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The Gazette
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GAITHERSBURG | MONTGOMERY VILLAGE
DAILY UPDATES ONLINE www.gazette.net
Wednesday, November 6, 2013
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Familiar faces in Gaithersburg races n
Nearly 600 votes were cast as of 11 a.m. BY JENN DAVIS STAFF WRITER
Gaithersburg residents woke up Wednesday morning already knowing the names and faces of their city elected officials who faced no opposition to earning their seats back in Tuesday’s election. Mayor Sidney Katz and councilmen Mike Sesma and Henry Marraffa ran for re-election without any challengers. A final vote count was not yet available by Tuesday evening. As of 11 a.m. on Tuesday,
See FAMILIAR, Page A-12
Food stamp cuts hit county’s needy hard
PHOTOS BY TOM FEDOR/THE GAZETTE
The proposed construction of a new Summit Hall Elementary School building in Gaithersburg may be pushed back by the county school district. The school’s multipurpose room is full during lunch times.
Summit Hall upgrades may be tardy
Federal stimulus program ended Friday n
Proposed Capital Improvements Program could delay school’s overhaul by one year
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SYLVIA CARIGNAN STAFF WRITER
As federal stimulus money dries up, thousands of hungry Montgomery County residents are scrambling to make ends meet. An expansion of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program meant to cover individuals and families during the recession expired Friday. In 2009, President Barack Obama’s stimulus package included a temporary increase in funding for food stamps. All households that receive federal food stamps will now see about a 5 percent cut this month. The maximum amount of
BY JENN DAVIS STAFF WRITER
Summit Hall Elementary School is already bursting at the seams, and now it’s possible the school will have to wait even longer than it had originally planned for needed renovations. Montgomery County Public Schools Superintendent Joshua P. Starr recently proposed a $1.55 billion Capital Improvements Program that places projects for some crowded schools ahead of already scheduled renovations and expansions. Summit Hall is on a lengthy list of schools that are waiting for new buildings to replace their current ones. The Gaithersburg school was built in 1971, and renovated in 1980 and 1986. Construction on the new school was scheduled to be completed in January 2021, but if the County Council approves Starr’s proposal, the date would be pushed to January 2022. Space deficits are the highest at Summit Hall, and are projected to stay that way in the future, compared to all other schools in the Gaithersburg cluster, according to documents in
557 Gaithersburg voters had cast their ballot, according to city attorney Lynn Board. The number includes voters who participated in either of the city’s two early voting sessions. An additional 48 votes were collected from absentee ballots. The city designated six different polling sites for the election: City Hall, Izaak Walton League, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in the Kentlands, Villa Ridge community room, Potomac Oaks clubhouse and Asbury Methodist Village. Eric Kellner, chief election judge at the Kentlands polling site, said the voting process was run-
Summit Hall Elementary School in Gaithersburg is over its capacity. the plan. The building’s current capacity is 459 students, but it is serving 603 students in kindergarten through fifth grade this year. Growth is expected to exceed capacity by nearly 200 students during the 2014-15 school year, the plan said.
SNAP funding an individual could receive per month was $200. But as of Nov. 1, that maximum is $189. For a household of two people, the maximum funding level, $367, fell by $20. And for a family of eight, $65 is cut, leaving them with a maximum allowance of $1,137, according to Brian Schleter, spokesman for the state’s Department of Human Resources. Jenna Umbriac, a nutrition educator at Manna Food Center, said the cuts in SNAP funding mean participants will have to make difficult decisions about their food budget. Since protein is often the most expensive food item on a shopping list, meats like chicken and beef are going to be the first items cash-strapped resi-
See CUTS, Page A-12
See RENOVATIONS, Page A-12
Health insurance bill for contractors on table n
Plan would apply to new contracts and renewals in Montgomery County BY
RYAN MARSHALL STAFF WRITER
After talking with workers during recent strikes at two garbage-collection companies, Montgomery County Council President Nancy Navarro is preparing a bill requiring many county contractors to provide affordable health insurance to their employees. Navarro (D-Dist. 4) of Silver Spring sent a memorandum to other council members on Oct. 30 asking them to consider signing on as co-sponsors. The bill would amend the county’s liv-
ing wage law that requires companies that have contracts with the county to pay at least $13.95 an hour. The change would require county contractors to provide affordable health insurance for employees who work on county contracts for more than 30 hours per week and who make less than twice the living wage. Navarro is also looking at possible legislation to grant preferences to companies bidding on a county contract if they already provide affordable benefits to their employees. Both bills would apply to new contracts, as well as existing contracts that are renewed, according to the letter. Workers at Potomac Disposal in Gaithersburg reached an agreement with the company on Oct. 28 after a 10-day
strike. The agreement provides a pay increase, one holiday, and paid sick and vacation days for workers. The two sides weren’t able to agree on a plan for affordable health insurance. Workers at Unity Disposal, based in Laurel, also returned to work after an 11-day strike that began after about 70 workers were terminated. The employees had refused to go to work to protest the firing of a coworker who criticized management’s attempts to stop workers from joining a union. Even the county’s living wage doesn’t provide enough money to buy affordable health care, Navarro said. Navarro said Thursday that the bill
See BILL, Page A-12
NEWS
SPORTS
Department store in Olde Towne Gaithersburg shuts its doors.
Saturday’s state crosscountry meet focuses on runners, not hills.
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SAYING GOODBYE TO WOLFSON’S
TOM FEDOR/THE GAZETTE
Losing $11 in monthly food stamp benefits represents “three days’ worth of food,” says Byron Kelly, who lost his job in February and cares for his mother in their apartment in the Aspen Hill area of Silver Spring.
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