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INTO THE BLENDER Violinist creates a marriage of classical, contemporary sounds

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The Gazette OLNEY

DAILY UPDATES ONLINE www.gazette.net

Wednesday, January 29, 2014

25 cents

Women accused in exorcism deaths face evaluation

The mobile generation

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Both have been transferred to Perkins hospital

BY

ST. JOHN BARNED-SMITH STAFF WRITER

A Montgomery County District Court judge has ordered the two Germantown women accused in the killings of two toddlers to undergo further psychiatric evaluation at a state mental hospital.

Judge Eugene Wolfe on Tuesday ordered Monifa Sanford, 21, to be transferred to Clifton T. Perkins Hospital Center in Jessup.

Zakieya Avery, the mother of the two toddlers, was ordered to the maximum security psychiatric hospital Friday.

Avery, 28, and Sanford told police they were trying to cast out demons they

Sanford

Avery

believed had possessed the children. The women told investigators that they saw the children’s eyes turn black, and observed demons possessing them, skipping from child to child, Montgomery County State’s Attorney John McCarthy said at Avery’s Jan. 21 bail review.

See EVALUATION, Page A-10

Plans for new Farquhar Middle taking shape n

Land swap for adjacent property advances BY

TERRI HOGAN STAFF WRITER

TOM FEDOR/THE GAZETTE

Deisy Izquierdo, who is 21 weeks’ pregnant, learns the sex of her next child from a mobile ultrasound unit test during her baby shower Sunday in Silver Spring. Izquierdo is holding the hand of her husband, Josue, as technician Betelhem Seleshi of Baby Joy 3D/4D Mobile Ultrasound conducts the exam. See story, Page A-4.

A plan to swap parkland for a middle school site in Olney is in county planners’ laps now that the Board of Education gave a nod to the concept.

Plans to build a new William H. Farquhar Middle School continue to move forward, after the Board of Education recently approved the project’s preliminary plans on Jan. 14.

Farquhar, located at 16915 Batchellors Forest Road in Olney, was built in 1968, and except for the addition of a gymnasium, has not been modernized.

Earlier plans would have sent students to the Tilden Holding Center in Bethesda, while the school was razed and rebuilt.

Parents, not wanting their children to be bused across the county, lobbied for a “land swap” involving a 17.9-acre property just north of the existing school.

The adjacent property was designated as Rural Open Space, as part of the approval for the development under construction on the other side of Batchellors Forest Road. It is recommended for use as a local park in the Olney Master Plan, updated in 2005.

Current plans call for students to remain in the existing school while the new school is built on the adjacent site, and then the existing building will be razed

See FARQUHAR, Page A-10

Montgomery grad rate rises Cherri Branson named newest n

Most student groups improve; decline in ESOL BY

LINDSAY A. POWERS STAFF WRITER

A larger percentage of Montgomery County Public Schools seniors tossed their mortarboards in 2013 than in 2012, according to Maryland State Department of Education data released Tuesday.

The county school system’s four-year graduation rate rose to 88.3 percent in 2013, an increase of about 1 percentage point from the 2012 senior class. The rate has increased about 1.5 percentage points since 2011.

Montgomery’s rate stands about 3.3 percentage points higher than the state’s rate.

Rates for student subgroups generally rose from 2012 to 2013 with the exception of the graduation rate for English for Speakers of Other Languages students, which declined slightly.

Black students’ graduation rate increased by 1.6 percentage points to 83.9 percent.

Hispanic students’ graduation rates rose by 0.8 percentage point to 77.5 percent.

Special education students gained 4.7 percentage points for a 67.5 percent rate.

Students who receive free and reduced-price meals — an indication of poverty — climbed 1.5

See GRAD, Page A-10

SPORTS

Montgomery council member Hill staffer will finish Ervin’s term in District 5 n

BY

STAFF WRITER

Silver Spring resident Cherri Branson will serve out the remainder of former Councilwoman Valerie Ervin’s term on the Montgomery County Council after being unani-

PASSION, PATIENCE AND COMMUNICATION The best players aren’t always the best coaches: a look at the qualities of a great coach.

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RYAN MARSHALL

Automotive Business Calendar Celebrations Classified Entertainment Opinion School News Sports Please

mously chosen by the other councilmembers Tuesday.

The position opened up when Ervin resigned Jan. 3 to take a job as the chief executive of the Working Families Coalition, a New York nonprofit advocacy organization.

Branson is chief oversight counsel for the Committee on Homeland Security working for the committee’s ranking member, Rep. Bennie Thomp-

Cherri Branson, newly appointed See BRANSON, Page A-10

B-14 A-11 A-2 A-13 B-10 B-5 A-14 A-12 B-1

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THE GAZETTE

Page A-2

Wednesday, January 29, 2014 o

PEOPLE& PLACES More online at www.gazette.net

‘Local Legends’ exhibit is homecoming for artist

tive subjects from ancient interpretations of the planets to well-known epics such as “The Odyssey,” but together, their common lineage comes from the Sandy Spring community.

The pieces include not only written description of the works, but biographical profiles of the models and their role in the community.

Mort, the son of Ashton artist Greg Mort, has exhibited in galleries and museums on the East Coast, and his work can be found in private collections around the country.

“My influences are wide ranging, from ancient mythology to the modern portrait,” Mort said. “My graphite depictions are at once allegiant to the craft of physiological exactitude and immersed in the breadth of fantastical narrative. I believe in the potential of work that blends time-honored technique with fresh composition.”

The exhibit is sponsored in part

by Sandy Spring Friends School.

More information Mort’s art is at jonmort.com and on Facebook.

The museum is at 17901 Bentley Road. For more information, call 301-774-0022 or visit sandyspringmuseum.org.

Local artist Jon Mort’s first solo museum exhibition is on display through Feb. 23 at the Sandy Spring Museum.

“Local Legends” is a collection of large-scale graphite works showcasing the myths and heroes of classical antiquity, as depicted by Mort and portrayed by members of the community.

“We are extremely excited to be featuring Jon’s work for many reasons,” said museum Director Allison Weiss. “Our goal is to make history relevant to contemporary lives. This is a very inventive way of combining history and modern sensibilities.”

Mort, 29, a graduate of Sandy Spring Friends School and the Rhode Island School of Design, said he is thrilled to have this opportunity.

“I am so pleased that for my first solo exhibit I could collaborate with a hometown institution,” he said. “I was born and grew up a mile from the museum. I went away for college and grad school, so this is a homecoming of the best kind.”

Mort chose his theme because the models who posed for these graphite figures of mythological characters are all local people, including many Sandy Spring Friends School teachers or alumni.

A self-described storyteller, Mort will reveal the connections between each ancient character and the modern-day model during a History Happy Hour from 6:30 to 8 p.m.

Friday at the museum. The evening, open to those 21 and older, costs $15 in advance and $20 at the door, and includes hors d’oeuvres, beer, wine and cocktails.

The pieces range in their narra-

Comedy coming to Olney synagogue Shaare Tefila Congregation’s third annual comedy evening, “Sweet Laughter,” will be presented Saturday.

Doors open at 7:15 p.m. with a wine and beer cash bar. The show begins at 8 p.m., with refreshments and desserts available after the performance.

Four professional standup comedians are scheduled, including headliner Chris Monty. Also on the bill are Irwin Loring, Mike Stankiewicz and

EVENTS

SPORTS Check for results from the final weeks of the high school winter season.

WEDNESDAY, JAN. 29

0022.

Disney’s Beauty and the Beast

Funding Your Business, 1-3 p.m., Rockville Economic Development, 95 Monroe St., Rockville. 301-315-8096.

Jr., 7:30-8:30 p.m., Randolph Road

Theatre, 4010 Randolph Road, Silver Spring. $20. tllg22@gmail.com.

Can We Send It Back?: Welcoming a New Sibling, 7:30-9:30 p.m., Parent

THURSDAY, JAN. 30 Government Certification: 8(a) & MBE/DBE Application Assistance Workshop, 2-4 p.m., Wheaton Business

Innovation Center, Wheaton Building South, 11002 Veirs Mill Road, Wheaton. $50. 301-403-0501.

Schrodinger’s Jazz Cats Concert, 7 p.m., Marilyn J. Praisner Library, 14910 Old Columbia Pike, Burtonsville. Free.

240-773-9460.

FRIDAY, JAN. 31 History Happy Hour: Local Legends and the Art of Storytelling, 6:30-8 p.m.,

Encouragement Program, 10100 Connecticut Ave., Kensington. $30. 301929-8824.

SATURDAY, FEB. 1 Potato Drop, 8 a.m.-2 p.m., Christ Church Kensington, 4001 Franklin St., parking lot on Everett St., Kensington.

Bagging 20 tons of potatoes for local food pantries. Free. potato@ccpk.org.

Origins Concert Series, 8 p.m., Church of the Ascension, 633 Sligo Ave., Silver Spring. $10 for adults, $5 for students 18 and under. 301-6089637.

Rockville Little Theatre: An Inspector Calls, 8 p.m., F. Scott Fitzgerald

A&E Olney Theatre takes care of “Business” with a big-name talent.

For more on your community, visit www.gazette.net PHOTO FROM JON MORT

Sandy Spring native Jon Mort presents his first solo exhibit, Local Legends, at the Sandy Spring Museum through Feb. 23. Mort will discuss his works and their local influences during a History Happy Hour on Jan. 31 at the museum.

Shaare Tefila’s own Jeff Hysen.

Tickets are $30 in advance and $35 at the door. Discounts are available for four tickets and for tables of 10 or 12.

For tickets and information call 301-593-3410, ext. 104, or email jmintz@shaaretefila.org.

The synagogue is at 16620 Georgia Ave., Olney.

If you have an interesting note or photo to share about the people

SAT

1

ConsumerWatch

or an event in the community, please send it to Staff Writer Terri Hogan, The Olney Gazette, 9030 Comprint Court, Gaithersburg, MD 20877, or email to thogan@gazette. net. Our fax number is 301-6707183. Photos should be 1 MB or larger. Deadline is 5 p.m. Tuesday for consideration for the following week. All items are subject to space availability.

When a relative dies, is the family responsible for debt left behind?

Liz takes charge on this important money matter.

LIZ CRENSHAW

WeekendWeather FRIDAY

Adult Literacy Tutor information session, 10:30 a.m.-noon, Rockville

BestBet

Send items at least two weeks in advance of the paper in which you would like them to appear. Go to calendar.gazette.net and click on the submit button.

Questions? Call 301-670-2070.

Sandy Spring Museum, 17901 Bentley Road, Sandy Spring. $20. 301-774-

GALLERY

Jasmine Diggs of Paint Branch finishes the 4x55 shuttle hurdles at Georgetown Prep’s indoor track invitational on Saturday. Go to clicked.Gazette.net.

SATURDAY

SUNDAY

Memorial Library, 21 Maryland Ave., Rockville. Free. 301-610-0030.

Resident Artists Open House, 11

a.m.-3 p.m., Sandy Spring Museum, 17901 Bentley Road, Sandy Spring. Free.

301-774-0022.

New Venture Webinar, Ready! Set! Go!, 11 a.m.-1 p.m., Wheaton Business

Innovation Center, Westfield Building South, 11002 Veirs Mill Road, Suite 700, Wheaton. Free. 301-403-0501.

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Military History and Veterans Discussion Group, 1-2:30 p.m.,

Theatre, 603 Edmonston Drive, Rockville, also 2 p.m. Feb. 2. $18 for adults, $16 for students and seniors. www. rockvillemd.gov/theatre.

SUNDAY, FEB. 2 Symphony of the Potomac, 3 p.m., Montgomery College Cultural Arts Center, 7995 Georgia Ave., Silver Spring. $5-$20. 301-984-6390.

TUESDAY, FEB. 4 February Good Morning Rockville Business Seminar, 8-10:30 a.m., Mayor

and Council Chambers at City Hall, 111 Maryland Ave., Rockville. Free.

301-424-9300.

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WEDNESDAY, FEB. 5 Screening For Depression and Anxiety, 11 a.m.-1 p.m., Journey to Self

37

NBCWashington.com

Rockville Regional Youth Orchestra Tryouts, 6 p.m., Glenview Mansion,

603 Edmonston Drive, Rockville. jfarrell@rockvillemd.gov.

Women’s Heart Health Forum, 7-8:30 p.m., Landon School’s Mondzac Performing Arts Center, 6101 Wilson Lane, Bethesda. Free. 301-320-1068.

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Get complete, current weather information at

Schweinhaut Senior Citizens Center, 1000 Forest Glen Road, Silver Spring.

Free. 202-829-4664.

MORE INTERACTIVE CALENDAR ITEMS AT WWW.GAZETTE.NET

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Mobile Download the Gazette.Net mobile app using the QR Code reader, or go to www.gazette.net/mobile for custom options.

Understanding, 8720 Georgia Ave., Suite 706, Silver Spring. Free. 240-4034036.

Salon Luncheon: Immigrant Voices,

GAZETTE CONTACTS The Gazette – 9030 Comprint Court Gaithersburg, MD 20877 Main phone: 301-948-3120 Circulation: 301-670-7350

noon-1 p.m., Sandy Spring Museum, 17901 Bentley Road, Sandy Spring.

Free. 301-774-0022.

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Dogs, like people, learn self-control through life experiences and through interactions with dogs and people. They learn from the consequences of their actions when they experiment with behavior. All types of consequences, positive and negative, influence the development of self-control.

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Hear safety tips, ask questions and make suggestions during this informal meeting with officers from the County Police 4th District.

THE GAZETTE

Wednesday, January 29, 2014 o

Page A-3

LOCAL

A chance to chime in on Sandy Spring’s village center Stakeholders encouraged to drop in during four-day planning workshop

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BY

TERRI HOGAN STAFF WRITER

Residents, business owners, planning and design professionals and other stakeholders of the Sandy Spring area have a unique opportunity to help shape a new village center.

The Montgomery County Planning Department is hosting a free four-day charrette, or design workshop, Monday to Feb. 6 at the Sandy Spring Museum to gather ideas for transforming the heart of Sandy Spring.

Planner coordinator Kristin O’Connor said that the planning staff is looking forward to the workshop.

“It will be really cool to be immersed in the community for four straight days,” she said.

“These workshops are typically only one day, but we decided because of the size of the community and the amount of effort the community has already put forth in the process, we are ready to get this show on the road.”

John Salzberg, president of

the Sandy Spring Civic Association, said that residents are looking forward to the opportunity to participate. He plans to attend as many of the sessions as possible.

“We are really pleased that Park and Planning is committed to undertaking this study for our citizens and property owners,” he said.

O’Connor said that over the past few weeks, planners have met with the State Highway Administration, the Department of Transportation, the Department of Housing and Community Affairs, the Housing Opportunities Commission, historic preservationists and property owners in preparation for the workshop.

She said that participants are encouraged to drop by when they can, and are not required, nor expected, to attend all the sessions.

Those working on the 1998 Sandy Spring/Ashton Master Plan recognized that the details of the village center concept were beyond its scope, and recommended more detailed study and analysis to develop the concept at a later date. Last spring, the County Council approved a minor master plan amendment, which will implement recommendations of the 1998 plan

TERRI HOGAN/THE GAZETTE

Sandy Spring’s village center, as it looks today. Business owners, residents and other concerned citizens are invited to participate in a four-day charrette to help create a design for a new village center, as directed in the 1998 Master Plan. for the development of a village center concept in Sandy Spring.

The boundaries established for the village center are the Sandy Spring Volunteer Fire Department Station 4 to the north, Md. 108 to the south, Brooke Road to the west, and the Sandy Spring Museum to the east.

Navarro lines up health care bill Bill would require contractors to provide care or cash equivalent n

BY

RYAN MARSHALL STAFF WRITER

A bill scheduled to be introduced next week by Montgomery County Councilwoman Nancy Navarro would require businesses who contract with the county to provide affordable health insurance for workers or a cash benefit that would allow workers to buy their own insurance.

Navarro (D-Dist. 4) of Silver Spring said she plans to introduce the bill at the council’s Feb. 4 meeting.

The bill would amend the county’s living wage law to require contractors and subcontractors who are subject to that law to provide affordable health insurance or an hourly “health benefit” to let employees buy insurance on their own.

It would apply to new contracts and would not require the county to rebid existing contacts, according to Navarro’s letter.

But it would allow the county to modify existing long-term contracts that don’t include affordable health insurance to cover the cost of

providing insurance to fulltime employees of up to $4,000 per year.

The county’s living wage law requires contractors to pay employees at least $13.95 an hour, which totals just below $30,0000 a year for a full-time employee.

“Anyone who works a fulltime job should be able to afford health insurance,” Navarro wrote in a Jan. 13 letter to her colleagues on the council.

The current living wage law allows contractors to pay below the living wage if they provide health insurance.

But Navarro said that out of about 400 contractors to whom the living wage applies, only one claims the health care credit.

“As a local government, we may not be able to shoulder the burden of providing healthcare to all residents, but we can at least ensure that all employees that perform services for the County have access to affordable health insurance,” Navarro wrote in the letter to her colleagues.

She said the measure was partially inspired by situations in the fall in which workers at two of the companies that provide trash pick-up for the county were part of labor disputes partially involving workers’ desire for affordable health care.

Workers at Gaithersburg’s Potomac Disposal reached an agreement with the company after a 10-day strike. The agreement included a pay raise for workers, one paid holiday and sick and vacation days for workers, but the sides were not able to agree on a plan to provide affordable health care.

Workers at Laurel’s Unity Disposal and Recycling staged a one-day walkout on Jan. 21 over what they said was management’s refusal to acknowledge the workers’ desire to form a union to help negotiate a new contract.

Workers are seeking better wages and working conditions and affordable health care.

The council would have to decide what is a reasonable price for insurance, said Councilman Marc Elrich (D-At Large) of Takoma Park.

Navarro’s bill would require health plans to meet the affordability definition in the federal Affordable Care Act, which defines affordable coverage as that in which an individual’s share of an annual premium for self-coverage is no more than 9.5 percent of their annual household income.

“I’m interested, but I have to be sure it’s going to work,” Elrich said. rmarshall@gazette.net

The plan seeks to preserve the history of the area, create a civic space and village green, connect the community to the village center and examine right-of-way issues.

The discussion will include retail options, design ideas, vehicular and pedestrian

movement, and the possible realignment of Brooke Road.

The plan will also identify policies, goals and projects, as well as possible opportunities to provide facilities including sidewalks, on-street parking, trails, and bike parking.

Salzberg said the association

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Town residents should have public water in about two weeks BY

TERRI HOGAN STAFF WRITER

The Laytonsville water tower has been up for more than a year, fire hydrants are in place, and the pumping station is nearly complete, which means town residents should soon have public water flowing through their taps.

Town residents, who currently rely on well water, have been working toward this for decades.

Mayor Dan Prats said that the project was paid for by Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission (WSSC) and developer Natelli Communities.

“The developer needed the water in order to build the Laytonsville Preserve development, so the timing of this just came together,” he said.

According to WSSC spokesman Jerry Irvine, the pumping station is expected to be on line with water service to area ratepayers within two weeks.

“On January 9 and 10, 2014,

TERRI HOGAN/THE GAZETTE

The base of the new water tower on Warfield Road in Laytonsville is complete. A tank, inscribed with the town name, will be placed on top of the base. Once completed, it will hold 500,000 gallons of water.

we tested the facility and found several minor items that need to be addressed prior to placing the station in service. We anticipate that these issues will be resolved within the next two weeks. Such delays during testing are part of the process and are to be expected. The Commission does

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everything in its power to ensure a facility is fully functional when placed in service,” Irvine wrote in an email to The Gazette on Monday .

The pumping station is the final element of the project to be completed. The structure is near the intersection of Woodfield Road (Md. 124) and East Village Avenue.

Because the project has been in the works for years, the installation of public water is a welcomed amenity for the town of approximately 300 residents.

It will solve the problems of poor water quality and failing septic systems, and provide water for Laytonsville Elementary School, the Laytonsville District Fire Department and the Layton’s Village shopping center.

Prats said that WSSC has been a very good partner to work with, and has provided monthly updates to the town.

“We are getting very close to having the system complete, and we are all looking forward to that,” he said.

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The state-of-the-art Montgomery County Animal Services and Adoption Center will open in early 2014. To help get the word out and raise funds, The Gazette is partnering with mcpaw, the nonprofit working to build then enhance the center, by producing a special publication explaining the mission and benefits of this new facility.

has not taken any formal position on the plan, but he said that personally speaking, the village center would ideally include some nice mixed-use buildings which include restaurants, office space and perhaps some residential use.

“Many of us like the idea of a village green and the realignment of Brooke Road, but that will require the cooperation of property owners,” he said.

“Whether or not that happens is the $64,000 question.”

O’Connor said the final presentation on Feb. 6 will feature a PowerPoint presentation including input gathered at the charrette, which will be a “pretty substantial chunk” of the plan.

Staff will spend a couple months refining and modifying it before submitting it to the county’s Planning Board in June.

“I think everyone is just ready for this to happen,” she said. “The community has been working on this for years, so I think they will be excited on Thursday night to see a nearlyfinished product.”

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THE GAZETTE

Page A-4

Wednesday, January 29, 2014 o

AROUND THE COUNTY

‘It’s a ... ’: Ultrasound company delivers

InBrief

Nominations accepted for Athena Award

Baby Joy 3D/4D brings special moment into the home n

BY

Nominations are being accepted for the ninth annual Greater Olney-Sandy Spring Athena Award.

Presented in memory of Brooke Grove Retirement Village founder Eleanor Howe Marston, the program was created to recognize and honor women for community service and professional and personal leadership.

Particular consideration is given to nominees who demonstrate a “dedication of self and a generosity of spirit” toward the greater OlneySandy Spring community.

Nominees must live, work or volunteer in, and make a significant impact on, the community. Nominations may be resubmitted after a one-year hiatus.

Nomination, sponsorship and tribute forms are available at olneymd.org or bgf.org. Proceeds benefit the Olney Chamber of Commerce Scholarship Fund and the Brooke Grove Foundation Sue Howe Memorial Scholarship Fund.

The nomination deadline is Feb. 28.

Nominees will be honored and the recipient announced at a tea May 2 at Brooke Grove.

For more information, call the chamber at 301-774-7117, or Toni Davis at Brooke Grove, 301-388-7209.

ALINE BARROS STAFF WRITER

Baby Joy 3-D/4-D Mobile Ultrasound promises expecting mothers and fathers a personal and intimate experience — finding out their in utero baby’s sex — away from a doctor’s office.

Baby Joy 3D/4D Ultrasound, a Silver Spring business, was an idea that grew from a mother of two who believes seeing a baby in the womb is a special bonding moment.

“I see pregnant women every day. ... Some of them want to show the pictures to their husbands that couldn’t make it to the doctor’s office ... or they want to show the pictures to the grandparents who were watching the kids at home,” Betelhem Seleshi said.

And that’s when Seleshi thought: Why not bring the experience to people’s homes?

On Sunday, Seleshi went to a baby shower party in Silver Spring where the baby’s sex would be revealed.

The expecting mother, Deisy Izquierdo, did not know Seleshi was coming. When Seleshi walked in the house, Izquierdo was so surprised, she couldn’t hold back her excitement, cheering when Seleshi entered the living room.

Izquierdo has two daughters — Lucia, 6, and Hannah, 4 — with her husband, Josue Izquierdo.

The Izquierdo family now was hoping for a baby boy.

The ultrasound machine was hooked up to a television. With the mother on the couch, Seleshi put ultrasound gel on her pregnant belly.

More than 30 people witnessed Seleshi’s ultrasound. Some exclaimed, “How beautiful” and “Look at the hands” and “The baby is waving.”

Seleshi finally typed in the ultrasound machine: It’s a boy!

The whole experience can take 15 to 30 minutes.

“This is incredible. ... We have been hoping for a boy,” Deisy Izquierdo said.

The tears flowed in a room filled with grandparents, uncles, cousins and close friends.

“This is better than watching the Super Bowl,” Josue Izquierdo said.

When families react, Seleshi is moved, too.

“For me, I get so satisfied [and] I get emotional,” she said.

On a busy weekend, Seleshi visits up to four clients at their homes.

PHOTOS BY TOM FEDOR/THE GAZETTE

Betelhem Seleshi (right) of Baby Joy 3D/4D Mobile Ultrasound finds out the sex of Deisy Izquierdo’s fetus during a baby shower Sunday in Silver Spring.

Josue Izquierdo reacts to the news during his wife’s baby shower.

Seleshi said she thinks her company is the only one of its kind in the Washington area.

It performs ultrasounds at the client’s convenience. It might be a baby shower, a sex-revealing party, or just an intimate moment between the parents and close family members.

Seleshi has portable equipment — approximately the size of a laptop — that can be connected to a big-screen TV. She also carries a projector.

The mobile ultrasound pack-

ages vary from $150 to $250. That gives clients 10 to 30 minutes of 2-D, 3-D or 4-D session, color printed pictures, and a DVD with the entire session.

According to the Baby Joy 3D/4D website, ultrasound in an elective, noninvasive procedure offers a “peek” inside the womb. Conventional 2-D ultrasound returns a black-and-white image of the fetus.

The 3-D ultrasound uses advanced technology to capture a detailed image. A 4-D ultrasound includes a video image of the fetus.

Seleshi said gender verification can be done in any package, but only if the parents want to know.

She can do the ultrasound and not say what the gender is.

Seleshi, a Silver Spring resident, is certified through the American Registry for Diagnostic Medical Sonography and specialized in obstetrics/prenatal ultrasound. She holds a bachelor’s in sonography from Georgetown University.

For nine years, she has performed thousands of ultrasound services in women with high-risk pregnancies, she said.

Seleshi said a mom-to-be does not need to get a doctor’s permission for the ultrasound, but she requires that a client be under doctor’s care.

Seleshi said she needed about $36,000 to start her business. It took about 10 months to get the venture fully running.

Her first client was seen Nov. 23.

Since then, she has been booked every weekend, she said.

She still works Monday through Friday at Holy Cross Hospital in Silver Spring.

“I have a good amount of clients every weekend. ... People that I scan say to me, ‘I wish I had known about this business before,’” Seleshi said. abarros@gazette.net

School board digs into operating budget Raises questions on counselors, ESOL staff

n

BY

LINDSAY A. POWERS STAFF WRITER

With hefty operating budget books before them, Montgomery County school board members raised questions Thursday night about proposed money for elementary school counselors, ESOL staff and other needs.

The work session included presentations from school system officials, followed by board member questions. It was the first of two sessions the board will use to parse through Montgomery County Public Schools’ proposed fiscal 2015 operating budget.

In December, Superintendent Joshua P. Starr recommended a $2.28 billion operating budget — about $56.4 million more than this fiscal year’s budget.

The proposed budget total is about $17 million more than what the county is required to provide under state law.

The board plans to make its final decision on the budget Feb. 11. The next fiscal year will start on July 1.

School board member Michael Durso raised the topic of elementary school counselors on Thursday. He asked whether the school system is creating a staffing formula to determine how many counselors would be at a school based on enrollment numbers.

