Olney Mill Community Association

Urgent Notice for Olney Mill Residents: Sometime from April 28 to May 10, Montgomery County will be spraying insecticide to control gypsy moth caterpillars. The gypsy moth is the most serious pest of hardwood trees in Montgomery County and state wide. The caterpillars feed on the leaves, often causing defoliation that damages trees and sometimes causes trees to die. Only areas with high numbers of gypsy moths are being treated. The date of the application will depend on weather conditions. M-NCPPC plans to have staff in the Family Park to keep residents off the trails and out of the park during the spraying.

The insecticide B.t. will be applied by a helicopter flying approximately 50 feet above tree top level. Applications will begin at dawn and continue as long as weather conditions are favorable for spraying. Application to a specific area is usually completed in 15-30 minutes. The spray dries on leaves in approximately 30 minutes. The spray contains the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis (B.t.). To be effective, B.t. must be eaten as the caterpillar feeds on leaves. There is no evidence that the use of B.t. poses any risk to humans, domestic animals, or the environment. A good source of information about the insecticide is available on the internet at http://ace.orst.edu/info/extoxnet.

Please avoid touching the wet leaves
Be aware of & avoid the helicopters

For more information about the Gypsy Moth Suppression Program, please see the website: Montgomery County Department of Environmental Protection, Gypsy Moth Suppression Program: Daytime phone (240) 777-7700; 24-hour hotline (240) 777-7788. E-mail: AskDEP@montgomerycountymd.gov

On Saturday, May 3, from 8:30 am until noon, OMCA and the Greater Olney Civic Association (GOCA) are sponsoring an Olney area litter clean-up as part of the extended Earth Day activities. Although OMCA and other homeowner associations and service organizations already host their own clean-up efforts, many of the main roads in the Olney area continue to have a great deal of trash and other debris. We invite all of you who care for the quality of our environment to dedicate a few hours to help cleaning up some of these worst areas. Student Service Learning (SSL) hours will be credited to students who participate. Some of the areas we are targeting are safe for younger family members. Others are along very busy highways such as Georgia (97), Olney-Laytonsville Road (108), Bowie Mill or Brookeville Road. We are particularly in need of dedicated adult volunteers who can work along these more dangerous sections of roads.

In order to coordinate this event, it is essential for volunteers to sign up in advance so that we can arrange for distribution of materials (bags, gloves) and assign specific areas to clean. Please email Dennis Twombly (Parks & Common Areas Liaison) to sign up, or call (301) 443-9334. In case of significant rain, we will re-schedule the event for the following day, Sunday, May 4. Any last-minute announcements will be posted on this OMCA web site.

If you cannot participate this time, but want to sign up for our general volunteer list, send your name and email address to Dennis. We will notify you of any upcoming OMCA cleanup activities or other projects.

OMCA, GOCA, and everyone in our community will be most grateful for your help!

Dennis Twombly (OMCA) & Bob Beard (GOCA)

Olney Mill Volunteers,

The weather services are predicting rain starting at 5:00 pm on Friday evening and continuing throughout the day Saturday. We are therefore postponing the OMCA Spring Cleanup to the following day, SUNDAY, April 6, from 8:30 until noon. Other than the change in date, all of the activities will be as described below, including the pizza lunch at Oakley Cabin. Sunday is expected to be clear all day, but be sure to wear boots because the fields will probably be muddy!

Hope to see you all Sunday,

Dennis Twombly

This coming Saturday, April 5, the Olney Mill Community Association (OMCA) will be sponsoring its 5th OMCA Spring Clean-up. Bring your families and friends to join us for our annual celebration of Earth Day! Last year, nearly 70 volunteers collected litter, cans, bottles, and other items throughout our local parks and along roads and trails. Maryland National Capital Parks & Planning (M-NCPPC) will provide gloves and trash bags, and they will give Student Service Learning (SSL) hour credits for student volunteers. After the Clean-up, we invite everyone to join us at the Oakley Cabin on Brookeville Rd (100 yds east of Grayheaven) for a pizza lunch, compliments of OMCA.

We will meet at 8:30 am at three different staging areas: 1) the Olney Mill House on the corner of Olney Mill Rd and 108, 2) the Olney Family Park on Willow Grove, 3) The Olney Neighborhood Park on Charline Manor. We need 2-3 people helping at the Mill House location. The rest should go either to the Family Park or Charline Manor Park where much larger areas need to be covered.

Be sure to bring a rain coat if the weather looks at all threatening. You should also wear jeans and long-sleeved shirts to avoid scratches from branches. Wear waterproof boots even if it’s clear because many of the grassy areas may be swampy. We will be asking for a few adventurous individuals to collect trash from the stream-beds and ponds. If you are interested, dress accordingly and please let us know if you can do this when you arrive at the staging area.

Please pass the word to anyone you think might be able to participate, even if they are not Olney Mill residents. The more people who join us, the more we can accomplish! Please contact Dennis Twombly by phone (office, 301-443-9334; cell, 301-461-4357) or by email if you plan to attend so we can distribute the volunteers appropriately. Sunday is our official “rain date”. If it’s just drizzling lightly by 8:30 Saturday morning, we will go ahead that day as scheduled. Any last minute announcements or postponements will be posted to the web sited by 8:00 am on Saturday morning.

We hope you can join us for this worthwhile and enjoyable experience. Please write down the above contact numbers so you call us about any last-minute changes.

See you Saturday!