Kusshi Sushi has officially signed on to take over the space that was home to popular sushi restaurant Sushi Damo at 36G Maryland Ave in Rockville Town Square for over 15 years. Sushi Damo, one of the first tenants of Rockville Town Square, closed permanently on October 1st.
Kusshi Sushi, which has additional MoCo locations in Pike & Rose and Downtown Silver Spring (along with an Arlington Pentagon Row and Tysons Pike 7 Plaza in Northern VA), will be renovating the restaurant and has already submitted drawings to the landlord for approval. They hope to begin construction in early 2024 and open in the spring of 2024. Kusshi is working on keeping the Sushi Damo sushi chef at the restaurant and has also made offers for Sushi Damo servers to join the new restaurant once it opens.
We will provide updates as soon as they become available regarding more details on the opening timeframe.
https://www.instagram.com/p/Cy4hwfnO7SE/?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==
Detectives from the MCPD- 3rd District Investigative Section is asking for the public’s Assistance in locating Heidy Hernandez-Escobar, a missing 24-year-old. Escobar was last seen on Friday, October 6, 2023, in the 3100 block of Heilson Dr., in Silver Spring. She is 5’5″, 120 Ibs., with brown eyes, black hair, and has a tattoo on her left hand.
Anyone with information regarding the whereabouts of Heidy Hernandez-Escobar is asked to call the Montgomery County Non-Emergency Number at (301) 279-8000
Concern for Missing Twenty-Four-Year-Old
Detectives from the MCPD- 3rd District Investigative Section is asking for the public’s Assistance in locating Heidy Hernandez-Escobar, a missing 24-year-old.https://t.co/kod2DLw7xr#MCPNews #MCPD #MissingPerson pic.twitter.com/1PCQgKKx8H
— Montgomery County Department of Police (@mcpnews) October 27, 2023
Below you’ll see the most recent updates or final scores of the 2023 week 9 MCPS football games. The scores will be updated as we receive them. If a score isn’t listed, it’s because we haven’t yet received a report from the game that we can confirm. An ‘F’ signifies the score is confirmed as being final.
Thursday’s Games:
Richard Montgomery 37 at Gaithersburg 48 F
Wootton 9 at Damascus 28 F
Whitman 7 at Springbrook 14 F
Friday’s Games:
Churchill 32 at Walter Johnson 30 F
Sherwood 6 at Quince Orchard 64 F
Paint Branch 22 at BCC 16 F
Blake 34 at Blair 7 F
Einstein 6 at Northwest 38 F
Seneca Valley 14 at Magruder 7 F
Northwood 20 at Rockville 56 F
Wheaton 49 at Kennedy 6 F
Watkins Mill 0 at Poolesville 15 F
Clarksburg 0 at Jefferson (WV) 54 F
Preview and predictions can be seen here.
MCPS has sent its community message with five things to know for Thursday, October 26th. The full message can be seen below:
Halloween can be a fun time with friends and neighbors. However, it is also a high-risk time for injuries. Even if you are not participating in Halloween activities, you can take action to keep our neighborhoods safe:
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Drive slowly and carefully in neighborhoods where families are trick-or-treating. Pedestrians may be crossing roadways or driveway entrances.
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Review pedestrian safety with children and pre-plan safe routes with older children.
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Practice food safety. Be mindful of food allergies and choking hazards for younger children. Consider giving them a snack at home before trick-or-treating to prevent sampling from the treat bag. Be sure an adult checks the treats before kids dig in.
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Take precautions to prevent common halloween injuries, such as falls related to costume features that make it difficult to see or walk safely.
