Gaithersburg`s Hometown Newspaper

Transcription

Gaithersburg`s Hometown Newspaper | Serving Kentlands

Gaithersburg’s Hometown Newspaper | Serving Kentlands, Lakelands, Quince Orchard Park and More
The
TOWN
Vol. 13, No. 24
Courier
www.towncourier.com
December 18, 2015
Radon Testing Underway
in all MCPS Schools
By Jennifer Beekman
I
t is not often community leaders and county officials admit
to mistakes and oversights. But
in a press release sent by Montgomery County Public Schools’
Public Information and Web
Services Department on Dec. 6,
Interim Superintendent Larry
A. Bowers issued a statement in
which he apologized to a concerned community for the county’s failure to follow radon testing protocol in numerous cases
where tests within MCPS build-
ings showed elevated levels of the
naturally occurring odorless gas
linked to lung cancer.
Bowers then announced, “out
of an abundance of caution,”
plans to retest all schools and
buildings within the county to
set a new baseline for future reference as the next step “to enhance
our overall radon testing and remediation program.” Results are
scheduled to be posted on the
county’s website as soon as they
are received.
n radon testing Continued on page 8
State’s Cost-Cutting Threatens to
Undermine Purpose of CCT Project
By Ellyn Wexler
D
of the county. The predominant
message about the Corridor Cities Transitway (CCT) in particular is that the state wants to cut
costs. The question is whether
the 15-mile, two-lane roadway—
with 18 fare stations, three flyovers and 35 modern, branded
Photo | Mac Kennedy
Santa and Mrs. Claus
visited with children at
the Kentlands Clubhouse
on Dec. 5.
n cct Continued on page 4
Quince Orchard Retaining
Wall ‘in Failure on Day One’
PRSRT-STD
U.S. POSTAGE PAID
Gaithersburg MD
Permit #1722
uring what was announced
as a “rare joint meeting” on
Dec. 3, the Montgomery
County Council and elected officials of the cities of Gaithersburg
and Rockville discussed plans
for a bus rapid transit system that
would traverse substantial areas
Photo | Chabad Lubavitch of Upper Montgomery County
Chabad Lubavitch of Upper
Montgomery County celebrated
Chanukah with a Menorah Fire
Truck Parade that made its way
from the Rockville Volunteer Fire
Department Station 3 through
neighborhoods to Kentlands and
Chanukah Wonderland at 640
Center Point Way. Pictured L to
R are Shua Tenenbaum, his father Rabbi Chesky Tenenbaum,
Lt. Governor Boyd Rutherford,
and Rabbi Sholom Raichik.
By Pam Schipper
A
Photo | Submitted
For six years, Joe and Becky Pritchard, owners of Pritchard Music Academy on Main Street, have
been part of the National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM) lobbying efforts for music
education on Capitol Hill. On May 20, 2014, they were joined by Chad Smith (center), drummer
for the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
review of Kentlands Citizens
Assembly (KCA) documents
concerning the Quince Orchard retaining wall, beginning in
1992, revealed that the March 30,
2014 partial wall collapse was the
culmination of a long, slow slide.
Most striking are the red flags raised
repeatedly by city inspectors, citing
problems with drainage, grading,
alignment, poor construction techniques like breaking up a frozen
layer of material and backfilling on
top of it, lower wall displacement,
and changes to approved plans in
n retaining wall Continued on page 4
The Town Courier
309 Main Street
Gaithersburg, MD 20878
ESSA Brings Equal Recognition
to Music Education
By Pam Schipper
F
or the past six years, Becky
and Joe Pritchard, owners
of Pritchard Music Academy (PMA) on Main Street, have
traveled to Capitol Hill each
May to lobby for greater recog-
nition of music education. Joe
Pritchard still recalls that first
year when PMA was just getting
started and he and Becky were
doing everything themselves.
They were so committed to this
n essa Continued on page 14
Photo | Mac Kennedy
Remediation of the Quince Orchard retaining wall depends on steel reinforcement beams added
to the outside of the wall, which are tested to withstand 75,000 pounds of pressure.
Page 2
The Town Courier
December 18, 2015
December 18, 2015 The Town Courier
Page 3
AROUNDTOWN
Photo | Phil Fabrizio
Shanilee Rahman and Kristina
Bartelt pose as 94.7 Tommy Morning
Show radio personality Jen Richer
cuts a straight line. Richer was
one of two celebrity gift wrappers,
joining Melanie Alnwick of FOX 5 DC,
at Fleet Feet’s Merry Mix and Mingle
on Friday, Dec. 4.
Compiled by Pam Schipper
Photo | Submitted
Children will portray the Christ family in the First Baptist Church of
Gaitherburg’s Living Nativity on Dec. 20.
Turf Talk: The State of Organic
By Sharon Allen Gilder
“T
alking dirt” comes naturally to Paul Tukey, author of
the “Organic Lawn Care
Manual: A Natural Low-Maintenance
System for a Beautiful Lawn.” He is
also the chief sustainability officer
at Glenstone in Potomac, founder of
SafeLawns.org, and a consultant to the
Kentlands five-year turf study, now in
its second year. Tukey was the keynote
speaker for the Kentlands Citizens Assembly (KCA) Town Hall forum at the
Kentlands Clubhouse on Dec. 3 where
he shared soil analysis data and photographs chronicling the state of the four
key areas in Kentlands treated with
organic versus non-organic protocols
from 2013 to the present. Soil analysis
results are based on density, color and
weeds.
Denyse Baker, chair of the Kentlands
Turf Working Group, said the purpose
of the meeting was to have Tukey give
an update about the hybrid program.
“At the end of this five-year cycle, the
board has to make a decision. We need
to know what is the criteria and how
we can assess and judge the program.
… Do we have more organic or less
organic,” said Baker. She announced
that landscaper bids are being reviewed
with the goal for 2016 to have “under
one umbrella contract” a contractor for
organic and non-organic maintenance.
Tukey commented that when the
initial informative meeting was held
for the community approximately 100
residents were in attendance, and nine
residents attended on Dec. 3. Tukey
saw that as a positive sign. “They see
the place hasn’t gone to hell. It’s much
ado about nothing,” he said. “The
place still looks pretty darn good in
general.”
The 55-year-old Tukey said he was
raised on a dairy farm in the early ‘60s
in Bradford, Maine, and learned from
an early age about cows and harvesting
their nutrient rich manure to spread
and enrich the soil for what his grandmother termed “the poop loop.” Tukey
noted, “You want to build the soil up
with enough organic matter.”
Tukey recommended having a bioassay conducted in Kentlands to “get
a baseline look at how alive the soil
is.” He added, “You can feed the soil
in a better, informed manner if you do
Photo | Sharon Allen Gilder
Paul Tukey briefed the community on the State of
the Turf at a Town Hall meeting Dec. 3.
a bioassay. It takes it out of the realm
of guessing and debating what works.
The assay is literally measuring the life
in the soil.”
Tukey lived in Kentlands from 2010
to 2013. He created the documentary “A Chemical Reaction” that was
shown in the neighborhood cinema
to inform residents and draw support
for the organic treatment program.
He affirmed, “The evidence against
pesticides is unassailable. After the
documentary, the idea started to gain
momentum. I helped set the protocol
and observed the results.” He added,
“When you go organic, it’s not an
overnight success. When you take the
chemicals out of the equation, there
can be a lot of collateral damage because you’re taking the lawn off a drug
and trying to feed it organically.”
His presentation Dec. 3 exhibited
the success to date of the community’s
organic turf trials with photographs
and data comparing “side-by-side” the
chemical and natural approaches that
have been administered since the program began in 2013. He said the goal
is to deliver an attractive landscape that
maintains property values.
He dug into the topic of weeds, and
noted that weed control in the natural
lawn care program has been predominately through mulching and pulling.
“Clover is Mother Nature’s legume. It’s
a lung and grabs atmospheric nitrogen
to store in its roots. Eventually that nitrogen breaks off and feeds other plants.
Clover is not a weed,” he said and noted the decline in the bee population.
“We’ve taken away their habitat.” He
said that the biggest weed problem is
one or two feet from a walkway or
curb and suggested that those areas be
core aerated three or four times per
year to reduce weed infestation.
He recommended a compost tea
brewing system to “advance the system
of growing” where compost is placed
in a mesh sack then added to the brewing system. He suggested core aeration
prior to the compost top-dressing.
The rains of 2014 were sufficient,
Tukey said, “to make us look good and
it gave us a ‘get out of jail free card.’”
He discussed the calcium to magnesium ratio and said the ratio needs to be
higher or weeds will grow. With August 2015’s drought, density and color
began to suffer. With more moisture,
color began to come back in October
2015. Tukey recommended investing
in an irrigation system in some areas
to mitigate struggles during dry spells.
He referred to the areas designated
for the 100 percent organic program
as the laboratories and said, “Beckwith
across the board was really the showcase and Kent Oaks Way really did well
last year. I recommend gypsum because
there is more weed pressure there.”
Beth Brittingham, Kentlands general manager, commented, “Three years
from now, at the end of the five-year
program, that’s when it’s really going
to be important to see the progress and
have some analysis of the last few years
because whoever the sitting board is,
what are they going to base the decision on rather than emotion or cost?”
“Is organic impacting property values or way of life? No. You guys are
thought leaders in this. The price (for
organic) will come down because the
market is going this direction. This
program wouldn’t have happened
without the core members of the turf
group and their dedication,” said Tukey.
For more information, visit www.
SafeLawn.org. To view Paul Tukey’s
presentation, visit www.youtube.com/
watch?v=JjPJNvue4aU&feature=youtu.be.
First Baptist Church of Gaithersburg
Presents Living Nativity
On Sunday, Dec. 20, 5:30 to 6:30 p.m., the First
Baptist Church of Gaithersburg invites all to a presentation of the Christ family in a living nativity scene
on the front lawn of the church campus. Cookies and
warm apple cider will be served. Afterwards, everyone is invited into the sanctuary for the Children’s
Choir Christmas program at 7 p.m.
The First Baptist Church of Gaithersburg is located
at 200 W. Diamond Ave. For more information, call
301.977.9007.
