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Schools roundup, new Hyattsville Area Elementary School, District 2 town hall meeting with Will Campos, and more
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Included: The June 8, 2011 Issue of The Hyattsville Reporter — See Center Section
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TOWN HALL continued on page 12
HyattsvilleJune 2011Hyattsville’s Community NewspaperVol. 8 No. 6
Life&Times
ON SCHOOLS: A look at what local students (and teachers) have accomplished this year. Pages 3 - 7
Record turnout at town hall meetingby Susie Currie
About 170 people a� ended the Dis-trict 2 Town Hall Meeting at North-western High School on June 2 – a record turnout, said Prince George’s County Council Member Will Campos, who organized it.
Campos presented an over-view of the 2012 county budget, which the council unanimously passed on May 26. � e $2.65 billion budget allows for such local projects as expanding the Hya� sville library and Prince George’s Plaza Community Cen-ter, establishing a Rhode Island Avenue trolley trail, and building a new elementary school next to Nicholas Orem Middle School.
It also restores some education funding that had been cut in the original plan. � at was welcome news to many in the audience, in-cluding Hya� sville Elementary School PTA secretary T. Carter Ross. HES parents had coordi-nated a le� er-writing campaign addressing proposed cuts.
“� at e� ort helped get a par-tial restoration of funds for the Reading Recovery program throughout the county,” Ross learned in talking with Campos before the meeting.
Campos went on to discuss his legislative agenda, which includes strengthening the county noise ordinance and tweaking the resi-
PAULA MINAERTNear-record heat sent many to Hamilton Splash Park on Memorial Day.
New school clears hurdle
by Susie Currie
Demolition of the former Hya� s-ville Presbyterian Church, at 3120 Nicholson Street, to make way for a new elementary school should begin this month, accord-ing to Prince George’s County Public School o� cials.
� e two-story, 87,000-square-foot building, which will be lo-cated next to Nicholas Orem Middle School, has a projected enrollment of 792 students in pre-kindergarten through 6th grade. It was designed to address over-enrollment at six nearby
elementary schools: Hya� sville, Rosa Parks, University Park, Lewisdale, � omas Stone and Carole Highlands.
Boundaries for the yet-to-be-named Hya� sville Area Elemen-
tary School haven’t been set; if it opens as scheduled in August 2013, public hearings should be-gin in fall 2012. by Paula Minaert
A� er more than three years on the city sta� , Assistant City Ad-ministrator Vincent Jones is leav-ing to take over as city adminis-trator for the nearby town of Seat Pleasant.
But, he said, he is not leaving the community. “I own a home here in Hya� sville. � at won’t be changing. I hope to still be an in-volved community member, just in a di� erent way.”
Originally from Petersburg, Vir-ginia, Jones came to Hya� sville from Evanston, Illinois, where he
Assistant city administrator leaves post
by Karen Riley
Hya� sville city workers are close to winning some relief from the ris-ing cost of living in the � scal year that begins July 1.
With only a few weeks le� to decide on a 2012 city budget, it appears that the Hya� sville City
Council will adopt a 1 percent cost of living increase for city workers.
No COLA for city workers was one of several cost-saving measures included in the first draft of the $15.95 million budget drawn up by City Ad-
City worker bene� ts are key point in budget discussions
SCHOOL continued on page 13
BUDGET continued on page 12 JONES continued on page 9
DIVING INTO SUMMER
TheSchoolIssue
Page 2 Hyattsville Life & Times | June 2011
A community newspaper chronicling the
life and times of Hyattsville
Mailing address: PO Box 132, Hyattsville, MD 20781
Hyattsville Life & Times is published monthly by Hyattsville Community Newspaper, Inc., a 501c(3) nonpro� t
corporation. Interested reporters should send their e-mail addresses to
the editor to be reminded of deadlines and receive internal news. Articles and
news submitted may be edited. The deadline is the last week of the month for the following month’s issue. Letters to the editor and opinions are encour-aged. For all e-mail correspondence
with HL&T: news, features, tips, adver-tising and business write to [email protected]. To submit
articles, letters to the editor, etc., e-mail [email protected].
Executive Editor Paula Minaert
Managing EditorSusie Currie
ProductionAshley PerksAdvertising
Writers & ContributorsVictoria Hille
Bart LawrenceValerie Russell
Kimberly SchmidtHugh Turley
Board of Directors Julia Duin - President
Chris Currie - Vice PresidentJoseph Gigliotti - General Counsel
Paula Minaert - SecretaryPeggy Dee
Karen J. RileySusie Currie - Ex O� cio
Circulation: Copies are distributed monthly by U.S. Mail to every address
in Hyattsville. Additional copies are dis-tributed to libraries, selected businesses, community centers and churches in the
city. Total circulation is 8,000.
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FromTheEditor
by Paula Minaert
We’ve all heard the expression, “One person’s trash is another person’s treasure.” I know this well. A blue-and-white ceramic lamp that a neighbor put out for the trash found a home in our liv-ing room.
I think the expression re� ects a deeper reality, though. Two people can look at the same ob-ject and actually see totally dif-ferent things. Here’s an example: cows. In this country, cows don’t � gure much in the lives of those
From where I sitof us who don’t live on farms. We know they’re the source of beef, but otherwise, we see bovines mostly on our dishtowels and re-frigerator magnets. But in India, real live cows are everywhere. � ey walk the streets freely; no one bothers them or eats them, because to the people they are holy. It’s the same animal – but it’s not.
We all see the world, then, through our own lens. Philoso-pher and theologian Bernard Lonergan called this lens our horizon, and said it is shaped by upbringing, culture and experi-ence. Our horizon helps us func-tion because it allows us to iden-tify and categorize what’s around us. � is is a piece of wood; we
build with it; that is a plant; we cook it and eat it.
But no two individuals have exactly the same horizon. You share aspects of your horizon with people in your family and your culture, but everyone’s ho-rizon is unique.
This dynamic operates here in Hyattsville as much as any-where else. And it underlies some of our most thorny and controversial issues. For ex-ample, some people look at a chain link fence and see tacky. Others look at it and see practi-cal and affordable. A yard filled with sunflowers can be either choked with tall weeds or a delightful retreat. And a man working on his car in his drive-way can be handy and thrifty or bringing down the quality of the neighborhood. It all de-pends on your horizon, your point of view.
We tend to assume that our perceptions are the right ones. “Of course, this is what x or ymeans. Doesn’t everyone see it this way?”
Well, no. Everyone doesn’t. I may observe trash cans over� ow-ing with plastic and cardboard and see a family that is wasteful
and uncaring of the environ-ment. Someone else may see people working hard to survive, and environmental issues just haven’t entered their worldview.
We tend to surround ourselves with people who have similar worldviews to our own, so our perceptions are con� rmed. � is reinforces the a� itude of “Of course, this is how things are! Everyone I know sees it this way.”
But we have to live and in-teract with people who have different – sometimes very different – perceptions. And expectations. It’s not easy. I think the first step is to ac-cept that our own horizon, our world, is not necessarily nor-mative. I am not saying every-thing is relative (and neither is Lonergan). I am saying it might be most productive to simply try to understand other people’s horizons, to sit where they sit. It’s a start.
by Paula Minaert
A group of Ward 4 residents met June 4 at St. Ma� hew’s Episcopal Church to talk about issues of common concern. It was the � rst public meet-ing in the city since the May elections.
