The Talk of Silver Spring: Transit Center, Teacher Arrest, Metropolitan Branch Trail

Here's a quick look at what people are talking about in Silver Spring:

“We Don’t Know If This Man Has Pictures of Our Children"

Lawrence Joynes, a music teacher at New Hampshire Estates Elementary School in Silver Spring, was arrested in February and charged with possession of child pornography, Silver Spring Patch reported.

Police said Joynes has other images, taken at the school, and parents are worried that their children may be in these pictures, The Washington Post reported.

Read the full story at The Washington Post.

A Train Station and a Trail

The Washington Area Bicyclist Association has said that the nonprofit Montgomery Preservation, Inc. has been blocking progress on the Metropolitan Branch Trail because it would pass by a historically designated train station in Silver Spring.

Montgomery Preservation, Inc. calls the contention untrue and says that it has welcomed the trail "as a way to showcase the historic B&O Station to trail users," according to a statement on its website.

(Update, April 23: Montgomery Preservation sent this letter on April 22.)

In any case, the bicyclist association urges the Montgomery County Council to restore funding for the project in this year's budget:

We firmly believe that the county should assert its rights and authority over the project and the process and continue to move forward with its design, which respects both the community’s need and demand for the trail and the historic significance of the train station.

Silver Spring Transit Center Repairs

When will the repairs begin to the much-delayed, $120 million transit center? No sooner than late summer was what the Montgomery County Council was told earlier this month.

But The Washington Post reported last week that the county wants to take advantage of the good weather and start repairs earlier:

County General Services Director David Dise, whose agency is coordinating the repair effort, said the goal is to avoid pouring concrete in cold weather, when “curing,” or hardening of slabs, requires special procedures.

Read the full story at The Washington Post and read more coverage of the Silver Spring Transit Center on Silver Spring Patch.

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