Published on: Wednesday, March 03, 2010

By Peggy Dee

Pot holes

I was so happy to see the “pot hole patrol” so hard at work during the week of Feb. 22. This seems to be an especially bad year for pot holes due to the severity of our three storms. Kudos to our Public Works Department for such prompt action.

Crime rate

Congratulations to police Chief Doug Holland and his entire department for our city’s overall crime drop by 10 percent.

It was good to hear that homicides, violent crimes and property crimes have all dropped. Assaults are the only major category in which crime was higher in 2009, rising by 6.84 percent from 2008.

Nature Center

In conjuction with Black History month, I took a driving tour with the Mt. Rainier Nature Center on Wednesday, Feb. 24. All of the sites were located in Maryland. We visited Popular Hill on His Lordship’s Kindness Estate in Clinton, Columbia Air Center in Upper Marlboro, The Charles Duckett Log Cabin at the Patuxent Rural Life Museums in Upper Marlboro, St. Paul’s Methodist Episcopal Church in Oxon Hill, and the Blacksox Park in Bowie.

Bus service

Prince George’s council members Eric Olson, Will Campos and Tom Dernoga have announced the arrival of a bus service dedicated to the Route 1 corridor.

The service will run between Mt. Rainier at the District line to Ikea in College Park, making 35 stops along the way. This line will increase the connectivity of the communities and businesses located along the corridor as well as the University of Maryland.

Days gone by

Several long-term city residents appreciated walking to the old Hyattsville Movie Theatre on Saturday and Sunday afternoons. Marion Quinn said that her parents often went there when they were dating. Many attended a movie and had dinner in the old Hot Shoppes Restaurant, across the street.

I grew up in Northeast Washington and I can remember taking the streetcar out here and walking up the hill to Baltimore Avenue to the theatre. The old streetcar right-of-way was located two blocks down from Route 1.

Tell me your memories of the old streetcar which came out here from Washington and serviced our city.

Sympathy

Our deepest sympathy to Ken and Mae Worsham and their entire family on the loss of their son, Kenneth. He died very suddenly on Thursday, Feb.18, at the young age of 55. He grew up in Hyatsville and attended St. Jerome’s Church. He was one of seven children. May he rest in peace.

Hyattsville history

During the post-World War I era, the State Roads Commission prepared several plans for elimination of both crossings, which called for construction of roads and streets which would pass under the tracks at various points.

Citizens living adjacent to the Melrose Crossing who favored a tunnel under the tracks below the crossing suggested a road through “Horse Heaven” next to the Western Branch and under the B&O tracks adjacent to the trestle. Some members of the Roads Committee appointed by the Chamber of Commerce wanted a bridge run from the Bowen tract to the Sonnenberg property.