Kentlands Inspects for Violations

Gaithersburg’s Hometown Newspaper | Serving Kentlands, Lakelands, Quince Orchard Park and More
The
TOWN
Vol. 8, No. 2
Courier
www.towncourier.com • Week 3
January 21, 2011
Kentlands
Inspects for
Violations
By Sonya Burke
O
K
n
KENTLANDS nspections
See Police Beat on page 5
CCT Input
Requested
by Feb. 1
By Krista Brick
entlands residents should
prepare their homes for inspections that two years ago
netted nearly 300 violation letters
in that community.
Community
Inspection
Services (CIS), a firm hired by
the Kentlands Citizens’ Assembly,
began checking the community
street by street this month. The
first time this firm handled the
Kentlands community-wide inspection was in 2009, for a cost
of $5,000 to $7,000. Kentlands
leaders would not say how much
the inspection work will cost this
time.
Kentlands Assistant Manager
Chantel Ried said she has “five
huge binders worth” of violation
notices resulting from the 2009
inspection process.
“One of the critical responsibilities of most homeowners’ associations is enforcing architectural codes and home maintenance
rules,” said KCA President Rachael
Henderson Hammoudeh. “These
are drafted to help keep all property values up by ensuring consistent
Air Bag Thefts on the Rise
Photo | Clark W. Day Photography
A MARC train sits on the railroad tracks at South Summit Avenue after it struck a pedestrian on Jan. 14.
Elderly Man Killed by MARC Train
By Sonya Burke
A
n 81-year-old Gaithersburg resident was
struck and killed by a MARC train at
7:52 a.m. at South Summit Avenue in
Olde Towne on Jan. 14.
Montgomery County Corporal Dan Friz said
the victim, identified as James Thomas Clemons
of the 400 block of Russell Avenue, had just been
in the local coffee shop when he tried to beat the
train to get to the south side.
“He didn’t make it in time,” said Friz.
Fire rescue crews attempted to administer
emergency care, but Clemons died on the scene,
according to police.
While the investigation was underway, the
train remained on the tracks blocking South
Summit Avenue for several hours and making the morning rush hour a long one for area
commuters.
CSX closed both tracks while the investigation
was underway, and MARC commuters were
transported via bus to their destinations further
south on the line and into Washington, D.C.
Continued on page 9
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The Town Courier
309 Main Street
Gaithersburg, MD 20878
A Dog’s Day
By Sonya Burke
T
PRSRT-STD
U.S. POSTAGE
PAID
Gaithersburg
MD
Permit #1722
he Kentlands Petsmart was
packed on the morning of
Jan. 9 as dozens of Labrador
lovers turned out for Adopt-ALab Day at the local pet store.
One woman drove up from
West Virginia and stayed in a
local hotel in order to be at the
event bright and early.
“She went home with a wonderful dog,” said Lab Rescue
Board Member and Volunteer
Wendy Finn.
Between 50 and 100 people attended the heartwarming event,
which Finn said had to be moved
inside the Kentlands store because
of the weather.
Photo | Phil Fabrizio
Dog lovers looking to bring home a new Labrador Retriever turned out for an adoption event at
the Kentlands Petsmart earlier this month.
“It was so cold,” said Finn.
Inside it was a little crammed as
there were 19 dogs roaming the
aisles with their foster families
and Lab Rescue volunteers.
Finn reports 13 adoptions oc-
n a snowy night, Rick
Kiegel, the project manager for the Corridor Cities
Transitway (CCT), traveled
to Quince Orchard Park from
Baltimore Jan. 11 to provide residents with the latest news on the
proposed transitway.
When built, the CCT will provide transit from the Shady Grove
Metro station to the COMSAT
facility just south of Clarksburg.
The project, which will run for
14 to 16 miles, will either be light
rail or bus rapid transit with stateof-the-art vehicles carrying passengers. Either mode will have a
dedicated right-of-way, which is
already reserved for the project.
Kiegel said residents have until
Feb. 1 to provide comments about
the CCT’s supplemental environmental assessment that was released late last year. The SEA focuses on alignment modifications
near Crown Farm, Belward Farm
and Kentlands.
A public hearing on the SEA
was held in December to a standing-room only crowd at the
Activity Center at Bohrer Park.
n
CCT MEETING Continued on page 6
curred that morning and several
others were matched up shortly
after the event. She said there was
a total of 30 applications.
“[Kentlands Petsmart] is a very
successful location,” said Finn.
“We are usually able to find a dog
for most folks.”
What makes the Labrador
Retrievers so popular?
According to Finn, the dog
breed is known as loving, playful,
happy and sociable. She said the
dogs “adore people.”
On this day, the dogs ranged
in age from puppies to adulthood
and they came in three different
colors: black, chocolate and yellow. Finn said yellow dogs tend to
be the most popular with families
wanting to adopt.
n
dog day Continued on page 12
Page 2
The Town Courier
January 21, 2011
The Town Courier
January 21, 2011
Page 3
Attached Living “Just Works” for QOP Family
By Brooke Thaler
T
anya and Melissa Bernstein are
best friends. They also happen
to be sisters-in-law, married
to brothers Brad (Tanya) and Darren
(Melissa). And they are next-door
neighbors, living in an attached duplex
in Quince Orchard Park.
Both couples moved into their
homes in 2002 after each wanted to
live in the neighborhood and liked the
same type of house. They were first
and second on the waiting list, which
meant they would end up on same
street when the homes became available. When given the choice of exact
location, “we chose next door,” said
Tanya.
Both couples were engaged when
they moved in — in fact, Darren and
By Sonya Burke
Community Table Set for Feb. 2
Photo | Brooke Thaler
The Bernstein family now equals eight — Sean, Tanya, Jordan, Brad, Ethan, Darren, Taylor and Melissa. Melissa got engaged on Moving Day.
The couples were profiled by The
Town Courier in 2004 when it was just
the four of them; almost seven years
later, they’re all still there but have
n attached living Continued on page 12
New Fitness Trends Tap Main Street
By Brooke Thaler
W
Photo | Brooke Thaler
Lili Rojas teaches a popular Sunday morning
Zumba class at Studio Booseh in Kentlands.
hen Lili Rojas started teaching Zumba four years ago,
it was a relatively new exercise that had not yet taken off in this
area. But now “Zumba is all over the
place,” said Rojas. “The growth has
been incredible.”
Rojas was one of the first Zumba
teachers in this area and was able
to build a large following. She has
brought many of her clients over to
Studio Booseh, which Souzan Mills
opened in December on Main Street
in Kentlands. “So far, so good,” said
Mills.
In addition to the extremely popular Zumba, a Latin-inspired, dance
fitness program, Studio Booseh
(which means “kiss” in Farsi) offers
Mills’ cardio belly dancing classes,
cardio kickboxing, TRX Suspension
courses, personal training and slide
training. While Mills and Rojas
think the TRX courses could become the “next big thing” in exercises, it’s the dance classes that are
filling up the studio.
“People retain their interest; they
don’t get sick of it after a year,” said
Rojas. “There are no levels — it’s
what you put into it. Everyone in the
same class gets different results.”
Another bonus, she said, is that
“you do not need to know how to
dance to do Zumba.”
In addition to being a dancer,
Rojas has a degree in exercise physiology and an extensive background
in fitness, components of which she
really tries to incorporate into the
dance. She also works as a physical
education instructor at Montgomery
College, where she teaches some
Zumba classes. “I get 18-year-old
students in one class, then the staff
for a wellness class, so professors and
n
zumba Continued on page 6
Colonnade Businesses Enjoy Prime Location
By Brooke Thaler
D
r. Gerald Chan has been practicing dentistry since 1983
in the Gaithersburg area,
but he says that relocating his practice, Gaithersburg Dental Care,
from Montgomery Village to the
Colonnade at Kentlands almost four
years ago was the perfect move.
