Funds to add playground, trails to Willow Creek field

More than 30 youths turned out for a recent bicycle competition hosted by the Willow Creek community in Clinton, pedaling through a 50-yard sprint and other races. But residents had more to celebrate than the success of the third annual event.

Fox Run Community Park, the staging ground for the “Tour de Creek” competition June 13, has been allotted $425,000 beginning July 1 under the Capital Improvement Program after residents lobbied for nearly four years.

The money will transform the 21-acre park from a grassy field with a baseball diamond and football field to a park with a playground, paved walking and biking trail, two lighted tennis courts and two covered pavilions.

The funds have been disbursed in two stages, beginning with $100,000 allocated July 1, 2008. The second part of the funding, amounting to $325,000, will become available July 1 and has been approved by the Prince George’s County Council.

“The community is so active,” said Lariena Matthews, meeting planner for the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation and a Clinton resident. “We were adamant. We wouldn’t drop it. We were consistently contacting them.”

The design for the park is headed by Don Herring, senior planner for the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission’s Park Planning and Development Section, said Milton S. Kendall, Willow Creek’s Neighborhood Watch coordinator with his wife, Franchella Kendall. The Neighborhood Watch polled residents to see what they would like in the park.

The improvements are still in the very preliminary stages, and although residents and the M-NCPPC know what they would like in the park, M-NCPPC needs to survey the site, Herring said.

“We’re going to evaluate the existing site to see how the new amenities will complement the park,” Herring said. “We’ll try to sustain the site as much as possible.”

Herring hopes to have the design complete by spring 2010 and construction finished by winter 2012.

Even in its current state, Fox Run Community Park hosts its share of community events.

The improvements to the park, in addition to the youth bicycle competition, are part of a Neighborhood Watch initiative to prevent crime, Kendall said. “It’s a way to get people together to mingle and get to know each other.”

The annual Tour de Creek competition has been a huge success in the community. Children from ages 1 to 18 are eligible to participate. There were about 35 participants in the event June 13 and around 125 adults volunteered to help.

There were four races: the training wheel loop, for bikes with training wheels; the 50-yard sprint; the half-mile race, and the two-mile endurance loop, Kendall said.

County Council Chairwoman Marilynn Bland (D-Dist. 9) of Clinton attended the bicycle competition to encourage children to ride safely and to talk to the community about development plans for the park, according to Bland’s chief of staff, David Billings.

Debbie Tyner, M-NCPPC’s division chief of southern area operations, also updated the community on plans for the new developments.

The bicycle event was supported by the Prince George’s Police Department, the Maryland-National Capital Park Police Prince George’s County Division and the Fairfax County Sheriff’s Office. Police blocked off roads along the cycling courses and provided six police motorcycles from the different stations to ride along with the children.

Organizers tried to make the event as professional as possible for the youths who participated. There were tables with drinks just for the riders, numbers on the youths’ backs identifying them as racers, and support teams in case the riders needed bike repairs.

After each child crossed the finish line, residents stayed to spend time together, Kendall said.

“We have a rule no one can eat until the kids finish riding,” he said. “They have to watch the kids.”

Originally published at The Gazette.

18-year-old Clinton resident discovered in car in Forestville

With Megan McKeever

Police are asking witnesses to come forward after a Clinton teen was fatally shot in a car in a busy Forestville mall parking lot Saturday.

“You would think we would have more information from witnesses being that this incident occurred in daylight hours at six in the afternoon,” Officer Henry Tippett, a Prince George’s County Police Department spokesman, said Wednesday.

Police responded to a call from a mall security guard reporting gunfire at around 6 p.m. in the Forest Village Park Mall in the 3300 block of Donnell Drive. A mall security supervisor could not be reached by press time.

Shawn Antonio Perry, 18, was found suffering from a single gunshot wound to the torso in the driver’s seat of a Buick Rivera, which had struck a tree in the parking lot.

Though unconfirmed, police believe Perry was driving when he was shot, said Sgt. Michelle Reedy, a police spokeswoman.

Perry, of the 6000 block of Spell Road, was rushed to Prince George’s Hospital Center in Cheverly, where he was pronounced dead at around 7 p.m.

