THE GAZETTE
Wednesday, September 4, 2013 z
Page A-7
Ervin voices frustration at delayed county school bus cameras n
BY
County developing vendor proposals
LINDSAY A. POWERS STAFF WRITER
Drivers who illegally pass some Montgomery County public school buses may face a camera installed to automatically catch violators in the act. Plans for those cameras, however, have been delayed, prompting a letter from County Councilwoman Valerie Ervin voicing frustration. In an Aug. 13 letter to County Executive Isiah Leggett and County Attorney Marc Hansen, Ervin (D-Dist. 5) of Takoma Park requested an update on the project noting that the County Council enacted a law about 17 months ago that enabled police
to install and operate cameras on school buses to catch drivers who pass the vehicles when they are stopped and operating their flashing red lights. “The goal of this law is to keep our children safe while traveling on school buses by changing the behavior of motorists,” Ervin said in the letter. “With students headed back to school on August 26, this issue is extremely urgent.” County spokesman Patrick L. Lacefield said the county is currently working on three steps to move the project forward. In one step, the county Department of General Services is developing a request for proposal for potential vendors, Lacefield said. For about the past year, he said, the county explored a few vendor options that fell through.
One potential vendor had been the same company that operates the red-light cameras for the county. A draft memorandum of understanding between the county school system and Montgomery County Police is currently in the hands of the school system, which will return the memorandum with its comments, Lacefield said. The hope is the memorandum will be completed “as soon as possible,” he said. The county will also publish a regulation sometime in October in the county’s official register regarding finding the people the cameras catch, he said. The county’s register provides information on regulations issued by the county executive, boards and commissions, according to the county government website.
“It’s taken longer than we wanted it to take, but all three of those things are in process,” Lacefield said. Angela Cruz, a county police spokesperson, said police are currently not talking about the program because it is still being approved and developed. Todd Watkins, director of transportation for the school system, said that the cameras will be installed on about 25 buses that run routes with the highest number of passing incidents. “We’re gonna start small and make sure we do it well,” Watkins said. These cameras will automatically detect a violation and send the evidence, which will be confirmed by both a contractor and the police before a ticket is sent out, Watkins said.
“We’re gonna start small and make sure we do it well.” Todd Watkins, director of transportation for the school system Of about 1,270 total buses in the school system, roughly 400 currently have cameras that run continuously, he said. If a bus driver believes they were illegally passed, the school system is able to go back and examine the footage and pass it on to police who can send out a warning notice. The Maryland State Depart-
Bulky rigid plastics added to list of accepted items BY
RYAN MARSHALL STAFF WRITER
If you’re looking for an opportunity to get rid of that old pet carrier or plastic garbage can, now is your chance. Montgomery County will soon expand its recycling program to include bulky rigid plastics, including large items such as pet crates or carriers, children’s toys, plastic pools or playhouses, milk crates, laundry baskets, dish strainers, large water bottles, step-stools, automotive bedliners, grills and hub caps, plastic coat hangers and other objects. Residents can drop the items off at the county’s recycling center at 16105 Frederick Road in
goal of recycling 70 percent of its waste stream by 2020. The expanded recycling program will help Montgomery reach that 70 percent goal, according to Leggett’s statement. The county began its recycling program in the ’70s and has continuously expanded it to provide more recycling opportunities, Kao said. “We’re always really looking for the next frontier,” she said. rmarshall@gazette.net
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A group called Peace Action Montgomery is planning a series of rallies to urge members of Congress to oppose possible U.S. military action in Syria. On Saturday, President Barack Obama proposed taking military action after the U.S. said the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad used chemical weapons on civilians. Jean Athey, coordinator for Peace Action Montgomery, said the United States has not yet tried hard enough to broker a diplomatic solution in Syria, and using military force would trigger more violence in Syria or against the U.S. “The Middle East is really a tinderbox right now,” she said. “I feel that for us to attack would just be adding gasoline to that fire. I don’t think that the attack would help the people of Syria.” Peace Action Montgomery plans to deliver letters to Rep. Christopher Van Hollen Jr. in Rockville and Rep. Elijah E. Cummings in Ellicott City on Wednesday asking them to vote against military intervention in Syria, according to a news release from the organization. Friday, they plan to deliver similar letters to Rep. John Delaney in Gaithersburg and Rep. John Sarbanes in Annapolis. On Sunday, Van Hollen (DDist. 8) of Kensington said in a statement that he will support a resolution to authorize military force in Syria as long as it does not put American troops in the line of fire and as long as its purpose is limited to deterring the future use of chemical weapons. Sarbanes (D-Dist. 3) of Towson put out a statement Aug. 30 saying that members of Congress should be fully briefed about the recent chemical weapons attack in Syria, but he did not specify whether or not he would support military intervention. Press officers for Cummings (D-Dist. 7) of Baltimore and Delaney (D-Dist. 6) of Potomac were not immediately available for comment Tuesday afternoon. — ELIZABETH WAIBEL
at the county recycling facility. In a statement Tuesday, Leggett said he’s been a longtime advocate of recycling programs that make it easier for residents to recycle more materials in quantities that are as large as possible. As awareness of the county’s program increased, Montgomery residents and businesses have helped make the county a national leader in recycling efforts, the statement said. Last year, Montgomery set a
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Group opposes Syria military intervention
Derwood starting Wednesday. The county has been working to make sure companies who buy recycling items and use them to make other products would have a demand for the bulky plastic items before it begins collecting them, said Eileen Kao, chief of the Waste Reduction and Recycling Section for the county’s Division of Solid Waste Services. County Executive Isiah Leggett (D) was scheduled to announce the change Wednesday
lpowers@gazette.net
PHOTO CONTEST
Montgomery expands recycling options n
ment of Education released in August the results of a study that found in a single day more than 1,000 Montgomery County drivers passed a stopped school bus operating its flashing red lights. Watkins said that number, however, marks a roughly 10 percent decrease from the last year’s number of incidents, part of a downward trend he attributes to word of the cameras spreading. “I think the progress is already being made, and I think further progress will be made when the cameras get there,” he said. In her letter, Ervin also said she would request a joint meeting of the County Council’s education and public safety committees to include discussion on the bus cameras.
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