Gaithersburg`s Hometown Newspaper

Transcription

Gaithersburg’s Hometown Newspaper | Serving Kentlands, Lakelands, Quince Orchard Park and More
The
TOWN
Vol. 12, No. 13
Courier
www.towncourier.com
July 3, 2015
Largent’s Closes
Amid a Storied Tale
By Pam Schipper
T
he location on the corner
of Center Point Way and
Market Street is beautiful, rising two stories with
great big windows on top and
an inviting corner entrance.
But restaurant after restaurant
has failed there, leading many
in the community to suggest
that the location is jinxed even
as they hold out hope that this
time, perhaps, the new restaurant will prosper.
Sadly, Largent’s gave up the
ghost on Monday, June 29 afn
largent’s closes
Continued on page 8
Photo | Sharon Allen Gilder
Steve Smith waits as Adam and Roland Witt of Pro Shuckers shuck oysters at the new Boulevard Tavern.
Boulevard Tavern Debuts
With Bountiful Bivalves
By Sharon Allen Gilder
B
Photo| Mac Kennedy
Largent’s Restaurant and Bar closed its doors on Monday, June 29 after some 17 months
in business.
oulevard Tavern, formerly known as Brasserie
Beck at 311 Kentlands Boulevard, celebrated
its new moniker on Saturday, June 27 with a
bountiful Oyster Fest and lively music by The Built
4 Comfort Band. Bivalves from The Great Wicomico
Oyster Company were in abundance, as were oyster
aficionados who maintained a steady stream at the bar
to fill their plates with the raw mollusks on the half
shell. “I’ve eaten four dozen. I’m waiting for the beer
to settle and then I’ll have four dozen more,” shared
n
BOULEVARD TAVERN Continued on page 10
PRSRT-STD
U.S. POSTAGE PAID
GAITHERSBURG, MD
Permit #1722
Fun and Fruitful, Whole Foods’
Shopping Day Supports GPF
By Lilly Price
O
Photo | Christine Darton-Henrichsen, Potshots by Christine
Thai Tanium’s popular $20 special includes entrees like this spicy lomein, an appetizer
and beverage.
Thai Tanium Adds Spice
to Market Square
The Town Courier
309 Main Street
Gaithersburg, MD 20878
Kentlands resident Jim Allen.
Wicomico’s Monica Fahey and Matt McShane were
on hand to talk with patrons and share information
about the oysters they grow and harvest on the Great
Wicomico between the Potomac and Rappahannock
rivers. “We like to say we’re a notch above the Rappahannock,” smiled McShane.
Fahey said 6,000 Double Dee and Skipjack oysters
arrived for the fest.
David Simpson, vice president of sales and purchas-
By Ellyn Wexler
C
all him Pat. With a name—
Pattarapong
Sebamonpimol—that is quite a
mouthful, it seems a wise choice
for the affable owner of Kentlands
Market Square’s Thai Tanium
Restaurant.
Pat opened the eatery in March
2006 when he and his wife Sirinee, known as Jane, lived on
Muddy Branch Road in Gaithersburg. “Everyone there,” he recalled, “would come to the Kentlands. They thought it was a very
n
thai tanium Continued on page 10
n Wednesday, June 24,
Whole Foods Market
Kentlands hosted a 5-percent shopping day to benefit the
Gaithersburg Police Foundation
(GPF). Five percent of Whole
Foods’ sales will be put toward
adding a new K-9 to the Gaithersburg Police Department (GPD)
and supporting the GPD’s “Shop
with a Cop” holiday program.
Whole Foods hosts about four
of these 5-percent days per year,
donating this portion of the
store’s net sales on that day to a
non-profit organization. The
Kentlands Whole Foods Market’
has raised over $500,000 for various non-profits since the store’s
opening in 2001. After Wednesday’s fundraiser, $4,888 will be
Corporal Chad Eastman and K-9 Max demonstrate readiness to apprehend a criminal
during a K-9 unit demonstration at Whole
Foods’ 5-percent shopping day.
donated to the Gaithersburg Police Foundation.
Whole Foods’ process for selecting the non-profit varies;
sometimes a beneficiary is chosen
by customers who vote through
n
GPF fundraiser Continued on page 9
Page 2
The Town Courier
July 3, 2015
The Town Courier
July 3, 2015
Page 3
Public Hearing Airs Views on
Proposed Zoning Amendment
AROUND TOWN
Compiled by Pam Schipper
By Pam Schipper
O
n June 17, the City of Gaithersburg Planning Commission
held a meeting and public hearing in City Council Chambers on the
Beatty Management Company’s application for amendment to Kentlands
Market Square’s current MXD retail/
restaurant zoning. The initial application, brought before the City Council
for courtesy review on May 18, asked
for a rezoning of up to 10 percent of
Kentlands Market Square for office
and educational use.
Ken Miller, Beatty chief operating officer who attended the meeting with Erin Girard, Beatty’s zoning
counsel from Linowes and Blocher LLP, and Dave Beasley, Beatty’s
Kentlands Market Square property
manager, explained that the percentage of space the company would like
to rezone to office and educational
use had been reduced to 5 percent,
with no more than 2.5 percent to be
located along Market Street between
Photo | Pam Schipper
The week of June 22, crews were hard at work sprucing up paint on
Center Point Way and on properties in Kentlands Market Square.
Improvements Come to Market Square
Office use is permitted under current zoning for second story space in Kentlands Market Square. This
1,800-square-foot location is available for lease above Kentlands Dentistry and Implant Center at 115
Market St.
Kentlands Boulevard and Center
Point Way. In addition, the originally
proposed conversion of two standard
parking spaces along Market Street
into a single handicap space has been
dropped from the amendment application. This space was to benefit Jessa Medical Supply customers, but the
curb cut-out might have negative-
ly impacted other business like The
Wine Harvest, Miller explained.
Miller opened the meeting by apologizing to assembled residents, most
from the Kentlands business community, for Beatty’s management of the
center in the past. He said he regretted
n
public hearing Continued on page 13
Junefest Celebrates Area’s Heritage
By Mike Cuthbert
T
he Pleasant View Historical Association held its 31st annual
Junefest recently at the historic
church on Darnestown Road. This is
an event that no area resident should
miss because of the history of the
place and the people, the atmosphere,
the food and the sense of belonging
that the occasion celebrates.
A hearty crowd braved mon-
soon-like rains on Saturday, June 27
to attend and recognize the continued
health of the association. The rain, in
fact, caused the celebration to move
indoors, and food was served in the
Quince Orchard Colored School, on
site since 1902.
An addition to this year’s festivities was the presence of students from
Quince Orchard and Walt Whitman
high schools and Georgetown University, all members of the Quince
Orchard Project. Jason Green started the project two years ago and it
is flourishing, dedicated to learning
about the area’s history. Green’s distant relative, Gary Green, was one of
the founders of Quince Orchard and
his grandmother, Miss Pearl Green,
97, was in attendance and spoke movingly during the program.
Green’s father, the Rev. Gerard
n
junefest Continued on page 12
Flooding Creates
Opportunity for Fun
Photo | Submitted
Looking for adventure, Kentlands residents Nathan Dart and son Landon didn’t have far to go—they found it in
their own backyard on Massbury Street June 27.
Photo | Submitted
QO track star Eli Homestead “skurfs” through backyards on Massbury Street.
Saturday’s steady and torrential downpours created
some “waterfront property”
on Massbury Street in Kentlands. Nathan Dart and son,
Landon, and their neighbor,
Eli Homestead, embraced the
sudden change in their properties, rafting and “skurfing”
on June 27 in their own backyards. Danielle Dart explained,
“The family was enjoying time
on our screened porch and noticed some extreme flooding in
our backyard. Being adventurers, we decided to embrace the
downpour and flooding and
take to our rafts for some family fun.” Her husband Nathan, a
residential realtor in Kentlands
and throughout Montgomery
County, joked that lot values
are on the rise.
Painting is the latest cosmetic change to Kentlands
Market Square, following new merchant directories
erected at Market Square and on Center Point Way
near the former Healthy Back Store and Tipo’s Toy
Box. Beatty Management Companies has improved
landscaping, replacing dead plant material with attractive plants and flowers and mulching.
Ken Miller, Beatty chief operating officer, said that
Beatty hopes to bring an arts festival and an auto show
to Market Square; Shaun Auxier of Blittzed Media
is currently working with the City of Gaithersburg
to secure permits. Miller also hopes to offer holiday
events this fall and winter, possibly a pumpkin carving contest, trick-or-treating during the day, and photos with Santa. “We’re really trying to improve on our
community outreach,” he said, “and help our existing
merchants.”
Sparklers Are Illegal
Most people know that fireworks are illegal in
Montgomery County. Somehow, we don’t think of
sparklers as fireworks. Pete Piringer, chief spokesperson for Montgomery County (MD) Fire & Rescue
Service, reminded county residents on his Twitter
page that all fireworks are illegal in Montgomery
County, and this includes sparklers. The reason? Did
you know that sparklers burn at 1200 F? Compare this
to the temperature of boiling water at 212 F, burning
wood at 575 F, and melting glass at 900 F.
Summer Storms Bring Power Outages
According to Marcus Beal, media relations manager
for Pepco, the Friday, June 19 power outage that affected the community, including the downtown business district, was caused by two issues—a substation
transformer and a massive oak tree that fell, taking
down two poles and wires. Bethesda and Gaithersburg were both hardest hit by storms.
Gaithersburg City Councilmember Neil Harris said
that city staff and Delegate Andrew Platt emailed the
State Highway Administration about adding battery
backups to its traffic signals in the city. He noted that
intersections regulated by traffic signals on Great Seneca Highway are especially hazardous when the power is out.
Montgomery County traffic signals are all backed
up by batteries, he said. When these batteries, which
are large, refrigerator-sized boxes at intersections, are
depleted during extended outages, police cars can
hook up to the batteries and repower them.
Injured Raccoon Sighted
On June 21 at 12:15 p.m., a resident of the 400
block of Kent Oaks Way reported seeing an injured
raccoon. Gaithersburg Animal Control responded,
but the raccoon was not found. While the concern is
always that the animal is rabid, Animal Control Officer Lisa Holland said that sometimes raccoons are hurt
n
Around town Continued on page 13
Page 4
The Town Courier
POLICEBeat
POLICEBLOTTER
Theft From Auto on Orchard Drive
On June 14, 2015 at 2:37 a.m., a
theft from auto was reported in the
unit block of Orchard Drive. Two
unknown suspects entered a vehicle(s)
and removed property.
