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Potomac Almanac ❖ October 28 - November 3, 2009 ❖ 1www.ConnectionNewspapers.com

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October 28-November 3, 2009 ❖ Volume LIII, Number 43

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Camps & Schools

Camps & Schools

Camps & Schools

Love ThatParade

News, Page 3

Helping‘Extreme

Makeover’News, page 3

‘Bijan’s Team’ Supports Autism Walk

News, Page 4

Nejad, DefenseHelp WhitmanTo 6-2 Record

Sports, Page 11

Nejad, DefenseHelp WhitmanTo 6-2 Record

Sports, Page 11

Potomac

Maria Passero andher granddaughterLola Passero watchthe parade during

Potomac Day.

2 ❖ Potomac Almanac ❖ October 28 - November 3, 2009 www.ConnectionNewspapers.com

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News

See Helping, Page 5

By Colleen Healy

The Almanac

When the e-mail went out calling for volunteers to build a home for a family inneed at the law offices of Potomac-based

Shulman Rogers, the conference room was overflow-ing with eager builders. Working with the UnitedWay, the lawyers of Shulman Rogers built a brandnew house for the Tripp Family of Hyattsville. Theirefforts will be featured on an upcoming episode of

“Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.”They hammered and painted on the 9 p.m.-3 a.m.

shift for several days to complete the home. Manywondered how they would stay awake, but it turnedout to be an energizing experience. According tofounding partner Don Rogers, “It was hard to be tired.We built a spectacular home in seven days. The feed-back from the employees was fantastic. It was a veryworthwhile experience.”

As for the lawyer jokes he added, “Everyone hasthis stuffy, mean-spirited, selfish and uncaring im-age of lawyers. It is not true. We run, bike, walk swim,read, teach and now build for charity. As lawyers wesee a lot of bad things. There is pressure in the prac-tice and volunteering is a real relief and a sense ofdoing good, not just pushing papers.”

Shulman Rogers Staff Help To ‘Move that Bus’

Photo from Shulman Rogers

Barbara Hawes, Traci Neville, Jenny Kamachaitis, andRuth Buchanan — from Shulman Rogers.

Volunteers from law firmjoin with ‘ExtremeMakeover: Home Edition.’

Chrissellene Petropoulossang the National Anthem. The parade goes up River Road toward Falls Road.

All Out for Potomac Day

Underneath the costumes are Friends ofthe Potomac Library Denice Shaw, MarkBadalamente and Griffin Badalamente (asClifford the red dog).

Photo by Mary Kimm/The Almanac

Jim Seavey, longtime fire chief of Cabin JohnPark Volunteer Fire Department, served asGrand Marshal of the parade. Seavey wasrecently named national “Volunteer Fire Chiefof the Year,” selected from a national pool ofcandidates by Fire Chief Magazine.

Photo by Mary Kimm/The Almanac

Horses lead the Potomac parade each year,including horses from the Potomac Hikingand Bridle Trails Association. Here, poloponies and their riders watch the rest ofthe parade go by after leading off.

Photo by Harvey Levine/The Almanac

Witches take over the parade route.

Joining in the festivities are members ofBrownie Troop 4741.

Wesley Richter watches the Cabin JohnFire Department ladder truck go by.

Youth of the Year is Churchill studentMeenu Singh (bottom left). Business Personof the Year Donald Dell, who this year wasinducted into the International Tennis Hallof Fame, was not able to attend the parade.

Potomac Day also honors the Citizen, Youthand Business Person of the Year. All threewill also be honored at an awards dinner atNormandie Farm Restaurant on Thursday,Nov. 12. Call the Potomac Chamber at 301-299-2170 for information on attending thedinner. Sharan London (top left), executivedirector of the Montgomery County Coali-tion for the Homeless, is Citizen of the Year.

Potomac Almanac Editor Steven Mauren

703-778-9415 or [email protected]

See www.potomacalmanac.com

Photos by Mary Kimm/The Almanac

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News

See Budget, Page 8

By Ansley LaBarre

The Almanac

Marla Hirsch neverdoubted sending hertwo children to

Churchill High School. Both par-ticipated in the high school’s In-ternational Studies Academy, thesignature program that Hirsch saysmotivated her son to attend lawschool and kept her daughter fromtransferring to a magnet program.Hirsch witnessed the Academygalvanize her children into anearly discovery of their passions.

But like other Churchill parents,last week Hirsch learned of thebudget freeze affecting the highschool’s Academy programs. A se-ries of cuts reduced the signatureprograms’ funding by 55 percentin two years, and now the influxof money is frozen at a standstill.

“These kids have worked veryhard,” said Hirsch. “They shouldbe given an opportunity to com-plete what they started.”

HIRSCH’S DAUGHTER andother students in the InternationalStudies program have not been

able to tackle some of theAcademy’s curriculum require-ments this school year without thestipend funds to teachers for workoutside the typical class schedule.Signature Programs CoordinatorBarbara Blazer says students havemissed timeline benchmarks fortheir annual research projects.Blazer sees the International Stud-ies Academy deteriorating, notingthe program did not admit newfreshman this year and is ulti-mately being phased out.

But Blazer’s concern is growingfor each of Churchill’s three Acad-

emies — international studies; thearts; and math, technology, andscience — whose futures are nowunclear.

“I’ve been waiting and waitingto hear about our budget,” saidBlazer, who was originally told tocut her responsibilities with theprogram by 40 percent for the2008 fiscal year. Blazer watchedthe funds decrease until they werefrozen last December, and wasasked to teach 11th grade Englishin addition to running the pro-grams. She now divides her timebetween three classes and admin-istrative work each school day.Blazer says she understands thecounty was forced to make cutswith the current economic envi-ronment, but is disappointed withthe impact on the Academy pro-grams.

