Montgomery County sentinel. [volume], December 24, 1963, Image 1

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

Image provided by: University of Maryland, College Park, MD

                
Sentinel
Classifieds
Sell Fast!
109th Year-No. 19-Published Every Thursday ROCKVILLE, MARYLAND - DECEMBER 24, 1963 Two Sections GArden 4-7700 JQg a Copy
I Spectrum I
The County Council's pre
liminary approval of hlghrlse
zoning for 23 acres of residen
tial land In a well-to-do sec
tion of North Bethesda stirred
up some lively discussion at
the local Republican assembly
last week.
Upshot of It all was a call
for "enthusiastic and diligent
boosting" of all members of
the Council's GOP majority,
Including president pro tern
Thomas M. Wilson, whose lone
GOP vote against the high-rise
zoning and other independent
action reportedly had affected
his chances of normal succes
sion to the Council presidency.
Leaders of a move to pro
test the rumored bypassing of
Wilson said at the meeting their
action was Intended as "no
Insurgency, no reference to any
specific action of the County
Council."
They told a reporter after
the meeting that their petitions
to the Council In support of
Wilson's candidacy was In
tended as no protest against
other GOP leaders with whom
he purportedly has fallen out
of favor.
"We just don't feel Dr. Wil
son would have had the morale
to have gone on as a County
Council member without know
ing he had local support," said
Jesse Lerch, a Kenslngton-
Wheaton precinct leader.
Of the Aubinoe rezoning,
which Spencer Johnson of
Precinct 4-4 said of "of great
concern to this assembly, sev
eral GOP'ers said longtime
members of their party were
up In arms. Some had even
threatened to change their par
ty affUlatl''.< If the Council’s
final vote, now expected next
Tuesday, Is unchanged.
Local GOP State Central
Committee chairman Don R.
Kendall said he personally had
"received so many phone cklls
1 haven't been able to do a de
cent day’s work In a week."
His comment reflected the
barrage of letters, telegrams
and phone calls against the
zoning received during the week
after the Initial zoning action
by the Council, other Republi
can leaders and area news
papers.
Last week's Sentinel pub
lished dozens of letters from
Bethesda property owners pro
testing the zoning approval, and
praising Dr. Thomas m. Wil
son as the only member of the
GOP majority on the Council
voting against it.
One precinct chairman said
people In the Wildwood Manor
development which would be
affected consider the council's
action "an overthrow of order
ly planning In the community,"
and urged "this assembly or
some other Republican organi
zation to go on record against
such action."
Kendall, however, squashed
this proposal by explaining such
action would be "out of order"
because the group was not In
legislative session.
He said, though, he had
written each member of the
County Council to tell them of
the "volume of protests and In
tensity of protests” he per
sonally had received.
"I also told them" Kendall
added, "I didn't expect them to
(Continued to Page A.3)
White Oak
Area Map
Is Available
Copies of a newly-published
one-inch to 1000 foot scale
street map of Colesvllle, White
Oak and vicinity are now avail
able for 25 cents at the Mary
land-National Park and Plan
ning Commission, 8787 Georgia
Ave.
The map covers the area
South of White Oak and extends
to Ednor on the north and from
Layhill on the east to Fairland
on the west. A street Index Is
on the back of the map.
The commission is also
revising similar maps for the
Kensington-Wheaton and Be
thesda-Chevy Chase areas.
Maps are now available for Sil
ver Bprlng, Takoma Park and
Langley.
- ■ * ..... iCuMiA
u,.... fii mm §ll |f|i|lff mpjf |lf 1 ffl
B ALT IMORC, X
Anonymous Benefactor
Homeless Family
Gels One For Year
By Lila Thomson
Dear Boss: Everyone can believe It now! There is a Santa
Claus! Stories have happy endings, and the warm and glowing
light of men of good will shines bright this Christmas In
Montgomery County.
You remember, last Thursday The Sentinel published
my memo about a little boy who died and the plight of his
family. Since then, wonderful things have happened.
Before noon last Thursday, a call came from a man In
Bethesda. He's a professional man, but he won’t allow the
use of his name. He's that kind of man. He said, "Let's find
those people a decent place to live before Christmas. How
much will It cost? I’ll guarantee the rent for a year." And
he did.
