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Area favorites Fink and Marxer throw a musical pajama party in Takoma Park. A-15
The Gazette GAITHERSBURG | MONTGOMERY VILLAGE
DAILY UPDATES ONLINE www.gazette.net
Wednesday, December 4, 2013
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Bill opens more land for deer bow hunters
Fry ’til golden brown
Alcohol measures also on tap for upcoming legislature n
BY
KATE S. ALEXANDER STAFF WRITER
A Montgomery County lawmaker will try again to give archery hunters more room to help cull the county’s growing deer population. Del. Eric Luedtke again has proposed a local bill to shrink the safety zone around Montgomery County buildings from 150 yards to 50 yards for bow hunters. Current state law prohibits shooting any firearm or deadly weapon, like a bow, within 150 yards of an occupied home, church or other building or camp. Around schools, the safety zone is 300 yards. Under Luedtke’s proposal, Montgomery County would be lumped with Carroll and Frederick counties, which have a 50-yard safety zone.
habad Lubavitch of Upper Montgomery County celebrated Hanukkah onSaturday by hosting residents from around the county at its own “Chanukah Wonderland.” From 7 to 9:30 p.m., guests gathered for a festive night featuring a live Havdalah service, rainbow loom bracelets, dancing and latkes. Judah the Maccabi greeted children and guided them
throughout the many Hanukkah activities, including a make-your-own menorah, Maccabee shields, sand art and jewelry. Attendees also participated in baking activities such as creating edible menorahs, jelly doughnuts and challah. The event was held in the Kentlands in Gaithersburg near the movie theater, at 206 Market St. — JENN DAVIS
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City manager will recommend the project go through public process for approval BY JENN DAVIS STAFF WRITER
AT&T customers in Gaithersburg could have access to better cellphone service if the company’s request to place a new cellphone antenna in a local park is approved. Gaithersburg City Manager Tony
Tomasello announced Monday evening that AT&T has submitted a cell antenna proposal at Kelley Park, which is at 400 Victory Farm Drive. The proposal includes adding an antenna on a baseball field light post. Tomasello said the city has two different options to choose from when deciding how to evaluate the proposal. The request can either be moved through a public process, in which the community is invited to share input in front of the City Council; or a staff approval process, in which city officials can negotiate directly.
Gaithersburg officials discuss whether city should study impact on its businesses BY JENN DAVIS AND RYAN MARSHALL STAFF WRITERS
AT&T proposes cellphone antenna in park n
Montgomery County Executive Isiah Leggett is scheduled to sign a bill Thursday that will raise the county’s minimum wage to $11.50 an hour by 2017. Gaithersburg city officials had their own discussion about minimum wage at a meeting Monday evening. City Councilman Jud Ashman said he would like the city to study the minimum wage issue and its impact on small business and the city itself. Because Gaithersburg — and all of Maryland’s other municipalities — are exempted from the law, the city
Several years ago, the City Council approved a T-Mobile cell antenna on another baseball field in the park, but it sits far away from any homes and backs up to the woods, Tomasello said. Because of the proposed location of the new AT&T antenna, Tomasello said staff intends to recommend the proposal go through the public process. “It’s considerably higher than the other antenna out there because of the topography of the land and it’s a good deal closer to the surrounding residen-
See ANTENNA, Page A-11
Beer festivals brewing in Montgomery County seeks state permission to celebrate local brews n
BY
KATE S. ALEXANDER STAFF WRITER
Montgomery County is already home to multiple wine festivals each year but the county now wants to also celebrate beer. A bill will go before the General Assembly in January to give the
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WALK THIS WAY New county project targets high school pedestrian safety.
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county permission to host up to four beer festivals each year. The legislation is one of nine local bills from Montgomery that seek to change alcohol regulations. The beer festival bill was requested by Delegation Chairwoman Anne R. Kaiser (D-Dist. 14) of Burtonsville on behalf of Montgomery County. Currently, the county can host wine festivals each year, but not beer fests, said Kathie Durbin, division chief of the Montgomery County Department of Liquor Control.
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See WAGE, Page A-11
TOM FEDOR/THE GAZETTE
See BEER, Page A-11
Region becoming a hotbed for schools that specialize in developing top college basketball players.
has the option to enact its own minimum wage law, according to City Attorney Lynn Board. “I’d like to just take a look, see where we are, and make an informed decision on how we should act or whether we should act,” he said. Mayor Sidney Katz agreed that the city should study the issue, but also wondered if having a minimum wage policy specific to the city would make it too confusing for businesses. “In Maryland, there’s 157 municipalities,” he said. “So, should there be 157 minimum wages? How’s anybody going to be able to figure out how to do business?” Councilwoman Cathy Drzyzgula said she supported the study, but that she believes the city should wait to take a stance on the issue until it is clear if the state is going to step in. “I certainly think we should wait and see what the [state] legislature does so that if we have two different
Chuck Blessing is general manager of Growlers Brew Pub in Gaithersburg, one of the local breweries that could benefit from a bill legalizing beer festivals. Blessing is holding hops grown in Poolesville that Growlers uses in its beer.
Seven years ago, when the wine festival license was granted by the state, the county also sought the nod for beer festivals. Somewhere between draft and approval, the word beer was removed, she said. “Now beer is trending,” Durbin said. “I think there were some folks at the time who were afraid of having a beer festival, afraid it was too high risk, too big and that only big companies would be there.”
HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL PREVIEW
See DEER, Page A-11
Leggett set to sign wage increase on Thursday
GEORGE P. SMITH/FOR THE GAZETTE
Mendy Simon of Brooklyn, N.Y., helps his son Zalman Simon make latkes at Chabad Lubavitch of Upper Montgomery County’s “Chanukah Wonderland” celebration Saturday at the Kentlands in Gaithersburg.
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With the exception of Harford County, which has a 100-yard buffer, the rest of the state must follow a 150yard safety zone. Luedtke (D-Dist. 14) of Burtonsville proposed a similar bill in the 2013 legislative session that became a point of significant debate among the delegation and did not advance. Few solutions are effective for deer management in Montgomery, but about a dozen citizens who testified in favor of the bill at a delegation hearing Monday say giving archers more room to hunt will go a long way in controlling the deer population. Many who testified told of complications suffered from Lyme disease, a debilitating disease carried by ticks that often feed off the blood of deer. Others spoke of the many deer killed each year along their streets by motorists.
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