Additional resources:
HealthyChildren.org: Halloween Health and Safety Tips / Cómo ayudar a que la Noche de Brujas o Halloween sea segura para los niños
National Fire Prevention Association: Halloween Fire Safety Tips
Allergy and Asthma Network: How to Stay Safe on Halloween with Asthma and Allergies
We Want to Hear from You! Join Us for Upcoming Operating Budget Forums on Nov. 2 and Nov. 14
MCPS is hosting a series of forums to learn more about the process for the 2024–2025 operating budget. Join us for a discussion with MCPS leadership and an opportunity to engage in breakout sessions. Please let us know whether you will attend and whether you will need Spanish or American Sign Language interpretation. Events will be held:
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Thursday, Nov. 2, 6:30–8 p.m., virtual forum. This event will be livestreamed on the MCPS homepage. RSVP.
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Tuesday, Nov. 14, 6:30-8, Walter Johnson High School, 6400 Rock Spring Drive in Bethesda. RSVP.
There is also a forum on Wednesday, Nov. 8 at Gaithersburg High School, open to students only.
Applications Due Nov. 3 for High School Regional/Countywide Special Programs and the Maryland Virtual Academy
Grade 8 students can apply to Regional/Countywide Special Programs using the high school common application found in ParentVUE. Additionally, students in Grades 9-11 may apply for career readiness programs. Information sessions will be available for students and families. All dates can be found on the special programs webpage.
Applications are due by Friday, Nov. 3. Programs-At-A-Glance, eligibility, frequently asked questions and October open house dates are available on this website.
Applications for the Montgomery Virtual Academy (MVA) for the 2024-2025 school are due Friday, Nov. 3, 2023. Applications for the waitlist for Semester 2 of the Virtual Academy’s 2023-2024 year are also due on Nov. 3. Applications submitted after Nov. 3, 2023, but by Feb. 9, 2024, will be added to the 2024-2025 waitlist. Visit the MVA website for more information.
District Events and Opportunities
Waymaking Special on Student Mental Health on Nov.1
From 6–8 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 1 at Richard Montgomery High School, former professional football player turned mental health expert and advocate, Dr. Jay Barnett, will speak to students about the importance of mental health, breaking down stigma and seeking help. Students may earn up to 9.5 Student Service Learning (SSL) hours for watching videos, attending virtual workshops and participating in follow-up advocacy action during Mental Health Awareness Week (Oct. 30-Nov. 4).
Read more about Mental Health Awareness Week events.
Help the Environment and Earn SSL Hours!
Calling high school students: Join Us Nov. 1 for Environmental Volunteer Day at Gaithersburg High School, 101 Education Blvd. in Gaithersburg.
Make a PSA and Earn SSL Hours
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A chance to win $1,000: Speak Up, Save a Life PSA Contest
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Know a student interested in public policy? Enter the Councilmember for a Day Contest
Bright Spots This Week
Sports Insight is a TV and web video series highlighting student-athletes, teachers, coaches and support staff who make MCPS athletics an exciting addition to our community and a valuable learning experience for our students. Episode 30 features pickleball as a new corollary sport this fall. Hear from MCPS Athletic Director Dr. Jeff Sullivan, coaches and players about how the pilot is going, as well as the future of pickleball in MCPS.
First Annual Girls’ Summit
Nearly 900 people came out to the MCPS Girls’ Summit on Oct. 21. The summit provided informative workshops, fun activities and a culminating fashion show for middle and high school girls.
Athletics County Championships
Congratulations to students at six high schools for winning the following county and district championships:
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Poolesville–2A/1A Maryland Public Secondary Schools Athletic Association’s (MPSSAA) District Championship in Golf
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Winston Churchill–3A/4A MPSSAA’s District Championship in Golf
2023 MCPS county championships
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Quince Orchard girls’ soccer team
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Damascus boys’ soccer team
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Winston Churchill field hockey team
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Thomas S. Wootton boys’ cross country team
5th Annual STEAM Festival
Students of all ages and their families participated in the annual STEAM Festival at Wheaton High School on Oct. 21. The event included hands-on activities, talks, lab tours, nature experiences, exhibits and performances.
