Fatal Pedestrian Accident In Potomac Parking Lot
A fatal accident in a Giant Food parking lot was one of three reported pedestrian collisions this weekend in the area.
Montgomery County Police said Shirley Stearman, 81, of Potomac died from injuries sustained while she was walking toward the Giant Food on Sunday in the Cabin John Shopping Center.
At 1:50 p.m., Hyun Jeung In, 43, of Germantown was driving a 2000 Acura MDX through the parking lot when In turned left out of a parking aisle near the store and hit Spearman, according to police. Montgomery County Fire and Rescue personnel were in the shopping center on an unrelated call and immediately helped Spearman, but she died later at Suburban Hospital.
Police did not say In was charged in the incident. The circumstances of the collision are still under investigation. Anyone with information is asked to contact detectives from the Collision Reconstruction Unit at 240-773-6620.
On Saturday night, a pedestrian was struck at River Road and Little Falls Parkway in Bethesda and on Friday, a pedestrian was struck near Beach Drive and Knowles Avenue in Kensington.
Pedestrian collisions increased in 2012 compared to 2011, according to Montgomery County statistics. County officials say a Pedestrian Safety Initiative helped drive down severe collisions involving either debilitating injury or death by 20 percent in 2012.
But there have been eight pedestrian fatalities in the county this year, more than the six pedestrian fatalities in 2012.
Image via Google Maps
Group Will Appeal Kensington Middle School Decision
Residents opposed to a plan that would put a new middle school on the site of a Kensington park will appeal a Montgomery County Circuit Court judge’s ruling in favor of Montgomery County Public Schools.
John Robinson, president of the Rock Creek Hills Citizens’ Association, announced on Sunday that the group will appeal the decision made in April by Judge Ronald Rubin, who issued a a declaratory judgment saying the transfer of the land from MCPS to the county Parks Department violated no federal law or statute.
The Rock Creek Hills Citizens’ Association wants Rock Creek Hills Local Park (3701 Saul Rd.) maintained as a park.
The group has challenged the MCPS decision to build there at virtually every step, prompting superintendent Joshua Starr to start a new site selection process, filing an unsuccessful appeal with the Maryland State Board of Education and last September filing the suit.
MCPS claims it can build on the park because the Board of Education owns it. It is the site of a former MCPS school, but the school system transferred the land to the Maryland National Capital Park and Planning Commission (M-NCPPC).
When M-NCPPC developed the park in the early 90s, it accepted funds from Program Open Space (POS), which uses funds from the Federal Land and Water Conservation Fund.
Park supporters have argued the use of POS funds was inconsistent with the reclamation terms of the transfer agreement under which M-NCPPC took title to the property. This was the case since use of these funds places restrictions on future public use of parks, in contradiction with the terms of the original transfer agreement.
Robinson said Judge Rubin was mistaken in his ruling, and that the group still thinks MCPS violated statutes by not having further review done by state agencies:
Dear Members,As you are aware, on April 11, 2013, Judge Rubin made on oral ruling against the Rock Creek Hills Citizens Association and the individual plaintiffs on matters relating to the proposed conversion of Rock Creek Hills Local Park.
On April 23, 2013, Judge Rubin entered a 13 page written Declaratory Judgement stating his reasons. Counsel, the Association, and the individual plaintiffs have reviewed the April 23 order carefully and have again concluded that the Court’s erred in ruling that (1) the plaintiffs have no standing to challenge the proposed conversion, (2) the Board of Education has a valid reclaim right to the park, and (3) the government defendants did not violate any statutes in deciding to convert the park without further review by the state agencies having statutory jurisdiction over the proposed conversion. Therefore the Association and the individual plaintiffs are appealing the April 23 order. In addition, the Association’s park litigation fund has the resources to pay all its current obligations and has accumulated a modest reserve for the initial phase of the appeal.
Yours,
John M. Robinson
9616 Old Spring Road
Kensington, MD 20895
Parents on MCPS’ school site selection committee have argued the group’s continued opposition is holding up the process for a much-needed school.
MCPS is planning for the new middle school to open in August 2017 to deal with over-enrollment at Westland Middle School and the reassignment of Grade 6 students from Chevy Chase and North Chevy Chase Elementary Schools.
Westland received a six-classroom addition in the 2009-2010 school year, but as the only middle school in the Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School cluster was 136 students over its 1,063 capacity this year. MCPS is projecting 1,600 middle school students in the cluster when the Grade 6 reassignments are made.
