Gaithersburg

Police Respond to Assault at Watkins Mill High School

By Patrick Herron

Montgomery County Police responded to Watkins Mill High School at 10301 Apple Ridge Rd in Montgomery Village at 10:05am on Thursday morning for the report of an assault. According to police, “MCPD is on scene investigating an assault between two students at Watkins Mill HS. The school briefly went into a shelter in place to support the investigation. No injuries have been reported. The suspect is in custody. The shelter in place has been lifted at this time. The school is secure and there is no current threat at this time.”

We will post an update when additional information is available.

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Restaurants

Mochinut Grand Opening Set for April 15th

By MCS Staff

Last September we let you know that Mochinut, a restaurant that serves mochi donuts, Korean rice flour hotdogs, soft serve, and bubble tea drinks (menu available below), is coming to 838 Rockville Pike– inside the current location of Tea-Do. Tea-Do is a “contemporary tea house” that was on the early side of MoCo’s bubble tea explosion in recent years, opening in January of 2016. We are told that a grand opening for Mochinut is taking place on Saturday, April 15th at noon.

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Bethesda

Co-defendant Sentenced to 26 Years in Prison for Pharmacy Robberies

By Patrick Herron

According to the Montgomery County State’s Attorney’s Office, “In the Circuit Court for Montgomery County, MD, the Honorable John Maloney sentenced defendant, Carlos Zackery, 26, of Washington, D.C., to 100 years in prison suspend all but 26 years and five years of supervised probation upon release. The sentence was handed down on Tuesday, March 28, 2023. The defendant pleaded guilty in this case in September 2022 to six armed robberies, nine first degree assaults, and two conspiracy to commit armed robbery charges.

A codefendant in this case, Zackery’s half-brother, Dionte Taylor, 25, of unknown address, was sentenced on January 20, 2023 to 65 years with all but 12 suspended, and five years of supervised probation upon release. He had plead guilty to 13 counts related to the armed robberies.

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Arts

Poster Contest Open to K–12 Students Sponsored By Asian Pacific American Student Achievement Action Group (APASAAG)

By MCS Staff

As part of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month in May, the Asian Pacific American Student Achievement Action Group (APASAAG) is sponsoring a poster contest for K–12 students. This is the fourth year for the contest.

The contest calls for students to submit original artwork reflecting significant moments or events in Asian American and Pacific Islander history and/or culture. Artwork must be drawings, paintings or digital art and submitted electronically. First, second and third place winners will receive cash awards for lower elementary, upper elementary, middle and high school levels. One entry per student is allowed. Submissions are due Friday, April 23.

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Maryland

Consumer Alert: Maryland Businesses Receiving Fake “2023 Certificate of Good Standing Request Form” Letter; Same Scam Letter Circulated in 2019 and 2020

By MCS Staff

The Office of the Attorney General has received information that businesses in Maryland have been receiving a letter entitled “2023 Certificate of Good Standing Request Form” that requests a fee in exchange for a letter of good standing with an “official seal of the Secretary of State.” This letter is a SCAM. This same scam letter was circulated in 2019 and 2020.

The scam letter asks the recipient to send a check or money order to an entity named “MD Certificate Service” in Baltimore, MD in exchange for an “elective Maryland Certificate of Good Standing.” The letter goes to great lengths to look official with a “document number” and a barcode, and includes a customer service phone number of 1-855-222-3322.

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Education

Students Pitch Business Ideas to Panel of Judges In Shark Tank-Like MCPS Business Pitch Challenge

By MCS Staff

Entrepreneurial students from six high schools participated in the annual MCPS Business Pitch Challenge on March 22. They created business ideas and presented them to a panel of local entrepreneur judges. Participating high schools were: Montgomery Blair, Albert Einstein, Gaithersburg, Northwest, Northwood and Paint Branch, with The MoCoShow’s very own Alex T. serving as the keynote speaker for the event.

The Northwest team placed third with a business proposal focused on repurposing clothing or sentimental items into apparel that an individual would still be able to wear. The Northwest team included Maddie Kaplan, Aayush Thakkar, Jonah Karst and Zach Greenspan. Teacher sponsor was Kristin Vick.

