Jack Smith released his recommendation, which includes scrapping the boundary study and starting a new one that includes Bethesda Elementary School.

 https://bethesdamagazine.com/bethesda-beat/schools/mcps-considering-starting-over-on-boundary-study-for-elementary-schools-in-bethesda/

Somerset ES parent who secretly recorded children changing, showering sentenced to 20 years

Md. man who secretly recorded children changing, showering sentenced to 20 years

Children were invited to 'splash parties' at Oldale’s residence where they were encouraged to change clothes or take showers before they went home.

A man who invited children into his home in order to secretly record them while they were changing clothes or using the bathroom was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison Monday.
Jonathan Mark Oldale, 55, will spend 20 years behind bars followed by a lifetime of supervised release on charges of production and possession of child pornography, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland.

Oldale will also be required to register as a sex offender where he resides, where he is an employee and where he is a student.
He also was ordered to pay a $400,000 money judgement in lieu of forfeiting his interest in his house, which he had used to commit his crimes.
According to his plea agreement, on May 5, 2017, the Montgomery County Police Department received a complaint from an employee at a children’s gymnastics facility in Silver Spring that Oldale had placed a backpack containing a camera disguised to look like a car key fob in the bathroom. The employee told officers about a prior incident, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, where Oldale had done the same thing.
Police searched his home, and found three computers, two of which had been on the “dark web” and accessed child pornography or exchanged child pornography. A second search of his home found three “spy cameras” and footage of children in his bathroom changing, showering and using the toilet...

https://www.wusa9.com/article/news/local/md-man-who-secretly-recorded-children-changing-showering-sentenced-to-20-years/65-d7864e6d-a056-4f1c-aa23-f16d4b41fcc1?fbclid=IwAR0ZQfyLo7Cw6fmChMk8iMGXu7-CUZfiJiM9HwQzUw-Ue79onag_5pnwqxc

Somerset ES Parents and Mayor Demanded Kids Play on 126 Degree Plastic Surface, and They Got Their Wish @Marc_Elrich

The Somerset Elementary School parents and community (even the Mayor) insisted that the children in their community should play on a very hot, plastic surface at their elementary school.  The parents and Mayor raised money for the plastic field and the Board of Education awarded a no bid artificial turf deal (they threw out the actual bids) to FieldTurf.

The Montgomery County Council supported the installation of the field that would slowly bake the children.

The field went in.

Now we see that the plastic is heating up just as predicted.  On a school day in October, the Somerset ES plastic playground registered 126 degrees. 


Below is the field test report from October 9, 2018.

Somerset Elementary School ... by on Scribd

Somerset Elementary School ... by on Scribd

Man hid tiny cameras in his bathrooms, recorded 60 nude children, prosecutors say.

...Until fall [2017], when Montgomery County police arrested him, Oldale, who lived in Somerset, was a fixture in the town — deeply involved in the lives of his two children and those in the neighborhood.

He led a Cub Scout pack, took photos for the elementary school yearbook and volunteered as a room parent at school. He launched a small summer camp and threw the backyard splash parties...

The videos show multiple cameras were used simultaneously to record what was happening in the bathrooms of his home, authorities said in charging Oldale, and show Oldale checking camera angles.

...“Mr. Oldale would come into the bathroom,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Baldwin said in court several months ago. “He will check on a camera. He’ll look down at it and make sure the focus is correct and make sure that it’s pointing in the right direction. He did it to the one in the pedestal sink. There’s another video where he comes in, and there’s one that’s pointing from the shower over the commode in the bathroom to the bathroom door. He walks in, he leans in that camera and he artfully pushes it back so that it’s now focusing on the shower.

“You ask yourself, well, why is he doing that?” the prosecutor continued. “Well, 30 seconds later, two young girls come in the bathroom, and they take off their bathing suits, and they get in the shower.”..

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/public-safety/i-have-disgraced-myself-man-charged-with-hiding-video-cameras-to-film-young-girls-expected-to-plead-guilty/2018/11/13/cf86a410-e796-11e8-b8dc-66cca409c180_story.html?utm_term=.92264afb1bd2

Chevy Chase Man Pleads Guilty to Recording More Than 1,000 Videos of Children Undressing in His Home #SomersetElementary #pornography

...On the USB drives, Oldale had created a filing system that had subfolders named for the month and within those folders were additional subfolders that listed children’s names followed by a description of the bathing suit each wore.

The search unveiled two of Oldale’s three laptops had “installations of browsers used to access the ‘dark web,’ ” and accessed files had titles consistent with child pornography.

The dark web is a part of the internet that requires specific software to access, allowing users to remain anonymous, according to a press release...

https://bethesdamagazine.com/bethesda-beat/courts/chevy-chase-man-pleads-guilty-to-recording-more-than-1000-videos-of-children-undressing-in-his-home/

Somerset ES cork infill not viable for use by Montgomery Parks

The Parents' Coalition obtained e-mails and documents from Montgomery Parks concerning their decision in 2016 to replace the Montgomery Blair High School artificial turf football field.

