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The Gazette
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OLNEY
DAILY UPDATES ONLINE www.gazette.net
Wednesday, November 6, 2013
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School plan slows Farquhar, Belmont fixes
Preserving Charley Forest
(From left) Delmas Wood, Rip Rice and Leonard Becraft stand near the site of where the historic Charley Forest home once stood in Sandy Spring. The three are working to have a sign erected nearby to make sure the legacy is not forgotten.
Proposed capital budget focuses on expanding county schools’ capacity
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Two Olney school construction projects at William H. Farquhar Middle School and Belmont Elementary School could be delayed if a newly proposed capital spending plan gets school board approval. Montgomery County Public Schools Superintendent Joshua P. Starr released his recommended Capital Improvements Program recommendation for fiscal 2015-20, and in it delayed two of the Olney projects already on the books. In the $1.55 billion plan, Starr focuses on the need to create space to meet the county’s increasing enrollment. Enroll-
DAN GROSS/ THE GAZETTE
Trio to host variety show to pay for marker BY
TERRI HOGAN STAFF WRITER
TERRI HOGAN STAFF WRITER
Three local “old-timers” have seen a lot of changes to the Olney area, watching remnants of the area’s heritage slip away. Before it is too late, they are on a mission to preserve the legacy of Charley Forest, the name given to a land grant and to the home built in 1728 by Sandy Spring’s first settlers, Quakers James and Deborah Snowden Brooke. Rip Rice, 89, has lived in the area since 1964, and serves as the campus historian
for Brooke Grove Retirement Village. Delmas Wood, 82, is a lifelong Sandy Spring resident. Leonard Becraft, 75, is a well-respected local historian, spending most of his life in Brookeville. Wood, a founder of the Sandy Spring Museum, recalls playing in the barn at Charley Forest when he was a small child. “I’ve seen too many artifacts leave, so I want to do anything I can to preserve what I believe is the greatest historic town in the U.S., and Charley Forest is the beginning of
“I want to do anything I can to preserve what I believe is the greatest historic town in the U.S.”
See TRIO, Page A-12
ment has increased by about 14,000 students during the past six years, and the majority of that growth, nearly 90 percent, has taken place in elementary schools. The recommendation would, over the next six years, add hundreds of elementary school classrooms and ease overcrowding. “This [plan] will begin to address the dramatic space needs of our district and provide some relief to our elementary schools, which are bursting at the seams,” said Starr in a news release. “However, we will need to make additional investments in the future if we are going to provide 21st century learning facilities for the students who are here today and those who are coming in the future.” While Starr’s plan also keeps many previously approved con-
See STARR, Page A-12
Delmas Wood, 82, lifelong Sandy Spring resident
Food stamp cuts hit county’s needy hard Federal stimulus program ended Friday n
BY
SYLVIA CARIGNAN STAFF WRITER
As federal stimulus money dries up, thousands of hungry Montgomery County residents
are scrambling to make ends meet. An expansion of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program meant to cover individuals and families during the Great Recession expired Friday. In 2009, President Barack Obama’s stimulus package included a temporary increase
in funding for food stamps. All households that receive federal food stamps will now see about a 5 percent cut this month. The maximum amount of SNAP funding an individual could receive per month was $200. But as of Nov. 1, that maximum is $189. For a household of two people, the maxi-
mum funding level, $367, fell by $20. And for a family of eight, $65 is cut, leaving them with a maximum allowance of $1,137, according to Brian Schleter, spokesman for the state’s Department of Human Resources. Jenna Umbriac, a nutri-
See CUTS, Page A-12
TOM FEDOR/THE GAZETTE
William H. Farquhar Middle School in Olney is the oldest middle school in the county. The upcoming demolition and reconstruction of the school have been recommended to be postponed. Here, students walk along the ramp in the main corridor at the heart of the existing structure.
Bill requires contractors to offer affordable health insurance n
Plan would apply to new contracts and renewals in Montgomery BY
RYAN MARSHALL STAFF WRITER
After talking with workers during recent strikes at two garbage-collection companies, Montgomery County Council President Nancy Navarro is preparing a bill requiring many county contractors to provide affordable health
NEWS
RECIPE FOR CHANGE Forum held focusing on healthful food in Montgomery County Public Schools.
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insurance to their employees. Navarro (D-Dist. 4) of Silver Spring sent a memorandum to other council members on Oct. 30 asking them to consider signing on as co-sponsors. The bill would amend the county’s living wage law that requires companies that have contracts with the county to pay at least $13.95 an hour. The change would require county contractors to provide affordable health insurance for employees who work on county contracts for more than 30 hours per week and who make less than twice the living wage.
Navarro is also looking at possible legislation to grant preferences to companies bidding on a county contract if they already provide affordable benefits to their employees. Both bills would apply to new contracts, as well as existing contracts that are renewed, according to the letter. Workers at Potomac Disposal in Gaithersburg reached an agreement with the company on Oct. 28 after a 10day strike. The agreement provides a pay increase, one holiday, and paid sick and vacation days for workers. The two
SPORTS
THIS YEAR, IT’S ABOUT THE RUNNERS Saturday’s state crosscountry meet focuses on runners, not hills.
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sides weren’t able to agree on a plan for affordable health insurance. Workers at Unity Disposal, based in Laurel, also returned to work after an 11-day strike that began after about 70 workers were terminated. The employees had refused to go to work to protest the firing of a coworker who criticized management’s attempts to stop workers from joining a union. Even the county’s living wage doesn’t provide enough money to buy affordable health care, Navarro said. Navarro said Thursday that the bill wasn’t finished. She and her staff still
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were working with the county’s Department of General Services to understand how the regulations would work. County spokesman Patrick Lacefield said Executive Isiah Leggett (D) was still reviewing the proposal Tuesday, and wanted to see what the cost estimates attached to the bill would be. “Obviously, it’s a worthy goal,” Lacefield said. Ellen Valentino, state director of the National Federation of Independent Businesses, hadn’t seen the bill,
See CONTRACTORS, Page A-12
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