Bethesda 052715

1952228

A&E B-4

Automotive B-11

Business A-11

Calendar A-2

Classied B-8

Obituaries A-12

Opinion A-13

Sports B-1

Please

RECYCLE

Volume 4, No. 19,

Two sections, 28 Pages

Copyright 2015

The Gazette

INDEX

DA ILY UPDATES AT GAZETTE .NET

TheGazette

Wednesday, May 27, 2015 25 cents

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COMMUNITY GUIDE INSIDE TODAY

Take a look at our comprehensive listings forMontgomeryCounty.

BETHESDA

|

CHEVY CHASE

|

KENSINGTON

n Supporters seek

Chevy Chase records on

spending to stop project

BYMARGIEHYSLOP

SPECIAL TO THE GAZETTE

The town of Chevy Chase

owesneither apro-PurpleLine

groupnor ablogger free copies

of documents thatmightdetail

how it spenthundredsof thou-

sands of dollars on lawyers,

lobbyists and public relations

rms to stop the proposed 16-

mile light-rail line from run-

ning through town, its lawyers

argue in court lings.

Those arguments, filed

May 11 in Montgomery

County Circuit Court, is the

towns reaction to a lawsuit

by the Action Committee for

Transit and activist Benjamin

Ross of Bethesda. Both sup-

port building the $2.45 billion

line linking New Carrollton

Group, town

tangle over

Purple Line

BILL RYAN/THE GAZETTE

Senior Evan Woods of Whitman High School in Bethesda wins the boys 4A 3,200-meter race at Fridays state track championships in Baltimore. Other Whitman

and Bethesda-Chevy Chase athletes also fared well in state championships over the weekend. See Sports, Page B-1.

Going for the gold

n Student speakers share

past journeys, future goals

BY LINDSAY A. POWERS

STAFFWRITER

With roots in four parts of the world and eyes

on four sets of goals, student speakers at Mont-

gomery Colleges Friday graduation ceremony

celebrated a sharedmoment of success.

The four speakers, all recipients of top college

awards, were among more than 3,500 students

earning degrees and certicates in the colleges

class of 2015. About 950 graduates walked at Fri-

days commencement.

Montgomery College President DeRionne P.

Pollard said the graduates who were celebrated

Friday made up the institutions largest graduat-

ing class.

FidelisMariae A.Militante, a nursingmajor at

the college, was one of three graduates named a

2015 Board of Trustees Scholar. She represented

the Rockville campus.

It is a signicant milestone in my lifes jour-

ney, a journey lled with difcult obstacles and

joyous achievements, a journey not unlike your

journey, Militante, of Rockville, told her fellow

graduates.

After coming to the U.S. from the Philippines

when she was 11, Militante said, she felt a lack of

motivation and direction and watched her par-

ents struggle in their new country. They worked

multiple jobs to help propel her to higher educa-

tion, she said.

Education is the cornerstone ofmy life, said

Militante, who plans to earn a bachelors in nurs-

ing and become a doctor.

Student speaker Antony M. Musembi, an-

other Board of Trustees Scholar, representing the

Takoma Park/Silver Spring campus, greeted fam-

ily members watching the ceremony in his home

country Kenya, which he left about 26 years ago.

Fromthatpoint toFridays ceremony, he said,

his journey has been extremely difcult and, at

the same time, absolutely wonderful.

Montgomery College helped himdiscover his

passions, said Musembi, a Silver Spring resident.

His future plans include starting an organization

for disadvantaged youth and earning a business

doctorate.

Graduates, at [Montgomery College], we

have beenbestowedwith the abilities, knowledge

and power to act, so lets go forth andmake a dif-

ference! he said.

Pavanjot Singh Guraya of Germantown, a

business administrationmajor, said in his speech

that three communities have played important

Graduation highlights student diversity

DAN GROSS/THE GAZETTE

Steve and Cokie Roberts of Bethesda deliver the keynote address at Montgomery Colleges 68th commencement

exercises at the Rockville Campus on Friday.

n Davis branch in Bethesda

offers music, book sale and more

BY GAZETTE STAFF

Friends of the Davis Library will hold its an-

nualCommunityDayandBookSaleonSaturday,

with activities for children and adults alike, from

magic tomusic.

The event will run from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at

the public library, at 6400 Democracy Blvd. in

Bethesda.

Heres the rundown:

10:30 a.m.: magician Joe Romano.

10:30a.m. to1:30p.m.:balloonartist clowns.

11 a.m. to 1 p.m.: tattoo artists, strolling gui-

tarist, re engines on display.

11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.: KIDMuseum activi-

ties.

2 to 3 p.m.: mountain dulcimer music per-

formance.

The friends chapter also will host its bian-

nual book sale, with books, CDs,DVDs andother

itemsandcollectibles for adults andchildren, ac-

cording to a news release. The book sale will run

throughout the Community Day activities in the

librarymeeting room.

Community Day is the highlight of our year

here at Davis, library Manager Anita Vassallo

said in the release. Our Friends provide a won-

derful occasionwith entertainment for thewhole

family, and we hope that many Davis customers

will stop by to enjoy the celebration.

For more information, contact the library at

240-777-0922.

Library plans

day for family

See PURPLE, Page A-10

See GRADUATION, Page A-10

NOT SAFE

FOR WORK

Round House Theatres

latest play focuses on

bad behavior, job issues

at mens magazine. B-4

A&E

n Leggett: Thursdays

meeting with Hogan,

Baker was productive

BY KATE S. ALEXANDER

STAFFWRITER

A last-ditch meeting to

convinceGov. LarryHogan

of theneed tokeep thePur-

ple Lineon trackwentwell,

MontgomeryCountyExec-

utive Isiah Leggett said.

I dont say that

lightly, he said.

Leggett (D)met behind

closed doors Thursday

with Hogan (R) and Prince

Decision

might come

in June

See DECISION, Page A-10

1931769

1931759

WEDNESDAY, MAY 27

Small Business Counseling, 10 a.m.-3

p.m.,Wheaton Library, 11701 Georgia

Ave. Volunteers from Service Corps of

Retired Executives offer advice. One-hour

appointments onMondays,Wednesdays

and Thursdays: 240-777-0678. Free.

Miracle League Baseball, 10:30 a.m.-

noon,WashingtonNationalsMiracle

Field, 17950 Germantown Park Drive, Ger-

mantown. Baseball for children and adults

with special needs. [email protected] or

301-332-6716.

Honor and Praise, Navy Band Brass

Quartet, 2 p.m., Lakeside Commons Club-

house, Riderwood, 3140 Graceeld Road,

Silver Spring. Free. 301-572-1300.

Senior Health Fair, 11 a.m.-1:30 p.m.,

Rockville Senior Center, 1150Carnation

Drive. Free health screenings, healthy

snacks.

THURSDAY, MAY 28

Alzheimers and Dementia Support

Group, 6-7 p.m., Brightview Fallsgrove

Assisted Living, 9200Darnestown Road,

Rockville. Discuss problems and solu-

tions. Refreshments provided. 240-314-

7194 or [email protected].

FRIDAY, MAY 29

Peled plays Schumann Cello Con-

certo, 8 p.m., Shrine of St. Jude Catholic

Church, 12701 VeirsMill Road, Rockville.

The nale of theWashington Chamber

Orchestras inaugural season. $10 and up

at the door; free for people 18 years and

younger. www.thewco.org.

SATURDAY, MAY 30

Durue and Copland: A Concert of

Contrasts, 7:30 p.m., St. Mark Presbyterian

Church, 10701 Old Georgetown Road,

North Bethesda. National Institutes of

Health Community Chorus, with East Av-

enue Ensemble of Chevy Chase. Free; do-

nations support NIH charities. nihco.org.

Meditation guidelines, 11 a.m.-noon,

Potomac Community Recreation Center,

11315 Falls Road, Potomac. Free. 240-899-


Strathmore/Bel Pre community yard

sale, 9 a.m.-noon, Strathmore/Bel Pre

Pool, 13914 Bethpage Lane, AspenHill.

Rain date is June 6. 301-460-0497 or

[email protected].

Jazz featuring the Bruce Krohmer

Trio, 7:30 p.m., Takoma Park Community

Center, 7500Maple Ave., Takoma Park.

With a short talk about the local jazz

scene and the history of jazz. arts@takom-

aparkmd.gov.

35th Washington Folk Festival, noon-7

p.m., Glen Echo Park, 7300MacArthur

Blvd. Same timeMay 31.Musicians, story-

tellers, dancers, and crafters. Free shuttle

bus from the Geico parking lot, 5260West-

ern Ave. Free. 301-526-8558 or dwainfest@

aol.com.

Community Day, 10 a.m.-3 p.m., Davis

Library, 6400 Democracy Blvd., Bethesda.

