Greet Council President
<bt>The newly elected County Council has been dubbed the "End-Gridlock" council by county executive Doug Duncan.
Council president Michael Subin (D-At large) will speak to the West Montgomery County Citizens Association on Dec. 11, about issues that will be pending before the Council. Meeting at 8 p.m. at the Potomac Elementary School, 10311 River Road.
All citizens are encouraged to attend.
The West Montgomery County Citizens Association meets every other month, on the second Wednesday of the month, at Potomac Elementary.
<sh>Deer Hunt Next Week
<bt>The managed deer hunt at Blockhouse Point Park in Potomac will be conducted as scheduled. Deer hunts were postponed in the county during sniper attacks in October when the governor issued a ban on the discharge of firearms.
Now the hunt intended to curb environmental damage from deer in the conservation park near Violettes Lock is on again.
The deer hunt is scheduled for Monday, Dec. 9 through Friday, Dec. 13. The 600-acre park, spanning both sides of River Road, will be closed during those days.
The county received 318 applications from hunters; 60 were selected — 12 for each day — to hunt at Blockhouse Point. Nearby homeowners have been notified.
For information, see www.mc-mncppc.org/environment/deer or call 301-949-4149.
<sh>Last Chance
<cl>The Potomac Theatre Company's production of Damon Runyon's “Guys and Dolls” concludes this weekend at The Blair Family Center for the Arts at the Bullis School, 10601 Falls Rd., Potomac. Twenty-three actors will sing and dance their way through this popular musical, which is directed by Ron Sarro and produced by Marilyn and John Shockey, of Potomac. Performances will be given on Friday and Saturday, Dec. 6-7, at 8 p.m. and Sunday, Dec. 8 at 2 p.m. Tickets are $15 for adults, $13 for seniors and $10 for students. Call 301-299-8571 or see www.srbnet.com/ptc.
<sh>Christmas Music
<bt>The Washington Vocal Artists and Orchestra, directed by Rosemary Dyer, will perform at Potomac United Methodist Church on Sunday, Dec. 14 at 5 p.m. The church is located at the intersection of Falls Road and South Glen Road. Call 301-299-9383. Free, but donations are welcome
<sh>Audubon Holiday Fair
<bt>Join 115 artists selling function nature arts and crafts at the 2002 Audubon Holiday Fair. The fair is scheduled for Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 7-8 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The fair will feature a holiday greenery and birdseed sale, Audubon bookshop and used book sale, kids' make and take craft table, Scales and Tales live nature exhibits and musical entertainment. Chevy Chase resident Fred Winkler, who was born in 1917, will share memories and photos in his talk, "A Rock Creek Childhood."
The cost is $7 for adults, $11 for a two-day admission and $2 for children under 12. Children under two will be admitted for free.
The fair will be held at Historic Woodend, the headquarters of the Audubon Naturalist Society, 8940 Jones Mill Rd., Chevy Chase. Call 301-652-9188.
Parking is limited and free shuttle service will be available from North Chevy Chase Elementary School and Waverly St. Public Parking Lot near the Bethesda Metro.
Maps and information is available on www.audubonnaturalist.org
A benefit preview party will be held on Friday, Dec. 6, from 7-10 p.m. for $35.
<sh>Spaghetti Dinner
<bt>The Civitans from Churchill will hold a spaghetti dinner on Dec. 9. The event was postponed from October because of the sniper attacks. The dinner will benefit Special Love, Inc., a nonprofit that provides activities for children and young adults with cancer. The cost is $5 for all you can eat and the dinner runs from 5:30-8 p.m. at the Potomac Community Center, 11315 Falls Road, Potomac.
Call Larry Chloupek on 301-469-6514.
<sh>Cable Complaints
<bt>The County Council established a commission to hear consumer complaints about cable services.
Subscribers can take complaints to the county's Office of Cable Administration. Complaints not resolved at that level can be taken before the commission.
The commission will be able to authorize refunds to subscribers as well as levy fines and order cable companies to pay up to $1,000 in damages to complainants. The commission may choose to hear a case itself or may appoint a hearing examiner. It could also appoint a mediator if both parties agree.
The legislation is to take effect early in 2003, according to Council documents.
<sh>Pedestrian Signals
<bt>The County Council approved more than $11 million in supplemental funding for the Go Montgomery! transportation plan.
A pilot signal enhancement program will be initiated under the supplemental that will provide countdown signals for pedestrians and other safety improvements. The funding will also support data collection/monitoring and analysis program to measure and improve the effectiveness of the Go Montgomery! plan. The appropriation will support two new positions to manage the program — a program director and staff position.
Contact Art Holmes, Go Montgomery! director at 240-777-7170.
<sh>Bone Marrow Drive
<bt>Would-be bone marrow donors will have another chance to sign up locally. An additional bone marrow drive for Dani Shotel, a 26-year-old special education teacher, is scheduled for Thursday, Dec. 5 at the Washington Hebrew Congregation, 3935 Macomb St., N.W., Washington, D.C., from 6-9:30 p.m.
Shotel is a past graduate of Wootton High School who is diagnosed with acute myelogenous leukemia.
More than 300 people attended a drive at Temple Beth Ami, in Rockville.
See www.nurgents.com/dani/
<sh>‘Longitudes and Attitudes’
<bt>New York Times columnist Thomas L. Friedman, a Pulitzer Prize winning author, will give a lecture at the Jewish Community Center on current events in the Middle East and the events that led up to the attack on the United States on Sept. 11, 2001.