Durso said one counselor told him that counselors are dealing with student issues, such as suicide, that they haven’t dealt with in the past.

A counselor from Little Bennett Elementary School in Clarksburg said at the board’s Jan. 9 operating budget hearing that she and other counselors are overwhelmed by the large number of students they work with.

Starr’s proposed budget includes 5.5 new elementary school counselor positions.

Larry Bowers, chief operating officer for the school system, said Thursday that a proposal recently submitted to the board — separate from the budget — called for more counselors in the system’s larger elementary schools and those with higher free and reduced-price meal rates, an indication of poverty.

Starr’s operating budget reflects the changes in the proposal, Bowers said.

School board President Phil Kauffman asked district officials to justify adding elementary school team leaders and why they thought it more necessary than adding counselors.

The team leaders are teachers who oversee other teachers in specific grades and subjects.

Starr said strong leadership teams and distribution of leadership are important factors for meeting the Common Core State Standards and a new state assessment set to be fully implemented next school year.

Board member Shirley Brandman requested an explanation of the allocation of English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) staff and the “very different ratios” found in elementary, middle and high schools.

Erick Lang, associate superintendent for curriculum and instructional programs, said the school system directs more ESOL staff to high schools because some older students, including recent immigrants, face “significant challenges.”

For elementary students, Lang said, much of their English-language learning is imbedded in regular classroom instruction.

Brandman said lowering the stu-

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The Olney Chamber of Commerce is sponsoring an opportunity for area residents to meet with local police officers.

Coffee with a Cop will take place from 8 to 9 a.m. Feb. 5 at the Olney Bagel Bakery.

Jon Hulsizer, the chamber’s executive director, said that if the turnout is successful, the chamber plans to host the gatherings quarterly.

The bakery, at 3490 Olney-Laytonsville Road, will donate a portion of its sales during the event to the Olney Police Satellite Station.

Keep Old Glory flying in Olney Ever wonder about the American flags that line Georgia Avenue and Md. 108 in the center of Olney?

It’s actually a community effort, and more community support is needed to keep the tradition flying.

The Mid-County Regional Services Center initially purchased the flags, in its effort to support communities such as Olney that were not incorporated and therefore could not generate their own revenue for such community projects.

Since then, Bob Fletcher, owner of Fletcher’s Service Center, has replaced the flags as needed.

The 66 flags again need replacement, and this time, the Olney and Sandy Spring Lions clubs have joined forces to raise money to do so. The cost is estimated at $2,300 to $2,800, and the flags will be purchased from International Flag Supply of Olney.

Sandy Spring Lion Halsey Smith said the clubs already have received donations from individuals, local businesses, American Legion Post 68 and both clubs totaling $1,650.

For more information or to make a donation, contact Olney Lion Mike Fekete at mgfekete@verizon.net.

POLICE BLOTTER

Complete report at www.gazette.net

dent-to-teacher ratios as part of the school system’s investment in ESOL services would help students.

Bowers said a work group has studied ESOL staff ratios for the past year and the school system plans to roll out a new allocation model soon.

Younger students “pick up English a lot faster” than older students, he said.

While most ESOL students are at the elementary level, Bowers said, “the challenges are great” at the high school level.

In his proposed budget, Starr included eight new positions working with ESOL students.

Brandman asked Chrisandra Richardson — associate superintendent for special education and student services — why more psychologists and pupil personnel workers weren’t included in the budget.

“It’s not an easy decision, ever,” Richardson said, but the office recognized the school system has limited resources and must fund other needs. lpowers@gazette.net

Coffee with a cop is Feb. 5

The following is a summary of incidents in the Olney area to which Montgomery County police responded recently.

The words “arrested” and “charged” do not imply guilt.

This information was provided by the county.

Armed robbery • On Jan. 9 at 5:59 p.m. in the 2500 block of University Boulevard, Silver Spring. The subject threatened the victim with a weapon and took property.

• On Jan. 12 at 9:30 a.m. at Epping Road and Flack Street, Silver Spring. The subjects threatened the victim with a weapon and took property.

• On Jan. 13 at 8:47 p.m. at BP Gas Station, 2201 University Boulevard West, Silver Spring. The subject threatened the victim with a weapon and took property.

Strong-arm robbery • On Jan. 12 at 2:45 p.m. in the 14600 block of Layhill Road, Olney. The subjects forcefully took property from the victim.

• On Jan. 12 at 5:10 p.m. at the Wheaton Metro, 11171 Georgia Ave., Wheaton. The subjects assaulted the victim and took property.

Aggravated assault • On Jan. 12 at 1:12 p.m. in the 15000 block of Dinsdale Drive, Aspen Hill. The subject is known to the victim.

Residential burglary • 15600 block of Good Hope Road, Silver Spring, between Dec. 13 and Jan. 1. Forced entry, took property.

• 2000 block of Kings House Road, Silver Spring, at 8:18 p.m. Jan. 7. No forced entry, took nothing.

• 13200 block of Lantern Hill Court, Silver Spring, at 3:50 a.m. Jan. 10. Unknown entry, took nothing.

• 18200 block of Paladin Drive, Olney, between 8:30 a.m. and 3 p.m. Jan. 10. Forced entry, took property.

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THE GAZETTE

Wednesday, January 29, 2014 o

Montgomery schools looking to improve technology courses n

Must meet ‘very specific’ state standards BY

LINDSAY A. POWERS STAFF WRITER

Montgomery County Public Schools wants to engage students with a greater variety of ways to learn about technology, but faces state standards that offer little flexibility to create new classes, according to school system officials.

Erick Lang, associate superintendent of curriculum and instruction for the school system, said the district must adhere to “very specific” state standards that place a significant emphasis on engineering and engineering skills.

“We’ve been looking at ways to try to expand (the courses available) within the context of the content that’s required by the state,” Lang said.

Maryland requires that high school students complete a oneyear technology education credit before graduation.

Before new standards were created in 2007, the school system offered a broader spectrum of courses through which Montgomery students could earn the credit, including various computer programming courses, Lang said.

Since the change, the school system has developed only one course that fit the bill and was officially added to the school system’s curriculum, leading to the system’s current total of four technology classes that provide the credit.

The school system’s qualified technology courses had been narrowed down to three when the standards changed.

The system is also piloting a fifth class at Montgomery Blair High School in Silver Spring that focuses on automotive technology.

During a Dec. 12 school board meeting, some board members expressed interest in determining if two new computer science courses might be developed into technology education courses.

Lang later said, however, he didn’t think the school system could make the classes fulfill the state requirements.

The state currently requires that a technology education course incorporate topics including the nature of technology and its connections with other fields; the cultural, economic and political impacts of technology; engineering design and development; and core technologies such as biotechnology, electronics and mechanical technology.

Luke Rhine — a career and technology education program specialist in the state education department’s Career and College

Readiness division — said the state’s aim for the courses is to help students improve their technology literacy and learn how to apply technology to different situations and problems.

The state standards were developed to help generate consistency among classes and resources across Maryland’s school systems, he said.

Rhine said the standards emphasize engineering skills — such as how to use tools and machines, evaluating multiple variables and developing a process to solve a problem — as opposed to the specific career position of an engineer.

Rhine and other state education officials said the hope is the technology courses motivate students to delve further into related fields, such as engineering.

County school board member Shirley Brandman (At-large) of Bethesda said she fully supports exposing students to the STEM — science, technology, engineering and math — subjects and wants to see multiple options that are interesting and relevant to students.

Schools are trying “to engage a diverse student body,” she said.

The technology courses, she said, seek to teach kids skills including critical thinking and problem solving.

“We can probably address those skills in other related fields and accomplish the same purpose,” she said.

The school system is involved in ongoing conversations with state representatives about possible opportunities for it to expand its flexibility within technology courses, she said.

In May 2012, the county school board introduced a resolution to begin advocating for more technology education options to the Maryland Board of Education, the Maryland Superintendent of Schools and the Public School Superintendents Association of Maryland.

Montgomery’s most recently added technology education course — Designing Technology Solutions — combines engineering principles and computer programming, Lang said.

Lang said the course allows students to study engineering “through the lens of computer programming.”

Marisa Amberg, a resource teacher at Clarksburg High School, said the course has served as a great way to combine engineering with computer programming aspects that the students enjoy.

“The programming piece and the robotics piece still allow them to get at the same objective but it’s a fun way for kids to do it,” she said.

Group opposes choice for fire chief County says alleged incident was investigated; no problems found n

BY

Congressman praises Montgomery leader for work keeping jobs BY

RYAN MARSHALL STAFF WRITER

Rep. Christopher Van Hollen Jr. (D-Dist. 8) of Kensington has endorsed Montgomery County Executive Isiah Leggett in his race for re-election.

Leggett is seeking a third term as county executive, and is being challenged by former County Executive Douglas M. Duncan and Councilman Philip M. Andrews (D-Dist. 3) of Gaithersburg for the Democratic nomination.

Duncan served as county executive from 1994 through 2006, while Andrews has been on the council since 1998.

Van Hollen sent out a letter praising Leggett for his work in keeping federal jobs in the county and dedication to causes such as affordable housing and the environment.

“As we move into the future, Montgomery County continues to need a visionary and principled leader who can deliver

A group of residents is opposing the appointment of Montgomery County’s fire chief because of an alleged racial incident involving Montgomery County Fire and Rescue EMS personnel at a Rockville restaurant in May. The group has promised political retribution for County Council members who vote to confirm acting fire chief Steven Lohr to become the permanent chief.

The council interviewed Lohr on Tuesday morning and is scheduled to vote on his appointment at the Feb. 4 council meeting.

Rockville resident Rocky Twyman said he and several other men were at the McDonald’s in the 1300 block of Rockville Pike in Rockville in June when they saw a homeless man they believed to be having a heart attack and called 911.

When EMS personnel arrived, Twyman claimed, they acted unprofessionally and expressed little concern for the man.

“There was no compassion, no sympathy or anything for this poor man who seemed to be suffering,” Twyman said.

All of the EMS crew who responded to the call were white and the homeless man was black. Twyman said he thinks race was a factor in how the crew handled the call.

County spokesman Patrick Lacefield said Monday that the county thoroughly investigated the incident and determined there was no racism involved.

After his interview with the council Tuesday, Lohr said the department launches two types of investigations when it gets this type of complaint.

In one investigation, EMS

lpowers@gazette.net

results,” Van Hollen wrote. “Our county executive, Ike Leggett, has demonstrated that, time and again, he is that leader.”

The letter carried an authority line from Van Hollen’s congressional campaign.

Leggett said he was “very appreciative” of the endorsement.

Leggett said Thursday that Van Hollen had indicated some time before the holidays that he would likely endorse Leggett.

Leggett said he and Van Hollen have a strong relationship and have worked together on a number of projects for the county, including bringing Walter Reed Medical Center to Bethesda and the downcounty Purple Line project.

But they’ve also worked on less high-profile programs such as increasing the number of federal government housing vouchers for veterans in the county, Leggett said.

He praised Van Hollen’s “extraordinary level of commitment” to Montgomery County despite his senior leadership positions among the Democratic minority in the House of Representatives. rmarshall@gazette.net

RYAN MARSHALL STAFF WRITER

Van Hollen endorses Leggett for executive n

Page A-5

1912416

DAN GROSS/THE GAZETTE

Steve Lohr (gesturing), the acting Montgomery County fire chief, answers questions from the Montgomery County Council on Tuesday. At left is Timothy Firestine, chief administrative officer for the county. staff looks into whether the call was handled properly from a medical perspective, he said.

In a separate investigation, the report of whether any of the staff behaved inappropriately during the call was turned over to the department’s internal affairs division, led by a retired state police major.

Both investigations found that the allegations weren’t substantiated, Lohr said.

Val Russell of Gaithersburg, who was with the group at McDonald’s and witnessed the incident, said the man was bent over, holding his chest and clearly in pain.

The EMS staff handled the situation very casually and displayed “no empathy whatsoever,” Russell said.

Twyman said he was told an investigation into the incident showed that the man called 911 several times in the past.

He said he and other onlookers were “amazed” by the

medics’ behavior, and he believes that if a black EMS crew behaved similarly toward a white patient, the county’s reaction would have been different.

Twyman said he has nothing against Lohr personally, but thinks crews need more sensitivity training.

“That’s not the type of fire chief we want here in Montgomery County,” he said.

He and several others met with County Executive Isiah Leggett (D) on Monday in hopes that he would withdraw Lohr’s nomination.

The county takes any allegations of this sort very seriously, Lacefield said.

He said Lohr has Leggett’s full confidence as his appointment process moves forward.

Council President Craig Rice (D-Dist. 2) of Germantown, who, like Leggett, is black, said any allegation like this needs to be addressed and

investigated thoroughly.

Only people at the restaurant that day know exactly what happened and what was said, Rice said.

He said if the EMS personnel acted inappropriately, they should be held accountable.

But framing the entire department as racist is wrong, Rice said.

Council members reacted warmly to Lohr at Tuesday’s interview, with several saying they’ve enjoyed working with him as acting chief and they welcome his appointment.

Twyman said he and others are putting the council on notice that they’ll organize political opposition against any members who vote for Lohr.

If Lohr is approved, “I think all hell is going to break loose in this county,” Twyman said. rmarshall@gazette.net

THE GAZETTE

Page A-6

Wednesday, January 29, 2014 o

Mall shooter, of College Park, was Blake High grad 19-year-old reported missing a little more than two hours after mall shooting n

BY CHASE COOK AND EMILIE EASTMAN STAFF WRITERS

Police say a missing College Park man was the gunman in Saturday’s shooting at the Mall in Columbia.

Darion Marcus Aguilar, 19, of the 4700 block of Hollywood Road in College Park, was initially reported missing to Prince George’s County police at about 1:40 p.m. on Saturday, said Lt. William Alexander, a Prince George’s County police spokesman.

Howard County police reported that Aguilar opened fire at about 11:15 a.m. in the mall’s Zumiez store, killing Brianna Benlolo, 21, of College Park and Tyler Johnson, 25, of Mount Airy, said Sherry Llewellyn, Howard County police spokeswoman. County police believe Aguilar killed himself after the shooting, Llewellyn said.

Aguilar’s mother believed her son had gone missing sometime after he was scheduled to work at 5:30 a.m. Saturday, Alexander said. Aguilar worked at the College Park Dunkin’ Donuts, 10260 Baltimore Ave., according to a statement from Dunkin’ Donuts.

A Prince George’s police investigator read Aguilar’s journal, which police said contained information that made the investigator “concerned for the missing person’s safety.”

Aguilar graduated from James Hubert Blake High School in Silver Spring in 2013, said Dana Tofig, a Montgomery County Public Schools spokesman.

Alexander said Prince George’s police didn’t discover Aguilar was the alleged shooter until after 6 p.m. when the investigator followed Aguilar’s phone signal to the mall. The missing person information was turned over to the Howard County Police Department, which is investigating the shooting since the incident occurred inside Howard County, Alexander said.

Prince George’s police did not make the missing person investigator available for interview.

“We found out after the shooting,” Alexander said. “It was not like we could have intercepted him before it happened.”

1912414

At gun shop, no hint of what customer would do weeks later n

‘He was an ideal customer,’ says Rockville merchant

BY PAUL DUGGAN, PETER HERMANN AND MATT ZAPOTOSKY THE WASHINGTON POST

Darion Aguilar, neatly clad in jeans and a dress shirt, strolled into a Rockville gun store Dec. 10 with a wad of cash and lots of questions. He wanted a weapon for home defense, he told the owners, who remember him as upbeat and courteous. He didn’t know much about firearms and asked for their help in picking one out.

“His whole demeanor was, he smiled, he was polite, he wasn’t aggressive,” said Cory Brown, a proprietor of United Gun Shop. Aguilar, then 18, told Brown and co-owner Dan Millen that he had been researching Mossberg shotguns. Could they show him a Mossberg?

So they got out a basic 500 model — “an entry-level” gun, Brown said — a pump-action 12-gauge that is easy for a novice to fire accurately in close quarters.

Saturday morning, 46 days after he left the shop with a $430 Mossberg 500 and two boxes of shells, Aguilar used the weapon at the Mall in Columbia, killing two employees of a clothing store and then himself as hundreds of frightened shoppers ran for cover.

“This guy, to rate him as a customer, he was an ideal customer,” Brown said Monday at his store off Police said Aguilar was living with his mother in College Park. No one responded at Aguilar’s mother’s property.

Neighbors said they did not know Aguilar personally and that Saturday’s incident did not cause them to feel unsafe.

Jessica Canotti said she bought her home off Hollywood Road about eight months ago and chose the neighborhood partly because it seemed safe and stable.

United Gun Shop at 5465 Randolph Road in Rockville, where Darion Aguilar bought his shotgun last month.

Randolph Road. “We get plenty of people that come in here and look shady. We turn them away. We don’t even bother doing the paperwork.

But this guy asked a lot of good questions. All ‘please’ and ‘thank you.’ Engaged us great.

“Just really good to deal with,” Brown recalled. “Threw up no red flags at all. That’s why I’m so shocked, and I’m waiting to hear what the motive was. Because it makes no sense to me.”

As Howard County police continue to investigate the shootings, “This neighborhood was quiet,” she said. “I did my research because I have kids. I want to know my neighbors.”

Her husband, Daniel Canotti, said the neighborhood was not so quiet on Saturday afternoon when the roads were blocked and full of police cars. He said he still feels safe in his home.

“But I’m a little scared to go to the mall now,” he said.

Heidi Mayhew of College Park was picking up a piece of furniture a few

they said the reason for the attack remains a mystery. They said they have found no connection between Aguilar and his victims, Brianna Benlolo, 21, and Tyler Johnson, 25, who worked in Zumiez, a store for skateboarders, snowboarders and surfers on the mall’s second level.

Two law enforcement officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity because the investigation is ongoing, said Aguilar kept a journal in which he described suicidal thoughts. When the young man’s houses down from Aguilar’s residence two days after the shooting.

“It could be anywhere,” she said.

“The only things that worry me are the things that happen in schools because my kids go to public schools. God, it’s happening everywhere.”

Residents Sharri Gertler and Walter Comisiak took one of their regular walks Monday around the neighborhood, a route that took them past Aguilar’s house.

“I think it can happen anywhere

DAN GROSS/THE GAZETTE

mother reported him missing Saturday, they said, a police detective was sent to the home. He began reading the journal, but Aguilar’s mother demanded he stop.

Later, after authorities identified Aguilar as the shooter, police seized the journal.

In addition to the references to suicide, it contains notes expressing hatred of certain groups, according to the officials, who did not elaborate in detail. and it has happened in many places you wouldn’t expect,” Gertler said. “I’m not moving because of it.”

Gertler said residents are still processing what happened and what it means to them.

“It’s a good solid community,” she said. “I think we’re all feeling the effects, but it could happen anywhere, and like I said, it does.” ccook@gazette.net eeastman@gazette.net

THE GAZETTE

Wednesday, January 29, 2014 o

Page A-7

Former PTA leader makes bid for county school board BY

LINDSAY A. POWERS STAFF WRITER

Until last week, Shebra Evans was vice president of educational issues for the Montgomery County Council of Parent-Teacher Associations.

She said she quit so she could run for an at-large seat on the county’s school board.

Evans — a Silver Spring resident with two daughters in Montgomery County Public Schools — said she can make a difference because of the relationships she has developed at the local, county and state levels through her work in her

community, education advocacy and the energy and cable industries.

A member of the county PTA council since 2011, Evans has held several roles, including vice president of programs and her first position, recording secretary.

Evans, 42, said that, if elected, she would bring her leadership skills, understanding of the school community’s needs and ability to comfortably engage and speak with people.

The school board role, she said, would be a natural fit.

“It always seems to come back to children,” she said.

“That’s definitely where my passion is.”

As of Tuesday, she was the only non-incumbent running

PHOTO FROM SHEBRA EVANS

Shebra Evans of Silver Spring said she could make a difference because of the relationships she has developed at the local, county and state levels.

for a board position. School board District 1 representative Judy Docca, District 3 Represen-

Mikulski: Fed employees will see more certainty this year n

NIST, NIH, FDA see budgets increase

BY

KEVIN JAMES SHAY STAFF WRITER

After a year marked with employee furloughs and budget cuts, employees at the National Institute of Standards and Technology will see more certainty this year, U.S. Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski said Monday at the federal agency’s Gaithersburg headquarters.

“There’s going to be no sequester this fiscal year,” Mikulski (D) of Baltimore told several hundred employees, to a round of applause.

That was “very good news,” said Patrick Gallagher, director of NIST, an agency under the U.S. Department of Commerce.

“We have the certainty of a budget in place,” he said. “We have been given new resources to expand our mission.”

NIST’s budget for fiscal 2014 is $850 million, more than $40 million more than fiscal 2013, according to a congressional summary of the federal budget.

The Food and Drug Administration, headquartered in Silver Spring, is seeing $2.55 billion this fiscal year, some $96 million more than last year.

The fiscal 2014 budget for Bethesda-based National Institutes of Health is $29.9 billion, about $1 billion more than NIH funding last year after sequestration cuts. But it’s also $714 million less than NIH funding before sequestration cuts went into effect. Mikulski, chairwoman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, said she also worked to rid the budget of classifying certain federal employees as “nonessential.”

“That is a demeaning label to be called nonessential and should not be a part of our budget,” Mikulski said.

NIST has about 2,700 employees in Gaithersburg. Its research relates to everything from measuring the level of lead in dental crowns to devising stronger building standards. For example, following the 2001 terrorist attacks, a team from the agency traveled to New York to review the World Trade Center rubble and make recommendations to improve future building codes.

Gallagher, who has been director since 2009, joined NIST in 1993 as a research physicist and instrument scientist at the Center for Neutron Research, a national user facility for neutron scattering on the Gaithersburg campus.

Mikulski toured NIST’s Cen-

ter for Automotive Lightweighting, which conducts research on developing new manufacturing materials to help the automotive industry build lighter, more fuel-efficient cars.

“It’s very impressive research,” Mikulski said. “Manufacturing in this country is coming back, aided by this kind of research.” kshay@gazette.net

Candidate pulls out of 6th District race n

Vogt may run for ‘more local office’

BY

KATE S. ALEXANDER STAFF WRITER

Republican David Vogt has bowed out of the race for the 6th Congressional District, likely creating an uncontested Republican primary in June.

Vogt, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran, announced his withdrawal Tuesday, his campaign saying that he was instead considering a run for a “more local office.”

A resident of Brunswick in Frederick County, Vogt was the only candidate in the congressional race that actually lived in District 6.

Daniel Bongino (R), also running, lives in Severna Park in Anne Arundel County and incumbent U.S. Rep. John K. Delaney (D) lives in Potomac. Both Severna Park and Potomac are outside the 6th District boundaries.

Vogt’s exodus from the race leaves, at present, an uncontested primary for Bongino.

Candidates have until Feb. 25 to file for election in Maryland.

If Vogt does seek a local office, Maryland Republican Party Chairwoman Diana Waterman said that allows the party a chance to gain even more ground in the 2014 election.

“We certainly don’t discourage primaries,” she said. “But it is nice if you do not have to fight a primary as well as general battle. Now we put all of our efforts behind getting Dan elected in the general election.”

Vogt said in a press release his decision to withdraw from the race came after spending time in talks with friends, family

and supporters.

“I will continue to offer my fervent support of returning statesmanship to our district, state and country regardless of candidacy,” he was quoted saying in the release.

At this time, Vogt does not have any concrete plans for running locally, but will make an announcement once he has spoken to area leaders and evaluated his options, spokesman Cam Harris said in an email.

Vogt wished Bongino “the best of luck in his fight to restore conservative principles to Western Maryland.”

“In some respects it’s sad to see him go,” Bongino said.

“From a practical component, it makes it easier to not fight on two fronts.”

Now looking toward the general election in November, Bongino said his campaign is poised to take back the District 6 seat for the Republican party.

Delaney (D) of Potomac won the seat in 2012 by defeating longtime GOP Rep. Roscoe G. Bartlett, thanks in part to Maryland’s latest round of redistricting drawing more Montgomery County voters into the district.

Delaney said Tuesday in a statement that he expects to seek re-election despite a push to enter the race for Maryland’s governor.

“Many people I trust and respect have asked me to consider running for governor and of course I always think about where I may best serve,” Delaney said. “But I love my job and my expectation is that I will continue to serve in Congress and represent my district.”

Maryland will hold its general election on Nov. 4. kalexander@gazette.net

1912412

tative Patricia O’Neill and District 5 Representative Michael Durso are all running to keep their respective seats.

The board includes five district seats and two at-large seats.

Only districts 1, 3 and 5 are up for election this year.

Voters countywide are eligible to cast ballots for school board races.

The primary election falls on June 24 and the general election on Nov. 4.

On Friday, Evans said she was working toward a fundraising goal of $6,000 to $10,000 in the next 30 days to fuel her campaign.

Evans said that as a board member, she would draw more awareness to career education.

The school system offers opportunities to gain job skills

— such as the vocational programs at Thomas Edison High School of Technology in Silver Spring — that can help students interested in going directly from high school to the work force, she said.

Evans said she would expand those opportunities and get businesses involved to help students.

With the school system facing ongoing achievement gaps, she said, she would direct more resources to new efforts and existing intiatives.

She said she thinks more resources would be well spent on the school system’s Innovation Schools Network to improve student performance and the system’s current Achieving Collegiate Excellence and Success program that helps high school

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students prepare for and get into college.

Her time on the school board, she said, also would focus on increasing parent engagement and helping them understand how they can get involved.

Evans said the school board has done well in its advocacy for capital funds from the county and state to help address the school system’s capacity issues.

“I think they’re doing a good job in telling the story about the school system and what the needs are,” she said.

Evans said the current board works hard, but is often not visible to the public.

“I would definitely give them an A for effort,” she said. lpowers@gazette.net

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Would focus on career education, achievement gaps n

THE GAZETTE

Page A-8

Wednesday, January 29, 2014 o

Building advocates eye Berliner’s energy package n

‘Let’s take our time and figure out how it works,’ industry spokesman says BY

RYAN MARSHALL STAFF WRITER

Two building industry representatives believe the effect of several bills by Montgomery County Councilman Roger Berliner on energy efficiency and clean energy will have to be determined.

Berliner (D-Dist. 1) of Bethesda plans to submit a package of 11 bills and two zoning amendments that would seek to improve the energy efficiency of buildings in the county, as well as promote environmentally friendly policies such as streamlining the process for creating charging sta-

tions for electric cars.

One of the bills would require building owners to track their buildings’ energy efficiency and make the information available to the public so tenants would be better able to predict the cost of utilities.

Another would require new buildings to install an electric vehicle charging station for every 50 spaces in a parking lot, while a third would require all new commercial buildings to meet the Silver standard for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design as determined by the U.S. Green Building Council.

New commercial buildings in Montgomery have to be LEED-certified, although county buildings must meet the more demanding Silver standard.

Robert Kaufman, vice presi-

dent of governmental affairs for the Maryland-National Capital Building Industry Association, based in Silver Spring, said he sees the bill requiring owners to track, or benchmark, their buildings’ energy efficiency as being potentially very expensive, and said owners already have a natural incentive for reducing energy costs in the form of lower utility bills.

