February 12, 2016 A Biweekly Newspaper February 12, 2016 • Volume XI, Number 21 Ice Rink Decisions Remain in Limbo By Rande Davis Super Bowl fun can be at home or out. The saga of what to do about a See more celebration pictures in Family privately-owned ice rink on Sugarland Album on page 2. Road in Poolesville moved to Pooles- ville’s Parks Board meeting on Feb- ruary 3. The owner of the rink, Marc Kohn, named it Mel’s Rink as a tribute to his daughter who passed away last summer and who had a great passion for hockey and ice-skating. He had hoped that the rink would become a free venue for skating enthusiasts young and old. Lacking the proper permitting from the county govern- ment, public use was suspended and the rink reduced to only allowing up to five participants at a time. At a meeting with Mr. Kohn last Photographer Martin Radigan with month, county officials advised him The owner of Mel’s Rink, Marc Kohn, updated the town’s Planning daughter Maisie hiking in Maine. that the rink was not properly permit- Commission on meetings with the county. The Planning Commission is Read more in Center Stage on page 5. ted and in violation of county regula- looking into any viable locations for the rink within Poolesville. tions not suitable for wide (more than five persons at a time) and had to be see if they might be able to help in this palates, and is connected with dovetail moved. They expressed interest in situation. joints and is designed to be movable. partnering with Mr. Kohn in that en- The 2,100-square-foot rink is a The ice rink could be used year-round deavor and also recommended that he series of sheets of polyurethane, high approach the Town of Poolesville to intensity plastic, on top of 200 wood Continued on page 6. The Old Town Hall Bank Museum and Exhibit Center By Rande Davis As the Town of Poolesville began the twentieth century, it was quite a thriving community. It is hard to Susan and Charles Jamison joined imagine, but just a quarter of century together to form a law firm. Read earlier, in 1878, Montgomery County about it on page 8. records showed the population of Poolesville to be 278, while the popu- lation of Bethesda was just twenty- five. Poolesville’s population would remain around 300 to 350 until the early 1960s when construction on the new waste water treatment plant and the Westerly subdivision began. In the early 1900s, one of Pool- esville’s leading citizens was H. W. Spurrier, an important merchant among the many important merchants in the bustling little town. His two- The original Board of Directors of the Poolesville National Bank. story 44,000-square-foot establishment offered consumers ready-made cloth- town had three other general mer- specialized in harnesses. Isaac Fyfe PHS Drama Director Nathaniel ing, boots, shoes, hats, underwear, chandise stores: Wootton and Elgin’s, was the town’s butcher, and C. W. Gordon welcomed renowned film furniture, floor coverings, chinaware, Fletchall Hall’s, and Thomas Hoskin- Morrison sold tin and hardware. and Broadway star, Tony Lo Bianco. and novelties, but he was not the only son’s. Additionally, Mr. J. E. Pyles had Read about his visit on page 10. general store in town. Back then, the the town’s drugstore, and E. D. Cruitt Continued on page 9. Page 2 The Monocacy Monocle February 12, 2016 Family Album The football fans at House of Poolesville were treated to a special chili cookoff menu! Fans at Cugini’s, wishing they had come to see the Redskins instead, still had a great time. February 12, 2016 The Monocacy Monocle Page 3 from all of the other commissioners, Town Government and they decided to put the request on Report hold for further discussion at the next commissioners’ meeting. Snowstorm Report Snowstorm Report And Grant Request Yost presented an overview of From MES how well the town managed during the recent epic snowstorm. Advance By Link Hoewing preparation was key to managing the The Town of Poolesville com- onslaught of the storm. Notices went missioners heard a summary report out to employees notifying them that from town manager Wade Yost re- in many instances, in order to help garding the recent snowstorm at their operate equipment to remove snow, February 1 meeting. They also consid- they might not be able to return home ered a grant request from Monocacy immediately. The town also had con- Elementary School (MES) and re- tracts with private companies to sup- viewed a draft ordinance on tree ply needed heavy equipment, like planting and management in the town. dump trucks to remove snow, front- end loaders, and skid steers. The town MES Grant Request also posted notices for all residents Kristin Alben, the principal of about the pending storm and the im- Monocacy Elementary School, and portance of shoveling walks as soon as Annette Coates, a reading specialist at possible after the storm abated. the school, presented a request to the All six of the town’s Parks and commissioners for a grant to support Streets staff plus staff from the Water the purchase of a license for a digital Department were deployed to run library and reading program children plows and trucks in the early stages can access online via a variety of de- of the storm. By 6:30 p.m., twenty-four vices, including computers and iPads. hours after the storm began (Saturday, Alben said she had had access to the January 23), every street in town had program when she was on the staff seen at least one plow make a pass. of Great Seneca Creek Elementary On Monday and Tuesday of the next School and, in her view, the program week, town staff widened plowed has great value for children; it not streets and began loading snow that only allows access to a great number had piled high in some areas, truck- of important books for children almost ing it to parks such as Campbell Park. instantaneously, but can also be used The townhouses were especially chal- by those with vision impairments and lenging, and, although they consist includes important tools such as an of only a small portion of all homes online dictionary. in Poolesville, it took two days to dig In her request for support, Alben out the parking lots in those areas. On remarked that out of the 168 students Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday of at Monocacy, 54 come from Pooles- the week after the storm (January 27, Repairs – Service – Parts ville; she considers MES part of the 28, and 29), efforts were concentrated Poolesville community. She added on continued removal of big snow New – Used – We Service All Brands that she had been able to negotiate the piles that blocked views, especially at price of the license from $6900 per year intersections, and the snow removal SPRING to $4000 for a full year. For the balance from main public sidewalks. IS COMING of the current year, the price would be According to Yost’s report, $2000, and the PTA at Monocacy has citizens, by and large, did listen to Schedule your agreed to pay $1000 of the cost for this requests to move cars off of streets as year. She felt that she could not put soon as driveways were cleared. The Tune Up more of the financial burden on the total cost of the storm to the town NOW parents since the county had not yet was in the neighborhood of $7000, but decided to fund the program. that money might be recovered from The Poolesville commissioners all the State of Maryland since Governor seemed sympathetic to the request and Hogan declared a state of emergency. COMING IN appeared to understand the value of Town commissioners and the the program to young readers; howev- small audience in attendance were MARCH 2016 er, as Commission President Jim Brown uniformly positive in their comments said, “This is a sticky situation.” The about the snow removal efforts. In re- town does make grants to a variety of sponse to a question, Yost said that the projects and has even included school town did not need any more equip- projects in the past, but Poolesville resi- ment for snow removal. Large dump 15100 Barnesville Rd. dents paid taxes to the county to edu- trucks and front-end loaders, while 301-­‐972-­‐1116 cation, and it is the county’s and PTA’s needed in this storm, would not be uti- Boyds responsibility to support programs lized much during the balance of the such as the one Principal Alben had put forward. Similar comments came Continued on page 11. poolesvillesmallengine.com Page 4 The Monocacy Monocle February 12, 2016 For example, there are those who Commentary absolutely detest Hilary Clinton for a wide range of reasons who can’t abide Poolesville Green the thought of voting for her, and yes, Shared Experiences there are Republicans who dislike her By John Clayton as well. Others feel she is by far the I was a little late to my Super Bowl best qualified candidate in the race, Living Network viewing party, so I listened to the on either side, but acknowledge they National Anthem on the car radio. will vote with one hand and hold their While I didn’t listen to the game, it nose closed with the other. Some I sup- reminded me that I always enjoy pose like her across the board, but I hearing big national sporting events haven’t talked to as many of them.