Text Box: February 2008 Text Box: RAMP TO I-495 TO CLOSE THIS SUMMER FOR ROADWORK The access to I-495 from the Clara Barton Parkway will not be available this summer due to roadwork on the ramp, according to the Gazette. The ramp extends over a 45-year-old concrete bridge deck, which must be replaced, according to the State Highway Administration. The ramp will be re-opened in the fall, according to the article. During the closing, traffic from Glen Echo to I-495 via the parkway will be re-routed up to a crossover at Forrestat Rd. near the Naval Surface Warfare Center, a long detour. Drivers will turn left at Forrestat Rd, (the usual way to go to the Carderock part of the C&O Canal National Park) and continue back down the Clara Barton Parkway until they can access I-495 southbound. Text Box: COUNCIL READIES ELECTION AMENDMENT FOR CHARTER By Bill Turque The Town Council has started its review of a proposed amendment to the town charter that would clarify who can--and who cannot--vote in town elections. The council wishes to hear from anyone who wants to speak to the issue at its next meeting on Feb. 11. The proposed revisions are the result of questions that were raised about the eligibility of some voters during the last town elections. Mayor Debbie Beers asked town attorney Norman Knopf to examine the town charter and recommend changes that would clarify and tighten rules governing voter eligibility, consistent with Montgomery County and Maryland law. "I think there is a need to draw a brighter line," Mayor Beers said at the council's January meeting. Specifically, the mayor said she wants to tighten language defining the voting rights of non-U.S. citizens by requiring a Permanent Resident Card, also known as a green car Council member Steve Matney expressed concern about one of the proposed changes defining town residents. The language drafted by Mr. Knopf includes a provision that a voter must not only have a permanent Glen Echo address, but must be "without any present intention of removing therefrom." Councilman Matney said he could find no such provision in Montgomery County regulations and that he was concerned that such language would prevent someone planning a leave or sabbatical for professional reasons from voting. Text Box: SAVE THE DATE ANNUAL ST. PATRICK’S DAY PARTY SATURDAY, MARCH 15 Glen Echo Town Hall