Allen Chapel A.M.E. Church Celebrates 140th Anniversary!

Representatives of Councilmember Trachtenberg, on behalf of the Montgomery County Council, proudly presented the following Proclamation to the Allen Chapel African Methodist Episcopal Church, on the occasion of its 140th Anniversary.

WHEREAS, the Allen Chapel African Methodist Episcopal (A.M.E.) Church was founded in 1870 by Henry Walker, Jerry Gaither, and George Gaither, with its first formal gathering place established during 1873, in an area originally known as Providence in Wheaton, Montgomery County, Maryland; and

WHEREAS, the original members worked nights by lantern light until the original structure, a single story frame building, was finished; and they named the church the Allen Chapel, in honor of Richard Allen, the founder of the African Methodist Episcopal Church (A.M.E.); and

WHEREAS, since its establishment, the Allen Chapel A.M.E. Church congregation has continuously assembled and served others under the banner and living mission of the A.M.E. Church, "God Our Father, Christ Our Redeemer, and Man Our Brother;" and

WHEREAS, the founding members were not only concerned with worshipping and ministering to their community, but as they were also ardent about educating children, they organized and dedicated the first school for Black children within the Wheaton area in 1880, on the existing church property; and

WHEREAS, the Allen Chapel African Methodist Episcopal (A.M.E.) Church will be celebrating 150 years of extraordinary service to Montgomery County residents and congregants in September 2010; and

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the County Council of Montgomery County, Maryland, hereby proclaims September 26, 2010 as

ALLEN CHAPEL A.M.E. CHURCH DAY IN MONTGOMERY COUNTY

AND, BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Montgomery County Council takes this opportunity to recognize the Allen Chapel A.M.E. Church for its history as a trail blazer, and for its many years of service to the residents of the County.

Presented on this 26th day of September in the year 2010.

Nancy Floreen
Council President

Trachtenberg Office Supports Welcome Back Initiative

The Trachtenberg Office was represented at the celebration of the Welcome Back Initiative, in Wheaton, on Wednesday, April 28, 2010. This program, launched through DHHS’s Latino Health Initiative, assists foreign trained health professionals to in Montgomery County, Prince George’s County and Frederick County to become fully licensed in the State of Maryland. Program participants study English as a Second Language, licensing exam preparation and are offered practice placements with the many cooperating hospitals and laboratories that are partners in this effort. This program is one of six across the country and expands the capacity of the counties involved to provide culturally diverse care of our community, which can only positively impact our health outcomes. Special kudos to Sonia Mora of the Latino Health Initiative, who brought the program to our County. She, along with County Executive Ike Leggett, was on hand to personally congratulate the 11 newest professionals completing the program. For more information, check out http://www.welcomebackinitiative.org/

The Trachtenberg Office Attends the Mid-County Citizens Advisory Board Meeting

Naomi Bloch represented the Trachtenberg office at last night’s meeting of the Mid-County Citizens Advisory Board (MCCAB) that meets the third Tuesday of every month, typically at the Mid-County Regional Services Center, located at 2424 Reedie Drive, Wheaton, MD 20902.

The first guest speaker was Fire Chief Richard Bowers who came by to talk about bill 13-10 (popularly known as the Ambulance Fee) and to urge the support of the Board. A lively discussion resulted when some local volunteer firefighters gave their reasons for why this shouldn’t be supported. A substantive Q&A period followed after which the Board eventually voted to support bill 13-10 with the one amendment that the Board would like to see the fees raised be devoted only to funding fire and rescue operations. The language in the current bill states that these fees would fund the fire & rescue services for only the first year after which they would directed to the County’s general fund.

Council President Nancy Floreen was the second guest speaker and she updated the MCCAB and everyone present about the unprecedented economic challenges facing the county and that even further bad news was expected on Thursday when the County Executive would present the newly revised budget that takes into account the even lower that expected revenues. She praised the MCCAB members for their list of suggestions for the Council on how to cut costs and generate more revenue.

The MCCAB voted on a series of issues, notably, opposition to the ZTA – concerning the subsequent proposal from Costco to have a 16-bay gas station on the Westfield Wheaton Plaza property; support of the 4 million dollar incentive money proposed by the County’s Department of Economic Development; support of a proposal to change the flood plan for the area surrounding the Westfield Wheaton Plaza.

For more information about the Mid-County Citizens Advisory Board and/or the Mid-County Regional Services Center visit: www.montgomerycountymd.gov/midcounty or the MCCAB blog at http://mccabblog.blogspot.com/. Email: midcounty.citizen@montgomerycountymd.gov

Our Prayers to Officer Hector Ayala’s Family and Friends

On Sunday, Montgomery County tragically lost one of the County’s finest—Montgomery County Police Officer Hector Ayala. Officer Ayala gave his life doing what he loved most—serving our residents and helping his fellow colleagues. He served our County for seven years mostly working the night shift in the Wheaton District responding to events as they were occurring. He is survived by his wife, a son, and triplets expected to be born in June.

Our hearts and prayers go out to Officer Ayala’s family and friends.

