Rockville 082113

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‘HOLLA’ POINTS

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Sinbad talks about his life, influences and new show. A-11

The Gazette ROCKVILLE | ASPEN HILL | WHEATON

DAILY UPDATES ONLINE www.gazette.net

Wednesday, August 21, 2013

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Fears of fair fleeing unfounded Executive director: ‘The fairground is not for sale’

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BY AGNES BLUM STAFF WRITER

Imagine retail stores where the carousel spins, cafés instead of piglet races and a 12-story apartment building where Old MacDonald’s Barn now stands. It could happen, thanks to last spring’s rezoning of the Montgomery County Agricultural Fairgrounds. But the executive director of the fair, Martin Svrcek, says there are no plans to scrap the fair in favor of a

neighborhood with more than 1 million square feet of commercial and office space and 1,350 homes, as outlined in the rezoning documents. “The only new plans are the construction of the new Old MacDonald’s Barn,” Svrcek said. The Montgomery County Agricultural Center owns the 63 acres. “The fairground is not for sale.” Last June, Gaithersburg leaders approved an application from the Montgomery County Agricultural Center to rezone the fairground. The zoning had

Serving up a record The Big Cheese surpasses goal of 10,000 sandwiches n

BY KRISTA BRICK STAFF WRITER

It’s not every Friday night that you eat the record-breaking grilled cheese sandwich. But on Friday at precisely 9:50 p.m., one day before the wrap-up of the Montgomery County Agricultural Fair, Gina Consumano of Rockville ordered and ate the 10,000th

BILL RYAN/THE GAZETTE

The 65th fair at the Montgomery County Agricultural Fairgrounds.

See FAIR, Page A-10

NewSAME buildings, SPIRIT

grilled cheese sandwich made at The Big Cheese. That sandwich put the fair past the 10,000 sandwich goal set by The Big Cheese’s operator Ed Hogan. In all, 11,772 gooey, toasted sandwiches were sold this year. For Consumano, 25, the $3.50 sandwich lived up to its hype. “Grilled cheese is just the all-American food. I wouldn’t say I am a connoisseur but when I ate it I thought it was good,” she said, adding that this

See CHEESE, Page A-10

St. Mary’s celebrates 200th birthday n

Parish was founded in 1813 BY

ELIZABETH WAIBEL STAFF WRITER

In its 200 years, St. Mary’s Roman Catholic Church in Rockville has seen Civil War soldiers, famous authors and thousands of Rockville families. Monsignor Robert George Amey, pastor of St. Mary’s, said historians are not sure exactly which day the parish was founded, but it was sometime in 1813. For the first few years, however, the congregation didn’t have its own building for worship.

See ST. MARY’S, Page A-5

St. Mary’s Church in Rockville.

DAN GROSS/THE GAZETTE

The entrance of the new Gaithersburg High School on Tuesday as teachers and students prepare for the start of the school year next week. BY

LINDSAY A. POWERS STAFF WRITER

While Gaithersburg High School students are making their final preparations as the academic year draws closer, their school continued its own steps this week to get ready for them. The high school’s new building showed signs of a long-term project undergoing its final stage: “Wet Paint” signs cautioned passers-by Monday, minor construction work produced whirs and beeps, and tables and other furniture stood ready for arrangement. As she walked through the 422,000-square-

NEWS

JOB LOSSES Labor official says federal cuts likely had impact on July job losses.

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SCHOOLS ACROSS MONTGOMERY WELCOME STUDENTS WITH CHANGE OF SCENERY n

foot building on Monday, Dr. Christine Handy-Collins, the high school’s principal, said everything will be ready before school starts on Aug. 26. “We’ll be ready to rock ’n’ roll,” she said. Gaithersburg High students will be among a group of county public school students passing through new doors this fall, including those at Glenallan and Weller Road elemen-

Billion, with a ‘B’ White Flint Mall owners fire back at Lord & Taylor with countersuit

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tary schools, Herbert Hoover Middle School and Paint Branch High School. A number of elementary schools will open Aug. 26 with new additions, including Bradley Hills, Georgian Forest, Viers Mill, Westbrook and Wyngate. Though Gaithersburg still was in prep mode on Monday, it already showed signs of the activity it will hold starting this fall. As varsity and junior varsity football players practiced on the new turf field and a group of band members practiced in an open commons area of the hallway, teachers trained in the new me-

White Flint Mall amped up its legal tussle with Lord & Taylor in a countersuit that claims the department store owes the mall at least $1 billion. Lord & Taylor sued White Flint Mall in July, claiming that the mall has been intentionally vacating tenants to prepare for demolition and redevelopment, which has caused customers to stop patronizing the shopping center. The suit seeks to

See SCHOOL, Page A-10

See WHITE FLINT, Page A-5

SPORTS

MANDATORY TESTING FOR ATHLETES

Baseline concussion testing is officially part of all Montgomery County Public Schools sports programs.

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TOM FEDOR/THE GAZETTE

Automotive Calendar Celebrations Classified Community News Entertainment Opinion Sports Please

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ELIZABETH WAIBEL STAFF WRITER

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