TheMagic is Real with Joe Romano, re-

trucks, crafts, tattoo artist, clowns, balloon

animals, mountain dulcimer folkmusic,

and used book and CD sale. Free. 240-777-

0922.

Chinese Zither Music by the Wash-

ington Guzheng Society, 4:30-5:30 p.m.,

Wheaton Library, 11701 Georgia Ave.,

Wheaton. Themusical ensemble, led by

Bing Xia, performs on the 24-string Chi-

nese zither, an instrument with roots in

the Qin dynasty, circa 237 B.C. Free. 240-

777-0678 or scott.lambdin@montgomery-

countymd.gov.

Spring Dance Recital, 7-8:30 p.m.,

Clarksburg High School, 22500Wims

Road, Clarksburg. General admission $15;

free for children 3 and younger. 301-972-


Rockville Science Center 2.0: Imagine

Our Future, 9-11 a.m., Rockville Senior

Center, 1150 CarnationDrive, Rockville.

Brainstorming sessions. Coffee and

donuts. 240-386-8111 or RSC2.0@Rock-

villeScienceCenter.org.

Sundari, 6:30 p.m., KennedyHigh

School, 1901 Randolph Road, Silver

Spring. Dance interpretation of the Cin-

derella tale. $15; children younger than 10

admitted free. knsdance.com.

SUNDAY, MAY 31

Sweet-T 5K Benet Walk, 2-5 p.m.,

Covenant Life School, back lawn, 7501

MuncasterMill Road, Gaithersburg. To

benet the Teressa FrenchMemorial

Scholarship Fund. www.TeressaFrench.

myevent.com or 301-602-9224.

Rent: The Concert Version, 7-9:30

p.m., CongregationHar Shalom, 11510

Falls Road, Potomac.Musical follows a

year in the life of artists andmusicians

struggling to survive and create. $20 per

person, including dessert reception. www.

harshalom.org or 301-299-7087.

Gandhi Brigade Youth Media Festival,

noon-8 p.m., Silver Spring Civic Building,

One Veterans Place. Juried competition,

a four-hour video competition, social

justice andmedia workshops, and perfor-

mances. Free. tinyurl.com/kbpknml or

[email protected].

Disc Golf for Beginners, 11 a.m., Seneca

Creek State Park, 11950Clopper Road,

Gaithersburg. $3 per person forMaryland

residents, $5 per person for others. 301-

924-2127 or [email protected].

Life of Dialogue: A Symposium Com-

memorating the 50th Yahrzeit of Martin

Buber, 1:30-5:30 p.m., Temple Emanuel,

10101 Connecticut Ave., Kensington.With

scholars from theU.S. and Israel. $25

donation suggested. www.am-kolel.org or

301-349-2799.

MONDAY, JUNE 1

Citizenship Preparation Program, 9

a.m.,Montgomery College,Westeld

South Ofce Building, 11002 VeirsMill

Road, Suite 306,Wheaton. 240-567-8839

or [email protected].

American Red Cross Blood Drive,

2:30-8 p.m., Liberty GroveUnitedMeth-

odist Church, 15225 Old Columbia Pike,

Burtonsville. Call 800-733-2767 for an ap-

pointment.

TUESDAY, JUNE 2

African American Book Discussion, 7

p.m., Praisner Library, 14910 Old Colum-

bia Pike, Burtonsville. Copies available at

information desk. anne.seiler@montgom-

erycountymd.gov.

Lecture and Lunch, 11 a.m.,Womans

Club of Bethesda, 5500 Sonoma andOld

Georgetown, Bethesda.With Brig. Gen.

Wilma Vaught, U.S. Air Force, retired,

president of theWomen inMilitary Ser-

vice for AmericanMemorial Fund. $14 for

lunch. 301-530-1784 or www.bethesda-

womansclubmd.com.

Renters Meeting, 7-8:45 p.m., St.

Pauls UnitedMethodist Church, 10401

Armory Ave., Kensington. Montgomery

County Renters Alliance will discuss

rental housing concerns. Free. info@

RentersAlliance.org.

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 3

AARP Smart Driver Course, 12:30-5

p.m.,Wheaton Library, 11701 Georgia

Ave., Wheaton. Registration required;

limited to 25. $15 AARPmembers, $20

nonmembers. 240-777-0678 or dianne.

[email protected].

Holiday Park Senior Prom, 5:30-7 p.m.,

Holiday Park Senior Center, 3950 Ferrara

Drive,Wheaton. Light dinner starts at 5:30

p.m.With Night andDay band. 240-777-

4999 or gayathri.aluvihare@montgomery-

countymd.gov.

THE GAZETTE

Page A-2 Wednesday, May 27, 2015 b

BestBet

Purple Against...

gala, 6-9 p.m., Cross-

way Community

Theatre, 3015Upton

Drive, Kensington.

Julies Love, an or-

ganization created to support the

working poor and eradicate hunger

inMontgomery County, will host

fundraiser and awards gala. To

include performances from the

award-winning Broadwaymusical

The Color Purple. $30. khrcre-

[email protected].

SAT

30

EVENTS

Send items at least two weeks in advance of the paper in which you would like them to

appear. Go to calendar.gazette.net and click on the submit button.

Questions? Call 240-864-1325.

PHOTO GALLERY

Northwest High Schools Aaron Beidleman nished second in the high jump Friday

at the 3A/4A State Track Championships in Baltimore. Go to clicked.Gazette.net.

SPORTS Summer sports get started this week in the Cal Ripken Collegiate

Baseball League, American Legion baseball, basketball leagues and

football passing leagues. Follow the action at Gazette.net.

Get complete, current

weather information

at NBCWashington.com

GAZETTE CONTACTS

The Gazette 9030 Comprint Court

Gaithersburg,MD 20877

Main phone: 301-948-3120 Circulation: 301-670-7350

RobertRand,managingeditor, Bethesda: [email protected], 240-864-1325

The Gazette (ISSN 1077-5641) is publishedweekly for $29.99 a year byThe Gazette, 9030

Comprint Court, Gaithersburg,MD 20877. Periodicals postage paid at Gaithersburg,Md.

Postmaster: Send address changes. VOL. 4, NO. 19 2 SECTIONS, 28 PAGES

AMay 20 article about theMontgomery County budgetmisstated the date of

the U.S. Supreme Courts decision in the Wynne double-taxation case. The ruling

was issuedMay 18, notMay 15.

AMay 20 article about former ArmyRangerGary James Smith ofOlney enter-

ing an Alford plea in Montgomery Circuit Court to involuntary manslaughter in

the 2006 death of fellow soldier Michael McQueen misstated the outcome of the

rst trial in 2008. A jury found Smith not guilty of rst- and second-degreemurder,

but guilty of depraved heart murder, a crime that is not intentional, according to

Smiths attorney.

CORRECTIONS

Students to conduct research in Israel

Six local high school juniorswere awarded

Dr. Istvan Madaras SciTech Scholarships to

conduct scientic research this summer at

the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology

inHaifa.

They are Yashodhar Govil, Nathan Zim-

merberg, Sam Wasserman and Sam Wenger,

all of Bethesda and Whitman High School in

Bethesda; and Gabriel Swagel of Chevy Chase

andMikhael Hammer-Bleich of Silver Spring,

students atCharlesE. Smith JewishDaySchool

in Rockville.

The SciTech Summer Science Camp,

which will run from July 20 to Aug. 13, is a re-

searchprogramfor juniors and seniorswithan

interest and ability inmathematics, science or

computer technology, according to a news re-

lease.

Bethesda student wins art contest

Peter Stubin, a senior at Walter Johnson

HighSchool inBethesda, is thetopwinnerof this

years 34th annual Congressional Art Competi-

tion in the8thCongressionalDistrict.

Stubins ink-and-pastel piece, Flossing,

will hang in the U.S. Capitol for a year, starting

in June.

Rep. Christopher Van Hollen (D-Dist. 8) of

Kensington recently announced all the winners

atWashingtonArtWorks inNorthBethesda.

A total of 251 students from 31 schools in

VanHollens district participated in the compe-

tition. Jurors selected94entries foranexhibition

that ran at Washington ArtWorks from April 24

throughMay10.Fromthem,16works, including

Stubins, were selected for special recognition,

including the following:

TheJaneE.LawtonMemorialAward:Han-

nah Nechin of Potomac, a junior at Charles E.

Smith Jewish Day School in Rockville, for her

pen-and-inkwork, Stomp.

Washington ArtWorks Award: Michelle

Zhu of Chevy Chase, a sophomore at National

Cathedral School, for her oil on canvas, Blue-

bird.

Worksby the followingrunners-upwillhave

theirworkdisplayed inVanHollensCapitolHill

anddistrict ofces for thenext year:

Brian Chou of North Bethesda, a junior at

Georgetown Preparatory School; Alexis Faleder

of Silver Spring, a sophomore at Melvin J. Ber-

man Hebrew Academy; Jirawat Khumbungkla

of Silver Spring, a freshman at NorthwoodHigh

School; Ofri Shmul of Rockville, a junior atWal-

ter Johnson High School; and Deanna Yan of

Bethesda, a junior atWhitmanHighSchool.

