Resident challenges community to lose 2,000 pounds
Kelsie Holtje of Clarksburg has lost more than 200 pounds since the beginning of 2008 and she is challenging the community to join her in continuing to lose weight.
With the support of others trying to lose weight together, Holtje thinks the greater Clarksburg community can lose 2,000 pounds by the end of the year.
Challenge participants will put $35 in a pot at the first class. The person who has lost the largest percentage of body weight mass after 12 weeks will win 50 percent of the pot. The person who loses the second most will win 30 percent of the pot and the one who loses the third most will win 20 percent for the pot.
Participants do not have to live in Clarksburg, Holtje said.
"It's educational but it's also a lot of fun," Holtje said.
She expects to form two classes of 25 students per class. One class will meet at 6 p.m. and one at 7 p.m.
"It's how I lost my weight," said Holtje, who weighed more than 400 pounds when she started her first weight loss challenge.
She is using some of the $1,000 she has won in challenges to pay for the rooms, she said.
She plans to continue the classes in 12-week sessions through the end of the year.
"In December 2007 I found an article in The Gazette that talked about a weight loss challenge that was nonprofit and was starting the first Tuesday after the new year," she wrote in an e-mail. "January 2008 I showed up for my first meeting I was 38 years old, I had pitting edema (my legs were filled with fluid because my heart could no longer do the job of pumping all the fluid like a normal body size/heart could do). I had an enlarged heart due to all of the work it had to do. My blood pressure was high and I had fatty liver disease due to the amount of fat I was taking in on a daily basis. My right knee meniscus was ripped and I had constant knee pain."
Holtje is now pain-free and runs three to six miles a day.
She hopes those who join will share what they learn in the classes with their friends and neighbors, making Clarksburg a healthier community.
To register for the challenge, call Holtje at 301-428-0562.
See baseball's history
Several former players will return Sunday to Wims Meadows, the home field of the first African-American baseball team in the Hyattstown and Clarksburg area, for the dedication of an interpretive sign.
The sign will mark the home field of the 1930's Blue Birds.
The field, now part of Little Bennett Regional Park, was built on farmland owned by James Wims. Teams continued to play there through the 1950s, park manager Wendy Hanley said.
The interpretive sign, which will include a history of the field and pictures, is the first of many the county plans to place in the park to mark historical sites, she said.
Visitors can meet former players from 1 to 4 p.m. and join in the dedication ceremony, to be held at 2 p.m., rain or shine.
Parking will be available at the Kingsley Wilderness School or Wilson Mill parking areas, on either side of Little Bennett Creek, off Clarksburg Road in Clarksburg. Continuous shuttles will carry visitors to the field.
Hot dogs, popcorn and snacks will be on sale.
For information call Hanley at 301-528-3451.
Heritage Montgomery honored
The Heritage Tourism Alliance of Montgomery County received an award last month for its annual Heritage Days event.
The Germantown nonprofit was honored May 21 for preservation service at the 35th annual Maryland Preservation Awards, given out by the Maryland Historical Trust's Board of Trustees. Heritage Montgomery was created by state and county officials to promote the area's natural and historic resources and was singled out for Heritage Days, a two-day event held the last weekend in June.
Clarksburg Day will be celebrated during this year's Heritage Days, on June 26.
The event was started by the Montgomery County Historical Society in 1998 and has been organized by Heritage Montgomery since 2004, according to a statement from the Maryland Historical Trust. The free, self-guided tour of the county's historic, cultural and natural resources now has more than 40 participating sites.
"Aggressive marketing efforts and strategic partnerships has resulted in increased attendance at Heritage Days events and heightened awareness of the role of historic sites and heritage tourism on the region's economy," the historical trust stated.
The 13th annual Heritage Days will be held noon to 4 p.m. June 26-27. For information, visit
www.heritagemontgomery.org.
Yard sale
Sons of the American Legion will host a community yard sale and flea market from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday at Damascus American Legion Post 171, 10201 Lewis Drive. Parking spaces are available for $20 a space, $10 for each additional space.
To rent a space or for additional information call John Duvall at 301-787-4480, Tony Koontz at 301-831-6746, or Bill Haag at 301-831-3931, or the post home at 301-253-0769.
Enrollment fair
Montgomery College will hold an enrollment fair at its Germantown campus this month.
The free event will be 3 to 5:30 p.m. June 17 at the High Technology and Science Center, 20200 Observation Drive. Representatives will be available to discuss admissions, financial aid, assessment and counseling and advising. Students who apply at the event will have their application fee waived.
For information, call 240-567-7816 or send an e-mail to Cathy.Kwolek@
montgomerycollege.edu.
Fathers and children
event in Germantown
The Salvation Army Montgomery County Corps, 20021 Aircraft Drive in Germantown, will host a two-day event for fathers and their children June 19 and 20.
Salvation Army Mission Specialist Sammy Gomer-DeGomez's "Fathers Being Involved" program is designed to raise awareness of fathers in their children's lives. The program also focuses on motivating fathers to be excellent dads and actively involved in their children's lives.
From 2 to 7 p.m. June 19, fathers and their children are invited to the Salvation Army for face painting, a father-daughter dance, a father-son game night, races and a barbecue. A special Father's Day service will start at 11 a.m. on June 20.
For more information, call Gomer-DeGomez at 301-515-5354.
County police target
aggressive drivers
The Montgomery County Police Department is joining its counterparts throughout the state and in Pennsylvania, Northern Virginia and Washington, D.C., for the 2010 "Smooth Operator" Aggressive Driving Prevention Campaign. For one week in June, July and August and two weeks in September, officers will be looking to get off the road motorists who are speeding, tailgating, making unsafe lane changes and running traffic lights and signs.
The campaign kicked off Sunday and will go through Saturday. The campaign will resume July 4-10 with returns Aug. 1-7 and Sept. 5-18.
Prepare for storm season
Tropical storm and hurricane season has started and forecasters predict an active year.
Montgomery County officials recently tested the county's emergency response plans in preparation for the season. Residents are urged to heed any hurricane watches and warnings, and plan for more hurricanes this year. Weather forecasters are predicting as many as eight major storms in 2010.
The county offers some storm preparedness tips:
-Keep flashlights, battery-powered radios and extra batteries on hand, along with a basic first aid kit, emergency food, water and a nonelectric can opener.
-Receive timely electronic alerts about local weather and other emergencies by signing up at https://alert.
montgomerycountymd.gov.
-Have enough food, water, medication and batteries to last two to three days. Make sure portable radios, smoke detectors and flashlights are working properly.
-Check with neighbors who may require special assistance.
-Listen to the radio or television for weather reports.
-Bring in objects such as lawn furniture, toys and garden tools or anchor objects that cannot be brought inside but could be tossed by high winds.
-Clean out gutters.
-Turn the refrigerator and freezer to the coldest setting in anticipation of a power outage. Open the door only when necessary and close quickly. Frozen food in a half-full freezer will remain safe for up to 24 hours, and in a full freezer, up to 48 hours.
-Do not put out trash cans for regular pickup the night before a storm.
Items and pictures for People and Places must be received by 5 p.m. Thursday for consideration for the following week. They can be mailed to The Damascus-Clarksburg Gazette, 9030 Comprint Court, Gaithersburg, MD 20877; sent by fax to 301-670-7183; or e-mailed to ssingerbart@gazette.net. Items are used on a space-available basis.
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