Town Hall will be closed on Monday, February 16, 2004 for the Presidents Day Holiday.
 
 

The month of February has been designated as the month to celebrate the many contributions of African Americans to society.
 

The Maryland National Capital Park and Planning Commission, Arts and Cultural Heritage Division Black History Program, has focused upon the History of the African American Horsemen in one of their year 2004 exhibits and called it, "First at the Starting Gate". "This history provides convincing evidence from newspapers, photographs, advertisements and local race tracks that African Americans were competent, skilled horsemen and winning jockeys, and offer a plausible explanation for the discrepancy between public perception and historic reality."
 

Some the outstanding African American horsemen were Jimmy Winkfield, winner of consecutive Kentucky Derbies in 1901 and 1902. Other outstanding African American horsemen were Isaac Murphy, the first jockey to win three Kentucky Derbies and the first to be inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame circa 1900. There was also Willaim Harbut, trainer of one of the most famous race horses of all time called, "Man O War".
 

There is a poster on display at Landover Hills Town Hall called, "First at the Starting Gate", created by a Prince George's County High School student; in addition to another African American History exhibit.
 

Pastor Cammie Reed, of the Christ United Methodist Church in town is asking for community support at this time. The church is experiencing critical financial concerns and is in danger of closing. Under Pastor Reed's leadership, the church is currently making many contributions to the community; and is presently providing services to needy persons in the form of food and clothing. Anyone wishing to help the church in this time of great need many send financial contributions to the "Christ United Methodist Church, c/o Pastor Cammie Reed, 69^th Avenue and Annapolis Road, Landover Hills, Maryland 20784; or call the church at 301-773-5589.
 

The upcoming Town Meeting will be held on Tuesday, February 17, 2004, at 7:30 p.m.
 

Your participation is invited.
 

Mayor Lee. P. Walker
 

A protest hearing against the 2004-2005 renewal of the Stardust Inn's liquor license will be held on March 3, 2004 at 7 p.m. at the County Service Building, 5012 Rhode Island Avenue, Hearing Room 200, Hyattsville, Maryland 20781. All interested residents are urged to attend.

Upcoming Events

Open Swim

Friday, February 20, 6-8 pm. Bring the entire family to the pool for a FREE swim session. All ages welcome. Prince George's Sports and Learning Center, 8001 Sheriff Road, Landover Info: 301-583-2400.
 

Money Management

Tuesday, February 24, 5-6:30 p.m. Learn how to reduce debt, budget wisely, and invest money. Register by February 18. Ages 18 & up. Fee: $10/person. Prince George's Sports & Learning Complex, 8001 Sheriff Road, Landover. Information: 301-583-2430.
 

George Washington Musicale, Sunday, February 22, 2 p.m. Enjoy listening to 18^th century music by Bedlam. Light refreshments. Reservations are required for this FREE event. Ages 10 & up. Montpelier Mansion, Route 197 & Muirkirk Rd, Laurel. Information: 301-953-1376

When filing your income tax forms, please indicate that you reside in the Town of Landover Hills. Your subdivision number 1726, should appear on the forms. This allows the State of Maryland to share local income taxes with local governments. Your efforts will not increase your tax obligations but will ensure that Landover Hills receives its appropriate share.

On December 18, 2000, the Mayor and Council passed an Emergency Ordinance concerning street parking during snow storms. Below are the "highlights" of that Ordinance.
 
 

An Ordinance regulating temporary parking after a snowfall so that vehicles must be parked on one side of the street or as directed by Town personnel and further providing the authority to close streets temporarily for emergencies or construction.

Section 9802-Street Parking Regulations

Whenever snow has accumulated in the streets of the town to a depth of one (1) inch or more, the following procedures apply to all vehicles parked or left to stand on the streets of the town.
 

1. On one-way streets or on streets with a median separating the travel lanes, vehicles must be at the right curb facing in the direction of travel in that lane.
 

2. On all streets other than those listed in sub-section one (1), vehicles must be parked on the odd- numbered side of the street.
 

3. Vehicles shall otherwise be parked or left as directed by the police or public works personnel.
 

Trailers, included boat and trailer and travel trailers must not be on any street unless the owner/lessor of the trailer is a resident of the town and can demonstrate that they have no off-street parking on the property in which the owner/lessee resides.
 

The provisions of this subsection 9802 (d) shall be effective without notification and shall remain in effect until the street is plowed; provided however that when snow shall accumulate to a depth of one inch or more after 11 p.m., the provisions of the sub-title 9802 (d) shall not be effective until 7 a.m. on the day following and shall remain in effect until the street is plowed.

We understand that during the cold weather it is not possible to paint or do repairs to the outside of your home. But, there are several areas that can still be attended to.
 

1) Section 9802.1 of the Town's Code of Ordinances, "Off Street Parking" provides that it is ".....unlawful for any person to park or allow to be parked any vehicle or trailer off any public way in a residential area unless the vehicle is parked in a residential driveway...." In essence, this means that residents are not permitted to park vehicles on the grass/dirt areas of their property. The penalty for violation of Section 9802 is a $50.00 fine.
 

A residential driveway is constructed of either concrete, asphalt, crushed stone of a grade equal to CR-6, bank run gravel, or similar dust-and-mud free surface. If such stone or gravel is used, the topsoil must be stripped, and the stone or gravel must be compacted to a depth of two (2) inches. The designated space must be connected to the abutting public right of way by a driveway constructed of either concrete, asphalt, crushed stone of a grade equal to CR-6, bank run gravel or a similar dust-and-mud-free surface.
 

2) Section 7403 of the Town's Code of Ordinances, "Storage of Inoperable Vehicles" provides that it is unlawful for any person to park or allow to be stored any vehicle of any kind and description which is inoperable, dismantled, wrecked or not bearing current license plates upon residentially zoned property or any other property not zoned for such storage within the corporate limits of the Town of Landover Hills unless said vehicle is stored in an enclosed garage. The penalty for violation of this section is $50.00 for each violation. Failure to correct the violation may result in a District Court Hearing, doubling of outstanding fines and a request for abatement. NOTE: IF YOU HAVE A VEHICLE THAT MEETS THE ABOVE DESCRIPTION YOU CANNOT GET RID OF THE PROBLEM BY COVERING IT WITH A CAR COVER. THIS IS STILL A VEHICLE IN VIOLATION.
 

3) Section 9817 of the Town Code, prohibits the parking on public property, street, roadway or highway of any vehicle that is inoperable; left abandoned; not displaying current valid registration plates or displaying registration plates issued to another vehicle . The penalty for this violation is $100.00 and the vehicle can be towed immediately. You are then responsible for a $25.00 vehicle release fee and all impound and storage fees.
 

4) Section 9805 of the Town's Code "Vehicle Repairs" provides that it is a violation to ....repair any motor vehicle on any street if such repair work causes or is likely to cause any grease, oil or gasoline to drop or spill upon the surface of said street; NOR shall any person perform any repair work of other than an emergency nature on any vehicle on any street. The penalty for this violation is $50.00.
 

We must all work together to keep the Town clean and a nice place to live.

Classified Ads

The Town of Landover Hills is now accepting paid advertisements from local businesses. The cost of a 2"x 3" (1/3 column) ad is twenty dollars ($20.00) per publication. If you are interested in placing an ad, please call Town hall @ 301-773-6401, Monday through Friday, nine to five.