Last updated 03/11/2009

Masthead

This Report is brought to you by former Councilman George F. Wiggers  as a public service to the Citizens of Forest Heights. It contains Town news, facts and editorial opinion for citizens interested in community affairs. Town citizens are encouraged to share information posted on this website with neighbors who do not have internet access. Views expressed on this website are those of the editor and are not official statements of the Town government.
 
If you would like to be notified of updates to this website, please send an email to: editor@forestheights.biz.

INDEX

News Archive

Forest Heights Newsletter

Meetings & Contacts

History & Studies

Budget & Finance

Police Dept. & Homeland Security

Public Works Dept.

Voting & Elections

Events & Activities

Churches

Businesses

Parks & Recreation

Town Documents

Health & Sanitation

Links to Other Sites

Letters to the Editor

Editorials

Breaking News
Former Mayor Passes Away
March 13, 2009 Former Forest Heights Mayor, J. Kemp Cook passed away on March 12, 2009. He was 84. Mr. Cook served as mayor of Forest Heights from 1999 to 2001. He was a long time resident of Forest Heights, having moved here in 1953, where he and his late wife, Augustine Cook, raised four children. He was first elected to the Forest Heights Town Council, representing Ward II, in 1998. He was living in the Riderwood retirement community in Silver Spring, Maryland at the time of his death.

As a World War II and Korean War veteran, Mr. Cook will be buried with full military honors in Arlington National Cemetery on Thursday, May 28, at 9 a.m..

A viewing will be held on Monday, March 16, 2009 at the Collins Funeral Home, 500 University Blvd. West, Silver Spring, MD 20901 between the hours of 2-4 p.m. and 7-9 p.m. His funeral will be a Mass of Christian Burial at the Church of the Resurrection at Riderwood Village, 3110 Gracefield Road, Silver Spring, MD, on Tuesday, March 17, at 11 a.m.

In addition to his community service, Mr. Cook was a 4th degree member of Bishop Patrick Byrne Council, No. 3877 of the Knights of Columbus, and had served as State Deputy for the District of Columbia. He was also a former member of St. Ignatius Church, on Brinkley Road, Ft. Washington, MD.

Correction
March 13, 2009 On March 11, 2009 we incorrectly reported that there would be a special election under Section 33-11 of the Town Charter to fill the Council seat vacated by Andrea McCutcheon's election as Mayor. Because there is less than 15 months left in Ms. McCutcheon's term as Councilwoman, the Council may fill the vacancy by Council vote, or call for a special election under Charter Section 33-35.

Town Election Results
March 11, 2009 At the conclusion of voting in the Forest Heights general election, Freddie Colston, the Election Board chairman, announced the following preliminary results:
For Mayor: Andrea McCutcheon 103,
Larry Stoner 89; write-in's: Joyce Beck 1, Steve Downey 1, Quincy Hines 1.
For Ward I Council seat: 
Jacqueline Goodall 40; write-in's: Gail Lewis 5, Abigail Eason 1.
For Ward II Council seat: 
Anne Reifsneider 30, Clifton Atkinson 24.
For Ward III Council seat: 
William Clarke 41, Bill Robinson 21; write-in Taunya Hines 2.

The official results of the election will be presented to the Town Council when it meets on Wednesday, March 18,  2009. At that meeting the winners of the election will be sworn in. There were 3 absentee ballots which were included in the totals above. With the exception of the race for the Mayor's seat, all the other seats were won by incumbents, thereby providing stability to the Town government.

The Forest Heights News Report congratulates the winners of this election. We also applaud those citizens who put in considerable time and effort to run for public office, but were not successful in getting enough votes to win their seat.

Finally, we take note of the work of the Forest Heights Election Board which conducted the election in a fair and impartial manner.

Forest Heights Election Board

Next Election in Forest Heights
March 11, 2009 Councilwoman McCutcheon's election as Mayor will create a vacancy in her Ward II Council seat when she is sworn in as Mayor. Under Section 33-11 of the Town Charter (PDF Format), if a vacancy occurs fifteen (15) months or more prior to the next regular election, the Council shall call a special election to be held not less than forty-five (45) days nor more than sixty (60) days following the occurrence of the vacancy. [See correction to this article dated March 13, 2009.]

