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The Gazette SERVING NORTHERN AND CENTRAL PRINCE GEORGE’S COUNTY COMMUNITIES
DAILY UPDATES ONLINE www.gazette.net
Thursday, May 29, 2014
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Bike trail plan to link District, Bladensburg
Honoring fallen comrades
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Work underway on path connecting waterfront park, communities BY
EMILIE EASTMAN STAFF WRITER
Prince George’s County commuters headed to Washington, D.C., will have the option of ditching their cars for a bicycle and taking a streamlined route to the city once the newest link in the Anacostia Riverwalk Trail is complete. Construction began in late April on a 4-mile path that will connect Benning Road in Washington, D.C., to Blad-
RAPHAEL TALISMAN/FOR THE GAZETTE
Joseph Page, a World War II veteran and former mayor of College Park, and his wife, Jane, of College Park stand during the reciting of the Pledge of Allegiance during College Park’s Memorial Day ceremony Monday.
Club lets seniors find path to healthy living More than 500 have signed up so far for 300-mile exercise program
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BY
ALICE POPOVICI STAFF WRITER
Sandra Barron, 67, of Landover said she finds it difficult to exercise without a goal. So when she heard women at her church talking about a 300-mile summer walking program, she decided to try it out herself. “I never get out, never really walk,” Barron said after signing up May 21 for Club 300, a new summer walking incentive program started by the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission. “It’s easy to convince yourself, ‘I’ll do it tomorrow.’” The idea behind the free walking pro-
gram is to encourage senior citizens to complete the equivalent of a 300-mile walk across Maryland this summer at their own pace and track their progress online, said Darilyn Marinelli, senior services coordinator at the M-NCPPC. She said more than 500 people — the oldest of whom is 86 — had already signed up by the program’s first day on May 21, which was Senior Health & Fitness Day at the Prince George’s Sports & Learning Complex in Landover. Registration continues through the summer, and Marinelli said she expects the total number of participants to approach 1,000. “We have found success in programs where there’s an ultimate goal,” Marinelli said. “I think we have a very active senior population that is concerned about their health and well-being.” The program is described as 300-mile
virtual walk across Maryland, from Cumberland to Ocean City, but residents can walk those miles anywhere — in their neighborhoods, on nature trails or on the treadmill. Every participant receives a bag with a pedometer to record miles, a T-shirt, a schedule of planned group walks across the county and a list of walking trails. Barron said the 300-mile goal of the program gives her something to aim for, and she planned to get started immediately. “Everyone’s doing it. You feel a part of something,” Barron said. “I’m gonna try to, every week, get something in.” Agnes Newman, 64, of Lanham, who is already enrolled in a few fitness programs, said Club 300 will be her new challenge. “I’ve been working out a lot but this is
See HEALTHY, Page A-8
ensburg Waterfront Park and complete a pedestrian and bicycle trail network that extends nearly 70 miles in Maryland and the District. “I’m ecstatic over the extension,” said Alan Abrams, a Silver Spring resident who said he often rides his bicycle to Bladensburg Waterfront Park. “Eventually you’ll be able to cut through to [the District]. My wife works in Capitol Hill and she likes to bike, but she’s intimidated by cutting through traffic, so this is going to be a major piece of work.” The new trail segment will connect multiple neighbor-
See BIKE, Page A-8
Last Laurel school with ‘pods’ layout to see renovations Additional trailers coming to Deerfield Run as classrooms are built n
BY
EMILIE EASTMAN STAFF WRITER
After nearly 20 years and one false start, Deerfield Run Elementary School in Laurel is scheduled to receive more classrooms. This summer, Deerfield Run will join about 20 Prince George’s County schools that have undergone the pod-toclassroom conversion process. In the 1960s and 1970s, many elementary schools and a handful of middle and high schools were built using an open space floor plan with class
sections known as “pods,” but two decades later, the county realized that classrooms were more efficient and less distracting for students, said county school system spokesman Max Pugh. The county began the multi-million-dollar pod conversion projects in the early 1990s, and Deerfield Run is one of the last in the county — and the last in Laurel — to undergo the process, Pugh said. Principal Mary Wall said the nearly $4 million construction project to build 20 new classrooms is scheduled to begin over the summer and continue through January. Wall said the school will set up five trailers in addition to the three already there and will hold classes in
See RENOVATIONS, Page A-8
Pharmacist finds large support for small-town approach Laurel business owner lauded by community for welcoming atmosphere n
BY
ALICE POPOVICI STAFF WRITER
A Laurel pharmacist is garnering a lot of attention for service residents say reminds them of the good old days. “It’s really just that kind of old, hometown welcoming feeling, espe-
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TURNING TRASH INTO TREASURE
Artwork created with plastic bags carries cultural significance.
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cially when you’re not feeling well,” Kelly Krause, 46, of Laurel said of Laurel Pharmacy, located across from the Laurel Regional Hospital. “They listen to you. It’s not like a conveyor belt or a number.” Krause said the small pharmacy, owned and operated by pharmacist Ejike “E.J.” Unegbu, reminds her of Mayberry, the fictional small town in the popular 1960s sitcom “The Andy Griffith Show,” where people knew each other by name and took the time to listen. She said Unegbu and his staff not only answer all of
her questions and offer advice, but they usually have her prescriptions refilled and ready before she realizes she needs them. “I love this place,” she said. It is a sentiment echoed repeatedly by pharmacy customers and people who work in the Laurel Medical Arts Pavillion building across from the hospital, where the pharmacy is located. Jeannette Bailey, 70, of Beltsville said Unegbu once personally delivered a prescription to her house on a Saturday, just because he knew she
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See PHARMACIST, Page A-8
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needed it; Sheila Bennett, 50, of Silver Spring, a certified nurse midwife who works at the Capital Women’s Care OB/GYN clinic in the building, said she is impressed that Unegbu and his staff fill prescriptions within five to 10 minutes while pharmacy chains can take up to 40 minutes to complete the same task; and when Sandra Groves’ mother died several years ago, the 75-year-old Laurel resident said Unegbu surprised her by sending a flower arrangement to
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Pharmacist Ejike “E.J.” Unegbu (right) talks with Lisa Willis of Laurel at the Laurel Pharmacy.
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