Carderock Springs Celebrates 50th Anniversary
One of Bethesda’s historical neighborhoods, Carderock Springs, celebrated its 50th anniversary this past weekend, and the neighborhood’s original planner was on hand to greet residents via Skype.
On Saturday evening, residents gathered in the neighborhood’s clubhouse to toast its golden anniversary and share videos, photographs, and memories of a place so cherished that many of the attendees included original owners from the 1960′s, as well as children who grew up in the neighborhood and came back as adults to purchase their own family homes. The anniversary celebration was sponsored and organized by the Carderock Springs Citizens Association.
Joining the party via video conference from his home in Arizona was Edmund Bennett, the visionary developer and builder behind Carderock Springs. Born in Chevy Chase in 1920, Bennett grew up with big ambitions, a strong sense of community, and a commanding respect for nature. He designed and built the 400 mid-century modern homes of Carderock Springs with nature in mind, seamlessly blending the architecture of each home into its natural terrain and surroundings.
During the party, many residents also got a first look at the newly-built outdoor pavilion located at the neighborhood’s Swim and Tennis Club. Dinner was catered by Spilled Milk Catering, and the night was capped with dancing and live music by Carderock’s own Jonas Carnemark and his band, HusBand .
Bounded by 1-495, Cabin John Regional Park, Seven Locks Road Fenway Road, and Persimmon Tree Lane, the Carderock Springs neighborhood of Bethesda was officially declared a Historical District in 2008.
Remembering 50 Years of ‘The Home of The Dome’
The group of friends from Walt Whitman High School’s class of 1970 provides enough material to fill a book on the now 50-year-old school on Whittier Boulevard.
“For a lot of communities across America, the high school is a gathering place and a bonding place,” said class of ’70 graduate Matthew Maury, “and certainly Whitman is that.”
Maury and fellow 1970 graduates Barry Kemelhor and Rick Neumann have gotten together often over the years for class reunions and other get togethers.
Maury’s two kids graduated from Whitman. The group stays in touch and up-to-date to what’s going on at the school today.
Last year, they found Gary Browne, the All-Met basketball star from 1966 to 1968 who once scored 62 points in a game, and invited him back to be inducted into the school’s athletics Hall of Fame.
On Oct. 12, Maury and Neumann will play with their 1960′s rock music cover band at a show in the bumper car pavilion at Glen Echo Park, an event open to Whitman alumni from a number of graduating classes and perhaps the closest thing to a 50th anniversary celebration.
It’s out of a love for the school that hasn’t faded even as they’ve grown older. (The kids who used to play little league baseball together had a collective 60th birthday celebration earlier this year.)
Delayed Wisconsin Ave Sidewalk Project Causing Headaches
A delayed sidewalk improvement project on Wisconsin Avenue is causing headaches for some residents and a prominent business.
The Maryland State Highway Administration is upgrading sidewalk ramps on the east side of Wisconsin Avenue between Old Georgetown Road and North Brook Lane to meet Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) standards.
But a spot in front of Charleston Alexander Diamond Importers and patches near the CVS pharmacy, Chevy Chase Cars Acura dealership and Bank of Georgetown remain unfinished, almost a year after the project was scheduled to be completed.
“It’s certainly been an inefficient process,” said Laurie Williams, general manager of Charleston Alexander.
Williams estimated that before the jewelry store opened in 2005, it paid $50,000 to have red brick installed that matched the rest of the sidewalk.
Crews removed the brick to make way for the ADA improvements, but that work remains uncompleted.
Last Friday, a section of the sidewalk in front of the store was dug up and closed off with orange traffic markers. Since, crews have poured asphalt to smooth over the hole and reopen the sidewalk. But the red bricks that line the rest of the stretch are still missing.
“It doesn’t look good to anyone walking by. It gives the appearance that we are closed or inaccessible,” Williams said.
A few members of the Woodmont Triangle Action Group, an advisory committee of residents, developers and business representatives, expressed frustration with the project at last Friday’s monthly meeting.
SHA community liaison Christopher Bishop said he believed the delay stems from finding the proper brick to replace the brick that was taken out, but he would contact the project manager for a more thorough explanation.
The ADA improvements are just one part of the project, which also included the grinding and resurfacing of all lanes between Old Georgetown Road and North Brook Lane, installing new pavement markings and replacing concrete curbs and gutters.
The ADA portion of the project began in August. The entire project, which began in spring 2011, does not appear on a SHA list of Montgomery County projects.
Local Entrepreneurs Get 4 Minutes to Make A Pitch
The big bus with the Maryland state flag that pulls up to the corner of Cordell and Woodmont Avenues in a few weeks could be the jump start to one local entrepreneur’s business dreams.
