SNOW KEEPS RESCUE SERVICE BUSY
The Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service responded to 60 car accidents between 6:30 and 9:30 a.m. Friday, Dec. 9, according to spokesman Pete Piringer.
The snow that closed Montgomery County Public Schools started falling around midnight but had stopped by dawn.
"The road crews did a great job overnight," and the morning started off slowly, with only occasional wrecks, Piringer said. "Then the sun came up. It was real bright."
As it melted off the remaining snow, the bright sunlight created a blinding glare on many areas roads. Drivers had difficulty seeing other cars stopped in front of them.
"Tractor trailers were jackknifing," a salt truck contracted by the state hit an overpass on Old Georgetown Road, and there were numerous multi-vehicle crashes on I-270 and the Beltway throughout the day, Piringer said.
No serious injuries were reported.
CHAMBER DONATES $3,000
The Potomac Chamber of Commerce announced Dec. 13 that it had donated $3,000--the net proceeds of from Potomac Day 2005--to the American Red Cross for victims of Hurricane Katrina.
Each year the Chamber chooses a recipient for any proceeds from the event, which collects fees from vendors and race participants.
The Chamber also announced that enrollment is open for Chamber membership in 2006.
Members are invited to a Feb. 3 networking event at the MCI center with catering provided by the Potomac Village Deli. The cost is $35 and only 90 places are available.
For more information about the networking event or becoming a Potomac Chamber of Commerce Member, call 301-299-2170 or visit www.potomacchamber.org.
HANUKKAH WONDERLAND
A walk-in multimedia Dreidel House and live olive oil making demonstrations are among the activities at this Hanukkah Wonderland at 5546 Randolph Road in Rockville, next to Staples.
The Hanukkah Wonderland is sponsored by Chabad Lubavitch of Maryland, a branch of the international non-profit Jewish outreach group.
The event will feature arts and crafts, games, a moonbounce, theater, and a cafe and gift shop.
The Wonderland will be open Dec. 18-Dec. 30, 10 a.m.-7 p.m. each day. Admission is $5 per child.
The Wonderland will also feature an outdoor menorah lighting complete with donuts, music and a raffle, all free, every night of Chanukah at 6 p.m.
For more information call 301-983-4200 ext. 19 or
e-mail mendelkaplan@yahoo.com.
HANUKKAH EVENT AT HAR SHALOM
Har Shalom’s annual Hanukkah Happening is Sunday, Dec. 18, 5-8 p.m. at the synagogue, 11510 Falls Road, Potomac.
Adults and children of all ages are invited an evening of arts and crafts, games, singing, dancing and a dairy dinner with plenty of potato latkes.
Admission will be $6 per adult and $4 per child up to a maximum of $20 per family. Reservations are required by Dec. 14. For more information, call 301-299-7087, extension 2321.
CABIN JOHN TOY DRIVE
As in years past, Cabin John Park Volunteer Fire Department will collect unwrapped toys to be delivered to local charities for the holidays. Santa Claus will be aboard the Cabin John fire trucks as they visit local neighborhoods on the following nights:
Friday, Dec. 9
Al Marah, Bannockburn Estates, Bannockburn, Landon Woods, Oakwood Knolls, Locust Ridge
Saturday, Dec. 10
Bradley Hills Grove, Burning Tree Valley, Chasset, W. Bethesda Park, Arrowood, 7500 Block Bradley Blvd.
Sunday, Dec. 11
Saddle Ridge, Potomac Hunt Acres, Lake Potomac, Beall Mtn. Potomac, Stoney Creek Farm, Spring Ridge, Merry-Go-Round Farm, Beall Mount, Estates at Rivers Edge
Tuesday, Dec. 13
Congressional Manor, Carderock Springs, Glengarry, Palisades, Carderock, Clewerwall Drive
Wednesday, Dec. 14
Potomac View Estates, Potomac Hills, Potomac Farm Estates, River Oaks Farm, Tara, Piney Meetinghouse, Fox Meadow, Alvermar Woods, Marwood Estates
Thursday, Dec. 15
Bradley Farms, Bradley Blvd. Estates, Kentsdale Estates, McCauley Park, Congressional Forest Estates
Friday, Dec. 16
Evergreen, Cabin John Park, Congressional Country Club Estates, Carderock Springs South, Cabin John
Sunday, Dec. 18
Great Falls Estates, Potomac Falls Estates, Potomac Manors, Avenel
Monday, Dec. 19
Riverhill, Seven Locks Hills, Rosehill Estates, Smithfield, Laurel Hill, Burning Tree Estates, Stoneyhurst Center
Tuesday, Dec. 20
Williamsburg Gardens, Williamsburg Estates, River Road Estates, Concord, Potomac Village, Camotop, Falconhurst, Potomac Promenade Mall, Potomac Place Shopping Center, Potomac Village Shopping Center
Wednesday, Dec. 21
Mazza Woods, Dada Woods, Fawsett Farms, Fawsett Farms Manor, River Falls, Potomac Ranch
Thursday, Dec. 22
Makeup day of any routes not completed
Friday, Dec. 23
Makeup day of any routes not completed
FREE HOLIDAY CAB RIDES
The Washington Regional Alcohol Program's SoberRide program will operate Dec. 9-Jan. 1 between 8 p.m. and 4 a.m. each night.