� e meeting was organized and chaired by Ward 4 councilmember Paula Perry. Councilmembers Ruth Ann Frazier and Nicole Hinds Mofor (Ward 5) and David Hiles (Ward 2) also a� ended.
One major concern brought up by residents was the lack of development in West Hya� s-ville. Stuart Eisenberg, executive director of the Hya� sville Community Development Corpora-tion, explained that about $20 million is needed for new infrastructure improvements before any new development can happen and that the mar-ket isn’t good right now.
He added that local investment needs to hap-pen � rst.
“Each time the city puts money into improving the local infrastructure, development follows. We need to concentrate on West Hya� sville.”
Another issue residents discussed was the number of foreclosures and empty houses in the ward. One resident said she thinks Ward 4 has more foreclosures than the others.
Corporal Jerry McCauley from the city police force a� ended the meeting to talk about crime. He said the most frequent crime in the ward – as in the city as a whole – is vehicle the� and van-dalism. He also recommended that people get to know their neighbors.
“If you don’t,” he said, “you don’t know who’s supposed to be there and who’s not.”
� e meeting ended with people talking about holding a block party, which would include more than one block, so residents could get ac-quainted.
Ward 4 residents discuss concerns
OPEN FOR BUSINESS
SUSIE CURRIEHyattsville City Councilmember Paula Perry cuts the ribbon at the May 26 grand opening of Bobʼs Discount Furniture Store, on East-West Highway. Joining her are, from left: store manager Diane Peacor; City Councilmember Tim Hunt and his son; and Northwestern High School Principal Jerome Thomas.
It might be most productive to simply try to understand other people’s horizons, to sit where they sit. It’s a start.
Hyattsville Life & Times | June 2011 Page 3
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OPEN FOR BUSINESS
by Susie Currie
A Hyattsville youth beat area ap-plicants from as far away as Hern-don, Va., to win the first annu-al Ted Kliman Memorial Award for Young Artists. High-school freshman Romare Marshall, 14, received $500 and a month-long exhibition of his work.
The contest was open to 12-to-17-year-olds living in the Washington, D.C., region and working in sculp-ture, painting, drawing, mixed me-dia or photography. Contestants had to submit 10 to 15 images of their work, describe how the award money would further their artistic goals, and write an essay about “a painting, sculpture, or drawing that speaks to [them],” according to the award description.
Marshall’s winning essay was on “Las Meninas (The Maids of Honor),” the 1656 painting by Diego Velazquez, and the effect the Spanish painter has had on his own paintings.
“I couldn’t have hoped for some-
one like Romare,” said Hyattsville resident Todd Kliman, whose family instituted the award to honor the memory of his father, a Greenbelt artist who died in 2009. “For a 14-year-old to have this level of devotion and serious-ness kind of threw me off.”
Marshall’s mother, who named him for artist Romare Bearden, is local artist Eileen Cave, a visual-arts teacher with the Prince George’s County Public School system.
“She didn’t push me into [being an artist],” said Marshall, a lifelong resident of Hyattsville. “I’ve been drawing ever since I was little, and she would incorporate my stick figures into her paintings.”
She did, however, encourage him to enter the contest, his first. He says he was surprised to win; “it was just something I put to-gether over spring break.”
The award was presented on May 17 during the opening recep-tion for an exhibition of his paint-ings, drawings and etchings at The Daily Dish, a restaurant in Silver
Young Hyattsville artist wins regional award
Spring. That night, Marshall sold his first piece of art – “Howling Wolf,” on scratchboard – to Karen Gardiner, his 6th grade teacher at Rosa Parks Elementary School.
After elementary school, Mar-shall followed his older brother Jordan to the Landon School, where he gets 45 minutes of art instruction four days a week. He plans to spend his prize money on summer art classes there.
Walt Bartman, chair of Landon’s art department, has worked with Marshall on painting, drawing and sculpture; this summer, they will tackle larger pieces and begin as-
sembling the 24 works required for the Advanced Placement art exam.
Asked for a favorite piece, teacher and student both point to “Skull Trio,” a set of three cow skulls rendered in charcoal.
“I love it because of its size and the subtleties,” said Bartman. “One of Romare’s strengths is his attention to fine detail, especially how things can go from light to dark. He loses himself complete-ly in his work.”
The Kliman family hopes to make the award an annual one, and a silent auction during the reception raised more than $400 for next year’s.
“I was looking for someone whose passion and intensity matched my father’s,” said Kli-man. “It was hard to find.”
The
SchoolIssue
Romare Marshall with his parents, Dennis Marshall and Eileen Cave, during the opening reception for his exhibit at a Silver Spring restaurant. Below, some of his award-winning artwork. photo by susie currie
Page 4 Hyattsville Life & Times | June 2011
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by Paula Minaert
On May 12, John Mitchell, Di-rector of Bands at DeMatha Catholic High School, conduct-ed his � nal DeMatha concert, a sold-out show at the University of Maryland’s Clarice Smith Per-forming Arts Center. � e eve-ning included not only music by the school’s top concert band, but also tributes from both fac-ulty and alumni. It was a momen-tous occasion because Mitchell was retiring a� er 40 years at the school.
In 1970, Mitchell came to teach music at DeMatha, known then mainly for its sports programs,
especially its basketball team. He proceeded to establish a music program that is now equally ac-claimed. He started with a band that had 19 students; today the whole music program has 400 students in 15 di� erent groups.
Under Mitchell’s leadership, the various bands, orchestras and ensembles have garnered so many awards and trophies that the school has run out of room for them.
But Mitchell says that his favor-
ite part of the job was interacting with the students, both in class and outside of class. He said, “You can do a lot of teaching out-side of class.”
He added that the school gets a wide range of students, of di� er-ent backgrounds and skills, and he enjoyed watching them learn and grow.
Interviews with some of his students show that they en-joyed learning from him as well. When they talked about Mitchell, the word “inspiring” came up often.
Rising senior Michael Sprunk, who plays � ute and piano, said that even though music was al-
Acclaimed DeMatha music director retiring
ROYCE WISTIn his final performance, John Mitchell conducts DeMathaʼs Wind Ensemble at the University of Marylandʼs Dekelboum Concert Hall May 12.
TheSchoolIssue
Hyattsville Life & Times | June 2011 Page 5
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ways part of his life growing up, it was just something he was re-quired to do. He didn’t really un-derstand it, he says, until he came to DeMatha.
“I don’t know how it happened. Mr. Mitchell just inspired me to want to play. Suddenly every-thing started to make sense to me and I started to enjoy playing. He made me what I am today in music.”
Sprunk doesn’t plan to go into music as a career but said he will never stop playing and music will always be a part of his life.
Another student, Mario Perez, is going to the University of Maryland Baltimore County this fall. He plans to major in music and maybe to teach music even-tually, and attributes this desire to Mitchell.
“Mr. Mitchell changed my life,” Perez said simply. “When I came to DeMatha, I had no previous experience in music. But I fell in love with it. And he was always pushing me to do better.”
Perez will still be able to learn from Mitchell, because he plans to join the wind ensemble at Catholic University that Mitchell directs on Monday nights.
