Attention Postmaster: Time sensitive material. Requested in home 07-23-09 PRSRT STD A Connection U.S. Postage Newspaper PAID Martinsburg, WV PotomacPotomac PERMIT #86 Newcomers & Classified, Page 18 Classified, ❖ Community Guide Sports, Page 12 ❖ Calendar, Page 10 anac Planned Camps & Schools Scholastic Character Sports Guide, page 3 Sports, Page 12 2009-102009-10 Then & Now Guide, page 6 inside inside CommunityCommunity CalendarCalendar Guide,Guide, PagePage 99 Photo of Riley’s Lock by Mary Kimm/The Alm Photo www.ConnectionNewspapers.com July 22-28, 2009 ❖ Volume LIII, Number 28 onlinePotomac at Almanacpotomacalmanac.com ❖ July 22-28, 2009 ❖ 1 News Body Found in Potomac were called in and an extensive search was conducted A man who went by Fire & Rescue, the Maryland State Police helicop- Holistic Pet Food and Supplies Store missing while swimming ter, and the U.S. Park Police helicopter. The search was called off after dark that night. It was continued Healthy Alternative to Conventional Pet Stores. the following day with negative results. Grain-Free, Limited Ingredient, in river is believed to be Family members were conducting a search along Hypoallergenic and Raw Diets available. fifth accidental drowning the banks of the Potomac Saturday morning when a Stop in for all your Cat and Dog Needs! fisherman in another location saw a body and called in Mather Gorge this year. police. The body was recovered approximately a half mile downstream from where the missing man was last seen. By Aaron Stern The victim’s name will be released after official The Almanac confirmation of his identity has been made, police said. body believed by police to be that of a In June two men from Leesburg, Va. drowned in man who went missing while swimming the same area after going for a swim with friends. Ain the Potomac River last week was found Swimming in the Mather Gorge, the 14-mile stretch on Saturday, July 18. The death would between Great Falls and Key Bridge, is illegal. represent the fifth accidental drowning in the Earlier this spring a child was swept away while Potomac River near Great Falls this year after a five- fishing near chain bridge; a man who attempted to year span in which no such incidents occurred. save the boy was also swept downriver and their The 32-year-old man from Silver Spring who went bodies were found several days later. missing last week disappeared around 3:15 p.m. on There were five accidental drownings in the gorge Tuesday, July 14 after fishing in the Potomac River in 2004, after which local authorities stepped up their near Old Angler’s Inn off of MacArthur Boulevard interagency cooperation and increased efforts to alert with two friends. According to Montgomery County the public to the dangers of the river. Officials with Police the victim believed the water in the area where Montgomery County Fire and Rescue, whose Swift 404 King Farm Boulevard, Suite 140 • Rockville, MD 20850 they were fishing was not deep enough, so he de- Water Rescue teams out of Cabin John Park Volun- Tel 301.947.PETS (7387) • fax: 301.947.4567 cided to get into the water to find a deeper spot. The teer Fire Department, have said previously that there www.pawliticsonline.com man’s friends saw him begin to struggle as he en- is no readily apparent reason for the recent uptick in Hours: Mon-Fri, 10a - 8p; Sat, 10a - 6p; Sun. noon - 5p tered a deeper location and one of the friends swam fatalities this year beyond bad luck and poor choices across to the Virginia side of the Potomac River in and urged the public to use extreme caution near an unsuccessful attempt to save him. Members of a the Potomac River. While it may look calm, strong nearby white water rafting group also engaged in currents and large boulders beneath the surface of the search, but when it was unsuccessful, Montgom- the cold water can quickly incapacitate swimmers Potomac Village Deli Catering ery County Fire & Rescue Swift Water Rescue units with fatal consequences. Breakfast • Lunch • Dinner Catering Holy Child Easement Removal Approved sides reached a settlement prior to Monday’s Plan increases acreage of hearing. Ginny Barnes, environmental chair of 301•299•5770 onsite easements and the West Montgomery County Citizens Associa- tion, questioned the efficacy of reaching such www.potomacvillagedeli.com clears way for school to settlements outside of the scope of public input. Coupled with increasingly allowing private citi- install synthetic grass field. zens or institutions to redraw protected easements sets a bad precedent, Barnes argued. After the hearing, Planning Board Commis- By Aaron Stern sioner Jean Cryor said that she felt the school’s The Almanac plan met its environ- mental responsibili- “There’s