Below are the viewing and funeral arrangements for Police Officer Hector Ayala:

Viewing: St. Peter’s Catholic Church
2900 Olney-Sandy Spring Road
Olney, Maryland

Date: Thursday, April 8, 2010
Times: 2–4pm and 6–8pm

Funeral: St. Peter’s Catholic Church

2900 Olney-Sandy Spring Road
Olney, Maryland

Date: Friday, April 9, 2010
Time: 10:00 AM

2010 Census – “Everybody Counts”

The Trachtenberg Office joined County Executive Isiah Leggett, Council President Nancy Floreen, former members of Congress and co-chairs of the County Executive’s 200-member Census Complete Count Committee, Connie Morella and Mike Barnes, Councilmember Nancy Navarro and a host of elected officials and community leaders at three community rallies across Montgomery County to encourage support of the 2010 U.S. Census. Somerset Mayor Jeffrey Slavin and Washington Grove Mayor Darrell Anderson were also present.

The Census 2010 rallies were held in Gaithersburg, Wheaton and at the Takoma -Langley Park Crossroads area to encourage Montgomery County residents to fill out their 2010 Census Forms.

At the first rally at Gaithersburg City Hall, Mayor Sidney Katz, Gaithersburg Council Vice President Cathy C. Drzyzgula, and Councilmember Michael Sesma proudly welcomed County Executive Leggett to the City and called on residents to support the Census. In his remarks to the crowd, the County Executive declared that “everybody counts” and that filling out the Census form would result in more federal dollars to the County for important public services.

At the second rally at the Westfield Wheaton Shopping Center, the tour joined with local representatives of Casa de Maryland, the Latino Economic Development Corporation, and Neighbor Works to encourage residents to support the Census. At the final rally in Takoma – Langley Crossroads, the bus tour was met by festive music and colorful dancers who entertained the crowd before the official remarks.

The Trachtenberg Office was represented by Naomi Bloch and our Chief of Staff, Alan Bowser. We wish to thank Bruce Adams of the Office of Community Partnerships and Kathleen Boucher, Assistant Chief Administrative Officer for Montgomery County for their tireless efforts in organizing the tour and County’s 2010 Census program.

To view more rally pictures, click here.

Councilmember Trachtenberg Meets with Students from Wheaton High School’s Learning for Independence Program

LEARNING FOR INDEPENDENCE … Students from Wheaton High School’s Learning for Independence Program visited the Montgomery County Council on March 2. They toured the Council Office Building and had a question-and-answer session with Councilmembers Phil Andrews, Duchy Trachtenberg and Marc Elrich. The students said they hoped the County would maintain the funding that helps support their program.

Leggett and Metro Kick Off Search for Development Partners for Wheaton Revitalization

County Executive Ike Leggett today announced that the County is issuing a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) to select development partners to develop and execute mixed-use, public-private projects for downtown Wheaton.

“Wheaton’s time has come,” says County Executive Isiah Leggett. “With Silver Spring the County selected a highly qualified development team to work with community stakeholders to develop and execute a redevelopment concept that changed the face of downtown Silver Spring. In Wheaton we will do the same.

“This is exactly the best time to lay the foundation so we can catch the next up-swing in the economy. Wheaton is a unique community with lots of strengths. We want to build on those strengths and some efforts already underway to create a vibrant, prospering central business district anchored by Metro.”

The County is joining forces with Metro (the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority) to issue the RFQ. “This is an excellent opportunity for talented developers to help plan for the future of Wheaton without the need for heavy capital outlays in today’s constrained market,” says Steven E. Goldin, Metro’s Director of Real Estate. “We have one completed project in Wheaton as part of our Joint Development program, and look forward to adding this one to the list of 30 projects completed or underway at Metrorail stations throughout the metropolitan area.”

For the complete press release, click here.

The Trachtenberg Office attends Local First Wheaton Holiday Fiesta

The Trachtenberg office was represented in the Local First Wheaton Holiday Fiesta this past Friday, December 18. Wil Gutierrez joined the Latino Economic Development Corporation and the small business members of Local First Wheaton to celebrate the holiday season and Wheaton’s local, independent businesses. Wil enjoyed talking to LEDC employees and local business owners. He especially enjoyed the empanadas from Dejabel Café!

Local First Wheaton Website

Local First Wheaton is a network of local business owners, nonprofit leaders, and community members who are committed to building a sustainable local economy and preserving the vibrant character that makes Wheaton, Maryland a unique place to live and visit.

It's new website is:

http://www.localfirstwheaton.org/index.html

Mid-County Citizens Advisory Board Meeting

The Mid-County Citizens Advisory Board will hold their December meeting on Tuesday, December 15th at 7:00 pm at the Mid-County Regional Center – 2424 Reedie Drive in Wheaton.

Veterans Day Ceremonies in Wheaton

The Trachtenberg Office was represented at Veterans Day Ceremonies at VFW Post 2562 in Wheaton, Maryland. With the Presentation of Colors, an invocation by Danny Baker, Chaplan, VFW Post 2562, a Veterans Day address by Brig. General Paul D. Gleason, M.D. (USAF-Ret.), and a solemn presentation of memorial wreaths, the ceremonies led by Tomas F. Bunting, PSF of WFW Post 2562 were well attended by veterans of all the military services, their families and friends.