Suspect Arrested for Possession of
Controlled Dangerous Substance
Officers from the Gaithersburg Police Department arrested 67-year-old
Rosie Garnett of Mirrasou Lane of
Gaithersburg for drug-related charges.
Officers received complaints from
residents about possible drug activity in the area. Based on the information, an investigation was conducted.
On June 17, 2015, a search and seizure
warrant was executed in the unit block
of Mirrasou Lane resulting in the disn
police blotter Continued on page 17
By Gina Gallucci-White
Mayor, City Council Discuss Leftover
Space in New Police Department Building
W
hen the Gaithersburg Police Department moves to its new home
at 16 S. Summit Ave. in the next
few years, there will be some leftover space
in the building. Deputy City Manager
Dennis Enslinger came to a recent Mayor
and City Council work session to discuss
possible uses for the space.
City staff has been doing preliminary
planning for the site for the police department based on their current and estimated
future space needs. Enslinger said the police department will occupy the entire second floor and part of the first/ground floor.
He came to the work session to discuss staff
ideas for the leftover space. Suggestions include a community meeting space shared
with the police department, a space for city
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Pam Schipper
Managing Editor
[email protected]
309 Main Street
For Advertising: 301.279.2304
Also on the Web at www.towncourier.com.
July 3, 2015
Diane Dorney
Publisher
[email protected]
Matt Danielson
President
[email protected]
Debi Rosen
Advertising Manager
301.279.2304
[email protected]
Leslie Kennedy
Advertising Sales
301-330-0132
[email protected]
committee meetings, and turning it into
an additional conference room for City
Hall activities or relocating City Council
chambers.
Enslinger called the space a “unique opportunity” for the city. “We have some
conflicts already within City Hall for
community space,” he said. “Many of you
know that when we actually have meetings
for the environmental committees or other
committees, we do have difficulty getting
those (participants) into City Hall based
upon security issues. We typically host
most of those meetings on the second floor
in the gallery space and that means somebody has to be downstairs after hours to let
people ride the elevator up or have their
cell phones accessible (so that) if someone
shows up at the door, they can let them in.”
City Hall currently only has three large
meeting rooms: the gallery, the City Council hearing room and a conference room on
the first floor. “Given the number of staff
that we have in the building and the number of daily meetings that we might need
to have somebody sit down at a table, we
have very limited space,” Enslinger said.
Councilmember Neil Harris noted that
when he first took a tour of City Hall he
was surprised at the lack of meeting space.
Coming from the corporate world, he was
used to seeing multiple meeting rooms
available for staff. “I think from the point
of view of making it easier for the staff to
do (their) work, I support the concept.”
A relocation of City Council chambers
could also be done to free up space at City
n
police beat Continued on page 17
GPD Team Wins Softball
Tournament
Stealing in front of a bunch of police
officers was OK on June 20—as long
as the theft was bases.
The GPD won the Montgomery
County Police Department’s National
Law Enforcement Officers Memorial
Softball Tournament. Their team was
made up of 13 GPD personnel and
three from MCP.
“It’s a team building (event),” Lane
said. “Something to do outside of
work.” With a number of local agencies competing, the event is a way to
“have fun with partners we work with
in-county.”
GPD Officers Participate in World
Police & Fire Games
Notice more police officers in the
area recently? There is a good reason for their presence. Officers from
across the globe have converged on
the D.C. area for the World Police &
Fire Games.
Around 12,000 athletes have come
from more than 70 countries to compete in the games set to take place
from June 26 to July 5. Two of those
athletes are GPD officers—Sgt. Kathy
Fairfield and Officer Marlon Ramirez.
Both will be competing in the outdoor soccer games with Ramirez additionally participating in bowling. Teams
are made up from a variety of different
agencies from across the country.
This is the first time the GPD has
had officers participate in the games.
cityscene Photo Contest Takes Submissions
Want to win some PetSmart gift cards?
Take a picture of your favorite four-legged
friend and enter your pet in the City of
Gaithersburg “Citizen Pet” photo contest.
The contest is available to residents
whose dogs and cats have a current city pet
license. Qualified photos will be placed on
the city’s Facebook page where the most
likes determines the winner. The first
place pet will receive the illustrious title
and a $75 PetSmart gift card, second and
third places earn $50 and $25 PetSmart gift
cards, respectively.
Staff Photographers
Arthur Cadeaux
Yenrue Chen
Christine Darton-Henrichsen
Staff Writers
Sally Alt
Nora Caplan
Mike Cuthbert
Gina Gallucci-White
Sharon Allen Gilder
Betty Hafner
Sheilah Kaufman
Donna Marks
Syl Sobel
Maureen Stiles
Ellyn Wexler
Student Writer
Ethan Cadeaux
Summer Intern
Lilly Price
Social Media
Consultant
Mac Kennedy
Photos
must
be
submitted
by 5 p.m. July 20, and the contest will run
from July 23 to Aug. 20. For more information, go to www.gaithersburgmd.gov.
Independence Day Celebration Set
Grab some sunscreen and bring a comfy chair to enjoy the fireworks during
the City of Gaithersburg’s Independence
Day Celebration on July 4 at the Montgomery County Fairgrounds. With gates
opening at 5 p.m., the annual celebration
n
city scene Continued on page 17
©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.
The Town Courier
July 3, 2015
Page 5
Pastry Chef Ashleigh Pearson discusses her restaurant’s most popular dessert, Petite Sweets, with Chef Brian McBride.
Petite Sweets remains on the menu following the restaurant’s official transformation into Boulevard Tavern.
Pastry Chef Ashleigh
Pearson Is Paris-Bound
By Pam Schipper
O
n Jan. 5, 2016, Brasserie Beck/Boulevard Tavern Pastry Chef Ashleigh
Pearson will start a new chapter in her
life, studying for nine-and-a-half months at
the world-famous Le Cordon Bleu Paris. She
was awarded a $10K scholarship recently by
Les Dames d’Escoffier, a worldwide philanthropic society of professional women leaders in the fields of food, fine beverage and
hospitality.
Studying in Paris at Le Cordon Bleu has
long been a dream for her, and Pearson is
someone who goes after her dreams. In less
than a handful of years, she has grown from a
biology major undergraduate at the University of Maryland-College Park to Brasserie
Beck pastry chef who is looking forward to
refining her craft in Paris.
It all started with a gutsy move. “I won a
baking competition at my church,” Pearson
recalled, “and I said, ‘This is what I want to
do.’” She walked into Marcel’s on Pennsylvania Avenue and asked for a job. The chef
there thought she was crazy, she recalled, but
he referred her to RW Restaurant Group’s
corporate pastry chef, Chris Kujala. Kujala
cautioned her that the work in the kitchen would be hot and hard, but gave her a
chance—if she worked three days for free,
he would evaluate her and see if she was up
to the job.
She was. Even so, Pearson said, Chef Kujala didn’t expect her to stay more than six
months. She has worked for Marcel’s, Brasserie Beck DC and Brasserie Beck Kentlands
for three years now, and she decided to go
“all in” and work fulltime in the kitchen a
semester before her University of Maryland
graduation.
Pearson attributes much of her success to
Marcel’s then-sous chef Eddy Teixeira, who
is now pastry chef at Equinox. Teixeira menn
paris-bound Continued on page 16
shoptalk
By Pam Schipper
Summer Suds Pub Run/Walk Raises
Money for KCF
Photo | Mac Kennedy
Joe Tipograph reads a Star Wars story to young Jedi assembled at Tipo’s Toy Box on June 18.
On June 18, more than 160 runners and
walkers came out for Fleet Feet’s summer
pub run fundraiser, making stops at pub
partners who donated beer—Pinky &
Pepe’s, Quincy’s, Potomac Pizza, Largent’s
and Not Your Average Joe’s. UnderArmour sponsored the event and provided
t-shirts to the first 150 registered participants. Approximately $3,200 was raised
for Fleet Feet charities, and the main beneficiary was the Kentlands Community
Foundation (KCF).
n
shop talk Continued on page 16
301-657-3332
301-299-5222
Page 6
The Town Courier
July 3, 2015
Hannah Minkoff Is All About the Music
By Lilly Price
H
annah Minkoff, a long-term Kentlands resident and a rising senior at
the University of Vermont, is also an
aspiring singer and songwriter who can be
seen performing at local Kentlands events.
Hannah occasionally plays for the Main
Street Farmers Market on Saturdays, and
she performed at the Gaithersburg Book
Festival this May.
Minkoff, a spirited young woman with
shoulder-length and wavy blonde hair, pale
blue eyes and purple-rimmed glasses, sat
down with me and explained the start of
her music career, her inspirations, and her
goals for the future, musical and otherwise.
How long have you lived in the
Kentlands area?
I’ve lived here since I was five. A lot of
my good friends also live in the Kentlands,
so I’m hanging out here a lot.
What instrument do you play?
Guitar and a little bit of ukulele. I started
playing ukulele when I was 16 and I started
to not like it, so I started guitar when I was
17 or 18. I’ve only been playing (guitar) for
four years.
Why did you start playing?
I just really love music. I used to play piano when I was younger, and I never really connected with piano. My dad started
playing guitar so I wanted to get into it. I
love it a lot.
How long has your dad been playing
guitar?
He’s been playing for 10 years, but he
kind of stopped right when I started.
You played for the Gaithersburg Book
Festival and also the Main Street
Farmers Market. Were those your first
times playing at those venues? Were
they your first times performing?
I’ve performed a little bit at open mics
and little home concerts, but that was
my first time by myself on a stage (at the
Gaithersburg Book Festival). It was scary; I
get really bad stage fright.
Do you write your own music?
I’m just starting to. I have ever since I
started playing guitar, but I’m taking it
more seriously now. I’m trying to get into
writing my own music fully because I play
a lot of covers of other musician’s songs.
Do you run into challenges while
writing your own songs?
Yeah, I get huge writer’s block most of
the time. I get my inspiration from random
stuff, it’ll come randomly when I’m sitting
somewhere out in public and I won’t have a
notebook so I’ll forget something. And it’s
kind of challenging because I’m not one of
those people who can sit down and write
for hours and have it be wonderful; it takes
me a really long time. Gaining inspiration
is tough sometimes, but it’s worth it when
I write a song I really like.
