Montgomery County sentinel. [volume], December 05, 1963, Image 1

About Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974

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109th Yean . No. 1 &—Published Every Thursday ROCKVILE. MARYLAND THURSDAY, DECEMBER 5. 1943 Two Sections OArdoo 4-7700 a Copy
Teaching Climate
Here Studied by
State, U.S. Groups
Retaliatory
‘Sanctions’
Are Weighed
By Elly Bradley
Sentinel Reporter
Activities of the county’s
School Board are under close
surveillance by state and
national teacher organiza
tions considering the imposi
tion of sanctions which
would make it unethical for
a teacher to apply for work
here, it has been learned.
Legal counsel for the Com
mission on Professional Rights
and Responsibilites of the Na
tional Education Association
said yesterday he is “confident”
a full-fledged investigation will
begin “in the immediate future.”
“It Is apparent,” said Richard
L. Morgan, "that there is con
tinuing discor dand a shocking
lack of rapport between the
Montgomery County School
Board and the professional em
ployes of the school system.”
Mrgan’s statement came in a
letter to Arthur D. Simonds,
executive director of the Mont
gomery County Education As
sociation, whose membership in
cludes 3850 countjr teachers.
Primary concern of the teach
er groups lies in allegations by
the Montgomery County Educa
tion Association that the present
board majority has created an
"almost unbearable situation”
for teachers here.
Observers from the Maryland
State Teachers Association have
attended at least one critical lo
cal board meetihg recently, at
which the controversy over un
graded classes was aired.
Since distribution at a PTA
meeting last month by board
president Charles W. Bell of a
"confidential” list of 90 teachers
leaving the system in Septem
ber, both the state group,
MSTA, and the National Educa
tion Association have indicated
their willingness to “extend and
expedite” their investigation of
the "climate of education” here.
A full-scale Investigation by
either the MSTA or the NEA’s
Commission on Professional
Rights and Responsibilities
would bring in a team of six to
10 persons to make a thorough
study and report on the teach
ing situation here.
If Its findings are adverse,
NEA could authorize nationwide
advertising in professional jour
nals, including its own NBA
“Reporter," that teaching em
ployment in Montgomery Coun
ty is “undesirable” and that it
is “contrary to ethics” for a
teacher to apply for a position
in the county.
Simonds said the attention of
the state and national teacher
groups was first invited to the
county when the issue of trans
ferring teacher fingerprints to
the police department arose last
spring.
At tHat time, he said, he “in
dicated if this were typical of
See Teachers, A5
Bobbie Baker
Is Winner of
* Voice 9 Contest
Bobbie Baker, a senior at Wal
ter Johnson High School, won
the school’s Voice of Democracy
competition Tuesday. Betsy Har
per, also a senior, came in
second.
The win enables Bobbie to
compete in the Maryland state
finals of the contest and a vic
tory there would make her
eligible to enter a SSOOO college
scholarship competition nation
ally.
. The county, state and nation
al contests are sponsored by the
Veterans of Foreign Wars.
Theme of the 17th annual com
petition is “Challenge of Citizen
ship,”
[fzZLmm (Mi Sritiiri
Torrid Exchange
Full Texts of Letters
Between Bell, Simonds
Simonds Letter
Dear Mr. Bell:
As an outgrowth of the con
troversy surrounding Rosemary
Hills and the deteriorating
state of morale engendered by
the practices pursued and fur
ther as a result of the circula
tion of confidential personnel
information by you at the PTA
Meeting held at Montgomery
Blair on Tuesday evening, No
vember 19, our Executive Com
mittee urged that a special
meeting of the Delegate Assem
bly be called to consider the
matter. At this meeting, a res
olution was presented and
passed. You should be aware
that while there was one ab
stention, there was not a nega
tive vote cast by the members
of the Delegate Assembly. The
resolution reads as follows:
WHEREAS, The teachers of
Montgomery County have long
enjoyed the happy situation of
high professional standards of
operation for our school system,
and,
WHEREAS, Recent actions
have seriously demoralized
some school faculties, and,
WHEREAS, Specifically:
1. Board members have acted
inquisitorially;
2. individual Board members
have publicly distributed
confidential personnel infor
mation; and
3. certain Board members ar
bitrarily delayed discussion
of important matters affect
ing teacher morale;
NOW THEREFORE BE IT
RESOLVED, That we request
the National Education Associa
tion and the Maryland State
See Simonds Letter, A5
145 Pleas for Rezoning
Are Filed With Council
A schedule of zoning hear
ings marked by an unusual
number of requests for more
intensive use of land in up
county and outlying areas will
be laid before the County Coun
cil next month.