Honorable mentions went to Clara da Silva

of Bethesda, Whitman High School; Amanda

Levin of Potomac, Wootton High School; Chris

McTaggart of Bethesda, Landon School; Peter

Millspaugh of Bethesda, Landon School; and

Lei Yan of Rockville, RichardMontgomeryHigh

School.

Campus congrats

Julian Weichel of Bethesda graduated

May 8 from the University of North Carolina,

Greensboro, with a major in business entre-

preneurship.

Weichel, who graduated from Whitman

High School in Bethesda, won an innovation

award for launching the Food Recovery Net-

work at theuniversity.He is scheduled to leave

Wednesday forBali, Indonesia,workingunder

a three-month contract with the Bali Institute

to run cultural immersion programs for high

school students.

He is the son of Kim and CarlWeichel.

THE GAZETTE

Wednesday, May 27, 2015 b Page A-3

PEOPLE

More online at www.gazette.net

TOM FEDOR/THE GAZETTE

Steven Anthony of Bethesda gets splashed by his daughter Danielle, 7, as her friend Cassidy Lewin (left), 7, laughs during their visit to the Bethesda outdoor pool Sunday after-

noon. At right is his son Christopher, 8. Last weekend, the county opened its seven outdoor pools for the season. Theyre open only on weekends until June 15.

One cool dad

n Workers building new re

station at Randolph Road,

Georgia Avenue intersection

BY KEVIN JAMES SHAY

STAFFWRITER

Northern Silver Spring residents

andmotorists shouldprepare for con-

structionat the intersectionofGeorgia

Avenue and Randolph Road to last

longer thanexpected.

As is the casewithmajor projects

such as this, the completion date for

a $74.8 million interchange project

therehasbeendelayedabout a year to

spring 2017, Charlie Gischlar, a Mary-

land State Highway Administration

spokesman, wrote in an email Tues-

day.

This includes landscaping and

minor items, Gischlar wrote. The

benet to motorists will be realized

sooner thanthespring2017totalcom-

pletiondate.

About a year ago, workers started

on the interchange project, with

completion expected to be the winter

of 2016. They are lowering Randolph

Road 23 feet to allow vehicles to pass

under Georgia Avenue, which trans-

portation ofcials say will help allevi-

ate traffic congestion and improve

safety.

The project alsowill add a lane on

Georgia Avenue, as well as new turn

lanes, ramps, sidewalks and signals.

The Glenmont Greenway Trail on the

west side of Georgia Avenue is slated

to be extended 900 feet. The signal-

ized intersection now sees more than

86,000 vehicles daily.

The federal government is kick-

ing in $42.8 millionmore than half

of themoney for the interchange. The

statesshare is$17.6millionandMont-

gomeryCountys is $14.4million.

The busy intersection is seeing

more construction, including a new

re station that is expected to be done

by summer 2016. That project is be-

ing coordinated with the interchange

work, but the completion date for the

re station is not expected to be af-

fectedby the interchangeprojects de-

lay, Lucille Baur, a spokeswoman for

MontgomeryCounty, saidTuesday.

The23,133-square-footGlenmont

Fire Station No. 18 is being erected at

the site of the former Glenmont Ele-

mentarySchoolnear that intersection.

The original station across Georgia

Avenuewhichdated to 1953was

purchased by the state and demol-

ished last year to make way for the

fresh interchange there.

The new station, which was com-

memorated with a groundbreaking

last week, will be more than three

times as large as the old one. There

will be fourmoderndrive-throughap-

paratus bays, decontamination and

information technology rooms, and

environmentally friendly features.

The facility will strengthen criti-

cal emergency services in an area that

continues to see tremendousgrowth,

acting Fire Chief Scott Goldstein said

in a statement.

An interim Glenmont re station

is being operated on Grandview Av-

enue about amile south in the former

home of the Wheaton Volunteer Res-

cueSquad.

The construction cost for the new

station is budgeted for $8.5 million.

Theprojects totalbudgetof $14.8mil-

lion includes design, furniture and in-

terimstation costs, amongothers.

In most cases, reghters remain

in the original building while a new

one is built, Baur said.

Thatwasnot possible in this case

due to the [state] road construction

project, she said.

[email protected]

Silver Spring interchange project faces delay

RENDERING FROM HUGHES GROUP ARCHITECTS

Workers recently broke ground on the new Glenmont Fire Station No. 18 in Silver

Spring. It is slated to be completed in summer 2016. This rendering gives an idea of

how the station will look.

1952216

Hearing thats up to 25% better than normal?

1952589

THE GAZETTE


n Project promotes play

BY SAMANTHA SCHMIEDER

STAFFWRITER

When the children who live at Seneca

Heights Apartments in Gaithersburg left for

school the morning of May 20, the area to

the right of the building was covered in dirt

andlledwith volunteers.

When they came home that afternoon,

the formerly energetic volunteers were

weary, but visibly proud, and the formerly

dirty plotwas a brandnewplayground.

SenecaHeights, ownedandoperatedby

the Montgomery County Coalition for the

Homeless in Rockville, provides housing for

previously homeless individuals and fami-

lies. Their new playground became a reality

with help from KaBOOM!, a nonprot that

works to bringplay into childrens lives, and

the J. Willard and Alice S. Marriott Founda-

tion, and their volunteers.

KaBOOM! project manager for the

build Britany Riley explained that organiza-

tions and communities must apply for help

from KaBOOM!. Once a group is chosen,

KaBOOM! works with them to secure the

volunteers, supplies and funds tomake it all

happen.

KaBOOM! is a national nonprot that

is dedicated to bringing balance and ac-

tive play to kids all across the United States,

mostly doing playground builds with com-

munities underserved in play, Riley said.

She explained that the organization also

is starting theconversationabout the impor-

tance of play which will help stop children

frombeing sedentary, bored and solitary.

The homeless coalition and Seneca

Heights applied for the playground at the

beginning of this year and were working

with KaBOOM! by March to gure out the

specics.

Susanne Sinclair-Smith, the coalitions

executivedirector, explained thatKaBOOM!

enlisted the help of the children who live in

the apartments to design the playgroundby

asking them to draw and explain their ideal

play space. KaBOOM! then took the chil-

drens drawings to their experts and found

the best materials to make their dreams a

reality.

The build takes place in one day. We

think its a really cool opportunity to have

this done in one day. Its a really tangible

project, you can leave the day knowing

therewillbe30kidsplayinghere,Riley said.

Thoughmost of theworkwas doneMay 20,

therewassitepreparation in thedaysbefore.

[The community is] responsible for the

tools, food, recruiting,Rileysaid, explaining

that once KaBOOM! pairs those who are re-

ceiving the playgroundwith a funding part-

ner, it is their job to get everything together

for the build. KaBOOM! helps by providing

somevolunteers, buildexpert andorganiza-

tion.

When KaBOOM! rst approached us

they tolduswewouldneed 200 volunteers,

Sinclair-Smith said. She explained that

all of the team leaders were instructed by

KaBOOM!s leadership onhow tobest com-

plete their assigned task.

Im impressed with KaBOOM!s ability

toorganize volunteers, Sinclair-Smith said.

She explained that there were about 100

volunteers fromMarriott and the rest was a

variety of staff, volunteers and board mem-

bers with the coalition, plus people from

KaBOOM! Some volunteered supplies and

food rather than labor.

Project andorganization leaders, aswell

as community representatives, came out

to the site in the morning and afternoon to

show their support for the project. Seneca

Heights residents were able to raise about

$300 to donate to KaBOOM! to go toward

the project.

Rep. Donna Edwards (D-Dist. 4) of Fort

Washington noted after the opening cer-

emony how she has been focusing on early

childhood education in Congress and help-

ing provide children with a safe nurturing

place to play and learn.

I think particularly for children who

have been homeless and they havent had

the kind of stability and attention to all the

things [other] kids have, like play, Edwards

said, adding that the playground will help

children be children again. I wish I could

stay all day.

At the end of the day, the cluttered area

hadbeentransformedintoswingsandslides

as well as covered picnic and sitting areas,

colorful hopscotch and alphabet caterpil-

lars. And most prominently, some very

pleased volunteers and excited residents.

[email protected]

SenecaHeights receives new playground

BILL RYAN/THE GAZETTE

Mukesh Kumar of Ellicott City and Deb Toro

of Chevy Chase, volunteers with the J. Willard

and Alice S. Marriott Foundation, assemble

playground equipment in Gaithersburg on May

20. The Montgomery County Coalition for the

Homeless partnered with outside companies

and KaBOOM!to build the playground at Seneca

Heights.

n $5.1 billion plan for

scal 2016 will increase

spending almost 2 percent


STAFFWRITER

Montgomery County on

Thursday formally adopted its

scal 2016 operating budget, a

$5.07 billion spending plan up

almost2percent fromthecurrent

year. The county also adopted its

updated capital improvements

program.

