Something for Everyone at Annual Kentlands/Lakelands 5K

Transcription

Something for Everyone at Annual Kentlands/Lakelands 5K
Gaithersburg’s Hometown Newspaper | Serving Kentlands, Lakelands, Quince Orchard Park and More
The
TOWN
Vol. 14, No. 14
Courier
www.towncourier.com
August 19, 2016
Photo | Pam Schipper
Cougar cross country team members have been running in the Kentlands/Lakelands 5K since the race’s early days.
Photo | Mac Kennedy
Senior Fofie Bazzie catches a pass during practice. Quince Orchard’s first home football game of the season against Damascus
High School is Sept. 2, 6:30 p.m.
Something for Everyone at
Annual Kentlands/Lakelands 5K
By Jennifer Beekman
New Owner for Kentlands Market Square
By Pam Schipper
K
PRSRT-STD
U.S. POSTAGE PAID
Gaithersburg MD
Permit #1722
imco Realty, North America’s largest publicly traded
owner and operator of
open-air shopping centers headquartered in New Hyde Park,
New York, purchased Kentlands
Market Square from Beatty Management Company on Friday,
Aug. 12. The sale was at least a
year in the making.
“We were studying for about
a year from when it was initially
offered,” said Tom Simmons,
president of Kimco’s mid-Atlantic region. “It’s a fabulous location with incredible long-term
opportunities. … There are lots
n market square sale
Continued on page 9
Watershed Restoration
Grants Now Available
By Scott Harris
A
The Town Courier
309 Main Street
Gaithersburg, MD 20878
Q
uince Orchard High School
senior Maya Jacobson has
one rule for first-time distance runners planning to participate in the 23rd Annual Kentlands/
Lakelands 5K Run scheduled for
Sept. 3: Never walk.
“No matter what, no matter
how slow you’re going, just keep
jogging,” Jacobson said. “When
you start to walk, your mentality changes. Also physically, your
heart rate slows down and it’s hard-
s part of continued attempts
to reduce water pollution
from pavement runoff, the
city recently announced a collection of grants for groups that created watershed restoration projects.
“Watershed restoration projects
are designed to go back and increase vegetation to absorb this
pollution, rather than just pushing it toward a storm drain,” said
Meredith Strider, environmental specialist for Gaithersburg’s
Stormwater Management program.
The city has committed
$140,000 for such projects within
city limits. The initiative is undertaken in partnership with the
Chesapeake Bay Trust, a regional
non-profit working to improve
water quality in the bay and its
tributaries—including those in
Gaithersburg.
“The city has been a great partner and is so advanced on these
issues,” said Jana Davis, the trust’s
executive director. “All jurisdictions around the state are working really hard to address these
problems. All our waterways are
impaired to some degree. This
is a long-term project to address
that.”
The new grants are designed
primarily for organized 501(c)(3)
groups like homeowners associations, faith-based communities,
local watershed organizations or
civic groups. The RainScapes
Rewards program, which already
exists in roughly equivalent forms
n WATERSHED GRANTS
Continued on page 15
er to start running again.”
Jacobson knows a thing or two
about lengthy races. Quince Orchard’s No. 1 distance runner, she
was a top 20 finisher at the 2015
Montgomery County Cross Country Championship and is poised to
be among the county’s best this
fall. In addition, Jacobson placed
fifth and eighth in the 3,200-meter
run at the Maryland state indoor
and outdoor track meets this winter and spring, respectively.
But there is something for everyone when it comes to the Kent-
lands/Lakelands 5K Run, Walk
and Kids Fun Runs, Quince Orchard cross country and track and
field coach Seann Pelkey said. The
event perennially attracts thousands
of participants, primarily from the
Washington metropolitan area,
and benefits the Kentlands Community Foundation’s programs as
well as other local charities.
Quince Orchard’s cross country team has been competing as a
program since the race’s early days
(team members’ participation is
n annual 5k Continued on page 9
What’s in a Name? Main Street’s
Wellspring Lives Up to It
By Ellyn Wexler
O
n her fifth anniversary in the
Kentlands, Li-Sann Mullings
is changing part of her business’ name to express its expanded
nature. Once her new sign arrives
and her website is updated, Wellspring Skin Care Clinic and Wellness Center will officially become
Wellspring Beauty and Wellness.
Wellspring, defined as “an original and bountiful source of something,” will remain because that
still holds true. The adjustment, said
Mullings, is intended “to indicate
that my vision has broadened. Skin
care is not all we do.” And “clinic,”
she added, is just too clinical, and
Mullings herself is nothing if not
spiritual. Among her credentials are
registered nurse, master esthetician,
medical skin care specialist, Reiki
master practitioner and shaman;
the latter two forms of alternative
Photo | Mac Kennedy
Wellspring owner Li-Sann Mullings
celebrates the health and beauty center’s
fifth anniversary.
medicine are associated with healing.
Wellspring opened on July 20,
2011, on the first floor of the work/
live unit on Main Street owned
by Town Courier publisher Diane
n WELLSPRING Continued on page 13
Page 2
The Town Courier
August 19, 2016
The Town Courier
August 19, 2016 Page 3
AROUNDTOWN
Compiled by Pam Schipper
Photo | Mac Kennedy
Gaithersburg Police Officer Jonathan Bennett was one of many local law
enforcement and first responders, elected officials, local businesses and
residents to attend the Kentlands/Lakelands National Night Out on Aug. 2.
Learn About Plans for the Diya Site
At the Aug. 24 Kentlands Citizens Assembly Board
meeting, developers will speak to the community
about plans for multifamily residential at the Diya
site near the Colonnade. Six-story buildings with approximately 295 to 305 units and hidden structured
parking are being considered. For more information,
visit www.kentlandstowncrier.com.
Photo | Submitted
This course map includes information on road closings and parking.
Register Now for the Kentlands/
Lakelands 5K
O
nline registration closes Sept. 2
for the 23rd Annual Kentlands/
Lakelands 5K Run, Walk and
Kids Fun Runs, scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 3. The popular chip-timed
Run/Walk, limited to the first 1,500
registrants, may sell out. Early online
registration is encouraged. The Kids
Fun Runs are limited to the first 350
registrants.
The Labor Day weekend event includes a 5K Run and Walk, two Kids
Fun Runs, and a Post-Race Merchant
Expo on Market Street, bringing
thousands of participants to Kentlands
Downtown. This year’s event features
a new beer and wine garden hosted
by The Wine Harvest. The beverages
will be $5 per glass. There will also be
a post-race raffle for all participants.
The loop course, featuring water
stops and live entertainment, winds
through Lakelands and Kentlands,
starting and finishing on Main Street
behind Market Square Plaza. The
course passes by many civic landmarks, allowing participants to experience the uniqueness of this new
urbanist community.
Hosted by the nonprofit Kentlands
Community Foundation in partnership with the City of Gaithersburg, the
Kentlands/Lakelands race has grown
to be the largest 5K in Montgomery
County. The Kentlands Community
Foundation annually donates 50 percent of race proceeds to local charities. In 2015, a total of $13,200 was
donated to the City of Gaithersburg’s
Dolores Swoyer Camp Scholarship
Fund, The Dwelling Place and Maryland Senior Olympics.
You can register online at www.
kentlands.org/page5k. Registration is
also available in person at one of two
race packet pickup events in Kentlands or at the event itself on race day
if space is available:
• Thursday, Sept. 1 from 3
to 7 p.m. at Stiles Family Den-
tistry, 333 Main St.
• Friday, Sept. 2 from 3 to 8 p.m.
at Fleet Feet Sports, 255 Kentlands Boulevard (in the Giant
shopping center)
• Race Day, Saturday, Sept. 3 in
Kentlands Market Square
Course marshals and many other
volunteers are needed to ensure that
the route is clear and safe from traffic and to help the race, fun runs and
post-race festivities run smoothly. All
volunteers receive a free t-shirt, a free
breakfast on race day, and an invitation to the post-event “Thank You!”
party. SSL hours are available for students. To volunteer, visit www.kentlands.org/5k-volunteers.
Many local Gaithersburg and
Montgomery County businesses help
sponsor the 5K. For just $300, a business can be a sponsor and have a table
at the Merchant Expo. If you are interested, please email Kentlands5K@
gmail.com.
Photo | Mac Kennedy
At the Arts Barn open house and faculty and student art
exhibition Aug. 4, Artist-in-Residence Jack Donnelly demonstrated copper working for the crowd. The Arts Barn faculty
and student art exhibition, “Americana,” will be on display in
the Arts Barn gallery through Aug. 29.
Blowout End-of-Summer Event Planned
Kentlands’ Summerfest, scheduled for Aug. 27, 6
p.m., will be bigger than ever with the postponed
Fourth of July carnival attractions rolled into Kentlands’ traditional end-of-summer celebration. Look
for games, inflatables, face painting, balloon artistry,
a dunk tank, food, a beer tent, DJ music and even
horse-drawn wagon rides. This is a Kentlands residents only event, and participants are encouraged to
dress in their best nautical attire and register in advance.
DC Reading for ‘Inside Job’
Former Kentlands resident Ken Vest’s play about the
tragedy of heroin addiction, “Inside Job,” was chosen
by the DC Actors’ Center for a staged reading. The Actors’ Center produces four staged readings per year, and
“Inside Job” is scheduled for the first quarter of 2017.
‘Francis Victus’ Wins Awards
Local filmmaker Barry Worthington’s “The Infinitely Generous Francis Victus,” filmed in Gaithersburg and around upper Montgomery County and
screened July 9 at Paragon Kentlands Stadium 10, has
won six awards from nine film festivals. The festivals
and honors are
• Award of Recognition from the Best Shorts
Competition
• Official Selection of the LA Shorts Awards for
the month of June
• Official Selection of the Canadian Diversity
Film Festival for the month of July
• Official Selection of the Miami Independent
Film Festival for the month of August
• Best USA Film at the Canadian Diversity Film
Festival for the month of July
• PLATINUM Award for Best Score: Barry
Worthington, GOLD Award for Best Director: Barry Worthington, and SILVER Award
for Best Editing: Barry Worthington—all from
LA Shorts
• Award of Recognition from The Indie Fest
Page 4
The Town Courier
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
Phil Fabrizio
Sally Alt
Jennifer Beekman
Nora Caplan
Mike Cuthbert
Gina Gallucci-White
Sharon Allen Gilder
Betty Hafner
Scott Harris
Sheilah Kaufman
Syl Sobel
Bethany Starin
Maureen Stiles
Ellyn Wexler
Social Media
Consultant
Mac Kennedy
Staff Writers
©2016 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.
