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INTO THE BLENDER Violinist creates a marriage of classical, contemporary sounds
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The Gazette POTOMAC | NORTH POTOMAC
DAILY UPDATES ONLINE www.gazette.net
Wednesday, January 29, 2014
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Exorcism death suspects facing mental evaluations
A time to prune
Both women have been transferred to Perkins hospital n
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
Sanford
Avery
they were trying to cast out demons they believed had possessed the children. The women told investigators that they saw the children’s eyes turn black, and observed demons possessing them, skipping
See EXORCISM, Page A-10
County Council taps Branson to fill its vacancy in District 5 Capitol Hill staffer from Silver Spring will finish Ervin’s term
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BY
RYAN MARSHALL STAFF WRITER
TOM FEDOR/THE GAZETTE
Gonzalo Martin (left), Mike Clements and other staffers trim crape myrtle trees Monday at Cabin John Regional Park in Potomac. Monday’s warmer weather gave way to another arctic blast Tuesday, which is forecast to ease by the weekend.
Montgomery sees graduation rate rise Most student groups improve; decline in ESOL n
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 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
See GRADUATION, Page A-10
SPORTS
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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Silver Spring resident Cherri Branson will serve out the remainder of former Councilwoman Valerie Ervin’s term on the Montgomery County Council after being unanimously 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 currently serves as chief oversight counsel for the Committee on Homeland Security working for the committee’s ranking member, Rep. Bennie Thompson (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.
Cherri Branson, newly appointed Montgomery County Council member in District 5. 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 this month, she said
See BRANSON, Page A-10
Candidates rake in the money n
Some District 16 hopefuls’ war chests top $100,000 BY AGNES BLUM STAFF WRITER
In the crowded race for three Delegate seats in District 16, recently released finance reports show three of the eight candidates boast war chests of greater than $100,000. The others have substantially less — the candidate in distant fourth has just over $30,000. Marc Korman, Hrant Jamgochian and Ariana Kelly are all Democrats running to represent the district that encompasses Bethesda, Cabin John, Glen Echo and parts of Chevy Chase, Potomac and Rockville — and all have more than $100,000
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in their coffers, according to campaign finance reports released earlier this month and available at the Maryland State Board of Elections. But money isn’t everything, said candidate Jordan Cooper of Bethesda, a technology integration specialist with Kaiser Permanente who reported $22,204. “It’s not money that will determine how this election is won,” Cooper said. “It’s direct voter contact.” And Cooper said he has been making that contact by canvassing neighborhoods throughout the county since Memorial Day of 2013. “I personally knocked on 6,000 doors in District 16,” Cooper said. His campaign does not need as much money as others do, Cooper said, as his
See MONEY, Page A-10
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