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Sinbad talks about his life, influences and new show. A-11
The Gazette DAMASCUS | CLARKSBURG
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Wednesday, August 21, 2013
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Fears of fair fleeing unfounded Executive director: ‘The fairground is not for sale’
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BY AGNES BLUM STAFF WRITER
Imagine retail stores where the carousel spins, cafés instead of piglet races and a 12-story apartment building where Old MacDonald’s Barn now stands. It could happen, thanks to last spring’s rezoning of the Montgomery County Agricultural Fairgrounds. But the executive director of the fair, Martin Svrcek, says there are no plans to scrap the fair in favor of a
neighborhood with more than 1 million square feet of commercial and office space and 1,350 homes, as outlined in the rezoning documents. “The only new plans are the construction of the new Old MacDonald’s Barn,” Svrcek said. The Montgomery County Agricultural Center owns the 63 acres. “The fairground is not for sale.” Last June, Gaithersburg leaders approved an application from the Montgomery County Agricultural Center to rezone the fairground. The zoning
See FAIR, Page A-10
Serving up a record The Big Cheese surpasses goal of 10,000 sandwiches n
BY KRISTA BRICK STAFF WRITER
It’s not every Friday night that you eat the record-breaking grilled cheese sandwich. But on Friday at precisely 9:50 p.m., one day before the wrap-up of the Montgomery County Agricultural Fair, Gina Consumano of Rockville ordered and ate the 10,000th
BILL RYAN/THE GAZETTE
The 65th fair at the Montgomery County Agricultural Fairgrounds.
NewSAME buildings, SPIRIT
grilled cheese sandwich made at The Big Cheese. That sandwich put the fair past the 10,000 sandwich goal set by The Big Cheese’s operator Ed Hogan. In all, 11,772 gooey, toasted sandwiches were sold this year. For Consumano, 25, the $3.50 sandwich lived up to its hype. “Grilled cheese is just the all-American food. I wouldn’t say I am a connoisseur but when I ate it I thought it was good,” she said, adding that this
See RECORD, Page A-10
Clarksburg plans move to public forum
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Project proposes Tanger mixed-use property east of I-270 BY
VIRGINIA TERHUNE STAFF WRITER
tary schools, Herbert Hoover Middle School and Paint Branch High School. A number of elementary schools will open Aug. 26 with new additions, including Bradley Hills, Georgian Forest, Viers Mill, Westbrook and Wyngate. Though Gaithersburg still was in prep mode on Monday, it already showed signs of the activity it will hold starting this fall. As varsity and junior varsity football players practiced on the new turf field and a group of band members practiced in an open commons area of the hallway, teachers trained in the new me-
The Peterson Companies is scheduled to host a public meeting about its proposed Tanger fashion outlet plan on Thursday in Clarksburg Village. Peterson of Fairfax, Va., wants to build a mixed development on the 100-acre Miles Coppola property at the northeast corner of Interstate 270 and Md. 121 (Clarksburg Road) with Tanger fashion outlet stores, restaurants, housing units and a possible hotel. The public is invited to comment on the plan from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at Clarksburg Village Clubhouse. Peterson is competing for approvals with three other developers — Streetscape Partners, Simon Property Group and New England Development — that want to build a similar mixed-use complex with Premium outlet stores at the southwest corner of I-270 and Md. 121 on land owned by Adventist Healthcare. On Sept. 10 a county Planning Board meeting is scheduled to accept public comment about amending the Clarksburg Master Plan for the final Phase 4 of development in Clarksburg. The Planning Board, and ultimately the County Council, which has the final vote, could decide to allow the Peterson plan with mixed-use zoning or they could leave the site for residential use only. The Miles-Coppola property, which Peterson has under contract, sits at the headwaters of Ten Mile Creek, which flows southwest through Boyds into Little Seneca Lake, a backup drinking water reservoir for the Washington region. Peterson claims its project will not add to water pollution and that it will complement the future development of the Clarksburg Town Center, a grocery-anchored retail area west of I-270. Peterson has said it would extend a main sewer line east so that businesses in part of the Clarksburg historic district could hook in, solving a problem with failing septic systems. Company officials have said Peterson also would contribute money for the construction of a Md. 355 bypass to divert through traffic around the historic district, an alternative to widening two-lane Md. 355.
See SCHOOLS, Page A-10
See CLARKSBURG, Page A-10
DAN GROSS/THE GAZETTE
The entrance of the new Gaithersburg High School on Tuesday as teachers and students prepare for the start of the school year next week. BY
LINDSAY A. POWERS STAFF WRITER
While Gaithersburg High School students are making their final preparations as the academic year draws closer, their school continued its own steps this week to get ready for them. The high school’s new building showed signs of a long-term project undergoing its final stage: “Wet Paint” signs cautioned passers-by Monday, minor construction work produced whirs and beeps, and tables and other furniture stood ready for arrangement. As she walked through the 422,000-square-
GAITHERSBURG HIGH, OTHER SCHOOLS WELCOME STUDENTS WITH CHANGE OF SCENERY n
foot building on Monday, Dr. Christine Handy-Collins, the high school’s principal, said everything will be ready before school starts on Aug. 26. “We’ll be ready to rock ’n’ roll,” she said. Gaithersburg High students will be among a group of county public school students passing through new doors this fall, including those at Glenallan and Weller Road elemen-
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