No hearings will be scheduled
for December on the record
tying 145 zoning applications
filed last month, since the Coun
cil plans to devote the weeks
ahead to its mid year budget re
view.
The controversial nature of
some of the rezoning requests
became almost immediately ap
parent this week, however, as
county personnel began posting
affected properties with signs.
Numerous callers to the coun
ty’s Department of Inspection
and Licenses were told they will
have “ample opportunity” to
express their objections at the
forthcoming public hearings.
Requests for apartment and
commercial zoning account for
two-thirds of the 145 applica
tions filed last month. Many
involve land now largely un
developed in agricultural use.
Notable among these is a re
quest by Helen P. Denit, recent
purchaser of a 16.5 acre portion
of former Clara Mae Downey
property on the southwest side
of Route 108 southeast of its
Intersection with Route 97, for
apartment zoning.
Not far distant, on the east
side of Georgia Ave. south of
Sandy Spring Road at Olney,
Wilbur N. Baughman, president
of the Montgomery County
Chamber of Commerce, seeks
commercial rezoning for 14.69
acres of his land.
At Derwood, W. Basil Mobley
seeks industrial zoning of 79
acres of agricultural land at
the intersection of Route 355
and Redland Road.
Bell Letter
Dear Mr. Simonds:
This will both acknowledge
and reply to the Association’s
recent letter to me concerning
your recently passed resolution
which followed your last Dele
gate Assembly meeting.
This letter is not to defend
any actions taken by myself or
any other member of the Board
of Education but simply to in
form you that there was no con
fidential personnel information
distributed at any P.T.A. meet
ing at Montgomery Blair, last
Tuesday evening, November 19,
or at any other time. What was
distributed was a personnel re
port for termination for some
employees recently leaving this
system. As you and I both
know, these reasons were the
normal aind ordinary ones and
were indicative of nothing un
usual. However, a member of
the Board of Education saw fit
to report to the public, through
the press, that 90 teachers had
recently left the system in a
mass exodus out of dissatisfac
tion with the present working
of the system. Again, as you
and I know, this is simply not
true; and my distribution of
this document at Montgomery
Blair, which was not a confiden
tial document, as altered, was
simply my small part in bring
ing the truth of this matter to
the citizens of this county.
I would appreciate it if in the
future you feel moved to cen
sure me in any action I have ta
ken as a member of the Board
of Education, that you please
deal in facts only; or if you do
not know what the facts are,
See Bell Letter, A5
A tract of garden apartments
would be developed on 3.6 acres
of present agricultural land on
Cherry Hill Rd. north of Pow
der Mill in Colesville under an
application filed by A. Elder
Bell.
Applicants seeking rezonlng
to permit construction of town
houses under the county’s new
est zoning category include:
I. Melvin Kramer, et ux, 8.67
acres of former Ratliff proper
ty at Laytonsville Road west
of Woodward Road, Gaithers
burg.
Bennett Construction Co. and
Flint Hill Construction Co.,
26.34 acres at the Washington
Circumferential Highway be
tween Persimmon Tree and
Seven Locks Roads.
Guardian Co., Inc., 1.36 acres
at comer of Garland Ave. and
Whalen Road, Takoma Park.
Fred P. and Carolyne Saw
czyn and Edward W. and Bar
bara R. Schultze, four acres on
the west side of Connecticut
Ave., north of Denfield Ave.,
Kensington.
John R. Perry, trustee for J.
C. Wilson estate, 36,191 sq. ft.
at Woodland Drive and Alton
Parkway, Woodside Park, Silver
Spring.
Seeking rezonlng of land for
high-rise apartment develop
ment are:
Harold O. Mahler and Gladys
C. Mahler, 5.56 acres northwest
of the intersection of Columbia
Pike and Old Columbia Road.
Albert Small et al, 15.33
acres on Connecticut Avenue
near the intersection of Viers
Mill Road east of the Bel Air
Swim Club.
Northern Parkway Joint Ven
ture, 3.25 acres of the Polly
Trumbull property north and
west of the University Blvd.
S<;e Zoning, A9
And Inaugural Address, Too !
Would You Like Photo
Of the Late President?
In view of what we believe to be a heavy demand
for photographs of the late President as well as for
copies of his now historic inaugural address, The
Sentinel has undertaken to make both available to its
readers—immediately.
There will be a charge of 15 cents for both—an
11 by 14 inch copy of the “official” photograph of
President Kennedy—ideal for framing—and a reprint
of his inaugural address which will live long in the
annals of our nation’s history.
