Calling Young Artists

For the eighth year, the Kentlands Community Foundation and city of Gaithersburg are offering a unique opportunity to support and encourage young musicians in the community with the 2011 Young Artist Award Competition set for Jan. 29. Applications for the competition, which features top competitors in four categories — Vocal, Woodwind/Brass, Piano and Strings — will be accepted through Dec. 10. Applications can be found at www.gaithersburgmd.gov or by calling the Arts Barn, 301.258.6394.

The competition offers developmentally enriching performance experiences to instrumental and vocal musicians between the ages of 12 and 18.

The top prize winners will perform a concert Feb. 26 at the Arts Barn in Gaithersburg.

Lottery Planned for Kentlands Community Garden Plots

A lottery to assign available plots will be held in January 2011. To join the lottery or for more information, please contact Bonnie Fritz at info@kentlands.org or 301.926.6636.

Take a look at www.kentlands.org or in the Kentlands Express for updates on the next garden meeting. If enough interest exists, another community garden area in Kentlands may be considered.

Kentlands Home and Garden Tour Set for May 14

Get an inside look at eight Kentlands homes that “have had a bit of work done” during the renovation-focused Kentlands House Tour set for May 14.

Renovation is also the theme of an evening talk with author Rachel Simon March 9 at the Arts Barn. Simon will read from her book, “The House on Teacher’s Lane: A Memoir of Home, Healing and Love’s Hardest Questions,” written about her real-life experience of renovating her own home. The Foundation has teamed up with the city of Gaithersburg for the event.

The law was passed in April but goes into effect on October 1. The fine for a first offense will be $40 and subsequent offenses will be $100. The new law will be a secondary offense, meaning that a driver must first be committing a primary offense such as speeding or reckless driving before they could be ticketed for a cell phone offense.

Some area residents like Kentlands’ Beth Ann Spector are already on board with the practice and support the new law. “Every state should make hands-free the law,” she said. “I work in D.C., and I have my headset on for my entire commute.”

Abbey Forester dons her headset every time she drives away from her Lakelands home. “I like my headset,” she said.

Others like Tom Beall of Kentlands, who is a part owner of Universal Understanding, a small IT company, says he makes the effort to use an earpiece when driving but admits he catches himself texting while driving sometimes. “I try, and even though I think the law is a good one, I don’t always follow it,” he said.

And then there are self-admitted, talking/texting/e-mail checking/ordering-food-while-driving offenders like Lakelands resident Andrew Ross of Andy’s Parties. “The Verizon people thought their computer was wrong because I use so many minutes,” he said.

City of Gaithersburg employees are asked to avoid distractions such as eating and/or drinking while operating a city vehicle, according to city policy, and are required to adhere to all state laws regarding the use of electronic devices when driving. That will include obeying the new ban. “As a result of the pending state law change, we will be sending out a notice to staff to adhere to the new changes effective October 1, 2010,” City Manager Angel Jones told The Town Courier in an e-mail.

Some have simply not ventured down the hands-free highway yet. “I have a Bluetooth device that came with my phone,” said Lakelands resident Monica Parsons. “I haven’t used it before, but now I guess I’ll dig it out.”

At the Verizon Wireless store in Kentlands Downtown, September hasn’t been a blockbuster sales month for hands-free devices, but store sales representative Osman Said said when the law was passed back in April he was selling several a day. “We were pretty busy right away, but not as busy now,” he said.

While texting and driving is a hot topic nationwide these days (even Oprah is encouraging folks to take a pledge against texting while driving) and Marylanders are prohibited from writing or sending text messages while driving, a ban on reading text messages is still under consideration in Maryland.

Meanwhile, for Ross the new law means training an assistant to help him while he’s on the road. “My plan is that I’m hoping that my 4-and-a-half-year-old will start being able to type and talk for me when October 1 rolls around,” he joked.

The community garden's fall crops include beets, broccoli and herbs.

