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The Gazette SILVER SPRING | TAKOMA PARK | BURTONSVILLE
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Wednesday, August 14, 2013
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Silver Spring teacher charged with sexually abusing 15 students Lawrence Wesley Joynes was first arrested on child pornography charges n
BY ST. JOHN BARNED-SMITH STAFF WRITER
PHOTOS BY DAN GROSS/THE GAZETTE
Maryland amusement ride inspector Chad Georg (right) walks through the funhouse with ride supervisor Stephen Bergeron at the Montgomery County Agricultural Fair in Gaithersburg on Thursday.
BEFORE THE THRILLS,
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Safetyfirst
Ride inspector says mechanical failures are rare
KATE S. ALEXANDER
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STAFF WRITER
efore thousands of fairgoers hop on the Ferris wheel or enter the funhouse at the Montgomery County Agricultural Fair, inspectors spend days combing over every midway ride to ensure each is in safe working order. Maryland’s Department of Labor Licensing and Regulation conducts about 6,000 ride inspections each year to ensure the safety of Marylanders who use amusement rides, said Rob Gavel, supervisor of the department’s Amusement Ride Safety Unit. State inspectors arrived at the Montgomery County Agricultural Fairgrounds on Aug. 5, when most rides were still in transport trailers.
“When they are like that, you get to see the rides ... parts of the rides you don’t get to see once they are fully assembled,” Gavel said. Gavel spoke Thursday as his team was finishing inspections in advance of Friday’s opening. Inspectors checked for proper assembly, that the foundation of each ride was secure, that the nuts and bolts holding rides together were properly torqued, that all pins were in place and that safety devices worked. Each ride also was turned on and run to ensure proper speeds and that fences were in the correct place, he said. “We have to see it run before we put a certificate on it,” Gavel said. Gavel said no major issues or concerns were found among the approxi-
ONLINE: www.gazette.net/mocofair
Women use crosscut saws, hot saws and axes for performances
Montgomery College introduces first ‘massive open online course’ n
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Maryland amusement ride inspector Chad Georg checks the funhouse before it can be operated at the Montgomery County Agricultural Fair.
BY KARA ROSE STAFF WRITER
The Lumberjills chopped, sawed and rolled their way into the 65th Montgomery County Agricultural Fair for the first time on Friday. The four women donned black and pink T-shirts that read “Chics With Axes” and
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LOOKING FOR A NEW LOCATION Washington Adventist Hospital in Takoma Park is looking to move to a smaller building in White Oak.
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Patty Christinat of Connecticut served as an emcee for the performance. She first took an interest in logging sports when she joined her woodsman team in college in Maine. Christinat competed at a collegiate level for about two years before joining the professional circuit, which she has been in for the past seven years. She said she was drawn to the hobby because of how unique it is. Christinat said it is empowering to chop through a piece of wood. Her favorite event
See LUMBERJILLS, Page A-9
SPORTS
A WHOLE NEW REALITY Coaches say there has been an increase in high school athletes transferring to new schools.
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RECYCLE
LINDSAY A. POWERS STAFF WRITER
See SAFETY, Page A-9
competed in a series of events against each other during the 30-minute performance, including hot saws, crosscut saws, ax throwing, wood carving, the underhand chop and log rolling. The women are part of Timber Tina’s World Champion Lumberjills, which travels throughout North America competing and performing. The crew is the first all-women’s logging sport entertainers. The group was started about 18 years ago, and the women do their own set-up and tear-down for the show.
See TEACHER, Page A-9
Online and in class
Lumberjills bust their chops at annual fair n
A Silver Spring elementary school music teacher arrested in February for allegedly possessing child pornography has now been charged with sexually abusing 15 youths, most of whom were his students in kindergarten to second grade. Lawrence Wesley Joynes is no longer employed at Montgomery County Public Schools, said school system spokesman Dana Tofig in a statement to The Gazette Tuesday. Joynes, 54, of the 1900 block of Ormand Road in Dundalk, worked in Montgomery County public schools for 27 years, 10 of them at New Hampshire Estates Elementary School in Silver Spring. Montgomery County police said during that time, he allegedly abused 14 female students who were in his music class at New Hampshire
Estates Elementary School. Police allege the abuse occurred from 2005 to 2013 in his school classroom. A 15th victim, who is now an adult, was allegedly abused by Joynes during a three-year period in the 1990s, according to police. An attorney for Joynes could not be reached. Tofig said in the statement that the school system will continue to assist the county police department during its investigation. “Such conduct Joynes is very rare, but when allegations are made we take them very seriously and work closely with the police and Child Protective Services,” Tofig said. Montgomery County charged Joynes on Aug. 8 with 14 counts of sex abuse of a minor and one count of third-degree sex offense. Police have also charged Joynes with one sex offense count,
Montgomery College is offering a new English prep class with no price tag, no class-size limit and only one prerequisite: an Internet connection. Joining in a growing group of colleges offering such a course, and setting out as the first community college in Maryland to produce its own, Montgomery College has added its first massive open online course (MOOC) — an English prep class that is, as the name would suggest, pretty big and completely open. “It’s free and available to anyone in the world who has Internet access,” said Emily Rosado, an associate professor at the college who will lead the online course involving video lectures, assigned readings and discus-
sion boards. “MOOCs are kind of all the rage right now,” she said. Rosado said she has experience teaching several English classes, including freshmen English, introduction to literature and introduction to journalism — but this class represents a large jump for her in terms of class size. “It’s a little scary,” she said. As of Monday, about 215 students were enrolled, including people living in England, New Zealand and the United Arab Emirates. The college also plans to reach out to high school students in Montgomery County Public Schools, Rosado said. While she said it is exciting to have international students, Rosado said the college wants especially to offer Montgomery County and other Maryland students a class that can help students avoid remedial classes and ensure they finish their de-
See CLASS, Page A-9
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