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Wednesday, November 13, 2013
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With election County teacher starts petition against MSA over, the focus shifts to future Though hundreds sign, state officials say testing must happen n
BY
LINDSAY A. POWERS STAFF WRITER
Incoming mayor and council members outline goals n
BY
ELIZABETH WAIBEL STAFF WRITER
With the 2013 election behind them, the incoming Rockville Mayor and Council are looking ahead to the next two years, with most saying the first step is getting together to shape common goals for the next term. Mayor-elect Bridget Donnell Newton, a two-term council member, said she and her husband are planning a dinner to get to know the incoming council members and their spouses. Newton said the first
step for the new Mayor and Council is “laying out a road map or a vision for the next term.” “My No. 1 priority is meeting with the council and everybody getting to discuss what our goals are and what we’d like to be able to accomplish,” she said. During the election, the four incoming council members ran on a slate called Team Rockville that did not include Newton. The mayor-elect said she does not think that will matter on the Mayor and Council. “The people chose the team that they wanted to lead the city, and as the mayor, I
A petition started by a Montgomery County Public Schools teacher calling for the state not to administer the Maryland School Assessment tests this
school year has gained hundreds of signatures from around the state. Tiferet Ani, a social studies teacher in the Quince Orchard cluster, said that with the county — and state — implementing the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness of College and Careers test and no longer looking to the MSA tests to track student progress, she thinks it is a waste of time and resources to admin-
ister the annual test to elementary and middle school students this year. PARCC, which aligns with the Common Core State Standards, will be fully implemented in the school system next school year. As of Tuesday evening, about 600 people had signed the Moveon.org petition titled “Cancel the MSA.” Ani, in her seventh year of
teaching in the school system, said she has administered the test four times. The test is administered over a two-week period during which teachers lose instructional time, Ani said. Ani said she wants to see the state choose not to administer the test — which she said doesn’t match up with schools’
See TESTING, Page A-10
The icegirl skateth
See ELECTION, Page A-10
RAPHAEL TALISMAN/FOR THE GAZETTE
G.P. “Chip” Stickler, Maryland state director of Bugles Across America (left) and Dean A. Martin, Maryland assistant director of Bugles Across America, both of Hagerstown, play echo “Taps” at the end of the Civil War sesquicentennial sing-aong held in honor of Veterans Day Monday evening at The Ring House in Rockville.
Ring House in Rockville celebrates Veterans Day Civil War sing-along remembers veterans, sesquicentennial of the war
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BY
ELIZABETH WAIBEL STAFF WRITER
A special program of songs and history in Rockville Monday honored veterans and commemorated the 150th anniversary of the Civil War. Ring House, a senior living community in Rockville, held a sing-along Monday evening to mark Veterans Day and the sesquicentennial, or 150th anniversary, of the Civil War. About 85 people attended and sang Civil War-era songs, including “The Yellow Rose of Texas” and “When Johnny Comes Marching Home.” A group of readers introduced the
songs by talking about the Civil War context and the history behind the music from a script by Manny Karbeling. Listeners learned that “Dixie,” which was played at Jefferson Davis’ inauguration, was written in Ohio, and the tune for the Northern marching songs “John Brown’s Body” and “The Battle Hymn of the Republic” was taken from a hymn that may have been written in Virginia. Another song from the Civil War era, “Aura Lee,” eventually lent its tune to “Love Me Tender,” which was made famous by U.S. Army veteran Elvis Presley. To close the program, buglers G.P. “Chip” Stickler and Dean A. Martin from Bugles Across America played echo “Taps.” ewaibel@gazette.net
GREG DOHLER/THE GAZETTE
Iris Postovit, 10, of Rockville shows her excitement Friday while skating at the opening of the Rockville Town Square ice rink. The celebration featured former NHL player Alan May, ice dancing and live music. See story, Page A-2.
Wheaton rescue squad unveils its new home n
BY
SARAH SCULLY STAFF WRITER
GREG DOHLER/THE GAZETTE
The new building for the Wheaton Volunteer Rescue Squad at the intersection of Arcola and Georgia avenues.
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Some school board members say a change needs to be made.
Clarksburg football returns to the playoffs for the first time since 2008.
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Thomas Brown has been serving in the Wheaton Volunteer Rescue Squad since he was in high school, fulfilling his community service hours. He got the idea because some of his father’s friends were volunteers. Today, he is president of the volunteer squad, and ready to open the squad’s new facility on Saturday at the corner of Georgia and Arcola avenues. He has a salt-and-pepper mustache that extends down either side of his mouth and the kind of serious demeanor he might need to oversee a squad
that runs 30-40 emergency dispatches a day. It’s a volunteer position Brown estimates he spends 30 hours a week on. And the week leading up to the opening of the new building has been full-time work as they tie up loose ends. The new building will be a major step up from the current facility, and about four times larger, Brown said. It boasts new offices, two kitchens, an event space for 300, giant garage for the emergency vehicles, a study, workout room, TV room, 24-bed bunkroom and two two-bed dorm rooms available for volunteers to live in full time. The squad initiated the project for a new building when they bought the first parcels of land
See RESCUE, Page A-10
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