County Council members

tentatively set the operating

plan the previous week, adding

roughly $17 million for council

priorities, and adopting tax rates

for the coming year. Thursdays

vote sets the plan for the coming

scal year that starts July 1.

The total operating budget

fundscountygovernment,Mont-

gomery College, Montgomery

County Public Schools and the

Maryland-National Capital Park

andPlanningCommission.

Because of slow revenue

growth, this was a difcult year,

but we take pride in our work,

Council President George L. Lev-

enthal said. The county execu-

tive sent us a good budget, and

we have strengthened it in ways

that are important to our com-

munity.

County employees will re-

ceive 2 percent raises in the new

scal year, plus 3.5 percent step

increasesandlongevity increases,

which vary by bargaining unit

and are offered only to employ-

ees who have 20 years with the

county. The pay increases add

about $18million to thebudget.

Of the countys revenues,

$393millionwill go into reserves.

We know from our fiscal

plan that next years budget will

present a serious challenge, said

Leventhal (D-AtLarge)ofTakoma

Park.

The reserve provides for con-

tingenciessuchastheMay18U.S.

Supreme Court decision that will

cost the countymillions, he said.

The county did not fully fund

anyagencys request for 2016.

County Executive Isiah

Leggett said he faced a $238 mil-

lion budget gap, with income tax

property transfer revenues bring-

ing in less thanexpected.

Leggett (D) recommended

providing only maintenance of

effort fundingtotheschools.State

maintenance of effort law re-

quires the county provide at least

the same funding per student as

the yearbefore.

A total of $2.318 billion will

go to the school systems operat-

ingbudget,which is $75.1million

less than the systems request.

This includes countymoney, and

state and federal aid.

However, money from an-

other fund also will go the school

systemto fundretireehealthben-

ets.

Leggett also recommended

not fully funding Montgomery

Colleges budget request.

The college sought $253.8

million; Leggett recommended

$247.8million.

The council provided $251.5

million, adding roughly $7.9 mil-

lion more than Leggett recom-

mended to the colleges budget,

in part, to avoid a large increase

in tuition.

For Park and Planning, the

budget provides $29.87 million,

which is $326,000 less than re-

quested.

[email protected]

CountyOKs budget

in a difcult year

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1952236

THE GAZETTE


n Board to resume search

process in January

BY LINDSAY A. POWERS

STAFFWRITER

Larry A. Bowers will re-

main Montgomery County

Public Schools interim super-

intendent as the county school

board continues to search for

a new permanent leader.

The board unanimously

appointed Bowers to the role

a second time on

Wednesday, a few

days after its top

choice to become the

school systems next

superintendent with-

drew his name.

State schools Su-

perintendent Lillian

M. Lowery approved

the appointment, ac-

cording to William Reinhard,

a spokesman for the Maryland

State Department of Educa-

tion.

Bowers, who has worked

in the district for about 37

years, has served as the in-

terim leader since February

and now will stay until June of

next year. Former Superinten-

dent Joshua P. Starr resigned

in February before his four-

year contract would have ex-

pired this summer.

During a school board

meeting May 20, Bowers, who

had been set to retire at the

end of June, said he hadnt

planned to stay in the post,

but was willing to step in.

Im very committed to

this system and what weve

been doing, and I want to

make sure it continues, he

said.

Bowers appointment was

met with clapping and cheer-

ing from the audience in the

crowded school board meet-

ing room.

I think you can tell that

the MCPS staff is very happy

that there will be stability and

positive direction, school

board President Patricia

ONeill told Bowers.

ONeill said after the meet-

ing that the board is taking a

pause in its superintendent

search and plans to resume in

January.

On May 14, the board an-

nounced it had picked Andrew

Houlihan, chief academic

ofcer of the Houston Inde-

pendent School District, as

its preferred candidate out

of a pool of 25 people it con-

sidered. Houlihan informed

ONeill in a May 17 letter that

he was withdrawing his appli-

cation.

While I believe that my

leadership would be an as-

set to Montgomery County, I

also feel that at this point in

time, such leadership is not

the right t for me, my family

or the system as a whole, he

wrote in the letter. He did not

elaborate further on his rea-

soning.

Houlihan has not returned

messages left for him at his

home in Texas and through

the Houston school system.

About 17 county entities

were represented in a com-

munity panel that talked pri-

vately with Houlihan. They

included the districts three

employee associations, the

Montgomery County Council

of Parent-Teacher Associa-

tions and various minority or-

ganizations focused on social

and education issues.

ONeill said board mem-

bers were disappointed Hou-

lihan bowed out.

Anyone making a move

to a new area, a new job, has

to consider their family, their

professional circumstances,

are they the right t, and he

made that determination,

she said.

Union officials said

Wednesday that they support

Bowers appointment as the

search continues.

I think every-

one is extremely ex-

cited about the level

of leadership and

the level of stabil-

ity that Mr. Bowers

has brought and will

continue to bring,

said James Kout-

sos, president of the

Montgomery County Asso-

ciation of Administrators and

Principals.

Doug Prouty, president

of the Montgomery County

Education Association, said

the board will now have more

time to nd a really quality

superintendent candidate.

Im actually very enthusi-

astic about this, Prouty said.

I think its exactly the right

thing to do at this time.

A letter on Monday to the

school board written on behalf

of 29 high school principals

expressed support for Bow-

ers to stay for the next school

year.

Whitman High School

Principal Alan Goodwin, who

wrote the letter, said in an

interview that he and other

principals agreed that ap-

pointing Bowers would al-

low the school board to slow

down the search process and

take more time to find a new

superintendent.

Byron Johns education

chairman of the Montgomery

County branch of the NAACP,

said an interim leader was

the best of the boards next

options after Houlihan with-

drew.

It wasnt evident that

Houlihan had the necessary

experience for the job, Johns

said. The board now has more

time to revisit its search pro-

cess and include community

members earlier on and more

extensively, he said.

Bowers has done an

ample job in the past few

months, he said, but now

needs to move the agenda

forward as he takes on a full

school year.

In the next year, Bowers

said, the district will focus on

math, literacy and closing its

achievement gap.

I think the message is

that were going to stay on the

same track but we have some

hard work to do, he said.

[email protected]

Bowers to continue on as

interim superintendent

Bowers

n Parking, Metro and money are hurdles


STAFFWRITER

A proposed arena in Montgomery County

is no closer to opening than it was a year ago.

Without a space to accommodate most

high school graduation ceremonies, many

Montgomery County Public Schools seniors

and their families again will trek elsewhere,

such as Washington, D.C.

Despite years of working to build an arena

in the county that could host events, the

project remains stymied by Washington Met-

ropolitan Area Transit Authority and lacks

county nancial support.

As an arena site, developers have been

eyeing about 8 acres of WMATA land used for

parking at the Shady Grove Metro station.

Montgomery County awarded developer

D&A Sports and Entertainment the project

more than six years ago.

But the progress both the county and the

developer expected last May has not hap-

pened.

County Executive Isiah Leggett said the

county cannot nancially support the project

now because of a tight budget and difcult s-

cal outlook.

Leggett (D) said the project also faces

challenges with Metro and its willingness to

be a part of it.

Asked for comment, WMATA spokesman

Mike Tolbert emailed this statement: Metro

is supportive of this project. However, we re-

quire that any commuter parking that is dis-

placed by the proposed arena be replaced. As

an end-of-line station, Shady Grove is a busy

station and its parking facilities are often at or

near capacity.

No one, Leggett said, is in a position to

come up with a plan that satises all of the

concerns.

Its a long, long ways from anything con-

crete happening out there, he said.

Tom Doyle of D&A Sports and Entertain-

ment could not be reached for comment.

Last year, Doyle said the question of how

much parking would have to be provided at

the arena was the only thing standing be-

tween the project and a green light from

WMATA.

But while the county hoped to have the

issue resolved last July, a year later, Leggett

said, the project still does not have WMATA

approval.

Most Montgomery County high schools

will hold commencement at the Daughters of

the American Revolutions Constitution Hall

in Washington, D.C.

Once built, the arena in the county will be

available each year for graduation ceremo-

nies, Doyle said previously.

That is a mandatory requirement of this

whole project for us, he said in 2014. I went

to public school in Montgomery County and

everybody before and after me has had to suf-

fer with going somewhere else.

Leggett said he, too, is eager to stop host-

ing graduations outside the county.

Its something I want to change, he

said. Ive gone down to Constitution Hall too

many times, ghting through the trafc, forc-

ing our residents go through the trafc. We

have to change that. Hopefully, that we can

get it done. Its just question of timing at this

point.

