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Date HeadLine Outlet 12/12/2008 Reporter's Notebook: Once upon a time, Santa The Gazette of Polities and Business needed a lobbyist 12/12/2008 Reporter's Notebook: Mom, Morella inspire Cokie The Gazette of Politics and Business to pen book 12/12/2008 Reporter's Notebook Mom, Morella inspire Cokie to Gazette, The pen book 12/12/2008 Reporter's Notebook Once upon a time, Santa Gazette, The needed a lobbyist 12/11/2008 Best Washingtonpost Online 12/11/2008 Montgomery: College-Level Tests Grow Fourfold in Washingtonpost - Online A Decade Non College 12/11/2008 Best Washington Post - Online 12/11/2008 Montgomery College-Level Tests Grow Fourfold in Washington Post - Online A Decade County Is Part of Trend Resha 12/11/2008 WHAT'S HAPPENING Washington Post - Online 12/10/2008 SHE HAD JUST STARTED CLASS'S AT ABC 7 News @ 11pm - WJLA MONTGOMERY COLLEGE. 12/10/2008 Guide steers shoppers to local businesses The Gazette 12/10/2008 Montgomery Hot Tickets The Gazette 12/10/2008 Journalist Cokie Roberts talks about women who The Gazette shaped history 12/10/2008 County players among Elite at college baseball The Gazette of Politics and Business prep academy 12/10/2008 Residents fired up over smoking The Gazette of Politics and Business 12/09/2008 Montgomery native running new college baseball The Gazette prep facility 12/09/2008 Obituaries Washington Post - Online 12/08/2008 JUST FOR KIDS The Frederick News-Post Online 12/08/2008 Swimming and Diving 2008-09 The Gazette 12/08/2008 Farm & Garden CALENDAR The Frederick News-Post Online 12/07/2008 Fund would help needy seniors with in-home care The Baltimore Examiner 12/07/2008 Editor's Picks: Calendar of Events and Activities Washington Woman 12/07/2008 Fund would help needy seniors with in-home care Associated Press (AP) 12/06/2008 Cardin Federal spending needed for economy Gazette, The 12/05/2008 Fund would help needy seniors with in-home care Hometownannapolis.com 12/05/2008 Forum Equips Teenage Girls To Handle Real-Life Washington Post - Online Situations Tips Include Staying Safe and Avoiding Cre News Clips Report

Reporter's Notebook: Once upon a time, Santa needed a lobbyist The Gazette of Polities and Business

12/12/2008 Friday, Dec. 12, 2008 Reporter's Notebook: Once upon a time, Santa needed a lobbyist | E-mail this article \ Print this article

Here's Ben!

Sen. Ben Cardin addressed a student group at Montgomery College last week, and much of the talk centered on the economy, but given the milieu, it's no surprise Cardin's own college days came up.

In his official biography, Cardin touts that he was first in his class at the University of Maryland School of Law, Class of 1967 — a fact that MC Prexy Brian Johnson noted in his introduction of Maryland's junior senator.

Cardin said there's more to the story.

While still a second-year student — in the middle of his class — Cardin ran for a seat in the Maryland House of Delegates.

"Then I got elected to the Maryland General Assembly and appointed to the committee that had the budget of the University of Maryland School of Law," Cardin told the more than 100 students.

"I don't know how it happened that I went up in class standing."

— Douglas Tallman News Clips Report

Reporter's Notebook: Mom, Morella inspire Cokie to pen book The Gazette of Politics and Business

12/12/2008 Reporter's Notebook: Mom, Morella inspire Cokie to pen book —Melissa J. Brachfeld | E-mail this article \ Print this article

Rachel Fus/Special to The Gazette Cokie Roberts talks to a largely female audience about her new book, "Ladies of Liberty: The Women Who Shaped Our Nation," at Montgomery College in Rockville on Dec. 3. Featured Jobs CIVIL ENGINEER Provide technical & engg. info to employees & subs; prepare reports, More

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See All Featured Ads More News Food and history: a delicious combo Christmas tree farmers expect to do well despite rocky economy City's expansion stirs worry in and around Potomac Renovated HOC apartments open in Germantown Groups sue board, council over bank historical designation Drawing on her own insight and years of research, and throwing in a dash of humor, journalist Cokie Roberts spoke at Montgomery College in Rockville last week about the women who helped shape American history from behind the scenes.

The audience, which was filled mostly with women, listened as Roberts discussed her latest book, "Ladies of Liberty: The Women Who Shaped Our Nation."

Through the use of personal correspondence, private journals and other sources, "Ladies of Liberty" brings to life the accomplishments of unheralded women who laid the groundwork for the nation

Roberts, who co-anchored the weekly ABC interview program "This Week" and is now a senior news analyst for National Public Radio, said she was inspired to write the book by watching women like her mother and former U.S. Rep. Constance Morella, the longtime Republican congresswoman who served Montgomery County's 8th District, in action as politicians, mothers and wives. Morella, who once taught at Montgomery College, introduced Roberts at the Dec. 3 event.

Morella called Roberts "a friend I admire mightily" and said her books "sparkle with humanity and humor."

Roberts, a Bethesda resident, jumped from story to story, including how Dolley Madison's popularity within Washington, D.C., social circles helped her husband get elected. When James Madison won the 1808 election, his opponent, Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, declared he had been "beaten out by Mr. and Mrs. Madison," Roberts said.

As she signed copies of her books, Roberts said she is curious to see the role Michelle Obama, wife of President-elect Barack Obama (D), will play as first lady. News Clips Report

Reporter's Notebook Mom, Morella inspire Cokie to pen book Gazette, The

12/12/2008 Cokie Roberts talks to a largely female audience about her new book, 'Ladies of Liberty: The Women Who Shaped Our Nation,' at Montgomery College in Rockville on Dec. 3.

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Drawing on her own insight and years of research, and throwing in a dash of humor, journalist Cokie Roberts spoke at Montgomery College in Rockville last week about the women who helped shape American history from behind the scenes.

The audience, which was filled mostly with women, listened as Roberts discussed her latest book, 'Ladies of Liberty: The Women Who Shaped Our Nation.'

Through the use of personal correspondence, private journals and other sources, 'Ladies of Liberty' brings to life the accomplishments of unheralded women who laid the groundwork for the nation

Roberts, who co-anchored the weekly ABC interview program 'This Week' and is now a senior news analyst for National Public Radio, said she was inspired to write the book by watching women like her mother and former U.S. Rep. Constance Morella, the longtime Republican congresswoman who served Montgomery County's 8th District, in action as politicians, mothers and wives. Morella, who once taught at Montgomery College, introduced Roberts at the Dec. 3 event.

Morella called Roberts 'a friend I admire mightily' and said her books 'sparkle with humanity and humor.'

Roberts, a Bethesda resident, jumped from story to story, including how Dolley Madison's popularity within Washington, D.C., social circles helped her husband get elected. When James Madison won the 1808 election, his opponent, Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, declared he had been 'beaten out by Mr. and Mrs. Madison,' Roberts said.

As she signed copies of her books, Roberts said she is curious to see the role Michelle Obama, wife of President-elect Barack Obama (D), will play as first lady. News Clips Report

Reporter's Notebook Once upon a time, Santa needed a lobbyist Gazette, The

12/12/2008 A Japanese reporter asked him what he knew about reindeer, to which the guv replied that he knew it was illegal to have reindeer in Maryland, but that he was 'going to sign an executive order to allow Santa and his reindeer to do their work.'

A tip led us to Del. Rick Impallaria, who shed some light on this holiday story that dates to 2005. That's when, as Impallaria tells it, his son Ricky a fifth-grader at the time came to the Middle River Republican with a concern that the reindeer restrictions would mean that Santa couldn't come to Maryland.

Impallaria raised the issue in a caucus meeting, leading former Gov. Bob Ehrlich to declare himself 'pro-reindeer' and issue a proclamation allowing reindeer into Maryland airspace on Dec. 24 so Santa could go to work.

That led to a media blitz, with Ricky appearing on Fox News and in newspapers.

Fast forward to this year, when through the wonders of the Internet a director of a children's show on Japanese television network NHK found the story.

The show's host flew in from Japan to interview Ricky, now 13.

Ricky went from a skeptic to 'a true believer' in St. Nick, his father said.

'He's an uncle now, so it's time to believe,' Impallaria said.

The television host presented Ricky with a Japanese Christmas cloth, a traditional saki cup (apparently they're not as strict on underage drinking in Japan) and a wreath. The Impallarias gave State House pins and patches from Annapolis.

'Can you believe this guy got on a plane in Japan and came all this way just to see you?' the elder Impallaria said he asked his son.

'The Internet's amazing, isn't it?'

Indeed.

Sean R. Sedam

Tribune tribulation

Talk about a tough crowd.

Baltimore Sun political editor David Nitkin had barely finished his lunch Tuesday when the first Tribune bankruptcy crack came during the Maryland Government Relations Association luncheon, courtesy of jokester Bill Pitcher.

'I would have come today even had I not been invited just to hear David,' quipped Pitcher, who later paid tribute to deceased lobbyists Jim Doyle and Roger Redden. 'We might not be seeing David much.'

'Just kidding, David,' Pitcher told the one-time State House reporter who, along with ex-Sun columnist Michael Olesker, was famously blacklisted by former Gov. Bob Ehrlich. 'Good luck with that.'

The hard-to-rattle Nitkin would have made Sam Zell proud with his response. 'For now, it appears that it is business as usual at The Baltimore Sun. We will work as hard as we can at a time of declining subscriptions, migration of readers from print to Web and the need just to contract staff, the number of pages, the number of sections.'

And Nitkin, who's spent the past few years at the Sun's national desk in Washington, delivered a zinger of his own for the crowd who gathered at the hoity-toity Annapolis Yacht Club. News Clips Report

'I was hoping things haven't changed that much. When I came here, I went to the room I thought was the luncheon and I saw a lot of Top-Siders and bow ties,' he said. 'I thought there was now a dress code for lobbyists in Annapolis that might have been instituted in the last year, but that appears not to be the case, so that's good.'

Alan Brody

Here's Ben!

Sen. Ben Cardin addressed a student group at Montgomery College last week, and much of the talk centered on the economy, but given the milieu, it's no surprise Cardin's own college days came up.

In his official biography, Cardin touts that he was first in his class at the University of Maryland School of Law, Class of 1967 a fact that MC Prexy Brian Johnson noted in his introduction of Maryland's junior senator.

Cardin said there's more to the story.

While still a second-year student in the middle of his class Cardin ran for a seat in the Maryland House of Delegates.

'Then I got elected to the Maryland General Assembly and appointed to the committee that had the budget of the University of Maryland School of Law,' Cardin told the more than 100 students.

'I don't know how it happened that I went up in class standing.'

Douglas Tallman

Here's Mike!

Speaking of introductions, Senate President Mike Miller shared this story Monday, when he addressed the Committee for Montgomery County.

His biography says he was elected to the state Senate in 1974, and before that, he served one term in the Maryland House of Delegates.

When he was chosen to speak to graduates of the University of Maryland a few years ago, the nervous student who introduced him said, 'He was elected to the state Senate in 1974, and before that, he served one term in the Maryland House of Corrections.'

Douglas Tallman

Who's your daddy?

Monday morning, Monty Exec Ike Leggett drew a 'line in the sand' over precious money for teacher pensions and a state funding program that gives the county extra school aid because of the cost of living.

