From: Ann Hoffnar Subject: Friends of Sligo Creek June Newletter Date: Tue, 8 Jun 2004 21:35:19 -0400 ---------------------------- Contents of This Issue ---------------------------- Upcoming Events: Cutting Kudzu at Long Branch and Wayne, Saturday June 12 Joint Friends/AWS Clean up on Takoma Branch, Saturday June 19 Sligo Summer Solstice Picnic, Sunday June 20 ---------------------------- News: ---------------------------- Anacostia Watershed Society Study. Pictures on the Web Pollution Reporting Proves Effective Litter Pick-up at Wheaton Pond Held Saturday June 5 WelcomeTakoma Woods! Smithsonian Environmental Research Center conducts study ---------------------------- Announcements: ---------------------------- Be Careful: Be Safe Gas Mower Trade-in Offer Available June 19 at Comcast Center ---------------------------- ---------------------------- ---------------------------- Upcoming Events Cutting Kudzu at Long Branch & Wayne Ave. Saturday June 12 Meet at 8:15 a.m. at the Soccer Field off Wayne Avenue, just up the east side of the Long Branch stream bank. We’ll work about 2 hours. (This event was rescheduled the original June 5 date, because of heavy downpour that morning.) The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission has asked Friends of Sligo Creek to help control what has been one of Montgomery County’s worst patches of the terribly invasive kudzu plant. Last winter, Park and Planning mechanically cut back much of the kudzu on the banks of Long Branch, and will continue to work to try to keep the invasive plant under control. Friends of Sligo Creek will assist by cutting kudzu vines hanging from trees adjacent to the area that Park and Planning has begun to control. Dress in long pants and a long-sleeve shirt, and bring gloves. If you have them, also bring clippers and/or loppers to cut the vines. Water will be provided. Directions: From Sligo Creek Parkway, drive east on Wayne Avenue. Cross Flower Avenue, and pass Oakview Elementary School on your left. Shortly beyond the school, Wayne dead ends above the creek. Park there and walk down the stairs, cross the bridge over the creek, and continue straight along a paved path for a very short distance until you reach the continuation of Wayne Avenue (at the intersection of Wayne and Long Branch Parkway). Immediately to your right will be a soccer field. We will meet there, between the soccer field and the creek. (Note that you can also reach the field by taking University Blvd. East from the Beltway, and turning right on to Wayne Avenue.) Questions? Call David Novello, at (301) 585-5212 (home). Or send an email to dnovello@mindspring.com. Joint Friends of Sligo Creek/Anacostia Watershed Society Clean up on Takoma Branch Planned for June 19th at 3:00 p.m. Takoma Branch is an often neglected part of our Creek and it collects massive amounts of trash. A joint clean up effort is planned with the Anacostia Watershed Society to help remedy this problem, and at the same time call attention to the need to correct faulty sewers that are already leaking or have potential to begin leaking in the near future. Masaya Maeda, a scientist with the Anacostia Watershed Society, who talked to us at our program meeting in May, will be at the site to further discuss the impact the WSSC sewer lines are having on Sligo Creek’s water quality. Masaya will show attendees the sewer lines and connections he discussed at that meeting. Directions: Take University Blvd toward College Park. Turn right on Riggs Road and right again on Red Top Road (Red Top Road is about 100 yards past the intersection of Riggs Road and Sargent Road). Drive to the end of Red Top Road (i.e., where it meets Burketon Road). This is an access area to the Takoma Branch. Parking on the streets in this area should not be difficult. Questions? Contact Ed Murtagh at 301 649 7266 (home) or edward.b.Murtagh@yahoo.com Sligo Summer Solstice All-Member Picnic June 20, 5:00 to 8:00 p.m. We have worked hard all spring and now its time to celebrate! Come on out and bring a friend. What better way to celebrate Father’s Day? We’ve reserved the Dennis Avenue Recreation Center for the festivities. There is plenty of space inside in case it rains, and there are also restrooms and a refrigerator and oven. We’ll have music, wiffle ball, Frisbee fun, potato shot-put and more. RAIN OR SHINE Bring an entree or salad dish and non-alcoholic beverages to share with eight people. You might want to bring lawn chairs or a blanket for seating, You can bring sports equipment your kids enjoy: balls, bats, (there are basketball hoops). Or just join in with our wiffle ball and Frisbee fun. We'll provide plates, napkins, cups and utensils, and water. Chocolate-chip cookies for dessert: Bring a plate of your best chocolate-chip cookies. Put your name on the bottom. The kids will judge the "Sligo Creek's Best Cookie Contest.” Directions: The Center is at 10200 Sligo Creek Parkway, just upstream from Dennis Ave. on the left. There are parking spaces but walking, biking and carpooling are the preferred methods! Questions? Contact Jim Baird 301 587 3249 (home) or wycbaird@erols.com. News Anacostia Watershed Society Study Pictures on the Web At the May Program meeting Keith VanNess of the Montgomery County Department of Environmental Protection and Masaya Maeda, who is working through a grant with the Anacostia Watershed Society gave presentations on water quality. Some of the photos Masaya presented at the meeting showing likely breaks in sewer lines across Sligo Creek have been loaded as pdf files on the Water Quality web site. To see them click on: http://www.fosc.org/WaterQualityCommittee.htm Pollution Reporting Proves Effective Sally Gagne reports: On May 13 my husband, walking our dog Rose, noticed that water from the Brunett Tributary entering Sligo was cloudy white. We phoned 240-777-DUMP at about 3:15 pm. The woman who took the message said the inspectors normally go home at 3:30, and asked how important this seemed. We felt someone should be