Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Services responded to a collision in Germantown around 3:30pm on Tuesday, October 10. According to Chief Spokesperson for MCFRS Pete Piringer, the collision occurred on northbound I-270, near Middlebrook Rd. One patient was evaluated for injuries. Some lanes were blocked following the incident. We will provide an update if additional information becomes available. 

ICYMI (~330p) NB I 270 IAO Middlebrook Road, Collision, @MCFRS_EMIHS evaluating one patient, some lanes were blocked pic.twitter.com/XRFH201wty


The haunt is a benefit performance for Calleva, a 501c3 organization dedicated to building young leaders through positive outdoor experiences. “We spend all year empowering people through outdoor experiences that foster teamwork & individual achievement,” says Nick Markoff, one of the three brothers who founded Calleva. “Then we bring them out to Markoff’s Haunted Forest to knock their confidence back a bit.”  The haunt began as a small scale event, but has grown into one of the nation’s top-ranked performances. Markoff’s Haunted Forest still helps fund Calleva’s summer camp scholarships, community partnerships, and outdoor education programming. It’s a partnership that delivers seasonal fun AND year-round benefits to our Montgomery County neighborhood. Tickets are on sale now at www.markoffshauntedforest.com.

Since 1992, when the Markoff brothers started with a Haunted School Bus driven to events and festivals around DC, our haunt has provided fright fest lovers with a creative, dramatic, and – YES — terrifying haunt experience. Our creative team combines music, lights, scents, actors, make-up & prosthetics, and artistic brilliance in a series of high-tech, detailed scenes that consistently place MHF among the top haunts in the country.


The Montgomery County Department of Police – 5th District Investigative Section is asking for the public’s assistance in locating Alan Hooker, a missing 24-year-old.  Hooker was last seen on Friday, September 15, 2023, at approximately 6 p.m., in the 20900 block of Frederick Road in Germantown. He is 5-feet, 9-inches tall, 140 pounds, with brown eyes, black hair, possible facial stubble, and was last seen wearing a blue shirt with Husqvarna in white lettering on the back, a light brown parka hat, black pants and carrying a neon green backpack.

Anyone with information regarding the whereabouts of Alan Hooker is asked to call the Montgomery County Police Non-Emergency (301) 279-8000 (24-hour line).


The owners of African International Market in Germantown and Gaithersburg are opening a new restaurant in Germantown that will be called ‘Authentic African Restaurant.’ It will be located in Germantown Plaza, in the same shopping center as the first African International Market. An opening date is not yet available, but the restaurant plans to hold its Grand Opening this year (2023). The restaurant will serve authentic African cuisine. We’ll have an update as soon as it’s available.


Per Montgomery County: The Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) will begin providing sexual health services at the new Upcounty Sexual Health & Wellness Clinic beginning Monday, Oct. 9. The clinic, located at the Sidney Kramer Upcounty Regional Services Center, 12900 Middlebrook Road in Germantown, will offer free and low-cost testing and treatment for sexually transmitted infections (STI) and HIV infection.

“While Montgomery County ranks as the healthiest county in Maryland, we have seen an increase in infection rates for STIs, and access to early testing and treatment services is essential to sexual health and wellbeing,” said County Executive Marc Elrich. “This new clinic location will help residents living in the Upcounty region get services where they live. Many STIs are treatable or curable but early detection is important to successful outcomes.”


Northwest High School principal Scott Smith sent a letter to the community informing them that the school is in a “modified shelter” due to an anonymous threat made via social media. At this time, it is not believed that the threat is credible, but Montgomery County Police is on-sight as a precaution. Full letter can be seen below:

“Dear Northwest High School Students, Families and Staff,


The Upper Montgomery County Volunteer Fire Department is hosting their fall open house, along with a local vendor fair, this Sunday (October 8) from 12PM to 4PM at 19801 Beallsville Road Beallsville, MD 20839. According to the UMCVFD, the event will feature a pumpkin patch, hay rides, Fire & Rescue Service demonstrations, and police vehicles on display. Additionally more than 30 vendors will be present at this Sunday’s event. Visitors can enjoy free hot dogs, Cotton Candy, and giveaways for children.

At their newly-expanded Beallsville Road firehouse, the Upper Montgomery County VFD currently has an ambulance, Canteen Unit, several boats paired with support vehicles as part of their Swiftwater Rescue Team, Medic Unit, Brush Truck, Brush Engine, Rescue Engine, and Tanker. The units responded to more than 1,200 calls in 2022.


New state-of-the-art skate park to be developed at Ovid Hazen Wells Recreational Park

Montgomery Parks is hosting an in-person and online community meeting to brainstorm design ideas for a new skate park to be built at Ovid Hazen Wells Recreational Park in Clarksburg. It will be the first of five skate parks built in Montgomery Parks in the coming years. At the meeting, Montgomery Parks planners, and representatives from the private skate park design firm Spohn Ranch will take ideas from the public about the design of the skate park. Spohn Ranch a California-based firm well-known in the skating community for its unique and contemporary skate park designs.


Mother and son are both doing well and resting at Holy Cross Hospital in Germantown after she delivered her own baby on the way to the hospital late Wednesday night. We caught up with the family who told us that “things just kind of progressed quickly on the ride to the hospital” and the baby boy was born on the road leading up to the emergency room entrance just before midnight.

“At one point we were going to go to Shady Grove, which was a couple minutes closer, but she thought we could make it to Germantown.” the shocked father told us. As soon as the family turned onto Observation Dr., where the hospital is located, the baby decided it was time to make an appearance. In the minute or so that it took to get to the emergency room entrance, which was the only entrance open due to the time, the baby was born with mother holding him as hospital staff came out to meet her.


Around 45 firefighters responded to a house fire in the 13300 block of Country Ridge Dr, near Club Hill Drive in Germantown on Wednesday, October 4. According to Chief Spokesperson for Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Services Pete Piringer, the fire was caused by a candle that was on a nightstand in a bedroom closet.

All occupants made it out of the home safely and there were no injuries reported. Damage is estimated to be ~$40,000. Three adults and one kitten have been displaced. We will provide an update if additional information becomes available.


Last month, 250 chorus students from Clarksburg and Walt Whitman high schools performed at the 2023 World Culture Festival. Nearly 1 million people from more than 180 countries are estimated to have participated in the three-day celebration of unity, diversity and peace on the National Mall. The event included 60 performances from more than 17,000 artists, musicians and dancers representing cultures from every corner of the globe. MCPS students opened the festival singing the national anthem with the U.S. Army Band “Pershing’s Own” and the U.S. Army Chorus, followed by two original compositions fusing English and Sanskrit lyrics—Blessings Invocation and One World Family, and America the Beautiful – Vande Mataram with Grammy-nominated artist Chandrika Tandon.

Amy Vanek and Michelle Kim, choral music directors at Clarksburg and Whitman, worked to prepare the students for the festival within three weeks. Others who help to coordinate the students’ appearance included: Kanan Shah, MCPS’ World Culture Festival coordinator and occupational therapist at Infants and Toddlers, Emory Grove; Elaine Chang, director of partnerships; Amita Mongia, teacher at Garrett Park Elementary School; Randy Rumpf, fine arts supervisor; Katie Murphy, choral and general music coordinator, and Ed Owusu, principal at Clarksburg, and Robby Dodd, principal at Whitman.


View More Stories