DRIVERS BEWARE Caution urged in road work areas. A-4
A&E: Rockville Musical Theatre takes on popular show “Next to Normal.” B-6
The Gazette ROCKVILLE | ASPEN HILL | POTOMAC | OLNEY DA I LY U P DAT E S AT G A Z E T T E . N E T
Wednesday, April 8, 2015
Brooke Grove in line for $150K n Olney Manor dog park, Damascus fire station also to benefit from bond bills
TERRI HOGAN
BY
SPORTS: Wootton pitcher hoping to duplicate his success from last season. B-1
STAFF WRITER
An expansion at Brooke Grove Retirement Village is one of three Olney-area projects that local lawmakers expect to get a major boost from state bonds. Del. Craig J. Zucker (D) of Brookeville said he — along with District 14 colleagues Sen. Karen S. Montgomery (D) of Brookeville, Del. Anne R. Kaiser (D) of Calverton and Del. Eric G. Luedtke (D) of Burtonsville — have worked to bring home a total of $300,000 for building projects at Brooke Grove, the Olney Manor dog park and the Damascus Volunteer Fire Department. While the capital budget has not been approved, Zucker said he is confident that the funds are secured. “These funds have been currently allocated by the Senate and the House of Delegates, although the final capital budget has not yet been approved by the Senate,” Zucker said. “We expect that to happen in the next few days, but the bond bill projects are usually solidi-
Olney attack was caught on cellphone video BY DAN MORSE AND DANA HEDGEPETH THE WASHINGTON POST
Two Olney-area high school students have been charged as adults in a vicious gang-related beating of a 15-year-old boy outside an Olney restaurant, according to court documents filed Monday and last week. The victim in the March 27 attack, which was caught on cellphone video, suffered cheekbone fractures, was knocked unconscious and was left with a severe concussion. “He’s doing better. He’s
Initial work set to commence on new school Board OKs $60K contract for Rockville elementary building n
BY
RYAN MARSHALL STAFF WRITER
PHOTO FROM BROOKE GROVE RETIREMENT VILLAGE
Helen Zatman, 101, a resident of Brooke Grove Retirement Village in Sandy Spring, reads to students from Chesterbrook Academy during Thursday’s Easter egg hunt. Brooke Grove, with 168 beds, plans to build a $20 million, 70-bed addition, with help from $150,000 in state bonds. fied.” Dennis Hunter, vice president of the Brooke Grove Foundation, said the 168-bed nursing and rehabilitation facility in Sandy Spring plans to build a 77,000-square-foot, 70bed addition for a dedicated rehabilitation unit.
“The project is healthy for the community and Montgomery County in that it creates increased capacity for rehabilitation as the demand begins to grow, particularly with the aging of the surrounding areas,” Hunter said in a statement. “Brooke Grove is blessed to
receive support from the State and appreciates the money appropriated for the project.” The construction project will be managed by Morgan Keller of Frederick and is estimated to exceed $20 million.
See BROOKE GROVE, Page A-14
Teens charged as adults in beating n
25 cents
out of the hospital,” his father, a physician, said Monday, adding that it was unclear whether his son would suffer long-term effects from the concussion. “Who knows? We’re just crossing our fingers he gets better quickly.” The suspects attended Sherwood High School in Sandy Spring and belonged to a group of teenagers who call themselves the Freaky Too Gang, authorities said. One of the boys outranked the other in the gang, and encouraged him to attack the victim, according to court records. Several days later, inside Sherwood’s cafeteria, both teens allegedly ap-
See TEENS, Page A-14
Rockville’s Richard Montgomery cluster is one step closer to getting a new elementary school, following a decision by the Montgomery County Board of Education. The board agreed Monday night to a $60,000 preconstruction contract to hire Hess Construction and Engineering Services, which has an office in Gaithersburg, to provide cost estimates and various reviews, and develop a construction schedule for the new school on West Edmonston Drive in Rockville. Construction managers are often brought in on such large, complex projects to work with the architects during the design phase, said James Song, director of the Department of Facilities
Management for Montgomery County Public Schools. The site is the former location of Hungerford Park Elementary School, which closed in 1982 because of declining enrollment. The construction phase of the school is expected to begin in January and be finished by August 2017. The school is projected to cost $35.4 million and will be part of the Richard Montgomery Cluster, along with Beall, College Gardens, Ritchie Park and Twinbrook elementary schools; Julius West Middle School; and Richard Montgomery High School. For now, the school is called Richard Montgomery Elementary School No. 5, but another name will likely be chosen before it opens. The building would initially be built to accommodate about 600 students, but could be expanded to handle up to 740
See SCHOOL, Page A-14
Budding biologist
School officials: No rivalry behind attack Suspects attended Sherwood; victim a Good Counsel student n
BY
TERRI HOGAN STAFF WRITER
Police say the beating of a boy outside an Olney restaurant on March 27 was gang related, but officials at the schools the boys attend said the attack doesn’t reflect any animosity or rivalry between the schools.