He was speaking at the Committee for Montgomery breakfast, and minutes later, Miller said the state fiscal crisis is bad enough that things like teacher pensions and school aid could be cut to balance the Maryland budget.

It's a bit like Santa Claus telling a kid not to expect a pony for Christmas.

That's not to say Miller didn't acknowledge Leggett's influence in the state.

'Ike Leggett and I go way back,' Miller said. 'His relationship with the governor is going to pay big dividends, because Ike Leggett was in charge of the redistricting committee that redrew the lines that resulted in Dutch Ruppersberger, resulted in Chris Van Hollen, and this past year, resulted in our good friend Frank Kratovil.'

Maybe if the state won't play Montgomery's Kriss Kringle, Congress will.

Douglas Tallman

Bob on Rod News Clips Report

Ehrlich found himself in the rare position of defending Barack Obama during a Wednesday-morning appearance with the Sports Junkies on WJFK-FM.

The hosts questioned Obama's ties to embattled Illinois guv Rod Blagojevich in the pay-to-play politics scandal uncovered this week and why the media was letting him off the hook so easily. Ehrlich recalled how former Rep. Mark Foley's alleged homosexual encounters with congressional pages negatively impacted his poll numbers in the heat of the 2006 gubernatorial campaign, even though they were worlds apart.

'The week the Foley scandal hit, I lost five points overnight,' Ehrlich said. 'It's a congressional scandal in Florida. I'm running for governor of Maryland.'

Ehrlich and Blagojevich served in Congress together from 1997 to 2003, and their terms as governor also coincided, but the two only knew each other casually, Bobby said.

Holding Obama accountable for any of Blagojevich's corruption allegations is 'as fair as Foley's downfall being held against me, but it was, and you know what, that's politics,' Ehrlich said. 'You can't complain about it. That's the way it is.'

Even if there's no connection, Obama may very well feel the effects of the scheme in his home state, the ex-guv said. 'It does begin to create a certain rhythm for the cycle. He needs this like a hole in his head.'

Alan Brody

Web gem

And speaking of Blagojevich (D), who was caught on tape allegedly trying to sell Obama's now vacant U.S. Senate seat to the highest bidder, he has inspired many comedians, but Del. Saqib Ali of Gaithersburg may have had the funniest line on his Facebook page.

Ali thinks Blagojevich 'should have just used eBay instead.'

Ali's known more for his bills on traffic cameras in the state legislature, but his Facebook postings are gaining a following as well.

C. Benjamin Ford

Dueling doctrines

Delegates are talking policy in the halls of Annapolis as traffic around the State House has picked up a bit in recent days a sure sign of the approach of the 2009 General Assembly, which begins in 33 days.

Del. Murray Levy and Del. Galen Clagett exchanged pleasantries and a friendly jab at a fellow Democrat on Wednesday.

Levy mentioned that budget leaders and higher education officials were meeting to put the finishing touches on a report by a commission on higher education funding. The panel has come to be known as the Bohanan Commission, for its chairman, Del. John Bohanan, a colleague of both Clagett and Levy on the House Appropriations Committee.

Levy joked that the 'Bohanan doctrine' was likely to run afoul of the 'Conway doctrine,' referring to Appropriations Committee Chairman Norm Conway.

'The Bohanan doctrine is he's gonna guarantee money, and the Conway doctrine is to reduce mandates,' Levy said.

Bohanan acknowledged Wednesday that the state's budget situation would make it tough to enact some of the panel's $760 million in recommendations in the short term.

'He's in the middle of a really messy stick,' Clagett replied.

'My money's on Conway,' Levy said.

Sean R. Sedam News Clips Report

Bragging rights

So O'Malley's beloved Baltimore Ravens overwhelmed Doug Gansler's adored Washington Redskins last week in the Battle of the Beltway, which put the Ravens closer to the playoffs and leaves the Burgundy & Gold on the outside looking in.

Now the AG owes the guv a crab cake lunch, as per the friendly wager agreed upon before kickoff. No word yet on where the two will dine, but Gansler will surely be eating crow.

Alan Brody

Red and blue Friday

Speaker Mike Busch brought season's greetings to the House Ways and Means Committee's session preview meeting Monday in Annapolis.

It's the holiday season, but it's also budget season, and Busch mused about why the feds chose to spend $700 million to bail out the banking industry when they could 'start at the bottom with the states.'

'If they bailed out every state, everybody would be out there buying cars,' he joked to the committee before wishing them a happy holiday.

'Be sure to buy all you jewelry from Ron George,' Busch quipped, referring to his District 30 colleague, a Republican delegate whose jewelry store is on Main Street near the State House. 'They give discounts. Twenty percent off if you're a Democrat. Fifty percent off if you're a Republican.' News Clips Report

Best Washingtonpost Online

12/11/2008 Best

Children's Books Come to Life in Musical

TheatreworksUSA performs a musical revue based on popular children's books, including "Diary of a Worm," "Fluffy's Silly Summer," "Horace and Morris But Mostly Dolores," "How I Became a Pirate," "If You Give a Pig a Pancake," "Lilly's Big Day" and "The Paper Bag Princess."

The songs address a range of subjects, including mice who must figure out whether boys and girls can be friends, a boy who wishes to sail away as a pirate, and a pig who teaches a frazzled girl a lesson in cause and effect. Recommended for age 4 and younger.

The show is at 11 a.m. Saturday at the Robert E. Parilla Performing Arts Center, Montgomery College, 51 Mannakee St. in Rockville. $7; seniors, students and children, $6. 240-567-5301 or http://www.montgomerycollege.edu/PAC. News Clips Report

Montgomery: College-Level Tests Grow Fourfold in A Decade Non College Washingtonpost - Online

12/11/2008 » This Story:Read +|Talk +| Comments • Maryland: Schools' College-Level Tests Tripled in Past Decade • The Local List: Challenge Index 2008 • The Catching Up List: Challenge Index 2008 • The District List: Challenge Index 2008 • Why I Changed the Challenge Index • Pr. George's Doubles Its College-Level Test Takers » Montgomery: College-Level Tests Grow Fourfold in A Decade • Northern Virginia: College-Level Testing Is Up Sharply In Region • Northern Virginia: Movement To AP and IB Continues • Regional Coverage • Friday, Dec. 12 at Noon ET: Jay Mathews: Challenge Index

Top Local Schools » Local List | The Post's Jay Mathews identifies the area's most challenging high schools in his annual ranking.» A New Index The Catching Up Schools » Class Struggle Why I Changed the IndexMontgomery County Montgomery: College-Level Tests Grow Fourfold in A Decade County Is Part of Trend Reshaping Senior Year

» Top 35 Metro Articles » Most Popular on washingtonpost.com

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Who's Blogging» Links to this article By Jay Mathews Washington Post Staff Writer Thursday, December 11, 2008; Page GZ01 News Clips Report

Students in Montgomery and Frederick counties took four times as many college-level tests this year as they did a decade ago, part of a trend that is making the senior year of high school comparable to the freshman year of college in many Washington area school districts.

This Story Maryland: Schools' College-Level Tests Tripled in Past Decade Friday, Dec. 12 at Noon ET: Jay Mathews: Challenge Index The Local List: Challenge Index 2008 The Catching Up List: Challenge Index 2008 The District List: Challenge Index 2008 Why I Changed the Challenge Index Prince George's County: Pr. George's Doubles Its College-Level Test Takers Montgomery County: Montgomery: College-Level Tests Grow Fourfold in A Decade Fairfax and Falls Church: Northern Virginia: College-Level Testing Is Up Sharply In Region Arlington and Alexandria: Northern Virginia: Movement To AP and IB Continues More: Regional Coverage View All Items in This Story View Only Top Items in This Story The rapid growth in the Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate college-level programs, as well as more opportunities for high school students to study at community colleges, is confirmed by The Washington Post's latest Challenge Index survey of 189 high schools in 28 school districts. Since 1998, the Challenge Index has reported the annual level of participation in AP, IB and other college level tests in dozens of subjects for all public schools in the region.

Washington area educators also had success using college-level courses and tests to raise the level of instruction for impoverished minority students at schools such as Wakefield in Arlington County, J.E.B. Stuart in Fairfax County and Wheaton in Montgomery.

However, the push for more college-level courses in disadvantaged schools has led to a new and potentially controversial trend. Several schools, particularly in the District and Prince George's County, are involving large numbers of students in AP classes even though few of them score well enough on the exams to receive college credit.

Twenty-three Washington area schools reported grades this year that could earn college credit on fewer than 10 percent of their AP exams. The national passing rate is about 57 percent. Educators at several of these schools said that despite the low scores, their AP students benefited from striving for more than is expected in most high school courses and getting the experience of three-hour exams full of essay questions written and scored by outside experts. Previous AP students told those educators that the taste of college academic trauma helped them survive academically when they enrolled in college.

One D.C. school, Coolidge, broke all local records for AP involvement in a high-poverty school this year by giving 750 AP exams. Only 2 percent received passing scores, but because the Challenge Index was designed to encourage participation and counts tests, not scores, that participation rate alone would have made Coolidge the top-ranked school in the area, ahead of H-B Woodlawn in Arlington, where 59 percent of the AP exams received passing scores.

But given the emergence of the unconventional use of AP in so many local schools, the Challenge Index has been split this year into two ranked lists, one for schools with passing rates of 10 percent or above and one for schools with passing rates below that level. The four top schools on the new Catching Up schools list, in descending order, are Coolidge, Bell Multicultural in the District, D.C charter school Friendship Collegiate and Crossland in Prince George's.

The four top schools on the regular list are Woodlawn, Montgomery County's Richard Montgomery, Clarke County (Va.) and Montgomery's Wootton.

Officials at several schools on the Catching Up list said they had no problem with the change, although one principal, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of criticism in his district, said it reminded him of separate-but-equal school segregation. Another official -- Arsallah Shairzay, dean of early college and AP programs at Friendship Collegiate -- suggested the index be revised to give credit for the passing grades his students received in University of the District of Columbia classes.

Some teachers and parents at Coolidge have said the AP courses and tests are of no use to students so far behind and News Clips Report

hurt their grade-point averages. But parent leader Terry Goings said he supports the program. Coolidge Principal L. Nelson Burton said most AP students are making more progress than they would in an ordinary class and feeling a sense of accomplishment despite their low scores.

Several Washington suburbs, including Montgomery, have high schools with large numbers of impoverished students like those on the Catching Up list but with higher AP and IB passing rates. Educators at several schools said such students did better in more affluent districts because they had more experienced AP teachers and better preparation in lower grades before they reached AP courses in high school.

"AP for us is a schoolwide effort," said Wheaton Principal Kevin Lowndes. "It has to start with the ninth-grade teacher who helps the student learn the necessary skills."

As usual, every high school in Montgomery and nearly every school in Frederick County had a Challenge Index rating of at least 1, which puts them in the top 6 percent of all U.S. public schools measured this way. The ratings are the number of college-level tests given in all grades, per graduating senior. Tuscarora High, the only Frederick County school under 1, came very close. It would have reached 1 if it had given eight more AP exams. News Clips Report

Best Washington Post - Online

12/11/2008 'It's a Wonderful Life' Onstage in Gaithersburg

Sandy Spring Theater Group performs an adaptation of Frank Capra's classic film 'It's a Wonderful Life,' directed by Stan Levin. The production imitates a live-broadcast radio play set on Christmas Eve 1946 and features five actors performing dozens of characters and sound effects in front of a studio audience.