Applications Due for
Young Artist Award Competition
Musicians ages 12 to 18 interested in participating
in the 2016 Young Artist Award Competition must
submit applications by Dec. 21. The City of Gaithersburg and the Kentlands Community Foundation
present this annual juried competition that culminates in a concert for the top prize winners. The goal
of the program is to provide young musicians with an
enriching artistic experience and encourage them in
their love of music.
shop Talk
Fleet Feet’s Merry Mix & Mingle
Benefits Homeless
Some 70 people came out to Fleet Feet, 255 Kentlands Boulevard, on Friday, Dec. 4, many sporting their ugliest holiday sweaters. Party-goers enjoyed food from Nalley Fresh, scheduled to open a
few doors down from Fleet Feet after New Year’s, a
holiday photo booth with Phil Fabrizio of Sugarloaf
Photography, a cookie exchange, holiday sales and
purchases wrapped by celebrities Jen Richer from the
94.7 Tommy Morning Show, and Melanie Alnwick,
FOX-5 DC anchor. The event raised nearly $700 for
the Montgomery County Coalition for the Homeless.
www.fleetfeetgaithersburg.com
Holiday Book Drive Ongoing at Hand & Stone
The Gaithersburg Book Festival has partnered with
Kentlands Hand & Stone Massage and Facial Spa
again this year for the 2015 Children’s Book Drive.
Just drop by Hand & Stone, 217 Kentlands Boulevard,
choose from a list of titles, and pay for your selection. The spa will order the selected titles through
Politics & Prose Bookstore and deliver the books to
the Gaithersburg Book Festival committee, which is
working with the City of Gaithersburg Holiday Givn
SHOP TALK Continued on page 16
Page 4
The Town Courier
■ cct
309 Main Street
Gaithersburg, MD 20878
For Advertising: 301.279.2304
Also on the Web at www.towncourier.com.
Diane Dorney
Publisher
[email protected]
Matt Danielson
President
[email protected]
Pam Schipper
Managing Editor
[email protected]
Debi Rosen
Advertising Manager
301.455.5721
[email protected]
Leslie Kennedy
Advertising Sales
301-330-0132
[email protected]
Staff Photographers
Arthur Cadeaux
Christine DartonHenrichsen
Phil Fabrizio
Staff Writers
Jennifer Beekman
Nora Caplan
Mike Cuthbert
Gina Gallucci-White
Sharon Allen Gilder
Betty Hafner
Scott Harris
Sheilah Kaufman
Donna Marks
Syl Sobel
Maureen Stiles
Ellyn Wexler
Social Media
Consultant
Mac Kennedy
©2015 Courier Communications
The Town Courier is an independent newspaper published twice a month that provides 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 reflect the views of the staff, management or advertisers
of The Town Courier.
from page 1
rapid buses—between Clarksburg and the
Shady Grove Metro Station will be worth
building if the reductions in question are as
dramatic as they appear.
Calculated in 2012 dollars, the first
phase of the project—the nine-mile segment from the Shady Grove Metro to the
Metropolitan Grove MARC station—will
cost $716 million, including all planning,
design and construction, said Joana Conklin, the county’s Department of Transportation Rapid Transit System Development
manager who provided the “big picture
overview” at the meeting. She translated
the capital cost as $80 million per mile.
“We expect the estimate to be updated
when the cost for the 30-percent design is
released by MTA (Maryland Transit Administration),” she noted.
In today’s dollars, the cost would be
closer to $100 million per mile, observed
Kevin Quinn, director of the MTA’s Office of Planning and Programming.
Rick Kiegel, the MTA’s CCT project
manager, detailed the status of the project:
the 30-percent design has been submitted
to the state, his office is updating cost estimates to reflect 2016 dollars and MTA engineers are preparing to begin the final design. Although the planning funding is in
place for the next three years, the state has
not allocated money for construction in its
six-year budget. All parties in attendance
appeared to agree that choosing not to apply for federal funding would be wise in
fall SavingS!
color
December 18, 2015
terms of speeding up the project’s timeline,
but Quinn warned that “the time gained
(would result in the) risk that you would
never be eligible for federal funds.”
County Council President Nancy Floreen said the CCT has been “on our priority list with the state for years. It serves
the upcounty, which desperately needs
traffic solutions.” She deemed the state’s
interest in cost-cutting “typical for major
projects. It seems that everything comes in
at a higher cost than originally thought.”
However, she cautioned, these cost-cutters
need “to be careful not to undercut the expected value, time savings, and reduction
of congestion benefits of the basic project. Otherwise, the whole thing becomes
a waste of money because it is no longer
achieving the intended objectives.”
Gaithersburg officials echoed Floreen’s
words. Mayor Jud Ashman feels “significant cost-cutting on the CCT” has been
done already.
City Councilman Michael Sesma expressed his fear that eliminating the flyovers, the “aerials becoming grade-level,”
especially on Quince Orchard and Clopper roads and around the Kentlands, would
contradict the project’s purpose. Kiegel
acknowledged that the original estimated travel time of 38 minutes for the route
would increase to 43 or 44 minutes, which
would likely impact potential ridership,
and the effects of running in mixed traffic
would slow everyone’s commute.
County Councilman Sidney Katz feels
the cuts will undermine the goal: “to make
rush hour and beyond a better experience
for the people living, working and coming
through the area. People may be willing
to add an extra 10, 15 or even 20 minutes
to their commute, but not an extra 45.”
In addition, he pointed out, the City of
Rockville’s interest in rerouting the lanes
from King Farm to Shady Grove Road,
the impact on the Washingtonian Woods
community and determining how to fund
the project all must be addressed.
That the “series of decisions on the CCT
since the early days of the project has each
reduced speed and increased travel time”
has long disturbed City Councilman Neil
Harris. He supported the CCT because it
“offers some powerful incentives for some
needed economic growth for Gaithersburg, including the possible upgrading of
the Kentlands retail districts, as well as the
prospect for reducing automobile traffic.”
But he worries that “the benefits could potentially be offset by lower-than-expected
ridership if the CCT does not offer a significant improvement in travel time.”
Multiple issues remain to be dealt with,
but funding is key. Probably most important is what the state will do. “We’ll watch
carefully to see how the state’s analysis
evolves,” Floreen said. County Councilman Hans Riemer brought up the need to
“get private funding going,” Floreen noted
that “special taxing districts are nothing
new,” citing the special White Flint taxing district on businesses that funds roadway improvements, and County Councilman Marc Elrich pointed to the success of
Northern Virginia in getting similar projects up and running, urging that Montgomery County “push” for the CCT.
All parties concurred on the need for
creative ideas to meet the challenges to the
CCT.
Ashman concluded, “We all understand
that funding the CCT won’t be easy, but
we need to continue to push for the best
possible transit system to serve the community—and not settle for less.”
■ retaining wall
Alfandre pulled out. Per industry practice,
the developer functions as the homeowners’
association until a significant number of residences have been sold.
Design changes were many. The city
permit for the retaining wall was amended Nov. 30, 1992 to change construction of
the retaining wall from concrete to modular
block. In a Feb. 23, 1993 report to the city,
Woodward-Clyde Consultants noted that
the slope of the retaining wall was not what
was specified in plans, and wrote that lack of
drainage is apparent given the “the moisture
emanating from the lower wall.”
Original assumptions were wrong. The
wall was not built on decomposed rock, as
specified in design plans, but a fine sandy
silt that Woodward-Clyde Consultants described as “very slippery when wet.” Also,
pressure from townhouse footing was not
predicted accurately in original plans. An
Oct. 17, 1995 peer review report from Haley
& Aldrich stated, “Original bearing pressure
of townhouse footings was assumed 1,500
pounds per square foot (psf ). Actual is 2,000
psf.” Still, “as-built global stability of retaining wall has not been significantly reduced
due to modifications in original design,” the
report said.
Displacement of Versa-Lok blocks is noted in numerous 1992 and 1993 documents.
Of particular concern was the effect of
from page 1
1992 and 1993 as the wall was built.
In a Feb. 10, 1993 letter to Geo-Technology Associates (GTA), the firm constructing
the wall, W. Wesley Burnette, then assistant
director of Building and Code Administration, wrote that the Kentlands View retaining
wall was “constructed without city inspection
and not in conformance with the approved
drawings.” Even more alarming, “The wall
has been constructed in a trench without
providing any method of natural drainage,”
he noted. “Additionally, the wall is severely
bowed out in several places along the bottom
tier.” Burnette also cited “poor construction
on site” in this letter.
Current KCA President Barney Gorin
remembers his early involvement with the
community, and he said that in 1993 the city
would identify problems with the wall and
Geo-Technology Associates would say that
everything was OK.
“Initially, the community had no real input,” said Gorin. “The KCA and developer,
Great Seneca Development, were one and the
same. Mike Cody ran the show, the Great
Seneca Development guy. The community
had input with the city, but not Great Seneca
Development.” Great Seneca Development
Corporation was formed by Chevy Chase
Bank after original Kentlands developer Joe
n
RETAINING WALL Continued on page 8
The Town Courier
December 18, 2015 POLICEBeat Page 5
By Gina Gallucci-White
Police Department Now Accepting Applications
F
rom now until the end of the year, the
Gaithersburg Police Department will
be accepting applications for the position of police officer. Both entry level officers or those that have previous experience
may apply.
How many applications the department
receives depends on how long the position
is advertised for, said Lt. Chris Vance. “This
one is open for 30 days (Dec. 1-31) so we are
expecting a couple hundred at least. Right
now, already within the first week, we are
over 100 applications.”
Openings are announced on an as-needed
basis. On average, they accept applications
once or twice a year.
For entry level candidates, the process
from filling out the initial application to beginning the police academy is long, around
six months, and only a small percentage
make it that far.
To start, applicants fill out an online application, which includes asking about minimum standards of employment such as being a United States citizen, having a valid
driver’s license with a good overall driving record, not being convicted of a felony
and earning a high school diploma either
through school or a equivalency exam.
“Once they pass that initial phase, we send
them a confidential questionnaire, which is
a very thorough 42-page document on ba-
sically your whole history” including education and work history, Vance said. “This
is foundation for our background investigation.”