Spencer Cooksey, a rising se-nior, will major in marketing or management in college but said he’ll always make room for
music in his life. He described Mitchell as “the greatest band director anyone could ever ask for. He has this presence about him, a real dedication to what he does. He’s truly inspiring.”
Cooksey added, “Mr. Mitchell is known among his students for his despair. If you’re not playing up to his standards, he just looks at you for 30 seconds without saying a word. Not angry, just a blank stare. It makes you feel, ‘Wow, I gotta practice and get this together.’”
He said music has grown on him since coming to DeMatha. He started with the saxophone and is now branching out to gui-tar and piano.
Buddy Paolucci is graduating this year and will probably study either business or engineering in college – but he too will keep playing music in some way. He plays the euphonium, which is a brass instrument with a mel-low sound and valves instead of slides.
He didn’t take music seriously at first, he said, but was inspired by Mitchell to work hard at it.
“He really led by example and gave 100 percent – he only missed one band rehearsal in all four years I was there. He taught us hard work and knew his craft well.
“Music is great. It helps you expand your mind and be part of something greater than you and me. It brings out your best. It lets you use the whole brain, use it to the fullest. It helps you work as a team so it helps in everyday life and your career.”
Matt Bickell, who graduated from DeMatha in 1995, now teaches there: he’s in charge of three orchestra classes and a band class. He said Mitchell is the reason he is there.
“I was dragged to music kick-ing and screaming. My parents valued music, but I came to De-Matha hoping to play [college] basketball for Duke. But I was cut from the freshman team.
“Music was always in me but I wasn’t comfortable in my own skin. I saw Mr. Mitchell’s passion for music and was able to find my own.”
Bickell went to The Eastman School of Music and majored in trumpet performance and music education, then played profes-sionally for 10 years. But in his mind, he said, he always wanted to return to DeMatha and give something back.
Mr. Mitchell will be gone from the classroom, but it’s clear his legacy – his influence – will live on.
SPIN THE WHEEL
susie currieOn May 20, St. Jerome Academy hosted SpringFest, an outdoor eve-ning event complete with carnival games, moon bounce, barbecue and a DJ playing ‘80s hits.
Page 6 Hyattsville Life & Times | June 2011
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Concordia Lutheran School
Students from Concordia Lu-theran School held activities this spring to combat malaria, as part of the Lutheran Malaria Initiative, which is working with Lutheran World Relief and the Lutheran Church-Missouri Syn-od to eliminate malaria deaths in Africa by 2015.
Concordia students again acted as peer coaches for students at James E. Duckworth School in Beltsville. They spend several months helping Duckworth ath-letes train for Challenge Day, a day-long event held in partner-ship with the Special Olympics. Duckworth provides special ed-ucation for children ages 5 to 21.
DeMatha Catholic High School
Last month, a New York Times article on DeMatha’s music pro-gram reported that during Music Director John Mitchell’s 40-year tenure, the program amassed so many awards that the school ran out of room for them. He’s retir-ing this year [see story, p. 4], and goes out on a high note; at the most recent competition, the Heritage Festival in Atlanta, his music ensembles captured all major awards, including top vo-cal group and top instrumental group.
Two other teachers recently
received awards for their work. Pat Smith received the national Secondary School Education award from the National Catho-lic Education Association and the Washington Post named Tom Krawczewicz the 2011 Ag-nes Meyer Outstanding Teacher Award for Private Schools. In addition, football coach Bill McGregor, who is retiring, was named one of 12 Washingto-nians of the Year by Washingto-nian magazine.
Among the student standouts this year were senior Andrew Eck, who won the archdiocesan Outstanding Youth Award, and track star Michael Williams, who is ranked 9th in the U.S. in the 400-meter hurdles. The De-Matha Hockey Team won the Governor’s Youth Group Service Award. Also, the school inducted
36 new members into the Na-tional Honor Society.
The sports teams won several tournaments. Both the soccer and basketball teams won the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference, and the basketball team also won the Washington D.C. City Title.
Hyattsville Elementary School
HES received $5,000 in books from Usborne Books for library and teaching resources. Par-ent involvement and volunteer hours earned a grant from the Inter Agency Commission for $675,000 for use toward a new walk-in freezer and the design for a retaining wall and bioretention area along Jefferson Street.
Students at the school donated
Schools’ report cardAs the academic year draws to a close, here’s a look at what some students (and teachers) at Hyattsville schools have accomplished. Schools are listed alphabetically. by Paula Minaert
t. carter rossHyattsville Elementary’s second annual Native Plant Sale in May was so successful it sold out before the official ending time.
TheSchoolIssue
Hyattsville Life & Times | June 2011 Page 7
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more than 800 pounds of food for the food pantries at Crossover Church and St. Mat-thew’s Episcopal Church, and the school launched a quarterly essay contest as part of its character-education curriculum.
Bart Lawrence, parent of a first-grader and PTA president, received the Volunteer of the Year award from the City of Hyattsville; under his leadership, the PTA held its first used book sale and its second native plant sale, which drew visitors from all over the Washington metropolitan area. Though the sale was scheduled over a weekend, it sold out before 11 a.m. Sunday.
“It exceeded our wildest expectations,” said Lawrence, who expects proceeds from the two events to fund a bicycle rack and possibly a picnic table.
The school established a partnership with the University of Maryland to host student-teaching interns. And, in a nod to the sev-eral countries represented at the school, students got their “passports” stamped as they traveled to different countries during the annual International Day program.
But the year was also marked by tragedy; fourth-grader Kimberly Hernandez per-ished in a January house fire, along with her sister Kelli, who attended Hyattsville Middle School.
“We are forever saddened by the loss,” said PTA Vice President Candace Hol-lingsworth. “Our students showed amaz-ing support and resilience during this time and we are thankful to be a part of the Hyattsville community.”
Hyattsville Middle School
HMS students took home many awards
this year. They won the county Science Bowl championship – for the sixth time. The creative writing students placed 1st, 2nd and 3rd in the county Write-A-Book competition. HMS students also took 1st through 4th place in the Martin Luther King Essay Contest and 1st and 3rd place in the Destination Imagination Competition.
In the fine arts, the Creative and Per-forming Arts students acquitted them-selves well. The Orchestra received all superiors at the Orchestra Festival; the Band and Wind Ensemble received ex-cellent performance rating at the county festival; and CPA students also won the Chorus, Jazz Band, Orchestra and Band competitions in Atlanta in April. The chorus achieved superior ratings for their performance at the state competition on May 6. Rounding out the school year was a production of the musical “Annie.”
PTA vice president Mary Resing said that “students excel in so many areas – commu-nity service, kindness, the arts, academics and sports. As they earn perfect scores at the State Middle School Choral Competi-tion, or remain undefeated in both girls’ and boys’ soccer or read aloud a poem writ-ten in honor of a school friend who has died, HMS students are awe-inspiring.”
In other news, HMS received a donation from Bob’s Discount Furniture, of $5,000.
Principal Susie Long is retiring at the end of this school year.
Nicholas Orem Middle School
Nicholas Orem also got a donation from the furniture store, and Principal Jerome
Thomas said that part of the $1,000 would go toward recognizing readers. The school conducts a program to encourage every student to read 25 books during the school year – about one million words. Approxi-mately 40 percent of the students do not speak English as their first language and reading is a way to bridge that language gap, said Thomas.
