hyattsville life & times -- april 2009

Included: The April 8, 2009 Issue of The Hyattsville Reporter — See Center Section

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HyattsvilleLife&Times

April 2009Hyattsville’s Community NewspaperVol. 6 No. 4

By Karen Anderson

Ward 1Uncontested in his re-election bid, Marc Tartaro, 54, said he seeks a second term because he has not yet completed the goals included in his original platform.

“There are still things that are un-done that I believe are important for the city,” he said. “We’ve made sub-stantial improvements, but we still have a long way to go.”

He identifi ed the following as top city needs: a more effective city council and government; bet-ter management of the city’s assets and services; improvements in the quality of neighborhood environ-ments and support for creative de-velopment of U.S. Route 1; the West Hyattsville business district, and Metro project.

“If we’re looking forward some-how we have to balance those things with the current state of the econo-my,” he said. “The real issue is we don’t want to stop everything.”

Tartaro is an architect and senior design manager for the Smithso-nian Institution, president of the Hyattsville/Mount Rainier/Brent-wood Boys & Girls Club, and a father of two.

Ward 2David Hiles, 52, an economist

with the U.S. Bureau of Labor Sta-tistics, served on the Riverdale Park Town Council before moving to Hyattsville.

In Hyattsville he has volunteered at the Hyattsville/Mount Rainier/Brentwood Boys & Girls Club as well a local Parent Teacher’s Association.

Hiles said the city’s most pressing challenge is maintaining quality ser-

Election news: Who's running?

PUPRM

ETP

A EST

by Annie Farber

Sand castles and tree houses descend on Ridgecrest El-ementary School at least

once a year. And when they leave, pupils at

the school just outside of Hyatts-ville have received a unique edu-cation about math, self-esteem and setting goals.

This alternative form of learning comes through Blue Sky Puppet Theatre, a University Park-based 10-person company devoted to education and entertainment.

The theater tours profession-ally putting on puppet shows for schools, community centers, churches and birthday parties. And despite the economic reces-sion, the company has an opti-mistic outlook, with a strong audi-ence following that will still want the knowledge it enthusiastically shares.

Blue Sky was created in 1974 by Michael Cotter, who is still the artistic director, producer, and co-owner. When the theater was fi rst established, it broke into two

performance groups, one geared toward children through school-based educational theater, and a political satire adult company that performed in clubs and also as a street theater, with daily perfor-mances in Georgetown and Capi-tol Hill.

By 1980, the company shifted to devote itself fully to children's and family venues, and has remained

SBLUE SKIES IN HYATTSVILLEPuppet theatre showcases optimism

PUPPET continued on page 11

by Sharmina Manandhar

The number of people in need has increased and the donations have decreased, due to the tumbling national economy.

But Hyattsville food banks and pantries keep working to continue serving the community.

“The numbers have defi nitely gone up during the last six months because of the economy,” said Terry Enfi eld, volunteer coordina-tor at St. Jerome’s Café. “Our av-erage last year was approximately 55 a week. This year, our average

What's motivating proposed ordinance?by Sarah Nemeth

Economic hardship, topographic constraints and a few things not considered by the Hyattsville City Council have some residents ask-ing for a reprieve from an ordi-nance that was originally to take effect April 1.

Chapter 68 of Hyattsville city code requires that the front lawns of residences be no more than

25 percent covered by impervi-ous surfaces, including concrete, asphalt, pavers, brick, gravel and other drivable surfaces. Non-driv-able surfaces, including a sidewalk no wider than 42 inches, are not considered impervious surfaces in this ordinance, which was passed by council in 2005.

“It’s kind of bewildering,” said

Not hungry in Hyattsville

ORDINANCE continued on page 10

PROFILES continued on page 4

FOOD continued on page 11

PHOTO BY SHARMINA MANANDHERElaine Pearson of Greenbelt (L) and Frannie Day of Riversale prepare food at St. Jerome's Church Homeless Cafe. The cafe serves lunch ev-ery Thursday at 12:30 p.m. for anyone who walks in.

COURTESY OF BLUE SKY PUPPET THEATREMichael Cotter, founder of Blue Sky Puppet Theatre, with some of his puppet friends.

CANNOT PREDICT NOWTask force created to pre-

dict the future of the BB&T

building on Hamiliton St.

PAGE 3

PLANT YOUR VEGGIES Miss Floribunda explains

the best way to start a

vegetable garden, even if

you have no sun. PAGE 4

OH BROTHER!Hyattsville chief of

police wants to install

cameras in certain areas to

control crime and provide

better safety. PAGE 7

Hyattsville Life & Times | April 2009

A community newspaper chronicling the

life and times of Hyattsville

Mailing address: PO Box 132, Hyattsville, MD 20781

Hyattsville Life & Times is pub-lished monthly by Hyattsville Community Newspaper, Inc., a 501c(3) nonprofi t corporation. In-terested reporters should send their e-mail addresses to the editor to be reminded of deadlines and re-ceive internal news. Articles and news submitted may be edited. The deadline is the last week of the month for the following month’s issue. Letters to the editor and opinions are encouraged. For all e-mail correspondence with HL&T: news, features, tips, advertising and business write to [email protected]. To submit ar-ticles, letters to the editor, etc. , e-mail [email protected]. For inquiries re advertising rates or to submit ad copy please email to [email protected].

Sarah Nemeth: Executive Editor 240.354.4832

[email protected]

Production: Ashley Perks

Writers & Contribtors:Colleen AistisJohn Aquilino

Keith BlackburnSteve Clements

Michael MartucciHugh Turley

Board of Directors:Christopher Currie Matthew McKnight

Tim Hunt Bert Kapinus

Sarah Nemeth

Circulation: Copies are distributed monthly by U.S. Mail to every address in Hyattsville. Additional copies are dis-tributed to libraries, selected business-es, community centers and churches in the city. Total circulation is 7,500.

HL&T is a member of the National Newspaper Association.

FromTheEditor

By Sarah Nemeth

I’ll be the fi rst to admit it – I’m not the greatest driver.

