Residents Asked to Support Annual
Leaf Collection Operations

The annual leaf collection operation is in full swing, however, our Public Works crews need your support to ensure a safe and efficient collection. Below are some reminders for residents and their visitors to assist us with a safe and efficient collection:

Avoid parking on the street—with many residents continuing to telework, there are more parked cars along the streets than our crews normally encounter. These parked cars make it difficult for our large leaf trucks to navigate narrow streets and can prevent access to the block by other drivers when the crew is actively working in a block. Whenever possible, please avoid parking on the street to allow ample access for our leaf collection trucks.
Do not park on or near leaf piles—our crews will not attempt to collect leaf piles located too close to parked cars to avoid possibly damaging the vehicles. Whenever possible, crews will attempt to contact vehicle owners to have the vehicles moved, but doing so can slow down the collection process. If a vehicle cannot be moved promptly, crews will continue their route and will not return until the following week.
Please be patient—we understand that it can be frustrating to get stuck behind the leaf collection crews, but we ask for your patience as we perform this annual service for the community. If you are attempting to travel through a block where a crew is working, we ask you to turn around and go a different way; DO NOT attempt to squeeze pass the truck. It can take time to collect the large leaf piles along a block and the truck cannot move out of the way of drivers attempting to get through.

We aim to provide weekly collection from every household. The schedule can be impacted by various factors including weather, equipment and vehicle issues, and personnel absences (a heightened possibility during the pandemic). By heeding these reminders, we can work together to ensure a smooth and efficient collection. For additional information regarding the annual leaf collection, please see the below article.

Leaf Collection Reminders

The Public Works Department’s yearly leaf collection effort has begun and will continue as often as needed through December.

Each week, the leaf truck on the west side of the Village will begin on West Melrose Street and work south ending on Western Avenue; and the leaf truck on the east side will begin on East Irving Street working north and ending on Quincy Street. Leaves on each block in the Village should be collected once per week, weather permitting.

Note: Leaf piles MUST be separated from other yard waste. The sticks and other debris damage the leaf vacuum. Leaves are collected by a different crew and the leaves obscure the alternate crew’s ability to see and collect the yard waste.

Click on the below link for other reminders for residents and their contractors to assist Village crews to assure a safe and efficient leaf collection operation:

https://www.chevychasevillagemd.gov/Archive.aspx?ADID=845

County Officials Offer Guidance on
Celebrating Upcoming Holidays Safely

As residents start to think and plan for the upcoming holidays, Montgomery County officials are urging residents to plan for celebrations with consideration for family and friends during this time of COVID-19.

“We understand that everyone is growing weary of the pandemic and the associated restrictions, but we have worked hard as a community to address COVID-19 and we need to continue to be vigilant in order to keep our family, friends and others safe,” said County Executive Marc Elrich.

When planning to host or attend a holiday celebration, residents need to consider the current COVID-19 levels of the community. Areas throughout the United States are experiencing a rise in the number of new COVID-19 cases. The United States is averaging more than 60,000 new COVID-19 cases daily and Montgomery County’s three-day average for new cases is 209. No age group is immune and as young people get COVID-19, infections can rise among older adults such as grandparents and parents.

A recent report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicated that young adults are driving some coronavirus infections in the U.S. and are likely spreading the virus to older, more vulnerable populations. Infections in older people are much more likely to lead to hospitalizations and even death.

As residents are making Thanksgiving plans, County health officials urge everyone to consider the most vulnerable family members when making plans. Celebrating virtually or with members of your own households pose the lowest risk for spread.

