THE GAZETTE
Wednesday, October 30, 2013 o
Page A-3
LOCAL
It takes a village to create a village Community members weigh in on planning
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BY
TERRI HOGAN STAFF WRITER
Sandy Spring residents, business owners and civic representatives had their first opportunity to help plan a new village center at a meeting on Oct. 23. Those working on the 1998 Sandy Spring/Ashton Master Plan recognized that the details of the village center concept were beyond its scope, and recommended more detailed study and analysis to develop the concept. This past spring, the County Council approved a minor master plan amendment, to implement recommendations of the 1998 Plan for the development of a village center concept. The village center will be developed with input from Wednesday’s meeting, and future community meetings. The meeting, hosted by Park and Planning Wednesday, was the first step in creating the village center as defined in the master plan amendment. Planners explained the boundaries of the project, the work scope, and the timeframe to more than 30 people in attendance. The approved master plan proposed the creation of a village center for Sandy Spring “that will help ensure that the village center serves its role as a focal point of community
TERRI HOGAN/THE GAZETTE
Residents, business owners and other stakeholders attended a community meeting Oct. 23 to start planning the framework for the Sandy Spring Village Center. (Left to right) Caroline Hussman, Sam Shahrooz, Brooke Farquhar and Miche Booz plan out ideas on a map. life.” The plan focuses on three elements: design and construction of a new fire station that would serve as a community focal point; the realignment of Brooke Road to improve both pedestrian and vehicular circulation in the village center; and the creation of a village green. Since the master plan was approved, the new fire station was built off of Brooke Road, just north of Olney-Sandy Spring Road. The other two elements remain incomplete. The attendees on Wednesday were divided into groups with each group given a map of the area and markers, to come up with and sketch ideas. There were several ideas about rerouting Brooke Road, and where
to put the village green. Other ideas included sidewalks and bike paths, streetscaping, and zoning changes to incentivize property owners. The ideas will be posted to www.montgomeryplanning.org/community/ sandyspring/. Planner Coordinator Kristin O’Connor said the turnout was good, and represented a great mix. She was particularly pleased to see so many property owners present. “People have wanted to see a change for a long time,” she said. “There were some staff issues, and then other plans got ahead of this one, but we finally got the green light to move forward on this.” “I’m excited by the small
scale and design aspects of this project,” added O’Connor. I am looking forward to it, and think that it is going to be fun.” Business owner Tom Christopher thought lots of good ideas came out of the meeting. “It’s nice to get everybody together and get some ideas out on the table,” he said. “Most of the groups came up with the same ideas, although they may have disagreed on certain details. Those are the action items we should be looking at.” Local architect Miche Booz also thought the meeting was very productive. “This is a hopeful sign for Sandy Spring,” he said. “If we all cooperate, maybe we will have that long-hoped-for village center.” Additional public meetings are scheduled for January and May, with the scope of work expected to be completed by June 2014. After review by the planning board, county executive and county council, the schedule calls for the final plan to be adopted in May 2015. O’Connor said future outreach will be through website updates, email, Twitter and Facebook, and face-to-face conversations with property owners, and at community meetings and events. There will also be opportunities for public comment and testimony. thogan@gazette.net
New, improved Community Night returns Nov. 4 Event showcases local businesses, organizations n
BY
TERRI HOGAN STAFF WRITER
A new look, a new date and a new location have revitalized the Olney Chamber of Commerce’s 34th annual Community Night, set for 5 to 8:30 p.m. on Nov. 4 at Our Lady of Good Counsel High School. Chamber Executive Director Jon Hulsizer said organizers are ramped up and ready for a record-breaking event, and are optimistic that the new changes will add to its success. “The event’s new home at Good Counsel has generated record interest in the Taste of Olney and Business Expo,” he said. “More than 100 exhibitors and 11 restaurants have committed to the event, and the Chamber
has already closed registration. We had hoped for a high level of response from the business community, and they have really come through.” Hulsizer said the event provides area residents an opportunity to learn about local businesses, ranging from financial professionals and dance studios to taxi service and plumbers. Local restaurants and nonprofit organizations will also be represented. In the past, the event was held in October at Longwood Community Recreation Center, with parking on the athletic field. Each year, the event’s success was dependent on the weather, since parking was prohibited on wet fields, ultimately affecting attendance. “Our Lady of Good Counsel High School has twice the square footage in a modern building, and includes almost
