HELLO, DOLLY!
&
The classical matchmaking musical is coming to the Bowie Playhouse B-1
Gazette-Star SERVING SOUTHERN AND CENTRAL PRINCE GEORGE’S COUNTY COMMUNITIES
DAILY UPDATES ONLINE www.gazette.net
Thursday, May 29, 2014
25 cents
Bowie questions cause of several train derailments
Memorial Day memories
n
Third in nine years does not represent pattern, CSX official says EMILIE EASTMAN
BY
STAFF WRITER
After the third coal train derailment in nine years near Old Annapolis Road and Collington Road in Bowie, city officials and residents are questioning why the incidents continue to occur, although the trains’ operator said the accidents are not connected. On May 20, the City Council sent a formal letter to CSX Transportation, the company that operates the trains that derailed, requesting information about the cause of the May 1 accident that sent three locomotives and 10 coal cars off the tracks. “This derailment occurred very close to where a derailment occurred approximately seven years ago and within 4,500 feet of another derailment several years prior to that,” the letter stated. “We are concerned that three de-
RAPHAEL TALISMAN/FOR THE GAZETTE
Austin Schwaeble, 2, of Bowie watches Bowie’s Memorial Day Parade on Saturday morning. The event included marching bands and dance groups.
Club helps seniors get on right track to healthy living More than 500 have signed up so far for 300-mile summer exercise program
n
BY
ALICE POPOVICI STAFF WRITER
Sandra Barron, 67, of Landover said she finds it difficult to exercise without a goal. So when she heard women at her church talking about a 300-mile summer walking program, she decided to try it out herself. “I never get out, never really walk,” Barron said after signing up May 21 for Club 300, a new summer walking incentive program started by the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission. “It’s easy to convince yourself, ‘I’ll do it tomorrow.’” The idea behind the free walking program
is to encourage senior citizens to complete the equivalent of a 300-mile walk across Maryland this summer at their own pace and track their progress online, said Darilyn Marinelli, senior services coordinator at the M-NCPPC. She said more than 500 people — the oldest of whom is 86 — had already signed up by the program’s first day on May 21, which was Senior Health & Fitness Day at the Prince George’s Sports & Learning Complex in Landover. Registration continues through the summer, and Marinelli said she expects the total number of participants to approach 1,000. “We have found success in programs where there’s an ultimate goal,” Marinelli said. “I think we have a very active senior population that is
See TRACK, Page A-5
railments have occurred on one basically flat and straight section of track within our City limits.” Rob Doolittle, a CSX spokesman, told The Gazette the May 1 derailment was caused by flooding and erosion of the track bed. “A [drainage ditch] was blocked because of debris and in the heavy rain, a portion of the roadbed was washed away,” Doolittle said. “As the locomotives passed over that piece of rail, the weight of the train was sufficient to cause the derailment.” Doolittle said the track was repaired after the May 1 incident. While derailments occurred in 2005 and 2009 on the same twomile stretch of track, Doolittle said the other accidents were caused by a faulty train wheel and a broken track, respectively. “Each of these had distinct and separate causes, so we are confident that the three events don’t indicate any particular pattern or systemic problem in that area,” he said.
See DERAILMENTS, Page A-7
Displaced Piscataway Hills residents still looking for answers ‘We don’t have a place to live’
n
BY
BILL RYAN/THE GAZETTE
ALICE POPOVICI STAFF WRITER
Jack McSears of Mitchellville walks May 21 at the Prince George’s Sports and Learning Complex in Landover, where he signed up for Club 300, a program aimed at getting people to walk a total of 300 miles by Sept. 19.
Residents living in uncertainty after a May 5 landslide forced them to leave their homes in Fort Washington’s Piscataway Hills community said they were disappointed to hear Prince George’s
County officials say it could take months before they can return to their homes. “After this month is over, we don’t have a place to live,” said Madeline LaSalle, who attended a packed meeting at Harmony Hall on May 22 along with residents of most of the 28 homes evacuated after the landslide and other concerned neighbors. “We want con-
See DISPLACED, Page A-7
Volunteers create butterfly pit stop at Bowie pond n
Garden contains native plants to help migrating insects BY
EMILIE EASTMAN STAFF WRITER
A portion of the bank surrounding the Bowie Town Center pond underwent metamorphosis this month as around 30 volunteers transformed it into a monarch waystation garden for migrating monarch butterflies.
NEWS
TURNING TRASH INTO TREASURE Artwork created with plastic bags carries cultural significance.
A-4
1910263
Not only does the work make the pond look even nicer, the waystation gives butterflies a native food source and a place to lay eggs, said Jamie Vavra, chairwoman of the Bowie Green Team Executive Committee. “There’s been a big decline in the number of monarch butterflies in the [United States] and Mexico,” Vavra said of the butterfly recognized by its orange and black wings. “Pollinators like [butterflies] and bees pollinate the food we eat. Without the pollinators, we wouldn’t have the food sources we
need. It’s all connected.” Vavra said the Bowie Green Team and community volunteers planted 26 varieties of native plants in the waystation, including milkweed, which is essential for monarch survival, she said. “Monarchs only lay their eggs in milkweed and when the caterpillar is growing, it needs to eat the milkweed plant,” she said. “We are encouraging citizens of Bowie to plant milkweed plants in their gardens to attract the Monarchs and help them survive.” The garden plot, donated by
SPORTS
PIECE OF THE PIE
Wise’s girls earn share of 4A state track and field title.
the city of Bowie, will be maintained by the city with occasional upkeep by the Bowie Green Team, Vavra said. Wayne Poindexter of Bowie said he walks around the center’s pond nearly every day and thinks the butterfly garden is a nice addition. Poindexter said he has lived in the city for nearly 20 years — since before the town center and City Hall were built — and is pleased to see environmentally conscious projects unfold along-
See BUTTERFLY, Page A-7 Automotive Calendar Classified Community News Entertainment Opinion Sports
A-9
Please
RECYCLE
BOWIE GREEN TEAM
Bowie community volunteers help create a butterfly garden for migrating monarch butterflies at the pond near Bowie Town Center.
B-9 A-2 B-7 A-3 B-1 A-8 A-9
Check out our Services Directory ADVERTISING INSIDE B SECTION