2010-05-20 The County Times

Thursday, May 20, 2010

Partnership

www.soMd.coM

PAGE 16

Photo By Sean Rice

Photo By Frank Marquart

COUNTYNavy Development Plan

Worries SomeA proposal from the

U.S. Navy to open up land in PAX River to

private development has some economic officials worried the plan would hurt Lexington Park’s revitalization. PAGE 5

MONEYCash Available For Training Employees

More than $200,000 in federal money is available

in Southern Maryland for employers to train

new employees, career changers. PAGE 8

DEFENSEVolunteers Work Wonders

for Sotterley PlantationA team of employees from BAE Systems of California saved Sotterley Plantation

thousands of dollars by volunteering dozens of hours to build the new Visitor’s Center at the landmark. PAGE 9

EDUCATIONThousands in

Scholarships Awarded to Local Students

The Business, Education and Community Alliance

(BECA) awarded 71 scholarships to St. Mary’s

County high school seniors Friday at The JT Daugherty

Conference Center in Lexington Park. PAGE 14

SPORTSRaider Girls Finish Up

Perfect SeasonLeonardtown girls track

team capped off an undefeated season by

winning SMAC meet on Saturday at North Point High School. PAGE 30

Public-PrivAtE

brinGs WinEry to toWn

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On The Covers

stock market

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For Weekly Stock Market cloSing reSultS, check Page 8 in Money

Racers compete in the 13th annual Leonardtown Crite-rium on Sunday. The race returned to the Square after a three-year absence.

Also Inside4 County News7 Editorial8 Money9 Defense and Military10 Obituaries12 Crime and Punishment14 Education16 Cover Story18 Newsmakers20 Community22 Community Calendar23 Columns24 Entertainment26 Games27 Sports Desk28 Sports News29 Blue Crabs31 Track

countyA rider goes down during the Leonardtown Criterium bicycle race on Sunday as a result of track sabotage when someone threw tacks on the course, police say. SEE PAGE 4

Classic rockers Three Day Ride are already making a name for themselves in Southern Maryland. SEE PAGE 24

Rich Fuller, manager of the Port of Leonardtown Winery, Laschelle McKay, Leonardtown Town Administrator and Bob Schaller, St. Mary’s County director of economic and community development, are in the barrel room at the new Leonardtown winery.

Thursday, May 20, 20103 The County Times

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ews Factun

By Guy LeonardStaff Writer

St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s deputies are investigating the apparent scattering of sharp tacks along the race course of the Leonardtown Cri-terium bicycle competition held Sunday that they believe caused several crashes that resulted in one cyclist being seriously injured.

According to a press release from the sheriff’s office, law officers are offering up to a $1,000 reward for information that leads to the ar-rest and conviction of those responsible for causing numerous crashes as well as damage to the bikes at the race.

The town square and surrounding streets were closed down all day Sunday to prepare for the race and the race’s chief organizer said that cyclists were plagued with problems most of the time.

“There were tacks throughout the day,” said Steve Whetstone of the Pax Velo Bicycle Club. “It was not just one race.”

Whetstone said that racers would ride and take their turns on the town roads at between 25 and 30 miles per hour and giv-en their close proximity to each other dur-ing the race — sometimes just six inches to a foot away — when one cyclist had an accident it affected others.

“The guy in front goes down and the chances are he’s going to take a couple of cyclists with him,” Whetstone said. “It’s the nature of racing”

On top of a collarbone fracture suf-fered by one racer, and numerous other less severe injuries, there were at least 20 flat tires caused as a result of the tacks be-ing strewn along the course, Whetstone said.

“They actually pulled tacks out of

tires,” he said. “I think one bike had its frame broken,” he said.Whetstone said he knew of four or five crashes throughout the day

involving multiple bicycles.Mayor J. Harry Norris said that the incident put the town in a bad

light.“They’re [investigating deputies] taking this very seriously and so

is the town,” Norris said. “It’s a shame, we like to think the town is inviting.

“It really is a bad reflection on the town.”

[email protected]

Police: Tacks Caused Bicycle Crashes During Race

While trying to set a record as the world's heaviest hang glider pilot, wrestler Andre the Giant crashed so violently that he lost his sense of smell.

Photo by Laschelle McKay

St. Mary’s County Public Schools, in col-laboration with the Patuxent Partnership, is of-fering the first annual Destination Space 2010 Program to be held at Great Mills High School in July.

The program is designed for students en-tering grades 2-3, offering young scientists the opportunity to practice and improve their prob-lem solving and teamwork skills while work-ing on individual and small group challenges.

Camp sessions provide opportunities for students to participate in hands-on, minds-on activities in the areas of science, mathematics, technology, and engineering. Students will ex-plore these topics through classroom activities that include challenges such as those encoun-tered in the Destination ImagiNation program. Students will work each day to improve their problem solving skills on team challenges, while working to build and launch their own rocket at the end of the week.

Two sessions are designed for students entering grades 2-3. Students in these grades may attend a one-week session of their choice, choosing either July 19-23 or July 26-30. Ses-sions will run from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. each day.

Applications for this program can be downloaded by visiting the St. Mary’s County Public Schools website at www.smcps.org and clicking on the “Space Camp Information” tab.

Registration began May 14, and continues until all spaces are filled. Camps are limited to 24 students in each session.

Destination Space Program Coming In July


ews


Economic and politicial officials say that a plan the U.S. Navy is pitching to use some of the land on Patuxent River Naval Air Station for new office space and possibly for mixed uses like restaurants and retail could be bad news for the Lexington Park area outside the base main gate and the county at large.

The Navy has proposed an Enhanced Use Lease (EUL) project that would bring in a devel-oper to build out land currently not in use on base for modern office space to satisfy the demands of professionals like engineers who work for con-tractors providing services to the base, insiders say, and allow them to work more closely with government personnel.

Aside from the navy trying to consolidate and modernize work space, which is in short supply on base, insiders say that the EUL project

would mean that developers and tenants of the new buildings would spare the navy the expense of maintaining buildings it would usually build itself.

The problem, insiders say, is that the project could harm the economy of the downtown area outside the gate by providing the same services the community has for decades.

“It limits the investment we put in there to make the investment pay off,” said Todd Morgan, with the base contractor SAIC and GOP candi-date for county commissioner. “It could signifi-cantly dampen the investment we’ve put there.”

With the modern and likely mixed use build-ings inside the base being built, Morgan said, con-tractors and employees on Pax River would no longer have the need to go off base for services as much, and that could damage all the efforts the county has put into revitalizing the stressed Lex-ington Park community.

Moreover, the office space on Route 235 and Great Mills Road designed to support contrac-tor activities would either become or stay vacant, Morgan and others fear.

“It could pose a huge problem locally over time,” Morgan said. “I’m not on board with this proposal… because it is so undefined, it’s a 50 year plan (the length of the EUL lease) and be-cause the economic engine of Lexington Park hinges on what the Navy’s trying to do here.”

Robin Finnacom, head of St. Mary’s County Community Development Corporation (CDC) said that the Navy would likely only want one large developer to build out the project, which ac-cording to Navy documents on the project, could involve leasing out up to seven different sites on base for the new office space.

That means that some local developers might not have the size and the cash to compete with such a large project contract, she said.

“There are some outstanding questions for developers locally,” Finnacom told The County Times. “If the Navy selects a developer we hope they could encourage some local employment.”

The CDC has been working for years to revi-talize the aging and in some cases depressed areas of Lexington Park and Finnacom said she feared that the Navy’s most recent move could spell trouble not only for the park, but reveal a shift in the relationship the Navy has with the county that goes back nearly 60 years.

“I think it’s a dramatic concern,” Finnacom said. “Now we’re faced with the Navy pursuing private development that may undermine our re-vitalization goals ... or make it more difficult.”

County Commissioner Daniel H. Raley (D-Great Mills) said that the community at large had always tried to accommodate the Navy’s mis-sion, and now that relationship appeared to be changing.

County government had made many conces-sions in the past, he said, including setting aside the land where the Flat Tops used to be for office space as well as restricting development around the base to stop encroachment on the Navy’s criti-cal flight operations.

“I believe retail should be outside the gate,” Raley told The County Times. “We’ve got the Flat Tops waiting to be utilized … I don’t understand that.”

Raley said that while the impact of the EUL project was far from certain, he feared that the blight the county was trying to fix on Great Mills Road would spread elsewhere.

“I don’t want to be revitalizing Route 235 if the Navy goes through with this,” Raley said.

Community Insiders Worried About Navy’s Land Use Plan

While community leaders and insiders here are concerned about the impact of the Na-vy’s proposal to take some of the land at Pax River and use it for office space and perhaps even retail establishments, a spokesman for the Naval District of Washington said that the idea is not a done deal.

Ed Zeigler, spokesman for the proposed Enhanced Use Lease project, said that the Navy would have to wait to hear from private developers about how they would even build out such a large project.

“We don’t even know what proposals we’ll get,” Zeigler told The County Times. “What an EUL helps us do… is modernize the facilities at the station.

“We understand there may be misgivings and that’s why we’re engaging community leaders.”

According to Navy-released informa-tional material about the proposal, the local community could still benefit from the EUL because local construction jobs might be created.

The Navy information speaks of only one developer, likely a large-scale builder that would take on the project. But it contends that it could be beneficial for the local economy by creating even more jobs to support the busi-ness campus.

The Navy also argues that the federal gov-ernment would wave state and local property taxes for property leased under the EUL proj-ect, if it moves ahead, so jurisdictions could tax the developer’s interest or enter into a pay-ment in lieu of taxes (PILOT) agreement.

The Navy needs the EUL project pro-posal, Zeigler said, because dollars in the De-partment of Defense are short and a private developer posed the best option to modernize facilities.

Zeigler said that the lease for the project would be long-term and could reach up to 50 years in length.

A meeting to discuss the EUL proposal will be held at Frank Knox Educational Center near Gate 2 in Lexington Park tonight from 5 to 6 p.m.

[email protected]

Pax River EUL Depends On Developer Proposals


ews Your Paper... Your Thoughts...

Chesapeake Bay Gets A “C” On Health Report Card


Environmental scientists with the Uni-versity of Maryland and the National Ocean-ographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) say that the health of the Chesapeake Bay has improved since attaining a low rating nearly seven years ago.

The latest 2009 report from eco-check.org, the Web site displaying the results of the university’s Center for Environmental Science and NOAA, gives the bay a 46 percent health ranking, which shows steady if slow improve-ment over the past three years.

The 2009 ranking is just one percent above the 2008 ranking, which garnered the bay a “C-minus” grade from the survey.

“This report provides us with an indepen-dent look at how we in Maryland are living up to our commitment to restore the bay,” said Gov. Martin O’Malley in press release. “This is the bay’s highest grade since 2002 and an im-provement over 2008’s ‘C-minus’”

The administration’s press release stated that 14 separate reporting stations in regions of the bay showed water quality ranging from a “B-minus” to an “F” grade.

The best grade the bay received from the survey was a score of 57 percent back in 1993 but the lowest to date was a 2003 ranking of just 35 percent.

The leader of the project at the UMCES, William Dennison, said that rainfall patterns played a significant part in the gradual im-provement in the bay’s water quality as well as controls on nutrients flowing in.

“Despite the record high rainfall in parts of Maryland and Virginia, the mainstream of the Chesapeake Bay improved last year,” Dennison said in the statement. “Normally, more precipi-

tation means poorer bay health. But last year, the bay benefited from below average rainfall throughout Pennsylvania which appears to have reduced the amount of pollutants reaching the open waters of the mainstream bay.”

The latest ranking improvement comes just one week after the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency issued a plan to coordinate cleaning up of the bay, whose watershed en-compasses territory from six states.

The plan includes more restrictions on nu-trients and sediments allowed to come off of 4 million acres of farmland as well as an maxi-mum daily allowable amount of pollutants in the Chesapeake.

“The EPA plan is a positive sign,” said O’Malley administration spokesman Shaun Adamec. “We haven’t had a federal partner un-til President Obama stepped in.”

The EPA’s strategy came one year after President Obama issued an executive order to have the bay cleaned up.

The EPA “can use science to set the stan-dards and it can enforce those standards,” Ad-amec said of the plan’s foreseeable impact on Maryland’s and other state’s contributions to water quality.

Del. John Bohanan (D-Dist. 29) said that the plan should focus on the actions of other states mostly, as Maryland has already taken action to improve the bay.

“Maryland has stepped up and taken strong action already,” Bohanan said, adding the federal strategy could force states like New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Virginia to “catch up to where Maryland is.”

“It’s not like we ruined the bay on our own,” Bohanan said.

[email protected]

By Sean RiceStaff Writer

Taylor Hubbard, 20, of Lexington Park, a graduate of Great Mills High School, died on Sunday, May 16 falling from a fifth story win-

dow the night before on the campus of George Washington University in Washington DC.

Hubbard was brought to the George Wash-ington Hospital Center at 4:25 a.m. Saturday af-ter a student found Hubbard in the plaza behind

Guthridge Hall and called 911, D.C. Fire and Emergency Medical Services spokesman Pete Piringer told the GW Hatchet, an independent student newspaper at the university.

Hubbard sustained “multiple internal inju-ries,” according to a police report, which classi-fied the incident as not suspicious.

Hubbard was found by a group of students coming back from a party early Saturday morn-ing. They found a male sprawled face-up on the grass in Guthridge Park, The Hatchet reported.

Hubbard, who graduated from Great Mills High School as salutatorian, majored in bio-medical engineering and was part of Alpha Chi Sigma, a chemistry fraternity.

“Taylor was a promising student and a be-loved member of the George Washington com-munity. I speak for the entire University when I express our sympathy to Taylor’s family,’ George Washington University President Steven Knapp said in a statement.

“Nothing has emerged so far that indicates that this incident was anything other than a trag-ic accident,” the statement said.

Hubbard’s father told The Hatchet that his son was helping a friend move out of the dorm room during the weekend, and that student was found sleeping in the room when police officers arrived to investigate.

[email protected]

Falling Death of Local Grad Appears Accidental

Taylor Hubbard


The county’s updated comprehensive zoning ordinance could help to maintain the feel of neighborhoods where residents have enjoyed plenty of space between homes, because the proposal aims to make it less attractive to build additional high-density developments there.

Under the plan, portions of the resi-dential low density zone, known as R-L, would be changed to the residential low density transitional zone, known as R-LT,

which would decrease the allowable den-sity in those areas from five dwelling units per acre to three in some cases.

In cases where the R-LT zone is in the critical area of the Chesapeake Bay watershed, that density for new projects decreases even further, according to Jeff Jackman, a senior planner with the coun-ty’s Department of Land Use and Growth Management.

“In the critical area the bonus density essentially goes away,” Jackman told The County Times. “In the critical area you’re essentially getting one-half of a dwelling

unit per acre.“R-LT is a reduction [in density] and

in the critical area it’s much more of a reduction.”

Jackman said that the portions of the low-density residential zone that could see the change would be on the edge of the Lexington Park Development District only, and would create a transitional zone between the development district and the rural preservation district.

Residents of the Mill Cove neighbor-hood in California told county commis-sioners and members of the county’s plan-

ning commission that they were pleased with the proposal.

Members of the community there have been in conflict with a local devel-oper who wanted to build a high-density development in the older neighborhood and have even sought unsuccessfully to have themselves removed from the devel-opment district altogether.

“The R-LT goes a long way to solv-ing some of the problems I see,” said Mill Cove resident Richard Huff.

[email protected]

Proposed Zoning Change Reduces Density for Some Neighborhoods

What’s your reaction to the crashes at the bike races in Leonardtown this past weekend caused by someone throwing tacks in the road ?

Ryan Gribble, 20, a student who’s come

home to Leonardtown for the summer, said

“I really enjoy riding bikes, so that’s really despicable, actually. I

mean, why did they do it? Were they protest-

ing something?”

Sherri Gribble, 47 (Ryan’s mother) said she thought the people who threw the tacks in the road should do “serious community service … that was just extremely selfish and pointless.”

Michael W. Lang, Jr., 73, who lives near Leonardtown Square, said he saw the bikers crash during the race. “I was walking in and I saw them crash. I was hoping they’d just get a few scrapes … but I heard one guy got stitches in his leg, so that sounded more serious … I think [those re-sponsible] should probably get six months in the detention center, or even eight or nine, or twelve.”

The Southern Maryland Electric Coop-erative says it has entered into an agreement to purchase renewable electricity from a wind turbine operation in Somerset, Penn. over an 18-year period, according to a news release.

The 35 units at the Stony Creek Wind Turbine Project have a maximum potential output of 52.5 megawatts, the release stated,

and will provide just under two percent of SMECO’s energy needs.

“Our customers want us to be involved with renewable and environmentally friendly energy products that don’t add significant power costs to our power portfolio or their electric rates,” said Austin J. Slater, SMECO’s president and CEO.

