2012-01-19 Calvert Gazette

January 19, 2012

Priceless GazetteEverything Calvert County

Calvert

StudentS Learn FireFighting FirSt-handPage 8Photo By Corrin M. Howe

Thursday, January 19, 2012 2The Calvert Gazette

entertainment

Huntingtown High School Computer Science teacher Tom Currier, right, is working with Sci-ence teacher Victoria Bol to organize a trip to Europe for students in 2013.

The Sam Grow Band of one of several bands in Southern Maryland that are working on new projects for 2012. Their new single “Shot of Crown” will hit iTunes on Jan. 25.

Also Inside On The Cover

3 County News5 Business6 Community7 Education8 Feature Story9 Letters10 Obits12 Games13 Newsmakers13 Health14 Entertainment15 Sports

Volunteer firefighters from Huntingtown and Solo-mons fire stations work with county high school stu-dents at the Southern Maryland Regional Training Center for Maryland’s Fire and Rescue Institute in La Plata.

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COUNTYNEWS

By Sarah MillerStaff Writer

The Drum Point special tax district (STD) has been a point of contention for years, and citizens who are not sold on the new proposed STD have taken it upon themselves to create their own proposal.

Most recently, Frances Borch and Barbara McCashin ad-dressed the Board of County Commissioners during its public comment section of the Jan. 10 meeting. They offered an al-ternative to the proposal already presented by the Drum Point Property Owner’s Association (DPPOA) board of directors.

Borch said the project to create a different STD proposal began when she and a group of neighbors decided to attend a DPPOA meeting.

“We wanted to learn more about the workings of the board. Our presence was not particularly welcomed,” Borch said during the commissioners meeting.

She said the DPPOA was holding meetings do discuss the STD with little to no notice, and when community members decided to attend they were told they “could attend but not participate.”

Borch and other members of the community decided to form their own organization, the Drum Point Group. She said more than 300 home owners signed a petition to keep the STD payments at $50 per lot, and they count all 300 of the homeowners members of the Drum Point Group. Currently, the Drum Point Group has worked two budgets, one keeping the STD at $50 and the other raising it to $73.

Members of the DPPOA see the Drum Point Group as going the wrong way going about having their opinion heard.

Max Munger, treasurer of the DPPOA, said “the state law doesn’t provide for citizen input” and it is the purview of the

DOPPA to submit for the STD. He said not even the DPPOA has a vote on whether the Board of County Commissioners will pass the STD proposal, or what changes they will make before passing it. Between the Board of County Commission-ers and the state STD regulations, Munger said the DPPOA is limited on what they can spend the STD money on.

He said the DPPOA made sure to offer a couple nights where anybody who had something to say about the STD could come out and voice their opinions and concerns, but the vari-ous committees formed to study the STD, like the budget com-mittee, the finance committee, the planning committee and the STD petition submission committee, gathered only a handful of people, the rest of the community being too “apathetic’ to join, Munger said.

From what he has seen, the Drum Point Group’s proposed budgets don’t begin to cover all the things that need to be paid for. They cut out insurance items and under-provide for other necessary payments.

“Their budget is completely unworkable,” Munger said.Gary Heal, president of the DPPOA, echoed Munger, say-

ing according to state law, the DPPOA represents Drum Point and is the only group that can request a STD. He said he won-ders why the group didn’t bring their ideas first to the DPPOA.

“Obviously, they’re trying to circumvent, elude of some other way get around the association,” Heal said.

He said he has also heard murmurs of people wanting the DPPOA to be replaced, and wonders if the Drum Point Group’s goals go beyond simply drafting an alternative budget.

[email protected]

By Guy LeonardStaff Writer

In what state officials are calling a potential cost-savings move, the Maryland Farm Service Agency (FSA), part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, is considering closing up its shop in Calvert County and combining it with the sister agency in St. Mary’s County to consolidate the operations.

The public meeting to discuss the idea will be held Feb. 3 at the Prince Frederick Public Library at 1 p.m., according to the state’s Farm Services Agency.

Charles Cawley, the executive director of the state FSA, said that while one office may be closed down, no employees are set to lose their jobs as a result of the shift.

“That’s No. 1, we’re not losing any personnel,” Caw-ley told the Calvert Gazette, adding that some staff may be moved other FSA offices in either Anne Arundel or Prince George’s counties.

“The jobs stay in Southern Maryland,” Cawley said.Patrick Goode, the Calvert branch director said that

the decision to consider the consolidation was a surprise to many in the office as they were only informed of the upcoming hearing Jan. 9.

The change could come as quickly as 90 days, Goode said.

The local FSA is important because it works with local farmers to find portions of their land that can be set aside to remain fallow in an effort to clean up the water-shed, Goode said.

The FSA rents those portions of the farmers land to ensure they are not cultivated, thus keeping fertilizer with its concurrent nitrogen and phosphorus loads – which can contribute to bay pollution – off the land and out of the watershed.

The local FSA also aids farmers with federal disas-ter relief money due to damages sustained from drought and storms like the ones that downed many crops last summer.

The major inconvenience will likely be for Calvert farmers, Goode said, if the change goes through.

“For some it will means a longer distance to travel to get services,” he said.

For more information contact the Maryland FSA at 443-482-2760.

[email protected]

Some Drum Point Citizens Challenging Association


Scheduled updates to the Huntingtown Master Plan remain on hold while the State Highway Administration (SHA) does a road study of Route 2/4, between Routes 521 and 524 in Huntingtown.

SHA Project Manager for the study, Jamaica Arnold, said the study is being done at the request of the county, and SHA is currently working on their preliminary analysis. According to information given out at the first shareholder’s meeting in December, the number of crash rates and significant crash types between Radcliff Drive and Sheckells Road are higher than the state average.

Shareholders in the study include the Calvert County Board of Education, Emmanuel Baptist Church, Hatchers Feed and Farm Sup-ply, staff from Calvert County and private residents in the area being studied.

Arnold said there is also a preliminary environmental analysis being done with the land use information the county supplied. She said SHA is working to have a presentation to give to the board of county commissioners by the summer.

[email protected]

Huntingtown Master Plan Still On Hold

Calvert Farm Agency May Move

Thursday, January 19, 2012 4The Calvert GazetteCOUNTYNEWS

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During a Jan. 10 Board of County Commissioners meeting, Commissioner Evan K. Slaughenhoupt, Jr., introduced a motion for the county to go to a zero-based budgeting pro-cess. The motion had the support of Commissioner Pat Nutter, who seconded the motion, but it failed to get any support from the other three commissioners.

Commissioner Susan Shaw said the budget can be overwhelming, but zero-based budgeting will go to the level of justifying post it note purchases.

“I’m not going to support this because I don’t want to micromanage,” she said.Commissioner President Jerry Clark said Slaughenhoupt was out of order making

such a motion, but the motion did get the commissioners talking about the development of the budget, which Slaughenhoupt said was his goal.

Slaughenhoupt said he wants the commissioners to be actively involved in the forma-tion of the budget. He said he doesn’t feel like the commissioners are doing their job if they don’t understand the process. He said there is no one budget issue that put the idea in his head.

“It’s a nagging unknown in my mind,” Slaughenhoupt said.He said the zero-based budget style would also show the taxpayers that their money

isn’t spent on things that aren’t needed, and that every dollar is accounted for.A national government accounting association doesn’t see any problem with the way

Calvert County does business. The board recognized Department of Finance and Budget Director Timothy Hayden and the rest of the finance and budget department for earning the Distinguished Budget Presentation Award from the National Government Finance Of-ficers Association for the eleventh year running.

The Board also received the results from Murphy and Murphy, the independent audi-tors for the FY 2011 budget. The auditors found no significant errors. They said any differ-ence in the budget as opposed to the actual spending can be credited to the estimates being affected by spending that was unforeseen when the budget was written.

Representatives from Murphy and Murphy said there were no surprises in the audit, and the county worked willingly with the auditors to provide needed information.

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The Town of North Beach has secured about 16 acres of marshland in the northern sec-tion of the town as well as about one-half acre of upland from private owners to make way for a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers project designed to turn the wetland’s deteriorating condition around.

The town council recently reviewed the ar-my’s proposal for restoring the wetlands, which included eliminating an invasive and destructive form of plant life known as phragmites through spraying of herbicides but also through digging channels from the nearby Chesapeake Bay into the marshlands that would circulate sea water back into the marsh, killing the encroaching plants.

The plan also calls for a new culvert pipe at both the northern and southern ends of Route 261 at the wetlands; town engineering staff have informed the town council members that the culvert under the highway at the border with Anne Arundel would have two-to-three times

the capacity of the present one to combat heavy sedimentation in the pipe.

Finally the corps’ plan calls for breakwa-ters in the bay to the east of the roadway and wetlands.

The total cost of the army corps’ plans came to a little over $2.4 million to be shared between the corps and the town.

Councilman Randy Hummel said that the recent agreement with the local Walton family to secure the land had gone on for more than two years and will actually make the town’s plans to work with the army corps easier by removing one of the negotiating parties.

“We’re buying most of that marshland for really not a whole lot,” Hummel said. “It’s very small dollars.”

The price the town paid for the land will go towards defraying some of the cost the town would have had to match to have the army come in and begin the project, Hummel said.

“Our cost will go into the match for the land,” Hummel said. “We’ll pay the full amount, but this will go towards that.”


Should children of illegal immigrants be given the same access to higher education as legal Maryland residents?

That was the question posed during a fo-rum held in Lusby this weekend on the Mary-land Dream Act.

Statewide voters will decide the fate of the Dream Act on Election Day after success-ful petitioning took the issue to the ballot.

During the first of five “The Big Conver-sation” meetings at Middleham and St. Pe-ter’s Parish Hall in Lusby, a panel convened to inform voters of the pros and cons of the Maryland Dream Act.

The panel included three individuals for and three against the Dream Act. In sup-port of the act were Delegate Sheila Hoxson (D-20), Maryland Senator Victor Ramirez (D-47) and educator Elias Vlanton. Against the act were Delegate Anthony O’Donnell (R-29C), St. Mary’s County repeal effort leader Matt Morgan and general council with the Immigration Reform Law Institute Mike Hethmon. The mediator for the afternoon was St. Mary’s County Professor of Philosophy Charles Stein.