Marshall Spatz, budget directorfor Montgomery County PublicSchools, said the cuts were appliedto signature programs across thecounty. Spatz said the originalbudgets were large in order toobtain the resources necessary toget the signature programs up andrunning, and the money was re-duced as the programs becamesuccessful and self-sufficient.

Spatz said the termination of aprogram, like that of Churchill’sInternational Studies, is an indi

Funding Leaves Academies on Thin IceSignature programs’ budget frozen at Churchill.

By Susan Belford

The Almanac

Bijan Bagheri is a com-puter whiz who workspart-time at two hightech companies. He is

also an athlete who loves to run,swim, play tennis and basketball.Like many students, the River Fallsresident will graduate in June.Unlike many students, however,Bijan has autism. He will walk 9a.m., Saturday, Oct. 31, with hisfamily and friends in the NationalAutism Walk on the National Mall.More than 50 people will partici-pate on “Bijan’s Team” and, alongwith thousands of participants,will walk the mile for autism.

Bijan’s mother, Fatimah Bagheri,founded this walk eight years ago.The national organization AutismSpeaks now sponsors the walkwhich currently has pledges ofover $500,000 for global biomedi-cal research on causes, prevention,treatment and cures for autism.

Autism is a developmental dis-order which usually shows up inthe first three years of a child’s life.This disorder is characterized by

difficulties with social interactionsand communication, and often byrepetitive behavior and lack of re-sponse to sensory activities. Ac-cording to the organization AutismSpeaks, one in 150 children is di-agnosed with autism (one every20 minutes) and one in 94 boys ison the autism spectrum. Autismappears in boys 3-4 times moreoften than girls. Family income,education and lifestyle do notseem to affect the risk of autism.Improved diagnosis and environ-mental influences are two reasonsoften considered to explain theincreasing prevalence of autism,but the real cause is unknown.

Bijan was first diagnosed withautism when he was two and a halfyears old. His mother noticed aregression in his skills along withconstant movement of his hands,an obsession with lining up histoys and a delay in his verbal andsocial development. Bagheri’s ob-servations were confirmed by hispre-school teachers, who recom-mended educational and psycho-logical evaluations. He was en-rolled in Ivy mount School inPotomac when he was four years

old and has remained there, re-ceiving an individualized educa-tion with an emphasis on aca-demic, social and personal skillsas well as on career development.When he graduates, he will qualifyfor services from SEEC, a non-profit agency which provides com-munity-based support to adultswith developmental disabilities.

Even though Bijan was diag-nosed with autism, Bagheri wasvery determined that they wouldhave a normal life and he wouldbe treated like his siblings as muchas possible. Bijan’s family has fo-cused on encouraging and sup-porting him in everything hewould like to try. Bijan, an enthu-siastic cook, prepares an extensivebreakfast for his family every Sun-day morning. He is the family ex-pert on the television remotes aswell as on their home computers.He loves music and attends con-certs at the Kennedy Center andStrathmore regularly. As Bagheri

said, “Bijan is helpful in every way.He loves his jobs at ManTech In-ternational and at Avectra wherehe helps input data into the databases. He is a quick learner, veryaccurate and loves going to work.However, at home, he is expectedto perform the same chores as hissisters. He is very sweet, lovingand does not have a mean bone inhis body. He is truly a beautifulsoul.”

‘Bijan’s Team’ Supports Autism WalkTo Help

To join the Autism Walk, register atwww.NationalAutismWalk.org, call202-955-3111, or [email protected].

Bijan Bagheri


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News

From Page 3

Helping with ‘Extreme Makeover’Courtesy of

Tina Hsu

TyPennington,host of“ExtremeMakeover:HomeEdition,”reviews hisscript.

The Tripp Family, Nikema aka “Tripp” and TamaraTripp and their young sons Micah, 5, Ethan, 3, andAaden, 9 months went to Disneyland while the Ex-treme Makeover team transformed their crumbling900-square-foot, two-bedroom, one-bathroom, houseinto a beautiful spacious home. The Tripp family waschosen to receive this home makeover because oftheir generosity in their community. About 40 chil-dren each week and over 90 children on holidaysboard their “Big Blue Bus” for fun and safe activitiesthat have ranged from bowling on a Friday night toflower arranging for Mother’s Day. Since their churchcannot afford to fund the activities, the Tripps coverthe cost.

The idea for this project began with ShulmanRogers attorney Aaron Ghais, whose client is TheUnited Way. He brought the idea to partner with themon the home makeover project to the firm. He washappy the the idea “was met with excitement andenthusiam. There was an overwhelming repsonse tohelp out from the management to all employees. Itwas energy times 10.”

As a fan of the show, when the call went out forvolunteers at Shulman Rogers, attorney Tina Hsuknew how moving the Extreme Makeover episodesare and she “wanted to pull together for a family inneed.”

Hsu enjoys making and building things with herhands. She helped build furniture for the childrenand painted inside the home late into the night be-fore the big reveal the next morning.

“There was so much energy in the neighborhood.The street was lit up with the huge spotlights. Mycolleagues were already there wearing hardhats. Itwas a great and enjoyable thing to do together.” Af-ter working all night Hsu went home for a few hoursof sleep and came back to watch the big “Move thatBus!” chant that reveals the new home to the family.

She was part of the last crew at night and, in themorning, even had her 15 minutes of fame on cam-era with designer Ed Sanders. As for watching thefamily see their new home she said, “They wereknocked over when they saw what had been builtand started to cry. It made the long night well worthit to see that special moment.”

