District 1 County Councilwoman Mary Lehman hosted a well-attended coffee and bagels session with her constituents Feb. 27 at the Towne Centre at Laurel Panera Bread. She provided updates on council activities and initiatives she has sponsored and is sponsoring now.
As we all sat there drinking coffee from reinforced paper cups, the councilwoman updated us on a proposed ban on Styrofoam in various retail transactions, including sale of packaging peanuts as well as coffee cups.Many businesses, particularly fast food establishments, have phased out Styrofoam, which does not degrade in refuse dumps. Alternatives are paper cups and paper containers for carry-out.
The councilwoman's briefing included the happy news that groundbreaking on the new Laurel Library is now scheduled for this spring.The plans are to complete the new library in 18 months.When completed, the facility will be three times the size of the old building.A temporary library is currently available at 8101 Sandy Spring Road.A virtual tour of the new library may be viewed at pgcmls.info/Library.
Since we are having a winter of many snow/ice/freezing rain days, remember that in a declared snow emergency there is a ban on all parking on a snow emergency route.In residential neighborhoods, parking is allowed only in driveways or on the even numbered side of the residential street. This enables snow removal equipment to do a more thorough plowing job on narrow streets and cul-de-sacs with limited turn-around space.Failure to observe the parking restrictions may result in a fine, towing or both.Additionally, after snowfalls have stopped, residents have 48 hours to shovel their walks to avoid paying a fine.
Montpelier Arts Center is currently hosting the 46th annual Laurel Art Guild Open Juried Exhibition through March 29 in the Main Gallery. The exhibit showcases works by artists ages 18 and older who live in the Washington metropolitan area. Admission to the exhibition is free. For more information, please call 301-377-7800.
Is spring ever going to come?Sign up for a class with the South Laurel Recreation Council and start thinking about getting active and out of the house.Registration for spring classes begins March 13.Call 301-776-2805 or for details go to southlaurelrecreationcouncil.org .
For those who are true optimists envisioning summer days, now is the time to schedule youngsters for a summer camp sponsored by the county.Registration is now open through SmartLink for county residents. Maybe we can feel warmer just thinking about July.