Laurel gz 02062014 by The Gazette

A JOYFUL Noise

Area choirs gather to spread the word on a region rich in talent. B-1

The Gazette SERVING NORTHERN AND CENTRAL PRINCE GEORGE’S COUNTY COMMUNITIES

DAILY UPDATES ONLINE www.gazette.net

Thursday, February 6, 2014

25 cents

Mount Rainier ups tree protection

Protecting Greenbelt trees from beaver destruction

New ordinance restricts private removal n

EMILIE EASTMAN STAFF WRITER

Damage done by beavers to trees at Buddy Attick Park in Greenbelt. Greenbelt’s public works department and the environmental nonproﬁt Chesapeake Education, Arts and Research Society are placing cages around trees due to heavy destruction recently caused by beavers.

PHOTOS BY BILL RYAN/THE GAZETTE

Volunteers Debbie Cooley of Greenbelt, Becky Robinson of College Park and Joey Connor of Greenbelt place cages around trees Saturday at Buddy Attick Park in Greenbelt to protect them from damage by beavers.

Hyattsville ofﬁcials consider UM shuttle Service would let residents travel city routes near campus n

RAISA CAMARGO

SPECIAL TO THE GAZETTE

Hyattsville council members are considering an agreement to potentially provide 1,000 free passes for residents to ride the University of Maryland, College Park, shuttle service. If the agreement is approved in next year’s budget proposal, the city would join College Park

and Greenbelt, which struck similar deals with the UM Department of Transportation Services. Under the agreement, Hyattsville residents would be able to ride the shuttle to parts of the city surrounding UM’s campus. Jim Chandler, acting city administrator, who is negotiating with the UM Department of Transportation Services, estimated the project would cost the city $4,000 to $4,500 for the bus passes and shuttle service. The UMDOTC agreed to provide College Park with 1,000

See SHUTTLE, Page A-8

Return of international festival a budget request n

Hyattsville council solicits community feedback on ﬁscal 2015 priorities

BY JAMIE ANFENSON-COMEAU STAFF WRITER

As Hyattsville officials plan the ﬁscal 2015 budget, residents attending a Jan. 29 budget forum requested that funding be made available for two citywide projects. Resident David Marshall said he’d like to see the city’s International Street Festival restored.

NEWS

AND ... ACTION! Film, TV productions help to bolster the state’s bottom line.

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Last year, city ofﬁcials combined the long-running festival with National Night Out to save money. Previously, the city budgeted $18,000 a year for the festival and last year, ofﬁcials budgeted $15,000 for the combined festival and National Night Out. “I would like to see the council keep it or place it in the budget so that it continues to take place, every year,” Marshall said. “I hope that it will come back to what it used to be both in size and in pre-

See BUDGET, Page A-8

NEWS

CANINES TO THE RESCUE

Finding ‘Lost Laurel’ n

Amateur historian inspires museum exhibit BY

EMILIE EASTMAN STAFF WRITER

For Laurel native Richard Friend, home is where the collection of historic memorabilia is. The 41-year-old graphic designer has spent the past four years chronicling the history of his hometown through a blog, an online game, a Facebook page, a book and, starting Feb. 9, an exhibit at the Laurel Historical Society museum. Lost and Found Laurel, the historical society’s new exhibit, was inspired by Friend’s “Lost Laurel” Facebook and blog page, which digitally preserve Laurel’s history through images of old photographs, menus, signs and other historic memorabilia. Friend finds many of the images and items online or

through friends and fans, he said. The exhibit will be divided into sections with themes like shopping, schools and restaurants, said Lindsey Baker, the society’s executive director. “It incorporates things that are no longer in Laurel, but also includes things that are new,” she said. “The overall exhibit I think is really going to speak to people who lived here in the past.” One section Baker said is particularly provocative is a display on racially-based crimes and issues in the city during the 1960s, she said. “I think that might be a little disturbing to some people who weren’t aware that those things were taking place,” she said. “But we think it is a very important story to tell about that time period.” Friend, who now lives in Centreville, Va., spent his childhood in

See LAUREL, Page A-8

RAPHAEL TALISMAN/FOR THE GAZETTE

Laurel native Rich Friend is helping the Laurel Historical Society design its newest exhibit, “Lost and Found Laurel,” which explores the city’s history from the 1960s to the present day.

SPORTS

TOUGH DECISIONS FOR ATHLETES

Laurel therapy dogs help community heal in wake of mall shooting.

High school athletes who feel pressure to commit to colleges early sometimes change their minds.

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Automotive

This summer, Mount Rainier’s urban forest code will branch out to protect trees located on private property. New legislation passed by the City Council on Jan. 7 will require property owners with trees more than 18 inches wide to obtain permits and special oversight to cut more than 50 percent of the trees’ branches. Councilman Jesse Christopherson (Ward 1) said the legislation is meant to enhance the city’s environmental, economic and aesthetic value. “Our canopy is aging,” he said. “With some foresight now we can preserve the resources we have and keep Mount Rainier beautiful for the next generation.” If a property owner removes a tree larger than 18 inches wide, he or she must plant a new tree or pay a fee based on the size of the tree. The new legislation, which will take ef-

See TREE, Page A-8

Spanish immersion lottery opens n

Three sites, budget proposed as ﬁnal plans are considered BY JAMIE

ANFENSON-COMEAU STAFF WRITER

Prince George’s County Public Schools is moving forward with a lottery for Spanish immersion specialty schools, even though the budget and locations are not yet final. “I’m just happy there’s movement in the right direction, rather than no movement at all,” said Gina Bowler of Upper Marlboro, an advocate for Spanish immersion education in Prince George’s County. Parents may apply for the Spanish immersion program, but the school system website says options and locations will be finalized as part of the fiscal year 2015 budget process. The creation of three new Spanish immersion specialty schools — plus a Spanish immersion program at neighborhood school Capitol Heights Elementary — are a major focus of school system CEO Kevin Maxwell’s proposed fiscal 2015 budget. The budget still needs to be approved by the school board and county council. “We really need to produce students who

See SPANISH, Page A-8

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Calendar

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Classiﬁed

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Community News

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Entertainment

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Opinion

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Sports

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Check out our Services Directory ADVERTISING INSIDE B SECTION

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CROSSLAND’S LEADING SCORER’S AVERAGE IS DOWN, AND THAT’S A GOOD THING, A-11

SPORTS BOWIE | LARGO | UPPER MARLBORO | CLINTON

www.gazette.net | Thursday, February 6, 2014 | Page A-10

Forward breaks old habits

HOW THEY RANK BOYS The 10 best boys’ basketball teams in Prince George’s County as ranked by The Gazette’s sports staff:

Rank 1. 2.

School

Record Pts

DeMatha

19-2 60

Henry A. Wise

15-2 52

Riverdale Baptist 21-4 50

Potomac

Eleanor Roosevelt 13-4 36

Charles H. Flowers 13-4 29

Clinton Christian 16-4 25

Largo

Frederick Douglass 10-7 13

10.

Crossland

15-3 42

12-5 17

10-7 6

Others receiving votes: None.

BEST BET

Paul VI at DeMatha Catholic, 4:30 p.m. Sunday: It would be a

statement WCAC victory for the Stags over the nationally-ranked Panthers.

TOP SCORERS

Name, school M. Reed, Capitol Christian A. Bundu, Largo D. Taylor, Central J. Grimsley, Capitol Christian A. Fox, Eleanor Roosevelt E. Hill, Surrattsville D. Stockman, Pallotti R. Broddie, Potomac B. Better, Crossland D. Wiley, Potomac J. Gray, Bowie F. Williams, Laurel G. Gray, Suitland J. Davis, Clinton Christian B. Dawson, Forestville B. Hawkins, Clinton Christ. J. Moultrie, McNamara

PPG 30.7 25.8 24.9 21.4 20.8 20.0 19.4 18.6 18.5 18.5 18.0 17.9 17.4 17.4 16.9 16.9 16.9

GIRLS The 10 best girls’ basketball teams in Prince George’s County as ranked by The Gazette’s sports staff:

School

Boney has become Wildcats’ go-to scorer, but it wasn’t easy n

Rank 1.

Record Pts

Riverdale Baptist 15-3 58

Eleanor Roosevelt 16-0 55

Elizabeth Seton 17-4 49

Charles H. Flowers 12-1 42

Largo

13-5 35

Gwynn Park

14-3 31

Capitol Christian 12-6 25

Bowie

St. Vincent Pallotti 12-6 12

10.

Crossland

12-4 24

11-5 5

Others receiving votes:

Bishop McNamara, 1.

BEST BET

Bowie at Roosevelt, 7 p.m. Friday: The Bulldogs have as good

a shot as anybody at spoiling the Raiders’ perfect season. Roosevelt won 58-50 in the ﬁrst meeting.

TOP SCORERS

Name, school M. Fletcher, Potomac D. Boykin, Charles H. Flowers K. Conteh, Parkdale C. Ray, Riverdale Baptist C. Jackson, Riverdale Baptist Tak. Ellis, Gwynn Park C. Tyler, Suitland K. Charles, Eleanor Roosevelt C. Lee, Henry A. Wise C. Musgrave, Elizabeth Seton I. Quinn, Fairmont Heights J. Harris, Crossland M. Sisco, Friendly I. Yates, Potomac L. Jing, Laurel A. Long, Largo M. Brown, Laurel B. Hughey, Capitol Christian B. Ogunrinde, Pallotti

PPG 23.5 22.5 21.4 19.6 18.6 17.6 17.6 17.4 17.3 17.1 17.1 16.6 16.4 16.4 16.3 16.0 15.5 15.1 15.1

TRAVIS MEWHIRTER STAFF WRITER

STAR HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETES, RECRUITED BY MANY COLLEGES, OFTEN FEEL PRESSURE TO DECIDE TOO EARLY

TRAVIS MEWHIRTER

Amir Boney just needed a little bit of reprogramming. For two years at Don Bosco Cristo Rey High School in Takoma

STAFF WRITER

For Potomac High School’s Quadree Smith, it was a coach’s contract extension. For Damascus’ Zach Bradshaw, it was NCAA sanctions. For Suitland’s Taivon Jacobs, it was a daughter. For Montrose Christian’s Justin Anderson, it was a coaching change. For other college recruits, from Division III to Division I, it could be one of an endless list of reasons for reneging on a verbal commitments to sign with another college. For now, Smith remains loyal to the University of North Carolina, Greensboro, but he has since reopened his recruitment as he waits a possible contract extension for coach Wes Miller. Bradshaw ﬁrst said he would play football for Penn State, but switched to Virginia after the school was hit with severe sanctions that would keep them out of bowl games for most of his time there. Previously, Jacobs reneged on his verbal to play football at Ohio State and is now playing for Maryland. After Gary Williams retired in 2011, Anderson signed with rival Virginia rather than the Terps, where a new coach — Mark Turgeon — who hadn’t recruited him would be taking over. Some coaches, take former Montrose Christian coach Stu Vetter, Our Lady of Good Counsel offensive coordinator Tom Crowell and Suitland football coach Ed Shields, see this as a growing trend as the recruiting process begins at earlier and earlier ages. Others, such as Riverdale Baptist basketball coach Lou Wilson, say it has been happening for as long as he’s been involved in the business, but is only now beginning to become so exposed as the media continues to dedicate staggering amounts of attention to the college recruitment process. “I’d say this has been something that’s been going on for awhile,” Wilson said. “And I tell you, there are so many reasons to verbal with one school and then at the last minute sign with another school.”

See PRESSURE, Page A-11

GREG DOHLER/THE GAZETTE

Amir Boney (left) of Northwestern High School moves the ball against Seydina Diop of Wheaton during the Spartans Holiday Tournament at Laurel High.

Dawn continued playing basketball for four years in spite of the kidney disease. She graduated from James Madison University in 2011 with a school-record 2,667 points, then played for the WNBA’s Los Angeles Sparks — alongside two-time league MVP Candace Parker — before joining Arras of the French League. All the while, Dawn was an advocate for kidney disease awareness, serving as an ambassador for the NephCure Foundation, a nonproﬁt supporting research

Park, the 6-foot-6 Boney recalls being requested of two things: rebound and block. No need to seek out scoring — that would come via put-back buckets and offensive rebounds. Northwestern coach Terrance Burke didn’t see it that way. In fact, he saw Boney as the complete opposite when he took in the transfer. “His only role there for two years was to rebound and block shots,” said Burke, who has taken the Wildcats to a 5-10 record. “So he comes over this year and we’re asking him to score and do so much more.” Naturally,Boneyresisted, his mindset zeroed in as an offensive afterthought. But when it clicks that he’s 6-6 with guard speed, small forward length, and center height, well, the results can be astonishing. The ﬁrst such example of it all coming together was a Jan. 16 tilt with Suitland. Ram big man Gerard Gray picked up a few quick fouls and had to sit, leaving the lane severely undermanned to contain such an athletic presence as Boney. The senior promptly hung a season-high 35 points in the eventual 77-69 loss. “They just kept putting him in a one-on-one situation and he kept blowing past him every time — and one,” Burke said. “And he did it all four quarters, which is rare for him.” “He’s long. He’s long,” Gray said, repeating to emphasize Boney’s ranginess. “I mean, he can get to the basket and he can run the court. He just uses his length to get to the basket.” Even when Boney followed that 35-point eruption with 24 on Bladensburg and another 24 on Parkdale, Burke said he still wasn’t as aggressive as he needs to be. “He really only started in the second half,” the coach recalled. And that’s something Bladensburg coach Antonio Williams is rather thankful for, even if his Mustangs still lost 91-88 in overtime. “He’s athletic,” Williams said. “He actually was a shock to us because our focus was on little Mike [White], the point guard. We tried to gettheballoutofhishandsbutwhen we got it out of his hands it went to Amir and he beat us. Once everything broke down he was there.” Boney said that summer Amateur Athletic Union tournaments away from the rigid structure of Don Bosco boosted his development into a scorer. Even then,

See ASSIST, Page A-11

See FORWARD, Page A-11

Former Montrose Christian basketball player Justin Anderson goes up for a dunk during the Capital Classic. FILE PHOTO

An assist of a lifetime n

Mother of two donating kidney to cousin, basketball star BY

ERIC GOLDWEIN STAFF WRITER

Dawn Evans has known for four years that she would need a new kidney, but she didn’t always know where she would get it. That’s where her cousin Erika Evans stepped in. Erika, 28, of Landover, is a mother of two young children — ages 3 and 6 — and an office manager at a dental office in Prince George’s County. Dawn, 24, of Clarksville, Tenn., is a professional basketball player who starred at James Madison University and has since played in the WNBA and overseas. The two didn’t see each other much growing up, but their families remained close, and in March the cousins are scheduled to share a kidney. “We can’t have her sick or not doing well,” Erika said. “We got to keep her strong.” Dawn was diagnosed with a kidney disease (focal segmental glomerular sclerosis) in December 2009, and after it became public, several family members volunteered to be tested. Erika, who grew up in New Carrollton and graduated from Parkdale, said she learned her cousin would need a transplant in 2011. “When I got word that she was sick, my first instinct was, what can I do to help?” Erika said. Erika flew out to Nashville, Tenn.,

BILL RYAN/THE GAZETTE

Erika Evans (left), who will be donating her kidney in March to her cousin Dawn Evans (not pictured), with her daughter Kennedi Jacobs, 6, at her home in Landover on Sunday. in Nov. 2012, and was tested at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center. The results were shocking, Erika said. The cousins matched at four of the six markers and were compatible. “Most mothers to their children maybe match at only three markers,” Erika said. “The fact that we were ﬁrst cousins and we matched at four, I said ‘I just got to do this.’” In August 2013, after multiple rounds of tests, Erika decided to go through with the transplant. “It’s kind of a life changing experience for the both of us,” Dawn said.

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PRESSURE

Continued from Page A-10 Of all the various explanations local coaches offered in explaining why an athlete would rescind a verbal commitment — personnel changes (Quadree Smith’s and Justin Anderson’s reasoning), proximity to home, having a child (Taivon Jacobs’), a sick family member, what have you — each eventually circled back to one distinct reason: pressure. Athletes are under it from their very first conversation with their very ﬁrst college coach. It is then upped a notch when a verbal offer — sometimes as early as middle school — is extended their way. And then things can begin to spiral out of control when dozens more throw their name into the mix, each with their own attractions and incentives — playing time, championships, professional development — to consider. “One of our receivers just got offered by Michigan State,” said Crowell, who also coaches the boys’ basketball team at Springbrook. “So let’s just sign the papers right now. But it doesn’t work like that anymore. He’s got to wait until next February to sign and now he thinks

ASSIST

Continued from Page A-10 on debilitating kidney diseases. “Dawn has been a superstar in all that. Probably a bigger superstar in advocating for her position than in basketball,” NephCure CEO Henry Brehm said. “She’s a terrific advocate for the cause.” But in January, just after spending Christmas in Clarksville, Dawn learned from her doctor that her kidney function was deteriorating. “They basically said, you need to come home,” Dawn said. Dawn returned home and with the surgery scheduled for March, Erika went to Tennessee for additional testing.

