FIELD OF SCREAMS Olney designer competes on TV show. A-7
A&E: Annual spooky movie festival arrives with new film by Eduardo Sanchez. B-6
The Gazette ROCKVILLE | ASPEN HILL | POTOMAC | OLNEY
SPORTS: Rockville native wins bronze medal at wrestling world championships. B-1
DA I LY U P DAT E S AT G A Z E T T E . N E T
Wednesday, October 8, 2014
25 cents
Rockville loses a ‘wonderful human being’
Dig Pink at Good Counsel
John Moser, former arts commission chairman, dies at 89 n
BY
RYAN MARSHALL STAFF WRITER
DAN GROSS/THE GAZETTE
Carolyn Grenier of Olney shows her grandson Brandan Weisman, 3, of Olney a rose given to her during the Dig Pink ceremony before Thursday’s volleyball match at Our Lady of Good Counsel High School in Olney. Grenier, a breast cancer survivor whose granddaughter Alexa Weisman plays on the Good Counsel volleyball team, was one of those recognized during the reading of more than 40 names of relatives of players and coaches affected by breast cancer.
Rockville High grad gives back in style Charity has collected more than 50 dresses for homecoming dances n
BY
RYAN MARSHALL STAFF WRITER
Kara Morrill was going through her closet recently, changing out some of her summer clothing for fall and winter clothes, when she came up with an idea. Morrill, 24, found some old dresses and realized she had several dresses from high school that she hadn’t worn in a long
time, and decided to donate them to the clothing center of Interfaith Works for disadvantaged high school girls. She approached several of her friends, and in about three weeks they have collected more than 50 dresses to provide for girls to wear to their schools’ homecoming dances. A 2008 graduate of Rockville High School, Morrill had moved back to Rockville after college and graduate school at Salisbury University. Returning to her hometown brought back a lot of memories, including how important go-
Garvey said. Families in need sometimes can’t take part in some special occasions such as dances because they just don’t have the money, she said. Garvey said Interfaith Works has reached out to several local high schools to make their counseling departments aware of the dress program and is actively seeking participation from other county high schools. Morrill said the dresses are available this week through Friday.
ing to Rockville’s homecoming dance was, she said. Morrill’s mother is a longtime staff member at Interfaith Works, and Morrill has donated clothes as long as she can remember. The clothing center gives needy families a chance to shop for free clothing once a month so they can use the savings on items such as food and rent, said Charlotte Garvey, a spokeswoman for Interfaith Works. Morrill’s project is exciting because it’s young people trying to help other young people,
See DRESSES, Page A-13
From vaccines to Vivaldi n
NIH Philharmonia provides musical outlet for scientists, community BY KATELYN NEWMAN SPECIAL TO THE GAZETTE
NIH PHILHARMONIA
“We play just about everything,” says Nancia D’Alimonte, who will lead the NIH Philharmonia when it performs Saturday at St. Elizabeth Catholic Church in Rockville.
See PHILHARMONIA, Page A-13
B-15 A-2 B-12 B-6 A-12 A-16 B-1
GREEN THUMB Bob Goss, a retired engineer with NASA who now lives in Sandy Spring, has a way with dahlias.
Principal: ‘Amazing teachers, fantastic parents and great kids’ n
TERRI HOGAN
BY
STAFF WRITER
Cashell Elementary is buzzing with excitement, following last week’s announcement that the school was selected as a 2014 National Blue Ribbon School by the U.S. Department of Education. The school, on Cashell Road near Olney, is among 337 schools recognized as National Blue Ribbon Schools this year. The program honors public and private elementary, middle and high schools where students either achieve very high learning standards or are making notable improvements in closing the achievement gap. Cashell was honored for its exceptional academic performance, as well as its leadership and instructional programs.
Volume 27, No. 20, Two sections, 36 Pages Copyright © 2014 The Gazette Please
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October 16, 2014 1932786
See MOSER, Page A-13
Cashell Elementary among best in U.S.
NEWS
INDEX Automotive Calendar Classified Entertainment Obituaries Opinion Sports
Their life’s work involves beakers and test tubes, but once a week they leave those behind and pick up their bassoons and trumpets. On Tuesday evenings at the National Institutes of Health’s main campus in Bethesda, about 70 scientists, federal workers and community members come together, instruments in hand, to play orchestral music.
Celebrating its 10th season, the NIH Philharmonia will host its season premiere Saturday at St. Elizabeth Catholic Church in Rockville. The concert, “As Fate Would Have It,” includes Verdi’s “La Forza del Destino,” Debussy’s “Petite Suite” and Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 4. “We were looking to create an orchestra for experienced musicians who worked at NIH and who wanted to play challenging orchestra music outside of work, and that’s what we created,” said manager Ginger McLaughlin of Bethesda, who helped found the orchestra in 2005 and plays viola in the group. McLaughlin said she volunteers
Rockville is mourning the loss of one of its most active residents as a man who always spoke his mind but always elevated the tone of debate in the city. At Monday night’s regular mayor and City Council meeting, Mayor Bridget Donnell Newton announced the death Sunday night of John Moser. Moser, 89, died of heart failure, his wife, Marlene Wolfgang-Moser, said Tuesday. Moser, a retired Air Force colonel, is to be buried in Arlington National Cemetery with full military honors, although dates for the burial and a memorial service have been set, his wife said. Moser served Rockville for more than 30 years as a volunteer and chairman of the Cultural Arts Commission, the F. Scott Fitzgerald Literary Conference and the Rockville Scholarship Foundation, among other service to the city, Newton said. Even though Moser always had strong opinions about what
was best for the city, “he was, without fail, civil and respectful to all, and he never wavered in his Moser desire to see that Rockville was the best place to live, to work and to learn,” Newton said. Newton said Tuesday that she will always treasure the energy and intelligence Moser brought to the city, as well as his commitment to arts and culture and a willingness to talk about issues. He was “a real Renaissance man” who incorporated “all the facets of a wonderful human being,” Newton said. Moser epitomized the “very best of what citizens can bring” to a city, Councilman Tom Moore said after Monday’s meeting. He moved the arts forward in Rockville, with many of the city’s programs springing from Moser’s time chairing the arts commission, Moore said. He was also a tireless advocate of the literary conference, Moore said.
Maureen Ahearn-Stamoulis has been Cashell’s principal for 18 years. She said she was shocked when she got the call in December that Cashell had been named a Maryland Blue Ribbon School, as the school didn’t apply for it. “Once we were selected as a Maryland Blue Ribbon School, that gave us the opportunity to apply to be a National Blue Ribbon school,” she said. She said the application process was intense, and involved poring over every aspect of the school and its programs. That was difficult, yet enlightening. “That acknowledged that this is a great group of people who have done an incredible job with the students that come here,” Ahearn-Stamoulis said. “This isn’t my award — we have amazing teachers, fantastic parents and great kids who all do their best and work their hardest every day. This is really a school award.”
See CASHELL, Page A-13