motion.
The Trojans failed to get cooking offensively. Senior guard Celina
Herndon and junior guard Javana
Jones both went 1-for-2 in free
throws in the first quarter.
Herndon and senior forward
Rachel Tilton took shots at the net
but neither one could sink a basket.
Several attempts missed wildly and
appeared to be hastily thrown.
Whitman pulled away early and
never looked back.
“I knew coming in [the
Vikings] were loaded,” said
Gaithersburg head coach Adrian
McDaniel. “They play all over the
court. They have great team chemistry.”
Jones played aggressive defense and forced a turnover. She
drew a foul and went 2-for-2 at the
free throw line. The Trojans entered
halftime staring at a 19 point deficit.
Whitman senior guard Hannah
Niles came out swinging in the third
quarter. She posted six points and
one assist. Niles rebounded a missed
basket and hit the boards for an easy
layup.
Meyers drove down the court
and dropped a basket from behind
PHOTOS BY JACQUI SOUTH
At left, Whitmanʼs Sophia Tompkins breezes through two Gaithersburg defenders, Oliva Harvey and Theresa Kumazah for a score. At right, Livy Meyers
hits on a quick layup over defender Rachel Tilton.
the arc for her second three pointer
of the night.
“We want to use our leadership
to our advantage,” said Meyers. “We
want everyone to be comfortable
with the ball. We want to share and
give everyone opportunities.”
The game appeared out of reach
for Gaithersburg by the fourth quarter.
However, the Trojans still
pushed forward. Junior Julianne
Noveras effortlessly sunk two backto-back three pointers but her effort
came too late to affect the outcome
of the game.
McDaniel appeared optimistic
about the Trojans’ performance as
the season progresses.
“We just need to step up and be
more aggressive and more intense,”
he said. “Nobody’s going to remember in March what we did in December. That’s why we’ve got to get bet-
ter.”
Vikings head coach Peter Kenah said last year’s playoff loss to
Eleanor Roosevelt still motivates his
team. Whitman had a 23-0 record
before falling to the Raiders in the
4A semifinals.
“Our seniors are on a mission.
They’ve been working really hard
since last March,” he said. “We had a
really bad loss on Saturday but we
got back on track.”
The Trojans play at Magruder
Thursday. The Vikings will face
Georgetown Visitation Saturday in
the seventh annual She Got Game
Classic in Washington, D.C.
The Classic will feature more
than 90 varsity girls basketball
teams from 14 states, including
Washington state. Whitman, Damascus and Paint Branch are due to represent Montgomery County in the
tournament
Good Counsel boys trample Sherwood in home opener 58-39
By Carlos Alfaro
@carlosalfarorod
OLNEY— In Good Counsel’s
varsity boys basketball home opener
Friday, the Falcons confidently dispatched Sherwood 58-39, never losing their lead through the game.
The Falcons outclassed the Warriors, who most recently were semifinalists in 2012 and state champions
in 2007, on nearly all fronts.
“Honestly, we weren’t playing
our kind of basketball,” said Sherwood senior guard Chris West. “We
definitely have a better up-tempo in
the game and we like to get up and
down.”
“We came off a bad loss last
night against DeMatha and today
was a good win for us to bounce back
and we have a game with Pallotti.
We’re still in the midst of gelling,
putting things together,” said Good
Counsel head coach David Credle,
the night before Good Counsel lost to
Pallotti 72-66.
Against Sherwood, the Falcons
started nearly evenly matched but
their weakness in free throws
showed, only making two out of six
attempts from the line.
Four came courtesy of sophomore forward Tyler Baylor.
Sophomore guard Davis Long
scored a three-pointer to equalize the
game early on, but it would be the
only time the Warriors would come
close to taking the lead.
The first quarter ended with
Good Counsel leading16-9 after
Sherwood seniors Chris West and
Sean Saintelus provided a short fourpoint run.
The second quarter started with
Long scoring three points, followed
by junior center Cam Norman shooting three for the Falcons.
Good Counsel went on a ninepoint run, including a pair of free
throws from junior guard Monte
Powell, who sent the Falcons into
halftime leading by double digits,
30-15.
