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ANYTHING BUT ORDINARY ‘Ordinary Days’ follows lives of four New Yorkers. A-11
The Gazette OLNEY
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Wednesday, May 28, 2014
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Olney students lend a hand to help homeless
Several Olney business properties along Md. 97 (Georgia Avenue) between Queen Mary Drive and Md. 108 could be lost if the BRT project were to move forward as currently proposed.
Service project collects needed items, raises $1,256 n
BY
TERRI HOGAN STAFF WRITER
TERRI HOGAN/ THE GAZETTE
Concerns intensify over BRT in Olney Leggett, SHA officials say project in early stages; no funding available n
BY
TERRI HOGAN STAFF WRITER
Local business owners and community leaders are considering how much Montgomery County’s proposed Bus Rapid Transit project could change the character of downtown Olney. State and county officals are attempting to allay fears.
BRT is described as similar to light rail with dedicated rights of way, station stops and reliable, fast service, but on roads instead of rails. Three members of the Greater Olney Civic Association’s Transportation Committee attended the May 14 Alternatives Public Workshop to study the proposed Bus Rapid Transit’s Georgia Avenue route. Paul Jarosinski, the GOCA Transportation Committee’s chairman, said that based on maps presented at the workshop, “most of the businesses between Olney
Elementary School and Md. 108 would be wiped out, under the best-case scenario.” Many residential properties also could be lost. Other businesses could lose a portion of their property fronting Md. 97. “This will totally change Olney’s town center as we know it, and I don’t think local people want that,” he said. The Md. 97/BRT project planning study is funded by Montgomery County for $5 million and is being jointly conducted by
See BRT, Page A-9
Students at Washington Christian Academy in Olney recently held a day of community service, which they labeled “Changing, One Step at a Time” to benefit the Stepping Stones homeless shelter in Rockville. The students in the Lower School collected items from the shelter’s “most urgent needs list,” including diapers, baby wipes and air fresheners. First- and second-graders, with help from their fifth-grade friends, tie-dyed 40 pillow cases. The shelter provides each new resident with a brand new pillow and pillow case. The students welcomed the opportunity to help people in need. “I like it because we are caring for other people,” secondgrader Hannah Carr said. “I feel happy because I am helping others,” added Love Guillette, a fifth-grader. The school’s middle school and upper school students
are divided into four groups, or “houses,” which compete for points in various activities throughout the school year. This time, the “houses” competed by collecting change to raise money for the shelter. Each “house” set a goal of $200, for a total of $800. They far exceeded that goal by raising $1,255.80. “It is important to invest in the community. This is just a little way to do so,” said 10thgrade student Matthew Crank. “There isn’t much to giving a couple of dollars, but it is a good way to be responsible for our community.” “It’s exciting to see that when the whole school comes together and everyone gives a little, we can make a big difference,” said Maddie Yi, who also is in 10th grade. Stepping Stones plans to use the money to install electric hand dryers in all three of its bathrooms. “We are just amazed, in the best way possible, that they were able to put together that amount of money together for us,” said Liz Trabucco, the shelter’s com-
See STUDENTS, Page A-9
Wootton turns down cellphone tower Principal cites ‘clear and strong opposition’ to AT&T project n
BY
NOAH JONES
SPECIAL TO THE GAZETTE
Wootton High School in Rockville will not see a cellphone tower planted on its property following stiff community opposition to a proposal from AT&T. Michael Doran, Wootton’s
principal, announced the decision on May 21 on the school’s website, the day after a community meeting on the issue at which dozens of parents and others protested the tower. “After careful consideration of AT&T’s request to place a cell tower on Wootton’s property and your clear and strong opposition to the proposal, it has been decided that we will not move forward with the proposal,” Doran said on the website.
Robin Lenkin was one of the parents at the meeting on May 20 who opposed the tower. “On a basic level, I am outraged about this idea,” Lenkin said. “Public schools should not be used for commercial use. Schools are for education.” Lenkin also said she worried about the property values of nearby homes. “Some people have sacrificed a lot to live in this area and attend a school as prestigious as Wootton,” she said.
At the meeting, which about 50 people attended, Doran and his staff tried to make it clear that there were no plans to move forward with the tower before hearing the parents’ and community’s concerns. Doran said the tower would earn $36,000 in annual revenues, with $12,000 going to Wootton High, $12,000 going to its feeder schools and $12,000 going to the tower developer.
See TOWER, Page A-9
PHOTO FROM WASHINGTON CHRISTIAN ACADEMY
Middle School and Upper School students at Washington Christian Academy led the school in a community service project, raising $1,256 to benefit Stepping Stones Shelter in Rockville.
Montrose Baptist Church seeks rezoning of Rockville property n
Neighbors concerned proposed townhouses will lead to more traffic BY
LINDSAY A. POWERS STAFF WRITER
Montrose Baptist Church is looking to move out of its current Rockville property where it holds services and runs the Montrose Christian School, to rezone it to allow for the construction of
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A WALK TO HONOR AND SUPPORT Olney family takes strides to remember wife, mother in Relay for Life.
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townhouses. Some of the church’s neighbors, however, are concerned the townhouses would lead to increased traffic around their homes. In a letter sent to community members, Ken Fentress — the church’s senior pastor and the school’s chancellor — said the church decided to change locations to move closer to where its congregation members and students live. The church filed an application with the county to make a zoning
change after consulting with experts about potential property uses, Fentress said in the letter. “We have been mindful of the neighborhood character, and with [the experts’] assistance have concluded that the property would be best redeveloped with attached single family residential homes,” he said in the letter. The church planned to hold a meeting in May or June to provide more information to community members about the proposed townhomes, according to the letter.
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The Montgomery County Office of Zoning and Administrative Hearings is scheduled to hold a hearing about the church’s application on Sept. 22, according to the county website. Calls to reach Fentress at the church were not returned. The church held its first service at its current location in 1958, according to its website. According to state tax records, the church owns more than 5 acres on Randolph Road. Brian Hooker, president of the Ran-
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dolph Civic Association, lives in a house on Macon Road that abuts the church’s property. Hooker said he and his family are concerned the proposed townhouses will be built too densely and would generate traffic congestion on Randolph Road and potentially within the neighborhood. “I think we are concerned about the number of additional people added to a small area,” he said.
See CHURCH, Page A-9
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