August 19, 2016
And What a Time It Was: Telling the
WHFS Story on Film
By Ellyn Wexler
J
ay Schlossberg wants to take us back in
time to an “era of cultural, social and
political upheaval.” During those years
from 1961 to 1983, he and countless other
mostly teens and twenty-somethings were
steadfast fans of the free-form progressive
radio station that rocked the metropolitan
area’s airwaves from the Triangle Towers
apartment building in downtown Bethesda.
“Feast Your Ears - The Story of WHFS
102.3 FM” is Schlossberg’s work-in-progress documentary about WHFS, where
locally-legendary DJs—including Weasel,
Cerphe, Damian, Josh, Adele and Thom—
spun non-Top 40 tunes and chatted about
the important issues of the day. “It was
more than a local radio station,” Schlossberg said. “It was the voice of a generation.”
The substance was transmitted in more
than one way. “Not only were we getting
messages through the music of these national and local musicians,” said the Dufief
resident who is the film’s director and executive producer, “but we also were getting local news (on topics like) when an
anti-war protest would be held, where to
buy records, health food, the nearest surf
shop. The station served as a conduit for
all the thriving retail businesses that sprung
up around the culture.”
Photo | Courtesy of Jay Schlossberg
Canadian singer-songwriter and musician Bruce Cockburn (L) appears in the documentary, “Feast Your Ears - The Story of
WHFS 102.3 FM” directed by Jay Schlossberg (R). Cockburn is in the trailer and will be in the film.
Most important, Schlossberg emphasized, was that WHFS promoted and supported local music. “We heard news about
the live music venues—who was playing
where and when.” After rattling off the
names of some of the major places—The
Psyche Delly, The Cellar Door, Redfox
Inn, the Bayou, Lisner, the Warner, he observed, “’HFS was the center of it all.”’
Schlossberg’s allegiance to the station was cemented at age 17 when the
Charles W. Woodward High School student was fortunate enough to have a summer job there. “I’d pay you to let me work
here,” he remembers thinking in 1972. At
color
Montgomery College the following year,
Schlossberg was among 16 students who
started the campus radio station. He served
as WMCR’s program director and DJ, aspiring to be like Weasel and Cerphe, and
honed his guitar skills by jamming in the
student lounge when he was supposed to
be in class.
The idea to tell the WHFS story came
to Schlossberg some 30 years later after
seeing a group photo on Facebook of the
iconic station’s DJs, taken at the April 20,
2013 Record Day celebration at Joe’s Ren
WHFS Continued on page 15
The Town Courier
August 19, 2016 Page 5
cityscene
Photo | City of Gaithersburg
The Gaithersburg Chorus performs two different concert programs per year, one in December and another in May.
Gaithersburg Chorus Holds Open
House Sept. 6
The Gaithersburg Chorus enters its
29th year and welcomes new members at
an Open House on Tuesday, Sept. 6 from
7:30-9:30 p.m. at the Activity Center at
Bohrer Park, 506 South Frederick Ave. in
Gaithersburg. Potential new members can
meet Chorus Director Daniel Hopkins,
sing, snack and socialize. They will hear
about the varied repertory planned for the
December concert and have a chance to
sing together. Formal weekly rehearsals
will start the following week on Tuesday,
Sept. 13.
Director Daniel Hopkins is a solo pianist, accompanist and conductor pursuing
his Masters of Music in Piano Performance
at the University of Maryland. He is cofounder and music director of OperaTerps
at UMD and is an active chorister, having sung in choirs with the Baltimore and
National Symphonies. Hopkins served as
accompanist for the chorus last season and
is excited to take up the baton as the artistic leader. His plans include “introducing the group to a wide variety of musical styles and focusing on musical growth.
POLICEBeat
By Gina Gallucci-White
Taser Use by MCPD Officers Low
A
recently released independent review found Taser use by Montgomery County police officers to be low
and not their go-to weapon of force.
Montgomery County Executive Isiah
Leggett asked for the study in March after a published report by the Baltimore
Sun raised questions as to whether the use
of Tasers by Montgomery County police
officers was appropriate. The Sun report
stated that of the 11 Marylanders who have
died since 2009 in Taser-related police
encounters, four involved Montgomery
County police officers—the most in any
jurisdiction in the state—and in three of
the four deaths the Tasers were used for
longer than the 15 seconds recommended
by the manufacturer.
In a press conference announcing the
findings in early August, Leggett said,
“These questions (about Taser use), of
course, were not raised in a vacuum. A host
of incidents throughout our nation have
focused intense scrutiny on the use of force
by law enforcement. We ask our police to
do a very tough job.” In commissioning
the study, Leggett said he wanted it to be
comprehensive and thorough.
Dr. Geoffrey P. Alpert, a professor in the
criminology and criminal justice department at the University of South Carolina
with more than 25 years of experience researching high-risk police activities, was
asked to conduct the four-month study.
Published in more than 100 journals and
author to 15 books, Alpert also led a study
funded by the National Institute of Justice
on police officer decision-making.
Montgomery County Police Department (MCPD) began using Tasers 15
years ago. Today, the 1,265-member department has 560 police officers equipped
with Tasers. The report looks at more than
200,000 calls for service last year. Out of
50,000 crimes reported, more than 17,000
arrests were made by officers. Force was
used 451 times—82 percent were an officer
using their hands to control and/or guide.
Tasers were deployed 59 times.
During the press conference, Alpert
explained how he investigated the Taser
use including looking at “Use of Force”
reports, attending training, and speaking
with trainers and officers who deployed
Tasers while on patrol.
Quoting his report, Alpert said, “Perhaps
the most important finding of this study is
one known well to the officers and the administrators of the Montgomery County
Police Department that Taser use is low
and not the go-to weapon or weapon of
choice that is found in so many police departments throughout the United States.”
During the press conference, Alpert recalled a 2010 investigation he participated
n
police beat Continued on page 15
We’ll spend time on good vocal technique,
finding our best choral sound, and making each piece of music meaningful for us
and the audience.” Hopkins believes in the
other values besides music that the Gaithersburg Chorus holds dear. “Most important, I want the chorus to continue to be a
space for friendship, community and fun!”
he said.
This non-audition chorus welcomes
new members who are high school age and
older and sing soprano, alto, tenor or bass/
baritone. There is a registration fee ($100
for City of Gaithersburg residents; $120
for non-residents), and need-based financial aid is available through the new Linda
May Scholarship Fund. For more information, visit www.gaithersburgmd.gov or
call 301.258.6394.
Planning Commission Recommends
Johnson Property Annexation
At an Aug. 3 meeting, the Gaithersburg
Planning Commission voted to recommend that the Mayor and City Council approve annexation of the 23-acre Johnson
property located at 12201, 12251, 12301
and 12311 Darnestown Road. The commission found that the annexation aligned
and comported with the city’s master plan,
was zoned appropriately as a Mixed-Use
Development (MXD), and has public facilities adequate for the proposed development.
Long Range Planning Manager Rob
Compiled by Pam Schipper
Robinson said that 21 emails in opposition
of the annexation had been received during the public comment period that ended
July 28. In addition, 15 form emails had
expressed support for binding design elements.
Binding elements sent over by the Montgomery County Council with its approval
of the annexation on Aug. 2 include a ceiling of 110 residential units, an additional
10,000 square feet of commercial space,
and a one-acre park.
The Johnson property annexation public hearing is scheduled for the Mayor and
City Council meeting on Sept. 19.
MEETING CALENDAR
8/16
Transportation Committee Meeting, Public
Works Conference Room, 7 p.m.
8/24
Historic District Commission Meeting, City
Hall Council Chambers, 7:30 p.m.
8/29
Monarch Global Academy Tour, Monarch
Global Academy, 10 a.m.
9/6
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.
Page 6
The Town Courier
August 19, 2016
Hey, Drood! Metal-Musical Hybrid Set to Rock the Kentlands
By Chris Slattery
This article first appeared on CultureSpotMC.com.
G
rowing up, Andrew Lloyd Baughman
was a musical theater kind of a guy. But
somewhere between his stage stints at
Seneca Valley High School in Germantown
and Frederick’s Landless Theatre Company,
where he’s producing artistic director, things
got heavy—as in heavy metal.
“I have a pretty lengthy theater background,” admitted Baughman. “Heavy metal
is a little more recent for me—that’s always
been Melissa’s area.”
The Melissa in question is Baughman’s
wife and apparent muse. Not only does she
get credit for introducing her husband and
theatrical partner to heavy metal music, but
she will be directing the latest Landless pro-
duction, “The Mystery of Edwin Drood,”
which debuts Aug. 26 on the Arts Barn stage
and runs through Sept. 25.
This is not the pair’s first foray into musical-metal mashups. Their progressive-metal
version of “Sweeney Todd”—undertaken
with the blessing of Stephen Sondheim—was
the success upon which the Baughmans and
Landless hope to build.
“Once we had the project with Stephen
Sondheim, it opened up some doors,” Baughman admitted. “We had done a progressive
metal project a year before, ‘Frankenstein,’
and it worked really well.” Well enough to
prompt Baughman, who says he “grew up
idolizing Stephen Sondheim,” to reach out
to the composer’s agent and ask permission
to amp up the demon barber of Fleet Street.
“I had a feeling he’d be into it,” said Baugh-
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Photo | Courtesy of Landless Theatre Company
Landless Theatre’s Producing Artistic Director Andrew Lloyd Baughman returns to the stage as psychotic choirmaster
John Jasper in “The Mystery of Edwin Drood.”
man. “He’s very interested in getting young
people to the theater, and that’s our mission,
too. … I don’t know if Stephen Sondheim is a
heavy metal fan, but he’s a good sport!”