“The bylaws and rules were spot-on,” said Kentlands resident and plot owner Bonnie Fritz. “The garden introduced me to families I hadn’t met before. My neighbors and their kids helped out a lot, which was part of the goal of the com garden — to educate kids on gardening.”

“The growing season continues as some of us have planted fall crops such as beets and broccoli,” said Alex Stavitsky-Zeineddin with the Kentlands Go Green group. “Herbs are still in many of the plots and will survive until the first frost.”

Stavitsky-Zeineddin was pleased to see abundant crops in the plots, especially tomatoes, and believes humid weather and compact spacing of the plants helped. Tomatoes weren’t a hit in her garden plot, however. “Since I planted only two and they were far apart, I can say my plants only produced about four tomatoes and then shriveled up and died,” she said. She will remember that next year.

Fritz also said she had no luck with tomatoes, did alright with cucumbers and learned a lot. “I learned quite a bit about composting and planting and organic growing. Other plot owners — those with prior experience — had a fruitful harvest.”

The garden pilot program was a success, according to Stavitsky-Zeineddin, and current plot owners will have the opportunity to keep their plot for the 2011 growing season before any open plots are awarded through a lottery, expected to take place in January.

“It was excellent,” she said. “Staff and students were excited to return.”

In her second year as at LPMS Higdon said she and the staff will continue to build a purposeful, measurable and successful school by focusing on critical thinking, student discourse and student use of technology.

The 884-student school was also selected to be a part of the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) technology grant. “The grant is to increase student use of technology to positively impact achievement,” said Higdon. “It is supplying seven classes with wireless laptops for students use. These classes are also getting video cameras to document student use of technology. A team of our teachers are being trained on the latest technology and will train the other staff.”

In addition, students in Kirsten Corprew’s contemporary communication are getting a lesson in what technology like Twitter and texting means in today’s world. “It [UDL] is an incredible opportunity for teachers to build their repertoire of strategies for using technology to engage students in learning their content,” she said. “As such, we will be trying out a lot of new things and receiving constant support. Students will benefit greatly from this.”

The class will also do on a field trip to the Newseum to sit in on the museum’s photo ethics class as part of a unit on photojournalism, explained Corprew.

For Higdon the grant is an extra boost to help the school move in a forward direction. “We are committed to closing the achievement gap using equitable classroom strategies,” she said.

The restaurant has been sold to Parham Feiz, who was the former general manager, according to former co-owner James Lloyd.

The Montgomery County Department of Liquor Control, however, says Tony Massenburg’s name is still on the license and Feiz’ name has replaced former licensee Melissa Merlo.

Feiz is listed as a resident agent of Tony and James. Melissa Johns with the Department of Liquor Control said the resident agent is a person that is listed on the alcohol license who has lived in Montgomery County for at least two years. “They do not have to have any dealing with the business,” she said.

Department of Liquor Control Director Kathie Durbin said a change in resident agent is not uncommon. She said her staff is in conversations with attorneys for Tony and James, but she was not at liberty to discuss the details of the conversations.

Inquiries to both Lloyd and Massenburg about Massenburg’s continued role with the restaurant were not answered.

Feiz confirmed that the restaurant will change to a sports bar theme. His response was “no comment” to The Town Courier’s further questions.

According to Lloyd, the name of the restaurant will change some time in the next month and a new sign will go up. The city of Gaithersburg had not been contacted regarding a change of business or signage as of September 7, however, said Greg Ossont, director of
planning and code administration.

A new menu is in the works. Entrees will be priced under $17, said Lloyd.

A change of ownership — or at least management — isn’t the only issue raising questions at the restaurant. Several current and former employees say they have not been paid for hours worked.

Michael Stone, who worked as a line chef, said he went two pay periods without a check, and said before that his pay was reduced retroactively. “I really have never dealt with such unprofessional people,” he said.

It took a while, but former executive chef for the restaurant Gordon Lippe did resolve an issue with his paycheck. After only four days on the job, Lippe was fired for reasons he said he can’t understand. “We’ve chosen to go our separate ways,” he said.