“It’s been terrific,” said Chan,
whose practice was the first commercial business to move into the
Colonnade. “It has a nice feel to it.
There’s a community feeling that
was missing from our location in
Montgomery Village.”
While almost every patient made
the five-mile move to the new office,
Chan has also brought in new pan
colonnade
Continued on page 13
SHOPTALK
The Kentlands Community Foundation (KCF)
is launching a new initiative called the Community
Table at O’Donnell’s Sea Grill on Feb. 2 at
6:30 p.m. Organizers say this is one way residents can support neighborhood businesses while
also forging relationships and creating a space
for creative ideas to emerge. Interested residents
should RSVP to the restaurant directly, referencing Community Table, at least 48 hours before the
dinner. Participants will cover their own food and
drink and a volunteer from the KCF will help facilitate conversations and connections. Restaurants
interested in hosting a future Community Table
should contact Mary Fehlig at [email protected].
Cut-A-Thon at Salon Red
Salon Red will be hosting a cut-a-thon in support of the Message of Hope Cancer Fund, Inc. on
Sunday, Feb. 20 from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. Participants
will receive a haircut and blow dry for a minimum
$45 donation with 100 percent of sales going to the
Message of Hope Cancer Fund, Inc. To make an
appointment, call 240.631.0163.
Sign Ordinance Hearing
Business owners should note that a joint public
hearing with the Mayor and Council and Planning
Commission on proposed revisions to the city’s
sign ordinance will be held on Feb. 7. For more
information, call the city’s Planning Department
at 301.258.6330.
Space for Lease
The Beatty Companies, the owner of Market
Square, is leasing a new spot behind Five Below on
Kentlands Boulevard. Scott Cregger said the space
is approximately 3,000 square feet. “We are awaiting build-out depending on the tenant’s needs,” he
said.
KDP Meeting Set for Jan. 19
At press time, the Kentlands Downtown
Partnership (KDP) was scheduled to meet a week
later than expected, on Jan. 19, at Kentlands
Nutrition. The monthly meeting was pushed back
a week because of wintry weather. President Paula
Ross said the discussion that begins at 7:30 p.m.
would include membership activities, fundraising and setting a 2011 priority agenda, including
for this year’s city elections. For more information about the KDP and future meetings, contact
Ross at [email protected] or visit the KDP’s
website at www.kentlandsdowntown.com.
Photo | Phil Fabrizio
Photo | Brooke Thaler
Dr. Gerald Chan of Gaithersburg Dental Care was the first business to move into the Colonnade almost four
years ago. He and dental assistant Gwen Robinson love the Kentlands location just off of Quince Orchard
Road.
From Kentlands With Love
Main Street looked like it belonged on a wintry postcard at it dazzled
beneath a thin blanket of snow on the evening of Jan. 11.
Page 4
The Town Courier
January 21, 2011
YOUR VIEWS
“Libraries Matter” — No More Cuts
To the Editor:
[On Jan. 10] the county executive, [Isiah]
Leggett, held an open forum at the regional government offices in Germantown to
present the details of the county’s financial budget and the problems he and his
administration are facing due to the shortfall in revenue during the current financial
recession.
Local volunteers from Quince Orchard
Library and other county libraries were
present, not only to listen, but to demonstrate on behalf of local library card holders. With more than six out of 10 county
residents holding library membership cards,
this has the potential to be a strong voice in
the library needs. Last year alone the expenditure on county libraries dropped by more
than 20 percent compared with an average
cut of only 5 percent for other agencies.
As part of their “Libraries Matter” NO
MORE CUTS campaign, the volunteers
asked Mr. Leggett whether he had plans to
close libraries in the county and, if so, which
ones. He refused to be drawn and reiterated
that everything was still on the table.
During the meeting, [I] held up a sign
that read “KEEP THE LIBRARY LIGHTS
ON” as well as a small, white, battery-operated lighted candle; this highly effective
visual demonstration caused much laughter
and applause.
The library volunteers came away from
that meeting very satisfied that they had
been able to effectively make the case that
cuts in library funding would profoundly
affect the services that they can offer and
that closures should definitely not be considered at this time.
— Richard Etches
Kentlands
Our Dog Duty
To the Editor:
I struggled to come up with a clever and
funny way to inject humor into a matter
that happens every year when the weather
changes. The trouble is there is nothing humorous about a pile of poop sitting there on
the sidewalk or in the grass in all its glory. It
only makes our otherwise well maintained
neighborhood unsightly. Folks, the rules don’t change. They remain the same here and everywhere. Just
because the cold weather arrives and bad
weather hits, dogs still need to go out to do
their business, and cleanup still needs to be
performed. That’s what we agreed to when
we got our furry friends, and it’s the law. In the summer, it stays light out later and
lots of folks are out walking about. I know
that our stand-up citizens would say something to the offenders if he/she didn’t pick
up after their pet. But because it gets dark
earlier and the weather is colder, it happens
mostly at night when dog owners selfishly
let their pooch out because its too cold to
accompany them or because they think that
they can get away with it because its dark
and no one is watching.
Walking is the way of life here in the
Kentlands. Let’s take pride in our neighborhood all year long, no matter the season. Don’t be afraid to say something or offer a bag to an offender. I’m asking all dog owners to be stand-up
citizens and use your sense of decency when
walking your dog. Please clean up after your
pooch. Do not allow your pet out without
your supervision. Your dog will choose a
neighbor’s yard over his own to do his business. That’s just wrong. Do your “dooty”
— pun intended. — Karen Palman
Kentlands
lutely no way I would read 50 books in a
year. But I could promise to read works by
at least two authors who would be presenting at the Gaithersburg Book Festival before
the event on May 21, 2011. And to make it
a real challenge, I wouldn’t count any books
by the children’s authors that my kids love
— like Joseph Slate of Miss Bindergarten
fame or Erica Perl, author of the Norris
household perennial favorite “Chicken
Butt” — who I met personally last spring at
the inaugural festival.
Thankfully the list of featured authors
(http://www.gaithersburgbookfestival.
org/featuredauthors.htm) and possible
books I can choose from is growing daily,
as the dedicated staff and volunteers of the
Gaithersburg Book Festival continue to recruit impressive talent for the second annual
event.
Because I’ve always been a fan of murder mysteries and crime novels, I’ve decided
to start with Brad Parks’ 2010 debut novel,
“Faces of the Gone,” which won two of the
mystery genre’s most prestigious awards, the
Nero Award and the Shamus Award. Once
I’ve finished that, I’m hoping to dive into
Sarah Pekkanen’s “The Opposite of Me” for
a change of pace, a dose of humor and exploration into the lives of adult — though
n ONE FOR THE BOOKS Continued on page 5
OTHER VOICES
This New Year’s Resolution Is One for the Books
By Gail Norris
A
s the excitement from Christmas and
visiting family and friends waned in
the last week of December, I finally
had a few quiet moments to reflect on the
past 12 months and consider what I wanted
to accomplish in 2011. I’m not a big believer in “resolutions” — they tend to be too
grandiose and lead to feelings of frustration
and failure when they ultimately are broken. Instead, I prefer to set goals — meaningful and, more importantly, achievable
milestones.
