The Damascus resident describes himself as a once-in-a-while Lottery player. “I rarely think to play. If the machine hadn’t been there in the laundromat, I never would have bought a ticket that day.” The Crazy 8s game debuted in November 2022 with eight $50,000 top-prize winning instant tickets. There are still five $50,000 winners in stores, along with six $5,000 second-tier prizes. Hats off to Aspen Hill Laundromat at 14201 Georgia Avenue in Silver Spring for supplying the scratch-off that led to this happy ending. Management there will receive a $500 bonus from the Lottery for selling the $50,000 top-prize winning scratch-off.”

Feature photo courtesy of Google Maps.


A $100,000 winning $100,000 Extreme Cash scratch-off sold at Hillandale Beer ‘N’ Wine (10117 New Hampshire Blvd) was the top lottery prize claimed in Montgomery County for the week of February 20 – 26. Other local winners this past week included a $10,000 winning scratch-off sold at Safeway (9807 Main Street) in Damascus and a $14,204 winning Racetrax ticket sold at Beer on Tapz (19520 Walters Road) in Germantown.  Additional information on winners across the state of Maryland, including a $2 million winner in Millersville, below courtesy of the Maryland Lottery:

Winners of prizes larger than $25,000 must redeem their tickets at the Maryland Lottery Claims Center in Baltimore, which is open by appointment only. Prizes of up to $5,000 can be claimed at any of more than 400 Expanded Cashing Authority Program (XCAP) locations. All Maryland Lottery retailers are authorized to redeem tickets up to and including $600. More information is available on the How To Claim page of mdlottery.com.


Quincy’s South at 11401 Woodglen Dr in Rockville, which will be closing its door on March 31, has released additional information on its closing due to redevelopment, as well as an update on the restaurant’s future and its staff. Quincy’s has additional locations at 9813 Main St in Damascus, 616 Quince Orchard Rd in Gaithersburg, and 1093 Seven Locks Rd in Potomac. Per Quincy’s:

“It’s the end of a 9-year run for Quincy’s South Bar and Grille in North Bethesda, the popular sports bar from restaurateur Marty Magill and partners Jeff Greenberg, John Sahakian and Chris McCasland.


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 Montgomery County Students Automotive Trades Foundation (ATF) at Damascus High School recently refurbished a Town and Country accessibility van for the family of a former MCPS and current Montgomery College student.

In 2019, Saniya Lipford, a former student at Thomas S. Wootton High School, lost her left leg and left arm from a blood clot in her lungs. Between the medical bills, extended recovery time and rehabilitation services, Saniya and her family have struggled. Now a student at Montgomery College, Saniya requested the ATF’s support to ensure that her family’s accessibility van was a reliable source of transportation.


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.


Students in the Montgomery County Students Automotive Trades Foundation (ATF) sold used cars they refurbished last week at Damascus High School. In addition to the cars they sold, the students gifted an accessibility van to a local woman/former MCPS student, Saniya Lipford, who lost her arm and leg due to a blood clot in her lung, according to a report by Fox 5.

“This is the first time we actually did a renovation of a vehicle that didn’t belong to us that will be helping our community,” said Steven D. Boden, ATF supervisor to Fox 5. The students refurbished the van, as they do with other vehicles they sell, and gifted the vehicle to Lipford on Thursday. Video below, courtesy of Fox 5:


Since 1974, Jimmy’s Famous Seafood has served the Baltimore community with iconic culinary creations. Founded by the late Dimitrios “Jimmy” Minadakis, the restaurant quickly became synonymous with crab cakes and Maryland seafood in general. Today, Jimmy’s Famous Seafood carries on his vision through his sons, who have grown the business into a nationally known brand, shipping their food across the country.  The restaurant’s soups, dips, and crab pretzels are now available through 197 Weis Markets locations. Weis currently has two Montgomery County locations (Damascus and Gaithersburg) with a third on the way in Clarksburg.

The restaurant announced today that “You can now find our Famous soups, dips, and crab pretzels at 197 Weis Markets! We’re thrilled to enter this partnership, which brings us closer to new customers via the most convenient method possible! Thank you for your unwavering support. Be sure to share your photos with us when you discover our products at a location nearest you!” We recommend checking with your local Weis, as the partnership is new.


The Montgomery County Students Automotive Trades Foundation (ATF) is looking for car donations. Donations will help more high school students learn how to evaluate, repair and restore used cars. The ATF is a nonprofit that fosters automotive education by offering students hands-on instruction in maintenance, repair, sales and marketing. The students run a mini-dealership where people can purchase the refurbished cars. The ATF accepts donations year-round by appointment at Damascus, Gaithersburg and Seneca Valley high schools, at Thomas Edison High School of Technology and at the Shady Grove Bus Depot. Donations may be tax deductible. Call 240-740-2047 to donate.

MCPS students engage in a hands-on curriculum to refurbish used cars. As part of the automotive program, students sell the cars at three sales throughout the school year (www.cars2purchase.org). The next sale is coming up from 9–11 a.m. on Saturday, Feb. 11 at Damascus High School. Potential inventory of available cars will be posted closer to sale date (end of January/ early February). Additional information about the program below:


Ava Piedrahita, a 2022 graduate of Damascus High School has been named Penn State student-athlete of the week. Ava, a native of Gaithersburg, also attended John T. Baker Middle School in Damascus. According to her website, Ava started gymnastics because her sister Kaitlyn was in gymnastics back in 2007 and she was just tagging along running around in the waiting room. She started with recreational classes for a couple of years then was invited to team at Hill’s Gymnastics in Gaithersburg.

Penn State on Ava: “In the first Big Ten meet of her career against No. 16 Minnesota, Piedrahita shined with three career-highs in a fantastic all-around competition for the freshman. The freshman started off her night with a 9.800 on bars as one of four Nittany Lions to post a 9.800-or-better on the apparatus. She continued with a career-best 9.875 on vault, which led the team in the event and became Penn State’s best mark on the apparatus this season. Her career-best 9.775 on the balance beam closed out the night for her and helped her set a new lifetime best 39.225 in the all-around to claim second place in the meet. The score also became Penn State’s best all-around mark in the 2023 season. In a tough Big Ten road environment, the freshman rose to the occasion and performed extremely well for the Nittany Lions”


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