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Wednesday, March 26, 2014
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DAN GROSS/THE GAZETTE
Parents and students trudge through the snow to Bethesda Elementary School on Tuesday. Only a couple of wet inches fell and county schools opened as usual — unlike the ten times when snow has prompted closings this season.
Schools can ask state to waive five snow days Montgomery sticks to request for four days
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LINDSAY A. POWERS STAFF WRITER
Montgomery County Public Schools is sticking with its snow day waiver request — for now. The Maryland State Board of Education decided Tuesday that districts can ask that up to five days missed due to bad weather be waived, but Montgomery is still asking for only a four-day waiver, according to Dana Tofig, a spokesman for the county school district. School officials are undecided
as to whether they will ask the state to waive the additional day, Tofig said. County students have had 10 wintery days off this school year — six days more than the four days the district built into the calendar. The state requires districts to hold 180 instruction days. Superintendent Joshua P. Starr sent the four-day waiver request to State Superintendent Lillian M. Lowery nearly two weeks before the state school board’s decision and a few days before the school system’s latest snow day on March 17. If the district were granted its current waiver request, it would need to make up two instruc-
tion days. As of Tuesday, officials planned to add one day to the calendar if the district is granted a waiver, but they weren’t sure about the second day. The school system will either ask that it be waived or decide to make it up as well, Tofig said. “Hopefully we will hear from the state soon and will be able to set a final calendar for the rest of the school year,” Tofig said in an email. Lowery will make the call on each school system’s waiver request, although no deadline has been set for those decisions. lpowers@gazette.net
Keeping tabs on the weather n
Damascus man reports daily data to National Weather Service BY CHRISTOPHER NEELY SPECIAL TO THE GAZETTE
This winter was one of the coldest and snowiest in Montgomery County in more than 30 years, and Robert J. Leffler has the stats to prove it. Leffler, 63, has been voluntarily running Montgomery County’s weather observation station in the backyard of his Damascus home since 1981. He said this
Man’s death sparks debate over defibrillators n
Montgomery County delegate: ‘Time is of the essence’
BY
TIFFANY ARNOLD STAFF WRITER
The death of a Silver Spring man who collapsed in police custody and later died has sparked a debate over whether police officers should carry lifesaving devices to treat heart failure. “This should be a wakeup call to the county, that they should do something promptly,” said Mike Mage, chairman of the Montgomery County chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union. Mage was talking about Kareem Ali, a 65-year-old mentally disabled Silver Spring man who died in 2010 after a scuffle with
police. Police claimed he was “unresponsive” in a stairwell and were trying to move him outside, sparking the conflict. Police used a Taser stun device and pepper spray to subdue him. He cleared an initial medical check with Montgomery County Fire & Rescue personnel, who left the scene after that. But Ali then passed out in the back of a police van and had to be hospitalized. He was pronounced dead on Oct. 14 at Holy Cross Hospital in Silver Spring. Ali’s official cause of death was schizophrenia-induced agitated delirium complicated by police restraint, an enlarged heart and obesity. The manner of death was ruled undetermined, said Bruce Goldfarb, a spokesman for the state medical examiner’s office. On March 10, Montgomery
Plans for the Purple Line are trucking along, with crucial steps completed at the federal and the county Planning Board levels this week. David Anspacher, a planner coordinator with Montgomery County’s Planning Department, said the Federal Transit Administration recently signed a record of decision signifying the formal completion of the environmental review process. “It’s an important step in the
A wrongful death lawsuit spurred by the death of Kareem Ali, a mentally disabled man who died after a scuffle with Montgomery County police, has resulted in a $450,000 settlement between the family and the county, according to a March 10 agreement filed in U.S. District Court. “Bottom line, both sides came to the conclusion that this was fair,” county attorney Marc Hansen said.
See SETTLEMENT, Page A-9
See DEATH, Page A-9
Victim was found dead in his Aspen Hill driveway this month.
Sherwood High’s new softball coach inherits a great team, and a lot of pressure to win.
TOP TEAM WITH HIGH EXPECTATIONS
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ELIZABETH WAIBEL STAFF WRITER
STAFF WRITER
SPORTS
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BY
TIFFANY ARNOLD
NEWS
BAIL DENIED FOR MURDER SUSPECT
Opponents not happy with federal milestone in approval process
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‘Bottom line, both sides came to the conclusion that this was fair’ BY
See WEATHER, Page A-9
Purple Line plans still on track for completion
County, family reach $450,000 settlement n
winter was one of the toughest he has experienced. “This winter was consistently cold and extremely snowy,” Leffler said. “The snow total was the third highest I’ve ever recorded.” Leffler said of the past 10 winters, eight have accumulated a below-average snowfall. The record-setting winter of 2009-10 and the 1995-96 winter are the only ones since 1981 that trumped the most recent total, he said. Only December was warmer than the
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process,” he said. “...Once that letter is issued, MTA is able to start acquiring properties.” Friends of the Capital Crescent Trail sent out a press release Friday opposing the record of decision and saying that it and other organizations are considering challenging it in court. On Thursday, the Planning Board discussed the Purple Line at length as part of the planning process for the proposed lightrail line. The board is sending comments on the plans to four agencies: the Maryland Transit Administration, the State Highway Administration, Montgomery County and the Maryland Department of Transportation.
See PURPLE, Page A-9
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