Montgomery County Provides Additional Guidance Regarding Reopening Plans

Second Phase expected to begin week of June 15

This week, Montgomery County released improved information regarding the current first phase of reopening and insights into what services and businesses will be permitted under Phases 2 and 3. The guidance continues to differ from the Maryland Governor’s orders, and county residents and employers are highly encouraged to review the information to understand the local governing guidance.  To view the Phase 1, 2 and 3 reopening specifications, visit:

https://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/HHS/RightNav/reopening/index.html

Joint Statement from Countywide Law Enforcement Leadership on the Death of George Floyd

In the wake of the shocking death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police officers on May 25, people across our nation have been demanding equal justice for everyone and an end to excessive force and disparate treatment by police.  All of Montgomery County’s law enforcement leaders—seven of us—were stunned and anguished at the actions of the Minneapolis officers, and we collaborated to write the below letter to all residents of Montgomery County to express our outrage with the actions leading to Mr. Floyd’s death, to denounce all types of police misconduct, and to state our commitment to serving our communities with fairness, respect and justice for all. 

We, the leaders of the law enforcement community of Montgomery County, are angry and outraged over the killing of George Floyd by police officers in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Their actions in Mr. Floyd’s tragic, senseless death is an abject failure of policing.  While each of us has issued a statement to our respective communities, we felt compelled to speak to the people of Montgomery County at large with one, unified voice.
 
We unequivocally condemn the actions of the Minneapolis police officers. Here in Montgomery county, we are aware of the historical relationship and distrust that has existed between the police and many minority residents—especially within the black community.  This must change. Each of us has shared our disgust and outrage over Mr. Floyd’s death within our organizations and have communicated that disparate treatment in any form is unacceptable, it will not be tolerated, and actions based on bias of any kind will receive swift disciplinary action. There is no place for racism in our profession. This is not a high standard; this is the right standard.
 
When police work is performed correctly—fairly, respectfully, with kindness, empathy, restraint and discretion—it demonstrates the selfless commitment to the service of others that is our shared philosophy and the fundamental purpose of policing.  Collectively, we engage in tens of thousands of contacts every year with members of our communities.  Our officers do an outstanding job in the vast majority of those contacts as evidenced by our resident satisfaction surveys, however, whenever we fail to perform as we should, it reflects poorly on our agencies and our profession, and it risks damaging the trust of our communities which is essential to our ability to function and to be viewed as legitimate.     
 
We are constantly challenged each day to serve the residents of a growing and diverse county.  Building and maintaining the public trust is an ongoing task that we work on daily. Every negative interaction hampers our ability to earn that trust.  We are aware that law enforcement everywhere is under great scrutiny and calls for transparency and greater accountability are voiced by many residents in our community. We realize that we must work toward greater transparency and accountability in order to hold the public trust. 
 
To that end, we hereby commit to the following:

• We will work to continually improve training in cultural competency for our officers to enable them to more effectively and positively engage an everchanging diverse community. 
  
  
• We will remind every member of our teams of their individual and collective responsibility to treat all persons fairly, respectfully, with kindness, empathy, restraint and discretion.  This is what we expect of our officers, and this is what our communities expect and deserve.
  
  
• We will increase our efforts to recruit and hire women and men that reflect the communities we serve and to hire the right people for this critically important work.
• We will hold officers and employees accountable for misconduct so that the public trust built from the good work of the vast majority of our dedicated workforce will not be diminished by the misdeeds of the few.

• An overarching respect for the sanctity of life;
• The duty to de-escalate;
• The duty to intervene when other officers are engaging in misconduct/excessive force;
• The duty to immediately render first aid; and
• The duty to report the misconduct of others.

 
Although our policy was already sound, Chief Fitzgerald made some changes and re-issued it to the officers and to the training team.  In the days following tragedies such as the death of George Floyd, many police departments have fielded inquiries about their use of force policies.  You may read our use of force policy here:
https://www.chevychasevillagemd.gov/DocumentCenter/View/1169/5-05-Use-of-Force-PDF
 
You can find all of the Chevy Chase Village Police Department’s general orders posted on the ‘Police’ page of the Village website at the below link:
 
https://www.chevychasevillagemd.gov/330/Department-General-Orders

Nighttime Burglary of Occupied House on Oliver Street

Cash stolen from wallet in living room; suspect fled before police arrived

At 3:25 on Wednesday morning (June 10, 2020), residents of a home on Oliver Street between Kirkside Drive and Wisconsin Avenue were awakened in their upstairs bedroom by the sound of their creaking staircase; someone was on the stairs.  They called 9-1-1 immediately and locked themselves in their bedroom as Village and County officers responded.
 
