Beyond MoCo

This weekend’s Oceans Calling Festival that was scheduled to take place on the Ocean City Boardwalk from September 30-October 2 has been cancelled due to to the forecast of inclement weather. The three day music and art festival was put together in partnership with Rockville natives O.A.R, who were also scheduled to preform several sets at the event. Rapper Logic, who is from Gaithersburg, was also scheduled to perform.

The members of O.A.R. met each other while attending Wootton High School in Rockville. They would play together at the Grand Marquis in Onley and pass out CDs to other students at school. After high school the band went to Ohio State, using Columbus’ nightlife to build the O.A.R.’s reputation. The band even came back to Wootton High School and played a concert on the football field, back in May of 2001. They achieved their biggest commercial success with the single “Shattered (Turn the Car Around) in 2008.

In March, Great Cats keepers noticed that Naba was chewing in an exaggerated manner and not consuming all of her diet. Naba was trained to voluntarily participate in awake health exams and blood draws. When keepers gave Naba the cue to open her mouth, they observed some dental issues, and blood tests showed chronic renal disease, both of which can be common in older lions. Zoo veterinarians prescribed pain medications to ease Naba’s discomfort, and keepers presented her diet in a variety of ways to encourage her to eat. Zoo veterinarians and an outside veterinary dental specialist treated Naba’s dental disease over the next few months, but despite intermittent improvements in her behavior and appetite, she continued to decline.

During a complete veterinary exam last Friday to identify the cause of her ongoing decline, a new dental concern was addressed, and Naba’s team of keepers and veterinarians were cautiously optimistic she could recover. However, she did not eat well, was not defecating throughout the weekend and her discomfort was noticeable to the team. Concluding that further attempts to investigate Naba’s illness would be invasive and difficult on her, the team made the hard decision to euthanize Naba. Initial necropsy findings showed a large mass in her small intestine and a cystic lesion in her brain. A final pathology report will provide more information in the coming weeks.

“I want to sincerely thank Minister Park for graciously naming me as Korea’s first honorary Minister of Veterans Affairs,” said Governor Hogan. “The First Lady tells every Korean War veteran that she meets that she would not be where she is today if it were not for the dedication and sacrifice of the brave servicemembers who fought for freedom for South Korea. We will continue to stand with and support all of these heroes, whose bravery stands as a reminder of the immeasurable cost of war and the immense cost of freedom.”

Last year, Governor Hogan and First Lady Yumi Hogan joined former Korean President Moon Jae-In at a groundbreaking ceremony for the Wall of Remembrance at  the Korean War Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. The State of Maryland committed $250,000 to the Korean War Veterans Memorial Foundation to support the ongoing maintenance of the wall.

On May 4, 2006, the body of Dusty Myriah Shuck, 24, of Silver City, New Mexico was discovered near a rest stop in Frederick County, Maryland by a passing motorist. Shuck was last seen in New Mexico on April 24, 2006 at a local hotel. Days later she was found wearing a tank top, a hooded sweatshirt and sweat pants. She was found without shoes or any identification and lying on the shoulder of eastbound I-70, east of New Market, Maryland. The only clues to identify her were two dragon tattoos located on her back with the words “Gypsy Rose” written beneath them. The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in 2006 ruled her death as a homicide caused by stabbing and blunt force trauma.

The Maryland State Police Homicide Unit immediately launched an investigation. Crime scene technicians from the Maryland State Police Forensic Sciences Division responded and processed the scene for evidence. Limited evidence was left at the scene.