“This suit always struck me as incredibly frivolous,” said Rafe Petersen, a PTA Board member of Rosemary Hills Primary School with three kids in the school cluster. “A lot of us think it’s a little bit selfish of the people in that neighborhood. This after all is public land.”
Kensington Celebrates The Day Of The Book
The Town of Kensington is celebrating the International Day of the Book with a book festival and packed schedule of readings from local authors on Sunday.
The street festival, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Howard Avenue in Old Town Kensington, includes live music, an open mic, book sales and other activities for kids.
D.C. native George Pelecanos, crime book author and writer involved in the HBO series “The Wire,” is expected to make an appearance from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. with blues band The Nighthawks.
The event will also offer free books from an organization called BookCrossing and rare book evaluations by a former auction appraiser. If you want, you can also take on former Maryland State Chess Champion Allan Savage. He’ll be playing six to eight games at once.
For more information, visit the event website.
Photo via Kensington Day Of The Book
Judge Throws Out Suit Against Kensington Middle School
UPDATED 1:35 p.m. on Friday A judge today threw out a lawsuit from nearby residents who hoped to block MCPS from reclaiming a local park and building a middle school on it.
Montgomery County Circuit Court Judge Ronald Rubin ruled in favor of the school system, which wants to build a second middle school at Rock Creek Hills Local Park (3701 Saul Rd.) to accomodate overcrowding at Westland Middle School and the planned reassignment of Grade 6 students from Chevy Chase and North Chevy Chase Elementary Schools.
Members of the Save The Rock Creek Hills Park group and the surrounding Rock Creek Hills Citizens’ Association have sought to block the school and maintain the 13.4-acre park that the Maryland National Capital Park and Planning Commission (M-NCPPC) acquired from the Board of Education in 1990.
School opponents argued that the use of Program Open Space funds to improve the park was inconsistent with the reclamation terms of the transfer agreement under which the M-NCPPC took title to the property. The Planning Board also recommended against placing the school on the site of the park.
Rubin issued a declaratory judgment, stating ”neither the deed or the transfer agreement violated federal or state law. No statute has been violated.”
“This suit always struck me as incredibly frivolous,” said Rafe Petersen, a PTA Board member of Rosemary Hills Primary School with three kids in the school cluster. Petersen was also part of the original site selection committee. “A lot of us think it’s a little bit selfish of the people in that neighborhood. This after all is public land.”
MCPS is planning for the middle school to open in August 2017.
“This is really about our kids and any other further delays are only going to harm our children,” said Fritz Hirst, a cluster parent and another member of the site selection committee. “But I think all people of goodwill should realize that this school should move forward.”
John Robinson, president of the Rock Creek Hills Citizens’ Association, said his group was disappointed by the decision and is considering an appeal.
Photo via Montgomery Parks
Kensington Middle School Site Battle Resumes Thursday
A Montgomery County Circuit Court judge will resume a hearing tomorrow on the school system’s controversial plan to build a middle school in Kensington’s Rock Creek Hills Local Park.
Neighbors of the park (3701 Saul Rd.) and members of the Rock Creek Hills Citizens’ Association have vociferously challenged the MCPS decision to build there at virtually every step, prompting superintendent Joshua Starr to start a new site selection process, filing an unsuccessful appeal with the Maryland State Board of Education and last September filing suit in county court.
MCPS claims it can build on the park because the Board of Education owns it. It is the site of a former MCPS school, but the school system transferred the land to the Maryland National Capital Park and Planning Commission (M-NCPPC).
In November 2011, Starr said one of the reasons for starting a new site selection process was concern about the M-NCPPC’s use of open space funds to improve the park in the early 1990′s:
When the M-NCPPC developed the park in the early 1990s they accepted funds from the Program Open Space (POS). This is a program managed by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources to distribute funds from the Federal Land and Water Conservation Fund to preserve open space.
The use of Program Open Space funds was inconsistent with the reclamation terms of the transfer agreement under which the M-NCPPC took title to the property. This was the case since use of these funds places restrictions on future public use of parks, in contradiction with the terms of the original transfer agreement.
After the second site selection process, Starr recommended the site and the Board of Education approved it in April of 2012. The Save The Rock Creek Hills Park group then filed the suit that will again be discussed tomorrow at 2 p.m. in Circuit Court.
Opponents of the middle school on the park site want to preserve the land for park uses. In 2011, the Montgomery County Planning Board raised concerns about using park land for new school sites.
As the episode has played out, Bethesda-Chevy Chase cluster parents foremost concerned with overcrowding in the cluster, have seemingly grown weary of the process. At a Western Montgomery County Citizens Advisory Board meeting on Monday, one was dismissive of the lawsuit when discussing overcrowding with MCPS planner Bruce Crispell.