Photo | Mac Kennedy
Kentlands resident Hannah Minkoff made her solo debut
on stage at this year’s Gaithersburg Book Festival.
My major is anthropology and global
studies.
What do you want to do with your
major for the future? Will music be
incorporated?
A lot of stuff. I definitely want to go to
grad school and pursue something in sociology, I’m not sure what yet. I’m really
interested in global theory. I’m not sure
yet if I want to incorporate music. I took
a global music course last semester and I
think it’s really interesting to study human
relations and music in different cultures
through music, but I’m not sure if that’s
something I would fully pursue.
Do you admire any famous musicians?
So many. I really like Neil Young; he’s
What are you studying at the University
of Vermont?
n
minkoff Continued on page 18
assignmenteducation
Powerhouse Brass Rocks Rachel
Carson and Summit Hall
On June 11, Pritchard Music Academy’s
Powerhouse Brass introduced students
at Rachel Carson and Summit Hall to
the beauty of brass instruments. The five
member group, comprised of Michael Baniak (trumpet), Michael Bauer (trumpet),
Justin Tritinger (horn), Jacob Latour (euphonium) and David Rea (tuba), talked
about playing brass instruments and then
performed for students in grades K through
4. Compositions from “The Incredibles,”
“Monsters, Inc.,” and “Jurassic Park” were
a big hit.
Longtime Staff Retire at RCES
Brenda Long, administrative secretary,
and Nancy Blumenschein, second grade
teacher, opened Rachel Carson Elementary School 24 years ago. After shaping
the award-winning school for nearly half
a century, both retired at the end of the
2014-2015 academic year.
Reduction in Testing Considered
Montgomery County Public Schools
(MCPS) is considering changes to its assessment program to increase instructional
time and reduce the time spent on testing.
As part of MCPS’ review of its overall
assessment program, options for possible
changes to final exams given in middle and
high school were discussed with the Montgomery County Board of Education’s Strategic Planning Committee on June 22 and
will be presented to the full board in July.
Currently, middle and high schools are
required to administer end-of-semester exams in many courses. These two-hour exams are given at the end of each semester,
in January and June. MCPS has developed
four options that would restore between
two and four weeks of instruction during
the school year and reduce the amount of
testing while maintaining accountability
measures for student performance.
• Option A (middle school classes):
Starting with the 2015-2016 school
year, a two-hour cumulative exam
will not be given in middle school
classes that do not qualify for high
school credit. Marking period and/or
unit assessments will be used instead.
Middle school classes that do qualify
for high school credit, such as Algebra
1 and Geometry, will follow the high
school assessment protocols.
• Option B (middle schools and high
schools—classes that have high school
n
assignment education Continued on page 18
The Town Courier
July 3, 2015
Page 7
arts& entertainment Market Square Live!
July 1, 3, 4, 8, 10, 11, 15, 6-9 p.m.
Look for live music on Kentlands Market
Square. Wednesday acoustic performances
include Empty Ecstasy on July 1 and Tom
Blood on July 8. Saturday, July 11 brings
the popular Sandra Dean Band. Free.
www.marketsquarelivekentlands.com/
events-festivals
Thursday Morning Kids Concerts
July 2, 9, 16, 10:30 a.m., City Hall Concert
Pavilion
July 2 features The Uncle Devin Show,
an interactive show that connects with
children through drumming and storytelling; July 9 brings Mr. Gabe & The Circle
Time All-Stars; and July 16 brings Brian
Curry’s magic and comedy. Free. www.
gaithersburgmd.gov
Evenings in Olde Towne
July 2, 9, 16, 6 p.m., City Hall Concert Pavilion
Look for Vintage #18 ( jazz) on July 2,
Trio Caliente (Latin trio) on July 9, and
King Teddy (swing) on July 16. Free.
www.gaithersburgmd.gov
4th of July Parade & Carnival
July 4, 9:30 a.m.-2 p.m.
The parade begins at 9:45 a.m., departing from Rachel Carson Elementary
School and makes its way up Tschiffely
Square Road toward the Kentlands Clubhouse lawn. A carnival with face painting,
balloon artistry, pony rides, music and food
follows the parade. www.kentlandsusa.com
Zumba in the Park
Matuto
July 10, 17, 7-8 p.m., City Hall Concert Pavilion
July 11, 7 p.m., BlackRock Center for the Arts
Independence Day Celebration
All ages and skill levels are welcome.
Free. www.gaithersburgmd.gov
Drawing on Northeastern Brazil’s
folkloric rhythms like forró, maracatu,
or coco, and on deep Americana—from
bluegrass to spirituals to swampy Louisiana jams—Matuto (a Northeastern Brazilian slang term for “bumpkin”) uses
unexpected Pan-American sounds to craft
appealing, fun and rootsy music. Free.
www.blackrockcenter.org
July 4, 6 p.m., Montgomery County
Agricultural Fairgrounds
Festivities will include live music from
Rollex, family activities, food and fireworks. Gates open for pedestrians at 5 p.m.
The event begins at 6 p.m. with strolling
entertainers and family games. Free admission. www.gaithersburgmd.gov
No BS! Brass Band
July 4, 7 p.m., BlackRock Center for the Arts
No BS! Brass takes the New Orleans
brass band spirit into uncharted territory,
combining elements of James Brown, John
Coltrane, Michael Jackson, and Led Zeppelin into original East Coast modern funk
sound. Free. www.blackrockcenter.org
Kentlands Acoustic Jam
July 7, 6 p.m., Kentlands Clubhouse
Bring your acoustic instrument and
voice to join in the jam session, or just listen. Free. www.reverbnation.com/kentlandsacousticjam
Yoga in the Park
July 7, 7-8 p.m., City Hall Concert Pavilion
Bring a yoga mat, towel or blanket. Beginners are welcome! Free.
www.gaithersburgmd.gov
Movie on the Lawn
July 10, dusk, Lakelands Clubhouse Lawn
Enjoy a free screening of “Sandlot.”
www.lakelands.org
HulaFest
July 11, 7-8:30 p.m., City Hall Concert Pavilion
Enjoy Hawaiian music, dancing and hula
hooping. The Hula Monsters perform, and
food trucks will be on site. Free. www.
gaithersburgmd.gov
Movie on the Lawn
July 11, dusk, Kentlands Clubhouse Lawn
Enjoy a free showing of “Truman.”
www.kentlandsusa.com
Page 8
The Town Courier
■ largent’s closes
from page 1
ter a more than valiant fight. Community feedback on food and service was
sometimes mixed during Largent’s nearly
17-month tenure, but with the arrival of
Executive Chef Michael Harr and Largent’s
promised rebranding as Kentlands Kitchen, hopes were high.
A day before the closing, which caught
him by surprise, Beatty Chief Operating
Officer Ken Miller told The Town Courier, “I really believe in Michael Harr. I am
trying to support that.”
Ken Miller, Michael Harr and Largent’s
investor/owner Alan Chiogioji met last
Thursday evening to discuss the restaurant’s further partnership with Beatty. A
conference call followed on Friday. At issue was the restaurant’s continued loss each
month, a number that another Largent’s
investor/owner, Larry Dechter, estimated
at $40K to $50K. According to Dechter,
Largent’s group of investors had already
put more than $1.8 million into the restaurant, which included a large line of credit
backed with personal guarantees.
Last week, Largent’s asked for six months
of free rent—or $120,000—but Miller
countered, concerned that Largent’s LLC
or “shell corporation” on the lease meant
that Beatty was vulnerable; unlike the bank
line of credit, Beatty’s lease with Largent’s
has no personal or corporate guarantees.
Miller asked for a business plan, offered
to match further renovations to the space
dollar for dollar with Largent’s, and com-
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mitted to partnering with the restaurant
in a bigger way if Largent’s would put up
a deposit to secure Beatty’s investment.
Tearing up the lease, a tenant improvement
allowance, free rent with the security deposit and business plan, and build out were
all on the table as recently as last Friday,
Miller said.
Largent’s promised to get back to him.
On Monday afternoon, Miller heard from
Dechter that the restaurant was shutting
down, effective immediately.
Dechter told The Town Courier, “We
were hoping that the landlord would work
with us a bit—look at the costs a little, and
he wasn’t.”
This was not the first time investors had
asked for additional months of free rent
beyond those extended under the lease,
during the fixturing period—for Largent’s,
this had amounted to six months of free
rent that Beatty had extended out another
90 days. Last year, investors had requested
another three to six months of free rent,
and Beatty could not grant that, Dechter
said.
Miller said that last year Beatty had offered to pay for some restaurant marketing, split the fee that Largent’s had paid
to a restaurant consultant, and also give
Largent’s some months of free rent and
some months at half rent. Investors did not
take Beatty up on this offer, he said.
“We are not filing Chapter 11. …
We walk out with our heads held high,”
Dechter said, emphasizing that all financial commitments—staff payroll, vendors
and lease—will be met. “We wanted it to
work. … It hurts, people losing jobs.
“We’re businessmen. We had to do
what’s right,” he said.
But this is not the end of the tale.
What makes this story almost mythic is
not the dispute over free rent, but rather
how tenant and landlord were working together to make the restaurant viable—and
how a community, concerned about its
downtown, was pulling for them.
“I was thrilled that they landed Michael
Harr,” said Miller. “I thought rebranding
as Kentlands Kitchen with Chef Harr’s
name and reputation was the answer. I really believed in it.” Beatty committed to
helping Largent’s with a new sign and awning, and had already painted the roof and
storefront trim per Harr’s request.
Harr, for his part, was creating a buzz.
FOX 5’s “Will You Eat There?” filmed a
segment at Largent’s in May. Menu focus
groups from the Kentlands Business Own-
July 3, 2015
ers group and The Colonnade weighed
in on proposed Kentlands Kitchen dishes.
Largent’s sold food and drink at the new
Market Square Live! summer music series.
And Harr did a grilling demo at Whole
Foods Market Kentlands just this past
weekend.
Still, investors struggled with the location. “That space is too big,” Dechter said.
“There’s not a lot of foot traffic.” Both
Dechter and fellow investor/owner Dave
Giamatti mentioned competition with
Downtown Crown and RIO as factors that
contributed to the restaurant’s closing.