In the second half, the Falcons
played even better, leading by 22
points on three separate occasions.
The Warriors used junior guard
John Ervin when possible; scoring
eight points throughout the second
half. They also made five out of six
free throws.
During the last six minutes of
the game, the Falcons offered the
Warriors a final coup de grace, with
Baylor and junior forward James
Valle dunking consecutively.
Senior forward Ian McCann fol-
lowed with a three pointer to line up
seven quick points.
Sherwood head coach Tim
Gilchrist stayed optimistic despite
the loss.
“We recognize that it’s not
about December and the state. It’s
about every game leading up and
working (toward) March and the
playoffs and trying to make a run and
trying to get to Comcast and hang a
banner for your school and prepare
daily, get better,” said Gilchrist, referring to the state finals that will
take place in the Xfinity Center at the
University of Maryland, formerly
known as the Comcast Center.
DECEMBER 10, 2015
THE MONTGOMERY COUNTY SENTINEL
23
SPORTS
Northwest Jaguars start out strong on the mats
By Lem Satterfield
@lemslatest
GERMANTOWN – Northwest’s Moustapha Aloubaidy couldn’t
wait to execute some of the moves he
worked on throughout the offseason.
“Last year, I was up and down
between varsity and junior varsity.
Probably only three matches were on
varsity,” said Aloubaidy. “I put in a lot
of work on over the past three years
and went to camps, like, 24-7, over
the summer. My go-to moves are the
double-leg and the single-leg takedowns, and I couldn’t wait to use
them.”
The 160-pound Jaguars’ senior
did so with aplomb Saturday, finishing Northwood’s Adrian-Roberto
Montero in 2:14 and Watkins Mill’s
over Azmi Abdelrahman in 1:09 during a season-opening dual meet
sweep.
The Jaguars lost just one of the
28 total bouts in taking down Northwood, 76-3, and, Watkins Mill, 77-0.
Northwood handled Watkins Mill,
51-24.
“The first guy I pinned with an
arm-bar and the second guy with a
cradle,” said Aloubaidy. “I’m always
trying to be that aggressive wrestler
who makes the first move and to put
the kid on his back. It was exhilarating.”
Others finishing with two pins
were Yonas Harris (106), Jack Drengwitz (132), Luke Patterson (152) and
Joey Davis (195), while senior Hassan Garrison (160), had a first-period
pin and a technical fall.
Aaron Adato (220) added a pin
and a major decision, Darnell Palmer
(106), Laray Palmer (120), JC Hillis
(126), Harry Chau (285) each had a
pin and a forfeit, and Caleb Blair
(145), a decision against Watkins
Mill. “This win doesn’t really mean
anything to us because we know there
are a lot of work to do,” said
Aloubaidy. “We will savor this win,
but we’ve got to take one match at a
time.”
Last year’s Jaguars (2-0) finished
at 12-2, upending previously undefeated Walter Johnson in the Class
4A-3A West Regional semifinals before falling to eventual state dual meet
champion Damascus in the final.
“This is a rare year when we don’t
bring back a lot of state qualifiers or
state placers to anchor our line up, but
this year, there are a lot of young kids
hungry for success,” said coach Joe
Vukovich.
“Our varsity team this year only
has three returning starters, and we
have nine coming up off our JV team,
three of which were JV champions.
This is really a group that is going to
have to make a name for themselves. I
call this team, ‘The New Kids On The
Block
PHOTO BY JACQUI SOUTH
Hassan Garrison Defeats Anthony Larios in the 160-lb weight class.
Poolesville sets out to defend state dive and swim titles
By Lem Satterfield
@lemslatest
DAMASCUS – With just two
years of high school experience to his
name, Scottie Obendorfer is already
making waves at Damascus.
“(He) ranks up there with some
of the best that I’ve ever coached,”
said former Damascus wrestling
coach Dave Hopkins of the Swarmin’
Hornets’ junior. “All of the kids who
won state titles with me, I consider
them the best.”
Hopkins retired in 2009 after
guiding 13 individual state champions, winning three tournament titles
and two dual meet crowns in 31 seasons at Damascus.