On Sept. 24, the “Pitch Across Maryland” bus tour will stop at environmental nonprofit Bethesda Green (4825 Cordell Ave.) as part of its three-week trek to find up-and-coming small businesses.
Bethesda Green hopes to feature its stable of businesses in its green business incubator during the event, one of three scheduled for Montgomery County.
Participants will get four minutes to make a video pitch (in a predetermined format) on the bus to a video crew, investors and Startup Maryland representatives.
The pitches will then be put online and narrowed down to eight finalists, who will go on to present at a November entrepreneur expo. The winner and runner-up will get automatic bids to 2013 venture competitions, where the nonprofit Startup Maryland group hopes they can find the money and connections to grow.
Seth Goldman, founder and CEO of Bethesda-based organic tea company Honest Tea, will be in attendance.
Goldman, a major supporter of Bethesda Green, started selling teas at Fresh Fields (now Whole Foods supermarket) in 1998. Ten years later the Coca-Cola Company bought 40 percent of the company. Last year, Coca Cola bought the entire company.
Organizers are hoping the bus event can help an undiscovered local company find similar success.
Registration information can be found at Startup Maryland’s website.
Walter Reed Provides Environmental Impact Study
The U.S. Department of the Navy has released its draft environmental impact statement (EIS), a required study that will look at the effect of plans to demolish five campus buildings and build a new medical facility and a new research facility.
The EIS will be made available online on Friday and is available in hard copy form for on-site review at Montgomery County libraries and the Bethesda Chevy Chase Regional Services Center.
The draft review process will begin in earnest with two public hearings at the Pooks Hill Bethesda Marriott (5151 Pooks Hill Rd.). The Oct. 4 hearing will go from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. A 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. hearing will take place on Oct. 11.
Additionally, the Walter Reed BRAC Integration Committee will meet on Tuesday, Sept. 18 from 7:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. at the BCCRSC, where the Navy is expected to provide an update on the EIS process.
The county Department of Transportation will also give a presentation on the Wisconsin Avenue crossing project.
Regional Services Center Director Ken Hartman advised those interested in reviewing the EIS document at the RSC to call first, at 240-777-8210.
Flickr pool photo by AmyMarieMoore
Morning Notes
Obama Visits Walter Reed — President Obama visited wounded veterans at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on Tuesday afternoon, after a morning ceremony at the Pentagon to mark the eleventh anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. [USA Today]
MCPD Starts Massive Maintenance Operation — About a third of the Montgomery County Police Department’s cruiser fleet has been pulled off the road for a “proactive inspection” operation after a steering failure on two Ford Crown Victorias. [MCPD]
New Yoga Studio Coming to Wisconsin Ave — CorePower Yoga confirmed it will open Nov. 16 above the CVS AT 6700 Wisconsin Ave. [Robert Dyer]
Town of Chevy Chase Collecting Storm Debris — The Town of Chevy Chase will collect unbundled tree branches and limbs from last weekend’s storm on Monday, Sept. 17. All debris should be placed on the curb by 7 a.m. that day. Regular yard debris will also be collected.
Flickr photo by Kyle Walton
UPDATED: Woman, Dogs Found Dead in Home
Updated at 9:05 a.m. — MCPD Animal Services Division Capt. Michael Wahl said three dead dogs were found inside the home. Veterinarians at a local animal hospital decided to euthanize another because of its severely emaciated and anemic state.
Wahl said the six surviving dogs, all shih tzu, were also found to be emaciated and anemic but were treated and are expected to recover.
Police and the Montgomery County Humane Society will determine whether there is any next of kin interested in taking the dogs before putting them through the adoption process.
Updated at 8:20 a.m. — Assistant Chief Scott Graham, Montgomery County Fire and Rescue spokesman, confirmed a woman was found dead inside a home in the 9400 block of Corsica Drive shortly after 11 p.m. on Tuesday night.
Graham said police are investigating the incident, but don’t believe the woman died from carbon monoxide poisoning. Animal Control did assist authorities by removing animals from the home.
Montgomery County Fire and Rescue has responded to a house on the 9400 block of Corsica Drive in Bethesda, where a woman and several dogs have reportedly been found dead.
The incident was initially thought to to be a case of carbon monoxide poisoning, but now officials believe the woman might have died of natural causes. Ten dogs were found in the home, we’re told — three are dead and seven are alive. The surviving dogs are now in the care of Montgomery County animal services personnel, and are expected to be brought in for emergency veterinary treatment.
First responders are describing the house as filthy, possibly as a result of hoarding.