“For a variety of reasons, Kentlands
Kitchens will not become a reality,” Harr
said. “With the circumstances that led to
this decision, I want to thank everyone I
worked with, met from the community
and (who) supported Largent’s and awaited Kentlands Kitchen. I have grown very
fond of the local community, and I hope
my next project is in this area.”
Andy Ross, organizer of the Kentlands
Business Owners group, said that the closing of Largent’s “indicates that Kentlands
Market Square is in big trouble. Beatty
needs to make some major changes so it
doesn’t become a ghost town.” He said that
business owners would like to see Beatty
follow the Kentlands Downtown Master
Plan approved in 2008.
In an email to Miller, he wrote, “It is
possible for Kentlands Downtown to become a destination, but with all of the
competition, it needs to be something special, not the same as everyone else. What
does Kentlands Market Square want to be? How does it achieve that vision?”
To draw people from outside of the
community, Ross supports the creation of
an A&E District or some sort of entrepreneurial, business incubator community,
but cautions that the city would need to be
behind this. He is also hoping that empty
spaces in Kentlands Market Square might
be used for short-term purposes until permanent tenants can be found.
Whatever the future may hold for Kentlands Market Square and the corner space
on Market Street and Center Point Way,
community members, business owners and
Beatty are talking. David Hofmann, owner of FirstLight HomeCare in Kentlands,
expressed the dismay many feel about the
closing of Largent’s, “Too bad and just
when it seemed like they were finally getting it right … food and service had improved tremendously!”
MEETING CALENDAR
7/6
Mayor and City Council Meeting, City Hall Council Chambers, 7:30 p.m.
7/8
Board of Appeals Meeting, City Hall Council Chambers, 7:30 p.m.
7/13
Mayor and City Council Work Session, City Hall Council Chambers, 7:30 p.m.
7/14
Transportation Committee Meeting, Public Works Conference Room, 7 p.m.
7/15
Planning Commission Meeting, City Hall Council Chambers, 7:30 p.m.
7/16
Mandatory Candidate Training, City Hall Council Chambers, 7:30-9:30 p.m.
For the latest information on city meetings, visit the city of Gaithersburg website at www.gaithersburgmd.gov.
July 3, 2015
■ GPF FUNDRAISER
from page 1
social media, and sometimes the store determines the recipient. “Supporting our
community is a company core value, and
we aim to be a committed neighborhood
partner,” said Candace Child, marketing
team leader of Whole Foods Market Kentlands who also sits on the board of GPF.
Activities at Whole Foods ran all day
and included a scavenger hunt to find toy
badges that could be used to win $5 off a
purchase or to collect a prize like gift cards
or pizza slices. There was a meet and greet
with McGruff the Crime Dog and fingerprinting by Montgomery County Police
Explorers, teens in a character-building
law enforcement program who also bagged
groceries. Customers were invited to have
their pictures taken with one of the GPD’s
K-9 units and explore an official police vehicle. There was a K-9 demonstration, and
the band Throwing Wrenches performed
as well.
According to the GPF website, the mission of the Foundation is to raise support
and awareness for the Gaithersburg Police
Department as well as solicit and disburse
funds to assist in enhancing safety in Gaithersburg, Maryland.
“It’s our job to raise money for the police department and try to help support any
financial issues that didn’t make it into the
budget,” said Ralph Billeter, GPF Board
member and owner of Profiles Hair Salon.
One area the GPF aided in was funding the
purchase of bicycles. “This is one of the
few areas of Gaithersburg with a bike patrol. They (the police department) needed
new bicycles, and they asked us for help.
We went out and bought them three new
bikes,” said Billeter. Those bikes were on
display outside of Whole Foods, along with
a police car and an armored truck.
The GPF is also responsible for the K-9
unit. “They just recently asked us (GPF)
for a new dog. The dog will cost us about
$13,000 by the time we purchase the dog
The Town Courier
and get it trained,” said Billeter.
The K-9 used in the demonstration was
an eight-year-old Belgium Malinois that
goes by the name of Max. Corporal Chad
Eastman has been partnered with Max for
seven-and-a-half years. The Foundation
paid $7,000 for Max and purchased his outside kennel at Eastman’s home and Max’s
bulletproof vest. The vest cost $1,000.
In the demonstration, GPD Public Information Officer Dan Lane acted as the
criminal, wearing a thick bite sleeve that
protects the arm from the dog’s teeth. Corporal Eastman and Max set out to apprehend an uncooperative Officer Lane. Max
ran to Officer Lane and bit into the bite
sleeve, demonstrating that Officer Lane
would not be able to run away. Max is
trained in narcotics detection and tracks a
criminal’s scent. Max is facing retirement
in the next year or so.
Funds raised through the Whole Foods
5-percent shopping day also will be used for
the holiday program “Shop with a Cop,”
where police take children in need in the
City of Gaithersburg out to buy gifts for
their families. “A lot of this also is getting
the cops themselves out there in a different
capacity so that their presence feels more
comfortable in the community,” said Billeter. “When someone says cop, you think
of somebody in a car with a gun, kind of
adversarial. By doing ‘Shop with a Cop’ we
are reaching out to kids and giving them a
better perspective on the police.”
The GPF is looking for new board members. There are 18 people currently on
the board, but the Foundation is seeking
around six new members. “We’re looking
for people who have a vested interest in the
City of Gaithersburg. It’s all a donation of
time and effort,” said Billeter. “I would
love to have somebody who’s in marketing who can help us market restaurants and
other events.”
The 5-percent shopping day at Whole
Foods was a great way for residents to show
their support and shop for a cause.
Montgomery County Police Explorers Carlos Sarmiento and Gabriela Carpio bagged groceries during Whole Foods’ 5-percent shopping day on June 24.
Page 9
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Page 10
■ BOULEVARD TAVERN
from page 1
ing for Congressional Seafood Company, the
wholesale purveyor who works directly with
the growers and delivers the products to the
restaurants, said that locally produced oysters
are a priority for the company and its efforts
to help with the Chesapeake Bay.
“Oysters help with filtering water in the
bay, and we want to work with the local entrepreneur growers.” Fahey added, “One
adult oyster can filter 60 gallons of water a
day so they’re good for the bay.”
Roland and Adam Witt from Pro Shuckers
as well as sous chef Brandon Shapiro, cook
Eric Levy, and McShane were non-stop as
they pried open the sharp, jagged shells.
Adam Witt said it’s important to open the
shells the right way from the beginning.
The Town Courier
“Shuck with the front of the oyster cup side
down, go in the front at 6:00 on the oyster,
cut the muscle and it opens right up.” He
smiled and added, “It takes a lot of practice
and ibuprofen.”
The restaurant’s name change was evident
on the building’s new signage, menus, and
logoed shirts worn by staff. Frank Shull,
chief operating officer and partner in the RW
Restaurant Group that owns the restaurant,
said, “If you go back to before we signed the
lease for this property, our original contract
and our legal name of this business is Boulevard Tavern and our idea was to do a tavern concept there. We want to have a place
in Kentlands that’s more family friendly …
something that people can come to several times a week as opposed to a date night
place.”
Patron and Gaithersburg resident Steve
Smith said, “It’s expensive to make chang-
July 3, 2015
es, but if they didn’t make them, they were
going down. It’s exciting that they’re willing
to make the changes to re-connect with the
community.”
His wife, Nancy, added, “I like the tavern
concept.”
Along with the new signage, a new executive chef, Matt Newland, is at the helm in
the kitchen, a new general manager, Scott
Griswold, is on board, the menu has been revamped, and prices have been lowered. Shull
noted, “We want it to be a neighborhood
place, not a destination (for people outside of
the area).” A little known niche in the tavern called “the chef ’s table” sits just off the
enclosed porch area and cozily seats eight to
10 diners.
Interior changes have been made to the
wall colors and visual décor with each dining area sporting a different color of paint.
No longer painted a sterile white, now warm
shades of tangerine, melon, oyster grays, and
asparagus green provide the backdrop for
large, colorful prints evoking images of the
C&O Canal along Potomac’s historic Great
Falls Tavern.
In years gone by, taverns were known as
public houses and were fixtures in the community for weaving together its social fabric,
providing gaiety, hearty ales and fare. Those
attributes were very visible at the grand
re-opening where the Boulevard Tavern is
touted as “casual American dining in the
heart of Kentlands.” Shull said the restaurant
is leaning more toward American craft beers
and more recognizable wines, “We’re trying
to appeal more to the neighborhood.”
Griswold, who has helped establish other
restaurants, trained at Robert Wiedmaier’s
Mussel Bar and Grille in Baltimore. In the
late ‘80s and early ‘90s he was a member of
the Army’s military police. He smiled and
said, “I switched to a different kind of service. I like change and a challenge.”
Chef de Cuisine Dean Dupuis from Brasserie Beck in D.C. was outside “to lend a
hand” in the heavy downpour, cooking ribs
and chicken on a smoker. He said that coming soon would be a 16-foot-long Meadow
Creek smoker to prepare the ribs, chicken,
pork shoulder and brisket offered on the
menu.
Specials on Mondays are $5 Burger Night
and Tuesdays bring Oysters & Champagne
Night where oysters are “one buck shuck”
with $5 for a glass of champagne.
Shull said, “We don’t want people to be
held food hostage. You know, it’s like you
come into certain places, and every entrée
on the menu is $25 or more. We don’t want
to be that place. We want to be the place
that if you want an expensive steak or crab
cakes you can order them, but there’s also a
lot on the menu that’s not going to break the
bank. We’re hoping to have a larger volume
of customers that can appreciate still great
food and a great time, but it’s more geared
toward the neighborhood.”
■ thai tanium
earlier this year.
Good cooking runs in the family. Pat
said his mother, who now travels back and
forth between Thailand and the U.S., has
been a lifelong source of culinary learning
for him. And his aunt, Somsri Parnicsakoon,
has shared the excellent service and kitchen training she received at D.C.’s Madison
Hotel with him; she runs one of his Silver
Spring restaurants. Pat cooks sometimes, explaining, “I like to be involved, make sure
everything is perfect.” Even the Germantown couple’s very responsible daughter Janissa, 9, occasionally helps out in the dining
room, as no doubt Chawin, 3, will in the
future.
Thai Tanium has a substantial menu,
some 70 to 80 items, Pat estimates, offering
all varieties of Thai cuisine that suit Western
tastes. “Some of the real, authentic dishes
would be too much for Americans,” he said.
