Gaithersburg Archives - Page 287 of 426

Two Injured in Gaithersburg Collision on Sunday Evening

Published December 4, 2022 at 7:00PM

Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Services (MCFRS) were called to the scene of a collision with entrapment on Quince Orchard Road and Sioux Lane in Gaithersburg at approximately 5:20pm on Sunday evening, according to MCFRS Chief Spokesperson Pete Piringer.

Upon arrival crews found two vehicles involved in the collision with one adult patient trapped inside of a vehicle. That patient was extricated and taken to a nearby hospital with priority 1 trauma (life-threatening injuries). Another patient was transported to the hospital with minor injuries. Some lanes are blocked in the area as of 5:55pm.

MOD Pizza in Kentlands Temporarily Closes

By MCS Staff

Published December 2, 2022 at 9:56AM

MOD Pizza, a fast-casual pizza restaurant with over 500 locations nationwide, has temporarily closed its Kentlands location (145 Commerce Square Place in Gaithersburg), with brown paper covering the restaurant’s windows, according to several readers. The reason for the temporary closure is currently unknown, but the MOD Pizza website has the location reopening on Monday.

The acronym “MOD” in the company’s name stands for “Made on Demand” and the company has three locations in Montgomery County– Downtown Silver Spring, Kentlands, and Montrose Crossing in Rockville. MOD Pizza offers individual, customizable pizzas made with organic dough using King Arthur Flour. Customers specify which ingredients they want included on their order, and watch the preparation process, though the restaurant also offers recommended combinations. Pizzas are then cooked in three minutes using stone ovens at 800 °F.

MoCo Native Johnny Hodges Earns Two Big 12 Awards

By MCS Staff

Published December 1, 2022 at 8:13PM

The All-Big 12 Conference football teams and individual award winners have been announced and Montgomery County’s very own Johnny Hodges has earned two awards. Selections are made by the league’s 10 head coaches, who are not permitted to vote for their own players.

Hodges, a 6’2, 240 pound junior linebacker from Darnestown, who graduated from Quince Orchard High School in 2019, is a starting linebacker for the TCU Horned Frogs– currently ranked 3rd in the country. He has been named to the 2022 All-Big 12 Second Team and won the award for “Defensive Newcomer of the Year.” Hodges was also recently named the Big 12 Defensive Player of the week after he had a team-best and season-high 11 tackles, more than double the next-closest Horned Frog, to lead a strong defensive effort in then No. 4 TCU’s 17-10 win over then No. 18 Texas. The junior LB had 1.5 tackles for loss as part of his 11 stops and combined on a tackle for no gain on a 4th-and-1 Bijan Robinson rush on Texas’ opening series to set the tone for the game.

Torrid to Close Gaithersburg Location (Rio) in January

By MCS Staff

Published December 1, 2022 at 7:47PM

Torrid, “the destination for Trendy Plus-size fashion and accessories”, will close its Rio location permanently according to a representative from the retailer. The store, located at 35 Grand Corner Ave in Gaithersburg, will close towards the end of January, according to the representative from the store. It took over the space that was previously home to Ono-Asia Pacific, a restaurant that served various Asian and Hawaiian cuisine, about a decade ago. There is no word on what the replacement will be at this time.

Torrid is an American women’s retail chain formerly owned by Hot Topic. While it is still owned by Sycamore Partners, owners of Hot Topic, in 2015, the company branched off to become Torrid, LLC. The store offers plus-size clothing and accessories for women size 10-30. Torrid began operations in April 2001. The first location opened in the Brea Mall in Brea, California. As of 2020, Torrid has over 600 stores in operation across 36 states in the United States. Torrid opened its first store in 2001, and an international store in Canada (Toronto) in August 2015. In July 2021, the company went public on the New York Stock Exchange, under the symbol CURV.

City of Gaithersburg Achieves 100 Score on Municipal Equality Index

By MCS Staff

Published December 1, 2022 at 2:04PM

The initiative examines the inclusivity of laws, policies & services with respect to the LGBTQ+ community.

The City of Gaithersburg earned a score of 100 points in the 11^th annual Municipal Equality Index, an initiative of the Human Rights Campaign that examines the inclusivity of laws, policies & services with respect to the LGBTQ+ community. The City’s score in 2021 was also 100. The Index used 49 different criteria to rate 506 cities across the country. The average score nationally was 68, up one point from 2021 and marking the fifth consecutive year of national average increases.

Detectives Investigate Series of Credit Union Frauds Committed by the Same Suspect; Photo of Suspect Released

By Patrick Herron

Published December 1, 2022 at 1:03PM

The investigation by detectives has revealed that the suspect presented fraudulent driver’s licenses at several credit unions to obtain funds from credit union members’ accounts. The credit unions were located in Silver Spring and Gaithersburg and also in the state of Pennsylvania. Detectives reviewed the surveillance cameras of the credit unions and obtained a photo of the suspect.