Shows are 7:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and 2 p.m. Saturdays through Dec. 20, at the Arts Barn, 311 Kent Square Rd. in Gaithersburg. $14; Gaithersburg residents, $12. 301-258-6394 or http://www.gaithersburgmd.gov/artsbarn.

Soweto Gospel Choir Plays at Strathmore

Strathmore hosts the Grammy Award-winning Soweto Gospel Choir, a 25-member group that performs traditional African and Western gospel and holiday music. The group will perform songs a cappella and with live accompaniment, including 'Amazing Grace,' 'This Little Light of Mine,' 'Joy to the World,' 'Little Drummer Boy,' 'Go Tell It on the Mountain' and a version of Bob Marley's 'One Love' mixed with the Zulu people's song 'Avulekile Amasango.' The concert is at 8 p.m. tomorrow at the Music Center at Strathmore, 5301 Tuckerman Lane in North Bethesda. $25-$48. 301-581-5100 or http://www.strathmore.org.

Children's Books Come to Life in Musical

TheatreworksUSA performs a musical revue based on popular children's books, including 'Diary of a Worm,' 'Fluffy's Silly Summer,' 'Horace and Morris But Mostly Dolores,' 'How I Became a Pirate,' 'If You Give a Pig a Pancake,' 'Lilly's Big Day' and 'The Paper Bag Princess.' The songs address a range of subjects, including mice who must figure out whether boys and girls can be friends, a boy who wishes to sail away as a pirate, and a pig who teaches a frazzled girl a lesson in cause and effect. Recommended for age 4 and younger.

Montgomery College-Level Tests Grow Fourfold in A Decade County Is Part of Trend Resha Washington Post - Online Alexandria, VA Jay Mathews 12/11/2008 Students in Montgomery and Frederick counties took four times as many college-level tests this year as they did a decade ago, part of a trend that is making the senior year of high school comparable to the freshman year of college in many Washington area school districts.

The rapid growth in the Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate college-level programs, as well as more opportunities for high school students to study at community colleges, is confirmed by The Washington Post's latest Challenge Index survey of 189 high schools in 28 school districts. Since 1998, the Challenge Index has reported the annual level of participation in AP, IB and other college level tests in dozens of subjects for all public schools in the region.

Some teachers and parents at Coolidge have said the AP courses and tests are of no use to students so far behind and hurt their grade-point averages. But parent leader Terry Goings said he supports the program. Coolidge Principal L. Nelson Burton said most AP students are making more progress than they would in an ordinary class and feeling a sense of accomplishment despite their low scores.

In Montgomery, for instance, 48 percent of students at Wheaton High School had family incomes low enough to qualify for federal lunch subsidies. This was comparable to Crossland, 42 percent low-income, and the District's McKinley Tech, 53 percent low-income. But 32 percent of AP tests at Wheaton received passing scores, compared with 3 percent at Crossland and 5 percent at McKinley. 'AP for us is a schoolwide effort,' said Wheaton Principal Kevin Lowndes. 'It has to start with the ninth-grade teacher who helps the student learn the necessary skills.' As usual, every high school in Montgomery and nearly every school in Frederick County had a Challenge Index rating of at least 1, which puts them in the top 6 percent of all U.S. public schools measured this way. The ratings are the number of college-level tests given in all grades, per graduating senior. Tuscarora High, the only Frederick County school under 1, came very close. It would have reached 1 if it had given eight more AP exams.

For more on the changes in the Challenge Index, please see Jay Mathews's Class Struggle column at http://www.washingtonpost.com/class-struggle. News Clips Report

WHAT'S HAPPENING Washington Post - Online

12/11/2008 Children and Teens 'ALICE' -- 7 p.m. Wednesdays-Fridays; 3 and 8 p.m. Saturdays; 3 p.m. Sundays, through Dec. 21; 1 and 6 p.m. Dec. 26 and 27. A world-premiere adaptation of Lewis Carroll's 'Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.' Round House Theatre, 4545 East West Hwy., Bethesda. $25-$60; children, $20. 240-644-1100 or http://www.roundhousetheatre.org. 'MISS NELSON IS MISSING!' -- 12:30 and 3:30 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays, through Jan. 4; additional performances around Christmas Day. A musical production of the children's book by Harry Allard and James Marshall. Recommended for age 4 and older. Imagination Stage, 4908 Auburn Ave., Bethesda. $10-$21; group rates available. 301-280-1660 or http://www.imaginationstage.org.

Holiday Events 'WINTER LIGHTS FESTIVAL' -- 6-9 p.m. Sundays-Thursdays; 6-10 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, through Jan. 3; closed Christmas and New Year's Day. A 3.5-mile drive-through display. Seneca Creek State Park, 11950 Clopper Rd., Gaithersburg. Sundays-Thursdays, $10 per car; Fridays and Saturdays, $12 per car; coupons for $2 off Mondays-Thursdays available at Lakeforest Mall. 301-258-6350, Ext. 120 or http://www.gaithersburgmd.gov/winterlights. 'GARDEN OF LIGHTS' -- Light displays, 5:30 to 9 p.m. daily through Jan. 4; 'Colors of the Season' holiday plantings and garden railway conservatory exhibits, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily through Jan. 4; concerts, 6:30 to 8 p.m. daily through Jan. 4. Conservatory exhibits only, Dec. 24; the gardens will be closed Christmas Day. Brookside Gardens, 1800 Glenallan Ave., Wheaton. Fridays-Sundays, $20; Mondays-Thursdays or in advance, $15. 301-962-1453 or http://www.mc- mncppc.org/parks/brookside.

MODEL TRAIN AND CHRISTMAS TOY SHOW -- 9 a.m.-4 p.m. today-tomorrow; noon-4 p.m. Saturday-Sunday. An exhibit of Christmas toys, model trains and dolls. Sandy Spring Museum, 17901 Bentley Rd., Sandy Spring. Free. 301- 774-0022 or http://www.sandyspringmuseum.org.

THE PUPPET CO. PLAYHOUSE -- 10 and 11:30 a.m. Wednesdays-Fridays; 11:30 a.m. and 1 p.m. Saturday and Sundays, through Dec. 23; 11:30 a.m. and 1 p.m. daily, Dec. 26-31; benefit performance, 6 p.m. Saturday. The company performs its 25th annual production of 'The Nutcracker,' featuring costumed characters and marionettes. The benefit performance, in conjunction with the park's 'Winter's Eve' festival, will feature a silent auction and the release of a commemorative book. Glen Echo Park, 7300 MacArthur Blvd., Glen Echo. $10; benefit performance, $25. 301-320-6668 or http://www.thepuppetco.org. 'AN 1890s CHRISTMAS' -- Noon-4 p.m. Tuesdays-Fridays, through Jan. 4; final tour of the day, 3:15 p.m. The Montgomery County Historical Society hosts tours of the Beall-Dawson House, which displays 1890s artifacts. Hot cider and cookies provided. Closed on federal holidays. Beall-Dawson House, 103 W. Montgomery Ave., Rockville. $3; seniors and children, $2. 301-762-1492 or http://www.montgomeryhistory.org. 'HOLIDAY FETE' -- 6:30-8:30 p.m. Tuesday. The Montgomery County Historical Society presents an evening of food, music and a silent auction. Beall-Dawson House, 103 W. Montgomery Ave., Rockville. $20; two people, $35; prepaid reservations required. 301-340-2825 or http://www.montgomeryhistory.org. 'HOLIDAY SHOW' -- Noon-6 p.m. Tuesdays-Saturdays, through Dec. 31; reception, 6-9 p.m. tomorrow. An exhibit featuring 21 artists' contemporary and traditional works. Reception includes holiday refreshments. Waverly Street, 4600 East West Hwy., Bethesda. Free. 301-951-9441.

MORMON TEMPLE FESTIVAL OF LIGHTS -- 5:30-10 p.m. daily, through Jan. 1. Concerts at 7 and 8 p.m. each evening feature bell choirs, orchestras, vocal choirs and flute, harp and string ensembles. Washington, D.C. Temple Visitors' Center, 9900 Stoneybrook Dr., Kensington. 301-587-0144 or http://www.dctemplelights.lds.org.

BETHESDA ROW'S HOLIDAY OPEN HOUSE -- 6:30-8:30 p.m. tomorrow. Horse and carriage rides, strolling entertainers, refreshments, in-store discounts, trunk shows and holiday carolers. Tatiana Boncompagni, Vogue contributor and author of 'Gilding Lily,' will sign books at Urban Chic. Bethesda Row, 4801 Bethesda Ave. Free; donations for the carriage rides benefit the National Capital Area Chapter of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. 301-998- 8310 or http://www.bethesdarow.com.

METROPOLITAN BALLET THEATRE -- 7 p.m. tomorrow; 3 and 7 p.m. Saturday; 1 and 5 p.m. Sunday. Academy students and professional dancers perform the ballet company's 20th annual full-scale production of 'The Nutcracker.' Montgomery College, Robert E. Parilla Performing Arts Center, 51 Mannakee St., Rockville. $22; in advance, $20; seniors, $18; groups of 10 or more, $17. 240-567-5301 or http://www.mbtdance.org. News Clips Report