“We use a lot of healthy herbs, the main
ones are garlic, lemon grass, kaffir lime leaf,
galangal, fresh chilies, and coconut milk.”
Pat responds to customer requests by bringing back special dishes they that they ask for,
and seasonal items like pineapple fried rice,
spicy chicken wings and winter soup are
added when appropriate. His own favorite
dish is Nua Ka Ting, beef sliced, marinated
in wine sauce, stir-fried in Thai garlic sauce,
topped with fresh basil.
Pat takes pride in his prices. “No matter
how difficult the economy has been, while
everything else has risen in price, my prices are still the same as the beginning,” he
said. The $20 special, where the customer
chooses a drink, an appetizer and an entrée
from the menu, with a few exclusions, is an
exceptionally good value.
“We are very appreciative of the community’s support,” Pat said. “It has been 10
years, and I will renew my lease for another
five.”
from page 1
cool community; it had everything.” Everything except a Thai restaurant. And Pat
thought the neighborhood offered “a great
opportunity for me to open my business.”
When Pat leased the spot in Market
Square, “there was only dirt and a frame
here.” With the help of an architect and an
engineer, the space took shape in about six
months. The restaurant’s name came to him,
he said, when he observed that the frames of
his eyeglasses were made of titanium. The
décor is contemporary, and outside seating
on Market Square is off the street and a great
place to listen to the Wednesday, Friday and
Saturday evening summer Market Square
Live! concerts.
Restaurateur was not Pat’s original career
path. In his native Bangkok, Thailand, he
was a civil engineer. He came to the U.S.
in 1998 to continue his education at Strayer
University, where he earned a master’s degree in computer science and business—and
also met his wife-to-be.
While in school, Pat worked part-time in
local Thai restaurants. “I was hard-working
and willing to learn,” he said. When he did
a stint with food delivery from 10 locations,
he found that “chefs have different ways”
and “that the more you do, the more you
learn” about the two main components of
the business: service or the front of a restaurant and kitchen operations. Pat’s boss became a friend and eventually helped him set
up his own business.
Pat opened a second restaurant in 2008,
Paragon Thai in Cleveland Park, and then
sold it in 2013. He owns two small, “easier
to manage” eateries in Silver Spring, Charm
Thai (“charm” means bowl for noodles)
since 2011, and Kitchen Thai, which opened
July 3, 2015
The Town Courier
Page 11
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Page 12
The Town Courier
July 3, 2015
summer savings!
Photo | Mike Cuthbert
A highlight of this year’s Junefest at Pleasant View Historical Association was a performance by the Royal Harmonizers.
■ junefest
from page 3
Green, was among those who gathered in
1968 to consider a merger with Fairhaven
Methodist and two other Victorian Methodist churches in the area, both black. In the
middle of this meeting it was announced
that the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., had
been assassinated. Pleasant View has maintained its independence since that day. The
meeting bridged the gap between white
and black members of the Quince Orchard
community. To symbolize the continuation of relations between the churches, the
Rev. Esther Holimon of Fairhaven Methodist delivered the closing prayer while
the Rev. Helen Wood from Mount of Olives delivered the opening prayer. (Mount
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of Olives is the name for the church that
was Pleasant View.) The Rev. Green was
recently elected the new chairman of the
Pleasant View Historical Association.
Charles Thompson, Jr. retired after 26
years as president of the Pleasant View Historical Association, was given a memento
marking the occasion. Thompson shared
the story of the widening of the bend in
Route 28, completed a few years ago. Space
for that bend was taken from the Kentlands
side of the road because Pleasant View is a
recognized historical site.
For his service, historian Vernon Green
received copies of the deeds to all of the
Pleasant View sites. The highlight of the
afternoon was selections sung by the Royal
Harmonizers. The group’s tenor, William
Ridgely, was named treasurer emeritus at
Junefest.
The Town Courier
July 3, 2015
■ PUBLIC HEARING
from page 3
not being more on top of Kentlands Market
Square in the past year (he began as Beatty
COO in 2014), but promised that “Beatty under my direction is different than the
past. … I want to turn the center around.”
He mentioned meeting with the Kentlands business community and the Kentlands Citizens Assembly, and said that he
plans to meet with Kentlands town architect Marina Khoury, residents of Lakelands
and Quince Orchard, the Kentlands Community Foundation and Rachel Carson Elementary School.
He said that “in the past, little consideration had been paid to tenant mix and community needs.” While Beatty is still family owned, he said, it is now professionally
managed and the community will see tenant
mix and site upgrades and more community
events in Kentlands Market Square.
Erin Girard, Beatty counsel, said that the
company is now “trying to circle back and
get community input.”
She explained that the 5 percent office/
educational use cap excludes second story
space; offices are currently permitted in the
second story locations. Big boxes in Kentlands Market Square would most likely not
be converted to office space, she said, and
the two dental offices currently in retail
locations on Main Street West and Market
Street are included in the 5 percent rezoning amendment proposal.
Residents were each given three minutes to speak. All were against granting the
rezoning amendment, but for a variety of
reasons.
Richard Arkin felt that too much flexibility was requested. He pointed out that
current second story office space amounts
to 3,500 square feet. This would be added
to the requested 5 percent of first floor space
designed for retail. He is concerned that
medical spaces could cause problems for and
detract from retail.
Marina Khoury, Kentlands town architect, said that a strategic plan was needed,
that she would support a plan and not a percentage. “It matters what where,” she said,
emphasizing that she is not opposed to office use per se, but that this needs to be in
the right location.
Joe Allen, Kentlands Downtown Partnership board-at-large member, urged
the Planning Commission to uphold the
2007/2008 strategic vision outlined in the
master plan. “Center Point Way and Market Street should be retail, according to the
master plan,” he said. The former Bally’s location is designated for office in the master
plan, he said.
Barney Gorin, president of the Kentlands
Citizens Assembly who was speaking only
for himself as a resident, said he is opposed
to this change because he feels Beatty “does
not have a strategic vision.” He is concerned that the business districts, designed
to function as one integrated community,
have become “Balkanized. … Saul, Beatty,
Main Street and MedImmune don’t create
synergy.”
Ann Derryberry, owner of Chyten Tutoring and Kentlands Downtown Partnership vice president, also spoke in opposition, emphasizing that “Kentlands Market
Square needs to be lively and busy most of
the day. … It’s a destination, not a quick
stop. Offices won’t do this.”
Joe Pritchard, owner of Pritchard Music
Academy and Kentlands Downtown Partnership president, echoed Derryberry’s
concern about office/educational use, saying that as a retail/education business owner
on Main Street, he can attest that in general
parents do not drop their students off and
shop or eat. He also thanked Miller for listening to the community’s concerns.
City of Gaithersburg Planner Gregory
Mann urged residents to add their views on
the proposed rezoning amendment to the
public record by July 9, 5 p.m. Commissioner John Bauer will make a recommendation
to the Mayor and City Council on July 15.
“People can’t speak at the Mayor and City
Council meeting. They must speak before
July 9,” he cautioned.
To submit your views before July 9,
5 p.m., email gmann@gaithersburgmd.
com or write to Planning Commission,
City of Gaithersburg, 31 South Summit
Ave., Gaithersburg, MD 20877.
aroundtown
from page 3
services/animal-control.
by a car or in a fight with another animal.
A bat positive for rabies was found a month
ago. “We typically find two or three animals that are positive for rabies each year,”
she said, noting that no animals tested positive for the disease in 2014.
If you see an injured raccoon or any
other animal in distress, please call the after-hours and emergency animal service
number, 301.279.8000. This connects
you to the Montgomery County Emergency Communication Center that will
notify and dispatch a Gaithersburg Animal Control Officer for response. For
non-emergency animal service calls Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., please
contact Gaithersburg Animal Control directly at 301.258.6343. You can find more
information at www.gaithersburgmd.gov/
Hometown Carnival and Parade
Celebrates 4th
Look for a patriotic display of creativity
to parade up Tschiffely Square Road from
Rachel Carson Elementary School to the
Kentlands Clubhouse on Saturday morning, July 4, beginning at 9:45 a.m. You’ll
find floats, wagons, bicycles, cars and people decked out in red, white and blue. A
carnival on the Kentlands Clubhouse Lawn
begins at 10 a.m. Arrive prepared for fun
with music, great food, inflatables, a face
painter, balloon artist and pony rides. The
Gaithersburg American Legion 295 will
host a Flag Retirement Ceremony at 1 p.m.
during the carnival. If you have a flag that
you would like to retire, please drop it off
at the Kentlands Clubhouse front desk before noon on July 4.
Page 13
Page 14
The Town Courier
July 3, 2015
The ParkPages
News and Current Events for Quince Orchard Park
n
Meeting Calendar
7/14 — HOA Board Meeting, Clubhouse, 7 p.m.
7/22 — Condo Board II, Clubhouse, 7 p.m.
7/27 — Condo Board I, Clubhouse, 7 p.m.
E-mail your contributions to [email protected]
Visual Artist Thrives in QOP
P
aint dries quickly in the breakfast
area of Anne Cherubim’s Quince
Orchard Park home. That breakfast area, she said, “no longer resembles
any such thing.” Instead, it has become
a home studio for the abstract contemporary landscape painter.
“I used to put everything away when
I was done painting, and return the
breakfast area to its natural state when
my kids were toddlers,” Cherubim
said. “It once had its greatest hours of
use between 11 p.m. and 2 a.m. when
regular life was done and the kids were
asleep.” Now a resident artist at Artists
and Makers Studios in Rockville, the
painter works there daily during the
school year and rushes home to meet
her 9-year-old twins’ school bus. Summers, of course, become a bit more
challenging.
Large canvases are the substance of
Cherubim’s time in the Rockville studio. At home, she creates mini canvases to sell in her Etsy shop and limited
edition digital paintings that comprise
The Recycled Art Project; she also
conducts the administrative and social
media tasks essential to the business of
art.
Although Cherubim has worked in
other media, acrylic paint is her choice
for two main reasons. “I discovered an
impatience within me in waiting for
oil to dry, but more importantly, once
my children were born, I wanted to be
able to use more benign materials.” She
noted that quick drying time is both
the beauty and the curse of acrylics.
