Five Potomac Village Homes Still Without Heat
As of Monday morning, five homes in the Potomac Village area were still without heat.
A Washington Gas Light Co. equipment failure left Potomac Elementary School and approximately 600 homes in Potomac without heat beginning Tuesday morning, Feb. 6. Potomac Elementary closed at 1 p.m., more than two hours early.
The failure was due to the burden placed on the Washington Gas infrastructure by the extremely cold temperatures of the previous few days, said Joan Hairston, a spokesperson for the company.
Washington Gas crews staged their operations out of the Potomac Community Center Tuesday night, said Allan Cohen of the Potomac Community Center. Approximately 80 crews worked to repair the damaged equipment and then began to go from house to house to relight furnaces in each home, said Hairston. The repairs of the damaged equipment were completed by 3:10 a.m. Wednesday, Feb. 7, said Jan Davis of Washington Gas.
By Friday, Feb. 9, only 15 homes had not yet been relit for heat, said Davis. Officials from the company were calling homeowners twice during the day and twice in the evening to arrange times for the crews to come to their homes, Davis said. Davis said that Washington Gas officials had been unable to contact the owners of the five homes.
The failure affected homes near Potomac Village on River, Falls, Counselman and Hall Roads, as well as Potomac Manor Drive, said Hairston.
Club Friday, After Hours Hold Valentine’s Day Party
Club Friday, a popular youth club for grades 3 through 6 will be holding a Valentine’s Day Party this Friday, Feb. 16 from 7-9 p.m. Members may bring guests for $2. A special DJ will be on hand with prizes, Valentine’s Day Bingo, craft projects and more! After Hours, a special program for middle school youth will follow from 9:15-11 p.m. Members pay $2, Non-Members, $5 at the door. Be there for this fun night of music and dancing. Potomac Community Center located at 11315 Falls Rd., Potomac. Call 240-777-6960 for more information.
Beverly Farms Service Fair Helps Others
Approximately 300 people created around 1,200 items that will help others at the second annual Beverly Farms Elementary School Community Service Fair on Saturday, Feb. 10. The fair is part of an ongoing effort by the Beverly Farms PTA to promote charity and volunteerism.
Among the items donated or created at the fair were 420 bags filled with soaps, shampoos, toothpaste and other toiletries. These toiletry bags will be distributed among 23 Linkages to Learning programs, which help Montgomery County schoolchildren take care of their basic needs and eliminate barriers to learning. Volunteers gave several hundred “snack sacks” — weighing 317 pounds — to Manna Food Center’s Smart Sacks program, which helps some Montgomery County schoolchildren get through the weekend without being hungry.
Volunteers also created 256 pink ribbons for the Women’s Cancer Control Program, made 175 Valentine’s Day cards and treat bags for homeless families, nursing home students, and soldiers recovering from war injuries. They also decorated 128 bookmarks that will be given to seriously ill children through Ronald McDonald House and Children’s Inn at NIH, created 94 cards for soldiers in Iraq, collected 18 large bags of clothing for a women’s shelter, and donated hundreds of coins for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s Pennies for Patients Program.
Jewish Federation Holds Super Sunday Dial-a-Thon
The Jewish Federation of Greater Washington will hold its annual Super Sunday dial-a-thon on Feb. 25, from 9 a.m.-3 p.m., at three area locations, including the JCC of Greater Washington in Rockville, to help raise funds for Federation’s campaign to care for those in need locally, in Israel and around the world. Community service projects will be ongoing at all three sites, as well as free babysitting, snacks and more. To register or for more details, contact Adrienne Matthews at 301-230-7281 or e-mail Adrienne.Matthews@ShalomDC.org, go to www.SuperSunday2007.org.
Student Artwork Honored at Landon’s Landow Gallery
Landon School art teacher Walt Bartman announced the winners of the first annual Best of Independent School Art Competition earlier this week. Michael Picasso, a Landon junior, won Best in Show while Emily Henochowicz from Holton Arms and Charlotte Lapeyre from Stone Ridge won first and second runner up, respectively.
Patrick Waring (Landon), Mark Hammes (Landon), and Daniela Anderson (Washington Waldorf School) all received Honorable Mentions for their work.
The competition was held for Independent School students in the metro DC area with 10 area schools being represented. Mark Lovett, who showcased his artwork in Landon’s Landow Gallery in January, judged the event that drew 75 submissions.