Even if Metro approves plans for the

arena, the county still could require a master-

plan or zoning amendment for the project.

If the master plan must be amended, minor

master-plan amendments are the countys

quickest process and those can take about a

year to complete.

[email protected]

Another year passes, and still

no public arena in the county

1931210

NOTICE

Notice is hereby given that application

has been made by:

Frank Gao

Xiaozhuo Wang

on behalf of MG Bethesda Enterprises,

LLC, for the transfer & Reclassification of

a Beer & Light Wine License, Class H, H/

R, On Sale Only, to a Beer, Wine &

Liquor License, Class B, H/R, On Sale

Only, for the premises known asMatuba

Restaurant, which premises are located

at:

4918 Cordell Avenue

Bethesda, Maryland 20817

A hearing on the application will be

held in the Montgomery County

Government Rockville Library,

First Floor Meeting Room

21 Maryland Avenue,

Rockville, Maryland 20850, on:

Thursday: June 4, 2015

At: 9:30 a.m.

Any person desiring to be heard on said

application should appear at the time and

place fixed for said hearing.

BY: Kathie Durbin

Board of License Commissioners

Division Chief

for Montgomery County, Maryland

1931642

County: Loan program

generated 380 jobs

A Montgomery County

business development pro-

gram that launched in 2012

with a $50 million county in-

vestment yielded $103 million

in new small-business loans

and 380 new jobs in 2014, the

county reported last week.

Small Business Plus! is a col-

laboration between the county

and community banks with

headquarters in the county.

County funds are deposited in

the banks, which agree to at

least match each dollar with

an equal amount in new small-

business loans.

In addition to helping cre-

ate the jobs, the program re-

turned to the county more

than $117,000 in interest on its

deposits.

Eligible county banks must

have assets of $200 million to

$5 billion and meet the pro-

grams safety and soundness

criteria. Among the participat-

ing banks are Capital Bank of

Rockville, and Congressional

Bank and EagleBank, both of

Bethesda.

Arxan names

chief tech ofcer

Arxan Technologies of

Bethesda named Sam Rehman

chief technology ofcer.

Previously, Rehman was

chief technology officer for

Epam Systems and also worked

for Oracle.

EYA starts selling new

townhouses in Bethesda

Bethesda developer EYA

plans to start selling townhouses

in its new Montgomery Row de-

velopmentnextmonth.

The 168-residence complex

is on 10 acres on FernwoodRoad

between Rock Spring and Rock-

ledgedrives inBethesda.

Starting June 6, EYA will be-

gin sales of the three- and four-

level, 1,700- to 2,600-square-foot

units. Prices will range from

about $750,000 to $1.12 million,

according to a company news

release.

The development will also

include 21 moderately priced

dwelling units, per county regu-

lations.

The first move-ins are ex-

pectednext spring.

Pebblebrook pays $186M

for Florida resort

Pebblebrook Hotel Trust of

Bethesda purchased LaPlaya

Beach Resort and LaPlaya Beach

Club for $185.5million.

The 189-room, waterfront,

luxury resort and private mem-

bers club are on 6 acres on the

Gulf of Mexico in Naples, Fla.

Last year, guests paid an average

of $337per night to stay at the re-

sort.

PTA group honors Schoen

Mike Schoen, founder and

president of AtoZ Directories in

Rockville, recently received the

Partners for Education Award

from the Montgomery County

Council of PTAs.

The award recognizes in-

dividuals or organizations that

have formed an organization

or alliance to support educa-

tion. Schoen was honored for

launching AtoZ in 2009 to help

PTAs produce school directo-

ries, according to a news re-

lease.

The directories also work as

fundraisers and have a mobile

app with information such as

school calendars, lunch menus

and contacts.

Ruppert Landscape

names IT director

Ruppert Landscape of Lay-

t o n s v i l l e

named Dan

Spruill of

Finksburg

director of

information

t e c h n o l -

ogy. Spruill

holds a

bachelors

in engineer-

ing science fromLoyolaUniver-

sityMaryland.

THE GAZETTE


BizBriefs

Have a new business in

Montgomery County? Let us know

about it at www.gazette.net/

newbusinessform

Spruill

n Leggett also appoints

Goldstein re chief,

Green to lead corrections


STAFFWRITER

Former County Council-

woman Cherri Branson has

been named to lead Mont-

gomery Countys newOfce of

Procurement.

County Executive Isiah

Leggett announced his choice

on May 14, along with other

appointments.

Leggett (D) also named

acting Fire Chief Scott E. Gold-

stein re chief and Rob Green,

the interim correctional and

rehabilitation director, direc-

tor of the Department of Cor-

rection and Rehabilitation.

All three appointments are

subject toCountyCouncil con-

rmation.

The county separated

procurement from the De-

partment of General Services

this year. In 2008, the county

created the Department of

General Services and moved

procurement under its um-

brella, according to county

documents.

Legislation passed in

March re-establishes theOfce

of Procurement as a principal

ofce in the executive branch.

Branson served on the

County Council just shy of one

year, takingover the remainder

of former Councilwoman Val-

erie Ervins term in 2014. Ervin

(D-Dist. 5) of Silver Spring left

the council to lead the Center

for Working Families. Branson

was appointed to the remain-

derof the term in January2014,

agreeing to not run for the seat

in the 2014 election.

Bransons resume includes

nearly a quarter-century on

Capitol Hill including her

most recent job as chief coun-

sel for oversight to the House

Homeland Security Commit-

tee before coming to the

council.

Duringher timeasacounty

lawmaker, she helped pass

legislation aimed at removing

employment barriers for for-

mer convicts and worked to

improve small, minority- and

women-owned business con-

tracting something she will

oversee if conrmed to head

the procurement department.

Green has been acting di-

rector of Correction and Reha-

bilitation sinceMarch.

He joined the county gov-

ernment in 2000 as a division

chief and as warden at the

Montgomery County Cor-

rectional Facility in Clarks-

burg and the Detention

Center in Rockville, according

to a county news release.

He took over the depart-

ment on an interim basis

following the retirement of for-

merDirectorArtWallenstein in

March. Prior to coming to the

county, Green spent 15 years

with the Frederick County

SheriffsOfceand isanational

leader in the eld of correc-

tions, the release said.

Goldstein has spent nearly

25 years with the county. He

has beenacting chief since Jan.

1, when he took over from re-

tired Chief Steve Lohr.

Before taking over lead-

ership of the re and rescue

service, Goldstein was division

chiefofoperations, thesecond-

highest position in the depart-

ment.

[email protected]

Ex-councilwoman

to head countys

procurement ofce

As part of the countys

16th annual Recycling Aware-

ness Week, the Montgomery

County Department of Envi-

ronmental Protections Divi-

sion of Solid Waste Services

recently recognized outstand-

ing achievements in recycling,

waste reduction, reuse, buying

recycled-content products,

backyard composting and

grass-cycling and educational

efforts.

Local businesses, orga-

nizations, multifamily apart-

ment and condominium

properties, residents and indi-

viduals were honored May 20

at the county conference cen-

ter in North Bethesda for their

efforts to help the county meet

its goal to recycle 70 percent of

all waste by 2020.

Those honored included

the following:

Outstanding Leadership

Efforts to Increase Recycling

Awareness: Bebe McMeekin,

Bethesda.

Multi-Family Property

Excellence in Recycling: Ava-

lon at Grosvenor Station and

The Sterling, North Bethesda;

Berkshires at Rock Spring,

Bethesda; and The Waterford

Condominium, Kensington.


Outstanding Effort in Recy-

cling: Decoverly IV Condo-

minium and The Promenade,

Bethesda; Jefferson at Inigos

Crossing, North Bethesda; and

The Riviera of Chevy Chase.


Staff Outstanding Individual

Achievement in Recycling:

Thomas Doody, Brookside

Apartments, Kensington;

and Elieth Montiel, The Wil-

loughby of Chevy Chase Con-

dominium.

Excellence in Recy-

cling, Business: Fitzgerald

Auto Malls, Kensington; and

Landon School, Bethesda.

Outstanding Achieve-

ment in Recycling, Business:

6905 Rockledge Drive, 9200,

9211, 9221 Corporate Boule-

vard and Primary Day School,

Bethesda; and Chevy Chase

Metro Building.

Outstanding Achieve-

ment in Business Recycling,

Individual: Deine Avila and

Joe Fitzgibbon of Red Coats,

Brittany Hilliker of Brookeld

Office Properties, National

Institutes of Health, Stacee

Longenecker of Piedmont

Office Realty Trust, William

Ortega-Ortiz of Walter Reed

National Military Medical

Center Naval Support Activity

and Mary Riegert of Finmarc

Management, all of Bethesda;

and Jeanne A. Nabavi, Geico,

Chevy Chase.

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THE GAZETTE


n Legislation would give

local governments power

to regulate companies


STAFFWRITER

Nothing irks Montgomery

County residents quite like nding

theirvehicle towedwithout theircon-

sent. Two federal lawmakers want to

be clear who has the authority to ad-

dress theproblem.