Band Showcase
Twelve high school bands delighted the crowd at Col. Zadok Magruder High School on Oct. 21 as they performed during the annual Marching Band Showcase.
National Principals Month
In honor of National Principals Month, second grade students at Fairland Elementary School surprised Principal Lakeisha Lashley and Assistant Principal Colleen Johnson with lunch and their rendition of Tina Turner’s hit, “Simply the Best.”
According to our public safety reporter Cordell Pugh, a pedestrian was struck on Wootton Parkway, South of MD-189 Falls Road, near Pasture Brook Way in Rockville around 4:35pm on Thursday, October 26.
Montgomery County Police tweeted the following at 5:23pm: “TRAFFIC ADVISORY: A traffic collision has Wootton Pkwy. closed at Falls Rd. Drivers are advised to seek an alternate route. Expect significant delays.” We will provide an update if additional information becomes available. Featured image courtesy of Google Maps.
CRITICAL INJURY PEDESTRIAN STRUCK: Wootton Parkway, South of MD-189 Falls Road, near Pasture Brook Way (Rockville, MD). ~4:35PM Thursday, pedestrian struck and critically injured. #MDTraffic@ACTforTransit @TheMoCoShow https://t.co/icrV5gxIcM
— Cordell (@CordellTraffic) October 26, 2023
Before it became the largest high school in Maryland, in terms of square footage (here’s a list of the 20 largest by enrollment), Seneca Valley High School (19401 Crystal Rock Dr. Germantown, MD) opened in its original building in 1974. The school sits on land that was once the site of a dairy farm owned by baseball player Walter Johnson. Johnson purchased the land in 1935 and lived there with his family until his death in 1946. It was Germantown’s only high school until Northwest opened in 1998.
In its first year of operation, the 1974-1975 school year, under Principal Nathan Pearson, Seneca Valley hosted students in grades seven through ten. In the following 1975-1976 school year, the school operated grades nine through eleven, with 8th graders transferring to the newly opened Ridgeview Junior High School in Gaithersburg, Maryland. During the 1976-1977 school year, Seneca Valley became a senior high school, hosting grades ten through twelve, and graduating its first class in June 1977. Finally in 1988, Seneca Valley changed to its present state of full-fledged high school with grades 9-12. The original school building was demolished in 2020 and replaced with a new building on-site in 2021.
The new 452,500 SF (also listed at ~440,000 SF) Seneca Valley High School is the largest high school in the state of Maryland. The replacement school includes two main sections: a four-story classroom wing and a two-story public wing. The academic wing is organized around two large courtyards that provide natural light to interior classrooms and allows for efficient, conveniently monitored interior circulation. The public wing houses the 900-seat auditorium, gymnasium/athletic facilities, and student dining room.
The school includes a Career and Technical Education wing that provides automotive, construction, trades, architectural design, and technical drawing programs. The building incorporates sustainable features including a vegetated roof system. The campus features a multi-use athletic turf field stadium, 7 tennis courts, 4 basketball courts, and sodded baseball and softball fields.
Seneca Valley High School received an Honorable Mention for the 2022 Excellence in Construction award from the Associated Builders and Contractors of Metro Washington and Virginia and the Architectural and Interior Design Awards of Excellence, Outstanding Project award from Learning by Design in 2022.
Information/photos courtesy of Seneca Valley High School and DustinConstruction. Video below courtesy of MCPS
On Wednesday, the owners of White’s Ferry announced they had increased their offer to purchase the Virginia landing site from Rockland Farm to $1.25 million, an increase of $150,000 from the offer that was made in January. We reached out to Rockland Farms owner Libby Delvin, who provided the following response: “We continue to believe that a volume-based fee based on the amount and size of vehicles using our land is the fairest way to compensate us for the use of our land. Fifty-cents per car is very reasonable. The operator can increase the fee of the ferry and pay Rockland Farm accordingly. Most people are willing to pay an additional incremental amount in order to re-open the ferry.”
