DECK THE HALLS College Park resident brings festive spirit. A-3
MY FAVORITE TEACHER Meet the winners of The Gazette’s annual contest inside today.
PROMOTIONAL SUPPLEMENT
The Gazette
SPORTS: Northwestern boys basketball the sleeper team to watch this year. B-1
NORTHERN AND CENTRAL PRINCE GEORGE’S COUNT Y DA I LY U P DAT E S AT G A Z E T T E . N E T
Thursday, December 11, 2014
25 cents
County considers bag fee, again n
Over 20 bills to be presented
BY JAMIE
sky (D-Dist. 22) of Hyattsville said there is enough support to pass the bag fee this year. It has failed to pass out of the delegation for the past four years, which Pinsky said is due to lobbying by the plastic bag manufacturing industry. “I think it’s an idea whose time has come,” Pinsky said. Pinsky said disposable plastic bags are an environmental hazard that costs the county millions of dollars to clean up each year. Pinsky said customers are already paying for the bags in terms of higher prices that are built into the products they buy.
ANFENSON-COMEAU STAFF WRITER
A retail bag fee, a retail bag ban and a prohibition on school boardissued credit cards are among over 20 bills under consideration by the Prince George’s County Delegation for the upcoming 2015 General Assembly legislative session. PG416-15 would authorize Prince George’s to impose a fee on disposable paper and plastic bags used in retail establishments, similar to fivecent fees already charged in Washington, D.C., and Montgomery County. The bill’s sponsor, Sen. Paul Pin-
See BAGS, Page A-10
GREG DOHLER/THE GAZETTE
Pastor Tommy Rowe cleans up in the kitchen at First Baptist Church of Laurel after Dec. 5 dinner service for the homeless as part of the Winter Shelter program in Laurel.
Greenbelt may pass Shelter program open for season on space at school More locations needed to house people during cold weather, Laurel organizers say n
BY
ALICE POPOVICI STAFF WRITER
Terrance Pett, 59, of Laurel, who is homeless and usually spends the night in his van, said he sees more and more people living in boxes, under park benches and in the woods. As this year’s Laurel Winter Shelter program kicked off at First Baptist Church of Laurel during the first week of December, Pett said he was thankful for the opportunity to have a meal and a bed to sleep in. “More and more people are homeless. They’re everywhere,” Pett, a former truck driver who has been homeless about five years, said on Dec. 4. “Here you eat good and also you get to meet a lot of interesting people.”
First Baptist is among about 20 religious organizations in Laurel that have volunteered to each host homeless men and women for one week in the annual program, but organizers say more space is needed to accommodate everyone through the end of the cold season. Currently, the program is only able to accommodate men and women together through the first week or March, and can accommodate only women through the third week of March, said Linda Bergofsky, a volunteer with the program at Oseh Shalom synagogue in Laurel. She said there is space to accommodate the women because they are a smaller group — approximately 5 to 10 — compared with the approximately 40 men who still need shelter for the second and third weeks of March. Bergofsky said more congregations are needed that are willing to house about 40 men for the second and third weeks of March. “Homelessness is not the city of
Laurel’s issue. It’s a regional issue,” said Bergofsky, adding that people who take advantage of Winter Shelter come from Prince George’s as well as surrounding counties. “I think we have seen an increase since the Great Recession.” Representatives of religious organizations who participate in the Winter Shelter program estimated that there are about 60 homeless people in Laurel — who come from Prince George’s, Howard, Anne Arundel and Montgomery counties — though only about 40 use the Winter Shelter resources. Religious organizations in Laurel began the program — originally known as Winter Haven and governed by the Winter Haven Board — in 1991, said Sheila McJilton, rector at St. Philips Episcopal Church in Laurel, which participates in the program. By 2011 and 2012, McJilton said the board had grown tired of running the program and transferred it to a self-led
See SHELTER, Page A-10
n
Cost, liability among factors considered
BY JAMIE
ANFENSON-COMEAU STAFF WRITER
Greenbelt will likely scuttle a plan to rent space at the old Greenbelt Middle School to provide services to the local community unless they can get a better deal than the one offered by the school system, city officials say. “I don’t think anyone is really ready to close that door entirely, but I do think that door is only slightly ajar,” Greenbelt Mayor Emmett Jordan said during Monday’s City Council meeting, of the proposed deal to lease five rooms. Since the school closed in 2012, Greenbelt has looked for ways to use part or all of the space to provide services to area residents. The most
Public aid needed to keep Anacostia watershed clean n
County required to remove over 170,000 pounds of trash from river
BY JAMIE
ANFENSON-COMEAU STAFF WRITER
Community groups and organizations are looking for new ways to partner with Prince George’s County to help keep the Anacostia watershed clean. Under the terms of the county’s stormwater management permit from the state, the county is required to remove an additional 170,628 pounds of
INDEX Automotive Calendar Classifieds Entertainment Opinion Sports Volume 17, No. 50, Two sections, 20 Pages Copyright © 2014 The Gazette
B-9 A-2 B-7 B-3 A-11 B-1
Please
RECYCLE
trash yearly from the Anacostia River Watershed, said Alfred Titus-Glover, senior environmental planner for Prince George’s County’s Department of the Environment. “Unfortunately we don’t have the manpower or the funding to do this ourselves,” Titus-Glover said during a public hearing, held Dec. 3 at Thomas Stone Elementary School in Mount Rainier. “We need the public’s help.” Johnathan Berard of Greenbelt suggested the county might look into ways of encouraging volunteer trash
See WATERSHED, Page A-10
See GREENBELT, Page A-10
Staff continuity keys Douglass’ title run Longtime coaches lead Eagles to football state championship
n
BY
ERIC GOLDWEIN STAFF WRITER
BILL RYAN/THE GAZETTE
Frederick Douglass High School players celebrate winning the 2A state football title against Dunbar on Saturday at M&T Bank Stadium.
With the rain falling on the M&T Bank Stadium turf field, the two familiar men stood on the Doughlass High School sidelines, just as they have fore years. One of them, defensive coordinator Bill Johnson, wore shorts as he always does with a long sleeve shirt and a beanie, his playbook tucked under the back of his waistline. The other, coach J.C. Pinkney, wore his Eagles cap and a smile. Both were drenched, not from the
NEWS
ENCOURAGING OTHERS Northwestern student’s murals earn her award for overcoming challenges. A-4
MUNICIPAL SCENE
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December 18, 2014 1932812
recent version of the plan involved renting five rooms for GED programs, tutoring and mentoring through Greenbelt CARES, the city’s family counseling program. “We had this wonderful, idealistic utopian vision, which I guess is Greenbelt’s way, to use this whole building to provide services, and now it’s shrunk down to this little part. We could still make it usable, but not at this cost,” said Councilwoman Judith “J” Davis. Under the school system’s proposal, the city would need to pay $188,850 for renovations to a fiveroom wing of the building, the largest portion — $52,000 — going to replace the wall heating units, according to Michael McLaughlin, Greenbelt city manager. In addition, the city would pay
See TITLE, Page A-9