SHE HAD JUST STARTED CLASS'S AT MONTGOMERY COLLEGE. ABC 7 News @ 11pm - WJLA

12/10/2008 NOW WHAT? MEMBERS OF THE ILLINOIS LEGISLATURE WANT A SPECIAL ELECTION FOR THE SENATE SEAT. THAT TAKES THE GOVERNOR'S SIGNATURE. LEGISLATURES ARE ALSO SAYING THEY SHOULD IMPEACHED BLAGOJEVICH, THAT COULD TAKE MONTHS. ATTORNEY GENERAL MADIGAN SAID SHE IS WILLING TO GO TO COURT AS SOON AS POSSIBLE TO FORCE THE GOVERNOR OUT OF OFFICE IF IMPEACHMENT TAKES TOO LONG. FOR NOW, THE GOVERNOR GETS TO KEEP HIS JOB AS THE SCANDAL CONTINUES TO UNFOLD. BECCA COOPER, ABC 7 NEWS. THE POLICE IN ROCKVILLE HAVE RELEASED A SKETCH AND VEHICLE DESCRIPTION IN THE STABBING OF A POSTAL CARRIER. AUTHORITIES ARE LOOKING FOR AN HISPANIC MAN IN HIS 30'S, 5 FEET 6 INCHES TALL. THE SUSPECT LOCKED LEFT THE SCENE AND A TEAL DODGE NEON. THE POSTAL WORKER WAS STABBED IN THE ABDOMEN AND IS NOW IN STABLE CONDITION. A BANK ROBBERY IN MCLEAN, AND WHEN THE SHOOTING STOPPED THE MAN WAS DEAD. THE MAN DROPPED THE BB&T BANK ON OLD DOMINION DRIVE AT 11:30 AMOFFICERS CAUGHT UP WITH DEMAND AND THE SUSPECT PULLED OUT A GUN AND REFUSED THE OFFICER'S COMMANDS. HE WAS SHOT AND DIED AT THE SCENE. HEART BREA F ORE LY MI FATH AN OMUN WTYAN TONIGHT. W ANAN LAI DIED AND A SIX-VEHICLE CRASH NEAR WHITE FLINT MALL. JOHN GONZALEZ HAS MORE. THE TEENAGE VICTIM WAS THE YOUNGEST OF EIGHT. SHE HAD JUST STARTED CLASS'S AT MONTGOMERY COLLEGE. SHE WAS WORKING PART-TIME AT A CAR DEALERSHIP. TONIGHT, WE SPOKE WITH HER BEST FRIEND SINCE MIDDLE SCHOOL. AS FRIENDS GATHERED WITH CANDLES AT THE SITE, THIS WOMAN CANNOT BELIEVE HER BEST FRIEND IS GONE. I REMEMBER TALKING TO HER MONDAY ABOUT CHRISTMAS PLANS. XUAN LAI WAS KILLED JUST AFTER 8:00 LAST NIGHT WHILE SHE SAT IN HER VEHICLE LAST NIGHT. A HONDA CIVIC HEADING IN THE OTHER DIRECTION TO THE MEDIAN, WENT AIRBORNE, AND LANDED ON HER CAR. MY SISTER WAS INNOCENT. SHE JUST GOT OFF WORK. NOBODY ELSE WAS SERIOUSLY INJURED. THE DRIVER OF THE HONDA CIVIC TOLD THE POLICE HE WAS JUST TRYING TO AVOID A RECKLESS SPORTS CAR THAT WAS SPEEDING AND WEAVING IN AND OUT OF TRAFFIC. SHE WAS STRUCK RIGHT THERE. TONIGHT, MAKING SURE HER MEMORIES, TALKING ABOUT BOYS AND SINGING SONGS. ANYWHERE I GO, I WILL REMEMBER A LOT OF THINGS. I WILL REMEMBER HER. MANY SAY THIS STRETCH OF ROCKVILLE PIKE HAS A PROBLEM WITH LATE-NIGHT STREET RACING. THE POLICE WANT TO BE VERY CLEAR, THEY ARE NOT SAYING THAT THIS WAS CAUSED BY A STREET RACE. THEY'RE STILL HOPING TO TALK TO WITNESSES AND ARE LOOKING FOR THE DRIVER OF A BLACK NISSAN 350-Z, POSSIBLY WITH MARYLAND TAGS. LIVE FROM MONTGOMERY COUNTY JOHN GONZALEZ, ABC 7 NEWS. SCARY STORY INSIDE AND HOWARD COUNTY DAYCARE AFTER THE FRONTIN WDOW WAS ACCIDENTALLY SHOT OUT. AT THE DAY CARE CENTER ON CLARKSVILLE SQUARE DRIVE. HOWARD COUNTY POLICE SAY THE BLOOD CAME FROM DEER HUNTERS SEVERAL HUNDRED YARDSWA AYWA THE BULLET CAME FROM DEER HUNTERS. THE DEER HUNTERS WERE NOT BREAKING ANY LAWS. IT PLANNED TO BEEF UP THE POLICE FORCE AND THE DISTRICT DURING THE INAUGURATION IS CAUSING A BICOASTAL FIGHT. THE DISTRICT PLANS TO BRING IN 4000 OFFICERS FROM ACROSS THE COUNTRY. NEARLY 400 LOS ANGELES COUNTY DEPUTIES WILL BE FLOWN IN. BUT BECAUSE THE ENTIRE COST WILL NOT BE REIMBURD, LA IS BALKING ON THE DEAL. BOTH SIDES ARE STILL IN TALKS AND HOPED TO COME TO AN AGREEMENT. SPECIAL CHRISTMAS GATHERING AT CHRISTMAS AT GEORGETOWN HOSPITAL WHEN SANTA CLAUS ARE ARRIVED. HE BROUGHT MORE THAN 1000 TOYS AND GOODIES. TOMORROW, HE WILL BE GOING TO VISIT CHILDREN AT INOVA FAIRFAX HOSPITAL. FAIRFAX COUNTY POLICE HAVE SPONSORED THE CHRISTMAS TOY DRIVE AND DELIVERY 20 YEARS. News Clips Report

Guide steers shoppers to local businesses The Gazette

12/10/2008 Wednesday, Dec. 10, 2008 Guide steers shoppers to local businesses Peopleand Places | Jeremy Arias and Jason TOMASSINI E-mail this article \ Print this article

‘Spooky' theater comes to Takoma Park

Spooky Action Theater, a Washington, D.C.-based production company, will perform "Tales of Doomed Love (or is it ever worth it?)" 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 2 p.m. Dec. 20 and Dec. 21 at The Black Box Theatre at Montgomery College. Black Box is located at the corner of Philadelphia and Chicago avenues in Takoma Park. The show follows six characters turning five classics of love and loss upside-down in an evening of theatrical storytelling.

Tickets are $15 and $5 for students at the door for the Friday and Dec. 21 show while the Saturday and Dec. 20 shows are part of "Pay What You Can Saturdays." For tickets call 1-800-494-TIXS or visit www.spookyaction.org. Parental discretion is advised for children age 13 and younger. For more information call 202-248-0647. News Clips Report

Montgomery Hot Tickets The Gazette

12/10/2008 Wednesday, Dec. 10, 2008 Montgomery Hot Tickets | E-mail this article \ Print this article

Tom Radcliffe Loretta Kelly, Charlie Pilzer and Andrea Hoag will perform Monday. Page to stage

TheatreworksUSA's "If You Give a Pig a Pancake & Other Story Books" will be on stage as part of Montgomery College's Saturday Morning Children's Series at 11 a.m. Saturday in the Robert E. Parilla Performing Arts Center, Montgomery College, 51 Mannakee St., Rockville. The musical revue features seven stories from popular children's literature. Tickets are $7, $6 for seniors, students and children. Call 240-567-5301 or visit www.montgomerycollege.edu/PAC. children's books to life in "If You Give a Pig a Pancake & Other Story Books." News Clips Report

Journalist Cokie Roberts talks about women who shaped history The Gazette

12/10/2008 Wednesday, Dec. 10, 2008 Journalist Cokie Roberts talks about women who shaped history Speech at Montgomery College promoted her latest book, ‘Ladies of Liberty' by Melissa J. Brachfeld | Staff Writer E-mail this article \ Print this article

Rachel Fus/Special to The Gazette Cokie Roberts talks to a largely female audience about her new book, "Ladies of Liberty: The Women Who Shaped Our Nation," at Montgomery College in Rockville on Dec. 3.Drawing on her own insight and years of research, and throwing in a dash of humor, journalist Cokie Roberts spoke at Montgomery College in Rockville last week about the women who helped shape American history from behind the scenes.

The audience, which was filled mostly with women, listened as Roberts discussed her latest book, "Ladies of Liberty: The Women Who Shaped Our Nation."

Through the use of personal correspondence, private journals and other sources, "Ladies of Liberty" brings to life the accomplishments of unheralded women who laid the groundwork for the nation

From first ladies to explorers, the group includes Abigail Adams, Martha Jefferson, Dolley Madison and Sacajawea. It is the companion volume to her New York Times nonfiction best-seller, "Founding Mothers: The Women Who Raised Our Nation."

The books were inspired by women in Congress who Roberts has watched over the years "doing things that were very important for women and children and families and being very influential," she said.

She had also seen her own mother, wife of U.S. Rep. Thomas Hale Boggs Sr., a Democrat from Louisiana, and other wives of politicians "doing a great deal of work behind the scenes and I figured that was probably true throughout our history."

Her mother, former U.S. Rep. Corinne "Lindy" Boggs, went on to win a special election to fill the vacancy left by the presumed death of her husband, whose small plane disappeared over the mountains of Alaska in 1972.

Morella called Roberts "a friend I admire mightily" and said her books "sparkle with humanity and humor."

Kathy Stevens, annual fund director for Montgomery College, said she enjoyed hearing Roberts discuss her book.

"I think she has an excellent perspective from all the first-hand primary source research she's done and I thought she had such a wonderful delivery — it was humorous and made these characters come alive," she said. "It was fascinating to me and I think especially in light of looking at someone this year like Hillary Clinton, what does that mean for women in politics?"

Vera Bailey of Rockville said she has "admired Cokie for a long time." News Clips Report

"It was a very interesting talk," she said. "I love to hear about these types of women. I was one of those Navy wives who was left behind like the women in Congress to take care of the family yourself and it was hard work."

As she signed copies of her books, Roberts said she is curious to see the role Michelle Obama, wife of President-elect Barack Obama (D), will play as first lady.

"Michelle Obama is in some ways in a harder position than the last few because she hasn't been first lady of a state and Laura Bush had and Hillary Clinton had, and of course, Barbara Bush had been a vice president's wife," she said. "So in those roles you get accustomed to finding some issues where you can be very effective and realizing that your voice does make a difference.

"But even so, Laura Bush is very interesting about the fact that it took her awhile to realize that she could be powerful." News Clips Report

County players among Elite at college baseball prep academy The Gazette of Politics and Business

12/10/2008 Wednesday, Dec. 10, 2008 County players among Elite at college baseball prep academy Watkins Mill graduate running new facility by James Peters | Staff Writer E-mail this article \ Print this article

Not so long ago, Montgomery County native Brian McKenna was playing baseball at Watkins Mill High while looking for a college suitor.

Nowadays McKenna, who had four strong seasons at Towson University, is trying to help others in the county and beyond attain their dreams of playing college baseball. McKenna is an instructor for Elite Baseball of Lancaster (Pa.), which opened its second indoor facility in Howard County Saturday.

"We realize how difficult, especially for high school players in Maryland, it is to get seen by college coaches," McKenna said. "Unless they are a blue-chip Division I prospect, they have a tough time getting exposure. We provide them with a large network of Division I, II, III and junior college coaches that allow them to be placed in a program that fits them."

Elite Baseball was founded in 2006 by Matt Knox and Matt Werts, former college players at Millersville (Pa.) University. It offers a variety of services including summer camps, college placement and advisement, plyometrics, hitting, pitching, travel teams and college showcases.

Elite guarantees scouts from at least 15 college teams at each showcase. The program's showcase teams, which will include an all-Maryland team this summer, travel to various tournaments on the East Coast.

Elite had its first all-Maryland squad a year ago, comprised mostly of Montgomery County players. The team included Gaithersburg's Kory Smigocki and Nick Riley; Quince Orchard's Mike Ryan, Tyler Ewing, Frank Barkanic and Greg Price; Northwest's Dom Vattuone; Blake's Mike Schmidt; Poolesville's Nick Loftus; Richard Montgomery's Ben Silverman; Clarksburg's Brendan Milligan; and Magruder's Brad Blum.

"I loved Elite a lot," said former Damascus and current Frostburg State outfielder Shane Boyd. "They helped place me where I am. Matt Wertz basically goes out and talks to anybody. It worked for me."

Boyd is one of more than 50 players Elite Baseball has placed in a college baseball program in the past year and a half. Others from the county include Avalon's Matt Bolden (St. Andrew's, N.C.), Gaithersburg's Tim Riley (Montgomery College -Germantown) and Wootton's Matt Allred (Millersville).

"My experience with Elite Baseball was great," said Allred. "The coaching was top-notch. They really put an investment in the players. They do all the hard work for you. All you have to do is worry about playing. They do all the talking to the [college] coaches."