Village officer Ryan Patterson arrived in less than three minutes, followed quickly by Village officer Willie Hearn and then several Montgomery County officers to include a K9 unit.  Officer Patterson noticed that some of the screening on the rear screened porch had been cut and torn away, and the inner door entering the house was open.  After establishing a perimeter around the house, Officer Patterson, a county officer, and the K9 team searched the house; the suspect was already gone.  K9 attempted to track the suspect’s escape route without success.
 
The residents determined that the suspect stole cash from a wallet that was in the living room, but the suspect left the wallet.  Nothing else was reported stolen at this writing.
 
Officers conducted a neighborhood canvass and located a nearby house with security cameras.  That resident was awake and she retrieved recordings from her security camera system and provided them to our officers.  The cameras captured a slender, dark-skinned male wearing a white t-shirt, tan ¾ length shorts, carrying a dark-colored backpack walking south through the alley (from Grafton toward Oliver) at 3:12 a.m.  The man then walked a short distance on Oliver Street before entering the side yard of the victim’s house.
 
This type of event—a nighttime residential break-in—is extremely rare, and our officers will be on high alert.  Village Police will be making certain that the County Police and DC police are aware of this burglary, and the investigation will continue.
 
Residents are urged to lock all doors and windows, to activate their alarm systems, to leave outdoor lights on all night long, and to call the police as soon as they see or hear anything that raises their concern.  Residents are also encouraged to consider installing exterior cameras if they have not done so already.

Village Officers Arrest Hit & Run Drunk Driver

Driver crashed into 4 cars on Hesketh, left the scene with lights off

At 12:01 Thursday morning (June 11, 2020), a resident of the unit block of Hesketh Street (between Magnolia and Cedar) was awakened by the sound of a car crash and immediately called the Village Police.  The caller told dispatcher Allison Shumake that he looked out his window in time to see a large SUV leave the scene with its lights turned off and head west toward Cedar Parkway.
 
At 12:02 a.m., while the caller was still on the phone with our dispatcher, Officer Drew Fones spotted a large SUV headed west in the 100 block of  Hesketh (between Kirkside Drive and the dead end at Wisconsin Avenue) with its light off.  Officer Fones was unaware of the hit-and-run crash two blocks away.  Officer Fones followed the SUV, a Chevy Suburban, and noted that it was swerving left and right as it drove down Hesketh.  The Suburban made a U-turn at the dead end of Hesketh and Officer Fones stopped the car right there while our dispatcher was still on the phone with the original caller. 
 
Officer Fones instantly noticed what appeared to be fresh damage on the front and side of the Suburban.  As soon as Officer Fones radioed that he had stopped a large SUV on Hesketh with fresh damage, Dispatcher Shumake informed him of the hit-and-run that had just occurred in the unit block of Hesketh, and it was obvious that the Suburban was the striking vehicle.  Officer Alex Jenkins and Lieutenant Tino Dasilva responded to assist. 
 
The subsequent investigation revealed that the driver of the Suburban crashed into cars in front of 12, 14 and 15 Hesketh Street and immediately drove off headed toward Cedar Parkway.  A total of four parked cars were damaged.  The driver of the Suburban was arrested and transported to the State Police barrack in Rockville for a breath test.  The breath test revealed that the driver’s blood alcohol content was 0.18--more than twice the threshold (0.08) for driving under the influence.  The adult Kensington resident was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol, hit-and-run, and several related traffic offenses.

Household Collection of Glass Recycling Has Resumed

Glass Should No Longer be Brought to the Village Hall

The Village’s contractor has reestablished a glass recycling system at its processing facility, thereby enabling households from which they collect to once again include glass along with other recycled materials such as paper, plastic and cardboard.  Please ensure that all materials are clean and remain dry to prevent cross-contamination.
 