MCPS is planning for the new middle school to open in August 2017 to deal with over-enrollment at Westland Middle School and the reassignment of Grade 6 students from Chevy Chase and North Chevy Chase Elementary Schools.
Westland received a six-classroom addition in the 2009-2010 school year, but as the only middle school in the cluster was 136 students over its 1,063 capacity this year. Crispell said MCPS is projecting 1,600 middle school students in the cluster when the Grade 6 reassignments are made.
Water Main Break Closes Southbound Connecticut Avenue
A major water main break at Connecticut Avenue and Franklin Street has all southbound lanes of Connecticut Avenue closed this afternoon.
The break occurred around 11 a.m., breaking through asphalt and causing a significant pool of water on the three southbound lanes of Connecticut.
Police just reopened the northbound lanes. A WSSC crew was on the scene.
Tea Party Coming to Support Van Hollen’s Republican Challenger
Republican Congressional candidate Ken Timmerman claims his race with heavily favored incumbent Chris Van Hollen (D) is competitive, and a group of Tea Party supporters is coming to try to prove it.
In an email to supporters last night, the Kensington investigative journalist said his campaign’s internal polling shows that since May, Van Hollen has never polled above 48 percent.
No independent polls have been released for the race, according to The Gazette. Despite a reconfigured district that includes traditionally conservative areas in Frederick and Carroll Counties, Van Hollen is expected to cruise to a sixth term.
Since defeating incumbent Connie Morella in 2002, the ranking member of the House Budget Committee has never won less than 73 percent of the vote and has assumed a national leadership role in the Democratic party with a stint as the chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.
Timmerman, though, has managed to raise Van Hollen’s ire.
At an Oct. 14 candidates event, Van Hollen said he’s “never seen such gutter politics in our community,” according to The Gazette.
After a debate on Sept. 28 in Gaithersburg, Van Hollen could be heard telling Timmerman to “stop lying” as the two shook hands.
Van Hollen is also a resident of Kensington, where a Tea Party group called the 2012 Tea Party Express will stop on a bus tour on Monday, Oct. 29 to support Timmerman.
“The Tea Party Express organizers told us that they picked up my challenge to entrenched borrower and spender Chris Van Hollen because they consider Maryland’s 8th District to be a competitive race,” Timmerman said in the Tuesday night email.
Water Main Break Causes 20 to Lose Water Service
About 20 Kensington residents are without water service tonight and some are without power after a water main broke on a residential street near Cedar Lane.
The Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission was called to the break at about 6 p.m., WSSC spokesman Lyn Riggins said. The six-inch water main under the road in the 4400 block of Glenridge Street is 72-years-old, Riggins said.
“Unfortunately, that’s what happens when you have old pipes. They at some point come to their useful end and they break,” Riggins said.
Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Services instructed Pepco to shut off power to a number of residents as a precaution, Riggins said. About six saw their basements flooded by water from the break.
Riggins said it takes four to six hours to fix a typical break and restore service, though larger breaks can take longer to repair. Workers were arriving on the scene at around 8:45 p.m. to pump out the water from a roughly five-foot deep hole in the road and assess the type of damage to the pipe.
WSSC consumer advocates were talking to residents affected by the break. Riggins said WSSC will provide water to the residents for the duration of the service outage, as is typical.
Kensington House Fire Displaces Two
A house fire in in the 4000 block of Glenrose Street in Kensington caused major damage and required the evacuation of an elderly woman and her caregiver, according to scanner traffic.
Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service received a call just after 3:15 p.m. on Monday. As many as six fire engines were on the scene, closing a southbound lane of traffic on nearby Connecticut Avenue.
Sections of the home’s living room, garage and upstairs appeared to sustain heavy damage. Montgomery County Fire and Rescue spokesman Assistant Chief Scott Graham said he was awaiting an incident report before releasing information.
Kensington 8K Set For This Weekend
The 19th Annual Kensington 8K, 2 Mile Challenge and 1K Fun Run is this Saturday (Sept. 22) and will benefit three local public schools.
Parents and others with ties to Kensington Parkwood Elementary School, North Bethesda Middle School and Walter Johnson High School will volunteer to organize the event, which also includes a 2-mile race and 1K run.
More than 500 ran last year’s race, which starts at the Kensington Town Hall and winds its way east of Connecticut Avenue.
The 2-Mile Challenge starts at 7:45 a.m., the wheelchair start of the 8K Race at 8:25 a.m., the 8K Race at 8:30 a.m. and the 1K Fun Run at 8:35 a.m.