“Scottie’s in the same company
with the Randy Pickett, Brandon
Yorks, the Bobby Manns, the Mike
Bromleys, the Kendall Lloyds. Scottie is in that class of people. Scottie is
mentally tough and he’s seen it all.
He’s won some and lost some, so
nothing phases him. He doesn’t fear
anybody.”
Obendorfer put that fearlessness
on display at the University of Maryland’s Cole Field House last March,
when the then-sophomore faced a
draw and trailed during his respective
120-pound Class 4A-3A semifinal
and title bouts.
Obendorfer had his rivals right
where he wanted them.
“I’m good on my feet, so I’m fine
being just a takedown or two away,”
says Obendorfer of the neutral position. “I’m fine being down a couple of
points at the end of the match.”
Late takedowns secured victories by 3-1 in overtime over Perry
Hall’s Brent Newcomer, and, 5-4,
over Huntingtown’s Gino Sita as
Obendorfer completed a 42-2 season
(14 pins, eight technical falls) by becoming the Swarmin’ Hornets’ second-ever sophomore state champion.
Obendorfer was among eight
state place winners, pacing the
Swarmin’ Hornets to their fourth
overall tournament title following a
25-0 dual meet record toward earning
the program’s third straight dual meet
championship.
There was state runner-up Owen
Brooks (170), third place two-time
state champ Mikey Macklin (113),
Michael Wilkerson (132), Cory
Obendorfer (138) and Colin
McGlaughlin (160), as well as fourth
place Ari Cacopardo (182) for Damascus, which also earned its fourth
consecutive Montgomery County
tournament crown before taking the
Class 4A-3A Regional crown four the
third straight season.
“I may have met Scottie once,
but I haven't seen him wrestle, but I
hear that he’s really good,” said York,
a two-time state champion and fourtime Atlantic Coast Conference title
winner at the University of Maryland.
“I wish him the best to become Damascus' first three-time state champion.
I wished Mikey Macklin the same last
year. Unfortunately, he fell short.”
Wrestling bloodlines run deep
for Obendorfer, the youngest of seven
and the third boy of former Eddie Sr.,
a 51-year-old former County champion and regional runner-up who graduated from Wootton in 1982.
Eddie Jr.’s senior season was
Hopkins’ final year, brother Cory
graduated last season, cousin Keith
Obendorfer was a Swarmin Hornet
through 2007, and cousins Frankie
and Eddie Baughan earned state titles
at Quince Orchard in the early 2000s.
“Scottie’s the last one here, so he
understands tradition as far as Damascus and family goes,” said Eddie Jr.,
an assistant with his father to John
Ferguson. “It’s our job to keep him
centered and focused since the bar is
set at a state championship, but he’s
already exceeded most of our expectations.”
A two-time county champion
who lost in regional finals to the state
runner-up during his freshman year,
Scottie Obendorfer discussed family
legacy, among other things, next to
Eddie Sr. in Ferguson’s office following a recent practice.
“It’s cool to keep the name alive
and carry on the legacy, my cousins
coming to my matches, my brother
[assistant Eddie Jr.] helping me out,”
said Obendorfer, a red-haired, 17year-old junior who can become the
program’s first-ever three-time state
champion. “It would be really cool to
be the first three-timer. That motivates me a little bit. But I can’t get
ahead of myself. That’s when you get
upset.”
Obendorfer’s lone defeats came
during last year's fourth-place finish
at The War on the Shore by decisions
to private schools runner-up Michael
Doetsch of Severn and third-place
private schools finisher Kyle Trybus
of Mount St. Joseph.
“The two matches at War on the
Shore were awesome, back and forth
competition,” said Ferguson of
Obendorfer, who was 42-4 with 22
pins as a freshman. “I think that he
learned from that and was better prepared from the intensity, which got
him ready for states.”
Obendorfer secured another tight
victory during the Swarmin’ Hornets’
30-29 dual meet title-winning effort
against North Hagerstown, edging
eventual state champ Brian Stuart 54. Stuart also narrowly defeated
Macklin 6-4 in the state quarterfinals.
