Coming Up Next

Halloween ParadeSunday, October 26thChase to Lynnbrook Parks

President’sPresident’sPresident’sPresident’sNotebookNotebookNotebookNotebook

By Ilaya Hopkins, President

Representing the 1200 households North of East-West Highway, South of JonesBridge Road, East of Wisconsin Avenue and West of Columbia Country Club.

Neighborhood News

OCTOBER 2008OCTOBER 2008OCTOBER 2008OCTOBER 2008 WWW.EBCA.ORG WWW.EBCA.ORG WWW.EBCA.ORG WWW.EBCA.ORG

Purple Line: WaitingPurple Line: WaitingPurple Line: WaitingPurple Line: Waiting for the Next Report for the Next Report for the Next Report for the Next Report

By David Saltzman, 1st Vice President

The Draft Environmental ImpactStatement (DEIS) for the PurpleLine from the Maryland Transit Administration (MTA) is currentlyscheduled for release on October17th. The DEIS will weigh allpossible routes for a proposedtransit system and the variouslight rail and bus alternatives. Itwill attempt to address all impactseach alternative may have alongits entire route including airquality, water quality, noise,deforestation, and other issuessuch as the cascading effects ontraffic on local roads. At the September 17th EBCA general membership meeting, Idelivered a presentation outliningthe system and the county’s effortsto obtain public input on its design.I noted the various alternativesunder consideration and theirprospective costs. I urged residentsto visit the MTA’s website, whichcontains a tremendous amount of useful information, including mapsand cross-section drawings for thevarious alternatives online atwww.bi-countytransitway.com. Youwill also be able to download theDEIS from this site.I expressed that the county andMTA appear biased towardbuilding a light rail system on theMaster Plan Alignment, which ispresently the trail that runs acrossthe back of our neighborhood. Igave my opinion that I felt thecounty and MTA appeared to bedevoting considerably less energyto studying alternatives to this. Additionally, I noted that almostno study has been done regardingthe sufficiency of the proposed 10-foot wide trail that would runalongside the rail lines, which Ibelieve is an acute issue in light of overcrowding issues on the CapitalCrescent Trail, as well as thecounty planning board’s recentdecision to substitute the long-planned bike path that was to runin parkland along the Inter CountyConnector with a bike lane alongcrowded urban streets.The EBCA’s position is to opposeany development that degrades orinhibits our use of the GeorgetownBranch Trail. Presently, it appearsthat the construction of a light railsystem or bus system on the trailwould degrade its use significantly.EBCA has not taken a position onany of the other alignments. We

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Public Safety is important to usall. From daily activities likedealing with cut-through traffic tomore rare occasions of major crime,we are all impacted as it ultimatelyaffects our quality of life. Becauseof the recent rash of major crimesin the nearby vicinity, theMontgomery County PoliceDepartment has provided moreinformation on keeping ourneighborhoods safe. It all comesdown to trusting your instincts andreporting suspicious activity. A critical part of crime deterrence isreducing opportunity for criminalsby locking cars and houses andkeeping an eye out for neighbors. You’ll see more specifics in ourarticle on this very subject. Another part of public safety isfire prevention. October is firesafety month. This is a great timeto publically thank those EastBethesda residents who serve onvolunteer fire boards or are part of the volunteer rescue squads thatrespond to all kinds of calls. And,since it is fire safety month, don’tforget to use this opportunity tocheck smoke detectors.In East Bethesda, we do our bestto keep people informed by sendingout the monthly newsletter andposting items on the website or toour email list. It is exciting toannounce that our website,www.ebca.org, has gotten a

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Neighborhood News

OCT 2008

East Bethesda CitizensAssociation, Inc.PO Box 41020Bethesda, MD 20824www.ebca.org

Neighborhood News

Jay Briar, Editornewsletter@ebca.orgSponsorship, Vacantsponsorship@ebca.orgIlaya Hopkins, PresidentDavid Saltzman, 1st Vice PresidentTori Hall, 2nd Vice President A.B. Carneal, Recording SecretaryJack Hayes, TreasurerDan Fox, Immediate Past President Andy O’Hare, Crescent TrailMonica Hayes, EducationRebecca Fayed , MembershipEleanor Rice, NIH LiaisonKevin Kraus, Parks & PlaygroundsSandy Spagnolo, Social EventsDorian Patchin, Website