Police have received information from witnesses, Tippett said, but most people at the scene seemed to notice the “aftermath” of Perry’s car striking a tree.

“I don’t think we had too many reports coming in of people hearing gunshots,” he said. “There had to be witnesses in a busy shopping center.”

He said police are working to find a motive.

“We have had some tips come in, but we don’t have a suspect narrowed down,” he said Wednesday.

Anyone with information regarding the shooting should call the Prince George’s County Police Department’s Homicide Unit at 301-772-4925 or Crime Solvers at 866-411-8477.

Police are offering up to $25,000 for information that leads to an arrest and indictment.

Originally published at The Gazette.

Upper Marlboro woman, 45, reported missing June 27 in ‘highly unusual’ case

Prince George’s County police are asking for the community’s help in locating a 45-year-old woman who was reported missing from her Upper Marlboro home June 27. Police have called Maris Wilkerson’s disappearance “highly unusual” and said investigators suspect foul play.

Wilkerson was last seen leaving her home in the 9600 block of Meadow Lark Avenue around 11:30 p.m. June 25, police said.

Officer Evan Baxter, a department spokesman, said a friend of Wilkerson’s told police Wilkerson “is very responsible and never late,” and that her disappearance is “very out of character.”

Wilkerson was last seen wearing a black and white flowered shirt and blue jeans, according to police.

Police said Tuesday they have no leads in the case, but a District 5 detective is investigating the disappearance.

Anyone with information regarding Wilkerson is asked to contact Prince George’s County Police Department’s District 5 Investigative Section at 301-856-3130 or Crime Solvers at 1-866-441-8477.

Originally published at The Gazette.

City planning additional plantings, may offer residents vouchers

A recent study has found the City of Bowie has better tree coverage than officials had estimated.

In the meantime, the city has begun a forest management plan to help make the tree canopy even larger.

Roughly 46 percent of the land in the City of Bowie is covered by urban tree canopy, according to a report completed in May by the University of Vermont and commissioned by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources in conjunction with the City of Bowie.

BGE utility clearing work, which is ongoing in Bowie and will remove about 15,000 trees to improve the city’s electrical reliability, is expected to reduce the canopy by about 1 percent. The removal is concentrated in residential areas, where the canopy will be reduced by 20 percent. The study was completed before the work began.

Urban canopy is the layer of leaves, branches and stems of trees that cover the ground when viewed from above.

Gary Allen, head of Bowie’s Environmental Advisory Committee, said a tree canopy tends to cool an area, reduce home energy use, provide greater access for wildlife and improve air quality.

“The actual canopy coverage is actually quite good for a suburban area in Maryland,” Allen said. “It’s among the best of communities our size.”

The City of Bowie’s Existing and Possible Urban Tree Canopy report, which used imagery taken in summer 2007 and was released this spring, found that the city’s canopy is significantly higher than 2001 estimates of 30 percent.

The 2007 report “gave a truer picture of the tree canopy,” said Joe Meinert, Bowie’s director of the city planning department. “We were amazed that it was documented at 46 percent.”

The study, done in 2008, was carried out by the Spatial Analysis Laboratory of the University of Vermont’s Rubenstein School of the Environment and Natural Resources in consultation with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service Northern Research Station.

The city has been working on several projects, including tree plantings and inventories, as part of Bowie’s environmental action plan, Meinert said.

The city’s fiscal 2009 mid-year budget approved a tree conservation plan for forest mitigation banking — restoring or creating forests to meet state reforestation requirements — at Church Road Park and Gallant Fox Lane that have already begun to be implemented.

“From the environmental standpoint, it’s a good thing to do,” Meinert said.

The city plans to establish an urban tree canopy goal and establish an urban forest management plan during 2010, Mayor Fred Robinson said in an e-mail.

The city has a contract with a vendor to plant 4,000 trees on eight acres of Church Road Park for more than $56,000, with twice as many trees slated for planting during the next several years, Robinson said. Bowie spent more than $21,000 during the previous fiscal year to plant more than 300 mature trees in a forestation project at Gallant Fox Lane, and plans to plant 200 new street trees each year, Robinson said.