“Scott had to win for us to win,
and he knew it at the time,” recalled
Eddie Sr. of his son, who carries a
weighted 4.26 grade average. “At
that point, we knew we were sort of
out of it unless Scott won. Eddie [Jr.]
slapped Scott’s hand and was about to
explain that to him when Scott said, ‘I
got this.’”
Returning from last year with
Obendorfer (126 or 132) are County
champions McGlaughlin (152-170)
and Brendan Parent (152-170) and
County runner-up TJ Macklin (113126).
A senior, McGlaughlin was a region title winner. The juniors Macklin and Parent placed second and
third.
Johnny McGlaughlin (120) and
Elijah Baisden (195) “are two incoming freshmen who are ready contribute this year,” said Ferguson, who
will also have and sophomores Ryan
Lawrence (138), Luke Carls (145)
and his own son, John Allan Ferguson Jr. (138-145) at his disposal.
Other wrestlers include senior
Davey Creegan (145-152), junior
Mikey Bradshaw (220) and sophomore Ben Lokos (170-182).
“There is no pressure for Scottie
to be a repeat state champ. He’s just
one of the guys,” said Ferguson. “But
we do look to him as a leader. It’s just
going out there and doing something
that you’ve been doing since you’ve
been walking.”
24
THE MONTGOMERY COUNTY SENTINEL
DECEMBER 10, 2015
SPORTS
Springbrook on top
By Brandy L. Simms
@BLS1969
GERMANTOWN – Falu Seck
went off like a volcano Tuesday night
against Seneca Valley.
The Springbrook senior guard
erupted for a game-high 29 points to
lead the Blue Devils to an 84-71 road
victory over the Screamin’ Eagles.
“They count on me for a lot,
scoring wise and defensive wise,”
said Seck, who holds an offer from
Virginia Union, “so I think me showing leadership it builds confidence
which allows us to do good in
games.”
Seck and the Blue Devils controlled the tempo of the game from
start to finish. His three-pointer midway through the first quarter helped
Springbrook build a 19-6 advantage
and the Blue Devils led 30-13 at the
end of the period.
“He’s a good player,” said
Springbrook head coach Darnell Myers. “He knew that once he started
feeling that his jumper was on then he
knew it was his game. When he plays
like that I usually let him go because I
know what he can do and what he
can’t do.”
Springbrook senior guard Darren
Galvin finished with 18 points and ten
assists and senior forward EJ Dyson
added 12 points and nine rebounds for
the Blue Devils who improved to 2-0.
“We practice hard and I think it
shows out on the court,” said Seck,
who also finished with seven assists,
two steals and one blocked shot.
The highlight of the game came
late in the second quarter when
Springbrook sophomore guard
Matthew Balanc rose high above the
rim for an earth-shattering slam dunk
that excited the crowd.
“I thought that was good,” said
Myers, “because our team got a little
fired up after that dunk.”
Meanwhile, Seneca Valley was
led by sophomore guard Triston Price
who finished with a team-high 21
points. Tyran Crawford (12 points),
Kareem Matthew (10 points) and
Brandon Simpson (10 points) also
scored in double figures for the
Screamin’ Eagles who fell to 1-1.
PHOTO BY DAVID WOLFE
Darren Galvin puts up the layup while Brandon Simpson looks for the block.
Hornets come from behind
By David Wolfe
@The_Red_D
DAMASCUS – During its
home opener, the Damascus varsity
girls basketball team stunned Paint
Branch with a come-from-behind
56-43 victory Friday.
Damascus guard Tiana Stewart
(21 points) led the Swarmin’ Hornets
in scoring while Tori Marella (16
points) and Kalynn Sefcik (9 points)
combined with Stewart to put up a
majority of the home team’s points.
Alana McFadden (15 points)
topped Paint Branch in scoring, followed closely Autumn Ashe (12
points). The Hornets opened the door
with the first bucket of the game but
neither team scored again until more
than two minutes after tip-off.
Paint Branch led 12-9 halfway
through the second period with the
Panthers benefiting from an overall
height advantage.
However, Damascus turned up
the speed during the first four minutes before halftime, scoring 13
points, four more points than the
Hornets scored during the first 12
minutes.
Meanwhile, the Damascus defense held Paint Branch to six points
and the Hornets carried a 24-18 advantage into intermission.
