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The Gazette Reluctant horror film host to haunt AFI Silver festival. B-7
POTOMAC | NORTH POTOMAC
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Wednesday, October 9, 2013
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Defunct roller rink now home to special-needs soccer program Project to include handrails, padding
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BY
PEGGY MCEWAN STAFF WRITER
Pam Yerg said she has been eyeing the abandoned roller hockey rink behind the Potomac Community Center for a few years, imagining it alive with activity. Her vision is slowly taking shape. Every Sunday this fall, young children with disabilities are playing soccer within the confines of the rink. “It broke my heart that this place was falling to ruin,” she said. The Montgomery County Department of Recreation in partnership with the Friends of Potomac Community Recreation Center built the rink in the spring of 1997. They worked with with Roller Hockey, a Virginia company that planned to
DAN GROSS/THE GAZETTE
Mark Gabriele and his wife, Beth Edgerton, both furloughed federal workers from Bethesda, enjoy lunch together at Jaleo in Bethesda. “Last week felt bizarre, and this week you feel guillty,” Edgerton said. She noted that the “work doesn’t go away” and that they will have to catch up after the furloughs end.
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BY
Walter Reed employees return to work; Navy scrubs birthday concert INSIDE:
KATE S. ALEXANDER STAFF WRITER
Employees at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda went back to work Monday, despite the lingering federal government shutdown. The Department of Defense, under the direction of Secretary Chuck Hagel, eliminated furloughs for employees whose responsibilities contribute to the morale, well-being, capabilities and readiness of service members, based on a legal interpretation of the Pay Our Military Act, Hagel said in a statement Saturday. However, the law does not allow for a blanket recall of all Defense Department employees, Hagel said in the statement. Walter Reed ordered all general schedule employees back to work Monday at their regularly scheduled times, according to the hospital.
n President Obama talks shutdown at Rockville construction firm. A-14
Still, thousands of federal workers remain out of work, as do federal contractors. Bethesda defense giant Lockheed Martin, one of Montgomery County’s largest employers, started furloughing about 2,400 employees companywide on Monday because of the political standoff. The number of sidelined employees was 600 fewer than what Lockheed officials thought on Friday. After Hagel said Saturday that most of the roughly 400,000 civilian employees in that department had been deemed essential for national security, Lockheed officials decided to reduce the number of furloughs.
BILL RYAN/THE GAZETTE
Veronica Canavan, 6, of Hyattsville practices kicking goals with her partner Gabby Ostoyich, 13, of Bethesda, on the outdoor roller hockey rink at Potomac Community Center on Sunday.
run roller hockey league games at the facility. But it quickly became problematic for residents in the surrounding neighbor-
See RINK, Page A-15
More apartments coming to Potomac
Most of those affected work in civilian programs in the Washington region, said Gordon Johndroe, a Lockheed spokesman. Since the first day of the shutdown on Oct. 1, Maryland has had 16,078 requests for federal unemployment benefits, Maureen O’Connor, spokeswoman for the Maryland Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation said Monday. Typically, the state sees about 2,500 to 3,500 applications a year from federal workers, but on the first day of the shutdown alone, it received nearly 4,000 applications, she said. Defense employees might be headed back to work, but the Navy Band is not performing. The band canceled its birthday concert scheduled for Wednesday at the Music Hall at Strathmore in North Bethesda
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Developer Foulger-Pratt breaks ground on new development BY
ELIZABETH WAIBEL STAFF WRITER
Two developers broke ground recently on apartment buildings in Potomac and Bethesda. Near Interstate 270 in Potomac, Foulger-Pratt Cos. recently began building the Park
See IDLED, Page A-14
Potomac Apartments, according to a news release from the Rockville developer. The new building will have 297 units of luxury apartments, according to the release. Foulger-Pratt said they will attract “working professionals, more mature singles and couples, and empty nesters.” The Park Potomac Apartments also are expected to have retail space on the ground floor and a swimming pool.
See APARTMENTS, Page A-15
Cities, towns upgrade sites to provide more services Governments take different Digital approaches to using the Web overnment n
Part two in a two-part series
ONLINE EXTRAS n Data mining has both positive and negative sides. n Trends and statistics for municipal governments’ and county entities’ websites. www.gazette.net
NEWS
WEEK OF AWARENESS Program to foster acceptance of special needs through lessons and hands-on activities.
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BY SYLVIA CARIGNAN AND ELIZABETH WAIBEL STAFF WRITERS
Early next year, the city of Gaithersburg plans to roll out a new website with better search capabilities and a more user-friendly design. “We’re switching over to a services-based model,” said Andrew
Barnes, a programmer for Gaithersburg’s website, which currently presents information sorted by departments. The “modern-day look and feel” of the new site will make it easier for residents and business owners to access basic information and services, such as finding out how to apply for a permit or get a recycling bin. With the contractor’s redesign, Gaithersburg joins local governments nationwide trying to meet the demand of higher Web use
SPORTS
NEW LOOKS GOOD Paint Branch has a new stadium, weight room, one of the county’s top offenses and an undefeated record.
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while dealing with dwindling resources. “Some see technology as a way to extend services at a lower cost through their websites, while others view it as a cost center that could be cut,” said Todd Sander, executive director for the Center for Digital Government in California. Gaithersburg, Rockville and Takoma Park are among the Montgomery municipalities trying to provide
See SERVICES, Page A-19
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Kyung Lee is Web content manager for Montgomery County’s Office of Public Information.
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