Lloyd said he and Massenburg pulled out of the business to focus their energy on a new restaurant they plan to open in Georgetown and another in Florida.

I, however, started the race like I always do: somewhere in the 9- to 10-minute pace group, shoulder to shoulder with my daughter, friends and strangers. We inched our way forward for a minute or two seeking that coveted bit of elbowroom.

As we made our way past the Lakelands Clubhouse we had settled in, and I had my favorite view of the race: from mid-pack.

From mid-pack I got to see the cheerleaders and musicians do their thing, say hello to friends along the way and take time to thank course marshals and those handing out water.

I also got to run with friends and try to keep my daughter and her friends motivated (with adolescent girls that’s not easy).

You’d never know there were hundreds of runners ahead of me as I picked up speed along the Main Street home stretch because the cheers were still loud and never-ending. My mid-pack status was cheered on as brightly as the leaders of the pack had been earlier. Well-wishers really do make a difference.

I guess it’s that sense of unity, of community, that makes running the Kentlands/Lakelands 5K so much fun. There are plenty of other races that leave me with a warm fuzzy (well-wishers abound everywhere), but this is our race and it’s special to be a part of that tradition year after year. Or maybe it’s the rum buns.

Either way, I look forward to my place mid-pack again next year.

Carrie@towncourier.com.

The restaurant has been sold to Parham Feiz who was the former general manager, according to former co-owner James Lloyd.

The Montgomery County Department of Liquor Control however says Tony Massenburg’s name is still on the license and Feiz’ name has replaced former licensee Melissa Merlo.

Town Courier queries to both Lloyd and Massenburg about Massenburg’s continued role with the restaurant were not answered.

Feiz is listed as a resident agent of Tony and James. Melissa Johns with the Department of Liquor Control said the resident agent is a person that is listed on the alcohol license that has lived in Montgomery County for at least two years. “They do not have to have any dealing with the business,” she said.

In addition, several employees and former employees including Michael Stone who worked as a line chef say they have not been paid for hours worked. Stone went two pay periods without a check and before that his pay was reduced retroactively. “I really have never dealt with such unprofessional people,” he said.

Lloyd said he and Massenburg pulled out of the business to focus their energy on a new restaurant they plan to open in Georgetown and another in Florida.

According to Lloyd, the name of the restaurant will change sometime in the next month and will focus on a sports bar theme. A new menu will be in place next week. Entrees will be priced under $17.

Feiz is the restaurant’s former general manager, said Lloyd.

The name of the restaurant will change sometime in the next month and will focus on a sports bar theme. A new menu will be in place next week. Entrees will be priced under $17.

For the first time ever, Kentlands resident Susan Brann’s bill topped $300, which “is just ridiculous for a townhouse,” she said. “I was really surprised by my last Pepco bill but didn’t know that the energy tax was at least partially to blame.”

Immediately, Brann turned the thermostat up a few degrees, and she and her family been uncomfortable at night ever since. 

What was ironic to Brann is that the July bill was the first one received after replacing her 15-year-old appliances with energy efficient ones. “I expected the Energy Star fridge and more energy efficient dishwasher to have helped lower our bill at least a bit,” she said.

Kentlands resident Diane Strodel called her bill “outrageous.”

“I keep it at 78 degrees most of the time, and that doesn’t seem to help,” she said. “Then, of course we lost power. The house was 85 degrees on the top floor after a few hours. Crazy. Not happy.”

Lakelands resident Stephanie Gallagher said she was prepared for the worst but thought her bill was better than it could have been. “In the winter, when I got the shock of my life with my gas bill I signed up for alternative sources for both Pepco and Washington Gas,” she said.

The tax was largely supported by County Executive Isiah “Ike” Leggett (D) who believes the energy bill is in the hands of the residents and how much energy they choose to use.

“We don’t like the increase any more than anyone else,” said Leggett’s spokesman, Patrick Lacefield, in a statement. “Barring an increase in the tax, however, county government would have been required to make even deeper reductions in county services.”