Officials at Sherwood High School in Sandy Spring and nearby Our Lady of Good Counsel High School, a Catholic school in Olney, would discuss the incident only in general terms. “I cannot comment on the students, because they are minors, and the case is under investigation,” said William Gregory, principal at Sherwood High, which the alleged attack-
See ATTACK, Page A-14
PHOTO BY KATE FREEDENBERG
Tim O’Keefe, a seventh-grade science teacher and science department resource teacher, works with sixth-grader Jordan Levin to dissect a sheep eyeball during the Academic Arts and STEM Night on March 25 at Frost Middle School in Rockville. The event also included a drone demonstration in the school gym. The unidentified girl behind O’Keefe and Jordan was apparently less than thrilled by the smell.
Rockville marks Earth Day celebration with stream cleanups City celebrates with environmental events through April
n
BY
RYAN MARSHALL STAFF WRITER
This weekend, cleanup efforts at several streams in Rockville will be part the city’s monthlong celebration of Earth
INDEX A&E Automotive Business Calendar Classified Opinion Sports
1930709
Day. Saturday’s event will feature stream cleanup projects at Croydon Creek Nature Center, Twinbrook Community Recreation Center and Maryvale Park. Gloves and bags will be provided at each site, but volunteers should dress for the weather and wear sturdy, waterproof shoes, said Shannon Philbin, watershed specialist for the city of
Rockville. Children younger than 14 must be accompanied by an adult. At the end of each event, the amount of trash will be tallied to get an idea of whether littering is a growing or shrinking problem in the area, Philbin said. Each site will have student service learning hour forms for students’ participation, she said.
Registration is required for the Twinbrook and Maryvale events and can be made at environment@rockvillemd.gov or by calling 240-314-8877. The cleanup at Croydon Creek Nature Center, at 852 Avery Road, will run from 9 a.m. to noon. The project at Twinbrook Community Recreation Center, 12920 Twinbrook Parkway, will run from 9 to 11 a.m. Maryvale
NEWS B-6 B-15 A-15 A-2 B-11 A-16 B-1
CALLING ALL CAR BUFFS Auto aficionados prepare for Kensington Car Show.
A-3
Volume 28, No. 13, Two sections, 36 Pages Copyright © 2015 The Gazette
Park, at 812 First St., will host a cleanup from 10 a.m. to noon. Earth Day is April 22, but Rockville celebrates with nearly a month of activities, beginning March 28 and ending April 26. Along with the stream cleanup, the events will include an information session about a solar energy co-op at 10 a.m. April 18 at the Pepco-Rockville Customer Service Center at 201
W. Gude Drive. Croydon Creek Nature Center will host an invasive plant pull from 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. April 19, plus a spring festival and native plant sale from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. April 25. A list of Earth Day-related activities in the city is at rockvillemd.gov/earthmonth. rmarshall@gazette.net
SPRING CLEANING, DOWNSIZING, SIMPLIFYING? Let us help you sell your items and turn your
Please
RECYCLE
Clutter into Cash! CALL TODAY 301-670-7100