Health officials strongly recommend that residents NOT hold large family gatherings. Any type of gathering must include mask wearing by everyone, maintaining physical distancing of at least sic fee and regular hand washing and sanitizing of high-touch surfaces.
Reconsider travel during the holiday season and consider holding virtual gatherings or small gatherings at home. If you are gathering in person, consider asking everyone who is attending to get tested beforehand and to limit activities outside of essential things such as work and grocery shopping, in order to significantly minimize exposure to others before the celebration—in effect consider quarantining. The Maryland Department of Health’s website includes information on what to do while waiting for test results. Montgomery County offers more than a dozen testing clinics weekly. They are free and no doctor’s order is needed. Since there are people with COVID-19 who do not show symptoms, knowing that you are not positive for COVID-19 is one way to provide family and friends important information and keep everyone safe.
Montgomery County, as well as many other areas of the country, are experiencing increased numbers of new cases and testing is important to track community spread.
In-person gatherings pose varying levels of risk.
Things to consider as you plan for celebrations:
- What is the level of COVID-19 in the community where you will be celebrating?
- Indoor gatherings generally pose more risk than outdoor gatherings. Indoor gatherings with poor ventilation pose more risk than those with good ventilation, such as open doors and windows.
- Gatherings that last longer pose more risk than shorter gatherings.
- How many people are attending? The size of a gathering should be determined based on how to reduce or limit contact between attendees and the risk of spread.
- Where are people traveling from? What are the levels of COVID-19 in those communities?
- Are guests practicing social distancing and mask wearing in their day-to-day lives—everyone’s habits have an impact on everyone gathering, especially older adults who may be especially vulnerable to serious complications from COVID-19.
- Gatherings with strong preventive measures, such as mask wearing, social distancing, and hand washing, in place pose less risk than gatherings where few or no preventive measures are being implemented. Remind guests to wear masks.
- Be sure that guests understand expectations and agree to those expectations.
Do not attend or host a gathering if you or anyone in your household:
- Has been diagnosed with COVID-19 and hasn’t met the criteria for when it is safe to be around others.
- Has symptoms of COVID-19.
- Is waiting for COVID-19 test results.
- May have been exposed to someone with COVID-19 in the last 14 days.
- Is at increased risk of severe illness from COVID-19.
Celebrate outdoors if possible.
If you choose to host celebrations in-person, try to keep the group as small as possible and remember to practice social distancing and ask everyone to wear masks except when eating.
If you cannot avoid celebrating indoors, make sure there is proper ventilation, limit the number of attendees and try to celebrate with people from your area.
Get your flu vaccine. To keep children and other family members safe during a gathering, it is recommended that everyone receive a flu vaccination.

For the latest COVID-19 updates, visit the County’s COVID-19 website as well as the County’s data dashboard or follow Montgomery County on Facebook @MontgomeryCountyInfo and Twitter @MontgomeryCountyMD.

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Media Contact: Mary Anderson, mary.anderson@montgomerycountymd.gov

Montgomery County Office of Consumer Protection
Warns of Scams that Start on Social Media

As people spend more and more time online, they increasingly use social media to gain a connection with the outside world. The Montgomery County Office of Consumer Protection (OCP) wants social media users to know that scammers are capitalizing on this new trend.

In the first six months of 2020, the Federal Trade Commission reports consumers lost at least $117 million to scams that started on social media. OCP wants residents to be aware of some of the most common social media scams, how to identify them and how to avoid becoming victims.

Among the major scams on social media that seek to capitalize on the added time people spend on the Internet due to the COVID-19 health crisis are ones that involve romance, pop-up retail websites and offers of grants or financial aid. Social media profiles, like glossy websites, are inexpensive for scammers to create, can be fabricated in a matter of hours and have a professional look to them.

Romance scams are an increasing risk to online daters—a risk that has tremendously increased as social interactions have been forced online. While attempting to find love via social media, some people instead find themselves attracted to a scammer trying to trick them into sending money.

Using information a person posts in a social media profile, scammers use the personal details to create a targeted profile for the person they are setting up. In 2019, the FTC reported there were $201 million in losses attributed to information that started on dating websites. Most often, the scammer claims to be working in another country. This explains the lack of in-person interaction or sporadic connectivity issues. They quickly profess deep feelings, use the dating website to build trust and eventually seek money for a plane ticket, surgery, customs or visa fees or an emergency need that they can make sound legitimate. Scammers ask for money to be wired, sent via gift cards or by using P2P cash apps in “friends and family” or “gift” mode. Once funds are sent in those forms, they are hard to trace—or recover—once the scam is discovered.

Another scam involves pop-up websites being advertised on social media sites that claim to be selling scarce or in-demand goods. People who have spent time and effort unsuccessfully trying to find rare items can easily be deceived into thinking they have finally found the focus of their search. Sometimes these products do not exist and never arrive. Those are part of scams—95 percent of retail scams start with a Facebook or Instagram ad and end at Shopify store.

Unsolicited text message scams offer grants or financial relief, but really seek to get money or personal information. These are a variant of “smishing” scams.

OCP has some tips on how consumers can help protect themselves from these type of social media scams. It suggests:

Investigate your romance: Look into your new love interest beyond what he or she is telling you. Search the story being given. Some have been used so often there are websites that relate similar stories that may prove to be false. These storylines can include themes such as “doctor working in Peace Corps.” Put the photograph sent into a Google Image search and see if it is a photo used by others.
Research the retailer: Is the offer too good to be true? Does the business have a strange name? Are the same photographs being used by many different merchants? Research the alleged seller and theme by typing the name of the company and/or the type of sale to see if there are complaints. Pay by credit card, which can protect a consumer against certain false sales. Debit card, gift card, wire transfer or P2P app transactions often are not recoverable if the merchandise does not arrive.
Review your privacy settings: Social media accounts have a privacy setting which controls who has access to posts. Set them to “private” so only people you allow can see your post. You can control what ads you see on your feed by going into your settings. However, these platforms continuously change default ad settings so you need to check back and revise often.
Avoid unsolicited texts: Whether through a message app or through a cell number, scammers can seek out potential victims. Do not engage with unsolicited messages offering money. Never give out personal information and never send money.

