A Week in Review: Contamination, Community Programs and a Night Out

As a part of our inaugural week, Riverdale Park-University Park Patch had the unfortunate job of looking into a quadruple murder in the 6800 block of Third Street in East Riverdale. All of the details of the murders are still unknown, but the fact that four lives were lost - especially the two children under the age of 6 - is sad. Although the murder wasn't in Riverdale Park, it's an incident that affects our community.

This week, we also got the chance to take a close look at several community programs. There was the youth basketball camp, where Prince George's County native Troy Hailey is giving back to the community he grew up in with a basketball program for kids. Another program, Bountiful Blessings, at St. John Evangelical Lutheran Church in Riverdale helps needy families meet some basic needs. By providing non-food items, which aren't covered by food stamps, they give an extra hand to those within their own community.

We can't forget about the AmeriCorp programs over at the Maryland Multicultural Youth Center in Riverdale. The program keeps teens focused during the summer with various activities, including learning how to fix bikes and to garden. It also helps them prepare for their future with career counseling.

The planning associated with the proposed Purple Line seems to be coming along, and local officials are in support of the project, even if they have some concerns about properties and safety. We'll continue to follow the project as it develops, and we want to know what you think about a Metro line that would connect Bethesda to New Carrollton.

We also learned about the contamination of Wells Run, a University Park tributary, that was affected by a heating oil spill from the Mall at Prince Georges. UP resident Tom Stickles said he hopes the problem is resolved soon and that a memorandum of understanding is eventually accepted by the city of Hyattsville.

On Tuesday, we hung out with the community and local police officers at National Night Out, where the local radio DJs won a softball game against some employees from the Maryland National Capital Park Police and Planning Commission. It was an entertaining game. We met many residents and took plenty of photos. Make sure you add your own photos to our gallery!