going Home of Your he Montgomery County Planning Board on ties. The increasing TMonday, July 20, approved a plan by the trend of such appli- to be more and Connelly School of the Holy Child to remove cations is the result Corporate & Residential a protected forest conservation easement on its prop- of Potomac and the more of them. I erty, the latest in a growing trend of such applica- rest of Montgomery tions in Potomac. The plan allows the removal of County reaching don’t think 0.29 acres of protected forest to be replaced onsite what is described as Catering Headquarters by a half acre of new protected forest areas and paves its build-out capacity there’s any the way for the private girls school to install a syn- and being resolved thetic grass athletic field. on a case-by-case ba- question about School officials testified that the field is necessary sis. that.” Serving the to facilitate the athletic programs of which 80 per- “There’s going to cent of their student body is involved with and that be more and more of — Jean Cryor, Planning Community any environmental concerns about the project should them,” Cryor said. “I Board commissioner be allayed by the increased onsite mitigation. don’t think there’s for over During the application process the planning board’s any question about that.” staff learned that the school had violated the condi- To read the full plan visit montgomery 35 Years tions of the existing easements and had initially been planningboard.org, click on the meeting agenda scheduled to have a hearing regarding those viola- or agenda archives icons and pull the Holy Child tions before the application to amend its existing application from the July 20, 2009 hearing forest conservation plan was considered but the two agenda. 2 ❖ Potomac Almanac ❖ July 22-28, 2009 www.ConnectionNewspapers.com Potomac Almanac Editor Steven Mauren 703-917-6431 or [email protected] Newcomers & Community Guide See www.potomacalmanac.com Welcome We’re looking to hear more from our readers. his issue of the Al mail letting us know about manac includes something you especially liked Tour annual New or didn’t like about our cover- by Photos comers and Com- age. munity Guide. Through narra- We appreciate readers’ tive, listings, viewpoints and ideas. If you see something Aaron Stern Aaron photographs, we endeavor to that you think might be a story, capture what it means to live or something you have a ques- here, highlights of places to tion about, give us a call, or visit and things to do, a snap- drop us a line. shot of local history, help find- If you know of a person or /The Almanac ing community resources and an organization doing impor- tips on adjusting to living here. tant work, something that If you are new to the area, might make a good feature you’ll find resources and ideas story, we are looking for on these pages and on our Web people to feature each week. site, www.Connection We want to know if some- This farm on Glen Road is a throwback to the days when barns and horses dotted the Newspapers.com. one in your family or your rolling hills of Potomac. Horse activity has moved further upcounty as Potomac has Even some longtime resi- community published a book, grown more suburban in nature over the years but zoning regulations ensure that dents may not have visited became an Eagle Scout, raised Potomac maintains its semi-rural nature. some of the key places in and money for a good cause, ac- nearby their community. complished some feat like run- We offer many more re- ning a marathon or having art sources on our Web site. There included in an art show. A Place of Planned Character you will find the complete We publish photos and notes community guides for each of of a variety of personal mile- Land use issues lay at our 17 papers, including more stones and community events, extensive listings than appear including births, engage- the heart of Potomac. in the newspapers. You can ments, weddings, anniversa- By Aaron Stern now access the print edition of ries, awards and obituaries. The Almanac each of our papers online, We are also interested in showing each page exactly as events at your church, it appears in the paper, includ- mosque, synagogue, commu- t won’t take a newcomer to Potomac long to re ing cover, photos, display ads nity center, pool, school, club, Ialize that the rolling hills and large lots that sur and classified advertising. Go etc. E-mail or mail us a photo round them are an anomaly in a county that is to www.Connection and a note about the event. Be increasingly being built out. While the rest of the Newspapers.com, and click on sure to include the names of metropolitan region grapples with traffic, clustered “Print Editions” in the red bar.