The information is reviewed and once a
candidate passes this section, they will be
invited to a physical and written test being
held on Jan. 23 and 24. The physical test
includes running a mile and a half, sprints,
push-ups, sit-ups and vertical jumps. “If they
score high enough on those tests, they will
move to the next round, which is a structured interview,” Vance said. A board of
three officers will be asking each candidate
the exact same questions.
Background checks are the next step in the
process. “The background phase is where
we typically lose most of our applicants that
pass everything else at that point,” he said.
“It’s a four- to six-month investigation. It’s
a very thorough investigation and it looks
at everything in that person’s history to try
to make sure we get the best applicants that
have the highest integrity.”
Since GPD does not put on their own
training academy, candidates that are selected will go to one in the area that offers several months of training.
Those who are already Maryland Police
and Corrections Training Commission certified will have a minimum of five weeks
of field training with the department. Upon
cityscene
By Gina Gallucci-White
Photo | City of Gaithersburg
The Pritchard Music Academy Powerhouse Brass—Arjun Guthal, Kristen Gottlieb, Alex Loane, Chris Hunter and
Michael Baniak—performed at the Gaithersburg Jingle Jubilee Dec. 5.
Registration for City Winter
Programs and Classes Now Available
There is no excuse for cabin fever this
winter because the City of Gaithersburg
offers a number of programs, classes and
activities throughout these dreary months.
Formerly “The Leisure Times Guide,”
residents can now peruse the quarterly
publication “Go! Gaithersburg Guide” to
discover and take part in offerings geared
toward their interests. Registration is
now open for programs for the young and
young at heart.
The publication is mailed to all city
residents and is available at all city fa-
cilities, the Gaithersburg and Quince
Orchard libraries and online at
www.gaithersburgmd.gov under the related documents section.
Ornament Sale to Benefit
Scholarship Program
For those looking for a unique and local
ornament for presents or to just place on
your tree, head to the Activity Center at
Bohrer Park where you can pick up a commemorative 20th anniversary Gaithersburg
Winter Lights Festival ornament.
n
city scene Continued on page 16
completion of the academy, entry level officers will have a minimum of 16 weeks of
field training.
The starting salary is $55,139 for entry
level officers. For those with prior experience, the salary ranges from $55,139 to
$63,768.
Throughout the year, the department participates in career fairs at many area colleges.
“We also advertise for internships for college
students and that’s another way to get people
into the door to learn what we are about,
what we do on a daily basis and we get an
opportunity to see them on a firsthand basis
so we get to know what they do and what
they are about,” Vance said.
For more information, go to the
city’s website at www.gaithersburgmd.
gov under the public safety section of
the services tab. Questions may be sent
to [email protected].
MEETING CALENDAR
12/18
Economic and Business Development Committee Meeting, City Hall Gallery, 7:30 a.m.
12/21
Mayor and City Council Meeting, City Hall
Council Chambers, 7:30 p.m.
For the latest information on city meetings, visit the City of Gaithersburg website at
www.gaithersburgmd.gov.
policeblotter
Detectives Charge Masseur With Sex
Assault; Seek Additional Victims
Detectives from the Montgomery
County Police Department – Special
Victims Investigation Division have
charged Gavin Anthony Otto, age 42,
of the 7200 block of Blanchard Drive
in Derwood, with sex offenses he committed while working as a masseur at the
Red Door Spa in Kentlands. Detectives
believe that Otto may have sexually assaulted additional victims at the spa in his
role as a masseur.
On July 7, a 32-year-old female reported to police that she received a massage
by Otto at the Red Door Spa and that he
sexually assaulted her during the massage.
On Nov. 17, a 37-year-old female reported to police that she received a massage by Otto at the Red Door Spa and
that he inappropriately touched her during the massage.
On Nov. 25, detectives obtained a
warrant for Otto’s arrest charging him
with one count of second-degree sex offense and one count of fourth-degree sex
offense. Investigators arrested Otto at his
Derwood home on Dec. 2. He was transported to the Central Processing Unit
and was released after posting a $20,000
bond.
Anyone who believes that he/she was
a victim of inappropriate contact by Otto
or has any information about inappropriate contact by Otto is urged to call the
Special Victims Investigations Division at
240.773.5050.
Page 6
The Town Courier
December 18, 2015
School Roundtable Will Seek Solutions
to Overcrowding
By Scott Harris
A
Photo | Mac Kennedy
Cow Patty Bingo was a big hit at the Dec. 5
Barnyard Blitz.
Barnyard Blitz
Again a Moo-ving
Success
By Mac Kennedy
D
ec. 5 dawned a beautiful Saturday for the always entertaining
Quince Orchard High School
Booster Club Barnyard Blitz. The
skies were clear, the lot was full, and
the cows and pigs were as graceful as
ever.
The day began around 11 a.m. with
the popular miniature goat and pig
races on the Hogway Speedway. Fans
witnessed the likes of Oinkhart Jr. and
Hammy Hamlin as they dueled all
morning for first place.
n
barnyard blitz Continued on page 18
new MCPS group will discuss potential ways to relieve overcrowding at
schools in and around Gaithersburg,
possibly including Rachel Carson Elementary School (RCES), as the city’s mayor and
council continue to criticize what they feel
are short-sighted solutions to the problem.
On Dec. 17, MCPS will host a public information session about a roundtable discussion group that will explore potential options
for absorbing projected enrollment increases at Gaithersburg schools. The roundtable
will include five representatives each from
the Gaithersburg, Col. Zadok Magruder
and Thomas S. Wooton high school clusters, as well as potentially from Latino and
African-American advocacy groups in those
communities.
The roundtable’s recommendations,
which they will send to MCPS Interim Superintendent Larry A. Bowers in March,
could include new ideas for RCES.
“It’s not a boundary study, but it’s a more
general kind of brainstorming of what approaches might be possible to relieve the
Gaithersburg cluster and see what the reaction is from members of each cluster,”
said Bruce Crispell, director of the MCPS
division of long-term planning, at a Dec. 7
Gaithersburg mayor and city council meeting.
Crispell said Quince Orchard High
School clusters representatives were not part
of the roundtable because schools in the
cluster did not have enough extra capacity to
alleviate overcrowding. He added, however,
that cluster representatives are “encouraged”
to attend roundtable meetings and provide
feedback and ideas on potential solutions.
The county board of education previously
approved a plan to expand Dufief Elementary School’s capacity from 416 students to
740 students as part of its current revitalization and expansion, which is slated for
completion in school year 2020-21. Students
from RCES, which MCPS officials estimate
would otherwise be over capacity by 323
students at that time, will be reassigned to
Dufief to alleviate the overcrowding.
Mayor Jud Ashman said the solution
wasn’t fast or broad enough to serve the
city’s needs.
“I see you guys looking piecemeal at additions here and there,” Ashman said in response to the MCPS plan.
Crispell said the roundtable was starting
in winter “so we won’t lose a year by waiting
until next fall,” and added that MCPS has
inserted $26 million into its CIP (Capital
Improvements Program) as a “placeholder”
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for possible instruments to address overcrowding in the city.
Ashman and council members have previously called for a more robust approach
to increasing student space in the city’s
schools, particularly at RCES. Ashman reminded MCPS officials in attendance that
the city now controls an area of land near
the new Crown development that could be
used for a high school and which, in turn,
could alleviate overcrowding at elementary
schools downstream. Crispell said MCPS
was aware of the land and would “have to
debate whether it makes sense” to create
a high school on the land if overcrowding
reached a degree that justified such a conversation
City Council Vice President Michael A.
Sesma indicated that MCPS may be underestimating the amount of overcrowding,
meaning that current long-range planning
may not ultimately be enough to address actual student needs in the future.
“Until we make projections on actual
needs, instead of based on the money we
think we can get, I think we will always be
behind (in stemming overcrowding),” Sesma observed. “I don’t see MCPS addressing
what the actual needs are going to be.”
Proposed Fiscal Year 2017
Operating Budget
Interim Superintendent Larry A. Bowers
presented his recommended Fiscal Year (FY)
2017 Operating Budget to the Board of Education on Tuesday, Dec. 8. Bowers is proposing a $2.4 billion budget for Fiscal Year
2017, which includes $103 million in additional spending, an increase over FY 2016 of
about 4.5 percent. Bowers’ operating budget recommendation includes investments
to improve student literacy and math skills;
build the cultural proficiency of staff; foster
stronger partnerships with the community
and families to support students; and better
organize the district to ensure every student
is prepared for college and careers. Bowers’
recommendation reflects the Board of Education’s budget interests and significant input
from a broad array of stakeholders.
The Board of Education will hold public
hearings on the budget on Thursday, Jan. 7
and Thursday, Jan. 14, 2016. If you would
like to testify at the public hearings, you
must call the Board of Education Office at
301.279.3617 to sign up. The board will then
hold work sessions on the budget on Tuesday, Jan. 19, and Thursday, Jan. 21, before
approving a final budget request on Tuesday,
Feb. 9. The budget will then be submitted to the Montgomery County executive
and County Council for consideration. For
more information, visit www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/budget.
School Construction
Projects Approved
On Dec. 8, the Board of Education awarded a contract in the amount of $27,500,000,
to include the assignment of the trade contract awards, to Keller Construction Management, LLC for the Brown Station Elementary School revitalization/expansion
project, in accordance with drawings and
specifications prepared by The Lukmire
Partnership, Inc.
Also on Dec. 8, the preliminary plans report for the Diamond Elementary School
addition project developed by Walton, Madden, Cooper, Robinson, Poness, Inc. were
approved by the board.
Michael Durso Selected as
President of the Board of Education
Michael Durso was selected by his colleagues on Dec. 8 to serve as president of the
Montgomery County Board of Education
for the next year. Dr. Judith Docca also was
selected as vice president. Mr. Durso replaces
Patricia O’Neill, who has served as president
for the past year.
Durso was elected to his first four-year
term in 2010 after being appointed to the
board in June 2009 to finish an unexpired
term. He was elected to his second four-year
term in November 2014. For the past year,
Durso has served as vice president of the
board and chair of the Fiscal Management
Committee.
A resident of Silver Spring, Durso is a retired educator, whose 44-year career included 13 years with Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS).