Kaufman said he would rather see the county provide tax credits for companies that choose to benchmark rather than require them to do it.

Benchmarking energy usage is not a new issue in Maryland, said Tom Ballentine, vice president of policy and government relations for NAIOP Maryland, formerly known as the National Association of Industrial and Office Properties.

There’s already a tremendous in-

centive for building owners to track energy efficiency because when you lower a building’s operating costs you increase in value, he said.

On the Silver LEED-certified bill, Kaufman wondered how the county planned to maintain the standards over time.

Once you pass something with standards in it, how do you keep the standards current, Kaufman asked.

Most new, premium office space is Silver LEED-certified, Ballentine said.

The gap between building codes and LEED certification also has narrowed over time, he said.

Providing charging stations for electric cars could be a selling point for builders of condominiums or apartment buildings, Kaufman said.

But he said current electric car

batteries can take several hours to charge, meaning a space at the charger would be occupied for some time.

There also is the issue of who will pay for the electricity consumed as more electric cars are purchased, Kaufman said.

He suggested Berliner and the council form a working group of building owners to identify potential obstacles and figure out solutions.

“I just feel like we’re not there yet; we don’t have enough information,” Kaufman said.

But he praised Berliner for thinking about upcoming issues and encouraging others to do the same.

“Let’s take our time and figure out how it works and not just impose it,” he said. rmarshall@gazette.net

Leggett’s capital budget aids Montgomery College, Shady Grove Colleges plan to address parking, renovation needs

n

BY

LINDSAY A. POWERS STAFF WRITER

The Universities at Shady Grove would receive funds for a much-needed parking garage and Montgomery College aims to both renovate and build anew thanks to appropriations included in the proposed Montgomery County capital budget.

In his proposed six-year

capital improvements program, County Executive Isiah Leggett directed about $20 million to the Shady Grove campus in part for a parking garage to replace spaces that will be lost during the construction of a biomedical sciences and engineering facility, said Stewart Edelstein, executive director of the Universities at Shady Grove.

The capital funds mark an unusual contribution from the county because Montgomery is not responsible for financially supporting the state institu-

tion, Edelstein said.

The state is paying for the new facility but will not provide money for a parking garage, Edelstein said.

The garage, which will be able to hold about 700 cars, will expand the campus’ parking capacity to meet enrollment increases, Edelstein said.

Edelstein said he thinks the county’s financial commitment helped the institution get the money it needed from the state.

The new facility will host a range of programs from the

There is “a growing need to continue to revitalize existing facilities. We have lots of work that needs to be done.”

Montgomery College President DeRionne Pollard University of Maryland College Park, the University of Maryland Baltimore and the University of Maryland Baltimore County — all current university partners with the institution.

These programs — including an electrical engineering degree from College Park, a research and medical technology degree from Baltimore and a computer science degree from Baltimore County as well as a few new degrees — have not been offered at the Shady Grove campus before due to the lack of a proper facility in which to teach them.

The institution plans to start building the garage in about nine months.

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Edelstein said the new facility will bring engineering and biomedical disciplines to the area that are “critical” to the region’s economic development.

Leggett proposes about $348 million for Montgomery College’s three campuses.

Montgomery College President DeRionne Pollard said the college faces the largest space deficit among Maryland’s community colleges.

With the proposal, Pollard said, the college would be able to make “significant progress” addressing the needs of its students.

Pollard said the college’s goal is to work efficiently with

the funds and renovate existing buildings to match them with current curriculum requirements.

“We know that the county and state can’t meet every need that we have,” she said.

At the Rockville campus, the budget would renovate the Science West Building, construct a parking garage, and design and construct a student services center.

The Germantown campus would receive money to design and renovate the Science and Applied Studies Building and design a student services center.

The math and science building on the Takoma Park/ Silver Spring campus would be modernized.

She said there is “a growing need to continue to revitalize existing facilities.”

“We have lots of work that needs to be done,” she said. lpowers@gazette.net

THE GAZETTE

Wednesday, January 29, 2014 o

Page A-9

City condemns backyard structure without inspection Official: Photos show it had been wrongfully modified n

BY JENN DAVIS STAFF WRITER

Gaithersburg officials recently condemned the structure that a woman built in her backyard as a miniature home for her daughter after they read about it in a December edition of The Gazette.

Darline Bell-Zuccarelli said a city inspector came to her house Jan. 16 and condemned the 192-square-foot structure behind her own home on Woodland Road in Gaithersburg.

To help her daughter, who was struggling to afford her own place, Bell-Zuccarelli and her husband spent about one year and $15,000 to build the small building.

Complete with a living room, kitchenette, sleeping loft, bathroom and porch, the structure is small but functional, Bell-Zuccarelli said. It also has electricity, air conditioning and heat, and it is set up for plumbing.

She has city electrical and building permits for a shed of up to 216 square feet under city code. The house also passed city

foundation, framing and electrical inspections, according to Bell-Zuccarelli.

The tiny house had been sitting unoccupied in the backyard while Bell-Zuccarelli saved up to pay for the water company’s charge to connect its pipes to those on the street.

At least that was the plan before the city became involved.

Wes Burnette, the city’s permits and inspections division chief, confirmed that the city condemned the shed. He said he thought the structure had been modified without permission since it was first approved and that the zoning law does not permit more than one dwelling unit on a lot in that community.

“I can say that based on the article and pictures in The Gazette, there have been modifications to the structure after we closed out the shed permit without obtaining further required permits or inspections,” he wrote in an email to The Gazette.

Burnette wrote in the email that the city reached that conclusion based on the newspaper coverage, not by visiting the site.

After coming home to find the notice on the structure’s door, Bell-Zuccarelli said, she was fuming that the city condemned it without speaking to

TOM FEDOR/THE GAZETTE

Darline Bell-Zuccarelli’s “tiny house” has been condemned by Gaithersburg officials. her or visiting the house. She noted that the inspector first put the condemnation sign on the front door of the primary house until he was corrected by

her daughter, who was home at the time.

“If you didn’t go visit, then why did you condemn it?” BellZuccarelli asked. “All of this

could have been resolved if someone came out to actually visit it and talk with me.”

Bell-Zuccarelli said she built the house to the exact specifica-

tions outlined in the blueprints, which were approved by the city in June 2012. She said she thought she had all the necessary permits and inspections as required by the city.

Zoning, however, was one issue she forgot to check.

“I didn’t even give zoning a second thought,” she said.

Even though she now knows that zoning requirements will prohibit her from ever having people live in the structure, she said she is still fighting to keep it as a shed — a really nice shed.

“You can’t condemn me for what I might do, but for what I am doing,” she said.

After completing a physical inspection at Bell-Zuccarelli’s home Monday, Burnette said he cited several projects that were completed without proper permits, including the staircase, railings on the staircase and loft, extra kitchen cabinets, kitchen sinks and some plumbing work, exterior deck, extra electrical outlets and fixtures, and bathroom toilet, shower and sink.

Bell-Zuccarelli said she plans to apply for the appropriate city permits to get approval for the projects, and have the condemnation order reversed. jedavis@gazette.net

Records show no fence violations for pond where boy drowned Twenty inspections done from September 2012 to January 2014

n

BY JENN DAVIS STAFF WRITER

A developer that owns a pond where a 10-year-old recently drowned has been in compliance with regulations on required safety fencing, according to city of Gaithersburg records obtained by The Gazette.

The pond, off Diamondback Drive, is in the Crown development’s Neighborhood One, which is owned by Westbrook Acquisitions LLC. None of the 20 previous inspections of the sediment and grading in the Crown neighborhood — from Sept. 20, 2012, to Jan. 7, 2014 — show a violation for a safety fence around pond 1, the site of the

drowning, according to John Schlichting, Gaithersburg’s director of planning and code administration.

Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service officials have said that when D’Angelo Jayvon McMullen of Rockville fell through the ice on the pond on Jan. 13 and died, there was only partial fencing.

Of the 20 inspections listed on a summary report, Crown’s Neighborhood One ultimately failed nine and partially passed 11, but for reasons not related to fencing. Other violations listed in the report obtained

by The Gazette include issues with sediment control, an asphalt berm needing repair, and mud and dirt tracking on to nearby streets.

Copies of another six individual inspections — not listed on the summary report — do not show the outcome of those inspections. None of those six

reports refer to safety fencing issues.

Schlicting said that since no violations pertaining to the safety fence were recorded in any of the inspections, it is assumed that city inspectors found the fence to be present and up to city code requirements during each of their visits.

Even though the forms show places where inspectors can indicate specific findings about safety fencing, those sections are blank on the records obtained by The Gazette.

In response to requests by The Gazette about when the fencing was inspected, the city provided records that do not clearly show what passed inspection and when.

D’Angelo was playing with his brother and another boy on the pond Jan. 13 when the ice suddenly broke and gave way.

Montgomery County Fire and

Rescue personnel quickly rescued two of the boys, but the search for D’Angelo took longer. Rescue officials believe he could have been submerged for up to half an hour.

D’Angelo died at a local hospital later that evening.

On Jan. 14, the city issued a notice of violation to Fran Speed, a representative of Warner Construction, the site manager for Westbrook Acquisitions LLC. The notice required a 42-inch-high safety fence to be reinstalled on all open sides of the pond pursuant to the sediment and erosion control plan, according to Wes Burnette, division chief for the city’s Permits and Inspections Division. While there is not a city or state code requiring safety fencing on sediment ponds, a fence was required there as part of the planning approval process during construction.

Gaithersburg has a total of seven sediment ponds and all but one will be converted to permanent stormwater management ponds upon completion of the construction, according to Burnette.

Once the pond is converted to a stormwater management pond, the fence can be permanently removed, he added.

All of the ponds are inspected on a regular basis by Burnette and his staff.

“Generally sediment control inspections are conducted once every two weeks,” Burnette wrote in an email to The Gazette. “However, that varies quite a bit based on the time of year when the ground is fro-

zen and the level of construction activity as it relates to the amount of disturbed areas.”

The city currently has no plans to change its policy regarding inspections of the ponds, according to Burnette.

Westbrook Acquisitions LLC is one of the developers of the Crown project, a mix of residential and retail units built on the former Crown Farm at Fields Road and Great Seneca Highway.

John Wolf, managing principal at Westbrook Partners, declined to comment Tuesday. jedavis@gazette.net

Andrews wants ‘fair share’ of school funding Rice: County has had good conversations in Annapolis on issue

n

BY

RYAN MARSHALL STAFF WRITER

As Montgomery County seeks more money from Maryland for school construction, members of the County Council also want to make sure the county is getting its fair share of school construction funding from the state under the current arrangement.

Montgomery has joined with Prince George’s and Baltimore counties to push for legislation to provide more money for school construction, with Montgomery County Executive Isiah Leggett (D) joining Prince George’s Executive Rushern L. Baker III (D) and Baltimore County Executive Kevin Kamenetz in Annapolis on Jan. 14 to raise support for the measure.

Councilman Phil Andrews (D-Dist. 3) of Gaithersburg said that along with pushing for more school funding, Montgomery needs to make sure it gets its fair share of school construction funding.

Andrews spoke at a Monday briefing by Melanie Wenger, director of the county’s Office of Intergovernmental Relations.

Last year, Montgomery received 11 percent of school construction funding while Montgomery County Public Schools educated 17 percent of the students in the state, Andrews said.

Wenger said it will have to be seen if the three counties get any “severe” pushback on the proposal. No bill has been filed yet, she told the council members.

Montgomery officials are requesting $20 million more from the state to go along with up to $40 million in county money to help finance about $750 million in bonds to fund school expansion projects.

Council President Craig Rice (D-Dist. 2) of Germantown, said Monday during a press briefing that the county has had some good conversations so far in Annapolis on the need for more school funding.

Gov. Martin O’Malley (D)

understands the needs of Montgomery’s school infrastructure, Rice said.

Montgomery is slated to receive $22 million for school capital projects in fiscal 2015 in O’Malley’s proposed budget, according to a county memorandum.

The projects included $1.8 million for Beverly Farms Elementary School in Potomac; nearly $5.5 million for Glenallan Elementary School in Silver Spring; $8.2 million for Herbert

Hoover Middle School in Potomac; and nearly $6.5 million for Paint Branch High School in Burtonsville.

Among other capital projects included in O’Malley’s proposed budget are $259,000 for a renovation of the Kensington Park Library and $128,000 for a renovation of the Twinbrook Library, along with $1.9 million for various renovations at hospitals in the county. rmarshall@gazette.net

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Page A-10

Wednesday, January 29, 2014 o

Observers say women face challenges if they seek insanity defense Plea requires medical evaluations, high threshold of evidence n

BY ST. JOHN BARNED-SMITH STAFF WRITER

The two women accused of slaying two toddlers in an attempted exorcism in Germantown face charges of first-degree murder and attempted first-degree murder, but haven’t been arraigned yet.

Lawyers for the women, Zakieya L. Avery and Monifa D. Sanford, said it is too soon to discuss their clients’ cases in detail, including the possibility of them pursuing a “not criminally responsible,” or insanity, defense.

During bail hearings for the two women this month, prosecutors said both women have a history of mental illness.

According to Montgomery County State’s Attorney John McCarthy, Avery told police that she once was involuntarily com-

FARQUHAR Continued from Page A-1 and that 20-acre property will become parkland.

Dependent on funding, construction is expected to begin this summer, and the new school is expected to open for the 2016 school year.

“Everything is on schedule, and as of now is expected to open on time,” said Montgomery County Public Schools spokesman Dana Tofig. “Now that we have the preliminary plan approved, we will move forward with the final design.”

Troy Kimmel, Farquhar modernization chairman for both the Farquhar and Brooke

BRANSON

Continued from Page A-1 son (D-Miss.).

In a statement Tuesday, she said she was honored to be nominated, and pledged to work hard to represent the voters of District 5, which includes Silver Spring, Takoma Park and Burtonsville.

Branson said she was familiar with many of the issues facing the district, but would work to quickly get up to speed on other issues.

Branson will retain members of Ervin’s staff, who can help in her transition.

In an interview earlier this month, she said she thinks her experience as a congressional aide will help her get started quickly on the council.

It has also taught her the importance of compromise in getting things accomplished, she said.

mitted for psychiatric care. Sanford told police she has tried to commit suicide twice.

“The state’s attorney’s statements present a pretty compelling case for a lack of criminal responsibility,” said David Felsen, Sanford’s attorney, before declining to discuss his client’s case further.

Byron L. Warnken, a University of Baltimore law professor, said that obtaining a “not criminally responsible” verdict is a “very difficult hurdle” for defendants.

In Maryland, if a jury finds a person guilty, and the defendant’s lawyers can establish “not criminally responsible,” or NCR, the defendant cannot be punished, he said.

“You can put me away, where you put other involuntarily committed people ... and I might get out in one-tenth of the time, or 10 times longer, [than a convicted criminal]. It has nothing to do with punishment.

It has to do with, ‘Do I pose a danger to myself, to others and to the property of others?,’”

Warnken said.

In a 911 call on the evening of Jan. 16, a neighbor told police that Avery left one of her children in her car for about an hour. During the call, Avery came out of her house and accosted him.

In the call, which police released to the public, the caller told dispatchers Avery was “responding to internal stimuli.”

The caller explained that Avery appeared to be talking to herself. During Avery’s bail review, McCarthy said the women told police they had seen demons possessing the children and turning their eyes black.

Avery has been transferred to a secure psychiatric hospital.

Before her case can go forward, mental health experts have to evaluate whether she is legally “competent,” or understands the charges against her and can assist in her defense.

A similar evaluation has been ordered for Sanford.

Dr. Neil Blumberg, a forensic psychiatrist at the University of Maryland School of Medi-

cine, said that when defendants might have mental illnesses, health officials check if there’s a history of mental illness or drug abuse, and learn about their early development.

In cases in which mothers kill their children and there’s no history of being abused or abusing children, most are psychotic or responding to hallucinations and delusions, he said.

If Avery and Sanford are found not competent, they will go through a process to “restore” them to competency, lawyers said. That would involve medication and other treatment.

Judicial proceedings would continue after they finally reached competency, McCarthy said. The length of that process varies widely, possibly taking months or years, said Steven D. Kupferberg, a local attorney.

Once restored to competency, the women would be evaluated by a state psychiatrist to determine whether they were “not criminally responsible” when the accusations took place.

In that case, their defense attorneys would need to prove that their clients are either unable to appreciate the criminality of their conduct or unable to conform their conduct to law, said Paul Kemp, a local defense attorney. Then, they would plead guilty, but not criminally responsible.

“The only cases where the defendant is usually found to be NCR is where they are separated from reality, or psychotic,” Kemp said.

Waging an NCR defense requires a defendant to admit to the facts of the case.

“The initial burden is on the defendant. ... You have to come in with an opinion [of NCR] from a psychiatrist,” Kemp said.

Cases requiring an NCR defense are usually so serious, people look at them with a “finetooth comb and magnifying glass,” Kupferberg said.

“And their sympathies won’t be with the defendant. They will be with the victim, and generally, that’s what makes the most difference,” he said.

Grove Elementary School PTAs, said the organizations are pleased with the design.

“MCPS worked long and hard to make it fit with the community and rustic rural setting,” he said. “They tried as hard as they could to please everyone, and I think they did a great job.”

Batchellors Forest Road is designated by the county as a Rustic Road. The program includes county roads that exemplify the rural and agricultural character of the area, and provides a system for evaluating, protecting and enhancing these scenic roadways.

In keeping with the Olney Master Plan and the Rustic Road guidelines, the existing entrance

in front of the current school will be used for the new school, the athletic fields and tennis courts will be placed adjacent to Batchellors Forest Road, and the building will located toward the rear of the site.

This site plan allows the majority of parking areas for both cars and buses to be screened from adjacent neighbors by the new building and the existing trees.

The Hyde family, who own the property adjacent to the new school site, has expressed opposition to the project. They declined comment to The Gazette.

The capacity for the new school will be 796 seats, with a planned core capacity for 1,000

students, if expansion is needed in the future. The capacity for the new building is reduced from the existing school’s capacity of 906, but enrollment projections show a decline, from 577 students this year to 547 students in the 2019-2020 school year.

The revitalization/expansion project will provide the required teaching spaces and support spaces. Opportunities will increase for students with cognitive disabilities to be taught in integrated settings with their non-disabled peers as much as possible, with classrooms located in close proximity to the general education population.

The building will be in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act and the project will be designed to achieve Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Silver certification or higher by the U.S. Green Building Council under the LEED for Schools rating system.

There also will be opportunities for learning to take place outside the classroom, with flexible spaces and an outdoor courtyard and plaza areas.

The design of the building provides access to the cafeteria, media center, gymnasium and other central spaces while securing the rest of the building for after-hours community use.

The next step comes on Feb. 13, when the issue goes before the Montgomery County Planning Board.

Carol Rubin, associate general counsel for Park and Planning, said that there are three items on the Feb. 13 agenda relating to this project.

First is a mandatory referral for a change in use, as the school system is abandoning the use of a public building.

Second is a release of dedication from the original park site, and third is the release of the Rural Open Space easement of the park site.

GRAD

Northwest’s 3.7 points.

Wheaton High School saw the greatest decline in its graduation rate, dropping to 68.6 percent in 2013 from 76.1 percent in 2012 — about 7.5 percentage points.

Sixteen high schools saw an increase from 2012 to 2013 among black students and 12 high schools saw an increase among Hispanic students.

Of the high schools that showed an improvement among special education students, several school saw significant rate increases, including Paint Branch with a jump of 21.8 percentage points and Quince Orchard with a jump of 19.2 points.

School board President Philip Kauffman said he is encouraged by the improved graduation rates but also wants to learn more about how ready students are for college or a career after they leave high school.

Addressing ESOL students’ data, Kauffman pointed to recommendations in Superintendent Joshua P. Starr’s proposed operating budget that direct more resources to ESOL services.

“I think that’s something we need to do,” he said.

School board member Christopher S. Barclay (Dist. 4) said the school system needs to “take ownership” of its responsibility

to help prepare ESOL students for the future.

“We can’t do that if we’re not helping ensure they get all the way through (high school),” he said.

Barclay said he thinks the school system needs to be as “aggressive” and “intentional” as possible to produce signficant changes in student performance, including those of black, Hispanic, and free and reducedprice meals students whose graduation rates are below those of their white and East and South Asian peers.

“We’ve got to make larger leaps in those groups really to deal with those gaps that we see,” he said.

Rockville High Principal Billie-Jean Bensen said that, while this academic year marks her first at the school, she has seen the continuation of recently started efforts that she thinks have helped students reach graduation.

Among other work, the high school has used team meetings — which pull together counselors, resource teachers, administrators and others — to talk about each student’s individual needs, she said.

Branson had previously served on the county’s Charter Review Commission and the Commission on Redistricting.

Branson was nominated by Councilwoman Nancy Navarro (D-Dist. 4) of Silver Spring, who said she thinks Branson would make an excellent addition to the council. Council Vice President George Leventhal (D-At large) of Takoma Park moved that the nomination by acclimation, a suggestion the other council members supported.

Branson was one of 18 candidates who applied for the open seat, 14 of whom were interviewed by the council.

Councilman Hans Riemer (D-At large) of Takoma Park complemented the people who applied.

“It was really a testament to a great tradition of citizen engagement here in Montgomery County,” Riemer said.

Branson will serve out the

remainder of Ervin’s term, which ends Dec. 1.

Candidates for the appointment were asked to agree not to run for re-election in November.

The race for the new term has drawn plenty of speculation among Montgomery political observers.

Silver Spring Democrat Jeffrey Thames was the only candidate to file as of Tuesday, according to the state Board of Elections.

Evan Glass, chairman of the Silver Spring Citizens Advisory Board has expressed his intention to run, while Del. Tom Hucker (D-Dist. 20) of Silver Spring and Board of Education member Christopher S. Barclay are among those who have said they’re considering running for the seat. rmarshall@gazette.net

Professional Services

Continued from Page A-1 percentage points to a 78.1 graduation rate.

The graduation rate of ESOL students declined about 1 percentage point after an increase of 3.9 percentage points from 2011 to 2012.

The county school system also saw a slight decrease from 2012 to 2013 in the dropout rate, which fell about 0.5 percentage point to 6.3 percent. Since 2011, the dropout rate has decreased by about 1 percentage point.

Montgomery’s dropout rate stands about 3.1 percentage points below Maryland’s 9.4-percent rate.

Among the school system’s 25 high schools — 16 of which saw graduation rate increases from 2012 to 2013 — the highest increases from last year include Rockville’s 4.8 percentage points, Springbrook’s 4 percentage points, and Clarksburg’s and

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Continued from Page A-1 The women, who lived on Cherry Bend Drive in Germantown, have been charged with two counts of first-degree murder and two counts of attempted first-degree murder in the deaths of Avery’s 1-yearold son and 2-year-old daughter on Jan. 17.

Police also have charged the two women with attempting to kill Avery’s two other children, ages 5 and 8.

Police found the two toddlers washed and wrapped in blankets on Avery’s bed.

Avery and Sanford were arrested Jan. 17, and have been held without bail since. sjbsmith@gazette.net

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Wednesday, January 29, 2014 o

Page A-11

BUSINESS

Auto sales continue to increase State numbers reach highest level since 2007

“That didn’t help us,” he said of the shutdown. “A big part of our market here is government workers. While they mostly got paid, a lot of contractors didn’t.”

Besides the improvement in the economy, more accessible financing and pent-up demand were factors for last year’s better year, Kitzmiller said. The much better fuel economy with the new vehicles is another reason, he said.

“A lot of people have put off buying vehicles for a long time,” Kitzmiller said.

n

BY

KEVIN JAMES SHAY STAFF WRITER

Tamara C. Darvish remembers the lean times during the recession when dealers tried to lure buyers through “cash for clunkers” and other programs.

Therefore, seeing another jump in new-vehicle sales — the fourth consecutive annual statewide increase since the decade low point of 2009 — in 2013 from 2012 is a welcome development, even if sales figures have yet to return to pre-recession levels.

Silver Spring-based Darcars Automotive Group, where Darvish is vice president, saw sales rise by 17 percent last year, higher than the 6 percent statewide increase.

“Consumers are feeling more confidence,” said Darvish, a member of the board of directors of the National Automobile Dealers Association, representing Washington-area franchised new-car dealers. “We have great finance rates and incentives available.”

The roughly 335,000 new vehicles sold in Maryland last year was the highest number since about 378,000 in 2007, according to the Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration. The average sales price continued to climb to more than $30,000, as the $10.1 billion worth of new cars sold in the state was the most since $10.4 billion in 2006 and greatly improved from $6.7 billion worth sold in 2009.

Used-vehicle sales statewide rose 3 percent from 2013 to about 645,000 and $6.0 billion.

Maryland’s new-vehicle sales increase was slightly below the 8 percent nationwide jump. The federal government shutdown and sequester budget cuts could have something to do with that, said Peter Kitzmiller, president of the Maryland Automobile Dealers Association.

1906235

Auto show season

FILE PHOTO

“Consumers are feeling more confidence,” says Tamara K. Darvish.

AUTO SALES RISE, BUT STILL BELOW PRE-RECESSION LEVELS n New and used auto sales across Maryland increased last year from 2012, but still have a way to go to reach pre-recession levels.

New auto sales Year

Used auto sales No.

Value*

Avg. price

No.

Value*

Avg. price

2013

335,209

$10.1

$30,171

644,755

$6.0

$9,269

2012

316,762

$9.3

$29,312

627,678

$5.6

$8,893

2009

248,928

$6.7

$26,860

608,889

$4.5

$7,407

2007

378,184

$10.0

$26,437

678,549

$5.8

$8,539

2006

399,282

$10.4

$26,076

696,968

$5.9

$8,416

*in billions of dollars

SOURCE: MARYLAND MOTOR VEHICLE ADMINISTRATION

Darcars and other Maryland dealerships are involved in the Washington Auto Show, which started Thursday and runs through Feb. 2 at the Washington Convention Center.

Darvish, also a past board chair of the Washington Area New Automobile Dealers Association, which organizes the Washington show, plans to be at the show next week following this weekend’s NADA convention in New Orleans. The event showcases more than 700 vehicles from some 40 manufacturers.

The continued technological changes in new vehicles, from hands-free phone systems to sensors that make drivers aware of objects in the way, is a key theme of the show, Darvish said.

Technology also is a big part of the Motor Trend International Auto Show-Baltimore, Kitzmiller said. That show, presented by the Maryland Automobile Dealers Association, will run Feb. 6-9 at the Baltimore Convention Center.

“All of the manufacturers are back at the show,” Kitzmiller said.

“In recent years, some haven’t been able to make it.”

Among the new models being exhibited will be 2015 pre-production models of the Ford Mustang, Cadillac Escalade and Chevrolet Suburban. kshay@gazette.net

BizBriefs

Have a new business in Montgomery County? Let us know about it at www.gazette.net/newbusinessform

Damascus bank hires new branch manager Linda Sardella is the new Damascus office branch manager for Damascus Community Bank.