Leslie Weber, Welcome Packets

With the days getting shorterand Halloween just around thecorner, it is a good time toremember that “safety never takesa holiday.” One of the mosteffective ways to prevent crime issimply to watch out for ourneighbors and pay attention to thecommunity we know best. Trustyour instincts and call the police toreport any suspicious activity. TheMontgomery County Police non-emergency number is 301-279-8000. Here are some home safetytips they offer.Stay alert to suspicious-lookingcouriers delivering packages to youor your neighbors. Also, many conartists take advantage of holidaygenerosity by going door-to-door. Ask for identification and getspecifics to how and where thedonations will be spent or used. If you feel uncomfortable, just say "nothank you" and shut the door.Effective home security startswith properly locked doors andwindows and visible, well-lightedentryways. Lighting is one of themost cost-effective deterrents toburglary. Indoor-lighting gives theimpression that a home isoccupied. If you are going to beaway from your home, considerusing automatic timers to switchinterior lights on at preset times.Outdoor lighting can eliminatehiding places. Install exteriorlighting near porches, rear andside driveways, garage doors, andall other points of entry.Entryways to your home shouldalways be well lighted. Place lightsout of reach from the ground so thebulbs cannot be removed or broken. Aim some lights away from thehouse so you can see if anyone isapproaching, or install motion-sensing lights.The Montgomery County Policehas seen an increase recently inthefts from automobiles and theftsof automobile parts. Some of thesethefts are preventable by takingvery simple, yet effective steps, andthey are asking for your help. Mostimportant, lock your car doors andclose the windows completely. Anunlocked door or open window is aninvitation to a thief to take anyproperty in your vehicle.In addition, take with you or lockin your trunk any electronicequipment and remove GPSsystems. Whenever possible, parkin well lit, populated areas.

Safety First Safety First Safety First Safety First

By Ted Winstead

By our count, this is the 13thyear of the EBCA HalloweenParade. Be sure to mark yourcalendars for Sunday, October 26

from 3:00 to 5:00 p.m. for thisspook-tacular display of costumesand fun. Everyone will gather atChase Park at 3:00 p.m. begin theparade down Chase Avenue towardLynnbrook Park. Even if you arenot walking in the parade, it isquite a site to watch theprocession. Thanks to all ourneighbors on Chase Avenue formoving their vehicles and cheeringus on.Just like last year, this event willalso be a chance to give back to thecommunity. We will be collectingfood for Bethesda Help(www.bethesdahelp.org), an all-volunteer, non-profit organizationthat offers immediate short-termfinancial and transportationassistance and emergency fooddeliveries to residents of southernMontgomery County who are infinancial crisis. As such, they arealways looking for food donationsto their pantry including cannedgoods (fruits, vegetables, pastasauce, beans, soups, fish andmeat), pasta, rice, peanut butter, jam, and breakfast cereals. Noglass or oversized items, please.There will be a drop-off point atChase Avenue Park as well asLynnbrook Park.More information about all of theHalloween events will be on ourwebsite, www.ebca.org. If you areinterested in helping out with theevent, please send and email toSandy Spagnolo, Social Chair, atsocial@ebca.org.

HalloweenHalloweenHalloweenHalloweenParade:Parade:Parade:Parade:

OctoberOctoberOctoberOctober

26th26th26th26th

By Sandy Spagnolo, Social Chair

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Neighborhood News

OCT 2008

EBCA recently mailed a School Assignment Survey to allhouseholds in the neighborhood.This comes as Montgomery CountyPublic Schools (MCPS) is reviewingthe current school assignments forour area. We will not have a goodsense of what that means for ourresidents until recommendationsare made from MCPS to the Boardof Education in mid to late October.In the meantime, EBCA isinterested in collecting informationfrom residents on currentpreferences. This will help informthe Education Committee and theExecutive Committee of EBCA.The results of the survey will beshared with the East BethesdaCommunity and a summary of East Bethesda's elementary schoolpreference will be shared withMCPS and the Board of Education.We anticipate having EducationCommittee meetings in the comingweeks that will be open to anyneighbors interested in attending.We will examine the data collectedand try to gather information thatwill be useful in any discussion of the future assignments for ourneighborhood.Whether or not you have childrencurrently in public elementaryschools and even if you do not havea strong preference, it is importantto share your views. The higher theresponse to the survey, the moreforceful a case EBCA will be able tomake when communicating withthe county. Once we have moreinformation on what MCPS isconsidering, we will move forwardaccordingly.The survey can also be found onour website, www.ebca.org. Pleasecomplete either the paper versionor the online version but not both.If you have questions, pleasecontact Monica Hayes, EBCA Education Committee Chair, ateducation@ebca.org. Thanks foryour cooperation on this veryimportant community issue.

School Assignment UpdateSchool Assignment UpdateSchool Assignment UpdateSchool Assignment Update

By Monica Hayes, Education Chair