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Ride On bus passengers in Montgomery County can help needy families and receive free bus rides by donating nonperishable food items during Ride On's annual food drive.

A free trip will be provided to riders who donate food from Sunday through April 17.

Food collected through the drive will go to Manna Food Center, which feeds 3,000 hungry families a month in Montgomery County.

During the promotion, food collection bags will be placed near the fare boxes on all Ride On buses. Riders using free shuttles and other transit services can participate by taking their donations to a Ride On bus.

In addition to nonperishable food, children's items, such as disposable diapers, formula, baby or toddler food and juice, are also needed. Plastic containers are preferred.

All donations will be valued at the regular fare rate of $1.45. Passengers who transfer buses will need to make an additional donation to ride free on the second bus. Riders who wish to buy a Regional One-Day pass will need to add $1.75 to the fare box.

Residents who do not ride the bus can participate by giving their donations to a bus operator at any Ride On bus stop.

For bus stop locations or bus schedules, call the county's Transit Information Center at 240-777-7433 or TDD/TTY 240-777-5869. Route and timetable information is also available on at www.rideonbus.com.

Auction to help

Police Explorers

The Montgomery County Department of Police Explorer Post 1986 will hold a silent auction in an effort to raise $25,000 to travel to Atlanta in July to participate in the National Law Enforcement Exploring Conference and Competition.

The event will be held 4-7 p.m. April 25 at Dave & Busters in White Flint mall on Rockville Pike in North Bethesda.

The Explorers are young men and women between the ages of 14 and 20 who have expressed a desire to pursue a career in law enforcement.

Explorers contribute thousands of volunteer hours every year to the police department, as well as various civic organizations.

This year, Police Explorer Post 1986 has been selected to compete in the National Conference and Competition. The five-day competition, held July 19- 24, will include hundreds of other Explorer Posts from all over the nation.

Explorer Post 1986 hopes to send 25 Explorers and advisors to the event.

Tickets to attend the silent auction, which includes a buffet, are $5 each and can be purchased at the door. Explorer Post 1986 is a nonprofit tax exempt organization. Visit www.mcpexplorers.org.

For more information, contact the Explorer advisor, Officer Charles Carpenter, at 301-840-2697.

ACS to hold second annual ‘Bark for Life' fundraiser

After last year's successful dog "relay" in support of finding a cure for cancer, the American Cancer Society will hold another Bark for Life event in the Wheaton Regional Park on April 17.

The 1-mile walk followed by games, prizes and contests is open to all county dogs and their owners. Visit www.RockvilleRelay.org and click on "Bark for Life" to register and start raising donations. The 12 dogs that raise the most will be featured in the 2010 National Capital Region Bark for Life annual calendar.

Meet at the dog park off the Orebaugh entrance of the park, 11717 Orebaugh Ave. in Wheaton. Registration is at 8:30 a.m., the walk starts at 9:30 a.m.

Volunteer paws and hands are also needed to help set up and break down the event.

All proceeds from Bark for Life will go directly to the American Cancer Society. For more information, send an e-mail to Sonia.Nieves@cancer.org or call 301-933-9350.

Suggestions sought

on college president

The community is invited to a listening session at Montgomery College's Germantown campus next week to provide input on the community college's search for a new president.

Suggestions provided at sessions in Germantown, Rockville and Takoma Park will be used by the Montgomery College Presidential Search Advisory Committee as it prepares interview questions and evaluates responses.

The Germantown event is 9:45 to 10:45 a.m. April 14 at Globe Hall in the High Technology and Science Building, 20200 Observation Drive.

To view the position profile, visit http://www.montgomerycollege.edu/presidentialsearch.

Send suggestions, questions or comments to committee chairman Steve Kaufman at presidentialsearch@montgomerycollege.edu or 240-567-7321.

On campus

Along with producing some of the best and brightest students in the country, Rockville can now take credit for the best teacher, as well.

Kimberly DuVall-Early, a 1979 graduate of Richard Montgomery High School and professor of psychology at James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Va., has been named the "Highest Rated Professor in the Nation" on RateMyProfessor.com. 

The online rating site lets students give feedback about their college professors for future students.

DuVall-Early, 48, has more than 120 ratings, with the average grade of just below perfect.

Science Center

plans Science Café

The Rockville Science Center will hold its next Science Café at 7 p.m. April 21 to discuss "What has 10,000 legs and lives in your backyard."

Dr. Gary Hevel of the Smithsonian Institute will be the guest speaker.

The event will be held at Branded 72 restaurant, 387 E. Gude Drive in Rockville.

The Rockville Science Center is a nonprofit organization intended to develop a facility that presents science to people of all ages.

Cafes will be held the third Wednesday of every month. Upcoming discussions are set for May 19, "Smoking, UV and Cancer"; and June 16, "Astronomy," with Stan Odenwall.

For more information, visit www.RockvilleScienceCenter.org or call Ruth Hanessian at 301-674-7884.

Libraries seek loans of military mementos, memorabilia

To honor the dedication and memory of local service men and women, the Montgomery County Commission on Veterans Affairs and Montgomery County Public Libraries are seeking military memorabilia and mementos from local armed services members, veterans and their families.

The items will be featured in special displays that will appear in the Aspen Hill, Bethesda, Davis, Germantown, Potomac, Quince Orchard, Rockville, Silver Spring and Twinbrook libraries during May and November.

"We feel that the display of these items, used by our neighbors, our veterans and those on active duty, will give county residents an idea of what the service members have endured," Bill Gray, chair of the Veteran's Commission, said in a prepared statement.

Each branch will have a Remembrance Book that customers may sign with thoughts or memories.

Items to be loaned for the May/Memorial Day displays should be delivered by April 16 to the Broome School at 751 Twinbrook Parkway in Rockville. Hours are Monday through Thursday from 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

Submission packages should be marked with the name, address and phone number of the owner and contain an itemized list of the items enclosed and a short paragraph about each item and its significance. Materials dropped off will be signed for in triplicate, with one copy going to the donor and two copies kept with the materials. 

All materials will be returned the month following the displays.

For more information about loaning items, call Richard Schiffauer at 240-777-1724 or e-mail Richard.schiffauer@montgomerycountymd.gov.

Items appropriate for this column should be sent to Judith Hruz, Editor, The Rockville/Aspen Hill Gazette, 9030 Comprint Court, Gaithersburg, Md. 20877; faxed to 301-670-7182 or 301-670-7183; or e-mailed to ncarrick@gazette.net. Deadline is Thursday at 5 p.m. for consideration for the following week. Items are subject to editing and used on a space-available basis.