Ben-Gurion University researcher to speak in Olney

Shabbat services begin at 9:30 a.m. B’nai Shalom Of Olney is located at 18401 Burtfield Drive.

Dahan, who works at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev’s Zuckerberg Institute for Water Research, has developed a new system for fighting soil and groundwater pollution. The system makes possible, for the first time, a simple, fast and cost-effective monitoring tool that helps prevent groundwater pollution.

Dahan’s invention is being used in Israel and several other countries to enhance the overall protection of the environment.

For Information, call B’nai Shalom Of Olney at 301-774-0879.

Former Rossmoor Kiwanians make big donation to TLC

Members of the former Rossmoor Kiwanis Club in Aspen Hill recently donated $147,465 to TLC—The Treatment and Learning Centers.

It is one of the larger gifts received recently by the Rockville-based nonprofit agency, TLC officials reported.

TLC will honor Rossmoor Kiwanis as ‘‘Benefactor of the Year” at its Annual Meeting of the Board of Trustees on May 21.

TLC’s longstanding relationship with Kiwanis led to naming its therapeutic groups for children between the ages of 2 1⁄2 and 5 years old the Kiwanis Clubs of Montgomery County Interaction Groups. The therapeutic groups provide speech⁄language and occupational therapy for young children with special needs.

Merger of the Rossmoor Club into the Leisure World Club created a one-time opportunity to award a substantial grant from the former club’s foundation, and TLC was chosen to be the sole recipient of the funds.

Kiwanis members Charles Falck and Betty Gardiner were among the Kiwanians who facilitated the grant to TLC.

‘‘When it came time to decide where the funds should go, the club’s choice was crystal clear,” Falck said in a prepared statement. ‘‘TLC has always been a perfect match for the Kiwanis Young Children Priority One Program.”

Added Gardiner, ‘‘The Kiwanis Clubs of Montgomery County have supported TLC for over 25 years and the members of the Rossmoor Club felt that TLC was the natural recipient, since both have a mutual focus for helping young children.”

TLC Executive Director Dick Pavlin, who has headed the agency for more than 28 years and cultivated the Kiwanis relationship, said that when Falck called him, ‘‘I literally dropped the phone.”

Pavlin added that the grant ‘‘will enable TLC to help the families of young children with special needs on levels never before possible.”

Increased tuition subsidies, new scholarships for low-income families, enhanced parent support groups, staff training and new technologies all are areas where the funds will be used.

The county fair wants you

There’s a contest for everyone at the Montgomery County Agricultural Fair, held in August at the county fairgrounds in Gaithersburg, fair officials say.

Open class categories range from toilet decorating to cake making and brewing homemade beer, and officials are seeking suburban recruits.

‘‘You don’t have to be a fair member, you don’t have to be anything beyond a person who is interested in participating,” said Marty Svrcek, executive director of the Montgomery County Agricultural Center Inc., the nonprofit organization that runs the fair. ‘‘We have over 17,000 entries every year ... from vegetables they grew in their backyard gardens to photographs, to paintings to their prize-winning fudge — the list goes on and on.”

Prizes are offered in all categories and while monetary rewards are low, ‘‘everyone loves a blue ribbon,” he said

Some entry fees are associated; most do not exceed $10.

‘‘People have the perception that the fair is about animals, well, the fair is a much bigger thing,” Svrcek said.

Each category has its own deadline for registration scheduled during the days of the fair. To check out the schedule of events and register online, visit www.mcagfair.com. Or print the catalog and take an entry form with the submitted item.

Spring saleat Salvation Army

The Salvation Army of Montgomery County will hold a Spring Fair 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday at its headquarters, 20021 Aircraft Drive, Germantown.

There will be new clothes, candles, toys and more on sale. Proceeds will go to supporting The Salvation Army. For more information, call Capt. Christine Rojas at 301-515-5354.

If you have an interesting note about the people and the events of Olney, Brookeville, Sandy Spring and Ashton, send it to Judith Hruz, Editor, The Olney Gazette, 9030 Comprint Court, Gaithersburg, Md. 20877; or e-mail it to me at jhruz@gazette.net. Our fax numbers are 301-670-7182 or 301-670-7183. Deadline is 5 p.m. Thursday. All items subject to editing and space availability.