MCPS Principal Accused in Sexual Harassment Lawsuit
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2015, 2016, 2017 MDDC News Organization of the Year! Celebrating more than 160 years of service! Vol. 165, No. 10 • 50¢ SINCE 1855 Thursday, August 15, 2019 INSIDE Remembering Flower Branch Victims MCPS Principal The Show Goes On! accused in sexual A unanimous vote by the Na- tional Philharmonic board of di- rectors on Aug. 10 paved the way harassment lawsuit for a bright future for the National Philharmonic under new manage- mentary schools. After seeing the By Elle Meyers ment but with the same musicians farm, Dr. Worthington insisted that @_ElleMeyers and conductors. (Wilson) show her around his house DAMASCUS — According to and specifically show her his bed- Page 3 court documents, a former security room,” the court documents allege. guard that worked at John T. Baker Upon further reading, Wilson Middle School in Damascus is su- alleges that he was very uncomfort- ing Montgomery County Public able with the principal’s request, but Schools (MCPS) on claims that the agreed to show her his bedroom be- female principal of the school sexu- cause Worthington was his employ- ally harassed him. er and because she had been helpful Security guard Scott Wilson to Wilson’s career in the past. also alleges that John T. Baker Mid- The documents allege that an- dle School Principal Dr. Louise other reason he obliged the request Worthington engaged in hostile be- to see his bedroom was that Wor- havior and gender-based discrimi- thington was allowing Wilson’s Washington nation in 2014. daughters to attend John T. Baker Honored Wilson was initially hired in Middle School even though the 2002 by MCPS as a paraeducator, family lived outside the boundary. Denzel Washington won his and from 2007 to 2017, he worked In another incident, Wilson al- first Academy Award for Best Ac- as a security assistant. leges that Worthington took his keys and hid them in her underwear. tor in a Supporting Role in “Glo- According to the court docu- She then walked away and insisted ry,” which will be shown as part of ments, Worthington was Wilson’s that he follow her into her office. an AFI film retrospective on Aug. supervisor. 18 at AFI Silver in Silver Spring. “When (Wilson) insisted she In 2014, Principal Worthington give him his keys back, Dr. Wor- made multiple unwanted sexual ad- Page 11 thington did, and then asked him if vances towards Wilson, according the keys were wet and if they PHOTO BY GEORGE SMITH to the lawsuit. smelled good,” the court documents Community members gather for a candlelight vigil during a remembrance “In one incident, Dr. Worthing- ceremony on the eve of the third anniversary of the gas explosion which ton asked (Wilson) to show her killed eight residents at the Flower Branch Apartments on Aug. 9 in Silver around his farm after she had com- Spring. Story on Page 3. pleted giving speeches at local ele- See Principal, Page 8 County corrects thousands of housing code violations in apartment inspection initiative Spirit Fall tion, which the council passed in inspected 100% of apartments with- approval of the bill seemed to result By Kathleen Stubbs November of 2016. The purpose of in a two-year period. from reaction to the gas explosion @katheenstubbs3 The Washington Spirit hosted the two-year surge of inspections Elrich said since the start of the and fire that killed eight people at the Chicago Red Stars on Aug. 10 ROCKVILLE – Two years of was to provide baseline data on the program, 96% of the housing viola- Flower Branch Apartments in Silver at Maureen Hendricks Field at the countywide apartment inspections county’s rental housing, according tions have been corrected. Spring on Aug. 10, 2016. Maryland SoccerPlex. Unfortu- uncovered poor and unsafe condi- to a news release from November Elrich is not new to advocating “That’s important that we did nately, the Spirit fell 1-0. tions, and housing officials said 30, 2016. for proper housing environments. what we did,” Elrich said. “I wish Aug. 8 that inspectors confirmed The Department of Housing “I have long worked on tenant the impetus had been natural rather Page 20 that 96% of the violations had been and Community Affairs (DHCA), issues and called for these more-fre- than somewhat reactionary, but I’m fixed. the new name for the Housing Op- quent and thorough inspections in glad it got done. Because that’s what County Executive Marc Elrich portunity Commission, inspected my tenant rights legislation bill 19- the tenants in this county need – (a) sponsored the tenant rights legisla- every apartment of 686 apartment 15, which the county council unani- good policy that helps protect the tion, known as Bill 19-15, when he buildings during a two-year period, mously supported,” Elrich said. conditions in which they live.” Councilmember Tom Hucker served on the County Council. which included more than 22,000 The tenant