Melissa Baughman, on the other hand,
is definitely a heavy metal fan. “I’ve been
listening to metal since I was 11,” she said.
“Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, (Ronnie James)
Dio—I always listened to metal; it was theatrical and dramatic!”
Baughman said she listened to all types of
music growing up, everything from Elvis to
Depeche Mode. At age 7, she had her first
experience on the stage, and once she saw
“Into the Woods” on Broadway (yes, there’s
Sondheim again), she knew exactly what she
wanted to do with her life.
And just as her theater career led her to
Frederick and a meeting with Andrew Lloyd
Baumann, Melissa Baughman led her husband to heavy metal music. “I took him to an
Iron Maiden concert and it changed his life,”
she said. “It was a gateway.”
Which is something she hopes “The Mystery of Edwin Drood” will be for audiences
at the Arts Barn. “Our audiences aren’t necessarily metal fans at all,” she said. “They’ve
actually been diverse in age; that, to me, is
the best part.”
Baughman doesn’t want “Drood” to be
perceived as “theater for metalheads.” There’s
arts& entertainment
2nd Annual Arts Barn Faculty and
Student Art Exhibition – ‘Americana’
Through Aug. 29, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday
through Friday, 1:30-5:30 p.m. Saturday,
Arts Barn
Don’t miss this opportunity to see works
by Arts Barn faculty and students! www.
gaithersburgmd.gov
‘The Seven Palettes’ Exhibit
Through Sept. 5, Monday through Friday,
9 a.m.-4 p.m., Kentlands Mansion
188 Market Street • Gaithersburg, MD 20878
240.683.1022
www.persianogallery.com
Since 2000
so much more to the score than just the instruments it’s played on. “This is legitimate,
complex and moving music,” she said, referring to the musical written by Rupert
Holmes based on an unfinished manuscript
by Charles Dickens. “’Edwin Drood is almost out of left field, not as obvious a fit as
‘Sweeney Todd,’ but a great choice. We want
to do shows that are completely unexpected.”
She sees this desire to shake things up
as a perfect dovetail with the current post“Hamilton” mood in the musical theater
genre. “Audiences want innovative theater,”
she insisted. “They want someone to turn
theater upside-down. (‘Hamilton’) has been
a game-changer for everyone.”
But especially for Landless, with its penchant for satire and ersatz pairings. Baughman said she and musical director Charles
W. Johnson “haven’t taken liberties” with
the “Drood” script, set in the world of the
English music hall and famous for its let-theaudience-decide cliff hanger ending.
“The liberties we are taking have to do
with how the music sounds,” she explained.
“It’s exciting for the cast. We give them
something different and they’re, like, ‘Oh!
Uncharted territory!’ It’s a mixed bag—untested!—and we’re just hoping people will
come and appreciate it, whether they’re here
for the musical theater, or the metal, or both.”
The Seven Palettes is a group of women
who have joined together for the purpose
of increasing their immersion in art. Artists include Sara Becker, Nancy Butler,
Helen Gallagher, Caroline Orrick, Ann
Rossilli, Penny Smith, and Maureen Ward.
www.gaithersburgmd.gov
Free Summer Movies
Aug. 16-18, 10 a.m., Paragon Kentlands 10
Watch “Alvin and the Chipmunks: Road
Chip.” Admission is free but first come, first
served. The box office opens at 9:30 a.m.
Zumba in the Park
Aug. 19 & 26, 7-8 p.m., Gaithersburg City
Hall Concert Pavilion
Shake it to the Latin rhythms of Zumba.
Free. www.gaithersburgmd.gov
Main Street Farmers
and Artists Market
Aug. 20 & 27, 9 a.m.-2 p.m., Main Street
Pavilion
Products for sale include a variety of
fruits and vegetables, herbs, jams and
jellies, baked goods, crab cakes, meat,
eggs, honey, cut flowers, potted plants and
dog treats, as well as arts and crafts items.
Musicians perform 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. www.
n
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT Continued on page 16
The Town Courier
August 19, 2016 Page 7
ALL OF YOUR REAL ESTATE NEEDS UNDER 1 ROOF
David Kim
Jacob Darwish
Insurance Manager
Joseph Hansen
Sales Manager/Sr. Mortgage
Consultant
RPI License No: 2118546
Direct: 301-200-3092
Toll Free: (866)-275-4534 ext 8622
Fax: 301-424-9290
[email protected]
RGS Title Rockville
NMLSR ID 216751
301-548-4379 - Office Direct
301-708-8192 - Cell
[email protected]
Office: 301-230-0070
Direct: 240-283-0260
[email protected]
KENTLANDS LONG & FOSTER WOULD LIKE TO WELCOME THE FOLLOWING AGENTS TO OUR TEAM!
WELCOME
BACK!
Shelley Stuart
301-801-5159
Bob Moore
301-785-3681
Shalisha
Rinck
202-368-3419
Henry Shiu
301-728-0678
Yee-Mei Tse
301-728-3322
Hector Gentile
240-246-4525
Not Pictured
Nicole
Sadeghi
301-838-4556
Kathy
Schreiber
240-447-3699
Lou Schreiber
301-873-1107
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4400 Lakeview Dr. • $ 319,800
4BR 3BA
Ellie Hitt • 240-888-8448
ER
UND ACT!
R
T
CON
JUST D
E
LIST
622 Linslade St. • $924,900
Patricia
Robinson
Elaine Peace • 240-498-3161
Nitsa Stamoulis • 301-785-2507
Mike Aubrey Team
240-550-4392
Sarah Mather • 240-476-3873
!
SOLD
15705 Pissaro Ter. • $746,000
Quince Haven
Mike Aubrey • 301-873-9807
ONLY 3 DAYS ON MARKET • Kentlands
21206 Dorsey Spring Pl. #4
$342,800 • 3BR 3.5BA
Shai Gupta • 240-899-7424
121 Englefield Dr. • $778,790
Mike Aubrey • 301-873-9807
4BR 3.5BA • Lakelands
Mike Aubrey • 301-873-9807
110 Booth St. #28 • $309,900
850 Quince Orchard Blvd. #102
9710 Leatherfern Ter. #1 • $209,900
21400 Goshen Park Ct. • $1,100,000
2BR 2 BA
Bob Graves • 301-538-9337
$115,000 • 2BR 1BA
Bob Graves • 301-538-9337
3BR 2BA
Bob Graves • 301-538-9337
4BR 3.5BA
Shai Gupta • 240-899-7424
6BR 4.5BA
Bob Graves • 301-538-9337
INTERESTED IN A CAREER IN REAL ESTATE?
CALL TODAY TO JUMPSTART YOUR CAREER!
Courtney
Griffiths
301-975-9500 (office)
WWW.KENTLANDSLANDF.COM
Source: Information included in this report is based on data supplied by MRIS and its member Association(s) of REALTORS, who are not responsible
for its accuracy. Does not reflect all activity in the marketplace. January 1, 2015 – December 31, 2015. Percentages are rounded to the nearest whole
number. Information contained in this report is deemed reliable but not guaranteed, should be independently verified, and does not constitute an opinion
of MRIS or Long & Foster Real Estate, Inc. ©2016 All rights reserved.
North Potomac/Kentlands
189 Kentlands Blvd.
Gaithersburg MD 20878
Page 8
The Town Courier
August 19, 2016
shoptalk
Doggie Day Care
A day at Doggies’ Den includes
Crate free environment • Indoor supervised/canine companions
Dogs fed separately in “canine kitchen” • Automatic water dispenser
Doggie-proof playset and toys
Summer Special
First (1) time all-day playdate
FREE
(New Clients Only. Expires September 1, 2016.)
Photo | Mac Kennedy
Bob Fleshner (L), co-founder and co-director of Rock the Creek
Relay and American Odyssey Relay, teamed up with Chris and
Robyn Gault (center and R), owners of Fleet Feet, and Rick Coe
of Fitness Together to bring Freddy to Kentlands.
Finding Freddy Fun at Fleet Feet
and Fitness Together
www.doggiesden.com
$50 OFF
SINGLE 10-DAY
PASS
Expires 9/1/2016. New Clients Only.
Bring your dog/puppy
to the Doggies’ Den!
“The Happy Hounds’ Hangout”
Jeff LaBrec
301-515-1020
[email protected]
177 Booth Street
Gaithersburg, MD 20878
(in the Kentlands Shopping Center behind K-MART)
If you noticed any small inflatable flamingoes hidden around the neighborhood
on Aug. 11 and weren’t sure what to make
of them, then you unfortunately missed
out on a very popular and new fun run that
is sweeping the nation. “I Found Freddy”
has been creating all sorts of buzz in the
world of running and recently made its
way into our neck of the woods thanks to
Fleet Feet, who hosted a “I Found Freddy
Fun Run and Walk.”
Bob Fleshner, co-founder and co-director of Rock the Creek Relay and American Odyssey Relay, teamed up with Fleet
Compiled by Pam Schipper
Feet and Fitness Together to bring Freddy
to Kentlands. Fleshner hid small Freddys
along a route that started at Fleet Feet and
led to Fitness Together. The rules of the
run are simple: Find a Freddy and you win
Freddy Points.
Runners participating in D.C., Georgia
and Florida have been posting their points
online, trying to move up in the leaderboards. The whole idea behind the “I
Found Freddy” event is to bring even more
enjoyment into running—or “Fun Beyond the Run,” said Fleshner. Since April,
these fun runs have been giving runners
a chance to compete for prizes as small as
water bottles and as big as a free entry to
the American Odyssey Relay.
The event at Fleet Feet featured food
from Nalley Fresh, a chance to win a free
week membership to Fitness Together,
and a hopeful step toward a new tradition. Chris Gault of Fleet Feet, who ran in the
run himself, said he is already working
with Fleshner to set up another run, preferably when it’s a bit cooler out. Gault also
reported that all Freddy inflatables were
found and runners went home with great
prizes.