SMECO to Buy Pennsylvania Wind Turbine Power


To The Editor:

P.O. Box 250 • Hollywood, Maryland 20636News, Advertising, Circulation, Classifieds: 301-373-4125

James Manning McKay - FounderEric McKay - Associate Publisher..................................ericmckay@countytimes.netTobie Pulliam - Office Manager..............................tobiepulliam@countytimes.netSean Rice - Associate Editor.....................................................seanrice@countytimes.netAngie Stalcup - Graphic Artist.......................................angiestalcup@countytimes.netAndrea Shiell - Reporter - Education, [email protected] Stevens - Reporter - Sports......................................chrisstevens@countytimes.netGuy Leonard - Reporter - Government, [email protected] Representatives......................................................................sales@countytimes.net

Letters Continued Page 11

On Saturday, May 1, 2010, St. Mary’s Ryken (SMR) carried out its fourth annual All Knighter for juniors and seniors. This alcohol/tobacco/drug free after prom event had the highest atten-dance since its inception. At St. Mary’s Ryken, there is no longer the question about what to do after the prom; students go to the All Knighter. The All Knighter, modeled after the Office of the State’s Attorney’s Project Graduation, is a culmi-nation of alcohol/tobacco/drug prevention activi-ties that go on throughout the year.

The All Knighter was held at the Capital Clubhouse beginning at 12 a.m. and ending at 4 a.m. Over 250 students and their guests par-ticipated and had a great time ice skating, rock wall climbing and playing dodgeball, volleyball, soccer and basketball. Students received a com-plimentary t-shirt and many items were given away as door prizes. No one went hungry thanks to the candy, snacks, donuts and bagels provided by the parents and the delicious food, coffee bar, popcorn and cotton candy provided by Bailey’s Catering. Over 30 parents and members of the SMR faculty were present to chaperone and sup-port this event.

Many community leaders helped make this event successful. Special thanks to Mr. Richard Fritz and the States Attorneys’ Office for being a major sponsor of this event. Thanks to Keller Bus company for the donation of coach buses to trans-port juniors and seniors and their guests to the Capital Clubhouse in Waldorf. Thanks to Bai-ley’s Catering for the donation and preparation of food for the event as well as the cotton candy machine and the popcorn machine. Thanks to Glenn Guy from Guy Distributing and Bob and

Linda Taylor for their generous sponsorship. Many thanks to Ronnie Hancock, Keith Kretch-man and Phil Wiley from Coca-Cola, La Plata, for the generous donation of beverages. Thanks to D. J. Toby Lakin for the music.

We are grateful to Maryland State Troop-ers Commander Michael Thompson, Leonard-town barracks, and Commander Chuck Parlett, La Plata barracks, for providing security for the event. Special thanks to TFC Matthew Neuman, LaPlata, and Trooper Stephan Casavella, Leon-ardtown, for working the event.

Underage drinking is an epidemic in this country and it is a serious problem in Southern Maryland. Research shows that during the prom and graduation season, students are more likely to be involved with alcohol and are more likely to be placed in situations in which poor deci-sions are made. Events such as the All Knighter provide opportunities for students to be involved in community and school sponsored events and have a great time. We are changing the thinking and the culture regarding alcohol and drug use; it is not cool to use.

Thanks to the students, parents and faculty on the planning committee. Special thanks to the countless number of parents who made phone calls, sent in door prizes, chaperoned and en-couraged your teen to participate in this event. Thanks to everyone who helped keep our kids safe that evening.

Ann Kovalcik, Coordinator and Director,All Knighter Retreat Program at St. Mary’s

Ryken

All Knighter Was Biggest Ever

I have been a resident of St. Mary’s County for the majority of the last 16 years. My husband is in the military, and we have decided to make St. Mary’s County our home after he retires. One of the main reasons we have decided to stay here is because of the public school system.

Since we are a military family, our children have experienced several school systems in dif-ferent states. After living in the state of Cali-fornia for several years, I have seen what can happen to public schools when funding is not a priority. There is no physical education, no mu-sic, and no art; there are 40 kids in a third grade classroom - with one teacher and no teacher’s aide. Schools are closing because they can’t afford to keep them open, causing even more overcrowding. This is what happens when pub-lic schools are not funded as they should be.

Our superintendent, Dr. Martirano, has made efforts to secure funding to make our schools the best in the state. The demographics of the county have changed over the last decade, and they continue to change. The population of St. Mary’s County is comprised of highly educated individuals who wish their children to have the kind of education needed to succeed in this competitive world, and our superintendent and school board have responded.

I applaud the efforts of Dr. Martirano and the School Board for realizing that schools can-not be successful by teaching only to the average student. The programs that this school system has implemented for the high achieving students AND the “at risk” students are phenomenal. We now have choices within the public school sys-tem. High school students can choose not just a path that takes them to college but emphasizes

their field of study before they even enter col-lege. The Forrest Technology Center provides opportunities for students who perhaps don’t want to go to a four-year institution after high school but still want to learn a trade to be suc-cessful adults. And the Fairlead Academy en-ables students that are at risk of failing the op-portunity to succeed. That’s three very diverse groups of students ALL getting their needs met. To me, it is outstanding for a school system to provide all these opportunities. And I haven’t even mentioned the STEM academy, Global and International Studies and the Finance Academy. These academies provide still more ways for students to get specialized curriculum if they so desire.

These programs can only continue with fi-nancial support, and you can show that support by making education a priority in your fiscal budget. I implore you to allow for continued opportunities for our youth. The people of St. Mary’s County won’t settle for less - show Dr. Martirano and the School Board how much you appreciate all they have done to improve the schools and continue to improve the schools. You also need to show the residents of St. Mary’s County that you are committed to pro-viding these opportunities to our children, our grandchildren, and beyond. You can do this by making education top priority. Don’t we want the best for the future of St. Mary’s County? If so, then make education in St. Mary’s County top priority.

Julie LemmonCalifornia, MD

Commissioners, Please Make Education Top Priority

On 8 May, Tap’s Community Brotherhood (TCB) hosted their Fourth Annual May Mad-ness 3-on-3 Basketball Tournament at St. Mary’s College Athletic Recreation Center. TCB would like to thank the players, referees, volunteers, and sponsors for making this year’s tournament a success. Close to 30 teams this year competed in the Middle School, High School (Junior Var-sity & Varsity), Adult Men’s, and Adult Co-Ed divisions.

Congratulations to all the winners who sur-vived the grueling day of double elimination play and won their divisions. For the Middle School division, The Dunking Crew took home the first place prize for the second year in a row. In the Junior Varsity and Varsity divisions, Team Flight and Team Takeover 1 were the winners. For Adult Men’s division, the reigning champions for three years in a row were finally dethroned by County Legacy. In the Adult Co-Ed division, in their first year of entry, Team Dream took home the victory.

TCB also invited other nonprofits and orga-nizations within St. Mary’s County to participate in this year’s tournament by manning informa-tional booths for their organizations. TCB would like to thank Walden Sierra, Maryland Dream and Bryant Dent Foundation for their participa-tion. Also, a heartfelt thank you to Project Possi-ble from Great Mills High School, who provided

close to 30 volunteers. Their efforts as score-keepers, concession workers, admission staff, and general runners were greatly appreciated.

The May Madness Tournament would not be possible without the support of countless do-nations from friends and family as well as spon-sorships with local businesses and organizations. Sponsors for the May Madness Tournament include Sanofi Aventis, St. Mary’s College of Maryland, Chesapeake Technology, Travel Lead-ers, Blue Wind Gourmet, Enalo Imagery, and Pin Pow.

A special thank you to Ms. Melissa Farr of Firefly Photography who donated her services as this year’s photographer. TCB is grateful for her hard work in capturing memories from this year’s tournament.

Proceeds from the May Madness Tourna-ment and other TCB Events are donated to local and national nonprofit organizations that impact community youth through sports, arts, leader-ship, mentor or counseling programs. For more information on TCB Events, volunteering, spon-sorship opportunities, or the Community Out-reach Program, visit their website at www.thetcb.org.

Diana DeCarlo, TCB Board of DirectorsCalifornia, MD

May Madness A Great Success

What a shock, after years of deception, I find I have not been living in a democracy but in a country governed by the Democrat or the Republican parties. We, the constituents, elect people to Congress to pass laws that are for the good of all American people. But when they get to Congress, they revert to the party line. Only vote the party line- to hell with what your constituents want. We, finally find we have elected a jackass to Congress because they only vote the party line.

When one party is in control, the other party refuses to play the game, pass laws to benefit our country. But Congress passes laws that only benefit themselves. We must obey the laws but they are exempt. They tell no one why they must be exempt. What is the real reason, do they gain certain benefits or advantages?

Congressmen are a very conservative

group as they have a salary of $171,000 and after several terms in Congress they become millionaires. No wonder they spend millions of dollars to get elected. It’s not the salary it’s the benefits of the job that pay off.

Congress has made a mockery of our government. They live like royalty and do not have to account for their expenditures. Their ethics committee is a joke. Anything goes! We the people, are supposed to control Congress by the people, we elect in good faith to do their job. After election Congressmen are supposed to forget the party label and vote for the good of their constituents. Please, fellow Americans, whomever is in vote them out. Maybe the new blood will realize why they were elected.

Daniel WilsonLeonardtown, MD

Congress Lives Like Royalty

Legal Ads:The Leonardtown Board of Appeals will

hold a hearing on Tuesday, June 8, 2010 at 5:00 p.m. at the Leonardtown Town Office, 41660 Courthouse Drive, Leonardtown, MD, 20650. Case #13-10 - 22635 Washington Street – Request for special exception to construct a single family residence in a C-B zoning dis-trict. Copies of the documents pertaining to this case are available for public review at the

Town Office. The public is invited to attend and/or send written comments to be received by June 8th , at the address listed above. Spe-cial accommodations will be made for persons with disabilities upon request.

By Authority: Laschelle E. McKay, Town Administrator.

Commissioners of Leonardtown Notice of Public Hearing


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Medieval reenactment club seeks multi-acre property for three-day weekend camping trips (Friday, Saturday, Sunday) now until the

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Here is a little more information about what we're seeking: Every year from March to October, our organization hosts a series of 5-6 camping trips for our club. The club's members usually number around 150 - they camp, dress in medieval styles, and perform mock "battles" under the supervision of an elected Executive Board and safety council.

We allow property owners to sell things to our group - like firewood for instance, and have the manpower to perform minor improvements that might be ne-gotiated, or requested by property owners - things like clearing underbrush, building trails, etc.

The kinds of properties that work best for us are 12 or more acres, mostly wooded, with room for park-ing. We can work with you to arrange for port-a-johns for the weekend. Our organization handles everything from campfire safety to trash clean-up with a "leave no trace" philosophy.

Two local credit unions have community charters. This means that they can offer their services to anyone who lives, works, or wor-ships in the community. Members don’t have to be affiliated with a specific employer or other organization.

Educational Systems Federal Credit Union (ESFCU) www.esfcu.org has a mem-ber service center in San Souci Plaza at 22599 MacArthur Blvd in California.

ESFCU has a community charter for St. Mary’s County. For more information, con-

tact Melanie Mattingly at 301-863-2805 ext. 4752.

Cedar Point Federal Credit Union (CP-FCU), cpfcu.com, has branches throughout the County as well as in Calvert. Their head-quarters is at 22745 Maple Road in Lexington Park, behind the Chipotle on the corner of Rt 235 and Chancellor’s Run Road.

Recently CPFCU received a commu-nity charter for the Southern Maryland tri-county region. To learn more contact Colleen Blundell at 301-863-7071.

Residents Can Join Local Credit Unions

The Tri-County Council for South-ern Maryland is announcing that there is $238,414 in funding available in Southern Maryland for training through the Ameri-can Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009.

A key provision of the ARRA is in-creasing the availability of training for workforce system customers and expand-ing the availability of existing training courses and curricula to meet local needs in Southern Maryland.

The ARRA allows the local Southern Maryland Workforce Investment Board (SMWIB) to contract with institutions of higher education, such as community and technical colleges or other eligible train-ing providers.

Direct contracts with institutions of higher education and other eligible train-ing providers also allow SMWIB to quick-ly design training to fit the needs of the job seekers and employers in the Southern Maryland region.

Funds will support short-term train-ing activities that result in a certificate or recognized credential.

This program is designed to assist lo-cal employers who are currently recruit-ing for positions within their companies better align the skills of their applicants with the needs of the job.

As a result of the economy, many highly-skilled workers who are ready to transition to new industries and careers

will benefit as applicants.“The success of this program will

be measured by our ability to turn more job applicant’s resumes into suitable new hires,” Ellen Flowers-Fields, Director of Regional Economic Development at the Tri-County Council said in a press re-lease. “Employers are seeing highly quali-fied applicants who lack direct experi-ence in their industries. This disconnect often results in the application not being considered.”

The SMWIB’s contract training pro-gram will pay for the cost to train that new hire in the specific areas needed to help the individual secure that job.

This program can help an individual that has been an insurance agent for most of their career, enhance and translate those highly developed analytical skills to the needs of an employer who might be looking for an accountant.

“This type of occupational matching addresses both the needs of the job seeker and the employer, aiding in helping local people secure local jobs and in business growth and sustainability,” said Gerald W. Clark, Chairman Tri-County Council.

Employers and HR directors interest-ed in finding out how to access these re-cruitment services can contact their coun-ty business services representative. In St. Mary’s County, contact George Clark at 240-412-3602. In Calvert, contact Barbara DeHenzel 443-550-6753.

Cash Available For Training Employees

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Wal-Mart WMT $53.04 $56.06 -5.39%

Harley Davidson HOG $32.11 $16.97 89.22%

Best Buy BBY $42.16 $28.11 49.98%

Lockheed Martin LMT $80.56 $84.08 -4.19%

BAE Systems BAESF $4.67 $5.41 -13.68%

Computer Science Corp. CSC $49.21 $35.14 40.04%

Dyncorp International Inc. DCP $17.02 $15.17 12.20%

General Dynamics Corp. GD $69.62 $57.59 20.89%

Mantech International Corp. MANT $46.00 $54.19 -15.11%

Northrop Grunman Corp. NOC $62.27 $45.04 38.25%


Taste for Yourself

www.visitstmarysmd.com

www.portofleonardtown.comhttp://twitter.com/PortofLtownWine

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Port-of-Leonardtown-Winery/108408175848012

Grand OpeningMay 21, 2010

Ribbon Cutting and Toast 2:00 p.m.Special Activities all weekend!

Fifteen Local Grape Growers…

One Spectacular Winery…

23190 Newtowne Neck Road • Leonardtown, MDTasting Room Open Wednesday-Sunday Noon- 6:00 p.m.

Sotterley Plantation in Hollywood officially opened for the guided tour season on May 1, thanks in large part to the support and hard work of several members of the com-munity working under a tight deadline.

This joining of forces of volunteers and local business has not only transformed a building into our new Visitor Center, but also saved Sot-terley thousands of dollars, a press release states.

The Knott House on the plan-tation became the best choice to house both the new Visitor Center and Museum Shop, af-ter the basement wall of the for-mer Museum Shop collapsed.

Just a mere three weeks out from opening day, several employees of BAE Systems transformed the one-time Knott House into the new Visitor Center and Museum Shop.

Their work ranged from reinforcing and re-hanging the ceiling, sanding and painting the Exhibit Room, Museum Shop, and rest-room walls, building new bookshelves, purchasing and installing a new door and locks, repainting the outside rail-ings, hanging new track lighting, mov-ing electrical fixtures, and enclosing a closet.

Over the past seven years, BAE Systems has consistently played a major role in enabling the site to remain open to the public, because of their continued belief in the Sotterley Plantation mission - of serving as an educational resource and cultural venue while seeking to pre-serve, interpret and research the planta-tion’s diverse cultures and environments throughout its history.

This latest incredible act of gener-osity is added to the long list of their support of Sotterley and other organiza-tions within the community, the release states.

Dennis Kund, longtime supporter of Sotterley, created the new you-can’t-miss-us-now on-site signage. Over the years, Kund has billed minimally for his services, donating most of it. His assistant Marguerite Seifert was a tre-mendous help in creating and install-ing the new artwork and signs. Clark’s Flooring also donated well over half of the cost for the new carpet, padding, and installation.

Because of a generous communi-ty, Sotterley now boasts a new Visitor Center, and we’re not done yet, the re-lease states. More new exhibits are yet to come, and we hope to have many of these changes ready for our visitors this summer.

BAE Works to Open New Sotterley Visitor Center

A team of employees from BAE Systems of California saved Sotterley Plantation thousands of dollars by volunteering dozens of hours to build the new Visitor’s Center at the landmark.


Mary Beck, 82

M a r y C y r i l l a Beck of Hollywood, MD passed away Sun-day, May 16, 2010 at her resi-dence. Born on October 29, 1927 in Holly-wood, MD, she was the daughter of Warren and C a t h e r i n e

Greenwell, she was the youngest of eight children.

