Gaithersburg Celebrates 5th Annual Kentlands Day

Families enjoy parade and afternoon of events to celebrate community

People lined Main Street on a beautiful Saturday morning in Gaithersburg. Parents sat on the sidewalks, children ran around holding blue and orange balloons and music filled the air. It was the 5th Annual Kentlands Day, and people were out with their families to celebrate their community. Presented by the City of Gaithersburg and the Kentlands Market Square Merchants Kentlands Day is an all-day community event featuring multiple performances, activities and fairs, as well as appearances and demonstrations from dozens of local businesses. An estimated 20,000 people attended the event one year ago, and it looked like Kentlands Day approached that number again on Saturday. The day began with a parade down Main Street, featuring more than 20 …

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Lady Trojans Honored By City for State Championship

The school hosted a pep rally at the City Concert Pavillion and Mayor Katz gave a proclamation in the team's honor.

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Gaithersburg Police Take Over County's Role As Primary Responders

The agreement between the City and the County Police Departments has been months in the making.

It may surprise some to know that if you call the police in Gaithersburg, a Gaithersburg Police officer is not automatically the first to respond. Even within the city, Montgomery County Police are first responders. But on March 1 that's going to change thanks to Gaithersburg Chief Mark P. Sroka. "If you call the police [in the city], you're going to get one of our officers first," said Officer Dan Lane, a spokesman for the Gaithersburg Police Department. "If one of our officers is unavailable, then a County officer will respond." "This demonstrates our cooperative working relationship with the County," he added. Lane explained that the city used to be primary responders, but the department was "uncontrolled and that officers were …

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Klingler Receives Employee Recognition Award for Elections Efforts

Klingler was named the Employee of Quarter for her outstanding work serving as the staff coordinator for Gaithersburg’s municipal elections on November 8, 2011.

Council Balks At Olde Towne Plaza Plan

They say the proposed plaza misses what they had in mind.

The City Council and members of the community Monday night told staff and an architect in charge of designing a public plaza in Olde Towne to go back to the drawing board. The plan for the Olde Towne Plaza redevelopment at the corner of E. Diamond and S. Summit Ave. calls for a building that officials worry would block the view of the rolling stock exhibit at the Gaithersburg Community Museum. The building and plaza would be built on what is known as the Fishman site. The Mayor and Council voted to authorize the redevelopment in September 2010. On Monday night Vic Bryant, the Vice President of Planning and Landscape Architecture at Macris, Hendricks, and Glascock, briefed the council on their plans before their preliminary site plan review…

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Kentlands Robbery Investigation Slow, Detectives Tell Community

Despite the linked crimes, the Kentlands is still a safe neighborhood, Gaithersburg Police Chief assured the community.

The investigation into two armed robberies on Main Street last month is moving slowly, detectives told a community meeting last night, but the Kentlands is still a safe neighborhood. Sgt. Brian Labatt and Det. Dave Woolsey from Montgomery County Police told a crowd of about 100 residents and business owners gathered at the Kentlands Stadium 8 theatre that there is "very little physical evidence" in the case. The robberies, which police believe were done by the same masked and gloved man, were carried out at O'Hair Salon on Jan. 18 and Salon G on Jan. 30. During each incident, a man believed to be an African American of average build, about 5'8 to 6', entered the salon at closing time when there was one person at the register. He displayed …

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Elections Board Throws Out Complaint

Ross and Rowse waited too long to file their complaint, board finds.

Tom Rowse and Paula Ross, two former candidates for City Council who lost their election bids, waited too long to file their complaint against the Mayor and three winning candidates, the Gaithersburg election board found earlier this week. At their meeting on Tuesday, the Board of Supervisors of Elections dismissed the complaint, which alleged that Council members Jud Ashman, Cathy Drzyzgula and Ryan Spiegel formed a secret political committee with Mayor Sidney Katz and sent out misleading mailers to voters. Ashman, Drzyzgula and Spiegel all vehemently deny the allegations. According to City Attorney Lynn Board, who was not at the meeting, the BOSE determined that the complaint, filed on Jan. 20, was not filed within 30 days of the alleged…

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Franchot Visits Gaithersburg, Encourages Use of EITC

State and local agencies offered some free tax advice this morning in Gaithersburg.

It's official, tax season is upon us. Maryland Comptroller Peter Franchot visited Family Services, Inc. in Gaithersburg this morning to encourage taxpayers to use all the resources available to them when they file their taxes, including the Earned Income Tax Credit, or EITC. "The EITC is an effective anti-poverty tool," Franchot said. "It helps people move up the economic ladder." Franchot was joined by Gaithersburg Mayor Sidney Katz, Family Services, Inc. Executive Director Thomas Harr and Melvin Hardy, the IRS Territory Manager for Maryland. Together they encouraged Maryland residents to use the Montgomery County Community Action Agency's Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program to help get the maximum return on their taxes through…

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Ross, Rowse Allege Illegal Political Committee

The two former Council candidates claim secret committee funded Katz mailing.

UPDATE: Councilman Ryan Spiegel has issued this brief response: "I will be providing a thorough response to the BOSE in due time, which will demonstrate the complete lack of merit of these allegations.  It is unfortunate that these individuals have chosen to file an utterly baseless complaint, especially when there were grounds to file legitimate complaints against their own activities but others chose to take the high road and not burden the taxpayers with these matters.  The 2011 election is over, the voters have spoken very clearly, and it is time to move on." Councilwoman Cathy Drzyzgula issued the following response:  I am disappointed that Mr. Rowse and Ms. Ross continue to make charges that are not based on evidence and often …

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GALLERY: Voting at Izaak Walton League

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