Education

Community Letter Addresses Graffiti With Threatening Language at Kennedy High School

By MCS Staff

A letter (seen below) was communicated to the John F. Kennedy High School community, in Silver Spring, informing parents and guardians of an incident that occurred at school on Wednesday involving graffiti with threatening language found in the bathroom. Per the letter, the threat is not believed to be credible, but school administrators, the security team, and the community engagement police officer will continue to be visible and on high alert this week. The full letter can be seen below:

“Dear Cavalier Parents and Guardians,

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Bethesda

CANCELLED: Cabin John Regional Park Goes to the Dogs on Saturday, Dec. 3, for ‘Holiday Barket’

By Patrick Herron

THIS EVENT HAS BEEN CANCELLED DUE TO WEATHER

Per Montgomery County: Every family member must be considered during the holidays and Montgomery Parks will enable dog owners to have outing with their pets at its free “Holiday Barket’ from 10 a.m.-1 p.m. at Cabin John Region Park in Bethesda. Cabin John Regional Park is located 7400 Tuckerman Lane in Bethesda. The event will be held in the picnic area across from the park’s train station. The Barket will be an opportunity for dog owners and their pets to explore a handful of small local businesses and outdoor activities. Gifts and accessories for pets will be available from vendors. Food also will be available for dog owners.

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MoCo Government

County Executive Marc Elrich and First 11-Member County Council to be Sworn in at Inaugural Ceremonies on Monday, December 5 at Strathmore

By Patrick Herron

Per Montgomery County: Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich will be sworn in to his second term and the members of the County’s first 11-member County Council also will be sworn in at the Montgomery County Inaugural Ceremonies at 11 a.m. on Monday, Dec. 5, at the Music Center at Strathmore in North Bethesda. The ceremonies are open to all and there is no charge to attend. The Music Center at Strathmore is located at 5301 Tuckerman Lane in North Bethesda. The doors will open at 10:15 a.m.

This will be the 20th version of the Council under the current form of County government. The current County Council has nine members—four at-large and five district Councilmembers. Voters passed a Charter Amendment to change the Council composition to 11 members—four at-large and seven district Councilmembers. The Council districts were reapportioned to accommodate the district change.

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MoCo Government

Vision Zero Annual Report Released Highlighting Accomplishments and Celebrating Completion of Phase 1 of the Bethesda Bikeway

By Patrick Herron

Per Montgomery County: Montgomery County this week released its annual report for the Vision Zero Initiative to end serious and fatal crashes on roadways by 2030. The Fiscal Year 2022 report details progress made on 114 tasks and projects that were undertaken during the year. The report was released at a ribbon cutting for Phase 1 of the Bethesda Bikeway at Woodmont Avenue. The bikeway has pavement separated from the roadway which will make that section of Bethesda safer for bicyclists. The complete FY22 Vision Zero annual report can be found on the County’s Vision Zero website.

“We need our streets to work for everyone whether walking, biking, using an assistive device or driving. That is why I have continued to increase funding for our traffic safety projects,” said County Executive Marc Elrich. “In FY22, we spent $101.5 million on Vision Zero and this year I have increased the budget by 23 percent to $123.1 million. We can make our Vision Zero goal a reality through these projects, campaigns and with your help. Keep yourself and everyone on the road safe by putting your phone away while driving, obeying the speed limit, buckling up for every trip and every seat and never drive impaired.”

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MoCoSnow

WUSA9 Releases 2022-2023 Winter Weather Outlook; Highest Projected Snow Totals So Far

By MCS Staff

WUSA9 released its winter outlook for the upcoming 2022-2023 season. Previously, we’ve reviewed Doug Kammerer and NBC4’s winter outlook and shared highlights from Mike Thomas and Fox 5’s winter weather outlook. All three have had some pretty significant differences, with WUSA9’s predicting the most snow of the three.

Following a review of last winter, WUSA goes into explaining a La Niña winter and the lack of snow that usually comes with it. After warning that “weak La Niñas” often come with low snow totals, WUSA9 goes rogue! “This year we are banking on two small to moderate snows and one big snow to bring our snowfall totals to near average or a bit above in some locations. Generally, we are predicting near-average to a bit above-average snowfall in the DMV. Here’s the breakdown. 

