The Sherwood High School Varsity baseball program for has earned a Team Academic Excellence Award from the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA).

The team Academic Excellence Award honors high school and college programs coached by ABCA members that post a cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale. Sherwood students were recognized for achieving a 3.48 team GPA.


Schools throughout MCPS celebrated Walk and Roll to School Day today (Oct. 4) to promote health and safer routes to for students to walk and bike to school.

Brooke Grove Elementary School in Olney held a special event, joined by the Montgomery County Department of Transportation’s MCDOT’s Zeal the Safety Zebra and Montgomery County Fire and Rescue’s Sparky the Fire and Rescue Dog. The event included music, balloons, giveaways, police officers, firefighters, fire trucks and special visits from Montgomery County Councilmembers Gabe Albornoz and Dawn Luedtke.


Smoothie King opened this past June, taking over the 980SF space that was previously home to Party USA at 18151 Village Center Drive, in the Olney Village Center (located between IHOP and Pho & Grill). The store will be holding its grand opening celebration/ribbon cutting ceremony on Wednesday, October 4th from 6pm until 7pm. To celebrate, they’ll be giving away free smoothies from 5pm until 7pm on the same day.

The new Smoothie King location is locally owned, but since taking the helm, Smoothie King owner/CEO Wan Kim has led efforts to transform the brand’s menu from being packed with sugar and artificial flavors and colors to being health-conscious and packed with whole fruits and organic, non-GMO ingredients. The main focus is not only giving Smoothie King guests the ability to customize smoothies according to their preferences, Kim says, but pushing  their product to more closely align with a healthier, active lifestyle.


Last week we reported that Z-Burger and Maman Joon will be taking over the space that was previously home to Taco Bar and Jerry’s Subs & Pizza at 181000 Georgia Avenue in Olney.  After speaking with representatives from the restaurant, we have learned that the goal is for the restaurant to open in mid-October, likely beating out the Bethesda Z-Burger location as the first for the DMV-based regional restaurant (by a couple weeks).

Z-Burger is a local, DMV-based chain that describes itself as “a Washington DC landmark! Home to the area’s most delicious handcrafted burgers with endless toppings, fresh cut fries and 75 varieties of hand spun milk shakes and concretes made with premium Wisconsin custard.” Z-Burger has multiple locations in DC, a few in Northern Virginia, and three in Maryland– with more to come. Its first location opened in Tenleytown in 2008. Earlier this year, its first Montgomery County location was announced. Prior to starting Z-Burger in 2008, founder Peter Tabibian was the general manager at a Jerry’s Subs & Pizza in Maryland.


A letter was sent home to the Rosa Parks Middle School community (19200 Olney Mill Rd. in Olney) on Wednesday, September 27th, informing them of a “live pistol round” that was found on a luggage bus upon arrival to the school’s outdoor education site. A weapon was not found and there were no students present or on the bus. The full letter to the community can be seen below:

Dear Rosa Parks Families,


Mackie’s Barbecue is now open at 5500 Olney Laytonsville Rd in Olney (most recently Umberto’s). The restaurant is in its soft opening phase with a limited menu for dine in, takeout, and delivery via DoorDash, Ubereats, and GrubHub. A preview and first look video is available below.

Per Mr. MoCo, “The restaurant features a beer cave, similar to the ones found at Shoppers grocery stores, and a wall of retail wine that features local vendors (a wide variety of beer and wine is coming soon, with some already there). The restaurant will also eventually have a full bar.


Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Services (MCFRS) responded to Georgia Avenue, near International Drive, for the report of a vehicle fire on Sunday, September 24, around 11am. Chief Spokesperson for MCFRS Pete Piring reports that northbound Georgia Avenue is blocked off at Rossmoor Drive, near Leisure World. Drivers should expect delays. We will provide an update if additional information becomes available. Featured photo courtesy of @izzy.g5451 on Instagram. 

Georgia Avenue near International drive, @mcfrs PE725, AT740, PE740 responding, vehicle fire, some lanes blocked


Field of Screams Maryland, one of the metro area’s definitive haunted attraction, has officially opened for the season (September 23- October 31). Located at 4501 Olney Laytonsville Rd. in Olney, Maryland, this Hollywood-level production includes well-trained actors and an intense fright experience with decor and props not seen outside the movie industry. The event was voted as the #1 spot in USA Today’s 10 Best Haunted Attractions in the country last year.

Field of Screams Maryland has long been lauded as one of the best Halloween attraction in the DMV, with creative accomplishments that have resulted in multiple #1 rankings across the region. In addition, the creators famously won A&E’s Haunted House Design/Build Competition in 2018. Its flagship attraction is the one-hour walk through the Super Screams Haunted trail, which combines the Haunted Trail and Trail of Terror that features 55 terrifying stations in the darkest of woods as they navigate Chainsaw Hill, the City Morgue, the Catacombs, Laser Alley, and a finale that most run from crying for help.


TRAFFIC ADVISORY: A traffic collision has Woodfield Road at Deanna Drive closed in both directions. Drivers are advised to seek an alternate route. Expect significant delays. #mcpd #mcpnews #traffic

TRAFFIC ADVISORY: A traffic collision has Woodfield Road at Deanna Drive closed in both directions. Drivers are advised to seek an alternate route. Expect significant delays. #mcpd #mcpnews #traffic pic.twitter.com/9NZYvLHKF0


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