WORKING IT Summer jobs program sees major expansion. A-3
The Gazette
SPORTS: Turning around Bladensburg football starts by improving in classroom. B-1
NEWS: Artists draw on memory of Riverdale Park painter. A-3
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, July 3, 2014
25 cents
Former county executive Curry dies at 63 From NFL stadium to better housing and shopping, leaders say he transformed county n
BY JEFFREY LYLES AND EMILIE EASTMAN STAFF WRITERS
Wayne K. Curry, the former Prince George’s County executive, who many leaders credit with transforming the image of the county, died Wednesday.
Curry, 63, served as county executive from 1994 to 2004. During his tenure, Prince George’s experienced a surge in growth and prosperity, said county leaders. Curry, a New York native, announced in April that he was diagnosed with lung cancer. While in office, Curry argued for upscale development, shopping centers like the Bowie Town Center and other large developments. He is credited with luring the NFL’s Washington Redskins from Wash-
ington, D.C., to a new stadium in Landover and convincing then-owner Jack Kent Cooke to build the team’s new home using state funds instead of county dollars. “All that you see, everything you see from National Harbor, the new shopping centers, the grander-scale housing came from the seeds he planted,” said David Harrington, president of the county’s Chamber of Commerce. “All the nicer restaurants, shopping and new schools really started with Wayne Curry. While he wasn’t in office to see all of it nor will he see some
of the finishing touches, he planted the seeds for all of it.” After leaving office, Curry continued to use his influence to help move the county forward, lending his support to the county’s effort in 2012 to bring gambling to Prince George’s. Lillian K. Beverly, 85, who from 1995 to 2007 served as mayor of North Brentwood, the county’s first majority black municipality, said Curry’s
Community helps flood victims recover n
Police taking donations for other affected residents BY
ALICE POPOVICI STAFF WRITER
Dalia Quintanilla, 4, of Berwyn Heights lost all her clothes and toys after a flash flood filled her basement bedroom with four feet of water. On Friday, the Berwyn Heights Police Department helped Dalia bring a little color, particularly her favorite — pink — back to her life with a shopping spree and aid from fellow community members. During the June 10 flood, water that had been rushing down the street came into Dalia’s room rapidly, rising to about four feet in just minutes, said her uncle, Max Ruiz, who also lives in the house. After receiving their paychecks Friday, each of the police department’s eight staff members chipped in to help Dalia, collecting a total of $120, Police Chief Kenneth Antolick said.
See FLOOD, Page A-7
BILL RYAN/THE GAZETTE
Dalia Naomi Quintanilla, 4, and Camille Carter, administrative assistant for the Berwyn Hights police department, shop Friday for new clothes and toys at the Target in Greenbelt. Dalia lost her belongings on June 10 when her family’s Berwyn Heights home flooded.
Residents say they hope to see attraction draw larger turnout
Jim and Bobbi McCeney of Laurel select green beans June 26 at the Laurel Farmers Market and Bazaar.
ALICE POPOVICI
Alexandra Mas, 28, said she decided to work from her Laurel home on June 26, half-thinking she would stop by the Laurel Farmers Market and Bazaar nearby on Main Street. The bluegrass music coming from the market helped convince her to make a visit. “I come here for the fruit and the
DAN GROSS/ THE GAZETTE
See MARKET, Page A-7
PLANTING SEEDS Laurel garden results in philanthropy.
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See BELTSVILLE, Page A-7
New school to honor former education chief n
Hyattsville’s Edward M. Felegy Elementary will open in August ANFENSON-COMEAU STAFF WRITER
The new Hyattsville area school will open its doors in August as the Edward M. Felegy Elementary School, named in honor of a former Prince George’s County educator, administrator and proponent of arts education. Felegy spent 37 years in the Prince George’s County Public School system, beginning as a teacher at Seat Pleasant Elementary school in Capitol Heights. In 1991 he was appointed superintendent and served until his retirement 1995. Felegy Elementary, located at 6110 Editors Park Drive in Hyattsville, is scheduled to open at the start of the 2014-2015 school year. The school will have a focus on creative and performing
See NEW SCHOOL, Page A-7
NEWS B-5 A-2 B-5 A-8 A-7 B-1
Beltsville community leaders and parents won a victory in their effort to replace the aging High Point High School, but finding funding for the project, one of many in a $2 billion-plus backlog, may take time. On June 26, the Prince George’s County school board unanimously approved a recommendation to replace the 60-year-old building, with the exception of the auditorium, which will be renovated. Abraham Ajenifuja, past president of the High Point PTSA, said he is grateful the school system approved the replacement. “It’s very, very important, because of the lack of an environment suitable for our students’ learning, and technology that has outpaced the school facilities,” Ajenifuja said. “We are hoping that the kind of attention this project has received will help move this project forward.”
BY JAMIE
STAFF WRITER
Automotive Calendar Classified Entertainment Opinion Sports
ANFENSON-COMEAU STAFF WRITER
Crowds grow at Laurel farmers market
INDEX
County priority funding sought for Beltsville school BY JAMIE
Kenneth Antolick, Berwyn Heights Police chief
BY
Parents win: High Point to be replaced n
“An event like this can be traumatizing to a young girl. At least this would give her a positive outlook, and to know there are people out there that are willing to help.”
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See CURRY, Page A-7
2001 FILE PHOTO
Former Prince George’s County Executive Wayne Curry.
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