How to Improve Your Balance So You Don't Fall This Winter

(Click on the image for Elizabeth Yuko's report in Lifehacker)

• The key, according to Locker, is to use your own body weight, bending your knee and ankle, and transferring your weight from your back leg to your front leg—the same type of balance required for ice skating or paddle boarding.
• One way to practice doing this is to get used to walking on uneven surfaces. While there are other health benefits from hitting the pavement, assuming that the sidewalk is relatively smooth, it doesn’t pose a challenge to your postural muscles. Walking on uneven surfaces—like outdoor trails, or other places where you really have to pay attention to where and how you’re walking—on the other hand, engages your postural muscles and over time, helps improve your balance and stability.

Passing of Dr. Joe Weller

 Dear Neighbors,

We are sad to report the passing of Joe Weller, husband of Tantallon Newsletter Editor Rosemary Weller. The Wellers are longtime residents of Tartan Lane and staunch supporters of our community. Joe's many friends will sorely miss him. Please keep Rosemary and her family in your thoughts and prayers.

From the Kalas website:

Dr. Joseph Forrest Weller, 81, of Ft. Washington, MD died on December 30, 2020. Born on April 21, 1939 in Louisville, KY to the late Joseph Y. Weller and Alice Reardon Weller. Joe is survived by his wife of 56 years, Rosemary Doheny Weller, his son Michael Weller, daughter-in-law Sara Levin Weller, granddaughter Ilana Weller, two brothers-in-law, Frank P. Doheny, Jr. of Louisville, and Edward J. Doheny of Washington, DC, and several nieces, nephews, and cousins. His younger brother, William predeceased him.

Dr. Weller earned a B.S. degree from Xavier University, a Master’s degree from American University, and a Ph.D. from American University. His professional career spanned nearly 40 years at the US Naval Research Lab where he was a Senior Research Physicist. In retirement, Dr. Weller was active in his community citizens association, Ft. Washington Community Chorus, and served as a math tutor to middle school students at The Washington Jesuit Academy.

Due to the pandemic, a Funeral Mass will be limited to immediate family members with burial to follow at Resurrection Cemetery. Friends may pay their respects to the family at Kalas Funeral Home, 6160 Oxon Hill Road, Oxon Hill, MD 20745 between 3:00 PM to 5:00 PM on Sunday, January 3.

In lieu of flowers, a contribution may be made to The Washington Jesuit Academy, 900 Varnum St. NE, Washington, DC 20017.

Impact of the New K-8 School on Fort Washington Communities

 

Christmas 2020 in Tantallon

 Merry Christmas!

What is the Comprehensive School Boundary Initiative?

The Comprehensive School Boundary Initiative will provide an impartial analysis of current school boundaries, feeder patterns and program locations and to develop, with community input, scenarios for adjustments in order to populate new and expanded school facilities and balance facility utilization throughout the County.

The public meeting for us (Southern Region) will be on January 7, 2021.

Click here for more information and to register to attend the meeting.

Update: Swan Creek Drainage Improvements - Public Meeting #2

• Per Charlie Griffith (DPW&T): The blue lines are the existing storm drains, orange/peach color are proposed storm drains. The gray lines are existing contours (elevations) and the black bolder lines are proposed contours (elevations). The grading is to direct flow efficiently to the inlets and hopefully help the property owners with site issues.
• Click here for a recording of Public Meeting #2. If you are asked for a passcode, use wJ*N%7+q

Winter Is Hard on Your Pets - Please Follow These Tips

(Click on the image for more tips)

Residents Could Be Forced to Leave at Moment's Notice as Retaining Wall Fails

(Click on the image for Tracee Wilkins' News4 report)

• The retaining wall built to support houses in the Tantallon community in Fort Washington is shifting every time it rains.
• Three homes on Hallwood Place have sinking backyards and cracks long their foundations — one near a gas line.
• Four older homes on Asbury Drive are being pushed by moving dirt like a tsunami coming ashore.
• “The wall has gotten too bad, and the previous fix that they had is no longer going to work, and they don't really have no answers for us,” Briggs said.
• County Councilwoman Monique Anderson-Walker met with the residents Monday to discuss next steps.
  “If there is negligence, then they must pay a price, the price of making people whole, and perhaps the price of not being able to do business here until they've done so,” she said.

