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NORTHERN AND CENTRAL PRINCE GEORGE’S COUNT Y
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DA I LY U P DAT E S AT G A Z E T T E . N E T
Thursday, July 10, 2014
25 cents
District 2 County Council race won by just six votes
Saying goodbye
Political newcomer edges ahead of veteran campaigner n
BY JAMIE
ANFENSON-COMEAU STAFF WRITER
If politics were a horse race, the District 2 County Council race would have been decided by a photo finish. Once the last ballots were counted, political newcomer Deni Taveras of Hyattsville emerged six votes ahead of legislative delegate Doyle Niemann (D—Dist. 47) of Mount Rainier. Monday’s final tally of absentee ballots saw Taveras earn 2,423 votes and Niemann received 2,417. Results are unofficial until certified by the state, which is expected to happen July 9, according to the Maryland
DAN GROSS/THE GAZETTE
State Board of Elections calendar. M.H. “Jim” Estepp, president of the Greater Prince George’s Business Roundtable, said he couldn’t recall a race as close as this one. “We had a relatively low turnout, and I think the voters should take a lesson from this — every vote counts,” Estepp said. According to the Prince George’s County Board of Elections, 95,658 registered voters, approximately 18.8 percent, cast ballots in the June 24 election. Niemann said after the final tally that he is likely to petition for a recount. “Given how close it was, you almost have to ask for one,” Niemann said.
See ELECTION, Page A-8
Mourners grieve Wednesday at the casket of former Prince George’s County Executive Wayne Curry, who died July 2 at age 63 after a battle with lung cancer.
Bowlers ready to flock to duckpin lanes Friends of Hyattsville
library may get shelved
Popular leagues disbanded in 1988 n
BY
Treasurer hopes new officers can be found to revitalize group
ALICE POPOVICI
n
STAFF WRITER
When Rachel Norsworthy, 78, heard that the bowling alley near her home in Laurel was bringing duckpin bowling back, she said she went to see the manager of AMF Laurel Lanes and sign up her league as soon as possible. “I was excited because that’s right down the street from us,” said Norsworthy, who is secretary and treasurer of the 20-member Laurel Owls. “Everyone in my league is excited that the duckpin bowling is [coming] back to Laurel.” Norsworthy, who said she has been bowling on duckpin leagues for about 50 years is among several fans of the sport who said they were disappointed when the Laurel bowling center — then called Fairmont Lanes — decided to
See DUCKPIN, Page A-8
BY JAMIE
ANFENSON-COMEAU STAFF WRITER
The Hyattsville Branch Library may find itself without “friends” if no one is willing to take leadership of its community support organization, which could mean the loss of extra programs at the library. The current Friends organization was formed three years ago, but over time, attendance has dropped off, said Friends President Peter O’Day of Hyattsville. Alan Mattlage of Hyattsville, treasurer of the Friends of the Hyattsville Branch Library, told a group of 15 community members who attended its July 2 meeting that the organization may need to dissolve, if people
GREG DOHLER/THE GAZETTE
Deon Koon, general manager of AMF Laurel Lanes, holds a duckpin bowling ball in front of lanes that are being converted from 10-pin to duckpin bowling.
cannot be found to stand for office and attend meetings. Three people are required for a quorum, according to the group’s bylaws. “If we cannot get people to serve as officers, then we are not authorized to write out checks, or pay out money,” Mattlage said. “We would have to declare the group defunct, no longer in existence, and I will have to notify the IRS that the group has dissolved.” Catherine Hollerbach, area manager for the Hyattsville branch library, said having a Friends organization is an asset to the library, and allows the library a way to disseminate information to the community. “Without the Friends, you would lose that liaison with the community, and we would really like to have that,” Hollerbach said.
See LIBRARY, Page A-8
Berwyn residents saddened by disappearance of neighborhood mural n
Business owner said longtime artwork ‘looked terrible’ BY
ALICE POPOVICI STAFF WRITER
When Berwyn residents driving along Baltimore Avenue noticed a bare wall in place of a beloved mural depicting the neighborhood’s historic train station, they immediately took their outrage online. “[The response] got very emotional,” said Berwyn resident Marina
Dullnig, who learned the news on the neighborhood social networking site Nextdoor.com. “That mural was part of our history — a united community — and now is gone,” wrote one poster. Dullnig, who has lived in Berwyn for 24 years, said the mural was “heartwarming” and had become an important part of the community. “It looked nice, it covered up that bare wall,” she said. “When people live here long enough, they grow into the neighborhood and every part of it becomes meaningful.”
MUNICIPAL SCENE
munity came together to help prepare the wall that was eventually painted by an artist with the help of three students from Eleanor Roosevelt High School in Greenbelt. “People constantly came by with food and coffee and drinks for the workers,” Tyler said. The Berwyn Train Station, built in the late 1800s, had been the center of activity for the neighborhood around the turn of the century as part of a larger railroad system that connected smaller towns to Washington, D.C., Tyler said. Residents chose the image for the
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The mural, which showed a train pulling into the historic Berwyn Train Station, was painted in 1999 to beautify a dirty wall that had become a neighborhood eyesore, said Sandy Tyler, who led the project through a nonprofit called the Berwyn Arts Exchange (now the College Park Arts Exchange). Tyler said residents took part in every step of the mural, from selecting the image to washing and priming the wall, to the dedication ceremony. “Everyone was there participating,” Tyler said, remembering how about 450 people in the College Park com-
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mural as a symbol of the community’s history, Tyler said. She said the station was around until about 1970. Bill Clark, who owns the Maryland Auto Parts store, said he painted over the mural because “the wall looked terrible, absolutely terrible.” Clark said the painting had once been beautiful, but was not maintained, and over the years rain and sun had bleached it and caused the paint to chip and peel. “All I was trying to do is clean the
See MURAL, Page A-8