White’s Ferry ceased operations back in December 2020. You can read White Ferry’s statement from yesterday below:
“To encourage the re-opening of White’s Ferry, ferry owners Chuck and Stacy Kuhn worked closely with Maryland, Virginia, Montgomery, and Loudoun Counties, and previous ferry owner Herb Brown to once again make an offer to purchase the Virginia landing site from Rockland Farm in an effort to get the ferry reopened for its nearly 1,100 daily users. The newest offer is now for $1.25 million for the 1.4 acres, an increase from the last offer in January of $1.1 million. Both offers are well above the land value.
Other options also recently proposed by the Kuhns as ways to get the ferry opened as soon as possible, include:
· Selling the ferry directly to Rockland Farms or to Montgomery County or the state of Maryland.
· Donating the ferry, the ferry business, and the Maryland landing to the county if Rockland Farm would donate the Virginia landing.
It’s unclear whether Rockland Farm owners will accept the new offer, buy the ferry, or consider donating their land as the Kuhns have suggested. Or whether the local jurisdictions will purchase the ferry. The Kuhns remain committed to getting the ferry open to the local community as quickly as possible and await an answer.”
Glen Echo Park was first developed in 1891 as a National Chautauqua Assembly, which taught the sciences, arts, languages, and literature. The Chautauqua lasted for just one season, and by the early 1900s, the site had become Glen Echo Amusement Park — the premier amusement park serving the Washington area until 1968, when it closed (learn more about the civil rights story here). Below we will share with you a tragic tale that has become somewhat of a local ghost story. A video of what Glen Echo Park looks like today can be seen below.
Glen Echo Park was home to the “Coaster Dips” roller coaster. The popular attraction opened in May 1921 and remained until the park closed in 1968. Coaster Dips was nearly 70 feet tall, and the Potomac River could be seen in the distance before plummeting to the bottom of the rickety wooden coaster. Tragically, William J. Lawrence, a 21-year-old Washington drug clerk, fell from the coaster in 1929. According to local legend, screams from the coaster echo into the late evening hours on clear nights. Per the Washington Post in 1929:
“A coroner’s jury in Rockville, Md., last night found that William J. Lawrence, 21 years old, Washington drug clerk, who fell from a roller coaster at Glen Echo, Md., Sunday night, died as a result of “being thrown from coaster dip at Glen Echo; causes unknown to the jury.” The body was returned to Corsopolis, Pa., last night. Funeral services have not been arranged.
John E. Mahaffey, 809 Portland street southeast, friend of the dead youth, said that he saw the boy fall from the car, but was powerless to help him. Justice of the Peace A. L. Moore, of Bethesda, acted as coroner and William E. Morgan, of Rockville, was foreman of the coroner’s jury.”
Locals have also reported that crowds of people dressed in 1930s and 1940s attire are seen on occasion riding the carousel at night when the attraction isn’t running.
Information courtesy of: Glen Echo Park, Ghosts of DC, Visit Montgomery
https://www.instagram.com/reel/CqycZhqACdi/?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==
Per MCPD: Detectives from the Montgomery County Department of Police – 2nd District Investigative Section are asking for the public’s assistance in identifying a suspect responsible for a theft and fraudulent credit card use in Bethesda. On Saturday, September 16, 2023, at approximately 1:40 p.m., the victim was at a CAVA restaurant in the 4800 block of Bethesda Avenue when an unknown suspect stole his black Lulu Fanny Pack, containing personal property and credit cards, from the back of his chair.
Moments after the victim discovered his bag had been stolen, he received a notification that his credit card had been used at a Target in the 6800 block of Wisconsin Avenue. Detectives obtained surveillance video of the suspect. The suspect is described as a Black male, approximately 40 to 50-years-old with a salt and pepper beard. He was wearing a black Nike baseball hat, a gray Nike long sleeve zippered sweatshirt and black Nike sweatpants.
Anyone with information regarding this suspect or this crime 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.
