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The Gazette SILVER SPRING | TAKOMA PARK | BURTONSVILLE
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Wednesday, May 14, 2014
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Paint Branch junior gets novel published
Home Depot plans expansion next to a potential Wal-Mart Retail giant in process of completing conditions imposed by planning board n
BY
KEVIN JAMES SHAY STAFF WRITER
Some Aspen Hill residents have been vocal in their opposition to a potential Wal-Mart opening, but a significant expansion by Home Depot next door has not attracted the same attention. The 133,000-square-foot Home Depot on Georgia Avenue near Connecticut Avenue received approval in March for a 30,000-square-foot expansion. The Montgomery County Planning Board imposed numerous conditions that the retail giant is in the process of completing. They include providing an easement for possible future improvements that could include a wider pathway along Georgia and Connecticut; installing vehicular signs to upgrade pedestrian safety; and trimming trees along
Georgia. The State Highway Administration also requested a traffic signal warrant study for access points at Georgia and Connecticut, but there is not a condition to install a signal. “We are in the process of satisfying the conditions of the approval,” said Meghan Basinger, a spokeswoman for Home Depot of Atlanta, which hopes to complete the expansion by next year. The case does not go before the County Council, said Renee Kamen, a senior planner with the county planning department. Once staff signs off on certain completed conditions, Home Depot must apply to the Department of Permitting Services, which monitors the progress of conditions that are required through the permitting stage, she said. Judy Fink, a resident near the Home Depot and potential Wal-Mart site, said a recently formed homeowners group with which she is involved hasn’t discussed the Home De-
Work aided by Teen Writers’ Club at Praisner Library in Burtonsville n
BY
KEVIN JAMES SHAY STAFF WRITER
BILL RYAN/THE GAZETTE
Melanie Batchelor, a junior at Paint Branch High School, with her first novel, “Remember Me,” at the Praisner Library in Burtonsville.
While in kindergarten, Melanie Batchelor taped together her first “book,” a five-sentence work on printer paper about cats and dogs. The junior at Paint Branch High in Burtonsville has progressed to get a 168-page novel, “Remember Me,” published with Bold Strokes Books, a Johnsonville, N.Y.-based independent publisher. The novel was released Tuesday.
“It’s been a long process,” Batchelor, 16, said of finding a publisher. “It’s exciting to see my work published.” Mark Willen, a member of the Maryland Writers’ Association who leads the Teen Writers’ Club at the Marilyn J. Praisner Library in Burtonsville, said Batchelor is the first member of the two-year-old club to have a book published. The club is jointly sponsored by the Praisner Library, which provides free space and publicity, and the Maryland Writers’ Association, which provides an adult leader. Another teen writing club affiliated with the association meets at the White Oak Library.
See NOVEL, Page A-11
A taste of Africa
See HOME DEPOT, Page A-11
Walk aiming to help Montgomery County’s mentally ill residents Silver Spring nonprofit hopes to raise money to support treatment
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BY
ALINE BARROS STAFF WRITER
Volunteers of American Chesapeake, a faith-based and nonprofit organization dedicated to helping residents in need, is hosting a Walk for Wellness Mental Health Community Day. It will be held at Wheaton Regional Park in Silver Spring on Saturday from 8 to 10 a.m. Organizers hope to raise money to support treatment for people with mental health disabilities. “We thought that walking is the most common yet powerful healthy activity that can bring people together in the quest for wellness. We also thought that having our families and [four-legged] companions join us would be great,” Victoria Karakcheyeva, special program director at Volunteers of America Chesapeake, wrote in an email to The Gazette. Karakcheyeva said the
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event is for the family, including pets. “We will have music, are planning activities for children [such as] arts and crafts [and] outdoor games [and] little stations for pets,” Karakcheyeva wrote. The nonprofit has a rehabilitation program in Silver Spring at 13415 Connecticut Ave. Karakcheyeva said many clients come from a background of homelessness, poverty, lack of education, unemployment, multiple incarcerations, and hospitalizations. Some people might not have access to information or have no basic documentation, such as a birth certificate, a Social Security number, or a state identification. “Our case managers can help to initiate the process of getting appropriate documentation, applying for entitlements, engaging consumer in treatment, helping them to get stable housing and access to other resources they need,” Karakcheyeva wrote.
See WALK, Page A-11
TOM FEDOR/THE GAZETTE
Tsehay T. Nachore makes fresh injera at Adarash, a new Ethiopian bakery and market in Silver Spring.
Bakery, market injects Ethiopian flavor in Long Branch Owners invite people from different cultures to visit, enjoy cuisine
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BY
ALINE BARROS STAFF WRITER
Korseret, shiro, and berbere are just some of the rich smells of spices inside Adarash — a new Ethiopian injera bakery and market at 8706 Flower Ave. in Long Branch. Injera is traditional Ethiopian sourdough-risen flat bread
with a slightly spongy texture, made out of a grain called Teff. It is the store’s main feature; fresh injera is baked every day. Adarash’s owners, Ali Faris and Ngussu Guda, spent about eight months and $400,000 designing and building the shop. They employ 11 people and promote Ethiopian and other African culture. During renovations, they slept in the store to start their work day as early as possible, and still had to manage other businesses. “We finish working at 4
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o’clock [in the morning], go to sleep one hour or thirty minutes and come back. ... Even I lost 28 pounds,” Faris said. Faris lives in College Park and owns a dollar store in Alexandria. Guda lives in Wheaton and has a grain mill and distribution business in Temple Hills, Md. Both have been living in the U.S. for more than 20 years. Costumers can either order a meal from the store’s menu or just buy the bread, which comes in packages of 10 large round pieces.
According to a press release about the shop, injera and teff are gaining popularity because of the concentration of fiber, iron, protein and calcium. In the kitchen, Faris said, employees mix teff flour in water at least eight hours before preparing injera using a crepe maker. The bread is the base of Ethiopian meals. It can be eaten with beef or chicken stews, lentils, salads, among others. Faris also said the spices and injera sold in the store can be
See AFRICA, Page A-11
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