Rock Creek Hills Citizens Association Newsletter

We encourage all of our neighbors to come to the next RCHCA meeting, scheduled for Saturday, January 27, 2001 from 6:30 p.m. until 9:00 p.m. at Grace Episcopal Day School (9411 Connecticut Avenue). Please mark your calendars and plan to attend the 2^nd Annual RCHCA Potluck Dinner. Bring the whole family! The agenda for the evening will include:

Message from the Board

President Shannon Hamm 301-933-5264 u Vice President Pablo Collins 301-946-4919

Treasurer Deanna Marcum 301-933-9503 u Secretary Mike Baker 301-589-1348

2000 Accomplishments. The Rock Creek Hills Citizens’ Association wishes all of our neighbors HAPPY NEW YEAR! RCHCA had a busy year with adding a summer newsletter, establishing the Web e-group to improve communication, installing doggie litter bags at both parks, initiating the January potluck dinner, initiating baby sitting at all meetings, and hosting our first Kensington in the park concert.

New Board Nominations. We shall elect the Board at the January 27^th meeting. Mike Baker, chair of the Nominating committee, is collecting names of residents interested in serving on the Board or in chairing a committee. Board incumbents would like to remain, except the Vice President. We are grateful to Pablo Collins for his incredible support over the past two years. We will miss you Pablo, but we know his dedication and commitment to this community will not end with his Board membership. Mark Schweizer, Covenants Chair, has expressed his interest for Vice President. Thus, we will be missing a Covenants Chair. So, please contact Mike Baker or Shannon Hamm if any of you have interest in a Board position.

Thank You. Thanks to those residents who have stepped up to make our special events, such as the Halloween Parade and picnic, spectacular. This year, we are lucky to have Betsy Greaney chair of our Special Events committee, who has done a great job organizing both the Halloween event and our first concert. She is doing a tremendous job and we hope she continues. A special thanks also goes to Sam Hoxie for her continued support by organizing the Halloween picnic, as well as the many other jobs she does for the Association.

New Directories are going to be published this year. Please be on the lookout for a special mailer that will be sent to all households in the near future. This mailer will allow RCHCA to confirm the information it has on file. In addition, if you have a business and would like to help RCHCA defray the cost of printing the directory, we will be including business advertisements in this publication. The anticipated costs will be $50 for half page ad and $100 for full-page ads. More information will be included in the mailer.

The Board is committed to this neighborhood and we want to be responsive to the needs of everyone. We encourage you to come to us with any ideas for meeting speakers, events, or issues that you believe would benefit the residents of Rock Creek Hills. Please do not hesitate to call me at (301) 933-5264.

Thank you all for your support in 2000 and we look forward to serving you in 2001.

Potluck Dinner

Another reminder that our January Association meeting will coincide with our Second Annual Potluck Dinner on January 27, 2001 beginning at 6:30 p.m. We will be introducing new neighbors, acknowledging our 2000 Annual Holiday Decoration award recipients and holding a short but necessary business meeting to vote in our 2001 Board. RCHCA will supply the meats and main courses, drinks and dessert, but we will need side dishes.

If you want to help set up, please call Shannon Hamm or show up at Grace Episcopal Day School at 6:00 p.m.

Train Noise

The following letter was sent by RCHCA to Montgomery County’s Department of Works and Transportation.

The Rock Creek Hills Citizen’s Association, speaking on behalf of its members, wishes to request an investigation as to the feasibility of obtaining a whistle ban for trains traveling through the Forest Glen highway-rail grade crossing.

The volume and increasing frequency of train whistles has created an extreme nuisance to residents living in neighborhoods within a wide proximity to this crossing. The quality of life in such neighborhoods is severely impaired when residents cannot sleep with windows open (with some residents even needing sound machines year-round), and whistle frequencies of every 10 to 20 minutes on many nights after midnight.

We understand that under Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) regulations, whistle bans may be instituted within “quiet zones” upon request by state or local government, if Supplemental Safety Measures (SSMs) fully compensate for the absence of audible warning provided by a horn or whistle.

A member of our citizen association, Mr. Joseph Rosenberg, recently discussed this matter with Mr. Robert Herstein of the Maryland State Highway Administration. It was suggested that among the SSMs that might be most appropriate for this site would be median barriers or four quadrant gates.

We welcome the opportunity to assist the Department of Public Works and Transportation in documenting the level of community support for relief via designation of a quiet zone. According to the FRA, Federal funding is available to assist communities in implementing grade crossing safety improvements. Since 1972, “…the states have obligated more than $3 billion in Federal grade crossing safety funds for more than 30,000 projects”.

We look forward to hearing back from you in the near future, and wish to express our appreciation in advance for giving this important matter due consideration.