—Mac Kennedy
Whole Foods Kentlands
Stuffs the Bus
Whole Foods Market Kentlands will be
n
shop talk Continued on page 15
August 19, 2016 ■ annual 5k
from page 1
optional), and Pelkey and Jacobson agreed
it serves as a great team-building activity
to start the fall. Less than a month into
the season, the event also provides Pelkey
with a chance to gauge the status of his
runners—both returning and new to the
program—in a race environment, albeit a
friendly one. And for some first-year cross
country runners, the Kentlands/Lakelands
5K will be their first real race.
“We do it because of the community, it’s
a community a lot of the team lives in,”
Pelkey said. “One of the big selling points
of cross country is we talk about it as a family and we try to make it a team atmosphere
the way we support each other. The 5K re-
■ market square sale
from page 1
of short and middle-term opportunities,
too.”
Simmons said that the current “tenant mix makes sense,” noting anchors like
Whole Foods. “Long-term we will bring a
more dynamic tenant mix to the old ‘main
street’ area.” In the next 12 months, Kimco
will fill key vacancies there and reposition
the center, he added.
With Kimco’s capital and dynamic leasing plan, “we’re prepared to put the genie
back in the bottle and return Market Square
to what it is supposed to be,” he said.
While Simmons said that ideas contained
The Town Courier
Page 9
ally embodies that. It’s a great social activity
as much as it is a running activity.”
Added Jacobson, “I think one of the
reasons it gets us together is we split into
teams based on our two coaches and we
compete against each other. For incoming
freshmen, it can be the first time they’ve
had any competition when running. You’re
not just going out for a run, you’re with
your teammates racing, trying to go as fast
as you can.”
The course itself, which per the race’s
website is USA Track and Field-certified
and begins on Main Street near the Kentlands Market Square Plaza and winds
through the Kentlands and Lakelands communities, is a good entry-level course, Pelkey said. It’s a road race, he added, with
a few challenging hills but not enough to
scare away beginners.
“If you’re a new runner, this is a great
icebreaker and it will make you want to do
it again,” Pelkey said. “There’s a great energy about every aspect of the race. … I think
(running) becomes a lifestyle. You get out
there and it’s something to do at first and
when you start, you set a goal of just finishing. And once you set that goal, you’re
trying to set another goal and another goal
and all of a sudden you’re not just trying to
finish, you’re trying to do well. The first
step is just getting out there.”
Because the Kentlands/Lakelands 5K is a
road race, it won’t necessarily prepare Pelkey’s cross country athletes for the varying
terrain they’ll see on courses throughout
the fall season. But it does still help calm
early season nerves, he said.
Supporting the community provides extra motivation, Jacobson and Pelkey agreed.
And the competition also is broken down
into a variety of categories, including Father/Daughter, Mother/Son and Brother/
Sister, which adds a new dynamic and incentives, Pelkey said.
Jacobson, who said she has run the race
about 10 times, has competed with her father, Paul, six of the last seven years, winning the Father/Daughter division in 201415. This year her younger brother, Quince
Orchard freshman Stephan, will step in—
Paul, who coaches at Winston Churchill, is
coming off a foot injury.
“It’s (my brother’s) first real race,” Jacobson said. “I’m super excited (to have him on
the team). It’s weird having him at practice
every day but it’s fun. It’s fun to watch him
get better.”
in the City of Gaithersburg Master Plan are
“intriguing,” he emphasized that Kimco
“will work with the municipality and community” if any are pursued in the future.
A lease plan at kentlandsmarketsquare.
com shows the 30,000-square-foot movie
theatre space as available for lease, but Niki
Wilson, Paragon vice president for marketing and publicity, said that Paragon has no
plans to close its Kentlands location and still
looks forward to renovating the theatre to
“make it look like a Paragon.”
Simmons said that Paragon has a license
to operate the theatre through October, and
that Kimco “is in conversation with Paragon about continuing on” and “is also in
conversation with other operators as well.”
Kimco wants to bring more dynamic theatre offerings to Kentlands, he said. “There
needs to be a lot of capital investment, and
we’re prepared to make this happen.”
Community reaction to the purchase has
been positive. Local business owner Andrew Ross, who is also a member of the
Kentlands Business Owners group, said,
“It’s great that there’s a new developer taking over from Beatty. I hope they inject
some fresh ideas into the center.”
Ruthzaly Weich, chair of the Kentlands
Community Foundation, said, “We are
very excited about this and very much looking forward to engaging Kimco.” The KCF
is thankful for Kimco Realty’s platinum
sponsorship of the upcoming Kentlands/
Lakelands 5K, she said, and “looks forward
to working with Kimco on different activities that happen in our community.”
“Market Square is already the center of
so many Kentlands activities such as the
wonderful Kentlands Under the Lights, upcoming 5k, Trick or Treat and the Annual
Seasonal Tree Lighting,” said Joseph Allen,
Kentlands Downtown Partnership Board
member. “The opportunity to have a solid
company like Kimco marketing and leasing the center toward higher occupancy can
only enhance these events. The opening of
Potomac Village Deli, addition of Vasilis,
and reopening of Peppers and now the transition to Kimco marks a new chapter for the
entire Kentlands Downtown.”
Page 10
The Town Courier
August 19, 2016
Love To Learn Tutoring Takes ‘Whole Child’ Approach
By Pam Schipper
L
isten to Sandi Shapiro describe her
approach to helping students learn,
and you can’t help but wish that she
had been on your side when you were in
school. Shapiro takes a “whole child and
whole family” approach to tutoring, and
she really means that.
The soft-spoken Dufief resident was
a Montgomery County Public School
(MCPS) teacher for 32 years, working
in 10 different schools and a variety of
neighborhoods up- and down-county. She
taught grades one through five, as well as
combined grades, and worked as a curriculum specialist, academic interventionist and reading specialist teacher. For the
past seven years, she has been a private tutor with her own company, Love To Learn
Tutoring, offering tutoring in all kindergarten through grade six subjects.
Shapiro came to Maryland in 1981 after
MCPS recruited her from Miami University, known for its education department
and located in her native state of Ohio. She
said that she fell in love with Montgomery County because of its diverse cultures
Photo | Submitted
Retired MCPS teacher Sandi Shapiro now offers one-on-one
tutoring to students in kindergarten through grade six.
and highly educated people, and is happy
that her own children were able to grow
up here.
When Shapiro decided to retire from the
classroom, it was with the thought that she
now could engage more in learning and
teaching. “It’s nice to be able to do what I
like to do,” she said, without the classroom
pressures of paperwork, large class sizes and
wanting to support many learning styles
with limited resources. In her last position
at Seven Locks Elementary in Bethesda,
Shapiro said that her 32 students spoke 14
different languages and came from diverse
economic backgrounds. Twelve of her students had Individualized Education Programs (IEPs).
Shapiro did coursework in school counseling and said that helping students with
learning issues is what she enjoys. Unfortunately, she said, the county does not have
enough special education teachers. Now
as a tutor, she uses her deep knowledge of
different learning styles to help students
achieve their best. For parents whose child
may need an IEP, Shapiro can help to diagnose the learning issue, coach parents on
what questions to ask at IEP meetings, and
help them to navigate the school system.
She can support the classroom teacher, and
when asked, attends IEP meetings with
parents.
“It sometimes takes two years to get
to the IEP,” she explained. The student’s
teacher has to document his or her learnn
summer savings!
Finding a Tutor
S
chools will soon be in session.
Come Aug. 29, days will be
filled with learning, excitement, challenge and, for many of
us parents, concern over how best
to help our children achieve success
academically. Tutoring is a good
way to support students, but finding
the right program and person is not
a simple task. Like doctors, tutors
care for a variety of challenges and
can take very different approaches.
Retired MCPS teacher and current fulltime tutor Sandi Shapiro
advised that parents start with their
child’s teacher and ask the teacher
where a tutor might most help. The
sort of tutor you hire depends on
what your child’s needs are, she said.
Shapiro supports classroom curriculum and the student’s teacher,
and she mainly does remediation
to bring a student up to grade level.
She draws on her familiarity with
MCPS curriculum to fill in any
learning gaps and prepare a student
for what comes next at his or her
n
finding a tutor Continued on page 11
Shapiro Continued on page 11
assignmenteducation
Compiled by Pam Schipper
RCES Ready for Students
Rachel Carson Elementary School
(RCES) is already in gear, ready to welcome students and parents to the 20162017 school year. The school and its PTA
have a number of activities planned to get
the year off to a wonderful start. Look for
• kindergarten playdate on Aug. 20;
• Sneak Peek to meet the teachers on
Aug. 26 (grades 3/4 9:30-10:30 a.m.;
grade 5 10:30-11:30 a.m.; grades 1/2
1-2 p.m.; and K 2-3 p.m.);
• kindergarten playdate on Aug. 26,
3:30 p.m. at RCES;
• first day of school is Aug 29, K parent
reception hosted by the PTA in the
courtyard at 9:15 a.m.;
• first PTA meeting on Aug. 30, 7 p.m.,
with new parent Q&A at 6:30 p.m.;
• Back-to-School Nights on Sept. 7
and 8;
• Back-to-School Picnic hosted by the
PTA on Sept. 9 (rain date Sept.16); and
• Dads ‘n Donuts hosted by the PTA
before school on Sept 23.
Volunteers are needed for back-toschool folder stuffing on Aug. 22 and 23,
10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The RCES PTA is look-
ing for SSL students and two adults per day
to help. Please contact jkgriswold@gmail.
com with any questions.
The PTA also is hosting a school supply
drive to help students in need. Please drop
any extra school supplies in the donation
box at Sneak Peek on Aug. 26 or at the first
PTA meeting on Aug. 30.
Look for a new and improved RCES
PTA website that is more user-friendly and
intuitive. Jaime Hirschfeld and Heather
Creasy have been leading the rebuild and
relaunch effort. The PTA’s online membership drive for 2016-2017 will begin in
earnest as the site relaunches.