The program offers free taxi rides, up to a $50 fare for residents of Montgomery County, Washington, D.C. and Northern Virginia, age 21 and older, who are celebrating the holidays with alcohol and might otherwise drive home.
To use the service, call 800-200-TAXI or #-TAXI on a Cingular Wireless phone.
The program, supported by corporate sponsors and local taxi companies, has provided more than 30,000 free rides since 1993. For more information, visit www.soberride.com.
CHILDREN'S ALMANAC
It’s time to send in artwork and other material for the Children’s Almanac. The deadline for artwork and writing is Dec. 7.
The last week of the year, The Potomac Almanac turns its pages over to the children and students of the community. The entire publication will be filled with artwork, poetry, short stories, commentary and photographs produced by local students.
We’ll receive many submissions from teachers who will include artwork from many students. We are also delighted to get submissions from individual students, from students who are home schooled, from nursery schools, from high school students.
We prefer to receive submissions via e-mail or on CD. Each submission should include the student's full name, age, grade, and school. Send digital photos, scanned artwork or text to PhotoP@connectionnewspapers.com or mail or hand deliver hard-copy material to 7913 Westpark Drive, McLean, VA 22102. Questions? Call 301-983-2600.
CANAL PHOTOS BENEFIT CANAL BOAT FUND
A new exhibit of color photos of the C&O Canal, particularly scenes from the Great Falls area, is now on display in the Historic Tavern at the Great Falls visitor center of C&O Canal National Historical Park. Photographer/author Dorothy Camagna will donate all proceeds from photos ordered to the Canal Boat fund. The Friends of Historic Great Falls Tavern have raised more than $340,000 to date in their effort to replace the 30-year-old Canal Clipper replica boat that will no longer float. It is estimated that it will take an additional $160,000 to build a double-decked replica packet boat. Until three years ago, the canal boat carried more than 18,000 passengers each year through the original lift lock in front of the tavern. See www.BuildACanalBoat.com.
'LUNCH AND LEARN' WITH MELISSA CHECKER
Melissa Checker, an ‘86 graduate of Winston Churchill High School and a professor of anthropology at the University of Memphis, will visit Busboys and Poets, 14th and V Streets, Washington, D.C., on Saturday, Dec. 3 from 12-2 p.m. The event is a “lunch and learn/book signing,” featuring Checker’s recently published book, “Polluted Promises,” about environmental racism in Augusta, Ga. It is free and open to the public. Call 202-387-POET (7638) for more information.
PEAK TIME FOR DEER-VEHICLE COLLISIONS
The Montgomery County Deer Management Work Group reminds county residents that it is once again the peak time for deer-auto collisions in the county.
Deer-mating season runs from October to January with a peak of activity the first three weeks of November. During this time deer are more active than usual and less wary of their surroundings, posing a greater than normal danger on the roads.
During the last 15 years, auto collisions involving deer have risen as both deer and human populations have increased in the county. Since 2000, the accidents have leveled off, but remain common. Montgomery County Police reported about 2,000 deer-auto collisions last year.
The most important thing drivers can do to reduce the chances of being in anPEAK TIMEe the speed limit. At night reduce speeds below the limit, especially during rain or fog.
Other things to keep in mind:
• Deer are most active at dawn and dusk.
• Watch for deer where roads pass through wooded or rural areas.
• Deer crossing signs indicate where heavily used deer trails cross roadways. Slow down and watch for the eye-shine of deer near the road edges.
• Deer usually travel in groups. If you see a deer cross the road, slow down and use caution; more are likely to follow.
If a deer jumps in front of your car, brake in a controlled manner. Deer are quick and agile; it is more likely that they will leap out of your path than that you will be able to brake and steer around them. Most serious injuries occur when a driver skids out of control and leaves the road or swerves into oncoming traffic.
DEER HUNTS IN BLOCKHOUSE, MUDDY BRANCH
The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission announced plans Monday to expand its managed deer hunt program.
New hunt locations include the Serpentine Barrens Conservation Park and Muddy Branch Stream Valley Park in Potomac as well as the Dry Seneca Stream Valley Park in Poolesville, portions of the Great Seneca Stream Valley Park and North Germantown Greenway Park in Goshen.
This decision follows recommendations from an inter-agency work group commissioned to help reduce deer-related traffic accidents and other negative impacts.
Hunts in Potomac will take place at the Serpentine Barrens and Muddy Branch Parks, and Blockhouse Point Conservation Park (an existing hunt location) Tuesdays Nov. 8 and 22 and Dec. 13.
The parks will be closed from sunrise until sunset those days, and closure notices will be posted.
For more information, visit www.mc-mncppc.org/environment/deer/index.shtm or call the Commission’s deer information hotline at 301-495-3585.