Cyrilla graduated from eighth grade at St. Johns School in June 1942. In 1946 she graduated from St. Mary’s Academy and worked at the Navy Exchange for sev-eral years. After leaving the Navy Ex-change, she worked for the First National Bank of St. Mary’s for 30 years.

She was preceded in death by her hus-band Joseph A. Beck. Cyrilla and Joe were married in 1950 in St. Johns Church. She was a member of the Ladies Auxiliary of the Hollywood Volunteer Fire Department for several years holding a variety of posi-tions. Cyrilla and Joe were both gracious and generous. They always welcomed family and friends to their home. Many memories of good times live on especially memories of the “Swimming Pool”.

Cyrilla is survived by many loving nieces and nephews. She was preced-ed in death by her brothers and sisters Thomas Greenwell, Violet Norris, Helen Wood, Wilson Greenwell, Albert Green-well, Clarence Greenwell, and Cecilia Henderson.

The family received friends on Wednesday, May 19, at Mattingley-Gar-diner Funeral Home where prayers were said. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Thursday, May 20, 2010 in St. Johns Catholic Church, Hollywood, MD, with Fr. Raymond Schmidt officiat-ing. Interment will follow in the Church Cemetery. Pallbearers will be Steve Greenwell, Larry Greenwell, Johnny Rus-sell, Frankie Greenwell, Bill Mattingly and Jimmy Hayden. Memorial contribu-tions may be made to the Ladies Auxiliary Hollywood Fire Department.

Tommy Bellere, Sr., 60

To m m y Bellere, Sr., 60, of Leon-a r d t o w n , MD, died on Monday, May 10, 2010 at his residence.

B o r n , March 20, 1950, in Washington, DC, he was the son of the late Lou-is and Mary

Alice Thompson Bellere. He was predeceased by his loving wife

Marion, whom he married on February 23, 1973 in Leonardtown Maryland. He

is survived by his son, Tommy “Bubba” Jr. and his wife Nancy, and two daughters Jenny Beale and her husband Bobby of Loveville, MD and Terri Bellere and her fiancé Andy of Compton, MD, siblings; Charles “Bucky” Bellere, Danny Bellere and Toni Long, and 8 grandchildren.

From 1975 to 1981, Tommy owned and managed Bellere’s TV in Leonard-town, MD. He enjoyed going into peo-ple’s homes, talking to them, and fixing their televisions. He knew that it would be hard to keep up with all of the changes in technology, and decided to work on base. In 1980, Tommy started work at Patuxent Naval Air Station as an Elec-tronics Technician for Dyncorp at the Range Test Directorate, Chesapeake Test Range where he worked until September 1987. In 1987, he moved to the Electrical Power Systems Division of the Propulsion and Power Department as a civil servant where he worked as an Electrical Engi-neering Technician, with collateral duties as a hazmat coordinator and credit card buyer until his retirement from federal civil service in 2007.

You knew that Tommy liked you if he gave you a nickname. He fondly referred to his children as Gilbo, Skilpot, and T-Bone. Tommy enjoyed making people smile as “Bones” the clown at various events around Leonardtown, often bring-ing Bones with his bag of candy and bal-loons to different events that his sister and brother-in-law were involved in with the 3rd District Optimist Club. He loved all kinds of knick-knacks, and enjoyed going to thrift stores looking for piggy banks and clowns. He liked to do little things to help people out when you least expected it.

All services are private.

Emma “Betty” Harrison, 89

E m m a “ B e t t y ” H a r r i -son, 89, of L e o n a r d -town, MD died peace-fully at her r e s i d e n c e on May 11, 2010.

B o r n March 16, 1921, in B e d f o r d , PA, she was the daughter of

the late Charles and Margaret Beegle. Betty served in the Army as a nurse

during WWII. After the war, she came to Annapolis, MD where she met and mar-ried Billy Harrison.

Betty and Billy worked side by side on a farm in Harwood, MD until she moved to Leonardtown, MD in 2005 to live with her daughter.

Betty is survived by one daughter, Su-san and her husband Ron, and one grand-son, Kyle Wayson and his wife Brittney.

She was preceded in death by her hus-band Billy and her daughter Betsy.

Family received friends on Saturday, May 15, in the Brinsfield Funeral Home, 22955 Hollywood Road, Leonardtown, MD 20650. Funeral services and burial were held on Monday, May 17, 2010 at Mt. Zion United Methodist Church in Loth-ian, MD.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Hospice of St. Mary’s, P.O. Box 625, Leonardtown, MD 20650.

Taylor Hubbard, 20

Taylor I. Hub-bard, 20 of Lexing-ton Park, MD died at George Wa s h i n g-ton Uni-v e r s i t y H o s p i t a l on Sunday, May 16, 2010 after a tragic ac-cident on the campus

of George Washington University in NW, DC.

Born November 21, 1989 in North Hampton, MA, he was the son of Wayne W. Hubbard and Kayoko Hashimoto Hub-bard of Lexington Park, MD.

Taylor, a 2008 graduate of Great Mills High, was salutatorian of his class and a member of the National Honor Society. He was active in high school sports play-ing soccer, lacrosse and wrestling.

Taylor was a sophomore at George Washington University College where he was a biomedical engineering student. He enjoyed playing ultimate Frisbee, soccer and lacrosse. He was a member of the Al-pha Pi Chapter of Alpha Chi Sigma, a co-ed professional fraternity in chemistry.

Taylor’s peers describe him as some-one who was always willing to help others with their work. His friends and family remember his outgoing personality and happy demeanor.

In addition to his parents, he is sur-vived by his brother, Sean M. Hubbard of Lexington Park, MD; his paternal grand-parents, Walter F. and Joyce E. (Stoddard) Hubbard of Royalston, MA; his maternal grandmother, Kikue (Toya) Hashimoto of Tokyo, Japan; and his maternal great-grandparents, Albert and Freda Stod-dard of Pelham, MA. He was preceded in death by his maternal grandfather, Yoshio Hashimoto.

A candlelight vigil was held on Wednesday, May 19, 2010 at Great Mills High School, 21130 Great Mills Road, Great Mills, MD 20634.

Relatives and friends are invited to Taylor’s Life Celebration at the Patux-ent Presbyterian Church, 23421 Kingston Creek Road, California, MD 20619 on Fri-day, May 21, 2010 from 5:30 until 7 p.m. with services at 7 p.m. Mike Jones pastor of the church will officiate.

In lieu of f lowers, contributions may be made to the Taylor Hubbard Memorial Scholarship Fund, c/o Community Bank of Tri-County, 22730 Three Notch Road, California, MD 20619.

Cecilia McKay, 81

Cecilia Stepanik McKay, 81 of Holly-wood, MD passed away on May 15, 2010 at St. Mary’s Hospital.

Born July 9, 1928 in Westmoreland County, PA, she was the daughter of the late Michael and Anna Pilot Stepanik.

Mrs. McKay moved to St. Mary’s County over 43 years ago. She was a homemaker.

C e -cilia was p r e c e d e d in death by her h u s b a n d , David R. McKay in 2006. She is survived by her chil-dren; Cin-dy Young, (R icha rd) of St. Ini-goes, MD and David

W. McKay, (Judy) of Jacksonville, FL, one sister; Betty Winston of College Park, MD and two grandchildren; Christy Vick-ery and Heather McKay both of Jackson-ville, FL.

Family received friends for Ceci-lia’s Life Celebration on Tuesday, May 18, 2010 in the Brinsfield Funeral Home, P.A., Leonardtown, MD; A Funeral Ser-vice was conducted on Wednesday, May 19, 2010 in Mt. Zion United Methodist Church, Mechanicsville, MD. Interment followed in the church cemetery.

Memorial contributions may be made to the American Cancer Society, P.O. Box 1032, Lexington Park, MD 20653

Nicholas Pielmeier, 26

Nicho-las Andrew Pielmeier, 26 of Hol-l y w o o d , MD died May 11, 2010 in N e w n a n , GA.

N i c k y was born on June 17, 1983 in Clin-ton, MD to Dawn Marie Wil-

loughby Pielmeier of Hollywood, MD and Andrew William Pielmeier of Altoona, PA.

He graduated in 2001 from Chopticon High School. Nicky received degrees in Po-litical Science and History from Centenary College.

He was employed with Seickel & Sons as a boiler mechanic.

Surviving in addition to his parents are six siblings, Robin Miller of Mechan-icsville, MD, Jessy Smith and Maxi Smith of Hollywood, MD, Brooke Guss, Jake Pielmeier and Brian Miller all of Altoona, PA, his maternal grandmother, Doris E. Willoughby of Indian Head, MD and his paternal grandparents, Patricia and Dave Pielmeier of Annapolis, MD.

Family received friends on Sunday, May 16, 2010 in the Brinsfield Funeral Home, Leonardtown, MD where a prayer service was held. Interment was private.

Mary Stickell, 88

Mary Dorothy (Dottie) Stickell, 88, of Avenue, MD died May 14, 2010 in Callaway, MD with her family by her side. Dorothy was born on July 17, 1921 in Washington, DC. She was the daughter of the late Leslie and Alice Smith Dix.

She was the loving wife of the late


Continued To The Editor Continued:

Brinsfield Funeral Home, P.A. 22955 Hollywood Road

Leonardtown, Maryland 20650 (301) 475-5588

Brinsfield-Echols Funeral Home, P.A. 30195 Three Notch Road

Charlotte Hall, Maryland 20650 (301) 472-4400

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Oscar Wal-ter Stickell whom pre-ceded her in death on January 24, 1983.

She is s u r v i v e d by her sis-ter Vir-ginia Abell of London Town, MD and her two sons Wal-ter Maurice “ R e e s e ”

Stickell and his wife Sande of Florence, SC and Carrol Edward “Chuck” Stickell and his wife Margaret Louise of Leonardtown, MD. She is also survived by her grandchildren; Kim and Andy Whittington and their chil-dren Bob, Nicholas, Jenna, Megan; Andrew & Lisa and their children Gavin, Brody and Brooke; Sheri & Troy Knott and their chil-dren Jordan and Garrett; Teri Higgs and her children Tyler and Shelby; Mary-Margaret Stickell and her children Stephen, Taylor and Patrick; Walter and Noelle Stickell and their children Zack and Abby; Dawn and Chris Wilson and their children Jessica, Kelsey, Cheryl, Autumn and her daughter Lillian-na; Carrie and Willie Willet and their chil-dren Joey, Brittany, Zachary and Madison; Leslie and Angie Stickell and their children Haylee and Savannah; Sean Stickell and his

children Kyle and Nathan; Benji and Amy Thompson and their children Trent, Kya and Bella.

Dottie was employed at the US Census Bureau where she retired after 30 years as a statistician; she was one of the first women to hold a GS ranking in her field. She was very active in St. Mary’s County and was a volunteer for the Meals on Wheels Program through the Office of Aging. She loved to line dance and belonged to the Country Steppers and Grandma’s Rockers. Dottie will be especially remembered for her rou-tine known as the “Stripper.” She was also an active participant in the Senior Olympics and was awarded several medals for the breaststroke.

The family would like to express their heartfelt gratitude to the staff at the Hospice House for the kind and respectful care they provided her during the last weeks of her life.

The family received friends to cele-brate the life of Dorothy (Mary-D, Dottie) on Tuesday, May, 18, 2010 in the Matting-ley-Gardiner Funeral Home, Leonardtown, MD, where prayers were recited. A Mass of Christian burial was celebrated on Wednes-day, May 19, 2010 in Holy Angels Catholic Church, Avenue, MD. Interment followed at Washington National Cemetery, Suitland, MD.

In Lieu of f lowers donations may be made to The Hospice House of St. Mary’s, P.O. Box 625, Leonardtown, MD, 20650.

Thank You HoyerI just wanted to write to thank Ma-

jority Leader Steny Hoyer for all he does for the 5th Congressional District in Maryland. I am a longtime constituent, but have never felt compelled to write before. However I think Mr. Hoyer needs to be thanked for all he does for our state and our country.

He has worked tirelessly with Presi-dent Obama to get our economy back on track, evidenced by the 12% turnaround in GDP in one year and the creation of al-most 300,000 jobs in the month of April. Contrast that with the massive job losses from last year.

A recent USA TODAY article stated that under the current Congress Ameri-

cans have not paid taxes this low since 1950. The leadership of Steny Hoyer made this possible. That’s on the national level.

Mr. Hoyer also works just as hard for us here in Maryland. Among other things, he has ensured that the First Responders in his District have all the resources they need to do their jobs. I just saw an an-nouncement that the Huntington Fire De-partment received federal funds so they could purchase protective gear and equip-ment upgrades. Mr. Hoyer didn’t just promise, he delivered.

Thank you, Mr. Hoyer for being there for us. I will be there for you and I encour-age everyone to stand with you as well.

Yvette Lewis,Bowie, MD

Thank you! For the 3rd year in a row, I would like to take the opportunity to thank everyone who contributed to the American Cancer Society Relay for Life Fundraiser for my team The Invincibles on Saturday, April 17.

There is no way that I can thank Brian Tarleton, the owner of the Green Door in Park Hall, for allowing me to have the fundraiser at his establishment. He helped every step of the way in order to make the fundraiser a success. Thank you to Cindy Broyles for once again “guest bartending” with me. This year was a very busy year for us behind the bar, and you once again did it with me! Thanks to Kim, also for “guest bartending” with us. It was a pleasure to work with you. Thank you for dedicating your time to the effort and for donating all of the tips and donations you received all evening.

Thank you to my dear friends and team-mates Lynne and Randy for helping to set up at the event, and for selling luminaries and 50/50 raffle tickets! You all have been there for me MANY times through this journey and continue to be there when I need you most. Thank you to many of my fellow Relay for Life committee members for coming to the event, helping to sell and fund-raise, and sup-porting me and my team. Thank you Barbara Lafferty, our former ACS partner, for coming to the event and working SO HARD for us!

Thank you Denise Canter, owner of Smokey Joe’s Restaurant and Pit BBQ for providing the delicious food, rolls, side dish-es, and all the fixings for the patrons once again. It was really a wonderful addition to the event, and I appreciate your bringing so much good food to the fundraiser. I heard more than once that they came for the food!! Thank you, Viet and Mike Fenhagen for cooking, serving and donating two whole roasted pigs to the event. That took a lot of time and effort to cook it so well, and you

did it perfectly. Great donation by the SPGD (Society for the Preservation of the Green Door)!

Thank you to Bill Bailey from Bailey’s Party Rentals for donating a beautiful tent, tables and chairs for the “overflow” of people that came to the event. Also, thank you to Joe Tennyson for your donations, which were giv-en at the event and to Bonnie Clark Kangas for being our official photographer. A special thank you to Harold Lee and John Sharpless who very efficiently allowed the “guest bar-tenders” to feel we were keeping up with the crowd, and at the same time picking up our slack! That happened rather often once the people started coming into the building! You made it all so easy for us!

And lastly, a HUGE AND HEART-FELT thanks to everyone who attended the fundraiser. People came from far and near to support me and the American Cancer Society Relay for Life. The donations from the pa-trons and generous donations from Brian Tar-leton, Green Door owner, all totaled $2500. It was certainly the “3rd Annual Blast from the Past” to eradicate cancer in the future!

I wish I could thank each person individ-ually, but please know that I am overwhelmed with appreciation for the support. It turned out to be a more than perfect evening. For those that are interested in participating, The American Cancer Society Relay for Life will be held on Saturday, June 12, 2010 at Leon-ardtown High School starting at 5:30 p.m. Please consider joining us for a wonderful night of celebrating those who have survived cancer, and to remember those who have lost their fight. Please go to www.stmarysrelay.org to sign up or donate.

Susan Blair DudleyHollywood, MD

Green Door Relay for Life Event Was Amazing

Send to:The County Times

P.O. Box 250 • Hollywood, MD 20636Make sure you include your name, phone # and the city you live in.

We will not publish your phone #, only your name and city


BriefsMan Charged With Violating Protective Order

On May 14, 2010 Corporal Molitor responded to a residence in Lexington Park in refer-ence to a violation of a protective order. Investigation revealed Hugh A. Pierce, 45, of Lexing-ton Park, was served on May 11, 2010 with a temporary protective order ordering no contact between Pierce and the petitioner of the order. On May 13, 2010 Pierce allegedly called the petitioner on the telephone in violation of the order. Pierce was charged with violating the conditions of the protective order.

Police: Man Refuses To Cease DisturbanceOn May 14, 2010 Deputy Thompson responded to Great Mills Road in Great Mills for a

report of an intoxicated person lying in the travel portion of Great Mills Road. Upon arrival, Deputy Thompson made contact with Joseph Warren Pilkerton, 40 of Bryantown who was sleeping on the side walk with a 24-ounce bottle of beer lying next to him. Thompson woke Pilkerton to check his welfare. Pilkerton began cursing at Thompson causing a disturbance to other individuals walking along the roadway. Thompson could smell a strong odor of an alco-holic beverage upon Pilkerton’s breath and person. The deputy asked Pilkerton several times to stop yelling and cursing but Pilkerton allegedly refused and continued to yell and threaten the deputy. Pilkerton was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct.