Setting aside what some might conceive of as major driver handicaps (I’m a woman, a New Yorker and under age 30), I still can’t seem to get it together when I’m on the road.

However, even I refuse to take the blame for bad pedestrian be-havior when I’m on the road.

It took me a while to get used to the “pedestrians have the right-of-way” rules in the Washington, DC area, but now that I have, I don’t begrudge the walkers any-more (I used to get really envious when I’d be stopped in the middle of the road, with no stop sign and no traffi c light, and no crosswalk, while people made their way across). Most of the time it’s just

easier to let them go and it helps me to slow down a bit too.

But at night it’s pretty diffi cult to see people crossing, especially in areas that aren’t well lit.

Last week I was driving home from the Baskin Robbins store on Hamilton Street. I’d just come through the intersection of Ham-ilton and Queens Chapel Road when a cyclist cut out into the road and then back onto the side. Whew! Dodged that disaster!

But within a mili-second, I found myself swerving again to miss three people, wearing dark clothing, crossing Hamilton right before the BB&T building. Usually, swerving alleviates the situation – at least if there’s not another car traveling in the lane next to you – but in this case, it did no good.

The pedestrians, for whom I had now stopped while cars were back-ing up behind me and in the lane to my left, took their sweet time cross-ing my half of the road. I could say they were waddling, almost waltz-ing, their way in front of me. They weren’t even looking – Anywhere!

That’s about the time my pe-destrian-right-of-way-outside-of-crosswalks bitterness began boil-ing again.

Why do people behave like this? It’s ridiculous.

And, I think, a bit presumptuous. According to Section 21-503 of

state transportation code, “If a pe-destrian crosses a roadway at any point other than in a marked cross-walk or in an unmarked crosswalk at an intersection, the pedestrian shall yield the right-of-way to any vehicle approaching on the roadway.”

Really people, is it that diffi cult to be a responsible walker?

That includes those of us who walk on the Northwest Branch Trail out of Magruder Park. I was out there one day this week and met a man who claimed that he collects rocks to paint and adorn his house with. It was about that time that I saw the huge rock in his hands.

Can I say that the cyclist who rode past, noticed the situation kept looking back to check on me was my favorite responsible pe-destrian ever!

Pedestrians, paths and presumptions

by Hugh Turley

The real name of Dr. Seuss, the children’s author, was The-odor Seuss Geisel. At Dart-

mouth, he was editor of the humor magazine Jack-O-Lantern. When Geisel was banned from extra-cur-ricular activities for violating school rules, he adopted the pseudonym “Seuss” to continue at the magazine, defying the administration.

Upon graduating, Geisel told his father he had been awarded a fel-lowship to Oxford. His proud fa-ther had the news published in the hometown newspaper, only to dis-cover later there was no scholar-ship. The embarrassed father paid his son’s way to Oxford, believing he would earn a doctorate in litera-ture. Geisel soon returned without earning a degree and simply added the title “Dr.” to his pen name.

Geisel enjoyed some success as an advertising artist. He tried a comic strip in 1935, but it soon folded.

Well before Pearl Harbor, Gei-

sel drew propaganda cartoons advocating U.S. entry into World War II. He targeted, especially, prominent anti-war Americans like Charles Lindbergh.

His cartoons deplored Nazi racism against Jews. They also touted equality for black Ameri-cans – that helped the war effort. Japanese-Americans, on the other hand, he depicted savagely as trai-tors and saboteurs. Many of his comics point to this.

A strong supporter of Presi-dent Roosevelt, Geisel routinely attacked FDR's critics as well as critics of war allies Joseph Stalin and the Communists."

Geisel’s career skyrocketed in the 1950s. His most famous book, The Cat in the Hat, was published in 1957. His credits include two Academy awards, two Emmy awards, a Peabody award and a Pulitzer Prize.

Percy Crosby was born 13 years before Geisel. He had quit high school to help support his family. Crosby was the talented creator of

the comic strip Skippy, which ran from 1923 to 1945. The popular Skippy character was syndicated through King Features, appeared in advertising, and was adapted as a movie by Paramount.

The licensing of the Skippy name, with Skippy toys, games, candy, ice cream, and clothing, was worth a fortune. During the Great Depression Percy Crosby was a rare millionaire.

More than a successful cartoon-ist, Crosby was a fearless cham-pion for justice. He used his pen and his own money to take on the Ku Klux Klan, Al Capone and cor-rupt politicians. Crosby was also a

fi erce critic of FDR.Crosby’s daughter, Joan Tib-

betts (Skippy.com), says her father “was treading on big toes.” A Cali-fornia peanut butter company took the Skippy name without Crosby’s permission. This led to costly liti-gation. More trouble came with IRS claims of tax evasion. His comic strip ended in 1945.

Eventually Crosby was commit-ted to a psychiatric ward, where he remained for 16 years until his death. “Skippy” is now better known as peanut butter sold by Best Foods.

Who knows why men’s fortunes rise and fall? Upton Sinclair once wrote, “You will fl oat upon a wave of prosperity, and in this prosper-ity all your family will share … All this, of course, provided that you stand in with the powers that be, and play the game according to their rules. If by any chance you interfere with them, if you break the rules, then instantly in a thou-sand forms you feel the pressure of their displeasure.”

COMMENTARY AND OPINION ON HISTORY & POLITICS

Hugh’sNewsA tale of two cartoonists

The Hyattsville Preserva-tion Association’s 30th Annual Hyattsville Historic House Tour

will be held on May 17. This year the tour will feature some of the city’s Prince George's County Designated Historic Sites includ-ing the home of Mike and Debbie Franklin, proprietors of Frank-lin’s Restaurant and Brewery.

Tickets can be purchased in advance for $10/adults and $3 under 16, at Franklin’s, 5121 Bal-timore Ave. On tour day, tickets can be purchased for $12/adults and $3 under 16 at City Hall, 4310 Gallatin St.

The tour begins at 12:30 p.m. at City Hall where you can redeem your ticket and get a tour map.

