INSIDE THE BUILDER AND THE RIVER: Is Werrlein polluting, or building better stormwater systems? P. 4 WHO'S WATCHING THE COPS?: Schaible proposes civilian oversight. P. 6
VOL. 18 NO. 7
HYATTSVILLE’S COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER
JULY 2021
City police mental health program continues to grow By Heather Wright Across the nation, many critics of police departments recommend reducing police budgets and diverting city funds to social service, community service, behavioral health and alternative public safety programs, instead.
In Hyattsville, a focus on police reform has led to increases in the police and public safety budget. For fiscal year 2022, the City of Hyattsville approved almost $135,000 for a new Hyattsville City Police Department (HCPD) mental health and wellness program, the cost of which will be divided between the police and the
human resources department budgets, according to Adrienne Augustus, HCPD mental health programs manager. Augustus said that $50,000 of the $135,000 is for the mental health and wellness check-in program, which includes mandatory quarterly sessions with a licensed clinical psychologist for
By Michelle Levine
SEE LANGUAGE ON 9
SEE POLICE ON 12
Local dance studio gets to perform for first time since lockdown
PGCPS strives to serve students learning the English language At its June 10 meeting, the county board of education voted to approve the final recommendations of its English Language Learners Focus Workgroup. The recommendations aim to increase, over the next nine years, the academic achievement of students who come from non-English-speaking homes. Hyattsville schools have high percentages of students learning English, ranging from 20% at Hyattsville Middle School to over 53% at Edward M. Felegy Elementary School, as shown in data published by the Maryland Department of Education. Pamela Boozer-Strother, school board representative for District 3, which includes Hyattsville,
all Hyattsville police officers and dispatchers. During a Feb. 16 presentation to the city council, councilmember Daniel Peabody (Ward 4), who sponsored the check-in program, promoted it by saying, “Our officers and dispatchers deserve our investment in their mental wellness,
‘This is really happening for them’ By Michelle Levine
After about a 30-minute rain delay, the dancers of Adagio Dance Studio took the stage for their spring recital, “Bloom.” COURTESY OF JAMILA LARSON
With pandemic restrictions lifted, families and friends huddled under a party tent to avoid rain showers in Driskell Park ( formerly Magruder Park) on June 13 as dancers from Adagio Dance Studio were getting ready to take the stage for the first time in 15 months. Waiting out the rain was well worth it to see “Bloom,” Adagio’s spring recital, said Sherece Bryan, mother of 6-year-old Ariyana. SEE DANCE ON 13
CENTER SECTION: The July 13, 2021 Issue of The Hyattsville Reporter — in Español too! HYATTSVILLE MD PERMIT NO. 1383
Reach every consumer in Hyattsville ... for less! Contact advertising@hyattsvillelife.com or 301-531-5234
Hyattsville Life & Times PO Box 132 Hyattsville, MD 20781
NONPROFIT ORG U.S. POSTAGE PAID