Analysis of Forest Heights Finances
March 6, 2009 The Forest Heights News Report has conducted an analysis of quarterly financial data obtained from the Town of Forest Heights, and prepared a report based on that analysis. The primary conclusion is that the Town's available financial data is inadequate for making management decisions, including preparing a budget for the next fiscal year beginning July 1, 2009. The report can be read by clicking here (PDF Format).

Race for Mayor and Council Seats March 6, 2009 The race for the office of mayor and three Town Council seats is in the final weekend of campaigning. The Gazette Newspaper has published the results of Questions and  Answers (Q&A) submitted by most of the candidates competing for elected positions, and we are providing links to the their articles on our Links to Other Sites page. We have also posted candidate statements and fliers on our Election 2009 page.

Energy Saving Workshop March 6, 2009, J. Goodall The first workshop – Learning to Save on your Home Energy Bills was held Saturday, January 31st.  Many residents of the town and community came out to learn, what we need can do to have energy efficient homes and tips on what they could do themselves at little or no money.  All the utility companies sent representatives to answer questions and a representative from the Maryland Energy Program was in attendance to explain the program for anyone needing assistance in paying their utility bills. Information for any one that was unable to attend will be available at the town municipal building.  There will five more workshops that will deal with various environmental issues.  The workshops and updating our codes and ordinances are wholly sponsored by a grant from NOAA and the Maryland Department of Natural Resources with technical assistance from Chesapeake NEMO and the Neighborhood Design Center.  Look for time and date for future workshops and I hope to see you there. If you would like to assist with the “Greening Forest Heights” committee, please call the Municipal Building (301) 839-1030 and leave a message for Councilwoman Jacqueline Goodall. Click here for Do-It-Yourself energy audit tips.

Energy Workshop Meeting

Candidates File For Election
February 4, 2009 The following candidates have filed their nomination papers for the upcoming March 11, 2009 Forest Heights election:
For Mayor:
Larry Stoner (incumbent) and Andrea McCutcheon (Council President/Ward II).
For Council:
    Ward I
Jacqueline Goodall (unopposed).
    Ward II: Anne Reifsneider (incumbent) and Clifton Atkinson (former Councilman).
    Ward III: William Clarke (incumbent) and William Robinson (no photo available).
The Forest Heights News Report (FHNR) will publish the candidates statements filed with the Town Clerk when they become available. Also, FHNR may publish on our election page additional campaign fliers and other election material submitted to us by the candidates.

Election Nomination Day
February 3, 2009 February 4, 2009 is the due date for nominations for the elective offices of Mayor and Council member for Wards I, II, and III. If a Forest Heights citizen wishes to be placed on the ballot for the March 11, 2009 Town election, he or she must submit a nomination form to the Town Clerk before close of business on Wednesday, February 4, 2009

February 2, 2008 Council Workshop Meeting February 3, 2009 The Council met in a non-legislative session to discuss the Town's budget, upcoming Town election and other matters. In attendance at the beginning of the meeting were
Mayor Larry Stoner, Councilwomen Jacqueline Goodall from Ward I, Council President Andrea McCutcheon (Ward II), and Councilman Brian McLaurin and Councilman William Clarke (Ward III).  Councilwomen Lynn Smith-Barnes arrived later in the meeting. Councilwoman Anne Reifsneider (Ward II) was absent.

After looking at some financial data and finding some errors, the Council decided to table any further discussion of the budget until discrepancies in the financial data are corrected. In a later discussion, Mayor Stoner indicated he may reconsider hiring a Treasurer, but not until after the “budget is straightened out.”

In response to an inquiry during public period, Mayor Stoner said that the financial quarterly report for the period ending December 31, 2008 has been released. FHNR was promised a copy of the report for publication.

Notwithstanding an agreement at a previous meeting, Mayor Stoner said a special flier regarding the upcoming March 11, 2009 election, would not be distributed to Town residents.

The audit report for FY 2007 is still not available.

A voice recording of the February 2, 2009 meeting in MP3 compressed format can be accessed by clicking here. This is a 14.6 MB file and can be downloaded by right-clicking on the above link and selecting "save target as." The FHNR will provide an uncompressed file in WAV format (higher quality sound) on a CD to any Forest Heights citizen or official who requests a copy by sending an email to the editor.

