THE GAZETTE
Page A-4
Thursday, August 14, 2014 lr
Officer volunteers to keep Laurel drivers in check Teens Resident helps manage traffic at Islamic center
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BY
ALICE POPOVICI STAFF WRITER
As soon as afternoon prayer ends at the Islamic Community Center of Laurel, Fahim Rafiq steps out into the middle of Contee Road wearing his badge and firearm and starts directing traffic to help empty the hundreds of cars that have filled the building’s parking lot. Since the Laurel resident joined the Baltimore County Police Department five years ago, Rafiq, 26, said he has volunteered nearly every Friday to ease traffic at the Islamic center. Rafiq, who is Muslim and whose family is from Afghanistan, said he enjoys meeting the children who attend prayer and showing them that they can challenge stereotypes other people have about the Muslim community. “Growing up, everyone tells you, ‘Hey, you’re not going
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to be a police officer because you’re Muslim,’” he said. “It’s a good feeling, kind of let your kids know, ‘We can be doctors and engineers, but we can be in law enforcement as well.’” As cars back up on the twolane Contee Road after the 1:30 p.m. prayer that draws about 700 people to the center, Rafiq said on several occasions he has heard impatient drivers make racist comments or snide remarks directed at people attending the prayer. He said he tries to address these incidents by speaking to the people making the comments. Recently, on a day he was not volunteering, he said one woman attending prayer mistakenly parked on the property of a nearby homeowner and was met with hostile remarks. Rafiq said his presence, as well as that of a paid Prince George’s County Police Department officer recently hired by the Islamic center, helps maintain order. Zohaib Khan of Laurel, a council member at the Islamic
center, said traffic congestion has increased as Laurel’s Muslim population has grown in the last seven to eight years. To help meet demand, Khan said that a few years ago the center expanded its parking lot, and earlier this summer it added a second prayer time on Friday and hired the county officer to help with traffic. “That’s helped a lot because it’s made the process a lot faster,” he said. “When a driver sees a police officer... they’re going to be more cautious and they’re going to be more respectful.” Bilal Mohammed of Laurel, who has been attending prayers at the center for about five years, said he is thankful for Rafiq’s efforts to ensure the safety of the community. “He’s helping a lot... preventing accidents especially,” Mohammed said as he prepared to leave the Islamic center on Friday. “I appreciate his service.” apopovici@gazette.net
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County tech challenge winners develop cleanup strategy BY JAMIE ANFENSON-COMEAU STAFF WRITER
GREG DOHLER/THE GAZETTE
Fahim Rafiq, a Laurel resident and Baltimore County police officer, volunteers directing traffic and providing security Friday at the Islamic Community Center in Laurel.
A trio of Prince George’s County students have created a new app they hope can take a bite out of blight in the Kentland and Palmer Park communities. “Renovo would allow you to be updated on things going on in the community,” said Danielle Dean, 16, of Greenbelt, one of the teenagers who worked on the project. “Also, Renovo will allow people to report and locate vacant housing, and will provide those outside the community a way to see available housing.” The project was the winner in the Prince George’s County Office of Information Technology’s Teen Summer Faceoff, held Friday in Largo. Summer student workers with the county Summer Youth Enrichment Program working in the tech office were tasked with finding a technological solution to a problem plaguing a community in Prince George’s County, said Vennard Wright, OIT director. The 18 teens were divided up into six groups, one for each of the county’s Transforming Neighborhood Initiative, or TNI, regions. The county’s six TNI regions are those that have been identified for targeted services due to the economic challenges faces in those communities, according to the county website. Each team was assigned a Bowie State University student as a mentor, and had six weeks to research their area, identify a problem, develop and present a solution,” said Sandra Longs, IT training manager for Prince George’s County government. “They came in not knowing what to expect, not knowing about the TNI areas, and in such a short amount of time, they worked very hard to produce these projects,” Longs said. Winning team members each received a Samsung Chromebook, provided by OIT. The Kentland/Palmer Park team singled out vacant properties and blight as their target. “We did some research into the area, and we found it to be pretty unappealing,” said Denver Smith, 17, of Upper Marlboro. Smith said the app would hopefully encourage more home purchases in the area, reducing the number of vacant buildings. The group has a Tumblr page at kentlandpalmerparktni. tumblr.com/ with a link to download the app. The winning team was comprised of Smith, Dean and Darren Sims, 17, of Upper Marlboro, and mentored by Bowie State student Don Bui, 20. Richard Williams, senior program manager with Bethesda-based technology company Lockheed Martin, was one of six judges. “That’s what it came down to — being able to frame a problem, understand the real need and put behind it a plan to execute,” Williams said. Other team projects included a proposal to create a community garden in Glassmanor, free GED classes in Langley Park and a clearinghouse for donated technology for Marlow Heights. janfenson-comeau@ gazette.net