NEW TERRITORY Council wants oversight of county drones. A-6
The Gazette
NEWS: Patients, supporters cycle for awareness during 8th Lymphoma Research Ride. A-5
GERMANTOWN | CLARKSBURG DA I LY U P DAT E S AT G A Z E T T E . N E T
Wednesday, Sept. 24, 2014
25 cents
Story time
Search for Hoggle children expands
Germantown Library invites children to Read to a Dog BY
SPORTS: Northwest running back helps Jaguars defeat Seneca Valley, retain trophy. B-1
SAMANTHA SCHMIEDER STAFF WRITER
Every Wednesday, Barbara Schmidt and Zachy stroll into the Germantown Library, not to check out a book, but to be read one. Zachy, a 9-year-old rescued greyhound, is the star of Germantown Library’s weekly Read to a Dog program for children to practice their reading out loud for a quiet, non-judgmental audience. Zachy sprawls out on his paw-print patterned blanket and gets ready to hear as many books he can between 4 and 4:45 p.m. Children pick out their book and wait in line to come into the room one-by-one with their parents or siblings and can choose to sit in a chair or on the floor next to Zachy as they read. While some are concerned that Zachy isn’t listening or looking at them while they read, Schmidt assures them that he’s paying attention and even if he does fall asleep, reminds them that sometimes they fall asleep while being read to as well. “We went through a basic training course. He’s calm, doesn’t lick or bark and normally doesn’t drool, un-
less someone has an ice cream cone in front of him,” Schmidt said with a laugh. Zachy is a READ, or Reading Education Assistance Dog, a certification he received from Wags for Hope, a Frederick-based organization that provides therapy dog training so the canines and their owners can visit people in nursing homes, assisted living facilities and hospitals, as well libraries and schools for reading programs. The dogs must be very well-mannered and relaxed as to not excite the children or distract them from their task. “It’s a non-judgmental, calm, stress-less, environment,” Schmidt said. The program is geared toward children who have problems reading out loud, but Schmidt said children will often see the dog and want to come read regardless of age or skill level. “I myself had problems reading in school. I hated reading out loud, and now that I’m retired, I can give back,” Schmidt said. Deborah Tomblyn, who brought
See READING, Page A-12
n Two-day push began in Germantown and included volunteer planes, dogs BY
DANIEL LEADERMAN STAFF WRITER
DAN GROSS/THE GAZETTE
Nine-year-old Bethany Fuss of Germantown pets Zachy, a retired racing greyhound, after reading “Who Can Trust You, Kanagroo?” to him at the Germantown Library.
Hundreds of volunteers, some from as far away as Cumberland and Odenton, gathered in Germantown this weekend to join the continuing search for a pair of toddlers who have been missing for nearly two weeks. “It tears us up that these kids are out there somewhere,” said Allan Smith of Germantown on Sunday. Smith, an experienced hunter, said he saw reports about the search for two-year-old Jacob Hoggle and three-year-old Sarah Hoggle on the news and decided to help. The children were last seen in the company of their mother, Catherine Hoggle, on Sept. 7 and 8. Catherine Hoggle also disappeared for several days, but was located and arrested late Sept. 12. Hoggle, who suffers from
See SEARCH, Page A-12
Clarksburg man shows courage in the fight against cancer Germantown Voices Against Brain Cancer coach gets gives fighter the Courage Award seven years for teen sex abuse n
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SAMANTHA SCHMIEDER STAFF WRITER
VOICES AGAINST BRAIN CANCER
Rodolfo Padilla and his wife, Luisa, of Clarksburg following the Voices Against Brain Cancer inaugural walk.
From Colombia to Clarksburg, from kidnapping to cancer, Rodolfo Padilla has faced struggles and adversity, and at every turn remained strong. Rodolfo Padilla, of Clarksburg, received the Courage Award from Voices
Against Brain Cancer on Sunday, Sept. 21, at their inaugural Join the Voices! D.C. Walk. Padilla, who is originally from Colombia, was diagnosed with Glioblastoma Multiforme, an aggressive type of brain cancer, in 2011 after going to the doctor for a migraine that had lasted for days. He had emergency surgery and was in remission until this summer when the Padillas found out the tumor had come back. Padilla’s wife, Luisa Padilla, explained that she had found Voices
Against Brain Cancer on Facebook before the second surgery and was happy that he didn’t need their help at that time. However, once they knew it had come back, they reached out. Darren Port, the co-executive director of Voices Against Brain Cancer, has been with the organization since its start in 2005. He explained that, unfortunately, like many organizations that are fighting for cures, Voices Against Brain Cancer was formed after
See CANCER, Page A-12
Defense touts progress in therapy; prosecutors point to pattern of abuse n
BY
DANIEL LEADERMAN STAFF WRITER
Hospital open house draws a crowd Holy Cross Germantown officially opens Oct. 1
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VIRGINIA TERHUNE AND SAMANTHA SCHMIEDER
BY
STAFF WRITERS
Germantown resident Stephen Baetsen came to the Holy Cross Germantown Hospital open house on Sunday to not only see the new six-story building before it officially opens Oct. 1 but also to find a specialist. Baetsen has a condition similar to Parkinson’s Disease,
INDEX Automotive Calendar Classified Entertainment Opinion Sports
B-11 A-2 B-8 B-4 A-13 B-1
and until now he has had to go to Rockville or Baltimore for treatment. For him, having an emergency room and outpatient services closer to home is more than just a convenience. “It’s a godsend,” he said about the new 93-bed hospital off Middlebrook Road on the campus of Montgomery College Germantown. More than 400 people had lined up when the doors opened at 10 a.m. Sunday, said Holy Cross German President Doug Ryder. “It’s almost like a crowd on Black Friday!” joked Ryder,
who manned the front desk for a time, greeting a steady stream of visitors who checked out the lobby before picking up a map and free tote bag and boarding elevators to see the second, third and fourth floors. Staffers and volunteers dressed in blue shirts were on hand to answer questions about the emergency room, operating rooms, infant care area, psychiatric unit and the light-filled cafeteria. Having an ER close to home meant a lot to Germantown residents Amol and
See HOSPITAL, Page A-12
ENTERTAINMENT
BIG IN IMAGINATION Adventure Theatre MTC brings E.B. White’s “Stuart Little” to life.
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PHOTO BY MATT MENDELSOHN
Staffers, dressed in blue, welcomed visitors to the new 93-bed Holy Cross Germantown hospital, which hosted an open house for the public on Sunday.
Volume 31, No. 37, Two sections, 28 Pages Copyright © 2014 The Gazette Please
RECYCLE
A Germantown man who worked as a tutor and a private coach was sentenced Wednesday to seven years in prison for sexually abusing a girl he mentored over a period of two years. Daniel M. Sirotkin, 31, pleaded guilty in May to three offenses: sexual abuse of a minor and third-degree sexual offense relating to one victim, and soliciting a second victim, also a minor, to produce child pornography. Court filings indicate Sirotkin touched the first victim and engaged in oral sex multiple times from 2011 to 2013, when she was 14 and 15 years old. Sirotkin was acting as the girl’s coach and tutor during that time, according to charging documents. Sirotkin’s attorney, Gary Gerstenfield, acknowledged the “repugnant”
See COACH, Page A-12
SPECIAL SECTION
OUR CHILDREN Talking to teens about your own youthful alcohol and drug use; raising charitable children; teaching babies to talk; determining whether your child needs a tutor