Gaithersburg

Montgomery Planning’s Great Seneca Plan: Connecting Life and Science team held two community meetings on October 23 and October 25. “It was great to share the first look at the plan’s preliminary recommendations and get feedback.” At the meetings, preliminary recommendations were shared for each of the plan’s distinct geographic enclaves including:

If you couldn’t make it to the October 23 and 25 meetings, here is a guide to the preliminary recommendations, which the Great Seneca plan team will be finalizing over the coming weeks as it prepares to present them to the Planning Board on December 7.


DC Sports

Montgomery County, Maryland native Monica Blakely has a lot of titles of which she can be proud, from small business owner and philanthropist to mom and wife. Now, she can add “Commanders Fan of the Year” to the list. She is also up for NFL Fan of The Year, with voting available here.

A love for Washington football began with her dad who immigrated to the D.C metro area from Iran. Monica, an only child, found that the Burgundy & Gold was a special way of bonding with him. She set a goal of one day being able to afford season tickets and making sure her dad, who is disabled, always had a spot for home games.


Arts

Sanaa Chege, a sophomore at Seneca Valley High School in Germantown, has written a children’s book about her experiences on the diving team at school. She began diving just last fall and now dives year-round. After seeing a lack of diversity on her team, she decided to write a book to share her journey to encourage and inspire others. Her children’s book, “A Diver Like Me” will be published in February 2024.

Additional information, per her website: “Sanaa B. Chege is not your typical high school student. Hailing from Maryland, Sanaa is a young trailblazer who has been making waves, both in and out of the pool. Her journey into the world of competitive diving began in the fall of 2022, and it’s been nothing short of extraordinary.


Gaithersburg

Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Services (MCFRS) responded to the scene of a crash that involved a vehicle being driven into the woods at the I-270 S ramp to Sam Eig Highway (exit 9) at approximately 7:25am on Thursday morning.

According to Assistant MCFRS Chief Spokesperson Pete Piringer, the crash involved just the single vehicle and two occupants were extricated from the car. Both occupants were transported to an area hospital– one with life -threatening injuries, and another with less serious injuries. Pazos tweeted, “It appears Driver had medical emergency (likely pressing on gas while passenger was trying to steer car to avoid to other cars) consequently they lost control on ramp & ended up in wooded area.”


Education

Two MCPS teachers have won top honors from the Society of Health and Physical Educators Maryland (SHAPE MD). They were recognized for their work and contributions to health education, physical education (P.E.) and/or student wellness. Brian Baker of Takoma Park Middle School was named Middle School Physical Educator Teacher of the Year. Heather Giovenco of Sherwood High School was named Health Educator of the Year.

Three staff members also received the Simon A. McNeely Award, given to teachers who demonstrate outstanding innovation in teaching health education or P.E., along with active involvement in school and community affairs. They were: Heather N. Bruns, health teacher at William H. Farquhar Middle School; Jamie Unger, P.E. teacher at William Tyler Page Elementary School; and Stacy Azizirad, teacher of adapted P.E., Wheaton High School.


Kensington

Sandra Lucas, owner of Kensington consignment shop The Growing Years for the last 30 years, has announced that the shop will be closing on November 18th. Lucas worked at a consignment store in college and had such a great experience working there during my winter and summer vacations that she moved into a full-time position upon graduating, according to her website. With  encouragement from family and friends, she bought The Growing Years in 1998 and has operated the store ever since. The full letter announcing the closure, titled “Thank You and Farewell” can be seen below:

Dear Consignors and Customers,


Health

Per the Maryland Attorney General’s Office: “Maryland Attorney General Anthony G. Brown announced today that the Health Education and Advocacy Unit (HEAU) within his Consumer Protection Division closed 2,037 cases in Fiscal Year 2023, helping patients save or recover over $3.3 million dollars, including more than $2.6 million in appeals and grievances cases. The information was included as a part of the comprehensive Annual Report on the Health Insurance Carrier Appeals and Grievances Process that was submitted to the General Assembly.

The HEAU offers mediation services to consumers with health insurance and medical billing issues, hospital financial assistance applications, medical debt collection, and access to medical records. The Unit also helps consumers who have problems enrolling in a private health plan on Maryland Health Connection, the state’s health insurance marketplace, or obtaining financial assistance to lower the cost of coverage.


Gaithersburg

Montgomery County Police tweeted the following on Thursday, November 9 at 7:38am: “TRAFFIC ADVISORY: A traffic collision has southbound 270 closed at Exit 9A (370 ramp). Drivers are advised to seek an alternate route. Expect significant delays. #MCPNews #MCPD #Traffic”. Fox 5 reports that  a vehicle left the roadway and crashed into a wooded area. It is unclear if anyone involved in the crash was injured. The cause of the crash remains unknown.

We’ll provide an update if additional information becomes available. Featured image courtesy of Google Maps. 


Arts

Director Keith Boynton (The Winter House, The Scottish Play) is poised to direct his eighth feature film and first foray into horror this Halloween season with The Haunted Forest, starring seasoned genre star Jamie Bernadette (/ Spit on your Grave: Deja Vu) and newcomer Grayson Gwaze. The movie will be filmed at Markoff’s Haunted Forest in Dickerson/Poolesville, which has recently concluded its 31st season as one of Maryland’s scariest haunts.

The Haunted Forest stars Grayson Gwaze as Zach, a high school senior who, after landing a job as a scare actor at Markoff’s Haunted Forest, becomes the potential victim of a string of real-life murders happening inside the maze itself. Jamie Bernadette stars as Susie, who oversees the haunted forest and its merry band of misfits, alongside her husband, Mark (Cedric Gegel, The Coroner’s Assistant).


Maryland

Per the State of Maryland: Today, members of Maryland’s federal, state, and local governments including Governor Wes Moore, Lieutenant Governor Aruna Miller, U.S. Senators Ben Cardin and Chris Van Hollen, Congressmen Steny H. Hoyer, Dutch Ruppersberger, John Sarbanes, Kweisi Mfume, Jamie Raskin, David Trone, and Glenn Ivey, and Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks released the following statement regarding the General Services Administration’s decision to select Prince George’s County as the home for the new, consolidated FBI headquarters:

“This is a historic moment for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and our nation. For decades, the dilapidated J. Edgar Hoover Building has failed to meet the FBI’s operational needs, which has undermined our national security. The once fabled building has crumbled before our eyes, with nets surrounding the facility for years to protect pedestrians from falling debris. Today’s decision by the General Services Administration (GSA) will ensure we fulfill the FBI’s dire, longstanding need for a new consolidated headquarters that meets the modern-day demands on the Bureau’s work to protect Americans and our nation.


Beyond MoCo

Per the United State’s Attorney’s Office: “Quaysa Flumo, 35, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced today to 234 months in prison and Emmanuel Sumo, 29, of Takoma Park, Md., was sentenced to 214 months for a string of armed robberies that struck a series of gas stations, liquor stores, convenience stores, and restaurants in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area, all within a four-week period in 2018.

According to the government’s evidence, Flumo and Sumo were members of a trio – which included Enyinna “Reggie” Onyewu, 31, of Silver Spring, Md. – and were found guilty by a jury in U.S. District Court on March 28, 2022, of federal conspiracy, robbery, and (for Flumo and Sumo) related weapons charges. The government’s evidence showed that Onyewu took part in five of the robberies; Sumo in seven of the robberies; and Flumo in all 10 of the robberies.