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he’s got to live up to these expectations. If they offer you right now, the kid should be able to sign right now if he wants to. It’s out of control.” “Personally,” Vetter added, “I would eliminate the verbals and have a signing period in April. If a player didn’t have to make a decision until April there wouldn’t be much pressure.” Shields, though he feels for the athletes under the everwatchful eye of the college coaches, says it’s also a wise move on their part to begin talking to kids before they can even drive a car or take their SATs. “You want to be the first to offer, which makes sense,” he said. “You want to be the one who discovered them. That’s the smart thing for the coaches because you want them to commit.” But when coaches offer too early, it could just as easily backfire. Athletes oftentimes get overexcited or want to shed the pressure of recruiting so they hastily pledge before realizing that bigger universities or better fits could also come calling. Such was the case for Nigel Johnson, a former Riverdale Baptist guard. Now at Kansas State, Johnson had been verbally committed to play for George Washing-

ton for nearly a year. About a month prior to signing day, he took stock of his talent and ﬁgured he could go someplace higher, so he reopened his recruitment with GW as a ﬁrm backup plan. Within a week he had switched to Kansas State. “He thought his opportunity to play at the next level would be greater playing at Kansas State, playing in the Big XII,” Wilson said. “And the point guard situation was up in the air so he thought he’d be able to play right away.” So, is there a solution? Recruiting — and therefore commitments of all kind — is an inevitable part of college sports. Shields believes Crowell is onto something when he suggested if a college extends an offer — verbal or physical — that the athlete should be able to sign that day rather than wait until designated signing periods. Vetter believes verbal offers and commitments should be removed entirely. Either way, reneging would become all but a moot practice. “Once you’re signed, you’re locked,” Shields said. “I think you should be able to move [signing] up. It would settle things down very quickly.”

“[It] was the ﬁrst time we really got to spend good time together,” Erika said. “ … I just told her, ‘We’re not strangers. Even though we don’t see each other often, we’re still family.’” Added Dawn: “It’s funny, for someone that I didn’t grow up with, we clicked well.” Rodney Evans, Dawn’s father, said he was not surprised that Erika, his niece, would offer her kidney. “That’s the way she’s always been. That’s not any different for her,” Rodney said. Dawn said she wants to return to basketball after the operation and is conﬁdent she can get back to full strength. “The doctors are thinking that after this, I’ll come back two times stronger than I was before,” Dawn said. “I’m just

looking forward to it.” Erika said she will miss about a month of work while recovering from the surgery. “It is [scary], but we’re a very faithful family,” said Edward Evans, Erika’s father and Dawn’s uncle. “…I was proud, I was ecstatic that she was a great match. Not just for my daughter, but for my niece as well.” “I look at her and just say like ‘wow, that’s a wonderful thing she’s doing,” Dawn said. “… I’m more than appreciative. It takes a really kind-hearted person. Somebody that’s really amazing.” To support the Evans family, visit http://www.gofundme. com/6i3j7w?preview=1.

tmewhirter@gazette.net

egoldwein@gazette.net

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Crossland’s scorer gets some help n

Transfers aid Cavaliers’ mid-season surge BY

ERIC GOLDWEIN STAFF WRITER

Crossland High School girls’ basketball player Janee Harris is having a down year as a scorer, averaging 16.6 points per game. And to the senior, who averaged about 20 points last season, that’s a good thing. Harris is scoring fewer points, but said the decline is because of new and returning teammates, who are stepping up and driving Crossland (11-5, 10-3) near the top of the County 3A/2A/1A League’s standings. “This year, there’s less weight on me,” Harris said. “If I have a bad game, I know my other teammates can pick it up for me.” Junior Treasure Doberson and senior Alexis Welch, both transfers, have become two of Crossland’s lead options on offense. Doberson, a 5-foot-5 guard, played for The Covenant School in Charlottesville, Va., as a freshman and Frederick Douglass as a sophomore before transferring to Crossland this school year. Welch attended Bowie from ninth to 11th grade, transferring

FORWARD

Continued from Page A-10 however, it still took a few weeks into the high school season for the predacious instincts to take over and the passive ones to become benign. Boney was solid night in and night out, scoring double-digits in Northwestern’s ﬁrst ﬁve games. But the fact remained: diminutive Mike White was putting up more numbers than his 14-inch taller teammate. “It’s hard. There’s so many scorers and so many people who can get buckets,” Boney said. “[My teammates] are always telling me to keep shooting, keep scoring.” Boney had actually told his teammates prior to the season that he was going to have a

to Crossland after moving to Temple Hills. Doberson and Welch said they have had smooth transitions to their new school. “The main challenge was getting to know my teammates and their playing styles. But everything worked out pretty great,” said Welch, who averages 11.8 points. “My team, they’re really understanding and they helped me get through the new process and coaching style.” Doberson (7.7 points), who has played for three schools in three years, said the lack of continuity has been challenging but that she’s found a role with the Cavaliers. “I’ve been told I have natural leadership skills,” Doberson said. “And I always try to work through the worst to get through the best.” Crossland has four players averaging double-ﬁgures in points, including Harris, Welch, Uniqek Miller (11.1) and Jewel Ledbetter (10.0). “We all have different things that we bring to the table, and it works out great,” Welch said. Crossland ranks third in the 3A/2A/1A League standings, behind Largo (13-5, 13-0) and Gwynn Park (14-2, 12-1). “Everybody had to get used

to playing with each other,” Crossland coach Selina Smith said. “Now that they’re getting the chemistry it’s starting to mix well.” The team recently went on a six-game win streak, which was snapped by Gwynn Park on Friday. Doberson has twice registered 18 points this season. “The thing about Treasure is, she’s so energetic. She never gets tired,” Harris said. “She’s always ready. She gets out and she’s like, coach, put me back in.” Welch and Harris share the backcourt, with the transfer handling most of the point guard responsibilities. Welch scored a season-high 26 points in a win over Potomac and is averaging 14 points in her last ﬁve games. Crossland played its first two games of the season against Bowie and Frederick Douglass, Welch and Doberson’s former schools. After falling to Bowie (56-50) in the season-opener, the Cavaliers responded with a 67-57 win over Douglass, Doberson’s former team. “I felt a tension in the air, but it was good tension,” said Doberson, who scored ﬁve points in the victory.

monster game like the one with Suitland, only it was completely in jest. “That’s when I realized I really could do it,” he said. “I started strong in the ﬁrst quarter, kept scoring in the second, and at halftime my teammates were telling me to keep shooting, so I kept shooting and I kept scoring the whole game.” Suitland coach George McClure rotated three players on Boney throughout the game, yielding minimal success at best. Therein lays the unique issue Boney presents each opposing coach: who exactly gets the assignment of a 6-6 forward with the big man height and the guard speed, though admittedly lacking the handles? “I think the biggest part with him being 6-6 and playing the

way he does is you don’t know who to put on him,” Williams said. “If it’s man, you don’t want to put a big guy on him because he’ll go by him but if you get a small guy he’s going to be able to post up. It’s not easy.” And still, the most difficult task surrounding Boney lies with his own coach, who is still attempting to cajole a little more aggressiveness out of his forward, which he says is just beginning to scratch the surface. “There’s no one that can guard him,” Burke said. “We had to change the pace of the game for him. He can get to the rim anywhere outside the 3-point line on two dribbles. We need him to block shots. We need him to rebound. We need him to score.” tmewhirter@gazette.net

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February is Black History Month February is Black History Month! Origins of Black History month February is the month set side to learn, honor, and celebrate achievements of black men and women throughout history. It’s orgins can be traced back to Carter G. Woodson, son of former slaves, who was the 2nd African American to earn to earn a doctorate from Harvard University in 1912 (W.E.B. Du Bois was the first). Realizing that most textbooks ignored the history and achievements of Blacks, he promoted the idea of a “Negro History Week” in 1926. In 1976, Black History Week was expanded to Black History Month.

Black History Firsts Fact #1

In 1950, writer Gwendolyn Brooks was the first African American to win the Pulitzer Prize for her poetry collection, Annie Allen.

Fact #2

Also in 1950, Dr. Ralph Johnson Bunche became the first African American to win the Nobel Peace Prize for Mediation efforts in the Middle East during the 1940’s.

Fact #3

Politician and educator Shirley Chisholm was the first African American Congresswomen AND major party candidate for President of the United States.

Fact #4

Ernie Davis was the first African American to win the Heisman Trophy AND the No. 1 NFL draft pick.

Fact #5

In 1959, Ella Fitzgerald became the first African American woman to win a Grammy Award.

Fact #6

Robert Johnson, owner at the time of Black Entertainment Television, became the first African American billionarie in 2001.

Fact #7

In, 1940, Hattie McDaniel was the first African American to win an Academy Award, earning Best Supporting actress for her role in the epic film, Gone With The Wind.

Fact #8

Benjamin Banneker was considered the first African American scientist.

Fact #9

Physician Regina Benjamin became the first African American woman and the first physician under age 40 to be elected to the American Medical Association’s board of trustees in 1995. More than a decade later, she was tapped to become Surgeon General of the United States.

Fact #10

1166 Route 3 Gambrills, Maryland 21054

George Washington Carver, who made a number of agricultural advancements and inventions, and Percy L. Julian, who was a pioneering chemist and researcher who synthesized medicinal drugs, were the first African Americans admitted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 1990. 1910998

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PEOPLE& PLACES More online at www.gazette.net

Historical society names Volunteers of the Year

Montpelier shares science, African-American history

The Laurel Historical Society had twice as much to celebrate when it honored two women as Volunteer of the Year at the annual Laurel Historical Society Appreciation event on Jan. 19. Viola Turley and Jane Bulla have volunteered with the society for eight years, and always work together, said Lindsey Baker, the organization’s executive director. Baker said the society does not typically name two Volunteers of the Year, but this year was an exception. “They are kind of a pair that go together,” Baker said. “As long as I can remember, they’ve been volunteering together.” The two women, who are friends and former coworkers, give tours at the Laurel Historical Society’s museum and they also help out in the museum shop and with organization mailings, according to Baker. “They’ve always been really consistent volunteers,” she said. “They make a really great team. They complement each other really well.” Also honored at the event were 10-year volunteer Jeannie Anastasi and ﬁve-year volunteers Steve Hubbard, Frances Brooks, Franklin Cole and Kevin McNulty.

The Montpelier Mansion Museum in South Laurel will be taking its lessons on the road with two programs for the community focusing on African-Americans in Prince George’s County and the science of the 18th and 19th centuries, according to museum education director Holly Burnham. “Metal Heads, the Iron Industry in Laurel, Before and After” will focus on Laurel-area African-American communities centered around the ironworking industry following the abolition of slavery, Burnham said. “[Visitors will] learn about the work involved in ironworking in the 19th century and doing a science experiment concerning rust,” Burnham said. The program runs 2:45 p.m. and 3:45 p.m. Feb. 11 at the Deerﬁeld Run Community Center, 13000 Laurel-Bowie Road, and 3:30 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. Feb. 25 at the Vansville Community Center, 6813 Ammendale Road, Beltsville. “Weathering Racism: The Benjamin Banneker Almanacs,” will focus on the almanacs published by Benjamin Banneker, a free African American scientist and farmer, during the late 18th century and the role almanacs played in people’s lives, Burnham said.

EVENTS Inner Loop & Coup Sauvage and the Snips, 7 p.m., Joe’s Movement Em-

porium, 3309 Bunker Hill Road, Mount Rainier. Funk, soul, electronic and dance. Their sounds are born from and representative of their community. Cost: $10. Contact 301-699-1819.

FEB. 7 Xtreme Teens/Pre-Teens: We Got Game, 7 to 10 p.m., Good Luck

Community Center, 8601 Good Luck Road, Lanham. Annual Holiday 3-on-3 Basketball Tournament. Participation in this two-day tournament will be divided into age groups. Contact 301552-1093; TTY 301-445-4512. G.E.A.R: Café Groove: Black History Edition, 7 to 10 p.m., Columbia

Park Elementary School Community Center, 1901 Kent Village Drive, Landover. Receive hands-on experience with musical instruments used in a go-go band. Then, enjoy an open mic of poetry and spoken words. $3 with M-NCPPC ID card. Contact 301-3413749; TTY 301-445-4512.

BOOMscat & Proverbs Reggae Band in Concert, 8 p.m., Joe’s Move-

ment Emporium, 3309 Bunker Hill Road, Mount Rainier. BOOMscat is a soul, R&B duo. Proverbs is the only reggae band in the metropolitan area to maintain the authentic sound of rasta roots reggae music. Cost: $15. Contact 301-699-1819 or malori@joesmovement.org. Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc. Psi Epsilon Omega Heart Cafe, 8 p.m.

to midnight, American Legion Greenbelt Post 136, 6900 Greenbelt Road,

1884476

Baker prepares for third county budget hearing Prince George’s County Executive Rushern L. Baker III (D) will host the county’s third 2014 public budget hearing at 7 p.m. Feb. 12 at Laurel High School, 8000 Cherry Lane in Laurel. The public budget hearings are a time for residents to voice their opinions on the county budget and county government priorities, said Barry Hudson, communications manager for the county executive’s office. “It’s basically citizens talking about what they want the government to fix within the community,” he said. “It is a wonderful way for residents to be heard.” Hudson said the events are set up like hearings, with residents testifying about their concerns rather than posing questions to the county executive. At the first budget hearing in Oxon Hill on Jan. 28, around 20 community members signed up to testify, he said.

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FEB. 6

“They’ll be taking on the roles of farmers, ﬁshermen and others who would be using the almanacs,” Burnham said. “They’ll also be learning about ways people measured the weather back then.” The program runs 3:30 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. Feb. 18 at the Vansville Community Center. The program is open to all ages, but young children may need assistance from caregivers, Burnham said.

Greenbelt. Learn how easy changes can help you feel better and live longer. Contact 301-345-0136.

FEB. 8 College Park AAUW Meeting, 10:30 a.m. to noon, American Association of University Women College Park Branch, Old Parish House, College Park. Contact 301-405-5180 or rarosca@gmail.com. Valentine Shrinky-Dink Workshop, 1 to 4 p.m., Brentwood Arts Exchange Gateway Arts Center, 3901 Rhode Island Ave., Brentwood. Nothing says love like a handmade, pre-shrunk Valentine. Families are invited to create jewelry, key chains and other gifts. Children will receive their ﬁrst two sheets of blank Shrinky Dinks free, additional sheets will be available to purchase for 50 cents each. Contact 301-277-2863; TTY 301-446-6802. Chess/Checkers Club, 1 p.m., Hyattsville Library, 6530 Adelphi Road, Hyattsville. Learn and play chess or checkers. Bring your own set or play one of ours. All ages welcome. Contact 301-985-4690. Xtreme Teens: Murder Mystery, 5 to 10 p.m., Columbia Park Elementary School Community Center, 1901 Kent Village Drive, Landover. Talk to the suspects and try to ﬁgure out who committed the sin. Cost: $5 with M-NCPPC ID card. Contact 301-3413749; TTY 301-445-4512.

FEB. 9 Movies: “La Source,” 7 to 9 p.m.,

4201 Guilford Drive, College Park. Inspiring documentary celebrating

FRI

Third-annual American Heroes Hockey Challenge, 7 p.m.,

The Gardens Ice House, 13800 Old Gunpowder Road, Laurel. Hockey teams from DeMatha Catholic and Mount Saint Joseph high schools will face off in a charity contest to beneﬁt the Wounded Warrior Project and USA Warriors Ice Hockey Team. Cost: $5 for adults, $3 for students/children. Contact lorimezz@comcast.net.

MORE INTERACTIVE CALENDAR ITEMS AT WWW.GAZETTE.NET a Haitian-American’s quest to bring clean water to his home village in the aftermath of the disastrous 2010 earthquake. Admission and refreshments are free. Contact 240-264-7924 or prthomps1@verizon.net.

FEB. 10 Stock Investment Club Meeting, 5 to 6:30 p.m., Greenbelt Community Center, 15 Crescent Road, Greenbelt. Interested in learning more about stock investment? The Goddard Investment Club is a group of amateur investors that discusses and invests in stocks. GIC is seeking additional members willing to meet the second Monday. Contact jdea@hotmail.com.

FEB. 11 Multi-Chamber Breakfast, 7:30 to 9:30 a.m., La Fountaine Bleu, 7514 Ritchie Highway, Glen Burnie. Power networking with area chambers of commerce. Breakfast buffet, literature display tables and door prizes. Cost: $25, members with prepaid reservation, $45, nonmembers and members

Thursday, February 6, 2014 lr Those interested in testifying at the hearing can pre-register by calling 301-952-4547.

