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A LIFE’S LESSONS Strathmore tribute honors Polish hero turned professor. A-10
The Gazette GAITHERSBURG | MONTGOMERY VILLAGE
DAILY UPDATES ONLINE www.gazette.net
Wednesday, February 26, 2014
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Familiar names in council races Hucker, Barclay, Trachtenberg, Katz, Spiegel, Moore among candidates as deadline passes
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RYAN MARSHALL STAFF WRITER
In June’s primary elections, Montgomery County voters will have familiar political names to choose from for County Council seats. In District 5, Del. Tom Hucker (D-Dist. 20) of Silver Spring filed for the seat Tuesday and school board member Christopher Barclay filed for the seat Monday. In District 1, former Councilwoman Duchy Trachtenberg (D) of Rockville will challenge Councilman Roger Berliner (D) of Bethesda. District 3 features a showdown with three sitting elected officials in the Democratic primary: Gaithersburg Mayor Sidney Katz and Councilman Ryan Spiegel, and Rockville
See COUNCIL, Page A-8
Carousel revolves around city approval PHOTOS BY BILL RYAN/THE GAZETTE
Girl Scouts from Bethesda Troop 4959 — (from left) Amalia Sulk, 12, of Bethesda, Samantha Christenson, 12, of Rockville and Miriam Herman, 14, of Bethesda — use a special smartphone device to take credit card payments for cookies at the NAMI store in Rockville on Saturday.
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Cookies on credit
Girl Scout troops in capital region now have card option for sales BY SHEMAIAH ELLIS SPECIAL TO THE GAZETTE
Do you have a Samoa fix, but no cash? Do you need to curb your Thin Mint craving, but you’re short on dough? Your neighborhood Girl Scout might let you pay for your cookie order by credit card. The Girls Scouts recently adapted to the technological curve, thanks to Spark Pay by Capital One. This feature lets Girl Scout troops across the region accept credit cards, after years of cash-only payments. “This is an optional agreement depending on what troops think will work best for their group,” said Nancy Wood, the public relations director for the Girl Scouts Council
The smartphone device that takes credit card payments displays purchase information. The devices, also available to use with tablets, add an educational element for the Scouts, leaders say.
Attraction will join Washingtonian Center n
BY JENN DAVIS STAFF WRITER
of the Nation’s Capital. Troops that want the electronic payment option will get credit card readers that can attach to smartphones and tablets. “Working with Capital One is very exciting for the Girl Scouts. We have a good relationship with the company and I think having this optional way to pay for cookies is a great thing to add,” Wood said. For its Spark Pay system, Capital One does not charge a transaction fee until there have been at least $1,000 in sales. A Spark Pay Web page says that after that threshold, there is a 2.70 percent fee per swipe if the user does not pay a monthly fee. For a $9.95 monthly fee, the rate drops to 1.95 percent per swipe. Wood said that, on average, a local troop sells about 150 boxes of cookies when it sets
See COOKIES, Page A-8
A carousel will soon join the list of attractions at the Rio Washingtonian Center in Gaithersburg. The Peterson Cos., one of the developers of the 760,000-square-foot shopping center, announced
Feb. 25 that a 36-foot classic carousel will open this spring near the waterfront area, according to a news release. Featuring 30 jumping horses, whimsical creatures and two chariots, the carousel will have space for up to 38 adult and 30 child passengers, with wheelchair access, according to the release. It will overlook the
See CAROUSEL, Page A-8
THE PETERSON COS.
Rendering of a carousel that could be built at the Rio Washingtonian Center in Gaithersburg.
Officials: County’s crime rate plunged since ’07 n
Cooperation a major factor in success, they say BY
ELIZABETH WAIBEL STAFF WRITER
DAN GROSS/THE GAZETTE
Montgomery County Police Chief J. Thomas Manger (center), flanked by County Council President Craig Rice (left) and County Executive Isiah Leggett, speaks Tuesday about the reasons for the county’s drop in crime.
NEWS
HAVE A HEART (DEFIBRILLATOR) Gaithersburg’s Rescue One Training for Life made a donation of 100 AEDs to the city of Laurel.
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Crime dropped by 26 percent in Montgomery County, comparing crime rates from 2007 to 2013, according to police data released Tuesday — this despite a recent rash of homicides to start 2014. Officials say cooperation between different law enforcement agencies and the community has contributed to a drop in crime in Montgomery County over the past few years.
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SMALL SQUAD, BIG RESULTS
Blake indoor track team needs only five athletes for a top three finish.
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County Executive Isiah Leggett, State’s Attorney John McCarthy, County Council President Craig Rice and Montgomery County Police Chief J. Thomas Manger spoke at a Tuesday press conference to tout their combined efforts to reduce crime in the county. Overall, the number of crimes in the county dropped by 26 percent from 2007 to 2013, according to year-end crime statistics from the county. Nationwide, the number of crimes declined by 9 percent from 2007 to 2012. This year, however, already has almost matched last year’s total number of homicides at eight as of Tuesday. There were eight criminal homicides in the county in
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RECYCLE
2013, down from 15 in 2012 and 19 in 2005, the earliest data available online from police. So far this year, there have been seven homicides in the county, according to police. The number of forcible rapes reported was up from 102 in 2012 to 130 in 2013, according to the crime statistics. Manger said part of the increase was probably due to changes in how rapes are reported. The statistics Montgomery County released are part of the Uniform Crime Reporting program overseen by the FBI. Every year, law enforcement agencies around the country send data about crime in their areas to the bureau. In 2013, the program’s stan-
See CRIME, Page A-7
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