PARCC Results Released for
Grades 3 to 8
Data released Dec. 8 by the Maryland State
Department of Education show that Montn
ASSIGNMENT EDUCATION Continued on page 14
The Town Courier
December 18, 2015 Page 7
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Page 8
The Town Courier
■ Radon testing
from page 1
Radon is a radioactive gas and exposure to
it—which can only be determined through
testing—is the second leading cause of lung
cancer in America (14,000 deaths per year),
according the Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA).
Radon testing within MCPS has been
ongoing since 1988 and some schools might
have been studied as recently as last year,
Chief Communications Officer Brian Edwards said. Tests are conducted in rooms
with contact to the ground. Retesting for
the 28 MCPS buildings that showed elevated
levels of radon, according to the most recent
numbers—parents were notified of the results
around Thanksgiving—began in mid-November. Jones Lane Elementary School, Ridgeview Middle School and Quince Orchard
High were all on that list and testing has already begun at those facilities.
Radon is measured in picocuries per liter
of air (pCi/L), and the EPA recommends action be taken to remediate areas when levels
reach 4 pCi/L or higher. The EPA recommends the relocation of classrooms that show
radon levels near 100 pCi/L or greater, but
per documents posted by MCPS none of the
county’s buildings revealed such elevated levels.
“Above all, student and staff safety is our
no. 1 priority, and this is an issue that we take
very seriously,” Bowers’ statement read. “Our
radon testing protocols dictate that when a
classroom registers higher than 4.0 pCi/L,
we will retest as a first step before mitigation.
This retesting should have already occurred
based on our testing protocols, and I regret
that, in certain cases, it did not. … In some
of these school locations, remediation had, in
fact, already occurred and retesting will be an
added cautionary measure.”
But some parents, such as Simona Haver
whose son attends Springbrook High School,
are wondering why there would be no immediate mitigation for buildings that have
already revealed high levels of radon.
Haver, who admitted she’s begun to feel
stonewalled by authorities the more she inquires about her son’s safety, said an attempt
Take a closer
look at the
Town Courier.
www.towncourier.com
was made to comfort her by explaining that
children only spend a limited time in the affected classrooms.
“A person of authority told me, they’re only
in one of those eight rooms (in our school
that showed elevated levels) for 47 minutes
every day,” Haver said. “I say, ‘OK, look, let’s
look at this under a real microscope. That’s
47 minutes a day, over the last four years,
Monday through Friday.’ That equates to 30
full days, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. If
you know, going into a facility, that it’s going
to cause you lung disease, would you go there
for 30 days with the probability? … It’s not a
risk at this point, it’s a threat to my child, to
the staff and to the administrators.”
Edwards said as soon as the county receives
the results from these most recent radon
tests, remediation will begin immediately if
necessary. And the process— which is likely geared toward ventilation—is something
that can take place during the school year,
he added.
Soil is the primary entry route for radon
into schools, according to the EPA. Many
schools are built on adjoining floor slabs, the
document continues, which enables radon
gas to enter through construction and expansion joints between the slabs. Ventilation is
vital to reducing radon levels as less ventilation allows radon to build up indoors.
“Again, I want to assure our students, staff
and parents that safety is our no. 1 priority,”
Bowers said via the press release. “To that
end, we are moving swiftly and decisively to
bolster our radon testing and mitigation program. … Going forward, we will continue to
monitor this issue to ensure that our buildings remain within the EPA guidelines.”
December 18, 2015
■ RETAINING WALL
from page 4
block displacement on the fiberglass pins
holding blocks together in a step, two-bytwo fashion. Would strength of the pins be
compromised—or worse, would the pins
be sheared off—by observed block movement? A March 5, 1993 letter addressed
this question: “GTA understands that the
block manufacturer has reviewed the condition and prepared a letter stating that the
structural integrity of the wall system has
not been compromised as a result of the
misalignment of the wall (lower wall).
Based on past experience with this type
of wall misalignment and our knowledge
of the wall system, it is GTA’s professional
opinion that the pins have not been overstressed. Further, as part of the proposed
repair scheme, the pins will be removed.
While it is not anticipated, distressed pins
and blocks can be replaced if necessary.”
Construction that ran through the winter of 1992—unusual, given issues inevitably caused by winter freeze and thaw
and working with fill when it is frozen
and wet—was completed by 1993, the wall
passed inspection and the city released
Great Seneca Development’s $299,618
bond. Mark Cody with Great Seneca Development signed the deed for the wall
over to the KCA.
“The wall was in failure on day one,”
said Gorin.
Editor’s note: This is part of series of articles
that will take a retrospective look at the Quince
Orchard retaining wall.
The Town Courier
Holiday
Giving
’Tis the Season to Throw a Party
By Pam Schipper
W
e are in the thick of it: Hors
d’oeuvres, finger foods and other small plates, no end of sweet
things with lots of beer and wine. Sampling
everything is a job in and of itself. And if
you’re hosting the party, creating the holiday menu can prove a daunting task.
Fortunately, a number of area businesses stand ready to make hosting a holiday
party easier with custom catering options.
We asked Peppers, Hot Breads and the new
O’Donnell’s Market about their approach
to holiday parties.
Peppers on Market Street West, also
known for their Taco Bar in Kentlands
Market Square (they have sold more than
67,000 tacos this year), offers a wide variety of cuisines, from Italian, Mexican,
n
HOLIDAY PARTY Continued on page 11
Calling All Angels
By Pam Schipper
A
dopting a Down syndrome or other special needs child from an orphanage abroad can cost $25,000
to $30,000, and sometimes more, said
Andrea Roberts. Families sometimes
need to make two trips, and there are
agency fees and airfare, hotel, food and
other transportation expenses—very
practical costs.
Roberts, a 1990 Quince Orchard High
School alumnus and Quince Orchard
Park resident, founded the advocacy and
charitable organization Reece’s Rainbow to help U.S. families adopt disabled
children. The nonprofit is named after
Roberts’ son Reece, who has Down
syndrome. “There is no shortage of
families who are qualified and want to
adopt disabled children,” Roberts said.
“The only thing holding them back is
funding.”
Reece’s Rainbow has helped support
nearly 1500 adoptions since the nonprofit was founded 10 years ago. During the
Photo | Submitted
Located on the second floor at 251 Market St. West, Peppers offers its dining room to catered parties at no extra cost.
Photo | Submitted
Every summer, Reece’s Rainbow hosts a family reunion
camping trip. (L to R) Here Ruslan, who was adopted
from the Ukraine within days of his 16th birthday, joins
nonprofit founder Andrea Roberts and her sister, Vicki
Faris, in Luray, Virginia’s Jellystone Park in July 2015.
holidays, the organization raises funds
with its Angel Tree.
This year, 150 Down syndrome and
other special needs children are on the
Angel Tree, Roberts said. They currentn
reece’s rainbow Continued on page 10
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Page 10
The Town Courier
December 18, 2015
Holiday Giving
Shared Holiday Celebration Makes Children’s Spirits Soar
By Ellyn Wexler
G
ee Gerke’s gingerbread house decorating party has evolved into a meaningful holiday tradition. Five years ago,
she and daughter Kayla, in first-grade at the
time, “thought it would be fun” to invite a
few children from their Quince Orchard Park
neighborhood to decorate “little houses made
from graham crackers.”
While planning successive events, Gerke
said their discussion focused on the true spirit
of the holiday season. Making goodie bags for
residents of the Children’s Inn at NIH was one
resulting party activity. In 2014, Kayla came
up with the idea of hosting a party for children “who might not be able to have these
kinds of parties,” her mother said. In search
of ways to connect with such children, Gerke
contacted the City of Gaithersburg, who put
her in touch with The Dwelling Place. The
Gaithersburg-based nonprofit provides homeless families in Montgomery County with
a safe, affordable place to live for two years
while they learn to become self-sufficient.
The Gerkes’ first party for the children who
live in The Dwelling Place’s transitional housing took place last year. “It was so heartwarming and amazing to hear and see the delight
on the kids’ faces as they made ornaments and
decorated their houses,” Gerke recalled. She
was moved to tears when a little girl hugged
her and “told me it was the best day of her
life.”
This year’s party, held Dec. 7 at the
Gaithersburg Presbyterian Church, was an
equally positive experience. Nine children—
Photo | Submitted
Volunteers from Quince Orchard Park and Kentlands joined children living at The Dwelling Place for a holiday celebration.
Kayla and Sam Gerke, as well as Tommy and
Caroline Lokken, Jack and Anton Parmach,
Andrew Shigetomi, Angela Harris and Litsa
Berns—supervised by five adults, all of whom
reside in Quince Orchard Park and Kentlands,
volunteered to help. Afterwards, Kayla told
her mother “how good it feels to help other
kids,” that it made her realize “we should be
thankful for everything we have, (that) some
kids don’t have Christmas trees!” She thought
it was great to see so many people smiling.
Her brother Sam summed it up well: “We are
all just people. The kids are just like me.”
“The party was more than awesome,” said
Jill Hurd, program manager for The Dwelling Place. “We so much appreciate what they
did. They created a beautiful memory for our
kids.” Hurd and the mothers in the parent
skills development workshop she was conducting in the next room heard the children’s
laughter. Especially touching, Hurd said, was
witnessing volunteer Jack Parmach conversing
with an autistic boy who has trouble connecting with others.
The lesson is, Gerke said, “that even though
we think that volunteering is about helping
others, it is truly a win-win. It is a great gift
for the volunteer as much as the person who
is receiving the help.” She hopes the event
“inspires the kids to continue giving back to
the community and learn that helping others
feels great.”
For information about The Dwelling Place,
visit tdp-inc.org.
■ reece’s rainbow
from page 9
ly live in orphanages in the Ukraine,
Bulgaria, China, Latvia, Lithuania,
Poland, Colombia, Peru, Mexico,
Haiti and Armenia. Each child has an
Angel Tree warrior who advocates for
them. Through blog and social media
posts, bake sales and other activities,
warriors encourage friends, family
and members of the community to
donate with the goal of raising $1,000
for each child.
The Angel Tree campaign runs
from Nov. 1 to Dec. 31, and Roberts
said there is still plenty of time to contribute. For $35, donors can choose
to have an ornament with a photo
of their Angel Tree child shipped to
themselves or someone else as a gift.
Or they can choose not to receive the
ornament, and that $5 will go toward
the child’s adoption fund instead.
“I started Reece’s Rainbow to give
these children a voice,” Roberts said.