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Crime

Texas Man Sentenced to Federal Prison for Conspiring to Break Into Businesses in Maryland (Including Rockville) to Steal From ATMs

By MCS Staff

Per the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Maryland – U.S. District Judge Ellen L. Hollander sentenced Robert Reeves III, age 37 of Dallas, Texas, to two years in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for a conspiracy to commit interstate transportation of stolen goods where the defendant and his co-conspirators broke into businesses and stole cash from Bitcoin-related ATMs.  Judge Hollander also ordered Reeves to pay restitution in the full amount of the victims’ losses, which is $55,316. The sentence was imposed on March 27, 2023.

According to his guilty plea, from August 2018 through at least September 13, 2018, Reeves, co-defendants Meleech Neugent and Brandon Davis, and other individuals conspired to travel from the Dallas, Texas area to other parts of the United States, including the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area, break into businesses after they closed and steal cash from Bitcoin-related automated teller machines (“ATMs”).  Specifically, on August 29, 2018, Reeves, his co-defendants and others traveled from Dallas, Texas to Dulles International Airport and rented a vehicle.  In the early morning hours of August 31, 2018 and September 1, 2018, they used that vehicle to drive to locations in Rockville, Columbia and Baltimore, Maryland, where they broke into four separate businesses.  Once inside the business, the conspirators stole cash from the ATM machines.

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Education

Professional Development Supports EML Students at Gaithersburg HS

By MCS Staff

Per MCPS: For two years Gaithersburg High School staff have been working with an organization called Support Ed, to provide training for leadership, teachers and staff, focusing on how to work with Emerging Multilingual Learners (EML) students. The training allows teachers and staff to learn more about their students, and to develop strategies to make all content more available to multilingual learners. Watch the video.

 

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MoCo Government

Sixth Annual ‘Girl Power Contest’ Recognizing March as Women’s History Month Has Entry Deadline of Friday, March 31

By Patrick Herron

Per Montgomery County: In recognition of March as Women’s History Month, the Montgomery County Commission for Women, Montgomery County Public Libraries and Friends of the Library Montgomery County, Inc. is holding its Sixth Annual “Girl Power Contest.” County residents, ages 5 and up, are encouraged to submit a short story, poem, drawing or entry in the medium of their choice that addresses this year’s theme. The deadline for entries is midnight on Friday, March 31.

In 2022, the Montgomery County Council made history as voters in November elected the County’s first female-majority Council. In honor of this milestone, the following question is the theme for this year’s Girl Power Contest: We now have six women on the Montgomery County Council. What advice would you give them to make sure our community is a place where women and girls can feel safe and encouraged?

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Health

Montgomery County Recognizes National Public Health Week April 3-9

By Patrick Herron

Per Montgomery County: Montgomery County will commemorate National Public Health Week (NPHW) April 3-9 by highlighting daily themes through a series of social media posts based on this year’s theme “Centering and Celebrating Cultures in Health.” Montgomery County is home to many diverse cultures, all of which have different health impacts based on unique backgrounds and circumstances. It is important to honor these cultures through meeting people where they are to positively impact their health.

“Those who work in public health demonstrate their resilience, compassion, and talent for their craft day after day, and month after month,” said County Executive Marc Elrich. “It took a pandemic for many to realize their heroism and dedication to keep us safe, healthy and alive. But since time immemorial, our public health workers have cared for us at our weakest, helped us fight against cancer, overcome mental health challenges and addictions, and protect the welfare of the most vulnerable amongst us. This week, we thank all of them for their tireless efforts. Specifically, I want to acknowledge our County government public health employees as well as the public health volunteers in the County’s Medical Reserve Corps and send my sincere gratitude for their hard work.”

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Education

MCPS: Mid-Year Evidence of Learning Framework Demonstrates Gains in Student Performance, Continued Areas for Improvement

By MCS Staff

Per MCPS: At the March 28, 2023 Board of Education Meeting, Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) leaders presented mid-year Evidence of Learning (EOL) data that is focused on grade-level proficiency utilizing multiple measures to determine the success of students, schools and the District overall. The EOL framework intentionally uses multiple measures to determine student performance that include classroom grades, data from curriculum-aligned assessments, and state and national assessments.

EOL mid-year data allows MCPS to examine how successfully students transition from one grade level to the next. The data serves as a checkpoint for how students in kindergarten, grades 3, 6, and 9, have transitioned from pre-kindergarten, grades 2, 5, and 8. Further, they provide an opportunity to determine the extent to which students are meeting standards and additional support that may need to be provided for their continued success.

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