 

Update: Meet the New Owner of GIANT-Livingston Square

 From Council Member Monique Anderson-Walker:

We are looking forward to hearing the redevelopment vision for Giant - Livingston Square from the new owner and developer, Brandon Bellamy, Chief Executive Office of The Velocity Companies on Tuesday, December 8 - 6:30-8:00 pm. Bellamy will share the plans for the revitalization of Giant that will provide healthy options for the District 8 community. 

Click here for a video of the meeting.

Annual Aircraft Noise Report

(Click on the image for the report)

From John Mitchell:

The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) has just published its noise report for last year. Accokeek and Fort Washington are pretty much obliterated in the map of arrival traffic (Page 11), and the split between arrivals (that bother us) and departures (that don't) is still heavily biased in favor of giving Prince George's County more noise (Page 7), American Airlines was responsible for 100% of the Nighttime Noise Rule violations (Page 18), and three of the top five individual complainers all of Maryland are from Accokeek (Page 28).

 

2020 Winter Community Partners' Meeting

(Click on the image for the video)

DPW&T, the Department of the Environment, and the Department of Permitting, Inspections, and Enforcement provided important information and updates as we head into the winter season.

DPW&T 2020 Virtual Snow Summit

(Click o the image for the video)

 DPW&T and partnering agencies provide information on services the County offers during inclement weather as well as important tips.

Passing of Mrs. Jennie Mae Smith

Dear Neighbors,

We are sad to report the passing of Jennie Mae Smith, mother of Michael Franklin. Michael and his wife, Claudette, are a long time residents of Monterey Cir. Please keep Michael and his family in your thoughts and prayers.

From the Pope Funeral Home Obituary:

Jennie Smith of Temple Hills passed away November 25, 2020. Services will be held on Thursday December 3,2020 at Pope Funeral Homes 5538 Marlboro Pike Forestville MD 20747 Viewing 10:00 am Service 11:00 am Interment Ft. Lincoln Cemetery.

New K-8 School Town Hall - Dec. 2, 2020

(Click on the image for the video)

•  K-8 School overview and design starts at 25 minutes.
• Q&A starts at 41 minutes.

Notes on the meeting thanks to Hazel Robinson, TSACA President:

• The Town Hall meeting was held on Wednesday, December 2, 2020, from 7 – 8 pm.  It was led by Mr. Jason Washington, Director, Public-Private Partnerships Program, Prince George's County Public Schools along with three other persons (I did not get their names and company). Also attending at the meeting were also School Board members Edward Burroughs, District 8 and Sonya Williams, District 9. There was approximately 50 people attending.
• Our unnamed school, but known as K-8 southern school will be bordered by Fort Washington Road to the West, Swan Creek Road to the north and Asbury Drive to the East. The main entrance to the school will be on Fort Washington Road, and a secondary entrance off of Swan Creek Road. The school will be designed so that school buses will come on to the school property without blocking Fort Washington Road.
• The school will hold 2,000 students (800 K-5 students & 1200 6-8 students) and will be built by July 15, 2023. They will start clearing the site this July 2021.  The $30 million a year maintenance agreement takes effect between the years 2023-2053. They will take a full two years for construction. Right now, the school board is in exclusive negotiation period with the builder or P3 Team which will last until mid-January and they are negotiation some areas that were previously locked. They did admit that there is standing water on the property that they would have to address through the storm water management.  They gave me the impression that this was not a show- stopper.
• You can find the hearing and PowerPoint presentation of the townhall on www.pgcpsschoolsnow.com.  They will be uploaded by December 31, 2020.  The County & School Board will have a townhall meeting every other month and our next meeting will be in February 2021, date unknown.  They will be hosting other townhall meetings for the other schools that they plan to build, and you are welcome to attend those.
• Participants could submit questions.  Not all questions were answered last night but will be answered and placed on the website.