Sardella, of Urbana, has more than 20 years of retail management and sales experience. She has more than 10 years of banking experience, including, most recently, at PNC Bank. She has been working in the Damascus community since 2005.

Her previous banking experience includes branch management, coaching, business banking and financial sales consulting.

Youth etiquette school opens in Burtonsville Etiquette consultant Valerie Nance has opened the Eastern School of Etiquette in Burtonsville.

The school’s purpose is “to coach youth in building character and life skills while living a pure life in order to accomplish goals and endure life challenges with confidence,” Nance said in a statement.

The school offers classes evenings and weekends at 3911 Cotton Tree Lane. Its phone number is 301-272-7113, and its website is at easternetiquette.com. It can be found on Twitter @1stladyofese.

Chamber hires new member services director The Gaithersburg-Germantown Chamber of Commerce named Maxine Chen of Gaithersburg director of member services.

Chen has been in the hospitality industry for 30 years, according to a chamber news release. She was co-owner of a restaurant in Lehigh Valley, Pa.; worked in event management at the Sulgrave Club in Washington, D.C.; was director of catering at Norbeck Country Club; worked in catering sales at One Washington Circle Hotel; and was sales manager at Buca di Beppo in the Kentlands in Gaithersburg. Chen also owned and directed a dance studio in Emmaus, Pa.

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Wednesday, January 29, 2014 o

SCHOOL LIFE n Age: 41

Keith Adams

n Job title: Social studies resource teacher, John F. Kennedy High School in Silver Spring; founder CKA SAVE Project n Hometown: Hyattsville; now lives in Silver Spring n Education: Bachelor of science, history, Bowie State University; master’s in teaching, Grand Canyon University, Phoenix; Educational Leadership certification, Hood College; now working on Ph.D. in organizational leadership n Family: Divorced with one son, Keith Jr., 5 n Hobby: Fan of professional wrestling n Lesson to live by: “Discipline is simply doing what you are supposed to do, at the time you are supposed to do it, and in the best possible manner and that’s not such a bad thing,” — Mike Krzyzewski, Duke University basketball coach

Keith Adams is a social studies resource teacher at John F. Kennedy High School in Silver Spring, and founder of CKA SAVE Project, a nonprofit dedicated to assisting student athletes lead successful academic and professional careers. He was interviewed Friday at Kennedy.

You are a teacher at Kennedy and the founder of a nonprofit that benefits student athletes. Do you consider yourself a teacher first or a coach?

I’m always a teacher first. I’m a teacher coach: a teacher in the classroom and a teacher in the gym. You talk a lot about coaching while teaching. The worlds are intertwined. I’ve been teaching 19 years in Montgomery County; I was hired May 1995.

I started as a social studies teacher at Benjamin Banneker Middle School [Silver Spring]. I got to teach at my old middle school, then I went to Paint Branch [High School] where I graduated from and played varsity basketball for four years. So for my first five years who better to teach me how to be a teacher than those who taught me?

I was also assistant basketball coach at Paint Branch. Then I went to Wootton [High School] to be head basketball coach and social studies teacher. We did well at Wootton.

I moved to Springbrook [High School] and left coaching to coach at Hood College and then I came to Kennedy. I stayed at Hood coaching for eight years.

VOICES IN EDUCATION So tell me about the CKA SAVE Project.

What does that stand for?

Coach Keith Adams Student Athletes Valuing Education Project.

When I was in high school all of us on the team were very close to Coach [Hank] Galotta. One day he went on a rant about coaches as role models. Coaches really are role models and that really stayed with me. I said, “Coach, one day when I get the means I’m going to get this group together and we’re going to make a difference.”

When I was coaching at Hood [College] I saw kids just like me, kids who needed a direction, who needed attention. So I decided to start a nonprofit. I called on my former players. One was in business and he helped me set up a corporation, another who was a lawyer helped with the legal part. Several helped with seed money.

Slowly it built up and in April 2009 we became a 501(c)(3). Our mission is simply to assist students; the primary focus is student athletes, and the people who work with them. This is the first year we are offering scholarships, one to a male and one to a female athlete.

How do you assist students?

We teach them time-management skills,

organizational skills and the ability to selfadvocate. For teachers we teach them about the athletic mindset and how to use it to expect higher levels of communication, higher levels of collaboration and higher levels of accountability.

When people are given a task and not given the means to do that task they won’t do it well, so we do a summer AP class to prepare students for AP classes. Their likelihood of success greatly increases — like basketball, you get better with practice.

We also have a summer camp to prepare students for the responsibilities of high school. We also take them on college visits to get them in the mindset of going to college.

Is there anything else you would like readers to know?

We are having an academic all-star basketball game here at Kennedy March 17. It is seniors playing and they have to have a 2.5 grade point average. The cost is $10 and all the money goes to academic programs here at Kennedy High School.

“Voices in Education” is a twice-monthly feature that highlights the men and women who are involved with the education of Montgomery County’s children. To suggest someone you would like to see featured email Peggy McEwan at pmcewan@gazette. net.

EDUCATION NOTEBOOK County Scouts participate in annual Klondike Derby If there was ever a time to “Be Prepared,” it was the weekend of Jan. 17-19 when Boy Scouts from around the county held their annual Klondike Derby at Little Bennett Regional Park in Clarksburg.

More than 450 Scouts participated in the winter weekend camporee, all waking up Saturday morning to a dusting of snow that fell Friday night.

Joe Goldsmith of Troop 445 in Damascus said he didn’t mind the cold and snow.

“I love camping,” he said.

“I came prepared, dressed in layers.”

In addition to setting up their camp sites, cooking meals and staying warm, Scouts participated in 22 separate activities designed to test their camping skills.

Jack Lundin of Troop 68 in Bethesda quizzed Scouts on common plants and animals.

He awarded points to the Scout patrols for corra the highest score and the title of overall winner.

“We’re trying to teach how to use what you can,” said adult leader Geoffrey Wolfe of Troop 1434 in Bethesda. “If you are in trouble, you can take action.”

The Scouts’ skills points were added to scores earned by submitting a design for the 22015 Klondike Derby patch, building and bringing a sled to the weekend equipped with a winter survival kit or entering the Saturday night dessert competition, where patrols contributed their own sweet creations for judging.

Top honors for most points earned this year went to the Mighty Penguins patrol of Troop 249 of Silver Spring.

The weekend wrapped up Sunday morning with an actual Klondike Derby. Patrols

ists, accounting for 75 percent of Maryland’s 20 semifinalists.

Montgomery has three of the state’s four finalists.

Rocky Hill students perform ‘Annie Jr.’

GEOFFREY WOLFE

Boy Scouts from Troop 1449 in Rockville participate in the sled race at the Boy Scouts Potomac District Klondike Derby on Jan. 19 at Little Bennett Regional Park in Clarksburg. used their sleds, some specially decorated for the competition, in a race across the Little Bennett meadow.

The Hun patrol from Troop 773 in Potomac came in first and the Spam patrol from Troop 1449 in Rockville took second.

Don Kilgore, district director of the Boy Scouts of America National Capital Area Council, said the Scouts loved the weekend.

“They are well prepared and it’s a good experience,” he said.

Blair High has three finalists in science contest Three Montgomery County Public Schools students — all from Montgomery Blair High School in Silver Spring — are finalists in the 2014 Intel Science Talent Search, a nationwide high school science competition.

Ishaun S. Datta, Neil S. Davey and Jessica Shi are

among 40 finalists nationwide who will gather March 6-12 in Washington, D.C., to compete for more than $600,000 in

awards, including a grand prize of $100,000.

The students’ projects: • Datta: Saturated Nuclear Matter in the Large Nc and Heavy Quark Limits of Quantum Chromodynamics.

• Davey: Early Cancer Diagnosis and Treatment Through the Detection of Circulating Tumor Cells Using Drop-Based Microfluidics.

• Shi: The Speeds of Families of Intersection Graphs.

“This is a very proud day for Montgomery County Public Schools and Montgomery Blair High School,” Superintendent Joshua P. Starr said in a news release. “These students have combined deep academic knowledge with creativity and perseverance and it has led to tremendous success. Congratulations to our Intel finalists, their families, and the staff that have supported them throughout this process.”

The contest is administered by the Society for Science & the Public, a nonprofit dedicated to public engagement in scientific research and education.

Fifteen county students were among the 300 semifinal-

The Rocky Hill Headliners from Rocky Hill Middle School in Clarksburg will present the musicial “Annie Jr.” this week.

Performances will be at 7:30 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, with a 2:30 p.m. matinee Sunday. The school is at 22401 Brick Haven Way. Tickets, available at the door, cost $7, and $5 for students and senior citizens. For group ticket sales or more information, email Catherine_A_ Obendorfer@mcpsmd.org.

Audubon opens summer camp registration Registration for the Audubon Naturalist Society’s summer camp offerings begins at 9 a.m. Friday.

Summer camps and programs for students in pre-kindergarten through 10th grade are offered at two locations in Montgomery County: Woodend Nature Sanctuary, 8940 Jones Mill Road, Chevy Chase; and the Lathrop E. Smith Environmental Education Center, 5110 Meadowside Lane, Rockville.

“We are a throwback outdoor summer camp: we’re outdoors, playing games, walking in the woods,” camp director Karen Vernon said in a news release. “But the magic climbing over fallen logs or finding a salamander under the leaves unlocks for our campers is transformative, like only experiences in nature can be.”

Weekly summer camp sessions run at Woodend June 16 through Aug. 15, with camps

for all ages. A Teen Naturalist Training Program is offered for students entering ninth and 10th grades. The teens are taught what it takes to be an Audubon naturalist while volunteering in the summer camp program and earning student service learning hours.

“Last year was our first year offering the [training] program and it quickly sold out,” Vernon said. “Our camps are also very popular among elementary school-aged children, which is why we added the Rockville location.”

For the past three years, the society has had a partnership with Montgomery County Public Schools to offer some of its signature nature camps at the Smith Center. First- through fourthgraders can attend the Smith Center for two weeks in August.

More information and online registration are at anshome.org/camp.

Transfer applications get underway Monday Montgomery County parents and guardians seeking a change of school assignment for their children from their home school may begin the process starting Monday. All requests must be submitted by April 1.

Except for students in the Northeast, Downcounty and Middle School Magnet consortiums, county students are assigned to a school based on their residence or their Individualized Education Program and are expected to attend that school. Assignment changes are permitted under the following circumstances: • An older sibling attends the requested school in the regular program, absent a boundary change.

• A continuation in a feeder

pattern from middle to high school, except when affected by boundary change, application program acceptance or consortium choice guidelines.

• A documented, unique hardship situation.

• A student selected for an exempt program.

At the home school or online, parents or guardians may obtain an information booklet that contains the request form, describes the process and provides other information.

It is available in English and Spanish. Exempt programs that do not fall under the transfer guidelines are listed in the information booklet.

There is a different process to access the elementary language immersion programs. Information and copies of the relevant forms are available at all elementary schools and online at montgomeryschoolsmd.org. Parents of fifth-graders enrolled in immersion programs should submit a change of school assignment if they want the students to continue in the immersion program in middle school.

For information about assignments for students in the Northeast, Downcounty and Middle School Magnet consortiums, contact the Division of Consortia Choice and Application Program Services at 301592-2040 or visit the website.

For more information about the transfer process, parents and guardians are encouraged to contact the principal at their home school. Non-English speakers who need help may call 301-309-6277, where operators who speak English and Spanish are available from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Monday through Friday. Parents who speak languages other than English or Spanish who call and identify their language will have their questions answered through a telephone interpreter.

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CELEBRATIONS

HEALTH CALENDAR UPCOMING Healthy Weight Series, 5:306:15 p.m. Wednesdays, Jan. 29 to March 19, at Suburban Hospital Lambert Building (second floor), 8710 Old Georgetown Road, Bethesda. Focusing on the building blocks of a healthy diet, explore the latest topics in nutrition, exercise and lifestyle issues that can affect weight management. Topics include portion size, making healthier menu options when dining out, and bulking upon fiber rich food. Facilitated by licensed/ registered dietician. $85. www. suburbanhospital.org.

Senior Shape: Advanced Weight Training, from 10-10:45

Guthery, Hoffman Jeff and Debbie Hoffman of Gaithersburg announce the engagement of their son, David Jordan Hoffman, to Lisa Simson Guthery, daughter of Peter and Dr. Jean Guthery of Denver, Colo.

The prospective groom is a 2001 graduate of Gaithersburg High School. In 2005 he received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business in Ann Arbor and obtained his master’s degree in accountancy at the University of Denver. He is currently employed as a CPA at Holben.Hay.Lake.

Balzer Certified Public Accountants LLC of Denver.

The bride-to-be graduated magna cum laude in 2007 from Bowdoin College in Maine with a degree in psychology. After graduation, she served as a volunteer at Safe Passage in Guatemala City.

She is currently employed as the Parents as Teachers Coordinator at Focus Points Family Resource Center of Denver.

No date has yet been set for the wedding.

a.m. Fridays to March 28, at Holiday Park Community Center, 3950 Ferrara Drive, Wheaton. Taught by a certified instructor, this exercise program, participants perform a variety of weight-training exercises at a faster pace to increase muscular strength and endurance while getting the heart rate up. Form is emphasized to insure maximal results while keeping the joints safe. Dress comfortably. Bring a mat. $30. www.suburbanhospital.org.

Kuscher, McHugh Mr. and Mrs. Ken Kuscher of Boynton Beach, Fla., (formerly of Rockville) announce the engagement of their daughter, Alexandra Rosa Kuscher, to Mr. Terence Lanman McHugh, youngest son of Mr. Martin Charles McHugh of Siesta Key, Fla., and Ms. Maureen Collins McHugh of Rockville.

Alex is a 1994 graduate of Thomas Wootton High School and a 1998 graduate of Ithaca College. Ms. Kuscher is the senior marketing manager for ServiceNow in Tysons Corner, Va. Terry is a 1996 graduate of Gonzaga College High School and a 2000 graduate of the University of Delaware. Mr. McHugh is the vice president and third-generation licensed funeral director for Francis J. Collins Funeral Home Inc. in Silver Spring, a family owned and operated funeral home.

The wedding is scheduled for June 7, 2014, at Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church in Easton. The couple plans to reside in Bethesda.

Yoga for Women Cancer Survivors, from 7-8:15 p.m.

Meditation and Mindfulness: Tools for Alleviating Stress Post Cancer Diagnosis, from 7-8 p.m.

Thursdays to March 27 at Sibley Memorial Hospital, Private Dining Room 3 (next to cafeteria), 5255 Loughboro Road, NW, Washington, D.C. Join facilitator Ashley Nunn and others with a history of cancer to learn about and practice a relaxation technique that uses focus on breathing. This practice has been shown to be effective in reducing stress, anxiety and loneliness; improving sleep; and boosting immune system. No prior experience required. Walkins welcome. Register at Sibley. org or call 202-243-2320. Free. www.suburbanhospital.org.

RELIGION CALENDAR ONGOING Damascus United Methodist Church, 9700 New Church St.,

Damascus, offers traditional Sunday morning worship services at 8:15 a.m., a youth contemporary worship service at 9:30 a.m. and a service of liturgy and the word at 11 a.m. with Sunday school at 9:30 a.m. for all ages during the school year. www.damascusumc.org.

Emmanuel Lutheran Church, 7730 Bradley Bou-

levard, Bethesda, offers services at 8:30 a.m. and 11 a.m. each Sunday, with Sunday School for all ages scheduled at 10 a.m. Child care is offered from 8:15 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. A fellowship and coffee hour follows the 8:30 a.m. service. 301-365-5733, www. elcbethesda.org.

Reed, Lavon Keith A. Lavon of Takoma Park and Danielle M. Reed of Unadilla, N.Y., were married Aug. 24, 2013, at Traditions at the Glen in Johnson City, N.Y. The bride’s sister, Darcy Reed, was matron of honor, and attendants included Taylor Reed, Tanner Reed, Jen Reed, Niki Reed, Tara Judd and Jean Gearhart. Keith was attended by Tim Fouche, Eamonn Murphy, Andrew Parente, Adam Jones, Brandon Reed, Jim Bob Sides, Will McDermott and Nicholas Natalicchio, and his younger brother, Scott Lavon, served as the best man.

The bride is the daughter of Denny and Elaine Reed of Unadilla, N.Y. Keith is the son of Neal Lavon and Carol Hightower of Takoma Park.

Danielle received her high school diploma in 2004 from Unatego High School in Otego, N.Y. She earned a bachelor’s degree from the State University of New York at Oneonta in 2007 and a master’s degree from the University of Texas Pan-American in 2012.

Keith received his high school diploma from Our Lady of Good Counsel High School formerly in Wheaton in 2005, and he obtained a bachelor’s degree from Northeastern University in Boston in 2010.

Danielle is employed by the New England Center for Homeless Veterans in Boston and Keith works for The Schawbel Corporation in Bedford, Mass. The couple honeymooned in Maine before returning to Waltham, Mass., where they reside.

Mondays to March 31, at Sibley Medical Building Conference Room 2, 5215 Loughboro Road, NW, Washington, D.C. Weekly meditative gentle and restorative yoga using mindful movement, balance and breathing techniques to help women with a history of cancer to reduce anxiety, improve quality of life and regain sense of self. $10 per class, $30 per month, scholarships available. Walk-ins welcome with cash/check if space permits. 202-243-2320. www. suburbanhospital.org.

Liberty Grove United Methodist Church, 15225 Old

Columbia Pike, Burtonsville, conducts Sunday morning worship services at 8:30, 9:30 and 11 a.m. Sunday school, nursery through adult, is at 9:30 a.m. 301-421-9166. For a schedule of events, visit www. libertygrovechurch.org.

“MOPS,” a faith-based support group for mothers of children, birth through kinder-

Miller, Geggel Betsy and Jeff Miller of Rockville announce the engagement of their daughter Michal Miller to Ezra Geggel, son of Karen and Rob Geggel of Dover, Mass.

The bride-to-be graduated from Richard Montgomery High School in 2002 and the University of Maryland in 2006 with a bachelor’s degree in communication. She has worked for a variety of private-sector and nonprofit organizations and now serves as a communications consultant.

The prospective groom graduated from the Noble and Greenough School in Dedham, Mass., in 2005 and from the University of Pennsylvania in 2009. He is currently finishing a law degree from the University of Michigan. He has a clerkship with the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court beginning in September 2014.

The couple met during an organized trip to Israel in 2011. The wedding will take place in October 2014 at the Torpedo Factory Art Center in Alexandria, Va.

garten, meets from 9-11:30 a.m. the first and third Wednesdays of the month at the Frederick Church of the Brethren, 201 Fairview Drive, Frederick. Child care is provided. For more information call 301-662-1819. Email mops@fcob.net.

Neelsville Presbyterian Church, 20701 Frederick Road,

Germantown, has returned to its fall worship schedule, with services at 8:30 a.m. and 11 a.m. Sundays. Sunday School for all ages at 9:40 a.m. www.

Neelsville.org.

Providence United Methodist Church, 3716 Kemptown

Church Road, Monrovia, conducts a contemporary service at 8 a.m. followed by a traditional service at 9:30 a.m. Sunday mornings, with children’s Sunday school at 9:30 a.m. and adult Sunday school at 11 a.m. For more information, call 301-253-1768. Visit www. kemptownumc.org.

Trinity Lutheran Church, 11200 Old Georgetown Road, North Bethesda, conducts services every Sunday, with child care from 8 a.m. to noon and fellowship and a coffee hour following each service.

301-881-7275. For a schedule of events, visit www.TrinityELCA.org.

PLACING AN ANNOUNCEMENT The Gazette prints engagement and wedding announcements, with color photographs, at no charge, as a community service. Copy should be limited to 150 words and submitted in paragraph form.

Announcements are subject to editing for space. Please include contact information, including a daytime telephone number. Photos should be professional quality. If emailing photos, file size should be a minimum of 500 KB. Wedding announcements should be submitted no later than 12 months after the wedding. Send to: The Gazette, 9030 Comprint Court, Gaithersburg, MD 20877, or email kgroff@gazette.net. Montgomery County celebrations are inserted into all Montgomery County editions.

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Wednesday, January 29, 2014

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Doug Duncan and the Chamber of Secrets Around this time last year, Doug Duncan was keeping to himself about his plans to run again for Montgomery County executive. He wouldn’t return media phone calls and was making no public statements.

Fast forward to last week, when Duncan refused to attend an event with the opposite conditions — he didn’t like that the public wasn’t allowed to hear him speak.

The forum, for county executive candidates, was sponsored by the Greater Silver Spring Chamber of Commerce.

Duncan and Phil Andrews were invited, along with Isiah Leggett, the incumbent.

Republican candidate Jim Shalleck said he was not invited, but wished he were there. “This is not unique when you’re a Republican in Montgomery County,” he said this week.

Andrews and Leggett were there. Duncan stayed away when he realized the chamber was only letting its members attend.

“This is not how we run government in Montgomery County,” Duncan declared. “This is not how we run elections in Montgomery County.”

Considering Duncan’s past symbiotic relationship with the business community, it might sound odd that he wouldn’t be comfortable at a business-people-only event.

But we’ll take Duncan at his word that openness should be the default position and that the infringement bothered him.

The Gazette has tried several times to sit in on newsworthy presentations organized by local chambers of commerce, on topics such as the future plans for Lakeforest mall, but has been rebuffed each time.

Private groups, including chambers, are entitled to close ranks — although we think helpful information shouldn’t be hoarded.

For candidates for public office, access takes on a new significance. “Private” and “closed doors” are poor bellwethers of future behavior if you’re elected.

Duncan, then, is right to insist that a candidate forum be public. Shouldn’t every voter hear the plans of executive candidates — of all parties — for helping businesses?

At least, an event like this should be broadcast or taped and posted online, so constituents can hear what candidates say, even if it’s not in person.

The candidates will have numerous other chances to be in one place and hash out the top issues. We hope they pick the most open venues and formats and stay away from the others.

The ideas of public officials belong, in a sense, to all of us, not just those in a particular place or club.

Unanswered questions Conjure the image of the town where a mother, along with her friend, attacks her four children, killing two. Imagine it’s the plot of some cable television show.

Before Jan. 17, one might not dream up Montgomery County. But now, Germantown is one more dot on the map of senseless tragedies.

How does a community handle the horror? How does one understand what was going through the minds of Zakieya L. Avery and Monifa D. Sanford, the women accused? Montgomery County police say the women thought they were performing an exorcism, but how can we process such a bizarre crime on a such a quiet street?

There are so many questions, with little reason to believe that answers are forthcoming.

We barely had regained our footing from the deaths of these toddlers when a troubled young man on Saturday walked into the Mall in Columbia — a place not much different than Lakeforest or the Montgomery mall — and shot two people before turning his shotgun on himself. One more dot for the map. Investigators say they are still searching for the link between the shooter and the victims. The young man, Darion Marcus Aguilar, was a 2013 graduate of Blake High School in Silver Spring; once again, Montgomery County wrestles with one of its own committing an unfathomable act. And once again, we wrestle with unanswered questions.

Looking to the past, we can take some solace that neighbors of the disturbed mother sensed something was wrong and did what they could. They saw something. They said something. They called 911, but because authorities lacked probable cause, little could be done before the tragedy played out.

Looking to the future, we can hope 1-year-old Norell N. Harris and 2-year-old Zyana Harris in Germantown — and Brianna Benlolo and Tyler Johnson in Columbia — did not die in vain. We can hope our elected officials in Rockville, in Annapolis, in Washington, D.C., see that mental health funding is not an esoteric expenditure.

No evidence yet has been shared that a government program or nonprofit agency could have helped the young man in Columbia or the women in Germantown, but we can hope that any attempt to heal the hurt can help avoid future senselessness.

The Gazette Karen Acton, President/Publisher

LETTERS TOT HE EDITOR

No office buildings in neighborhoods

I am writing to express disappointment that our county government is choosing to spend $14 million on an office building that is proposed for a residential neighborhood backing to Rock Creek Park as opposed to near public transportation and major county access roads. What about smart growth?

HHS needs to move the Children’s Resource Center from its current location at the Hungerford site, so MCPS can reopen it as a school. HHS says it wants a centrally located place because people from all over the county will access the Infants and Toddlers

program, day care providers will attend trainings, plus parents will bring children to the Parent Resource Center. Land near Shady Grove Metro would be centrally located and near transit.

Instead, the county thinks the former Broome Middle School site on Twinbrook Parkway would be better. Buses run only every 30 minutes along Twinbrook Parkway and it is not close to Metro. There have been no traffic studies conducted of what traffic will be like adding 110 office workers, plus visitors to the building in addition to the 30 buses and

150 staff members of the proposed holding middle school that also will be located at the Broome site. The county is rushing this project because the Hungerford building needs to be vacated by 2016.

A more prudent plan would be for the county to rent some of the abundant vacant office space in the county and then allow whoever is elected county executive to spend more time looking for other sites which are more accessible and transit-friendly.

A ‘thank you’ to county firefighters On behalf of the town of Washington Grove, I want to express our appreciation for the magnificent job the Montgomery County Fire Department provided for a “two-alarm” fire on the morning of Jan. 14. A total of 10 fire stations responded to the call.

We couldn’t ask for better coverage!

Were it not for the very rapid and highly effective response the loss of homes in the Grove would have undoubtedly been far greater. We know how hard it is to work in Washington Grove given the access issues in the old historic part of the town.

The response from the Gaithersburg-Washington Grove Volunteer Fire Department and supporting stations has always been outstanding.

With the new maps, technology and a heightened awareness of how to use these new tools, the fire department has achieved even higher standards.

Our thanks go out to all of the dedicated firefighters who helped us today and who risk life and limb serving our county and our town.

Georgette Cole The writer is the mayor of Washington Grove.

What kind of psychological treatment is offered in prison?

Tragedies such as the murders of the two young children in Germantown leave communities in utter disbelief and shock. We become so invested in removing and punishing the people responsible for these unspeakable acts that we forget to consider what happens after conviction.

Statistically speaking these homicides were not typical.

The alleged perpetrators were a mother and a houseguest (of some sort), and the victims were young children. In addition, the police note that the women believed they were performing an “exorcism.” Obviously, this is not a typical crime that can be explained by an escalating argument or disagreement. This is something more deeply rooted in

DAN GROSS/THE GAZETTE

Montgomery County fire investigators at the scene of a house fire in Washington Grove.

the psychological characteristics of the two female perpetrators.

While I do believe that these women should be removed from society in an effort to eliminate the threat they pose to the remaining children and the public at large, it is a shame to think about what psychological treatment they will receive in confinement. Our nation’s prison system is not designed to rehabilitate mentally disturbed inmates, its purpose is to punish and lock away criminals.

Perhaps they don’t deserve rehabilitation, but I believe that these women obviously need substantial psychiatric help in order to function throughout the duration of their sentences.

Tucker Kelly, Rockville

Appalled by student insults As an octogenarian, raised when we were taught respect for teachers, principals and parents, I was appalled at the insults and threats leveled at Montgomery County School Superintendent Joshua P. Starr on social media sites.

