INSIDE Two killed in murder-suicide in Gaithersburg. A-5
A&E: AFI documentaries will be shown in Silver Spring once again. B-5
The Gazette GAITHERSBURG | MONTGOMERY VILLAGE
SPORTS: Gaithersburg High’s girls’ basketball team starts rebuilding in summer league. B-1
DA I LY U P DAT E S AT G A Z E T T E . N E T
Wednesday, June 18, 2014
25 cents
Future uncertain for homeless family n
Job loss and eviction trigger a crisis
BY VIRGINIA TERHUNE STAFF WRITER
PHOTOS BY BILL RYAN/THE GAZETTE
Donna Adderly of Germantown, Mary Hite of Frederick and Esther Lyons,of Gaithersburg untangle a ball of yarn during a meeting of the “Friday Night Hookers” at the North Potomac home of Jackie Bell on June 6. Below, Bell crochets during a meeting.
ooked H
Corey Settles and his wife, Christina Settles, and their two little boys spent their first night in a Silver Spring bus shelter after being evicted on June 9 from their apartment in the Cider Mill complex in Montgomery Village. They were getting ready to spend their second night at the Rockville Metro station when Nancy Piatt, Settles’ teacher at Medtech College in Silver Spring where he is taking a medical billing class, offered to pick them up at the Rockville station at 11 p.m. June 10. Piatt called around and found them a room on her dime at the Travelodge motel in Silver Spring, where they stayed until Friday morning, when the county’s Health and Human Services Department gave them a voucher to stay temporarily at the Comfort Inn in Gaithersburg. “I feel good, because at least I know
North Potomac woman’s group creates, donates handmade items Nearly twice a month, the basement of Jackie Bell’s North Potomac home becomes a lively space, overflowing with conversation, laughter and yarn. Bell and about a dozen of her friends — ranging in age from 20 to 75 — come together around 6:30 p.m. every other Friday to crochet. She started hosting the group more than a year ago after discovering that many of her friends shared her same passion for the craft. “Our goal is to have fun, to enjoy what we’re doing, to learn new stitches and to help each other get really good
See HOMELESS, Page A-13
Gaithersburg gets nine bids for senior center
ON CROCHET
BY JENN DAVIS STAFF WRITER
where we’re going to be until the end of the month,” said Settles, 44, who grew up in Washington, D.C., and has worked at various jobs in hospitals in years past. But the future is uncertain now for him and his family. Settles, who is diabetic with a history of depression, recently lost his job with Walgreen’s where he worked as a cashier. His own family has told him he cannot stay with them, and Christina’s family is in Seattle. The boys are 19 months and 5 1/2 months old. “Hopefully we can find a permanent place to go,” said Settles, whose family situation is not unique. When the county’s three shelters for families and one shelter for victims of domestic violence are full, the county gives families vouchers for one of the three motels it contracts with to handle the overflow, said Sara Black, administrator of the Housing Stabilization Services section of the Montgomery County Department of Health & Human Services. The four shelters can accommodate
Projects include adding new fitness center, expanding computer lab
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at it,” Bell said. In a nod to their passion and humor, the group has even created a name for themselves: The Friday Night Hookers. “It’s been a source of laughter,” Bell said. While working together, the group members critique their fellow crocheters on various elements such as technique or choice of color in order to help each other become better at doing what they love, Bell said. In the time between each biweekly meeting, the group members spend a lot of individual time working on their pieces. Bell, a contract specialist for
BY JENN DAVIS STAFF WRITER
Since issuing a request for proposals for planned renovations at the Gaithersburg Upcounty Senior Center in late April, the city has received a total of nine bid submissions. The bids range in price, with Therrien Waddell Inc. of Gaithersburg offer-
ing the lowest at just over $562,000 and Hakanson Anderson Associates Inc. of Anoka, Minn., giving the highest at $860,000. Other bidding companies include Bob Porter Co. of Woodbine, Md., Warner Construction of Rockville, Gardiner & Gardiner Contracting of Crofton, Md., Biscayne Contractors of Alexandria, Va., HBW Group of Rockville, Garcete Construction of Bladensburg, Md., and KANE Construction Inc. of Gaithersburg. The solicitation period began April
See CENTER, Page A-13
Farewell
See CROCHET, Page A-13
Exam work group says strategies needed Calls for professional development, student supports n
BY
LINDSAY A. POWERS STAFF WRITER
A work group that looked into why a large number of public school students failed high school math finals said in a report it thinks the school system should take a variety of measures to help improve teachers’ instruction and students’ motivation. Montgomery County Public Schools should look into possible “alternative supports” for students who
didn’t do well in their middle school math classes or who struggle in the high school Algebra 1 class, according to one recommendation. Another recommendation calls for the school system to gather teachers’ best practices for helping students study for the exams as well as during the rest of a semester. The workgroup was formed in June 2013 to study the issue and consisted of parents, principals, teachers and community members. The Montgomery County Board of Education discussed in its Tuesday meeting the work groups’ findings and recommendations for the school sys-
tem’s next steps. One recommendation says that teachers whose students have done well can help develop professional development for teachers and administrators. Among other potential professional development opportunities suggested, the work group also said that the school system could offer some that would help teachers improve their use of assessments during the semester to determine how they teach their students. The work group’s review covered
TOM FEDOR/THE GAZETTE
Diamond Elementary School students, alumni, and their parents say farewell to longtime Principal Carol Lange during a PTA celebration on Thursday afternoon at the Gaithersburg school. Lange has had a career in education for 45 years; 25 years in Montgomery County and 16 of those years at Diamond.
See EXAMS, Page A-13
NEWS Automotive Calendar Classified Entertainment Homes Opinion Sports
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B-12 A-2 B-8 B-5 B-8 A-15 B-1
PUPPY LOVE Warrior Canine Connection to expand into Seneca Creek State Park.
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Volume 55, No. 25, Two sections, 32 Pages Copyright © 2014 The Gazette Please
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