Looking back, in 2010 I achieved my
two biggest goals. Bring in new clients for
my business … check. Become more active
in my community and for causes I admire
through volunteering … check. But what
did that leave for 2011? What different goals
could I set? Sure, going to the gym and exercising regularly is a no-brainer. Everyone
sets that goal at the beginning of the year.
( Just visit any gym in the area in January for
proof of that!) I wanted something more.
I just wasn’t sure what that “more” was …
until I started skimming Facebook and saw
an update from an editor at a newspaper in
the town where I grew up. She was writing a blog called “About a Book,” in which
she was chronicling her mission to read 50
books in a calendar year.
That’s it, I thought. That’s something I
should try to do, too, especially since I’ve
been volunteering as the public relations cochair for the Gaithersburg Book Festival for
more than a year-and-a-half now. To serve
in that role and not read more from current
authors would be hypocritical, right?
It’s not that I don’t ever read. In fact, I
read and write all day — and late into many
evenings. But that’s for work, never pleasure
or escape.
But given my lifestyle — busy, self-employed mom of almost 5-year-old twins
who has cancelled several beloved magazine subscriptions because there’s just not
enough minutes in my day to read even
short articles — was such a goal even attainable? Surely it could be, if I adjusted my
expectations, right?
I had to face the facts — there was absoDiane Dorney
Publisher
301.330.0132
[email protected]
309 Main Street
Gaithersburg, MD 20878
For Advertising: 301.279.2304
Also on the Web at www.towncourier.com.
Matt Danielson
President
301.330.0132
[email protected]
Sonya Burke
Managing News Editor
[email protected]
Debi Rosen
Advertising Director
301.279.2304
[email protected]
Claire Fleischer
Copy Editor
Staff Photographers
Clark Day
Phil Fabrizio
Staff Writers
Patsy Beckman
Krista Brick
Nora Caplan
Mike Cuthbert,
Betty Hafner
Sheilah Kaufman,
Karen O’Keefe
Brooke Thaler
©2011 Courier Communications
The Town Courier is an independent monthly newspaper providing news
and information for the communities of Kentlands, Lakelands and Quince
Orchard Park in Gaithersburg, Md. The paper is published by Courier
Communications, which is responsible for the form, content and policies
of the newspaper. The Town Courier does not espouse any political belief or
endorse any product or service in its news coverage. Articles and letters submitted for publication must be signed and may be edited for length or content. The Town Courier is not responsible for any claims made by advertisers
Letters to the Editor and Commentary do not necessarily ref lect the views
of the staff, management or advertisers of The Town Courier.
January 21, 2011
The Town Courier
Page 5
POLICEBEAT
Airbag Thefts on the Rise
Gaithersburg police are warning residents
that cars are being targeted, not for the valuables left inside, but for the airbags found in
the steering columns.
Diane Gerber knows all about it. On
Nov. 9, while parked in the parking garage
at the Colonnade community in Kentlands,
both her two Honda Civics were broken
into, their airbags dismantled and removed.
“It was very easy for them to do. Now
that I have seen what they did, I could do it
in five minutes or less,” Gerber said.
Both her 2008 and 2010 Honda Civics
were locked, and both had their back rear
window smashed sometimes between
12:30 a.m. and 7 a.m.
Although her purse was also in the car, the
thieves dumped out its contents, leaving her
credit cards but taking her sunglasses.
“They obviously knew what they wanted.
They came for the airbags,” she said.
Police agree. In addition to Gerber’s cars,
police say thieves broke into another car
parked along Arch Place in Kentlands on
Dec. 16, also taking an airbag.
“It takes skill to steal an airbag. Due to the
way the airbags are assembled and wired, if
someone is not properly trained or has the
understanding of it they may seriously injure themselves,” said Gaithersburg Police
Officer Dan Lane.
Police say shady auto repair shops put
the word out to thieves, requesting airbags
from certain car makes and models. Often
they want airbags from foreign cars such as
Hondas, Toyotas and Nissans.
“The airbags are taken and sold to area
auto shops who are willing to pay high dollar for them,” Lane said.
Gerber said she was told an airbag like the
one taken from her car sells for up to $400.
Other thefts recently reported included
along Kendrick Place on Oct. 31 when license plate tags were stolen and along Booth
Street where a car was broken into but nothing was stolen. Four reports of thefts from
auto included cars along Granite Place on
Nov. 9, Tschiffely Square Road on Nov. 11,
and Beacon Hill Terrace on Dec. 16. Lane
said in those incidences GPS systems, a laptop bag and a purse were stolen.
“The Gaithersburg Police [are] fully com-
■ ONE FOR THE BOOKS
from page 4
fictional — twins.
While these books reflect my personal interests and desired routes of escapism, the
2011 Gaithersburg Book Festival has something for everyone. Among the featured
authors already announced are best-selling Civil War historian James L. Swanson,
Oprah Book Club favorite and New York
Times bestselling author Elizabeth Berg,
Redskins historian Mike Richman, New
York Times best-selling spy novelist Alex
Berenson, national best-selling fiction author Meg Waite Clayton, 2010 National
Book Award winner and young adult novelist Kathryn Erskine, and award-winning
mitted to locating these individuals and are
seeking any help from the citizens,” Lane
said. “These incidences mostly occur during the early morning hours when residents
are sleeping.”
Police are encouraging residents to leave
on porch and driveway lights to help deter
thieves.
— Krista Brick
Officers Return from Leave
Following Police Shooting
Four Gaithersburg police officers are back
on the city beat again following a policeinvolved shooting on Jan. 6.
According to police, the officers were
working undercover on a car thefts
investigation in the
School Drive area
when a resident
who lived nearby allegedly fired
multiple shots at
them. One officer,
identified as Brian
Grimes, returned
fire.
Photo | MCPD
No one was
Phillip Watson
injured
in
the
shooting,
but
Montgomery County Police have arrested
Phillip Watson and charged him with attempted murder, first-degree assault, use of
a concealed handgun in the commission of
a crime of violence, transport and possession
of a handgun, and four counts of reckless
endangerment.
Police say he is being held without bond at
the Montgomery County Detention Center.
The four Gaithersburg Police officers
were put on administrative leave following
the shooting.
“Administrative leave is granted to police
officers that have been involved in a traumatic incident for a minimum of 72 hours,”
said Gaithersburg Police Chief Mark Sroka.
Montgomery County Police Captain Paul
Starks said county police are conducting
two separate investigations (the suspect’s arrest and the firing of a service weapon by
an officer) of this incident, which he said is
standard procedure.
— Sonya Burke
children’s authors Mary Downing Hahn
and Mary Quattlebaum, to name just a few.
If you haven’t already made your resolution — or set some goals — for the new
year, I’d like to invite you to join me in my
challenge. Read two books by authors who
will be featured at the 2011 Gaithersburg
Book Festival and then come meet the authors on Saturday, May 21. Even better,
I’d love to hear from you as you read those
books. “Like” us on Facebook and post
there about your own experiences trying to
meet this goal for 2011.
Gail Norris is a communications and public
relations consultant and the co-chair of the Public
Relations Committee for the Gaithersburg Book
Festival (www.gaithersburgbookfestival.org).
exp. 1/31/11
Page 6
The Town Courier
January 21, 2011
Pedestrian Safety Reviewed at LPMS
By Sonya Burke
City officials met with Montgomery
County Public Schools (MCPS) officials on Jan. 7 to discuss reconfiguring the parking lot and drop-off areas
at Lakelands Park Middle School, according to Gaithersburg’s Engineering
Services Director Ollie Mumpower.
