This archives is a history of events. Old links on this page have been removed. You may find the original site here.
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2011 Announcement As of, Sept. 10, the Maryland Dept. of Transportation is repairing the bridge and hopes to be done by Fri., Sept. 16. Photos The bridge over Timothy Creek on Brandywine Rd., east of Rt. 301 and west of the railroad track went out after strong rains on Sept. 8, 2011. See photo of the bridge here. To access the village of Brandywine where the Elementary School, Post Office, and several businesses and residents are, use Rt. 301 to Missouri Ave. which ends at Brandywine Rd. – turn right for the Elementary School and left for the Post Office and to go east over the bridge. Check Google Maps here for a work-around. Join our Brandywine-chat listserv for updates on area concerns, such as repairs to this bridge. This year has given us some record-breaking conditions, including the 2011 Virginia Earthquake which was felt here and from Alabama to Canada, Hurricane Irene, and Tropical Storm Lee. |
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2010 Announcement The election for 2010 is important for Brandywine and the county, find more information here and make your own ballot here. |
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2009 Announcement There was a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Baden Volunteer Fire Department on Oct. 11. See a story and lots of photos here. |
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2008 Announcement Brandywine Crossing, located at US 301/MD Route 5 and Chadds Ford Road, will be opening in the fall with phase one, which includes Target, Costco, and Safeway. Phase two will include a 16-auditorium movie theatre, first quality specialty shops, and a variety of national and local restaurants opening by the spring of 2010. |
| Hate Incident in Brandywine – On or about Sept. 30, 2005, a racial slur was spray painted on a sign at the intersection of Bank St. & Cherry Tree Crossing Rd. It was reported to the police who will report it to Public Works to remove the sign. Brandywine North Keys Civic Association will follow-up on this report (information about their meetings is below). Paint remover was used to remove the offensive language. Many neighbors, especially the targetted community, weren’t aware it was there, so it apparently didn’t have the attended affect. Questions & concerns about this & possible future problems connected to it are posted here. |
| The Brandywine Multicultural Music and Arts Festival will take place on Saturday June 26, 2004 from 10am-8pm at Wilmer’s Park, in Brandywine, Maryland. The Greater Baden-Aquasco Citizens Association is proud to present a spectacular day of music, food, and the creative arts.This unique fundraiser will have something for everyone! • ; A variety of fine craftsmen will display and demonstrate their wares, non- stop entertainment from cajun to rock, country and gospel, the Caribbean sounds and a DJ spinning your favorite Oldies but Goodies. • ; Kids Korner – where the little ones can play games from many cultures, jump in the Moon Bounce, ride a pony, or create an arts project in the crafts hut. • ; Food from around the globe, from Italian to Greek, to good ole Southern Country Cookin’ to the great American hot dog – a taste to delight every palate.Don’t miss this exciting day of fun-filled family entertainment! For info on volunteering, vendor space, or entertainment possibilities, please call, 301-579-6140. Bookmark and check this site for updates.: PGCares.org/multifest |
| Notes from Brandywine North-Keys Meeting (not official minutes) 2/18/04Sheriff Jackson attending, Tim from Aggragate IndustriesTreasury $650+ – $200 donation for grandmother caring for 7 kids. Dues $20 per family (no fundraisers). Sheriff had hand-outs. 911 cell phones – donated phones given free to seniors & handicapped or medical condition – can pick up phones if you have any to donate. Safety plan cards can be folded to wallet size. Call office at 301-883-6990. Warrants greatly reduced; those back-logged are for victimless crimes. Trying to keep up w/ new ones. 40% service rate – many addresses are bad. Sweeps done in middle of night. Child support warrants cut in half. 2 wk. amnesty offered & will offer again at end of May. Want to have kids who have models of responsibility. Domestic violence unit almost more than quadrupled – deputies had to be removed from other units since no new funds. Bad news spreads fast among victims,so they’re trying to respond as