sent. Within an hour inspector Steve Martin arrived at Sligo, returned again the next day, and phoned me. He found the cause - someone from a swimming pool construction company had allowed a chemical that is used to water-seal cement to flow into the drainage system. The next week, to help a case against the company, inspector Martin put a harmless red dye in the water at the drain near the construction, and waited to see that the dye reached the creek, proving there is a storm drain connection. The dye made its point; to see a photo, click on http://www.FOSC.org/Images/RedDye.jpg. Sligo starts where the concrete can be seen in the background. Martin reported that fines go up to $750 in the county. In a major case, if the violation is also against a state law, a fine can be levied by the state, which can be much higher. Litter Pick-up at Wheaton Pond Held Saturday June 5 Seven stalwarts came out in pouring rain to collect litter in and around the Wheaton holding pond. Many bags of trash were hauled out of the pond, along with some old tires and a rim! Unfortunately, because the pond was doing its job collecting water, the shopping carts we had hoped to pull out were completely submerged. Another date will be set soon, when we have not had a recent rain, and we will get the shopping carts and other buried treasures! This litter pick-up and the one scheduled for Takoma Branch on June 19 are part of an effort by the Stormwater and Water Quality Committees to increase awareness of the impacts of trash, storm water and sewage leaks on the creek and the importance of clean water to the Park’s ecosystem. For pictures of the pond event and other information see the Action Log on our web site at http://www.fosc.org./AL-TWBranchCleanup.htm. Welcome Takoma Woods! Recently, the Ritchie/Oswego Avenue Neighborhood Association asked that Takoma Woods become an official Friends of Sligo Creek section. The Board unanimously agreed. Takoma Woods is Section 15 and the Steward is Jim Clark. The woods stand along a tributary of Sligo Creek that was piped some years back. The Tributary is Brashear’s Run. The piping ends just beyond Maple Avenue and the stream flows into Sligo near the intersection of Sligo Creek Parkway and Maple Avenue. One of the hopes of the residents is that the stream can be daylighted—that is, the pipe dug up and the stream allowed to run free. Daylighting would be a massive project, but wouldn’t it be grand! The residents have also been working hard on invasives. Go Takoma Woods! Smithsonian Environmental Research Center Conducts Study The Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC) will be conducting a study of the effect of West Nile Virus on bird populations, concentrating on the gray catbird. They will be netting and testing birds in parks and backyard areas along Sligo Creek. They would like to retrieve any birds that have died so they can be tested. For more information, contact Nora Diggs 443-482-2368 diggsn@si.edu To view the very interesting SERC web site click on http://www.serc.si.edu/migratorybirds/migratorybirds_index.htm Also, for more about this study, click on http://sio.si.edu/nestwatch/ Announcements Be Careful: Be Safe The June 4 edition of the Montgomery Gazette reported a rape in Sligo Creek Park. Please be careful. Here is the article: A man armed with a switchblade pulled a Silver Spring woman off a footpath in a wooded area near Sligo Creek Park in Wheaton last weekend and raped her, according to Montgomery County Police. The assault occurred about 6:30 p.m. May 28 near University Boulevard and Arcola Avenue, said Lucille Baur, a spokeswoman for county police. The victim, a 38-year-old Hispanic woman, reported the assault Thursday. The woman told police she passed a Hispanic man as she was walking along the footpath and the two talked briefly in Spanish, according to a news release from county police. When she passed him again on her return trip, he grabbed her, pressed a switchblade-style knife to her side and forced her to a secluded area where the assault took place, according to the release. He then fled. Baur said the victim, who was alone, did not know the attacker. "It's always preferable, particularly for a woman, if you can walk with others as opposed to by themselves. But that's not always possible," Baur said. "Be aware of your surroundings and if possible, carry a whistle or cell phone. That can be a deterrent and can bring assistance in these cases." The man was about 25 years old, 5 feet 6 inches tall, weighed 150 pounds, and wore blue shorts with a yellow stripe, a black T-shirt and a black baseball cap. He was unshaven and had a light complexion. Anyone with information about this crime or the attacker is asked to call the Montgomery County Police Major Crimes Division – Homicide/Sex Section at 240-773-5070. Those wishing to remain anonymous may call Crime Solvers at 1-800-673-2777. Crime Solvers will pay up to $1,000 for information that leads to an arrest and indictment. Additional information about the rapist’s description, not mentioned in the article: There is a number 13 tattooed on the right ring finger, an indication of gang affiliation. Click on http://www.parkpolice.org/html/contact_us/faq/trail_safety.htm for Park Police Safety Tips and contact information. Gas Mower Trade-in Offer Available June 19 at Comcast Center Now is the time to trade in your Polluting Gas Mower for a Cleaner Electric Mower. The State of Maryland, Home Depot and Black and Decker (based in Baltimore) are sponsoring a mower exchange on June 19th at the Comcast Center in College Park. Turn your gas powered mower in for a massive discount on a Black and Decker electric mower. Never buy gas and oil again! The state and region have to do this under Clean Air Act SIP compliance program to reduce emissions...mowers don't have EPA emissions standards and are vastly dirtier than autos. Click on http://www.cleanmowermd.com/default.asp for details. At a future time, they'll have a similar event to swap old gas cans.