QOHS Freshman Orientation Set
Quince Orchard High School (QOHS)
will hold a freshman picnic Wednesday,
Aug. 24, 6 to 8 p.m., and a ninth grade
parents meeting that same night from 7 to
8 p.m. Freshman orientation at QOHS
is scheduled for Thursday, Aug. 25, 7:45
to 11:50 a.m. This is an opportunity for
students to meet their teachers for the upcoming school year, learn more about class
schedules, and ensure that they are ready
for the first day of school. Classes start on
Monday, Aug. 29.
n
assignment education Continued on page 11
The Town Courier
August 19, 2016 Page 11
back to school
assigment
Education
from page 10
Pack 221 Invites New Cub Scouts
Located in the Kentlands/Lakends area,
Cub Scout Pack 221 is open to boys in kindergarten through fifth grade. Pack 221’s
goal is to provide fun experiences for boys
(and their families), teach them useful
skills, make great memories that they will
share with their families and friends, and
above all to reinforce the values that have
allowed the Boys Scouts to be an enduring organization. Pack meetings (all dens)
are held the third Tuesday of every month
at Rachel Carson Elementary School
(RCES). Den meetings (grade levels) are
held different days of the week at a variety
of locations. To learn more, attend Sneak
Peak on Friday, Aug. 26 at RCES a kickball game on Saturday, Aug. 27 from 3
to 5 p.m. on the fields behind Lakelands
Park Middle School. or Scouting Night on
Tuesday, Sept. 20 at RCES, 6:45 p.m.
You can also contact Shauna Shupe at
[email protected] for more information
■ shapiro
from page 10
ing difficulties and how they have been addressed in the classroom for six months or
more, and testing needs to be done. Parents
can speed up the process by having private
testing done, but they need to be sure that
this matches up with county testing. Shapiro said that parents can call an educational
resource meeting to find out in advance
what private testing needs to cover.
On occasion she has also advised parents
on private schools, coaching them on what
to look for during school visits.
Debora Edwards and her daughter,
Michelle, began working with Shapiro
■ finding a tutor
from page 10
grade level. Other programs, like Kumon,
specialize in accelerated learning.
“You have to decide what you’re looking for,” she said. “And you have to decide
what your budget is, where the tutoring
will take place … if you can travel or if you
in November 2015 and have continued
with math tutoring through the summer.
Then a third grader, Michelle was anxious
about math and Shapiro has helped her to
be more confident and “have a little more
fun,” Edwards said. To do this, Edwards
said that Shapiro employs many techniques.
Recently, Shapiro has been preparing Michelle for the coming year’s fourth grade
math word problems. “She has changed
Michelle’s life and our lives dramatically,”
Edwards said. “Sandi is very individual.
She tests … and she’s very sensitive. She
reports things back to me and she reaches
out to the schools. I just love her to death.”
This fall, Shapiro starts with 17 students—the most she has ever had at the
start of the school year, she said. Many of
her students have come through teacher referrals, and she has two students who were
in her classroom during her final year of
teaching.
Shapiro tutors before and after school,
and has begun offering Saturday hours as
well. “I try to be as flexible as I can,” she
said, explaining that she also tries to organize her schedule to cut down on travel time
to and from far-flung areas of the county.
She recommends 45-minute weekly tutoring sessions for kindergarten through
second grade students, and an hour for
third- through seventh-graders. For more
information on Love to Learn Tutoring,
email Shapiro at [email protected].
have a private space in your home where
your child can concentrate.”
The bigger tutoring companies, she said,
offer convenience. “They have lots of specialists and staff to plug into your needs.”
Places like Mathnasium offer good “drill
and skill” using their own program, and
they motivate with prizes and parties. The
company does billing, offers payment plans
and handles all administrative work. The
down side is that there is an extra communication layer between parents and tutor,
and you often don’t get a whole child approach, she said.
Shapiro said that she gives parents unlimited time, and does not require a contract. Her tutoring fees are on the higher
end, she said, but she tailors each session
to individual student needs with substantial
prep time.
Page 12
The Town Courier
August 19, 2016
Summer Fun
Summer Classes
& Camps!
MED REVIVE MED SPA
321 B Main St, Gaithersburg | 301-760-7603 | [email protected]
Revive Your Beauty
Free Membership
My Gym
Kentlands
(a $75 value, restrictions apply)
620 Center Point Way
Gaithersburg, MD 20878
(4 weeks of class, 1 day of camp or a Summer
Birthday Party)
301-926-5969
www.mygym.com/gaithersburg
$20 OFF
Botox
$12/unit
$50
OFF
NEW CLIENTS
(Minimum purchase of $300)
WWW.MEDREVIVE.COM
SUMMER
SPECIAL
177 Booth St. Gaithersburg, MD
First (1) time all day playdate
301-515-1020
Expires 9/1/2016. New Clients Only.
Jeff LaBrec
JUVÉDERM XC
or Radiesse $579
FREE!
[email protected]
Exp. 09/30/16
www.doggiesden.com
$50 OFF
SINGLE 10-DAY
PASS
Expires 9/1/2016. New Clients Only.
15% OFF
TOTAL CHECK
Expires 8/31/16
Dine in or carry out. Limit one per table.
Cannot combine with any other offers or coupons.
Free Delivery in 3.5 mile area. $20 minimum order. Dinners only.
Kentlands Market Square
657 Center Point Way
301-990-3699 • 301-990-3688
www.thaitaniumrestaurant.com
Shop Small
and local
August 19, 2016 ■ wellspring
from page 1
Dorney. Two years later, Mullings expanded
into more of the lower level space. She added
classes and wellness practices—such as massage, body treatments and healing sessions—
to her skin care services that include a wide
range of facials and peels.
Mullings noted that sun damage that occurs before age 18 becomes the biggest skin
problem for adults. “The median age for facials is 45 and up,” she said. “I have a solid
client base of people in their 50s and 60s, when
the biological changes start to show, and you
must step up to grownup skin care.”
As for the classes, Mullings leads some herself—such as Reiki certification, soul alchemy
and shamanic rites, “giving people the tools to
heal themselves and live more expanded lives.”
She also invites visiting practitioners to lead
sessions, although most of her industry contacts live in the Midwest or on the West Coast.
“They say the East Coast is too intellectual,
not open,” she noted. She is “in the process of
expanding the class offerings.”
Mullings, who grew up in England and Jamaica, traces her interest in skin care to her
childhood, which was marred by bad skin
until her mother took her to an esthetician—
what the Brits call a beauty therapist—who
“changed my life,” she recalled. “Not only did
I have healthy skin, but also (the experience)
was the first inkling of what I wanted to do
with my life.”
After graduating from boarding school and
completing her gap year, Mullings studied
business and nursing at Kings College in Manchester “to satisfy my parents,” she said. Afterwards, she went to beauty therapy school,
“following my heart’s goal,” she said. About
The Town Courier
college, she noted, “I took the route more
traveled. I’ve learned not to do that.”
When she relocated to the U.S., Mullings worked full-time as a nurse at Columbia
Hospital, and part-time as an esthetician in a
Georgetown spa. “My plan was to transition
from bedside to a spa setting,” she said. “And
it evolved; slowly but surely, as I built a client
base, I saw it just flip over as my (appointment)
book kept getting fuller.”
Wellspring is the fruition of her plans. After
working in four spas, she said, “I was comfortable enough to own and run my own business.” Now, she said proudly, “my loyal, longterm—20-odd years—make up 80 percent of
my clientele. That’s the highlight. I want to
honor the clients who have stayed with me, the
level of support I’ve gotten—not just in North
Potomac, but throughout Montgomery County and Virginia and Georgetown.”
Mullings attributed her success to “a solid
work ethic, and my emphasis on relationships.
That’s something you cannot fake.” Her creativity and productivity, she added, are fueled
by an “avid meditation practice.” Twice daily,
she goes through a 10-minute asana, eight
minutes each of mantra chanting and pranayama (breathing) and 25 minutes of heart seed
mantra that propels her to “transcend to an
unbounded place where I get an intimate look
at absolute consciousness,” she said. “The practice allows me to be sane in a chaotic world.”
Skin care, Mullings maintained, “is still at
the core of what I do. On a superficial level,
our skin is our passport into the world. It’s
what people first notice about us, and it’s a
point of self-reference.” Beyond that, she derives great satisfaction in “helping others to
know that their inner beauty is more important. Skin care is a doorway into the work that
takes place here.”
Page 13
ColdwellBankerHomes.com
86,000 Agents | 3,000 Offices on 6 Continents | 109-Year Legacy
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Silver Spring | 4/2/1 | $439,900
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14517 Cobblestone Drive
Search MC9696684 on CBHomes.com
Gaithersburg | 4/3/1 | $659,900
Rockville Office 301.921.1040
436 Chestnut Hill Stree
Search MC9637113 on CBHomes.com
Clarksburg | 4/2/2 | $449,900
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23607 General Store Drive
Search MC9691180 on CBHomes.com
North Potomac | 4/2/1 | $629,990
Rockville Office 301.921.1040
15004 Native Dancer Road
Search MC9685163 on CBHomes.com
Silver Spring | 4/2/1 | $429,500
Rockville Office 301.921.1040
11524 Colt Terrace
Search MC9662049 on CBHomes.com
Gaithersburg | 2/2/0 | $335,000
Rockville Office 301.921.1040
130 Chevy Chase Street #205
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45 Longmeadow Drive
Search MC9693815 on CBHomes.com
REGISTER TODAY!
There’s never been a better time for a career in real estate
MD Pre-licensing Class + Exam Review
Start Date: Mon., Aug. 22nd • End Date: Fri., Sept. 2nd
Class dates are Monday-Friday 10am-4:30pm
Join Our Team!
Call 301-921-1040
for a private interview with
Kelly Vezzi
Branch Vice President
North Potomac/Rockville Sales Office
14955 Shady Grove Rd, Ste. 170
Rockville, MD 20850
(301) 921-1040
Register at www.cbrbschool.com
JOIN
Augus
OUR C
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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
Administered by American Home Shield
Page 14
The Town Courier
August 19, 2016
The ParkPages
News and Current Events for Quince Orchard Park
n
Meeting Calendar
Aug. 22 — Condo I Board Meeting, 7 p.m.