TICKETS FOR HOME TOUR NOW ON SALE

CITIZENSHIP DAY IN LANGLEY PARK AREAThe Asian Pacifi c American Le-gal Resource Center (Washing-ton, D.C.) is offering a citizen-ship clinic where attorneys and law students will be available to help with naturalization appli-cations. The clinic will be held from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on April 18 at Casa de Maryland’s Work-er’s Center, 7978B New Hamp-shire Ave. $20 per person.

For more information call 202.393.3572 or visit www.apalrc.org


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by Anke Bettina Irgang

Hyattsville has instituted a task force composed of city staff and residents

from all wards to discuss the most benefi cial use of the BB&T build-ing at 3505 Hamilton Street.

The Hyattsville City Council passed a motion to purchase the building from BB&T after the bank announced it will move to a new lo-cation at the site of the former Check Cashing building on East West Highway near Toledo Terrace.

The task force is evaluating a va-riety of different options, includ-ing a multicultural community center, a retail space, and a center for non-profi ts. Members and ad-visors include Stuart Eisenberg of the Hyattsville Community Devel-opment Corporation, City Coun-cilman William Tierney (Ward 2), John Milligan of the Washington, D.C. Superior Court, and former City Councilman Scott Wilson.

Task force members were fi rst appointed in January, after the council passed a motion to lend the city $1.1 million for the purchase of and some renovations to the building. The council approved the amount under the condition that 1,000 square feet will be reserved for use by Hyattsville citizens.

The task force meets every sec-ond and fourth Thursday of the month, and has met three times to date. All members are Hyattsville residents with backgrounds in business, local politics, non-profi t management, and the arts.

“It’s a pretty diverse group,” said Jim Chandler, Hyattsville’s community development man-

ager. “The plan is to make sure we get many different sorts of ideas.”

No move-in date for potential ten-ants has been set, Chandler said.

“It all depends on the task force,” he said. “They may tell the council that it’s not even in the best interest of the city to keep the building.”

In June 2008, the city sent out a request to more than 100 local orga-nizations, asking those who might be interested in using the space to submit proposals. As of press time the city had received six proposals which specifi ed space needs and de-sired lease rates that the city deemed appropriate for the building. Orga-nizations interested in moving in include after-school programs, a public charter school, and the Fam-ily Crisis Center of Brentwood.

Chandler said the city may send out a second request that includes more details on the space, and what kinds of tenants the city would like to see based on task force recommendations.

“I think we didn’t receive the responses we anticipated because we didn’t tell them what we are looking for,” he said.

At the task force’s March 26 meeting, it briefl y evaluated the proposals that have been received, and created subcommittees to evaluate each option individually, including a non-profi t center and use by a single institution.

Members also discussed city budget shortages brought on by the national economic recession, and to what degree these should infl uence the selection of potential tenants.

“This is all taxpayers’ money,” said Reggie Ellison, the task force’s co-chairman. “We need to ask, will we produce rents that will cover

the cost of buying the building?”Task force member Scott Wil-

son agreed that the bottom line should enter into deliberations. He said: “I’m biased towards at least breaking even.”

The task force is scheduled to make its recommendations to the City Council by May 29.

Task force debates thefuture of BB&T building

by Karen Anderson

Five of the 10 city coun-cil seats will be up for election on May 4, when

Hyattsville holds its biennial city elections. Each ward will be vot-ing to select one of their two city council representatives.

Council members whose seats will be voted on this spring in-clude Marc Tartaro (Ward 1), Mark Matulef (Ward 2), Krista Atteberry (Ward 3), Carlos Li-zanne (Ward 4) and Ruth Ann Frazier (Ward 5).

Twelve candidates have regis-tered for the election. The last day to sign up was March 27.

The other fi ve city council seats will be up for election in 2011, as election cycles are offset in each ward.

David Hiles, a Ward 2 resi-dent, and Tim Hunt and Matt McKnight, both Ward 3 resi-dents, have entered the race.

Krista Atteberry and Mark Mat-ulef have not signed up to run for re-election this year.

Anna Frankle, a member of the Hyattsville Board of Elections, said the slim number of entries so far is little indication of what the ballot will look like in May. “I’ve had times where people had come in at the last minute on the last day and fi led,” she said. “At this point, it’s only hearsay as to who’s running again.”

Andrea Ross, member and for-mer chair of the elections board, said she expects voter turnout to be “very poor” because it is not a may-oral election year. Residents will be able to only vote for their ward’s representative on the city council.

“I would say, if we get 500 peo-ple, we’ll be happy,” she said. “You never know what’s going to hap-

pen. Sometimes people are very interested … other times people are like, ‘Oh, so what?’”

Frankle said voter turnout can “vary tremendously” from year to year depending on whether or not a particular seat is contested.

April 6 is the last day to register to vote for the upcoming city election.

Council President William Tierney (Ward 2) said that the timing of the May election may lead to changes in the city bud-get this summer. Those cur-rently on the council will assist with planning next year’s budget but, because of elections, are not guaranteed to be the ones voting on it in early summer.

“Even though we’re doing most of the construction of the budget in March, April and May, the peo-ple voting on the budget may not be the people involved in making it, so there may be changes to-wards the end,” he said.

City seeing change in Ward 3Lizanne, Tartaro run again

Hyattsville City Police Dept. 2008 Awards□ Police Offi cer of the Year: P/O Andrew Davis□ Community Policing Offi cer of the Year: Cpl. Michael Rudinski□ Civilian Employee of the Year: Public Safety Aide Damond Blake□ Bronze Medal of Valor: PFC Todd Prawdzik□ Life Saving Award and Bronze Medal of Valor: Sgts. Frank DonBullian and Ron Santos and Pvt. Scott Hurley□ Life Saving Award: Cpl. Akriva Craft□ Command Recognition:PFCs Barbara Smith; Trevor Hodges, James Denault, Mike Chite, Jerry McCauley, Brian Newcomer, Jennifer Riggs and Robert Redmond; Pvts. Todd Prawdzik, Danielle Gray and Patrick Ojong; Sgts. Greg Phillips, Pat O’Hagan, Ron Santos, Suzie Johnson and Keith Powell; Cpls. Christine Fekete, Tony Guerrerio, Mike Rudinski, Kirk Pile and Tony Knox; P/Os Mark Chite and Andrew Davis; Evidence Technician George Michael.