The Landow Gallery at Landon School, 6101 Wilson Lane, will be open for the public to view the students’ artwork through Feb. 27, from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on school days and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays.
Holy Child Student Performs in McLean Community Theater
Margaret Berkowitz, an eighth-grade student at Connelly School of the Holy Child, will perform in the McLean Community Players’ production of "Life With Father," which debuted in 1939 and is the longest running non-musical on Broadway. Margaret is only one of five young people in the show, and she plays the same role that Elizabeth Taylor did the 1947 movie version.
The play is at the McLean Community Center's Alden Theater, 1234 Ingleside Ave., McLean, Va., with performances on Feb. 16 and 17 at 8 p.m. Tickets are $14 for adults and $12 for students and seniors. For ticket information, call the Alden Box Office at (703) 790-9223 or visit www.McLeanCommunityPlayers.com.
Jonathan Deutsche Awards Season Underway
Applications for the Jonathan Deutsche Musical Arts Memorial Award for Excellence in Jazz and Creative Arts Music are currently being accepted. The award is presented by the Potomac Community Center Advisory Board, Inc.
The competition is open to all high school students who attend a public or private school in Montgomery County, or who live in Montgomery County but attend school in a different district. A $500 award and two $250 awards will be offered to an individual or group of high school instrumentalists, vocalists, and composers for demonstrated excellence in jazz performance and composition. Contributions will be judge by working professional jazz musicians and will be based on musical creativity.
Jonathan Deutsche was a music lover and jazz enthusiast and piano player who graduated from Winston Churchill High School in 1997. He was killed in a car accident in 2002 at the age of 24. The award was created by his family and friends in his honor.
For information on how to apply, call Penny Heltzer at 301-983-9624.
Recreation Department Offers Courses at Potomac Community Center
Art classes for toddlers, karate, dance and magic-trick lessons for children, fencing lessons for teens and yoga for adults are but a few of the courses offered by the Montgomery County Recreation Department at Potomac Community Center. Elsewhere in the county, the Rec Department offers courses from skateboarding to yoga to cooking to youth art. Registration deadlines for some of the courses are coming soon. Pick up the Montgomery County Recreation Department Guide a Potomac Community Center, 11315 Falls Road, Potomac, call 240-777-6840 or visit http://montgomerycountymd.gov/content/rec/RECord/articles/february2007/earlybird.html for course information.
Leggett Seeks Applicants for Recreation Advisory Boards
Montgomery County Executive Isiah Leggett is seeking applicants to fill vacancies on the following Recreation Advisory Boards:
* Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Commemorative Committee
* Taxicab Services Advisory Committee
* Solid Waste Advisory Committee
Applicants should write a letter of interest by Feb. 23 to County Executive Isiah Leggett at the Executive Office Building, l0l Monroe Street, Rockville, MD 20850 or send an e-mail to CountyExecutive.Boards@montgomerycountymd.gov. A brief resume, with work and home phone numbers and e-mail address, should be included. Members of County boards, committees and commissions may not serve on more than one such group at a time.
Leggett's appointments are subject to confirmation by the County Council. Applications of those selected for appointment are made public as part of the confirmation process.
For more information about the committees, visit www.montgomerycountymd.gov/apps/exec/Boards/index.cfm.
Public Libraries Add New Music Online Collection
Thanks to a new online service offered by Montgomery County Public Libraries (MCPL), customers with MCPL cards can now access a variety of music — including African American, classical and folk — from their own homes.
Entitled Music Online, the database is part of the Montgomery Online Resources (MOR) collection and may be accessed from the MCPL home page, www.montgomerycountymd.gov/library. Music Online requires Macromedia Flash Player version 7 and higher or Microsoft Windows Media Player version 10 and higher.
Critical Blood Shortage
The National Institute of Health Blood Bank has announced an urgent need for type O blood donors. Both local and regional inventories of this blood type are dangerously low. If you are a donor with blood type O, please donate today by visiting the NIH Blood Bank located on the first floor of the Clinical Center on the NIH campus in Bethesda. Hours of operation are from 7:30 a.m. until 5:30 p.m. Please call for an appointment or directions at 301-496-1048. Convenient, free parking is available for blood donors.
If you have not donated blood before and are not sure if you are eligible, please visit www.cc.nih.gov/dtm/html/donrinfo.htm to learn more about being a donor at NIH.