SPELL CHECKED Student makes it through bee preliminaries. A-7
NEWS: Clarksburg Farmers Market opens Sunday; partners with Manna Food Center. A-4
The Gazette
SPORTS: Damascus enters American Legion baseball season as the favorite. B-1
GERMANTOWN | CLARKSBURG DA I LY U P DAT E S AT G A Z E T T E . N E T
Wednesday, June 3, 2015
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Former teacher ordered to prison for molestation
Musical send-off for Clarksburg grads
Gaithersburg man to serve five years for sex offenses against children n
BY
VIRGINIA TERHUNE STAFF WRITER
TOM FEDOR/THE GAZETTE
Graduates huddle together doing a freestyle “HMMMM” rap prior to the Clarksburg High School commencement on Friday morning at Mount Saint Mary’s University in Emmitsburg. Clarksburg graduated 457 students.
A judge sentenced a Gaithersburg man on Friday to serve five years in prison for sexually touching two girls in county middle schools in 2004 and in 2014. The sentence satisfies the terms of a plea agreement reached in April between defendant Jose Pineda, 50, of Gaithersburg, a former substitute teacher, and the county’s state’s attorney’s office. The plea means that Pineda will not go to trial on charges of third-degree sex offense and sex abuse of a child, sparing the victims from having to testify. “I’m thankful they will not have to relive [the experience],”
the mother of a girl who was molested last year said in court. The Gazette does not usually identify by name the victims of sex offenses. The mother is not being named to protect the identity of her daughter. Pineda, who taught math and other middle school subjects, repeatedly brushed his arm or hand across the victims’ buttocks, in one case squeezing them, according to charging documents. In another case, he stuck his hand up a victim’s shorts and touched her buttock, charging documents said. Members of Pineda’s family spoke at the sentencing hearing, saying he has a good character. His son, Jose Pineda Jr., said he believed his father could change. But Assistant State’s Attorney Timothy Hagan said Pineda violated the trust students put
See PRISON, Page A-10
Clemente Middle principal stepping down after six years Educator to lead George B. Thomas Sr. Learning Academy n
PEGGY MCEWAN STAFF WRITER
Khadija Barkley has been principal of Clemente Middle School in Germantown since 2009, but she will leave that post
kids the opportunity to appreciate multiple perspectives,” Barkley said. But, she said, the opportunity to help lead the Saturday School, as the Learning Academy is called, dropped in her lap and she took it. “It’s now because the opportunity presented itself,” she said. “The [current] executive director is retiring.” The George B. Thomas Sr. Learning Academy Inc. is a nonprofit tutoring and
mentoring program in reading and language arts, math and test-taking skills for students in grades 1 through 12. It meets from 8:30 to 11 a.m. on Saturday mornings from late September through May. “[It] was established in 1986 as the Olney Saturday School by members of the Mu Nu Chapter of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. Recognizing a growing need in the community, these individuals fo-
Organizers hope to resurrect former community organization n
BY
PEGGY MCEWAN STAFF WRITER
Germantown Alliance can mark May 28 as the date for a new beginning, More than 40 people attended a meeting that Thursday evening at BlackRock Center for the Arts in Germantown to recreate the community organization and share current needs and issues. The original Germantown Alliance began in 1975-76 to discuss the needs of the growing community and advocate for those needs before the County Council. Since Germantown is
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See PRINCIPAL, Page A-10
“Tonight, we had twice as many people as we expected. I’m really elated about it, [for] a town this size we need to have a robust civic association.” Marilyn Balcombe, president, Gaithersburg Germantown Chamber of Commerce not a city or town, the community had to be united to make county and state agencies aware of its needs, according to Susan Soderberg, president of the Germantown Historical Society. Somehow the group “fizzled out” in 2002, according to Soderberg, though Marilyn Bal-
combe, president of the Gaithersburg Germantown Chamber of Commerce, said she thinks it was around until 2008 or 2009. Either way, Germantown has not had a unified voice for a number of years. Soderberg said the Alliance
See FUTURE, Page A-10
TOM FEDOR/THE GAZETTE
Jacob Max Migdall, one of 295 graduates, proceeds into the Poolesville High School commencement on Thursday morning at Mount Saint Mary’s University in Emmitsburg.
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cused on helping youngsters who needed additional academic support in order to be successful in school. The first learning academy began with 21 children and 19 volunteers who met on Saturday mornings at the day care center at the Housing Opportunities Commission in Olney, Maryland,” according to the Learning
Leading the way
Citizens group discussing the future of Germantown
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ONE LOVE Area actors perform in premiere of new Bob Marley musical in Baltimore. B-4
Volume 28, No. 20, Two sections, 28 Pages Copyright © 2015 The Gazette
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June 30 to become executive director of the George B. Thomas Sr. Learning Academy, based in Silver Spring. Barkley said she has loved her time at Clemente and the work she and her staff have done toward bringing the Middle Years International Baccalaureate Program to the school. “I’m excited about the Middle Years program coming here because it gives
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