Aug. 31 — Condo II Board Meeting, 7:30 p.m.
Sept. 13 — Board Meeting, 7 p.m.
E-mail your contributions to [email protected]
n
august 2016
MANAGEMENT MENTIONS
Trash and Recycling
Photos | Mac Kennedy
Quince Orchard Park’s annual National Night Out celebration drew local law enforcement, elected officials, local businesses and residents.
National Night Out Draws Crowd
By Mac Kennedy
R
esidents gathered on Aug. 2 at the
Quince Orchard Park Clubhouse
to celebrate National Night Out
with local law enforcement. The beautiful evening brought a great turnout, and all
showed up to show their support and to get
to know some of their community officers
on a more personal level.
Montgomery County Executive Isiah
Leggett and Police Chief J. Thomas Manger shared a few words about National
Night Out. Leggett began with a moment
of silence for all of the recently fallen officers of our nation, and then discussed the
meaning of National Night Out and similar events. He spoke of the importance of
community and how a community cannot
thrive unless its members and the local law
enforcement support each other.
Chief Manger went further to discuss
how vital this night is, especially now. He
described how law enforcement and members of public safety are under a microscope today and how “events like these
bring less stress. They are about getting
to know each other and developing friendships and relationships that will breed trust
and confidence.” Manger went on to add,
“having members of the police force and
public safety come to the communities
when there isn’t a crisis or there isn’t something going wrong is just a great thing for
the community.”
QOP resident Robert Cassels planned
the event again this year. His wonderful
lineup of festivities included free food and
drink, a moon bounce, a visit from Elmo
of Sesame Street, and a police dog demonstration. A few officers came to give the
members of Quince Orchard Park a show
as they released their trained police dog to
take down a fellow officer playing the role
of the criminal. Afterwards, countless officers and firefighters stood around as energetic kids asked questions, often trying
to find out if their video games at home
accurately depict real-life action. Chief
Manger enjoyed the kids’ enthusiasm and
told them that he would love it if they one
day joined the force.
A special thank you goes to all sponsors—The Mike Aubrey Group of Long
and Foster, The Wine Harvest, Boulevard
Tavern, Potomac Village Deli, Coal Fire,
Buca di Beppo, and Matchbox.
QOP NEWS
Calling All Canines!
Quince Orchard Park’s annual Doggy
Swim is scheduled for 7 to 8 p.m. this Labor
Day, Sept. 5. Four-legged QOP residents
(and their two-legged companions) are invited to enjoy the final hour of the summer
pool season. Only dogs are allowed in the
pool, and as the guests of honor, they will
be given goody bags. This event is being
organized by Board Treasurer Victor Liau.
Beware of Phishing Scams
A caller posing as Montgomery County Police (MCP) recently phoned a QOP
resident, saying that the IRS had received
a tax fraud claim against the resident and
that if he didn’t call another number, he
would be arrested. Suspicious, the resident
questioned why the IRS, a federal agency,
would involve county police. After hanging up, the resident called MCP and was
told that this kind of scam happens often.
The MCP officer suggested the resident
share this phishing scam experience with
the community, emphasizing that IRS notices are sent through the mail and not via
phone, that the county doesn’t handle such
federal issues, and that residents should
not give credit card information over the
phone when they receive this sort of call.
Final Float Days of the Season
In response to requests from the community, this month the Quince Orchard
Park pool began hosting Float Days every
other Sunday, noon to 3 p.m. Upcoming
Float Days are Aug. 21 and Sept. 4.
Clubhouse Expansion Contract
Awarded to Ultra
At its Aug. 9 meeting, the QOP Board
voted to award the clubhouse expansion
construction contract to Ultra Construction & Engineering Co., Ltd., based in
Chantilly, Virginia. Ultra was one of three
final bidders, and the Board was impressed
by the company’s solution-oriented approach, accountability and attention to the
bottom line. The award has been given to
Ultra pending final contract negotiation.
The clubhouse expansion, which will
double the size of the fitness center, was
designed by SNG Engineering, a Kentlands-based firm. A second set of drawings
were submitted to the City of Gaithersburg
July 25 and should be approved soon.
Other renovations include adding a separate entrance to the fitness room at the front
of the building and closing off access to
the meeting/party room, installing sound
insulation between the fitness room and
meeting/party room, replacing the HVAC
system in the fitness room, reinforcing the
fitness room floor and replacing the entire
roof. In addition, some of the fitness equipment will be replaced.
The clubhouse will close Friday, Sept. 9
Trash is collected on Tuesday and
Friday and must be placed in lidded
trash cans. If left for collection in bags
only, trash is ripped open by animals
and strewn throughout the community. Continued use of bags may result
in fines.
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. Bulk recycling
pickups are usually the first Friday of
each month. The next bulk recycling
pickup will be Friday, Sept. 2.
Trash cans and recycle bins must
be stored out of sight on non-pickup
days.
The City of Gaithersburg and Potomac Disposal (301.294.9700) both
offer collection services for bulk items
at no cost.
Dog Duty
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.
Visit the New QOP Website!
The Quince Orchard Park website
has a fresh new blue color scheme
and is being populated weekly with
new photos and content. If you have
photos to share, please email them to
Community Manager Ruchita Patel,
[email protected].
QOP Management
Contact Information
Quince Orchard Park Community
Manager Ruchita Patel
QOP Assistant Community Manager
Alex Deering
c/o The Management Group
Associates, Inc.
20440 Century Boulevard, Suite 100
Germantown, MD 20874
Phone: 301.948.6666
and remain closed through March 31, 2017
for the renovation.
Mill Green Fountain Project
The management company continues to
work with the city to find an attractive yet
economical fix for the Mill Green Fountain, which has required a series of repairs.
Under consideration is reducing the size of
the water feature and encircling this with a
landscaping bed. The city will update the
management company on the community’s options in September.
The Town Courier
August 19, 2016 ■ watershed grants
from page 1
at the county and city levels, will continue
to offer rebates for individual homeowners
and private facilities.
Examples of watershed restoration projects include rain gardens, bioswales,
streamside forest buffers, green roofs and
structures to better control or reduce pet
waste and litter.
“It’s really anything that captures rainwater before it goes into local streams,”
■ whfs
from page 4
cord Paradise in Silver Spring. “I said out
loud, ‘Oh my God, they’re all not dead
yet. Someone needs to tell this story,’” he
recalled. “Of course, I knew them all already, but seeing the photograph just crystallized it. A flashbulb went off.”
Schlossberg is president and owner of
Media Central, the global crewing, production and post-production services broker-agent company he founded on Aug. 1,
1993 ( Jerry Garcia’s birthday, he noted).
His clients have included HBO, Lucasfilm,
Discovery Channel, Paramount Pictures,
Showtime and BBC Worldwide. His company Media Central Films has produced a
web series, “AutoExotika Presents: Cars
‘N Coffee,” with episodes in Bethesda, Las
Vegas, Santa Barbara, Cincinnati, Palm
Beach and Paris.
Despite his successful businesses and
concomitant media industry contacts,
Schlossberg had never done a documentary
Davis explained. “We don’t want stormwater hitting an impervious surface, like
pavement. It picks up pollutants and causes
problems locally and downstream. A watershed restoration project keeps water local and filters it through the ground.”
Such projects are sometimes fairly complex to undertake, and as such require the
help of specialized contractors, which in
turn creates the need for financial grants.
At the same time, however, retaining
stormwater can also be a pretty easy proposition—essentially, anything that absorbs
rain water can have an impact.
“Even just planting a tree is a great practice,” Davis said. “Driveways are a huge
source of runoff. You can install a permeable paver driveway that is really attractive
and increases property value.”
For city residents interested in a watershed restoration grant, Strider and Davis
advise working through a local group including an HOA or faith community. All
proposals are due by Sept. 28, with grants
announced in December. For more information, go to www.cbtrust.org/grants/
out-rest.
before. Thus, it was essential that he research and brainstorm the project by talking to people who had been there as well
as industry professionals. About six months
post-epiphany, he hosted what he called a
“meeting-party” with the WHFS DJs in
the building where they once broadcasted.
Maryanne Culpepper, former president
of National Geographic Television, was
enlisted as executive producer “to help
with the front and back ends, to help me
get the plane off the ground and into the
air and with the landing,” he said. “She
knows about film festivals.” Also on the
team are consulting producer Jonathan
Gilbert AKA Weasel; story consultant and
former Washington Post writer Richard
Harrington; and Bethesda native and writer of “Homicide” and “The Wire” David
Simon, who helped with background and
context.
Filming began in June 2014, and a Kickstarter fundraising effort in October and
November 2015 raised $65,000 for the
project. With two-thirds of the filming
completed, Schlossberg expects the editing
process to begin in September with a rough
cut by the end of the year. Plans include
local screenings—perhaps at AFI in Silver
Spring and Landmark in Bethesda—and
Netflix and Showtime and even director
Morgan Spurlock have expressed interest
and encouragement. Schlossberg is confident and optimistic about the film’s future.
“We have gotten a lot of positive feedback
from the trailer,” he said. “And I think the
film will have wide-ranging international
appeal, too.”
Having acquired a taste for music documentaries, Schlossberg is also acting as
executive producer of “The Humbler,” a
film about legendary guitar player Danny
Gatton.
Visit www.feastyourearsthefilm.com to
see the trailer, donate to the film, buy merchandise and read other stories about the
documentary.
shoptalk
from page 8
“Stuffing a Bus” with kid-friendly, healthy
foods to benefit Manna Food Center on
Wednesday, Aug. 24. Five percent of your
purchase that day will go to Manna Food
Center. Be sure to go to Customer Service
Aug. 24 and register your school to be entered to win a popsicle party from Whole
Foods.
Everest Tutors & Test Prep Offers
New Learning Profiles Assessment
Everest Tutors & Test Prep, 504 Main
St., now offers a data-driven tool to assess
learning skills that was developed by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania.
Using a series of online exercises, this one-
Page 15
hour test measures 10 core learning skills:
• speed—motor and processing speed;
• executive functions—attention, flexible thinking, and working memory;
• complex reasoning—visual reasoning,
abstract reasoning, and spatial perceptions; and
• long-term memory—verbal and
visual memory.