Deputy Alleges Assault, Drug PossessionOn May 14, 2010 Corporal Logalbo responded to the area of Route 235 and Maryland

Route 4 for a report of a suspicious person. Upon arrival Logalbo observed several neighbors looking out their doors with their attention drawn to Aloysius Charles Guy, Jr., 47, of no fixed address who appeared to be intoxicated and was yelling profanities. As Logalbo approached, Guy allegedly took a defensive stance balling his fist, cursing and aggressively came towards the deputy. Guy was taken to the ground and arrested for disorderly conduct and second-degree assault. A search incident to Guy’s arrest revealed a glass smoking device containing suspected marijuana. Guy was additionally charged with possession of a controlled dangerous substance and possession of controlled dangerous substance paraphernalia.

Philip H. Dorsey IIIAttorney at Law

-Serious Personal Injury Cases-

LEONARDTOWN: 301-475-5000TOLL FREE: 1-800-660-3493

EMAIL: [email protected]

www.dorseylaw.net


St. Mary’s investigators are on the trail of a suspect they say has been responsible for at least two burglaries stemming from a home improvement confidence scam that has run from the spring of 2009 to the present.

Detectives also say that the same per-son may be operating the same type of con-fidence scam in other localities.

“I’m assisting Charles County [law enforcement] with similar ones that oc-curred,” said Dep. David Alexader, a detec-tive with the county’s Bureau of Criminal Investigations.

So far, Alexander said, the targets of the alleged scams have been the elderly and the items stolen have been restricted to cash from homes.

Victims have been reticent to report the crimes at times, he said.

“Sometimes they feel like they should’ve known better,” Alexander said.

Capt. Terry Black, commander of the criminal investigative section, said that the elderly seemed to be the most vulnerable target for this type of scam.

“We want people to be constantly aware of these scams and report them,” Black told The County Times. “If it appears suspicious it probably is.

“I think… they’re more trusting of oth-er people.”

With the case still open, detectives would not share the name of the suspect, but they did say that the alleged scams involved the suspect entering the home of a victim without permission while someone working with the suspect has taken the home owner around to the back of their house to inform

them of some kind of home improvement they could perform.

“It’s a distraction technique,” Black said.

However, the workers the suspect hires to take part in the alleged home improve-ment scam, which includes mostly land-scaping chores, detectives said, might not even know they are involved in a criminal scheme.

Alexander said that the main suspect in the case can bring anywhere from one addi-tional to five other workers with him to work at a home.

“We have no evidence to indicate they’re aware of what he’s doing,” Black said of the apparent accomplice’s knowledge of the suspect’s operation.

In the second incident police here were made aware of, the homeowner reported that the charge for the work done was “ex-orbitant,” Black said, and that while nothing seems to have been stolen, detectives say that the suspect did enter the home uninvited.

Cash seems to be the main target of the alleged burglaries, Black said, because it took longer for the homeowners to find it was missing rather than larger items.

“With cash it takes them a while to real-ize it’s gone,” Black said. “By then the per-petrator is long gone.”

Detectives are still trying to find wheth-er the unnamed suspect is responsible for more home improvement scams, since there are similar crimes with the same modus operandi in neighboring jurisdictions.

“They [the team of workers] could be all over,” Black said. “And there could be more [unreported burglaries] out there.”

[email protected]

Detectives Searching for Suspected Scam Artist


Visiting Circuit Court Judge Sean D. Wallace scheduled the first trial against both Daniel J. Brown who dealt locally and else-where in real estate, and his partner, indicted Democrat for state’s attorney candidate John A. Mattingly, Jr. for July 19.

The scheduling took place Wednesday when both Mattingly and Brown attended a hearing at the Leonardtown courthouse.

The pair’s lawyers, Public Defender John Getz for Brown and Clark F. Ahlers represent-ing Mattingly, were scheduled to argue a host of motions on their clients’ behalf but asked the judge to hold off on the hearing until just before trial to examine all the evidence, file more motions and allow for prosecutors’ responses.

Both the defendants face three sepa-rate cases each charging them with multiple counts of forging public documents and theft in connection with suspect real estate deals.

Mattingly and Brown also faces charges of witness tampering from a 2007 shooting case that involved Solomons Island Tiki Bar owner Terry Clarke.

The special prosecutor in the case, as-sistant state’s attorney Isabel Cumming, from Prince George’s County, officially declined to

prosecute the original six cases against both defendants Wednesday in lieu of new indict-ments is-sued against them that streamlined the charges.

Those new indictments were issued last week. Between the original indictments both men faced literally hundreds of charges stem-ming from suspect land deals, alleged witness tampering and filing false deeds.

Both Mattingly and Brown have denied any guilt in the cases against them and Mat-tingly has claimed in prior arguments, includ-ing a federal suit, that State’s Attorney Richard Fritz has singled him out for prosecution as retribution for opposing him for the county’s top prosecutor slot.

Fritz has said that Mattingly and Brown’s claims are aimed at deflecting attention away from their alleged crimes.

The trial is set to last for two weeks.

[email protected]

First Trial Set For Mattingly And Brown

John A. Mattingly, Jr


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By Andrea ShiellStaff Writer

The JT Daugherty Conference Center in Lexington Park saw dozens of county dignitar-ies, teachers and students celebrating the start

of commencement season on Friday with an-other yearly tradition; scholarship awards for graduating seniors.

Out of 196 applications, the Business,

Education and Community Alliance (BECA) awarded 71 scholarships to students from both private and public schools in St. Mary’s County this year, including 20 students who complet-ed the St. Mary’s County Common Scholar-ship Application, which has awarded more

than $1,000,000 in scholarships since 2007.

Sheriff Timo-thy Cameron, the keynote speaker at Friday’s awards ceremony, laughed at many parts of his own history as he talked about his own experience with higher educa-tion, stressing that he had not chosen a straight line to get his degree.

“I thought the key to my future was going to be football,” he said. “I played football in

the beginning of high school, and it was some-thing I was very passionate about … I went from there to James Madison University, and I can tell you I was grossly unprepared to go

to James Madison University, and because of the time I invested in academics, I was shortly thereafter invited to leave,” he said, laughing.

It was not until going on a ride-along with local police officers that Cameron said he’d found his calling in law enforcement.

“I thought to myself that – po-lice and football – it’s pretty close. They both wear uniforms, they call plays, they have specialty units … this is it!” he exclaimed, adding though that at a certain point in his career, he had hit a ceiling within his field due to his lack of higher education.

“I lacked formal education, and I could see about midway through my career what I refer to as doors and ceilings,” said Cameron. “Doors I could not get through because, even though I had knowledge, skills and ability … I didn’t have a formal education and I couldn’t get through those doors, so therefore there was a ceiling and I could never rise above it.

Cameron went on to recount his 15-year journey through community college to finally earning his degree after joining a program at Johns Hopkins University, finishing his Bach-elors and Masters degrees after several more years of study.

“It has done so much in how I look at the

world and how we apply policing, specifically here in St. Mary’s, with that worldview,” said Cameron. “Education is the key to so many things. It eliminates those doors and those ceilings … and again, it doesn’t have to be a straight line.”

“We all have a higher education story, and right now you’re ready to start your own story,” said Bob Schaller, Director of the St. Mary’s County Department of Economic and Commu-nity Development. “And you have no choice. The environment, the economy, the world … demands that you stay skilled. You can’t relax … your story is ready to be written, so make it a good one.”

BECA Scholarships Awarded To Local Students The Dr. James A. Forrest Career & Technology

Center in Leonardtown achieved top energy savings for the month of March 2010, with a 19.8 percent reduction in electric consumption, compared to its consumption in March 2009. The school saved 32,560 kilowatt hours. That equates to a savings of $3,900. This is the first time the Forrest Center has captured the energy flag. Ac-cording to John Spinicchia, Green School Coordinator for the Forrest Center, special thanks should be given to the building service staff and their constant vigilance in making sure everyone is doing all that is possible to save energy. Savings are attributed to the special efforts made by students and staff at the Forrest Center.

The flag was presented to the school on Thursday April 29, and will be flown at the school until the third week of May when it is presented to the next school to achieve this honor.

Forrest Center Captures Energy Flag

While at Havard University, Edward Kennedy was suspended for cheating on a Spanish exam.

Photo by Andrea ShiellPictured here are the 20 winners of this year’s BECA scholarships (in alphabetical order): Nathan Alvey, Brittany Briscoe, Brittany Cassini, Mary Rose Depperschmidt, Samantha Durdock, Shanice Fenwick, Daniel Harris, Kristen Healey, Jessica Herbert, Judia Holton, Elizabeth Jenkins, Danielle Johnson, Nicole Leonard, Brittany Machnicki, Lindsey Mil-len, Kylie Oosterink, Joseph Payne, Joshua Russell, Raymond-Ramil Tuazon and Ashley Young.

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French grapes don’t do too well in Southern Maryland, said Caro-line Baldwin, President of the Southern Maryland Wine Grape Grow-ers Cooperative and owner of Piney Grove Farm in Kent County, where she’s been growing Chardonnay grapes since 2005 after she inherited the business from her father.

“They’re probably one of the most difficult grapes to grow in this area,” she said. “They’re viniferous, and the original French grape, so they’re not a hybrid, and they’re very prone to all of the mildews and the rots, and in my case the vines are very vigorous, and you have to control that.”

But networking with the other 14 members of the cooperative has helped Baldwin settle into a growing routine, she said, and she’s proud of the product now being sold at the Port of Leonardtown Winery, which will celebrate its grand opening on May 21.

Contributors from the cooperative together with county officials and local entrepreneurs will surely be taking some time to savor their success, especially as the winery itself required a near-Herculean effort to develop.

Tourism was probably the impetus for developing the winery, said Laschelle McKay, Leonardtown Town Administrator. “[The County Commissioners] put in $500,000, and they’ve since then put in another $35,000. The town has pledged the property, management of the con-struction, and $35,000. And MARBIDCO [the Maryland Agricultural and Resource-Based Industry Development Corporation] did a $25,000 grant, and the Southern Maryland Agricultural Development Corpora-tion did $65,000 to complete … the patio outside and the completion of the tasting room.”

Stretching $660,000 to cover construction and development costs for such an ambitious project wasn’t easy, but every penny pinched was worth it, said McKay, smiling at the polished wood of the bar, fashioned from recycled materials dating back to when it was used by the State Highway Administration as a garage.

“It really is a result of the whole team. Chris Bologna brought in a member of his staff, Miss Stephanie Evans, and it was her idea for the reuse of the wood,” said McKay. “All the wood and metal is all from this building, and they gave out above and beyond what they were paid for … everybody got so invested in it. She went down to the Habitat for Humanity’s [ReStore] and used materials from there,” with nearly all work and material coming from local contractors.

Landscaping and layout plans are pending, said McKay, but eventually the site will boast a park with trails and a demonstration vineyard.

All of this focus has stemmed from a regional effort to replace tobacco with equally viable alternative crops, said Fuller, admitting

though that grapes have only been a small part of the transition to di-versified agriculture in Southern Maryland, and only a few farms in the co-op are participating in the tobacco buyout program.

As for which crop will be prolific enough to eventually replace tobacco, Fuller said he expected subdivisions to sprout before anything else.

“[It’ll] probably [be] houses,” he said, “a lot of acreage has gone to development, and a lot of it is sitting empty and not being used because they’re part of the tobacco buyout, and a few others have started crops like grapes … but there is no silver bullet with replacing tobacco.”

Donna Sasser, Agricultural Manager for the St. Mary’s County Department of Economic & Community Development, agreed with Fuller and said that her office had gotten a lot of inquiries about grape-growing grants which have been set up to help farmers get started.

“We’ve gotten a lot of inquiries for a couple of reasons,” said Sass-er, “but I don’t believe that grapes are going to be the silver bullet to replace tobacco, but it is an alternative … every little thing helps, and it might be a niche that for some farmer works.”

Settling into that niche is still the goal of most growers in the area, including Fuller, who has been taking stock of the wines as they mature.

“We have one red wine. It’s a Chambourcin blend, and we’re call-ing it a semi-sweet red wine. Our dry red wines weren’t ready to be bottled,” he said. “The aroma was too intense with oak, and the taste was still kind of rough on the tongue. So more time in the stainless steel [tanks] will allow that oak to dissipate a bit and smooth out. The red wines really need time.”

Two red wines will be available for release in January, “and by spring of next year, we’re hoping we can bottle the Merlot and the Cab-ernet Franc also,” said Fuller.

Meanwhile growers and county officials are looking forward to the winery as a boon to local businesses.

“I think the short term goal is whatever the sales they can achieve,” said Bob Schaller, Director of Economic and Community Development for St. Mary’s County, explaining that sales to restaurants and other venues in the area may serve as a reliable gauge of how the product will be received in general.

“They’re the beginning … the origin of a wine industry that we’ll create here,” he added, explaining that operations will likely grow as more farms join the cooperative. Business at the winery could also con-nect it to wine trails stemming from the D.C. metro area into South-ern Maryland, eventually including wineries in Calvert and Charles counties.

“The long-term economic impact is limitless,” said Schaller, “we just have to connect these dots.”

It does all come back to the grapes, of course, said Sasser, but the operation itself – like any fine wine – will only get better with age.

The Grand Opening re-ception for the Port of Leon-ardtown Winery will take place on Friday, May 21 at 2 p.m. For more information on the winery or the Grape Growers Cooperative, go to www.portof leonardtown.com.

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The County Times Thursday, May 20, 2010 18

SMCPS Honors Support Professionals

NewsmakersBy Andrea ShiellStaff Writer

St. Mary’s County Public Schools rolled out the red carpet on Tues-day for education sup-port professionals during their annual recognition ceremony at the Board of Education headquar-ters on Moakley Street in Leonardtown, naming Robert Armstrong, Jr., a Building Service Man-ager at Great Mills High School, as the school system’s Educational Support Professional of the Year.

“At Great Mills High School, he is Mr. Graduation,” said Al Harrison, Director of Operations for the school system. “Mr. Armstrong is a good role model for our students. He is hard-working, honest, trustworthy, a gentleman and a fabulous family man,” he said, quoting a colleague’s state-ment on Armstrong’s nomination.

“Words can’t ex-press the admiration that us board members and the superintendent have for you,” said Board of Education Chair Bill Mattingly as he ad-dressed this year’s 15 nominees and their families. “We all took a vow … to do what’s best for children, and that’s what you’re do-ing every day … what you are is a role model for these children, so you’re more than just an employee of St. Mary’s County Public Schools. Keep doing what you’re doing. I wish we could pay you a million dollars a year, but that still wouldn’t be enough for all you do … just know that you’re not taken for granted.”

“To all of our family members … I can truly empathize with you as family members, recognizing the amount of time that your family members are away from you,” said Superintendent Michael Martirano at the cer-emony. “These are not jobs. These are call-ings. It’s what we do … when you make a dif-ference you just love what you’re doing and it takes a lot of family to support that effort.”

Martirano and members of the school board recognized Donna Phelan, Secretary to the Principal at Evergreen Elementary School, and Phyllis Smith, Graphic/Repro-duction Machine Operator for the Division of Supporting Services, with honorable men-tions before officially announcing Armstrong as this year’s Educational Support Profes-sional of the Year.

“I recognize your work speaks for itself … this award truly exemplifies the character-

istics of somebody who is a hard worker, but who is also extremely nice and kind to our students every day,” said Martirano.

“This is a total team effort,” said Arm-strong. “I enjoy watching students graduate, and I enjoy working with them, but the most important thing in life is your family. Your family comes first … I’ve been in this busi-ness for 29 years, and I enjoy it. I might not see eye to eye with all my supervisors, but I thank all of you and I appreciate this award.”

Other nominees for this year’s award were honored with certificates of apprecia-tion, including; James Levi Chase, Build-ing Service Worker at Chesapeake Public Charter School; Donna Levay, Secretary to the Principal at George Washington Carver Elementary School; Don Haynes, Assistant Building Service Manager at Green Holly Elementary School; Michelle Roberts, Secre-tary to the Principal at Leonardtown Elemen-tary School; Shea D. Frazier, Special Educa-tion Para Educator at Leonardtown Middle School; William B. Thompson, Building Ser-vices Manager at Lexington Park Elementary School; Victoria Jean Gray, Behavior Man-agement Center Para at Park Hall Elementary School; Tracey Moran, Kindergarten Instruc-tional Para at Piney Point Elementary School; Brandie Goddard, Secretary at Spring Ridge Middle School; and Dora L. Zimmerman, Building Management Center Coordinator at White Marsh Elementary School.