MissFloribunda

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Dear Miss Floribunda,Now that even the Obamas are

growing vegetables, I'd like to try a veggie patch myself. Unfortu-nately, my back garden is not very sunny. Some of the trees shading it are American oaks, and I read in last month's column that these harbor many benefi cial pollina-tors. I wouldn't want to cut these magnifi cent trees down anyway – it would seem like regicide! Are there any vegetables that would do well in partial shade?

Shady on Sheridan Street

Dear Shady,In general, vegetables that are

grown for their leaves rather than their fruit need less sun. Spinach, lettuce, arugula, kale, collard and mustard greens stay fresher and won't go to seed as quickly when not in full sun. Spinach and let-tuce should be planted ASAP so

you can get a good crop before the heat of summer makes them turn bitter. My neighbor, Patap-anelope, says that oak leaf lettuce stays sweet longer than any other variety she's tried. Now is also a good time to plant peas, broc-coli sets, bok choy and such root vegetables as radishes, but after a certain point in the year they will shrivel or bolt. Bush beans can be grown all summer, and beets, potatoes and carrots can be grown in containers in partial shade. The problem with growing them in the ground is that where there is shade there are prob-ably tree roots in the way. These roots will also take nutrients away from your crops, and the canopy of leaves that trees provide may prevent enough rain from reach-ing them. You will have to provide extra fertilizer and water.

I assume you do have more sun in your front yard but are wary of growing anything but shrubs and fl owers there. Rather than a "veg-gie patch," you can artfully mix attractive vegetables and herbs with your fl owers.

Tomatoes used to be grown

in this country as a non-edible ornamental anyway. They were called "love apples" and were considered poisonous. Peppers and miniature Asian eggplant varieties are also attractive and can be tucked in among annu-als. Onions, chives and garlic are also helpful as an organic insect repellent for your roses.

You might want to consult a book on companion planting, as well as books and Web sites fea-turing some of the famous veg-etable gardens of Europe. Last October my sister Polyantha took me on a tour of the castles on the Loire and their gardens. I was en-chanted by the famous "potager" (literally, soup garden) at Villan-dry. Though a large and expert staff maintains this masterpiece of ornamental vegetable garden-ing, you can get some idea of how to plan a smaller garden that will form a veritable tapestry of rich color and interesting texture.

Miss Floribunda is the collected wisdom of the Hyattsville Hor-ticultural Society compiled and edited by Victoria Hille.

vices with less revenue when bud-geting for roads, safety, parks and recreation, and trash maintenance.

To respond, he’s calling for more creative solutions, such as reviewing funding models for crime prevention

“We spend a lot of money on po-lice without looking at the problem imaginatively,” he said

“People are worried about the economy, but it’s going to be ok,” Hiles said. “Things will work out although they look a little tough right now.”

“I think I can help move the com-

munity forward,” he said. “I’m effec-tive, I get things done.”

Alicia Joseph is an engineer with NASA. She also worked as a lead abatement and hazardous waste specialist and as a teacher. She holds two B.S. degrees, two M.S. degrees, and is now defending her Ph.D.

She says, “I will help the city to better manage its development and taxes by encouraging development that will preserve Hyattsville’s small town feel; by supporting develop-ment that all citizens benefi t from, which does not increase residents’ tax burden; and by working for all development to be environment friendly.

“I will support local education by encouraging NASA organizations to reinforce science and tech students in our area with science projects that offer prizes and visits to NASA, add-ing my support, time and ideas to existing plans that help our young citizens learn business practices, so-cial skills and receive tutoring; and creating a scholarship program for high school seniors and encouraging the recreation department to bring back computer and other technical training for seniors.”

Lifetime resident Thomas Lo-presti, 46, was drawn to the City Council through a progression of community involvement.

A father of six and local business owner, Lopresti fi rst became in-volved in city life by coaching at St. Jerome’s Catholic Youth Organiza-tion league where he eventually be-came sports co-director.

More recently he served on the board of the Knights of Columbus Federal Credit Union and Hyattsville’s

Code Enforcement Committee. The choice to run for City Council

now was clear to him. “When the incumbent Mark Mat-

ulef didn’t run, this seemed like a natural next step,” he said.

“The biggest thing facing the coun-cil is the budget,” Lopresti said. His other goals include managing devel-opment of city buildings, improving parks and monitoring the encroach-ment of codes for neighborhood driveways and commercial parking.

“I’m willing to listen to both sides of the issue, put in the time, and try to make the right decision,” he said. “I think I can make the tough call when you have to make one.”

Ward 3Timothy Hunt, 36, named

careful development, community schools, and reasonable code en-forcement as among the city’s most important issues.

“I want to see Hyattsville move forward, emphasizing our strong

sense of community in our neigh-borhoods, while carefully allowing for development that will blend in and not adversely affect our quality of life,” he said. “I don’t want to see Hyattsville turn into Rockville.”

Hunt envisions a working relation-ship with community schools, which he recognizes Ward 3 is “invested in.”

“That’s how we should move for-ward with community involvement, with our neighborhood schools,” he said. “And with the extent that mas-sive development could hinder that, I’m concerned.”

An advocate of government trans-parency, Hunt became involved in city politics when the city annexed his neighborhood, University Hills.

“I thought more important than being annexed or not being annexed was to let the citizens have a referen-dum,” he said.

Hunt is seven-year city resident and a stay at home dad with two young children.

PROFILES continued from page 1



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by Paula Minaert

When people ask me where I’m from, I usually answer, “No-

where, really.” I don’t have a home town, be-

cause I lived in several different places growing up. My sojourn be-gan, oddly enough, right in West Hyattsville — my parents lived in Kirkwood Apartments when I was born. After that, my father’s For-eign Service job took us to Beirut, Lebanon; Alexandria, Egypt; Falls Church, Va.; Tripoli, Libya; and McLean, Va. But it’s too compli-cated to explain all that, so I just say, “Nowhere, really.”

