Per Montgomery County: “Committees will review supplemental appropriations for the Reducing Overidentification in Special Education Grant and the Stronger Connections Grant; hold briefings about missing persons, neighborhood change in the Washington Metropolitan Area, electric vehicle charging infrastructure, and Montgomery County Public Schools attendance and truancy data, policies and prevention; and review of Out of School Time Programming and the Suicide Awareness and Firearm Education Act
Per Montgomery County: “The Montgomery County Council will host a Youth Town Hall meeting on Wednesday, Nov. 29 at 7 p.m. at the Council Office Building in Rockville. This annual meeting with students promotes youth engagement in community and public policy issues and allows Councilmembers to hear directly from young people about their concerns and views.
“Youth voices matter. Providing opportunities to connect with young people helps elected and community leaders make decisions and plan for the future,” said Council President Evan Glass. “As the former executive director of an after school program, I appreciate how youth-driven advocacy positively impacts our community. Youth voices make our schools, neighborhoods and County stronger through the expression of positive social change.”
Student Member of the Montgomery County Board of Education Sami Saeed will attend the Youth Town Hall and will kick off the question-and-answer period. The Youth Town Hall will take place in the Council’s Hearing Room on the third floor of the Council Office Building, which is located at 100 Maryland Ave. in Rockville. Visitor information can be viewed on the Council’s website. The Council will also host a pizza reception for students who attend the Youth Town Hall starting at 6:15 p.m. on the fourth floor of the Council Office Building. Students who are unable to join the meeting in person can participate through a Zoom webinar. The Zoom information will be provided to students who register for remote participation.
The Youth Town Hall will be streamed live on the Council’s web page via YouTube (MoCoCouncilMD) and on Facebook Live (MontgomeryCountyMdCouncil) and broadcast on County Cable Montgomery on Channels 30 (Fios), 1056 (RCN) and 996 (Xfinity). All students must register to participate and receive their two student-service learning hours for advocacy.”
Featured image courtesy of Google Maps.
Per MCPD: “A 13-year-old male has been arrested and charged with the shooting that occurred on Tuesday, August 1, 2023, in the 1500 block of November Circle in Silver Spring. Through the course of the investigation, detectives from the 3rd District Investigative Section identified the teen as one of the suspects and shared the information with officers from the 3rd District Community Action Team (3D DCAT).
On Friday, November 3, 2023, 3D DCAT officers were conducting proactive patrol in the 11500 block of Stewart Lane when they observed a black Toyota Rav4 commit traffic violations and pulled it over in the area of New Hampshire Avenue and Elton Road.
Officers approached the Toyota and immediately recognized one of the seven occupants as one of the suspects responsible for the November Circle shooting. Officers placed him under arrest and located a loaded 9mm handgun in his possession. A search of the Toyota and the occupants revealed two additional loaded handguns and large amounts of marijuana.
Officers placed the other six underage occupants under arrest and charged them with possession of firearm related charges. The suspect involved the November Circle shooting was charged with first-degree assault and possession of firearms related charges. He was transported to a juvenile detention center.”
Per Rockville Police: “The Rockville City Police Department (RCPD) recognizes that we are living in turbulent times across the country and the globe. All acts of hatred, bias, and bigotry are unacceptable. A hate crime is any crime motivated in whole or in part by bias, prejudice, or bigotry; however, as despicable as it may be, not all hate is a crime. A hate incident is often involving a person making non-threatening bigoted, biased, or prejudiced comments to another individual based on race, religion, national origin, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, age, or other personal characteristics. It also can involve a person displaying a non-threatening, bigoted, biased, or prejudiced message or image in certain contexts. Although deeply hurtful and offensive, hate incidents do not violate criminal law.
What to Do if You Believe that You are the Victim of, or Witness a Hate Crime or Bias-Related Incident…REPORT IT! Dial 9-1-1 in an emergency. In a non-emergency, dial 240-314-8900 to contact the Rockville City Police. For your own safety do not take it upon yourself to confront perpetrators. Do not clean up or destroy any evidence related to the crime until after the police arrive and investigate. Ask the police what services are available to you.
The Rockville City Police Department investigates and collects data on both hate crimes and bias-related incidents. If you are a victim of an incident that occurred in Rockville, please notify the Rockville City Police Department at 240-314-8900. If the incident occurred in another jurisdiction, please contact the local police department in that jurisdiction.
REMEMBER – IF YOU SEE SOMETHING, SAY SOMETHING. Click this link to learn more about what constitutes a hate crime under Maryland law and the penalties: https://www.rockvillemd.gov/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=2098
Per MCPD: “A third suspect wanted in connection with the March 5, 2023 shooting death of Deandre Keith Ellis has been arrested. D’Andre Lukes was located in Drums, PA and taken into custody by Butler Township Police. The 21-year-old is currently being held in PA, as he awaits extradition to Montgomery County. Ellis was shot and killed inside of a car outside of the Sweet Sweet Kitchen in the 900 block of Bonifant Street. A fourth suspect, 24-year-old D’Angelo Holley, remains at large.