Just send or bring your order, and the 15 cents to
The Sentinel at 215 E. Montgomery Ave., Rockville,
Md., and we’ll give you your copies or mail them to
you.
Every penny of the money collected will be
turned over to Montgomery Association for Retarded
Children, 3762 Howard Ave., Kensington. The cause
of helping retarded children was close to President
Kennedy’s heart, as we all know.
The cost of buying the pictures, reproducing the
inaugural address, and mailing them out to those who
ask for them is being borne by The Sentinel as a small
token of our esteem for the former President.
We do not know, of course, how many requests
we will receive and the supply will not be unlimited.
So if you want to be sure of getting one or the other
or both, send in your request or come to see us soon.
The Sentinel’s address again is 215 E. Montgom
ery Ave., Rockville, Md.
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Brrrr. .. More Is On the Way!
The first snowfall is recorded here in
this winter wonderland scene taken near Ol
ney last Saturday morning by Sentinel Pho
tographer Ed Mervis. A wet, driving snow
plastered a one-inch layer of the white stuff
Merger of Two Big
Civic Groups Eyed
By John B. Saunders
Sentinel Reporter
A proposal made to Allied Civic Group members Mon
day night to merge the county’s two large citizens groups
has resulted in a mixed reaction that will necessitate a
complete re-evaluation of the role of the Civic organization.
The same proposal will be
presented to the Montgomery
County Civic Federation at
their monthly meeting this
Monday.
Robert Harken, delegate from
Forest Estates titl/ens Associa
tion, raised the issue, noting
County Council's dilemma when
faced with different opinions
from the two bodies.
He also made mention of the
fact that although the two
groups are at variance on occa
sion, they do reach similar con
clusions most of the time.
He also pointed out the two
groups' procedures are very
much alike, and he emphasized
the fact that a merger of the
two would result in better com
mittees to do the necessary in
vestigatory work needed in
order for members to make
sound decisions.
The recommendation to ACC
members was referred to the
Established, 1855
against trees but It quickly melted under the
morning sun. This 100-or-more-year-old cahin
with its stone chimney is located on Rt. 97
between Olney and Brookeville. k
Policy Advisory and Bylaws
Committees for investigation.
The recommendation called for
action on the issue by Septem
ber, 1904.
ACG was formed in 1941
from an older" civic organiza
tion, the Eastern Suburban Cen
tral Committee, which was
formed in 1935 as a splinter
group of the Federation.
It represents 64 local organ
izations.
The Federation was incorpor
ated in 1926 and currently rep
resents about 85 citizens associa
tions.
The problems represented by
the proposed merger are pri
marily due to the alleged differ
ence in the philosophies of the
two bodies.
ACG Is composed of groups
located in the eastern part of
bee Civic Groups, B 3
Whittier Asks
$17.9 Million
Capital Budget
They’re Old AND Needy !
Yule-Gift-for-Elderly
Drive Again Under Way
The Sentinel is again launching a Christmas fund
drive for 109 old folks in the county who are poor and
won’t have any Christmas at all unless the public responds.
They are what government
officials call “indigents.” And
they receive what in govern
mental language is called “old
age assistance.”
They are all in private nurs
Subdivision Session
Cancelled by Council
A public work session
scheduled by the County
Council on amendments to
the subdivision regulations
recommended by the Mary
land-National Capital Park
and Planning Commission was
cancelled this week until two
absent Council members re
turn from the Far Kast.
The Council recently form
ally rejected the proposals in
a maneuver designed to give
them more time to study them
than the Commission’s Decem
ber deadline allowed. They
can Initiate amendments on
their own at a later date.
Please Return
‘Profile’ Book!
Some well-intentioned person
in Montgomery County borrow
ed but failed to return a copy
of "Profiles In Courage” that
was autographed for the owner
by the author, John F. Kennedy.
And the owner, Alice Hostet
ler, would understandably, like
it back. Were you the person
who borrowed It? If so, please
call Mrs. Hostetler at AX 9-6666
or send or bring it to her home
at 10801 Glen Road, Rockville.
She'd sure appreciate it!
(See Story
On This Paufi^
ing homes in the county. Their
absolute minimal needs are paid
for with public funds. The daily
lives of these gentle, needy peo
ple are pretty bleak. Christmas
with no one to care, not one
gift to open can be wretchedly
bleak.
All of the 109 old persons are
certified as eligible to receive
welfare payments.
Sometimes the old folks re
ceive $8.50 a month for them
selves for personal Items. Some
times—when the nursing home
finds it Is losing a lot of money
on the “patient,” not even the
$3.50 per month is available.