Despite the late nights, all the employees showedup the next morning for work; gallons of coffee wereconsumed. The whole firm is looking forward towatching “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” as agroup with buckets of popcorn.


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Calendar

NOW THROUGH NOV. 8Go, Dog. Go! The production

brings to life the delightful,colorful world of dogs throughjuggling, rhythmic music, anddance. Tickets can be purchasedthrough the box office by calling301-634-2270 or online at http://www.adventuretheatre.org.Tickets are $12 for children 12and under and $15 for adults.Children under the age of 1 arefree. At Adventure Theatre, 7300MacArthur Blvd, Glen Echo, inthe historic Glen Echo Park.

WEDNESDAY/OCT. 28Folk Singers Perform. Joe

Crookston and Dave Potts play at8 p.m. At Branded ’72 (formerlyO’Brien’s BBQ), 387 E. GudeDrive in Rockville. $18 general,$15 members. Contact: David [email protected],301-275-7459 or log ontowww.focusmusic.org.

“Honey, I Wrecked the Kids!.”7:30-9:30 p.m. Parentingpresentation by author,psychotherapist and parentingexpert Alyson Schafer. At theBlair Family Center for the Arts,Howard Auditorium, BullisSchool, 10601 Falls Rd.,Potomac. Tickets are $25 ($45/couple)and may be reserved by calling PEP at301-929-8824. Visitwww.PEPparent.org.

THURSDAY/OCT. 29Blues Dance. 8:15-11:30 p.m. $8

admission. Beginner’s workshop 8:15 -9 p.m. with dancing from 9 p.m. to11:30 p.m. Email:[email protected]. At the BallroomAnnex of Glen Echo Park, 7300MacArthur Blvd. in Glen Echo.

FRIDAY/OCT. 30Contra Dance. 7:30 -11:30 p.m. $10

admission. Contra dance lesson from7:30 to 8:15 p.m. followed by thecalled dance to live music with theband Contranella from 8:30 to 11:30p.m. This is the annual HalloweenCostume Dance and also a fund-raiserfor Glen Echo Park Partnership for Artsand Culture. At the Spanish Ballroomof Glen Echo Park, 7300 MacArthurBlvd. in Glen Echo. Email:[email protected]

Super Fiesta Latina Party. 8:15 p.m.to midnight. $15 admission. The danceis hosted by Fabio and Jennifer Bonini.Lesson from 8:15 - 9 p.m. for Salsabeginners and up. The lesson isfollowed by dancing from 9 p.m. -midnight with teacher and DJ FabioBonini playing the best of Salsa,Bachata, Merengue, Cha-Cha,Reggaeton and more! At the BallroomAnnex of Glen Echo Park, 7300MacArthur Blvd. in Glen Echo.

SATURDAY/OCT. 31Halloween Haunted House. 3-5 p.m.

Free. For children of all ages.Sponsored by the Friends of the ClaraBarton Community Center, with theMontgomery County Department ofRecreation. At the Clara BartonCommunity Center, 7425 MacArthurBlvd., Cabin John. Contact the Centerat 301-229-0010.

The Crimestoppers. 8 p.m. tomidnight. Appearing at the PonyExpress Bar & Grill, 9600 NewbridgeDrive, Potomac.

National Philharmonic — Bach,Brahms and Beethoven. 8 p.m.The concert will feature a gem of theBaroque literature, Bach’s PianoConcerto No. 5 in F Minor, Brahms’spowerful Double Concerto andBeethoven’s heroic Triple Concerto forpiano, cello and violin. With ViolinistElena Urioste, cellist Zuill Bailey and

pianist Brian Ganz. At the MusicCenter of Strathmore. Visitwww.nationalphilharmonic.org or callthe Strathmore ticket office at 301-581-5100. Tickets are available from$29-$79; kids 7-17 are free.

Fall Frolic. 1-4 p.m. Decoratingpumpkins, trick-or-treating in GlenEcho Park’s studios and galleries, and acostume parade through the Park.After the sun goes down, join us for acostumed dance in the SpanishBallroom, and other Halloweenhaunts! Call 301-634-2222 or visitwww.glenechopark.org.

Mutts Masquerade, a Halloween hiketo benefit the Washington AnimalRescue League. 8-11 a.m. Two-milefund-raising walk, trick-or-treating fordogs, vendors of upscale pet products,canine costume contest, microchips,veterinary booth. Cost is $25/individual. At Meadowbrook Park(Rock Creek Park, Chevy Chase). Go towww.warl.org or call 202-726-2556.

Halloween Swing Dance. 8 p.m. -Midnight. $14 admission. Featuringthe Boilermaker Jazz Band, whichperforms authentic hot jazz, ragtimeand swing music. Beginner swinglesson from 8-9 p.m. with MarcShepanek and Ellen Engle, followed bydancing from 9 p.m. to midnight.Costumes are encouraged. At theSpanish Ballroom of Glen Echo Park,7300 MacArthur Blvd. in Glen Echo.Email: [email protected].

SUNDAY/NOV. 1Waltz Dance. 3-3:30 introductory Waltz

Workshop, 3:30-6 p.m. dancing.Admission is $8. With the HoneysuckleRose band presenting a lively mix offolk waltzes with a few other coupledances, including Hambo, Schottische,Swing, Tango, and Polka. At theSpanish Ballroom at Glen Echo Park,7300 MacArthur Blvd., Glen Echo. CallJoan Koury at 202-238-0230 or GlenEcho Park at 301-634-2222, go towww.WaltzTimeDances.org or [email protected].

