KING FOR A DAY Elementary school welcomes son of civil rights leader. A-3
A&E: Highwood thespians join college peers to raise mental health awareness. B-5
The Gazette ROCKVILLE | ASPEN HILL | POTOMAC | OLNEY
SPORTS: Good Counsel lacrosse begins season ranked No. 8 in the nation. B-1
DA I LY U P DAT E S AT G A Z E T T E . N E T
Wednesday, March 25, 2015
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Now playing at City Hall: The Late Show
New twists on an ancient ritual
Council sessions can start one day, end the next n
BY
RYAN MARSHALL STAFF WRITER
As Rockville Mayor Bridget Donnell Newton announced the adjournment of her weekly meeting with the City Council on March 16, the red numbers on the clock in the rear of the council chamber read 12:05 a.m. A session that had started five hours earlier ended as Monday night faded into Tuesday morning, and only three people who didn’t work for the city were still there. The length of the meetings
TOM FEDOR/THE GAZETTE
(From left) Jason Johnstone-Yellin of the Jewish Whiskey Co. chats with Dan Lands Berger of Potomac and Pat Pattison of Gaithersburg as they enjoy Scotch and ribs at the fifth annual Guys Night Out and Seder Summit on Sunday at Beth Sholom Congregation in Potomac.
‘Guys’ flock to Potomac synagogue BY
AGNES BLUM
SPECIAL TO THE GAZETTE
S
ingle-malt small-batch whiskey, gooey ribs and raucous conversation among hundreds of men: This is not your grandfather’s temple. It sounds more like a bachelor party or high-end steakhouse, but the setting Sunday night was Beth Sholom Congregation, a modern Orthodox synagogue in Potomac. About 500 men — mostly Jewish, but not all — showed up to eat, drink, be merry and then learn a little
something about Passover at the fifth annual Guys Night Out and Seder Summit, held from 6 to 9:30 p.m. Passover, which begins this year at sunset on April 3, is an eight-day festival that celebrates the emancipation of the Jews from slavery in ancient Egypt. The holiday is celebrated with a nightly dinner called a seder, a scripted, ritualized meal that takes diners through the trials, tribulations and eventual victory of the Israelites. At seders around the world there will be matzo — the unleavened bread that
Jews ate as they hurried out of Egypt; maror — the bitter herbs that represented the Israelites’ hardships; and honey to symbolize the sweetness of freedom, said Nissan Antine, the rabbi at Beth Sholom. But seders must be more than rituals repeated and passed down from generation to generation, Antine said. They need to resonate with modern families. And that’s where the second part of the Guys Night Out comes in: a presentation after dinner about how to make Passover relevant to today’s world. “It’s about making the
seder more meaningful and impactful,” Antine said. And that means parents being good Jewish role models. “Kids can’t be inspired because they’re told. They have to see their parents’ passion,” Antine said. “They’re looking to us.” For example, he said, the Jewish principle of chesed, which translates into acts of kindness, can inspire Jewish families to help the needy in their own community. That principle of helping others has been woven into
See GUYS, Page A-13
has been a concern for some council members, who worry about the impact on city staff and what the sometimes-marathon sessions mean for residents who want to participate in important discussions. To ask people to be at City Hall until 11:30 p.m. or midnight isn’t really fair, said Councilwoman Beryl Feinberg, who has asked that the topic be discussed at a meeting. The meetings are difficult for staff who already have worked a long day, then have to stay late and be back at work for meetings and other responsibilities the next morning, she said.
See LATE, Page A-11
Pike businesses wary of project Evolving nature of plan concerns some in Rockville n
BY
RYAN MARSHALL STAFF WRITER
As Rockville officials continue to work through the concepts that will be used to guide the overhaul of a nearly 2-mile stretch of Rockville Pike, uncertainty over how it will be implemented is causing some concerns for businesses in the area. The mayor and council drafted a letter to the city’s Planning Commission on Monday
outlining changes they would like to see in draft plan the commission submitted last year. The commission will hold work sessions and hearings on revisions to the plan and send a new draft back to the mayor and council, which will have 60 days to approve or reject it. That time lag and the process for deciding what the changes will be is causing some businesses along the Pike to wonder what their future will hold. The biggest issue with the proposed changes is uncer-
See PIKE, Page A-13
Olney Help receives Cheering: It’s their ‘favorite thing to do’ Special-needs team has food pantry reprieve eye on World Games n
But 54-home development may force nonprofit’s move this year n
TERRI HOGAN
BY
STAFF WRITER
For more than four decades, Olney Help has provided food and other assistance to needy individuals and families in the Olney area. Three weeks ago, the nonprofit’s board learned that it might lose the site that houses its
pantry, a critical component of its mission. The board was in a “total panic,” said Pat Westlein, the group’s grants manager. Olney Help had been unaware that the Brookeville property where its pantry is located is about to be developed, and the developer, Natelli Communities of Gaithersburg, was unaware that Olney Help had its pantry there. But the parties have reached at least a
See PANTRY, Page A-13
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TOM FEDOR/THE GAZETTE
Michelle Andrade, 18, cheers during a special-needs cheerleader practice Saturday at Shockwave Allstars in Rockville.
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Darian Packard and her daughter Joelle, and Marci Ruderman and her daughter Carly have a lot to cheer about these days. The girls, both 14, are among the 63 members of Montgomery County Special Olympics’ Joy cheerleading team, formed more than four years ago to give individuals with special needs another opportunity to be part
of conventional sports. “This squad means so much to us,” Marci Ruderman said. Cheering is Carly’s “favorite thing to do,” her mother said. And being part of the Joy team has meant big changes for a child who is autistic and highly sensitive to noise. Carly “used to have to use earmuffs and earplugs” but now uses them only occasionally at competitions, her mother said. No longer does Carly need to be “coaxed out of the corner — now she’s in front and likes to lead,” said Ruderman, of
See CHEERING, Page A-11