About 30 percent of the school’s students met that challenge this year; they will get T-shirts proclaiming “I’m a 25-book achiever at NOMS.”
The donation will also be used to cel-ebrate the students who consistently at-tended the after-school tutoring program, held every Tuesday and Thursday.
Nicholas Orem is one of four schools in the county that will be launching an iPad initia-tive; every student will receive an iPad as a learning tool. Thomas said iPads provide sig-nificant help with language acquisition.
The entire staff at the school is involved in an effort to learn Spanish, using the Ro-setta Stone teaching program.
Northwestern High School
Northwestern offers one of the county’s largest Advanced Placement programs, including calculus, physics, English lit-erature and studio art. Last month, the Washington Post High School Chal-lenge Index reported that the school has the third highest AP pass rate in the county. NWHS is the only school to have two students per year receive the University of Maryland Incentive Awards Scholarships.
The music program has earned several ac-
colades this academic year. The choir took top prize in the countywide iSing High School Scholarship Competition contest. At a spring music festival in Williamsburg, the school musicians won first place over-all, as well as first place in concert band, jazz ensemble, concert band (superior rat-ing), string orchestra and percussion en-semble. Jabari Edwards was named Out-standing High School Jazz Soloist.
St. Jerome Academy
SJA has completed its transition to be-coming a classical school, following a model that was used in this country un-til the 20th century (see HL&T, August 2010). Supporters say the curriculum mirrors the stages of a child’s develop-ment and enables students of diverse backgrounds and abilities to under-stand, reason from, and express an inte-grated body of knowledge drawn from 5,000 years of human history.
As the first and only classical school of the Archdiocese of Washington, it has attracted local and national attention, in-cluding coverage in the Washington Post magazine and National Public Radio. Other schools and whole dioceses are in the process of implementing St. Jerome’s curriculum.
Even though the school no longer teach-es to the test, principal Mary Pat Dono-ghue said its standardized test scores went up this year, in its first year implementing the new curriculum.
For the upcoming school year, the Acad-emy has recruited its largest class of new registrants – nearly 60 – in several years.
GOING GREEN IN 2011:SHARE THE RIDEThis is the fi fth in a series of stories about how City residents can make small changes to have a positive impact on our environment. In celebration of National Bike Month, May’s column focused on getting around on two wheels. This month looks at mass transit.
High gas prices, environmental concerns, and a desire for a more relaxing commute have prompted some Hyattsville residents to take to their bikes to get around town. There’s a second eco-friendly option to consider: share the ride by relying on mass transit.
The City is served by outstanding resources. Located on the green line, you can reach Gallery Place/China-town in twenty minutes or less from the Prince George’s Plaza metro station. Leaving from West Hyattsville? That’s an even quicker trip!
But let’s face it: even the least daring tourist can navi-gate the user-friendly Metrorail system. Ready for the advanced course? Take THE BUS.
Prince George’s County’s THE BUS serves as a circula-tor route for the City, connecting both Metro stations, as well as the County Service Building, Hyattsville Justice Center, Nicholson Street, Belcrest Road, 42nd Avenue, and Hamilton Street. See the schedule for Route 13 at http://www.princegeorgescountymd.gov/Government/AgencyIndex/DPW&T/Transit/thebus.asp.
Beyond Route 13, THE BUS Route 17 travels from Mount Rainier’s terminal up Baltimore Avenue through Col-lege Park as far as Ikea. THE BUS routes 12, 14, and 18 also connect the City with points beyond. See the link above for route maps.
Metro’s Trip Planner at http://wmata.com/can help you include their extensive network of buses into your travel plans.
You can pay for your rides on all three forms of trans-portation with a SmarTrip card. Learn more about the program here: http://wmata.com/fares/smartrip/
The Maryland MARC Camden Line stops in neighbor-ing Riverdale Park Monday through Friday, heading between Baltimore and Washington DC. Check out their schedule here: http://mta.maryland.gov/services/marc/schedulesSystemMaps/MARC_CAMDEN_LINE_HTML.cfm
Heading beyond the region? You can do that without getting in a car, too. Amtrak departures from Union Sta-tion can take you all over the US. Closer to home, many trains stop at the New Carrollton station. Rely on Metro, Amtrak, or MARC to reach one of our three regional air-ports and you can arrive almost anywhere in the world, all without getting behind the wheel of your car.
Find links to all of the route maps online at http://www.hyattsville.org/transit
JUNE 2011
CALENDAR
Hyattsville Reporterthe
No. 218• June 8, 2011www.hyattsville.org • 301-985-5000
Page HR1 Hyattsville Life & Times | June 2011 Hyattsville Life & Times | June 2011 Page HR2
June 10, 6:30 to 8:30 PMOutback Steakhouse Summer Jam featuring Super� ydisco
June 13, 5:00 to 6:30 PMSpecial Evening Candidate Registration
June 13, 8:00 PM - 10:00 PMCity Council Meeting
June 14, 7:00 PM - 8:00 PMSummer Camp Information Session
June 15, 5:00 PMDeadline for Candidates to Register for Special Election - Ward 1
June 15, 7:30 PM - 9:00 PMHyattsville Environmental Committee Meeting
June 17, 5:00 PMDeadline for residents to register or report ad-dress changes to the Maryland Board of Elec-tions
June 17, 7:00 PM - 10:00 PM Family Movie Night featuring How to Train Your Dragon, Heurich Park
June 20 - July 1Session I begins: Camps Tiny Tots, Jamboree & Discovery
June 21, 7:00 PM - 8:30 PMPlanning Committee Meeting
Unless otherwise noted, all events take place at the City Municipal Building, 4310 Gallatin Street.
SUMMER CAMPS FILLING FAST
Enrollment is open for the City’s MRPA-award winning summer camps for kids ages 3 through 13. Camps run in two-week sessions beginning Monday, June 20. Camp Tiny Tots, for ages 3 and 4, meets at the City Munici-pal Building. Camp Jamboree, for kids ages 5 through 9, meets at Magruder Park. (NOTE: As of press time, Camp Jamboree is full for sessions I through III.) Camp Discovery, for kids ages 10 through 13, meets at Hyatts-ville Elementary School. Contact the Department of Recreation and the Arts at 301/985-5020, email [email protected] or visit http://www.hyattsville.org/camps for more information.
SPECIAL ELECTION – WARD 1 SCHEDULED FOR TUESDAY, JULY 19, 2011
� e City will hold a Special Election for the Ward 1 Council Member seat vacated by the election of former Council Member Marc Tartaro to the o� ce of Mayor during the May 2011 general election. Candidate registration is currently open and continues through Wednesday, June 15 at 5:00 PM. � e voter registration deadline is Friday, June 17 at 5:00 PM. Absentee ballot applications are currently being accepted. Questions? Contact City Clerk Doug Barber at 301/985-5009 or visit our website: http://www.hyattsville.org/election.
REMEDIATION ONGOING AT KING PARK
As of press time, the City continues to work on issues related to oil contamination at King Park on Gallatin
Street. � e park remains open, but we ask that resi-dents use caution. Updates will be posted on the City’s homepage.
BUDGET PROCESS
City Council continues to discuss the budget for FY12, which begins on July 1, 2011. An additional Council Meeting has been added for Monday, June 13 at 8:00 PM. � e City Administrator’s most recent presentation can be viewed online at http://www.hyattsville.org/bud-get.