Contra and Square Dance.Newcomers’ welcome lesson at 7 p.m.followed by dances called by PegHesley to Dr. Twamley’s Audio Snakesfrom 7:30-10:30 p.m. Admission is$12/nonmembers, $9/FSGWmembers. The Folklore Society ofGreater Washington presentstraditional American dancing with afocus on New England style contradances, including square dances,country mixers, waltzes and othercouples dances. Visit http://www.fsgw.org/. At the Spanish

Ballroom at Glen Echo Park.

MONDAY/NOV. 2Lyle Lovett and His Large Band.8 p.m. At the Music Center atStrathmore, North Bethesda. Ticketson sale at www.Strathmore.org or call301-581-5100.

TUESDAY/NOV. 3Potomac Yoga Classes. Tuesdaysand Thursdays 9:30 a.m. to 10:45a.m. Saturdays 11:30 a.m. to 12:45p.m. Cost is $15 a class. With freeintroductory classes on Saturday,Nov. 7 and 14. At Potomac UnitedMethodist Church, 10300 Falls Road,Potomac. Taught by StaceyMilchman, Owner/Yoga Teacher/ThaiMassage Therapist. Visitwww.potomacmdyoga.com.

NOV. 5-7“Noises Off.” The Bullis SchoolPlayers presents this comicmasterpiece written by MichaelFrayn. Thursday, Nov. 5 at 4 p.m.Friday and Saturday, Nov. 6-7, at 7p.m. Admission is $4. Bullis School,The Blair Family Center for the Arts,10601 Falls Road, Potomac. Call 301-634-3631.

THURSDAYS, NOV. 5, 12, 19Slow Blues and Swing Dance. Slow

Blues Lesson 8:15-9 p.m. Dancing from9-11:30 p.m. Admission is $8. DJ MikeMarcotte & Guests will play awonderful variety of styles includingtraditional and contemporary bluesmusic, and classic cover tunes goingback through the history of bluesmusic. At the Back Room of Glen EchoPark, 7300 MacArthur Blvd., GlenEcho. Call Donna Barker at 301-634-2231 or go to [email protected] orwww.CapitalBlues.org.

NOV. 6-7Shabbaton. Chabad of Potomac is

hosting a Shabbaton with AlanVeingrad, professional speaker,motivator, entertainer and Super BowlXXVII World Champion. The scheduleis as follows: Nov. 6 at 5:45 p.m.Friday night meal. 7:30 p.m. “TheJourney” — How does a nice Jewishboy from Brooklyn win a Super Bowlring with the Dallas Cowboys? Nov. 7at 11 a.m. Shabbat Day sermon byAlan Veingrad: “Everything I learned inthe NFL applied to life.” Teens onlytalk at 3:30 p.m. “How to score atouchdown in life.”

FRIDAY/NOV. 6Super Fiesta Latina Party. 8:15 p.m.

to midnight. Admission is $15. Lessonfrom 8:15 to 9 p.m. for Salsabeginners. Dancing from 9 p.m. tomidnight. Admission is $15. Hosted byFabio and Jennifer Bonini. At theBallroom Annex at Glen Echo Park.Email: [email protected].

Contra Dance. 7:30-11:30 p.m.Admission is $9. There is a Contradance lesson from 7:30 to 8:15 p.m.followed by the called dance to livemusic from 8:30 to 11:30 p.m.Beginners are always welcome. At theSpanish Ballroom at Glen Echo Park.Email: [email protected]

SATURDAY/NOV. 7Swing Dance. 8 p.m. - Midnight.

Admission is $14. The WashingtonSwing Dance Committee presentsJunkyard Saints. Junkyard Saints is aDC/Baltimore-based seven-piece bandwith full horn section performing itsown brand of New Orleans-style partymusic, blending funk, swing, Latin,R&B, with a splash of zydeco to roundout the mix. Contact Email:[email protected]. At theSpanish Ballroom at Glen Echo.

OCT. 31-NOV. 1Casavant: “New England and Beyond.” The

plein air landscape paintings of Boston artistArnie Casavant on display at the Yellow BarnGallery in Glen Echo Park, Maryland. Receptionfrom 4-6 p.m. both days. At 7300 MacArthurBlvd., Glen Echo, Md.


Pets of the Week

Partnership for Animal Welfare (PAW) is an all-volunteer, not-for-profit group. To adoptan animal, volunteer or make a tax-deductible donation, visit www.paw-rescue.org, call301-572-4729 or write to PAW, P.O. Box 1074, Greenbelt, MD 20768.

Callie is a 3-year-old female Calico Cat. She isa very nice cat that was adopted from PAW as akitten but recently returned when the owner’s situ-ation changed. She’s shy until she becomescomfortable in a setting and turns into a constantcompanion when comfortable. Callie loves to bepetted and will make a great companion.

Molly is a 1 1/2-year-old female German Shep-herd mix. At 46 pounds, Molly is without a doubtone of the sweetest, friendliest and most playfuldogs you’ll ever meet. She rides well in cars, ishousebroken and became homeless when herowner passed away. She will be a great familymember for some lucky adopter.

NOW THROUGH NOV. 1Ferdinand the Bull. Performances are Saturdays

and Sundays at 1:30 and 4 p.m., and Saturdays at11 a.m. Cost: $10-$21. Charming musical basedon the book and lyrics by Karen Zacarias, music byDeborah Wicks La Puma, based on the story byMunro Leaf. At Imagination Stage, 4908 AuburnAve., Bethesda. Go to www.imaginationstage.orgor call 301-280-1660.

OCT. 27-31Storyteller Alison Gee. 10:30 and 11:45 a.m.

Show runs 40 minutes. Not-so-scary Halloween-themed tales especially for ages 2-5. Cost is $7. AtImagination Stage, 4908 Auburn Ave., Bethesda.Call 301-280-1660. Buy tickets online atwww.imaginationstage.org or by calling the boxoffice at 301-280-1660 daily from 10 a.m.-5 p.m.