The city’s top traffic engineer said officials are looking at both short-term and
long-term solutions to keep the buses off
Bright Meadow Lane. He said MCPS
■ CCT MEETING
from page 1
Kiegel said over 265 people attended that
meeting including some King Farm residents who were concerned about the alignment that runs through their community.
Since that meeting, Kiegel said his staff
has been working with the city of Rockville
to find solutions for these residents. He said
their feedback has not set back the project’s
timeline.
After Feb. 1, Kiegel said his office will
forward a comprehensive report to the governor’s office. In the second quarter of this
year, Kiegel said Gov. Martin O’Malley is
expected to decide the route and the mode
of the CCT.
During this process, the city of
Gaithersburg asked for a couple of alignment changes to accommodate growth
and future development in the city. Kiegel
said although the CCT is master-planned
to run through QOP with a station near
MedImmune, the city is hoping the alignment is moved over to the Kentlands side to
better support the downtown Main Street
area.
Kiegel said Ride-On bus service will access the local CCT station via routes 56, 67,
74 and 76. Currently the master plan alignment in QOP includes a 13- to 14-minute
ride to the Shady Grove station. The alignment change will add eight to 10 minutes
to the Shady Grove station from Kentlands
but will also increase ridership on the line
dramatically, according to Kiegel.
He said the requested alignment shifts actually increase ridership 45 percent while
the cost goes up 15 percent.
“Although the costs are higher,” Kiegel
said. “Ridership far outweighs the cost,
making it beneficial to the project.”
■ zumba
from page 3
administrators. Right there you see how it
is for all ages. Even the dean [of the college] takes Zumba. It really appeals to everyone. No one ever says, ‘I’m not able to
follow you.’”
Studio Booseh is shaping up to be a
full-service spa. Mills is licensed aesthetician and is offering a range of spa treatments; she hopes to eventually add Botox
and laser hair removal. Mills, who lives in
Darnestown and is the mom of two sons,
hopes the location brings in people who are
looking for any or all of the services and
officials are now working on some concept drawings.
Mumpower said a recent traffic study
of the area commissioned by the city revealed that the number of cars traveling
in front of the school is highest before
the start of school and then at dismissal.
He said speeding is not a problem.
Planning and Code Administration
Director Greg Ossont said he will be setting up a follow-up meeting with parents and school officials to discuss the
city’s findings in the coming weeks.
QOP Board member Steve Scharf wanted
to know what happens to the right-of-way
in QOP if the alignment is shifted. Kiegel
said that was a decision for Gaithersburg
leaders, but he thought it should be preserved in case something didn’t work with
the revised alignment.
QOP President Troy Kennedy asked
how QOP residents are expected to access the Kentlands station. Kiegel said that
was a good question that had not been fully worked out yet by local leaders. He said
access to MedImmune’s property may also
be a concern because it would not be conducive for residents to cross at the current
Great Seneca Highway intersection.
Asked when construction could begin on
the project, Kiegel said at the end of 2015 at
the earliest. He also stressed that there is no
money designated for the design and start of
construction at this point. When work does
begin, he said, the transitway would probably be built in two different phases with the
first phase stopping at Metropolitan Grove.
When one resident asked if QOP residents would be driving over track or the
right-of-way when entering or exiting
the community, Kiegel said yes. He said
Lakelands would also be built at grade.
He said the transitway would be built over
Kentlands Boulevard and would not affect
the intersection there. He said both modes
would not be any noisier than traffic already
is in the area, and he said the hours would
be comparable to Metro. The Kentlands
station is proposed near the Lowes Home
Store.
For more on the CCT’s route including
links to submit your comments by Feb. 1,
visit the project’s website at www.cctmaryland.com.
classes provided.
“Before I started the business, I was always
here shopping at Whole Foods, Michael’s,
my favorite Starbucks and sushi. It reminded me of Europe,” she said. “I always wanted to have a studio that offered services to
people here. It’s close to home, close to my
kids. I know a lot of people here.”
Prices are $125/month for a membership.
Classes are eight for $8 Zumba and $10 for
cardio belly dancing. Drop-ins are $12; the
first class is free.
“We know if someone comes in to try it,
they will see the quality of the classes,” said
Rojas. “You can come dance for one hour
and forget about everything.”
The Town Courier
January 21, 2011
Page 7
The ParkPages
News and Current Events for Quince Orchard Park
n
Meeting and Event Calendar
1/24 Condo I, 7 p.m.
1/26 Condo II, 7 p.m.
2/8 QOP Board, 7 p.m.
E-mail your contributions to: [email protected]
n
JANUARY 2011
MANAGEMENT MENTIONS
Trash and Bulk Pickup
Trash is picked up twice a week or on Tuesdays and
Fridays in QOP. Remember, residents should always
store both their garbage and recycling bins out of sight
except on collection day. Residents should also note
that Gaithersburg provides free, bulk pickup service on
the first recycling day of every month.
Wintry Weather
Photo | Phil Fabrizio
QOP residents review a map outlining the two alignments of the Corridor Cities Transitway (CCT) following a Jan. 11 status report on the project.
First Board Meeting of the New Year
By Sonya Burke
A
fter taking the month of
December off, the Quince
Orchard Park board of
directors met on Jan. 11 at the
community’s clubhouse for the first
homeowners’ association meeting of
the year.
A new policy that limits the homeowners’ forum portion of the meeting to a total of 20 minutes or three
minutes per person was instituted at
the top of the meeting.
President Troy Kennedy explained
the measure was to ensure that board
business could be completed in a
timely manner because in the past, he
said, the meetings have stretched near
the midnight hour.
After taking one month off, the
board’s January agenda was packed.
The meeting officially began with a
presentation from the project manager for the Corridor Cities Transitway
(CCT) who updated residents about
the status of the transitway. (See page
1 for story.)
Joe Flaherty also attended the
board meeting to discuss offering
swim lessons at the pool this summer by reserving the lap lanes. Board
members were receptive to the idea
and, at press time, were working out
the details.
QOP board member Charles
Crisostomo previewed the year’s
upcoming social calendar, which
QOP Management Contact Information:
Quince Orchard Park Community Managers Ruchita Patel/Dante Jofferion
c/o The Management Group Associates, Inc.
20440 Century Boulevard, Suite 100
Germantown, MD 20874
Phone: 301.948.6666
Fax: 301.963.3856
E-mail: [email protected], [email protected]
may include some new events for
residents. He said the community’s
Halloween party would move back
to the clubhouse because of a bigger
than expected turnout at the block
party in 2010.
During the board meeting, Community Manager Ruchita Patel
reported that 67 ballots in favor of annexing the Vistas into QOP have been
returned to the management office.
She plans to remind residents to send
in their outstanding ballots during
future mailings for the community’s
upcoming annual meeting.
The next board meeting is scheduled for Feb. 8, and residents are
always encouraged to attend.
The Park Pages report is a bimonthly means of
communicating information of interest to Quince
Orchard Park (QOP) residents. It is published by
The Town Courier on behalf of the Quince Orchard
Park Homeowners Association. The Park Report
does not espouse any political belief or endorse
any products or service. Articles and letters must
be signed and may be edited for length and content. QOP does not endorse products or services
advertised herein, nor are they responsible for any
claims made by advertisers.
Gaithersburg Public Works crews are responsible
for clearing the main roadways in QOP. Community
Manager Ruchita Patel said it is important for QOP
residents who live off the alleys not to park there during a snow emergency, and she reminds residents who
park on the neighborhood streets to use the cutout
spaces only. The community employs a snow contractor
to clear snow from the private alleys and community
parking lot in QOP. Patel said it is also important for
residents not to shovel snow back in the alley or street.