Holiday Decoration Awards

The neighborhood sparkled with glorious lights and other decorations this year. In the RCHCA tradition, we have awarded the following Holiday Awards to these households:

Covenant Issues

The Rock Creeks Hills Citizen's Association Covenant Committee reminds all residents of our community that we are here to protect and enhance the beauty of our neighborhood and to promote communication among neighbors. If you are going to make any changes to your home or property, please submit plans (which must include the plat showing existing and new construction) to the committee for review as well as to your neighbors. We follow the county’s model of receiving input from your neighbors prior to Rock Creek Hills Covenants Inc. approval.

We would like to remind you when contacting either your neighbors or the committee to be as courteous and respectful as possible. The covenants committee requires a two-week minimum on approvals. Any submissions for approval should be made to Mark Schweizer, 3103 Kent Street, Kensington, Maryland 20895. The following improvements have been recently submitted and approved:

Christmas Vandalism

Our wonderful neighborhood was the object of some Christmas vandalism, which even included destruction of decorated lawns. We are saddened that these events occurred, but are hopeful by raising the awareness of them we may be able to mitigate further vandalism.

If any of you see any suspicious behaviors, please contact the Montgomery County Police Department at 301- 879-2000. Also the RCHCA e-group is a place to get out instant communication to neighbors. To submit an email, please follow the directions included in this newsletter on page .

2001 Annual Dues are $25

The New Year also marks the time to send in your annual Association dues. Please make your check payable to RCHCA and send it to the Treasurer in the attached pre-addressed envelope. Remember to put a 34-cent stamp on the envelope.

Thanks from Betsy Greaney & Sam Hoxie

We want to take this opportunity to thank all of those who helped in so many different ways to make the RCHCA Halloween Parade and Potluck such a great success this year. Extra thanks goes to Grace Graham who single-handedly puts together the arts and crafts bonanza year after year! Great job once again, Grace! Special gratitude to Hawkins Produce and the KVFD for adding to the excitement with the hayrides and the fire trucks! Our heartfelt thanks to all of our ghosts & goblins: Nancy Alexander, Mike Baker, Cindy Dellinger, Jodi Gan, Susan Gerecht, Ann Ginsberg, Irene Glowinski, Grace Graham, Kevin Greaney, Shannon Hamm, Alan Hamm, Mary Johnston, John Mangan, Margaret McBurney, Chris Ortlieb, Carolyn Roth, Jean Silverman, Michael Silverman, Ruth Silverstein and Jim Vaught.

Gone to the Dogs

This is a dog-friendly neighborhood. Please be considerate and pick up your dog droppings. To assist in this effort, the Association has been instrumental in getting doggie bags installed at the park. Please use them at the park too!

There seems to be a group of dog lovers who frequent the park regularly. If any of you are interested in helping to organize a Dog Fair Day for Rock Creek Hills, please contact Shannon Hamm at (301) 933-5264. Some of the events that could be sponsored are Humane Society Mobile Adoption Van, Pet Trainers, Pet Expositions and any thing else that is organized.

REMEMBER THERE WILL BE NO MEETING ON WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 10, 2001

THE JANUARY RCHCA MEETING IS SCHEDULED FOR SATURDAY, JANUARY 27, 2001 from 6:30 P.M. - 9:00 p.m.

What is rchcanet?

The Rock Creek Hills Citizens’ Association e-mail network, rchcanet, is for families of Rock Creek Hills. Founded in March 2000, rchcanet has about 35 members. We urge everyone with email access to sign up for this, as it will allow information about the neighborhood, planned events, etc. to be easily disseminated to everyone in a timely manner. This communication forum is not intended to replace any existing communications – newsletters will continue to be sent and meetings will continue to be held.

The list is not moderated, that is no one reviews messages before they are posted. When individuals apply to join rchcanet (become members), we check to make sure they are families residing in Rock Creek Hills. Only members can post messages, receive messages, or review messages on the eGroups web site at http://www.egroups.com/group/rchcanet. Usually list members receive each e-mail message as it is sent. If you would prefer, you can receive a single daily message or opt to view the email messages on the eGroups web site.

To join rchcanet or to ask a question about it, contact Sam Hoxie via email at samhoxie@comcast.net. Be sure to include your name and address if you would like to join so that we may verify your connection to the neighborhood. Thanks!

Upcoming at the Department of Public Works and Transportation

“Behind the Scenes” Free 6-week course offered on Thursday evenings starting March 1, 2001. For more information contact Susanne Brunhart Wiggins at 240-777-6461. Visit www.mcrecycles.org/bts;
contact Ms. Wiggins at Susanne.wiggins@co.mo.md.us.

Information on “vermiculture” (indoor composting) may be obtained from the Master Recycler/Composter Volunteer Program at 301-840-2852, or email mrc@windsor.com.

Rock Creek Hills Citizens’ Association

RCHCA Meeting Saturday, January 27th, 2001 Potluck Dinner 6:30 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.