It allows her to rework anything she
doesn’t like in that she can “remove a
layer and find remnants of what you
Photo | Submitted
QOP resident and artist Anne Cherubim paints
abstract contemporary landscapes that are “still
and moving all at once—a contradiction.”
had hidden underneath.” Conversely,
sometimes the paint dries too fast and
thus, the work “has to become something quite different from what I intended.”
The mostly self-taught artist described her art as “rooted in real life
images and textures, with a modern
abstraction, often in a limited color
palette.” She believes her multicultural heritage defines her vision: being “a
Canadian girl, born of Sri Lankan parents, who lives in the U.S.” created the
“unique lens” through which she sees
the world.
As for inspiration, Cherubim said, “I
think it’s essentially the unifying quality that art has, the way it transcends
language and culture, that influences
me the most. Art allows us to connect
with one another despite language or
cultural barriers. That, and stewardship for the planet we live on, is the
underlying thread in all my work.”
Cherubim is working on the last few
pieces in her Ethereal series of paint-
july 2015
MANAGEMENT MENTIONS
ings for a November show at Artspace
Herndon as well as some pieces for a
new series, “based largely on satellite
images and aerial views.” The Ethereal
series, she said, is an extension of the
Luminosity series that preceded it, in
which she tried “to portray the luminosity of the skies, and everything they
touch, painting in layers of color. A wet
on wet technique effectively blends the
acrylics, adds depth to the canvas, and
evokes time and space.”
Luminosity’s contemporary landscapes are, she said, “based in realism, mostly recognizable landscapes,
with no vanishing point. The Ethereal grouping of paintings may have the
same starting point, but is made up of
forms and spaces that are much more
abstract. They are largely rooted in a
sense of place, and emotion—concerned with depth and dimension.”
“These pieces can be seen as calm
and quiet, allowing the viewers’ eyes
to rest and be drawn in, while at the
same time, energy emanates from the
smallest to the largest of these pieces,”
she added. “They are still, and moving,
all at once—a contradiction.”
For the future, Cherubim wants
a larger studio “because it’s pretty
cramped right now, and restraint is
difficult for creativity.” Even more important, she hopes her “work continues
to allow people to have a moment to
get lost in, immersed in the art, forgetting the outside world for a bit.”
Of course, she observed, “The icing
on the cake is when someone thinks
enough of that work to want to take it
home with them and see it every day,
live with it.”
Stingrays’ Season Is Going Swimmingly
The Diamond Farm Stingrays dominated in their
first two meets of the 2015 swim season. Final scores
for the June 15 meet were 381 for the Stingrays, 362 for
Twinbrook. Swimmers achieving all-star times were
Angela Harris, Justin Harris, Nicholas Ireland, Meghan
McKenna and Paul Van Nevel.
“The team exceeded my expectations with their
performance today. Not only did we have everyone improve from their time at time trials, but many
swimmers had personal bests and several swam all-star
times,” Coach Cailin Van Nevel said. “I was really impressed with the individual racing, with a lot of swimmers winning close races. Overall, it was a great team
win! I’m looking forward to seeing everyone continue
to improve throughout the season.”
Results of the June 20 meet were even better, 445 for
the Stingrays to Fallsmead’s 318. All-star time achievers were Kayla Gerke and Paul Van Nevel. “The meet
was very exciting. We had best times and a lot of good
races. There were a number of races we went 1-2-3,
and that really contributed to our win. I am very happy
with how the kids swam, and I am looking forward to
next weekend,” the coach said.
n
Trash and Recycling
Trash, which is collected on Tuesday and Friday,
must be placed in lidded trash cans. Trash should not
be left for collection in bags; these may be ripped
open by dogs, birds and other pests, and trash is
strewn throughout the community. Continued use of
bags may result in fines.
Consider painting your house number on your trash
cans and lids so they may be returned on windy days.
It is also helpful to label recycling bins with house
numbers—and to place bagged newspapers and magazines atop commingled materials in the bin.
Trash cans and recycle bins must be stored out of
sight on non-pickup days.
Recycling is picked up on Fridays. Containers,
with lids, are now available from the City of Gaithersburg. Please contact the city at 301.258.6370 to
have a lidded bin delivered and the old one picked up.
The new bins will diminish problems with trash in
the neighborhood. It is helpful to label recycling bins
with house numbers. Lids may be attached to bins by
drilling small holes and attaching with twine.
Bulk recycling pickups are the first Friday of each
month. July 3 is the next bulk pickup day.
The City of Gaithersburg and Potomac Disposal
(301.294.9700) both offer collection services for bulk
items at no cost.
Dog Duty and Animal Services Information
Cleaning up after dogs is the legal responsibility of
every canine owner walking a dog in the community.
Dogs are not permitted off-leash on common property in the City of Gaithersburg.
Contact Information for
Gaithersburg Animal Control
To report after hours/emergency animal service
calls, City of Gaithersburg residents must now contact
the Montgomery County Emergency Communication Center (MCECC) at 301.279.8000. MCECC
will then notify and dispatch a Gaithersburg Animal
Control Officer for response.
To report non-emergency animal service calls and
for information on related animal matters during
regular business hours, residents may contact the
Gaithersburg Animal Control Office directly at
301.258.6343. Regular hours of operation are Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
For more information, please visit www.
gaithersburgmd.gov/services/animal-control.
Website
Agendas for meetings, as well as many important
documents (minutes and meeting summaries) can be
found at the QOP website: www.quinceorchardpark.
com.
QOP Management Contact Information
Quince Orchard Park
Community Manager Steve Leskowitz
QOP Assistant
Community Manager Alex Deering
Photos | Submitted
Stingrays have been all smiles this season. Pictured are Abigail Lin, Katie
Reed, Kristen Lang, and Michael Shigetomi (top) and Jenna Mertz, Sue Lee,
Sammie Lentz, and Jenny Hudson (bottom).
c/o The Management Group Associates, Inc.
20440 Century Boulevard, Suite 100
Germantown, MD 20874
Phone: 301.948.6666
The Town Courier
July 3, 2015
Summer Fun
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Page 15
Page 16
■ paris-bound
from page 5
tored her and took the time to teach her difficult pastries like macaroons.
Also, after putting in 14 hours at the
restaurant, Pearson would go home and
sometimes not sleep. Instead, she would pore
over cookbooks and Google, researching
“how can I do this better?”
“The kitchen has turned into my life,” she
said. “I don’t regret it. I will do this for the
rest of my life. … I couldn’t be anywhere
else.”
Les Dames d’Escoffier recognized her
drive. “We were extremely impressed by
Ashleigh’s focus, her passion and determination to succeed in the culinary business,” said
The Town Courier
Sara Engram, who served on the scholarship
committee. “We just loved her work ethic,
her sense of doing everything she could to
learn her profession—the fact that she took
on things in the kitchen, for instance, learning how to cost out … food and learning
cost management, all those sorts of things
for the business side of a restaurant as well as
her techniques as a pastry cook. … We just
thought she was an exemplary young woman
who really had all the qualities we’re looking
for … a young woman who has what it takes
to be a real success in the culinary industry.”
Pearson said she wants to study French
pastry and cuisine because “cooking has to
start with technique, and the French are
best at this.” Once she has this foundation
and works for a while in a Paris restaurant,
Pearson sees herself expanding into other
cuisines.
The creativity of her job and the pleasure that she gets from seeing diners enjoy
her pastries are what keep her working long
hours. “I never know what the end of the
day will bring,” she said, explaining that
when the restaurant gets new ingredients,
she has “the freedom of putting whatever I
want on the menu. I am thankful for that.”
She is currently working with Chef Brian McBride to create desserts for the restaurant’s new concept, Boulevard Tavern.
“We’re changing the singular flavors,” she
July 3, 2015
said, “but we will still use the highest quality
ingredients.”
Perhaps she is already starting that new
chapter in her life, expanding her French
pastry base to create more comforting, tavern-suited desserts before she embarks in six
months for studies in Paris. One day, far in
the future, she does hope to write a book—a
cookbook featuring anecdotal stories from
chefs. “There’s a full story behind every dish
I made,” she said, adding that when chefs
share their stories, cuisine just keeps getting
better and better.
shoptalk
from page 5
Cava Wins Entrepreneur Award
Cava Mezze Restaurant Group won the
EY LLP Entrepreneur Of The Year 2015
Greater Washington Award in the Consumer Products and Services category. Ike
Grigoropoulos, managing partner, Dimitri
Moshovitis, executive chef, and Ted Xenohristos, managing partner, were recognized at an awards gala on June 18, held at
The Ritz-Carlton, Tysons Corner.
Ted’s Montana Grill Opening August
at Downtown Crown
According to the City of Gaithersburg’s
Office of Economic Development, permits have been issued for Ted’s Montana
Grill at 105 Ellington Blvd. in Downtown
Crown. This will be the national chain’s
first restaurant in Maryland. An August
opening is planned.
Mezeh Mediterranean Grill Coming
to Crown Park Avenue
The “fresh, bold and natural” Mezeh
Mediterranean Grill with established locations in Annapolis and Wheaton is coming
to Downtown Crown, with a likely opening late this summer. Before you visit, be
sure to check out Mezeh’s website—www.
mezeh.com—and use the nutritional calculator for the meal you can build there.
After choosing one base from five options like salad mix or basmati rice, diners
choose one protein from five options that
include the vegetarian falafel, an unlimited
number of 26 toppings, and one sauce from
six options like tzatziki and harissa sauce.
July 3, 2015
The Town Courier
Page 17
cityscene
from page 4
will feature live music, food, activities and
culminate in a fireworks show.
The fireworks begin at dusk, but there
will be plenty of activities to keep residents entertained before the sky lights up.
Roaming entertainers and family friendly
games start at 6 p.m. with the Rollex Band
taking the stage at 8 p.m.
Patrons are allowed to bring in their own
food and blankets to the show, but leave
the alcohol, glass containers, rollerblades,
skates, bikes, pets and fireworks at home.
New Name, Expansion Celebrated
City officials and residents gathered
June 11 to celebrate the grand reopening of the Benjamin Gaither Center.
Formerly known as the Gaithersburg Senior Center, the Mayor and City Council
voted to change the name of the facility
because center officials believed the name
did not reflect the active 55 and older
crowd.
Besides the name change, the center also
celebrated its renovation that features a repurposed lobby area, expanded computer
and lecture rooms and a 1,000-square-foot
fitness center. Begun in the fall of 2014, the
renovations totaled more than $923,000 to
the facility, which first opened in 1991.
