At approximately 3pm on Tuesday afternoon, Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Services (MCFRS) responded to a call for a vehicle fire on the 5000 block of Damascus Road, near Griffith Road, in Damascus.
According to MCFRS Public Information Officer Pete Piringer, crews arrived on the scene to a fire coming from two vehicles and were able to extinguish the fire. There were no injuries reported and no word on what caused the fire at the moment.
A major capital project was approved to address various building systems and programmatic needs for Damascus High School, located at 25921 Ridge Road. The Board of Education, in the requested FY 2021–2026 CIP, included expenditures in FY 2022 to continue the planning and design of this major capital project with a completion date of August 2025, but the County Council delayed the expenditures by one year. An FY 2023 appropriation was approved to begin the design of this Major Capital project. An FY 2024 appropriation is recommended for construction funds. This project is scheduled to be completed August 2026. Once completed in 2026, school capacity is expected to increase from 1,543 (where it’s at currently) to 2,250. Community meetings are expected to take place in 2023 regarding future plans for the project.
Damascus Elementary School, located in the Damascus HS cluster at 10201 Bethesda Church Rd, has been approved for a feasibility study for a major capital project. The Key Facilities Indicators (KFI) is utilized to identify schools for possible major capital projects. The scope for the project will be identified based on the individual building system and programmatic and capacity needs for each school. Once the feasibility study is complete, a recommendation regarding scope, timeline and funding will be considered in a future CIP.
“The Costco in Gaithersburg is the 7th circle of hell” is just one of many answers we received when we asked the question, “What is the worst parking lot in MoCo?” on social media. Everyone has had their share of terrible experiences in MoCo parking lots, and while there are more than 26 “bad” parking lots, we’ve narrowed down a list (in no particular order) of what we feel are the worst.
We are about a month into fall and the colors around us are changing. Whether it’s the taste of a warm pumpkin-flavored latte, the cool breeze of a crisp fall morning, weekends full of football, or the yellow glow of the sun on a tall birch tree, autumn is often a contender for MoCo residents’ favorite season (however short it may be). Many locals are looking forward to combining all the best parts of fall and enjoying the foliage outdoors, so we’ve put together a small list of 10 where you can enjoy the foliage across the county:
Agricultural Reserve: A drive through the rural areas that the 93,000 acre Agricultural Reserve encompasses, along with the larger rural communities of Damascus and Poolesville and small crossroad communities such as Beallsville, Sunshine and Dickerson, are sure to give you your fill of fall foliage.
Field of Screams, now in its 22nd year in business, was recently voted as the #1 spot in USA Today’s 10 Best Haunted Attractions in the country. Located in Olney, this Hollywood-level production includes well-trained actors and an intense fright experience with decor and props not seen outside the movie industry.
“Enter a horrifically terrifying world beyond imagination at the Fields of Screams in Olney, Maryland. A good walk through the woods on The Haunted Trail and Trail of Terror leaves visitors scurrying away. Along their journey, guests are welcomed into thirteen haunted houses, where they might find anything from dead bodies to hillbillies and butchers. Enjoy Body Bean Bag Pumpkin Toss, Zombie Brain Smash, and other Carnival Town Games for a thrilling, competitive experience.”
Updated to reflect total of eight people transported to hospital due to the crash
Ridge Road in Damascus is currently closed just north of High Corner Street following a serious crash involving two vehicles that took down a utility pole. The roadway will remain closed even after emergency crash response clears for utility pole replacement.
Jake Funk was drafted in the 7th round of the 2021 draft by the Los Angeles and won a Super Bowl with the team in his first year in the NFL. He remained with the team for the first part of the 2022 NFL season, but was released earlier in the week before finding a new home in New Orleans when the Saints signed the running back to the practice squad on Wednesday.
Jake Funk holds the Maryland state record for career touchdowns from when he was a student at Damascus High School. He went on to play at the University of Maryland before getting drafted by the Rams with the 5th pick of the 7th round in 2021. In New Orleans, he joins veteran Jordan Howard who was also signed to the teams practice squad, to prepare begging active roster running backs Alvin Kamara, Mark Ingram, and Dwayne Washington.
Leech Woods, a brand new haunted trail, is now open at 11201 Bethesda Church Rd in Damascus. It’s described as “a thirty minute immersive haunted trail experience of dark terror” that promises a night of chain saws, clowns and dark corners. Leech Woods also offers food and drink, four bonfires, axe throwing, a DJ booth, fortune telling, and other forms of entertainment each night.
Per Leech Woods: According to Montgomery County historical land records, the present site of Leech Woods was originally settled by Warwick and Jeanne Leech and their six children sometime in early 1790. Having immigrated from Hungary, the family chose Damascus, Maryland based on its temperate climate and heavily wooded region which reminded them of their homeland. The Leech family store thrived as the leading local merchant of hides, furs and hunting supplies. During the disastrous Winter of 1804, the Leech family store was robbed and vandalized by unknown attackers and the body of John Leech, the youngest son, was found nailed to the back wall of the store. The remaining bodies of the family members were later found bludgeoned and bound inside of the root cellar of their homestead. No further information about the attackers or motives for the killings are known.
Back in May we let you know about ‘That Smoothie Place’ coming to Damascus, taking over the location that was formerly home to Sprint in the Damascus shopping center at 9815 Main Street, suite 106. The store is now expected to open within the next couple weeks.
That Smoothie Place has been operating as a food truck since 2018, frequenting Damascus and other surrounding areas. They offer a variety of smoothies known as “Rock Star Smoothies” named after popular rock stars of the past and present. The featured photo shows a special known as “The Lennox” named after Annie Lennox of the popular 80s group Eurythmics and contains apple, banana, apple cider and a few other ingredients. Other smoothies on the menu include the Ozzy, Ringo Starr, Jagger, Morrison, and more.
We have complied a list of the tallest slides in and around MoCo for your thrill seekers. They are listed below in no particular order.
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Ella Bresee, the younger sister of Clemson football star and former Damascus High School standout Bryan Bresee, died after a battle with an aggressive form of brain cancer, her family announced on Thursday.
Bryan Bresee posted the following message on Instagram on Thursday, “My beautiful sister Ella you amazed me every single day with the fight that you put up and how joyful you were constantly through this battle. Never did I think I would be sitting here today saying bye to you. I want to thank you for bringing happiness to not only me but so many people. You are the best sister a brother could ask for and I know for a fact heaven has gained a beautiful angel today, Love you forever and always Ella bear.❤️”