quickly as possible. Sheriff’s Dept. does not run jail. They offer ID kit for kids – as they grow their prints change, so should get them again when they’re older. Traffic warrants are most & pile up. Budget request 31 new deputies & Jackson approved, so they’re looking to hire (21 yrs. old, good driving record, preferred Assoc. degree though not mandatory, able to do training program). Lawsuit in past caused them to lose 41% of deputies, so are trying to bring the numbers back up. Sherriff lives in North Keys & assistant, Ms. Stallings, lives in Baden. If you call dispatcher on 911 pone, must stay in location so they can assist you; they cannot call you back.Wilmer’s Park owner, Bruce Chatman – born in Chicago, raised in south. Has respect for importance of community. Retired from IBM (business strategies for customers) & wife of 33 yrs. retired also. Bought restaurant as investment – first Roy Rogers but found out it’s near strip club. Chose Wilmer’s due to exciting history. Developing plan according to community needs: e.g. entertainment complex – for every genre of music, senior housing. Working with legislators, law enforcement, etc. Would hire security for concerts. Will have lots of employment opportunities – can help youth & seniors from moving away. Mrs. Ruby Fry (Aligns[?] Enrichment) gives community advice – technology learning center planned. Facilities (like Wolf Trap – 7,000 seat amphitheatre, banquet hall, fine dining, cocktail & reception area; retirement community; cultural & performing arts center – non-profit. Will not especially attract more children to community which would require services. Programs for local school children. Symphony needs home – can provide that. Getting support for improvements on Brandywine Rd. – talking to state about RR tracks – will be fixed, might do 301 overpass – on the state’s plan, but they might move it up on timeline. Looking for investors. Need support in implementing Senior Citizen housing project. Several compliments were made about the plan.County Council voted to ban prisons from county unless there’s future need for one that just serves this county. They could build on federal land, but not likely any time soon. Aggragate concern – land will be too low for cesspool after mined. Tim said business as usual now. Property can be used for agriculture. He uses tenant farmers – doesn’t know company’s intent, but that’s a good possibility due to history. Reported on call from Scott at Gazzette about the council voting to reallocate $1.5M to other districts, possibly because Bland voted against tax increase. Earl said Bland was invited to meeting, but hasn’t returned any phone calls. |
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GBACA MEETING NOTES – Jan. 21, 2004 No county or state representatives were in attendance. Council member Bland has not answered association letter. Treasury: $13,000+, but have debts – $7,000+ for lawyers & other expenses. Fri. hearing @ 9 AM for Archer’s Glenn case – population will double on Bald Eagle School Rd. No room assignment yet. Court house has display w/ room assignments Croom Civic Assoc. passing out letter to sign on about objection to development on wetlands. Funds for rural tier for schools, fire dept., etc. are not available for this development – like a small city w/ no recreation facilities in plan. Public notice from developer arrived on Christmas Eve. Mail to Marie 16905 Croom Rd. GBACA passed resolution to write a letter. Today was last day to respond, but hopefully extension was approved. Carmen – gravel mine loss going to court of spec. appeals, but they’ve already started to bulldoze. Jane Eba is inundated w/ development on Floral Park Rd. They drafted bill to keep developers from building on planned roads that are not actually in existence. Council voted for it, Johnson vetoed, & Council changed mind & didn’t overide it. At Magruders Ferry Rd. & 382, the Zoders established wildlife sanctuary where family farm has 177 acres. Still have small brick house & easement should make taxes go down since can’t be developed. Family, involved in Action for Animals Network & other environmental organizations, & will not allow hunting on property. Land Trust is having meeting at Cliff’s last Thurs. in Feb. – contact Joanne Flynn. Update on Simms La. – had advisory mtg., environmental crime unit w/ police recently contacted them. Co. dept. of environ. should be contacted (in Largo). Now they have problems w/ beavers. Court case on rubblefill now in Annapolis & have to wait on date. Road through properties owned by Betty’s mom & investigating