No need to bother you with details of the searcu. just
know, It ended at 8:45 that night. So, boss, on Christmas
Day, a mother and father and their four little children will
be living In the first nice-place-to-llve they’ve ever had.
There's a refrigerator and a gas stove and cupboards and
the most wonderful heat and a real bathroom with hot and
cold water. And there’s a Christmas tree In the corner
and a turkey In the oven!
Merry, merry Christmas lt's a wonderful, caring
world after all!
Of course, as you know, his call wasn't the only one. An
other man called. He was a Bethesdan, too. He sent a check
to buy warm coats for Christmas. I wish you could have
seen the eyes of those youngsters. You know, they looked
like currants In a Christmas pudding.
Then there was the Chevy Chase builder who owns a
tract of land near Rockville. He called and his wife called.
Two houses are on the tract. One of them was offered free
for 18 months but repairs would have to be made and Im
mediate decent housing for the family was urgent.
A woman called from up around Damascus to tell about a
tenant house on a farm, but It would have meant expensive
driving for the man.
Two Rockville women brought armloads of clothing. Bless
them! A woman called from Wheaton and brought a huge
Christmas box. A woman in Twinbrook found out shoe sizes
and produced four pairs of warm, sturdy shoes. A Silver
Spring school teacher called to learn how she might help.
Maybe, these wonderful things could only have happened In
Montgomery County. But they did happen, like In a story
book.
And that family - Oh, boss, when they were taken to their
new home! Your reporter has no words to describe heaven
on six faces, no words at all! Over and over, the mother
Bald "I don’t believe It. I don’t believe it!"
So, a big, bright new world has opened this Christmas
for a family who thought, but never complained, that no one
gave a damn whether they lived or died. Isn’t It Interesting
boss in all this talk that goes on about race, creed, and
color, no one has stopped to think that when people see with
the heart and not the eyes the fellowship of man grows
and grows and becomes an awesome and many-splendored
thing.
PAS Study
Hearings
To Be Held
Scheduled for a fuil-scale
public airing early next year
after collecting dust for almost
18 months, the $25,000 Public
Administration Service report
on county government opera
tions Is as notable for the broad
scope of Its recommendations
as the detailed analyses It of
fers to back them up.
The 213-page document, giv
en widespread publicity when It
was Issued In July, 1962, has
prompted both indignation and
support In the Intervening
months.
Strong stands on both sides
have been taken by agencies
affected by Its proposals, by
citizens groups which have firm
Ideas of their own on how the
government here might be Im
proved, and by interested tax
payers with either personal or
altruistic axes to grind.
Hardest hit In the report Is
the relative Independence of two
major arms of county govern
ment the Maryland Na
tional Capital Park and
Planning Commission and the
Washington Suburban Sanitary
Commission.
PAS recommends the first
be abolished and Its planning
and open-space acquisition
functions be turned over to the
county. WSSC’s powers, It
urges snould be brought under
the close control of the County
Council.
The first of these proposals
prompted the Planning Com
mission to hire a consultant
who promptly said it Is doing
a good job and should be left
alone. >
Charging generally that the
(Continued to Page A-3J
■ 'a. ,-Jyrß'-.- Si**’* T. t t.
Ur - mm— • m
-4..
* ’ -*
0 f 17 •
Sentinel Photo By Ed Mervis
Oh Winter, ruler of th’ inverted year,
Thy scattered hair with sleet like ashes filled...
A leafless branch thy sceptor, and thy throne
A sliding car, indebted to no wheels,
But urged by storms along its slippery way,
I love tnee, all unlovely as thou seem’st,
And dreaded as thou art! F T" Ev,nl " 9 ’
By William Cowpar
Old Folks
Campaign
Raises SSOO
Tomorrow - Christmas Day
-- and all the days of the year
ahead will be brighter for 109
Indigent old folks In nursing
homes over the county because
of the generosity of Sentinel
readers In the past three weeks.
More than SSOO dollars has
poured into the
Christmas Fund from people 6f
all walks of life who shared
one interest seeing to It
that these nice, forgotten ones
are remembered by those more
fortunate this happy season.