Laurel seeks vendors, parade participants for festival Laurel will be holding its Main Street Festival from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on May 10 and is seeking craft and food vendors as well as groups to march in the parade. Festival chairperson Maureen Rogers said the event typically draws around 100,000 people. “We expect a record number of people this year,” she said. “I encourage people to get their applications in quickly.” The festival theme this year is “Mardi Gras,” Rogers said. “We think it would be great if people dressed up in Mardi Gras costumes, you know, beads and feathers and masks.” Rogers said nonproﬁt organizations are also welcome to apply as vendors and that the city would like a marching band in the parade. “I’ve been going to the festival myself for 26 years,” Rogers said. “It’s just a wonderful familyfriendly day and there’s so much to see and do and listen to, so my hope would be that everyone would come out and enjoy this wonderful event.” The application deadlines are March 15 for food vendors, March 30 for other vendors and April 11 for parade participants. For more information, call Rogers at 301-483-0838 or visit www. laurelboardoftrade.net.

A&E

Unveiling UMUC: School displays 33 pieces from a growing art collection in an exhibit opening Sunday in Adelphi. SPORTS Check online for coverage of Saturday’s Prince George’s County swimming championships.

For more on your community, visit www.gazette.net

at the door. Contact 301-262-0920 or kelly@bowiechamber.org. Play Day, 11:30 a.m., New Carrollton Library, 7414 Riverdale Road, New Carrollton. Ages 18 months to 35 months with caregiver. Join us to play and socialize. Drop-in on the library’s lower level. Contact 301-459-6900.

ConsumerWatch Why do they use Roman numerals to number Super Bowls?

Science on the Plantation: African American Scientists in Colonial Maryland, 2:45 p.m., Deerﬁeld Run

Community Center, 13000 LaurelBowie Road, Laurel. Montpelier staff will once again take our Black History Month programs on the road. This week, we’ll be at Deerﬁeld Run Community Center for “The Iron Industry in Laurel, Before and After Emancipation.” Play detective to learn about enslaved iron workers who made farm tools for wealthy plantation owners and do experiments to learn what it’s like to work with iron. Contact 301953-7882; TTY 301-445-4512.

African American History & Culture Lecture Series, 7 p.m., Greenbelt Li-

brary, 11 Crescent Road. Mary McLeod Bethune in Washington, D.C.: Activism & Education in Logan Circle (Dr. Ida Jones). Contact 301-345-5800. Great Decisions 2014, 7:30 p.m., Laurel Library, 507 7th St., Laurel. Turkey’s challenges. Contact 301-7766790.

FEB. 12 Lost & Found Laurel, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Laurel Museum, 817 Main St., Laurel. A new exhibit focusing on the 1960s through the present, the exhibit explores the shops, schools, restaurants, activities and celebrations that created a fondly remembered community. Contact 301-725-7975 or info@ laurelhistoricalsociety.org. 7 p.m., Laurel High School, Spartan Hall, 8000 Cherry Lane, Laurel. Prince George’s County Executive Rushern L. Baker III to host public hearing on county operating budget. Contact 301-952-4547.

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T HE G AZ ET T E

Thursday, February 6, 2014 lr

Page A-3

LOCAL Dining while donating

Laurel services will be at residents’ ﬁngertips n

New smartphone application for city matters to be released this month BY

EMILIE EASTMAN STAFF WRITER

GREG DOHLER/THE GAZETTE

Volunteer Patrick Kenny (left), 14, of Hyattsville serves spaghetti and rolls to Terry (right) and Tom Carroll of Hyattsville during the Spaghetti Dinner fundraiser Friday at Saint Jerome’s Church in Hyattsville. Proceeds from the event were slated to beneﬁt the church’s outreach programs for the homeless.

Candidate criticized for district change Former councilman ﬁles using rental home address after redistricting confusion n

BY CHASE COOK STAFF WRITER

Questions have been raised about a former Prince George’s county councilman’s decision to run for state delegate in District 26, where he has rented a home for about two months. Tony Knotts, a Democrat who served on the County Council for District 8 from 2002 to 2010 and announced a run for county executive in 2010 but didn’t file by deadline because of lack of voter support, said he attempted to file Nov. 12 to run for state delegate in District 26, where the Temple Hills home he has lived in for about 24 years is located, only to find out redistricting now places that home in District 25. Redistricting was approved in 2012 based on population changes in the 2010 census. Knotts said when he found out his home was in District 25, he opted to use the address of an Oxon Hill home he began renting Dec. 1 and filed for District 26 on Jan. 16. Knotts said he put his Temple Hills home up for sale in June after purchasing a lot in Fort Washington and had been looking for a rental property in the area. Knotts, 62, said he has lived in District 26 since the 1960s and considers that area his home. Paul Herrnson, University of Connecticut’s executive director of the Roper Center for Public Opinion Research and former professor at Uni-

versity of Maryland, said politicians who jump district lines are viewed as “carpetbaggers” looking to run in a district with open seats because they don’t have to compete with the resources of incumbents. But Herrnson doesn’t think Knotts fits that category. “He has lived there,” Herrnson said. “He knows the people. And it is not him that moved, but the district lines that moved.” State delegate candidates must be residents of their district for at least six months to run for office, but that requirement doesn’t have to be met until the general election on Nov. 4. Jared DeMarinis, Candidacy and Campaign Finance Division director for the Maryland State Board of Elections, said Knotts will meet the sixmonth requirement since he moved to his current home on Dec. 1. “I find the timing really interesting,” said Joyce Thorpe, a Fort Washington resident. “He should have ran in District 25.” District 26 comprises the Oxon Hill, Fort Washington and National Harbor areas. District 25 is farther north and includes Temple Hills and District Heights among other areas, according to legislative district maps. “I was not aware that redistricting, at the legislative level, would impact my community,” Knotts said. “Once I was aware of the misunderstanding, I took the necessary steps to correct it.” Thorpe said she was concerned that Knotts’ movement to the rental property was an attempt to compete for the seat opened up by Del. Veronica Turner (D) of Temple Hills, who is running for the District 26 Senate seat.

Of the three District 25 incumbents, Del. Aisha Braveboy (D) of Bowie and Del. Melony G. Griffith (D) have filed to run for different offices. Braveboy is running for attorney general and Griffith will compete for the District 25 Senate seat. Dereck Davis (D) has not filed for re-election yet, according to election records. Democrats Nick Charles II of District Heights; Geraldine Eggleston of Temple Hills; Tony Jones and Stanley Onye, both of Upper Marlboro, have filed to run for delegate in District 25. In District 26, of the three incumbents, none have filed for re-election. Democrats Tamara Davis Brown of Clinton; Keith L. Gray of Fort Washington; and Vernon O. Holmes Jr. of Fort Washington have filed to run for delegate in District 26 along with Knotts. No Republicans have filed in either district. Thorpe said she doesn’t support Knotts’ candidacy, in part because of the district change. “He is trying to circumvent the laws of you have to be a resident of the district you live in,” Thorpe said. Knotts said he wants to bring his focus on transportation and public safety concerns to District 26 along with his experience as a former county councilman. He said he wants to put cameras in the schools and try to get light rail access across the Woodrow Wilson Bridge. “I consider myself battle-tested and proven,” Knotts said. “I bring experience. It isn’t about, ‘What I will do for you,’ it is about what I have done.” ccook@gazette.net

Starting this month, Laurel city government departments and officials may be only a finger tap away. The city is in the final stages of developing a smartphone application called “My Laurel” that will let residents access information about city government, receive important notifications and request city services, said Laurel spokesman Pete Piringer. “[The app] is essentially our website on steroids,” Piringer said. “We’re pretty excited about it.” My Laurel will include some of the same features available through the city’s website, which receives about 17,165 visits each month, according to Kevin Frost, the city’s information technology director. The new app also will include different features, such as a service request option. Residents can use their smartphones or tablets to request assistance with issues like potholes and downed trees, Piringer said. Users can submit a photo of the incident, track repairs and even enable GPS, so city workers can pinpoint the location, he said. It also will show other service requests submitted nearby. “It only takes seconds,” Piringer said. “We think it is really going to enhance our ability to respond to things. It will make us a better government.” Piringer said My Laurel will incorporate all city departments, but the public works department and police department likely will receive the most requests. Laurel Police Chief Rich McLaughlin said he wants to make sure residents clearly understand how the app should

Kevin Maxwell, Prince George’s County Public Schools CEO, visited his 100th school on Jan. 29 with a visit to tour Capitol Heights Elementary School. After being hired as the school system’s leader in July 2013, Maxwell said it was his intention to visit all 205 schools in the county by the end of his ﬁrst school year. Maxwell said that with the visit to Capitol Heights, he is well on his way towards meeting that goal. Maxwell met with Acting Principal Clara Yancey, toured the school and visited classrooms. Maxwell said the visits accomplish

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be used to communicate with police. “This is not replacing 911. This is a 311 service,” he said, referring to websites and phone systems where government bodies answer common questions and complaints, “not a 911 service. McLaughlin said the appropriate time to use the app to contact police is during a nonemergency situation, such as vandalism or a chronic parking complaint. The app is part of a technological overhaul the city initiated to serve residents, Piringer said. Other recent upgrades include the expansion of city Wi-Fi and an increase in social media activity, he said. My Laurel is being developed by PublicStuff, a company that designed similar programs for Chicago and New York, in collaboration with the Laurel information technology department, Piringer said. The app, which will be free for users, is being funded through the city’s IT budget and will end up costing around $5,000 to $10,000 to develop, said Laurel Mayor Craig Moe. Moe said he has accessed similar applications in other cities using his iPad and he believes the tool will help connect residents — particularly younger ones. “The younger generation — this is what they’re using,” he said. “Mobile apps are the way of the future. We want to be on the cutting edge.” Moe said one of the most important functions of My Laurel will be the ability to create a digital conversation between residents and the city’s staff and ofﬁcials. “I think it has got to be a two-way street where people can communicate with their government and their government can communicate with them,” he said.

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a number of goals. “First and foremost, to see the condition of the facilities, the size of the classes, the kinds of programs we have, the level of instruction, with my own eyes,” Maxwell said. “One of the other important things is to let teachers and principals and counselors and building service workers and cafeteria workers, everybody that works for us, know that I place a value on what they are doing, that I feel it is important to set aside a pretty signiﬁcant portion of my schedule to see and to learn what they’re doing.”

— JAMIE ANFENSON-COMEAU

T HE G AZ ET T E

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Thursday, February 6, 2014 lr

Hyattsville Middle arts students battle to advance together

Paws for a cause

Northwestern High School rule hinders middle-schoolers in nearby program n

BY JAMIE

ANFENSON-COMEAU STAFF WRITER

EMILIE EASTMAN/THE GAZETTE

Pat Jarvis, a volunteer with Laurel-based Fidos for Freedom, and her therapy dog, Jay Bear, visit Saturday with Jane Curran of Burtonsville.

Therapy dogs help in wake of shootings BY

EMILIE EASTMAN STAFF WRITER

A week after the shooting at The Mall in Columbia, one Laurel organization decided to help the community heal with a little assistance from man’s best friend. Fidos for Freedom, a nonproﬁt that trains therapy and service dogs, asked Maryland residents affected by the tragedy to join more than 30 volunteers and their dogs at Fidos headquarters Saturday for a calming and rejuvenating experience. “An event like this [allows people to] come here, and sort of process that and talk about it,” said Tracy Bowman, Fidos’ board president. “If you’re touching the dog, I think there’s that tactile touch that helps to bring down the endorphins and lower blood pressure and just reduce the stress.” Attendees were able to pet and visit with the dogs while chatting with Fidos volunteers and other visitors. Fidos staff member Sandy Ball helped coordinate the event and said she started planning shortly after she

heard about the Jan. 25 shooting, which left three people dead, including the gunman. “We wanted to offer comfort,” Ball said. “We know our dogs can do that. It’s just the unconditional love I think they give.” Fidos for Freedom opened its doors in Laurel in 1987 and has since recruited and trained around 130 therapy dogs and their owners who visit facilities such as hospitals, nursing homes and schools, Ball said. The organization also trains service dogs and raises awareness about disabilities, she said. Laurel Mayor Craig Moe attended Fidos’ event Saturday to show support for the organization and the community’s healing process, he said. “Fidos for Freedom always do a wonderful job for the community,” Moe said. “I grew up with dogs — they become part of the family. These in particular, these dogs really assist and help a lot of people.” Carrie Nicholsen, a Fidos client and volunteer, said she was thinking about going to the mall Jan. 25 before she heard about the shooting. She said she

still feels shaken about the incident. “It was hard, because I go there all the time,” she said. “I just don’t want to go [back] there right away.” John Silva of Eldersburg attended the event with his wife, Cindi, and son, Brian, and said the family was at Fidos’ center when the mall shooting took place. Brian Silva, an Air Force veteran, suffered traumatic brain injury during a car accident three years ago and is working with Fidos to find a service dog. “In the three months we’ve been here working with Fidos, we’ve seen a really significant improvement in how [Brian Silva] thinks about himself and how he interacts with the folks here,” John Silva said. “It’s just amazing.” Bowman said Fidos occasionally hosts community events, but this was one of the first designed to aid recovery after a tragedy mourned nationwide. “We had a lot of volunteers who felt really passionately about doing this event,” she said. “We wanted to just give back.” eeastman@gazette.net

Laurel gets help to connect with community Police chief: New supervisor also will oversee civilian staff

EMILIE EASTMAN STAFF WRITER

Laurel police created a management position intended to help improve communication with the community and oversee civilian staff members. The city hired John Wagner, a retired Navy chief who served for more than 20 years, on Jan. 13 to fill the new role of service supervisor. Laurel Police Chief Rich McLaughlin said the department’s civilian components have expanded over the past few years and needed the additional oversight. “We’ve added a lot of additional services, [such as] fingerprinting five days a week,” he said. “I just thought it was time to put somebody in that was hands-on.” As services supervisor, Wagner’s duties will include overseeing the approximate 24 civilian staff members that make up the communications, records and evidence departments, McLaughlin said. Dorcas Kiptepkut of Laurel said police are visible and active with the community, but said the city’s needs are changing as it expands. She said she anticipates transportation becoming an issue as new developments like Towne Centre Laurel draw out-of-town visitors, but she remains

GREG DOHLER/THE GAZETTE

John Wagner (top), services supervisor for the Laurel Police Department, confers with dispatcher Bob Bain in Laurel. optimistic about Laurel’s future. “I don’t know what it’s going to be like,” she said. “But I’m looking forward to it.” Some of Wagner’s tasks were previously performed by Jimmy Collins, Laurel police public information ofﬁcer. “I want to tidy everything up. I want to tie it all together,” McLaughlin said. “If there’s any room for growth, any room for improvement, its time to do that.” Wagner, 40, who lives near Fort Meade, said he has experience running volunteer programs for the Navy and his management and community relations

skills are the perfect combination for his new position. “I’m a people person. I’ve had a lot of training with management,” he said. “The military trains you to lead from Day One.” Wagner said one of his main goals will be improving communication and interactions with the public. “We are family here, and I want the community [members] to understand that we are family,” he said. “We want to help them as much as they need help.” eeastman@gazette.net

Boundary restrictions for Northwestern High School’s new Jim Henson Academy of Visual and Performing Arts program might be changed to allow more talent into the school, ofﬁcials said. Currently, the program only accepts students living within the Hyattsville school’s boundaries, preventing many from nearby Hyattsville Middle School’s arts program from attending Northwestern’s program. Hyattsville Middle’s Creative and Performing Arts program accepts students from across northern Prince George’s County — so arts students living outside the school’s boundaries are not able to matriculate with their classmates into Northwestern. Precious Carter, coordinator of Hyattsville Middle School’s program, said approximately 75 percent of the 200 students enrolled in the school’s arts program are out-ofboundary students. “Why allow students to attend a feeder school for Northwestern and then not allow them to attend it?” Carter asked the school board during its Jan. 23 meeting. “Why deny them the opportunity to further develop their craft to prepare them for collegiate auditions and scholarships?” Leona Lowery-Fitzhugh, coordinator of the Northwestern arts program, said the school needs more students with a background in the arts to be competitive.