“Can I ask a favor? Take your point of view and put it in your pocket,” Stein said to begin the forum.

The law gives children of illegal immi-grants the chance to go to community college then a four-year college for in-state tuition, on the condition that their parents have filed taxes for the past three years, they attended an

in-state school for three years and they apply for citizenship.

Panel members’ opinions of the act ranged from seeing a need to educate these students to seeing it as unfair that they pay in state tuition when out of-state students pay outrageous fees.

After each panel members’ presentation, there was a question and answer session, with the community members’ questions written on index cards. Questions ranged from asking if education is a right or a privilege, whether there had been attempts made to compromise on the bill to what the cost will be to help get the students in question through school.

O’Donnell said opponents tried intro-ducing amendments to the bill to make it more palatable all around, but the changes weren’t accepted. There is no changing the law now unless the citizens vote it down and it goes back to the drawing board, he said.

Joan Holmes, a Calvert County resident who attended the forum, said she signed a petition to bring the law to a statewide vote, but was not educated on the issue when peti-tioners came to her residence at Asbury Solo-mons to get signatures.

Regardless if their parents are here ille-gally or not, Holmes believes all students are entitled to an education.

The four follow-up sessions on the Dream Actwill be Jan. 11, 18, 25 and Feb. 1. There will be potluck dinners beginning at 6:15 p.m. with discussion and worship begin-ning at 7 p.m.

[email protected]


Get your sweet tooth in gear, the seventh annual Calvert County Chamber of Commerce’s Chocolate Lovers Affair is set for Feb. 4 from 7-11 p.m.

This year, the venue will move to the Sol-omons Island Holiday Inn, which offers more space. Calvert County Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Carolyn McHugh said the venue that has been used in the past was filled to capacity last year, and in order to allow the event to continue growing they needed a new venue.

The evening will consist of a silent and live auction, voting on, and eating, dessert creations, assorted food stations and enter-tainment provided by DJ Dave’s Karaoke & Entertainment Services.

McHugh said the dessert contest is a “public favorite” in this growing event.

Proceeds from the evening go to benefit the chamber’s various schol-arship opportunities.

“We’re stepping up our game for our emphasis on education,” McHugh said.

The money goes to augment a scholar-ship endowment at the College of Southern Maryland, as well as supplying for the annual $3,000 check the chamber gives the college every year. There are also five scholarships given out to graduating high school seniors who are planning to go into business classes. The five scholarships can be used for any school, McHugh said.

For more information, or to make a res-ervation, visit www.chocoloversaffair.com or call 410- 535-2577. Tickets are $85 per person and $150 per couple, or $125 per person at the door.

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Controversial Maryland Dream Act Under Fire

Slaughenhoupt’s Budget Idea Shot DownTown Buys Marshland for

Restoration Effort

Annual Chocolate Lovers Affair


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‘YouNique Vacations’ Offers First-Hand

Knowledge of DestinationsBy Corrin M. HoweStaff Writer

Now is a great time to book a summer family reunion or group vacation on cruise lines, according to Martha Kimbro of YouNique Vacations. Using a travel agent to book it can save time, money and hassle.

“The number one reason to use a travel agent is for service and advice,” Kimbro said.

Certified travel agents receive training from the different cruise lines and destination resorts; travel and use the various services; participate in forums with other agents and receive dis-counts from suppliers.

“I’ve had a number of clients who have looked on the In-ternet and found the deals they wanted and then called me. I’ve been surprised at how many times I’ve been able to get them a better deal on the exact same vacation package,” said Kimbro, who has owned her business in Lusby coming up on five years now.

Before she went to work for herself, she worked for federal government as an accountant. She loved to travel and to arrange cruises for her family and friends. When she went to book her retirement cruise, her travel agent suggested she start her own business.

“I can make recommendations because I research or have

been to places because I go on cruise line confer-ences and tour resorts of the places I sell the most of.”

She had a client who wanted to go to Jamai-ca for a week for under $1,000 including airfare. Kimbro doubted that she could find something, but did. However, she had been to this particular resort and asked the client how she felt about wak-ing up to an iguana in her room.

“She didn’t have a problem with that, but at least I knew enough to ask. I personally don’t like the idea of an iguana in my bedroom,” Kimbro laughed.

Travel agents also have their client’s best interests in mind. Buying from the Internet or calling around and making arrange-ments can be risky without the knowledge of an agent, she said.

Another of her clients ignored her advice to fly into the cruise port a day early. He called her from the runway where his flight was stuck. She assumed since the airplane hadn’t been sent back to the gate that he would eventually fly out. So she ar-ranged for a taxi to drive him from Fort Lauderdale to Miami in the nick of time.

“If I know a client is looking for something similar to what they are offering and when they are offering it, I can call my cli-ent and let them know if they are willing to wait a few days, they can save money.”

The ins and outs of travel insurance is another service Kim-bro offers. She uses two outside insurance companies because they are more responsive to the client than the insurance offered through the airlines or cruise companies. Her partner companies are also cheaper and provide better coverage.

“Most people don’t know that their medical insurance com-panies don’t cover them outside the United States. They can turn an ankle or have a heart attack and they’re at the mercy of the medical providers. The cruise lines have excellent medical ser-vices, but it’s gonna cost you,” she said.

One female client found out the hard way. She had a medi-cal emergency and she had to pay $700 immediately and give them her credit card for the rest.

For more information, call Kimbro at 410-326-2791.

[email protected]

Martha Kimbro checking out a cruise line and resort for her clients.


By Corrin M. HoweStaff Writer

Instilling a love for traveling in students while enjoying traveling are the reasons why two Huntingtown High School teachers are recruiting for a 10-day tour in Europe during summer 2013.

Computer Science teacher Tom Currier and Science teacher Victoria Bol announced a potential tour of Florence, Rome, Paris and London in June 2013 if they can gain the com-mitments of enough students.

“I call it a shot-gun approach to travel,” said Currier one day during the Flex Lunch where a handful of students came to learn more about the trip. “We’ll spend three days in Rome and we’ll see everything a tourist will want to see.”

He and Bols are using E.F. Tours “the world leader in international education and student travel with 45 years of experience and schools and officers in more than 50 countries,” according to their website.

Bols said she likes this organization for a number of reasons. One is that their group from Calvert County will be paired up with another group from the United States so that students are receiving a social as well as educational experience.

Currier appreciates the company provid-ing native language speakers who meet the group at the airport and stay with them until they return to the airport. The tour guides can bring the group to the front of lines for popu-lar tourist in order to stay on their packed daily schedules.

“They appreciate the students’ time and help them experience as much as they can,” said Currier.

Both teachers have traveled to a number

of countries. This will be Currier’s third trip where he has been the teacher/leader. It will be Bols first, although she’s attended similar tours with adults.

Each day the students start with breakfast and the rest of the day “they will be traveling to another destination or touring.” At the end of the day they will receive dinner. All the travel expenses, accommodations, tour fees and two meals are included in the package amount paid to E.F. Tours. The kids need to bring money to purchase their own lunch and souvenirs.

The reason Currier and Bols are starting now is so that the kids can raise the money to travel. In the past the students have sold Joe Corbi’s Pizzas and asked for money in lieu of Christmas and birthday gifts.

Although the students are being recruited from Huntingtown High, it is not an official school function. The school system is aware of the program as many teachers do take students to foreign countries through similar programs.

Currier said that he likes having the ability to determine which students he’ll take. He’s not had any major incidences in his previous trav-els. E.F. Tours does make students and parents sign contracts agreeing to rules and behavior. If there is an infraction, the chaperones can take the student to the nearest airport and the parent is responsible for getting him/her home.

Bols talked about one of her first trips to Europe. “I saw some random thing on a hill and it blew my mind. It had been there over 3,000 years. And I understood for the first time there is more to the world than what we have here (in the U.S.)”

“Kids discover that they aren’t the center of the universe,” Currier agreed.

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CommunitySpotlight On

‘Mind-blowing Experiences’ Possible for Students in 2013

In Munich, Germany, at the Nymphenburg Palace are David Lavezzo, left, Kelly Daughtridge, Leigh Ann Schaefer, Laura Thorne, Lauren White and Tom Currier.


North Beach Mayor Mark Frazer proposed putting a band stage at the end of the town’s fishing pier at a recent town meeting, with the idea being that the town’s economy could pick up some of the wedding business that neigh-boring communities in Chesapeake Beach and Harrington Harbor in Anne Arundel County have taken advantage of.

Councilman Randy Hummel said that idea had merit as long at the town limited its participation in the actual use of a band stage for weddings.

“As long as we’re not going to be planning them,” Hummel said of weddings that could take place there. “That was part of the original proposal.”

Hummel said the town would install a lower tier off the pier to ensure that residents

and visitors could still fish, however.Hummel said that the town government

could facilitate a place to hold weddings with the scenic Chesapeake Bay as a backdrop much like the neighboring communities but the town should not actually plan such events such as businesses like the Rod and Reel restaurant do in Chesapeake Beach.

“I don’t think that’s an appropriate use of government,” Hummel said. “And we’d be in direct competition with private business.”

The wedding industry is quite lucrative, Hummel said, with Harrington Harbor provid-ing fireworks for some weddings if the parties wish to pay for them. He said there are many weddings during the spring, summer and fall months all along the beach.

“There are weddings almost every other week out there,” Hummel said.

[email protected]

Council to Mull Band Stage on Pier

‘Stroke of Luck’ Raises $9,000 for Alzheimer’s Association


Fans of the cable TV show Storage Wars may find a familiar scene at Armory Road Self Stor-age in Prince Frederick.

As needed, every third Wednesday of the month Armory Road Self Storage auctions off units that have gone three months without rent being paid on the unit.

“It’s standard within the industry,” said Rich Bailey, owner of Marrick Self Storage, parent group of Armory Road Self Storage.

He said the proceeds form the sales go to pay the outstanding rent on the units, and the re-mainder, Bailey said, goes to the person who was renting the unit. He said before going to auction, every effort is made to contact the owner of the unit to give an opportunity to catch up on the rent.

Anyone is welcome to come out for auction days, and Bailey said it’s “amazing how many people show up.” Between television shows like Storage Wars and a general interest in buying and selling storage units, he said there is a “collective following.”

