Earlier this year, three Girl Scout Cadettes from Troop 2219 in Damascus—Sarah Cohen, Kaylie Eising and Jadyn New—painted a series of positive messages in bathrooms at South Lake Elementary School in Gaithersburg.
This Silver Award project was motivated by the girls’ concern about students’ mental health, as well as their desire to spread kindness and promote school community well-being. The girls planned the project, shopped for supplies and brainstormed positive images and encouraging words.
The Gaithersburg Parks, Arts & Recreation Corporation (G-PARC) Arts & Culture Alliance, in conjunction with the City’s Stormwater Management Program & Cultural Events & Services Division, are pleased to announce the 2023 Storm Drain Art Contest, designed to bring attention to the importance of protecting our Chesapeake Bay watershed.
Artists of all ages are invited to submit designs either online or through the mail. Details & specifications for this year’s contest, as well as the online submission form can be found in the Documents section of this page.
Per the City of Gaithersburg: WalletHub recently compared more than 500 of the largest cities in the U.S. and ranked them based on three key indicators of ethnic diversity, including ethnicity & race, language, and birthplace. Gaithersburg ranked as the third Most Culturally Diverse City amongst all communities in the United States with an ethnic diversity score of 72.59. The City was ranked #2 in the Small City Category for communities with populations under 100,000.
“Gaithersburg is a wonderfully diverse community, and we’re proud to foster an atmosphere of inclusion that welcomes all,” said Mayor Jud Ashman. “It is a great honor to once again rank highly on this list, and it reinforces that we must continue to offer educational, economic, social, recreational, and cultural opportunities for all.”
The Board of Education business meeting on Thursday, Feb. 23, will cover key items of public interest, including discussions and Board decisions on Future School Boundary Analyses (Agenda Item 7.1).
Future openings of two new high schools will require boundary studies in multiple areas throughout the county. The new Charles W. Woodward High School is scheduled to reopen in 2026 and will impact current school boundaries. The clusters included in the superintendent’s recommendation for the boundary scope include Bethesda-Chevy Chase, Montgomery Blair, Albert Einstein, Walter Johnson, John F. Kennedy, Northwood, Wheaton and Walt Whitman high schools. Additional future boundary studies will address midcounty overutilization with the opening of Crown High School (2027) and upcounty with the expansion of Damascus High School (2026).
Per MCPD: Detectives from the Montgomery County Department of Police- Special Victims Investigations Division (SVID) are asking for the public’s assistance in locating a missing 13-year-old from Gaithersburg. Kiesha Vogelsang was last seen on Monday, February 20, 2023, at approximately 10 a.m., in the 900 block of Clopper Road.
Kiesha is 5-feet, 9-inches tall and weighs 160 pounds. She has dark brown curly hair and brown eyes. She was last seen carrying a gray backpack and wearing blue jeans, a black zip up jacket and black Crocs. She has a birth mark on her nose and wears glasses that have a pink frame.
Personal-finance website WalletHub today released its report on 2023’s Most & Least Ethnically Diverse Cities, and four of the top ten spots were taken by places in Montgomery County. To identify the most ethnically diverse places in America, WalletHub compared more than 500 of the largest U.S. cities across three key metrics: ethno-racial diversity, linguistic diversity and birthplace diversity.
Germantown was ranked as the most diverse in the country, coming in at #1 overall and #1 for ethnoracial diversity. Gaithersburg came in #3 overall, Silver Spring was ranked #4 overall, and Rockville came in ranked #8 overall. For the full report, please visit: https://wallethub.com/edu/cities-with-the-most-and-least-ethno-racial-and-linguistic-diversity/10264
Gaithersburg City Manager Tanisha Briley announced the selection of Courtney Davis as the new Manager of the Office of Communication & Public Engagement Division within the City Manager’s Office. Courtney will begin her role with the City on March 6, 2023, and will be introduced at the Mayor & City Council meeting that evening.
Courtney comes to Gaithersburg with more than 15 years of experience working in a variety of communication and marketing roles. She has led teams of content creators focusing on writing, social media, communications, and marketing. In her most recent role, she served as the Assistant Director of Public Relations at Prince George’s Community College. Under Courtney’s leadership, the College strategically increased its media relations, engaged local and national reporters, and secured Op-Eds, feature stories and profile pieces. Courtney began her career as a marketing manager and publicist for national Broadway tours.
The Students of Minds In Motion Child Care, Scotland Community, and the Judith Resnik Elementary School extend an invitation to celebrate Black History Month with a night filled with knowledge, food, poetry, and performances. This free program will be held on Friday, February 24, 2023, from 7 – 9 pm at the Resnik Elementary School, Gaithersburg, MD, and includes dinner from local restaurants. The program will recognize icons of Black History including Viola Davis, Rosa Parks, Michelle Obama, Guy Bluford, Missy Elliot, Cynthia Erivo, and Katherine Dunham. Students will present on their achievements throughout the event.
Performances will be led by various youth groups including students of Minds in Motion Child Care, Scotland Community, Bells Mill Elementary School, Cabin John Middle School, Damascus Elementary School, Goshen Elementary School, Judith Resnik Elementary School, Winston Churchill High School, and Watkins Mill Elementary School. The highlight of the evening will be the Step Performance featuring Kristopher Paul, Noah Gleaton, Diezel Duckett, Sidoine Djimbou, Braedan Lynk, Bebo Aly, and Ahmed Hassan.
Jeyco is approximately 5-feet tall and weighs 110 pounds. He has black hair and brown eyes. He was last seen wearing a blue hooded sweatshirt, blue jeans and black sneakers. Police and family are concerned for his welfare. Anyone with information regarding the whereabouts of Jeyco Estrada is asked to call the police non-emergency number at (301) 279-8000 (24-hour line). Callers may remain anonymous.
B2J, which specializes in traditional Szechuan-style fish soup, is now open at 9629 Lost Knife Rd in the Montgomery Village Crossing shopping center in Gaithersburg. The menu include a variety of soups where you choose the broth flavor, protein, and add-ons, including tilapia, bass, and Waygu beef. B2J has additional locations in New Jersey, Texas, and Washington State.
Montgomery Village Crossing is also home to BLT Grill, Hook & Reel, Roy Rogers, and the recently opened Los Amigos. Nori Japan, one of the last remaining tenants at Lakeforest Mall, is also expected to open a location in the shopping center later this year.
The Swenson family, who owns The Office Cafe & Lounge at 6860 Olney Laytonsville Rd in Laytonsville, is mourning the loss of Larry Swenson. The family has shared the following message below via The Office Cafe & Lounge Facebook Page, referring to Swenson as an incredible man, husband, father, grandfather, brother, and friend:
“We are deeply saddened to share the passing of our beloved owner Larry Swenson.