Experts at Mindprint Learning review
the data and formulate the student’s unique
learning profile. With this, Everest Director Ann Derryberry and Everest tutor
tailor lessons to the student for optimum
learning results. Special pricing is available
through Aug. 31. For more information,
visit www.everesttutors.net.
Panda Programmer Fall Classes Begin
Kentlands-based Panda Programmer teaches children ages 5 and up the science of computer programming at area schools and other locations. New this
fall are after-school classes at Dufief Elementary and Stone Mill Elementary.
Look for Sunday morning classes to begin Aug. 21 at Everest Tutors & Test
Prep, 504 Main St. Fall after-school classes will be given at Rachel Carson,
Diamond, Travilah, Thurgood Marshall, Candlewood, Dufief and Stone Mill elementary schools, as well as at Lakelands Park and Kingsview middle schools.
Computers are provided for each student, and kids create their own customized animations, educational applications and computer games. For more
information and to register, visit www.pandaprogrammer.com.
policebeat
from page 5
in of Taser use throughout the country. “I
can remember going to some training bureaus where the training officers were saying
we found the ‘lazy cop syndrome’ here. We
found officers that go to the weapon too early. We found officers who go to the weapon
too often and we really should take it away
from them because they are not using it properly. I didn’t see that here (at MCPD). I think
it is remarkable that you have a department of
this size with this many weapons on the street
and you have so few deployments. I think it
is impressive to look at the training that they
have been given. It needs some tweaking. We
talked to trainers about doing more role play,
about more decision-making. They do a very
good job of de-escalating situations. Officers
get that. They learn it. They practice it, and
over time they are going to deploy that on
the streets so it is a good set-up here.”
MCPD Chief Thomas Manger said he
thought the report was a very comprehensive
review. He was “gratified by the fact that one
of (study’s) conclusions was that the Taser
use by the Montgomery County Police Department is low and that it is not the go-to
weapon for our police officers. ... There are
many situations where use of force is necessary in the job that police officers do. It is my
responsibility and it’s the responsibility of this
department to make sure our officers—that
we have strong policies, that our training is
sound, and that officers are abiding by that
training and that certainly is a responsibility
that we take very seriously.”
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Page 16
The Town Courier
August 19, 2016
nora’scorner
Turning 90
T
his July I turned 90.
As far as I know,
I’m the only person
on either side of my family to have lived this long.
My mother passed away
in her early eighties, and
in 1964 we thought that
was a venerable old age.
By Nora
My father died suddenly
Caplan
of a heart attack in his
mid-sixties. For whatever reason I’ve never
thought much about my own demise, except for making a will and arrangements for
my burial and memorial service.
My life seems to have been a series of segments that in my memory have no connection with each other. The first 12 years of
my life were spent at Half-a-Hill restaurant
and nightclub, my parents’ business in rural
southwestern Missouri. From kindergarten through high school I attended the lab
school of what is now Missouri State University. After my parents sold our business,
we moved to Springfield, Missouri, where
I lived until I was graduated from college.
After I completed my B.S. in Education,
I taught English one unhappy, unsuccessful year in a rural Missouri high school and
could hardly wait to relocate to Washington, D.C., to work for the Veterans Administration (VA) and then the Library of
Congress.
By 1949 I had married Leon S. Caplan,
whom I had met at the VA. In 1952 we had
our daughter and then a son two years later.
The years began to speed by as I was a parent, a beginning professional writer, for 10
years a part-time teacher in a private school,
a graduate student in library science at Catholic University, and a fulltime librarian for
the Montgomery County Public Libraries
until I retired in 1981. Becoming a grand-
mother and a contributor to the “Weekend”
section of the Washington Post newspaper
and the Town Courier gave meaning to the
beginning of my retirement years.
With the death of my husband in 1985
and until the present, I adapted to a lifetime change of becoming a single person
again by weekly visits with two grandchildren, over a dozen Elderhostel trips, travels
to visit my children in Indianapolis, Indiana, Sacramento, California, and Raleigh,
North Carolina, writing a monthly column
for the Courier and publishing a children’s
book, “Noni’s Little Problem” (and having
the satisfaction of its being purchased by
Howard and Montgomery County Public
Library systems).
I remember when I turned 80, I seemed
to be much more aware of my age than I
am now. Perhaps it was because I was living
among a diverse age group at that time, and
now that I live in a retirement community,
I notice how many residents are not only
in their upper nineties, even one hundreds,
and many seem to have most of their marbles except for short-term memory losses (a
failing that 100 percent of us share).
Several people have asked me lately,
“How does it feel to be ninety?” If I stop
to think of it, I could answer, “I have a
few more aches and pains than I used to,
steps are harder to climb, and I use a walker
instead of a cane for support. For me. personally, there are compensations as I grow
older—I feel as if I have sailed into a safe
harbor. I finally know myself pretty well.
I have a circle of loving family and friends.
I am fortunate to have doctors and a nurse
whom I trust and appreciate. I have many
interests that I have time to explore. Most
of all, I have more blessings than I can enumerate.
sic hall, where the audience determines
the outcome. Who killed Edwin Drood?
Who is Dick Datchery? And who finds
love in the end? You choose! Presented
by Landless Theatre Company and hosted
by Arts on the Green, this production is
accompanied by a new symphonic metal
score approved by author/composer Rupert Holmes. Tickets are $25, and this
show is recommended for ages 12 and up.
www.gaithersburgmd.gov.
Evenings in Olde Towne:
Diamond Alley
arts& entertainment
from page 6
The Latino Art League
Aug. 20 & 27, 10 a.m.-1 p.m., Quince
Orchard Library
Do you have a question for a Master Gardener? Master Gardeners give advice on
vegetables, trees, lawns, shrubs, insects and
pruning. Visitors can bring plant samples
or photos for Master Gardeners to identify
or diagnose. Free.
Aug. 26-Oct. 16; 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday
through Saturday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday
Artists reception, 6:30-8 p.m. Sept. 15,
Activity Center at Bohrer Park
In celebration of Hispanic Heritage
Month, the City of Gaithersburg and The
Latino Art League (TLAL) of Greater
Washington DC present an exhibition of
multimedia artwork celebrating the group’s
diverse talents. Free. For more information,
please visit www.thelatinoartleague.org.
Yoga in the Park
‘The Mystery of Edwin Drood’
facebook.com/GaithersburgMarkets
Master Gardeners
Aug. 23 & 30, 7 p.m.-8 p.m., Gaithersburg
City Hall Concert Pavilion
Bring a yoga mat, blanket or towel. Beginners are welcome. Free.
www.gaithersburgmd.gov
Aug. 26-Sept. 25, 8 p.m. Fridays and
Saturdays (no performance Saturday, Sept. 10),
2 p.m. select Sundays, Arts Barn
Enter the mysterious, comical, raucous, and risqué world of the English mu-
Kentlands Acoustic Jam
Aug. 30, 5:30 p.m., The Barns at Wolf Trap
Sept. 3, 8 a.m., Kentlands/Lakelands 5K
The Kentlands Acoustic Jam performs
near and far—catch them at two great
events.
www.reverbnation.com/
kentlandsacousticjam
Sept. 1, 7:30 p.m., Gaithersburg Town Hall
Concert Pavilion
Diamond Alley, one of D.C.’s most
popular groups, is a five-piece dance/
rock and variety band performing an
exciting and diverse mix of contemporary
and classic hits as well as the band’s own
popular original tunes. Diamond Alley
is best known throughout the MidAtlantic region for their unusual vocal
talent, outstanding live performance and
audience rapport. Bring a blanket or lowback chair for lawn seating. Free. www.
gaithersburgmd.gov
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The Town Courier
August 19, 2016 Page 17
MIKEAT THE MOVIES
Florence Foster Jenkins
(PG-13) *****
Meryl Streep does it
again playing Manhattan
doyenne Florence Foster
Jenkins, one of the society
queens of 1940s New York.
The film shocked the audience I was with as most
of them had never before
heard of her and had never
By Mike
heard her sing. She made
Cuthbert
only one recording and it
was a comedy hit for its label. The laughter
of the crowd in the theater was of the startled
variety because Jenkins was one of the worst
singers ever to appear in public. It is true that
her one and only large recital was at Carnegie
Hall in 1944 and two days later she suffered a
heart attack, dying a few days after that at the
age of 76. The laughter was to be expected
but the film focuses on her earnest intent:
She really thought she was a wonderful talent. That’s what makes “FFJ” such a funny
and moving movie.
Simon Helberg as her accompanist, Cosmé
McMoon, has the first take and brings down
the house as his shocked face registers what
he has just heard. McMoon comes to love
Jenkins, understanding that she just loves
music and wants to entertain. Indeed, one of
the tragedies of her life is that she was never
able to appreciate the laughter from her audiences.
Her second husband, St. Clair Bayfield,
played immaculately by Hugh Grant, is an
aspiring actor who, like his wife, is a bit short
on talent. As he confesses, he has appeared in
many plays, “few of them as the lead.” Be-
cause her first husband gave her syphilis, she
and Bayfield “abstained” from sex throughout their married life. Bayfield and Florence
had “an arrangement” that allowed him
room and time to have a mistress, Kathleen
(Rebecca Ferguson) who dumps him when
he defends Florence from listeners laughing
at her recording at a bar.
McMoon, a very effeminate and innocent
character, gets more laughs than a secondary
player usually gets. His constant confused bemusement at what he is forced to do as Jenkins’ accompanist is a gentle reminder of the
sacrifices all her supporters had to make to let
her believe in herself.
On her deathbed in the film, Jenkins gives
her obituary: “People said I can’t sing but nobody can say I didn’t sing!” That’s the joy
of this film. That, and the performance of
Streep who wrings every bit of pathos out of
the role without being pathetic. The woman’s a genius. The singing is terrible until
Streep’s last scene, the emotions real and the
atmosphere, including Cole Porter, Arturo
Toscanini and other illuminati of the late war
period, is perfect. The entire film is just overthe-top excellent.
what has made them bond as friends.
