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Wednesday, March 12, 2014
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‘Can I take my goat for a walk?’
State’s top grappler — again
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County 311 call center helps get answers to residents’ questions BY CHRISTOPHER NEELY SPECIAL TO THE GAZETTE
chamber — is expected to be given to local projects in the fiscal 2015 capital budget that Gov. Martin J. O’Malley (D) proposed. Montgomery’s delegation has asked for a total of about $12.3 million. The requests range from $60,000 for a Metropolitan Ballet Theater relocation and expansion to $3.5 million for the project at Strathmore in North Bethesda.
A call from Gaithersburg resident Stuart Helfman — about a dead deer in his backyard — was a routine service request for Montgomery County 311 operator Tamara Tyler. But the Jan. 24 conversation marked a milestone for the call center — its 2 millionth inquiry since it launched on June 17, 2010. For MC311, the milestone serves as a positive measurement of the call center’s relevance in the Montgomery County community. “[MC311] began as a call center consolidation effort by the county,” MC311 Director Leslie Hamm said. “They wanted to take all of the smaller customer service hotlines in the county’s bigger departments and bring them together.” The call center, with 43 customer service representatives, takes calls for all 37 of the county’s departments. That adds up to an average of 40,000 to 50,0000 calls a month from Montgomery County residents. Allen Mitchell, a customer service representative for nearly three years, said the type of calls usually depend on the time of day. “In the morning, I mostly get Ride-On calls for buses,” Mitchell said. “As the day goes on, we get a lot of permitting service calls and a lot of health and human services calls, like questions regarding food stamps.” Mitchell, who works from 6:45 a.m. to 3:15 p.m., said he gets about 70 calls per day, which is about average for most customer service reps. In special circumstances, such as the chain of snowstorms that recently hit the Montgomery area, the call volume increases. Mitchell said he always is prepared to stay later. During a snowstorm in early February, “I volunteered to stay overnight ...,” Mitchell said. “It was the first time I did that since the derecho storm in 2012. I always have a blanket and a change of clothes in my car, just in case anything happens.” Even with all of the training for common inquiries and the help of a state-of-the-art database, customer service reps sometimes field calls they aren’t necessarily prepared to answer. “There was this one guy who wanted to go out and walk his goat,” Mitchell said. “So he called and asked if it was legal for citizens to own a goat in the county.”
See PROJECTS, Page A-10
See 311, Page A-10
TOM FEDOR/THE GAZETTE
Hunter Sutton, a senior at Winston Churchill High School in Potomac, wins the Class 4A/3A state wrestling championship at 152 pounds Saturday at the University of Maryland, College Park. Sutton won three state championships during his tenure as a Churchill High Bulldog; he was injured and unable to compete at the state tournament last year.
County asks state to pony up for projects n
$3.5 million for Strathmore tops county’s wish list BY
KATE S. ALEXANDER STAFF WRITER
Money to expand The Music Center at Strathmore and renovate the Strathmore Mansion is among the 31 local funding requests Montgomery County lawmakers have
asked of the state. Lawmakers annually ask the state to borrow money to help fund capital projects in their district. The requests are known as “bond bills.” This year, state lawmakers from across the state have asked for about $40 million for projects in their districts. “It’s tough,” Sen. Roger Manno said. “We’ve got about one-third of that [to work with].” Only $15 million — $7.5 million in each
Restaurant fights for spot among chains Owner Benny Fischer gets creative with decor and entertainment to woo diners
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BY
MELISSA CANDIA
SPECIAL TO THE GAZETTE
Benny Fischer’s interests are as eclectic as his restaurant tucked in the Cabin John Shopping Center & Mall in Potomac. The Potomac man is an entrepreneur of sorts, involved in a variety of enterprises. He founded Yummy Yogurt in 1976, among the the first frozen yogurt chains in the Washington area, and created Red
Neck Premium Beer for Fischer Brewing Co. in 1995, among other endeavors. His newest venture: Benny’s Bar & Grill, which opened in May. “I’m just an opportunist. I like to create different businesses. That’s my energy, this is my hobby,” Fischer said. But Benny’s is the last restaurant he plans to open. “It was a labor of love, but I’m tired,” he said. The restaurant is named for his grandfather Benny Bortnick, a well-known local wrestling champion during the 1940s. Bortnick also was a middleweight fighter who established several boxing and wrestling clubs in the area for the D.C. Police Boys Club. After World War I, the former
wrestler owned and operated several restaurants in Washington, including the Triangle Restaurant on the Main Avenue waterfront and the Village Inn Restaurant on Rhode Island Avenue. He died at age 55. Fischer designed Benny’s Bar & Grill to reflect the 1940s era, featuring vintage pieces of decor. Black-and-white photos of classic actresses decorate the walls. The bar is made of stainless steel and the ceiling is adorned with silver foil tiles, from which hang schoolhouse light fixtures. A self-proclaimed picky eater, Fischer looked to serve classic American comfort food when he created the menu.
See RESTAURANT, Page A-10
SPORTS
BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP PREVIEW Five Montgomery County basketball teams advance to high school state semifinals.
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TOM FEDOR/THE GAZETTE
Owner Benny Fischer chats with an employee at Benny’s Bar & Grill at the Cabin John Shopping Center & Mall in Potomac.
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