‘MISMATCH’ Disparity between staff, student demographics. A-10
NEWS: Monkeys on the loose at the Arts Barn. Educational play begins run in Gaithersburg. A-11
The Gazette GERMANTOWN | CLARKSBURG
SPORTS: Sophomore tailback helps Seneca Valley hand Sherwood its first loss. B-1
DA I LY U P DAT E S AT G A Z E T T E . N E T
Wednesday, October 8, 2014
25 cents
Foundation assisting in search for children
FROM MCPD FAMILY (PHOTO PROVIDED ON CROWDRISE.COM)
n
Jacob Jesuitas.
Poolesville community mourns loss of student n
Teen was known as goofy, caring
Pollard brought in two books — one, “The Peace Book” by Todd Parr, chosen by her, and another, “Ron’s Big Mission” by Rose Blue and Corinne Nadenher, chosen by her 7-year-old son. Pollard’s appearance was part of Montgomery College’s new K to College initiative that will help introduce the idea of college to young students. “A little more than a year ago, Dr. Pollard expressed desire to bring involvement down to the kindergarten
Troy Turner, the father of Sarah and Jacob Hoggle who have been missing for almost a month, has asked for help organizing his search from the Klaas Kids Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to stopping crimes against children. The foundation helped lead searches on Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 4 and 5, beginning at 9 a.m. from the Germantown Community Center nearby to Clarksburg and Gaithersburg where Sarah, 3, and Jacob, 2, were last seen with their mother Catherine Hoggle. Marc Klaas formed the Klaas Kids Foundation in 1994, a year after his 12-year-old daughter, Polly, was kidnapped from her Petaluma, Calif., home. Her remains were found nine weeks after her abduction. Klaas wanted to stop crimes against children by pushing procedural reform as well as media and community relations during a search.
See COLLEGE, Page A-12
See MISSING, Page A-12
GREG DOHLER/THE GAZETTE
Montgomery College President Dr. DeRionee Pollard (left) gave piggy banks to Sarai Rios-Lopez, 5, (right) and other kindergartners at Captain James Daly Elementary School in Germantown.
Pollard discusses reading, college at Germantown elementary school BY
SAMANTHA SCHMIEDER STAFF WRITER
Montgomery College president Dr. DeRionne Pollard was in another type of educational setting on Oct. 1 when she read to Mrs. Mallow’s kindergarten class at Captain James E. Daly, Jr., Elementary School in Germantown.
Companies get on the ‘pitch’ bus to market their ideas Germantown entrepreneur among participants in ‘Pitch Across Maryland’ campaign
n
BY
KEVIN JAMES SHAY STAFF WRITER
The farming industry is no stranger to high-tech methods, but Peter James wants to kick that up a notch. With a plan like something out of “Star Wars,” James wants to employ drones to harvest organic vegetables
and other crops in a greenhouse through his Germantown business, First Fruits Farms. The company is developing a web and media server that will enable urban farmers to run the greenhouse control panel from anywhere. “Eventually, we hope this will allow remote control of our farming robots and perhaps provide jobs for disabled workers and others from home,” James said. James was among numerous entrepreneurs making a video pitch on Oct. 1 in a bus parked in Rockville. It
was in the midst of the third annual “Pitch Across Maryland” campaign run by entrepreneurial group Startup Maryland. The statewide tour started in Ocean City on Sept. 15 and ended Friday in Annapolis. Businesses from Montgomery County won the statewide competition in its first two years, with ClickMedix of Gaithersburg winning last year and CoFoundersLab of Rockville in 2012. The top two pitch winners are automatically entered into the annual InvestMaryland Challenge, which this
Faith drives efforts for social justice Interfaith liaison from Boyds inducted into county Hall of Fame n
BY
VIRGINIA TERHUNE STAFF WRITER
It comes as no surprise among Montgomery County faith leaders who work with the Rev. Mansfield Kaseman of Boyds that he is being inducted into the county’s Human Rights Hall of Fame on Sunday. “He brings a tremendous
INDEX Automotive Calendar Classified Entertainment Opinion Sports
amount of experience, energy and passion to issues that we both care deeply about,” said Hedieh Mirahmadi, founder of the International Cultural Center in Gaithersburg. Kaseman is one of seven inductees this year who will be honored by the county’s Office of Human Rights at the public ceremony and reception starting at 3 p.m. on Sunday at the BlackRock Center for the Arts, 12901 Town Commons Drive in Germantown. Pastor emeritus of the Rockville United Church, where he
Seventh annual spooky movie festival arrives in Silver Spring with new film by Eduardo Sanchez. B-5
Volume 27, No. 41, Two sections, 32 Pages Copyright © 2014 The Gazette
Please
RECYCLE
October 16, 2014 1932786
See BUS, Page A-12
DAN GROSS/ THE GAZETTE
See INTERFAITH, Page A-12
ARE YOU AFRAID OF THE DARK?
year offered almost $1 million in cash and in-kind services. ClickMedix won first place in the information technology category of the 2014 InvestMaryland Challenge, taking a $100,000 prize. Entrepreneurs know the pitch contest can lead to significant funding opportunities and not just through the InvestMaryland program. “I hope investors will see our video online,” said James, who has used online funding platform Kickstarter.
Mansfield Kaseman, interfaith liaison for Montgomery County, will be inducted into the county’s Human Rights Hall of Fame on Sunday.
served 26 years, Kaseman is currently the county’s community liaison to the faith community. He heads the volunteer Faith Community Advisory Council, which is part of the County Executive’s Office of Community Partnerships. Kaseman said his main mission is to bring faith leaders together to make Montgomery County a more beloved community as envisioned by Martin Luther King, Jr., “where basic human rights and needs are met
ENTERTAINMENT B-14 A-2 B-9 B-5 A-14 B-1
SAMANTHA SCHMIEDER STAFF WRITER
n
The loudspeakers were playing “Footloose” and “Sweet Home Alabama” as the Poolesville High varsity football team prepared to take the field against Thurmont’s Catoctin High School on Thursday night in Poolesville. But as the sun dropped down behind the trees, the field became totally quiet as the players and spectators observed a moment of silence for player Jacob “Jake” Jesuitas, 17. Capt. Paul Starks of the Montgomery County police said Monday the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner ruled the cause of death as suicide by gunshot. Jesuitas was a player on the varsity team, a young man who loved skateboarding and participated in the school’s theater group, the Midnight Players. He was the son of John and Stacey Jesuitas, and brother of Nicolas Jesuitas. John Jesuitas is a county police officer based in Bethesda. Nicolas Jesuitas, 20, attends Montgomery College. Before the game, Allie Gruber, Jesuitas’ girlfriend, described him as
See STUDENT, Page A-9
BY
College president goes to kindergarten
BY VIRGINIA TERHUNE AND LINDSAY A. POWERS STAFF WRITERS
Father of missing Hoggle children asks for help