Landover Hills Chronicle
Landover Hills Newsletter	June 2000

During the month of June many young people will be getting out of school for the summer; just a reminder to all motorists to drive safely.
 

Congratulations and best wishes to all students who will be graduating from High School and pursuing a higher education. A special word of congratulations to Wayne A. Churaman, a Landover Hills Mayors' Scholarship recipient who will be pursuing a higher education.
 

The former Landover Aquatics and recreation facility has been taken over by the New Hope Academy School. The grand opening of the facility was held recently. An invitation has been extended to all Town residents to participate at the swimming pool facility. I encourage all residents to visit and participate at this swimming pool throughout the summer.
 

I regret to announce the resignation of Officer Mike Renfro from the Landover Hills Police Department. Officer Renfro has been with the Department since 1996. Best wishes are extended to Officer Renfro in all of his future endeavors.
 

I again urge all residents to be aware of any strange activity in Town; such as unfamiliar automobiles parked for extended periods of time, or unfamiliar persons watching or going up to houses during the day or at night. Report any strange activity to the Police.
 

I am happy to see Town residents enjoying the recently installed bus shelters. Although, the shelters were a long time coming, they can now be enjoyed by everyone who has occasion to use them.
 

Best wishes for a safe journey to everyone that will be going away on vacation.
 

Remember to attend the upcoming Town Meeting on Monday, June 19, 2000 at 7:30 p.m..
 

Mayor Lee P. Walker

If you have a disability and require any aid, services or removal of barriers in order to fully participate in a Town of Landover Hills meeting or event please call Town Hall @ 301-773-6401.

Housing Seminar- Mayor Walker announced that the seminar scheduled for last month had been canceled due to the fact that several key participants could not attend. The Housing Seminar will be rescheduled in the near future.
 

Bus Shelters- Mayor Walker stated that he had called Culver -Amherst, the company that installed the bus shelters, to inquire as to when the lighting and one additional seat would be installed. He was advised that representatives from the company would be out this week and would also remove the dirt left around the shelters.
 

Red Light Cameras- Chief Norris stated that the police department had been notified by State Highway Administration that the locations for the Red Light Cameras has been approved. The next step in the process will be obtaining an agreement with Traffixpax.
 

Budget Amendment- The Mayor and Council reviewed a budget amendment for the June 19^th Council meeting.
 
 
 

6828 Annapolis Road- A Public Hearing was held on May 25 by the Prince George's County Planning Board concerning a non-conforming use permit for the property located at 6828 Annapolis Road. The outcome of the meeting was to recommend denial of the request and have the property owner remove the trailers stored on the property.

Sunset Boat Tour- Friday, June 23, 2000, 6-8 pm. Ride aboard the Otter for a wonderful evening on the river. All ages welcome. Patuxent River Park, 16000 Croom Airport Road, Upper Marlboro, Maryland. Fee $3.00. Reservations required. Information: 301-627-6074.
 

Swim Lessons, Monday, June 19-Thursday, June 29. Everyone should be water safe. Learn safety skills that will last a lifetime. Please call for session times. Ages 6 months to adults. Ellen Linson Swimming Pool, 5211 Paint Branch Parkway, College Park. $45 per session. Info: 301-277-3719.
 

Grandparent/ Grandchild Festival- Friday, June 23, 11 am -1:30 pm. Activities include a moon bounce, magic show, clowns, pony rides, miniature train rides, miniature golf, carousel rides and a petting farm. Senior Citizens and Grandchildren ages 6-12. Watkins Regional Park, 301 Watkins Park Drive, Upper Marlboro. FREE Info: 301-386-5525.

Congratulations to all of the Town's graduating Seniors! We wish you great success in the years to come.
 

Our sympathies are extended to long time resident, Patricia Seaton on the loss of her husband John on June 3, 2000 at the age of 73. Mr. Seaton was a retired math professor having taught at Prince George's Community College. He is also survived by his son John.
 

Flags

As some of you may have noticed, the Town's flags has been down for quite some time. Both poles need to be re-strung. If you have access to or know anyone who has access to a cherry picker or bucket truck, PLEASE call Town Hall @ 301-773-6401.
 

If you have a birthday, anniversary or any "event" you'd like mentioned in the Newsletter, please call us at 301-773-6401.

There is a $20.00 charge for the removal of appliances such as refrigerators, washers and dryers, dishwashers, stoves, hot water heaters and air conditioning units or furnaces. Payment must be made in advance of removal.

Residents please watch your mailboxes for a postcard from the Prince George's County Department of Environmental Resources outlining changes to the recycling program effective July 1, 2000

Town Hall will be closed on Tuesday, July 4^th in observance of Independence day. There will be NO trash pick-up that day.