McKenna, an assistant coach at Quince Orchard, was a four-year starter at both Watkins Mill, where he won a state title in 2000, and Towson. He earned first-team Freshman All-American and second-team America East honors in 2001 and first team All-Colonial Athletic Association honors in 2003.

McKenna later played three years of professional baseball for the Evansville Otters of the Frontier League.

"Our facility is going to not only provide a place for players of all ages to come learn the game as well as work on their skills in the offseason, but it will also give us another venue for coaches to come see our players," McKenna said. "[Last month] we had a two-hour pitching showcase in the Pennsylvania facility and had 21 schools in attendance." News Clips Report

Residents fired up over smoking The Gazette of Politics and Business

12/10/2008 Wednesday, Dec. 10, 2008 Residents fired up over smoking College ban forces students into neighborhood to light up by Nathan Carrick | Staff Writer E-mail this article \ Print this article

Charles E. Shoemaker/The Gazette Montgomery College students Mike Hasermann of Rockville (left to right), Chris Arcse of Hyattsville and Alex Tessler of Rockville smoke in a nearby Rockville neighborhood because the college no longer permits smoking on its grounds. Featured Jobs Since Montgomery College instituted a ban on all tobacco products on campus in August, students stepping off school property to grab a smoke have become a nuisance in neighboring Rockville communities, some residents say.

The college said it will work with the communities to find a solution.

The ban prohibits all forms of tobacco, including cigarettes and chewing tobacco, and forces students and faculty to go elsewhere to smoke. Many stand along Rockville Pike or Mannakee Street, but some walk through a break in the fence that leads to Princeton Place, a cul-de-sac in the College Gardens neighborhood that abuts the campus.

Mark Pierzchala, a former president of the College Gardens Civic Association and mayoral candidate last year, said the community is up in arms. The civic association, which meets just twice a year, took a formal stand against the smoking ban when it met in November.

"We want the ban repealed," he said. "It's more than just a few neighbors [complaining], it's almost the whole block. It's not just the smoking, it's the behavior."

Dr. Judy E. Ackerman, vice president and provost, said there is no possibility of the smoking ban being repealed.

"That's a bit challenging," she said. "The purpose of the ban is to create a healthy campus and repealing it would be back -stepping."

Some neighbors have reported seeing both small and large groups of smokers using foul language, loitering, smoking marijuana and drinking alcohol.

Judith A. Pretka, who lives on Princeton Place with her husband Walter, is fed up.

"It really is becoming a dump," she said. "There are so many cigarette butts and cigarette packets and Starbucks cups left there. With all the property taxes we pay, it's disgusting that we have to live in Montgomery College's parking lot."

Pierzchala agreed, saying the school has simply externalized the problem.

"Montgomery College at one time tried to close the hole in the fence, but I'm not sure that's a viable option," he said.

At a use permit hearing in November for the planned campus science center, the Rockville Planning Commission required that the college make the hole in the fence more bicycle friendly.

"I don't think the college can actually close that hole anymore," Pierzchala said.

After some neighbors complained earlier this year, the college responded by placing trash cans and ash trays at the fence, Pierzchala said.

Ackerman said the college is working with neighborhood leadership and the City of Rockville to find ways to dissolve the News Clips Report

issue.

"When people work together, they can find solutions," she said. "[The smoking ban] does affect the neighbors, so we're trying to reduce the impact there."

Many of the students who go to Princeton Place to smoke wish they could stay on campus, but say they are trying to make the best of the situation.

Between classes, crowds of smokers as big as 25 or 30 swell up on the street.

"I understand people have health issues," said Maisa Martyak, a 20-year-old at the school. "I miss our old smoking spots."

Montgomery College's smoking policy prior to the ban going into effect was that there was no smoking within 25 feet of buildings. The school also provided designated smoking areas to try to contain the litter.

Ackerman said students were not abiding by the 25-foot rule.

In 2001, the college received funding from the Maryland State Cigarette Restitution Fund to support the Healthy Campus Program, which bans tobacco products. The program also receives grants from four other anti-smoking groups, as well as funds for other health- and safety-oriented programs.

Of a group of four students who were gathered on Princeton Place last Thursday around 1:45 p.m., only two were smoking. They said after the college forced them off campus to smoke, they began meeting other outcast smokers on Princeton Place and Mannakee Street and soon formed friendships.

Now, some walk to Princeton Place even if they don't want to smoke, just to be with their friends.

"I understand why [the college] did it, but really it's just moving the problem," said Andy Goldstrom, a 22-year-old sophomore. "Now residents have to deal with us, and that's not fair to them."

He added that having to walk off campus to smoke is why he is always 10 minutes late for class.

More students arrived and before long the group of four had grown to eight.

"For the sake of these neighbors, having a place on campus to smoke would be better," said Chris Palmer, 22, a second- year English major. "People litter. It's not good for the neighbors." News Clips Report

Montgomery native running new college baseball prep facility The Gazette

12/09/2008 Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2008 Montgomery native running new college baseball prep facility by James Peters | Staff Writer E-mail this article \ Print this article

Not so long ago, Montgomery County native Brian McKenna was playing baseball at Watkins Mill High while looking for a college suitor.

Nowadays McKenna, who had four strong seasons at Towson University, is trying to help others in the county and beyond attain their dreams of playing college baseball.

McKenna is an instructor for Elite Baseball of Lancaster (Pa.), which opened its second indoor facility in Howard County Saturday.

"The Elite baseball program offers players of all ages a chance to take their game to a new level," said George Mason University assistant coach Jeff Palumbo on the Elite Baseball Web site. "The great instruction, along with an always positive environment, makes Elite baseball one of the leaders in teaching in the Mid-Atlantic Region."

"I loved Elite a lot," said former Damascus and current Frostburg State outfielder Shane Boyd. "They helped place me where I am. Matt Wertz basically goes out and talks to anybody. It worked for me."

He left the Tigers ranked second all-time in hits, doubles, games played and runs. McKenna later played three years of professional baseball for the Evansville Otters of the Frontier League, where he won a championship in 2006.

"Our facility is going to not only provide a place for players of all ages to come learn the game as well as work on their News Clips Report

skills in the offseason, but it will also give us another venue for coaches to come see our players," McKenna said. "[Last month] we had a two-hour pitching showcase in the Pennsylvania facility and had 21 schools in attendance." News Clips Report

Obituaries Washington Post - Online

12/09/2008 Dorothy Simms Horstkamp, 88, a former Falls Church homemaker and active member of St. James Catholic Church in Falls Church, died Nov. 29 of complications from a stroke at Charlestown Retirement Community in Catonsville.

Mrs. Horstkamp was born on a small farm near Villa Rica, Ga. Before her marriage, she worked for the federal government in Athens, Ga. After the war, she and her husband and their first child moved to Alexandria. They moved to Falls Church in 1950.

Mrs. Horstkamp was a member of the Sodality and the Rosary Club and served as president of the Women of St. James Catholic Church, where she also was a Eucharistic minister. She enjoyed playing bridge, cooking, sewing and crocheting. She also grew flowers and vegetables as well as fruit, which she canned, froze and made into jams.

She worked as a poll precinct chairman in Falls Church and for several years tended to a neighbor who had a degenerative muscular condition and a friend who developed Alzheimer's disease.

Mrs. Horstkamp's husband, John Michael Horstkamp Sr., died in 1986.

Survivors include four children, Mary Esau of Severna Park, Joseph Horstkamp of Manassas, Kathleen Beach of Littleton, Colo., and William Horstkamp of Newnan, Ga.; 20 grandchildren; and 29 great-grandchildren. Eric G. Mohn, 63, a quadriplegic artist who painted watercolors with a brush held in his mouth, died Nov. 25 from a pulmonary embolism at Gettysburg Hospital in Gettysburg, Pa. He was a Thurmont, Md., resident.

Mr. Mohn was paralyzed in a car accident in 1963 in Ocean City. In 1966, he was one of the first students to use a wheelchair to attend Montgomery College in Rockville.

In the 1970s, he began to paint, entering his first major art show in 1979 and starting his career as a painter.

Eric George Mohn was born in Philadelphia and moved to Rockville a few years later.

He graduated from St. James School in Hagerstown in 1963 and in 1970 received a bachelor's degree in business administration from St. Andrews Presbyterian College in Laurinburg, N.C.

He lived in Rockville until 1991, when he moved to Gaithersburg. In 2006, he moved to Thurmont and opened an art gallery.

Survivors include his wife of 17 years, Rita Ladd Mohn of Thurmont; his father, Kermit Mohn of Rockville; one brother; four stepchildren, Shanna Rhodes and Evan Ladd, both of Gaithersburg, Melissa Ladd Guenther of Waynesboro, Pa., and Brian Ladd of Phoenix; and eight grandchildren. Gerald Anthony Buell, 82, a Navy master chief petty officer who retired in 1975 while based at the Pentagon, died Nov. 30 at his home in Silver Spring of congestive heart failure.

He was a Navy veteran of World War II and spent much of his career as a Navy secretary. A native of Philadelphia, he settled in the Washington area in the late 1960s.

His wife of 49 years, Dorothy McQuiston Buell, died in 1998.

Survivors include three children, Bruce Buell of Collegeville, Pa., Lane Buell of Richmond and Stacy Mele of North Potomac; and six grandchildren. Rocco L. Soraci, 89, a retired Air Force senior master sergeant and supply and logistics specialist who became a photographer for WTTG-TV (Channel 5), died Dec. 2 at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. He had chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Sgt. Soraci served in an Army engineer combat battalion during World War II and participated in the Normandy invasion and the Battle of the Bulge.

He joined the Air Force after it became a separate military branch in 1947 and participated in the Berlin Airlift. His final News Clips Report

active-duty assignment, in 1965, was at Bolling Air Force Base in Washington.

His military decorations included the Bronze Star Medal and the Air Force Commendation Medal.

After his discharge, Sgt. Soraci worked in sales and service for the Eastman Kodak photographic equipment company. From 1975 until his retirement in 1986, he was an in-house photographer for Channel 5, where he also helped create news graphics.

Rocco Leonard Soraci was born in Newark. He had lived in Oxon Hill since 1961.

His son Arthur was diagnosed with Down syndrome, and Sgt. Soraci became a board member of the old Hope Center, a sheltered workshop in Temple Hills for handicapped adults.

He also was a volunteer for the special programs division of the Prince George's County Department of Parks and Recreation.

Sgt. Soraci was a member of St. Andrew the Apostle Catholic Church on Andrews Air Force Base.

His wife of 60 years, Marietta Belotti Soraci, died in 2003.