I have now lived in Hyattsville longer than I have lived anywhere else – about 30 years. When my husband and I fi rst moved here, it struck me how much it seemed to be quintessential small-town America. People had cookouts in their back yards. Children walked to school. The Cub Scouts met in the church hall. Simple things, but new to me. And I liked them.

I slowly began to feel a sense of belonging.

People in Hyattsville tend to know each other. This too sounds a simplistic observation, but again, I didn’t have that experience before. Here, I ran into the same people at church, at our children’s schools, at the swimming pool. I found out

our neighbors had grown up in Hyattsville and their parents still lived three blocks away. I actually knew some of the people on the City Council. I knew who people were (a lot of them, anyway) and they knew who I was.

Not everyone likes this, I sup-pose. Some people prefer ano-nymity. Once, at my son’s soccer practice, the coach asked me what I had been talking to the police about in my front yard the day before (a neighbor had a problem and I was helping out). On anoth-er occasion, a neighbor asked our daughter what I’d been doing driv-ing on the wrong side of Belcrest Road (temporary brain lapse). I’ve often said it’s a good thing I have no inclination to commit a crime or run around on my husband — I’d be found out for sure.

Hyattsville is a community, not a suburb. People don’t come here only to sleep, living their real lives elsewhere. Of course there is tran-sience, but on the other hand you have two and three generations of some families, maybe more, root-ed here. And I know some people whose grown children have come back to work in the city. You don’t fi nd that in too many places, and certainly not in this area.

Community living can be diffi -cult. People with widely different values and habits have to live with each other, and it’s not always a

comfortable process. One person likes only manicured lawns, while another is committed to having a wildlife habitat in her yard —and they’re next-door neighbors.

In a community, you have to work out your differences. And the end result probably won’t be a one-size-fi ts-all look, either. I for one wouldn’t want that, anyway.

I’ve experienced both ano-nymity and community. I prefer community.

By Cassie Johnson

I’m very fortunate to have a number of elders in my life. Some remember when I was born or was very young. Others, like my nursing

home friends, have known me only a couple of years. They’re all remarkable people, made of stern stuff buttressed by a strong belief in God. To them, life’s challenges are to be met without despair or drama – do what you have to do and move on. Beyond that, they enjoy life fully whenever happiness and content-ment come calling. And their stories of good times make me smile and occasionally laugh out loud.

Lately I’ve been asking what they attribute their longevity to. Here are three responses I got, and I think they serve as a pretty good roadmap for life:

“Aunt” Elizabeth has known me since I was 5 and told me, “I never thought about age.” She’s 99 now and optimistically looking forward to 100 (plus). Other women might have worried about getting old-

er, she said, but she never looked back. She said time progresses and regretting its passage would have made her generally happy life positively unhappy. Aunt Elizabeth has lost her sight and lives in a nurs-ing home. When I last visited her she caught me up on news of former neighbors from our old block (she stays in touch). She was having her hair done while we chatted. Later she’d be socializing with friends at din-ner. Being blind? Like age, it’s something she doesn’t spend time regretting. She’s way too busy living.

Every week I read poetry to a group of nursing home residents, who always brighten my day.

Mrs. Mercer* is one of them, 97, feisty and always insightful. “I don’t worry about what I don’t have,” she said. A large part of her childhood was spent in the cotton fi elds of South Carolina, and she’s known hard times. But her take on life is simple. Why worry when the good Lord has always taken care of her?

Wisdom of the elders

It pays to not be anonymous

ELDERS continued on page 10

Hyattsville Life & Times | April 2009 Page HR1

Page HR2 Hyattsville Life & Times | April 2009

Hyattsville Life & Times | April 2009 Page HR3

Page HR4 Hyattsville Life & Times | April 2009

Hyattsville Life & Times | April 2009 Page 7

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Hyattsville may be getting some new tools to fi ght crime: TV cameras.

The chief of police wants a new, police-operated system of closed-circuit television cam-eras installed in key areas of the city to help monitor, record and prevent crime.

In the past year, private CCTV systems have helped the Hyatts-ville police solve several major crimes, Chief Douglas Holland wrote in a memorandum to the City Council.

Police solved a February 2008 murder in the Student Towers at University Town Center after the CCTV system there captured images of two suspects going to an apartment and then fleeing the scene.

Two months later, a shooting on the pedestrian footbridge across East West Highway at the Mall at Prince George’s, was solved in part because Target’s CCTV sys-tem recorded the suspects fl eeing the scene and got a clear image of one suspect’s distinctive shirt.

Burglaries of several local businesses were solved after an officer making a traffic stop in Hyattsville recognized the driv-er from footage of a restaurant burglary in December 2008. The burglary was recorded by the taken by the CCTV system of the nearby Bank of America, and the suspect’s image was dis-tributed to all Hyattsville police officers, Holland wrote.

The proposed city CCTV system will include 11 cameras placed at key intersections along the Bal-timore Avenue and East West Highway corridors.

The cameras will be placed in commercial, not residential, ar-eas, Holland told the City Council last month.

The system will transmit the video footage to a central work-station at the Hyattsville City Po-lice Department, where it will be monitored by dispatch staff.

Video footage from each cam-era will be automatically stored for at least 14 days, accord-ing to Holland’s

memorandum.Accompanying the CCTV sys-

tem will be seven emergency call boxes – special phones that open a direct line to the police department.

The call boxes will be resistant to weather and vandalism, and are equipped with a blue strobe light that fl ashes while the phone is being used, according to Hol-land’s statement.

The call boxes will be placed at East West Highway and Belcrest Road; 38th Avenue and Hamilton Street, 31st Avenue and Hamilton Street; the recreation building at Magruder Park; Queen’s Chapel and Jamestown Roads; Baltimore Avenue and Madison Street; and the 5100 block of Baltimore Av-enue at the city parking lot.

The CCTV system and call boxes are the next phase of Hyattsville’s Safe City initiative, which aims to unite businesses, residents, law enforcement and local govern-ment to reduce crime and improve safety in the area.

