Maryland Community Newspapers Online
On New Year's Day, 15 children from Beltsville released "Change We Can Believe In," a track they recorded to pay tribute to the inauguration of President Barack Obama.
The children participated in the program through IWRITE Student services in Beltsville – an educational consulting firm which provides activities, athletics and mentoring for area students.
The song was written by Dalia Muir, an IWRITE project manager.
The children rehearsed every Saturday morning for four weeks.
The students who recorded the track were Nneka Lyn, Melinda Thomas, Marcus Poston, Tyler Martin, DaNasha McRae, DaShia McRae, Keilyn Cook, Syanna Randolph, Gabrielle Sawyers, Ashleigh Byers, Jailen James, Arieal Bradshaw-Peterson, Markel Brown, Tyheil Peterson and James Wicks.
To hear the track, go to www.iwriteservices.com.
Education committee
to hold preschool fair
The College Park Education Advisory Committee is holding its preschool education fair on Jan. 31.
The fair will take place from 2 to 4 p.m. at the College Park Community Center located at 5051 Pierce Ave.
Teachers, administrators and parents from area preschool programs will be on hand.
Parents with children who are going to be in preschool next school year are invited to ask questions and learn about the various preschools in the city.
For more information, contact Joan Sicher at joricsic@yahoo.com.
Beltsville resident
sprints to college degree
Beltsville resident Tochi Crystal Anyanwu graduated from Seton Hall University in South Orange, N.J., in December 2008.
Anyanwu earned her Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Studies from the school's College of Arts & Sciences.
Anyanwu, who graduated from Eleanor Roosevelt High School in Greenbelt, was a member of Seton Hall's track and field team for three seasons.
During her track career, Anyanwu won the 800-meter at the Yale invitational during her freshman season, finished in second place in the 1000-meter as a sophomore at the Fordham Invitational and won the 1000-meter at the Great Dane Classic and won the 800-meter at the Big East vs. Ivy League Challenge as a junior.
She also ran track for two years at Roosevelt, as well as two years at High Point High School in Beltsville. In high school, she won the 800-meter state championship all four years.
Anyanwu's counsin, Robert Duru of Hillcrest Heights, ran track at the University of Maryland, College Park before graduating in 2007.
Lions to hold first
blood drive of 2009
The Beltsville Lions Club is holding its quarterly blood drive on Friday from 3 to 6:45 p.m.
The drive is being held at the Emmanuel United Methodist Church at 11416 Cedar Lane in Beltsville.
The drive will be run by staff from the Washington Hospital Center and donations will go to MedStar.
Donors will also receive a "lifestyle profile" that will provide them with information on their cholesterol, triglycerides, calcium and glucose.
To schedule an appointment, contact Ted Ladd at 301-937-6796 or tedladd02@aol.com. Appointments are scheduled in 15-minute blocks.
High Point High School graduate headed to Iraq
Army National Guard Sgt. 1st Class Paul Johnson, a graduate of High Point High School in Beltsville, has been mobilized and activated for deployment to a forward operating base in Iraq.
Johnson's mission objectives will include force protection, peacekeeping, stabilization, security and counter-insurgency operations.
The mission is intended to help the Iraqi transitional government assume full responsibility for the country.
Johnson graduated from High Point in 1987. He has served in the Army for 16 years and is normally assigned to the 178th Military Police Company in Monroe, Ga.
Beltsville Elementary School holds annual science fair
Beltsville's Nailah Rogers and Frederick Douglas were the winners of the Beltsville Elementary Science Fair.
The fair, which was held Dec. 1-2, featured 145 projects from students in all grades, including kindergarten.
Nailah won the grand prize in the K-3 category for her project in which she examined which type of apple turns brown at the quickest rate.
Nailah, a first-grader, used a red apple, a yellow apple and a green apple in her experiment.
Frederick, who is in the fourth grade, won the grand prize in the 4-6 grades category for his presentation of how electromagnets work.
Thirty-five volunteers from Behnke's Nurseries in Beltsville, the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission, NASA, John's Hopkins University the USDA as well as members of the surrounding community judged the projects.
Four Beltsville students were selected to represent Beltsville Elementary at the Kids For Science Competition at Eleanor Roosevelt High School in Greenbelt on May 16.
The students selected were Frederick, Daniel Douglas, Isaiah Walcott and Samantha Iseli.
