CARE FOR ALL Nonprofit aims at pet neutering for free. A-10
The Gazette
NEWS: Secretaries of Labor, Commerce visit Germantown to tour college. A-8
NORTHERN MONTGOMERY COUNT Y
SPORTS: Damascus junior rarely left the football field in leading Hornets to state final. B-1
DA I LY U P DAT E S AT G A Z E T T E . N E T
Wednesday, December 17, 2014
25 cents
Crash confirms residents’ fears n
Years ago, possibility of air disasters was considered remote
BY
DANIEL LEADERMAN STAFF WRITER
BILL RYAN/THE GAZETTE
Maria Romero has her candle lit by Dianne Gayle during a candlelight vigil Friday for their neighbors, the Gemmell family, in East Montgomery Village at the site of a Dec. 8 plane crash.
It was only a matter of time, some residents say. The small jet that crashed into a Gaithersburg neighborhood last week — killing the three people on board as well as a mother and two young children who hid in a secondfloor bathroom after debris set their house ablaze — was on approach to land at the Montgomery County Airpark. But first, it flew over several
residential developments that weren’t there when the airport opened in 1959. “Too much development has beenallowedneartheairportand something like this was inevitably going to happen,” said Rosemary Arkoian, one of six residents from the area surrounding the airport who sit on the county’s Airpark Liaison Committee, which also includes representatives from the County Council, the county planning department, local business, pilots and the airport itself. The committee was established in 1990 to provide a forum to discuss issues and concerns about the airport. Arkoian, who lives north and
See FEARS, Page A-11
Plane-crash victim fund swells Nonprofit to buy Collection also begun for neighbors in damaged homes BY
DANIEL LEADERMAN STAFF WRITER
Donations have continued to pour in for the family of a woman and her young sons who were killed in a Dec. 8 plane crash in Gaithersburg, with the benefit fund for the surviving members of the Gemmell
family hitting $467,329 by Tuesday afternoon. Marie Gemmell, 36, and her sons, Cole, 3, and Devin, 6 weeks, died of smoke inhalation after a small jet crashed near their home on Drop Forge Lane, and a plane wing was catapulted into their house, setting it ablaze. The family dog also perished,
as did all three people on the plane. An acquaintance set up the fund on GoFundMe.com to benefit Gemmell’s husband, Ken, and their surviving daughter, Arabelle, and it has drawn more than 9,000 donations. By Thursday, it had become the
See FUND, Page A-11
Families gather for STEM Night in Gaithersburg BY JENN DAVIS STAFF WRITER
Students at South Lake Elementary School participated in science experiments, sat under the stars in a planetarium and hopped on to laptops Thursday evening at the Gaithersburg school’s first-ever STEM Night. Stations were set up throughout the school’s classrooms and hallways, offering visiting families a variety of demonstrations and lessons in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Community scientists, engineers and other professionals — including National Institute of Standards and Technology chemists, Department of Defense research biologists and Montgomery County Department of Environmental Protection staff — plus the Watkins Mill High School robotics club were invited to run hands-on
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See STEM, Page A-11
ENTERTAINMENT
INDEX Automotive Calendar Classified Entertainment Opinion Sports
activities with the students to spark their interest in the life sciences. With the expectation that careers in the life sciences will significantly increase during the next decade, South Lake wanted to host the event to promote those skills and jobs, according to Angelina Ferri, a first-grade teacher and one of the event’s organizers. “We’re hearing from experts that STEM skills are really important for 21st-century learners to have in order to be successful in the future,” Ferri said. “We want to prepare our 21st-century learners for those careers.” In one classroom, Juscelino Leao introduced students to materials science by showing them how materials behave under different conditions. The NIST physicist demonstrated how substances such as balloons, flowers and rubber react to cold and hot temperatures. Sisters Emily and Elizabeth Camelo, both students at South
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Germantown Historical Society hopes to purchase for $1
BY
VIRGINIA TERHUNE STAFF WRITER
South Lake school experiments with math and science n
historic bank
The historic 1922 bank building at the Germantown MARC station will soon become the property of the Germantown Historical Society, pending County Council approval. “The sooner the better, because we can’t apply for grants to fix things [until it’s ap-
proved],” said society President Susan Soderberg of Germantown. The society had been leasing the building at 19330 Mateny Hill Road on the south side of the CSX tracks since 2003 to store archival materials and host public tours. However, water leaks began to appear in the basement and foundation after an earthquake in 2011. The moisture has damaged plaster and caused some areas of the floor to buckle, further limiting public use of the
See BANK, Page A-11
The meaning of Christmas comes to life in Nativity Gaithersburg churches work together to put on live event
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BY JENN DAVIS STAFF WRITER
GREG DOHLER/THE GAZETTE
Elizabeth Camelo, 6, of Germantown operates a robot as her sisters, Emma, 13, (center), and Emily, 9, look on during STEM Family Night on Dec. 11 at South Lake Elementary School in Gaithersburg.
JOYFUL SOUNDS OF CHRISTMAS
Peabo Bryson, Ruben Studdard join group of performers at Strathmore for “The Colors of Christmas.” Page B-5
Volume 27, No. 51 Two sections, 28 Pages Copyright © 2014 The Gazette
Please
RECYCLE
Eight Gaithersburg-area churches are teaming up to bring the true meaning of Christmas to the community by presenting a live Nativity for the second consecutive year. The scene will be on display from 6 to 8:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 2:30 to 5 p.m. Sunday. It will take place on the
LIVE NATIVITY n When: 6 to 8:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 2:30 to 5 p.m. Sunday n Where: Open field at intersection of Desellum Avenue and S. Frederick Avenue, Gaithersburg n Cost: Free
open field at the intersection of Desellum Avenue and S. Frederick Avenue in Gaithersburg. The Rev. Norm Gordon, an
See NATIVITY, Page A-11