Court Decides Nickens et al. v Town of Forest Heights
January 23, 2009 Prince George's County Circuit Court Judge Nicholas E. Rattal ruled in favor of the plaintiffs, Reginald Nickens, Myles Spires and Worthington Ross on one count of their complaint and declared that the election of Carmelita Smith-Barnes in a special election held on March 5, 2007 was null and void.
The Town Attorney, Wilmer Ticer, represented the Town in the case, and Mayor Larry Stoner served as a witness for the defense. Judge Rattal’s order found there was no provision in the Town charter at the time for such an election. However, this appears to be a Pyrrhic victory for the plaintiffs against the Town in that Judge Rattal denied voiding any resolution or appointment of the Council during the period of March 5, 2007 to March 21, 2007 because these were not properly introduced in the evidentiary phase of the trial. Consequently, the appointment of George Wiggers to the Council and Town charter resolutions passed on March 9, 2007 were left standing. Some of these charter amendments removed Myles Spires and his co-plaintiff Worthington Ross from the Council on April 28, 2007. Myles Spires would have been removed subsequently, in any case, because of his felony conviction in October 2007 relating to his actions while Mayor of Forest Heights.

Judge Rattal further found that the election of Goodall, Reifsneider and Clarke to the Town Council on March 14, 2007 was valid, as was the reappointment of Ms. Smith-Barnes to the Council on March 21, 2007 after the new Council was sworn in. Detail of some of these events can be found in the Forest Heights News Report archives for 2007. Under the legal principle of  “res judicata,” it appears unlikely that Spires or Ross would be successful in any subsequent suit they may consider filing against the Town that would relate to actions of the Town Council in that March 2007 period.

With respect to Worthington Ross, a co-plaintiff in the suit against the Town, we bring the readers’ attention to his role in the conviction of Myles Spires in the above mentioned criminal case. The Forest Heights News Report had already reported on the apparent false affidavit
(PDF Format) he filed in that case (see 2007 archive). In his sworn testimony (see pages 5-31 to 5-113) during Spires trial regarding that document, he first claimed that he wrote the affidavit himself with some advice from a mysterious James Brown. Later in the trial, under cross-examination, he admitted that an attorney, Mr. Sciubba with the law firm Joseph, Greenwald & Laake, had in fact drafted the document for him. Ross also admitted that he did not, in fact, witness others signing the resolution in question, as he attested to in the affidavit.

Correction - Code Violation Appeals January 23, 2008 Our reporting of the January 5, 2009 Council workshop meeting implied that the Police Department was involved in the voiding of violation notices by Mayor Stoner. We regret any misunderstanding of the police department's code enforcement process. According to Acting Chief Webb, the Forest Heights Police Department (FHPD) does have established internal department procedures for handling errors and other problems associated with violation notices issued by that department. Citizens should contact the department (301-839-4040) to obtain further information about appealing such notices to the FHPD.

Furthermore, we bring the reader's attention to a statement on page 1 of the January issue of the Forest Heights News
(PDF Format) by Mayor Stoner. In that article he pledges to form a Code Enforcement Appeals Board.

January 21, 2009 Town Meeting January 23, 2009 The Town Council met for 3 hours and 2 minutes in open session. In attendance were Mayor Larry Stoner, Councilwomen
Lynn Smith-Barnes and Jacqueline Goodall from Ward I, Council President Andrea McCutcheon (Ward II), Councilwoman Anne Reifsneider (Ward II), and Councilman Brian McLaurin from Ward III. Councilman William Clarke (Ward III) was absent. After reviewing the draft Quarterly Financial Report for the second quarter of FY 2009, the Council decided that changes needed to be made before releasing it to the public. In response to an inquiry during Public Period, they announced that the Audit Report for FY 2007 was also not yet available.

The Council discussed the Town's preparation for the upcoming March 11, 2009 elections. The seats that will be open for this election are those now held by Mayor Stoner, Councilwoman Goodall (Ward I), Councilwoman Reifsneider (Ward II) and Councilman William Clarke (Ward III). Some Council members felt that information about the upcoming election should have been more prominently displayed on the first page of the January edition of the Town's newsletter, Forest Heights News.

As noted on page 2 of the Town newsletter, citizens wishing to vote in the Town election must be a registered voter in Prince George's County by January 27, 2009. Information from the P.G. Elections Board can be obtained by clicking on the following link:
http://www.princegeorgescountymd.gov//Government/AgencyIndex/Elections/. Information from the Maryland State Board of Elections can be obtained by clicking on the following link: http://elections.state.md.us/voter_registration/index.html.