“TINY TOTS”Wednesday, Oct. 28 – “Monster Merriment”Wednesday, Nov. 4 — “Old McDonald’s Farm”Saturday, Nov. 7 — “Knight Time”Wednesday, Nov. 11 —“Panda-Monium ”Saturday, Nov. 14 — “Clowning Around”Wednesday, Nov. 18 – “Second-Hand Stars”The Puppet Co. presents “Tiny Tots @ 10:00,” a

program designed for our youngest theater patrons(ages 0 - 4). The shows are shorter, the lights stayon, the doors stay open and the show is set up onthe floor!

Performances on select Wednesdays and Saturdayseach month at 10 a.m. Tickets, $5, adults andchildren (including babies). Reservations stronglyrecommended. Call 301-634-5380 visit

www.thepuppetco.org.

NOW THROUGH NOV. 20“Toyland.” The Puppet Co. Playhouse specializes in

live puppet theater. This adaptation of VictorHerbert’s musical fantasy includes such familiarpieces as “Toyland” and “March of the Toys.” 40minutes. Age recommendation: PreK – Grade 4.Performances on Wednesdays, Thursdays andFridays at 10 :00 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. and onSaturdays and Sundays at 11:30 a.m. and 1 p.m.Tickets, $10; group rates available. Call 301-634-5380 or visit www.thepuppetco.org.

NOW THROUGH NOV. 15Go, Dog. Go! The production brings to life the

delightful, colorful world of dogs through juggling,rhythmic music, and dance. Performances onSaturdays at 11 a.m., 1:30 p.m., and 4 p.m. andSundays at 11 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. Tickets are $12for children 12 and under and $15 for adults.Children under the age of 1 are free. At AdventureTheatre, 7300 MacArthur Blvd, Glen Echo, in thehistoric Glen Echo Park. Tickets can be purchasedthrough the box office by calling 301-634-2270 oronline at http://www.adventuretheatre.org.

Adventure Theatre continues its literary series withseven popular children’s book adaptations.Experience the journey from reading the books athome to seeing the plays unfold before your eyes.Book Club performances are always on Sundaysat 1:30 p.m. at the theatre in Glen Echo Park.Recommended for children ages 4 and up. $10/family. Call 301-634-2270 or visitwww.adventuretheatre.org.

Theater

To submit an item for the Civic Calendar, [email protected]. Deadline isThursday at noon two weeks prior to the event. Forquestions, call 703-778-9412.

THURSDAY/OCT. 29Preschool Open House. Tour the building,

observe classes in progress, meet the director. AtHar Shalom Early Childhood Education Center,11510 Falls Road, Potomac. Call 301-299-7087,ext. 244. Email: [email protected]

SATURDAY/NOV. 7Scouting for Food Program. Cub Scouts or Boy

Scouts will leave an empty bag on doors tocollect food in the Potomac neighborhood. Theywill return on Saturday, Nov. 14 to collect thebags. The food will be taken to Manna FoodCenter in Rockville. Go to www.mannafood.org.

MONDAY/NOV. 9Talk on Utilities. 7:45-10 p.m. What do you need

to know about Maryland’s Public ServiceCommission (PSC) – especially its role on therates you pay for utilities? PSC’s ExecutiveDirector will be the featured speaker at the nextmonthly meeting of the Montgomery CountyCivic Federation. Following the program, therewill be question/answer period as well asreports on other County issues of interest tolocal residents. At County Council OfficeBuilding, 100 Maryland Avenue, Rockville (freeparking in adjacent garage). All Countyresidents and representatives of civicassociations welcome. Visit:www.montgomerycivic.org.

TUESDAY/NOV. 10Free Stroke Survivor and Support Group. 7-

8 p.m. A program by attorney Marcia Fidisentitled, “Legal Problems After a Stroke: How toPlan Ahead of Time” from 8 to 9 p.m. atSuburban Hospital (8600 Old Georgetown Road,Bethesda. Visit www.mcstroke.org or call 301-681-6272.

Bulletin Board


From Page 4

News

Budget Tightening Hits Progamsvidual decision of the school.

To Blazer, the lack of funds hasleft the program with no alter-native and the remaining twoacademies survive on private do-nations. Spatz acknowledges thecurrent freeze on funds is a di-rect result of the school system’scurrent fiscal situation.

“We don’t want to cut theseprograms,” said Spatz. “But itcomes down to priorities.”

Nearly 530 students partici-pate in the Academies atChurchill to pursue career initia-tives and develop small learningcommunities. The Academy cur-riculum is compared to a colle-giate environment, offering professional lectures,internships, competitions, and in-depth research.Students have worked with professionals at outletsincluding the National Institute of Health and theSmithsonian, while maintaining GPA minimumsbased on the requirements of their specific Academy.

WHEN THE PROGRAM began, Blazer and her staffmarketed the Academy work at the local middleschools, for students to apply and be accepted. Shesays the program has grown reputable and nowthrives on word of mouth as it is embraced by stu-dents seeking an enrichment experience.

“The students are passionate about what they’redoing and you can tell it comes from the heart,” said

Saida Dim, a Spanish teacher whodedicated four years to the Inter-national Studies Academy beforeit came to a halt.

To parents who have witnessedthis success in their own Academystudents, the programs remain apriority. Sandy Bonner, mother toa senior in the Arts Academy, saysthe signature program offers a full-circle curriculum to teenagers in-corporating higher-level educationand professional direction.

“The dedication level is extraor-dinary,” said Bonner. “It’s a com-mitment that goes beyond takinga class.”

