Text Box: AROUND TOWN Text Box: TALKIN’ AND FIDDLIN’ AT LOCKHOUSE 8 Eco-historian Hayden Matthews will tell river stories at the Lockhouse 8 River Center on the C&O Canal on Sunday, Sept. 10 at 3:00 p.m. He will speak as part of the Potomac Conservancy’s Voices of the River programs at the historic lockhouse. One story will tell of the failed escape of the 76 slaves aboard the sailing ship ‘Pearl’ in 1848. The events preceding and following their escape highlight the gross injustices and hypocrisy of slave trading openly thriving in the Nation’s capital prior to the Civil War.  On Sunday, Oct. 1, at 3:00 p.m., environmentalist Albert “Abby” Ybarra will talk about Native American ways of knowing water. He will compare tribal relationships with water to basic principals of water science.Ybarra is the former Community Environmental Education Coordinator for the District of Columbia. On Sunday, October 15, 3:00-4:00 p.m., Voices of the River programs will wrap up with “Fiddlin’ on the Porch.” The fiddle and guitar duo called Kitchen Gorilla will present a medley of river-oriented folk strumming. The River Center at Lockhouse 8 is located near Cabin John and can be reached by car from the Lock 8 parking pullout on Clara Barton Parkway, east, or by walking from 79th Street in Cabin John or from the towpath. Text Box: TOWN COUNCIL NOTES August 14 Planning for street improvements continues. The council is considering approaching several firms, including A. Morton Thomas, which the town has used in the past. The Mayor also commented that Clerk-Treasurer Cathie Polak had contacted E.E. Lyons about performing emergency street repairs, and it was noted that WSSC had completed an emergency asphalt patch at the top of Yale Avenue. The mayor and council plan to meet with county officials familiar with storm water management to discuss reducing future damage like what occurred during the heavy rains this summer. The date tentatively set for the meeting was Sept. 7. Mayor Beers pointed out that purpose of the meeting is merely to discuss possible future actions. The county has acknowledged that it is county responsibility to fund the management of storm water, since town residents pay taxes to the county for this purpose. In response to the complaints of homeowners along upper Princeton Ave. that their sidewalks are so low that storm water pours into their property, the town has received a quotation from contractor Charles Cooley of $17,750 for a concrete block sidewalk. The council agreed to defer a decision on the bid until after the street repair engineering consultant provides a report. The Mayor agreed, but stated that the engineer should be hired soon. Mr. Cooley also made a bid of $1,400 to erect a stone wall in the town hall parking lot to deflect torrents of water such as those that occurred earlier in the summer, which surged into nearby yards. The stone wall would allow the water to drain property. Mr. Cooley’s bid was accepted unanimously. --Dave Chitwood