The city also plans to encourage residents to plant more trees on their own property, possibly by offering vouchers, Meinert said.

The city council also is investigating using other city-owned property as tree planting sites, Robinson said. “We will be working toward the construction of a comprehensive guide for all these efforts over the next year.”

BGE reimburses residents up to $100 for each of certain types of trees it removes from a property. The City Environmental Advisory Committee recommended that Bowie seek at least $850,000 from BGE — in addition to the residential reimbursement program — as compensation for trees lost within the city, Allen said.

The city included a request for $800,000 in compensation for tree mitigation in a letter to the Maryland Public Service Commission, Allen said. The commission has not yet acted on the request. BGE forester Chad Devine was unavailable for comment.

Andrea Noble contributed to this story.

Originally published at The Gazette.

Clinton Woods neighborhood unites residents, police in first community walk

Residents of the Clinton Woods neighborhood are fed up.

Over the course of the Clinton neighborhood’s first community walk led by District 5 police representatives Tuesday night, residents expressed their annoyance and anger with some of the continuing crime problem areas in the community, including drug use, break-ins, theft, vandalism and noise disturbances.

“The reason for the community walks is to get the police out into the community,” said Sgt. James Shomper of the District 5 Police Department. “It lets us know the citizens and the citizens get to know us.”

The walks, which will continue throughout several months in different District 5 communities, are supposed to start at 7 p.m. and last until 8 p.m., although Clinton Woods residents and police officers stayed in the area to talk for an additional hour. District 5, in south county, covers from Clinton and Brandywine to Eagle Harbor.

Community members are invited to walk through the neighborhood with a unit of police officers. On the walk, residents are encouraged to get to know the police force on a personal level and share their concerns in the neighborhood, pointing out areas that may need more police attention, such as a house that residents say is a crime hub.

Eight to 10 community walks were scheduled, including four more scheduled in August and September throughout District 5. The next walk is scheduled in Woodyard and Estonian Estates on Aug. 24.

About 40 area residents, including some who don’t live in Clinton Woods, met at the walk’s start point on Clinton Way, and even more residents joined as the walk progressed through the neighborhood.

Charles Fountain, a representative of the Clinton View Homeowners Association, attended to support the event’s message.

“We try to support each community,” he said. “We want to let people know that we stand against the crime.”

Others hope that the community walks will help build community awareness of the problems.

The one-on-one communication and personal interaction with the police are things that Raymond Butler, vice president of the Oak Orchard Community Association, and Carolyn Lowe of the District 5 Coffee Club, a community involvement and public safety organization, agree are some of the best elements of the community walks.

The community walk program has been held in District 5 since at least 2006, according to Maj. David Morris, commander of District 5. He said this is the first walk to have taken place in the Clinton Woods community.

“We’re here to show the community that we’re united,” Morris said. “It’s not just the police department and not just the citizens. It’s us together.”

Phyllis Boone, a Clinton Woods resident for 17 years, said that the neighborhood has changed a lot throughout her time here. Boone said she has to call the police at least once a week for disturbances in the neighborhood.

“We have a really nice community,” Boone said. “We’re not going to accept it.”

Morris said Clinton Woods is a good neighborhood but has a small group of residents who commit crimes.

“This is my district, my backyard,” he said. “I’m not going to let that happen in my backyard.”

Originally published at The Gazette.

Forestville resident charged with first-degree murder

A Forestville man was arrested Friday night and charged with first-degree murder in a fatal shooting a day earlier in Temple Hills.

Wydell Eugene Butler, 19, of the 6400 block of Hil Mar Drive was arrested in connection with the death of Donte Kearney, 21, of the 4000 block of Roy Place in Bladensburg, who was shot in a domestic dispute, according to Prince George’s police.

Butler had pleaded guilty earlier this month to second-degree assault and theft in February. Butler had been awaiting sentencing, which would have taken place this September.

At around 11:35 p.m. Thursday, officers responded to the 4100 block of 21st Avenue for a report of gunshots.

They found Kearney suffering from a gunshot wound to the upper body after an apparent domestic dispute, said Evan Baxter, a spokesman for the Prince George’s County Police Department. Kearney was pronounced dead at the scene. Police declined to release additional information about the dispute or how the men knew each other.