Montgomery receives roughly

200 complaints every year about

towing done without the owners

consent. About one third to one half

of the time, ofcials say, the towing

companies have not complied with

county law.

Towing might seem a local issue

it is the top complaint to Mont-

gomeryCountysOfceofConsumer

Protection. But a 1990s authorization

bill for the Federal Aviation Adminis-

tration dened towing companies as

interstate carriers, and put authority

for regulating in the industry, gener-

ally, in federal hands.

Now, federal lawmakers want

to give the power to regulate tow-

ing back to state and local govern-

ments.

U.S. Reps. Christopher Van Hol-

len Jr. (D-Dist. 8) of Kensington and

Don Beyer (D), who represents Vir-

ginias 8th District, have introduced

theStateandLocalPredatoryTowing

EnforcementAct. Thebill,whichalso

was introduced in 2014, would pro-

vide state and local governments the

clear authority to regulate towing.

Its unclear who in Congress has

blocked the bill in the past and why,

Van Hollen said, but he assumes its

someone with a nancial interest in

keeping the status quo.

CountiessuchasMontgomeryal-

readyhave someauthority tooversee

towingpractices as it relates to safety,

saidEricFriedman,directorof theOf-

ce ofConsumerProtection.

In 2013, Maryland passed a new

towing law and allowed towing rms

to recoup the actual costs of meet-

ing the new laws mandate. The law

added roughlya$61charge to towing

bills.

But current federal law creates a

loophole that allows predatory tow-

ing practices to go, for themost part,

unchecked, VanHollen said.

Predatory towing is where spot-

ters are paid to watch private lots or

tow truckdriverswait for someone to

park inaprivate lotandviolateposted

restrictions.Often,vehiclesare towed

quickly,within a fewminutes.

Theres no reason the federal

government shouldbedictating tow-

ingpolicy to local governments,Van

Hollen said.

Montgomery County Council-

man Roger Berliner (D-Dist. 1) of

Bethesda has proposed legislation

to crack down on abusive towing

practices. His legislation updates the

countys 20-year-old law that ad-

dresses towing.

County Council attorney Josh

Hamlin said nothing in current fed-

eral law should prevent the county

from passing Berliners bill, but Van

Hollens legislation would remove

any uncertainty about authority on

regulating towing.

Freidman said the only challenge

to state or local law that he can re-

member never mentioned a federal

preemptionof that authority.

We dont think there is a pre-

emption prohibition, but want to

make sure that there isnt any po-

tential confusion or grounds for any

arguments, he said.

Van Hollen said his bill could

pass in twopossibleways: as separate

legislation or part of the larger trans-

portation authorization bill before

Congress.

[email protected]

VanHollen bill shifts towing authority

2012 FILE PHOTOS

Legislation introduced by Rep. Christopher Van Hollen would provide local governments the authority to regulate towing practices.

n Neighbor of slain couple to be

returned to county this week

BY VIRGINIA TERHUNE

STAFFWRITER

The Rockville-area man still being held

Tuesdayas a fugitive from justice inAlaska is ex-

pected back inMaryland this week to face mur-

der charges in theMothersDay stabbingdeaths

of his next-door neighbors on RidgeDrive.

Scott Tomaszewski is due back in Mont-

gomery County this week and will be arraigned

Monday in Montgomery County District Court

in Rockville, Ramon V. Korionoff, a spokesman

for the county states attorneys ofce, wrote in

an email Tuesday.

Montgomery police ofcers will bring To-

maszewski, 31, back from Juneau, where he is

in custody after being arrested on a cruise ship,

said James T. Scott, district attorney for the Ju-

neau judicial district covering southeast Alaska.

We never disclose exactly when prisoners

will be transported for security reasons, Scott

wrote in an email onMay 20.

The fugitive-from-justice charge authorizes

Alaska ofcials to hold Tomaszewski on the

pendingmurder and burglary charges inMont-

gomery County, Scott said.

Timothy Ayer, Tomaszewskis court-ap-

pointed attorney in Alaska, who represented

him at his extradition hearing, declined to com-

ment Tuesday.

Tomaszewski, who livedwith his parents on

Ridge Drive, is accused of killing Richard and

Julianne Vilardo and stealing threewatches and

other items from their house early in themorn-

ingofMay10, according tochargingdocuments.

Montgomery County and Alaska ofcers

arrested Tomaszewski in Juneau after Mont-

gomery County investigators linked him to a

burglary on Ridge Drive in early April during

which Tomaszewski stole a class ring that he

later pawned in Rockville on April 20, according

to the documents.

After arrestingTomaszewski on theburglary

warrant onMay 16 on the cruise ship, investiga-

tors found cash in his wallet soaked with what

appears to be blood, according to charging

documents.

Police searched his stateroom and found

possible evidence. The next day, he was served

papers in the LemonCreek Correctional Center

in Juneau charging himwith two counts each of

rst-degreemurder andarmed robbery, accord-

ing to charging documents.

The Vilardo family thanked the Montgom-

ery County Police Department in a statement.

Police spokesman Capt. Paul Starks also

credited a range of agencies for their help in the

arrest, includingMaryland and Alaska State Po-

lice, the Juneau Police Department, FBI agents

in Juneau, theCoastGuard Investigative Section

in Juneau andU.S. Immigration and Customs.

[email protected]

Murder

suspect still

in Alaska

1951646

158715G

1951734

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Denture consults Free*

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Reline/Rebase/Repair

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We Speak Spanish

9126 Rothbury Dr. Gaithersburg

(Near McDonalds & CVS in Goshen Plaza)

301-740-3955

10400 Connecticut Ave., Suite 203

Kensington

301-933-7046

EMERGENCIES & WALK-INS WELCOME!

158219G

THE GAZETTE


n Pilot program

will equip 100 ofcers

BY VIRGINIA TERHUNE

STAFFWRITER

Starting in late June, about

100 of Montgomery Countys

1,200 police ofcers will begin

wearing body cameras on their

chests or on eyeglasses as a way

to record their contacts with the

public.

The goal of the six-month

pilot program is to test and

evaluate different types of cam-

eras and technology, which

are intended to improve police

accountability, particularly in

incidents involving the use of

force, while balancing that with

privacy concerns.

There will be times when

[someone] asks not to be re-

corded, and the ofcer has the

discretion to turn [the camera]

off, but he or shemust say aloud

why theyre turning it off, said

county Police Chief J. Thomas

Manger during a May 11 bud-

get discussion with the County

Council.

The cities of Rockville,

Gaithersburg and Takoma Park

also are testing and evaluating

police body cameras.

Body cameras have become

part of a national discussion

about ofcers use of force fol-

lowing the fatal shooting death

of an unarmed teenager in Fer-

guson,Mo., in August and,most

recently, the death of Freddie

Gray in Baltimore city in April

after suffering neck and spinal

injuries while in police custody.

County ofcerswill wear the

cameras during trafc stops, ar-

rests, transports and incidents

involving people with mental

problems,Manger said.

The cameras will not be

used to record conversations

between officers or in places

such as locker rooms and dress-

ing rooms unless the rooms are

part of a criminal investigation,

he said.

When theres a complaint,

[the cameras] will eliminate that

speculation about what actually

happened, said Councilman

Craig Rice (D-Dist. 2) of Ger-

mantown.

During the pilot, the police

department will handle public

requests for video in about the

same way that it currently han-

dles requests for videos taken

frompolice cars, Manger said.

In the meantime, the states

PoliceTrainingCommissionhas

beenchargedwith formulating a

policy for the Maryland General

Assemblys consideration by

January. A study commission is

expected to issue policy recom-

mendations by Oct. 1.

Probably the thorniest is-

suebefore theGeneralAssembly

will be [deciding] whats public

information and what isnt,

Manger said.

The fiscal 2016 police de-

partment budget includes

about $622,000 for the body

camera program, which in-

cludes $422,400 for data storage,

$103,000 to buy equipment and

$97,000 for twonew information

technology employees, accord-

ing to a council staff memo.

[email protected]

County

police

adopt body

cameras

The following is a summary of inci-

dents in the Bethesda area to which

Montgomery County police responded

recently. The words arrested and

charged do not imply guilt. This infor-

mation was provided by the county.

Residential burglary

6000 block of Namakagan

Road, between 11:30 a.m. and 1:30

p.m. onMay 7. Forced entry, took

property.

Vehicle larceny

Three thefts from vehicles oc-

curred in the earlymorning hours

ofMay 4. Affected streets included

Oakmont Ave., SwansongWay and

Mohawk Lane. No forced entry, took

property.

Three thefts from vehicles oc-

curred during the overnight hours

betweenMay 5 andMay 8. Affected

streets included BrookviewDrive,

Hillandale Road andWestbard Ave.

