The Washington Post - 31.07.2019

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METRO

WEDNESDAY, JULY 31 , 2019. WASHINGTONPOST.COM/REGIONAL EZ SU B

JOHN KELLY’S WASHINGTON

A new book details many

people, including John

Duffey, who made D.C.

a bluegrass hotbed. B3

THE DISTRICT

The D.C. Council wants

the mayor to reconsider

the end of a disabilities-

service contract. B5

OBITUARIES

John Robert Schrieffer

shared a Nobel in physics

for a theory that explained

77 ° 84 ° 82 ° 78 ° superconductivity. B6

8 a.m. Noon 4 p.m. 8 p.m.

High today at

approx. 2 p.m.

88

°

Precip: 60%

Wind: W

4-8 mph

BY DONNA ST. GEORGE

The well-regarded Montgom-

ery County school system in

suburban Maryland posted high-

er rates of chronic student absen-

teeism than the national average,

and more than 2,000 students

have dropped out during the past

2 1 / 2 years.

Newly released county data

show that even as Montgomery

stands out nationally for its

strong academic performance, it

faces challenges in keeping stu-

dents in school.

“What we are hearing and

seeing today is not something

that we can ignore,” said Board of

Education member Karla Silves-

tre as the panel discussed find-

ings on student attendance and

engagement Monday night.

More than 28,000 of the

school system’s students were

chronically absent in 2015-2016,

each missing at least 15 days of

school in a year — a number that

is on the rise amid enrollment

increases, according to the

school system’s analysis.

Though chronic absenteeism

is a national issue, Montgomery’s

rate of 18.5 percent is above the

national average of 10 to 15 per-

cent, the report found.

“The issue of student attend-

ance, even in the elementary

grades, is pretty alarming,” said

Patricia O’Neill, the board’s vice

president. “We have a problem in

kids attending school.”

SEE ABSENTEEISM ON B2

Chronic

student

absences in

Md. district

BY LAUREL DEMKOVICH

William Holley, 79, was driv-

ing down Central Avenue, in the

process of moving to a new

apartment, when someone at a

red light leaned over.

“Hey, something fell out of the

back of your truck!”

Holley drove his pickup,

stacked with boxes and house-

hold items, back to the spot the

driver indicated on the busy

Prince George’s County highway.

He pulled over, scanned his

belongings and realized what

was missing: a folded American

flag, given to Holley’s wife after

the death of her uncle Marcellus

Herod, a World War I Army

veteran, in the 1980s.

Holley scoured the road, but

when he couldn’t find the heir-

loom, he drove off, assuming

someone had taken it.

A few days after the July 17

mishap, Holley said, he came to

accept that he might never see

the flag again.

He couldn’t have predicted

that Tom Jarrett — a Navy vet-

eran — would be on the same

avenue that morning.

Around 11 a.m., Jarrett said, he

spotted a folded flag — the type

usually handed to families at

burial services — in the center of

the road and realized how much

that flag must mean to someone.

He crossed through light traffic

and picked it up, still in its

wooden case with shattered

glass, and took it to the Prince

George’s police.

The department then put out a

video appeal for help locating the

owner, featuring officers who are

veterans and one whose brother

had died in the line of duty.

At a small ceremony Tuesday,

Holley, leaning against his cane,

straightened up and stood taller

as a member of the police honor

guard strode toward him and

Chief Hank Stawinski to deliver

the freshly folded flag.

SEE FLAG ON B5

Vet thought he’d lost the flag forever

BY ROBERT MCCARTNEY

Metro General Manager Paul J.

Wiedefeld has asked Maryland to

immediately release $56 million

that the state has withheld in a

funding dispute, saying the tran-

sit agency is making “a good faith

effort” to address the state’s com-

plaints.

Wiedefeld also warned that

Maryland’s action risked hurting

Metro’s credit rating, which

would increase its borrowing

costs. Virginia officials and Mary-

land lawmakers also expressed

concern that the withholding of

funds would damage Metro.

But the administration of

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R)

remains in disagreement with

Metro over the issue, officials said.

Transportation Secretary Pete K.

Rahn has accused the transit

agency of “stonewalling” on au-

dits and failing to account for

money it spends.

“We are not close to where we

need to be, but we are talking,”

said a Maryland official, who

spoke on the condition of ano-

nymity because the negotiations

are confidential. “We are encour-

aged that they seem to be taking

this seriously.”

The disagreement has arisen

partly because of what Metro offi-

cials admit are the agency’s own

SEE METRO ON B3

Metro says

Md. dispute

threatens

its credit

MONTGOMERY RATE

ABOVE U.S. AVERAGE

Most who drop out are

Latino, report also shows

BY JUSTIN WM. MOYER

I

t’s not easy for Mark Manley to discuss

the night in November when he killed a

man.

The problem isn’t trauma. Manley, a

29-year-old District security guard,

has no qualms about shooting Javone

Smith, a masked gunman who, with three

others, was allegedly trying to rob a vape

shop hosting a pop-up marijuana event on

Florida Avenue NW.

Manley said the problem is what followed.

Even though the shooting was ruled justified,

his special police officer’s license was sus-

pended, his security agency business license

BONNIE JO MOUNT/THE WASHINGTON POST

Justified, or unjust?

A security guard

says he unfairly

lost his license

after shooting an

armed man last

fall. A mother says

she unfairly lost

her son.

BONNIE JO MOUNT/THE WASHINGTON POST MARVIN JOSEPH/THE WASHINGTON POST

was revoked, and his firearm license applica-

tion was denied.

He said he’s being unjustly punished by D.C.

police, who successfully argued in administra-

tive court against the return of his business

license because Manley advertised his compa-

ny when it was unlicensed.

The November shooting — one of nine

homicides deemed justifiable last year in the

District — left the security guard fighting to

support his family and a mother grieving

two sons lost to gun violence in less than

three weeks.

Both the shooter and his victim’s family

want more from the legal system, more from

SEE SHOOTING ON B2

So far, so good.

More than six

months into my

plant-based,

whole-food

dietary journey,

what began as a

trudge has eased

into a stroll. Still

crave some sweets, but I do not

miss meat.

Give me an extra helping of

beans, rice, fruits and veggies,

please.

My old eating habits verged on

corporate-sponsored suicide by

food — especially that artery-

clogging, mind-numbing fare I’d

get from fast-food joints. Within

days of making the change, I

began experiencing health

benefits — lower cholesterol,

normal blood pressure,

reasonable weight.

Even mental acuity improves

when the brain is not saturated

with fried-chicken fat.

Kindred spirits have made the

journey even more enjoyable. I’ve

met many in the vegan

community. Just everyday people

SEE MILLOY ON B4

Conference underscores

powers of plant-based diet

Courtland

Milloy

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: A memorial stone near a tree planted in the yard of Mary Smith in Southeast Washington. Security

guard Mark Manley, who shot Javone Smith in November in what was ruled a justifiable homicide. Mary Smith lost Javone

and another son, Taquan, in less than a month last fall; both were fatally shot in the District.

Agency implores Hogan

to pay $56 million he has

withheld to force changes