Remember, it is the law in Gaithersburg to shovel
your walkways clear of snow and ice following a
wintry event. If you have questions about this policy,
call the city’s neighborhood services department at
301.258.6340.
Welcome New Neighbors
C. Williams and M. Waterman, 619 Highland Ridge
Avenue, 12/29/10
OTHER NEWS
MedImmune Expands
MedImmune purchased 200 Orchard Ridge Drive
from Washington Real Estate Investment Trust in late
December, according to Community Affairs Senior
Manager Liz Huntley. In addition, Huntley reports the
Area 6 expansion project is approximately 70 percent
complete on the MedImmune campus with most of the
remaining work taking place inside the building.
“The only work that will be visible externally is the
completion of the cooling tower screen wall on top
of the building,” said Huntley. She said work is being
completed during the workday week. Questions about
construction on MedImmune’s campus should be addressed to Huntley at 301.398.5870.
— Sonya Burke
Diamond Farms Is Calling
QOP Swimmers
It’s not too early to start thinking about summer
swimming — it’ll be here before you know it! If you are
interested in joining Diamond Farms’ (DF) swim team,
keep your eyes and ears out for an upcoming kick-off
meeting in the near future. Questions, please contact
Barbara Jensen at [email protected]. Go
Stingrays!
— Carole Valis
Your Bottom Line is Why We Are Here.
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[email protected]
301-517-5357
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Page 8
The Town Courier
January 21, 2011
INSIDE CITY HALL
Theresa Holbrook
Licensed Assistant
Charlie Holbrook • RE/MAX Metropolitan Realty
Cell 240-447-6610 Home Office 301-963-2727
Fax 301-519-2450 E-mail [email protected]
Photo | Phil Fabrizio
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Construction is beginning on the new Crown Farm neighborhood off Sam Eiq Highway and Fields Road. In a recent letter to
neighbors, the developers of Crown Farm said they plan to hold an open house this month so neighbors can meet members of
the Sunbrook Partners development team and learn the latest about the progress of the neighborhood. In addition, a 24-hour
hotline (1.877.433.2029) is now in place to field calls.
Economic Director Search Narrows
Hundreds Apply for Planning Post
Deputy City Manager Tony Tomasello
said interviews with the four finalists for the
city’s newly created economic development
director’s job have wrapped up, and two
names have been submitted to the city manager for consideration. Tomasello said the
finalists include a man and a woman; one
candidate lives in Maryland while the other
is from out of state. According to Tomasello,
reference checks will commence soon, and
he anticipates an offer being made to the top
candidate by the end of the month.
Within a few weeks, the city of
Gaithersburg received 239 applications
for the planning position vacated by Eliza
Voigt late last year. Voigt was the city’s liaison to the Historic District Commission
(HDC). The job pays between $51,350 and
$78,767. Planning and Code Administration
Director Greg Ossont said city officials will
begin “first round interviewing next week.”
City Budget Process
The Mayor and Council will hold a
Jan. 24 work session to discuss the upcoming
Feb. 28 retreat and strategic directions plan
as well as the five-year financial plan. The
work session takes place at 7:30 p.m. at City
Hall. Public input is encouraged. The Feb.
28 retreat will be offsite at the Senior Center
in place of a Monday night work session,
according to Public Information Director
Britta Monaco.
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Mike Knapp, Gaithersburg’s economic development consultant, attended the city’s
Olde Towne Advisory Subcommittee
meeting on Jan. 11 at the Slice of Olde
Towne restaurant in order to meet the
volunteers and to ask questions about economic development.
“The meeting went well and we focused on the issues in Olde Towne,” said
Committee Chair Tom Rowse. “The
connectivity problems/concerns facing
merchants, walkability and issues with the
perception of Olde Towne were the main
topics. It was great for all of us to meet
Mike as a group.”
Over the past two months, Knapp has
sat in on interviews with the four finalists vying for the city’s newly created economic development director post. As outlined in his scope of work contract, he
also submitted his analysis of the finalists in writing for city officials to consider
when making the upcoming hire.
After meeting with Knapp in Kentlands
last month with some local business own-
New Police Officers in Training
Three
new
Gaithersburg
Police
Department employees began training at
the police academy on Jan. 10: the officers in training are Brandon Day, Gregg
Johannesen and Robert “Paul” Maskey.
State of the City
City officials plan to host this spring’s
State of the City address and volunteer recognition component at the Asbury Theater,
which can accomodate 300 people. The topic was discussed at a work session on Jan. 10
n INSIDE CITY HALL Continued on page 9
ers, Kentlands Downtown Partnership
(KDP) President Paula Ross said she continues to have questions about the consultant’s progress and his knowledge of the
Kentlands charrette plan.
“I’m frustrated that there seems to be
a lack of expectations for his deliverables
and interim deliverables and that he hasn’t
done his homework,” Ross said.
The Town Courier reported in its Jan. 7
issue that Knapp had not provided the city
with any summary reports of his findings
after eight weeks on the job. Deputy City
Manager Tony Tomasello said on Jan. 13
that Knapp still had not provided any reports in writing, but he added that the
consultant was still in the process of interviewing business owners and stakeholders, etc.
Knapp’s company, Orion Ventures,
LLC entered into a contract with the
city on Nov. 1 that is due to expire on
April 30. The city is paying Knapp’s company $12,000 a month and up to $1,250 a
month for expenses for a base maximum
contract of $79,500.
A former Montgomery County
Council member, Knapp left elected office after two terms in December. He is
often mentioned as a possible candidate in
the Montgomery County Executive’s race
in 2014.
The Town Courier
January 21, 2011
■ KENTLANDS INspections
from page 1
levels of exterior appearance, maintenance,
upkeep and accessibility.”
CIS representatives will take digital photos of each home and note all maintenance
discrepancies. The titleholder of each home
with a noted maintenance issue will receive
a letter describing the discrepancy and the
time allotted to make repairs. A follow-up
inspection will take place at a later date. A
second letter will be sent to the titleholder
that has not complied with the noted maintenance issues.
Prior to hiring CIS, most home repair violation were complaint driven.
Hammoudeh said the outside firm enables
the process to be conducted within the same
timeframe and by using the same inspectors,
which provides better consistency when it
comes to violations. The process is expected
to take CIS through the end of March and is
done when weather permits.
Each home will be inspected for maintenance issues including which roof and/
or roof trim, gutters and/or downspouts,
■ INSIDE CITY HALL
from page 8
at City Hall because the budget for the annual event has been cut from $18,500 in last
year’s budget to $4,875 this year. In the past,
the popular recognition event has been held
at the Gaithersburg Hilton. The date for this
spring’s event has not been set yet.
Severance House
The Historic District Commission approved the demolition of the Severance
House at 202 South Summit Avenue on a
vote of 4-3 at the Jan. 11 meeting.
“I don’t want to discuss it,” said HDC
Chair Clark Day after the meeting.
The City Council designated the building, owned by the Episcopal Church of the
Ascension, as a local historic resource at the
Dec. 20 Mayor and Council meeting.
Legislative Session Begins
The legislative session in Maryland began
on Jan. 12, and all six of the city’s elected
leaders traveled to Annapolis for a Maryland
Municipal League (MML) reception in
the evening at the Maryland Inn that included an appearance by Governor Martin
O’Malley and two former governors.
door and/or door trim, siding, storm or
screen doors, concrete stoop, exterior lighting, deck, patio, fence, play equipment,
shed, consistent use of muntins from all visible sides, grass higher than 6 inches, debris
and/or litter and shrubs or trees needing
pruning.