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The 3rd Annual EMS for Kids Day was held on the Governmental Center Lawn in Leonardtown on Sunday from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. Events for children included bucket rides with the Bay District Vol-unteer Fire Department, Kids in Safety Seat checks, bicycle safety, as well as tours of ambulances and a rescue helicopter.

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• Lexington Park opening lateLexington Park library will be closed

until 1 p.m. this Friday morning, May 21, for staff training. The other two branches and In-ternet branch will be open.

• Summer volunteer applications due May 22

Applications to be a summer reading volunteer are due this Sat., May 22. Students entering 6th grade or higher this fall can ap-ply. Applications are available online or at the libraries. Applicants need to attend one of the following training sessions: May 24 at 6 p.m. or June 1 at 4 p.m. at Lexington Park; May 27 at 6:30 p.m. or June 3 at 6:30 p.m. at Leonardtown; or June 1 at 4 p.m. or June 2 at 5 p.m. at Charlotte Hall.

• Library provides links to federal, state and local government

A list of links to federal, state and lo-cal government information and services has been compiled by the librarians and is now available from the library’s website. The index includes links to the Maryland Unem-ployment Insurance Claim forms, the IRS, Medicare, and many other important govern-ment services and can be found by clicking on the Library Services tab then e-government.

Two classes are being offered in June to explore this new service: June 8 at 5:30 p.m. at Lexington Park and June 16 at 2 p.m. at Charlotte Hall. Registration is required.

• Literacy Council helping community

According to the St. Mary’s County Lit-eracy Council 15% of the county adult popu-lation is functionally illiterate. The public can help turn this around by telling someone in need about the services offered by the Lit-eracy Council and/or volunteering to help. The Literacy Council has an information table at Leonardtown Library on the 2nd & 4th Tuesday between 9:30 -11:30 a.m. to help anyone needing their services or to answer questions about volunteering. Their office is located at Lexington Park Library.

• Libraries offer book discussions

Readers are invited to drop in for any of the following book discussions: David Wro-blewski’s book, “The Story of Edgar Saw-telle” on May 20 at 7 p.m. at Leonardtown; Diane Setterfield’s book, “The Thirteenth Tale” on June 7 at 7 p.m. at Charlotte Hall; William Cohan’s book, “House o Cards: A Tale of Hubris and Wretched Excess on Wall Street on June 14 at 6 p.m. at Lexington Park.

L ibrary Items

The Southern Maryland Chapter of the Military Officers Association of America (MOAA) recognized the recipients of the MOAA JROTC Award at a luncheon held May 15. The award is presented annually to a cadet in each JROTC unit who is in good academic standing and demonstrates exceptional potential for military leadership. Below is Major Evelyn Widmer USAR (Ret.), President of the Southern Maryland Chapter of MOAA, with Cadet Christopher Palmer of Chopticon High School, left, Cadet Jacob Stans-field of Great Mills High School and Cadet Christopher Plummer of Leonardtown High School.

The fourth sea-son of live music re-turns to downtown Leonardtown this summer when the Downtown Tunes series opens on the square on May 22, offering up a live jazz program.

The series will also feature evenings devoted to acoustic music, country, and rock and roll through-out the summer. All concerts are on the fourth Saturdays of the month and all are free. Shows begin at 6 pm and will run about three hours.

Gretchen Richie and Jazz Cabaret will open on May 22. New York trumpeter Alex Norris will join the Cabaret for the night, help-ing round out their extensive repertoire of jazz and American standards.

Around 8 pm, Fractal Folk, a large jazz ensemble will take the stage for about an hour and a half.

Downtown Tunes will continue on June 26 with an acoustic music show with The Edds, an acoustic duo of terrific singers and guitarists. Following The Edds will be Hamm-It-Ups, a trio featuring wonderful harmonies on older and newer tunes.

On July 24 Country music night will show-case local recording artist Jeff Miller, followed by the always popular Country Memories and their brand of mostly old time country music.

The series winds up on august 28 with rock and roll by Geezer and The 25th Hour Band.

All shows are free but concert goers are invited to bring chairs or blankets to sit on. Downtown restaurants will be open before and during the shows.

Rain dates will be the next day, Sunday, for all shows.

For information call Robin Guyther, Direc-tor, at 301 904-4452, or visit the Leonardtown web site at www.somd.com/leonardtown.

Documenting the unique architectural heritage of St. Mary’s County, I’m Goin’ Down County, An Architectural Journey Through St. Mary’s County is now available for purchase. Coordinated as a project by the St. Mary’s County Department of Land Use and Growth Management and the Maryland Historic Trust, and written by former staff member Kirk E. Ranzetta, the 320-page hardcover book is an illustrated chronicle of the county’s historic buildings and the high-tech aircraft testing fa-cilities located on the Naval Air Station Patux-ent River.

The book is a historical narrative from the earliest periods to the present and weaves

the churches, stores, residences, marine rail-ways and boat-building shops, tobacco barns, camps, lighthouses and schools into a story of how countians shaped their community. The volume includes over 400 photos complete with a detailed narrative of hundreds of histor-ic properties located throughout the county.

The books are available for $35 at the St. Mary’s County Department of Land Use and Growth Management Department, located in the Governmental Center in Leonardtown, or Bay Books located in the Wildwood Shopping Center. Copies are also available at each St. Mary’s County Library for reference.

Adopt A Pet!“Hi, my name is Kathy and I’m a wonderful female Beagle mix.

Sadly, I am in rescue due to the sudden death of my owner. I was one of eight companion dogs that found ourselves at the shelter with no family to help. Thanks to the dedication of a few rescues, we are all safe and looking for new homes to spend the remainder of our retirement years. I get along great with other dogs. I’m quite content to follow you around or lie in the sun, I could probably get interested in the daily soaps or even a ride to the post office. I’m up to date on vaccinations, spayed, housetrained and identification micro chipped. Please, if you have room in your heart for a wonderful senior girl like me, please con-tact SECOND HOPE RESCUE at 240-925-0628 or email [email protected]. as soon as possible! Please Adopt, Don’t Shop!”

Book about Architectural Heritage of St. Mary’s County Now Available

Fourth Season of Downtown Tunes Coming to Leonardtown

MOAA JROTC Award

Submitted Photo

Submitted Photo


Thursday, May 20• Tastee TacosVFW Post 2632 (California) – 5:30 p.m.

For more info go to www.vfwpost2632.com.

• Charity Hold’EmDonovan’s Pub (California) – 8 p.m.

For more info call Barry at 443-486-3319 or email [email protected].

Friday, May 21• 3rd Annual Claude D. Alexander Memo-rial Golf TournamentCedar Point Golf Course (NAS Patuxent River) – 7:15 a.m.

Organized by local volunteers who have ties to the Marine Corps, Navy, Army and Air Force. 7:15 registration, 8:45 shot-gun start. Red ($5,000), Gold ($2,500) and Blue ($500) sponsorships are still avail-able. Golfers are also welcome ($100). The Claude D. Alexander Memorial Golf tour-nament, a 501(c)(3) organization, has raised over $30,000 for the IMSFF and Wounded Warrior project over the past two years. For more information contact Capt. Ted Har-wood at (240) 298-8865.

• Steak and Shrimp NightAm. Legion Post 221 (Avenue) – 5 p.m.For more info call 301-884-4071.

• Mother Catherine Spalding School Presents “The Sound of Music”Mother Catherine Spalding School (Helen) – 7 p.m.

Students will be performing the cel-ebrated Rodgers and Hammerstein clas-sic, “The Sound of Music” at the school on May 21-22 at 7 p.m. The school is located at 38833 Chaptico Road in Helen, Md. For more information call 301-884-3165.

• Special Olympics Deep Stack No Limit TourneyCenter for Life Enrichment (Hollywood) – 7 p.m.

For more information call Jim Bucci at 240-561-1864.

• FOP-7 Texas Hold’EmFOP-7 Lodge (Great Mills) – 7 p.m.For more info call 301-863-6007.

• Texas Hold’EmMechanicsville Fire House – 7 p.m.

• Texas Hold’EmVFW Post 2632 (California) – 7 p.m.

For more info contact Brian at [email protected] or call 240-925-4000.

• Newtowne Players Present “Wit”Three Notch Theater (Lexington Park) – 8 p.m.

Drama by Margaret Edson about a fe-male professor with terminal ovarian can-cer. Winner of the 1999 Pulitzer Prize for drama. Showing May 14-30. For more infor-mation or to reserve seats, call 301-737-5447 or visit www.newtowneplayers.org.

Saturday, May 22• Little Flower School Yard Sale & Craft FairLittle Flower School (Great Mills) – 6 a.m.

Rain or shine event. Indoor and outdoor space for vendors and crafters available. Call Guy at 301-481-5492 for more informa-tion and price of space rentals.

• Free Spring Fling eventSt. Mary’s Square shopping center (Lex-ington Park) – 7 a.m.

Food, vendors, crafters, entertainment, face painting, prizes and more. Vendors/crafters who want to participate should call Tina at 240-577-0955. Space rental is $15.

• Girl Scout Troop 994 Rummage SaleMcKay’s parking lot (Lexington Park) – 7 a.m.

• St. John’s School Yard SaleSt. John’s School (Hollywood) – 7 a.m.

Rent table space for $20. For more in-formation call Carol at 301-247-0376.

• FAW Benefit Yard SaleFather Andrew White School (Leonard-town) – 8 a.m.

For table reservation ($20/table, $30/2 tables) or more info, call Jody Cacko at [email protected].

• Leatherneck 5K Race/Fun WalkPatuxent River Naval Air Station – 9 a.m.

$25 entrance fee, registration starts at 7 a.m. Course will go along river and Chesa-peake Bay coastline. Participants must have a valid military ID, DoD Installation stick-er or base pass. For more information call George at 301-757-9155.

• 2nd Annual Volunteer Tent Event23063 Three Notch Rd (California) – 10 a.m.

Organizations from around St. Mary’s will have information on membership and volunteer opportunities. Visit http://helpst-marys.com for more information.

• Second Hope Pet AdoptionsPetco (California) – 11 a.m.

For more information call 240-925-0628. Visit www.secondhoperescue.org to see available animals.

• All-You-Can-Eat Crab Cake DinnerSt. George’s Episcopal Church (Valley Lee) – 1 p.m.

For more info call 301-994-0585.

• St. Mary’s River Watershed Associa-tion Annual MeetingSt. Mary’s College (Muldoon River Center) – 4 p.m.

Secretary John Griffin of the Maryland Department of Natural Resources will give a talk about the importance of oysters in the St. Mary’s River during the St. Mary’s River Watershed Association’s annual meeting. The event is free and open to the public. For more information visit www.SMRWA.org or call 301-862-3517.

• Hold’Em Tourney – NEW TIMESt. Mary’s County Elks Lodge (California) – 6 p.m.For more info call 301-863-7800.

• Downtown Tunes NightLeonardtown Square – 6 p.m.

Live music by Fractal Folk. Free and open to the public. For more information call Robin Guyther at 301-904-4452.

• Swing ConcertThe Tides Restaurant (Lexington Park) – 6 p.m.

American standards and swing jazz classics from The Pax Rats. $13 cover charge. For more info contact Dorothy Whitehead at 301-862-5303. http://www.thepaxrats.com.

• St. Michael’s School Asian-Pacific CelebrationSt. Michael’s School Gymnasium (Ridge) – 6:30 p.m.

Evening will include authentic Asian-Pacific food and entertainment. Tickets are $20 per adult, $10 for children 10 or under. For more info call the school at 301-872-5454.

• FAW Basket BingoFather Andrew White School (Leonard-town) – 7 p.m.

Doors open at 6, games start at 7. Din-ner and snacks available. For more info or to make reservations, call Denise at 301-475-3192.

• Mother Catherine Spalding School Presents “The Sound of Music”Mother Catherine Spalding School (Helen) – 7 p.m.

• Newtowne Players Present “Wit”Three Notch Theater (Lexington Park) – 8 p.m.


Sunday, May 23• Ann Downing concertChurch of the Nazarene (Hollywood) – 9 a.m.

• Parish Dinner and FestivalImmaculate Conception Church (Mechan-icsville) – 12 noon

$18 for adults and carryout, $7 for children ages 6-12, children under 6 are free. For more information or tickets, call 301-884-3123.

• Prom/Homecoming Dress DropBeth Israel Synagogue (Lexington Park) – 12 noon

Collecting prom and homecoming dresses. Must be clean and in good condition. Drop off times will be from noon to 2 p.m. Call 301-481-9223 for more information.

• Drive-Thru Chicken DinnerRidge Vol. Fire Department – 12:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.

For more information call 301-872-5797 or 301-872-5671.

• Deep Stack Hold’Em TournamentBennett Building, 24930 Old Three Notch Road (Hollywood) – 2 p.m.

For more information call Bobbi Sprouse at 240-577-0983 or Jim Bucci at 301-373-6104.

• FOP-7 Texas Hold’EmFOP-7 Lodge (Great Mills) – 2 p.m.For more information call 301-863-6007.

• St. Joseph’s Catholic Church 150th An-niversary CelebrationSt. Joseph’s Catholic Church (Morganza) – 3 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.

Established in 1700, St. Joseph’s is cel-ebrating the 150th anniversary of the cur-rent church building will an Open House,

highlighting their recent restorations of art and architecture, and the structure’s new altar. Light refreshments will be served in the Parish Hall. For more information, call 301-475-3293.

• Newtowne Players Present “Wit”Three Notch Theater (Lexington Park) – 3:30 p.m.


Monday, May 24• No Limit Texas Hold’Em Bounty TournamentSt. Mary’s County Elks Lodge (California) – 7 p.m.

For more information call Linda at 240-925-5697 or the lodge at 301-863-7800.

• St. Mary’s County Genealogical Soci-ety MeetingLeonardtown Library – 7 p.m.

Topic will be “What You Need to Know About Researching in a Large City vs. a Small County Courthouse.” Speaker will be Sharon Hodges. Refreshments served. Public invited, admission is free. For more information contact Peg Richardson at 410-326-4435.

• Charity Hold’Em TournamentDonovan’s Pub (California) – 7:30 p.m.

To benefit Road to Scholarship. For more information call 443-486-3319.

Tuesday, May 25• Nature Time at GreenwellGreenwell State Park (Hollywood) – 10 a.m.

Pre-registration (no later than 24 hours in advance) is required via email - [email protected] - or by calling the Greenwell Foundation office at 301-373-9775.

• Special Olympics Hold’Em TournamentBennett Building, 24930 Old Three Notch Road (Hollywood) – 7 p.m.


• $25 Texas Hold’EmCadillac Jack’s (Lexington Park) – 7:30 p.m.

For more information call Christine at 443-624-2746.

Wednesday, May 26• FOP-7 Texas Hold’EmFOP-7 Lodge (Great Mills) – 7 p.m.For more info call 301-863-6007.

• Special Olympics Hold’Em TournamentBennett Building, 24930 Old Three Notch Road (Hollywood) – 7 p.m.


To submit information for the community calendar, please send an email to [email protected].


FactunGrapes explode when you put them in the microwave.

By Shelby OppermannContributing Writer

This is one of those days where my mind feels blank – not that there aren’t a million things going around in it, but just that I can’t quite capture a thought for more than a minute. Nothing seems to come together. I wonder, should I meditate, take deep breaths and focus, or go with the scraps of thought that will forever be separate? This must be how “stream of con-sciousness” writing began. Most of my life has been spent as a stream of consciousness journey living mostly in the present moment. I definite-ly think of the past and try to make sense of it in my writings, but day to day it’s enjoy one day at a time.; try to find the beauty in each day. I have a little saying always in the back of my head. “Every day you wish a way is a day gone forever.” I never want to lose one precious day wishing for what is supposed to happen a day, week, or month from now.

I spoke to a friend on the phone a little bit ago, and she said that she and her husband were driving and chatting when she asked him, ”What do you think about when your mind goes blank?’ Her husband is one of the busiest men in our county, and about to be busier. She said the pause and then the look he gave her was priceless. He probably has not had a moment to be blank or had the luxury of thinking about being blank in years. She is normally a busy woman too, but I think she has an innate grace and sereneness that allow her to be present with you and really listen and absorb all that is being said. A true, caring, gentle soul.

I, on the other hand feel that I too, can lis-ten well, but the absorption process has some-where along the way been overfilled. “I’ll re-member this moment or sentence forever,” I tell myself, and then all that will come back at

times is a vague feeling. I sit on my bench out in the yard watching the sunlight dance among the leaves and off the cool dirt paths thinking I will remember exactly how this looked so I can recall it and fill my mind with peace and beauty during times of stress. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t.

This, of course, got me to wondering about what happens when your mind is blank. Is it ever really blank? Sometimes you are staring at something and not seeing it, and someone will ask you, ”What are you thinking about?” The typical response is “Nothing” or “Nothing re-ally.” But something must be going on. I don’t know if my mind ever goes completely blank, though there are some that would think so, but maybe it’s close to it when you are really present in a moment – looking at a beautiful, perfectly formed tree, or the sparkle of the sun on the wa-ter, and every worry or concern is pushed right out of your head.