NEED TO CONTACT AN ELECTED OFFICIAL?
Contact information for all City elected o� cials has been updated on the City’s cable station and at http://www.hyattsville.org/council. It was also published in the June edition of the City’s Hyattsville Reporter. An update will be provided following the Special Election – Ward 1. Questions? Call us at 301/985-5000.
FARMERS MARKET RE-OPENS FOR THE SEASON ON JUNE 14
Harris Orchards and other Maryland producers re-turn for the 2011 season on Tuesday, June 14. Farm fresh produce and artisanal products are available ev-ery Tuesday afternoon, from 2 to 6 p.m., at the West Hyattsville Farmers Market. The market is located behind Queens Chapel Town Center, at the intersec-tion of Queens Chapel Road and Hamilton Street. (Parking is available.) WIC and Senior FMNP checks are accepted.
BUY LOCAL CHALLENGE
While you’re shopping the Farmers Market, remember that the Buy Local Challenge week is July 23 through July 31. Visit the Buy Local website at http://www.buy-local-challenge.com/ to take the pledge: I pledge to eat at least one thing from a local farm every day during Buy Local Week. It’s easy - and delicious!
NEXT UP: SUPERFLYDISCO
The next Outback Steakhouse Summer Jam of the season is Friday, June 10 from 6:30 to 8:30 PM fea-turing Superflydisco. Join us, rain or shine! Ad-mission and kids’ activities are free; food, includ-ing beer and wine, are available for purchase. The menu includes hamburgers, hot dogs, and chicken, all grilled up by the Outback Steakhouse at Prince George’s Plaza. Bring back your refillable mug to save on beer – and save the planet! Questions? Visit http://www.hyattsville.org/summerjam or call 301/985-5020.
I AM HYATTSVILLE
Show your civic pride with an I Am Hyattsville tee. Available at all Outback Steakhouse Summer Jams for just $10, or stop by the City Administrative o� ces dur-ing business hours, Monday through Friday, 8:30 AM to 5:00 PM. Sizes Youth XS to Adult 3XL. Questions? Call Abby Sandel at 301/985-5031. Traveling to a dis-tant land – or even Ocean City? Snap a pic of you in your tee and send it to us at [email protected]!
PEPCO INSTALLATION NEWS
Pepco plans to install new digital electric meters in resi-dential homes and businesses this month. You should receive a letter before installation takes place. If you have any questions, please visit www.pepco.com or call their Customer Care Center at 301/833-7500.
FIND US ON FACEBOOK
Are you on Facebook? You can now keep up with City events and happenings at www.facebook.com/cityo� yatts-ville. When you see Vainglorious, the silver metal bird sculpture at Centennial Park, you’ll know you’re in the right place. He is kind enough to serve as the City’s wall photo.
RECREATION NEWS IN YOUR INBOX
� e City’s Department of Recreation and the Arts o� ers a year-long calendar of programs for the whole family. To stay up-to-date, residents can now subscribe to the Department’s monthly eNews. Packed with details on upcoming events, it is a must-read if you’re looking for a� ordable family fun in Hyattsville. Visit http://www.hyattsville.org/eNews to subscribe.
Base ball returns to Magruder Park in JulyBefore Magruder Park was dedicat-ed, base ball – yup, it used to be two words – was played on the same spot, known locally as Wine’s Fields. As part of the City’s 125th Anniversary celebrations, we’re bringing base ball back! Join us for a special double-header between the Potomac Nine of Washington, DC and the Cecil Base Ball Club of Chesapeake City.� e games take place on Sunday,
July 31, with the � rst pitch at 12:00 noon. Players will be available for a special chat in between games. � e event is free and open to the public. Questions? Call us at 301/985-5020.
IN OTHER NEWS...
June 17, Movie Night, Heurich Park
Page 8 Hyattsville Life & Times | June 2011
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COMMUNITY CALENDARJune 10The Outback Steakhouse Sum-mer Jam series continues this evening, with a moon bounce for the kids and a beer garden for adults. Sing along to your favorite disco hits provided by Superflydisco. Burgers, chicken and hot dogs will be prepared by Outback Steakhouse. 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Free. Hyattsville Mu-nicipal Building, 4310 Gallatin Street. 301.985.5020. June 12Hyattsville resident Todd Kliman will read from his book The Wild Vine, just out in paperback, during a book signing and wine tast-ing. Free. 2 to 4 p.m. New Deal Café, 113 Centerway, Roosevelt Center, Greenbelt. 301.474.5642. NewDealCafe.com.
June 16If you don’t have a lawn chair yet, this might be the time to in-vest in one. Then you can bring it to (among many other events this month) Jazz on the Lawn
at Riversdale, a sunset concert series that kicks off tonight with the Susan Jones Jazz Quartet. Free; dinner from the Calvert House available for purchase. 7 to 8 p.m. Riversdale House Museum, 4811 Riverdale Road, Riverdale Park. 301.864.0420.
June 17The City of Hyattsville’s free summer movie series kicks off tonight with How to Train Your Dragon, based on Cressida Cowell’s book about an unlikely Viking teenage hero who would rather befriend dragons than slay them. 7 p.m. Heurich Park, Ager Road and Nicholson Street. Free; refreshments available for sale. Bring your own blanket or lawn chairs. 301.985.5020.
June 18Put on some old clothes and come to the Anacostia River Clean-Up at Bladensburg Wa-terfront Park to help clean our lo-cal waterways. All ages welcome; adults must accompany children
16 and under. Free. 9:30 a.m. to noon. 4601 Annapolis Road, Bladensburg. 301.779.0371.
Got your summer reading list to-gether yet? Join the discussion of Colson Whitehead’s The Intu-itionist, a novel that is part mys-tery and part philosophy, with a dash of Ralph Ellison’s The Invis-ible Man thrown in. Free. 3 p.m. Hyattsville Library, 6530 Adel-phi Road. 301.779.9330.
Procrastinators, unite: Prince George’s Plaza Community Center has everything you need to make a Father’s Day card, just in time for dad’s big day to-morrow. Free. 6 to 10 p.m. 6600 Adelphi Road. 301.864.1611.
June 25The Mount Rainier Nature & Recreation Center hosts a Live Animal Show, complete with reptiles, amphibians and more, plus a craft. Another program is set for July 9. Free. 11 a.m. to noon. Mount Rainier Na-
ture/Recreation Center, 4701 31st Place, Mount Rainier. 301.927.2163.
June 27 to August 13Long before there was an Arts District, Hyattsville was home to renowned African-American artist David C. Driskell, who is a professor emeritus at Uni-versity of Maryland in addi-tion to having achieved acclaim in the arts world. To mark his 80th birthday this month, the Brentwood Arts Exchange’s show “Artistic Reflections” features works both by him and, from former students, in-spired by him. Free. Weekdays, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Brentwood Arts Exchange, 3901 Rhode Island Avnue., Brentwood. 301.277.2863.
June 29Snakes in the stacks? As part of the Prince George’s County Me-morial Library System’s series of summer children’s events, Rep-tile World comes to the Hyatts-ville branch. Free. 6:30 p.m. Hyattsville Library, 6530 Adel-phi Road. 301.779.9330.