Parents, like Bonner and Hirsch,are taking an activist stance in

light of the frozen funds. They collectively believethe Academies require a modest budget and the pro-gram benefits outweigh the cost. After the informa-tion on the signature programs’ struggle becamepublic, parents worked at forming a committee tolobby for support of the programs. They will meetfor the second time in two weeks in hopes of deter-mining a course of action that will convey the im-portance of the signature programs and its impacton students.

“If the result of the programs is a dedicated kidwho will make contributions to society, that’s a greatproduct of our school system,” said Bonner. “If youtake it away, you’re missing this whole other dimen-sion of what Churchill has to offer.”

Pablo Hernando-Kaminsky,Curran Chabra and EricChen discuss their intern-ships through the math,technology and scienceacademy last year to 9th and10th graders.


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Katie McDonald, 8 yearsold, won the “most scary”award for the 8 and oldergroup at the HalloweenCostume event held at thePotomac CommunityCenter.

Hope Humphries, 6 yearsold, won the “Most beauti-ful” award for the 5-8 yearold group.

Navid Farzanpay, 3 yearsold, won the award for“most creative” in the 4and under group.

Corey Levin, 4 years old,won the “most scary”award for the 4 and undergroup.

Dressing Up for the SeasonPhotos by Harvey Levine/The Almanac

By Liza Wilson Durant, Ph.D.

WMCCA President

Zoning is at the heart of almost ev-ery issue that impacts the quality ofcommunity life in Potomac. Most ofus live in residential zones of one

or two acres, with the central commercial zonein the heart of Potomac. But there are count-less exceptions throughout our community andthey often come with protests and heated de-bate about the intent of the code. Terms likespecial exception, country inn zone, rural den-sity transfer zone, and planned development

zone invoke confu-sion, and the Mont-gomery CountyCode for these usesdoes not providemuch additionalclarity. The compli-

cated, difficult to use, easily misunderstood be-hemoth of a document that comprises theCounty Code is at long last in the process of acomplete overhaul under the direction of theMontgomery County Planning Board.

The process began over a year ago whenPlanning Staff began to study the code andconsider opportunities for consolidation andstreamlining the language and utility of thedocument. Aiding them with stakeholder in-put is the Zoning Advisory Panel, a volunteerbody consisting of over 25 persons (includingWMCCA’s Diana Conway), with knowledge ofthe zoning code and experience with its imple-mentation and its limitations. Recently, thePlanning Board engaged an expert consultantwith experience in drafting zoning code inother regions of the United States who prom-ises to help bring our code to a place where itsclear interpretation will yield clear implemen-tation of our planning policies.

INDEED, THE GOALS for this team and thePlanning Board are lofty, and include: simpli-

fying and streamlining the standards and pro-cess, especially development review; match-ing land use to development patterns; provid-ing rationale for the development standards;modifying the language to make it consistent;using plain English, supported by tables, flowcharts and graphics; and making the code moretransparent and easier to understand while stillrespecting the Federal, state and local zoninglaws. The team also promises to embracesustainability, and we can expect to see inno-vations such as transit-connected development,water conservation, tree canopy requirements,and new lighting standards.

I think any stakeholder can embrace thesegoals and support this important work. But thestrategy by which they achieve the goals iswhat we might find unsettling. While there istalk that the code will help established com-munities like Potomac maintain and preservethe character of their single-use community,there is also serious talk about a paradigm shiftto address how we plan mixed-use communi-ties to ensure neighborhood completeness, in-cluding abandoning the old density and usebased standards and emphasizing instead theform and character of the community. It willbe interesting to see how the new code willinclude standards for form without regard fordensity and still preserve the single use com-munities which comprise the bulk of theCounty. How will the new code preserve theenvironmental basis for Potomac’s low density“green wedge” so critical to the protection ofthe Potomac River and the buffer to the Agri-cultural Reserve?

CONCURRENT WITH this effort and pend-ing before the County Council is a Zoning TextAmendment to the existing Zoning Code for anew C-R zone – a mixed-use commercial andresidential zone. Clearly, the new C-R zone isa glimpse of things to come, but again, it is thestrategy for its implementation that we mightfind unsettling. As the Zoning Text Amendment

A New Planning Paradigm

is written, the new zone could be applied bysectional map amendment, and therefore theCounty Council would only need to find thatre-zoning to the C-R Zone would be “in con-formance with the zoning recommendations”of any master plan, including existing masteror sector plans. This is a significant departurein process for rezoning, and has implicationsfor any community where the C-R zone mightbe proposed. The only public hearing on C-RZone was scheduled to be held by the CountyCouncil on Oct. 27.

The process for development of the new codewill be lengthy, and there will be opportunityfor the public to hear what is being proposedand provide stakeholder input. This could bea very exciting time for Montgomery Countyas it finally moves into the 21st century in termsof land use and planning for sustainability. Butwe must participate in the process to ensurethat our planners preserve what is best aboutMontgomery County while simultaneouslyimproving the way we look at mixed-use andcommercial development.

West Montgomery

County Citizens

Association

WMCCA MeetingThe next meeting of the West Montgomery

County Citizens Association will be Wednes-day, Nov. 4 at 8 p.m. at the Potomac Library.If schools are closed because of inclementweather, the meeting will be cancelled. Guestspeaker will be Rollin Stanley, director,Montgomery County Planning Department.Since February 2008, Stanley has served asdirector of the Planning Department, one ofthe largest planning agencies in the UnitedStates. In that position, Stanley has directedwork on community plans — including visionsfor Germantown, Gaithersburg West andWhite Flint — as well as shepherding reportson such high-profile issues as the Purple Line,the Falklands redevelopment, and affordablehousing. Stanley will speak about hisdepartment’s effort to revise the MontgomeryCounty Zoning Code and the process for itsapproval and implementation. The public iswelcome.