So can you give a little to
help these old folks whose child
ren— If they have any— are
either indifferent toward them
or unable td”help because tHiy
can barely afford to support
themselves and their children?
The needs vary but what is
wanted and what will make fine,
practical Christmas gifts, are
such things as flannel night
gowns, bed socks, shaWls, hair
ribbons, combs, brushes, mouth
wash, stamps, dusting powder,
writing book portfolios and
newspapers to read.
The money will be turned ov
er by The Sentinel to a volun
teer group that will be doing
the work of contacting the nurs
ing home or the old folks them
selves to see what kind of gifts
are most needed, buying them
and then distributing them in
time for Christmas.
The work of buying the gifts,
wrapping them and delivering
them to the nursing homes will
be done by members of the Jun
ior Woman’s Club of Rockville
donating their services.
They’ll do the Job If you arm
them with the ammunition—
cash. Make out your checks to
Christmas Fund and send them
to The Sentinel at 215 E. Mont
gomery Ave., Rockville, Md. We
will turn your donation over to
the Junior Women volunteers
immediately and they’ll go to
work.
Donors’ names will be pub
lished each week between now
and Christmas in The Sentinel,
unless we are specifically asked
not to.
The sooner you send your
small cash gift, the easier it will
be to administer the program,
obviously. So do it soon, won’t
you? Thanks!
Animal Shelter to Be Run
By County Humane Society
Operations of the county’s Animal Rescue Shelter will
be turned over to the Montgomery County Humane Society
under a contract authorized by the County Council thin
week
WWK.
County Manager Mason A.
Butcher was instructed to use
an appropriation of $32,000
from reserve funds to back up
the contract—to be drawn for
an “Indefinite period”—until at
least next June 30.
The contract will be cancel
lable on 30 days’ notice if the
takeover proves unsatisfactory,
Butcher said.
The Humane Society ap
proached the new County Coun
cil shortly after It took office
last December with a proposal
to take over the animal shelter.
Its officials offered an annual
saving of SIO,OOO in the $74,000
budgeted for this year’s opera
tion, but negotiations lagged
Full Schedule
For a complete listing of this
season’s forthcoming basketball
games in county high school
gyms, turn to Page 82. Keep
up to date on county sports by
reading The Sentinel.
Amount Tops
Estimates By
$5.7 Million
A 1964-65 capital budget
totaling $17.9 million—more
than twice the current
amount—was formally pre
sented to the School Board
Tuesday by School Supt. C.
Taylor Whittier.
Dr. Whittier pointed out that
his new budget request topped
year-old estimates of what
would be necessary fpr the
coming fiscal year by about $5.7
million.
The higher amount la neces
sary, however, because of
“changing conditions within the
past year,” he said.
These include, he said, $1.9
million for construction at the
new Rockville campus of Mont
gomery Junior College, includ
ing a $705,000 item for furni
ture and equipment, $34,600 for
a fourth floor on the Humani
ties Building, and $921,000 for a
technical building them; also
$855,000 for an addition at tha
Educational Services Center,
$1.9 million for a North Poto
mac Junior High, $496,262 for
Alta Vista Elementary, and
$540,000 for rehabllltaiton of Be
thesda-Chevy Chase High.
Dr. Whittier last year asked
for only $7.1 million in school
construction funds although he
had earlier estimated $14.5 mil
lion would be needed. Several
factors, Including the election
of an economy-minded School
Board led to his decision, he
explained.
He warned at the time, how
ever, that much of the slash
would have to be made up later
due to the rapidly expanding
enrollment. Each year, the
county school system grows by
at least 5000 students.
New projects sought by the
school administrator include:
• Construction funds for four
new elementaries containing 68
classrooms Cannon Road,
North Aspen, Rosemont and
Woodley Gardens.
• Planning funds for two
elementaries containing 36
classrooms Alta Vista and
Beverly Farms.
• Planning funds for four
new elementaries and additions
for two.
• Planning and construction
funds for additions to six ele
mentaries that would contain 29
rooms.
• Construction funds for
Kemp Mill Junior High School
and Montrose High School.
• Both planning and con
struction funds for North Poto
mac Junior High, called
“urgent."
• Planning funds for Hillan-
See Whittier Asks, 113
over the summer while legal
technicalities were Ironed out.
Butcher said the contract now
will stipulate that the Society
will maintain all trucks and
equipment taken over from the
county, will provide Its own
bond for personnel and pay for
its own insurance.
The transfer is expected to be
effective Jan. 1.
In other business, the Coun
cil also voted to engage an In
dependent consultant to study
the county’s overall program of
data processing and make rec
ommendations on obtaining an
electronic computer to handle
the workload, j
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