According to Reid, most violations come
from the lack of window muntins, peeling paint, broken lighting and landscaping
issues.
At any one time about 4 percent of
Kentlands residences are working with the
Board of Code Compliance to resolve maintenance or code violations, Hammoudeh
said.
In Lakelands, inspections are conducted in early spring. The community’s management company, accompanied by a
member of the Lakelands Design Review
Committee, does the community-wide
review. The inspection is part of the annual management fee paid to ComSource
Management, Inc.
Last year’s inspection netted 80 violations, according to Lakelands Community
Manager Melinda Nickols
City Council member Jud Ashman said
the city is concerned with protecting revenues from the state.
“The fact that all of us went shows our
commitment and concern to work together
to come up with answers,” said Gaithersburg
Mayor Sidney Katz.
Selling the City’s Naming Rights
City officials discussed selling advertising
and sponsorship opportunities at city facilities and events at a work session on Jan. 10.
Parks and Recreation and Culture Director
Michelle Potter said the trend is happening
at other municipalities and universities as a
revenue enhancer. Mayor Sidney Katz said
he thought the staff ’s draft policy needed
some more work.
Artist’s Deadline is Feb. 18
Gaithersburg is looking for an artist to design a public art project at Diamond Farms
Park. The selected artist will work closely
with the city of Gaithersburg Art in Public
Places Committee and the city’s cultural
arts director to design, fabricate and install
a piece of artwork for the Diamond Farms
Skate Spot. The deadline for applying is Feb.
18. Detailed proposals are not requested,
only preliminary ideas. For more information, www.gaithersburgmd.gov.
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Page 10
The Town Courier
January 21, 2011
ASSIGNMENT EDUCATION
Board of Education to Host Public
Forums on Superintendent Search
T
he Board of Education is hosting several forums this month and next to receive community input on the search
for a new Montgomery County superintendent. The forums will be held throughout
the county on three consecutive evenings at
two locations each evening. Representatives
of the executive search firm Hazard, Young,
Attea & Associates (HYA), employed by the
Montgomery County Board of Education
to assist in the superintendent search, will
facilitate the forums and receive community comment.
Below is the schedule of public forums
and the availability of translation/interpretation services:
Jan. 31, 7 p.m.:
• Northwest High School, 13501 Richter
Farm Road, Germantown (Chinese,
Korean and Vietnamese)
• White Oak Middle School, 12201
New Hampshire Avenue, Silver Spring
(Spanish)
Feb. 1, 7 p.m.:
• Bethesda Elementary School, 7600
Arlington Road, Bethesda (accessible
from Bethesda Metro station) (Spanish,
Chinese, Korean and Vietnamese)
• Montgomery Village Middle School,
19300 Watkins Mill Road, Montgomery
Village (Spanish)
Feb. 2, 7 p.m.:
• Wheaton High School, 12601 Dalewood
Drive, Silver Spring (Spanish)
• Carver Educational Services Center,
850 Hungerford Drive, Rockville
(Spanish, French, Chinese, Korean and
Vietnamese)
If child care or translation/interpretation services are required, please contact the
Board of Education office at 301.279.3617
by Jan. 24. For sign language interpretation,
please call 301.517.5539 by Jan. 24.
Community members who are unable to
attend one of the public forums are invited
to provide input on the attributes and characteristics desired in the next MCPS superintendent by completing an online superintendent profile survey, which will
be available mid-January through early
February. Information from the public forums and surveys will be shared with the
Board of Education members.
The Board has employed the executive
search firm to help in its nationwide effort
to identify and employ a new superintendent. Dr. Jerry D. Weast will complete three
terms as superintendent with his retirement
at the end of the current school year. The
Board plans to name a new superintendent
this spring to ensure a smooth transition.
For additional information about the
search process and to access the online survey, please visit: www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/boe/superintendent-search/index.
shtm.
Deadline Looms for High School Students
Short Story Writing Contest
By Sonya Burke
Time is running out for Washington,
D.C., metropolitan area high school
students to enter the Gaithersburg
Book Festival’s first annual Short Story
Contest. The deadline is Jan. 31 at 5 p.m.
If you plan to participate, your story
must be no longer than 1,000 words and
start with one of the following lines:
• In my entire life, I’ve fibbed dozens of
times — usually to be polite or to get
out of attending some mind-numbing
social event — but I’ve only told one
really big lie.
• “Don’t open the box,” my father always told me.
• When I left my parents’ house for
good, I took five things with me.
7845 - G Airpark Rd.
Gaithersburg, Maryland 20879
Stories must be submitted electronically as Word documents to writing
[email protected].
Submissions must include author’s name,
Got news?
address, phone number, e-mail address,
school and English or writing teacher’s
name.
In order to qualify, an author must be a
high school student and author must live
in Maryland, Virginia or Washington,
D.C. Only one submission per author is
allowed.
Up to 10 stories will be selected as finalists. The top stories will be posted
on the Gaithersburg Book Festival blog
prior to the May 21 Book Festival, and
the finalists will have the opportunity
to read their stories at the Gaithersburg
Book Festival Coffee House.
The winning story will be announced
after the readings, and a $100 Barnes and
Noble Gift Certificate will be awarded
to the author.
“The Opposite of Me” author Sarah
Pekkanen provided the opening lines for
the contest. Her next book, “Skipping
a Beat,” will be published next month.
Send your news and tips to
[email protected].
January 21, 2011
The Town Courier
Science and Invention Night at RCES
By Chris Neal
R
achel Carson Elementary School
(RCES) held its annual Science and
Invention Night on Jan. 12. This
year’s event marked the greatest number
of entrants ever. Projects ranged from the
most effective way to keep sliced apples
from browning (lime juice) to what melts
ice best (cat litter) to what gum can create
the biggest bubbles (Hubba Bubba).
Meredith Fogle has chaired the Science
and Invention Night for the past three years.
“The event has grown every year — two
years ago we had 30 projects, last year we
had 64, and this year we have 106. We’re always impressed with the quality and diversity of the experiments.”
More of the science teachers, including
third grade teacher Rachel Lubkin, have
been getting involved since the program is a
nice supplement to the science curriculum.
Many of the project ideas came from the
kids simply thinking about their daily life
and the things they enjoy doing. Second
grader Aidan Goettsch “didn’t have a Wii
and wanted to play Wii games.” For his
project, he turned his computer into a Wii
over a period of 10 days. Kendall Brumley
was looking for a way to keep her cat entertained during the day so she invented the
Feline Fun Toy — an automatic sensor-operated play toy for her cat. Bobby Faraone
and Ryan Boswell, who like to eat gummy worms, decided to test the elasticity of
a gummy worm. (They admitted to eating
four gummy worms apiece while conduct-
Photo | Chris Neal
First graders Bella and Emma Neal in front of their exhibit
on preventing apples from turning brown.
ing their experiment.) Madison Schaechter
and Serena Cullen experimented with
whether wood could absorb water.
One clever, yet complex invention was
the “Ichthy-ator” by Aaron Miller and Ryan
Renzi. They combined various elements to
create a chain reaction to feed a fish. One
of the most important things Aaron and
Ryan said they learned while making their
invention was that “things go wrong more
than they go right. It was harder to get the
boat to go straight across then we thought
it would be.”
Science and Invention Night gave kids
the opportunity to try something and, if
it didn't work, to try it another way. This
hands-on experimentation offers lessons
they will learn from throughout their lives.
Congratulations to all RCES scientists
and inventors!
Page 11
Page 12
The Town Courier
January 21, 2011
■ attached living
from page 3
doubled in family size.
