Olney Mill Community Association

Come Get Dirty & Clean Our Neighborhood!
On Saturday, March 19, 2011, the Olney Mill Community Association will be holding its 8th Annual Community Clean Up. The Clean Up will begin promptly at 9:00 a.m. at three staging areas:

The Olney Mill House (corner of Route 108 and Olney Mill Road)
The Olney Mill Family Neighborhood Park (entrance on Willow Grove Rd)
The Olney Mill Park (entrance on Charline Manor Rd)

Wear jeans and a long sleeve shirt or jacket to avoid scratches from branches. Wear waterproof shoes even if it is clear, because some areas may be swampy. Don’t wear anything nice – you’re probably going to get dirty…

We will proceed if there is just a drizzle or light rain. If the weather is questionable, please check the website to see if the event has been postponed. The raindate is Sunday, March 20, 2011.

After the clean up, volunteers are invited to join us for a pizza lunch (location to be determined) around noon. If you would like to participate, please email Dennis Twombly (dtwombly@mail.nih.gov) so that we can distribute volunteers and plan for the pizza lunch. You can also register by sending email to the Parks & Common Areas contact at www.olneymill.net.

December 5, 2010
7:00 p.m.
Start your holiday season off right with one of Olney Mill’s oldest traditions! Gather around the Mill House and enjoy some delicious treats, holiday music and great company with your Olney Mill friends and neighbors.

Santa Claus is scheduled to arrive around 7:30 p.m., so get your cameras ready…
Residents planning to come are asked not to park in front of the Mill House, as it is a “No Parking” zone and Santa’s arrival spot.

Anyone wishing to volunteer should contact the Hotline at (301) 231-3739 prior to the event. SSL hours are available.

On Saturday, March 20, 2010, OMCA will be sponsoring its 7th Annual Community Clean Up. Bring your families and friends to join us for our annual celebration of Earth Day! Student Service Learning (SSL) hours will be credited to our student volunteers. The cleanup will begin at 9:00 a.m. at three different staging areas: the Olney Mill House, the Olney Family Park (on Willow Grove Road) and the Olney Neighborhood Park (on Charline Manor Road). March 21th is our official “rain date”, but if it’s just drizzling lightly on Saturday, we will go ahead as scheduled. Any last minute announcements or postponements will be posted on the OMCA website by 8:30 a.m. on Saturday morning (www.olneymill.net). After the Clean-up (around noon), all volunteers are invited to join us for a pizza lunch, compliments of OMCA. To volunteer, just show up at a staging area at 9:00. For details, go to the web site or contact Dennis Twombly at datwombly@verizon.net or (301) 570-0394.

This coming Saturday, March 28, the Olney Mill Community Association (OMCA) will be sponsoring its 6th OMCA Spring Clean-up. Last year, nearly 70 volunteers collected litter, cans, bottles, and other items throughout our local parks. Maryland National Capital Parks & Planning (M-NCPPC) will provide permits, gloves, and trash bags, and they will give Student Service Learning (SSL) hour credits for our student volunteers. Remember, community service is an important factor in selecting our annual $1,000 OMCA scholarship winner!

We will meet at 9:00 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. You should 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. Be sure to bring a rain coat if the weather looks at all threatening. If it’s just drizzling lightly by 8:30 Saturday morning, we will go ahead that day as scheduled. The next day (Sunday) is the rain date. Any last minute announcements or postponements will be posted on our web site by 8:00 am on Saturday morning (www.olneymill.net).

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. I will need a count by about 11:00 of who will plans to join us there. Please call or send an email if you plan to attend so we can distribute the volunteers appropriately. At this point, it looks like we need more volunteers for the Charline Manor park group.

Dennis Twombly: (Office: 301-443-9334) or (Cell: 301-461-4357) or send email from this web site via “Contacts” (parks and common areas).

The Olney Mill Scholarship Program recognizes and rewards an Olney Mill high school senior for outstanding achievement during his/her high school years (grades 9-12), with an emphasis on service in the Olney Mill and greater Olney community.

Award and Basis

The Board of Directors wishes to recognize an outstanding applicant with the $1,000 award. The Scholarship Committee will submit its recommendations from the field of applicants to the OMCA Board of Directors in a closed session. Should there be multiple applicants with equally strong achievements, the Board may choose to split the award accordingly.

Eligibility

Graduating high school seniors of OMCA families in good standing (dues current and no existing violations) are eligible. Immediate family members of the active OMCA Board, its officers or agents are not eligible.

Categories and Criteria

Scholarship decisions include three elements:

1. involvement with the Olney community, where Olney Mill is given greater consideration;
2. academic accomplishment; and
3. athletic or other extracurricular accomplishments.

Community Contribution

Involvement is “Support of the Olney Mill Community or the Olney area.” It is further demonstrated by sustained, positive contributions to the welfare of Olney Mill or the local community during the applicant’s high school years.

Application Guidelines

Applications must be postmarked prior to May 1, 2009, limited to two typed pages describing the applicant’s achievements, plus the verifying information, as required. The Scholarship Committee will process the applications and recommend awards to the Board.

Download the scholarship application.

The Olney Mill Swim Club (OMSC, “Pool”), located at 3611 Briars Road, is an organization independent from the Olney Mill Community Association (OMCA). According to the Pool By-laws, Olney Mill residents are to be given preference for membership openings. Over the years, however, many Olney Mill residents have applied for pool membership, only to have their names remain on a “waiting list” for several years. There have, evidently, been a number of problems in tracking and approving applications, as well as verifying whether or not applicants are officially residents of Olney Mill.

The OMCA Board of Directors does not participate in the Pool membership process and has no way of keeping track of applications. However, they are interested in helping to identify and address some of the issues involved. If you have experienced problems in applying for pool membership, or if you believe you are presently on the waiting list for membership, please contact both OMCA and the OMSC to provide details of your situation. Please send your input via email with the following information: name, address, phone, email, date of application for membership, date of receipt of membership (or “pending”), and any other membership problems you would like to bring to their attention. The email contacts are listed below. Both of our organizations are eager to assure that the membership procedures are efficient and fair! Again, please send your input to both addresses:

• OMCA (Dennis Twombly, President):
dtwombly@mail.nih.gov

• Olney Swim Club (Steve Ornstein, President):
plantdoctor1@verizon.net

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)

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!

The first Neighborhood Watch program organizational meeting is planned for Sunday, February 24th, 2-4 pm, at the Longwood Community Center. All Olney Mill residents are encouraged to attend. Planned topics for discussion include:

1. Establishing ways to alert Olney Mill residents of incidents occurring in the community (e-mail list, phone tree, web site message, etc.)
2. The role of “block captains” and how we might implement this feature into our program
3. Secure Neighborhood Watch signs to be posted at the entrances into Olney Mill

The address for the Longwood Community Center is:

19300 Georgia Avenue
Brookeville, Maryland 20833