rights legislation did said he and Council President Nancy The council then had all apart- apartments. The inspectors identi- not pass when the councilmember- ments of all county apartment build- fied more than 31,000 violations. It turned-county-executive first intro- ings inspected as part of the legisla- was the first time the department had duced it. Elrich said that council’s See Violations, Page 8 2 THE MONTGOMERY COUNTY SENTINEL AUGUST 15, 2019 EFLECTIONS The Montgomery County Sentinel, R published weekly by Berlyn Inc. Publish- ing, is a community newspaper covering Montgomery County, Maryland. Our of- November 12, 1987: Legal notices: ‘avenue to wealth’ with property fices are located at 22 W. Jefferson Street, Suite 309, Rockville, MD 20850. Each week the Sentinel visits a a lot of mistakes. three weeks. It contains recording name address and phone number of Founded in 1855 by Matthew Fields. All mail to: P.O. Box 1272, Rockville, MD memorable story from its archives. “A common misconception is data filed at the County Clerk’s of- the person of company who is fore- 20849-1272. Subscription Rates for The that foreclosures only happen to fice regarding a property and its closing. Montgomery County Sentinel – Weekly by mail: $40.00 per year & $26.50 for Se- How can you get rich reading poor people,” Cirner remarks. “But owner. “By following the information nior Citizens. (USPS) 361-100. the legal notices? John Cirner, a real because of constant changes that The notice serves two purpos- in the legal notice,” Cirner states, “a estate broker and investor, suggests can affect anyone’s life, some es. First, it notifies the owner that he buyer can make necessary arrange- Bernard Kapiloff that the first place to look for bar- homeowners are walking away is behind in his payments and unless ments to purchase a property prior PUBLISHER E MERITUS gain property is in the Legal Notice from valuable property in every the account is brought to current the to the foreclosure sale.” Lynn G. Kapiloff section of The Sentinel. “It’s an av- community across the country. property will be sold at public auc- Cirner believes that anyone can CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER/ enue to wealth in buying discount “It is possible to find really tion. Second, it directs potential use the REIS Network system to be- PUBLISHER property,” he states. good deals even in the best neigh- buyers to property that can usually come successful in real estate in- [email protected] Cirner is a member of Real Es- borhoods where property values are be purchased below market value as vesting. Training includes tech- Mark Kapiloff tate Investment Specialists (REIS) up and owners possess higher equi- a substantial savings to the buyer. niques for handling distressed own- ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER Network, a rapidly growing nation- ties,” he adds. “Smart investors The information contained in ers and negotiating procedures to [email protected] wide network of independent real search the newspaper notices to find the notice includes the date and the use with money lenders and lein- EDITORIAL estate operators who specialize in bargain properties in default or fore- amount in default; a source to con- holders. Daniel Kucin Jr. this type of activity. closure.” tact for updated information; the “It doesn’t require a big invest- EXECUTIVE EDITOR Cirner has been buying and Preliminary training Cirner re- name of the trustee or person who ment of time or money,” Cirner [email protected] selling real estate for over 10 years. ceived from the Network included will conduct the sale; the original adds. “Even a person with an aver- José Umaña He bought his first property from a how to interpret Legal Notices. A date and amount of the trust deed; age income can get involved. The CITY EDITOR seller who wanted to avoid foreclo- Legal Notice of Default and Sale is the name of the person being fore- REIS Network encourages members [email protected] sure. He admits that in his earlier published in a newspaper’s general closed on; the legal description and to look for bargain properties that experiences he could have avoided circulation once a week usually for address of the property; and the can be resold quickly for a profit.” Barbara Trainin Blank COPY EDITOR Neal Earley NEWS [email protected] Kensington considers changing how it grants liquor licenses Write us ASSIGNMENTS George Smith cilmembers questioned Kathie Kensington’s zoning regulations. The Montgomery County Sentinel PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR By Suzanne Pollak Durbin, division chief of licensure, The council will continue its dis- @SuzannePollak welcomes letters. regulation and education with the cussion, looking into what hours they Tazeen Ahmad KENSINGTON – During its Montgomery County Department of prefer establishments to be able to sell CALENDAR EDITOR monthly meeting Aug.