nyone else in the country. ♪ because the future only happens with people who really know how to deliver it. right now on "news 4 this week." safe after fire. here in washington and around the wod, people vow to rebuild after the massive fire at notre dame. highway safety. new changes aimed at stopping the growing death toll on a dangerous stretch of road. plus positive change. the new system on a major commuter rail system in our area and how it could prevent the next major train crash. >> welcome tws 4 this week." >> hello, i'm leon harris and we nbegin with thes everybody's been talking about this week, that fire at notre dame in paris. images of the fire shocked the world, and that includes people here at home. news 4 shamari stone spoke with people from france here in our

area about the important role that cathedral plays. >> i want also to, in your name, express a word of solidarity with our brothers and sisters in epfrance. >> rter: as the massive fire engulfed notre dame cathedral in paris, cardinal reads a statement during mass at cathedral of st. matthew the apostle in d.c. >> for some 800 years, notre dame de paris laid claim to the imation and the affection. >> reporter: he says.

>> reporter: floret is the owner of fresh spageh, an authentic french bakery in bethesda. he was born and raised ins. pari >> my world, where i grew up when i was young, is collapsing. it's a big shock. especially this week, it's holy week. >> reporter: at mass people are arlieved the fire chief says the chch's structure had been saved. but there is a lot of damage. >> we offer our prayers and express our solidarity with all of the people of francend particularly the church in paris. >> reporter: shamari stone, news 4. it's known as onef the deadliest roads in maryland are we're talking about the indian head highway. over the last decade 60 people have died there including three children just before the new year. there have also bn 134 crashes with injuries along route 210. now arassroots effort by neighbors has resulted in several new speed cameras going

up. news 4's megan on the safety changes on the way. >> reporter: route 210. indian head highway. it's one of the most dangerous ads in the dmv.e yasminuncan knows that all too well. her daughter samira was killed trying to cross the street to catch the bus. determined to bring change, duncan and a diverse group of citizens met in the evenings after work and kept up the pressure forafety improvements. and their efforts have paid off. three new speed cameras are comingn june. >> i am humbled. i am thankful. personal journey is to do whatever i can so that no other families ever experience what myself and so many other families have gonethrough. reporter: and there are other safety enhancements coming including rumble strips, improved lighting at intersections, and changes to

make traff signals more visible. people who along 210 hope it helps. >> as we know, there are always accidents, unfortunately, many fanylities. so aing that can be done to make it safer i think would be awesome. >> every time i turn on the news i always hear about some type of accident, either horrific or minor. hopefully this will stop people from speeding and cut down on fatalities on this road. >> reporter: speed is often a factor in these terrible crashes so the hope here is that the new cameras will slow drivers down and save lives. along 210, megan mcgrath, news 4. now from the roads to the rails. a train traveling too fast, two trains on the same track, that's pretty unsettling to think about. but now a rail agency in our area is using a new safety device that should prevent those kinds of incidents. transportation reporter adam tusk has an insideook at how vre is using this system known as positive train control.

>> reporter: this is a significant safety mileone. one you hope that's never actually needed. >> people are human, obviously, they make mistakes. this is to catch things that an engineer may not catch. >> reporter: for exam too fast around a curve or two trains on the same track, even workers ahead on the actrks. ositive train control is a safety layer that takes over to prevent these incidents. doug allen is the head of vre. >> withtechnology, this system will override and slow trains down or stop trains as necessary. >> reporter: you may remember that awful deadly c amtrakrash in philadelphia a few years ago. that train was going over 100 miles an hour around a curve, something that never should have happened and never would have happened ifra positive t control had been in place at the time. both amtrak and mark have been orking to get their tracks fully equipped with the system.i mark't there yet. metro that is a similar smaller

type of system that's in place. some vre riders don't love the idea of a computer taking over. >> i think it's a good move, but it has to be designed and engineered really carefully. >> reporter: others happy with the safety upgrades. >> the alternative is toit on 95 and all its crazy drivers. so it's the best way to go. >> reporter: one thing this system can't do is detect traipassers and many r agencies continue to warn against that. but no mistake, for vre, posisve train control i a big step forward. mightou think of vre, you not think of major commuter rail systems but it is, the 12th largest rail system in the entire cotry, about 4.5 million tripser year in our area. now a new safety layer built into the ride. in alexandria, adam tusk, news 4. when we come back, it's bee closed for years. but this week we learn when you'll once again be ae to

take in those stunning views from the top of the washington monument. plus summer vacation season's right around the corner. consumer reporter susanrk hogan woing for you to make sure you getof the most out hat rewards getof the most out hat rewards credit card. we see two travelers so at a comfort innal with a glow around them, so people watching will be like, "wow, maybe i'll glow too if i book direct at choicehotels.com". who glows? just say, badda book. badda boom. book now at choicehotels.com 's and families are gathering itaround the table.erica,