The Target Corporation sug-gested installing the system about two years ago, Holland said in an interview. Target has made a $200,000 grant to the Safe City project to help cover the cost of CCTV equipment and call box-es, projected at approximately $410,000.

“The utilization of this tech-nology will enable us to better provide safety to Hyattsville resi-dents,” Holland said.

A similar system of cameras and call boxes has been in place in Greenbelt for several years.

“They’re very effective,” said Lt. David Buerger of the Green-

belt Police Department. “Our communications specialist can watch what’s happening and update the offi -cers on their way to the scene,” he said. “They also act as a deterrent.”

Final approval for the cameras and call boxes is need-

ed from the Hyattsville City Council, which

reviewed the mo-

Hyattsville police chief proposes CCTV cameras for better safety

tion twice in the month of March but tabled it each time.

“There is support [on] the coun-cil for this project,” said Council President William Tierney. The initial motions did not account for the cost of electricity, architec-tural work, and other costs asso-ciated with installing the system, Tierney said.

“We asked them to come back to us with aggregated costs, to pass as a single motion,” he said.

The motion will next appear be-fore the council on April 6th, after the printing of this article. If the project is approved, the cameras and call boxes should be installed within fi ve months, Holland said.

“The utilization of this technology will enable us to better provide safety to Hyattsville citizens.”

— Chief Douglas HollandPolice chief

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Matthew D. McKnight, 31, got involved in city life shortly after moving here with his wife in 2005.

Using information compiled from police reports, McKnight voluntarily set up an online mapping system of the city’s crime events to aid the police department. As a research ar-cheologist for the Maryland Historical Trust, he felt that his project could put some of his professional skills to use for the city.

“The crime map was com-pletely my initiative,” McKnight said. “I’m a big proponent of us-ing statistics and technology to fi ght crime.”

McKnight also serves on the city’s Bike and Pedestrian Safety Committee, as well as its Infor-mation Technology Committee.

“I’m already working for the community,” he said. “I’d just like to be working in a sort of ex-panded way.”

As a city councilman, McK-night said he would like to bet-ter the tools given to law en-forcement offi cials and increase programs offered through the parks and recreation department by making the existing BB&T building on Hamilton Street a central com-munity center.

Scott R. Wilson, 58, has 16 years of experience serving on the Hyattsville City Council. It’s been four years since the last time he had a seat representing Ward 3, but his interest in politics has nudged him back into the limelight, hoping for additional time to serve the city.

“Certainly I’ve got the institu-tional memory and the experience,”

Wilson said. “I’ve had a lot of train-ing throughout the years.”

He was a board member of Lo-cal Government Insurance Trust for nine years. “I’m a numbers guy so the whole fi nancial reign is another realm where I’m a contributor,” he said.

He keeps watch on city happen-ings by attending City Council and committee meetings.

“One simple answer is going to as many meetings as I do… it [would be] nice to have a vote,” he said.

Wilson, who is retired, majored in Political Science and Political Theory

at Allegheny College in Pennsylvania. He also serves on the board of the

International Human Powered Vehi-cle Association, and in Hyattsville he is a member of the BB&T Task Force.

Alaa Ahmed Eldar Yousef, now 31, spoke only Arabic when came to Hyattsville from Egypt at 15. He worked through PG County schools and up from night cleaner to director at the Marriott Corporation.

Now motivated by care and ap-preciation for the community that he said gave him so much, Yousef is running for city council.

“I’m very, very loyal to this county. Really, I would love to do something for the city,” he said. “I feel I owe something.”

With a long term focus, his plat-form fi rst addresses unemployment and foreclosures, which he said could prevent other issues.

“What are we doing to help? ... You need to understand the frustration,” he said, adding that several homes on his street are facing foreclosure.

Yousef also argued for beautifi ca-tion efforts, playground improve-ments, and greener developments.

“I want to plan for the next com-ing years,” he said. “To fi nd the issue before somebody comes to me.”

Yousef coaches youth soccer and volunteers at a local animal shelter. He said Hyattsville is the only place he and his family ever want to live.

Ward 4Carlos Lizanne, 64, seeks his

third term. Originally from El Salva-dor, Lizanne and his wife moved to

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Hyattsville 33 years ago. The two were initially drawn to the city’s regional convenience, but stayed for its respect of racial and religious diversity.

Lizanne said his work on the council refl ects that same respect.

“I represent all Hyattsville,” he said, “any citizen in the city has the same importance to me.”

Along with cultural integration, he recognizes local developing businesses, reducing crime and as-sisting those “living pay-check-to-pay-check” as among Hyattsville’s top priorities, adding the city needs optimists during this time.

“I have a lot to learn, but I have learned a lot,” he said of his expe-rience in small business and his years as a councilmember. “I will talk to people until I can under-stand them and they can under-stand me.”

Lizanne said he plans to retire as owner of El Compadre store in one year and devote more time to the city.

David Thomas, 51, returns to city politics this spring.

“I kind of got into this in the ninth inning at the pleading of neighbors,” he said of his candi-dacy, adding he’s still “honing up on issues.”

“I was very active in the city back then,” he said, recalling past work with his neighborhood association and the city’s traffi c committee in the mid-1990s.

“The number one responsibility of any government entity is to pro-tect the lives of the citizens ... and to protect their property,” Thomas said.

To Thomas, this includes fi nan-cial property.

“I don’t think money should be doled out to functions where gov-ernment doesn’t have any busi-ness,” he said, referring to the city’s recent purchase of the BB&T building. “We’re not in the land-lord business.”

“In my humble opinion, a gov-ernment that governs least gov-erns best,” he said.

Thomas is a 22-year Hyattsville resident and was a member of the U.S. Navy for 20 years.

Ward 5Ruth Ann Frazier, 69, seeks

her fourth term. A 55-year resident of Hyattsville and retired U.S. gov-ernment employee, Frazier is the longest serving councilmember.

“I try to be dedicated, I try to listen to them, I’m concerned for them, I’m involved for them,” said Frazier of her efforts to represent her constituents on the City Coun-cil.