Bingo, with my Mother, used to work for me. I guess any sport or activity can make your mind blank, so that all you are focusing on is the action you are performing instead of any thought producing exercise. There are times I wish for my mind to be blank, but then I know that for me that means that I have suddenly stopped living.

Now my husband just called. I can always count on him to make cheery comments. He asked, “What is your article about?” I told him, “Oh, blank minds and streams of conscious-ness.” My sweetheart, the love of my life re-plied, “You mean streams of unconsciousness in your case.” I must be blank more than I think I am.

To each new day’s adventure, Shelby

Please send comments or ideas to: [email protected].

Aimless Mind

Wanderings

By Linda RenoContributing Writer

On July 31, 1871, Laura Shanks, just 23 years old, com-mitted suicide at the home of her sister,

Mary (Shanks) Parkinson in Washington, D.C., where she had been living for the past year. Laura took an overdose of lauda-num, ending her young life over a broken engagement.

Several weeks before, Mrs. Parkinson received a letter from the neighborhood of Great Mills, in which it was stated that

Laura’s fiancé, Joseph Allstan, was flirting with one girl, courting another, and that he was making preparations to marry a young lady of that vicinity in August--a Miss Thompson.

The family kept the contents of the letter from Laura probably hoping things would work themselves out. Subsequently Allstan came to the city for a long visit and the couple spent a great deal of time togeth-er, but the last day they met the engagement was broken.

On the day of her death, Laura had helped her sister with the breakfast dishes, but then went to her room and remained

A Journey Through TimeA Journey Through TimeThe Chronicle

The Blank Mind

there. Her sister Mary tried to get her to eat during the course of the day, even taking her a dinner tray, but she refused. About 11:15

p.m., Morris Shanks (her brother) heard Laura groan as he passed by her room. She was found unconscious.

“Dr. Hammett [Charles Massey Hammett, born 1835 in St. Mary’s County] was sent for and did all he could to restore her to conscious-ness, but without success, as death ensued about half past 12:00. An empty two ounce vial, labeled “laudanum, poison” from Dr. Row-land’s drug-store, was found in the bed, and at the head, between the mattress and pillow, a goblet was found discolored by the drug.”

In the bed was found a small box addressed to Joseph Allstan, Great Mills, St. Mary’s County, Maryland, in which were a locket and three small shirt-bosom studs, and the follow-ing note: “My dear little darling: I cannot live away from you any longer. The world is so cold and dreary without you; and I have reason to believe, darling, that you are false. Your heart-broken Laura.”

Another note, directed to her sister, Mary was found under her. “Mollie, please send

this box to Joe. Don’t think he has treated me unkindly because I have done this. My dear sister, I only wish there was some way I could repay you for your kindness to me since I have been with you, but you will be rewarded for it in the next world. Please send the box by the first opportunity. Give my prayer-book to Carrie [her sister, Rebecca Caroline Shanks]. Tell her it is all that I had to leave her for a keepsake. Mollie, please don’t let the doctors touch me. If I had wanted to live I would not have taken the laudanum. Your devoted sister, Laura.”

Laura had carefully prepared herself for death. She was attired in a green dress, tan-col-ored gloves, white collar, and a pink ribbon on the breast. “This morning many of the neigh-bors, among whom she was a great favorite, called to look on her features for the last time, and the scene was a sad one, as each and all were deeply afflicted at her terrible fate.”

Laura, Mary, Morris, and Rebecca Caro-line Shanks were all born in St. Mary’s County and were the children of Peregrine C. Shanks and Rebecca Jordan Allstan.

of anPhoto Courtesy of Helen

Carroll Beavers Patterson

Creature FeatureThe Amazing Armadillo

By Theresa MorrContributing Writer

The armadillo is one odd-looking crea-ture. It’s easy to see why. Bony plates cover most of its body. In fact, armadillos are the only

living mammals that “wear” a banded shell made up of small bones called “scrutes,” and these are covered over by a thin layer of hardened skin. Most arma-dillos have bony rings or plates that pro-tect their tails, but the underside of the animal is covered only with soft skin and fur. The name “armadillo” means “little armored one” in Spanish.

There are twenty species of armadil-los in various sizes and colors, and most live in Central and South America. The smallest is the pink fairy armadillo, about six inches long and weighing around eight ounces. The largest, the giant armadillo, is three to five feet long and can weigh up to 130 pounds. Only the nine-banded ar-madillo includes the southeastern portion of the United States in its range--it’s also the official state animal of Texas. These armadillos are about nine to twelve inch-es long; weigh up to twenty-two pounds; have shovel-like snouts, long ears, and small eyes. Their poor vision is offset by keen senses of smell and hearing; short, strong legs; and powerful curved front claws that make easy work for digging, burrowing, and tearing apart anything that might harbor something yummy. Armadillos are primarily insectivores and mostly nocturnal. They constantly make grunting noises as they forage for ants, termites, beetles, larvae, and grubs, along with small animals, plants, and fruits. Since they have only a few peg-like molars, their long, sticky tongues are ideal for lapping up creepy crawlers. And when not foraging for food, arma-dillos sleep up to sixteen hours a day.

When they have to cross a river or stream to expand their range, these guys are very clever. In larger bodies of water, they’ll gulp down air into their intestines, making them buoyant; then a strong dog paddle takes them over to the other side. But if a river or stream is shallow, they’ll hold their breath for a short while as they

walk along its bottom to reach the other side.

Nine-banded armadillos help re-searchers and scientists in important ways. For example, the female always gives birth to four genetically identi-cal pups, which develop from the same egg. The quadruplets provide medical re-searchers good subjects for studying mul-tiple births and other reproductive issues. Also, the armadillo played an important part in the development of an experimen-tal vaccine against leprosy because the animal has a weak immune system, low body temperature, and vulnerable to the disease. Armadillo leprosy is different from the kind that afflicts humans and research continues for effective vaccines to combat the affliction.

Many species are endangered or threatened by habitat loss, over-hunt-ing, and being killed by dogs or cars as they forage for food at night. Even so, the nine-banded armadillo is increasing in numbers, while other species are de-clining. Their range is limited because the animal cannot tolerate extreme cold, and they don’t have enough fat reserves to insulate their bodies. Depending on the species, the lifespan for armadillos ranges from about four to thirty years in the wild, and more in captivity.

The Washington National Zoo has three-banded armadillos in residence, and this species can do something weird the others can’t do: When frightened, the armadillo rolls itself up into a tight ball. Ears tuck in and its tail and head fit together almost into a perfect basketball shape -- a neat way to fool predators.

To learn more about this fascinating creature, type “armadillo” in the search window and lots of great sites will pop up. Prepare to be fascinated.

Comments to [email protected].


Wha

t’s Going OnFor family and community events, see our calendar in the community section on page 22.

In Entertainment

The County Times is always looking for more local talent to feature! To sub-mit art or entertainment announcements, or band information for our

entertainment section, e-mail [email protected].

A New Classic


Rob Motley, 44, from Waldorf, does a good heavy metal scream. In fact, he’s got a good rock and roll swagger in general, though he says sometimes that can get in the way of playing clubs in Southern Maryland.

“The stages aren’t big enough,” he said, laughing. “I need more room.”

But looking at the effect Rob’s perfor-mance with Three Day Ride made on the cheerful crowd at Big Dogs Paradise on Sat-urday, it’s fair to say that swagger came in handy.

“This is our third show. We’re a brand new band, so we’re just starting to get out there and have some fun,” said Motley, ex-plaining that their set list of classic and southern rock favorites would be expanding to include newer material still suitable for the area’s bar scene.

Joining Motley that night was Bill Males (drums), Charlie Johnson (guitar), Alan Saa-vedra (guitar) and Steve Richards (bass), all of whom acknowledged that this was but their third show together, but already they could feel a buzz in the air.

Steve Richards, a police officer work-ing in Springfield, Va. who commutes from Mechanicsville, said he took some time off from playing bass to get married and have kids, but he happily jumped back into play-ing after meeting Bill Males a few years ago, laying the groundwork for Rob and the oth-ers to come together.

Alan Saavedra said he met his band mates by answering an ad on somd.com, and they began rehearsing in September, build-

ing their set list slowly. Now he said he’s looking forward to playing more shows in the area, including a benefit for the Special Olympics next month.

Bill Males started drumming when he was five years old, giving it up for 20 years to work and raise a family. Now, at 43, he said he’s slowly getting back into playing, and still drawing inspiration from his idols Neil Peart (The “Professor” from Rush) and Mike Portinoy (Dream Theater, Liquid Ten-sion Experiment, TransAtlantic), though he can’t hit some of the drum rolls he used to, especially the parts he played when he went through his speed metal phase.

Charlie Johnson, who said he practically “came out of the womb playing guitar,” is the youngest of the group at 24, a Chopticon graduate from Morganza who now works as a defense contract specialist by day and a guitarist by night, over the years playing with original bands including Nervosa and Jumping Conclusions.

So whether Motley is rattling off an ode to Rosy that would make Bon Scott blush, or pelting through the band’s rendition of Three Doors Down, it’s surprising to learn how new this new group is, considering the obvious ease with which they perform together. But whether the group is together for three years or three days, it sounds like they all mastered their rock and roll swagger ages ago.

Three Day Ride will be performing at a Special Olympics benefit on June 19 at the Mechanicsville Moose Lodge, and on June 26 at Apehanger’s Bar in Bel Al-ton. To find out more, go to www.mdparty.com/ThreeDayRide.

Three Day Ride Debuts in St. Mary’s County

Thursday, May 20• Fair Warning Irish Pub BandCJ’s Back Room (Lusby) – 5 p.m.

• Dave NorrisDB McMillan’s (Califor-nia) – 5 p.m.

• DJ McNa$tyBig Dogs Paradise (Me-chanicsville) – 8 p.m.

• Ladies DJ Dance NightHula’s Bungalow (Califor-nia) – 8 p.m.

• Jim and KathyJake and Al’s (Lusby) – 9 p.m.*

Friday, May 21• Fair Warning Irish Pub BandDonovan’s Pub (California) – 5 p.m.

• Dave NorrisDB McMillan’s (Califor-nia) – 5 p.m.

• Line Dance w/ DJs Donna & OhmerHotel Charles (Hughes-ville) – 7:30 p.m.

• Anthony RyanSpicers Bar & Grill (Ow-ings) – 8 p.m.

• Back BeatSea Breeze Restaurant (Mechanicsville) – 8 p.m.

• DJ McNa$tyBig Dogs Paradise (Me-chanicsville) – 8 p.m.

• Wolfs Blues JamFatboys Country Store (Leonardtown) – 8 p.m.

• AbsintheMurphy’s Pub (Bryans Road) – 9 p.m.

• Bent NickelJake and Al’s (Lusby) – 9 p.m.

• Billy BreslinApplebee’s (California) – 9 p.m.

• Definite MaybeGilligan’s Pier (Newburg) – 9 p.m.*

• Makin’ Trax (vocal duo)Quade’s Store (Bushwood) – 9 p.m.

• OutbreakVera’s White Sands Beach Club (Lusby) – 9 p.m.

• Roadhouse BandMartini’s Lounge (White Plains) – 9 p.m.

• Three SixtyDrift Away Bar & Grill (Cobb Island) – 9 p.m.

• Too Many MikesApehanger’s Bar (Bel Al-ton) – 9 p.m.

• Captain WoodyMemories (Waldorf) – 9:30 p.m.

Saturday, May 22• Fair Warning Irish Pub BandDB McMillan’s (Califor-nia) – 5 p.m.

• Downtown Tunes: Frac-tal Folk/Gretchen Richie Jazz CabaretLeonardtown Square – 6 p.m.

• Billy BreslinEvan’s Restaurant (St. George’s Island) – 6:30 p.m.

• Lee Reavers & the Mu-sic Protection ProgramWestlawn Inn (North Beach) – 8 p.m.

• Car 54Goose Landing (Benedict) – 9 p.m.*

• Cats MeowBlue Dog Saloon (Port Tobacco) – 9 p.m.

• The CrazeGilligan’s Pier (Newburg) – 9 p.m.*

• CrossfireBeach Cove (Chesapeake Beach) – 9 p.m.*

• DJ BlackyLexington Lounge (Lex-ington Park) – 9 p.m.

• Karaoke w/ DJ Tommy T and DJ TApplebee’s (California) – 9 p.m.

• LegendScott’s II (Welcome) – 9 p.m.

• Lisa Lim & Over the LimitDelta Blues Juke Joint (Waldorf) – 9 p.m.

• P.U.S.H.Memories (Waldorf) – 9 p.m.

• The Reagan YearsVera’s White Sands Beach

Club (Lusby) – 9 p.m.

• Roadhouse BandMartini’s Lounge (White Plains) – 9 p.m.

• Three Day RideHotel Charles (Hughes-ville) – 9 p.m.

• Middle GroundFull Rack (Waldorf) – 9:30 p.m.

Sunday, May 23• Nuttin’ FancyVera’s White Sands Beach Club (Lusby) – 2 p.m.

• Crushing DayGilligan’s Pier (Newburg) – 3 p.m.

Monday, May 24• Mason SebastianDB McMillan’s (Califor-nia) – 5 p.m.

• Open Mic NightScott’s II (Welcome) – 7 p.m.

Tuesday, May 25• Fair Warning Irish Pub BandDB McMillan’s (Califor-nia) – 5 p.m

• California BobRuddy Duck Brewery (Solomons) – 7 p.m.

• Open Mic NightMartini’s Lounge (White Plains) – 9 p.m.*

Wednesday, May 26

• Fair Warning Irish Pub BandCJ’s Back Room (Lusby) – 5 p.m.

• Captain JohnDB McMillan’s (Califor-nia) – 6 p.m.

• Karaoke with DJ HarryBig Dogs Paradise (Me-chanicsville) – 7 p.m.

• Open Mic NightHula’s Bungalow (Califor-nia) – 8 p.m.

• Wolf’s Blues JamBeach Cove Restaurant (Chesapeake Beach) – 8 p.m.

*CALL TO CONFIRM TIME

Charlie Johnson (guitar), Bill Males (drums), Rob Motley (front man) Steve Richards (bass), Alan Saavedra (guitar) are Three Day Ride.

Photo By Andrea Shiell


Classifieds

The County Times will not be held responsible for any ads omitted for any reason. The County Times reserves the right to edit or reject any classified ad not meeting the standards of The County Times. It is your responsi-blity to check the ad on its first publication and call us if a mistake is found. We will correct your ad only if notified after the first day of the first publication ran.

Important

To Place a Classified Ad, please email your ad to: [email protected] or Call: 301-373-4125 or Fax: 301-373-4128 for a price quote. Office hours are: Monday thru Friday 8am - 4pm. The County Times is

published each Thursday.

Deadlines for Classifieds are Tuesday at 12 pm.

DireCToryBusiness

Advertising That Works!

Real Estate

Help Wanted

General

Call 301-373-4125 to Place Your Ad!

Prime Rib • Seafood • Sunday BrunchBanquet & Meeting Facilities

23418 Three Notch Road • California, MD 20619www.lennys.net

301-737-0777

CASH PAIDAll Cars, Trucks, Buses &

ALL other Scrap Metal. Free Removal. Same Day Pick-Up.Call (240) 299-1430

$$$$$$$$

Since 1987WHERE YOUR LEGAL MATTER-MATTERS

Auto Accidents – Criminal – DomesticWills – Power of Attorney

DWI/Traffic – Workers’ Compensation301-870-7111 1-800-279-7545

www.pahotchkiss.comServing the Southern Maryland Area

Accepting All Major Credit Cards

Law Offices of P.A. Hotchkiss & Associates

Building M 6&7 ShopsVacuum Sales & SuppliesMilitary Pins & Badges

Rada Cutlery, Potpourri OilsGift & General Merchandise

Farmers Market • Charlotte HallPhone: 240-925-6260

Hours: Monday thru Saturday: 9am – 5pm

301-866-0777 Pub & Grill23415 Three Notch Road

California Maryland

300 Days Till St. Patrick’s Daywww.dbmcmillans.com

Entertainment All Day

Est. 1982 Lic #12999

Heating & Air Conditioning

“THE HEAT PUMP PEOPLE”30457 Potomac WayCharlotte Hall, MD 20622Phone: 301-884-5011

snheatingac.comShop our huge selection of gently worn and unworn women and ju-nior’s name brand and designer clothing, shoes and accessories. All sizes available - juniors, petites, regular and plus sizes. Lots of items will be half price on Saturday, May 15th. No entrance fee.

Bring a canned good - to be donated to a local food bank. A portion of the proceeds from this event will be donated to Health Share of St. Mary’s.