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it will be just a few mor months until you can once again get that amazing view from the top of the washington monument. the national park service the monument will reopen sometime in august. right now construction of the niw security scree building is under way. completion othe building is slightly delayed because crews had to remove contaminafrd soil om the area. the new elevator s already installed and just needs finaic testing and certifion. the monument's been closed sin 2016. v-dot looking into a way to make repairs safer for road crews and drivers. starting this summer they'll be deploying rumbleto strip work zones on two-lane roads during she day. the idea i the sound will give

crews a heads-up of oncoming achicles. dents in work zones last year left over 1,200 injured and killed nine, including some drivers. still ahead, a spotlight on service in our community. i'ro going to intce you to the local police officer dedicating so much of her time to our students, and her neighbor called us to tell us about her. you she's this week's "harris' hero." ever pass over a ale in the store because it didn't have the perfect shape? you are not alone. coming up meet a maryland man who's picking up that produce you don't want and putting it to good use.

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if you're thinking going away this summer there's someing you may want to do before packing. we're working for you to help you save money and perhaps even get a few perks along the waer cons reporter susan hogan shows you how to get more out of those credit cards. >> if you don't have a ton f rewards points stashed away to fund your summer vacation, then try to get a quick infusion of those rerds points.

a lot of airline and hotel crlit cards wil offer you fnerous amounts points as a sign-up bonus. but look for a card that allows you to use those points tow free travel or hotel rooms immediately. some cards require a hefty initial spending requirement in inder to redeem those points, so read the fine pr want to save money os fee you have more cash to spend on vacations? look for airline r cardsds that offerckree cheed bags. weha found tt most of the major u.s. airlines offer a freebie for the first chebaed g. some even offer up to two for thwhole family. if scoring p airlinesoints is important, look for credit cards with transferrablets poin. these will let you transfer to dozens of different airlines. >> it really opens up a lot of opportunities to transfer may one airline devalues their program, use somebody else.

or a certain airline doesn't fln where you to go on vacation, the good news is if you use one of these programs, you've got lots of other choices. >> one piece of advice, tryt to geid of your debt before you start chasing rewards points. and you still have a decent amount of time to rack up somee points befor your summer vacation. back to you. >> thank you, susan. you know, we expect police to protect and serveur communities. but montgomery county officer katie beard is especially vested in that office part. officer beard has done a lot of good work during her 1n years o the force. perhaps though none as rewarding as her current assignment. her dedication to her community is why one of her neighbors nominated her to be this week's "harris' hero." >> reporter: you could be looking at the next generation of montgomery county police officers here in this classroom. >> what do we use handcuffs for? to put the - to put on the bad guys, right? >> reporter: what officer katie beard really cares about is that

these kids know they ve a friend who's a police officer. >> especially later in life when the kids start to go to really get into the peer pressure, they know that they have that one person that was alwayshere for them. >> reporter: this visit at drew elementary school is just one of three community events that ofpacer beard will particite in. heredication to the community is why michelle james nominated her to be a hero. >> her whole day is filled with this, but she's really a blessing to montgomery county. >> reporter: yes, it's her job, but officer beard goes above and beyond to ake herself available. >> she'll answer anybody's question any time. >> reporter: she always wants to drive home that montgomery county is her home too. >> i go to swim practice just like you have lacrosse with yr kids, you know, and i try to get that huge element out there too. and i think that helps a lot with building relationships. >> reporter: meeting with seniors, collecting baby supplies for teen moms. hafor more t 19 years, officer beard has been finding those

kinds of creative ways to engage the community. >> it's important for me to be out there and be visible, and so people know they can ask me questions, they can come up and they can talk to me. >> reporter: back side the classroom, officer beard lets the little ones try on her vest or use her radio, hoping that one day they'll remember they have a friend in blue. >> see you guys later! >> ourto thanks michelle james for writing in and nominating officer beard. thank you, officer beard, for everything that you do. we ldie r your great hero smigs. pp you have a hero, head to our nbc washington a and let us know. the amount of food we throw away every year is staggering. 20 billion poundsf produce is wasted in this country, most of it for no good reason. a university of maryland graduate wanted to tackle the issues of food waste and hunger at the same time. here news 4's aaron gilchrist with a look into the business of rescuing food. >> reporter: it's not the