UM student wins
physical therapy scholarship
Eric Anson, a physical therapist and kinesiology student at the University of Maryland, College Park, was one of six physical therapists to receive the Florence P. Kendall Doctoral Scholarship for the 2008-2009 school year.
Each of the scholarships, which are awarded by the Foundation for Physical Therapy Board of Trustees, is worth $5,000.
Physical therapists in their first year of graduate studies toward a doctorate degree are eligible to win the scholarships, which are funded by the Henry O. and Florence P. Kendall Endowment Fund.
Anson graduated with a Baccalaureate of Science in Kinesiology from the University of Houston in 1999 and went on to earn his master's in physical therapy from the Texas Tech University Health Science Center in 2003.
He specializes in the treatment of balance impairments and is researching postural control and vestibular disorders at UM.
The five other scholarship winners are enrolled at the University of Utah, University of Iowa, University of Colorado, Denver and two are at the University of Florida.
High Point High School graduate headed to Iraq
Army National Guard Sgt. 1st Class Paul Johnson, a graduate of High Point High School in Beltsville, has been mobilized and activated for deployment to a forward operating base in Iraq.
Johnson's mission objectives will include force protection, peacekeeping, stabilization, security and counter-insurgency operations.
The mission is intended to help the Iraqi transitional government assume full responsibility for the country.
Johnson graduated from High Point in 1987. He has served in the Army for 16 years and is normally assigned to the 178th Military Police Company in Monroe, Ga.
Thirteen area students named to All-State Band
Thirteen students in DeMatha Catholic High School's music program were chosen for the Maryland All-State Music Program for the current school year.
Chris Douglas of Adelphi and Kevin Iredell of Bowie and were named to All-State Senior Band. Zachary Dowell of Owings and Stephen Rinaldi of Olney are in the All-State Junior Band. Greg Rozanski of Bowie was named to the All-State Senior Orchestra.
DeMatha students chosen for the All-State Senior Chorus are: Andrew Eck of Greenbelt, Tevin Johnson of Lanham, Scott Kincaid of Bowie, Alejandro Watson of Washington, D.C., Brad DePrato of Riverdale and Sean Smith of College Park. Students chosen for the All-State Junior Chorus include Zachary Dowell and Ian Smith, both of Clinton.
Last chance for public comment on county's historical preservation
Residents have two more chances to give input about county goals for future historic preservation have two more chances to participate. The county's Planning Department is revising the county's 1992 Historic Sites and Districts Plan, meant to protect historic properties for inclusion in the county's 2002 Approved General Plan.
Residents can attend the meeting scheduled 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. tonight at Laurel's Montpelier Cultural Arts Center at 9650 Muirkirk Road, or 9:30 a.m. to noon Saturday at Upper Marlboro's Union United Methodist Church on 14418 Old Marlboro Pike. Call 301-952-3680, e-mail HistoricPreservation@ppd.mncppc.org, or visit www.mncppc.org/preservationplan.
Insurance company holds coat drive
As part of its annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day community service day, Kaiser Permanente held a coat drive at its Beltsville warehouse Monday.
Kaiser Permanente has run nationwide community service projects on Martin Luther King Day every year for the past five years.
Along with the Beltsville project, the company also held events in Colorado, Georgia and California.
Kaiser Permanente President and CEO George Halvorson was at the Beltsville warehouse to greet donors.
College Park soldier takes
the stage as musician
Army Staff Sgt. Philip Savard, a College Park native, was one of over 300 soldiers to participate in the "Spirit of America 2008" performance in Rochester, N.Y., and Worcester, Ma., in September.
The performance recounted stories of past army soldiers.
The soldiers dressed in historical uniforms and re-enacted historic army battles and gunfights.
The U.S. Army Band, "Pershing's Own", also performed at the events along with soldiers from the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment, which features a fife and drum corps, the Commander-In-Chief's Guard, the Continental Color Guard and the Army's drill team.
Savard, a member of the 4th Battalion and the 3rd infantry, played the bugle during the performance.
He is currently stationed out of Arlington, Va., and has been in the Army for six years.
Savard graduated from DeMatha High School in Hyattsville in 1990.
He went on to earn his bachelor's degree from Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill.
He then went on to earn his master's degree in 1996 at the Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore.