New Title Sponsor for Capital Open
Booz Allen Hamilton signed a three-year agreement to serve as the title sponsor of the PGA TOUR’s only Washington-area event, formerly known as the Kemper Open. Kemper Insurance ended its title agreement with the event last spring, and it was known as the FBR Capital Open in 2003.
Booz Allen Hamilton is a management and technology consulting firm based in McLean, Va.
“For 2004, the tournament is going to be at TPC at Avenel,” said Michael Bulger, director of public relations for Booz Allen Hamilton. “For 2005, no decision has been made. There have been preliminary discussions with Congressional, but their board of governors needs to vote on it.”
The 2004 tournament, which will be known as the Booz Allen Open, hopes to raise $1 million for charity.
Jay Dufty, head golf pro at The Player’s Club at Avenel, said, “We’re all excited because they’re a local firm… and a good name.”
Blockhouse Point Hunt Reauthorized
A managed deer hunting program will continue this year at Blockhouse Point Conservation Park on Nov. 3, 10, 17 and 24. Last fall, in the first-ever managed hunt at Blockhouse Point, 88 deer were killed by licensed sharpshooters who applied to participate in the hunt.
The Blockhouse Point hunt is one of six county-wide managed hunts reauthorized by the Montgomery County Department of Park and Planning, after a recommendation by the Montgomery County Deer Management Work Group (DMWG) that the county continue both lethal and non-lethal measures to control area deer population.
Potomac was listed as a deer management “hotspot” in the DMWG report for Fiscal Year ‘04, with an estimated deer population of 140 deer per square mile in some areas. There were 2,127 reported deer-vehicle collisions countywide in 2002.
For more information, visit www.mc-mncppc.org/environment/deer or call the Park and Planning deer information hotline at 301-495-3585.
Blockhouse Point Plan Delayed
Park and Planning’s Master Plan for Blockhouse Point will not be released until early September, said John Hensch, who is coordinating the effort.
Initially the release date had been set for early August, however the plan is not yet finished. “The text is ready,” said Hensch, “We’re working on the graphics.”
Hensch said that releasing the plan in September will still allow interested parties ample time to study it prior to the first public forum. “That should give people about two weeks,” Hensch said.
A public forum about the not-yet-released plan has been scheduled for Sept. 17 at 7:30 p.m. at Rockwood Manor.
A formal public hearing before the Planning Board will likely occur sometime in the fall.
Man Indicted in River Road Carjacking
Carl E. Jones, 31 of Chesapeake Beach, was indicted on Aug. 7 on charges stemming from a carjacking on July 15.
According to police reports, Jones waived down the vehicle driven by a Great Falls, Va. woman while she was driving on River Road in Potomac. Police say that he pulled the woman from the car and drove off in it, leading the police in a chase across the state, while the woman’s two young children were in the back seat.
Jones was eventually apprehended near the border of Anne Arundel and Prince George’s counties.
He has been charged with one count each of carjacking, second-degree assault, felony theft, unlawful taking of a motor vehicle and unauthorized use of a motor vehicle. He has also been charged with two counts of kidnapping a child under 16-years old.
If convicted on all counts, he faces a maximum of 124 years in jail, according to the Montgomery County State’s Attorney’s Office. No trial date has yet been scheduled.
River Intake Study To Start
The Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission (WSSC) will begin a study this month of a submerged intake pipe in the Potomac River. The pipe would extend from the filtration plant on River Road, several hundred feet into the river.
The study will analyze the cost and feasibility of extending an intake pipe in order to mitigate the amount of sediment entering the current intake pipe which is downstream from the Watts Branch.
Some environmental groups have questioned why the Watts branch is not cleaned up as an alternative measure to the pipe.
Fairfax County, Va. Water Authority installed a mid-river pipe, visible from Violette’s Lock over the objections of the State of Maryland, which own the river. The Supreme Court is going to be considering the case this fall.
WSSC officials say the pipe which they propose would not be as intrusive at the one constructed by Fairfax County.
The study will be performed by Montgomery Watson Harza of Chicago and will cost $1 million. It is due for completion in the fall of 2004.
School Registration
Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) will begin classes for the 2003-2004 school year on Aug. 26. Parents whose children will be new to the school system are encouraged to contact their local school as soon as possible to register for class.
Information about school assignment by street address is available by calling the MCPS Boundaries Office at 301-279-3331 between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.
Registration takes place at the local elementary or secondary school. Parents registering their children for the first time in Montgomery County Public Schools should bring the child’s birth certificate, immunization records, Social Security number, and proof of county residency. Students who have attended school elsewhere should bring the latest report card from their previous school.
Students who are not citizens of the United States or United States citizens who are returning after being enrolled in a foreign school should call the International Student Admissions Office at 301-230-0686 to enroll.
For more information, visit www.mcps.k12.md.us.
Public Comments Wanted
The Board of Education tentatively approved a revised Policy CFB, Public Charter Schools, at its July 29 meeting. Interested individuals or groups are encouraged to submit comments about the policy to the Board during the public comment period ending Sept. 26.
A public charter school is defined as a public school that operates under a charter, or contract, within the public school system and is accountable to the Board of Education. Revised Policy CFB, Public Charter Schools, sets forth objectives to be followed with regard to the application, evaluation, and approval process for public charter schools. The revisions are designed to clarify the policy and to bring it into conformity with the state Public Charter School Act of 2000.
Public responses to the revised policy should be in writing and sent by Sept. 26 to the Office of the Superintendent of Schools, 850 Hungerford Drive, Rockville, Maryland 20850. All responses will be shared with the Board of Education. The text of the policy is available on the Montgomery County Public Schools web site: www.mcps.k12.md.us.