Education

Board of Education to Recognize 17 Individuals, Organizations for Distinguished Service

By MCS Staff

The Montgomery County Board of Education has announced its recipients for the 26th Annual Awards for Distinguished Service to Public Education. The awards were established by the Board of Education to recognize and show appreciation for exemplary contributions to public education and to Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS). Nominations were received from the general community, as well as community organizations, businesses, Board members and MCPS staff. This year’s Distinguished Service Award winners are:

Individual Pioneer

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MCFRS

Small Fire Extinguished at Building Under Construction in Pike & Rose

By MCS Staff

Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Services (MCFRS) were called to the scene of a fire on the roof/penthouse of the under-construction building at 915 Meeting St shortly before 11am on Wednesday morning.

According to MCFRS Chief Spokesperson Pete Piringer, the HVAC on the roof was smoking and being overhauled. The fire was contained to the HVAC unit and there was no extension aside from smoke. The fire was quickly extinguished and there were no injuries. Some lanes on Rockville Pile, Rose Avenue, and Trade Street were temporarily blocked. Featured photo and video below by Michelle Sauer.

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Gaithersburg

Update on Red Door Escape Room in Rio

By Patrick Herron

Coming soon signage is up at the Red Door Escape Room at Rio. It will be occupying the 4,057 SF space at 125 Boardwalk Place that was recently home to Locally Crafted before it moved a bit down the street, and previously home to Ann Taylor (across from Potbelly). Construction began back in March and according to a post on the business’s Facebook page, Red Door will be opening this summer.

The participants loved the game and immediately requested another one be created. Because of the feedback, Dan began to consider how to bring this experience to even more people. After some research and brainstorming, Dan and his wife partnered with a long-time friend and together created Red Door Escape Room in Southlake, Texas. Their passion in providing communities with exciting memories and a new experience has grown so much over the years. Red Door Escape Room is constantly creating newer and better games – with plans to expand to many more locations to reach as many people as possible!”

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Montgomery Parks

Montgomery Parks Seeks Input on Plans to Convert Tennis Courts to Six Pickleball Courts at East Norbeck Local Park

By MCS Staff

Montgomery Parks, part of The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission, is seeking public input about plans to convert two tennis courts to six dedicated pickleball courts at East Norbeck Local Park. The proposed project aims to expand pickleball opportunities in the county by creating a hub of multiple, dedicated courts for the increasingly popular sport. The public may submit their feedback on the plan at the online Open Town Hall through Friday, June 2, 2023. “Pickleball is one of the fastest growing sports in the nation and here in Montgomery County. While Montgomery Parks has a strong inventory of shared pickleball and tennis courts, we need to increase the number of dedicated pickleball courts to accommodate the demand,” said Mike Riley, director of Montgomery Parks.  

 Montgomery Parks currently has more than 75 shared pickleball/tennis courts and only eight dedicated pickleball courts. East Norbeck Local Park has been selected as a suitable location for a pickleball hub for multiple reasons including:

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Montgomery Village

Update on Upcoming Dunkin’ in Montgomery Village

By Patrick Herron

Construction is progressing at the upcoming Dunkin’ location in the Goshen Crossing Shopping Center in Gaithersburg/Montgomery Village (photos below). Dunkin’ is taking over the former Capital One Bank building at 20000 Goshen Rd. Earlier this year Dunkin’ opened a new location at the Layhill Center (14328 Layhill Rd) in Silver Spring and last week we reported that construction has begun on its upcoming location at the Traville Village Center (9761 Traville Gateway Drive) in Rockville.

Since Inspire Brands acquired Dunkin’ and Baskin Robbins in late 2020 for $11.3 billion, the company has been opening in former bank locations that allow for easy installation of a drive-thru window. Dunkin has also aimed for non-traditional development that includes opening in airports and on college campuses, including the University of Maryland.

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Gaithersburg

Bill Introduced to Create Airpark Community Advisory Committee

By Patrick Herron

Bill 24-23 would create the ACAC, providing a regular forum to discuss and propose recommendations to improve Airpark operations. Council President Evan Glass and Councilmembers Will Jawando, Gabe Albornoz, Sidney Katz and Laurie-Anne Sayles are co-sponsoring the measure.