“Students who are beginning or entry level at grade nine are less likely to successfully compete for college and conservatory auditions because of their lack of intensive training,” Lowery-Fitzhugh told the board. Suitland High School has a Creative and Performing Arts program that is open to out-of-boundary students, but Lowery-Fitzhugh asked the board why northern county students should be bused to Suitland when many of them live within walking distance of Northwestern. Northwestern and Suitland are the only two county high schools with visual and performing arts programs. Hyattsville Middle eighth-grader Morgan Austin of Cheverly said Suitland would be twice the commute of Northwestern and asked the board to allow her to remain with her peers who will go on to Northwestern. “We have bonded and gelled and fed off each other’s creativity. We have formed relationships that will forever be a part of me,” Austin said. School board member Amber Waller (Dist. 3) said CEO Kevin Maxwell and his staff will discuss allowing Hyattsville Middle students to audition for Northwestern’s arts program regardless of where they live. “It’s under consideration, but no decision has yet been made,” said Waller, whose district includes both schools. Waller said the exception, if made, would just be for Hyattsville Middle School creative and performing arts students. janfenson-comeau@gazette.net

New Laurel ﬁre chief plans focus on training Leader also hopes to expand the department n

EMILIE EASTMAN STAFF WRITER

When Laurel’s new fire chief isn’t working 24-hour shifts as a firefighter in Baltimore, he will be enhancing Laurel’s volunteer fire department through drills, training and education, he said. The Laurel fire department elected Chief Duane Hull, 26, and Deputy Chief Darrin Grant, 49, in January, and the pair said they plan to emphasize training and expanding the department, as well familiarizing members with a newly purchased ambulance. Hull, a Laurel resident who began volunteering with the department in 2006, said the leadership role appealed to him as a way he could help improve and prioritize the department. “I just wanted to focus the department on our basic services we provide,” he said. “That’s our primary goal right now — that we’re providing a service level the citizens deserve.” Grant, 49, of Laurel is a fire safety inspector for the state and has spent almost 12 years with the Laurel fire department, he said. Grant said he worked closely with Hull in the past and the new chief is motivated and well-equipped for someone his age. “[Duane Hull] is very well educated, very well trained,” Grant said. “Working with him will be a great opportunity. He’s a very good leader. It makes working underneath him very enjoyable.” Both men were nominated by fellow firefighters and chosen dur-

ing the department’s annual elections on Jan 13. At that time, the station’s former chief, Trey Kelso, moved on to become a trustee on the department’s board of directors. The Laurel volunteer fire department is made up of about 100 volunteer firefighters and paid career firefighters staffed by the Prince George’s County Fire/EMS Department, Hull said. Some volunteers are career firefighters by day, but many have unrelated jobs such as engineering or information technology, Hull said. “We have a very diverse fire station,” he said. “Some people might say [career firefighters make better volunteers], but I disagree. It’s all how seriously people want to take it. You can be a really great firefighter and still be an accountant.” Hull said the department responded to around 5,300 calls last year. The Laurel volunteer fire department also provides emergency medical services and recently purchased a new ambulance, which will add to the fleet of three fire engines, an ambulance and a ladder truck, Hull said. Mark Brady, a spokesperson for the county fire/EMS department, said the county is excited to work with Hull and Grant in their new roles. “We look forward to working with them as we do with all the volunteer leadership throughout the county,” Brady said. “[The Laurel Volunteer Fire Department] is a very good department with a wide diversity of membership and they do a tremendous job day in and day out.” eeastman@gazette.net

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Montpelier Elementary makes Maryland car sales reach Final Four in Science Bowl highest level since 2007 n

Laurel team earns win over University Park

BY JAMIE ANFENSON-COMEAU

JAMIE ANFENSON-COMEAU/THE GAZETTE

Montpelier Elementary students Katie Godshall, Haris Chaudry and Alison DeMik, accompanied by their canine good luck charms, discuss the answer to a question in the elementary school Science Bowl playoffs. Host David Zahren said University Park’s speed on the buzzer was generally a benefit, but cost them when they tried to anticipate the answer before he finished the question. “We buzzed a little early on some of the questions, so it was kind of hard to think of some of the answers,” Chloe said. With the win, Montpelier has earned a spot in the Science Bowl “Final Four,” and will compete against Berwyn Heights and two other teams, that have yet to be determined, on April 1 for the chance to be named 2014 Science Bowl Champion. University Park earned their shot at Montpelier with an earlier 195-185 win against the Brandywine Elementary team, comprised of fifth-graders Serenity Smith, Gabriella Martinez and Aaliyah Beckles. The two teams were tied at the end of the first half, but University Park answered three 20-point questions to take the lead. Brandywine team sponsor Gina Losey said her team did very well against tough opponents. “University Park wins all the time, and we ended within 10 points, so I am thrilled,” Losey said. Earlier, Montpelier defeated the District Heights Elementary

team of Devonte Duncan, Madison Holmes and KyAsia Myrick by a score of 230 to 200. The Montpelier team brought stuffed bulldogs, their school mascot, for good luck. “Apparently they’ve been working,” Katie said. janfenson-comeau@ gazette.net

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sales increase slightly was below the 8 percent nationwide jump. The federal government shutdown and sequester budget cuts could have something to do with that, said Peter Kitzmiller, president of the Maryland Automobile Dealers Association. “That didn’t help us,” he said of the shutdown. “A big part of our market here is government workers. While they mostly got paid, a lot of contractors didn’t.” Besides the improvement in the economy, more accessible financing and pent-up demand were factors for last year’s better year, Kitzmiller said. The much better fuel economy with the new vehicles is another reason, he said.

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Tamara C. Darvish remembers the lean times during the recession when dealers tried to lure buyers through “cash for clunkers” and other programs. Therefore, seeing another jump in new vehicle sales — the fourth consecutive annual statewide increase since the decade low point in 2009 — in 2013 from 2012 is a welcome development, even if sales ﬁgures have yet to return to prerecession levels. Darcars Automotive Group, where Darvish is vice president, saw sales rise by 17 percent last year, higher than the 6 percent statewide increase. “Consumers are feeling

more conﬁdence,” said Darvish, a member of the board of directors of the National Automobile Dealers Association, representing Washington-area franchised new car dealers. “We have great ﬁnance rates and incentives available.” The roughly 335,000 new vehicles sold in Maryland last year was the highest number since about 378,000 in 2007, according to the Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration. The average sales price continued to climb to more than $30,000, as the $10.1 billion worth of new cars sold in the state was the most since $10.4 billion in 2006 and greatly improved from $6.7 billion worth sold in 2009. Used vehicle sales statewide rose 3 percent from 2013 to about 645,000 and $6 billion. Maryland’s new vehicle

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Tuesday’s Science Bowl elementary school eliminations came down to the last few questions as Montpelier Elementary of Laurel hung on for a 250-230 win against University Park, the 2013 runner up and winningest school in Science Bowl history. “It was so close, I was freaking out,” said Montpelier fifthgrader Allison DeMik. “I was shaking all over the place,” added fifth-grade team captain Haris Chaudry. The Science Bowl competition, now in its 28th season, is a televised quiz program pitting Prince George’s County public elementary and middle school teams against each other in a series of science-related questions worth five to 25 points, based on difficulty. Both Allison and Haris credited teammate Katie Godshall, also in fifth grade, as being the rock that held the team together. “I had to keep them both together. They were shaking,” Katie said. Montpelier took an early lead in the first half, recognizing that algae increases turbidity in a fish tank and knowing that the sloth shares its name with one of the Seven Deadly Sins. But the University Park team — sixth-graders Chloe Widman, James Dawson and Liam Roy — made a comeback in the second half, and took a five-point lead when James correctly answered a 25-point question when he replied that nymph was the name for a grasshopper’s immature stage. “They were definitely fast on the buzzer. They were a very formidable team,” Katie said.

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T HE G AZ ET T E

Thursday, February 6, 2014 lr

Laurel volunteer firefighter is injured battling townhouse blaze Occupants escaped fire that caused an estimated $300,000 in damages

EMILIE EASTMAN STAFF WRITER

A Laurel volunteer firefighter was injured Jan. 29 while responding to a townhouse fire in Laurel. Mark Brady, Prince George’s County fire/EMS spokesperson, said the firefighter was taken to a hospital and released a short time later. “He sustained some burns to his ears during the fire fight,” Brady said. “They’re not serious.” The fire, which began

shortly before 7 p.m. Wednesday, consumed three townhouses on Compton Avenue in Laurel, Brady said. Fire loss is estimated at $300,000, he said. Two of the townhouses were occupied — one by six adults and two children, the other by a single man, Brady said. All of them escaped uninjured and made alternate living arrangements, he said. Linda Hatcher lives across the street from the building that caught on ﬁre and said she was at home when it happened. “I heard an explosion and I thought it might be a car backﬁring,” she said. “Then I heard another one, and my dog started barking.” Hatcher said she called the

fire department and started thinking about her own potential escape route. “It’s kinda shocking to see flames that high and see somebody’s house on fire,” she said. “It was very scary. I felt bad for the people whose homes were involved.” Firefighters from the Laurel Volunteer Fire Department and Laurel Volunteer Rescue Squad responded to the fire, with support from Howard, Montgomery and Anne Arundel County firefighters, Brady said. The fire remains under investigation, and no cause has yet been determined, Brady said. eeastman@gazette.net

POLICE BLOTTER HYATTSVILLE

JAN. 19 Assault, 3500 block of East West Highway. At approximately 1:30 p.m., the victim was “jumped” and assaulted at the mall by three unknown suspects.

between 2 and 6:45 a.m., someone broke out the rear passenger side window of a parked vehicle. Theft, 5600 block of 40th Avenue. At approximately 10:30 a.m., someone stole a newly delivered package from the victim’s porch.

JAN. 20

JAN. 22

Theft from auto, 4200 block

Theft, 3500 block of East West

of Jefferson Street. Sometime between 2 and 4 p.m., someone broke into a parked vehicle and removed property. Theft, 3500 block of East West Highway. At approximately 3 p.m., two suspects were arrested for shoplifting at a store in the mall. Theft, 3500 block of East West Highway. At approximately 6 p.m., a suspect was arrested for shoplifting at a store in the mall. He was also charged with possession of marijuana. Attempted robbery, Kennedy Street and Lustine Street. At approximately 8:15 p.m., while walking, the victim was approached by an unknown suspect who exited a red Kia Soul and demanded cash. The victim refused and sprayed the suspect with pepper spray before ﬂeeing.

JAN. 21 Drug arrest, 4400 block of Ken-

nedy Street. At approximately 2 a.m., a suspect was arrested for possession of crack cocaine. Vehicle theft, 2800 block of Nicholson Street. Sometime during the night, someone stole a parked 2002 Chrysler Concorde. It was recovered by Prince George’s County police later that morning. Vandalism to auto, 2800 block of Nicholson Street. Sometime

Highway. At approximately 4:15 p.m., a suspect was apprehended for shoplifting at a store in the mall. Drug paraphernalia, 3300 block of Lancer Place. At approximately 10:45 p.m., a suspect was arrested for possession of drug paraphernalia.

JAN. 23 Burglary, 5100 block of Baltimore Avenue. At approximately 4:30 a.m., three unknown suspects broke into a business and stole an ATM machine. Theft from auto, 2700 block of Kirkwood Place. Sometime during the night, someone broke into a parked vehicle and removed the driver’s seat, two airbags and the stereo. Theft, 3500 block of East West Highway. At approximately 11 a.m., a suspect was arrested for shoplifting at a store in the mall. Assault, 4800 block of Rhode Island Avenue. At approximately noon, the victim caught someone trying to steal items from his property. When he tried to stop him, he ﬂed and hit the victim with his vehicle while doing so. After investigation, the suspect was subsequently arrested. Robbery, 6500 block of Belcrest Road. At approximately 2:30 p.m., while the victim was walking, he

was approached by an unknown suspect who exited a red Pontiac sedan, displayed a handgun and announced a robbery. The victim gave him his cell phone, and the vehicle ﬂed westbound on East West Highway.

JAN. 24 Vehicle theft, 5900 block of 31st Avenue. Sometime during the night, someone stole a parked 1998 Plymouth Neon. It was recovered in Mount Rainier later that day. Theft, 3500 block of East West Highway. At approximately 2 p.m., a suspect was arrested for shoplifting at a store in the mall. Theft, 3500 block of East West Highway. At approximately 2 p.m., someone stole the victim’s cell phone from the kiosk she works at in the mall. Theft, 3500 block of East West Highway. At approximately 3 p.m., a suspect was arrested for shoplifting at a store in the mall. Theft, 3500 block of East West Highway. At approximately 5 p.m., a suspect was arrested for shoplifting at a store in the mall.

JAN. 25 Theft, 3500 block of East West Highway. At approximately 2 p.m., a suspect was arrested for shoplifting at a store in the mall. Theft, 3500 block of East West Highway. At approximately 6:30 p.m., a suspect was apprehended for shoplifting at a store in the mall. Theft, 3500 block of East West Highway. At approximately 11:15 p.m., two suspects were arrested for shoplifting from a convenience store.

POLICE BLOTTER LAUREL

JAN. 18

JAN. 17 200 block of Fort Meade Road,

theft from motor vehicle

14000 block of Baltimore Avenue, theft 14100 block of Bowspirit Lane,

theft — bicycle

1000 block of Ward Street, theft – motor vehicle parts/accessories

14400 block of Greenview Drive, theft

JAN. 19 14900 block of Ashford Place,

motor vehicle theft

JAN. 20

Obituary Jonathan Shelby Foust,

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age 27, a resident of Brandywine, Maryland entered into eternal rest on Wednesday, January 29, 2014 at his residence. He was born May 26, 1986 in Albuquerque, New Mexico to John and Janie Foust. Jonathan lived in New Mexico and Texas for many years before spending the rest of his life in the Metropolitan Washington, D.C. area. Jonathan worked as a government contractor in the cyber-security field. He was a very loving son, brother and uncle. Jonathan had a big heart and always put everyone else first, before himself. His hobbies included watching sports, playing computer games and watching movies. He enjoyed being with his friends and hanging out at Fast Eddie’s Sports & Billiards in Springfield, VA. He will be dearly missed but never forgotten. He is survived by his father and mother, John and Janie Foust of Brandywine and one sister, Melissa Foust Gunn of Beaumont, Texas, one nephew, Travis Foust, and three nieces, Martha Foust, Jayla Gunn & Savannah Gunn, all of Beaumont. He is also survived by many aunts, uncles and cousins from across the United States. A memorial service was held from 6:00 to 8:00 pm on February 3rd in Maryland at Pope Funeral Home, Forestville Chapel. 1905656

900 block of Fifth Street/Montrose Avenue, theft — bicycle 300 block of Main Street, theft 100 block of Irving Street, theft 300 block of Montrose Avenue,

theft from building

14700 block of Baltimore Avenue, motor vehicle theft

JAN. 21 300 block of Domer Avenue,

theft — shoplifting

JAN. 22 Unit block of Woodland Court, theft from motor vehicle/vandalism

14700 block of Baltimore Avenue, theft 14200 block of Baltimore Avenue, theft — shoplifting

JAN. 23 9100 block of Marshall Avenue, theft 14600 block of Baltimore Avenue, burglary — forced entry

JAN. 24 14600 block of Baltimore Avenue, theft

JAN. 25 100 block of Thomas Drive,

theft

JAN. 26 7600 block of Lotus Court,

burglary — forced entry

300 block of Montrose Avenue,

theft

800 block of Kay Court, theft — motor vehicle parts/accessories

T HE G AZ ET T E

Thursday, February 6, 2014 lr

Page A-7

POLICE BLOTTER Complete report at www.gazette.net This activity report is provided by the Prince Georgeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s County Police Department as a public service to the community and is not a complete listing of all events and crime reported.

District 1 Headquarters, Hyattsville, 301-699-2630, covering Adelphi, Beltsville, Berwyn Heights, Bladensburg, Brentwood, Calverton, Cheverly, Chillum, College Park, Colmar Manor, Cottage City, Edmonston, Greenbelt, Hyattsville, Landover, Landover Hills, Langley Park, Mount Rainier, New Carrollton, North Brentwood, Riverdale, Riverdale Park, University Park and West Lanham Hills.

Commercial property breakin, 4900 block Taylor Road, 8:47

a.m.

Vehicle stolen, 5000 block

Colburn Terrace, 9:56 a.m. Theft, 6500 block Riggs Road, 11:09 a.m. Residential break-in, 7400 block 18th Ave, 1:02 p.m. Assault, 5300 block 85th Ave, 2:15 p.m. Theft, 8100 block Baltimore Ave, 3:21 p.m. Residential break-in, 6700 block Northwest Drive, 4:32 p.m. Theft, 4500 block Knox Road, 6:22 p.m. Theft from vehicle, 3500 block East West Highway, 9:21 p.m.

JAN. 29 Vehicle stolen, 3500 block Bladensburg Road, 9:41 a.m. Vehicle stolen, 6500 block Landover Road, 10:22 a.m. Theft, 5600 block Gallatin Place, 12:25 p.m. Theft, 7800 block Riverdale Road, 12:59 p.m. Theft, 9700 block 52nd Ave, 2:15 p.m. Assault, 1400 block University Blvd, 3:13 p.m. Robbery, 3700 block 37th Place, 6:16 p.m. Theft, 5300 block 85th Ave, 6:21 p.m. Theft, 7800 block Riverdale

Road, 6:50 p.m.

Theft from vehicle, 6600 block

Parkwood St., 6:57 p.m. Theft, 7400 block 18th Ave, 7:36 p.m. Theft, 5900 block 15th Ave, 8:15 p.m. Theft, 9300 block Limestone Place, 9:39 p.m. Theft from vehicle, 5000 block Roanoke Place, 11:12 p.m.

JAN. 30 Theft from vehicle, 6800 block Riverdale Road, 5:37 a.m. Theft from vehicle, 6300 block Auburn Ave, 6:53 a.m. Vehicle stolen, 7100 block An-

napolis Road, 8:09 a.m. Vehicle stolen, 5000 block Colburn Terrace, 10:00 a.m. Theft from vehicle, 6100 block 85th Ave, 2:10 p.m. Theft, 3500 block 55th Ave, 3:03 p.m. Theft from vehicle, 8500 block Riggs Road, 3:42 p.m. Theft from vehicle, 6400 block Forest Road, 4:03 p.m. Theft, 8400 block Annapolis Road, 5:44 p.m. Theft, 7200 block Lois Lane, 7:02 p.m. Vehicle stolen, 6800 block Highview Terrace, 11:04 p.m.