We thank residents for your patience during the interruption of service and for your efforts bringing glass recyclables to the Hall for transfer by our Public Works staff to the county’s facility.
 
Collection of glass at the Hall has been discontinued.  Glass recycling should no longer be brought to the Village Hall for disposal. 
 
The Village provides rear door collection of refuse and recycling as a convenience to our residents.  Please leave your gates unlocked to allow access to your receptacles and remember to prune back shrubbery and vegetation from the area. 
 
Contact the Communications Center if either refuse or recycling were not collected.  To view the current list of acceptable recyclable materials and guidelines for single-stream recycling, please visit:

https://goodecompanies.com/wp-content/uploads/single-stream-recycling-guidelines.jpg

When The Power Goes Out

In addition to its telephone call-in number and website information, Pepco has introduced a mobile app which provides updates to keep customers informed during a storm. Users can report outages, view outage maps, pay bills and access other services. 

Visit pepco.com/mobileapp to download the mobile app.
 
Pepco has also added a new feature that allows customers to report a live outage by text via their mobile device. Registered Pepco customers can text “Out” to “48710”.  Customers must first text “ADD OUTAGE” to “48710” from a phone linked to their account to sign up for the text service.
 
If a severe storm hits, Pepco follows a strategic response plan to restore service to the greatest number of customers first and will work to restore all service as quickly and safely as possible. Customers are asked to immediately report a downed wire or service issue by calling 1-877-PEPCO-62 (877-737-2662), visiting pepco.com or through the new mobile app and text option.

Resident Directory Printing Postponed to 2021;
Residents Encouraged to Submit Updates for Database

After thorough consideration, we have decided to forego a 2020 printing of the Resident Directory.  While we know that many residents look forward to receiving this annual publication filled with lots of useful information in addition to updated household listings, we are not able to produce an updated directory due to the operations impacts resulting from COVID-19.  We look forward to producing a new and improved directory, featuring an updated Village history section, in 2021.
 
In the interim, we encourage residents to submit updates so we can maintain current household information in our database. If you have moved into the Village or made any changes to your household listing including contact phone numbers or email addresses, please download the Resident Directory Update Form at the below link.  Completed forms may be submitted by email to ccv@montgomerycountymd.gov, dropped off in the box on the porch at the Village Hall or faxed to 301-907-9721.


https://www.chevychasevillagemd.gov/DocumentCenter/View/128/Resident-Directory-Update-Form-

Cancelled Summer Community Events

Due to the continued local impact of COVID-19, we have decided to cancel our summer community events:
 
·         July 4 Parade & Party at the Large Oliver Street Park
·         National Night Out in Newlands Park
 
This difficult decision was made to limit the opportunities for local transmission of the virus given that these events are typically attended by a broad spectrum of the community.  We join local communities that have taken steps to limit large gatherings over the summer. 
 
No decisions have yet been made regarding events tentatively scheduled for the fall.

The Maryland Emergency Management Agency is Asking for Donations to Meet Critical Needs and
Serve Maryland First Responders

Sign-Up for Montgomery County’s COVID-19 Updates

Montgomery County is continuously pushing out useful information and updates related to the COVID-19 health emergency.  Please visit the below site to sign-up for the county’s COVID-19 updates: 
 

https://public.govdelivery.com/accounts/MDMONTGOMERY/signup/14849

Grocery Stores Offering
“Seniors-Only” Shopping Hours

Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich announced a new program to help protect seniors as they shop for groceries during the COVID-19 pandemic.

As of Thursday, March 19, four local grocery stores and two national store chains will reserve specific hours for seniors only, allowing them to shop among a smaller group of people to minimize the risk of COVID-19 infection.

View the Stores and Hours

Join the Village Listserv on Groups.io

Last year, CCVillage, the neighborhood mailing list for Chevy Chase Village, was transferred to CCVillage@Groups.io. During this period of social distancing, CCVillage is a resource to allow neighbors to stay connected with each other.

If you have not done so already, please join the mailing list by visiting https://groups.io/g/CCVillage and clicking on the blue "+ Join This Group" button.  Once you are enrolled, the email address to submit messages to the mailing list is ccvillage@groups.io, and you can read the group messages online at http://groups.io/g/CCVillage/topics. 