Butler was remanded to the Department of Corrections on a no-bond status. He is scheduled to appear in Prince George’s Circuit Court in Upper Marlboro at 8:45 a.m. Sept. 11. Butler does not yet have an attorney.

Anyone with additional information about the case is asked to call the Prince George’s County Police Department’s Homicide Unit at 301-772-4925 or Crime Solvers at 1-866-411-8477.

Originally published at The Gazette.

Police trying to identify man located in woods

Police are trying to identify a man whose body was found Sunday afternoon in a wooded area in Upper Marlboro.

Police responded to a report of a man lying in the 14300 block of Oak Grove Road at approximately 3:55 p.m.

When officers arrived, they found the man unresponsive on the ground, and he was pronounced dead at the scene.

He appeared to be Hispanic, said Officer Evan Baxter, a spokesman for the Prince George’s County Police Department. No other identifying information on the man was released.

Police found no obvious signs of trauma and are investigating the incident as a death investigation as opposed to a homicide, Baxter said. Police are waiting for autopsy results from the state medical examiner’s office in Baltimore.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Prince George’s County Police Department’s Homicide Unit at 301-772-4925 or Crime Solvers at 1-866-411-8477.

Originally published at The Gazette.

Greenbelt man wins $25K in recent episode; Lanham woman on tonight’s show

Being a contestant on “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?” has been a dream of many people throughout the country since the show’s American debut in August 1999.

Greenbelt resident Anthony Sloan, 41, was able to realize his dream — and come home with $25,000 — after appearing in a recent episode.

Sloan appeared in the “hot seat” on an episode that aired Aug. 11, his 41st birthday, and continued the next night. Sloan left the show winning $25,000, after making it to the $100,000 question.

“It was a great experience,” Sloan said. “I loved it.”

Sloan isn’t the only Prince George’s County resident to appear recently on the show.

Lanham resident Jackie Adamson is one of 10 contestants who appears on tonight’s episode of “Millionaire.” Adamson, 45, couldn’t reveal before the airing whether or not she advanced to the hot seat.

The episodes are part of an 11-show special celebrating the show’s 10th anniversary. The special edition series of the show, which is taped in New York, airs until Sunday and is hosted by Regis Philbin.

Both Sloan and Adamson said they have wanted to be on the show since its debut.

An avid watcher, Sloan records episodes he isn’t able to watch as they air. A stay-at-home father of three, he has auditioned for the show a number of times. He has also called in and answered questions on the phone and gone to the live auditions.

No matter how you audition, you have to wait for a phone call from the show to let you know you’ve been accepted, Sloan explained. “You have to be really dedicated.”

Adamson estimates she has auditioned at least 50 times.

“I saw someone win $1 million and thought it was something I wanted to do — I was determined to get on,” she said. “I watched it every night and learned so many things from it.”

Sloan made it to the first show after a harrowing day.

Returning from a family vacation in Albuquerque, N.M., Sloan was caught up in delays from storm and tornado watches and wasn’t able to fly the entire route to New York. He was able to keep in touch with the studio and take a train from Washington, D.C., to the city, but even that train was delayed.

Sloan finally made it to his hotel in New York at about 4 a.m. but only had a few hours of sleep before heading to the studio at 6:30 a.m.

Once on the show as one of 10 contestants, he won the “fastest finger” question to get into the “hot seat” to start answering questions.

Sloan said he had no problems with the camera and wasn’t nervous at all. He joked with Philbin and kept his cool, even under the strenuous circumstances of his arrival.

He left the show winning $25,000 after making it to the $100,000 question. He had used his “lifelines” the first night but was able to successfully answer the questions for $25,000 and $50,000 on his own.

The question for $100,000 was, “What state has voted for the winning candidate in 24 of the last 25 presidential elections, the best percentage in the U.S.?”

“I was pretty confident before the choices were displayed on the screen,” Sloan said.

Sloan answered Ohio, but the correct answer is Nevada.

“It’s something my wife and I discussed,” Sloan explained. “If you think you know it, take the chance. If you definitely don’t know it and you don’t have lifelines, walk away.”

Originally published at The Gazette.