The facility is at capacity, Bailey said, and they have permits to build phase two of the facility, which is planned for across the street from the current location. Bailey said plans have been stalled until the fate of the old middle school property is decided.

[email protected]

Like Storage Wars in Your Own Back Yard

The Chesapeake Bay Power Boat Association presented a check in the amount of $9092.21 to the Alzheimer’s Association at their monthly meeting held at The Whiskey 1803 in Annapolis. The CBPBA kicked off the Solomons Is-land Grand Prix Race weekend in Sep-tember with its “Stroke of Luck” golf tournament. This tournament benefited the Alzheimer’s Association in honor of CBPBA member, Matt Loiacono’s father, Elturino “Lucky” Loiacono who passed away in 2008. It was held at Chesapeake Hills in Lusby, MD on Friday, September 23, 2011 and had over 70 golfers in atten-dance. For additional information on the Chesapeake Bay Power Boat Association or supporting the Alzheimer’s Associa-tion, visit www.cbpba.com.

Thursday, January 19, 20127 The Calvert GazetteSpotlight On


Paper records take a lot of space. A lot of paper records take a lot of space.

Calvert County Public Schools does not have a lot of space to put the multiple back records they are required to keep.

During the Jan. 12 meeting of the Calvert County Board of Education, the board voted to approve changes to streamline language in policies pertaining to retention and disposition of records. During the meeting, the board discussed a growing need to digitalize back records.

Superintendent Jack Smith told the Calvert Gazette that the district “needs to become aggressive” in digitalizing re-cords. Currently, much of the curriculum is online so parents

and students can check assignments and grades via the inter-net, but the district is working on the infrastructure needed to close the gap between past records already digitalized and cur-rent records entered automatically as digital copies.

Smith said in coming years the district may hire some-one dedicated to digitalizing all records, but before that step is taken the district has to build the repositories and make space in the system. Until then, he said there are current employees who are working on the project in their spare time. Because of the confidential nature of some of the documents, whoever is working on the documents will need to be trained on proce-dures, Smith said.

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Since the opening of the new Calvert Middle School, there has been talk of what will be done with the old building.

At the board of County Commissioners meeting Dec. 20, a contract for $252,221 was awarded to Sun Demolition LLC out of Beltsville, with an additional $30,000 for unforeseen cir-cumstances to demolish the middle school.

The Department of Economic Development has been working with Fore Consulting to redevelop the site and pin-point potential uses for the property. Public Information Spe-cialist Mark Volland said Fore Consulting has already come up with a Retail Purchasing Power and Space Demand Analysis for the property, and they will be helping the county to evalu-ate proposals for the use of the property and develop criteria for the proposals.

He said the existing building was deemed beyond use, ne-cessitating the demolition of the building to allow the future owner to begin again with a fresh building.

“Calvert County seeks a unique concept for this corner-stone location, one that will set a high standard for the Prince Frederick Town Center,” the analysis states. “Given the site’s prominent frontage on Route 2/4 (Solomons Island Road) and the successful retail commercial development in the site’s im-mediate vicinity, retail redevelopment is one of the likely com-bined land uses for the site.”

The analysis also states developing the property for retail use could bring back into the county monies that are otherwise spent out of the county.

“It is estimated that if all of the “lost” retail sales (exclud-ing food and beverage store sales) could be repatriated to Cal-vert County, county real property tax revenues would increase by nearly $1.9 million in fiscal year 2011-2012…” the analysis states.

The document in its entirety can be found at www.co.cal.md.us/assets/RetailAnalysisFactSheet.pdf.

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Calvert County Public Schools has lost approximately 200 students since this time last year, according to Super-intendent Jack Smith, which could spell trouble for state funding levels in FY 2013.

“I am worried, and I don’t know very much,” Smith said of what money might come from the state.

The most recent peak for school enrollment was 16,959 students in De-cember 2007, and by December 2011, enrollment dropped to 16,174, Smith said, adding that the 785 less students trickled out a couple students at a time from each of the 23 schools in the district.

Unfortunately, for funding, the district is going in the wrong direction. Smith said in the best-case scenario, to get the most funding from the state, a school district must be gaining students in a county that is losing money. In Cal-vert County, the number of students is slowly dropping while the county’s wealth is growing compared to neigh-boring counties.

“Both factors are working in the wrong direction for our schools,” Smith told the Calvert Gazette.

When the governor’s budget pro-posal is released, Smith will learn ap-proximately how much money the distirct will be getting. The money the state allots for education then goes to the Maryland State Board of Education (MSDE). MSDE then distributes it to the individual counties based on a for-

mula using the wealth of the county and the number of students enrolled.

Smith said the loss of students is more attributable to the state of the economy and families moving out of the area than to the state of the school district. He said even if they lose stu-dents, the school board has not lost val-ue in the community. He said continu-ing to keep up the level of service with an ever-decreasing level of funding is a challenge.

Even with worry looming over the coming budget, Smith sees some good things going on. MSDE will be apply-ing for flexibility in the No Child Left Behind program, which Smith said will ease some of the pressure on students and staff.

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The Plum Point Elementary School Parent and Teacher Association invited local Registered Dietician and Health Educator Karen Mohn to talk about packing nutritional school lunches.

On a Monday evening with snow flurries floating through the air, a dozen parents and teachers heard about nutritional guidelines for 5- to 8-year-olds and 9- to 12-year-olds regarding the middle meal of the day.

Mohn spoke to already well educated moth-ers about complex carbohydrates, protein, and fats. Although many in her audience were al-ready doing the things she recommended, they did learn some things they didn’t know.

For example, she explained that the only difference in skim milk and whole milk is the amount of fat. Some moms were worried about the sugar, but learned all milk had the same amount of protein, vitamins and carbohydrates. In fact, the skimming process actually improves the amount of calcium that children can receive.

She did agree that organic milk, regardless of the amount of fat, is safer because of link be-tween hormones found in pasteurized milk and early development (or entry into puberty) for children. She also encouraged parents to edu-cate their children that their need for milk lasts a lifetime.

Portion control, particularly with regard to carbs and proteins, is “one of the biggest prob-lems.” The “plate” is replacing the “food pyra-mid,” according to Mohn. Now the government is recommending half the plate be covered in vegetables, one fourth in protein and one fourth in grains.

When packing a student’s lunch, she recom-mends making each food item fulfill a daily rec-ommended requirement and to make the calories count. A pack of yogurt can meet the protein and vitamins.

She warned that popular “lunchables” only meet the recommendation for protein. It doesn’t meet any grain or vitamin requirements and is half of a student’s suggested sodium intake for the day.

Putting non-value foods in the body makes as much sense as “putting Kool-Aid in a premi-um gasoline car and expecting it to drive,” said Mohn.

While the government requires the schools to provide a full and balanced lunch, students are not required to eat it. It gets worse in middle and high school, Mohn warned the PTA.

“Those Otis Spunkmeyer cookies they sell in high school are 200 calories each. They are sold three to a pack. Students will buy that and a Gatorade. They’ve eaten the recommended calo-ries for lunch,” said Mohn.

She finished up her presentation stating the national campaign to get kids eating breakfast, and now getting them to eat healthy lunches is the “new breakfast.”

[email protected]

School District Going Digital‘Lunch is The New Breakfast’

Superintendent Worried About Future Funding

Finding New Use for Old Middle School Property



Every year Calvert County takes an aver-age of 20 high school students and trains them to become nationally certified basic firefighters and EMTs.

The program is not offered through the public school system but through the county’s Fire-Rescue-EMS Division of the Department of Public Services.

Kimberly S. Jones, Recruitment and Re-tention Specialist said she goes through the high school counselors each year to tell students about the program.

A student must be 16 years-old and be able to complete all required high school graduation credits in order to be eligible for the yearlong study in firefighting and emergency medical services.

According to Jones, the county’s program follows the school calendar so that students may leave their schools and be at Huntingtown VFD to start class each day at noon. During regular school days, students attend classroom instruc-tion and practical instruction from 12 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. By the end of the year, they will have received 105 hours of instruction.

The first week back from winter break the students drove to La Plata’s Southern Maryland Regional Training Center for Maryland’s Fire and Rescue Institute, University of Maryland.

There some of them received their first practical experience putting out fires.

The day was sunny and the temperatures unseasonably warm, just enough nip in the air to make standing in full firefighting gear toler-able – until they went to a concrete building to fight flames.

As soon as the class gathered, Instructor Greg Dameron ran the students through a 60 second drill. They were required to put on all of their gear – from boots all the way to air flowing through their masks – in a minute.

The group circled around him with their boots in front of them, their pants already slipped over the footgear, and all of their other gear in a pile. Dameron started his stopwatch. When the students finished dressing, they kneeled on the ground to indicate their task was complete. Another instructor checked to see if they made any errors.

One or two of the male students made it within a minute. Several students were still struggling with their gear when Dameron called time after three minutes.

“I can see some of you have practiced. Some of you think it will come naturally. The only thing that will come naturally is the wave good-bye you’ll do as everyone else runs past you to the truck,” said Dameron.

He gave them another chance, yelling out tips along the way to make dressing faster.

During the second drill, an assistant in-

structor told one student, “This is where embers come in and burn you. Now you’ll be worried about you and not about the fire.”

The students groaned when Dameron asked if they wanted a third attempt. He agreed it was time to move onto a new task.

Dameron gave each of the five teams their initial assign-ments for the day, which was the fourth day fighting fires in what looked like a convection oven – a two-story concrete building with heavy metal doors and barn style windows.

The Attack team went in first to battle the flames. The Back up team went in second. The Ventilation teams were responsible for setting up ladders and open-ing holes either on the top of the roof or at the windows. The Rehab team was not fighting the fire, but refilling their air tanks, drinking wa-ter, resting and getting their vital signs checked. The Rapid Intervention Team – or RIT – was responsible for searching and rescuing any vic-tims. Each team would rotate through each task before the end of the day.

“There will be unpredictability today be-cause fires are unpredictable,” said Dameron. “This is a thinking process. Everything needs to be evaluated all the time.”

Dameron acted as the Safety Officer that day, which according to Jones, is a role every firefighting event has. He instructed the stu-dents to find their PATs – Personal Account-ability Tags – and put them on. Jones said these are on a board which all firefighters pull off be-fore going out on a run and return after. They are to ensure everyone comes out of the fire.