how to keep them from taking it away – filed court case. GBACA filing suit, so they have an agreement to reinstate road & not sell. Quatros own property on other side of stream & are signing on case. Prison issue not dead – Westphalia/Rt 4, Cheltenham, & 301 in Brandywine are still possible sites. John from GS Proctor & Assoc’s says council presentee bill to stop prison & also he’s education contact w/ state, so will get speaker for future mtg. Soil Safe – Brandywine N-K against it but haven’t heard anything recently. Still having problems w/ trucks on Cedarville, but not making illegal left. Mail thief is a problem now. Don’t put outgoing mail in street side boxes, esp. w/ payments. Poplar Hill Woods has improved site w/ hydrant, so area residents may be able to get lower insurance rates. Stop by fire house & see new truck. |
| This message is being distributed locally referring to a county program.: If you have old thermometers with mercury, this is a good way to get rid of it. “The County Department of Environmental Resources will replace mercury fever thermometers with new digital thermometers at no charge. Hours are 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. every Sunday, for as long as the supply lasts, at the Household Hazardous Waste Collection Site at the Brown Station Road Sanitary Landfill, 3500 Brown Station Road in Upper Marlboro. (Use the 11611 White House Road entrance.) For information, call 301-883-5045.” – Received 1/7/04Here is information about why they are concerned. This link also has symptoms of poisoning.Here is a quote from one federal government article: “Mercury fever thermometers are a significant source of mercury to the environment, and if a broken mercury thermometer isn’t cleaned up properly, the mercury can get into the air and pose a health risk in the user’s home.” The first link above also tells of a worker who died of mercury poisoning, though not from a thermometer. But another page says, “… entire families have been poisoned when the spill was not cleaned up properly or not at all.”If you go, please let us know about the present availability via Brandywine-chat.For those who choose to continue to use their mercury thermometers, here’s some information that might be helpful.:What To Do If Mercury Spills * Try to contain the spill without contaminating hands or clothes (e.g. place disposable cup over it) * Ask everyone to leave the area. * Open windows and doors in the area of the spill to ventilate the area during cleanup. * Do not use a vacuum cleaner to clean up a mercury spill. A vacuum cleaner will spread the mercury vapors into the air. * Never allow people who are wearing mercury-contaminated shoes or clothing to walk around the house.This will help prevent the spread of spilled mercury. * Never use a broom to clean up mercury; it will break the mercury into smaller drops and spread it around more. The small droplets evaporate faster and are more difficult to clean up. * Contact the local poison control center, fire department, or public health board for advice on cleanup. For future information, this message will be posted on the Accokeek and Brandywine sites news area (both sites are searchable). |
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Notes from District 9 Meeting 7/18/07 Looking into covering trash pick up for area; giving us new recycling bins – bigger ones with lids & wheels – one bin for everything – no separating. No more landfill needed in county. Capt. Craig Howard from Clinton police station – starting neighborhood watches, District 7 station coming next yr. 11 new officers coming through training. Response times gone down from 8 mins. to 6 mins. (based on when officers get calls, but calls are given out according to priority). More attention will be paid to violent crimes – down 9.7% from last yr., property crime down 9.9%; hope to go down more. 301-856-3130, cahoward[at]co.pg.md.us. Two officers assigned to be in Baden/Aquasco regularly. An additional $1M for county from state bill – reported by police officer who reported about Dist. 7 station, which will be off Indian Hd Hwy in Accokeek – looked at population to 2030 & other data projections. 