The energy tax was part of a budget plan that sought to make up for a $1 billion budget gap by making cuts to jobs and services and raising taxes. Residents now are charged
1.3 cents per kilowatt-hour of electricity use and 11.5 cents per therm of natural gas, according to Pepco spokesman David Morehead. Before the energy tax, residents were charged less than half in electricity and only 4 cents per therm of natural gas.

According to Morehead, an average Montgomery County household was possibly looking at a $20 – $30 raise in July’s bill over the same period in 2009. Even in June, residents were under a temporary (and heftier increase) energy tax that saw bills jump more than 300 percent from May to June, according to county officials.

Not everyone is buying the justification for the hike. Lakelands resident Pamela Balla believes Montgomery County is not being fiscally responsible. “If they are taking in less revenue, the budget deficits should be taken care of by reducing services and the replacement and upgrade of county equipment, i.e. police have better computers in their cars then I have at home,” she said. “County residents are forced to live within their means; the county should live within their budgets well. Our county officials are elected to make hard choices, which should be reflected within their budget.”

Kentlands resident Susan Moore also noticed a difference in her Pepco bill but said there is not much of a choice. “Either pay it or be without,” she said. “It, like everything else, is going up. Corporate greed rules.”

As August temperatures soar, Brann is dreading her August bill. “I know I’m not looking forward to the next one, which will cover the main period of 100+ degree days,” she said.

Bridget Ryder attends the August 4 Main Street Music Festival.

The search is currently on for a replacement for Ryder, who said she will remain in her role through the September 4 Kentlands/Lakelands 5K race.

Throughout her tenure with the KCF, Ryder has watched its programs grow, such the Kentlands-Lakelands 5K race, the Kentlands Film Society, the Children’s Chorus, the Go Green Group, the organic community garden and Kentlands Day. She is most proud of the progress of the KCF programs in recent years and credits the volunteers she works with for the foundation’s success.

“I’ve always felt we have such high quality people that step forward with such passion and thoughtfulness that it just works,” she said after her announcement. “I think of myself as an influencer, not the final say in the things the foundation does.”

Under the direction of Ryder, the KCF was named “Humanitarian of the Year” by the Community Associations Institute in 2010.

Gaithersburg City Council member Michael Sesma is the city’s liaison to the KCF board, and he said Ryder has done a fantastic job.

Among her favorite memories, Ryder said the first Kentlands Day in 2009 ranks high on the list. The Town Courier’s Nora Caplan and Kentlands resident Jeremy Vest served as the event’s parade grand marshals.

The addition of live music along the 5K route a few years back is also something that makes Ryder, a music lover, smile. “It was just not a consideration before I mentioned it,” she said.

Also holding a special place in her heart are the long-time standards, including the holiday sing-along, which Ryder first attended three days before the birth of her youngest daughter Olivia and before becoming the foundation’s executive director.

“My family and parents were there; it made a positive impact on me.”

Ryder also plans to remain active in the KCF in a volunteer role. “I’m not going anywhere,” she joked.

“It [the KCF} has made a huge difference in my life and for countless other people,” said Ryder. “I know I’m a better person, and we’re a better family because of my opportunity.”

The city of Gaithersburg supports many KCF programs such as the 5K, Project Harvest and The Tree of Warmth. Ryder said the city’s support is proof the foundation is a benefit to the greater Gaithersburg community. And, she said, the knowledge that the number of canned goods collected during last year’s Project Harvest and the bundles of hats, scarves, mittens and other clothing items donated for The Tree of Warmth didn’t diminish in a tough economy is a testament to the generous people involved with the KCF.

“It’s remarkable really that in this economy our community still came through,” she said.

As Ryder moves through a busy time of year for the foundation in preparation of the 5K race, she relishes the thought of actually running the race herself next year. “I’ve run hundreds and hundreds of races,” said the accomplished athlete, “and I’ve never run the Kentlands 5K.”