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Sinbad talks about his life, influences and new show. A-11
The Gazette SILVER SPRING | TAKOMA PARK | BURTONSVILLE
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 been
See FAIR, Page A-9
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.
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 RECORD, Page A-9
15 victims, 4,000 photos, decades of alleged abuse n If convicted, former teacher faces 445 years behind bars for sex offenses BY
ST. JOHN BARNED-SMITH STAFF WRITER
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
Seven months ago, a veteran Montgomery County Public Schools music teacher was arrested in Baltimore and charged with possessing child pornography. Administrators said at the time they had no reason to believe that Montgomery County students were in any of the photos. But as details from court records have emerged, the accusations against Lawrence Wesley Joynes have evolved into a decades-long tale of sex abuse. Joynes, who has been in custody in Baltimore since his arrest earlier this year, faces 14 counts of sex abuse of a minor — each count represents a victim — for incidents that took place at New Hampshire Estates Elementary School in Silver Spring. He also faces a sex offense charge and a count of second-degree rape connected with a 15th victim at Eastern Middle School in Silver Spring. If sentenced to the maximum penalty for the charges, Joynes would serve 445 years in prison. James Dills, a public defender representing Joynes in Baltimore on the child pornography charges, declined to comment on the charges against his client. He did not know when Joynes would be brought to Montgomery County or who would be defending him against the charges he faces here. Since the investigation into Joynes began in October 2012, police have uncovered more than 4,000 photos of young girls, many in sexually suggestive positions, including photos of Montgomery County Public School students, according to Joynes’ charging documents. Police documents state that Joynes inculcated a group of special students, his “lunch bunch,” to engage in sexually suggestive behavior while he photographed and videotaped them. The children were in kindergarten through second grade. In one case, Joynes maintained a lengthy sexually abusive relationship with a seventh grader — who had confided to him that she
See NEW, Page A-9
See ABUSE, Page A-6
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-
GAITHERSBURG HIGH, OTHER SCHOOLS 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-
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Officials with Reid Temple AME Church say plan to buy property was “undermined.”
Baseline concussion testing is officially part of all Montgomery County Public Schools sports programs.
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