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Media contact: Eric Friedman, 240-777-0311

Board of Managers Seeks Residents’ Feedback on Possible Adoption of the County’s Healthy Lawns Act

The Chevy Chase Village Board of Managers is seeking opinions and feedback from residents on a proposed new ordinance regarding the use of pesticides in lawn care. The Board mailed a letter to all Village households on October 19 outlining the proposal for adoption as recommended by the Village’s Environment & Energy Committee. Broadly, the Pesticide Law forbids the use of synthetic herbicides and other pesticides on lawns. The Board’s letter also referenced opposition to adoption of the Act from local representatives for the National Association of Landscape Professionals.

Note: The law does exempt chemicals used for the control of biting insects and disease vectors, such as mosquitos and ticks.

Click on the below link to view the letter and email ccv@montgomerycountymd.gov to provide feedback for the Board’s consideration.

https://www.chevychasevillagemd.gov/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=284

Chevy Chase At Home

An Aging-in-Place Village

Do you know that there’s an organization in your neighborhood that helps seniors remain in their own homes safely when they need help doing so? Chevy Chase At Home is a group of neighbors helping neighbors. Volunteers bring needed support to members with a smile. Even, or especially, during this time of the Covid 19 pandemic, the value of an engaged peer community cannot be overstated.

CC@H offers a rich program of affinity groups, continuing education, socialization, and exercise – all currently via Zoom, which actually makes it easier for many to participate.

Please consider whether you, a family member, a friend or neighbor might benefit from the help and sense of community that Chevy Chase At Home can provide. We welcome members and volunteers. Visit https://www.chevychaseathome.org/ for more information and applications.

New Rates for Compost Collection
Join The Compost Crew Today!

The food-waste collection program in Chevy Chase Village continues to grow as the community looks for more ways to be conscientious consumers. We recently hit a milestone of 75 households who are recycling their food-waste with Compost Crew. As a result of increased participation, the price per household for Compost Crew’s convenient food-waste collection will now be $16 per month for the standard size bin- a 20% savings from the previous cost. The monthly cost for the larger 12-gallon bins has dropped to $20/month.

Pricing for existing customers will also reflect the new rates. Compost Crew will be in touch with residents who are already composting to share details of the new rates. To sign up for collection services, or if you have any questions about the program, please feel free to contact info@compostcrew.com or visit their website via the link below.

The Compost Crew Website

Support the Nearby Farmer's Market in Section 3

Bring cash or a check for the
Newly Launched “$5 for Food”
Donation Drive Benefiting the
Capital Area Food Bank

The Farmers Market at Taylor St. and Brookville Rd. in Section 3 is open with ample parking at La Ferme restaurant. The market features only organic products sold in a COVID-compliant manner. Patrons must wear a mask and bring their own bag and pay by credit/debit card.

The market is open on Saturdays from 8-9 a.m. for seniors and other vulnerable individuals and opens for all patrons at 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. (rain or shine). Neighbors visiting the market are encouraged to bring cash or a check for a food donation drive benefiting the Capital Area Food Bank.

Click on the below link for more details:

https://www.chevychasevillagemd.gov/Archive.aspx?ADID=816

COVID-19 Operations Modification and Reminders

Click on the below link for the latest directives on access to the Village Hall and the status of non-essential staff as well as useful links for up-to-date information regarding COVID-19:

https://www.chevychasevillagemd.gov/Archive.aspx?ADID=810

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

Join the Village Listserv on Groups.io

CCVillage (CCVillage@Groups.io), is the neighborhood mailing list (listserv) for residents of Chevy Chase Village. As residents continue to practice social distancing, CCVillage is a resource to allow neighbors to stay connected with one another other. For more information and to join, visit:

https://www.chevychasevillagemd.gov/Archive.aspx?ADID=806

Are You Prepared?

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. Click on the below link to view this information:

https://www.chevychasevillagemd.gov/Archive.aspx?ADID=813

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

or visit the website at Pepco.com/Outages/ReportanOutage
to report their outage and receive restoration information.

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.

Residents Asked to Support Annual Leaf Collection Operations