JAN. 31 Commercial property breakin, 3100 block Queens Chapel

Road, 4:53 a.m.

Vehicle stolen, 1900 block Chapman Road, 5:19 a.m. Vehicle stolen, 6900 block Vallery St., 6:07 a.m. Vehicle stolen and recovered,

4600 block 22nd Ave, 6:28 a.m. Vehicle stolen, 2400 block Chillum Road, 7:31 a.m. Theft from vehicle, 2500 block Wayne Place, 7:36 a.m. Vehicle stolen, 3400 block Toledo Terrace, 7:53 a.m. Theft from vehicle, 6300 block Joslyn Place, 8:40 a.m.

JAN. 27 Vehicle stolen, 6800 block Riverdale Road, 1:05 a.m.

Commercial property break-in,

7300 block Baltimore Ave, 1:34 a.m. Vehicle stolen, 800 block Cox Ave, 6:57 a.m. Theft from vehicle, 8000 block 18th Ave, 7:27 a.m. Theft from vehicle, 6700 block Riverdale Road, 7:54 a.m. Vehicle stolen and recovered,

1800 block Metzerott Road, 9:10 a.m. Theft from vehicle, 9700 block 49th Place, 11:34 a.m. Theft, 7500 block Annapolis Road, 11:39 a.m. Theft from vehicle, 37th St. At Taylor St., 1:56 p.m. Residential break-in, 3700 block Quincy St., 2:47 p.m. Vehicle stolen, 8100 block 15th Ave, 6:12 p.m. Theft, 3000 block Queens Chapel Road, 8:34 p.m. Residential break-in, 9200 block Moon River Court, 8:56 p.m. Residential break-in, 1900 block Roxburgh Court, 9:09 p.m.

JAN. 28 Vehicle stolen, 6200 block Kenilworth Ave, 4:44 a.m. Theft from vehicle, 6300 block Auburn Ave, 7:10 a.m. Theft from vehicle, 5800 block Riggs Road, 8:32 a.m.

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T HE G AZ ET T E

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TREE

Continued from Page A-1 fect July 1, also requires the city to replace public trees that are removed, Christopherson said. Mount Rainier Mayor Malinda Miles said the issue of urban forest preservation becomes complicated when dealing with trees on private property. “I understand the importance of trees. At the same time there are property rights I reserve to myself and I reserve those to others,” she said. “I would like the city to have a balance.” The Mount Rainier Tree Commission has also been working with the city and local utility companies to minimize the damage incurred when companies cut away city trees to make room for power lines, Christo-

LAUREL

Continued from Page A-1 Laurel. He said Lost Laurel was inspired from his sense that the city was rapidly changing and that many of his childhood haunts had disappeared. “Every time I would go back [to visit Laurel], I would notice something else would change,” he said. “Then it dawned on me — pretty much everything I knew from the ’80s was gone.” So in 2010, Friend created a Monopolythemed Internet game called “Laurelopoly,” where players could learn more about the city and unlock a new Laurel icon image each week. About 1,000 people played the game, Friend said. Then, in 2011, the Lost Laurel Facebook page was born and has since amassed nearly 4,000 followers. The Lost Laurel blog and Lost Laurel book are different iterations of the same concept: revisiting and documenting Laurel’s history through photographs and memorabilia, Friend said. Friend raised more than $17,000 to fund the printing of his 200-page book, which he designed himself. Kevin Leonard, 59, is a member of the Laurel Historical Society board and owns

BUDGET

Continued from Page A-1 sentation, which it needs to be in the budget for.” Marshall said the festival, with live music, performances, international food vendors, face-painting and more, helped bring the Hyattsville community together.

Thursday, February 6, 2014 lr

pherson said. Barbara Becker, a Washington, D.C.-area tour guide who said she fought to save trees in the neighboring town of Brentwood, said urban forests are threatened when nonprofessionals trim branches. “That’s one thing I really don’t understand is the whole deal with Pepco. I mean are there no arborists in the world?” she said. “They just have butchers whose job is to cut the branches away from the wires and that’s it.” Christopherson said the new legislation will be a way for Mount Rainier to distinguish itself and enhance future city development. “We want people to know that they’re arriving somewhere special when they enter Mount Rainier,” he said. “Because we’re a gateway to Prince George’s County, we need to be attractive. We need to be an example.” eeastman@gazette.net Leonard Group Inc., a company that does writing, editing and historical research for ﬁlms and documentaries. Leonard wrote the foreword for Friend’s book and said the two have collaborated on historical projects. “The interest in Laurel history is very strong,” Leonard said. “The people of Laurel, they like their history, because it clearly brings them back to a time and place that they really enjoyed. I do it too.” While Friend has lived in Virginia for more than 10 years, he said he isn’t interested in preserving the history of Centreville. “That’s the irony,” he said. “I have no real interest in this area. There really isn’t the kind of history here.” Friend said he would eventually like to broaden his scope to all of Prince George’s County and help log the memories of other municipalities. “I’m not a writer. I’m not a historian, but I do enjoy trying,” he said. “It’s the deﬁnition of a labor of love.” Lost and Found Laurel is a free exhibit and will run through December 2014 at the Laurel Historical Society museum, located at 817 Main St. in Laurel. eeastman@gazette.net

“The whole point was to have the community come out together and celebrate the diversity within the Hyattsville community,” Marshall said. Councilman Bart Lawrence (Ward 1) said the city was forced to make some difﬁcult choices last year, as a delay in the budget process forced the city to dip into its reserves to cover a $1 million deﬁcit.

Prince George’s County Public Schools CEO Kevin Maxwell (right) listens to students Jan. 30 in a secondgrade talented and gifted class taught by Bridget Collins (left). DAN GROSS/THE GAZETTE

SPANISH

Continued from Page A-1 can speak Spanish,” said Maxwell, who did his doctoral dissertation on language immersion. “We need Spanish-speaking teachers, administrators, secretaries, police officers, firefighters, pilots. We need bilingual people in much greater numbers than we have them right now.” Maxwell’s proposed budget currently includes approximately $1.44 million to be used to establish Spanish and dual SpanishEnglish immersion. The specialty school application deadline is March 12. Maxwell said he understands that parents may feel some uncertainty applying for a program that doesn’t officially exist yet. “But I’m very optimistic the program will be there, so I feel pretty comfortable going ahead and finding the people who are interested in having their children in these programs,” Maxwell said. Capitol Heights is a neighborhood school, meaning only

“I think at the time it was a creative solution, under the circumstances and with our backs against the wall,” Lawrence said. Lawrence said he hopes the International Street Festival can be restored, but that it will be one of the budget issues the council will have to wrestle with this cycle. Councilman Joseph Solomon (Ward 5) said he felt last

students within the school’s designated boundaries are accepted. Conversely, the three new Spanish immersion schools Maxwell is also proposing will be specialty schools, meaning students from anywhere in the county apply via lottery for a limited number of seats. The three elementary schools currently under consideration to become the new specialty schools are Cesar Chavez in Hyattsville, Phyllis E. Williams in Largo and Overlook Elementary in Temple Hills. The program at Cesar Chavez actually would be a dual SpanishEnglish immersion program, Maxwell said, meaning a student body of approximately equal numbers of native English and Spanish speakers would be taught in both languages. The transition to specialty schools will be phased in, Maxwell said. Students currently attending those schools as neighborhood schools will continue to do so. However, the school boundaries will be redrawn, so that upcom-

janfenson-comeau@ gazette.net

year’s combined event went well, but would like the International Street Festival to have more prominence. “I’d like to see more of multicultural elements added to the event,” Solomon said. Resident April Downs asked the City Council to consider entering into an arrangement to allow residents to ride the University of Maryland bus, which travels down 42nd Avenue and Queensbury Road. Under the new budget structure adopted by the council Jan.

27, city staff will present the council with a preliminary draft budget Feb. 26, said city spokeswoman Abby Sandel. Sandel said the city will rely on an estimate based on the current year’s projection of $14.5 million in revenues for its preliminary draft budget until it receives its property tax estimate from Prince George’s County later this month. The council will also decide whether to leave the current property tax rate, which has remained unchanged at .63 per

$1,000 of assessed value since 2005, or adjust it, Sandel said. The council is scheduled to hold a public hearing on the tax rate March 12. “Once we have that number set, and we have the hard numbers from the county about what our tax revenues should be, then we’ll have a harder number to work with,” Sandel said. The council is scheduled to adopt a budget May 28.

SHUTTLE

implementation of the proposal. “I’m having a hard time accepting we are getting into the business of providing free passes to some residents,” City Councilman Edouard Haba (Ward 4) said at the Jan. 27 council meeting. “These people could be people who are well off, could afford to pay it. There is no eligibility.” Haba said providing the service is a good idea even at a discounted price, adding that he wouldn’t vote on the motion if the shuttle passes were free. Councilman Bart Lawrence (Ward 1) said he supported a nominal fee of $5. “I would encourage you to think that perhaps fully subsidizing it, if it were to be imple-

mented, would be the best way to encourage use by those unable to ﬁnd transportation by other means throughout this route,” Councilman Clayton Williams (Ward 5) said. Hunt said he preferred it to be free, but he is open to other options, such as a nominal fee. The City Council decided to send the proposal to staff for further evaluation on its implementation. Officials said they have not set a timeline for plan implementation. “It’s not a lot of money,” Councilwoman Shani Warner (Ward 2) said. “It could be a big beneﬁt. We might not have a lot of people who sign up for it, but this is the sort of thing I wish we had more of.”

Continued from Page A-1 passes that expire annually, at a cost of $6,000. Greenbelt provides 1,000 annual passes for a fee of $4,452, or $4.45 per pass. The University of Maryland 113 Hyattsville shuttle connects the campus and runs through University Hills, University Town Center, Mosaic at Metro, the Mall at Prince George’s, the Prince George’s Plaza Metro, the Metro Shoppes, neighborhoods adjoining Queensbury Road, the Historic District and the Arts District. Councilman Tim Hunt (Ward 3) originally submitted the motion in December 2012. The council still is evaluating the

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ing kindergartners zoned for those schools will instead attend other neighborhood schools in this fall, and the kindergarten seats instead will be filled by Spanish immersion students. Bowler said she is glad the school system is moving quickly, even if the ﬁnal approvals haven’t been received yet. “I’d rather ﬁnd out the sites in the last few months than have to wait another year,” said Bowler, whose daughter will begin kindergarten in the fall. Deanah Mitchell of Glenn Dale said she has been considering where to send her 4-year-old daughter to kindergarten in 2015, adding that she is “ecstatic” the school system is considering implementing Spanish immersion. “In this day and age, Spanish is one of the leading languages in the world, and especially in Maryland, there are so many Spanishspeaking individuals, so I want my daughter to have the opportunity to learn Spanish,” Mitchell said.

janfenson-comeau@ gazette.net

1884458

The Gazette OUROPINIONS

Forum

Thursday, February 6, 2014

Page A-9

Parents make a big difference

It’s no secret that getting parents involved in Prince George’s County schools has been a bit of a battle over the years. Despite efforts that included creating parent liaison positions to make the school system easier to navigate and hosting myriad events to lure parents, many schools still struggle just to get enough participation to form a PTA. So it’s all the more important to highlight when a group of parents unite in an organized manner to fight for what they feel is best for students — which is exactly what happened at Obama Elementary School in Upper Marlboro. County education officials planned to remove the sixth-grade class from the school in the next academic year to relieve overcrowding and move the grade level to OBAMA nearby middle schools, an ELEMENTARY effort occurring countywide to get the grade level out of CHANGE IS A GREAT EXAMPLE elementary schools. Obama ElemenOF COMMUNITY, taryHowever, parents saw flaws in the COUNTY plan and had a better way to COOPERATION handle the situation. They discussed the issue in PTA meetings and testified before the school board. They asked for a delay in the grade level’s move to allow more time for children to prepare for the transition, and they asked for boundaries to be redrawn given that some nearby elementary schools appeared to be underutilized — and they won. County school officials are now holding off on moving the sixth-grade class until the 2015-16 school year, and they are taking another look at school boundaries. School board member Lyn Mundey (Dist. 7) told The Gazette the changes were made directly because of parents’ efforts. “They were highly motivated and highly organized around this issue,” Mundey said. “It is really a collaborative process to work together for what is best for the students.” For some, the parents’ success may seem like a small feat. However, in a county where low parental participation is such a problem that officials considered making it the sole focus of the school board, every example of parents stepping up is important. Granted, parents aren’t solely to blame for the weak participation. Education officials acknowledge that they could do more in some cases to make schools more welcoming. And it wasn’t that long ago that the school board was so dysfunctional and out of touch with residents that the General Assembly disbanded the elected group. However, having parents speak up and have their ideas embraced by the school system is a positive sign. Many studies show that when parents and schools work together, students perform better in their classes. Obama Elementary parents — and parents countywide who take the time to show up at school and board meetings to address concerns — show that even a small, vocal group can make a big difference.

LETTERS TOT HE EDITOR

‘P.G. County is becoming a dumping ground’ I am a resident of Prince George’s County and have been so for approximately 38 years. I will keep my comments short and to the point: P.G. County is becoming a dumping ground for trash, i.e., beer cans, bottles, tires, plastic sheeting, etc., and does not appear to represent “the highly educated” citizenry that County Executive Baker touts in his remarks regarding the county. What highly educated person would trash their own neighborhood? Our roadways, entrance and exit ramps onto the Beltway and major thoroughfares are littered with trash and debris, cigarette butts, containers, etc. As a homeowner and taxpayer in the county, I ﬁnd this extremely upsetting. I am more than delighted in recent progress in the county, namely the Harbor, the various shopping entities, the newly announced casino and the 15-story

Bowie’s proposed solution spotlights county problem Bowie Mayor G. Frederick Robinson announced that the city hopes to create its own call center. The proposed operation would let residents call in non-emergencies and likely get a quicker response than they do now when calling Prince George’s County’s non-emergency number. “It is nothing against the county,” Bowie Police Chief John Nesky said. “It is purely a numbers thing. I’ve had someone email me saying they were on hold for an hour.” Currently, county non-emergency calls are handled by staff who also answer 911 calls, according to Nesky. During busy periods, city residents complain they are being put on hold for long amounts of time — even though their nonemergency matters are largely handled by Bowie police. The new system, which first needs City Council approval, would allow Bowie residents to contact the city call staff, who would dispatch the information to Bowie police. The plan makes sense, but highlights a problem likely being faced by other county residents whose communities may not be able to afford their own call centers. Bowie is planning to pay $500,000 per year for its center. On the bright side, with Bowie being one of the largest cities in the state, having a city call center should lighten the load on county staff and potentially improve service for other county residents. However, it’s not sufficient to assume call volumes will improve. Prince George’s officials should review the concerns raised by Bowie residents and look for ways to improve county services — or figure out why the system doesn’t seem to be working for the Bowie community. If staffing is a problem, perhaps county leaders could work with other municipalities that have police departments to model plans similar to Bowie’s. In the end, it’s a great opportunity for Bowie to improve service for residents — and for the county to review its own performance.

The Gazette Douglas S. Hayes, Associate Publisher

Ferris wheel. However, at the current rate, I will have to drive through a mountain of trash to visit these amenities. I am outraged and would like the county to stop this trashing of this part of the state. A call to P.G. environmental services requires that I give street(s) involved, the cross streets, etc., which can be cumbersome in view of the fact that the entire county is becoming awash in trash! Part of the responsibility is also on the state government, which is hard to reach by phone. I realize this is going to cost money, but I am also aware that the state of Maryland has also committed billions of dollars for a new phase of the Metro to connect P.G. and Montgomery counties. I am starting with The Gazette but hope to encourage our state and county executives to do something about this. Trash leads to abandonment, crime,

Ken Sain, Sports Editor Dan Gross, Photo Editor Jessica Loder, Web Editor

Elva M. Matthews, Clinton

Send your letters Letters must include the writer’s name, address and telephone number. The phone number will not be published; it is for veriﬁcation purposes only. We reserve the right to edit all letters. Letters selected may be shortened for space reasons. Send letters to: Editor, Gazette Newspapers, 13501 Virginia Manor Road, Laurel, MD 20707. E-mail them to princegeorges@gazette.net.