No forced entry, took property.

7600 block ofWisconsin Ave.,

between 9:58 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. on

May 5. No forced entry, took prop-

erty.

POLICE BLOTTER

THE GAZETTE


n Bombardier shares

importance of faith

at Olney school

BY TERRIHOGAN

STAFFWRITER

One of the five Xaverian

values stressed at Our Lady of

Good Counsel High School in

Olney is humility, which can be

denedasthequalityor stateof

not thinking you are better than

other people.

Good Counsel students re-

cently got an opportunity to

experience humility through

meeting retired 2nd Lt. John

R. Pedevillano, who fought in

World War II with the Army Air

Corps.

For an assignment, his

granddaughter Angela Vucci

of Brookeville, a junior, was re-

quiredtovisit theU.S.Holocaust

MemorialMuseum inWashing-

ton and took him along for his

perspective.

In a paper reecting on the

visit, shewrote about theexperi-

ence she sharedwith her grand-

father that day.

Religion teacher Natasha

Fredericks was so moved by

Vuccis reections that she in-

vited Pedevillano, 93, to talk to

the class.

Pedevillano, of College Park,

originally spoke to the religion

class inApril.

One of the reasons this was

so important tome is tohear the

history, just as he experienced

it, Fredericks said. In his case,

he had such a strong faith, and

told us how, from his perspec-

tive, he saw Gods hand in all of

his experiences. It shows that

even through evil and suffering,

God iswith us.

Fredericks arranged to have

Pedevillano return to Good

Counsel onMay 19, this time to

speak in the chapel to a larger

audience.Thetalkwasrecorded,

so it could be shown to future

classes.

Ive had a blessed life, said

Pedevillano, thoughtfully and

softly. I came from a family of

religious and patriotic people. I

believe the events in my life did

not happen by chance, in my

opinion.

Pedevillano grew up in Bay-

onne, N.J. Soon after the attack

on Pearl Harbor, he joined the

Army Air Corps. He was only 19

when he earned his ight wings

in 1943.

Pedevillano was the young-

est B-17 bombardier in his unit,

ying a plane named Miss Car-

riage after a showgirl.

Heewsix combatmissions

over Germany before he was

shot downonApril 24, 1944.

Vucci introduced him to her

classmates by saying, The mis-

sions you are about to hear

near misses of fate by ak and

enemy aircraft ghters shoot-

ing through his nose window,

air-battle wounds, precision

targeting of weapon factories,

his patriotic poemabout Ameri-

cans, keeping his buddies alive,

being captured by the Nazis,

survivingprisonerofwarcamps,

being forced tomarch300 freez-

ing miles and prison escapes

from his enemy Nazi captors

is what makes legends, because

his faith inGod iswhat kept him

alive through all this anguish.

Pedevillano said his main

message was the importance of

faith.

Without faith, I could not

have survived, he said. I had a

littleBiblewithme.There areno

atheists in combat.

Pedevillano believes he was

part of what has been described

as theGreatestGeneration.

Everyone took part in the

wareffort; itwasa timeforevery-

one to come together, he said.

Youwill never see that again.

Vucci said thatwhile shehas

always been interested in what

her grandfather had to say, it

was special that her friends got

to hear his stories.

Its a different experience

than reading from a textbook,

she said.

She said her grandfathers

talk broughtmanyof her friends

to tears. The students hugged

Pedevillano and he was visibly

touched.

C.J.Costigan, a junior, called

Pedevillanos talk completely

amazing.

To hear his rsthand ac-

count of what it was like to be a

P.O.W. was really cool, he said.

Healso talkedabouthowhefell

in loveandhis family. Ididntex-

pect it tohitmeashardas itdid.

Paris Clark, also a junior,

said she was impressed with

howhumble hewas.

He saved a lot of peoples

lives and did so much for our

country, but he didnt boast

about it, she said. He was so

kind, and spoke to us about

what life was like when he was

younger, and America was so

united.

Pedevillano resigned his

commission in 1945 and re-

mained with the reserves until

1955.

Taking advantage of the GI

bill, he landed at the University

of Maryland, where he met a

beautiful young woman named

Gloria.

I told the students that it

was love at rst sight, he said.

I proposed after six weeks and

four months later we were mar-

ried.

Pedevillano tears up when

talking about Gloria, who died

last year after 64 years of mar-

riage. Together, they had three

daughters, including Anne, who

is Vuccis mother and a teacher

at St. Peters School inOlney.

Pedevillano is the last surviv-

ingmember of his ight crew of

10.

According to data from the

Veterans Administration, World

War II vets are dying at an aver-

age daily rate of 492. Thismeans

thereareonlyabout855,070vet-

erans remaining of the 16 mil-

lionwho served in thewar.

This was the first time

Pedevillano shared his story

publicly.

Iwas just oneof 10,000, he

said. The heroes are the ones

whopassed away.

He is scheduled to receive

his remaining military honors

in July.

Bill Vucci, his son-in-law,

said Sen. JohnMcCain (R-Ariz.),

himself a prisoner of war during

the VietnamWar, is expected to

present Pedevillano with two

Distinguished Unit Citations

and the Presidential Unit Cita-

tion at a ceremony at the Capi-

tol.

[email protected]

WWII vet offers a personal history lesson

OUR LADY OF GOOD COUNSEL HIGH SCHOOL

Retired Army Air Corps 2nd Lt. John R. Pedevillano talks with Natasha

Fredericks, a religion teacher at Our Lady of Good Counsel High School in

Olney, about his experiences in World War II.

TOM FEDOR/THE GAZETTE

People play in the spray provided by the Rockville Volunteer Fire Department

during the citys annual Hometown Holidays celebration Sunday in the Town

Center. The weekend festival included live music, the Taste of Rockville,

games and even a beach.

Holiday cool-down

n Group celebrates

milestone anniversary

BY PEGGYMCEWAN

STAFFWRITER

For 40 years, members of the

Clarksburg Neighborhood Senior

Program have met each week

to share their talents, learn new

things and just be there for each

other.

OnMay 20, they met to cele-

brate their milestone anniversary

andrecall thehistoryof thegroup.

Our motto is Life is great

when you participate, said

Joanne Woodson, who has been

the groups leader for 29 years.

Wemeet everyWednesday from

11a.m. to3p.m.Wedocrafts, arts

andplay games.ButnotBINGO!

And they talk,Woodson said.

We have discussions about

everyday things, shesaid. It gets

everyone talking, it takes some-

thing to getpeople to connect.

During the celebration, Mar-

garet Williams, a longtimemem-

ber, gave a history of the group,

who call themselves Super Se-

niors.

Among the highlights Wil-

liams mentioned were many

community involvement activi-

ties, including cooking and serv-

ing Thanksgiving dinner for the

community their rst year.

That was Project Turkey,

Williams said.

Williamsmother, Ethel Fore-

man,organized thegroup in1975

alongwithher friend JeanMarks.

Seniors wanted to do some-

thing to keep their time occupied

and rewarding,Williams said.

Weve done projects and

activities, fundraisers and bake

sales, Williams said. And weve

taken trips.

Many of the craft projects the

group undertook were for others.

They have knit and crocheted

blankets for those in need, made

dolls for children in Head Start

and even worked together on a

quiltcalledTheHouse thatnow

hangs inthemainofceofClarks-

burgHighSchool.

Woodson said she is espe-

cially proud of all the ribbons

members have won at theMont-

gomery County Fair over the

years. She said she encouraged

members to enter theirwork, just

to try something new, an impor-

tantpartofLife isgreatwhenyou

participate.

We won 26 ribbons the rst

year we entered things in the

CountyFair, she said.

Along the walls of the Clarks-

burg Park Building where the

group meets, were tables with

displays of projects from the

groups 40 years of crafting along

with some of those County Fair

ribbons and a photo collage of

members and activities from

throughout the years.

The groupwas originally part

of Montgomery County Recre-

ations Neighborhood Senior

Programs, now called 55+ Active

Adults Programs. The Neigh-

borhood Senior Programs were

eliminated in 2011 because of

budget cuts, according to Judy

Stiles, a media and public rela-

tions spokeswoman for Mont-

gomery County Recreation, and

reinstated thenext year.

When the program was

abolished, Woodson said, the

Clarksburg group could no lon-

germeet in the recreation center.

The Clarksburg group, which did

not want to disband, moved to

the nearby Community of Faith

UnitedMethodistChurch.

Now they are back in recre-

ation department space, meet-

ing at Clarksburg ParkRecreation

Center.

This is a special program,

Gabriel Albornoz, director of

Montgomery County Recreation

told the group. Its the people.

You guys are more than friends,

this is family.

[email protected]

Senior program turns

40, but hold the bingo

PEGGY MCEWAN/THE GAZETTE

Members and guests celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Clarksburg Super

Seniors with a luncheon and ceremony at Clarksburg Park Recreation Center

on May 20.

