BIG BAND, BIG BANG
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Jazz and swing traditions come alive with 17-piece orchestra.
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The Gazette GERMANTOWN | POOLESVILLE | BOYDS
DAILY UPDATES ONLINE www.gazette.net
Wednesday, July 24, 2013
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Study says cell tower radiation levels acceptable Poolesville tower’s neighbor remains concerned n
BY
RYAN MARSHALL STAFF WRITER
BRANDON ENG Walt Whitman
JOEY SHAVATT Bowie
LEXI D’ORSANEO Bowie
LINDSEY JANOSKIE Paint Branch
NICOLE WARREN James H. Blake
The radiation levels emitted by cellphone towers on top of Poolesville’s water tower is well within acceptable levels, according to a town-commissioned study, but one resident isn’t satisfied with the results. The study by Radiofrequency Safety International Inc. of Kiowa, Kan., found that the amount of radio-frequency energy put out by the cell towers was well below the limits to which humans can be safely exposed. The Poolesville water tower holds antennas for AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon and Sprint/ Nextel, which bring the town $167,000 a year in revenue from renting the space. According to the report, which the town commissioners requested in May, the highest reading recorded during the June 28 inspection was 0.2 percent of the level permitted by the Federal Communications Commission. The study cost the town $2,988, Town Manager Wade Yost wrote in an email Tuesday. The town is happy the emissions fall within the FCC standards, he said. Poolesville resident Thomas Orr, who lives
See RADIATION, Page A-9 In the search for a college athletic scholarship, parents have endless opportunities to spend money, including youth teams, camps run by college coaches, buying top equipment, and online recruiting sites that market athletes. The trend has led to children specializing in sports at earlier ages, which has led to more serious injuries, youth giving up free time to chase their athletic dreams, and in some cases burnout. Another trend is that many top athletes now are being forced to choose between their club and high school teams.
Elite athletes sacrifice to play prep sports Most college recruiting now takes place outside of high school competition n
BY JENNIFER BEEKMAN STAFF WRITER
Thomas S. Wootton High School tennis star Titas Bera went undefeated this spring, winning his third consecutive county singles championship and the state boys doubles title. Bera, a rising senior, hasn’t lost a singles match in three years of
See ELITE, Page A-10
$5B
Nationwide spending on youth sports each year.
$2B
Amount of athletic scholarships awarded by Division I and II schools each year.
Only 2 percent of youth athletes earn scholarships that average about $11,000 n
BY
C
Early start can lead to burn out
Children nationwide (18 to 5) who participate in youth sports each year.
3.5M
Children nationwide under 14 who receive medical treatment for a sports injury in a year.
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Online services change recruiting A-11
STAFF WRITER
30M
Doctors see more injuries
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Game in Town.” In it, he estimated that parents spend $5 billion a year on youth sports. He says that’s a low guess; it doesn’t include gas and other expenses parents pay just getting their children to practice. Thurman’s daughter, Taylor, could run up a bill of $5,000 to $7,000 a year just on field hockey. Just one event on her Futures team cost about $2,800. Add in swimming and track, and that’s another $3,000 to $4,000. That’s just one child, who competes at Oberlin College in Ohio, but is not on scholarship. “Few athletes get full rides,” Thurman said.
See SCHOLARSHIPS, Page A-11
145K
Students who receive either partial or full athletic scholarships.
70%
Children who drop out of youth sports by age 13. Reasons cited are adults, coaches and parents.
SOURCES: MARK HYMAN, BALTIMORE-BASED AUTHOR OF ‘THE MOST EXPENSIVE GAME IN TOWN’; NCAA; CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION; SAFE KIDS (CHILDREN’S NATIONAL MEDICAL CENTER)
NEWS
DOWN ON THE FARM Montgomery County continues tour tradition as farms welcome visitors, show off their products and offer special entertainment.
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SPORTS
STEPPING HIS WAY TO THE TOP Bethesda man rises to among the best in the world at competitive stair climbing.
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Group to meet in September to consider candidates for open seat n
TRAVIS MEWHIRTER
andy Thurman had a rough idea how much she was spending on her daughters’ athletic pursuits — between $11,000 to $14,000. She knew that a field hockey stick went for $150 to $400 and that letting her children play on the Futures team — field hockey’s version of the Amateur Athletic Union — would cost nearly $3,000. While it was happening, though, “I didn’t realize I was spending all that money on it,” said Thurman, the Montgomery Blair High School field hockey coach. She chuckles now, thinking about the expenses of youth sports — the lucrative industry it has become. Baltimore author Mark Hyman wrote a book on the topic, titled “The Most Expensive
Process starts to name successor to Sen. Garagiola
Automotive
BY
RYAN MARSHALL STAFF WRITER
State Sen. Rob Garagiola (D-Dist. 15) of Germantown won’t officially leave his Senate seat until Sept. 1, but the process of naming his replacement is beginning to heat up. The Montgomery County Democratic Central Committee will meet on Sept. 10 to name a successor to Garagiola, and committee members already have begun interviewing potential candidates, Chairman Gabe Albornoz said. Albornoz said that while there are several unofficial candidates, only Del. Brian Feldman (D-Dist. 15) of Potomac has officially acknowledged interest in the post. Once the seat officially becomes vacant, the central committee will have 30 days to make a recommendation to the governor on who should fill the spot. Candidates have until Sept. 9 to submit a resume and letter of intent to be appointed for the Senate seat. Feldman has emerged as the front-runner, but his endorsement by the chairman and vice chairman of the District 15 Democratic Caucus in a June letter to the central committee has drawn some complaints that the seat was being handed to him without consideration of minority candidates.
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