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Chronicling, as I have, my unexpected rideon the cancer train these past three months, Ithought I’d acquaint you, in this column, any-way, with some of the unexpected benefits I’veenjoyed, benefits I never would have thoughtwould have mattered under such trying (I’m try-ing, I’m trying) circumstances.

Chemotherapy causes problems/has sideeffects (front effects, back effects, too): nausea,vomiting, fatigue, loss of appetite, increased riskof infection, nose bleeds, loss of hair, and the listgoes on. The prospect of losing my hair, how-ever, didn’t sit well with me initially, but as thefollicles fell, that hairy loss (scalp, eyebrows, eye-lashes, nasal, body and anywhere else hairgrows) created certain opportunities/efficienciesthat I didn’t anticipate:

No more shampooing and conditioning, noneed for more shampoo and conditioner; nomore shaving, no more shaving cream andrazors needed; less deodorant used since less inits glide path, less deodorant purchased; lesssoaping since less hair/obstructions to absorb it(and more sedentary lifestyle), so fewer barsbought. In summary; less time, effort and moneyspent on hair-related personal hygiene (andbelieve me, no one suffered as a consequence).

Surprisingly, I began to realize other advan-tages of my condition: much less appetite somuch less time and money spent on food andfood preparation; commuting to work one day aweek instead of five leading to much less wearand tear (stress) on the driver (yours truly) and ofcourse on the vehicle, too, including muchlower commuting costs for gas, oil, tolls, etc;fewer in-office and business appointments as aresult meant less dressing for success and lesslaundering of “success” efforts, so less time andmoney spent on clothes and their cleaning andmaintenance; and most importantly, greatercontrol of my life and more freedom, too; forappointments; business, pleasure and medical;for errands; banking, shopping, activities of dailyliving; and so forth, all at my convenience.

To summarize further: I am now spendingmuch less time doing the things that I don’t wantto be doing and spending a lot less money notdoing them. Moreover, regaining freedom frommy previous nine-to-five focus and in turn nowbeing able to spend more time at home, doingmore of the things that I never had time to dowhile working – and never being at home, hasenhanced my life immeasurably, health andbudget constraints/realities notwithstanding.Control and independence, that’s what I feel.Empowered, too. As odd as it might sound, thestress/reality of the lung cancer is almost offsetby the corresponding reduction in stress broughton by this change in lifestyle.

As my oncologist first advised, in response tomy first question after hearing him read thereports from all the various doctors/scans (X-Ray,C.T., P.E.T, biopsy) identifying my cancer: “No,you shouldn’t be working, and should also con-sider taking that vacation you’ve alwaysdreamed of.” WHAT!

It was brutal to hear. So unexpected, too.Surreal was the first word that came to mind todescribe my/our emotional state. But eventually,over time, over treatment (it’s now been sevenmonths since I started chemotherapy) and overthe fear, you find a place for it (I did, anyway).And the place that I have found, and chosen tofocus, are the positives that have resulted, someof which I’ve listed in this column. Perhaps inyour reading of them, they seem rather insignifi-cant in the scheme of things. Not to me. To me,they feel like building blocks of normalcy, fuel toenergize my emotional engine and salve tosoothe my furrowed brow.

I have to admit, though, a furrowed brow isthe least of my problems (heck, I don’t evenhave a brow). Nevertheless, life is easier. Muchless stress and a lot more control. Who says can-cer is a bad thing? (Everybody, I know, and ofcourse, it is; just go with my flow.) But my post-diagnosis life has been all right. It may be afunny perspective for a cancer patient to havebut if humor is indeed the best medicine, then Iam happy to over medicate.

Kenny Lourie is an Advertising Representative forThe Almanac & The Connection Newspapers.

Less Turns OutTo Be MoreBy KENNETH B. LOURIE


Sports

By Jared Wasserman

The Almanac

Not a single goal could be musteredbetween the Wootton Patriots andChurchill Bulldogs boys soccer

teams in regulation, or the first overtimeperiod on Oct. 21. A scoreless final in thisheated rivalry was avoided with just 56 sec-onds remaining in the second overtime pe-riod, when senior midfielder/forward JeffRobinson’s cross was finished near the farpost by senior forward Josh Kamdjou to givethe Patriots a 1-0 victory.

“I got the ball on the wing, and createdsome space with a step-over move,”Robinson said. “At the end [of the play], Iwas beginning to cramp so I just hit a hard,

low cross. When I looked up, the ball wasin the net.”

Robinson, along with senior forwardStephen Ho, accounted for much ofWootton’s offense on the night.

The Patriots’ success this season can beattributed to their talented, senior-ladenlineup. It features defender JasonGreenberg, midfielders Robinson, Ho andDrew Ricci, along with St. John’s Univer-sity commit Matt Harlow. Their leadershipand experience has paid dividends in closegames, as Wootton has won three straightcontests by one-goal margins.

“[Our leadership] probably starts withJason Greenberg,” Wootton head coachDoug Schuessler said. “He’s one of our start-ing defenders, a three-year starter and cap-tain. He’s not a guy that leads with his voice;he leads with his actions on the field. He’svery calm, very steady, he sets a great ex-ample for everybody on the field. He an-chors us in a lot of different ways.”

Both teams had numerous scoring

chances, but the back lines, led byGreenberg and Churchill senior captainCameron Kidwell, thwarted those threatsfor 99 out of a possible 100 minutes of play.Churchill freshman forward Patrick Tshianiignited the Bulldogs’ attack, but could notcapitalize near the goal.