Damascus opened the third
quarter with the first ball through the
hoop. The Hornets put the pressure
on Paint Branch with steals and
blocked shots.
The Hornets maintained their
speed throughout the third quarter
and the Panther players appeared fatigued, allowing Damascus to carry a
42-30 lead into the fourth quarter.
Paint Branch did not recapture
the lead in the game as turnovers and
fatigue plagued the team.
Any glimmers of superiority by
the Panthers, a semi-finalist in last
year’s state tournament, Damascus
quickly answered.
Terps hire new football coach
By Brandy L. Simms
@BLS1969
PHOTO BY DAVID WOLFE
The game even surprised the lady
Hornets.
The Panthers could not overcome the speed of the Hornets in the
fourth period. Tension between the
teams rose during the last two minutes of the game from adrenaline fueled mistakes that resulted in several
foul calls by the referees.
COLLEGE PARK – The University of Maryland last week announced the hiring of new head football coach DJ Durkin.
The 37-year-old Ohio native
spent the 2015 campaign as the defensive coordinator and linebackers
coach at the University of Michigan
where he worked under Wolverines
head coach Jim Harbaugh.
Under Durkin’s leadership, the
Wolverines have held opponents to
17.2 points per game and amassed
three consecutive shutouts during
this season including a 28-0 victory
over Maryland on October 3.
“We began this search looking
for a candidate with qualities that
aligned with our vision for the football program, and throughout the
process it became clear DJ was the
perfect fit,” said Maryland Director
of Athletics Kevin Anderson. “He
has had success at some of the nation’s most preeminent football programs, is recognized as one of the top
recruiters in the country and is widely respected as one of the top young
coaches across the college football
landscape.”
As the defensive coordinator at
Florida from 2013-14, Durkin led the
Gators to consecutive top-15 rankings in total defense with the 15th
best mark in the country in 2014 and
the eighth-best mark in 2013.
In Durkin’s first season as defensive coordinator, Florida finished
first in the Southeastern Conference
and seventh in the country in pass
defense, sixth in first downs allowed
and 15th in scoring defense while allowing only 27 touchdowns.
Durkin also served a two-year
stint as special teams coordinator
and linebackers coach at Florida
where he coached under current Atlanta Falcons head coach Dan
Quinn.
Quince Orchard girls edge Magruder 55-50 in season opener
By Brandy L. Simms
@BLS1969
ROCKVILLE – As a freshman during the 2014-15 campaign, Jordan Odom burst onto
the varsity girls basketball scene
and led Quince Orchard in scoring
en route to earning All-Sentinel
honors.
This season, the Cougars will
again look to Odom to help carry
the load as she did during Quince
Orchard’s 55-50 road victory Friday over Magruder.
“We’ve got a new team,” said
Quince Orchard head coach Chris
Campbell. “A lot of the pieces are
back but they’re playing new
roles and different positions.”
Odom, a 5-foot-7 sophomore
point guard, combined with junior
center Danni Lehner to score 33
points for Quince Orchard.
Lehner put up a game-high 17
points and Odom, who finished
with 16 points, said the key to victory was “working together and
playing good defense.”
“You get one chance to start
1-0,” said Campbell. “You take
them one step at a time.”
Meanwhile, senior guard
Caleema Johnson led Magruder
with a team-high 13 points.
The game featured a seesaw
battle and neither team led by
more than a few points throughout
the entire contest.
Quince Orchard took a 20-18
advantage into the halftime break
and led by three points entering
the fourth quarter.
Magruder senior forward
Shaye Jones (10 points) knocked
down a 3-pointer with 4:52 remaining in the fourth quarter to
provide the Colonels a 38-35 lead
before Odom cut the deficit to 3837 on a short one-handed jump
shot on the next possession.
Both teams traded baskets for
much of the final quarter but
Odom helped sealed the game for
Quince Orchard.
The sophomore drained a
foul shot with 18.6 seconds left
and her classmate Maggie Regan
put the finishing touches on the
win with a buzzer beater as time
expired.
“We were at our best playing
defense and playing out in transition,” said Campbell. “That was
our best offense tonight.”