Spring/Summer Name Brand/Designer Consignment Event

for women and junior’s at theSt. Mary’s County Fairgrounds

Friday, May 14th (10am to 8pm) and Saturday, May 15th (9am to 2pm)

For more information go to www.EllysCloset.com or call 301-801-5763

Another World Awaits You…About An Hour from DC… A View Of St. George’s Creek from the rear, The

Potomac from the front, a water view from every room, and a private sandy beach!

Nine year old Amish built 1.750 square foot Colo-nial with 3/4 bedrooms and 3 full baths on 1.350 acres. Over 300 feet Waterfront. Master bedroom suite on second floor with a panoramic view of St. George’s Creek. Second floor has extra large sitting room, or could be 4th bedroom. Watch the sunsets on the Potomac from the huge front porch (10 ft x 48 ft), and relax on the screened porch looking out onto the creek. A rare opportunity to own water-front on the island. Offered at $625,000.

Call 301-934-2922, or cell: 301-751-6476

St. James Deli & Spirits is seeking mature individuals over 21 with

experience in the food service industry. References required. Evenings and weekends PT to FT hours.

Call Dave at 301-862-2512.


Over 250,000 Southern Marylanders can’t be wrong!

CLUES ACROSS 1. Not an amateur 4. Non commercial TV 7. Indicated horsepower, abbr.10. ____ Strauss, jeans maker12. ____ Nui, Easter Island14. No (Scottish)15. Sour or bitter in taste17. Russian city on Oka River18. A dry cold north wind in SE France19. Upper body part20. Metric linear unit22. Cabinet Dept. est. 9/65 23. 4th. day (abbr.)25. Stalkless26. Porch or walkway29. Extends across30. Cavities31. Screech owl genus32. Canterbury Archbishop 116237. Type of whale38. Film actor Clark

39. Snakelike fish41. Short purposeful trips44. Chewing48. Memory hardware49. Swiss river51. Make to look like marble53. Molten rock material55. Protects the chest56. Cain and ____57. Ages of time (Hindu)58. Yield as profit59. Network of nerves60. A pool of standing water61. Make an effort62. Male parent63. Radioactivity unit

CLUES DOWN 1. Sylvia _____, Am. poet 2. Make up for 3. Perform to an excessive degree 4. Raises 5. Naked 6. Eyeglasses 7. Cause to begin 8. Cobnut

9. A woman of aristocratic family11. Tax collector13. Wings16. The 2nd half of an inning18. Betrothed21. Manuscripts (abbr.)24. Scars on a seed27. 17th Greek letter 28. A tributary of the Mis-souri River32. Ages 13 to 1933. Fun34. Done to age wine35. River in NE Spain36. Damp & unpleasant37. One part of an orange40. Compass point that is one point S of SW42. A short pointed weapon 43. Silver Maple winged fruit45. Lincoln’s state46. Close by47. Jeered50. Tore down52. 6th Greek letter 54. Japanese terrorist org.

Last Week’s Puzzle Solutions


TennisParent orientations for junior tennis this week

You’re invited to learn about USTA Jr. Team Tennis St. Mary’s County at parent orientations on May 22, 24 & 26. The sessions will be held at Town Creek Park on Sat., May 22 from 2-4pm, at Cecil Park in Valley Lee on Mon., May 24 from 6-8pm, and at Great Mills HS on Wed., May 26 from 6-8pm.

Practices and match play will be Monday and Wednesday evenings from 6-8pm during the June 2 to July 14 season, at three sites: Town Creek Park (10 & Under Age Division), Cecil Park (14 & Under), and Great Mills HS (18 & Under). E-mail [email protected] or call 301-475-3150.

Southern Maryland Tennis Cup Series

The Southern Maryland Tennis Cup aims to promote competitive and fun local tennis play in the tri-county area, where players earn points for participating in local events. Players with the highest cumulative point total at the end of the year will be acknowledged as the Cup winners. USTA membership not required.

Check website www.southernmarylandten-niscup.org for all tournament events, cost, regis-tration forms and to learn about the point system for the following events:

Breton Bay Open 2010 – May 29-31, 2010(POC: Russ Carrington, 240-925-8068 or e-mail: [email protected])

St. Mary’s College Open 2010 – July 3-5, 2010(POC: Derek Sabedra, 410-610-4300 or e-mail: [email protected])

USTA Tennis Senior Leagues

St Mary’s County USTA Tennis League is looking for Captains and 3.0 & 3.5 rated play-ers for senior men, women and mixed doubles teams. Season runs from June-August. Must be a USTA member and have reached fifty (50) years of age prior to, or during, the 2010 calendar year. Contact Mai-Liem Slade if interested, [email protected] or 301-481-2305.

Tennis Social DoublesSocial Doubles for Adults is held twice week-

ly and consists of informal doubles matches, put together by the site coordinator, based on that day’s attendance. All who show up will get to play.

5 P.M. Sundays at Leonardtown High School, May 27th through August. Contact Cris Sigler at 410-326-6383 or [email protected].

5 P.M. Thursdays at Great Mills High School, June 6th through September. Contact Bob Strat-ton at 443-926-2070 or [email protected].

The league fee is $25 for the Leonardtown site and $30 for the Great Mills site. Fees include court costs and balls. No registration is required.

Wed., May 12

Boys’ LacrosseLeonardtown 14,

Chopticon 4

Girls’ LacrosseLeonardtown 24,

Chopticon 2

Thurs., May 13

Boys’ Lacrosse4A-3A East First

RoundAnnapolis 10, Chop-

ticon 5Meade 9, Great

Mills 5Broadneck 19, Leon-

ardtown 4

Girls’ Lacrosse4A-3A East First

RoundChesapeake 21,

Chopticon 6Great Mills 14, North-

ern 8

Softball

3A South First RoundChopticon 31, Po-

tomac 0

4A East First RoundGreat Mills 19, An-

napolis 1Leonardtown 5, Severna Park 4

Fri., May 14

Baseball

3A South First RoundChopticon 4, Thom-

as Stone 3

4A East First RoundMeade 11, Great

Mills 6Leonardtown 4,

Arundel 2

Sat., May 15

Girls’ Lacrosse4A-3A East

QuarterfinalsBroadneck 20, Great

Mills 4Leonardtown 11,

Chesapeake 6

TennisSMAC Meet at North

Point1. Great Mills 20

2. La Plata 193. Leonardtown 16

4. Chopticon 125. Northern 11

6. Huntingtown 10 7. North Point 10

8. Patuxent 9 9. Thomas Stone 9

10. Calvert 811. Lackey 5

12. McDonough 5 13. Westlake 5

Track and FieldSMAC Meet at North

Point

Girls’ Results1. Leonardtown 138 2. North Point 114 3. Huntingtown

81.50 4. Lackey 61.50

5. Chopticon 44 6. Northern 41 7. Patuxent 40

8. McDonough 36 9. Westlake 31 10. La Plata 30

11. Great Mills 20 12. Calvert 13

13. Thomas Stone 13

Boys’ Results 1. North Point 158 2. Huntingtown

88.503. Patuxent 79 4. Westlake 71 5. Northern 64

6. Leonardtown 39.50

7. McDonough 39 8. La Plata 32 9. Lackey 27

10. Thomas Stone 25 11. Chopticon 17 12. Great Mills 13

13. Calvert 10

Mon., May 17

Girls’ Lacrosse4A-3A East semifinalsBroadneck 15, Leon-

ardtown 8

Softball4A East quarterfinals

Chesapeake 11, Great Mills 0 (five

innings)Broadneck 1,

Leonardtown 0

Sabres’ Summer Skate

Registration OpenThe Southern Maryland Sabres

Youth Hockey Club will hol a Sum-mer Skate Program at Capital Club-house in Waldorf every week starting Tuesday June 8 and ending Thursday August 5.

There will be eight evening ses-sions running 1 ½ hours long, and they include skill and goaltending in-struction as well as scrimmages.

Cost of registration is $120 and registration can be done online at www.somdsabres.org.

By Ronald N. Guy Jr.Contributing Writer

Over 20 years ago, Ken Griffey Jr. was a can’t-miss prospect with the Seattle Mari-ners and the toast of baseball fans nationwide. “The Kid”, as he came to be known, had a persistent and contagious smile, played with a little leaguer’s en-thusiasm, and was blessed with baseball DNA (his father, Ken Griffey had a distinguished Major League career).

Griffey Jr.’s prodigious talent and charisma seem-ingly had him destined to be the best player of his genera-tion if not among the best ever. For a time, it appeared Griffey would be that rare prodigy who realized his promise. Indeed, after 11 seasons in Seattle and at the prime baseball age of 29 he’d established a career arc that, projected over another 8-10 years, had him retiring as this generation’s Williams or DiMaggio, Mays or Aaron.

Unfortunately, in the second half of his career, The Kid’s star has proven to be more shooting than constant. After a trade to the Cincinnati Reds in ‘99, Griffey has been, well, hamstrung by injuries. He has played in more than 130 games only 3 times in the last 10 seasons. After hitting 40 or more homeruns 6 times from ’89-’99, he hasn’t hit more than 40 since. More telling of the toll his injuries have taken, Griffey stole 167 bases through the ’99 season; he’s swiped 17

since. Still, with 630 homeruns and over 1,800 RBI, his power numbers are historic. But in the last decade, he’s been more sta-tistical compiler than star. Now, at age 40, there’s no longer any hope of a baseball renaissance. Griffey is what he always will be: a once-great player, but not one of the greatest play-ers. Similar to Mickey Mantle, Griffey will be remembered as much for what he was as for what he could have been.

What is perhaps most frustrating about Griffey’s misfortune is he is about the last star of the late 90’s and early 00’s that hasn’t been im-plicated in the performance en-hancing drug debacle. Griffey is really all baseball fans have left of the sluggers of that era. Sosa, Bonds, McGwire and Rodriguez – among countless others - are all frauds to some extent. Absent Griffey, even in his injury-diminished state, the period is a historical wasteland. With him, completely healthy, the poor decisions of his peers wouldn’t have mattered as much: Griffey’s numbers would have surpassed them all.

All of this makes Griffey someone you root for desper-ately. He played with a fan’s joy and apparently stayed clean when hardly anyone else was. He just couldn’t get his body to cooperate. Surely, given the penance he’s paid professional-ly, there would at least be a hap-py ending to his Hall of Fame career. After being picked up by the Mariners last season, it

appeared Griffey would get a chance to write a pleasant, final chapter in the city where it all began.

After playing pretty well last season – he hit a respect-able 19 homeruns in limited duty – Griffey had his moment to exit gracefully with his dig-nity intact; only Griffey missed his cue and came back this sea-son for more. Now that looks like an unfortunate mistake.

Griffey’s play this season has been terrible: he’s hitting around .200 with no homeruns. A recent highlight of him cir-cling the bases was painful to watch. More troubling though are the recent reports that he was asleep in the clubhouse…during a game. Do some play-ers do this? Yeah, they do, but Griffey Jr. doesn’t. It seems the years and injuries have finally broken his defining boyish en-thusiasm for the game. When you lose your passion for what you do, whether you’re a teach-er, civil servant or baseball player, it’s time to move on to a new team, organization or ca-reer. After sleeping on the job, it’s time for Griffey to move beyond life as a baseball player. As Kenny Rogers said in the song The Gambler, “you got to know when to hold ‘em, know when to fold ‘em.” It’s time for “The Kid” to fold before he ages any more awkwardly be-fore our eyes.

Send comments to [email protected]

The Shot...errr…Snore Heard ‘Round The WorldBLeACHeRSA View From The

Thurs., May 20

Men’s Over-40 League (All game start at 6

p.m.)Tri-County Aire at Captain

Sam’sHole in the wall vs. Rita B’s

at Moose LodgeAnderson’s vs. Hobos at

Back Road InnAll Star Utility vs. Cle-

ments at Anderson’s BarPark Sunoco vs. Sea-

breeze at Tippett’s Field

Men’s Slowpitch LeagueVFW2632 vs. Grid Iron

Grill at , 6:30 p.m.Back Road Inn vs. Bud-

weiser at , 6:30 p.m.Pax Bombers vs. Ameri-

can Legion at Ridge American Legion, 6:30

p.m.The Green Door vs.

Chaney’s at The Brass Rail, 6:30 p.m.

Bookkeeping By Blanche vs. Hi Octane at Knight

Life, 6:30 p.m.

Fri., May 21

Young Men’s LeagueDew Drop Inn vs. Quade’s

at Captain Sam’s, 6:30 p.m.

Cryer’s vs. Gary Gray Athletics at Moose Lodge,

6:30 p.m.Flash Point vs. Seabreeze/BRI at Back Road Inn, 6:30

p.m.

Sun., May 23

Young Men’s/Slowpitch Interleague

Flashpoint at Back Road Inn, 4:30 p.m.

Cryer’s vs. VFW at Chan-cellor’s Run, 4:30 p.m.

Budweiser vs. Seabreeze/BRI at Back Road Inn, 6

p.m.Captain Sam’s vs. Book-keeping by Blanche at

Chancellor’s Run, 6 p.m.Gary Gray Athletics vs.

American Legion at Ridge American Legion, 6 p.m.Grid Iron Grill vs. Quade’s at Captain Sam’s, 6 p.m.

Dew Drop Inn vs.

Chaney’s at The Brass Rail, 6 p.m.

Mon., May 24

Women’s LeagueXtreme vs. Southern at 7th District Park, 6:30

p.m.Moose Lodge vs. Chesa-peake Custom Embroi-dery at The Brass Rail,

6:30 p.m.Anderson’s vs. Mix It Up at Knight Life, 6:30 p.m.

ABC Liquors at Back Road Inn, 6:30 p.m.

Southern Maryland Physi-cal Therapy vs. Knockouts

at The Brass Rail, 8 p.m.

Women’s Over-30 League

Moose Lodge at Captain Sam’s

Hurricanes vs. Hole in the wall at Tippett’s Field

Back Road Inn vs. Ryce Electric at Moose Lodge

Rosebuds vs. S&J Heating at Anderson’s Bar

Tues., May 25

Young Men’s/Slowpitch Interleague

Grid Iron Grill vs. Cryer’s at Back Road Inn, 6:30 p.m.

Chaney’s at Captain Sam’s, 6:30 p.m.

VFW vs. Dew Drop Inn at Chancellor’s Run, 8 p.m.

Wed., May 26

Women’s LeagueABC Liquors at Ander-

son’s, 6:30 p.m.Bud Light vs. Xtreme at

Chancellor’s Run, 6:30 p.m.Knockouts vs. Somerville Insurance at Chancellor’s

Run, 6:30 p.m.Moose Lodge vs. Mix It Up at Knight Life, 6:30

p.m.Southern Maryland Physi-cal Therapy at Back Road

Inn, 6:30 p.m.Bella Salon at Captain

Sam’s, 6:30 p.m.Southern vs. Chesapeake

Custom Embroidery at The Brass Rail, 6:30 p.m.

St. Mary’s County Softball Schedule


By Doug WatsonPotomac Speedway

BUDDS CREEK – Bunker Hill, West Va.’s Andy An-derson was victorious in last Friday nights 30-lap Ed Canupp memorial at Potomac Speedway. In scoring his first Potomac Late Model feature win of the season, Anderson also became the fourth different driver to collect a late model win at the Southern Maryland bullring.

Bryan Bernheisel and Matt Quade brought the field down to the initial green flag. As the pack entered turn one, sixth-starting Anderson blasted into the race lead by the completion of the events first circuit.

Anderson would eventually go on to lead the entire dis-tance, but the race for second was quite intense. Jamie Lath-roum reached second by the tenth lap bringing eleventh start-ing David Williams with him. The duo would slug it out for several laps before Lathroum left the event on the 28th lap with mechanical issues. As Anderson comfortably took the checkered flag aboard his Jack Bland owned, Rocket No. 41A, Williams settled for second, Matt Quade held on for third, Ro-

land Mann claimed fourth and pole sitter Bryan Bernheisel completed the top five.

“It’s nice to get a win down here for Jack (Bland),” An-derson stated. “The track was in real good shape tonight and the guys had this car perfect which made my job that much easier.”

Even with the dominating performance, Anderson was a little worried with his mount as the laps wound down.

“I guess with about eight laps to go the car picked up a real bad vibration,” Anderson said. “I’m not real sure what caused that, maybe the tires got a little hot, but we were good enough to win.” Heats for the 14 cars on hand went to Daryl Hills and Jamie Lathroum.

In the 20-lap Limited Late Model feature, Pasadena, Md.’s Ed Pope extended the LLM win streak to five different win-ners as he scored his first-career win in the division. Pope, the 2007 Potomac street stock champ, wrestled the top-spot from Paul Cursey on lap six and would go on to hold off defending track champion Tommy Wagner Jr. to score the win.

“Man, this has been a long time coming,” Pope stated. “I just can’t thank enough all the people who helped me finally

get here.” Stevie Long would take third, Kenny Moreland was fourth and current point leader Derrick Quade rounded out the top-five. Pope also took the heat win.