Biggest disappearing acts of 2013 • The Grahams. After 80 years the Graham family sells the struggling Washington Post to billionaire Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon, which, ironically, helped kill classified advertising. Also disappearing in 2013 was the Post’s ombudsman position, the readers’ advocate. • The Allbrittons. Bob Allbritton sells eight TV stations, including the D.C. area’s WJLA (Channel 7), to Baltimore-based Sinclair Broadcasting. • The Washington Examiner. Drops its print edition, abandons local news and becomes an online national news service. • Maryland Life Magazine. Closes its doors due to MY MARYLAND circulation and ad BLAIR LEE shortfalls. • Baltimore’s Grand Prix. The city’s Labor Day IndyCar race never made financial sense and finally dies a quiet death. • Ed Papenfuse. This living piece of Maryland history, the state archivist, retired after collecting and preserving precious state artifacts and records for 38 years. • Sen. Norman Stone. The senator from Dundalk is calling it quits after 13 terms (52 years) in Annapolis. When they tried gerrymandering his district in 2002, the senator — quiet, dignified and humble — sued and won. Who says nice guys finish last? • Alex Mooney. This Frederick Republican lost his Senate seat in 2010, so he became state GOP chairman and, in 2013, moved to West Virginia, where he’s running for Congress. • Delegate Sam Arora. No Montgomery lawmaker ever lost re-election by raising taxes, failing to bring home the bacon or selling the county down the river. But Montgomery delegate Sam Arora was shunned by the Democratic party and saw his career ended for voting against gay marriage. • Morris A. Mechanic Theatre. Balti-

more’s playhouse for touring Broadway plays is razed after a 40-year run. • White Flint. Montgomery’s upscale mall is being replaced by a trendy mixeduse town center. • The Chesapeake Bay Bridge Walk. Canceled, again, the traditional spring bridge-closing and pedestrian walk fell victim to state budget cuts. • Redskins “Hogettes.” Football fans cross-dressed as sows? Weird, yes, but it got them on TV every week. The Hogettes call it quits after 30 seasons.

Worst moves of the year • As Maryland’s Obamacare website exchange crashes spectacularly, its director, Rebecca Pearce, goes on a Caribbean vacation and, when she returns, is dismissed from her $175,000 job. • Responding to gay activists, Montgomery County Executive Ike Leggett asks the Fillmore Music Hall to cancel a band whose lyrics offend homosexuals. • The Anne Arundel school system suspends a 7-year-old who nibbles his breakfast pastry into the shape of a gun. • Several thousand Baltimore city residents are awakened before 6 a.m. when the mayor’s back-to-school celebration robocall is sent too early. • Andre Henry, suspected of committing eight Montgomery County burglaries, is ﬁnally nabbed when he leaves two pages of his criminal court records at the scene of his latest break-in. • Ignoring the city legal department’s opinion that the bill is unconstitutional, the Baltimore City Council requires that a majority of workers for city contractors and city-subsidized projects be Baltimore city residents. • Brunswick elementary school students are stranded at bus stops when the school system fails to notify parents of new bus stop locations. • Ocean City Councilman Brent Ashley, linking tourism decline with unsightly saggy pants, proposes a ban on clothing hanging more than 3 inches below the waistline. Ashley says he wants to turn

13501 Virginia Manor Road, Laurel, MD 20707 | Phone: 240-473-7500 | Fax: 240-473-7501 | Email: princegeorges@gazette.net More letters appear online at www.gazette.net/opinion

Vanessa Harrington, Editor Glen C. Cullen, Senior Editor Copy/Design Meredith Hooker,Managing Editor Internet Nathan Oravec, A&E Editor

drugs, etc., in the community. Something needs to be done!

Dennis Wilston, Corporate Advertising Director Doug Baum, Corporate Classiﬁeds Director Mona Bass, Inside Classiﬁeds Director

Jean Casey, Director of Marketing and Circulation Anna Joyce, Creative Director, Special Pubs/Internet Ellen Pankake, Director of Creative Services

Ocean City into “Maryland’s ﬁrst crackfree city.”

Best moves of the year • The state increases ICC speed limits to 60 mph. • Anne Arundel County Executive Laura Newman vetoes the council’s “rain tax.” • Maryland’s highest court rules that it’s up to the legislature, not the courts, to decide the state’s negligence standards. • State health authorities shut down four abortion clinics after a patient dies and widespread violations are discovered. • When a female cop sues Baltimore city for firing her because she married a convicted murderer who’s a gang member of Dead Man Inc., the court dismisses her case. • Salvation Army volunteers find a $1,300 gold coin dropped into their kettle by an anonymous donor outside a Frederick Giant. • Heroic WSSC workers refuse to give up on a broken valve that threatens a countywide water shutdown in the midst of July’s heat wave. Working non-stop in waist-deep underground water, they fashion new parts and save the day. • Angela McCaskill, Gallaudet U.’s chief diversity officer, who was fired when she signed a petition bringing Maryland’s same-sex marriage law to referendum, sues the school for unlawful discrimination. • State Sen. Bobby Zirkin, a Democrat, crosses party lines, endorsing Republican Sen. Allan Kittleman for Howard County executive. • Managers of Baltimore’s Burns Arena cancel “Touch of Flavor,” a two-day event featuring classes on hot wax, sex-dungeon safety and rope bondage, because children also use the arena. • NFL Ravens star receiver Torrey Smith gets married, cuts off his dreadlocks. Blair Lee is chairman of the board of Lee Development Group in Silver Spring and a regular commentator for WBAL radio. His email address is blairleeiv@gmail.com.

POST COMMUNITY MEDIA Karen Acton, Chief Executive Ofﬁcer Michael T. McIntyre, Controller Donna Johnson, Vice President of Human Resources Maxine Minar, President, Comprint Military

MOVIE REVIEW

LET’S GET AWKWARD? Zac Efron stars in a romantic comedy that sets a low bar.

The Gazette’s Guide to

Page B-4

Arts & Entertainment

www.gazette.net

Thursday, February 6, 2014

Page B-1

STRATHMORE HOSTS FIRST-EVER CONCERT BY LOCAL GOSPEL GROUPS

Gospel truth The

VIRGINIA TERHUNE

STAFF WRITER

o ospel lovers needn’t look too ffar afield to appreciate some first-class local choirs. fi “There’s a lot of great, rrich choral talent in the area, and it hasn’t really been explored,” said Georgina Javor, program director at the Music Center at Strathmore in North Bethesda. On Saturday, Strathmore will host a show called “Make A Joyful Noise: Best of Maryland Gospel,” featuring three choirs from Prince George’s County. Two are church choirs — the James E. Jordan, Jr. Adult Choir associated with the Refreshing Spring Church of God in Christ in Riverdale, and the Tribe of Judah choir associated with the Victory Temple Redeemed Christian Church of God in Bowie. Javor has also invited the well-known Oxon Hill High School choir. Each choir will perform its own mix of traditional and contemporary gospel music. “They’ll run the gamut of the repertoire,” Javor said. There will be some a cappella

The James E. Jordan, Jr. Adult Choir from Riverdale, directed by Courtney King (foreground), will perform with two other choirs from Prince George’s County on Saturday at the Music Center at Strathmore in North Bethesda. The show, “Make a Joyful Noise: Best of Maryland Gospel,” is the ﬁrst time Strathmore has brought together local church choirs to perform on stage.

See GOSPEL, Page B-6

PHOTOS FROM MARGOT SCHULMAN

Raising Jasmine Former ‘A Different World’ actress talks about new show and ﬁghting sex trafﬁcking n

WILL C. FRANKLIN STAFF WRITER

Most probably remember Jasmine Guy for her role as Whitley in “The Cosby Show” spinoff “A Different World” back in the late 1980s. Younger audiences might know her as Sheila “Grams” Bennett on The CW’s hit show “The Vampire Diaries.” For more than 30 years, Guy has been a presence in television, on stage and in movies. The multital-

RAISIN’ CANE: A HARLEM RENAISSANCE ODYSSEY n When: 8 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 8 n Where: Publick Playhouse, 5445 Landover Rd., Cheverly n Tickets: $40, $55 VIP seating n For information: 301-277-1710; arts.pgparks.com n Note: Jasmine Guy’s masterclass will be at 11 a.m. Saturday. Tickets are $20, or $15 if you buy a ticket to the show

ented actor, singer, and dancer will star in “Raisin’ Cane: A Harlem Renaissance Odyssey,” at the Publick Playhouse on Saturday. The show, which features the Avery Sharpe Trio, highlights the explosion of art and important works in Harlem shortly after World War I. “It started as a reading that we did in universities,” Guy said. “I’ve always loved the period of the Harlem Renaissance — that decade between 1919 and 1929 — and I knew a lot about it, but I had no idea how much I didn’t know until I started doing this show.” Guy said even though art, poetry,

See JASMINE, Page B-2 PGPR MEDIA

Page B-10

Thursday, February 6, 2014 lr

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Page B-11

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Thursday, February 6, 2014 lr

Advertorial

G558492

T HE G AZ ET T E

Page B-2

Thursday, February 6, 2014 lr

Complete calendar online at www.gazette.net

PRINCE GEORGE’S COUNTY’S ENTERTAINMENT CALENDAR For a free listing, please submit complete information to noravec@gazette.net at least 10 days in advance of desired publication date. High-resolution color images (500KB minimum) in jpeg format should be submitted when available. THEATER & STAGE Bowie Community Theatre,

“Dark Passages,” coming in February, Bowie Playhouse, 16500 White Marsh Park Drive, Bowie, 301-8050219, www.bctheatre.com. Busboys & Poets, Hyattsville, TBA, 5331 Baltimore Avenue, Hyattsville, 301-779-2787 (ARTS), www.busboysandpoets.com. Greenbelt Arts Center, “The Vagina Monologues,” to Feb. 8, call for prices, Greenbelt Arts Center, 123 Centerway, Greenbelt, 301-441-8770, www.greenbel-

tartscenter.org.

Hard Bargain Players, TBA, 2001 Bryan Point Road, Accokeek, www.hbplayers.org. Joe’s Movement Emporium, Feb. 6; BOOMscat & Proverbs Reggae Band in Concert, 8 p.m. Feb. 7; Joe’s Movement Emporium Valentine’s Day Swing Dance, 7 p.m. Feb. 14, 3309 Bunker Hill Road, Mount Rainier, 301-699-1819, www.joesmovement.org. Laurel Mill Playhouse, Neil Simon’s “45 Seconds from Broadway,” To Feb. 8, call for ticket prices, times, Laurel Mill

Playhouse, 508 Main St., Laurel, 301-452-2557, www.laurelmillplayhouse.org. Montpelier Arts Center, Dinner and a movie: “Bird,” 6 p.m. Feb. 15, 9652 Muirkirk Road, Laurel, 301-377-7800, arts.pgparks.com. Prince George’s Little Theatre, “You Never Know,” coming in May, call for tickets and show times, Bowie Playhouse, 16500 White Marsh Park Drive, Bowie, 301-957-7458, www.pglt.org. Publick Playhouse, “Raisin’ Cane: A Harlem Renaissance Odyssey” starring Jasmine Guy and the Avery Sharpe Trio, 10:15 a.m. Feb. 7, 8 p.m. Feb. 8; Masterclass with Jasmine Guy, 11 a.m. Feb. 8; Songs of Freedom, 10:15 a.m. and noon, Feb. 11, 5445 Landover Road, Cheverly, 301-277-1710, arts.pgparks.com. 2nd Star Productions, “Funny Money,” Jan. 31 to Feb. 15, Bowie Playhouse, 16500 White Marsh Park Drive, Bowie, call for prices, times, 410-757-5700, 301-832-4819, www.2ndstarproductions.com. Tantallon Community Players, August Wilson’s “Seven Guitars,” coming in February, Harmony Hall Regional Center, 10701 Livingston Road, Fort Washington, 301-262-5201, www.tantallonstage.com.

A CLOSER LOOK

PUBLICK PLAYHOUSE

JASMINE IN HARLEM Actor/singer Jasmine Guy and musician Avery Sharpe bring the Harlem Renaissance to life at Publick Playhouse on Saturday.

VISUAL ARTS Brentwood Arts Exchange, Bill Harris, to March 8, opening reception on Jan. 18, 3901 Rhode Island Ave., Brentwood, 301-277-2863, arts.pgparks.com. Harmony Hall Regional Center, TBA, gallery hours from 8:45 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. Monday through Friday, 10701 Livingston Road, Fort Washington, 301-203-6070. arts. pgparks.com. David C. Driskell Center, “Charles White - Heroes: Gone But Not Forgotten,” opens Jan. 30, University of Maryland, College Park. www.driskellcenter.umd.edu. Montpelier Arts Center, “Direct Current: A Multimedia Exploration of Black Life Within Prince George’s County,” to Feb. 24, gallery open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily, 9652 Muirkirk Road, Laurel, 301377-7800, arts.pgparks.com.

New Deal Cafe, Marjorie Gray. collage, opening reception from 7-9 p.m. Feb. 2, through March, 113 Centerway Road, Greenbelt. 301-474-5642, www.newdewalcafe.com.

University of Maryland University College, Joseph Sheppard

- “The Art of Portraiture,” opens April 1, 3501 University Blvd., Adelphi, 301-985-7937, www. umuc.edu/art.

NIGHTLIFE Hand Dancing with D.C. Hand Dance Club, free lesson from 4 to

5 p.m., dancing from 5 to 9 p.m. Sundays at the Coco Cabana, 2031-A University Blvd. E., Hyattsville, $10 cover, www.dchand-

Publick Playhouse Saturday, Feb 8, 8pm

301-277-1710 301-277-0312/tty

Raisin’ Cane: A Harlem Renaissance Odyssey starring Jasmine Guy and the Avery Sharpe Trio

$55/VIP seating

Early entrance, pre-show reception

$40/General Admission 1911695

5445 Landover Rd. Cheverly 20784 3 blocks inside B/W Pkwy on Rte 202 Free, On-Site, Attended Parking

arts.pgparks.com

Yearn to Learn Tours PRESENTS ESCORTED TOURS

LOCAL DAY TRIPS WITH TRANSPORTATION AND MEAL /OVERNIGHT AND INTERNATIONAL TRIPS! Motown the Musical,

“Life Story of Berry Gordy” On Broadway, New York City Orchestra & Front Mezzanine Wed, April 9, 2014 • $199 w/Brunch If you missed it last year, it is not too late!!!

The 27th Annual Gullah Festival & Tour

May 22 to 26, 2014

$769 PP DBL/$1,095 SGL/Triple $709 5 Days 4 Nights of Fun & Learning!

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Mandela’s Long Walk to Freedom

(Escorted) Tour Johannesburg, Soweto and Cape Town 10 Days & 8 Nights • October 16th-25th, 2014 $3,200 DBL occupancy / SGL $4,000 A trip you will never forget!! (Limited seating)

Let Yearn to Learn Tours Take you away for one or more days! Invite your friends & family to join you. Get flyers and brochures off the web for our 2014 tours at www.yearntolearntours.com Call Barbara at 301-390-5835 1884462

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Old Bowie Town Grill, Wednes-

day Night Classic Jam, 8 p.m. every Wednesday, sign-ups start at 7:30 p.m., 8604 Chestnut Ave., Bowie, 301-464-8800, www.oldbowietowngrille.com.

OUTDOORS Dinosaur Park, Dinosaur Park programs, noon-4 p.m. ﬁrst and third Saturdays, join paleontologists and volunteers in interpreting fossil deposits, 13200 block Mid-Atlantic Blvd., Laurel, 301-627-7755. Mount Rainier Nature Center, Toddler Time: hands-on treasures, crafts, stories and soft play, 10:30 a.m.-noon Thursdays, age 5 and younger free, 4701 31st Place, Mount Rainier, 301-927-2163.

footwear and binoculars suggested. Free. 410-765-6482.

REC CENTERS Prince George’s Sports & Learning Complex, Senior Days at

the Sportsplex, 8 a.m.-noon Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, seniors allowed free use of the ﬁtness center and pool, age 60 and up, 8001 Sheriff Road, Landover, 301-583-2400.

Seat Pleasant Activity Center, Line Dancing, 6:30-8 p.m.

Wednesdays, 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturdays, $40 series, $6 drop-ins, age 18 and up, 5720 Addison Road, Seat Pleasant, 301-773-6685.

ET CETERA

Prince George’s Audubon Society, Bird Walks, 7:30 a.m. ﬁrst Sat-

College Park Aviation Museum, Peter Pan Club, 10:30-11:30 a.m. second and fourth Thursdays of every month, activities for preschoolers, $4, $3 seniors, $2 ages 2-18; Afternoon Aviators, 2-4:30 p.m. Fridays, hands-on aviationthemed activities for age 5 and up, $4, $3 seniors, $2 ages 2-18, events free with admission, 1985 Cpl. Frank Scott Drive, College Park, 301-864-6029, www.collegeparkaviationmuseum.com.