While some comments may have been classified as simply blowing off steam, the ones threatening bodily harm exceeded any limits of civility.

Unfortunately free speech allows considerable leeway in what can be said, particularly when it comes to public officials, making it almost impossible to bring the culprits to justice.

Andrew Schotz, Assistant Managing Editor Nathan Oravec, A&E Editor Ken Sain, Sports Editor Dan Gross, Photo Editor Jessica Loder, Web Editor

Dennis Wilston, Corporate Advertising Director Doug Baum, Corporate Classifieds Director Mona Bass, Inside Classifieds Director

While some may plead that the students involved are too young and immature to be responsible for what they have said and thus deserve no punishment and certainly will not receive any, I would suggest that if the student is identified his or her comments should be made part of the official transcript with admissions officers at universities able to make their own judgment as to the appropriateness of the student’s remarks.

For those who have threatened physical violence, our courts should act accordingly.

Nelson Marans, Silver Spring

WRITE TO US The Gazette welcomes letters on subjects of local interest. Please limit them to 200 words. Send submissions to: The Gazette, attention Commentary Editor, 9030 Comprint Court, Gaithersburg, MD 20877; fax to 301-670-7183; or email to opinions@gazette.net.

9030 Comprint Court, Gaithersburg, MD 20877 | Phone: 301-948-3120 | Fax: 301-670-7183 | Email: opinions@gazette.net More letters appear online at www.gazette.net/opinion

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POST COMMUNITY MEDIA Karen Acton, Chief Executive Officer Michael T. McIntyre, Controller Donna Johnson, Vice President of Human Resources Maxine Minar, President, Comprint Military Shane Butcher, Director of Technology/Internet

THE GAZETTE

Wednesday, January 29, 2014 o

Maryland’s Best/Worst 2013, Part II Pests of the year The IRS The NSA Federal government shut-downs The Redskins name debate Lyme disease Dennis Rodman Concussions Surveillance drones Gov. Rick Perry Cellphones during air flights Traffic lane “cutters” Miley Cyrus Copper thieves Athletes on steroids Target credit card hackers Cruise ship norovirus Bullying Obamacare’s religious mandate Toilet-clogging “flushable” baby wipes

Most bizarre moments • A Baltimore jury awards $1.42 million to a patient, Nadege Neim, whose doctor, Maureen Muoneke, mistakenly removed her right ovary instead of her left one. When Neim returned for a checkup a month after the surgery, Dr. Muoneke realized her mistake but did not tell Neim.

• Howard County police bust an “inhome” licensed child day care center that had a hydroponic marijuana growing operation in the basement.

• Public health officials warn of rabid raccoons attacking people and pets in Ocean City.

• When a Bethesda couple, watching TV, see a black bear walk by their window they call police, who, after a chase through the neighborhood, tranquilize it.

• Donald Pray, after getting drunk and arguing with his passenger, gets out of his car, lies down on Suitland Road and is struck and killed by a car.

• A Maryland Lottery employee pleads guilty to stealing 7,500 scratch-off tickets worth $90,000 and redeeming them for $67,000.

• When Baltimore scrap metal thieves steal numerous 54-pound backup traffic light batteries costing $428 a piece, the city padlocks and alarms traffic light facilities.

• A woman dressed in pink with a pink cellphone robs two P.G. County banks in December.

• A man wearing a fake Santa beard holds up a Laurel bank in December.

• Frederick police, investigating a possible break-in, are surprised when two burglars fall through the dry wall ceiling.

• A portable speed camera stationed outside Glenelg High School is set on fire

by unknown vandals.

• After leading police on a 100 mph chase through Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia, Dock Workman is arrested after ramming a state trooper’s car four times. He was seen lighting a cigarette between his strikes against the police cruiser.

• Ocean City police witness a man hijacking a taxi and pursue him up Coastal Highway, where the hijacker abandons the taxi and runs into the surf, where he’s arrested.

• Montgomery County pays Bethel World Church $1.25 million not to build a church on its environmentally sensitive 119-acre Germantown property.

• On New Year’s Eve, a Silver Spring mother has twins born three minutes apart but in two different years, one in 2013 and the other in 2014.

• Golfers atMY MARYLAND tending Baltimore’s Scunny BLAIR LEE McCousker Memorial Elvis Invitation Golf Dinner are asked to “dress like Elvis or an actress from any Elvis movie.”

• Ralph Jaffe (D) files for governor with Freda Jaffe, his sister, as his running mate.

• Baseball star Cal Ripken Jr.’s mother Vi Ripken, who was kidnapped in 2012, is the victim of an attempted carjacking in October 2013.

• Bethesda resident Lois Lerner, who resigned after becoming the central figure in the IRS-Tea Party scandal, volunteers for a Montgomery County panel that screens applications for tax-exempt status.

• Police suspect a possible suicide when a College Park man locks himself in a portable toilet and sets it on fire.

• An Anne Arundel jury awards $800,000 to a woman who suffered hundreds of bites when she moved into a bedbug-infested Annapolis apartment.

Her attorney, Daniel Whitney, specializes in bed bug lawsuits.

• A Virginia woman, represented by Daniel Whitney, sues for bed bug bites she suffered at a National Harbor hotel.

• A lactose-intolerant federal employee suffering from frequent flatulence is reprimanded by Baltimore Social Security Administration officials for “creating a hostile work environment.”

• A woman with a Cheshire cat tattoo on her neck slips a $1,200 Maltese puppy into

her purse and flees a Rockville pet store.

• When Baltimore police arrest a prostitute at a BWI hotel they discover that her pimp, waiting outside in his car, is a Baltimore city policeman.

• After a 22-year-old woman driving across the Bay Bridge is rammed by a tractor-trailer, sending her car 40 feet into the water, she frees herself and swims ashore.

• When three of Frederick’s five county commissioners participate in a local callin radio show, a political opponent complains to a state board, which rules it an “open meeting law” violation because, as a quorum, they discussed county business at a “meeting” without prior public notice.

• Montgomery County public employee unions boycott the county Democratic Party’s annual spring fundraiser because, they say, the county party has grown too conservative.

• Instead of endorsing either gubernatorial candidate Heather Mizeur, a lesbian, or Doug Gansler, the first state official to advocate same-sex marriage, Equality Maryland (the gay lobby group) endorses Anthony Brown.

• When a Silver Spring real estate agent turns her house into an extravagant Halloween display and invites hundreds of clients to view it, county officials take her to court for operating a business in a residential neighborhood. The judge, after three hours of testimony, permits the display for two nights.

• After being sworn in as Glenarden’s new mayor, Dennis Smith discovers IRS fines for $150,000 accrued by the outgoing administration for failing to file tax records.

• Diamonde Grant (aka Dimez) sues the Oasis club, where she’s an exotic dancer, for taking a portion of her tips and private dance money in violation of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act. • The St. Mary’s County school board bans hugs between children and any adult who is not their parent.

• Attorney General Doug Gansler says prison inmates should be issued free tablet computers to help further their education.

• A National Guard A-10 Warthog fighter jet inadvertently ejects an inert 500-pound bomb, which lands in a Queen Anne’s County tavern parking lot, leaving a 3-footdeep hole and some shaken patrons.

Blair Lee is chairman of the board of Lee Development Group in Silver Spring and a regular commentator for WBAL radio. His column appears Fridays in the Business Gazette. His past columns are available at www.gazette.net/blairlee. His email address is blairleeiv@gmail.com.

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Page A-15

LETTERS TOT HE EDITOR

Questions for candidates If I were to be asked to vote for a candidate, here would be the five concerns I would want them to address. I am looking for a visionary, someone who won’t take office just to keep things going, but would be willing to shake up things and look for solutions that are different and may even require a leap of faith.

1. Maryland is listed by most of the Internet sites where seniors seek retirement information as one of the top-five most expensive states to live in. Income taxes are higher here, we still have inheritance taxes, home values are static but property taxes are not. We need to see where we can lower the cost of living in Maryland. I’d like to be at the bottom of the list, will settle for the middle, but I am definitely not happy with being in the top five of 50 states in the union.

2. Employment for youth.

Could Maryland pave the way for an innovative education model that would put more students into employment when they finish school? Instead of putting more funds into helping only the brightest kids with magnet schools, could we set up vocational tech schools similar to those in Germany that would support other bright students in professions that require hands-on work that can’t easily be outsourced to foreign countries. Our nurses, plumbers, electricians, biotechnologists, and electronic specialists are all vital professionals and all make good money, but we push the myth that everyone needs to go to college.

We could reduce unemployment considerably if we had an alternative technical educational model and promoted it as equally good as college education.

3. Higher education. Let’s reduce the price of going to university and instead make it free.

My quid pro quo for allowing any organized gambling in Maryland would only be if the funds gained went to state college systems, and they in turn used it to offer scholarships, not loans. The incredibly high debts that students now face going to university, even in-state,

are simply unsustainable. Getting more loans at ever higher interest rates negatively impacts every student and down the line every profession and every business in Maryland. Pay for it with the tobacco fund, pay with lottery money, pay with gambling and casino money, but at some point the state should fully take over the cost of running the universities.

4. Maryland could be the first state to have state-mandated health insurance. If our federal government is too chicken to vote for a national health, single-payer system, then Maryland should do so. If individuals want to opt out and pay for private insurance that’s fine, but a single payer will ensure more fairness in what doctors and hospitals charge, what labs charge and will force the insurance companies to do the same. We could reduce administrative costs enormously by reducing the number of people checking insurance, filling forms, filing reports, checking different rules and regulations. We could innovate by getting health records electronically onto a credit card sized chip that would be portable as consumers move from one doctor to another.

5. Internet access should be treated as if it were a utility — an essential service for the consumer that is regulated by the state, both for quality of service and for price. It is unconscionable that consumers whose every daily action from banking to education, from medicine to communication, should be dependent on private sector companies who can set prices, and raise prices at will.

The U.S. consumer has the most expensive Internet service of all the developed world. Internet connectivity should be free for every Maryland resident and the State should make sure it is regulated and monitored in the same way that other utilities are monitored.

I have more, but will stop at these five and wait for some visionary candidate to respond.

Mona Grieser, Silver Spring

Page A-16

THE GAZETTE

Advertorial

Wednesday, January 29, 2014 o

1906237

MAGRUDER, QO GRADS LEAD A CONTINGENT OF 11 COUNTY PLAYERS ON SALISBURY MEN’S BASKETBALL TEAM, B-4

SPORTS OLNEY | SANDY SPRING

www.gazette.net | Wednesday, January 29, 2013 | Page B-1

HOW THEY RANK BOYS The 10 best boys’ basketball teams in Montgomery County as ranked by The Gazette’s sports staff:

Rank 1.

School

Record Pts

Bullis

15-3 60

2.

Montrose Christian 10-5 54

3.

Gaithersburg

12-1 48

4.

Springbrook

11-2 40

5.

Montgomery Blair 12-2 37

6.

St. Andrew’s

12-3 31

7.

Clarksburg

10-4 24

8.

Walt Whitman

11-3 18

9.

Poolesville

10-3 12

10.

Rockville

10-3 4

Others receiving votes:

Jewish Day, 2.

BEST BET

Blair at Sherwood, 7 p.m.

Tuesday: The Warriors, once 6-1,

have an opportunity to right the ship again with a quality win.

TOP SCORERS

Name, school A. Trier, Montrose Christian W. English, McLean J. Friedman, Sandy Spring I. Kallon, Wheaton J. McKay, McLean N. Segura, The Heights J. Bradshaw, Einstein M. Adkison, St. Andrew’s K. Williams, Kennedy A. Tarke, Gaithersburg

PPG 26.5 23.1 22.6 21.0 20.6 20.4 20.2 20.1 18.7 18.6

GIRLS The 10 best girls’ basketball teams in Montgomery County as ranked by The Gazette’s sports staff:

Rank 1.

School

Record Pts

Damascus

12-2 60

2.

Walt Whitman

12-2 54

3.

Paint Branch

12-2 48

4.

Poolesville

12-1 42

4.

John F. Kennedy 10-1 36

6.

Seneca Valley

11-3 30

7.

Holy Child

14-3 20

8.

Magruder

9-4 17

9.

Gaithersburg

8-4 13

10.

Good Counsel

10-8 10

Others receiving votes: None.

BEST BET

Poolesville at Damascus, 7 p.m. Tuesday: Poolesville would

be undefeated if not for a 22-point loss to Damascus. The Falcons and Swarmin’ Hornets meet again.

TOP SCORERS

Name, school L. Belton, Bullis K. Prange, Damascus S. Addison, Wootton J. Karim-Duvall, Churchill D. Lerner, Jewish Day D. Harris, Paint Branch B. Beckwith, Quince Orchard K. Colston, Paint Branch K. Porter, Bullis K. Meredith, Northwest D. Walker, Watkins Mill

1905971

PPG 22.0 19.4 18.7 18.3 18.1 17.7 17.6 16.5 16.5 16.2 16.2

PETE KENAH

TOM FEDOR/THE GAZETTE

DAN HARWOOD

FILE PHOTO

Passion: Walt Whitman High School girls

Col. Zadok Magruder boys

Patience, ability to communicate among qualities needed, successful coaches say

BY JENNIFER BEEKMAN STAFF WRITER

There was one main driving force behind 24thyear Col. Zadok Magruder High School boys’ basketball coach Dan Harwood’s pursuit of a high school coaching position when he returned to Montgomery County following a Division I career and short stint playing abroad: Love for the sport.

“I got into coaching because I love basketball and the next best thing to playing, is coaching,” Harwood said. “I did not want to be a role model or anything like that. I was in my 20s and I wanted to play and coach basketball.”

It wasn’t long before he relished in the ability to impact young aspiring athletes. With 454 wins, 412 of them at Magruder, Harwood is Montgomery County’s winningest boys’ basketball coach.

Blake boys starts their season over Bengals adjusting to life without their leading scorer

n

BY

See COACHES, Page B-2

New beginning for Good Counsel swimming First-year co-coaches hope to rebuild once strong program

STAFF WRITER

James H. Blake High School has played four boys’ basketball games in what coach Marcus Wiggins has called the “second season,” one where Demonte Ojinnaka suits up in sweats, sits in a chair and doesn’t take a meaningful shot all game.

Without Ojinnaka, it’s a new team and, therefore, in the view of Wiggins, a new season.

“Literally,” the coach said, “it’s like starting the season over, looking for scoring.

The kids look to him as their leader not just scoring, but he was our returning player. He

A transcendental passion for the sport of basketball is at the core of every one of the county’s finest basketball coaches, 12th-year Walt Whitman girls’ coach Pete Kenah said. As heading a program has become more and more of a year-round endeavor over the past decade, it truly has to be a labor of love on the coaches’ part. But sheer talent and knowledge of the ins and outs of basketball do not alone ensure that a coach will be successful.

It takes a certain type of patient person to get through to and build prosperous coach-athlete relationships with high school athletes, but the county has seen its fair share of coaches who seem to be able to perennially draw the best out of whatever traditional talent, or lack thereof, they are dealt.

The ability to communicate and get players to buy into one’s coaching system is the most important factor, Harwood said. But, what does it take to earn that respect?

According to 13th-year Quince Orchard boys’ basketball coach Paul Foringer, it’s finding a way to relate to players.

“One thing I’ve learned is, when you’re in the gym

n

TRAVIS MEWHIRTER

BY JENNIFER BEEKMAN STAFF WRITER

TOM FEDOR/THE GAZETTE

James H. Blake High School’s Jordan Browne struggles to get to the hoop with Bethesda-Chevy Chase’s Somto Ndubisi trying to take the ball on Friday. was the only kid who played last year.”

Ojinnaka averaged 16.9 points per game in the eight contests he played prior to straining the posterior cruci-

ate ligament — the ligament behind the more serious anterior cruciate ligament — in his left knee. The Bengals

See BLAKE, Page B-2

FILE PHOTO

Thomas S. Wootton girls

GREAT COACHES SHARE ONE ATTRIBUTE

n

MAGGIE DYER

For 13 straight years spanning the late 1990s to mid-2000s there was the Our Lady of Good Counsel High School girls’ swimming and diving team and then there was the rest of the Washington, D.C. area.

The Falcon girls were the Washington Metropolitan Interscholastic Swimming and Diving champion from 19962008 and won eight straight Washington Metropolitan Prep School Swimming and Diving titles from 2005-12. Good

Counsel’s boys have been a top 5 Metros finisher seven of the past eight years, including three consecutive third-place performances. If there was an elite swimmer in their districts, Montgomery County Public Schools coaches admittedly worried he or she would be off to Good Counsel by the time they were freshmen.

But high school sports are cyclical and graduation catches up to even the best programs eventually. After a decade and a half, it seems it’s Good Counsel’s turn to refuel. The Falcon girls’ seventh-place finish at Metros a year ago was their lowest in more than 17 years.

Good Counsel’s reputation

See BEGINNING, Page B-2

THE GAZETTE

Page B-2

BLAKE

Continued from Page B-1 were 6-2 in that stretch and were well on their way to 7-2 on Jan. 8, leading John F. Kennedy by seven early in the fourth quarter when the senior got tripped up in transition and fell on his knee.

“I went back on defense but I couldn’t really move,” he recalled. “I felt like I was going to collapse.”

Wiggins pulled his star player and the Cavaliers went on to beat the Ojinnaka-less Bengals, 59-55. After that, with Ojinnaka’s return date optimistically set for a Feb. 7 tilt with Paint Branch at the very earliest, the redesigned Blake season began.

“It’s been really frustrating, just watching my team fighting on their own,” Ojinnaka said.

“I know what I can bring to the team; I bring that motor. When I’m fired up, they’re fired up.

It’s frustrating not being able to lead out there, just pretty much being a coach on the sidelines.”

Wiggins, meanwhile, has been seeking the silver linings of the situation.

“We’ve had several different results,” Wiggins said. “The kids are trying to figure out what we can do and what they can do. Sometimes they figure it out, sometimes it’s still new for us as a team. In the grand scheme of things, I’d hate for this to be football because if this were football we would be done. But we still make playoffs and right now we’re looking for our third or fourth options to step up.”

Five-foot-8 junior Duane Davis has been that option.

In the first three games postOjinnaka, the guard logged his three highest scoring nights — 16 against Kennedy, 16 in a loss to Paint Branch and 12 in an overtime loss to Montgomery Blair.

“I basically knew my role had to change from what I was used to be doing because I used to be a come off the bench kind of guy,” Davis said. “But now

I got to take responsibility for some of the things [Ojinnaka] used to do. I’m looking to create my own shot more. Teams see that I’m scoring so they’re stepping up on me and now I’m looking for my teammates.”

Wiggins said that he hasn’t changed anything in the Xs and Os of the offense but Blake doesn’t have the Ojinnaka safety net when the possession becomes sloppy and the offense isn’t run quite right.

“A great player becomes a great player — regardless of what we’re doing, if he’s a true scorer, which he is, he gets his buckets within the offense,” Wiggins said. “Most of [Ojinnaka’s] points came within the offense. We just don’t have a kid right now, when the offense breaks down and we don’t have a good possession, to get the ball to and say ‘Go get a bucket.’

“These kids are learning how to play basketball right now. It’s almost like we didn’t have a scrimmage season. It’s been trying, but I think we’ll be better for it at the end.”

Blake will play at least four more games without Ojinnaka, meaning more time for those third and fourth options Wiggins spoke of to develop into serious scoring threats.

As his team has progressed, so has Ojinnaka, already strong enough to walk the halls and participate in light drills here and there, meaning the Paint Branch game isn’t an overly optimistic return date.

“He is an unbelievable athlete,” Wiggins said. “I didn’t take him out of games because he was tired, I took him out so he could see some things. His conditioning will be fine [when he returns], he’ll be out there.

The good thing about him being on the sidelines is that you can really see what your teammates can do when you’re not out there. The trust level with his teammates will definitely go up.” tmewhirter@gazette.net

Wednesday, January 29, 2014 o

COACHES

Continued from Page B-1

TOM FEDOR/THE GAZETTE

James H. Blake High School’s Nathan Bonsu takes it to the hoop against Bethesda-Chevy Chase on Friday.

and you’re coaching, you can push kids as hard as you want to and they might dislike it and they might not care for that but when you’re outside of the gym and the last horn sounds, they have to know you’re a human being,” Foringer said.

“You have to let them see the other side of you, let them see you’re one of the guys, that you’re right there with them.

They have to see you smile, that you’re just a regular guy.”

It is also imperative, coaches agreed, that players know their coach truly cares about their well-being.

Whether it’s attending a soccer game in the fall season or writing an individual note to a player at the start of the season, student-athletes need to know a coach has their back, Kenah said, and genuinely cares about them.

It took 11th-year Thomas S. Wootton High girls’ coach Maggie Dyer precisely two years to turn a county doormat program into a perennial postseason contender. In her third season, the Patriots went from four wins to 16, their first winning campaign in more than 15 years. Since then Wootton has only endured one nonwinning season, two years ago when starting essentially an entirely freshman lineup — even then the Patriots almost met the .500 record mark. And it has not been for the number of Division I athletes who have walked through Dyer’s door.

“People don’t remember but before Maggie got there, Wootton was a guaranteed win, they were winning one or two games, period,” Kenah said. “I think she’s only had one Division I player but she’s been able to get guards to scrap and shoot and they’re so well prepared. Now you put Wootton in the bank for 15 to 18 wins a year.”

Dyer, like Harwood, Kenah, Foringer, Whitman boys’

BEGINNING

Continued from Page B-1 has not gone anywhere just yet, though. With two new, but experienced, coaches — seven-year Falcons diving coach Jude Lozapone and last year’s assistant Beth Silva have taken the reins from former seven-year coach Billy Howard — and a brand new approach, the Falcons are busy building a foundation this winter that should have them back to the top of the postseason contenders list in the near future.

“I think Jude and I are on the same page, this year has been much more about rebuilding a sense of team,” Silva said. “We’re not as concerned with wins and losses. We’ve instituted several things that are brand new. We’ve had some mandatory practices, which is new for Good Counsel.

We set up team buddies, no one leaves before the meet is over.

We’re trying to make policies that make kids work for things and that makes them mean something. Winning [will be] a by-product of that.”

This season was as good a time as any to shake things up.

Part of the team’s recent drop has been the inability to recover

TOM FEDOR/THE GAZETTE

Our Lady of Good Counsel High School swim coach Beth Silva (center) talks with Ariana Casimates (left) and Makenzie Miller during the East Coast Catholic Classic championships at the Prince George’s Sports & Learning Complex on Sunday. points lost by major scorers, such as 2007 graduates Colleen Haase (University of Georgia) and Megan Waters (Princeton), three-time Gazette Swimmer of the Year Sarah Haase (2012, Stanford) and most recently, Catherine Mulquin (Notre Dame) and four-time Gazette Swimmer of the Year Jack Conger, a freshman at the University of Texas. Lozapone said the economy has likely played a role in some swimmers’ decisions not to attend private

school.

This year’s team, which does include marquee swimmers such as Arizona State and University of South Carolina recruits Brady Welch and Makenzie Miller, is one of Good Counsel’s youngest in recent years, setting the stage for a restructure.

In 2006, longtime coaches and Good Counsel graduates Jim Schlapo and Dave and John Crocker resigned after 19 and 10 years, respectively. The three

TOM FEDOR/THE GAZETTE

Our Lady of Good Counsel High School swimmer Chandler Tucker participates in the 100-meter breaststroke during the East Coast Catholic Classic championships at the Prince George’s Sports & Learning Complex on Sunday. had major ties to the RockvilleMontgomery Swim Club, which helped draw in some of the area’s top talent.

Silva and Lozapone are not as closely tied to one of the nation’s biggest club swimming programs, but do have their own roots in area swimming they hope will help connect them to the community. Lozapone, a former U.S. Olympic Trials qualifying swimmer herself, watched her mother and oldest brother

start the Falcons swimming program in the early 1970s and has been involved in swimming since. Silva, who swam for Kenyon College, has been coaching in Montgomery County for 20 years with various Montgomery County Swim League and club teams.

Both agree their strengths in coaching complement each other well to the team’s benefit and said they hope their connections will help them reach

coach Chris Lun, John F. Kennedy’s Diallo Nelson, Montgomery Blair’s Damon Pigrom, Damascus girls’ coach Steve Pisarski and the plethora of other coaches who have established consistently competitive programs within the county, is a players’ coach.

Up until a sore knee sidelined him this year, Harwood has been playing recreational league basketball every week with the same team for two decades. Basketball should be fun, he said, and it’s important for coaches to remember the parts of playing basketball that they enjoy.

Coaches also agreed there is a correlation between consistency within a coaching staff and a program’s success.

Most of the county’s perennially successful teams have longer standing coaches. This helps the future players know what to expect when they come in, Foringer said. But that doesn’t necessarily mean a team will play the same style year in and year out. The best coaches are flexible with their approach and can make adjustment based on each season’s personnel.

For example, Pisarski said he had to deviate from the guard-oriented approach he intended to employ at Damascus to involve the post players he’s been lucky enough to have. Foringer’s teams have played 3-2 zone and full-court press in back-to-back years thanks to teams with completely different dynamics.

The best coaches are in tune with what best suits their players and are unafraid to step outside their own comfort zones.

“I think like anything else, I searched for what I was passionate about and for me it was basketball,” Dyer said.

“If I couldn’t play anywhere, I wanted to coach, to be a part of it. You always try to surround yourself with things you’re passionate about.” jbeekman@gazette.net

athletes and have developed a system to ensure they maintain communication with any prospective swimmers who have visited the school.

They also hope the team unity this year is focused on will create an atmosphere that will interest friends of current swimmers.

Aside from Welch, who is poised to contend for two individual Metros titles later this month, and Miller, Good Counsel’s swimmers might not have the name recognition they’ve had in the past. But Silva and Lozapone said they wouldn’t be surprised if many of this year’s underclassmen are household names in the next couple of years.

Freshmen Tom McGovern (50- and 100-yard freestyle) and Joe Howley (500-yard freestyle, 100-yard breaststroke) have already qualified for Metros and two more, Kaelan Dowdall and Philip Sanders are close to making their Metros marks, each in two events.

“We want to get the program back to where it was, it has a great reputation and I don’t think that’s completely gone,” Silva said. jbeekman@gazette.net

THE GAZETTE

Wednesday, January 29, 2014 o

Page B-3

Magruder makes moves in 4A West Division n

Albert Einstein High School’s Joe Bradshaw (left) plays defense during a practice last year.

FILE PHOTO

Einstein turns things around Titans are 4-2 after beginning season 1-8

n

Albert Einstein High School’s boys’ basketball team entered the season with high expectations after ending last winter hot. But the Titans started slow and coach Rich Porac believed nothing was wrong.

BOYS BASKETBALL NOTEBOOK

BY TRAVIS MEWHIRTER That stance is becoming increasingly backed up, as the 5-9 (as of Monday) Titans have won four of their past five.

After his Titans became practically an overnight sensation last year, rebounding from a 2-11 start to rattle off nine wins in the next 12 games, Porac’s team was bestowed with lofty expectations this year.