July 2Don’t look for a moon bounce at the second annual Uncle Sam Jam; this event is for ages 21 and up. Music on sev-eral stages includes concerts by The Wailers, Blind Melon and Pat McGee, and there will
be plenty of beer and barbecue for sale. A fireworks finale over the Potomac River is scheduled for sundown. Gaylord National Resort grounds, National Har-bor. Rain or shine; no pets or coolers. Tickets start at $15. 2 to 10 p.m. 301.652.7712 or www.theunclesamjam.com.
July 4Greenbelt will host its Indepen-dence Day Celebration with entertainment beginning at 4 p.m., including a 7:30 p.m. per-formance by the Greenbelt Con-cert Band. Fireworks will follow around 9 p.m. Free. Buddy Attick Park, 555 Crescent Road, Green-belt. 301.397.2200.
Who needs to go all the way downtown for fireworks? The University of Maryland will again host a family-friendly eve-ning complete with live music, food, and, of course, pyrotech-nics. Concert starts at 7 p.m.; fire-works, around 9 p.m. Rain date: July 5. Free. Campus Parking Lot 1 (just off Campus Drive) Col-lege Park. 301.864.8877.
July 8Time for another installment of the Outback Steakhouse Sum-mer Jam series with live music by the Beach Bumz. See June 10 calendar entry for more details.
July 13Bring a lawn chair to the Mary-land Shakespeare Festival’s production of As You Like It,
Hyattsville Life & Times | June 2011 Page 9
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Dr. Mark H. Sugar and the Belcrest Surgery Center
practicing podiatry in Hyattsville since 1975
welcome Dr. John R. Hawkins, IV, into our practice.
We treat any and all foot problems both conservatively and surgically. Our hours are flexible and we accept most insurance plans. Feel free to contact us for any questions or information.
The Belcrest Surgery Center is fully accredited and certified and offers convenient and comfortable treatment.
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this year’s free outdoor per-formance in the Shakespeare in the Parks summer series. Free. 7 p.m. Magruder Park, 40th Avenue and Hamilton Street. www.mdshakes.org. 301.668.4090.
July 14Popular at the turn of the century, jug bands combined traditional instruments with ones fashioned from jugs, washboards, washtubs, spoons and other household items. During this afternoon’s Slim Harrison & the Sunnyland Band concert, children from the audience can be part of the show. Free. 2 p.m. Hyattsville Library, 6530 Adelphi Road. 301.779.9330.
Ongoing On June 14, the Hyattsville Farmers’ Market returns to the Queens Chapel Town Center with just-picked produce, herbs, plants and more. Tuesdays, 2 to 6 p.m. Queens Chapel Road and Hamilton Street. 301.627.0977.
The producers-only Riverdale Park Farmer’s Market is open for the season, with a variety of local vegetables and fruits, honey, baked goods, meat, jams, flowers and more. Thurs-days, 3 to 7 p.m. 4650 Queens-
bury Road, Riverdale Park. 301.332.6258.
Every 2nd and 4th Thursday of the month, the Peter Pan Club for preschoolers includes sto-rytime and hands-on craft ac-tivities. Free with museum ad-mission of $4 for adults ($2 for children). 10:30 a.m. College Park Aviation Museum, 1985 Cpl. Frank Scott Drive, College Park. 301.864.6029.
Spring means it’s time again for the free, 45-minute Anacostia River Boat Tours, held Tues-days through Fridays at noon and weekends at 5 p.m. All ages are welcome to join a park naturalist on a pontoon boat to search for birds and other wild-life. Free; registration required for groups of 12 or more. Blad-ensburg Waterfront Park, 4601 Annapolis Road, Bladensburg. 301.779.0371.
Community Calendar is compiled by Susie Currie. It’s a select listing of events happening in and around Hyattsville from the 15th of the is-sue month to the 15th of the follow-ing month. To submit an item for consideration, please e-mail [email protected] or mail to P.O. Box 132, Hyattsville, MD 20781. Deadline for July submissions is June 23.
was assistant to the city adminis-trator. He has a graduate degree in public administration from Florida State University.
He said a lot has happened in his time here; he has been busy since he walked in the door – and that, he said, has been a good thing.
Jones said residents across every demographic have expressed at pub-lic meetings that they like the small-town feel of the city and the conve-nience of being in an urban area. He added that he shares this view.
He also said, “The community is undergoing some change because of development and therefore expecta-tions have changed about what the city provides the community.”
As far as challenges go, he pointed to what he called the long-standing issue of how to best communicate with the different demographic groups here. “I think we are doing a great job trying to use different formats to reach people and get the word out, but we never have a real confirmation that we’re reaching people where they are.”
Jones continued from page 1
city of hyattsvilleVincent Jones
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Page 10 Hyattsville Life & Times | June 2011
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Want to search a back issue?
E-mail an article to a friend?
Find an advertiser?
Included: The October 6, 2010 Issue of The Hyattsville Reporter — See Center Section
HyattsvilleLife&Times
October 2010
Hyattsville’s Community Newspaper
Vol. 7 No. 10
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NEW PLAYGROUND AT MAGRUDERMagruder Park is undergoing a nearly complete playground renovation, with
four new play structures. PAGE 3
By Paula MinaertAt a September city council meet-ing, several Hyattsville residents held up yellow signs that read “No more traffi c” and “No commuter thoroughfare,” hoping to draw at-tention to what they call serious long-standing traffi c problems on their streets.They were worried about a re-
cent traffi c study done by consul-tants Sabra, Wang & Associates estimating that city streets will have more than 3,500 new morn-
ing and more than 4,500 new af-ternoon peak-hour vehicle trips, based on current traffi c and pro-jected development. Nina Faye, who lives on Queens-
bury Road, said that she ques-tioned the numbers Sabra, Wang presented to the council in July. “One day I was [at Queensbury
and 41st] for six minutes at 3:30 in the afternoon. And I saw more traffi c than they claimed in a half-hour. If I can’t trust this number, how can I trust any of them?” Other residents questioned the
recommendation to lift that road’s current traffi c restriction on west-bound traffi c between Route 1 and 43rd Avenue during peak morning traffi c hours. Cheri Fulton has lived on Queens-
bury since 1987 and was involved in the effort that led to the Do Not Enter sign being posted. She said that traffi c on the street is better now but is still bad – and drivers routinely ignore the sign. Another point of contention was
the recommendation to make Queensbury one-way westbound
during peak hours, if traffi c there continues to increase and if im-provements to state roads are de-layed. “Why facilitate traffi c into my
community from a state road?” asked resident Margaret Hayes at the Sept. 13 city council meeting. Hugh Turley, a columnist for the
Life & Times who lives on Queens-bury, said, “One-way shouldn’t be even a last resort.” He believes the goal for Queensbury should be to
Residents complain about traffi c
By Lara BeavenHyattsville police collected dozens of unused medications from resi-dents Sept. 25 as part of a fi rst-time national initiative to prevent prescription drugs from falling into the wrong hands or entering the water supply.“I thought no one would want
to go out of their way to return drugs,” said Sgt. Chris Purvis, the Hyattsville police offi cer who tal-lied the donations. But by the end, he said, residents had deposited — anonymously – a total of 8.8 pounds (approximately 60 con-tainers and a few bags of pills). Hyattsville Communications
Manager Abby Sandel said the city is open to holding a similar event in the future if there is com-munity interest.Spearheaded by the federal Drug
Enforcement Agency and backed by a number of national law en-forcement and public health or-ganizations, National Take Back Day aimed to reduce the risk of prescription drugs being con-sumed inappropriately. Prescrip-tion drug abuse, a growing prob-lem nationally, is a major focus for the DEA. An additional benefi t of the
take-back effort was preventing unused prescription drugs from being fl ushed down the toilet,
Police collect unwanted medications
by Kara RoseBeginning Oct. 16, an unusual reef will be
displayed in the Ocean Hall of the National Museum of Natural His-tory. Various knitters and crocheters,
including more than 100 from Hyattsville’s A
Tangled Skein, used yarn and fi bers of all sorts
to make the reef. The Hyperbolic Crochet Coral Reef exhibit runs through April 24, 2011. Curators
Margaret and Christine Wertheim,
DRUGS continued on page 10
TRAFFIC continued on page 12SPINNING AYARN
YARN continued on page 13
PHOTO BY CHRIS CURRIE
Some of the pieces handmade by Hyattsville
residents for the Hyperbolic Crochet Coral
Reef, an exhibit opening at the Smithsonian
later this month.