Railroad Crossing Repairs Set
South Summit Avenue between East
Diamond and Olde Town avenues will be
closed to vehicle traffic for five days beginning July 6 as CSX Transportation makes
repairs at the railroad crossing.MARC
commuter rail service will not be interrupted and commuters may access the train
station through the pedestrian bridge from
the Olde Town parking garage.
Community Meeting Set for
New Event
The City of Gaithersburg, Department
of Parks, Recreation and Culture and the
Montgomery County Road Runners Club
invite residents to attend a community
meeting from 7:30 to 9 p.m. July 29 at the
Gaithersburg Elementary School cafeteria
to discuss a new race to be held.La Milla de Mayo, a chip-timed one-mile run/
walk, is set for 6 p.m. May 7 in Olde Town
Gaithersburg, aimed at promoting the historic area and encouraging exercise. Kid
fun runs along with food and activities are
planned for the event.
Chiropractic, Acupuncture and Massage
We participate with most insurance plans. See our website for details.
www.swistakchiro.com
Our treatments include gental manipulation, myofascial release, electrical stimulation,
cold laser, and exercise. All treatments are catered to each patient’s individual needs in
addition to their tolerance levels. If you are in pain and you are looking for a friendly
place to help you get better, give us a call.
policebeat
from page 4
Hall. “That’s not been on anybody’s priority list, but we wanted to bring that as
an option based upon issues we sometimes
have at this facility, which would be overflow and also the columns that everyone
can see as you are trying to observe from
the audience,” Enslinger said. This option
would require possible reconfiguring of a
structural column in the new building.
“Obviously this is an exciting time with
the new facility coming online and the
planning,” Mayor Jud Ashman said. “I have
to say from my perspective I don’t see it as
a priority to move the council chambers.”
Councilmember Cathy Drzyzgula was
absent from the meeting, but Mayor Ashman read from an email she sent him stating she felt there is a great need for a community meeting space.
Councilmember Henry F, Marraffa Jr.
said that having a more accessible meeting
area might lead to better resident participation.
The move would not gain much additional space for City Council chambers.
The spaces are about the same, but a column could be moved to provide some additional square footage. The City Council’s current meeting space could be used
for office space or flexible meeting rooms.
“I think we have an opportunity to do
some long-range planning,” said Councilmember Michael A. Sesma. “The city
isn’t always going to be the size it is now.
We are almost right-sized for our facilities
but clearly we don’t have any flexibility. ...
This is a once in a lifetime or city time opportunity to think about those things and
plan carefully and assume that if we do that
it’s not going to happen in a year or two.
It’s going to be a long-term plan.”
covery of controlled dangerous substances,
paraphernalia and U.S. currency.
Rosie Garnett is currently being held at
the Montgomery County Detention Center. Bond information is unavailable at this
time.
Pedestrian Struck, Dog Bites Driver
A dog reached a new level of protectiveness June 22 when it bit the driver who allegedly hit its owner with a car.
A vehicle was making a turn at Little
Quarry Road and Chestertown Street in
When the markets turn as volatile and confusing as they
have over the past few years, even the most educated
and patient investors may come to question the wisdom
of their financial plan and the investment strategy that
they've been following.
At Triton Wealth Management, we've seen a lot of
difficult markets come and go and we can certainly
empathize with those who find the current environment
troublesome and disturbing. We'd like to help, if we
can, and to that end, here's what we offer:
A cup of coffee and a second opinion
policeblotter
from page 4
A cup of coffee and a second opinion
Kentlands around 12:45 p.m. when the pedestrian walking a small dog was struck,
according to Gaithersburg Police Department spokesman Officer Dan Lane.
The driver got out of the vehicle and approached the pedestrian to see if the person
was OK but was bitten by the dog.
The driver was taken to a local hospital
for the bite to be examined, Lane said. The
pedestrian received minor injuries in the
collision, but the dog was not hurt.
No charges were issued at the time of the
incident, Lane said.
— Gina Gallucci-White
60 Market St. Suite 207 | Gaithersburg, MD 20878
301-330-7500 | [email protected]
Triton Wealth Management is an independent fee-only Registered
Investment Advisory firm.
Page 18
The Town Courier
July 3, 2015
assignmenteducation
from page 6
credit): No centrally developed,
end-of-semester exams will be administered. This would start in the second
semester of the 2015-2016 school year
for courses that are assessed by the state
(Algebra, Algebra 2, Biology, English 10, and Government) and other
courses would follow in later years.
Variations on this option would only
eliminate the exams in subjects that
are assessed by the state or would only
eliminate the second semester exams
in all courses.
• Option C (middle schools and high
credit): Beginning with the 20152016 school year, keep cumulative exams, but administer them over multiple class periods rather than two-hour
blocks.
• Option D (middle schools and high
credit): Beginning in 2016-2017, replace end-of-semester exams with
centrally-developed, in-class assessments that are given at specific times
throughout the school year. Examples
of these types of assessments could be
unit tests, essays, projects, portfolios,
document-based questions, and more.
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The public is urged to submit comments
through July 10. Please review the
Assessment Options page on the MCPS
website,
www.montgomeryschoolsmd.
org/info/assessment-options, and fill out a
questionnaire.
Free Summer Meals
Thousands of Montgomery County
children in various summer school or summer recreation programs will receive free,
nutritious meals as part of the Montgomery
County Public Schools (MCPS) Summer
Food Service Program.
Funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the MCPS Summer Food Service
Program was created in 1976 to bridge the
summer break nutrition gap by providing
nutritious meals at no cost to children 18
years of age and younger. More than 35
percent of children in MCPS are eligible
for Free and Reduced-price Meals during
the school year, and that number continues
to grow each year.
This summer, MCPS anticipates that approximately 10,000 students will receive
meals at 120 sites, including seven walk-in
locations. Staff from the MCPS Division of
Food and Nutrition Services prepare and
deliver the food to all of the program sites
in the county. Last year, the program provided more than 400,000 meals.
The seven walk-in sites are: Fox Chapel,
Gaithersburg, Maryvale, and Whetstone elementary schools; Argyle and Francis Scott
Key middle schools; and John F. Kennedy
High School. For more information, visit
www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org.
■ minkoff
don’t like to share them all the time. But it’s
nice to stream of conscience write songs and
then have a few that you like.
one of my biggest inspirations. I also like
St. Vincent, she’s a great guitarist. B.B.
King, Joni Mitchell and Bob Dylan are really great.
Where do you want your music career
to go?
from page 6
Have you learned anything from these
musicians?
Yeah, I do a lot of their covers. St. Vincent is kind of hard because she does a lot
of songs on electric guitar and I’m just getting into that.
How many songs have you written
compared to the covers you’ve
performed?
I have a solid four songs that I’m really
proud of but I have tons of notebooks of just
random lyrics. And I’ll play those from time
to time but I’m not fully proud of them so I
I eventually think I want to record something because I’ve already worked so hard
and I don’t want to give up. But it’s definitely a hobby, although it’s turning into something where I’m performing. I definitely
would love to continue to pursue music and
see what happens. I also like to collaborate
with friends. I’ve tried so many times to
make a band but it never works out.
Do you have any advice for beginning
musicians?
Even if you think you suck at the beginning, you will end up not sucking if you
keep trying. If you give up too early, it’s a
waste of all the things you did before that.
Take a
closer
look at
the Town
Courier.
www.towncourier.com
The Town Courier
July 3, 2015
Page 19
firstperson
Back and Forth
A
few weeks ago, I
sort of forgot that
I am a responsible,
logical and somewhat old
person. I had the brilliant
idea of waking up at the
crack of dawn and driving
to the beach alone. An exBy Mauren
cellent plan if you are not
Stiles
ruining the brilliance of
said plan by driving home
the same day.
Crazy, right?
In my defense, the intent was to prep our
place for renters and make repairs. So spending the night would have literally been more
work than it was worth.
I dug deep, survived it and learned a few
things out on the open road. …
Without the need to stop what I am doing
every three minutes to cook or referee, I am
a machine. I went from getting a lot done in
spite of having three kids to knocking off a
hefty to-do list in a couple of hours without kids. I still got it. Phew, I was starting to
wonder.
With hours and hours alone in the car,
there was a lot of radio listening and loud
singing. I could really write an entire blog
about the music alone. But I will limit it to
the following:
-“Love Shack” by the B-52s is just a total
waste unless you are in a bar
-“See You Again” by Wiz Khalifa is playing on a station somewhere approximately
every 20 seconds.
-On the off chance “See You Again” is not
playing, Taylor Swift’s “Bad Blood” is. It depresses me that I remember the original “Bad
Blood” by Neil Sedaka and Elton John. I am
“they are running out of new song titles”
years old. Ancient.
Being left alone to accomplish tasks hammered home the fact that I am short. Very
short. And there’s a chance I’m getting shorter. Normally, I have three or four people
around to reach things for me. Left to my
own devices, I had to climb on chairs, use
grilling spatulas and all kinds of props to get
what I needed. I was small Alice stuck in a
rabbit hole of very tall chores.
I can make the entire trip without stopping. Instead of stopping 12 times for food,
bathrooms and dog walking, you can actually
make the trip in record time. Who knew? I
have to admit, though, I did stop on the way
down. That’s because the law of averages says
you can only pass by McDonald’s so many
reader’schoice
‘We Are Not Ourselves: A Novel’
Written by Matthew Thomas
T
he title grabbed me
in an airport bookstore and despite the
novel’s heft (620 pages), I
excitedly took it on. “We
Are Not Ourselves” had
such a familiar ring to me,
though not from the voice
By Betty
of Shakespeare’s “King
Hafner
Lear,” whom Matthew
Thomas references, but
rather, my mother. “We’re just not ourselves
today,” rang in my ears, as a description of
the off-kilter feeling that we’ve somehow
ended up where we didn’t expect to be. The
haunting phrase is the skillfully rendered undercurrent of the book.
Rarely does a first novel get the accolades Thomas’ 2014 book has garnered. It
seems that others find the story within as
deeply touching as I did. It’s a surprisingly
quick-moving and entertaining read for a
book that covers the rather unremarkable life
of Irish-American Eileen Tumulty, her husband and son from 1951 to 2000.
There are many similarities between
Thomas’ life and those of his characters. He
tells reviewers he worked on it for 10 years—
writing most of it longhand in a notebook—
while holding a job as a high school English
teacher. It was obviously a very personal endeavor. There is no other way to explain the
incredible level of emotional truth he is able
to convey.