The Asian Tiger Mosquito is a very aggressive day-biting mosquito which has become a serious pest in parts of Prince George's County. It is a black mosquito with white stripes on the legs and a white stripe down the middle of its head and back. It is very aggressive and will bite whenever people or animals are available, but it is also skittish and hard to swat. Often, you will not feel it biting and it tends to stay near the ground (you may get bitten on the legs only).

The mosquito lays its eggs in containers or holes in trees. It is closely tied to human habitation and any container in your yard which will hold even a small amount of water for a week or more can breed tiger mosquitos.
 

Keeping this mosquito controlled in your area will take an organized community clean-up effort. Please check your yard for water holding containers such as:

• tires
• kiddie pools not in use
• buckets, barrels or cans
• wheelbarrows, canoes or boats
• tarps where water can puddle
• flower pots or saucers under pots

 

The State's mosquito control program cannot adequately control this species due to its habits. It breeds in containers in peoples' yards which we (State Mosquito Control Program) and nighttime spray operations are not very effective for the Tiger Mosquito because it rests in sheltered areas where the spray will not reach. For more information, come out to the June 19, 2000, Town Council Meeting to meet Ms. Jeannine Dorothy from the State's Mosquito Control Section.
 

New Web sites are proliferating that provide services that can keep seniors at home and out of assisted-living centers. With a computer and an e-mail account, seniors can have groceries delivered by assessing sites such as Peapod.com and Homegrocer.com. An automatic delivery schedule can be arranged with these sites, where they will deliver the groceries every week on a certain day and time. Medications can also be ordered and delivered through sites like Drugstore.com or PlanetRx, and Iping.com can deliver a wake-up call and/or daily reminder to take certain medicines. Seniors with arthritis or poor vision can take advantage of services like PayMyBills.com, which pays a customer's bills for $8.95 per month. Many banks offer similar services. Finally, www.elderweb.com offers links to health care and financial services sites, and www.caregiver.org/factsheet.html provides information on issues like Medicaid, power of attorney, and revocable living trusts. (Forbes, 22 May 2000)

• Check on the Elderly

• Pooper Scooper Law

• Hot Cars

• Summer Parties

Well, here we are, school's out and we have the summer fun ahead of us. Along with the summer fun are the expectations that there are a lot of children now out during the daylight hours and that means we have to be extra careful in our driving habits. Also that if we go on vacation, we have to make some plans to insure the security of our homes and belongings. If you go away, make sure that you notify the police department to check your house while you are away. Have someone that you trust pick up your mail and papers. If you do that, give that person the information to reach you in case of an emergency.

Over the last several months, we have had two home burglaries that have occurred during the daytime hours and the persons that are responsible cut a screen and then entered the home through a back window. The unknown persons removed numerous items of jewelry, household items, and personal belongings. We would like to remind you that this could happen to you and we are asking for your help in trying to apprehend the persons responsible. If you are home during the day and see anyone or a vehicle that you are not familiar with, call the police department and have someone check it out. If you could listen to your children, they could have heard or saw something that could help solve the crimes.
 

We would also like to let you know of another incident that occurred on 71^st Ave., in where a light skinned female about 20-22 with hair in a pony tail wearing a white top and dark slacks talked to some residents about a problem that she had in where her son needed a prescription for some medicine and she didn't have the money to pay for it. The residents gave her the money and then she asked for a drink of water, and when she left, it was discovered that there was some other money missing and she was the only person that was in the house. So, we are recommending that you do not try to help anyone that comes to your door. (We also have a no soliciting without a permit ordinance in town) Also if you are out and someone approaches you with a story that they found some money and try to get you to remove money from your bank account in order to show them good faith and that they will give you some of the money that they allegedly found, this is a scam that they try on senior citizens.
 

One other item that I would like to bring to your attention is that during school hours, we have observed many school age children that are walking around town, and when stopped they usually give an excuse of missing the bus, half day of school, parents permission or other excuses. We would like to let the parents know that this is a good time for them to get into trouble and have numerous times when this happened in the past. It is the parents responsibility that children 16 and under are required by law to attend school and it is the parents responsibility to make sure that they go to school, are there on time and that if they are suspended or expelled from school, they should not be wandering around the neighborhood or shopping centers. In the past, a number of teen-agers and young adults have been arrested for burglary and other crimes and it was determined that had they been in school, they would not have been in trouble and depending on the crime, started with a criminal record that stays with them for the rest of their lives.
 

This information is for the residents as well as the parents of any juveniles that this might pertain to. If anyone out there has any information that they think might help solve a crime or stop a crime from happening, please contact your police department or stop one of the officers if you see him driving by your house.
 

Now for a good news item, we have been contacted by Mattel with information that the Matchbox police car that many of you have been waiting for, should be here in about a week from the time you receive this newsletter. For the residents wishing to purchase one of these cars, contact the Town Hall at 301-773-6401 or stop by with $5.00 and your name/address and you will be contacted. We, at the Landover Hills Police Department, wish you all a safe and happy summer vacation.

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