Friedman, who wrote the bestseller book "Longitudes and Attitudes: Exploring the World After September 11," will speak at the Jewish Community Center, 6125 Montrose Road, on Wednesday, Dec. 11 at 7:30 p.m. The cost is $8 for the general public and $6 for JCC members.
<sh>Cell Phones for Seniors
<bt>Montgomery County Police are issuing free emergency cell phones to county senior citizens. The phones will allow someone to call 911 only.
A federal law says that every cell phone, even those that have been deactivated or not maintained on a service plan, must still be able to make 911 calls. To donate cell phones to the program, citizens can donate old or unused cell phones with chargers to the front desk of any Montgomery County Police station.
Senior citizens in need of a 911 cell phone can call Steve Steinberg, volunteer at the 2nd District in Bethesda, at 301-657-0622 to make an appointment to receive the phone and learn how to use it.
<sh>Krahnke's Legacy Rings Again
<bt>Verizon Wireless donated 20 voicemail boxes to the Betty Ann Krahnke Center for Domestic Violence. The Betty Ann Krahnke Center provides residential services for an estimated 200 abused women and nearly 350 children annually.
The voicemail boxes will enable the center to offer clients the ability to receive and retrieve confidential messages from counselors, legal advocates, prospective employers and landlords.
Krahnke, who died on Oct. 6, served as Councilmember from District 1, representing the Potomac area from 1990 until 2000.
<sh>Children’s (and Teens’) Almanac
<bt>Every year between Christmas and New Years, the Potomac Almanac turns its pages over to the contributions of local students.
Artwork, photography, poetry, opinions, short stories and reflections have been featured in previous issues.
We welcome contributions from public schools, private schools and students who are home schooled. Past contributions have come from children from nursery school through high school. Sometimes an art or English teacher will assign a project and submit the work of an entire class. Often, the thoughtful and emotional contribution of a teenager will reach readers on many levels.
Mail or deliver contributions by Dec. 7, The Potomac Almanac, 10220 River Road, Suite 303, Potomac, MD 20854. E-mail to PotomacAlmanac@hotmail.com. Please be sure to include the student’s name, age, grade, school and town of residence along with each submission.
For information, call 301-983-2600.
<sh>Reflections
<bt>The Potomac Almanac’s first issue of 2003 will include a look at the year 2002, plus a look at the top issues for the coming year.
We invite short contributions from the community on any topic appropriate to reflections on a year past and a new year on its way — that is to say almost anything.
Please keep contributions under 300 words. We also welcome photographs.
Mail or deliver contributions by Dec. 7 to The Potomac Almanac, 10220 River Road, Suite 303, Potomac, MD 20854. E-mail to PotomacAlmanac@hotmail.com.
Please be sure to include name, a phone number for verification and town of residence with each submission.
For information, call 301-983-2600.
<sh>Spinning New Web
<bt>Montgomery County government's new web site is www.montgomerycountymd.gov. The site combines the County's online interactive services web site with the informational site. The new site was launched on Nov. 18 and combines features from the county's first site (www.co.mo.md.us) with a site that offered interactive services (www.emontgomery.org).
County residents can use the site to pay property taxes, reserve ball fields, pay parking tickets and library fines, purchase bus and rail fares, register bicycles and renew library materials.
<sh>Horse News
<bt>The first-ever statewide census of horses has been completed, revealing that there are more than 87,000 horses, ponies, mules, donkeys and burros in over 20,000 locations around the state.
Approximately 38,000 people are involved in Maryland’s horse industry, which is valued at $5.2 billion with expenditures of $766 million a year.
Census forms were mailed in the summer to 23,000 potential horse owners and stable operators in all segments of the industry. The survey asked for information on the sale of horses, land area allocated to equine uses, number of horses owned, expenditures and value of assets.
County-by-county data will be available by late December. The Maryland Horse Industry Board commissioned the Maryland Agricultural Statistics Service to conduct the census.
See www.marylandhorseindustry.org to learn about the Maryland Horse Industry Board.
<sh>Access General Plan
<bt>Versions of Montgomery County's General Plan as well as current master plans and sector plans are available to be downloaded at http://www.mc-mncppc.org, the Montgomery County Park and Planning web site.
Montgomery County's General Plan, "On Wedges and Corridors," was recognized as a national model in land use planning when it was adopted in 1964.
The General Plan lays broad goals and objectives for planning in Montgomery County, which are implemented through area-specific master plans and sector plans.
The 2001 Potomac Master Plan was approved by the County Council and Park and Planning Commission. This fall, Council is expected to approve the sector plan that accompanies the Master Plan.
Call 301-495-4600.
<sh>Civic Associations
<bt>The Planning Board's Community Relations Office is updating its civic and homeowners associations database. Call 301-495-4600 any time of the day or night with the current president's name, address and phone number.
<sh>More Horse News
<bt>The Maryland Horse Industry Board is accepting grant applications for projects that promote the state's equine industry.
Projects will be considered in the area of education, research and marketing. Projects have ranged from educational materials, displays and seminars, horse care education for new horse owners, materials for new horse facilities and a museum exhibit on the history of thoroughbred racing in Maryland.
Proposals are due by Feb. 1, 2003. Grant recipients will be notified of their award within 90 days of submission.
See www.marylandhorseindustry.org or call 410-841-5861.