DANGEROUS DRIVING Bus cameras catch 710 vehicles passing illegally. A-6
NEWS: Gaithersburg celebrates Labor Day: schedules and closings. A-5
The Gazette GAITHERSBURG | MONTGOMERY VILLAGE
HIGH SCHOOL FALL PREVIEW: A look at Gaithersburg’s soccer and volleyball teams. B-1
DA I LY U P DAT E S AT G A Z E T T E . N E T
Wednesday, Aug. 27, 2014
25 cents
Lakelands Park turf field delayed
Welcome back!
n
Trenching. sub-base issues were primary delays for Gaithersburg project BY JENN DAVIS STAFF WRITER
Construction on a new synthetic turf field at Lakelands Park in Gaithersburg is taking nearly a month longer than anticipated, according to a city official. The process to install the field began in late June and was scheduled to be completed by Aug. 15. After several construction delays, the work on the field now is expected to wrap up on Sept. 16, said Sean Stevens, project manager for the city’s Department of Public Works. A grand opening date of Sept. 27 remains unchanged, Stevens said. Hellas Construction Inc. of Austin, Texas, was awarded a contract by the city in early May to handle the project at the city-owned park, at 1368 Main St. The company is using a type of organic fill for the field called CoolFill, which contains 100 percent organic coconut fibers, rice
DAN GROSS/THE GAZETTE
Roberto Ramos of New York aligns large strips of artificial turf into place on the soccer field at Lakelands Park in the Kentlands. This field will use a filler made from biodegradable cork and coconut fiber.
husk and cork, Stevens said. One issue that arose during the process of trenching for the perimeter drain
See TURF, Page A-10
TOM FEDOR/THE GAZETTE
Gaithersburg Elementary School eight-year-old third-graders (from left) Amanda Schofer, Katherine Sanchez-Recinos and Stephanie LemusReyes play at recess during the first day of school on Monday morning in Gaithersburg.
Area man pleads guilty to Chipotle robberies
Officials optimistic on school bill They say Brown as governor could help n
BY
LINDSAY A. POWERS STAFF WRITER
Some Montgomery County and state officials are hopeful the next General Assembly will direct more school construction money to the county after
efforts this year fell through. After a back-to-school press event Monday at Wilson Wims Elementary School — which was built to relieve overcrowding in the Clarksburg area — Montgomery County Executive Isiah Leggett said he is “very confident” state lawmakers can “make some progress” in the 2015 session toward adopting a funding method that would help the county accommodate its rapidly grow-
ing enrollment. As students returned to class Monday, the county school system faces its largest annual enrollment increase since 2000. Montgomery schools will have 154,153 students this school year — 2,864 more than last year, according to Bruce Crispell, director of the school system’s Division of Long-range Plan-
See CONSTRUCTION, Page A-10
Fifty dogs rescued, given a fresh start BY JENN DAVIS STAFF WRITER
See RESCUE, Page A-10
INDEX Automotive Calendar Classified Entertainment Opinion Sports
A Gaithersburg man pleaded guilty to federal charges Thursday for his role in the armed robberies of four Chipotle restaurants in which employees were held at gunpoint and knifepoint. Police said Lamont Bonds, 26,
Principal: ‘The students absolutely loved her’ BY JENN DAVIS STAFF WRITER
The Gaithersburg High School community is mourning the loss of a beloved teacher after she died suddenly earlier this month. Angela Lynette Johnson, 43, of Oxon Hill, taught in the cosmetology program at Gaithersburg High for 14 years, according to the school’s principal Christine Handy-Collins. “Ms. Johnson was a champion for children,” Handy-Collins said. “She was an amazing teacher at Gaithers-
PHOTO BY KATHY MILANI/HUMANE SOCIETY OF THE UNITED STATES
Fifty dogs and puppies were rescued from Mississippi by The Humane Society of the United States and brought to the organization’s Gaithersburg office on Aug. 20.
ENTERTAINMENT
B-11 A-2 B-8 B-4 A-12 B-1
DANIEL LEADERMAN STAFF WRITER
n
SWEET, CONFUSING LOVE Shakespeare’s “As You Like It,” kicks off this week at the Olney Theatre Center.
B-4
1934328
BY
worked together with Marvel Alegria, 24, whom he was dating. Bonds and Alegria robbed their first Chipotle — in Mt. Airy — on the night of July 22, 2012. That was after Alegria was fired from her job as general manager at that location, according to Bonds’s plea agreement. Authorities said the two recruited a third man, Norman Guifarro, to assist in the robbery. Guifarro turned 24 on Aug. 25.
See ROBBERIES, Page A-10
Gaithersburg High School remembers slain educator
Animals brought to Humane Society’s Gaithersburg office
n
Fifty dogs and puppies have been given hope for a better life after being rescued from deplorable living conditions in Mississippi by The Humane Society of the United States in early August and brought to the Washington, D.C., area on Aug. 20 to prepare for adoption. The dogs were found to be living in an “alleged hoarding situation” on a property in Tippah County, Miss., without access to clean water, sufficient food or adequate shelter, according to Ashley Mauceri, the cruelty response manager for The Humane Society of the United States. “Most of them did not have any
Shops in Gaithersburg, Damascus hit; former employee was accomplice n
Volume 55, No. 34 Two sections, 28 Pages Copyright © 2014 The Gazette
Please
RECYCLE
burg High School.” Prince George’s County police believe Johnson and Zonita Monia Roberts, 42, of Georgia, were killed Aug. 15 in District Heights after being shot by Johnson’s husband, 45-year-old Leroy Johnson Jr. After firing the gun at both women, it is suspected that Leroy Johnson Jr., fatally turned the weapon on himself. In the classroom, Johnson was well-liked and respected. Her students, some of whom came from around the county to participate in the cosmetology program, were drawn to her because of her kind personality, Handy-Collins said.
See TEACHER, Page A-10