Montgomery County Councilmember Kristin Mink has released a statement following an occurrence involving a flat tire and call to Montgomery County Third District Police Commander David McBain. The flat tire occurred following a meeting of the East County Citizens Advisory Board in Briggs Chaney on Monday night. The full statement, which went out on the Councilmember’s Facebook page on Friday evening, can be seen below:
“In case anyone was curious about the flat tire story, here’s what happened:
Per Montgomery County: The Montgomery County Council will hold a hybrid town hall meeting on Wednesday, Feb. 15 from 7-8:30 p.m. at Lakelands Park Middle School, which is located at 1200 Main St. in Gaithersburg.
Councilmembers have scheduled this time to answer questions and listen to concerns from community members. Some of the topics for discussion will include public safety, public health, housing and transportation, and other issues of community concern.
In the video below, members of the MCPS Student Athlete Leadership Council share the history and significance of National Girls and Women in Sports Day. Feb. 1 marked the 37th annual celebration of National Girls and Women in Sports Day. This celebration inspires girls and women to play and be active, and to realize their full power. The confidence, strength and character gained through sports participation are the tools girls and women need to become strong leaders in sports and life.
National Girls and Women in Sports Day was first observed in 1987 to remember Olympic volleyball player Flo Hyman and acknowledge her work in promoting equal representation of women in sports. Since then, the day has evolved to commemorate all female athletes, their achievements, the positive impacts of inclusion of women in sports, and to address the challenges regarding equal participation of women in sports activities. The day also appreciates the progress made since the enactment of Title IX, a law passed in 1972 that called for equal participation of everyone in all programs and activities that were federally funded, regardless of gender.
For many high school students, the first day of school is filled with hugs and joyful chatter as they gather in the hallways, reconnecting with friends and teachers. For Betty Holston, the first day of school was filled with hushed silence and stares from white students. She was not the only African-American student to enroll in Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School in 1956. There was Nancy Browne who lived on River Road in Potomac. But unlike Nancy, Betty lived on Hawkins Lane, an unpaved road that led to a small number of wooden homes which were occupied by black families who held service jobs for wealthy white families in the area. “We were segregated racially, of course, ” Dr. Betty explained, “but we were also isolated from other black communities.” In short, Betty stood out immediately at B-CC for two reasons: she was definitely not white and her family was definitely not well-to-do.
A “Better” 11th Grade: “11th grade was better, meaning I was better,” said Dr. Betty. “But everything else was the same.” She still lacked friends, and, the administration demeaned her, advising her, at one point, to switch from an switch from an academic track to a commercial one because her “brain wasn’t developed enough for college study.”
Tom Rogers and Tom Martin of Walter Johnson High School were recently honored during the Montgomery Invitational, the signature indoor track competition hosted by MCPS since 2001. Rogers is athletics director at Walter Johnson, and Martin is indoor track coach at Walter Johnson. They were recognized for their service to the invitational, which they started to create an elite showcase prior to championship season, and have directed ever since. The meet, which welcomes students from 95 schools around the region and serves as a fundraiser for MCPS, has been hosted at the Prince George’s Sports and Learning Center since its inception.
Pictured from left to right are: Duke Beattie, former director of MCPS athletics; Tom Rogers, athletics director at Walter Johnson High School; Tom Martin, indoor track coach at Walter Johnson; and Jeff Sullivan, current director of athletics.
The Wheaton Library is located within the Wheaton Library and Community Recreation Center complex at 11701 Georgia Ave. in Wheaton. The exhibit, launched in collaboration with Peerless Rockville and Montgomery History, memorializes and honors two men who were lynched in Rockville—John Diggs-Dorsey in 1880 and Sidney Randolph in 1896. It also honors George Peck, who was lynched in Poolesville in 1880. The exhibit is intended to reveal the history of these fatal miscarriages of justice that happened in Montgomery County, to remember the victims and to promote reconciliation and healing.
Working closely with the Equal Justice Initiative in Montgomery, Ala., and the Maryland Lynching Memorial Project, the exhibit is part of a larger effort to advance the cause of reconciliation in Maryland and advocates for public acknowledgement of these murders. As highlighted in a proclamation by the Montgomery County Council on Sept. 26, 2021, the exhibit “reminds us of our responsibility to understand our history and to work to repair and heal the damage of the past by acting in the present.”
Per Montgomery County: Montgomery County Public Libraries (MCPL), the Montgomery County Library Board and Friends of the Library, Montgomery County, Inc. (FOLMC) will kick off “Library Lovers Month” with a family friendly virtual event at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Feb. 4. To celebrate the beginning of Library Lovers Month, Jacqueline Means (the STEM Queen) will demonstrate the hands-on STEM activity “Let’s Make Snow” for elementary-aged students.
To fully participate in the hands-on part of the program, registrants are invited to pick up a free activity kit before the program at one of the following libraries: Aspen Hill, Connie Morella, Gaithersburg, Kensington and Wheaton. The availability of activity kits is limited. Participants should call ahead to confirm availability.
Per Montgomery County: Montgomery County businesses conducting research in biotechnology, medicine or life sciences may be eligible to receive Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR)/Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) matching grants to assist with their research funding and commercialization activities. Applications for grants will open at 9 a.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 15.
Businesses that have received SBIR/STTR Phase 1 or Phase 2 awards recently for research taking place in Montgomery County may be eligible for additional non-dilutive funding through the program to help them with technical assistance, IP costs and other research-related activities. Businesses that never have received a SBIR/STTR award may apply for Phase 0 grants to cover the cost of SBIR/STTR application support. Montgomery County’s SBIR/STTR Matching Grant Program is the only County program of its kind in the nation.
Per Montgomery County: Eighteen organizations and individuals were recently honored with Martin Luther King (MLK) Peacemaker Awards at a ceremony sponsored by Montgomery County’s Street Outreach Network (SON), which is part of the Department of Health and Human Services’ Positive Youth Development (PYD) program. The awards organizations and individuals were honored for their peacemaking work to make Montgomery County a better place to live.
Those honored at the ceremonies on Jan. 13 were chosen by staff from the SON for their efforts to help prevent violence and bring peace to their neighborhoods. Among the honorees were community leaders, including those from business and education, as well as County Government and elected officials.
Rockville celebrates Black History Month in February and encourages community members to explore our city’s rich African American heritage. Visit www.rockvillemd.gov/history to find the city’s African-American Heritage Walking Tour story map. The map, developed by the city’s Department of Community Planning and Development Services, runs 2 miles and includes 18 locations in and around Rockville Town Center highlighting people and places important to the city’s Black history from the 18th- through 20th-century.
Rockville 11’s YouTube channel offers a playlist highlighting activists, pioneers, places, city leaders, Black history facts and community members who remind us of the many contributions made by African Americans to Rockville and our country. Find it at bit.ly/RkvBHMPlaylist.
Quince Orchard High School student-athlete Savan Briggs is a highly recruited two-time State Championship winning quarterback at Quince Orchard. On Tuesday, he announced that he has committed to Howard University (announcement can be seen below, courtesy of Fox 5).
Briggs, a 6’2, 190 lb dual threat quarterback that has led Quince Orchard to back-to-back 14-0 seasons while earning a 3.45 GPA, previously announced via social media that he received an offer from the Bison late last month.