The questions that were answered last night:

1. What was the reason for this meeting? To educate and inform the public where we are with the building of the school.
2. Are environmental impact studies being done? Yes, and additional environmental impact studies will be done along the way.
3. Why is the school only being identified as a K-8 school in the southern area? Because the school has not be named, and they wanted to be general and just give a geographic location.
4. What is the mitigation strategy for traffic? There is none. They mentioned the two entrances: Fort Washington Road and Swan Creek to the school

Swan Creek Rd. Drainage Improvements Meeting #2 - Dec 10, 7-8:30 PM

(Click on the image to join)

DPW&T would like to invite you to attend the Swan Creek Storm Drain Meeting. This meeting has been scheduled by DPW&T to discuss updates and answer questions regarding the storm drainage maintenance and improvements. A meeting reminder will be forwarded by postal mail.

• Topic: Swan Creek Storm Drain Maintenance
• Time: December 10, 2020 at 7:00 P.M. EST.
• Where: Virtual Zoom Meeting

 

Town Hall Webinar on the New South County K-8 School - Dec 2, 7-8 pm

(Click on the image for the flyer)

• Prince George’s County Public Schools and the selected ACF (alternative construction finance) partner, PGCECP will provide an overview of the program and specific updates on individual school projects. 
• Topics include: a program re-introduction, status of school project designs and community benefits including internships and scholarships, employment and apprenticeships, business opportunities and Mentor-Protégé programs.
• Facilitators will be available to address meeting participants’ questions/comments throughout the presentation.

Click here to register for the New Southern K-8 webinar

GIANT - LIVINGSTON SQUARE HAS BEEN SOLD!

 Thanks to Council Member Monique Anderson-Walker:

"Giant - Livingston Square has been sold! Velocity Cos. announced 11/12/20 that it acquired the Giant-anchored Livingston Square shopping center in Fort Washington, MD from Giant's real estate arm. A Velocity spokesperson shared that it acquired the 11-acre property for $5.2 million and plans to invest additional money in the renovation.
We have reached out to the new owner to arrange a meeting to discuss District 8 community needs."

Thanks to Herb Jones, President, TNACA, for the link to the new owner's announcement:

https://thevelocitycompanies.com/2020/11/12/award-winning-regional-developer-to-lead-the-revitalization-of-livingston-square-as-a-community-shopping-center-hub/

Free Access to National Parks for U.S. Military Veterans and Gold Star Families

(Click on the image for the National Park Service news release)

Access is free for everyone on November 11, 2020
 

Affordable Transportation to National Harbor

 

(Click on the image for more information and to get the app)

• For the initial microtransit pilot, DPW&T selected the Fort Washington zone to develop a service area that extends from the Oxon Hill-National Harbor area to the Old Fort Village Shopping Center along E. Swan Creek Road, including neighborhoods along MD-210 corridor and the Fort Washington Hospital.
• Service Hours:   10 a.m. – 4 p.m., Monday through Saturday, accepts only same day reservations.
• Fare: $2 with the Transloc app.  Cash, Tokens and Smartrip cards are not accepted on PGC Link vehicles.

Halloween in Tantallon - 2020

From Jamie Crist:

The weather was perfect for our Tantallon Halloween Parade!   About 40 neighbors participated, with candy bags for everyone, dogs in costumes, music, and of course, conversation.  It was a great way to socialize with friends as well as meet new neighbors!  A number of people along the route set up tables with various treats.   Thanks to everyone who participated and we look forward to another parade next year!

(Click on the image for the complete album)

K-8 South County School Site Plan Package

(Click on the image for the briefing)

The site plan package was provided thanks to Jason Washington, Director, Public-Private Partnerships Program, Prince George's County Public Schools.

Jason added:

- the developer is aware of the frequency of significant runoff and attendant flooding in the area and will use that information to continue to inform their design approach as the design advances.

- there will be multiple stormwater practices (identified as #11 on the site plan) on the site, including: underground stormwater retention tanks, permeable pavement and other stormwater management practices (i.e. native plants, water diversion treatments) on the land.

Click here for audio of Jason's briefing to the October 28th virtual meeting of the South County Community Roundtable (SCCR).

Passing of Robert (Bob) West

 Dear Neighbors,

We are sad to report the passing of Bob West, father of TCA Treasurer, Keith West. Bob and his late wife Macy were long time residents of Surrey Circle Drive. Please keep Bob and his family in your thoughts and prayers.