159048G

1951733

THE GAZETTE


andBethesda.

ACT and Ross, the groups

former president, led a lawsuit

Jan. 30 seeking waivers of hun-

dreds of dollars in fees that town

ofcials said they would charge

them for copies of agreements,

contracts, invoices, bills, corre-

spondence andmeetingminutes

requested under the Maryland

Public InformationAct.

Plaintiffs sought the fee

waiver not in the public interest

but infurtheranceof itsattackson

the town for its opposition to the

proposed Purple Line project,

lawyers for Chevy Chase stated

in the towns motion to dismiss

the suit.

In response, lawyers for ACT

and Ross said denying waivers

because the plaintiffs criticized

the townsactionsisunconstitu-

tional viewpoint discrimination.

The lawsuit is not for or

against thePurpleLine,butrather

its about the right of citizens to

know where their money is go-

ing, said Peter C. Whiteld, a

lawyer with Baker & Hostetler

whos representing ACT and

Ross.

The Washington, D.C., law

rmis representing themfor free,

but hopes to recover its costs as

well as persuade the court to or-

der thetowntogrant theplaintiffs

free access to the information.

They contend the town vio-

lated the Maryland Public Infor-

mation Act by denying ACT and

Ross fee waivers, denying two

hours of free research for some

separate information requests

anddenying access tominutes of

closed meetings. The group has

claimed that the town wants to

charge $170 an hour to meet its

requests.

The lawsuitarose fromaNov.

26, 2013, meeting of the Chevy

Chase Town Council during

which the council met in closed

session to talk with a representa-

tive of a law rm it later hired to

help stop thePurple Line.

The town council did violate

theMarylandOpenMeetings Act

by closing that session without

rst citing the exemption that al-

lowed it to close themeeting and

taking a vote todo so,Marylands

Open Meetings Compliance

Board ruled inMarch2014.

But town council members

have said those violations were

technical, and noted that the

compliance board agreed that

the topics discussed were valid

reasons for a closed session.

The towns attorneys said

state lawrequiredofcials todeny

requests toviewminutes fromthe

closedsession.Theyalsocontend

thatACTdoesnotqualify fora fee

waiver under the states public

information law simply because

it is anonprotandsays it cannot

afford topay.

State law, they note, says

the ofcial custodian of a public

record may waive a fee upon re-

quest, basedon the ability of the

applicant topay the feeandother

relevant factors, if the custo-

dian determines that the waiver

would be in the public interest.

But, they add, the law does not

dene other relevant factors nor

does it statewhat ismeantby the

public interest.

Noting the long, vigorous

public debate over the Purple

Line, lawyers for ACT and Ross

said the town failed to sufciently

consider strong public interest in

the information that theplaintiffs

sought.

And they said that the towns

response to the lawsuit failed to

provethat itsdenialswereproper.

The [Maryland Public Infor-

mation Act] directs that it shall

be construed in favor of allow-

ing inspection of a public record

with the least cost and delay ...,

they wrote. And, they added, the

states highest court hasheld that

the law is explicit that Maryland

citizensbeaccordedwide-rang-

ing access to public information

concerning the operation of their

government.

However, thestatutepermits

any town to obtain reasonable

fees for a document, said lawyer

Victoria M. Shearer of Karpinski,

Colaresi & Karp, a Baltimore rm

representingChevyChase.

The towns attorneys note

that the town identified Ross

earlier requests for information

on behalf of ACT and Ross afli-

ation with ACT as reasons for re-

jectinghisclaimthatheshouldbe

granteda feewaiver as amember

of thenewsmedia.

Further, they argue, the town

was permitted to consider the

history, identity and purposes

of the plaintiffs, including Ross

afliation with ACT, because the

public information act states that

it does not preclude such con-

sideration.

They also say that the town

was within its rights not to grant

two hours of free research for

someseparatelyledrequestsbe-

cause multiple requests for the

same category of documents by

ACT and/or its various represen-

tativeswereanobviousploytore-

peatedly obtain two free hours of

research andavoidpaying fees.

Lawyers for ACT and Ross

argue that requirement not to

charge for the rst two hours of

research applies to all requests

and all requestors. No provision

of the statute or case law permits

those free twohours to bedenied

based on claims that requests are

similar, they said.

Shearer said the townwill le

a motion opposing the plaintiffs

arguments.

A motions hearing is sched-

uled for July 10.

This year, lawmakers made

revisions to the Public Informa-

tion Act that take effect Oct. 1.

Theyrequire thestate toestablish

ave-memberStatePublic Infor-

mation Act Compliance Board to

review complaints and appoint a

lawyer as an ombudsman to try

to resolve disputes in an effort to

avoid the delays and expense of

taking suchmatters to court.

Under the revisions, appli-

cants charged a fee of more than

$350 for providing access to pub-

lic information may le a com-

plaint with the board contending

that the fee is unreasonable. Re-

cord custodians and applicants

retain the right to appeal the

boards decision in court.

PURPLE

Continued from Page A-1

roles inhis life: theU.K.,wherehewasborn;

theU.S.; andMontgomeryCollege.

Guraya, a Board of Trustees Scholar

representing the Germantown campus,

said he did not focus on academics as a

younger student and was rejected by mul-

tiple universities in 2013. He instead found

his academic drive at the college, where he

joined theMacklinBusiness Institute.Now,

hesaid,heisheadedtoGeorgetownUniver-

sity to continue studyingbusiness.

In his speech, LeRoy John Friend Jr. of

Germantown said he sought stability in a

career as anHVAC technician after years as

a coal miner in West Virginia. In that dan-

gerouspost,hesaid,hewitnessedaccidents

and injuries.

Friend, who works for Shapiro & Dun-

can Mechanical Contractors, participated

in a four-year apprenticeship program and

received the 2015 Apprenticeship Trustee

Scholar Award. He said he is the rst in his

family to continue education beyond high

school.

The graduates and other attendees

heard from two commencement speakers,

wifeandhusbandCokieandStevenRoberts

ofBethesda, both journalists andauthors.

Steven pointed to Montgomery Col-

leges diversity, particularly the immigrants

among its studentpopulation.

Anyone who doubts the enormous

contribution that immigrants make in this

country every single day, you only have to

be here this morning, and they would un-

derstand that, he said.

Cokie encouraged the graduates to se-

riously consider taking on a public service

role, where they can make waves and af-

fect lives.

The college, with its diversity, dem-

onstrates that people in the country dont

shareacommonethnicity, religion,heritage

or language, Cokie said. They are brought

togetherby something else, she said.

What we have is our government and

its institutions, she said.

Steven told the graduates to become

mentors and teachers.

He said Pollard, whom he has inter-

viewed, foundsupportwhenshewasyoung

from a group of women at her church. She

called them sister mothers. Steven said

he had a brother father while working for

James Reston at TheNew York Times. Res-

ton took time forhimeveryday.

Be a sistermother, be a brother father,

be a pebble in a pond, he said. And if you

do that, those ripples in your life will reach

shores you will never, ever see and touch

lives youwill never know.

[email protected]

GRADUATION

Continued from Page A-1

GeorgesCountyExecutiveRushernL.

Baker III (D) to talk about the Purple

Line, specically the economic rea-

sons forbuilding it.

Proposed to connect Bethesda to

New Carrollton, the 16-mile light-rail

line has been projected to bringmore

than 27,000 jobs to the region andbil-

lions in economicdevelopment.

But Hogan, a strong supporter of

road transportation, has questioned

theprojects$2.45billionpricetagand

asked state transportation ofcials to

take a closer look.

Asked if the meeting affected the

governors thinking on the project,

HoganspokeswomanErinMontgom-

ery wrote in an email: The governor

will make a decision on the Purple

Line once he receives nal recom-

mendations fromTransportationSec-

retaryPeteRahn.

Rahn said earlier this month that

the project could be built for 10 per-

cent less, The Washington Post re-

ported.

RahntoldThePostthePurpleLine

constructionsavingshisagency found

wouldresult fromchanges in theproj-

ectsscopeandcommercial terms.

Hoganwasexpectedtomakeade-

cision on the Purple Line this month,

but Leggett said he left the meeting

Thursday with the impression that

Hogan would not decide until after a

scheduled trip to Asia, likely in early

June.

My effort today was to get him

to accept the project is worth having

andwe should do it, Leggett said late

Thursdayafternoon.

Unwilling to say whether he ex-

pects Hogan to keep the project on

track, Leggett characterized themeet-

ing asproductive.

Leggett andBaker sought to show

thegovernorhowtheproject isconsis-

tentwithHogansdesire foreconomic

development growth inMaryland.

My point was: This is consistent

with his mandate to create jobs and

expand our tax base, Leggett said,

adding that he approached the con-

versation by presenting realistic g-

ures toHogan.

Hoganhasquestionedguresthat

show the pro

Documents

Bethesda 052715