“It grows exponentially each year. …
You really can do good things in the
world if your heart is in it.”
To help a child during this holiday season, visit static.reecesrainbow.
org/angeltree2015. You can donate
through the website or mail a check
to Reece’s Rainbox, P.O. Box 277,
Monrovia, Md.
Page 11
Holiday Giving
■ holiday party
from page 9
French and Indian to American. Mike
Bhatnagar, who owns and runs Peppers
with wife Jyoti, said that for catered holiday parties they prepare lots of salads,
sandwiches that are often filled with beef
Wellington,, smoked salmon and filet mignon, shrimp, salmon and scallops. Fruit,
cookie and dessert trays are also very popular.
For added convenience, Peppers will
use a client’s own dishes to fill a catering
order. Peppers will also close down their
second floor room on Market Street West
for catered private parties of 15 to 20 people at no extra cost. Jyoti Bhatnagar said
that the room is decorated for the holidays, and customers are welcome to use
any of the dishes in her kitchen there.
Hot Breads and Cakes at 70 Market
St. offers delicious 90 to 100 percent vegan cakes, with wine and liquor-flavored
cakes specially rolled out for the holidays.
Owner Gopinath Swamynathan, known
as Gopi, explained that the 90-percent
vegan cakes have a little bit of butter in
their frosting, but Hot Breads makes many
cakes that are 100-percent vegan, too. His
wine- and liquor-flavored cakes do not
contain real alcohol, he noted, because
many customers worry about offering this
to children.
Hot Breads also offers a wide selection of Indian food, and Swamynathan
said that his finger foods—samosas, Indian-style spring roll, finger chicken, and
Indian-style kabob—are ordered often for
holiday parties. Hot Breads will soon offer
catering delivery.
Only open for a little more than a week,
O’Donnell’s Market at 1073 Seven Locks
Road, Potomac Woods Plaza is ready to
cater small family parties of 12 to 15 people, and can accommodate larger groups
with 48-hours’ notice. “We will have special fishes, crab cakes,” said Ashlee Edelblut, who opened the market with her
father, Bill Edelblut. Sides include crab
dip, spinach dip and a cauliflower mac
n’ cheese that was very popular during
O’Donnell’s first week in business. For
dessert, Edelblut recommended lemon
meringue and key lime pies made inhouse daily or O’Donnell’s famous rum
buns that are sold by the dozen.
You can’t throw a holiday party without wine or beer. Pinky Rodgers, owner
of Pinky and Pepe’s Grape Escape at 223
Kentlands Boulevard with husband Pepe,
has a huge selection of both, but there’s
one that she really recommends: Chevalier
de Grenelle, Saumur Cremant de la Loire
Brut Magnum. A sparkling wine, Rodgers said that it complements just about anything. It makes light, delicious mimosas
for those Hanukkah, Christmas and New
Year’s brunches, it won’t overpower turkey and it’s good with ham. “It’s one of
the most versatile bubblies,” Rodgers said.
“I tell people that it’s ‘stupid delicious.’”
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Sunday: 11:00 – 5:00
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Page 12
The Town Courier
December 18, 2015
Holiday Giving
Toy Story: Pinky & Pepe’s Grape Escape Collects for the Kids
By Sharon Allen Gilder
I
t’s not just wine and beer that flows at
Pinky & Pepe’s Grape Escape in Kentlands this time of year. The store and its
storage room have been overflowing with
unwrapped toys to brighten the holidays
for families in need. Like a scene from the
movie “Toy Story,” stuffed animals, dolls,
trucks and all sorts of gifts happily decorate
tops of wine and beer racks—all destined
to bring joy to children in need through
the City of Gaithersburg’s Holiday Giving
Program. Charitable coffers are filled with
monetary donations for Toys for Tots, and
$10 Target gift cards are pouring in for the
city’s program.
Grape Escape co-owner Pinky Rodgers
said the momentum for giving began well
before she advertised the toy drive. “Our
clients just started bringing toys in. Also, it
was the sixth year in a row that we hosted
the November business after-hours event
for the Gaithersburg-Germantown Chamber of Commerce and Laura Rowles, God
bless her, this year advertised that it would
be free admission for anyone who brought
an unwrapped toy. So, it was fabulous. I
was thrilled. … She really helped.”
On Friday, Dec. 11, the store held its official “We Are Collecting For The Kids!
Huge Toy Drive Night” featuring a wine
tasting conducted by wine personality Nick Materese, the local manager for
Siema Wines, and musical entertainment
provided by popular singer-songwriter
Freddie Long. Long’s playlist was a festive
blend of cover songs and holiday classics.
He smiled and said, “I’m tryin’ to dust off
the old Christmas tunes and get everybody
in the holiday spirit.”
Rodgers said this is her sixth December
collecting for Toys for Tots and that she began participating in the toy drive several
years ago at a ball the store held at Kentlands Mansion when her son Matthew entered the U.S. Marine Corps. Toys for Tots,
run by the United States Marine Corps
Reserve, was founded in 1947. “When I
learned through working with the city that
we had so many families in the city itself
that were in need, I wanted to be able to
support both. So this event on Dec. 11 is
once again supporting both.”
Lisette Engel, the City of Gaithersburg
community services program coordinator,
said, “We anticipate serving 750 families
for December, or 1600 children.” She added that partnerships with local businesses
such as Grape Escape are “essential to the
program that operates totally on donations
for the Thanksgiving and December giving, and heavily relies on the generosity of
our businesses, congregations, organizations and residents.”
Rodgers noted, “Montgomery Magazine has been an incredible sponsor and has
already donated a sizeable check to Toys for
Photo | Sharon Allen Gilder
Since 2010, Grape Escape has collected toys for children in need at the holidays. Co-owner Pinky Rodgers said that this
year, as in years past, the shop and storeroom are filled with community donations.
Tots. The (co-) owner, Doug McDaniel,
has just been incredibly supportive. So, really in a nutshell, the toys that we collect
and the gift cards are 100 percent turned
into the City of Gaithersburg’s Holiday
Giving Program. The money that’s collected goes directly to Toys for Tots.”
Grape Escape’s toy drive wrapped up
on Dec. 14 to prepare for the city’s scheduled pick-up of the truckloads of toys on
Dec. 16. “I am completely overwhelmed
by the generosity of our community. The
last two years that the city has come to collect, the people have been shocked at how
many toys we collected. What I love is that
the people that are donating the toys and
those gift cards know that those go directly
to our children right here in Gaithersburg
… so that really means a ton to us … but I
think being a Marine mom all these years,
I can’t help but always be doing Toys for
Tots as well,” said Rodgers.
Page 13
Page 14
The Town Courier
December 18, 2015
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issue that they closed for four days to join
the annual National Association of Music
Merchants (NAMM) advocacy effort.
Their efforts and those of countless others through NAMM, National Association
for Music Education, and the VH1 Foundation, to name a few organizations, just
reached a rousing finale. At 11:05 a.m. on
Dec. 10, President Barack Obama signed
into law the Every Student Succeeds Act
(ESSA), which replaces No Child Left
Behind and recognizes music as a standalone, core subject.
“We are so excited,” said Joe Pritchard.
“This shows that regular citizens, if they’re
persistent, stay with it, can affect change.”
“Joe and I are so proud to have been part
of this project with NAMM for the past
six years!” Becky Pritchard said. “It passed
today, making music a core subject in elementary and secondary education.”
“Music is now considered a core subject
‘Sacred Places’ Mixed Media Exhibit
Through Jan. 1, Kentlands Mansion; call
301.258.6425 for viewing hours
Various artists share their interpretation of spiritual places in both classic
and contemporary styles. The artwork is
created in a variety of media, including
painting, photography, fiber and paper.
www.gaithersburgmd.gov
Main Street Farmers Market
Dec. 19 & 26, 9 a.m.-2 p.m., Main Street
Pavilion
Products available for purchase include
a vast assortment of fruits and vegetables,
jams and jellies, various herbs, cut
flowers, and potted plants, baked goods,
dog treats, meat, eggs, and honey. www.
gaithersburgmd.gov
for a fully rounded education at all levels,”
Joe Pritchard said. “It’s on the same footing
as science, math and language arts.”
Title I funds that schools had been using
almost exclusively for academic subjects in
order to teach to the test are now available
to provide support for music education and
other arts-based programs. The door has
been opened for educators to use more creative ways to help kids learn, Joe Pritchard
said. For example, a student struggling
with reading may make more progress
through studying drama and reading plays.
“We worked awfully hard,” Joe Pritchard
said of the many music professionals and
educators who lobbied for equal recognition of music in our nation’s schools. He
and Becky Pritchard worked closely with
Senator Barbara Mikulski, who is on the
Education Committee, helping education
advisors and staffers in her office with their
email writing campaigns.
For more information on ESSA, visit
www.whitehouse.gov.
assignmenteducation
North Potomac/Rockville
14955 Shady Grove Rd., Ste. 170 | Rockville, MD 20850
301.921.1040
The property information herein is derived from various sources that may include, but not be limited to, county
records and the Multiple Listing Service and it may include approximations. Although the information is believed
to be accurate, it is not warranted and you should not rely upon it without personal verification. Real estate agents
affiliated with Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage are independent contractor agents and are not employees
of the Company. ©2015 Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC. All Rights Reserved. Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC
fully supports the principles of the Fair Housing Act and the Equal Opportunity Act. Operated by a subsidiary of
NRT LLC. Coldwell Banker, the Coldwell Banker logo, Coldwell Banker Previews International and the Previews
logo are registered and unregistered service marks owned by Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC. 11467MA_11/15
from page 1
Gaithersburg’s Arts on the Green presents
“Magical Realism,” an exhibit featuring
the works of Richardene Forrest-Thweatt,
Meg Schaap, Pritha Srinivasan, Richard
Paul Weiblinger, and Alexey Zoob. www.
gaithersburgmd.gov from page 6
Administered by American Home Shield
gomery County Public Schools (MCPS)
students in grades 3 through 8 outperformed
their peers across the state on new state assessments, but demonstrate the critical need
to address persistent achievement gaps and
improve student performance in literacy and
math.
For more information, visit reportcard.
msde.maryland.gov.
