THE FATE OF JUDAS
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Forum Theatre celebrates 10th season with production of biblical trial. B-5
The Gazette GERMANTOWN | POOLESVILLE | BOYDS
DAILY UPDATES ONLINE www.gazette.net
Wednesday, June 4, 2014
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Grants bolster Boys & Girls Club program
Poolesville goes solar
Germantown center serves 140 children
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BY
STAFF WRITER
Array provides energy for wastewater treatment plant
GREG DOHLER/THE GAZETTE
Poolesville resident Brenda Sneed gets a close look at one of the rows of solar panels unveiled by the Town of Poolesville during a ceremony on Monday. The solar panels, near the town’s public works department, will generate power to operate Poolesville’s wastewater treatment plant. BY
SARAH SCULLY STAFF WRITER
Poolesville celebrated the opening of a new solar array on Monday that town officials expect will save the town $30,000 in energy costs in its first year of operation. County Executive Isiah Leggett, State Senator Brian J. Feldman (D-Dist. 15), County Councilman Roger Berliner (D-Dist. 1) and the Poolesville Board of Commissioners at-
tended the ceremony, touting Poolesville’s progressive thinking and calling it a model for other municipalities. The town set up a site where residents can see how much power the array produces and the reduction of the town’s carbon footprint. Since the array came online in February, it has created enough energy to power 40 homes for a year and has saved nearly 600,000 pounds of carbon dioxide from being released into the atmosphere,
Tournament visitors bring $13.9 million to local businesses BY
SARAH SCULLY STAFF WRITER
Over Memorial Day weekend, the Maryland SoccerPlex
was packed with soccer players, parents and coaches from some of 342 teams for the Potomac Soccer Association’s Memorial Tournament. They dug their cleats into the grass running down the field, highfived after netting goals, and they also went out to lunch, refueled their cars and stayed at nearby hotels. The tournament
Speaker told students to remember who helped them along the way BY BRITTANY CHENG AND SARAH SCULLY STAFF WRITERS
Poolesville High School seniors donned their caps and gowns Monday as they waited to turn their tassels from right to left and walk across the stage at Mount St. Mary’s University in Emmitsburg. The graduating class included 301 students, with 74 percent attending four-year colleges next year, and 18 percent attending two-year colleges.
NEWS
TOUTING THEIR THEATRICAL TALENT Student-directed show included improv, singing and one-act plays.
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Two students plan to join the military. Stephen E. Swift, a popular English teacher who retired from the school last year, addressed the senior class. “What resonated most with me was how he reminded us to thank the people who have helped us along the way, and who made our journey possible,” said graduating senior Connor Lugo-Harris, 18, who will attend Washington College in Chestertown in the fall. “There was a real palpable feeling of excitement and even relief during the ceremony,” Lugo-Harris said. Dhruv S. Shankar was se-
See FALCONS, Page A-12
used 22 fields in the soccerplex and 24 more in other parts of the county. The soccerplex at 18031 Central Park Circle opened in 2000 as a place for kids to learn sports and be active, and for families to gather. But with the rapid growth in Germantown and tournaments drawing more from out of town, the soc-
BILL RYAN/THE GAZETTE
cerplex now brings significant revenue to local businesses. An economic impact study recently commissioned by the Maryland Soccer Foundation, which runs the soccerplex, estimated the facility’s total impact to be nearly $25 million a year, including money spent by lo-
See SOCCERPLEX, Page A-12
TOM FEDOR/THE GAZETTE
Poolesville High School graduates Richard Hon Ching and Rebekah Lynn Chittenden (center) listen to commencement speaker Stephen Swif during the ceremony Monday at Mount Saint Mary’s University in Emmitsburg.
SPORTS
STEPPING UP TO THE PLATE
Sherwood, Whitman grads help UM baseball reach first NCAA postseason in 43 years.
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See GRANTS, Page A-12
See SOLAR, Page A-12
Poolesville graduates turn their tassels n
The nonprofit Germantown Boys & Girls Club recently received government grants totaling $54,412 that will help support programs that serve about 140 children in the Germantown area. “This is the first time in many years that we’ve received grants from Montgomery County,” said
the equivalent of emissions from 260,000 miles of driving in a sedan, according to the site. It has reduced as much carbon dioxide in the atmosphere as would over 11,000 trees, the site reads. The power goes to offsetting electricity for the wastewater treatment plant. Poolesville partnered with Standard Solar, Inc. of Rockville and UGI Corpora-
Germantown soccerplex kicks up dollars n
VIRGINIA TERHUNE
Paul Alagero, chief development officer for the Greater Washington Boys & Girls Club based in Washington, D.C. The Germantown club, which opened in 2002, is currently operating at a deficit, and the grants will make up the difference, Alagero said. The club employs 11 people— five working full time and six part time. “With the gift from the county, the budget will be balanced,” he said. The Greater Washington Boys & Girls Clubs operate 12
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K.J. Gardner, 9, from Fox Chapel Elementary, gets help doing his math homework from older club member Morgan James, 16, of Clarksburg High School on Thursday at the Germantown Boys & Girls Club, .
Note to readers Dear readers, You may have noticed some changes in your newspaper lately. The Gazette built its loyal readership by providing news and information about neighborhoods, schools, businesses and communities, and as the media industry has evolved, we realized we must return to these roots in a meaningful way. Over the last several months, we’ve refocused on publishing extremely local community news. As part of the changes we’re implementing, beginning June 18, The Gazette will be consolidated from eight editions to five in Montgomery County. All five will feature much more content specific to the communities we serve. As we increase the number of newsstand locations to make sure The Gazette is available in high-traffic public locations, we will discontinue home delivery in some areas of the county. Other homes may begin receiving a different edition of The Gazette. Our five editions in
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Sincerely, Karen Acton, CEO The Gazette
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