Citizens wishing to run for elective office in Forest Heights this year should submit their certificate of nomination together with a statement of the particular office to which he aspires, with the Town Clerk on or before the first Wednesday in February preceding the Town election
(February 4, 2009). Further information on Forest Heights elections, including a map of the Wards can be found on the Voting and Elections page of this website.

Mayor Stoner reiterated his opposition to hiring a Town Treasurer at this time, preferring that the Town Clerk continuing to serve as Acting Treasurer.

The Council also discussed the flooding of a house basement on Woodland Drive, the overflow of which caused icing conditions and access to homes by public transportation. A citizen, Mr. Robinson, submitted an information letter to the Council regarding this problem.

A voice recording of the January 21, 2009 meeting in MP3 compressed format can be accessed by clicking here. This is a 21.8 MB file and can be downloaded by right-clicking on the above link and selecting "save target as." The FHNR will provide an uncompressed file in WAV format (higher quality sound) on a CD to any Forest Heights citizen or official who requests a copy by sending an email to the editor.

January 5, 2009 Workshop Meeting
January 6, 2009 The meeting began at 7:00 p.m. Attending the Town Council meeting was Mayor Stoner, Councilwoman
Lynn Smith-Barnes, Ward I, and Councilmen William Clarke and Brian McLaurin of Ward III. Councilwoman Jacqueline Goodall, Ward I and Council President Andrea McCutcheon (Ward II) arrived at the meeting around 7:25 p.m. Councilwoman Anne Reifsneider (Ward II) was reported as recovering from her operation and not able to attend the meeting.

Prior to the arrival of Councilwomen Goodall and Council President McCutcheon, Mayor Stoner declared the meeting a special meeting of the Town Council, at which the Council could vote on issues. It was noted that the Town's signs posted for the meeting simply said the Council was going to meet and did not specify the type of meeting.

Mayor Stoner proposed that the Council vote on the hiring of a police chief at the January 5, 2009 meeting because Councilman Clarke, chairman of the finance committee, found that funds are sufficient for the position. Mayor Stoner also noted that the income from property taxes will be $938 thousand rather than $752 thousand as currently stated in the budget.  After some discussion, the Mayor agreed to delay the vote on the decision until the Wednesday, January 21, 2009 Town meeting.

The Town has received 5 proposals in response to a Request for Proposals (PDF F
ormat) it issued in November 2008 for work on Municipal Property Grounds and Municipal Building Roof Improvements. The funding for this project will come in part from a $200,000 Maryland State Bond bill, and matching funds ether from the Town or another grant agency.

During the public period, the Council discussed aspects of the code enforcement program, including the voiding of violation notices by the Mayor and police department. The voiding occurred when circumstances were presented by residents complaining about their properties being cited. Mayor
Stoner denied making a statement regarding a connection between voiding violation notices and the upcoming election in March 2009.

A voice recording of the January 5, 2009 meeting in MP3 compressed format can be accessed by clicking here. This is a 16.7 MB file and can be downloaded by right-clicking on the above link and selecting "save target as." The FHNR will provide an uncompressed file in WAV format (higher quality sound) on a CD to any Forest Heights citizen or official who requests a copy by sending an email to the editor.

Correction
January 4, 2009 The Council workshop meeting of January 5, 2009 has been posted by the Town to begin at 7:00 p.m. instead of 7:30 p.m. as we had indicated in our January 1, 2009 news article. We regret any confusion resulting from this error.

Special Meeting of December 29, 2008 January 1, 2009 The Town Council met in open session for over two hours prior to going into an executive session at the end of this meeting to discuss the appointment of a Police Chief. In attendance were Mayor Stoner, Councilwomen
Lynn Smith-Barnes and Jacqueline Goodall from Ward I, Council President Andrea McCutcheon (Ward II), and Councilmen Bill Clarke and Brian McLaurin from Ward III. Councilwoman Anne Reifsneider (Ward II) was reported as recovering from her operation and not able to attend the meeting.

