FALLING SHORT Montgomery County income tax revenue falls. A-5
NEWS: County woman helps cancer nonprofit’s mission. A-4
The Gazette GERMANTOWN | CLARKSBURG
Wednesday, November 26, 2014
Teen star BY
DA I LY U P DAT E S AT G A Z E T T E . N E T
25 cents
Germantown girl takes Miss Maryland Teen title
SAMANTHA SCHMIEDER STAFF WRITER
G
ermantown native Taylor Dawson, 17, was crowned Miss Maryland Teen USA 2015 on Nov. 2 at the Bethesda Marriott, about a year after she was named first runnerup to the crown. Last year’s Miss Maryland Teen USA, Mariela Pepin, crowned Dawson after she competed in an evening gown, swimsuit and interview portion of the weekend’s event. Dawson explained that in order to qualify contestants must go through an online interview process first. “There’s usually about 85 semifinalists in the pageant for Maryland,” Dawson said, explaining that judges narrow the number of contestants down to 15 following an interview and preliminary swimsuit and evening gown rounds. Because Dawson won for Maryland, she will be representing the state at the Miss Teen USA pageant in August 2015 which will be held in the Bahamas. She will be competing against 50 other teens from the other states and Washington, D.C. This is Dawson’s second year competing in the Miss Maryland Teen pageant. After taking second place last year, she decided to return for a second try at the crown. “I think I was more nervous than I was last year because I got so close to winning last year it was almost like the pressure was on me to win,” Dawson said. Dawson didn’t let that pressure get to her head. “The entire top five came back again to try this year. It was definitely a close call, I knew I had tough competition,” Dawson said. Ever since Dawson was little, she has been interested in the performing arts and hopes one day to become an actress, although she also loves singing. At 16, Dawson made it through a few rounds of “American Idol.” She has landed roles in various commercials including spots for JCPenney and Verizon. “My ultimate goal would be to be a series regular on a TV show. Being on TV is a more steady job,” Dawson said. Dawson graduated high school early through an online program because it fit better with her busy schedule of traveling between Maryland and Los Angeles where she was
See TEEN, Page A-7
School officials say new guidelines still carry consequences BY
LINDSAY A. POWERS STAFF WRITER
Some parents are concerned that school administrators might not be disciplining students severely enough under Montgomery County Public Schools’ new code of conduct and the district’s efforts to reduce suspensions. School officials, however, say students are facing consequences for bad behavior even if they aren’t suspended. Serious offenses are still often handled with a suspension, officials say. Concerns around the guidelines were discussed on Nov. 19 during a meeting of the Montgomery County Council of ParentTeacher Associations’ health and safety committee. The county PTA does not have an official position on the code. In light of the issues raised, committee members want to gather more information
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DANIEL LEADERMAN STAFF WRITER
The Clarksburg woman whose children have been missing for more than two months has been found not competent to stand trial on charges relating to their disappearance, according to a court filing by her attorney. Catherine Hoggle, 28, who has a history of paranoid schizophrenia, is currently detained at a state mental facility in Jessup. Her attorney, David Felsen, wrote in a motion filed Nov. 19 that Hoggle’s mental health has deteriorated, requiring emergency medication, and that, for a time, she
See HOGGLE, Page A-7
Trial of suspect in exorcism killing scheduled for April n
Attorney: Germantown woman competent to stand trial BY
DANIEL LEADERMAN STAFF WRITER
PHOTO BY JOSEF WILLIS
Germantown native Taylor Dawson, 17, was crowned Miss Maryland Teen USA on Nov. 2 at the Bethesda Marriott. She will go on to compete in the Miss Teen USA competition in the summer of 2015.
about how the code is working in schools. The code, which is being used for the first time this school year, guides administrators on disciplining students. The new guidelines stem from state regulations aimed in part at reducing suspensions and expulsions and giving administrators greater discretion to determine discipline. Susan Burkinshaw, co-chair of the health and safety committee, said she’s heard concerns about the guidelines from teachers, PTA leaders, other parents and school resource officers, who are police officers who work in schools. Burkinshaw said she’s concerned that students are learning they can be disrespectful to administrators, teachers and school resource officers and not face serious consequences. Burkinshaw said she has spoken with school resource officers who think they were not being asked to handle some serious incidents. Asked to comment on concerns about the code, Capt. Paul Starks, a Montgomery County police spokesman, said, “That is an
MCPS issue.” “We respect their [the school system’s] internal protocols and will work cooperatively with them in the best interest of all parties,” he said in an email Friday. Burkinshaw said it seems that schools want to “internally” discipline some students with repeated offenses, to avoid reporting out-of-school suspensions or referring students to police. Some students punished through inschool suspensions, she said, “continue to be disruptive in the buildings” and are “great burdens on the teachers.” If schools don’t appropriately address students’ behavior, she said, they might not get needed resources outside the district, such as mental health services. Burkinshaw said she agrees with the school system’s goal to have a “rehabilitative and not punitive” disciplinary system, but doesn’t think it’s working. “Are we really doing this to be rehabilitative or keep reporting numbers down?” she
See CONDUCT, Page A-7
FOR LOVE OF OUR PLANET Show uses dancing, songs, and NASA data. Page B-4
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Clarksburg mother of missing children still in state psychiatric hospital BY
ENTERTAINMENT
INDEX
Hoggle deemed not competent to stand trial n
Montgomery parents question code of conduct n
SPORTS: Gazette previews the wrestling and swimming seasons that open next week. B-1
Volume 27, No. 48, Two sections, 32 Pages Copyright © 2014 The Gazette
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RECYCLE
The trial of Monifa Sanford — one of two Germantown women accused of murdering two children and trying to kill two more because they believed the children were possessed — is scheduled for April, despite a doctors’s report declaring Sanford to be legally insane at the time of the attacks. Attorneys in the case met for a brief scheduling hearing in Montgomery County Circuit Court on Nov. 19. Sanford, 22, faces two county of first-degree murder and two counts of attempted first-degree murder stemming from the attack in January. Charging documents indicate that
See TRIAL, Page A-7
Local nonprofit receives grant to help Sierra Leone n
$3,000 will allow Germantown organization to provide additional medical supplies BY
SAMANTHA SCHMIEDER STAFF WRITER
The Bethesda-Chevy Chase Rotary Club has given the Germantown nonprofit Hope for Lives in Sierra Leone a $3,000 grant to help its efforts fighting the Ebola virus in Sierra Leone. Thomas “Bobby” Smith founded Hope for Lives in Sierra Leone after visiting his home country three years ago and realizing he could help to improve the lives of its citizens. This
See SIERRA LEONE, Page A-7