Olney Art Association Annual Membership Exhibit on Display at Gaithersburg’s Bohrer Park Through Jan. 29

By Patrick Herron

Published November 30, 2022 at 6:43PM

Per Montgomery County: The annual Olney Art Association (OAA) juried member exhibition will be on display at the Activity Center at Bohrer Park in Gaithersburg through Jan. 29. The exhibit features 46 works of art by 19 member artists of the OAA. The Activity Center at Bohrer Park is located at 506 South Frederick Ave. in Gaithersburg. It is open from 8 a.m.-10 p.m. Monday through Friday and from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. Founded in 1974, the OAA is a professional, learning, creative community of visual fine artists whose expertise ranges in a variety of media. OAA artists work in oil painting, watercolor, acrylics, pastel, colored pencil, pen and ink, printmaking, mixed media, sculpture, ceramics, digital art and photography. More information about the OAA can be found at www.OlneyArtAssociation.org.

Glen Kessler juried the exhibition and chose 10 award winners. Mr. Kessler is an internationally collected and awarded artist, as well as the founder of The Compass Atelier in Rockville. He has an MFA from New York Academy of Art and a BFA from the Maryland Institute College of Art. His works have graced the cover of Professional Artist Magazine and in The Artist’s Magazine among other publications. Mr. Kessler has work displayed in the public collections of King Charles III, Amazon Web Services, Ford’s Theater, Capital One Bank, Dominion Bank and hundreds of private collections around the world. He is a two-time recipient of the Elizabeth Greenshields Grant for Outstanding Figurative Art, a Prince of Wales Fellow and a Maryland State Arts Council Grant awardee.

MCFRS Respond to Kitchen Fire in Gaithersburg; Teachers Way and East Diamond Avenue Closed

By Patrick Herron

Published November 30, 2022 at 10:42AM | Updated November 30, 2022 at 11:17AM

According to MCPD, Teachers Way and East Diamond Avenue are closed between North Summit Avenue and Melvin Street as the result of fire rescue activity. Drivers are advised to seek an alternate route and to expect delays. We will post an update when more information becomes available. Per @mcfrsPIO on Twitter: “100blk Teachers Way near N. Summit Ave., Gaithersburg, fire in kitchen, third floor, @mcfrs PE708, PE728, PE732, PE703, PE721, PAT708, AT703, RS703, M708, BC703, BC705, RS717, AT740, A703, M729 & others on scene”

Update – Teachers Way, Gaithersburg, fire on stove top, with minor extension to cabinets, fire is extinguished, no injuries https://t.co/HvuKzKLFYS

Sketch Plan Submitted For Lakeforest Mall Redevelopment; Public Hearing Takes Place in January

By MCS Staff

Published November 30, 2022 at 7:17AM

WRS Inc. has submitted Zoning Map Amendment application Z-9444-2022 that proposes to rezone the Lakeforest Mall from the current C-2 (general commercial) to the MXD Zone (mixed-use) zone. The application includes a sketch plan requesting up to approximately 1.2 million square feet of non-residential uses and up to 1,600 dwelling units on 102 acres of land. A Joint Public Hearing is scheduled for January 17, 2023.

WRS is proposing a full redevelopment of the Lakeforest Mall to allow for a multi- stage, mixed-use community with up to:

The MoCoShow Maryland Football State Finals Preview & Predictions

By Damon Anderson

Published November 29, 2022 at 4:46PM | Updated November 29, 2022 at 6:10PM

(*) = Seed

4A: (2) Quince Orchard vs (1) Flowers– The Cougars beat Broadneck 42-9 in the semifinals. RB Iverson Howard rushed for 210 yards & 2 touchdowns in the victory. WR Tavahri Groves also contributed with 129 yards of total offense and 2 touchdowns. Flowers, from PG County, defeated Wise 20-13 in their semifinal game. This will be QO’s 9th appearance in the state finals, having won 4. Flowers will be playing in their 1st state final in school history. These two squads have only played each other once prior, in 2011 they met in the state semifinal resulting in a 23-12 Quince Orchard win. Quince Orchard vs Flowers High School Football Game of the Week (2011) The Head Coaches of QO & Flowers, John Kelley & Dameon Powell respectively, both played their high school ball in MoCo. Kelley at Seneca Valley and Powell at Sherwood. In addition, they played against each other twice in 1996, Seneca winning the regular season meeting and Sherwood getting revenge in the playoffs. Thursday night Quince Orchard vs Flowers for the 4A State Championship at Navy Memorial Stadium in Annapolis. Prediction: Quince Orchard by 17

Montgomery County Police Release 911 Call Made by Pilot After Plane Crashed Into Power Line Tower

By Patrick Herron

Published November 29, 2022 at 11:03AM

Montgomery County Police have released the 9-1-1 call made by the pilot who crashed a small plane into a power line tower near Goshen Road and Rothbury Drive in Montgomery Village on Sunday evening. Maryland State Police identified the pilot as Patrick Merkle, 65, of Washington, D.C, and the passenger as Jan Williams, 66, of Louisiana. The two were rescued around 12:30am on Monday after spending seven hours in the tower, suspended more than 100ft. In a press briefing on Monday, Fire Chief Scott Goldstein reported that both individuals had been transported to the hospital and their conditions had improved. One patient was still in the hospital as of Monday afternoon. The National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration are investigating the cause of the crash.

In the 9-1-1 call, Merkle tells the dispatcher, “I’ve flown into a tower to the northwest of Gaithersburg Airport. It’s one of the electrical towers and, believe it or not, the aircraft is pinned in the tower and I don’t know how long we’re going to be able to stay here.” He also said that he believed the two had suffered head injuries from being banged around in the cockpit. You can listen to portions of the 9-1-1 call below courtesy of WUSA9: