To have an item listed mail to 10220 River Road, Suite 303, Potomac, MD 20854, e-mail to almanac@connectionnewspapers.com, or fax to 703-917-0991. Deadline is Thursday at noon for the following week’s paper. Photos and artwork encouraged. Unless otherwise noted, all events are in Potomac. If you have any questions, call Rebecca Halik at 703-226-1653.
Coffee Club meets on Tuesday, June 20 at 11 a.m. at White Flint Mall Eatery, 11301 Rockvlle Pike North, Bethesda. Meet for a drink, walk and chat. 703-309-2444.
Beginning June 14, Montgomery County Public Libraries will introduce a first-ever reading program for adults ages 18 and up entitled “This Summer, Read the Book You’ve Always Meant to Read.” Participants will read a book of their choice and fill out a form describing why they chose that title. Entries may be submitted in person at the participant’s local library or online at www.montgomerycountymd.gov/library. The program will run through September 9. Prizes will be awarded to a randomly chosen entrant from each library and to one online entrant. For more information, contact a local library or visit www.montgomerycountymd.gov/library.
People hoping to compete for the awards in the Open Short Story Contest or the Montgomery County High School Short Story contest can submit entries until July 15. For information about entry information visit www.peerlessrockville.org/FSF or call 301-309-9461.
Montgomery County's Board of Elections seeks individuals to serve as election judges at polling places on Primay Election Day, Sept. 12 and General Election Day, Nov. 7. Judges must be registered to vote in Maryland and must be able to speak, read and write the English language, and must not hold or be a candidate for any office. To apply or for more information, call 240-777-8533 or Democrats should e-mail democrats@montgomerycountymd.gov or Republicans, e-mail republicans@montgomerycountymd.gov.
Registered voters in Montgomery County who wish to change their affiliation from one party to another before the 2006 Gubernatorial Elections must do so by 9 p.m. on Monday, June 19. To change affiliation, voters should send a written request to the Board of Elections, P. O. Box 4333, Rockville, MD 20849-4333, or fax their requests to 240-777-8600. Requests should include the voter’s full name, address, date of birth, new party affiliation and signature. The Elections Office, located at 751 Twinbrook Parkway, Rockville, will be open to the public until 9 p.m. on June 19 to accommodate voters who wish to deliver their affiliation changes, in person. For more information, call 240-777-8500.
A newly updated version of "Getting There," a free guide to facilities and services accessible by public transportation in the North Bethesda, Rockville, Gaithersburg and Germantown areas, is now available. The guide features information on both transit and bike trails. Includes maps of the public transportation connections to major areas of interest such as retail centers, recreation and community facilities, post offices and more. For copies call 301-770-POOL (7665), e-mail commuter.express@montgomerycountymd.gov, or visit www.montgomerycounty.md.gov/commute.
Bethesda-Chevy Chase Regional Services Center and the Little Falls Library join efforts to help residents access county services and learn about county programs. A representative from the Bethesda-Chevy Chase Regional Services Center will visit Little Falls library, 5501 Massachusetts Ave., Bethesda every fourth Tuesday from 10:30 a.m.-12 p.m. For more information about the Bethesda-Chevy Chase Regional Services Center visit www.montgomerycountymd.gov/bcc.
Speakers of languages other than English can now find information about Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) in one click from the MCPS Web site's home page.
Web sites have been created in Chinese, French, Korean, Spanish, and Vietnamese to enable non-English-speaking families to more easily find news, documents, and information about services.
Links to the sites can be found just below the featured story on the MCPS home page. Each site also can be accessed via the following Web address (simply replace the language name after the slash to go to another language site): www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/chinese.
Each language site links to the Navigating the System guide for parents, Parent Connection newsletter, and Aim High booklets. Each site also features links to streaming video of the Our Schools Today TV program and to the QuickNotes e-mail newsletter. Visitors also will find links to Web sites for English as a Second Language/Bilingual Programs, the Downcounty Consortium, and the Middle School Magnet Consortium.
This is the first phase of a project to improve access to information in other languages on the MCPS Web. Information and links on these sites will grow in future months. Suggestions and comments can be e-mailed to the Web Services Team at webmaster@mcpsmd.org
The Maryland Humanities Council (MHC) is pleased to announce that it is the new home of the Maryland Center for the Book (MCFB), one of 50 state affiliates of the Library of Congress Center for the Book. Since 1996 the MCFB has operated under the auspices of Howard County Library. The new statewide Center at the Maryland Humanities Council will include satellite branches at Howard County Library and the Talbot County Free Library, extending the reach of the Center to the Eastern Shore. Visit the Web site at www.mdhc.org.
A community-wide campaign to raise money to replicate the C & O Canal boat at Great Falls, has gotten a boost from the Potomac Area Newcomers Club. The social and philanthropic organization has donated all proceeds from the sale of their 40th anniversary cookbook, "Recipes to Remember," totaling $5,000. With dollar for dollar matching funds from DRS Technologies of Gaithersburg, the total cash contribution of $10,000 is supplemented by $2,000 in cook book inventory, the proceeds of which go to friends of Historic Great Falls Tavern.
After the Tuesday, Jan. 24 shooting at a Germantown daycare center, Montgomery County Police want to remind community members that there is a free gun lock distribution program available to Montgomery County residents. Firearm owners should keep guns and ammunition in separate locked containers, but using a gun lock provides an additional important safeguard. Anyone wishing to receive a gun lock should come to any of the Montgomery County Police District Stations or Police Headquarters with personal photo identification and proof of Montgomery County residency. The cable-style gun locks come with safety information, and the lock is designed to fit on most types of handguns, rifles and shotguns. These gun locks are provided at no charge to Montgomery County residents on a first-come, first-served basis; with a maximum of two gunlocks to a resident. www.montgomerycountymd.gov/police.
The Montgomery County Police Department would like to remind the community of the importance of not leaving cars unattended while running/warming up.
The colder temperatures make it tempting for drivers to want to warm up their cars in the morning, and then leave them running when they are making short stops. That practice is an open invitation to car thieves.
Leaving a car running and unattended on a public street is a violation of the State of Maryland Vehicle Law, Article 21 Section 1101 (a). The penalty is a $60 fine and one point on a driving record.