Survivors include three children, Mary Roxann Soraci and Arthur Soraci, both of Oxon Hill, and Rocco R. Soraci of Fairfax County. News Clips Report

JUST FOR KIDS The Frederick News-Post Online Nashville, TN Todd Staff 12/08/2008 JUST FOR KIDS

LOCAL 4 “mister don” will delight preschoolers with sing-alongs, motion songs, rhythm instruments, marching and dancing. Free cookies and kid’s drink. $5 for six months and older. 10:30-11:30 a.m. Dec. 4. Beans in the Belfry, 122 W. Potomac St., Brunswick. 301-834-7178 or go to www.beansinthebelfry.com. 17 Storytime at ThorpeWood — Dec. 17 from 10-11:30 a.m. Christmas in the Woods. Tree Room at ThorpeWood Lodge. Ages 2-5 years. $5 per child. Children can enjoy books and will make a simple bird feeder to take home. 12805A Mink Farm Road, Thurmont. Registration required by email, [email protected] or 301-271-2823; www.thorpewood.org. hiSTORY Hour program at the Historical Society of Frederick County — This story time recommended for children ages 3 -5 features an illustrated picture book with a historical theme. Accompanying the book will be historical games and crafts. Free. 1 p.m. Every first and third Tuesday of the month. 24 E. Church St., Frederick, 301-663-1188; www.hsfcinfo.org. Way Off Broadway Children's Theatre presents “A Furry Christmas Carol” through Jan. 11, with matinee performances every Saturday and the second and fourth Sunday of each month, as well as, selected added weekdays. $13 for children and adults. 5 Willowdale Drive, Willowtree Plaza, U.S. 40 West, Frederick. 301-662-6600; www.wayoffbroadway.com. REGIONAL 11 Sesame Street Live “Elmo’s Green Thumb” at the Patriot Center from Dec. 11 through 14. $15 and $18. George Mason University Patriot Center, 4500 Patriot Circle, Fairfax, Va. 703-993-3000; www.patriotcenter.com. 13 Montgomery College presents “If You Give a Pig a Pancake and Other Story Books” — 11 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 13. A musical revue based on seven popular works of children's literature, and features the title story about how a bossy pig's demands frazzle a little girl in a hilarious lesson of cause-and-effect. Robert E. Parilla Performing Arts Center, 51 Mannakee St., Rockville. 240-567-5301; www.montgomerycollege.edu/PAC. News Clips Report

Swimming and Diving 2008-09 The Gazette

12/08/2008 Monday, Dec. 8, 2008 Swimming and Diving 2008-09 | Meets are arranged by date. Saturday, Nov. 29 Blair and B-CC at Germantown Indoor Swim Center, 7:30 p.m. Blake and Clarksburg at Martin Luther King Swim Center, 11:30 a.m. Churchill and Watkins Mill at Olney Swim Center, 9:15 a.m. Damascus and Richard Montgomery at Gaithersburg Aquatic Center, 11:30 a.m. Magruder and Gaithersburg at Germantown Indoor Swim Center, 9:15 a.m. Northwest and Seneca Valley at Olney Swim Center, 11:30 a.m. Northwood and Poolesville at Rockville Municipal, 6:30 p.m. Rockville and Wootton at Montgomery Aquatic Center, 11:30 a.m. Springbrook and Sherwood at Martin Luther King Swim Center, 9:15 a.m. Walter Johnson, Paint Branch and Quince Orchard at Germantown Indoor Swim Center, 11:30 a.m. Wheaton and Kennedy at Montgomery Aquatic Center, 9:15 a.m. Whitman and Einstein at Rockville Municipal, 4:15 p.m.

Saturday, Dec. 6 Blair and Poolesville at Montgomery Aquatic Center, 11:30 a.m. Churchill and Whitman at Germantown Indoor Swim Center, 9:15 a.m. Clarksburg and Seneca Valley at Gaithersburg Aquatic Center, 11:30 a.m. Damascus and Einstein at Montgomery Aquatic Center, 9:15 a.m. Kennedy and Northwest at Rockville Municipal, 4:15 p.m. Magruder and Quince Orchard at Martin Luther King Swim Center, 11:30 a.m. Richard Montgomery and Blake at Germantown Indoor Swim Center, 11:30 a.m. Rockville and Wheaton at Olney Swim Center, 11:30 a.m. Sherwood and Wootton at Montgomery College-Takoma, 12:00 p.m. Springbrook and Northwood at Montgomery College-Takoma, 2:30 p.m. Walter Johnson and B-CC at Martin Luther King Swim Center, 9:15 a.m. Watkins Mill and Gaithersburg at Olney Swim Center, 9:15 a.m.

Saturday, Dec. 13 Blake and Poolesville at Olney Swim Center, 11:30 a.m. Einstein and Watkins Mill at Martin Luther King Swim Center, 11:30 a.m. Kennedy and Gaithersburg at Gaithersburg Aquatic Center, 11:30 a.m. Magruder and Blair at Rockville Municipal, 4:15 p.m. Northwest and Damascus at Germantown Indoor Swim Center, 9:15 a.m. Northwood, Seneca Valley and Rockville at Germantown Indoor Swim Center, 11:30 a.m. Paint Branch and Springbrook at Martin Luther King Swim Center, 9:15 a.m. Quince Orchard and Richard Montgomery at Olney Swim Center, 9:15 a.m. Sherwood and Walter Johnson at Montgomery Aquatic Center, 11:30 a.m. Wheaton and Clarksburg at Montgomery College-Takoma, 12:00 p.m. Whitman and B-CC at Montgomery College-Takoma, 2:30 p.m. Wootton and Churchill at Montgomery Aquatic Center, 9:15 a.m.

Saturday, Dec. 20 B-CC and Wootton at Germantown Indoor Swim Center, 11:30 a.m. Blair and Blake at Martin Luther King Swim Center, 11:30 a.m. Churchill and Sherwood at Rockville Municipal, 4:15 p.m. Damascus and Kennedy at Martin Luther King Swim Center, 9:15 a.m. Gaithersburg and Einstein at Montgomery College-Takoma, 12:00 p.m. Northwest and Watkins Mill at Montgomery Aquatic Center, 11:30 a.m. News Clips Report

Poolesville and Quince Orchard at Germantown Indoor Swim Center, 9:15 a.m. Richard Montgomery and Magruder at Montgomery Aquatic Center, 9:15 a.m. Rockville and Paint Branch at Montgomery College-Takoma, 2:30 p.m. Seneca Valley and Wheaton at Gaithersburg Aquatic Center, 11:30 a.m. Springbrook and Clarksburg at Olney Swim Center, 9:15 a.m. Walter Johnson and Whitman at Olney Swim Center, 11:30 a.m.

Saturday, Jan. 10 Division I (Relay Carnival) at Olney Swim Center, 9:15 a.m. Division II (Relay Carnival) at Martin Luther King Swim Center, 9:15 a.m. Division III (Relay Carnival) at Germantown Indoor Swim Center, 9:15 a.m. Division IV (Relay Carnival) at Montgomery Aquatic Center, 9:15 a.m. Friday, Jan. 16 MCPS Diving Relay at Germantown Indoor Swim Center 2:30 p.m.

Saturday, Jan. 17 B-CC and Churchill at Olney Swim Center, 7:30 p.m. Blake and Magruder at Montgomery College-Takoma, 2:30 p.m. Clarksburg and Rockville at Montgomery Aquatic Center, 9:15 a.m. Damascus and Watkins Mill at Rockville Municipal, 4:15 p.m. Kennedy and Einstein at Germantown Indoor Swim Center, 9:15 a.m. Northwest and Gaithersburg at Olney Swim Center, 9:15 a.m. Paint Branch and Northwood at Olney Swim Center, 11:30 a.m. Poolesville and Richard Montgomery at Montgomery College-Takoma, 12:00 p.m. Quince Orchard and Blair at Montgomery Aquatic Center, 11:30 a.m. Seneca Valley, Springbrook and Wheaton at Germantown Indoor Swim Center, 11:30 a.m. Whitman and Sherwood at Montgomery Aquatic Center, 7:30 p.m. Wootton and Walter Johnson at Gaithersburg Aquatic Center, 11:30 a.m.

Saturday, Jan. 24 Churchill and Walter Johnson at Montgomery College-Takoma, 12:00 p.m. Clarksburg, Wheaton and Northwood at Germantown Indoor Swim Center, 11:30 a.m. Einstein and Northwest at Montgomery College-Takoma, 2:30 p.m. Gaithersburg and Damascus at Montgomery Aquatic Center, 9:15 a.m. Magruder and Poolesville at Olney Swim Center, 9:15 a.m. Quince Orchard and Blake at Gaithersburg Aquatic Center, 11:30 a.m. Richard Montgomery and Blair at Germantown Indoor Swim Center, 9:15 a.m. Seneca Valley and Paint Branch at Martin Luther King Swim Center, 11:30 a.m. Sherwood and B-CC at Olney Swim Center, 11:30 a.m. Springbrook and Rockville at Rockville Municipal, 4:15 p.m. Watkins Mill and Kennedy at Montgomery Aquatic Center, 11:30 a.m. Wootton and Whitman at Martin Luther King Swim Center, 9:15 a.m.

Saturday, Jan. 31 B-CC and Damascus at Montgomery College-Takoma, 2:30 p.m. Blair and Kennedy at Olney Swim Center, 9:15 a.m. Blake and Sherwood at Germantown Indoor Swim Center, 9:15 a.m. Einstein and Magruder at Olney Swim Center, 11:30 a.m. Gaithersburg and Wootton at Rockville Municipal, 4:15 p.m. Northwood and Seneca Valley at Montgomery Aquatic Center, 9:15 a.m. Paint Branch and Clarksburg at Germantown Indoor Swim Center, 11:30 a.m. Poolesville and Churchill at Martin Luther King Swim Center, 11:30 a.m. Walter Johnson and Northwest at Martin Luther King Swim Center, 9:15 a.m. Watkins Mill and Quince Orchard at Montgomery College-Takoma, 12:00 p.m. Wheaton and Springbrook at Montgomery Aquatic Center, 11:30 a.m. Whitman and Richard Montgomery at Gaithersburg Aquatic Center, 11:30 a.m.

Saturday, Feb. 7 Division I Diving Championship at Germantown Indoor Swim Center, 7:30-9:30 a.m. Division I Swimming Championship at Germantown Indoor Swim Center, 9:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. News Clips Report

Division II Diving Championship at Montgomery Aquatic Center 7:30-9:30 a.m. Division II Swimming Championship at Montgomery Aquatic Center, 9:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. Division III Diving Championship at Martin Luther King Swim Center, 7:30-9:30 a.m. Division III Swimming Championship at Martin Luther King Swim Center, 9:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. Division IV Diving Championship at Olney Swim Center, 7:30-9:30 a.m. Division IV (Swimming Championship) at Olney Swim Center, 9:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m.

Thursday, Feb. 12 MCPS 500 Yard Championship at Martin Luther King Swim Center, 3 p.m.

Friday, Feb. 13 MCPS Diving Championship at Martin Luther King Swim Center, 2:30 p.m.

Saturday, Feb. 14 MCPS Swimming Championship at Martin Luther King Swim Center, 8 a.m.

Wednesday, Feb. 18-Saturday, Feb. 21 Metropolitan Swimming and Diving Championships at Germantown Indoor Swim Center News Clips Report

Farm & Garden CALENDAR The Frederick News-Post Online

12/08/2008 Farm & Garden CALENDAR

For a complete listing, visit fredericknewspost.com.