JASMINE

to children. Human trafficking has been in the news a lot lately, since the Super Bowl is “commonly known as the single largest human trafficking incident in the United States,” according to the campaign. “Child sex trafficking in our country has existed for many, many years,” Guy said. “Right now, with us knowing as much as we know, that we do not do any more to stop it is kind of where I’m coming from with I Am Not Yours. I want to promote awareness and talk about what is going on out there. It’s kind of a problem that’s swept under the rug. “The Super Bowl is … a big one. That’s when they bring a lot of children in to the major cities when there’s some big event going on and they actually sell these children for sex. I’m glad that people are talking about it now and I hope it’s the beginning of the end now that we know what’s going on and we’re aware of what’s going on.” Guy has plenty to keep her busy for the foreseeable future. She has a new movie “Big Stone Gap,” with Patrick Wilson, Ashley Judd and Whoopi Goldberg, coming out later this year. She will continue touring “Raisin’ Cane,” for the next three months and, after that, she has a book she’s writing that will be out in 2015. Until then, she plans on putting on a tremendous show at the Publick Playhouse. Guy said she hopes the audiences walks away with a sense of pride for who they are as Americans. “I hope they understand that sometimes giving voice to the voiceless also is through art, it’s through poetry, it’s through saying what is not popular, it’s for standing up for who we are as human beings and that’s what the Harlem Renaissance did for us as a country,” Guy said. “I think people will be surprised.”

urdays, Fran Uhler Natural Area, meets at end of Lemon Bridge Road, north of Bowie State University, option to bird nearby WB&A Trail afterward; 7:30 a.m. third Saturdays, Governor Bridge Natural Area, Governor Bridge Road, Bowie, meet in parking lot; for migrating and resident woodland and ﬁeld birds, and waterfowl. For beginners and experts. Waterproof

Continued from Page B-1 literature and songs are still relevant and enjoyed almost 100 years later, we as a society don’t talk about that period enough. “It’s like from Harriet Tubman to Martin Luther King and just skip everybody in between,” Guy said. Jazz bassist Avery Sharpe, who has worked with Wynton Marsalis and Pat Metheny, wrote the original score for the show. Guy said she felt extremely comfortable working with Sharpe. “Avery and I have been friends for the last 30 years,” Guy said. “We met on a tour of a show called ‘Bubbling Brown Sugar.’ He’s such a soft-spoken genius. He’s a wonderful bass player, but also a brilliant composer. He’s very sensitive and well-read on all that we’re doing, so he keeps things very authentic in the show. We’re having a ball because I’ve known him for so long.” Guy will also host a masterclass on Saturday morning at Publick Playhouse, prior to her 8 p.m. show. She said the class, which is intended for advanced theater students, will focus on all aspects of her career — singing, dancing and acting. “Whatever way I can get my message across is what I use,” Guy said. “I think it helps because I know what I’ve done – we could all read a book – but I know from my experiences what works and what doesn’t work. It works for me that I do pull from my life experience in television, film, stage, recording, all the wonderful teachers and mentors that I’ve had along the way … I kind of use my whole life to teach the class.” When Guy is not performing, she spends her time as a spokesperson for the I Am Not Yours Campaign, which looks to put an end to sex trafﬁcking, especially when it relates

wfranklin@gazette.net

T HE G AZ ET T E

Thursday, February 6, 2014 lr

Page B-3

Gazette Health 2014 Special Issue featuring

BREWS BROTHERS

The Boulevard Brewing Company’s Tank 7 Farmhouse Ale is one of the more popular American craft beer exports.

Senior Health Children’s/Family Health Women’s/Men’s Health

Sharing the wealth:

American craft beer exports on the rise BREWS BROTHERS STEVEN FRANK AND ARNOLD MELTZER exports increased by 72 percent to almost 190,000 barrels, the equivalent to the ninth largest craft brewery. Almost half the exports are to Canada followed surprisingly by Sweden and then Great Britain. Beer exports also are going throughout Europe, the Far East, South America, Australia and New Zealand. Exports, however, are not a major part of most U.S. brewery sales. In virtually all cases, the percent of total sales is less than 5 percent and usually under 2 percent. There are exceptions, most notably Brooklyn Brewery which expects to export 25 percent of its projected production of over 200,000 barrels in 2013 to 20 countries. Brooklyn’s General Manager Eric Ottaway said that “selling beer in France isn’t much different than selling beer in Oklahoma.” The earliest craft beer exports came about by chance. In 1985, Jim Koch, founder of the Boston Beer Co., was called by a friend living in Munich who ventured that “Boston Lager is better than anything in Germany,” so Koch sent Boston Lager to Germany. Almost a decade later, Rogue Brewery became the second craft exporter when an American expatriate living in Sapporo, Japan, met with Rogue founder Jack Joyce and convinced him to sell beer there. Rogue now exports to 32 countries, probably more than any other American craft brewery. The reasons breweries export vary. Sierra Nevada started exporting their beers to England in order to “protect our trademark, quality and integrity” from bootleggers. Oregon’s Deschutes Brewery has a similar story that “we know a gray market exists for our beers overseas and these have not been handled up to our quality standards. We decided to take control of our exports.” Brooklyn Brewery began seriously exporting beer in 2005 after Carlsberg gave brewmaster Garrett Oliver an award, and this relationship evolved to Carlsberg becoming the Brooklyn importer. Deschutes started exporting to Canada after many Canadian visitors asked where their beers were available. Breweries have different experiences about which styles to export. “IPAs are hot in every country,” according to Deschutes. Rogue has similar experiences as do several other breweries. On the other hand Brooklyn Lager accounts for about 80 percent of Brooklyn’s export sales, much higher than their domestic sales. Boston Lager also is Boston Beer’s most requested style. Among the more popular exports are: • Samuel Adams Boston Lager (4.9 percent alcohol by volume, ABV) is brewed by the Boston Beer Co. It has a an earthy, bready and malty nose with a hint of noble hops. The slightly

effervescent front has a light bready sweetness which continues in the middle. A mild floral hop is added in the finish which increases in the aftertaste of this crispy and refreshing brew. Ratings: 7.5/7.5. • Dead Guy Ale (6.6 percent ABV) is produced at the Rogue Ales brewery in Newport, Ore., and is Rogue’s best selling export. This Hellerbock style brew has a caramel, apricot and faint berry bouquet. The modest sweet caramel malt front melds into a middle where a trace of sweet berry is added. A touch of bitter hops emerges in the finish and grows to medium in the aftertaste where there is a lingering caramel malt. Ratings: 8/8. • Torpedo Extra IPA (7.2 percent ABV) is made by the Sierra Nevada Brewing in Chico, Calif. Torpedo, Sierra Nevada’s highest exported IPA and a well balanced and smooth brew, has a robust grapefruit hop aroma. The moderate malt front is joined by a muted citrus hop with notes of lemon and grapefruit in the middle. The hops elevate in the finish and again in the aftertaste to a balanced medium bitterness. Ratings: 7/7.5. • Tank 7 Farmhouse Ale (8 percent ABV) has a complex nose of apricot, lemon, pepper and melon. Very smooth, the medium-bodied Tank 7 begins with a restrained lemon and melon sweet front. A pinch of pepper joins in the middle and a pleasant grapefruit combines in the finish. In the aftertaste the grapefruit increases to medium, with a delicate bitterness, a mild dryness, and a hint of alcoholic warmth. Ratings: 8.5/8

in partnership with local hospitals

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As other countries discover the creative talents and brewing prowess of American craft beers, the industry has witnessed a stupendous growth in exports. In 2012, American craft beer

Page B-4

T HE G AZ ET T E

Thursday, February 6, 2014 lr

AT THE MOVIES

‘Labor Day’: Joyce Maynard novel loses credibility on screen BY

MICHAEL PHILLIPS CHICAGO TRIBUNE

(From left) Kate Winslet is Adele and Josh Brolin is Frank in “Labor Day,” written for the screen and directed by Jason Reitman.

PHOTO BY DALE ROBINETTE

The thesis of “Labor Day,” taken from Joyce Maynard’s novel, was summed up well by The Washington Post headline affixed to the Post’s book review: “Sometimes it’s okay to pick up a scary drifter.” In the fictitious town of Holton Mills, N.H., 13-year-old Henry has become the emotional caretaker for his depressed, agoraphobic single mother, Adele. Numerous miscarriages have eroded her sense of stability; monthly trips to the local supermarket are all she can handle. On one of those shopping trips, Henry’s confronted by a prison escapee, Frank, who is bleeding from the gut (he escaped during surgery), and is looking for a place to lie low for a while. Half-threateningly, halfreasonably, he persuades Adele to aid in his plan. Over an eventful and sundappled Labor Day weekend, Frank reveals himself to be the honor-bound, charismatic handyman of Adele’s dreams. He teaches Henry to throw a baseball. He teaches a wheelchair-bound neighbor kid to play baseball. He changes the oil in Adele’s station wagon. And in the most solemnly cringe-worthy scene of the new movie year, Frank pries open Adele’s and Henry’s love-starved hearts with his stunning kitchen skills, as he bakes his newfound makeshift family a peach pie with a crust so flaky and filling so photogenically luscious, it’s as if he has become the star of his own show: “Top Chef, Convicted Murderer Division.” We can buy a lot in fiction, on the page. The movies make romantic balderdash easier to swallow in some ways but tougher in others. Writer-director Jason Reitman’s studious adaptation of “Labor Day” has too much taste and high-minded respect for Maynard’s book to play

LABOR DAY n 2 stars n PG-13; 111 minutes n Cast: Josh Brolin, Kate Winslet, Gattlin Grifﬁth, Clark Gregg n Directed by Jason Reitman

up the pulpy exploitation angle. So we’re left with some first-rate actors doing what they can to fill every sensually fraught glance with trace elements of human character. Kate Winslet has such sound and reliable dramatic instincts (That Face doesn’t hurt, either) she very nearly makes something of Adele. Josh Brolin lets his mellow, insinuating voice do the heavy lifting as tight-lipped Frank, a hunky amalgam of Shane and a drifter out of an William Inge play. Gattlin Griffith is young Henry, in the throes of confused adolescence; Toby Maguire provides the voice-overs as older Henry, looking back at the Labor Day weekend of his youth, when an escape to Canada was on the horizon and his feelings regarding Frank, and Henry’s amiable but distant birth father (Clark Gregg), made for some serious soul-searching. Reitman has made his considerable name on a peppy, slick brand of comedy, beginning with the gently satiric “Thank You for Smoking,” moving on to “Juno” and “Up in the Air,” though others prefer the meaner edge of his recent “Young Adult.” “Labor Day” is Reitman’s fifth feature and his first tonal misfire. For all his skills, Reitman hasn’t fully mastered the director’s most important tool: the B.S. detector. If he had, he wouldn’t have allowed composer Rolfe Kent to lard the film’s pie-baking sequence with the most egregiously sensitive solo guitar lines ever heard outside a freshman dorm room.

FOCUS FEATURES

Zac Efron and Imogen Poots star in Focus Features’ “That Awkward Moment.”

‘That Awkward Moment’: Sex and the city and three bros BY

MICHAEL PHILLIPS CHICAGO TRIBUNE

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More grating than peppy, the Manhattan-set romantic comedy “That Awkward Moment” proceeds as a series of awkward moments in search of a premise and a protagonist a little less stupid. Zac Efron bed-hops around as writer-director Tom Gormican’s narrator/hero. He’s a graphic designer whose life is one long hookup interrupted by beers and shots and trash-talk and Xbox with guy friends. This lady-killer, meant to be fetchingly blase on the surface and a ﬁne fellow underneath, comes off like such a pluperfect egotist, you ﬁnd yourself rooting for everyone but him. The casting exacerbates matters. The film stars Efron and co-stars several other youngish performers more interesting and wittier than Efron. We could start that list with Mackenzie Davis, a genuine talent with unpredictable comic timing and a self-effacing quality. We could move on to Miles Teller (demeanor of a Cusack, voice like Jonah Hill, but with his own thing), lately of “The Spectacular Now.” Or to Michael B. Jordan of “The Wire” and “Fruitvale Station,” stuck playing a neutered tag-along to his horn-dog pals. Or to Imogen Poots, the woman who shakes Efron’s character out of his arrested adolescence.

THAT AWKWARD MOMENT n 2 stars n R; 94 minutes n Cast: Zac Efron, Miles Teller, Michael B. Jordan, Mackenzie Davis, Imogen Poots n Directed by Tom Gormican

Gormican’s gimmick goes like this. When Mikey, the Jordan character, gets dumped by his wife, Jason (Efron) and Daniel (Teller) make a vow with Mikey to stay single and horn-doggy forever. No serious relationships! But they all start falling for their respective special someones and then go to aggravating lengths to hide the fact they’re falling. The women are doormats, waiting for the men to grow up, or not. It’s nice to see a movie in love with New York City, but “That Awkward Moment” sets such a low bar for Jason’s redemption it becomes a drag. When Jason hits rock bottom, emotionally speaking, he fails to show up at his sort-of-girlfriend’s father’s funeral. Efron does his limited, earnest best to activate the drama inside the comedy, while everybody else practices their throwaway technique. The best scenes belong to Davis and Teller; they’re loose and truthfully awkward, as opposed to artiﬁcially so.

THE GAZETTE

Thursday, February 6, 2014 lr

Page B-5

Warhol and more

Maryland artists shine in diverse UMUC show BY

VIRGINIA TERHUNE STAFF WRITER

The general public will soon gain a glimpse into the University of Maryland, University College’s vast number of paintings and art works in a new exhibit titled “Unveiled: Works from the UMUC Art Collections.” “It’s an opportunity to do a formal introduction to how the collection is growing,” said Eric Key, director of UMUC’s Arts Program. The exhibit, featuring the work of more than 30 artists, runs from Sunday to March 30 in the Arts Program gallery at the UMUC Inn and Conference Center in Adelphi. An opening reception scheduled for Feb. 20 will be attended by UMUC ofﬁcials and some of the artists, Key said. “Many of these exhibits have not been exhibited before,” he said. The UMUC Arts Program, which began displaying its donated and acquired works at the Inn and Conference Center in 1981, currently has 2,600 works, according to the exhibit catalog. The focus of the collection is on artists who have lived or worked in Maryland, as well as art from Asia, including China and Japan. Also included is art from other parts of the world, which is served by the university’s online programs, many of which serve military personnel stationed overseas. Most of the pieces in the current “Unveiled” exhibit were created in the early 2000s, Key said. “We’re gearing up to be a contemporary collection,” he said. There are two color screen prints by Andy Warhol of a Pine Barrens tree frog and a giant panda, commissioned by a couple concerned about endangered species. There are also two pieces of pottery from the Western Han dynasty in China dating back 2,000 years. Other pieces include realistic, impressionistic and abstract oil paintings, watercolors, silk screens, collages and pen and ink drawings, as well as a diptych painted on two panels by a former expert in Soviet affairs.

JOHN WOO

“Trapeze,” by Patrick Craig is one of 33 pieces from UMUC’s Arts Program collection that will be on display in the “Unveiled” exhibit running Sunday to March 30 at UMUC in Adelphi.

UNVEILED: WORKS FROM THE UMUC ART COLLECTIONS n When: Sunday, Feb. 9-March 30. Opening reception: 6-8 p.m., Feb. 20 n Where: Arts Program Gallery, Lower Level, UMUC Inn and Conference Center, 3501 University Blvd. East, Adelphi n Tickets: free n For information: 301-9857937, umuc.edu/art

There are sculptures made of maple wood, cherry wood and interwoven aluminum and copper. And there is a woman made out of glass, beads, thread and wire searching for her child.

Piece by piece Among the works is an oilon-canvas piece, “Trapeze,” by Patrick Craig, an associate professor at UMUC who specializes in painting, drawing and mixed media. The painting is 9 feet long and 5 feet high, with “dramatically lit abstract forms in an animated, precariously balanced space,” according to Craig’s description in the exhibit catalog. “It’s a vivid, wide-awake, break of day lucid dream, a fascination with an implausible narrative of constant steadiness versus freedom,” he wrote. Trained as a sculptor, Tom Davis uses collage techniques to

create two-dimensional works, some with blank faces, including his piece, “Why You Waiting.” “I create a mysterious environment or a mysterious portrait so the viewer becomes part of the interaction within the painting and hopefully engages in a conversation or dialogue with themselves,” Davis wrote in the catalog. Davis invites the viewer through the empty space between the figures to encounter a brick wall and a possible question posed by the graffiti, according to catalog notes. In her painting “Watteau’s Musicians,” Grace Hartigan refers to 18th-century French artist Jean-Antoine Watteau, who placed aristocrats in contrived settings. Her linear style, coupled with broad expanses of color, also brings to mind Henri Matisse and Pablo Picasso, according to the catalog. A vanity and painted wardrobe, called “Philodendron,” by Tom Miller, represents the first pieces of contemporary furniture in the UMUC Arts Program’s collection. A student at the Maryland Institute College of Art, Miller repainted old furniture with acrylic or enamel paint, evoking a tradition of Southern plantation furniture re-purposed by slaves and freedmen in the mid-1800s. Japanese artist Yoshiko Oishi-Weick’s “Orchid and Plum” India ink on paper work exemplifies sumi-e ink painting, which is closely related to calligraphy. “Variations in black and gray brushstrokes are used to create

detail,” she said in the catalog. “The ﬂow is interesting and creates tone. The painting comes to life as if the colors are there.” The variety of work by local and regional artists, and the donated work from Asia, reﬂect the mission of the UMUC Arts Program. “For me, this really shows UMUC’s commitment to collecting and presenting art,” Key said. vterhune@gazette.net

JOHN WOO

“Philodendron” by Tom Miller is one of 33 pieces on display in the “Unveiled” exhibit running Sunday to March 30 at UMUC in Adelphi.

