In and Around Morningside-Skyline
By Mary McHale 301-735-3451
Candidates Wade, Mullins unopposed in Morningside’s elections
Morningsiders will hold elections for two Town Council seats on Monday, May 3. Only two candidates are running for the seats and both are popular incumbents. The candidates are:
Bradley Wade. He is seeking his 4th term as Councilmember and currently serves as Vice-Mayor. He continues to work on improving the operation of the Town through working with the annual budget, State training, recreation events and meeting with a State official. Bradley moved to Morningside in 1987 when he was ten years old. Currently he “shares the love of the Town” with his wife Amy and their four daughters.
Todd Eugene Mullins. His family moved to Morningside in 2008 and he became involved with the Town. He ran for the Council and has been serving since 2012. He oversees streets, roads and sidewalk repair. He is partnering with the Morningside Fire Department, County and State governments in an effort to re-install the speed cameras on Suitland Road. Todd currently works with Metro Earth Works as a driver, as well as maintaining a lawn-care business for the Town and surrounding communities.
The polls will be open at the Town Hall, 6901 Ames Street, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on May 3. All residents registered with the Town, County, State or Federal elections are eligible and encouraged to vote.
Last Chance Dance at La Reine, before it’s gone forever
On June 21, preparation for La Reine’s demolition begins. By mid-August, the building will be gone. Razed.
What a sad ending for such a magnificent building! I remember the amazing labs, the excellent auditorium, the large dining hall, the beautiful chapel. All planned by the Bernardine Sisters of St. Francis who were to staff the school.
Now the alumnae want to pay their last respects to their beloved high school with what they call the Last Chance Dance at La Reine. The event will be on Saturday, June 12, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. with Brunch/Lunch and Holy Mass. There will be events throughout the Building and opportunities to purchase memorabilia. There will also be an opportunity to visit the new La Reine Science Center due to open in a year or so at Bishop McNamara High School in Forestville.
The Last Chance Dance (which isn’t a dance) will be open to all alums and their company, to celebrate all things La Reine. The event will be Covid-compliant, with timed tickets of groups of 15 or so. There will be live Facebook feeds. The price is $75, which includes lunch and a donation to the Bernardine Sisters and for the new science center.
I hope to attend. Before St. Philip’s opened, construction on their school building was delayed. So, grades 1 and 2 (and later grade 3) were held at the new La Reine, which still had empty classrooms. Three of my kids were among them. Later, my four daughters—Kathleen, Therese, Elaine and Sheila—attended La Reine High School.
If you have La Reine friends, please let them know about this Last Chance.
Neighbors & other good people
Larry and Jody (Bowman) Nyers will celebrate their 41st anniversary on April 18. They met through mutual friends back when Larry attended Suitland (class of ’73) and Jody—who lived in Morningside—went to Central (class of ’74). They were married at the Prince George’s County Courthouse on April 18, 1980, and then celebrated with family and friends at the Silver Hill Fire Department where both were members. As Jody says, “We met in high school and have been together ever since.”
Had an email from Cathy Miller who lived on Woodland Road 1982–2000. She has three daughters, Angela Demattia, Kimberly Muir and Christy Cooper, and five grandkids, Caitlyn Rose, Colin, David Jr., Noah and Dominic. You might remember her aunt, Nellie Downs, who sold Avon in Morningside.
Stacie Smith emailed about the Skate Palace. She said she and her husband John both started skating at DC’s Kalorama, which closed years ago, sending many of the skaters to Alexandria until it, too, closed. If the Temple Hills Skate Palace closes, Stacie and John will continue on at Lanham or Laurel’s rinks. She says, “The closing of skating rinks is happening all over and in many states, mostly due to big development.”
Last week in Milestones I listed Wanda Brooke’s April 16 birthday. Her daughter Susan Mullins emailed that her mom, Wanda, died in 2013. It’s hard to lose a mom! My special condolences, Susan.
Town of Morningside
The Town Council has voted to allow rentals to resume at the Municipal Center. There will be restrictions which mirror that of Prince George’s County. Current restrictions are 50% capacity, which means parties no larger than 35. Other requirements: social distancing, facemasks and contact tracing. Call 301-736-2300 for more information.
April 20: Town Hall Meeting, 7 p.m. Call for information.
April 22: Conversation with the Mayor, 6:30 p.m. Call the Town for Call-in Info.
May 3: Morningside Elections, 8 a.m.–8 p.m. Morningside Municipal Center.
Joseph Koles, of Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs
Joseph Edward Hake Koles, 94, of District Heights, a chemist who retired from DEA in 2000, died Feb. 12 at Adventist Hospital.
A Newark native, he served in the Army during WWII, graduated from Rutgers, earned a master’s from the U. of Kentucky, and PhD from McCrone Research Institute in Chicago. He served in several federal agencies and trained forensic scientists through classes at the University of Maryland.
He was a member of Mount Calvary Church, volunteered with the County Library, SOME (So Others May Eat), Smithsonian, and Share Food Network.
He was a loyal blood donor.
Survivors include his wife Wilma of 64 years, 8 children, 8 grandchildren and one great-grand. Services will be held later.
Milestones
Happy birthday to Eloise Carnes, Ruby Cunningham and Veronica Frostbutter, April 17; Cameron Trexler, April 19; Devaughn Branham, April 20; Jill (Gilmartin) Booth and Tiffany Jackson, April 21; and Taylor Foster, April 22.