GLASS HOUSEDC GlassWorks is a public-access glassblowing studio that fosters a
strong sense of community. PAGE 4
GETTING YOUR KICKS ON RT. 1Legend and Lore asks: Why all the romance surrounding the famed Route 66 when its cousin
Route 1 is almost as long and just as storied? PAGE 2
Local knitters and crocheters donate
their pieces to Smithsonian exhibit
See current and archived editions of the Hyattsville Life & Times atwww.issuu.com/hyattsvillelifeandtimes
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Included: The November 10, 2010 Issue of The Hyattsville Reporter — See Center Section
HyattsvilleLife&Times
November 2010
Hyattsville’s Community Newspaper
Vol. 7 No. 11
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A STREET PAVED
WITH GREEN
Decatur Street in Edmonston is the
greenest street on the East Coast, and
maybe even the U.S. PAGE 3
DIRECTOR continued on page 12
AT THE DRIVE-IN
Postcards from the Past talks about the days
when drive-in movies and restaurants were
popular in Hyattsville. PAGE 5
by Krista Atteberry
With less than one week on the job,
Steve Yeskulsky, the city’s new Rec-
reation and the Arts Director, hit
the ground running by helping out
at the Hya� sville Volunteer Fire
Department’s 5-mile run on Octo-
ber 23. He was impressed with the
more than 60 volunteers and the
community spirit at the � rst annual
event, in which dozens of runners
ages 10 to 75 competed.
Before coming to Hya� sville,
Yeskulsky served as a program co-
ordinator for six years with Florida’s
Sarasota County Government Parks
and Recreation Department, where
he “did a thousand things . . . includ-
ing mostly overseeing larger special
events.” Originally from San Diego, he
graduated from San Diego State
University with two Bachelor of
Arts degrees in art history and cul-
tural anthropology. During his time
in San Diego, he was instrumental in
organizing an art exhibition, “Salon
de San Diego,” to help raise funds
for an AIDS charity. Yeskulsky also
enjoys writing for the Parks & Rec
Business magazine and is a certi� ed
Park and Recreation Professional
and Playground Inspector.
First on his agenda is ge� ing accli-
mated to the area and meeting more
folks in the community. Also, once
the city council approves the city’s
Parks Master Plan, which is expect-
All work and all play
by Paula Minaert
In the not-too-distant future, the
area around the Mall at Prince
Georges and Northwestern High
School could look very di� erent,
because some major development
projects are in the works there.
Some of these projects are within
the city’s borders and some fall just
outside. All will have an impact on
life in Hya� sville.
1. � e Landy Property
Landy is owned by Marvin Blum-
berg, a major developer in the Wash-
ington region. He owns a 33.94-
acre parcel of land located south
of Northwestern High School and
north of the mall. Most of this land
is wooded and lies outside the city
limits, except for a small portion at
the northeast corner.
� e District Council – which
is the arbiter for development in
Prince George’s County − recently
approved a Landy proposal for
residential construction on part of
that land: an apartment building of
about 400 units that would be on the
street line of Belcrest Road.
� e building would include the
portion of land that is within the
city. � is has led to discussion on
the city council of the city annex-
ing the unincorporated portion so
that the entire building would be
in Hya� sville, said council member
Tim Hunt (Ward 3). His ward bor-
ders the area of the proposed devel-
opment and includes the portion
within the city.
� is is Phase One of the project and
Mall at Prince
Georges area
planning fornew, major development
Where the wild things are
by Fred Seitz
Hya� sville is frequently identi� ed as an arts community,
but there is also a community of wildlife that lives both
in our parks and backyards. Some residents have actively
worked to encourage this by participating in the National
Wildlife Federation’s Certi� ed Wildlife Habitat program.
NWF started the program in 1973 to help wildlife and
“give people a way to connect with the natural world,” ac-
cording to David Mizejewski, a NWF wildlife biologist.
Since then, 135,000 homes across the country have been
certi� ed as wildlife habitats. Hya� sville has 23 of them. FRED SEITZ
Nicola Hainʼs small pond is part of a certified habitat.
SPOOKYFESTThe cityʼs annual Halloween party
drew about 200 people of all ages.
MORE PHOTOS ON PAGE 10
Local residents get their heirlooms
evaluated at Hyattsville’s version
of the Antiques Roadshow.
PAGE 2
HABITAT continued on page 12
DEVELOPMENT continued on page 13
IS THAT TRASH OR TREASURE?
cynthia mitchelDuring the first Summer Jam of the season, Julia Duin and her daughter, Veeka, were among those dancing to the live music of The Fabulous Bel Airs. Perennial balloon-sculpting favorite Mandy the Clown had a steady stream of pint-sized customers throughout the evening. The next Jams are June 10 and July 8.
THE FIRST SUMMER JAM
Hyattsville Life & Times | June 2011 Page 11
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BIG GREEN TRUCK DAY
valerie russellOn May 21, Big Green Truck Day at Magruder Park offered kids a chance to get behind the wheels of a variety of vehicles as the regular drivers, such as police and firefighters, showed them the ropes. The morning included face-painting and other children’s actvities.
Page 12 Hyattsville Life & Times | June 2011
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dential parking permit system. He also praised recent development in Hyattsville.
“If you have not had an Elevation Burger yet, do so!” he urged, refer-ring to one of the new businesses in The Shoppes at Arts District Hyattsville. “The first time I drove down Route 1 and saw people sit-ting outside at the tables … I al-most got sentimental.”
He invited constituents to stay afterwards to talk directly to the departments that could help them, whether their concerns were school boundaries, public safety, foreclosure help, potholes or trail access. He had arranged for representatives from various county agencies and nonprofits to be on hand.
“I thought it was a good model for what we should be doing in our wards on a regular basis to let peo-ple know what’s going on and what our immediate priorities are,” said Hyattsville City Councilmember Shani Warner (Ward 2).
The evening also included re-marks by County Executive Rushern Baker. Baker touted his $50 million Economic De-velopment Incentive Fund, a one-time investment that he said would attract new businesses and
strengthen existing ones. “We have to grow our commercial
tax base,” he told the crowd. “Our residents are taxed enough already.”