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T HE G AZ ET T E

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Thursday, February 6, 2014 lr

RELIGION CALENDAR To submit a calendar item online, go to calendar.gazette. net and click on the submit button in the lower left-hand corner. To ﬁnd an item, go to The Gazette’s home page at www. gazette.net. You can mail them to The Gazette, 13501 Virginia Manor Road, Laurel, MD 20707; fax, 240-473-7501. Items must be received by Wednesday to appear the following week.

FEB. 7 Sweetheart Charity Ball, 7 p.m. to midnight, St. Ambrose Church, Fannon Hall, Cheverly. A potluck

GOSPEL

Continued from Page B-1 singing, with other songs accompanied by piano, organ, horn, drums and guitar, she said. The night before, Strathmore is also hosting a ticketed community sing for the public. Members of the Tribe of Judah choir will talk about the history of gospel music and invite the audience to join them in singing some songs. No experience is needed, she said. “We’ll be singing some traditional gospel songs, some hymns and one or two African songs,” said Mobolaji Ogunsuyi, choir representative for Tribe of Judah. Leaders of both church choirs said their members enjoy singing on stage and also see their performances as part of the churches’ missions to spread the good news. “We’re very much about the ministry, we’re very cognizant that we want to [spread] the

dinner and dance fundraiser to support the anti-human trafﬁcking work of Fair Girls and Catholic Charities Immigration Legal Services and Refugee Center. Cost: $20 per person. Contact sweetheartcharityball@gmail.com.

Matters of the Heart Women’s Conference, 7:30 p.m., RAWW-

WNation Ministry, 7752 Landover Road, Landover. Each year, the women’s ministry hosts the Matters of the Heart event to provide natural and biblical tools that will empower women to reach their fullest potential. This year’s conference will begin with a fashion show Friday night and conclude with classes and a keynote address

word of God through song,” said Courtney King, director of the Jordan choir. “We want people to know that no matter what your situation, there is hope.” Javor said she first heard the two Prince George’s County church choirs at the How Sweet the Sound regional competition at the Verizon Center in Washington, D.C,, in September 2011. The Tribe of Judah choir, which incorporates music from Africa and is directed by Pastor Bayo Babajide, won Best Small Choir at the event. The Jordan choir won the People’s Choice Award, the Best Large Choir Award and the East Coast Regional Choir Award at the event, in part because of its choreographed moves. “They really dominated, they blew everyone away,” Javor said. “It was completely infectious and jaw-dropping.” “The pure joy with which they sung – it moved you in different ways, even if you’re not religious,” she said. “It travels with you and touches you.” The chance encounter deﬁnitely stuck with Javor, who be-

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FEB. 8 Christian Writer’s Critique Group, 9 to 11:30 a.m., Largo Com-

munity Church, 1701 Enterprise Road, Mitchellville. A critique and writing group that meets every second Saturday. Contact lrw941@verizon.net. Heart Healthy Lecture, 11 a.m., Prince George’s Muslim Association, 9150 Lanham-Severn Road, Lanham. Dr. Malik will educate

gan contacting the choirs a year later about performing at Strathmore. Strathmore had previously presented nationally known gospel performers such as Yolanda Adams but had never hosted a gospel concert featuring local singers. “It’s the first time we’ve worked with gospel choirs from the community,” Javor said. “We wanted to do a production that’s home built, not pre-packaged.” Javor also wanted to include young people from the Oxon Hill choir, directed over the past 17 years by Emory Andrews. “We also wanted to include future generations of gospel,” Javor said.

Oxon Hill High School “Make a Joyful Noise” will open with 45 students from the Oxon Hill choir, which has performed at the John F. Kennedy Center for Performing Arts, the White House and venues overseas. In 2010 the students won the Stellar Gospel Music Award for Best Children’s Performance, and in 2012, it released a CD called “The Storm is Passing Over.” “The kids are excited,” said Andrews, director of choir and choral studies at the high school. “It’ll be our ﬁrst time at Strathmore. We feel it’s like the Kennedy Center.” Andrews said the choir typically begins a performance with an a cappella spiritual, “so they know we can sing,” he said laughing. A teacher for 37 years, Andrews said he doesn’t require

you about heart disease and how to live a heart-healthy lifestyle. Contact 301-459-4942, Ext. 1. Community Spaghetti Dinner, 4 to 6 p.m., Christ Episcopal Church, 8710 Old Branch Ave, Clinton. Free will offering ($10 suggested). Contact 301-868-1330 or christchurchclinton@verizon.net. Black History Gospel Celebration, 6 to 8 p.m., Hillcrest Heights

Community Center, 2300 Oxon Run Drive, Temple Hills. Learn gospel music’s role in black history. Performances from local church choirs with dancers will cap the evening. Refreshments served. Contact 301-505-0896; TTY 301-206-6030.

his students to audition. “I feel I am the scientist of the voice, and if they desire to sing, I have the desire to teach them,” said Andrews, who teaches everything from Vivaldi choral pieces to American musicals to the national anthems for Japan and South Africa. Andrews said he also asks students to write a paper about whatever music they are learning. “It’s part of interpreting the music and knowing about what they’re singing,” he said. “What was the writer’s culture, and why did they write this way?” “When you see how the writer felt, you can better interpret the phrasing and why they put [an emphasis] in a certain place,” he said.

Tribe of Judah The Tribe of Judah choir has been in existence since the founding of the Victory Temple church in 1997. Babajide, who is also a singer and pianist, earned a bachelor’s degree in music from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka before emigrating to the United States in 1999. “We’re honored and humbled to be a part of this,” he said. “We hope to come together with other communities and other choirs.” The Tribe of Judah choir typically numbers 25 to 35 members of the church, depending on whether musicians and students are performing, he said. In December 2011 the choir was invited to sing at the annual Christmas tree lighting at the White House.

FEB. 9 Let’s Talk About It, Then Act To Stop Bullying, 1:15 to 3:45 p.m., First United Methodist Church of Hyattsville, 6201 Belcrest Road, Hyattsville. Free family and teen workshop. Light snacks and dinner served. Pre-register at 301-9276133 or email carterwilli@theisgrp.

ONGOING Women’s Bible Study, 9 to 11 a.m. every Thursday, Berwyn Baptist Church, 4720 Cherokee St., College Park. Study the book of Romans. Women of all ages are invited. Cost of $6.50 for textbook.

At Strathmore, the choir plans to sing a mix of contemporary and African songs, as well as original church songs. The songs will be in English, but there may also be some phrases in Yoruba, the language of Nigeria. In 2010, Tribe of Judah released an EP called “Exalt,” said choir deputy and choir member Ariike Okanlawon. “We’re doing more work on the project,” she said.

James E. Jordan, Jr. Adult Choir King said she’s been a member of the Refreshing Spring church in Riverdale since she was 9 years old. She grew up singing in the choir, took on directing duties for the young adult choir and ﬁve years ago became director of the adult choir, which is named after the pastor, James E. Jordan, Jr. The choir has performed at the Kennedy Center and last year sang on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial at the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington, For the Strathmore concert, the 65-member group plans to sing some spirituals along with traditional and contemporary gospel songs. Principal of the James Madison Middle School in Upper Marlboro, King said appreciation of gospel music is alive and well among the younger generation. “There are contemporary artists who appeal to youth,” she said, mentioning names such as Tye Tribbett, Jonathan Nelson, Anthony Brown and Ki-

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Mount Rainier Christian Church will conduct Praisercise, a Chris-

tian exercise group meeting at 10:30 a.m. Saturdays at the church, 4001 33rd St., Mount Rainier. The exercise group will have exercise education about nutrition and more. Professional instruction from University of Maryland, College Park, kinesiology students and the program. Open to people of all ages and ﬁtness levels. Free. Call 301864-3869 or visit www.facebook. com/groups/praisercise/ or email brianpadamusus @yahoo. com.

GOSPEL COMMUNITY SING n When: 7:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 7 n Where: CityDance Studio, Music Center at Strathmore, 5301 Tuckerman Lane, North Bethesda n Tickets: $8

MAKE A JOYFUL NOISE: BEST OF

MARYLAND GOSPEL n When: 8 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 8 n Where: Music Center at Strathmore, 5301 Tuckerman Lane, North Bethesda n Tickets: $21-$26 n For information: 301-5815100, strathmore.org

erra Sheard. “There are different genres of gospel music, and they’re really growing — there’s even gospel rap and gospel go-go,” she said. Many appreciate gospel music as a form of entertainment, but it also continues to serve a religious purpose at churches, where music is very much a part of the mission. “Whatever comes, whatever the obstacles are in 2014, God is there, and you can have hope and faith in him,” King said. “We want to uplift the audience and show there is hope and faith in God.” vterhune@gazette.net

Thursday, February 6, 2014 lr

Page B-7

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COLLEGE PARK

Lovely SFH 3BR, 2.5BA, hdwd flrs, SS appls, granite, W/D, cent AC, gar, walk to metro, NS $2200/mo + dep Avail 3/1. Call 240-461-8884.

SILVER SPRING : Dwntwn Flower Ave. Unfurn 2br 1ba Apt. HOC Welcome $1250 202-246-1977

UPPR MARLBORO:

2BR, 2 FBA w/d, hrd flrs, nr Largo metro NS/NP $1400/neg incl wtr 703-953-5113

BELTSVILLE: Room in SFH, share Ba & kit,CATV/int/utl all incl $450/mo, nr I95, bus & shops 202-340-2559

BOWIE: Furn rm in

SFH, $550/mo utils incl Free Cable. Available March 1st! Call: 301-509-3050

CLINTON- Furn bdrm

w/ priv ba in SFH for female only $650/m util incl.mins to AAFB 3018560849 after 6pm

in Apt, shrd Ba/Kit, Free Wifi, Cls to shops /metro, $600 inclds utils. 301-728-7816

LAUREL: 1Br furn,

FUNDRAISER: The

Capitol Steps @ Montgomery Blair High School !! Support Blair After Prom Party via this fun community event! DATE: Sun, F e b r u a r y . 2 3 6:30 - 8:30 p.m. Tickets: only $30 (less than same show downtown and Free Parking!); See Ms. Fus/Blair at Main Office or on-line @ brownpapertickets.co m

Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission Seeks Customers to Serve Dispute Resolving Board

Newspaper & Web Ad Sales

WSSC is seeking enthusiastic, detail-oriented customers to serve on WSSC’s Dispute Resolving Board (DRB) for a two-year term. The DRB reviews customer disputes of unpaid water/sewer bills and issues rulings on the disputes. Training and staff support will be provided by WSSC.

Comprint Military Publications publishes 8 newspapers, 2 websites and 14 special sections and is looking for an energetic, organized sales representative to sell advertising into our media. Must be able to work well under weekly deadlines and pressures of meeting sales goals. Prefer someone with print and/or web advertising sales experience. Position is in Gaithersburg office and hours are 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. M-F. Territory is Northern VA.

A minimum of four customers is needed to serve on the DRB panels, which will meet approximately once a month (TBD) at WSSC’s Headquarters Building, located on Sweitzer Lane in Laurel, Maryland. WSSC reimburses for mileage and dependent care. Contact: Mpande Musonda-Langley at 301-206-8840. (2-5, 2-6-14)

in apt, shrd Ba, W/D, nr 295, shops $600 inc util, + free CTV, pls call : 301-793-8882

We offer a competitive compensation & comprehensive benefits package including pension, 401(k) & tuition reimbursement. If interested, please send resume and cover letter with salary requirements to: John Rives at jrives@dcmilitary.com. EOE

LAUREL:

2 BRs w/priv Ba in TH w/util V A L E N T I N E S FOR incl: (1) Mbr Suite, SHOPPING $825 (1) Lrg rm $575 Y O U ! nr Mall 240-533-8053 Let me do your Valentines day shopping for SILVER SPRING: you. Card"s, flowers. Room avail Mar.1st wines, you name it I $550 w/private bath am a personal shared kitch & utils, shopper with W/D 301-404-2681 years of personal shopping experince, so SS: NEW 1BR Apt 1st make a list. Send to floor private ENT, KIT, (ptheevangelist@gmai BA, PARKING. $1100 l.com) Be ready quiet and Sunny! call to make him 301-879-2868 or her happy. Phone TAKOMA PARK: (301-283-1029) Rooms for rent $750 each, shrd bath util incl. All furn! Near metro. 240-421-6689

WASHINGTON DC: Brentwood NE,

Lrg furn Br, priv Ba, shrd kit & W/D, 1 blk frm bus & 5 blks from Red/Metro $850/util inc 202-361-8087

WHEATON:

On Georgia Ave. 1 MBR w/prvt ba. $650 util incl Nr Metro & Shops. Npets 240-441-1638

Horse care & barn maint. 35-40 hrs, $525/wkly. Temp/seasonal. LAUREL PARK RACE TRACK, Laurel, MD: 3/1/14-12/31/14 w/travel to NJ Racetracks. Equip & trans provided. Lodging avail. 4 post. Call Carlos 410-963-8387. SKILLED TRADE

HVAC SERVICE TECH

GE RMA NT OWN :

Indoor Sun Feb 9th 10-4 Many treasures! Snow Blower, Wood Furn, Refrigerator,DJ Equipment, etc. 13807 Rockingham Rd.

WHEATON: 2 BD in

SFH Share Bath, NP, NS. $500 and $600, Util incl . Call 240271-3901

Groomer

FOR SALE: Adora-

ble, Playful Healthy Male Yorkie Pup. Silky, toy pure bred. 3 months on Feb 5th 2014 Has shots. Please Call: 301-613-3322. $450

Financial

TELLER/CLERK

Cash experience, typing skills, PC knowledge, HS Diploma or GED all required Call: 301-474-5900 Or apply at: 112 Centerway, Greenbelt, MD Or email resume to: greenbeltfcu@verizon.net

IMMEDIATE Position Avialable for NATE and/or Journeyman HVAC service technicians. MUST have 2 yrs exp. Great hourly pay, commission, weekly bonus & insurance. Drug free, customer oriented, and motivated. Only qualified applicants apply. 301-670-1944 - Gaithersburg

Membership Recruitment Girl Scout Council of the Nation’s Capital is seeking staffer for North Prince George’s County to recruit & support adult volunteers; reach council goals for recruitment & retention of girl members. Excellent communication & presentation skills with interest in marketing. Full description for "Membership Specialist" at: www.gscnc.org/career opportunities. html Cover letter & resume to: hrinfo@gscnc.org EOE

VETERANS NEEDED Use your GI Benefits NOW for training in Healthcare. JOB PLACEMENT ASSISTANCE Offered.

Call Now 1-888-3958261 Dental/ Medical Assistant Trainees Needed Now Dental/Medical Offices now hiring. No experience? Job Training & Placement Assistance Available 1-877-234-7706 CTO SCHEV

Looking for a change? Ready to invest in your future? Find valuable career training here and online.

HILTON, GAITHERSBURG, MD

Thursday, April 3, 2014, 9:00-2:00pm

Career Expo 2014 will provide employers with an opportunity to take a first look at local qualified applicants. Our mini seminars will command an audience of highly skilled professionals. Reserve your space today, log on to www.gazettecareerexpo.com or call 301-670-7100. PREMIUM PACKAGE $495 EARLY BIRD PRICING*

• Booth at Event • 30 Day Banner on Gazette. net/Careers & DCMilitary.com/Career • Featured Advertiser, Hiring and Company profile • 2-Job postings (one print, one online)

EARLY BIRD

Registration Deadline January 31, 2014

GC3194

*$695 after January 31, 2014

TO RESERVE YOUR SPACE CALL 301-670-7100

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Thursday, February 6, 2014 lr

Classifieds Call 301-670-7100 or email class@gazette.net

CNA, Home Health Aides and Companions

Visiting Angels Homecare Agency of Prince Georgeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s County. All applicants must have verifiable home health or institutional experience. We will accept new CNA graduates. For detailed job description go to www.gazette.net/careers. Apply Mon-Fri 9am to 4pm ONLY Visiting Angels 9701 Apollo Drive, Suite 297 Largo, Maryland 20774 Or call 301-583-8820 for interview

Pharmacy/ Phlebotomy Tech Trainees Needed Now Pharmacies/ hospitals now hiring. No experience? Job Training & Placement Assistance Available 1-877-240-4524 CTO SCHEV

SKILLED TRADE

PLUMBER IMMEDIATE Position Avialable for Plumber. MUST have 2 yrs exp. Great hourly pay, commission, weekly bonus & insurance. Drug free, customer oriented, and motivated. Only qualified applicants apply. 301-670-1944 - Gaithersburg

Part-Time

Work From Home

National Childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Center Making calls. For more info please call Weekdays between 9a-4p No selling! Sal + bonus + benes. Call 301-333-1900

Looking for a change? Ready to invest in your future? Find valuable career training here and online.

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