8th station in 2013. Will place stations to heart of population centers – will eventually move District V to 301. Let Capt. Howard know if there are questions for him about county plans. CERT – community emergency response team – neighbor helping neighbor in disaster. Fliers available. Recruiting volunteers. Supported by Homeland Security. Display with flares. Home preparation is first – removing chemicals, learn how to use fire extinguisher. Want to train as many people as possible with state & federal funds (ideally everyone). Get mask, first aid & other equipment. Working with Baden Fire Dept. Herring, Park Planner for area & other nearby districts. Capital Improvement Projects (CIP) – New playground, trails, & pavilion at North Keys park, facelift at Cosca, Fox Run getting tennis courts & other things, new community center in Ft. Wash., So. Clinton community center in planning for FY ’11, & weight room for Baden. Baden Aquasco got grant for ball fields for North Keys. Upper Marlboro community center will be closed for a while. Willing to research why M-NCCPC gets kick back of tax funds from park $. Bland’s office will get explanation of taxes to distribute to residents – where is boundary between those who pay & those who don’t pay & what is the MNCPPC tax going to that they do pay. Complaints about not enough facilities in Baden – no ball parks – kids on private property. No representative for Baden Aquasco, because rep. is in Clinton. Mr. Billings later said Senator Miller got funds for Little League for Baden-Aquasco, but haven’t decided how to allocate yet. Mr. Billings stood up to maintain order due to an abundance of questions & complaints. He said there is no fee on taxes to Baden Aquasco for recreation so that’s one reason they’re not receiving services. Betty of Planning Dept. of Master Plan coming in fall – AAFB to Eagle Harbor – ~31% of county. Master Plan is part of planning, but county also has transportation, public facilities & safety plans & others. Listening session last month, another this month Agricultural “Listening Session” Wed., July 25 7-9 PM at Baden Fire House, Historic “Listening Session” on July 24 7-9 PM at St. Thomas. Yates Clagett runs land preservation & agriculture program. Thanked Council Member Bland who helps make choices possible – MAWTH for 50-acre parcels for crop production (not many qualify, rural legacy – 50-acre parcels east of Croom Rd., & purchase of development rights (newly created in co.) – 35 acres or 20 acres or 2 combined properties = 35 (total applications = 600 acres). Smart tax is not on rural tax bill, so county is short-funded. Sent money back to state in past, but will not any more. PDR program is supposed to give them $8M. pgscd.org – new web site. Randy Phoebus – Native Grassland Conservancy – 91% decline of grassland birds – looking for land to help preserve bird populaion – bob white, whipperwhill, some larks, etc. – important part of eco system. Habitat loss is factor & will consider many factors in plans. nativegrasslands[at]aol.com. Randy will be honored with an award by Prince George’s Co. Civic Federation. Daria Bailey oversees homeowners associations to help make them effective. She lives in Dist. 9. New legislation. People sharing common ground. 301-952-4729, commonownercommunities[at]co.pg.md.us Susan Hubbard – public works – leaf & snow removal & much more. 400 employees (whereas Montgomery Co. has 1500). They’d like to do better, but need to know where problems are. Public works is short staffed & short funded, but is trying to serve as well as possible with resources they have. They are required to put in street lights, but will work with neighborhoods if they don’t want them. New developments all get them. They have a needs list – $27M next yr. & has decreased each yr. Resurfacing list is over $500M. How can we get lighting that doesn’t cause light polution that is available now? Getting legislation for these lights for rural area. To make changes for all to get lighting, need law from county council – Race Dowling will pursue. Concerns expressed about roads. Try to maintain right-of-ways 10 times per yr. – dumping is a problem & had to get police help on it – trash problem is very bad & uses up county money that could be used for roads. If you can write down or photograph dumpers, please send them in – 17 have been arrested – there are fines & possible jail time, but some not prosecuted. County roads are named roads & numbered roads are state roads. Adopt-a-Road includes sign & equipment, but uses volunteers. Mr. Pollard officiated meeting & sends email invitations and updates to civic associations. jhpollard[at]co.pg.md.us, 301-952-3479. It was expected that Wilmer’s Park project would be presented & Bruce Chatman was available & distributed literature upon request. The meeting was still in session at 9:30, but most people had left. Public Hearing July 24; 301-952-3600. For more news see News & Views from Prince George’s County Bloggers |
