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Greenbelt residents are invited to spend the afternoon and evening at Buddy Attick Park for an Independence Day celebration.
"It's a great family tradition in Greenbelt," said Beverly Palau, public information spokeswoman. "It's a great way people can spend time with their family and neighbors. Plus, Greenbelt is known for its fireworks."
Starting at 3 p.m., children can create crafts in the craft tent until 6 p.m. The Greenbelt Concert Band is performing at 6:15 p.m., while the Greenbelt Community Drum Circle kicks off a show at 7:30. The event concludes with fireworks at 9 p.m.
Guests can check for updates in the event of rain or other inclement weather by calling the Weather and Information Hotline at 301-474-0646.
Charity donates bulletproof vest to Greenbelt Police K9
Greenbelt Police Officer Barry Byers and his K9 partner Leon, were the recent recipients of a piece of equipment not often afforded to animal members of law enforcement — a bulletproof vest.
They won the vest at a raffle at the U.S. Police Canine Association Region 3 Field Trials at Schrom Hills Park on June 19 to 20. The raffle was hosted by 6-year-old Kayleigh Crimmins of Chesapeake, Va., who gave the vest away as part of her Kids for K9s program.
Kayleigh sold her toys and raised money through donations from her neighbors to buy the vest after she found out many police dogs aren't equipped with bulletproof jackets, unlike their human partners.
Police spokeswoman Officer Kelly Lawson said the K9 unit has one other vest, but it is old and may have lost some of its bullet-stopping ability. Leon will share the vest with the three other dogs in the unit. The vests cost close to $1,000, Lawson said.
Anyone who would like to donate to the Kids for K9s program can call 757-636-7906.
Greenbelt resident makes Savannah College dean's list
Savannah College of Art and Design in Savannah, Ga., recently announced its dean's list students for the final quarter.
Greenbelt resident Malcolm Barrett, a fashion major, made the list for averaging above a 3.5 GPA during the quarter.
Savannah College is a private, nonprofit accredited institution with campuses also in Atlanta and Lacoste, France.
Greenbelt resident attends leadership conference in Jordan
Leslie Alston of Greenbelt took part in the Women2Women Leadership in Action Summit, a young women's leadership conference hosted by Empower Peace. The conference was held from June 26 to today in Amman, Jordan.
The conference hosted 50 students from Azerbaijan, Egypt, England, Jordan, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Pakistan, United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan and the United States.
The women participated in leadership, women's rights, government and politics, business and media workshops. Each participants also contributed in a series of cultural and community service events throughout Jordan.
The goal of the conference was to unite the young women alumni from around the world and give them the opportunity to learn, network and acquire the leadership and professional development skills needed to continue on their path to success.
The summit will emphasize the role of the remarkable women working to bring about positive social change who are genuine role models and sources of inspiration for young women everywhere.
International women leaders such as Maha Khatib, the Jordanian minister of tourism and antiquities; Hala Lattouf, the Jordanian minister of social development; and Valentina Qussisiya, the director general of the Jordan River Foundation, also attended the conference.
Participants were accepted into the program based on their academic achievements, community work, leadership experience, essays, extracurricular activities and reccomendations.
University of Hartford dean's list includes Greenbelt native
The Connecticut-based University of Hartford has announced their spring dean's list. One of the students who made the list was Greenbelt resident Ashley Lee.
Lee was selected to the list for having a 3.5 GPA or higher for the spring semester.
Third annual Prince George's
Picnic in Greenbelt
Del. Justin Ross (D-Dist. 22) of Greenbelt is holding his third annual Prince George's Picnic at the American Legion Post 136 in Greenbelt, located at 6900 Greenbelt Road. The picnic will be from 6 to 9 p.m. on July 9, and is hosted by Sheila Hixson, chairwoman of the ways and means committee; Maggie McIntosh, Environmental Matters Committee; Dereck Davis, chairman of the House Economic Matters Committee and Majority Whip Talmadge Branch.
"We're going to have traditional picnic food, the best ribs in Prince George's County and an all around great time," said Paul Frome, an aid to Ross.
Tickets for the event are available to the general public for $250, patrons for $500 and sponsors for $1,000. Young Democrats, community activists and 22nd district residents' tickets are reduced to $22. The tickets may be purchased at the door or by sending a check of money order to: Friends of Justin Ross/ P.O. Box 317/ Greenbelt, MD 20768. The money goes to his general campaign fund.
NASA project in Greenbelt debuts hurricane video online
NASA has recently debuted the entire 2008 hurricane season in a new online video. The video came from the NASA GOES Project, which is operated out of NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt. The video is available at www.nasa.gov/hurricane and shows 17 tropical cyclones in the Atlantic Hurricane Season. Sixteen of the storms were strong enough to be named; only one stayed a tropical depression.
Beltsville resident makes Syracuse University dean's list
Syreeta Herbert, of Beltsville, was named to the dean's list for the spring 2009 semester at Syracuse University in Syracuse, N.Y.
Herbert, a sophomore fashion design major, made the list by completing 12 or more credits with a grade point average of 3.4 or higher.
She is a 2007 graduate of Eleanor Roosevelt High School in Greenbelt.
Tree-planting program
wants resident input
College Park has a program that plants trees in the city's right-of-way areas and city officials are asking residents to suggest possible planting locations.
Right-of-ways include median strips and grass between curbs and sidewalks.
Residents can suggest a location by calling the city horticulturist at 301-474-4194. City officials will inspect sites to determine whether they are suitable for planting.