The students also learned that their Scott bottles, or air tanks, have a device that sets off an alarm if a firefighter goes down. He has a few seconds to manually turn it off if tripped. Otherwise it will continue sounding until he is found.

After the first run through the exercise, Nathan Taylor, PHS, said he was on search and rescue first. His team went in, found the fire in a few rooms and found a baby (doll).

Raynard Francis, NHS, said it was impor-tant to have clear communications, “make sure that your people are in the room they say they are.” He also said he learned “don’t hit fire di-rectly but a little above. Got to keep control of the hose line. The pressure can get away from you.”

Jones agreed. She pointed out another adult volunteer at the tanker truck and said that person is in charge of regulating the pressure based on the person holding it at the time. In one case, the student firefighter was a petite fe-male, so he’d have to adjust the pressure down.

Around the side, the ventilation team made a mistake. They placed the ladder upside down against the building. The hooks should’ve been at the top near the windows.

Dameron congratulated them, “Good catch.” But then he watched how the team handled it. “It’s a team effort. It doesn’t work for one person to do all the work and the others watch.”

Some of the students had their names in reflective Velcro on the bottoms of their jack-ets. Jones said this is something that each VFD does differently. However, all VFD are respon-sible for fitting and issuing gear to the students.

She said some students will purchase their own boots and helmets for comfort.

Students are required to work with a VFD during the year they are in class. Each depart-ment has a checklist of requirements the student will meet before the end of the year. The fire departments are another way for the students to pick up practical skills and gain experience.

In classroom they receive training in the Incident Command Structure which is the same throughout the nation. “Each seat on the truck has a different job and the students will learn every role and responsibility,” said Jones. The students have a section on Hazardous materials, basic firefighting and basic emergency medical services.

Jones said it takes a long time to train a volunteer which is why in 2001 the Board of County Commissioners put together a recruit-ment package for volunteer fire-rescue-EMS.

The program to train the students retains about 50 percent of those trained. The package also included $50,000 a year in college scholar-ship for those who successfully completed the training and meet the other eligibility require-ments. Jones said the money is split evenly be-tween all the qualified applicants. The program does not require the students to pursue a degree in the fire and rescue field.

Every year, two or three students will graduate from the program and go work for a county that pays their firefighters and EMTs.

And the others will either continue volun-teering while they attend local colleges or work; some will go away to school but come back and pick up their volunteering later. Still others will be in Jones’ situation.

“Like, me, I was really active when I was younger, then I took a few years off to get mar-ried and have my kids. Now I’m back volun-teering,” said Jones, who said there is a strong generational link to fire and rescues volunteer.

This training program is also open to adults who work shift work and can’t attend the evening training offered by the county. There were two adult women in this group of students.

Two years ago, Jones said the program pro-duced a student who successfully competed in Skills USA – through the Career and Technolo-gy Academy. She said he started as one of three who competed from Calvert in a regional com-petition, went on to state and finally to Kansas City. He placed 10th and is now a paid fireman in Prince George’s County.

Jones and Dameron are already talking about which three will represent Calvert on Feb. 5 over in Charles County for the Skills USA competition.

STORY

High School Students Benefit From Firefighter Training

Top Row: Carolyn Quade, Shirley Mattingly and Barbara Livingston. Bottom Row: Betty West, Steve Mattingly and Alice Kingsley


By Marta Hummel MossburgAccording to Occupy Wall Street protesters and

Democrats, the Grinch stealing Christmas this season is the collective corpus of bankers, hedge fund man-agers and other financial-sector bigwigs who don’t pay their fair share in taxes.

It’s easy to see why. They make perfect scape-goats for unemployed college graduates with lots of debt, big-government liberals and others who want to believe a black-and-white narrative of the country’s financial collapse and blame someone.

But protesters and others should hold a mirror up to themselves and check the facts on the “1 percent.”

Their stereotype does not hold, especially here. Maryland has the highest percentage of millionaires of any state in the nation, according to the Census, in large part due to the thousands of federal employees with large pensions. It is also the wealthiest state in the nation in terms of household income, due signifi-cantly to people who make money off of the federal government as employees or contractors.

Many others earn huge salaries from hospitals and other nonprofits whose main funder is govern-ment. In Baltimore City, 33 percent of the private sec-tor is employed in a business designed not to turn a profit, compared to 8.6 percent nationally.

And last week The Baltimore Sun reported that some Baltimore County police officers are retiring with a $500,000 payout — on top of annual pension payments upwards of $150,000 per year. Maryland is not the only place where this is happening. The phenomenon of municipal millionaires is causing fi-nancial nightmares for cities across the country who cannot afford the large retirement benefits promised to government employees in better times without cut-ting core services and raising taxes.

These are the people occupying the top income tiers in Maryland and across the nation and whose benefits ensure they will stay on top for the rest of their lives. Only a tiny fraction of private-sector work-ers can hope for such income and retirement security.

But don’t hold your breath waiting for Occupy Wall Streeters or the state’s dominant party to criti-cize government for making people wealthy.

In their minds, more government is needed to make more people as affluent as those who are al-ready enjoying a great lifestyle at someone else’s ex-pense. That is why Gov. Martin O’Malley has been pushing billions more in spending on a federal jobs bill in his role as head of the Democratic Governors Association. It’s also why Democrats (and many Re-publicans) prefer to raise taxes than cut spending or restructure entitlements.

It doesn’t matter that the previous stimulus spending didn’t work as advertised. Nor does it seem to register that redistribution works only so long as there is money to take from someplace else.

Blaming Wall Street is easier and so much more fun than extirpating the root cause of financial prob-lems plaguing our city and state and those around the country — too much spending.

The other issue is that politicians of both parties don’t want justice for Wall Street. As a Sunday “60 Minutes” piece points out, the Obama administration has prosecuted no high-ranking Wall Street executive or financial firm in the last three years. This reprieve exists despite widespread fraud and chronic misrepre-sentations of “too big to fail” banks’ financial health. In fact, prosecutions of financial fraud are at a 20-year low, according to a Syracuse University study cited in the “60 Minutes” report.

Look no further than the special treatment of-fered to members of Congress by those very same firms and the thousands in campaign donations from their executives to answer why nothing has happened.

So, on one hand, there is willful blindness to the role played by an ever-expanding government in the collapse of local and state finances. On the other, there is an unwillingness to hold those on Wall Street who played a significant role in destroying the country’s economy accountable for their actions.

These are not problems solved by making a few people pay higher taxes. They require purging the entitlement mentality at all points of the income spectrum and forcing people to take responsibility for themselves. The problem is finding politicians and Americans — half of whom don’t pay federal income taxes but expect to be taken care of — willing to take the prescription.

Guest EditorialMunicipal Millionaires Many of The ‘1 Percent’

Budget-building season is back in full swing. You have probably seen reports about the on-going structural budget deficit in Annapolis and all the taxes and fees proposed to be raised to make the bud-get “balance” for this year. Senator Miller told mem-bers of the Chamber of Commerce that there would be no new taxes except gas taxes, higher flush taxes, and perhaps a sales tax increase.

Calvert County is in the process of finalizing our budget for the fiscal year that begins July 1, 2012 (FY2013). I wanted to shed some light on the topic of zero-based budgeting and how our County budget is crafted.

In the late summer, the Commissioners give the County Department Heads some guidance about putting together their departmental budgets based on projected budget revenues and our on-going desire to hold the line on taxes, and decrease taxes, if we can do so responsibly. We knew that property tax assessments in the 1st election district (Southern end of Calvert County) were going to come in considerably lower than three years ago. With increasing needs (like for more deputies, school funding, fire and rescue equipment re-placement, wear and tear on buildings and parks, etc.), and decreasing revenue, the goal to lower taxes becomes more remote, and the focus on holding the line on taxes takes precedence. Consequently, we tell department heads to find a way to do more with less, plan to forego step increases (longevity increases for satisfactory work or above), and eliminate pay raises. We comb through the capital projects (buildings and other one time costs) to see what can be delayed until the economy improves while still maintaining our superb quality of life.

Based on this direction from the Commissioners, each Department Head looks at every line item in his/her budget to determine what has to be elimi-nated in order to do so something new and what can be done in a less expensive way. In other words, each Department Head starts from zero and builds his/her budget to reach the goals they are tasked with achieving. This is a difficult process with increasing costs, many of which are hard to predict, like fuel pric-es, and with the desire to implement new ideas or to deploy new technology to advance efficiency. There are a lot of unforeseen possibilities that have to be accounted for. Once the Department Head has drafted a budget, he/she then has to defend that budget, starting again from zero, to staff in the Department of Budget and Finance, and especially to the Budget Officer. Proving that a new staff person is needed, or that an expenditure will result in efficiencies, is tough since the Budget Officer is striving to keep the entire budget below a certain mark. Usually, a negotiation between Budget and Finance staff and the Department Head resolves differences, but every year a list of items comes to the Commissioners for resolution when Budget and Finance is not convinced and the Department Head is adamant. We are all stingy. What I have described is a form of zero-based budgeting.

Most of us probably use an example of zero-based budgeting at home or in our businesses. We start with zero. We list our contractual obligations like mortgage and/or rent, phone, cable, electric, etc. Then we list necessities like food, medicine, doctor co-pays. If we have exceeded our income, we go back to ground zero and see where we can cut our contractual obligations. Can we refinance the house? Eliminate cable? Change phone carriers or plans?

The other kind of budgeting is just to slice a percentage off of everything we are currently doing. So, if we are spending $100 on groceries, and we decide we are cut-ting everything by 10%, we can only spend $90 on groceries. But we still may have to go back to zero to decide what groceries we feel we absolutely need and which we can pass up.

Budgeting is all about priorities and necessities. For example, we could decide that we do not need to pave roads so often. For a few years, we get away without pav-ing, but then the road develops the kind of potholes that can only be fully repaired by re-building the road completely, which is far more expensive than paving more often would have been. Our Public Works Director currently does not have enough money in his paving budget to pave every road in Calvert County every 20 years, the gold standard. So, he has to decide which roads must be done this year and hope that the lowest responsible, responsive bidder will come in with a paving price that allows him to stay within his budget. Or, he may have to convince first the Finance and Budget staff and then the Commissioners that more money must be put into the paving budget to keep up to avoid complete road rebuilds.