This week, members of the
Junior Women’s Club of Rock
ville travelled to the county’s
nursing homes delivering car
loads of gifts they bought with
the funds turned over to them
by the Sentinel.
One nursing home received a
badly-needed wheelchair that
will transport its aged patients
about the building and grounds
for years to come. Smaller
gifts, all useful, all happily re
ceived, were distributed to the
aged and Infirm who were
brightened as much by the vis
itors’ presence as by the pre
sents they bore.
Sentinel's Readers
Hundreds of gifts were made
possible through readers’ res
ponse to the Sentinel’s call for
an opening of hearts and purse
strings to those who otherwise
would have little to look for
ward to this Chrlstams and
we’re as grateful as you must
know they are for your gen
erosity.
Money was still coming In as
the Sentinel went to press this
week. Donors are assured that
these funds, although too late
to apply to Christmas gifts, will
be turned Into additional re
membrances for these needy
and dependent senior citizens
all through the year.
Grateful acknowledgement Is
made to the following persons
who brought or mailed their
contributions to the Sentinel’s
office 215, East Montgomery
Ave., Rockville, during the past
week;
Richard Montgomery High
School Keyettes, $25; Anony
mous, $5; Dorothy Grove and
Elizabeth Werhle, $5; Anony
mous, $10; Hetty Darby, $1;
John McAullffe, $10; Mr. and
(Continued to Page A-3)
Established 1855
10 Civic Leaders Blast
Big Poolesville Zoning
Approved In 7-0 Vole
. ® J' v*" Sv *"**
BpL jJa ♦ m A
:. I B Swgfr mL ■■
pJPmPr ■ ’ m. JB '
fsflß
6 We Wish You A Merry Christmas ..
Members of the Richard Montgomery High School Glee Club are shown singing before the Rock*
ville Rotary Club, but if they'll permit, we’d like them te be expressing to you - our Sentinel
readers - our sincere wishes for a joyful Christmas.-Sentinel Photo by Ed Mervis
Two Agencies Expense Budgets
Total About $29,000 Annually
The Park and Planning Com
mission drew on a budget Item
of $12,500 for Its expenses dur
ing 1963 while the Washington
Suburban Sanitary Commission
used up most of a $16,700 bud
get authorization for travel and
expenses, spokesmen for the
two agencies revealed this
week.
These compare with $3500
budget items for expenses set
up for the County Council. The
latter has been widely publi
cized as a result of three coun
cilman's recent trip to Hawaii
for a convention.
A WSSC aide gave the fol
lowing breakdown of trips this
year by officials of that agency.
Each shows the meeting attend
ed, how many commissioners
and how many administrative
aides attended, and what the
expenses were for each trip:
Chesapeake Section, Amer
ican Water Works Ass’n In
Washington, D.C., 19 attended
and expenses were $251.84; In
spection trip of Armco Pipe
Plant, Middleton, Ohio, one
commissioner and four staff
members, -$369; Data Pro
cessing Management Confer
ence, Phoenix, Ariz., 3 staff
members, $1435.91; American
Management Association Insur
ance seminar, Chicago, 111.,
one staff member, $304.98; In
spection trip of the customer
service department of Phila
delphia Suburban Water Co.,
Philadelphia, eight staff mem
bers, $287.54; American Right
of Way Association annual sem
inar, Atlantic City, N.J., five
staff members, $1379.60.
Also: three-day course for
water plant operators at Dover,
Del., three staff members, $108;
Water Pollution Control Fed
eration conference, Seattle,
Wash., and the American So
ciety of Civil Engineers meet
ing In San Francisco, occur
ring one after the other, three
commissioners and three staff
members, $4214.51; Inspection
trip of sewage treatment plant
In Norfolk, Va., three commis
sioners and four staff members,
$275.24; American Water
Works Association five-day
convention, Kansas City, two
commissioners and seven staff
members, $2835.59; National
Association of Plumbing Con
tractors convention, Chicago,
HI., one staff member, $250;
Data Processing Management
Association convention, De
troit, Mich., two staff members,
$562.80, and Inspection trip on
IBM use In engineering pro
blems, Detroit, two commis
sioners and three staff mem
bers, $1030.40.