The decision to make Elliott furry instead
of scaly was a masterstroke, as he is tons more
appealing than he would have been with the
usual dragon’s scales. Oona Laurence is moving as Natalie, close to Pete in age and soon
in empathy when she meets Elliott. As Pete
predicts, “He doesn’t usually like most people, but I think he might like you.”
A key character in the story is Robert
Redford as Meacham, an old country type
who first met Elliott years ago but was derided when he tried to tell his friends about
it. As Meacham points out, “The magic was
there. It changed the way I see the world.”
The magic has long since been replaced in
the minds and hearts of the townspeople by
cynical attempts to capitalize on the nature
of Elliott. Natalie’s uncle Gavin (Karl Urban) shoots Elliott with several tranquilizing
darts, allowing the townspeople to capture
Elliott and Gavin to plan on making a lot of
money by marketing him. Keep your eyes on
Elliott as part of his appeal is the fact that he
IS magical—he can disappear at will.
Pete’s Dragon (PG) *****
Feeling like a copy of previous “bad guys
doing good” franchises, this film’s weakness
is its large number of characters. That means
that few have the screen time to develop any
but the rudimentary aspects of character that
make an audience care for them. Those given
enough time, such as Will Smith as Deadshot
who has never missed a kill shot and Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn, are much more
rewarding than the other characters given
short-shrift in an already busy script.
Briefly, head honcho Amanda Walker
(Viola Davis) assembles a cast of criminals
Disney has wandered all over the map in
movies lately, but this return to their oldstyle family movie is a sure winner. Based on
the popular children’s book, the film is the
second make of the story and a tender, sweet,
telling version it is, too.
Oakes Fegley plays Pete, but the film is stolen by Bryce Dallas Howard as Grace. Her
radiant face lights up every scene she’s in and
her role as one of the few humans who understand Pete and Elliott, Pete’s dragon, and
Suicide Squad (PG-13) ***
color
headed by Deadshot to rid the generic city
they all call home of a group of enemy aliens and their titular head, The Joker ( Jared
Leto). Leto uses up the makeup tray and all
possible wild emotions, blowing the top off
the Heath Legend stereotype. His girlfriend,
Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie), goes a little
bonkers after a shot of whatever in the neck,
but she also gives the winning performance
of the film, being athletic, sexy and funny
in alternating scenes. Ben Affleck as Batman
has only a couple of scenes but serves more as
a villain than a hero. Other notable characters include Adewale Akinnuo-Agjabe as the
hideous but helpful Croc and Ezra Miller as
the red-hot but reluctant fighter Flash. There
is a complicating Witch who was a scientist
until she literally lost her heart, Cara Delevingne, and the All-American hero type, Rick
Flag, played stoutly by Joel Kinnaman.
The Bad Guys (who are really good) combine to fight the Forces of Evil (who are really bad) and most of the city is destroyed in yet
another Pyhhric victory for the Good Guys.
Flag keeps the plot going by constantly being
captured by the aliens and Robbie keeps the
laughs coming as she simultaneously smashes
aliens with her baseball bat while cracking
wise the whole time. Karen Fukuhara has a
mysterious but effective few scenes as Katana,
the Japanese widow who uses her husband’s
death sword with great effect.
Everything is in good technical shape
here, but there are just too many characters
for anything real to develop. Lots and lots of
violence so some of the younger set may not
be ready for this.
Enjoy more of Mike’s reviews at www.
towncourier.com
Page 18
The Town Courier
August 19, 2016
Sports
The Season Never Stops:
Playing Tennis to Compete and to Prepare for a Lifetime
By Syl Sobel
N
oon on a sultry summer day in late
July is no time to be hitting tennis
balls on a hard court. But for high
school tennis players looking to improve
their game, it’s just the thing to keep them
in shape, sharpen their strokes, and prepare
for a high school tennis season some eight
months away.
Alex Kirsch and Spencer Tabit are rising seniors on the Quince Orchard High
School boys tennis team who play tennis
year-round, often under the watchful eye
and gentle tutelage of longtime Kentlands
Tennis Director Marna Katzel.
Kirsch, a Lakelands resident, has been
playing since age 10, at first because he had
to avoid contact sports following ear surgeries and looked for other athletic outlets.
“I started (playing tennis) just to try something new,” he said. “I’ve just loved it ever
since.”
Now he plays whenever he can, as much
as five or six days a week during the boys
spring tennis season where he was a dou-
Photo | Mac Kennedy
(L to R) Quince Orchard High School rising seniors Spencer Tabit and Alex Kirsch play through the summer with Kentlands
Tennis Director Marna Katzel.
bles player last season and hopes to move
up to singles. During the offseason, he hits
with his brother or with friends, including
teammates.
“We just try to work on our strokes on
our own,” Kirsch said.
Tabit, a Kentlands resident and doubles
player, also has played tennis since elementary school and said he got serious about
tennis in high school. His year-round tennis preparations include lessons with Katzel as well as participating in indoor clinics
during the winter at the Quince Orchard
Swim & Tennis Club or at Montgomery
Tennisplex.
Both Tabit and Kirsch also develop their
stamina and footwork with indoor workouts on cardio and other equipment. In addition, during the summer they help Katzel
with the various instructional programs she
conducts for young children at Kentlands.
“I just find it very enjoyable,” said Tabit.
“It gives you something to do over the entire summer. If you stop playing you defi-
nitely feel rusty and you definitely feel that
your game is going backwards, so it’s important to continue playing in the summer
to make sure you’re going forward.”
Kirsch also emphasized the importance
of regular practice. “Tennis is a sport where
if you don’t play for a month, you can come
back and it’s like you’re six months back
from where you were.”
Hitting in the heat doesn’t seem to bother
these two teenagers. Plus, as rising seniors,
they feel a responsibility to set an example for younger players on the QO squad.
Kirsch said he tries to stay in contact with
his teammates. “I’m a mentor for younger
players on the team,” he noted. He tries
to hit with teammates during the summer,
“half the time for fun just to get out; other
times to be more competitive and work on
a specific thing for an hour.”
Katzel has taught many high school
tennis players during her 23 years as the
founding tennis director at Kentlands, including some who have played in college.
She emphasizes to students and parents
that in addition to the competitive aspects
of tennis, it is also a “lifetime sport” with
benefits other than athletic.
Tabit and Kirsch get that. “Tennis is a
sport where it’s very individual,” Kirsch
said. “It’s a tough mental game, so you really develop maturity-wise, and I think I
really like that.”
Neither plans to pursue varsity tennis in
college. Kirsch would like to go college in
Arizona or Florida and is interested in a
career in sports management. Tabit wants
to study math and computer science at the
University of Maryland. Both, however,
would like to continue playing tennis either at the intramural or club level.
“Tennis is a way to meet new friends and
give myself something to do other than
study,” Kirsch said. “Playing tennis clears
your mind of everything going on, and it’s
just something we’re comfortable with.”
Join us for Classes in Tai Chi Chuan, Kung Fu,
Swordplay or Qigong/ Meditation.
Reasonable Rates
Convenient Day, Weekend
& Evening Appointments
Satisfaction Guaranteed
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Private, small group, or job site programs available now for Children and Adults.
Call us for info or the latest schedule.
Tai Chi/Kung Fu instructor training program also enrolling now!
NOW
OPEN!
Clear Circle Holistic Training Center
208 Main Street, Kentlands • Taichimartialartsandhealth.com
Call 301-651-3617 for information on class times.
August 19, 2016 The Town Courier
Page 19
Page 20
The Town Courier
August 19, 2016
I have SOLD more homes this Spring than
any other neighborhood agent!
ING
M
O
C
N
SOO TOO
w
NeFOR
JUST
ED
LIST
JUST
ED
LIST
JUST
ED
LIST
JUST
ED
LIST
Photo
18604 Kingfisher Terrace
GAITHERSBURG • $274,900
JUST
ED
LIST
JUST
ED
LIST
140 Chevy Chase St. #201
KENTLANDS • $349,900
E
PRICVED
O
IMPR
100 Kent Square Road
KENTLANDS • $599,900
CT
RA
ONT
C
709 A Main Street
Lakelands • $379,900
111 Timberbrook Lane #T-102
TIMBERBROOK • $269,900
E
PRICVED
O
IMPR
604 B Main Street
KENTLANDS • $375,000
ACT
TR
CON
9062 Harris Place
VILLAGES OF URBANA • $499,900
JUST
ED
LIST
109 Treehaven Street
KENTLANDS • $1,050,000
NT
RE
FOR
111 Chestertown Street
KENTLANDS • $2,600/mo
SOLD
219 Windom Way
FREDERICK • $419,999
E
PRICVED
O
IMPR
19401 Framingham Drive
CHARLENE • $409,900
NT
RE
FOR
9536 Hyde Place
VILLAGES OF URBANA • $2000/mo
SOLD
3810 Carriage Hill Drive
VILLAGES OF URBANA • $420,000
E
PRICVED
O
IMPR
11924 Darnestown Rd #105
POTOMAC VILLAGE • $269,900
CT
RA
ONT
C
27 Booth St #447
KENTLANDS • $289,900
SOLD
Under Contract
in 3 days!
15105 Rollinmead Drive
ROLLINMEAD • $925,000
SOLD
2454 5 Shillings Road
FREDERICK • $429,900
150 Chevy Chase Street #205
KENTLANDS • $399,900
637 Raven Avenue
HIDDEN CREEK • $399,900
SOLD
SOLD
3644 Sprigg Street
VILLAGES OF URBANA • $489,999
3827 Bush Creek Drive
VILLAGES OF URBANA • $695,000
501 King Farm Blvd #207
KING FARM • $369,999
SOLD
17501 Hidden Garden Lane
ASHTON • $811,000
The #1 RE/MAX Metropolitan Agent
301.840.7320
[email protected]
www.elainekoch.com
403 Ridgepoint Place
KENTLANDS • $485,000
SOLD
3 Burgundy Court
ROCKVILLE • $285,000
KENTLANDS OFFICE
345 Main Street
North Potomac, MD 20878
301-947-6500

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