The MCA is a public general aviation airport in Gaithersburg and is home to a reported 67,195 flight operations a year. In 2019, the MCA partnered with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to set up an online portal for residents to submit aircraft noise complaints similar to what’s offered in communities near other airports. In 2019, there were 27 complaints, in 2020 there were 191 complaints made from 11 unique households, and in 2021 there were 2,835 complaints made from 35 unique households, according to a 2022 report from the Council’s Office of Legislative Oversight.

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Crime

Detectives Investigate Residential Burglary; Surveillance Video of Suspect Released

By Patrick Herron

Per MCPD: Detectives from the Montgomery County Department of Police – Major Crimes Division are investigating a residential burglary that occurred on Wednesday, March 22, 2023, in the 14000 block of Castle Blvd. in Silver Spring. Detectives have released surveillance video of the male suspect and are asking for the public’s assistance in identifying him.

At approximately 5:44 p.m., 3rd District officers responded to the location for the report of a burglary that just occurred. The investigation has revealed that the suspect forced entry into the front door of the apartment building with a large rock. The suspect then entered an apartment through its front door that had been left open, stole property and left the scene.  Detectives reviewed the surveillance cameras of the apartment building and obtained a description of the suspect. The suspect is described as a Black male with black hair, in his 20s or 30s, wearing a red hat, black glasses, a black/white/red jacket, black jeans, and black shoes.

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Takoma Park

Takoma Park Receives $60,000 Grant To Study Streetery Traffic Impacts

By MCS Staff

City Award $60,000 to Study Laurel Avenue Streetery Traffic Impacts: Since early in the COVID-19 pandemic, the Laurel Avenue Streetery has offered a popular, public gathering space in the heart of Old Takoma, where previously there was none. The temporary closure was so popular that in 2022, the City Council voted to extend its existence indefinitely.

On Thursday, April 20, the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (MWCOG) awarded the City of Takoma Park a $60,000 Transportation-Land Use Connection program technical assistance grant to conduct a traffic study on the streets surrounding Laurel Avenue. The study will look at traffic impact scenarios for a full, permanent, or semi-permanent closure of both sides of Laurel Avenue. It will look at the potential impacts on vehicle traffic flow, emergency vehicle access, cut-through traffic, and any roadway or signal redesigns that would be necessary to accommodate the reconfiguration. The idea to close both sides of Laurel Avenue to create a large, dedicated pedestrian plaza builds on conceptual design work being conducted by the Old Takoma Business Association (OTBA).

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Bethesda

Installation of Vape Detectors Begins at Six MCPS High Schools This Week

By MCS Staff

Earlier this month, MCPS announced that vape detectors were in the process of being installed in the bathrooms of a “limited number of high schools.” Student journalists Hannah Lee, Claire Yu, and Avery Wang, of Richard Montgomery’s RM Tide newspaper, have reported that installations begin this week at six MCPS High Schools: John F. Kennedy, Northwood , Paint Branch, Quince Orchard, Richard Montgomery, and Walt Whitman. The detectors will remain until at least the end of the school year.

Per MCPS: “Vape detectors are in the process of being installed in the bathrooms of a limited number of high school schools. These detectors will help to identify any instances of vaping or smoking in the bathrooms, allowing us to take appropriate action to prevent harm to our students’ health and safety.”

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Gaithersburg

New Chick-Fil-A in Gaithersburg Aiming For June Opening

By MCS Staff

Permanent signage went up last month at the upcoming Chick-Fil-A restaurant at 700 N. Frederick Ave in Gaithersburg, at Progress Labs.  Progress Labs, which began construction in summer 2021, is a 44-acre property that directly fronts I-270 at the Montgomery Village Avenue exit. and is located next door to the recently constructed 300,000 square foot FedEx Ground facility, just south of the new Watkins Mill Interchange. The restaurant is now aiming to open in June, according to its Google listing (photo below).

Chick-fil-A has additional MoCo locations in Bethesda, Gaithersburg (Kentlands), Germantown, Olney, Rockville, and Silver Spring. Prograss Labs will also be home to MoCo’s first Sheetz.

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