I hope I have explained how zero-based budgeting works in Calvert County to keep our budget structurally balanced in this economic downturn despite significantly lower property tax income.

Publisher Thomas McKayAssociate Publisher Eric McKayEditor Sean RiceGraphic Artist Angie StalcupOffice Manager Tobie PulliamAdvertising [email protected] [email protected] 301-373-4125Staff WritersGuy Leonard Law EnforcementSarah Miller Government, EducationCorrin Howe Community, Business

Contributing WritersJoyce BakiKeith McGuire

The Calvert Gazette is a weekly newspaper providing news and information for the residents of Calvert County. The Calvert Gazette will be available on newsstands every Thursday. The paper is published by Southern Maryland Publishing Company, which is responsible for the form, content, and policies of the newspaper. The Calvert Gazette does not espouse any political belief or endorse any product or service in its news coverage. Articles and letters submitted for publication must be signed and may be edited for length or content. The Calvert Gazette is not responsible for any claims made by its advertisers.

Calvert GazetteP. O. Box 250 . Hollywood, MD 20636

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ommissioners

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nerZero-Based BudgetingBy Susan ShawCalvert County Commissioner, 2nd District

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ETTERSto the Editor


Eldridge Bowen, 92Eldridge M.

“Popeye” Bow-en, 92, of Prince Frederick, MD, a longtime resident of Tracy’s Land-ing and Lothian, MD passed away January 6, 2012 at Calvert Memorial Hospital in Prince Frederick.

Popeye was born December 23, 1919 in Adelina, MD, now part of Prince Frederick, to Molly (Montgomery) and El-dridge C. Bowen.

He was raised in Fairhaven, MD and lived in Tracy’s Landing for many years. He married Patricia “Patty” Kirby on July 3, 1982 and they lived in Lothian, MD and Prince Frederick for the past year and one half. Popeye was a lifelong farmer and a truck driver with the Anne Arundel County Pubic Works Department. He also hauled loads of tobacco for many local farmers to the tobacco markets in Upper Marlboro.

Popeye was a faithful member of Friend-ship United Methodist Church, and a former member of Deale Volunteer Fire Depart-ment. In his leisure time, Popeye enjoyed baseball and taking bus trips to the casinos in Delaware where he liked playing the slot machines.

He was preceded in death by his parents and by six siblings. He is survived by his devoted wife Patty Bowen, daughters Mar-garet Dyar of Huntingtown, MD and Nancy Skinner of Stevensville, MD, and by a son Raymond Bowen of Lansing, MI. He is also survived by granddaughters Sandra Callow, Loretta Czarnomski and Bridgett Bowen, and by four great-grandchildren.

Friends and family were received at Rausch Funeral Home, Owings. A funeral service and celebration of Popeye’s life was held Wednesday January 11, 2012 at Friend-ship United Methodist Church, Friend-ship, MD. Interment followed in the church cemetery.

Expressions of sympathy in Popeye’s name may be made to Friendship UM Church, P.O. Box 72, Friendship, MD 20758. For additional service information visit www.RauschFuneralHomes.com.

Cecelia Brooks, 67

Cecelia Bowen Brooks, 67, of Prince Frederick, MD died January 14, 2012 at Solomons Nursing Center.

She was born Cecelia Marie Bow-en to George Ernest and Susie Minnie (Mister) Bowen. Ce-celia attended Cal-vert County Public and graduated from Calvert High School.

Cecelia was an accounts payable specialist with MONA Electric Company until retiring in 2008.

She was preceded in death by her parents, husband Paul J. Curran in 1980 and brothers George, John and Daniel Bowen

Surviving are a son Lionel Ray Hum-phreys, daughter Karen Sue Greenborn and husband Brian, grandchildren Robert Cleve-land and Austin Humphreys, brothers Paul, Lawrence, Landell, “Duck”, and Charles Bowen.

Friends may call at Rausch Funeral Home, P.A., 8325 Mt. Harmony Lane, Owings, MD on Saturday, January 21, 2012 from 2:00 – 3:00 P.M. with a service celebrating her life to fol-low at 3:00 P.M. Interment will be private.

Memorial contributions may be made to Christmas in April, Calvert County, P.O. Box 2761, Prince Frederick, MD 20678 or Christ-mas in April Prince Georges’s County, 7915 Malcolm Road, Clinton, 20735.

James Cox Sr., 80

James Leroy Cox Sr., “Jimmy,” 80, of Huntingtown, Maryland passed away on January, 10, 2012 in Auburndale, Florida. He was born, September 9, 1931 in Prince Fred-erick, Maryland to Ernest Leroy Cox and Myrtle Gray Cox.

He was a gradu-ate of Calvert Senior High, Baltimore Business College, and the Army Officer’s School at Fort

Belvoir, Virginia.Jimmy, along with his dad, owned and

operated the car and tractor business “Cox Mo-tors” of Prince Frederick for approximately forty years. Mr. Cox was also a member of the Masonic Lodge and the Calvert County Lions Club. He was an officer of the 121st Engineer Battalion, Maryland National Guard and re-tired with the rank of Major (U.S. Army). He was a “founding member” of Trinity United Methodist Church.

He was preceded in death by his parents Ernest Leroy Cox and Myrtle G. Cox, and by a grand daughter, Julie Cox. He is survived by his wife of fifty eight years, Olivia Sibley Cox of Huntingtown, daughters Laura Lynn Cox and Anne Kimberly Cox Cross and husband Kevin of Huntingtown, sons James L. Cox Jr. and wife Nancy, and Scott K. Cox and wife Robin of Huntingtown, grandsons Jon Cox and wife Melissa of Lusby, Kevin Greenwell and wife Tracy of Sunderland, Kyle Greenwell of Cape Coral, Florida, and Scott K. Cox II “Ken-ny” of Huntingtown, granddaughter Ashley Cox Dare and husband Mark of Port Republic, great-grandchildren include Koy, Lily, and Gy Greenwell, Reed and McKenna Cox, and Madison Dare.

Friends were received at Rausch Funeral Home, Owings on Sunday, January 15, 2012. Funeral Service and celebration of Life was celebrated on Monday, January 16, 2012 at Trinity United Methodist Church, Prince Fred-erick. Interment followed at Central Cemetery.

Memorial contributions may be made to Calvert Hospice, P.O. Box 838, Prince Freder-ick, MD 20678 or at www.calverthospice.org, The American Heart Association, Mid-Atlan-tic Affiliate, 4217 Park Place Court, American Heart Association Building, Glen Allen, VA 23060 or Calvert County Lions Club, P.O. Box 214, Prince Frederick, MD 20678.

Dorman Fawley, Jr., 84

Dr. Dorman Walton (DW) Faw-ley, Jr., 84, of Lusby, Maryland died on Saturday, January 12, 2012 from com-plications of a stroke. Dr. Fawley was born February 25, 1927 in Broadway, Virginia; he was the son of the late Dorman W. Fawley and Edna Cale Fawley.

After graduating from Broadway High School, Dr. Fawley joined the military and at-tended Naval Flight School in Pensacola, FL and Corpus Christi, TX. After the War, he re-turned to Virginia where he attended Madison College for his undergraduate degree. In 1953 he earned his doctorate in Dentistry from the Medical College of Virginia in Richmond. He practiced in Arlington, VA for 36 years, where he was active in the Kiwanis Club, Northern Virginia Dental Society and Ducks Unlimited. His love of the Chesapeake Bay brought him to Lusby, MD, where he later retired and lived for over 25 years. Dr. Fawley was an avid out-doorsman, who enjoyed fishing, duck hunting, snow skiing and golf. He could often be seen captaining his beloved boat “The Maridee” around the bay. He will be greatly missed by his family and friends.

He was preceded in death by his brothers, John and Thomas Fawley and sisters, Dorothy Dellinger and Romona Curtis.

He is survived by one sister, Jean Davies of Washington, DC, his beloved wife of 34 years, Marilyn Greer Fawley, three children from a previous marriage, Dorman Walton Fawley, III of Cincinnati, OH, Tana Fawley Leasure of Vienna, VA, and Ellen Fawley Tol-bert of Lewes, DE and two step-daughters, Su-san Greer O’Connell of Virginia Beach, VA, and Janet Greer Schroeder of New York City and 7 grandchildren.

A memorial service will be held at 1:00 PM on Friday, January 20, 2012 at the Solo-mons United Methodist Church at 14454 Solomons Island Road South, Solomons, MD 20688.

In lieu of flowers memorial donations may be made to the St. Leonard Volunteer Fire De-partment & Rescue Squad, www.slvfd.org, 200 Calvert Beach Road, St. Leonard, MD 20685. Arrangements provided by Rausch Funeral Home, P.A., Lusby, MD.

Elliott Finley, 84

Elliott Camp-bell “Skeets” Finley, 84, of Huntingtown, MD died January 1, 2012 at his home. He was born October 3, 1927 in Washington, D.C. to Elmer George and Hulda J. (Pletzer) Finley.

Skeets served in the U.S. Army and upon being honorably discharged as a Ser-geant attended Randolph-Macon College, later working for P.D. Gawltney, Jr. Co. in Smith-field, VA. In May 1955 he accepted employ-ment with the Library of Congress and retired in September 1984 as Chief of the Central Ser-vices Division. Subsequently he worked part time in real estate, and for the past ten years shared his artistic talents with the St. Mary’s County Art Association. One of his greatest satisfactions was derived from his associations with the International Association of Lions Clubs which he joined in 1970 and where he served over 40 years, and was District Gover-nor of District 22C from 1984 until 1985. Al-ways eager to help, Skeets devoted his entire life trying to make life better for others.

He is survived by his wife of 55 plus years, Virgie Lorrain Dustin Finley; two brothers, Shirley H. “Jack” Finley and wife Helen of Smithfield, VA and Elmer E. Finley and wife Barbara of Lakeland, FL, and one sister Doro-thy V. Ferruzza and husband Anthony of Fred-erick, MD. Also surviving are seven cherished nieces and one nephew; seven great-nieces and seven great-nephews and their children, and many special friends and caregivers.