Happy anniversary to Edward and Jane (Martin) Talbert, their 72th (!) on April 16; Larry and Jody (Bowman) Nyers, their 41st on April 18; Jim and Pat Conlon, their 47th on April 20; John and Ruth Anthony, Jr., their 43rd on April 22; and Lewis and Trisha (Pitts) Woods, their 32nd on April 22.
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Brandywine-Aquasco
By Audrey Johnson 301-922-5384
BOWIE STATE UNIVERSITY ARMY ROTC
The U.S. Army Cadet Command has named Bowie State University’s ROTC program as a winner of the 2019–20 MacArthur Award, recognizing the program as one of the best in the nation. The award recognizes eight schools from among 274 ROTC programs nationwide. The U.S. Army Cadet Command selected Bowie State University’s program from among 37 other schools in the 4th Brigade, which includes ROTC programs in West Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina. It is the first time that the BSU ROTC program has received the MacArthur Award, which was last awarded to an HBCU, Morgan State University, in 2001.
“This award is a testament to the years of hard work and cooperation between the cadets, ROTC Staff and the university to elevate the BSU ROTC program from a small, developing program into one of the best in the nation,” said Lt. Col. Wesley Knight, chair of the BSU Department of Military Science.
The award is based on a combination of the school’s commissioning mission, its cadets’ performance and standing on the commands’ National Order of Merit List, and its cadet retention rate.
“We are immensely proud of all our Bulldog Battalion cadets and their accomplishments under the leadership of Lt. Col. Knight to achieve recognition as MacArthur Award recipients,” said BSU President Dr. Aminta H. Breaux. “Our cadets continue to set a high standard in leadership and academic leadership on our campus. We are proud to have the support of educators, community members, and public officials as we continue preparing these officers for their service to the nation.”
In a press release announcing the award, Maj. Gen. John Evans, commander of the U.S. Army Cadet Command and Fort Knox, “said the recipients exemplify the ethos behind the ROTC motto of “leadership excellence” and embody the legacy of leadership as practiced by General Douglas MacArthur.
“Being named a MacArthur award winner acknowledges that these programs are going above and beyond to train the next generation of Army officers” Evans said in the release. Media Contact: Cassandra Robinson, crobinson@bowiestate.edu.
MIGHTY WONDERS
The Mighty Wonders of Aquasco, Maryland originated from Aquasco, Maryland was featured at the Smithsonian Institute of African American History and Culture March 8, 2018. Several members had been with the group when they were featured March 8, 2018. The members were Alfred Johnson, Lowell Washington, Joseph Blake, Ernest Johnson, and Tom Contee.
HBCU TEACHER RECRUITMENT
The First Maryland HBCU Teacher Recruitment will be held April 22, 2021 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Bowie State, Coppin State, and Morgan State Universities are partnering together to host its First Maryland HBCU Teacher Recruitment Fair. This fair will give students the opportunity to connect with over 15 employers in the field of education.
Location: Zoom. Contact: JaNay Adams, Email: jsadams@bowiestate.edu, phone: 301-860-3825. Website: https://tinyurl.com/HBCUseducate Categories: Career Development Center.
MEDSTAR SHAH MEDICAL GROUP
MedStar Health Location in Waldorf. New MedStar Shah Medical Group location brings high-quality care to Charles County. The facility includes a walk-in primary care clinic; cancer center, pharmacy, diagnostic services (i.e., CT scans and MRIs); surgical specialties; and medical specialties such as cardiologists, neurologists, pulmonologists, cancer specialists and more.
“Instead of a patient seeing one doctor who sends him or her to different places for multiple follow-up appointments, we have a whole team of doctors in the same building working together to take care of that patient,” said Vinoh Shah, MD, medical director of MedStar Shah Medical Group. That instantaneous collaboration allows patients to get immediate access to preventive care, like early cancer detection, with less appointments. It is complete care at one location.
“This new building allows us to care for this community in the way we care for our own families, “said Dr. Shah. “When we take care of people that way, we do justice to our community and to our profession.” Medstar Shah Medical Group of Waldorf is located at 10 St. Patrick’s Drive. To schedule an appointment, call 301-705-7870. Information from MedStar Health 2021.
APRIL BIRTHDAY CELEBRATIONS
Happy Birthday to Alvin Pinkett, Joe Pratt, Maudie Goodrum, Glenna Graves, Cosmus Samuel, Barron Neal, Samuel Bell, Patrice Perkins Pratt, Lindsay Joiner, Claudette Oghogho, Nadia Long, Veronica Thomas, Veronica Thomas, Audrey Johnson, Eric Knight, Charmaine Grant, Sarita Georges, William Stroman, III, Jerre Kauffman, William Stroman, IV who are Clinton United Methodist Church members celebrating birthdays in April and Zilpha Pinkney who is Clinton United Methodist Church Secretary.
APRIL WEDDING ANNIVERSARIES
Congratulations to Ron and Beth Davis, Lloyd and Shirley Brown, Trevor and Denise Bourne, Norman and Jean Noel, Clarence and Dorothy Glasgow Reid, Eddie and Ruth Wilson, George, and Karen Taylor, Anston and Angela Williams, Cosmus and Stephnie Samuel who are Clinton United Methodist Church members celebrating Wedding Anniversaries in April.
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