Maryland Christmas Tree Association has published a directory of Choose and Cut Farms, which lists dozens of locations across Maryland where families can harvest their own Christmas trees. View the directory by visiting www.marylandchristmastrees.org or MDA’s website at www.mda.state.md.us. Click on “Maryland Products” and scroll down the list to Christmas trees. The public is invited to a free solar and wind event — “Solar and Wind 101 — How To Maximize Renewable Energy At Your Business, Home, Farm or Government Office” from 7 to 9:30 p.m. Thursday at Urbana Fire Station, 3602 Urbana Pike. Eric E. Soter, Frederick County planning director, will offer a brief update on the status of proposed permitting options for small wind turbines and free standing solar arrays. The new permit options are part of the Agriculture/Resource Conservation Section of the County Comprehensive Plan Amendments. Experts from Standard Solar Inc. and Potomac Wind Energy Inc. will present basics about solar and wind appliance opportunities and how to determine if your property might have the right aptitude for an investment. The program is important for anyone considering using wind and/or solar appliances personally or cooperatively, for residential, agricultural, educational, faithbased/nonprofit, municipal, industrial and commercial power production. Refreshments will be provided by MOM’s Organic Market and Veggie Annie. Contact Rebecca Rush for information at 301-371-9852 or 240-586-3091. The Thurmont Center for Agricultural History at the Thurmont Regional Library will showcase a series of history and heritage workshops associated with land and historic barn preservation in Frederick County. Throughout December, a photographic display of the barns of Frederick County will feature many of Frederick County’s native barns taken by local barn expert Dean Fitzgerald. At 11 a.m. Jan. 10, Fitzgerald will discuss the past, present and future of barns. The final workshop of the series, Preserving Our Frederick County Farmland, will be held from 10:30 a.m. until noon on Feb. 21. Tim Blaser and Anne Bradley, ag preservation planners for Frederick County, will discuss agricultural land preservation programs and resources available to the community. There will be time for questions. Register for all or one of the workshops at www.fcpl.org or by calling the library at 301-600-7212. All workshops will be held in the Thurmont Library’s Community Meeting Room and are free. A green industry Integrated Pest Management Workshop is planned for Friday. The University of Maryland Cooperative Extension and Montgomery College will present the latest strategies in dealing with pests, diseases and nutrient management in nurseries and greenhouses at the one-day workshop at Montgomery College in Germantown. Participants receive three Maryland Nutrient Management Program continuing education credits. For information or to register, call 301-596-9413. A Maryland Cooperative Extension workshop to teach post-harvest marketers how to store and market grain will be held 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Dec. 18 at the Calvary United Methodist Church, 403 S. Main St., Mount Airy. Participants need to pre-register by calling Beth Canetti at 301-590-2825. The registration deadline is Dec. 15. Glade Valley Grange will hold its annual Christmas dinner and program at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday at United Church of Christ in Walkersville. The event is a covered dish dinner. Everyone is asked to bring a donation for the Glade Valley Food Bank. Call Barbara Crum at 301-698-9937 for information. The Maryland Brown Swiss Cattle Breeders’ Association is accepting applications for its youth scholarship program. Scholarship applications must be postmarked no later than Jan. 2, and are available on the Maryland Brown Swiss Association website; the University of Maryland website; by contacting Kathy Whitman, scholarship committee, at 301-884-2420; [email protected]; or mail request to 38880 Faith Hills Way, Mechanicsville, MD 20569. An academic transcript and photo must accompany the application. Scholarships are offered to qualified 4-H and FFA youth from Maryland and surrounding states who have had a registered Brown Swiss as a project. Brown Swiss applicants who would like to be considered for the Maryland Dairy Shrine Scholarship must submit an application postmarked no later than Jan. 2 to the above address. Nutrient Management Certification workshops are being held this winter for farmers who want to write nutrient management plans for their own operations at Frederick County Cooperative Extension Office. To register for the farmer training and certification program, contact the MDA at 410-841-5959, or visit www.mda.state.md.us. Click on conservation, then nutrient management and scroll down the list of training programs. Farmers may also register for the classes by contacting their county Cooperative Extension office or visiting anmp.umd.edu/FTC/FTC.html. The Maryland Holstein Scholarship Committee announces one $2,000 and four $750 scholarships available to undergraduate and graduate Maryland Holstein youth. For applications, contact Arthur and News Clips Report

Peggy Johnson at 301-972-8274. Applications must be postmarked no later than Jan. 15. The Maryland Dairy Industry Association is offering two $250 Boyd Cook Memorial Scholarships. High school seniors and students enrolled in a two- or four-year college may apply. Applicants must be MDIA members or members’ dependents. Scholarship applications, which must be postmarked no later than Jan. 15, are available at www.ansc.umd.edu/extension/dairy, along with numerous other dairy scholarship applications, or contact Kiera Finucane at [email protected] or 3101 Animal Sciences Center, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742. For information on the Maryland Dairy Convention, contact Laurie Savage at 301-349-0750 or secre [email protected]. The scholarships will be awarded at the annual Maryland Dairy Convention on Feb. 28, at the Lynfield Event Complex (Building 5) in Frederick. MidAtlantic Farm Credit announces the availability of nine scholarships totaling more than $13,000 for students who plan to attend or are continuing their education at a two- or four-year college.The scholarships are available to any member of MidAtlantic Farm Credit, as well as their children. Applications must be received by Jan. 23, and winners will be selected by March 9. Winners will be recognized at MidAtlantic’s annual meetings in April. Applications are available at any of MidAtlantic’s fourteen offices or through the website at www.mafc.com. For information, contact Sandy Wieber at 800-333-7950 or [email protected]. The 10th Annual Conference of Future Harvest – A Chesapeake Alliance for Sustainable Agriculture will be held in Frederick, Jan. 16 to 17, at the Holiday Inn & Conference Center, 5400 Holiday Drive. The 2009 conference theme, “Connect Locally: Food, Farms and Communities,” emphasizes making and sustaining connections between producers and consumers. Aspiring, transitioning and experienced farmers will come together with regional buyers, backyard gardeners, parents, students and other consumers interested in local foods to share information and learn about sustainable agriculture. Seminars, panels and roundtable discussion groups on Friday will cover agri-tourism, soil fertility, farm-to-school and hospital programs, and raising healthy food. Saturday’s workshops will cover the nuts and bolts of sustainable agriculture, specialty crops, cultivating new farmers through mentorships, grass-based systems, profitable grain production, and market gardening. Meals will feature locally grown food, showcasing the region’s great local food options. For information, visit www.futureharvestcasa.org. News Clips Report

Fund would help needy seniors with in-home care The Baltimore Examiner

12/07/2008 Fund would help needy seniors with in-home care Comments Dec 7, 2008 12:00 AM (1 day ago) By SARAH MARSTON, AP

SEE HOW THIS STORY DEVELOPED EMAIL STORYPRINT STORY» 1 day ago: Fund would help needy seniors with in-home care «

This story ranks # 656 of 8,858 Related Topics: ROCKVILLE, Md. Map data ©2008 Tele Atlas - Terms of UseMapSatelliteHybridROCKVILLE, Md. (Map, News) - Growing up next door to her grandparents, Sandy Kursban learned to respect her elders at an early age. It's a lesson that has guided her life's work - a 40-year family business and, now, a vital community service.

Kursban is the founder and chairman of Silver Spring's Family & Nursing Care, an agency that matches caregivers with Maryland and Washington-area seniors who want to remain in their homes as they age.

She celebrated the firm's 40th anniversary this fall by establishing the Family & Nursing Care Foundation, a fund overseen by the Montgomery County Community Foundation that is aimed at making home care an affordable option for more Montgomery County seniors.

"The foundation comes from 40 years of wanting to give back," said Kursban, who launched the fund with a personal donation. Over the years, she has donated to nonprofit organizations, hosted senior events and served on committees on aging.

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The desire to establish a fund for the elderly "is something that's always been there for me," she said.

Kursban said she hopes the fund will help meet the increasing demand for care as baby boomers start to retire.

"I got very concerned about the shortage of caregivers," she said. "What's going to happen to our seniors down the road?"

The Family & Nursing Care Foundation aims to address the caregiver shortage on two levels: by providing grants to nonprofit organizations that can help low-income seniors afford home care, and by providing scholarships to people who want to become certified nursing assistants.

The grants will be awarded through the Montgomery County Community Foundation, which helps corporations set up charitable funds within its parent organization. Kursban and her colleagues will make recommendations for grants, which Community Foundation staff will help turn into a reality.

"It's great that this company can celebrate a special moment in its history - its 40th anniversary - by giving back to the community," said Sally Rudney, executive director of the Community Foundation.

Kursban's history of senior care began when she moved to the Washington area from her native Ohio in the mid-1960s. Married and the mother of a 5-month-old, she wanted to start a business.

"In the '60s, you go to college, you graduate, you get married and that's it," Kursban said. "I just wanted to have something of my own."

Seeing her grandfather unhappy in a nursing home, Kursban wanted to find a way to help seniors maintain their independence. News Clips Report

"There's another way for older people to live," she said.

She founded Family & Nursing Care in 1968. For the first 12 years, the company was a one-room office with two employees. Today, it has 40 employees and about 1,000 caregivers.

Kursban's son, Neal, succeeded her as the agency's president in 1995. Her daughters are also in the family business - Mindy Kursban works as the company's attorney, and Julie Black runs its Virginia affiliate, NurtureCare.

The agency's nurses and nursing assistants undergo a background check of their certification, previous employment, credit and criminal histories, immigration status and other criteria. The caregivers provide seniors with companionship and help them with chores and details of daily life, including medications, meals, housekeeping, errands and doctor appointments.

As owner and operator of the business over the years, and now with the new fund, three grown children and 12 grandchildren, Kursban said one of her biggest challenges has been finding a balance between work and the rest of her life.

"It's not a formula," she said. "It's a daily event."

Much like Kursban's business, the need for home caregivers has grown.

"In the past, people stayed in hospitals until they got well," she said, noting that it meant less of a need for home nursing care. "Now, they're told when they get there how soon they'll be leaving."

Caregiver needs are expected to reach crisis levels in coming decades, according to the International Longevity Center- USA and the Schmieding Center for Senior Health & Education's Caregiving Project for Older Americans. More than 15 million Americans employed caregiver services in 2006. By 2050, that figure is expected to nearly double. The federal government's interagency forum on aging statistics - http://Agingstats.gov - estimates that the number of Americans 65 and older will grow from 35 million in 2000 to 71.5 million by 2030.

Although Kursban has not established the guidelines for scholarship eligibility, she knows what she wants in a financial aid recipient.

"I want someone who's going to commit to working with the elderly for at least a year," she said. She expects that once caregivers start working with seniors, they will be reluctant to stop.

"It's so rewarding ... helping those who can't help themselves," she said.

Kursban hopes to collaborate with Montgomery College's Certified Nursing Assistant program to give scholarships to deserving students. It's a plan that program director Judy Carver said would be more than welcome.

"We don't have any scholarships specifically designated to nursing assistants," Carver said. "How wonderful that someone in the community is interested in (contributing) their resources to grow future healthcare workers and help address the shortage."

The fund is in its early stages and will require a lot of planning, but Kursban can't imagine spending her time any other way.

"This is who I am," she said. "I feel very blessed to be doing what I'm doing."

Editor's Picks: Calendar of Events and Activities Washington Woman

12/07/2008 December 3: “Ladies of Liberty: The Women Who Shaped Our Nation” 7 p.m. Author Cokie Roberts will discuss her recent book and examine the accomplishments of women who laid the groundwork for a better society. Free. The Theatre Arts Arena, Montgomery College, Rockville, MD, 240-567-7281. News Clips Report

Fund would help needy seniors with in-home care Associated Press (AP)

12/07/2008 ROCKVILLE, Md._Growing up next door to her grandparents, Sandy Kursban learned to respect her elders at an early age. It's a lesson that has guided her life's work _ a 40-year family business and, now, a vital community service.