A memorial visitation was held Friday, January 6 at Rausch Funeral Home, Owings, MD, where a Memorial Service was held, fol-lowed by a Lions Service.

Expressions of sympathy in Mr. Finley’s name may be made to Calvert Hospice, P.O. Box 838, Prince Frederick, MD 20678, online at www.calverthospice.org, or to Randolph-Macon College, P.O. Box 5005 Ashland, VA 23005. For additional information visit www.RauschFuneralHomes.com.

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David Jaeger, 37David Paul Jaeger, 37, of Washington,

Pennsylvania, passed away on January 8, 2012. He was born on May 8, 1974 in Seoul, Korea to Robert and Ursula Jaeger.

David is survived by his parents, siblings; Jonathan (Linda) Jaeger, Anna (Charles) Pat-rick, and Nicholas (Brenna) Jaeger; nephews, Elijah Jaeger, Julian Patrick, and Adrain Pat-rick; nieces, Victoria and Sophia Patrick.

The family received friends on Saturday, January 14, 2012 in the St. John Vianney Cath-olic Church, Prince Frederick, MD where a Funeral Service was held, with Fr. Peter Daley officiating. Interment followed in the church cemetery. Arrangements provided by Rausch Funeral Home, P.A., Lusby, MD.

Arlene Krystopik, 71Arlene Jeanette

Krystopik, 71, of Huntingtown, MD passed away January 4, 2012 at the Wash-ington Hospital Cen-ter in Washington, D.C.

Arlene was born February 20, 1940 in Washington, D.C. to Ferrell W. and Anna D. (Milner) Oden.

She was raised in Coral Hills, MD and was a graduate of Suitland High School, class of 1958. She married Walter S. “Bill” Krystopik April 18, 1960, and they lived in Washington, D.C. until moving to Brandywine, MD in 1968 and to Huntingtown in 1976. Ar-lene was employed as a secretary with the De-partment of Agriculture for several years and later as a receptionist at Calvert Memorial Hos-pital in Prince Frederick, MD but was primar-ily a homemaker, wife, mother and grandmoth-

er. In her leisure time Arlene enjoyed reading, gardening, and also adored her pets.

She was preceded in death by her par-ents, and is survived by her devoted husband Bill Krystopik, her daughter Lori Frame and husband Phillip of Huntingtown, her son Scott Krystopik of Orlando, FL, grandchildren Christopher Redding and Leanna and Madison Frame, all of Huntingtown, and sisters Lola Johnson of Ft. Washington, MD and Carol Robbins of West Palm Beach, FL.

Friends were received on Thursday Janu-ary 12, 2012 at Huntingtown United Methodist Church, 4020 Hunting Creek Road, Hunting-town, MD, where a funeral service and celebra-tion of Arlene’s life followed. Interment was at Miranda Cemetery in Huntingtown.

For additional information visit www.rauschfuneralhomes.com.

Alice Nobles, 85Alice Joyce

Nobles, 85, of Prince Frederick, MD, passed away January 11, 2012 at Calvert Memorial Hospital in Prince Frederick, MD.

Joyce was born September 4, 1926 in Kinston, NC to John and Josephine (Tilghman) Gard-ner. She received her education in North Carolina public schools and attended Colum-bia Union College in Takoma Park, MD. She was employed as a subject cataloger with the Library of Congress, retiring in 1988. Joyce re-sided in Suitland until moving to Prince Fred-erick in 1996. She was a member of Pennsyl-vania Avenue Seventh Day Adventist Church and the National Association of Retired Federal Employees. She was an avid reader and enjoyed

making gourmet chocolates for her family and friends.

Joyce was preceded in death by her parents and a brother Johnny Ray Gardner. Surviving are her son Terry Nobles and his wife Betty of Dunkirk, MD, grandson David Nobles and his wife Jennifer of Huntingtown, a great-grand-daughter Lexi Nobles and a great-grandson Chase Nobles, brothers Jesse Gardner and his wife Annie Mae of New Bern, NC, Joel Gard-ner and his wife Jessie of Vienna, VA, Jeffrie Gardner and his wife Sandra of New Bern, NC, sisters Jacqueline Willis of New Bern, NC, Jon-quil Lanier of Chattanooga, TN, Joan Finch, Lansing, MI, Juliette Church and her husband Charles of Kirkland, WA, and numerous nieces and nephews.

Friends were received at Rausch Funeral Home, P.A., in Owings on Saturday, January 14, 2012. A Funeral Service and Life Celebra-tion were held 2:00 P.M. Sunday, January 15, 2012 at Smithville United Methodist Church, Dunkirk. Interment followed at Smithville Cemetery.

Lloyd Wenger, Jr., 65Lloyd Owen

Wenger, Jr., 65, of St. Leonard, MD, passed away peace-fully on January 6, 2012 at his resi-dence. He was born on August 16, 1946 in Washington, D. C. to Pauline Celeste Throop Wenger and the late Lloyd Owen Wenger, Sr.

Lloyd gradu-ated from Lackey High School, Indian Head, MD, in 1964; Charles County Community Col-lege in 1976, earning an Associate of Science Degree; Lloyd graduated from the University

of Maryland in 1978 earning a Bachelor of Sci-ence degree in Mechanical Engineering, with an emphasis on Solar Engineering. Among many awards he received was the May Fauth Award for Engineering and Math. From 1964-1966 he worked as an Apprentice Machinist at the Naval Ordinance Station, Indian Head Maryland. Lloyd proudly served in the United States Navy from 1966-1972, with assignments to: The USS Forrestal, the USS Robert E. Lee and the USS Ray. During this tenure in US Navy submarine service, he served in many strategic and critical capacities aboard nuclear powered submarines. In 1972, Lloyd began his dedicated career at Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant, BG&E, serving initially as Senior Plant Operator then followed from 1978-2011 as Senior Mechanical Design Engineer, utiliz-ing his extensive design and operations experi-ence in the Nuclear Power industry.

Lloyd is survived by his beloved wife Kathie Jean Wenger; children, Karla Celeste Wenger, Lloyd Owen Wenger III, David Jus-tin Paulos, Kathryn Jean Paulos and Kristina Lauren Paulos of St. Leonard, Md.; mother, Pauline Celeste Throop Wenger; brother Paul D. Wenger and his wife Marlene of NC; sisters-in-law, Noel Hiotis of Washington, D. C. and Nancy Mountain of Hughesville, MD.

The family received friends at the Rausch Funeral Home, P.A., 20 American Lane, Lus-by, MD on Thursday, January 12, 2012, were services celebrating his life were held. Calvert Hospice Chaplain, Pastor Gerry Headley offi-ciated. Interment services were held on Friday, January 13, 2012 at 11:00 AM in the chapel at Maryland Veterans Cemetery, Cheltenham, MD.

Should friends desire memorial contribu-tions may be made in Lloyd’s memory to Cal-vert Hospice, P. O. Box 838, Prince Frederick, MD 20678, Donations are encouraged online at www.calverthospice.org.

Arrangements conducted by the Rausch Funeral Home, P. A., Lusby, MD www.rausch-funeralhomes.com.

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CLUES ACROSS 1. Winter capital of Kashmir 6. So. African Music Awards11. The Bay State14. A disorderly crowd15. Actress Greta16. Expression of surprise18. Storybook elephant21. John Jacob __, capitalist23. Mulled wine25. Membrane around the lungs26. Shows how something works28. Cannonized29. Layers bonded together31. A vessel or duct34. The fire had been ___35. Female sibling36. Israeli capital39. Blocked in fencing40. 98942 WA44. Gasoline hydrocarbon rating45. Light snacks with drinks47. Supplementing with difficulty48. Am. composer & diarist Ned50. A waterproof raincoat51. Accumulate a large

quantity56 Am. Newspaper Assoc.57. Butterfly collector62. __ and Venzetti63. Female servants

CLUES DOWN 1. Poked at 2. Equally 3. Manuscript (abbr.) 4. Periodical (slang) 5. Fiddler crabs 6. Hero sandwich 7. Volcanic mountain in Japan 8. Of I 9. Indicates position10. Legislative acts11. Low sustained cry12. 60 minutes (abbr.)13. Supported by a prop14. Megabyte17. 9/11 Memorial designer Michael19. The years someone has existed20. Distilled from fermented molasses21. a.k.a.22. Estonian kroon = 100

24. The sun25. Wide metal cooking vessel27. Caesar or cobb28. Building lots30. 1/1000 inch31. Apexes32. Firth of Clyde’s largest island33. Bringing suit36. Forsyth novel “The Day of the ___”37. Perceive with the eyes38. Was introduced to39. Lines of verse41. Household god (Roman)42. Military mailbox43. Challenge aggressively46. Posted49. One thousandth of an ampere51. General’s assistant, abbr.52. Bovine sound53. Associated press54. Opposite of LTM55. A very large body of water58. Ma’s partner59. Integrated circuit60. Rhode Island61. Potato state

Last Week’s Puzzle Solutions

erKiddieKor n


NewsmakersBy Debra MeszarosMXSportsNutrition.com

It is an important fact that most physicians do not realize that hidden food sensitivities may be the leading cause of most bodily symptoms. Often foods portrayed as “healthy” for the general population, may indeed be poison to someone. Our biochemical uniqueness may make one individual sensitive to any particular food, good or bad.

Undiagnosed food sensitivities affect more than half the population and almost everyone has at least one. Many people do not even realize they have a food sensitivity, or that their symptoms are being caused by one. Unless you are looking for one, you may not find it. Food sensitivities do a great job of masking them-selves as other aliments, conditions and diseases, leav-ing plenty of room for misdiagnosis.

There are two basic types of food sensitivities:Food allergy is an unnatural immune reaction to a

specific protein in that food.The body’s reaction is to build antibodies against

the specific protein it sees as an invader. Unfortunately this reaction can go as far as creating damage to nearby tissue as well as many other side effects.

Food intolerance is the body’s inability to digest or metabolize a particular food which makes it a metabo-lism issue not immunity. This is usually linked to the body’s lack of a particular enzyme.

If you are allergic to a food you have zero tolerance and any amount will trigger a reaction but not neces-sarily an obvious one.