In the e-mail below was a discussion of the choice of contractor, choice of plastic carpet, and choice of infill for the new Blair High School artificial turf football field.  As part of the evaluation of these different products, the Somerset Elementary School artificial turf field was evaluated and discussed.

From this e-mail, we learn that the Somerset Elementary School artificial turf field requires daily maintenance by MCPS staff and that Montgomery Parks had determined that the infill used at Somerset was not a "viable product." 

How many MCPS elementary school fields have staff brushing the field on a daily basis?  Who is paying for the increased maintenance costs of this plastic field?  

The e-mail contains a lot of additional information about how artificial turf fields are purchased in Montgomery County and how the fields are performing and annual costs associated with these fields.  None of this information is ever discussed by the Board of Education.   

Read the e-mail at this link:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/a3c7sqzc1vvmxa3/2016%20Montgomery%20Parks%20email%20Somerset%20infill.pdf?dl=0

2016 Montgomery Parks Email... by on Scribd

Video: Elrich, Rice, Floreen, Katz, Navarro and Riemer Voting to Install Plastic Playground at Somerset ES

Heat Waves Bring Warnings About Synthetic Turf Risks

August 2016:

The Synthetic Turf Council, an industry group, warns that, "In direct sunlight during the hottest part of the day in the summer months, the upper layer of the synthetic turf that is exposed to the sun's rays will get significantly hotter than grass."

http://www.courant.com/community/windsor/hc-synthetic-turf-heat-20160813-story.html#

And the Somerset Elementary School artificial turf playground is coming apart. #surprised? #2YearsOld

The picture to the left shows a section of the Somerset Elementary School playground where the artificial turf is coming apart at a seam.

The picture below shows the temperature of the Somerset Elementary School artificial turf playground on July 14th.  Should children be playing on a surface that is 146 degrees?  Do the children go out for recess when the field is 146 degrees during the school year?

The Somerset Elementary School parents were allowed by the Board of Education to raise money to put in their own artificial turf field.  Who is going to be funding the repairs to this two year old artificial grass field?  

ABC7: Police say Oldale allegedly hosted "slip and slide" water parties at his home. And he reportedly asked the children to shower in his home... #SomersetES #SomersetPTA

...Police say Oldale allegedly hosted "slip and slide" water parties at his home. And he reportedly asked the children to shower in his home.

At least 30 children have been identified in the videos that capture them changing, showering, and relieving themselves.

U.S. Attorney Joseph Baldwin said "different children do different things your honor, but there are plenty here." Baldiwn stated this when describing what investigators uncovered in hundreds of videos.

Montgomery County Police have tracked down many of the victims, but some of the identities remain unknown. "It was an environmental setup that was primed to create these videos," said Baldwin.

Oldale's case was bumped up to federal court, and he appeared in U.S. District Court Friday for an initial court appearance in Greenbelt.

After an extensive investigation of "numerous electronic devices" with images of at least 30 kids, police aren't certain if the photos were taken at the Silver Stars Gymnastics Club in Silver Spring, his home, or another location, according to ABC7's Kevin Lewis...

http://wjla.com/news/crime/sources-around-30-kids-secretly-filmed-md-man-charged-with-producing-child-pornography

...images of at least 30 kids, police aren't certain if the photos were taken at the Silver Stars Gymnastics Club in Silver Spring, his home, or another location... #SomersetES #SomersetPTA

BETHESDA, Md. (WJLA) — A 54-year-old man allegedly secretly filmed around 30 children, and he's been charged with producing child pornography in Montgomery County.

Jonathan Oldale was federally charged in October 2017. Police say he ran music classes and summer camps at his home in Chevy Chase.

Oldale's case was bumped up to federal court, and he will appear in U.S. District Court Friday for an initial court appearance in Greenbelt.

After an extensive investigation of "numerous electronic devices" with images of at least 30 kids, police aren't certain if the photos were taken at the Silver Stars Gymnastics Club in Silver Spring, his home, or another location, according to ABC7's Kevin Lewis...

http://wjla.com/news/crime/sources-around-30-kids-secretly-filmed-md-man-charged-with-producing-child-pornography

Parents Concerned After Man Arrested for Hiding Camera in Children's Gym

https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/Man-Arrested-for-Hiding-Camera-in-Bathroom-of-Childs-Gym_Washington-DC-454606083.html

Full Video of Police Press Conference Held Prior to Child Safety Meeting in Chevy Chase on Nov. 1st

Montgomery County Police did not allow videotaping or audio recording of the meeting they held on November 1st concerning the arrest of Chevy Chase parent Jonathan Oldale.  However, prior to the community meeting the police held a press conference in the hallway outside the auditorium.

Below is video of the press conference taken by a member of the Parents' Coalition of Montgomery County, MD.   

