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Wednesday, April 2, 2014
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Schools ready new snow waiver request State balks at first plan, which leaves start of summer vacation unclear n
BY
LINDSAY A. POWERS STAFF WRITER
Montgomery County Public Schools on Tuesday prepared a request to waive four days of instruction lost due to wintry weather, after its five-day re-
quest was denied Monday. State Superintendent of Schools Lillian M. Lowery denied the school system’s original request in a March 26 letter because it “does not demonstrate an effort to modify the school calendar to make up for lost instructional time.” In a Tuesday letter, Starr submitted a modified, four-day waiver request that, if accepted, would involve the school system
adding one day to the school year and changing Easter Monday from a holiday to an instructional day. Starr sent another letter to Lowery on Tuesday asking for permission to make Easter Monday an instructional day. Lowery said in her March 26 letter that she would consider a modified request from the school system. The state requires school
districts to hold 180 instruction days. While the school system built four snow days into its calendar, county students have had 10 days off this school year because of snow. In its first request, the school system had asked the state to waive five days — the maximum number of days the state allowed school districts to request. The system had planned to
Massive fire destroys building n
Apartment complex, under construction, was unoccupied
add one day to its calendar if the waiver was accepted. Dana Tofig, a county school system spokesman, said the school system weighs the effect of adding school days when considering a waiver request. “It is a balancing act between wanting to make up meaningful instructional time and respecting the existing schedules that our students, staff, families and communities already have in
place, including jobs, internships, camps, and more,” Tofig said in an email. As of Tuesday, Lowery had responded to waiver requests from four counties, including Montgomery, Anne Arundel, St. Mary’s and Carroll, said William Reinhard, a spokesman for the Maryland State Department of Education.
See SNOW, Page A-8
Customers have negative feelings as photo store closes Shoppers worry when bankrupt company will return pictures
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BY
PEGGY MCEWAN STAFF WRITER
When Francie Yarborough arrived at Calumet Photographic on Rockville Pike on March 15 to pick up some photographs her mother had left to be processed, the store was closed, never to open again.
There was a letter posted on the door notifying readers that Calumet Photographic “was forced to file for bankruptcy” on March 12. “It was a terrible feeling,” Yarborough said. “I was stunned. My stuff happens to be priceless.” Yarborough said she called the bankruptcy lawyer listed at the bottom of the letter and was further frustrated by her vague answers about when or
See PHOTOS, Page A-8
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Firefighters hose down hot spots on the roof of an unoccupied apartment building on Upper Rock Circle in Rockville after an early-morning fire on Tuesday. BY KRISTA BRICK STAFF WRITER
A massive fire at an apartment complex in Rockville has all but destroyed a building that was expected to open in just three weeks. Smoke billowed and small fires continued to burn at the building called Gable Upper Rock off of Upper Rock Circle near Shady Grove Road and Choke Cherry Road Tuesday morning. No one was injured in the three-alarm blaze that was reported by a security company at about 4:15 a.m. Tuesday, according to Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Services spokesman Pete Piringer. The building, called Building G, that included 150 apartment units and an underground garage, was about 90 percent completed, Piringer said.
Firefighters try to put out smoldering hot spots. “I would imagine the whole building is a total loss,” he said adding there was about 20 feet of water in the underground garage. “It is my thinking they will knock the whole thing down and
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start again.” Water from firefighter hoses poured out of newly constructed balconies as small hot spots still smouldered. Piringer said the fire appears to have started in
the roof area and investigators are expected to examine the utility area and HVAC system located there. The building is deemed unsafe and firefighters have created a collapse zone around its perimeter, according to Piringer. The building was part of a second phase of the community and was unoccupied, according to Gigi Giannoni, Gables vice president, marketing & public relations. Giannoni could not provide information on the number of units that had already been rented and were waiting for completion to set a move-in date. One-bedroom apartments at the other buildings in the complex rent for about $1,600 a month, according to the company’s website Residents living in two other
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At least 44 families were affected by an apartment fire that caused $950,000 in damages Thursday at Manor Apartments.
Hearing Olney baseball player thrives at a deaf school.
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“Pictures have all these emotions attached to them,” said Trin Yarborough of Rockville, here holding a photo of singer James Brown, in front of the closed Calumet Photographic store in Rockville.
Rockville parking lot dispute escalates Pumphrey case heads to Court of Special Appeals
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BY
TIFFANY ARNOLD STAFF WRITER
A long-brewing dispute over a Rockville funeral home’s desire to build a parking lot in a historic residential neighborhood has reached Maryland’s
second-highest court. On Wednesday, the Maryland Court of Special Appeals is scheduled to hear the case involving a dispute between the city of Rockville and Robert A. Pumphrey Funeral Home, which has been defending its plans to expand off-street parking onto an adjacent lot at 300 W. Montgomery Ave. A three-judge panel will
See PARKING, Page A-8
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