The Town Courier
MIKEAT THE MOVIES
In the Heart of the Sea (PG-13)
*****
This
heart-thumping
film of the sea is, as its narrator says at the start, less a
story of a whale and more
a story of two men under
severe stress. The amazing
part of the story is that it is
mostly true!
By Mike
The Essex, a made-over
Cuthbert
whaler, slightly smaller
than the usual whaler, set out from Nantucket in 1820. After early success, it found
very few whales. Then while in port in
South America, they heard a fantastic story about a white whale of enormous size
that destroyed the whalers. He was called
“Moby Dick.” He was also the centerpiece
of a huge pod that promised fortunes to the
crews that could find them and slaughter
them. This film tells the story of the Essex
from the point of view of one of the few
survivors, whaler Tom Nickerson played
by Brian Gleeson, as told to Herman Melville (Ben Whishaw) who hopes to follow
up the success of his first novel, “Typee.”
There is a secret that Nickerson is trying
desperately to hide, but his wife (Michelle
Fairley) urges him to get all the secrets out
so he can live with himself.
Though Nickerson’s story was true and
you can read about it in encyclopedias, I
will leave it to you to discover in the film.
Needless to say, it is the culmination of
horrid experiences that made survival very
much a likely failure. Two of the survivors are First Officer Owen Chase (Chris
Hemsworth) and Capt. George Pollard
(Benjamin Walker), son of one of the owners of the Essex.
In many ways this film is formulaic: A
seasoned, talented whaler (Chase) is ordered to serve as first mate to Pollard,
much to his dissatisfaction. A typical, under-trained corporate scion, Pollard makes
errors in judgment, especially his decision
to steer into a heavy squall to test his raw
crew. The result is near-destruction of his
ship and disgust from Chase and many others in the crew.
Chase is an expert harpooner and the
scenes of his spearing the huge animals are
epic in every way. Director Ron Howard
handles the action scenes well, marred only
by an over-reliance on close-ups that make
the action sometimes hard to follow. Add
the thunderous noise of the sea and the
whales and a lot of the dialogue of this film
is lost to the elements.
The film demands more and more of
the cast as there becomes less and less of
them. All lost scores of pounds in making
the film. Oddly enough, as the film portrays them, when they returned home they
were not regarded as heroes but as freaks
who somehow survived the least survivable
conditions they could imagine. That cannibalism was involved was almost assumed
by the townspeople. It is no wonder that
the story of the Essex served as the underpinning for “Moby Dick.” But it is Mel-
firstperson
Annual Last-Minute Gift Guide
I
t’s the most wonderful
time of the year!! No,
really. It is.
Even if you had to delete 1,000 pics just to get
one usable Christmas
card mailed two weeks
later than planned. Even
if you can’t bake, bring By Maureen
or bite one more cookie
Stiles
without your head (and
waist) exploding. Even if you are limping
into the New Year, exhausted and overscheduled.
My annual gift guide is my little present to you each December. A little boost
to those weary of searching for cheer. Unfortunately, the editorial deadline was after
Hanukkah, but let’s be truthful, these gifts
are awesome enough for year-round consideration.
Without further ado, here is my last-minute gift guide.
My Pillow—If the words “Patented Poly-fill” make visions of sugar plums dance
in your head, then boy are you in luck. This
revolutionary pillow looks suspiciously like
the $24.99 pillow currently on my bed yet
promises that it will not flatten over time
and stays cool. The bonus? It comes with
a 60-day, money-back sleep guarantee.
Essentially, you can rack up two months’
worth of nightly drool on that puppy and
pop it back in the mail for a full refund.
Well, a refund minus all the shipping, handling and fine print.
Big Vision Glasses—Are you always
searching for reading glasses? Or moving
menus and cell phones further back to make
out the words? Well, Big Vision Glasses not
only make everything miraculously clearer, but they are so humongous you will
never misplace them on the top of your
head. We’re talking safety goggle-sized,
gargantuan glasses. Apparently, this is
function over form with no consideration
for fashion whatsoever. A whopping 160
percent magnification allows you the luxury of stumbling around like watching a
3-D movie all day, every day. The shocker
is that they have just been marked down—
RUN to your computer NOW!
Fone Ring—I have a natural mistrust
of any product that replaces a “ph” with
an “f.” In my experience, this approach
has never improved anything, ever. Nevertheless, being a servant of the people, I
will overlook the grammar obstacles and
pass this info on to you. The Fone Ring
is a mechanism that attaches your phone
n
first person Continued on page 16
ville’s genius that saw through the simple
plot lines to the eternal and very human
conflicts underneath—conflicts that made
the whale himself secondary to the conflicts between the humans that hunted him
and ultimately destroyed themselves in the
process.
The movie concludes with the ironic
fact that, as some of the survivors readjusted to their lives on shore and even went
back to whaling, the whale oil industry itself began dying away; oil was discovered
in the ground in Pennsylvania in 1859—
just a few years after the Essex crew came
back home.
Young children will not understand the
dynamics of the story, and the underwater scenes and destruction of humans by
whales (Moby Dick wasn’t the only killer) will not set well with them. Perhaps a
few of their parents will find it the same.
Superb sea footage, a compelling story and
one HUGE whale are worth the time it
takes to take all this in.
Krampus (PG-13) *
There are two demanding questions
about this film: 1) Why was it made? 2)
Who is the intended audience? It is ostensibly a holiday comic fantasy but for “fantasy” read “horror show.” I am absolutely
at a loss as to whom the producers aimed
this horror at. The only logical answer is
perverted, Christmas-hating, horror-loving teens, but that seems a narrow group.
With such a strong cast: Adam Scott, Toni
Collette, David Koechner and Conchata
Ferrell, I wondered why I had seen so few
ads for this film. Now I know.
Starting as a holiday film featuring a
mysterious Omi (Krista Sadler), Adam
Scott’s mother, with comic set-up scenes
for a typical dysfunctional family Christmas (the film opens with holiday music
over Black Friday riots), it soon deteriorates into the most horrific of horror movies with mothers and babies and brothers
and sisters disappearing, most likely eaten
by monsters. We are soon in a world of
constant snatches and grabs and monster
feasts and all the rest of the horror movie
genre scenes we have seen for years. Omi
hints that it is because of mysterious causes
beyond our understanding, but Max (Emjay Anthony) knows that it is his fault because he has lost faith in Christmas.
All the while the mayhem is going on (in
the middle of a blizzard-caused blackout),
the viewer is left to question again: What is
the intended audience for this? Little ones
would be horrified, even teens would be
puzzled, adult audiences will be offended
by the motivations and bored by the repetition and habitual horror addicts will be put
off by the simplistic message of the film:
Believe in Christmas and everything will
work out. Many will simply find the film
offensive. A horrific waste of talent and
special effects and NOT a film for the holidays. (“Krampus” has been made before
as an Alpine horror story but not to our
knowledge as a holiday comedy.)
Page 16
The Town Courier
December 18, 2015
shoptalk
from page 3
ing program and Stephanie Brant, principal at Gaithersburg Elementary School, to
ensure the books get distributed to Gaithersburg community families in need.
The book drive continues through
firstperson
from page 15
to your hand so it never drops. Because how many times a day have you
thought, “My life would be perfect
if only my phone was attached to my
body.”
Fanny Bank— We all know that the
reality of saving money can be a pain
in the rear. Well, this bank aims to take
the sting out of being so responsible.
The exposed backside of a plumber
comprises the bank itself with a slot for
coins right in that plumber’s crack. Oh
yes they did, they went there. And …
wait for it … the plumber farts when
coins are deposited. This is every kindergartner’s dream, no ifs, ands or butts
about it.
Robocut—The tagline says, “If you
can vacuum, you can cut your own
hair.” Well, I can put on a Band-Aid
but I’m thinking that does not make me
a surgeon. So, I have my doubts. By attaching to your Hoover or Dyson, the
Robocut sucks the hair up simulating
the technique of your highly trained
hairdresser. It is a bargain at $72, provided you don’t have to pay $300 to repair the damage.
So, in short, YOU’RE WELCOME!
Now you have at least one gift idea
for anyone who did not provide you
with a list. Or for that white elephant
exchange. Or if you are just into wasting some money on senseless items.
Merry Gifting to you all!
Jan. 8, 2016. For more information, visit www.gaithersburgbookfestival.org or
www.handandstonegaithersburg.com.
O’Donnell’s Market Opens in Potomac
For 20 years, Kentlands had easy access to O’Donnell’s famous crab cakes
and rum buns when the restaurant operated at 311 Kentlands Boulevard (now
Boulevard Tavern). O’Donnell’s 2013 closing was quite a loss.
With the Dec. 9 opening of O’Donnell’s Market at 1073 Seven Locks Road
in Potomac, locals can once again enjoy these favorites, as well as a wide
selection of seafood, meats, bakery items and prepared foods, including graband-go salads and sandwiches. You can even enjoy an adult beverage while
you shop. Beer and wine are served on premises.
Donnell’s Market is owned and run by Bill Edelblut, grandson of restaurant founder Tom O’Donnell, with his daughter,
Ashlee Edelblut.
odonnellsmarket.com
Nalley Fresh Anticipates
January Opening
Although Nalley Fresh has no firm
opening date set, Maggie McDermott,
spokesperson, said that it will be sometime
after the first of the year. The fresh salad,
bowl and wrap concept restaurant from
Baltimore will occupy the 1800-squarefoot space next to The Hair Cuttery in
Kentlands Square. www.nalleyfresh.com
Club Z! In-Home Tutoring
Now Available
Launched in March 2015 in the Urbana area, the new Club Z! franchise owned
by Yan Manegan now serves students
from kindergarten through college in the
Gaithersburg area. Manegan said that her
tutors, who currently work with several
Quince Orchard High School students, tutor students in their own homes or in central locations like the library. Manegan and
one other staff member personally consult
with students and their families to assess
their needs. Students are then matched
with the best tutor based on individual
needs and personality. Lessons follow the
student’s school curriculum. A variety of
test preparation tutoring—SAT, ACT,
GED, GMAT, GRE, PSAT and ASVAB—
is also available. For more information, call
301.200.1516 or visit clubZtutoring.com/
Montgomerymd.
cityscene
from page 5
Holiday Trees Can Be Recycled
Available now in limited quantities, the
blue-frosted ornament features the City’s
G logo and an image of a leaping reindeer.
