HIP-HOP HEALTH Bowie students learn how to stay active with dance. A-3
Gazette-Star
NEWS: Mother honors son’s legacy as ballpark is named for him. A-4
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, November 13, 2014
ATM robberies shake up Bowie
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Bowie bugs causing city tree woes
Making tracks in Fort Washington
Officials weighing options to tackle widespread issue
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Suspects brandished knife, handgun in separate robbery attempts n
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Emerald ash borers have launched their Bowie debut, but the international visitors have met with a less than favorable reception. “Life would be better if [emerald ash borer] were just the name of a rock group,” said city manager David Deutsch. “Unfortunately, it’s not.” Bowie staff has now confirmed cases of tree damage from the emerald ash borer, a non-native beetle that originated in Asia and exclusively attacks ash trees, said city forester Rick Kellner. Kellner said there are approximately 700 city ash
STAFF WRITER
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INDEX Automotive Calendar Classified Entertainment Opinion Sports
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KIRSTEN PETERSEN/THE GAZETTE
Jacob Stettes, a science teacher at Indian Queen Elementary School in Fort Washington, shows students where to weed on Monday. Stettes created a new outdoors club, Bear Tracks, to promote environmental stewardship at the school.
Club leaves green footprint BY
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KIRSTEN PETERSEN STAFF WRITER
wenty children enthusiastically ripped weeds out of a garden they helped plant outside Indian Queen Elementary School, while another 20 collected recyclables around the Fort Washington school Monday afternoon. These groups represented only half of the attendees of a new after school outdoors club, Bear Tracks, which encourages students to be environmental stewards and improve amenities at their school. Approximately 85 students volunteer for environmental activities every week and go on monthly field trips, said science teacher Jacob Stettes, who came up with the idea for the club.
Upper Marlboro officials say one-way road could improve safety
“We just have more kids every week signing up,” Stettes said. “We have a large group of kids who are interested in doing these outdoor activities and recreational adventures.” Stettes, who moved to Fort Washington in 2012, said he’s seen drivers throw out trash on Maryland Rout 210 and fishermen leave piles of trash at Piscataway Creek. “The schools are the first step in changing that mentality,” Stettes said. “We can affect children’s impression of the environment at a young age than when they’re much older. It’s important at a young age to teach them to value the environment.” Student members helped plant a garden in
Upper Marlboro residents traveling downtown may have less of a headache navigating a narrow block of Pratt Street pending a proposal to make it a one-way next year. The Town of Upper Marlboro’s board of commissioners is drafting an ordinance to switch Pratt Street, a two-way road, to a one-way beginning at the Main Street split and continuing eastbound to Judges Drive, said Steve Sonnett, the president of the Upper Marl-
See FOOTPRINT, Page A-8
See STREET, Page A-8
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KIRSTEN PETERSEN STAFF WRITER
Bowie siblings use experience to turn pain into hope n
Digital book, application supports patients and their families
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EMILIE SHAUGHNESSY STAFF WRITER
Bernice Samuels of Bowie had been with her fiance, James Watts, since they were in high school. She was 25 when he was diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma and 28 when he died of the disease. “The cancer came when I was young and completely unprepared,” she said. “I was scared, paralyzed, but I just knew I had to keep faith.” But as a newly single mother to the couple’s 6-year-
old son, Samuels, 30, said she was determined to live a life of gratitude and use her experience to help others affected by life-threatening or incurable diseases. Together with her brother, Matt Samuels, 27, of Bowie, Samuels has turned her story into an inspiration through a digital book called “The Cancer Diaries.” Available through a free smartphone application the siblings created, the book features nine authors from across the country who have been affected by cancer or a noncurable disease, Matt Samuels said. “[James] was extremely resilient and humorous. Just a joy to be around,” Bernice
TAKING CHARGE At-risk teenagers gain focus through Forestville program.
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Samuels said. “His legacy was definitely fight to the end and not complain about things, so that’s why I try my very best not to complain.” Bernice Samuels came up with the idea for their project the summer after Watts died and found contributing authors by scouring social media and tapping into their own personal networks, Matt Samuels said. “I honestly told her it was the best idea I’d ever had,” he said. “I said I think this could touch the world.” “The Cancer Diaries” app, released in September, has nearly 2,000 downloads and
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Bernice Samuels of Bowie lost her fiance to cancer in 2013 and now uses her story to comfort those affected by life-threatening diseases.
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Pratt Street may take turn n
NEWS B-7 A-2 B-5 B-3 A-9 B-1
EMILIE SHAUGHNESSY STAFF WRITER
EMILIE SHAUGHNESSY
Bowie city police are asking residents to be alert to suspicious activity after two armed robbery attempts at Bowie ATMs. Around 7 p.m. Oct. 31, a Bowie resident reported he was robbed by a man wielding a machete, according to Bowie police reports. The victim was using an ATM at Capital One Bank on Annapolis Road when the man approached him and demanded he withdraw approximately $100 from the machine, police said. The suspect fled after the crime and no injuries were reported, police said. A week earlier, a suspect brandishing a handgun attempted to rob a customer at an ATM at Bank of America on Evergreen Parkway in Bowie, Deputy Police Chief Dwayne Preston said. The robbery attempt, which took place less than a half mile from the Bowie Police Station, was unsuccessful as the victim was able to drive away quickly, Preston said. Preston said that, while armed robberies at banks are uncommon in Bowie, police do not think the incidents are connected and do not believe they indicate a crime trend. William Alexander, a spokesman for the Prince George’s County Police Department, said there has been no recent increase in countywide ATM robberies. Karen Parker is president of the parent teacher association at Bowie High School, which is less than a half mile from Capital One Bank, and said she was surprised to hear about the robbery. “I’ve never heard of anything like that happening over there. Seven o’clock isn’t even late,” she said. Parker said many students from Bowie High visit the shopping center next to the bank after school to get coffee or something to eat. Preston urged residents to be on their guard and report suspicious activity to the police department. “Just obviously in general be aware of your surroundings,” Preston said. “When you’re approaching an ATM, be aware of any suspicious vehicles or suspicious people hanging around in the area. If you see anything, please give us a call.”
SPORTS: Bowie State men’s basketball opens season as league favorites. B-1