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Greenbelt Arts Center falls for farce in ‘Habeaus Corpus.’ B-1
The Gazette SERVING NORTHERN AND CENTRAL PRINCE GEORGE’S COUNT Y COMMUNITIES
DAILY UPDATES ONLINE www.gazette.net
Thursday, May 8, 2014
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The results are in n
Cottage City, Colmar Manor and Edmonston elect new leaders BY
EMILIE EASTMAN STAFF WRITER
Around 140 Cottage City residents cast their votes Monday at Town Hall, electing three first-time commissioners: Donna Hayes (Ward 2), Melaine Jones (Ward 3) and Sheila Butler (Ward 4). Nearly twice as many residents voted in this year’s election as voted in 2013, which saw only 81 votes, said town clerk Tina Pryce. Several resi-
dents exiting the polls said platform issues were not as important to them as was bringing fresh faces to the commission and Town Hall meetings, which they criticized for displays of contention and disrespect. “We’re trying to get it back to where no one is fighting and getting it back to normal,” said resident Carroll Faber. “It’s always been a fight, but it’s starting to get a little bizarre. Maybe new people will change that.” Hayes defeated fellow first-time candidate Alina Maria Smith 64 to 58, while new candidate Melanie Jones defeated commission chairwoman Phyllis Robinson 110 to 20, Pryce said.
See ELECTIONS, Page A-8
ICC road signs put the brakes on ads GREG DOHLER/THE GAZETTE
Compromise sought as owners say rule hinders efforts to attract customers n
Kidney transplant survivor Eric Lang of Cheverly will represent Maryland in bowling at the Transplant Games of America this summer in Houston.
Bowling for lives
BY
STAFF WRITER
Some Laurel business owners are worried that the Intercounty Connector will cause them to lose business, despite a compromise in the works to find an alternative to I-95 road sign advertisements that are being removed to accommodate the ICC’s path. Tom Jarrell, manager of the IHOP restaurant on Baltimore Avenue in Laurel, said three signs on northbound I-95 near Md. Route 198 inform drivers about 10 Laurel-area businesses — including his business — and are responsible for directing a lot of traffic to the area. “We wish we could [keep] our sign,” Jarrell said. “We [have] a sign that directed people to our business that we paid for each year, and it was well worth the money.” Construction of the ICC, a toll
Transplant recipients ready to roll at tournament BY
EMILIE EASTMAN STAFF WRITER
Twenty years ago, Essie Wilson of Fort Washington had a headache. Thirty years ago, Eric Lang of Cheverly was feeling a little fatigued. Neither of them realized their lives would soon depend on organs donated by strangers. Wilson and Lang will be representing Team Maryland in a July bowling tournament at Transplant Games of America, a bi-annual Olympic-style competition open to organ donors and recipients.
Wilson, 61, received her first kidney 20 years ago after a strep throat infection entered her bloodstream and Lang, 49, received his when he was 19 after a random free blood pressure check revealed a genetic disorder that was causing kidney failure. Both Lang and Wilson said they were shocked to discover they needed organ transplants and hope their participation in the Transplant Games will raise awareness about the importance of organ donation. “Until [organ failure] happens to them or their families, some people just don’t get it,” Wilson said. “I want
EMILIE EASTMAN
everyone to know what organ donation has done for me, and if it had not been for the generosity of others I would not be alive today. Going to these games shows I’m able to continue on with my life.” The Transplant Games of America will be held July 11 through July 15 in Houston this year and will include around 17 competitive sports, including basketball, golf, swimming, cornhole and ballroom dancing. Lang said he has been bowling for nearly 40 years, both competitively and
See TEAM, Page A-8
highway connecting Prince George’s and Montgomery counties, required the installation and shifts of various exits and side lanes, to include some in Laurel. Mark Coblentz, director of the State Highway Administration’s ICC project, said once construction is completed on I-95, there will not be enough room for the three current business signs and the new ICC traffic signs, based on state regulations for spacing between highway signs. Coblentz said the three large road signs bearing 10 business logos will likely be removed by June, in conjunction with the completion of new local roadways and interchanges near Contee Road and Route 198 in Laurel. “Unfortunately there is not sufficient room in the northbound direction to place all those signs back in,” Coblentz said. Jarrell said he could not estimate how many customers patronized his restaurant as a result of the signs, but said the signs with logos acted as advertisements and accounted for a good amount of revenue. At a meeting in late April, state
See ROAD SIGNS, Page A-8
Cartoon class animates imagination Greenbelt festival in 10th n
year of honoring nature, art
Branch hosts first animation class for youths BY
EMILIE EASTMAN
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STAFF WRITER
Nine-year-old Anthony Hamm of Lanham loves to draw robots and superheroes, and on Monday, he found a way to make them come to life. Anthony, along with about 12 of his peers, attended the New Carrollton library’s first cartoon animation class Monday, which is the only one of its kind offered through the Prince George’s County Memorial Library System. Students ages 8 to 15 will meet once a week for three weeks to learn basic software and techniques used by animation companies like Pixar and Disney, said librarian Steve Barker, who
See CARTOONS, Page A-8
Theme this year centers around pollinators
BY JAMIE
ANFENSON-COMEAU STAFF WRITER
Over 10 years, Richard McMullin of Greenbelt has watched the Green Man Festival he helped found grow from four people with an idea to dozens of volunteers and over 1,000 visitors. “It’s become almost an institution in Greenbelt. It’s been referred to as the second biggest event in Greenbelt after the Labor Day Festival,” said McMullin, general manager for the event. Even as the festival has grown, it has kept to its roots as a festival to
BILL RYAN/THE GAZETTE
Luz Gaytan, 8, of New Carrollton makes a butterfly movie Monday during an animation class for children in the New Carrollton library computer station area.
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LEARNING FINESSE Oxon Hill senior goes from the penalty box to being boys lacrosse team’s leading scorer.
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honor nature and the environment, McMullin said. The 10th Annual Green Man Festival takes place May 10 and 11 at the Roosevelt Center in Greenbelt. The theme of this year’s event is “Remember the Pollinators,” said planning committee member Lore Rosenthal of Greenbelt. “We’ll have several tables about butterflies and bees, and their importance to our environment and food production,” said Rosenthal, who has been involved in the event for three years. The festival takes its name from a face, surrounded or made up of leaves, found for centuries throughout Europe and elsewhere, carved
See FESTIVAL, Page A-8
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