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A bone marrow drive will be held in Baltimore from 3 to 9 p.m. July 19 in honor of 32-year old Silver Spring resident Jonathan Haupt, who was recently diagnosed with acute myelogenous leukemia, a rare blood cancer.

His doctors have determined that a bone marrow transplant is the only option to save his life. However, there are currently no donor matches in the existing bone marrow registries for Haupt to receive a transplant.

Haupt's friends and family launched Team Haupt (www.teamhaupt.org) to find a donor and are partnering with the nonprofit DKMS, the world's largest bone marrow donor center, to host drives throughout the country during the month of July. Area residents are strongly encouraged to attend the drive being held in Baltimore.

The event will be held at Ryan's Daughter Irish Pub and Restaurant at 600 East Belvedere Ave. in North Baltimore.

DKMS relies on donations to help finance the $65 cost it pays to tissue type each bone marrow donor who registers. Donations are voluntary.

To help Haupt and to find donor drives in your area, visit www.teamhaupt.org. To register online, visit www.dkmsamericas.org.

County police detective

wins retail award

Detective David Hill of the Montgomery County Police Department was awarded the National Retail Federation's Law Enforcement Retail Partnership Award at a June 15 NRF conference in California.

Hill was tipped off by a county retailer in May 2008 about a repeat customer who was using multiple gift cards to purchase expensive gifts, a potential indication of a fraud scheme called skimming. Working with Special Agent Philip Soto of the United States Secret Service, Hill determined that the suspect was using illegally duplicated credit cards to purchase gift cards that were later used to buy merchandise from local stores, according to an NRF conference press release.

The suspect would then refund the items for cash.

The award is given to police and investigators who go above and beyond the call of duty in protecting businesses from suffering criminal losses in merchandise or funds, according to the NRF Web site.

County arts groups to receive $3.4 million in grant awards

The Silver Spring-based Arts and Humanities Council of Montgomery County announced last week the award of 91 grants totaling more than $3.4 million for arts and humanities programs and activities in the county. These grants support arts and humanities activities including music, dance, theater, visual arts, literary activities and historical programs. Funds to support these grants come from the county government. They were included in the fiscal 2010 operating budget proposed by County Executive Isiah Leggett (D) and adopted by the Montgomery County Council, according to a news release from the arts and humanities council.

Grant applications will be accepted again in October for arts and humanities organizations and community groups for projects occurring from Jan. 1 to June 30, 2010. For more information on how to apply and deadlines, visit www.creativemoco

.com or contact Fran Abrams, grants director at 301-565-3805 or at grantsinfo@creativemoco.com.

Library brings beach to

Silver Spring for family event

Those who can't get to the beach this summer can visit the Silver Spring Library from 2 to 3:30 p.m. Saturday for an "Afternoon at the Beach." The event, at the library — 8901 Colesville Road — is a Montgomery County Public Libraries Summer Reading event. Attendees can decorate their own flip-flops, create a sand design in a bottle, show their skill with the hula hoop, make their own smoothie and, of course, read.

Attendees are encouraged to register by contacting Susan Levine at susan.levine@montgomerycounty

md.gov or 240-773-9420. The event is for ages 10-18.

Free outdoor movies

at Pyramid Atlantic

Pyramid Atlantic Arts Center and the Silver Spring Regional Center are joining forces this summer to present "Screen on the Lot," a free outdoor movie series for the public presented on a large outdoor screen in the Pyramid Atlantic parking lot at 8230 Georgia Ave. The public is invited to bring a blanket, lawn chairs and a picnic to enjoy the cinematic experience. 

At 9 p.m. today, there will be a screening of "School of Rock," directed by Richard Linklater and starring Jack Black. The film is about a wannabe rock star in need of cash who poses as a substitute teacher at a prep school and tries to turn his class into a rock band.

At 9 p.m. July 22, "Transformers" will be screened at Pyramid Atlantic. The film, directed by Michael Bay, stars Shia LaBeouf, Megan Fox and Josh Duhamel and features an ancient struggle between two extraterrestrial clans, the heroic Autobots and the evil Decepticons, with a clue to the ultimate power held by a young teenager. 

The final film of the summer will be "Iron Man," screened at 9 p.m. Aug. 5. Directed by Jon Favreau and starring Robert Downey Jr., Terrence Howard and Jeff Bridges, the film is the story of wealthy industrialist Tony Stark, who is forced to build an armored suit after a life-threatening incident. He ultimately decides to use its technology to fight against evil. 

All the films are rated PG-13 and free. For more information, e-mail jdominguez@pyramid-atlantic.org.

Folk festival fundraiser

Support the Takoma Park Folk Festival from 5 to 9 p.m. Tuesday at the El Golfo Restaurant, 8739 Flower Ave. in Silver Spring, for a fundraiser and musical performance.

Lisa Taylor, who won the festival's 2008 showcase and will perform again in this year's festival in September, will provide a preview of her performance at the restaurant beginning at 7:30 p.m. A portion of all food and drink sales from 5 to 9 p.m. will be donated to supporting the festival.

For more information, visit the festival's Web site, www.tpff.org.

Upcoming library events

Join the Takoma Park Maryland Library staff in welcoming the "Traveling Players' Ensemble" for a free show for children age 6 and older, beginning at 7:30 p.m. July 16 in the Azalea Room of the Takoma Park Community Center, 7500 Maple Ave.

The ensemble, which is made up of middle school students from Great Falls, Va., will perform a humorous adaptation of Moliere's "The Bourgeois Gentleman" about a rich man obsessed with climbing the social ladder.

Silver Spring man completes Boston Marathon

Silver Spring resident John E. Czarnecki, 41, the son of Dr. and Mrs. Edgar Czarnecki of Silver Spring, completed the Boston Marathon in 3 hours, 31 minutes and 33 seconds. The event is held in April. He is married to Conni Czarnecki and the couple has three children, Jack, Paul and Thomas.

Send Silver Spring news to Staff Writer Jason Tomassini and Takoma Park news to Staff Writer Jeremy Arias at The Gazette, 13501 Virginia Manor Road, Laurel, MD 20707. The fax line is 240-473-7501. Tomassini can be reached at 240-473-7559 or jtomassini

@gazette.net; Arias can be reached at 240-473-7564 or jarias@gazette.net.