They returned 6-foot-7 guard Joe Bradshaw, 6-foot-5 center Abe Camara and several other role players from last season’s late-starting team. It was as promising an Einstein team as any. The Titans promptly began 1-8.

“I don’t want to say I expected to lose some games

early on, but we had a brutal schedule,” Porac said.

“We had Sherwood, Urbana, [James H.] Blake, Springbrook, [Col. Zadok] Magruder. I think the worst of that bunch is Magruder and we competed with those guys and we were starting a freshman point guard.”

J.D. Guerrero, the freshman Porac spoke of, was thrust into the proverbial fire, a practical sink or swim situation.

Even with Guerrero playing through the expected growing pains, the Titans’ worst losses were 15-pointers to Urbana, a reigning state semifinalist, and Springbrook, currently one of the county’s most formidable 4A teams.

Since Einstein dove into its divisional play against teams the Titans will be playing come playoff time on Jan. 4, it is 4-2, and Camara and Bradshaw have begun to resemble the pair that carried the Titans through their Cinderella run last season.

“We’re turning things around. Well, not really turning things around, but staying the course,” Porac said. “All of the downtown consortium teams open up our schedules against the 4A schools and 99 percent of us start with losses. ...

“People go ‘Well, what’s

wrong with Einstein?’ and I say ‘Nothing.’ We gave away two games and another we could have won but I got a 14-yearold kid dribbling the ball up the court. He’s really good, I mean, he’s extremely skilled, but he’s still 14-years old.

“So we have a freshman point guard, a 6-7 guard, a big man who’s been playing three years — I’d say we’re doing pretty good. I kind of like where we are right now and the direction we’re going.”

Overtime, again Wheaton and Rockville have technically played only two games thus far, yet have slugged it out for more than three games’ worth of basketball. A month and four days after the Rams topped the Knights in a four-overtime contest — nine players fouled out — Wheaton flipped the script, handing Rockville a 5551 defeat in just one overtime.

“Both teams were in foul trouble as usual,” Rockville coach Steve Watson said with a laugh. “If we see each other in playoffs and we go into overtime, I wouldn’t expect any less.” tmewhirter@gazette.net

TOM FEDOR/THE GAZETTE

Holton-Arms School’s Caroline McTaggart swims the 100 butterfly at Friday’s Independent School League (ISL) championships at the Bethesda school.

Holton, Georgetown Prep kick off championship season on high note n

Elderly soccer players travel to Florida for tournament

Swimming and diving championship season officially kicked off with the weekend’s Independent School League hosted by Holton-Arms School and the East Coast Catholic Classic held at the Prince George’s Sports and Learning Complex.

PREP NOTEBOOK

BY GAZETTE STAFF Holton-Arms School won its ninth ISL title in 11 years with Friday’s 267-180 advantage over defending champion and crosstown rival Stone Ridge School of the Sacred Heart. Holy Child improved on last year’s sixth-place finish to move into fifth.

Georgetown Prep’s thirdplace finish at the East Coast Catholic Classic Sunday was the highest of any Washington, D.C.

area programs at the East Coast Catholic Classic Sunday.

Holton won all three relay events — worth more points than individual events — and a teamhigh three individual events.

Caroline McTaggart, Isabelle Jubin, Emma Raynor and ALexis LeMone closed the championship with a meet record (3 minutes, 36.59 seconds) en route to winning the 400-yard freestyle relay.

McTaggart (50-yard freestyle, 100yard butterly) and Stone Ridge junior and Olympic gold medalist Katie Ledecky (200- and 500-yard freestyle) were the meet’s only double individual race winners.

“Our league has come so far, it’s so much stronger, than it’s been in the 11 years I’ve been coaching, it’s a real privilege to be on top of the league,” Holton coach Graham Westerberg said.

Juniors Brandon Goldstein, Carsten Vissering, Grant Goddard and Adrian Lin helped Prep off to a good start by winning the meet opening 200-yard medley relay.

Goddard (200-yard individual medley, 100-yard freestyle), Carston Visstering (100-yard breast-

stroke, 100-yard butterfly) and Adrian Lin (500-yard freestyle) all won individual races.

— JENNIFER BEEKMAN

D.C. United? Try D.C. Reunited While the Montgomery County high school athletes were off relaxing, enjoying a few snow days courtesy of Mother Nature, a troop of senior athletes made their way down to the Sunshine State for the Florida Classic, an international soccer tournament hosting teams from the United States,CanadaandtheCaribbean.

Four teams from Montgomery County — over ages 50, 55, 60, and 65 — competed while the eldest of the bunch, the amusingly named “D.C. Reunited,” returned home with a second-place finish after losing in penalty kicks in the finale.

“What a wild ride!” Cliff Moy, a player on the over-65 team, wrote in an email. “We almost won first place but we are happy with a second place finish.”

— TRAVIS MEWHIRTER

Holy Cross senior breaks record, Kennedy keeps winning

Col. Zadok Magruder High School, Gaithersburg and Thomas S. Wootton are separating from the pack in the Montgomery 4A West Division heading into the final stretch of the season. Magruder (9-4, 4-2 as of Monday), which went 1112 last season, has made significant improvements with most of its key players returning. The Colonels have won their past two games (before Tuesday) and four of five, including a 50-39 win over James H. Blake on Thursday and a 60-56 win over Wootton on Friday. Janel Brown (12.5), Hannah Barr (10.9), Hope Randolph (10.2) and Adjowa Pinkrah (9.5) account for most of Magruder’s scoring.

GIRLS BASKETBALL NOTEBOOK

BY ERIC GOLDWEIN Wootton (8-6, 4-2) continues playing competitive basketball but slid down the standings after close losses to Gaithersburg and Magruder, both division foes.

Gaithersburg (7-4, 5-1), led by senior Janessa Fauntroy, has won seven of its last nine games.

Holy Cross senior breaks record Playing without 6-foot-5 senior Rhamat Alhassan, the Academy of the Holy Cross’ basketball team needed somebody to step upSaturdayagainstBullis.Senior Jillian Dunston did exactly that, scoring a game-high 30 points and setting a school record with seven 3-pointers, leading the Tartans to a 64-58 victory.

Dunston, who signed a letter of intent to play basketball at the University of Michigan, has been Holy Cross’s top scorer as of late and is averaging a team-best 13.7 points per game on the season.

“She’s playing out of her mind,” Holy Cross coach Clyde Singleton said. “I’m so proud of her.”

Dunston is the team’s best 3-point shooter, with 33 on the

FILE PHOTO

Academy of the Holy Cross’ Jillian Dunston (right) drives to the basket during a game against Archbiship Spalding last year. season.

“She can flat out shoot it,” Singleton said.

Holy Cross (9-11, 6-4) has won six of its last seven games after dropping five straight in late December through early January.

Cavaliers stay hot John F. Kennedy (10-1, 4-1) has won four straight since losing to Paint Branch (12-2, 4-0), and the Cavaliers will get another chance at the Panthers in a rematch on Friday. Paint Branch won the first meeting 53-49, limiting Kennedy to five points in the fourth quarter to earn the road victory. The Panthers have won five of six; their lone loss during that stretch came against Walt Whitman (44-43).

4A South Division taking shape Walt Whitman (12-2, 5-0) has taken control of the Montgomery 4A South Division, but Montgomery Blair, Winston Churchill and Walter Johnson all look capable of grabbing second place.

Blair (10-4, 4-1) has lost three of four, though remains at the top of the conference thanks to its fast start and strong division play.

Walter Johnson (9-6, 3-3) has won four straight and Churchill (7-6, 3-2) is also on a four-game win streak that includes wins over Blair and Walter Johnson. egoldwein@gazette.net

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There’s a whole lot of Montgomery County at Salisbury Sea Gulls have 11 county natives on roster of 16 players n

BY

KENT ZAKOUR STAFF WRITER

Every so often, members of the Salisbury University men’s basketball team begin reminiscing about their time in high school. More often than not, those conversations trend toward memorable high school basketball games they participated in. And during those chats, many of the Sea Gulls are classified as “MoCo” by the other players on the roster.

“We talk about different games, rivalries and when we played each other. So most of the time it is, “Remember when we beat you guys?” senior starting guard Tim Harwood said. “And the other guys just make jokes.”

A year ago, Salisbury had one of its better season’s in program history, posting 19 wins before losing in the semifinals of the Capital Athletic Conference tournament. Now, midway through the 2013-14 campaign, the Sea Gulls sit in a different position than they did a year ago.

“I’d say we’ve been, for the

PHOTO FROM SALISBURY UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION DEPARTMENT

PHOTO FROM SALISBURY UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION DEPARTMENT

Col. Zadok Magruder High School graduate Tim Harwood is Salisbury University’s leading scorer as a senior this winter.

Quince Orchard High School graduate Charles Porter is Salisbury University’s second-leading scorer as a freshman this winter.

most part, consistently competitive,” Salisbury coach Josh Merkel said. “Our young guys are getting better and that doesn’t always show up on the scoreboard. ... We’ve taken a step forward in every game and the guys are learning how to finish games out, how to win.”

Due to graduation losses, a strong conference and a difficult schedule, Salisbury has taken time this winter to rebuild following two consecutive winning seasons. At 7-10 (as of Tuesday) and playing

kick and take 3-point shots.

Leading the way are several former Montgomery County high school players. Of the 16 players listed on the roster, 11 played at a local high school.

“It’s definitely neat especially with three Magruder guys here,” said Harwood, who is expected to graduate in May with a degree in physical education. He is looking into becoming a grad assistant next season. “We all knew of each other or played with or against each other in high school. I’ve

well recently (winning three of four games), the Sea Gulls still have an outside chance to finish the season with another winning mark.

“It may not look good now with our record,” Harwood said. “But it’s what we got to do for the long run. It’s what we have to do to win every year and make the NCAA tournament regularly. It’s a reason why I came here.”

Salisbury plays fast and the system allows players freedom within the offense to drive,

known some of the guys my whole life.”

Harwood and freshman guard Charles Porter (Quince Orchard, Gaithersburg) lead the Sea Gulls in scoring, averaging 14.3 and 11.5 points per game, respectively.

“I didn’t expect to be where I am right now, I though I’d still be learning or behind an upperclassman,” Porter said.

“Since everyone knows each other, it definitely made everything more comfortable adjusting to college. I mean, the

furthest person away we have is from North Carolina. Everybody else is from Maryland.”

Additionally, Dominic Milburn (Montrose Christian, Silver Spring), Chris Viqueira (Clarksburg, Boyds), Kyle Savercool (Our Lady of Good Counsel, Silver Spring), Luke Ruland (Magruder, Olney) and Justin Witmer (Magruder, Rockville) have all started at least one game this season for Salisbury. Charlie Rogers (Sherwood, Olney), Nick Sparacino (Springbrook, Silver Spring), Derrick Miller (Poolesville, Olney) and Jacoy Gillum (Northwest, Germantown) have all played off the bench.

“We want to recruit from inside out and there’s great basketball from the area,” said Merkel, who credited his players relationships with each other as a key factor in recruiting “... We’ve recruited good people, good character guys.

With a familiarity with each other, players say the natural camaraderie has been beneficial on and off the court.

“It makes MoCo look good,” Porter said. “We are representing everybody from back home.” kzakour@gazette.net

Stone Ridge’s swimming success truly a group effort

BY JENNIFER BEEKMAN STAFF WRITER

The 38-person Stone Ridge School of the Sacred Heart swimming and diving team has earned some notoriety in the past three years, not just in the Washington, D.C. area but nationwide. That’s what happens when one of the members wins an Olympic gold medal and sets multiple world records.

It’s no coincidence that the arrival of junior Katie Ledecky in 2011-12 has coincided with the Gators’ recent resurgence — last winter Stone Ridge won its first Independent School League title since 2003, knocking off the champion eight of the previous 10 years, crosstown rival Holton-Arms.

But even arguably the world’s best distance freestyler can’t win a high school championship meet without any help.

That concept has helped unite the team, which seniors Lily Gasaway and Villanova University recruit Laura Garcia agreed is more spirited than ever. According to the school’s website there are 315 students enrolled in grades nine through 12, a fairly small talent pool to draw from but within

GREG DOHLER/THE GAZETTE

Members of the Stone Ridge School of the Sacred Heart swim team Lily Gasaway (left), 18, Kelleigh Haley (center), 15, and Laura Garcia, 17, at the school’s aquatic center Friday in Bethesda. that, the Gators have built a solid core of competitive year-round swimmers.

Swimming is a demanding sport that takes a certain kind of investment, coach Robert Walker said. Stone Ridge, he added, is fortunate enough to boast the type of student-athletes willing to put in the time to hone their craft.

“I definitely feel like people know it’s a whole team effort,” Gasaway said. “Katie is far and away the best swimmer we have but she is not the only good swimmer.”

Stone Ridge scored 235 points in

last year’s fourth-place finish at the Washington Metropolitan Interscholastic Swimming and Diving championships, its best performance in a decade. A meet-high 48 of them — 20 percent of the team’s total — were earned by Ledecky, who won both her individual events in meet-record fashion. She also teamed with current sophomore Kelleigh Haley, Gasaway and former standout breaststroker Natalie Kronfli to win the 200-yard freestyle relay.

The remaining 187 were a compilation of top 15 performances made

by Garcia, who finished fourth in the 100-yard butterfly, Gasaway, Kronfli and sophomore Kelleigh Haley.

Ledecky certainly adds a unique component, Walker said, and Garcia and Gasaway agreed the Gators are motivated to work even harder to rally around her.

“If you’re on a relay with Katie, you’re not just letting yourself down or your family down, you’re letting Katie down and I mean that in a good way,” Walker said. “You don’t want to be the weak link. I think they don’t even think about it as being on a relay with [an Olympic gold medalist] I think they just get up on the blocks and don’t want to be the slow one.”

Stone Ridge’s ascent back into the area’s upper echelon started in 201011 with its fourth-place finish at ISL’s.

A top three team at Metros in the early 2000s, the Gators had finished 2009 and 2010 in ninth place in the 12-team league and scored just two points in 31st- and 33rd-place performances at Metros. In 2012 Stone Ridge finished second at ISLs and tied for 10th at Metros, paving the way for last year’s results.

The Gators, lost their ISL title to the champion nine of the past 11 years, Holton-Arms, and have their work cut out for them if they’re going to repeat last winter’s success at this weekend’s Washington Metropolitan Prep Schools Swimming and Diving Championships and Metros Feb. 8.

Kronfli’s graduation has left a hole in the breaststroke and 200-yard medley relay. But Stone Ridge’s recent runner-up finish doesn’t necessarily mean the Gators are out of contention to remain the highest private school finisher at Metros. Walker is still fine tuning his lineup combinations, he said. Strong freestyle relays will likely be the cornerstone to Stone Ridge’s postseason success. The addition of freshman Megan Fennell to sophomore Lexi Catalano on the diving contingent should be good for a few extra points during championship season as well. The points are there, Walker said, it’s just a matter of figuring out where to put them.

Not many high school athletes get to say they’re teammates with an Olympic gold medalist and that’s not something Stone Ridge takes for granted, Garcia and Gasaway said.

But the Gators are also a bunch of friends and teammates working toward a common goal, leaving their mark on the resurgent program.

“We spent my first three years trying to get to this level, now the more difficult task is staying there,” Gasaway said. “We’re coming from a different place, it’s almost more [nerve-wracking] when you have all these expectations put on you but we want to maintain our high level.” jbeekman@gazette.net

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Gators look ahead to Metros after second-place finish at ISL meet n

THEATER

&

ENTER SIR IAN

‘Hobbit’ star lends voice to Olney’s ‘How to Succeed in Business Without Even Trying.’

The Gazette’s Guide to

Arts & Entertainment

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www.gazette.net

|

Wednesday, January 29, 2014 | Page B-5

t

Chelsey Green is a classically trained violist and violinist. She and The Green Project will perform at BlackRock Saturday night.

CHELSEY GREEN AND THE GREEN PROJECT n When: 8 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 1

n

n Where: BlackRock Center for the Arts, 12901 Town Commons Dr., Germantown

Professional violinist blends classical with contemporary BY

M

y mom’s goal for me was to be a classical violinist,” said musician Chelsey Green. “I kind of took a detour on purpose.”

Born into a family of jazz and funk musicians, Houston native Green started her performance career on the violin at age 5. By 16, she was performing solo at Carnegie Hall.

Now, Green is using her classical violin and viola training to bolster the sounds of contemporary artists such as Michael Jackson and John Legend. Green and her ensemble, The Green Project, will perform at the BlackRock Center for the Arts on Saturday night.

“The marriage of classical and contemporary music is something that is relatable to everyone no matter what ethnicity you are …

n Tickets: $22

CARA HEDGEPETH

n For information: 301-258-2260, blackrockcenter.org

STAFF WRITER

JENNIFER WHITE-JOHNSON

ROUND HOUSE THEATRE

Latest Happenstance production celebrates the spirit of the circus

n

See GREEN, Page B-8

THE KOLL

SHOW

Alt comic comes to Rockville as part of Cool Cow Comedy showcase n

BY

VIRGINIA TERHUNE STAFF WRITER

What comedian Alex Koll especially likes about doing standup is the response from the audience.

“It’s one of the weirder things you do 100 percent,” he said. “Nothing else you do gives you that immediate feedback.”

“You try to please them and take them along with you, and make it last,” said Koll, now 10 years into the art of making people laugh.

See KOLL, Page B-8

Though clowning is a way of life for Happenstance Theater artistic directors Sabrina Mandell and Mark Jaster, the circus is newer territory.

“We do physical theater, we’re not circus performers,” Mandell said.

But starting Friday, the members of the Happenstance Theater company will try their hand at the circus in the premiere of the theater’s latest production, “Impossible! A Happenstance Circus.” Running until Feb. 9, Mandell called “Impossible!” “a theatrical collage” centered on circus life.

MINDY TUCKER

Comedian Alex Koll pays a visit to VisArts in Rockville on Feb. 7 as part of the Cool Cow Comedy series.

BY

CARA HEDGEPETH STAFF WRITER

“There’s not a real through-line story,” Mandell said. “We basically just get a glimpse of characters who are creating the circus of the imagination.”

Happenstance has delved into the circus world before. In 2009, the company produced “Look Out Below,” a clown theater piece. Unfortunately, the show opened during a major snowstorm preventing people from coming out to the theater.

“Impossible!” draws inspiration from several areas, including Mandell’s own personal history with the circus.

“I grew up in rural Nova Scotia and there was a small circus that came to the town I grew up in,” Mandell said. “My sister and I ended up creating all of these circus characters and we wanted to run off and join the circus.”

But the major motivation for “Impossible!” came years later after Mandell saw “Corteo,” a Cirque du Soleil show

See CLOWNING, Page B-8 LESLIE MCCONNAUGHEY

Ensemble members of Happenstance Theater and the cast members of “Impossible! A Happenstance Circus,” opening Friday at the Round House Theatre.

THE GAZETTE

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Wednesday, January 29, 2014 o

Austrian OCTAVES MAX DOBROVICH

The Vienna Concert-Verein Orchestra will perform in concert Saturday at the Robert E. Parilla Performing Arts Center at Montgomery College.

The Vienna Concert-Verein Orchestra, led by conductor Philippe Entremont and featuring soloist Sebastian Knauer, will perform in concert at 8 p.m.

Saturday at the Robert E. Parilla Performing Arts Center at Montgomery College in Rockville. For more than 20 years, the orchestra has achieved international renown by performing at Vienna’s Muskverein. Its repertoire spans orchestral works from classical Viennese composers to contemporary Austrian music. Tickets are $40 for general admission, $38 for seniors and students. For more information, visit montgomerycollege.edu/PAC.

Stuck on ‘Traffic’

Here’s to you, Miss Nelson “Miss Nelson is Missing” continues to March 9 at Adventure TheatreMTC in Glen Echo.

Dave Mason’s Traffic Jam comes to the Bethesda Blues & Jazz Supper Club at 8 p.m. Thursday. The

English singer-songwriter rose to fame with the psychedelic rock band Traffic in the late 1960s, yielding such hits as “Feelin’ Alright” and “Hole in My Shoe.”

The Traffic Jam tour features deep cuts and favorites from Mason’s time with the band, as well as classics from Mason’s solo career.

Tickets are $35 to $150. For more information, visit bethesdabluesjazz. com.

PHOTO ANGELICA LEE

The Cezanne Piano Trio will present its premiere performance as part of the Washington Conservatory Piano, Plus! Concert Series on Saturday at the Westmoreland Congregational UCC Church in Bethesda.

Color through sound DAVE MASON

Co-founder of the English psychedelic rock group Traffic, guitarist Dave Mason and his band will perform Traffic hits from the 1960s and 1970s, as well as music he’s written as a solo artist on Thursday at Bethesda Blues & Jazz Supper Club in Bethesda.

The Cezanne Piano Trio will present its premiere performance at 8 p.m. Saturday at the Westmoreland Congregational UCC Church in Bethesda. The concert, part of the Washington Conservatory Piano,

Plus! Concert Series, will feature Haydn’s “Piano Trio in C Major Hob. XV/27,” Mendelssohn’s “Piano Trio No. 1 in D Minor, Op. 49” and Shostakovich’s “Piano Trio No. 2 in E Minor Op. 67.” The trio’s name is a tribute to Paul Cezanne, a French Post-impressionist artist who described his process as modulating with colors, a description similar to that of the musical concept of creating color with sound. The concert is free. Donations will be accepted. For more information, visit washingtonconservatory.org.

BRUCE DOUGLAS

(From left) Jessica Lauren Ball, Rachel Viele and Sherry Berg in a scene from Adventure Theatre MTC’s “Miss Nelson is Missing.”

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Based upon the beloved children’s books “Miss Nelson is Missing!” and “Miss Nelson is Back!”

by Harry Allard, and featuring book, music and lyrics by Joan Cushing, the familiar tale follows the manic misdeeds of room 207 — spitballs, paper airplanes and the like — that send the gentle Miss Nelson AWOL, and conjure the monstrous Viola Swamp as her replacement.

Directed by Jennifer Nelson, the program is recommended for ages 5 and older. For more information, including ticketing, visit adventuretheatre-mtc.org.

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Wednesday, January 29, 2014 o

Page B-7

‘Business’ as usual Esteemed theater, popular musical, famous friends unite for a fun-filled ‘How To’ n

BY

WILL C. FRANKLIN STAFF WRITER

How’s this for a success story – a lowly window washer at a major corporation in New York City reads a how-to book on becoming successful in business and rises through the ranks to become company chairman … within a week or so.

Granted, it sounds a little farfetched – but not in the world of musical theater. “How To Succeed in Business Without Really Trying,” the 1961 Tony Award- and Pulitzer Prize-winning show, opens today at the Olney Theatre Center.

The story revolves around J. Pierrepont Finch, a window washer at the World Wide Wicket Company. He reads the book “How To Succeed in Business Without Really Trying” while he works.

“He’s a bit of an anomaly in a lot of ways,” said Sam Ludwig, who plays Finch. “Even though he’s a take on the sort of prototypical male ingénue, he is bright-eyed and full of optimism. But because of the nature of the show and the world that he’s in, … he’s kind of a nice sociopath until he gets a little warmed by love and life.”

Finch is guided throughout the show by “the voice” of the book. Much-beloved journalist Walter Cronkite and TV personality Anderson Cooper provided the voice of the book during different Broadway runs of the show.

The folks at Olney Theatre Center were able to land a pretty big name to lend his talents for the voice of the book – Sir Ian McKellen.

Known as a talented performer of stage and screen,

HOW TO SUCCEED IN BUSINESS WITHOUT REALLY TRYING n When: Jan. 29 through Feb. 23; performances are 8 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday; matinees at 2 p.m. on Sunday; Saturday matinees at 2 p.m. on Feb. 8, 15, and 22; Wednesday matinees at 2 p.m. on Feb. 5, 12, and 19. n Where: Olney Theatre Center, 2001 Olney-Sandy Spring Road, Olney n Tickets: $32.50-$65 n For information: 301-9243400; olneytheatre.org

the great Shakespearean actor is probably a little more wellknown these days for playing Magneto in the “X-Men” films and, of course, Gandalf in “The Lord of the Rings” and “The Hobbit,” trilogies. Lately, McKellen has been seen spending time with his best friend, fellow actor Sir Patrick Stewart, in New York as they’re doing “No Man’s Land” and “Waiting for Godot,” in repertoire on Broadway.

“You have no idea how excited I got thinking about that,” Ludwig said of having McKellen provide the voice of the book.

“The voice of the book, in the context of the show to Finch, is like the voice of God. This is the voice of his conscience. It is his drive. It is his inspiration.

Also the audience has to kind of trust the voice, but the relationship I have with the voice is really important. When I found out Ian McKellen was doing it, I literally jumped out of my seat.

Then when I heard the recordings he did, they are so perfect.”

McKellen actually has a history with the Olney Theatre Center. In 1987, he brought his one-man show, “Acting Shake-

“How To Succeed in Business Without Really Trying,” opens today at the Olney Theatre Center. speare,” to the Olney Theatre Center to act as a fundraiser – as well as signing posters and Tshirts – to help the center pay for renovations to the theater.

“I’ve heard stories about his residency here in 1987 since the time that I came and there are signed pictures of him all around the place,” said director Jason Loewith.

“When we were talking in the summertime McKellen about who we should pursue for the book voice, I was like ‘Who does the Olney Theatre know who has a very distinctive voice?’ He was extremely, extremely gracious and immediately said yes, so we’re very lucky about that.”

While Loewith has directed before at Olney, this is his first time at the helm of a musical.

AT THE MOVIES

‘Ride Along’ is an all too familiar dead end BY

MICHAEL PHILLIPS CHICAGO TRIBUNE

PHOTO QUANTRELL COLBERT

Kevin Hart in “Ride Along.”

RIDE ALONG n 2 stars n PG-13; 100 minutes n Cast: Ice Cube, Kevin Hart n Directed by Tim Story

ingratiating work on “Barbershop” and “Think Like a Man,” I hoped for something more fun here. “Ride Along,” trading in too much action and not enough comedy, is best considered as the latest restaurant to open in an Olive Garden-type chain. No surprises. Pretty much like the last one you went to. Plus lots of breadsticks.

w No ing! w Sho F.

Scott Fitzgerald Theater

603 Edmonston Dr. Rockville, MD 20851

240-314-8690

www.rockvillemd.gov/theatre Rockville Little Theatre Presents

An Inspector Calls

by J.B. Priestly

The family is celebrating when a mysterious inspector comes to call. It becomes clear that they are implicated in a young women’s death. Join us for an exciting whodunnit that will keep you guessing to the very end.

Jan. 31 and Feb 1 at 8 p.m.

Feb. 2 at 2 p.m.

$18 to $16

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Early, bloggy reviews of “Ride Along” have rolled in this week with phrases such as “perfectly acceptable” and “beenthere-done-that,” suggesting the likely range of opinion. It’ll probably be a hit: Audiences are getting precisely what they’re promised.

This is the ol’ odd-couple cops routine, rigged up to support the pairing of Ice Cube, in the role of a snarling Atlanta police detective on the trail of a mysterious arms dealer, and Kevin Hart, as the detective’s prospective brother-in-law, a high school security guard with aspirations to join the force.

