&
SUMMER of THE
SUPERHEROES
The season assembles with Free Comic Book Day, box office blockbusters and local guy-turnedterminator J. August Richards as the cyborg Deathlok in “Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.”
The Gazette GERMANTOWN | POOLESVILLE | BOYDS
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Wednesday, April 30, 2014
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Bomb threats at two high schools cause evacuations
BOWING OUT
Drama director Gail Howard leaving after 20 years at Poolesville High Teacher takes final curtain call at weekend’s performance n
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No devices found in search of Northwest, Northwood high schools n
SARAH SCULLY STAFF WRITER
After a whirlwind of four performances of “High School Musical” over the weekend, Gail Howard sits on a well-worn couch in her office Monday morning, backstage in Poolesville High School’s auditorium. A varsity jacket from the show is one of a few costume items strewn across the two couches in the room. A tea kettle, gallon jugs of water and bottles of honey are piled on books and papers nearby — supplies the students used for keeping their voices fresh during the shows. The crowded room clearly doubles as a backstage hangout. Seventy-two-year-old Howard is the school’s drama director where she directs the Midnight Players, the group that put on the musical. “High School Musical” was her last show before she retires at the end of the school year, although she said she’ll be around as the new director, Nathaniel Gordon, takes over. After 20 years and 40 plays, Howard teared up as she spoke about the students she has seen find community in the Midnight Players and confidence from taking the risk of stepping onstage. Sixty-eight students rehearsed dance moves, sang, directed lighting, built the set and played instruments for weekend show this year. Howard never turns down students who want to be involved, which means she now double-casts roles, so that one student plays a role for two of the four performances, and another acts in the other two. Howard got her first taste for
See BOWING, Page A-10
BY LINDSAY A. POWERS AND SARAH SCULLY STAFF WRITERS
Bomb threats at two Montgomery County high schools caused students to be evacuated while police searched the buildings Tuesday morning. Police did not find anything in searches of Northwood High School in Silver Spring and Northwest High School in Germantown, according to Montgomery County Police Officer Janelle Smith. One bomb threat was called
DAN GROSS/THE GAZETTE
Poolesville High ’s top rank sparks debate
TOM FEDOR/THE GAZETTE
Poolesville High School drama instructor Gail Howard and her students get ready for the evening performance of “High School Musical” on Thursday afternoon.
Cabin Branch developers offer amphitheater BY
VIRGINIA TERHUNE STAFF WRITER
The BlackRock Center for the Arts serves upcounty from its base in Germantown town center but in the future, it may also offer shows at a second venue in growing Clarksburg to the north on land near the planned outlet center. “Our goal is to extend our presence into upper Montgomery County,” said BlackRock’s Executive Director Krista Bradley. BlackRock presently offers a mix for
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DOUBLING THE DOLLARS
Council wants to see the fine for passing a stopped bus increase from $125 to $250.
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See THREATS, Page A-9
At left, Jaqueline Queirolo Anderson hugs her cousin Giandre Leon after he was released from Northwest High School. The school had received a bomb threat Tuesday and eventually released students to a parent or guardian.
Parents question average students’ success at the school n
BlackRock arts center looks north n
in to Northwood at 9:29 a.m. and another threat was called in to Northwest at 9:32 a.m., according to county police spokeswoman Angela Cruz. Dana Tofig, a spokesman for Montgomery County Public Schools, said both schools were evacuated as a precaution and students were able to return to their classes. “We will continue to have as normal a day as possible,” he said in a Tuesday email. Outside of Northwest High School dozens of parents waited outside the school and more lined the surrounding blocks in cars. Many had received calls and texts from their children
diverse audiences of music, art, dance and theater productions, as well as classes for children, and venues for social and corporate gatherings. The nonprofit is working with developers of the planned Cabin Branch fashion outlet center in Clarksburg, who have offered the use of a large grassy area with views of the woods for use as an outdoor amphitheater. There are no plans at this point to build seats or a stage, but stages could possibly be brought in depending on the performance, said Ron Kaplan, co-managing principal of Streetscape Partners, which is developing Cabin Branch with New England Development and Simon Properties. Bradley part of the work with develop-
NATURAL OR UNNATURAL MOTION? More advanced high school softball pitchers increases injury risk.
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SARAH SCULLY STAFF WRITER
As Poolesville High School continues to top the charts in caliber and difficulty, some parents wonder where struggling students fit in. It’s the fourth most challenging high school in the Washington D.C. area, and the 68th most difficult in the county, according to The Washington Post’s 2014 Most Challenging Schools Report, released on April 7. US News & World Report ranked the school third in the state. It’s an honor and a boon to busi-
See BLACKROCK, Page A-9
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ers will be to estimate how many people the space could accommodate. “If we were to do the programming for that [amphitheater], what would the capacity be?” she said. Located at the southwest corner of Clarksburg Road (Md 121) and Interstate 270, the regional outlet center is expected to include 100 stores and restaurants. Construction is due to start in 2015 and the center to open in spring 2016, Kaplan said. Approved for building just to the west on fields bounded by Clarksburg Road and Old Baltimore Road are more 1,800 housing units, the first of which are now under
ness. But is it a strain for some local students? The Montgomery County public magnet school serves Poolesville residents and the brightest kids from around the county, who must apply to get in to one of four magnet programs, including global ecology, humanities, science, math and computer science, and independent studies. The majority of local students also participate in the magnet programs. There are 547 local Poolesville students, and 649 from other parts of the county. Recently some parents have gathered for conversations about the high school’s curriculum. Bob Cissel, whose two kids graduated from Poolesville
See POOLESVILLE, Page A-9
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