Maryland Community Newspapers Online
The following members of in Girl Scout Senior Troop 3577 earned the Girl Scout Gold Award. The girls, whose projects are described below, were seniors at Northwest High School during the 2008-2009 school year.
Katherine Garvey — A More Compassionate World: Creating Understanding and Socialization for People with Disabilities; Kara Loyd — Back from the Brink: Helping Endangered Species; Nikita Mani — Notable Goals: A Step Forward for Music Education; Amanda Parker — Eat Healthy and Live Right!; Roma Patel — The Science of Having Fun; and Katherine Ten Hagen — Promoting Celiac Disease Awareness in Our Community. The Gold Award is the highest award that a Girl Scout Senior, ages 14-18, may earn, according to a statement.
The following girls in Girl Scout Cadette Troop 4688 earned the Girl Scout Silver Award: Jessica Ellis, an eighth-grader at Kingsview Middle School during the 2008-2009 school year, and Natalia Aguirre, Katie Nerud, Evelyn Norquist and Maggie Reed, who were freshman at Northwest High School. The Silver Award is the highest award that a Girl Scout Cadette, ages 11-14 may earn.
Kara Loyd of Girl Scout Senior Troop 3577 earned the Girl Scout Silver Trefoil Award. She was a Northwest High School senior during the 2008-2009 school year. The Silver Trefoil Award focuses on service to government, the international community and Girl Scouts.
For more information about Girl Scouts in the area, visit www.gscnc.org.
Juneteenth Celebration at BlackRock
Montgomery County's 13th Annual Juneteenth Celebration is 7 p.m. Thursday at BlackRock Center for the Arts, 12901 Town Commons Drive, Germantown.
The celebration will include performances by Gaithersburg High School senior Joshua Sommerville, soloist Caelyn Sommerville, the Emory Grove United Methodist Church Youth Choir, The Finest! Youth Performance Troupe, Lincoln Park Historic Foundation and storyteller Vernon Ricks.
Juneteenth was first celebrated June 19, 1865, to mark the liberation of black slaves by President Abraham Lincoln in 1863.
Admission is free and light refreshments will be served. For more information, call 240-777-5199.
Take a chance on Second Chance
Raffle tickets on two condominium apartments in downtown Hagerstown are being sold to raise money for Operation Second Chance, a nonprofit organization that helps wounded service men and women staying at Walter Reed Army Medical Center and their families.
Tickets are $100 apiece. Order forms, rules and regulations available online at www.operationsecondchance.org.
If at least 4,251 tickets are sold by July 15, the drawing will be held that day; otherwise, the raffle will be postponed until Sept. 15. A maximum of 5,000 tickets will be sold. Money will be returned if enough tickets are not sold.
Roger, roger: Field day at MC
"Ham" radio operators will host a training field day where they will set up stations in obscure locations to see how many other stations around the world they can talk with.
There is a 24-hour period in which to make these contacts using emergency power generators, solar power, wind power or other forms of energy, according to a statement from the Montgomery Amateur Radio Club. Operators will use certain frequencies using HF, VHF and UHF radio signals to talk to others stations, satellites and the possible contact with the International Space Station and space shuttle.
All amateur radio operators and the public are invited to attend the Montgomery field day. The field day is 2 p.m. June 27 to 2 p.m. June 28 at Montgomery College-Germantown, 20200 Observation Drive.
Are you a poet and know it?
Sign up now to enter the 17th annual National Senior Poets Laureate Poetry Competition — a competition for American poets age 50 and older. The contest, open to U.S. citizens, is sponsored by Amy Kitchener's Angels Without Wings Foundation, a nonprofit literary society. Winners of the state and territorial poet laureate prizes will compete for the title of National Senior Poet Laureate and $500. Residents may submit either published or unpublished poems of any form, subject, or style or presentation. The entry fee is $3 per poem, and there is a one-page per entry limit. Each poem must be titled. For more information, visit the Senior Poets Laureate Contest Web site www.amykitchenerfdn.org. The postmark deadline is June 30.
Furniture ministry is back in business
The St. Rose of Lima Parish in Gaithersburg has re-established its furniture ministry. The volunteer-run donation and community aid program closed in November after a storage facility where the ministry operated asked the popular program to leave when it could no longer accommodate long lines and numerous visitors.
"It was a drop-off, drop-in kind of operation," said Mike Wallerstedt, a parishioner who has taken charge of the program. "We're doing it now by appointment."
The ministry re-opened for business on June 6, providing six families living room, bedroom or kitchen and dining room furniture, Wallerstedt said. Furniture is available to families in need. It is stored at The East Diamond Storage Facility, located at 501 E. Diamond Ave. in Olde Towne Gaithersburg near the old grain mill.
The biggest need is for beds, sofas, loveseat, dining room furniture, kitchen tables and dressers, Wallerstedt said.
To schedule an appointment to receive furniture at a Saturday morning distribution, e-mail clients@strosefurniture.com or call 301-482-2947.
To make tax-deductible donations of furniture in good condition, e-mail donations@strosefurniture.com to schedule drop-off or free pickup (within a limited service area).
For more information, visit www.strosefurniture.com.
Are you a Survivor?
Sign up now for a chance to showcase your wilderness savvy during a day-long, family-friendly adventure known as Survivor: Potomac Islands, organized by the River Center at Lockhouse 8. The River Center, run through the conservation group the Potomac Conservancy, is located at 7906 Riverside Ave., along the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal in Cabin John.
The action-packed day will take place from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Saturday on Minnie's Island and along the Potomac River, and will feature canoeing, orienteering, fire building and knot tying. The day will include team-based competitions and children ages 8 and older, along with their parents, can attend workshops. A lunch of hamburgers and hot dogs will be provided, though participants should bring other refreshments, along with necessities like sun screen and bug spray. Canoes will be available. Space is limited! RSVP to chapin@potomac.org by Thursday.
Dump the Pump
Ride On is joining with other public transportation systems across the country to participate in the fourth annual National Dump the Pump Day, which encourages people to ride public transportation to save money, safeguard the environment, reduce the nation's dependence on foreign oil and improve overall quality of life.
According to Montgomery County, Washington-area residents can save an average of $9,000 each year by taking public transportation instead of driving and by dropping one car. Six dollars in economic returns to communities is generated by every one dollar invested in public transportation, and nationwide, using public transportation saves 900,000 automobile fill-ups or 4.2 billion gallons of gasoline a year, according to the county. The county is encouraging residents to check out other alternative means of transportation including carpooling, walking and cycling.
Share your good news! Send submissions to Melissa A. Chadwick via e-mail at mchadwick@gazette.net, fax at 301-670-7183 or mail to The Germantown-Boyds-Poolesville Gazette, 9030 Comprint Court, Gaithersburg, MD 20877.