Montgomery Village

Earlier today Montgomery County based women’s clothing company Kind Cotton donated over 800 books to Whestone Elementary School in Montgomery Village, enough for every student and teacher.  The company, which has donated over 85,000 books nationwide, donates a book for every item purchased from their website. Per Kind Cotton: Whetstone Elementary students had a surprise this morning when they each had an opportunity to browse over 100 books and choose one to take home, courtesy of Kind Cotton, a Maryland-based brand with a mission to promote and encourage childhood literacy throughout the United States. In total, Kind Cotton provided over 800 books to Whetstone Elementary this morning for free during their first ever book fair.

“We were so excited to receive books for every child at our school. This means so much for the Whetstone family. We are incredibly grateful to all the work Kind Cotton has done to get books into the hands of every child here”, Teacher, Mollie Kane stated. I Believe I Can was the book of choice for the entire school. A vast majority of the books Kind Cotton donates focus on inclusion with a message of empathy, justice, and kindness. “We wanted to do something really special for an elementary school here in Montgomery County because it’s where we are establishing our roots and we were beyond excited to hear that Whetstone Elementary wanted to work with us”, said Kaitlin Johnstone, co-founder of Kind Cotton. “Along with spreading kindness, our primary goal is to promote and encourage literacy, so to be able to provide these books to the students and educators of Whetstone makes us really proud.” Kind Cotton sells clothing and accessories designed to spread compassion and empathy, with every purchase helping to provide books to children globally.  To date, they have donated over 85,000 books nationally.


Business

King Buick GMC, located at 16200 Frederick Rd, And has announced via e-mail that it has sold the business to the Criswell group. Below is the full email sent out to customers by King Buick GMC:

“I never thought I would be writing this letter to announce that King Buick GMC will be closing. Saturday, November 19th, was the last day to purchase a new or used vehicle from King Buick GMC.


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Gaithersburg

A new permit is up confirming the impending arrival of an Auntie Anne’s/Cinnabon combination restaurant at 220 Boardwalk Place in Rio, set to take over the location that was recently home to Lilly Magilly’s– the cupcakery is preparing for a move to a new location.

The two brands, popular for their presence in malls, are co-branding to open locations across the country. I’m recent years, Cinnabon left then returned to Montgomery Mall. There’s also an existing Cinnabon location in Wheaton Mall. Auntie Anne’s has locations at the outlets in Clarksburg, Ellsworth Place Mall, Montgomery Mall, and Wheaton Mall in MoCo.


Maryland

Per the State of Maryland: Governor Larry Hogan today proclaimed November 22, 2022 as Kimchi Day to recognize the importance of this popular Korean dish, and to further celebrate Korean culture in Maryland.

First Lady Yumi Hogan, the first Korean-American First Lady in the United States, has promoted kimchi through her “Yumi Cooks” series. Government House is the first and only governor’s mansion in the nation with a kimchi refrigerator. The First Lady also led the effort to open Maryland’s Koreatown last year in Ellicott City.


Celebrities

Montgomery County native Mack Hollins caught 8 passes for 158 yards and a touchdown for the Las Vegas Raiders in his week 3 breakout game that solidified him as a starting wide receiver. Though he is already a Super Bowl champion, he currently has 36 catches for 468 yards and 2 touchdowns in what has become his best NFL season out of five in the league. He was voted a captain prior to the start of the season.

Hollins attended Robert Frost Middle School and Wootton High School. After not receiving any scholarship offers out of high school, Hollins attended Fork Union Military Academy where he received several offers to join teams, including a walk-on opportunity on the University of North Carolina football team if he could get accepted to the university on his own. Hollins got accepted and was able to walk-on, playing three seasons for the Tarheels before getting drafted by the Eagles in the 4th round of the 2017 NFL Draft.


MCPS

“What I witnessed yesterday at Quince Orchard high school is a glimpse into how I envision athletic programs in the high school and collegiate space operating in the future.” said Adam Bradley, founder of Lead ‘Em Up. He completed a leadership session with the Quince Orchard High School girl’s soccer team prior to a big game and headed towards the boy’s basketball coach to finalize the team’s leadership plans for the upcoming season. On his way to that meeting, he walked by Poms in the dance studio, who were finishing a Lead ‘Em Up exercise before they jumped into practice.

Lead ‘Em Up, a leadership and character program created by Watkins Mill alumnus Adam Bradley, provides coaches with drills and exercises they can use to develop their players into the leaders needed to win…on and off the field. Bradley started the program in 2015 at Watkins Mill and has been used by over 1,000 teams 10,000 + athletes throughout the country. Lead ‘Em Up has been featured at some of the top camps and clinics nationally, including, Nike, Spalding, Glazier, PGC Basketball and the Committed Combine.


Gaithersburg

Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Services responded to a collision with rollover and entrapment on Monday morning in Gaithersburg. According to Chief Spokesperson for MCFRS Pete Piringer, the incident occurred around 8:30am on MidCounty Highway in the area of Goshen Road and Hidden Forest Drive. A single occupant was transported to a local hospital with non-life threatening injuries.

MidCounty Highway is currently closed between Saybrooke Oaks Blvd and Woodfield Rd. There are reports of a secondary collision in area as well. We will post an update when additional information becomes available. Per @mcfrsPIO on twitter: “Update – MidCounty Hwy IAO Goshen Road/Hidden Forest Drive, collision with rollover & entrapment, secondary collision in area, @mcfrs A728, RS717, PE728, SA700 on scene, Some lanes blocked”


Highways / Interstates

Last week the Maryland Department of Transportation announced the next steps for the State of Maryland’s Traffic Relief Plan, which included a10-month extension for private companies to submit proposals. On Friday, Governor-Elect Wes Moore issued the following statement:

Under Lt. Gov.-Elect Aruna Miller’s leadership, the Moore-Miller administration is eager to work collaboratively with Comptroller-elect Brooke Lierman, Treasurer Dereck Davis, the Maryland General Assembly, County Executive Marc Erich, and our communities to find the best path forward.”


Gaithersburg

ALDI is currently running a “Thanksgiving Price Rewind”  now through November 29 at all of its locations. The grocery chain is matching 2019 prices, up to a 30% discount,  on holiday food items marked with a red sticker. “Think favorites like brie cheese, prosciutto, cornbread stuffing, award-winning wines, mini quiches, fresh brown-and-serve rolls, macarons and apple pie, to name a few. Shoppers can look for the Thanksgiving Price Rewind icon in their local ad and throughout the store for extra savings,” the company said in a press release.  Aldi has MoCo locations in Gaithersburg, Germantown, Kensington, Montgomery Village, Rockville, Silver Spring, and Takoma Park.


DC Sports

Maryland-natives John Auville (Cakes), Eric Bickel (EB), Jason Bishop (Lurch/Bish) and John-Paul Flaim (JP) will remain on WJFK-FM (106.7 The Fan) Washington, DC, weekdays from 5-10am for at least another four years, the group announced last week.

Auville, Bickel, and Flaim grew up as friends in Bowie, Maryland. Bishop and Bickel became friends when they both attended DeMatha in high school. The longtime friends have worked together on the show since 1995 when the group began with a 30-minute public access television show in Bowie, before moving to radio. Auville, Bickel, and Flaim are all currently residents of Montgomery County, with Bishop living in Virginia.