The most telltale sign of food sensitivity is chronic fatigue as well as other signs like: muscle spasms, ex-cess mucus, low resistance to infection, poor absorp-tion of nutrients and “problems” in “target” organs. “Target” organs would be that person’s genetic weak-nesses or biochemical individuality. Psychological and behavioral symptoms are often a result when the “tar-get” organ is the brain.

How can you tell?Standard allergy testing (skin pricks) often do not

reveal the sensitivity (said to be only 20 percent reli-able). This procedure also only works with food aller-gies but not food intolerances.

Seeking the help of a professional focusing on food sensitivities and intolerances may be a better op-tion. Some of the tools often used by these practitioners are: a daily food journal, pulse testing, blood pressure readings or the use of biofeedback to identify stressors.

Here are some common possible symptoms:Chronic fatigue, awaken not feeling rested, fatigue

not helped by rest, food addictions/cravings, swollen lymph glands, chronic infections……

Chronic diarrhea, spastic colon, irritable bowel, colitis, ulcerative colitis, catch colds easily, bed-wet-ting, hives or welts, eczema, psoriasis, migraines, hy-peractivity, recurring ear infections…..

Visual signs can be dark circles under the eyes, puffiness under the eyes and horizontal creases in low-er eyelids.

Sensitivities are often linked to: asthma, hay fever, high blood pressure, irregular heartbeat, inflammation, hot flashes, swelling of the ankles, gas, constipation, heartburn, bloating and arthritis. Additionally; ringing in the ears, excessive ear wax, sore throat or tongue, canker sores, itchy eyes, sneezing, nervousness…get the picture?

Want to take charge of your own health? In most cas-es here’s where one would start:

Top triggers are: MSG, BHT, BHA, food color-ings and sulfites. Read the labels of the foods you con-sume and eliminate them.

Then there’s the actual foods…………diary and cereal grains the top two.

Here’s the most reactive general list:Cow’s milk, lactose, wheat, gluten, eggs, choco-

late, caffeine, peanuts, nuts, corn, oranges, strawber-ries, shellfish, pork, fish, soy/tofu, sucrose (table sugar), the nightshades: tomatoes, potatoes, peppers, paprika, cayenne, chili, eggplant & tobacco.

Tyramine (found in aged cheeses), red wine….other substances: nitrates, nitrites, aspartame (artificial sweeteners), all benzonates and sulphites (a preserva-tive which can be found in salad bars!).

Guess what usually happens when you eat the same foods day after day?

You guessed it! That’s where you’d start to track down your personal sensitivity culprits and remember food sensitivities tend to occur in clusters; a person rarely has just one. Sometimes a person can have a food sensitivity to a food in raw state but not in a cooked state. Some reactions are immediate and some take hours or days to surface.

Why those foods?Food like all other materials in our world, have

their own unique energy. The body has the amazing ability to identify what is present in your body by an energy signature. Therefore when you eat an apple, the body knows it’s an apple. When a food is consumed it takes about 4 days before all materials and energies of that food are no longer present within the body. If you are constantly eating the same food day after day or, within that 4 day span, the properties and energy of that food seem to never leave the body. The body often begins to react by identifying that food as an “invader” and may build antibodies against it. This action creates a food allergy reaction which affects the surrounding tissues of the body and inflammation, irritation and de-generative properties seem to increase.

Food allergies and intolerances play a major role in many conditions and are entwined with many dif-ferent functions of the body. Keep an eye open for next weeks article when I will provide additional informa-tion on how these foods may be tied to many dysfunc-tions and conditions.

Disclaimer: When you read through the diet and lifestyle infor-mation, you must know that everything within it is for informational purposes only and is not intended as a substitute for advice from your physician or other health care professional. I am making no attempt to prescribe any medical treatment. You should not use the informa-tion here for diagnosis or treatment of any health problem or for pre-scription of any medication or other treatment. The products and the claims made about specific products have not been evaluated by the United States Food and Drug Administration and are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent disease. You should consult with a healthcare professional before starting any diet, exercise or supple-mentation program, before taking any medication, or if you have or suspect you might have a health problem. Confirm the safety of any supplements with your M.D., N.D. or pharmacist (healthcare profes-sional). Some information given is solely an opinion, thought and or conclusion based on experiences, trials, tests, assessments or other available sources of information. I do not make any guarantees or promises with regard to results. I may discuss substances that have not been subject to double blind clinical studies or FDA approval or regulation. You assume the responsibility for the decision to take any natural remedy.

You and only you are responsible if you choose to do anything with the information you have read. You do so at your own risk. Use your intelligence to make the decisions that are right for you. Con-sulting a naturopathic doctor is strongly advised especially if you have any existing disease or condition.

Debra Meszarosis a Certified Sports Nutritionist and Bio-feedback practitioner with further educa-tional studies in Naturopathy, Homeopathy, Orthomolecular Nutrition and additionally holds fourteen U.S. patents. Through her ex-tensive health education, and experience of 20-plus years in cellular biology, she has de-veloped an all-encompassing Holistic health service that allows individuals to discover their biochemical uniqueness, allowing them to fine tune their health. The basis of her service is to facilitate access to informa-tion that will help your understanding of health processes and elements that are within your area of control. Her services are available in Maryland, Virginia and South Carolina. She can be reached at (540) 622 – 4989 Monday through Friday.

Autoimmunity & Why the Body

Attacks Itself


The United Way of Calvert County has “kept up with the trends of the na-tional organization. What was good for them was good for us. We didn’t let size stop us from doing what is right,” ac-cording to CEO Kelly Chambers.

This is a highlight of the 20-year history of the organization within the county, according to Chamber’s recent discussion with the Calvert Gazette. The agency started off with one full-time employee, a part-time (10 hours) employee and donated space from the Board of Education.

Chambers was the part-time em-ployee. She provided administrative as-sistance while she was attending school. She laughed. “Twenty years later and I’m still working on my degree.”

The time out she took from her college to marry and raise two children didn’t reflect in the United Way, “which never stopped or stayed still.”

When Chambers took over as CEO in 1999, the organization had just pur-chased the United Way House, opened the Volunteer Center and received – for the first time ever – two grants totaling $360,000. The grants started ‘Success by Six’ and ‘Healthy Families.’

One of the first things Chambers had to do as the new CEO was “go to my board and tell them we needed to hire a financial person because accounting wasn’t my strong suit.”

Prior to then, Chambers remembered when she first started she had a ledger book and had to handwrite all the checks and account balances. Administering grant money demanded an entirely different level of accountability and paperwork.

Now the county’s United Way has four full-time and one part-time staff. Cur-rently the agency has a number of different funds to allocate to 32 programs/agen-cies within the network of the county’s charitable organizations.

“The way we do business has changed dramatically,” said Chambers. Originally all the agencies hoping to receive money had to submit an annual

application. Now “there is much more accountability.”“Our outcome measurement was difficult for the agencies to swallow. But we

taught them how to do it and they all caught on. Now they say they are better agen-cies because of it,” Chambers said.

Another recent change has been to award money to where the needs in the county lie. In 2010, the Chambers’ agency conducted an extensive needs assess-ment which included forums and surveys of leaders, donors and agencies.

“It got everyone talking about the issues in depth. We got to the core issues. The root causes. We talked about how people not being able to pay their electric bill is really because they never learned to balance a checkbook,” Chambers said.

Now the United Way is focused on three areas: education, income and health. ‘Calvert Can’ is a countywide health initiative to address overweight/obesity.

“Why are people overweight? Do they have access to healthy foods and fitness programs?”

Chambers is excited to see how organizations like the Arc of Southern Mary-land, which didn’t apply for funding, works with other agencies that did receive funding for ‘Calvert Can.”

Another example of collaboration from the community is Northern High School’s Future Business Leaders of America club, who didn’t ask for any United Way funding but is helping to address financial illiteracy in the county.

“The hardest thing about my job is for people to understand what United Way does,” said Chambers. “When I’m done talking they’ll say, ‘I didn’t know United Way did all that!’”

The other source of great pride is “The Day of Caring” which Chambers brought to the county. “Ever year at the kick-off ceremony I tell everyone that it is my favorite day of the year. And it is. I pass along the passion to my staff, who take it and run with it.”

[email protected]

Kelly Chambers, CEO of the United Way of Calvert County.

Local United Way Has Kept Pace with National

HQ For 20 years


The Calvert Gazette is always looking for more local talent to feature! To submit art or band information for our entertainment section,

e-mail [email protected].

Southern Maryland Sounds: New Tunes, New Artists Sam Grow Single

To Hit iTunes Soon

Local performers known as The Nuttin Fancy Band have announced the group is moving forward with new members and new music under the new band name R & R Train. The group features Tommy “Tex” Bowles; custom percussion and vocals, Cheyenne Wilson; on guitar and vocals, Jimmy

Thompson; also a guitarist and singer, Mark Uncle; providing vocals and bass and Ed Emery on drums.

The St. Mary’s County based quintet plays classic and Southern rock and is comprised of musicians with various backgrounds and influences ranging from Pantera to Hank

Williams, Jr. and Lynyrd Skynyrd.This new lineup will play their first show Jan. 28 at the

Gridiron Grill in Callaway. Watch for future dates on The County Times’ weekly entertainment schedule.

[email protected]

Local Band Evolves, Keeps On Rockin’

Local Rapper ‘Hell’s Imigrent’ Finds Escape Through His Rhymes

Edgy rapper “The Great H.I.” hales from Southern Maryland and offstage goes by the name Dale Lokey. He was born in Prince George’s County but grew up around Piney Point in St. Mary’s.

Lokey said he developed his love of music during a difficult time in his life, as he and his mother moved from motel to motel to escape an abusive fa-ther. Music became an escape for him, he explained, then, as a teenager he got the chance to “spit a few rhymes” for a local rap artist he looked up to, named Soul B.

The next thing he knew, Lokey said, he was signed to his label, Ill Soul Productions, and has since released his first 13-track release titled “Wud Dup Y’all” and is currently working on a follow up.

Lokey said the H.I. stands for “Hell’s Imigrent” and his brand of horror-core hip-hop contains explicit content. He credits such musical influences as the Insane Clown Posse, DMX and Billy Idol for influencing him to use music as an outlet.

His first album has sold more than 300 copies, he said. To check out the intense musical stylings and get more information on this local rap artist, check out www.reverbnation.com/dlthegreathi.

