David Dippel, Dunkirk Road, is a second-grader at Rodgers Forge Elementary School who's quite the collector of trophies. On Feb. 14, David won first place in the Virginia Open Judo Tournament for boys 8 and under.He also won first place in the Ocean State International Judo Competition in Rhode Island on March 21 for Bantam 3 (children born in 2007), 27 kg division. But wait — there's more! The Virginia Open win qualified him for the Judo Nationals in Indianapolis this July and the Ocean State International win qualified him for the Junior Olympics in Irving Texas this June. Sounds like David's parents will need to invest in quite a few trophy cases! Great job, David, and good luck!
Regina Davis, Dumbarton Road, has a new gig starting next week. She's leaving the Maryland Public Service Commission after four years to join the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners as its new director of communications. Congratulations, Regina! It's good to know you'll still continue to answer all our neighborhood utility questions as they pop up. We do all appreciate your insights!
Speaking of exciting new jobs, Ken Robinson, a paraeducator of special education at Rodgers Forge Elementary, recently learned he landed his dream summer job working with the Orioles game day staff. That's where all the magic happens.
Let's talk trash for a moment. Rob Williams, Regester Avenue, shared some interesting information. Rodgers Forge has one of the highest recycling rates of the 44 designated areas. That's impressive but I bet we do even better. Let's aim to overachieve. You can learn more about our neighborhood rates by visiting bcrecycles.com.
From Stoneleigh Elementary School, I heard that 64 kids ran the equivalent of a marathon during their Marathon Kids program. That's 26.2 miles! Congratulations to Nora Omron, Catherine Van Lierop, Isa Graham, Alex Godat, Ben Andrews, Shelby Chason, Sadie Palermo, Piper Kennedy, Charlotte Chason, Owen Gladkowski, Evangeline Fehskens, Asa Graham, Daniel Nichols, Julia Nichols, Cole Benson-Williams, Nate Berkowitz, Gavin Halsey, Elliott Palmer, Jason Broome, Carter Benson-Williams, Nathan Tracy, Grady Kimball, Mara Aber, Abybatou Mbow, Eric Yoder-Wells, Finnegan Canavan, Grayson Kennedy, Emma Davis, Kiran Bhatia, Oliver Andrews, Clementine Lingg, Emmett Omron, Cecelia Van Lierop, Chip Cirelli, Jane Shields, Conor Moran, Sydney McCloskey, Luke Salter, Hailey Benson-Williams, Claire Chason, Ella Lechtzin, Gavin Carmichael, Kalmia Lorber, Philip Nichols, Brianne Canavan, Olivia Bisson, Anna Morrow, Louise Aloi, Emily Slade, John Kauffman, Meghan Henderson, Matthew Prem, Maddie Ward, Hans Van Lierop, Jenna Paraska, William Coker, Anna Heath, Allie Zellerhoff, Brett Parsons, Emma Bisson, Anna Stamatos, Madelaine Godat, Ayshal Rabbani, and Lauren Karwacki.
Finally, I would like to take a quick opportunity to publicly apologize to my children. Will, Isabel, Henry, Helene: you're all correct. When you mistakenly thought they were caramel covered apples I served you on April Fools' Day, I should have mentioned they were actually onions rather than letting you take gigantic bites. My apologies. (Giggle, giggle, snort.)
As always, please feel free to email me your upworthy and amazing good news.