At Tanya’s shower for her first baby,
the last gift she opened was a onesie from
Melissa that read “Big Cousin.” That’s how
she knew that Melissa and Darren were expecting. Now, Jordan, 5 ½ and Ethan, 5,
function more like siblings. In addition to
living next door to each other, they attend the same daycare and will both start at
Diamond Elementary in the fall.
“They fight like brothers, and they love
each other like brothers,” said Melissa.
Ethan now has a younger sister, Taylor,
who, at 2 and a half, is just two months
older than her cousin, Jordan’s brother,
Sean. Since the couples have shared friends
and socialize together — they also vacation together as families and as couples —
they tend to go out on weekends together. Sometimes they have one babysitter for
all the kids. They go to bed in one house,
and their parents transfer them to their own
beds when they get home. They also have
■ dog day
from page 1
The dogs in foster care through Lab
Rescue come from shelters and humane
societies as well as owners who can no longer care for their dogs. Finn said the recession has resulted in many families no longer being able to financially care for their
animals.
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one lawn mower between the two families
and shared toys for the kids.
“We use the houses interchangeably,” said
Melissa. “It just works.”
Brad and Darren were three grades apart
growing up in Potomac, but, said Brad, “We
were always close. I like it; it makes things
easy. The kids are the same age, which is another coincidence.”
Darren and Brad also have a younger brother who lives in Park Potomac in
Rockville. Their parents, who live here part
of the year here and part in Florida, seem to
like the arrangement as well. “It’s like onestop shopping,” Brad said.
Melissa, who grew up in Darnestown,
has a brother who lives just across the road
in the Colonnade at Kentlands. “His condo
number is the same as our house number,
and the last four digits of his phone number
are the same as ours,” said Melissa.
They all agree there have been no negative issues with them living so close to each
other but that the challenge will come if any
of them ever decide to move.
“We’d have to find new houses next door
to each other!” they said.
She said the Lab Rescue organization
brings in about 850 dogs a year, and it typically has 40 to 50 at a time awaiting matches for new homes. Each animal has a story,
she said.
The next Lab event is scheduled for
Jan. 30 in Burke, Va., at Petco. For more
information about adopting a dog or volunteering with this nonprofit organization, visit www.lab-rescue.org or call the
Lab Line at 301.299.6756.
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The Town Courier
January 21, 2011
■ colonnade
from page 3
tients since opening in the Colonnade and
feels this location suits them perfectly. “We
wanted a major road as opposed to Main
Street — everyone sees us, but we’re still
in Kentlands.”
If you live in or around Kentlands,
you might never have ventured over to
the businesses of the Colonnade, but you
may have noticed their signs on Quince
Orchard Road. While they generally do
not draw a lot of foot traffic, most of the establishments on the street agree that facing
Quince Orchard Road is a huge coup for
business. Briana Ayala, marketing specialist at Counselor Titles, which handles most
of the settlements for the Colonnade, said,
“It’s been good for us. We’re visible for
people who drive down Quince Orchard
Road.”
Ayala, who goes to the two doctors
on Granite Place — Dr. Chan and family practitioner Dr. Jeremy Janssen — said
employees at Counselor Titles can use the
amenities at the Colonnade residences like
the 24-hour fitness center, party room and
pool. And from what she can tell by handling closings, “it seems like the market is
doing well in the Colonnade.”
In fact, even in a tough economy, the
residential side of the Colonnade is doing
exceptionally well. Suzanne Miles, who
handles the sales said, “We are down to our
last availability — we’re about 90 percent
sold out already.”
All of the business space is currently occupied, but Burman Berger, co-owner of
the space occupied by Toone & Associates,
a CPA firm at the end of Granite Street,
said five office spaces totaling 1,800
square feet of shared space will be available for lease in early February. The offices
are available either individually or all together with access to the kitchen, server,
copier room, and have a separate entrance.
“[Leasees] can also have their own signage,
especially if it’s one company for the entire
space; it’ll be easier to put a big sign out
there,” says Berger.
While the businesses do rely on those
signs on the main road, many also appreciate patronage from neighborhood residents, especially those in the Colonnade.
Shirstin Kreitz, who works at Janssen’s office, said, “We have a lot of local residents
who want a local doctor. We have gotten
a lot of new patients from the condos, the
greater Kentlands, and people who are just
close. We’re easy to get to.”
Judy Stephenson is president of Office
Pro Technology Trainers, which was recently ranked number one in IT training
programs by Washington Business Journal’s
Book of Lists. “We love the location,” she
said. “Most of our staff lives around here so
it makes it very convenient. It’s fun to be
part of the community.”
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Page 14
The Town Courier
High
School
January 21, 2011
Sports
Catfight Lost at the Buzzer
A
nother heartbreaker for the Lady
Cougars, who lost with one second left on a pair of free throws
by Clarksburg’s leading scorer, Anna
Hackett. The last of her 34 points fell in
and left the Cougars short again at 66-65
after a fine team effort led by senior Leah
Dagen (17 points) and freshmen Babette
Sanmartin and Juanita Craig.
Craig was the second-leading scorer with 11 and leading rebounder with
six. Sanmartin had only two points but
many steals at crucial moments and three
big rebounds to keep the Cougars in the
game. “I know as a freshman, every time
I get into a game I have to give it my all
as much as I can,” said Sanmartin.
“The key was trying to shut down
[Hackett], but she’s a good, quick little
player,” said Coach Colleen Kelly. “We
got tired at the end on defense. The freshmen have been improving a lot. We’ve
seen it in practice and games. They’ll get
more time, clearly.”
In a rematch of the Lady Cougars’
first game of the Sugarloaf holiday tournament, the Cougars lost again to the
Poolesville Falcons, 49-42. In the first
matchup the ladies had to fight their way
back into the game; this time the Cougars
were in the game from the start. Cougar
Danielle Witherspoon led all scorers
with 17. Dagen, the only other doubledigit scorer, had a total of 10 points. The
Cougars did have others score, but they
often face the problem of having only
one or two players producing the most
points for the team.
“I knew the game plan was going to
be different for them, so I knew I had to
change our game plan,” said Kelly. This
helped control some of the Falcons but
failed to stop their 3s. They made eight
to the Cougars’ two. The new game plan
helped force twice as many turnovers
Grapplers Grounds Falcons
with Technical
The Cougars are building a major rivalry
with the Poolesville Falcons, based on the
last several dual and triangular meets that always seem to come down to the last match.
They did it again at Poolesville in a meet
won by QO on the last match of the meet.
Greg Holland got a technical fall, winning
his match by 16 points to make the final
By Mike Cuthbert
and Teddy Myers
Boys Open ’11
with Defensive
Stand
A
Photo | Phil Fabrizio
Babette Sanmartin, #22, stretches to pull down a rebound against Poolesville.
than in the first matchup between the
two schools and gave the Cougars an advantage in fast break points.
The Cougars were happy to have senior Mimi Niktash back in the lineup.
Her return also helped to challenge the
Falcons’ forwards and centers. Niktash
only played two quarters but made her
presence felt on the boards.
The Lady Cougars couldn’t overcome
balanced scoring by Damascus in their
next game and lost, 53-42, to go to 3-7
on the year. Witherspoon led all scorers
with 15, and Craig had eight.
Against Watkins Mill, the Cougars
prevailed despite an outstanding performance by the Wolverines’ Jasmine
McRoy, who had 19 points including
four 3s to go along with seven rebounds.
Witherspoon led the Lady Cougars with
her best game of the season, scoring 16,
getting eight rebounds and interrupting
many Watkins Mill plays.
