MIXING IT UP Hybrid game of golf, soccer debuts in county. A-5
The Gazette
ENTERTAINMENT: Musical “Dani Girl” focuses on 9-yearold leukemia patient. A-12
GERMANTOWN | CLARKSBURG
SPORTS: After one-win season, good signs this summer for Good Counsel basketball. B-1
DA I LY U P DAT E S AT G A Z E T T E . N E T
Wednesday, July 30, 2014
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‘Flowers for Algernon’ blooms Montgomery school board members give up cards
n Upcounty Theatre production reunites students in Germantown
VIRGINIA TERHUNE
BY
STAFF WRITER
Actors Matt Baughman and Cory Bryant first performed in “Flowers for Algernon” 15 years ago when they were students at Seneca Valley High School in Germantown. Now they’re back together in the same play but performing for the Upcounty Theatre’s production at the BlackRock Center for the Arts in Germantown this weekend. “It’s an absolute delight to be working with both of them again, said Upcounty artistic director Kitty Bradley, who directed them when she ran the drama program at Seneca Valley and is directing them again at BlackRock. “I called on them [about performing in this], and they took time out to do it,” she said. “It’s sort of a mini-reunion.” “Flowers for Algernon,” along with “Love Letters,” set to run Aug. 8-9, are part of Upcounty Theatre’s arrangement with BlackRock to provide volunteers in exchange for four weekends of stage time per year. A stage play by David Rogers, “Flowers for Algernon” was adapted from a book by Daniel Keyes. The story is about an intellectually disabled man, Charlie Gordon, 32, who volunteers for experimental surgery to boost his IQ. The surgery had previously worked on a laboratory mouse named Algernon, and two scientists want to see if it works on a human being. “The kids read it in English class,” Bradley said. “It’s a very well known story.” Playing Charlie is Baughman, who graduated with the Class of 2000 from Seneca Valley and now lives in northern Virginia.
n
BY
RAPHAEL TALISMAN/FOR THE GAZETTE
Matt Baughman as Charlie Gordon and Joanna Fellows as Alice Kinnian in the Upcounty Theatre presentation of “Flowers for Algernon,” Aug. 1-2 at the BlackRock Center for the Arts in Germantown.
‘FLOWERS FOR ALGERNON’ n When: 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday; 3 p.m. Sunday
12901 Town Commons Drive, Germantown n Tickets: $12-$16 n For information: facebook.com\upctheatre; twitter.com/UpCTheatre
Neighborhoods stand united against crime Events in Germantown, Damascus enable police to mingle with families n
BY
VIRGINIA TERHUNE STAFF WRITER
Upcounty residents will be participating in free National Night Out activities on Tuesday in two locations this year — one in Germantown and another in Damascus. The free events are held each year in communities around the county as a way for residents and police officers to meet in a fun and relaxed environment.
Police departments typically provide information about services and officers meet and talk with families and their children. Helping to organize the events this year is Community Outreach Officer Marcus Dixon, who is based at the 5th District station in Germantown, which also covers the Damascus area. The Germantown event will be held from 4:30 to 6 p.m. at the Capt. James E. Daly, Jr., Elementary School at 20301 Brandermill Drive. Planned is a visit by local police officers, mounted police on horses, and music provided by a DJ. Teachers and staff from the
school will also be giving out donated books and school supplies. It will be the first National Night Out event held at the school, said Principal Nora Dietz, who is inviting nearby neighborhoods to join in. “We have about 615 students who come to the school every day, and we want the school to be the hub of the community,” Dietz said. Expected to attend will be families from local homeowners’ associations, as well as residents of the Seneca Ridge community and
See NIGHT OUT, Page A-10
Quick thinking helped save canine in fire
BY
VIRGINIA TERHUNE STAFF WRITER
Eva Soderstrom, 14, didn’t hesitate when she saw black smoke billowing out of the top floor of her neighbor’s townhouse in Damas-
cus. She quickly told her mother, who called 911. Within minutes, fire and rescue crews arrived and put out the fire before it spread to neighboring units. Also quick to arrive was the owner of the townhouse, county police Officer Nicole Gamard, who was nearby on patrol at the time. She raced home, concerned for her
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Volume 31, No. 31, Two sections, 28 Pages Copyright © 2014 The Gazette
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two dogs. One dog, Frenzy, died at the scene of smoke inhalation, but the other dog, Quest, survived and recovered, thanks in part to Soderstrom’s quick response. “Her first reaction was exactly what we’re asking people to do,” said 5th District
See AWARD, Page A-10
Montgomery County school board members are turning in their credit cards, after the board unanimously voted Monday to change its expense guidelines and procedures. The changes had been recommended by an ad hoc committee comprising board President Philip Kauffman, Vice President Patricia O’Neill and member Michael Durso. Board members will now need to be pre-approved for nonlocal travel and the school system will not pay for hotel stays within a 50-mile radius of its Carver Educational Services Center in Rockville, except in “exigent circumstances.” Board members also will now receive a per diem allowance based on federal government rates for expenses related to nonlocal travel. Members can be reimbursed for a meal related to their official duties if they fill out a form and provide an itemized receipt, the meeting purpose and participants, and an explanation of why a meeting could not have been held at the Carver center. The approved recommendations also include an annual process in which the school board creates a list of pre-approved nonlocal meetings and conferences and local ticketed events that members can attend with school system funds. Member expenses will now be audited annually based on another change. Kauffman said at the school board’s Monday meeting before the vote that members have always considered it their responsibility to be “good stewards of public dollars.”
See CREDIT CARDS, Page A-10
Man sentenced to 20 years for role in prostitution ring n
Former Germantown resident’s prison stay to be followed by 10 years supervised release BY
Local girl awarded for helping save dog n
LINDSAY A. POWERS STAFF WRITER
n Where: BlackRock Center for the Arts,
See PLAY, Page A-10
New guidelines adopted on allowable expenses
VIRGINIA TERHUNE STAFF WRITER
PHOTO BY REBECCA INNOCENTI
Eva Soderstrom, left, of Damascus, and Officer Nicole Gamard, right, with Quest.
MAINSTREAM MEDITATION
Nonprofit provides holistic health care.
A-7
Jean Claude Roy, 32, who at one time lived on Brittania Circle in Germantown, has been sentenced to 20 years in prison followed by 10 years of supervised release for conspiring to commit sex trafficking by force, fraud and coercion, according to a recent release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Baltimore. The sentence also covers Roy’s convictions on three counts of interstate transportation for prostitution, and witness and evidence tampering, according to the release. Roy took a victim across state lines to engage in
See PROSTITUTION, Page A-10