Churchill Hosts Carnival
Throw a pie at your teacher, eat delicious grilled foods, buy a crocheted baby afghan, and much more. On Saturday, April 28, Churchill High School will hold its second annual carnival from 12-4 p.m. at Churchill's athletic stadium, 11300 Gainsborough Road, Potomac. The event will feature rides, food and games as well as a craft fair. The event is open to all.
Public Input Requested on County Growth
The Montgomery County Planning Board is holding a community growth policy forum on Saturday, May 5 to get public input about the future of the county's growth.
Questions that will be considered: What is the current pace of growth in the county? How should the county grow to consider the near and distant future? And what can public officials do to sustain and build upon Montgomery County's high quality of life?
The Planning Board's staff is currently crafting new recommendations to direct a new growth policy for the county. Public input influences those recommendations, which will be sent to the Montgomery County Council for review, discussion and possible adoption in May.
The community forum will be May 5 from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the Park and Planning headquarters located at 8787 Georgia Avenue in Silver Spring.
Belated Photo Credit
In the April 18 Almanac, Carole Dell, who did all the photography for the photo spread “Rainy Run,” covering the Landon School’s Mark’s Run 5K, did not receive a photography credit.
Flea Market Itching for Vendors
The Potomac Community Center, 11315 Falls Road, holds its annual Flea Market and Yard Sale on Saturday, May 5 from 8:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Free for buyers; vendor spaces are $30. For more information call 240-777-6960.
Wootton High School Performs "Sweeney Todd"
The Thomas Wootton High School stage will soon be set in 19th century London, as its talented cast takes on Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler's musical thriller, "Sweeney Todd — The Demon Barber of Fleet Street."
Parents are cautioned as some material in the play may be Inappropriate for children under 13.
"Sweeney Todd" is a dark and enthralling tale of love, obsession, madness and murder that has thrilled audiences on the Broadway stage.
The musical mixes drama with dark humor, telling the tale of an unjustly exiled barber who returns to 19th century London seeking revenge against the lecherous judge who framed him and ravaged his young wife.
The barber's thirst for blood soon expands to include his unfortunate customers. Soon the resourceful owner of the pie shop downstairs has the people of London lining up in droves with her mysterious new meat pie recipe.
The show will run April 27 and 28 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets may be purchased at the Wootton box office on school days April 23-26 from 3-6 p.m., and two hours before show times on performance days. Reserved seating is $15 for adults/students.
General admission is $10 for adults/$8 students. Rated PG-13. Ticket order forms also available on the Wootton Web site:
www.mcps.k12.md.us/schools/woottonhs/academics/art/SweeneyToddorder.pdf
For more information, please call 301-279-8581. Wootton High School is located at 2100 Wootton Parkway, Rockville.
County Crime Up 6.1 percent
Montgomery County Police Chief J. Thomas Manger announced last week a 6.1 percent increase in total crime within Montgomery County for the 2006 calendar year.
Murder dropped by 21.1 percent (from 19 to 15), rapes decreased by 6.0 percent (from 150 to 141), robberies were down 12.7 percent (1,035 to 1,166) and aggravated assault dropped 4.8 percent (from 875 to 833).
Burglaries rose 6.6 percent (from 3,570 to 3,804), Larceny increased 6.2 percent (from 15,869 to 16,860) and auto thefts were up 0.3 percent (from 2,486 to 2,493).
A copy of these crime statistics, as well as those from previous years is
available at the Montgomery County Web site under the Crime Stats link on the
Media Services/Press Release page at www.montgomerycountymd.gov/police.
Or a copy can be picked up at the Montgomery County Police Headquarters,
2350 Research Boulevard, Rockville, MD, 20850.
Wanted: Volunteers at Lockhouse 8
The Potomac Conservancy is looking for river history buffs to help maintain and staff the River Center at historic Lockhouse 8 on the C&O Canal. This year, the River Center will feature a new exhibit, Backyard to the Bay, which will educate visitors about the Potomac River, its connection to the Chesapeake Bay, and what they can do in their own backyards to protect these resources. The full docent description is available at www.potomac.org/join/volunteer.html. Volunteers who wish to help staff the River Center should contact Judy Welles at weles@potomac.org.
Info on Nursing Homes Available Online
An updated and redesigned resource to help Marylanders select a nursing home is now available on the Web. The “Maryland Nursing Home Guide” includes information on more than 200 comprehensive care nursing facilities and 34 continuing care retirement communities. Among the types of information available are quality of care assessments and results of recent inspection visits. The guide, developed by the Maryland Health Care Commission, is located by clicking on ‘Consumers’ on the commission’s Web site at www.mhcc.maryland.gov.
Board of Education Seeks Public Input
The Montgomery County Board of Education has requested community comment regarding its revised Policy IEA, Framework and Structure of Early Childhood and Elementary Education. The policy was revised to affirm the Board’s commitment to a challenging and comprehensive educational program for young students. Copies of the draft policy are available through the Public Information Office by calling 301-279-3391 or on the MCPS Web site at www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org.
Individuals who wish to provide comments should respond in writing by May 4. All responses should be sent to the Office of the Superintendent of Schools, 850 Hungerford Drive, Rockville, MD 20850. The responses will be shared with the Board of Education.
Volunteer at a Local Park
Maryland-National Park and Planning Commission seeks volunteers at local parks in the area. For a full listing of all the opportunities available, contact Jayne Hench at 301-495-2504 or e-mail jayne.hench@mncppc-mc.org.
Members for MD-355/I-270 Committee Sought
The Montgomery County Planning Board seeks applicants for a community advisory committee to collaborate with professional land-use planners to improve the county's MD 355/I-270 Technology Corridor. Send resumes to Planning Board Chairman Royce Hanson, 8787 Georgia Avenue, Silver Spring, MD 20910; mcp-chairman@mncppc-mc.org or 301-495-1320 (fax). Go to www.md355planning.org to learn more and/or download an application form. For more information on the MD 355/I-270 Technology Corridor master plan, contact Sandy Tallant at 301-495-1329 or sandra.tallant@mncppc-mc.org.
Recreation Department Offers Courses
Art classes for toddlers, karate, dance and magic-trick lessons for children, fencing lessons for teens and yoga for adults are a few of the courses offered by the Montgomery County Recreation Department at Potomac Community Center. Elsewhere in the county, the Rec Department offers courses from skateboarding to yoga to cooking to youth art. Registration deadlines for some of the courses are coming soon. Pick up the Montgomery County Recreation Department Guide a Potomac Community Center, 11315 Falls Road, Potomac, call 240-777-6840 or visit http://montgomerycountymd.gov/content/rec/RECord/articles/february2007/earlybird.html for course information.
Critical Blood Shortage
The National Institute of Health Blood Bank has announced an urgent need for type O blood donors. Both local and regional inventories of this blood type are dangerously low. If you are a donor with blood type O, donate today by visiting the NIH Blood Bank located on the first floor of the Clinical Center on the NIH campus in Bethesda. Hours of operation are from 7:30 a.m. until 5:30 p.m. Call for an appointment or directions at 301-496-1048. Convenient, free parking is available for blood donors.
If you have not donated blood before and are not sure if you are eligible, visit www.cc.nih.gov/dtm/html/donrinfo.htm to learn more about being a donor at NIH.