Concerned Md. parents wonder why they weren't notified sooner about illegal recording investigation

CHEVY CHASE, Md. - Montgomery County police spoke to worried parents at a meeting Wednesday night to answer some tough questions after a parent was recently arrested and accused of illegally recording at his children’s Silver Spring gymnastics studio...



http://www.fox5dc.com/news/local-news/concerned-md-parents-wonder-why-they-werent-notified-sooner-about-illegal-recording-investigation

MAN ARRESTED FOR VIDEO SURVEILLANCE MAY HAVE LINKS TO PTA AND CUB SCOUT TROOP

A Chevy Chase man arrested in October for conducting nonconsensual visual surveillance in a private place may have ties a local elementary school parent-teacher association, according to two PTA newsletters from September 2016.

Police arrested Jonathan Oldale, 54, Oct. 18 concluding a nearly five-month-long investigation, according to an Oct. 27 police press report. Police began investigating Oldale in May after an employee of the Silver Star Gymnastics and Fitness Club reported finding a backpack containing a concealed camera under a "wet floor" sign on the floor of a bathroom...

http://www.thesentinel.com/mont/news/local/item/5996-man-arrested-for-video-surveillance-may-have-been-a-pta-and-cub-scouts-rep

Police: Man hid camera in bathroom at Montgomery Co. gymnastics facility

WASHINGTON — Police have arrested a parent they say attempted to record people in the bathroom of a Montgomery County gymnastics and fitness facility earlier this year.

Montgomery County police arrested 54-year-old Jonathan Oldale on Oct. 18 after they say, on May 5, he put a backpack containing a camera in the unisex bathroom at the Silver Star Gymnastics and Fitness Club located at 2701 Pitman Dr. in Silver Spring, Maryland.

Oldale is a parent whose children are enrolled in gymnastics classes at the studio, police said.

An employee called police after he saw a backpack under a “Wet Floor” sign on the floor of the bathroom and noticed a camera inside what appeared to be a car’s key fob inside the backpack. The camera “was hot to the touch” and its light was on, indicting that it was recording, the employee told police...

https://wtop.com/montgomery-county/2017/10/police-man-hid-camera-bathroom-montgomery-co-gymnastics-facility/

Police: Father hides ‘pinhole spy camera’ in bathroom of Silver Spring gymnastics center

SILVER SPRING, Md. (ABC7) – While two siblings attended gymnastics class, their father placed a hidden camera inside the facility’s restroom in hopes of recording children, Montgomery County Police say.

Authorities have charged Jonathan Oldale, 54, of Bethesda, with one count of visual surveillance-prurient intent.

According to court documents, on the evening of May 5, an employee at the Silver Stars Gymnastics and Fitness Club in Silver Spring located a backpack stashed underneath a wet floor sign in a lobby-area unisex restroom. The sign was positioned directly in front of the sole toilet...

http://wjla.com/news/local/police-father-hides-pinhole-spy-camera-in-bathroom-of-silver-spring-gymnastics-center

Elementary School Celebrates Plastic Field #judydocca #jeffreyslavin

...the first major individual pledge was from Somerset Mayor Jeffrey Slavin, whose $25,000 leadership gift inspired others to donate...

http://www.mymcmedia.org/somerset-elementary-dedicates-new-turf-field-photos-video/

-----------------
Reminder: This was another No Bid Field Turf installation. Actual bids were obtained, and all were rejected in favor of Field Turf, who did not even bother to bid.  

Why bid when you are going to get the contract anyway? 

FieldTurf Uses Montgomery Co. To Sell Plastic Grass. Any Surprise FieldTurf Gets No Bid Somerset Deal?

Update:  FieldTurf has now been selected as the no bid vendor to build the Somerset Elementary School plastic playground.  

March 18, 2016: 

Remember back in 2011, when the Montgomery County Council put out a "report" on artificial turf? That report was put together by County and MCPS staff and included a representative from just one plastic grass manufacturer.  FieldTurf, the no-bid choice of MCPS, had a representative on the workgroup that put out the Montgomery County report.

Parents were not allowed on the workgroup and neither were natural grass installers. The workgroup met in secret, and there were no meeting dates, agendas, or minutes. 

It should come as no surprise to anyone that the Montgomery County "report" is now being used to sell FieldTurf artificial turf.


http://parentscoalitionmc.blogspot.com/2016/03/montgomery-county-fieldturf-report-now.html

Somerset ES Parents Fail to Raise Cash Needed for Plastic Grass, Will Get Plastic Anyway. Same Thing Happened at Wootton HS.

This is now twice that parent "foundations" have said they would raise the funds needed to pay for plastic grass playgrounds/fields, and twice the parents have not been able to raise the needed funds.

Somerset Elementary School was to raise $550,000 to pay for a green plastic playground for their school, but the actual cost of the field is far above that number.

Wootton High School parents also claimed they were going to raise funds to complete the purchase of a green plastic field at their school and they also fell short.  They fell short by $205,178.