The ornament costs $10 with a portion
of the proceeds set to benefit the W. Edward Bohrer Memorial CHARACTER
COUNTS! Scholarship program.
After all the presents have been unwrapped and the calendar changed to a
new year, be sure to put your real holiday
tree on the curb for recycling.
City of Gaithersburg recycling contractors will pick up trees on your regular recycling days but certain criteria must be
met.
There is no deadline for putting your
holiday tree out for recycling so feel free to
enjoy it as long as possible.
• The trees must be by recycling containers by 7 a.m. on your pick-up day.
Christmas and New Year’s Recycling
Days Moved
Katz Honored With Award
Former Gaithersburg mayor and current Montgomery County Councilman
Sidney Katz was among nine honored recently during the Sentinel Newspapers’
Second Annual Excellence in Government
Awards. Currently in the second year of his
term on the council, Katz served in various
roles with the city for more than 35 years.
• Trees must be in their natural state.
• All decorations including tinsel and
angel hair must be removed.
• No metal should be attached to the tree.
• Do not wrap trees in plastic.
• They will NOT be picking up artificial trees.
• Trees with root balls will not be
recycled.
• Trees will only be picked up at homes
so do not take trees to other sites such
as schools or public buildings.
The City of Gaithersburg will be moving recycling days for those residents
whose days fall on the upcoming holidays
of Christmas and New Year’s Day. Both
holidays fall on Fridays so the city will pick
up recycling the following Saturdays—
Dec. 26 and Jan. 2, respectively.
Schaeffer’s Piano Co., Inc.
Est 1901
NEW • USED
RENTALS TOO!
Tuning • Repair
Refinishing
We’ve Moved!
Visit us at our new location!
105 N Stone Street Ave.
Rockville, Md 20850
301.424.1144
www.schaefferspiano.com
Advertise in
Gaithersburg’s
hometown paper
[email protected]
[email protected]
The Town Courier
Sports
Making Weight
QO Looking to
Leap Into Top Tier
By Jennifer Beekman
A
s recently as 20 years ago, wrestling
was “kind of like the Wild Wild West”
when it came to athletes making their
desired weight classes, Quince Orchard
coach Rob Wolf said.
“(When I was in high school), people used
to wear rubber suits, we’d roll them up in
the mat to make them sweat more,” Wolf
said. “We’d go into saunas. Guys would lose
a crazy amount of weight in a short period of
time. Unfortunately (when you do that), you
also lose your strength.”
The sport’s culture has changed drastically
in the 10 to 15 years since the NCAA and
National Federation of State High School Associations cracked down on safety regulations
that ensure athletes meet weight in a safe and
healthy manner. Yet, it is still hard for high
school wrestlers to shake the stigma that has
surrounded the sport for years, Quince Orchard sophomore Alejandro Lopez said.
“I think some people are ignorant about
it because they don’t really know about the
sport,” said Lopez, who was the 126-pound
champion at Magruder’s invitational meet
Dec. 12. “When people think when you
wrestle you starve yourself, it’s a huge misconception. It’s all about safety now. People
doing crazy stuff are not going to be able
to go out and wrestle well. You have to be
safe about it. It’s really good how we evolved
from the real crazy ways it was done before to
being safe and not harming ourselves.”
In order to participate all MCPS athletes
are required to be certified by a physician
for a specific wright class. This was done
through the county at one central location
on two dates at the start of the season. Maryland Public Secondary Schools Athletic Association regulations state that all wrestlers
have their minimum weight class certified
prior to their first match, per the MCPS
website’s wrestling page. Maryland also requires a body fat analysis as part of this process; wrestlers can only drop down to seven
percent body fat (12 percent for girls) while
maintaining a proper level of hydration, per
the website. And coaches are given a schedule
to determine the rate at which weight can be
dropped, Wolf said.
By Syl Sobel
T
Photo | Mac Kennedy
Junior Bret Williams takes on a Seneca Valley wrestler during the Dec. 9 boys’ varsity wrestling meet. Quince Orchard
won, 78-3.
“We live in a very different society than it
was; today’s society is very safety conscious,”
Northwest coach Joe Vukovich said. “There
is more structure, it’s more rigid. And yes,
you’re stopping things that are unhealthy. It’s
just a smarter way to do things. I embrace
the safety and the structure. It also allows
for a long-term plan. You’re certified at the
beginning of the season and you know what
you can be at the end of the season if you
choose to do that. Before kids were losing
weight however they wanted to and it wasn’t
safe and it wasn’t organized. Now there are
short-term goals and long-term goals and
season plans.”
But Vukovich said the minority sport’s bad
rap will likely never disappear completely because it is the only interscholastic high school
sport that involves weight and official weighins. That, of course, directly correlates with
perhaps the sport’s best quality: Athletes
compete against opponents their own size.
“In wrestling, there’s an opportunity for
everyone,” Wolf said. “When do you have in
an athletic event where you compete against
someone exactly your size? You take someone who’s 106 pounds and you put them on a
football field or a basketball court, they have
no chance.”
There are two main reasons for athletes to
drop weight, Wolf said. If they are at the lower end of a higher weight class, they’d likely
be more successful if on the heavier side of
a lighter weight division. Sometimes, Wolf
added, it’s merely about filling a spot in a
lineup.
In fact, achieving a balanced lineup with
strength across all 14 spots, is key to team
success in general and what Quince Orchard
and Northwest are working to build as they
head into the hearts of their respective seasons. Each individual match is as important as
the next, no matter the division; a team could
have the five best athletes in the county but
even if they win every single match, the team
could lose all of its dual meets.
While Wolf and Vukovich agreed threetime defending Class 4A/3A dual-meet state
n
wrestling Continued on page 19
Northwest Basketball Teams Aim to Join in Athletics Program Success
By Jennifer Beekman
I
t’s a good time to be an athlete at Northwest High School. From the football
team’s fourth consecutive state tournament appearance—the Jaguars won the
title in 2013-14—and the girls’ volleyball
team’s first-ever state championship this
fall, to the boys’ track and field team’s three
state crowns since 2013, the baseball team’s
2012 state win and the softball team’s
first state final appearance last spring, the
Germantown school’s athletics program
has enjoyed remarkable postseason success
across the board in recent years.
The girls’ and boys’ basketball teams
want in. One week into the season, the Jaguar girls have eclipsed their record from last
winter by winning their first two games.
With improved depth this season Northwest’s boys intend to position themselves as
postseason contenders, second-year coach
Robert Smith said.
Girls
Northwest is no stranger to success.
Three years ago, the Jaguars were peren-
nial postseason contenders. And though a
0-21 season might not seem like a building
block, that’s exactly what last season was,
first-year coach Justin Sickeri said.
“They were young,” he added. “A foundation was established.”
After two consecutive losing seasons—
Northwest won only eight games in 201314—it was important for the Jaguars to get
off to a quick start this year. And they have
done just that, with wins over two very respectable programs, Wootton and Walter
n
nw basketball Continued on page 18
wo young but experienced
Quince Orchard basketball teams
have opened their seasons hoping
to build on last year’s successes and enter
the ranks of the county’s elite.
The QO boys are 2-1 following a 3736 loss on Friday to last year’s state runner up, Bethesda-Chevy Chase (ranked
15th by the Washington Post). B-CC
took a 20-14 halftime lead as QO was
plagued by poor shooting. The Cougars
rallied to take a 28-26 lead after three,
but fell a point short in a tight fourth
quarter.
“We are way ahead of where I thought
we would be on defense. We are way
behind of where I thought we would
be on offense,” said boys’ coach Paul
Foringer after the B-CC game. “Need
to start playing intelligent offense.”
The girls, meanwhile, are 1-2, but
have lost to two of the top teams in the
county. They suffered a hard-fought
54-49 loss last week to Paint Branch,
which was ranked sixth at the time by
the Post. QO’s top player, sophomore
guard Jordan Odom, was injured in that
game and her absence was felt in the
second half as Paint Branch came back
from a 6-point halftime deficit. Odom
scored 14 of her game-high 15 points for
QO in the first half.
“I’m proud of them and hurt for
them,” girls’ coach Chris Campbell said
after the Paint Branch loss. “They deserved that win.”
Then on Friday night playing without
Odom and two other key players they
battled powerful B-CC in the first half
before the visitors pulled away to a 6940 win as Campbell rested his starters
near the end.
The boys are led by juniors Johnny
Fierstein and Matthew Kelly and return
most of last year’s 17-7 squad that made it
to the sectional finals. Fierstein and Kelly were listed among the top 80 juniors
in the region by a preseason basketball
website and have added some length and
strength since their sophomore seasons.
At 6-foot-3 Fierstein, QO’s top scorer last year with 11.8 points per game,
can score outside and inside and is the
Cougars’ leading rebounder. Kelly, at
5-foot-10, averaged 9.6 points per game
last year and relies on a quick release,
smooth stroke, and slick moves to create
his points.
They are joined in the backcourt by
lightning fast senior point guard Damon
Daniel. He can blow by most defenders,
and his decision-making and ability to
finish plays will go a long way toward
influencing QO’s success.
n
qo basketball Continued on page 19
Page 18
The Town Courier
December 18, 2015
(Left to right, front) Girls’ cross country team members Maya Jacobson, Catherine Cassell,
Vicky Liu, Daya Lu, Katie Coulson, Elizabeth Cassell with (left to right, back) coach Seann
Pelkey and assistant coach Stephen Majkrzak.
Photo | Arthur Cadeaux
Northwest senior Tim Biakapia scores in the Dec. 11 game against Tuscarora.
■ nw basketball
from page 17
Johnson, in their first two games. Northwest (2-1) also hung with perennial Frederick County contender Tuscarora in a close
loss Dec. 11.
With a combination of returning players and an influx of talented newcomers,
Northwest has showed promise early.
Basketball is often a game of set plays
but the Jaguars’ offense, which will likely
shift between two and three guards, will
be much less rigid in Sickeri’s system. The
first-year coach said he prefers to give his
players freedom and flexibility on the hardwood and that could make Northwest’s offense tricky to defend.