Much of the public discussion dealt with a discussion of the Town budget and the possible need for amending it. The Mayor indicated that he was not in favor of hiring a Treasurer, although two Council members expressed concern that the Town did not have a Treasurer trained in accounting. One citizen during public period said he was shocked that the Town did not have a Treasurer. Currently, the Town Clerk, Bonita Anderson is serving as Acting Treasurer in addition to her duties as Town Clerk. Issues involving enforcement of the Town Code and deteriorating infrastructure were also raised during the public period.

The Council will meet again on January 5, 2009 for its regularly scheduled workshop meeting. A time for this meeting was not announced on page 4 of the December 2008 edition of the Forest Heights News, although workshop meetings typically start at 7:30 p.m.

A sound recording of the December 29, 2008 meeting in MP3 compressed format can be accessed by clicking here. This is a 15.8 MB file and can be downloaded by right-clicking on the above link and selecting "save target as." The FHNR will provide an uncompressed file in WAV format (higher quality sound) on a CD to any Forest Heights citizen or official who requests a copy by sending an email to the editor.

Special Meeting on Police Department
December 28, 2008 The Town Council will meet in executive session on Monday, December 29, 2008 to discuss the selection of a Chief and other personnel matters related to the Forest Heights Police Department. Lt. Webb has been acting police chief since December 2007.

The meeting will start at 7:30 p.m. Prior to going into the executive session, which is closed to the public, the Council will conduct an open session in which residents of the Town will have an opportunity to be heard in regard to any municipal question.

Special Meeting on Chesapeake NEMO
October 28, 2008 Members of the Town Council will meet with Cheseapeake NEMO regarding the "Green Initiative in Forest Heights." Any interested citizen is welcome to attend the meeting on Monday, November 3, 2008 from 10 am to 12 pm.

October 22, 2008 Town Meeting
October 25, 2008 The Town Council held its regular monthly meeting on the fourth Wednesday of October instead of the third Wednesday because of a scheduling conflict in the use of the Municipal Building. Present were Mayor Larry Stoner, Councilwomen Lynn Smith-Barnes and Jacqueline Goodall from Ward I, Council President Andrea McCutcheon and Councilwoman Anne Reifsneider of Ward II, and Councilmen Bill Clarke and Brian McLaurin from Ward III.

Councilwoman Reifsneider went through a list of action items the Town needed to accomplish, including the status of Police vehicles. Former Councilman Clifton Atkinson gave a brief presentation on the volunteer work he is doing assisting the Mayor and the Forest Heights Police Department in maintaining the fleet of police cars. During the discussion on police expenditures, Mayor Stoner declared Council President McCutcheon out of order and requested that she leave the meeting or be escorted out of the meeting by the Forest Heights police. Ms. McCutcheon complied with the request to leave the meeting without further incident.

The Town Clerk, Bonita Anderson, provided Council Members with a copy of the Town's FY2009 Quarterly Financial Report (PDF Format). The report is required by Council Resolution 06-05. The Council agreed, in keeping with the resolution to make the document available to the public. A notice will be placed in the next Town newsletter that the document will be available at the Municipal Building for any Town citizen that wanting a copy of it. A copy of the report is also posted on the Budget & Finance page of this web site.

Councilwoman Reifsneider also introduced a Charter Amendment resolution that would limit voting by the Council President to situations where there was a tie vote among Council members, which was seconded by Councilwoman Goodall. After some discussion as to how the resolution would affect Robert's Rules of Order, the resolution was tabled with the understanding that it could be reintroduced at a future meeting.

Town



 Council Oct. 22,2008

A sound recording of the October 22, 2008 meeting in MP3 compressed format can be accessed by clicking here. This is a 12.8 MB file and can be downloaded by right-clicking on the above link and selecting "save target as." The FHNR will provide an uncompressed file in WAV format (higher quality sound)
on a CD to any Forest Heights citizen or official who requests a copy by sending an email to the editor.

Treasurer Dismissed
September 3, 2008 At a special meeting called on August 27, 2008, the Town Council voted to dismiss the Treasurer. The vote was 4 to 3, with Mayor Stoner, and Council persons Clark, McLaurin and Smith-Barnes voting in favor, and Councilwomen Goodall, McCutcheon and Reifsneider opposed.

Councilwoman Reifsneider said that the Treasurer was given an "unfair hearing." Mayor Stoner told us that the Town would soon advertise in the Forest Heights News and Maryland Municipal League for a new Treasurer who would "be dependable and could do the Treasurer's job."

