CHASING HER DREAMS Germantown singer nominated for two Wammies. A-8
The Gazette
NEWS: Gaithersburg eateries opening in spite of winter storms. A-4
SPORTS: Gaithersburg grads reunite on Loyola’s women’s basketball team. B-1
GAITHERSBURG | MONTGOMERY VILLAGE DA I LY U P DAT E S AT G A Z E T T E . N E T
Wednesday, February 25, 2015
25 cents
County officials continue plea for state school aid Budget counted on funding; projects might wait if bill fails n
BY
LINDSAY A. POWERS STAFF WRITER
DAN GROSS/THE GAZETTE
Sherman Ealey, a crossing guard for 25 years, much of it at Gaithersburg Elementary School, controls traffic as parents and children walk to school on Monday.
Crossing guard has 25 years under belt Montgomery Village man keeps elementary students safe
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BY
SAMANTHA SCHMIEDER STAFF WRITER
Every morning and every afternoon on school days, Sherman Ealey of Montgomery Village stands outside Gaithersburg Elementary School making sure the children cross the street and get to school safe and sound. For 25 years, Ealey, 56, has braved the elements as a crossing guard with the
Montgomery County Police Department. Whether it’s the bitter cold he’s been experiencing lately or the humidity that encompasses Maryland during the beginning and end of the school year, Ealey is there. “I’ve pretty much been at the same school in the last 22 to 23 years. I know the traffic patterns, I know how to pretty much foresee how to safely get the children across,” Ealey said. “That came with time.” Ealey’s usual shift lasts about half an hour, give or take some extra minutes before or after his post time. He said there have been some situations, such as storms, where he’s had to stay out a bit longer.
In addition to working at Gaithersburg Elementary School, Ealey had short stints at Summit Hall Elementary School and Dufief Elementary School, as well as others. Ealey moved to the area from Brooklyn, N.Y., in 1985 at age 27. His mother already lived in Maryland and became a crossing guard. “A few years after I moved out here I figured it was something I could do as well,” Ealey said. Ealey says he has seen Gaithersburg get more and more populated over the years
See GUARD, Page A-11
Washington Grove keeps healthy through texts Text2BHealthy delivers nutrition tips directly to parents’ cellphones
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BY
SAMANTHA SCHMIEDER STAFF WRITER
Parents at Washington Grove Elementary School in Gaithersburg are using Text2BHealthy messages as a way to
help them make better everyday nutrition choices for themselves and their children. “Once or twice a week [the program] sends text messages to parents giving them nutrition tips, letting them know what’s on sale at the local grocery store,” Washington Grove principal Susan Barranger said. The program was created by the University of Maryland Extension’s Food Supplement
Nutrition Education Program to help reinforce nutrition information and behaviors that children are learning in school by bringing tips for a healthy lifestyle straight to their parents, according to its director Lisa Lachenmayr. The Extension is a statewide, informal education system within the college of Agriculture and Natural Resources and the University of Maryland
Eastern Shore that provides educational programs to citizens. The University of Maryland Extension has had a long-term relationship with Washington Grove Elementary School and has provided them with nutrition education for various grade levels over the years, according to the school’s principal Susan Barranger.
See TEXTS, Page A-11
Bowers takes Montgomery County school reins n
Former chief operating officer to lead district through June BY
LINDSAY A. POWERS STAFF WRITER
On Larry Bowers’ first day as Montgomery County Public Schools’ interim superintendent on Feb. 17, the school system closed for a snow day. On his second day, however, his new job heated up. Bowers was in Annapolis with school board President Patricia O’Neill, Montgomery County Executive Isiah
departure. O’Neill said at a Feb. 3 news conference that the board was looking for a new person to carry out its vision. The school board recently picked the firm Hazard, Young, Attea & Associates to help find Starr’s permanent successor. The school district is holding four community meetings to help its search. Two will be March 4 in Silver Spring and Bethesda. Two will be March 5 in Gaithersburg and Burtonsville. Asked by the board to fill the superintendent shoes while it secures a new leader,
See BOWERS, Page A-11
See PLEA, Page A-11
Two men charged with Bel Pre murder n
Gaithersburg, Brookeville residents arrested for January shooting BY
VIRGINIA TERHUNE STAFF WRITER
Two Montgomery County men have been charged with first-degree murder in the drugrelated shooting death of a man from Washington, D.C., in the Bel Pre neighborhood of Silver Spring in January. Arrested were Damien Jamaal Lee, 35, of the 3000 block of Quail Hollow Terrace in Brookeville and Delton Alex Brown, 31, of the 1100 block of West Side Drive in Gaithersburg, according to a police posting at mymcpnews. com. Brown also has been charged with use of a firearm in a violent crime, according to court records. Wei Wu, 46, of the 400 block of K Street NW in Washington, D.C., was killed on Jan. 24. According to police, Lee and Brown arranged to meet Wu in the Bel Pre area to buy 3 ½ pounds of marijuana from him. During the transaction, Wu was shot and killed, and Lee and Brown divided the marijuana. Police responded to a call early on Jan. 25 about a person slumped over the wheel of a car
parked in an apartment complex lot located at Whispering Pines Drive and Weeping Willow Court, according to Brown police. Wu had been shot multiple times and death was ruled a homicide by the Medical Examiner, according to Lee police. Cocaine and marijuana were found in Wu’s vehicle, and investigators also found currency, cocaine and marijuana in Wu’s residence in quantities “consistent with drug distribution,” according to the police posting. Brown was arrested on Feb. 10 and Lee was arrested on Feb. 12. Both are being held without bail, according to police. Brownisbeingrepresentedby an unnamed attorney in the public defender’s Office, and Lee had no legal representation as of Tuesday, according to court records. vterhune@gazette.net
A&E
INDEX Automotive Business Calendar Classified A&E Opinion Sports
Leggett and county PTA leaders, testifying on a bill to direct more state school construction money to Montgomery. Bowers was picked to temporarily lead the district after Joshua P. Bowers Starr resigned as superintendent Feb. 16. Starr and the board agreed that he would leave several months short of what would have been the end of his four-year term, but didn’t give a reason for his quick
Montgomery County could face difficult decisions if the state doesn’t help fulfill the school district’s funding request for capital projects, officials said Monday. Montgomery County Executive Isiah Leggett has recommended approving the county school board’s requested $1.74 billion fiscal 2015-20 Capital Improvements Program. Leggett’s recommendation banks on the success of a state bill to direct more school construction money to the county. The county wants to secure an added stream of state aid within the six-year capital program time frame, said county spokesman Patrick Lacefield. There’s “no alternative” to the continued efforts to get additional revenue, he said. A meeting Monday between
school officials and the County Council’s Education Committee was part of an ongoing push for more state funding. County leaders want Maryland legislators to ramp up school construction dollars to support Montgomery projects that would add space amid rising enrollment and repair aging buildings. County Councilman Craig L. Rice emphasized on Monday the county’s reliance on state aid to fund the school district. “It’s my hope that not only our representatives in Annapolis, but also our governor, certainly understands that the largest school system in the state, and one of the best school systems in the nation, is at risk, and it’s at risk of really losing ground when it comes to making sure that we’re continuing to be able to meet the need of our constituency,” said Rice, the council committee’s chair. If the Maryland General Assembly doesn’t pass the school construction bill in the current legislative session, the county
B-12 A-10 A-2 B-8 B-4 A-12 B-1
DIFFERENT WAY TO SHAKESPEARE Famed Folger Consort brings “Merchant of Venice” to Strathmore.
B-4
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