TASTE OF PRINCE GEORGE’S Chefs face off at food and wine festival. A-4
Gazette-Star
NEWS: Bowie man mentors young student athletes on the “‘FLYE.” A-7
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, August 21, 2014
Upper Marlboro dog lends paw against abuse BY
SPORTS: Bowie State tight end goes from walk-on to NFL prospect. B-1 25 cents
Bowie calls for a war on weeds
Helping a breed in need
City funds landscaping along city’s major thruway n
KIRSTEN PETERSEN
BY
STAFF WRITER
Most dogs can sit, stay, and roll over on command. But play the bongos? That’s a trick Stacie Beasley, 36, of Upper Marlboro hopes her keeshond Clancy can do for more than clicks on YouTube. It’s a talent she hopes will bring attention to the abuse of the breed. When Beasley and her husband, Jeff, were looking for their first dog, Beasley said she knew the keeshond — a playful breed nicknamed the “Smiling Dutchman” — was the perfect pooch for her. “I used to be a veterinary assistant and a couple of them had come to the pet clinic,” Beasley said. “They were such happy, loving, social dogs with so much personality and it really struck my interest.” She adopted a keeshond puppy, Clancy, and said she bonded with him by teaching him tricks. Clancy performs for school children and comforts the elderly as a therapy dog, Beasley said. “He is just this one-of-a-kind dog,” Beasley said. “A lot of that comes from the breed. They are so happy.” But when Beasley learned about the abuse keeshonden, the formal term of multiple keeshonds, have endured in puppy mills through her mid-Atlantic area Capital Keeshond Club, she decided to bring attention to the cause with the help of Clancy’s talent. “It is such a shame,” Beasley said. “I can’t imagine this breed of dogs cooped up in these
EMILIE EASTMAN STAFF WRITER
Bowie officials dug up funds to solve a weed problem along a Maryland highway in Bowie after residents claimed the state’s once-a-season landscaping efforts were not enough. Since the State Highway Administration began cutting back its mowing schedule six years ago, Bowie residents have complained about weeds and overgrowth on the median and edges of Md. 197 in Bowie — a major thruway that brings visitors to Bowie Town Center and City Hall. Now city officials plan to use city funds to finance landscaping of the state-owned highway, with regular maintenance scheduled to begin Aug. 15 at the cost of approximately $14,000 per fiscal year, according to city manager David Deutsch. “It has become a pattern over the years where the city has had a higher expectation for the maintenance and upkeep of the road,” said city planning director Joe Meinert. “The road really started becoming an eyesore with the high weeds and the high grass.” Lenette Vargas of Bowie, assistant manager at Heather Ridge Apartment Homes located right off Md. 197, said the overgrowth became worse over the past
See WEEDS, Page A-8
County reels from homicide Wise honored as nation’s best high school hike in August See DOG, Page A-8
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Officials say Upper Marlboro school promotes positive learning BY
KIRSTEN PETERSEN STAFF WRITER
Students, staff and parents agree — it’s the community at Dr. Henry A. Wise, Jr. High School in Upper Marlboro that makes the school one of the best in the country. But now, they have an
GREG DOHLER/THE GAZETTE
Stacie Beasley of Upper Marlboro with her keeshond, Clancy, during a break from appearing at an Aug. 16 festival in Bowie. Beasley has been raising money to rescue abused keeshonds.
award to prove it. The Ford Neighborhood Awards, formerly known as Steve Harvey’s Hoodie Awards, recognized Wise earlier this month as the best high school in the nation at a star-studded gala in Atlanta, Ga. Carletta Marrow, the former principal of Dr. Henry A. Wise, Jr. High School in Upper Marlboro and assistant principal William Blake accepted the award Aug. 9 on behalf of the Pumas. The winner was determined by a nationwide
online vote. Event producers from the Ford Neighborhood Awards said they would not disclose voting totals to the public. Dominique Ross, 18, of District Heights is a recent graduate and said the administration made school exciting. “They did a lot to make sure everyone has the same opportunity to be successful,” Ross said. “They made sure there was something for
See WISE, Page A-8
Bowie man taps digital prayer n
Program creates custom blessings for Bible studies, individuals BY
EMILIE EASTMAN STAFF WRITER
A Bowie resident wants to make the ancient verses of the Biblical Old Testament more accessible for modern readers. Daniel Akintonde, owner of Bowie-based Animated Catalogs EduSoft, which creates interactive photo books and brochures, has de-
INDEX Automotive Calendar Classified Entertainment Opinion Sports
signed software that customizes biblical texts for individual people and needs. An ordained Baptist youth minister, Akintonde said he was inspired to apply technology to religious texts three years ago and created two Bible software programs — “Virtuous Woman Powerhouse” and “Psalm 119 Prosperity Power.” “In the heart of most people, there is a need. Something inside people that recognizes prayer — whether in times of need or other-
See PRAYER, Page A-8
NEWS B-8 A-2 B-7 B-4 A-9 B-1
BLAZING TRAILS Scouts gain top honor by cleaning up overgrown pathways.
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BILL RYAN/THE GAZETTE
Daniel Akintonde of Bowie showing his automated prayer app, which reads out specially selected prayers in English and Hebrew.
Volume 17, No. 34, Two sections, 24 Pages Copyright © 2014 The Gazette Please
RECYCLE
Residents hold families, communities accountable
n
BY
EMILIE EASTMAN STAFF WRITER
During the first two weeks of August, Prince George’s County’s homicide rate matched that of June and July combined, which has some residents calling for more investment in families and neighborhoods. Five incidents — including a double homicide — took place primarily in the southern portion of the county this month, including attacks in the cities of Oxon Hill, Suitland and Landover. Ron Balfour, 63, of Suitland said he is a former neighborhood watch member and was concerned to hear of the Aug. 10 shooting of a Suitland woman. “Any incident that happens like that in your community, you always have concerns. [Crime] will go down, then all of a sudden you have a spike,” he said. “They always recommend more policing, more security, but all that costs money.” Balfour said there is only so much law enforcement officers can do to promote safety if family members and neighbors are not taking responsibility for each other. “Everything has to start from home. Parents have
See HOMICIDE, Page A-8