Eileen’s Irish background shapes her young
life in the borough of Queens. Her mother,
who refuses to become an American citizen,
stays close to her relatives, as they emigrate
to the U.S., and houses whole families for
months at a time in their small apartment.
Eileen’s charismatic father holds court at the
local bar each night with his pals, but he is
the only source of joy in her life.
Eileen plans for a more refined life in her
future, one more suited to New York’s classier
suburbs than the teeming streets of Queens.
She’s thrilled to meet and marry Ed Leary, a
brilliant but unambitious scientist and college
professor, hoping he’ll be her key to getting
out of their cramped apartment. His indifference keeps them right where they are.
The realities of life as a hardworking nurse
with a husband who refuses two promotions
in order to continue teaching at a community college, especially after their son Connell
is born, frustrate Eileen. Her dissatisfaction
with her daily life and her rigid husband
consumes her life. But then Ed starts acting
strangely. It begins as “torpor,” slides into depression then shows as confusion, and before
long their world shifts seismically when he is
diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s.
These were also the circumstances of Matthew Thomas’ life, so he gently leads readers through the overwhelming effect this has
on the family—the mixture of stress, anger
and guilt Eileen feels and the looming disorientation young Connell experiences. Yet
it’s not a depressing book. Eileen and her son
transcend the circumstances, slowly and realistically, and Thomas gives us a wonderfully
crafted, satisfying ending.
times in one morning before you HAVE to
stop for breakfast. And they make the best
iced coffee. Period.
Just because you can make the entire trip
without stopping, doesn’t mean you should.
I endured all three hours on the return trip
without a break. And it was all kinds of ugly.
I was cranky like a two-year-old without a
nap. And I looked like I was recovering from
hip replacement when I walked up the stairs
from the garage.
Distance makes the heart grow fonder
and the house messier. Holy tornado. I was
gone exactly 14 hours. There were at least
10 wrappers and four dirty dishes for every
hour I was MIA. Everyone gushed over me
and said how much they missed me. Apparently, their utter desperation was so debilitating that no one could muster the courage
to make dinner. Even the dog looked disheveled. So I hobbled around the kitchen
cleaning, cooking and thinking I should have
spent the night in a hotel with room service.
But when I saw the sign “Give Dad Crabs”
posted at a take-out shack on the way home,
I realized why traveling solo is not all it’s
cracked up to be, You need someone in shotgun to laugh with. Because sitting in your
car, alone, laughing hysterically makes you
look a little crazier than you already are.
Page 20
The Town Courier
July 3, 2015
The Town Courier
July 3, 2015
Page 21
MIKEAT THE MOVIES
Ted 2 (R) *****
Sorry, but juvenile as
the humor is in “Ted 2”
(like it was in the original “Ted”), this is a film
that has the longest, biggest laughs of the summer.
Seth MacFarlane, who
wrote, directs and stars,
By Mike
is at the top of his grungy
Cuthbert
game in the further adventures of the horny bear
his imagination gave birth to, Ted.
Ted is as scandalously funny as he was
in the first chapter of this series, and he
is aided by Mark Wahlberg as John and
Amanda Seyfried as Samantha, a young
lawyer handling her first case. Jessica Barth
reprises her role as Ted’s wife, Tami-Lynn.
The couple is attempting to have a baby (a
difficulty given Ted’s lack of genitalia), and
adoption is thwarted by the court finding
that Ted, in the eyes of the state, is not a
person but is property. Several court scenes
later the matter is still not resolved, but
then Morgan Freeman joins the team and
things change.
Yes, the humor is often juvenile, but it
is continuous. MacFarlane has an unerring
ear and eye for references, and some of the
material is just flat-out genius. Witness the
conversation about the identity and name
of F. Scott Fitzgerald, for example.
Another concept that rocks the plot
along is the use of cameos: Jay Leno, Liam
Neeson (don’t leave too soon or you miss
the punch line of his scene), Tom Brady
as an unwilling potential sperm donor,
and three members of the “Saturday Night
Live” cast. There is also a slowly building
scene in which Samantha sings a love song
and animals flock out of the forest, down
from the mountains and the oceans to create a riotous audience.
This is a film in which the laughs come
heavy and late—a lot of the references have
to be figured out before the humor pops
through, but they are in many places continuous. I suppose this is a guy’s movie, but
my lady partner was guffawing as loudly
and frequently as I was and broad-minded
members of both sexes should hurt themselves laughing at this farce. My favorite
animals in the love song scene? The fish,
lobster, fox and the penguins! Gianni Ribisi is hysterical as the wanna-be kidnapper,
too. Yet another high mark (or low, depending on your point of view of the humor). Not for the squeamish or those offended by anything—MacFarlane pulls no
punches.For the rest of us, a true laugh riot.
Inside Out (PG) ****
Pixar takes a dangerous route for their
newest entry into animated fantasy as the
action takes place inside Headquarters—
the Headquarters of a young girl’s brain.
After wondering if the target audience for
this film could deal with the complexities
of the plot and concept, I figured they can
make of it what they will while the adults
ponder the deeper messages.
The girl in question, voiced by Kaitlyn
Dias, is Riley, roughly 10 years old, who
is uprooted with her folks from Minnesota to San Francisco. She suffers the usual
anxiety of relocation and misses most her
hockey team. Mom and Dad, Diane Lane
and Kyle MacLachlan, for the most part ignore her problems at school and miss much
of her deepening anxiety about fitting in.
All of Riley’s tensions are directed by her
“staff ” of emotions led by Joy, an eternally
optimistic chief emotion, voiced by Amy
Poehler. Phyllis Smith of “The Office” is
effective as Sadness—a real loose cannon
who pretty much destroys everything in
a good-hearted attempt to make things
right—and leads an outstanding cast of
voicers, but the star is Lewis Black as Anger. Black chews the scenery, as much as
one can in a voicer, and is funny as well
as angry.
This is a fantasy with no apologies.
Characters wander in and out, fall to their
deaths in the Junk Pile and tease adult and
child minds as well with philosophical
ponderings and bits of wisdom. Particularly effective is a long scene in which Joy
and Sadness are guided back to the Train
of Thought by Bing Bong (Richard Kind),
Riley’s imaginary friend from her youth.
Adults will try to see deep meaning in the
trip and get lost trying to figure it out while
most kids 6 and older will simply enjoy the
crazy action. (Bing Bong is constructed of
cotton candy, an elephant and a dolphin
among other parts and is a heroic figure.)
Adults will know that there is a happy ending in there somewhere while the
younger set may have some anxieties as Joy
and Sadness try to make it home to save the
family. At one level or another, everybody
who sees this will take their own message
from it. The musical score is oddly atonal
and Oriental in tone, suitable perhaps for
the generally obscure subject matter and
environment for the film. The audience
when I saw it was mothers and pre-teens
with a few 8 and unders; they all seemed to
enjoy it. Give it a try.
Enjoy more of Mike’s reviews at www.
towncouriercom
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Page 22
The Town Courier
July 3, 2015
Sports
Photo | Arthur Cadeaux
The Maryland team takes the field at the start of the Big 33 Football Classic at Hersheypark Stadium.
NW Players and Coach Represent Maryland in the Big 33
By Syl Sobel
T
hree Northwest High School 2015
graduates got to play football together for a final time with their former
head coach in the recent Big 33 Football
Classic at Hersheypark Stadium. And
while the experience started off being
about football, for the players and coach it
ended up becoming much, much more.
The Big 33 is an annual all-star game
that features the best graduating players
from Maryland against the best from Pennsylvania, and Jaguars Brendan Thompson,
EJ Lee, and Jamar Wilson were all selected
for this year’s event along with Northwest
head coach Mike Neubeiser. The Jaguars
under Neubeiser have won the state 4A title the past two seasons and all three players
were key performers.
But what makes the Big 33 more than
a football game are the opportunities the
players have to practice, play, and spend
time with other talented players, and to
pair up for the week with a special needs
student “buddy.”
“The Big 33 was all football to me at
first,” said Lee, the lightning fast running
back who is headed to Wesley College in
Delaware next season. “But after getting
there and receiving a special needs buddy
... watching the smile glow and looking up
to me made me feel great. It made me understand how lucky I am.”
“The Big 33 was an experience of a lifetime for me,” said Brendan Thompson, the
stalwart linebacker who is going to Millersville University in Pennsylvania. “It
seemed that all the festivities and different
facets of the week were more monumental
than the game itself.” In addition to teaming with his special needs buddy, Thompson also cited the experience of living with
a local host family for a week. “Overall,
I looked forward to playing in the Big 33
since I was in middle school and I’m glad I
got to join with such great company.”
For Neubeiser, who was selected to serve
as the Maryland squad’s defensive coordinator, the game also had a special significance. He had played in the 1990 Big 33
Classic after graduating from Gaithersburg
High School. Now, some 25 years later, “it
was really neat to see it from a coach’s perspective,” Neubeiser said.
The coach also enjoyed the bonding aspect of the event. “Just being around the
other coaches from around the state,” he
said, and “to see everyone come together
to represent Maryland was really a great
experience.”
He said, “The players loved getting to
know each other. It’s really amazing how
Photo | Arthur Cadeaux
Northwest football stars and recent graduates EJ Lee, Brendan Thompson and Jamar Wilson played together one last time
in the Big 33 at Hersheypark Stadium.
they got together. They made friends they
will have for life. … And the level of competition—the whole team was full of Division I athletes—gave them a preview for
college.”
As to the game itself, stormy weather
limited the contest to one half, and Penn-
sylvania came out with a 20-3 victory.
All three Northwest athletes saw action,
with Lee carrying the ball four times for
10 yards and catching three passes for 17
yards; Wilson making one catch for four
yards; and Thompson playing on defense
and special teams.
July 3, 2015
The Town Courier
Page 23
Briggs Painting
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Photos | Mac Kennedy
Kentlands Kingfish Assistant Coach Andrew Mann looks on as his team participates in
the annual Swim-A-Thon on Monday, June 29. The event was a fundraiser for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Top fundraising swimmers will be given the opportunity to
attend a swim clinic hosted by Klete Keller.
[email protected]
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Page 24
The Town Courier
NEW TO COME
July 3, 2015

Gaithersburg`s Hometown Newspaper

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