Thursday, May 17, 2012
Teen substance abuse now is similar to the problems of 1993, when authorities were called to action to combat teen drinking and driving, police said.
A year ago this week Montgomery County was rocked by the loss of three Magruder High School students killed in a drunk driving accident. Now, activists say, it’s time for the community to wake up. The Montgomery County Council of PTAs hosted a community action forum Wednesday, gathering police, community leaders, parents, teachers and students to discuss a growing substance and alcohol abuse problem in Montgomery County. “We are far too overrepresentive of drug and alcohol related tragedies. The number one cause of death continues to be alcohol related crashes and teen driving crashes,” said Captain Thomas Didone, director of the Montgomery County Police Traffic Division. “The summary of what’s going on with underage drinking – we’ve …
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
Representatives from Montgomery County Police, Montgomery County Public Schools and the Montgomery County State's Attorney will answer questions related to teen drinking and substance abuse in Montgomery County.
Do you think teenage drinking is a growing problem in Montgomery County? Is substance abuse getting out of hand? Are you just curious about the issues? Community leaders including police, school principals, representatives from the Montgomery County State's Attorney's office and school board members will come together Wednesday night to present a community action forum on teen drinking and substance abuse. After a presentation from the panel, the floor will be open to questions and discussion about the risks and life impact of teenage substance abuse. The presentation starts at 7 p.m. in the Montgomery County Public Schools Carver Educational Services Center Auditorium located at 850 Hungerford Drive in Rockville. What kind of questions …
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
The measure was overturned by referendum in 2010 and brought back up by County Executive Isiah Leggett this session.
Despite voters striking down the Montgomery County ambulance fee in a referendum on the ballot in 2010, Montgomery County Council passed the fee again Tuesday with a 6-3 vote. Several councilmembers said there was a misinformation campaign surrounding the 2010 referendum vote. Councilmembers Councilman Phil Andrews (D, Dist-3), Roger Berliner (D-Dist. 1) and George Leventhal (D-At Large) were opposed. While Andrews implored councilmembers to respect the will of the voters, some of the county lawmakers were disturbed at how voters were educated about the ambulance fee. Many residents who voted against the fee thought county residents would have to pay the $300 to $800 fee per ambulance ride, Councilman Mark Elrich (D-At Large) said. “That’s…
The bank robbery occurred Tuesday morning on University Boulevard.
Updated, 2:14 p.m.: Montgomery County Police are searching for a suspect described as a black male, 30 to 40 years old, 6 feet tall, weighing approximately 200 lbs., wearing white pants and a yellow and green jacket, according to spokesperson Angela Cruz. Follow Wheaton Patch on Twitter and on Facebook for breaking news updates. Cruz said that the suspect was last seen on foot, fleeing out the front door of the Capital One Bank. Original story, 11:53 a.m.: Police are searching for a suspect after a report of a robbery at Capital One Bank at 2801 University Blvd. West this morning. According to Montgomery County Police, the call came in at 9:12 a.m. There are no reported injuries, and no weapon was seen, but it was probably implied, Cruz …
39.038835
-77.057319
2801 University Blvd W, Wheaton, MD
/articles/capital-one-bank-robbery-reported
/locations/7032347
A new weekly feature allows readers to ask the Montgomery County Police Department questions.
Patch has partnered with Montgomery County Police to answer residents questions about crime, public safety, police procedures and the law in a new feature called Ask A Cop. So District 4 residents, ask a cop about laws you are curious about, how often they patrol your neighborhood and why you got that ticket. Ask your question in the comments section below or e-mail Editor Sonia Dasgupta at sonia@patch.com. We'll get an answer to your question by the following Tuesday.
Friday, May 11, 2012
The proposed legislation will go before the full Montgomery County Council on Tuesday. What do you think about the re-submission of an EMS fee for Montgomery County?
The newly proposed EMS Fee will head to the Montgomery County Council on Tuesday with a recommendation against approval from the council's public safety committee. Amid a contentious meeting Friday, amendments and details to the proposed legislation were hashed out between council committee members, representatives for the county executive office and Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Services. In a vote of 2-1, the committee recommended council reject the amended bill. "I think [County Executive Ike Leggett's] re-submittal of this bill is the single worst decision he's made since I've been here, and I don't say that lightly," said Public Safety Committee Chairman Phil Andrews (D-Dist. 3). “It is crucial to make judgments that do not …
Thursday, May 10, 2012
The debate surrounding school resource officers continues. Montgomery County Council members and the county police chief have suggested a roundtable to address the issue.
What place do police officers have in Montgomery County's public schools? The issue of how to fund school resource officers continues to baffle county officials. The county's schools, police and council all recognize the benefit of the placing officers at local public high schools, but disagree as to its implementation and its scope. Police Chief Thomas Manger in January told the council that adding officers to schools would greatly impact the department's ability to deal with youth crime. With the budget cuts in previous years, only one SROs has been assigned to each police district, although previously the county boasted one officer per school cluster. The cities of Gaithersburg and Rockville supply officers to their city high schools…
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
MoCo police ticketed 197 motorists with seat belt violations.
The Montgomery County Police kicked off its "Click It or Ticket" seat belt campaign Wednesday morning with 35 officers spending two hours on Route 355 issuing citations to motorists for failing to wear them. The two-hour enforcement period yielded 197 seat belt violation citations, three citations for other traffic violations and four warnings, according to a Montgomery County Police news release. The two-hour detail was funded by the Maryland Highway Safety Office. Under Montgomery County law, anyone under 16 years old riding in the back of the car must be using a seat belt and anyone over 16 in the front seat of a car, as an operator or passenger, must buckle up.
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
Aaron William Murray Lamere, of the 25400 block of Jarl Drive, was arrested Monday for several sex-related offenses.
A Gaithersburg man was arrested Monday for several sex-related offenses, Montgomery County police announced in a press release. Aaron William Murray Lamere, of the 25400 block of Jarl Drive, was charged with three counts of possession of child pornography, four counts of sexual solicitation of a minor, four counts of committing a third degree sex offense, three counts of sexual abuse of a minor, one count of committing a fourth degree sex offense, and two counts of indecent exposure, police said. Lamere, 39, had worked as a media services technician at Silver Spring’s Northwood High School until recently, police said. While investigating a March 14 tip that a Northwood employee—later identified as Lamere—was in possession of child …
Monday, May 7, 2012
The measure was defeated once in 2010.
It's like deja vu all over again. The Montgomery County Council is asking residents to speak out May 8 at 7:30 p.m. on County Executive Isiah Leggett's proposal to implement an ambulance fee, a measure that proved to be contentious in 2010. The fee would authorize the county to impose and collect a reimbursement to recover costs generated by providing emergency medical services transports, according to a Montgomery County Council news release. During the November 2010 county elections, a similar measure was defeated 53.83 percent to 46.17 percent. The fee would have generated $14 million toward the county's budget shortfall, according to supporters, but those against the fee said it would deter people from calling ambulances. Patch wants …
Ray Whalen
9:02 am on Thursday, May 17, 2012
Mock Loco, the "program" we should get with is to stop the abuse of disability retiremments (if your comment is accurate) and to restruture defined benefit programs that the taxpayers don't have. Raising taxes and fees to placate union special interests is exactly the wrong program. more ›