Hart’s best bits in “Ride Along,” such as they are and such as it is, hark back to the panicking-ninny routines of many other comedians, from Eddie Cantor to “Rush Hour’s” Chris Tucker.

The 2001 drama “Training Day” is name-checked in “Ride Along,” and some of the stuff in this diversion isn’t much less vile than anything Denzel Washington got up to in “Training Day.” The story has a bizarre undertone. Cube’s character is so creepily protective of his sister, played by Tika Sumpter in various states of decorative undress, he comes off like someone who should be tailed, not someone doing the tailing.

Hart’s Ben Barber must prove his worthiness to his future in-law and show he has what it takes to be this movie’s idea of a good cop, measured in how many innocent bystanders come in for friendly fire. The rest of the movie is sexual molestation jokes, misjudged brutality and a general glorification of assault weapons. (The film’s rated PG-13, and it’d be pretty stupid to take anyone under 12.)

The supporting cast features John Leguizamo and Bryan Callen as Cube’s colleagues and Bruce McGill as the tetchy lieutenant.

Director Tim Story can’t do much with the screenplay, which smells of the eternally rewritten paste-up job. After Story’s loose,

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Loewith, who wrote the book for last summer’s production of “Big Nate,” at Adventure Theatre MTC, said he has had great support from his cast and crew.

“I’m really lucky to be working with some really stellar people, especially veterans at Olney Theatre as well as the folks who are new,” Loewith said. “… It’s fun to work with Sam Ludwig, who has been here before but is really an immerging talent who’s doing some amazing stuff.”

This isn’t the first time Loewith and Ludwig have worked together. Ludwig starred as Nate in the Adventure Theatre MTC production.

“The characters of Nate and Finch are sort of very similar,” Ludwig said. “They have a little glint of the devil in their eye, but they’re totally lovable. I think they probably saw that I could do that sort of thing. … With this, [Loewith] has been great. He’s so ready and willing to let [us] play … it’s been a super fun experience.” wfranklin@gazette.net

PHOTOS FRON SONIE MATHEW

Sam Ludwig stars as J. Pierrepont Finch in Olney Theatre Center’s production of “How To Succeed in Business Without Really Trying.”

THE GAZETTE

Page B-8

Wednesday, January 29, 2014 o

Seoul Food reinvents the truck stop, Korean cuisine, in Wheaton If you have never dabbled in Korean cuisine, Seoul Food, located in the ancillary dining space at the Exxon at Georgia Avenue and University Boulevard in Wheaton is the best place to give it a go. While bipimbap is traditionally a time-consuming and at times off-putting production in most Korean

SEOUL FOOD n 2514 University Blvd. West n Silver Spring, MD 20902 n seoulfooddc@gmail.com n 571-236-4750 n seoulfooddc.com

DINING REVIEW

BY BRIAN PATTERSON eateries, at Seoul Food, the dish is simplified to suit the hungry grab-and-go palate that is in the mood for something new yet nourishing and approachable.

Here, sticky rice is topped with baby spinach, carrots, daikon and red radish, a sunny side-up egg (produced by cage-free chickens) and your choice of bulgogi marinated protein such as grass fed beef, spicy pork, local chicken, or grilled tofu. It is all made with reverence as well as alacrity.

While the hot-pink truck with the fiery kimchee has been plying their wares on the road in Northern Virginia since 2011, Seoul Food parked itself into more stationary digs in Wheaton in June of 2013, redefining the meaning of a “truckstop.” Anna is the Korean influence, with a significant artistic and

n Restaurant hours: 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Tuesday and Thursday; 5-8 p.m.

Wednesday and Friday; 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday n Closed Sunday n Closed Monday (open only for truck) n Truck: 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday at Courthouse; 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Wednesday at Rosslyn; 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Friday at Ballston

culinary background, and her partner and husband J.P Goree grew up as a hunter, fisherman and conservationist along the shores of the Great Lakes.

Besides being an entrepreneurial couple, they are clearly good cooks. She is the extroverted front of the house type, and he is the quiet keeper of the kitchen. A 1998 graduate of L’Academie de Cuisine’s professional pastry pro-

CLOWNING

featuring a blend of clowning and acrobatics.

“Daniele Finzi Pasca [the show’s creator] created this incredible poetic circus that was more about the theater of it and the imagery created in it,” Mandell said. “At that point, I was like, ‘That’s what I love.’”

There was also the influence of the Taschen book, “The History of the Circus,” and circus posters and images, plus the urging from company members to do a circusthemed show.

“Impossible!” unites the on stage and offstage worlds of the circus through classic circus acts performed in unconventional ways.

“There are poetic uses of circus skills,” Mandell said “Like somebody changes a light bulb on stilts ... We capture the essence of what the circus does in terms of surprise and excitement and danger through acting.”

Set in the Depression era, “Impossible!” aims to lift the spirits of its audience.

“The idea is that when times are tough and you have nothing, you have to kind of pick yourself up and make and invent things,” Mandell said. “It’s relevant to our

GREEN

Continued from Page B-5 no matter what education or background you have,” Green said. “That’s what music is meant to do … it’s meant to touch everybody. That was my goal with The Green Project.”

Green said the desire to meld classical and contemporary sounds was first born during an internship with a Top 40 radio station.

“An artist that shall remain nameless came to the station and they wanted me to stand in the elevator to make sure the doors were open when they got on,” Green said. “I said, on that day, ‘I’m more than this.’”

Green went on to earn her undergraduate degree from the University of Texas at Austin, a graduate degree from The Peabody Conservatory of Johns Hopkins and is now working on her doctorate at the University

gram, Anna’s desserts are made from scratch and crafted out of wholesome ingredients, designed to taste great and appeal to the sweet tooth. Dessert specials change frequently — pumpkin whoopee pie was a fall highlight.

Leery of kimchee? This is not the

IMPOSSIBLE!

Continued from Page B-5

n When: 8 p.m. weeknights, 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. Saturdays, 2 p.m. Sundays, Jan. 31 to Feb. 9 n Where: Round House Theatre, 4545 EastWest Highway, Bethesda n Tickets: $15-25 n For information: 240-641-1100, roundhousetheatre.org

current economic crisis today and needing to come up with ways to stay inspired when our resources are limited ... It’s sort of the idea of creating a circus when you don’t have those skills.”

Among the “Impossible!” cast is Karen Hansen who provides the show’s music as Shorty McHansen. Her character pushes a cart which houses a mini-organ and a collection of other instruments. The performers will sing a cappella.

Hansen has worked with Happenstance since 2009. Though she lives in Vermont, she travels to Maryland often to collaborate with Mandell and Jaster.

“When I’m up in Vermont, I’m usually

of Maryland. Since 2009, Chelsey Green and The Green Project have been touring the world and shattering the perception of the classical music scene.

“I want to erase all stereotypes of typical acoustic classical instruments,” Green said. “I want people to know the violin is capable of doing anything.”

Beyond challenging stereotypes about classical music, Green hopes her work speaks to pushing the limits in general.

“The bigger message there is that anything you want to do, you can make happen because it’s your voice,” Green said. “If [you] do it with focus and integrity, you have limitless possibilities … I want to show people that you can have fun and still do something well.”

It’s a message Green said she hopes to communicate through her educational outreach in the Washington, D.C., area with students ranging from pre-K to adulthood.

J.P. GOREE

Pork bulgogi at Seoul Food in Wheaton.

vintage stuff buried in jars that smells weirder than it tastes. Anna makes hers by hand several times a week, and it is spicy, pickled cabbaggy goodness. She will adjust the spiciness of your serving to your taste. Better yet, Seoul Food will cook that great kimchee low and slow

researching and composing for shows,” Hansen said.

With no real knowledge of circus music, Hansen did an in-depth investigation to prepare the “Impossible!” score.

“I didn’t know that much about circus music so it was really fun to dig stuff up,” she said. “There are a lot of marches and gallops.

A lot of waltzes and the band was usually brass or woodwind ... Not predictable as you might think.”

Because of the show’s Depression-era setting, Hansen added that the “Impossible!” music is not the upbeat, typical circus music you may expect to hear. Some instruments won’t be used in the show at all because of old circus traditions.

“There’s a lot of [lore] around the circus and superstition,” Hansen said. “Like the harmonica is considered bad luck so we couldn’t use that.”

While “Impossible!” is a circus-themed show, Mandell said as with any Happenstance production, the heart of the “Impossible!” lies in its sense of imagination.

“We decided to focus on what is the magic of the circus,” Mandell said. “What are the things that make us love the circus?” chedgepeth@gazette.net

“What I try to do with outreach, is show young students from pre-K all the way to high school the discipline of learning an instrument,” Green said.

“It helps set you up for success for anything you ever want to go into.”

The Green Project features musicians Ignatius Perry Jr. on keyboard and piano, Lorenzo Johnson on keyboard and organ, Kevin Power Jr. on electric bass and Spyda Wheatley on drum.

Saturday night’s show will showcase a mix of original songs and covers, including a special Green Project arrangement of John Legend’s “Ordinary People.” The band will head into the recording studio in February to work on their next album, due out in April.

When selecting songs to cover, Green said she takes a few things into consideration. First is whether the piece will translate well through instrumental music. And second is the signifi-

cance behind the song.

“We try to work with covers that have a special meaning,” Green said. “I try to find melodies and find harmonies that would support a story … I want the listener to engage in their own story as much as I want the listener to engage in my story.”

Once the songs have been selected, Green said the last step is putting that “Green Project twist” on it.

Unlike the artist for whom she held the elevator, Green’s first priority is not herself, but her audience.

“I do my best to use that power for good and really influence or have a connection with people. That’s the most powerful thing we can do,” Green said.

“To have someone come up to you after the performance and say, ‘I don’t really like violin but what you did tonight is amazing,’ that’s what I strive for.” chedgepeth@gazette.net

to caramelize it, bringing out another depth of bittersweet flavor, and then use it as a garnish on their Korean Superbowl — sticky rice topped with your choice of house protein, jalapeno and serrano relish, scallion, queso fresco, cheddar and Korean salsa roja; however, it’s best showcased in their Kimchi Tofu Bowl.

When mobile, their menu is abbreviated, serving up to three customers a minute. When serving out of their Wheaton kitchen, the food is no less rapid, but the menu is a little more expansive, including a brunch menu of maki rolls, crepes with seared butternut squash, scallion pancakes and whole-wheat dumpling soup. Rather than dumbing down their menu for kids, they offer a mildly seasoned bipimbap as well as straight-up chicken and cheese quesadillas.

While the dining room is three steps away from the gas station and convenience store cashier, the kitchen space has its own kitschy identity. Bring your eclectic taste in rock ’n’ roll because they are playing everything from The Clash to Johnny Cash. Stay and have fun playing board games. Don’t come to Seoul Food seeking cornbread, collard greens and pork barbecue, as some errant walk-in customers assume; it’s not that kind of soul food. It is however, Seoul-ful.

KOLL

Continued from Page B-5 Koll, who has appeared on “Conan” and also Comedy Central’s “Live at Gotham,” will perform his brand of comedy at VisArts in Rockville on Feb. 7. In 2009, he performed at the Bentzen Ball comedy festival in Washington, D.C., and he has also performed at the Montreal Just For Laughs Festival, the SXSW festival, ComedyFest Vancouver, The Bridgetown Comedy Festival and SF SketchFest.

While he currently resides in New York City, Koll grew up in California.

During his college years at San Jose State University, he studied photography and illustration, did some animation and posted humorous videos online while YouTube was taking off. Some of his early heroes were comedians such as Andy Kaufman, Bill Hicks, Steve Martin and Eddie Murphy.

By his mid-20s, he knew he wanted to do standup comedy.

“I wound up doing nothing else,” said Koll, who lived in the Bay area as a teenager and then moved to San Francisco, where he lived for eight years.

“You’re anchored to time and place where you start,” he said about fellow San Francisco comedians. “It’s like school. We all have a little bit of each other’s sensibility.”

In the early years, he said he was “anarchic, pushing the envelope, and I was a little bit of a clown, too.”

“I like picking things that have happened to me, but then I’ll also veer off into something I’ve imagined,” he said.

“Today I’m a little more straightforward, but I’ll also do something a little more absurd than usual — I’m getting toward finding a balance,” he said.

Sometimes described as someone who does “alt” com-

Cool Cow Comedy presents

ALEX KOLL n When: 8 p.m. Friday, Feb. 7 n Where: VisArts, 155 Gibbs St., Rockville n Tickets: $15 n For information: coolcowcomedy.com

edy, Koll explained the term.

“There was an ’80s boom in comedy, and then it collapsed on itself,” he said. “It got oversaturated, and the wave broke.

“It had gotten bland and awful. It was terrible but people were getting by,” he said.

“It got too big.”

As an alternative, comedians headed away from the mainstream to work in coffee shops and rock venues.

The four big topics in mainstream comedy are food, relationships, men and women and race, Koll said.

Alternative comedy tackles the same topics but “it’s more involved, honest and informed when taking on these things.”

Koll said New York “is one of the most amazing towns for, specifically, standup. ... You can work constantly here.”

The fans, he said, are a little different than those in California.

“It’s even more immediate — you interact more with the audiences,” he said.

Working in New York can also be humbling, he said.

Although he’s been working 10 years as a comedian, he said he still runs the risk of “walking out there and not making a single person laugh.”

But Koll said he enjoys taking risks “more and more.”

“I’m comfortable on stage, and I like being up there,” he said. vterhune@gazette.net

IN THE ARTS DANCES Carpe Diem Contra Dance, Feb. 13, Caller: Ann Fallon, Music by Gary Wright and Leah Weiss with Ahren Buchheister, 7-7:30 p.m. contradance workshops, 7:30-10 p.m.

Contras & Squares, second Thursdays, Great Hall, Silver Spring Civics Center, One Veterans Plaza, Silver Spring, $10 for general admission, $8 for members, $5 for students, www.carpediemarts.com.

Hollywood Ballroom, Jan. 29, Ballroom Bash from 8:30–10:30 p.m. ($16); Jan. 30, Feb. 6, Tea Dance from 12:30-3:30 p.m. ($6); Jan. 31, drop-in lessons from 7:30-9 p.m., West Coast Swing Dancing with Dance Jam Productions at 9 p.m. ($15); Feb. 1, Ballroom Bash, lessons from 6-8:30 p.m., open social practice dance from 8:30 p.m. to midnight ($25 for classes and dance, $16 for classes only, $16 for dance only); Feb. 2, free Samba lessons at 7 p.m., Social Ballroom dance at 8 p.m. ($16); Feb. 5, International Ballroom and Latin Night, classes from 7:30-8:30 p.m., open social practice dance from 8:30-10:30 p.m. ($15 for classes and dance, $10 for classes only, $10 for dance only), 2126 Industrial Highway, Silver Spring, 301-326-1181,

www.hollywoodballroomdc.com

Glen Echo Park is at 7300 MacArthur Blvd.

Blues, Capital Blues: Thurs-

days, 8:15 p.m. beginner lesson, 9-11:30 p.m. dancing to DJs, Glen Echo Park’s Spanish Ballroom Annex, $8, www.capitalblues.org.

Contra, Jan. 31, Rebecca Lay and Sharktones, 7:30 p.m. lesson, 8:30 p.m. dance, Glen Echo Park Spanish Ballroom, $10, www.fridaynightdance.org.

Contra & Square, Feb. 2, Rebecca Lay and the Sharktones, 7:30 p.m., Glen Echo Park Spanish Ballroom, $12 for general, $9 for members, $5 for students, www.fsgw.org.

English Country, Jan. 29, Caller: Stephanie Smith, 8 p.m., Glen Echo Town Hall (upstairs), www. fsgw.org.

Swing, Feb. 8, Red Dress Ball with the Eric Felten Jazz Orchestra, lesson at 8 p.m., dancing at 9 p.m., Glen Echo Park, $15, www.flyingfeet.org.

Waltz, Feb. 2, Karen Collins and the Backroads Band, 2:45-3:30 p.m. lesson, 3:30-6 p.m., dance, $10, www.waltztimedances.org.

MUSIC & DANCE Arts Barn, Singer Songwriter

Concert Series, Slaid Cleaves with Tony Denikos, Feb. 22, 3 p.m. workshops at the Arts Barn or Kentlands Mansion, 7:30 p.m. concerts at the Arts Barn, 311 Kent Square Road, Gaithersburg. 301-258-6394, www. gaithersburgmd.gov/artsbarn.

Bethesda Blues & Jazz Supper Club, Peter Fields and Rob

Holmes — A Tribute to Charlie Byrd & Stan Getz, 7:30 p.m. Jan. 29; Dave Mason’s Traffic Jam, 8 p.m.

Jan. 30; Spectrum, 8 p.m. Jan. 31, call for prices, 7719 Wisconsin Ave., Bethesda. 240-330-4500, www. bethesdabluesjazz.com.

BlackRock Center for the Arts, Chelsey Green and The Green Project, 8 p.m. Feb. 1; call for tickets, 12901 Town Commons Drive, Germantown. 301-528-2260, www. blackrockcenter.org.

Institute of Musical Traditions — Rockville, Claire Lynch

Band, 7:30 p.m. Feb. 3, Saint Mark Presbyterian Church, 10701 Old Georgetown Road, Rockville, call for prices, www.imtfolk.org.

Marilyn J. Praisner Library, The Schrodinger’s Jazz Cats, piano, alto saxophone and flute, 7 p.m. Jan. 30, 14910 Old Columbia Pike, Burtonsville, 240-773-9460.

Strathmore, Christie Dashi-

ell, jazz vocalist, 7:30 p.m. Jan. 29; Bill Cosby, 8 p.m. Jan. 30-31; AIR Alumni: John Kocur, jazz saxophone, 11 a.m. Jan. 31, call for venue, Locations: Mansion, 10701 Rockville Pike, North Bethesda; Music Center at Strathmore, 5301 Tuckerman Lane, North Bethesda, 301-581-5100, www.strathmore.org.

ON STAGE Adventure Theatre, “Miss Nelson is Missing,” to March 9, call for prices, times, Adventure Theatre MTC, 7300 MacArthur Blvd., Glen Echo, 301-634-2270, www.adventuretheatre-mtc.org.

Arts Barn, Comedy and Magic Society, 8 p.m. Jan. 31; “A Little Night Music,” Feb. 7-23, 311 Kent Square Road, Gaithersburg, 301-258-6394, www.gaithersburgmd.gov/artsbarn.

Imagination Stage, “Rumpelstiltskin,” Feb. 5 to March 16, call for prices, times, Imagination Stage, 4908 Auburn Ave., Bethesda, www. imaginationstage.org Olney Theatre Center, “How to Succeed in Business Without Even Trying,” Jan. 29 to Feb. 23; call for prices, times, 2001 Olney-Sandy Spring Road, Olney, 301-924-3400, www.olneytheatre.org.

The Puppet Co., “Tales of Beatrix Potter,” To Feb. 9; Tiny Tots @ 10, select Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays, call for shows and show times, Puppet Co. Playhouse, Glen Echo Park’s North Arcade Building, 7300 MacArthur Blvd., $5, 301-6345380, www.thepuppetco.org.

Round House Theatre, Bethesda, “Seminar,” Feb. 5 to March 4, 4545 East-West Highway, Bethesda. 240-644-1100, www. roundhousetheatre.org.

Round House Theatre, Silver Spring, “Impossible! A Happenstance Circus,” Jan. 31 to Feb. 9, call for show times, 8641 Colesville Road, Silver Spring, $15 for general admission, $10 for subscribers, patrons 30 and younger and seniors, 244-6441100, www.roundhousetheatre.org.

Silver Spring Stage, “The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged),” To Feb. 1, Woodmoor Shopping Center, 10145 Colesville Road, Silver Spring, see website for show times, www.ssstage.org.

The Writer’s Center, David O. Stewart and Manil Suri, 2 p.m. Feb. 2, 4508 Walsh Street, Bethesda, 301-654-8664, www.writer.org.

VISUAL ART Adah Rose Gallery, “Residue,”

Sharon Butler, Michael Callaghan, Steven Charles, J.D. Hastings and Toni Tiller, to Feb. 9, 3766 Howard Ave., Kensington, 301-922-0162, www.adahrosegallery.com Gallery B, “New Works on Paper,” to Feb. 1, gallery hours are noon to 6 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday, 7700 Wisconsin Ave., Suite E. www.bethesda.org.

Glenview Mansion, Gordana Gerskovic, experimental photography, Feb. 2-21, opening reception from 1:30-3:30 p.m. Feb. 2, Rockville Civic Center Park, 503 Edmonston Drive, Rockville. www. rockvillemd.gov.

VisArts, Ryan Rakhshan: “SLOW,” ongoing, secondfloor lobby and VisArts rooftop; Inna Alesina: “Test Kitchen for Change,” to Feb. 9, opening reception from 7-9 p.m. Jan. 24, Common Ground Gallery, 155 Gibbs St., Rockville, 301-315-8200, www. visartsatrockville.org.

Washington Printmakers Gallery, “Fourth Annual Excellence in Printmaking Exhibition,” Jan. 29 to Feb. 23, opening reception and awards from 1-4 p.m. Feb. 1, Pyramid Atlantic Art Center, second floor, 8230 Georgia Ave., Silver Spring, www. washingtonprintmakers.com.

Wednesday, January 29, 2014 o

THE GAZETTE

Page B-9

Page B-10

Wednesday, January 29, 2014 o

Classifieds Call 301-670-7100 or email class@gazette.net

SILVER SPRING

Randolph Village Senior Apartments

1 BR SPECIAL

"Affordable Independent Living For Seniors 62+."

Income Restriction Applies

WEDNESDAY OPEN HOUSE COFFEE SOCIAL 11AM-1PM AMENITIES: *Health Care Facility *Physical Fitness Center *Sun Filled Solarium *Community Media Room *Plenty of Parking Randolph Village Apartments

531 Randolph Road Silver Spring, MD 20904

X

*Library *Resident Socials *Beautifully Landscaped Grounds

877.907.5577 (Office)

301.622.7006 (Fax) Email: randolph@hrehllc.com

GAITHERSBURG

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Applications willbe taken between 11am-2pm on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays

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GBURG: Spacious 3

bd 2.5 ba TH w/ garage & deck. Near shops, metro & 270 $2500 301-330-1177

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Welcome 3 lvl TH, 3br, 2.5ba nr 270/shops $1699/mo avail now Call: 301-906-0870

to advertise call 301.670.7100 or email class@gazette.net

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chance to own perfect mountain retreat! Mature hardwoods, level setting, breathtaking views, easy access looks like a park! Enjoy hunting, fishing, hiking, boating, camping, other great adventures. Under 100 miles DC. All mineral rights included, perc approved, warranty deed. Ready to use and enjoy. No time frame to build. Excellent financing, little down. CALL NOW 800-888-1262

FREDERICK -TH 3 BR,2 1/2 Ba, W/D, hardwood fl, $1275/ mo Avail 1/15,Ben 240-994-0865

TH, 3Br, 2.5Ba, h/w flrs, updated kit, Ba & paint $1600 + util Pls Call: 301-956-4775

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LVL TH 3BD 1.5 BA Fenced Yard $1675 301-787-7382 or 301787-7583 HOC OK

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3Br 2.5Ba TH w/FP. Newly renov. 2100 sf, NS, NP. $1750 + utils.

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Renovated TH, 3Br, 1.5Ba, W/D, 2 car grg, fin bmst. AC, lrg private yard, great neighborhood and schools, park nearby, (soccer/tennis & more) surrounded by upscale houses $1900 + util /mo 240-481-9294 or yochanantennis@yah oo.com

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or pricing and ad deadlines.

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P O O L E S V I L L E : SS: SFH 3BR, 1.5BA, 3br 2.5ba Remodeld TH $1350 + 1/mo Sec Dep. N/s, N/p. Avail.

Mar 1st. 240-876-9627

hrd flrs, W&D, nr shops, bus & 495, HOC ok. $1695/mo.

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3BR 1.5BA, W/D fncd bkyd, Pets Ok. $1395 + utils, avail immed Call: 301-407-0763

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SFH, 5Br, 3Ba, MBr suite, no bsmt, 3800 sq ft $4k/mo owner shares util, 301-983-4783

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rec rm, hrwd flrs, DW, W&D, CAC $2000+ utils, Metro/shops.

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Wednesday, January 29, 2014 o

Classifieds

Page B-11

Call 301-670-7100 or email class@gazette.net

SPRING:

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DAMASCUS: Bsmt 1br, 1LR, 1ba, pvt entr, cable, int, util inc. $800+ sec dep. Np/Ns Call: 301-253-1370

ADELPHI: Lrg BR, walk to UMD. $595 utils incl. Sec Dep. Req. Avail Feb 1st Call: 301-213-3348

GAITHERSBURG:

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GERMAN: Room in

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GE RMA NT OWN :

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PETS: French Bulldog

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incl utils. NS, NP. Avail Now. 301-366-1673

GERM: Male 1Br in TH Share bath & kitchen $450 ut inc Nr MARC/Buses, Ref’s Req. 240-370-2301

GERM/MILESTONE Lg room w/ view & bath in condo; prkg, busline, shops $650 incl utils + dep w/Wifi 301-5154554.

HYATTSVILLE: Rm

in Apt, shrd Ba/Kit, Free Wifi, Cls to shops /metro, $600 inclds utils. 301-728-7816

ANTI-AGING BUSINESS GOLDMINE!

off street park, Furn Br, shr kit, lndry & common areas, quiet & homey. $640 utils incl. 301- 253-9662

ROCKVILLE: 2rms priv bth $1150; 2 rms 2nd flr, lrg mstbr $1250 bth w/TV cbl & int. 1 person each flr NS/NP 301-762-1058

MONT

ROCKVILLE: BR in

VILLAGE

1 small Br in TH, shrd Ba w/female NS/NP, $399/mo + util Call: 240-401-3522

apt w closet, prvt BA, shrd kit, NS/NP. Acr metro. $650 all utils incld 301-340-1257

OLNEY: 1 Rm in bsmt in SFH share kitchen $500 utils included, NS/NP Avail Now. 301-257-5712

SIL SPG: 2 MBr, 1 ($700) and 1 ($650) both priv Ba, all util inc, NS/NP, nr shops & metro 240-551-4591

SPRING OLNEY: Furn Bdrm SILVER + Den avail in TH for MBR with private bath mature female only! $500 util inclu + security dep 301-774-6075

available 02/01. $650 includes all utils. Call 240-505-8012

ST EV E’S STEVE’S FFIREWOOD I R EWO O D A ALL LL O OAK AK

220 a Cord $ 140 1/2 Cord 1 Cord Mix Hardwoods $190 $

301-980-8181

Prime turn-key routes available. Baby Boomers #1 Demand=$$$ $20k invest = $80k+ yearly, P/T Call today: 888900-8276 24/7

MAKE UP TO

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New Credit Card AIRLINES ARE HIRReady Drink-Snack ING - Train for hands Vending Machines. on Aviation Career.