“We are not running a cookie-cutter offense,” Sickeri said. “We want to try and
teach the girls how to play the game, how
to move the ball. We feel like if they can
learn the game and understand how to
move (on and off the ball), we don’t need
a bunch of different plays to be successful
on offense.”
Sickeri gave much credit to his assistants,
former college basketball players Sarah
Palmer and Elsabeth Birman, with ensuring the Jaguars are sharp on the fundamentals and know the ins and outs of the game
so they can make the right decisions under
the pressure of competition.
Players are still adjusting to their positions, finding their respective roles within the team and learning to play with one
another, but returning guard Samantha
Sekscienski, Gaithersburg transfer Alexis
Mack, who scored a combined 42 points in
the team’s first two games, and senior Daija Black provide an excellent core to build
around.
“We’re trying to build a program with
long-term success, regardless of who is
coaching,” Sickeri said. “We want people
to think about Northwest basketball like
they once did. Because of what happened
the last couple of seasons and the reputation, people have shied away (from playing). But we are changing the view of the
culture. People are coming out to games.
The talent is there, the work ethic, the
willingness and the drive of the players. We
have that. Now it’s a matter of having some
success and building on it.”
Boys
In three games, Smith has yet to start the
same combination of five players. It hasn’t
been out of dissatisfaction with performance, however, but producing the most
profitable matchups. Though Northwest
is still quite young after graduating eight
players from last year’s 10-12 campaign—
three of them starters—the depth of this
year’s roster, which enables Smith to have
such flexibility with his lineup, could be
the Jaguars’ biggest strength.
“Last year we were seven or eight guys
deep at most,” Smith said. “This year right
now I could legit start five and sub on five.
It’s new for me to have 10 or 11 guys who
could start for you or contribute. Practice
has to be tough; guys have to play. Having
the luxury (of that depth) does help, and
guys knowing how to play different positions.”
Returning starters, 6-foot-4 forward
Tim Biakapia and 6-foot-2 Ty Richardson have settled into their roles as leaders.
Biakapia has averaged 16 points and 9 rebounds a game early this winter and Richardson has 9 points and 14.5 rebounds. Senior guards Nick Pinto and Jason Woodard
(12 points per game) lead the backcourt.
And sophomore forwards TJ Williams and
Lameek Lumsden have already been major
contributors.
The Jaguars will rely on their overall athleticism and ability to get up and down the
floor. Defense is a focal point, Smith said, as
well as creating more of an inside presence
than last year. Northwest’s coach added he
anticipated at least four players could be averaging double digits in scoring by the end
of the season.
The Northwest boys have never advanced
past the second round of playoffs, which is
a major goal for this winter, Smith added.
“I’m excited about the season,” Smith
said. “We’ve had some talented groups
come through here but I think we checked
last year and we’ve never made it past the
second round in school history. So that’s
one of our goals, we want to go deep into
playoffs. But we have to make sure we’re
playing well at the right time.”
(Left to right) Coach Seann Pelkey and boys’ cross country team members Christian McCann, Philippe Castillo,
Yonatan Babore, Sajan Mistry, Niko Stathes and Liam
Walsh with assistant coach Stephen Majkrzak.
Field hockey player Skylar Saffer (center) with coaches Leah
Hunsinger (left) and Alician Vincenty (right)
Photos | Mac Kennedy
The Fall Sports Awards Night, Dec. 9 at Quince Orchard High School,
celebrated the accomplishments of fall season athletes. Among the
students honored were the cross country team and Skylar Saffer,
varsity field hockey.
■ barnyard blitz
from page 6
Next on the agenda was what has become a tradition in the QO community,
the Cow Patty Bingo. As explained by
QOHS Booster President Cindy Cresser,
“Two cows provided by Calleva were led
onto the field and hilarity ensued as the bovines became acquainted with the field, the
bleachers, and the parking lot. Each square
sold for $10 gave the bearer of the deed the
ownership of a 5-foot by 9-foot square on
the QOHS football field for the duration of
the event. The rules were simple, if a cow
‘deposited’ on your deeded square of land
you won a predetermined prize.”
The Barnyard Blitz continued as students from the technology and physics
classes at Quince Orchard High School
mounted their catapults and trebuchets on
the field for the first annual QOHS Punkin
Chunkin. Teams BLU, Axel, Cataloop,
and the Physic Gnomes battled it out on
the football field to see who would launch
the farthest “chunk.” At the end of the
competition, BLU took home the winning
launch for the trebuchet category with a
113-foot chunk, while Cataloop’s catapult
won with a 46-foot chunk.
Throughout the day, the Cougardome
was full of various vendors from around
the area selling and promoting their holiday gifts and items. Famous Dave’s BBQ
provided food for the guests, and QO’s
football announcer, Lee Faris, covered the
event from the press box.
A highlight for many of the attendees
was the effort put in by the two cows trying to make a break for Quince Orchard
Road. Thankfully, they were unsuccessful
and no cows were harmed in the production of the QOHS Booster Club Barnyard
Blitz.
December 18, 2015 ■ qo basketball
from page 17
Inside, QO will rely on senior Jack Ropelewski, a dependable player who consistently
plays tough defense and makes good plays,
and sophomore Daniel Dorsey. Senior Rayshawn Murrell (6-foot-3 and 205 pounds)
returns after battling injuries the past two
seasons and could provide some size underneath, while sophomore Jack Faraone and
juniors Colin Crews and Ulric Ayivi-Fandalor are key reserves.
Two newcomers have also helped the
Cougars in the early going. Kendell (Doc)
Bonner, the dynamic quarterback from
QO’s football squad, has been a tenacious rebounder and defender, though undersized at
barely 6 feet. As he gets into basketball shape
he is likely to become more of an inside scorer. Tresean Sewell, a junior transfer, has been
a key backcourt reserve and provides additional athleticism to the roster.
Foringer has been pleased with his bench,
which is important to his aggressive style of
play. “I figured I had seven or eight guys this
■ wrestling
from page 17
champion Damascus is the team to beat again
this winter, the county’s no. 2 slot appears to
be up for grabs. And Quince Orchard (3-0),
which finished fourth in an 18-team field
at Magruder over the weekend, is in major
contention for that position and to qualify
for states, which it just missed out on doing
The Town Courier
Page 19
year … and we’re trying to expand it. … The
more depth we get the better we’re going to
get.”
QO showed they can score and play tough
defense in their first two games, topping
always tough but injury-depleted Magruder, 61-42, and beating Paint Branch, 71-64.
Both games were at home. Paint Branch took
a 7-point first quarter lead but QO tightened
their defensive pressure, outscored the Panthers by 17 in the second stanza, and surged
to a 36-26 halftime advantage. QO extended
the lead to as much as 17 points in the third
quarter, then Paint Branch chipped away at
the end against QO’s reserves. Fierstein had
26 points, many on strong drives through
the lane, and Kelly added 14, while Bonner’s
toughness on the offensive boards kept many
possessions alive.
“I think that we should be one of the
better teams in 4A,” Foringer said. “If we
continue to get better every week, we might
be there at the end. … We’re going to challenge. I don’t know how far we can go, but
we’ll find out.”
The girls, meanwhile, return almost the
entire team that went 12-12 last season and
won its first playoff game in four years, and
their top players remain mostly sophomores
and juniors.
Odom, 5-foot-7, is a top-tier talent who
could well become one of the best players in
the county, if not this year, then before her
career is through. “Jordan makes very good
decisions but is still learning to make great
decisions,” said Campbell. “As she grows and
gets a better feel, she will make better and
better decisions.”
In addition to Odom, the girls’ roster is
deep with improving players, any of whom
could make important contributions on any
night.
Junior Danni Lehner, 5-foot-10, is QO’s
top inside player. She recorded a double-double in the season opening victory
over Magruder with 15 points and 17 rebounds. Joining her up front will be seniors
Emily Baumgartner and Lanie Seiniger, who
is recovering from a broken ankle after missing most of last season with a concussion.
Sisters Alexa and Giulia Sanmartin, both
juniors, are good shooters who will see time
in the backcourt along with sophomore
Maggie Regan and juniors Sarah Gleason
and Amanda Bishop, an aggressive defender
who can also play forward.
“Our starting lineup is in flux,” said
Campbell. “It could change from game to
game depending on needs.”
Three newcomers could also become increasingly valuable as the season goes on.
Angel Murphy at 5-foot-7 is a transfer from
South Carolina and “a high-energy kid,”
Campbell said, who will play in the post.
Freshman Teresa Shelton is a “very athletic”
5-foot-7 guard who Campbell said “is great
on defense” and “will make an impact.”
Sophomore Yekta Kamali is a 5-foot-8 forward with scoring ability. Her 11 points led
QO against B-CC.
“I expect us to compete every game,”
Campbell said, noting that the Cougars play
in a balanced division with no dominant
team. With so many young players, Campbell said his team will “pick and choose and
figure out what you can run well at that moment.” Getting Odom back and healthy and
finding who can pick up the scoring when
other teams key on Odom will determine
whether the Lady Cougars will emerge as
one of the best.
a year ago. The Cougars, who were 17-4 last
winter, graduated about 50 percent of their
starting lineup. But Wolf said an influx of talented underclassmen has helped fill in some
holes in the lightweight divisions.
Alejandro Lopez and his older brother
Antonio (120 pounds), whom he said inspires him, senior Eisley Kim (195 pounds),
and classmate Zeph Titus (285 pounds) are
among the Cougars’ top guys, Wolf said. The
elder Lopez and Titus are currently out with
injury but the former is expected back within the next week and the latter in January.
Quince Orchard will face its first big test
against Whitman Monday.
“I’m expecting big things from us,” the
younger Lopez said. “We’re just starting the
season and we have few little holes to fill right
now but we’ll get those fixed up quickly.”
While Northwest (13-3 in 2014-15) has
perennially been in the upper echelon of
county wrestling, the Jaguars are younger
this year than the past 10 to 15 years, Vukovich said. During that time Northwest has
barely had a freshman starter, he added, and
this year the Jaguars have three, as well as
four sophomores. Vukovich said he expects
growing pains and said the team’s success will
hinge on his young talent’s ability to “mature
in a competitive sense.”
Page 20
The Town Courier
December 18, 2015
Warmest Wishes for Happy Holidays
and a Happy New Year
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