Baker’s first term as county execu-tive could also be described as tax-ing. He took office on December 6, faced with a $30 million deficit. His first two months on the job brought a homicide rate that aver-aged one a day at its height, as well as the busiest firefighting day since September 11, 2001.
“There were seven major fires throughout the county in one day,” he said, shaking his head. “I told my staff that if locusts come, I’m leaving!”
Just hours before the town hall
meeting began, the U.S. Attor-ney’s office released the latest twist in the drama of his pre-decessor, Jack Johnson: a third developer pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit extortion, among other charges.
Since his high-profile arrest by the FBI on November 12, John-son has become the center of a widening corruption probe that centers on bribery, extortion and tampering with both evidence and witnesses. Names of his alleged conspirators began to trickle out on May 17, when Johnson pleaded guilty to two felonies as part of a plea deal. Federal prosecutors ex-pect more charges in the case.
ministrator Gregory Rose.Some budgetary savings were
needed, Rose told the City Coun-cil in April, due to a 90 percent increase in workers compensa-tion costs and other expenses at a time when city revenues are all but flat due to the sluggish econ-omy. Revised budget numbers presented to the council on May 23 showed that even without a COLA, spending would still out-pace revenues by $92,796.
Whether to COLA or not has been a nationwide issue, as state and city governments grapple with budget deficits during uncertain economic times.
But city workers have objected to the no COLA plan. “We work hard and provide needed servic-es for the city,” one city staffer, Julia McTague, told the city council on May 23. McTague, flanked by six other city work-ers, explained that with higher benefit costs already being de-ducted from workers’ salaries, many staff are experiencing a 2 percent reduction in pay, which is especially difficult for those who have reached the top of their pay grade.
About 10 percent of the city’s police force has reached the top of their pay grade and there-fore no longer qualify for a pay increase and yet, “it costs more now than it did last year to heat our homes, to survive and put food on the table,” said Hyattsville Police Sgt. Patrick O’Hagan, president of the city’s chapter of the Fraternal Order of Police. “Obviously Hyatts-ville and other governments are going through a trying time,” he said.
City workers received a 1 per-cent COLA in the 2011 fiscal budget and have generally seen COLAS of about 2 percent to 3 percent on average in recent years, according to City Trea-surer Elaine Stookey.
Clearly, Mayor Marc Tartaro agrees a modest COLA for fiscal 2012 is needed. “It’s something we need to do,” he said. He re-quested new budget calculations that included a 1 percent COLA in 2012. It showed that spend-ing would outpace revenues by $153,151. At least one other city council member, Paula Perry of Ward 4, has also tipped her hand, in favor of a COLA for staff of up to 2 percent.
The revised city budget un-veiled on May 23 included the decision not to fund one addi-tional police officer. That person would have been hired to oversee a speed camera system, but there has been no clear council on the city council, Rose said.
In addition, the revised budget proposal called for a new policy fellow in communications in 2012 who would prepare docu-ments on long-term projects for the council, and a part-time staff-er for volunteer services.
The revised budget proposal also contained several significant changes in capital spending, in-cluding:• Delaying the purchase of new
trucks to await a fleet study• Deleting the purchase of a street
sweeper• Moving street construction for
University Hills to 2013 because the necessary engineering study won’t be ready for work to begin in 2012• Adding $38,867 for closed cir-
cuit TV • Spending $32,000 instead of
$15,000 for exterior renovations to the deteriorating building at Magruder Park
The City Council is expected to adopt a 2012 budget on June 13.
budget continued from page 1
town hall continued from page 1
susie currieCounty Councilmember Will Campos addresses a packed town hall meeting at Northwestern High School on June 2.
Hyattsville Life & Times | June 2011 Page 13
THIS SUMMER, THE CITY OF HYATTSVILLE DEPARTMENT OF RECREATION & THE ARTS PRESENTS
MOVIES AT MAGRUDER, HEURICH & UNIVERSITY HILLS PARKS Parents, mark your calendars - Hyattsville
goes Hollywood! Four family-friendly flicks are headed to area parks in Summer 2011.
How to Train Your DragonFriday, June 17 at 7:00 PMHeurich ParkAger Road & Nicholson Street
Shrek Forever AfterFriday, July 15 at 7:00 PMUniversity Hills/Duck Pond Park3400 Stanford Street (West End Wells Pkwy)
The Muppet MovieFriday, July 29 at 7:30 PMMagruder Park40th Avenue & Hamilton Street
The Princess and the FrogFriday, August 19 at 7:30 PMMagruder Park40th Avenue & Hamilton Street
All events are free and open to the public. Refreshments are available for sale. Bring your own blanket or lawn chairs! Questions? Call 301/985-5020.
First, it has to get built. Construction is expected to begin this January. To have enough land to build, PGCPS needed adjoining property owners – the City of Hyattsville and the Washington Metro-politan Area Transit Authority – to aban-don their respective rights-of-way. WMA-TA has already done so.
But city officials hinged agreement on changing the site plan. As the HL&T re-ported in August 2009, the city council was opposed to the school’s original site plan because it called for all drivers to enter the campus from Nicholson Street – a one-lane residential street with parking on both sides.
As recently as April 11, a PGCPS presen-
tation to the council still showed Nich-olson Street as a school route. Finally, on May 31, councilmembers saw a plan they could live with.
Paul Taylor, the school system’s director of planning and architectural services, un-veiled a design that has all vehicular traffic coming in from the north. Other changes: widening the sidewalk from 4 to 6 feet, adding a third traffic lane that will separate buses from cars, adding a fence and land-scape buffer to the parking lot, and install-ing a plaza bordering Nicholson Street.
“What this plan does is make sure that people can get in and out fairly quickly. Traffic is separated in a way to prevent stacking up,” said Mayor Marc Tartaro, before the council voted unanimously to approve the request to vacate the rights-
of-way. Approval is contingent on a signed agreement from the school board that the proposed changes will indeed be made.
During the meeting, Council President Matt McKnight (Ward 3) pointed out that the plaza might become a dropoff point.
“Some people are going to drop off on Nicholson no matter what,” he said later. “But I think the new design will make do-ing so less inviting.” Also, he added, “we have to leave pedestrian access from Nich-olson open somewhere for walkers.”
Paula Perry represents Ward 4, where the school will be located. “As far as parents pulling up and dropping off, I’d like to make part of [Nicholson Street] no stop-ping or standing,” she said in an interview.
Currently, Editors Park Drive also allows parking on both sides.
“We may have to limit that when it be-comes the main vehicular route for two schools,” said Tartaro. “Maybe by getting rid of parking on that street, or only allow-ing it during certain hours.”
The parking lot will be in roughly the same area it is now, adjacent to Nicholson Street. During the meeting, Perry called for more regulation during off hours.
“I want the school; I know we need the school,” she said. “But I still have concerns about the parking lot. My residents have had to put up with music blaring from cars in the lot [in off hours] for a long time.”
City Administrator Gregory Rose said that the agreement with the county would, if necessary, authorize Hyattsville police officers to enforce the city’s noise ordinance on school property.
The Hyattsville Area Elementary School site plan, with proposed changes in red.
school continued from page 1
Page 14 Hyattsville Life & Times | June 2011
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