44-36.
The Cougars came in with several spots
filled by JV grapplers due to injuries, and
star Gage Neubaum had a rough match, the
only one settled by decision, due to a shoulder injury. “I knew we needed the points so
I just gutted it out,” he said while icing his
shoulder afterward.
Coach Chris Tao said, “If we didn’t need
him, I was going to rest him. Obviously,
we needed him.” Neubaum’s was the only
Explaining the difference between
this and recent games when the Cougars
choked down the stretch, Witherspoon
said, “We haven’t been having a lot of
fun. Tonight we just went out and played.
That’s what we like to do.”
Sanmartin continued her improved
play. In one sequence she stole a pass,
blocked a shot, made a field goal and got
fouled on another attempt. With limited time, she got six rebounds. Morgan
Turner made sure the Cougars got off
to a fast start by gunning nine of her 11
points on three 3s in the first quarter.
Niktash, still working to get in shape,
tweaked her ACL going for a rebound,
but Kelly and trainer Dena Rapaport
said it was more frightening than serious.
“Tweaking it feels exactly like when she
tore it,” said Rapaport, “so she was worried that it happened again.” Niktash was
expected to heal more during the layoff
for winter exams.
match not decided by a fall or technical fall.
Outstanding performances were given
by junior Eli Bienstock, looking faster and
stronger than last year, at 125 with a pin in
:56, and Connor Tilton, who came from 2-5
down. He took a reversal almost directly
into a pin at 1:47. Roman Tuganov slipped
and fell into a 0-2 position but came back
nicely for a pin at 2:36.
n
WRESTLING Continued on page 15
rejuvenated Cougar team faced
and
defeated
Clarksburg’s
Coyotes at QO to open the New
Year. The final score will go in the
books as 45-40. The Clarksburg scorer
made an error but convinced the QO
official scorer that she was wrong; QO
lost a point because she made an erasure to try to correct a non-mistake.
Whatever the final margin, this was
a classic Cougar defensive effort. They
held the Coyotes scoreless in the second quarter. It was also a return to a
disciplined offense that the Cougars
did not show in their last several games.
Senior Andre Gaines led QO with 19
and led rebounders with 13, and the
team’s shooting percentage was .425 -the highest of the year.
“We worked on moving the ball
around, getting the defense moving,”
said Gaines. “That came from Coach
Paul Foringer. He told us to be more
patient.”
“That second quarter was incredibly good,” said Foringer. So was the
rebounding. QO out-grabbed the
Coyotes 32-12.
Led by senior Ben Kelly, the Cougars
beat the Poolesville Falcons by a score
of 66-46. Kelly had a standout performance, making six from beyond the
arc and scoring a total of 24 points.
“This game was no different for me; I
just played well,” he said.
Kelly had support from the rest of
his team, especially sophomore Eric
Hoadley. Hoadley made three 3s, one
of them in the last two seconds of the
first quarter.
Foringer said, “I thought we played
really, really well defensively, and on
offense I thought we did some really
good team moves and some really good
passing. I haven’t seen those kinds of
passes.”
The Cougars controlled the ball
much better than usual, only turning
the ball over 10 times, and they took
advantage of the 21 Falcon turnovers.
Gaines also provided another double-digit game for the Cougars with
11 points, all in the first half. After
halftime, the Cougars scoring slowed
down, producing only 26 points after
40 points in the first half.
Against Damascus, the boys came
away with a close 61-58 win. After
leading by eight at the half, the
Cougars had a drop-off but emerged
with the hard-fought win. Kelly had
n
DEFENSE Continued on page 15
The Town Courier
January 21, 2011
Winter Classic
Lakelands Park Midde School eighth grader
Drew Slater was one of 10 hockey players
chosen from his team to play in a Winter Classic pregame that pitted Washington against
Pittsburgh area youth hockey players on New
Year’s Eve. Just like the Washington Capitals,
who beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 3-1 on an
outdoor rink in Heinz Field on New Year’s Day,
the D.C.-area players worked together to beat
the Pittsburgh-based team on the auxiliary
rink created especially for this event.
Photo | Submitted
■ Wrestling
from page 14
In the Damascus Holiday Tournament,
the Cougars finished seventh with their only
champion being Austin Williams at 189.
The QO wrestlers had to fight hard to
win the closely contended match against
the Walter Johnson Wildcats. The Cougars
were able to pull out the win, and the final
score was 36-31. The Cougars clinched the
match win with freshman Davis Silverman
securing a pin.
“Davis Silverman came through for us and
got his first varsity win,” said Tao. “What a
time to win.”
Dependable senior Holland won again
for the Cougars, and he was the fastest
to win his match with a pin. It only took
Holland 47 seconds to take down his oppo-
■ DEFENSE
from page 14
another outstanding game, leading all scorers with 21 including two 3s, while Gaines
came through for 14.
The game turned on the final play. After
Damascus tied it, QO had an inbounds
play that almost escaped. Gaines came up
with the loose ball and made a blind pass
to where he knew Kelly had to be. Kelly
drove, sunk the layup and converted the
foul shot for the final margin.
Led by Andre Gaines’ 22 points and
13 rebounds, the Cougars throttled the
Watkins Mill Wolverines 50-35. Gaines’
greatest change was to hit free throws -- six
for eight after a miserable start to the season
from the line. He admitted he’s worked on
it a lot. “Coach Jordan [shooting coach] has
worked a lot, both as a team and individually. He told me to use my wrist more,” he
said.
Foringer was delighted with the defense. “I don’t like to play man-to-man
against that team because they’re so fast. If
we can play man against them, we can play
anybody.”
Myck Miller had 10, Kelly six, but the big
difference was on the boards — QO dominated, 30-23, and created 23 turnovers.
Defense again.
nent. Bienstock came through yet again in
a match that lasted a bit longer than usual,
but he still pinned his opponent in the first
round.
The Cougars split their triangular meet
with Damascus and Seneca Valley, losing
to Damascus, 39-33. Outstanding matches included the Turlik-Basden match that
went back and forth until the last five seconds; Turlik got the winning takedown for
the tight 12-11 win. Holland won another
seesaw match to take the bout to 33-33 before Damascus pulled it out with a pin in
the final match. Cougar winners included
Williams, Tilton, Neubaum and Bienstock.
The second match of the day for the
Cougars was in the bag before it started
as Seneca Valley gave up 30 points in forfeits. The Cougars went on to win, 60-22.
Neubam, Holland, Williams and Tilton
had pins for QO.
Defense Make a Comeback
For years the hallmark of Cougar boy’s
basketball was a harassing press. They won
a lot of games on defense alone. For most
of the start of the current season, defense
was missing.
While Coach Foringer expected a more
physical team, the lack of defense worried
him. “We might turn into one of those 5148 kinds of teams. We’re just not getting
it done.”
It was particularly distressing when the
Cougars lost three games at Linganore
in the holiday tournament, giving up 79
points to Frederick. After the holidays,
something started to click. After giving up an average of 67 points per game
at Linganore, they gave up 50, 46 and
48 points to Clarksburg, Poolesville and
Damascus and tightened up even further
against Watkins Mill, yielding only 35, for
an average yield of 45 points.
Most pleasing to Foringer was the fact
that he could go deeper into his bench
and still get good defensive efforts as Joey
Fierstein, Seth Greenspan and Joey Portney
began to play key roles on defense. The result was a win streak of four games going
into semester break.
Defense, as Foringer likes to say, makes it
look like Cougar basketball again.
Page 15
Page 16
The Town Courier
January 21, 2011