From the Kalas website:

Robert Elmon West, 91, of Fort Washington, Maryland, beloved husband of the late Macy Cooper West, passed away October 22, 2020. He was born in Erwin, North Carolina, to the late Gertrude West Cooper and Elmon West.

Robert valued and exemplified love of family, generosity, loyalty, resilience, and love of country. He was a proud Korean War veteran. After military service, his career revolved around education and coaching. For many years, he was a physical education teacher and football coach at Oxon Hill Senior High School. He spent the remaining 20 years of his career as an educator and associate dean at Prince Georges Community College. He enjoyed being with his family and friends, golfing, watching sports, and spending time at Myrtle Beach, and the family lake house in North Carolina.

Robert was preceded in death by his wife and soulmate, Macy, to whom he was married for almost 66 years. He leaves to mourn his beloved children Keith West and Lynn Linde (Karl), grandchildren Macy Ketcham (Jeremy), Karl Linde (Renae), Clarissa Linde, Cooper Linde (Sarah), Dietrich Linde (Carlie), Caroline Vining (Louis) and his great-grandchildren Hope Ketcham, Caleb Ketcham, Hannah Ketcham, Kylie Ketcham, Kezia Ketcham, Jayden Linde, Priya Linde, Kevon Linde, Henry Linde, Cecilia Linde, and Annin Linde. Robert was predeceased by great-grandchildren Alvin Linde and Azzi Linde. He is survived by many nieces and nephews.

A Life Celebration will take place on Sunday, November 8, 2020, from 2 to 5 pm at the Kalas Funeral Home & Crematory, 6160 Oxon Hill Rd., Oxon Hill, MD, 20745. A Private Funeral Service will be held at the Oxon Hill United Methodist Church, 6400 Livingston Rd., Oxon Hill, MD, 20745. A Private Interment will follow at the Cheltenham Veterans Cemetery, 11301 Crain Highway, Cheltenham, Maryland, 20623. Donations in Robert’s memory can be made to Oxon Hill United Methodist Church.

Swan Creek Rd. Drainage Improvements Project

•  A recording of the Zoom meeting is here. Use Access Passcode wJ*N%7+q
• The meeting starts at 15 minutes in and ends at 1 hour and 12 minutes.
• The Q&A portion includes the issues that residents of the 100 block of Swan Creek Rd are facing.
• DPW&T is "fast tracking" a mitigation of their flooding issues by installing a large pipe between 103 & 105 and 106 & 108 that ends at a golf course pond.
• Construction is estimated to start in 18 months.

$150/Tree Rebate for Planting a Native Tree on Your Residential Property

(Click on the image for the Prince George’s County Rain Check Rebate program)

Click here for the Urban Tree Canopy Fact Sheet.

Click here for a list of native trees.

"Prince George’s plan to build schools will help students and the community"

(Click on the image for CE Alsobrooks opinion in the Washington Post)

"Our children deserve the opportunity to be educated in school buildings that are conducive to learning and reflect the importance we place on their education. The people of Prince George’s don’t want political grandstanding, excuses or bureaucracy; they want us to deliver on the promises we have made to build exceptional schools and classrooms befitting of our children, and we will deliver."

"The county has an $8.5 billion backlog in school construction, with 40 percent of school buildings built 60 years ago. This is unacceptable. This week, the Board of Education will have the opportunity to approve the construction of six new county schools over the next three years, a process that would typically take 12 years, through an Alternative Construction Finance Program. Prince George’s County Public Schools chief executive Monica Goldson and her team have taken great care to ensure that safeguards are in place and the timeline of the program stays on track."

Alternative School Construction Financing Fact Sheet & Briefing

• At the bottom of this post is a list of county officials you can contact with your questions, comments and concerns.
• The People's P3 Debrief October 19, 2020
  
• ACF Town Hall on Monday, October 19, 6 PM, 855-756-7520 Ext.67775#

• Virtual school board meeting on Wednesday, October 21, 2020 at 7 pm.
• https://zoom.us/j/99037483184? pwd= by9XaEZEcFdpY2N6TEpaL2luL3NFUT 09
  
  Passcode: 416352

 Thanks to Hazel Robinson for compiling this list.