Minor Expanse*
The WSSC spokesman said
expenses of less than SSO are
budgeted separately but that
for the January through mid-
December period the water and
sewer agency had spent a total
of $15,200 for both trips and
minor expenses.
The $12,500 budget of the
Maryland-National CapltalPark
and Planning Commission was
set up on the basis of $7700
for Montgomery County and $4-
800 for Prince Georges for the
M-county agency.
The agency spokesman said
the travel budget was to cover
the cost of travel to various
planning, public relations, fin
ance and other professional
meetings and conferences to
aid the agency's park and plan
ning functions.
He said the planning direc
tor and "several” staff mem
bers attended a meeting of the
American Society of Planning
Officials In Seattle last May.
Parks Director James He
witt and one assistant made
several trips this Including
attendance at a convention of
park executives at Yosemlte
National Park and enrollment
In a training Institute in In
diana.
The agency's public relations
director, Joshua B. Zatman,
attended a four-day convention
of the Public Relations Society
of America In San Francisco.
Only administrative aides of
the agency went on trips
none of the planning commis
sioners themselves, It was
stated.
Dan Warns
Rasidants On
’Phona Calls
Dr. Joseph O. Dean, acting
county health officer, has warn
ed residents that some women
In the county have been con
tacted by phone by a male
caller, representing the Health
.Department, who has requested
Information of a personal na
! ture.
He reports that no one from
I uis office is authorized to ootaln
'such lnfor matlon, and urges that
I police be notified immediately If
such a call Is received.
MI
P/Coinword
This Week
Offers $425
Group Calls
Development
‘Shocking’
Ten civic leaders some of
them heads of the most power
ful and respected civic groups
In the county, this week blasted
the County Council for a major
rezoning action It took last
week on 530 acres near Pooles
ville.
Touching off the blast was a
preliminary 7-0 vote by the
Council to rezone 535 acres
owned by Bernard N. Siegel be
tween Willard and Hughes Roads
near the River Road Country
Club owned by Siegel.
The council’s vote overrode
the objections of both the tech
nical planning staff and the
Montgomery County Planning
Board. Both have argued the
land should be held In low dens
ity development.
The 10 civic leaders were:
D. Y. Hovseplan, president of
the Montgomery County Citi
zens Planning Association;
Thomas M. Bartram, president
of the Montgomery County Civic
Federation; Mrs. William N.
Garrott, president of the Mont
gomery County League of Wom
en Voters; H. Stewart Dunn,
president of the Potomac Val
ley League; Millard Cass, pres
ident of the Montgomery County
Council of Parent Teacher As
sociations; Richard Cooper
man, chairman of Rockville’s
Citizens for Good Government;
Charles I. Wiles, state presi
dent of the Izaak Walton League;
Francis T. Christie, Jr., pres
ident of the Audubon Naturalist
Society of Central and Atlantic
States; William M. O’Neil, pres
ident of the Northwest Branch
Watershed Association, and J.
D. Martin, president of the Be
thesda-Chevy Chase Izaak Wal
ton League which owns a large
conservation tract near the land
In question.
If finally approved, the re
zoning would make it possible
for Siegel formally to launch
his long-planned, ambitious
(Continued to Page A-3)
Crackdown
On ‘Smut’
Requested
Sliver Spring attorney James
P. Gleason, chairman of the
Montgomery County Committee
for Decent Literature, has
called on the County to set up
a special committee to Investi
gate and act on "Indecent lit
erature" available In public
outlets.
Gleason said his group Is
composed of "Interested and
concerned citizens who are dis
turbed by the great amount of
Indecent, pornographic litera
ture that Is available for pur
chase In our drug stores and
other market outlets.
"It seems to us the time has
come for official action to be
taken by our elected represen
tatives In a movement which can
more directly act on the prob
lem," he said.
He asked the Council to ap
point a group similar to one In
Baltimore County "to bring
some direct and official con
cern to the citizens of our
county over the amount of this
literature available for sale to
school children of any age, and
to bring to the attention of
the community at large the de
structive effects this literature
has on the children and the so
ciety In which they live.”
The Council has notified
Gleason they will welcome a
formal appearance by him be
fore them on his proposal.