SMART GROWTH UM report urges focus on sustainable policies. A-4
Gazette-Star
NEWS: County clean water partnership aims to reduce polluted runoff. A-3
SPORTS: Senior citizen starts sprinting late, then sweeps up gold medals. B-1
SOUTHERN AND CENTRAL PRINCE GEORGE’S COUNT Y DA I LY U P DAT E S AT G A Z E T T E . N E T
Thursday, April 9, 2015
25 cents
County recycling to trash plastic bags Police n
Items will no longer be accepted July 1
BY JAMIE
ANFENSON-COMEAU STAFF WRITER
Prince George’s County is trashing plastic shopping bags. Adam Ortiz, director of the Department for the Environment said that plastic shopping bags will no longer be accepted for recycling starting July 1. “We’ll be phasing in enforcement. If there’s a contaminated
toter, it won’t get picked up,” Ortiz said. “It will be considered a contaminated load.” Ortiz said plastic bags pose a hazard to the equipment used in sorting recycling. “The plastic bags easily get caught up in the cogs of the machinery, causing us to shut down the facility several times a day,” Ortiz said. “It increases maintenance costs, and ultimately, the bags can’t be recycled when they become dirty anyway.” Ortiz said recent changes in the market, including a drop in oil
prices and the availability of “clean stream” recyclable plastic bags from grocery stores, has also dried up demand for the plastic bags. Ortiz said the department is beginning a public roll-out campaign, “Return to Sender,” urging residents to return disposable plastic bags to stores and encouraging stores to recycle them. “Approximately 170,000 county residents who receive recycling pick-up services from the county will receive a postcard informing
See PLASTIC, Page A-10
look to stave off car theft
PRINCE GEORGE’S COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF THE ENVIRONMENT
Plastic bags clog a screening machine at the Materials Recycling Facility in Capitol Heights.
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Officials credit residents with aiding crackdown by commuter lot BY RAECINE WILLIAMS SPECIAL TO THE GAZETTE
Bowie residents and city police had a mutual admiration moment for their vigilance in combating a rash of thefts from cars at Monday’s City Council meeting. City Police Chief John Nesky said the Bowie Park and Ride commuter lot, located near the intersection of Northview Drive and Route 197, had six incidents, including four thefts of tires and rims from Feb. 1 and March 1. Nesky said residents used social media to bring the incidents to the attention of police, who started implementing security measures on March 3. The group responsible for the thefts and break-ins appeared to be a group out of Washington, D.C., with a wide reach, moving through different areas of the state, Nesky
See THEFT, Page A-8
Principal cleared of charges KIRSTEN PETERSEN/THE GAZETTE
(From left) Washington Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III, Oxon Hill High School student Nancy Sierra, Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) and Six Flags America park president Rick Howarth talk April 2 after signing the “Stop Bullying In Its Tracks!” wall at the Largo amusement park.
Six Flags park launches anti-bullying campaign New initiative comes six months after Fright Fest fights
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BY
KIRSTEN PETERSEN STAFF WRITER
Six Flags America in Upper Marlboro kicked off its spring season April 2 with a new anti-bullying initiative — an effort that comes six months after a 15-year-old boy suffered skull damage during a fight outside the amusement park.
Havilah Ross, a spokeswoman for Six Flags America, said the anti-bullying campaign, called “Stop Bullying In Its Tracks!” will promote bullying prevention by providing information and resources for park patrons who are being bullied. Bullying prevention announcements will be broadcast throughout the park, and anti-bullying messages will be incorporated in live shows. The campaign will conclude April 12, the last day of spring break for Prince George’s County Public Schools. “I really hope that people will see this and realize
Event spotlights county filmmakers young and old BY
NORA TARABISHI
SPECIAL TO THE GAZETTE
Celebrating a decade of honoring Prince George’s and regional filmmakers of all ages, the 10th annual Heritage
INDEX Automotive Calendar Classified Entertainment Opinion Sports
NEWS B-10 A-2 B-7 B-4 A-11 B-1
Film Festival will be held today through Saturday at the South Bowie Library. Within the past decade, the festival has begun to reach a greater audience, according to the festival’s founder and executive director O.F. Makarah of Upper Marlboro. Makarah, who is originally from Los Angeles, said she created this festival when she moved to Prince George’s
GROWING STRONG College Park farmers market attracts south county vendors for Sunday opening.
A-4
DANIEL LEADERMAN STAFF WRITER
the area.” Today’s kick off starts at 6 p.m. with opening ceremonies and the screening of “A Flicker in Eternity” by Ann Kaneko and Sharon Yamato, a coming-of-age film about a gifted teen, Stanley Hayami, torn between his dream of becoming an artist and his duty to his country.
See FILM, Page A-9
See PRINCIPAL, Page A-8
See CAMPAIGN, Page A-10
County because she missed the artistic atmosphere of LA. “I wanted to see film around me, so I did what I had to do — I started a film festival,” Makarah said. “I now have a community of people with similar interests. The festival is more heard of now than in the past. We aim to promote Prince George’s County as a vibrant media scene despite what is said about
BY
A Prince George’s County Public Schools principal accused of punching a student multiple times was cleared by a jury April 2 of assault and child abuse charges. “My God is awesome,” Dwight Jefferson of Fort Washington exclaimed in the courtroom after a juror read the verdict. During the three-day trial, prosecutors argued that Jefferson punched a seventh-grade student in the stomach and face while he was principal of Dwight D. Eisenhower Middle School in Laurel on Sept. 23, 2014. The student testified that he’d been caught in the hall when he was supposed to be in class and sent to the school’s office, where Jefferson hit him. Other witnesses, including a school administrator and a police officer, testified that they saw the student with swelling under his eye after the alleged incident. But the defense argued that the
it’s time to stop,” Ross said. “We want people to feel inspired to stand up to bullying and be a friend.” Local officials and celebrities came out to the kick-off event — including Gov. Larry Hogan (R) and Washington Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III — and signed a yellow wall to make the pledge, “Bullying Stops With Me!” Nancy Sierra, a senior at Oxon Hill High School in Oxon Hill and a member of the student group “One Less Bully, One More Friend,” said social media posts prior
Bowie film festival celebrates 10 years of showtime n
Fort Washington administrator was accused of punching student n
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