500 paved parking spots—components which will assure the evening’s success, regardless of weather conditions,” Hulsizer added. The Taste of Olney features 11 local restaurants taking over the school’s dining hall, selling samples from their menus. Tickets for purchasing food samples are 50 cents each. “Folks love to try out new dishes from all the different restaurants,” says Robyn Quinter, event co-chair. “New to this year’s Taste of Olney are: Angelo’s Pasta and Deli, al Sospiro Trattoria Romana, Villa Maya and The Winery at Olney. Quinter said that Community Night is once again a collection site for Olney HELP, a local nonprofit organization that offers food and financial assistance to local families in need. “We urge attendees to bring canned goods, shelf-stable
foods or a financial contribution to help restock its shelves,” she said. The family-friendly event will offer children’s activities ranging from face-painting to golf putting, a silent auction and paper bag raffles. Demonstrations including dance, martial arts and fitness will take place in the auxiliary gym. The Olney Lions Club will provide free health screenings from its mobile van, and is also collecting used eyeglasses. Our Lady of Good Counsel High School is at 17301 Old Vic Blvd., Olney; the entrance is Olney-Sandy Spring Road, 1.5 miles east of Georgia Ave., near the Olney Theatre Center. Admission and parking are free. For more information, go to www.olneymd.org. or contact the chamber at 301-774-7117. thogan@gazette.net
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A former U.S. Army Ranger convicted in the death of his roommate in 2006 will spend less time in prison than originally sentenced. Last week in Montgomery County Court, a threejudge panel reduced the sentence for Gary James Smith, 31, of Olney, by 13 years, agreeing with defense attorneys that the sentence was excessive. Smith was first tried and convicted of second-degree murder and use of a firearm in a crime of violence in 2008, for the 2006 slaying of his roommate, Michael McQueen, who was 22 at the time of his death. In Smith’s original charging documents, police said Smith had called them shortly before 1 a.m. on Sept. 26, 2006, and told them he had found McQueen bleeding in the Gaithersburg apartment they shared on Summit Avenue. According to the documents, Smith told investigators different stories about what had happened, but told them he had panicked and thrown the gun in a nearby lake. He has maintained his innocence ever since Smith was first sentenced to 35 years in prison. The second-degree murder charge carried a 30-year sentence, and Smith received an additional five years for the firearms charge. However, Smith was granted a new trial for the crime three years later, after Smith’s lawyers appealed the case, citing Montgomery County Circuit Court Judge Eric M. Johnson’s refusal to allow testimony from a Georgia police officer that would have suggested that McQueen was suicidal. Smith was retried in June 2012, and given a 28-
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The sentence review prompted criticism from Montgomery County State’s Attorney John McCarthy, who said the ruling was part of a bigger problem of Maryland criminal law that robs crime victims and their families of a sense of finality or closure. “Why did we have to put this family, which has been through this for seven years, through this again?” he said. Smith has an upcoming appeal, and soon, the possibility of a parole hearing, he said. “When does it end for these families?” he said. “We need to allow victims to know that the process at some time is over, that a sentence is a sentence and will be respected,” he said. Barry Helfand, one of the lawyers who represented Smith in the sentence review, said Smith was grateful for the chance to eventually get out of prison, but that McQueen’s family still was suffering from his death. “Nobody won this case,” Helfand said.
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year prison sentence. The charges against him had been dropped to involuntary manslaughter and a firearms charge. In that trial, Johnson sentenced him to 30 years in prison — 10 years on the involuntary manslaughter charge, and 20 years on the firearms charge, suspending two years out of the 20. That led Smith’s lawyers to seek a review of the sentence by a three-judge panel. Andrew Jezic said he and Smith’s other lawyers argued that since Smith had only received five years for the firearm charge in his first sentence, a sentence of 18 years of active prison time for a firearm charge tied to a lesser crime was excessive.
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Smith was convicted of involuntary manslaughter in 2006
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Sentence reduced for Olney man who killed roommate
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