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Gaithersburg

Olney Art Association Annual Membership Exhibit on Display at Gaithersburg’s Bohrer Park Through Jan. 29

By Patrick Herron

Per Montgomery County: The annual Olney Art Association (OAA) juried member exhibition will be on display at the Activity Center at Bohrer Park in Gaithersburg through Jan. 29. The exhibit features 46 works of art by 19 member artists of the OAA. The Activity Center at Bohrer Park is located at 506 South Frederick Ave. in Gaithersburg. It is open from 8 a.m.-10 p.m. Monday through Friday and from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. Founded in 1974, the OAA is a professional, learning, creative community of visual fine artists whose expertise ranges in a variety of media. OAA artists work in oil painting, watercolor, acrylics, pastel, colored pencil, pen and ink, printmaking, mixed media, sculpture, ceramics, digital art and photography. More information about the OAA can be found at www.OlneyArtAssociation.org.

Glen Kessler juried the exhibition and chose 10 award winners. Mr. Kessler is an internationally collected and awarded artist, as well as the founder of The Compass Atelier in Rockville. He has an MFA from New York Academy of Art and a BFA from the Maryland Institute College of Art. His works have graced the cover of Professional Artist Magazine and in The Artist’s Magazine among other publications. Mr. Kessler has work displayed in the public collections of King Charles III, Amazon Web Services, Ford’s Theater, Capital One Bank, Dominion Bank and hundreds of private collections around the world. He is a two-time recipient of the Elizabeth Greenshields Grant for Outstanding Figurative Art, a Prince of Wales Fellow and a Maryland State Arts Council Grant awardee.

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Health

Montgomery County Reminds Residents to be COVID-Prepared for the Upcoming Holiday Season

By Patrick Herron

Per Montgomery County: The third holiday season with COVID-19 is underway, and everyone agrees that COVID fatigue exists. A few simple steps of caution can make being with family and friends enjoyable while reducing the risk of illness from COVID-19 and other respiratory illnesses such as colds and flu. Montgomery County’s Department of Health and Human Services offers the following things to keep in mind when planning for family gatherings:

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Germantown

Signage Up at Upcoming Germantown Pizza Hut Location

By MCS Staff

Back in December we let you know that Pizza Hut is moving into the Cloppers Mill shopping center in Germantown. Signage was installed today at the upcoming restaurant. It will be located at 18070 Mateny Rd, between Shoppers and Popeyes. Construction began this past summer and while an opening date isn’t yet available, we anticipate an early 2023 opening (photo of interior progress below).

The location is smaller, so it will likely be similar to the upcoming Pizza Hut location that is taking over part of the former GameStop location in Four Corners, which is also a smaller store.

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MoCo

Catherine Hoggle Found Incompetent to Stand Trial; Murder Charges Dismissed

By MCS Staff

Montgomery County Circuit Court Judge James Bonifant has found Catherine Hoggle incompetent to stand trial in disappearance of her two young children. Under Maryland law, felony charges have to be dismissed five years after the first time a defendant was found incompetent, so Judge James Bonifant has dismissed the two murder charges against Hoggle. Judge James Bonifant says Catherine Hoggle “meets the criteria for involuntary confinement,” because doctors say she is schizophrenic, delusional and paranoid.

Background of the case, per the Maryland Court of Special Appeals: Catherine Hoggle is the mother of Sarah Hoggle and Jacob Hoggle. According to the State, the two children were last seen in the care of their mother on September 7, 2014. At that time, Sarah was five years old, and Jacob was three years old. Hoggle was arrested three days after the children disappeared. Officers interrogated her for several hours, but they did not learn the location of the children.

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Uncategorized

Two Grant Programs to Assist Disabled, Seniors and Low-Income Residents with Transportation Needs Launched by Montgomery County

By Patrick Herron

Per MCDOT: Two grant programs designed to increase transportation services for disabled, senior and limited-income residents were launched today by the Montgomery County Department of Transportation (MCDOT). Approximately $800,000 in operating and capital budget funds will be available to eligible nonprofits to create assistance programs or enhance existing ones.

Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich proposed $1 million to establish a capital and operating grants process using funds from the Transportation Services Improvement Fund in the Fiscal Year 2023 budget. The County Council approved  $800,000 for a joint capital and operating grant program, with $640,000 for capital projects and $160,000 for operating expenses.

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