In other action, Larry Fuchs scored his 28th career Po-tomac win in the 15-lap four-cylinder feature, Jimmy Ran-dall was triumphant for the first time this season in the 15-lap hobby stock event and Brian Lederhouse annexed the 10-lap u-car feature.

Late Model feature results (30 laps)1. Andy Anderson 2. David Williams 3. Matt Quade 4.

Roland Mann 5. Bryan Bernheisel 6. Dale Hollidge 7. Deane Guy 8. Jeff Pilkerton 9. Bobby Beard 10. Jonathon DeHaven 11. Jamie Lathroum 12. Daryl Hills 13. Rick Hulson 14. GR Smith

Limited Late Model feature results (20 laps)1. Ed Pope 2. Tommy Wagner Jr. 3. Stevie Long 4. Kenny

Moreland 5. Derrick Quade 6. Mike Latham 7. Kyle Lear 8. Paul Cursey 9. Chuck Cox 10. David Puckett

Four Races, Four Faces, As Andy Anderson Wins at PotomacPope Impressive in First Career LLM Triumph

Six Seahawks Earn Women’s Lacrosse Honors

YoRK, PENN. – The 2010 Capital Athletic Conference Women’s Lacrosse Rookie of the Year, Lauriann Parker (Woodbine, Md./Glenelg) head-lined a group of six St. Mary’s College of Maryland players that garnered spots on this year’s All-Capital Athletic Conference Women’s Lacrosse Teams as announced by conference commissioner, Tom By-rnes, Thursday.

An first team All-CAC selection as well, Parker, a first-year midfielder for the Seahawks, is the eighth SMCM player to earn conference rookie of the year honors, joining Britney Whitehurst (1998), Kathy Holmes (1999), Courtney Young (2000), Jen Chum-ley (2001), Sarah Sloane (2002), Danielle Miller (2004) and Aileen McCausland (2008).

The 2009 CAC Field Hockey Rookie of the Year, Parker becomes the second Seahawk to win a pair of rookie awards during the same academic year as Kathy Holmes ‘02 was the league rookie of the year in both women’s soccer (1998) and women’s lacrosse (1999).

Seniors Kelsey Branch (Jarrettsville, Md./North Harford), Nora Fallon-oben (Silver Spring, Md./St. John’s College [D.C.]), and Alex Bertrand (Annapo-lis, Md./St. Mary’s, Annapolis) and juniors Aubrey Mirkin (Ashton, Md./Sherwood) and Jamie Roberts (Rockville, Md./The Barrie School) were all second team All-CAC choices.

Parker notched a stellar rookie season, finish-ing as the team’s leading scorer with team-highs of 49 goals and 82 points along with a second-best 33 assists. She also contributed with 38 draw controls, 30 ground balls, and 16 caused turnovers. Parker set school single-game records for most goals and points in a game following her 9-goal, 12-point performance at Christopher Newport University on May 1. She finished the 2010 season ranked in NCAA Division III in points (36th), assists (30th) and assists per game (47th). Parker ranked in the top 5 in the conference in points per game (2nd, 4.56), goals per game (3rd, 2.72), and assists per game (4th, 1.83) while leading the league with five game-winning goals.

This is Branch’s second consecutive appear-ance on the all-star second team after leading the Seahawks for the fourth year in a row in assists. The 5-6 attacker leaves the SMCM women’s lacrosse program as the all-time assist leader with 130 career assists. She ended her senior campaign as the third-leading scorer with nine goals and 37 assists for 46

points. Branch added 26 ground balls, 18 draw con-trols and six caused turnovers. Among NCAA Divi-sion III players, she ranks 20th in assists and 27th in assists per game (2.06) while ranking third within the conference in assists per game.

Experiencing her career-best campaign, Fal-lon-oben picked up her first all-conference selection after wrapping up her senior season as the team’s second-leading scorer with 48 goals and 66 points while coming in with a third-best 18 assists. The 5-8 attacker led the Seahawks in caused turnovers with 23 while adding 27 draw controls and 25 ground balls. She owns the school’s second-best single-game records for most goals and points in a game following her 8-goal, 10-point effort against Virginia Wesleyan College on March 23. Fallon-Oben ranked fourth in the CAC in goals per game (2.67), sixth in points per game (3.67) and 10th in assists per game (1.00).

After spending her junior season studying abroad in Paris, Bertrand finished out her Seahawk career on top with her first all-league pick. The 5-6 defender helped the St. Mary’s defense post a 12.86 goals against average as she notched 14 ground balls and eight caused turnovers. Bertrand aided in kick-starting the offense as well with six draw controls.

Mirkin is also registering her first all-confer-ence nod following a junior campaign which saw the 5-6 midfielder lead the team in both draw controls (49) and ground balls (43). She averaged 2.72 draw controls per game to rank fourth in the league. Mir-kin contributed to the Seahawks’ offensive success as the team’s fourth-leading scorer with 31 goals and eight assists.

A three-sport standout at St. Mary’s in soccer, basketball and lacrosse, Roberts is nabbing her first-ever all-star selection in any sport after helping the Seahawks to a 9-3 record in their final 12 games fol-lowing an 0-6 start to the season. The 5-7 goalkeeper scooped up 31 ground balls and caused 10 turnovers while picking up her first collegiate assist on May 1 in a come-from-behind win at Christopher Newport. Roberts posted a 14.03 GAA and a .404 save percent-age on 314 shots faced.

St. Mary’s finished the 2010 campaign with a 9-9 overall record, taking second in the conference with a 5-2 league mark. For the second year in a row, the Seahawks were knocked out of the CAC tourna-ment in the semifinal round by University of Mary Washington.

By Chris StevensStaff Writer

MoRGANZA – You could hear the collec-tive gasp in the top of the seventh inning Friday afternoon.

Chopticon pitcher Ja-cob Nealis caught a weak line drive and threw to third base, hoping to catch a Thomas Stone runner off base.

The throw got away from Nealis, but third base-man Mitchell Seifert made a great play to nail the run-ner at home, preserving a 4-3 victory in the 3A South first round game.

“As soon as Mitch got the ball off the pole, I knew he had him,” Nealis said of a lucky bounce off a fence post that gave Seifert time to catch, turn and fire to home plate. “He’s played there a maybe a couple of times before and he’s done well.”

“The throw hit the heel of my glove and my heart stopped,” Seifert said. “All I could think about was the coaches yell-ing at me and everybody in school mak-ing fun of me.”

“Those are the kind of plays you have to make to win,” head coach Dan Velez said. “[Seifert] could’ve panicked, but he went hard after it and threw a strike to home plate.”

Before Seifert’s clutch play, the Braves (11-10) looked to be primed for an easy win, jumping out to a 3-0 lead which saw Nealis punch a Ryan Kellough pitch over the left center field fence.

“I took it where he pitched it,” Nea-lis said of following the coaching staff’s advice about hitting. “[The homer] really pumped us up.”

The Cougars refused to yield and tied the game on a two-run double by Kellough in the top of the fourth inning. Chopticon responded in the bottom half of the frame when outfielder Cody Trah-an’s speed broke up what would’ve been an inning-ending double play, allowing first baseman Brian Clark to score the winning run.

The Braves advanced to play La Plata in the quarterfinals on Wednesday [The game finished too late to be includ-ed in this edition of the County Times.], and were confident that they could beat the Warriors when it counts.

“You’re always worried about La Plata, but we’ve knocked them off be-fore,” Seifert said, mentioning an 8-1 win by the Braves at La Plata in April. “We can beat them.”

[email protected]

Seifert’s Defense Lifts Braves to First Round Victory

Chopticon’s Brian Farr fouls off a pitch during the Braves’ 4-3 win over Thomas Stone Friday afternoon.

Photo By Chris Stevens


Sp rts

St. Mary’s Square Shopping Center21600 Great Mills Rd • Lexington Park, MD 20653 • [email protected] • www.thesportsparadise.com

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Blue CrabsLANCASTER, PENN.

– First baseman Eric Crozier crushed two homers and drove in three runs as the Blue Crabs defeated the Lancaster Barn-stormers 5-2 on Monday night at Clipper Magazine Stadium.

Crozier became the first player this season with a multi home run game, and did so in consecutive at-bats.

RHP Jarrett Grube im-proved to 2-1, allowing just one run in five innings of work. Barnstormer right-handed starter Jose San-chez (1-3) was perfect through three, but then surrendered four runs in the fourth.

With one out in the inning, second base-man Kody Kirkland hit his league best fourth triple. Kirkland then scored on third baseman Patrick Osborn’s RBI single in the next at-bat. Designated hitter Matt Craig followed with another base hit to put runners at the corners for Crozier.

A wild pitch by Sanchez during Crozier’s at-bat allowed Osborn to score, and advanced Craig to second. Then Crozier launched San-

chez’s 2-2 pitch over the right field wall to double the Blue Crabs’ lead.

Crozier’s second home run of the night, another towering shot to right, led off the sixth.

The Barnstormers had plenty of scoring opportunities throughout the game, but they instead left 13 runners on base. In both the fourth and sixth they stranded the bases loaded. Shortstop Bryant Nelson drove in both Lancaster runs on a pair

of RBI sac flies. Both scored rightfielder Matt Watson.

It was the second time this season Nelson had two RBI sac flies against the Blue Crabs.

The Blue Crabs bullpen pitched magnifi-cently in relief of Grube, allowing just one run in four innings. RHP Joe Newby pitched the seventh and eighth, and lowered his ERA to 0.82.

After the Barnstormers put two men on and scored a run in the ninth, right-handed closer Jim Ed Warden retired the final batter to earn his league-leading sixth save.

Crozier blasts Blue Crabs Over Lancaster

Eric Crozier

The County Times Thursday, May 20, 2010 30Sp rts SMAC Track


The completion of an unbeaten season by the Leonard-town girls’ track and field team was a total team effort, as they coasted to the SMAC crown with 138 team points, 24 ahead of second-place North Point and 56 ½ points in front of third-place Huntingtown.

“They’ve worked extremely hard as a team,” said head coach Shawn Snyder. “For the first time in a long time, we had equal

talent. Everyone knows about our distance runners from cross country, but the sprinters and the field did a tremendous job.”

Key top five finishes in several events, including earning points in field events, helped Leonardtown open a comfortable margin over the two-day meet held at North Point in Waldorf.

“It makes a big difference,” Kelly said. “It’s awesome. It’s really exciting to see how great every one is.”

“Our 300 hurdlers finished 2-3-4 – we scored 19 points in that event,” Snyder said of Teresa Paz, Alex Greissinger and Kelly’s efforts in that event. “The points in that event were huge.”

The Raiders, who also claimed the regular season cham-pionship with a 12-0 record in meets, got individual champi-onships from sophomore Erin Kelly, who won the girls’ long jump (16-04.25) and senior Jessica Gass, who continued her year-round dominance by winning the girls’ 1600 meter (5:25.18) and 3200 meter (11:42.94) races.

“It was really exciting,” Kelly said of winning her first conference championship. “I just wanted to set a personal re-cord and do my best.”

Gass, who also won conference championships in cross-country and indoor track, continues to amaze Snyder with her success and hard work.

“It’s been great to watch her grow,” Snyder said. “She came on strong sophomore year and she’s focused on what she needs to do to be successful.”

“To win the mile and two-mile was very exciting,” said Gass, who will be attending Liberty University in Lynch-burg, Va. this coming fall. “I just wanted to contribute and help the team.”

For Gass and her senior classmates, winning a fourth straight conference meet was the icing on the cake to a tre-mendous career.

“It was a good for us to go out with a bang,” she said.

[email protected]

Raider Girls Complete Perfect SMAC Track SeasonCounty Winners

at SMAC Track Meet

Girls’ Long JumpErin Kelly, Leonardtown 16-04.25

Girls’ Shot PutAshya Short, Chopticon 35-07.00

Girls’ 1600-Meter RunJessica Gass, Leonardtown 5:25.18

Girls’ 3200-Meter RunJessica Gass, Leonardtown, 11:42.94

A group of racers takes off in the SMAC track and field cham-pionship meet at North Point. Photo By Frank Marquart


Nikki Goddard of Leonardtown flies through

the air during the SMAC long

jump competition.


Great Mills’ Antonio Smith leaps a hurdle during Satur-day’s SMAC championship meet at North Point.


Jessica Gass of Leonardtown won the girls’ 1600 and 3200 meter events as the Raider girls won their fourth straight con-ference title.



LEONARDTOWN – After jumping out to a two-goal lead in the first minutes of Monday’s 4A-3A East girls’ la-crosse semifinals, Leonardtown had proven their point to Broadneck.

It wasn’t enough as the fourth-seeded Bruins bounced back to hand the Raiders their first loss of the season 15-8, advancing to the regional championship game.

“I think they came down here expecting an easy game,” Raiders head coach Ken McIlhenny said. “I think we earned some respect for lacrosse in St. Mary’s County.”

“They beat us 19-3 my sophomore year,” said senior mid-fielder Katelyn Blondino, who gave the Raiders (finishing the season at 14-1) a 1-0 lead just 51 seconds into the contest. “I’m proud of how we played. It was a great game.”

Leonardtown led 2-0 after sophomore Loren Day scored the first of her three goals on the afternoon, but the Bruins came storming back and took the lead for good on an Ali Dawson goal at the 17:35 mark of the half.

Broadneck got seven goals from senior Courtney Tom-chik and three goals from Alison Thornton, including two during a five-goal outburst in the second half that put the game out of reach.

“Leonardtown is an awesome team, we knew were com-ing off of a high, they won their conference,” Tomchik said. “This win was a team effort.”

After surrendering the lead, Leonardtown frantically ral-lied several times to get within on or two goals, the last time when Blondino took a pass from Christina Ferrara and curled in front of the net for a goal at the 11:36 mark of the second half to make it 10-8.

The Bruins responded with five straight goals to close out the game, but the final score was deceiving in McIlhenny’s eyes.

“The score doesn’t indicate how well we played,” he explained. “That was a close game. The draw is what hurt us – they won the face-offs and got down there and scored some goals.”

The Raiders had arguably the most suc-cessful season in school history, winning their fifth straight Southern Maryland Athletic Con-ference title and finish-ing the regular season unbeaten (13-0). Blondi-no believes the returning girls can help Leonard-

town set a new standard of excellence in SMAC next season.“I don’t think any other school has won six straight

championships,” she said. “I expect them to keep it going and step up.”

As for Blondino, Taelar Errington and five other Raider seniors, they will have nothing but fond memories of playing lacrosse at Leonardtown.

“I’m so glad I played my last year with this group of girls,” Errington said. “We worked hard and had a lot of fun together.”

[email protected]

Leonardtown’s Lauren Donovan applies defensive pressure to Meghan Eshelmann of Broadneck during Monday’s 4A-3A East regional semifinal.

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For the first time in three years, the Leonardtown Criterium bi-cycle race made its way through the downtown portion of the town and according to Pax Velo members Hans Welch, it was an enjoyable experience for all who participated.

“We worked very closely with the town, the businesses and the fire department and it all went really well,” Welch said of the all-day event, which saw 240 racers speed around a 7/10 of a mile course.

The effort to make the event was truly a success as Pax Velo, the town and several businesses teamed up to create a booklet for the day’s events, as businesses that were open on Sunday were able to advertise specials and menus for anyone interested in doing some shopping or eating as the races went along.

The theme was “The Bikes Are Back,” as Welch noted during preparations for the race, the very first bicycle came to Leonardtown on the steamship Thompson in 1879.

A criterium is a closed-circuit bicycle race that is run on a very short course in a very quick amount of time. The fastest race was 43 laps long (roughly calculates to 30 miles) while most other races were about 20 laps long.

There was only one problem for Sunday’s races, and that turned out to be carpet tacks that were placed on the race path, causing sev-eral flat tires and one racer to break his collarbone. Welch says the St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Department is investigating the incident.

The course went from Washington Street, down and over Lawrence Avenue, past the Leonardtown fire department and the Oldem Town Pub before finishing back on Washington.

An all-day race on those streets possibly made traveling a problem, which is why Welch was so thank-ful to all involved parties that helped to make the cri-terium a success.

“It did shut down that part of the town, which was an a little bit of an incon-venience,” Welch admits. “We appreciate the town for allowing us to race.”

[email protected]

Broadneck Ends Raiders’ Perfect Run



The Raiders’ Kate Fin-kleston attacks the net.

Criterium Makes Successful Return

to Leonardtown

Photo By Laschelle McKay

Racers come around the corner during the 13th annual Leonardtown Crite-rium on Sunday. This was the first race downtown in 3 years.


The Leonardtown Criterium heads down Washington Street on Sunday.

THURSDAY May 20, 2010


State Gives Chesapeake Bay Health a Grade of ‘C’ Story Page 6 Story Page 28

All Residents Can Join Local Credit Unions

Story Page 8

Chopticon Baseball Escapes With Win

Bikes are Back in Leonardtown

2010-05-20 The County Times

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Transcript of 2010-05-20 The County Times