Comprehensive Planning Survey
September 3, 2008 The Town is preparing a comprehensive plan and has requested citizen input in a supplement to the August 2008 Forest Heights News. Although the August 13, 2008 deadline for submitting the completed questionnaire has passed, the Town Clerk has informed us that the Town is still accepting completed questionnaires. A copy of the questionnaire can be obtained by clicking on the following link:
http://www.forestheights.biz/Citizen_Input_Survey_Aug08.pdf

Forest Heights Real Estate
September 3, 2008 As of August 11, 2008, there were 22 homes for sale in Forest Heights. Click here for a list of those homes and a link for additional information about them. [Editors note: In the interest of full disclosure, one of the properties on the list is owned by the editor.]

Armed Robbery September 3, 2008 At 12:05 a.m. on Friday, August 22, 2008 a citizen was assaulted and robbed at gunpoint in the 5700 block of Ottawa Street. Two perpetrators stepped from a red pickup truck to commit the crime, while a third waited in the driver's seat.  The victim was knocked to the ground and his wallet and cell phone were taken.

For the Record
September 3, 2008 Mayor Stoner was sworn in by the Clerk of the Circuit Court on June 2, 2008.

Stoner Sworn-In

Election Results
July 31, 2008 The July 25, 2008 special election for Ward 3 was won by Brian McLaurin with 19 votes. Mr. McLaurin ran unopposed. There were 4 write-in votes for Taunya Hines who recently served on the Council. The special election was held to fill the seat vacated by Larry Stoner when he assumed the duties of Mayor upon the resignation of former Mayor Quincy Hines.

Public Hearing May 31, 2008 The Town Council held a public hearing at 7:00 p.m. on May 29, 2008 as required by the State of Maryland in regards to the Constant Yield Tax Rate.  The Council heard from Forest Heights property owners who generally supported a tax increase as long as they could see results from the use of their tax money. At the conclusion of the hearing, the Council passed a resolution increasing the tax rate to $0.53 per $100 of assessed value, and in addition imposed an annual trash collection fee of $216 for each residential household.

At the conclusion of the public hearing, the Council then took up the matter of the Town's budget for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2008. The Council President, Larry Stoner, announced that he would be acting as Mayor under a provision of the Town Charter passed in September 2007 in which the Council President automatically becomes the Mayor if the Mayor's position becomes vacant less than 15 months before the next general election. As Mayor pro tem, Mr. Stoner then submitted a proposed budget (PDF Format) to the Council. After some discussion, the Council then agreed to hold a public hearing on the proposed budget at the June 18, 2008 Town meeting.

Council President Stoner expects to be sworn-in as mayor by the Clerk of the Circuit Court, as provided for in the Town Charter, within the next two weeks.

Fiscal Year 2006 Audit Report
May 31, 2008 The Town of Forest Heights has released its 2006 Audit Report, which has been submitted to the Maryland Department of Legislative Services (DLS) according to state law. The 2006 audit covers the time period July 1, 2005 through June 30 2006, and should have been submitted to DLS in November 2006. The Town has yet to complete the 2007 audit which was due in November 2007. The 2008 audit for the current fiscal year is due in November 2008. The 2006 audit and other Town financial documents are posted on the Budget & Finance page of this website.

Mayor Hines Resigns
May 28, 2008 Mayor Hines resigned as mayor of Forest Heights on May 27, 2008. In a telephone interview, he indicated he resigned for personal reasons.

Memorial Day Event
May 28, 2008  The Town of Forest Heights held its annual Memorial Day wreath laying ceremony at Lohr Park at the intersection of Seneca and Woodland Drives in the Town of Forest Heights. At this years ceremony, special tribute was paid to Councilwoman Anne Reifsneider, a World War II veteran. Councilwoman Reifsneider was recognized for over 50 years of service, dedication and civic responsibility to the Town of Forest Heights, and for her Coast Guard (SPARS) service during World War II. Also attending the ceremony was former Mayor J. Kemp Cook, a veteran of World War II and the Korean conflict.