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908-8502

SS:1rm bsmt apt pvt ent share kit/ba, $510 uti/cbl inc, Male. wlk to bus, nr White Flint Twinbrk 301-933-5668 S S : 2 br in bsmt $500/mo each rm, Veirs Mill/Randolph, W/D, int, utils incl. 1mo sec dep 240-620-7982

SS: Furnished 2 BRs

in Bsmt, Liv Rm, Shrd BA/Kit, Prvt Ent. $750 ech/mo incl utils.

NS/NP Cls to Veirs Mill & Randolph.

Please 301-213-9797

SS: NEW 1BR Apt 1st

WHEATON 1 Large

TAKOMA

WHEATON: BR in APT w/pvt BA. $650/ mo incl. utils, Cable/ WiFi. Nr Metro & Bus. Call 240-286-7142

floor private ENT, KIT, BA, PARKING. $1100 quiet and Sunny! call 301-879-2868

BR, Female, 5min to Metro On Veirs Mill Rd $650 uti incl. NS/NP Call: 240-447-6476 NO Solicitors!

PARK:

2 Rooms starting at $750 shared bath util incl. All furn! Near metro. 240-421-6689

WHEATON: Male

pref non-smoker, 1BR, shr BA, near metro, $525/mnth util incl +dep 301-933-6804

WASHINGTON DC: Brentwood NE,

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Lrg furn Br, priv Ba, shrd kit & W/D, 1 blk frm bus & 5 blks from Red/Metro $850/util inc 202-361-8087

On Georgia Ave. 1 MBR w/prvt ba. $650 util incl Nr Metro & Shops.

Npets 240-441-1638

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Lic # 160373 Lic. #: 31453 Lic. #: 139094 Lic. #: 15-133761 Lic #: 51328 Lic.#: 139378 Lic.#: 160613 Lic.#: 131042 Lic #: 105189 Lic #: 160952 Lic #161641

301-564-1966 301-253-6864 301-253-4753 301-972-1955 301-990-9695 240-601-9134 240-506-5343 301-947-8477 301-933-7342 301-622-1517 301-625-1762

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Soccer Club has openings for U-13 girls team. Please contact Coach Pat Farrell at patcfarr@gmail.com

SILVER

AIRLINE CAREERS

GP2365

19521 Woodfield Rd (Rte 124) Gaithersburg, MD 20879 Furniture- Hsehold- Collectables Galore

w/ba,Fam RM w/FP NSTH $745 + utils avail Mar.3016747928

LAYTNSVL: M, N/S

MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM M M M M VETERANS! Take M A Nurturing Family For Your Baby. M full advantage of your Stay-at-home Mom, Education, M Educational training M Travel and Much More.

FIREWOOD FOR M M benefits! GI Bill covers COMPUTER & M MEDICAL TRAINING! SALE M Expenses Paid M M M Call CTI for Free Ben$235/cord 1-800-775-4013 M efit Analysis today!

Nathalie & Jerald M 1-888-407-7173 M M $150 per 1/2 cord M µ Includes Delivery M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M µ Stacking Extra Charge Ask for Jose 301-417-0753 SOCCER TRY- DISH TV RETAILDROWNING IN OUTS: B e t h e s d a ER . Starting at 301-370-7008

GP2381

Sunday, Feb 2,10:00 AM At Hunts Place

G A I T H / M U D D Y GERM: Bsmt, 1 BR, BRANCH: M/F only 1 BA, sep entr, nr MC. for LG lwr Lvl suite w/d, refridge. $850/mo

G GP2362 P2362

SILVER

1386

CAREGIVER LIVEIN Gburg assist living

Experience or will train. Cooking is a req.

Call 301-330-0030

GE RMA NT OWN :

Weekend live-in companion needed for senior Glentleman, dri ver, secretary,cook Gd English. 301-990-3990

HOUSEKEEPER

Experienced Person for Cleaning & Laundry, Potomac, Must have Own Car, 2 Days Per Week, 9am-3pm, Salary $20/hr, Excellent References Needed.

CALL: 301-674-1028

POTOMAC HSKPR

1-9 pm. Legal. Drive, Good English. Laundry. Min 2yrs Exp. Call 301.887.3212.

Careers 301-670-2500

class@gazette.net

Accounting/Admin Asst

Can you take on a challenging position in a fast-paced computerized industry?

Energy Mgmt Co in very exciting growth stage has: Two Part Time openings or one very exper high-level Full Time opening. EOE. Please provide a detailed cover letter & resume to: Jobs@Systems4.com

NURSING ASSISTANT

TRAINING IN JUST 4 WEEKS Now Enrolling for February 10th and March 17th Classes

or please fax to: 301-258-7747.

GAITHERSBURG CAMPUS

Administrative

CUSTOMER SERVICE

F/T M-F Ideal candidate will have good phone & people skills. Position will include data entry & processing customer orders. Must be reliable and detail oriented. Will train. Please email resume to: Resume@centurydist.com

Pharmacy Technician

MORNING STAR ACADEMY 101 Lakeforest Blvd, Suite 402 Gaithersburg, MD 20877 Call: 301-977-7393 www.mstarna.com

SILVER SPRING CAMPUS

GP2300

CARE XPERT ACADEMY 13321 New Hampshire Ave, Suite 205 MORNING & EVENING CLASSES Silver Spring, MD 20904 Call: 301-384-6011 www.cxana.com

Must be MD Cert., Independent Pharmacy located in Medical Building. M-F 9-6 every other Sat 9-1.

Experience Necessary Send Resume to Darnell@knowleswellness.com

Recruiting is now Simple!

Get Connected

BUSINESS IS BOOMING IN GAITHERSBURG! NOW HIRING!!

• Lot Attendant (know how to drive a manual a MUST) • Quick Lube Technicians • Experienced Body Shop Technician • Experienced Transmission Technician • Service Advisors • Experienced Diesel Technician • Sales Position (no experience necessary, but preferred) All positions require a background and drug screening test before employment. Excellent pay with Great Benefits, 401K, Life, STD, Flexible spending and other insurance offered!

Apply online at Sheehy.Com/Careers

GC3180

Page B-12

Wednesday, January 29, 2014 o

Careers 301-670-2500

CLEANING

Earn $300-$500/wk. M-F, No nights or wknds.

Must have own car & valid.

Drivers lic. Se Habla Espanol.

Merry Maids

class@gazette.net

Recruiting is now Simple!

Get Connected

Customer Service/Sales Person

Financial

Experienced, mature customer service/sales person for small independent retail store. Must be outgoing, self starting and looking for a career position. Hours 8:30-5:30; Mon-Fri. Convenient location near Friendship Heights Metro. Email resume with salary requirements to amaschal@zupnik.com

ATTENTION: MORTGAGE PROFESSIONALS

Gaithersburg 301-869-6243

District Court Clerk - Cashier

District Court for Montgomery County, Rockville Performs clerical work and cashiering functions using a cash register. Receives and handles large sums of money. Reconciles receipts and prepares bank deposits. Greets and assists the public, police, attorneys and court personnel. Receives, opens, sorts and distributes mail. Works additional hours, as required. May be called in during emergencies, e.g. inclement weather conditions and staff shortages. For full details and instructions on how to apply, visit www.mdcourts.gov. EOE

DOMINO’S PIZZA IS NOW HIRING

ALL POSITIONS

DRIVERS ASST MANAGERS SHIFT RUNNER Competitive compensation & cash paid daily for drivers.

Hours Flexible. LOCATIONS IN MONTGOMERY COUNTY JERRY QUINTANILLA 240-752-4523 EOE

Local companies, Local candidates

GC3195

Construction

Get Connected

SPRAY TECH

Commercial Contractor is looking for an exper. polyurethane foam insulator or previous spray exper. & willing to learn new trade. Must have trans. E-verify, EOE, Drug-Free workplace.

Please call Marcela for info (301) 662-7584.

Gazette.Net

Dental/ Medical Assistant Trainees Needed Now Dental/Medical Offices now hiring.

No experience?

Job Training & Placement Assistance Available 1-877-234-7706 CTO SCHEV

Pharmacy/ Phlebotomy Tech Trainees Needed Now Pharmacies/ hospitals now hiring.

No experience?

Job Training & Placement Assistance Available 1-877-240-4524 CTO SCHEV

VETERANS NEEDED Use your GI Benefits NOW for training in Healthcare.

JOB PLACEMENT ASSISTANCE Offered.

Finance

Caliber Home Loans, Inc. is actively seeking to expand within the Northern VA/DC/MD Metro area. We are holding a general information session for mortgage professionals on Thursday, January 30th from 8:30 AM - 12:30 PM at the Bethesda Marriott Suites at 6711 Democracy Blvd, Bethesda, MD. Please stop by if you are interested in hearing the Caliber story. Caliber Home Loans is an equal housing lender and equal opportunity employer.

Join our Facebook page and Stay Connected

Banking Specialist Positions Gaithersburg and Bethesda Offices

Qualifications or Skills Required: A high school diploma or equivalent with an emphasis in a business or accounting curriculum and at least 2 years of branch banking experience.

Responsibilities:

∂Performing a variety of duties to support the functions of a commercial branch office. ∂Coordinating work within the office, as well as with other departments. ∂Reporting pertinent information to the immediate supervisor. ∂Responding to inquiries or requests for information.

To Apply: Fax resume to Florence Thomas, Human Resource Officer at 301-916-4550, email to fthomas@obabank.com, or mail to OBA Bank, Attention Florence Thomas, Human Resource Officer, P.O. Box 340, Germantown, MD 20875 EEO/AA/H/V

Search Jobs

Find Career Resources

Call Now 1-888-3958261

HILTON, GAITHERSBURG, MD

Thursday, April 3, 2014, 9:00-2:00pm

Career Expo 2014 will provide employers with an opportunity to take a first look at local qualified applicants. Our mini seminars will command an audience of highly skilled professionals. Reserve your space today, log on to www.gazettecareerexpo.com or call 301-670-7100.

PREMIUM PACKAGE $495 EARLY BIRD PRICING*

• Booth at Event • 30 Day Banner on Gazette. net/Careers & DCMilitary.com/Career • Featured Advertiser, Hiring and Company profile • 2-Job postings (one print, one online)

EARLY BIRD

Registration Deadline January 31, 2014

GC3194

*$695 after January 31, 2014

TO RESERVE YOUR SPACE CALL 301-670-7100

Wednesday, January 29, 2014 o

Page B-13

Careers 301-670-2500

class@gazette.net

Healthcare

IT

Recruiting is now Simple!

Registered Nurses (FT/PT) Skilled Nursing facility needs experienced Registered Nurses for FT and PT Night shifts (11pm7am). Apply in person and take the Pre-Employment exams at 1235 Potomac Valley Road, Rockville, MD 20850. EOE

Get Connected

HVAC - HELPER

Sheet metal helper with minimum 2 yrs exp. Good driving record, top pay, excellent benefits. Call 301-770-3100 or email to academyhvac@gmail.com

Real Estate

HEALTHCARE

WE’RE HIRING WEEKEND CNAS, GNAS, AND HHAS!

HVAC MECHANIC

Residential HVAC service, install, sheet metal mechanic with min 5 years exp. Top pay, excellent benefits; CFC certificate & MD state license required.

Good driving record.

Call 301-770-3100 academyhvac@gmail.com

In Gaithersburg, MD. Lead & plan Salesforce cloud based custom application by coordinating people, tech, & client resources. Train, supervise, & direct architects, project managers, & software developers to conduct user interaction, reqs gathering, solve problems, & build reusable software. Develop Salesforce, .Net, and GIS tech to design, develop, & implement business needs, organizational policies, business goals, & procedures. Send res to Client Network Services, Inc., Attn: Edmund Yarboi, 15800 Gaither Drive, Gaithersburg, MD 20877.

Silver Spring

Work with the BEST! Must R.S.V.P.

Call Bill Hennessy

301-388-2626 301-388-2626

bill.hennessy@longfoster.com • Long & Foster Real Estate, Inc. EOE

MAINTENANCE TECH Aspen Hill

Building repairs, plumbing, electrical, HVAC. 2 yrs exp. for non-profit retirement community.

Send resume w/salary req. to 301-598-6485 office@homecresthouse.org

SKILLED TRADE

Office Manager For doctor office in Bethesda must have Medical office experience and references.

Salary is based on experience.

Send resume by email to lindamm2@verizon.net or fax 301-530-2606

Needed in Wheaton, MD. Monitor & forecast market trends. Measure the effectiveness of marketing programs and strategies. Gather data about consumers, competitors, and market conditions. Convert complex data and findings into understandable tables, graphs, and written reports.

Master’s in Business Admin or Related field and 12 months exp in the job offered required. $44,283/yr. Fax resumes to David at 240-292-7225. Law Offices of Jezic, Krum, & Moyse, LLC

Be trained individually by one of the area’s top offices & one of the area’s best salesman with over 34 years. New & experienced salespeople welcomed.

GC3191

Provide non-medical care and companionship for seniors in their homes. Personal care, light housework, transportation, meal preparation.

Must be 21+. Must have car and one year professional, volunteer, or personal experience www.homeinsteads.com/197 Home Instead Senior Care To us it’s personal 301/588-9023 Call between 10am-4pm Mon-Fri

TECHNICAL LEADS

Market Research Analyst

PLUMBER IMMEDIATE Position Avialable for Plumber. MUST have 2 yrs exp.

Great hourly pay, commission, weekly bonus & insurance. Drug free, customer oriented, and motivated. Only qualified applicants apply.

301-670-1944 - Gaithersburg

MECHANIC

The Recycling Center, located in Laurel (PG Co.), is accepting applications for the following positions: ∂ Heavy Equipment Mechanic ∂ Road Mechanic Must have experience & clean driving record Please email resume to info@mtlaney.com fax 410-795-9546 Top wages and a great working environment. EOE

Let Gazette Careers help you find that next position in your LOCAL area.

Web Developer A division of The Washington Post that publishes one of the largest community newspaper groups in the country is looking for an experienced web developer. The ideal candidate will have at least 3 years’ experience and be proficient in CSS, HTML, JQuery and JavaScript. Experience with content management systems and responsive design preferred. Outstanding attention to detail and strong organizational skills are required.

We offer competitive compensation and a comprehensive benefits package including pension 401(k) and tuition reimbursement.

If interested, please email your resume along with cover letter and salary requirements to: HRJobs@gazette.net Attn: Web Developer. EOE

Newspaper & Web Ad Sales Comprint Military Publications publishes 8 newspapers, 2 websites and 14 special sections and is looking for an energetic, organized sales representative to sell advertising into our media.

Must be able to work well under weekly deadlines and pressures of meeting sales goals.

Prefer someone with print and/or web advertising sales experience. Position is in Gaithersburg office and hours are 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. M-F. Territory is Northern VA. We offer a competitive compensation & comprehensive benefits package including pension, 401(k) & tuition reimbursement.

If interested, please send resume and cover letter with salary requirements to: John Rives at jrives@dcmilitary.com. EOE SKILLED TRADE

HVAC SERVICE TECH

IMMEDIATE Position Avialable for NATE and/or Journeyman HVAC service technicians. MUST have 2 yrs exp. Great hourly pay, commission, weekly bonus & insurance. Drug free, customer oriented, and motivated. Only qualified applicants apply.

301-670-1944 - Gaithersburg

Healthcare

PT Dietary Aides Long-Term care facility hiring experienced dietary aides for 4pm-8pm shifts. 3-4 days/wk plus every other weekend. Apply at 1235 Potomac Valley Road, Rockville, MD 20850 EOE.

Skilled Trades

Plumber

Rapid growth company seeks exp’d plumber 3+ yrs.

Opportunity to grow/learn areas of service, boilers, remodel, generators, etc. Excellent pay/benefits. Must have own tools & clean driving record.

Call 301-569-4012

Part-Time

Work From Home

National Children’s Center Making calls. For more info please call Weekdays between 9a-4p No selling! Sal + bonus + benes.

Call 301-333-1900

Page B-14

Wednesday, January 29, 2014 o

Automotive Call 301-670-7100 or email class@gazette.net

CA H

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2013 Toyota Corolla LE......... $15,800 $15,800 #472176A, 1-Owner, 4 SpeedAuto, Magnetic Gray

$16,800 2010 Toyota Prius II............ $16,800 #P8874, CVT Trans, 1 Owner, 25k Miles, Barcelona Red

2011 Honda Accord LX-P...... $14,700 $14,700 #472112A, 1 Owner, 5 SpeedAuto, 39k Miles, Metal Metallic

2011 Toyota Avalon............ $19,800 $19,800 #478001A, 6 SpeedAuto, 1 Owner, 4 Door

2012 Nissan Sentra 2.......... $14,800 $14,800

2009 Nissan Murano SL....... $20,800 $20,800 #P8851A, CVT Trans, 4WD, Sport Utility

G558487

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$

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2014 PASSAT TDI SE

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2012 Toyota Sienna Minivan. . $19,700 $19,700 #460044A, 6 SpeedAuto, 25k Miles, Silver Metallic 2013 Mitsubishi Outlander SE. $20,700 $20,700 #467058A, 1-Owner, Sport Utility, CVTTransmission, 4.5k Miles

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2008 Mercury Grand Marquis LS .. $9,700 $9,700 #472145A, 4 SpeedAuto, Silver Birch Metallic

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08 Mercedes-Benz C-Class 3.0L

2012 Scion XB.................. $14,800 $14,800 #457000A, 1-Owner, 4 SpeedAuto, Blue Magnetic, Station Wagon

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2013 JETTA TDI

MSRP $25,155

14,800

$10,777 2011 Ford Focus SE............ $10,777 #364474A, 1-Owner,Auto, 23.9k Miles, Silver Metallic

2014 PASSAT S 2.5L

MSRP $20,860

2013 BEETLE

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2006 Toyota Camry LE........... $8,800 $8,800 #462007A, 5 SpeedAuto, Indigo Ink Pearl

$5,000 OFF

2013 MODELS SALE 2013 GOLF 2 DOOR

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12 Nissan Altima S #470192A, CVT $ $ Trans, 2.5. Low Miles

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2014 JETTA S

04 Honda Element EX #362045B, 4 Speed $ $ Auto, 1-Owner, 4WD

DONATE YOUR CAR - Give hope to

G558459

CARS/TRUCKS WANTED! Top

W INTER CCLEARANCE LEARANCE SSALE ALE WINTER BBEST EST PPRICES RICES OOFF TTHE HE M MONTH! ONTH!

23,399

$

OR 0.9% for 60 MONTHS

OURISMAN VW WORLD AUTO CERTIFIED PRE OWNED 24 Available...Rates Starting at 2.64% up to 72 months

1999 SAAB 9-5.......#V674887A, Green, 83,144 miles...............$5,492 2011 Jetta Sedan......#V0019A, Gold, 47,603 miles................$12,491 2009 GTI..................#V551811A, White, 99,448 miles.............$12,991 2009 Passat Wgn...#V059316A, Silver, 75,496 miles..............$13,491 2011 Toyota Corolla #VP0020, Black, 30,992 miles................$14,991 2010 Routan S..........#VP0021, White, 53,686 miles................$14,991 2012 Jetta Sedan...#V028517A, Black, 25,429 miles..............$14,995 2012 Mazda 6..........#VPR0023, Black, 44,340 miles...............$15,491 2012 Nissan Altima.#VPR0024, Gray, 42,366 miles...............$15,991 2013 Passat S….....#VPR0031, Silver, 34,132 miles...............$15,999 2012 Jetta SE...........#VPR6113, Silver, 34,537 miles...............$16,495 2011 Jetta SEL.......#V060018A, Black, 27,526 miles..............$16,991

Log on to

2013 Jetta SE............#V693295A, Red, 3,179 miles................$18,492 2011 Honda CRV.....#V003776A, Gray, 37,086 miles..............$18,992 2013 Jetta SE............#VPR0012, Silver, 3,693 miles................$18,999 2013 Jetta SE............#VPR0011, Silver, 4,491 miles................$18,999 2011 CC.....................#VP0022, Black, 30,272 miles................$19,991 2013 Jetta SE............#VPR0030, Silver, 4,340 miles................$19,995 2011 Tiguan S..........#VPR0017, White, 32,529 miles..............$19,995 2013 Jetta SE...........#VPR0027, White, 6,101 miles...............$19,995 2013 Passat S...........#VPR0026, Black, 6,891 miles................$20,995 2013 Beetle Conv...#V827537A, Black, 20,496 miles..............$23,995 2013 Passat SE........#VPR0029, White, 5,964 miles...............$23,999 2013 Passat SE........#VPR0028, White, 5,010 miles...............$23,999

Gazette.Net/Autos to place your auto ad!

All prices exclude tax, tags, title, freight and $200 processing fee. Cannot be combined with any previous advertised or internet special. Pictures are for illustrative purposes only. See dealer for details. 0% APR Up To 60 Months on all models. See dealer for details. Ourisman VW World Auto Certified Pre Owned financing for 60 months based on credit approval thru VW. Excludes Title, Tax, Options & Dealer Fees. Special APR financing cannot be combined with sale prices. Ends 01/31/14.

Ourisman VW of Laurel

As low as $29.95!

1.855.881.9197 • www.ourismanvw.com Online Chat Available...24 Hour Website • Hours Mon-Fri 9 am-9 pm • Sat 9 am-8 pm

G558488

3371 Fort Meade Road, Laurel

Wednesday, January 29, 2014 o

Page B-15

2014 NEW COROLLA LE

36 $

NEW 2014 COROLLA LE 3 AVAILABLE: #470255, 470321, 470347

2 AVAILABLE: #470392, 470393

WINTER

129/mo.**

CLEARANCE SALE!

4 DR., 4 CYL., AUTO

NEW 2014 VENZA 4X2 2 AVAILABLE: #474501, 474502

24,590

$

15,690

4 DR., AUTO, 4 CYL., INCL.

NEW 2014 SCION XD 2 AVAILABLE: #453016, 453015

$

4 CYL., AUTO

AFTER $1,000 REBATE

$

169/mo.**

4 CYL., 4 DR., AUTO

NEW 2013 RAV4 LE 4X4 BASE 2 AVAILABLE: #364497, 364372

NEW 2014 CAMRY LE 2 AVAILABLE: #472144, 472090

36 Month Lease $

169/mo.**

4 DR., 4 CYL., AUTO

NEW 2014 CAMRY LE

2 AVAILABLE: #477414, 477415

21,690

AFTER $500 REBATE

3 AVAILABLE: #472091, 472122, 472311

0% FOR

HATCHBACK 4 DR., AUTO, 4 CYL.,

4 CYL., AUTOMATIC

AFTER $500 REBATE

NEW 2014 PRIUS II

$

21,590

60

DARCARS

MONTHS+

On 10 Toyota Models

See what it’s like to love car buying

$

18,690

AUTO, 4 CYL., 4 DR

AFTER TOYOTA $1,750 REBATE

1-888-831-9671

15625 Frederick Rd (Rte 355) • Rockville, MD ■ OPEN SUNDAY ■ VISIT US ON THE WEB AT www.355Toyota.com

G558486

$

PRICES AND PAYMENTS INCLUDE ANY APPLICABLE MANUFACTURE’S REBATES AND EXCLUDE MILITARY ($500) AND COLLEGE GRAD ($500) REBATES, TAX, TAGS, DEALER PROCESSING CHARGE ($200) AND FREIGHT: CARS $795 OR $810, TRUCKS, SPORT UTILITY AND SIENNAS $810, $845 AND $995. *0.9% APR & 0% APR FINANCING UP TO 60 MONTHS TO QUALIFIED BUYERS THRU TOYOTA FINANCIAL SERVICES. TOTAL FINANCED CANNOT EXCEED MSRP PLUS OPTIONS, TAX, AND LICENSE FEES. 0% APR 60 MONTHLY PAYMENTS OF $16.67 FOR EACH $1000 BORROWED. 0.9% APR 60 MONTHLY PAYMENTS OF $17.05 FOR EACH $1000 BORROWED. APR OFFERS ARE NOT VALID WITH ANY OTHER CASH BACK OR LEASE OFFER. NOT ALL BUYERS WILL QUALIFY.**LEASE PAYMENTS BASED ON 36 MONTHS, 12,000 MILES PER YEAR WITH $995 DOWN PLUS $650 ACQUISITION FEE, NO SECURITY DEPOSIT REQUIRED. SEE DEALER FOR COMPLETE DETAILS. OFFERS EXPIRES 01/31/2014.

Page B-16

Wednesday, January 29, 2014 o

95 Toyota Camry

$2,295

03 Suzuki Aerio SX

#KP79784, CLEAN! AT, AC, “HANDYMAN”

08 Subaru Outback Wgn

$9,998

#KP21097, AT, PW, SUPER SAVER, $1,636 OFF KBB

12 Chevy Impala LT

$14,945

08 Chrysler Town & Country LTD $17,988

#KP34550, DVD, MNRF! $2,308 OFF KBB

MORE VEHICLES

95 Dodge Caravan...............................$1,475

03 Dodge Ram 1500 SLT.................$7,990

10 Kia Rondo.....................................$12,450

09 Honda Civic.................................$2,490

05 Dodge Durango SXT...................$7,990

07 Toyota Camry LE.......................$12,588

#KP56630A, AT, AC, GREAT WORK VAN! “HANDYMAN”

#KP81341, GREAT CONDITION! AT, P/OPTS, MD INSP

#KN98844, AT, AC, PW/PLC, CC, CD, FAC WARR!

#KP41521, AT, AC, PDLCS BEST BUY! “HANDYMAN”

#KP89458, SUPER CLEAN! PW/PLC, CC, CD

#KP09574, BEAUTY! RED, PW/PLC/PMR, CC, CD

#KP45512, ONE-OF-A-KIND, 49K!! AT, AC, PW

#KR11890, WELL KEPT! TRADESMAN SHELVES, AC, AT

#KP83795, 4WD, LOTS-OF-FUN, DVD/NAV/MNRF

97 Toyota RAV4 AWD.......................$5,990

03 Chrysler PT Cruiser LTD.............$6,988

#KP21651,IMMAC, 58K, MNRF, LTHR, CHROME!

G558485

#DP05262A, H/BK, SHARP! GAS SAVER, EZ TERMS

#KP66966, MOONROOF! FAC WARR, $809 OFF KBB

UNDER $10,995

08 GMC Savana Cargo Van...........$10,970 05 Honda Pilot EX-L......................$10,988 #KP31071, BEAUTY! MNRF, DVD, LTHR, P/OPTIONS

$4,495

07 Hyundai Veracruz LTD.................$15,988 #KA07165, PRISTINE! DVD, LTHR, MNRF, P/OPTIONS

13 Dodge Dart LTD.........................$17,970

#KR73090, HAS-IT-ALL! 3KMI! NAV, MNRF, LTHR

06 Ford Expedition Eddie Bauer. .$13,488

10 Mazda CX9................................$17,970

11 Honda Civic LX.........................$14,588

11 Dodge Charger R/T...................$27,745

#KP16976, AT, PW/PLC, CC, CD, SHOWROOM COND!

#KP18460, AWD, PW/PLC/PMR, CC, CD

#KP11308, AWD, SHOWROOM 18K! NAV, BACKUP CAM, MNRF