The desire to establish a fund for the elderly "is something that's always been there for me," she said.

Kursban said she hopes the fund will help meet the increasing demand for care as baby boomers start to retire.

"I got very concerned about the shortage of caregivers," she said. "What's going to happen to our seniors down the road?"

"It's great that this company can celebrate a special moment in its history _ its 40th anniversary _ by giving back to the community," said Sally Rudney, executive director of the Community Foundation.

Kursban's history of senior care began when she moved to the Washington area from her native Ohio in the mid-1960s. Married and the mother of a 5-month-old, she wanted to start a business.

"In the '60s, you go to college, you graduate, you get married and that's it," Kursban said. "I just wanted to have something of my own."

Seeing her grandfather unhappy in a nursing home, Kursban wanted to find a way to help seniors maintain their independence.

"There's another way for older people to live," she said.

She founded Family & Nursing Care in 1968. For the first 12 years, the company was a one-room office with two employees. Today, it has 40 employees and about 1,000 caregivers.

Kursban's son, Neal, succeeded her as the agency's president in 1995. Her daughters are also in the family business _ Mindy Kursban works as the company's attorney, and Julie Black runs its Virginia affiliate, NurtureCare.

"It's not a formula," she said. "It's a daily event."

Much like Kursban's business, the need for home caregivers has grown.

Caregiver needs are expected to reach crisis levels in coming decades, according to the International Longevity Center- USA and the Schmieding Center for Senior Health & Education's Caregiving Project for Older Americans. More than 15 million Americans employed caregiver services in 2006. By 2050, that figure is expected to nearly double. The federal government's interagency forum on aging statistics _ http://Agingstats.gov _ estimates that the number of Americans 65 and older will grow from 35 million in 2000 to 71.5 million by 2030.

Although Kursban has not established the guidelines for scholarship eligibility, she knows what she wants in a financial aid recipient.

"I want someone who's going to commit to working with the elderly for at least a year," she said. She expects that once caregivers start working with seniors, they will be reluctant to stop.

"It's so rewarding ... helping those who can't help themselves," she said.

The fund is in its early stages and will require a lot of planning, but Kursban can't imagine spending her time any other way.

"This is who I am," she said. "I feel very blessed to be doing what I'm doing."

Cardin Federal spending needed for economy Gazette, The

12/06/2008 Senator says U.S. can manage price tag after recession

Charles E. Shoemaker/The Gazette

U.S. Sen. Benjamin L. Cardin explains that spending money may lead the economy to recovery at a town hall meeting Thursday at Montgomery College's Rockville campus.

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Now is not the time to be worried about the final price tag of the federal government's spending spree to get the American economy out of the recession, U.S. Sen. Benjamin L. Cardin said Thursday.

'The number one priority is to get our economy back on track,' Cardin said. 'And unfortunately, you've got to get yourself out of the problem by almost doing what got you into the problem. You've got to spend money. The government has got to spend money. We can't raise taxes now.'

The first-term senator was at Montgomery College speaking before more than 100 students and staff about the economy and the incoming Obama administration.

President-elect Barack Obama plans to sign an economic stimulus package just after he takes office Jan. 20. The package could cost $500 billion to $1 trillion.

'That package needs to be focused on our communities, on students and their need for affordable loans for colleges, on small businesses and getting the loans they need in order to stay in business and community banks so they don't have to worry about Wall Street in order to survive,' Cardin said after his talk.

Paying for it won't take magic, he said.

'You've got to cut spending, and you have to enhance revenues. That's how you balance the budget, but you don't do that in a recession. In a recession, you need to stimulate the economy and create jobs,' Cardin said.

The U.S. debt is about $10 trillion now and sure to grow.

'We can manage that debt,' he said. What we can't manage is the continuing growth of that debt. And that's what we have to stop, and clearly that's when our economy is back on track.'

Questions ranged from Iran's nuclear plan to small business.

On Iran, Cardin said he doesn't favor the U.S. instigating a regime change, but he would support the kind of economic isolation that forced South Africa to abandon apartheid.

On small business, Cardin said the government needed to create programs separate from the Small Business Administration, as it did in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.

He also favors breaking federal contracts into smaller chunks so small businesses could afford to bid. He also called on News Clips Report

the U.S. government to waive surety bonds that small businesses must get to perform government work. The leading issuer of the bonds is American International Group, the insurance giant that nearly went under in September.

'Try to get a surety bond if you're a small business from AIG today,' Cardin said. News Clips Report

Fund would help needy seniors with in-home care Hometownannapolis.com

12/05/2008 Fund would help needy seniors with in-home care

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Annapolis AnnapolisPublished December 05, 2008 ROCKVILLE, Md. (AP) — Growing up next door to her grandparents, Sandy Kursban learned to respect her elders at an early age. It's a lesson that has guided her life's work — a 40-year family business and, now, a vital community service. Kursban is the founder and chairman of Silver Spring's Family & Nursing Care, an agency that matches caregivers with Maryland and Washington-area seniors who want to remain in their homes as they age. She celebrated the firm's 40th anniversary this fall by establishing the Family & Nursing Care Foundation, a fund overseen by the Montgomery County Community Foundation that is aimed at making home care an affordable option for more Montgomery County seniors.

The desire to establish a fund for the elderly "is something that's always been there for me," she said.

Kursban said she hopes the fund will help meet the increasing demand for care as baby boomers start to retire.

"I got very concerned about the shortage of caregivers," she said. "What's going to happen to our seniors down the road?"

"It's great that this company can celebrate a special moment in its history — its 40th anniversary — by giving back to the community," said Sally Rudney, executive director of the Community Foundation.

Kursban's history of senior care began when she moved to the Washington area from her native Ohio in the mid-1960s. Married and the mother of a 5-month-old, she wanted to start a business.

"In the '60s, you go to college, you graduate, you get married and that's it," Kursban said. "I just wanted to have something of my own." News Clips Report

Seeing her grandfather unhappy in a nursing home, Kursban wanted to find a way to help seniors maintain their independence.

"There's another way for older people to live," she said.

She founded Family & Nursing Care in 1968. For the first 12 years, the company was a one-room office with two employees. Today, it has 40 employees and about 1,000 caregivers.

Kursban's son, Neal, succeeded her as the agency's president in 1995. Her daughters are also in the family business — Mindy Kursban works as the company's attorney, and Julie Black runs its Virginia affiliate, NurtureCare.

"It's not a formula," she said. "It's a daily event."

Much like Kursban's business, the need for home caregivers has grown.

Caregiver needs are expected to reach crisis levels in coming decades, according to the International Longevity Center- USA and the Schmieding Center for Senior Health & Education's Caregiving Project for Older Americans. More than 15 million Americans employed caregiver services in 2006. By 2050, that figure is expected to nearly double. The federal government's interagency forum on aging statistics — http://Agingstats.gov — estimates that the number of Americans 65 and older will grow from 35 million in 2000 to 71.5 million by 2030.

Although Kursban has not established the guidelines for scholarship eligibility, she knows what she wants in a financial aid recipient.

"I want someone who's going to commit to working with the elderly for at least a year," she said. She expects that once caregivers start working with seniors, they will be reluctant to stop.

"It's so rewarding ... helping those who can't help themselves," she said.

The fund is in its early stages and will require a lot of planning, but Kursban can't imagine spending her time any other way.

"This is who I am," she said. "I feel very blessed to be doing what I'm doing." News Clips Report

Forum Equips Teenage Girls To Handle Real-Life Situations Tips Include Staying Safe and Avoiding Cre Washington Post - Online

12/05/2008 The classroom at Montgomery College's Germantown campus went silent as county police Officer Dana Matthis spoke about a young woman who was beaten and gang-raped after leaving a Wheaton shopping mall with a man she didn't know. 'She will never have kids, and she will always think about that day,' Matthis told the group of high school girls seated in front of her on a recent Saturday afternoon. 'We have to make choices, put safeguards in place to minimize the chances of this happening.' Matthis related the woman's story during a workshop on personal safety offered at Preparing for Success, a Nov. 22 forum for teenage girls sponsored by the Montgomery County Women's Bar Foundation and other groups.

The day-long event provided practical information on such topics as being safe, balancing a checkbook, avoiding credit card debt, getting into college and paying for it, writing a rsum and interviewing for a job.

About 200 girls attended the eighth annual program, receiving free breakfast, lunch and transportation from several county high schools. The program is the brainchild of county Circuit Judge Katherine D. Savage, who devised the concept with the help of the bar foundation as an offshoot of the Take Our Daughters to Work educational program started by the Ms. Foundation for Women. 'A number of us thought it would be great to do more for girls, give them some practical tips,' Savage said. 'The purpose of the whole program is to give them something practical. We shy away from makeup, clothes.' The bar foundation relies on donations to pay for the program and uses volunteers from sponsors including Montgomery College, which provides the facilities at no cost; county high schools; the county State's Attorney's Office and private businesses. The program draws a diverse group of teenagers, and attendance has been about 200 to 250 over the years, Savage said.

In the personal safety workshop, Street Law and How to Stay Safe, county police officers teamed with prosecutors from the State's Attorney's Office to teach the teens how to protect themselves while at parties or out with friends and when using the Internet.

During one session, Matthis and prosecutor Maura Lynch emphasized that girls need to take control of their safety by considering the consequences of actions such as drinking at parties or posting personal information on Facebook. An underage drinking citation might bar admission to certain colleges, Lynch said. 'Who would think that night that you made that decision to drink and do this, and it's going to cost you the rest of your life?' Matthis said. 'But it can.' The personal safety lessons were not lost on Maeva Komenan, a junior at Watkins Mill High School. 'It was really real,' she said after the workshops ended. 'That is stuff that happens, and we try to ignore it.' Judith Aguiler, a sophomore at Magruder High School, agreed. 'You never know what's going to happen,' she said about the warning against drinking at parties. 'If you feel that's a danger to yourself, you have to get out.' Giggles were heard frequently in the workshop on rsum writing and interview techniques as the teenagers participated in mock job interviews led by Besa Pinchotti, director of marketing and public relations for Capterra, a computer software consulting firm. 'Don't feel embarrassed about practicing. The more interviews you do, the better you'll get,' Pinchotti told the teens during one session. Down the hall, more than a dozen girls listened as Gaithersburg High School guidance counselor Marlis Carter and retired counselor Sondra Mandell explained that students should look for a college that suits their goals and their personalities. 'You'll get to a school, and you'll look around, and you'll go, 'This is not for me,' ' Carter said. 'At Howard [University], they really, really dress. Yet, at the University of Maryland, they go to school in pajamas. Think of what will be right for you.' The forum concluded with a fashion show consisting of students chosen because their outfits were considered appropriate for a job interview. As the girls paraded across the stage of a campus auditorium, they modeled new purses, which were raffled off.

Savage said her goal each year is to increase attendance to 300, even though the stress of organizing the event always makes her wonder the night before why she is still doing it.

Those doubts always disappear, she said, with the culmination of another successful program, marked by dozens of girls squealing with excitement as they applaud the raffle winners heading to the stage to receive their new purses. 'Every year at this time, I say, 'this is wonderful,' ' Savage said, on the evening of the workshop as the last of the students left the auditorium. 'I'll never stop doing this.'