Frazier emphasized the impor-tance of a strong police force and its ability to communicate with residents. In December 2008 she helped organize the Hyattsville Seniors and Law Enforcement To-gether (S.A.L.T.) to strengthen the safety and community engagement of local seniors.

She also chairs the Sonny Frazi-er Christmas Toy Drive, a donation drive started years earlier by her husband in their home. Through volunteers and donations from lo-cal businesses, the toy drive now provides gifts to local families in need during the holidays.

“All my roots are here,” she said. “All my friends ... this is where my heart is.”

Pastor Herrara-Macuran, 45, reiterated community representa-tion requires a community presence; something he said has been absent.

“The city council has to work with the people. They have to be in touch with this community,” he said. “All those people who come in to the city council, they forget about it, they nev-er come back to the community.”

The council should be responsive to developing community needs, he said, which requires ongoing con-versations with citizens to gauge is-sue importance.

“I think I have some idea of how the people feel, so I can put it on the table of the city council,” Herrara-Macuran said, identifying better lighting and recycling opportunities as two issues of concern to his constituents.

“All my life I’ve worked very hard for the people,” he said. “If it’s the community that gives me the vote, it’s the community that’s important.”

Originally from Cuba, Herrara-Macuran works for Local Union 26 in D.C. and has lived with his family in Hyattsville for four years.

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University Hills resident Tim Hunt. “I don’t understand how residents … could be forced to pay to [redo] … to not allow grandfa-thering I think is kind of uncon-scionable. It was a bad idea in 2004, it is a bad idea in 2009 and it will be a bad idea in 2010.”

Hunt said that many of his neigh-bors moved into their homes after driveways were in-stalled and to ask them now to ex-pend the resources to restructure their front lawns to be

code compliant is asking too much.The plan began in 2004, with a

fi ve-year phase-in period that was recently extended for a year, said Mayor William Gardiner. It tar-geted properties with impervious surfaces that are a large part of the front yard and could therefore have a negative effect on storm wa-ter runoff and drainage, he said.

The city recently sent letters to the owners of properties that the city’s code enforcement department deemed may exceed the new rule.

Janice Williams is one of them.“In 1998 I moved here and the

driveway had been constructed by permit,” she told the council at a March 16 meeting. “I’m retired. With the recession, how can I make changes like this? I can’t do it.”

The same goes for retired Met-ro bus driver Alfred Summers of Madison Place, Maria Castrillo of Manorwood Drive and Pat Sheri-dan of Hamilton Street.

“I think fi ve or six years ago when you guys fi rst started talking about this, the economy was a lot better,” Sheridan said. “[It’s] a sig-nifi cant issue to try to comply with the retroactive [part] of the law.”

The city recently extended the deadline to April 1, 2010. According to the ordinance, initial violations of this portion of the code are subject to a $100 fi ne. If a resident repeats the offense they could be fi ned $200.

“We should’ve sent the letters some time ago,” Gardiner said. “We didn’t and that’s why we have extended the compliance period.

“Also, code enforcement has identifi ed a number of properties, especially the duplexes and tri-plexes, that are possibly in viola-tion of the ordinance. However I don’t think the ordinance consid-

ered that situation.”The code enforcement depart-

ment sent out 249 letters to prop-erty owners whose properties ap-peared to be close to going over the 25 percent mark, said Jerry Hamp-ton, director of the department.

“My inspectors have not done exact calculations,” he said. “They did visual inspections of the prop-erties. If [it] appeared to be close in their estimation … then we wanted to add those people to the list.”

Each letter offered the services of a city inspector to do exact mea-surements, Hampton said, adding that he plans to send out a second round of letters – likely in June – to those who have not contacted his offi ce about their letter.

“We want to make sure that no per-son is left behind on this,” he said.

“Out of 249 those that have called and have had inspectors come out there have been many over the 25 percent but there have been a num-ber that are not,” he said.

The rubric for deciding which properties might receive a re-prieve once council has reviewed the ordinance has not yet been de-termined, Gardiner said.

“[We] have asked staff to provide a better breakdown for the properties that they believe may be in violation of the ordinance. I suspect that there will be some property that the coun-cil will not recommend grandfather-ing in the existing circumstance and they will be required to reduce the impervious surface.

“When this was initially passed the intent was to provide a fi ve-year period for the property owners … but we still need to get some more information on what’s the situation [for non- compliant properties].

“It’s a problem if we’re not con-sistent and fair,” he said.

For those who must make changes, it remains unclear if they will be required to get a city permit – which costs $25 – to come under code. According to the Web site of the Prince George’s County Depart-ment of Environmental Resources, changes to concrete or asphalt paving of less than 500 square feet in area, except driveways, also re-quire a county permit. Repairs to a driveway may, however, require a permit from the county’s Depart-ment of Public Works and Trans-portation, the site states.

“I don't think people would need a permit to come into compliance, but I guess it is conceivable if they re-duced it in some areas and widened it in other areas,” Gardiner said.

ORDINANCE continued from page 1

Even when she was poor she never went hungry. She had clothes to wear and a roof over her head. Mrs. Mercer says she never envied anyone who had more. How could that hap-pen, she wondered, when her own life has been so full of blessings?

Mrs. Boyce* is another member of the poetry group. She thinks be-ing steered by a moral compass is the key: “A good mind knows right from wrong.” One of the youngsters in the group — she’s only in her 70s — she believes in living a spiritually attuned life. We’re all given choices and it’s up to us to choose the right way to travel, according to Mrs. Boyce. She prays for anyone who wrongs her. And she gives all her problems over to the Lord because He can handle them.

Three lessons for a long life: moving gracefully through the years, counting blessings and walking a spiritual path. The art of living from my elders’ point of view. Glad I asked.

*Name was changed. Cassie Johnson is a Reiki Master/Teacher. Contact her at [email protected].

LIFE NOTEScontinued from page 5

Gardiner

The Mall at Prince George’s will be the location for the National Kidney Founda-tion’s Ronald D. Paul Kidney Walk on April 19.

The pledge-based fundrais-er is an opportunity to sup-port the 26 million Americans with chronic kidney disease and the 80,000 waiting for a kidney transplant.