On the website, click on "Messages" in the left column menu to see the most recent CCVillage posts, and click "New Topic" to open an editor that will let you compose and send your message.  You can search the database of old messages by clicking the "Search" button above the message list.
 
The CCVillage information website is at http://CCVillage.info. For assistance with joining or posting messages, please contact moderator and Village resident Tim Slagle at ccvillage+owner@groups.io.

Help Village Staff Keep the Community Safe and Beautiful

Report Areas for Repair and Maintenance

Village staff prides itself on being responsive and working hard to ensure that the Village remains a safe, beautiful and welcoming community—but we cannot do it alone. While we are constantly on the lookout for areas that need to be addressed, we need the support of residents serving as our eyes and ears throughout the community:

As always, residents may also call the Village’s 24-hour Communications Center or email requests/concerns to the Village’s main email address at ccv@montgomerycountymd.gov (emails are then routed to the appropriate department).

Thank you for helping us to continue addressing the needs of the community!

Are You Prepared?

As we have experienced during various seasonal events, it is important to be prepared for local weather emergencies. In order the assist residents in their preparedness, the Village in partnership with the Montgomery County Office of Emergency Management and Homeland Security (OEMHS) offer a number of helpful tools, plans and free alerts to assist and keep you informed.

Village Website and Blast Email System – Have you signed up for the Village’s blast email system? This is the Village's primary method of communication with residents. The Village has 2 email lists you can sign-up for:

Urgent News Alert – include messages such as criminal activity, neighborhood disruptions such as water main breaks, power outages and road closures and major weather events.

General News Alerts – include messages about Board and committee meetings, community events, changes in public services such as refuse/recycling collection schedules and upcoming road closures.

To sign-up for the blast email system visit the Village website at www.chevychasevillagemd.gov and click on the tablet icon at the top of the Village’s homepage.
 

Alert Montgomery – Alert Montgomery is the official emergency communications service for Montgomery County, MD. During major crisis, emergency or severe weather events, Montgomery County will send event updates, warnings and instructions directly to you on any of your devices. To sign-up for Alert Montgomery please visit the OEMHS website www.montgomerycountymd.gov/oemhs and click on the “Alert Montgomery” link at the top of the page.

Family and Community Preparedness Information – Emergencies can take many forms and occur with or without warning. By taking a few simple steps now, you can ensure that you, your family and your community are better prepared to handle emergencies. To assist in your family planning, please visit the Village’s emergency preparedness page, www.chevychasevillagemd.gov/emergencyprep for helpful tools and links. Another important tool the Village has created to assist you in your preparedness efforts is our House Check Program. Always request a House Check when you are leaving town and ensure that your emergency contacts are up to date with the Village office.

For additional information please visit the Village’s website at www.chevychasevillagemd.gov and click on the “Are you prepared? – Emergency Preparedness Tips” link listed in the Quick Links on the homepage.

Emergency Contact Sheet

EMERGENCY - 911
 
Chevy Chase Village Police 
Non Emergency/24hrs - 301-654-7300

Montgomery County Police 
Non Emergency/24hrs - 301-279-8000

Bethesda - Chevy Chase Rescue Squad - 301-652-0077

Chevy Chase Fire Dept
(Opposite Columbia Country Club) - 240-773-4707

Bethesda Fire Dept
(Wisconsin Ave and Bradley Blvd) - 240-773-4706

National Capital Poison Center
(George Washington University Hospital) - 800-222-1222

Utilities
 

Potomac Electric Power Company (PEPCO)

Emergency-Live wires down, power failure - 877-737-2662

Customer Service - 202-833-7500

Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission

Emergency - 301-206-4002

Complaints, Leaks, Information - 301-206-4001

Washington Gas

Emergency - 703-750-1400

Information & Customer Service - 703-750-1000

Comcast - 800-934-6489

Verizon - 800-837-4966

**A cut out sheet is also located on page two of the January 2019 Crier.

You are receiving this email because you are subscribed to receive general news updates from Chevy Chase Village. Did you know the Village sends out urgent news updates as well, click here to sign-up.