FATAL STABBING Man charged with murder after Gaithersburg fight. A-8
The Gazette
NEWS: Rockville’s Fisher House may get $16 million boost. A-7
GAITHERSBURG | MONTGOMERY VILLAGE DA I LY U P DAT E S AT G A Z E T T E . N E T
Wednesday, July 9, 2014
25 cents
City nixes public campaign financing
Former mayor Walker dies at 95 n
SPORTS: Nearly a dozen transfers to Avalon upsets some county football coaches. B-1
Served during a time of major growth for city
n
BY JENN DAVIS STAFF WRITER
BY VIRGINIA TERHUNE STAFF WRITER
Milton Miles Walker, a former Gaithersburg mayor and council member, died Friday, June 27 at the age of 95. Walker sat on the Gaithersburg City Council from 1956 to 1974 and was mayor from 1974 to 1976. He served during a time of intense growth and development for the city. In the late 1950s, the city’s population was around 3,500, according to city documents. During the next few years, people flocked to the city as the Department of Energy came to Germantown and the National Bureau of Standards, National Geographic and IBM opened in Gaithersburg. The influx of residents spurred the need for more housing, retail and municipal services, documents said. The city’s first two shopping centers were built during Walker’s tenure — Gaithersburg Square and Duvall. Lakeforest mall followed soon after. Walker’s service also was marked by the city’s
A majority of the five-member Gaithersburg city council nixed the idea of implementing a public campaign financing system for city elections on Monday. But the council also invited the public to let city officials know if lack of money keeps anyone they know from
See ELECTION, Page A-12
Group’s new film will highlight ag reserve
CITY OF GAITHERSBURG
A portrait of former Gaithersburg Mayor Milton Walker hangs on a wall at City Hall.
See WALKER, Page A-10
Officials grapple with student achievement gap n
School board, County Council to tackle growing problem BY LINDSAY A. POWERS AND KATE ALEXANDER STAFF WRITERS
Montgomery County’s longstanding student achievement gap will bring together county and school officials as they try to hammer out ways to shrink those differences between high schools that have low or
Majority says no to public hearing on issue
high levels of student poverty. The Montgomery County Council’s Education Committee, county Board of Education officers and Superintendent Joshua P. Starr plan to meet Monday to discuss a recent report showing that 11 high-poverty and 14 low-poverty public high schools are at two ends of a widening gap when it comes to both academic performance and student demographics. County and school officials say the meeting will provide a chance to
talk about efforts, both current and planned, to address the gaps and expectations for results from those efforts. The report released in April from the county’s Office of Legislative Oversight said the school system’s approach to boosting student achievement at its high-poverty schools “is not working as intended.” Gaps between the high- and lowpoverty schools have grown during the last several years based on four of seven measures, including Advanced
Montgomery Countryside Alliance raising money through crowdsourcing n
Placement test scores, SAT and ACT scores, and out-of-school suspensions, according to the report. The high-poverty schools also have most of the county’s black and Latino students — and increasingly so since 2010. Most of the system’s white and East and South Asian students attend the low-poverty schools, also in growing numbers since 2010. Council President Craig L. Rice said the Education Committee —
Caroline Taylor wants to show that Montgomery County’s Agricultural Reserve isn’t just a relic of past life outside of Washington, D.C., but an economic driver, home to many, and a gem of culture and history. She’s making a film to share the reserve’s stories and asking supporters to fund the final cuts through crowdsourcing site Indiegogo.
See GAP, Page A-12
See AGRICULTURE, Page A-10
BY
SARAH SCULLY STAFF WRITER
One-woman shows spotlight women from history n
Through actors, O’Keeffe, Dickinson, Kahlo visit Montgomery College BY
VIRGINIA TERHUNE STAFF WRITER
Audiences can step back in time to meet three famous, ground-breaking women of the arts during this week’s Chautauqua series of free living-history performances at Montgomery College Germantown. Called “Creative Women: Breaking the Mold,” the series highlights American modernist painter Georgia O’Keeffe on Wednesday, Massachusetts poet Emily Dickinson on Thursday and Mexican painter Frida
INDEX Automotive Calendar Classified Entertainment Obituaries Opinion Sports
Kahlo on Friday. “The focus [this year] is on three creative, strong women,” said Judy Dobbs, program officer for Maryland Humanities Council based in Baltimore. “Arts and literature – we feel it’s a rich theme.” This is the Council’s 20th year of presenting Chautauqua performances, which evolved much earlier from a Methodist summer retreat on Lake Chautauqua in upstate New York in 1874. The initial religious lectures and educational programs grew in scope to also include talks about current issues in literature, politics, economics and science. The Council performances are running to July 14 at venues around Maryland. Interpreting O’Keeffe’s life and work is college instructor and former news anchor
ENTERTAINMENT B-10 A-2 B-6 B-5 A-8 A-10 B-1
Kelley Rouse of Salisbury. Bringing Dickinson to life is Germantown poet and performer MiMi Zannino, who also wrote her show. Zannino is poetin-residence for the Maryland State Arts Council and conducts poetry workshops for students and adults. Interpreting Kahlo’s life and work is performer Marian Licha of Silver Spring, who co-wrote and produced “Frida ViceVersa,” which she presented at the 2006 Capital Fringe Festival and at the Round House Theatre in Silver Spring in 2010. The performances begin at 7 p.m. with music by local musicians followed by the performing artist appearing first in character, then answering questions from the
LET THE MUSIC PLAY ON
See PERFORMANCE, Page A-10
“The Music Man” marches into Rockville.
B-5
Volume 55, No. 28, Two sections, 32 Pages Copyright © 2014 The Gazette
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RECYCLE
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PHOTO BY MARYLAND HUMANITIES COUNCIL
Mexican painter Frida Kahlo will come to life in a free living-history performance on Friday at Montgomery College Germantown as part of the Maryland Humanities Council’s annual Chautauqua series. Interpreting Kahlo’s life and work will be Silver Spring performer Marian Licha.