Those interested are encouraged to register online. Before Wednesday, registration fees are $25 for the 8K, $13 for the 2-mile and $11 for for the 1K. Those rates will increase from Wednesday to race day.
In person registration and packet pick-up will happen at the Kensington Town Hall from noon to 9 p.m. on Friday and from 6:30 a.m. to 8:15 a.m. on race day.
Visit the race’s official website for more information.
Bee Stings Send 12 Kensington Preschoolers to Hospital
Twelve two-year-olds at the Temple Emanuel Early Childhood Center at 10101 Connecticut Ave. in Kensington were transported to the hospital this morning after suffering “multiple” bee stings during a fire drill, according to the Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service.
They sustained minor injuries and are in stable condition, according to MCFRS spokesman Scott Graham, via his Twitter feed.
A front desk attendant at Temple Emanuel said the synagogue would not be commenting. She did add the children, “were fine and taken care of.”
The Early Childhood Center has a year-round preschool program for children ages 2-5.
Crime Report: Basketball Playing Bandits
A group of nine men, ranging in age from 19 to 22, allegedly burglarized a church in Kensington last week.
A short time later, cops found them playing basketball:
A burglary occurred at the Church of Latter Day Saints, 10000 Stoneybrook Drive, Kensington on Tuesday, 8/28 at approximately 1:45 a.m. The suspects were located playing basketball.
Suspects: nine B/Ms, ages 19-22
More from MCPD’s Aug. 20 to Aug. 28 Bethesda crime summary, after the jump.
All Aboard For Model Train Show This Weekend
The National Capital Trackers will return to the Kensington Armory (3710 Mitchell St., Kensington) this weekend for its second Kensington Model Train show.
The show, sponsored by Bethesda realtors Gary and Dianna Ditto, is Saturday and Sunday, from 11:30 a.m. to 5 p.m..
More than 2,000 came to last year’s show, said Gary Ditto, who got the idea to bring the National Capital Trackers to Kensington.
We are a club of “O” Gauge electric train enthusiasts that enjoy our hobby of running trains and setting up train show layouts at venues in Northern Virginia and suburban Maryland. Our layouts are modular. Members build their own table modules, typically 2′ x 4′ in size. Modules contain two train tracks and are all built to the same specification so that they readily interconnect. An electric bus cable connects to each module to provide electric continuity along the entire layout.
Tickets are $5 for adults, $2 for children and $10 for a family, and proceeds benefit the Noyes Children’s Library Foundation and the Kensington Historical Society.
Photos from Kensington Labor Day Parade
Kensington held its 45th Annual Labor Day Parade and Festival on Monday, a large gathering that attracted local businesses, religious organizations, politicians and residents to the town just north of Bethesda. Click below to scroll through the photos.
Special Events This Labor Day Weekend
This Labor Day weekend will feature a number of special events around the Bethesda area, including the Town of Kensington’s 45th Annual Labor Day Parade & Festival and art shows at Glen Echo Park and Bethesda Urban Partnership’s downtown gallery.
The Trawick Prize: Bethesda Contemporary Art Awards — Finalists in the running for this year’s Trawick Prize will be featured in Gallery B (7700 Wisconsin Avenue, Suite E) starting Saturday, Sept. 1. The winners will be named Sept. 5. Admission is free. For more information, visit BUP’s website.
42nd Annual Labor Day Art Show at Glen Echo Park — The three-day exhibition and sale in Glen Echo’s historic Spanish Ballroom will begin Saturday at noon and run all three days from noon until 6 p.m. A reception, open to the public, will be tomorrow (Friday) at 7 p.m. Admission is free. For more information, visit the Art Show website.
Glen Echo Park Irish Music & Dance Showcase — Glen Echo Park will also host an Irish Music & Dance Showcase to go along with the art show on Saturday and Monday, from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. in the Bumper Car Pavilion. Admission is free.
Bake Bethesda a Pie Contest — Central Farm Markets will put on a judged pie-baking contest at its Bethesda location on Sunday, starting at 11 a.m. at its regular spot, Bethesda Elementary School (7600 Arlington Rd.). Observers are invited to watch the judging and try some of the pies after the contest. For more information, visit Central Farm Market’s website.
Town of Kensington Labor Day Parade — Kensington’s 45th Annual Labor Day Parade & Festival will kick off at 10 a.m., starting at Plyers Mill Road and St. Paul Street toward the grandstand at Kensington Parkway.
Flickr photo by johnhane