For the Bulldogs, a disappointing seasonis further diminished following a game theyfelt they let slip away.

“Of course, it hurts a great deal,” Churchillhead coach Arnold Tarzy said. “What makesit hurt even more, is that we’ve sufferedthrough a tough season. With injuries toreally, really important impact players onour team, we finally found a way to get re-sults and we dominated large stretches ofthe match. … Soccer can be such a cruelgame. The better team doesn’t always haveto win, and that night, the better teamdidn’t.”

Although a blowout yields no more thana one-goal victory does in the standings, thePatriots hope to curb their habit of playing

these tightly contested games as thepostseason approaches.

“I think that we’ve had an interesting runtowards the end [of the season],” Schuesslersaid. “We haven’t necessarily always beenplaying well, but we’ve been playing justwell enough. That worries me a little bitbecause teams raise their intensity comeplayoff time. … We tend to play up to ourlevel of our competition, but we also some-times play down to it.”

Despite their close margins of victory, thePatriots are clicking at the right time andare poised to make a championship run.

“It’s a good sign that no matter what thesituation, our guys keep fighting until theend,” Schuessler said.

Wootton, the No. 5 seed in the 4A Weststate tournament bracket, will host No. 12Whitman in the opening round at 6 p.m.Saturday. Wootton was 7-3-3 enteringTuesday’s action.

No. 13 Churchill (4-9) will travel to faceNo. 4 Blair.

Kamdjou’s OT Goal Lifts Wootton Past ChurchillWootton will hostWhitman in firstround of state.

By Jon Roetman

The Almanac

When Whitmanq u a r t e r b a c kHenry Kuhncrossed the goal

line in Friday’s fourth quarter, re-cent history suggested the Vikingswere on their way to a victory.

Kuhn’s run for a two-point con-version, which followed his 24-yard touchdown pass to MichaelFlack on fourth-and-16, gaveWhitman an 8-7 lead overSpringbrook with 8:08 remainingin the game. The Vikings defense,which limited its previous twoopponents to a combined sevenpoints, had held Springbrook to140 yards. The Blue Devils’ onlyscore came after a turnover gavethem possession deep in Whitmanterritory.

Springbrook started its ensuingpossession on its own 29-yard line.If the Vikings defense continuedits dominant play, a one-point leadwould be more than enough.

But on this night — and this keypossession — Whitman ran out ofstops.

The Blue Devils responded witha nine-play, 71-yard drive, endingwith a 3-yard touchdown run byDevon Pestano, and held on for a13-8 victory at WHS.

The 71 yards Springbrookgained on its go-ahead drive ac-counted for 1/3 of its total yardsto that point.

“We just got a little tired on ourdefense,” Whitman head coachJim Kuhn said. “After we got up 8-7, we just didn’t have an answerfor [Springbrook]. … [The] de-fense did play great. When weneeded a big stop, they just didn’tquite come up with it tonight.We’ve been outstanding defen-sively all year and we just kind oflet things slide a little bit on that… drive.”

While Whitman fell short Friday,the Vikings are 6-2 and in the play-off hunt. One of the main reasonsfor Whitman’s success this seasonis the team’s defense. Led by se-nior outside linebacker SassanNejad, the Vikings have held op-ponents to 20 points for less inseven of eight games, and 13points of less in five contests.

Whitman defeated Wootton, 6-0, on Oct. 9, and Gaithersburg, 12-7, on Oct. 16, but couldn’t pull outanother low scoring victory Friday.

“We just couldn’t capitalize onour key moments,” said Nejad,who also plays fullback for the of-fense. “The other [close] games,if we would get down, there wouldalways be one play where wewould just get back on with of-fense. It just didn’t happen to-night.”

Kuhn said Nejad is one of theteam’s hardest workers.

“He reads very well, he worksincredibly hard, he studies filmevery day, he’s the first one in theweight room and the last one to

leave — I have to kick him out ofthere,” Kuhn said. “His work ethicis amazing. He’s one of those kidsthat’s a joy to work with — doeseverything to be successful.”

Whitman defensive coordinatorsaid Nejad is the leader of theteam’s 4-3 scheme.

“I call him a human wreckingball. He’ll take on anybody — anyone, any time, no matter how big,”Lee said. “That guy will give youeverything he’s got.”

The Vikings are allowing 11.5points per game, and the defensewill need to continue playing wellagainst its final two regular sea-son opponents — Seneca Valley(5-3), Churchill (7-1) — to im-prove Whitman’s chances of mak-ing the playoffs.

“Our defense is playing tremen-dously,” Lee said. “They’ve re-sponded to every challenge thatI’ve put them up to. Our big thingon defense is we get 11 hats to theball — 11 guys flying to the balland being great tacklers. … Allyear long our defense has kept usin ball games.”

Kuhn also mentioned middlelinebacker Tony Atkinson and line-men Danny Lee, Jeff Gruen andJeff Schaeffer as standouts.

Offensively, Henry Kuhn com-pleted 12 of 26 passes for 143yards. Kevin Cecala led Whitmanin rushing with 57 yards. Flackcaught five passes for 60 yards.

Whitman travels to face SenecaValley on Friday.

Vikings D plays well, falls short against Springbrook.

Nejad, Defense Help Whitman to 6-2 Record

Whitman outside linebacker Sassan Nejad tackles aSpringbrook ball carrier while middle linebacker TonyAtkinson pursues during Springbrook’s 13-8 victoryFriday. Whitman has held opponents to 11.5 points pergame this season en route to a 6-2 record.

Photo by Harvey Levine/The Almanac

Potomac Almanac Sports Editor Jon Roetman

703-224-3015 or [email protected]

See www.potomacalmanac.com

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