Reifsneider_Cook

Park_Flag

Election Results
March 12, 2008 The unofficial results of today's election are as follows
: Ward I Lynn Smith-Barnes (18); Ward II  Andrea McCutcheon (34), Clifton Atkinson (17); Ward III Larry Stoner (34), Taunya Hines (19). There were no write-in votes, and no absentee ballots accepted by the election board. The Town Board of Elections will present their official results at the March 19, 2008 Town meeting, and the winners of the election will be sworn in by the Mayor at that meeting. (See also Forest Heights News Special Edition.)

Town Council Meeting
March 2, 2008 The regular Town Meeting scheduled for February 20, 2008 was held on February 27, 2008, because of inclement weather on the scheduled date. The Mayor and all Council Members attended the meeting. Actions taken by the Council included: passing an emergency change to the parking ordinance requested by the Police Department, defining the meaning of easement; and agreeing to sponsor a political debate on Monday, March 10, 2008 at 7:30 p.m. for citizens to ask questions of candidates running in the March 12, 2008 ward elections. Councilwoman Goodall (Ward I) proposed that needed repairs to the roof of the Municipal Building be "green," i.e., the roof be reconstructed to support growing plants and vegetation. In addition to reducing run-off into the storm sewer system, such a roof would also reduce cooling and heating costs of the building according to Councilwoman Goodall. She said that she would pursue obtaining grants to help finance the project.

Myles Spires Trial Testimony March 2, 2008 Testimony given by witnesses at the criminal trial of former mayor Myles Spires in September through November 2007 is now available by clicking on the links below. Two PDF versions of the court transcripts are provided: the first set are images of the transcripts, and the second set were prepared from documents created by using Optical Character Recognition (OCR) on the transcript images. This second set are "word searchable," but may contain errors produced by the OCR software. While searchable text is convenient, readers are forewarned that the OCR text may not be completely accurate. The image files are large and may not be suitable for download for computers using a dial-up internet connections.

Set 1 PDF image files: September 17, 2007 (Image) (OCR); September 18, 2007 (Image) (OCR); September 19, 2007
(Image) (OCR); September 20, 2007 (Image) (OCR); September 24, 2007 (Image) (OCR); September 26, 2007 (Image) (OCR); October 2, 2007 (Image) (OCR); November 8, 2007 (Image) (OCR); November 27, 2007 (Image) (OCR).

Myles Spires Files Appeal February 22, 2008 According to Maryland Court records, on December 10, 2007, former mayor Myles Spires, Jr. filed a notice of appeal to his conviction on felony theft and misconduct in office. Spires' public information file at the court can be accessed by going to:
http://casesearch.courts.state.md.us/inquiry/inquiry-index.jsp. After checking the box indicating agreement with the terms for using the website, click Continue and enter CT070356X in the box for Case Number near the lower left of the page. Select Prince George's County Circuit Court from the pull-down menu, and click the Get Case button to bring up the court's public case information file for the State's criminal case against Spires. If you have difficulty obtaining the information from the court website, click on this link to view the information that was posted there on February 22, 2008.

Nominations for Council Seats
February 14, 2008 Six citizens have filed for Council seats in the upcoming March 12, 2008 election. Councilwoman C. Lynn Smith Barnes is running unopposed to retain her seat in Ward I. Councilwoman Andrea McCutcheon is running to retain her Ward II seat and is being opposed by former Councilman Clifton Atkinson and by George E. McDermott. In Ward III, Councilwoman Taunya Hines is running to retain her seat and is being opposed by former Councilman and former Acting Mayor Larry Stoner, Sr. The Forest Heights News Report will post information about the candidates on an Elections 2008 page when the information becomes available. Candidates are invited to submit to the Forest Heights News Report any additional campaign material they would like posted on the Elections 2008 page.

Mayor Apologizes
February 14, 2008 Mayor Quincy Hines wrote an apology to former Mayor Paula Noble in the February 2008 issue of the Forest Heights News for using an article she wrote in the January 2005 edition of the Forest Heights News without attribution. (See the Letters to the Editor page of the Forest Heights News report.)

Position of Town Clerk Open February 14, 2008 Bonita Anderson, who served as Town Clerk since 2004, has resigned, and the Town is now recruiting a replacement. The advertisement and qualifications for the position can be found on the last page of the February edition of the Forest Heights News. The closing date for applications for the position is February 26, 2008.


Click here for articles from earlier editions of the Forest Heights News Report.

Comments on this web site should be directed to: newseditor@forestheights.biz