In April 2008 there were 1,917 dialysis patients in the county. Three zip codes – 20743, 20744, and 20748 – accounted for 25% of the di-alysis patients in the county.

Hyattsville Mayor William Gardiner is an honorary walk co-chair. Last summer Gardin-er donated a kidney to his cous-in Randy Martin, who suffered from polycystic kidney disease.

For more information or to donate to the walk, visit www.kidneywdc.org

Inaugural county kidney walk planned


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that way ever since. Cheri Fulton, who has been the business manag-er of the theater for 21 years, said that some of the shows are strictly for the sake of entertainment, while others are more educational but still aim to share knowledge in a fun way. Topics range from bul-lying to math to nutrition.

The theater performs locally in Washington, D.C., Maryland, Virginia, and also travels to Penn-sylvania, New Jersey, and some-times New York and Connecticut. Schools usually get to pick the show they want, based on its edu-cational topic, unless it is located far away. The company can only bring so many sets on the road.

The cost of the show depends on where the company must travel and how large the audience is. “It might be $200 for a birthday party and $600 for a large elementary school,” Fulton said. Fulton has noticed that business has slowed down some, but believes Blue Sky has a good follow-ing of customers, who usually call to book a show every year.

“But then again, I'm an opti-mist,” she added.

Blue Sky usually goes to Ridgecrest Elementary School, just outside of Hyattsville, every year, and Principal Dan Heller said he has used them for at least 10 years at the various schools where he has worked.

“I've scheduled them because the performance is of high-interest lev-el to students,” Heller said. Some shows Heller mentioned were Sand Castles – a math show incorpo-rated into the school's curriculum, Building Bridges – dealing with confl ict resolution, and Tree House – a program about on setting goals and self-esteem – which Blue Sky is scheduled to perform in a couple of

weeks, at Ridgecrest.One thing Heller likes that Blue

Sky offers pre- and post-lesson plans, designed for teachers to discuss topics in the show with students. Heller said that the the-ater also sends out a disc of the music in the show, which is then

taught to students so they can sing along during the performance.

“It's a fun performance, the kids get energized, but they're learning too,” Heller said.

Sarah Nemeth contributed to this report.

PUPPETcontinued from page 1

is up to about 70.”The café, located at 5205 43rd

Ave., held a food drive in January, which yielded about 2100 pounds of food and restocked the pan-try, “which was almost bare as of Thanksgiving,” Enfi eld said.

Enfi eld also said that the café, which serves a full meal to the needy every Thursday, is expe-riencing an increase in the num-ber of people “who have been laid off or people who have jobs but not enough money to cover their lunches every day.”

According to data released by the U.S. Department of Labor, the number of unemployed increased by 851,000 to 12.5 million in Feb-ruary and the unemployment rate rose to 8.1 percent. Over the past 12 months, the number of unem-ployed has increased by about 5 million, and the unemployment rate has risen by 3.3 percent.

“It has been defi nitely diffi cult keeping up with the increase in the number of people coming to the café,” Enfi eld said. “We’ve been around since 1991, and we’ve never seen the numbers this high.”

In the café’s kitchen, volun-teer Tom Fitzpatrick of Glenn Dale mixes tomato sauce and noodles, while Elaine Pearson from Greenbelt and Frannie Day of Riverdale prepare the bread and pastries for the day’s lunch.

“We have a set menu and that makes it very easy as we don’t have ovens to cook,” Fitzpatrick said. “We only have steam tables and microwaves to work with.”

A typical meal at the café con-sists of a main course of a casse-role-type dish, a vegetable dish, buttered rolls or bread, pastries and hot or cold drinks.

“It helps me. That’s why I come here,” said Karen Nelson of Mount Rainier, who has been coming to the café for about fi ve years. “I come here to eat and they also give me something to take with.”

The café coordinates with St. Jerome’s School, with students donating bagged lunches for the people to take home after the meal. The rolls, bread and pastries are donated by Rolling Pin Bakery in Bladensburg. The café publish-es a list of needed food items and supplies in the parish bulletin.

According to Fitzpatrick, the beginning and end of the month are always very busy at the café.

A tally taped on the refrigerator shows that the cafe served 102 people on January 29.

“It’s exhausting and frustrat-ing at times, but I love it,” said Tracy Perkins, pantry coordinator for the café. “It’s only a couple of hours a week of volunteering and the clients are wonderful.”

Another food bank serving the community, which is also experi-encing an increase in the number of people in need, is at Crossover Church, located at 5340 Baltimore Ave. It distributes groceries to about 30 or more families a month.

“At times it has been challeng-ing. There are times when need outweighs the supply and we had to limit the amount of groceries or the frequency of supply,” said Angela Wilson, food pantry coordinator.

According to Wilson, the church’s food pantry is holding a food drive, a Brown Bag Food Campaign, for specifi c groceries to support the pantry through the end of April in addition to working on making connections with vari-ous companies for more donation as well as working on a proposal to apply for federal and state aid.

The First United Methodist Church at 6201 Belcrest Road is also serving the needy by hosting the Community Place Café four days a week. The café is operated by the Community Ministries of Prince George’s County.

“I think it’s great that we have the space and are able to do it,” said Donnalee Sanderson, church secre-tary. “It defi nitely serves the needy, more so in these diffi cult times.”

FOODcontinued from page 1

□ St. Jerome’s Café at St. Jerome’s Church, - 5205 43rd

Ave.

□ Crossover Church - 5340

Baltimore Ave.

□ First United Methodist Church - 6201 Belcrest Road

□ Ager Road United Meth-odist Church - 6301 Ager Road

□ American Red Cross - 6206 Belcrest Road

□ Salvation Army - 4825 Edmonston

Road

For a bite to eat...

PHOTO COURTESY OF BLUE SKY PUPPET THEATREBlue Sky Puppet Theatre's Sand Castles show.


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hyattsville life & times -- april 2009

Documents

hyattsville reporter

hyattsville food banks

person company

educational theater

street theater

blue sky puppet theatre

community centers

effective city council