Country Up and ComersThe Justin Crenshaw Band,

based in La Plata, has been to-gether about three short months, but has already become a busy group, playing gigs around Southern Maryland. With Justin Crenshaw on guitar and vocals and father and son George Habi-cht, Jr. and George Habicht, III playing drums and bass, the trio said they play modern country, with classic and southern rock thrown in the mix.

The elder Habicht has been playing music for a long time. He first made a name with Southern Express in the ‘80s and prior to the formation of the current lineup, played with his son in a group called Twisted Up. He also owns George’s Custom Painting in La Plata, but said he’s happy to be play-ing music often.

Crenshaw explained he met his bandmates at an open mic night, after he and the younger Habicht had talked about music via Facebook. Shortly after, Crenshaw was invited to open up for Twisted Up and the group evolution naturally occurred from that point forward.

Crenshaw said he had been working as a solo artist and

was happy to have met the Habi-chts, which allowed him to really take it to the next level. He said he recently scaled back the hours at his day job since the music has kept them quite busy.

As a group, they have built a buzz about a great live show that often ends with the musi-cians swapping instruments, taking turns singing and show-casing their multiple talents.

Local energy drink compa-ny Bully Bling recently became a sponsor of the group, helping

them book more venues throughout the tri-county area. All three members of the band said folks don’t need to be country fans to enjoy their shows – audiences at a variety of venues have taken to their brand of music.

The group said while they’ve drawn interest play-ing covers, they hope to eventually work on some original tunes. The younger Habicht, “Georgie,” books the gigs and can be reached by email at [email protected]. Visit the Justin Crenshaw Band Facebook page for more information and check the entertainment calendar for upcoming shows by this up-and-coming local band.

By Carrie MunnStaff Writer

One of Southern Maryland’s local rising stars, The Sam Grow Band, took a short break from their steady shows last week to record a new single, “Shot of Crown”.

The new song will be available Jan. 25 for download on iTunes for $0.99.

Frontman Sam Grow said the group is hoping to top previous single releases that hit numbers 13 then 7, respectively, on the top downloaded singles under the singer-songwriter genre in iTunes.

Grow, along with bassist Gene Quade, lead guitarist Mike Sta-cey and drummer Joe Barrick, went into Nightsky Studios in Waldorf with the help of producer Ron Vento, and crafted “Shot of Crown.”

The song is a personal one, Grow explained, as the inspiration came from listening to a recently-divorced friend with a penchant for Crown Royal tell him that try as he might, he wasn’t able to drown out the problems with alcohol.

Grow said it may be considered a cross-over tune, calling it a hybrid of pop, soul and country that was well-received by local radio stations.

Many loyal fans may find the tune familiar, as Grow said it be-came referred to as the secret song by fans catching acoustic shows, where the band would often play and hone the tune prior to taking it to the studio.

He said that while releasing singles is a bit of a throwback idea, in the new age of iTunes and other Internet-based music retailers, doing well at it draws a great deal of attention.

Grow said he continues to be grateful for the packed houses the band plays to and the overwhelming responses they get via Facebook. “We’re very, very blessed,” he said.

The band will be traveling out of state often in 2012, but aims to continue playing shows in St. Mary’s, Calvert and Charles counties each month and local acoustic shows as well. Grow said the group is working on its next album and hopes to write and record in the studio.

Grow said that for his birthday on Jan. 21, the best present you could give him is to buy “Shot of Crown” four days later. For more information about The Sam Grow Band, visit their webpage at www.samgrowband.com.

Photo by Mike Batson

Photo by Mike Batson


By Keith McGuireContributing Writer

As the hunting season winds down and we begin to reacquaint ourselves with our wives and other family mem-bers, our spare time starts to fill with activities that are unrelated to hunting and fishing. There are a few things happening, though, that we might find interesting to fill the time and help us main-tain our focus on outdoor sports in spite of the less than comfort-able weather and closed seasons.

The Southern Maryland Chapter of the Maryland Salt-

water Sportfishermen’s Association is having their monthly meeting tonight (Jan 19th) at 7:00 PM at the Solomons Fire Hall. The guest speaker will be Ken Lamb, proprietor of The Tackle Box, who will discuss the best lures to use for catching specific types of fish. The meeting is open to the public.

The Patuxent River Chapter of the Coastal Conservation

Association, Maryland will have their second Anglers’ Night Out on Monday January 23rd, from 6:00 – 8:30 p.m., at The Ruddy Duck Brewery and Grill in Solomons. This event features the film “Stripers Gone Wild” that explores the environment and feeding habits of our favorite recreational fish. Again, the public is invited.

Now is a good time to renew your fishing license for 2012 because your 2011 fishing li-cense expired with the beginning of the New Year. Don’t be caught short when a quick trip for yellow perch or white perch comes up.

CCA Maryland is sponsoring a catch and release “Pickerel Challenge” January 15 through March 15, so there are fishing opportu-nities. If you’re interested in the Pickerel Chal-lenge, details are available at www.ccamd.org.

On top of that, the Baltimore Boat Show opens today (Jan 19th) and runs through the weekend. Lots more shows, meetings, flea mar-kets and outdoor events will be happening in the weeks to come. But….it is still hunting season!

Die hard deer hunters can pursue whitetail deer in our region with a vertical bow or crossbow until Jan. 31. If you really get into pulling a bow string in freezing temperatures, now is the time for you!

The upland game (like rabbits and crows) and certain forest game (like squirrels) seasons continue through next month (check State regulations). Hardy hunters who are not into waterfowl, but like to hunt cold conditions enjoy these times afield and in the woods.

And, then there’s the waterfowl season. The late season for most species of ducks and geese continues through the end of the month. I’m getting reports that the migration of ducks through the area is light this year compared to previ-ous years, but there are a few decent flocks of Canada Geese to fill the void.

On the Eastern Shore, snow geese are cooperating for some of the professional guides. I’ll be heading that way next month to celebrate Ground Hog Day when I hope to shoot enough snow geese to fill the freezer until fishing season starts. The “Light Goose Conservation Order Sea-son” continues until April 14th. The only place to find re-ally abundant populations of these birds is on the big farms on the Eastern Shore. I’ve seen the cover crop on 400 acre farm fields reduced to mud, goose footprints, feathers and scat after the snow goose flocks come through. I completely understand why unplugged shotguns and an unlimited bag limit are the rule for this season.

So, there’s always something going on that will tweak the pleasures we get from the outdoors. All we have to do is find them!

If you have a particularly interesting hunting or fish-ing story and a picture, please drop me a line at [email protected].

So Now What?

Sp rts

Fur andFeathersFur and

Feathers

By Ronald N. Guy Jr.Contributing Writer

“I don’t love tennis…I’ve ac-tually never liked sports…I don’t like working out, I don’t like any-thing that has to do with working physically.”

We’ve heard these expressions before. Usually they’re delivered, in a similar form,

courtesy of the attractive woman seated across the table. The words land with the subtlety of a left hook to the jaw because, for a foolish but fleeting moment, we had hoped that beyond her beauty and intelli-gence was a fellow sports fanatic. We had designs on Sunday’s at the stadium, not the mall and hours of fixed sports viewing without irritated urgings for more produc-

tive behaviors. This time the words came under entirely different circumstances and from an unbelievable source: tennis great Serena Williams.

Huh? Serena Williams, 13-time Grand Slam winner, doesn’t love tennis and never liked sports? Wow, that was unexpected. I think. The Williams sisters, Serena and Venus, have never been conventional. They hail from Compton, CA, which isn’t exactly a rich mine of tennis players. While profes-sional tennis is diverse, the Williams’ are two of the few and by far the most dominant – currently and of all time - African Ameri-can players. The sisters dress flamboyantly – using the tennis court as their own per-sonal fashion runway – and, to their critics displeasure, take time away from the game to indulge their other considerable interests.

Another uncommon trademark of the Williams’ is their penchant for brutal hon-esty. The sisters, and especially Serena, rarely leave you questioning their true feel-ings. That has been mostly an admirable trait, especially in a sports world now lit-tered with demi-heroes, but this time the

lightly filtered connection between Serena’s thoughts and her spoken words delivered a message that sounded spoiled, arrogant and unappreciative. In an economic period marked by debilitating debt, recession and high unemployment, Serena sounded dis-connected from and ignorant of the “real world.” With honesty as her guide, she sim-ply went too far this time.

On second thought, maybe she didn’t. There is much lost in translation between fans - those with an external view of the sports world - and professional athletes – those with an inability to understand or, at times, even be sensitive to just how dif-ferent life is for those on “the outside.” I admit, I lost Serena’s point…initially…but it’s clearer now. Serena plays tennis because she can and always has. It’s just what she does. She doesn’t love it, though. Maybe she did at some point, but not now, not anymore. This may seem remarkable, but it’s not; she’s neither the first athlete nor the first tennis player to lose that lov-ing feeling. Michael Jordan, John Riggins and John McEnroe all temporarily broke up with (stepped away from) the sports that were once their heartthrobs.

During the same exchange when Ser-ena disavowed her love of tennis and ex-pressed her dislike of physical activity, she also offered this about the game that sup-

plied her fortune and fame: “I can’t live without it.” For Serena, playing tennis now is about what it affords her, not the game it-self. That take on whatever it is that butters your bread should sound very familiar. Few people are fortunate enough to wake up daily and pursue their true passion. Fewer still maintain their affection for said pursuit after it becomes their source of sustenance. A job, by its very nature, is something we have to do – to maintain the things we need (a residence, food, health insurance) and acquire the things we want (the occasional indulgences) – and anything done out of ob-ligation is bound to be less pleasurable than undertakings born from personal choice. That’s a basic tenet of human nature and one that holds true whether you’re a civil servant, small business owner or profes-sional tennis player.

Serena’s remarks initially seemed like more elitist dribble from another million-aire athlete that couldn’t possibly be more detached from those occupying much lower tax brackets. After further review, and rather ironically, she may have never said anything that more closely connects with everyday life and the countless jobs per-formed not out of love but because we can’t live without them.

Send comments to [email protected]

BleaChersA View From The On Second Thought

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2012-01-19 Calvert Gazette

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Transcript of 2012-01-19 Calvert Gazette