Anyone with information regarding the location of D’Angelo Holley is asked to visit the Crime Solvers of Montgomery County, MD website at www.crimesolversmcmd.org and click on the “www.p3tips.com” link at the top of the page or call 1-866-411-8477. A reward of up to $10,000 is being offered for information that leads to the arrest of the suspect. Tips may remain anonymous.”
Baskin Robbins is now open in the Montgomery Village Center. The ice cream shop is located next to Suburban Hair and the upcoming Safe Splash Swim School. The location is offering Baskin Robbins newest flavor “Turkey Day Fixin’s”, a “surprising combination of sweet potato and autumn spice ice creams mixed with honey cornbread pieces and swirls of Ocean Spray cranberry sauce.”
Also in the shopping center, permanent signage is up for Fiesta Laundromat, which will be located across from Baskin Robins, next to Boo Boo Pho. “At Fiesta Laundromat, we take immense pride in our work, whether we are working with large-scale corporate clients, individual laundry clients or our walk-in customers. Take a look around our website and learn more about the variety of laundry services we offer.” No opening date has been announced but the location is currently hiring. Fiesta has an additional location at 7601 New Hampshire Ave in Takoma Park
Detectives from the Special Victims Investigations Division (SVID) are asking for the public’s assistance in locating Tanease Callends, a missing 15-year-old. Callends was last seen on Tuesday, November 7, at approximately 2:45 p.m., in the 11200 block of Georgia Ave. in Wheaton. She is 5’6″, with black hair, brown eyes and was last seen wearing a blue Abercrombie and Fitch sweater, blue jeans, white sneakers and carrying an aqua blue duffle bag with orange zippers.
Anyone with information regarding the whereabouts of Tanease Callends is asked to call Montgomery County Police Non-Emergency (301) 279-8000 (24-hour line).
Five Richard Montgomery High School students have been accepted to the American Choral Directors Association’s (ACDA’s) 2024 Eastern Honor Choir. The ACDA choir consists of students from the Northeastern region of the U.S. ACDA is a professional development organization dedicated to improving choral music instruction. The students have been invited to ACDA’s conference next March in Providence, R.I., where they will have an opportunity to perform challenging musical selections under the direction of nationally renowned conductors. The students are:
Senior Choir:
Shirley Han, Soprano 2
Cedar Dwyer, Tenor 1
Junior Choir:
Ambha Chandran, Soprano
Nala Ashe-Moncet, Soprano
Kiran Madia, Alto
Featured photo courtesy of Google Maps
Winston Churchill High School field hockey player Laura Jablonover founded Project Happy Feet, a nonprofit that offers people living in low-income communities equal access to athletic equipment. The organization started by collecting more than 80 pairs of shoes, which were recycled by a third-party charity. Project Happy Feet has received donations and is collecting shoe donations at Churchill and at Thomas S. Wootton High School.
Earlier this school year, Churchill’s Athletic Coordinator Jesse Smith shared the following: “How can we make athletic opportunities more accessible to student-athletes in low-income areas?” Winston Churchill field hockey player Laura Jablonover wondered after attending a summer camp in Washington, DC, where she saw several schools in low-income districts. Laura, determined to help fix the problem, founded Project Happy Feet, a nonprofit that offers low-income communities equal access to athletic equipment. Over the summer, Project Happy Feet collected over 80 pairs of shoes, which were then recycled by a third-party charity. Project Happy Feet will also receive more than $90 to donate to schools in the following week. Additionally, Project Happy Feet has placed boxes in the main offices of Winston Churchill High School and Thomas Wootton High School for students to contribute and donate shoes. Boxes will soon be added to places such as gyms and sportsplex. However, if you are not looking to donate shoes, Project Happy Feet is holding a bake sale this week to gather funds for advertisements and boxes. Laura aims to grow Project Happy Feet and give a great number of student-athletes equal opportunities to play the sports they love.
For more information, visit their Instagram @project.happyfeet, or you can email them @[email protected]”
Featured photo courtesy of Project Happy Feet
Earlier this year, ISAAC’S Poultry Market at 12167 Darnestown Rd in Gaithersburg won the Restaurant Association of Maryland’s “best sandwich competition.” With that win, the restaurant was automatically qualified for the World Food Championships, which are taking place this week in Dallas, TX. The opening round is Friday, November 10, and if ISSAC’S advances it will compete on Sunday for the championship.
According to the Restaurant Association, “The World Food Championships is the largest competition in Food Sport, where grand champions of previous events convene for a chance at winning the ultimate food crown and a share of hundreds of thousands of dollars in prize money. This event is also the springboard for many up and coming culinary stars and home cooks as they seek TV fame through many well-known food shows and acting opportunities.”
Isaac’s Poultry Market was opened by Rob Gresham, a lifelong MoCo resident and the former Director of Operations at CAVA, back in February. The restaurant features roasted chicken, wings, fried chicken sandwiches, salads, and frozen custard. Gresham came up with the concept with his 13-year-old son while quarantining during the COVID-19 pandemic. The restaurant is named after Isaac Newton, who discovered the laws of gravity, optics, and invented calculus while he was in quarantine during the bubonic plague in 1665. “He invented those things, we invented a chicken restaurant.”