prettiest fruit i've ever seen. perfection completely missed th box of carrots. >> so that when the packing house is going packing some of these carrots, they actually sort these out because they don't fit the exact mold. what about this carrot looks wrong? absolutely nothing. >> rorter: evan lutz has built a successful company around that premise. welcome to the warehouse of hungry harvest where food destined for the dump gets a second chance to make it to your table. >> we reainy are try to build an inclusive food system where there's no fruits or vegetables that are left behind because of aesthetics, also no people left behind. >> reporter: lutz calls himself a social entrepreneur. the hungry harvest mission is twofold, rescue produce, and get more fresh food to places that need it. he came up with the idea as a senior business major at the university of maryland. >> i started a little stand in the basement of a dorm room for students atollege park. sooner or later i had 500 customers every week. >> reporter: that was about five years ago.s lutz say in that time his

company has saved 13 million pounds of produce fm going to waste. food that isn't bad, just misunderstood. take cage-free eggs, for example. >> consumers think naturally they're brown. these are white, so consumers don't want them as much, even though they're the exact same thing. >> with marketing and perception in this kams, that's why these were thrown out? >> exactly. these otherwise would go to waste.un >> reporter:y harvest buys from farmers, packagers, and wholesalers at cost but a percentage. >> usually greens, getables, 45 different types of fruit. >> reporter: lutz gets fresh produce to places where it's hard to come by, selling at cost in food deserts in parts of d.c. and baltimore. the company also donates 5,000 to 10,000 pounds of produce every month. >> that's impressive. hungry harvest has 30,000 to 40,000 customers across nine ates right now. luts says he plans to expand to

a few more east coast cities in the next year. we wish him well. when we come back, a special honor for a young boy in our area. his dream toic become a pole officer. and only our cameras were there as the d.c. police department as the d.c. police department made that dream come true.

we see two travelers so at a comfort innal with a glow around them, so people watching wille like, "wow, maybe i'll glow too if i book direct a. choicehotels.com" who glows? just say, badda book. badda boom. book now at choicehotels.com itaround the table.erica,andg thanks to reynolds wrap, dinner preparation is perfect, and everyone knows to be mindful of their manners.s dinnertime hhanged. our quality hasn't. reynolds wrap: foil made in the usa since 1947.

a lifetime wish came true this week for aee local t who always wanted to be a police officer. the 13-year-old got his chance thanks to some of d.c.'sfi st. news 4's corey smith has this inspiring story you'll see only on news 4. >> reporter: what did you want to be when were growing up? for 13-year-old antoine powell, the answer has always been the same. metropolitan police officer. sadly, health issues got in the way, putting his dream job out of reach. until today. >> officer bailey now appnts antoine powell as an honorary police officer of the metropolitan police department. >> reporter: thanks to mpd and

the pediatrics center, antoine, excuse me, officer powell, has realized his dream. he's got a badge and a uniform. >> going to the k9 unit. >> reporter: spent the day getting acquainted with the department. he's also got what every cop ne eds, a partner watching his back. though to hear officer david bailey explain, antoine's the one who's had his back. the two met while davis worked patrol in antoine's neighborhood. >> i would be on the beat, he would be rolling up. i would tell him, if something happens, stay here, don't move. that wasn't happening. he rolled right upith me. >> reporter: soon they'll be riding side by side working the beat together. tamecka cart dear not be more proud. >> i told him he could be whatever he put his mind h. he saiwanted to be a police officer, and he definitel >> reporter: as for his new brothers and sisters in blue, this is what good police work is all about. >> this is a way to be proactive in the community. so you reach out to youth like

antoine. >> reporter: to show them that even against all odds, sometimes dreams do come true. in northeast, corey smith, news 4. >> thanks, corey. way to go, antoine. that's all for "news 4 this week." i'm leonrr haon. we're going to show you images from the rocket launch in wallops island in virginia. this carried supplies up to the international space station on a beautiful spring day. thanks for joining us. have a great wee

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>> announcer: news for "today" starts now. tornado confirmed. weather officials say a twister touched down in reston last night. the damage, prett easy to spot. news 4's derrick ward is live on the scene. officers in mourning. more than 15ft years a someone shot him on the job a montgomery cop has died. the leg sis acy he leaves behin and teen shot several times in his own home. new des on this disturbing investigatioel as we wcome you in on this saturday, the 20th of april, 2019. good mning to